Ignite the Soul Chapter 09 (Early Preview)

Chapter 09: Strike First, Ask Later

The three figures on the rooftop stared back at him. Their body language screamed confusion.

"Hi?" Mira repeated under her breath. "He just said 'hi.'"

Zoey stared at the floating stranger. Now he was waving at them.

Rumi's hand drifted toward the hilt of her blade. "Stay alert."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "So, you guys saw all that?" Danny barely had time to lower his hand before three shadows dropped from above. "Look, I don't want any trouble. I sensed these things attacking some guy. I couldn't just ignore it."

Rumi landed first, blade already drawn. Mira followed, her Gok-do spear unfolding in a smooth motion. Zoey touched down last, knives glinting in her hands.

The remaining demons still twitched on the asphalt. A single swing from Rumi's Saingeom split one clean in half, dissolving it into violet light. Zoey's blades found another's throat before it even turned. Mira pivoted, cutting the last one through the chest.

Danny blinked. "Whoa, okay?"

The creatures crumbled into shimmering dust, fading entirely.

Danny looked down at the empty alley, surprised. "What the-?"

Rumi huffed. "They're demons. It's our job to deal with monsters like them."

'Demons?' Danny supposed it made sense. They were different that the demons he imagined, but they'd tried to devour someone's soul. He wasn't going to lose any sleep over their deaths, but still, the casual killing unsettled him.

HUNTR/X now got a better look at the stranger and studied him closely. The black and white hanbok and pale skin. All that were missing now were the markings. Then again, demons could disguise and hide them when in public. It all matched the descriptions from Celine's old lectures about the Jeoseung Saja type demons. 

Zoey tensed, her grip on her knives loosening slightly. A nagging doubt crept into her mind. This supposed demon had been fighting other demons. What if he wasn't like the others they usually hunted? If what he said about saving a person from demons was true, 'Maybe he's a nice demon.'

To Mira there was no such thing as a good demon. Five years of hunting had taught her that much. Every single one they encountered had been a threat. What kind of technology could capture demons like that? Was it possible he was working for Gwi-Ma, collecting failed demons for punishment?

Zoey glanced at the strange container the figure had used. The phone call from earlier flickered in her memory. He had been talking to someone. Years of training told Zoey to trust her team, that demons were universally evil. But something about this one seemed different. Her hesitation grew even as she readied her stance.

Rumi kept her eyes fixed on the floating figure. Classic demon infighting, she thought. They turned on each other all the time. Their loyalty extended only as far as their own interests. "Now it's your turn."

Danny paused. "Wait. What-?"

Rumi moved first. She lunged with her Saingeom, the blade slicing through the air in a precise diagonal cut aimed at Danny's shoulder. Her feet shifted into a perfect forward stance, hips rotating to add power to the strike.

"Whoa, hold on!" Danny raised both hands. "I'm not one of the bad guys!"

Mira followed instantly, dropping low and sweeping her glaive in a wide arc at Danny's legs. Her weapon extended mid-swing, the blade transforming from compact form to full battle mode in a fluid motion. The metal hummed as it cut through the air.

Zoey hesitated for a beat, saw the others move, then joined. She attacked from the flanks, flipping a knife to reverse grip and striking at his blind spot.

Danny blurred backward. He propelled himself with a short burst of spectral energy that left green aftertrails.

"Whoa, HEY. I don't want to hurt you!" He twisted his body midair to avoid Rumi's follow-up strike.

They didn't listen.

Rumi recovered instantly, pivoting on her front foot and launching into a flurry of rapid cuts. Each swing of her Saingeom left trails of violet energy in its wake. She advanced with precision footwork, never losing balance despite the speed of her attacks.

Danny refused to hit them. He bent backward as the sword whistled over his face. He spun away from a second strike that would have caught his side.

Mira vaulted over a trash can, using the height to bring her glaive down in an overhead strike. The concrete cracked where Danny had stood a split second before. She whirled her weapon and forced Danny to retreat further.

He ducked under one swing, twisted away from another, and phased through a third.

Zoey circled to his right flank. She feinted high, then struck low with the blunt pommel rather than the edge. Danny caught the intent and shifted just enough for a near miss.

He sidestepped, spun, and flipped backward to avoid their coordinated assault. Danny wanted to stay purely defensive. Danny figured these were regular people who hunted demons instead of ghosts, like those Extreme Ghostbreakers back home. It’s not like they got a suit that enhanced their physical capabilities like a particular Huntress back home.

Rumi pressed the attack, forcing Danny back toward a brick wall. She thrust directly at his chest.

Danny phased partially, the blade passing through his torso, and backflipped into the air to gain distance. He touched down on a fire escape railing ten feet up.

Mira reacted instantly. She planted her glaive into the ground and used it to vault upward. Her weapon followed in a downward arc that forced Danny to abandon his perch.

As he descended, Mira got close enough and struck downward with her Gok-do. The blade sliced toward his shoulder.

Danny instinctively brought his forearm up to block the blade. His teeth clenched against the familiar pain. Considering that he saw these blades take out those so-called-demons, Danny assumed they were some sort of anti-ghost weapon like what his parents made. He wasn't wrong.

After the brief pain passed, he felt the physical impact. His feet crashed into the ground with enough force that the concrete cracked under him. 'That was definitely superhuman strength.' Danny pushed off the ground into a backward roll.

Mira froze for a split second. The blade had made contact. She had seen the green energy spark at the point of impact. But the figure still stood before them. They usually died instantly or after a few second.

"That's not possible," Rumi muttered, shifting her stance. Honmoon weapons are a demon’s weakness.

Mira pulled her glaive back, inspecting the blade. The energy still pulsed along its edge, showing the weapon was fine. Her gaze snapped back to Danny. "He should be dust by now." Her grip tightened.

Zoey glanced between her teammates and the mysterious figure. "Maybe he's not a…"

Rumi interrupted. "Might be one of Gwi-Ma's stronger forces."

Mira spun her glaive in a tight circle, readying for another attack. "Hit him till he dies!"

“Seriously!” Danny complained.

Zoey hesitated, but the training kicked in. She capitalized on Danny's momentary distraction. She hurled a knife toward Danny's shoulder.

He deflected the incoming knife with a quick manifestation of his ice powers. A crystalline blade formed over his hand just in time to knock Zoey's weapon off course. His expression shifted from surprise to focus, the green glow of his eyes intensifying.

"It seems like you guys can take a hit then." The playfulness in his voice dimmed  as he raised his hands, palms glowing with energy.

Danny sidestepped Rumi's overhead slash and caught her sword arm at the wrist. He spun her arm outward, forcing her blade away from its target.

Mira attacked from his blind spot, spinning her glaive in a complex pattern before thrusting it forward. Danny released Rumi and ducked under the strike. He kicked upward, his boot connecting with the shaft of her weapon rather than Mira herself. The impact sent her backward with a short, controlled push that stopped short of hitting her full force.

Zoey closed in with both knives, slashing in alternating patterns designed to limit his escape routes. Her moves were textbook perfect but lacked killing intent. Danny read the pattern and waited for his moment.

Danny suddenly phased through Zoey's lunge as her knife passed harmlessly through his chest. He reappeared a few feet behind them. "Stop! I don't want to fight you. Seriously." 

They could tell that his tone was frustrated but sincere.

Rumi kept her sword up in a guard position. Her eyes narrowed.

Mira held her position but didn't advance. Instead, she lowered her glaive slightly toward the ground.

Zoey stayed between them but didn't raise her knives again, clearly conflicted.

"I'd really appreciate it if you stopped trying to stab me long enough to talk." He lowered his hands slightly but remained ready to defend himself.

HUNTR/X knew this guy was holding back. They had witnessed how he fought the demons, how his movements had been precise and devastating. This defensive display was nothing like that raw power. Zoey's hesitation doubled as she recognized the difference.

For what it was worth, this maybe-demon was not attacking to maim or kill.

Both sides assessed each other in the aftermath of their brief clash.

Rumi broke the silence first. "Okay. Let's talk."

"Finally." Danny exhaled with relief and descended slowly.

Rumi kept her sword at her side, not sheathing it but no longer pointing it at him. "Do you even speak Korean?"

The stranger hesitated, his glowing green eyes blinking. "Uh, a little? I can understand more than I can speak. Still learning."

Mira moved closer to Zoey. "Sounds American."

"I noticed," Zoey muttered, her eyes not leaving the strange figure.

Rumi took a step forward. "You're not from here."

"No. I'm visiting." Danny shifted his weight from one foot to the other, the movement unnaturally light, as if gravity affected him less.

"What gave it away? The accent?" Danny grinned.

None of them laughed. Their postures remained tense, weapons still in hand.

"Okay, geez. Chill." Danny raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I get it. Trust issues." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I know this probably looks weird. The whole..." He gestured vaguely at himself. "Not exactly human thing."

"You're a demon, aren't you?" Rumi kept her blade steady.

"What? No! I'm not a demon. Do I look like I have red skin, black horns, sharp teeth, and carry a pitchfork?" He glanced down at the Thermos in his hand, thinking, 'I thought they were some weird ghosts.'

Zoey blinked. That cartoon version of demons matched exactly what she'd seen growing up in the States.

Mira tilted her head. "Then why do you look like a Saja demon?"

Danny looked down at himself, confusion evident even behind his mask. "Wait, this? I thought this was traditional clothing. I was trying to blend in. Take in the culture."

The three exchanged glances. He had a point about the clothing.

Rumi maintained her stance, sword still ready. "If you're not a demon, what are you?"

"Oh. Right. It's... Uh..." Danny paused. "It's complicated."

"Try us," Mira said dryly.

"Uncomplicate it," Rumi demanded.

Danny looked between the three masked figures. These people clearly knew about the supernatural. They were also willing to talk on the first day. That was something. Much better than Valerie.

Danny shrugged. "A ghost, duh." He floated a few inches higher. "I'm just passing through. Friendly neighborhood ghost, you could say."

"Ghost?" Mira repeated, her voice skeptical.

"Yeah, you know. Boo? The dearly departed?" Danny floated closer but kept a respectful distance.

Their silence was telling.

Zoey thought about Danny's ghost hunter parents. 'Wait. They were right? Ghosts exist!'

Rumi frowned. "Ghosts don't exist."

Danny tilted his head. "You just said that you fight demons, but ghosts are out of the realm of possibility?"

"He's got a point," Mira conceded.

'If ghosts are real, could I...' Rumi pushed the thought away. She needed answers before getting her hopes up. "We know demons come from the Demon world. If ghosts are real, we haven't seen them before. Where are these ghosts supposed to be coming from?"

"The... Ghost... Zone." Danny covered his face with his palm.

"Really? That's what you're calling it?" Mira raised an eyebrow.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Like you have room to talk. I was expecting you to call it Hell."

"Let's say that you are a ghost," Rumi said, lowering her sword slightly. "What makes you any different than a demon?"

Danny sighed, his shoulders dropping. "This is gonna take some time..."