Chapter 38: 36 : The Pupae of a Rakshasi

Haaa…Say, Alice, how long will you make me fight for? I’m tired. So tired…Ya know, I’ve never really talked about what I did in the past. You always portrayed me as a knight in shining armor and it always pained me that I could never tell the truth. Kanga told me parts of your past. A little miss from a rich family… How much I wished I could have had your life. I guess I was jealous of you back then…

Anyway, I know you are listening to me Alice and there’s something I always wanted to tell you. Well, there is a lot I want to tell you but for now, just this one small thing will be fine. I guess it’s more of a question than anything… and an excuse for what you saw me do in that room. Haven’t you ever wondered how I was friends with those creatures Kanga captured and why I went out of my way to care for them? I hope you won’t hate me for what you saw but I never was the pure knight you imagined me as.

Well…since no one is waking me up right now, how about I talk about what little I remember about the cute sheep I owned. Ufufu. It should be the first time you heard of that. Right? I hope it doesn’t shock you too much; your fabulous knight was in truth a dirty shepherd. Well, I guess both jobs trade in blood to make a living.

Maybe one day I’ll tell you my secret, my sweet princess. I feel like going insane every day without you. How dare you poison me such and play with my mind…I’ll be sure to get you back to my side even if I need to raise an army to do so. Whatever might happen next will all be your fault. Just…Just tell me something, anything…They’re about to wake me up; I don’t want to go with my plan. I beg of you Alice, don’t force my hands, and just say something. I’m so scared, you can’t imagine it…

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I guess I never had a choice. Alice, I love you. I just wanted to see you again…

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There once were three brothers. Little Rakshasas who were abandoned by the one supposed to provide for them; those who brought them to this world were killed under the pretense of justice. The boys lived with what little scrap of food they could get their hands on. That is to say that they had to crawl below those in power and have their shame trampled into the dirt just to survive. Their skin became caked with diseases and caused malformations to appear which in turn made them be pushed to the wayside because of their appearance.

Three poor Rakshasas that were forced to hide in the forest in fear of the violence from those they grew up with. When night came, they would steal eggs from chicken coops that weren’t locked up – taking the whole chicken would only get them a beating. Not able to light a fire since it would alert strong beasts of their presence, they ate the eggs raw after mixing them with some grass.

When one was healthy, another was sick. But one day, they noticed the chickens weren’t producing as many eggs as they did before. They simply didn’t have enough food to do so as heavy drought cracked the land and caused many to die.

Little Rakshasas…people kept calling them this all their life as an insult. They were no different from others at birth, but their parents dared taste the flesh of a man after being tricked to do so. That name haunted them all their lives and came back like a dagger in the form of hunger. In the end, seeing pits constantly filled with corpses of people going hungry, they crossed the line and truly became what they were called…

They removed the skin with sharp rocks and ate what little meat was available. At first, they would vomit what they ate but as they forced themselves to survive, they somehow got used to eating this rotting meat…

They did everything to survive in a world where food was valued in gold and their endurance inspired some desperate folks who tried to follow their way to live. The elder brother was the one to leash those famished people and show them how to act as they should: never kill someone, don’t be greedy, help those in need, and more rules as such.

They grew in strength and stole the food of those who dare intrude in their forest. Using the power they gained after becoming Rakshasa, they created illusions to appear more fearsome so they could make people flee instead of fighting them. They became known as fearsome monsters who eat anyone they can catch. In truth, they were powerless scavengers who barely survived on decaying corpses.

One of the followers killed a man and ate him, rebelling against the brothers which led to his banishment. This Rakshasa, high on fresh blood, went on a rampage and was later executed. To calm the people who had to face this demon, a party was formed to cleanse the fearsome man-eaters hiding in the forest.

Bakasura, the eldest, faced them to allow his brothers to escape and was slain thus with his back broken. Days after the incident, the brothers’ followers all deserted them. The two little Rakshasas buried their brother by the tree he used to sleep next to. The youngest left to join some kind of war that was brewing because of the drought in the hope they would feed a soldier while the other remained where the oldest now slept to protect him from the follower who might come back and try to eat his corpse.

The years passed by, and stories went around that the forest was still haunted by an even more powerful Rakshasa who caused the death of a mountain of people. Thus, the same party that killed Bakasura was reformed to douse this threat. Kirmira was the name of this raging demon. He saw the one who killed his brother and challenged him. He was stronger after mastering his power and drenched the forest in flame to trap his foes. He managed to kill everyone else and clashed with his brother’s murderer. The forest as well as the tomb of Bakasura was destroyed during the fight and in the end, Kirmira was strangled to death…

The youngest of the brothers, his name was Alambusha. He learned about the death of his brother while on the battlefield and dedicated his life to the art of war. He mastered the power of a Rakshasa to an extent that he was unparalleled and learned any weapon that he chanced upon. People feared him for a good reason as he became a force to be reckoned with. He razed many villages during the war and quickly climbed in rank.

The little Rakshasa was no more. He was awarded lands to rule over and an army to command. Once the war would come to a close, he would be able to enjoy the life the three brothers all dreamed to have…But he met his match on the battlefield. After two weeks of fighting, his skull was caved in.

He died and fell to Naraka where he found his brothers in Raksogana-bhojana. His brain that was scattered on the battlefield couldn’t be restored and here he was, a Rakshasa filled with rage and no reason. He terrorized his brothers whom he couldn’t recognize in this hell where no one could die but every time he would strike them, his heart filled with love from them would stop and make his body crumble for a moment.

The brothers lived in this hell for hundreds of years in a constant fight against one another. They fought while dreaming of the past in this hell where they couldn’t die until the door opened and another victim of poor fate entered... It was a young girl with hair the color of the night who wore a dress made of burned petals. She strode inside and gave a quick look at the battlefield the brothers took part in.

They had created mountains and pastures with rivers dividing everything but the painting that might be produced from such descriptions would all be wrong. There was only flesh and blood in this disgusting glade where rot grew like wild canopies. The youngest couldn’t be seen and only the two older brothers were there, baffled at the sight of the girl. They hid behind the carcass of a tiger they were eating, confused that someone like her would be sent to such a location.

It has been so long since they saw anyone. Too many people died in the war and when the lord of sleep landed and twisted the land in his image, creating the forest drenched in tain that the survivors were now adventuring inside, it was as if the world had died. This hell that the brothers lived in, its master used to take good care of the boys, but he disappeared one day, only leaving fragments of himself to manage this place.

“Hi there,” said the girl who had closed the distance with the two boys in an instant by creating a path of petals.

““BHAyaHAR!!!!!!!!!”” screamed the boys who were scared by the suddenness of the girl. One of the brothers tried to pull the other but slipped on the bloody mess they made with the tiger.

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Tsuki simply stepped back in the hope they wouldn't become aggressive with her. They both look alike with a skin color like snow, pointed ears, red eyes, and sharp teeth. The few differences were their hair, which one of them was slightly longer than the other, and the scars on their bodies. One had red markings around his neck while the other had those red marks on his back.

“Soooo, how do I get out of here?” asked Tsuki who got straight to the point. “I need to meet up with my friends.”

The two Rakshasas looked at one another. To get out of this place? It was impossible now that the master was gone. The beast managing this place was too thick-headed to do anything that was right…She was stuck, just as they were. Like the few who somehow came before, this girl was bound to die at the hands of their mad brother.

“I really need to get going, why don’t you guys get out with me?”

On this, the brothers froze. To get out? Them? How many times have they cried this little wish while crying in the arms of the other? How many nights have they spent warming one another while desiring to taste the warmth of the sun once more? Since the day they got stuck in this hell, they dreamed of getting out.

And so said the one on the right: “Miss won’t be able to leave and might die because of our brother…” - “…But maybe we can get out if he is killed by sister,” which the one on the left finished.

“Is that so? Where is your brother, sister here will make sure he dies.”

The two brothers smiled at one another and pointed together, hand in hand, at a nearby hill. “We will dig for our brother.” - “Sister will protect us,” said the two boys.

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When the heavy door opened and Tsuki exited from it while bleeding profusely, Fi as if ready for it, crouched by the girl’s side and tried to heal her. It was far from her specialization, but the spirit felt her power sucked by strange tendrils coming from the wounded girl’s right shoulder. She didn’t ask questions and allowed the thing to heal the girl by itself. The parasite growing in the girl’s shoulder, if its host was to die, it would meet the same fate.

With Vergeltung and his pig KO from the abhorrent smell, only the small snakes of Hoomaikai could go against whatever wounded Tsuki. She placed them in a triangular formation and slowly entered the room. The stench didn’t stop them, but a wave of fetid blood forced them to back off as the two brothers dug their way out from the fleshy walls obstructing the door with something in their hands.

“Back off!” hissed the snakes which the brothers ignored to get on either side of the wounded girl. “I said BACK OFF!”

Violet lightning slithered towards the one holding on to something unknown who ended up being protected by the other one who jumped in the way. “Kirmira!” – “Just do it!” said the brothers. The one not being shocked by the snakes fed something red to the girl. Something still beating and alive which Fi simply looked at without doing anything. The spirit had an empty look in her eyes while she poured a soft stream of magic around the girl’s wounds.

Tsuki was fed the strange heart the brothers had dug out under the horrified look of Hoomaikai. That heart full of life that used to beat in the chest of a renowned Rakshasa was forced into the unconscious girl’s mouth and as if instinctual, was consumed by Tsuki.

The sweet blood went down the girl’s throat like honey. It was warm, annoyingly warm and it spread inside her body while she was sleeping. Hoomaikai had to see the girl eat the heart of Alambusha and as she was about the attack the other stranger with white skin, Tsuki woke up. Her eyes opened, bloodshot and focused, she looked around while rubbing them and was met by the two boys jumping in her arms with tears in their eyes.

Hoomaikai had accidentally released her spell as she looked, all too stunned at the display in front of her. She didn’t know who those boys were, and the worst part was that she didn’t recognize Tsuki for a moment. She was wearing something completely different after all but there was also an odd feeling in the sorceress’s heart that said that Tsuki had also changed mentally. They weren’t even separated for an hour but at that time…Hoomaikai thought she might have simply not known Tsuki enough but dismissed it as it was impossible…

“What is your name?” asked a snake who looked directly at Tsuki.

“…” The girl who still had chunks of flesh missing didn’t say anything and had a pensive look.

“WHO ARE YOU!?!”

Lightning started to dance around the girl and the two brothers. “Whoa whoa,” finally responded the wounded girl. “Maikai, Maikai. It’s me! Tsuki! Hya! Stop with the baririri and bizzizi! Are you trying to kill me?! Wait? Did I really die, and you were just zapping me from the dead?”

“Why didn’t you answer it the first time!?” Hoomaikai was scared that the two strangers tried to do some kind of ritual with the girl, where something would possess her when she woke up. But the way Tsuki acted just now was exactly how she usually was. She still felt it strange that there was a pause to such a simple question which caused her to still have doubts about the girl’s identity.

“That…I was just remembering hearing someone I knew in the past ask me the same thing…Someone I’ll never see again…”

The lightning dissipated in an instant and Hoomaikai almost lost control of her snakes at this revelation. The girl in front of her felt so lonely that it pained her heart that she wasn’t able to say anything – not because she didn’t know what she had to say, but that she wasn’t allowed to do so… “Fine! You better explain what the hell happened and who those disgusting boys are!”

“Hn! Why don’t we move for now? There should be a river over there.”

“…Fine…” Hoomaikai wanted to ask how Tsuki knew there was a river nearby but didn’t say anything and chose to follow the girl for now.

The brothers tried to help Tsuki up but were gently pushed away by Fi who lifted the wounded girl and the two stunned animals into the air. Tsuki closed her eyes and allowed Fi to move her around.

“Ha…Sister…” – “It’s fine brother. She was healing her before we got here.”

Tsuki was in incredible pain as she floated toward a location the brothers told her about but still managed to say something that made Vergeltung, who was regaining control of his body after getting farther from the door, mad. “If you haven’t given him a name Vergeltung, can I call your new friend Reiniger?”

“I’ll rip your tongue if you dare do that!!!”

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