Amon listened to Vikir silently.

'Damn. Another backstory.'

He was a little annoyed. They hadn't asked him about his life or anything.

Jareth frowned but said nothing.

"I watched my companions rise stronger, faster, blessed by fate while I lagged behind," Vikir said, his voice trembling, his hand tightening weakly into a fist.

"Every day I trained. Every night I fought. And yet… I was still the weakest among them. I told myself I could catch up, but jealousy… envy… it eats you from the inside."

He lifted his gaze; his cracked lips formed a hollow smile.

"And that's when they found me."

Selena narrowed her eyes. "They?"

Vikir nodded faintly. "A group of demonic humans. Wanderers of the dark… They saw what I truly wanted, not honor, not pride just power. And they offered it."

He paused; his breathing was slow and uneven. "I begged them for strength. Enough to crush the pain, the humiliation. Enough to never feel weak again. They warned me of the price… but I didn't care. I signed their death contract without hesitation. To be loyal to them."

Amon's jaw tightened.

"They remade me," Vikir continued, his voice now cold. "Half human, half demon. My flesh burned, my soul screamed, but when it was over… I could feel it, the strength I always desired. But that power came with chains. I was theirs. A servant to the abyss."

He tilted his head back, staring at the cracked ceiling.

"They told me of a ritual one that could make me a complete demonic human. Free from their command… truly powerful. But because of the contract I need to work for them even after becoming a demonic human."

Selena's grip on her sword tightened slightly. "And you tried to perform it here?"

Vikir chuckled weakly. "Heh… Before that, I was sent on a mission. Got ambushed… nearly died. My body broken, hunted across kingdoms. I had nowhere to go. So I came to this backwater city to hide… to heal…"

His eyes darkened. "And then I remembered the ritual."

A cold silence filled the air.

"I killed Domnhar... the one who raised me. But I didn't care," Vikir said flatly, his voice void of emotion.

"Took his face, his life, his place. The orphanage was perfect, no one would question a caretaker. Slowly, I began setting up my base in the forest. The monsters there… I bent them to my will. All to gather the materials for the ritual. All to finally complete my transformation."

Selena's voice was low, filled with restrained disgust.

"You used the children."

Vikir looked at her with a faint, broken smile. "Children, men, beasts — it didn't matter anymore. The weak are always just tools for the strong. Isn't that what this world teaches us?"

Amon's eyes narrowed. "You're wrong."

'Well, he's not wrong though' Amon thought. He was just trying to deny Vikir for no reason.

Vikir looked at him, and for a brief moment something human flickered in his eyes — sorrow, maybe regret.

"Maybe I am," he murmured softly.

"But for people like me… realizing that comes too late. I don't know who they are. Who killed all the town people. DAMN! They ruined my plan!" He cursed for the last time.

His head dropped forward, and silence filled the air once more heavy, suffocating, full of the weight of his sins.

"He's dead... hah. We didn't get anything from that at all," Selena muttered.

Amon clenched his fist and looked out the window.

"President... so should we go? To kill that thing?"

Oh my Goddess! I might be crazy to ask this... but I really want to kill that bitch.

Selena gazed at him and responded, "Yes we will. Are you two ready?"

"Yes, I am ready," Jareth said. His expression was serious.

"So, Amon, do you know what kind of power that woman possesses?" Selena asked, wanting to understand their enemy and plan the fight.

She took out a healing potion and drank it while waiting for Amon to answer.

Amon thought deeply for a while, then shook his head.

"Unfortunately no. I don't know anything about her powers. All she did was fight with a sword, and she was too fast for me... and for Vixra to react against." As Amon answered, his tiredness grew heavier and his expression turned sad at the name of Vixra.

Selena didn't question further. She just nodded.

"Alright. It's okay. We will find a way to kill her no matter how strong she is." Selena's eyes were cold. Amon could see her desire to kill that woman to get revenge for Vixra.

"Let's go. We shouldn't waste any more time." Jareth sounded eager to fight for his friend and teammate.

The group started to walk out of the house.

Amon's heart beat faster. His body still ached, but he was more eager to fight.

'I only have three healing potions left. I need to be careful this time.' The potions he had brought with him had already been spent.

They stepped out into the street.

The town that had once breathed life and noise now lay under a cruel, heavy quiet.

The red glow above had vanished, but its stain remained the blood still slick on cobblestones, trailing in dark rivers down gutters.

Bodies lay everywhere: slumped by doorways, crumpled in alleys, piled where people had stood and bled out.

All bodies had a single similarity, they were headless. Blood flowed from the exploded parts.

Selena went first, blade sheathed but held at the ready. Jareth moved steadily beside her, shield up, every movement economical and silent.

Amon lagged a step behind, dragging his boots through wet blood. He observed the scene again.

Every dead body reminded him of how they had all died. It made him remember that memory again and again. Yet he didn't feel much fear this time.

He knew he was a little strange. He had cried for these people, for the little children, for Vixra.

Yet now he wasn't feeling the same pain in his heart anymore. Yes, he was still sad. But not broken enough to lose himself. He was always like that.

He quietly followed Jareth and Selena. Unlike him, their faces were full of shock and anger at the sight of so many dead people from young kids to old citizens. All of them were dead.

He held his revolver in his left hand tightly.

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