Stalker, Part 3

"Sort of," Daniel answers. "Judging by your reaction, you've never seen a humanoid demon before. Humanoid demons are born in monstrous forms just like average demons, but by consuming human after human, a demon can take the form of one, become one of the humanoid variety, which grants them extra strength and intelligence."

"So…your dad, Death…he's a humanoid demon?" I ask.

"Yes," Daniel answers. "All of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are, Death, War, Famine, and Pestilence."

"But how does Death have a kid my age?" I cry. "Legend has it that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are sealed in Hell, and will only emerge to bring apocalypse to the world?!"

"My father, despite what you Slayers believe, is still on Earth," Daniel answers. "All of the Four Horsemen are."

"The Pro Slayers, your parents, maybe teachers….everything that they told you is wrong," Daniel begins to say. "But they don't teach you incorrect information on purpose, they don't know better themselves. As do their parents, and their parents before them. Cursed Power…the Four Horsemen…the origin of demons…everything is a lie."

"A…lie…?" I nervously ask, my voice quivering with each breath.

"It is true that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were sealed in Hell. Were. The world of demons and humans is much more intertwined than we are told. You were always told that millions of years ago, Earth was run by demons and ruled by the Four Horsemen who came from the pits of Hell, and who used humans as slaves and tortured them for fun. But then, a human who mastered Cursed Power rose up and slayed the demons, who retreated back to Hell and saved the world, and became known as the first Pro Slayer. But that's wrong in actuality, that man was a half demon who was born with extraordinary power. Since he was a half demon, he had the power of a demon. And that's when we learned that a half demon, in fact, combines the strength of a man's body as well as the stability of the human body. The ideal life form. The half demon used his powers to seal demon-kind into their own world, Hell, imprisoning the Four Horsemen. But overtime, after hundreds of years being sealed away in Hell, cracks in the seal began opening up, causing miniature portals to Hell to spawn all across the world, allowing weaker demons to squeeze through. Occasionally, a large enough crack would open, allowing powerful demons -such as the Four Horsemen- to pass through. However, the Four Horsemen's true power is still sealed away in Hell. So until the portal to Hell opens up, the Four Horsemen cannot make their move. That's why I'm here. Before the portal to Hell fully opens up, I must kill you, and take your power to defeat my father."

"What do you mean that their power is still sealed in Hell?" I ask.

"Cursed Power is something that is excreted from the pores of demons, that is something that almost every Cursed Power user knows," Daniel begins to explain. "Erego: Cursed Power comes from demons, and stronger demons excrete stronger Cursed Power. Of course, Cursed Power in humans also awakens when a human comes in contact with a powerful demon. But that's not all. For as many people who unlock Cursed Power by coming in contact with a demon, there are roughly ten times the amount who succumb to the demon's power. The Cursed Power enters and affects their body, mutating them into demons, granting them the ability to wield Cursed Power in exchange for their human soul and

 intelligence. That is how non-humanoid demons reproduce. And also how demons still remain on Earth after the portal to Hell was sealed. Cursed Power seeps through the cracks in the portal to Hell, infecting humans and turning them into demons. Cursed Power users are stronger and replenish Cursed Power faster in areas rich in Cursed Power. What the Four Horsemen plan to do is open up the portal to Hell, unleashing all of Hell's demons as well as the Cursed Power within, which would multiply the amount of Cursed Power in earth's atmosphere hundreds, maybe thousands times."

"But won't the Four Horsemen make all Cursed Power users stronger by doing this?" I ask. "Not just them?"

 "Not exactly," Daniel answers. "The Cursed Power users on Earth, even the demons on Earth who don't originate from Hell, have bodies which are adapted to Cursed Power on Earth. When all of Hell's Cursed Power floods Earth, everyone but the strongest of Cursed Power users will go berserk from its effects and mutate into demons. Your friends and coworkers in the Pro Slayer Organization…you will see hundreds of them turn into demons, truly bringing about-"

"-Apocalypse," I finish for Daniel. "So this is the Four Horsemen's goal, eh? Turning the Slayer Organization into demons to aid in their conquest of Earth."

"True pandemonium," Daniel adds.

"So the demons I've been slaying all this time…are humans?!" I cry.

"Yes," Daniel answers. "Now that you know this, do you still plan to slay demons?"

"Eh, why not," I answer. "I get paid to do so. Besides, it's not like I've ever cared too much about human life anyway. I'm just more worried about my friends who might go crazy if you Four Horsemen reach their goal."

"You and I are not so different after all, Luis Tramontana," Daniel replies.

"Why are you telling me all of this anyway?" I ask. "You don't have to answer my questions. I'm the captive here." 

"You remind me of myself, Luis Tramontana," Daniel explains. "You're young, naive, and innocent. You just so happen to be born to a father who is a demon. The both of us -had we just had human fathers- wouldn't be standing here right now. I pity you, and that's why I'm answering your questions."

"I'm not as innocent as I seem," I sneer.

"But unfortunately for you, Luis Tramontana-" Daniel continues. "I've already destroyed my former self for the sake of my dreams. So if I have to kill you in order to achieve my goal…it won't phase me in the slightest."

***

"Follow that cat!"

Gabby, Mikey, Grover, Austin, and Jamie all take off running after Mr Kittles, who's tracking Luis' scent.

"What does this stalker even look like?" Austin asks.

"He was far away, so I couldn't see him all too well. From what I did see, he was wearing a long black cloak and had black hair that covered one eye. His other eye is an inhuman red," Gabby answers.

"So basically, he stands out quite a lot," Jamie interrupts.

"When you see the stalker, you'll know," explains.

Gabby and the squad keep following after Mr Kittles on a wild goose chase that feels like hours, Gabby huffing and puffing as she struggles to keep up with the Slayers. Mr Kittles leads the group into an eerie, haunted-looking forest, eventually leading them into a large open clearing in the center of the forest. In the middle of the large clearing, is an abandoned building that looks like a haunted house. The building is tall with a dark green exterior and a dark red brick roof that came up to a point. The windows are either boarded up or shattered, and the building is littered with cobwebs.

Gabby gulps before kneeling down beside Mr Kittles. "Is…Luis in there?" She asks. Mr Kittles looks up at Gabby, meows, then continues walking towards the "haunted house."

"What's the cat sayin'?" Grover asks.

"I don't know, I don't speak cat!" Gabby snaps.

"Well, come on, let's go in!" Mikey orders, and he runs up the stairs of the haunted house abandoned building, unaware of what's to come.

***

"It seems that the Blue Demon's squadmates have figured out his location. And the location of your son," a woman in a red leather jacket smirks.

"Oh? It seems that they have. That is a bit troublesome, isn't it?" A man in a light gray suit and matching suit hat replies. The woman's name is "War the Calamity," of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The man…"Death the Demon King" of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, father of Daniel and the previous King of the Demons.

"Want me to intervene? I don't think you would want a few kids running amuck in your son and the Blue Demon's affairs," War asks.

"Hm, yes. You should go intervene. I need the Blue Demon for my plans, so I need to make sure nothing happens to him. Though we do have Famine's children, if all else fails. So yes, War. you should go stop those bothersome kids from meddling in his fight," Death answers.

"Sounds good!" War replies as she stands up and punches her fist into her palm, a wide grin spreading across War's face. "Luis Tramontana...the Blue Demon...I wonder what he's like?"

***

And so, the group chasing after Luis arrives at the house.