“And it would be best for you not to know,” Daemon finished.
“Wait, don’t kill me,” Mika pleaded. “I won’t tell anyone the truth about you, nobody would believe me anyway! Please! I can’t die here yet, I can’t!”
“Calm yourself,” Daemon replied while he held his hand gently around her wrist. Mika watched in awe as the blade glowed softly while the pain she felt vanished. After a moment he held his blade over her bandaged leg while she slowly moved her hand around, feeling no stiffness or discomfort with it anymore. She then watched in wonder as he performed the same magic on her leg, the soreness she felt with it also vanishing the same way. After he finished Daemon sheathed his blade and watched as Mika stared at him in stunned silence.
“You’re welcome,” he dryly said. “I trust you won’t fall behind again once this ride ends up wherever it’s going.”
“You healed me,” she softly said. “But why?”
“Would you have preferred I didn’t?”
Mika opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out, the woman eyeing over Daemon while trying to think of what to say as words failed her completely. Daemon sat up and looked around at the passing tunnel walls, seeing only fleeting glimpses of adjacent corridors racing by while the cart continued rolling along the rails on the incline it was set at.
“Thank you,” Mika gently said. Daemon noticed the girl watching him with a remorseful eye now, her hair ruffling in the wind while she lightly held the side of her head and her eye patch. “Thank you… for healing me, and treating my wounds. And for saving my life. I… would have been lost without you.”
“Forget about it,” Daemon replied looking away. “You just got lucky with us passing through as we did.”
“Yeah… I guess I did,” Mika softly said looking down. “Lucky me. My sisters were both killed and I survived. I would have gladly switched places with them if it would mean they would have made it back home again.”
“You and your sisters are well-known monster hunters,” Daemon recalled. “Even Tabitha knew of you right away. It sounds like you’ve worked long and hard to build that reputation for yourselves. Did you never consider the possibility you might die doing your job?”
“We always knew it could happen,” Mika distantly replied. “Every time we go out on a hunt, every time we accept a job to slay monsters, we knew we might not return to see our little brother.”
“So then why did you do it?” Daemon asked, with Mika glancing up to him curiously. “What pushed you to keep fighting?”
“I love my little brother,” Mika dearly said. “So much. All three of us do, he’s special to us. Our parents died from monsters who also tried to rape him. We vowed never to let another get near him again. We wanted to protect everyone we could from the monsters of Eden. We wanted to prevent another family losing their own just as we did. But mostly I wanted my brother to grow up, to live in this crazy world. That was enough for me to pick up my sword each and every time we got a job offer. Because each and every time we ventured out there to help other people, we were also removing more of those horrible fiends from the world, ones that would never lay their eyes on our brother.”
“You fight for him,” Daemon concluded.
“It’s what women do in this world,” Mika reasoned. “We protect our men, our families, our people. It gives us the strength to keep them safe.”
“Then why not return to him and make sure he stays safe?” Daemon questioned. “You’re not ready to face what evil lurks within The Sisterhood. And your brother has no more sisters to spare. Should you fall he will be alone. Are you prepared for that outcome?”
“I won’t fall,” Mika sternly retorted. “I will not. Those monsters wiped out that city, slaughtered all those innocent people, took my sisters from me, and they have made an enemy with a monster hunter that they will soon fear. Whatever it takes I will fight them, and I will kill every last one of them.”
“Your fortitude is what I would expect of you,” Daemon mentioned. “However as I stated before you are rather foolish. As skilled of a hunter as you are, and I do know about your exploits as such, there are some monsters in this world you’re not ready to face.”
“Like you?” Mika questioned.
“I would be one of them, yes,” Daemon agreed with a nod. “Though I have no interest in fighting you for no reason. I suppose should you truly wish to make an enemy of me that would be your own doing.”
“Then what monsters do you think I can’t handle?” Mika asked carefully. “I know about many in this world, I know which ones are extremely dangerous and which ones to be cautious of. I’m ready to face anything, even a Darker One should it rear its ugly head.”
“And what about those greater than a Darker One?” Daemon replied, with Mika showing a confused expression to.
“Greater than a Darker One?” she repeated. “What do you mean? Darker Ones are the ultimate evil in this world. They’re the worst of all monsters throughout Eden.”
“Wrong,” Daemon said glancing to her.
Mika remained silent while the cart swerved around a large bend as it continued to travel through the darkened tunnel, her focus resting entirely on Daemon while she started to get a bad feeling in her chest from his response.
“What are you saying?” Mika finally asked. “What in Eden could be worse than a Darker One?”
The cart rolled up an incline on its tracks then exited the tunnel into a large cavern, the ride screeching on the rails before coming to a stop against steel bumpers at the end of the line. Daemon and Mika looked around cautiously as the sounds of explosions echoed throughout the chamber and from a few adjoining tunnels, rocks and loose dirt dropping from the ceiling while the swordsman and hunter hopped out of the cart as they noticed they were far from being alone now.
“Hold that thought,” Daemon answered while keeping his hand resting on the handle to his blade. Mika kept close to him while tensing up, the magic ball of light they had dissolving away while the area remained well lit. There were torches mounted on the walls, enough to show that within the large chamber that had a higher level to it were dozens upon dozens of red ant girls. Every single monster was eyeing the newcomers while showing discontent and anger towards them, the girls all having short red hair while dressed in their usual crimson tunics. Some were hanging from the walls, others were standing atop the raised level, and more were gathered all around the chamber floor with pickaxes, shovels, and satchels in hand.
“Ant girls,” Mika realized. “Well… that explains the tunnels and cave-ins.”
Daemon started walking forward, with Mika quickly following behind as they made their way towards the center of the chamber. The ant girls kept their glares locked onto them while remaining still and silent, not a squeak being made by any while most were keeping a firm grip on their digging tools that could easily be used as weapons. Upon reaching the center of the cave Daemon stopped and looked around to seeing the ant girls surrounding them while still keeping their distance, the echoing crashes and rumbles of their kin’s digging doing nothing to distract the monsters in the least.
“Get out of our way,” Daemon said, with the ant girls standing in front of him near a tunnel not moving an inch from his request. “I won’t ask you again. Move aside, we need to be going now.”
The ant girls remained still while keeping on guard, all their eyes locked onto the two newcomers from all sides while Mika kept close to Daemon’s side. She glanced around at the ant girls then noticed one of them having a familiar set of sheathed katanas strapped to her hip.
“Daemon? Didn’t that neko you were with have swords like those?”
Daemon turned his cold eyes over to the ant girl holding the two blades then slowly started walking towards her, the monsters tensing up while baring their teeth at him now.
“Where is Tabitha?” he asked. “Those swords belong to her. I suggest you answer me, and for you to have a very good answer.”
“Ant girls don’t talk,
Daemon,” Mika pointed out. “They only squeak.”
“They speak just as all do,” Daemon corrected. He got closer to the ant girl in question before two more jumped out in front of her and held their pickaxes at the ready to fight him. “Last chance. Where is Tabitha?”
A squeak came from behind, with Daemon stopping and glancing back to see an ant girl hopping down from the upper level towards them. She landed on the ground with a hard impact yet treated it like nothing given her physical strength, the ant girl slowly standing up while her long hair flowed down her back near her abdomen. She had earmuffs around her neck and a satchel slung around her shoulder, the girl blowing her bangs away with a short puff while watching Daemon with a harsh glare. In her hand was a pickaxe, larger than most humans would use but just right for the strong monster to wield. She squeaked a few times then raised an eyebrow in question, herself and all the other girls watching Daemon as he faced the newcomer with a piercing stare of his own.
“So… what did that one say?” Mika slowly asked.
“You are mistaken,” Daemon corrected the ant girl. “That neko was not part of The Sisterhood. She and others were traveling with me. Where are they?”
“You… understood her?” Mika asked in disbelief.
The longhaired ant girl squeaked while waving her hand around, seeming to be arguing with Daemon before pointing to him with an accusing glare and a stern squeak.
“Again, we are not part of-” Daemon replied before the ant girl dashed towards him and swung her pickaxe. He quickly darted back and away while Mika jumped to the side, the girl stumbling a bit before she was grabbed and held in place by two ant girls.
“Let go!” she yelled while struggling to move in their firm grips. “We’re not part of The Sisterhood!”
The longhaired ant girl swung her tool around fiercely, with Daemon avoiding another swipe of the pointed end before he reached out and caught the pickaxe with one hand. All the ant girls and Mika stared in surprise at seeing Daemon holding the weapon back while the longhaired ant girl struggled to push forward with gritted teeth.
“Would you stop doing that?” he plainly asked.
The ant girl growled then let go of her tool and darted forward, sending a punch towards his face with a loud squeak. Daemon whipped the pickaxe aside, striking it into the ground with a whack, while he grabbed the girl’s fist and spun her around, throwing her over his shoulder and into a wall with a heavy thud. The ant girl dropped to the ground coughing and squeaking while dirt and stones dropped around her, the others watching her slowly getting back onto her feet then turning to Daemon in awe as he merely kept his eyes on the fighter.
The longhaired ant girl growled then squeaked at him with a furious expression, the other ant girls then showing deep glares at the swordsman while Mika kept watching him in wonder.
“You’re the ones picking a fight with us,” Daemon countered.
The ant girl squeaked with a scowl then reached into her satchel, pulling out a crystalline rod of red and orange minerals that was wrapped with a special brown strapping. The other ant girls backed up while dragging Mika with them, the hunter noticing the heightened alarm with all the monsters before watching the longhaired girl standing up and taking hold of a loose strap from her rod. With a flick of her gloved fingers and a quick snap she ignited the band, bright sparks and cinders burning off the belt while slowly moving towards the rod. Daemon remained still with a blank expression on his face, calmly watching the ant girl showing him a bitter smile before she flung the stick towards him. All the other ant girls ducked down on reflex, those on the walls quickly scattering while the ones atop the raised level backed away to avoid what was coming next. Mika was held down on the ground by her captors, watching as the monsters expressed even greater alarm from what their companion did.
“What’s going on?” she asked shaking her head. “What is that thing?”
The stick rolled in front of Daemon, the swordsman holding a hand out towards it before it exploded with a powerful blast. Dust and smoke blew out in all directions while the loud bang echoed throughout the corridors, flames and haze erupted from the center of the detonation, and the longhaired ant girl smirked while her bangs waved around in front of her eyes from the wind blowing by. The other ant girls smiled and started giggling while Mika stared at the sight with shock.
“What… what the hell was that?” Mika shakily asked.
The longhaired ant girl blew the hair out of her eyes then chuckled with a fist held up in triumph, the surrounding ant girls cheering and holding their fists up in similar salute. They then blinked before jumping in surprise at seeing the smoke clearing with a soft blue glow coming from within. Mika watched in amazement as the dust cleared to reveal Daemon still standing, unharmed and hand held out towards where there was now a small crater in the ground. Before him was a shimmering casting circle of blue and green light, the circular barrier angled to prevent the blast from hitting him as evidenced by the scorch marks from the explosion being curved around his feet.
“He… blocked it,” Mika breathed out. “How did he react so fast?”
The longhaired ant girl stared in shock at seeing her opponent standing without a scratch on him, the monster’s lip flinching before her furious scowl returned to her face.
“You are testing my patience,” Daemon warned as he dropped his magical barrier. “I’m in no mood for your games.”
The ant girl squeaked and brought out another explosive stick from her satchel, the monster narrowing her eyes at Daemon while he watched her with a small amount of annoyance. The longhaired ant girl squeaked then ignited the bomb with a snap of her fingers, the sparks burning brightly on the band while the surrounding ant girls tensed up again. The fighter then ran towards Daemon, winding back with a punch while holding the bomb in her other hand. Daemon again caught the girl’s fist with no trouble, however this was something the girl was counting on as she smiled slyly. She quickly tossed the bomb onto the ground behind him before grabbing his arm forcibly and locking them in place. Mika gasped as she saw the bomb’s fuse burning closer to the rod while the ant girl was now holding Daemon in place with his back facing it.
“Watch out, Daemon!” Mika cried out.
The longhaired ant girl squeaked with a smirk before Daemon quickly threw her over him onto the ground with a hard crash. The girl squeaked weakly as she sat up and shook her head then gasped as she saw the bomb sizzling right in front of her. She squeaked loudly in fright before the bomb exploded, sending out dirt and dust all around with a heavy blast. The other ant girls gasped in surprise while Mika was rendered speechless. Slowly the haze cleared to reveal the longhaired ant girl staring with wide eyes at where the bomb exploded, the monster being held down by Daemon while he again had his hand out with the same magical shield erected that spared the girl’s life. Everyone watched in wonder as the dust settled to show the explosion had been blocked by the glowing shield again, the magical wall then slowly vanishing as Daemon recalled his magic. The ant girl shakily looked back to him while he had her pressed against the ground with his hand on her back, her lips quivering while he watched her with the same piercing stare as before.
“Try that again and you will die,” he coldly told her. “Now, make no mistake. My companions and I are not part of The Sisterhood. In fact we’ve slain many of those troublesome monsters and intend to kill more still. You are going to lead us to those you have taken prisoner, you are going to return what you stole from them, and you are going to let us pass so we may continue our hunt. If you refuse to do as such you will have made a new enemy, one that you will find to be worse than The Sisterhood. Am I clear?”
The ant girl trembled while held in place by the swordsman, her eyes going over his body that didn’t appear to be as insanely strong as he truly was before she weakly squeaked at him.
“Daemon Warrick,” he answered. Grabbing the girl by the collar he lifted her up onto her feet, the monster stumbling a bit before quickly brush
ing aside her long hair so she could stare at him in disbelief.
“Release Mika, now,” he ordered.
The ant girl glanced to Mika then waved her hand at the ant girls. They let the hunter go while all staring at Daemon in wonder, with Mika rubbing her shoulders from where they had held her forcibly before turning to Daemon with the same stunned expression.
“Now take us to where you’re keeping them,” Daemon continued. “And if they are harmed in any way you will regret it. Understand?”
The ant girl shakily nodded with a squeak, her sisters in the cave looking to each other in wonder then back to Daemon as he released the girl and stepped back. The ant girl opened her mouth to speak, paused and eyed over the swordsman, then squeaked at him with a bewildered expression.
“Don’t underestimate those you just met,” Daemon replied.
The ant girl glanced to Mika with a raised eyebrow, the human looking around at the monsters then to her with a shrug. After a pause the ant girl slowly nodded then squeaked at Daemon with a cautious expression.
“Yes,” Daemon replied. “We do hold our blades towards The Sisterhood. They’ve become a rather bothersome group to many and the world would be better off without them. It sounds like you share that idea.”
The ant girl nodded then glanced behind her. After a while to think she waved her hand around in the air sharply before turning to Daemon with a sharp eye. The ant girls in the cave stepped aside behind her to allow them to enter the tunnel while the longhaired one squeaked at Daemon again.
“Your warnings are meaningless to me,” Daemon replied. “We have no intention of starting a fight with you unless you provoke us. You are not our enemy. We just want to leave.”
The ant girl watched him carefully for a moment then glanced to Mika, the woman looking from her to Daemon while slowly shaking her head.
Chronicles of Eden - Act X Page 22