Fear

He didn't know why he was still alive, or if he can even be considered as a living being. Concepts that once had meaning to him were now something weird and far distance. Echoes of pain and suffering were printed in his mind, and though they were awful to remember, also gave him the strength to keep moving.

He remembered her very well, if it can even be called a 'her'.

She was alluring in every single possible way yet, for some reason, he knew she was up to no good. The moment he saw her, her demeanors, the way she acted, the tone of her seductive voice, even the nature of her walking told him that she was clearly trying to gain his attention. This was no surprise to him, he had dealt with demons before, she was not the first one, neither was going to be the last, but he inevitably made a crucial mistake that set in motion his demise: he left his guard down and let himself be controlled by his lust.

He felt pleasure, there was no denial, but he also felt the sharpest of pains and the purest of tortures. He remembered it very vividly, she being on top, her claws buried deep in his flesh to the point he could even feel his lungs being pierced, her..tentacles -or whatever they were- making deep cuts on his skin to the point he could see his bones, he remembers being in a weird state, begging for his life and also waiting for all of it to end.

And when it ended, he expected a void, darkness, maybe heaven or even the gates of hell opening for him. But that never happened. He wasn't dead but neither alive, he wasn't a ghost neither a zombie, he was to his surprise something else, he didn't feel the need to kill others or feed on their pain and suffering.

He was a monster, or so did he believed, but he was also above those concepts, he was given a second chance, and even though he didn't remember why, he remembered the face and the voice of the one who gave him that second chance, or rather, the monster that scared him to the point of coming back to life.

It was a punishment: a way of making him suffer for his past sins, he was no saint, he killed many on sacred wars, he fought for what he believed was right, but in the end, good and evil are concepts relative to the observer and its the winners of those conflicts are the ones to write history, they were the ones to dictate who was a hero and who was a villain.

He didn't know if he was a villain or a hero, all that matters he had a mission, a self-put one, maybe that was the reason why he was revived but there was no real clue pointing that way or what he was supposed to do, nevertheless, actions needed to be taken.

He has seen it, the face of that...thing, the face of the monster that will destroy the world and everyone on it and, for the first time in his life, he was scared to the point he could never unsee that creature's face. No one will survive: nor the mortals, nor the demons, nor the magical creatures. Everyone was going to die at the hands of this being and there was no way of stopping him, at least not if the world was divided.

It was at that moment that he understood his enemies, they knew of a bigger threat, but it was still unclear if they were fighting the King in the shadows or the monsters in the emptiness. That didn't matter now, he needed to find a way of bringing everyone together, but humans, magical creatures, even demons, and gods will rather kill each other than accept that they're making a mistake, no one was above that, not even himself and that, that made it all even more funnier, at least to him.

While he was walking down the streets of what used to be his home, he felt her presence, he could see her and he knew she could see him too. The shock on her face was something beautiful to him but also, in her eyes, he saw that she was somewhat pleased to see him, probably thinking that she finally found someone to toy with for the rest of her existence, someone to feed of his suffering and pain.

He played dumb, acting like she wasn't there, walking down the streets while making sure to not show his new found powers and aura, it came to him as a surprise that she didn't notice what he really was, thought it was safe to assume that she was too distracted by the fact that he was still alive to notice his real nature, nevertheless, he kept playing dumb, like always.

It didn't came to him until this point how cold those streets really were. Tall beautiful white buildings, the marvelous and somewhat "classical" details on every corner of the city and unique illumination still didn't hide the fact that in this place, no one really cared for anyone, you either fight for the cause with others or are left to rot on the streets, that is, of course, if you're lucky enough to don't get behind bars for being "A traitor to the cause".

He got into an alleyway, the darkest one, and waited there for her to make an appearance, but she did not, he could feel her presence, that's for sure, but she was keeping her distance, maybe thinking how she was going to lure him in: a small chuckle escaped the young man.

"How am I going to bring emotionally distant creatures and emotionally based creatures together?" That was a constant thought in his mind, perhaps he would find out with her, but he didn't have any high hopes, after all, she only knows pleasure from the pain of others.

And then, an idea came to his mind.

"What are you thinking? It's a stupid idea. Why would a demon react to that?"

Yes, there was a high chance for creatures like her to not react at all or rather they'll beat him down and/or kill him for being so foolish. But if words didn't work, maybe actions, or even better, showing them the reality of the world, would do the trick.

It was finally time to act, after all, she decided to appear. It was obvious she will not look like the last time, still, he could recognize her miles away. It all went down like last time, the guy has figured out her 'modus operandi'.

First, she will make an appearance, usually starting a casual conversation trying to show herself as a weak and easy to handle woman. Then, she would try to seduce him to follow her, usually with sugar-coated words and getting really close to turn him on, normally using her own magic to awaken lust inside him. She will take him to a more private place, usually to a house in the middle of nowhere. But there was an exception to this case: she could not take him to the place she will usually take her victims, she knew that even though humans are dumb and easily manipulated, not even they were that stupid. She had to work her way around this one.

This time, they went to a different house, one where travelers could rest, she used her charms to convince the owners to allow them to stay for the night. It was funny, this just showed that she really wanted to torture him till death or even more.

Finally, they were in the room. There were no words said, at least for the first few seconds. For her, this was an awkward silence, but for him, those were the precious seconds he could use to make his mind on how he was going to do this.

"So...you told me you've been through a rough time a few days ago. Didn't you?"Asked the woman in front of him.

There was no reply.

He just explored her body with his eyes. She had everything that he would want in a female companion. An hourglass figure with hips that would make everyone crazy, a white skin like a cloud and as delicate as cotton . Beautiful blue eyes that reminded him of the morning sky and the bluest of seas. Long black hair that curled in the tips, reminding him of a love interest of the past. And finally, a voice that was so seductive that only an idiot would not feel allure to.

"Is...Everything all right?"The woman asked faking concern for him.

"Yea"The guy replied with no emotions"I was...just thinking of how I'm going to do this" Finished his phrase the man with closed eyes and a small smirk on his face. He looked exactly like when she first killed him. He was tall but not towering, green eyes, not too skinny, not too buff, he was just a regular guy that kept his form not wanting to become a muscle man but rejecting to be a stick. He was wearing different clothes whoever, clothes that reminded her of the humans in the sea near the islands where pain and suffering is the law. Black Boots and black pants, a white shirt with a trench coat above, a hoodie and multiple belts on his chest and wrist, a piece of clothing that time had turned from white to grey with the insignia of his military party. Multiple knives on his pants, trench coat and boots, a short sword that could extend its range with magical symbols on it, made from the blood of his previous hunts and a small protective silver amulet that he carried with him, given by a good friend of him whom he was still thinking on how to face.

"Thinking? There's no need to think, honey, we just have to act" Replied her with a seductive tone slowly crawling on the bed next to him, pinning him down and getting ready to get down to busyness. It didn't take long for the clothes to leave both of them and start to enjoy each other, well, she wasn't enjoying, the only part she really liked hasn't even started, after all, she liked to give them some heaven so when they dropped to hell the fall would be more painful. But there was a problem, he was still not focused on what was happening, he seemed to be thinking of something.

"Perhaps it was too soon to come after him" She though "It was obvious that even though he survived, there was still shocked and even traumas on his head" But still, she could also feel that very deep inside him, he was enjoying this, just wasn't showing it.

It was at that moment than a small chuckle escaped her lips while she stopped on her tracks.

"How long have you known?" She asked looking him deep in the eyes. His cover was blown, but he already made up his mind. It was risky, it was stupid and if her fellow demon hunter friends knew of his plan they'll call him an idiot. In the end, he was an idiot, like every single other being in the universe.

"The way you move" He replied with his eyes closed.

"The way I move? But I move differently for each people"

"You might think that, but you don't, at least not completely, you change the way you walk and circle around someone, but the core of the movement is the same, you repeat the same strategies to lure man and woman in, you use the same speech mannerism even though your voice changes. Doesn't matter how hard you try to pretend to be someone else, in the end, you're still you"

She showed a small smile, she hated to admit it, but he was right, she could fake and pretend so much.

"Then you know what is coming. And you still didn't try to run away? I knew you humans are dumb but this is a new level of stupidity" She teases him getting ready to start her own pleasure.

"What can I say? I guess I'm dumb enough to fall in love with a demon?"

This took her by surprise but at the same time it didn't. It was no a weird concept to her that her preys will fall in love with her from time to time. But that loved died the second she revealed her true self. Even so, this guy went after her after almost dying by her hands. Now that, that was something she didn't expect.

"I guess you really are an idiot" The woman replied revealing her true form, or what the guy assumed was her true form. A blue/greyish demon girl with two long pointy tentacles that came from her back, yellow eyes with a pink aura, white hair with a flame on it and a smile so wicked yet so alluring that he didn't know if he should run or gave in.

"Let's not waste any time then" As soon as she finished those words a tentacle was stabbed in the guy's chest while she resumed her movements. But there was no blood, she could feel his pain, but there was no sign of him getting any real damage. This just made her smile wider at the realizing that she had found what she was looking for all these years: a being that she could torture for eternity and she would have enjoyed this for the rest of her life.

Then, with a strength that she did not expect, the guy grabbed her by the arms and changed positions, bringing him on top of her. She on an instance though that he might have realized that there was no way out, so he would at least try to enjoy this. But at that moment, his eyes turned completely dark as the room did.

It was a darkness she has never seen but yet felt so familiar.

"Wha...?" She didn't know what was happening and when she realized: it was already too late. And then, she saw it.

A desperate scream left out her lips as she pushed him to the side and jumped out of bed. For the first time in her life, Evelynn was terrified. She didn't waste any time and just abandoned the place as fast as she could.

The guy was slightly shocked: he didn't expect her to be scared in that way, he knew that thing was something terrifying to see since that vision was what made him realize what was coming, but what was scarier was the fact that the time was running out.

He just hoped that, eventually, she would come back to him and ask the same questions unanswered that he had, but first, he needed to make sure that she was overall 'okay'. He put his clothes back on and leave the room turning himself into a shadow, leaving no trace that there was ever something in that room.

On the other side of the city, in an alleyway, Evelynn was breathing heavily, she didn't understand what she saw, she had a lot of questions, but above all, she was scared. This feeling was new to her and she didn't believe it was possible for a being like her to feel such emotions, and yet, there she was, on the verge of crying, doing her best to calm down.

Unknown to her, the same guy that she ran away from was now the one stalking her, at least for only a few seconds.

He was smiling, after so much thinking he finally discovered the best way to bring everyone together. After all...fear is a powerful emotion.