VERNER: The Devil Hunter

I'm going to be a hero

Water Clan headquarters, 5 years ago;

'BAM!! WHACK!! BAM! BAM!!'

10 year old Verner kept on lashing his wooden sword on an oddly shaped mannequin made of wood and cloth. He was in an open field behind the massive dojo that was in the Water clan headquarter.

"Take that you monster!!" Verner yelled as he kept whipping the mannequin, doing all sorts of skills and acrobatics as he hopped around beating it with his wooden sword. He beat it so much that the cloth which wrapped it up tore apart and all the hay stacked in it poured to the ground. Verner was the one that crafted this mannequin himself.

"What are you doing boy?"

Verner turned around and saw master Daegan standing behind him. He wore his signature green and blue robe that was very long over his black garment, a white belt tied on his waist held his massive sword with the sea weed quillon. His left arm was gone and he held a stick in his right arm, his face still had deep scars from the battle that night. "I'm practicing that spin move that you did in the dojo yesterday, and I'm adding other moves I came up with too..." Verner replied, looking very excited. Daegan's eyes widened when he saw that the mannequin had a red cloth over it's head, he immediately noticed that this mannequin was meant to be an imitation of Malachar, and this little boy made it himself.

"This kid, he still hasn't forgotten" Daegan thought to himself. "wanna see my moves?, watch this!!..." Verner charged towards the busted mannequin, did a spin move and whipped it's head off with his wooden sword. "I did it sir!!...look I did it!!!" Verner hopped around happily, trying to get Daegan's attention, but he just stood there staring at the mannequin, his own head was flooding with the memories of that night.

To be fair, Verner only knew that hunters fight devils, and Malachar was the only devil he had ever seen, so he made the mannequin exactly how he imagined, he was just a child after all.

"Sir??"

Daegan snapped out of his day dream and noticed little Verner at his feet, looking worried. "It's great, you did great", he forced a smile and rubbed his head, Verner smiled again and ran back to the mannequin to continue beating it, Daegan chuckled as he watched the little boy do his thing.

"Verner..."

"Yes sir" he replied, Daegan walked over to him, then squatted so he and the little boy would look eye to eye

"Why do you want to be a devil hunter?" he asked, Verner smile sinisterly. "I want to be a devil hunter so I can be like you and beat a lot of devils..." he looked very excited, he clenched his fist and swung it around like there was a sword in it "...then I'll find the devil king and defeat him, so that he'll never burn any village again". Daegan was stunned, he took a deep breath and placed his arm on Verner's shoulder.

"I just wanted to be sure that you knew what it really means to be a devil hunter, and a member of the Guardian society". Verner started to look curious.

"Being a devil hunter is not just for people who were born with Qi, or people who want revenge, being a devil hunter is about sacrificing your life to protect those who can't protect themselves, a devil hunter is not a fighter, a devil hunter...is a hero, a hero to those who have no where to run when the devil attacks, a hero to those whose life, joy and dreams would be shattered when the devil attacks, a hero to humanity, and he would do anything to protect them, no matter the costs, no matter what it takes".

He patted Verner on the head, "I know who you are, and I know you're capable of great things, and one day, you'll become a great devil hunter, even greater than me"

"You?...I can never be stronger than you, you're the strongest, it's impossible". Verner made a mean but funny face, Daegan chuckled as he slowly got up

"Time will tell my boy" he took the stick he was holding earlier and began to walk away "Keep on training, get stronger, I'd see you in the evening". Verner smiled as he watched Daegan walk away "I'm going to be a hero, I'm going to save people". he said to himself.

Present time;

Verner stood still in between the two devils, his sword still in his arms, he couldn't think, he couldn't make a decision, the devils were waiting patiently for his answer, both ready to pounce on him the instant he disagrees, but then, he remembered a vow, a vow he made with himself five years ago;

"I'm going to be a hero, I'm going to save people".

He closed his eyes, took deep breathes, then turned to face Litira, her devious smile faded when she saw the stern look on his face, Gustor raised both blades, getting ready to attack. Litira and Verner locked eyes and stared at each other, she started to look frightened, wondering what was going on in his mind.

"Devils are nothing but malicious savage creatures that care about nothing but their own bellies, for these devils to try and negotiate with me, then they must have something to gain too, it's either they're just deceiving me or... there's something they're actually afraid of, something I possess that can easily defeat them". he thought to himself, he noticed how Litira became confused once he stared at her. "I get it now, these devils can feel Qi, which means they must have sensed immense power in this sword, and probably the fear in my heart, she's taking advantage of that fear to manipulate me, hoping that I'll give up and leave on my own, because if they attacked me and forced me to use this sword, it would be fatal for them". Verner let out a very sinister smile, Litira started to look terrified at this point

"For a bunch of flesh eating brainless goons, you two sure are smart, you almost had me there". Litira knew her plan had failed, she had her devilish smile on her face again. "You little shit!!!, you can never defeat both of us on your own, you should've ran while you had the chance!!!"

She released a swarm of massive worm tentacles from her hands and they rushed towards Verner, Gustor charged behind him at full speed, getting ready to slash his guts open. Verner bent one knee and flexed his other leg backwards, then held his sword horizontally with both hands, and then...

"Thunder Flash Spear...RELEASE!!!"