Infernum

Chapter 3

Ayato took off his winged helmet, latching it onto the back of his armour, and climbed down his horse. His gloved hand patted the mane of the horse, as it gave a satisfied neigh, leaning into his touch.

Subaru followed suit, his own spiked helmet coming off and being latched to his back plate. White locks flew free in the warm breeze, and had there not been a rotting corpse behind him, he would have seemed to be the proverbial prince from the fairy tales. But he had the additional title of Commander in front of his name, so it matched his image well.

Ayato's name, however, evoked the sole image of violence and brutality. He didn't just seem to fit in with the gore behind him, he defined it. The fear that settled quietly into the free folks' hearts as he casually lifted his lashes to stare at them while they scurried away was justified. Ayato was unpredictable. He had gone to plunder the far off kingdoms and returned with the blood of an innocent religious centre and city of knowledge on his hands.

They started walking casually towards the castle, their swords dangling on their hips as they moved.

Subaru smiled slightly at his brother. "Thought of what to say to Reiji?"

Ayato shrugged. "I'm pretty sure he'd be thrilled to have a city razed to ground. He loved the input Eden had in science." His tone dripped in sarcasm.

Subaru cocked his head, squinting at him. "So what are you expecting from the mama bear?"

Ayato laughed. "He'd slap me," he held up three fingers, lowering each as he went through his list, "He'd probably punch me, or I'd get a nice ass whopping."

"You look oddly excited about it," Subaru commented.

"What can I say, pissing him off makes me happy." Ayato mocked a serious look. "Maybe this time he'd direct his anger at Shu instead. As he always does."

Subaru rolled his eyes. "What did you get from there? I'm sure apart from the research Reiji wanted, there must have been treasuries in the city that funded such an institution."

"Nope. Unfortunately the little treasury we found would sustain our army for about a week."

Subaru's eyes widened. "So, you're saying we did it all for nothing?"

Ayato shrugged. "Not exactly, we've had some nice blood slaves. And the support of the demonfolk now that we've attacked the epicentre of the free folk. It won't be long before we imprison everyone..." They reached the stairs of the castle, and from his point of view, Subaru could actually see Reiji's troubled face. He was pacing back and forth in the hall, and immediately stopped as soon as he saw both of them. Ayato breathed hard, knowing that it couldn't end up well, the way Reiji had just placed his glasses away in his pocket, his hands behind his back, his posture straight to the point of physically hurting.

"Would you tell your old woman to make some salve for me?" Ayato jested, walking painfully slowly towards Reiji, his boots heavy so that they made a sound every time he stepped forward, something Reiji absolutely disliked. Subaru was forced to walk at the same pace. "I would personally make sure Reiji whips you a thousand times more," Subaru seethed.

"Fuck you too, Subaru," Ayato gritted his teeth, and held his hands at his back as Reiji came forward, inspecting them both with an eye of scrutiny.

"Whose idea was it to storm into Eden?" Typical Reiji. Jumping into the meat of the matter rather than wasting time in worthless pleasantries. Ayato dared to smirk, before being caught by Reiji, after which he promptly bowed his head. Subaru tried to lift the tension. "Nice to meet you too, Reiji. I heard you sent troops for us while we were running low. It was a nice gesture."