The sky was clear and colorful today, with high humidity.
Kouji and Yuusuke were walking around on the outskirts of the prefecture, in an old industrial area. The companies there had shut down, having gone bankrupt, and the buildings had been left to nature, which had already begun to reclaim them.
There were no people there, or at least there shouldn't have been. The only sound in the silence was Yuusuke's whistling.
He sang a melody from one of his favorite games, repeating his favorite part several times. Kouji took out his phone to review the mission objective.
"Belowtale?"
"You played it???"
"Sure, that got totally memed."
"Cool."
The mission on Kouji's phone was clear: find and exorcise Nightmares. According to the mission, there shouldn't be any dangerous Nightmares here. Therefore, the two of them walked along relaxed.
"Why exactly in such a place?"
"Collecting NightmaresIt is a place where a lot of negative energy is generated; abandoned places like these are often used for dares or adrenaline rushes."
"Therefore, nightmares often gather here."
"I see; not exactly a tough first mission."
"You want to go hunting on the first day?"
"How enthusiastic."
"Is that so unrealistic?"
"Nightmares are simply useful as training exercises; they don't fight back, they just live from day to day."
"People who have a pact are called 'Demi' and are in a different league."
"If you already had trouble against someone with half a brain, then good luck trying to compete against someone completely crazy or in their right mind."
"Such a huge difference?"
"Enormous."
Yuusuke ran a little further ahead, setting the pace. He stopped in front of one of the buildings, which looked even more ruined than the rest.aemitted an unpleasant odor.
"He should be in here."
"How can you be so sure?"
Because Kouji was allowed to skip the first year of training due to Ryo's influence, he does not know the most fundamental techniques.
"Close your eyes and imagine your surroundings, it doesn't matter if you know them or not, just imagine you're walking around here."
Yuusuke's description was very vague, but perhaps that was precisely what made it so easy for Kouji. He imagined what the surroundings might look like; he had no mental image of them, yet he sensed a small cloud through the wall.
"I see it."
"Whoa, that's amazing; despite my terrible explanation, you immediately figured out how it works?"
"I've always been a quick learner."
Yuusuke tried to open the door, but something was blocking it. He looked around and used a pipe as a lever to try and open it. Even so, it was difficult to open, and when it finally did, Yuusuke saw why. A beam had fallen from the ceiling and landed in front of the door.
"I was afraid of that."
"What do you think-"
Kouji turns his head towards the Nightmare.Bevor is YuusukeBefore he could even fully ask his questions, the answer was already there. Besides the beam at the door, other beams had also broken off.
"Be careful where you walk."
And right where the nightmare began, a girl lay buried under a beam, or at least what was left of her. Her body was half-decomposed and already bitten by rats.
"It hasn't just been there since today."
"Why is a girl wandering around here?"
"Probably a dare, as I put it; they probably wanted an adrenaline rush here and it backfired."
"Shocked, the others apparently left without saying anything."
"How cruel."
–She was simply left here, and her 'friends' didn't call an ambulance or the fire department. It's unclear whether her parents already know.
"I found her student ID; the girl has been missing for about a week."
"I need to make a quick phone call,exorciseYou are the Nightmare."
Yuusuke left the building and made a phone call outside at a medium volume. He reported the girl and informed everyone. Kouji answered the Nightmare. It was small and looked like a lizard. It had clung to the girl and was lying on her shoulder. Kouji took the Katana, and he lightly sliced the Nightmare's neck, severing its head from its body. The head didn't fall to the ground, but simply dissolved; shortly afterward, the rest of the body followed suit.
Yuusuke returned to the building, saying, "Well done, I didn't know if you could do that already," and stepped closer to the girl again. Even though there was a dead girl lying there, Yuusuke remained calm and composed.
–Has he often seen dead people?
The two waited there until the fire brigade and police finally arrived.
"Why were you there?" asked a police officer, to which Yuusuke replied that theyhaveHe exorcised a nightmare here. The police officer asked no further questions and got back into his car.
By the time everything was sorted out and they left, it was already evening again.
"What a workday."
"Welcome as a Hunter; let's get out of here."
"Sounds good, another BBQ?"
"Only if you pay today."
"Haha—Then I guess I'll go for a burger after all."
"Agreed."
The two moved away from the industrial area again and walked past the other buildings.
–Wouldn't it be smarter to demolish these buildings so that something like this doesn't happen again?
Yuusuke looked at Kouji, who was lost in his thoughts.
"Don't worry about it, Kouji; things like today can happen."
"I hadn't even thought about that."
"My mistake, but I'm glad;About what wait—wait."
At the edge of the area stood a man, swaying from side to side. He was middle-aged, barefoot, wearing tattered clothes and with disheveled hair. He barely moved, merely staring at the two of them, apart from the subtle swaying.
"A drink?"
"Probably," Yuusuke murmured, "Stay here."
"I'll be right back"
He slowly approached the man, his hands raised.
"Are you okay, dude?"
The man did not answer.
"Hello?-Sheshould not be here—" CRACK!
In a fraction of a second, the man's fist landed in Yuusuke's stomach.
His quick reflexes allowed him to block the blow, but he still flew across the field and slid along the ground. Kouji's eyes widened; he knew this wasn't just some drunk.
The man slowly approached Kouji, who assumed a defensive posture. His gaze briefly flickered to his right, where Yuusuke lay, struggling to his feet.
–That blow could easily have killed a person; this isn't just some drunkard.
"Everything okay, Yuusuke?"
"Ha," Yuusuke laughed hysterically and wiped the blood from his lips, "Not an alcoholic."
"(The guy was fast, I just barely managed to block his punch)" thought Yuusuke.
Suddenly Kouji focused and closed his eyes.
"Next he'll hit with his left hand!"
A blow came from the left, directly towards Yuusuke. Thanks to Kouji's prediction, he was able to deflect it in time and counterattack. Yuusuke grabbed the man's arm and kicked him in the stomach.away andWith a turn to gather momentum, he kicks the man again.
The man staggered briefly, then grabbed Yuusuke's leg and threw him through the air, directly into a wall. Yuusuke couldn't get up fast enough before the second fist came crashing down from above. Without thinking, Kouji ran forward and stretched out his hand. He didn't know exactly how, but he felt he had to imagine something in his hand. Suddenly, something like metal appeared in his hand and formed a rod with which he blocked the man's blow.
–Shit, this guy is strong; it feels like I'm holding back a car.
"Schnell Yuusuke!"
"Got you," said Yuusuke, as he delivered another kick to the man, sending him flying.
–Is this a demo?
Kouji helped Yuusuke to his feet, back to back, their eyes fixed on their opponent. Without any prior discussion, the two charged. Their opponent swung to his right, directly in Kouji's direction. He just barely dodged, the fist grazing his cheek. Blood streamed down his cheek, and Yuusuke had already landed a blow to the man's face. Kouji struck him in the stomach with the metal bar, causing him to stagger. During their exchange of blows, Kouji noticed small particles escaping from the areas Yuusuke struck.
–I thought he was fighting with throwing knives, but so far he has only hit with his fists.
–Did he perhaps forget his equipment—No.
Kouji looked at Yuusuke, his face didn't look like he was enjoying it.
–Who actually enjoys fighting?
Yuusuke jumped back a few steps, his body battered, surely with some fractures, and suddenly—the cartridges sprang from his hands. He tossed a few of the knives he was carrying into the air and struck each one with a cartridge. Moments later—all the knives shot toward the man. He tried to dodge, but the knives followed him into position and struck. One in the stomach, two in his arms, another in his leg, and a final one in his chest. These were precisely the spots Yuusuke had hit earlier, and the man fell to the ground.
The fight lasted only a few minutes, yet every blow landed by the man caused immense damage. Yuusuke looked first at his sprained arm, then back at the man, "Can a person become that strong?"
"That guy probably wasn't Demi?"
"No demi-?
"Demi's usually use theirCurse,Otherwise they wouldn't have had to enter into a contract; besides, only Demi's canmy DevilContract to strengthen their bodies."
"What was he then?"
"I can't say; it feels like he's a Nightmare, but he's clearly a human being; like someone put a Nightmare inside a human being."
"Whoever conducts such experiments knows a great deal about their craft."
"Do you mean one of those crazy doctors with a mask, like in the movies?"
"Haha—who knows."
Kouji's comment lightened the mood somewhat, which until just then had been very stiff.
"Whether it is the work of a drug—"
Yuusuke's gaze focused slightly behind Kouji.
"Kouji — look behind you."
Kouji turned around; behind him was a sidewalk with a lamppost.
–What does he mean?—
Kouji noticed it only belatedly, however the lamppost was slightly bent — and a large piece of metal was missing from the post.
"The lantern is the same color as the metal rod in your hand; did you perhaps reshape the stake?"
Kouji looked over at where the metal rod lay; it was the same metal. At first, he didn't want to believe it, but to be sure, he used his blessing to analyze the metal.
–Without a doubt, it's the same metal.
"But how?"
"I can't answer that…"
A brief silence fell over the two of them; neither spoke a word. Then—
(Yawn) It's getting late, let's go back and hand in our report.
"Yes!"
"And we'd better leave the lantern thing to ourselves for now."
"Yes…"