Part 3

The massacre was well known. The killer wasn't even trying to cover it all up. She took all the cut limbs and heads, and displayed them in the centre of the town. That 14 year old girl brutally killed a dozen people. 7 town folks and 5 imperial knights. That incident was called the Bloody Devil Massacre. Blood splattered on the streets. Trail of bloods that could be tracked down from the farm house.

It was said that, the moment Osial Sid was killed, they had unleashed the devil. There was nothing holding her back and they took away the only thing that mattered in her life. She was out there, trying to heal her broken heart and unforgiving still.

"Have you found what you're looking for, boy?" The kind old lady asked. I must've stayed too long, staring at the flowers. I was always lost in my own thoughts.

"No, I'm just admiring the flowers. What are they called?" I replied just to be polite. The flowers had white petals and looked somehow beautiful in my eyes.

"They're chrysanthemums, usually gifted for the dead." She told me.

"I see. Can I have one?" I felt like this flower would be suitable as a gift. Maybe she would be less gloomy.

"Sure. Because you're so polite, I'll give you one more, on the house." She was kind. A rare one. I just nodded with a small smile.

With the flowers in hand, I returned to the lair. It appeared like a vast forest from the outside but inside, there was a castle surrounded by lava. I walked briskly along the only bridge toward the dark castle. The Sky was darker than usual. I knew the reason. She wouldn't be at her usual study chamber but at the underground chamber again. The day where she was the saddest.

"I've come to pay my respect." I announced when I entered the chamber. She was kneeling in front of a grave.

She didn't say anything. Her eyes were hollow as she stared at the tombstone. I placed the flowers delicately in front of the grave and lowered my head, placing a hand on my chest. There was a name carved on it 'Osial Sid'.

"Prepare the troop. When the sun rises again, we'll go to Darmac." She commanded.

"As you wish, master." I replied and turned away to leave.

"Did you go to the town again?" She asked suddenly.

"Yes, master. I purchased the flowers while I was there."

"What are they called?"

"Chrysanthemum, flowers for the dead."

"I see."

I left afterwards. I knew she wanted to be alone for the day. It was even a miracle she didn't kill me when I disturbed her solidarity time in the chamber. It was probably because I brought the flowers. At least she was merciful this time.

"Did you go to see Master?" Marr asked me when I entered the hall. I nodded. She gasped. "And you left the chamber unscathed?!"

"Yes."

"How?" Dilor questioned.

"I brought flowers."

"Huh, I guess that put her in a better mood." Weis commented as she sat down on the leather armchair.

Marr, Dilor, Weis and I were the generals. We served the same master and loyally did whatever she wished. 10 years ago, she told us that we would destroy the world. We didn't question that goal, we followed her. She gave us power and servants to do our bidding and the next target was going to be Darmac.

"Prepare the troops. When the sun rises, we'll be heading to Darmac." I told them.

"Darmac huh? Isn't that the country of magic or so they said." Dilor mused.

"And we're going straight to destroy a strong country. That's just like master's style." Weis grinned wickedly. She was always enthusiastic when it was about battle. Something I could never understand.

"I'll be going to prepare my troop." I excused myself and left the room.

Master entrusted me to handle the dragon troop. The dragons listened well to me compared to the others. Mostly because I could speak their language. An ancient language that supposed to die alongside its native speakers a long time ago. They were called Dragon Tamer. Maybe, I shared some of their blood. I was never sure of my origin after all.

I arrived at the courtyard, housing at least 200 dragons. Most of them were sleeping and resting. They noticed me as soon as stepped into the courtyard. Eyes were focusing on me. Dragons were gigantic creatures. I was only like a size of a cat compared to a full adult dragon.

"Be prepare. We're moving at sunrise. Our destination is Darmac." I announced. They raised to their feet, getting ready to depart. "Warm up for a long flight soon."

I walked back to where I came from. I needed to prepare my battle outfit. Master gave each general a mask to hide our face. She must've never said the purpose of the mask but I could guess. Should she died and her goal unfulfilled, we, the generals would still able to start over because no one knew our identity. It was thoughtful of her.

"The giants are a bunch of brats!" Dilor complained loudly, scowling deeply. He was in charge of the giants troop. From what I heard, giants were headstrong and caused a mess quite often.

"At least you got them ready, right?" Marr asked, squinting her eyes at him.

"What do you take me for? Of course. After burning several asses, they got the message and on standby." Dilor scoffed.

"Good, everyone ready." Weis entered the room wearing her mask. It was used to be white but the bloodshed in the battlefield made it crimson red. She liked it that way.

Marr's mask was green. Dilor's was blue and mine was black. We were never allowed to take them off when we were on battlefield. There used to be 5 of us. Erto was slain by master for disobeying this rule. At the heat of battle, he took off his yellow mask, revealing his face to the enemies. Master was enraged and killed him mercilessly. It was a lesson for the remainder of us.

"Let's gather everyone at the front and wait for master." Weis said. We nodded and left to order our own troops.

Dragons, giants, lesser demons and supreme tarantulas were under each command of generals. Erto used to command the higher demons but when he was dead, it was taken over by master herself. We had 5 different troops under our command to execute a total massacre of a country.

All 5 troops gathered at the huge clearing in front of the bridge. The 4 of us generals stood before them, patiently waiting for master and also the sunrise. We didn't say anything to each other. It wasn't completely silent either. Growls, whispers, sound of metal, pinchers and stompings sounded. The troops were a restless bunch, eager to spill blood and claim lives.

A few hours later, the first light of the sun peeked through the horizon. It was time to leave. Master suddenly appeared in front of us. Her face was stoic as usual. Her red eyes held no emotions, it was cold and empty. A scary sight of her enemies. The moment she appeared, silent engulfed our surroundings. No one dared to make a noise.

"I'll teleport everyone except for the dragon troops to Darmac." She announced. A usual tactic. She turned to look at me. "Owel, lead your troop to Darmac and arrived within 3 hours. Be on time."

"Understood, master." I lowered my head as I received the order.

"The rest of you, kill anything and destroy everything on your sight the moment we arrived at Darmac!"She commanded, emitting such strong bloodlust that was spreading to all of us.

Roars and yells were heard from all of the troops. Marr, Dilor and Weis stood together with the troops and got themselves ready for the teleportation. A giant portal emerged from beneath them and all of them disappeared in an instant, leaving me and my dragon troops.

"Let's move! We have 3 hours to arrive at Darmac!" I shouted and jumped to ride on my own personal dragon, Norsee. He was a fire breathing dragon,vicious and merciless.

All of us flew to the sky, heading to Darmac. Master's strategy was simple. She usually liked to surround our enemies at all sides. Every troops would be dispatched at different sides, leaving the enemies in a total despair, stuck in the middle while attacks were on all sides with no escape. And the dragon troop would come later and attacked from right in the middle from the air. A surprise attack from above. It was merciless but effectively for total destruction.

3 hours passed by swiftly and soon enough I could see the city of Darmac in peril. Black smokes in the air, clashed of weapons, blood, violence, terrors and deaths. Dragon descended from above, an unexpected attack that turned the battle into deadlier hell. Fire, ice, lightning, earth were mixed into the chaos,

"Trample on everything." I ordered my troop and they went on a total predators mode, without restraints. It was a horrid sight.

Amidst all of the chaos, stood a figure with red eyes, observing the destruction without any remorse or guilt. If anything Master looked serene in this situation. It was like another objective was done among her lists of plan toward the ultimate goal.

'Master, you're the biggest hater of the world.' I thought.

"Curse you demon queen! I shall take you on even if it cost my life!" Someone stood bravely before master, challenging her to battle. Foolish human.

"I have no time to entertain a small insect like you." Master spoke coldly.

The human was actually brimming with high magical prowess. It was rare. His magic was actually on par with an Arch demon. He must be the supreme mage of Darmac. The one that was blessed by the gods to cleanse the evil. Still, he was just like a dirt under master's shoes. Master was even more powerful than he was. No one was left alive once master unleashed her power. She was always reserved but with the recent death anniversary of someone dear to her, she was not in a good mood.

The mage made his first attack. Foolish. Master swatted the fire spell with only a swift move of her index finger. The difference in power was obvious. The mage realised that based on how his face paled that instant. How pitiful.

Master moved in a speed that even I wasn't able to comprehend. With a blink of an eye, she had the mage's limbs detached from his body. He crumpled to the ground on his own pool of blood. The reaction was slow but then he screamed in agony. Master enjoyed slow death of her enemy. Let them bask in excruciating pain before they died. She healed him and forced him to experience painful torture. Again and again. She was toying with him. Breaking him apart, mentally and physically. Always so merciless.

A projectile was directed at my direction, with the sole purpose of taking me out. I easily dodged it and looked at the direction where it came from. I could see a group of magicians in a cover of a building was forming a magic cannon.

"Norsee, feeding time." I murmured. Norsee got the message and flew toward their direction, hungry look in his eyes.

"Waaarghhhh!! No!!" They screamed as Norsee tore through the building, greedily snapping his mouth at their flesh.

I jumped off from his back, letting him feast on the group of magicians. I landed on the ground, walking through the debris. A common sight of a fallen kingdom when master decided to strike. It had been 5 years since the first attack Master made. The first kingdom that fell was Darius. The city of knights and righteousness. Unprepared and it happened in an instant, Darius fell into ruins and no one in that kingdom was spared. I spotted the first smile on master's face when the great massacre was over. She destroyed the kingdom where Osial had been born in. A kingdom which the king ordered to kill Osial. A great mistake humanity had ever done.

My sharp ears picked up a small whimpering of a child from the destroyed house. I walked toward the sound. I found a small girl was sobbing in front of a woman. A dead woman. Bloods were everywhere. A tragic scene which a child just lost her mother. The girl looked up and saw me. Her eyes widened in fear. She shivered violently, backing away slowly. There were blood on her hands, not her own and dirts all around her body. I took a step closer toward her. A painless death would be the least I can do for her.

I stopped in my track when I spotted a mark on her neck. A rare mark indeed. Another set of footsteps came toward my direction. I knew who that was. Weis appeared, covered in blood. She was in her happiest moment. In battle, spilling bloods and taking lives.

"Hesitating to take child's life?" She taunted.

"A Pact's child." I informed her. Her eyes widened, surprised. She gazed at the girl and immediately spotted the mark on her neck.

"What the hell is this kingdom is up to? Hahahaha!" Weis laughed loudly. "Bring her to master."

"Understood." I swiftly picked up the trembling child and hauled her on my shoulder.

"We might have a new ally or a new sacrifice. Either way, I can't wait to see what master will decide." Weis smirked. I could understand her excitement. I left with the girl and heading toward master's location.

"What is it, Owel? Don't you see I'm busy?" Master was still not done tormenting the foolish mage. I wasn't sure how many times she healed and hurt him. But I could already see his despair. He was begging her to kill him.

"Forgive me, master. I come to present you this." I dropped the child to the ground. Master turned around and looked at the girl.

"A Pact's child.." She said and looked back at the mage. "This is what Darmac is up to?"

"That.. That.." He stuttered. He lost his ability to speak.

"You lot despised demons and boasting about your cause to fight the darkness. And what's this? You lot is colluding with this." She sneered. He trembled in fear. She looked back at me. "Bring this insect to Marr. She'll know what to do with him. Make sure he doesn't die that quickly."

"As you wish, master." I nodded and took the mage by his arm and roughly dragged him away from the place. He didn't even bother to resist. He had given up the will to fight.

"Please… please just kill me.." He pleaded.

I didn't say anything. Soon, we arrived at Marr's location. She was busy coordinating her army of tarantulas tearing apart every limbs of the people she had captured. Marr was fond of tortures. It was exhilarating for her to hear screams and pains on others. She noticed me so easily and her eyes darted at the man I dragged behind me.

"Oho? Another toy for me?" She asked gleefully.

"Master sent him to you. Make sure his death is slow." I answered. She was elated.

"Oh.. Master is so generous! Come, give it to me." She grinned widely. I threw the poor mage to her. He was shouting, begging her to kill him. Marr would know what to do. I left them behind.

A Pact's child. A child that was born through a pact made with one of the Seven Princes of Hell. Otherwise known as the Seven Deadly Sins. A Pact's child would enherit the destructive nature of one of the Seven. The pact that required a massive amount of sacrifices in exchange for that child. A Pact's child was usually made to be a destructive weapon. They were strong and deadly. This ritual was forbidden. Anyone that practiced was considered evil. Darmac, the said to be a kingdom that protected by the gods was actually conducting this forbidden ritual. They were colluding with demons all along despite their hostility towards them. How ironic.

"Had your fun?" I asked as a greeting. Dilor looked at my way and grinned widely under his mask.

"Oh, you should've come early. I might save some for you." He sniggered. His fists were covered in blood. They were still fresh.

"A shame." I muttered but didn't even really mean it. I looked at the mess he had done.

Dilor always smashed his enemies until they were beyond recognisable. He smashed their head to smithereens and followed by other parts of their body. He loved using his fists to destroy them. He was merciless and would make sure none of his enemies alive nor in perfect shape. Anyone else that witnessed his aftermath would be traumatised for a lifetime. None of the bodies could be distinguished anymore.

"My dragons will clean up the mess." I told him.

"Oh please do. The feast is all yours." He said dramatically.

I called some of the dragons and they were delighted to clean up the pile of meats. Dilor left to check on his giants troop that was rampaging in the distance. I watched the dragon ate viciously. The battle would soon come to a conclusion. Our invasion this time was quicker than usual. Probably because Master was not in a good mood. She was more brutal when she wasn't in a good mood. Darmac was unlucky. They were destroyed during master's worst mood.

"Check everything, make sure no pests are left alive." I commanded the dragons. They worked diligently, tracking down anyone that was still hiding. When they found them, it was meal time and some of them became playthings.

The sound of battle subsided. The once glorious kingdom turned into a silent ruins. Night fell and Darmac was no more. I walked along the ruins, observing the destruction and battle they all went through. I usually let the dragons execute the battle. I didn't really directly involved in the battle. I preferred to observe. Unlike others, I hardly find any joy in this world. Sometimes, I didn't share the joy my allies had in battlefield.

We gathered with Master and reported our success that we demolished everything to her. Master was satisfied with our work. The girl stuck to her side. We were waiting for master's decision about the child.

"As you all can see, this is a Pact's child." Master started, pointing at the girl. She was looking down on the ground the whole time. Unable to make eye contact with anyone. "She's Greed's child."

"I decided to keep her. She'll be great asset for our future invasion." Master finalised. We didn't dare to object her decision. We always obeyed her no matter what. "Make sure to keep her alive. Train and raise her well."