Agashi: The Demon Systems

Fight!

"You slept off? You know about..... there?" Agashi asked, pointing upwards, while trying to keep his gesture hidden from Alice.

"You don't have to be so fancy about it. Alice is my daughter and she knows everything about me, even though she never believed any of it," Roku said, eying his daughter before approaching Agashi.

"Why am I here? I didn't ask for any of this. I need to go home. How do I do that? You have to help me, please," Agashi begged, struggling with his restraints as he pushed towards Roku. Alice didn't let him.

"There is no leaving this place if you don't fulfill the responsibility of those markings," Roku blurted out, shutting Agashi up.

"What... what are you saying?" Agashi asked, his voice a weak whisper compared to what it sounded like seconds ago.

"Take a good look at these scars. Those marks on your skin were mine to wear in the past. You have no idea what you're up against but I'll explain it to you," Roku continued, the smile on his face had long disappeared, a dull grimace rested on his face as he spoke.

A sizzling sound interrupted them as two portals funneled into the building and a dozen Lugina marched their way to meet Alice.

"Heshni?" Alice asked, a stern look directed at her lieutenant who was more occupied with glaring at Agashi as he nodded in response to the question.

"How many?" Alice asked, worry spreading across her features.

"Difficult to say. They had some sort of cloaking mechanism. It's clear they didn't want anybody knowing they were involved in this," the lieutenant responded.

"You know what that means," Roku interjected, his gaze directed at his daughter.

"We don't know anything yet until we have proof. Cut it out," Alice barked.

"What is he talking about?" Agashi asked. He was growing tired of being the object of this whole confusion and yet not knowing what was going on.

"A very long time ago, I jumped off a construction scaffold, shortly after I got the news of my wife's death. I woke up here, and some shiny object called my name. Any of this sound familiar to you yet?" Roku demanded, the glint in his eyes growing brighter as he spoke. Agashi nodded slowly in agreement.

"I got those red markings, and let me tell you; it was an exciting couple of days tearing through demons and having fellow hunters sing my name. It all went downhill shortly after that though. You must have heard the name Urug by now, haven't you?" Roku demanded, a maniacal smile spreading across his lips.

Agashi shuddered as he remembered Mathos' words.

Roku walked back to the bonfire, grinning wildly as he spoke.

"The power you have inherited defies him, and he will stop at nothing till you're no longer a threat."

"You're not dead. You had the markings. What happened?" Agashi demanded.

"He was a coward. He chose to cut the markings from his skin and surrender them to Urug himself, in exchange for letting him leave. Now he can't even go home. You disgust me," Alice spat, hatred burning in her eyes as she realized the true depth of Roku's betrayal.

Everything he said about having a home away from here was true, and the fact that he gave it all up to be a coward went against everything she believed in.

"You hear that?" One of the Lugina whispered, raising his hand to signal Alice.

"Find somewhere to keep him safe. If anything happens to him, I'll have your head," Alice ordered Roku as she reached for her weapon, a sharp scythe that caught the light as she removed it from its sheathe. It had a chain fastened at the narrow end with which she let it down till it touched the ground.

"Heshni, three of them. They have the same cloaking mechanism I reported earlier. I can sense them but I have no idea where they are right now."

"Phalanx formation," Alice ordered.

The men huddled together in a tightly knit circle, facing outwards with their backs turned to her.

GIVE US UR'UL THUK AND LIV...

The voice had barely finished speaking when Alice hurled her scythe in that direction, caught hold of the chain and pulled as soon as the weapon struck flesh. The cloaking gave way as ichor spilled all over the ground, the twisted demon became visible as it fell to the ground clutching its throat.

"Don't let them escape," Alice snarled, pointing at the two Heshni making a run for it as soon as their cloak failed.

Agashi peered from his hiding place, struggling with Roku who was trying to keep him from looking.

"Let me be. Those things are after me, not you. I need to see what they are,"

"Alright then. They better not see you," Roku warned, letting go of Agashi's arm.

"Kill it," Alice screamed as she hurled her scythe in pursuit of the retreating Heshni. The Lugina were a solid fighting unit and had already flanked both demons, guiding them towards a "Kill box" where Alice and the harsh lieutenant would intercept and finish what she started.

"It's getting away," Alice screamed, raising her voice at the hunters under her command. The Heshni figured out what they were trying to do and were now breaking away from the path the Lugina were creating, a dark portal had begun to form up ahead.

"You can't let them find this place," Alice screamed, but the Heshni were more than determined to get away from the company of hunters.

"Got you now," one of the hunters chuckled loudly as he lodged his spear in the second Heshni's throat, pulling the chain attached to it and stopping the demon in its tracks.

"The other one," Alice called at the top of her voice, pointing her scythe in the direction of the escaping demon, while a section of her hunters made quick work of the wounded Heshni.

"Nooooo," Alice shouted in frustration as the demon made it to the portal and jumped into it, it's limb severed by her scythe.

"I've failed you. Forgive me commander," her lieutenant apologised, falling to his knees and bowing his head.

"There's nothing to apologise for. There's no time. Bring Agashi and my father here, they need to know what's happened," Alice ordered, sheathing her weapon and walking back to the writhing corpse of the last Heshni.

"He won't say a word. We've tried everything," one of the hunters complained, twisting the spear lodged in the Heshni's throat to stop it from smiling.

"Kill it. It won't say a word to expose Jarl," Alice ordered.

"You let them find us," Roku hissed as soon as he came within earshot.

"You're not my problem. You have never been, so you might want to quit acting like I owe you anything. I'm taking him away from here, he knows everything now, and we need to prepare for the fight ahead."

"Wait, you can't be serious. I saw those things. I can't beat them," Agashi stammered.

"You want to die?" Alice barked.

"Well, of course not."

"Then you better shut your yapping hole and come train with us, because the next time the Heshni come through those portals. It won't be just three of them."

Agashi took one look at Roku and turned to follow Alice. Everything was happening so fast, but one thing was certain; if he wanted to live, he'd have to fight.