Superhero Manager System

The Hunted

It did not seem like a good idea to move about naked, the three hundred and thirty-fifth floor was still almost 30 floors down from the three-hundred-and sixty-seventh he was on. While he would rather not walk around naked, he did not have a choice. If he remained here, there was not a doubt, In his mind, that the cultists would come for him, and that was not an experience he was particularly looking forward to. Arome picked himself up and started moving towards the elevator, even with everything that had happened, he knew he still had to be vigilant. The goons were one thing, but those demon hounds were another.

Arome tried to recall what he knew about demonic summoning. Those hounds probably only exist on this plane of existence due to possession. And there were certain frequencies and regents capable of disrupting that possession, unless he planned on setting a trap and leading the hounds to it. Those regents would be of no use to him, and that’s if he is able to find the regents and tools needed to do so. He shook his head, going up against the goons, or their hounds head on would be a bad idea.

He had a mission here, and it was important. He has to make sure he gets help. His best bet was to sneak around, utilizing the building's vents like the COO had asked him to do. That should thankfully keep him out of harm’s way, if he played his cards right. It was completely possible to get all of this done without having to die again. “Hopefully” Arome muttered to himself as he got moving.

He went back into the elevator, wincing at the carnage he had come face to face with. The blood stains and scraps of clothing, and the Sulfur dust left behind from the hound’s demise. These were the only signs or proof that he had died here, more times than should be normal. Arome shook as he stretched a hand out to stabilize himself. He was no stranger to death, no stranger to killing, but he always thought that if he died, then that was the end of his story.

Death would have been a better alternative to the bad luck he has had all his life. He was the first Idu prince to be born without the Lion Star power. But all of that did not matter at that very moment, what mattered was survival. Once he was in the elevator, he ignored the mess the place was in, as he raised his head up. There was a hatch above his head that seemed to have been knocked aside. Given the jarring stop the elevator had experienced and then the wild tumble with the hounds, Arome was not surprised about that. He took a deep breath and jumped up, his hands grabbing onto the edge of the open hatch’s entrance. He gave the elevator one last look, imprinting the image into his mind for an eternity, before pulling himself up.

The elevator shaft was brightly lit, and it was also very different from anything he had ever seen before. The elevator itself seemed to be suspended in the air, the shafts were massive tunnels that were right, left, upwards and down. It was like a secret highway of its own, nestled in the belly of Falcon-Eagle Industries. The elevator itself seemed to function on some variation of magnetic levitation technology. It wasn’t active at the moment though, or it would have been very dangerous for Arome to be out there within the shafts.

“Well, time to get moving. Staying here is not doing wonders for my modesty.” Arome said to himself, as he ran his hand through his hair. He let them grow out after he left the military and kept them well maintained. He was aiming to have them turned into dreadlocks, as he'd always had a fascination with that. Plus, his mother had dreads. Getting dreadlocks of his own wound have been his way of thanking her. The woman had put up with him and his father and even the disappointment of losing the throne after giving birth to a failed heir.

“My mother is not unfortunate,” Arome said, his mind bringing up memories he would very much rather forget. Since he needed to get to the other side of the building, then he would have to follow the shift that went right. From here he could see that it seemed to curve around the edge of the building, using the space between floors to move. With how much he had spent the last few seconds observing this place, Arome had to give props to their architects. This was a marvel.

There was a loud clang, and the sound of sniffing and shuffling around. Arome felt his blood run cold at that sound. He knew what that was, as he had already died to them too many times already. He did not wait to see if truly another demon hound had come looking for him, he had places to be. Arome shook his head as he jumped off the elevator, landing in the right shaft. It was like a tunnel, and thankfully the elevators didn’t seem to be working. Or else this would have been akin to running or walking on train tracks. Once the elevators started moving started not even bones would be found.

But as he jumped into the right tunnel, Arome realized something. He landed much farther than he had aimed for, and with a lot more speed and force as he tripped forwards and nearly planted his face on the ground. “What the hell was that?” he asked himself in shock. He looked down at his hands and noticed the still blinking dots at the edge of his vision. As more time passed, it was becoming obvious that Arome could not keep ignoring them. Something was wrong, or at least had changed in some fundamental way, these dots might have the answer. But still, as if to mock his attempts at finding answers, a loud bark seemed to echo across the elevator’s shaft.

“I just can’t seem to catch a break!” Arome was already cursing as he took to his heels. Running for his life and ignoring the dots once more. He was not completely unfamiliar with the idea of a system. It existed in fiction and many superheroes with scientific abilities had products on sale that could track statistics. None of them was a true system, and even at that, he seems a little…. Different. A manager system? What sort of combat abilities could that even have? It gave a resurrection ability that was more of a curse than a blessing even this early in acquiring it.

But Arome would not be ungrateful. The system saved his life. It’s because of that he is still alive right now. What he needed most was to find somewhere safe, at least for a few months, where he could figure out what was happening and see if there were other advantages the system could provide. Arome was moving a lot faster than he usually did, which meant he cleared the distance to the other side of the building far faster than he originally could. He was happy about that, it meant safety was close by, until he felt an impact on his back, it threw him forwards.

Arome placed his hand out in front of him to catch himself, going into a handstand, then a front flip as he twisted in the air, turning his body so that he was now facing the direction he was running away from. Arome landed on the ground in a crouch, one hand on the ground and the other held slightly behind him. ‘Seriously? Not even an hour since I got superpowers, and I’m already doing a superhero landing’. He raised an eyebrow at that as he got back up to his feet, looking at the massive demon hound that had just hit him.

This one was at least twice the size as the others he had faced. It was a good four feet tall, had dried leathery skin and a spiraling black horn on the top of its head that glowed softly with reddish orange light. Arome did not need to be told that this hound was on a whole other level than the ones that had mauled him already. But he was not afraid, against all odds, and the very real threat of having his soul sent to hell if this hound succeeded in killing him. Arome locked eyes with the demon, and he was without fear. He'd died so many times to those claws and fangs that he was now scarred for life… but he had killed them back. Every last hound had fallen to him, and even if he had to die, it would be no different with this one.

Arome looked around for a bit, trying to see if there was an exit he could take, or something he could use and a weapon. He honestly wished he had some sort of projectile power, though it would have been easier to deal with this demon. Come again he finds himself regretting being stubborn, a few months of study with his mother and the kingdoms, mystic Supers, and he would at least have been able to defend himself. ‘The first thing I’m doing once I get out of here is learning magic.’ He affirmed to himself as shame held him hostage. It had been foolish with his opportunities. He did not have superpowers, but he had a passable talent for magic. He had refused, devastated about not having the Star Lion power and stunting his own growth.

Arome would groan if he could. What was the use of stubbornness in the face of death and survival? He was such a child back then, even if, back then, ceased to exist some thirty minutes to an hour ago after dying for the first time. The hound growled, a stark reminder that it was still here. Arome shrugged, “Are you going to make a move or do you want me to come over there and teach you how to heel?” the demon hound growled even louder, its claws spilling out in rage as it hunched down a bit in preparation to pounce. Arome grinned, a lot of people knew him as quiet and not much of a conversationalist. His enemies, however, knew him for how sinister, sadistic and merciless he could be. He’d break you and do it with a smile on his face. “Here boy! Come on! Who’s a good doggy?” The Hound responded by letting out a howl of rage as its claws and the horns on its head caught ablaze.

“Ancestors!” Arome cursed out loud in shock as he turned around and took to his heels. Or at least that is what it seemed he wanted to do. The moment the hound had noticed him turning, it had pounced. But Arome jumped to the side, on the spot as the hound brushed past him. Arome could feel the heat and rage wafting off the body of the hound as he followed after the moment it moved past his body. The hound skidded to a stop, its claws leaving a trail of sparks in the elevator shaft. It turned to bark at Arome, only for his knees to come flying out of the darkness to crash into the face of the hound. It yelped more from shock than from pain as it was pushed backwards, two of its fangs flew out of its mouth, flipping over in the air to land with a soft ding on the floor.

For a moment, both Arome and the hound started at the fangs on the ground. “I’m sorry were those your milk teeth? Come! Let me remove the rest of them for you.” Arome had a few curses lined up, the hounds were intelligent enough to understand human speech. They might not talk, but demons were far smarter than their mundane counterparts. Arome had succeeded in pissing it off. The hound retaliated, there was a form of combustion, an act that Arome would have found funny, considering the Hound had just let out a burst of flames from its rear end. It caught Arome off guard as the hound rocketed forwards, the space between them no more than a few feet. He felt his sternum and ribs break, as the hound’s horn stabbed into his chest and out his back. The hound’s attack had thrown them both a couple more feet backwards as liquid fire seemed to spill into Arome’s body.

Pain more intense than anything he had ever felt before filled his body. Arome really hated this, it was almost as if each death after the last was more brutal and painful than the last. This hound was cooking Arome from the inside out, molten lava scouring through his veins and organs as he was once again burning to death, but this time he was doing so from within. The hound tried to pull back, but Arome locked his arms around its neck with the last of his strength and bent down to take a huge chomp out of the demon’s neck. He only managed to take a small piece of the demon’s neck, but the pain had been too much for the hound as it bucked, flinging Arome off its horn and smashing into the side. His body hit with a loud bang, more blood splattering behind him, almost as if his body had burst against the wall from the impact. Arome was already dead before he hit the floor, with the last embers of his consciousness slowly fading away.

The hound yelped softly, as it turned around in circles trying to reach the injury Arome had left on the back of his neck. The missing fangs were also adding to its predicament as a small dribble of black demon blood hung on the side of its jaws. It had been sent to hunt down this human, and while killing the human, had not been told hard. The pesky flesh bag had just been incredibly annoying with all the damage he had caused the hound. The hound gave Arome’s body one last look, then turned to slowly return to the human he was bound too. The hound licked its chops, a dark hunger nestled within the depths of its eyes. Once this was all over, as is stated in the contract, it would feed on the soul of its summoner. It was an experience it was particularly looking forward to. There was a loud bang behind the hound, as it turned, its eyes widening in shock, an act that should not be possible for the hound as it did not have the facial muscles to look so baffled. Arome stood, naked and covered in blood as he pointed at the hound.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going? Come pup! We’re only….just getting started!”