Chapter 7: The Transparent Demon
The smoke was beginning to slowly dissipate.
Shattered glass, cracked columns, and bodies still in shock filled the hall. Adam, panting, extended his hand toward Tessa, who was still on the ground.
—"Are you okay?" he asked, in a tone he didn't usually use.
Tessa took his hand. A small discharge of chakra flickered visibly between their fingers.
—"I'm fine… thank you," she replied, getting up with difficulty.
But before they could exchange a joke or regain their composure, a sound was heard. Just one step. Firm. Isolated. As if the one who made it knew exactly when to make everyone notice.
Both turned, alert.
The dust in the air parted on its own, as if something invisible was pushing it aside. And there, among the remnants of the previous battle, a figure appeared.
A demon… though unlike any they had seen before.
It wore simple clothing: a black polo shirt, white pants, worn gray shoes.
Its red hair, with yellow tips like extinguished flames, fell messily.
Its eyes were completely white. Its purplish, translucent skin looked solid, yet ghostlike.
Adam and Tessa froze for a moment.
Not out of fear. But out of strangeness. That presence didn't scream threat…
J sensed it before anyone else.
A burst of heat tore through the air.
Estimated temperature: 2,000 degrees.
A walking inferno.
His systems entered defense mode, but he didn't attack. Not yet.
He only activated his top protocol: protect Tessa. And… I suppose, also Adam, he thought.
That's when a policeman ran into the hall, pale and disoriented.
He was covered in dust and blood. On the verge of collapse.
—"What the hell is going on here?!" the officer shouted, trembling.
J stepped forward, firm and upright. His metallic figure gleamed in the reflections of the flames still burning in the background.
—"You. Policeman. Identify yourself."
The officer jerked at the robotic voice.
When he saw J's figure clearly, he stumbled back in terror.
—"Y-you… you shouldn't be here!"
—"I am an enhanced assistance drone," J replied calmly. "Two hundred and thirty percent more efficient than any standard defense unit."
—"I don't care what you are!" the policeman barked. "You should be helping with the evacuation!"
J tilted his head slightly.
—"I'm sorry, officer. But there are priorities. And you are not on the top list."
—"Can you help me deal with the threat?"
The policeman looked at the demon, then back at J.
—"With that… thing? Never."
J processed the answer in less than a second.
—"Understood. Defective policeman. Useless for containment protocol."
—"What did you say?!" the officer snapped, offended.
Crack.
In a swift, precise movement, J struck him in the temple.
The officer collapsed instantly, sliding to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
Without another word, J crouched, took his pistol and the bullets from the belt.
He turned to Tessa with complete naturalness.
—"Tessa. Don't worry. I'm with you."
He loaded the cartridges. His eye glowed with a brighter light.
—"Neutralization: authorized."
The demon stepped forward, its translucent body gleaming in the firelight.
—"My name is Kan," it said, its voice distorted and wet, as if speaking from another plane. "And I have a proposal."
Its white eyes glowed with a dark flicker.
—"My lord has taken an interest in you. You may choose:
Become demons…
or be—"
Slash!
A clean, swift cut sliced across the air, splitting its face at the mouth.
Half of its jaw fell to the ground, stopping it from finishing the sentence.
From the far side of the hall, Adam raised an eyebrow in disdain.
—"I have a counteroffer," he said, his fingers sparking with cursed energy. "We kill you, like we did the other demon."
Tessa didn't wait.
—"Let's go!" she shouted, launching forward like a dark arrow.
Kan, already regenerating part of his mouth, reinforced his arms with hardened blood.
His skin glowed with black veins, and his muscles grotesquely swelled.
Tessa spun in the air and launched a descending kick.
Kan raised his arms, ready to receive it…
BANG!
A bullet tore through his skull, side to side.
J, from the perfect angle, had fired without warning.
—"Priority threat neutralization in progress," he said in his calm voice.
At the same time, a cursed slash ripped through Kan's reinforced arms.
Slash!
Tessa rotated with surgical precision, using the distraction of the gunshot, and landed a direct kick to his skull.
CRACK!
Kan crashed to the floor with force, his body twisted and bloodied.
But none of them stopped.
Adam leapt over the demon, cursed energy forming a black line beneath his feet.
Kan growled. His arms regenerated instantly.
BOOM!
He launched a brutal punch at Tessa's chest.
She blocked it, though the impact dragged her back several meters, carving trenches into the ground.
—"You won't bring me down that easily!" Tessa roared, releasing a burst of chakra to resist the blow.
Another cursed slash fell from the air like a scythe.
Kan screamed.
This time, Adam was above him.
—"I won't let you speak again!" he said through clenched teeth.
A seal began to form beneath his feet.
Dark strokes. Pure cursed energy.