So there I was, at the end of it all. Humanity had finally crumbled, leaving behind it a crimson world ready for renewal. Religions abandoned, everybody now incapable of moral decisions. It was odd, really. I had always believed everyone would be resolutely enchanted by the millennia of beliefs coursing through their veins; but as soon as it was proven there could be no such concept as a higher being, our species just snapped. Who could really blame us?
Faith was now looked down upon. Beliefs in karma and justice were thrown out the window. The human species just met its wild side. If you weren't a part of the Horde, chances are you're not alive to read this. There's no room for weakness in a world full of potential.
Too bad there was an exception, me; as well as all my followers.
Stepping from the shadows into the light, all attention turned on me. Teeth were barred and the nearest were the first to close in, forming a vanguard of death. I'm not like you; every part of my being is somehow keener, stronger, and more akin to survival than any other human. Am I immortal? Not necessarily. Neither were the zombies that attempted to overthrow me.
Sensing my solitude for stupidity, the first three that came within reach fell with limbs missing and blood splattered. To say I was an expert with a katana wouldn't cut it. Experts are people who know how to position and counter easily so as to overcome. My methods are simpler, I just kill anything I need to be rid of. Melee range with a sword is about three meters, the closest of the six fell twelve meters away, cut diagonally with most of the weight resting on the lower right portion. The sweeps were getting sloppy, though. I'll have to sharpen the edge of the blade after my task was completed.
The tingling was pulling me to my right, deeper into the cathedral. What morbid fantasies kept a fiend such as the one I sought so lulled by the locations of old beliefs, I'll never know. I didn't care either. Whatever faith had made this place a sanctuary had dissipated long ago, leaving behind a legoland of dark bricks and silhouetted obstacles. If light wasn't necessary for them, it was no longer an element a hunter needed. The thing about my faith is....
The air thrummed as a giant slab of the wall opposite me shattered and broke inwards. No light pierced the dusty air but you could still sense something alive was standing in its new doorway. No sound either, my target had come to me. I crouched as low as I could, holding my breath so as not to disturb the air. Fixing my body temperature to match the rooms atmosphere was done instinctively now, and I knew it hadn't yet found my location.
"Why do you bother me?" came the child's voice from right beside me.
No time to chat, I won't be making that mistake again. Focusing all my will into the next instant, I barreled through the air, katana held high straight into the darkness where the wall used to stand. The demon was equally if less stealthed but I already knew the voice was meant to disorient me, which meant it could be anywhere except the spot I thought I heard it came from.
"Where are you?" It came again, from inside me.
Fear had no place in my world. I landed smoothly, isolating every recoil to nothingness with my chi. Eyes were useless, but nobody ever wanted to see the dens of such creatures. Instead of looking around for the boy, I walked over the wreckage and into the room beyond. A demon will grow cocky if it believes you to be lost and confused, and I could use that to my advantage. Too late now, however; I whipped to my right and threw all of my weight behind the swipe.
The sword jarred on flesh and bone, and in my face were a pair of glowing eyes that seemed to be glinting.
"Gaydn..."
I let go of the handle immediately, grabbing the back of the child's nape and punching my other hand through the mouth opening as hard as I could. Teeth shattered and the skin around the mouth ripped as I grabbed a handful of tongue and jerked back, tearing most of the body's vocal organs out in my hand. The air around the child shivered and went dead. I felt it drop as the entity left it and sought me out. My essence flashed black as it clawed and pushed into my very existence. I was smiling.
