Chapter 38 : After Midnight

“What? Why!?” questioned Kianna as she gave Mica a perplexed look.

“Because not that he actually came out and said it.” mumbled Anton “But it’s pretty clear that Leopold and Ila have somehow become renegades from their clan. Or at least in part. I can only speculate since I don’t know all the details. But it looks like they’ve taken an opportunity to live free lives, and have decided to try and give their children a chance to live freely as well. Away from their clan...”

“Well, if that’s all they want. Can’t they just say that?” questioned Kianna “I mean, if they don’t want their family to be part of the clan anymore. Can’t they just leave it?”

“No. That’s not how it works, Kianna.” said Anton as he shook his head “A shinoccubi can’t just leave its clan. Not by its own choice at least.”

“Why not!?” snapped Mica “Who’s gonna stop them!?”

Anton went still for a moment as he gave Mica a silent assessment.

“You really don’t have any idea how the clans work, do you?” asked Anton.

Mica said nothing as she narrowed her eyes and set her jaw.

“ ... I see, well, now that I think about it. I guess that does make sense.” nodded Anton “All shinoccubi are forbidden to discus anything that is related to their clans with outsiders. And since I’m guessing your parents never intended for you to become part of their clan. They couldn’t discus anything about it with you ... How very inconvenient for them ... Lucky for you though, I can discus it with you. And I can even explain why your parents now want to kill you.”

“Seriously? Do you really think I’m buying any of this shit? My own Mom and Dad suddenly want to kill me out of the blue because some invisible clan is gonna be pissed at them if they don’t. A clan that I’ve never even heard of before because apparently my parents have been “forbidden” from talking about it! And yet, somehow, some random human like you knows all about all of it!? Yeah, right!” mocked Mica “Why would I believe anything you’re saying, about any of this crap!? When I have literally no reason to think you aren’t just a piece of shit liar!”

“Watch your mouth you little bitch!” growled Kianna as her features began to darken “My Master is not a liar!”

Mica’s tail began to quiver wildly around her waist as she instinctively tried to point her spade at the looming dark elf.

“Enough. Both of you.” commanded Anton “Again, believe me or not, Mica, it makes no difference. You’re still going to listen to what I have to say. You need to hear this so that you can understand what you’ve done.”

“Fuck! You!” growled Mica through her teeth.

Ignoring her, Anton turned his attention to the two dark elves.

“It won’t hurt for you two to have a better understanding as well. Of both shinoccubi, and cubi in general.” he said as he looked from Fiona to Kianna “So pay attention.”

“Right, there’s actually I few things I was wanting to ask you about.” said Kianna “Mostly why you kept talking about their last name? Why is that so important?”

“Oh, that. Right, well.” said Anton as he shifted his gaze back to Mica “You see, any cubi that has a last name is pretty much guaranteed to have been born on Terra. As the cubi that are born in the realms are not allowed to have last names.”

“Why not?” asked Kianna as she too turned her eyes to Mica.

Anton hesitated for a moment as he stared at Mica and let a thoughtful expression take form on his face. Having apparently decided on what he was going to say, he began to speak.

“Because a last name can have meaning. It can be more than just a label. It’s something you can take pride in, stand for, and build on. It’s a legacy, a piece of heritage. And it’s also something that can be rallied around. It can give people unity, hope, strength and a promise for a future. In other words, a last name is something that can make people want to be better people. And this is not something that cubi are allowed to have...” explained Anton as his eyes stayed locked to Mica’s “Because in the eyes of the other Infernals, cubi are not people.”

Taken aback, Mica blinked and creased her brow in affront as she took in his statement.

“They’re toys, tools, soldiers, minions and servants. The very luckiest of them live as pampered pets, and those that aren’t so lucky ... Well, they often end up as food...” said Anton as he watched Mica’s eyes widen “Cubi may be fully sapient, and are without question people. But not to the other Infernals. To them, a cubi is considered no different than an animal, like a dog. And may even be seen as less. They are creatures bred and born to be owned. And as such they’re often treated as little more than living items. Tokens to be collected and bartered with. In fact, this practice of being used as trade tokens is how many cubi have come to be living on Terra in the first place. As it has always been common for a negotiating demon to sweeten a deal by throwing in a cubi or two. This is literally where the vast majority of the Terran population of cubi are derived from, these traded individuals, who were either set free themselves, or gave birth to free children. And that’s exactly what I thought the case was with Leopold and Ila. I assumed they had somehow become free themselves, or were descended from freed parents ... That doesn’t seem to the case though. Or at least not fully.”

“I’m not a fucking dog!” growled Mica “Don’t ever call me that again!”

“What do you mean by free?” asked Kianna “Are shinoccubi enslaved to their clans?”

“Not exactly. Though they might as well be.” said Anton “Cubi as a whole are rarely ever legitimately enslaved because there really is no need for that. You see, cubi all have an ingrained ability that when invoked, acts as a self-inflicting curse that will bind them to whoever they recognize as their owners. In shinoccubi this ability is more akin to an oath of loyalty, and is used during a ceremony in which they become recognized as part of the clan by activating this ability and essentially committing themselves to what is called their “Makieve”, which is the head of their clan. Now, this Makieve is never another shinoccubus, but instead is usually a demon. A demon which acts as not only the leader, but is in all truthfulness, the owner of the clan, and everyone in it. And I do mean this literally. As the clans are treated as property in the realms. With the position of Makieve acting as the title of ownership. A title which can be, and is often, traded or sold.”

The dark elves both remained silent as they nodded in understanding and gazed at the fuming kiochi.

“Since their Makieve is not actually a permanent figure, these shinoccubi who have cursed themselves are in all actuality dedicated more to the clan itself than anything. Or at least the idea of it. You see, although they will always obey any commands that their Makieve may make, they still operate fairly independently in their day to day lives. And by this I mean they do have their own culture. One that keeps them organized, efficient and functioning correctly. The clans are structured and have hierarchies as well as customs, beliefs and most importantly, laws.” explained Anton “Laws that are enforced with deadly consequences. Laws that dictate “All, within one shadow” which means that one’s mind, body, pride and blade, all belong to the clan, and to the clan alone. To steal any of these things from the clan is a blatant betrayal. And this is a crime that Leopold and Ila are both very guilty of.”

“Bullshit!” exclaimed Mica “My parents aren’t thieves! They didn’t steal anything!”

“Yes, they did.” said Anton.

“What!? What did they steal then!?” demanded Mica.

“You.” declared Anton “You, Nokko and any other siblings you may have. All of you have been stolen away from the clan that by birth you belong to and from the Makieve that ultimately owns you. You’re parents, for all that they’ve done, are, without question, traitors to their clan. By hiding away and living on Terra, giving themselves a last name, accumulating wealth by building successful careers, and finally, by having children. All without the clans knowledge. Makes your parents thieves, that by all appearances look very much like they’re trying to secretly build a new, rival clan that’s all their own. Now, considering you are clearly not trained in such a way that you could help them fight against another clan, I very much doubt that’s what their plan is. Unfortunately, it really doesn’t matter what I think...”

“They didn’t “steal” me!” growled Mica “Nobody owns me! And I don’t belong to any fucking clan!”

“Isn’t that going a little overboard though?” asked Kianna “I’m mean, I get it that the clans gonna be pissed that they ran off, but isn’t going straight to killing everyone a little much?”

“Of course it is. But you have to remember that shinoccubi are naturally bloodthirsty beings, Kianna. Killing is second nature to them. It’s their answer for every problem. And something else that you need to understand is that they see themselves as one of the most cunning and capable races in existence. And they are not necessarily wrong about this. Mica may have given her kind a poor first impression, but don’t let that fool you. A trained, experienced shinoccubus can be a deadly opponent, especially when you don’t see them coming.” said Anton as he shook his head “And because they view themselves so highly, they consider it an honorable accomplishment to successfully kill another one of their own. This is why clan to clan warfare is so common among them. It gives them the opportunity to target each other and claim the glory of a kill. Which is an achievement so important to them that they’ll even keep body parts of their slain opponents as both trophies and proof of what they’ve done. They are extremely vicious towards their own kind. And with this being the case, there is no question that the clan would see Leopold and Ila’s transgressions as more than a good enough reason to target them. They will take the opportunity to make an example of them, and then they’ll quell any possible future vengeance by taking out their children as well...”

“ ... That’s, wow.” whispered Kianna “That’s pretty extreme...”

“Yes, it is ... And none of this would have been an issue if Mica hadn’t gone and put herself out there.” sighed Anton “A full grown female shinoccubus that has appeared out of nowhere, is claiming that she isn’t in a clan and is looking for work as an assassin is going to immediately draw attention. From everyone, everywhere! Every clan is going to want to know where she came from, how capable she is and whether or not they can add her to their own ranks. Which they will all want to do, by force if necessary. They will track her down. And when they do, she’ll lead them right back to her family. Which she will do. We’ve already seen this ourselves. She was willing to talk almost immediately after we captured her, so we know she won’t last a minute in the hands of another shinoccubus ... I can almost see Leopold’s point with wanting to kill her. She’s nothing but a liability now...”

“Fuck you!” snapped Mica “I didn’t tell you shit about my family!”

“Yes, you did. You told me enough to figure out who your family was. You lead me right to them.” said Anton “And you’ll do the same again, there’s no question of that. You will talk.”

Trembling with raw hatred, Mica’s slitted pupils began to pulse with her breath as she glared at Anton.

Narrowing his eyes at her, Anton couldn’t help but to become irritated with her blatant disregard and fed up with her attitude he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees as he addressed her.

“Now you listen to me, you unrepentant little fool. You need to start taking this seriously. As things have been set in motion now, events that could very well end with the spades cut from yours and your family members tails all ending up as someone’s kitchen knives!” he snarled as he stared right back at her “And not only is this going to be all your fault! But you don’t even have a drop of remorse for what you’ve done, do you!?”

“Shut up! Just shut up!” raged Mica “Just stop talking! I don’t believe you! I don’t believe any of this!”

“Seriously!? He’s telling you the truth you idiot!” exclaimed Kianna as she pointed her ears straight back behind her head “You need to listen to him! He’s trying to help you understand how your crazy murder clan works! You stupid little bitch!”

“No, he’s not! He’s a liar! He’s not a shinoccubus so how could he even know any this!” countered Mica “He’s trying to fuck with me! Telling me shit to mess with my head! Like my family! They would never want to kill me! He’s lying! And there is no clan! He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! He-!”

“Your tail was short when you were born.” interrupted Anton as he settled back into his seat and laid his arms out across the chairs armrests “And the spade at the end of it was soft with a rounded shape. It hardened quickly after your birth, but it didn’t get its sharp point, or become elongated in shape until just a few years ago. When you were going through puberty. During that time the sides of it split open, and the sharpened edge came through. Its not done growing in yet. It will get even longer and sharper with time. As will your horns...”

Surprised by his statements, Mica went still as she stared at him.

Gazing back at her, Anton waited until it was clear that she wasn’t going to speak before he continued.

“Your tail was short so you wouldn’t strangle yourself with it in the womb.” he explained “Or get it tangled up with your umbilical cord. And your spade was soft and dull so you wouldn’t hurt either yourself or your mother with it.”

“ ... How, in the Hell?” mumbled Mica as she narrowed her eyes in question.

“You are not completely immune to fire, but you have a very high resistance to heat in general. And can remain comfortable in temperatures that are well over several hundred degrees.” said Anton “The reverse is not the same however, as you have absolutely no tolerance for the cold.”

“ ... Okay. So what are you like some kind of shinoccubi fan boy or something!?” exclaimed Mica as she pressed herself back against the metal chair “Cause that’s just creepy that you know all that crap!”

“I wouldn’t exactly call myself a fan...” mumbled Anton “But as you can tell, I am very well informed on your kind.”

“Oh! Did you study the shinoccubi too!?” exclaimed Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards in question.

“I have.” nodded Anton “I’ve actually done my best to make an in-depth study of each of the Infernals.”

“ ... Okay?” drawled Mica “That’s ... weird! Why would you “study” my people?”

“Because I’m a naturalist, and my main interest is other sapient races.” explained Anton “And the reason I’ve studied your kind as well as all of the Infernals so deeply ... Is because it was necessary. We needed to know everything we could about you. What you could do, and any weaknesses you might have. We had to have this knowledge. So we could survive against you. So we could fight you. And so we could beat you.”