Hugging the wall, I tilt my head just enough to peek past the corner. There it is. The stray devil. Hundreds of eyes twitch and dart, scanning the hall with frantic hunger. Each of its warped faces shifts, some sneering, others slack-jawed, all searching.
One pair of eyes lingers too long in my direction. My breath stills. For a moment, I think it has me. Slowly, deliberately, I pull my head back behind the brick. My heart doesn't race -- I've trained it not to. The trick isn't silence. It's control.
The demon shifts, then slithers forward, returning to its restless patrol. I don't allow myself the luxury of relief yet. Instead, I slip back into the vents, crawling toward the pool where Princeton is waiting.
He notices me the moment I emerge from the grate. He's smiling, eager. He waves an arm and says, almost too loud, "The pool's ready. All of it is holy water now."
"Good," I murmur. His smile falters when he sees my expression -- calm, measured, not triumphant. did this lilttle boy expecte praise from me ?. "You don't look nearly as worn out as you should," I add. "Most priests would be massively tired after a job like this."
He shrugs, trying to brush it off. "We just need to get the thing inside, and then we're done, right?" His voice rises slightly, betraying the nerves he's trying to hide.
I holster my weapon, only to draw it again. My fingers check the chamber. this is going to be the One final act for the night. I glance upward through the cracked roof of the pool house. The night is thinning. The world is seconds away from dawn.
"You took your time," I say flatly. "The sun won't wait."
Princeton shifts on his feet, forcing a smile. "Are you ready?" he asks.
I nod once. Together, we push open the double doors, clearing the path. The hinges groan like something dying.
As we step into the corridor, I whisper, "Last I saw, it was near the library on the second floor. By now, it could be anywhere, in the First floor, Right beside us, maybe even above us, so you should watch your steps before they betray you."
Princeton swallows hard. His hand is too tight around the silver cross he carries. His boots scrape against the tiles. i hit him slaitly on the leg to calm him down.
looking back forward it comes, -- faint, erratic. The sound of footsteps. Hundreds of them. Small, uneven, yet closing in. I throw my hand back, signaling him to freeze. He obeys, though I can almost hear his pulse from here.
I lean around the corner, slow as a predator. And there it is. The stray devil. Its shifting mass stares, faces bending and breaking, eyes twitching in every direction.
My gun is up before my mind finishes the thought. I didnt enchant the bullets, -- not yet atleast. I don't need to. This isn't about damage. This is bait.
The first shot cracks through the hallway. The bullet barely makes it flinch, but the noise, -- that gets its attention. Hundreds of eyes swivel toward us.
"Run," I command, already moving.
The monster bellows, a sound like broken glass grinding against bone, and charges. We sprint, guiding it through the maze of lockers and classrooms. Princeton stumbles once, almost trips, but fear fuels his legs. My pace never falters.
The double doors slam shut behind us as we dive for the pool. The devil barrels through a heartbeat later, chasing us into the holy water.
The moment its skin touches the surface, it screams. Flesh boils. Faces sag. Hands claw at nothing. The pool sears it alive.
But it doesn't die. Not yet.
The creature thrashes, pulling itself upward. A dozen hands grip the tiles. I fire again, blasting one limb into pulp.
"Keep it down!" I bark, and Princeton responds with suprisingly measured bursts of holy light. His aim could use improvement, but it works.
The monster weakens, regeneration slowed to a crawl. Still, it claws for escape. The sound of nails tearing against tile rings louder than any scream.
Then, in desperation, the devil splits. Its body tears open at the crown. The air grows cold, heavier. Something is trying to crawl out -- yet nothing comes. The body shudders, collapses, and dissolves into the pool.
I don't trust it. Not yet.
Princeton exhales loudly, too soon. I silence him with a look. Scanning, I raise my monocle -- and there, crawling across the floor, is a pale girl. Half a body, dragging herself away.
Princeton sees nothing. He relaxes. But I don't.
I whisper the chant, loading the gun with words sharper than steel. The shot cracks. Her shoulder bursts. She doesn't stop. Another shot -- missed, dodged at the last instant.
"Johnny, what are you doing?" Princeton shouts, panic cracking his voice.
I don't answer. I line up three more shots. Stomach. Throat. Skull. The girl collapses, twitching once, then still. Her form solidifies, flesh visible.
Princeton stares, soaked and pale. "Where… where did she come from?"
"The same devil. just its true form." My tone is tired, finally.
He sinks to the floor, exhaustion breaking him. "So it's dead? Really dead?"
"Yes."
He sighs, a sound of pure relief, and closes his eyes.
I don't.
The glove on my hand twitches. I raise my arm. "Eat, Sharky."
With a wet snap, the glove lashes forward, devouring the girl whole. Princeton doesn't flinch this time. He's too tired. He just gets up and staggers toward the exit.
"If we're done, I'm going home."
"Wait," I call.
He turns, weary, irritated. "What?"
"i couldnt help but notice your imprasive capablities on the field, kid". he looked at me irritaded by the way i addressed him, added by the exaughsting fight, he asks, " ok then what with it?", " kid! " he added in an attempt to clapp back
"Partner with me. There's money in this work. More than deliveries ever gave you."
His face hardens. "I can't. I'm a priest in training--"
I cut him off. "Don't lie to me. I know you're not. Whatever you are, I don't care. You're capable. That's enough."
For a moment, surprise flickers in his eyes. Then it's gone. He steadies himself, voice firmer. "Regardless of what I am -- I won't be joining you."
before he could leave i shout to him my number, at least the one i use for mondain calls.
The slam of the door echoes through the empty halls.
I stand alone in the silence of the room, priest this priest that. there is no way that dude is actually a honest to god priest, that means if he has a brain he will take the opportunity. it isnt every day that a mercenary of kaplid offers you partnership, so each unlisted supernatural human with a brain will take the oppurtunity. considering how hard it is to get to the coparation without pre existing connections to it, this is basically the only way.
well unless this priest is secratly a massivley strong human with a longjaines or something, but i doubt that since he wasnt even capable of soloing this relatively minor creature
well non the less, its time to expirement with the power i gained by killing the demon. turning to my book i flip a page and see hands eyes and mouths forming a word.
the power i gained was a transformation abillity whcih allows me to shift in to a form resembling that of all creatures sharky consumes
sadly it only apllys to creatures consumed after the abbility is gained which means that i couldnt turn in to anything yet. but now that this thing was eaten i am excited to see what i could turn in to
murmuring the word written on the page i grow extra hands, all of them corresing my body, my originall human body i had, remained happily so. raising my arm an eye growed from it, closing my eyes i could see from the third one grown in my hand
so i could grow extra limbs like eyes mouths and hands, but the monster had the extra abillity to turn in to a ghost. focusing on disapearing i open my eyes
looking at my arms i could see through them, but sadly that didnt aplly to the extra hands that i grew. " so i can turn in to a ghost but the extra limbs cant, ok, ok. this is preety neet", considering i only had my gun and a small collaction of 15 spells, that 10 of them were just buffs for my gun and 3 of them were of the utility types.
it was a preety good buff for me to be able to have these powers.
calming down from my excitment i walk out of the door and go back to my house, " i will collect my mission reward later but for now, lets take one filthy nap