Written: 3/7/21
Published: 3/26/21
(My house flooded lol.)
The three were sitting on the couch, being stared at awfully much. The man handed them some black tea.
The pierced ears was in Y/n's face. His eyes were staring into Y/n. The girl was doing the same, but she was draped over the couch. The two were being very creepy. Their presence sent chills down their spines.
"I'm Cislo." The two tone haired male said. "That's Barbara. That egghead over there is Vincent." Y/n cringed. They all give off insane pressure. "Emma, Ray, and Y/n, was it? From Grace Field..."
"Yeah..." Y/n replied.
"We're escapees too, y'know!" Cislo said. He slammed a foot on the table. "Our escape was wayyyyyyy better!"
"We kicked that farms' butt!" Barbara added.
Y/n raised a brow. What even...
"Right..." Vincent spoke. "You guys feel the need to childishly compete all the time. Please accept my humblest apologies for their behavior."
Ray shook his head. "Nah, you guys are amazing. Incredible even. There's no way we could have done that, braaaaaavo!" Y/n rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. She looked at Barbara and Cislo. Both had prideful grins on and their hands to their head dramatically. They're okay with that..?
Y/n spotted Barbara's sternum area. It read '7214'. That mark is in the same spot as Normans. They broke free from that farm. So these three are irregulars like Zazie and Adam? Vincent was the man in the medical bay the other day. Anyway, they're in the boss' room, and acting like this because of his absence. They're not part of the masses like Hayato and Jin. They're higher. For now, it'd be best to avoid any problems.
"Excuse me..." Emma spoke. "Thank you so much for yesterday!" She said to Vincent. "For Chris and Dominic's treatment..."
"Ah." Vincent replied. "The boss let me know about that. I wish the best for them." He said with a smile.
"Thanks!"
"That's all well and all, but we wanna know!" Barbara said.
"Yes..." Cislo said, getting in Y/n's face. "How about you tell us? What you wanted to talk about with that guy..."
"That guy?" Ray asked.
"The boss of course." Barbara said. "Minerva! James!" She had a prominent blush on her cheeks.
Cislo was in the same condition. "What did you want to talk about with Nor... Norman, you guys called him?"
"Even if you idiots try to hide it, you love the boss." Vincent divulged. They love Norman!!! The three exclaimed in their thoughts.
"Shut up!" Cislo yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You love everything he does, too!"
"Because you're longtime friends of the boss, they can't stop themselves from being nervous. I can't either..." Even him?!
"I mean, aren't you curious?!" Cislo asked. "When we came back from our morning patrol, they were making a ruckus downstairs. Talking about how yesterday the boss was like a totally different person! What's up with that?! I thought. It made me real curious! What's more, you guys turned out to be super good friends! What kind of guy is this 'Norman'?!"
"Yeah, tell us, already!"
"Well..." Emma started. "I don't think he's changed that much since back then. He's kind and smart. He's always so soft and smiles in such a sweet way..." She thought back to when Norman gave her a sweet, innocent smile. However, in reality, he crushed her with a royal straight flush.
Cislo and Barbara looked at them with blank faces. "Soft?" Cislo asked.
"A sweet smile?" Barbara added.
"He's way different!!!" They howled with laughter.
"He's really that different?!" Emma asked.
"Then what's your Norman like?" Y/n asked.
"Stiff." Barbara answered.
"Cold." Vincent answered.
"He's an emperor." Cislo answered.
Ray, who had been sipping on his tea, spit all the liquid out. He embarrassedly covered his mouth as he laughed. "My bad..." An emperor?!?! Pfft....
"Hey!" Cislo said. "You don't got anymore? Like uh... embarrassing stories from when you were kids."
"Actually, until he was 10 years old he wet the bed- for example?" Ray asked.
Cislo grinned. "Yeah! Like that!"
"Nothing other than that." Ray said.
"He never actually wet the bed, though." Y/n said.
"So he didn't?!" Cislo asked disappointedly.
"Ah, that's right." Ray said. "One time, when he was recovering from a cold..."
The three friends told the other three hilarious stories about Norman. (Once I think about possible funny ones, I'll add it.) Their tea was gone. They all had a good time, whether that was reminiscing or hearing silly stories.
"Thank you." Vincent said. "This was such a nice conversation."
"In the end, you guys really do know him the best." Cislo chuckled.
"I'm crying with laughter, ha!" Barbara grinned. "So even a long time ago, the boss was so cool. Thanks. I'm glad we could hear so much about him."
"Now then." Cislo said. "Enough talk about how he was in the old days. Norman right now..."
"He's a good man." Vincent said. "He cares for his companions." Y/n discreetly raised a brow. A man? He's only fourteen... That's how highly they think of him? Or... Well, indeed it looks like he aged significantly for some reason.
"Not with a sweet smile or softly, though." Cislo added. "For the sake of saving us cattle, he works without sparing any time to sleep. He saved all of us. He made use of this power we have. He made us realize."
"Power?" Emma asked. "From Lambda?"
The male nodded. "The experimental farm, 7214. We're comrades of the same mind that met back at that cesspool. Before that, Barbara and I were from Goodwill Ridge. Vincent was in Glory Bell. Us three acquired our 'power' from those crappy experiments back at Lambda. Day after day, it was misery. No, that's putting it way too nicely. So many kids died and were killed. It's the most foul thing I've ever seen. If the boss hadn't come, I wouldn't be alive now, either. He was a 12 year old brat, but it was like I saw a god."
"The boss constructed a plan and the four of us, including Zazie, executed it." Vincent said. "Until now, all five of us have been destroying and freeing farms."
"Just the five of you?!" The three Grace Field kids asked.
"That's right, it's like I told you!" Cislo smirked. "We're amazing! You don't have to worry. With the boss's perfect plan and our power, victory will definitely be ours. Ahh...... I can't wait. Can't wait to hurry up and kill every last one of 'em."
Ray felt Y/n flinch beside him.
"Every time I kill a demon, I get this real nice feeling deep inside my chest." Cislo admitted.
"Ah, me too." Barbara said dreamily. "Whenever I eat meat from the demons we killed the crap out of, that nauseous feeling goes away." She said. She held the meatless bone up.
"Uh..." Y/n muttered. "That meat you just had..."
"Ahahahah, you must be surprised." Cislo laughed.
"That's right. It was demon meat." Barbara proudly informed. "I wonder if it was an employee of that mass-production farm we hit the other day." Y/n raised a brow. If you yourself killed it, you'd know, right? She wondered. "I mean, it makes me sick. Us being cattle to them. Even now, my head and body still can't forget. Their eyes, that agony, every single day. Everyone has the same enemy. Just killing them isn't enough for me. That's right. The Ratri clan and those demons. I'll kill them all, with those same eyes they had."
Ray, Emma, and Y/n all gaped. Y/n's eyes were wide. Emma had tried to keep her composure. She partly succeeded, mouth agape and sweat dripping down. Y/n however, was more conspicuous.
"What's with that face?" Barbara growled at Y/n. Y/n remained silent. If she spoke something wrong, things could immediately go downhill. "Are you sympathizing with them? Why don't you look happy? Aren't you happy? I find it hard to believe that cattle wouldn't want to kill them. Oh yeah, that 'talk with the boss' you wanted... You were going to spew something like 'change the plan', weren't you?"
Y/n remained silent. Her eyes were fixated on the girl.
"Oi, take it easy, Barbara." Cislo ordered. "You're breaking the hideout."
"Demons are monsters that should be exterminated!!!" Barbara screamed.
"BARBARA!" Cisco yelled. "Stop it." He ordered sternly and scarily.
"It's too late for that path." Vincent spoke. "There's nothing stopping this plan now. The boss is moving it up. This morning, he started with his strategy. Even if you go after him, you won't make it. By the time he returns, it'll be irreversible."
"You said he was out of the office." Ray said. "So where is he right now-"
"He went to meet them." Vincent answered with a terrifying countenance.
~~~~~
Norman and Zazie stood in a threshold of demons. However, they were not the wild kind. "I've come to formally request an alliance with you. Let's join hands and destroy this world. "It's alright, Zazie. Put your sword back."
"My apologies. It's because you look so delicious."
"I don't mind." Norman replied. "I presume it's entirely because of your food shortage as of late. Besides, you should understand perfectly. Rather than eating us here right now, using us as leverage and forming an alliance would be more beneficial to you, many times over. This is the only option you have if you want to go back to a life without worrying about human meat. So. Which will it be, my lord?"
"Come this way." The demon ordered. He led the pair of humans to their leader.
The leader was enormous. Stack four Normans on top of each other and the Norman tower still may be short. "Thank you for taking the joinery, William Minerva." The tall thing said.
"It's been awhile." Norman said. "Thank you for meeting us on such short notice, Lord Giran."
"You said next time the other subordinate and I will come alone. To think that was actually the truth..."
"Trust." Norman replied. "That's the first thing you need when forming an alliance. Zazie." He ordered. The bagged male threw a bag on the ground. "It's not much, but please accept this present. These are all high-grade staff from the mass-production farm we destroyed the other day. If you'd like, feel free to help yourselves to them later."
"How thoughtful. That's very helpful. Thank you for those. Let's get down to business."
"What I want is combat strength." Norman informed. "What I can offer you is victory. Also a means to fulfill your revenge. 700 years ago, your noble family was betrayed and fell to ruins. THat's how your forms declined to such an extent. I promise to present the heads of the royal family and the five regent homes to you. If we can do away with the current regime of the royal family and 5 regent homes, you would be able to return to being the central figure in this system. After taking revenge, the demon world would belong to you. I'd like to make you the king."
"What would you get in return?" Lord Giran questioned.
"The liberation of all cattle children. In addition, I'd like you to allow them to govern themselves." Norman answered. The demons around the room gaped. "I have no intentions of deriving you all of your food, of course. After all of the current cattle children are freed, I'll provide you the facilities of the plantations as they are. In return, you can do as you please with the Ratri clan. You can eat them and cultivate new ones. Don't worry. With the current technology the Ratri clan has, even with one hair, it should be possible to create hundreds of humans. If that's what you're looking for, I'll pass on all the research data from Lambda to you."
"So you're saying cattle children have 1000 years worth of their own revenge, huh?" Lord Giran posed. "Or could you be going after them for your own personal retribution? JAMES Ratri. However, you are correct. The Ratri clan is certainly tightly woven with the royal family and 5 regent homes. They've been a thorn in our side. If we can eat them while still ridding ourselves of them, it would be 2 birds with 1 stone."
"Let's join hands." Norman proposed. "In order to survive and for both of us to get revenge. I have a plan just for this and adequate info to carry it out. Because the Ratri clan is so ingrained in the center of influence, I've obtained some insider info. However, the cattle children don't have any power. Biologically speaking, human beings are on the weaker end of living beings. In order to overthrow the demon society that's in place now, having more than just human strength will be indispensable to this plan. Conversely, your side has power, but for these 700 years you haven't been able to do anything. There wasn't a means to win. If we join forces, all of our problems will be solved. For the revenge and victory that you've been seeking for 700 years. Let's destroy this disgusting world together."
"Banished?!"
"The families have come to an agreement. Your sentence is banishment!"
"You've been deceived! I'm innocent! Why must we be forced to become lower-"
"Look at me now-"
"Very well." Lord Giran said. "I'll recognize your self-governance. We keep our promises. Let's join hands. However, we believe in you. We'll take your side. We're committed to this fate. Not just me, but my clan as well. So what happen if you don't uphold this pact? If your measures fail, and you can't deliver us victory... what will you do? Minerva."
Norman smirked. "If that time comes, feel free to eat everybody. Not just me, but all of my comrades as well. Boil or grill us. We'll be at your mercy."
"That will work. It is now done." He said as he signed the contract Norman had brought. "Let's build a new world together."
After Norman and Zazie left, Giran looked at the contract. "We'er allied with humans, huh?" Bringing down the nobles in power. It's been my greatest wish for over 700 years. "If they can pull it off, just as well." He eyed the blood seal on the contract.
Giran licked the paper. "So delicious." Just one tiny drop of his blood is superb. That boy really isn't just some human being.
"He looked quite young." A clan member said. "Also, JAMES Ratri should've died many years ago. Is he an imposter? He also could be cattle."
"The neck. He didn't show it. Come to think of it, I remember hearing rumors a few years back. Those four special ones from Grace Field... He could be one of them!"
"Yes." Giran confirmed. "Even the monarchy cannot eat them. The meal especially for him."
Norman and Zazie were returning to the hideout. Norman sensed Zazie's uneasiness. "It'll be okay, Zazie. This is good." No combat power? Recognize our self-governance? Hand over the farm's facilities to them? That was all a lie. Those demons are my pawns after all. Demons will destroy demons. Giran's clan will be our pawns to the end. "The lord was lying, too." Norman added. "They have no intentions of leaving us cattle alive in the least. His one desire is to eat my brain. In the event of us being able to fulfill his revenge, the first thing he would do afterwards is turn around and eat me. Us joining forces is only what this looks like on the surface. Under everything, he's aiming to take my head when I least expect it. If he wants to kill and eat me, I'd like to see him try. Us cattle children will be the ones with the last laugh."
~~~~~
After the absolutely terrifying experience with Barbara, Cislo, and Vincent, the three eldest Grace Field kids visited Chris. Emma held his hand.
"He's looking better." Ray commented. "His pulse and breathing have calmed down, too. Vincent also said there wasn't damage to the brain. He'll wake up anytime soon."
"Yeah..." Emma said.
"Leaving that aside, there's Norman." Y/n said. "He didn't come back yesterday."
"I want to talk to him as soon as possible about everything..." Emma said. "Since yesterday with those three, I've really been thinking. Even though we get along just fine, with Barbara, Cislo, and Vincent... Even though they're all such funny and nice people..."
"The enemy is all the same."
"Can't wait to kill every last one of 'em."
"To be caught up with such hatred... They must've gone through so much." Emma added.
"It was the same at Goldy Pond." Y/n said. "Oliver talked about how much he hated them." I get this real nice feeling. "But this is the first time we've seen bottomless hatred."
"I was scared." Emma admitted. "It's not sympathy towards them. I was afraid of just how deep-seated the hatred was that I was seeing. But... 'the enemy is all the same'. What about Musica and Sung Joo? Do they not know that demons have children, either? To say they're all the same is really strange!"
"Yeah." Ray spoke. "But they couldn't care less about those who have killed our kind. The suffering that they've gone through is undeniable."
Y/n nodded. "You can't just say, 'don't hate them' to their faces. After that hatred comes out, you can't stop it. In fact, it keeps growing steadily. It's an endless cycle of it. This is 'war' to them." Emma frowned.
Ray nodded. "To inflict fear on an enemy, one's own poverty, leaderships selfishness, a mutual understanding. It can start for a number of different reasons. If you have the time to be thinking about your enemies, it should be about how to kill them. If the 'cycle of hatred' is allowed to be born, there's no way of stopping war. Killing each other, hating them for it, then more killing. That's why it'll never go away. Humanity has been repeating itself for thousands of years."
"IT'S THE BOSS!!!" Someone shouted.
"Everyone!" Another yelled. "The boss is back!"
"Let's go." Y/n said. The two nodded and ran out the hospital. They darted up the stairs towards Norman's office. That would be the first place he went, anyway. He said he always hid away in his office. Today, they would block his path.
As predicted, Norman, Barbara, and Cislo were coming up. "Emma... Y/n... Ray...?" Norman muttered surprisedly.
"Can we talk, Norman?" Emma asked.
The four entered Norman's office. Cislo and Barbara had gone off to do other things. "Sorry for bothering you as soon as you got back." Ray said.
"It's alright." Norman assured. "You wanted to talk?"
"Yeah, about a lot of things." Emma answered.
"But before that, I'd like to know." Ray stopped. "What kind of plan do you have? How will you 'exterminate the demons without losing a single person'?"
"Is it 'civil war'?" Y/n asked.
Everyone glanced at the two in surprise. Norman smiled. "That's right! You two always catch on quick!"
"Civil war?" Emma asked, clearly lost.
"You're going to incite a civil war between the demons?" Y/n asked.
"I'll have them crush each other." Norman explained.
"Then the 'pieces' you went to meet were..." Emma trailed off in nervousness.
Norman's grin maintained on his mouth. "Demons. We formed an alliance. The demons' society isn't just one large monolith. The king, the aristocracy, and commoners beneath them. There's a clear defined social hierarchy. Among them specifically, there's the royal family and 5 regent homes."
"Regent homes?" Emma questioned.
"They're 5 noble families that possess influence only to the royal family."
"Ah." Emma said. She then jumped up in realization.. "They created Lambda!"
Norman nodded. "That royal family and its 5 regent homes manage and operate all the plantations. They control the supply of human flesh, and hold the balance of demon society in their palm. They take pride in their tremendous wealth and power. The disparity has been widening over these years of the royal family and regent homes. The rest of the demons have started to harbor dissatisfaction. So we're going to use them to begin with at least."
"Any specifics?" Y/n and Ray asked.
"The Giran clan. They're former nobility. 700 years ago, with their own plan... the royal family and regent homes falsely accused him of a crime, and his formerly royal clan fell to ruins. Their banishment was a type where the eating of human meat wasn't allowed. For that punishment traditionally, they were supposed to degenerate and become wild. Then be crushed. But they've been waiting in hiding for a chance at revenge. They've repeatedly stolen from farms and towns to eat. Just enough to maintain their humanoid figure and intelligence."
"You've found some, huh?" Emma sadly smiled.
"Will that be alright?" Ray posed. "Those guys... They're supposed to be the enemy."
"It'll work." Norman assured. "Certainly, there's a considerable risk. As soon as we stop being valuable, they'll probably plan to eat us. But that's the same for both of us. We're both aiming to destroy each other. This was the strategy from the beginning. It's fine. Until they fulfill their revenge, they won't reveal their hand. In addition to their strong obsession with taking revenge, they won't show their hand because they have another situation to deal with." This surprised the three. "For this to be successful, none of us cattle can die. Instead of us waging a head-on war with the demons, this method is more useful hundreds of times over. If we can put them against each other, it'll be our win. But this is neither arrogance nor self-indulgence. It's 'resolve'. I won't let us cattle shed anymore blood."
Inciting them to fight against each other and taking advantage of the situation. Because the king and nobility own everything in this society, if we can destroy them, it'll collapse from the foundation. The king, nobility, their society, the farms... If we destroy all of that, the demons will degenerate and go extinct. If they can't eat humans, they won't be able to maintain form and knowledge. So that's his plan in simple terms.
"But..." Emma spoke. "Norman, did you know? There are demons that aren't like them." The albno looked at the carrot top in question. "There are those within the demons that won't degenerate if they don't eat humans. Those demons probably aren't affected by the food they eat."
Y/n spotted Norman's face drop in horror and shock. The h/c haired girl's eyes widened. "Wait, guys-"
"Yeah..." Ray spoke. He hadn't heard Y/n. "If there are a lot of demons like that who don't need to eat humans, your plan will fail from the onset."
"So that's why we wanted to ask you!" Emma smiled. "And besides..." She froze.
The other two finally saw Norman with his head in his hands. He looked awfully stressed all of a sudden. After all, his plan now has the chance of being completely useless.
Norman shakily stood. "How... How do you three know about that?" Emma and Ray looked at him in question. Y/n eyed him defiantly. "Where did you learn about them?"
"I won't tell you." Y/n answered. She turned to her other friends. "You can't tell him."
"Y/n?!" Emma and Ray exclaimed.
Norman's eyes widened as his mouth was slightly parted. He then put on a 'kind' smile. "Please, Y/n?"
"I will not." Y/n firmly replied. "I have no idea what you are planning for them."
Norman looked down. "Still... The fact that you even know about their existence tells me... You've seen her and met her... All of you did... I don't believe it... The 'Evil Blood Maiden clan still lives on."