Demon Hunters Shadows Of The Night

An Unlikely Visitor

Walking in the rain at night was oddly calming for Hunter, although he didn't mind getting a little wet, he had somewhere to be. He could hear the distant thunder as his feet splashed in the rain. He turned and faced a small saloon called the Old Tavern. The sign above swung from the side weathered with age. Whiteridge wasn't the nicest place to be but it had its uniqueness that drew people to its location, everyone knew each other and no matter where you went, it always felt cozy. Hunter stepped forward and opened the door, almost immediately he could hear the chatter of people who were set among the many tables. He walked along the center of the saloon until he came upon the bar, he sat down and waited until the bartender saw him.

"What can I get for you?" He stopped wiping a mug and turned to face Hunter, he flashed a smile.

"Just water will be fine."

The bartender turned away and started to fill a glass with some tap water, "Haven't seen you around these parts."

"I'm on a job at the moment." The bartender looked at Hunter with great interest, "what kind of job?"

Hunter stared back at him, he didn't want to hand out too much information, but he didn't want to be rude. "Ok, listen, let's just say not many people do what I do " As Hunter set his glass down the bartender picked it up with such eagerness, it was almost odd. Hunter paid his tab off, though there wasn't much on it, and started to walk back to the door when he heard a conversation that interested him.

"Yeah, I heard about that." A small man about five feet tall sat between two other men, all dressed in the same black and red cloaks, "I heard that he had died from a bear but no animal could have done that to a man."

The man next to him spoke up, his eye twitching uncontrollably, "you wanna know what I think? I bet it was one of dem' demons!" The small man snickered at the sound of that.

"You know very well that demons don't exist, if anything; it was a mountain lion." The three of them looked up at the sound of footsteps and stared expressionlessly.

"Excuse me, did you say demon? What man died, and where?" The three stared and studied him with a look of caution in their eyes. A moment passed before the man with a twitching eye suddenly spoke.

"I'm afraid so" The man shuddered but then straightened up and looked at Hunter. "There was an attack down in Warrington, it's said the man had huge gashes in his stomach, and a leg ripped open almost like something had gone and eaten it. The police said it was a bear attack, but I know better than to believe them. I always knew demons were going to come one day to kill us all!"

The small man rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'm sorry about him, he always likes to think demons exist." Hunter gazed into space for what felt like a few minutes.

"Thank you, all of you."

" I don't know what value it was but sure."

Hunter headed for the door and stepped out through the threshold. The rain had slowed to a drizzle and the sky above was growing darker, the sounds of the night drifted through the air and into the visions of the wake. Hunter made his way to his horse and started trotting to the nearest road leading to Warrington.

* * *

The scent of a demon woke Hunter up from a state of calm, Hunter sat upright and looked around hoping to see something in the distance. The further down the path they went, the stronger the scent grew; every step felt like the demon was drawing closer to them. Hunter stopped the horse, got off, and started to walk toward the scent. Just beyond the trail was a small village, as Hunter walked into the village, he knew not only where the demon was, but that it was a strong one; not an ordinary low-level demon that was easy to take care of but one that had more to it, one that wasn't going to be easy to kill. Hunter already had his katana out and wielded his blade, freshly sharpened and blessed by a Keltic Priest. Hunter knew better than to go into battle without his poison needles, without them it would be too hard to kill a demon of this strength. Hunter looked at a house with a broken wall, he began to notice that there were no people to be seen, not one.

A man with red hair and a black and white robe was crouched over a woman. Hunter couldn't see much through the hole in the wall, but he could tell the woman wasn't moving knowing he was bound to be spotted, he took out a round metal ball and tossed it out toward the demon. One moment, Hunter was standing sixty yards away from the demon, now he was facing it, and the stench of it was starting to burn his senses. The demon looked at Hunter with satisfaction.

"I thought I'd never see another Demon Hunter again, I'm glad I get to kill yet another one!" His voice was different from other demons, it had a whining touch to it. "I'll relish the moment I rip you limb from limb!"

Hunter jumped back and flung a smoke flare, blocking the demon's sight for a moment. Hunter flinched as something flew through the smoke and sliced his cheek. "Aw man, I was hoping to kill you with that hit." The demon took out two daggers from his back, they were sharp-tipped and dipped in what looked like venom. "Don't you worry, I'll kill you soon, it'll only be a matter of if you dodge this next attack"

Hunter flung himself out of the daggers way, landing in the dirt. He ran toward the demon and lashed his katana out, but it hit nothing but air. How? He thought, how did the demon avoid my sword?

"Surprised? you should be, it took much effort to move slightly to the left and escape the grasp of your sword." Hunter grew impatient, any more taunting and he was going to lose it.

"All right, you want a challenge? Then have it your way!" A flash of light shot through the area as Hunter bolted right past the demon cutting its right arm off. "I missed, I only cut the arm off but to kill it the head must be cut off." A few seconds passed and the demon's right arm grew back with such force it almost scared Hunter.

"Good hit! You almost decapitated me! But you weren't fast enough. Better luck next time."

Time will close in on the demon, about another twenty minutes until the sun comes out and burns it to ash, but it knows that. Hunter took a different stance and was ready to block the demon's attack, but the demon stood there still.

"Now get ready!!" The ground shook with immense force knocking Hunter to the ground.

"No! He can't be! If he is one of the eight demons of hell, then this is his blood demon ability" Minutes went by. The ground calmed and the dust cleared. Hunter saw with a shock that the demon now had not only six knives, but he could possess each one too.

"Now I can kill you without all of the games."

Hunter had to act fast before the demon had a chance to attack first. With a quick flick three needles whipped through the air, the demon stepped right but one of the needles still managed to land in the demon's left arm. "Cool trick, but you don't think that'll kill me do you?"

"It may not kill you, but it will stop you from regenerating." Hunter was pleased to see that the demon no longer looked pleased but more frustrated.

"You think that you can kill me!! I'm one of the eight demons of hell! It will take more than poison to kill me!"

Hunter took his chance and flung a poison dagger at the demon and at the same time charged it and sliced through it. Hunter looked back at the demon and saw he had cut the neck off, the dagger landed in its chest the poison would have killed it if he had missed. With a sigh of relief, the demon faded into the sky revealing the sparkling sun.