Chapter Text
It’s midnight when Ike’s phone suddenly rings.
Ike jolts up from his seat, his glasses lying crooked on his face, ink smothered across his cheeks. Oh, he slept on his desk again. He takes a moment to gather himself, ignoring the loud ringing coming from beside him.
He puts the phone to his ear, sleep still clinging to his eyelids. “…Hello?”
“Good morning, is this Ike Eveland I’m talking to?” A deep, manly voice replies. Though his English is correct, there’s a hint of unfamiliarity in his voice, an almost unnoticeable stuttering whenever he pronounces the words.
“The one and only.” Ike glances to the clock in front of him. It’s currently two A.M. in the morning. “And good morning to you too, what can I help you?”
“I have a job,” The man proposes. “Not the kind you’ll finish in one piece—I can assure you that. Will you still be willing to take it?”
Ike frowns. He has plenty of clients in the past, some giving him missions that almost cost him his life, but none were this straightforward with him. “Is it that bad? What kind of job is this anyway?”
Though Ike couldn’t see the caller’s face, he can feel the man smirking on the other side, amusement in his tone as he says his next words. “I want you to obliterate an entire society built upon lies.”
000
Today’s mission takes Ike far off into Luxis; a small religious city in the middle of an isolated island. It’s surrounded by the sea, and for some ungodly reason, the only method of transportation to the city is through sea fare. Ike had to reserve the trip days beforehand, much to his dismay.
When people says the city of Luxis is as brilliant and bright as a shining star, they meant it literally. Everything is mostly white in here, with the exception of the stone-tilled road. Imagery of the holy can be spotted at every nook and corner—a small statue in front of a home, stained glasses decorating the windows, carvings of symbols on the wall. The gothic architecture adds the final touch to everything, giving the city its unique ornamental look.
Though it looks beautiful, the city hides something sinister behind closed doors.
It didn’t take long for Ike to pick up the scent of the demonic lingering in the air, clinging to everything like a parasite. He shudders and stops for a moment. A quick scan to everything around him yields nothing but the ordinary. Despite that, the scent lingers—an invisible ghost taunting him.
His client weren’t lying to him about the situation then. Ike composes himself and heads straight to the place his client mentioned, about to meet him for a quick briefing on the mission.
He knows the mission will not be easy, but he wasn’t expecting danger to greet him this early.
A couple of shadows rises from the ground, forming angel-like monsters that stalks him. They’re demons for sure—their demonic aura slipping out of their disguises. Ike keeps tabs on them, but he didn’t slow down, keeping his pace steady as he searches for a place to hide in. He takes a sudden turn, and the demons follow—
Only to see nothing ahead.
The demons throws their gazes frantically, looking for any trace of him. To their dismay, the human really disappeared without a trace, as if a ghost. Just as they were about to retreat, a flash of blue appears behind them.
“Got you.” Ike smiles, victory painted across his face.
He pulls out a letter opener underneath his coat, the bladed edge glints underneath the sunlight. He nudges his chin forward, taunting the demons to attack him. The demons hisses and rushes to his side, baring their claws and fangs, ready to tear him to shred.
Though his weapon is small, Ike is surprisingly fast—easily slipping through a barrage of attacks like an eel. He stabs one of the demon straight in the heart, killing it instantly. It disintegrates into golden dust, leaving not a speck of its existence behind.
The other one tries to attack him out of desperation, but Ike pushes it to the wall and stabs its neck. The demon howls in pain and fades back into nothingness, an echo of its voice lingering behind.
Now that he’s safe, Ike sags his shoulders, finally having the chance to take a breather. What his employer told him repeats in his head once again.
“Stay vigilant. The demons in Luxis is nothing like you expect them to be.”
“Yeah, right.” Ike tucks his weapon back to his coat. “What kind of fucked up demons takes the form of an angel anyway?”
Ike is used to seeing demons towering high above him, all fangs and claws and menace, nothing but evil incarnate. He never would’ve thought he’ll see demons who would go out of their way to mimic the divinity. Then again, considering how odd this city is, angel-like demons isn’t that far-fetched on the dictionary.
The sound of bells tolling in the distance breaks the silence. As if hypnotized, the entire city goes silent, the residents suddenly kneeling down, hands clasped in prayer. Ike put his hands over his ears, cringing. He regrets not bringing an ear plug here.
A lone demon sees its chance and creeps up behind him, leaping towards the defenseless Ike before he could react—
But a bullet flies straight to its head, killing it before it can even touch an inch of Ike’s skin.
Ike stands frozen for a minute before slowly turning his head around, seeing someone standing in front of him, smiling with the grace of summer. In his hand were a revolver, sizzling with a thin trail of smoke and a little bit of magic.
“POG! Just in time too!” The stranger walks closer, a little surprised to see Ike’s pale face. “Whoa, are you okay?”
Ike nods. He can’t really hear what the stranger said (the shock and the lingering echo of the bells masking his voice), but he can read his lips and make-do. “I’m fine, it’s just the sound of the bells is…”
“Oh, I’ll tell you when it’s gone.” The stranger closes his eyes, his expression hardened into focus. A few minutes passes by and he opens his eyes again, now smiling at Ike. “There! We’re good now!”
Ike slowly lifts his hands. The stranger wasn’t lying—the bells has stopped tolling. “…Thank you. Are you a demon hunter too?”
“Yep, the name’s Luca Kaneshiro, you?” Luca offers a handshake.
Ike shakes their hand, giving Luca a warm smile. It’s always nice to find allies in times like this. “Ike Eveland. I didn’t think I would find another demon hunter in this place.” He releases Luca’s hand, a frown across his lips. “I don’t mean to pry, but are you here on a mission?”
Luca nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, what’s up?”
“I’m on a mission too actually. Someone asked me to ‘uncover the lies build upon the city’ or something…” Ike mutters. “Are here for the same thing?”
Luca gasps, mouth wide open like a whale. Ike can almost see the invisible dog tail excitedly swishing from Luca’s back. “Yeah! Are you my partner?”
Ike frowns at that. Demon hunters doesn’t usually work together, and even if they did, the client would’ve mentioned it to them beforehand. Paying for a single demon hunter is hefty enough for the client, so paying for two or more is unlikely.
“I don’t think our client mentioned anything about partnering up though.” He strokes his chin, eyes cast to the ground. “I have a feeling this mission is much more complicated than we thought.”
“What should we do then?” Luca asks. “I don’t mind partnering up with you, Ike.”
With the situation getting more and more uncertain, it doesn’t hurt to have a spare pair of eyes to keep each other in check. Plus, Luca did save him earlier, so Ike can put a little bit of trust on him, at the very least.
“Sure, we can stick around for now.” Ike decides. “The client mentioned wanting to meet up, right?” When he sees Luca nodding, he continues. “Let’s get this thing cleared up first before we take on anything weirder.”
000
The Barley Restaurant is tucked in the middle of a quiet street, right at the edge of the city. The building itself doesn’t look all that big, separated into two floors with plenty of weathered furnishing and aged paint. Despite its rather worn state, it exudes a delicate yet homey feeling.
The woman behind the front desk greets Ike and Luca with a big, warm smile. “What can I do for you, gentlemen?”
“We’re here to meet with our client at the reserved Dandelion Room.” Ike says, sliding his invitation across the desk. Luca did the same too.
She checks their names and takes the invitation with a smile. “I’ll be taking these then. There’s already a few guest on the room waiting. If any of you need anything, feel free to call the service.”
She gestures to the stairs, telling them how to get to their destination. With that in mind, Ike and Luca beelines for their designated room, located on the second floor of the restaurant. As they climb up the stairs, Ike couldn’t shake what the woman said earlier, finding it extremely odd.
“Hey Luca, did you see any other demon hunters on the way here?” Ike asks, half-hoping Luca can supply a hint or two.
Luca shakes his head, eyes closed in contemplation. Despite his rather rambunctious nature, Luca is naturally observant; a trait he picked up after becoming a hunter. After all, being conscious of your surrounding is vital for his job. “I don’t think I did. I wonder who she was referring to?”
“Well,” Ike stops in front of the Dandelion Room, hands nudging the door forward. “Let’s find out, shall we?”
The first thing that catches their eyes is the wide windows at the end of the room, showing the view of the wide, open sea. Other than that, there’s nothing but a table set smack dab in the middle of the room, along with three young man lounging around it. They turn to look at them, surprised to see even more people coming in.
“Welcome,” One of them—a tall brunet—steps forward. He easily towers over the rest of the room, matching height with Luca. His honeyed smile and assertive voice is perfect for a leader, and he certainly presents himself as a rather charismatic figure. “And here I thought three demon hunters is already too much, but it turns out I was wrong.”
“Are you here for the same thing too?” Ike asks.
Another young man nods in response. His black hair is rather long, draping over his shoulders and down to his chest. There’s a hint of purple on his hair, and some strands of gold on top of his head. Though he looks mischievous, there’s not a hint of malice in his eyes.
“Guess someone has too much cash on their hands.” He says, turning to his friend. “Got any clues yet, Mysta?”
Mysta shakes his head solemnly. At a glance, he seems to be the youngest of the group, and the only one with barely any scent of the demonic clinging to him. Though he’s sitting in a room full of professional demon hunters, he seems rather laidback, focusing on what’s on his mind rather than them.
“Other than the fact that we’re here for the same thing, no, I don’t think I know what the hell is going on.” He grumbles, annoyed with his own lack of knowledge.
“We can think about that later, I suppose, when our client is here to explain everything. We can get to know each other in the meantime. My name is Vox Akuma, at your service.” Vox starts.
“Eyy, my name’s Shu Yamino, a sorcerer specializing in curses.” Shu continues on.
“I’m Mysta Rias. I don’t usually hunt demons though, I’m more of a private detective.” Mysta says.
“I’m Ike Eveland, and this is…” Ike turns to Luca.
“Luca Kaneshiro! Nice to meet you all! POG!” Luca beams like a sun, excited to meet so many new people at once.
Vox gives everyone a brief look over and hums to himself. “I’ve heard of all your names before, and from the looks of it, you are all professionals in the field. Why would anyone want to hire all five of us at the same time?”
Everyone looks at each other with varying degree of confusion. At times like this, the safest route would be to abandon the mission altogether. Having more than one demon hunter is already an oddity in itself, so having five in a single room is triggering the alarm in their head.
Though Ike would usually follow after his rational thoughts, for some reason, he can’t shake the curiosity nipping at his heels, and he has a feeling everyone here feels the same way. Who would be crazy enough to gather them here? And what’s the true purpose of their mission? Only by staying here can they figure things out.
The door suddenly burst open with a loud BANG!
A man walks inside with the confidence of a lion, head hung high and smirking at them. He’s wearing a green suit, half of his face is obscured with his hair. In his hand is a metal briefcase.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen.” He put the briefcase on the table. “I believe you have a pleasant journey coming here?”
Ike crosses his hand over his chest. “Not really. I got ambushed by demons the moment I stepped to this island.” The others shares his sentiment and nods along.
The mysterious man laughs, not a hint of concern to his voice. “Well then, it seems you all have something you want to ask me. Feel free to do so.”
“Who are you? And mind telling me why there’s five demon hunters in this room?” Ike asks again, impatient.
“Yes, we can start from self-introduction first. My name is Oliver Evans, and I’m a demon hunter myself.” Oliver sits on one of the empty chair, legs crossed and pose straight. “The reason why I gather all of you here is for one simple purpose; my boss is interested in your capabilities, to put it frankly.”
Vox raises his brow. “So this is all a test, is that it?”
Oliver smiles. “You can put it that way. If you can prove yourself, my boss offers you all a position in our organization. Don’t worry, even if you refuse our offer, the money will still be yours.”
Though the offer seems tempting, the fact that Oliver lied to him about the mission is enough reason for Ike to bail out. He won’t risk himself for something so ridiculous. Proving his worth? That’s unneeded. Ike already proved himself enough with all the successful mission he did in the past.
“As tempting as it sounds, I don’t think this is worth it.” Ike knit his brows together. “I’m content just working alone as of now.”
“True, and I’m honestly a little offended. I refuse to work under someone who thinks so lowly of me that I have to ‘prove’ myself. Now then, if you excuse me.” Vox walks to the door, ready to leave.
Oliver lowers his head with a chuckle, hands folded in his laps. “You might want to look to the window first.”
Shadows emerges from the sky and rushes straight into the window, breaking the glass into pieces. The same angel-like demons that attacked Ike earlier is now in the room with them, hissing and spitting at their target. Everyone is immediately on guard, all except Oliver, who remained on his seat, calm as ever.
“As you all know, this place is floating in the middle of the sea, without any convenient methods of transportation, may I add.” Oliver tilts his head to the side, a coy smile spread across his face. “The darkness lurking in this city won’t let you go that easily.”
The demons rushes to get Mysta first, him being the nearest target. Mysta nearly misses their attack with a yelp, and he runs to the other side of the room, back against the wall. Shu immediately put himself in front of him, protecting his friend.
“I’ll take this side!” Ike pulls out his letter opener and runs across the room, flanking the demons.
Vox stretches his palm forward, summoning a trail of fire that transforms into a katana. He calculates Ike’s distance and takes the other side, intending on cornering the demons. Shu and Luca takes the back line, shooting the demons with magic and a revolver respectively. A demon tries to ambush Oliver, but he kicks the demon on the face before it can reach him. Having long legs have its advantages sometimes.
Outnumbered and outmatched, the remaining demons blends back into the shadow and darts off, tail between their legs. With the situation under control, they put their weapon away, now focusing on Oliver and his seemingly bizarre calmness.
“Now then, I have something that may help you.” Oliver gestures to the briefcase lying on the table, still in one piece despite earlier scuffle. “Please open it.”
Mysta tiptoes to the table and opens the briefcase carefully, afraid of any booby traps placed inside. There’s none however, and Mysta finds a pile of paper instead; all with information regarding the city and its demonic denizen. The rest of the group walks closer, taking a piece of paper for themselves and reading along.
“There’s not much to give out about the city itself, given how reclusive it is, but I hope those can help you nonetheless.” Oliver stands up and dusts his suit clean. “I suppose we can get on with the mission. The next boat will arrive in three days, and I do hope you can survive until then.” He gives them a mocking smile.
Vox huffs at him. “Next time I’ll see your smirking ass, I’m throwing you out into the sea.”
“We’ll see about that.” Oliver chuckles and walks out of the room, stopping on the doorway. “If you want to go home faster, I suggest finding the source of the demonic infestation in this city first. I’ll see you soon, everyone.”
With that, Oliver takes his leave. Ike runs after him, intending to question Oliver further, but Ike couldn’t find anyone outside of the room. In fact, there’s not even a trace of Oliver anywhere—not even his footsteps remained.
“There’s no use catching him, Ike. That man is just build different.” Vox’s voice comes from behind him. Footsteps comes from the other side of the hallway, quickly approaching them. “More importantly, I think we should all find somewhere safe to hide first. We can’t really use demons as an excuse here, can we?”
Everyone nods in agreement. They tidy up the room as best as they could (not forgetting to put the papers back to the briefcase too, of course) before jumping out of the broken window, landing on a roof somewhere below and ducking into a tight alleyway, breaking into a sprint soon after.
Luca laughs like a kid, easily outrunning the rest of the group and taking the lead, screaming “POG!” the moment he’s in first place. Vox, Shu, and Mysta refuses to be defeated and runs after him, laughing along. Only Ike stays in the back, giggling to himself as he jumps over a puddle.
This feels somewhat refreshing. Ike is suddenly transported to his younger days, where he would play tag with others his age, uncaring of the world and all of its problem. His speed amps up, his spirit burning bright. Though their future is uncertain, Ike can see hope shining in their eyes, and that’s enough reason for him to stick with his newly made friends.
By the time the staff arrives at the room, they found nothing but pieces of the broken window across the floor and the table set, perfectly put together as if nothing happened earlier.