The Spark Ignites Pt. 05

"Hunter, leave this place, take your men and you will all be spared my wrath."

It was pompous, cocky, like Zarika knew she could back up her threat, but I think everyone knew that she was just bluffing. The may not have, because cocked his head to the side as he flicked what definitely looked like blood from the ends of his blades before sheathing them. I could feel the surprise radiating off the group of demons, but I heard Laina sigh again before shaking her head.

"Do not interfere, because this man will kill you without hesitation to get to Zarika, he is the storm, and the storm is still very, very angry, in fact, in all my years, I can count on one hand the times I've heard of anger on this level, and half of those came from this man's master."

Well, she confirmed what I thought, that the man created the storm, but I felt a little insulted at her disregard of my fighting abilities. That very quickly changed when I realized why she said that. The man in front of us grabbed an odd rod from his hip, and my eyes grew wide. It looked like the one the woman inside the arena had used. The man held it up, and spun it in his hand. From either end, what looked like water in white rapid launched into something about as long as he was tall. He spun it around in a circle again before flicking it towards the demons, forming a dual scythe before letting it rest on his shoulder.

"Zarika, by the decree of Lord Death, this city will be drowned in the waters of his rage and sorrow, and you will suffer the most. If any of your band throw down their weapons they may be spared this wrath."

With that, he whipped the blade around his shoulders, sending a blast of water at the entire group, following the attack up by charging towards it. I heard a roar from the big bastard, it shook the air, but the Hunter roared back with equal power, and no small amount of rage as they met each other in a brutal clash of water and steel.

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Chapter 25

The first thing I saw the man do was let the massive cleaver slide down the haft of his scythe before twisting his arm slightly to send it into the road. It was from there that he slid between the big demon's legs, and slid his hands down the haft of his scythe. He spun and swung it like a baseball bat, sending a blast of air at Zarika, who had fled to safety when the Hunter had attacked.

The blast connected with her from the side, sending her flying into a building. She slammed into it before falling to the ground in a heap, not moving. He gestured with his head towards the still form, and I heard Laina sigh yet again. She grabbed my shoulder and looked me dead in the eyes.

"Stay here and don't get yourself spotted. I need to make sure nobody tries to take Zarika."

With that, she disappeared from my side as shadows rose from the ground to wrap around her body. She then appeared to meld into the darkness, leaving me by myself in the doorway. I heard a sound of running and turned to face a small group of demons. They were more armored than the ones that were slaughtered in the arena, but not quite as heavily as the honor guard outside. Well there went my chances of being unseen. They didn't even have a chance to scream before I was in the middle of them, sending flaming fists into their bodies, melting armor and burning skin with every strike. They fell before me as I started going for headshots, rattling skulls with every blow.

Once they were all down for the count, I let my attention be drawn back to the fight as the hunter did something crazy. The world froze as he spun again, this time throwing his scythe at Igthrund, who was standing with his jaw hung wide open. The weapon spun so fast that it became a blurred disc, one that was stopped suddenly by a knight demon throwing itself between the figurehead and weapon.

It was like the weapon was a buzzsaw, it ground into the thing's armor, throwing sparks for a few brief moments before it suddenly cleaved its way through. The waters turned from white to blood red as it flew off past the dead demon and impaled into the wall of the arena, missing Igthrund by a few inches.

The Hunter looked like he was annoyed, and set his hands on the hilts of his blades and slid into a loose stance. I noticed that he had retreated almost forty feet while we were all focused on the thrown weapon, and then while I was dealing with the group of idiots behind me, giving him some room away from the big guy.

"Well, you've all disappointed me, and I'll need to get better with that thing, but for now, I'll use what I know well. Come at me then, I want to cut as many of you down as I can today. Your blood will stain these streets forever, and I will fucking spill it!"

With that, several demons charged at him, mostly the knightly looking ones, but also the massive one with the cleaver again. One approached faster, he had on lighter armor and used a thin sword. He tried to stab it at the Hunter, but in a flash of movement, one saber flicked out to turn the blade to the side, the other stabbed out and impaled the demon through the chest. Then the hunter turned, pulling the blade from the demon and moving around the falling body as he slashed at another demon, placing a deep cut across its throat and removing an arm in one movement. The demon reached up to its neck as blood flowed down his front, but the hunter was already moving on. Another twist combined with him stooping down led to a third demon to the body count, the momentum from the move allowing his left blade to remove both legs off one that looked like a classical knight. Another one fell quickly after as his right sword opened him from hip to neck, slicing effortlessly through the armor he had. I heard a gargled scream as that one fell, trying to hold his body together, and failing spectacularly as blood flowed from the rend in his body.

Every movement was gracefully executed, but with results that were truly brutal to watch. I felt my stomach lurch as I witnessed the complete disregard for life. Sure, I had killed monsters in the arena, and a couple of Zarika's men, but I had ended them quickly, efficiently. This was callous murder, and the demons the hunter slew weren't even dead before he moved on to the next one. Blood flicked from his blades with every movement, and I swore I could see a trail of dark energy flow from his eyes.

"I understand now why Ambrose likes him, and why Alistair is cautious. If this is the amount of skill and power he wields now, I almost do not wish to know how strong he will become in a few years time."

I jerked slightly as a smooth voice came from behind me. I looked to see who had approached me, and it was the ice maid from the arena. She didn't look like she was just slaughtering demons, more like she had just finished some minor chore around the house. She glanced at me with her icy blue eyes before looking back out at the slaughter going on as another knight looking demon was killed with a little extra flair. First its arms were lopped off, then in a scissoring motion, the legs were removed before a red gash was torn across its throat straight through the plate metal protecting that area. The blades cut through any armor it encountered as if it were made of paper. It was terrifying how effective it was.

I looked back to the woman as she shifted, a knife twirling between her fingers as she tucked the other under her chest. She intrigued me, she definitely wasn't a hunter, but was undoubtedly someone who was incredibly dangerous.

"How do you know this isn't his peak, do you know him? Fuck, what's your name?"

She shrugged, eyes still facing the man as he brought another demon low. Blood was now painting the street as it fell, a blade having darted out and into its throat as the other stabbed into its belly before a twisting movement drew two bloody lines as both swords were torn from the soon-to-be corpse.

"Allison, and I've spoken with him on occasion when he delivers things to my brothers. I know he will grow more powerful because of his mo- mentor, most people in more powerful circles know about Threya Graves. She is the last Black Skull, and her power is immense, second only to Death himself. She is the first great storm that rocked the underworld to its core over four hundred years ago. She showed demons that interfering with the servants of Death has consequences, and to kill one who is only there to deliver souls to the underworld, you might as well kill yourself. It would be less painful. The stupid woman who caused all this was only born about two hundred years ago, long enough to think her elders were just paranoid."

I processed what the woman said as we watched the hunter plant his feet in preparation for the final demon. The giant was all that was left, and he brought the massive cleaver over his shoulder, preparing for an overhead chop. It was now that my jaw fell open. The hunter moved like the wind, or even water around rocks. His movements took him in a flowing path around the blow, and then between the giant's legs where he tried to slash at the dark armor that covered its legs. The blade slid off in a shower of sparks, and the giant tried to stomp on the smaller hunter, but he just wasn't there anymore. He had moved back in front, back into the loose stance he had started in. There was a pause between the two as the giant demon hefted his blade back over his shoulder. It opened its mouth, and I thought it was about to roar again, but instead, a deep, slurred voice came out.

"Aga going to kill you, kill you for pretty, lady who says Aga strong!"

The hunter cocked his head to the side before making a 'come on' gesture with one blade.

"Well, then come and get it you big motherfucker!"

The big demon, Aga, I guess, made a primal roar and brought that giant hunk of metal down on the hunter. In return, the cloaked man merely shifted slightly and lazily flicked one sword up to push the cleaver off course just enough for it to miss him, slamming once more into the ground. There was an air of calm around the hunter as his hair fell to cover his red eye, leaving his icy blue one exposed to scan over the rest of the demons who were still standing. Landing on me, but then shifting away and to the guards that still stood between Igthrund and I. One in particular caught my eye, and I guess the hunter's too, as his gaze stopped at them. The figure was ambiguous because the helm on their head and the flowing dark red cape that hung from their shoulders prevented me from telling what that person was. They were also the only one in that group who was dressed like that, and I guessed they were in charge. Something suddenly struck me, nobody had tried to move and go retrieve Zarika. Did they not care about her, or maybe they were trying to keep Igthrund protected. I really didn't know, but before I could think about that more, the sound of metal on metal drew me back to the fight.

The hunter had his blades crossed, catching another chop, but then I saw him twist one hand, and step into the attack. The cleaver fell to the side once again, and the hunter brought his other blade up in a sweep so fast that it became a blur. In under a second, three things happened. The saber connected with Aga's forearm, there was a spurt of blood, and Aga's arm fell away from his body. Aga roared in pain, but the hunter ignored it and moved in closer to the giant's legs. He swept his right sword towards the ground, hitting a puddle of blood. The puddle seemed to come to life, and followed his swing as it continued until the blade pinged off Aga's leg armor again with a burst of sparks. The blood splashed against his leg as the hunter retreated away from another stomp. What came next shocked me. Aga's leg, the one that was splashed with blood, slammed down onto the ground, and instantly buckled. The giant toppled to the ground as more blood gushed from that leg than what had originally soaked it. Aga tried to stop his descent with his arms, but the hunter spun on a dime and removed the one he already cut with another slice through the upper arm. With this, the giant fell face down into the bloody street, groaning in pain. The hunter then slammed both his blades through Aga's other hand, pinning it in place.

"Huh, now, what to do with you? Oh, I know."

The hunter walked over to the giant's massive cleaver blade, and after pulling the severed hand from it, dragged it over until he was stood close to the giant's neck. He twisted a bit until he held the hilt over his shoulder, and after his arms shook for a moment, he hefted the blade up. I saw a glint of anger in the hunter's eyes as he prepared to swing the blade that was even larger than him.

"Shoulda got on your knees, cause you're in over your head!"

With that, he brought the blade down like a guillotine, removing Aga's head from his shoulders and burying the edge into the stone of the street in a show of immense strength. He pulled his own blades from the hand they were in, flicking them clean as he moved to face Igthrund.

"Well, what now? You plan on leading these fools behind you into the dark or will you give up and die quickly?"

I saw the caped figure behind Igthrund reach into their pocket and pull out something small and light blue. With their other hand, they reached up and pulled their helmet off. I saw their hair was shaved close on the back and side, while long on the top. The shaved parts were brown, while the longer parts on top were a deep purple color. I still couldn't exactly tell what gender the person was, mainly because the outfit they wore helped conceal any real body shape.

"A special gland from an Icebound Mauler, it produces a fluid similar to liquid nitrogen."

I heard the woman beside me comment as the mercenary hooked their helmet to their side with some kind of strap I assumed, and held that hand up to their face with one finger up. They moved up, getting close to Igthrund as he began monologuing, spouting off bullshit about how strong he was, and how he would avenge the men that were killed, and that the hunter had hurt Zarika, blah blah blah. I could tell the Hunter was only paying a slight bit of attention on Igthrund, his eyes were firmly locked on that caped warrior, and I couldn't blame him. I assumed that Igthrund was a known entity to this shadow organization, the caped person, maybe not. As they stepped just behind the leader of the pits, their armored boots clacked on the stone, alerting Igthrund to their presence. He turned to them, and smirked.

"Good, mercenary, fight with me now to kill this bastard and I will reward you handsoml-!"

Before he could finish, the now identified mercenary smashed their foot down on top of his. I watched the ground crack as they turned the bones in Ightrund's foot to dust. The man's words then became a wordless scream for a single moment before the merc popped the gland they had taken out of their pocket earlier into his mouth. The movement that followed was an open palmed uppercut, slamming his mouth shut with a vicious click. I watched Igthrund reach up to his face and start clawing at it. I couldn't hear any screams, just muffled noises of pain. What happened next made my stomach drop.

The merc stepped around to face Igthrund, and I could finally tell that this was a woman. She would have had gentle features, save for the scars that crossed her face almost horizontally, running across her left cheek and over her nose. Her hands gently cupped Igthrund's face before her mouth twisted into an insanely sadistic smile, and malefic glee sparkled in her amber eyes. I saw her hands shift, and she dug her thumbs into the suffering man's eyes. The man still didn't scream, although I doubt it was from a lack of trying. The muffled sounds of pain grew more frantic, and his arms flailing at the woman, trying to pry her away from his face. She would not let up, and I saw a dark purple light emit from both her arms as slowly, Ightrund's struggles lessened. The woman's smile changed from sadistic, to pleased, as a dark material started crawling up the man's body.

"Go, into the darkness, and know your arrogance is what killed you."

With a final burst of dark light, Igthrund was gone, all that was left was a kneeling statue made of shiny black rock, its head thrown back and a silent, agonized scream forever now in its face. The woman took a step back, tossing her head so that her hair fell away from her eyes. She ran a finger across what was the man's face, then in a movement I almost didn't catch, she smashed her hand into the head in a vicious backhand. The move crushed the black rock into powder, leaving the statue headless as she turned away without another thought.

The clearly monstrous woman then shocked me even further, she reached down to her belt and unclipped the blade that was sheathed there, letting it clatter to the ground. Her arms then moved above her head in the universal sign of surrender.

"Hunter, my name is Amitolara Berain, I surrender myself into your care and will give any information you may require, so long as my men go free."

The Hunter cocked his head to the side as he examined the woman. He flicked his blades to clean the blood from them before sliding them into their sheathes and jerking his head to the side, directing her off that way. He then moved off that way, the demon moving to meet him, hands still above her head. They started discussing something quietly, but now was my chance, my chance to make that bitch Zarika suffer. They were on the other side of the street and seemed like they would be busy long enough for me to do my thing.

I looked over, and noticed that Laina had stepped away, conversing with Allison, leaving Zarika alone, unguarded, and ready for my wrath. They were all busy, and so, I brought myself to the still knocked out bitch. The person who had kept throwing shit at me, hoping I would break, the woman who had threatened the people I held dear. I felt my powers whispering to me, telling me to kill her, send her soul to The Burning Abyss, so that she could suffer in the flames for eternity.

There was so much hate running through me, I knew it was the influence from the flames in my soul, they were stoking my anger, sending it into a point where I wouldn't think anymore. So, now that I was standing over the prone bitch, and even though I knew that turning her over to the Hunters was the best option, I couldn't. I wanted this to be personal.

And so, I lit up my arms, the malignant blue-purple flames sparking into violent life as I pulled one fist back, ready to roast her. Just before I could let it all rip, something impacted with my arm, sending the blast off to the side, melting the cobblestones of the road into slag.

My eyes turned to whoever had done that, and it was the Hunter, his mismatched eyes glaring at me with anger, and oddly, disappointment. That deep blue eye set something scratching in my soul, and I knew exactly why. It was just like my father's eyes, the anger, the disappointment, it reminded me of the day I left. For a fraction of a second, my father's face overlaid his, and I felt like I was going to explode. I was shaking as the anger filled my body, but then he spoke.

"I can't let you do that, Mr. Lennister, I have orders to deliver her alive."

Those words sealed it, as a guttural shout ripped from my lips, and I unleashed my anger and sorrow on this man in a torrent of fire, hotter than I had ever produced before

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When the blast cleared, the man was nowhere to be seen. There was only smoke coming from the scorched stones. There should have at least been boots left, as I had aimed for the center of mass. Where did he go then?

That question was answered in short order, as a fist impacted the side of my head with the force of a freight train. I was launched off my feet as the punch snapped my head to the side, and I skipped off the stones. It took half a second and a quick burst of flame from my feet to right myself, and I skidded the rest of the distance in a three point stance, both feet on the ground and a hand to help slow my momentum. My eyes met with the man, now almost twenty feet from me. One strike launched me all the way across the road, and I could feel the bruise forming on my face as I took him in. It seems like he didn't get away unscathed, he had no shirt or cloak anymore. Even with how much I wanted to beat this man into a bloody pulp, I still took the time to analyze him.