Chapter 05: A Demon from Another World

Within a blood-soaked chamber with multitudinous carcasses of humans and monsters, a young man in his 20s seemed alone. He kneeled on the floor in horror and disbelief, his eyes wide as he examined the bodies he'd once referred to as his companions. Tears began rolling down his cheeks as he thought back on his times with them.

"Andrew, Liam, Evelyn, Mark...y-you guys..."

His attention soon drifted to the bodies with rent apart limbs, spotting the remains of Olivia, his first and so far only obsession.

Oh, dear Olivia!

She laid there in between the carnage, wearing the same set of armor he'd so gaily given her 4 weeks prior, now smeared in brown and scarlet. Shredded and smashed. The memories they'd spent together as raid members rushed back to him in aching clarity, his eyes becoming wetter than ever before.

He longed to save her and have a fulfilling life with all of his pals. BUT. Now...everything...fell apart.

He cried uncontrollably, bawling his eyes out.

The pungent metallic odor of human blood from the ruins wafted into his nostrils, compelling him to turn around, flee right away to the enormous door, and never return. However, if he were to flee, who would notify the remaining raiders that the others had died? The only person who witnessed the entire carnage and was still alive was him.

He contemplated. Even if he were to tell them by sprinting toward the [Boss Room], there was a higher likelihood that 'he' had already foreseen it, so he could cause their deaths in addition to his own.

Having thought about it for a while, he reached his decision as he brushed away the tear beads from his eyes. He then got to his feet and dashed for the doorway.

'Forgive me, my friends.'

Steeped in the viscous, gooey blood, his boots produced a squelching sound, drawing up dark-red threads each time he elevated them.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling voice enough to send shivers up anyone's spine, reverberated throughout the chamber, instantly freezing him in his tracks.

"Do you believe you'll be able to run away from me in that way?"

Upon hearing the fairly familiar voice, his face went ghastly white, and goosebumps formed all across his skin. It seemed as if his entire soul had fled his body in consternation.

'...what?! Wasn't he supposed to arrive a bit later? How fast is he exactly?'

He wanted to move. He wanted to cry out. He wanted to survive even though his end was imminent.

Yet... he couldn't do a single thing. And, that thought alone created even more hatred toward that figure, with every passing second.

*Swish*

Out of nowhere, a dense black fog loomed, surfacing itself from the surrounding darkness. A silhouette materialized in front of him as the mist gradually coalesced into one.

His heart erupted with rage, shooting a hostile glare at the impending figure. The one emerging was none other than his erstwhile raid partner, Amon Wyth. The very one who had slaughtered all of his companions and was nearing him incrementally to do the same.

"Heh. You sure have a weak will. Mr. Jonathan." He said, stepping out of the darkness and coming in clear sight of him. His clothes were red, painted with blood, and his face filled with annoyance. His presence itself radiated a fierce, unsettling aura that locked onto Jonathan. It was as though the Devil himself had arrived to put an end to his existence from the dreariest depths of Hell.

He began feeling paralyzed and his throat felt stiff and dry, and out of words. He felt like a pebble getting trampled to death by a massive mountain due to the overwhelming force Amon was exerting on him. He gulped. Hard. All of his previous courage had seemingly vanished into nothingness like a deflated balloon.

Excessive heaviness crept into his limbs as Amon inched closer. He fell to his knees, unable to bear the severity of the pressure.

"Argh." He cried out, lightly.

"Meh. You're at all not fun," Amon remarked, "come on. You should at least be able to resist my S-rank aura since you tried to escape from me all this time. It looks like I overestimated you."

"W-why did yo-"

"Shhhhhh." Putting his hands on Jonathan's lips, he gestured for him to cease speaking. Albeit small this gesture was sufficient for him to silently do so.

Amon smiled. His hand ascended in the air. He gripped Jonathan's arm and said with sinful eyes, "Good job. Here it comes~"

*Rip!*

In one sweeping motion, Amon tore his arm apart. Blood dabbled all across the floor and on Jonathan's face.

'H-huh? HUH? HUH?!'

The excruciating agony didn't come about until a second or two when his eyes could no longer comprehend what had just transpired.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

Jonathan screamed at the top of his lungs. However, before he could compose himself, Amon grabbed Jonathan's opposite arm and sank his fingernails deep into his skin, brutally tearing apart the arm.

*Splatter*

"AAARRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!"

"As expected; forcing the victim to feel despair, before they die is just... too satisfying." He muttered.

*Rip!*

"AAARRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!"

*Rip!*

"AAARRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!"

*Rip!*

"AAARRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!"

The poor fellow's bottom limbs were subsequently torn after by Amon. But he'd the vitality of a C-rank hunter, therefore he lasted. Pure torture, that was what it was.

"W-what... ar... you exac...tly?" He asked, barely managing to utter a few words.

"Who? Me? Hehehehehehahahahahahahahaha... I'm a...," Amon said, laughing hysterically, "...Demon from another world."

With it being the last thing that Jonathan heard before he died, Amon seized his throat and violently severed his head from his body along his spine.

Whereupon, with a faint smile, he tossed his head in the direction of the person he'd liked and treasured beyond all else.

*Bam*

The throw was so strong that both heads rammed against each other, bursting synchronously.

—

—

—

From the enormous edifice that housed Raven City's most dominant guild, Scarlet Justice emerged a gaily clad humanity. Some chatted, some sat and noted the emergence of new dungeons and labyrinths in the city while the others responded to inquiries from various raid groups.

A young woman between the ages of 20 and 30 hurried across the crowded area, eager to surprise her friends.

*Huff*

*Huff*

"Hey gals. Did you *huff* hear that a new vice leader is gonna come today *huff* now that Mrs. Aella committed suicide?" Reaching her friends' table, she said while sporting a triumphant grin.

"Yeah, I did. Even though I was a little saddened by Mrs. Aella's passing, I believe it's a good thing that the guild leader picked a new vice leader, given the sudden spike in the reports of new dungeons surfacing." She was irritated when she heard that her colleagues were already aware of the situation when she spoke.

"Yes, indeed. By the way, according to what I've heard, the new vice leader is a guy who is also quite young. Probably around 17 or 18." Observing the constructive conversation, another girl made a remark.

"Wait. Why would the Guild Leader choose such a young hunter over a seasoned professional? Perhaps the subject of Mrs. Aella's death caused her to become insane."

"Nope, I don't think so. Possibly she misheard, or maybe the new vice leader has accomplished many noteworthy exploits, or he's a youthful prodigy...maybe. I don't know but I'm sure of one thing. The guild leader hasn't lost her mind. It's just bullshit."

"True, I believe it to be the same. Other than the fact that he is a man, what else did you hear? Like any other qualities?"

"Wait..umm... let me take a quick trip down my memory lane. Oh, yeah, I somewhat recall his name. It began with A or something. Urgh, goddamn. Why the heck does my memory fail me constantly here? Screw it!"

"I'm laughing my fucking ass off. You can't even remember his name? That's so forgetful of you, isn't it?"

"You...daughter of a bit-"

"Yeah? You wanted to say something?"

"Come on, now. Just calm down, ladies. She can't simply recall; nothing at all to be concerned over. After a few hours, we'll probably still run across him." After hearing the girls start fighting out of the blue, an elderly woman shortly intervened, in an attempt to calm things down.

Thankfully, her efforts were successful, and tranquility returned to the area.

"Yeah, she's correct. Let's get working, gals. Mrs. Emma will be checking on us soon after all."

—

—

—

"He'll be here in about five minutes, guild leader. Should I ask Mr. Frederick to bring his contract right away?" Standing near the entrance of the spacious room, a woman in her mid-thirties with ponytails drooping behind her head asked her superior. Her voice was professional, devoid of any emotions whatsoever.

"Sure, do that. And yeah Emma, send him straight to my room once he gets here." Answered a 40-year-old brunette woman, gulping down a cup of coffee. She possessed cherry lips that claimed to be able to seduce any guy alive, light lavender hair, and two carmine-red irises. She was a succubus in the flesh.

"As you please, guild leader." She answered. She then gave a polite bow and softly pushed the door wide before departing.

*Creak*

On its own, the door closed.

"Urghh!" She let out a groan and gently massaged her temples with her fingertips. It was really a hectic day for her.

"Amon Wyth huh? What would you have done if you were present, Aella? I'm not sure if I'm really making the right decision here." She seemed to be lost in her thoughts, casting her gaze up toward the ceiling of the room.

Her musings were abruptly disrupted, by the uncontrollable ringings of the nearby phone.

*Ring*

*Ring*

*Ring*

*Ring*

She reached for the phone in a hurry, as a voice from the opposite side stated, "Mrs. Hailey...do you want to know the reason behind Mrs. Aella's death?"

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A/N: I'll be having my exams from next week, so yeah, I won't be uploading for a while; probably for a week. And, yes. The updates have been coming very infrequently lately for the same reason. I hope you understand my situation. Cya, thanks for reading :)