Chapter Three

They say you can never get a good life on the run. But for me, it was all I knew. A life on the run, finding my targets, and killing them. But finding Hope changed my life for the better. Except for the fact that NOTHING HAS CHANGED. I'm still on the run and I have many enemies. But I have a company now. Someone who can't fight well, and loves to sass a lot. I can't remember the last time I had fun, let alone someone to talk to. We came through the other side of the portal, more tired than we thought, in front of a guild hall. "Put this on," I said while passing her a cloak. "Tuck in your wings, unless you want them gone."

"Why should I? People love these." Hope said with a smile.

"They liked you for an entirely different reason. They'll kill you and sell your scales or sell you to the highest bidder. They don't know what we are as long as we wear these. And also, let me do the talking."

She scoffed but she agreed. We walked in, cloaks over us, and we walked to the bar at the end. We reach the counter, I put a piece of paper on the counter. "I've killed the bounty. Hand over the money." The woman at the counter turns around, looks at me, and yells "DHAMALUS!!!! Glad to see you in one piece!"

"Good to know you're still loud. Just give me my money." I said, annoyed. "Why must you have money when you can have this here?" She asked.

"Because I have mouths to feed and a bed to find. Know any places nearby that's cheap?" I said, growing steadily annoyed about the situation. "Down the street is an abandoned home, you can use that if you like, Dhamalus. And here's your money for you and your friend." She responded quickly. I picked up the bag, weighing it carefully. "Fine, thanks." I said, as we left the place. As we got outside, Hope started to speak, "So, 'Dhamalus', why were you holding me back?"

"Because you would burn the place down and take the money if I didn't." I replied.

"Fine, you win this round." Hope was still mad about what happened, but I let it slide for now. Even though no one was around, I still felt like it wasn't safe. Like someone was tailing us. I looked at Hope and she nodded, as if to say "I understand."

We went through the town, keeping our cloaks on. I pulled Hope into an alleyway with a dead end. Speaking in dragokin's tongue, I created illusionary clones so we could hide and see what happens.

Our followers came with impressive speed. This wasn't a normal team of humans. "So, this is our bounty. Dhamalus, the cursed blade. Said to have killed thousands with no mercy."

"So, a bounty was put on me? I don't know about thousands, that's a little low on the count. I would say hundreds of thousands, instead," I said through the illusion.

The leader of the team started laughing. "You got guts; I'll tell you that. Though we'll end you soon enough." I was a bit annoyed at the fact that they were laughing at me when they heard the rumors. "Looks like I'll only need a little bit of strength to beat you," I said smugly. A second one chimed up, "Boss, the bounty said it's just him. That he works alone. So, who's the other one?"

The leader of the group smiled. "If it's a dude, kill them and loot them. If it's a lady, have fun with them. It's that simple."

To me, it was cruel. But I wasn't going to show them that. Instead, I told them I'll give them all one hit. So, the group rushed me, all of there attacks were going through me. "Well, that was easy." I started to laugh.

"Why are you laughing? Shouldn't you be dead?" the leader asked. A demonic voice rose out of my illusion. "Did you really think it would be that easy? There's a reason I'm known as the cursed blade." I jumped down, leaving Hope on the roof. My wings were out, the colors on them looking like rivers of death. My red eye glowed the color of blood-stained cobblestone. "There's one other name that I am known as. The Eternal Demon King!" And with one swing of my arm, they were in half. Blood was spewing out everywhere, and the one thing the leader said with his final breath was "Why?"

I waved my hand, using the illusion to create a portal. Hope jumped down from the roof of the building she was on and came to the portal. "More are coming," I said with no expression on my face. I grabbed her and went through the portal.