Tavor crouched low over the edge of a cliff while Roshi and Turtle sat behind him, waiting for him to make a move, but at some point Roshi let out a bored sigh, and from within the turtle shell on his back he pulled a large red amphora and popped the cork.
PLUNK!
The cork shot upward, driven by formidable internal pressure, vanishing into the crimson sky as the venerable master tilted his head back, allowing the rich, ruby-hued liquid to cascade directly into his open mouth.
As Roshi gulped down the liquid, Tavor looked down the cliff, the faint smell of char wafting from below.
"I wonder what demons eat..." He sniffed the air, but no matter how much he thought, he could not identify the smell.
"Go find out; I'll be up here whenever you want to go back!" Roshi said, a trail of red liquid dripping from his lips onto his beard before he handed shared some wine with Turtle.
Tavor had a strange look on his face seeing the two drunk old fools drinking away but the smell of charred meat continued to draw his attention and inevitably he turned back towards the edge of the cliff.
"Heh... I think I will take the fast way!" He muttered before leaning forward and letting gravity pull him down.
WHOOOOOSH!
The air whipped around Tavor as he fell from the top of the cliff, his hair forming into a dark, shadowy mane behind him.
Tavor extended his arm to seize a thick root protruding from the cliffside, utilizing his remaining momentum to pivot around it twice, his grip stripping the last fragments of bark from its surface.
With precision, he propelled himself forward once more, slingshotting down the cliff face with such speed that he left a faint vapor trail in his wake.
At the base of the cliff, a pack of demons gathered around a blazing fire, their raucous laughter mingling with the crackle of the flames.
They drank and feasted on what appeared to be enormous fish, charred so thoroughly that the skin had split, allowing hot juices to seep out and hiss as they dripped onto the fire below.
A solitary tent, modest in its dimensions yet decorated with an array of trophies and intricate patterns, unmistakably signified ownership by the highest-ranking individual among the group.
From within, the occasional muffled moans and the faint rhythm of impacts against flesh could be heard, suggesting that whoever or whatever occupied the space within was engaged in a strenuous and demanding activity.
CRUNCH!
A pig-like demon sank his teeth into a succulent piece of meat, the fat and grease cascading down his chin and pooling upon his expansive belly, while beside him, a dog-like demon sipped alcohol steadily from a coarse, handmade mug.
Across from these two demons, a horse-like demon and rabbit-like demon bumped heads, arguing over a morsel they had both had their eyes on.
"You scrawny wretch, the food belongs to me. Do you wish to die so soon?" declared the horse demon, each word punctuated by the grinding of its jagged teeth. Its eyes burned with an intense crimson glow, emanating a palpable and unyielding aura of lethal intent.
"HAAAAH? Did you say something? I thought I heard the preening of a weakling, but I could be wrong!" The rabbit demon swiftly swiped the morsel and popped it into his mouth before sneering at the horse demon.
"Y... You... I'll kill you!" The horse demon suddenly spun and unleashed a powerful kick towards the rabbit demon, who was still in the midst of chewing the food.
FWOOSH!
To the horse demon's astonishment, the rabbit demon vaulted gracefully above the incoming strike, descending with feather-light precision onto the horse demon's hoof.
In the next instant, the rabbit demon propelled himself forward with blinding speed, appearing to the horse demon as nothing more than a fleeting blur of grey and brown.
A sharp, searing pain erupted in the horse demon's face as his head snapped upward from the force of the rabbit's decisive blow, but rather than snap back downward to attack the rabbit demon, the horse continued to look up, a surprised look in its eyes.
The rabbit demon was about to ask what it was on about, but suddenly the horse pointed upwards and began to practically glow with excitement, a faint ripple of body heat emanating from its body.
"Human, a human is coming!" The horse demon cried before a shadow descended upon him.
POW!
Tavor's foot smashed into the horse demon's face so hard that its jaw momentarily deformed.
"I'm not a human, I'm a Saiyan!"
Tavor jumped up slightly while twisting his hips to deliver a sweeping kick to the demon horse's head.
CRACK!
The horse demon hurtled sideways, its powerful form colliding with the fire pit, scattering its burning contents in a chaotic spray.
The impact propelled it directly into the dog demon and the pig demon, both of whom turned their heads just in time for their expressions to register shock before the force of the collision drove the horse demon into them with unrelenting momentum.
"Aghh, get off of me, you oversized bastard!" the dog demon growled.
"Get off, get off now, I'm about to burst!" The pig demon squealed, but soon it ceased squirming and sniffed the air before turning towards Tavor with a hungry look in his eyes.
"It has been far too long since I have tasted human flesh; now, surrender to me your body and soul!" declared the pig demon.
With a sudden and unnatural burst of energy, as though injected with chicken blood, it heaved the horse demon from its bloated frame and hurled itself forward in a relentless charge toward Tavor.
Tavor landed with a graceful flip and took a defensive stance, his lips pressed into thin lines as he waited for the pig-demon to finish its move.
Behind Tavor, the rabbit-demon crouched low, its powerful leg muscles coiling with barely contained energy, the earth beneath it fracturing under the strain, and then, with a sudden, explosive motion.
FWOOSH!
The demonic creature propelled itself forward at blistering speed, its form dissolving into an even more indistinct blur than before and appearing behind Tavor, who appeared to be unaware of its presence.
A sadistic grin, unnaturally wide, spread across the rabbit-demon's face as a surge of demonic energy erupted from its form.
In an instant, it conjured a small platform suspended in midair, granting it the leverage to shift its body with precision.
With calculated momentum, it unleashed a kick imbued with catastrophic power, force potent enough to reduce any ordinary being to nothing more than a cloud of pink mist.
Unfortunately for the rabbit-demon, Tavor had recently developed the ability to perceive energy.
His gaze shifted momentarily to the side before returning to the pig-demon, a confident smirk playing across his face.
The pig-demon, seeing this, grew incensed and increased its pace, a faint red ripple flowing from its tusks as it attempted to gore Tavor.
Tavor shifted his weight with practiced agility, narrowly evading the rabbit-demon's swift and deliberate kick.
The strike cut through the air with lethal precision, its razor-edged force whistling past his ear and shearing away a small lock of hair in its deadly trajectory.
Before the creature could retract its leg, Tavor's hand shot upward, seizing it in an unyielding grip that threatened to crush the bone within
"HAAAAAAH!" Tavor yelled before swinging the rabbit-demon by its leg towards the incoming pig-demon.
POW!
Unable to alter its trajectory, the pig-demon collided headlong with the rabbit-demon, its tusks driving deep into its opponent's flank, rending ribs apart and slicing through muscle and vital organs with brutal force.
The horse-demon and dog-demon gaped in shock at the scene before them. Their companion had just been tossed into another, by a child.
The young Saiyan stood between them, tail swaying lazily as if he hadn't just ruined their entire meal.
The horse-demon's nostrils flared, its astonishment quickly giving way to fury. "You little…"
Tavor barely had a chance to turn before the pig-demon staggered to its feet.
Its head moved in a slow, measured sway from side to side, eyes distant and unfocused, while one hand rested upon the side of its jaw with a delicate, almost protective hold.
A stubborn fragment of rabbit meat adhered to the ivory like a barnacle to a ship's hull, yet a pronounced crack near the tusk's base revealed the likely source of its palpable discomfort.
"That... hurt..."
Tavor stepped toward it with a hungry look in his eyes.
"I'm thinking sandwiches this time, but does Roshi have cheese?"
The pig-demon's features contorted into a mask of fury.
"YOU!"
WHAM!
Tavor's elbow struck with precision against the side of its temple.
The force of the blow sent the creature sprawling, its massive frame skidding and tumbling across the dirt before coming to rest in an ungainly heap.
For a moment, it lay still, blinking sluggishly as if struggling to process the impact.
"Stars…"
Without sparing it another glance, Tavor turned away, indifferent to whether it would rise again.
A guttural snarl tore through the air, the horse-demon's voice brimming with outrage.
"You dare ignore me?!" the creature bellowed, its powerful legs coiling with tension.
The ground beneath its hooves splintered and cracked under the immense pressure.
In an instant, it vanished.
FWOOSH!
Tavor's ears twitched at the sudden displacement of air.
He turned just as a hoof came hurtling toward his head.
Dropping low, he avoided the blow, only for another strike to follow with blinding speed.
He leaned backward, feeling the rush of air as the hoof passed inches from his nose.
A third attack came from the opposite side; twisting sharply, he let the horse-demon's leg slice through nothing but empty space.
"What?!" the beast snarled in disbelief.
Tavor's lips curled into a confident grin.
The horse-demon pressed the assault.
Kick...
Kick...
Kick...
Each strike was faster than the last, the massive hooves cleaving the air with bone-crushing force, capable of pulverizing stone to dust.
But Tavor moved with lightning precision.
He ducked beneath one savage strike, sidestepped another in a blur, then twisted away from a third with fluid grace.
His body bent and turned in ways that defied expectation, his movements loose, unpredictable, and tinged with an uncanny, almost simian agility.
The horse-demon's eyes widened in sudden alarm.
He's reading me! In the next instant, Tavor planted one foot firmly into the ground, his body snapping forward like a released spring.
The space between them vanished in a heartbeat.
The horse-demon's eyes bulged as Tavor materialized directly before him.
"Got you," he growled. His fist lashed out in a vicious sideways arc.
POW!
The hook slammed into the creature's jaw with bone-jarring force, snapping its head violently aside.
The impact lifted its front legs clear off the earth, spinning its massive form before it crashed down hard into the dirt.
BOOM!
The horse-demon was sent tumbling, rolling once across the ground before skidding to a halt. It clutched its face, jagged claws digging into its own skin.
Pain and unbridled fury blazed in its crimson eyes, a fire that seemed to sear the very air around it.
"You..." it growled, voice trembling with rage.
Tavor stood firm, a fierce grin cutting across his face as he raised his fist and shook it tauntingly, daring the beast to rise again.
Before it could spring again, a dark blur sliced into Tavor's peripheral vision, the dog-demon.
FWOOSH!
A clawed hand shot toward his throat.
Tavor leaned back, narrowly avoiding the strike. Another set of claws whipped in from the opposite side; he ducked low.
A punch followed in a seamless flurry, he twisted away.
Then came a sudden kick, which he caught on his forearm with a sharp crack.
THWACK!
The dog-demon's style was nothing like the horse-demon's.
There was no wide, heavy power here, only blistering speed.
Every movement was compact and predatory.
Each movement chained into the next without hesitation: claws, punch, claws, kick, punch, claws.
The relentless rhythm mirrored a wolf savaging its prey, every strike calculated to keep him reeling, denying him even a moment to breathe.
"Stay still!" the dog-demon snarled.
The dog-demon lunged, both palms drawn back, muscles coiling like springs beneath its fur, a savage grin splitting its face.
"Die!" it roared, thrusting both palms forward with a deafening FWOOSH! Tavor's eyes narrowed, his focus razor-sharp.
At the final, breathless instant, he stepped inside the oncoming strike, his hands shooting forward, one clamping around the demon's wrist, the other locking onto its forearm.
With a sharp twist, he wrenched the limb, and the dog-demon's eyes went wide in shock.
"What?!" it barked, just as Tavor yanked hard, dragging the creature's upper body off balance and into his path.
Tavor surged forward to meet it head-on.
CRACK!
Tavor's forehead slammed into the dog-demon's face with bone-jarring force.
"GAH!"
Blood burst from the demon's nose in a crimson spray as its vision reeled.
Stars exploded across its sight, the world tilting wildly as it staggered back, dazed.
But Tavor was relentless. He surged forward, hips twisting with precision, and drove his fist like a hammer straight into the demon's ribs.
BOOM!
The strike sank deep beneath its rib cage, and the dog-demon's eyes flew wide in shock.
"HKH!"
A violent gasp tore from its throat as every last breath was ripped from its lungs.
Its body folded inward around Tavor's embedded fist.
With a sharp pull, Tavor wrenched his arm free, and the demon stumbled backward, clutching its battered ribs, struggling desperately for air.
As Tavor found himself becoming surrounded by demons, he had no idea that at the top of the cliff Roshi was watching through a scope while leaning against Turtle's shell.
"Damn, Turtle, that boy is an absolute savage when he's hungry!" He lowered the scope with a flourish, then eagerly tipped back the bottle, gulping several hearty mouthfuls of wine.
The rich, heady liquid coursed through him, and a warm, rosy hue bloomed across his face as the alcohol surged into his veins, igniting his expression with a lively, almost triumphant glow.
Roshi heard a muted succession of impacts from below and leaned forward to gaze down the cliff, his composed expression shifting abruptly to one of surprise as he witnessed Tavor being driven back by the rabbit-demon. The creature, clutching its slowly mending gore wounds with one hand, relentlessly pummeled Tavor with a barrage of rapid kicks, each one a blur of motion and carrying the malevolent energy inherent to demons.