Eclipse - Act 2 - Of Blood and Truth

Chapter 26 - Fallen Angel

Li Ren

Twenty Two Years Ago...

I was a different man before you were born, my son... once I was a Huntsman... a skilled one who fought with honour.

Once...

Li had blood across his face, Human and Faunus... neither race mattered to him. He let out a defiant howl of rage as he loosed the arrow into the sternum of his target. The man yelled in agony as his red blood poured from the wound, his heart stopped as the arrowhead punctured straight through the organ. He crumpled to the ground, lifeless and cold, eyes distant. He took his two daggers, one of which became the one that his son would carry after his death. He slit the throats of those he was paid to kill.

My path as a Huntsman... it started as a path of Righteousness... but it ended as a Fallen Angel. Have you heard of the Fallen Angels?

No...

Well... men and women like myself were once Huntsmen or Huntresses, it did not matter where we came from. The only thing that defined us is that we broke our vow as a Huntsman, to protect people from the terrors of the world. And in doing so, we became Assassins. Paid to spill blood, paid to end lives and entire families, all for those who would pay the highest amount of money.

That... was my costly mistake.

The one that brought about the horrors that plagued us, the horrors that destroyed our home... Kuroyuri.

Li Ren was covered in their blood, most days he would stare at those blood stained hands, and he would always see it. Their faces in the dirt, in the trees. But he continued on his dark path, his bow held tight as he walked away from the corpses he created. The lives he ended, all for Lien. He returned back to Kuroyuri, and it was so beautiful then, commerce flourished and people were happy. Li walked into the square, where everyone was trading, everyone was living their lives.

I helped the Mayor of Kuroyuri build the settlement, just like Oniyuri he believed we could live a comfortable life far away from the control of the Councillors. Away from the corruption, from the Atlesians... away from the Black Gallows.

But every day that passed, it was another reminder that we were fools.

Li Ren turned his gaze when he saw the bodies being carried in on a cart, hunters who were killed viciously by the Grimm. His eyes were wide as he saw the blood that leaked from the back of the cart. People cried with anguish, and that cheerful mood they always had was destroyed in an instant. Li sat down with sadness in his eyes, and he stared at his hands. "Li?" A gentle feminine voice spoke, he turned and saw her stood behind him.

She had dusky rose hair held in a bun by a grey band and pink eyes. She wore a long green dress with long sleeves, cut-outs on the shoulders, black ballet flats, and a pink sash. She was tall with gentle curves, she was not a killer like he was, but merely a Nurse. She gently touched his cheek. "Are you okay? What happened?" She asked, she knew the difference between the blood of someone else and her husband's. It was still fresh, he had suffered a wound up his back.

She always understood me, she did not agree with my profession, and I hated myself for taking part in it. But when Haven Academy no longer saw use for me, after I pressed my support for the creation of Kuroyuri and Oniyuri, they revoked my Licence as a Huntsman, and I lost all work.

Unless... I became a Fallen Angel.

I will never forget the night I first met your mother, Lie... she was beautiful, the very angel I needed to help me see the light in that time of Darkness that I was locked in for so very long.