[ZX-MetalMonster & BlaqueCatt]

[BlaqueCatt]

"Ren, will you just relax already? You're wearing a hole in the floor," Tsubaki drawled from where she was seated on a windowsill. She was reclining against the wall and staring out at the darkening sky, her right leg extended outward and her left drawn up to the knee. She wore a short black dress that reached mid-thigh and exposed her long, pale legs, and ankle-high black laced combat boots. On her lap was a long katana, the blade of which she was cleaning with an old rag. When she received no response, she rolled her crimson eyes and turned her head to direct a glare at her twin brother. "Ren!"

 

Ren abruptly stopped pacing and whirled around to face his sister, his red eyes filled with annoyance. "I don't understand how you can be so relaxed when we could be attacked at any moment!" he hissed, his hands clenching into fists. He was a few inches taller than his sister, but they shared many characteristics: the same lean muscles, long legs, pale skin, ink black hair, and sharp red eyes. His bangs were dyed red on the left side, however. He wore red skinny jeans, black knee-high laced combat boots, and a white button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He had a gray button-up coat over his shirt, the sleeves also rolled up to his elbows, and a black fabric belt that draped past the back of his knees. He had a black leather bracelet on each wrist, and black gloves on each hand. A pair of black goggles sat on his head, and there was a large black rifle strapped to his back. He had two black pistols on his belt, and a knife in each boot.

 

Tsubaki arched an eyebrow elegantly. "There's no point in being tense," she replied smoothly. "It will just make it more difficult for us to fight." Ren grit his teeth and looked away, knowing she was right but unable to admit it. The young woman turned her gaze back to the window and Ren slumped into a wooden chair at the table in the center of the room. They were in command center of the hunter headquarters they had been assigned to work with. Only a few other people were in the room, and they paid the siblings no mind, being used to their antics. Everyone did seem to be on edge, however, as one of their informants had heard word of a demon attack being launched on the headquarters sometime in the next few days.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

 

 

Name: Elessander Ferin

 

Elessander is an offspring of two mindless things, demons barely intelligent or sentient and as violent as a rabid animal. However, before he'd even reached the age where he would remember his parent's faces, servants of the Crown encountered the boy and discovered his ability to reason and learn. He was plucked from his savage mother's hands, placed into the care of the military and from his new guardians received his name and purpose as a soldier.

 

A product of the state, he is blindly loyal to his sovereign and this in part is how he was made general. He is an unambitious man and seeks to pass through life with minimum effort, for this reason his rise through the ranks was a slow one. If given the choice, he will strengthen his hold on the land he's won and not advance deeper into enemy territory. However when pressured to go on the offensive he rarely disappoints and makes quick work of his foes.

 

Having been brought up to be a weapon for the military and not a free man, he lacks a proper education. He is slow to learn languages, expresses himself poorly with words and is puzzled and unimpressed with all forms of art. Due to this he easily comes across as simple or even stupid but anyone who's had to fight him knows he can be very clever.

 

Ferin is also well aware of the complexity of the war he and his kin are waging and has strong opinions on it, many of which are unpopular. To a being like himself, who appears disfigured and much like a stereotypical demon, humans are cruel. However he has no personal grudge against them and doesn't go out of his way to bring them unnecessary death and suffering, especially as that would be more work for him.

 

As he is mellow by nature and not one to anger easily he has an edge over some of his fellow commanders in that he can think things over calmly. However he possesses little wisdom beyond this as evident by how he has no goals other than seeking out simple, short lived pleasure and carrying out his duty.

 

He is fiercely devoted to his homeland and would never dream of deceiving his king, however the same does not apply in his personal relationships. Though, friendly and not an unpleasant man to be around, Ferin lies when it suits him and can be unreliable, easily breaking his promises and going against his own word.

 

Appearance: Elessander is an impressive man, tall and muscle bound, but unattractive on account of the irregular protrusions and sinew like growths that litter his left arm and creep up along his neck to envelop the left side of his head. The affected flesh appears black and is different to the touch than his skin, resembling a coat of metal in texture. The fingers of his left hand are proper claws, long and sharp, and under the skin on the back of his hand a structure resembling a skull exists. He has blond hair that falls over his forehead in light waves but parts of it look to be missing on his scalp where the dark growth occupies the space in stead. His skin is moderately dark, facial features are soft and eyes are a pale brown.

 

Clothes: Ferin wears a double-breasted long coat the left sleeve of which has been ripped off so not to get in the way when he uses his powers. The few strips of fabric that were left behind are normally tied around his upper arm to make the area where the sleeve has been removed appear less messy. As he is unphased by the cold, he tends to wear nothing else on his upper body. The rest of his outfit is made up of dark pants, a belt that hold all his weapons when he carries them and knee high boots.

 

Power: Elessander can either conjure fire or make the mass enveloping his left arm as hot as molten metal but without producing a flame. His body temperature also regulates itself and is affected very little by his environment. He is warmer to the touch than a human and his connection to fire makes itself apparent in many more subtle ways. He is very happy when he is given a chance to burn things, the bigger the better.

 

Other: He has a poor grip on the language spoken by the humans he is fighting. Due to this when he speaks to his enemies or the locals it is with a thick accent, incorrect grammar and misplaced words. It can be difficult to grasp everything he tries to say.

When all is calm he likes to lounge around and drink and smoke with high ranking commanders. If this is after he's been pressed to perform a long or costly offensive he will sometimes consume things that help him relax but also make him less lucid.

Though he has no delusions concerning how he looks, odd anatomy is common among demons and his comrades have no reaction to him. This, while pleasant, adds more venom to the looks humans tend to give him. Their foul expressions are one things that annoy him the most, though he does reason with himself that they are in part earned because he is their enemy.

He sometimes sits with his coat unbuttoned and chest exposed or takes it off altogether.

 

 

 

Sheltered in shadows, Elessander watched a dozen guards patrol the compound, patiently memorizing their paths even though he wouldn't be the one to gun these humans down. To him they appeared as black dots scattered in the far distance, some vanishing into buildings and behind walls only to pop up again in other places, partially hidden by the darkness that came as night fell. Luckily, the demon positioned close by to his left had eyes more keen than Elessander himself and a gun already aimed at one of the humans.

 

Fire arms were not yet something they could build themselves but there were plenty to be gathered from the corpses of their enemies and the more keen among them learned how to operate them quickly. Elessander had even watched one of his men take a gun apart and the demon explained to him how the weapon worked, however he believed all he needed to know was how to shoot it and memorized little of that lesson.

The rifle his comrade now used to pick off the guards one by one had come off a dead body as well. They knew it was quiet because it's former owner had put down two of his men before they'd even realized they were under attack. He was aware that for his troops this attack was revenge for those two deaths and many others. There was something to punish the humans for every time they went into battle, though he didn't care either way and simply killed when he was ordered to.

 

-"I could get a few through the windows." The demon informed in his native tongue as he lowered the sniper rifle and looked over at his commander, eyes hopeful and pleading for permission. His words sounded crude, like they were sounds one might make when angry and not part of a language.

Elessander shook his head and gestured "no", not bothering to explain to the young soldier that they needed to creep into the compound unnoticed and couldn't afford to be greedy just yet. He ventured forward and his men did the same upon seeing him pass by with a small flame held on the palm of his hand as a signal to begin the attack.

 

The enemy HQ was a large stronghold, however after having fought through and burned down two fortifications of comparable size Ferin was unimpressed. A thick, evergreen wood enveloped the compound from all sides except to the west where a deep and dark lake occupied the space. The location looked so perfectly flammable that Elessander barely kept himself from setting everything ablaze and had to repeatedly remind himself of the valuable intelligence he needed to collect first.

He and his men had the compound circled, the forest was infested with demons and they now closed in, quietly entering the first buildings to slaughter everyone inside.

[BlaqueCatt]

Ren leapt to his feet when an alarm went off. The piercing screech was of magical origin and audible to human ears only. A static voice followed the shrill sound and alerted them that a corpse had been found outside and that it was likely that demons were approaching. The young man pulled his goggles down over his eyes and unhooked his rifle from its strap, making sure that it was fully loaded before jogging towards the door, putting his back to the wall to the left of it. He held his rifle in front of him and kept his eyes trained on the door, ready to turn and fire at any moment. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and his crimson eyes blazed behind his goggles like fire.

 

Meanwhile, Tsubaki's eyes narrowed, becoming sharp and intently focused, and she slipped off of the windowsill. She positioned herself against the wall next to the window and glanced outside, searching for movement. It was difficult for humans to see in the darkness, but both she and her brother had learned magic from the head mage at the headquarters where they had trained when they first became hunters. In her right hand she gripped the hilt of her sword, and touched both temples one at a time with her left. Her eyes flashed gold, and when she looked out the window again, she could see clearly. She knew it was likely that the demons would enter through the windows, and the room she and her brother occupied held important information. That was why they had been stationed there; despite being the youngest, they were two of the best hunters.

 

The siblings locked eyes momentarily, an unspoken message passing between them. They knew what they had to do. For now, all they could do was be patient.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

When he and his men were met with armed and ready hunters soon upon reaching the compound Elessander knew the original plan wasn't working out and that they would have to resort to straightforward combat. They still had an advantage in that they could attack the humans from all sides other than from the lake, however the HQ was built with fighting off invaders in mind and conquering it would not be easy work.

 

Outside, the fighting could be left to lesser demons, hoards of beasts that charged in on all fours and attacked with teeth and claws. However to stand any chance inside the buildings where the hunters had secured the tight hallways, more intelligent soldiers were necessary.

 

Elessander kept in mind the documents that needed to be collected but was too preoccupied with coordinating his men to carefully search for them. He entered one of the largest buildings on site and progressed through its rooms accompanied by a number of capable demons. Though none of his comrades could afford to listen, he complained out loud and made his dissatisfaction with the turn of events known.

 

They encountered little resistance on the ground floor and found that most of the rooms were empty but upon approaching the stairs discovered the upper floors were much better protected. A pair of hunters sprayed gun fire down on them and they found themselves pinned behind cover. One of his demons, impatient to move, tried to push forward and was punished with a rain of bullets that ripped apart his arm and shoulder before he could fall back. The miss step made an opening however and another one of the soldiers flung an explosive at the hunters. Though the cube looked nothing like a man made grenade, the humans seemed to recognize it as something dangerous and scattered. The explosion was deafeningly loud, bright and shook the structure but Elessander used that to his advantage and rushed upstairs as soon as it was safe to approach. Finding one of the hunters stunned he grabbed for his neck, claws digging into flesh, skin soon melting away under his touch. The man was soon dead in his rasp and the general dropped him unceremoniously before heading down the hallway, looking for the second human and any more that might be waiting.

[BlaqueCatt]

Ren's eyes widened when an explosion shook the ground beneath him, and he staggered for a moment before regaining his footing, pressing his back against the wall to brace himself. Across the room and to the right Tsubaki also reacted to the miniature earthquake by digging her sword into the floor to keep herself steady, only swaying from side to side slightly as the tremors passed. Ren gripped his rifle tightly and grit his teeth, torn between opening the door to confront the demons head on and remaining in position. He could hear the screams coming from down the hallway and his heart lurched, his mind shouting at him to go and save his friends, his family. But he couldn't. They had entrusted them with this task, and if he and Tsubaki failed to protect the information housed within the room, countless other hunters would die.

 

"Fuck," he hissed, his crimson eyes watering slightly before clearing as a new wave of determination washed over him. Though his sister felt much the same, she remained silent, a grim expression on her face. A few minutes passed, both siblings remaining completely still and silent, before the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching the room from down the hallway. They were too heavy to be human, and if the two of them listened closely, they could hear the clicking of sharp claws against the stone floor. Ren and Tsubaki locked eyes. They flashed gold as a message was passed from the young woman to her brother: Four approaching. One large demon, three smaller ones. Ren nodded and took a deep breath to steady himself.

 

They waited another few moments, and then the doorknob began to shake. There was a loud bang! as the metal door was kicked open, and seconds later the demons entered. The door had swung to the left, where Ren was standing, thereby shielding him from view. He bit his lip to keep from making a sound as the door slammed into him, and he slowly lowered himself into a crouching position once the door had settled, bracing his rifle on his knee and aiming towards the center of the room, where the demons were converging. Meanwhile, Tsubaki stepped forward, facing the demons head-on. This was their dynamic, and why they worked so well together. Tsubaki made herself known immediately, focusing the enemies' attention on herself. She was incredibly fast and skilled at hand-to-hand combat, so she had no problem with taunting their opponents. Ren, on the other hand, remained in the shadows, picking off enemies one by one as they were distracted by his sister. Most demons became cocky when they saw that they were up against a single opponent, and a woman at that. Their confidence and the carelessness that came with it was their downfall.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

With all obstacles cleared from the stairway and nothing left to hold back the demon's advance, Elessander's men rushed up after their commander and started to barge into and clear rooms one by one. The first of the doors to be kicked aside revealed what appeared to be a small armory or storage but there was nothing useful left inside for them to collect.

 

Set on finding the second of the hunters who had given them trouble before the human had a chance to attack them again, Elessander headed straight for the end of the hallway. He passed by the closed doors with no interest in what might be on the other side, however upon hearing gunfire and one of his men howl in pain, he turned and ran back to the source of the sound. Despite the short distance and his speed, he had only enough time to grab one of the demons by the shoulder and force him backwards out of the room before he was gunned down as well. The creature, having been set on charging at one of the humans nearly attacked Ferin in stead but remembered it's place in time and fell back.

 

Falling into the trap had cost them two soldiers, one having collapsed to the floor with a skull full of lead and the second bleeding out of top of him, heavily wounded and with no hope of salvation. However retreating into the hallway promised no security as the enemy from their previous encounter reappeared set on vengeance. Before he could react, a bullet whizzed across Elessander's face, forcing it's way though flesh and damaging bone, nearly taking out his right eye. His features set into a pained grimace, making the injury sting and ache that much more, but he stopped himself from clasping his hands over the wound and in stead acted on his second impulse, which was to put a wall of fire between himself and the human.

 

Luckily, there was nothing flammable in the narrow space and the only thing that caught fire were the hunter's clothes. Withing a moment, the man dropped his rifle that had become a piece of unusable hot metal and tried to put the flames out to no avail.

 

Elessander took a step back, leaned against the nearest wall and watched the human suffer, his thoughts were clouded by pain and anger but he still felt a measure of compassion for the man and ended him with a shot from the pistol he carried. He made no move to enter the room where his soldiers had just been slaughtered, for the time being unwilling in tackling the hunters inside, however many there might be.

[BlaqueCatt]

The four demons zeroed in on Tsubaki and began to stalk towards her, baring their fangs and hissing in warning. Her face remained passive, and her only response was to twist her katana in her right hand and adopt a defensive stance. One of the smaller demons charged, leaping at her with its jaw open wide. The young woman barely moved; she simply bent her knees and lowered herself towards the floor, moving with the grace and deadliness of a snake. The demon sailed over her, and as it was coming down she raised her katana and slashed upwards. The blade sliced through the demon's stomach, blood splattering across the floor. The demon let out a gurgling screech of pain before veering sideways and falling to the floor with a sickening thump.

 

While the other demons hesitated, stunned by the sudden death of their comrade, Ren took action. He steadily took aim and fired a rapid round of shots, the enchanted bullets driving through the skull of the second small demon. As it too fell, Tsubaki sprang up and lunged forward, cutting into the backs of the large demon's legs. The demon dropped to its knees with a snarl, its tendons cut clean through. The third small demon took off towards the door, but it wasn't fast enough. Ren's bullets pierced its side and the force of the burst sent it sliding across the floor and slamming into the opposite wall. The young man finished off the small demon with a series of shots to the head, and Tsubaki flawlessly cleaved off the head of the larger demon. They were unable to relax just yet, though, as they could hear screams and the crackling of fire coming from down the hall.

 

There must be a demon that can create fire, Ren told Tsubaki through their mental link. It will be harder for us to defeat. Tsubaki nodded but said nothing, instead positioning herself on the other side of the door. With Ren on the left side and Tsubaki on the right, they waited for more enemies to appear.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

The sheer pain that erupted from the injury he'd suffered indicated to Elessander that significant damage had been done. Another sign was the blood that dropped down his cheek and riddled his sigh with red. He used the brief lull in hostilities and reached up, gently feeling the outline of the wound to judge its size. It seemed like the best course of action was to wait for more of his soldiers to make their way into the building but it was unlikely that was an option.

 

The group of hunters one wall away wouldn't sit and wait for them to recover their strength. Knowing this the general motioned to the single demon left beside him to clear the room the same way they'd broken through their enemy previously. The creature had by then regained it's reasoning and approached the door with caution, tossing in one of the explosive cubes. Demons had no sentiment for corpses or a habit for burials and the soldier gladly made sure his explosive would set off the ones left on the body of a fallen comrade.

 

The explosion this time was much more powerful and Elessander shielded his eyes from the bright flash, having only just calmed himself and unwilling to be blinded. It astonished him that none of the walls collapsed and he considered that a testament to how heavily secured the building itself was. He was certain there was nothing left alive or intact in the room but his comrade still looked inside out of precaution and seemed pleased with what he found.

 

With his composure regained, Ferin stood straight and started to march down the hallway, emulating how he'd moved before even though he was no longer in as good a shape. His eyes shifted from one side to the other, searching every room he passed for enemies. He found a series of empty chambers but staid alert and was soon rewarded by finding a room that seemed appropriate for storing the documents he was after. The presence of dead bodies inside warned him though and rather than head inside he stepped back. He grabbed for his pistol again and braced himself before speeding in, back pressed against the metal door for protection while he shot at the hunter he found right ahead of him.

[BlaqueCatt]

Ren grit his teeth as another explosion shook the building, this one more powerful than the previous. Once again he was filled with the urge to rush out of the room and help his fellow hunters, but he knew that both he and Tsubaki had to stay where they were, or else even more people would suffer. So he stayed still, holding his rifle against his chest to keep it out of sight, ready to shoot whenever another enemy appeared. On the other side of the door frame, his sister stood completely straight with the hilt of her katana in her right hand and her eyes closed. He recognized the blank expression on her face and realized that she was in a sort of meditative state, preparing her body, mind, and magical energy for the battle that was soon to come. Tsubaki had always been better at magic than her brother, but Ren had made great progress over the last few years and was now almost on par with his sister.

 

Heavy footsteps approached the room they occupied, but paused right outside. A moment later a large demon ran into the room with a pistol, taking a shot at the first human he saw, which happened to be Tsubaki. Her eyes flew open when she sensed his presence, and she ducked down and to the right when the shot went off, letting out a pained grunt as the bullet grazed her left shoulder. Blood dripped down her pale arm in rivulets, and when her eyes met with the demon's, they were burning like fire. Ren was, fortunately or unfortunately, used to seeing his fellow hunters, even his sister, get injured while fighting, so after taking a split second to make sure Tsubaki wasn't fatally injured, he shot a round of bullets at the demon from the opposite side of the room. Meanwhile, Tsubaki sprinted at the demon, slicing her katana down at the hand that held the pistol, aiming to cut it off. Ren made sure to aim at the demon's other side so that he didn't accidentally hit his sister. They were almost in perfect sync with each other after fighting together for so long, though, and Ren hadn't hurt his sister while fighting together since they first started learning how to be hunters.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Elessander held his position by the entrance, believing himself safest while his back was pressed against the door even while one of the hunters opened fire at him. Though it seemed he was up against only two enemies more could have been in the room waiting to overpower him. Fortunately, the incoming bullets hit his demonic arm and the tough skin provided him some protection. He still felt a vicious sting at every hit however and knew he would be killed within a minute if this continued.

 

The general kept track of the second human as well, seeing how she wouldn't be deterred by a mere surface wound. As she swooped in, her sword ready, he could read her intention to strike at his hand however avoiding the attack was as simple as keeping his arm close to his torso and shooting return fire at her from the hip.

 

It was after firing a couple of rounds at the girl though that a plan popped into his head. Careful not to light anything on fire, knowing he was inside a room that contained crucial information, he created a large wall of flame in the air between himself and the katana wielding human after which he turned towards the other hunter and shot the rest of his bullets at him in stead. Believing himself to have laid out sufficient obstacles between himself and the two, Elessander backed out of the room, hoping to either draw one of the humans out or receive support from his comrades before making a second push.

[BlaqueCatt]

Tsubaki ducked into a roll to avoid the return fire from the demon. She skidded to a stop a few feet to the right of Elessander, her pale knees bright red due to sliding across the tiled floor. Both of her hands were wrapped around the hilt of the katana, the blade digging into the ground beneath her. While the demon had been distracted by the young woman, Ren had moved to the left side of the room so he could fire his rifle without worrying about Tsubaki blocking his view. However, just as he was getting into firing position, a wall of fire appeared, the flames not only separating Tsubaki from the demon, but also Ren from Tsubaki, leaving Ren alone with the demon. "Shit," he cursed, red eyes widening. He leapt to his feet, doing his best to dodge the bullets and return fire at the same time. One bullet pierced his right thigh, and he grit his teeth, staggering for a moment before pushing through the pain and diving behind the metal table in the center of the room. Once the rain of bullets ended and the demon stepped out of the room, Tsubaki blew on the flames, her breath filled with magic, and created a small opening, which she managed to slip through before it closed again. She ran across the room and dropped down beside Ren, looking him over quickly. "I'm fine," he hissed, clutching his leg. Wordlessly, Tsubaki unwrapped the scarf from around Ren's waist and tied it around the wound tightly, the pressure staunching the bleeding. "Stay here," she told him, and before he could protest she was sprinting towards the door. "You're hurt too!" he called after her. She ignored him and he sighed heavily, pushing himself onto his knees and wincing. Meanwhile, Tsubaki, having reached the door, pressed her back against the wall and bent down. She removed a small dagger from her right boot and peeked out through the door, throwing the dagger at the demon's head before ducking behind the wall again. She couldn't risk going out there until she knew that the demon was alone; she could take on one gunman with her sword, but no more. Until she knew he was alone, she had to stay behind cover and use what ranged weapons she possessed. Ren, she spoke to her brother through their mental link, can you see if he's alone? Ren looked out the door from under the table, his sharp eyesight granting him the ability to see much father than other humans. He's alone. For now anyway. Tsubaki nodded and braced herself. Cover me, but stay back there. Ren huffed. I can walk! He could feel her raising an eyebrow. ...Fine. He laid flat on his stomach under the table, taking aim at the door. A moment later, Tsubaki slipped out of the room, aiming her katana at the demon's legs.