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Three more burly men charge into view, stopping short with curses at the sight of their slain fellow. In unison, they draw their weapons and advance on Rukh.
A cruel smile spreads across Rukh's face, serrated fangs glinting in the gloom. Calmly, he wipes the last traces of blood from his claws before turning to face the doomed men.
"Come then," he invites with malignant anticipation.
The thugs roar and rush to their fate. In a blur of savagery, Rukh descends upon them. I turn away, unable to watch the brutal harvest. But their agonized screams are cut mercifully short.
Like a dark avenging wraith, he’s death incarnate, working his way through the building, mercilessly extinguishing the scourge. I follow in his wake, briefly catching glimpses of his lethal work through doorways.
His claws and fangs harvest lives with gruesome efficiency. Each fresh kill seems to empower him, shadows gathering about his hulking form. Blood and viscera stain his black leathers, yet his pace never slows.
The thugs' bravado dissolves to primal terror in their final moments as the reaper descends upon them. Their agonized wails are choked short, reduced to mere fuel for Rukh's insatiable hunger. Floor by floor, Rukh purges the building of its cancerous blight, leaving only ravaged corpses behind.
He takes no pleasure in the slaughter. This is simply necessary cleansing. Cold, calculated justice meted out to those whose own depravity brought about their end.
No trace of mercy resides in the smoldering red embers of his eyes. He is the embodiment of retribution, come to reap his due from the damned.
With the final thug dead, he stands over the carnage he has wrought. Closing his eyes, he extends his clawed hands and begins chanting in a guttural demonic tongue. The air around each broken body seems to shudder and warp. Wisps of shadowy essence rise from the corpses as if the stain of their cruel souls is being drawn forth.
The tendrils drift and coil toward Rukh's waiting maw. He inhales deeply, and the dark wisps flow into him like smoke, absorbed into his being. I watch, both horrified and awed, as the demon consumes the spirits of these wicked men. In death, they will nourish the same darkness they served in life. With a satisfied rumble, Rukh turns to me, eyes aglow with dreadful purpose.
We free the captive girl and return her to her family. Only then am I able to find my voice. "You certainly made a mess back there," I say pointedly.
"Yes, apologies for the disarray," Rukh rumbles. "I will be more mindful about tidying up in the future."
His sincere, oblivious response to my sarcasm leaves me speechless. He ripped men apart without hesitation and consumed their very souls! And he worries about being tidy?
With fearsome precision, we go from infestation to infestation, until only the corrupt mayor remains. I’m exhausted as we approach his lavish home on the edge of town. Behind the iron gates and high stone walls, manicured gardens and fountains flourish while the rest of the town languishes.
I peer through the bars at the sprawling mansion, ornately decorated with gold filigree and marble statuary. "He hoards the town's resources for himself," I mutter in disgust.
Rukh nods. "While the people starve, he feasts. And he diverts clean water to fill his personal bathhouse." His voice drips with contempt.
Looking at the mayor's ostentatious abode, his silk finery, and bloated physique, it is clear he has grown fat and complacent on the suffering of his constituents. Tonight, we will relieve him of his ill-gotten comforts.
"Let's finish this," I declare, magic flaring around my fists. Rukh's eyes blaze with wrathful anticipation. Side by side, we advance on the mansion gates. The mayor's reckoning is at hand.
Rukh pauses with claws poised over a whimpering servant. He seems to consider for a moment, then retracts his hand. "You have nothing to hide," he tells him gruffly. “Get out.”
Relief floods through me. "Thank you…" I reply, placing a gentle hand on his arm. Rukh nods and turns to continue his hunt for the mayor.
We find the cowering official barricaded in his bedchamber. Rukh tears the doors away, facing down the sputtering mayor.
He seizes the shouting mayor and rends his bloated body in two with a savage jerk.
I turn aside, nauseated by the spray of gore.
But another corrupt soul has been purged, and the town liberated.
Perhaps Rukh cannot change his demonic nature. But I no longer think he is the real monster compared to the sinners he purges.
16
RUKH
Iwake up with her curled against my chest, again feeling warm and content. I imagine myself laying with her for the rest of the day, completing nothing at all. There’s a sweetness emanating from her hair, and I twirl my fingers in it just to enjoy the feel.
Her eyes gently peek open, as if so used to waking disappointed she does not want to rush. But seeing me, she smiles, and it reminds me of a sunrise breaking through clouded skies.
