The Kind of Evil

Aris and Rullein stood in the middle of the street in the middle of the night. The atmosphere was heavy and intense because of the eyes that were pointed at them from dark alleys. Slowly but surely, one by one, the possessed humans came out of the alleys with their cloaks that hid their identity.

"Remember, we are Sira and Lurein, we aren't supposed to be powerful enough to deal all of them at once," Aris muttered under her breath, her voice so quiet that only Rullein could hear her. "We aren't supposed to kill them. We are just going to convey a message that we aren't a threat, but we aren't weak either," she continued.

"How weak are we supposed to be?" Rullein asked as she counted there were seven men in a cloak from her side.

"So weak that you're swinging your swords like you're just too lazy to even lift the swords," Aris answered as she counted there were ten men in a cloak on her side. "Do you understand what I mean? Just try your best to not look too obvious that you're holding back," she asked, glancing at Rullein.

"This is going to be so embarrassing..." Rullein groaned under her breath as she unsheathed her swords. "These swords are so fragile as well..." She glanced at the swords in her hands, the swords that Rasmus had bought for both of them.

"You'll get your time to shine when the time comes, just stop whining," Aris muttered as she unsheathed her swords and swung them around.

Rullein hummed as she readied her stance and watched the possessed humans slowly approach them, isolating herself and Aris.

"Who are you people?" Aris raised her voice, breaking the silence in the silent night.

There was no answer from the men in cloaks, they stood there staring at Aris and Rullein with cold and killing intent. However, Aris's question was loud enough to wake some people that were asleep, and some guards also heard her voice from the distance.

Although people began to turn their lanterns on in their houses or the inns around them, the possessed humans didn't bother by being seen. Aris realized those possessed humans were testing her and Rullein, to gather information for their boss, either the king or the powerful demon that hid under the city.

The guards followed Aris's voice, and people began to wonder what was happening outside on the street. However, when they all saw the men in cloaks, they immediately chose to ignore it. They had lived in the capital city for more than a decade, and they knew who those men were. They were the Night Stalkers, a unit that King Relius created the day after the rebellion ended. Their task was to eliminate threats, criminals, and suspicious people that could potentially harm the nation.

Aris began to coat her body with Aura, showing her capability to the men in cloaks, and Rullein began to coat her body with Aura as well. The men in cloaks could see Aura, and they could see the amount of Aura those two could produce. They knew those two were a threat, but not to the point they couldn't handle it since they were many.

"Not wanting to talk, huh? Fine, let the steel do the talking," Rullein smirked as she began to approach the men in cloaks on her side.

Aris glanced at Rullein for a moment before she decided to do the same and approached the men in cloaks on her side.

The men in cloaks revealed their swords from underneath their cloaks, and they all moved in unison as they walked toward them without making a single footstep sound. They all immediately dashed toward them and swung their swords at the same time.

Aris coated her sword with Aura and released three slash waves at them. On the other hand, Rullein dashed to the side and focused on the three men in cloaks first, breaking the line. They both had two different swordstyles and playstyles, and they managed to prevent themselves from getting cornered by their enemies.

The guards watched in the distances while the townspeople watched from the their bedrooms or right outside their houses. They watched how those two could fight two dozens of Night Stalkers at the same time.

Aris and Rullein tried their best to not use more power than what they had already planned. They chose to focus on their technique rather than their strength, and that alone was enough to do powerful blows on some of the men in cloaks, reducing their numbers. They moved so swiftly and their foot works were the reason why they were capable of dealing with that many enemies with limited strength.

"Are they the ones that the people have been talking about? The people from the East?" The guard with a black beard asked.

"Yes, they're the ones that I have been hearing about. I believe those beautiful ladies are Lady Sira and Lady Lurein," the guard with brown eyes answered, nodding his head. "They're so strong, don't you guys think? They can handle at least twenty Night Stalkers on their own," he asked as he looked at the other guards beside him.

"They're not strong enough to win this fight, but yes, they're indeed elite warriors. I heard many words about the people from the East, they're all born as warriors, unlike the rest of Neva. Now I understand what they mean by that, they're indeed on a different league than us in term of combat skill," the guard captain said as he nodded in agreement.

Aris and Rullein stole a glance at each other, knowing that they had a chance of winning in their current situation. However, they knew that they shouldn't, and so they made a simple blunder, a mistake that cost them their momentum. They both got hit and cut by the sharp blades on their arms, making them bleed.

Aris and Rullein decided to fall back and make some distance from the men in cloaks. Their arms and hands trembled as the blood dropped to the ground and sweat ran from their foreheads to their chins and necks. They managed to mimic their bodies to be those of humans, capable of bleeding and sweating thanks to Rasmus who taught them how a human body worked.

"You dare to kill us?" Rullein asked as she pretended to catch her breath, putting a smirk on her face.

Once again the men in cloaks didn't say a word, however, they didn't try to approach Aris or Rullein, they stood still. It was as what Aris had predicted, the possessed were testing her and Rullein, to understand who they were, if they were a threat that they had been looking for, Rasmus.

"What do you want from us?" Aris asked and stared at them, acting oblivious to the men in front of her that were demons inside human flesh. "We have done nothing that cause an issue or a problem to this city," she said as she sheathed her swords, and then she saw Rullein sheathing her swords, following her.

Suddenly all the men in cloaks moved aside, and that was when a man walked past the men in cloaks. The aura around him was nothing like those around him, and Aris could tell how stronger the man was compared to those demons. With her current act, even her strength and technique alone wouldn't be able to match that man.

‎Aris and Rullein unconsciously put their hands on the swords they had sheathed. However, they felt a warm hand on their lower backs, turning their heads around to see Rasmus behind them. His gaze was pointed at the man, and at the same time signaling them to stay calm.

‎"Good evening, Lord Vije, Lady Sira, and Lady Lurein..." The man bowed his head, still hiding his face under the hood. Not long after he bowed, the others began to bow as well. "I apologize for disturbing your resting time. However, we are tasked to investigate every person that enters this city, making sure they're not a threat," he explained as he lifted his head.

‎"I understand, but to see you deploy a big number of people just to keep an eye on us, is that really how it works around here?" Rasmus asked, staring at the man, who was still hiding his eyes.

‎The man was unable to answer the question without sounding so suspicious.

‎"Why don't we have a talk? Just the two of us. I believe these two and me combined won't be a threat to you. Let us handle this matter in a more civilized way," Rasmus said as he pointed at the inn. "That is if you truly have no ulterior motives or your courtesy is real and not just an act," he smiled coldly at the man.

"No, that's unnecessary, Lord Vije. We got what we came for, have a good night," the man said and walked away without showing any respect anymore. All the men in cloaks followed the man and disappeared into the night.

Rasmus, Aris, and Rullein made sure that all of them had left and not stayed behind in the darkness to observe them. However, the moment the leader seemed to walk away, he brought everyone back with him, being truthful with what he said earlier.

"You two did great, thank you," Rasmus said as he glanced at the windows of people staring at them. "Let's head back in," he said as he walked back inside the inn. Aris and Rullein followed him from behind.