Chapter 91 – A Demon?
The strange figure remained exactly where Alexander had first noticed him, standing near the Colan residence as though he had been there for some time.
Alexander didn't take his eyes off him while that strange warning from his Spiritual Awareness hadn't diminished. If anything, the longer he remained focused on the man, the stronger the sensation became.
Something was wrong. Something dangerous was standing there.
Behind him, Hannibal shifted slightly as he asked, "What's got your attention?"
Alexander didn't answer immediately while Blade followed his gaze, and his expression changed almost instantly before asking, "Who's that?"
Hannibal finally raised his binoculars and muttered, "Let's see."
The veteran hunter/private investigator adjusted the focus and studied the stranger for several seconds before speaking, "Male. Late twenties, maybe early thirties. Tall. Around 1.90 meters."
He paused before he added, "Red hair. Combed back. Slightly pointed ears."
Alexander narrowed his eyes and asked, "Clothing?"
"Oddly respectable. Looks like some sort of academic. Maybe a teacher. Practical, somewhat old-fashioned, but definitely not the sort of clothes I'd expect from a criminal or some form of supernatural creature."
Hannibal lowered the binoculars slightly before he concluded, "And he's doing absolutely nothing."
Blade's eyes remained fixed on the man as he corrected his partner, "He's watching the house."
Alexander's attention shifted inward.
He didn't need binoculars as his Spiritual Awareness continued to brush against the stranger's presence, giving him information that his ordinary senses couldn't, 'He isn't a Duel Spirit. Of that I'm certain... The man isn't possessed either, yet the sensations coming from him are familiar. Very familiar. I've felt something similar before... But where...'
Alexander frowned as he kept thinking, 'I have encountered remarkably few supernatural beings since receiving the YGO System and the memories of my other self. Vampires... Duel Spirits... And that one genuine demon I've met with Victor about a year ago after the Duel Monsters Grand Prix...'
Having reached that point, his eyes widened slightly as he muttered, "That's right... His presence feels similar to that one..."
Hannibal heard that and looked toward him, asking, "What?"
Alexander's gaze hardened before he said, "The man."
A brief pause before he added, "He's not a Duel Spirit. And he isn't possessed by one either."
Blade's expression became more serious as he asked, "Then what is he?"
Alexander hesitated for only a moment before he revealed, "I think... He is likely a demon."
Hannibal immediately cursed under his breath, "Damn it... Of course. Why can't it be something easy for once...!"
Blade didn't say anything, and he simply drew his sword.
The metallic sound immediately broke the remaining calm.
Hannibal reached for one of his own weapons before looking toward Alexander and said, "Stay back."
Alexander nodded while he added, "If things go bad, use one of your cards. Otherwise, leave the fighting to us."
Before Alexander could answer, Blade was already moving, and Hannibal followed.
The stranger noticed them approaching.
His head turned slightly, and for the first time, his expression changed as he muttered under his breath, "Oh... A vampire and a hybrid... This is getting more complicated..."
His voice was quiet enough that no one heard it clearly.
Blade reached him with no warning or negotiation.
One instant the stranger was standing beneath the weak wash of a streetlamp, the next Blade's sword was already descending toward his head.
The stranger didn't retreat; he didn't even seem surprised as he simply raised both hands.
Steel flashed in the darkness and stopped as the blade was trapped between his palms.
Alexander's eyes widened, and for a heartbeat, nobody moved.
Blade's expression hardened. He twisted his wrists, trying to wrench the sword free, but the stranger's hands didn't budge. Then, with a sharp movement of his arms, he released the blade and stepped aside, making Blade stumble forward.
The stranger could have struck him, but instead, he let him pass.
Blade recovered almost instantly and spun, bringing the sword around in a horizontal arc, but the stranger ducked, making the blade pass inches above his head before he stepped inside Blade's reach and drove an elbow toward Blade's ribs.
Blade caught it with his forearm, yet the impact still made him stagger as his boots scraped against the pavement.
Alexander stared while thinking, 'This isn't normal... That stranger knows how to fight, and very well, as he is keeping up with Blade... Moreover, it seems he is going easy...'
Blade attacked again; this time he relentlessly chained his attacks.
A downward cut. A thrust. A sweeping slash toward the legs.
The stranger slipped between them with uncanny speed, turning his shoulders by fractions of an inch as steel passed harmlessly around him, making Blade's sword cut empty air.
The stranger's hand flashed toward Blade's throat, but at the last moment, he stopped.
Blade noticed, and so did Alexander.
The stranger wasn't trying to kill him.
"Wait!" the stranger shouted.
Blade ignored him, and the sword came down again.
The stranger caught Blade's wrist and for a moment, the two men locked together.
Blade's muscles strained, but the stranger barely seemed to notice as he said, "You've misunderstood the situation."
Blade ripped his arm free and said, "I don't care."
He attacked again, making the stranger sigh and comment as he dodged, "Apparently..."
Hannibal entered from the side.
Blade saw him coming and shifted instinctively, creating just enough space for Hannibal to attack.
The two hunters moved exactly as expected, like men who had fought many battles together before.
Blade kept the stranger occupied from the front while Hannibal came from the flank.
The stranger's eyes flicked between them.
He ducked beneath Blade's sword while Hannibal's weapon swept through the space where his head had been.
The stranger twisted.
Blade's blade passed behind him, and Hannibal's strike came again.
The stranger jumped backwards, landing lightly on the balls of his feet.
For the first time, frustration appeared on his face as he shouted, "I am not your enemy!"
Hannibal advanced as he shouted back, "As if we'd believe a demon's words."
Blade attacked, but the stranger parried the sword with his forearm. The impact rang through the night.
He caught Blade's wrist with one hand and shoved him away, and then Hannibal was there.
The stranger turned just in time as Hannibal's fist clipped his shoulder.
The stranger absorbed the blow, rotated with it, and drove a kick into Hannibal's stomach.
Hannibal flew backwards several steps, but he recovered without falling.
The stranger looked at him and commented, "I really don't want to hurt you."
Hannibal straightened and said, "You're doing a poor job of proving it."
Blade came from behind, but the stranger sensed him and spun, making steel flash past his chest.
He seized Blade's arm, used the momentum of the attack, and threw him over his hip, making Blade hit the ground hard with enough force that the concrete cracked.
Seeing that, Alexander flinched.
At the same time, the stranger immediately backed away.
He could have followed. Could have driven the sword through Blade's chest.
Instead, he waited.
Blade rose and attacked again.
The stranger stared at him in disbelief as he asked, "You two really don't listen, do you?"
"Not particularly," Hannibal answered.
The next exchange was faster, much faster, as steel became a blur.
Blade pressed forward with brutal, disciplined strikes, forcing the stranger backwards one step at a time.
The stranger gave ground without losing control.
He blocked high. Turned. Ducked. Pivoted.
Blade's sword struck the pavement and sent sparks scattering into the darkness.
The stranger stepped over the blade and drove his shoulder into Blade's chest, making Blade stagger again.
Hannibal took advantage of the opening and attacked immediately, but the stranger twisted away, and as a result Hannibal's weapon passed across his back, tearing fabric but barely touching skin.
The stranger spun toward him, but Hannibal was already retreating.
Their eyes met, and for the briefest moment, Alexander thought the stranger might finally lose patience.
Instead, the man exhaled through his nose and muttered, "Fine."
He glanced toward the street behind them, "Let's take this somewhere less crowded."
Hannibal understood the implication.
The fight had already begun drifting away from the Colan residence.
He deliberately guided the confrontation toward the nearby park.
Blade followed, and the stranger followed them.
At the same time, Alexander followed all three.
The residential street slowly disappeared behind them, making the sounds of the neighbourhood fade.
Ahead, the park stretched beneath the moonlight, its trees casting long shadows across the paths.
No cars. No pedestrians. No windows close enough to become witnesses.
The stranger noticed, and his expression became even more suspicious as he commented, "You planned that."
Hannibal said nothing while Blade attacked.
The stranger barely managed to avoid the first strike, then another, and another.
He moved backwards between the trees, using the narrow spaces to keep Blade from getting a clean angle.
Hannibal circled, and the stranger's attention flicked toward him.
That was all the opening Hannibal needed; he raised his flashlight and the beam of blinding light exploded across the darkness straight into the stranger's eyes.
The man recoiled as the pupils of his blue eyes contracted.
For the first time since the fight began, his balance faltered, and Blade took advantage of that and moved.
He drove forward with the sword as the stranger turned toward him, but it was too late.
Steel punched into his abdomen, and for a moment everything stopped.
The stranger's eyes dropped slowly toward the blade buried in his stomach.
The sword protruded from his stomach.
For a moment, his expression was one of pure disbelief, then his eyes suddenly changed.
The blue vanished, and a bright red replaced it, and at the same time, flames erupted from the top of his head.
In an instant, Alexander's Spiritual Awareness literally screamed, making him almost stumble in surprise while exclaiming, "What the fuck was that!?"
The man's shirt suddenly burst apart as the fabric was consumed by the heat, revealing an inverted, encircled pentagram-shaped mark across his chest that glowed with an intense red light.
Blade tried to pull his sword free as the stranger's head slowly rose, and now his expression was no longer confused or frustrated; there was something else in his eyes now, something far more dangerous.
His arm moved, but that was all Alexander saw.
One moment Blade stood over the stranger, sword buried deep in his abdomen; the next, something struck Blade with enough force to send him flying.
He was launched backwards as though hit by a speeding vehicle. His feet left the ground, his body crossed several meters of open space before crashing into the dirt at the edge of the park.
The sword was ripped violently from the stranger's abdomen in the process.
For a moment, the weapon remained suspended in Blade's grip, then Blade released it, making the sword fall into the grass.
Silence returned.
Alexander stared at the stranger.
The wound in his abdomen should have been fatal, but instead, it was already closing.
The torn flesh drew together before Alexander's eyes. Blood stopped flowing. The ragged edges of the wound sealed themselves with unnatural speed until, within seconds, there was barely any evidence that a sword had passed through him at all.
Watching this scene, Alexander felt the cold settle deeper into his stomach.
Meanwhile, the demon looked down; his breathing was uneven, and his hand moved toward the place where the sword had entered him, then stopped.
Something was wrong; Alexander could see it in his face.
The demon looked confused, almost frightened, then his expression twisted.
Pain. Anger. Something deeper. Something that Alexander couldn't clearly identify.
Across the clearing, Blade slowly pushed himself upright.
He spat blood onto the ground and smiled, "There it is."
The demon's head snapped toward him.
Blade stared at the wound that had already disappeared and muttered, "The demon."
Hannibal moved beside him, his eyes narrowed and said, "It seems Alexander was right..."
The demon said nothing.
His fingers tightened, and the air around him seemed to tremble as golden light suddenly erupted from his hands.
Alexander instinctively stepped backwards.
The light twisted around the demon's arms, gathering into a shape that seemed to materialise from nowhere.
A trident. Golden and three-pronged, but unlike any weapon Alexander had ever seen.
Its design was subtly asymmetric, the three blades differing in length and curvature. It looked ancient and alien at the same time.
The demon stared at it, and for a moment, there was something almost childlike in his expression, as though some part of him didn't understand where it had come from.
Then Blade moved, and the demon's head snapped up and attacked. He simply crossed the distance between them so fast that Blade barely had the time to raise his sword.
The trident struck, and the impact sent him staggering sideways.
The demon followed up, but Blade blocked again.
Another strike. Another. Another. The attacks came faster than Alexander could track.
Blade's sword rang against the golden weapon as he desperately tried to defend himself.
The demon wasn't fighting anymore.
He was overwhelming. His strikes were too hard. Too fast. And far too vicious.
Blade managed to deflect one blow, but the demon immediately reversed the trident and struck him with the shaft.
As a result, Blade was knocked sideways.
Hannibal charged, but the next instant the trident swept toward him. Hannibal blocked, but the force nearly drove him to his knees.
The demon shoved harder, and Hannibal stumbled backwards before the demon followed.
On instinct, Hannibal swung his weapon, but the demon easily ducked beneath the strike and came up inside Hannibal's guard before the butt of the trident slammed into Hannibal's stomach.
Hannibal doubled over in pain, and then the demon struck again with the trident's staff.
Hannibal was thrown across the clearing before he hit the ground and rolled.
"Hannibal!"
The name escaped Alexander before he could stop himself.
The demon looked toward him, and for one brief instant, their eyes met.
Alexander noticed the rage present in his eyes, but underneath it, confusion and even a hint of fear; almost like a desperate struggle to hold onto something that was slipping away.
The demon was about to move toward Alexander, but then Blade attacked again, and his attention snapped back to the fight.
He moved before Alexander could blink.
Blade swung, but the demon slipped past the blade, seized Blade's wrist and twisted with such force that Alexander clearly heard the sound of bone snapping.
Blade howled in pain as his sword dropped before the demon kicked into Blade's chest, and once again the sound of bones breaking resounded.
Blade flew backwards and hit the ground.
The demon was on him immediately and thrust his trident forward. Blade rolled away, making the trident strike the earth where his head had been.
The impact split the ground as Blade scrambled away.
The demon attacked again as Blade tried to retreat, but the trident caught him across the ribs, and he was thrown several meters.
He landed hard and didn't move.
Hannibal forced himself upright and cursed, "Damn it."
He charged, but the demon turned and, with even faster speed, struck him down as the trident slammed into his side, and once again the sound of several bones snapping echoed in the empty park.
Hannibal was thrown into a tree. The trunk shook violently from the impact before it snapped. Hannibal also collapsed on the ground near Blade and groaned in pain.
The demon stared at them; his chest rose and fell rapidly.
For a second, he simply stood there.
Hannibal and Blade tried to push themselves up; their arms trembled, but it was too late as the demon raised his hand, generating an intense, bright flame with the clear intent of incinerating them.
Alexander's blood ran cold, and his heart began beating faster as he realised that if he did nothing, they were going to die, and he couldn't allow that.
His thoughts immediately went to the YGO System, opening the Card Database.
The familiar interface appeared before him.
His eyes moved rapidly across the available cards while quickly thinking, 'I need something capable of fighting a supernatural entity... Something strong enough with close combat capabilities... Preferably Light Attribute...'
His attention settled on one particular card, Neo the Magic Swordsman.
Without any hesitation, Alexander selected it, and the card materialised in his hand; then he immediately spent 100 DE to summon the Duel Spirit.
Light erupted from the card before it shattered into countless glowing particles. The motes gathered in front of him, and a humanoid figure gradually took shape.
It was an armoured young warrior with long blond hair and unusual yellow eyes, armed with a straight long sword. Neo the Magic Swordsman had entered the real world.
Alexander pointed toward the battlefield and said, "Neo! Protect them and defeat the demon!"
Neo turned toward him and nodded before he moved.
A burst of magical energy erupted from his hand and struck the demon directly.
The impact finally forced him away from Hannibal and Blade.
Alexander's eyes widened.
Neo immediately followed the attack by turning toward the two fallen hunters before a different spell emerged from his hand.
He let out a shout, and the spell flew toward them, and the next moment, light surrounded Hannibal and Blade as their injuries began healing.
Alexander stared and muttered with clear surprise in his tone, "He can heal them too..."
The two men finally stopped moving as they lost consciousness, but they were alive.
Alexander barely had time to breathe as the demon slowly turned toward Neo.
His red eyes narrowed while the grip tightened around the golden trident, then he let out a roar full of rage.