Her vision was getting hazy as the ringing in her ears grew louder.
the woman, sprawled on the asundered ground blood leaking from her wounds, was looking at the beautiful sky, it's blue and white palette calming her racing heart, her maroon color haired was getting drenched in her own blood.
Her companion shouts didn't reach her ears, but she didn't have to hear them, she already knew in his eyes her life was meaningless to him, she known that fact ever since she drunkenly signed that contract.
The creature- no.
The Monster, was standing over her body, her vision focusing on it's face while the it's three irises stared back.
She wondered why it held back.
"What.... just....happened?"
* * *
Minutes before.
The silence was suffocating for the duo, while the woman had a calm but pensive expression.
The man's face was drenched in sweat but tried to hide it with bravado, failing horribly.
Valeo swore he heard something, now that he had his full Valeo stood up and looked around, the blood dripping down his face.
"EEK!"
Valeo spun his head in the direction of the noise and spotted two people hiding in the bushes, the man doing a poor job. The grey skin duo looked at Valeo as he looked back at them, the silence growing once more.
*BEEP*
The woman looked down at her arm pulling back her sleeve to show a leather wrist guard attached with a tiny disk device, it quickly scanned Valeo making his pay himself down.
After a couple seconds the device shown a projection of the top half of Valeo from when he was in the arena.
"Fourty million gold."
The man's voice awe as he saw the huge number of Valeo's portrait, the woman was stared at the number a smile growing every second that passed.
"It's my lucky day huh."
The man's expression and body language did a full 180 with his smile of hunger making Valeo be on guard.
"That looks like us....why do they want us? To take us back?....no, NO!"
Valeo noticed that the woman was staring at him differently, yes there was a hunger but it was for something else, he didn't understand what that was but either way.
Valeo had to survive.
The man pulled out a paint brush, it's handle longer the usual with the brush being bigger as well.
The woman pulled from her back a lute with cravings the Valeo couldn't read.
And without any hesitation the man's brush glowed in a vile green and he swung at Valeo, an arch of green paint shot out at the four arm boy.
Ducking under the attack Valeo sprinted towards the man, his gunbai poised to bisect him.
But Valeo had to jump back as a bolt of essence zipped passed him, the woman played a few notes making another bolt of essence shoot in his direction.
"Damnit, we haven't fought a 2 on 1 before, we need to get rid of one."
Jumping over the creature's corpse Valeo kicked the mauled body towards the man and rushed over to the woman.
Seeing that he was gunning towards her the woman's smile grew as she played some notes.
Purple essence surrounded her as small constructs of flying koi fish manifest around her, plucking the last string on the lute the woman with her ruby eyes and viscous smile stared at Valeo as he got closer.
"Bale lake quartet."
The woman said as the fish sped towards Valeo making him go on the back foot once more, the man finally pushing the body of the creature off of himself gagged as the stench of the blood.
"Egh, Anastasia why didn't you fucking, egh, help me?"
The man said glaring at the now named Anastasia.
"Shut the fuck up skal, some begot snake blood won't kill you."
Anastasia hissed while concentrating on the fish constructs keeping Valeo at bay. What she didn't see was the rage in Skal's eyes as a mix of purple and green essence covers his left hand.
Closing his fist made a ring appear around Anastasia's and closed around it.
Valeo blocked, Dodge and slash these weird creatures, some of them managed to hit him but Valeo had to ignore the lingering pain they left as more attacked him.
Suddenly when he went to hit one with his gunbai they disappeared in wisps of essence.
Valeo looked around to see the other fish disappear making him confused, turning to Anastasia Valeo saw her grasping at her neck as a ring of green and purple essence got tighter.
"You...BITCH, DONT YOU DARE TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!"
Skal screamed completely forgetting about Valeo as he tightened the ring.
"T-the t-t-targ-get."
She managed to choke out as Anastasia pointed at Valeo making the ring disappear.
"Tsk, boost me."
Skal said readying his paint brush, after Anastasia nursed her neck she played a few notes as the essence surrounding Skal grew darker.
"What the, Why is he harming her?" Valeo thought.
Swiping his brush in the air leaving green streaks of paint in the air, the streaks flung at Valeo as they got brighter by the second. Dodging Valeo charged at Skal making him panic as he sent more streaks at Valeo.
Finally getting close enough to Skal, Valeo went to bisect him but was interrupted again as strings of purple essence held the gunbai, Not being detoured Valeo Kicked Skal in the midsection send the grey skin man fly into a tree.
Valeo turned his attention to Anastasia only to see swords flying above him.
"Can we catch a break?"
Valeo dodged each sword and blocked others slowly making his way to her. When she was in range Valeo roundhouse kick Anastasia sending her flying into a tree.
Recovering quickly Anastasia plucked a few strings summoning more of the fish, Making Valeo back step once more as the fish attacked.
"SCENERY OF THE WILD BLOOM!"
Vines of different heights shot up from the paint Skal left and loomed over Valeo as he dispersed the final fish.
When the vines descended upon him Valeo had to put his full concentration on Dodging but Anastasia took full advantage of the distraction and send a wave of essence towards the four arm boy.
Getting blindsided by the wall of essence Valeo didn't see the plethora of vines aiming at him and payed the price, crashing into the ground uprooting most trees in the vicinity, Valeo felt one of his arm's becoming red paste and his jaw nearly falling off, somehow the clothes being fine.
"SKAL, WE NEED HIM ALIVE!"
Anastasia's nose bled as she glared at Skal who was smirking.
"The bounty didn't say dead or alive, now shut up and grab it's body, I'm not touching that...thing.
There was that word again, thing, monster, abomination, freak, all aimed at him. Valeo didn't understand why he was treated worst then the dirt itself just for his appearance.
"Are we really....a monster?"
"Be the hero you were meant to be."
Valeo clenched his fist, the rage slowly boiling inside him.
"A hero....how?"
"Why do we keep failing, isn't a hero supposed to be strong?"
The burning feeling in his chest slowly turned cold, it felt like a gentle breeze at first the its slowly grew into a raging calamity.
But it felt, good.
It felt.
Free.
Anastasia was making her way grumbling under breath, wishing to skin Skal alive and watch him suffer along with his boss and friends.
In a matter of seconds the fight started it's second round, dirt and debris was sent all over the clearing making a dust cloud.
Her eyes stung from the unsuspecting until the haunting visage of Valeo's disfigured face made them widen in horror.
Before she knew Vale slashed at her stomach and launched her. Tumbling on the ground Anastasia tried to get up but realized she couldn't fell the bottom half of her body.
"Sh-shit, is that...my..intestines?"
Anastasia saw some her intestines hanging from her open stomach, blood gushing from the wound making her slowly lose her vision.
Valeo ripped his jaw off making it grow back and was now slowly walking to the frighten Skal who didn't his same attitude from before, swiping his brush Skal sent snakes made from his green paint at Valeo.
But they simply turned into green mist as the black and white essence surrounded Valeo, it's violent reaction to his snakes made Skal begin to shake.
"M-M-MONSTER!"
Skal tried desperately to hit or even leave a mark on the slowly approaching Valeo but the results was still the same.
Useless.
Valeo blurred from Skal vision and appeared behind him, before he could react Valeo cut off Skal's arm that was holding his brush.
"AAA-"
Valeo grabbed Skal's face as he lifted him up, his muffled screaming was ignored as Valeo slammed down Skal into the ground, Skal's legs were shattered and broken beyond repair, but somehow he was still conscious through it all.
"A-A-ANASTASIA YOU SK-SKANK!"
Valeo turned his head to where Skal was looking as Anastasia had a glowing ball with black rings surrounding it, she was about to click on the button attached to one of the rings until what Skal said made her stop.
"IF Y-YOU DON'T G-IVE ME THE OR-ORB, MY B-BOSS WILL PAY YOUR L-LITTLE S-SISTER A V-VISIT!"