Luci stared down at Brianna, lying motionless at his feet. Her body was marred by the battle they had just survived, cuts and bruises marking her pale skin. Blood still seeped from the gash on her forehead, slowly pooling beneath her. For a fleeting moment, Luci considered leaving her there—after all, she had been nothing but a burden, he just want to use her to get the holy water . His mind toyed with the idea of simply walking away, abandoning her to whatever fate awaited her in this desolate place.
"Should I carry her back to the kingdom for medical treatment, or should I let her die?" His voice echoed through the cavern, hollow and emotionless. The sound bounced off the cold stone walls, offering no answer in retLuci took a step away from her, his crimson eyes narrowing as he surveyed the darkening cave. He could already feel the cool evening air creeping in through the narrow entrance. Outside, the world was vast and empty, the kingdom too far to see, too distant to even feel a connection to.
For all his strength, he had no sense of direction in this forsaken wilderness. "East, west, north, south... where the hell am I?" His disorientation gnawed at him, a rare vulnerability that only heightened his frustration. Luci's hand reflexively tightened around the chain shackles that still bound his wrists, their weight both a curse and a reminder of his past .
Brianna stirred faintly at his feet, her weak breaths barely audible above the whispering winds outside the cave. His instincts told him to leave her, to cut off this weakness before it became his undoing. But there was another part of him—smaller, buried deep—that hesitated.
With a deep grunt of frustration, Luci turned back. His jaw tightened as he knelt beside her, roughly shaking her shoulder. "Hey, girl, wake up," he ordered, his voice as harsh as the cave's biting air.
Brianna's eyelids fluttered, and for a moment, her hazel eyes met his. The pain etched into her face was undeniable, but there was something else there—a quiet determination, one that she had shown time and again despite her fragility. "L-Luci..." she whispered, her voice a mere breath of sound.
"Yeah, yeah, it's me." His tone was impatient, but his gaze didn't leave hers. "Which way to the kingdom?"
Her eyes drifted shut again as if the effort to speak was almost too much. She barely managed to groan out one word: "East..."
Luci cursed under his breath. "East, huh?" He glanced out of the cave's entrance, toward the darkening horizon. "Alright, fine. I'll get you back." He hoisted her limp form into his arms, muttering to himself about how she was lucky he needed her directions. Despite the gruffness in his tone, his actions were careful, ensuring that her injuries weren't worsened as he adjusted her weight.
The cold evening winds whipped around him as Luci stepped out of the cave and made his way toward what he assumed was east. His thoughts drifted as the journey dragged on—Brianna's fragility reminded him of the countless others he had left behind in the past. Weakness had no place in his world, and yet here he was, carrying her through the wilderness, feeling the heavy burden of his own contradictions.
He eventually found the horse tethered near a stream, a fortunate stroke of luck, and began the long ride toward the kingdom. The rhythm of the horse's hooves was steady, and the quiet between Luci and Brianna grew heavier.
By the time they reached the kingdom's gates, the sky had shifted from evening hues to the deep blues of night, dotted with stars. The city's walls loomed above them, towering and imposing. The kingdom, with its cold, cobblestone streets and towering spires, was a place Luci had come to despise—not because of its people, but because of what it represented: a cage of duty and expectation. But right now, it was the only place where Brianna could receive the help she needed.
Inside the medical chambers, the air was thick with the scent of herbal remedies and burning incense, meant to ward off illness. A gray-haired healer, her back bent with age but her hands steady, took Brianna from Luci without so much as a glance at him. She muttered instructions to an assistant, who hurried to prepare a bed for the girl.
Luci stood back, his eyes scanning the room, indifferent to the scene. He was no stranger to pain, to injury. He had seen worse, survived worse. As the healer tended to Brianna, Luci found himself standing by the window, staring at the kingdom's skyline. His mind wandered, back to the battle that had nearly cost both of their lives. The demon they had faced had been unlike any other—its speed, its resilience, the eerie intelligence in its eyes.
A few hours passed before Brianna began to stir. Her movements were slow, tentative, as though each breath was a battle. She groaned softly, her head turning toward Luci. "The demon..." she mumbled, her voice still weak.
Luci turned his head slightly, glancing at her from his place by the window. "Relax," he said, his voice flat. "You're safe."
"But what happened to the demon?" Brianna's voice held a note of not panic, her voice flat.
Luci crossed his arms, leaning back against the cold stone wall. "You killed it," he said simply.
Her confusion deepened. "What do you mean? I missed! I didn't even stab its hearts," she said, her voice normal as she recalled the fight.
Luci's brow furrowed slightly. "Hearts? What are you talking about?"
"Demons have three hearts," Brianna explained, her breath catching in her throat as she spoke. "You have to destroy all three, or they'll regenerate."
Luci frowned, a flicker of uncertainty passing through him. "I killed it by destroying its head," he said, the memory of the demon's head exploding under the force of his attack still fresh in his mind.
Brianna shook her head weakly. "That shouldn't have been enough. It should have... regenerated," she muttered, her confusion mirroring Luci's own.
For a moment, Luci's thoughts spun. Three hearts..... he thought to himself. It was strange. His own demon form had only one heart. Was this particular demon different, or was it something deeper, something he didn't yet understand?
"And what about you, Luci?" Brianna asked suddenly, her voice cutting through his thoughts. "And also why do you have these chains? What race are you?"
Luci stiffened, his crimson eyes narrowing as he regarded her with suspicion. "What's it to you?" he replied coldly, deflecting the question.
Brianna didn't back down, despite her weakened state. "You're not like the others," she said, her gaze unwavering. "I've never seen a race like you. The chains, your eyes... you're different."
Luci's jaw clenched, but he forced a smirk to mask his unease. " I'm a Moned," he lied smoothly, hoping the fabricated story would distract her.
"A Moned..." Brianna repeated, her eyes narrowing as she processed the information. "I've never heard of them."
"They're rare," Luci said quickly. "We're holy creatures, born with crimson eyes and... chains like these." He rattled his wrists for emphasis. "The weak ones of our tribe are bound in chains as a mark of our failure. I'm the last of my kind."
Brianna's eyes flickered still normal, but she was too exhausted to question him further. "I see..." she murmured, her voice trailing off as sleep overtook her once more.
Luci let out a silent breath of relief. His lie had worked, for now. But as he turned away, his thoughts returned to the demon they had fought, and the unsettling questions that continued to gnaw at him.
Three hearts..... Five hearts. .....
Heaven's enemies demons of the legend, born from Lucifer blood line .
Am i a heaven's enemy or something greater