BOOM!

I somersaulted through the air, my vision blurred by smoke and vociferous flames. I landed expertly on my two feet, right on top of an overturned table.

On my sides, Tony and Noelle were already brushing off some dirt off them. Unscratched.

The entire side of the cabin had suffered from the damage, and only cracks and lit wooden pieces remained.

As the smoke cleared away, it was possible to make out the figures of the ones who had tried to ambush us.

They had black orbits as eyes, skin that looked as if it were in desperate need of some moisturizer, long, menacing fangs and sharp claws. 

Demons.

Hundreds of filthy, troublesome demons.

Normally, they don't interfere with the daily activities of people, though I guess the plans had changed for tonight. Someone had probably summoned them from hell. 

I scratched the back of my hair, feeling small residues of ash sprinkling down my back.

“You didn’t do a very good job at erasing your tracks,” I said to Noelle, “No wonder they ambushed us so easily. Idiot.”

Noelle gritted her teeth, but for once, she had nothing to say.

Good for her.

“So,” Tony spoke up, as the demons prepared to launch another grenade at us, “What’s the plan?”

“Noelle will wipe out the smaller ones, and you will cover for her because she's too much of a moron to do it herself. I, on the other hand, will take care of their leader. Might destabilize them.”

The demons roared in retaliation, as the grenade flew across the air.

“I have a better idea,” Noelle said, as we rolled onto the ground to avoid the midair explosion, “How about Jude try his best to wipe out at least half of the smaller demons, while Tony finishes the job for him. Seeing that I’m capable enough, I will be the one to checkmate their leader.”

The ceiling groaned, as crumbles of dust and materials began to plummet onto the ground. The whole cottage followed suit, and it crashed into a large pile of rubber around us.

Tony was still standing upright, while the rest of the remaining pieces fell. His hands were raised to hold the protective shield he had just activated.

“No, no,” I shook my head at Noelle, smiling despite our situation, “Smaller demons are known to follow the ones that tend to be as strong as lower-class sorcerers. Seeing that you are part of the lower-class, it is only wise to assume you will not win against it. Let me do the job. You can watch from the sidelines or something. Have a tea party with Tony if you want.”

Noelle bared her teeth at me, clenching her hands into fists, “You bloody scoundrel,” she hissed, as another explosion occurred, this time, much closer to us.

I stole a quick glance at Tony. The shield was intact. Good.

Now, back to Noelle.

“I’d rather be a bloody scoundrel than a prissy, princess wannabe,” I smirked.

Noelle lunged towards me, but I was ready for her. I crouched, ready to kick her in the stomach…Only to find myself sailing through the air.

I landed hard on my hands and knees. I coughed, and saw that Noelle had also been blown away.

Tony was already fighting against the ugly creatures. Many of them tried to sink their poisonous teeth into his arms. 

“Are you two done bickering like an old, married couple?” he asked in a very dry and very bored tone. He caught one of the demons’ arm and twisted it behind its back. 

The demon's scream echoed across the forest, and I had to cover my ears to keep my head from pounding. Poor creature. His arm was good for nothing now.

Oops. Make that his entire existence.

“If you had been paying more attention to your surroundings,” Tony continued, effortlessly slaughtering demons left and right, “You would have seen that last grenade coming.”

I glanced at Noelle, and she caught my eye. We made a face at each other, though it was easy to claim that both of us realized now was not the time to argue.

We had another battle in front of us.

Never mind the fact that Noelle kept getting in my way while I instinctively chopped some demons into bits. Never mind the fact that I accidentally-on-purpose stuck out my foot to make her lose her footing, and made her miss slashing the biggest, ugliest-looking demon – the leader, probably – by an inch.

Never mind the fact that both Tony and Noelle shouted at me when the black-eyed leader attempted a sickening smile when he realized that he got away from receiving a scratch. All of it due to my pride.  

The fact that all three of us were fighting alongside one another, to defeat a common enemy, was something I never thought would occur in my lifetime.

Believe it or not, I guess I had allies after all.

Noelle, Tony and I hopped backwards, our backs facing each other as we watched the demons circle around us.

Tony wrinkled his nose in disgust, “Did one of those creatures urinate? It smells pretty strong here.”

“Who do you think sent them after us?” I rapidly changed the topic.

Noelle did not even hesitate, “The Demon King.”

“Demon King?” I asked, “Isn’t that ghastly beast over there – I pointed at the huge thingamajig that towered over us – the king?”

“No, you doofus!” Noelle snapped, as she rapidly pulled out a blade from under her cape, to block out the one who’d been flying towards her face, “That ugly brute over there is nothing but a measly captain. That thing only has a small army of followers, but at the end of the day, they all report back to his supreme Excellency.

“His supreme Excellency?”

“Demetrius Kara, the Demon King.”

I practically choked on my own saliva. “Demetrius Kara?”

So, I had been right all along. My family did have something to do with this ambush and they were involved with the rise of the demons. 

After all, Damian's dad and Mom had an affair who was probably still ongoing. For all I knew, their relationship was only the beginning of something ominous brewing in the distance.  

“Damian’s father, yes,” Tony said, as he deflected another attack.

“Demetrius has returned,” Noelle explained, “Damian has also awakened. And you are the only one that can stop their plans.”

Damian was awake? Oh, I wanted to see him so badly!

“I’m the only one that can stop their plans? How come?”

“After the incident with his sister, I’ve been studying Damian from afar. Recently, I have seen him, and he is a completely different person. Emotionless and aloof. Merciless. He oozes tremendous power, similarly to King Demetrius.”

She had seen Damian? When? How?

“You can try and bring back the humanity in him since your love for him is stronger than anything I’ve ever seen before. If you succeed, he will be allowed to live the rest of his life in peace, even as a half-demon. As long as you manage to put the notorious forces in him back to sleep, I can guarantee you that no one will go after him and that I will fight alongside you.”

I felt Tony bristle next to me. Maybe it was a normal reaction. His best friend had turned into a half-demon, without his knowing it. He probably felt worthless because he could not do anything to help him, except cover for stupid Noelle.

“Don’t worry, Tony,” I surprised myself, by gently patting him on the shoulder, “Damian will be safe with me.”

“Huh?” he said.

I had less than a split-second to react. Noelle and I jumped back, as the demon we had thought was Tony began to attack us.

“What are you two still doing there?” Tony, the real one, called from afar, as he proceeded to make a gory spectacle out of his opponents, “I left our position ages ago. One of you should hurry up and take care of their captain already. My back is aching.”

The demon I mistook for Tony threw himself at me, his teeth ready to sink into my shoulder. Bad choice.

I dodged on the side, grabbed the back of his head and smashed it against the ground. His head erupted as easily as a watermelon falling from a tall building. 

Noelle returned to defensive mode, “I wasn’t done explaining the conditions, Jude!” she said, in a rather rude way.

“Then get on with it,” I answered just as rudely.

“If you fail, and Damian fully succumbs to his real roots, I will have no choice but to kill him.”

It felt as if the whole world stopped spinning.

If I failed, she would try and lay her fucking hands on him? She was going to kill him?

“Do you accept my proposition?” Noelle said.

I accepted everything except the last part. If all came down to worst, then yes, somebody was going to lose their life. 

And the person with the black-to-blue braids was the one who was going to take the hit.

A notorious, dangerous power threatened to burst out of me.

I had not felt it in a while. I didn’t like it at all, but whenever I was pushed to the edge, it managed to creep onto me.

Before anyone could notice I was about to go ballistics, I suppressed my bloodlust and replaced it with a grim expression.

“Yes,” I said solemnly, “I accept. I swear I will do everything in my power to get him back.”

Strange. Telling a lie and a truth at the same time.

We went our seperate ways to fight against the demons. It seemed as if there was no end to them. Every time one of them died, another one popped up to replace their fallen comrade.

As we continued to fight, Noelle and I coincidentally bumped into each other again. I used the opportunity to retrieve some information out of her.

“What do you do as a profession?” I asked, “Have you already built your army?”

She lifted her leg and stomped on the ground. Huge cracks formed under her foot, as an ear-splitting gust of pink aura continued to burst out of her. Demons screamed as they returned to whatever hell they had come from, falling towards their mama’s laps.

“Oh, I’ve been a double agent this whole time. Pretended to give in to your family’s charm and power, in order to rise against them. They see me as a benefit after all, since I’m part of the largest, supernatural organization in the city.”

“So, you’re a wanted fugitive too?” I smirked, really glad to have all my powers in control again, “What’s the reason?”

Noelle rolled her eyes, and whipped out a small stone from the bag attached to her leg. I was beginning to wonder what she was going to with it, until she pressed its middle, and it transformed into a gleaming gun.

A familiar, gleaming gun. 

I briefly recalled Damian’s grandmother. After I casted a sleeping spell on her, I had also decided to draw out the symbol on her neck, positive that Damian would believe the company had something to do with the incident. You know, get him to think I had nothing to do with it, so he would not lash out on me.

However, after seeing the real crest, it made my previous drawing attempt resemble crap. The kind of cheap copy one finds at district dollar store.

I flicked a demon on the forehead, and may or may not have decapitated them in the process.

Meanwhile, Tony mirrored Noelle’s move. He retrieved a stone from the front pocket of his sweater, and a few seconds later, it transfigured into a gun. 

POW! POW! POW!

Noelle threw another stone at me, and I caught it with one hand. I looked over it, and pressed a small spot, glowing faintly at the top.

“Cool,” I whistled, as the weapon formed under my grasp.

On both sides of the gun, I could visualize the symbol from up close. Two swords and one snake. 

This only meant one thing.

“Noelle Beilani,” I said smoothly, “Sixteen years old, member of the Infinity? I can’t say I’m surprised. No wonder you’re also being pursued.”

Noelle performed a graceful tornado kick on one of the demons face. As it flipped through the air, she sent multiple bullets in another one’s direction. 

“Oh, but Jude Malakai,” she responded just as smugly, wiping some blood out of her face, “I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am more than just an employee.” 

I slapped a scrawny-looking demon away, and it practically detonated into nothingness.

“What are you then?” I asked, “The plumber?”

“Only in your dreams, you simpleminded fool,” Noelle smiled from ear to ear, “I'm actually the president of the company.”