Knight (6 page)

Read Knight Online

Authors: RA. Gil

BOOK: Knight
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The demon turned to her, its body made of nothing but black smoke. It coiled its body, flying effortlessly in the air. It seemed almost nonexistent by the way it moved and how it appeared, but it was there.

It opened its jaws and shrieked at the two of them, the high-pitched sound bouncing off the walls.

Valeriana cowered and hid herself further behind Seraphina.

“It's some sort of miasma demon, no doubt by the crude scent.” The woman's nose flared as she took in the smell the creature carried with it. “Try not to inhale too much. It's poisonous.”

“How are you going to—”

Seraphina abruptly broke into a sprint, her sharp movements flashing in front of Valeriana's very eyes. With a quick jump, she used the wall as a stepping stone and flipped backwards skillfully, drawing her blade and swinging for the demon. Her sword made a whistling sound as it cut through the creature, causing it to burst into flames like what happened before with the Loupe Garou.

With nothing but a mere bat of the eye, the demon was eliminated.

“—kill it?” Valeriana finished, her voice trailing off. “I didn't even see how.” She muttered.

“If one is near, the others are around.” Seraphina told herself, landing flawlessly on the floor. “Come on.”

The woman ran ahead, leaving Valeriana behind to follow.

The girl made no protests and ran after Seraphina. They encountered the singing girl from a while ago, her sudden appearance catching Valeriana by surprise. Although she didn't get a good look at the ghost, she was dressed in stained, white overalls with long, black hair that dripped wet, hanging like messy curtains in front of her face.

The demon hunt had started.

 

-*-

 

Although it was confusing trying to figure out which was a real demon and which wasn't, Seraphina slowly got the hang of being able to distinguish between the two.

The human girl felt like they were playing hide-and-seek.

They would
exterminate
one demon, search for the next, and repeat their first action. It was a seemingly never-ending cycle.

Fortunately, the two didn't encounter that many people while on the job—much.

Seraphina was facing a lizard-like creature this time. It crawled on the walls with swift legs that it almost felt impossible to catch up with—at least for Valeriana. Anyhow, she was only tagging along. She never really did anything, though somehow the tiredness was nagging at her muscles.

The lady knight was quickly taking out the demons one by one that Valeriana hardly had any time to react whenever they appeared. Seraphina landed a strike on the lizard with the pommel of her sword and it fell on the floor on its back. Seeing no other way to fight, the lizard stuck out its long tongue and attempted to throw off the weapon Seraphina held. It failed however, and even had its tongue cut off by one of the lady knight's quick swings.

Within seconds, it vanished into nothingness, flaring into flames before disintegrating eventually.

Was there no end to these things? They've been running around for at least half an hour. It felt as though these demons were all headed to the same direction . . . but for what reason?

“I hope that's the last of them.” Valeriana told her companion, panting.

“Far from it.”

She dried off sweat with the back of her hand, giving Seraphina a questioning gaze. “Huh?”

A wall of silence settled.

Seraphina looked around warily, unsettled by her surroundings. They somehow managed to end up in a strange room filled with nothing but doors. Doors, doors, doors, on every corner. Valeriana herself did not feel at ease.

All so suddenly, the doors flew open with a bang and heavy currents of wind rushed in.

“To think that a Celestial Knight would even come so far to seek me out, my do I feel important!” Said
a heavy voice. 

“A Formorian. I should've known.”

The blood drained from Valeriana's face as the words echoed all around them. “Please say this is part of the show. Please say this is part of the show.” She chanted under her breath.

“Valeriana. Stay behind me.”

Valeriana moved to do as Seraphina told when a gust of wind blew past them. It was a movement so swift that Seraphina herself had trouble seeing what just happened. It just suddenly occurred to the woman that she had an open wound just above her elbow.

Seraphina hissed, feeling a sharp jolt of pain travel up her shoulder.

Formorians were feared for their incredulous speed.

“I admit I was expecting something more from a Celestial Knight like you. You'll regret ever stepping into my territory.”

Think again.
 Seraphina thought to herself.

Valeriana looked around, scared out of her wits. The ominous presence was bothering the heck out of her, too. When she saw that Seraphina was wounded, she knew this was not just any game the woman was playing.

“You got me, demon.” Seraphina muttered as she broke into her usual fighting stance, ignoring her injury. “But I won't let it happen for the second time.”

“Then, let us see.”

“Valeriana! Get down!”

Right after instructing the girl, the two of them were assaulted on all sides from every direction. Those attacks originated from the different doors that surrounded them, but Seraphina somehow managed to instinctively avoid most of the heavy blows, leaving small scratches throughout her entire body.

When the attacks ceased, Valeriana could not help but feel relieved. “A-are you alright?”

The Formorian wasn't harming the girl in anyway, fortunately. It didn't seem to consider her as a threat.

“I'm fine. Are you hurt?”

“No. I'm good.”

“That's a relief, then. Do you mind standing back?”

Valeriana reluctantly did as Seraphina instructed.

“So much for your big talk, Celeste.”

“Holding back was a mistake on my part.” Seraphina tried to compose herself and took in a deep breath. “Alright, I've no time playing games.” She said. “The sooner I get this done, the sooner I leave.”

The lady knight closed her eyes and waved her weapon in the air in swirling patterns. Considering that she wouldn't be able to use most of her abilities, she had to improvise.

“S-Seraphina! Behind you!” Valeriana warned her, sensing the demon coming for the lady knight from one particular direction.

Seraphina instinctively turned, her arms making sharp movements it would've been considered inhuman. It was so fast as well that all Valeriana could see was her afterimage. If it weren't for the fact that the woman was from another world and skilled under the area of killing demons, she would've started freaking out. Instead, she was feeling very relieved.

The woman pierced her sword straight into the heart of the Formorian. Valeriana could only land a short glance at its grotesque appearance before it burned into nothingness.

She didn't even know how it got there.

Sure the creature might've been fast. But Seraphina was far faster that it was scary.

“You keep on boasting yet you're not even that strong.”

Valeriana was speechless. “You make your job look so easy.”

“I have to do that every day for the last two decades or so. You can't blame how experienced I am dealing with these situations.” With that, she sheathed her sword and relaxed. “Let's get out of here. These doors should lead somewhere.”

As Valeriana opened her mouth to speak, Seraphina silenced her by raising her hand in a motion that told her to keep quiet. She looked between each doors, as though contemplating which path they should take.

“What? How old are you when you started doing that? Three? How old are you anyway?”

“Never mind that.” Seraphina said. “I sense a breeze blowing through this one.”

She confidently went through her choice without hesitation, leaving Valeriana to follow her out. Despite having to go through a considerably scary room, both of them were able to reach the main exit of the Horror House soundly without any further
demonic
encounter. The human girl could only breathe out in relief at this thought.

They came out to an open yard, where people were huddled in small groups, discussing what they experienced from inside. Some girls and younger
victims
were crying and trembling within the arms of their companions, apparently unable to handle the intensity of the scare they got. Well, if Valeriana was any younger, she would break down crying too.

Both left the premises and started traveling farther down the sidewalk.

“So it's over.” The human girl breathed.

“So it is.” The lady knight replied. “But there may still be others in your city. Considering how big it is, they might just not be staying in that Horror House.”

“You mean there are more of them?”

She then pushed Seraphina to the direction of the nearby park, needing some space where she would be able to breathe. After what just recently happened, Valeriana ought to relax at a place where she felt comfortable.

It was really dark out, though. There weren't many people outside now, and the park was basically deserted.

“Do tell me that this won't happen again.”

“I can't guarantee that.” Seraphina told her, looking disappointed herself. “The whole kingdom is currently unstable. It makes it easy for demons to escape into your world. Even now, some of the other knights are hunting them down.”

“You mean you aren't the only one doing this kind of thing?”

“I'm not.”

“Anyway, aren't you going? Your business is done here, right?”

“Didn't I promise that I'll help you find a summer job?” She reminded, her brows furrowing.

“Oh, right.” Valeriana sighed. “But you don't have to do that. I'm sure you're pretty tired running around that Horror House killing demons.”

“You are, as well.”

“Thanks, but you really don't have to. Just do me another favor and don't ever make me help you hunt those demons again. It's really too much for my poor heart.”

Seraphina couldn't help but chortle at her statement. “I'm sorry for dragging you into that. I've . . . gotten you involved in something you didn't want to be a part of. But I've already done a few things that I think I shouldn't have done. I really don't know what to do in this world.”

“What do you mean by
done a few things I shouldn't have done
?”

“When I came here, I got arrested by a man who calls himself a police for pointing a sword to a man who was yelling at a poor woman.”

“You what?!”

“He took me to a jail, but I escaped.”

To say Valeriana was shocked was a total understatement at the moment.

“Afterwards, I wandered for a few hours but saw no sign of what I was looking for. Before I know it, night had come. I knocked on the doors of a few houses to ask to stay for the night, but doors closed on my face and I had to sleep outside.”

“You are . . . oh, gosh. No wonder you asked for my help.” She muttered. “Are you hungry, though? Have you eaten anything?”

“A kind woman gave me food this morning.” Seraphina replied. “I'm really sorry. I wouldn't have asked for your help if I didn't need it.”

“No. No one else would've understood you if you asked them.”

She nodded. “And I thank you very much for what you've done today, for helping me hunt those demons down and buying me that treat. I'll try not to rely on you when I need to find them shall I have to do it later on.” She then flashed her a grateful smile.

“I can't believe I'm saying this but . . . let me know if you need help.”

They shared a genuine smile.             

She sensed Seraphina watching her as they continued to travel down the same path.

“How were you able to predict that the demon was coming from behind me?”

Valeriana didn't know the answer herself. “I just . . . knew, I guess.”

“Perhaps my hunch is right.”

“What hunch?”

“Your sensitivity.” She told her. “You can sense demonic presence.”

“I can 
what
?” The girl turned towards her, unable to believe what she just heard. “Maybe you're just exaggerating things. That's impossible.”

“Believe me, Valeriana. You are far from what you consider 
normal
.” Seraphina made special emphasis on the last word as she watched Valeriana walk away from her with a heavy sigh, walking through a row of trees that led to a grassy field. “Listen, seeing and hearing demons is not something humans can typically do.”

Suddenly, the lady knight stopped. Her expression turned hard and her body went rigid. “Valeriana, you have to go.”

“What?”

“Hide somewhere. Now. Better yet, go somewhere else.”

“Is it another demon? Where is it?”

“Just do it!”

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