23 Birth of the Demon

Zach pierces the vent with his tail and finally sees the inside of the shop, poking his head out he can see the hostages staring up at him and the gunman pointing his gun in his direction.

.Shit!.

Zach ducks back into the vent to try to avoid being shot, if Zach actually knew anything about guns he could count the bullets and wait til he has to reload.

BANG

BANG

BANG,

Shots ring through the store as the madman shots at the vents and roof,

"COME OUT OR ILL KILL HER"

He points his gun at an old woman with a walking frame.

Zach is at a lose of what to do, if he tries to attack a hostage will be hit and if he doesn't do anything who knows what could happen.

He speaks in the deepest voice he can muster and says,

.Ok, I'm coming out!.

Zach prepares to use phase if the man seems like he will shoot as he climbs out of the vent, he wraps his tail round his waste making it look like a belt.

"Come here!"

Zach drops to the floor and slowly approaches the man, he stops when the man is directly in front of him.

The madman makes Zach turn around as he puts him in a strangle hold with the gun pointing at the side of his head.

He looks to the police outisde,

"I got a policeman hostage now!!! you better give me what i want!"

Zachs hand on the dreidel tightens as he prepares to counter attack.

Outside the store the police Sargent is dumbfounded by the mysterious entrance and failure of a stranger in a demon mask.

"People are trying to fucking play hero now? Is he fucking retarded... Mark, who is that guy?"

"Don't know, probably just another delusional kid."

"Are the firearms unit close?"

"Yes they are almost here."

The Sargent rubs his temples as he tries to think of a resolution.

Over at the News broadcasters they are greedily capturing everything that is happening, short young looking girl is standing in front of a camera with the crime scene behind her,

"My name is Cecilia May and right now i am standing in front of a hostage situation, the police are already on the scene attempting to negotiate with the suspect. Suspect is reportedly 40 yearold James Bunt, after having a mental breakdown due to his failing music carrier he was institutionalised and was staying in Nightinggale Hospital. After breaking free he has taken a store hostage with roughly ten people inside, from what i hear negotiations are not going well and we are unaware why he is running around the inside of the store now."

The news camera zooms in on him pointing his gun at the roof, something falls from the roof and he appears to be screaming at it. After a while a man in black wearing a demon mask climbs down from the vent with his hand up.

"A masked man who looks to be attempting to save the hostages has been caught. We are currently asking the police for information on this man."

They see James Bunt put the man in a strangle hold and point the gun to his temple,

"The situation is turning from bad to worse, we have some local home owners to discuss the situation"

Zach knows what to do but doesn't want to reveal too much, all of his actions are being recorded by those reporters.

.Fuck it, its now or never. Phase.

Activating phase and stepping backwards Zach moves through James and appears behind him with the dreidel in his hand.

James almost loses balance due to suddenly losing support from holding Zach's neck,

"WHAT THE FUCK!?!"

Zach feels sorry for this mans poor mental state but needs to stop him at once,

.Sorry.

He Zach stabs the man in the side of his neck. The mans panick stricken face frantically tries to turn to around but Zach's fear of being shot makes him stab again, again and again. His eyes turn red as he continues, a minute or so later he looks down at the mummified corpse with limbs scattered at ugly angles.

[Consumed Human +15]

Zach realises that he was unintentionally using his tail to aid in the attack on the man as it hovers over his shoulder menacingly.

.God.

He glances around and witnesses the scared faces of the hostages,

"Demon!, MONSTER!"

"MONSTER STAY AWAY!"

"Mommy i'm scared!"

Terrified voices bring Zach back to reality as he turns around and stares outside the window at the advancing cops.

.I need to get away now.

Zach runs toward the window and activates Phase to prepare for the possible bullets, Phasing through the window he stops at the same time as the police.

"PUT YOUR HAND UP OR WE WILL SHOOT!"

Zach feels for the small gem still in his left hand and squeezes it, causing it to shatter.

A billow of purple smoke comes out of the Demons hand covering its body, slowly it disperses leaving not a single trace that it was standing there.

"SEND THE HELICOPTER, FIND IT"

The authorities scramble to find this mysterious figure but fail.

The police Sargent is dumbfounded by what just happened,

"Mark, do you think demons actually exist?"

"We have proof now don't we? A normal man can't disappear in front of our eyes without a trace."

"I don't know, those japanese egg heads could probably make invisibility suits by now."

"Pfft, whatever. All i know is we are lucky that we didn't fight that guy."

The police Sargent sweats as he thinks of how to explain this to the higher ups.

Over at the news trucks a young woman's eyes glitter in curiosity and excitement, she starts to report and show the footage of this mysterious figure and names him Demon.

"This is gonna be the scoop that makes me a national treasure!!!"

Half way home, Zach is dressed back in his normal clothes.

.Why did i do that? I was normal before i stabbed him...

He looks down at the dreidel in his hands suspiciously.

.I can't stop now, even if there is a risk i have to keep growing.

[Achievement unlocked : Mysterious stranger (Increases stealth by 10%)]

[Achievement unlocked : Famous face (Spirit +5)]

[Achievement unlocked : Feared (Scares significantly weaker opponents)]

.Achievements? show me my status.

[Zachary Miller - Human++ - Male

Achievements - Mysterious stranger, Famous face, Feared

Condition - Fine

Strength - 17

Intelligence - 10

Agility - 11

Stamina - 15

Spirit - 11 > 16

Luck - 10

Skill: Quick retreat, lv4 Pain resistance, Unveiling eye, Language comprehension, Phase, LV1 Poison resistance,

Body mods : Prehensile tail, Hydra Gills

LV5 Exp: 70/100]

[Souls = 1]

.Looks like i gained a lot from this expedition.

He gives a crooked smile as he walks home.