Queen's note: Does the Slayer know what the hell was going on before? Nope. Does he like the little thing he found? Yep. Does he care there are other around? Nope!

Garnets

Chapter Thirty Nine:

The Unchained One

It was such a curious thing, to see the quiet spreading in the near mob, only by two, three, six, ten people at a time after he pushed the first two humans aside. The stillness spread as eyes turned to him as he gave a low, constant growl.

He was always reminded of the size difference by picking up his human, feeling how Lily seemed to have no real weight to him. It had been confusing to see the starving humans [and hollowed out human shells] in the cultist base.

Yet at the same time the Slayer had gotten used to being on the shorter side of things for the past several dozen centuries with the Argenta. Even the civilian ones averaged at seven feet tall, the Night Sentinels were a bit larger in build and bulk of working, fighting muscles.

Hells, Mila still had a good half foot of height on the Slayer when he was in armor and she was out of it. The Slayer himself was an even seven foot, or just under seven foot depending on the armor and boots he wore. Asa or Galin in their weakened states could still bunch a human's weight. Or throw him if he let them.

That might help Galin get some confidence back, if the Slayer made it seem like the younger man won a sparring fight. Like he used to do for the apprentices of the Sentinels.

He still did not understand what was happening around him, did not know why he had to resist the urge to rip something or crush it in his palm. So he had to use very controlled motions to nudge the humans aside. Other humans?

The Slayer suddenly felt anything but human, as most barely cleared his lower chest. Eyes looking up at him in that painful mix of fear and awe, more the former as the ones directly in front of him pressed back into others, getting their attention and the opening spread wide enough that he could step forward at a slow pace.

It was surreal for him, and he tried not to use his full stride so as not to step on anyone once noticing some humans had been crouching in the crowd as if losing nerve. Others did fall out of his way.

Much like the smaller group he had interrupted, almost everyone had some sort of container with the SW marking.

…salt water?

The Slayer swung his head from left to right, unable to help the low growling still walking forward. Trying to understand what was happening, but even as he was able to focus again the context clues were quickly fading as attention turned to him.

"Pray that their scourge in hell, the one they fear more than any weapon or will of man," The voice on the radio spoke from behind, oddly clear where it had not been before. The Demigod had to make himself not look back, but it let out another low snarl in his own frustration before pausing as he heard something familiar in the background of the broadcast that was breaking in a gargling rasp. "Pray with me, that Unchained Predator of their hell comes my brothers and sisters."

He had a path clearing a bit faster now and could use his full stride as a result. The almost mob breaking and loosening, and going deathly quiet in the back to one side was starting to draw attention to the hulking armored form towering. The size got another illusion of a greater difference between them as the nearest were reflexively bending away or dropping.

The guards were distracted, giving a warning yell that came as they fired at something on the other side of the barricade, three had to dive out of the way as something vile and toxic was lobbed upwards at the barricade.

The humans were screaming now in fear, scattering and helping to push or pull others out of the way, around him. One of the guards fell off the other side of the barricade as his fellows opened fire at whatever was there. The civilians tracking the glob of green, yellow and black and scattering more, some had to bolt back down the street to make room and get away.

Above a hovercraft banked and swung to start letting out its cargo hold of seawater despite heading to the group of humans.

The Slayer was launching forward over the humans as the glob of toxic, rotting bile splattered on the ground. Not directly hitting any one person but several were hit by the secondary splash. He did not think, but reacting as there were different tones of shrieking pain. The Slayer did notice how those with not as much of the bile splashed on them were getting grabbed and the marked bottles were being dumped on the rotted acid substance.

He only had a moment to register that there was one human writhing in the now open space between the demigod and the barricade as he was hit the worst.

The long blade snapped out of the gauntlet on his left arm, the Slayer hit the half burned human in the head with the side of his blade to shock them into being painless. Then gave swift mercy no one else around was able to think of, all in the time of four steps and the barricade to start to buckle.

It was a Mancubus that rammed half way through just as the tail end of sea water descended from the sky. The demon howled as it struggled from the burn, humans were scattered and knocked farther away, some back over the barricade. Perhaps the only good thing was that everyone that had been affected by the toxic bile was now washed clean, but there would now need to be plenty of road rashes and near drowning to be taken care of.

The only thing still standing, or half crouching against the force of the water dropped was the green and tan armored giant of a man. He was standing back up and lunging forward to the bloody head of the Mancubus. Hitting it with first his blade and then the full force of his fist to the suddenly horrified howl of the demon.

The blade slipped its mark just slightly digging through the exposed skin and if it had a brain in the 'proper' place, it would have been a full killing blow.

It did cripple the demon into a shock state as the Slayer grabbed one of its tusks and yanked backwards with his right hand. The left hand grabbing over the deformed, splitting cyclops eye.

He recognized what that meant, the Slayer was very aware of most all stages of life and nonlife of demons. This Mancubus was between the hulking larva stage that had been messed with on mars, and the bigger, even more dangerous adult stage. With the single eye starting to split into two, its vision was all but crap, so it had to rely on smell to find prey.

All that fear stink and anger of the humans had attached it over.

Now it seemed to be vastly regretting its choice to come over. A towering monster that had started to toy with the mortal souls, to spike even more fear to help it grab at smaller bodies… it was shrieking as one of the lower mandibles extended out farther than they should, and then ripped out from the jaw. The severed jaw parts flung aside started to char and burn as its head was systematically torn apart. The demigod used his blade to leverage an anchor as the Mancubus struggled to pull back. It finally yanked itself free by using its mass with a sickening crack as its head was split, partially open, bleeding black blood and leaking its bile through the ripped throat.

A dangerously pleased sound came out of the newcomer as he followed the Mancubus through the shipping container to the other side. Brightly glowing blue eyes flashed under the visor as the Unchained Predator focused completely on his own prey now. His boots splashing through the salt water as he passed the surprisingly alive, though heavily burned guard. Not as bad to need an instant mercy, so he was ignored as the Slayer followed the much bigger demon crawling backwards away from him.

There, that was enough distance, and he leaned forward slightly. The launcher on his back extended back up to drop a primed grenade into a waiting hand. It was almost too fast for anyone to see as the Slayer triggered and threw the grenade down the gullet of the Mancubus juvenile.

For the lack of a better term, the choking demon… popped and then imploded into itself as it melted into the same toxic bile in its gut that it could spit or channel through modified organs. Melting it's own burning remains.

For a moment, the Demigod was the sole attention of seemingly every living being. The struggling humans behind him, the suddenly still demons in front of him in the park. Even the hovercrafts above seem to still.

The Slayer stopped a foot forward and roared a deep, primordial sound that was so inhuman despite a faint echo of a human voice. The sound caring as he pulsed his power as he almost let himself slip into a gloriously burning moment of rage.

The demons still alive or half alive from being hit by the dumped water seemed horrified. Even the Mancubus' brood mates pulled out of the church to swing around to the new and so blatant threat. Most of these demons were if not new spawns then near it, so they had never seen the Slayer personally.

It was as if instinctively that they reacted to the awareness of him there. A desperate, and not so coordinated attack to focus on their nightmare. The predator of demons one might say.

A futile attempt, but the same demons that towered over the green and tan figure, that could rip and rend humans apart while alive… where now the ones seemingly being effortlessly ripped apart. With no higher class demon to coordinate them, it was disappointedly short of a time to finish the half horde off.

The Slayer had noticed something odd about the other two Mancubus. They were more like the native hell ones, but oddly altered. Just not in a way those of hell would do.

He knew far too much of hell's bio-weapon demons, and something was wrong about this. But they were weakened more than the first of the creatures, making it harder to get a good look. He just had to cleave through one's stomach to start imploding, and snapped his blade down the throat of the last to the main brain in its chest.

That one popped a little too close to him, enough to cover his whole back side. It did not fully hurt, but the acid did smart on his exposed upper arms.

The Demigod had to use up some of that energy he got from the faith before, to trigger his inner fire. Burning off the residue off him as the Slayer shook himself. His praetor suit would need to be submerged for some time before being affected by that stuff, but part of him remembered the humans as he stood and rolled his shoulders.

He also wanted to be able to touch someone without being the reason they burned and melted.

The Slayer paused, once sure the assorted fluids on him had burned on, he squinted. Struggling to control himself and pull back the rolling heat and power off himself.

A zombie-like possessed, limping and burned by salt water was the last demonic thing standing was staggering over. Arms lifted and half blinded, it gave a rasping cry of battle as it charged.

It really sounded like a sob.

So much so that the Slayer slowly turned and watched the thing come run-staggering over at him. Its feet dissolved as it slipped through the pools of dropped water.

Of all things, this thing had the Slayer tilting his head and coming completely away from the edge of all consuming rage.

His confusion did not stop him from grabbing the shambler by the neck and lifting it. There was definitely something like a sob this time as the demon now wanted away from what it was trying to attack.

Well, this was rather sad.

The Slayer gave a quick shake as he squeezed, breaking the possessed neck, and then relieved the shambler of its head with a swipe of his blade. Letting it fall into death ash and char, as he looked around for anything else around. The Slayer only found the humans he bypassed and then the broken door to the church opened.

It was definitely older humans that had been inside, left to die or bait the demons?

He was still not sure about what was happening with the groups here, and tried to stall for time by giving himself a good shake. Getting rid of the clinging char from burning the demonic… bits off him. It did not help as he was still not sure what was wrong with the humans now that the demons were gone. Why must everything stare at him now?

Vega. The Slayer signed as he stood in the open, if now soggy park. My small flower? Safe?

He belatedly remembered what the AI had said before getting overwhelmed.

"Miss Lily is having a breakdown it seems," Vega responded honestly, "Valen has her, and the Sentinels are also showing signs of stress from the new class of demon. They called it a 'wretched.'"

The Slayer grunted at that, reaching up to his helmet as he turned to look at the church. Turning down the music but not turning it off as he took a really good look at those there. Dead demon?

"It is quite dead now." Vega assured, "Captain Mila is getting everyone, and the survivor back into the store they were originally getting supplies from."

That was good.

"...are you real?" A soft, older voice asked. Bringing the Slayer's attention back to the group he had been staring at.

He tilted his head, and then shrugged as the only answer to that question. How could one answer that as it was?

The slayer walked over to the church, looking around as something seemed oddly familiar about it. Not this exact building but something about it… Huffing, the Slayer focused on the humans leaning back from the door from him, and then he turned. Walking back where he had come from.

He winced in his helmet at seeing the remains of the human he had to end to save them from suffering. Yet he could not sense a soul anymore, it had passed to wherever souls left when not caught by hell.

Demigod looked up as he realized the humans that had been so loud and active not long ago were all still and quiet. Watching as he stooped to pick up that injured guard by the chest plate and lifted him off the ground over the pool of water mixed with toxic bile. Dropping him beside the other guards as the Slayer back tracked, not exactly sure where to go and then freezing as someone dropped.

One of those from that smaller group at first was on their knees, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Hm?" The slayer gave a low, rough sound as he felt the sudden spike of belief, almost faith spread in his gut. He held so very still as many of the staring people were kneeling down, or just dropping down in shock. He was not really sure what to do but his attention was distracted by something small again. Starting at the little one signing frantically in the back to someone holding her down.

The Slayer saw dirty blond hair and it reminded him of Lily even if it was a bit darker. He did not really think about moving over that way, just suddenly finding himself over there and crouched in front of the small human. The one holding her let go to scramble away, all but tossing the girl between them as if in a learned reflex. Leaving the child alone in front of the hulking armored man.

Why hurt? The Slayer signed at the girl once she looked up at him. What makes you scared? Demons dread.

Monster, monster. The girl signed back, eyes wide that someone else signed back at her. Her eyes rolled at who had been holding her head down. Help? Help please? Save me from monster? He made momma sleep with demon monsters.

The Demigod tilted his head, and then just picked the small one up. His skin and armor were still warm but not too hot anymore. He rumbled a low note at the child as she grasped his chest plate. Can take? Small thing have anything you want to take?

Cat? Momma gave me? The girl had massively wide eyes, starting to cry as she grinned. Something was saving her? Really truely?

I like cats. The Slayer signed around the girl as he stood up. It was not a lie, as he did like the cats in the gardens. They just did not like him.

"Where the fuck are you trying to take her?" The man pushed back over, desperately reaching to grab at the girl and almost yanked her off of the arm she was now sitting on. "Heather's mine! I'm in charge of her with her mother gone. They owe- she needs to- it's mine!"

The Demigod growled as he stepped forward, one foot planted between the smaller man's legs as he came right into and almost through the metaphorical personal space bubble. A massive hand closed around the smaller man's wrist and almost his full forearm. Feeling more the hearing something creaking in the caught joint. The Slayer had to concentrate to slide his thumb up the inside of the wrist and then up into the palm to push, watching the man yell as he finally let go of the girl.

He looked between the terrified girl, and then to the man from where he was hunched. He tilted his head at the smaller human he held. "Mm?"

She pulled her shirt up, showing the cut marks, fumbling to sign. Monster hurts me.

The Slayer squeezed his right hand, feeling fragile human bones breaking as he stood up, tossing the smaller man aside.

Yep.

This tiny thing was his now.


Reviews!

XFireStoneX: he's here and the demons are now dead :3 Glad you liked it!

Red Viy: External from what I've seen is very much Slayer vs Hell with humanity along for the ride. I'm so happy you like my story so far .0.! And he differently made one hell of an impression so far, even if the big guy has NO IDEA what to do with the humans now. he just sort of wants to go back to the Fortress and sit with his emotional support human.