Clopping footsteps rapidly descended down an empty alley. A woman looks back for her pursuers with fearful eyes. Her high heels clacked loudly on the cobblestone street as she trotted through the narrow winding alleyway. Soon she reaches an intersecting alley and stops. The casually dressed woman frantically searches around, her dark hair whipped around wildly as she desperately tried to decide which way to go. Heavy footfalls rapidly approach from behind her. Driven by fear, the woman darts down the intersecting alleyway, hoping to lose who or whatever's chasing her. Her new path of escape is poorly lit and unlike the alley she just left, there were no twists and turns. But she didn't care. She just wanted to get away.
The woman soon stops suddenly. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at what barred her path. The alleyway was a dead end. Her mind was too racked with fear to process that she can go no further. The woman whirls around to return the way she came but she stops before she even starts. Two creatures stood just a few feet away from her. As they walk toward her, another pair of creatures emerges from the darkness. The woman slowly inches back, putting her arms in front of her as if to put up a wall between herself and the creatures. She shudders from the fear welling up inside her even more.
The creatures were gangly and grotesque with skin a black as night, shining red eyes and razor sharp teeth. Their bodies bulged with muscle despite their lanky appearance. Walking on all fours, the creatures slowly approach the woman, their claws scraping the cobblestone with each step. More creatures soon emerge from the darkness and methodically converge on the woman like hungry wolves.
The woman waited for her impending demise. Her once wonderful evening has turned into a horrific nightmare. It was just two hours ago when she met a nice gentleman at the hotel she was staying at. The man was young and handsome. He was a local who lived just outside the brightly lit city. After a short tour and a long, engaging dinner, the woman’s suave date invited her back to his house which she kindly accepted. She didn’t know that such an innocent gesture would turn into horrendous experience. The only solace the woman can take is that she is currently in far better shape than her date who was the creatures’ first victim, kicking off her adventurous romp thru dark alleys to escape the same grisly fate. She can feel the nearest creature’s hot breath caress her legs. She scans her wide frightened eyes across the dozen or so creatures. Then she closes them, waiting for her end.
“Now this isn’t fair,” a casual voice breaks the silence.
The creatures turn to look at the newcomer. The woman opens her eyes and looks towards the beginning of the alley. A man stepped out of the darkness. He had silver hair and wore a striking red trench coat. On his back, he had a massive sword that is as long as he is tall. The man in red coolly strolled up to the creatures. He shines his eyes across them. There is no fear in those eyes. “A dozen demons ganging up on one lady; you’re overwhelming the poor girl,” said the man in red. “I came across your handiwork back there. I bet you didn’t even get that guy’s name.” The demons step from the man in red’s path as he strolled up to the woman. They seem to revere this man. The demon closest to the woman hesitates, but a stern look from the man in red has it kindly step aside.
The woman was at odds. She didn’t know what to make of this mysterious stranger. The way the demons reacted made her believe that he has some sort of command over them. However, upon closer examination, she noticed a few of them seemingly to be cowering. Her suspicions are true. The man in red did have command over the demons, but it wasn’t out of reverence. It is fear. The demons feared this man.
“Hey, you were probably having a wonderful evening before all of this, weren’t you?” the man in red said casually. The woman didn’t know how to react let alone what to say. The man in red holds up a hand and says, “This is the part where you don’t ask questions. You’re just happy to see another handsome face and you want this to be all over. Don’t worry about them. Their bark is worse than their bite…sometimes.” The woman was not in the mood for comedy. She just wanted to get out the alley and forget this night ever happened. “I see you want outta here so all you got to do is stay to the right and you’ll be fine. Trust me, you don’t want to go to the left unless you have a really strong stomach,” said the man in red.
The woman allows her unorthodox savior to lead her past the group of demons. A couple of them snap at her but they are put into their place by a look the man in red gives them to quiet a barking dog. Once she safely past, the woman heads down the alley staying to right as the man in red instructed. She dare not go to the left, for fear of finding what exactly the demons did to her date.
“When you get home just take a hot bath and relax, you’ll be fine,” the man in red called to the woman. When the woman was out of sight, he turns his attention to the demons. By now, their number has doubled. They start to lose their fear and begin converging on the man in red. He just flashes a cheeky grin. “So you called in reinforcements, eh? You obviously forgot who you’re dealing with,” the man in red says as he draws the massive sword from his back and jams the tip into the ground. He removes two pistols from their holster strapped to his thighs and crosses his arms with his legs spread apart. He casts a steely gaze over the hilt of his sword. The demons look at the man’s imposing stance with familiarity. “Now you know don’cha? Go on, who’s your daddy?”
Soon, amidst the growling and other animalistic noise, a name slowly began to emerge from the crowd. “DAAAANNNNTEE.”
The demons voices begin to overlap as they seem to be delivering a message to the man in red.
“SOOONNN OF SPAAARRRDAA.”
“TRRRAAAAITOOORRROOUS BLLOOOD.”
“KIILLLLL.”
“KIIILLLL THHHEE TRRAAAIIITORR.”
“KIIILLL DAAANNNTEEE, SSOOONNN OF SPAAARRRDAA!”
“Jackpot,” says Dante.
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