It was an emergency, no doubt. And it is the type of emergency to which I should be going as the Dark Reaper. Normally, I would have been elated that a healer like me would be called to the front lines, but that would only limit me to minimal fighting and more on healing. If I trust that my teammates can handle the demons we are facing, I won’t have a problem with that. The thing is, the giant bug that they were talking about is without a doubt Belzeebub. They could probably take him down on their own, but that would end up in a bloodbath. If I want to ensure our safety, I need to be there as the Dark Reaper! “Are you worried?” Ellan asks me. He most likely assumes that I was nervous to head into battle. We were at the back of a military van as we headed towards the landfill where the giant bug Belzeebub was last seen. “Don’t worry, Zarah. We will protect you from the demons. All you have to do is get to the patients and heal them.” James adds with a pretty confident look. Healers
I have long since lost sight of the twins tailing behind me as I run closer to where the scene of action is. Archer and Belzeebub were still at it, firing and charging at one another. Belzeebub has the upper hand. He continues to charge at Archer brutally that the only thing that Archer could do was build a shield around him. Archer was alone. Where are the other hunters!? While the two were in the midst of clashing, Belzeebub seemed to have found a weak spot on Archer’s shield. Using his claw, he jabs long, pointed nails to Archer’s side. The claw punctured and broke the shield. Ajax screams and it is only then that I realize that the claw punctured his side right below his lower rib, leaving him in immense pain and bleeding. I fear that it must have hit one of his lungs because he seems to be having trouble breathing.Archer mustered up some strength so he could swat away Belzeebub. The sixth demon prince flew back with a shriek while Archer falls to his knees. Grinning, Belzeebub
“No.” This is my immediate response when the demon prince Belzeebub decided to enter my room the next day after I drove a dagger to him. He is kneeling beside my bed like a puppy, while Mammon and Leviathan stand on either side of me, ready to smack Belzeebub's head if he ever does something funny. Like his other brothers, Belzeebub looks very different in his demon form compared to when he is disguising himself like a human. Unlike Mammon and Leviathan, who are both dressed like they are Greek gods and have minimal clothing, Belzeebub looks more like a punk rock teen. His short cut red hair is already gathering enough attention for how bright and vibrant it was. He is wearing a tight fit black shirt with a black leather jacket over it, paired with some black jeans and boots. I know. He sounds like the typical bad boy heathrob in novels back in the 2000’s. “Why not? You made a pack with my two older brothers.” When Belzeebub looks at me with bright red eyes. I almost succumbed b
I’ve never been such a good liar. And even if I were, the guilt is always eating me up. With Archer, it feels more difficult because I am under immense pressure. I never expected him to ask me such a question that the alibi that I needed wouldn’t come out. How am I supposed to cover this up? “How could you say that I am the Dark Reaper just because the sensation of my healing ability is similar?” “You’re the only huntress here who has a superior healing talent.” “I am the only huntress that you currenly know to have such a talent, you mean. There could be many others like me that haven’t allowed themselves to be known.” I can’t believe that I am learning how to gaslight one of the academy’s top hunter. I can’t believe how low I have become. At this point, I don’t think that I can still blame this entirely on the demons. Archer looks slightly convinced by my alibi, but I know that it is not enough to fully disclose his suspicion that I am the Dark Reaper. “Yes. You’re right.” Arch
Even with Belzeebub’s plan to make a double of myself, I still have this sense of unsureness. My uneasiness is affecting my performance in my class enough that my family needs to be called. Needless to say, my family came barging into the principal’s office an hour after they were notified. “Zarah! Where is she!?” “Where’s my baby!?” “Did someone make you cry!? Tell me who it is!” The three of them hover around me like flies, checking to see if there’s anything different from me. I already expected that they were going to act like this, but it still surprises me how they fawn over me so easily. I miss them, but I also did not expect the embarrassment that followed when they lost all their composure in front of the school principal. “I-I’m fine.” My eyes went to watch the principal, feeling embarrassed about the display of affection my family was showing me. Instead of seeing an awkward look, the principal just smiles politely like he is enjoying the scene. I got restless. “There’
Remoire is a demon thunderbird. He was considered one of the great demon harbringers back in the old timeline. Like Gorshe, he is one of the three harbringers of Hell who wrecked havoc alongside the demon princes. The sky outside of the academy is dark, as if a storm were coming. I feel shaken up because the sky reminds me of how I charred my skin fighting the massive thunderbird hiding behind the dark clouds. Black lightning roared, rushing in and out of the clouds like a coiling serpent. One strike from the black bolts of lightning was enough to cause a crack on the cemented floors and walls of the campus. The training ground, which was just built two months prior to the attack, suddenly disappeared into piles of rubles. Panicked screams and yells could be heard from the students while ducking to avoid the bolts of lighting from above. “Where’s the demon!?” My father shouts through the commotion of panicked screams and authoritative yells. I wasn’t sure who he was talking to, bu
The clouds above were pitch black, with the occasional thunder crawling in and out like it was playing hide and seek. When Gorshe and I got too close to the clouds, it started to rain. It’s like the Remoire was trying to change the weather that way when it sensed that we were coming. Gorshe gives off a sudden roar, arching his back and almost making me lose my grip on his scales. His skin started to turn hot when it was enveloped with black flames. Rain dissipates when it hits the tip of the fire. It was like having armor made out of fire as we broke through the rain and thunderclouds. “Where do you think it went?” I raise my voice so I can be heard from the roaring wind, rain, and thunder. ‘Hold on tightly, master.’ I didn’t know what Gorshe was planning, but considering that this is the first time that I am riding him to battle, I should hang on with all my might. If there’s one thing that I can’t do yet, it's flying on my own. It would be embarrassing to imagine that someone
I hung the demon prince of gluttony upside down from the ceiling as soon as I woke up. With a strong demon rope provided by Mammon, I made sure to securely bind Belzeebub’s arms, hands, and legs. Honestly, he looks like a wriggling worm from where he is. It was a mere act of revenge compared to what he did. I never had a fear of heights before, but now it feels like I have that kind of fear thanks to a certain demon prince that I just want to strangle to death. Honestly? I would, but he has the most useful everyday power that would help me hide my identity as the Dark Reaper. I was fortunate that we fell in the water, where Leviathan got the upper hand and helped us out because it was his domain. I wasn’t able to kill Remoire, if anyone is curious about that. Leviathan, a demon with a heart for animals, kept Remoire hidden and is trying to convince me to tame it instead. Of course, I only remembered them when I woke up in my room later that night. The clone that Belzeebub created fo
I know what I said to my parents and sneaking out despite their warning is a little risky on my part. But I do believe that using Beelzebub’s clones is going to keep me safe from getting caught. For tonight, the real me is going into the casino to hunt demons. And of course, I am wearing a disguise sponsored by the demon prince of greed. I did say that he is going to pay after all. “I still firmly believe that red is the best color for our master.” Mammon, the sponsor for all of my costume for tonight, holds out a sparkling evening dress that is too revealing for my taste. If there was no fire alarm in my room, I would have burned the dress already. Since I can’t do that, all I can do now is glare at the fabric and hope that it will come to ruin on its own.“Brother, that barely covers her skin. What if Asmodeous covets her?” For the first time, Leviathan sounds defiant when he speaks with Mammon. Meanwhile, Beel drools while looking at the dress before trying to take a bite out of
“I cannot believe that you went to the casino!” My mom paces the room. Her heels are clacking the room and I can feel their vibrations on the floor as I am kneeling on it. “First thing…the first thing that you do as soon as we get to the hotel is the casino!?” I flinch when I hear her raising her voice. “Zarah, you might be of legal age but you are still a hunter in training until you get your license!” Wow. She is definitely mad. It has been a while since I heard her this angry. Out of everyone, my mother is the scariest when angry. My brother and father would always act like they saw nothing and would keep their distance from her. Right now, my father and brother are in a far corner of the room, sharing an upside-down newspaper. It’s pretty obvious that they were eavesdropping on our conversation. “I was…I thought that I saw someone that I know.” The more that I look at my mother’s expression, the more that I can tell that my choice of words is wrong. “You saw a friend going t
Green field greets my side of the window when I wake up from taking a deep nap from the back seat of our family car. Currently, we’re headed to the fair, where the new hunters are going to take their oath to become full-pledged hunters. My father is driving me to the venue, which is like an eight-hour drive from where we are but my mother and brother decided to tag along just for the thrill of it. Also, so we can turn this event into a mini family trip.A chuckle makes me turn to my left. My brother is snickering while looking at me.“I knew you’d be asleep the entire ride.”“Are those cheetos?” I fought off my groggy state just so I could straighten up and grab the bag of junk food from his hands. My mouth water as I anticipated on eating something, but when I look inside, it is already empty. I turn to him with a disgruntled expression.“Hey, I offered you some, but you were busy sleeping.” He laughs when I toss the empty bag of Cheetos towards him. “You’re a jerk,” I grumble.“Lo
My room has never felt so smaller. Imagine being in your bedroom with five demons and three hunters—excluding me. I am still on earth but even I know how hellish it feels. Never has my room felt more suffocating than ever. I am in bed, for obvious reasons. My mother and father are sitting beside my bed while Archer is leaning on the wall facing me. The five demons are by the bathroom, making sure to keep their distance from us. They are demon princes for a reason, meaning they can hide their presence from Archer and my parents. I just hope that they behave themselves and not cause any noise. “Here, dear. Say, ah.” Getting spoon-fed by my mother and being watched by a number of eyes makes me feel sick. Even swallowing the food is a struggle. The porridge is threatening to rise up to my throat. If swallowing the food is the problem, I could have endured it. The problem was, the demon prince of gluttony is in the room with us. Eating in front of him is just a recipe for disaster. I
“What are you? Insane?!” I grab his coat and pull him toward me. “Are you asking me to let him be killed?!”The mask that portrays his emotion seems to be blank. “It is not for me to decide that. I am only telling you that you will fail to save everyone if you continue to save that person.”My mind grows empty at what I wish to say. It is not because I am at a loss for words. There are just so many things that I want to ask but don’t know where to start. I know that Belphegor avoids Archer for some reason. Whether it is because he is afraid of the captain’s power or not, I can’t say. I have a feeling that there might be something more behind it.I do my best to remain calm. “Why him?” Belphegor remains quiet. I clench my teeth in anger, feeling my temperature rise again out of anger. Why isn’t he answering me? “Why him?” I demanded. “Out of all the people in the world, why does it have to be Archer? What is so special about him?” Belphegor’s mask completely lost any expression.
“Master, I do not understand.” The demon prince of gluttony nonchalantly asks me as he hangs by his feet inside my room. He was hanged using the thread that I got from Kirin’s core, an object that he gave me in return for allowing him to eat Asmodeus’s pet. “Are you punishing me because you are upset or because this is one of your kinks like brother Mammon?” Mammon chokes on the grape that he was seating. “I do not!” He protests. “Mammon, shut up before I make you sit.” I threaten him, making the demon prince of greed sit Japanese style on the floor. “Sorry.” He utters. “If not brother Mammon, then perhaps brother Leviathan.” Beel moves his head to look at the demon prince of envy, glaring at him from the corner of my room in a gloomy state. The majestic demon has tears in his ears has his face contorted with an envy expression. Gorshe and Remoire surround him, like they are trying to console Leviathan. When Leviathan sees my gaze, his eyes begin to fill up with tears and the lo
It’s pretty obvious by now that the cocoons have humans inside of them. The form of the body alone is enough evidence for that. From Archer’s pale expression, I know that he figured it out as well. His alarmed expression never faded away since he couldn’t move. If the demon responsible for this finds us, there’s no way that he could defend since he is paralyzed.“Zarah, we have to get out of here. Zarah?”I am frozen solid where I am standing as I am staring at the cocoons. There’s no way for me to figure out who is behind them. I don’t have x-ray vision. But from the flying sparrow of a demon circling the cocoons, my heart starts to sink. “Wait. Isn’t that your sparrow?”Remoire seems to have noticed us and is flying in our direction. He perches on my head.‘Master, I am sorry. By the time I found them, they were already captured.’My strength nearly left me and I almost dropped Archer. My suspicions were right. These are our comrades!“We have to get them down.”“Zarah, we can’t.”
The loud blaring of an alarm started as soon as the tremor slowly subsided. Archer and I were still holding onto each other and we didn’t even realize it until both the tremor and the alarm subsided. I withdraw myself from him quicker than I normally would when I hug my friends. “We should head to the evacuation area.” Archer hides his face by lowering his head and starts to head off first. I pause for a bit, letting the sparrow version of Remoire rest on my finger. ‘Go and scout the area. Find out what happened and make sure that the others are safe.’ Remoire nods curtly at my command before taking flight. As soon as Remoire left, I start to follow Archer. Oddly enough, as we started to walk, there were no demons in sight. It’s as if they were gone or they have all gone into hiding. The later sounds more probable, as there’s a giant demon scorpion on the loose. Archer seems to have noticed the lack of demons in the vicinity, but he was being quiet about it. All my senses were
The giant sinkhole that appeared where we once were was a huge puzzle for us. I wish I knew what it was—I feel like I should, but I am currently drawing a blank. There’s something about the crate that’s familiar. “This wasn’t part of the obstacle.” My sharp hearing picked up on what Archer was muttering. I decided to play oblivious that I heard his talking and pretended to look puzzled while staring at the sinkhole. “Zarah, how were you able to tell that a sinkhole was going to appear?” I can understand Archer’s curiosity. No one would be able to move fast enough or guess that there would be a sinkhole beneath our feet a few seconds before it appeared. My senses are just sharp enough that I was able to tell that it was coming. “The tremors on the ground. Didn’t you feel it?” I don’t want to do this, but the only way that I can slither out of his question is by gaslighting him. I lived with demons, literally, in my room. I know how it works. The key is to make up a scenario and ins