Chains linked by steel. The sound of shuffling feet as overbearing eyes looked down with callus grins. Tears and pain wishing for a better life. A bloodied sword mixed red and black. Flashes of war again and again. Friends and family thrown to death. To rise is to fight but impossible alone. Revolution and with it companions. Death after death. Time changing from one to another. New cities, new sights and many old ones.
"Red hair, white hair, blue hair, black. Green, yellow, brown and grey. Orange, purple, the flaxen and none. Such are the Heroes for Devils undone."
When Kyle opened his eyes he was already standing. A strange numbness had stretched across his body where the pain should have been. Behind him was a crushed door and to his side Mr Devro stood with wide eyes barely holding his camera straight.
"Kyle? What was that? Are you okay?" the man rambled.
He looked forward to see the Type S demon blocking the street ahead. It had barely moved from where it hit him. The fog around it clear as if framing its existence all the while its many hands pointed out flexing their fingers as if excited.
"Play? Don't play? Don't Leave. Leave- Play." The hideous words bore the tongues of hundreds. Any innocence from the meaning itself was lost as the definition of play had been skewed to inhuman levels.
"Play?" Kyle responded feeling his body tighten and relax. "Let's play then!"
"Kyle wait!" Mr Devro tried to grab him but couldn't as Kyle dashed away and charged at the demon. His hat already barely on fell to the ground to reveal the mass of white and sliver of flaxen hair that remained. It was do or die. The demon would never let him go. It would keep coming after him until one of them was dead and if that was Kyle, then it would choose another target and then another.
Like an excited puppy the demon jumped and bounced towards him keen to collide head on. Kyle's senses had never felt so alive as if he could feel the entirety of the space around them. In perfect timing he leapt off the ground avoiding the demon as he landed against the nearby wall. Before the demon could react Kyle pushed off and mustering more strength than he had ever before slammed his fist into the mass of hands. A crackle of mana snapped around their surroundings as the energy discharged between them. The demon's hands reached out attempting to pull and latch on to him but under the powerful blow they couldn't get a grip.
A shriek shook the city street as the demon was pressed into the stonework causing several cracks to splinter away. It stood back up uninjured.
Kyle grit his teeth and scowled. That strike had taken all he had and his body wasn't used to the sudden explosion of mana. The result was an obvious recoil as the rampant energy locked his muscles. Unable to move all he could do was put his arms forward as the demon turned and bulldozed towards him. Its hands outstretched from its body, fingers curled in excitement as if unable to wait to embrace its target. Unlike before Kyle was able to resist the collision and instead of being thrown down the street his feet dug into the ground leaving a firm mark as he was pushed back. The decision to hold his ground however was filled with an immediate regret. The demons hands latched onto his arms and body holding them firmly and squeezing tight letting out a hiss as they burned into his skin. If his body had been like before the pressure would have been enough to pop his muscles apart, in his current state however instead all he felt was the pain.
The situation was exactly what Kyle didn't want to be in. He could barely move against the demons arms as they gripped tighter and tighter. Worse still the demon continued to advance. Its mouth hung open dripping black gunk onto the pavement as it salivated trying to reach closer. Up close Kyle could see inside it and was shocked to see the strange darkness within. At first he thought it was just that but as the mouth forced itself inch by inch, he realised the insides weren't made up of simple ooze but tiny hands that almost looked like bristles on a brush. He was quickly being pushed down the street and it was only a matter of seconds before they reached a wall. As soon as that happened Kyle would have nowhere to go and the mouth would close shut ending his life.
Kyle's mind was ablaze in panic. The recoil of mana had faded but just as he felt control return to his muscles the hands gripped tighter pulling close and trying to drag him in. A hoarse scream fell from his throat as he tried to dig his feet in deeper and push back. For a moment it worked but then as if accepting the challenge the demon came on even stronger than before. Then faster than he expected the back of his shoe collided against something. Soon after his entire back was pressed against the brick. The demon's mouth was barely inches away now and despite the crackles of mana that sparked from Kyle's skin as he overexerted himself, there was nothing he could do to stop its advance. He'd be eaten alive. After all he had gone through, after all he had promised to himself and the children, to come back, to find a way, instead just like Maila had feared he had gotten himself killed.
He could feel the bones within his arms beginning to crack. No amount of magical reinforcement was going to spare him from his fate. In those last moments Lillia appeared in his mind. Her soft purple hair was blowing in the wind as she smiled sweetly. It was an expression of simple happiness. Something which he wanted to share with her more than anything else. Then to his surprise a figure appeared behind her. The stern expression reflected his own. Short white hair and strong blue eyes. Estile. Her lips moved. You're better than this.
In an instant the vision vanished and a sudden thought sprang into Kyle's mind. With all the might he had left he pulled his arm away from the demon letting it lean even closer than before. His fingers reached into the pockets of his coat desperately and finally found what he needed. A second pause was all Kyle needed to make up his mind. His hand lunged forwards straight into the waiting mouth of the demon and in response with almost giddy excitement the mouth slammed shut. Even having prepared for the pain, the sudden loss was more than Kyle had expected. One moment he could feel it all and then in the next it was gone. His arm tore away as the demons hand like teeth easily broke through the supple skin and meat, snapping through the bone. Distracted by the tasty meal the demon relented giving just enough space for Kyle to push against the wall and away from the demon.
His legs stumbled from the loss of his right side but with a triumphant near crazed smirk Kyle turned back. "Enjoy the snack."
The Type S demon exploded. Although its outer shell of hands was strong, as Kyle had hoped the insides weren't so much. The pressure of the grenade within its stomach was too much even for the monstrosity as its body blew apart into black gunk. The hands it comprised of slammed against the street and spasmed till finally they too reduced to nothing.
Kyle collapsed to his knees. Cold sweat covered every inch of his body. The right side of his uniform was torn apart and just past his shoulder all that was left was the stump of an arm.
"Kyle!" Mr Devro shouted and ran towards him. "You did it! But your arm!? It's- it's..."
"It's gone," somehow he managed to reply steadily. "I need to stop the bleeding. Quickly a cloth and a clean one." He scrambled forward as the director panicked and began to look around. Finally he noticed a shop window and with little hesitation cracked the glass using the back of his camera.
"Here," Mr Devro handed him the stolen cloth.
"Good help me wrap it around the-," Kyle paused in shock and a moment later so did the director. They both stared down at his right side unable to believe their eyes. On reflex he had tried to take the cloth from Mr Devro only to find the hand he had used was the one he had just lost.
Kyle dropped the cloth and stared down at the perfectly smooth skin. It wasn't an illusion. He could feel and move the arm just as well as he could before. It wasn't as if it had never happened either as his uniform still showed the torn fabric and blood.
"That's... impossible," Mr Devro gasped. "Just how?"
"I-I don't know," Kyle responded just as confused.
"You didn't feel it grow back?"
"Well no," he flexed his arm and fingers.
"And the pain, is it gone?"
Kyle paused as he realised the sundering feeling was truly gone, "I feel fine. I mean I'm tired and my body is honestly aching but other than that...."
The director gingerly poked the appendage, "It feels real."
"It must have been that demon," Kyle replied. "With all the hands attached to it maybe I got mine back."
Mr Devro clapped him on the back with a relieved smile, "Regardless it's truly a blessing. Though it looks like I smashed that window for nothing."
Kyle let out a chuckle as the tension in his chest faded, "Yeah." He clapped his cheeks with both hands, "But for now we're still in danger. We've got to keep moving. I'm not sure I can do that again."
"I was surprised you could do it in the first place," the director admitted. "I was under the impression you were simply a figure not a true member of the Hero's Guard."
The once simple baker smiled wryly, "To be honest I think I should be dead but I'll take it." He gripped his hands feeling the flow of mana swirl beneath his skin. The strength he just showed surpassed that of a trained knight. In his own practice with Maila he could barely reach the passing line let alone cause solid stone to crack. Yet the power inside him simply felt right.
They didn't make it far before the sound of rushing feet caused the two to freeze. Kyle stood protectively in front of Mr Devro. While it sounded like human steps there was still the Lavise Guard that seemed suspicious and with the Type S demons anything could happen. Thankfully however the group that broke through the fog were familiar.
Kyle stood from hiding and called them over relieved, "Valandus!"
The driver twitched and turned to the sound immediately, "Kyle you're alive!" Behind him were two of the knights that had been escorting them.
"Somehow," Kyle replied.
"Are you hurt?" Valandus clasped his shoulders gently seeing the stains of blood and black ooze that lined his uniform.
"I'm okay."
Mr Devro opened his mouth, "We had a run in with a demon but-."
"But nothing happened," Kyle quickly finished for him with an implicating gaze. "We managed to escape."
"Thank the Hero," Valandus was more relieved than the two thought he'd be. "If you died there would be hell to pay. We've got a lot riding on you in so many different things right now."
"Really?" Kyle blinked surprised.
"You're basically our spokesperson and besides," he leaned closer and whispered, "we both know the only reason Lillia is doing so well is you. Now we need to get moving. We've managed to setup a defensive position but the demons numbers are slowly rising and our efforts to keep them in check are weakening."
"We'll follow you."
"Good, stay close," Valandus clapped his shoulder and with that they moved from the street. The signs of battle hidden by fog.