บท 10: Theon Airikson: Blooded

I very obviously didn't see it coming, because frankly speaking if I did, or if I had known I was about to be attacked, I would not be here having some sort of leisurely conversation with my mother. But as that blade gleaming under the absent starlight came for me, a furred hand grabbed onto it. Startling me into stopping my mad scramble backwards in fear, I looked up in time to see my mother swipe her hand, relieving the masked assailant of his head, not even flinching as blood spurted out of the now headless body, bathing me and our surroundings as her pristine white fur got stained with red life giving blood.

There was a wet squelch as the head fell into the cursed ocean with a pop, she shifted to the side, dodging a dagger that was seemingly coming for her throat, taking a step back before waving a hand in my direction, releasing a blast of wind that roughly pushed me back, just as a couple of darts impacted the spot I previously occupied. She clenched her fist, then stepped forwards into the guard of the second assailant trying to kill her and smashed it into their stomach. The very obvious feminine squeal of pain I heard told me that my assailants or at least some of them were actually female.

My mother grabbed the hair of the assassin and then spun, flinging her over my head to smash into another who I had not noticed. At this point I think it was obvious to everyone here that my mother was toying with them all. And the man with a pair of revolvers aimed in her direction didn't seem to have gotten the memo, as she spun her hand in a circle and a shield of ice came into existence in front of her, intercepting bullets made of Qi, that did not even so much as leave a dent on her shield. She crouched down slowly then jumped into the air, leaving a crater on the ground and a shockwave that blasted me to my ass again, I hadn't even realized I had gotten back up again.

Before she even landed a giant silver blue monkey paw or palm appeared in the air and smashed into the man who had created a golden dome over his body to defend against the attack. But his defense did not last more than three seconds before getting smashed into pieces, and his body buried Into the sand, his loud screams cut short after a second as the sound of crushing bones filled the air. I shuddered, a chill racing up my spine at the display of power I had just seen in front of me.

Not that I haven't seen displays of abilities and power, after all I grew up in a sect. However not even from my father have I seen a display of ability so dominating. None of them actually had a chance of ever getting close to her, and from the way she acted before the fight started, she already knew they were here, and all of her moves were carried out with such grace and finesse it was without effort on her part, like this entire fight has been some sort of dance routine and she could tell what move they were going to make before they even made it. It was absolutely terrifying.

"If this is actually the level of assassins these days then I'm terribly disappointed. You came here for my son but sent novices still stuck in the Foundation Establishment realm, this is an insult I intend to rectify as soon as possible. So you still hiding in the shadows, go back and tell the people that sent you that we will be coming for an explanation soon enough, and if it's not viable enough I will decimate everything they know and love, now get the fuck off my son's Ark-Land."

I had absolutely no idea where this person in the shadows was, I did not even know there was someone else, and that was even more scary because if my mother wasn't here, then I'd be very much dead, and in probably a bunch of colorful ways before I even realized it. There was a flap and a loud screech as what seemed to be a bird flew away towards the south, it's form a blurry shadow in the night sky as I watched it fly away. My mother turned to me, leveling the full brunt of her gaze on me before nodding at the pair behind me and saying.

"Now kill them."

That shocked me, I turned to look at the remaining two assassins, more than a little bit surprised that their partner would have easily abandoned them like this. My mother walked towards me, going towards the injured assassins, the one she had punched was practically at death's door by this point, her breathing was erratic and it looked like her sternum had been caved in from the punch, as blood dribbled from the side of her mouth while her partner held her closer, she too was female.

A sharp yet precise gust of wind ripped the masks from their heads exposing their faces, and even though it was still a bit dark, I could see that the two were actually sisters. And the fierce look of murderers that I expected was nowhere to be found, all I currently saw was a pair of very scared girls, I turned to look back at my mother.

"But they're defeated, why do I still have to kill them? Don't we need to interrogate them to find out who sent them?" I asked.

"That's not necessary, when you have power regardless of whether or not you're able to wield it, people will come for your neck. And with power it doesn't matter who wants to kill you, just kill them instead and not worry too much about the details of who they are or who fucking sent them. Now come here!"

For some reason I almost could not resist her orders, I felt compelled to obey and any measure of resistance seemed to cause me a bit of pain. I moved closer to her as she stood over the sister assassins, then she stroke my arm, causing claws to pop out from my finger nails much to my shock. I shifted my shocked gaze from her to the assassin's and back again, for some reason this entire situation was catching me off guard, and that was probably because for all of my so called mischief and troubles…I've never killed someone or gotten someone killed. Just seriously hurt and usually severely maimed.

"Please mercy!"

My mother had none, and she was making sure I didn't either as she took my Claws, and forced them into the caved in chest cavity of the assassin she had hurt. I felt claws go past bone as the warmth of blood coated my hand, I felt her insides pulse as my hand got to her heart and pierced through it, the blood there was even warmer than I thought, her eyes snapped open in pain and met mine, tears escaped from the side of her eyes as her sister screamed herself hoarse in pain and shock, pulling out a dagger to swipe at my face only for my mother to grab a hold of it, crushing the hand along with the blade it held. Her cry of pain shook me, and it was with that cry her sister took her last breath, suddenly going silent as her gaze held mine with a vacant stare, the light completely gone out of it.

"That's one boy, your first. You should have known with how much of an ass you are that eventually your antics was going to get someone killed. And the worst part of it all was that you weren't a spoilt or pampered child, just one with a very dark heart and mind and yet you balk at the thought of killing, you better not. Your future is not one of those stories where you get to be a hero, you will bring way more death and destruction than this, and you should be ready for it, so taking the life of your enemies and obstacles in your way, innocent or no innocent should not phase you, it should be no more normal than you taking a shit to get rid of waste in your body. You are not the hero of your story Theon, or of any story as there are no heroes, only Villains and Monsters, and amongst them all you will be a Demon! Now KILL!"

"ARGHHHHHH!!"

My claws flashed out, scoring thin bloody lines across the face of the last assassin, she was still way stronger than me, so I couldn't cause as much damage as I wanted. But that didn't stop me, after the first slash another one followed, and another, and another, and another. Over and over again until I had carved her face deep to the bone then went down to her body, ripping fabric, tissue and organs to shreds as blood and guts showered my visage. I could taste death and misery, and even more so when I'm the one who had brought it forwards, and it shook me because I felt there should be sanctity in the life of any one person. But I sat there bloodied and confused till the first vestiges of dawn lit up the horizon, catatonic and lost in my thought because I had just killed people, and not only did I feel no remorse, I actually enjoyed it. And then I felt someone touch me, prompting me to look up and find Watson and Terra behind and in front of me.

"It's morning my Lord, why don't we go get you cleaned up so that you can have some sleep, the Lady mother has asked we look after you while her family take up posts around the Ark-Land to protect it. Now come, I will get some hot tea ready while you wait for your bath." And so they led me away with more gentleness than I'd ever received in my entire life, the corpses of my assassins left behind, exposed for the dawning of a new day to see, and probably the beginning of a new Era, a new Era of blood.