The Demon Slayers Club (IC)

[SUSTIC]

The Boundless

---

"It ain't the fleas you have to worry about little lady, it's the SUPERNATURAL parasites you gotta look out for. Once I got a bad case of elder ticks. Never. EVER again." Astaroth grasped her hand firmly and shook it with vigor as his grinned widened ever so slightly. "Well Waelin don't worry about any doubts regarding that contract you signed. You are in very good, and highly capable hands. As long as you follow your end of whatever deal it is you signed, then there will be no problems! Can't say the same if it were me you had made a contract with." Astaroth joked as he stopped shaking Waelin's hand. His grin disappearing into a more normal look for a... humanoid feline form. That's when he made his way over to a seat, of which he merrily plopped down on.

"Anyways old friend... Anything of interest happen as of late? Other than acquiring a new employee?"

[S121]

Ortus Woods | Outskirts

Nick could barely see what Miranda was so spooked about, but knew that it seemed large. He himself was in no condition to fight, but had a feeling that Miranda couldn't stop it herself either. He had no choice in the matter though because his injuries would only serve to hinder the both of them.

"I'll try.", Nicholas finally said, "I'll be waiting in the truck. Don't die."

With that, Nicholas slowly left Miranda's grip and stumbled. He pushed off the ground with one of his palms and lunged a foot forward as he forced his weight forward. He could barely walk, but there was no other option; he had to get into that truck.

[SUSTIC]

Ortus Woods | Outskirts

---

Miranda, without turning her attention away from Nick, gave a large smirk. A clearly cocky one as she spoke. "Don't worry kid, I don't plan on it." She said with an air of confidence to it. However despite how hard she was trying to hide it, she was aware of this thing. It's a fairly dangerous demon, one that is usually incredibly difficult to kill. One that she has only read the files on. As such there was a small hint of unease in her voice, which she was trying to hide. Either way, her blood was pumping, and she was itching for a fight.

Without a weapon in hand she got into a fighting stance as a bright ball of energy started to form in her hand before taking the shape of what looked to be a very heavy caliber magnum revolver. "If I don't make it back in 10 minutes though... get on the floor of my truck and don't look out the windows. Not until morning! Now GO!!!" She demanded as she fired her summoned Magnum, the sound it made upon being fired reverberating loudly throughout the area, followed by a equally loud and unearthly shriek that could send a chill down the toughest of men.

[S121]

Ortus Woods | Outskirts

Nick practically tumbled his way back to the truck, barely avoiding eating asphalt as he stumble-ran down the ditch and back up onto the road. When he got a glimpse of the woman's truck, he ran towards it and opened the driver's seat. He may have been too weak to run at the moment, but he could still drive. If need be, he could still get out of here. Now all there was to do was wait. Nick remained deathly quiet, only hearing his heartbeat in his head at first, but then the slowing rain outside. Just how far was this mystery woman and her opposition? He remained silent for a whole minute, hoping to hear the fight.

[SUSTIC]

Ortus Woods | Outskirts

---

Those few minutes were long, but not silent. As he waited in the truck he could hear the sound of gunshots. First there was one, then two... then three, four, and much more. All happening in quick succession, as if she wasn't even reloading. In between the shots being fired, the ungodly shriek could be heard echoing throughout the night sky.

Finally after a good 8 minutes... things went quiet. Quiet for a little too long, as for yet another good 7 minutes... there was silence. Until the sound of her suddenly popping up next to the truck, as the sound of her tossing *something* into the back of the truck could be heard before she yanked the driver side door open. "Move. NOW." She said as she started to push Nick off into the passenger seat.

[S121]

Ortus Woods | Outskirts

The silence felt like it dragged on forever. Just how long was she going to be gone? Was she dead? Thoughts began to flood Nick's mind about what he should do. Judging by the gunshots, it had to be some sort of high-caliber handgun the woman was using, and if his assumptions were correct, they had to be doing something to the monster. If the monster showed up in the road, perhaps the truck could be used to injure it long enough to escape. Perhaps the woman herself was the victor, and she was slowly making her way back.

His questions were soon answered as he heard footsteps within extremely close proximity to the truck. It put him on edge at first until he realized they sounded human. Just then, the woman popped up to the side of the truck and threw something into the back of the truck before yanking open the driver-side door. Nicholas quickly reached for the glovebox and used it to hoist himself over and into the passenger seat. He wasn't too picky how he landed, as long as the two of them got out. Even the pain couldn't stop him.

Once over, he glanced to the woman on the other side of the truck.

[SUSTIC]

Ortus Woods | Outskirts

---

After getting into the driver seat properly, she slammed the truck door shut and turned the keys in the ignition, which thankfully the truck didn't do the old cliche of not starting up until the monster was right there.

As the truck's engines revved up, Miranda put a hand on the steering wheel, and one on her side. She was covered in some nasty injuries. Ones that were definitely not from those hellhounds.

It was clear the creature got some good hits in on her, as she had what looked to be 4 deep gashes on her side, similar but less deep claw marks on her right forearm, and some cuts on her cheek. She was also breathing heavily as she began to back her truck up. "Jesus Christ, fuck that thing..." She said as after she backed up enough, she started to drive her truck forward and past all the stuff left in the middle of the road. As they drove off she glanced to himand asked...

"Hey kid, you okay?"

[S121]

Ortus Woods | Outskirts

Now that Nicholas was sitting still and no longer in danger, the adrenaline that kept him conscious and moving was wearing off once more. His hands, arms, and upper body were badly burned. The flesh on his hands and forearms were blistered and his fingers were burned to the point the flesh was beginning to blacken. His right arm had a deep bite that looked deep enough to go down to bone and was covered in second and third-degree burns, and his chest was slashed deep. The only thing that kept Nick from bleeding out was the hasty cauterizing of his wounds earlier. Even the uncut skin over the larger portion of his stomach and chest suffered from first and second degree burns. What Miranda may or may not have seen was how his right arm and four of his ribs were broken in multiple places, and he was mildly concussed. It was a wonder he managed to live this long with those injuries.

Nicholas meanwhile was slowly losing consciousness. His head swayed and lolled as he tried to force himself to remain conscious, but he was quickly losing that fight. Nick was fearful that if he lost consciousness now, he may never regain it. Nick didn't answer Miranda for a good five seconds, but turned to look at the woman who had picked him up.

"No. It looks bad.", he barely managed to say through the haze.

[SUSTIC]

Ortus Woods | Outskirts

---

Miranda only briefly looked at the young man. A brief look of concern came over her face as she saw how bad his injuries were. To most it'd seem like it's a miracle that he's still conscious, let alone still alive after the mess he's been through. If Nick was just any other civilian, she'd be actually somewhat worried... but not with the young man that sat beside her. After all, she could sort of sense something from him. A similar, but fairly weak aura to her own.

"Maybe... he unlocked his Figment..." She thought as she then turned her focus to the empty road ahead of her.


The night was still dark as she continued driving. The brief moment of a lack of response from him almost made her think that he may have passed out. Safe to say, she was actually a bit surprised, and a tad impressed, that he was still conscious. This just made her speak without turning her attention to him.

"Yeah... not much people can survive what you've been through... Honestly it's a bit of a shock that you're even still conscious." She spoke.... "Though I can say, you don't have the worst injuries I've seen in my line of work. I almost saw someone lose their head to one of those things, as well as lost a couple of limbs. Nearly had their guts spilled out, and half their face eaten... Granted, he wasn't very pretty looking afterwards, and he had to retire due to... well... losing limbs." She rambled on, primarily hoping that some conversation will help him stay awake. What was it she meant when she said "in my line of work", and how she's seen someone survive worse injuries from "those things". It was clear that she was talking about those hellish hounds, but does what she say mean she deals with those bastards regularly...? Questions for another time...

She didn't say too much after that though. Instead going a bit silent.. before suddenly saying something a bit out of left field.

"Uh... I have a couple more shots of adrenaline in the back seat... I also have a flask of hard whiskey in the glovebox if you want." She said as she turned to look at him, giving him a smirk and a wink. "Don't worry if you're underage. I won't tell anyone if you won't."

[S121]

Ortus Woods | Outskirts

Nicholas was drifting in and out of consciousness when he was listening to the woman talk. He couldn't tell if it was him falling into delirium or if he actually heard the woman correctly, but she spoke of people being injured worse. What was she on about? What was her "line of work"? Had he stumbled upon some sort of secret demon hunter world like some sort of comic or manga? It certainly didn't help that at any moment he could drift away and die.

What did focus his attention and force him back into the fight was the mention of adrenaline. Suddenly now he had a gameplan. If he could remain conscious until he made it to a medical center, then surely he would live. He didn't know if he could reach into the back seat with his arm and ribs being broken, but there was a second person here.

"A-adrenaline. Can you get it? My arm's broken.", Nicholas weakly said.

[SUSTIC]

Ortus Woods | Outskirts

---

Miranda seemed a little... irritated that he didn't really make a remark or anything, but she didn't really complain. He was currently badly injured at the moment, and as such she, without stopping the truck, reached her injured arm into the backseat. It took her a moment to feel for the bag in the backseat as she was also trying to keep her hands on the road. Upon finding the bag though, she quickly reached in and grabbed the syringe. After which she pulled the cap of the syringe off with her teeth before slamming the needle into Nick's thigh without hesitation.

"There ya go.." Was all she said as she tossed the now empty syringe into the backseat of her truck. After which she then reached for her flask within the truck's glove box.

If Nick had enough energy to pay attention, he'd actually begin to notice that she took a different turn on the road. One that was *not* leading directly into Ortus, but rather a highway that led a bit away from the city... Where was she taking him...?

[Koishi]

The Boundless

---

Waelin rose an eyebrow at the feline demon's comments, glancing over to Enraku with a slight hint of worry at the second. "He's more of what you'd consider a classical crossroads dealer in regards to contracts. The myths do originate from reality, you know."

Enraku looked over to Astaroth after the brief explanation. "Not much, really, though my client's arrival has made me want to put in some inquiries and more so some meetings as, well, I imagine you can figure with a glance that she's not an average case and I do hope someone hasn't gone off the deep end and.... ah, yes, I was recommended to petition for proper classification for demonkind again. Hopefully it won't go as sour last time, considering the scene that caused. So all that will keep me a bit busy for a time, among other things. What of you, my furred facilitator? Any notable dealings on your end?"

Waelin simply sat down herself, taking in the scene. So Enraku worked with those who seemed to deal in less than savory practices. Well, at least that's the image she conjured of deals with devils in the dead of night. The oversized cat definitely seemed the type, big smiles at the front, malicious nature at the back. Given, it's hard to tell if the smile is forced considering the alien nature of their features. If the face didn't move, she'd be half tempted to say she was opposite some horrid fursuit enthusiast with an unhealthy and obsessive relationship with the Cheshire Cat. Waelin closed her eyes for a moment to focus. This was probably among the least strange things they'd seen this week, focus on the important. Enraku's looking into what happened. And everything previous has told her what happened to her was not normal for demons.

How much power did Enraku have? They seemingly had connections all over, especially considering they were at the moment casually talking to someone who could have possibly originated myth. That, and they had enough power to protect them from that cult. One that apparently had it's claws deep into this city. The scale of this mess seemed to grow larger and larger with every tidbit she heard. It was also evident that sooner or later, this city was going to fall to chaos. Maybe not now. Maybe it'll take weeks, months, maybe even years, but it was clear that this place was a slowly burning powder keg waiting for an errant spark. One that she'd almost certainly get involved in whether she wanted it or not. They gave a slightly forced puff of air from their nose. Maybe they'd have to take up that Slayer's number. Training would be appreciated, at the very least.

Then, her focus was broken as their stomach gave a massive grumble, almost as demonic sounding as the two closest to them. Enraku blinked.

"Ah, right, you were half-starved back there. Let me whip something up real quick." Enraku replied, speed immediately going to work as they became half a blur as they worked behind the counter.

[SUSTIC]

The Boundless

---

"Hmm... Yes, I noticed. Definitely not the ordinary human you'd see. Even compared to some of those so called 'Demon Slayers', she has a distinct look to her. The energy she emits also feels... strange. Demonic, yet not... Most certainly an enigma." Astaroth pondered, his eyes focusing on Waelin. His grin lessened quite a bit more, but it was still clearly there.

Though when Enraku asked what Astaroth himself had been up to as of late, The... cat demon, turned to his dear friend behind the counter and spoke,.

"Oh the usual as you'd imagine. You know, the standard 'make me rich in exchange for my soul' blah blah blah... A lot of those as of late. Though I would say that I did have an interesting encounter with one of your younger siblings as of late. You remember the Luxuria? The Sin of Lust?"

[Koishi]

The Boundless

---

Enraku gave a sigh at the mention of Lust, half restraining themselves from rolling their eyes. "Unfortunately so."

Waelin's curiosity was piqued now. Sins? They knew of the vague idea, seven sins that lead one to damnation. Though this made it seem more like they were people. Positions of power, perhaps even something religious? But the most notable was the mention that this "Sin of Lust" was one of Enraku's siblings. That confirmed Enraku's position as something powerful. Were they a sin too? But of what?

[S121]

Ortus Woods | Outskirts

Nick let out a weak grunt as he felt the needle slam into his leg. His gaze darted to Miranda as the adrenaline swiftly took effect, but he seemed rather shocked and a tiny bit miffed.

"I was going to drip feed myself that so it could last longer.", Nicholas flatly remarked as he felt the warmth flood his body. He could tell whoever this woman was, they were more a gung-ho sort, rather than whatever he had expected. Just what did he expect from a strange woman who randomly showed up to kill some hellhounds?

Before he could come to a conclusion, Nicholas could see that the woman had taken a wrong turn. Instead of taking the access road that would lead them to the city and to a hospital, they were now heading away. This patch of road was unfamiliar territory and he was at the mercy of whatever this stranger intended. Alarm bells sounded off in Nick's gut, and he could feel his chest tighten. In that moment he considered what he had at his disposal if this woman intended to kidnap him. He still had the .45 handgun from before, and better yet he knew it still had six hollow point rounds left. Despite his growing anxiety, Nick swallowed it down and spoke up. He made sure his words were measured and calm but still polite. For now, his injuries didn't even register; all that mattered was discerning this woman's intent.

"Oh. I think the hospital is the other way.", Nick said to his driver. His eyes darted to Miranda's hands and face in case she made any sudden movements or reached for a weapon.