Chapter CLIX: Hunter-Hunting: the All-Demon Sport

Evening was falling on the western hemisphere of Caelum, and a chilly, night-time’s spring breeze blew across the mountain range. With a low sound of crackling fire, a trio of people appeared on part of one of the paths leading along the range. They consisted of a blue-skinned Twilighter wearing a strange metallic helmet, an orange-skinned Twilighter with blond hair and dressed to kill, with an oddly indescribable face, and a young man about 17 or 18, human, wearing a flowing green cloak, tan khakis, and with dark brown hair.

C.R. looked about the area, shifting from foot to foot. He frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. “Havering, you positive this is the place?”

The blue Twilighter frowned at him and nodded. “I’m never wrong when it involves matters like this.”

He began to run a gloved hand over the face of the rock wall on one side of the path.

“Help me find the entrance; it was always well concealed with the same kind of rock.”

Ian and the Rip Watcher made their way over and joined Havering in combing the wall for any signs of an entrance. They explored it for a few moments, until Ian’s fingers came upon a thin groove in the rock. He called the others over, and they began to follow the groove with their hands. It formed a perfect semi-circle on the whole. Havering beamed in triumph.

“This,” he said as he tapped the rock face with a knuckle, “is exquisite Twilighter ingenuity there, boys. Almost no sign at all.”

The boy and the Rip Watcher glanced at each other and back to Pseudo. C.R. quirked a brow.

“Well, that’s great ‘an all, but what do we do now?”

The Time Bender rubbed his chin, smiling. “Well, I did think our man here could do the job,” he said as he patted Ian’s shoulder.

The boy shook his head and groaned, then looked to C.R. who just said, “Well, it would be helpful and all…”

Reluctantly, the young man nodded and sighed. “Fine, fine, I’ll do it.”

There was a flash of black and green fire surrounding him and within the span of a moment, there stood a green-skinned Twilighter, wearing the same green cloak as before, black satin pants, and a pair of metallic boots.

Pseudo smirked. “Well, get to it then.”

Multehx muttered something very foul indeed, too foul to recall in such a place as here, and flung out his sleeve. A circular disc with a golden M in the centre of one side flew from its hiding place in the sleeve into the palm of his hand. He tightened his grip on it, going into a windup.

“Hold yer hats, folks; this one’s got kick to it.”

He threw and released. The disc sped for the wall, and, making brief contact with it, an explosion of tremendous magnitude billowed from where the mine had been moments before.

As the dust cleared, and Havering and C.R. brushed rubble from their clothing, it was obvious that the obstruction that lay in their way was now pretty much a fine powder at their feet.

Pseudo shrugged and made his way in. “Well, don’t accuse me of never saying you had a tutor in explosives 101.”

Multehx smirked and exchanged grins with C.R. before they made their way in. The three continued down a set of stairs carved into the rock. Twisting and turning, down and around, at all odd angles they went.

As time passed, Multehx grew annoyed. He flateyed and looked to Havering. “Pseudo, when do we actually get there?”

Havering scratched the side of his head. “Well, I usually took the direct route from the capital, never actually took this route before.”

“So why are we taking this route?”

“Well, when they revoked my title, they confiscated my badges as well, so this is the only way we’d be able to gain entry.”

The gang continued on for a time, then C.R. looked to Pseudo. “Hey, Havering, heard any good jokes lately?”

Pseudo shook his head. C.R. smiled and was about to say something when Havering grumbled, “Tell a bloody ‘knock-knock’ joke and I’ll punt you down the rest of the corridor.”

C.R. shut his mouth and mumbled something under his breath.

The stairs seemed to continue on and on. A good few hours seemed to have passed and still no sign of an end.

Multehx shook his head and thought aloud, “There has GOT to be something more worthwhile to being a demon than exploring ancient ruins and traversing hallways to the light fantastic!”

The Time Bender grinned nostalgically. “Ever aced a Demon-Hunter, agent?”

“No, why? That fun?”

Pseudo chuckled. “Yes, I would say so; an experience like no other.”

Now the agent was intrigued. “Why’s it so fun, anyways?”

Havering smugly waved his hand about, as if he were the true master of it explaining it to a rookie. “Well, for one, it’s a fight to the death, and that’s pure exhilaration as you know. Secondly, it’s sorta inverse hunting; i.e. they prey slaying the predator, thus proving the superiority of the prey to overcome something that’s geared lock, stock and barrel for killing it. Lastly, it’s like a rule for them, they always say something heroic and witty in their dying moments. The idea here is to let them say that, then say something equally as brilliant that totally botches whatever they said and makes them look like a big loser.”

Havering chuckled gleefully. Multehx smirked slightly and noted that it’d be cool to do that some day.

The next few minutes were spent doing mainly walking, though there were a few moments of cavorting, some seconds of capering about oddly, and an instant or two of blundering about blindly in the unlit cavern. But, soon enough, they found themselves at a sharp drop-off from the stairs. The steps continued on the other side of the drop, and Multehx was about to leap the gap when Pseudo stopped him. He simply shook his head.

“No, we don’t go that way.”

The agent looked puzzled. “Hunh? Why not?”

Pseudo generated a shadow blast in his hand and winged it down the other stairs. It’s sound soon grew too faint to hear, but a loud and angry cry from some primitive beast could faintly be heard instead.

“That’s why.”

Multehx nodded slowly. “So, where to from here?”

Havering simply motioned for the two to follow him and fell down the gap. Shrugging, the other two did the same. About half-way down, Pseudo slowed his falling to a slow downward float. The others did the same at the same time he did, and they soon saw the reason for this. In the wall of the gap they were facing was a narrow hole. Havering snickered and soared through it, and up the conjoining tunnel, agent and Rip Watcher close behind.

The tunnel abruptly stopped and the three came out into a cavern made of red stone that had no incline whatsoever. They landed and Pseudo grinned.

“And thus, why only a true Twlighter can enter here. A hidden entrance that only a demon of great rank knows of, and a hidden entry which is too thin for wing powered flight.”

C.R. scratched his head. “And just how did you know of this, Havering?”

Pseudo folded his arms and snorted. “I once was the Twilighter Ambassador, or don’t you recall? Or did that bloody silver spoon get in your way?”

He smirked cruelly, C.R. just looked sternly ahead. After a few moments, he muttered something, and began walking. Multehx and Pseudo both followed.

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At the end of the long (short belittles demon structures) tunnel, the trio entered a large room with the red-rock walls, floor, and ceiling, with a large dais on one side of the room. Some sort of ornate case rested on top of a marble pillar on it.

Pseudo folded his arms. “Well, we’re here.”

C.R. rubbed his chin. “So we are…but why do I have an odd feeling all the same?”