The Bounty Hunter

December 11th, 2089

Terra’s POV

It has been over a month since Vivian and I have come to an understanding regarding Pandemonium.  Our partnership has been a simple one.  She tells me where the identified affiliates of Pandemonium are, and then Irene, Rin, and I go eliminate the problem.  The suspects turn themselves in and confess after a little magical manipulation, although occasionally we have to kill.  There are sleeper agents who have been magically enthralled to follow Pandemonium’s will, and those individuals have to be put down.  It is a useful substitute for possession.  No demons have been encountered on these raids as of yet.

Since the Council of Nine has taken over Vivian’s Pandemonium task force, they have expanded upon her bounty idea.  Now any confirmed member of Pandemonium has a bounty on them, which has resulted in me making a lot of money this past month.  Our association was also invaluable when Kira fought with a Pandemonium demon.  Seconds after the emergency call was made and the words Pandemonium attack were uttered, the global security net (which the Council of Nine says doesn’t exist) caught it and routed the relevant info to Vivian who then passed it on to me.  The moment I broke past the isolation barrier, Susan ran.  I figured as much would happen.  Pandemonium has been doing nothing but these hit and runs since they were created.  But now it has become so much harder for them to hide.

On a different note, I have been consistently harassed by the summoners who tried to summon me a while back.  The summoning circle has appeared beneath me no less than 12 different times this past month.  It has appeared regardless of whether it’s the public restroom (it was empty at the time), my house, or when I am in the middle of naughty time with the girls.  I have had no luck in magically blocking it, I can only interrupt the summoning once it has occurred.  It’s like dealing with a persistent telemarketer who has your number.

My holophone started ringing, interrupting my thoughts.  I looked at the message, which read:  “Dante spotted in New York.  Currently holding everyone in the Empire State Building hostage.”  I immediately contacted Irene and Rin telepathically, before shapeshifting into Rin.  Less than 2 minutes later, the three of us are soaring through the skies of New York City.  We’re invisible and headed to the top floor restaurant.  “Remember, do not engage Dante, he’s on a completely different level than the rest.”  “Ok!”  “As long as there’s someone else to fight, I don’t fucking care.”  And with that said, we burst into the top floor ready for combat.

Dante was seated at a table in the center of the restaurant, with a full meal and a bottle of wine in front of him.  He was wearing a simple suit, but his undershirt was strange.  It was a dark and unusual hide of some sort which was clearly a relic.  My eyes were also drawn to his hand, where I saw two rings that were also relics.  I couldn’t sense anything from them.  He also had an illusion on him that covered him from the electronic surveillance.  Surrounding him were not demons, but the very people he was holding hostage.  Damnit, he’s doing his strange possession technique on them.  They were all armed extensively, and said armament was being point at myself, Rin, and Irene.

“Howdy!  Would you care to join me?”  Dante cheerfully spoke, not at all surprised at my appearance.  I ignored his invitation and was about to charge, but then he spoke again singsong voice.  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you~”  He pointed towards the various cameras around the restaurant.  “Those babies directly upload their video to the internet.  I very much doubt that you want the sight of you slaughtering the hostages to go worldwide.  Although, I’d be delighted if you do decide to become a terrorist.” He said.

I didn’t respond, opting to instead cast an illusionary spell to hide me and the others.  But to my surprise, one of the rings on Dante’s hand dispelled it.  “The Ring of Dispel is such a handy relic, don’t you think?”  Shit.  He waved his hand and the remotely possessed hostages readied their weapons.  “You have two choices here:  Option 1, you fight despite the eyes upon you and deal with the public aftermath later.  I am still very much able to use illusions, so the world would not see you fighting armed combatants.  They’d see you butchering innocents with me nowhere in sight.  Magic would most likely be exposed as well.  Option 2, you sit down and chat with me for a bit.  When the conversation is over, I’ll leave peacefully and you’re a hero for saving everyone.”

Fucking demon lords.  “You’re willing to expose yourself for this?”  I demanded.  “Yep, what can I say?  I’m crazy in love.”  He replied sweetly.  Geh.  Fine, I can use this as a chance to gain intel.  I walked over to the table and sat down.  Telepathically I told Irene and Rin to scout the area and search for the other hidden demons I know that are present.  I ignored the food and wine that was brought out for me by one of the possessed hostages, choosing instead to glare at Dante until he started speaking.

“Hmm.  Now that I think about it, we never really did do proper introductions, did we?  Hi, my name is Dante!  I’m a demon lord who enjoys killing, torture, and cooking.  My life’s wish is to save this world from boredom and start an inferno of fun!”  His crimson eyes locked onto mine as he waited expectantly.  “…Rin Yamamoto.  I’m a… girl who enjoys killing Pandemonium members.  My life’s wish is to exterminate the lot of you.”  Dante chuckled at my intro “Way to ruin the mood we had going, darling.”  “Fuck off.”  “Only if you’d join me.”

Lightning magic coalesced around me as I lost my patience.  Fuck the aftermath, I’ll deal with it somehow.  “Wait! Alright, I came on too strong for a first date!!!!  Tell you what, I’ll tell you about demon lords and myself!  You don’t know much, right?!?”  Not good enough.  I was about to attack when Dante hurriedly added “I can also tell you about your origins!! Haven’t you ever wondered why you have magic in a magicless world?!?”  I paused, unable to deny that my curiosity was piqued.

Dante let loose a sigh of relief as I calmed down.  “Talk.  And explain how you know this.”  I commanded.  “Well, darling, I’m a high-level spirit after all.  Mana is my very being, of course I can read its currents and learn about the world.”  He took another sip of wine as he continued.  “I was born on May 21st, 2089 as a result of a massive mana calamity.  My kin were born afterwards.  Mana alone is not enough to ensure the birth of a demon, it requires the presence of negative emotion as well.  That does not mean that demons are inherently evil, per say, just that they are more predisposed to being evil.  It varies on a case by case basis.” 

None of this is news to me.  “Now, demon lords are naturally much more special.  We have very defined requirements to be created.  There has to be a massive amount of mana congregating, along with the darkest and most potent negative emotions.  And the only beings who can provide that are Heroes.”  My poker face couldn’t help but slip at that revelation.  I quickly recollected myself, but it was obvious that Dante noticed.  “Oh?  You didn’t know that your little demon familiar is actually a demon lord?  I thought it was rather clear.  Demon Lords and Heroes are inextricably linked because of this fact.  The lowest lows can only occur when falling from the highest heights.  The brightest lights create the darkest shadows and all that philosophical mumbo-jumbo.”

I didn’t respond for a moment, choosing instead to contact Rin.  “Rin?”  “Yes, master?”  “Did you know that you’re a demon lord?”  “Yes!  Wasn’t it obvious?”  Wow, I feel a little stupid.  I never asked Rin what she was, I just assumed she was a demon.  And across the table is the Demon Lord created from Jupon.  Well, I guess he would be feeling some potent negative emotions as I killed him and the world he was trying to save.  Fucking Project Redemption is still fucking with me.  Ok, let’s focus.  Dante is freely giving away valuable information, I have to take advantage of this opportunity.

“And about this world?”  I prompted him.  “It’s simple really, this world is one-half of a whole.  Long story short, a massive war occurred due to some big bruhaha surrounding an upstart who was getting way too big for his britches.  The upstart’s colleagues were forced to seal him, and the event split the world into two.  One-half became a prison for the bad boy, the other half became this world.  The prison world kept all the mana, this one slowly lost its own reserves.  Magic users faded away, leaving only Remnants who are shadows of their legacy.”

“That’s rather vague.”  I said to him.  I knew the other world and this one were related, but I didn’t think that it broke apart in a war.  Who is this imprisoned being?  “Mah, I can’t give away everything on the first date.  How else will I tempt you back next time?”  “This is not a date.”  At that moment, I received a sudden SOS call from the defensive artifacts that Hikari and Veronica had.  Son of a bitch.  Dante must have seen it on my face that I realized that this entire incident was a planned distraction.  “Looks like someone has connected the dots!  That’s my cue to leave!  Until next time, darling!”  And with that he teleported away as the possessed hostages opened fire on me.

I conjured a shield of light to ward them off, but many of them had plasma cannons as well as laser rifles.  For the first time in ages, I could feel a palpable strain on my barrier as it blocked the gun fire.  “Rin, Irene, are there any demons around?”  “No, it was a damn feint!  The only demon here seems to have been Dante.”  “No meanies found!”  I don’t have time for this!  Veronica and Hikari are in danger!

The hostages have been remotely possessed by Dante, meaning that I cannot save them.  “Boss, the cameras are down.”  Irene’s words were all the signal I needed.  “Come forth, beast of the sky, howl in defiance of your chains, and unleash your fury!”  A strong wind coalesced around me, manifesting into the shape of a snarling wolf.  It started circling me, turning into a vicious twister that sucked all the assailants in.  They were torn to shreds, littering the surroundings with blood and gore.  Without further ado, I gathered Irene and Rin and teleported back home.  Please let me get there in time.