The Prince and His Servant

Chapter 17

[A/N] Yes, it's early in the morning. No, I don't sleep.

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The screams of the villagers finally pierced the air. One after another, raising their voices in pure terror at the heinous act they had seen. Two bodies, violently ripped apart as if they were being searched. The shrieks died down only to be jerked from their throats once more as they saw the numerous bite marks on the bodies and put two and two together. Some of their flesh had been torn off and eaten, screaming bloody murder to an audience of nobody. Their corpses had been rotting there for weeks before they were found.

"Curse the bastard who's done this to the innocent! Curse the vile creature to Hell!" One man had shouted. The crowd roared in agreement, and new voices began to chant for the being's death. It seemed they were courageous enough to hunt down the accused and make sure the next thing they saw was Lucifer himself seated on his throne before them. They knew not what kind of creature they had their sights on, and it put their lives at risk.

I looked out of the cave and saw the crowd angrily shoving their fists in the air. It seemed they were starting to form a riot, which would be all hell for me. I couldn't take that many people at once, no matter how hard I tried. I knew this because I tried it once and nearly lost my life because of it. I only barely managed to get all of them, and their numbers were less than half of the crowd I saw before me. Luckily, nobody in the manorial system found out about it, and so I was never caught.

At least, until now.

It wasn't long before I saw advertisements everywhere about my existence, about my killings. I soon became an outcast, an outlaw. The most difficult part of my life to date is this experience. I can't be seen by anybody, or else my identity will be known and I will be taken to the manor, and I can't afford to until my job is done. If a single soul sees me in the midst of one of my feedings, I will be either forced to kill them as well or be killed, granted the numbers are high enough. One failed attempt to kill one who saw me was the one thing that blew my cover.

Reaching in the pocket of my now-torn clothing, I pulled out a piece of a broken mirror I had taken from the manor during my last... "visit" there. My reflection disgusted me. My skin was paler than before, and at this point, it had a feeling similar to leather when touched. My eyes were now blood red, and the whites of my eyes were now as black as obsidian to match my slightly longer hair. Even the nails of the hands I held the mirror piece in were jagged and filthy. My nose and mouth were concealed by the gas mask I had on. It did not go above my nose, though, for I valued my sight unimpaired. I despised my change, but I was also thankful at the protection it gave me.

I let my razor-sharp weapons seep out of my back, the reason I'm referred to as superhuman. They were my best line of defense and offense, a true sight to see. They were a shiny crimson, much like my eyes, and they were a dazzling beauty, unlike the rest of me. They somewhat resembled tentacles, though the mere word is a disgrace in my opinion if not speaking of an animal with such appendages. The exception was that, as aforementioned, they were razor-sharp, like blades. They could slice through anything, be it nature, manmade, or man.

However, this was one of the instances in which I was sane enough to say these things. I knew that soon, the cravings would start. At first, I would try to ignore them, wishing I wasn't cursed with this way of life, even if I brought it upon myself willingly. Of course, I could do nothing; it was inevitable. Within mere hours, I would search for sustenance, unable to hold back. With my last few minutes of even a sliver of moral, I hunted animals, any I could get my hands on. Once that time was over... a village would suffer.

This time was different. I smiled psychotically, sweeping my tongue over my sharpened teeth under the mask. I welcomed the hunger, the need for human flesh. Sure, it was nice to be blessed with a human stomach. I was able to eat human food whilst I appeared so and not be vomiting mere seconds after. But the taste of flesh was nothing compared anything else I had ever eaten. Thanks to my mother, I was able to consume it the same way anyone consumes human food.

It was then that I finally realized it. In my last moments of clarity, what little I had left, I realized that I was blind and could not see the cravings had already begun, and that now... I was lost in it.

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I looked down at the body before me. I saw my bloodstained hands, felt the taste of blood lingering still on my lips. It was so satisfying, and yet so disdainful. I stood, my knees shaking, as I felt my special weapon retract inside of me. I had lost myself once again to my insatiable hunger and was horrified. But I knew it was unavoidable.

The hole in the wall I had evidently created was my only option of escape. I blindly chose to attack in broad daylight and in the middle of the village I had just robbed of a human life. Though she made no screams, I knew it wouldn't take long for the scent of corpse to reach people's noses, since it had already infiltrated mine. I dashed out of the house, thankful for my near demonic speed.

For what seemed like hours I ran, but was most likely in fact mere minutes, if that, and I finally found myself in a familiar place. It was a forest that I had taken cover in about five days ago. Unfortunately, I was sought out and found by a group of villagers, along with two guards from the manor. It seemed to me like the villagers had seen me, or was suspicious of a foreboding presence and had requested arms and protection so that they could investigate further. This was only an assumption, however, because I killed them all before I asked.

Eating them would have been my next choice of action had I not been recovering from a slight binge. Instead, I simply killed them and left their bodies there to rot.

As I slowed my pace to a walk, I navigated through the trees and other various foliage I saw in the woods. It was slightly unnerving, setting my footprints in the snow there for the first time. My preferred method of movement was in the trees or on top of buildings at night so that I was not caught by my footprints, but it was nice to give them a clue once in a while.

Soon, however, I found myself faced with something I had yet to see. A girl with short, white hair tied in two places stood before me. She had the ears and tail of a fox, though the tail was hard to notice. She wore a kimono, despite the freezing cold. She looked fear-stricken, and rightly so, but what was harder to fathom was the fact that I was as well. What was she? I had never seen anything of her kind before.

I attempted to communicate with her, even though my voice sounded demonic and scratchy.

"What are you, girl? You are not human, and you are not a beast like myself."

The fear in her eyes intensified, and she ran, yelling "Sir!" multiple times. Whether she was running in hopes of escaping me, giving my location away, or finding this "sir" to have protection, I had no idea. I was somewhat relieved that she was not hostile, but I also felt a twinge of regret as I walked forward a few steps to connect her footstep path with mine. I then jumped into the trees and fled the scene. If they were chasing the killer, it sure as hell wouldn't be me they found.