Rade's Demon Elimination Service

Chapter 22: Shade in the Attic

"You can sell the cores you hunted to us," Lyu told Rade. "In that way we'll be able to help you."

As soon as they agreed to have some sweets and calm their grumbling stomachs first, they told the driver of the car that London let them borrow to just drop them to a cafe that Lyu said he liked. Rade doubted that though. Lyu didn't eat mortals' food and he could only smell them while pretending to eat, but Rade was too contented to point that out and said whatever he wanted.

Currently, they were both in the middle of the city where the streets were still bustling despite the impeding darkness brought forth by the night. And though the people around were busy, it was oddly peaceful. Not even a remnant of a demon could be seen and the hunters around were only loitering.

And both of them were unaware of the shadow that just went past by the window where they were sitting across from, a glare pierce them and, still, they took no notice of it.

Bringing Rade's attention to Lyu, Rade doesn't know how to answer or respond. What kind of job does The Attic could provide for an underage girl like her? Maybe, a shopkeeper or someone who would steep the tea.

"Yeah, I'll do that or I'll never be able to pay up," Rade responded to Lyu while the boy pierce the sweet cake on his little plate and stir his milkshake with his colorful straw. "And maybe I can get some free meals off of that."

"I'll whip up some free meals just for you." Lyu chuckled, actually uncertain how to come up with a job for Rade. "And you can also help with the café. It doesn't look like it, but Attic actually has a lot of clients when we're not running a core appraisal shop, you know?"

Rade nodded obediently and earnestly.

"I will ask Nee-san about too," Lyu chuckled agaib.

Rade didn't think against of it that much, in fact, in lieu of the things that happened recently, she was just glad of being alive (though she absolutely no idea how on earth would she get her next meal, luckily, now she knew). She basically have no family relations that would support her education and daily needs. Besides that, the only source of cash she had was the little sum of money she got from working from one hunter clan to another which, if she was being honest to herself, was not really much to begin with. That stash of money though was rapidly depleting since they didn't call on her again after she moved in the Aldeia clan's lands.

It must be because the Aldeia clan was simply too powerful for them to deliberately create mess under that clan's own nose. Rade was never bothered again after moving and she guessed that was a blessing in disguise since dealing with shady clans like those could potentially put her into even more trouble. Though Rade knew that maybe Geneva Aldeia has had a hand on why no other clan would ever approach Rade again and why she was even let go in the first place.

Now that she settled in this place, Rade only has her hunting abilities to rely on but it wasn't as if she could catch a demon and extract their core everyday.

Every fight could be her last but Rade still took the step forward.

Despite her bravado though, Rade knew that demon hunting wasn't really a very stable job and there would be certain circumstances wherein she wouldn't be able to hunt demons. Maybe taking up Lyu's offer could actually be a good idea. Free meal would always be a welcomed idea. Besides that, there was also the matter of the punishment inflicted by the Aldeia clan.

She would be stupid enough to break that kind of decree personally delivered to her by the head of the clan herself.

When they finished eating, they didn't waste time and went out of the café. They walked around the city, letting the cool air of the spring touched their cheeks. They didn't talk much, it was mainly Lyu who was pointing at things and making small and casual talks. He was talkative enough for the both of them and Rade was contented with only humming or nodding.

Rade was rather thankful she wasn't being forced to make conversation.

The day has been tiring for her and a small stroll around could help her loosen up immensely.

"Give me your hand, Rade," Lyu told her as they were about to cross the street. When the traffic light turned red, they crossed while Lyu was still holding on to Rade.

Rade looked down to the boy and saw his eyes were quite jittering from left to right of the road. Seeing that, Rade gripped his hand harder and dragged him to the other side of the street.

"Were you scared?" Rade asked him, realizing the reason why he wanted to hold her hand wasn't because he might lost her in the multitude of the people.

Lyu closed his eyes, ears perked up and getting pointy like an elf's. His cheeks were warm and red, and Rade patted his back, she heard distinct yet quiet purr. Like a fox.

"Why?" Rade asked, and for some stranger's ears, she might have sounded very indifferent but she really was not and she hoped Lyu doesn't misinterpret her tone.

Lyu's ears returned to normal mortal's ears, but the flush tha rushed up to his cheeks were still clearly visible. Now he gripped Rade's cardigan's sleeves though he was clearly distressed and embarrassed.

"When I was younger," Lyu started, but he urged Rade to kept on walking alongside of him. "Nee-san didn't really took me in until I was two years old. I was a nine tailed demon, but Nee-san is a magnificent dragon in her demon form and because she was powerful enough... I became a minor remnant of her manifestation. She didn't know about me until a few years ago so I often wander round. When I go to parks, I can only hide six of my tails and kids would always make fun of me."

Rade only looked at Lyu.

Being different was painful, and people don't like seeing different things in their perspective. Different meant defective, no matter if that was a person or simply just objects.

She knew the pain of being different.

Rade was no foreigner when it comes to adversaries telling her that just because she has different upbringing, different life experiences, and power unlike any other, she was somewhat defective by nature. She has become aware of the hurt it would cause her and how she must face it, always only gritting her teeth in endurance.

"I came to hate things coming at me in a very fast motion," Lyu confessed and there was that same embarrassment on his expression that Rade found endearing. "I felt I would die even if they stop. Sometimes, I could still feel their kicks on me and those kids would crash to my body with their car toys. It's not that I came to also hate cars, but I'm just scared of the idea of being crushed by one. They're really scary."

Lyu curled the curly end of a thick strand of his hair by the tip of his finger, his head became more unruly than a week before. It was longer, almost reaching his nape and it wasn't even the perfect shade of black.

Rade pointed at a banner which took Lyu's attention from his embarrassment and his story which Rade guessed made him extremely sad.

"Ah, yes!" Lyu exclaimer, clapping his hands together. His brown plain eyes brightened in a drastic way, his worries lay forgotten at the back of his mind. "There's a cherry blossoms viewing and a float parade! I love the gigantic floats! They lit up the sky and cherry blossoms would always bloom so pretty."

"Do you want to go?" Rade asked him serenely.

The cherry blossoms have already bloom and it would only take a week or two, maybe not even, for all those pink blossoms to fade and rot on the ground, being swept away by sweepers.

"Shall we really go?" Lyu asked Rade, but his eyes were already telling her to reassure him and don't disappoint him.

Rade only nodded her head, glad to take the boy's mind off the misery of his past.

"We should ask Kalleid and New York and London too!" the boy exclaimed excitedly. "It will be fun! We always spend at least one of our days at this season viewing the cherry blossoms. At first, it's just me and Nee-san then Kalleid. And then London and New York also joined us. Sometimes, even Sis Nina would come and swing by with her beer."

"That sounds fun," Rade commented, clapping her hands also though she didn't know what it was for and why Ai would clap his hands without apparent reason.

Looking around the stalls that surrounded the park they just went past by, Rade told Lyu should be getting home. The sun has already deeply sunk in the horizon, not visible anymore though there was some lingering lightness from its setting.

"I'll accompany you home," Rade told Lyu who nodded gratefully. "It's dangerous for you to be out so late at night."

"Yeah," Lyu said, munching on a piece of crepe that they both bought from a stall earlier. "Other hunters might mistake me for a rogue demon."

As they were walking, the street lamps have already been lit and there were some lantern hanging by threads above them that exuded very festive ambiance around the park as they made their exit, away from people. Because of blossoms that were all blooming so beautifully, people were still bustling in the make-shift market near the park where the cherry blossoms were located. It wasn't crowded, just enough for Ai and Rade to make their way and walk leisurely at a pace they wanted.

There was longing on Lyu's eyes that told Rade he still don't want to go.

"When will we view the cherry blossoms?" Rade asked, watching the people walking past them.

"Maybe three days from now? So we can see the blossoms in their best," Lyu responded with uncertainty. "I'll call Kal and London so I could tell them. Maybe they could answer this night or tomorrow. Kalleid would start attending classes by tomorrow too and the same is true for me. Will you also attend classes tomorrow?"

There was some words that caught on Rade's ears.

"What do you mean by that? You're also not attending school?" Rade asked curiously and Lyu's ears immediately turned red, even redder than earlier.

"W-well..." Lyu started weakly, his voice trailing away and there ws an awkward expression on his face.

"Don't attempt to lie," Rade threatened at him and she heard him sighed heavily.

"I got some internal injuries," Lyu confessed, his cheeks flushed and that flush continued down to his neck.

"What for?" Rade nudged at him, her brows were creasing. "You weren't in battle a week ago... against the Shadow Fantasm, no?"

Ai shook his head.

"I wasn't battling it out with the Shadow Fantasm," Lyu responded. "I'm not as powerful as Nee-san, and I'm not as courageous as Kalleid and New York and London. I'll only get in the way. I have even less reason to pursue it, but there was someone I know that has a motive to do that. And she did that recklessly."

Rade stopped from walking, only looking at Lyu. Somehow, she already has a vague idea of what happened but she still couldn't quite catch on what actually happen.

And it was all because of her... again.

Why was it that every time she make a mistake, people around her suffers for it instead of her?

"Why do you think New York and ther othes found you?" Lyu asked Rade, he also stopped walking and looked back to where Rade was. A soft smile touched his face, not even blaming Rade. "I felt guilty too, you know. I was the one who sent New York to rescue you. And I told him to not let you go but I'm glad now that you're here with me. Completely fine and well."

Finally, Rade understood what had happened.

"You used the Sky Teller to find me," Rade surmised, her eyes were both casted downwards.

"My clairvoyance power is not absolute though." Lyu chuckled as if it was all a simole joke to hin though there was already a heaviness weighing upon Rade's chest. "And I overworked myself, but I'm fine now. Rade..." Lyu suddenly called to her.

She tore away her eyes from the ground, staring at her friend.

"Don't do that ever again," Lyu said, and there was a faint feeling within Rade that she was being scolded.

Rade only nodded.

They weren't that far from Lyu and his sister's shop. When they arrived, Megumi even invited Rade to dinner but since it was already too dark and the roads have become more dangerous to both mortals and hunters, Rade refused politely. They also discussed very shortly about the free meals that Lyu mentioned and it seemed as if Megumi was fine taking Rade in under the Attic's wings. It made Rade embarrassed.

"I'd be glad to," Megumi said with a gentle smile.

Coming down the stairs of the shop from the second floor where more rooms were located, a very pretty blond man appeared with his upper body bare and without any cloth to cover them. His arrival interrupted the discussion about the job between Megumi and Rade while Lyu pursed his lips, showing off his dimple.

There was an ominous silence that fell upon the air with the man's arrival in the room, and Rade could feel it in her bones. Thrumming on her skin, Aíma sang to her to be called forth but Rade held the rein in. There were rules within the Attic that she must respect and one of those was that they were not allowed to call for their holy weapons.

"I see you have a guest, Miss Megumi," Rade remarked.

The implication was enough for the people inside the shop. The man was a demon. His blood red eyes were glowing and the next thing that happened was that the man's hands turned longer, into claws and they reached out to squeeze the life out Rade.

Before Rade's neck has been broken though, Megumi has let out her seven tails and subdued them both while gently shoving her little brother aside so he wouldn't take any hit from any of the dangerous creatures around them.

"Violence is not allowed inside my café!" Megumi's voice boomed throughout the room. It made the hair on Rade's arms stood from the sudden fright from the usually gentle and well-mannered lady.

"Do you think I would blindly trust the hunter that reduced me to this state, Megumi!" the man hissed at Megumi who didn't even flinched from the harshness and violence of his voice. "I will kill her!" he shouted and tried to lunge at Rade all over again but was quickly suppressed by one of Megumi's tails.

"First Demon is well-aware why I took you in and the reason that the Aldeia clan tolerated you," Megumi said gentle, retracting her strong tails from suppressing both of the people around. "You are still in your weakened state, anybody could take you on."

"Are you threatening me?" the man asked Megumi. He was truly handsome that even in his wrath, one could only sigh and stare at him. "A lowly demon whose power is only just a fraction of my own, you dare to threaten the first demon of humanity?"

"And yet that fraction of your power that you so looked down on is enough to obliterate you in your state, my lord," Megumi said, her peach blossom eyes were round bur held a dangerous glint towards the man. "You are in no condition to talk big, my lord. This lowly one only serves you." But then she suddenly paused from talking. The dangerous glint within her peach blossom eyes faded and a gentle smile touched her lips. "Is that how you would like to be addressed?"

"Megumi!" the man shouted but quickly held his bare chest. A moment later, he was coughing up blood.

"Fannie," Lyu said, peering behind the nook that his older sister shoved him into. "Are you okay?"

"You—!" The man pointed at the innocent boy but he only coughed more blood to the palms of his hands seemingly being aggravated more by some reason. He was quickly held by Megumi, his knees trembling down and he let Megumi carry him in a bridal manner.

"Fannie," Megumi said with a smile, teasing the man who only groan. "I'll take you up your room." Before going up the stairs, Megumi looked back at Rade who was confused and still wide-eyed staring at the man in her arms. "You should go home for now, Rade. I promise that I will explain everything to you tomorrow. Would you mind coming by tomorrow?" Megumi asked and Rade nodded absentmindedly. "That's perfect. I would need someone to babysit this elder demon."

"Megumi—!" The man attempted to shout but his mouth was suddenly covered with one of Megumi's tails that suddenly reappeared.

Admittedly, it was such a bizarre scene in anyone's eyes. A woman only a few years older than Rade herself who had seen sixteen summers and winters was carrying a man well on his way to his twenties. The two looked nothing alike except for the powerful and drawing aura that they both exude.

Once they were gone, Lyu went out of his hiding spot.

"I'm sorry about Fannie," he said like he was talking about the neighbor's misbehaving dog that bit Rade on her arm (which could not be farther from the truth).

Meanwhile, Rade was still unnerved by what happened. She quickly mastered up her composure and asked Lyu in a very clear tone.

"Is that the Shadow Fantasm? With a new vessel?"

There was incredulity in her voice mixed with both shocked and anxiety. Shocked being that Rade was so calm about all of this. After all, even when the Shadow Fantasm was in its weakest form and on a new and weaker vessel, it was still able to land a hit on her. Unconsciously, Rade rubbed her neck where she was almost squeezed tight by the Fantasm's claws. It was quite red though it wasn't painful. The grip of the Fantasm was firm but it only lasted on her neck for only a few seconds.

"Yes, Rade," Lyu confirmed solemnly. "But you shouldn't tell anyone about it. Fannie came to us after the battle with Kal's demonic form. He requested an audience with Lady Aldeia and he was granted. Since then, he has been living with the two of us. That vessel also belonged to no one, it was his own humanoid form so you need not to worry, Rade."

The Shadow Fantasm has caused a great rift on Rade's life. It caused her dear friend and sister's life and when she finally accepted that even defeating the demon manifestation was useless on bringing back Lauri and Carys Haeven, Rade's dear friends, she was told that the very creature who ruined her life a year ago was making another appearance yet again.

She should be angry and she should just go up and kill that man who was the Shadow Fantasm, but she didn't.

She was more sensible than that.

It was already a very suspicious move for the Aldeia clan to let such a great demon, the very first demon manifestation of ybe whole humanity, to just let go and let him live his life. It shouldn't be like that, Rade knew.

And instantly, Rade realized that there must be something else lurking behind.

The Aldeia clan was known to be merciful but with a reason. They would never let someone go just because they found them too pitiful to be punished.

She was too tired to be tangled up with the Aldeia clan's plans and she wanted to be freed from the burden she has been carrying for the past year that happened. She suffered and she has endured, were those not enough to let herself enjoy what she has now?

"Does anybody else know?" Rade asked curiously.

Lyu nodded before speaking, "All the Aldeia clan knew. London, New York, and, of course, Lady Geneva Aldeia. Then there's Kalleid. They wanted Fannie to teach Kalleid how to control his demonic side in any case he lose control over again though I think Fannie would only use Kalleid as his next vessel. But for now," Lyu paused for a second, "I don't think Fannie is in any condition to teach anyone about control or to attack anyone seriously." Lyu sighed deeply and shook his head with exhaustion. "You saw what happened earlier, how Fannie lost control. For now, keep this as a secret. A lot of other hunters would not take this as graciously."

Rade agreed with that, drawing up conclusions how different clans and independent demon hunters would react to the knowledge that the Shadow Fantasm was under the wings of the most powerful clan.

"They would think the Aldeia clan plans to use the Fantasm," Rade surmised quickly. "They would be resentful of the Fantasm and be jealous of the potential power that the Aldeia clan is currently holding."

And maybe even HODE would want to grapple and grasp for even just a tiny bit of that power, Rade thought with a sudden gloom.

A fraction of the Shadow Fantasm's power, anyone would covet that.

"Nee-san said that there are people who are greedy and would do anything to get what they like," Lyu said, the naivety that Rade often see within his eyes were almost replaced by sorrow. "And I believe my sister."

"Don't worry, Lyu," Rade assured the boy, patting his back. "I will keep this as a secret."

Bidding their farewells to each other, Rade walked towards the station with that thought still lingering on her mind. She wanted not to think about the Fantasm and its funny name that was never pointed out, but she simply couldn't.

This has nothing to do with you, Rade convinced herself but she knew that was only a lie.

Who was the one who reduce the Shadow Fantasm to its current state?

It was her.