The Angel of Death

For an octopus-legged demon, it's fast, Arden thought.

He was annoyed, but also thrilled. He had not been hunting for a long time and that person ordered him to wait for his friend to come. But Arden couldn't just stay silent when he saw a human being almost harmed by a demon, right?

When holding his weapon like now, Arden became invisible, just like the demon he was chasing. Humans might only feel a sudden gust of energy and wind blowing if they were near Arden and the demon. But with the naked eye and a mind that doesn't understand most of the mysteries of this world, humans will not be able to see demons or creatures like Arden.

Arden jumped up and swung his scythe. The sharp, curved, and pointed tip of the scythe hit the demon's head. Black liquid that looked like a mixture of oil and mud gushed out from the hole the scythe had created. The demon roared, but it didn't stop running.

Raindrops began to fall on the ground.

The demon continued to run without hesitation, as if it knew where it was going. They passed through the road uphill and a fairly steep slope until they entered a small forest on the edge of the city.

Arden swung his scythe again, this time aiming it at one of the demon's tentacles. He cut the tentacle, and it was floundering on the ground like a fish out of water before scorching and completely disappear. There were only black traces, like a charcoal's dust smeared on the ground.

The rain grew heavier as the chase continued deep into the forest. When Arden found the garden lights that lined in the middle of the forest, his thoughts were distracted for a moment. It seems that this is not a wild forest as expected, but a park. Are they now in a city park?

The rain was getting heavier and bigger and thicker drops of water fell on Arden's face and blocked his view. He increased his speed and, as lightning struck somewhere outside the forest, he sensed the presence of someone nearby.

A human.

Arden turned and found a girl standing not far from him.

The girl was looking at him. Really looking at him.

Her eyes widened in surprise when their eyes met.

No human should be able to see him.

The incident which only lasted a few seconds disturbed Arden's concentration. He quickened his pace and immediately disappeared from before the girl, then his eyes returned to search for where the demon had gone. Until he came to the edge of a rusty iron fence with sharp edges. Beyond it, there were only bare trees and square stones sticking out of the ground. A cemetery.

Arden looked in all directions and found nothing.

"Shit," he cursed quietly.

His chest heaved up and down to catch his breath, while his brain was deciding what to do now.

Back to the dorm? Or….

Arden glanced back in the direction he had come.

That girl.

Her face felt familiar… and how could she possibly see Arden? Is she the same kind as him?

But if so, the damn man who sent Arden here should have mentioned that.

Arden wanted to go back and find out, but what if the girl saw him again and screamed for help, and then people came and could see him too?

Did Arden's abilities decrease because he sinned too much?

"Argh." Arden was frustrated by his own speculation. He ruffled his black hair with his bare hands before finally deciding to return to the dormitory.

---

Hunter knocked on Arden's door the next morning. His face was as gloomy as a cloud when Arden opened the door.

"Where were you going last night?" demanded Hunter. He stepped in before being greeted.

"Here," replied Arden. He closed the door and threw himself on the bed by the window, then closed his eyes again, laying one hand on his forehead.

"You should have told me when you came back here. Girls get bored when they find out you're no longer there."

"Hmm."

"Damn it, Arden. Just give me your face if you don't want to use it for good." Hunter sounded annoyed. "With that face, I can ask Anna out."

Arden snorted, but didn't smile.

"By the way, what did you do to her last night? When you went to the restroom, something happened, right?She said you saved her."

Arden was taken aback, but didn't want to overreact.

Rescue the girl in the restroom? Can the girl named Anna see demons, like the girl in the forest can see him? Do all the girls in this town have special abilities?

Before Arden asked further about what Hunter mean, Hunter spoke again. "Today we will go to the beach. You wanna come?"

"Is Anna coming?"

Even though he didn't see it, Arden was sure Hunter was wide-eyed right now.

"Are you getting attracted to her? Or because you know I'm attracted to her, you decide to hit on her?"

"No," replied Arden. "Just answer my question."

Hunter sighed. "Yes, she'll come. And she's definitely come if she knows you're going."

"Okay. Count me in."

"Yeah, but you better marked my word. If you try to make a move on her—"

Arden opened his eyes to look at Hunter. "I just wanted to confirm something."

"Like I believe you. I've only known you for a month, and I should hate you for stealing all the spotlights on this campus."

"Yeah… whatever," said Arden. He closed his eyes again and let Hunter rant about life being unfair.

---

What did Runa see last night? Angel of death? Is her death getting close?

After she saw the figure, Runa ran for her life to her house, made sure all the doors and windows were locked, then pulled the curtains tightly shut. She turned on all the lights in the house, but turned them back off because they were too flashy and turned on only one light in the mezzanine. After changing clothes and drying her hair, Runa curled up under the blanket and leaned against the corner of the bed against the wall. Her eyes darted around the mezzanine, waiting for something to emerge out of thin air.

In one hand, she held a rosary and a cross as long as her upper arm lay beside her head. Runa waited while hearing the raindrops hitting the roof, thinking the thumping was the footsteps of the creature she had just seen. She got ready and waited… but nothing happened. Until finally she fell asleep.

In her sleep, she dreamed it again. The angel of death. He stopped and approached her, then swung the scythe at her.

---

"All we need is vitamin sea!" Mandy shouted from the other end of the phone when Runa answered her call at eight in the morning.

Runa glanced at the rosary and the cross on the side of the empty bed. It seemed that Runa had just fallen asleep after last night's incident when her cell phone rang loudly and woke her up.

"I'll pass."

"Ooh! Come on, Runa! Soon we will face our monthly exams and we need to relax for a while before going back to fighting!"

"I have to study harder for the exams. I want to reclaim my position asap."

There is a house and freedom at stake, Runa thought.

There was Mandy's typical annoyed moan, which sounded like a mixture of sighs and clicks, and her round eyes must have been rolling at ninety degrees now, although Runa couldn't see them.

"I will pick you up."

"No, Mandy. I have to—"

"Get ready. One hour."

Then the call ended.

Runa could only stare at the screen of her phone while exhaling.