2 knife man, monster kid and glutton spiri (1/2)
Part 1
Daren did not expect his night to went that way. Every night he would just follow his routine. Reach the village, find the spirit, beat him up until he leaves and then escape from the knights. Of course, it's not like he wanted to have such a tiresome routine. If possible he wish he could just get rid of the spirit for good and be at peace. However, despite how fast and strong he was, he never managed to end it for good. Spirits can only be purged by the power from the gods and Daren's transformation was a curse.
He always hated that curse because it made him feel like a freak hiding among normal people. Being able to turn into a beast at will every time the sun was gone? How was he supposed to live a normal life now?
To his surprise, while his life was not even close to normal, he did manage to find some happiness.
On a fateful night he saved a couple that was being attacked by bandits by using his beast form to scare them off. Daren could have easily killed the bandits but he was not a violent person at heart. After finishing his heroic act he tried to leave but he saw that the man had a broken leg and needed medical aid as soon as possible. The wife looked at him with wide crying eyes and a shaking body, but no matter how scary Daren looked she wouldn't leave her husband.
”Do you need help?”
He released these words while reverting to his human form and tried to talk with the sacred woman.
”Please...”
She answered the now thin young man and the three started heading towards a nearby city. Daren in his beast form was faster than any horse, or any animal for that matter, and saved the man's life.
The couple was bursting with relief and gratefulness towards their savior. After that, Daren met with the daughter of the couple, love started to bloom and a happy ending in the life of this young beast kid was starting to appear in the horizon. That is... until the night the spirit appeared.
Part 2
”So what does this spirit look like?”
”...”
”What? Something on my face?”
”Most people when they find about my curse usually try to ask about how i became like this. I was surprised this was your first question.”
”Kid... You're adorable... But i already said it before... You're not especial. I've met a lot of weird bizarre people and heard all kinds of tales about transformations, monsters, curses and all that junk. Whatever it is you are going through right now, trust me... You are not the first.”
The two of them where heading deep into the forest. Daren was using his power to sense the location of the spirit. He could have found him anytime he wanted but if he did the spirit would just leave for another village, so it was best to try and keep him locked where he was. However, now he has a chance to finally end him thanks to the supposed ”living weapon” helping him. If they end up failing, the spirit will just move to another place and Daren will have to find him all over again. Who knows how many lives would be lost while that happens.
”Is that so... My beast form was called many things in the past but i don't think any name ever even come close to adorable.”
”Ok, let's make one thing clear, i don't mean your beast form looks like something i want to look at at any moment of my life. Honestly, i rather not have to look at that thing ever again if possible. You look like an abomination that came out wrong when you were being modeled.”
”...”
”That said... What you look like has nothing to do with what you are. I mean you're ugly, my God you're ugly, i have met ugly monsters before but even they would run away from that face...”
”...”
”But in the few months I've know you, you dedicated all your time and effort in trying to protect people that didn't even knew you, all while trying to avoid any bloodshed and major collateral damage. You are like a really ugly terrifying hero.”
”Is that a compliment? I feel like you could have said that in a nicer way...”
”You wanted me to lie to you?”
”You don't have to lie to be nice.”
”If the way you look when you do something you need to do is what wakes you up in the middle of you sleep, then i hate to tell you, you are going to have a hard time living in this world.”
”...My wife liked it... She said it was the face of a savior...”
”Yeah... She was lying to you...”
”What!?”
”I'm sure she meant well but there is no way she was not scared every single day of your beast form.”
”You never even met her!!”
”Don't have to. I told ya, I've heard all the stories already. She probably was a very strong woman, enduring it every day and not running away from you... But you can't just re-write how people feel about certain things.”
Daren was enraged and ready to punch Marceus in the face but his body froze once he caught a glimpse of their target a few meters ahead. Marceus followed his line of sight trying to find the spirit ahead of them but nothing could be seen.
”Is it here?”
”Yes... I know because it's shape takes the form of the person he ate that you love the most... And right now he looks just like her...”
”I see... He probably never ate anyone i care about so that's why i cant give him a shape to see.”
”... I guess...”
”Well, alright then... Let's go avenge your lying wife.”
”... God i hate you...”
Part 3
The spirit was about to feed on the villager it had captured while Daren and Marceus were facing each other. A young boy was sound sleep in the middle of the woods while the spirit kept circling him as if deciding which part to bite first. Once it finally made it's decision it started to fly towards the child with a massive mouth big enough to bite his entire leg off.
But one second before the child was reached a mass of black and silver leaped out of the darkness and slashed the spirit on the stomach.