Chapter 1

The dust settled around Giza as the portal shrunk until it became no more than a dot. There were no living demons in sight. The soldiers set up their energy meters around to check for trace amounts of source energy while James sat atop a dead minotaur, panting. His black hair was soaked in sweat and his irises were constricted and had a red glow. He felt a tap on his shoulder.

"You okay man?"

James turned to see his closest friend, Abubakr. He had a concerned look in his eye. James raised his head as his irises returned to their normal grey color.

"I'll live," he groaned.

"It's that unstable huh?"

"Yup, I have to maintain a high level of focus to keep it under control. The core is very much alive at this point and it keeps on trying to take over."

"Amazing how you can say that without a care in the world."

"I don't let it bother me. I'll just keep on fighting until I can overcome the hold it has on me."

As the two friends talk, the commander looks at James intently from afar. His second in command approached him with the complete report on casualties.

"Sir!"

"Report!"

"We lost two special unit soldiers, eighty injured out of which fifty-seven are in critical condition. Forty-two dead and eleven have gone insane. Four demon cores were recovered."

The commander clicked his tongue.

"Sir?"

"Indomitable power is what we need! I don't get why they keep transferring the strong special units to France."

"The demons over there are said to be more ferocious."

"And what of it? They leave us with weaker sources and trainees. Letting a lot of us normal soldiers die in vain." The commander clenched his fist so hard it began to bleed. After a brief moment he let his hand free and said,

"Just imagine having more like him."

"Who?"

"He couldn't even manifest the full armor nor is his core stable. Yet with the red source, he was able to change the tide of this battle and control such destructive power."

"Oh! James Lock of the special unit. He's quite formidable."

"Hmph... Gather the dead and let's move back to base!" The commander ordered and everyone began to move slowly.

James and Abubakr were heading towards the other special unit soldiers when the energy readers spiked. There was a brief pause as every special unit soldier could feel the presence of a demon. Before they could react, a demon burst out from a pile of bodies. An energy blade extended from its upper wrist as it dashed quickly towards James. Abubakr pushed him out of the way but had his right hand (at elbow point) sliced off in the process. He screamed in pain as he rolled on the ground with blood gushing out uncontrollably. James eyes were filled with despair, frustration then anger as he gritted his teeth. The demon took a few steps backwards with its energy blade crossed in a guard stance as if waiting for its opponents' next move.

It was humanoid and dressed in tattered clothes with a ripped cape around its neck. Its green energy rose calmly till it formed an emerald chest plate. The other two special units were still dumbfounded as what had happened didn't fully process in their minds.

"Kamil... isn't that Captain Edward Von Schwarz?" one of them spoke as he held his chest in disbelief. The humanoid demon was panting as it bit its lips in disappointment.

James rushed at the demon with a strong right jab. His irises glowed bright red. He concentrated his energy on his fist and struck the demon. It blocked his fist, but the force caused its legs to drag backwards several meters. James tried to infuse more energy but suddenly fell to his knees as his head began to pound. His red energy started rising slowly but it was as though it was suffocating him. The demon smiled and slowly walked towards him.

"Attack!" The commander yelled.

The soldiers around immediately opened fire. The demon clasped its hands together and formed a rectangular energy shield to deflect the incoming gunfire.

"Canon fire!"

Several tanks fired and huge shells slammed into the energy shield, smashing it, and sending the demon flying into a pile of bodies. The soldiers continued firing at its direction.

"Medic and containment unit! Move out!"

The containment units headed towards James. They injected him with a bluish serum. His energy diffused and he went unconscious. The medics headed to Abubakr and stopped the bleeding of his right hand. The two were carried out of the battlefield on stretchers.

"Tch! You two! Don't just stand there! Attack!" The commander sneered at the other special units.

"Robert... we have to go. That's not our former captain. That's just another demon. In respect to him. Let's end it quickly!" Kamil reassured his colleague. The two infused their blue energy and out formed their full armor and swords.

The demon started throwing the bodies of its dead allies and soldiers alike while trying to escape the battlefield. The tanks fired again. Its eyes widened as it saw the incoming shells. The demon gathered energy to enhance its blade and sliced the shells in half. This was immediately followed by explosions hitting the bodies around it. Robert suddenly appeared by its side and attempted to strike. It gritted its teeth as it struck back and their blades clashed. There was a little struggle but in favour of Robert. Rage filled his face as he began to overpower the demon.

The demon perked up as it sensed something coming from above. Kamil was in the air with his blade pointing downwards. He descended with incredible speed, but the demon was quick to react. It used its left hand to create an energy blast in Robert's direction, propelling itself away just before Kamil could strike it down. It crashed against a boulder, badly battered and desperate for air. The tanks readjusted their aim and fired. It barely moved before the shells blasted nearby. It was thrown several meters away by the force of the explosion. It landed on its back; it was bleeding from the back of its head with its vision blurry. It struggled to sit up when both Kamil and Robert dashed at it and at the same time, they struck. It released a second energy blade from its left wrist and blocked both their swords with its lower back on the floor. Its face filled with desperation as it struggled to push back against them.

"The weapons are the same, its resourcefulness is also the same! what the hell is going on?" Robert thought to himself while gritting his teeth.

"I watched you die!" Robert screamed. "The former captain of the legion squad! You damn demon! How dare you take his face!" His eyes filled with hate as he pushed against the demon who at this point was sweating heavily with a face revealing almost hopelessness.

"You humans get so emotional over little things. That's why..." It mumbled as its hand shook and hair covered its eyes.

"Huh?"

"That's why it's so fun to toy with you!" It exclaimed with a devious smile that filled its face. A green energy suddenly engulfed the area around them, and the ground exploded creating a large dust screen.

The dust screen settled gradually as it revealed both soldiers' unconscious without their armors, their clothes torn and feet burnt, laying on the ground with blood dripping from their heads.

The commander was in shock at what was happening. He clenched his fist and yelled. "Find its location immediately."

"Yes sir!"

"If the commander of the special units found out, she'd have my head. We can't afford to let this demon escape." The commander thought to himself as he bit his finger, his eyes glaring as though he could rip apart everything within his sight. A soldier walked up behind him.

"Sir! Satellites indicate that its moving underground, already 24km heading north west. Sir."

"North west? why would it? Holy shit!"

"Is there a problem sir?"

"You fool! It knows that a transport center is in that direction. It must still have some of its human memories. Only God knows where its headed to after reaching that center! Contact close by units to stop it from reaching the transport center but be discrete."

"Sir Yes Sir!" he saluted. The special unit soldiers were taken on stretchers to their vehicles as they drove to camp.

"We must find that demon at all costs, otherwise it will be neck served on a plate to HER." The commander shrieked as he dreaded the thought.