"Argh…!" A boy was strapped to a black steel chair, tied down in shackles that hooked in the ground in a white padded room. His shoulders and the sides of his head were impaled with scalpels, his blood oozing out from the pores profusely. He looked down and couldn't bare the pain any longer, his naked body going slightly limp in the steel chair.
The boy weakly raised his head to meet with a middle-aged man with a brown trench coat and black trousers, his short hair a deep black color and matching eyes. He was apparently the one who was torturing the young man, but his face is nothing but filled with sympathy and regret.
"This is completely necessary if you want to be a hunter. I am so sorry that this is the only way you can be strong now." His voice laced with sadness, he went to the side and grabbed a pair of iron boots and placed them on the boy's legs. He then reached for a solid wedge and slid it in between the boots.
"Rhamiel, sledge hammer." The man said as he put his hand behind him. Another middle-aged man came from the other side of the room and handed him the hammer, his face contorted with concern for the boy's health. He had grayish-silver hair and neon green eyes, his choice of attire a gray trench coat and brown trousers.
"Here, Sydsom." Rhamiel offered, backing away when the boy, despite the pain he's going through, smiled at the two. A smile that could be easily mistaken for a person who hasn't seen their closest friend for years. Rhamiel's brows furrowed as he grimaced and turned away, apologizing to the boy in his mind.
Sydsom took the sledgehammer into his hands and rested it on the wedge for a minute. He closed his eyes and reopened them to look at the boy with a sad smile, "Aidan, this is it. You're ready."
The boy—Aidan—kept smiling at the man in front of him. Sydsom breathed shakily and closed his eyes before raising and bringing back down the hammer, driving the wedge deep into the boots, bringing an excruciating amount of pain to the boy.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Rhamiel couldn't bear it and knelt down to rest his face in his hands. Sydsom winced at the pain and despair in Aidan's scream. He breathed heavily before backing away, walking further back where tons of equipment were stationed at.
An iron maiden, a blade laden chair, a rack, a large rotating wheel, a wooden post with ropes attached to it, a pyramid-like device, and a table full of scalpels, knives, poisons, chains, etc.
Aidan Diaz looked around at the many torture devices he's been through for the past year and lowered his gaze back down. Last year, on this day—his birthday—he asked his guardians—Sydsom and Rhamiel—he wanted to be a Hunter and save this world. But if he wanted to really be what he strives for, he has to endure the pain of losing something or someone to the monsters. He can't save anyone, that he knows.
Sydsom and Rhamiel both looked at the broken boy and looked to each other. Rhamiel was the first to open his mouth, "Today is the day, right? I can't stand seeing him like this…"
Sydsom nodded, his black eyes narrowing with confidence, "He will be the toughest S.O.B. this world has never and will see again. Combined with your granting him of his powers and my expertise in pain endurance, Aidan will no doubt become the hunter he has always strived for."
Rhamiel hesitated before blinking slowly while looking down, "Do you believe I have made the right choice in granting him those powers? I know for sure he'll put them to good use, but does that make him any less different than the monsters he will face?"
Sydsom scoffed and patted his shoulder, "Like you said, he'll put them to good use. After this all blows over, it will be like a bullet train has hit the inside of his mind. He'll still know who is inside."
"What exactly is he, now?" Rhamiel spoke with a slight edge in his tone. Somehow, Aidan's energy is negating his senses and now he can't explain what he is.
"A hybrid. One I have never seen or heard happened before. The powers you gave him was so massive, it had to be split in two. Right now, you're looking at, what you would call a superhuman slash...demigod" Sydsom looked back, smirking as the boy donned a heavily stoic expression.
Rhamiel backed away from him, glancing at the expressionless boy. He widened his eyes, "What happened to him? Why is he so idle?"
Sydsom suppressed a laugh, "It seems like the pain has gone to his brain, rendering it numb. He can't feel anything; not now, not ever. That's what a lifetime of pain will do to you. It becomes so great that you just give up on life and its entirety. That's exactly what is happening to Aidan now."
Rhamiel frowned, thinking that will do the boy no good. Now he's a goddamn robot? He looked back at Sydsom and tilted his head in a pissed off manner, ready to do something about it. Sydsom saw the man looking at him judgmentally and sighed while rolling his eyes, "This is what the boy wanted! We've stated it to him over and over again of the dire consequences of the process and he wanted to go through with it anyway. I was perfectly fine with his choice, and if I recall, so did you!"
Sydsom's gradually increased in volume at the end, Rhamiel breathing heavily at his reasonable point. Aidan is really stubborn like that. There was nothing he could do. He was free to make his own choices if he wanted to. Rhamiel wasn't his father, he couldn't make him do whatever.
Rhamiel closed his eyes again, facing what cannot be fixed, "Do you believe he's ready?"
Sydsom rose his eyebrows in amusement and barked out laughing, "Of course he's ready! One whole year?! Hold on, do you think one more year would do him even better?"
"No!" Rhamiel bellowed out, Sydsom leaning back and put on a face saying, 'that's what I thought'. Rhamiel sighed and walked towards Aidan and undoing the shackles. Aidan slowly stood up, his face shadowed by his hair. Aidan was a lean but fit sixteen year-old teenage boy with average white skin, ivory white hair and cyan blue eyes that had dark circles under them due to sleep inducement.
Sydsom walked slowly over to the two and smiled at Aidan's form: complete and utter calmness.
"So, Aidan...how do you feel?" He received no answer but instead, witnessed something incredible. Aidan brought his arms up and crossed them in front of his face and swung them down to his sides, a great plume of fire erupting his nude form. He brought a foot up and stomped on the white tile floor, creating a small crater where they were standing at. Rhamiel and Sydsom were already a safe distance away from the boy, each one donning a look of utter bafflement at what Aidan's accomplishing.
They see him jumping up in the air and floating horizontally while shooting red laser beams from his eyes at the white ceiling, destroying the whole foundation as he landed back down. The debris from the top fell and landed around Aidan, the face of a person who's been through nothing but sheer pain and terror.
Sydsom looked at the man beside him, "Come now. Let's see what he can do against them."
Rhamiel breathed in and out before focusing his attention towards a spot where the boy was standing at, a humanoid figure appearing out of thin air. A male Nachzehrer was what appeared in front of Aidan, the boy already recognizing at what kind of threat it was.
Aidan looked down at himself before focusing on his upper and lower body, his face dull but very faintly in a strong thinking state. What was once a nude boy now stood Aidan with a black leather jacket with a white hood over a plain black t-shirt, matching black jeans with gold trimmings, and white high-tops with silver buckles. He also sported a large black ring on his right wrist and black barehand gloves.
Sydsom wore a cocky expression and glanced at Rhamiel, "Him too?"
Rhamiel rolled his eyes, "He needed to cover himself up. Don't want him out on the streets looking like a homeless person without any money."
Sydsom rose a black eyebrow, "If a person does not own a home, then surely he does not have any money on him. Get it together, Rham."
"I told you not to call me that anymore. My name is Rhamiel. I am an archangel of the Lord and you know that." Rhamiel introduced himself, shoving a finger into the other man's chest.
Sydsom raised his hands in defense, "Don't get all hostile on me now. Remember the last time we've fought? A ten year long battle and it ended in a frickin' tie. An archangel and a prince of hell does not mix together nicely."
The two men heard fighting going on and quickly turned to witness Adian delivering a swift right hook to the jaw of the Nachzehrer, who staggered back from the blow and ran after the superhuman-demigod. Aidan faked a trip, giving the monster false hope as it took the bait. He turned on his back and pushed his feet on the chest of the monster and heaved him over himself as the man landed on his back, groaning in slight pain.
Aidan kicked back up on his feet and tossed a penny up in the air that he got from out of nowhere and leaped to hover over the Nachzehrer, planting his feet on the stomach of the monster.
That action made it forcibly open his mouth for Aidan to get the monster to swallow the copper coin before unsheathing a silver machete from his jacket and decapitating the monster, finishing it off. Aidan slowly stood back up from kneeling beside the dead monster before looking back to his superiors, both smirking at how much prowess the young hunter now possesses.
"I believe he's been ready, don't you think Rhamiel?" The prince of hell asked his cohort.
"I do believe, Sydsom. I believe very strongly he'll become the strongest hunter in history to date." The archangel stated confidently, leaning back against the wall behind him.
The white-haired boy let his hands fall with the machete still in his iron grip, his cyan blue eyes shining in a new light.
One week later…
Haruna Sairenji was running across the street, eagerly trying to get away from someone who's trying to catch up to her. Her purple eyes were on the brink of tears, her breathing very heavy and her legs buckling under from running too fast and long.
Her matching purple hair jumping up and down from the recoil of her heavy footsteps on the hard pavement beneath her. She made the stupidest mistake and looked back, seeing a normal looking adult woman running after her with the intent to kill, if her black hollow eyes and round mouth with sharp teeth were anything to go by.
Haruna screamed and kept on running, despite how tired she's feeling. But if she stops now, there's no telling what will happen to her. Her legs led the way, trusting her gut when she turned to a block, or what looked to be one. Instead, her face fell with dread as she shook her head very slowly at seeing she ran into a dead end. The high school student heard a single step, splashing in a small puddle of water behind her as she started to cry, her cute voice squealing in terror, her arms clutching her bag close to her chest.
She shook her head, not wanting to turn around when the changeling stalked her even further, its round mouth growing in size as the sharp teeth were bared menacingly and hungrily. The changeling then lunged at her with a low growl, Haruna asking a certain someone to forgive her as time seemed to slow down.
The changeling was gliding through the air, its arms outstretched to grasp the girl and to feed on her white, silky skin. Haruna was about to scream to alert anyone nearby, but that wasn't needed.
The temporarily flying monster was then pounded into the ground by a pair of white high-tops in its back, the changeling eating wet, mushy concrete. Haruna flinched as she heard a slam and a few bones crunching, thinking it may be changing so it can feed more comfortably, but a rush of wind flew past her, letting her purple locks flow in the air.
She gasped as she turned around and saw a boy slightly older than her with ivory white hair and cyan blue eyes staring back at her, the new arrival standing over the down monster. His face was fixated with an expressionless gaze as he lowered his attention to what he was hunting for.
He knelt down and grabbed the monster by the red blouse that the woman was wearing and shoved her up against the wall, examining its discolored, slimy face and hollow eyes with a dull look. He then executed a series of actions, something Haruna witnessed for the first time and was entranced by it: the boy stepped on the wall and flipped backwards while holding onto the changeling by the arm and throwing her behind him while he landed, quickly running to her faster than the eye can see and jumping over just slightly above the woman before attacking her torso with a down roundhouse kick.
Haruna breathed out slowly in awe and a little bit of fear as she didn't know what to do in this situation. Was she supposed to run? Stay and watch as this boy saves her life? She saw the white-haired boy setting the woman up on her two feet before pushing her back with a high dropkick to the chest, the monster landing outside of the dark alleyway.
He went after her and pulled her to the side where Haruna couldn't see the fight anymore. She heard muffled screaming coming from the woman and decided to see what was happening, despite her growing fear. She got closer to the corner but reeled back and briefly shrieked in surprise when a streak of fire suddenly flew past her face. She could feel the intensity of the heat on her skin sort of.
She shook her head, finding it hard to keep her cool as she cautiously turned the corner only to see the woman no longer there, a pile of ashes where she might've been, but she didn't get to see what was happening so she didn't completely understand.
Her purple eyes then set on blue ones as the boy was still staring at the ashes lying there in front of him. His head then snapped her way, her mind froze as she realized she'd been staring for too long. She mentally chided herself before gulping and asking the number one question for tonight, "W-What happened to...her?"
The white-haired individual didn't waste anytime in answering her, "I reduced her to ashes with fire."
Haruna flinched at the blunt tone in his voice. He's nothing like any boy she's ever seen and they're all perverts. This one is just...weird.
She then slapped herself as she forgot to ask, "What was she?" She pointed shakily to the floor where the woman's remains were lying.
"A changeling. Changelings are humanoid creatures with discolored, slimy skin, hollow eyes, and a round mouth with many teeth. They can appear human, but their true nature is revealed in reflection. They feed on humans, specifically on synovial fluid." He gave her a short summary of what they are before turning his head to watch the moon in the sky barely waking up. Haruna blinked rapidly at the fully detailed information given to her, not knowing what to make of it. She decided not to question it as it was getting pretty late in the evening. She just wanted to rest her legs, but this boy here is so interesting to her that she can't help but talk and talk. Plus, he just saved her life.
Finally, she calmed herself down and eased her nerves with sheer will, "Well, thank you for...saving me. I really mean it. I don't know where I'd be if you hadn't shown up." She concluded with a wholehearted smile.
The boy didn't return her enthusiasm and opted to just nod very shortly before walking away down the street. Haruna jumped in surprise at the sudden leave of the boy, "Hey! Wait!"
The cyan-eyed boy stopped and turned around slowly to see the girl running towards him, her red cheeks puffed out in what appeared to be some type of anger.
Haruna stopped just about a couple feet away from the boy before introducing herself, "I-I'm Haruna Sairenji. What's yours?"
He slanted his mouth before replying, "Aidan Diaz." In that dead tone of his that made Haruna frown in concern for him, wondering why he's sounding like that. She finally noticed what he was wearing and gasped in sudden excitement.
"Ah! You're a new student at Sainan?!" Aidan nodded at her assumption. He was wearing his black leather jacket with its white hood over his head with a white short sleeve button up shirt, green trousers with a yellow cross-hatched pattern, and white high-tops.
She then put on confused expression, "But, I didn't see you today at all. Someone like you must be very hard to miss with colored hair like that. I'm not judging you, it's just that you could be hard to miss." She laughed nervously, withering under his stoic expression.
"S-So... will you be there tomorrow? I can show you around, considering you're a new student and all. It's the least I can do after you saved me from prominent death." She blushed when she mentioned she'll probably be spending the rest of the day with her savior, if he accepted her offer though.
Luckily and to her sudden and weird excitement, he nodded after pondering on the offer he was presented with. Unexplainably, her heart skipped a beat when he accepted her invitation, completely losing herself in the moment there. And something appeared out of the blue. Something so sweet and savory that her mind melted at first. It was a scent coming from somewhere. From...Aidan.
Her hormones suddenly skyrocketed as her brain melted at the amazing scent he was giving off, perhaps unintentionally. Her cheeks reddened, her heart rate quickening, and her nether regions staining her undergarments as she rubbed her thighs together. Her mind and body couldn't handle the weird but sweet smell.
Eventually, she contained herself as her mind rebooted, she gave him a delicate wave of her hand, "Okay then, see you tomorrow Aidan-san. Thank you again for saving me!"
She didn't know what it was, but Aidan really made a good first impression on her. He didn't even speak much but rescuing someone's life is bound to put you on their good side. She'll have loads of fun with Aidan tomorrow at school.
The superhuman-demigod watched as Haruna swayed in her steps, barely getting a hold of herself. His cyan blue eyes glanced to his side to see the moon rising up even further and decided to run home...at supersonic speed.
Diaz residence…
Aidan made it to his front door, looking at his house, the exterior maroon red in color. He opened his door, the keys in his hand dangling and chiming when he closed it behind him. He immediately saw two men sitting at his couches asleep, or acting like they're asleep.
He knows they don't sleep. Probably a prank or something. He rolled his eyes before throwing the keys in a glass vase on a brown table to his side where a dining-kitchen room were connected to each other by a white countertop. He carried himself to the stairs at the hallway adjacent to the black leather couches, his steps making the wooden steps creak.
Once he was up there, he made a shape right turn to the bathroom at the furthest end from him and locked it behind him. He walked to his tub and turned on the hot water for himself. The tub was filled and perfect, Aidan ready to take off his jacket, but a small conversation downstairs stopped them. He left his jacket open and went out the bathroom.
He made it pretty quick down the stairs to see Sydsom and Rhamiel both talking to each other before they noticed him. Sydsom smiled, "Hello boy. How are you holding up?"
Aidan nodded shortly at the prince of hell, "If you're asking me how am I, then I suppose I am doing well."
Sydsom sighed and rolled his eyes to the archangel, "Why does he talk like you? Damn…"
"Now what is that supposed to mean?" Rhamiel rose a gray eyebrow at his cohort, crossing his arms and trying to understand why he took that tone of voice. He sounded like he was annoyed at him.
"Nevermind. Aidan, we have been tallying up the appearances of monsters here in Sainan and we chalked it all up to a single pattern. Apparently, these monsters appear three days out of the week, so, therefore, you'll be out of school for three days tops. Rhamiel will keep you updated every Saturday night to see which days you'll be missing." Sydsom smiled faintly at their student, earning a nod from the boy.
Rhamiel nodded, "I know you must be thinking why we don't take care of this ourselves. Well, heaven and hell will not wait on us if we go out on a hunt. That's where you come in. You're now the hunter you wanted to be and we want to give you that opportunity to finally act on it. How did the changeling mission go?"
"It went without obstacles. The changeling will not be coming back." Aidan reported.
Rhamiel nodded but then tilted his head, "Is that all? Did anything else happen?" In the corner of his eye, he could hear Sydsom stifling a laugh with his fist covering his mouth.
The hybrid scrunched up his face and tilted his head in confusion, "I believe that is all."
Rhamiel sighed, "Aidan, we're primordial. We're all-knowing. You saved someone; a girl younger than you. We believe her name to be Sairenji Haruna. First year at Sainan High and a very smart girl. Did you not reveal what she was being chased by or were you honest with her?"
Aidan blinked, now remembering, "I do remember now. Sairenji, a purple-haired female with matching eyes and wearing the female uniform of Sainan High. You are correct, I did explain to her what she was being chased by. She seemed to have taken it better than what most people would have."
Rhamiel nodded, Sydsom chiming in, "And let's not forget that little… "effect" you had on her. Aidan, please, for me, go for it my boy."
Aidan squinted his eyes, trying to process what he's telling him, "Go where? Is there another mission now?"
He began to run for the door, but the two men held him back, "No, there's no mission now. Don't listen to Sydsom. I believe he was trying to… "tease" you." The archangel put up air quotation marks.
"I was not teasing, I was being serious! He may not have his emotions and he may not be your average teenage boy, but he can at least try to—" The prince of hell was interrupted when they heard a crash upstairs and some splashing of water, seemingly coming from the restroom.
Rhamiel immediately set both hands on Sydsom and Aidan to teleport them upstairs. In the bathroom, the three appears just in time to see something of an odd site of sorts.
In the warm water appeared a highly attractive fifteen year-old girl with long bubble gum pink hair, emerald green eyes, and a curvaceous figure. What stood out the most was her tail which extends down from the base of her back. Her tail is long, thin, and ends with a heart-shaped tip. Another thing was a hair clip with thick black swirls circling once then pointing downward. And to top it all off…
She was without any clothes at the moment in time. Sydsom hurriedly looked to the side as he didn't want to stare at a naked girl who was billions of years younger than him, Rhamiel looking quite hostile at this new arrival as she was completely off of his radar, and Aidan looking unfazed at the site, staring at her with bored, half-lidded eyes, the dark circles under them complimenting his stoic expression as his mind couldn't make anything out of this situation.
The girl—who was swishing around in the water—now looked at the three, but more specifically at Aidan with happy green eyes as she jumped out of the tub and rushed at him, arms open wide.
Aidan was quick to get on one hand and flip over the flying girl and plant his feet on her back, her face contorting into comical pain as she was driven into the hard black tile floor. Aidan made plasma rope appear out of thin air and proceeded to tie the weird girl's arms behind her back, tearing off the extra from the end and did the same with her legs.
"H-Hey! What are you—Woah!" She was lifted up and was dropped back down on her back so she could face Aidan. All she saw was ivory white hair and cyan blue eyes in her line of vision before she was knocked out cold from a straight right hook to the head.
Aidan stood up and looked down on her with a cold expression, wondering how she got past Rhamiel's senses. How dare she enter his home uninvited and attack him? Meanwhile, the two older men stared at the boy with wide eyes, not believing that he had the guts to hit a girl. Well, in his defense, she did pretty much invade his home and destroyed a part of his house. Granted, they can get that fixed with no trouble, but still…invasion of property.
Sydsom whistled and looked to his archangel friend, "Well, at least he's cautious."