Demon Hunter S3: by Nick Venom (fox in socks read aloud .TXT) 📕

“Be careful, this weapon can kill. Do not play with it as if it’s a toy. You got that?” He asked.

She nodded her head. “Not a toy.” She muttered.

Rik nodded with a small smile on his face. “Yes, it’s not a toy. Only for self-defense, okay?” She nodded her head in acknowledgment. “Good, let’s go.” He said, his discomfort with the marketplace becoming apparent. “Let’s go home.

“Home… Home.” Ashley muttered to herself. Her memories fizzled out as soon as she remembered about home. She was spat back into reality. In reality, Mandy was preoccupied with torturing Ashley as cruelly as he could with the belt; he didn’t consider the idea that Rik and the others could be closing on him. Even if they were, he could care less. His focus was on torturing Ashley. 

She screamed and yelled for Rik, but he wasn’t close enough to save her. He was slowly becoming a faint memory that she had no recollection of. She could only think of the pain, her memories becoming a side thought. Her past was nothing but a faint chain attached to her. The pain overtook all of her senses.

“Is this all? You used to handle ten times this amount!” He remarked, laughing at her tears and cries. “Come on, this was nothing for you.” 

Ashley gnashed her teeth, the pain attacking at her sides. They crawled up her body, reaching her head. The pain knocked her out. As her eyes fluttered to sleep, she noticed Mandy staring at her with a large smile.

“Goodnight, sweetie.” He told her. She wanted to cry more, but her eyes were empty. And drowsy. She fell asleep.

***

Ashley woke up, not in Mandy’s basement, but on a completely white landscape. There were no buildings or other discernible objects. It was flat land that extended as far as the eye could see. There didn’t appear to be an ending to the land and there weren’t any clouds or a sun in the sky. There was no sky; it was almost as if she was locked up in a room with white floors, white walls, and a white ceiling. It was eerily quiet. 

“Ashley?” A familiar voice asked. Ashley spun on her heels to face the person. It was her mother, Alissa, a cat beastkin. Ashley was a miniature version of Alissa, both of them having long brown hair, dark blue eyes, and tanned skin. 

“M-Mom? Y-You’re alive?”

Alissa smiled, not answering her question. “I’m proud of you.”

“So am I.” A man remarked, appearing from nowhere. He approached Alissa, standing by her side. The man was Ashley’s father, Oliver, a burly man with charcoal hair, night-black eyes, and pale skin. Ashley didn’t carry an ounce of her father’s genes. 

“We’re both proud of you,” Oliver said, embracing his wife with one hand. “You are our beautiful daughter. We love you.”

Ashley stood frozen, her jaw open. She couldn’t wrap her head around what was happening except for one thing. She understood one thing quite well - her parents were alive, at least for the moment, and they were now standing in front of her. 

“Don’t worry about us. Live your life how you want to.” Alissa told her.

“Yeah, don’t let us tie you down. Break your chains and take a step forward.” Oliver said. “Otherwise, you end up drowning in your regrets.”

Ashley furrowed her brows. “Break my chains… regrets?” She muttered to herself. She looked up at her parents, tilting her head. “Is that possible?”

Her parents nodded their heads with small smiles. “Anything is possible when you put your mind to use,” Alissa said. “Especially if it’s you.” Oliver nodded his head in agreement. 

“Especially if it’s you.” Another familiar voice remarked. Ashley looked over her shoulder. It was Rik, staring at her with a warm smile. “Because you can break your chains. I know you can.” Ashley’s mind was nearing overload with Rik’s presence. Everything was getting more and more confusing. 

“Where am I?” She asked, hoping for a satisfying answer. However, neither her parents nor Rik responded. They stared at her for a few moments before disappearing. Ashley jerked her head back in surprise, looking around for them. She was alone, but not for long as another familiar voice called out to her. She turned to face the voice, seeing a young version of Mandy waiting for her. 

“Miss me?” He asked with a foolish grin.

Ashley cringed at his words, squinting her eyes out of fear. The young Mandy furrowed his brows before the lightbulb in his head clicked. “Oh, I’m sorry.” He said. “My older self mistreated you. Well, using the word ‘mistreat’ is a large understatement. Anyways,” He started, bowing his head. “I want to apologize for my older self’s actions.”

Ashley glanced at him with furrowed eyebrows. What is he talking about? She thought to herself.

Mandy recognized her expression, swiftly answering her question that she hadn’t asked yet. “I beg you to save my older self. Ever since he fell into depression after our parents’ death, he has changed significantly. He’s filled with anger, frustration, resentment, and guilt. He’s not the same person anymore. He’s… a monster.”

Ashley nodded in agreement. “Where am I and... How are there two versions of you?” She asked.

“You’re in a place without time. That’s how I exist. That’s how your parents and Rik showed up, even though they wouldn’t be able to, otherwise.” He answered. “Any more questions?”

Ashley shook her head, whispering “No.”

“Then I have a favor to ask of you. I want you to get rid of my monster self. I want you to kill the beast and free the innocent soul from within the body of the beast.”

“Get rid of the monster?” Ashley questioned, raising both eyebrows.

Young Mandy nodded. “Kill my older self. Break your chains and move forward. All you need to do is kill my monster self.”

Ashley bit the inner part of her cheek. Kill? I never killed anybody before… I can’t kill. She thought to herself. She shook her head, refusing Young Mandy’s request. This irritated him, but he kept his emotions in check.

“You can refuse it and you’ll return to your body and hope that Rik will save you. But if you accept it, then you change your fate. It’s your own decision… I hope you choose the right one.” With that, Ashley was sent back. She left the strange place and entered reality. Mandy stopped torturing her as Rik and the others found the house and broke inside. They charged inside like a SWAT team; Rik led the effort and sprinted towards the basement door. However, Mandy held them off using his tools. He couldn’t use any magic and lacked the talent necessary for swords, forced to rely on the tools he purchased to make up for his shortcomings. 

Meanwhile, Ashley looked around at her surroundings. Nothing was different - she was still in the dim basement shackled in place. What should I do? She thought to herself. She looked at the tools keeping her place, searching for a way to escape her binds. She tried to remember his earlier words, being reminded that he claimed: “you need the strength of a hundred men or a hundred mages to destroy it.” 

Strength of a hundred men or the mana of a hundred mages? Wouldn’t Super Heal short-circuit it? She thought to herself, crafting a way to escape her binds. She began casting Super Heal onto both of her binds. Her mana pool was considerably large, allowing her to pour a large quantity of mana into the magic tools. She had to wait several minutes before it was enough to destroy the tools and release her.

During that time, Mandy continued to fight Rik and the others using his magic tools. He was keeping them at bay with his tools, even using a tool to illuminate the entire basement and prevent Eric from traveling through the shadows. Rik and Zoe were useless in this situation as the bombardment of attacks kept them at a distance. This frustrated Rik who shouted, “I will tear you in half if you dare touch a single strand of hair on her head!”

Mandy smirked. “Guess, you’ll have to tear me in half then. I can’t wait for it.”

“I’ll deliver it once you surrender. I’ll make sure you’ll feel her pain tenfold.”

Mandy chuckled. “Let’s see if you can.”

After destroying her binds, she cast Super Heal on herself. Mandy was too busy with Rik and the others that she was able to look around and grab her weapon, laying some distance from her. She gripped the knife tightly, her hands shaking. She was on the fast path towards her first murder. 

Break the chains! She heard her parents and Rik tell her. They repeated their words with more emphasis. Ashley, however, still hesitated. I’ll be killing him… can I do it? Would Rik throw me away if I murder him? He wouldn’t, right? But what if he does? What if Zoe and Eric look at me strangely. What if they hate me because of the blood on my hands?

Calm down, you’re overthinking it. Remember your strength and the words of your past and present. You got this, Ashley. Young Mandy’s voice told her. Take the first step to hear the words of your future.

Ashley nodded, taking the first step. She shambled towards Mandy, every step being heavier than the last. She trudged onward, catching Mandy off-guard. He was so focused on dealing with Rik and the others that he didn’t see Ashley until it was too late. She stood in front of him, clutching the knife tightly in her grasp. She hesitated for a few moments, contemplating what to do. However, she quickly came to a decision. She thrust the knife into Mandy’s gut before twisting it and digging it out. She thrust it back in, twisting it, before taking it out. She repeated this process several times before Rik and the others entered the basement to find her killing Mandy. Mandy, who was staring at her with open eyes, took the attacks without resistance. What is happening? She’s… fighting back? How the hell is she doing this? She’s killing me! Why can’t I move my body! Why can’t I fight her off! I don’t want to die like this! I never did what I wanted. I was never truly reunited with Ashley. He thought to himself, indulging in his crazy thoughts. None of those thoughts leaked out, being hidden and never mentioned to anybody else. 

Meanwhile, Ashley stopped stabbing him. She took the knife out of his gut, discarding it, before taking a few steps back. She fell to her back, out of breath. Rik, who was caught staring at her murdering Mandy, now approached her. She looked at him, cringing. She expected him to scold her for stabbing Mandy without his permission but he didn’t scold her. It was the opposite. “Are you okay, Ashley?” He asked her. “What did he do to you?”

She looked up at him with a small smile and a few tears bubbling at the corner of her eyes. “I-I’m okay. I-” She was interrupted by Rik embracing her tightly.

“Don’t say that. He tortured you, right? Then you aren’t truly okay. Don’t try to put on an act, Ashley. Be your true self… and break the chains binding you to your past.” She nodded, holding onto her smile as long as she could until her tears broke through. They arrived with ferocity, puddling onto Rik’s shoulder - he could care less.

While Ashley sobbed, Eric dealt with Mandy. He was bleeding out and would soon be dead. Eric pressed one of his twin blades against Mandy’s neck but didn’t go any further. He stood up, spitting on Mandy. “I should kill you now for hurting her… hurting my little sister. But you’ll feel more pain if you bleed out.” He remarked before turning away. Zoe stood by his side, nodding her head in agreement. They listened to the painful sobs of Ashley, which filled the room to the brim. The sobs even escaped the house, flooding the