Die A Fucking Legend: Neon Raven

Chapter 7: Grafted Mercenaries

"I found the target." Talon relays to May telepathically. May looks around the derelict building. If he remembers correctly, this building is set for demolishment, something the city hasn't gotten to in a while. In front of him is a long, empty hallway. Some of the walls are crumbling from wear. This should be a good spot to test something out. "Talon, can you lead the target to my location?"

"Who do you think I am?" She boasts.

May looks to the newest member of his flock. A humanoid male figure by the name of Flicker. He wears a crow-shaped gas mask. A blue mist flows from its filters. "Well, lets see what you can do, all yours." He ushers.

Flicker walks down the hall, palms facing outwards. Blue powder flows out of his gloves, coating the hall. The particles seep into everything. The floor, the walls, even the air itself. It dissolves like salt in water. Flicker turns back to May. "Everything's ready."

With that, May runs out of the building and waits. With his sight, he monitors the position of Talon. She chases after a lanky and grotesque bat-human demon. "I'm closing in on the hallway. Get ready!" She shouts.

Talon gets closer and closer to the hall Flicker is stationed at. "Talon, get back." He calls out, snapping his fingers together. The hall begins to sparkle. Thousands upon thousands of blue particles flare out with light, and then...

May can feel a powerful pressure rip past him, tearing the hood off of his head. The pressure throws him off his feet. Following it is a bright blue light and a sweltering heat. Bits of concrete and bent metal rain down around him, along with trailing blue embers. Where once stood a dilapidated building is now a roaring blue fireball, engulfing what remains. The burnt torso of the demon falls to his feet, motionless.

Flicker and Talon rejoin with May. "A little warning next time would be nice!" Talon shouts.

"I did."

"You just said get back, not get out!"

"Sorry I don't know my own strength yet. First time I used this power and all."

"Well..." May stands. "That power is certainly... effective."

"It takes time to setup, and I can only do it so frequently." Flicker says.

"That's up to me to manage." May smiles. "Lets head back." He absorbs the corpse of the demon into his arm and walks away, with Flicker and Talon perching onto his shoulder in their crow forms.

May takes out his phone and sees a text from Lucy. "Hey, when are you done?" It reads. Unlocking it, May responds. "Now. Going back to X-Hel." He clicks send. Almost immediately, she answers. "Be waiting!" She writes, adding a smiley face at the end.

As he's about to put away his phone, he gets another text. This time from Dante. "Hey kid, letting you know I'll be moving out. Finally got a new apartment!"

"That's great." May texts back.

"You should visit sometime! Oh, and let me know when you plan to visit. Can't have you dropping in when I bring a chick back to my place."

Right. May thinks to himself. He's that kind of person. "One day." May texts back, putting his phone back into his pocket.

Suddenly, May hears something in the distance. It's far away and echoey, making it difficult to hear. May walks in the direction of the sound, each step closer making the sound crisper. Screams. The sounds he heard are screams. Then, the screams are smothered by a cacophony of dense thuds and screeches, almost as if a building collapsed.

"Talon!" He calls. Without skipping a beat, Talon reforms and sprints forward, her body cloaked in red. She hops from rooftop to rooftop, making her way towards a cloud of dust.