The Scarlet Demon (Old and Discontinued)

The fires spotted the sand like a plague. The wind buffeted my coat as I stood on the highest point for miles. The jutting piece of red stained stone overlooked the desert that had just recently been my arena. I sat perched atop just so I could see the carnage I had left. From each billowing thick black smoking pile to the permanently blood-stained sand and rocks, I could still hear the sounds of death and fighting. When the wind blew in my direction, the smoke from the burning corpses enveloped me. The smell of burnt barbecue will now stick on me for days. It sickened me. I hated the fact that I was the one who killed them all. All those soldiers were just doing their job, but this was war. Casualties are a given. Regardless of what I felt, I had a job to do too. Now that it was completed I needed to head back to the front lines.

“Algea.”

I whipped around at the sound of my name. I already knew who had spoken, but I was still a little on edge after my fight. Standing a few feet away was my commanding officer Enyo. She stood nonchalantly with her twin sickle scythes by her side, and her long straight black hair whipping in the wind. She was in her standard battle gear of a simple triangular patterned dress, open toed sandals, and her terrifying signature mask. The mask is composed of reinforced pig leather stitched together in a Frankenstein fashion. The only thing the mask allows you to see of Enyo is her eyes, but where her mouth is, the stitching creates a large smile. That thing unnerves me, but I guess that is part of its job. As I stood there, Enyo scanned the wreckage behind me.

“I was sent here to help, but I see you don’t need it.” She looked approvingly at me. “I will make sure that the council knows of this. This could mean a promotion for you in the future.” I could tell she was grinning behind the mask.

My only reply was silence. Unlike Enyo, I did not relish in violence. I did what I had to in order to keep my home and friends safe. She, however, loved it. She actively sought out opportunities to fight enemies or to punish prisoners for their wrongs, but every time she would get too carried away. The body she would leave behind would be so mangled, that the only identifier would be the corpse’s jewelry. Her love of violence is only rivaled by her want of power. Many of our colleagues back home never can truly see her almost sadistic tendencies—they get too caught up in her looks to see how she manipulates them into believing she was completely right in killing her prey in the slowest way possible. She is beautiful. Her long straight black hair flowed all the way down to the middle of her back, and the way her hair frames her face could entrance anybody. Although it is not entirely their fault that Enyo is perpetually stuck in a twelve-year old’s body, you must consider we all exist in childlike forms, and you’d think they’d be able to see right through all that to her twisted core.

“Now, Algea, we best be off. Your new orders are to come assist me on the front lines. We will need to leave now if we are to make it by sunrise.” Suddenly Enyo’s eyes narrowed. Something behind me had caught her attention. Before I could look and see what it was, she was already leaping off the cliff. I quickly followed after her. She was extraordinarily fast, and by the time I reached her she already had found what she was looking for. She was holding a charred corpse aloft by the neck. At least, I had thought it was a corpse. The supposed corpse was writhing and fighting back against Enyo’s grasp.

“What do we have here?” Enyo grinned “It looks like you missed one Algea.” Enyo commented as she apprised her catch. “I thought they asked you to kill all of them, yet here I stand with a survivor. You are lucky I caught him. Who knows what would have happened if the council found out you hadn’t completed your job.” The boy thrashed at Enyo, but she wasn’t bothered. Finally, she looked at her catch with a kind smile. “What’s your name?” The boy stopped writhing enough to croak out an answer.

“Augustus.” It was faint, but we both heard it clearly. “Augustus son of Horus.”

We both fell silent as Enyo released her grasp. He slumped down into a kneeling position at her feet, head bowed with exhaustion. This boy was an old friend of Enyo’s. From the stories I heard, a close friend. Suddenly, with a flash of steel, the boy’s head rolled off with a sickening thud. I stood stunned. Enyo bent over her friend and wiped her blade off on his arm. Grabbing both pieces she chucked them back into the fire.

“Well, we better be off. They’ll be waiting for us.” I nodded as we turned to leave. “Are you hungry? We can stop by this great barbecue place on the way back. My treat.” My gut twisted.

“I’m not hungry. Thank you.” Was all I could reply. She shrugged, and we left for the frontlines.