I fell in love in another world

Keir stood before the doorway, bathed in the morning light. The blood that stained his figure gave testament to the carnage he was about to unleash.

Luna could now see what caused her to feel ill and she started to shake.

Keir’s smile was so sinister that it could send shivers down even the toughest of spines. The Duke saw the twisted pleasure that was rising inside.

He knew that there was no escaping the horrors that were to come.

“We finally meet again…Duke Gerald.” Keir’s red eyes glinted as he spoke.

“M-monster, you evil monstrosity. I knew…I knew I should’ve killed you!”

Keir chuckled, “You aren’t wrong about that.” He took one step closer. “You had the Red Eye user trapped and yet you chose to keep me locked up instead. You could have used me to create chaos, to spread misery and destruction. But instead you chose to keep me as an artifact, a trophy to show off your power… That was your mistake.”

Luna started to see a red aura enmate off of him. Her heart began to beat quicker, her lungs gasping for breath as the fear set in.

She couldn’t bare to think about the duke’s body being turned into a pile of pus and black mush, not without losing her mind in the process.

Keir wouldn’t use his powers on the duke…would he?

“Whats worse, you almost sent my angel down my path.” He stopped smiling all together and extended his hand. The Duke and Luna both gasped as the Dukes body was being pulled up into the air. “You hurt her as well…for that your punishment shall be severe.”

“Wait!” Luna cried out, standing up on her feet. Her white dress was dirty and wrinkled, and her hair was a mess. Her eyes were red and stained with tears, and her voice was trembling with fear. “Please, Keir, you mustn’t use your red magic on him! This isn’t what May would’ve wanted!”

Keir’s eyes caught sight of the tear-stained face of Luna. For a moment he looked as if he was about to respond to her plea, his eyes filled with a look that almost appeared pained.

That was until the Duke’s hateful remark suddenly snapped him back to reality. Keir’s eyes returned to their previous, sinister glare and locked back onto the Duke.

“I won’t…I did promise after all.”

Then what will he do?

As If he read her thoughts, his lips curled upward. “No…How about this.”

He raised his left hand and started to blast the duke with little beam pellots like what the knights did to him.

As the pellets struck the Duke, hitting him over and over again, he let out cries of pain. Luna’s eyes widened as she witnessed the Duke’s durability beginning to crumble, his cries becoming progressively more desperate and panicked. It didn’t take long for the Duke to realize that he was completely at Keir’s mercy.

After two minutes of relentless bombardment, Keir seemed to have gotten bored and released the Duke. The massive man fell with an ear-splitting thud that echoed through the grand hall.

To Lunas dismay, the Duke actually seemed to be crying on the floor. Shouting pleas, begging for Keir to stop.

As Luna watched the broken form of the Duke, she was filled with rage. How many times had she heard the pleas of servants or subordinates, begging for their lives, only to be completely disregarded? How many times had she witnessed the needless deaths of innocents at his hands?

That thought filled her with a blind rage, as she watched the man who had caused so much suffering and pain now begging for his own life.

As much as she wanted to shout “Make him suffer!” to Keir, Luna also didn’t want to become the same kind of monster that she once feared.

“You know… I havent been able to practice my mind control in a while...” Keir mumbled, his red eyes twinkling with a certain malicious intent.

The Dukes body suddenly jerked upwards, as if responding to a command, and even though he was still in a lot of pain, he stood up.

“Break your legs…”

”Keir!” Luna cried.

The Duke wasn’t able to utter a single word as his body started to move in a unatural way. He lifted his right arm and hovered it above his leg.

Before Luna could move an inch forward she saw a blinding light beam from the Dukes hand followed by a loud cracking sound.

And then another.

She covered her mouth in horror, unable to look away as she watched the Duke’s legs suddenly contort and break. The Duke stared at his legs in horror before he fell forward in a fit of agonizing pain, screaming and crying and cursing.

Luna couldn’t bear to watch anymore, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t look away either. The sight of the Duke’s suffering was one that would be forever burned into her memory.

“Please stop Keir!” She cried.

Keir didn’t look at her but instead watched the Duke with a motionless face. “No…”

“No?” She repeated.

With a cruel smirk, he lifted his foot and pressed it down onto the Duke’s head. “Luna…I have been stuck down there for three years. To be fair I have been imprisoned before but never in a place that was so isolated and desolate.” He pushed the Dukes face further into the ground. “That environment…changes a man.”

She took another step. “But-”

His lips curled down, his face twisted with such an intense expression of hate and disgust that Luna actually stopped in her tracks. She had never seen Keir like this, so full of anger and disgust.

Is this really Keir?

“And you know what I loathe most of all...” Keir paused and peered at Luna, “Is what he would’ve done to you if you had gotten married. He would’ve had his way with you, and even if you resisted...”

He stomped the Dukes head.

“Or begged...”

He stomped again…

“Or cried...”

…and again…

“He would’ve taken advantage of your body until you passed out..”

The fact that what Keir was saying was so terrifying made it all the worse for Luna. She knew that his words were true and that her begging would be useless.

So she crumpled to the floor and covered her ears, closing her eyes and tried to block out the whole scene.

Waiting for the Duke’s torture to end was all she could do, waiting for the screams of agony to quiet down.

Moments had passed and Luna wasn’t aware of how much time had passed. It wasn’t until she felt a light touch on her shoulder that she realized that all was silent now.

Her body jumped as she expected to see Keir, but her eyes were met with a strange sight.

It was no other than her knight, the one who had been supposed to protect her, the one who had betrayed her trust.

“Nathan?”

His face was worn completely out. His joyful and shy auburn eyes were dull and carried dark eyebags below them His hair was de shuffled and his face had one large bruise on it.

“My lady-”

Luna pushed his arm away. “Don’t you dare call me that.”

His eyes flickered in pain but he remained still. “I never meant for any of this…I just wanted you safe.”

Safe…Safe!? Luna couldn’t believe it. Nathan betrayed her and told the Duke that he had suspicions on Luna.

“How stupid could you be…” She spouted with so much hate. “I can’t believe you actually thought telling the Duke about your suspicions…would cause some sort of safety for me. Well you were wrong…and not only that but you got your comrades and May killed.”

The once blue eyes, which he had once found beautiful like the sky, were now cold and piercing, as if looking right through him.

“But if you really want to know the truth…” Luna’s head looked back at him limply, she had a sadistic look on her face. “I was actually using you, I never once thought you were more useful than as just a plaything.”

With that Nathans world crumpled. He fell on his knees still looking at her.

“I only made you my guard because you looked like you could be easily influenced.” A small laugh escaped her. “Turns out I was right…a little too right.”

“After what Keir said, I always had my doubts but why?” He began.

Her face became hard and she fully faced him. “Do you really think I would give up my life to stay in this hell hole?” She gripped her shoulders. “Every night…Every day…I see and feel death all around me. I would rather die than stay in a place where I would need to feel that every day.”

He didn’t say anything. Still too stunned by her actions.

Feeling her anger rise, she pushed him. “The only people who I felt I could trust are now dead or lost because of you!” Tears streamed down her face. “I hate you!”

“Luna I-I’m sorry but this wouldn’t have happened if you had just..just listened to me!”

“Listened to you? No its the other way around, if you had listened to me, my friends and I could’ve left, without anyone dying.”

“Let me make it up to you..” Nathan started before coming to a stop, as it finally sunk in that there was no redemption for him. He seemed to realize that he truly had lost the goddess he cherished.

Without looking at or acknowledging Keir, he walked away from the scene, starting to leave the grand hall.

Luna looked up hesitantly, taking in the sight of Keir. At first she thought the man was a statue from how still he stood, not moving from his place at all.

As if he could feel her stare, Keir slowly turned around. His long hair was disheveled, with some strands in his face and a single long one dangling down.

Luna was left speechless when she looked into his eyes, realizing that his maddened gaze was gone. His red eyes looked so sad and vulnerable, so much so that it reminded her of their first meeting. Those bright red eyes that had once filled her with so much fear felt mysterious and beautiful again.

The room was silent, the aura of death still fresh in the air. Despite that, the pair just kept staring at each other, unsure about what to say or do next.

Then Keir turned away, and a panic surged in Luna’s heart.

He had never turned his back on her before, he had never walked away from her. This was the first time and it was tearing at her soul.

The thought of being stuck in this haunted place and this maniac world was tearing her apart.

“KEIR!”

Luna’s voice echoed in the halls, catching his attention. Keir slowed down and stopped dead in his tracks, finally turning back around towards her.

“Please don’t...Don’t leave...” Luna weakly tried to stand, her voice wavering and her eyes filled with tears.

“I know we weren’t planning to stay with each other, but I still can’t stay in this world alone. May...May is gone and all I have left is you now...”

“So please, please, don’t leave...Don’t abandon me...” She pleaded, her voice trailing off into a whisper.

Keir had stepped closer to her, standing over her and looking down at her.

“I’m dangerous...”

“I know.”

“I’m the Red-eyed user...”

“I know.”

“It’s not a good idea to stay with me, angel...”

“I don’t care...” She replied forcefully, meeting his gaze defiantly with her own.

“I would rather face danger along with you than be alone in this cruel world.”

He crouched and caressed her tear stained face. “I understand.”

As she quickly lurched forward, Luna dug her face into his chest, burrowing herself into his embrace.

He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her protectively. He ran his fingers through her hair and rested his head into hers.

“I’m sorry you saw that side of me.”

“Its okay…He deserved it.”

After the long and comforting hug, Keir and Luna eventually decided to dig May a grave. Using the tools from the Duke’s expansive shed, the two worked together to create a fitting resting place for their fallen friend.

Once Keir placed May’s body into the hole that they had dug, Luna placed white flowers all around the grave. This final resting place provided her with some sense of closure and grief.

“What do we do now?” Luna said, struggling walking in her ripped gown.

Keir gave her a sympathetic smile, his gaze drifting back to the mansion.

“First, we need to shower and get some better clothes. We won’t make it anywhere with these rags.” He pointed out, his tone serious as he took into account his and Luna’s current state.

“After that, we need to leave quickly and unnoticed. There’s no doubt that word has spread about the disaster of this place and we’ll soon become criminals. Not to mention it’s still your wedding day and royalty from all over will be approaching in no time,” He sighed.

“If we don’t want this day repeating we best be going now.”

Once they were done bathing and changing, they decided to meet back at the grand hall. It took everything in both their bodies not to look at the Duke’s lifeless form.

Luna was surprised by how different Keir appeared. His long, black hair that stretched to the floor was now tied up into a ponytail, making for a neater and more formal look. He was no longer wearing the same shabby garments that he had been wearing up to this point and instead rocked a long-sleeved white blouse and black pants and boots.

In contrast, Luna was wearing a plain grey maid’s dress, although in her defense, there were no other clothing options available for her to choose from. It was either this or her big, showoff dresses.

To complete her look, She also had on flat black shoes.

Keir turned to her, his eyes looking at her up and down.

Her face reddened in embarrassment. “Sorry…this is all I could find.”

Keir saw her concerned expression, so he immediately tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry, we’ll buy you some actual clothes once we head south.” Keir continued, seeming to have a plan in mind.

He moved his head a little. “And some hoods, we desperately need to find ways to hide our eyes.”

She tilted her head as they both started to walk out the doors. She had almost forgotten about one of their other troubling issues. Both their eye color was different and strange to this land. Keir’s eyes were seen as dangerous and death while Lunas eyes were new and odd.

“But how? We have no money?”

He started to rummage through his pocket, pulling out a brown bag and catching it with ease. Whatever the bag contained clinked faintly, leading her to believe that it might contain something valuable.

“Stole some of that pigs money. This should last us at least a couple of months. Plenty of time to try and think of what to do next.”

She knew she needed to do next and that was to find a way out, and to return home, but now wasn’t the time to bring that back up.

They needed to get out of the place and hide from the approaching royals, and she couldn’t risk losing Keir in this process. So she just nodded.

When they exited the Duke’s domain, they found themselves back in the forest where this whole disaster had started in the first place. She looked over the town one last time and saw that people were spilling out of their houses and into the streets. Some faces filled with panic while others celebrated the Duke’s death.

Keir called out to Luna, ordering her to follow him quickly.

He had told Luna that the forest was the best way to travel considering their circumstances, but he also warned her that it was the most dangerous one.

This made her scoff; what could be more dangerous than this place? It’s practically a haven from the dark and twisted place of this nightmare?

What could happen?