Sin of Association: Pride

[Koal]

People.

They were evil, and yet had a staggering possibility for good. They were selfish and cruel and hateful and everything that Koal hated.

But they were a necessity.

Koal fed on their emotions. Their Sin. They were what provided him with energy. With power. With everything that he needed. Their sins alone sustained him: Their hateful wrath, their sensual lust, their jealous envy, their never-ending swell of Pride.

So when a small child tugged on his pants leg and told him that her mother was in trouble and needed help, Koal grimaced but let her lead him along, all the while he fed off of her fear. But there was something hidden under the fear, and emotion he couldn’t place. Almost something akin to...satisfaction? And then Koal was tackled and put into metal cuffs and pushed to his knees. The little girl had let go and scampered away to the safety of a large ugly creature, who slipped a few imperial credits into her hand and then it aced his hand to shoo her away. The Demon could feel the stink of the Orcs breath when it opened its mouth to speak.

“Alright, kid,” It’s voice was low and guttural and very hard to understand, but Koal managed, “You ‘and over yer valuables and nob’dys gotta get hurt.” He looked quite satisfied with himself and began to chatter with his colleagues in their native tongue. Koal could feel his anger flare but kept his expression neutral as he looked up at the Leader, his voice innocent and compliant, his eyes wide and terrified.

“B-it s-s-sir how-how am I suppose to do that if I’m all chained up?” His captor fell for the bait, it’s face twisting in understanding before it began to fish out a ring of keys out of its crummy coat pockets and unlocking the cuffs. Koal stood up and rubbed his wrists, getting his blood flowing again before letting his face split into a sinister grin. A laugh bubbles out of his throat, startling the Orc Boss into taking a step back. Koal took a step forward, following it. Then another. Then another. Koal felt a liquid form over his arms, and the familiar black claws erupted from the tips of his blackened skin.

“Ah, man. You guys are just as dumb as you look, eh?” Koal leapt coward, using his claws to secure himself to the orc, before he opened his mouth, startling white fangs appearing, then bit the orc on the neck, ripping out his jugular in a fantastic display of brutality. Blood ran down the front of his shirt, ruining it. The crimson liquid coated his mouth and teeth as he continued to smile and advance toward the rest of the orca, who were knocking each other down to get away. Koal picked up a crude gun, fashioned together from low-quality metal and lead piping. He pointed it in the direction of the nearest orc, and pulled the trigger. It’s right leg exploded in a fray of bone and gore. Koal felt the scream reverberate in the alleyway, and he threw the gun to the side, not caring where it fell.

“Now, now, gentleman. What did we learn today?” His voice was uncharacteristically cheery, lilting tones coming out in his voice. A slight hint of his German heritage. A sign of his time spent under the Nazi regime. In the back of his mind, Koal felt his humanity feebly scrabble against the will of The Demon. It was a fruitless battle, of course, and Koal laughed again as he grasped the jagged bone protruding from the impromptu stump of the screaming orc on the ground. Flexing his shoulder muscles, he yanked a sharp piece of bone out of the socket, along with a nice chunk of flesh and ligaments. The Orc passed out from pain.

“Oh. Shame.” Koal dropped the bone piece and leave oiled up to find the other orcs gone.

“Heh. There’ll be more to come. And they won’t be ready for me.” Koal threw his ruined jacket to the ground and wiped some blood of his mouth both the back of his hand.

“But I’ll sure as hell be ready for them.”