The Demon Slayers Club (IC)

[Koishi]

The Boundless

---

"Why not both?" Enraku gave a shrug. "Also, on the petition thing, i'll need to know which government as well as a phone number, given the last time I met with government agents personally, they attempted to kill me. Not that they got far, but still."

Waelin still silently sat at the little round table, listening to the two as her eyes danced around the room on occasion. They had learned to be patient in the last week. It's what allowed them to escape in the first place. This was nothing, but soon, they wanted answers. Elaboration. Her mind could only theorize so much with what little they were given.

[WriggleRid3r]

Ortus City Suburbs

---

She instinctively inched away from the young man she ran into. She knew he was only trying to help, but the past hundred experience she had with a man was less than favorable at best, traumatizing at worst. Or were they? The girl tried to reach her arm into the swirling chaos that was her mind, but the only thing she could grasp were the dull jolts of carnal pleasure, then the numb void afterwards.

The young man insisted his offer of aid as he lightly grabbed her arm to hoist her up. She obeyed, letting his force elevate her. He looked about the same age as her, with fair skin and a surprisingly nostalgic pair of golden iris that scanned her wound with worrisome expression.

"I..." The girl spoke out, her voice somewhat husky yet breathy at the same time. Perhaps her vocal cords were injured as well. "I'm sorry... to have bothered you. I must be off."

[SUSTIC]

The Boundless

---

"I'll give you the proper contact info. It's a small branch of US government that classifies demons. Don't know it's surprising or not, but I'll give you the proper info of contact. Hopefully they learned their lesson won't try to kill you again." He said, giving another annoyed sigh. His mind still a little stuck on the conversation he had with this Miranda person.

"They're just Hell Hounds... she can handle a pack of hell hounds. She's done it before, she can do it again. Though I fucking I hope she keeps the collateral damage to a minimum this time..." Spoke Lance in a whisper, not directed at anyone in particular, but still loud enough for someone to hear if they were close to him.


Ortus City Suburbs

---

The young man just looked at her like she was absolutely crazy. "And what? Leave you to bleed out in this fucking weather? Yeah, no. Not doing that at all." He said as he was thinking about calling emergency medical services, but when he reached into his pocket and found nothing was when he remembered.

"Fuck I left my phone to charge at home before I left." He thought as he then paused for a moment to think about something. The only thing he can think of at the moment was that he'd have to take her back home and treat her wounds before calling an ambulance. "God I hope they're asleep now..." He said, really not wanting his mom or especially his sister to be awake when he gets home with a naked and injured woman home. With that he took her by the arm and began basically dragging her towards his house. "You're coming with me. We need to get you out of this rain first!"

[WriggleRid3r]

Ortus City Suburbs

---

"N- no. It's okay. I have to be somewhere..." The girl fidgeted as she felt his hand grasp her arm, the tingling sensation of her nerve cells oddly different. Her feet hastened to keep up with the pace of the man as she was dragged through the alleyway. She should be resisting, but the rain was cold, the wound was a huge discomfort, and truth be told the boy in front her didn't seem malicious, unlike most of the patrons she had to serve. And besides, as the boy took her through the streets, the girl noticed that he was going in the same direction as the destination vaguely reminiscent in her mind...

[Koishi]

The Boundless

---

Waelin's fingers twiddled atop their legs before they looked to Lance.

"I don't hope i'm interrupting, but I was wondering if I could ask a little more about the mess I've somehow wound up in." Waelin asked, voice calm, if still slightly shaky. "Since i'm still completely out of my depth and wish to know which circle of hell i've landed in."

[SUSTIC]

The Boundless

---

Lance turned to Waelin with a look of... odd surprise. Primarily from the fact that he never fully explained what this world is really like, How even after the shit she said she'd been through, that there's still some things she does not seem to know, and how he got caught up in his own stuff to explain. Realizing that now he has to explain... a lot of shit to her, he took a deep breath.

"Well this is... going to be a tad long, but let's just say that... as you may have already know. Demons are real. Or at least that's what we refer to those monsters, and many more things out there as demons. You're already aware that they can be quite nasty and shit, but that really is the tip of the iceberg. As I mentioned before, there's a lot of different types of 'demons' out there. Some can be relatively harmless unless provoked, but others... like those Granglers, and Hell Hounds are very dangerous. Even then, they are just a few types of demons. Some are a lot like wild animals in how they behave, others though? Not so much. These demons come in all shapes, sizes, colors. Some with odd abilities, also known as magic." He said, looking at Enraku,

"Some of them are more powerful than they seem at first glance. Some demons can even shapeshift, blending into society as anything ranging from inanimate objects to people."

[Koishi]

The Boundless

---

"Actual, biblical demons?" Waelin seemed a little incredulous at the notion, even with their experiences. "What, is the Rapture coming up soon?"

Enraku chuckled lowly, catching her attention. "No, no. They are the inspiration for such things, but what you know as the Bible is primarily fiction. Demonkind is quite different, it is not just some race of red-skinned devils in service to some fallen angel. No. They are a highly deceitful, manipulative race who enjoys conflict in all forms. They come in every shape, every size. Some as small as a flea, others akin to mountains. And for the most part, they desire an end to your race. Wholly and utterly."

"That's completely and utterly wonderful." Waelin spoke with enough sarcasm to sink a large ship. "And considering what i've seen, i'll take it we're screwed and should probably be planning for a planet-sized cemetery."

[SUSTIC]

Ortus City Suburbs

---

It didn't take too long for the young man and the girl to reach what appeared to be his home.


Entering through the wooden gate to the rather small backyard, it was fairly easy to make out the look of the house, despite how dark it was due to the storm and it being night. The house appeared to be fairly average sized 2 story house. Old faded blue paint could barely be seen through the dark storm, but some of the much lighter white details around the windows did stand out a bit more easily in the heavy rain.


The yard itself was also quite bare. The grass was green, but very patchy as if it was mowed poorly. There was even a small bird bath in the yard that was overflowing with water from the downpour of the storm. Though it did look very old, having been there for years. However it would have been hard to get a good look at the back yard as the young man continued to practically drag her towards the back door.

"Finally... Home at last! Don't worry, we'll get that wound of yours taken care of, then I'm calling emergency services." The young man said as he began to fiddle with the doorknob a bit, struggling with it as it was actually locked for once. However he did manage to open it when he remembered the spare key they keep under the welcome mat outside. Just as he put the spare key into the door's lock, he turned to her and spoke. "Now I'm gonna need you to be quiet. My mom's usually super busy and gets very little sleep, and we don't want to wake her. More importantly... I really don't want to wake my sister..." He said, his face getting a slight look of nervousness as he began to slowly open the back door, which led into what seemed to be a dimly lit kitchen, the only light source being a small nightlight plugged into one of the wall sockets above the countertops.


The Boundless

---

"You wouldn't be wrong with that assumption. After all, there are demons are highly resistant to most conventional weapons. Only lesser demons seem to be capable of being killed by ordinary weapons." He said as he then leaned forward, taking out the small blue pendant he had before. "But that's where people like myself come in. You see... I'm what you may call a Demon Slayer. Someone who hunts down and slays demons. Either for profit, the thrill of a fight, or simply out of the goodness of their hearts. We Demon Slayers fight demons using something special. Something that we call a 'Figment.' A special object that only humans can manifest, usually unlocking their Figments in times of utmost and insufferable amounts of mental or physical stress. As you saw earlier when we fought, that spear of mine, and that sword... nail thing you summoned. Is a Figment. The only tools that can be used to successfully harm and potentially kill demons." He explained, stopping to give Waelin a moment to process things. The hand he was holding the pendant with sparking with a small amount of harmless electricity as he waited for a response.

[WriggleRid3r]

Residence | Ortus City Suburbs

---

The girl nodded in understanding to what the boy had said as he opened the back door. The kitchen that came into view was well-kept and clean, with warm glow coming from a nightlight plugged above the white countertop. The girl's gaze drifted towards a bowl of confection, feeling a slight temptation to take one. However, when she noticed that the boy was heading towards the stairway that was connected to the living room just beyond the edge of the kitchen, she decided against taking a candy or two. After all, it's rude to just take something from someone who's showing hospitality. Her master said so many times.

As the girl's wet feet followed the boy, she couldn't shake a sense of familiarity. The leather sofa with a small burnt portion at the visible corner, the carpeted stairs that felt fuzzy in between her toes, the slight creak as the two walked up... The girl did not recognize them, and yet, the sensations lingered, softly like the scent of cranberry that she could smell from a weird candle-like apparatus on the stairs in between the first and second story. It all made her head hurt something fierce as she ascended the remaining flight of stairs with the help of the wooden rails on the side.

[Koishi]

The Boundless

---

"Not entirely true." Enraku casually added as they began to polish a set of glasses, left as the two patrons towards the back moved to leave.

"It's not the weapons, it's the soul. Magic, in a sense. Anything a 'awakened' soul like yourselves use can harm a demon, it's just that your Figments are often the most powerful thing you possess. The very essence of your soul empowers you and anything you touch. Guns, knives, table-legs will all do far more damage to a demon in the hands of a 'Slayer' than in the hands of a normal person. At least to a demon." they explained.

Waelin blew some air out their nose in a slight huff. "I mean, that's nice and all, but it didn't stop you from getting your ass handed to you by just two of them. No offense meant, but if that's just some random encounter, then the odds aren't in our favor when they start bringing out the big guns." she responded, skepticism high as they sipped on their drink.

[S121]

Ortus Woods - Outskirts

The rain poured down on the pavement of the old, dark forest road, the occasional lightning illuminating the path and the trees along its sides. Suddenly, the light from the sky was replaced by a car's headlights as a silver sub-compact car zipped on by, deeper into the darkness of the outskirts. Inside the car was a young man by the name of Nicholas, and he was just getting back home after working out at the gym and falling asleep in his car. It had been a rather long day at school and he needed to blow off some steam at the gym, but he didn't expect to fall asleep and be this late for dinner.

Nick kept his gaze on the road, carefully eyeing the tree lines to either side of him in case any wildlife emerged and ran out into the road. His windshield wipers whipped back and forth as they tried to give Nick a clear view of the road, but with this rainstorm, it only served to give him a second or two of clear sight. He squinted through the rain as he tried to make out whatever he could in this downpour, and that's when he saw it.

Illuminated by a lightning strike overhead was what looked like some kind of large black quadruped running alongside the left of his car beyond the treeline. This.. beast was no deer. No, in the split second of light, he could make out four large powerful limbs that connected to a muscular six-foot-tall animal. Perhaps it was a trick of light, or maybe Nick was going crazy, but he could see the jutting teeth in its vicious maw. Such a sight made Nicholas lurch back in his seat and swerve slightly away from the creature. Reacting quickly, Nick snapped his attention back to the road and started to drive faster. Wild animal or hallucination, he wanted to get away from it as soon as possible.

He heard a howl to his right and snapped his attention to that direction as well, and again, he saw things that should not be. Multiple pairs of red glowing eyes greeted him from the treeline. Dread quickly began to well up in his stomach as he quickly snapped his eyes back to the roa-BANG!

Foolish Nicholas, not keeping his eyes on the road, and now he hit something!! The panic surged for a quick moment as he sharply lurched forward from the collision. He squeezed the brakes and came to a sudden stop on the side of the road. Nick was shaking a little from the strike, but steeled himself as he set the car in park and turned on his emergency lights. What the hell did he just hit!? Was it dead? At the speed he was going, it had to be. Not only that, was his car okay? The pit in his stomach only got deeper as that thought came to bear. Despite this, he knew that there was nothing left to do but survey the damage, but would he dare after what he saw outside? What about the rain? God, this all felt like it was out of some horror movie! Nick swallowed hard and let out a deep breath as he turned on his brights and peered beyond his windshield. He could barely make out a silhouette in the downpour, nothing but a faint shadow. It was nothing but a crapshoot, so he reached for the door handle... Wait, no. It was not safe out there. Wild animal or not, if it was still alive, it was likely pissed and wanted to kill him. With this in mind, Nick reached beneath his chair and pulled out a 9-inch hunting knife, just in case. He then reached back to the door handle and emerged into the pouring rain.


Nick cupped his free hand over his brow like the bill of a cap in an attempt to keep the rain from obscuring his vision. With his car door now closed, Nicholas cautiously inched his way to the shadow he had seen before. With each step, the pit in his stomach deepened, his anxiety was on the precipice of fear as he got closer and closer. If this.. thing was the creature he had seen before, what would he do? After seeing that, what the fuck was he even doing out here? Before the thought could take root and heighten his current anxiety, he squeezed the handle of his knife and let out a deep sigh as he corrected his behavior. Assuming it wasn't a trick of his own imagination and IF that creature was really still alive, then he WOULD kill it. He was NOT defenseless. If it was to try and kill him, then he would take it down with him. He swallowed his fear and continued on down the road.

The creature's silhouette gradually grew as Nicholas approached. What looked like some sort of cow grew to resemble.. something not of this world! Nicholas felt a shiver down his spine as he gazed at the still creature. Even in the rain, he could see its broken, yet still powerful physique. It's muscly limbs were as thick as his own torso and ended in ferocious, beast-like claws that curled inward, as if by rigor mortis. Aside from the shattered side of its head, the creature's broken face looked vaguely like a wolf crossed with a bear. The muzzle even still had a few of the jagged, knife-like teeth still in its maw. What really took him by surprise was that from its very wounds, a hot glowing substance had begun to ooze out, producing steam as the rain came into contact with it. Just what the hell was this thing!? Nick gulped as he stared down at this monster. If it was alive, this monster would easily have been able to eviscerate him. Gauging the current situation, Nick looked back to his vehicle and judged the distance. The thing he had hit must have flown a good fifty, maybe seventy feet before it had hit the ground. That being said, he wasn't going to take any chances. With his knife in hand, Nick plunged the blade deep into the beast's jugular, ensuring that it was indeed dead. An almost unbearable heat escaped the wound, forcing him to yank the knife out and jump away as a spurt of its molten blood splattered onto the wet pavement and hissed. The black paint on his blade bubbled before the rain could cool it off, prompting Nick to let out a small huff of disappointment. His blade was ruined, but he brushed it aside as that was the least of his concerns.

In this moment, a thought occurred to him. If his first supposed hallucination was proven real, then what about the eyes he had seen glowing in the forest? Suddenly his sense of relief was gone. His fear from before came back in force as it welled up in his chest and caught in his throat, forcing the color to leave his face. His trembling vision darted to the treeline at his left, then to his right. Was the swaying of the bushes caused by the wind, or was something hiding there? That bush moved too abruptly! No, that one moved more! Oh god, they could be anywhere! His eyes swelled with panic as he ignored the beating rain and made a mad dash for his vehicle. No way in hell he was staying out here!

The more he ran, the longer each second felt. Fight-or-flight was in full swing, and that was perhaps what allowed him to notice the sudden blur of color in his peripheral. Nick's heart jumped as he grinded to a halt on reflex, narrowly avoiding the sudden entity. Nick let out a gasp as the creature that had ambushed him was now in full view. As if on que, the lightning above flashed as the creature gnashed its canine teeth at him and growled. Its dog-sized emaciated form was loosely draped in severely mottled, leathery, burnt skin. Adorning its head were three pairs of fiery red eyes that glowed with predatory intent. Its lips peeled back excessively, revealing not only its teeth but parts of the creature's skull. That was all Nick could see, as his car's high-beams were pointed directly at him. Despite the lack of sight and the rain beating down around them, the clacking of its hooved feet were unmistakable. Nick was face-to-face with a hell hound!

[S121]

("Power To Strive" 00:00)
Ortus Woods - Outskirts

As if sensing the fear emanating from Nick, the creature let out a demonic deep howl before snarling and making a lunge for its prey. Fear was one thing he felt, but another was the fight-or-flight slamming into fight mode. With that, Nick lunged diagonally forward to the side of the demonic hound, and swiped hard with his blade as he passed by. Clasping his free hand over his blade hand, he was able to stabilize the knife and not only deflected the dog's snout, but also dug deep into the surrounding tissues, cutting through the jaw muscles, down its neck, through the shoulder, and gashed each rib. The beast tried to snap back on its landing, but crumpled from the injury. Hot molten blood spewed from the deep gash along the hellhound's body.

Nick was now at the advantageous position of having his back to the hi-beams, blinding the dog and giving him the opportunity to jam the knife down onto the nape of the dog's neck. The blade hissed as it buried itself through the beast's spine and into its boiling blood. Taking care not to damage the only tool he had for his survival, Nicholas yanked the blade out and jumped back in a split second. If he was not careful, then he too would be burned from the beast's blood. The devil dog slumped to the ground as the blood steamed from the rain, and it was dead.

The fight was not was not over though, as another dog had roared before charging up to Nick. Nick spun around and kicked the hellhound hard with his steel-toed boot, shattering its jaw. The dogs of hell were now emerging from the trees; first one creature to fight, now three. They began to try and encircle Nick, but he slowly maneuvered towards his car to keep the hi-beams focused on their eyes and not his. In truth, he was scared, but he knew that like the dogs he used to deal with in his old neighborhood, or even his own dogs, there were only certain ways these animals could move. They go high or low; low being for his legs, and high meant that they would lunge or hop up. Once in the air, they could not maneuver as well as when they were grounded, and as long as he grazed them and avoided the snouts, he could counterattack. If they go low, then they meant to go for his legs. Luckily, he wore his steel-toes today, so he could crack a few teeth, and if they caught his foot in their mouth, he had the leg strength to kick them away. That being said, he had to try his best to avoid those teeth. If they grab hold, then they would likely whip about to rend flesh. If he was caught, then he would have to quickly counter to minimize the damage. If on the off-chance he caught one mid-lunge with his hands, he could possibly clamp their mouth shut, preventing its jaws from opening. All these strategies were great, but if he could get to his car trunk, then he could really lay the hurt down with his tire iron and really even the odds.

All these thoughts flashed through his mind, and once he had made up his mind, he put his plan into action. Reacting as swiftly as he could, Nick sprinted up onto the hood of his car and tried to scramble up the windshield. The hellhounds tried to follow him, but only one managed to clamber up the hood of the car. This was now to Nick's advantage, as the pads and claws were not capable of gripping the smooth finish of his vehicle.

"Get the fuck off!", Nick shouted as he slammed the butt of his knife against the top of its snout and kicked the beast off, preventing it from scratching his car up even more. The others attempted to clamber up, but Nick took his moment of respite to climb onto the roof and slide down the back to reach the hood. He would only get a second to grab the tire iron, so he had to time this perfectly. Immediately after sliding his weight off the trunk, he had his hand on the button and yanked the compartment open as his feet hit the ground. There it was, in all its cross-shaped, heavy chrome glory! He could hear snarling racing along the left flank of his car, so he grabbed the tire iron in his right hand and swung as it rounded the corner.

A loud plong and a sickening crack echoed in the rain as the hex-shaped hole penetrated the dog's skull. A spurt of molten blood gurgled out from the wound, forcing Nick to let go before he could be splashed. He took a step back to distance himself from the destruction, but the other rounded the corner and lunged at him. No, his footing was all wrong, he was not going to be able to get out of the way in time. The beast's gaping jaws went straight for his jugular, but were snapped shut by a pair of thick hands. Nicholas dropped his knife to save himself in the last second, but was now on his back in the rain with a pissed off hellhound struggling for the kill. The hellish creature tried to shake it's snout free, but Nick squeezed tight and wrapped an arm around the dog's neck to keep it from escaping. After that, he forcibly rolled onto his side to get the dog off balance, and twisted the snout as far and as hard as he could. He could hear the creature whimper before the sickening crack of its neck silenced it. He twisted and twisted until the creature's neck stretched, and once the creature began to twitch violently, he kicked it away and scrambled to a stand.

Just then, a plume of fire engulfed Nick for a brief moment, eliciting a startled scream from him. He quickly somersaulted away onto the wet road and glanced to his attacker. It was the dog that tried to chase him onto his car. His knife was a few feet away, but he didn't know if he could get to it in time. Only one way to find out. He made a mad dash to his blade and lunged for it. The hellhound blew fire from its loosely hanging jaw and tried to ignite the boy, but Nick broke away from the beast's fire breath before it could really toast his flesh, knife in hand. Now he was the predator. Nick sprinted after the injured hellhound and barely managed to let his knife fly free of his grip before the beast let loose another blast of fire. He then broke off from the sprint and backpedaled. The blade flew through the cone of fire and struck the hellhound in the lower jaw, skewering its tongue and perforating the mangled flesh of the creature's lower jaw. It wasn't a perfect throw, but it was clean. The demon dog was now thrashing about and trying to get the hunting knife out from its mouth, to which Nick obliged after he closed the distance. Taking his red, glowing knife in hand, Nicholas ripped it from the beast's jaws and slammed it into the creature's neck, just like the first. The blade burned his hand, but he had to yank it back out before it melted. Nick gritted his teeth and yanked the knife out from the creature, jumping away and dropping the knife while the last dog sank to the floor in a puddle of its own fiery blood.

The rain was the only noise left after the battle settled. Nick was winded after the ordeal, heavily breathing as he looked about for more attackers. There were no more glowing eyes, only the glow from the lightning above. He looked to his now burnt hand and winced as he saw the redness taking form. It hurt quite a bit, but it would certainly heal in a couple days. That being said, his knife was ruined. The rubber handle was melted, and the blade was discolored. His Jacket was also likely cinged from the fire of the dog's breath. He took another few breaths before deciding to move, both for energy's sake, and in case there was another hellhound.

Not sensing any other demonic creatures in the area, Nick cautiously moved back to his car. Once inside, he sat there in shock for a good five minutes. Did all this really just happen? Did he really just fight a bunch of dogs with molten rock in their veins? Nick laid his head on the steering wheel as he tried to make sense of all this. Nobody would believe him if he told them. Even his car was roughed up by the ordeal. After a moment, Nick raised his head up and decided that the best course of action would be to collect evidence. For starters, he would have to take pictures of the bodies and his weapons. Second, he was going to have to take one of the bodies and stuff it in his trunk. He didn't really know what he was going to do with a dead hellhound, but at least he would have physical evidence. Maybe he would take it to the science lab at school, or maybe the local college and they could tell him what just attacked him. His mind was concluded, and with that, he would collect evidence. Taking his smartphone in hand, Nicholas took a deep sigh and went back out into the rain.

The first one was the body with the tire iron sticking out from its skull. The blood was still glowing in the dark, and by this point, the tire iron was pretty hot to the touch, not so hot that it couldn't be removed though. With a firm yank, Nick dislodged the protrusion and looked at it. The previously embedded portion of the tire iron was blackened and misshaped now, prompting a small frown from its wielder. Next image was the one with the busted jaw. This one showed that they could actually breathe fire, but it couldn't be salvaged for later study. The last one behind the car was a different story. All he had done was broken its neck, so it would be a good specimen to take with him. After opening his trunk back up, Nick grabbed the dead animal and stuffed it on top of a tarp inside. Now that he really got a good look at them, these creatures were really ugly. He closed his trunk and began to walk ahead of his vehicle, documenting the last dog. As he took pictures, he could swear he heard a shuffling up ahead.

[SUSTIC]

The Boundless

---

Lance looked at Waelin, his expression appearing to become downcast for a moment. "First, I don't care about the threat level of other demons out there. Granglers will always be annoying to fight. Always. Slippery bastards. Secondly... I don't blame you for thinking that. However..." He said as he then stood up from the booth. "Currently major governments have dedicated branches that specialize in trying to deal with and neutralize demons. Most of which have hired demon slayers. A lot of whom are far better than myself, some of whom would have had no trouble taking care of those Granglers. Unfortunately Slayers of that power level are not common. I'm more experienced than the average Slayer, but I do have my limits. Not only that, but Demon Slayers in general aren't as common as they are nowadays..." Lance had explained, taking a couple steps closer to Waelin before leaning forward and placing a hand on the table in front of her.

"However this is where the main part of my job comes in. You see, I was stationed here in Ortus City to not just track and hunt down demons. That's just part of the job. The REAL part of my job is to look for others who have what it takes to become a Demon Slayer. To find people who either have unlocked their Figments, or those who have the strength and resolve to help fight Demons." As Lance finished explaining, he looked Waelin, locking eyes with hers. "And I honestly think you might have what it takes."


Residence | Ortus City Suburbs

---

As the two reached the second floor, the young man continued to sneak down the hall towards his room, being sure to turn around to the girl and putting a finger to his mouth before giving a quiet hushing her, pretty much telling her to keep her mouth shut as they crossed the hall. Though when they stepped by one of the closed bedroom's the sound of an older woman groaning and speaking in her sleep could be faintly heard, with the woman saying something about "one more glass please..." before ending in loud snoring. Hearing that made the young man stop in his tracks before giving a sigh of relief that the person inside the bedroom was still asleep.

Once that was finished, the young man continued to quietly lead the girl down to the end of the hall and to a door. On the door hung a small sign saying "Daisuke's Room. DO NOT ENTER" on it. Just as the reached the door, the young man now presumed to be this 'Daisuke' grabbed the door handle and gave it a small turn. However just as he began to push the door open, it let out a fairly loud creak. This made Daisuke grimace slightly, but within less than a second that grimace turned to that of complete fear as the sound of shuffling from the room beside his could be heard followed by the clicking of a light turning on. Immediately Daisuke knew what this meant as just then a young girl who seemed to be only a couple years younger than Daisuke came out. She had green hair similar to him, but she was wearing what looked to be simple green pajamas with little brown teddy bear faces all over them. Her green hair was messy as she yawned, eyes still closed as she spoke in a very tired voice.


"Daaaaisuke... is that you...?" She asked, only partially awake. Instinctively Daisuke stepped between this younger girl and the mysterious woman he's trying to sneak into his room. As if trying to hide what he's doing.

"Uuuh. Yeah! Just me sis! S-Sorry if I'm late! You know how Leon can be s-sometimes! Always calling and n-needing me to go and help him out with something and the worst of times!" Daisuke explained as he walked over to who seems to be his sister. Without thinking he then placed his hands on his sisters shoulders and turned her around. Good thing too as she was just beginning to open her eyes.

"Anyways you should get back to bed! You know how you get when you don't get a full night's worth of sleep!!" He pleaded, slowly pushing his only half-awake sister back to her room.

"But... I thought I just saw someone else-"

"Nope! As I said it's just me! Listen it's a very late night and you're just seeing things. Now just go back to bed, and I'll make breakfast for you tomorrow when you wake up!!" Daisuke said as he then pushed his sister into her room. As he did he looked over to the woman and tilted his head a bit to the side, as if gesturing the woman to quickly get into his room.

[WriggleRid3r]

Daisuke's Home | Ortus City Suburbs

---

With almost an animal-like instinct, the girl hid behind this boy, whose name she has deduced as Daisuke, as he tried to cover the situation against a younger, green-haired girl: presumably Daisuke's younger sister. However, although Daisuke is a rather well-built, tall man, the girl was almost as tall and, more importantly, too curvaceous to fit behind him without showing a couple of her fleshy bits. With the door behind her open, and Daisuke's go-ahead, she stealthily entered through the door to completely shroud herself away from the sister's curious eyes.

[S121]

(Bloodborne OST - Blood-Starved Beast - (00:00))
Ortus Woods - Outskirts

A very deep pit formed in Nicholas's stomach as his gaze swept towards the source of the noise, and as soon as he had, the muscular form of the Alpha Hellhound had already gotten within ten feet of him. Nick clenched his teeth as he leaped out of the way into a defensive roll, just barely clearing the monster now upon him. The large beast landed on its feet with a heavy thud and roared as Nick rose to a stand. Nick's gaze met the the traces of dried molten blood around its face and neck, confirming that this was the creature he had hit with his car earlier. Even worse, this massive canine monster was pissed.

Nick quickly put away his phone and reached for the partially melted tire iron and knife, but as he did so, the beast lurched forward again. Nick was not familiar with fighting something like this, but opted to apply a similar battle strategy to this one as well. The powerful beast lurched forward, and Nick lunged diagonally against it and just barely dodged the teeth, but he was not unscathed. He managed to outmaneuver the powerful jaws of the creature,but it had swiped its clawed hand outward in a wide arc as it landed, partially catching Nick's arm and cutting through. Even worse, he was swatted front and center onto his back, right beneath the monster's gaping jaws. Nick felt his heart jump as he stared up at those knife-like teeth. He tried to unpin himself, but the beast had him firmly between its paws. He tried to wiggle free, but only his arms could move. Then the beast struck.

The gaping maw surged down towards him, ready to tear his head from his torso. If he didn't act, then he would die! It was in this moment when Nick punched forward with the melted tire iron and wedged it deeply into the Alpha's powerful jaws. The beast bit down on Nick's arm and howled in pain as the melted tip of the cross-shaped tire iron buried itself deep into the roof of the creature's mouth. The bottom section was clamped against the inside of its bottom jaw, allowing the side portions to keep the beast's mouth partially open. Unfortunately, the beast's teeth still buried themselves deep into Nick's right arm, causing him to scream out. The hot searing pain of his injury caused him to cry out as he beat the Alpha's snout with the butt of his knife. Reacting to the pain of its abuse, the hellhound reared up its head and began to flail Nick around by his arm. Nicholas screamed as he held on to the tire iron for dear life, afraid that if he let go he would lose his arm. Nick desperately stabbed at the right side of the beast's face and neck over and over again in an attempt to get it to let go. The barrage of stabs penetrated the beast's jaw muscle and eye, but it didn't let go until he stabbed it three times in the neck. Finally, the beast let go, but threw Nick fifteen feet away, bouncing him off the pavement and injuring him further.

Nick laid there, paralyzed from the pain. His right arm was bleeding severely and was burned from being in close proximity of the Alpha's blood. Even his left hand had suffered from the heat coming off the knife and the spurting blood. The adrenaline was perhaps the only thing allowing Nick to get up, and when he rose to face the beast once more, he could see that it was trying to get the tire iron out from its mouth. Nicholas took this opportunity to charge for the creature and kill it once and for all. Knife in hand, Nick closed the distance quickly, but the creature was faster and was met with a powerful claw to his chest. The claw tore at his shirt and the soft flesh beneath before launching him into the ditch by the side of the road. It was a rather painful and possibly deadly miscalculation, because now the creature was running right towards him again. Despite his injuries, Nick scrambled to his feet and lunged beneath the creature's left arm, slicing at the underarm of the creature and severing the tendons. Molten blood spewed from the wound and splashed the grass, burning it. Nick couldn't tell if it got onto him, but frankly that was the least of his worries. Wasting no time, Nick spun around and slashed down against the left shoulder of the creature, severing muscle tissue from bone and tendon from bone. Molten blood spewed out, but he kept hacking. The Alpha Hellhound spun around and swiped at Nick with its right claw and grabbed his waist tightly with it, but was swiftly met with multiple stabs into its wrist. This quick thinking allowed Nick to escape, but even with the creature now on its back, it was not defenseless. Fire erupted from its mouth and doused Nicholas in flames.

Nick leaped back and into the grass as he tried to put out the fire. He was fortunate that the rain had drenched him already and that the mud was watery, or else he would have been severely burned. His whole upper torso had first degree burns, but the adrenaline negated the pain. He hopped back to his feet, only to be met with the creature's right claw again, swiping towards his torso. Nick barely ducked out of the way, but was swiftly back-handed hard. Nicholas slammed into the mud again, but used the slippery mud to slide into a crouched position and ran up into the road. The Alpha Hellhound followed suit and lunged at him. Nick slid below and slashed at the beast's chest and emerged on the left side of the creature. Mustering as much strength as he could, Nicholas hopped onto the beast's back and held on for dear life. His injured right arm tightly held onto the beast's neck, which was still coated in softly glowing blood. He screamed as his arm burned, but he had to hold on for just a bit longer. Nick laid atop the Alpha's back and stabbed the left side of its neck again and again, forcing more of the molten blood to erupt from the wound. His knife hand burned, but he kept stabbing. The Alpha bucked wildly and tried to knock Nick off, but he held firm until it began to weaken from the desperate stabs. Finally, Nick took his glowing white-hot knife back out from its neck and slammed it down into the base of the hellhound's skull, severing its brain stem. The Alpha Hellhound reared up and howled before collapsing onto the wet pavement, forcing Nicholas to let go.



(Sound of Rain - 00:00)

Nick plopped onto the pavement beside it and rolled over onto his back. Confident that the beast was no more, and too exhausted to move, he just laid there and tried to catch his breath. The rain beat down on his broken body, forcing him to look to the side and protect his eyes. His hands, arms, and upper body was badly burned, he was hemorrhaging blood from his arm and chest, and he could swear that a few of his ribs were broken. His ragged breathing slowed to a weak rhythm and his eyes began to slowly close. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, his injuries were getting the better of him. He was too tired and too injured to move, and his car was thirty feet away.

Would it be safe for him to lay here until morning? Was he to die here? Eventually his slow stream of thoughts stopped altogether as he lost consciousness, surrounded by his fallen enemies, and soon to join them.