Chapter 15: Acheron

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Rosalyn sighed as she looked at the male in front of her. She had to admit she was a bit taken back by just how pure this male seemed to be at times. But even so, it didn't stop her from perusing her goal of trying to torture the male. She was used to breaking people slowly and methodically but nothing she did seemed to get under his skin. Her usual methods of torture either wouldn't work or didn't seem to bother him.

And when she tried to think outside of the box on what she could do to him, it didn't have the effect she wanted. There were a few instances that it seemed to bother him but nothing ever truly stuck to him. She knew trying to corrupt this male was going to be a bit more dangerous than she had been expecting. But she didn't think it was going to be this hard. Chrom had told her that angels weren't the ideal embodiments of morality that society liked to portray them as.

And yet he seemed to be exactly what Chrom said he wasn't. He really did seem to be this moral paragon against things that were inherently seen as evil. Then again maybe she shouldn't have been expecting much else. They were warriors sure, but they were also meant to be the complete opposite of demons. Something that she did have a bit of experience with. And just like demons are capable of acts of kindness she knew that King as an angel was also capable of committing sins.

She just needed to find what sins he was more likely to commit. He seemed to have come to terms that he was probably the last angel alive so sex and reproducing didn't seem to carry much weight for him. He was also a fairly calm person despite having been captured by the organization and now being tortured by her. So acts of rage and violence seemed off the table as well.

There were still other things she could try out but she had no idea how to go about it. All she need was to get him to commit one act of evil. If she did that then she could reasonably convince him to do more and more. Almost like a snowball effect until it eventually escalated to the point where it couldn't be controlled anymore.

"You really seem to enjoy being a creature of the night," King said as he looked up at the female in front of him.

"I do," Rosalyn said as she looked at the male in front of her.

"I don't think so," King said as he looked at her. "At least not as much as you let on. But we angels see things differently. We see people differently. We see the color of one's soul, so from the very beginning, we have no reason to try and get to know someone better. We know exactly who you are from the very beginning," King said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"Is that so?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male in front of her. That was another bit of information she could take back to the others. "Then tell me, what do you see in my soul?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"I see a kind girl, an innocent girl corrupted by this world. A girl that's been twisted by anger and hatred into what she is now. And I think it has something to do with the man who turned you into this creature. That's what I see when I stare at you. I see little hope for you to redeem yourself and begin walking in the light once again," King said as he looked at her. When he said this Rosalyn looked at him a bit skeptical.

"Walking in light doesn't exactly do much for a vampire," Rosalyn said as she looked at the male in front of her.

"I'm aware, but the light I'm referring to is spiritual. A light that won't burn you, and instead will cleanse you. But . . . as I said, I have little hope for you to begin walking down that path once again," King said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"In that case, I want you to tell me something," Rosalyn said as she looked at the male in front of her. "What did you see when I took you to all those places. Tell me what you saw. Has this world strayed from what it once was?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male in front of her causing King to shake his head.

"No, I don't think so. This world and the creatures that live within it have always stayed down their own paths. Doing what they believe is best instead of what they believe is right. Then again that's to be expected when you offered creatures free will. Because with their own will comes the option to do what is wrong. It's what makes us different from the dirt we walk on, or the trees we cut down," King said as he looked at the female in front of her.

"I don't believe this world is any worse than when I was captured, nor do I believe it's any better. Because at the end of the day it's the same just in a different form. People seem happier, but that's only because the evil that exists in this world has now been condensed into certain areas. Perhaps it's not the same, but if I had to compare it to something, then I would say the world has both improved and fallen at the same time," King said as he looked at her.

"Then if I may ask, what do you think of humans?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male in front of her. She couldn't wait to hear what he said. After all, humans were the reason that he was the last of his kind. So she was certain there would be at least some form of resentment there.

"Humans are . . . complicated. I have mixed feelings about them. Because they can vary so greatly, being capable of both incredible acts of kindness and horrendous acts of evil. And I have personally witnessed both sides of it," King said as he looked at her.

"Is that so? Care to share?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"Indeed, I'll start with evil since that's probably what you're more interested in hearing," King said as he looked at the female in front of him. "When I was first brought to this world to learn about the different species that inhabit it. I got to witness something bizarre. I watched someone kidnap a girl, he killed both her father and mother in front of her. After he brought her back to his place do you know what he did?" King asked as he looked at her.

"Rape her?" Rosalyn asked as he looked at the male in front of her causing him to shake his head.

"No, he began to torture her both physically and mentally. He barely fed her leading to a weak and frail body not capable of fighting back. Anytime he felt stressed he'd beat her to relieve his stress. And he'd expose her to horrible acts to make her feel like she was completely worthless like she was worth less than the dirt she walked on. By the time he was done with her, her growth was stunted, her eyes had lost their color, and was left covered in scars afflicting her body," King said as he looked at Rosalyn.

"Of course as luck would have it she was eventually set free but she had been trained to the point where living a normal life was no longer an option for her. She viewed herself as a slave and had a crippling fear that if she didn't prove her worth she would be forgotten or thrown away. She felt she was unworthy of eating the same meals as others and therefore only wanted smaller portions or something even just eating slices of bread. The damage he did to her was horrific and was completely irreversible," King said as he looked at her.

Rosalyn continued to listen waiting for what the payoff for this story would be. "As I said, I can see people's souls. Would you like to know the reason he did this? Why he subjected her to such a horrible fate?" King asked as he looked at the female in front of him. When he said this Rosalyn nodded as King continued to stare at her. "There wasn't one. He did it because he wanted to. There really was no other reason, no resentment towards anyone, no lingering trauma from his childhood. In fact, he had the type of life most people dreamed of. He just happened to see her one day and decided that she was going to be the person that he molded into his ideal slave," King said as he looked at her.

"I didn't understand why I was being shown this at first. It was honestly just perplexing to me. I didn't understand why he would do something like that for little to no reason. We're taught that people like that don't exist that there needs to be a reason for everything. But the simple fact is sometimes there isn't a reason for everything. We don't like to think about that, because we don't want to imagine that possibility. The possibility that someone who is perfectly happy with nothing wrong with them could do something so horrible and heinous for no other reason than they felt like it," King said as he looked at her.

"You didn't exactly have the best introduction to humans. So tell me why do you still think they're capable of good?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"Because they are," King answered rather bluntly. "Just like I was told to watch that event I was also told to watch another. A man who took in a cat, a blind cat to be specific. I don't think I know a single monster that would have done that. Why would we? A cat that can't see is a cat that can't fulfill its purpose. It's a useless animal that would just eat away at your supplies, and yet he kept it, for no other reason than he liked animals," King said as he looked at Rosalyn.

"Most people that become police, and doctors do it because they want to help others. But of course, they're given such bad names because of the few that don't care, and yet they still do it anyway. They don't do it for fame, glory, or love, they just do it because it's right. Even though they know there are going to be people that give them a bad name they still do it. People don't see the good because they don't want to see the good, when in reality if you want to see it all you need to do is look around, there are people doing good and you would never know it," King said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"You certainly do see things in an interesting way," Rosalyn said as she looked at the male in front of her.

"I suppose I should thank you for that," King said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"So tell me, what would you do if you ever meet him again?" King asked as he looked at Rosalyn. When he said this Rosalyn tensed up a bit. However, this tension fade rather quickly.

"Then I'd fight him tooth and nail, I'd fight until I had nothing left. If I ever catch wind of his trail again I'd make sure that there was no chance for him to escape. That fight wouldn't end until one of us was dead," Rosalyn said as she looked at the male in front of her. Her expression was distant and her tone was cold and calculating. She meant every word that she said. He ruined her life, so her mission wasn't done until he was left dead at her feet, or she was at his.

"I see," King said as he looked at her. "Tell me, where he went," King said as he looked at her. When he said this Rosalyn was silent as she looked at the male. She had been after him for the first few years after she was turned. But it seemed like every time she thought she had him cornered he was never there. In reality, after she had been turned and taught to survive she was left for dead.

She wanted nothing more than to take her revenge on the male. But at this point that just seemed impossible. She no longer had any leads, and every time she got one it was always too late for her to make the most of it. "You don't know," King said as he looked at Rosalyn continuing to make eye contact with her. As the two stared at each other a thick silence filled the room. And after several minutes the silence was finally broken by King.

"Would you like to?" King asked as he looked at her. When he said this Rosalyn's eyes widened a bit in surprise but she quickly hid this surprise as she looked at him. She had dreamed of taking her revenge for years, dreaming of the day she'd finally be able to track him down and make him pay for what he had done to her. So of course she'd be more than willing to take this offer. If it was real of course, she wasn't stupid.

She had been around longer than any human could possibly hope to be. And she knew from experience that if something sounded too good to be true, then it probably was. "Let's say I believe you. What would you want in return for this information," Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"Nothing," King said as he looked at her. "As I said, I'm not holding out much hope that you will walk down that path. But I still want you to, I want you to walk down the path that bathed in light. My hope is small, and it's dwindling, but it is still there. But I know you can't pursue that path as long as he lives. While I'd ideally like him to walk that path as well, my hope is little for him as well. But, since he has corrupted and twisted you, I feel certain that he has done so to others as well," King said as he looked at her.

"So I'm the better choice?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male in front of her. When she said this King winced a bit.

"I wouldn't word it in such a way. That implies that one life has more value than another. All life has value and should be cherished. But sadly that's not the way to world work. So yes, I suppose you are the 'better choice'," King said as he looked at the female in front of him. King then moved his hands out from the chair and Rosalyn looked at him. She didn't remember letting him out of his restraints and yet he seemed to slip out of them so naturally.

King held up his hand. "I'll give you something, it'll make your task easy. I'm going to enhance one of your senses," King said as he looked at her. When he said this Rosalyn looked at him a bit skeptically before slowly extending her hand as well. He hadn't lied or shown any ill intent towards her yet, so she had no reason to believe he'd try anything. However, she was still cautious keeping her guard up and watching the male as she moved towards him.

When their fingers touched Rosalyn felt a strange feeling overcome her before King moved his hand away. He then grabbed the cuffs that he had been placed in and reapplied them to his wrists before moving his hands back. "I wish you luck in your task," King said as he looked at her. Rosalyn didn't know what to make of this feeling, most people would describe this as a gut feeling, something Rosalyn hadn't felt in years.

She had come to ignore this feeling over her years of being alive. Now instead of feeling nature, it felt foreign, almost like there was a compass in her chest trying to guide her and her actions. "What did you do?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"I enhanced your intuition. The sense of knowing something without truly knowing. The ability to pick up on something through instinct rather than needing to reason it out. A sense that is quite underestimated, and one that I have made for you. Just follow your instincts and it will lead you to him," King said as he looked at Rosalyn. When he said this Rosalyn looked at him before walking out of the room.

At the moment she was unsure what to say to the male, so she chose not to say anything. She didn't know what she did to deserve a chance like this, but she was going to make sure that she didn't waste it. She was going to use it, and she was going to use it to the best of her abilities. She wasted no time in leaving her house and making her way back towards the organization. She wanted to ensure that he paid for what he did, and she knew just how to do that.

Rosalyn walked through the halls at a rather quick pace before suddenly stopping in front of a room. When Rosalyn knocked on the door she heard a familiar ruffled voice ring out from the other side. "Come in," The figure said from the other side of the door. When she heard this Rosalyn opened the door and looked at Chrom who at the moment had a disassembled gun in front of him and seemed to be cleaning it.

"You were walking pretty quick. It's not like it's my birthday you know," Chrom said as he turned his gaze towards Rosalyn's general direction.

"I know," Rosalyn stated rather bluntly. She stared at the male for a moment he seemed to be preparing for something. He must have found a new target to kill. Either that or the organization itself told him that there was a monster in the area that they were concerned about. "What are you doing?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male.

"Getting ready for a hunt," Chrom said as he ran his fingers over the gun he was holding. "Going after a pixie, little bastards are quick, and a bit tricky to hit. Especially when you can't see," Chrom said as he looked in Rosalyn's direction.

"So you plan on shooting it?" Rosalyn asked as he looked at her.

"They're quick, but not quicker than a bullet," Chrom said as he placed the piece he had been cleaning down and moving onto a new piece.

"Right," Rosalyn said as she looked at the male.

"So what did you want to talk about," Chrom asked as he stopped cleaning the weapon and began to tap it a bit. While his gaze remained shifted from the gun his expression showed that he was trying to make close attention to it. Almost as if he were trying to examine the gun and ammunition within it.

"What would do if I said I had a more interesting hunt for you?" Rosalyn said as she looked at the male in front of her.

"I wouldn't doubt it, pixie's aren't the most exciting thing to hunt. I mean, some of them just hand themselves over not even bothering to put a fight. Takes all the fun out of it," Chrom said as he turned his attention back to his gun. "So what did you have in mind?" Chrom asked as he began cleaning the new piece he had picked up.

"A vampire, his name is Acheron," Rosalyn began only for Chrom to cut her off.

"Ah yes, the river of sorrow. The organization's been after him for years, I'm pretty sure you're the one that requested that actually," Chrom said as he placed the piece of looking for down.

"I am, so what do you think?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male in front of her. When she said this Chrom stopped what he was doing and reached up to the back of his head and began scratching as if he were thinking.

"We could probably do it, but it'd be really hard. I mean the organization is still discovering covens that he's made for himself. He's probably got other vampires that live there with him, as well as some thralls he uses for whatever task he determines to be beneath him. So we can't set up traps while he's not there, because even if he's not there someone else will be," Chrom said as he looked at the figure in front of him.

"He also tends to be pretty prepared, in his last base they found seven different secret exits that he could have fled through if things went south for him. Although it's possible there were more that we just didn't discover. He's overall just a pretty prepared guy, but then again so am I. It'd be hard sure but I think we could do it," Chrom said as he looked at Rosalyn, causing her to smile. "The real question is, how do you want to do it?" Chrom asked as he looked at the female in front of him causing Rosalyn to look at him a bit questioningly.

"What do you mean?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male.

"I see two obvious ways to go about this. Traps aren't much of an option unless we find his escape routes beforehand. That won't be easy by any means but it can be done with the proper tools. One big attack where we stealthfully make our way into his room and attack him before he can escape. After he's dead dealing with the others is just a matter of timing. But of course, I know what you're like. You wouldn't be in the torture division if you didn't like tormenting people," Chrom said as he looked at her.

"How many escape routes are in your house?" Chrom asked as he looked at Rosalyn.

"I don't have any," Rosalyn admitted as she looked at the male in front of her.

"Exactly! Why would a higher vampire need an escape route? The answer, they don't. So why did he have seven that we know of? That answer, someone or something is after him, and he's afraid. He's ready to high-tail it the first sign of trouble. So why don't we use that? Why don't we exploit his fears? Let's give him a reason to be afraid. We bring Mago with us for our first raid. We make our way to him and tag him before he 'miraculously' escapes. Then we kill whatever other monsters are in the building," Chrom said with a slight smile.

"Then we attack again, and again, and again, each time increasing the pace of our attacks. That fear will build up, and eventually, he'll begin to start slipping up. He'll lose his cool, just making our job easier while he fumbles to find his footing," Chrom said as he looked in Rosalyn's direction. As he did Rosalyn smiled starting to understand just what it was he was getting at.

"We'll be systematically destroying everything, he's worked for over the past years. He'll be forced to watch as his underground empire comes crashing down while he can't stop it. All while his fear builds up inside of him," Rosalyn said with a smile.

"Exactly," Chrom said with a smile before he went back to cleaning his weapon. Rosalyn couldn't help but get excited at the idea. She'd have her revenge in the more satisfying way imaginable, and all she would need to do is be patient and not kill him the first chance she got. It truly would be the best feeling in the world to have.

"I thought you didn't like tormenting people?" Rosalyn asked as she looked at the male, noticing just how much he seemed to like the second idea as well.

"I don't but this way I get to kill more monsters," Chrom said with a smile. 

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