'Next station: Marymount!' A cool female voice announces through the speakers. The commuters stand up as they prepare to alight at the next stop.

It is supposed to be Sein’s too, but it is not the time to get up. Yet.

A girl sitting opposite Sein, probably not over her twenties yet, is listening to her iPod, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings.

She is decked in a little flowery dress that meekly coves her prominent collar bone. Her hair is also braided, and two pigtails extend out of the back of her head, which are both so long that they went over her chest.

If she isn't so skinny, she could have been very attractive. To human eyes, at least.

To Sein’s, well... he can only say one thing.

Macabre. To say the least.

Beneath her skinny arms that held her iPod, Sein could see scaly limbs that ended in huge claws. Sein could also see dormant and scaly wings made of sinew and bone neatly tucked at her back area. And her eyes... Instead of normal human eyes with iris hues and eye white, he only sees little flecks of flame.

You may ask, why does Sein see such abominations right in front of him and yet other commuters do not seem to be bothered even by one bit?

Those other commuters are just weak humans, you see.

But Sein? Well... He’s a Demon Hunter.

And this little demon, known as Mercrux, is a Class D Banshee. A small fry, but she has been a very annoying pest who has been carrying out assassinations whenever she feels like it. Demons feed off humans, and humans can't really protect themselves. They do have their own elite police force known as the Vanguard, but only a select few are really competent.

This Vanguard takes in human recruits and trains them to fight and kill demons. The weapons they use are essentially demon parts extracted from the demons themselves and modified into weapons, courtesy to a mad scientist of their own. Unlike us Demon Hunters, humans are weak, and the only way they can defend themselves is to make use of demon parts.

But enough of that; the little she-demon is behaving a little oddly today. Even as the train is approaching the Marymount station, she is making no move to exit the train. This is where she usually stops, and preys on unsuspecting humans. She is still sitting down, with her head bobbing up and down in rhythm to whatever deathly tunes she is listening to.

‘Probably the recorded cries of all her victims,’ thinks Sein.

The train finally arrives at Marymount, and still she is making no move. There is hardly any people left on this train, as it is the last one running before midnight comes. Most of the people got off, leaving Sein and only the little demon behind.

‘Something’s not quite right,’ thought Sein as he notices a bunch of construction workers enter from both sides of the doors on his left and right. And beneath the human guises they wear, Sein could also see demonic body parts.

With a start, he realises that this was trap meant for him.

As the train door closes, the little girl looks up from her iPod and smiles a deathly grin at Sein. She takes off her ear-pieces and looks directly into Sein’s red irises.

‘Well, well, well. Looks like the hunter’s the one being hunted today.’ As she says that, she puts up her hands to gesture at the construction workers, who are sniggering now. ‘Did you seriously think that,’ she continues, ‘I wouldn’t notice you?’

She is standing now, and her body fidgets and vibrates oddly, like a butterfly trying to come out of its cocoon. A moment later, a disgusting sound of bursting fluids resounded through the entire carriage as her carefully-kept wings burst out from her behind. She screams as her body slowly transforms into her true form, with scales and claws all prominently displayed. Her eyes, now true specks of green flame, floated in their little sockets. The construction workers had also all transformed into their true forms. They were all ready to kill Sein, who at this point, is still seemingly unaffected.

‘You,’ Mercrux laughs at Sein, ‘do realise you are surrounded with no way of escape, do you, Demon-Hunter San?’

Sein merely shrugs and says, ‘yeah I do. You’re making my job easier actually, confining yourselves like this. At least now I can kill more of you.’

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

‘You insolent prat!’ shrieks Mercrux. ‘You think you can take on all of us?’

‘Yeah I do, actually. Who do you think I am, directly confronting me like this?’ Sein questions, putting on a confused look.

‘Aren’t you Demon-Hunter San, a Class D Demon Hunter?’ Asks Mercrux.

‘No,’ replies Sein as he unzips his guitar-case, where instead of where a guitar should be lies his weapon: a crescent blade. The sharp edge of the blade is curved in the shape of a crescent moon, and there is a handle behind the blade. It roughly looks like a bow, but think of the bow-string as its handle and the bow itself as the blade. It is also inscribed with a Seal of Juxtaposition.

[p=center]Seal of Juxtaposition

Class A Weapon Seal

Effects: When placed on your weapon, you can duplicate your weapon. With each duplicate, your weapon will weigh lighter, but it will also carry less strength. Swings will be faster, but will be less powerful. [/p]

‘My name,’ continues Sein as he activates the Seals of Speed on both of his legs, ‘is Sein, not San. And my class… Well, I’ll tell you if you can live after this.’ In a flash, Sein jumps behind the group of demons on his left, and with a cleave, he slices off the demons’ heads off their necks in a flash. Demon ichor pours forth from their necks and splatters the floor, covering it with an eerie and glowing green.

[p=center]Seal of Speed

Class E Enhancement Seal

Effects: When placed, this Seal improves speed. On weapons, it can reduce recharge times. [/p]

‘No!!! You! You will pay for this! Attack!’ Screams Mercrux as she swipes at Sein with her claws. She was quick, but Sein was quicker, because of the Seals on his legs. He dodges her attack with ease and brings up his crescent blade in a vertical motion but it misses Mercrux by a hair’s breadth as she uses her wings to push her back in the nick of time. Her demon minions are still standing behind her, unsure of how to attack. Not that they really have much of a choice; the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) Trains in Singapore are too narrow for fights like these.

In the end, she reaches out with both her claws and grabs both of their heads. Their screams of pain belittles the scene right in front of Sein now as she sucks the life out of her minions through her claws. ‘If you’re going to stand there, you may as well be useful!’ She yells with a maniacal laughter, her claws now glowing from the stolen energy.

Sein, unperturbed, calmly activates the Seal of Strength on his arms. He also activates the Seal of Juxtaposition on his crescent blade, duplicating yet another which he holds on his left hand. With both crescent blades armed, he challenges Mercrux.

[p=center]Seal of Strength

Class E Enhancement Seal

Effects: When placed, this Seal increases strength. On weapons, it increases power. [/p]

She takes up the taunt and screams again in anger, using her wings to give her a forward push. She flies straight at Sein, who takes one look and ducks just in time as she struck out with her claws. To her horror, she sees Sein right beneath her, but her momentum prevents her from falling back. She lashes out with her feet but it was too late. Sein was too agile for her. With two slashes, Sein slices off her wings. Mercrux falls on the ground behind Sein as she pants heavily while demon ichor pours from her wounds.

She looks back at Sein in fright as he towers over her a moment later.

‘W-Who are you, Demon Hunter?’ She whimpers, looking up at his silhouette.

‘Like I said, my name’s Sein.’ He replies calmly.

‘Class?’ She asks again.

Sein considers a moment, before he brings down his two crescent blades in a cross-like movement.

‘A.’ He says as he beheads Mercrux.