The Inconceivable Flame: A Fallen Angel's Disguise

But that doesn’t mean that there are no monsters at all.

Monsters are real...

And these monsters hide inside our own self. We all are keeping a demon hidden in our soul.

The only difference is; some of us fight a battle with the demon inside of us for the rest of our lives while others just lose that battle and learn to embrace that inner demon.

The ones who lose this battle with their inner demons are called WEAK. They are said to be weak because they couldn’t keep their humanity.

We often overlook the fact that battles are not fought alone. But battles are only lost when you’re left alone by the world. It’s not that we’re too weak to win the battle, in fact, the people around us were too ignorant to push us in this abyss of darkness.

That is to say, the only way for our inner demons to conquer us is when we’re left with no-one to hold our hand and show us the right path.

Some demons hide within you,

A few carry your life with you...

Some angels tread the path for you,

But only a demon travels with you...

Some angels might be asleep inside you,

But a demon is always there to haunt you...

Some keep the angels close to feel the light,

But what can you do to the demon that lurks deep inside?

As Lord Alev Knight gazed at the girl tied up with chains before him, he was in a dilemma of whether the girl was the demon or an angel who lost her battle?

Cobblestone walls were surrounding the eerie underground space as the metal chains were sprawled across the stone floor. It reeked of mold and humidity in the air but along with that, there was a scent of death and suffering lingering in the air.

The girl was chained against the cobblestone wall with chains and hammered metal shackles. Lord Alev Knight’s green-eyes assessed the slender figure chained before him. She had short black hair and very common features, there was nothing too peculiar about her except for the sinister look in her eyes.

He could easily perceive that look in her eyes which said that she was going to kill him brutally. How could he not recognize the same look he has in his own all the time?

"Adia!" His pleasant voice rang out in the silent room.

"Yes, Sir!" A woman in her early thirties came closer to his tall figure and lowered her head respectfully while her hands were clasped before her.

"It’s been two days and you’re telling this lord that she has not even spoken of the reason why she attacked me?" Although the voice was deep and pleasing to hear, Adia knew better than to be fooled by that gentle tone. She was familiar with her master’s disposition; the gentler his voice, the vicious he gets.

Adia licked her dried lips and didn’t dare to look at her master’s eyes. "Sir! It’s not that we couldn’t achieve anything with our torture. It’s actually that she can’t talk." Adia gulped down her saliva as she felt the beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead.

"Are you telling me that she’s mute?" Lord Alev Knight quirked a single brow in question and he turned to look at the locked up girl again.

"Yes, Sir!" Hearing Adia’s answer, a crease formed between his brows like a crinkled cloth. "And as expected, there is no record of her existence."

He rubbed his tapering chin in a thoughtful manner. "What about that one?" He asked shifting his gaze towards another chained figure on the wooden chair.

It was a young man with now ragged clothes or whatever was left of them and a swollen face which was completely unrecognizable.

"He’s an assassin from Russia. And he’s proving to be one hard nut to crack for now. We have even pulled all his nails out but his lips are sealed even now." Adia spoke with indignation as she glared at the unconscious man on the chair.

Lord Alev Knight lifted two fingers and ordered, "Wake him up for me!"

Immediately, two of the men standing in the dark corner came up and threw cold water bucket on the unconscious man. With a jolt, the Russian assassin woke up and darted his eyes in the gruesome room before his eyes glued on those bright, sparkling, green eyes.

The assassin gave a sinister laugh to challenge, "It’s better to kill us, Lord Alev Knight! I won’t be saying a word."

"Ah! Was that just a challenge that I hear in his voice?" Lord Alev looked at Adia who nodded agreeing with him. "Then this lord will definitely let you take pleasure in his favorite torturing ways." His lips curved slightly upwards making all his men taking a step back in fear. "Let’s see how long would you able to keep that tone with this lord." Saying this, he pulled out a dagger from his ankle boots and pointed at the chained man.

"I’ve played with these things for more than a decade now. I’m not going to be scared of a simple dagger." The assassin sneered with disdain.

Lord Alev leaned a bit ahead and whispered, "Let this lord be honest with you. This lord’s first toy was a dagger as well." At the end of his speech, he lowered the tip of the blade down as he continued to talk, "My old master used to say that when you come across a stubborn prisoner, there is no need to invest so much energy into that subject." The blade further lowered down the chained man’s front in slow motion. "You can simply strike at the subject’s weakest point which could not only hurt his body or mind but also, his hopes and dreams."

The assassin followed the dagger with wide eyes as it reached down over his belt and between his thighs. Through the thin layer of cloth which was left on his thigh, he could feel the cold metal blade sliding against his skin until it reached a certain point.

Seeing the blade so close to his manhood, the man gulped with a horrified expression. "You!" The man could only get this out before the tip of the dagger was pressed down in a smooth motion making the man howl with pain gushing into his entire body.

"What do you have to say now?" Lord Alev Knight looked at the man before him with a slight smile lingering on his perfectly shaped slightly thin lips. He drew back the dagger.

He winced in pain as his mind got hazy and had no energy left to talk or think. "Argh! Argh!" The tip of the blade came down again to stab his manhood and this time, he fainted.

"This is boring if you’re to sleep like this," he said before passing a glance to his men. The cold water bit down on the chained man’s skin again and he woke up with harsh breathing. With consciousness, the pain also came back as he stared at that green-eyed demon before him who in return waved his hand saying, "Hi! Shall we begin again?"

Before the tip of the dagger could land again, the man shouted, "Stop! Please, I beg you to stop!"

Lord Alev Knight stood straight and cleaned the dagger elegantly with his napkin. "Let’s start with who sent you both to kill this lord and why?"

"I don’t know who they are." Lord Alev glared at him with fury making him cower in fear. "But I know the reason why they want you dead."

"Keep going."

"You’re the one leading the Internation Arms Dealing Traders Association. And since the time that organization is established, a lot of smugglers are not happy as they can’t get their hands on most advanced weapons." After a pause, he added, "But I really don’t know about who they are. I only know that they are from China."

Lord Alev tapped his foot on the floor for a minute and shifted his gaze back towards the chained girl. "What is she?"

"Huh?" The tied up man couldn’t understand his meaning.

"Can you be sure that she’s completely human? Or that her being mute is a coincidence?" Hearing these questions, the man fell in thought.

"I don’t know anything about her. My mission was to lead that girl to you and she was tasked with the killing part who’d know that you’re not that easy." He grumbled the last part but everyone around him heard it as they inhaled a sharp breath pitying with him.

Lord Alev cast a last glance towards the girl in shackles against the wall before taking long but steady strides outside the dungeon.

Adia followed closely behind him. "Adia!" He called her.

"At your service, Sir!" Adia replied courteously.

"Keep both of them alive." Adia stared wide-eyed at the broad straight back of her master.

Opening the door of his house, Lord Alev walked inside and pulled off the black jacket. Immediately peeling off his blood-scent clothes, he walked inside the bathroom.

Looking at the reflection of his own body with that personalized binding around his chest, a scowl appeared on that handsome face. That binding was like a reminder. A reminder that he was indeed she who was living in the disguise of a man.

Rubbing the reflection that stared back, he... Oh, wait! She walked in the glass shower area for a bath to remove the stench of blood off her body.