Demon Hunters

Consequences I

Lucretia's feet sloshed as she sprinted through the empty sewers. She could feel her heart pumping like it was about to burst from her chest. This was to be expected, of course, as it was her first time personally hunting a demon instead of just acting as an assistant. Somewhere not too far behind her, she could hear raspy breathing and clacks of hooved feet. In response, she quickened her pace, ignoring the flaring pain she felt in her tongue.

Only a little more now, she thought to herself as she turned the corner and saw her goal appearing before her – a dead end.

She slowed down and carefully navigated the maze of traps she had set beforehand. Silently she prayed that she could make it to the end before the demon could catch up and, thankfully, it appeared just when she had cleared the last tripwire. The creature stopped and a horrifying smile formed on its grotesque face. Evidently, it felt that it had trapped Lucretia, and could now savour torturing its victim. Everything was going according to the plan.

"You are fast but stupid. I win!" it gleefully announced as it spread its arms and started its approach.

For the most part, the creature resembled a human, if a large one. However, its head was replaced with that of a goat's, its legs ended in hoofs, and thick fur covered its body all over. In addition, there was one more thing that revealed the creature as a demon. Lucretia happened to glance at the creature's crotch and grimaced.

What can you even do with something so needlessly huge? I suppose it is fitting for a demon of lust, though.

"Are you not scared, girl? You should be. Just imagining what I will do to you excites me so much..." the demon growled.

When Lucretia still refused to show any signs of distress, the creature grew visibly vexed. It took a larger step forward, and finally, Lucretia's trap was triggered. A brief look of confusion could be seen on the demon's grotesque face, as a mechanical click echoed through the walls. It had no time to process what had happened, however, as hundreds of small pellets suddenly burst forward from the walls, tearing the demon's flesh. This was only the beginning, however: a modified bear trap attached to a chain dropped from the ceiling, managing to catch one of the demon's arms within its steel maw. Next, a spring-loaded blade triggered at the creature's feet, maiming them and felling the creature onto its knees. This symphony of pain was finally capped when a shot from Lucretia's pistol pierced the demon's head. Not one to leave anything to chance, she quickly sprinted to the severely wounded monster and pushed her rapier through its heart. The whole process had taken mere seconds, but it was now clear: Lucretia had hunted down her first demon.

"How's that?" she gleefully shouted, letting all of her anxiety and nervousness flow out in the form of almost hysterical laughter.

"Let's see: you used far too much ordnance, the timing of your trap was far too tight, and none of your traps were sufficiently lethal," a voice answered.

Lucretia's shoulders slumped as her trainer, a man by the name of Franz, appeared from the shadows. He made for an impressively large figure, in stark contrast to Lucretia's rather lithe physique. As he removed his hood, his long white beard and hair were revealed – both a very rare sight on a demon hunter, who often died young. He examined the corpse. A small smile appeared on his chapped lips.

"Still, for a first hunt, that went very well. Besides, as I like to say, a demon hunter who isn't fast on their feet will soon find themselves lacking such appendages."

Lucretia could hardly conceal her smile. It wasn't often she received such praise, backhanded though it may have sounded. But, having known her mentor for a good seven years now, Lucretia knew that he tended to be quite reserved in his estimations.