Categories > Original > Fantasy > Eternal Requiem
Arrangement 3: Revenge Knows No Mercy
0 reviewsA new stranger arrives intent on looking for Sai. The Devil-Human's past comes back to him and he must make atonement for the sins he has commited as a mercenary, at least, according to the stranger.
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Eternal Requiem
Arrangement 3: Revenge Knows No Mercy
A.N.: Hey guys! It's been a while huh? Well the long wait is over and I finally have this chapter all ready.
“Sai! Hold on!” Jessie picked up her pace in order to keep up with the Devil-Human. “Wait!” For some reason, Sai was walking faster, which didn’t allow Jessie time to stop and look at the food and other items on display in the multiple stands around them. They arrived at a small festival only a few minutes ago and Sai was already acting weird.
She walked next to him and barely managed to keep pace. “You’ve been acting strange since we got here. What’s going on?”
Sai talked just loud enough so she could hear him over the noises of the festival. “Keep your head forward and don’t look back.” Jessie nodded and looked ahead. “Someone’s been following us ever since we got here.” Jessie gasped but remained facing forward.
“W-Who do you think it is?”
“I don’t know.” Sai spotted an exit and walked in its direction.
“D-Do you think it’s someone from that mercenary organization?”
“I just said I don’t know,” he nearly yelled in frustration, but managed to keep his tone down.
“Sorry.”
“But,” he started again, “it’s a possibility. He could be a bounty hunter as well. Either way we need to leave and may have to confront him.” Jessie started to shake a little. Sai looked at her and saw her face once again contorted in fear.
“Don’t worry, chances are it’s just some amateur bounty hunter that got lucky.” ‘Or, it could be the commander with a hundred soldiers waiting for us at the exit.’ Sai thought, doubting what he just said. “If he were an expert, he would have been able to conceal his presence.”
His attempt to calm her down seemed to have worked, but she was still nervous about the possibilities.
Half an hour after they left the festival, they were walking along a barren trail no one else seemed to be using, except Sai, Jessie, and their stalker. Even after thirty minutes of walking, he continued to pursue them, staying roughly a hundred feet back.
Sai had just about had enough and was ready to confront their pursuer. He stopped so suddenly Jessie almost didn’t notice. He turned and saw the man still casually walking towards them. The closer the man got, the more details of him Sai could see. He looked around Sai’s age, had brown hair, wore a blue jacket, something wrapped with cloth on his back, and a broadsword which hung from his waist.
But what was most distinctive about him was how he glared at Sai as he walked. He never once took his eyes off the Devil-Human, not even for a second. Who was this guy?
The man stopped about thirty feet away from Sai and continued to stare with, Sai noticed, deep hatred in his eyes.
“Alright asshole,” said Sai losing his patience with this guy, “who are you and why the hell are you following me?” The man said nothing. “Are you a bounty hunter? Or maybe some new recruit from the Organization?” The man continued to glare at Sai silently. “Answer me!”
“You make me sick!” He finally spoke. “You and every lowlife you work for! You go around killing people for money and then kill anyone else around just for fun. The Dead Snakes are a bunch of sick, greedy bastards!”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You mean you don’t remember? I suppose not. Ruining people’s lives must be common as a Dead Snakes mercenary, so how could you remember it all. Allow me to remind you. Four months ago in New Gamdon, there was a big party where two gangs tried to pick a fight with each other. Then, the Dead Snakes came and you killed the leader of one of the gangs, who happened to be a Devil-Human.”
The guy’s story did sound familiar to Sai. “Yea… I think I remember. So you’re here to get revenge on your dead leader?”
The man shook his head. “I’m not a member of any gang or group. I was just a regular guy there to have fun with my friends Jason and Allison. And…” the man seemed as if he had a hard time trying to say the next few words, “… because of you damn mercenaries, Allison is dead!” A single tear slid down his face.
“Cleanup.” Said Sai. “Basic protocol for completion of a mission; kill all witnesses in order to keep the authorities from interfering with business.”
The man wiped his face and proceeded with his hate-filled glare. “Call it whatever you want, but murder is still murder!”
“I never once stayed for cleanup, so I didn’t kill your damn girlfriend!”
“I know you didn’t. I’ll never forget who did. The man with the double-barreled Gun Sword.”
Sai’s face darkened. “Captain Maires.”
“Yes. And at Allison’s funeral, I swore I’d get revenge and take down the entire Dead Snakes Mercenary Organization.”
Sai grinned and started to laugh. “You’re an idiot. Do you really think a single person could take down an entire worldwide organization?”
“I don’t care how big it is. I will find a way to get people to help me take them down. I already have my friend Jason, the leader of the Insurgents, helping me out. He’ll be able to recruit more people for help. Being a Dead Snakes member, I’m sure you know about the Insurgents.”
Of course Sai know about them. The Insurgents were a large group of people who attacked Station B about three months ago. Strangely enough, there was a series of sudden Demon attacks around the city at the same time, preventing them from continuing their assault on the organization. Though, Sai doubted they would have been successful. The organization is more powerful than they think.
“Since I found you, you’ll be my first victim.”
“Hold on, you’re a little late to want to get revenge on the Organization through me. I’m a renegade now. I refused to obey my captain and attacked him, so now they’re hunting me down.” The man looked doubtful at Sai. “If you don’t believe me, just go to some bounty hunting agency. You’ll no doubt find a hit on my head.”
The man was unsure of what to say at first but his stare remained constant. “Well then… even if that’s the case, I’m still going to kill you.”
“What? Didn’t you just hear me?”
“Oh, I heard you,” he said sounding aggravated, “but the reason I was so intent on pursuing you wasn’t because you were a Dead Snakes member. I’ve been searching specifically for you.”
“Me? Why’s that?”
“Because…” the stranger grabbed the long item wrapped in cloth from his back and held it at his side, “… you killed my master, Alastor!”
“Alastor? Why does that name sound…” and then Sai remembered. Alastor was the name of the powerful Human that almost beat Sai a month or two ago.
“Judging by the look on your face, I’d say you actually remember him.”
Sai’s body tensed. “How could I forget? He was the only Human I ever fought that nearly killed me.” Sai focused on the stranger and suddenly remembered something else. “You were the guy that came running to him after I killed him.”
“That’s right. And if you hadn’t run away to lick your wounds, I would have killed you then, you damned Devil-Human.”
Sai’s eyes widened in surprise, then returned the glare. “So… you know.”
“Damn right I know, and it explains just how you could be a heartless murdering monster. You are one! A vile, disgusting, wicked monster which cares for nothing but bloodshed and won’t hesitate to perform such evil, unforgivable sins.”
“SHUT UP!” Sai positioned himself ready to fight. “I’m sick and tired of you humans telling me what I am!” He gripped his sword and started running. “I don’t give a shit who you think you are, but I’m not going to let you talk like you know me!” Sai unsheathed his blade and attacked with all the strength he could muster.
Clang!
Sai’s eyes widened in shock. The stranger had easily blocked Sai’s strike with the cloth-wrapped item in his hand. But before Sai could react, something struck him in the chest sending him flying backwards and landing next to Jessie.
“Sai! Are you alright?” She said kneeling down next to him. The Devil-Human sat up and saw the stranger holding the item outwards, which was what Sai was struck with apparently.
‘What the hell! I didn’t even see him attack!’
There was a tear in the cloth where Sai’s katana struck it, so the stranger unwrapped it, revealing his weapon: a halberd. It was a 2-sectioned halberd that folded in half at the middle of the staff. The stranger unfolded his weapon revealing its length to be more than ten feet, and held his weapon in a ready stance.
“Don’t insult me Devil-Human. Take out your second sword and fight at full strength.” Sai was speechless. How could this stranger know about his second sword? “Don’t tell me you’re surprised. Remember, I saw you kill my master. You were down on your knees with your sword knocked far away from you and left arm broken. Master held his Bladed Rifle high above his head ready to deliver the finishing blow, but you pulled out your second sword and slashed right through his heart.”
“Oh yea, that’s right.” Sai stood up and pulled out the other sword, ready to fight for real. In a burst of speed, Sai charged again at the man attacking with two simultaneous strikes, but again the intruder blocked both with amazing quickness and struck another blow at Sai’s chest with the butt-end of the halberd.
Sai stumbled back again, but recovered quickly and was on the offensive again. But every one of his attacks seemed pointless as the stranger easily blocked every single one. Sai tried to change it up by adding a few kicks, but the man dodged, cut Sai’s arm, and followed it up by spinning in a circle and smashing the pole into the Devil-Human’s face, knocking him to the ground. The stranger thrust his weapon down towards Sai, but he managed to roll out of the way and on his feet in time. Sai looked to see that the stranger took his time to take his weapon out of the ground. It was then that Sai realized something.
‘He’s toying with me! The goddamn bastard is toying with me!’
“You damn asshole! Quit screwing around and fight me for real!” Sai ran at him, pissed off at a whole new level.
The stranger calmly closed his eyes. “As you wish.”
What happened next, Sai could have never imagined would happen. In the blink of an eye, the stranger had rapidly thrust his weapon at Sai in a barrage of stabs, too fast to see every attack. It seemed to Sai as if hundreds, no, thousands of blades were assaulting him so fast that he didn’t have a chance to even react.
The attack happened in less than a second and was over as quickly as it began. Sai’s body flew through the air and tumbled across the ground like a rag doll before finally stopping on his back.
Sai lay motionless on the ground, his body covered with deep gashes. The blood which seeped from them stained his clothes as well as the earth beneath him.
‘S-Shit… what the hell happened?’ He tried to move his body, but he couldn’t even feel anything, much less move. His vision grew hazy and slowly started to fade. ‘Damn it. Is this really it… the end of my life?’ His eyelids grew heavy and the darkness consumed his vision completely. His ears could no longer hear any sound, except for a faint rumbling from deep within his soul.
“SAI!”
The stranger ignored Jessie’s cry and slowly walked to the motionless body, savoring the moment. He was going to finally get revenge for his master and achieve one of his major goals. “Fate has dealt you a cruel hand Devil-Human, but don’t worry, your life of pain and suffering will soon be over.” He lifted the halberd and approached the Devil-Human ready to make the killing blow.
“No!” Jessie ran up to the stranger and grabbed the arm he held his weapon in. “Please! Don’t kill him! Not Sai! Please!” She gripped his arm trying with all her might not to let go.
“Stay out of this, girl!” Having lost his patience, the stranger swung his arm hard and knocked Jessie to the ground. “This is between me and-” Out of the corner of his eye, something came at him like a flash and he quickly jumped back. When he landed, a tear appeared on the sleeve of his shirt.
“What…” He looked to where the attack came from and was shocked to see what was there. Sai was on his feet. Hunched over, but on his feet regardless.
Jessie looked and saw her companion up and a happy and relieved smile spread across her face, only to be wiped away as fast as it appeared. “Sai?” Something was different about him.
The man noticed this as well. Sai’s nails and canines became more pointed, hair more feral, and eyes; his eyes were completely different. They were a deeper shade of red and had a blank, yet beastly look to them. The stranger heard a deep, animalistic growl escape the Devil-Human’s throat.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Then the answer came upon him. “Oh, I see. This must be the Demon from within, finally coming out. Master told me about this. When a Devil-Human is near death, the Demon from within starts to come out and take control of the body.” He readied his weapon again. “You’re even more of a beast than before!” He charged and used his great speed to approach Sai quickly, but the Devil-Human also charged and swiped his hand with greater speed than before. The stranger didn’t anticipate this and barely managed to dodge. Now following up his sidestep, the stranger spun in a complete circle and put all his strength into an attack at the Devil-Human’s face.
Tang!
The stranger’s eyes widened, completely astonished. The Devil-Human had actually caught the blade of the halberd with his teeth! “I-Impossible!” Sai stared directly at his opponent looking like an angered beast. Blood dripped down from the sides of his mouth where the blade slightly cut it, but they actually looked like they were already healing. “What kind of monster are you?” And it wasn’t until he heard the sound of cracking that the stranger realized his weapon was breaking under the pressure of the Devil-Human’s bite.
The stranger jumped back, but it was too late, as the blade of his weapon completely broke into pieces. He stared perplexed at the remaining staff where the head use to be and back at the growling beast in front of him.
“Okay then. I guess that means you won’t be taken down as easily. Nevertheless,” the stranger grabbed the hilt of the broadsword at his waist, “I will take you down in the next strike.” He pulled the blade out of the sheath and held his new weapon at the ready. Sai backed up a little getting ready to charge.
“Bring it on you monster!”
The Human and Devil-Human charged at the same time. In an instant, they both passed each other swinging at their opponent so fast that both attacks looked like they hit nothing. But that was quite the contrary of what the stranger’s attack did.
“ROOAAAARR!” A bloodcurdling shriek of pain escaped from Sai’s throat. Blood sprayed everywhere out of a long gash on his chest made by the stranger’s attack and he fell to the ground.
The stranger landed safely on his feet, but as his foot touched the ground, he felt a warm liquid on the side of his face. He put his hand to his left cheek and was surprised to feel his own blood trickling from three cuts made by the Devil-Human.
“No!” Jessie ran up to Sai and knelt down over him. “Sai! Please get up! Sai! Sai!” She shook him in a desperate attempt to wake him up, not caring if she got blood on her hands. “Please Sai!”
The stranger turned around and looked at the unconscious Devil-Human. ‘Maybe I underestimated him, a little…’ Regardless, he approached Sai once again. “Get out of the way girl. He’s my prey, and I won’t let anyone stop me from achieving my goal.”
Jessie looked over her shoulder and watched the stranger get closer. Gathering all her resolve, she stood up in the stranger’s way with her arms outstretched, protecting Sai. She looked directly into his eyes.
“No! I won’t let you hurt Sai!”
The second his eyes met hers, his body froze completely. Eyes widening in complete shock, the stranger couldn’t move at all. He stood there for a long time staring at the girl’s Emerald-colored eyes.
“S-Samantha?” he said barely above a whisper. ‘No! S-She can’t be! Samantha is…’
Regaining control over his movements, the stranger turned his back to her, thought for a second, and swung his sword to get the blood off it. Once again, he stood for a while not knowing what else to do.
Then, sheathing his sword, he finally spoke. “Fine. I’ll spare him this time. Only this time.” He walked towards the shattered remains of his halberd’s blade and gathered them up. “Tell me, what is his name? His full name.”
Jessie was surprise with the sudden change in him. “His name? It’s Saishu. Saishu Tenryu.”
“Tenryu…” The stranger walked to the pole of his halberd, picked it up, folded it in half, and tied it across his back. “My name is Hunter Ericson. Make sure to tell him that. And, I will kill him next time we meet.” Hunter glanced at Jessie one more time and walked off on the path the way they came, leaving Jessie with the unconscious Devil-Human.
The silhouette of a familiar figure approached from a long distance away. The scenery was blurred; only the figure’s details were slightly distinct, and became more so as it approached. Her calming eyes were the first things noticed and the other details started to come into vision, but suddenly, the scenery was set ablaze around the figure. The intense fire consumed the now visible surroundings; cottages, houses, and trees. The flames seemed to rise to the heavens, but the figure continued to walk closer. Then instantly, the figure fell forward and lay in a pool of blood redder than the surrounding flames. From behind the fallen figure, another one appeared, hunched over with bloodied claws and teeth. It’s dark hair and blood-red eyes became more feral and charged forward, bellowing a loud, ear-splitting roar.
“Son of a bitch!” Sai jerked awake and swiped a hot ember off his arm. Then he sat up, instantly feeling great pain on his chest. He looked down and saw a bandage wrap on his chest and stomach.
“Be careful!” He heard someone yell and saw Jessie crouch next to him. “You’ll reopen your wounds if you do that! If you’re going to sit up, do it slowly.” She pulled a log to his back and adjusted his shirts which she had used as a pillow for him, letting him slowly lean back.
Sai looked down at himself again and saw all the bandages and wrap on him. “Did you do this?”
“Yea. It’s a good thing I took first aid in middle school, huh?” She grabbed Sai’s first aid box lying on the ground next to him. “But I used up all of it.”
Sai’s head snapped up. “Shit!” He looked around suddenly remembering the battle earlier. “Where’s that damn asshole!”
“Well, that’s the weird thing. After talking so much about wanting revenge, he just suddenly decided to leave.”
“What? He left?”
“Yea. Strange huh?”
Sai looked down again at the bandage wrapped over the huge gash made by Hunter’s broadsword. “When did this happen?” He said running his hand along its length. “I don’t remember him slashing at me with his barrage of stabs.”
“What? What do you-”
“Did he do this after I passed out?”
‘He doesn’t remember what happened?’ She thought back on how scary Sai was when the ‘Demon from within’, as Hunter called it, fought. Remembering its image made Jessie shiver slightly.
“Oh,” she started remembering Hunter’s message, “he said his name is Hunter Ericson, and he said the next time you meet, he really will kill you.”
“Ericson…” Sai thought for a moment, and then smirked. “Heh, fat chance asshole.”
Hunter stopped to rest on a stump in the middle of the forest. He dressed the cuts on his cheek and sat back, thinking about his encounter with the Devil-Human. He went over the whole battle in his head, all the way up to the point when that girl stopped him.
‘How is that possible? She looked exactly like her.’
He opened his eyes and contorted his face as if concentrating on something. Then, the scenery around him started to change. The trees surrounding him started to disappear one by one, the grassy earth changed into rough gravel, and three figures were appearing before him.
Standing in front of him was himself, the girl, and the Devil-Human on the ground behind her. It was the scene that happened just a few hours ago, where the girl was able to stop him in his tracks. But, the scene was still. Only Hunter, the one who stopped concentrating and stood up, was moving.
He walked over to the girl and got a good look at her. Raven hair, pale skin, and gentle, emerald colored eyes.
Then once again, he concentrated and the scenery started to change. Tall buildings appeared, the gravel became cement, and three different figures appeared.
He stopped concentrating and looked at the three new people. In the middle; a seventeen-year-old Hunter. To his left; his best friend Jason. And to his right; a fourteen-year-old, raven haired, pale skinned, gentle, emerald eyed girl.
“Samantha…”
Author's Note: Left you at a bit of a cliff hanger, eh? Don't worry, the next chapter is shorter and will pick right up were I left it.
Hmm... I was going to answer some questions we got here, but I think I'll leave those for the next chapter. Instead, since some people have been asking for me to give more detailed descriptions of the caracters, I'll give you some extra info here.
Saishu (Sai) Tenryu
age: 18
birthdate: September 7
height: 6'
weight: 164lbs
nationality: Joraikan
species: Devil-Human
hair color: black
eye color: black (red when using Demon Eyes)
appearance: shoulder length hair; fair skin; black cloak (not cape, and there is a difference); black shirt; dark blue jeans; slight build
personality: quiet, cold, calm, short tempered
Jessica (Jessie) Yamamori
age: 17
height: 5'
weight: 110lbs
nationality: Joraikan
species: Human
hair color: black
eye color: green
appearance: long hair that reaches middle back; pale skin; dirty, brown cloak; old worn down clothes; skinny
personality: kind, gentle, shy
Yea, I know I missed Hunter, but I'll save him for next time.
See ya!
Arrangement 3: Revenge Knows No Mercy
A.N.: Hey guys! It's been a while huh? Well the long wait is over and I finally have this chapter all ready.
“Sai! Hold on!” Jessie picked up her pace in order to keep up with the Devil-Human. “Wait!” For some reason, Sai was walking faster, which didn’t allow Jessie time to stop and look at the food and other items on display in the multiple stands around them. They arrived at a small festival only a few minutes ago and Sai was already acting weird.
She walked next to him and barely managed to keep pace. “You’ve been acting strange since we got here. What’s going on?”
Sai talked just loud enough so she could hear him over the noises of the festival. “Keep your head forward and don’t look back.” Jessie nodded and looked ahead. “Someone’s been following us ever since we got here.” Jessie gasped but remained facing forward.
“W-Who do you think it is?”
“I don’t know.” Sai spotted an exit and walked in its direction.
“D-Do you think it’s someone from that mercenary organization?”
“I just said I don’t know,” he nearly yelled in frustration, but managed to keep his tone down.
“Sorry.”
“But,” he started again, “it’s a possibility. He could be a bounty hunter as well. Either way we need to leave and may have to confront him.” Jessie started to shake a little. Sai looked at her and saw her face once again contorted in fear.
“Don’t worry, chances are it’s just some amateur bounty hunter that got lucky.” ‘Or, it could be the commander with a hundred soldiers waiting for us at the exit.’ Sai thought, doubting what he just said. “If he were an expert, he would have been able to conceal his presence.”
His attempt to calm her down seemed to have worked, but she was still nervous about the possibilities.
Half an hour after they left the festival, they were walking along a barren trail no one else seemed to be using, except Sai, Jessie, and their stalker. Even after thirty minutes of walking, he continued to pursue them, staying roughly a hundred feet back.
Sai had just about had enough and was ready to confront their pursuer. He stopped so suddenly Jessie almost didn’t notice. He turned and saw the man still casually walking towards them. The closer the man got, the more details of him Sai could see. He looked around Sai’s age, had brown hair, wore a blue jacket, something wrapped with cloth on his back, and a broadsword which hung from his waist.
But what was most distinctive about him was how he glared at Sai as he walked. He never once took his eyes off the Devil-Human, not even for a second. Who was this guy?
The man stopped about thirty feet away from Sai and continued to stare with, Sai noticed, deep hatred in his eyes.
“Alright asshole,” said Sai losing his patience with this guy, “who are you and why the hell are you following me?” The man said nothing. “Are you a bounty hunter? Or maybe some new recruit from the Organization?” The man continued to glare at Sai silently. “Answer me!”
“You make me sick!” He finally spoke. “You and every lowlife you work for! You go around killing people for money and then kill anyone else around just for fun. The Dead Snakes are a bunch of sick, greedy bastards!”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You mean you don’t remember? I suppose not. Ruining people’s lives must be common as a Dead Snakes mercenary, so how could you remember it all. Allow me to remind you. Four months ago in New Gamdon, there was a big party where two gangs tried to pick a fight with each other. Then, the Dead Snakes came and you killed the leader of one of the gangs, who happened to be a Devil-Human.”
The guy’s story did sound familiar to Sai. “Yea… I think I remember. So you’re here to get revenge on your dead leader?”
The man shook his head. “I’m not a member of any gang or group. I was just a regular guy there to have fun with my friends Jason and Allison. And…” the man seemed as if he had a hard time trying to say the next few words, “… because of you damn mercenaries, Allison is dead!” A single tear slid down his face.
“Cleanup.” Said Sai. “Basic protocol for completion of a mission; kill all witnesses in order to keep the authorities from interfering with business.”
The man wiped his face and proceeded with his hate-filled glare. “Call it whatever you want, but murder is still murder!”
“I never once stayed for cleanup, so I didn’t kill your damn girlfriend!”
“I know you didn’t. I’ll never forget who did. The man with the double-barreled Gun Sword.”
Sai’s face darkened. “Captain Maires.”
“Yes. And at Allison’s funeral, I swore I’d get revenge and take down the entire Dead Snakes Mercenary Organization.”
Sai grinned and started to laugh. “You’re an idiot. Do you really think a single person could take down an entire worldwide organization?”
“I don’t care how big it is. I will find a way to get people to help me take them down. I already have my friend Jason, the leader of the Insurgents, helping me out. He’ll be able to recruit more people for help. Being a Dead Snakes member, I’m sure you know about the Insurgents.”
Of course Sai know about them. The Insurgents were a large group of people who attacked Station B about three months ago. Strangely enough, there was a series of sudden Demon attacks around the city at the same time, preventing them from continuing their assault on the organization. Though, Sai doubted they would have been successful. The organization is more powerful than they think.
“Since I found you, you’ll be my first victim.”
“Hold on, you’re a little late to want to get revenge on the Organization through me. I’m a renegade now. I refused to obey my captain and attacked him, so now they’re hunting me down.” The man looked doubtful at Sai. “If you don’t believe me, just go to some bounty hunting agency. You’ll no doubt find a hit on my head.”
The man was unsure of what to say at first but his stare remained constant. “Well then… even if that’s the case, I’m still going to kill you.”
“What? Didn’t you just hear me?”
“Oh, I heard you,” he said sounding aggravated, “but the reason I was so intent on pursuing you wasn’t because you were a Dead Snakes member. I’ve been searching specifically for you.”
“Me? Why’s that?”
“Because…” the stranger grabbed the long item wrapped in cloth from his back and held it at his side, “… you killed my master, Alastor!”
“Alastor? Why does that name sound…” and then Sai remembered. Alastor was the name of the powerful Human that almost beat Sai a month or two ago.
“Judging by the look on your face, I’d say you actually remember him.”
Sai’s body tensed. “How could I forget? He was the only Human I ever fought that nearly killed me.” Sai focused on the stranger and suddenly remembered something else. “You were the guy that came running to him after I killed him.”
“That’s right. And if you hadn’t run away to lick your wounds, I would have killed you then, you damned Devil-Human.”
Sai’s eyes widened in surprise, then returned the glare. “So… you know.”
“Damn right I know, and it explains just how you could be a heartless murdering monster. You are one! A vile, disgusting, wicked monster which cares for nothing but bloodshed and won’t hesitate to perform such evil, unforgivable sins.”
“SHUT UP!” Sai positioned himself ready to fight. “I’m sick and tired of you humans telling me what I am!” He gripped his sword and started running. “I don’t give a shit who you think you are, but I’m not going to let you talk like you know me!” Sai unsheathed his blade and attacked with all the strength he could muster.
Clang!
Sai’s eyes widened in shock. The stranger had easily blocked Sai’s strike with the cloth-wrapped item in his hand. But before Sai could react, something struck him in the chest sending him flying backwards and landing next to Jessie.
“Sai! Are you alright?” She said kneeling down next to him. The Devil-Human sat up and saw the stranger holding the item outwards, which was what Sai was struck with apparently.
‘What the hell! I didn’t even see him attack!’
There was a tear in the cloth where Sai’s katana struck it, so the stranger unwrapped it, revealing his weapon: a halberd. It was a 2-sectioned halberd that folded in half at the middle of the staff. The stranger unfolded his weapon revealing its length to be more than ten feet, and held his weapon in a ready stance.
“Don’t insult me Devil-Human. Take out your second sword and fight at full strength.” Sai was speechless. How could this stranger know about his second sword? “Don’t tell me you’re surprised. Remember, I saw you kill my master. You were down on your knees with your sword knocked far away from you and left arm broken. Master held his Bladed Rifle high above his head ready to deliver the finishing blow, but you pulled out your second sword and slashed right through his heart.”
“Oh yea, that’s right.” Sai stood up and pulled out the other sword, ready to fight for real. In a burst of speed, Sai charged again at the man attacking with two simultaneous strikes, but again the intruder blocked both with amazing quickness and struck another blow at Sai’s chest with the butt-end of the halberd.
Sai stumbled back again, but recovered quickly and was on the offensive again. But every one of his attacks seemed pointless as the stranger easily blocked every single one. Sai tried to change it up by adding a few kicks, but the man dodged, cut Sai’s arm, and followed it up by spinning in a circle and smashing the pole into the Devil-Human’s face, knocking him to the ground. The stranger thrust his weapon down towards Sai, but he managed to roll out of the way and on his feet in time. Sai looked to see that the stranger took his time to take his weapon out of the ground. It was then that Sai realized something.
‘He’s toying with me! The goddamn bastard is toying with me!’
“You damn asshole! Quit screwing around and fight me for real!” Sai ran at him, pissed off at a whole new level.
The stranger calmly closed his eyes. “As you wish.”
What happened next, Sai could have never imagined would happen. In the blink of an eye, the stranger had rapidly thrust his weapon at Sai in a barrage of stabs, too fast to see every attack. It seemed to Sai as if hundreds, no, thousands of blades were assaulting him so fast that he didn’t have a chance to even react.
The attack happened in less than a second and was over as quickly as it began. Sai’s body flew through the air and tumbled across the ground like a rag doll before finally stopping on his back.
Sai lay motionless on the ground, his body covered with deep gashes. The blood which seeped from them stained his clothes as well as the earth beneath him.
‘S-Shit… what the hell happened?’ He tried to move his body, but he couldn’t even feel anything, much less move. His vision grew hazy and slowly started to fade. ‘Damn it. Is this really it… the end of my life?’ His eyelids grew heavy and the darkness consumed his vision completely. His ears could no longer hear any sound, except for a faint rumbling from deep within his soul.
“SAI!”
The stranger ignored Jessie’s cry and slowly walked to the motionless body, savoring the moment. He was going to finally get revenge for his master and achieve one of his major goals. “Fate has dealt you a cruel hand Devil-Human, but don’t worry, your life of pain and suffering will soon be over.” He lifted the halberd and approached the Devil-Human ready to make the killing blow.
“No!” Jessie ran up to the stranger and grabbed the arm he held his weapon in. “Please! Don’t kill him! Not Sai! Please!” She gripped his arm trying with all her might not to let go.
“Stay out of this, girl!” Having lost his patience, the stranger swung his arm hard and knocked Jessie to the ground. “This is between me and-” Out of the corner of his eye, something came at him like a flash and he quickly jumped back. When he landed, a tear appeared on the sleeve of his shirt.
“What…” He looked to where the attack came from and was shocked to see what was there. Sai was on his feet. Hunched over, but on his feet regardless.
Jessie looked and saw her companion up and a happy and relieved smile spread across her face, only to be wiped away as fast as it appeared. “Sai?” Something was different about him.
The man noticed this as well. Sai’s nails and canines became more pointed, hair more feral, and eyes; his eyes were completely different. They were a deeper shade of red and had a blank, yet beastly look to them. The stranger heard a deep, animalistic growl escape the Devil-Human’s throat.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Then the answer came upon him. “Oh, I see. This must be the Demon from within, finally coming out. Master told me about this. When a Devil-Human is near death, the Demon from within starts to come out and take control of the body.” He readied his weapon again. “You’re even more of a beast than before!” He charged and used his great speed to approach Sai quickly, but the Devil-Human also charged and swiped his hand with greater speed than before. The stranger didn’t anticipate this and barely managed to dodge. Now following up his sidestep, the stranger spun in a complete circle and put all his strength into an attack at the Devil-Human’s face.
Tang!
The stranger’s eyes widened, completely astonished. The Devil-Human had actually caught the blade of the halberd with his teeth! “I-Impossible!” Sai stared directly at his opponent looking like an angered beast. Blood dripped down from the sides of his mouth where the blade slightly cut it, but they actually looked like they were already healing. “What kind of monster are you?” And it wasn’t until he heard the sound of cracking that the stranger realized his weapon was breaking under the pressure of the Devil-Human’s bite.
The stranger jumped back, but it was too late, as the blade of his weapon completely broke into pieces. He stared perplexed at the remaining staff where the head use to be and back at the growling beast in front of him.
“Okay then. I guess that means you won’t be taken down as easily. Nevertheless,” the stranger grabbed the hilt of the broadsword at his waist, “I will take you down in the next strike.” He pulled the blade out of the sheath and held his new weapon at the ready. Sai backed up a little getting ready to charge.
“Bring it on you monster!”
The Human and Devil-Human charged at the same time. In an instant, they both passed each other swinging at their opponent so fast that both attacks looked like they hit nothing. But that was quite the contrary of what the stranger’s attack did.
“ROOAAAARR!” A bloodcurdling shriek of pain escaped from Sai’s throat. Blood sprayed everywhere out of a long gash on his chest made by the stranger’s attack and he fell to the ground.
The stranger landed safely on his feet, but as his foot touched the ground, he felt a warm liquid on the side of his face. He put his hand to his left cheek and was surprised to feel his own blood trickling from three cuts made by the Devil-Human.
“No!” Jessie ran up to Sai and knelt down over him. “Sai! Please get up! Sai! Sai!” She shook him in a desperate attempt to wake him up, not caring if she got blood on her hands. “Please Sai!”
The stranger turned around and looked at the unconscious Devil-Human. ‘Maybe I underestimated him, a little…’ Regardless, he approached Sai once again. “Get out of the way girl. He’s my prey, and I won’t let anyone stop me from achieving my goal.”
Jessie looked over her shoulder and watched the stranger get closer. Gathering all her resolve, she stood up in the stranger’s way with her arms outstretched, protecting Sai. She looked directly into his eyes.
“No! I won’t let you hurt Sai!”
The second his eyes met hers, his body froze completely. Eyes widening in complete shock, the stranger couldn’t move at all. He stood there for a long time staring at the girl’s Emerald-colored eyes.
“S-Samantha?” he said barely above a whisper. ‘No! S-She can’t be! Samantha is…’
Regaining control over his movements, the stranger turned his back to her, thought for a second, and swung his sword to get the blood off it. Once again, he stood for a while not knowing what else to do.
Then, sheathing his sword, he finally spoke. “Fine. I’ll spare him this time. Only this time.” He walked towards the shattered remains of his halberd’s blade and gathered them up. “Tell me, what is his name? His full name.”
Jessie was surprise with the sudden change in him. “His name? It’s Saishu. Saishu Tenryu.”
“Tenryu…” The stranger walked to the pole of his halberd, picked it up, folded it in half, and tied it across his back. “My name is Hunter Ericson. Make sure to tell him that. And, I will kill him next time we meet.” Hunter glanced at Jessie one more time and walked off on the path the way they came, leaving Jessie with the unconscious Devil-Human.
The silhouette of a familiar figure approached from a long distance away. The scenery was blurred; only the figure’s details were slightly distinct, and became more so as it approached. Her calming eyes were the first things noticed and the other details started to come into vision, but suddenly, the scenery was set ablaze around the figure. The intense fire consumed the now visible surroundings; cottages, houses, and trees. The flames seemed to rise to the heavens, but the figure continued to walk closer. Then instantly, the figure fell forward and lay in a pool of blood redder than the surrounding flames. From behind the fallen figure, another one appeared, hunched over with bloodied claws and teeth. It’s dark hair and blood-red eyes became more feral and charged forward, bellowing a loud, ear-splitting roar.
“Son of a bitch!” Sai jerked awake and swiped a hot ember off his arm. Then he sat up, instantly feeling great pain on his chest. He looked down and saw a bandage wrap on his chest and stomach.
“Be careful!” He heard someone yell and saw Jessie crouch next to him. “You’ll reopen your wounds if you do that! If you’re going to sit up, do it slowly.” She pulled a log to his back and adjusted his shirts which she had used as a pillow for him, letting him slowly lean back.
Sai looked down at himself again and saw all the bandages and wrap on him. “Did you do this?”
“Yea. It’s a good thing I took first aid in middle school, huh?” She grabbed Sai’s first aid box lying on the ground next to him. “But I used up all of it.”
Sai’s head snapped up. “Shit!” He looked around suddenly remembering the battle earlier. “Where’s that damn asshole!”
“Well, that’s the weird thing. After talking so much about wanting revenge, he just suddenly decided to leave.”
“What? He left?”
“Yea. Strange huh?”
Sai looked down again at the bandage wrapped over the huge gash made by Hunter’s broadsword. “When did this happen?” He said running his hand along its length. “I don’t remember him slashing at me with his barrage of stabs.”
“What? What do you-”
“Did he do this after I passed out?”
‘He doesn’t remember what happened?’ She thought back on how scary Sai was when the ‘Demon from within’, as Hunter called it, fought. Remembering its image made Jessie shiver slightly.
“Oh,” she started remembering Hunter’s message, “he said his name is Hunter Ericson, and he said the next time you meet, he really will kill you.”
“Ericson…” Sai thought for a moment, and then smirked. “Heh, fat chance asshole.”
Hunter stopped to rest on a stump in the middle of the forest. He dressed the cuts on his cheek and sat back, thinking about his encounter with the Devil-Human. He went over the whole battle in his head, all the way up to the point when that girl stopped him.
‘How is that possible? She looked exactly like her.’
He opened his eyes and contorted his face as if concentrating on something. Then, the scenery around him started to change. The trees surrounding him started to disappear one by one, the grassy earth changed into rough gravel, and three figures were appearing before him.
Standing in front of him was himself, the girl, and the Devil-Human on the ground behind her. It was the scene that happened just a few hours ago, where the girl was able to stop him in his tracks. But, the scene was still. Only Hunter, the one who stopped concentrating and stood up, was moving.
He walked over to the girl and got a good look at her. Raven hair, pale skin, and gentle, emerald colored eyes.
Then once again, he concentrated and the scenery started to change. Tall buildings appeared, the gravel became cement, and three different figures appeared.
He stopped concentrating and looked at the three new people. In the middle; a seventeen-year-old Hunter. To his left; his best friend Jason. And to his right; a fourteen-year-old, raven haired, pale skinned, gentle, emerald eyed girl.
“Samantha…”
Author's Note: Left you at a bit of a cliff hanger, eh? Don't worry, the next chapter is shorter and will pick right up were I left it.
Hmm... I was going to answer some questions we got here, but I think I'll leave those for the next chapter. Instead, since some people have been asking for me to give more detailed descriptions of the caracters, I'll give you some extra info here.
Saishu (Sai) Tenryu
age: 18
birthdate: September 7
height: 6'
weight: 164lbs
nationality: Joraikan
species: Devil-Human
hair color: black
eye color: black (red when using Demon Eyes)
appearance: shoulder length hair; fair skin; black cloak (not cape, and there is a difference); black shirt; dark blue jeans; slight build
personality: quiet, cold, calm, short tempered
Jessica (Jessie) Yamamori
age: 17
height: 5'
weight: 110lbs
nationality: Joraikan
species: Human
hair color: black
eye color: green
appearance: long hair that reaches middle back; pale skin; dirty, brown cloak; old worn down clothes; skinny
personality: kind, gentle, shy
Yea, I know I missed Hunter, but I'll save him for next time.
See ya!
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