Chương 8: Demon

'The world rejects my existence and nothing goes according to my plan. What better proof than my burning house. Emily? What happened to her? Is she inside the building?' Alex panicked. Only the worst outcome was playing inside his mind in a loop, throwing him into an uncontrollable bout of panic.

His heartbeat increased and his senses became more focused. The cyan heart was becoming active again. But this time, Alex noticed it. He could see the light shining from his heart, pumping blue energy through his veins. He was feeling rejuvenated and excited.

Alex finally put Leo down and gazed at his burning apartment. From behind him, Leo sneaked a glance at Alex's face. But what he saw terrified him.

Instead of normal eyes behind the mask, what he saw was the flickering cyan light. Occasionally it overflowed out of the mask giving off a terrifying amount of heat. Fear slowly crept into Leo's heart.

Leo didn't want to piss off this unpredictable man. Any notion of escape he had dwindled to nothingness. Suppressing his fear, Leo acted like a brainless robot and stood stationary at a spot.

"Kid, if you want to escape, leave now. Or stay here where I can find you. You wouldn't believe me even if I said I was not a bad guy. But let me say this, I am here to help and you will need my help." With that said, Alex took out the fake identity document and gave it to Leo. He meant the words he said.

Instead of waiting for Leo's answer, He ran towards the burning building. People die every day, but now that he has decided to help. He didn't want anyone to die in front of him.

Meanwhile, Leo was stunned by the words spoken by Alex. The choice was his own to make and he was required to make it quick. Will escaping help him, or would it make his life harder. A small ball of dark matter formed in his hand and he began kneading it while thinking hard about this problem.

—------

The fire was burning and consuming the fifth floor. Alex's apartment was also on the fifth floor, just like Emily and the red-haired woman he saw before. And there were also many families living on this floor. Adding to his concern were the kids and elderly who couldn't react fast.

'Just how many were trapped inside the building?'

A fire like this could surely claim many lives. So, Alex had to be quick and efficient. He had to save as many as he could in the shortest time possible.

With that in his mind, he ran towards the front of the building and jumped. All the training he had done in the past week and the active cyan heart pumped his muscles with enough strength. The decrease in gravitational force due to feather-falling propelled him further enhancing his ability to scale the building.

Now, he could climb vertically without draining himself.

With each jump, he flew across a floor towards the top. And after gaining a foothold he would jump again, repeating this till he reached the fifth floor. People on the ground were amazed by Alex and stood rooted observing his action.

Yet, before he could land in a safer place. An explosion shook the building propelling something out like a miniature meteor. It took a second for the fire to clear and see what was falling.

It was a humanoid monster with reddish-purple skin. It had pores all around its body releasing steam and black sclera in the eye. Even the iris was not visible signifying its rampaging nature.

'A deformed demon.' Alex identified the monster while he hung on a window sill. This might have been the first time he saw a deformed demon. But, he could easily identify it due to its characteristics.

Demons were the inhabitants of the fourth dungeon called Demon world. A dungeon made up of volcanoes and deserts. Among the five discovered dungeons, it has one of the most extreme conditions to survive in. While also giving one of the best loots like mineral deposits and special monster materials.

Although humans have yet to come across True demons from another world. It doesn't mean that no demons have interacted with human civilization. And one of the byproducts of that interaction was deformed demons produced by the demon cultists among humans.

'Just like I said, there was no scarcity of nut-cases in this world.'

And now, One of such artificially created deformed demons was rampaging across Alex's apartment.

"Thuk…" With a heavy sound. The deformed demon fell onto the ground below the apartment. It looks like it was stunned and disorientated. It kept on shaking its head and stomping around trying to wipe off the dust from its face. While doing that, it destroyed some cars and concrete floors around the apartment.

Alex didn't have much time to think, he jumped once more, climbing onto the fifth floor.

"Swish…" Suddenly a beam of light shot from the apartment. It was a silver spear that shone brightly. Closely after that, a man swished past Alex like a beam of light jumping down without a care. He was wearing armour with an engraving of mythical beasts like dragons and phoenixes. He looked like a warrior from the eastern legend who could destroy the world with a punch.

'Does he have feather-falling?' Although Alex thought that, Now he knew why his home was on fire.

The male lead. Edward Vulcan was here! It meant trouble was here!

Why else would a peaceful neighbourhood have a stabbing incident and demon attack incident back to back?

The man wearing armour and throwing a spear was Edward Vulcan. The main lead of Outerworlds and sister of Emily Vulcan. He is the kind of guy with righteousness and handsomeness coded into his DNA.

'This freaking guy! Will he compensate me for the mental damage?'

Saying that Alex ran into the apartment complex. He was here to help the trapped people and he shall do it. There was nothing more to think about, a deformed demon would be a piece of cake for Edward, wouldn't it? Among the people with the thickest plot armour, he was at the top. No need to worry about his life.

—----

Meanwhile, The little Leo. Bearer of dark-matter ability was standing on the ground looking at what was happening. He was far away from danger and he could see the deformed demon rampaging.

The demon was running towards people like it was feeling thrilled seeing the panicked humans running away from it. It was hunting people for sport.

Suddenly a strong migraine hit Leo. He grabbed his head in pain while fragments of memory opened up one after another. In it, he could see a five-year-old child being stomped by a similar demon. He could also see the child turning into a paste, bones and organs included. He could also see adults being kicked into oblivion while blood and pieces of meat splashed on his face.

He didn't know the identity of these people. But he knew they were important to him. From behind the deformed demons, people wearing black outfits came, killing everyone in sight before darkness descended on him.

Intense nausea hit Leo. He fell on his butt, frightened by the images haunting his mind. He was having a hard time standing up.

"Thud… Thud… Thud…"

Suddenly he heard a sound just a couple of inches away from him. It was footsteps, an eerie feeling hit him, freezing him. He knew what that sound was.

It was the footsteps of the deformed demon. Just like in his memories, it was inching closer to him. He turned toward the demon with every inch of courage he could muster. A large palm grabbed him by the waist and moved closer to the demon's mouth. For the demon, he was just a mouth-sized snack.

Leo was only inches away from the demon's mouth.

'Maybe this is the end.' Thought Leo.

Suddenly a silver light flashed.

"Slash… Roarrrrr…."

A silver spear came out of nowhere and penetrated the demon through its spine and abdomen pinning the twelve feet tall behemoth to the ground. For a second, the bulging muscles and horrendous claws of the demon went numb and it released Leo.

With every ounce of strength that he could muster. Leo ran away to safety.

That was too close for comfort. He felt like he died once and was revived again.

"ROARRRRR…." The deformed demon was angry now. It pulled itself out of the ground and pulled out the spear. The heavy spear looked like a toothpick in its hand. The regenerative power of the demon kicked in healing its wound. The bloody hole in its abdomen was gone within seconds.

Now it was feeling hungry. It needed sustenance quickly to heal and strengthen itself. And there were plenty of humans nearby.

Just as the demon tried to run toward the humans. Edward, who was mid-air propelled himself toward the demon. Somehow he reached near the demon moments before it ran into the crowd.

"Stomp" Edward stomped the demon with all the momentum he gained from the fall. But it was only enough to make the demon stumble.

Although Edward was strong, he couldn't deal a killing blow to the demon at all.

It has only been a couple of hours since he returned from the dungeon of the mythical beast, Dungeon number 2 which is ruled by mythical beasts known as Feys. Although he had many fortuitous encounters, he has yet to fully master his powers.

As expected, the battle was too draining for Edward. He was fighting with everything he got. But as time passes by, the demon seems to be getting stronger while Edward is being pushed back.

Suddenly, the demon changed form. It shrank and its muscles tensed up like a bow. It was preparing for a final blow. Both the demon and Edward were desperate, while Edward tried to delay the demon in hope of rescue. The demon was going for the end game.

Its coiled leg muscles propelled it forward like a train toward a group of people. Edward could only defend in hope that he could take the brunt of the attack. Or else the people behind would die for sure.

But instead of ramming into Edward who was in a defensive pose, the demon stopped its attack and rotated its leg before kicking Edward near his waist.

'It was a feint! A deformed demon did a feint!' Before he could process what was going on. He felt his internal organs screaming in pain. He flew like a skipping stone and rolled around the ground before finally colliding with a wall.

He couldn't feel any strength below his waist. But with blurry vision, he could see the demon limping toward people with broken legs. It looks like the demon was also injured.

But even then, a demon was far more powerful than any ordinary person. It easily moved toward people to find a good snack.

Edward could hear the horrified screams of people. And just as everyone was running away, a five-year-old kid fell behind.

"Mommy…. Mommy…." She was screaming, calling for her mother who never came. A tear slid down her tender cheeks while the humongous figure of a demon crept towards her.

It shook the heart of everyone who was watching. They wanted to help but dared not.

In the far corner, Even Leo felt his heart being gripped tight. She was staring at death just like how he was a couple of moments ago. Then he remembered the horrifying memories he had. He felt like vomiting out his intestines, just thinking about it. But he couldn't do anything.

Just as the demon crouched to grab the girl.

A sudden quietness descended. Like a calm before the storm, Edward who was struggling to stand up seemed to have made up his mind. He chanted under his breath.

"Dragon God's Will" Immediately a horrifying pressure descended on the world. An illusory shadow seemed to have merged with Edward giving him strength while he glowed in a pale silver colour. He promptly stood up and motioned with his hand. The fallen spear rose from the ground towards his hand.

Getting into his stance, He prepared for his final move.

"This move will kill you. Maybe I would die too. But as long as I am alive, you will not touch that kid. This is my promise and I will honour it with my life. Damned demon, DIE!"

Screaming his throat out, Edward lunged forward in a straight line. This was a last-ditch effort and he was sure that he would die if he couldn't take down the demon.

Like a lightning bolt, he closed in on the demon going straight for the head. But the demon was also ready, he was ready to sacrifice any part of his body to save its head. Twisting its arm in an awkward pose, it tried to deflect the spear and shield its head.

But before it could do that, From the far corner, Leo snapped his fingers.

"Snap… Dark-matter-explosion." He chanted under his breath. This was the moment he was waiting for. A decisive moment that can change the flow of the battle. Leo identified it and took action with conviction.

"Boom! Splash"

The moment Leo snapped his fingers, The hand that once touched Leo, The same hand that grabbed him and the same hand that the demon was using to deflect the spear exploded into oblivion. Nothing was preventing the spear from moving forward, it flew like a lightning bolt and impaled the demon's head.

"Splash…" Blood and brain matter splattered into a purplish red cloud. The demon was as dead as it can be.

Edward was the only one who noticed the arms being deflected by an explosion while everyone else thought he was the one who destroyed the demon's hand. But before he could look for the one who did it. He lost consciousness and fell like a chopped tree.