78 Hunting Demons

Arata was hidden in the bushes by the Old Infirmary. According to their scanners, the Demon's were all congregated inside. The sun was just setting, so it was too light outside for the Demon's to move around hidden. Although they could sweep through and kill everyone now, they needed to wait for those from the inner circle to arrive. If they could capture and interrogate them, they could possibly gain some crucial information to help take the Demon's of the Valley down. Also, removing the higher ups of the Demons would definitely be a significant blow for the Demons of the Valley. So this was an extremely important mission.

Arata sat patiently in the bushes as he watched over the building. He looked to the side and, a few metres away from him, Ryouma was hidden in the bushes as well. Eva was moving around swiftly, placing Runes in different places surrounding the Old Infirmary. Eamon was currently with Granny Mo and the teachers and Inner Court students, briefing them on the mission and conducting battle strategies. Arata and Ryouma were to be on lookout around the Old Infirmary while Eva sets up her spell formation.

As the sun went down, Arata saw little Damien walking towards the back entrance of the Odyssey Infirmary, he was being led by an anxious looking Seth, who was looking around nervously as the two entered and went downstairs. Arata moved to find Eva and informed her that Seth and Damien had arrived. She nodded her head as she pulled out a small gem, channelling her Energy through it. Over in the Central Wing, a group of warriors were discussing their strategy when a gem on the table began to glow. Eamon looked at it's color, as it flashed orange, and turned to those in the room.

"Our insider has just entered the Old Infirmary. As they need his abilities to activate the portal, we can assume that the Demon's from the Inner Circle will be arriving soon. Let's get into position."

The warriors all nodded at Eamon. Although they didn't know who he was, they could see how Lady Moriah was treating him and knew that he wasn't ordinary, so they all obeyed and treated him with respect. Eamon glanced at Lady Moriah who nodded in reply, as she stepped forward.

"Remember, stay out of sight. We don't want anyone to know about what happens tonight. We need to be quick and efficient. No screw ups."

Everyone nodded their heads firmly, the words from someone as powerful and legendary as the Phoenix of the Rose would not be taken lightly. She turned to the man beside her, who nodded. Vice Principal Zhang looked to the warriors.

"Inner Court students, you have your assigned targets. Eliminate them silently, do not give them a chance to activate or send Energy to their bombs. Also remember to attach the inhibitors to them to prevent any countermeasures or traps they may have in regards to the bombs. Teachers, unless you are told otherwise, you will assist the students in eliminating the Demon's in control of the bombs. There can be no room for error. Lady Moriah and Little Eamon will lead the attack on the Inner Circle. Myself and Teachers Mei and Lu will assist them in taking down and, if possible, capturing those from the Inner Circle. Teachers Takuma, Diya and Nyoka will act as support for us to help deal with any guards they may have protecting them. We already have Little Arata, the Heir to the Sato Clan, waiting at the site. We are to give all captured Demon's over to the Sato Clan for interrogation. Understood?"

"Yes, Vice Principal Zhang!"

The students from the Inner Court all answered with a united shout, while the teachers merely nodded in understanding. Vice Principal Zhang looked over to Granny Mo, who gave him a slight grin.

"Let's go hunt some Demons."

A strong gust of wind passed through the room as all the warriors vanished, rushing to their positions. Arata felt Eamon's presence behind him. He turned around to see Eamon with a serious look on his face. Eamon's eyes glowed softly and he felt a download of words and intentions. He also felt a sliver of Truth Energy wrap itself around his eye. Arata nodded his head as he received his orders. He sent a message to Ryouma, who felt a pulse from his crystal.

It was time to begin.

Using his Shadow Awareness, Arata could see that there was now a large collection of warriors that were surrounding the Old Infirmary. He was shocked to see that he couldn't see through most of them, some he could only see a faint aura but not the person. These were indeed experts. Their strength and abilities were too high for him to be able to see through. He smirked as he merged with the darkness and moved forward.

Arata entered the building silently, blending with the shadows that covered the "empty" building. He made his way downstairs and was instantly met with an evil aura. He stuck to the wall as he slowly moved towards the room with the large device. He saw a few Demons that were standing guard and keeping watch. They weren't at a level to notice Arata, as he slipped past them.

Arata hid behind a device in the room as he overheard the Demon's speaking.

"....and with the Illusory Reflector we have installed on the windows, even if people were to look inside the building, they will continue to see an empty, abandoned infirmary. We have the Demon's upstairs cultivating and maintaining their connection with their bombs. When it is time, we can order them all to activate in one fell swoop, all according to the plan."

A deep voice sounded, humming in agreement. When he spoke, Arata felt a chill go down his spine.

"Good. Continue with your work. Don't screw this up."

"Yes, sir."

Four men, including the one with a deep voice, walked out of the room. Arata knew that they were the higher ups from the Valley of the Demons. The man's voice alone carried such an oppressive power that Arata was affected from it. Imagine the strength he had. Arata was glad that they didn't notice him and left, as he could now continue with his mission. He scanned the room with his Shadow Awareness and saw that there were 12 people in the room. Damien, Seth, the Rune Crafter's leader Lucian, and 9 guards. He sent a pulse to Ryouma outside.

Ryouma moved and snuck into the building. Although he wasn't at Arata's level yet, he had been training through the Sato Clan's methods and had become quite comfortable with stealth movements. He made his way to the room, pausing outside as he saw the two guards outside of the room. He waited patiently for the signal.

Outside, Eamon was staring off into the distance, his eyes glowing. He then nodded his head.

"They're in position. Everyone, move in."

In a flash, the warriors rushed towards the building, each tracking a handful of Demon's each. As they approached the Old Infirmary, Rune's around the building began to glow. Eamon sent a mental message to his sister.

"Activate the first formation."

Eva made a few hand gestures before pressing her hands into the ground. The Rune's sent a subtle wave of Energy through the building as the warriors burst into the walls and windows of the first floor. There was, however, no sound or even a single vibration that could be heard. The Rune's dimmed and the Energy vanished.

Vice-Principal Zhang pointed towards the stairs and the teachers and students quietly ran up the stairs. Eamon stood behind Vice-Principal Zhang as he looked around, his eyes glowing. He then pointed up.

"2 on the third floor, 1 on the sixth floor, and 1 on the top floor. I believe the one on the top floor is the strongest. His Energy...I can't quite make it out."

Vice-Principal Zhang looked to the teachers by him.

"Teacher Lu and Little Eamon will take the two on the third floor. Teacher Mei will take the one on the sixth floor. Lady Moriah and I will take the one at the top. Teacher Nyoka will support Teacher Lu, and Teacher Diya will support Teacher Mei. Teacher Takuma will go to the basement to support Little Arata before bringing him up to the top floor. We need to be swift and silent. The instant the other students and teachers take out those connected to the bombs, we must immediately apprehend those high ranked Demon's. Move out."

They nodded silently before rushing into their positions. Teacher Takuma made her way downstairs. As she approached the room, she noticed two Demon's that were knocked out and hidden in the shadows. She grinned as she silently moved to the edge of the door. She peered around the corner, taking a peek inside. There were a few Demon's inside. A few Tech Enhancers were working on the large machine in the middle, clearly doing maintenance. Seth, Damien and a tall man, whom Teacher Takuma guessed was the Leader of the Rune Crafter's for the Demon's, Lucian, were by the side speaking about something. As Teacher Takuma scanned the room, she saw two pulses from the shadows. They were brief, and no one else saw it, but Teacher Takuma grinned.

Arata and Ryouma were revealing their locations to her. One of them were by Damien, Seth and the tall man, she guessed that that would be Arata. And the other, probably Ryouma, was hidden behind two Demon's who seemed to be watching over the Tech Enhancers working on the machine. There were two more Demons standing close to the entrance to the room, and another two by the front of the machine, keeping guard. Teacher Takuma guessed that Arata and Ryouma were waiting for her cue to attack. She would need to take down the two by the door instantly, before rushing forward to take down the other two guards. Arata and Ryouma would then attack immediately after, Arata taking out Lucian and Seth, and Ryouma taking out the two guards watching over the Tech Enhancers working on the machine, he would then need to take out the Tech Enhancers who seemed a lot weaker and easier to deal with. But the space of time between her initial attack and attacking the other two guards needed to be as short as possible, as well as perfectly in sync with Arata and Ryouma's attacks. She needed to move swiftly so she could then move to help Arata, as she knew that Lucian would be the most difficult Demon in the room.

As Teacher Takuma was analyzing the situation and how best to approach it, she noticed another flicker from the shadows where she guessed that Arata was. Teacher Takuma frowned. They weren't waiting for her cue. He actually wanted her to follow his lead. But that didn't make sense. As she was contemplating what Arata was wanting, Damien seemed to hear something as he shifted slightly. Seth noticed this.

"What is it Damien?"

Damien frowned as he looked at the machine.

"I felt a weird fluctuation from the machine."

Seth and the man frowned as they looked towards the machine, while Damien took a simple step towards the two guards that were keeping watch by the machine. Teacher Takuma saw Damien's shadow shake slightly. She also saw the two shadows shake as well. She quickly realized that it was a signal. Although she didn't understand fully what was going on, she trusted that Arata had a plan.

She burst forward in a streak of lightning, smashing into the two guards by the entrance. She sent two powerful surges of Lightning into them, stunning and knocking them unconscious. As she looked up, she watched as Damien's shadow had risen and consumed the two soldiers standing at the front of the machine. There was a burst of flames that devoured the two guards watching over the Tech Enhancers. A figure burst out of the flames, swiftly hitting the unsuspecting Tech Enhancers, knocking them out in a matter of seconds.

Lucian's eyes glowed as he turned around and was able to dodge out of the way of a what seemed like vines made of shadows. Seth wasn't so lucky as he was bound and pulled to the ground, in shock. Lucian swiftly retreated to the corner and his face went grim as he saw the shadows restrain Seth. He growled under his breath, hatred in his eyes.

"The Sato Clan!"