It didn't take too long for the crowd's disgust to turn into outrage. They were done with Lucine's shit. His scummy fighting had beaten everyone who had tried to defeat him. They had finally had enough of some slave sitting at the top of the hierarchy. The idiot who stood on Gemu's head, in such a state that it was surprising that his legs could even support himself. He didn't deserve to win that battle.
The crowd closed in on him, a pack of animals to finish him off. The smile on Lucine's face faded as he looked around at everyone approaching him.
"So this is how you play." He scowled, staggering backwards while his legs shook under his weight. "Filthy animals. Can't you fight me on fair terms?"
A voice from the crowd shouted over the pouring rain. "Servums like you don't deserve fair terms!"
His scowl darkened and gritted his teeth, but he could see no way out of this. People who wanted to kill him surrounded him on all sides. He was injured in so many different places that he couldn't fight or fly. His only option now was to grovel on the floor and ask that they weren't too hard on him. But there was no way Lucine Fastus would lower himself to anyone-
He stumbled and fell to the muddy floor, collapsing alongside Gemu to the laughter of the crowd. Looks like everything was trying to making him bend.
"Fucking cunt. At the mud where he belongs."
He didn't want to bend, but did he really have enough strength to fight it? His breathing was ragged and felt hot on his skin. His limbs were on fire. He shook incessantly. He was covered in bruises and blood. He wanted to collapse and to just fall asleep. He wanted it to stop…
So why didn't it stop. Why did it hurt so much? Why was he here in the first place, in the body of a monster in a world of animals?
His head drifted upwards, his eyes searching for some sort of hope. If Fugo could just come and save him…He would be able to fly him out of here.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Despair threatened to take control, his mind started to fail. Confidence can only take you so far. Pride can only fuel you for so long.
He had changed ever since he had been in this body, no matter how hard he tried to deny it. The old Lucine would never have stomped someone unconscious. His eyes darted towards the still body of Gemu on the floor, and a sick feeling rose in his stomach. Why did he do that? Why did he put someone else in such a shameful position? Why did he strip him of his pride?
He was turning into one of them.
A strange feeling rose up inside of him, one that he had never had to deal with before, one born of a suffering that made him question his own identity, his own morals, his own pride.
He staggered to his feet, spitting out blood. His face, hidden by his wet hair, was downcast. He was shaking.
"I can't take it anymore" His voice was barely above a whisper
"Aww, look at him! The slave can't take it anymore? What're you gonna do, scream?" They guffawed as he shook even more intensely.
An emotion intensified by the demon body he inhabited, a new monster that had just hatched out of its egg. A monster born of confusion, pain, hatred, pressure and a frantic will to escape.
He was terrified.
He lifted his head up.
Lucine's golden eyes glowed gleefully as he shook in laughter.
Their looks of satisfaction quickly turned into ones of disbelief at Lucine's response, eyes wide at seeing him laugh with such jubilation.
The shock had popped their bubble of safety. His laughter sent ripples of unease through the crowd. It was tipped with malice and a dangerous edge that made everyone hesitate before they spoke out against him. Worry flickered across their faces at the cackles that sounded over the pouring rain.
One thing he had seen demonstrated in all sorts of places was that demons were a lot more emotional than humans. They were irrational, unreasonable, and it wasn't often that they would think things through. Provoking them here would definitely lead to them gang-fucking the shit out of him. But right now he couldn't care for any of that. He felt disconnected from everything, as if he were just a spectator in his own body. He was too tired to keep to the rules and morals he kept on himself in the human world. Maybe it was alright to succumb to your demon every once in a while...
He flicked the hair out his face, eyes glowing in amusement. "What's wrong?" He feebly attempted to lift up his arm, before it dropped and swung limply at his arm "I'm right here.Hey, hey, I'm an easy target right? Broken bones and all, I can't even run if I wanted to."
No one moved an inch.
"Huh? What's this? You guys seem shocked! God, I wonder why." He began cackling again, leaving everyone else in a stunned silence.
"Wait, did you really think I was gonna cower and beg for forgiveness? Aw, looks like I've failed your expectations. The truth is…"
His eyes widened, shining in complete and utter ecstasy, his maniacal grin reaching across his entire face.
"It doesn't matter how many of you there are, ten, fifty, a hundred, or a thousand. Ants will always be ants"
He took a breath in. He was going to die, wasn't he?
"AND I'LL CRUSH YOU ALL LIKE THE ANTS YOU ARE!"
The crowd roared, furious that it was possible for one person to be this fucking dumb.
He screamed over the noise. "So, any volunteers?"
"I volunteer." A handsome, tall figure stepped out of the crowd, towards Lucine. His grey eyes drifted over him, his long nose upturned in disgust. "You aren't in any position to be laughing. Not in the state that Gemu left you in."
His wings unfolded, spraying water in all directions. His grey eyes bore into Lucine. "I don't care about your reputation, Lucine Fastus. Lesser men would be scared of you, but me? I'll beat the shit out of you regardless."
"Absolutely terrifying." Lucine scoffed. "Speaking like some fucking elderly posh knight or some shit, shut the fuck up."
"Karent, you sure you wanna take him? I'm 90% sure the bitch's gone insane!" A voice called out from the crowd.
Huh? Lucine didn't recognize anyone called Karent. As far as he knew, there wasn't anyone called that in the human world.
Karent stepped forward, throwing off his blazer. He untied the his hair bun and let his black hair trail down to his waist.
"I'll be fine with him. This bastard's just a Lekam, isn't he?" He smirked "I've dealt with plenty of them before."
What the hell was a Lekam? Was it some sort of insult?
"Dealt with plenty of us before? Don't make me laugh."
That voice! Surely it couldn't be…
Lucine whipped around and saw his knight in white armor standing there. The beautiful hair from the human world had been bleached into a disgusting white that blended in with her white uniform. Her hazelnut brown eyes had been degraded to a dull yellow. Her demon tail swayed gently behind her as the rain flattened her hair, further exposing her short, sharp horns.
She was a monster now, but their bond still remained. Lucina was still his sister after all.
"Oh, my sweet sister! I hate to ask but-" He winced as his injuries throbbed ."-we sorta have a problem here, so mind helping me out a bit?"
Her face was struck with shock for a second as she surveyed his injuries properly, but her face quickly turned mask-like. Nevertheless, her eyes began to glow and her tail started bouncing up and down.
"We don't have a problem. You have a problem. I have an idiot that needs me to bail his reckless ass every time he screws up." She sighed. "Well, I am the older sibling after all. It's my job to protect my fragile little brother."
Karent rolled his eyes. "What is this, a Lekam reunion or something? Next thing you know, you're gonna have Xena and the rest of you bitches joining you here."
Lucina gritted her teeth, her fists tightening as her dull yellow eyes glowed even fiercely.
"What did you say?"
He leered at her. "Lekam. That's what I said. And what are you gonna do about-"
A flash of white and yellow darted forward, sweeping Karent's legs away from underneath him and toppling him over. Lucina stood over him, wiping her shoe in the mud, lathering it with filth. Her eyes glowed ominously as she looked down on him.
"H-hey, you bitch. Get back! I don't wanna be near any Lek-"
She lashed out at his face with her foot, shoving her filthy shoe inside of his mouth.
Everyone looked in a mix of astonishment and disgust as she mercilessly wriggled her shoe inside of his mouth, making sure the mud filled every part of it.
"Your mouth should be clean now." Her eyes smoldered, looking down at him in distaste. "That mud was cleaner than the shit that was coming out of your mouth."
She tied her hair up in a pony tail, her tail swaying like a snake behind her back.
"Tch. First you people injure my little brother, and then you try to take me on. You're brave, I'll give you that."
She glanced over at Lucine, her scowl darkening.
"Hey, hey, let me tell you something." Her eyes narrowed, ablaze with fury and injured pride. "You can see us as slaves, look down on us, and say whatever the fuck you want behind my back. But if any of you get ballsy enough to do anything to any of us, I'll send you to heaven."
She lifted her foot up again, readying to stomp on Karent.
"Just make sure you tell them who sent you."