Author's Note: This is Seeker of the Soul, presenting a peek at my part of the story. Enjoy.

Chapter Three: Beneath the Boot

The sound of his pounding heart in his ears was absolutely deafening. Even the crunching of the underbrush beneath his bare feet was nothing compared to that sound. His superb hearing made his heart beat sound ever louder.

Leaves rustled off to his left, causing him to freeze, holding himself completely still. Slowly his eyes trailed off in that direction and he took a sample of the air, testing it for that familiar scent. 'Shit, they've gotten closer!'

He began to think through his options, his brain racing a mile a minute as he assessed the situation. There were four men, armed with assault weapons and in body armor, just about fifteen feet to his left.

Somewhere in the general area were about five or six more groups of the same size elsewhere in the jungle, all of them looking for the same target. Him. 'I can take out one of the groups easily if I strike fast, but that'll point me out to the rest, and all of these bastards are using armor piercing rounds, that shit can punch through my body with no resistance!'

Once again he tested the air, checking for signs of any of the other groups being within the area. If he was cautious he could pick the groups off one by one, it was his only option. So, with that in mind, he began sliding along the ground at a slow and quiet pace, moving on the position of the armed men.

He paused, finally catching sight of his targets through the brush. They were wearing jungle camouflage fatigues, but it was definitely not standard for the Argentinean military, but they were Argentinean in appearance. 'The few I heard speaking were also talking in Portuguese, so they are native. But who are these freaks, a para-military group?'

It wasn't unusual for there to be para-military groups in Argentina, especially wandering around the jungles. This was different though, because it wasn't like they were rebels hiding out or just using the jungle as a staging point. This wasn't a raiding party, it was a hunting party. 'And I'm the prey. What an ironic twist of fate.'

Had he wandered onto them while they were performing some secret activities he could understand their desire and determination to end his life. However, all he had been doing was searching for a meal in the jungle, when all of a sudden he came under fire from these freaks. 'And I've been running from them for three hours now. I've taken out six…but there are still so many left!'

His small pupils shrank down to an even smaller size as he noticed one of the men looking in his direction. Slowly the soldier hefted his assault rifle, what looked to be an M-40 Assault Rifle. He cursed mentally at the sight of what lay under the barrel. 'Shit! That's a damned grenade launcher! Where the hell did these guys get high end U.S. military weapons?'

The soldier made a quick motion with one hand, snapping two fingers in the same direction that he was facing. The other three began to move forwards, taking cautious steps with the practiced ease of genuine military men. 'Like I thought, they aren't amateurs. Not rebels…this is a trained military group. What the hell are they doing out here then? Are they Argentinean Special Forces or something?'

When the men had made it within ten feet of him he knew it was his one and only chance to act. If they moved any closer before he sprung they would see him and open fire before he could charge. 'It's now or never. I'll cut these pigs down right now!'

The soldiers jerked their weapons inwards as a shape blurred out of the brush, moving at great velocity and with serpentine grace. The powerful form landed on top of the first soldier, driving him bodily to the ground. The squad leader didn't even get a chance to scream as sharp claws tore out his throat.

In less than three seconds the squad's size had dropped from four to three, and the creature wasn't done yet. His scales, which seemed to change depending on what was nearby, glinted in the sun as he jumped from the corpse to the next soldier, high powered rounds whizzing by his shoulders.

"Die mammal!" The creature's right hand, claws extended, plunged directly into the soldier's face, putting a hole in his head and making him completely unrecognizable. The monster hissed as a bullet punched into its shoulder, but it was off again at top speed, slamming into the next soldier without mercy.

Both hands gripped the third soldier's stomach, claws tearing through the body armor and into the fighter's guts. With a roar the monster pulled them out, then grabbed his enemy and whirled him around, hurling him at the fourth soldier. Bullets sprayed through the body at him, and only a swift jump to the side let him avoid death. 'Shit! Armor piercing, just like I thought!'

Immediately he sprang into action again, zipping through the brush towards the soldier, who seemed to be moving in slow motion compared to him. The soldier would never get his weapon around in time to stop the charge. 'Last one! I'll rip his heart out with my bare hands!'

He sprung forwards, crossing ten feet in one leapt, his claws outstretched towards the soldier's chest. His fingers were splayed out, claws at the ready to rip the man's chest open. Then, without warning, two loud bangs filled the air, and the monster felt two somethings impact with his body.

The kinetic energy of his leap combined with whatever had struck him managed to spin his body around, causing him to land in a heap next to the soldier. The Argentinean man snapped his gun towards his foe's head, ready to fire the killing blow. 'I'm going to die at the hands of a measly mammal!'

"Hold!" The soldier immediately snapped to attention, shouldering his weapon. He brought his left hand to the center of his chest in a vague form of salute. Once again the monster found this odd, as that was not the salute of the Argentinean military.

"Sir! We apologize for our carelessness!" The monster felt his body quiver as he tried to stand, to capitalize on the soldier's attention to whoever else was there. Finally he brought his attention down to his body, and discovered a large messy hole where his stomach might have been. It didn't look like many of his organs had taken the hits well.

His vision fuzzed for a moment as he fought to control himself, focused his energy at his gut, trying to heal the wounds, though he knew them to be fatal already. Had there been medical attention nearby, or perhaps at least a clean environment and time, he might have survived but…not this time. 'Those rounds were heavier than armor piercing…what the hell did he hit me with?'

Approaching from the trees off to the right side was a man in the same fatigues as the other soldiers, only he had command stripes on his shoulders, and some sort of lenses covering his eyes. 'Infrared vision goggles maybe?'

Covered as the approaching commander's face was by camoflauge paint, the fallen creature could barely tell what his killer looked like. All he knew is that the gun in the man's right hand looked very high tech, and he had never seen anything like it. The man's gaze met the creature's, and followed it. "Curious about the weapon that killed you demon?"

The commander hefted the weapon, gripping it in both hands and displaying it in a side view. The lizard demon looked it over, noticing that it looked like an assembled weapon, one that group break down into multiple parts, and it had two separate clips, one in front of the grip and the other behind. It also had two barrels. "Yeah…sure."

"This is the XM-29 OICW, an advanced small arms assault weapon designed over the past nearly twenty years. It still hasn't been incorporated into any military yet, but it was designed for the United States military. It's the best infantry weapon known to man, and can fire kinetic bullets, High Explosive rounds, and if I were having fun, target practice rounds. But for you, I used a special bullet I used a Burst Round, a special bullet that detonates inside the target, shredding organs. It means instant death most times for a human, but you'll probably suffer for hours. Only fitting really." The man sneered, walking up so he stood directly over the demon's fallen body.

The commander raised his goggled eyes up to the still statue-like soldier. "Dismissed soldier. I'll deal with this demon scum myself. In addition, this one's eggs shoulder be somewhere within the vicinity. I'm sure if you and the others search you can find its children and slaughter them before they become a threat to society." The lizard demons eyes went wide, and his tongue flared out, rage burning through his body.

"Sir yes sir!" The soldier snapped another salute and then jogged off into the forest, leaving the demon alone with the man who had killed him. The man lowered his goggled gaze to the demon, and that sneer returned at the sight of the angry expression.

"You hate me for what I have done, don't you demon? I've killed you, painfully I might add, and I have already ordered my men to slaughter your children, and most likely your mate since she'll be guarding the nest. After all, you were hunting for food to bring to your mate since she cannot hunt for herself, isn't that right?" When the demon only hissed in response the man continued, smiling in an almost friendly manner.

"Yes, that's what I thought. Perhaps you are asking yourself: 'Why me? What did I do to deserve this? Why my innocent unborn children?' Well, is that right?" The demon lashed out with a clawed handing, hoping to rip the man's thigh open and drop him to the ground where he could be finished.

To his surprise the commander reacted with great speed, jerked the XM-29 around and firing a round into the arm. The lizard demon scream in pain as the Burst Round exploded in his forearm, blowing it off just above the elbow. "I can't have that can I. Hmm…the other one is also dangerous, isn't it?"

Without another word the demon's killer aimed the assault weapon and blew off the other arm, then both of his feet, and finally severed his tail about mid-way up. Smirking he shouldered the weapon. "Demon scum, you're nothing but a pre-evolved beast, not even worthy of a Cro-Magnon's respect. You and the rest of your foul kind are a ban on this world, and that is why I ordered your death. As a matter of fact, you and your mate are the only demons left in this entire jungle. We've killed the others."

"Mammal…you may have killed me, but in the end it will be a demon that does you in. You humans are below us, not worthy of our notice! You are the sub-sentients of this planet, and for actions such as this the demon community will be in outrage, and come forth into human lands to slaughter you all once and for all!" His eyes burned with rage, his body functioning in its last few minutes.

His killer paused for a moment, his mouth set in a slight frown. Then it tilted up into a furious snarl, his teeth bared as he stomped his booted foot down on the demon's face, pressing it against the ground. "Demon scum, this is where you and the rest of your kind belong! Beneath my boot, as nothing but a thing we must wipe off on our way into our houses! Demon, I'll give you a final parting gift of knowledge. Your wife and the rest of the demons on this planet…soon they'll all be dead!"

He fired a kinetic round into the demon's skull, splattering the brain. The lizard demon was dead in an instant, its blood leaking out onto the commander's booted foot. He lifted his foot off calmly and scraped the blood off against the underbrush. "And now, I wash my hands of you."

Turning the human stalked away, ready to join his soldiers in their hunt for the dead lizard demon's mate and nest.

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As the man marched up to the outside of a hidden cave, another group of soldiers snapped to attention, having been waiting for him. He turned to the nearest one, a squad leader with a Sergeant's stripes on his uniform. "Status report."

The soldier saluted once, then dropped into an at ease position. "General, we've contained the lizard demon's mate within the cave, however because the cave acts as a choke point we have been unable to penetrate far into the cave without suffering causalities. Our poison smoke canisters have failed to drive the demon out of hiding. In addition, there is a second demon in hiding with it."

The General nodded once, then turned and looked into the tunnel, the lens goggles over his eyes giving him an almost bug-like appearance from the Sergeant's point of view. "Understandable. I'll deal with this personally."

"But sir, there are two demons in there!" His commander's head turned towards him, and the sergeant stiffened, feeling the power of that glare even through the goggles. Finally the General turned away and walked without a care in the world into the demon's nest.

Carrying his XM-29 in one hand, the General strolled through the cave like he owned the place. As he rounded a corner a blurred figure dropped down at him from the ceiling, only to find itself suspended in mid-air. The lizard demon snarled, and discovered that its body was wrapped up by vines. "A sneak attack of course. Disgraceful, but to be expected from sub-sentient scum like you demons."

"Bastard! You slew my mate, and everyone else in the jungle! You'll pay for your crimes in blood!" The female lizard demon cursed as the vines tightened, pressing her had against the ceiling. Yet still the human didn't look up at her.

"Yes, I killed him, I'm sure you can smell his blood on me, something I'll be have to shower and scrub at for hours to get rid of I'm sure. In this situation, I could kill you easily. Those vines that hold you fast, that's not bad luck on your part. That is my power." The lizard demon's eyes widened, her body struggling against the vines.

'A human who can command plants? What in the world is this man?' Before she could say another word a powerful roar ripped through the cave, and another lizard demon came barreling down through the tunnel, jumping from wall to wall at high speed.

Instead of firing rapid bursts at the oncoming freight train of a demon like the other soldiers had, this one simply stood stock still and hefted his rifle. With cold precision he fired a single round while the lizard demon was in the middle of a jump. 'He can't possibly expect that to hit at that speed!'

To her absolute horror, the other demon's head, her brother's head, exploded. It was ripped apart by the power of the explosive round the soldier below her had fired, leaving a headless corpse to collapse against the wall. "He charged head on; at least he displayed some courage. That's more than I can say for you or your mate. Now, how far down in the tunnel is your nest? I'd prefer not to walk too far to kill your unborn children."

"Mammalian bastard! You've killed my mate, you've killed my brother, but I will not allow you to kill my hatchlings! I challenge you to a Darkness Games!" She saw the man pause as darkness filled the cave around them, looking as if he was in thought.

He walked about a dozen feet away, then snapped his fingers, releasing her from the vines. He turned to face her, letting her see the camouflaged face of the man who had killed her family. "Mammal, I, Tisia Morei, last surviving member of the Morei Lizard Demon Clan…will destroy you in this game!" (TLP: 4000)

The soldier set his gun to the side, and then raised his left arm up in front of him. To the lizard demon's surprise vines wrapped themselves around his arm, shaping into a crude duel disk, which he promptly inserted a deck into. "Go ahead and take the first turn demon scum. I don't need any advantages to beat a nothing like you."

She snarled, her tongue flaring out as she pulled a scaled duel disk from the niche in the wall and attached it to her arm. She had been prepared for just such an occasion. "Aren't you going to tell me your name mammal? Won't you grant me the name of the man who slaughtered my family?"

"No. I will never grant my name to any worthless demon; even my own troops don't know my name. They call me General, or, if you'd prefer, you may call me one of my titles. Call me Juushin if you call me anything at all." He drew five cards calmly, and she drew six in response. (JLP: 4000)

Tisia flicked through her cards, and then with two clawed fingers she placed a card onto her field. "Gigobyte(350/300) in attack mode!" A tiny little reptilian creature with green skin now stood in front of her, not even coming up to her knee.

"Adorable, but useless. Anything else?" The female demon nodded and held up one of her other cards, and immediately Gigobyte began to glow brightly. It began to grow, becoming larger and larger until it was even bigger than she was, with powerful rippling muscles and sharp teeth.

"My magic card Reptilian Evolution lets me sacrifice a reptile monster on my field to special summon a higher level reptile from my hand to the field. I have chosen Gogiga Gagagigo(2950/2800)!" Her monster roared powerfully, but Juushin didn't appear bothered at all.

"Finally I set one card face down. Go ahead and take your turn mammal!" Without a word Juushin drew, and then inspected his hand carefully.

"I start simply, by summoning Killer Thorn(1600/1000) in attack mode. When this monster is normal summoned I can draw one card." He replaced the summoned monster with a new drawn card before his creature even appeared.

When Juushin's monster appeared, it was revealed as a monster with a body made up almost entirely of sharp looking thorns. Even Gogiga Gagagigo probably wouldn't enjoy trying to eat that. "I equip my monster with Poison Spore. Any monster that destroys this one is also destroyed."

"Yet still you leave your weak monster in attack mode. That is foolishness, even if you intend to destroy my mighty monster! You mammals are too hot blooded to think strategy through, especially human mammals." Juushin seemed to be still for just a moment, and then his lips titled up in a fierce snarl.

"Demon scum, don't you dare speak to me as if you were even close to being my equal, let alone my superior! Go magic card, Cross Pollination! This transforms your reptile into something more suitable, in other words, it becomes a plant!" Tisia hissed as vines burst out of her reptile's skin, making it look like it was made of wood.

He raised his right arm, pointing directly at Gogiga Gagagigo, and Killer Thorn began to fire thorns at a rapid pace. "Killer Thorn, attack her monster! Destroy each other!"

"Gogiga, counter attack! Crush Killer Thorn!" Despite the thorns that were pounding into its body the mighty former reptile ran forwards and slammed a large fist into the plant monster's body, ripping it apart. (JLP: 2650)

He snapped his fingers, and Gogiga exploded, wood flying all around them. "Remember, Poison Spore destroys your monster. And now, the second effect of Cross Pollination. When the monster changed goes to the grave, I gain its attack as life points!"

Tisia hissed again as energy flowed from the fallen pieces of her monster into Juushin's crude duel disk. 'He planned a way to destroy my powerful monster and undo any damage to himself…he's not as hot headed as I might have thought.' (JLP: 5600)

Her human opponent sneered and slid one of his three remaining cards into his duel disk. "Go ahead and take your turn demon scum. It won't affect this duel. It has been determined because of one simple fact. You are a demon, so I will win!"

She drew, looking fierce and deadly as she viewed her new card. "No mammal like you can defeat the cold blooded fury of a lizard demon! Activate magic card, Serpent's Bite! I now discard the top five cards of my deck…"

One by one she slipped them off the top, looking at each as she did so. "For every reptile amongst them you take five hundred damage. And I've discarded three!" She held them up, and then slammed them into her graveyard.

As soon as that action had been completed a giant snake burst out of her magic card and shot across the field, clamping down on her human opponent's body, draining him of life points. His knees quivered slightly, but he remained standing and didn't even react other than that. "Is that all demon?" (JLP: 4100)

Shaking her head she took another card from her hand and threw it down. "Thunder Lizard(1600/1500) in attack mode! Once per turn this monster lets me deal you three hundred points of damage. Thunder Breath!"

A large green dinosaur-like lizard emerged, and fired a burst of lightning from its mouth, striking Juushin head on. He stood stock still, letting it cover him, but was otherwise unharmed. "Is that the best you can do demon?" (JLP: 3800)

"Shut up mammal! Reverse card open, Embodiment of Apophis! This trap card now becomes the monster known as an Embodiment of Apophis(1600/1800)!" A serpentine figure in armor, holding a sword now stood next to her lizard.

"Embodiment of Apophis, Thunder Lizard, attack the mammal directly!" Juushin just stood there as lightning poured over his body and the Embodiment's sword slammed into his shoulder. Tisia hissed, irritated that he still didn't seem to be hurt. No human was supposed to be that strong! (JLP: 400)

"Is that all, or can I go now and get this duel done with?" Tisia shot him a deadly glare, and then placed one of her two remaining cards into her duel disk. Then with a dismissive wave she ended her turn.

Juushin drew, and then was blasted by Thunder Lizard. Tisia chuckled as his life points dropped. "Like I said, Thunder Lizard drains you of three hundred life points each turn, meaning on my turn you lose!" (JLP: 100)

"I summon Palmetto Girl(1100/2000). When this monster is normal summoned, I get to draw three cards while you draw one. Now draw your card." Tisia drew once, giving her two cards, while Juushi drew three times, restoring his hand size to five.

Immediately he held up one of his new cards, depicting a water can drizzling onto a potted plant. "I play Fertilizer! This magic card lets me choose one of two effects, and the effect I'm choosing is just like evolution card's effect. I sacrifice Palmetto Girl…" The plant girl faded away.

"Then I summon Grapebind(2300/0) from my hand to the field!" Tisia, despite being a fearsome demon, found herself backing away from the monstrosity that had just been summoned. Juushin's newest monster was a large tree, with branches that were tortured human-like faces.

A glance at her face down card reassured herself that she was safe from this terrifying beast. "Grapebind, destroy Thunder Lizard!" The tree's vines launched towards Thunder Lizard, and in an instant the second card flipped up.

Before she could even declare what her trap card was, the face down card on Juushin's field revealed itself. "Petal Blast is a counter trap that will negate your card's activation!" Her card exploded.

"Battle continues!" The vines wrapped around the middle of her Thunder Lizard, and then brutally ripped it in half. She bit down on her lip as blood pooled on the ground from the broken body. (TLP: 3300)

"When Grapebind destroys a monster you must discard the top card of your deck. If it is a monster I may draw a card." Tisia held up the drawn card, showing that it was a Gagagigo. Juushing drew a card in response.

He held up the drawn card, along with another card from his hand. "Attack Fertilizer lets me sacrifice a plant type monster to let another plant attack again this turn. However, I play Substitute which offers itself for the effect. Grapebind attacks again!"

Again she grimaced as Grapebind tore apart Embodiment of Apophis, clearing her field. When she discarded her next card, she saw with frustration that it was her second most powerful monster, and she had just lost it. "Excellent, another draw." (TLP: 2600)

"I'm not dead yet mammal! So don't count me as finished!" She hissed, her tongue stretching out as she reached for her next card to start her turn off.

Juushin punched a fist into the wall of the cave, bringing her attention back to him. She stepped back, feeling raw waves of power rolling off of him, stronger than any she had ever sensed from a human being. "Insolent demon scum! This is your end, you die right now!"

He slammed his drawn card into his plant duel disk with such force that Tisia was surprised it didn't break. "Quick-play magic card activates! Late Bloomer activates when a plant destroys a non-plant monster. I now special summon a plant monster from my hand and let it attack!"

Another huge plant formed this one with a giant slavering maw and vines that stretched from the side, almost like tentacles. It was so huge that it barely fit in the cave, its body stretching out roots deep into the ground. "Flesh-Eating Plant(3500/2300), devour that demon scum alive!"

Tisia screamed, slashing at the vines that whipped out to wrap around her body. But her claws didn't even manage to scratch the monster plant as it dragged her body towards that open fleshy mouth. "Yes, scream demon! Scream in the last moments of your life as my pet eats you for sustenance! And know in your last moments that I will personally destroy each and every one of your eggs!"

She screamed once more as she was shoved into the plant's mouth, its sharp teeth ripping into her flesh. Blood splattered against the ground as it churned her body, finally consuming it completely. When it was done it lowered its head, and Juushin stroked the top of its massive head. "Excellent work my pet. Now, I've got more work to do."

A dozen minutes later Juushin walked out of the cave, his fatigues covered in blood and ichor, a frown on his face. The soldiers backed away, all of them having heard the horrifying screams from within. Only the sergeant approached. "Sir, is something wrong?"

Juushin's nose wrinkled and he pulled at his soaked fatigues, looking truly irritated. "Yes, this is sickening. It will take hours to get this disgusting blood and the smell of demon off of me. Oh well, that's the price we pay for making the world a better place. Come! Torch the jungle and let's be done with it."

"Torch the jungle sir? But this is a natural preserve, with thousands of unique species in it." All eyes turned to the low ranking soldier who had spoken up, and then they looked away from him. Without a word Juushin raised his rifle and blew out one of the soldier's kneecaps.

"This entire jungle has been tainted by those demons. Torch it, you will start the first fire personally, or I will aim the next shot between your legs. Are we understood soldier?" Despite being collapsed on the ground, the soldier managed a pained salute.

"Sir yes sir!" Juushin turned away without another word, and began to walk back. Behind him he heard the roar of flames, and knew that they had done their duty. All was well.

Several hours of intense scrubbing and cleaning later Juushin stood in civilian clothes, the strange goggles still covering his eyes. He ran a hand through his still wet black hair which clung to his scalp, and took a relaxed breath.

Just as he was about to head to his bed, a screen behind him flickered on, and a deep male voice spoke from it. "Juushin, our Great Lord has given me a command to relay to you. As his most loyal supporter you are to return to Japan and organize the capture of a royal dragon demon, loose in human lands."

Juushin paused, not bothering to look back since he knew to whom the voice belonged. "A dragon demon of an ancient line, in human lands? An exile no doubt. What is this demon's name?"

"He is called Amarai."

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Author's Note: And there you have it.

After a weekend of tournament dueling, Keiji's back to work at the local high school. Sadly, Ryoushi wasn't the only one to pick up on the "energy spike" that Ryoushi mentioned, and Ryoushi wasn't the only one to think Keiji's a demon. Needless to say, Keiji's gonna have to explain to the principal why he missed first period.
Next Time: Cards In Hand