Demon Hunting

"You b*tch!" Liam unsheathed his knife and threw it in Azrael's direction.

"Too slow." Azrael laughed and caught the knife with his two fingers. He flicked it and threw it back to Liam.

Liam similarly dodged and it hit the ground. He angrily picked it up and put it back on its sheath.

"Let's go one more round. Just don't use that sword, use a wooden one." Liam ordered the Demon in front of him.

"You sure? That ethereal sword I just stab you with, also has its benefits." Azrael grinned.

"Benefits?" Liam's eyes shined. If there was a benefit, even if it's not that big, then he would take any risk for it.

"Yup, benefits. It will slowly make your will tough and both your physical and mental pain resistance will become more resilient. Will is closely related to the soul. That means both your soul and body will get hone and grow stronger!" Azrael laughed out loud. He was saying the truth. Since Liam ordered him yesterday, to tell the truth, and every detail of his magic and other mystical items.

"Woah... I'm in!" Liam similarly laughed and looked excited. He also knew that Azrael was saying the truth. Thinking about the future where he will be strong and powerful, he couldn't help but giggle silly.

"Let's start, shall we?" Azrael landed on the ground and waved his hands. The green ethereal sword appeared once more, but this time it was glowing brighter.

"I have adjusted the power input of the sword. This will increase the pain but the benefits will be much more!" Azrael grinned. He was fine making this boy strong. Once he died, he would use him and make him his most powerful familiar. Plus, he also has some mysteries that he needed to solve.

"Alright! Let's go!" Liam wildly unsheathed his knife.

"I'm ready! Here I go!" He dashed towards Azrael while activating his powers.

"Exosia: Flight!"

Black fog surrounded him. After a while, he emerged at it with a pair of black wings on his back.

Azrael smiled. 'Prepare for torture assh*le! I will cherish this special moment to my heart's content'.

***

Two hours passed. Liam was currently laying on the ground. A green sword was pierced in his head. But strangely, it wasn't bleeding. And Liam was still breathing and alive.

"Unbelievable! This human's mental fortitude is quite strong. He got stabbed thirty-six times, all on his vital points. Yet he lasted for two hours. This is beyond normal."

He was crazily happy and smiling the whole time in their sparring. And this boy was similarly smiling when he fainted earlier.

"It's getting late. I'll wake him up after an hour of rest." Azrael murmured.

"You're something else. But I don't understand. Are you really a human? If you aren't, then did you lose your memory?" He stared at Liam and asked. Although Liam didn't probably hear him.

The Demon shook his head and grabbed an apple. 'Nevermind, I'll know the truth as days go by'.

***

After an hour, Azrael was drinking a special wine from Hell. He then decided to wake Liam up.

"Fuck my body hurts everywhere!" Liam had a hard time simply standing. The pain he went through was not normal at all. It was more suitable to call it torture than training.

But still, he was satisfied. He felt the change in his body while Azrael was beating him up. He smiled and removed the sword that was was stuck in his head.

"Arghhh!" Liam teared up and he collapsed once more.

Azrael spat the wine in his mouth when he saw the scene in front of him.

"Woah. Uhmmm. I think I forgot something..." Azrael looked at Liam and shifted his eyes.

"But this wine is indeed delicious."

***

Another hour passed and Liam woke up once more.

'Bloody hell.' He cursed Azrael in his mind. Pulling out that sword hurt more than the entire combined pain he went through.

"You're awake. It's already nearing sunset. Let's go home." Azrael suddenly said above Liam.

Using the word home for a long time made him somehow weird. It's been hundreds of years since he last visited home and rested. The war took a lot of time in his lifespan.

"What!?" Liam was bewildered. He didn't notice the time at all.

"No choice then. Let's go home." Liam sighed.

"I hope mother is safe. I know Nathalie, even if I become a killer, she won't involve my family." Liam smiled faintly. That misunderstanding made a rift in their friendship. He needed to explain a lot if an opportunity arose. Which he was hoping for.

"Open up that portal thingy. Let's go home." Liam has gotten used to using the portal since he acquired his wings. He can just simply glide and float in it. Flawlessly teleporting using it.

Azrael snapped his fingers and a dark circular portal appeared out of nowhere.

He entered it first and Liam followed him.

***

They arrived in front of the house. Liam then knocked on the door.

"I'm home, mom!" He shouted

"Wait a minute!" Her mom shouted back.

Liam was relieved knowing his mom was safe and sound.

After a while, Veronica opened the door and was surprised.

"I thought you'll be staying in Nathalie's house."

Liam looked confused. But suddenly understand what was happening.

"Oh yeah, I change my mind. There's class tomorrow." He reasoned.

"Make sense. But I'm ashamed of you." Her mom shook her head.

"Why?" Liam looked at her confused.

"You let that girl go here just to ask for permission. You could have just called me, silly child." Veronica mocked him.

Liam rolled his eyes and tried to ignore his mom.

"Not manly at all..." Her mom's voice drifted in his ears.

Liam got angry and reasoned out.

"She was just picking up her cousin. Coincidentally, it was near here so she just asked for your permission." He stuttered, making a lie on the spot.

He deduced that after he vanished, Nathalie hurried over here. She made a lie on the spot to ease his mom's worries. And if she saw the possessed Liam, then she will warn this demon not to ever hurt the people in this household.

Veronica laughed and went back to cooking inside the house.

She then suddenly shouted.

"Reasons~"

Liam's vein popped and gritted his teeth.

Whenever it comes to fights like this, he never won over his mom. He entered the house frowning.

But it soon vanished when he smelled dinner.

"We're eating Sinigang? Yay! My favorite!"

He rushed to the dining table and prepared the plates and utensils.

Her mom finally finished cooking.

"Itadakimasu!"

***

Liam was washing the dishes when Azrael suddenly sensed something.

"A demon holding a fragment is here. He's on the battlefield, the alternate reality before. He must have thought there still something to plunder in that place."

"A demon!?" Liam's black eyes shined.

"Shall we hunt it?" Liam grinned.

"That little f*cker, picking up my Xynith shards. I shall kill him!" Azrael similarly grinned.

The atmosphere between the two becomes weird. Excitement and battle intent came from the two.

"I'll be the one who's gonna fight him, ok? I wanna test some things out. Help me when I'm in danger." Liam proposed.

Azrael immediately agreed. He also wanted to know if Liam could similarly absorb a Demon's Exosia.

"Let me finish the dishes first. My mom's gonna kill me if I just leave this place dirty."

***

A portal appeared in an alley. This place was the exact location where the driver left Liam off.

"Alternate Reality!"

Suddenly all presence of living beings vanished. Time seemed to stop. Then the surroundings become still and quiet.

"This ability is pretty handy. Do all angels and demons have this ability too?" Liam curiously asked.

"Yes, all of us." Azrael plainly replied

"So you're saying that in almost every corner in the world, these angels and demons are fighting in an alternate reality?" Liam was amazed. Who knows how many battlefields he has walked in.

"Yup. Just like that." Azrael used his senses and exactly pointed out where the Demon was, without the demon noticing.

This just showed how strong Azrael was within his own race. A warrior worthy of welding a Xynith based spear.

"Let's go. This demon is from the Sin of Greed ancestry. They have a unique fighting style. Their greed also knows no bounds. These demons are what I hate the most." Azrael disgustingly explained.

Liam who was so excited, followed where Azrael was going. He saw the debris from before. Before, this place was full of houses and buildings. Now it looked like a meteor just crash in this place. Just like a wasteland full of trash.

The Demon finally sensed something and gazed in their direction.

"Exosia: Stealth"

Azrael's entire presence vanished. Normally this Exosia was useless when fighting enemies with great senses just like Holy Knight. But this demon doesn't have a supernatural sense. He's also three grades lower in terms of the demon hierarchy. Naturally, he can't sense Azrael. Not even a little bit.

"A human?" The Demon was puzzled. Its voice was hard to understand. As if he was speaking in Chinese.

Humans can't enter an Alternate Reality. That was a basic knowledge all spirits know.

So he ignored him and continue searching for treasures.

"Damn, Azrael is plain looking yet this demon looks like a mixed of an insect and an alien"

This Demon has one pair of disgusting green insect wings. It was semi-transparent. His entire body was also like an insect. With three segments. The head, the thorax, and the abdomen. He has four pairs of spider-like arms and legs. And his head was triangular in form, with eight creepy green eyes.

Liam suddenly laughed and unsheathed his weapon. His Xynith based knife shined. This attracted the Demon's attention and somehow, Liam could tell that this Demon was looking at him with greed.