The Bounty Hunter

December 11th, 2089

Veronica’s POV

I surveyed the board in front of me, carefully considering my moves.  Everything so far has progressed as plan, but a single moment of carelessness can ruin everything.  I moved my knight, and waited for Hikari’s reaction.  Her brows were furrowed and she couldn’t help but drum a beat on the table with her fingers.  She moved her bishop, as I had anticipated, leaving me open to end the game.  I moved my queen into position “Checkmate.”  “…Shoot, I lost again.”

Hikari gave a cute pout as she surveyed the board, trying to figure out where it all went wrong.  “You’re too impulsive.  Patience is the most important aspect of chess.”  “You’re just too good at chess, Vera.  The only person who can play on even ground with you is Minato.”  I gave a smile at the comment before changing the subject.  “Well, now it is your turn to show off.  What will the great Chef Kari, ruler of the kitchen, be teaching me to cook tonight?”  “Hmm, I’m not sure yet.  We’ll need to go to the grocery store for inspiration!”

And with that, Hikari and I got dressed and headed out into the winter weather.  Cooking has been fun to learn, but difficult to become good at.  As a noblewoman, I never really had to learn how to cook or clean or do the other mundane household chores before.  I have mastered everything but the cooking at this point.  Although Kira and Hikari have been quick to comfort me by saying that my food is far better than what Terra can make, and he’s been trying to learn for years.

We were cutting through the park on the way to the grocery store when I noticed our stalkers.  They were stealthy, but they clearly were unaware of my elven hearing.  I immediately whispered to Hikari “We have someone trailing us, be ready for conflict.”  Hikari tensed at my words, but she did not panic or expose that we were aware of the stalkers.  Good, it seems Terra’s training has been paying off for her.  He’s very thorough and addressed all kinds of scenarios in his training sessions.

Unfortunately, not even Terra thought of a scenario where a dog demon the size of a 4-story building with 3 heads attacks.  He appeared suddenly and whipped his knotted tail towards us.  I immediately drew out my estoc and just barely parried the blow.  Even though I was successful, it still knocked me several dozen feet away.  The dog then attempted to stomp on Hikari.  She dived out of the way, just barely avoiding death. 

I readied my estoc, Waymaker, and used its true power.  I slashed at the open air in front of me, creating a portal that was linked to directly beneath where Hikari was.  She dropped through it and fell out besides me.  She faceplanted into the dirt due to the way she entered the portal.  The momentum and orientation that you have going into a portal is what you have going out of it.  If you’re standing and go through a portal below you, you will emerge from the linked portal feet first.

I tried to contact Terra, but the telepathy artifact couldn’t reach him.  By Adligo’s chains, this is bad.  I sensed another assailant sneaking up behind us and reacted with Waymaker just in time, creating a portal that swallowed the green fire launched towards us and redirecting it to the gargantuan dog.  It whined in pain as the fire left a noticeable trail of purulent burns on its hide.  “Mannequin, you whore!  How dare you hit me?!?”  the dog growled at the shadowy figure.  “The girl redirected my attack, it wasn’t my fault.  Besides, it’s just a small burn.  You’re a big dog Cerberus, you’ll walk it off.”  A white plastic mannequin, the kind you see in department stores, was revealed as it stepped out into the light of the park lamp.  It wore no clothing, nor did it have any discernible features on it. 

I used the telepathy artifact to secretly converse with Hikari while the two demons were arguing.  “Vera, I can’t contact Minato!” “I know, I haven’t had any success either.”  “What do we do?!?”  “…We fight.  It is all we can do.  Hopefully we can disrupt their magical interference by causing enough mayhem during the battle or attract the attention of the police.  You fight this Mannequin, remember your training and focus on survival.  I’ll take care of Cerberus.”

I broke the link off as I readied myself to fight.  Hikari drew out her katana and settled into her ready stance, despite her trembling.  It’s to be expected with her first true fight.  I focused on Cerberus, who was looming above me, and inwardly cursed.  Out of all the Pandemonium members, I just had to get the canine.  Cerberus charged at me, clearly planning to trample me with his mass.  I can’t carelessly move, or else Hikari will be hit instead.  I stabbed downwards with Waymaker, creating a portal that I fell into.  It was linked to the sky above Cerberus, his broad back looming below.  I switched out Waymaker with my crossbow and fired upon the beast.  The single bolt started having parts of itself peel off as it drew closer to the demon, eventually resembling a large cloud of darts as it struck his left head.

A series of small-scale explosions occurred upon contact, combining with one another to create a powerful blast.  It jerked the head to the side and sent the dog off balance.  He careened away from Hikari and Mannequin, and his right head turned around to glare at me in the sky.  I shifted Swarm Shooter to a one-handed grip as I drew out Waymaker with my freed hand.  I’ll have to stay mobile.  If I take one direct hit, I’ll die.  The right head breathed in deeply and then released a massive breath of fire towards me.  I swiped with Waymaker, creating a portal in front of me to redirect some of the flames.  They were turned back upon Cerberus, who seemed unaffected by his own hellfire.  How unfortunate.  The heat from the remaining conflagration as it went by was intense, and were it not for the defensive artifact Terra gave to me I would have suffered some serious burns.

I portal-jumped while still falling, using the momentum to my advantage as I appeared by Cerberus’s side with Waymaker held horizontally.  It was buried hilt deep into his flesh as I carved a gaping line on his side before coming to a halt.  It was impressive, although with his size it was naught but a scratch.  I pulled Waymaker out, portal-hopping to the ground safely.  I fired Swarm Shooter, aiming for the open wound.  The explosive projectiles imbedded themselves deep into the flesh, causing further damage as they exploded.  I was already gone from my position in anticipation of Cerberus’s retaliation.  But the demon finally wised up.  He started shrinking, going from his gargantuan 4-story size down to the size of a horse.  His decrease in size greatly improved his speed, allowing him to react to my movements more easily.  His endless baying as he chased after me was bringing up some unpleasant memories.

Suddenly, Cerberus stopped his pursuit.  The left and right heads started spewing highly corrosive acid around himself like they were fountains, my confusion about said action vanished when the center head unleashed a fire breath onto the acid and created an acidic mist that was corroding everything in the nearby vicinity.  The dog then blew the cloud of acid mist towards me as it kept generating more. 

It was an ingenious method to hamper my mobility.  I launched several bolts with Swarm Shooter, using the blasts from the projectiles to blow away the mist.  Thankfully, my crossbow generates its own ammo, so I can use it liberally without worry.  Cerberus took advantage of my preoccupied state, lunging through the mist to try and devour me.  I stowed away my crossbow as I was quickly parrying and counter striking the demon’s three heads as they were relentlessly trying to bite me.  He was too close for me to escape via portal, and I was losing ground under Cerberus’s relentless onslaught.

I have to end this before I am overwhelmed.  Think ahead, predict the flow of the battle, and lead it to your desired conclusion.  Left head is trying to bite, interrupt movement with a preemptive stab.  Right head is about to counter, step forward to dodge.  Immediate backstep to get-out-of range of the center head.  Parry the right head and riposte.  Duck beneath the left head.  Slash the right head.  Step forward again to avoid left head.  Cerberus should overcommit to his attack… now!

Cerberus assumed I would backstep to avoid his center head once more, so he lunged forward with all 3 heads covering my escape routes.  Backstepping would do nothing to save me, nor would sidestepping be possible with the left and right heads simultaneously pursuing.  The three heads converged right where I was… had I actually backstepped.  I had instead jumped with all my might instead, giving me a perfect angle to attack.  The three heads were lined up vertically, just as I had planned.  I held Waymaker’s hilt with both hands, pointing the blade downward as I fell onto Cerberus.  I pierced through two heads, and nearly reached the third.  Shit, I underestimated the toughness of his hide.

I quickly disengaged, but I was not fast enough.  The dog demon started to rapidly expand back to its original size, appearing as if it couldn’t sustain its smaller form.  While he was expanding, Cerberus’s tail whipped around and slammed into me full force as he blindly thrashed about in pain.  My defensive artifact turned on, coating me in silver light that managed to resist momentarily before dissipating.  It saved my life, but it did nothing to stop me from soaring the length of the park and smashing into the oak tree that I liked sitting on.  It shattered on impact and came crashing down on me.  I was pinned to the ground, unable to move.  My legs are broken, and I can tell that I’m suffering some major internal injuries.  I hate dogs so much.

The defensive artifact started to heal me, but there’s a lot of damage and it is a gradual process.  I am too injured to do anything and were it not for my elven eyesight, I wouldn’t even be able to watch what’s unfolding.  Hikari’s been holding out admirably, but she’s clearly overwhelmed.  She doesn’t have enough experience to be able to compensate for the demon’s natural physical advantages. 

Cerberus is not getting involved, clearly being preoccupied with regenerating his two crippled heads.  That’s a minor blessing, seeing that Hikari has collapsed.  Dammit!  I refuse to lose anymore family!  I gritted my teeth and pushed against the tree pinning me down.  I managed to wriggle out just enough to free my arms.  Swarm Shooter appeared in my hands and I aimed for Mannequin, who had an ominous green flame in her hand and was preparing to finish Hikari off.

I lined up the most important shot in my life with a fiery determination.  I pulled the trigger, sending a single bolt flying towards the demon.  It zipped across the clearing, striking Mannequin in the head.  It exploded with such power that I could feel the blast wind from here.  My tenuous grasp on consciousness slipped as I saw Hikari stand back up.  This is my limit.  The rest is up to you, Hikari.