Ultimate Assassin Saga: Escape

Theirs was a complicated relationship that dated back thousands upon thousands of years back when they'd both been birthed of the essence of a Chaos Demon female. They still didn't know how they had survived such a thing considering that your average Chaos Demon mother always tried to eat her young and were usually successful. They supposed that their father had been the one to save them from their mother's fangs, but neither brother had ever known their father. No, they'd grown up in the Abyss - a Realm of flames relegated for Demons and evil spirits of the damned - all alone. They'd had to fight, scrap, scrape, and sometimes do very cold hearted things to survive the cruelty of the Abyss.

Maybe it was because the two brother's had been together so long that the Command Assassin had relegated his loyalty through the battles they'd been through in the Abyss. However, he wasn't truly loyal to the Emperor one hundred percent. No, he was out for himself, and the moment that his brother gave him a reason, his loyalty to the man would break. He would leave and never return to the Empire that he'd helped build. Despite that he'd helped to create the Empire, he felt no love for what he'd carved out with steel, blood, tears, and murder. No, he felt nothing for the Empire that he'd built. He was indifferent to it all.

He tilted his glass to his lips and he drank of the fire whiskey. He sighed at the burning sensation that filled his chest and he relished it. He drained the last of the glass of it's contents and he sat the glass down on the scarred table. Then, he sat back in his chair and crossed his long legs, his back against the wall so no one could sink a blade into his back. He looked around the pub, searching for anyone who was spoiling for a fight, but it didn't seem that anyone wanted to fight. He supposed that it was because of the fight earlier that he wanted to fight so badly.

Acheron's gaze was drawn to the door of the pub when the door opened and a being walked through the door. It was a cloaked form that moved forward, and even though the being's features were hidden, everyone knew who it was. The aura of the being was noticeable and everyone knew who it was. Then, the being raised his hands to the wide brim of it's hood and pulled it back, revealing the face that all had known would be underneath the hood. It was the face of the half Blood Demon, Breal.

He was tall, about six foot two, and slender. He had short ink black hair that rose wildly all over his head and blood red eyes that glowed out of an alabaster; emotionless face. He wore a short sleeve black shirt, black trousers, ankle high black leather boots, a black leather belt, and an ankle length black leather cloak. The Half Demon didn't carry any weapons, but that was only because he didn't need them. After all, his speed and power were enough to end the lives of most that challenged him. His existence on it's own was an oddity and even Acheron couldn't figure out how it was that the man even existed.

Over three hundred years ago, Lord Shido, the head of the Blood Demon Clan, had put into place a mandate that banned his people from Mating outside of their blood pool. Shido wanted to keep the Blood Demon Clan powerful and the only way to do that was to keep their blood pure. Anyone who dared to take a Mate outside of the Clan and was caught was executed. In the case of the Blood Demons, their birth ratio was heavily uneven with ten times more boys than girls. Because of this ratio, male Blood Demons were partnered with another male to release sexual tension with one another. When they found their Mate, they kept their male partners and would until death.

For some reason however, Lord Shido hadn't allowed the pregnancy of the Human woman to be ended when it was known that she was pregnant with a child and had allowed the child to be born. Then, he'd even allowed the woman to stay with the child and raise the baby Breal. When he reached the allowed age, Lord Shido began training the boy himself and the boy had come into his own, becoming a powerful warrior with his razor sharp claws.

Acheron noted that the patrons of the pub had grown quiet the moment that he'd entered the pub and had pulled back his cloak hood. Then, he noted that one of them was moving towards the Half Blood Demon who was standing completely still. The Demon approaching Breal was a Middle Flight Demon which had horns protruding from his forehead and curled back towards the crown of his head. The Higher Flight of a Demon, the more powerful and the more Human in appearance a Demon was. Acheron himself was an Upper Flight Demon which was why he could pass for Human if he needed to. However, anyone that could sense auras would be able to tell that he was far from Human.

"You will leave here, half breed." the Horned Demon hissed out angrily. He stopped in front of the Half Demon and he clutched both of his hands into his fists. His dark blue eyes glowed with anger and he looked ready to tear into the creature. However, he kept his anger in check and didn't strike him - not yet anyway. "If you don't, then you will die here. You can fight, but you are but a weakling Half Breed and Lord Shido won't be able to save you."

"I fear not the likes of you." Breal replied, his voice devoid of all emotion. The Chaos Demon found himself amused by the sight and he sat back in his chair to watch. Then, he rested his face in his hand and he continued to watch. He was interested to see what was going to happen, but he wasn't going to get involved if he didn't have to. A one on one battle would be just fine with him and it would be an interesting thing to watch. However, if someone else get involved, he would make sure to take them out before they could be a hindrance. Then, Breal spoke again, interrupting his thoughts. "If you think that you can kill me, then try. Otherwise, get out of my way."

The Middle Flight Demon gritted his teeth and swung his balled up fist for his cheek. Breal watched the fist coming towards him and he looked like he wasn't going to dodge the attack. He didn't in fact dodge the attack. Then, his hand shot up, his hand appearing as nothing more than a black blur and he caught the Horned Demon's wrist in his hand. Then, he squeezed the other Demon's wrist tightly in his own and the sound of bones breaking filled the pub. No one moved as the two men faced off, one screaming in pain and writhing under the others grasp. However, Breal showed no emotion on his face as he looked at the man and he seemed to think of the other man as nothing more than a piece of dust.

Then, the Half Demon turned and flung the Horned Demon like he was nothing more than a glass. The Horned Demon slammed against the wall and slumped to the floor, groaning in pain. His screams had broke off the moment that he'd been flung through the air, but now, the Demon wasn't even moving. Acheron watched the Half Demon as he stood there regarding the Horned Demon that he'd just flung and had his back to the rest of the room. It was because of that he was left vulnerable to the other man who was intervening and had a dagger held tightly in his hand.

It was obvious what the man had planned, but the Command Assassin wasn't going to allow that. To stop him, he raised his hand and pointed his palm at the sneaking Human cutthroat. Then, he drew his magic into his palm and his hand began to lick with bright orange flames. Then, he focused it on his palm and the flame moved to his palm, creating a whirling ball of flames. The flames shot forward from his hand and flew across the pub, slamming into the sneaking man's head, making him scream in pain as his head was engulfed in flames. The flames moved from his head down to engulf the rest of his body and the Human cutthroat fell to the floor of the pub, his screams completely silent in death. When the flames stopped, it revealed the black husk of the Human's collapsing corpse.

The whole pub had grown silent and all eyes were turned to him. He was now the center of attention and everyone was gaping at him in surprise that he'd intervened. Even Breal was staring at him, his blood red eyes glowing with his own surprise. Then, Breal regained his composure and his face blanked of all emotion, his eyes empty once more. He uncrossed his long; tree-like legs and he pushed to his feet, his hands held down by his sides as he looked upon the patrons of the pub, his eyes empty of all emotion or sympathy as he took in each face, both male and female of all races.

"Anyone involving themselves in his business will be involving themselves in MY business." Acheron said, his voice cold and dead. His eyes met each one of theirs and he saw a common emotion among them all: fear. Every single last one of them feared him and wouldn't do a damn thing to go against him. After all, he was the Command Assassin, and as such, was regarded as a deadly being. Then, he sat down in his chair and sat back against the wall once more, looking out at the crowd once more. They looked back at him for only a couple of seconds later before turning back to their own drinks, ignoring the corpse on the floor. It would be taken care of by someone else.

The Chaos Demon grabbed the bottle of fire whiskey, and instead of pouring another glass, he tipped the bottle up to his lips. He drank of it with eager gusto and he relished in the burning sensation that filled his chest. There was nothing more he liked than relaxing after a particularly long job. When he pulled the bottle back down from his lips, he noted that the Half Demon was walk towards his table. Then, he stopped in front of his table and he met the other Demon's blood red emotionless eyes with eyes devoid of emotion as well. He wasn't afraid of this man and he knew that he hadn't come to attack him. He probably wasn't there to thank him either, but if he wasn't going to attack, he wasn't worried about it.

"I did not need your assistance. I was perfectly capable of dealing with those miscreants alone." Breal said, his voice empty of all emotion. However, there was a look of annoyance in his blood red eyes. The man stood there with his back straight and his head held high as if he were a royal. As far as the Command Assassin knew, he wasn't of royal blood, but then again, no one could ever tell. The Blood Demons tended to hide many things from outsiders and the heir to the Lordship of the Clan would be one of those closely guarded secrets.

"I didn't aid you. I hate back stabbers and that Human was one. Besides, you didn't even finish your business. The Demon who confronted you still lives." Acheron pointed out in a common sense manner. He took a long pull of the whiskey once more and looked at the man. He seemed a little surprised by what he'd just said, but he couldn't be sure. After all, when one's face didn't change, you could couldn't exactly tell what they were thinking. Then again, even if one's face did display emotion, you never knew if it was authentic. "Leaving your enemies alive is not advisable. It makes you look weak."

The Half Demon regarded him through narrowed eyes. It was as if he was searching for any trace of a lie. If that was indeed what he was looking for, he wasn't going to find anything. The Chaos Demon was being one hundred percent truthful in what he'd said. He didn't involve himself with others business, but when one was about to be attacked from behind, he always made it a point to show that he wasn't approving of that behavior. If you couldn't attack someone from the front, then you deserved to die. Being a coward was as bad as being weak in his mind. However, many others didn't think the same way.

In fact, Azrieal himself encouraged deception and assassinations. It made the Empire more chaotic, and in his mine, the more chaotic things were, the more powerful they were. If everyone was on edge and looking for enemies in the dark - even when they weren't there - then they would never be able to sneak up on any Dalkian and Dalkia would remain strong. He could agree with his brother that he didn't want Dalkians to grow weak and complacent. No, that would be acting like so many nations in the past who had fallen because they believed themselves to be the supreme power in the region. That kind of feeling always meant death, eventually.

He watched as Breal turned away from his table and he walked smoothly towards his enemy. The Horned Demon was already getting up, but it was slow going and he didn't see Breal making his way over towards him. About the time the Horned Demon made it to his feet, Breal swung his claws and the Demon was unable to dodge the attack. His claws cut deep into the flesh of his neck and the Middle Flight Demon cried out before slumping to the ground, dead. Then, Breal turned and looked at the Chaos Demon as if to say that he'd listened to what he had to say.

Acheron smiled a little bit and he lifted the bottle in his direction, saluting him. The Half Demon nodded his head and turned away, walking out of the pub. Strange that the Half Demon would come just to kill one and speak with him. Why would he do such a thing? Had he been sent on a reconnaissance mission and been spoiled because of the fight? He shook his head and snorted. He was starting to get a little paranoid and he knew that it was because of the fight earlier in the night. Oh well, nothing to do for it now except for drink and try to go back to his relaxing.

Before the bottle could reach his lips, he felt a burning sensation against his chest and he cursed. He knew just what the burning sensation was. It was his brother summoning him via the crystal amulet that they both wore around their necks. The only time Azrieal used the amulet to call him was so he could give him another job. He'd just gotten back and he really didn't want to go on another job. However, if he turned down the job, his brother would be displeased and he didn't want his brother mad at him. He didn't fear his brother, but there was no reason to create strife.

Sighing in resignation, the Chaos Demon reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold piece. Then, he placed the coin down on the table to pay for his drinks. He pushed back his chair and he got to his feet. While he made his way across the bar, he eyed all of the patrons who followed him with their eyes and he dared any one of them to attack him. They didn't of course. He made it to the door without incident and he stepped out of the pub.

XXXXXXXXXX

Azrieal sat behind his desk, signing missives and shuffling around papers. He hated paperwork, but it came with the territory of being a leader. He preferred when there were battles because he always made it a point to be the one out in front leading his people. However, there hadn't been a war between Dalkia for over one hundred years. He'd felt that their conquering campaign had spread far enough and his brother had agreed. They were large enough and they couldn't afford to spread any further. If they did, they would be going up against real powers and many of their people would be lost. He wouldn't care about that, except for the fact that he wanted to keep his Empire under his tight control and not have them all desert him in the middle of a war.

He and Acheron had built Dalkia with their own skills, blood, sweat, and rage. Acheron had been the one that had killed the most though and even he could admit to that. He was a master with his magic and no one could contest him when it came to magic, but his brother was the best with a blade. There wasn't a single swordsmen in existence that could best his brother with a sword. He was simply too powerful and to willing to take a hit just to dole one out. Some called Acheron insane, but he called his younger brother a genius.

Azrieal was tall, six foot five, and slender. He had long golden blonde hair that fell to the back of his thighs in a single thick braid and emerald green eyes set in a bronzed; ethereally handsome face. He wore a dark blue shirt, black linen trousers, black leather boots, and a black leather belt. On his right middle finger was a red ruby ring which contained most of his power and abilities. He was able to channel his magic through the ring, enhance it's strength, and destroy anything that he was aiming at all because of the ring.

The Emperor looked up from the paperwork that he'd just finished and he ran a hand through his hair. Sitting at his desk and doing paperwork for hours could be very tiring. Many would think that sitting and writing would be an easy job, but it wasn't. He hated it more than anything in this world and would like nothing more than to sink his fingers into a newly flayed open flesh, but he knew that it couldn't be such. He was stuck doing his paperwork for a little while longer and there would only be more tomorrow. He sat back in his chair and he looked around his office, taking it in for the first time in many months.

The floors were bare, revealing the mahogany beneath and in the corner was one bookshelf that was stacked full of books. Each book was about a different lore or country and each book was stocked with leather bindings or linen bindings. The door to his office was large and made of mahogany as well with a golden handle attached to it. He looked down at his desk and he smiled. It was also mahogany and the desk dominated the room the most with his black leather chair behind it.

Just as he finished looking around his office, he heard the sound of a knock on his door and he called out for the person to enter. He knew who it was of course because he had summoned his visitor himself. The door opened and in stepped his brother, Acheron. The huge Chaos Demon had no emotion on his face or in his eyes, but he'd known his brother all of his life and his brother had never shown much emotion past puberty. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that it was a defense mechanism and a good one. After all, he was the Command Assassin of Dalkia and he was still alive even after all these years. He was the best.

The younger Chaos Demon walked across the mahogany floors, his boot steps echoing off of the mahogany floors. Reaching the Emperor's desk, he pulled up the seat in front of the desk and he sat down in it. Of all the people who served the Emperor, only his younger brother would dare do that. Everyone else feared the Emperor and would only follow his words to the tee. No one else would have been as daring and as presumptuous, but he loved when his brother did that. It showed his surety in his power.

"I have a very important job for you." Azrieal told him, his voice quiet and empty of all emotion. He sat forward and placed his forearms on top of the desk. He stared into his brother's eyes, looking for anything, but found nothing. It was as if he was completely vacant and he was never coming back. It was as if he had no soul and no conscious whatsoever. Good, because that was what he needed in an Assassin and his brother was the best. Even after all these years, he hadn't gone soft and he was glad to see that. "The Queen and Prince of Paradise have Fallen. I want you to find and kill them."

There was a slight shift in the Command Assassin's body, but it was miniscule. Anyone else might've missed it, but he'd been purposefully watching his brother for anything. Well, he'd just got his something, though what it was he didn't know. However, he didn't think that it was very important. After all, what were the chances that he would know the Angel Queen and Prince? None, that were the chances. The Emperor knew that and that was why he had chosen him. His brother had no problem with killing people he didn't know and rarely questioned why.

"They are located somewhere in the Wilds, though where exactly we are unsure." Azrieal continued, sitting back in his chair. He placed his arms on the arms of his chair and he leaned back further. There it was again, that shift in his posture. All he had done was tell him where they were, naming a land of pure anarchy and he'd had a reaction. He nearly frowned, but he hid that emotion. He didn't want his brother to know that he was suspicious of him or everything could fall apart.