Whispers in the dark
Pawn stared at the demonic lure for a long moment, the same wicked smile on her face. Upon noticing her reflection in the shards her handheld mirror, however, the 'smile' faded.
She slowly lowered her body back into her medicinal bath, rested her head in the rim of her washbasin and closed her eyes.
"It's only been a single day..." she muttered.
Pawn lay there motionless for several seconds, thinking of various things, desperately pondering why things had gone south so quickly.
But there was only three solutions that came to mind, coincidence, someone scheming against her, or something much, much worse.
"Was Lumin right about the demons?" The disheartened celestial considered absentmindedly, "and about me, as well?"
She bit down, hard, on her lower lip, before taking one last look at the lure which the young pride demon had used in his attempt to kill her.
"Tomorrow..." she said coldly, withdrawing the bottle of alcohol she had received the day prior from her inventory as she did so.
Pawn silently uncorked the bottle...
Little did she know, however, that her previous, crestfallen words, meant only for herself, had already decided the male pride demon's fate.
Hours later, in a dark alley near Pawn's inn...
The young pride demon who had deceived Pawn stood alone under the alley's only source of light, a small magic-powered lamp.
His back was against a brick wall and he was staring with trepidation into the thick darkness which surrounded him on almost all sides.
His harem's bodies lay on the ground all around him, each still wielding the daggers they had held in their final moments, before they had all spontaneously slit their own throats without any prior notice.
"W-what's going on?" He stuttered, "W-who's responsible for this!?"
No answer.
He glared into the darkness.
"Do you have any idea who I am!?" He barked.
Again, their was no reply.
"Speak!" He ordered, his fear slowly becoming overwhelmed by anger.
This time, their was a reply.
"Protect her," said a female voice in a hushed emotionless tone.
The man immediately launched a throwing knife from within his sleeve towards the apparent source of the voice.
"If she ever comes back," the voice continued unperturbed, from a different place in the darkness.
He threw two more blades.
"If she ever returns," added the voice, again, from a different place in the darkness.
The pride demon gritted and cursed through his teeth.
"What are you talking about, you coward!?" He spat, "if your only going to speak in riddles, you may as well remain silent!"
The whispers continued regardless, proceeding to alter their origin from one moment to the next.
"Protect her."
"That's what mama said."
"That's what she told us."
"It was the last thing she said..."
"You made us lie to her!" The voice screamed from two places at once, and a brief silence followed.
The pride demon pressed himself as close as possible to the wall which existed at his back, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.
"W-what are you talk-?" The man began, however, his mouth suddenly refused to obey him.
The voices continued, even more hushed than before.
"We were watching through the bracer."
"It showed us what you did."
"You. Made. Us. Watch."
"Thankfully she survived."
"Just barely."
"Though her wings are now broken."
"Tattered and torn."
It was then that the pride demon realized who it was that they were talking about. Realizing he had regained the ability to speak, he did so.
"You mean that thing pretending to be a demon!?" He screamed, "I saw her wings as she tried to flee! That foolish celestial wh-!?"
"Silence!" Hissed the voice, as pressure pushed against the man's throat, forcing him to obey.
The man, sensing his death approaching, made a dash into the darkness towards where the alley connected to the main street. Or at least he tried to.
One of the former members of his harem was gripping onto his leg, preventing him from moving.
"The penalty is death," a voice whispered from her lips.
The others then did the same, as well, each crawling towards him and then gripping onto one of his four limbs as they chanted the phase over and over like a mantra.
He screamed in fear as they restrained him.
"No. No. No," he repeated, almost delirious.
"M-my father is the city lord, I-I can get you anything though him!" He begged, "Just name it and I'll get it for you! Just name it!"
It then continued in a much harsher tone, and speaking faster than it ever had.
"She was ours! Yet you tried to take her!"
"The penalty is death!"
The light above the man dimmed, and the darkness grew closer, as did the voice.
"She was perfect! Yet you changed her!"
"The penalty is death!"
The light dimmed once more, and again the voice grew closer.
The whispers went silent for a long moment. Then the light finally flickered out.
As the male pride demon's life came to an end, the whispers gave him their answer.
"You put doubt in her heart," said the voice in a solemn tone.
"The penalty is death."