Rade's Demon Elimination Service

Chapter 9: Meeting a Certain Hunter

Rade closed her eyes tightly and ran as fast as she could.

The demon she was hunting was crawling on the walls of the building, fading in and out of the sight. It was quite the demon with a rather peculiar trait— camouflage. Rade's eyes, though the eyes of a hunter, were already too worn and blurry. When the demon changed colors as she take pursuit, she couldn't tell anymore whether it turned into the color of the building's wall or if it was now in the color of that one car.

She had been contemplating about purchasing a pair of eyeglasses, but while she ran around the city and somesault on the air, Rade knew it would only hinder her actions and movements causing more disastrous outcomes rather than advantages.

Maybe two or more years, Rade thought while her legs ran and ran towards the demon.

Maybe two or more years, she thought again and her hands were gripping Emma tightly that Rade thought Emma would finally cut her whole hand in the very middle of her palm— the hiltless scimitar was hurting her and causing her to bleed further. Not wasting even a single drop of Rade's blood, Emma greedily absorbed the red liquid flowing out of Rade's hands that were now butchered with Emma's wickedly sharp blade.

The demon with the camouflage peculiarity has beautiful scales that reflected whatever color it touched making perfectly use for its ability. It has ten feet sticking out at its side and the soles of those were adhesive enough to stick to the walls of the building or any rough and smooth surfaces. It was also terribly fast with those feet, crawling instead walking vertically, much like a snake or a lizard.

Herding the demon to the empty stalls inside the marketplace, Rade ran even faster until she was right in front of the demon. Her lungs burned with the exertion, there was nothing else inside Rade's mind but to just slumped and summoned back Emma, however painful that process was which she absorbed back into her bloodstream. Even with that kind of thought looming up to her like the clouds upon the sky or a giant truck ready to raze her, Rade still surged on to change the direction of the demon to someplace where there were no people.

Sensing that it was in a more dangerous situation, the demon flicked its tail which has spikes tainted with some fluid that Rade thought might be venom of some sorts. The tail crashed at the nearby stalls, making Rade winced painfully.

Paying for the Watchtower to clean up after hunters' messes, which includes fixing building to the smallest of things and even concocting an overly obvious lie that could come out straight from an action novel, was always pricey.

Or so Rade has heard from Lyu.

"Make as little mess as you can," he advised her, his dimple was cute while his smile was not— frightening as they warned, not advised, Rade.

Now that all were casual and civil, Lyu explained why Rade has never encountered him before even though she felt the demonic presence within Kalleid's body.

"I have what people call the Sky Teller," Lyu explained and pointed at his very beautiful eyes framed nicely and snugly with long and thick lashes. "I can generally see more things and information than what normal mortals, even demons and hunters could see. That also explains why Nee-san built the appraisal shop disguised as a cafe. It's specifically for me. I've become aware of you since the first day, eh...um, orientation day, I think, and—" Lyu chuckled slightly in an awkward manner "—I'd make it a point to avoid you since I'm not sure yet of your views about us."

But, going back to where the reality was actually in, the not making a huge mess out of demon hunting has been a great advice to Rade. Even before she moved in the town of this region, Rade only knew was to fight and kill. All of the demon hunting has been relatively new for her.

In Rade's mind, she immediately calculated how much she would spend on the Watchtower just to clean up the stalls that the demon knocked over with its tail.

Rade groaned audibly.

Facing the demon now, Rade just jumped and hopped from one table or chair to another instead of slashing them out of her way even if that was way quicker and more straightforward— more like her style. That was not to be though, if she did that Rade was already thinking the money she'll have to pay.

Honestly, this whole money and budgeting thing were all getting in her head that she cannot just stop thinking. Much more so when she was about to spend money. She can't afford anything, even her dilapidated and close to being eaten by termite low rise apartment— she can't even afford.

Rade tried to get close to the demon, but one of its feet actually managed to kick her straight to her abdomen. Spitting blood out of her mouth from a possible internal injury, Rade still managed to land on her feet and rolled a few times due to the momentum with the arm that wasn't holding Emma to support her head.

After rolling on the ground of the marketplace, Rade stood almost immediately with Emma prepared on hand— wincing as she summoned it. Screaming to gain even just an internal cheer for herself, she surged on and attacked the demon.

It attempted to execute another kick to keep her away which was evaded by Rade easily. Emma's blade, stained with its victims and its numerous masters', or the users' blood, was like an extremely sharp knife cutting through a well-cooked tender meat. It slashed and sliced, spewing blood all over like Rade was butchering an animal rather than killing a monster.

If earlier, Rade was able to wipe her chin that was dripping with her blood from when she vomited it, now Rade couldn't even believe that her skin has been brown instead of the red that the blood of the demon has from where Emma cut it down.

Increasing her speed and gripping Emma tighter which resulted to the cut of its blade on her skin bite deeper than ever, Rade chopped and hacked at the numerous feet the demon has. No matter how fast she hacked at the demon with Emma though, it just kept on regenerating until Rade a critical mistake.

Since the demon has a lizard-like type of body, Rade was too occupied with the tens of feet it has, completely disregarding the tail that has been rather dormant in comparison to the its feet. If earlier, Rade was able to dodged the attack it pose, now that she was rather occupied with the kicking feet, the demon clumsily stabbed Rade on the back with the tail and even collided with Rade's body after it stucked its spikes with tips that were drenched with a suspicious fluid.

Similar to what had happened to her earlier, Rade was thrown back again with a loud thud on the wall (not the one she collided from the earlier time). On this instance, Rade wasn't able to land as gracefully and rolled without any caution.

"UGH—!" Rade groaned loudly, letting go of her own weapon in a feat of pain. Emma clattered at the some distance away from her, physically out of her grasp.

She coughed several times, feeling blood coming up her throat and threatening to make her spit blood all over again. From the impact of the tail on her back to the wall where she got thrown off to, Rade felt her back was aching, not just the pierced type of ache since the demon actually stabbed her with the wicked spiked tail where blood oozed and she can point where those it hurts the most. It was the type of pain that had her twitching on the ground and screaming with unconcealed pain.

Rade tried to summon back Emma, but on her blurry vision was a person who held the brightly painted with blood weapon. Emma lacks one of the essentials of a perfectly good sword, Emma actually lacked a hilt where its user could handle it. Unlike other swords who have leather or metal hilt to protect its user or the swordsman, Emma have none of that.

Instead the blood-bathed weapon's blade extended to where the hand of its master rests causing the skin of its user or master to be cut open and for the blood spilled out giving the weapon additional strength.

The more blood the user sacrificed while using the blade, the stronger it would be, cutting even straight through a building (history of the Aíma, Emma's real name and what it was actually known for, revealed that the cutting of a building in one strike actually happened during the World War II by Rade's own great-grandfather).

Rade watched the hunter, for only a hunter could pick up the holy weapon Emma, gripped the blade tightly, ridiculous amount of blood pouring out of the cut Emma made on the skin and being absorbed by the blade.

"W-what...?" Rade asked senselessly as though her question would be answered by that stranger.

The hunter, the stranger honestly, slashed expertly at the demon. The demon, like all creature being hunted dow would, fought viciously. It yanked at the place around chaotically, tiles from the ground flew and even tables and some cloth. The hunter danced through it all smoothly, the moves were fluid and the way Rade's scimitar has been handled was all with skill.

Even Rade herself, even though a member of a cursed bloodline was called as a skilled swordwoman herself among her generation and peers. There were the occasional talented people such as those from the big clans like the Aldeia, their children surpassing the power some just only dreamt of.

"AHH!" Rade suddenly let out a cry, the venom on her back. She reached out her hand as if she was asking for help when, in reality, she was actually reaching to Emma. "Aíma!" she shouted, and with all the remnants of her connection with the scimitar she could muster, Rade called forth her holy weapon that has been embedded in her very being, within her blood.

Emma hurriedly answered to its master's summon, disregarding the skillful user that found and used it.

Warm to the touch, Emma flew back to Rade' hand and quickly went back to her skin, imprinting it with strange red markings. Not wanting to scream out of the pain she was feeling, Rade clamped her mouth tight, not letting out even a small cry as she absorb Emma within her body.

It was still as painful as ever.

Just within seconds, Rade started to feel better, the venom on her back being pushed away by Emma, cleansing Rade's body and ridding it with any foreign substances that might be harmful to Rade, thus, also harming the host body of the weapon.

After two minutes of just lying there, Rade was able to stand up, the wounds and cuts from earlier were now healed by Emma through its parasitic abilities. Her back wasn't lame any longer, though it still hurt by the wounds being forcefully closed down and the venom being rejected by her body.

The cut on her hand also healed slightly, just enough not get any infection until it was ripped open yet again by Emma's appearance.

"Ah..." Rade breathed slowly and closed her eyes. Light footsteps and a newly healed body, she went to give the finishing blow on the demon.

But then when Rade looked at it, reduced to a little elegant snake with the same scales by the onslaught of the hunter from earlier, Rade's hands shook.

Out of nowhere, she was reminded of Lyu who was innocent and cute, appraising demon cores, of Kalleid, who have never harmed a soul before, and of the peach blossom eyes of Miss Megumi. Before she could get Emma the last hit, Rade set down the scimitar. She felt it hummed angrily at her, seemingly questioning the master why it suddenly stopped.

As she stopped, a gust of wind whispered on her ears and a low quality sword already pierced the demon on the ground which was already reduced to its lowest and smallest form. The demon was pierced through despite the obvious quality of the sword and it then was reduced to a shining emerald stone.

It was gently laid on the floor and rolled a few times before coming to a stop right in front of the still standing Rade holding Emma.

"You hesitated," an amiable voice of a man told Rade. "When you did, you also lost the chance of defeating it. Are you... okay?"

The last word was uttered with uncertainty that it snapped Rade back to the reality that she shut down after seeing the demon vulnerable, unable to even defend itself. She felt goosebumps running all over her body, her hair was standing. If there wasn't another hunter right now and if there were pedestrians walking around, Rade might have put them in a precarious situation for hesitating.

She hesitated in acting on a job that was a literal between life and death in every second.

Immediately, she bowed to the hunter who gave the demon the last blow. Gritting her teeth, Rade apologized profusely, her head was still bowed low.

"No, no, what are you doing—?" the hunter scoffed gently at Rade whose head was still bowed. "It's fine, but as long as you know as a hunter what were your drawbacks, then you should do better next time. What you did is dangerous."

"I'm sorry!" Rade said again. Forgetting that Emma was still on her hand, Rade attempted to ball her palm into a fist only to feel the counter reaction she always had when handling the holy weapon.

Rade only pursed her lips which looked like she was quite displeased instead of being cut opened by her own holy weapon. Like the usual she does, Rade endured the pain with clenched teeth and finally managed to finish her apology to the other hunter.

"Here," the hunter said. His hand held the bright emerald precious stone and he was holding it out to Rade herself. "Take this and take care of your injuries."

Rade only looked at the demon core.

She worked hard for it, somehow though, Rade thought she didn't deserve it. Her hand was still cut open, her back and the venom injected by the demon's spiked tail has been healed by Emma, being pushed out by thhe holy weapon which was wrapped tightly on her skin, and she was as disheveled as she usually was.

Rade swallowed hard, not reaching to the beautiful demon core. The little thing gave her such a pain, not just her, but also other people too.

"You take it, Sir," Rade told the hunter politely and shook her head, her long hair was swaying to the rhythm of how she shook her head. "You're the one who actually killed it."

"And you're the one who seem to need it more," the hunter said amiably and immediately stuffed the demon core to Rade's hand. "You know what? Take that, but as my compensation, let me take a good look on your weapon?"

Rade's eyes widened considerably.

Did they know she was here? That was her immediate question and reaction. The blood stained scimitar gave her way too much attention, its blade was steel silver but only tainted withh red blood flowing from where its hilt was supposed to be. It was quite powerful even without the blood of its usual master, and it was flashy with all the history of its record within the hunters' society.

Heart thumping, Rade couldn't shake herself to answer. She was struck dumb right on the spot.

"Fair deal?" The hunter even asked Rade.

"No fair," Rade then stated, her teeth clenched painfully, there was still the taste of blood on her tongue which she just swallowed casually back in. "I don't even know your name. You said this is mine now?" Rade asked and gestured at the thing on her hand. "Thanks then."

There was no shame in being righteous, but there was no money in being righteous, Rade thought as she raced away from the hunter.

When she looked back at where the other hunter was, he was only looking at her retreating back with that same amiable face. Handsome, not to the point of being intimidating or reproaching like all beautiful people were.

With that, Rade can never relate. She was known for her skills and her ancestry's dark and bloodied past, and certainly not for her beauty.

Meanwhile, the running girl, Rade to be precise, still clutched the emeral precious stone that the hunter have to her nonchalantly. She looked at it, shining brightly and looking too precious under the harsh light of sun upon the sky. A flick of her hand and Emma started to crawl back on theh surface of her skin which was concealed by her cardigan.

"Oh..." Rade sighed heavily as excruciating pain entered her body, the arrival of her holy weapon and how it settled.

Rade blinked her blurry eyes and wiped her forehead with her cardigan's sleeve only remembering that it was soaked with blood. Every bit of her skin was soaked with blood. She laid one more glance on the emerald shade demon core and carefully placed it on the pocket of her uniform skirt.

She shouldn't have done this before school hours, now she doesn't even have a decent enough uniform to wear to school.

After going back to her low-rise apartment where the running water wasn't actually running and her housemates were most possums and cockroaches, Rade went to the train's station and finally made her way back to her high school academy.

"Raaaaaaaade!"

There was only one person who would scream Rade's name like that, and that person, actually that demon, has curly hair and plump cheek— both were bouncing happily. Opened arms and warm expression, Lyu greeted Rade with a quick hug which Rade immediately shoved off as soon as it happened.

Lyu only ignored the subtle shove, but couldn't help to notice a slight redness on the tips of both of Rade's ears.

"It's lunch break already," Lyu complained to Rade loudly, "where did you went off to?"

Rade groaned inwardly.

Since visiting Attic, Lyu and his older sister's appraisal shop s***h cafe, to get a fair appraisal for the demon cores she gained, Lyu has been clingy to Rade, making it seemed like him taking Rade under his wing.

"Nee-san told me to keep an eye on you," Lyu once told Rade while they were both eating their lunch. "So I just changed my classes to match yours!"

Since Lyu arrived in Rade's life, there wasn't a day she was alone. When she was assigned as the cleaner of the day, Lyu would always accompany her or he would always eat with her at lunch breaks.

"How come it's fine to changed classes that easily?" Rade asked, doubtful if Lyu did something illegal with his demonic powers. "What else did you do? Did you mind voodoo the registar?"

That time, Lyu looked offended. The curls on top of his head bounced once and twice, his eyes were wide with apprehension and incredulity.

"That hurts, you know!" Lyu said, his lips were pouting but he quickly explained to Rade. "The Aldeia clan has great influence here. Not just within the hunters' society, but also to the mortals'. Since my sister is in cool terms with them, they let her do what she wants granted that it wouldn't be bad."

Lyu's concern for her was endearing and Rade was actually glad to have someone be so concern about her. Rade was afraid though that it was all an act. She was, after all, a descendant of the cursed bloodline and she wouldn't be shocked to know that it was actually just an act. But if so, Rade was doing splendidly blending in and acting in return as the distant and loner friend.

"You know we're not suppose to go out randomly, Rade," Lyu said, but Rade could feel the sense of seriousness within his voice. "With Laurinette Haeven around the corner and the demons going crazy, I'm going crazy myself worrying about you."

Rade nodded solemnly and, without needing to utter another word, lifted up the demon core that she took care of earlier that morning.

"You—!" Lyu said but abruptly cut himself off. "Let's get to some place quiet, okay?"

Then, needing not any further encouragement, Lyu dragged Rade behind him.