I glance at my clock. It is about 10 pm now, and I am still awake. I wasn’t planning to sleep just yet.
What I plan to do right now is to hunt.
I need to siphon a talent that I would have to show as my own. If I don’t have a talent, I doubt that my parents would take me seriously as a huntress. I’m not sure what type of demons are lurking in the city at this hour, but I just hope that there are some valuable demons out there.
My siphon is a little tricky. It can only absorb talent from a demon with unique abilities. Thankfully, I already have one in mind. It’s not the talent that I plan to showcase as my own, but it would assist me in future events.
There have been rumors about a woman behind the abandoned theaters who would randomly tell someone the date of their death. But the woman only appears when she wants to. Sometimes, she does not appear at all. It is a long shot, but I figure she must be a demon if all she can see is death.
Nonetheless, it would not hurt to dig more into it. If that demon’s skill can vaguely see the future, I need to have that ability.
My family lives in a high-class apartment in the city, where most of the other hunters live. Sneaking out of my room's window is not a problem. I need to be wary in case other hunters would spot me.
I wore black jogger pants and a baggy hoodie to hide my face and my frame. My hair is tied to a ponytail hidden by my hoodie. I check myself in front of my mirror before putting on a black face mask.
I look stupid. Well, more like I look like a robber, but I don't have a choice if I want to hunt tonight.
My room is on the third floor. I could use my balcony to sneak out, but it was too open, and there was nothing that I could use to get down. My only option is to head to my window and use the fire escape there. If only my body right now is as conditioned as before, I wouldn’t have any problems jumping down from the third floor.
But there is no use moping about it now. I have to go and hunt.
I opened my window and started using the fire escape to climb down slowly. When I reach the bottom, I fix my hood to cover my hair and face before running to cross the road. I open my phone. I check my GPS to ensure that I am on the right track. It seems like I still have a long way to go. Damn it.
***
In the end, due to my poor planning, I had to ride a cab. Thankfully, I always bring some cash and store it in my sock.
So much for being a sneaky huntress. My old self would be ashamed.
“Keep the change,” I say, and I close the door of the cab.
“There’s barely enough change, but thanks, lady.” The taxi driver says. I want to deck him and demand that he hand me back my change, but that would make me sound less cool. Besides, I don’t want coins in my socks while I battle. It would be uncomfortable.
“Thanks for the ride,” I mutter.
“By the way, lady. Are you here because of the rumors about this area?”
“What rumors?” I already have a hunch of what it is, but I just want to confirm it myself.
“Rumor has it that there’s a stranger somewhere in this area who, if you meet with her, will tell you the date on which you will die. To be honest, I thought that you’d be the end of me.” I ignored his last comment and decided to press him more about the matter.
“You sound like you’ve met this prophet. Can you give me directions on where she is?”
The cab driver gives me an insane look, “Do you have a death wish or something? Trust me, it is better off not knowing when you’ll die.”
“I already knew when I died.” My response shocked the cab driver, and he looked stunned for a brief moment, like he didn’t get my words. I can’t blame him because, to others, it sounds like a misunderstanding. “Please point me in the direction of the prophet.”
The cab driver goes silent for a few seconds and stares into my eyes like he's trying to read me. When he sees that I am serious, he nods and points in a direction leading towards a narrow alley between an abandoned construction site and a shabby hospital, which is ironic for one who prophesied death.
“Thanks,” I say and start to head towards the direction where he points at. When I got a few distances away from him, I heard him wishing me good luck before driving away.
Honestly? I needed that luck because I was not sure whether I would get to meet this prophet. I’m nervous that this demon prophet will see that I am going to kill it when it appears before me but ends up not showing up in the end.
The area is damp and smells badly of trash, grease, and rat pee. It is nauseating, but it makes me glad that I wore a mask to at least block the scent a bit. All the weapons I have with me right now are pocket knives. I just hope that the demon’s gem is within plain sight so it will be easier for me to kill it.
“Welcome. I’ve been expecting you.” The words sounded like two voices were speaking them, and it sent shivers all over my body.
I drew my knife and faced the voice that I heard. Before me is a woman cloaked in black. At first, I thought that the hood shadowed her face. But then I realized that it wasn’t the hood’s shadow but her face.
A demon. This prophet, as the other people call her is really a demon. And it seems like she is a high-ranking one if she can pose like a human - at least in form and size.
“There will be no fighting.” The demon calmly says with a raise of her pitch-black hand.
“You said you were expecting me. Why is that?” I do not trust the words of a demon, so I never relax my stance.
The demon removes her cloak and openly displays her demon gem on her forehead.
There it is. If I break it, she dies, and I get her power. But why is she showing it to me? Surely this demon must know what happens when we break their gems.
“You hesitate.” The demon observes.
“Why are you showing me your gem? Aren’t you aware of the consequences when a demon shows a huntress their gem?” I may not be a huntress in this lifetime yet, but my skills and past experiences more than qualify me for it.
“I am aware. Do what you must.” I got perplexed when I saw the demon kneeling and lowering her head to make it easier for me to break her gem. When I did nothing, she adds, “I have foreseen my death, and it is within your hands. My powers are yours to use.”
“Is this a trick?” I ask suspiciously.
“No tricks. I simply submit to my fate.”
“If that’s the case, then don’t blame me for this because I will not hold back. As gratitude, I’ll make sure that it is painless.”
In my years of killing demons, I never witnessed a demon submitting to me. This is a first, so it took me a while to move. And when I did, I did not lower my guard, nor did I hesitate to strike the blow on the gem on her forehead. I thrust my knife forcefully into the gem on her forehead. The jewel shatters when it meets the tip of my blade.
“May my powers aid you. And may the powers of the seventh prince help you on your quest, little huntress.” The demon says carefully and turns to ash. I fall to my knees as I gasp heavily while my power awakens, siphoning the essence of the demon’s magic to make it my own.
Finally, I have collected my first talent.
The familiar sensation of awakening my talent surges all over my body. And the feeling of gaining a new power inflicts me with pain as my body is trying to get accustomed to the magic. And soon, it’s over. The magic transfer is complete. I now have the gift of foresight. Good. But now comes the next question. Should I hunt for more demons? I look at my phone. It’s already almost 11 p.m. Crap. If only the foresight demon wasn't so far away, then maybe I would have more time to hunt more demons. Come to think of it, I wonder if there are any demons nearby that I can kill to make this day satisfying? As if my new gift of foresight was answering my question, images started to enter my mind. I see a convenience store that seems to be nearby. Then, a familiar man exits it with a can of soda in hand. It took me a while to realize that it’s the driver from before. That’s odd. Why is the vision showing me this? I watch patiently as the driver drinks the whole can of soda and heads for
After my encounter with the shadow monster, I was supposed to head back home and treat my wounds. But I guess that my empathic power reacted to my needs and led me to the closest demon with the ability to heal. But of course, I needed to go through a lot of demons since they seemed to be in a pack. I managed to target the demon with the healing ability first, using my shadow weaving to heal myself before I took care of the rest. Among the pack of demons, I managed to acquire a keen eye and brute strength from them. Since I am satisfied with my talent haul, I decided that it is time for me to head back and go to sleep. At least, that’s the plan, but when I finally managed to reach my room using my shadow weaving, I sense another presence in the area. I went to grab my knife when I realized that it was already broken down and no longer useable. As I figured, I need a proper demon-slaying weapon made of sturdy material if I am to hunt every night. But I will have to worry about th
After my encounter with the seventh prince of hell last night, I decided that I need more training. And I need to get enrolled as soon as possible so I can stay in my own dorm and have the freedom to sneak off when I want to. And the only way for me to secure a dorm in the academy is if I have a talent to show. Right now, I am in the kitchen with my mother, helping her prepare dinner for tonight. Truthfully, I am nervous. I can’t show them my real talent, but I can pick one among the many other talents I acquired last night. And the one talent that I see fit to present as a mediocre huntress is: healing. As far as I remember, hunters with healing talents usually stay at the back of the groups so they can provide assistance whenever the teams are in trouble. I want to become a huntress and kill demons, but I also do not want to stand out too much or I might get picked out for important and time-consuming missions. I need to have as much free time as possible and get called on s
The following day, my father and brother took me to a weaponry store by the academy. It makes me excited that I am going to get a new weapon, but thinking back to the fact that I might have doomed myself in a potential ranking among the healers makes me less thrilled. A soft ring of the bell when we enter the store signals our presence. A shopkeeper wearing a white polo shirt with a black bow tie appears to cater to us. “Welcome to Reon Weaponry. How may I be of service?” He greets us. When he seems to focus on my father, his eyes widen in recognition. “Sir Winters, I apologies for not recognizing you so soon!” “We’re looking for a weapon for my daughter.” My father says after giving him one curt nod in recognition. He then gestures in my direction, which makes the attendant take notice of me for the first time. The man seems surprised, and I cannot blame him because I rarely come to gatherings out of shame that I have no talent. “Well, what does the young miss prefer for a weapon?
After purchasing my new weapon, we decided to head for the academy so I could enlist myself. The academy’s interior feels nostalgic for me because, in my case, it’s been a long time since I walked down the hallway. In my past life, I never got the chance to visit the academy again since I dropped out. I feel a little bit excited now because I can actually be a student here once more. And a student with talent at that. My brother, father, and I are waiting in the dean’s office since they recognize my father as one of the most respected hunters in the guild. Right now, I’m facing my old dean, who is also my father’s high school friend - Mr. Bruce Fierce. My father is telling him about my talent for healing, and the whole time that my father speaks about me, I see Bruce watching me in doubt. Mr. Bruce is not a bad person. In fact, in my past life, he died trying to protect me from an attack by one of the powerful demons. “Ducal, I believe you when you say that your daughter has fin
“Keep those shoulders tense! Don’t make your body fully relaxed when shooting those arrows!” My father barked an order at me while I was trying out my new bow. Don’t get me wrong. I already know how to shoot with an arrow. I just don’t want to stand out as much after the whole scholarship thing happened. From now on, I really have to try to keep everything low profile, even as I fight in front of people, at least. “Dad,” My brother heads over to place a comforting hand on my shoulder before he faces our father. “Give Zarah a break. She just started training.” I can’t help but smile at Logan. No matter what happens, I knew that I could always count on my brother to help me out – even when it means talking to my grumpy father about my training. “She has had the skills before, so her body should remember it naturally.” My father sighs and shakes his head before raising his head to look at me. “I’m sorry, Zarah. I might have had the feeling that you were purposely trying to fail. Of
That night, I got back in my room after some successful demon hunting. I didn’t get a talent, but at least I managed to save a few people that were supposed to die today. Even though it wasn’t much, I feel like I am slightly changing the future here, which is my real purpose anyway. My father did not call me back downstairs for training while they were talking to Archer earlier. Somehow I feel bad about the guy and a little embarrassed for myself because I know that they were getting a little too protective of me, especially my brother. I guess I can’t blame my brother for his reaction since I just broke up with a relationship and got cheated on. He must not want to see me get hurt emotionally again – not that it ever bothered me. I was merely acting to be hurt and crying for a bit in front of him, which I now consider a mistake. “How naughty. You’re still using the window when you can use your shadow weave to enter your room?” I whirl back and pin Verphegor to the wall, only to g
The next few days of my training, I started to take all of my parents’ and brother’s advice seriously. I hate to admit it but it seems like Verphegor’s advice was the right one. Now that I am with my family, one of the best hunters in their time, I should take this opportunity to learn from them. Since I stopped holding back, I noticed that my father’s training with me has slowly begun to increase. They did question me about my techniques, but that was easily dismissed by the fact that I had been in the academy for a while before I dropped out. I almost forgot what intense sore muscles feel like, and I have to say that I welcome it. Every night, still try to look for demons with special abilities, but it seems like they were pretty rare to come around at this time, which is such a bummer for me. These days, the foresight talent that I have stolen has become quiet, which is a little bit of a cause for concern on my part. I wanted to know if the future had changed or not. “Zarah,