The Hunters Volume One: The Beginning

Chapter Four

"You have been standing there all this while. Have you nothing to say? You are standing before Saraces, one of the Demon Lords of Hell. Will you not show respect, mortal?"

At his words Michael raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so you're one of the Lords? I was wondering if this hunt was actually worth it."

"Insolent child! How dare you?!" Saraces roared and pointed his hand at Michael. A dark orb of magic formed and shot forward at him at high speeds. The young man simply closed his eyes and held out his own hand. When the magic orb was a few feet away from his palm, it suddenly disappeared as if it was never there at all.

When Michael reopened his eyes, his pupils were the color of light gray smoke. "Know your place, demon."

Saraces took a step back in shock as his face scrunched up in rage. "Impossible! You have his magic! Then that means.... Damn you William! Show your face, you bastard! Quit hiding behind a puny mortal body and face me like a man!"

Michael felt something stir within him. His soul's inhabitant had taken offense at the demon's words and offered him to switch out with him. For a moment, Michael considered doing so. After all, this was a Demon Lord and they were not exactly known to be weak.

In the end, he decided to remain in control. He would not have to go all out here. He was a Hunter first and foremost, and this demon, Lord or not, was still his prey.

"Every one, stand down," he ordered. "He's mine."

The other wolves backed away without hesitation, a testament to how much they respected him. Saraces eyed the Hunter as he stepped forward warily. He knew he was at a handicap, having not been summoned with his true body and having to use the sorcerer's weak one. But he still had his pride and it urged him to destroy the brat for his disrespect.

Raising a hand in the air, Saraces summoned a large ball of fire and sent it towards the Hunter. Michael just continued his walk, the fireball vanishing before it could reach him. The demon snarled angrily and conjured a black flaming magic circle in the air. With a frustrated shout, he sent out a stream of black flames towards Michael.

The young man's eyes narrowed dangerously as he watched the fire completely obliterate the floor on its path towards him.

'He's using Hellfire? In an enclosed area? Michael thought as he stopped his approach and watched the fire coming at him.

Up at the altar, Saraces grinned wickedly at the sight of the Hunter stopping in his tracks.

"That's right, you fool! Ever since the last time we fought, I've devoted my time to finding a perfect counter for your magic. You can't erase a spell if the power fueling it is greater than yours, can you? These flames are powered by the infinite power of souls consumed by Hell!

"You've lost and you know it! Admit defeat and maybe I'll only torture your soul for a few thousand years."

The flames were only some meters away when Michael's lips curled in a mocking smirk.

"And what makes you think I was never aware of that fact?"

"What are you talking about?"

Michael did not answer, instead he asked his hand outwards toward the oncoming wave of black flames. Saraces frowned when he saw the human's smirk and his brow furrowed even more when he felt the amount of magical energy being concentrated in the Hunter's hand. It was so absurdly high that the fabric of reality around the hand had become unstable.

'What is he planning to do?'

Just before the flames reached him, Michael let out a small laugh of derision. "Such ignorance..."

The wave surged onto him and he thrust out his hand. The black flames immediately froze in the air then with the sound of passing wind, they disappeared instantly. Everywhere turned dead silent until Saraces screamed in fury.

"WHAT WAS THAT?! HOW CAN YOU ERASE HELLFIRE?! THAT SHOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE! THERE-"

A hand clutched at his throat and he felt his vocal cords cease to exist. Looking down, Saraces saw that Michael had disappeared from where he had been standing.

"I've really gotten sick of your voice," Michael whispered beside him before throwing out a kick that sent the demon crashing through the solid stone altar.

Saraces felt his body slam painfully on the ground and grit his interlocking teeth to avoid biting his tongue. Before he could get up, Michael put a foot down on his chest to pin him down. Then he he reached down and took hold of the demon's arms and proceeded to rip them off his body.

Dead gray eyes stared into inhumane black ones for several moments before Michael placed a hand on Saraces' chest.

"Return from whence you came, demon, and never walk this realm again," he prayed and sent a pulse of magic through his body, instantly erasing his heart.

"That's what you think, bastard," Saraces spoke telepathically directly to his mind as the black veins began to disappear from his face. "I'll always have my followers and eventually I will return. And when I do..."

The darkness in Byron's eyes dissipated as Michael felt the last vestiges of Saraces' presence fade away.

'I will destroy you once and for all...'

Silence descended on the hall like a heavy blanket. Michael kept his eyes on the still body before him until he decided there was nothing more to it. He turned around to catch the final moments of his team transforming back to humans. Fading wisps of smoke drifted around them, rising into the air and disappearing after a few seconds.

Jade stretched her arms in a languid manner, a sigh escaping her lips, "Ugh, I hate hunting sorcerers. Weak little rats they are, always calling the big boys when shit hits the fan."

Dean, the stoic member of the team, turned to Michael, speaking for the first time since he arrived.

"I didn't know you could erase Hellfire."

The surprise was hard to detect in his voice but it was there all the same, alongside some curiosity shared by the others. After all their leader had just did something they had no idea was possible.

"That's because I can't. Nothing can negate Hellfire. I just erased the reality around the flames so it ceased to exist." Michael clarified.

Olivia looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, "That means it went there, right?"

"Yeah," he answered her. "I'll take care of it later."

"We better leave," Lee spoke from from where he knelt beside Anton's body. "The owner of this dimension just died. The place is gonna collapse soon."

They looked around them and sure enough the walls had begun to develop large cracks in them. Through these cracks, an endless void could be seen giving of an all encompassing sense of destruction not unlike a black hole.

"Jade, get us out of here."

"You got it boss."