Blade of the Demon Hunt

Chapter 1 The Dagger

On an early summer morning, a cool breeze brought a refreshing chill. As human society's technological advancements surged, so too did the crime rate, with non-natural deaths and disappearances increasing year by year. Where humans gathered, dark creatures thrived.Miracle City was a bustling metropolis, but at this moment, a street far from the city center was eerily quiet, with few pedestrians passing by.Amir had just jumped out of a taxi and started running. After staying up late the previous night, drinking a bit too much with a friend who was heartbroken, he had overslept today. As he was running, a shadow suddenly rushed out of a nearby alley and collided with him. Amir was knocked to the ground and was about to curse, but the person who had bumped into him leaped up, as if being chased by a wild beast, and ran off without looking back."How rude," Amir thought to himself, watching the person disappear into the distance. Just as he was about to get up, he felt something hard beneath his palm, cold and different from the stones on the ground. Curious, he picked it up.It was an unusually shaped dagger, no longer than a palm, with a blade that twisted like a serpent. The blade was covered in rust, looking anything but sharp. Amir wondered if it had been dropped by the person who had just bumped into him. As he absentmindedly ran his fingers along the blade, he suddenly felt a sharp sting at his fingertip. Before he could pull his hand away, a drop of blood seeped from his fingertip and fell onto the dagger's seemingly dull edge.The rusted blade suddenly flashed with a bright light, causing Amir to instinctively close his eyes. When the light faded, he slowly opened them and looked down. The rusted dagger that had been in his hand just moments ago had vanished without a trace.Amir stared at his empty palm, confirming several times that there was nothing in his hand. Only the stinging pain in his fingertip reminded him that what had just happened wasn't a dream."Could it be that I'm still drunk and hallucinating? No way," he thought. "With my alcohol tolerance, a few drinks shouldn't cause such a strong effect.""Wait, what's this?" Amir noticed something on his sleeve and quickly pulled it down."What the hell?" Amir exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. He found a strange symbol on the underside of his wrist, roughly five centimeters long and two centimeters wide. The shape resembled a black cross, but the lines forming the cross weren't straight; they were twisted and snake-like, giving the whole symbol an eerie appearance."What's going on?" Amir rubbed at the mark vigorously, but even after his skin turned red, the symbol wouldn't come off. "I never even rebelled as a teenager, and now I suddenly have a tattoo? How am I supposed to explain this?"Sitting on the ground in a daze for what felt like an eternity, Amir struggled to process the surreal events that had just unfolded. The sudden ring of his phone snapped him back to reality."Amir, where are you? Do you even know what time it is? Do you not want to attend the company interview?" Abbas's urgent voice blared through the phone as soon as Amir answered."Dammit, I'm on my way!" Amir shouted as he suddenly remembered his interview. He jumped up, brushed off his pants, and sprinted down the street. "Crap, I almost forgot the important stuff!"When he finally reached the location, Abbas was already waiting outside the building."Eight twenty-five. Cutting it close, huh?" Abbas greeted him with a scolding tone."You've got some nerve to blame me. If it weren't for you dragging me out for drinks last night, I wouldn't have overslept!" Amir shot a glare at his lifelong troublemaker of a friend."Alright, alright, it's all my fault. But hey, I just went through a breakup, and I wasn't exactly in a great mood. Now hurry up and get in there! The interview starts in five minutes." Abbas said, pushing him towards the building."Wait a second, Amir... You're going in there dressed like that?" Abbas suddenly stopped, looking at Amir with a shocked expression."What's wrong? Isn't this suit fine?" Amir asked, confused. After all, they had bought this suit together."The suit's fine, but... your shoes," Abbas pointed at his feet.Amir followed Abbas's gaze downward and immediately wanted to dig a hole and hide. He had run out of the house wearing slippers."What am I gonna do now?" Amir felt like banging his head against the wall, his face full of despair as he looked at Abbas."I've seen some dumb things, but this takes the cake." Abbas shook his head in disbelief. "There's no time for you to go back and change, so you'll have to make do with mine." Without hesitation, Abbas swapped shoes with Amir.There was a noticeable difference in their heights—Abbas stood at 1.85 meters, with a sturdy build, while Amir was only 1.76 meters and much slimmer. The shoes were two sizes too big for Amir, so they stuffed some tissue paper in the heels just to make them fit.Amir wobbled his way to the interview room, noticing that several people were already waiting outside. He found an empty chair and sat down, joining the others in the wait.As soon as he settled in, he felt a pair of eyes on him. Glancing up, he saw a heavily made-up woman sitting across from him, sizing him up. When their eyes met, she didn't look away; instead, her gaze lingered, filled with disdain and contempt.Great, he was being judged. Sure, he hadn't had time to style his hair properly that morning, but did that really warrant such a look? He couldn't help but think, With makeup that thick, can your own mother even recognize you?After silently venting his frustration, Amir ignored the woman and sat up straight, waiting patiently for the interview.After a short wait, the heavily made-up woman was called in first. About ten minutes later, the secretary emerged again and called out, "Amir, you're next."Hearing his name, Amir stood up. The secretary gave him a quick once-over, her expression unchanged as she maintained a polite smile. "Please follow me," she said.