Her name was Izumi, and she was from the Takeda family. They are known for producing talented Kunoichis who perform quick assassinations and scouting missions for the organization.

"Well, that's not a pleasant thought," Alex commented.

After what happened, they agreed to go to a coffee shop. There wasn't much to talk about Alex, so most of their conversation was about Izumi's life.

"I can't really deny that since demons aren't the only thing my family is asked to assassinate," Izumi responded. "However, I'm not a kunoichi myself."

"That's fine. Everyone has something they're good at."

"I guess you're right," Izumi sighed. "I wasn't particularly keen on being a kunoichi anyway."

"And what did you want to be?" Alex asked.

Izumi looked thoughtful for a moment before she began rummaging through her bag. "I want to study alchemy," she showed Alex a journal about her experiments.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting that," Alex mentioned as he took a look at the journal.

The first few pages were about potions with various effects and some large-scale experiments involving offerings.

"Why do you want to learn alchemy?" Alex asked as he continued reading through the journal.

Izumi looked hesitant for a while before deciding to answer. "I want to make an elixir to cure my mother."

"She's sick?"

"She was poisoned," Izumi revealed. "She was one of the best kunoichis in our family, but after she got poisoned..." Izumi looked pained.

"You don't have to tell me," Alex stated. "I have my struggles as well, so I understand."

"Thank you," Izumi muttered as she took a sip of her drink.

Before any further conversation could happen, they heard the coffee shop shake as an explosion occurred outside.

"What's going on?"

Alex looked outside and saw the chaos unfolding. Demon hunters were facing a variety of demons.

"We need to get out of here," Alex grabbed Izumi's hand.

"But the demons," Izumi pointed to the chaos.

"You're a non-combatant. You need to get out of here," Alex stated as he picked her up in a princess carry and began looking for an exit.

As they ran through the chaos, Alex avoided summoning his skeletons since it could add to the confusion. There were demons, demonic humans, and monsters attacking. It was hard to determine who was actually the enemy in this chaos.

Alex stopped in his tracks when one of the pillars collapsed, causing the ceiling to fall.

"Shit!"

The path leading to the exit had been cut off, leaving them no choice but to either find a place to hide or find another exit. There was also the chaotic option of just fighting everything that approached them.

"Let me down," Izumi spoke.

Alex complied and placed her down. Izumi conjured a holographic projection of the whole arena, and then a wave of light was released from her feet and spread throughout the arena.

"What was that?" Alex asked as he noticed several red and blue dots appearing on the holographic projection.

"It's a map of the arena. I sent a scanner to determine which are our enemies and allies," Izumi explained. "I'll tell you if they're on our side when they get close."

"Understood," Alex smirked and summoned his undead.

The skeletons formed a line around Izumi to secure her safety. A group of seven people were heading towards them. Alex turned to Izumi, and then she shook her head.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"They're not on our side," Izumi stated.

Alex nodded. "Break some bones!"

Alex joined the chaos. Any enemy that approached them was met with deadly force. As things went by, allies joined them as well, forming a safe zone for the injured.

"A big horde is coming!" Izumi yelled.

"Bring it!" Alex yelled as he crushed a bunch of demonic energy crystals.

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The group of demon hunters looked at him in confusion. Alex stopped in his tracks as he realized what he had just done.

"Sorry, a force of habit."

The horde turned out to be a bunch of skeleton apes rushing towards them.

"Let's take them out with one big bang!"

Alex focused all his Aether on his right hand. The Aether began swirling with a silver hue.

"Let's try this out!"

Alex swung his arm, picturing claws releasing from his hands. Three slashes were released, destroying everything in its path.

Alex laughed as he watched the destruction.

"You're from the Gray family," one of the demon hunters that joined them spoke up from behind Alex.

"Not exactly," Alex replied before turning to his lich. "Hand me the scrolls."

His lich kneeled and presented eight scrolls. "These were all I could make, master."

"It'll do," Alex activated the scrolls, turning the skeleton apes he destroyed into his own undead.

-------

"Has the nexus been located?" a man with blue flaming hair asked as they watched over the chaos they created.

"Not yet, my liege," a winged demon responded.

"Don't be hasty, Azazel," another man with black avian wings spoke.

Azazel glared at the man. "We don't have all day, Alrius," Azazel stated. "The humans won't stay idle through this," Azazel glared at a pale woman commanding a large legion of undead.

"It would all be worth it the moment we obtain the nexus," Alrius assured.

Azazel just sneered. This mission was of utmost importance to the success of their goal. The nexus was a relic engraved into the soul of an individual, capable of affecting the entire battlefield, and this particular relic has the power to provide information on the whole battlefield.

"My liege, we found the nexus," the demon informed Azazel. "They're located among a large group of humans on the ground floor."

"Finally," Azazel flew towards the location of the nexus.

Upon arrival, Azazel found the humans forming a perimeter around a woman with a projection of the whole arena.

"Found you," Azazel grinned maliciously.

What Azazel wasn't expecting was a wave of demonic energy ripping through the area and decimating his forces.

The human responsible fell to his knees after unleashing the attack. Azazel squinted his eyes as he peered into the human's soul. The human's soul was overflowing with greed. A relentless hunger for more power.

"You're more fit to be a demon than a human," Azazel stated as he landed.

The human didn't seem to register his presence as he proceeded to turn the skeleton apes into his own undead.

Rude.

"Humans, hand over the nexus," Azazel unleased a booming voice, gaining the attention of all the humans present.

Three of them foolishly charged at him, but with a flick of his wrist, the humans were sent flying away.

Skeletons rushed toward Azazel, but a snap of his fingers sent a shockwave that shattered them. The bones scattered across the ground, and Azazel practically strolled toward the humans.

"Hand over the nexus, and I will give all of you a quick death."

The humans felt the weight of the pressure coming from Azazel. They fell to their knees, giving him a clear view of the woman with the nexus.

As Azazel was about to take the nexus, the bones under his feet turned into spears. It didn't harm him, but it distracted him enough for him not to notice a human had reached him.

"Fuck off!"

The black-haired human swung his fist at him, releasing a staggering amount of demonic energy upon impact. Azazel staggered back but received no damage from the attack.

Azazel grabbed the human by the neck. "Has no one ever told you how foolish it is to challenge a royal demon?"

"No idea what that is," the human managed to groan out.

"Your death will amuse me," Azazel stated before he was interrupted once again by a powerful kick slamming into his side.

"He isn't dying today!" another human exclaimed.

This human had more of a unique appearance. She had brown skin and snow-white hair. She had fierce red eyes that glared down at Azazel.

"All of you will perish by my hand," Azazel fired multiple blasts of flames toward the humans.

The woman zipped through the battlefield with amazing speed, avoiding the fireballs heading her way. The other human charged through the attacks like a raging bull.

This one was supposed to be a necromancer.

The woman reached him first and attempted to land a kick to his head. Azazel was about to grab the leg and sever it, but a wall of bones blocked his vision. Azazel destroyed the wall with a flick, but the woman was gone.

Azazel felt a kick slam on the back of his head and then a tackle to his stomach. Azazel slammed his arm down on the human in front of him before facing the woman.

"You don't have the luxury to look away!" the human on the ground yelled as a surge of demonic energy erupted from him.

The demonic energy felt like blades of wind attempting to cut through his flesh. A violent gale that wanted to tear Azazel apart.

"Futile," Azazel dispersed the demonic energy with a swing of his hand.

"Fuck off!" the woman attempted to land an axe on his head, but Azazel caught their leg and slammed the woman down on the man.

Azazel walked away from them and headed toward the nexus. All he needed to do was consume the human's soul to obtain the nexus.

The remaining humans were huddled together. Only two humans had the courage to face him while the rest stood back and watched. "Truly a pathetic race," As Azazel prepared to launch another attack, an armored hand grabbed his arm.

When he turned to face the assailant, he was hit with a powerful strike to his face that sent him flying across the field.

Azazel sat up from the rubble and saw an armored man with a wolf helm.

------

Nexus core, minimap. It was a power that gave Izumi the ability to gather information on the whole battlefield. It was a powerful ability, but it needed her full attention to use effectively. It was perfect for a strategist, but Izumi wasn't interested in such a role.

Right now.

Her ability proved to be a vital part of their success. She thought they would be able to get through this mess until that monster appeared. Alex was strong, but he was no match against the monster.

The worst part of this was that Izumi knew she was the one the monster was after.

The monster demanded her nexus core. All these people were in this mess because of her. Her hands trembled as the monster approached them.

Then a bright blue dot appeared on her minimap.

"I'm not done yet!" Alex yelled as an armored individual sent the monster flying.

Alex tried to stand up but fell to his knees. Izumi checked her minimap and noticed that Alex's dot was fading.

The fading light meant that Alex was dying.