DEMON HUNT

Chapter 26: The life behind the name

In the presence of the trees and grasses, the moon and rain, and the watchful eyes of mother earth, the lord of the snowy mountains fell. Knowing the way he'd die seconds before it happened. Hearing and knowing but being unable to change anything.

Many years ago in the southeastern region of Ampao, an extremely poor and indebted couple got a son. Mr and Mrs Ross were delighted, to say the least, having hoped for a child for seven years. They soon found out, however, that the child was born with a chronic illness that'd soon take the babe's life if proper medical care was not provided.

In an attempt to save the child's life, more loans were taken, and the debt climbed higher. The boy responded to treatment and escaped the danger zone, but was still frail and feeble compared to his peers.

Delighted by the fighting spirit of his boy, Mr. Ross named him 'Lisandro', and the couple went to great lengths to ensure the child would live. They worked extra hours and took loans to fund his medical needs.

The couple, once again, begat a baby boy. A healthy child by all standards, and one that was the spitting image of his father. Then came a girl, also healthy and beautiful.

Mr. Ross was set up, made to take the fall in his workplace, causing him to lose his job, and putting a great deal of financial pressure on the family. And just like a plan orchestrated by the devil, Lisandro's health condition soon hit an all time low. Lack of funds and the inability to seek more loans caused his parents to withdraw him from the medical facilities, and they silently hoped that the boy would pass on peacefully.

The creditors soon came knocking, and their frustration soon translated to anger, anger to disdain, disdain to mockery, and mockery to physical abuse on Lisandro's mother. The family soon began to struggle a great deal.

While Lisandro's condition didn't improve, the lad refused to die. His parents would check regularly if he was still alive and the response never changed. On several occasions, Mr. Ross would hold a knife to the boy's neck and try to give him a sendoff. He was a strain to the family's scarce financial resources and was suffering a great deal, albeit silently. The child would just watch on, without uttering a word. Mr. Ross never grew the guts to slit the child's throat, nor poison him. Lisandro was isolated from his siblings, because his parents considered contact with him an act that could bring ill luck to them.

Tired of seeing his face, Mr. Ross took Lisandro to a park outside of Ampao and left him there, at a time when winter was knocking on the door. Mr. Ross moved his family and left no pointer to where they were headed.

Lisandro somehow survived a few weeks in an unfamiliar territory. As winter arrived, a 'generous' old man took pity on Lisandro, taking him under his roof. He arranged for Lisandro to receive basic education, and enrolled him to his martial arts academy. The man's name was Kim. At age fourteen, Kim took Lisandro and his fellow academy students to the fight pit, to compete in brutal events aimed at entertaining the rich gamblers of the city. Lisandro soon became popular in the pit for his four limbed fighting style and precision strikes.

For the largest event of the year, Lisandro was pitted against his fellow students, under severe stipulations. He, however, refused to participate. This upset Kim, but didn't change much, as the other students carried on with the other matches. The event led to the loss of seven of the twelve boys who participated. Lisandro had battled through his illness and, soon demanded his freedom from Kim, who was reluctant to let him go. After the knocks became louder, Kim agreed to grant Lisandro his freedom, but placed a condition in the deal. Lisandro would have to help Kim assassinate someone. Lisandro took the offer.

The assassination attempt went south, however, as Lisandro was easily overpowered and knocked out by the man he was sent to kill. Louis Van der Waal offered Lisandro tea and showed him kindness. He took Lisandro as his own child and gave him the life he deserved. Van der Waal was a hunter, and presented Lisandro with a choice to join DDI as a hunter, on his eighteenth birthday. Lisandro accepted the proposition.

Not being able to use kado until three years into his entry, Lisandro struggled as a hunter. He was a junior hunter for four years before he moving a rank up. His ability, however, was relatively passive, and he could only predict the weather and explain the topology of areas at this time. This made Lisandro the subject of trolls and mockery, as his kill rate was extremely low.

Van der Waal eventually died in action, and Lisandro vowed to become captain on his grave. It took him eleven more years to achieve this feat however, improving his use of his ability and mastering the fluid limbs technique. In a world where demons could only be killed by kado initiated attacks, Lisandro was unable to execute the final blow in numerous occasions and soon turned to poisons to increase his combat abilities.

Even as a captain, Lisandro's kill rate was still laughable, and his childhood experiences made him a man of little words. He lived a life of solitude, with his favourite spot, the sunset beach. Despite his low kill rate, his exploits gave him the title "lord of the snowy mountains". A title he soon inscribed on his hunt suit, which he donned with his signature floral motif mask.

Lisandro never took any hunter under his wing, neither did he bring anyone into the institute. Even as a captain, he rarely attended the council meetings, and didn't enter a romantic relationship of any sort. All he did was watch the sunset at the sunset beach, and carry on his duty, ignoring the criticisms. He never attempted to search for his parents and siblings, even when his job took him to Ampao on many occasions. He never took a vacation and never turned down a mission, even when he had a low success rate as a junior hunter.

On the night where he spoke more than he ever had in a whole day since he joined the institute, Lisandro heard a cry and attempted a rescue. After a successful rescue, he heard something greater and his soloist mindset led him to go in alone...and on the night he went to rescue, he needed to be rescued but wasn't.

In defeat, he saw victory and breathed his last after a battle which nature witnessed. His passive ability and relatively slow pace ended up deciding his fate...but even in death, Lisandro completed his mission.

The lord of the snowy mountains... has fallen.