The sound of the thunder was the only noise that was heard louder than the horrifying screams of the men slain by the blade.
It was a graveyard in the 'Nameless' City - An abandoned city which was once allocated to carry out for assassins to host their private functions like weddings, parties and funerals. There under the heavy rain, holding her gravely injured father on her lap, Diana was astounded by what she saw. The army of hundred assassins who almost succeeded in defeating the great vampire lord, Edward Jones, failed miserably because of one man.
Under the rain, Diana saw the man struggling to stand, bleeding from the dozens of cuts he endured from the battle. His black suit, for the supposed occasion, turned pale from the thick splashes of blood it got drenched in.
With no one around to arrive for their help or to assist the 'man', Diana was saddened, shocked and disgusted by the fact that it was 'him' out of everyone, who saved her. She was too tired to form sentences, but she still managed to utter one word.
"Yohan..." she muttered in a whispery tone while her eyelids struggled to stay still. Yohan, the man, turned back to her. He could hear the hundred more men rushing to him from a distance. His eyes screamed 'focused'.
"Just manage for a few minutes, Ma'am... We're going home soon," saying the words from his severely injured vocal cords, he again picked up his blood-stained, cracked Katana, and walked forward to continue his battle, which changed the 'Underworld' drastically as they knew it.
That night, a total of five hundred elite assassins were killed and three hundred 'A' grade assassins were left handicapped by a single man who was in fact, a mere 'Human' working as nothing but a low-level clerk for the Vampire clan.
PRESENT--
Yohan could feel the haunting eyes of Diana glued on him, as he awkwardly tried to remain calm amidst the constant glare. It was understandable since it was nearly six years since he had met his ex-fiancee and he don't know how to initiate a talk or have a topic in hand to even talk.
In a car, with just them in the backseat, Diana was waiting for Yohan to say something while remaining silent throughout. She was disappointed and enraged by the fact that Yohan not only refused to accept her proposal to join her side in protecting the underworld but also refused to ask for help in protecting Ramika.
"If me joining the underworld again is the requirement... then I don't need your help in protecting her. I can manage this on my own..."
The words he spoke in front of her guards, and her pet judges bruised Diana's ego a lot. But she also felt a sharp chill on her bone, as she saw a glimpse of the monster she saw that fateful night back six years ago.
"You lied to the authority, lied to the trainers, lied to my father, made a mockery out of the underworld... Made a mockery out of me—"
"It was just a petty thought... I was just greedy..."
"Greedy of what?" Diana's question met with a grief-stricken stare from Yohan. He sadly smiled, stammering to talk.
"I... I wanted you guys to see me in a different light. Something I hoped you may like... Guess, no one did," Yohan chuckled, smiling brightly, but his dull eyes showed what he was feeling inside - Pain. His constantly avoiding eyes painted the pain he felt for Diana to catch a glimpse.
"Maybe you could have shown the real 'you'. The monster you unleashed that day..." Diana said with a frown as she witnessed a grim look on Yohan's face.
"The monster you unleashed wreaked havoc in the underworld even after you left... It flipped the table, and the rumble was catastrophic for the people in power to handle. If it was a little earlier, then as a clan we could have benefitted a lot."
Sooner she said, she felt a piercing glare from Yohan.
"I am merely a human, unlike you and your kind. A human child who had nothing to do in the world of darkness. But I was indebted to your father, the emperor... So, I merely served the emperor... The Lord who raised me and cared for me. And when he was no more, what was left for me to even stay?"
Diana's blue eyes widened as she was reminded of 'that' day immediately after hearing Yohan.
It was a gloomy evening. Standing before her father's grave, she saw the powerful men from every corner of the earth gathered, paying their last respects. But she could hear the silent giggles and whispers celebrating her father's death. She wanted to rip their heads off, but she felt she had something at that moment to protect, and that thought calmed her down.
But her world came crashing down when she saw the badge she once gave to certain someone, back on her palm.
"I'm leaving, ma'am... Thanks for everything," he said.
Diana never knew that would be the last time she would see his 'real' eyes before he shielded them with a pair of sunglasses permanently.
It felt like it was yesterday for her. The moist eyes, and the plastic smile on Yohan when he bid goodbye haunted her for years. And here he was, sitting next to her, but not even willing to face her side.
"Do you think you can handle the 'Order', Yon?"
"Hmm?" Yohan asked, surprised, as he was distracted for a few seconds.
"Tch! Do you think you can handle it? The underworld will send hordes of assassins after you... You need to pick a side."
"I don't... And even if I get forced to, it won't be yours—"
"Yon! Literally we are your home... I am your betrothed! what else do you need?"
"You *were* my betrothed. Not anymore..."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it... I am saying, if you need to pick a side, we are the natural choice for you..."
With flared-up eyes, Yohan turned towards Diana. The restraint to not show his anger was visible through his dead eyes.
"I think we are done... Drop me off. I'll walk on my own."
Diana's lips twitched and she sighed deeply as she moved her face away from Yohan. She maintained her royal posture but her eyes were eager for something; they craved something.
"Sure... And what about the girl?"
"Drop her off at the college. She'll walk herself to the hostel."
Hearing Yohan's dead-set replies, Diana snapped her fingers at her driver who kicked the brakes. Yohan stepped out and proceeded to walk away without even bothering to turn back at Diana and say anything. But Diana did.
"The war will force you, Yon... You will be forced to pick a side!"
*THUD!* she shut the door, waving her fingers as she tried to calm herself down. But a smirk escaped from her lips.
"Ahhh... I really wanted to see his face... The face he makes when he lost everything..."
--
Walking all alone on the deserted road, Yohan was processing his thoughts recalling all the things Diana discussed with him.
"A war, huh? War among the clans... Tch! Why can't they just zip it up and live in peace..." he muttered to himself, while also recalling Diana's words.
'The Clans are at war with each other, itching to claim the bigger power... The power to outgrow the influence of the Elders on the Underworld. When that happens, the sacred rules and code of conduct will be tossed to the wind...
'The existence of the Underworld might come into the light and the humans will be endangered as the residents of the Underworld are already getting tired of the servant-master roleplay they were being forced to play... When the tiredness turns into frustration, then only god can save humanity.'
The words and the gravity they held, were crystal clear to Yohan, but could not even care the least. It was not like he had any attachments to humans nor concerned about the Underworld. He was treated as shit by both sides; neglected and left to die by the humans, and raised and moulded by the Underworld to kill.
With these thoughts running rampant in his mind, he suddenly felt startled, as his senses picked up a presence. A presence of a female, hiding behind the shadows.
It was already past midnight and the shops, and restaurants were closed nearby, with the flickering streetlight being the only source of light at the moment. Yohan calmly walked to the alleyway and stood there, waiting.
Faint footsteps on the muddy ground were heard. And Yohan turned his back to see a girl with glasses and dressed in a school uniform walking towards his side.
"It is an honour to meet you, Sir..." she meekly spoke, with her chin dropped to the ground in respect. In the faint light, Yohan could guess who the girl was, but he was a little shocked.
"Jeez... You're the girl who was hanging around with Ramika, right? what's your name?"
The girl lifted her head up and faced Yohan dead straight.
"It's Sana, sir... And I politely request you to drop your guard... otherwise, it might get nasty when I kill you..."