Authors Notes: Hello again, it's surprisingly the fourth chapter in the story(surprise on my side) I honestly didn't expect anybody to like this story, but it seems I was wrong.(then again it could be the writers complex of always hating your work) Like a fellow reviewer suggested, I'm going a bit slower and checking spelling and grammar errors more. It also helps I finally have something besides crappy Word Pad. On with the story-side note the language is slightly stronger in this chapter. That and I'm going to try to get La Pucelle-via Ebay both for the sake of the story and my desire to get the game again. For some reason, my spacing keeps getting messed up when I make a chapter for the story, anyone know how to get around this?(If I edit it, it'll go back to how it was)
"A little to slow. Come on Taro, your not even trying." Adell was busy training was his younger brother out in the back, mom was inside and dad was just enjoying the peace; sitting in a chair. It came to a surprise when his brother wanted him to teach him hand to hand, but he was all to happy to teach him. If he got nothing else out of it, this would help him out with his confidence problem and grow a bit more of a spine.
"I am trying!" The former demon made another attempt by trying to punch Adell, which he easily avoided or blocked.
"Don't just throw an attack and pause." The elder brother side stepped as Taro once again tried and failed to hit him, it threw him off balance a little. "You have to be more aggressive and follow up, don't hesitate it could cost you the fight. Never hesitate. Follow up with other attacks, what ever comes to mind to you." Since the sparring match had begun, he hadn't really attacked more then just a few times, he wanted to make things fair.
Adell thought he might have been pushing his younger brother to hard, but it was really for his own good. Before he could lunge at him again he called a time out. "You did good today. Let's call it a day and take a break for now." Taro slid down completely exhausted like he had run a thousand miles, but he didn't really notice.
"Adell, wake up." The martial artist could only look around as the scene suddenly faded to black, his brother along with rest disappearing into the darkness.
Instead of sleeping over his parents house like he did sometimes, Adell found himself in a completely different room then his old one. It was far to plain and it was missing far to many of the key items that made his room his in the first place. Another he noticed was that was early-horribly early. Last but not least, unless Hanako had gone back in time and grown blonde hair and blue eyes and reincarnated, then this defiantly wasn't his sister.
"Adell, wake up please. Grandma said we'll be leaving soon."
What time is it? Four or five in the morning? "I'm kinda tired right now Alouette."Adell muttered sleepily rolling over.
"But I want you to come, please come with us." The blonde child bit her lip lightly, looking pitiful and Adell made the mistake of looking at her.
I can stay fast in my beliefs and not lose my will. But for one reason I can't say no to a little girl. Just what's wrong with this picture? "Ugh..." He managed to get out with his head underneath the pillow and the rest of his body hidden beneath the blanket. "..All right just give me a second."
Alouette seemed happy at his answer because it showed with her smile . "Grandma got you some new clothes to. Their in the chair."Before Adell could say anything else(Not that he was) the young girl left closing the door softly behind her.
To his right was a single chair with some clothes on it, he hadn't seem them the other night so it was a easy guess that those were the new garments. Willing his tired and weary body out of bed, he began getting dressed, if not more then a bit slowly. After finishing, he simply looked at himself in a mirror. It was a white/silver in color, and from the looks of it made of some kind of silk, a martial arts uniform of sorts. The thing that set it apart was the Chinese Dragon on the back, a nice touch.
The only thing Adell hadn't taken off was his gloves, but it was for sentimental value of his long dead teacher then anything else. It's all right. I could get used to it. Actually kind of neat. But why give me something like this..? Some simple clothes sure, but this is a bit much..
He shook his head, he was thinking about it far to hard. Most likely it was his fault for reading into things far to much. Leaving the room and going downstairs he noticed that the small family seemed to be waiting for him, we'll most had: Bernard was nowhere in sight. Alison was sitting down reading a book while Alouette was busy trying to get as much food into her tiny body as possible.
"Morning. You sure like to sleep in. Sleep all right?"
If that was sleeping in I'd hate to see what 'waking up early' is. I haven't gotten up like this since my training days. Adell shook his head. "I slept ok. I don't mind the new clothes and appreciate it but who do they belong to? It doesn't look like anything you or your husband would wear." He then retracted the statement slightly. "I mean it's different." Damn. That sounded bad no matter how you put it..
The elderly woman seemed truly tickled at his reaction, looking up from her book to look at him. "You look really nice in that, seems to fit you. It was my son's. I had it made for him and even had it magically enchanted; it'll repair itself if its torn and the like. He was a fighter to, but he never wore it." She frowned for a second, and it quickly vanished. "Could you get Bernard? His food is going to get cold and I don't want him damaging his health. I'm sorry for asking you."
"It's no biggy." Adell replied, wanting to make up for his free stay here the other night, this was just a start. When he went outside, he didn't see the old man right away but he was actually just out on the porch sitting in a chair but he was actually smoking. It wasn't his thing but he didn't tell others how they should go about their health life.
"Lookin' snazzy kid." Bernard commented, not seeming to look back even once. "I was wondering when she would give that damned thing away. It's a good pair of clothes, but they have to many memoriesfor her to deal with..."
An short awkward silence came between the two.
"Alison said to come in because your food was getting coldJust be sure to come in soon when your ready." Adell was already on his way to going back inside after saying his piece.
"..Adell. That's your name right? Why not stay here for a minute, I ain't going to bite you, besides male company is nice to."
Stopping right before opening the door, the young man went back over but didn't sit down, not that he could if he wanted to since their was only a single chair which was in use. Bernard didn't say anything for a moment or two, rocking back and forth then taking a small puff of his smoke.
The silence was strangely comfortable. However Adell wanted to have some sort of conversation and he doubted Bernard just wanted him nearby. "It's none of my business but what was that noise last night? It woke me later."
"Me and Alison arguing." Not letting his younger companion say anything he continued, "And no we're not having problems. Words of Adill-"
"It's Adell."
"Same thing." Ignoring the annoyance in his voice he went on, "Relationships aren't like the crap you read about in books or told when you're a little kid. Your told you'll find your 'perfect' partner and live happily ever after. No one's perfect so you have to work with what you can get. Their a lot of work and isn't just sugar but if your partner is worth it, you'll work for it. So many young people get caught up in the perfect partner thing it messes other aspects up."
Blinking once, he was making sure this was the same man from the other night. But that wasn't fair to say, he hadn't known him that long.
"I'm not going to bull shit you, we don't have much time left-me and Alison. We're really to old to be making a run for it, and even if we somehow got out of this hell hole country we wouldn't have to many years left. This is selfish of me and you really have no reason to do it. But if things go wrong and your still around, take Alouette and get out of here, both of you."
"It's a deal." Adell didn't really even hesitate, he hit his right fist into his left palm making a light sound when they connected. "I won't let anything happen to her and I'll get her out of here, you have my word as a martial artist. But you really shouldn't think of the worse, I've learned negative thoughts lead to negative outcomes, but the reverse is true, to."
"I'll keep that in mind kid." Bernard chuckled. "I'm a realist though, and I don't sugar-coat things all the time. People need reality at times, no matter how ugly it is. Tell Alison I'll be their in a minute. Nice talking to you..Adell."
"You to. Don't stay out to long. It's not my place but those cigarettes are bad for your health, Alouette might be upset if she learned what they were." Not turning back, he went inside.
Grunting, Bernard put the item away, stepping on it.
"Is he coming?" Alison asked with out missing a beat once Adell returned, or looking from her book.
"He said he'll be here in a minute. Where are we going exactly?" Taking a seat by the now full Alouette, the youth began to eat. Unlike last night it seems his appetite had returned, and Adell had a healthy one, judging by the way he ate.
A bit amused at his ability to eat quickly but politely at the same time she answered, "Its called Valendris city. The only real city with in decent traveling range that is. The place is run down and its one of the few places the empire goes most of the time. Me and Alouette sell things their and I take her with me, were saving up. But.."
"Something wrong?" The red-head prompted.
"Valendris isn't the most safe city, in fact it can be very dangerous when you least expect it to be. Could you escort me and my grand daughter their? I would be willing to pay you."
He simply shook his head after swallowing his food, she could cook a mean breakfast. "No, its fine. I still owe you for that meal and the free bed. Does this city have anybody that practice in magic?" If I'm lucky maybe I can find some one who knows about traveling to other worlds, or anything about a Gate Keeper.
"If their any people who know magic, they won't say it openly. Like I said the other day, people who are not the norm get persecuted. This includes people who know how to work the mystical art of magic. To government and the empire, magic is as much of a crime as murder. Be careful if your looking for some one in magic or use it yourself." She folded the book away, "May I ask why the sudden interest?"
"I'm trying to get back home. But back home isn't a place you can reach normally on foot or anything else, you need magic or something similar to it." He pushed his plate up a little as a sign he was full or done. "I'm ready when you two are."
The trip from the small village to the city was uneventful for the most part, it was just the three of them(Bernard stayed to take care of things at home). They had to travel through a small rocky area and a few wimpy monsters had tried to make a meal out of the three, but Adell sent them home licking their wounds; none bothered them since. Alison had mentioned it was possible to reach the city by going through the forest but it wasn't practical.
Personally, Adell didn't care to go back. For some reason that forest creeped him out.
I wonder why she brings Alouette with her if this city is dangerous? Plus didn't she say that this country was paranoid about people with powers? Speaking of the little girl, she had been staying close to Adell following him like a puppy, some people would have thought it annoying but it was cute in a kid sort of way, he guessed. "We almost their?"
"Look for yourself."
Alison was taking a small break drinking a bit of water, this prevented her from saying anything further. In front of Adell was the vague outlines of structures, tall missed shape buildings but he couldn't make out people just yet. His eyes were much sharper then the two females allowing him to see it clearer. Crossing his arms over his muscled chest, he waited for her to finish breaking before they went any farther.
"I apologize for the wait, and thanks for having so much patience. Youth, when did it start to leave me?" It was a lame joke she knew but it seemed all right with the mood.
"It's not even an issue to me." Adell walked along side her to help her walk, a ghost of a smile briefly appeared on his lips at her comment. He wondered if he would ever become this old himself one day. "I still don't know if there are any of the people I'm looking for inside the city. Besides, I still owe you, or did you forget?"
If only more people thought that way.. She mused to herself. Adell was a rather peculiar young man in the respect he seemed adamant on holding his word. Most men his age here, no most people here weren't that way at all. "Looks like were here. Just remember some of the things I told you and you'll be fine." It was just a reminder and he most likely didn't forget but it was better safe then sorry, she'd hate to see something bad happen to him.
"This is it huh?"
The city had looked better from a distance.
Now that they were all close enough, the place wasn't the most pleasing on the eyes to put it gently as possible that is. Buildings were cracked on their walls and foundation itself. Trash and other items of all kinds littered the surface, some blowing in the wind and going in piles of junk.
People dressed in what might as well been rags and other sorts of clothing. The air had a distinct but horrible smell, unidentifiable but unique; he didn't know how they could stand it or get used to it. What was worse was the kind of food some of people had been eating, none of it seemed the most healthy to eat or even safe. This was the kind of living the people had to make for themselves? Adell was a bit disgusted at it, but their was nothing he could do about it.
Alison and Alouette suddenly stopped walking as the oldest member of the group retrieved a key and unlocked a door to a small building, a bulky man was sitting their with his arms crossed but he seemed to know the two.
"Allow me." Moving aside for the nameless muscled man, he took her key and began working on the door, turning it and then switching it back. Somehow, this worked. Within seconds the door had opened, revealing of all things a small gift shop. Giving her back the keys he reached into a pocket giving the youngest a lollipop who was eager to receive the sweat snack. "How long are you and the little one staying Mrs. Alison, and who's he?" He said in a surprisingly intelligent tone.
Heh, I thought the guy was a thug. I know better to judge by looks at this point in my life but old habits die hard. Deciding he might as well get a the small talk out of the way he spoke,"I'm Adell."
"He brought Alouette back to me, he's fine. We're going to stay only for a short while don't worry." Alison turned to Adell. "You really didn't have escort us back here, you've done enough. Here, for your troubles." She held out a hand, it was the currency of their land but it was also the money they were saving up.
Slightly caught off guard, Adell regained his composure,"I can't take this. You need it more then I do, besides I have money." Not sure if it will be worth anything here though.
"Very well." Putting the money away she decided for the next best thing, "My friend over here Damien can point you in the right direction of some special people you were looking for." Avoiding using the 'M' word was the best thing for them both. "It was nice meeting you Adell but we won't hold you up anymore. Come on Alouette."
Her grandmother was already inside but the small girl stayed behind looking up at Adell, "Bye Adill. Come back soon." Waving, she took off after her guardian leaving the young man having that stupid warm and fuzzy feeling rise in his chest, despite the fact she had said his name wrong. It was only annoying when adults or older people said it that way, on the flip side it was a kind of thing that could grow on him.
"Mrs. Alison and the little lady seem to like you, so you can't be to bad." Damien studied him with a critical eye, or maybe it was his imagination. "If you want information on..those type of things, then it's best to ask Nero. He sells all kinds of odd things and claims to be from another far off land. But he has information about all kinds of things, he's your best bet."
"Thanks. So, how would I wold I go back finding this Nero, where does he usually hang out?"
"..It depends. He comes here a lot but often times you never know where to find him. Your best chances are asking around, he's a bit famous or even infamous depending on who's side of the fence your on. That's all I can tell you."
"All right, I'll just ask around myself then. Thanks I mean it, you didn't even have to." With that said, he turned his back and began his search through the run down city. Going further into the place he noticed things he hadn't before. People sleeping on benches's or anywhere they were fortunate enough not to sleep on the ground. Shady men and women dressed almost all alike stood close by each other, if he had to guess some local gangs. Some girls in skimpy outfits said things to him he rather not repeat, or made cat whistles to him.
I might as well have joined the circus, its like everyone is sizing me up for their own reasons..and its probably about right to. I'm not sure who to ask with out starting a fight, some of these guys don't seem the most friendly. Someone caught his eye, a rather plain-looking woman sitting on the bench, but she was covered up more then the others and she didn't seem nearly as at edge as the others.
"Hey, excuse me."
The woman didn't even turn around or even acknowledged she heard him.
"Excuse me." He tried again, this time rising his voice and making it even more clear.
Finally, she sighed, "I was hoping you would go away. Look, I don't do that type of work anymore if you've heard about so you can just piss off."
What the..? A slightly irritated look fell on the red-heads face. "I don't even know what the hell your talking about. I just wanted some information on Nero."
Taking a deep breath the stranger calmed down. "I'm sorry, just not having the best days and I thought you were-never mind. What do you want to know about Nero?"
"Where does he hang out? I don't need his life story or anything." When he was after something or had a goal he was to the point and short for the most part.
"If you want to Find him, you should do it quick."
"Huh? Why?"
"Nero owes some money to Balza's folks. You see, he's the leader of many of the illegal things that go down in this city. I don't know all the details but it went something along the lines of if Nero didn't pay up, they'd dismember him. Not sure the exact location but you might want to try one of the buildings a bit ways of here. They'll stick out like a sore thumb."
"Ok so I just keep going until I find some buildings that look out of place? Got it." He turned around but stopped. "How did you know I wasn't around here? Otherwise you'd probably wouldn't have gave me information that's common knowledge here."
"That cute but naive expression on your face."
"..Thanks I think." The words were muttered under his breath. Now that I know or at least have an idea where to go, I better hustle. Hopefully they haven't killed him he might be my only chance out of here if any. Putting more pace into his walk he hurriedly went at a more brisker pace trying to find anything that would stick out like the woman said. Finally.
She had been right about one thing, the building really did stick out like a sore thumb.
It was unique from the other buildings and could almost be described as a palace if anything just not nearly as big. The structure was actually in good shape compared to the rest of the cities health. Adell noticed two people in full body armor guarding the entrance.
"What do you want kid? Scram. Balza ain't taking anymore apprentices and if you're here for one of our girls were closed down today to losers." One of them barked roughly.
"I'm here to see Nero." Adell's tone was final.
The guards looked at one another before cracking up before sombering. "You want to see that waste of flesh that badly huh? Fine. I guess we can let you through. A small warning, were not responsible if you get wounded or lose your life in their. This place is for the toughest people around, a pretty boy like won't last a second inside."
They gave one final thought about the idea before they moved aside and allowed Adell to enter. The only thing was, on entering, he really wished he could go back. Dozens of men and women were scattered about in what looked to be a large bar, only it had doors leading to various places through out the complex. Top-heavy maidens sat near rough-looking men, some had scars or other physical deformities, but it didn't repulse the girls. From the looks of it, the more you were messed up, the more attention you got.
No one really payed Adell any attention with more then a glance for the most part.
Ok. I need to be a bit careful on who I ask about Nero, but it not be needed. Seeing a man drinking by himself, he decided to try to asking him. "Hey, you got a minute?" No verbal response came from him instead he turned his head to look at him. "I was just wondering if you know where this Nero person is?"
"..You want to know about Nero..?" He repeated, his voice slightly slurred together. "He's gonna get it cut. Sneaky bastard been messing around to much for his own good. Their gonna slice em' real good. Should be in one of those torture rooms upstairs."
That was all Adell needed to hear.
With out saying even a thank you he rushed off up the stairs, but not to fast to where people would stare at him but just quick enough. Much to his frustration, he was finding the place to be infinitely more complicated on the inside then what the outside would suggest. Going upstairs wasn't the problem. The problem was now that he was on the top their were literally countless rooms and each one he passed could be one. On the other hand he didn't want to take risk of bumping into anything, like someone getting dressed.
I don't even know if he's the only one in trouble up here or the exact room. Damn it. Haven't I learned my lessons from just rushing into things..?
"Hey c'mon guys. I'll get the money, it's just things are taking a bit longer then expected."
"You had your chance."
"H-hey don't hit the face it's fragile and can't afford to get it wrecked unlike yours. Wait, I didn't mean that. I just meant my face is more attractive then yours, that came out wrong.."
Some voices were heard as well as some other sounds of struggling. It might be who he was looking for or it might not. Don't hesitate, never hesitate. He repeated that phrase in his head a few times before he went through with it. Knocking down the door where the noise was from, he was greeted by an interesting sight.
A man in a trench coat with brown hair and black eyes, ironically sporting a black eye was being held by the collar of his shirt but a brutish man. The room was small with all kinds of weapons and other things he guessed must have been used for torture. He dropped the much skinnier man facing Adell.
"Who the hell are you? You better not be one of Nero's friends."
Perfect. Dumb luck but still. "Actually.." The fist fighter started. "I don't even know him, but I need to ask him some things."
"To bad. I'm going to show you the door." Not giving Adell a chance he rushed forward and nailed him with a right hook straight to the face with a smirk.
The smirk turned to fear, it didn't do anything but make his head go back a few feet.
"Y-you can have him. I'm out of here." Pushing past Adell he rushed out the door with a deer in head lights look on him.
"Tch. All talk. You ok?" He helped up the man he assumed to be Nero up offering a hand.
"Thanks I owe you. That ogre was about to do me in. I'm Nero the traveling merchant, I can sell you any item, weapon or even information..for a price. But seeing as you did keep him from bashing my face into my brains then it's on the house."
One thing he didn't notice before was the strange hat he wore, but Adell wasn't going to question his sense of fashion any how. "Name's Adell. Is their a place we can talk a bit more private? Some of the information I'm asking about could get us both into trouble from what I've heard."
"Adill huh?"
"Adell." He corrected for the second time in the same day. It was a simple name.
"I came close enough. But your right, this place does seem rather dreary." Nero said in a cheerful voice despite the fact he could have gotten tortured to death moments ago. One might question his mental health. He lead him to a wall and pressed a certain part of it which opened to another small room with a bed, the secret door slammed back shut once they went through it.
"You're a demon right? Never thought I'd see another demon here, we'll one that was sentient and not obsessed with blowing things up. They make more poor company, especially if you want a nice conversation with them." He took off his hat revealing slightly pointed ears, a sign of his demon heritage.
"No I'm human, but it wouldn't be the first time someone has mistaken me for a demon. I was wondering if you knew anything about a Gate Keeper. I mean you got here somehow right?"
The demon laughed nervously rubbing the back of his head. "Funny story actually. I take a Gate Keeper here but to get out my girlfriend usually takes me back. She's a Succubus, so all that magic stuff she knows about, just haven't been able to find her."
I knew it was to good to be true. Adell sighed. "Thanks anyway. Slightly off the subject by why are you selling stuff here? I mean, these empire guys have grudges against people that can heal. And you're a demon so why did you let that guy beat you up?"
"Are you kidding me? Business is booming in this world, I've never had this much good customers in a long time." He snorted at the other comment. "I have you know, just because someone is a demon doesn't mean their really strong or can fight. It's an old stereotype, my girlfriend fights, I just kinda avoid it by running the opposite direction."
Adell thought that true, it was a stereotype for demons to be strong and skilled warriors, after all he had met Axel.
"Anyway I owe you, and I should be going before they come after me for my head on the platter." Nero walked over and handed Adell a very tiny bag. "Fairy dust. Just share it with someone special. You sure you don't want a weapon, a sword, spear-anything? How about guns? Not easy to get a hold of but I managed to get both models from far off places in this little rock and other Netherworlds to. The last guy with shade fetish bought my good pistols though."
Adell accepted the item not wanting to be rude and it was out of thanks. "No thanks. I fight with my body. Hey listen, is their any other way to leave this place? I'm trying to get home, specifically back to a world called Veldime."
"Their's a rumor that eon's ago their was a group of people that practiced the art of being a Gate Keeper. They all got wiped out during the witch hunting years though." Nero finished with a careless shrug. "Oh well. Guess were both stuck here."
Exasperated, it looked like he was going to say something else when he noticed commotion outside of the window. His sharp eyes could make out people fighting, and not just a group, it seemed the whole city was in a brawl with not themselves but people in armor, if he had to guess the empire. He didn't know what had started it but obviously a full-scale riot was going on in the streets. Then a thought clicked to him. Alouette and Alison could get hurt in the cross fire..
"We'll have to talk later." He didn't have time and frankly he didn't care, his fist suddenly smashed through the window before jumping out and landing in the alley. Nero hurriedly followed or would have until he saw how far the fall was.
"I'll just take the stairs." Nero decided a potential death was better then an absolute one that he would have if he took the same drop Adell did.
"You have to help us!"
"You're the only the one with the skill."
Croix was wondering if being bothered by villagers begging for help or more like nagging was apart of his atonement. Don't get him wrong, he did have a certain sense of satisfaction when he saved people from demons or other creatures. It was a bit of a let down however when people took his help for granted or were ungrateful. This was just among the many things that got under the hunters skin.
But like many things in life, one eventually got used to them.
"All right. Just tell me a bit more about the demon and it's lair and I'll handle the rest." Business as usual in this case, nothing he hadn't seen or handled before. Most likely just a small fry demon preying on villagers, nothing to big. Finding the village he was supposed to help wasn't easy, the priest map didn't help at all.(Croix wondered if he was illiterate, some of the things made no sense at all)
Fortunately he found the settlement, now it was a matter of gathering as much information as he could before making his move. On the negative side of things, most of the people for lack of another term seemed a bit behind the times about certain things. Not that it mattered in this country, everyone would fit perfectly in place in this kind of environment. He just wanted to leave this place quickly, it reminded him to much of..
"Sir Croix?" The village leader repeated for the second time, it didn't seem their Demon Hunter savior was all their at the moment.
"Yea, sorry." He replied quickly, getting side-tracked now wasn't a good idea. "Continue on."
Looking at him for a moment strangely, moments later it went on like nothing happened, "We built this village some years ago and we enjoyed our peace for a time. Then, recently, that changed. One of our people discovered a demon or witch living far off, we thought nothing of it until our crops started dying. That devil was the cause of it! To make things worse, it has a child. We sent some warriors to deal with the spawn and the mother, but they all failed for some reason she didn't actually kill any of them but we know it's a trick."
Something's about this story doesn't fit. "Thanks for the story, do you know where the lair is located at?" Croix knew their was more to it, call it a hunch or years of things not being exactly what they seemed to be.
"To the north, people say the foul creatures live in a small cabin. Be careful sir Croix, even though your skilled this thing is tricky."
"So you've told me. I'll be back soon." It was a bit cold, but honestly he didn't feel comfortable around these people and preferred keeping them at an arms length. Let them stick their fangs into someone else as long as that person wasn't him. Checking his fire arms, he began walking towards the north.
Nothing. Moving through the forest he noticed the unnatural silence. Being a wanderer, he was used to certain sounds of the forest. No birds chirping, their was no noise of bulky bodies of predators stalking him or other prey, even the silence didn't seem normal. But despite the fact the forest seemed devoid of any and all life, he felt like he was being watched.
He didn't like it at all.
If I keep going this way I should bump into it soon, if they know what their talking about that is. I wonder- Croix never did finish his train of thought as a blur darted across the ground towards him. Reacting, not thinking he instantly removed one of his pistols and fired. Only to have what ever it was move out the way. Unlike a normal person though, his eyes could follow things an average man couldn't and his reflexes helped a great deal as well.
The 'blur' actually turned out to be female with purple hair and red eyes, in what he guessed was some sort of Ninja Gi. Not that he had much time to ponder much. Croix wasn't nearly as adept in hand to hand like Father Salade, so engaging up close wasn't the best idea. Instead he fired in quick succession, just enough to keep the female moving and forcing her to back off. Unfortunately, he was learning she was deadly from far away as she was up close.
Star-shaped throwing knives were thrown in his direction, each throw had roughly the speed of a bullet. Croix showed his almost super human marksmanship by shooting all of the projectiles out of the air with frightening accuracy. On the other hand, she was using the same weapons to stop the bullets from striking a disabling blow, Croix wasn't really trying to kill her. Soon the two began using the forest tree's as cover, trying to get a hit one another though none of them were able to gain the upper hand on one another. It was deadly but beautiful dance, with the loser getting wounded or killed.
Click.
Shit. The gun was out of ammo. Both of them. He didn't have time to reload either, his speedy opponent was already closing the distance between them. His only shot was the old worn dagger he used to clean fish with. Croix couldn't claim to be a good dagger or sword wielder but if he was lucky..
The Ninja suddenly stopped and clutched her sides, breathing heavily and falling to her knees.
Ok, now that was unexpected. Cautiously he slowly went closer to his downed opponent, reloading his weapon just in case it was some clever trick. He saw blood that was becoming visible, and she seemed to freak out about it. If he wanted he could have just went on his way and ignored her. But he couldn't, despite the fact she had attacked him moments ago he wasn't that heartless. Helping a person that tried to kill me moments ago. I've defiantly been hanging around Prier to long.
"Let me help you." As expected the woman glared at him, but it wasn't really intense like he had expected, in fact come to think of it she seemed kind of scared. But it wasn't him he knew, other wise she wouldn't have attacked. Sighing he tried again, "If you don't get that looked out you'll bleed to death. You don't have reason to trust me, but remember you attacked me first."
"..All right." That seemed to do the trick. Croix still was ready for a surprise attack, just because he had chosen to help didn't mean he would fall for a trap. If he suspected any tricks he wouldn't hesitate to handle the situation. She seemed to be bandaged around her stomach, must have been a previous battle wound.
Taking some of his meager bandages he always had 'just in case' he handed them to his former opponent-though that might change. With some difficulty she managed to reapply the wrapping around her but the blood seemed to make her ill. Shakily she stood on both legs looking at Croix with an unreadable expression.
"Your really not from the village or the empire."
Croix snorted, putting his left over bandages away(those things came in handy, now he knew why he kept extra.) "No. Let's just say we don't see eye to eye. Probably the only reason they haven't tried to kill me yet is they tolerate me for my Demon hunting skills, sorry for opening your wound again." It was easy to guess the stranger wasn't human, no normal human could get back up with a injury like that, not to mention fight like that when still hurt. "I'm looking for a cabin to the north."
"Why do you want to go their?" She asked warily, eyes turning to little slits.
He sighed. "I was hired by someone who said a demon was terrorizing a village. But as I got more and more information I knew something was funny about it. You live around here right? Why don't you tell me what's going on? And why did you attack me?" Not expecting an answer to his last question but he had to try.
"It's not like that at all." Once his attention was drawn on her she finished, "Their's a mom and a child that live their. Yes their demons but they didn't do anything, they even lived here before those people came. I was hungry and they fed me gave me a roof over my head, so I protected them when the attacks began."
A single eyebrow was raised. "Small question; you're a demon correct? I've seen you fight even when wounded so I can imagine when your not. How did a bunch village human warriors do this to you?"
"Who said they did? It's a little known fact that they have powerful soldiers, not human or anything else I'm familiar with though. Anyway, another demon who's a glutton has been sucking the resources of this place dry, he has the mothers child hostage as bargaining chip. He's to strong for me to take alone."
Hmm, this might work. It's not like the priest actually knows what the demon looks like. I can help out and get him off my back at the same time. It's a win, win situation. But first, I have to see if she'll even take me. "Funny, that doesn't sound like the villagers version of the tale two sides of every story after all. My name is Croix, if you trust me enough I can help you get rid of this demon. It will help both of us, what says you? We have a truce for at least for now?"
"Deal. But if you attack me again.." She warned letting it hang in the air. "Just call me Kinta."
Croix nodded. "Like wise. We have a deal then." He made sure both his guns were fully reloaded and he was carrying various kinds of ammo, from elemental rounds to something called 'Air Bullets' he didn't know what they did but the person he brought them from said they were good. "Lets get to work."
His new companion wasn't really talkative, she only said things that needed to be brought up or she really had something to say. Small talk didn't seem to be her thing. Which was fine with Croix, he wasn't the one for a lot of small talk anyway. In the years he had gotten better but he would never be able to stay at a party and talk about virtually nothing. Kinta had told him the demon was impervious to most physical damage, but he hoped some of his elemental rounds would do the trick.
"Is that it?" Croix indicated in front of him, something was in the distance but he couldn't make it from this far. It was really the only thing he really said during the entire trip, keeping your mouth shut around strangers was a thing that kept him out of trouble since he came to this place.
"Hang on." The female demon jumped onto a branch, then another until she disappeared out of Croix line of vision. Time seemed to go by slowly but in reality only ten minutes had really passed before she came back landing on the ground once getting on a low enough part of the tree. "No mistaken it. That's his hide out. I saw a some of the villagers children, and I know what he's going to do them. We have to hurry."
Kinta didn't even wait for a verbal reply but instead began moving but made sure she was in sight of Croix at all times so he wouldn't have trouble following her. He hadn't seen to many people move that way, but then he never had much interest in acrobatics. Strangely, she dropped down silently on his side with out even making the leaves rustle, he wasn't even going to question the logical explanation of how that was even possible.
In front of the two was a camp, a nightmarish one. They couldn't see everything even from the cliff but they could see children inside, the rest was surrounded by concrete walls. Obviously, this place was the base of operations for the demon. He had his share of lackey's from the look of things, they stood watch in a tower, four total located on each side of the camp for intruders.
Croix already calculated and formulated a plan. "Ok, I'm going to-" He cut himself off as his partner hissed.
"That's Ajari! Their going to feed him to that fat pig." Not really thinking with her head, she seemed to forget about her wounds and became a blur and she went towards the camp.
"..To pick the people off in the towers from a distance." Croix finished muttering, why did people have to be so impulsive? He could understand but even so. Taking out one of his pistols he took careful aim before firing.
Bang.
The first one held it's throat before falling over in a boneless heap onto the ground. Croix wasn't going to let them catch on, so he aimed again and fired three more shots. All three bullets hit their mark, taking out the remaining ones. Putting his weapon away temporarily, he hurriedly followed after Kinta hoping she didn't get into to much trouble. The good thing was the encampment didn't have an official door. This allowed Croix to enter with out breaking it down himself, but he stayed close to the wall at first, poking his head out in case any enemies tried to be sly. None came. So he took his chances and went inside but was still on his toes, he almost tripped over a body of the creature he had taken out. It was vaguely humanoid but looked like a lizard, he wasn't sure if it was a demon or some other creature.
Now he knew what had caused the Ninja to rush in so fool heartedly, in the middle was the biggest pot he had ever seen filled with boiling water. A fire was going around it and above it were kids tied up over it, Croix didn't want to think of what would have happened to them. Kinta was getting them all down, just using her demonic strength or those nasty throwing knives to cut through the ropes.
"Looks like we have the majority under control." Croix commented lightly, coming closer once all the children were down. Just as the words had left his mouth, he suddenly dived one of the kids, knocking them down but also saving him from an arrow going through his heart. Spoke to far to soon. He returned the favor by shooting in the general direction where the shot had come from, he was awarded by a body dropping though he couldn't see who or what it was.
The situation could get potentially worse, so they told the kids to leave quickly before anything else showed up. Their thinking saved them but they weren't out of the woods just yet. The ground began to shake as something big waddled its way towards the place. Croix looked irritated and Kinta looked tense. Great. What now?
Not even going through the other part of the camp, a wall broke in half as a large creature revealed itself. It was abnormally tall and had somewhat humanoid face, it's main body was like a centipedes, with small legs that somehow supported the bulk of the monsters weight. "What have you done?!" It shrieked. "All my hard work for my gourmet meal is ruined. I'll just have to kill you then."
"You can try." Croix said cooly.
It didn't wait and actually leaped over them, for a thing of it's weight it could really move. A feeble almost clumsy attempt, but their opponent tried to grab them, which both easily avoided out of the way. Croix fired rounds into the thing, but it didn't do anything. Like wise, Kinta's attacks did nothing but tickle it.
I want to end this quick. Their has to be some way. Croix continued to think as he fought with the thing, it's attention was a lot more on Kinta so he could have a lot more breathing room. By the pot, it looked like some normal boxes but he knew what they were. Bingo.
A moment later, the disgusting creature opened it's mouth, which turned far larger then it should have been. But after, literally everything began to get sucked into it's mouth like a wind vacuum. The Ninja struggled not to get sucked inside, tents and the like already went into the endless void that was the things mouth. Croix knew it was now or never, so he kicked the box over closer where everything was being sucked up, causing it to swallow it with out noticing.
"What-" The sentence was cut off as it exploded in a not-so-pleasant display, green liquid splattered on Croix's shades, he didn't seem to happy about that. Kinta had freaked out slightly once she realized that 'green stuff' was actually blood. A lone claw fell onto the ground by the Demon Hunter, it was big enough not to be mistaken for any known monster, it would work.
Here's my proof I 'killed' the demon. Putting the thing away he wiped his shades with an extra napkin, turning on his heel. "Were done here. Thanks for your help." Now I just have to convince them that I killed the demon. Croix could feel a slight head ache coming on, it was already a long day and it was going to get longer. I hope they have decent wine here, I need a drink now.
Authors Notes: Yes I know, a bit long but I was in 'the zone' as I call it when I wrote it. Originally I was going to write more(which is why it kind of leaves off at a odd point) but I figured it was enough and I'd save the rest for another chapter. I was thinking of doing a first person POV every once in a while which would tell events from a characters perspective. It would just be a single chapter dedicated to that and it wouldn't be super long. Anyway, I hope you guys didn't fall asleep on me during the long chapter ;;. Not much else to say, R&R and remember C&C is good for the soul to.