Lonzo was planning on killing the woman. But, first, he wanted to play with his food. It was something a lot of demons did. It was something that was hard coded into their DNA. They were designed to be vile and cruel to people.

Since his right knee was completely wounded, a fair size gaping hole oozed with blood from the incision of that combat knife from earlier. Even though he could ignore the pain he didn’t want to press his luck.

Essentially speaking a demon’s physiology wasn’t really different from a human's. They both required fuel and rest to keep their bodies moving. Although demons were closer to the Either they weren’t entirely immortal.

They could bleed out even if they were more durable. Lonzo might have been many things, but he wasn’t stupid. When it came to combat he was well ahead of Terios and Anna. He had devoted himself to Abigail and had accepted her completely.

When he lunged toward his prey he made sure to use only his good leg. Increasing the output of Either around it as he hurled toward the air. He was planning on overwhelming her now that she was in such a defeated state.

Even Hana struggled to breathe and catch her bearings when she saw the demon leaping above her. She gulped. Looking off into the distance as she attempted to leap out of the way. She was quick enough to avoid the main point of impact.

However… The crash landing was intense. It caused the ground to crack mildly and release a wave of Either everywhere. The kinetic force of this mysterious energy was enough to send her flying back onto her side.

Hana slid across the concrete… pieces of her clothing started to tear as she ran across the unforgiving ground. Her face was now covered in bruises and the now exposed parts of her knee were scraped.

She used the momentum of that previous attack to make it back to her feet as she wobbled about, backing up into one of the nearby stores. She leaned back against the cold brick building for just a moment.

But, that was a moment too long. Her eyes remained glued to Lonzo who hit her with the same trick twice. Using his Either he lunged himself once more towards Hana with extreme force. The woman barely had any time to react.

Once again she was just barely escaping death. Using what little bit of energy she had to once again leap out of the way. Upon doing so Lonzo crashed into the building, entirely caving it in which caused the nearby area to rattle.

“Look at him go. The idiot is so destructive. Once he gets excited he doesn’t care about who may notice.” Anna scoffed. “I swear he just loves attention.”

Terios remained silent as he merely watched the scene unfold. This fight would be over very soon. Hana barely had any Either left. She was naked in this fight against a demon. Either was a very powerful element.

It could make even a human as powerful as a supernatural being. Fighting against one who was perfectly in control of it was suicide. Earlier one strike from Lonzo was enough to send her on the defensive.

Now he was taking his time. Yet, there was still looming danger. Someone else was out there. In this situation, they shouldn't be playing with their food.

It looks like Anna was also anxious to finish this woman off as she was the next one to get involved.

As Hana was limping away from all of the destruction Anna darted off leaving behind a hue of yellow. In a split second, she was behind Hana with her arm around the enemy’s neck. She gripped her tightly and lengthened her nails, turning them into razor-sharp claws.

Anna was one to hold grudges and to pay her back for all of the earlier damage she dragged these daggers across the woman’s face. It was slow and painful, leaving that pretty face of Hana’s tainted with blood and disgusting scars.

“Nnnngghh!”

“If it were up to me I’d have you endure more pain than this! But, we have to kill you quickly before your partner shows up.” Anna said with an evil chuckle.

This time Anna was going to go for the kill. She engulfed her hand with her dark yellow energy and was planning to go for the throat. This would be more than enough to lay waste to the human woman.

She was going for the kill shot. A quick jab to her throat would cause enough damage to have the woman bleed out in pain. She wouldn't last any longer than 15 minutes then they could be on their merry way.

A quick and smooth end, but also a painful way to go. Even if her partner came they wouldn’t be able to save her. That was the satisfying death that Anna sought and she was going to do everything in her power to make it come true.

She licked her lips as she prepared to put her foe out of their misery.

At least that was the plan until Terios called out.

“Watch out!”

Moving quickly was someone who wasn’t playing around. They meant business.

This new enemy was in a rush. They didn’t care about having their presence detected. They were moving so fast that Terios couldn’t even sense them until it was too late. They cared for only one thing at this moment and that was: Hana.

Anna was lucky she was quick enough to leap away from the oncoming strike as the man swung what appeared to be a machete. Once his target was some distance away he latched onto his injured wife.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Hana… Hana! Speak to me, are you ok!?”

She didn’t respond. She wasn’t dead, but she was exhausted.

The newest person to step into the fray of things had short jet-black hair and teal-colored eyes. Much like his wife, he was also strapped in a black and gray military uniform. He appeared to be rather tall as well as he was dominantly six foot something. He also had on thick black leather gloves which were valid as that machete he held in one hand looked rather sharp. It appeared to have blood on it already from an earlier fight.

“There’s nothing in this world that disgusts me more than you demons.”

“Who the fuck are you man?” Lonzo returned, walking out of the pile of destruction that he had caused earlier while apparently holding a coffee cup.

The man rested his wife against a street lamp pole, taking his time to examine the scenery. He took notice of the van and glanced at Terios for a few seconds before he confirmed something with them.

“As it stands. I’m not afraid of any of you guys. I can confidently say that I’m stronger than all three of you combined.”

“Baaah! You must be trippin’ foo! There’s no way in hell a human like you believes that!”

“Talk is cheap. Why don’t I back it up.” The man said as he gave his wife a kiss on the cheek.

The man was confident in his ability to slaughter all of them. Whether this was a bluff or not was up to debate. However, one thing was certain. He had been in a very intense fight earlier and had used a considerable amount of Either. Dealing with the three of them would be tricky if he didn’t manage himself well.

But, he wasn’t going to leave until he made sure that all three of them were dead where they stood. That was just a fact of his life.

Lonzo chugged his coffee before tossing the empty cup onto the ground. He then channeled a heavy amount of Either before he smirked.

“There’s nothing I love more than an overconfident bastard.” Lonzo mentioned before he charged in, attempting to clash with the man head-on.

The man in question returned the gesture. Channeling himself with a scarlet hue of energy. He crashed back into Lonzo causing a fair amount of wind to kick up around the area. The two of them struggled, but Lonzo was surprised.

This amount of Either was impressive for a human. He wasn’t ordinary that was for sure. If he didn’t play it safe he would die in this fight. The man’s partner also did a very good job of weakening him as he couldn’t stress out his knee too much and because of that, he couldn’t make use of his full power.

“Take this!” Lonzo shouted as he swung his head directly toward the man.

SMACK!!

It was a thunderous headbutt. But, Kira didn’t budge. Blood trickled down his forehead, but he merely returned the gesture.

SMACK!!

Lonzo staggered back a bit. Blood trickled down his forehead. Much to the demon’s surprise.

“No… way.” Lonzo seemed shocked.

Kira smirked and swung his Either infused machete horizontally. Aiming for the demon’s head. It wouldn’t be enough to cleave it off, but he could at least put him out of commish for now.

Lonzo gasped as he reinforced his Either towards his arms and used it to guard against the blade. Upon contact, the blade snapped in half.

“Damn!” Kira cursed.

“A dull blade like that couldn’t cut through my Either.”

Lonzo delivered a counterattack, striking the man in the gut, followed by the chest before sending a powerful kick to send the human flying back!

“Gaaagh!” Kira slid across the ground, slamming his hand on the concrete to slow himself down.

“Give it up. You’re outclassed!”

“I’m just getting warmed up. I’m going to-”

“That’s enough. I’m tired of all this.”

Lonzo and Kira both turned to Terios. The boy was now near Hana which angered the hunter. His Either increased but…

“If you move a muscle I’ll kill her.”

“...” Kira froze.

“Let us go.”

“No, I will never let a demon go.”

“Just let us go.”

“I said no! I vow not to let any demon survive. I’m going to wipe them out of this world.”

“Just let me go then. I’m not a demon.”

“Is that what you think? You’re a demon.”

“I’m nothing like them.”

“You hang out with them freely. You are who you associate yourself with. In my eyes, you are a demon.”

“Fine, I don’t care anymore.”

Terios hovered his hand over Hana’s face.

“Don’t touch her!”

“You care for her… deeply. Kira. You’re her husband. I’m jealous.”

“How did you know my name? I never told you that.”

“I don’t want to do this.”

You do.

You want to do this.

You love causing pain.

It’s the only thing you’re good at.

Embrace it.

No.

I refuse to.

I only do this because…

It’s what I have to do.

Terios’ Either increased… his dark blue energy pouring out onto the defenseless woman. Soon… her eyes started to bleed profoundly until they ruptured entirely like a hard-boiled egg being crushed.

“HANA!!!!”

“I just took away your wife’s ability to see.” Terios stared at Kira with a cold expression on his face. His dim gray eyes looked lifeless. “Each time you refuse to let us go I will continue to take away her senses.”

“You… bastard!”

“Is your hate for demons so strong that you will let your wife suffer more pain? Do you hate us more than you love her?”

Kira’s entire body was shaken with anger right now. Anna and Lonzo watched silently.

“Will you let us go?”

Kira clenched his teeth so hard he accidentally bit his lip and caused a small trace of blood to slip out. “I will.”

Terios nodded. “Lonzo, Anna. Get in the van and go on. I’ll fly back to you guys.”

“Good shit, I always knew you had it in ya!” Lonzo cheered before he looked over at Anna. “Come on!”

Anna sighed, glad that this was over with. “As long as we don’t have to deal with them, fine.” Anna followed behind Lonzo.

The two soon got back in the van and took off in a hurry. Leaving Terios alone with Kira and Hana.

“Once they get far enough. I’ll let you have your wife.”

Kira was mumbling under his breath but Terios couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“What?”

“You’re dead.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m going to kill you. No matter what.”

“I think you should move on from being a hunter. You have a beautiful wife who loves you. Be happy with that, you have more than me.”

“My wife and I had our future stolen from us by demons. We lost our girl to a senseless attack. I don’t want anyone to suffer that pain. I will kill you. No matter how long it takes. I will track you until the ends of the earth. Your face is engraved in my memory, kid.”

Despite hearing this Terios looked unphased. He sighed softly before he started to walk away from them. “...” He didn’t know how to answer this threat. He didn’t know if he should be bothered by it, or just accept it.

He had a lot of people hunting him down now. At this point was he even considered a good person anymore? He raised his head to stare at the night sky before he started to float in the air.

In a burst of speed, he took off like a shooting star as he attempted to relocate with the others.

Why was I even born?

Was it just to be used by everyone?

To be hated by humans?

I can’t even run away from this.

I can’t even disappear from this world.

She’ll stop me every time.

Her ability is one of the worst. It’s a curse.

I’m powerless to change anything.

I wish somebody could save me.