DEMON HUNT

Chapter 15: In the dark forest

     Mari and the others enter a mini bus, put in place by DDI authorities. They had also taken appropriate measures to ensure the bus wasn't stopped by the military along the way. The team finally sets out. Their destination, the terrorist infected city of Akbad. Mari opted to drive, but Yash wouldn't let him. After due consideration, Mari decided to let him handle the wheel. The others all sat at the back, in an order of two hunters per row. Mario found himself on the last row, sitting with Jolie.
      As the day gets darker, the road becomes quiet and free. This is mostly because most motorists and even pedestrians dare not head east at night. There's palpable military presence on the road but to many, it's not enough reason to take such a bold action. As expected, the bus isn't being stopped by the military. Not even at the checkpoints. Humberto eventually breaks the silence in the bus.

Humberto: Wow. I wonder how they do it.

Mari: Do what?

Humberto: This. We haven't been stopped since we started this journey.

Mari: Oh. I had gotten use to it.

Jolie: DDI must be really influential.

Mari: Either that, or Malvay is full of corruption. It gets me wondering sometimes. There's always two sides to a coin. Where one sees influence, someone else may see corruption. What do you think, O?

   Mario doesn't respond.

Mari: O?

  Mari turns to look at Mario, who was obviously not paying attention.

Mario: What was that? Sorry. I was a bit distracted.

Yash: How can you be distracted when a legend is talking to you?

Mario: Pfff. He's not a legend to me.

Yash: How dare you?...

Mari: That's alright. Honestly, I don't see myself as a legend. I would like to think that there have been many greats in the history of demon hunting. However, to me, only a few should be regarded as legends. I'm not trying to discredit the others, but this makes the title"legend" even greater.

Jolie: I'd have to agree.

Mario: Which hunters do you regard as legends?

Mari: Obviously, the first name any hunter faced with this question would mention is John Kado.

Jolie: Anyone but this guy.

Jolie points at Yash.

Mari: There's someone else also very deserving of that title though.

Mario: Who?

Mari: Lumine Gransbelle.

Yash: Lumi the who?

Mari: Lumine Gransbelle. He was a hunter in John Kado's era. Probably the reason he's usually overlooked.

Jolie: What makes you think he's a legend?

Mari: He's arguably the most hardworking hunter in history. He wasn't privileged to have kado, but he served as a hunter till his last breath, and very few can boast of hunting down more demons than Lumine. Sadly, among the vast collection of books in the DDI archives, none is dedicated to his name.

   Mario remembers what Mari said to him during their argument at his residence and mutters to himself.

Mario: So, that's what he meant when he said "some have reached great heights without being able to use kado". It all makes sense now.

Jolie: How do you know about him then?

Mari: He appears in about a dozen books as a side character. Often used as a buildup to ''even greater men".