"Cum luna obumbrate

Et obscurum fit terra

Flamma resurget

Et terram hanc

In umbra et cinere terra residebit

Ad decies centena millia annorum"

★★★

(Night of the New Moon,
Goldwyn)

It was the dead of night. No light shone from the moon above, and the sky was wrapped up in clouds in different shades of black. An eery silence enveloped the barren land, as we hid behind the cemented walls of the only mansion on the outskirts of this town.

I looked back from the corner of my eye and confirmed that Dominic had his sword drawn. My right hand tightened on my slender dagger-like sword. Although it seemed to be quite an elegant and frail thing, nothing about its cutting edge was frail or delicate.

The sword was most suited for its owner, me.

Without a second's hesitation, I came out of my hiding spot behind the wall and slammed my boot into the wooden doors. The force of my kick caused the doors to open, and one part of it broke into two immediately.

I entered fearlessly, my eyes frantically searching for my culprit. I gestured to Dominic behind me to go left, while I turned toward my right. The mansion was huge and had a medium-sized indoor garden. I cut through the outgrown plants and quickened my pace. There were four doors to the right, and I was sure I'd find my target somewhere in these rooms.

Even though I was sure they were hiding here, the absolute quietude was unusual. How could they utter not a single noise on such a quiet night?

I slammed open the first door, but there was nobody in there. Puzzled, I broke open the other three doors but found not a single soul inside. I went inside the last room and inspected the contents closely.

Although this mansion had been abandoned a long time ago according to the villagers of Goldwyn, I found traces of life. A candle was half lit on the wooden window ledge, its wax still dripping down. On the stone floor, were fresh mud footprints, as if someone had walked inside just five minutes ago.

Just then, my senses alerted me. The God-forsaken scent that we had tracked all the way here, made its way back to me. I had been so focused on finding the Demon that I forgot I couldn't even smell them anymore. But now that I could smell them, too close and too pungent for my liking, I realized my mistake.

'They had known I would come for them all along,' I deduced as I crinkled my nose from that obnoxious odor of the demon blood.

I felt their presence in the room before I saw them. Creeping up behind me slowly, they thought I couldn't feel them. The air stopped and waited palpably for the fire to explode. They got closer until their scent got directly into my nose, making my eyes water.

I looked down at the broken piece of mirror that reflected my face. It wasn't one I was fond of, or which would make me want to stand in front of a mirror all day long. My watery eyes traced the 2-inch long scar along my damaged right eye, and I remembered my mission once again.

Closing my eyes to get rid of the excess water from them, I reopened and spun at the speed of light, flinging my slender sword at the enemy. The Demon was startled and took a few steps back, but unfortunately, he was absolutely fine.

He barred his fangs at me, his little horns shining on top of his head. The faint candlelight showed me his visage, and he looked quite different from the others. His features were soft and new as if he was still too young and too inexperienced. His eyes held the passion someone else had infused in him... as if he wasn't so sure of what was it he desired.

I flung again, but this time, he struck back with his sword. His thick bronze blade clashed against my silver one, creating my favorite kind of pandemonium in the empty mansion. I heard faint hasty footsteps of someone in the background and knew Dominic had heard us.

He should be coming to me any second now.

I pushed the demon back with all my might and ran back toward the wall. Climbing it, I used that leverage to kick him in the guts, making him fall a few feet behind. He clutched his guts, and it gave me a foreboding feeling yet again. Why was he so weak?

Demons usually couldn't go down in just a few punches and strikes, so why was he different? What was it that I was missing? And where were his prisoners? He must have captured some humans to satisfy his desires, didn't he?

Nevertheless, the horns on his head and the red dripping from his orbs confirmed that he was indeed, a demon. And I wasn't going to spare his life at any cost.

I walked up to him and looked him straight in the eye. Raising my sword above my head, I slammed the blade down into him, but he escaped. My blade hit the ground, while he rolled toward the right. Furious, I sliced again, but he dodged again.

Rising, he smirked before using that huge blade to cut my thigh. I hurled myself toward the space at the last moment, but he still sliced through my black coat and trousers, leaving a cut on my thigh. The cut stung worse than last time since the previous wound hadn't healed fully. Realizing that this time the cut would bleed more profusely, I picked up my pace.

This one had to go down before my stance weakened. I leaped up and swung my blade at his face, my urgency showing itself in my speed. The blade came down and he dodged, but I didn't stop. I didn't stop until I gave him a small cut on his face, a large slice through his left arm, and a horizontal cut through his stomach.

He heaved down, bleeding black liquid from his body. This man wasn't quite a skilled fighter and got weak easily, but his determination was one to be admired. He still wasn't showing any signs of giving up.

Blood spurted out from little cuts all over his body, and he was bruised beyond imagination. Well, that's what one got if they tested me and my blade. My cold eyes assessed him, still not getting how the Demon Lord could become so sloppy, letting such a youngling out into the field.

He definitely must have got a plan. And I aspired to extract the truth from him.

I threw my sword away, and the clang of it resonated throughout the room. Dominic burst inside the room at that moment, his wild eyes frantically searching for my dead body. He screamed, 'Zelda!' but all he saw was a heavily wounded demon and an almost fine me, standing with her rumpled red hair and black drops of demon blood tainting her face and clothes. I wondered if he could see any blood on my black clothes, though.

Dominic was about to slash the demon whose head was hanging down, but I gestured for him to stop. Crouching down, I gripped the enemy's visage in my right hand, my strong fingers boring into his young jaw.

"Speak up, little one. Why are you here? You aren't fit to even step outside that cursed kingdom," I inquired him, but he just smiled crookedly at me.

The blood dripping from a cut on his head entered his eyes, giving him a truly demonic look. The other eyeball gleamed red and it told me I had been toyed with. The grip on his jaw increased as all the blood left my fingers.

What had I done?

The young demon fished inside his coat and retrieved a piece of paper. It looked like some sort of a message, and I snatched it from him. Untying the red string, I opened the paper just as Dominic drove his sword into the lad.

The contents of the paper shouldn't have shocked me, but they did. This threat was far more deadly, and the way they had tricked me was proof of it. The Demon Lord was preparing something someplace else, while he sent this weakling to deal with me.

And I knew I'd have to pull up my boots if I wanted to catch him in time. For his threat didn't leave me with a lot of it.

"When the moon is shadowed

And the earth becomes dark

The flames will rise

And engulf this land

In shadows and ashes, earth will reside

For a million years."

And somehow I knew, he was talking about the Big New Moon night, just three months away from tonight.

★★★

(

Word count - 1490 words)

Hi everyone!! This is the prologue for this paranormal fantasy, how did you like it?

What did you think of Zelda and the dirty work she does? Are you excited to meet this Demon Lord and what happens next?

Tell me in the comments!!

Until the next time,
Ansha ❤️