Chapter 4: Supernatural Hitman
Tsukudo-cho
Raidou walked on the same street as any normal human being with Gouto at his side, oblivious to their voices; he was more interested in their thoughts. As a Devil Summoner, he had the power to call upon the power of the demons he contracted with. Each demon had personal skills and abilities allowed to help him in his investigations and missions.
Raidou kept out a small green demon, Mokoi, to find Kizami's location through the power of mind reading. If she was still in the Capital, he would be able to hear her thoughts in the perimeter given by Mokoi.
''So many thoughts, Summoner. What are we looking for?'' The small demon was getting tired of all of his work; transferring what the demon found to the Devil Summoner was no easy task, but it quickly paid off. When Mokoi finished his sentence, one of the transferred thoughts revealed the woman's presence nearby.
The thoughts of Kizami were clear and filled with vengeful thoughts. It was easy to track down the woman to a cafe nearby. He called back Mokoi and gave it a rewarding rest.
When Raidou entered the cafe, the air was stagnant with cigarette smoke and the voices of men and women drinking their hot drinks without a single care in the world.
''Find Kizami, Raidou. I'll wait outside.'' The cat spoke up, knowing no one else would hear the cat's words except the youngster.
The search didn't last long; Kizami was sitting with two other women at a table against the opposite wall of the entrance. She wore a innocent smile and seemed unaware that her husband was looking for her. The two other women were meaningless to the young detective, probably just friends.
''Miss Kizami.'' Raidou called out to the woman when he was close enough to their table.
Kizami recognized him and she asked her giggling friends to wait. She walked out of the cafe and gave a sign to Raidou to follow her with a teasing smile.
Outside, they walked away from the cafe and she began the conversation.
''It's been a week, Raidou. How is my husband doing?'' She asked while the urban noises covered up most of their conversation to the nearest walkers.
''Terrified. He believes you were kidnapped and that someone wants him dead. Do you have any involvement with all of this?'' He questioned the woman while the cat was walking closer to the youngster.
Her attitude changed at the end of his answer. What he just said must had shocked her.
''Is it a code or something, Raidou?'' She clumsily asked with a broken smile. ''Because if it is, I want you to stop and tell me how is my husband.''
He hit something, Gouto felt it too. The woman was no doubt uneasy.
''Miss Kizami, this isn't a code. Oto is alive and he's looking for you. He sent me to look for you.'' He explained boldly.
''What?!'' She exclaimed and pointed at him menacingly, piquing the curiosity of some passers. ''You didn't have the guts to do it or something? I want you to fulfill your part of the bargain, Raidou Kuzunoha.''
She was pissed off and Raidou was confused. Part of the bargain? What did it all mean? Kizami sighed in exhaustion and continued.
''You told me that you would do it, but I guess a full-grown seventeen year old boy can't pull the trigger so easily, can he?''
This struck Raidou as if he was hit by lightning. Was she getting at, he was supposed to kill Oto at one point? Impossible, he hadn't talked to Kizami since a week ago and hadn't seen her since. How in the world could she had talked to him?
''She might be talking about a demon who disguised as you Raidou.'' Gouto pointed out. ''Or someone who is very good at copying another.''
Finally, she shrugged at Raidou's lack of reaction.
''I'll give you the time you need to do it. Better keep your promise, Raidou Kuzunoha.'' She began to slowly walk toward him with a glamorous smile.
Before she had the time to add or do more, Raidou immediately took off, feeling suddenly uneasy. He walked away at a fast pace and stopped after the third block he passed. The young man adjusted his black hat before it flew off if he had to run again. Gouto was making a strange smirk at the youngster, as if he had just ran away from an unwanted, crazy admirer.
''I have to say, that woman sure has her ways, even in public.'' Gouto commented while Raidou was digesting what had almost happened. ''Whoever is copying you must be stopped before the Raidou's name is soiled. Raidou, let's go back to the agency and sort all of this mess out.''
He didn't even have the time to answer before he was hit with a wave of energy. Although he wasn't blown away from the energy, it was strong enough to make the youngster chilled. The cat felt it too and a few birds on the trees suddenly flew away.
''Raidou.'' The black cat dryly said, before both of them ran toward the wave's source.
They backtracked their own steps. As they got close to the source, they felt a demonic energy growing in the air. To anyone's else's eyes, everything was normal, but Raidou saw the change and passed through an invisible wall transporting him and Gouto into a twisted, reddish version of the Capital.
This place, the opposite image of Capital, is simply named the Dark Realm. In this other world, demons roam and live in it. Nobody knew why demons existed or who created them, but a few believe they originated from human's emotions and beliefs, created by the collective ideas of a being and that being turned into a demon. An overall good theory, given the fact the Dark Realm of the Capital is ruled by demons, but their goal is similar to the humans in Capital. They all want to live by their own rules and become dangerous when a human intrudes in their world.
Raidou was on the lookout for the origin of the Dark Realm's opening. It was uncommon for the demonic world to become so powerful, unless something was trying to get out that was by all means something to keep in the other dimension.
Echoes of a woman's laughter dominated this sector of the Dark Realm. Raidou ran toward the laughs with Gouto at his side, hoping they weren't too late to defeat the freed demon.
The sounds of fighting haunted the Dark Realm and Raidou took not long to find the source of all the chaos.
In the same street where he had talked to Kizami, he found not only the joyful wife, but the husband too. He was injured and had bruises everywhere on his body. The man was cowering in front of his wife. He must have followed Raidou without him noticing.
Between the couple, a red demon dog chained to Kizami's hand was barking and yelling at the cheating man.
''LIAR! PERVERT! KILL! KILL FOR MASTER!'' The demonic canine barked at the scared man as it tried to pull as hard it could to bite the man's head off.
In his cowering position, Oto saw Raidou and Gouto advancing rapidly to the injured man. In a single second, the youngster was in front of Oto, sword ready in his hand and his poncho moved behind him to form a cape, revealing his Devil Summoner equipment to the woman.
''Oh, Raidou,'' said the master of the red demon. ''I see you like to play it rough.''
It was Kizami, but something was off. First, the demon she was holding up by a chain was a Garm, a lesser demon who could sing the incoming of the apocalypse by its howls and impossible to tame by Summoners and even Devil Summoners. The demon should have broken her arm by his strength alone with the numerous times he jumped and pulled the chain to its limits. Third, she was holding a golden chalice filled with a red boiling liquid; the object had an powerful, eerie aura around it. Fourth, she was the source of the Dark Realm's fissure.
''Impossible, could she be the source of the Dark Realm's instability?'' Gouto said, surprised and short-breathed by the reveal of Kizami's involvement.
''My oh my, Raidou, I definitely love you. You know how to please a woman. First, you gave me this and now I can do... that.'' She had only lifted the golden chalice to her lips, when Raidou shot the chalice away from her hand with his pistol. ''I didn't see that coming.''
She clapped her hands together and a group of magnificent, blonde women with bat wings were summoned in the air above Kizami. They moaned at the sight of the two men and tried to attract them with sexual gestures.
''I'll leave you with my friends. See you later, Raidou Kuzunoha.'' She then disappeared with the Garm.
''Raidou, protect Oto at all cost, we can't let these succubi go away with him.''
On the words of his advisor, Raidou took out two tubes out of his outfit and called upon the names of two demons.
''I summon you, Alraune and Nue!''
In a burst of green light, a beautiful woman tangled in thorny vines and a strange yellow beast with a dark head and a snake tail appeared in front of the Devil Summoner.
''A Devil Summoner? That's going to be fun.'' chuckled one of the succubi. ''Go! And drain them all of their delicious life!''
In a matter of seconds, the succubi dived towards the summoner and his demons.
''Alraune, trap them!'' ordered the summoner to the rose spirit.
''As you wish, darling!'' The flower demon focused and vines covered with thorns burst out of the ground and grabbed several of the diving succubi. ''Darling, I can't catch them all!''
''Keep them, Alraune. Nue, frighten the rest!''
The clueless demon suddenly awoke from his naive coma and let out a terrifying roar. The assaulting demons stopped in their dive, too scared to continue further.
''Nue, give me strength now.'' He ordered to the weird-looking demon as he prepared his pistol.
The two small round eyes of Nue opened and closed once before the demon let out a menacing roar and Raidou shot a bullet toward the commanding succubus. The bullet was filled with electric energy given by Nue and bolts came out of the bullet, electrocuting all the succubi, before passing through the leader in the forehead.
All the demons fell on the ground electrocuted as Raidou took a breath before calling his demon back. He didn't feel any more demons around him. As he was looking around, he saw the golden chalice he shot out of Kizami's hand. He walked calmly over to the brilliant artifact and grabbed it. At a glance, the chalice had lost its aura and powers. The boiling liquid was spilled on the cursed ground, absent of any supernatural powers. For a strange reason, the gunshot didn't even scratch the demonic artifact. However he came back to reality, after being yelled at from behind.
''What the hell was that all about?! Wh-What were these things? Oh god... Oh my god...'' Oto was turning insane. It's true that regular humans who stay too long in the Dark Realm go mad, but Oto had only stayed in for a couple of minutes and he was already changing. It showed the pitiful mental power of the poor man. Raidou didn't have any choice but to take the injured man out of the Dark Realm before his madness took a hold of him. He held on the chalice and helped out Oto getting out of the Dark Realm.
Special thanks to Bonnia for the beta-reading.