The Bounty Hunter

September 28th, 2089

Vivian’s POV

I gazed around the blood-spattered, corpse-strewn room where the Royal Police Force attempted to apprehend the Demon Lord Dante, noting the many shattered artifacts and the damage the building itself took in the struggle.  The carnage was disturbing to see, but I have grown as an individual since that royal ball in January and managed to keep my composure.  “What on Earth caused this?”  I muttered to myself.  There were no reports of a bomb going off, did Dante have a power suit?  “Wilson!  Did you get anything off the body cams?”  I called out to one of my subordinates.  “No, your highness.  There was some kind of interference that made them useless.”

I cursed internally at the news.  The first terror attack by Pandemonium on my homeland and I have no means of retaliating.  I should have expected an attack, given that my task force has been managing to undermine Pandemonium’s efforts in northern Europe.  A personal appearance by Dante here was obviously to send a message that Pandemonium is still going strong despite our best efforts.  “Deborah, have you finished taking inventory?”  “Yes, your highness.  Everything is accounted for except for one item.”  “Which is?”  “The Was-sceptre of King Khufu is missing.”

Hmm, did Dante steal it?  I know that Pandemonium has attacked museums before, but generally there was so much destruction it was impossible to tell what was missing.  “Your highness!  Dante’s made a mistake!  We’ve got a lead!”  My musings were interrupted by another of my subordinates.  “What?” I asked.  “A traffic cam caught Dante’s getaway vehicle!  A law enforcement satellite has locked on and we know where he is right now!”  This is it.  “I want a full perimeter, but be sure not to spook him!  Let’s get the Royal Knights in place with drone support before moving in!  I want to take the head of Pandemonium right now!”  People were sent scurrying after my orders as I ran to my vehicle.  I want to be on-site for this.

Dante’s POV

“Boss, they’ve taken the bait.”  Jumbo reported in to me via telepathy from his observation post.  “How long until they arrive?”  I asked.  “15 minutes.”  “Great!  I have enough time to enjoy the rest of this lapdance.”  I leaned back and let Chastity continue her fine work.  The girls here at the Silk Kisses Exotic Dance Club really know their stuff.  I’ll be sure to get them to teach my darling once I’ve broken her in.  Let’s get Mannequin to buy this place cheap after it gets trashed.  She’s the one who is in charge of the prostitution rings that we’ve been running.

My time with Chastity was up, so I walked over to the bar to get a drink before the trap is sprung.  I sat next to a willowy beauty with maroon hair and a nice rack while waiting for the bartender to get my order.  “Hey beautiful, do you work here?” I flirted with the woman as practice for my next encounter with my darling.  “How goddamn original.  Look here, I ain’t interested, so go find someone who gives a flying fuck!”  The woman snarled as she turned to face me.

When she saw my face, her eyes widen slightly in recognition and she fell silent.  Ohh, is she going to cry, scream, or beg for her life?  This should be interesting to watch.  Contrary to my expectations, a bloodthirsty smile appeared on her face instead.  She leaned in and softly whispered in my ear “Ya ready to go to hell where ya belong, demon?”  A gun was pressed up against me, hidden from sight.  The faint sound of cogs and steam indicated she was an automaton.  Did it get reactivated due to the mana calamity?  10 minutes until the trap is sprung, that should be enough time to play around with this gearhead.  I have a weakness for feisty girls after all.

But before I could wipe the floor, wall and ceilings with the automaton (this club needs the cleaning, there was glitter everywhere), I felt teleportation magic being used behind me.  I turned to see the icy glare of my future waifu as she saw me and the maroon haired girl way too close together.  “Darling, I can explain.  You’ll always be the number one in my heart, it’s just that I get a little lonely sometimes…”  The rest of my explanation was interrupted as the automaton and my darling both attacked.

The automaton was blasted out of her chair by Sparky (who had been dwelling in the lighting system) before she could shoot me, while I backflipped away from my darling’s enhanced punch.  Jumbo quickly killed all the patrons and staff in the club with a death hex before joining in the scuffle.  I promptly punted him away.  “WHYYYY?!?!” He cried out as he broke through two separate stripper poles before stopping.  Like hell will I let Jumbo interrupt my one on one time with darling.  “Irene, take care of the storm demon.  Dante is mine.”  Rin’s merciless blue eyes were glowing as they locked onto mine.  *Shiver* Damn, I’m so turned on right now.

I drew out my new toy from subspace, savoring the imminent beat-down I’ll be applying to my waifu.  Khufu’s Was-sceptre of Set, newly named as Dante’s Pole (DP for short), started humming as my mana coursed through it.  Rin’s hands hovered over a pair of holstered hand cannons as she waited for the first move.  Wind started to pick up within in the building as Rin and I had a stare-down.  Or as much a stare-down as one can have when there’s a violently swearing automaton unleashing light machine gun fire on a prancing storm demon in the background.  Poor Jumbo was caught up in that exchange, desperately trying to avoid the rampaging automaton.

I broke the standoff with a forward charge, whirling DP in front to ward off bullets as Rin opened fire.  I sent a little more mana into DP, causing a concussive blast of wind to rush towards Rin.  A pillar of ice flash froze into existence just in time to intercept, causing shards of ice to fly like shrapnel.  A simple swing of DP annihilated the ice, along with a good portion of the bar.  Rin leaned back to avoid the magical attack, kicking upwards as she transitioned into a backflip.  I leaned sideways to dodge before stabbing my staff forwards.  Rin parried with her guns, and chose to close the distance.  A frantic back and forth ensued as I avoided her gun-fu and retaliated with my staffwork.

I was having the time of my life as we exchanged blows, but I feel like I’m forgetting something.  The sound of sirens reached my ears, reminding me of the trap that I had been preparing.  Oops, tee hee pero.  I should have told Jumbo to run interference.  Entry points were blasted into the roof and walls, as other units charged in through the doors and windows.  It was a veritable mosh pit of violence as the tactical teams were shooting at both sides.  It was a chaotic mess and my previous plan was up in smoke, but I don’t care.  I swung DP, clearing a bloody swath of people as the staff caused them to dissolve into puddles of blood.  I sprinted forward to reengage Rin.  This is what I want the entire world to be like.  This is the goal.  An inferno of violence, mayhem, and fun!