《SWORDs》


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1


    After travelling north for many hours, Alicia thought that perhaps she may have been lost. The organisation told her that there should have been an isolated town nearby, but there was no sign of it. No sign of civilisation whatsoever. There was only the mountainous scenery and the wild overgrown plant life that filled her field of vision in this deep and rather uncharted looking area of the island.


    It was all rather disappointing as it was her mission to cleanse this town from an angel, and not the holy angelic kind either. Angels were the names given to horrid monsters who''s origins were unknown. They were said to appear out of no where hundreds of years ago, terrorising and feasting upon helpless villagers and townsfolk with no remorse or sense of guilt. Alicia had slayed hundreds of them throughout her nineteen years of life. She had become quite the veteran in it.


    She was a SWORD, and SWORDs were the only ones powerful enough to hunt and kill the Angels. They were warriors that were infused with the blood of angels while they were still in their mother''s wombs, making them many times faster and stronger than even the best human. The process was cruel and heartless, and would often result in the death of the birth givers, including that of her own mother, who died like all the rest due to complications from labour as a result of the hybridisation.


    Due to this, Alicia had obviously never met her mother, and never knew her father either. Much of how the organisation worked was clouded in secrecy, and any line of questioning about their origins or family tree were met with harsh discipline. SWORDs were trained to be as emotionless as possible, although that high bar wasn''t always easy to meet. Though they were reminded as children that they were not entirely human, most of them still felt like it on the inside despite the daily reminders to the contrary.


    For whatever reason all SWORDs were only one gender. It was said that males were unable to survive the hybridisation process due to the fact that they couldn''t hold back the incredibly powerful urges that came about being what they were. Their lives were a constant battle of holding back the monster side within them, and sometimes, the battle was too much even for the best of them to handle. The intense pain and pleasure involved was simply too much for most to handle. Everyday was a struggle for dominance between her human and Angel side, and every day her blood boiled with a powerful desire to succumb to their inner savage and consume human flesh just like the monstrous Angels.


    Usually SWORDs would hunt in groups, but today she was alone on a high ranked mission where failure was not as option. Her handler would often send her to places that were willing to pay a lot of gold for her services. She would t collect the money but would complete the job and then tell the villagers to wait for a man in black to come by later and collect the payment. That was how it always worked. She herself would not be payed as she had no use for such things. The organisation provided her with everything she needed. Her utility belt that she used to carry her food pills, a small canteen of water, a small knife as well as various small tools, as well as her trusty great sword that was sheathed against her back. The sword was almost as tall as she was, and as she walked the hilt of the weapon actually stretched higher than her own head.


    All SWORDs were given these things as well as a full black bodysuit made from a thin layer of a very strong but also very elastic fabric that was tailor made specifically for her body that went every every twist and curve to upmost perfection. Alicia often marvelled at how durable the price of clothing actually was. She wore nothing else besides it, but there was nothing else needed. It provided high mobility


    Her handler had mentioned that the town was willing to pay a lot of gold to get rid of the this specific Angel, and if she couldn''t find it, there would be no payday. Of course the pay wasn''t for her. She was merely an employee of an organisation who was expected to and treated like a soldier whose only real purpose was to slay monsters for a living.


    Sometimes the missions she was given were difficult and sometimes they weren''t. In this case, this would be the first time she actually came close to failing a given mission not because the enemy was too powerful, but because she couldn''t find the damn town she was supposed to find.


    Am I going in the right direction?


    Alicia looked up into the sky and judging by the position of the sun, she figured that she was indeed on the right path. The town should have been here. Perhaps it was just over the horizon. She made her way to the top of the mountain she had been walking across for and when she reached the top there she finally saw her destination. Down below in a deep long valley was the evasive town at last.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Her concerns were quenched. She would not be disciplined for failing to complete her given mission. As she approached it she noticed it was quite small, and easily missable if she chose a slightly different path. It was small, likely only housing a hundred or so people. Definitely below average. This island wasn''t known for its large settlements. Besides a great city at the very center there were hundreds of smaller villages and towns scattered around randomly as if no one had any real plans to ever connect them. Commerce was usually done by travelling merchants who would make use of clear roads that were man made, but not in this case. This place was totally lost in the wild.


    It was still midday, and the sun was high in the sky. Not that it really mattered as she had no problems hunting at night as well. She could see in the dark better than an ordinary human, but unlike some animals with night vision, she could not see if in near absolute darkness.


    She approached the town and when she did she tried to ignore the residence who stared at her with trepidation. Women grabbed a hold of their children while the men would look at her scour fully. Alicia was used to it. SWORDs were never really classified as people. They were objects of fear and were only called in moments of absolute necessity when there were no other options.


    The villagers stared at her neon bright features that was unique to all of her kind. All SWORDs went through a bleach like process where their hair and eyes would turn into a colour that most considered to be a white gold. Due to this her pupils were hard to see from a distance as they were somewhat white like the rest of her eyes, and she figured that lack of an ability for others to see where she was exactly looking likely contributed to the mistrust of her kind.


    She walked through the town, scanning the area for any signs of the Angel. Like all of her kind she could sense the presence of angels when they were nearby. Angels were clever in the sense that they would hide amongst human populations, killing one of them and then morphing themselves into almost perfect copies of the original. They were shape shifting creatures, and tended to avoid exposing their real ugly selves whenever it wasn''t necessary. Despite their names, angels were incredibly cruel. Some of them could even a mimic the memories of its human victims after eating them whole, and when that happened, it was almost impossible tell them apart, even for family members. It was often the case that a single angel would exterminate an entire town slowly over the years as it killed people on by one while replacing itself with a new look each time.


    Alicia had seen it all before. In fact, she had seen it so much she became desensitised to it all. The reality of this world broke any liberal mind very quickly. she still felt sorry for the people who were victims to the cruelty of the angels, but after doing this for so long this simply felt like a job for her. And like all jobs all that mattered was completing the mission, even if that meant she ended up inadvertently killing an innocent if it meant extermination of the target. The angels were smart. Smart enough to take hostages in times of desperation and that was something Alicia always had to be ready for.


    she flicked her long silvery white hair as she scanned the people of the town. None of them moved, and all of them appeared to be equally as nervous. She watched for certain types of behaviours that would give her a clue as to which one of them was the angel. Sometimes they would even try to run but that wasn''t always. The ones that tried to fight were the most fun. When it came to a contest of pure strength, she loses, but in terms of speed, agility and wit, she was superior. A combat by fist would be very difficult to win, but since she was armed with a great-sword, the angels never really stood a chance.


    The townsfolk stood still as she walked through their town, inspecting each house closely looking for anything off. Not one one said a thing, such was the protocol for when a one of her kind would drop by unannounced. Her senses tingled when she went by a certain household. The front door was already half open, and so she helped herself inside without asking any permission from the owners. Inside there was a nuclear family sitting across their living room table. A man and a woman, as well their two young sons remained in trepidation, praying that the precious person next to them was who they thought they were.


    Alicia approached each one of the family members so she could have a closer feel to see if they were indeed human. She spent a few seconds across each, but finding non of them conclusive. She could smell the scent of an angel as well as sense its distinctive aura, but these four people were''t it.


    "Does anyone else live here?" Alicia said.


    The father, turned over to her. His face was white with fear. "No...there''s nobody else. We are a family of four..." He said with a shaky voice.


    Alicia was sceptical. Not just in the way he said it but by the strange and unaccounted for reactions of the whole family. The organisation had trained her to be an expert in more than just combat. She was trained to deal with a range of situations, from combat, to understanding human psychology, to spotting a liar or even using her sex appeal to get her way if need be. In this case, it didn''t take an expert to know something was up. They were hiding something from her, but she couldn''t be certain about it.

 Chapter 2

    As Alicia made her way up the narrow flight of stairs, she drew out her great-sword from the holster across her back though she had to bend over to make space to manoeuvre it. Sometimes angels would draw her kind into enclosed places such as a house or a tunnel where it would be difficult to fight back properly with their primary weapon. But Alicia wasn''t afraid. Fighting in an enclosed space was something she had gotten used to, and had secretly hoped that perhaps she would meet a real challenge that would best her in combat.


    When she reached the top level Alicia saw a small hallway which had two bedrooms as well as what appeared to be a study. She searched the closest room to her right and saw nothing out of the ordinary. It appeared to be the room of the parents with a queen sized bed in the center as well as olden style wooden furniture placed against the walls. Sensing nothing here, she moved on to the next room which seemed to be the kids room and instantly she felt something was not right. There were three beds despite there only being two children at the dinner table downstairs. A tingle ran down her spine as she felt the presence of an angel. She focused upon a clothing cupboard against the far end of the wall, and tightened the grip of her weapon as she steadily approached it.


    Alicia slowly opened the cupboard door and noticed a little girl cowering against the corner with her legs and arms inwards in a fetal position. She shook like she had just emerged out from an icy bath, even though she was incredibly dirty and full of blood. The girl''s aura was one of an angel, and she also smelt like one too, but Alicia could never be quite certain, at least from a distance.


    "Look into my eyes." Alicia said.


    The girl took her time to comply, and when she did, Alicia noticed a pair of ordinary looking hazel eyes that were full of terror and trepidation. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until she dared to look closer and noticed the signs of what she feared. Realising it had been discovered, the angel morphed out of its human disguise and began to transform into its true form. The bones under its skin twisted and bent in inhumane ways which would make most people sick to their stomaches. The horrid sound of bone snapping combined with the ungodly screams during the transformation made her cringe as it always did. Its body grew in size to about seven feet tall, bending over to its head wouldn''t hit the ceiling. Its skin changed to a smooth light grey and across its head there were large twisted horns like that or a ram. Its face was resembled that of a nightmare and resembled some sort of demon with wide amber eyes and a set of teeth that were as sharp as a sharks.


    Not willing to waste any time, Alicia attempted to end the fight before the creature fully completed its transformation but the moment she swung her sword, she miscalculated the space around her and accidentally got the tip of the sword stuck in the wood of the roof. She panicked, but luckily for her, the angel didn''t decide to attack her, instead it ran away with blinding speed out the room and down the set of stairs no to escape her.


    Damn¡­


    Again the same mistake¡­


    Alicia pulled the sword out of the room and ran in pursuit after it. The moment she went down the stairs she noticed the family pleading with her not to chase it but she ignored them knowing full well the angel had them fooled. Sometimes it was difficult for people to believe a loved one was gone, and the smarter angels often played on these insecurities to convince these humans to take care of them as if nothing had even changed. Alicia feared that was what happened here. It was tragic, but it was nothing really new, and she had to deal with it.


    She chased the angel through and out of the town, until they were both deep into the wilderness, pushing away tree branches and almost tripping on the vegetation that came across them. Eventually the angel decided to stop running and face her, and when it tried to attack her with a swipe of its razor sharp claws, Alicia dodged and counterattacked by cutting off its arm in its entirely. A torrent of purple blood came out of the wound like a fountain, pronging a high pitch screech of pain from the angel. It staggered backwards and attempted for a second time to run away knowing it was clearly outmatched.


    Alicia chased it down a valley where there was a small, clean river that flowed amongst rock pebbles. There was a child there, a boy, playing obliviously with the stones. He didn''t even realise the danger coming his way as the angel approached him rapidly. Alicia feared the worst but she was not fast enough to get to him before the angel did. The boy screamed in panic as the angel grabbed him and held him in front it as a hostage while placing its claws over his neck in a threatening manner while staring at her with crazy eyes.


    "Put the weapon down, or the boy dies!" The angel said in its ghastly, hollowed out voice.


    Alicia did as the creature ordered, stopping only a few meters in front of them, pondering exactly what she should do in such a situation. Hostage situations were incredibly difficult to handle because she did actually care about the lives of the innocent but not so much as to sacrifice her own life for someone she didn''t really know.


    "Don''t listen! kill it. kill it now!" The boy yelled bravely, struggling under its grip.


    Alicia guessed he was around fourteen years old. He was crying and yet he still put on a brave face, or at least as brave as possible for someone of his age. The angel drooled across his face as it smiled in an evil manner, exposing its sharp teeth at both him and a wary Alicia.


    Normally Alicia wouldn''t have complied with such a demand but this time she felt she had to. There was something about the boy and the way he was staring at her worriedly that made her feel compelled to do all that she could, including laying down her own arms to save him. His bravery inspired her, and so after thinking about it for a short while, she decided to take the risk and throw her sword away uncertain exactly what would happen next, whether the angel would run or attack her.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    With her disarmed, the angel chose the latter and let go of the boy to charge towards her and tackle her violently to the ground. Alicia couldn''t stop it, and neither could she avoid receiving a massive cut to the side of her face as she struggled to protect herself against its razor sharp claws. The angel only had one arm, but already the other had began to grow back at an alarming rate. Alicia tried to to push the angel off her but her attempts were futile. The angel was just a little stronger than her but it was more than enough to pin her down, especially after being in such a dominant position itself.


    Unable Alicia pulled out her knife across from her belt and used it to fight back. Even without her great-sword, she was quite formidable with the smaller weapon as well, and in the ensuing struggle she managed to stab the knife deep into the angel''s arm, providing her a window to escape the ground. She rolled away and got to her feet, but as soon as she did that the angel managed to take her down yet again by tripping her legs with a low kick with its own slim ones. It bit into her arm and forced her to let go of the knife which was tossed away to the side.


    The angel used its superior weight to once again pin Alicia down against the ground. By now its severed arm had grown back completely and she used it and the other undamaged one to hold down Alicia''s arms just above her head, laughed at her mockingly through its teeth.


    "You''re not so tough after all, woman. I wonder if you like angel cock? I''m going to rip you apart from the inside. Keep fighting, I like it when they fight." The angel laughed in its sickly voice as it licked the side of Alicia''s face in a, creepy lustrous manner.


    Her anger and frustration grew but the more she struggled the more she came to the realisation that there was no escaping its grip. It was stronger than her and she was completely at the angel''s mercy.


    Just as she was about to give up hope, something hit the angel against the head with a clonk. Alicia looked to the side of them and noticed the boy holding a big stick he used to wack the angel with. He hit the angel so hard it actually began to bleed, which was impressive considering the boy was so young but still packed quite the punch. The angel tried to ignore him but after falling victim to a series of further strikes from the boy, it was forced to use its arm to defend itself which gave Alicia a chance to fight back. With an arm free she punched the angel hard in the abdomen which caused it to wince a little and weaken its grip of her further, giving her the opportunity to escape entirely from her submissive position against the ground.


    She got to her feet a second time and attempted to run for her sword but couldn''t quite do so when the angel grabbed her by the ankle to prevent her from moving off. In her desperation she tried to kick it away, and as she struggled she was surprised to see the boy continuing to assisted her by bashing the angel with the stick over and over again which eventually helped loosen the its powerful grip so she could finally reach and grab for her great-sword. The angel realised it was in trouble and once again attempted to use the boy as a hostage once more but this time Alicia was faster. She removed the arm that had just regenerated as it was about to reach for the boy, and as it screamed in pain she took another swing and removed the other arm in an instant.


    The angel, now armless, took cautious steps backwards as it bled furiously from both sides. It hissed at her like a cornered cat as its bulging amber eyes shimmered across her with a new sense of fear. In its last foolhardy attempt to live, the angel attempted sympathy as it transformed itself back into form of the young human girl like it was back at the house.


    The image instantly struck the boy who seemed recognised her. He dropped the stick in his shock.


    "Charlotte?" The boy said shakily.


    "Sam, help me. She''s gonna kill me!" The angel said.


    "You''re...not her¡­you only look like her..." The boy said. He then looked over sadly at Alicia. The both of them knew what had to be done.


    "No! please, someone save me! I don''t want to die? Where''s mommy? Where''s daddy? You won''t kill a child will you? You can''t be that heartless."


    Alicia walked up to the angel, paying no attention to the fact that it now began to cry for extra sympathy points. It was a difficult thing to kill something that looked like a child, but Alicia knew that emotions only got in the way of her mission, and so she did the only thing she could. She raised her blade and then swung it sideways to cut the head of the angel without a second thought. The headless body instantly collapsed to the ground, and the moment it did, it instantly morphed back into its original slimey grey monstrous form.


    Alicia let out a sigh of victory. She was happy she completed the mission and did so without having any civilian casualties. That was always a plus to her, not necessarily for the organisation but for her it was a moral victory. She noticed the boy next to her break down as he fell to his knees from the shock of what he had just witnessed. The both of them stared at the dead angel that lay decapitated against the river before them, the blood being swept away by the gentle currents. The place was peaceful again and a butterfly or two flew in the vicinity around them as if nature itself was completely oblivious to the previous chaos.


    Alicia wanted to, but knew she shouldn''t say anything to the boy. It was the organisations policy never to interfere in the affairs of humans unless it was to kill an angel on their behalf. Nothing good can come it it. She wasn''t here to make friends after all. She found her dagger amongst the rocks and put it back across her belt. She then washed her blooded sword word in the river she then sheathed it across her back.


    She sighed one last time as she began to walk away to return her journey back to headquarters. But she noticed she wasn''t alone. The boy had stopped his mourning, pulled himself to his feet and decided to follow her like a duckling follows its mother. Annoyed, she turned around to address him.


    "Thanks for your help, but don''t follow me." she said in an emotionless manner, her head slightly lowered as to not even look at him.


    "But I have no where to go. My family is gone. Charlotte was my best friend, I had no idea she was an angel." The boy said.


    "I''m sorry, but that''s not my problem."


    "...You...You saved my life." He said.


    Alicia said nothing. She surprised herself when she sent a half smile his way before turning around to leave once more. As she suspected the boy didn''t listen and continued to follow her, but didn''t make a big fuss out it it. She figured he would eventually stop following her when she would get further enough from the town. After all, the boy wasn''t her problem and she sure as hell didn''t want him to be one either.

 Chapter 3

    Despite Alicia¡¯s clear disapproval, the boy refused to stop his annoying following of her. He trailed behind, jogging with the nimbleness of a rabbit but persistence of a stalker. She figured he was around thirteen or fourteen years old; a mere child who she could have easily left behind in the dust but decided against it, perhaps as an act of mercy or perhaps not to appease her guilty conscience. A child would not survive very long in these woods, and she hoped he would eventually just give up and return to his village, but that did not happen.


    Soon the sun set behind the mountains and darkness engulfed the land, and in that moment her annoyance morphed more into concern. The full moon was the only source of illumination around, and his eyes, unlike hers, were not equipped to deal with such low light conditions, making things that much more dangerous. She turned around and noticed he had fallen so far behind he could no longer be seen, and when she heard the howl of wolves in the air, she felt a strange gloomy feeling in her gut.


    So she began to head back, hoping to find him before the wolves did. For quite some time he was no where to be seen, and it became evident that he had fallen even further behind than she originally thought. The sound of the howling hot louder, which triggered her to move faster, so she did, until she found herself running at near top speed to search frantically for him.


    Then, down in a long valley, she saw him. He was surrounded by a pack of wolves that surrounded him in a death circle as they inched closer to feast on him. She pulled out her great-sword and went to his aid, instantly drawing the attention of the wolves. With her weapon she cut in half the first dog that lunged at her, with the next strike she killed another. After that the others appeared to temporarily cower away giving her full access to him. He was laying against the ground, exhausted but still alive, looking at her once with his brown eyes before he fell to unconsciousness.


    She threw him over her shoulder and then returned her attention back to the wolves, all of whom appeared to be less than enthused to have their meal taken away from them. Though she was surrounded, Alicia wasn¡¯t afraid. She knew wolves, knew how they worked, how they hunted. From a young age she was used to being thrown into the wilderness as a part of her initiation to become a warrior. This was a test all SWORD trainees had to complete every year since they were nine years old. Only the very strongest and most savvy ended up surviving, and luckily for her, she was one of the best.


    Alicia quickly identified the head wolf amongst them all. It was the biggest and meanest looking of the lot. She was about to strike at it when one of its pack members distracted by nibbling at her ankle from behind. She kicked it away, but not before another three of them lunged for her at once. She swung her great-sword in an arc around her killing them all at once. She was surprised the head wolf hadn''t attacked thus far, but when it finally felt brave enough to rally the rest, Alicia put an end to it by knocking hard with the blunt side of her blade with such force it went out cold.


    As she suspected the others began to cower away, allowing her a chance to escape. She made her way out of the valley, and for a few minutes they followed but eventually they seemed to have given up. She kept moving through the woods until she felt they were safe where she lowered the boy gently against the ground to rest.


    Alicia sighed. She watched him as he slept before her boots like a gentle little lamb. She thought about leaving him but she realised it would defeat the purpose of saving him in the first place. If she did leave him here, he would likely die, and not necessarily from the wolves. There was more than one way to die out in the middle of no where. Death by a pack of wild animals goring on you wasn¡¯t actually the worst way to die in the woods.


    She stabbed her sword into the ground so it would stand on its own, and then looked around the general vicinity to see if she can discover some firewood to create some a fire for him. It took a little longer than she had hoped to find the appropriate wood, but when she did, she used her survival skills to create a fire using only two sticks and a bit of friction. She made it near him so he would benefit from the warmth but not so close as to risk burning him. It was a cold night and she knew his young body likely would not withstand such punishing weather on its own. Alicia sat against a tree, and for the next ten minutes or so she watched the boy, but then she soon closed her eyes, and happened to fall asleep herself.


    ¡ª¡ª


    The next morning Alicia opened her eyes and was alarmed to see light of the next day. The fire was reduced to a crispy smoke, realising she must have slept for a few good hours. Clearly she underestimated just how tired she was herself.


    Alicia got to her feet and rubbed her eyes, yawning as she stretched her body. Something was wrong, and when her brain woke up to that fact she panicked when the boy was once again no where to be seen. She pulled her sword out from the ground and had a frantic look around, not knowing for sure which way to go look for him. Right as she was about to lose it, Alicia jumped in fright when he suddenly revealed himself out from behind a tree with a playful smile across his face.


    ¡°Scared ya didn¡¯t I?¡± He said.


    Alicia wasn¡¯t amused. She looked away from him ¡°What a childish thing to say. Why would I be scared?¡±


    ¡°I dunno, because you care?¡±


    Alicia remained silent.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± He said.


    ¡°Why do you want to know that?¡±


    ¡°Because you risked your life for me, and you did it twice. I would like to know who to thank..¡±


    ¡°¡­Alicia¡±


    ¡°Sam.¡±


    Alicia gave him a stern look. ¡°You said your parents were killed?¡±


    He lowered his head sadly. ¡°Yeah. I''m all alone. A few months ago an angel appeared in my town. It killed my whole family. My mother, father, sister¡­all murdered before my eyes. I don''t know why but,it didn¡¯t do the same to me. It just stood there, watching me as it feasted on their bodies. I was too scared to do anything. Too scared to even scream. To run. I remember it giving me this creepy lookbefore it climbed out the window and escaped. I thought it was gone for good¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you have any other family?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯ve lived by myself ever since. My village kept me shunned and it was only Charlotte who ever played with me¡­but then she was an angel too¡­¡±


    Alicia sighed. This was an all too familiar story she had heard far too many times before. She felt sorry for him.


    ¡°Sometimes angels like to play with their victims instead of eating them. The angel that I killed, the one that took of the form of your friend, it''s likely that was the same one that killed your family. ¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s dead now¡­thanks to you... I owe you so much. I want to help you the way you helped me.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t help me.¡±


    ¡°Why not? it¡¯s only fair. I want to help you Alicia.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Sam, this is what¡¯s going to happen. You¡¯re coming with me until I find a safe place to drop you off. There are plenty of childless couples in this area of the island. I¡¯m sure there''s someone willing to accept you.¡±


    Sam threw her a resistant look as he crossed his arms. She already knew what he was going to say before he even said it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need someone to look after me¡­¡±


    Alicia gave him a funny, unconvinced look. She figured not even he truly believed that. The boy was strong for his age but he was merely a child.


    He added, bravely: ¡°...Why can¡¯t I stay with you?¡±


    ¡°Can you kill an angel?¡±


    He shied away. ¡°Well, not yet¡­¡±


    ¡°Then you will only be a burden to me. I cannot supervise a child, nor do I even want to. I prefer to work alone.¡±


    ¡°¡­But nobody wants to be alone¡­¡± he said.


    ¡ª


    For the next hour they travelled together but spoke only sparingly. Sam picked out berries which even she did not spot, passing some over to her which she ate reluctantly. His family once traded in spices, and he explained the many different plants and spices one could find in nature. Alicia had always eaten quite plainly, and as she listened grew to wonder if his food was indeed as good as he claimed it was.


    Sam had a knack for getting on her nerves, asking many of the same questions in different ways. She felt like she was being interrogated. Often she would ignore him to indicate she wasn¡¯t interested in conversing, but he never really got the message. Whenever she looked at him he would smile at her, and though she felt like sending a smile back she held herself back purposeful and tried to stay as neutral as possible so to not get attached.


    Her organisation mostly frowned upon any type of relationship between SWORDs and humans, and for good reason. For one, it mostly got in the way of her job, and as for all the other reasons, well, humans and SWORDs were simply two very different species, with neither fully trusting the other.


    In her younger days she would often make the mistake of making friends amongst the humans only to suffer and mourn their deaths later when they would be mysteriously killed by angels. Alicia had her suspicions about the connection between the angels and her organisation, but she never asked any questions. Any SWORDs that did, ended up disappearing, whether by being sent on suicide missions or simply disappearing in the dead of night. Angels were one thing, but nothing was quite as scary as the organisation itself. They were the real monsters.


    ¡°So what does SWORD stand for anyway?¡± Sam said as they moved through the land.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°It must stand for something right? I mean, it sounds like it does.¡±


    ¡°It does sound like an acronym but it really isn¡¯t one. There isn''t all that much to it.¡± Alicia said.


    ¡°What¡¯s an acronym?¡± he said, confused.


    ¡°Never mind. There¡¯s a village up ahead. This is where we separate.¡±


    Down in a shallow valley there was an old farming village which Alicia had visited once before. She remembered there was an older couple here who she thought might be interested in having a surrogate son. All she had to do was ask them. Sam didn¡¯t appear all too interested in being adopted by anyone but that was to be expected. He was quite stubborn after all.


    It was almost midday and the villagers were all out and watching, clearly noticing their arrival from a distance. They stayed away, wary of her and suspicious of the boy. It had been a full year since she had been here, and she doubted any of them had remembered that it was her than killed the last angel that decided to make its residence here. As always she inspected the place closely looking for anything suspicious or out of place. It was always important to have perfect situational awareness, probing around like an owl for any signs of trouble. So far this place seemed to be angel free, and relatively secluded and peaceful. Perfect for a young child to grow.


    ¡°This place stinks. I don¡¯t like it.¡± Sam said.


    She looked at him and gave him a stern look. He knew exactly what that meant and he appeared to behave himself, though he crossed his arms not exactly looking happy about it. She noticed a large farmhouse on the far end of the village and remembered that was where the old couple resided, so that¡¯s exactly where they went. She could sense no presence of angels, nor could she pick up the scent of any either. If there was one in this village she would have picked up on it by now.


    Along the way she continued to scan for trouble and when she noticed one of the villagers appear more nervous than the rest, it drew her attention. The villager alternated his gaze between her and his work as he moved around stacks of hay, sweating profusely and not just from the work. She ignored it and passed it off as nothing. That was usually the explanation for such things. SWORDs weren¡¯t permitted to cause trouble amongst the human populations but not all of them followed those rules.


    As they walked through the village Alicia noticed the familiar old farm on the outskirts where she remembered the old couple resided. Their fields had many vegetables this time around, full of corn and wheat as well as what seemed like cucumbers and tomatoes, all ripe and ready to be picked very soon.


    She knocked on the front door with Sam standing unhappily beside her with his arms crossed. It opened a moment later with the old woman almost freezing in place the moment she noticed who her guests were. Her grey eyes looking at her first before she noticing the boy.


    ¡°Yes? Can I help you?¡± The old woman said, putting on a fake smile.


    Alicia looked over at Sam: ¡°This boy¡¯s family was killed by an angel in a town to the north. He needs good people to take care of him. Can you provide him with what he needs?¡±


    The old woman remained still like a statue. Her eyes focused more on her than the boy. It was possible she was too frightened to even properly register what was just said. Alicia was about to repeat herself when the woman finally opened her mouth, but it wasn¡¯t for her.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Gerald!¡± She yelled behind her.


    ¡°Huh?¡± A voice yelled back.


    ¡°Would you come see this? this boy needs a home.¡±


    ¡°You found a gnome?¡±


    ¡°No! A boy is here and he needs a home Gerald!¡± the woman yelled back again. She then turned her attention back to Alicia and smiled with her frail cracked lips.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry dear, he¡¯s deaf as a mole. Would you like some tea? I make a lovely cut of tea. It''s straight from the heart which is the main ingredient.¡±


    ¡°No thank you. I must get going¡­Will you adopt the boy? I won¡¯t leave unless I know he will be cared for.¡± Alicia said.


    ¡°If he has no where to go, of course we will, oh you poor dear,¡± The woman said as she wrapped her arms around Sam who seemed less than enthused. ¡°We have an extra room no one has used for years. He can use it. Also, we could always use an extra hand on the farm.¡±


    ¡°Good. Keep him busy. ¡± Alicia said.


    ¡°Oh we will¡­Thanks for dropping him off¡­bye bye now.¡± The woman said, smiling.


    Sam was staring at her, looking unhappier than ever. Alicia did want to say goodbye, but felt it was better for them both if she didn¡¯t. She turned and began to walk away, resisting the urge to look back.


    As she passed by the farm gates she heard Sam yell from behind. ¡°Alicia! When i¡¯m older i¡¯ll come for you! I''ll repay you for all you¡¯ve done! Just you wait! You haven¡¯t seen the last of me yet! That''s a promise! Thank you so much for everything!¡±


    Will you now?


    I look forward to it.


    What a nice young man...


    As Alicia passed by the center of the village she noticed something that caught her attention. There was a movement behind one of the bushes in the distance up above the valley. It caught her eye but she dismissed it as nothing. A bit later she noticed the same nervous man still moving around stacks of hay in a manner than caught her attention yet again. She noticed he moved the hay in a completely illogical manner, moving the same one over and over again. It caught her suspicions but she thought nothing of it ¨C again.


    She left the town, heading up and over the hill that separated the town from the land, thinking professionally;


    Why do I feel like something isn''t quite right?


    There was something odd about what that old woman said¡­


    Thanks for dropping him off¡­


    Is that a normal thing to say?


    Maybe I¡¯m overthinking this¡­


    But there was also that man who was moving the hay¡­


    Something definitely isn¡¯t right¡­


    As she was just about to leave the valley, Alicia froze in her thoughts. She wondered if there was something to her concern or if she was being overly paranoid.


    Something deep within her told her to go back. She tried to fight it but the feeling was so strong she could no longer do so. In her heart she felt like it was the right thing to do, so she turned around and began to move back down the valley at an ever increasing pace. Her thoughts were not calmed and she ended up sprinting as it was for certain Sam was in trouble even though she really had no evidence to believe it.


    As she entered the town yet again, Alicia noticed the people in the fields were all missing. At most she was gone for no longer than fifteen minutes and yet everything seemed different. It was around midday and there should have been at least one person in the open, but there wasn''t. It was odd so she anxiously returned to the farmhouse eager to find out what was going on.


    Alicia knocked on the front door. The response was slower than the first time and that only added to her suspicions.


    No more miss nice Alicia¡­


    She forced open the door, easily breaking the parts of the wooden doorframe where the locks were nailed across. It took quite a bit of force to get into, so much so that even a horse would have trouble kicking it down. No ordinary farmhouse would go so far to barricade something inside if it didn¡¯t have anything to hide.


    As she entered, Alicia was surprised by the relative luxuriousness of the interior. It certainly was no ordinary farmhouse. It was filled with lots of expensive looking furniture with rose coloured drapes lining the walls which were also lined full of oil canvas paintings. There was a cosy brick fireplace and a dinner table and kitchen that seemed large enough to accommodate a small army.


    What is this place? it''s definitely no farm...


    Alicia noticed a heavy wooden door that was half opened at the far end, so she went to see what was on the other side of it, and when she did, she saw a deep dark tunnel with steps leading down bellow to what looked like a cellar. It was litten up by oil fire torches that were placed against the walls.


    Alicia went down the steps, making sure to take slow deliberate movements in case this was all a trap. She didn¡¯t know what to expect. This whole situation made little sense to her, but she was determined to figure out the meaning behind it. The staircase spiralled as she went down at least a hundred steps where at the very bottom she discovered a roomy chamber with many people standing around a platform filled with dozens upon dozens of cages that seemed to have been built for animals. But there were no animals in them. Alicia was strong as she was quiet, and as she snuck closer, not one of the people appeared to noticed her approaching. She moved behind a bundle of crates, and poked her head out the corner hoping to have a better look at what the people were all crowding around.


    And then she heard a sound that made her heart stop. It was the sound of Sam screaming in pain. It was a bone churning sound that made feel compelled to help him. She pulled out her sword and announced herself to everyone.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here¡­¡± She said.


    The room drew quiet as every eyeball focused on her. They were all just as shocked to see her as she was them. In the middle of them she noticed Sam all tied up against a metal pole as if he was about to be slaughtered like an animal.


    ¡°Alicia they¡¯re gonna-¡± Sam yelled before the old woman muffled him by placing a cloth over his mouth.


    Alicia was mad, though she was thankful that despite being tied up there seemed to be no harm done to it, yet. Her white hot eyes focused upon the old woman who now had a wide, cruel smirk across her wrinkled face. Around her were around two dozen men all who dressed like no good criminals, wearing brown leather jackets some of whom had face masks. They were all armed, and drew their weapons against her. Some had short swords and others with weapons Alicia hadn¡¯t seen in this part of the world. Crossbows. Far more dangerous than any melee weapon. There was at least six of them.


    ¡°Well well look who it is, if it isn''t our white eyed friend who dropped us our little gift. We thank you for him, we really do. You have no further business here. Now, walk away and live, stay and i¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be dead dear. What will it be?¡± The old woman said.


    Alicia said nothing but merely continued her cold stare of the wretched old woman.


    -¡°You¡¯re one of those SWORDs¡­¡­we¡¯re not afraid of you. Not even one of you guys stand a chance against all of us.¡± One of the bandits said in a scratchy, groany voice, looking all brave standing next to all his friends.


    Another dared to get closer with his crossbow, pointing it threateningly at Alicia. ¡°You want to save him? We dare you to try. Why bother? He doesn''t belong to you.¡±


    -¡°Is he your boyfriend? a little young don¡¯t you think? I thought women usually like older men?¡± another said.


    The chamber roared with mocking laughter, but Alicia wasn¡¯t shaken. She ignored their taunts.


    ¡°I only want the boy. Give him to me and there won¡¯t be any trouble.¡± Alicia said.


    ¡°First you drop him off and now you want him back?¡± The old woman said. ¡°You really should learn to make up your mind. It''s all too confusing.¡±


    One of the bandits, the tallest one that appeared to be the leader leaned over and whispered something to the old woman. She nodded and then smiled at Alicia.


    ¡°It seems my boys may have other ideas for you, if you¡¯ll hear them out. Ta Ta dear. Do try to play nice with them.¡± The old woman said as she began to move off, leaving the chamber through a door at the other end.


    The head bandit approached Alicia with a wide smirk across his face. Alicia could tell by the look on his face as well as his men what was on their mind.


    ¡°Tell you what, we¡¯ll agree to give you the boy as long as you give us what we want.¡±


    Alicia raised a brow. ¡°And what is that?¡±


    ¡°You. Let us have our way with you for, let¡¯s say, an hour or so, yeah, that should suffice, and when we¡¯re done, you can take him. That way, nobody has to die, and everyone gets what they want, right boys?¡±


    The chamber roared in mocking laughter as the men began to surround her, eyeballing her in their lustrous ways.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry we¡¯ll be as gentle as we can be. We''re not all assholes, at least, i''m not, I dunno about the rest, they could be.¡± One said.


    ¡°I wonder what SWORD cunt feels like? I bet it''s tight and sweet.¡±


    Sam, in his struggling managed to remove the cloth that covered his mouth;


    ¡°No Alicia don¡¯t do it! Walk away, leave me! i¡¯m not your problem. Don¡¯t let them do it!¡±


    -¡°Shut up boy!¡± A bandit said as he slapped Sam hard across the face. He then put the cloth back against his mouth to quiet him up. Sam continued to struggle but no one could hear him say anything anymore.


    The head bandit bravely approached Alicia with wide scary eyes. ¡°The boy can watch. It¡¯ll be good for him to learn the proper way to treat a woman.¡±


    Sam continued to struggle hopelessly in his bonds, but Alicia tried ignored him as difficult as that was. It only made things more difficult than they needed to be, and she wished he would stop.


    Alicia took a slow deep breath and knew what was going to happen. She only wished it would end shortly.


    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Alicia said.


    The men appeared initially surprised by her lack of resistance, but they celebrated amongst themselves like bloodthirsty hounds. Some of them she noticed were drunk and there was a strong smell of alcohol in their breaths as they came closer, almost dancing in chilling excitement.


    Alicia looked away from them, away from Sam as she began to peel off the top section of her black body suit. The men got louder as they mumbled amongst themselves, watching with feverish expectation. From the corner of her eye she could still see Sam in a complete frenzy as he desperately tried to wriggle out of his bonds but no getting anywhere. She felt worst for him that she did herself.


    Alicia removed the top section of her suit entirely, revealing her bare naked breasts to the men. The head bandit approached her and placed his hands across them, fondling them in a less than tender manner that made her wince. His hands were cold, and his fingernails long and dirty. He grossed her out but she wasn''t planning to fight back. When it came to sex and violence there was almost no difference between humans and angels. Alicia felt an instinctual fear reside through her. One that made her body shiver in a way she did not expect.


    ¡°You¡¯re a real beauty aren¡¯t ya? Come here baby. Give daddy a kiss.¡± The head bandit said as he moved in to kiss her on the lips with his alcohol soaked face.


    Alicia tried to put her mind in a different place, to focus on anything except what was happening but all she could hear was the desperation of Sam trying to escape, moving from side to side and banging his body angrily against the metal pole. Judging by the tugging, it seemed as though the roped were getting looser and looser, but it could have been all in her head. It probably was.


    I¡¯m sorry Sam¡­


    When the bandit¡¯s hand tried to burrow underneath the lower section of her clothing, Alicia, as well as the men were all startled when Sam''s ropes loosened and he somehow managed to escape. He picked up a sword that was nearby and ran towards the head bandit with his face red with fury.


    Alicia was in shock. She stared at Sam who clearly did his best not too look at her out of respect of her nakedness. Her mind went blank. His eyes were watery, but not from fear. He was determined to fight and protect her no matter the cost.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch her you bastards! I won¡¯t let you! I''ll never let you!¡± Sam roared.


    The bandits laughed at him. Alicia remained frozen and didn¡¯t know what to do. Before Sam could even do anything two bandits quickly disarmed Sam and restrained him, but even so, he somehow escaped their hold by elbowing one in the gut and slamming his foot in the toe of the other.


    The head bandit laughed mockingly. ¡°Quite the determined one. You love this woman don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I''m gonna killyou all!¡±


    ¡°I hate to break it to you but she¡¯s not interested in you. She''s no different to an angel. She''s got their blood running through her veins. A monster is what she is. Doesn''t that bother you?¡±


    Sam picked up his word and tightened his grip on it so hard it felt as if the whole handle would break. ¡°Fight me you coward! One on one! If I win you leave her alone. I don¡¯t care what happens to me.¡±


    Alicia was stricken by his resolve and determination to protect her. It felt strange. Nobody had ever fought for her before. She never even fought for herself.


    Sam¡­


    What are you doing?


    The head bandit drew out his short sword, similar to the one Sam was holding.


    ¡°Ya got balls kid i¡¯ll give you that. But you¡¯re going to regret doing all of this I promise ya. I''ll give ya a fair fight...¡±


    The crowd moved away from them. Alicia continued to stare at Sam but still he did not lay eyes on her. She wondered if it was still due to her nakedness. Sam was clearly determined to fight this grown man who clearly he had no hope in defeating. In his rage he took a swing at the bandit who parried his amateur strike with ease ¨C way too much ease.


    ¡°You¡¯ll sell for quite a bit of gold. There¡¯s a high demand for strong young lads like you. Maybe we''ll even make you one of us if you''re lucky.¡±


    Alicia analysed the fight and knew from the get-go that it was was hopeless. The bandit had proper form and superior movements compared to sam Sam who lashed out like an amateur. The bandit took advantage of Sam''s lack of defences and managed to kick him hard in the gut which instantly threw him he to the floor, dropping his sword. Sam quickly got to his feet, but the moment he did the other bandits swooped in and restrained him yet again. Alicia felt like she had to do something but for some reason she felt paralysed, not because of fear but from indecisiveness. She was still wondering why Sam would bother going through all this just for her. She wasn¡¯t worth his efforts.


    The head bandit threw a punch into Sam¡¯s gut so hard his young legs gave way, but he did not fall to the floor as he was being help up by the two men. Alicia watched closely. She was on the edge herself.


    When the bandit raised his fist for a second punch, Alicia simply had enough. She snapped and Instantly raced towards the head bandit at supernatural speed, catching his arm before he could even throw the punch. Alicia squeezed him so hard the bone itself snapped, pronging a loud yell of pain.


    ¡°You bitch! You broke my arm! Kill her! Kill her!¡±


    The bandits with the crossbows aimed at her but she was too quick for them to even fire. Alicia sliced off their arms with multiple attacks that were so fast it seemed like only one. Some of them managed to fire the bolts before that happened, and all of them missed and hit some of their own instead.


    Others charged at her but she struck them down, ruthlessly, not caring if they were angels or not. At this point it didn¡¯t even matter. She was furious, and that was an emotion she hadn''t experienced for a very long time, but damn did it feel good. Some of the men were rather skilled in combat and managed to ensue a short sword fight with her, but none of them withstood even three attack combinations. Her weapon was bigger than theirs and she could move it at lightning speed. She removed the head of a couple and stabbed others through the chest area, causing the others to back away in fear.


    ¡°You guys are worst than angels. I¡¯m going to kill every last one of you. Don''t even try to run.¡± Alicia said as she flicked the blood of her sword.


    They didn¡¯t appear to heed her warning and continued their assault, seemingly not even aware of how quickly their numbers were dwindling. The head bandit proved to be a coward after all as he mostly moved back and allowed his men to die instead of helping them. Alicia killed them all except for one that tried to run away but she ended him by tossing her giant sword through the air which went cleanly through his chest.


    The head bandit tried the same but he tripped in his clumsiness. He then attempted to get back up but Alicia forced him back down when she slammed her boot into his back.


    ¡°Please! I didn¡¯t mean it! We won¡¯t mess with you ever again! take the boy, he¡¯s all yours!¡± The bandit plead pathetically.


    Alicia wasn¡¯t in the mood for mercy. That ship had sailed. She slammed her boot into his neck with such force it snapped his spine, instantly killing him.


    Afterwards there was a chilling silence. A massacre of bodies surrounded her, so much so that even her face was stained by their blood. Her breathing was heavy as the adrenalin still pumped through her, but it was all over. Sam was safe and the men were dealt with. That¡¯s all that mattered.


    She turned around and noticed Sam standing before her with his head against the floor. She was still not properly dressed, so she used her hands to cover chest, and right as she did so, he burst into tears as he ran into her, wrapping his arms tightly around her.


    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± Alicia said, unsure how to react to the intimacy.


    ¡°....I....I was so scared for you.¡±


    ¡°For me?¡±


    He looked up into her face, the tears flowing down across both of them.


    ¡°Why? Why didn''t you fight back?...Why would you let them do what they wanted?¡±


    Alicia sighed sadly. ¡°Because I have no worth. My purpose is to hunt angels, nothing more.¡±


    He held her tighter, and that instantly struck her.


    ¡°...Don¡¯t you ever think that way. You''re worth something! Your life belongs to you and no one else! You¡¯re a good, kind person Alicia. Bad things shouldn¡¯t happen to good people. Even if you won¡¯t protect yourself then at least train me so I can do it for you instead. I¡¯ll never accept anyone ever treating you like that. Never!¡±


    Something triggered deep inside her, and for the first time in a long time Alicia felt raw emotion flood through her that broke her down in an instant. Her eyes watered up and she felt a tear run down her face. As Sam held on tightly, her eyes began to water up in a way she never imagined they would, and out from that a single tear tickled her cheek as it flowed down gently.


    She collapsed to her knees and wrapped her arms around Sam. One arm around his back and another just behind his head, resting it gently against hers. It struck her the way this boy had changed her, how he managed to bring out feeling she never thought she had. He made her think that perhaps her philosophy of life had been completely wrong, and it was only now that she realised the real sweet truth of it all. She was a human being, and nobody could ever make her feel like that wasn''t the case ever again.