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speedane · 6 months

Text

A Hidden Monster

Main Character: Leon (Vali) Supporting Casts: Hailey (Hephaestus), Hall (Hodur), Q (Eros) (Phanes version by @murkyike ) Very Minor Appearance/Mention: Drew (Anubis), Long Mian (Ao Bing), Bonnie (Eris)

Number of Words: 3,188

Tags: Occasional swearing, few thrilling scenes (in a horror kind of way), slight implication of (almost) pulling Leon's eye off as well as cannibalism

Summary: Leon, still dumbfounded that he wasn't able to kill off Q, decides to do a little research with Hailey. What answer lies within the pages of the books? Will he find the answer that he was looking for, or is his mind playing tricks on him?

I am so sorry if this is gonna be too much for anybody, I tried giving the most appropriate of warnings!!

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Silence fills the air, shelves left and right. The smell of old books fills the air as Leon rummages through the pile of books on the table. Hailey, who is currently climbing down the ladder behind him, glances at him with a puzzled look.

“Do you really need to learn about every single love god there is in existence?” She steps down the ladder with a stack of books in hand and paces towards the table where Leon is. “Like, seriously, you can’t just be reading ALL of these for the rest of the weekend?”

The inventor lazily dumps all the books before sitting beside the sniper, who seem to be setting aside any book that does not interest him. He seems to only scan the contents of each book, as if looking for a needle in a haystack. “Not all of them,” Leon replied. “I’m only searching for one.”

“Oh~?” Hailey places a leg on top of another, while leaning her torso towards the table with an arm resting on one of the smaller book stacks. “Do tell me Mr. Stoneface, which one of these could possibly fancy that eye of yours?” She asks with a rather sarcastic tone in her words.

With her free hand, Hailey picks up a random book with a rather interesting cover. “Eros and Psyche…” She pouts, scrutinizing the imagery of a winged man with a fair lady in his arms. Judging by the art, the two people looked like lovers. It’s sweet, maybe too sweet for her liking. “Eh, sounds cheesy.”

As if by reflexes Leon’s head perks up and immediately grabs the book from the inventor’s hand. “I’ll take that.”

Her eyes widened. “Eh?? That one??” Hailey stares at Leon with disgust. “Don’t tell me you’re into those soft... mushy, sickening love stories??” Her stomach churns, feeling like throwing up. Fortunately for the dusty old books in the Decree’s archives, they won’t get soiled today. The fiery-haired woman places a hand over her mouth, no longer looking at the sniper. “The more I learn about you, the less I want to…”

“It’s not like that,” Leon replied nonchalantly, his eyes on the person next to him. “It’s just research… for my target.”

“Your target?” She blinks. “Oh.”

“What?”

“I thought you’re looking for love stories to woo someone…” the inventor waves her hand around as she continues. “Liiiike we barely even talk and then boom! You asked me to help you with this love god research of yours!”

The sniper only blinks.

“What I’m saying is that… isn’t this all too… convenient?” Hailey moves her hand back and forth towards the man with her palm upwards. “You? Me? Alone in this empty archive? If this was about research then an advanced notice would’ve been nice.”

Leon only sighs. “First of all, I am not trying to shoot my shot at you.” He pinches the bridge of his nose, perplexed. “Second, you were the only one here to help me.” Lowering his hand, he faces her again.

“Aw dang, where’s that big bad wolf you’re always with?”

“In the training room, amusing himself.”

“And that Hall guy?”

“Not every book on the shelves is written in Braille.”

“Riiiiiiiight so you’re now stuck with me, I get it now.”

Haily starts shuffling through books. “So, books about Eros, huh?” Lifting a hardbound book, she squints. “He’s the target?”

“His esper,” were the only words he said.

“Huh…” The inventor chooses another book and opens the table of contents. “I think I know who you’re talking about…” Slowly, her finger slides through the titles, tapping on the very topic that grabs her attention. She starts flipping the pages. “Very popular internet guy, looks like a ball of cotton candy… got beef with him?”

The sniper only stays silent, his eyes fixated on the story book in his hand.

Hailey managed to locate the chapter that she is looking for regardless. “Thought so… oh!” Her eyes went left and right. “Eros, son of Aphrodite… Personification of Love… can forcefully bind two people into a relationship.” Squinting, she reads further. “I don’t get it, what’s so special about him? Sounds like just any other love god would do.” Soon after, she let out a big gasp. “Oh no! Don’t tell me… he made you kiss a fire hydrant!”

Ignoring the inventor’s boisterous laughter, Leon continues reading the story. Glued on the edge of his seat, locked on the words in the book. He is dead set to learn about the little flying baby that miraculously survived his bullet. When did he see his hiding spot? How did he survive? What makes him tick?

The young woman peers into the book. She sees a beautifully-illustrated picture book with words large enough for even her to read. “Huh, isn’t the Shadow Decree too old for these kinds of books?” Regardless, she bends closer. “Looks gorgeous though. So that Psyche girl was supposed to be sacrificed to a horrendous winged serpent!”

“Read your own books,” Leon coldly responds without even looking at her.

“Fine, fine, geez…” The fiery-haired woman slumps back to her seat, grabbing another book to read. “And when I was finally getting interested in that cheesy love story too… hmph.”

The sniper flips page after page, but he is more interested in finding weaknesses of his opponent than learning the story. As minutes passed on, he finally closed the book shut. His eyelids are drooping, his back sore… and yet he did not find what he was looking for. The person at the seat next to him notices his tired look on his face.

“You were so focused on that one story book.” She smirks. “Found anything?”

“I found no weak points…” Leon yawns. “It was just… a love story…” he groggily rubs his eye, resting his bust on the table.

Hailey notices his exhaustion and shakes her head. “You know what, we’ve been doing this for hours now. The books may have bored you to sleep.” She stands up and walks towards the door. “If you need me, I’ll be getting some snacks.”

The sniper did not reply. With the inventor out of the scene, there is no stopping him from closing his eyes and entering into a deep sleep…

As his world fades to black, he feels at peace. No distractions, no responsibilities, no worries. He even almost forgot what he was doing a while ago…

“LEON!!”

Hailey’s sudden yelling woke him up unceremoniously. His head is in pain, his vision rather blurry. He could not make out from his surroundings, but he could tell that Hailey had entered the room and was in a hurry.

Walking down the hallway, the pair notices more henchmen passing through them. Leon suddenly gets a feeling of uneasiness… like something worse is happening outside his view. Walking further, he finally sees Hall standing in the middle of all this. The two of them stop to meet him.

“Leon, you got a new assignment, and they looked like they urgently needed your help out there!”

The sniper rubs his temple sighing, looking annoyed. “Figures.” Standing up, he grabs his saxophone and heads out with Hailey.

“Hall, why are they sending more people out there,” Leon asks.

“From what I heard, there is a hostile entity steadily approaching our base…” Hall faces the two with worry. “We need more manpower before it reaches here.”

Hailey scratches her head. “Sounds like a tough cookie… is it some sort of a miramon?”

The blind archer shakes his head. “Reports say it’s an esper. The last thing I heard was that Bonnie returned here with minor injuries, and Long Mian is stalling.”

The inventor whistles. “Did the Esper Union have a secret weapon or something? Pretty bold of them to send a single guy our way if it’s really them!”

“No time for chitchat, I’ve heard enough.” Leon cuts the conversation off and switches his saxophone into the sniper rifle he always used. “Do what needs to be done.”

Hailey separates herself from the group, taking the route to where the labs are. Leon is now paired with Hall and heads to the exit. Outside was starting to get chaotic. Various men scrambled around, preparing for a possible onslaught. Whoever this ‘hostile entity’ is is becoming a serious issue for the Decree.

The sniper turns to Hall. “You stay here and guard this entrance.”

Hall gives him a troubled look. “But what about you?”

Leon lowers his hood and turns around. “I’ll be at the sniper tower where I can see what’s really going on out there.”

Without a word, he left in a hurry, with Hall standing still by the entrance. For a sniper, the tower would be the most tactical place for him to maneuver both offensively and defensively… but it would also be the loneliest place for him.

No subordinates. No partners. Just him, his rifle, and the vast outskirts of the ruins that was once Hazlitt.

Now in position, Leon looks at the barren wasteland through the sniper scope. He scans through the area, now currently quiet. Too quiet. “Odd… did Long Mian manage to subdue the target..?

Before he could lower his rifle, he spotted a pink light towards his direction.

“What-”

And just like that, it hit him in a flash of pink sparkles, sending him on the floor with a thud. The laser temporarily made him blind, his vision only filled with a bright hot rosy color. The man winces in pain as white noise fills his ears and dizziness hits his head like banging pots and pans. He groans, but nobody could hear him. What in the world is happening in the base without him? He’s just there, laying down. Helpless.

“Leon!!”

“... Hall?”

He opened his eyes. Vision was suddenly clear as day. He heard Hall’s voice from far away. The sniper slowly stands up, struggling to keep his balance at first.

“Hall? Hall!!”

But nobody answered back.

“...”

The sudden silence made his chest feel tight. Now regaining his full senses, the sniper immediately jumped off the tower without a second thought, landing on one foot before tumbling down. By the time he looked up again, he knew immediately that there was something horribly wrong…

The entire lot that was full of chaos before is now barren. Not a single voice can be heard from any direction. What happened to everyone?

“...”

Leon paces as he scans the area. Still nothing, except for the burn marks on the concrete. The red-haired man kneels down and lightly touches the marks. Warm to the touch, as if freshly-made. Getting up again, he heads to where the entrance is. Hall was not there.

“Where did you go..?”

He gazes into the hallway within. It’s just as eerily quiet as the outside. He decides to enter in high alert, with the rifle pointing ahead, careful not to make a sound with every step. Lights above his head flicker as he moves further down the path, his heart pounding louder the deeper he gets. When he reaches the intersection point, he stops. Soon after, all lights flicker and fail except the one on top of him. Everything beyond the light turned pitch black.

Within the darkness, the sound of a slithering snake can be faintly heard. Leon quickly aims at the hallway passage on his left. As always, there was nothing… but the sniper knows he’s not alone anymore.

“I can hear you…” He aims at another hallway. “Show yourself.”

All silence. Leon is quickly losing his patience.

“I have no time for games..!”

And there he hears the same hissing from a minute ago. A honeyed voice speaks from behind him.

“How delightful it is to see you.. Leon.”

In a flash, the red-haired sniper swiftly points the rifle from the source of the voice and makes the first shot. The sound of movement is noticeable after the attack despite the deep darkness, which he took advantage of in making out his opponent’s next move.

“Don’t hide from me…”

He makes his second shot. This time he hears the hissing of a snake.

Then his third. Wings flapping can be heard almost immediately.

“This bitch can fly-”

A slither on his top right. A shot fires again. A hard landing to his rear. And another shot resounds into the void. No matter how many shots he throws at it, the thing doesn’t seem to go down. The mix of adrenaline, frustration, and fear makes his heart pound faster than he ever felt for years. He’s a cornered rat.

“Your heart is beating so loud…” The voice became more venomous.

It finally makes its first move and flicks its reptilian tail towards Leon, disarming him in the same process. He let out a wince and tumbles down to the cold hard floor. He sees his rifle beside him, but as he turns and reaches for it, the tail has already coiled around his body and pulls him up in the air. Now binded, the man is now helpless in cold sweat.

“Let.. Let me go..!”

He attempts to wiggle out. However, it was of no use.

His opponent lets out a soft chuckle. “Resistance is futile, you know.”

The last remaining light starts to fail, and eventually leaves Leon devoid of light. He could still feel the tail that constricts him, and it only gets tighter. Almost choking.

“Who.. are you..?”

“You still haven’t figured it out? Poor you~”

Leon senses that his shoulders are being held with soft, human hands. The sharp nails poking on the fabric of his hood doesn’t make this fact relieving though. But he could still feel it in his skin. And it’s really unnerving.

In front of him has two purple eyes flashing right at his face, their slit pupils piercing into his soul. The voice becomes more distorted.

“I thought you did your research?”

“You..”

The once dim area gradually gets illuminated by a bright golden light, showing the wings of his assailant, and his true nature.

“Or have you already forgotten about me?”

“Tch… I should’ve known it was you…”

Lo and behold, the one who’s been attacking the Shadow Decree all this time is none other than his target… or what he thinks to be.

Unlike the usual youthful appearance of the cupid, the one that stands in front of him is much taller. And much more menacing.

“Ding dong!”

“What did you do to them? What did you do to Hall..?!”

‘Q’ gives him an eerie smile, showing both of his sharp fangs. “Oh trust me… you don’t wanna know.”

The red-haired man grits his teeth. “Is this what you’ve been hiding from me? Is this how you survived… my bullet?”

The other esper lets go of one hand and cutely pokes his own cheek with a matching head tilt. “Oh no, it’s no secret~”

With the same finger, he lightly pokes his nose. “You’ve read this, remember?” The man pulls the other closer to his eyes. “Or should I say, your lady friend?”

“H-Hailey…”

Three words resounding within his mind. Words he didn’t know were relevant until now: Horrendous. Winged. Serpent.

The snake tail, the sharp fangs, the feathery golden wings, and those monstrous eyes… It all makes sense now. This is no longer the small annoying target that Leon knows of. This is a threat of a high caliber, a threat that manifested from his inner fears, a threat he couldn’t kill.

The constricting tail continues to choke the sniper, and sooner or later he’s going to run out of air to breathe. Yet, he could do nothing but watch as the winged serpent in front of him gets amusement from his suffering. At this very moment, he’d pretty much rather be dead than having to look at his deceptively sweet face.

“Go on… kill me already-”

“Oh, not yet…”

Both of their eyes are locked on each other, and nobody would want to let go. Pure, visceral rage fills Leon’s heart as ‘Q’ stares at him mockingly. His arms are still binded, his feet frozen, and his breaths becoming shorter.

“You know, I’m feeling quite peckish right now…” The wings on the serpent’s head flutter lightly, happy thoughts in mind. “I was thinking of getting something sweet!”

Leon could feel one of this monster’s fingers gently brushing on his freckled face, like a little plaything.

“You know what your red hair and speckled cheeks remind me of?”

He leans closer to his ear and lets out a whisper.

“Strawberriiieeesssss…”

A soft gasp can be heard from the hooded man. There is no way this beast is thinking of what’s in his head right now… but the heavens are finally merciful enough to give him an answer as one of his clawed hands starts creeping into one of his eyes.

“I was thinking… hmmm… strawberry tarts.”

Leon wants to look away. But he can’t. The man’s body is unresponsive, like a plant. Not even a sound escapes from his mouth, not a tear from his eyes. He’s facing his death, and he can’t do anything about it… With no time to waste, the hand grabs his face and he lets out a loud, painful scream.

The next thing he knew, he could hear books dropping on the floor, and his eyes could finally see the light of the archives again. A familiar voice speaks.

“Aw man, I was about to make it to five stacks!”

He finds himself back at the same table he was sleeping on, with sweat on his face and a messy set of red hair. Nothing binding his body, no hands grabbing his face. He is where he was before everything started… or did he even leave at all?

“Am I back…?” The man stares into nothing as Hailey starts picking up the books that fell with his rude awakening.

“Back? Pff, you’ve been sleeping for an hour and a half!” The young woman places the books on the table and grabs her phone that has been opened for a while. “Anyway, while you’re asleep, I started doing my own research as well.”

She puts the screen directly at Leon’s face that currently shows a livestream of a flying baby and a butler jackal.

“You can put your preferred fruit on top of the tarts. Make sure that they are fresh and delectable to eat.”

“I want mine with strawberries!!”

Strawberries… strawberries. The word echoes in his head, bringing him back to that very moment in his nightmare. The inventor only laughs at the seemingly innocent scene of a small boy putting strawberries on his tarts, unaware of the ordeal that he had to endure in his sleep.

“You know, for a target, he’s such a comedian! Goofy-ass motherfucker.”

“I’ll get some milk…”

With no words left to say, Leon gets up from his seat and leaves the archives. Hailey’s eyes shifted from the door that he went through, to the pile of books left on the table, and back to the door with an unamused look.

“I am NOT cleaning this up.”

#jee writes #dislyte #leon dislyte #hailey dislyte #q dislyte #hall dislyte #second dislyte fic in and it's 3k words I am so sorry for that #also yes I wrote a leon fic #TOOK ME A LOT OF RESTRAINT WHILE WRITING THIS #cause I had to make sure that this is a Leon fic #not a Q fic #LMAO #dislyte fanfiction #fanfiction #shoutout to Murky for allowing me to writing about his blorbo

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