Kyou tensed as Omukade lunged at him. Even though the monster was large enough to cut him off from his exit points and wrap its long coils around him in one move, he felt strangely prepared to fight and defeat it. It was obviously prideful, as it had fallen for his taunts and, enraged, made the first attack. He knew from experience that hotheaded opponents were the easiest opponents. Once irritated, they were easily confused and manipulated. He just needed to make sure he didn’t make any fatal blunders that would allow the angry creature to strike back. Simple enough, right?

As soon as Omukade’s faces were within striking distance, Kyou ducked down and slipped beneath the monster’s neck, sweeping his blade at its exposed throat in the same motion. While the majority of its body was armored, there was a small gap between its skeletal plates just below its chin. This was the Hunter’s target. Unfortunately, however, the centipede’s reflexes were as quick as his own and it reared up so that his blade only nicked its skin. It hissed and retreated, long tail lashing in blind fury, while he skipped out of he way and readied himself for the next attack. The centipede circled him again.

“Come now,” Kyou jeered. “Is the almighty Omukade humbled by a mere scratch?” He flicked his wrist, casually passing his knife from hand to hand as if bored with their brawl. His eyes betrayed his focus, however, as his icy gaze was fixed unwaveringly on the monster. “Don’t tell me we’re done already. I was only getting started!”

The centipede’s faces hardened and he smirked, bracing himself for another strike. But before that could happen, Omukade’s body seized up in a violent ripple and it screeched, whipping its head around to face the open alleyway behind it. Kyou blinked in confusion. [i]Strange... What happened?[/i] As if in answer to his question, the Hunter’s eyes fell on something protruding a chink in the monster’s armor: an arrow. He stared at it for a moment before the reality of the situation clicked in his brain. [i]Someone else is here.[/i] He hurriedly looked up to see who the new arrival was, hoping it wasn’t just some foolishly brave soul with a bow who thought he might be able to help. Protecting a bystander would put Kyou in a difficult predicament that he did not want to deal with.

However, instead of a wandering civilian, Kyou saw a well-armed, young woman. She held what he guessed was a magic talisman, which could only mean that she was another Hunter. Intrigue filled him at the prospect of meeting another person who shared his unusual occupation, but he forced himself to put the thought aside. After all, Omukade was still alive and kicking. He took advantage of the distraction the female Hunter had caused and lifted his hands, open-palmed, towards the centipede. Narrowing his eyes in concentration, he summoned the element of fire, engulfing as many of the creature’s legs in flames as he could before he felt dizzy from the effort—as a water specialist, the other three forms of natural magic were difficult for him to control—and lighting the alley ablaze with a flickering orange glow.

“Human scum!” Omukade screamed, writhing in pain and rubbing its lengthy body against itself as it tried to extinguish its burning limbs. The way it was contorting, the centipede was beginning to look like a weirdly deformed pretzel.

“Never look away from your enemy in a fight,” Kyou said between heavy breaths.

“Not fair; not fair!” the demon howled, slowly putting out the fires on its legs. “Two against one. Let me eat you in turn!”

“Swear to return to your mountain, Omukade,” Kyou commanded, raising his dagger. “You know you can’t escape.”

The centipede hissed at him murderously, it’s head swiveling back and forth as it looked between the two Hunters. After a moment, it seemed to resign itself to his words. It crawled towards him and raised one of its burnt legs, letting the fresh, dark blood drip down and form a small pool on the ground, “I, Omukade, swear to return to the mountains of Lake Biwa.”

Kyou nodded and nicked his own forearm with his knife, letting his blood drip and join the centipede’s in the pool, “I, Mizuchi, accept your pledge, demon. It has been sealed in blood. Now leave and never return.”

“Very well,” Omukade’s eyes narrowed spitefully. “You have made a powerful enemy today, human. Remember that if you ever find yourself near my home.” The centipede turned and scuttled away from him, hissing once more at the female Hunter as it passed by her on its way down the alley.

Kyou let out a soft exhale as he sheathed his dagger. [i]That went better than expected. On my own, I never would have been able to convince a creature of that strength to peacefully depart. Speaking of which…[/i] He raised his blue eyes to look at the unexpected arrival once more. In the darkness, her features were difficult to make out, but he could see that she had a slender build, long, dark hair, and deep green eyes that reflected the light of the moon. He didn’t recognize her, which wasn’t surprising since they were in the heart of Tokyo, one of the largest cities in the world.

[i]Should I say something?[/i] He wondered. [i]She did help me, after all. As far as I’ve known, Hunters don’t interact much, but it would be rude to just walk away… I should say something.[/i] Determined now, he took a step towards the woman and bowed respectfully, “Thank you for your assistance.”