(December 1st, 2006)
Humm!
In an open field covered in snow, Gasper held his hands outstretched, eyes closed, a bright blue sphere of demonic energy hovering between his palms. The ball pulsed steadily, about the size of an American football, casting a blue light across the white landscape.
Gasper dropped into a low stance and started moving his hands as if folding the mass of demonic power into something else. The sphere compressed, its color shifting from blue to electric yellow.
CRACKLE!
Lightning erupted in his palm, arcing between his fingers. Without hesitation, he thrust his hand forward. The bolt shot across the field and struck a snow-covered boulder thirty meters away.
Steam rose where the electricity met the stone, leaving a blackened scorch mark.
Dropping his stance, he let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.
'Not bad. Actually hit it this time instead of it curving off to the side… or worse, electrocuting me like the first time I tried.'
He flexed his fingers, checking for burns. Five days of practice, and he was finally getting the hang of making things with his demonic power instead of just manipulating what was already there. He had gone back to the basics to figure it out, but it was worth it—no more needing something on hand, like his own blood, to pull off a technique.
It was all good and dandy, buuuut he was going to have to get better at casting faster. He swore he was like a sitting duck whenever he tried to make anything.
He raised his hands again, one hovering above the other, palms facing each other. Ready for round thirty.
BEEP! BEEP!
"Huh?"
The sound shattered his concentration. The demonic power forming in front of him went out of control.
BOOM!
The unstable energy exploded, covering him in snow.
*cough* *cough*
Now completely covered in snow, Gasper shook it off and checked his watch.
20:00 (8 PM)
"Damn, time flew by, huh?"
Brushing off the rest of the snow, Gasper glanced around. "Still no sign of Shirou today. Eh, well, maybe he's got some important cat business to attend to or something."
Without thinking much of it, Gasper's fingers became coated in darkness, transforming into bats that he let fly away.
He also spread his own wings and took off.
WHOOSH!
*****
Crunch.
"Ah, shit!" said Saji as he looked down at his shoe and saw that—
HE STEPPED ON DOG SHIT!
He sighed, wiping the mess away in the snow. "What type of inconsiderate bastard doesn't pick up their dog's shit?"
After cleaning his shoe as best he could, he continued toward the bus stop.
It had been a rough couple of days for Saji since he learned that the supernatural was real. He thought that maybe, just maybe, he was special. But the truth he learned was that he was so utterly normal it hurt to think about it.
Truly, it looked like he was in fact not blessed by the heavens.
Reaching the bus stop, Saji sat on the bench.
His breath misted in the cold air. 'Man, everything is just so… boring.'
One thing that never sat right with him was the slowness of life. Waiting for something to happen—it was like he was wasting away when he felt that he was meant for more… so much more.
Looking down at his hand, really buried in his thoughts, he wondered, 'Should I just let this go? I mean, maybe he was right. Maybe it is better if I just… live a normal life and stop chasing the impossible.'
It was hard for him. He knew what was out there—devils, angels, gods, and monsters, all of it existing under a veil of shadows. He should be scared, mortified even. And part of him was.
Yet another part of him, buried deep down, was frustrated because knowing didn't mean he could do anything about it. He was just a regular human. And if something came for him? The best he could do was run and hope he was fast enough.
He hated the feeling of being wea—
"Wait, Mommy!"
Saji turned toward the voice. A little girl stumbled past, walking like she was drunk.
'Huh, that's weird.' He looked around to see who she was calling to, but no one was around.
When he turned back, the girl's eyes made his stomach drop—glossed over, vacant, as if she were sleepwalking. She began entering a back alley.
Saji's heart began pounding fast. 'This… doesn't feel right.'
He got up from the bench and took three steps in her direction. 'Maybe she's just lost... Or she could be in some serious trouble. No normal person walks with that type of expression on their face... Unless... Could it be magic?'
He stopped himself as she disappeared into the alley, shadows swallowing her whole. 'WAIT, why the hell am I walking into a horror movie scenario?!'
'It could be a stray trying to lure me in…' He took a step back, sweat dripping from his brow. Then a darker thought crept into his mind. 'Or it could be a stray luring that kid in.'
He stood there, staring into the darkness, knowing that if he wanted to stay safe, just leaving this alone would be his best bet.
He began walking...in the direction of the alley, that is.
There was no way in hell he would just allow someone to walk to their death when he could have done something—especially not a child.
Once he stepped into the alleyway, his eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness as he slowly moved deeper inside.
Once his eyes adjusted, he realized the alley was plain—a narrow walkway leading in only one direction. And at the end of it stood a run-down house that looked like no one had entered in decades.
Saji stood in front of the house, staring straight at its wide-open door. Footsteps echoed from inside.
Stepping through the doorway, he followed the sound. The girl stood frozen at a doorway, staring directly at a black cat sitting in the room.
Before the girl could take another step, Saji grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked her back as fast as he could.
Jolted from her trance, the light returned to the girl's eyes, and she finally saw what was in front of her.
The black cat that had been there before grotesquely swelled with muscle, growing an extra five feet in the blink of an eye. It launched itself at her, mouth opening far wider than any animal's should, as if trying to swallow her whole, revealing extra rows of razor-sharp teeth that descended into an endless tunnel.
Saji jumped to the side, back first, letting the stray go straight through the wall with its own momentum.
BAM!!
Saji landed on his back, making sure the girl wasn't harmed in the fall. As he got up—
CRUNCH!
Not even a second later, out of the same hole, a sharp black fur-covered claw grabbed hold of the edge and pulled, ripping the opening wider as the stray forced itself back through.
The devil locked eyes with Saji and the girl. Saji tried to steel his nerves, but suddenly the creature vanished in a blur of motion.
"AHHHHH!!"
The girl who had been clinging to Saji for dear life after seeing the grotesque form of the devil suddenly let out a scream.
Saji's eyes widened as he felt her get lighter, like she weighed nothing.
HUFF!
But then he felt a strong breath blow his hair back like a harsh wind.
When he turned, he caught a glimpse of the devil's teeth before a massive claw swatted him away, sending him crashing through a wall.
BAM!!
He hit the alleyway ground hard. His ears rang, but he forced himself to focus through pure willpower.
He tried to get up, but he ended up just falling to his knees; it was like his body was refusing to listen to him. He looked up through the hole he'd just crashed through as half of his vision turned red, blood flowing from a cut on his forehead.
The devil, holding the girl, hoisted her up as she kicked and sobbed above its head and opened its mouth once more right under her.
Its rows of teeth began spinning fast enough to generate wind.
Saji tried to do something, anything, but no matter what he did, his body stayed stiff, like he was made of wood.
He gritted his teeth. 'Move, dammit, MOVE!'
It felt like an eternity—the sobs of the girl echoing as she was slowly being lowered toward her doom.
His eyes felt like they were about to burst with fury. He was here, yet his body…WOULDN'T FUCKING MOVE!
The devil finally released her, letting gravity take hold.
Saji, seeing this, thrust his left hand forward on pure instinct, as if he could grab her from across the room. "I SAID MOVE, GOD DAMMIT!!"
The world changed color.
To a bright purple.
Light covered his left hand, and that same light shot out!
Right before she was about to be shredded to bloody bits, a wave of purple light wrapped around her wrist and solidified into a thick blue line.
Saji, now with a dark purple gauntlet on his hand that almost looked black, with two red gemstones on it that looked like eyes, pulled with all his strength, yanking the girl away as the teeth only grazed her shoulder.
Saji caught her and collapsed from his knees into a sitting position. He carefully moved her aside and forced himself to stand, legs trembling beneath his weight.
"Hey, kid." Saji's voice cut through her terror. He forced a smile despite the blood dripping down his face. "Run. I'll handle Mr. Mittens."
"But—"
"I SAID GO!" Saji screamed at her as the stray vanished in a blur of motion.
But there was a difference this time.
Saji's eyes darted wildly, following something too fast for a normal human to see—a shadow streaking across the walls, a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision!
He thrust his left hand forward, and the gauntlet, reacting to his desperation, fired the blue line at the blur.
Wrapping around the devil's claw, the line latched onto its palm and began to glow a bright blue.
"Huh!?" Saji gasped as a sudden burst of power flooded through him. It felt like he could take on twenty men and win—his exhaustion vanishing in an instant. His eyes glowed a deep purple as the stolen energy flowed through the line and into his body.
The devil started to slow as his own power was being taken from him.
Saji grinned—until the line suddenly stopped glowing. The power transfer cut off.
Then it hit him. His body felt like an overfilled balloon stretched to its limit, pressure building inside him with nowhere to go.
The devil grabbed the line and ripped it off. It rushed toward him, claw raised, ready to skewer Saji where he stood.
Saji tried to move out of the way, but his body was too damn heavy to move fast enough.
All Saji could see was the long claw about to pierce straight through his skull.
Was this it for him?
←–TO BE CONTINUED—