The Dim Light in the Darkness

A Fire crackled underneath the forest. In the darkness that swept the forest laid an orange flame that lit up its surroundings. It was night out here in Anos, so amongst the trees there were sprinkles of rainbow-esque lights that only illuminated bits of the ground. Amongst the burning flame, sat Two figures. A larger, sturdier looking frame sat across a much small, feminine looking one.

The smaller figure reached for a stick that was nearby, using it to poke at the flames. As the flames burned hungrier, the hand put more branches into the flames. The larger looking figure stared at them.

"Hey, How long will we need to be out here?" A voice echoed in the woods. "…Kinda cold out here."

"Eh? Need me to cuddle with you?~" The feminine looking figure spoke. "You'll be fine. Besides, it won't be long. Give it another day." As they continued to poke the flame, The stick itself began to burn. Noticing it, the feminine figure pulled the stick back and stared at it.

The larger figure looked to their right. In the sheets of the night, just barely visible, stood a monstrous figure. It looked near the fire, but never entered it. It never moved besides the occasional jerks that it did. To be Frank, it didn't bother the larger figure, rather he saw them as a nuisance. These were the creations of the Feminine figure.

"Lost three of them, huh?" The larger figure spoke. As they glanced up at the feminine figure, they saw them pushing the burning end of the stick into their hand. Even with the pain, the feminine figure snickered and widely smiled.

They enjoyed it, relishing the pain.

"Hehe…Feels good."

The larger figure groaned. "Mandy, are you listening to me?"

The winds picked up, burning the flames even more. The lights illuminated much more, revealing the Pink haired boy that sat across the larger figure. Mandy then looked up at the figure, raising an eyebrow at them.

"Hah? What's that?" Mandy pulled the burning stick away from his hand. "Losing three ain't nothing to me! We can always make more…right, Victor?"

As Mandy looked at Victor, the large figure was lit by the flames. The iron mask he had wrapped around his mouth illuminated, shining off onto Mandy. His tattered clothes and left metallic arm were all but slightly visible to Mandy, but Mandy didn't need to look. He's seen it enough to recognize its silhouette, anybody who's seen Victor for the first time would always recognize them afterwards.

Victor narrowed his eyes at Mandy. "You weren't supposed to make that much trouble in Prusha. I find it very hard to believe nothing came up there…"

Mandy scoffed. "Whaat?…Alright, maybe I did run into a little issue…" As he said that, he looked off into the darkness. "There was a boy there…"

"…What, you caught interest?" Victors raised a brow at him.

"No...Not that. Though he was kinda cute." Mandy rubbed his burned hand as it slowly began to heal itself. "That wasn't it. It was what he was able to do…"

"Oh?"

"Victor, have you seen anyone here…Silently cast spells?" Mandy looked at the larger man. "I've heard it was a fairly rare thing."

Victor contemplated that thought. How long has he been here for? Maybe a good sixty years or so? He hasn't ever met with someone like that. Actually…He wouldn't even remember it.

"Oh who am I kidding?" Mandy chuckled to himself. There was an odd sense of malice in that chuckle that made Victor a bit uneasy. "Can't expect you to remember much of your life…Especially when you've been dead for a while."

That's right…Victor was resurrected by Mandy through his magic. About Two years ago, Mandy resurrected him in a small town near the west named Crudehog. Mandy was there for a job he was offered from a client, another girl for slavery. Mandy took interest in Victor and his odd prosthetic metal arm. Before Victor died, he was a guard for the town. A loyal soldier who stood with the town until he was forced into retirement from a bandit raid that cost him his arm.

"Hrm…" Victor raised his left metallic arm and looked at it. He managed to head to Ozoth for an experimental procedure, one that would help with his missing arm. The usage of mana and prosthetics combined together to make a fully moveable limb was something he never thought of until he finally got it. The doctor in Ozoth was quite keen on it, taking only a couple of days to make a prototype and then finally completing the arm for Victor a month later.

Unfortunately, it would cost him. With not enough money, Victor became a dog for the doctor. Being Forced to take in jobs for the doctor that would prove quite disturbing to him…including Slaughtering the same village he guarded. It pushed him to the limit. Victor ended up taking his own life at the very same village as it burned to smithereens alongside him. Even after rebuilding it, he was marked alongside those who he died. He was put into a cemetery alongside those he killed…

Now here he was, alive thanks to a pink haired boy. When he was awoken once more by Mandy, he was put off by the boy's odd behavior.

"Helloo? Earth to Victor?" Mandy waved his hand in front of him. As Victor looked up? Mandy stood directly in front of him. "That brain of yours still trying to function?"

"To the best it can…Just remembering." Victor looked out into the darkness, the looming figures still standing still. He was one of those, a lumbering mess of flesh under this boy's control. They follow and bid his commands when he pleases, but when they don't…they slumber and remain silent. Why wasn't he like them? As much as he was under Mandy's control, he felt like he had his own mind and will. "Those creatures you've made…why am I not like them?"

Mandy gave him a confused look before looking at the lumbering figures. "Oh, them?" He then pointed his thumb at them. A smile formed as he eyed Victor. "You're a special case!"

"Why's that?" Victor growled under his iron mask. "Nothing particularly amazing in what I do, all I do is guard you…"

"That's not it!" Mandy stared back at him. "I can handle myself, thank you very much! It's that cool arm you got!" He pointed at Victor's arm. "That's what made me interested when I dug you out your grave! It's cybernetic and stuff!" Mandy then tip-toed his way across the fire and sat next to Victor's left side. "It's like I got my own half boyfriend!"

Cybernetic? Victor looked at Mandy cluelessly. What did that mean, cybernetic? He's never heard of that phrase before. The look on his face made Mandy snicker to himself as he caressed the metal arm.

"Don't mind my rambling, you wouldn't get it."

"I don't. But I've gotten used to it now…" Victor paused. He's heard quite a bit of rambling from this Pink haired boy ever since he's joined him. It never really bothered him, but he found it intriguing with what the boy could think of. "…twinkies, Cars…Phones..?" Victor began to mumble the things he's heard.

"H-hey! You've been listening to me?!" Mandy stopped fondling his arm. "Wait, you've heard about my fantasies then as well! Why are you listening in?"

"Because it's either that or the noises and screams your playthings make…"

"…Oh, Understandable!" Mandy smiled before he continued ogling Victor's arm. "But you know, you can join in too~."

Victor swung his metallic arm, nearly hitting Mandy. He stood up from his sitting position, his large figure completely overshadowing Mandy's. He looked down at the boy with annoyance.

"I'll pass. We should talk about what our next plans are, especially if you managed to let the client's target get away…"

As Victor said that, the figures surrounding them stirred to life. Twitching and shaking in anticipation. Looking towards Mandy, he could see that the pink haired boy's hands glowed with a prismatic light. Mandy looked at Victor with a serious look, his hand gripping the now extended no staff behind his back.

"Do another swing like that, and I'll have these freaks feed on you…" Mandy warned Victor. "Don't ever swing at me like that, Got it?" There was a bitter tone to his voice that Victor heard from time to time while being with him.

Victor immediately backed down, simply squatting as the Figures surrounding them slowly began to stand still once more. The glow Mandy had also faded away as he let go of his Bo staff.

"…Fine, we can talk of our next plans." Mandy remained serious, digging into his skin tight clothing. "Let's start with…This!"

Mandy threw an object at Victor, who watched it hit him on his metallic arm. The clanging noise echoing through the forest.

"…Well?! Pick the damn thing up!" Mandy Yelled at him. "What, you thought it'd magically float up to you?"

Victor looked down and grabbed the object with his right hand. As he looked at it, it was obvious what it was.

Just a plain old rock. A simple gray rock that seemed heavier than what it looked to be.

Victor continued to stare at the rock before slowly lifting his head towards Mandy. "…A rock?"

Mandy clicked his tongue. "Tsk Tsk…not just any sort of rock. It's a tracking rock! Put some mana into it!"

"…"

"…"

"Alright, I'll do it! Sheesh, make me stand up and do a Demonstration…" Mandy awkwardly said before getting up and walking towards Victor. "It's simple. put a bit of mana into it, and it'll send out a pulse to the other piece of it."

Grabbing the rock, Mandy held it in his palm. As he poured mana into it, The rock began to glow a greenish aura. Victor looked in surprise at the glowing object. He recalled Mandy being given an object from the client before they began their hunt, but he didn't think it'd be this rock.

The two watched as the rock then emanated a large pulse, a ring began to form and spread hastily through the forest. As it spreaded, The two lost sight of it. They waited patiently before eventually, a pulsing green light lit up on the rock. The light began to move on its own before correcting itself into a direction. The light was pointing to the north, which was where Shanford was.

"This keeps track of them. Or at least…What direction they're in!" Mandy explained to Victor. "Been using this to try and keep track of the blue haired girl."

"If we can locate them, why not just look for them now?" Victor asked. "Instead of…Sitting here in the forest."

Mandy gave him a disgusted look. "Because, that isn't fun! I want to toy with them for a bit, a little bit of foreplay."

"Does that mean the boy is coming along with the blue haired girl?"

"Yes…And maybe some other guards. There was a blond haired old dude…A hot blonde haired old dude. Seems like the blue haired girl got some help from the king himself."

"Mmm….Troublesome."

Mandy began to toss the rock in his hand. "Eh, more like more fun! And more play time with the boys! Look, we have their location. They have to go through this forest to get to Ozoth, and then we'll strike!" He caught the rock in his hands and began to punch the air. "Ah, ah, ah! Swish, swish! Couple of punches and maybe killing the guards, and a quick and easy capture!"

"Mhm…" Victor could only grumble.

"Hey! I made one hiccup. That's it! This time, I'll make sure we get it!" Mandy folded his arms, looking at Victor. "And…Maybe you can help too."

"Whatever is needed, I'll be there to assist." Victor clenched his metallic arm. "And to make sure you don't falter."

"Pfft, I won't!" As Mandy looked around, he remembered something. "Oh! Forgot! It's feeding time for the boys!" Mandy then clapped his hands.

Suddenly, the looming figures that surrounded them twitched to life once more. It only took one look from Mandy for the figures to realize what he meant as two figures scurried into the darkness of the forest. Within a moment, the sounds of muffled screams and panicked voices grew louder.

"Good thing we caught these guys when they were on their way to Ozoth! Lucky us!" Mandy said, he watched as the two monstrous hauled two bodies right next to the camp. "Looks like we got…A tall man and a dwarf!" Mandy joyfully walked his way to the beaten bodies, he leaned over them and smiled.

Earlier this morning, These two traders were making their way through the trails that led to Ozoth. Unfortunately, they expect to be ambushed. It was a swift attack from Mandy and Victor, easily overpowering the two tradesmen and dragging them back to their homemade campfire, where they waited anxiously under the clutches of these monstrous beings.

The two tradesmen were tied and looked quite beaten, having dirt marks and scratches all over them. The dwarf took the most of the beating, having a black eye and a severe cut on his left arm.

"M-Manuel! Are you alright!" The dwarf croaked. "Ah-you fuckin bastard! I'll kill you all!"

The taller man could only groan as his mouth was covered by a bloodied cloth. Blood ran down his forehead from an attack one of the monstrous beings did to him.

"Kill us?" Mandy seemed offended by the dwarfs' threats. "Says the one who is on the ground, beaten dirty!" Mandy then scooted his wag to the dwarf, kneeling down to grab the short man by the collar of his shirt.

Victor watched as the short man grunted and squirmed under Mandy's grip. As much as the short man was trying to compose himself in the situation, Victor could see from his body language that fear was written all over the dwarfs mind. Mandy continued to smile manically at the dwarf as he spoke.

"No one's going to help you. No one does, no one hears those cries of help.Try all you want with acting tough, I got first hand experience in all that. And trust me, it doesn't work." Mandy then began to frown. "Nobody is going to hear both of you scream as my little babies rip you open for their meal." Mandy then gave the dwarf a gentle slap on his cheek. "But cheer up! You get to die with your companion, isn't that great?"

"Y-your fucking crazy! We didn't do nothing to ya! Your a fucking psycho!" The dwarf spat back at him. Mandy could only smile once more as he raised his hand. The Figures around the campfire twitched even more with anticipation as Mandy began to retreat away from the two men, his hand closed and raised.

"You know…It's funny because I've said the same thing to people in my past. That I've done nothing wrong to them. I begged and screamed for mercy." Mandy said. There was a sinister tone to his voice, one that oozed hatred and anger. "And you know what they did?" And ever so slowly, Mandy opened his palm. The words oozing from him.

"They Let them Eat me."

And in an instant the figures scurried and scrambled their way towards the two men, quickly biting and gnawing at them with hunger. Their screams echoing in the woods as Mandy and Victor watched. Victor showed no emotions towards this while Mandy cackled and smiled.

"So why should I care?!"

The sounds of bones crunching and breaking alongside the groans and screams echoed in the forest. And soon enough, only the noise of wet sloshing and growls replaced it. Mandy continued to hold a smile as he watched.

As the feast continued, Victor turned to Mandy. Trying much to ignore the gnawing and bone crunching. "Perhaps you are a bit mad in the head."

Mandy looked at Victor, his blue eyes locked with the larger man's. "Not the worst I've done."

"…Fair point."

"Now with feast time done…Now we just wait." Mandy looked out into the darkness of the forest. "Wait for the prey to come to us."

A/N: Hm…Troubling and disturbing cliffhanger we have here. I wonder how this will all pan out? Don't worry though, I'll be back with Volume 5 by the end of this month. :) Going on a three week break to write up the 1st chapter for volume 5, which will be big. Hope you enjoy the Final Chapter for Volume 4!