Chapter 7: Vanguard Academy
No POV
The devil landed hard.
The alleyway on the outskirts of the city swallowed him up. He hit the ground on one knee and stayed there for a moment, breathing through his teeth.
Then he straightened and drove his fist into the wall.
The concrete dented inward.
"*Grr...*" His voice was low. Tight. Controlled rage bleeding through. "How did this happen?!."
It wasn’t a question. It was the kind of statement a person makes when they already know the answer and hate it.
He looked down at his arm.
From the elbow down — gone. The stump was ragged, still bleeding, pain carved visibly into his expression in a way that a devil would never willingly show. He gripped what remained of it with his other hand and gritted his teeth harder.
He clearly remembered. That power Axel used was the one from his ’failed’ summoning.
Was it right to call it failed?
Either way, the outcome was completely not what he’d expect.
"I had it. I had a chance to claim that devil — and instead it chose *that* runt."
He exhaled slowly, steadying himself against the wall.
"The boy barely has any devil energy to begin with. The odds of him surviving long enough to fully fuse with it are..." He trailed off. Reconsidered. "...Not impossible."
That was the problem.
Not impossible.
Judging by what he saw, Axel would have fully fused with that devil by the time they met again.
That would become a problem...
He looked up at nothing in particular — at the narrow strip of dark sky above the alley, at the city noise bleeding in from the street.
"I need to find him," he said. His voice was quiet. Certain. "And I’ll need help to do it."
He pushed off the wall, stumbling out of the alleyway.
Blood trailed behind him as he headed for his destination...
~~~~~
Axel POV:
[Host Status: Unstable]
[Flushing out poisonous components....]
[Complete.]
[Awakening Host...]
Everywhere was dark. I could barely see or hear anything...
I was only able to make out the fact that I was in a little room with a light on the ceiling and I wasn’t sure if I was hearing a beeping sound to my right.
Was I in a hospital?
I don’t remember how I got here. I tried searching my memories...
Oh, right. I was shot.
The memories came flooding back to me. The pain from the bullet. It still stung...
Then I remembered the hits.
Damn it, that female hunter hits hard. I pretty sure she broke a few ribs...
" You’re finally awake".
I turned to where the voice came from and I saw a man standing beside me. Tall, a bit muscular with white hair and teal eyes.
His gaze was soft and steady— in a way that felt wrong. Being stared at by him made me feel so uncomfortable that the hairs on my neck stood....
"Uhh...."
"Oh my bad I haven’t introduced myself.. My name is Vaden nice to meet you hehe"
He said that last part with a cheecky smile but i was still confused as fuck..
Vaden spoke again "Hmm do you remember how you got here? Do your wounds still hurt? Are you okay?"
I just sat there in silence as he delivered questions after questions.. I instinctively brought my hand to my forehead and instantly noticed something off; something strange...
.
.
.
.
.
My hair....
No i wasn’t bald if that’s what you’re thinking .
I still had hair but it wasn’t in the style i remembered.. I vividly remembered having my hair drape down my face in bangs...
And ever since I started devil hunting, I never really got time to take a good look at myself...
So of course it surprised me a bit.
"Is everything alright?
I immediately shot an eye towards him the moment I was able to see my face clearly on the glass wall on the other side of the room.
I was shocked...
When did I get that hideous scar on my face.
On the right side of my face, was a mark—well, not like it was actually hideous, it just didn’t belong there...
More so, how come I never noticed this shit until now?!
"No, everything is not alright!" I spoke, my voice sounding louder than I intended.
Still, I kept ranting. "My hair’s not the same and what the fuck is this on my face??!!!"
I said the last part pointing at my scar as it still looked like a fresh wound.. It stung—though not as much as I thought it would but it was still there.
That alone was enough for me complain wasn’t it?
The door soon opened as someone spoke..
"Will you quit yapping? You should be thankful that you’re still alive."
When I saw the girl, my mood dropped.
I instantly recognized her as the bitch that kicked me in that alley.
Like, I understand that you were trying to immobilize me but would it kill you to take it easy? Sheesh.
"I’m sorry but who are you?" I asked clearly irritated.
"Of course an asshole like you is too dumb to understand the situation you’re in. I’m Hayley, captain of squad 7 and the one that brought you here.. Its not a pleasure to meet you"
"O...k? So why am I here?"
Just then Vaden decided to speak up..
"As i was saying, my name is Vaden Void. I’m a commander in this organization."
Commander?
Organisation?
Is this like a military base? If so, is it normal for a bunch of kids my age to be running around hunting devils like its some normal thing?
Like hello??? You people could actually die...
"As you know, you were brought here because of the power you displayed earlier. As a result, we have reason to believe that you are a hybrid human."
I blinked.
It’s not really surprising since my system made it painfully clear everytime...
"You have been given two choices: Either you face execution as a devil or join us as a hunter hybrid... We could use talent like yours."
I exhaled. There was no way I’d accept an offer like that.
"Yeah, I’m not doing that..." I spoke swinging my legs off the bed.
I had shit to do anyway...
I walked towards the door, ready to open it when Vaden said something. Something so shocking that it stopped me dead in my tracks.
"The Dark Hunter kills the Crimson Griffin," he said, "it was you, wasn’t it?"
My head snapped backwards, my heart hammering in my chest.
"W—what?"
"So it was you..."
He spoke. His voice was eeriely calm. His gaze drilling holes in my soul.
"Now, I can’t force you to accept. You’re completely welcomed to decline." Then his lips went up in a sly grin.
"But I’m not sure you understand what it means if the Agency takes this serious."
"So, Axel. Which choice is it?"
I just stood there looking in both confusion and shock as I realized that I was screwed...
So, so screwed...
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