Radiant Prism

 

 

"I'm tired."

The sudden fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks. It's been a long day, and I needed to take a break, preferably at home. I decided to make my way to the shopping district again before I made my way home. I planned to have fried green tomatoes as if my life depended on them.

After haggling with that same merchant again, I got the tomatoes for the price of 10 gold, 1 more gold than last time.

"I'm… not good at haggling."

The twilight was starting to cleave in as I made my way out the west gates of the city. There were fewer knights than usual as I passed them.

“Have a good night, ma’am.”

One of the soldiers waved. Shyly, I waved back as I held my groceries in my arms. I walked around halfway there. When I turned back towards the city, it was in the distance. I had a slight smile on my face as I clutched the fresh tomatoes in my arms.

“A reward for the day.”

I pat myself on the back as I got closer to my home. Suddenly, the shadows around me felt strange. As if someone was distorting them with their own, a dark presence loomed around me. I straightened my back and looked around.

“You smell delicious.”

 

 

An ice-cold breath trickled in my ear. I turned around towards the city and what towered over me took me by surprise. With horns as thick as a bull’s and long magnificent purple hair, she gazed down at me. Her bright red eyes cut into me. She wore a red and black checkered pattern dress. Underneath was a striped dark grey vest. The smile mirrored Lucifer himself as she looked down at me.

“What are you?’”

What she reminded me of was nothing short of a demon of some kind. But her features were too humanoid to be one. She approached, causing me to drop my bag of food and put my hand on my katana. Even though I was ready to strike her down, she kept moving towards me.

“I can’t believe it… no wonder Jade wanted me to stay on the east gates like a chained-up dog.”

Her voice was low and a tad crude. Her deep crimson eyes contrasted the darkest parts of twilight. She was nothing less than breathtaking to look at. But everything about her beauty broke when she started to maniacally laugh. The eeriness of her voice rippled through my bones.

Suddenly, I felt a brush of wind zoom past me. In an instant, the woman appeared behind me.

“What the?!”

 

 

With her arms around my waist, she held the katana upwards as she grabbed my arm. Her chest pushed into my back as she shaped out her body along with mine. Sinisterly, she whispered in my ear.

“You smelled incredible when I approached the west gates. It was only a matter of time that I found you.” 

She sniffed me again.

“Oh…. so delicious. It's a rare phenomenon to have someone like you roaming this disgusting city.”

I struggled, but her strength was unmatched. It felt like I was bound by a mysterious force. She held me in place without using any spectrum. Everything she was doing was by pure physical strength alone.

“Leave me alone!”

I warned.

The demon sniffed along my neck and down my shoulder.

"Are you going to cry when I tear you limb from limb? You know, I love to hear pigs squeal as they’re cut down for meat!”

 

 

She licked my cheek and neck as if I was a piece of steak. Her tongue was like ice, and her breath was like frost as she gripped my arm tighter. I looked to my side and saw those terrifying red eyes. The energy bleeding from her body wasn’t like mine. No, it was menacing.

“Die and let me feast on your blood!”

With all my might, I swung my head back, whacking her in the jaw. She let go as I melted away within the twilight shadows. I didn’t want to bring her to my cabin, so I led her closer to town. When I appeared, I brought out my katana and faced the mysterious demon.

“I don’t know who you are… or what you are… but if you don’t get out of my way, I’m going to cut you down!”

I spoke with force. The demon was treating me like I was an easy kill. It enraged me as I thought back to Maxwell's training.

The orange of the twilight cast its ominous colors on our battlefield. The green grass around us faded into a light red color as the demon smiled with her eyes closed.

“If you want to do it the hard way.”

Unexpectedly, she appeared above me with a large halberd in her hand. It was black at its base, and the edges were shining in the late evening sky.

 

 

She went from sadistic to a full-blown psycho in an instant.

“Ha!”

She struck down; I defended as we clashed weapons.

“Die! Die!”

She screamed. The shine of her weapon became brighter as I held out her assault. The edges began to glow a bright red.

“What the?!”

Before I could react, a flash of light took over, and the edge of her weapon exploded. Fire seared me as the shockwave tossed me away. I rolled for a while before coming to a stop.

“What the hell was that?”

The presence of her shadow hovered over me. I melted away, appearing in the shadow next to me. That halberd of hers crashed into the grass and began glowing again.

“Ha!”

I spun in an arc to the side of her, attempting to sever her head. Suddenly, her weapon exploded once again, causing me to fly away. My jacket was burnt as I flew in the air. Gravity took hold of me as I came falling down. With a flip, I landed on my feet. The demon stood tall as she turned around and marched towards me, her weapon behind her back as she did.

I couldn't tell what kind of spectrum vessel she was. She wasn't using a fire spectrum to make her weapon create those explosions. I realized it would detonate and explode soon after.

“I can’t be near her when she strikes.”

I concluded. The demon sped and rushed to me now. With that halberd in her hand, she swung it at me. I avoided the demon assault by ducking.

“Se!”

I jumped up and countered her with an upward slash. I made contact and sliced the demon's chest. Blood to cover my blade. The monster lunged back, still with a smile on her face. Her eyes widened. The crazed devil started cackling.

“Oh, this is fun!”

She grabbed my leg midair.

“Huh?!”

With her abnormal strength, she spun me around with one hand. Dark wings sprouted from her back. Before I knew it, I was in the sky being rotated like a merry-go-round.

“I’ll show you pain!”

She cackled as she sped up. I was getting dizzy and couldn't tell what was happening until I felt myself flying when she let go. My body crashed into the ground, and the shockwave of pain rippled through my body. I lied, facing the twilight sky still in a daze.

“Hahaha! Hahaha!”

Her laughs felt like they came from hell itself. She was aiming at me, so I prepared, and when she got close...

“No, you… don't!"

I melted away as I watched her stab that weapon into the ground. It heated up and exploded. If I was a moment too late, I would have been in many pieces scattered around the field. I appeared above her with my katana behind me.

"Die, you crazy demon!”

I sliced her back, and she fell to the ground. Her dark wings faded away as she lied there, motionlessly.

 

 

With my blade still in her body, I pulled it out. Her fingers grew claws before I knew it. She turned around, kicked off the ground, and sliced them at me. I defended, but the force knocked me back as I almost fell to the ground.

“Are you brain dead or something?!”

The demon scorned as she sliced away at me with her claws now. They were blood red, like a wild animal. The demon woman slashed at me, trying to take me down.

“Dang, she’s quick!”

I mumbled, avoiding each slash of hers. From the corner of my eye, I saw her halberd fly around me.

“What the?!”

I lost focus for a bit, and it cost me dearly as she slashed my shoulder. The pain felt like a hot knife as it cut into my skin. Luckily, I escaped her countless other assaults as we danced.

“Hurry up! Die you filthy vessel! Die, come on, die!”

Her words were smearing together as they became more sporadic and chaotic. Through this storm of blows, I felt something wasn't right. I turned around briefly, only to see her weapon spearing towards my back.

“Oh no.”

I ducked and watched the weapon go right through its owner. She coughed blood as it began to heat up.

“Oh… I should stop that from exploding...”

She cackled as she held the black base. I watched in horror as she turned off the edge of her blade and ripped it out of her stomach. Blood fell to the ground. To my surprise… the life-threatening wound began to pull itself together.

“What the hell are you?”

I pointed my blade to her, but all she did was crank her head towards the twilight sky. Again, she manically laughed.

“Ahahahaha. Ahahaha!”

Her demonic eyes spun as she held her head with one hand. That beautiful long purple hair of hers mixed with blood at the base. I watched her wound heal rapidly in terror. 

“How am I going to...?”

I couldn’t understand how I was going to win a battle against someone who seemed immortal. The only damage that was done was to her clothing. Slowly, she approached me with her halberd at her side.

“Haa!”

I cried as I swung my blade at her. It hit her directly as she flew backward and fell to the ground. Unfazed, she stood up and began running at me strangely. As if her mind snapped, she wildly swung her halberd as she made her way to me.

“Bleed for me! Let me taste that impure blood of yours!”

We danced as I avoided her strikes and explosions. I would find openings and cut her down, but she'd get back up and repeat it again.

“Die, die, die, come on, die! Hurry up and die!”

She manically yelled at me.

“This isn’t going anywhere! This demon won’t go down no matter what!”

In a panic, I cried. If I ran, the demon would just follow me and kill me. But if I stayed here, eventually I'd run out of stamina, and then I'd be finished. I couldn't think of a good plan.

“I have you!”

She sped behind me, grabbed me again before I could react.

“Oh no.”

I tried to kick her from behind, but she was like a brute. Her claws sank into my skin as she bit at my shoulder. The pain was intense as I struggled.

“I told you to stay still! This is what you get for not listening!”

The demon mocked me as she squeezed her claws into me further. I struggled with all my might, but she was too strong. From behind, she traced my cheeks with one of her claws.

"Hehe… HAHAHAHA! It's mine! I earned the right to kill you, maggot! Think about it, the reason why you were born was for me to kill you! Isn't that freaking hilarious?!"

She cackled in my ear.

“For… you to kill me?”

I struggled… that’s when an unknown feeling flooded into my chest. My heart began to pulse at a rapid rate. My mind went blank… and I could see the world start to turn a bright purple.

"I'm going to cut you open like a pig... then lie in your organs for the rest of the day!"

The demon cried. My body began to feel lighter. The voice of the devil behind me faded in the background and the only thought that was going through my head was…

 

 

 

Kill to live.

Kill to live.

Kill to live.

 

Suddenly, she cried out as a blade went through her back. The sharp edge cut me too, but the demon let go. I fell to the ground and turned around, wounded.  

"Get away from her."

In the twilight, I witnessed the demon pierced with a red blade through her chest.

 

 

Blood fell from her at dangerous rates. My eyes widened as I saw who it was. Her eyes were closed in pure concentration at first. But she opened them, revealing her golden irises. I was marveled at how perfect her battle stance was. That black hair of hers danced in the wind only added to her charisma.

“Jade Opal! You’re ruining my fun!”

The demon cried as she attempted to turn around, but the blade was cutting into her body. It was skewering her, so she couldn’t turn her body around to even meet eyes with my savior.

“I said get away from her, Mellissa Ann Cafree!”

Wildly, the demon clawed behind her, but Jade stood there like the sword was her leash. No matter how forceful the demon was as she struggled, Jade stayed firm.

“What the hell?! I’m just trying to have a little fun!”

Annoyed, the devil screamed.

"You're striking down someone important. Stand down, Mellissa, else I’ll put you in a world of hurt.”

The knight warned.

“You wouldn’t do anything and risk hurting her, Jade!”

The demon snarled.

Jade's expression changed to that of rage. It was the first time I've seen her break her calm composure. The knight twisted her blade, causing blood to rain from her chest. The demon screamed in agony as she lashed about.

“Don't you dare mention her! If you attempt to harm Feodora again, I won't hesitate to make you suffer! Do you hear me, Mellissa?!”

The beast fought back relentlessly as Jade held her body with her blade. After the long struggle, she wasted away all her pent-up rage as she tirelessly gave up.

“Fine, I’ll leave your little dark vessel alone for a day or two… just let me go already!”

The knight twisted her mouth in disgust.

“You know what, you’ve had enough time outside today!”

Jade brought up her right fingers and snapped them. She pulled out her blade, causing the demon's blood to splash over my face. That tall body of hers fell on top of me, her larger chest pushed up against mine. The horns on her body dissolved into her skin, and the wound healed up in an instant.

“Ngg…”

 

 

In a panic, I tried to move, but the beast held me down… It was then that I was met with beautiful garnet eyes. Her crazed demonic face wasn't there any longer. In her place was a soft and slightly reddish look. Her eyes were lowered. As we gazed at one another. Neither of us moved as if we were in a state of shock.

"Oh, my… are you hurt?"

 

 

She sat up and looked me over. Her fingers didn’t have claws or anything of the like. Gently, she traced my cheek with her nails. With her free hand, she dug in her pocket and took out a small black bottle. Strangely, she looked… gentle as she sat next to me and dabbed the contents of the bottle on a small handkerchief of hers.

“First, we must remove the clothing. I ask you to do that part.”

Her voice was lighter, like clouds as she instructed me. I was still taken by what the hell was going on. I mindlessly watched her.

"You poor thing, you must have hit your head or something."

She petted my head then set her stuff to the side. Slowly, she pulled my jacket off my shoulders then forcefully began unzipping my shirt.

“Eh?! What are you doing?!”

I cried, holding my chest with both my hands.

"To treat your wounds, I must inspect you."

The knight approached as she stood over us. The strange woman looked up at Jade as she sat comfortably on the grass.

“Oh, Jade. This beautiful woman is covered in blood. I’m lucky that I can treat someone so lovely looking.”

She smiled as she turned back to me. Everything about this situation was eerie. I attempted to get to my feet, but the surge of pain from where she bit me assaulted my body, causing me to fall back over.

“Oh, you mustn’t move so aggressively. You’re badly injured.”

 Everything in me wanted to get away from her.

“I ask, what happened to you?”

Confused, I turned to Jade. She gave me a shake of her head. I didn't know what that meant, so instead, I answered her.

“Your… less desirable half did this?”

As this strange woman tended to my wounds, Jade washed a light mist over me. The pain started to die down.

“Was she having a bad day?”

She asked me as she wiped the blood off my shoulder.

 

 

“Oh… no you… wanted to kill me, didn’t you?”

I answered, still unsure what was going on.

“Isn’t it obvious? This isn’t the same Mellissa you just dealt with, Feodora.”

Jade finally opened her mouth after analyzing the situation. Here I was with a strange, beautiful woman treating my wounds… who caused them in the first place.

“… No, I don’t get it, Jade. What the heck is going on?”

I begged for answers.

Tenderly, the tall woman rubbed my head as she continued to aid me. Her touch was gentle, and it warmed me up as she kept feeling my skin. I could feel her warm wet breath bask over me as she diligently aided each scratch and cut.

“Sorry about Mellissa Ann Cafree.”

Jade finally spoke up.

“…Who is Mellissa Ann Cafree?”

I asked.

“That would be me!”

In a bright voice, she wiped the blood from my cheek as she answered. Suddenly, she kissed it, causing me to back up.

 

 

“What are you doing?!”

I yelled.

“Pain, pain, go away. With my magical spell, the wound will heal faster than ever!”

The beautiful woman cutely said. Jade, seemingly noticing my discomfort, closed her eyes.

“Mellissa Ann Cafree is a human with a demonic side to her. I have patrolled the east side of the city. Her demon side, let’s call her Count Mellissa, must have caught wind of your scent and searched you out on your way home, Feodora.”

She then pointed towards the overly affectionate girl treating my wounds like a professional nurse. With every bandage she put on, she’d make sure to kiss it. Constantly feeling her warm lips hit my skin filled me with anxiety.

“This here is Mellissa Ann Cafree, a human and the true side to that demon you battled out with.”

“She’s… a human?”

That would mean she wouldn’t have a spectrum vessel. Humans are born without them. That might have been the reason why I couldn’t understand her while we were fighting.

I still couldn’t wrap my head around… why she became that violent, sadistic beast that nearly killed me though.

“I have a lot of questions, but how did you get here so fast, Jade?”

Concerned, I asked.

“I went to search for Count Mellissa to relieve her of guard duty. That’s when I found out she wasn’t at her post. She enjoys killing beasts too much to just leave."

The knight took a deep breath and exhaled sharply.

“The only logical conclusion I came to was… she caught wind of you and went to feed on you.”

Bitterly, she answered my question. I sat there for a moment, only to be assaulted by another kiss from this strange woman. She kissed my elbow and giggled afterward. I had never been kissed before until Mellissa pecked her lips all over me.

“I’m still confused on… everything, but… right now that demon is asleep in Mellissa Ann Cafree right now? The… woman treating my wounds?”

Jade grumbled.

“…It’s more complicated than that...”

After a moment of watching her treat me, Jade crossed her arms and tilted her head.

“Do you think you’re well enough to go home, Feodora? Ah… Mellissa, is she fine now?”

“Oh yes! She’s fine now.”

Her bright eyes shined at me. I could see her cheeks went bright red as her eyes shifted a little.

"She's… more than fine, indeed."

Heat rushed to my face as she teased me. Momentarily, she dug around in her pocket and brought out an orange bottle full of bright red pills.

"Now listen, take three before bed and, I promise you all your pain will go away. Next time be careful. It’s dangerous out here with all the beast running about. Ah… what might your name be?”

I was surprised that she didn’t remember the battle we just had. Still in shock, I answered slowly.

“Feodora Cicer.”

She held my hand. Her fingers were soft and warm.

“Oh, we must have tea at The Radiant City Brewery someday! I’m Mellissa Ann Cafree. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

She stood up, and Jade took her hand. Mellissa looked nothing like that demon before. It was like they were night and day in comparison.

“Let’s get you home, Mellissa. You need a change of clothing too.”

Jade sounded like a mother as she tugged her alongside her. Before she began walking away, the knight turned back to me.

“Feodora, take a day off. I’ll see you on the 5th.”

Her eyes lowered.

“I’m sure after that battle… you might want to spend a day recuperating.”

I nodded. A day away from this city would do wonders for my psyche.

“Bye, bye! I’ll see you soon, Feodora Cicer! Don’t forget, I want to have tea with you soon!”

She waved, and I… oddly waved back. Hand in hand, Jade and Mellissa walked into the city. I stared at her back. She was tall, beautiful, and had an elegant charm about her… unlike the demon only moments ago.

 

“I… hate this city.”

I put back on my jacket as I complained. I would have to repair it when I get home, I concluded. I walked to my groceries.  They were ruined, likely hit by an explosion earlier in the battle. The area around them was burnt to a crisp.

“Mellissa Ann Cafree… owes me money.”

Bitterly, I walked away, back to my cabin near the forest.