DEMON HUNT

Chapter 49: Behold the great push I

The coast of Seider is completed covered in mist. With the kind of speed they moved at, it took under an hour to reach Seider's shores. There's no movement on the boats, as the hunters wait for the all clear. Gradel gets off, the mist making him virtually invisible. He closes his eyes, trying to increase his focus. He opens his eyes seconds later, succeeding in his attempt. Gradel signals to the other hunters- they'd come up with a sign that'd be easy to understand, with Sung's mist in mind. Gradel speaks fairly audibly.

Gradel: It's just as we were told. A few thousand demons, numbering five thousand at best. Drunk to stupor, clearly unsuspecting.

Nicholas alights from his boat, landing on the seashore. He seems to have assumed the role of squad leader, and why not? Alongside Renard, he ranks highest among the numerous hunters on the team. He draws the cool air in his lungs.

Nicholas: They're only about five hundred metres away too. Clustered up and lacking a tactical formation. If we press forward now, we'd throw them into confusion, crushing anything in our way. The land area seems favourable. We just have to remember to only use attacks with controllable range.

At this point, hunters had started flocking out of the boats in their numbers, their faces covered by their masks. You could spot Mario in the mix, although, looking like a needle in a haystack.

Sung begins to reduce the effect of the mist, focusing only on hiding the boats. Nicolas gives the team a moment to get their heads straight, get their emotions in check and concentrate on the mission.

Strangely enough, it's somehow become impossible, in this moment, to not notice that Nicholas is actually pretty buffed up for a twenty year old. His brightly coloured flame themed mask is rather rough on the edges, deliberately dented on the corners to meet his preference.

Now clearly standing ahead of everyone else, Nicolas raises his right hand in the air, his fist clenched. He takes a while before slowly opening it, signifying the start of the onward push. The hunters begin to run forward, moving at varying speeds, as they navigate their way around the trees and short grasses; able to sense but yet unable to see with their eyes, they forge on, with Nicholas in front.

A few minutes of running gives them a sight to behold. There's a concrete building, apparently made to be some kind of temple. It's in a rather poor state, most likely ruins of what it used to be. It covers a large area, as if to indicate the island's main purpose was to accommodate it. The large rusted metal gates are wide open; the demons supposedly tasked with keeping watch are visibly wasted. The hunters, however, go on without hesitation. They begin to clear the area, stealthily annihilating the foe. It's obvious there wasn't much of a focus on stealth and nimbleness in the plan, once they'd reach the island, but even without a hunter academy, as Mari calls it, the team appears to be clicking extremely well. A chemistry that's hard to credit to Omero, since the strike force pretty much consists of the majority of the corp's manpower.

Mario isn't awe-inspiringly ahead, neither is he that far behind, leaving little to do up to this point besides keep up. He does, however, soon get to a demon first. As they enter the compound, there's a need to flank to cover more areas, improve spacing and raise the kill rate. Whatever the demons are on must be considerably above their liquor holding ability. They're just out cold...breathing, but out cold. As the population density steadily begins to increase, Mario reaches a sleeping demon. His lion themed mask is fixed on the demon as dark nemesis appears in his hand. He raises it swiftly in the air, about to plunge it in the demon's chest, but pauses midway as he suddenly hears a voice in his head. It's his late father's voice.

Mato Cadel: What do you think, young lad, makes someone a killer?

Mario remembers the day pretty well. He was receiving swordsman lessons from his father, in an open field. Mato suddenly threw the question at him. Mario was only just about to clock age twelve.

Mario stares at him in surprise. He shakes his head in disbelief, giving a matching reply.

Mario: You know, to most people, I'm too young to be swinging a sword around, talk less about talking about killers.

Mato walks up to him, tapping him on the shoulder, smirking.

Mato: Whoever said I was going to talk to you about it? I'm just going to add it to the list of things you're going to subconsciously begin to ponder while you grow older.

Activities going on all around him, Mario snaps back to the moment, his hand still in the air. It's been like that for at least twenty seconds. He begins to think within himself.

Mario: Would this make me a killer? It's a demon, but...if he's not fighting back, does that make it killing?

Mario suddenly finds himself sweating profusely. The effort at Seider has translated into a battle within himself. For the first time since the events at the dark forest, he finds his grip shaky. However, as a picture becomes painted in his mind, he plunges the sword deep in the demon's gut as he mutters to himself immediately afterwards.

Mario: For you.

He was making reference to the person on his mind. He was indeed making reference to Mari. The demon begins to fade into the air, signifying that was indeed his end. Mario forges on, to continue the mission.

Shifting attention to another scene, Renard is having quite the day. Two hundred thousand says Renard has had the most kills since arriving. The lack of belief in him is obvious. The other hunters are clearly giving him space to work, and he doesn't care. No one ever doubted his ability, but the tales of the darker dark forest never really helped his credentials.

Nicholas is helping the forward push through the centre. It's a very much looking like a breeze, but his mind remains fully focused. He just moves from body to body, stretching his hand towards the demon. This simple action of his, instantly melts their heads until even the liquid is forced to evaporate. It's definitely a reflection of his ability, pyrokinesis being his attribute.

As the hunters advance steadily, etching closer to the main temple building, they're brought to a halt by a sight that can't be ignored. There's a twelve feet tall statue, shaped like a man, right in the middle of the area, just in front of the supposed temple building. You'd think with sights like this, this place would be way more famous than it is. This status depicts a male figure standing erect, a round object- seemingly representing the earth, in the palm of his hands. There's an inscription carved on the space below his feet. Most of it appears foreign, hence, unreadable. The readable part, however, says 'the world being our everything, to him, absolutely nothing. Absolute nothingness shall abound'. All the hunters are fixated figures, the sight of the statue, at least, for a moment, grabbing their complete attention. They'd all reunited, after clearing every demon they could find on the way. They soon hear a sudden buzzing sound, jerking them out of their sightseeing, as they wonder what made it. A small dot appears in the sky, widening and stretching swiftly over time. Before anyone could react, it had already served its purpose.

It is clear now. A veil has been cast over Seider.