Demonophobia

Chapter 1: The Incident

'Six years ago there was an incident in the Kyoto region of Japan. A book used for demonic worship called 'The Dark Grimore' was discovered to have been stolen, but the perpetrator was never found. Such a book was told to have the ability to summon a demon to shadow the caster or casters. Around that same time the disappearance of the Kunikai household occurred, resulting in the three residents to inexplicably disappear as well as the charred remains of multiple bystanders to be found in the nearby park. All that remains is a smoldering crater where the household once stood.' Read the slip of paper the dark brunette haired man laid upon the table.

"Now normally this just sounds like some story made up to scare the locals from diving into occult research. Not that I blame them." The man spoke, looking around the blinding, empty, white space. "Appear!"

With a single shout the illusion faded to reveal the ruins of the old base within the pocket dimension. The once clean halls were now gray from age and still stained with the dried blood of those who died defending it. All that was left was him and...

"I told you to tell me when you planned to return back here!" A male's voice shouted from down the hall.

Following the voice the man saw the state of the other rooms within. The first door to his left revealed the old medical ward: old, brown, crusty rags littered the floor. Rags often used to clean the wounds of himself and his friends; mostly him as he wanted to 'heal like a normal human.' The many shelves and cabinets had been raided for any and all useful supplies once they were choked out of their supplies.

Moving further down the hall there was a second door on the left leading where he first arrived. At first it was like a cell, but with some changes it became the study for the Seer that used to reside with them. 'Forgive me Amber; my love.' He thought as he took a detour inside, noting an old mahogany and red velvet upholstered chair. Memories of practicing magic were just that now: memories.

Shaking his head he left the room and walked across the hall to the open doorway revealing the back of another brunette man wearing what seemed to be a rather thick coat, coats that were designed solely to withstand the claws of the average demon but nothing more. "Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up dead like the rest." He said solemnly as he entered the old war room: monitors that were cracked, shattered, or otherwise unusable now littering the desk across the wall or laid on the ground.

"Still thinking about Amber?" The other man asked, turning to face the door.

"I never stopped Devin; you know this!" He responded harshly through his teeth, tearing up slightly as he handed the page to him. "I'm taking up a mission, you can join me if you'd like."

Reading over the title he squinted his eyes and stared right into his friend's dark eyes. "You're planning on going into Hell with what? A glimmer that these people survived six years of torment? Ever since she died you swore off using magic entirely! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Maybe, but what's that to a man who thinks he's a dead man walking!?" He replied, snatching the page away from him. "Maybe I want to die. Have you ever thought about that Devin!"

Stumbling a bit, Devin regained what little composure he had come back. "Listen...you're a brother to me Chris. I'm not just going to stand idle while you slowly die trying to fend off Hell's armies with only a handful of holy weapons."

"So you're coming along then?" Chris asked as the two shared a solemn look.

"We lost so many friends. Too many good people died while we survived. So yes, I'm coming along. As a member of the...oh what the fuck did we call ourselves again?" Devin asked, scratching his head.

"Order of The Exalted Blade or something..." Chris muttered, a slight smile curled at the corners of his lips. "It sounds like it's still a work in progress after all these years."

Devin gave a slight laugh. "I think so, but I think it should stick around a little longer. A little piece of our old life to cling onto until we're ready."

"Yeah, I'd like that. Anyways, where's the old armory? I really hope my old gear wasn't destroyed." Chris said, scanning the room for the opening that led to the hidden stairwell.

"I think you'd be both surprised and disappointed." Devin said as he reached underneath one of the desks to reveal a rather large box.

"Oh no you found my stash." Chris teased playfully.

"Well not all of it. Our friends across the sea wanted The Path of Sorrows back so it's just the old tunic and coat that Am..." Devin stopped before taking a deep breath. "That Amber blessed for you before 'that' day."

"Oh..." Chris' cheerful demeanor faded once again as he slid on the dusty brown tunic before slipping on the thick, dark hunter's coat. "I see she ended up resizing it for me too."

"It fits you well." Devin replied before adding. "So what's the plan?"

"Do we have any working tech left?" Chris asked as he approached a broken monitor on the floor and kicked it lightly.

"You know Good Ol' Luci made sure we'd take time to recover." Devin replied as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Fuck..."

"Then we travel." Chris replied almost immediately.

"Where? To Japan?" Devin questioned. "We live at best more than half a day away by aircraft and if we did that I doubt TSA would allow two twenty something year old guys to fly with whatever weapons we could scrape together."

"The Order of the Holy Cross." Chris replied plainly.

"I...suppose they should be able to help us." Devin said before asking. "Do they know you're taking up a cold lead?"

"Not yet. Also we traveled here through a pocket dimension so why even worry about travel?" Chris asked.

"Destination magic won't work unless we've physically been there. Whether or not you've been there yourself or someone took you doesn't matter." Devin replied.

"Right, damn restrictions." Chris said as he reluctantly stuck out his palm and opened an oval shaped, light-blue, gateway to the normal world.

Stepping into the light revealed the always busy Washington Metropolitan area; tourists looking at maps as they passed by the nearby Lincoln Memorial as the Reflecting Pool of the same name glistened in the midday sun. While he would enjoy the sights as he did long ago; Chris, with Devin close behind him, had no time to reminisce.

"So what's the plan? Fly out to the Kyoto region and hopefully have The Order of the Holy Cross supply us with enough supplies to explore their version of Hell?" Devin asked, trying to keep up with Chris' pace as he flagged down a tram in order to take them down towards the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

"Yes, I'll try to get us to fly out within the day. As unlikely as that is." Chris said as they boarded the tram, pulling out an old Iphone Seven in order to try to buy tickets in advance with a little success. "There, but we've got some time before departure."

Pulling out a Galaxy Note Seven, Devin checked the time. "It's about one o' clock currently. How much is some time?"

"Two hours and if my math is correct we should be arriving in Kyoto almost near the beginning of the day after. Like eleven forty-ish if we don't have in between stops." Chris answered as they stopped in front of the street leading towards the large glass and concrete structure, taking a moment to take in the sun's warmth as they looked at the statue of the late fortieth president before checking into the airport to wait until it was their time to board.

Once they were checked over by the TSA and their documentation was noted once more; they boarded the large metal bird before finding their seat and getting as comfortable as they could.

"I don't know about you, but I'm gonna try to catch some sleep." Devin said, giving a quick stretch before slumping over into his seat.

"Not a bad idea." Chris replied as he did the same, even though he knew his rest wouldn't come easy.