Demon Hunters

Wartime V

"What is thing?" Jean whispered, ogling at the monstrosity with an utterly petrified expression.

"That's the thing I'm going to hunt down," Jonah whispered back, lowering his backpack on the ground.

The hunter didn't let the demon's close proximity disturb him. Instead, he calmly took stock of the situation: the fact that they had caught the monster unawares was an enormous boon, and in fact, the sole reason Jonah believed that he had any chance of felling this abomination. He surveyed the area and grimaced. There was next to no cover to be found on the road. Theoretically, Jonah could try to draw the demon into the woods where it would have a harder time to move, but as the trees in this area of the forest were quite young, the demon would inevitably topple them over, posing yet another threat to Jonah. Usually, Jonah relied on traps, but now he didn't really have the time to set up anything. Soon, Jonah had come up with something resembling a plan: it was haphazard at best, but the situation didn't really allow for anything but that.

"You wait here. If I'm killed, I need you to get away as fast as you can – the demon is unlikely to give chase, as it'll probably be eating me," Jonah huffed, pulling out the equipment required for his plan.

However, as he was about to move, he noticed that Jean had caught on to him by the sleeve of his jacket. The young man was terrified, that much was clear by his expression, but there was also a strange strength in the look he gave the demon hunter.

"No! We go away together!" he insisted in a low voice.

Jonah shook his head.

"I have my duty to uphold."

"Then me help!"

Jonah grabbed Jean outreached hand and gently pried it loose. His smile was genuine, perhaps for the first time in many years.

"Look, I'm a demon hunter. This is what I live for. You, however? You still have a family at home, waiting for you. You still want to see the farm, do you not?"

Jean's shoulders slumped, though he still looked as if he would try to argue. However, Jonah didn't give him the chance, as he had already started to sneak toward the hunched monstrosity. As he slowly made his way toward the demon that was still feasting on the corpses strewn around the wagon, he could feel his heartbeat start to steadily increase. No matter how many times he risked his life like this, the prospect never got easier. Suddenly, the demon raised its head, and its ears wiggled around. Immediately, Jonah dove on the ground and pretended to be a corpse. Indeed, the demon soon looked around, its beady eyes scanning the road. Thankfully, it noticed nothing amiss and returned to devouring its prey.

That's right, nothing here to be nervous of. Just focus on your meal, you ugly bastard, Jonah thought to himself as he closed in.

When he had reached the edge of the shadow cast by the horns that crested on the demon's head, Jonah stopped and silently took out a bomb. His plan was as simple as it was risky: he would use the bomb to disorientate the beast and then move in for the kill in the ensuing chaos. Of course, his throw would need to be perfect, as if the demon wasn't sufficiently distracted, his prospects of success wouldn't look too promising. Holding the bomb in his hand, ready to ignite it, Jonah inched ever closer to make sure that he could get the best angle he could hope for. However, just as he was about light the fuse, disaster struck – as it turned out, one of the bloodied soldiers wasn't completely dead.

"Help me!" the soldier wailed loudly, reaching out to Jonah with his mangled arm.

It was obvious from a glance that this poor soldier was beyond any help Jonah might have been able to give him, as half of his face had been caved in and the man was bleeding profusely. Indeed, the man soon fell to the ground, unconscious, unlikely to ever wake up again. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Jonah might soon share the man's fate, as the demon clumsily turned around to face the hunter. The monster didn't even bother saying anything, merely grunting in annoyance at this small creature that had dared to distract it from its meal. While the monster was slowly getting up to its feet, Jonah acted quickly. He knew that throwing the bomb now would be more likely to cause him injuries than do anything useful, so he dropped it in favour of his pistol. He aimed his weapon directly at the demon's face but missed its eyes, only managing to clip the top of its head. As a result, he only succeeded in making the demon that much angrier.

Better move to the backup plan, Jonah thought, turning on his heels and starting a mad dash away from the demon.

Jonah could feel the ground shaking as the massive beast lumbered behind him. The hunter reached into his pocket and scattered a handful of caltrops behind him, but by the sounds, this failed to even slow the demon down. Undeterred, Jonah moved to the next part of his plan: suddenly, he stopped and turned around. This took the demon off guard, and it couldn't stop its hulking form in time, allowing Jonah to display his agility by slipping between the creature's legs. Without wasting a single moment, Jonah plunged his sword into the back of the demon that had finally managed to stop. As the blade slid into the demon's back, Jonah realized that he had failed. His stab had missed the demon's heart by mere inches, but now those inches would most likely cost him his life. Jonah had no time to contemplate this failure, as he was taken off guard by the demon's backhand swing that sent him flying through the air.

As Jonah finally regained his senses, the world was spinning around him. The hit had thankfully only cracked a few of his ribs – without doubt, a survivable injury. A far less survivable injury was fast approaching, however, as the furiously growling demon was closing in on Jonah. He considered taking a lethal dose of his medication – a death by an enraged demon was one of the worst ways to go – but decided against it.

I failed, so I suppose this should be my punishment. Well, I'll finally get to see the pearly gates, I suppose. I hope the food they serve there is better than what I've been eating lately, Jonah thought to himself, chuckling at the thought.

However, an uneasiness took over Jonah. He had always thought that when his time would come, he would greet it calmly, simply accepting that his work was finally over. Yet this was not the case: Jonah couldn't help but worry about Jean, who was by now hopefully limping his way out of this grisly scene.

I wonder, how will things turn out for him? Will he be able to reach the camp? I certainly hope so.

Resigning himself to his fate, Jonah spread his arms as if to welcome his demise. The demon seemed all too eager to fulfil his wish, as it was now raising its clenched fist, ready to reduce the demon hunter into a bloody mush. However, just as it was about to end Jonah's life, a shot rang out, and the demon roared in anger. Jonah immediately looked for the source of the noise and was horrified to see that Jean had somehow managed to get his hands on a rifle – most likely from one of the corpses littering the area – and was defiantly standing his ground down the road. This sight was enough for the demon to get distracted, and the monster, already frothing out of the mouth, turned its ire toward the young man who had dared hurt it. It let out a roar so loud that Jonah had to cover his ears. Despite this, Jean stood firm, leaning on his musket for support.