Chapter 17: Tokyo's Trouble Final

Theriault broke the door in, his eyes cold as he stepped inside the quiet building. "Hello?" He yelled, a smile creeping on his face as Shen Yi stepped in behind him, holding her sword at the ready.

"Could they have gone somewhere?" Shen Yi asked, relaxing a bit as none of the monsters had come out.

"No..." Theriault said as he looked down the hall. "They're here, all of them."

His eyes went wide and his hand went to his pocket. He pulled out the figurine he'd been carrying when they first arrived and held it up.

"Oh... shit," he mumbled as an explosion came from the room they had stepped in, smoke filling the air as a fire started to blaze throughout the corridor.

"Come on!" Theriault yelled, dashing forward through the smoke and fire, quickly followed by Shen Yi.

"Get over here!" Theriault yelled, an angry edge to his voice as he grabbed the person who had run and slammed them down into the ground.

"Ah... I never did catch your name... Guess it doesn't matter now," He smiled cruelly, bringing his hand to the snake human's throat.

The man struggled for a moment before going still and Theriault chuckled, stepping back, clapping his hands together as if he'd just taken out the trash.

"We need to go!" Shen Yi yelled at him, looking around. She felt it, that same eery feeling from earlier, it was close.

"Too late senorita..." Luis said, stepping into the room with the rest of the monster group. The Pink troll, the other snake man, and also the large fish woman.

All of them were carrying weapons, some of them brandished menacingly. The pink one looked like she had been drinking something strong, with a red stain on her lips and a wild look in his eye.

"I'm glad you guys were able to enjoy your night while I killed your little friend, she was weak by the way, so much for a direct ancestor, I knew vampires were lame."

Shen Yi growled under her breath but didn't move or speak until after he finished talking.

"Well, it seems that we both have something to discuss... And you are the last of my targets today, so if you don't want to die right away, I would suggest telling me exactly where my cornucopia is..."

Theriault stopped smiling, his eyes drilling into the group with renewed vigor. The games he'd been allowing had gone far enough, it was time for action.

"And what do you know about any such thing?" The pink troll asked, smacking her club against her hands as Theriault glanced at her.

"You're just a human, the cornucopia is an ancient artifact that derives from monster culture, why should we even think of letting a dirty colonizer steal it?" She asked, taking a step forward.

"Well... ain't that a shame," Theriault said, looking over at Shen Yi, who just gave an awkward expression. "And I was going to let you beg for mercy..."

Theriault rushed forward, and instantly the group jumped in, attacking the boy wildly with all types of weapons, clubs, swords, and knives, even a few gunshots went off, which probably scared the neighborhood as guns were illegal in Japan.

As Theriault dodged and blocked each blow, he looked over at Shen Yi.

"What's wrong? Aren't you gonna help me fight them?" He asked, a carefree smile on his face as she relaxed, nodding and rushing in with her sword, stabbing it into the back of the fish woman with a satisfying squelch

The snake man had managed to stab Theriault in the shoulder, but he'd easily batted it aside and grabbed the weapon, slamming it deep into his gut and making the man scream. He then grabbed hold of the woman's hair, using it to swing her around and slam her into the wall, causing the entire structure to shake.

The snake man had dropped his weapon, trying to pull himself away, as he felt the cold hard metallic taste in his mouth. Pure defeat. His legs couldn't keep him standing anymore, and as the human's eyes turned back to him he averted his own, silently hoping that one of his friends would kill the devil they knew as Theriault.

"Seriously..." Theriault said, shaking his head as he easily dispatched the group. "Hah, the vampire was the strongest? I should've known... Never trust a monster, and here I thought this was the start of a reliable business opportunity..."

He shook his head again, walking towards the hallway where he could see a small figure lying there.

"So, you're not dead yet huh... Well, I guess that means I'll get to finish the job myself," Theriault laughed, seeing Luis trying to escape as he had killed the rest of the monsters.

"Please, Mercy," Luis said, holding a hand out as Theriault shook his head.

"Mercy is for children... That's about it," He said, kicking the hand out of the way and punching Luis square in the face, laughing as he did it over, and over, and over again.

Theriault punched the monster's face in until he was satisfied, knowing he was the one who had initiated the betrayal.

"I... Knew the rumors were true..." Luis's voice said weakly as Shen Yi walked into the hall.

Theriault looked down at him, his smile disappearing. "That's weird, I would think that if you were alive you'd just stay quiet... Guess you want to die."

"It's you, master of death, conquerer of Styx, slayer of the Arcadian Twilight, it's you! The son of Sa-"

Theriault stomped down, his face cold as he stomped again, scattering the brains of the monsters all over the hallway.

"I said shut the fuck up."

Luis's body was simply a mess of blood and organs, Theriault kicked the corpse into a corner, turning and walking past the girl.

"Shen Yi," He said, nodding toward her as she looked at the mess.

"What was he saying? All those titles?" Shen Yi asked, stopping Theriault from going inside the room they had been in.

"Hey... Get your hand off of me," Theriault warned, locking eyes with the girl before pushing past her, a pissed-off expression on his face as he grabbed the still alive snake man.

"I know you're not dead, you're going to tell me where my payment is, then I might let you live, do you understand?"

"Fine, fine... I will give it to you, but you have to leave me alone," The snake man whispered, bowing his head as Theriault kneed him in the ribs.

"Shut the hell up, you are in no position to give requests... The Cornucopia, where is it?" He asked again, gripping the snake man tighter in his hands.

"In the basement... I can take you there, please release me," The Snake Man begged, tears forming in his eyes as Theriault tightened his grip, his face twisting into a scowl.

"I can take myself there..." With that Theriault slammed the monster on the ground, smashing its head open and killing him instantly.

Theriault stood up, shaking his head as he turned around to see Shen Yi staring at him in horror, a facial expression he was more than used to seeing.

Theriault sighed, putting his hand on Shen Yi's shoulder. "Let's go it looks like our fun has ended for the day," He said, walking out of the room, heading to the basement of the building...

...

It was 3 hours later, the pair found themselves on the road again. Theriault had burned down the building the monsters had stayed in.

After everything that happened, he was sure that they wouldn't be coming back anytime soon. It was too bad really, because he wanted to see how long it took the local police officers to find out a murder had happened.

He was tired, hungry, and exhausted; there were several local restaurants around, but none of them looked like they'd appease his hunger.

"Are we going to talk about what happened?" Shen Yi asked as they sat at a trolly stop, waiting for the small train.

Theriault looked at her, no emotion showing on his face despite the many different ones stirring up inside of him.

"If you must know," He said, rolling his eyes as he attempted to smile his usual teasing smile. "Then yes," he continued. "I am in fact, a pyromaniac, it started as a hobby, and then-"

"What did Luis mean?" Shen Yi interjected, causing Theriault to sigh inwardly as his attempt at humor died, leaving only the shell of a man who had nothing to lose but everything to hide.

"I don't know what he meant, people often say weird things when they are close to death, professions of love, wild accusations, and sometimes it's just complete random junk they think up... It's just a defense mechanism."

Shen Yi clearly didn't buy Theriault's words but decided not to press the subject.

"So..." She asked as they hopped on the little train in the middle of the road. "What's next?"

Theriault, though not showing it, was relieved she'd dropped the subject. "Well..." He said, looking behind him at the large object covered in a bed sheet and strapped to his back. "I guess we can visit an old friend now..."

(Elsewhere)

A man chopped down wood, his axe whistling through the air and landing the tree with a satisfying thump.

"Master!" He heard from a distance, "Master come quick! He's back! The boy is back!" A boy with orange hair yelled, stopping in front of the bulky man, breathing heavily but grinning.

"Wyatt take a deep breath and tell me what you mean... Who's back?"

The boy smirked. "Word in the underground is, The one they call Soul Snatcher has returned... The one you fought with all those hundreds of years ago!"

The man widened his eyes, tightening his grip on the axe.

"Is that all?" He asked, quickly returning to normal as he saw the disappointed look on his pupil's face.

"Uhh... Yes sir," Hunter said, his head bowing slightly as he turned away.

"Huh... So you're making a ruckus again Theriault?" The man said, smiling widely as he held his axe high with one hand.

"You know where to find me," The man finished, swinging down his axe, a huge boom erupting and a shockwave blasting around the whole forest area. Several trees fell from the force as the man just stood there, grinning.

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