It was a dark summer night in the month of June, and it was also Dante's first night Hunting. He had spent seven weeks training with Tellix and was looking forward to the night's Hunt. Sorrisa, the girl from Fortuna, had finally come to stay with them. Her pale silver hair was pulled up in two buns, and her pale blue eyes looked as if they were dead. They showed no emotion and resembled an endless pit if one were to look into them.
Though her eyes showed no emotion, she was a very cheerful person. Perhaps alittle too cheerful for Dante's liking, but he admired her skill. Durring her years spent in Fortuna, the Holy Knights' of the Order of the Sword had trained her well. Her agility and speed was impressive, but Dante's demon reflexes were uncomparable to Sorrisa's.
Tellix walked ahead of Dante and Sorrisa. The courtyard was full of overgrown hedges, once beautiful gardens now overgrown with weeds and thorns. The cobblestone street that twisted and turned through the rotten garden's was stained with blood. Every few steps, Dante would catch a glimpse of small mangled beasts scuttling across the ground to avoid being stepped on.
Clad in a black jacket and pair of pants, both decorated with dark blue stripes, and her long blood-red hair tied up in a bun, Tellix made her way through the twisting garden. Instead of Rebellion, she wielded a massive custom made katana. She finally trusted Dante enough and allowed him to use Rebellion. She squeezed the hilt of the katana tightly, then reached behind her and grabbed Dante. He stumbled slightly as she pulled him up, then looked up at her curiously.
"Something wrong?" He asked, tightening his grip of Rebellion. Tellix stopped in her tracks and looked down at Dante.
"Do you know how to tell a demon from a human?"
"Not really..."
Tellix grinned and continued down the path. "First: Their Heartrate. When a human is afraid or nervous, their heartrate goes up. A demon's heartrate does not. Got it memorized?" Dante nodded in response.
"Second: Their eyes. Along with their heartrate, a human's eyes can tell you if their afraid, but a demon's does not. Their eyes are empty and show you nothing." Tellix looked over her shoulder at Sorrisa and examined her eyes. Sorrisa had a demon's eyes.
"And third: Sweat. Demon's don't sweat. No matter how hard they fight, or how afraid they are, they don't sweat. Remember these three tips, they'll save you one day." Dante grinned and nodded.
A black figure flashed overhead, but one thing was clearly visable. A large blue-edge scythe. Tellix grabbed both Dante and Sorrisa and pulled them into the thick bushes. She peeked through a part in the bushes and grinned.
"That's a Hell Vanguard. They're pretty strong, but don't let that fool you. They're not the smartest or the fastest demons." Dante stared at the Vanguard and smiled. Had not even started fighting, and he was already excited.
Without a word, Tellix pushed Dante through the bushes, and right into the Vanguard's path. The Vanguard wailed mournfully, then charged for him. An old stone wall stood on Dante's left, which he quickly made use of. In a burst of speed, he ran towards the Vanguard and in a flash, he was up on the wall running right over the Vanguard's head. So wrapped up in swinging it's massive scythe, the Vanguard didn't notice Dante's quick dash up the wall.
Taking the Vanguard's blind spot for granted, Dante thrust Rebellion through the demon's back. Blood spurted from the wound and covered both Dante and Rebellion. The Vanguard let out a painful wail, then spun around and swung for Dante, which he quickly evaded by jumping over the scythe. Using his momentum, Dante thrust his sword downwards, slicing the Vanguard in two.
He landed nimbly, then looked towards the bushes, smiling triumphantly. Tellix and Sorrisa stepped out from behind the bushes and smiled. Dante threw Rebellion over his shoulder and smiled as Tellix examined the dead Vanguard. Suddenly the two halves of the Vanguard twitched, then rose up. Tellix jumped backwards and held the katana out in front of her. Dante only smiled, seeming pleased with the Vanguard's come-back.
The halves of the Vanguard flickered, then shifted. Before they knew it, two fully formed Vanguard's were standing before them, swinging their scythes madly. Instantly, Dante charged for the first Vanguard, swinging the bloodied Rebellion precisely, which was surprising due to his small stature. Tellix smiled at Dante's enthusiasm, and started towards the second Vanguard. She never charged into the center of a battle, she walked into the center, staring her opponents down.
As she neared the Vanguard, it swung it's scythe for her. The Vanguard gave a quick howl in confusion as it's scythe met with a hard surface. The surface turned out to be Tellix's hand, which held the tip of the scythe inches from her face. She looked past the scythe and smiled menacingly at the Vanguard, who wailed mournfully. In a flash, Tellix ripped the scythe from the demon's hands, and stepped backwards.
She began swinging the scythe around in a slanted circle, barely scraping the cobblestone ground, and started towards the Vanguard. As she came closer she spun around and swung the scythe upwards, like a pendullum. As she did so, the scythe scraped the cobblestones, creating a bright display of sparks, then finally planted the scythe in the Vanguard's chest.
A pained wail escaped it's throat as it fell to the ground, lifeless. She sighed, seeming displeased with the Vanguard's weakness, then looked towards Dante. He slashed the Vanguard repeatedly, never giving it a chance to retaliate. Finally he swung Rebellion with such speed and force, that he lopped the Vanguard's head right off it's shoulders. The head flew through the air and landed in Sorrisa's hands, who seemed quite interested in the head.
She held it up and smiled, then said, "Look Dante! It's smiling!" Dante looked at the head and gave Sorrisa a sarcastic smirk, then turned to face Tellix. She gave him a small smile, then waved her hand in the air. A shimmering black portal ripped open before them.
"After you, Demon Hunter." She said, looking down at Dante. He smiled triumphantly and strutted through the portal. Sorrisa started towards the portal, but Tellix stopped her.
"Nerezza came to see me the other day..She said to tell you that she's close. Whatever that means." Sorrisa looked up at Tellix and smiled, obviously happy to hear from her sister. Nerezza was a full blooded demon, but Sorrisa was only half, which Nerezza looked down on her for her human heiritage but still respected the fact they were family.
Sorrisa nodded, then happily skipped through the portal. Tellix looked back towards the twisting gardens. A dark figure stood on the wall, staring at her intently. She smiled as the figure turned away, then turned towards the portal. She gave one last smirk as she stepped through the portal and into her home.