Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale

by Nick Cranford

  John listened to Samuel’s advice and reimagined his soul. It was the same pale blue sphere as it had always been, but now something was indeed different. He reached out and took hold of it and this time it had a different feel. He could rotate the soul in his hands now, allowing him to see every part of it. The two halves no longer bled together, and instead a definite line could be seen between them.

  “I see it!” John marveled. “You were right.”

  “Indeed.” Samuel replied. “Now show me your blade. Only your blade.” He ordered.

  “I will.”

  John focused on the half of his soul that represented his Extension. He took hold of the half in his mind as his body reacted to his will. His right arm darted up to the top of his back and took hold of the place where his sword lay. This time was definitely different. John’s eyes flew open as he drew his blade. He could feel the heat on his back as the flames created a sheath for him to pull his sword from, his muscles tensed and coursed with energy, and his hair stood unnaturally on end, though there was no inferno around his body to herald his transformation this time. He brought the sword around and held it in front of him. The feeling of the hilt in his hands was something he hadn’t felt in a long time, not since the first time he had called it out. Thought it had only been a few weeks, it seemed so long ago.

  “Excellent.” Samuel praised John’s success. “Both your Extension and Protection require a good deal of energy to call out so there is no need for you to waste excess power unless you need to.” He explained. “And on that note, how about that sparring match?” He asked.

  “I’d love to.” John smiled at the chance to test his metal against another.

  In a flash, Samuel rushed forward. Even though John had been given ample warning, surprise was on Samuel’s side. The sudden motion and speed of the action had pushed John onto an early defensive. Samuel’s blade came down hard onto John’s and it pinged loudly with a metallic clang as it reflected away. Having successfully repelled one strike, John pushed himself into the actual fight. He brought his blade down toward Samuel in an act of retaliation that was quickly repelled. Slowly the two swordsmen began to get into a rhythm in their match.

  Fighting someone with a sword of near equal size was vastly different than what John was used to. The only other blade he had previously crossed was that of the Demon just a few days before. It had only been a dagger, and hadn’t really given John much of a chance to really test out his skills, but now that wasn’t the case. Against Samuel, John could really feel at home as a swordsman. The way their blades struck against each other in perfect tandem, the sound of metal on metal, the fear of death lingering in the air… something just felt right about it.

  The sword fight had fallen into a somewhat monotonous rhythm in a very short amount of time. Their blades struck against each other left and then right. As if sensing John’s assessment of their battle, Samuel’s strikes suddenly increased in both speed and strength. John didn’t have a problem keeping up with them; he could track the movement of Samuel’s blade just fine, it was blocking them that became the problem. Each subsequent strike was harder than the last as the Slayer slowly started to overpower John. It became harder and harder to match Samuel blow for blow, to the point that fighting him head on was now out of the question; John could tell that much.

  John thought for a brief moment as he attempted to parry Samuel’s attacks. Suddenly he came up with a somewhat workable solution. He allowed himself to be backed up against one of the cafeteria’s tables before he made his move. As Samuel slashed horizontally with his sword, John quickly rolled backwards onto the table behind him. The action allowed him to dodge Samuel’s attack by mere inches and also gave him the opportunity to strike from above. The attack would have worked against any other opponent, but Samuel seemed to be something different. He managed to call off his assault and back away just in time. He looked up at John with a slight smile on his face, as if he approved of John’s tactic, before he pressed his attack even harder. Any high ground advantage that John may have had atop the table was soon lost as Samuel joined him. He jumped up and continued the fight without missing so much as a single beat.

  John brought his blade down onto Samuel’s just before he ran out of table to stand on. As their swords repelled each other, John took a quick look behind him before leaping a few feet to the next table. He managed to get a good footing before Samuel jumped the gap to join him as well. With his footing in place, John readied himself for a new attack; but he didn’t expect Samuel’s strike to be so heavy. Samuel had raised his blade above his head as he jumped and brought it down hard onto John’s awaiting sword. The force of the attack was much more than John had prepared for and so the muscles in his arm strained to hold both blades up. Forcing as much power into his limbs as he could, John forced Samuel’s sword off of his own claymore before backpedaling even more.

  As John jumped toward another empty table behind him, he noticed something. There was no one sitting in the cafeteria anymore. He knew how late at night it was, but there had been at least a dozen or so people sitting inside the room moments before. No tables were occupied, yet there were still trays and cups scattered about. It was almost as if everyone had simply abandoned their seats. And that was when he saw them. There were dozens of people standing against the wall over by the two elevators. Dozens of them, and they weren’t quiet; John had been so focused on the fight at hand that he had ignored them all. They cheered as the two Slayers’ blades clanged off each other and suddenly John was filled with a strange feeling, almost like he wanted to give them a show.

  “Come on!” Samuel shouted. “You’re not using a shield, you have a sword! Use it!”

  The strangest feeling filled John at Samuel’s remark; he had the strongest urge to wipe that smirk right off of Samuel’s face. His confidence built up within his body, fueled by the cheers of the men and women that watched from the sidelines with eyes opened wide. John ceased his backpedalling and brought his right foot down hard onto the table’s surface. He pushed off of it with all of his might and sent himself toward Samuel. His sword strike was easily repelled, but instead of moving backwards as he had before, he allowed himself to slide off of Samuel’s sword to the right.

  “You want a sparring match?!” John shouted as he moved past Samuel. He leaped from one table to another. Once he his foot had made contact with the table’s surface, he quickly turned on his heel. The shoe squeaked loudly against the hard surface before John propelled himself again. “I’ll give you one!” He shouted as he swung his blade at Samuel. The attack played out the same way, and when he slid off Samuel’s blade again, he jumped to another table to repeat the process.

  The attacks caused the crowd to cheer in excitement, even though they were unsuccessful. Samuel turned and blocked John’s strikes with his own blade, but that didn’t slow John down. He moved quickly from table to table, jumping and striking at Samuel each time. With each step he made he seemed to be moving faster as he made a triangle around the stationary Slayer. His fast motions, though unsuccessful, managed to do one thing right: Samuel was now on a defensive. John’s rapid strikes from all sides had managed to force Samuel to become a stationery target. Even though Samuel easily blocked each strike that came at him, he wasn’t going anywhere, and the crowd went wild.

  “Using superior speed and agility against me?” Samuel mused as he shook off another attack. “A wise tactic.” He praised.

  “Thanks!” John gladly accepted the compliment just as he struck against the metal of Samuel’s sword once more.

  “There’s just one problem with your technique.” Samuel said with a smile. A tense air filled the room as the crowd suddenly went silent. They stood on edge as they awaited his next words. “Are you sure you’re faster than me?”

  “Wha-“ John wasn’t even allowed a sentence.

  There was a loud snap that resonated throughout the room. Each and every person that stood on the sidelines watched with eyes wide ope
n as John slashed into nothing but air. Samuel had vanished, causing John to simply swing his sword hard at nothing. He quickly recovered from his failed attack and looked left and right but found no sign of the man. Suddenly the crowd began to cheer, and as they did John felt a presence behind him. He made a motion to turn and suddenly felt cold steel against his neck.

  “Looks like this is my win.” Samuel’s stated from behind him.

  “What the hell was that?!” John shouted as he jumped forward and turned around.

  Samuel stood directly behind him with his sword raised. The blade was turned sideways so that no sharp edge had come in contact with John’s neck. He smiled and shrugged as he lowered his blade back into its sheath. A small tornado of fire circled around the sword as it vanished from sight. With that done, the crowd began to disperse. John could hear their contented laughs as they returned to whatever it was that they had been doing, their late night distraction now over. John could hear them as they left. “Not bad for the new guy.” He heard one say. “Yeah, I didn’t expect him to hold out as long as he did.” Another agreed. “He went toe-to-toe with Samuel; he’s got to be good.” One more chimed in. Though it had been a loss, his confidence wasn’t completely destroyed.

  “Just a basic soul spell.” Samuel stated as he stepped down from the top of the table. “This one in particular was Jump. It’s what allowed me to get behind you so easily; I’m surprised you didn’t see it coming.”

  “A soul spell?” John echoed as he sheathed his sword. The flames burned up around the blade as it vanished and his hair dropped down into place once more. Slowly he dropped down onto the floor next to Samuel. “What’s a soul spell?”

  “You… you mean you don’t even..?” Samuel was caught off guard once more. If only John could have used his display of ignorance in their fight, he might have won. “She didn’t teach you much of anything, did she?” He asked.

  “Aerin? No.” John answered. “I don’t think she’s a very good teacher.”

  “Well, John, it would seem some things never change.” Samuel said with a nostalgic glint in his eye. “Come, sit.” He motioned for John to sit down at one of the tables. “I’ll explain everything to you.”

  “Alright.” John quickly took a seat across the table from him.

  “A soul spell is a physical manifestation of a Slayer’s will, using souls as a medium.” Samuel explained.

  “Souls.” John repeated.

  “Yes. They’re our greatest weapon. They let us use the raw energy contained within a soul, or a set of souls, into a technique of our choosing.” Samuel crossed his arms and leaned back slightly as he spoke. “Every time we slay a demon, se steal their soul. We use them to fuel our most powerful abilities.”

  “That’s… That’s kind of grim.” John observed.

  “Indeed, but it is our line of work. This is what we do. If not for us, then humanity wouldn’t stand a chance.” Samuel stated.

  “I see.” John couldn’t argue his point. “So do soul spells use magic? If they do then I’m out of luck.”

  “Yes, I heard about your condition.” Samuel said as he straightened up placed his hands on the table. “Fortunately for you, soul spells are spells in name alone; no magic is required. If it was a magical ability any run-of-the-mill mage could use them, but that isn’t the case. Use of soul spells are limited to Slayers only, it’s an inherent ability we all share.”

  “That’s good then.” John said with a sigh of relief. “So other than… Jump, what kinds of soul spells are there?” He asked.

  “Thousands, most likely.” Samuel stated much to John’s surprise. “Like I said before, it’s a physical manifestation of the Slayer’s will; therefore, most Slayers create their own spells as they grow. Most are lost with their creators, but some like Jump are passed on from Slayer to Slayer.”

  “What about you then? Have you made any?” John asked.

  “I have one.” Samuel replied. “It’s a powerful spell that I haven’t used in… years.” He suddenly fell silent as his eyes closed. Samuel looked to be lost in thought as he sat there. “You know.” He suddenly stood. “That was a good match, John. I haven’t been able to test my blade against another for quite some time now. I’d like to teach it to you.”

  “Really?” John asked in disbelief. He didn’t know what was in store, but felt extremely honored.

  “Yes.” Samuel held out his hand toward John. “Hold out your hand.” He said.

  John quickly stood from his seat. He looked down at his own hand and then back to Samuel’s before reaching across the table. Samuel grabbed onto John’s forearm, and John did the same to Samuel. There was a wave of intense heat that suddenly washed through John’s body. He felt his muscles convulse throughout his arms and legs as his mind became hazy. It was as if he was remembering something he had forgotten long ago.

  “What… What was that?” John asked while nearly out of breath. Samuel released his arm and John fell back down onto his seat. He raised his right hand and stared at it.

  “Heaven’s Fury.” Samuel stated as he sat back down. “It allows you to turn the negative energy of the land into a single, concentrated attack. The pain and sorrow of the earth will become your source of power, giving you the strength to scorch your enemies with a righteous fire.”

  “Oh wow.” John was awestruck as he imagined the attack. He could see it so vividly in his mind, to the point that it felt like a memory.

  “It’s a terribly powerful technique.” Samuel said. “Only to be used in the direst of circumstances, and as such it requires ten souls to cast. Any less and the attack will be weakened, resulting in a waste of souls.”

  “Ten souls?” John echoed.

  “Yes.” Samuel nodded his head once. “At the moment I sense five within you, other than your own of course.”

  “Wait… five?” John said as he thought back over the course of the last two weeks. “How is that possible?”

  “Well, how many demons have you slain?” Samuel asked.

  “Three.” John answered. “There was the first one with Aerin. Then there was the man on the airplane. The last one was the fire demon from earlier.” He said, recounting all of his battles.

  “I see.” Samuel scratched his jaw in thought. “The Fire Elemental would give you four, one for each stage of its life. And the other two should be worth one a piece.” Samuel hummed to himself. “Strange, you should be carrying six then. Think back to the other two fights; are you certain you finished them off with your blade?”

  “What difference does it make?” John asked.

  “Slayers steal a Demon’s soul with their extensions, which in our case are our blades. If you don’t steal the soul then it will be cast into the void and, given enough time, will return again.” Samuel explained.

  “It has to be the first fight then.” John said as he crossed his arms. “I cut him in half, but he tried to take us both out in an explosion.” John closed his eyes as he realized what had happened.

  “That has to be it.” Samuel nodded his head once. “It’s unfortunate, but these things happen.” He stood from his seat. “You’ll have ten souls soon enough, I’m sure of it.”

  “Thank you.” John nodded as he watched the man before him.

  “Don’t mention it, anything for a fellow swordsman.” Samuel said with a grin. “Perhaps we could have another match sometime?”

  “I’d like that.” John responded.

  “By the way.” Samuel stopped himself before walking away. “Meredith mentioned that she needed to see you again, something about another scan.” He said. “She should be free so you should go see her if you have the time.”

  “Right.” John said. “Did she mention anything else?” He asked.

  “No.” Samuel answered. Suddenly a slight grin crept up on his face before he turned and began to walk away. “Well, she did say to go easy on you.”

  Samuel smiled back before walking away, leaving John with a stupid grin on his face. He thoug
ht he had done well, but Samuel was only humoring him from the start. John shook his head and sighed, there was still a long way to go. The whole ordeal wasn’t an entire bust, though; John was able to test his blade against a real swordsman and the whole fight was a perfect training experience. The idea of having regular matches with Samuel seemed like an appealing idea to John, and he made a mental note to ask him for training in the future.

  He took one last look around the cafeteria; the place was nearly deserted now as the time approached 1am. Having no need to stay, John made his way over to the elevators. He hit the call button and stepped inside as soon as one arrived. Once inside, he hit the button for the tenth floor – Meredith’s office. The lift quickly sped up the six levels before slowing to a crawl and finally opening up to the hallway leading to the two large oak doors. John approached them and knocked a few times.

  “Come in!” Meredith called out from inside the room.

  John pushed on one of the brown doors and it groaned as it slowly opened. The room inside was dark. The large window behind Meredith’s desk was obscured by the thick red curtains that hung before it, cutting off any light from the nighttime Los Angeles Skyline. The only illumination within the room came from a small lamp that sat atop the wooden desk and from the computer monitor that blocked John’s view of Meredith. As he drew closer he noticed something odd, two pink ears extended upward. One stood straight up while the other was folder over slightly on itself, like that of a bunny. Once he got close enough, John could see that the ears were attached to Meredith’s head, or rather to a hood that was part of a pink one piece pajama. The outfit, coupled with an apple juice box that dangled precariously from her lips, gave off an immensely childish vibe. John shook his head and did his best to keep himself from laughing.

  “You needed to see me?” John asked.

  “Yep.” Meredith answered as she took the juice box out of her mouth. “Go ahead and sit down.” She motioned to a chair in front of the desk; the same one John had already sat in before. “Juice?” John looked up to see Meredith holding another small box in her hands.