Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale

by Nick Cranford

  "Afraid not." John answered. "We've got some unfinished business to deal with here."

  "Figured as much." Hatchet stated as he reached out and shook John's hand firmly. "Make sure two give 'em hell." He urged with a wink. "Good seeing you, good times." Hatchet turned but quickly stopped himself as he remembered something else to say. "Oh yeah, Aerin." He began. "I'm pretty sure this one here is a keeper." He smiled and motioned towards John. "You might want to hang on to him."

  "Get out of here!" Aerin pushed against him, attempting to force him into the SUV.

  "Yeah, yeah, we're gone!" Hatchet stepped up into the SUV as Ghost did the same.

  "Take care of yourselves!" John called out as he waved.

  "See you two later!" Diamond waved as the SUV pulled away.

  John and Aerin were left standing in the middle of the street as the SUV disappeared into the distance. For a second, everything was still. The sound of gunfire had long since faded, and nothing else could be heard. But the peace was quickly broken once again.

  "My… my…" A familiar voice spoke up. "I thought they would never leave."

  Aerin's eyes opened wide upon hearing the voice. John glanced over and watched her as she processed her thoughts. Her eyes fidgeted back and forth slightly as she thought. Slowly, she looked up to John.

  "That voice..." She spoke. "Is that...?" She slowly turned around to face where the voice had come from.

  "It is." John confirmed her suspicions. "This is our unfinished business."

  The Demon sat atop a busted light pole some twenty feet away. He wore the same plain white t-shirt and blue jeans as he had before. His short hair stood perfectly still in the windless expanse of the barrier, only moving occasionally as he swung his legs back and forth. His eyes remained shut as he grinned a wide smile that almost ran ear to ear, the same smile that gave John the creeps.

  "It is so good to see you again, Angel!" The demon exclaimed as he threw his arms up.

  "You..." Aerin seemed to be at a loss for words.

  "In the flesh!" The demon almost laughed at his statement.

  "I didn’t expect to see you again so soon." Aerin stated as she crossed her arms. "What hole did you manage to crawl out of?"

  The demon smiled at her words. He thrust his legs forward before suddenly pulling them back. The action made him slip forward off of the light pole and he gracefully flipped forward down to the ground. He landed hard and stood into a bow, as if awaiting praise for his performance.

  "The deepest… darkest hole imaginable." The demon stated. "And I missed you two so very much."

  "Right then." John had had just about enough. He reached behind him and pulled his blade from its burning sheath. "How about we get right down to business."

  "That does sound like a plan!" The demon agreed gleefully.

  "Back me up, Aerin." John instructed as he glanced over to her.

  "Two on one again?" The demon observed with less of a grin than normal. "No matter."

  He brought his arms together into an x in front of him again and focused hard. Beads of light began to form around his palms before he clenched his fists tightly. His twin swords suddenly burst forth as the black aura from before swirled around him again. He swung his swords about before swinging them down by his sides.

  "Woah, what?!" Aerin shouted in disbelief.

  "Yeah, that's a thing." John said with a sigh. "You ready?" He directed towards the demon as he gripped his sword tightly in front of him.

  "Let's dance!" The demon shouted.

  John and the demon rushed directly at each other. John raised his sword and brought it down just in time to catch a sweep from both of the demon's blades. Their fight began slowly, with one clash after another, but quickly it began to pick up. The demon's blades moved faster. One after another, they swung forward until it was almost as if John was fighting a buzz saw. He did his best to counter each and every attack, but two swords was a difficult task to keep up with. John could feel the difference in their skill, though. Unlike John, who had trained nearly every single day for two months and who had also experienced multiple trials by fire, the demon seemed amateur at best. His strikes were powerful and fast, but just like Samuel had observed in John before, his attack carried no weight.

  Aerin stood at the edge of the fight. She wasn't exactly sure where to jump in. John clearly had everything under control, despite how it looked. He countered every single blade swung at him with quick precision before retaliating with an attack of his own. Suddenly, their blades collided and slid all the way down to the hilt, where they locked together. John forced his weight against the two blades as the demon attempted to do the same against him.

  "Whenever you feel like jumping in!" John called out in Aerin's direction.

  "Right!" She shouted as she snapped to attention.

  She clapped her hands together quickly as a small ring of Cyphers spawned between her palms. She allowed them to grow until they were about a foot in diameter before thrusting her hands forward. The spell flew quickly towards the demon, but it never struck its target. What happened next couldn't have been expected. The demon shunted forward against John suddenly, breaking their sword lock, before raising his left blade into the air. As the spell neared him, he brought his scimitar down on to it. The blade cut through the spell like a hot knife through butter, sending two separate halves careening out of control into the side of a building beside him.

  "You!" Aerin shouted.

  "Are you kidding me?!" John shouted in disbelief. He felt robbed, and possibly violated at what he had just seen.

  "What?" The demon shrugged with a smile. "I thought it was a pretty neat trick."

  An explosion rang out in the distance. A wall on one of the upper floors of HUNTER had exploded, sending shards of broken glass and chunks of concrete to plummet to their doom. In the midst of the falling debris, John sensed two spirits; both he could easily identify. One was Samuel's, he could recognize his spirit from a mile away, and the other was William, the man he had encountered earlier. The two of them fell downwards toward the roof of the parking deck. They hit with a loud thud that sent a cloud of dust into the air around them, obstructing any more view.

  "Aerin!" John shouted, looking back to her. "That was Samuel! Go check on him, I've got this."

  "Okay!" Aerin nodded. Her wings flapped once and she was off and out of sight.

  "You're distracted, Slayer!" The demon shouted.

  He ran forward with both swords raised high above his head. He aimed to bring them down in one quick, crushing blow. As his instincts flared into action, John quickly countered. He swung his sword into the air as he sidestepped the first blade. His sword caught the second in the hilt and flung the weapon from the demon's hand. It spun end over end before coming to rest in the dirt nearby. With a serious look on his face, John looked into the demon’s eyes and spoke.

  "No. You're distracted."

  Aerin circled over the parking deck as she felt around for Samuel's spirit. After a few tries, she finally got a reading, but it was faint. She swooped down and landed on the roof of the parking deck and made her way over through the cloud of dust. Up ahead, Samuel was leaning against a concrete wall that came up to his waist. His sleeveless grey shirt was tattered and his pants were torn. Scratches covered his body here and there, but nothing seemed too critical at first glance.

  "Samuel!" Aerin called out as she approached.

  "Aerin?" Samuel was surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"

  "Are you alright?" She asked as she began to search him over.

  "Yes, yes. I'm fine." Samuel assured as he attempted to wave off her search. As he did, blood slung from his arm and splattered against the concrete wall. "I'm... I'm fine."

  "Your arm!" Aerin's eyes went wide at the sight of blood. A steady stream of red liquid was now pooling at Samuel's foot. "You're hurt."

  "This?" Samuel raised the arm to his attention. He watched as the blood poured out of a gash that he hadn't noti
ced before. "This... is nothing. You should see what I did to William." Samuel forced as much of a smile as he could to assure her.

  "Where is William?" Aerin asked. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't felt his presence, nor had she seen him.

  "I... He was right in front of me." Samuel attempted to recall. His expression changed to something very serious as he thought. "Watch yourself, Aerin." He said. "I can't sense him anymore. He must be suppressing his spirit."

  There was an uneasy stillness that began to settle on the rooftop. Aerin took a step back away from Samuel as she closed her eyes. Samuel gripped his sword tighter as he, too, focused on the area around him. Suddenly the dust in front of him parted as a sword tore through. Samuel quickly raised his own blade and managed to block William just in time.

  "Oh what's this?" William spoke with a smile. "You need a little backup, Samuel?" He goaded as he glanced over at Aerin.

  "No... In fact, she was just leaving." Samuel stated as he glanced over to her. "Aerin, go look for Meredith. I lost sight of her upstairs."

  "Right!" Aerin nodded in agreement before taking off once more.

  She could hear the sound of metal clashing together beneath her as she ascended toward the hole in the wall Samuel and William had created. The hallway inside was quiet and an eerie feeling began to creep into the back of Aerin's mind as she advanced inside. The rooms that had been so full of life just days before were now bare and empty. Not a single thing stirred as she made her way deeper into the building. Aerin closed her eyes and walked slowly, hoping to reach out and feel Meredith’s tale-tale energy signature, but to no avail. There was nothing to be felt inside, the building was empty.

  Suddenly, she felt a presence. She leaned against a wall and peered around the corner ever so slightly. There was a slight humming sound that steadily grew closer. At the end of the hallway, a series of spinning rings came into view. The rings spun round and round themselves to the point of almost appearing like an actual sphere. Aerin recognized the Throne immediately.

  She quickly averted her gaze as her heart began to beat faster. It had been a long time since she faced it. She breathed in deeply and clapped her hands together as silently as she could manage. A series of rings of her own spun between her palms as the Cyphers grew larger. After a moments worth of mental preparation and one last deep breath, she jumped out of her hiding place. She thrust her hands forward and fired a rapid burst of spells toward the Throne like a machine gun. To her dismay, though, the spells impacted against the yellowish barrier that surrounded the machine and did no damage.

  The rings instantly locked in place in her direction. She dove out of the way into a nearby room as it fired. White hot light ran the length of the hallway, burning everything in its wake. As soon as the beam ceased, Aerin made a run for the door. She used the Throne's cooling cycle as an opportunity to put some distance between her and it. Unfortunately, distance didn't matter to the Throne. It turned and fired its beam through a wall in the direction Aerin had run. She could feel the intense heat at her back. Everything from wood to glass to concrete was razed to mere ash.

  Aerin ran as fast as she could before she was burned like everything behind her. The beam ceased and she immediately ducked into a side room. She did her best to steady her breathing and suppress her spirit as she heard the low hum enter the hallway behind her. The Throne approached, its rings twitching as it surveyed the hallway before it. Aerin's heart beat fast in her chest and she prayed that the machine would float on by. Suddenly, the wall beside her burned white hot before the beam spilled through. Aerin rushed out of the room just in time to avoid the same fate the wall was currently experiencing.

  The beam quickly dug its way towards her. With nowhere left that she could see, Aerin slapped her hands together and deployed the strongest shield she could muster. She closed her eyes and braced herself just as the beam connected with the shield. It strained heavily on the magical wall and forced her backwards. The beam sprayed in all directions off of the surface of the shield and Aerin did her best not to scream out in pain as her body was assaulted with a horrendous heat.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Aerin felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her chest. The Throne's beam suddenly changed directions. It fired up into the celling, zigzagging back and forth uncontrollably. Through the shield, Aerin could barely make out what was happening. A small figure was mounted firmly atop the Throne's backside. It was Meredith.

  She had descended from the ceiling above and straddled the Throne as a cowboy would a bull. She braced herself against the lower rings as she pulled hard on the upper ones. Through effort that Aerin hadn't imagined she was capable of, Meredith pulled one of the rings free, forcing the Throne into its cooling cycle. The beam ceased and Meredith immediately flipped around to the front of the machine. She reared back and quickly delivered a punch to the Throne's "eye". With each subsequent hit, it let out a terribly high pitched whine until it finally fell to the ground. Meredith pulled herself off before turning to Aerin, who had already come running to her side.

  "You alright?" She asked as she brushed her hair from her face.

  "Yeah, I'm fine!" Aerin answered. "That was awesome!"

  "I guess I am pretty-" Meredith cut herself short as she sensed something. "Move!" She shouted before taking hold of Aerin's hand.

  Thousands of icy shards suddenly came through the ceiling. They tore through the concrete like a hail of bullets, ripping and shredding everything in their wake. Meredith pulled Aerin through the thick of them, bobbing in and around, miraculously side stepping them all. What ones she couldn't avoid, she blasted away with a barrier that she quickly erected overhead. The torrent stretched on in every direction, down every hall, it almost seemed endless.

  Suddenly there was a terrible sound. The floor beneath them groaned as a large crack ripped between them. Aerin let go of Meredith's hand as she fell down, the floor just behind her had given way and caused her to lose balance; likewise, the ground in front of Meredith had fallen through as well, sending the small Angel tumbling down to the level below. Aerin landed hard on her back as she slid down the slanted slope.

  Just when Aerin thought she had come to a stop, a large concrete slab from the ceiling above her came crashing down into the floor just beside her. The force was strong enough to shatter the ground she had come to rest on and she tumbled down to the next floor below. Each floor began to pancake down into the next, sending Aerin on a wild ride that she wanted desperately to get off of as soon as possible. For a brief moment Meredith appeared in front of her. The small girl had fallen through with a large portion of debris. Aerin reached out for her hand just as the floor gave way again, pulling her back down and out of sight.

  As she fell, Aerin had slowly been getting closer to the side of the building. The walls cracked and buckled as Aerin slid towards them. She scrambled for something to grab onto, but nothing was going to hold for more than a few seconds. She brought her hands up to cover her face just in time to slam into the wall as it busted to pieces. The familiar feeling of falling filled Aerin as she opened her eyes. She had fallen right out of the building through a hole that had opened up. She quickly flipped herself around to see a sea of concrete falling towards her, far too much to attempt to fly through. In the blink of an eye she brought her hands together and created a small spell which she detonated in her hands. The explosion was enough to propel her out of harm’s way enough to unfurl her wings again. She stretched them wide as she glided out and away from the HUNTER building. For the most part, the collapse had come to rest somewhere around the 5th floor. The exterior was still mostly intact, but plumes of dust that had been forced out of every window made it hard to see.

  "Aerin!" Meredith shouted as she flew next to her. Long, flowing black wings stretched from the small girl's back. "Are you alright?"

  "I'm fine." Aerin assured as she flapped her wings to keep her aloft. "Now let's deal with her." She said as she looked upw
ard.

  Irileth floated high above. Her large, icy blue wings flapped in time, holding the small girl in place. She looked down at Aerin and Meredith as she surveyed all below her. A frown crossed her face as she slowly descended toward the two girls.

  "You broke my toy." She said flatly.

  "And I'm going to break you next!" Meredith's voice was filled with anger.

  "Oh?" Irileth smiled as her demeanor changed. "There's the fire I've been waiting to see." A smile slowly crept up on her face.

  "Fire?" Meredith echoed. "I'll show you fire!"

  "You want a duel between Dragons?" Irileth's smile grew even wider. "I'll give you your duel!"

  The gap in power was quickly becoming apparent once again to Aerin. She could feel two monstrous wells of energy rising up beside and in front of her. On instinct, she slowly backed away. A terrible fight was about to break out and she wasn't keen on being in the middle of it.

  The fight almost stopped as the HUNTER building nearly imploded. John glanced over quickly and watched as the windows of the upper floor shattered and dust clouds shot out. He felt around for Aerin's presence as best he could without closing his eyes. The act of swinging his sword while scanning for a spirit was daunting, but somehow he did it. After a moment, he had a lock. He could feel Aerin's spirit in the air above the building. She was in good health, much to his relief, and to make matters even better he could feel Meredith beside her. On the other hand, he sensed the other girl's presence as well. John trusted Meredith and he quickly shook any worry from his mind as he returned to more important issues at hand.

  Suddenly there was an explosion of fire and ice that ripped through the grey sky high above. John took another moment to glance up at the bright show of force before quickly turning his attention back in front of him. Ever since he had knocked the demon's second blade out of his hand, the fight had dramatically picked up the pace to something John was more accustomed to. Their blades clashed together in rapid repetition that sent sparks dancing around them as they moved up and down the street.