The Villain's Sword Is Sharp

Ariel twisted the tap, then eased himself into the large stone tub. He grimaced slightly as he dipped his toes in since it was too hot, but he got in anyway and submerged his body in the flames.

His horns scraped against the bath as he ducked his head down and bathed in the hellfire. He scrubbed his short black hair with both hands before resurfacing, taking a deep breath, and going back under.

While he was underfire, he heard a faint feminine voice,

"Ariel, hurry up and come down, breakfast's ready!"

'Devildamned Mondays. Every week's the same; I just wake up every Monday to repeat this never-ending cycle.'

Ariel raised his head above the flames and shouted,

"Just a minute mum! Just give me a minute, alright!"

Then he haphazardly scrubbed the rest of his body before hopping out of the bath and letting the hellfire drain away. A few ghostly faces flickered and the screams of damned souls could be heard for a moment as the fire was sucked down the drain, leaving a layer of black sludge which stuck to the bottom of the tub. Impurities accumulated on everything in the Nether Realm, but the hellfire helped burn them off.

With just a sweep of Ariel's index finger, the layer of impurities rolled itself into a small ball. He curled his finger upwards and the sludge ball floated, then he flicked his wrist left and the black impurities shot into a bottomless chute in the corner of the room.

He half-walked, half-ran out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, where he rushed to find some clothes. After pulling on comfortable black trousers and a thin white t-shirt, Ariel thundered down the stairs and into the living room.

The left side of the room had sofas and a mirror portal so the family could chill and watch a show, while the right side of the room was occupied by a long dining table. It was made of the same grey stone as the bathtub and a plate full of food sat atop it.

Just as Ariel seated himself at the head of the table, a head with curled ram horns, flowing raven-black hair and thin reptilian eyes peeped around the door,

"Ariel, darling, eat quickly. You need to be at school in 20 minutes."

"I know..." Ariel drawled in an annoyed tone, then looked back at his plate, "Urgh. Hellroot and beans again? Can't you cook anything else?"

"You should be grateful I'm making you anything at all." His mother answered sternly, "Now eat what's on your plate; you need your lifeforce to grow big and strong!"

"Mum! I'm a hundred and twelve now; I'm all grown up so stop treating me like a kid!"

Ariel's mother rolled her eyes, then disappeared to go and do whatever it is mothers do.

After watching her go, Ariel looked at the orange plants on his plate reluctantly, then glanced down at his arms. They were skinny and light red.

Crimson skin was very fashionable nowadays so he'd been trying to get a tan, but it wasn't working out. He looked at his feeble limbs, felt extremely resentful of his weak physique and thin bloodline, then sighed. As usual, mother was right: he needed his lifeforce.

He grabbed a fist-sized orange and red bean, then brought it all the way up to his straight, short, razor-sharp horns. A horn pierced the bean and it began to dry and shrivel rapidly. Ariel proceeded to suck the lifeforce out of everything on his plate while making a sour expression. This lifeforce had such a strong, acrid flavour!

His expression only relaxed slightly when he was finished. He brought his plate into the kitchen where his mother was. She walked him to the door where they exchanged goodbyes, then stood and watched while he walked down the street. Only after he turned the corner did she go back inside.

Ariel's gait was long and his pace was quick as he strutted the streets.

'I'll have to take the shortcut by the river if I want to arrive on time. Better hurry up.'

His pace increased even further, until he was somewhere between a walk and a jog. Left, left, right, he made 3 decisive turns and quickly arrived at a bridge. Underneath was a thick stream. It was pale, pale blue and fast-moving. The countless transparent skulls all zipped along, screaming as they went. This was one of many tributaries to the great 'River of Souls'.

Ariel ignored their irritating screeches and crossed the bridge. Then, despite the road curving left, he followed the river straight on. Brittle bone fragments crunched underfoot as he ground them into bone dust. He didn't pay attention to the surroundings as he walked briskly, but there was a line of miniature insect-sized red figures on the floor. They all stood on 2 legs, had weirdly humanoid bodies with square heads, and carried tiny bits of bone back to a small dome-shaped structure at the riverbank.

Squish.

Several minions were crushed underfoot and the others squealed in outrage. They hurled their bits of bone at Ariel's legs, causing him to finally notice them. He smiled faintly, then made a small game out of seeing how quickly he could squash all of them.

This delayed him even further. After finishing his fun, he hurried along to school while praying the homeroom teacher wouldn't be too mad.

15 minutes later, the homeroom door creaked open. It presented Ariel with a classroom full of pupils and an iron-faced teacher, who immediately began scolding him.

"Ariel, you're late! You'll receive ten additional opponents during combat class! Now go and sit down."

Ariel wore a disgruntled expression while heading to his seat, but he sighed internally. Combat class was the only spark of excitement in his dull life, so 10 extra opponents was more of a blessing than a curse. A glance out the window just reminded how bleak this accursed nether realm truly was...

Ariel's mind wandered elsewhere as the teacher began his lecture. His eyes were almost glued to the featureless grey outside his window while he dreamed of better days – a brighter future, a free future. Alas...

"Ariel! Pay attention! That's 10 extra laps later and half an hour of supervised study after school."

Ariel snapped out of his grand, deluded daydreams,

"But teach!"

"But what? You've already had two warnings."

Ariel sighed and resigned himself to the punishment. He struggled to stay focused until it was nearly midday,

"Alright. Next is combat class, everyone line up at the front of the classroom!"

Most of the children groaned, while a few stayed silent or smiled. Regardless of their reactions, everyone dragged themselves to the front of the classroom and the teacher led them outside to a large field of grey dust which stretched all the way to the dull horizon with nothing else in sight. The dust was loose, light and slippery underfoot but the air was stale and there was no wind to blow it away. Even if the dust was blown away, it would just reveal a second layer of dust underneath it.

The children stepped into the field and looked at the grey rectangular building opposite them. As they watched, many creatures were led out of the building. These creatures came in all shapes and sizes: one had a long, green almost tube-shaped body and stood at 8 feet tall. Another was short and round with spindly legs and tiny arms, and the one behind that was hopping along on its one leg. It also had one eye, one ear and one thick strand of hair coiled around its head, but it had tens of – or perhaps even over a hundred – arms, each with a single finger.

All these different people had one thing in common though: they were bound by manacles and linked together with thick chains. Burly demons dressed in uniform led them into the field and all the students raced to pick several prisoners.

Ariel also ran forwards eagerly. Whilst everybody else rushed to pick the weakest ones, he chose a group of powerful-looking captives including the hundred-armed man. When each class member had picked 20 opponents – Ariel had gathered 30 due to his 'punishment' for being late – they spread out in the field.

The captives had their bindings removed and were commanded to surround the children and fight for their survival. The prisoners complied with varying degrees of reluctance or angst. 30 hulking figures formed a tight circle around Ariel, but his thin lips twisted into a crazed smile. His eyes curved into half-moon shapes which expressed intense delight and anticipation, and he sucked a deep breath which filled his nostrils with the smell of dusty air combined with dried sweat and tears.

"Begin!"

At once, nearly 30 captives assailed Ariel – of course, some were still hesitant. At the same time, other fights were beginning all around the field. However, they were all unlike Ariel's: many pupils were timid and weak, and one was even killed. On the other hand, Ariel's fight...

Unrestrained laughter could be heard as a black shadow flitted through a forest of aghast prisoners. Wherever the shadow went, a trail of blood would follow and the captives would fall as if they were trees which had been felled.

Ariel's mouth opened wide as he laughed, revealing 7 rows of serrated teeth and a forked tongue which flicked to and fro. His entire body was utilised like a deadly weapon – skinny arms and all – and his body was coated in a layer of blood. His pale red skin made it unnoticeable, but his shirt had been dyed red from slaughter.

The teacher observed these events, utterly unmoved.