Case #1-The Twelve Zodiacs, Part 1

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"Wh-what do you guys all look so gloomy for?" Evelyn asks. Currently, it's the day after our crushing defeat during the Museum of Japenese Mythology case, and all of us -from me, to Crimson, to Raiden, to Circe, and even to Koga- all of our ego's have been bruised. Everyone but Evelyn, that is.

"We lost…"

"I left my village…for this…?"

"This is the first case that I've ever lost…"

"I've brought shame to the name of the Koga Clan…"

"And we've brought shame to Reaper's Paranormal…"

"Ohhh, suck it up, will you, guys?!" Evelyn groans. "How long do you plan to keep moping for?!"

"For as long as it takes to make us feel better…" Circe sighs.

"Well pick your butts up!" Evelyn snaps. "Especially you, Zach! Don't we have work to do?"

"Of course we do…" I answer.

"That's great!" Evelyn exclaims. "Then let's take a case!"

"Of course!" I reply. "After…another day of moping…"

"OH COME ON!"

"Excuse me for asking, Evelyn, but how come you don't feel ashamed?" Raiden asks.

"Well of course I don't feel ashamed!" Evelyn proudly booms as she places her hands on her hips. "You guys are the one's who fought and lost, but as for me, since I'm just a regular human, I'm incredibly weak! So when I lose, it's expected!"

"Is that…something to be proud of…?" Crimson asks.

"Let the human girl have her moment…" Koga sighs. "Whoever she may be…"

"I'M EVELYN!" Evelyn snaps. "And why are you moping anyway?! It's not like you're part of the team!"

"I'm moping for a far greater reason than any of you," Koga answers. "I brought shame to my clan's name."

"Now Koga's making weird boasts," Raiden says.

"Mh-hm," Crimson nods.

"Besides, I'm the one who made you lot take the case," Koga continues. "I stuck my nose where it doesn't belong, and got burnt because of it. And I dug your noses in there, too."

"I think…you used three different metaphors together…" Evelyn replies. "All incorrectly."

"Don't worry, Koga," I sigh. "I'm the one who accepted the case. And besides, you weren't sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. As a member of the Koga Clan, you're sworn to protect Japan, and that includes making sure its powerful relics don't fall into the wrong hands."

"Right," Koga nods.

"Althought…did the Orochi Dragon Scarf and Susano'o Katana fall into the wrong hands, anyway?" Raiden asks. "They did originally belong to the Rogue Brothers, just in two very different forms."

"That's true," Crimson replies. "The scarf was, um, made out of Yamata."

"And they didn't seem like bad guys," Raiden continues. "At least not Mikoto."

"Yamata seemed like an asshole," Circe adds.

"That's right!" I boom as I shoot my fists into the air. "We can't stay moping any longer! It's not like we failed a case anyway, considering it wasn't an official case! And on top of that, the Rogue Brothers didn't steal anything, they simply took back what was theirs…In a different body, at least!"

"Yeah!" Everyone else exclaims.

"That's the Zach I know!" Evelyn smiles.

***

The school day comes and goes, same as always. But just as I was leaving school with Evelyn, Crimson, Raiden, Circe, and Koga in tow, as we discussed our next case, I heard a scream.

"Did you guys hear that?!" I exclaim as my ears twitch.

"I did," Crimson answers.

"As did I," Koga adds.

"Hear what?" Evelyn asks.

"Those two do have inhuman Reaper-and-Devil-hearing after all," Circe chuckles.

"And…Koga, too…?" Raiden asks.

"It came from…" I begin to say as my eyes scan the area. "-That way!" I exclaim as my head shoots towards the woods located at the farthest edge of town by our school (also located at the edge of town), the North Woods. Looking ahead, I can see the figure of a man slowly dragging a helpless girl into the forest, who kicks and screams in protest, all of her attempts to escape futile, due to the ropes bound around her body and tape slapped across her mouth.

"Hey, that guy is kidnapping some girl!" I recoil as I point to the woods.

"How…terrible…" Crimson gasps as she covers her mouth.

"Huh…what do you see…?" Evelyn asks as she puts a hand over her eyes.

"Those two do have inhuman Reaper-and-Devil-sight after all," Circe chuckles.

"L-let's go after him…" Koga awkwardly stammers.

"See!" Raiden exclaims. "So you can't see that far after all!"

"Crimson!" I exclaim as I swiftly reach into my guitar case and pull out my plastic skull mask, before sliding it on.

"Right!" Crimson replies as the two of us take off towards the woods.

***

After a brief run, Crimson and I made it to the woods (with Evelyn, Koga, and the rest lagging far behind) and took a look around, but the man dragging the girl off is nowhere in sight.

"Dammit, the trail's gone cold," Crimson grunts.

"Not yet," I reply as I stick a hand into my messenger bag and pull out a soul before shoving the soul into my mouth and swallowing it. Subsequently, a burst of soul- blue energy escapes from my body, as brown fur does as well. "Werewolf Soul!"

"So you plan to use the sense of smell of a hound to track our culprit," Crimson says.

"This is the soul of the werewolf that I reaped during the case before I met Evelyn," I explain. "Brings back some memories! I never thought I'd actually use it!" I then drop down to all fours and begin sniffing around, crawling around on the dirt floor of the jungle as I do so.

Crimson winces. "This looks…so wrong…" she cringes.

"There!" I exclaim as my nose leads me to a trail of footprints and dragging marks. "These footprints smell fresh, and has the scent of both a man and a woman, this has got to be it!"

"Great, then let's follow," Crimson replies, and the two of us follow the trail.

***

"Damn, how much farther does this trail go?" I ask.

"I don't know, but we shou-" Crimson begins to say as she steps on a pile of leaves, but is then interrupted by my cries before she can finish that thought.

"Crimson, look out!" I shout, but it's too late. Crimson steps on the pile of leaves, causing the rope that was buried there to ensnare her ankle. Crimson attempts to take another step forwards, but when she does, the rope latched around Crimson yanks her into the air, hoisting her up into a tree and dangling upside down from a branch.

"EEEEK!" Crimson cries as she holds her skirt up (or I guess…down) "I just knew that I shouldn't have worn my school uniform!"

"Woah…" I snicker as I stare up at Crimson.

"Wh-what?!" The Devil blushes. "You better not be staring at my-!"

"No-" I interrupt. "I'm just…impressed by your girlish scream."

Crimson blushes even further.

Just then, before I can say another word from Crimson, I hear some rustling by the nearby shrubbery, and I turn to look at it, only to be greeted by an arrow which comes flying out, aimed dead for my face. "Waahhh!" I cry as I leap backwards out of the way of the arrow, which pierces the tree behind me, and gets lodged in place. "Well good thing I dodged tha-" I begin to say as I turn and face the tree with a small smirk, but before I can finish that thought, the tree explodes, sending chunks of charred wood and bark flying everywhere. "WELL GOOD THING I DODGED THAT!" I cry. I then hear Crimson snicker above me, so I turn and peer up at the Devil. "Something funny?" I ask.

"No-" Crimson answers with a smirk. "I'm just impressed by your manly scream."

"Well, well, well, look do we have here," a voice says, interrupting mine and Crimson's squabble, as we look to where we hear the voice, seeing a smirking man smoking a cigar emerge from the woods. In one hand, he's wielding a crossbow, and in his other hand, a large bowie knife. He's got a headband wrapped around his forehead, keeping his slicked-back graying dark-brown hair out of his face, and across his back, is a quiver filled with all sorts of colorful arrows. "I came hunting for a vampire, and here I get a Reaper and a Devil too, now?! Today's my lucky day!"

"Where's the girl?!" I cry. "You kidnapper!"

"Why, she's already de-" the kidnapper begins to say, but he's interrupted when we hear a hideous shriek come from behind him. And then, out of the shrubbery bursts the woman that we saw him carrying away…sort of. Upon closer inspection, she had unnaturally pale skin, and one of her arms had been freshly sawed off. But, when she opens her mouth, we see that she has too long, deadly fangs.

"D-dammit, it's still alive?!" The kidnapper cries as he turns around and aims his crossbow at the vampire. But before the kidnapper has a chance to load an arrow, the vampire tackles him, knocking the crossbow out of his hands, which is sent tumbling away. The vampire then opens its jaws up wide, revealing its two bloody fangs, and aims them towards the kidnapper's exposed neck. But before the vampire can sink its fangs into his flesh, in a panic, the kidnapper draws his bowie knife, and with a scream, thrusts it forwards, piercing through the vampire's throat as blood is sent flying everywhere. The vampire lets out a shriek of pain, before limply dropping down on top of the kidnapped, dead at last. The kidnapper's head flops to the ground as he stares at the sky, soaked in blood and panting heavily. But then, once he notches the vampire carcass laying on top of him, the kidnapper gags, then shoves the creature off of him and scurries to his feet. "Now, to reap my reward," the kidnapper smirks as he brandishes a pair of pliers then uses them to grip the vampire's fangs and begins tugging.

"What are you doing?" Crimson asks, causing the kidnapper to turn and peer over his shoulder at Crimson. But once the kidnapper sees Crimson free, he recoils, causing himself to stumble forwards and rip the pliers out of the vampire's mouth -a tooth along with it- before flailing to the ground in a cloud of dust.

"H-how are you free?!" He stammers.

"I'm a Devil," Crimson replies as she engulfs her body in Hellfire, before extinguishing it directly after. "Did you really think that ropes could bind me?"

"I suppose not," the kidnapper replies as he pushes himself off of the ground then dusts himself off, before crouching into a fighting stance and drawing his bowie knife again. "Looks like I'll have to take you two dead…"

"Fine by me," I smirk as I take a step forward and crack my knuckles.

"Hold on, Zach," Crimson says as she extends a hand out, prohibiting me from moving any closer.

"What gives?" I ask. "Man, you used to be such a beat-em'-up type, but now, you've become the boring, rational one," I sigh.

"You referred to that girl as a vampire, didn't you?" Crimson asks. "But how…did you know that she was one? From our perspective, it looked as if you were just kidnapping some girl and dragging her off into the woods."

"You, you might want to be careful about that," I add. "I don't think "but she was a vampire!" holds off too well in court."

"Oh, so not even a Reaper and a Devil could match my eyes…?" The kidnapper asks as a smirk creeps across his face. "Well I'll tell ya'!" The kidnapper then booms as he proudly jabs a thumb into his chest. "My name is Harold Hunter, but I go by Hunter! And I…am a professional Hunter!"

Crimson and I blink silently.

"A…hunter…?" I ask.

"Like…you live in the woods and eat cute bunnies?" Crimson asks.

"Maybe if I were just some regular shmuck I would," Hunter smirks. A fitting name for a, well…hunter. "I'm a Hunter of the Supernatural!"

"I hate loud types like this…" I sigh.

"A Supernatural Hunter?" Crimson asks. "Why not just become a Supernatural Investigator?"

"Those schmucks?" Hunter grumbles as he rolls his eyes. "Those schmucks couldn't hunt schmucks like you in a million years!"

"Well…I suppose he has a point," Crimson replies.

"You, he managed to ensnare you, while Agent Sniper still hasn't gotten me after all these years," I add.

"So…what makes you any different than the Supernatural Investigators?" Crimson asks.

"Those schmucks do things the legal way, while I prefer…the backdoor methods," Hunter smirks. "Hunting is about getting attuned in nature and catching your prey, not fancy weapons and glowing swords. I was so good at hunting the ol'- fashioned way, in fact, that they didn't let me in!"

"Ah, I see," I reply.

"So there you have it," Crimson adds.

"So why do you hunt Supernatural Creatures?" I ask.

"My old pa' and I always hunted together growing up, every spring," Hunter begins to say with a soft smile as he looks to the sky, causing me to sigh, knowing that Crimson and I are going to be in for a loooong, annoying story. "We lived in the South, and every hunting season, we'd grab our crossbows, our bear-traps, and head out to our ol' log cabin to do some man on man action–hunting!"

"That sounds…so wrong…" I whisper.

"Just let him be…" Crimson sighs. "His type you can't interrupt once they get started."

"We would always hunt together, every year. And every year, during hunting season, we'd hunt to survive. Fish…deer…rabbits…we hunted it all, from the earth, to the sea, to the sky," Hunter continues. "My dad was a whizz with a crossbow, you see, the very one that I'm holding–there was nothing that he couldn't hunt using it. And I was pretty good too, growing up. But then…there was one thing that my dad couldn't kill. One day, when I accidentally slept in to five, my dad burst through our cabin doors, claiming that he saw some…thing. A large, hairy creature with big feet…bigfoot. My dad said that no matter how many times he shot at it, he just couldn't hit it. Which is amazing, for my dad! And so, my dad and I made it our goal to hunt a bigfoot. But then, before we could do so…my dad died…"

"Let me guess, bigfoot killed him?" I sarcastically ask.

Crimson snores.

"No…" Hunter answers, tears in his eyes. "He died…by a freak washing machine accident."

"Oh!" I wince. "How does that happen?!"

"Maybe you should have made washing machines your enemy, and not bigfoot," Crimson adds.

"And so, after my dad passed, I took up his crossbow and began the hunt, the search for bigfoot," Hunter continues, as he looks to the sky again. "Through my travels, I discovered more and more supernatural creatures, but none as elusive as bigfeet. And so, no matter how hard I searched, no matter what kinds of creatures I could kill, never once did I find a bigfoot. Not once…"

Hunter pauses.

"Thank God it's over- '' I begin to say with a sigh, but I'm interrupted.

"And that brings me to where we are today-" Hunter continues.

"OH COME ON!" I snap.

"Through my hunting adventures, I came to learn of this very town, the Town of Nestant, which is abnormally rich in Supernatural activity," Hunter continues. "And so, I came here in search of bigfoot." A smirk then creeps across Hunter's lips. "But I found a Reaper and a Devil instead." Hunter then reloads his crossbow and aims it at Crimson and I with a sadistic grin.

Crimson and I gulp.

"Zach, it looks like we're going to have to fight," Crimson says, as she ignites her first in Hellfire.

"You're right," I reply as I bring my fists up. "But first…LOOK OUT, THERE'S A BIGFOOT!" A shout as I point behind Hunter.

"WH-WHERE?!" Hunter cries as he spins around to look at where I pointed and brings his crossbow up, frantically waving it around as he scans the forest. But by the time that Hunter realizes that he's been pranked, once he turns around, he recoils as he sees Crimson and I full-speed springing away from Hunter, cackling as a run.

"See ya, idiot!" I cackle.

But before Crimson and I can get away, I hear a shriek come from behind me, causing me to turn around, only to see Crimson ensnared in yet another rope-trap, dangling from the tree above me. "Z-Zach…" Crimson blushes as she holds up her skirt again. "Don't…look…"

"YOU SUCK!" I snap.

"Eyes up, Reaper!" Hunter booms, and I turn to face Hunter, watching as an arrow flies towards my face, which I swiftly duck under. I then turn around to observe the arrow that flew past me, watching as it pierces the tree behind me, then engulfs it in flames. The flames travel up the tree, slowly making their way up to the upside-down dangling Crimson.

"Woah!" I cry as I turn around to face Hunter again. "How'd you do that?!"

"My speciality arrows," Hunter smirks as he balances the tip of one of his arrows on his fingertip. "Regular arrows weren't cutting it when I began hunting Supernaturals, sooo…I created these arrows with all sorts of different effects! Exploding arrows… flaming arrows…I've got no shortage of ways to hunt you lot!"

"Hmm…so this will be a lot more tricky than I thought…" I say as I bring my fists up again. "Especially without my sickle-sword. And I already ate a werewolf soul, so I can't eat another. At least…I shouldn't eat another…"

Hunter then loads up another arrow into his crossbow, before aiming it at me and firing. I don't bother dodging the arrow. Rather, as the arrow flies towards me, I simply watch it as it draws closer and closer in my eye sight. And once the arrow is close enough, I simply bring a hand up and snatch the arrow out of the air. "OH NOOO!!!" Hunter wails. "H-how…how did you just catch my arrow out of the air?!"

"Huh, this was rather…easy?" I say as I glance at the arrow which I all-too-easily caught out of the air.

But then…Hunter's lips curl up into a grin. "Not!" He smirks. And then, the arrow that I had caught out of the air began crackling with small sparks of electricity, sending tingles all across my body.

"Oh, no-" I begin to say, but before I can finish, Hunter's arrow begins crackling around the arrow, causing electricity to course all throughout my body, and causing me to howl in pain.

"Now…eat this!" Hunter cackles as he loads up another few arrows into his crossbow, before aiming it at me and firing, sending another volley of three arrows flying towards me. And this time, I've learned my lesson. Rather than attempting to catch the arrows, I drop the electric arrow -which still crackles with lightning as it falls to the ground- before hoping out of the way of Hunter's arrows. Hunter's volley of arrows then pierce the tree next to me, then explode, releasing a noxious poison yellow gas which clouds my eyesight.

"Damn," I grunt as I look around. "Can't see shit." And then, before I can react, the smoke before me clears, and there Hutner emerges, charging towards me savagely with his bowie knife in hand. Hunter then thrusts his bowie knife towards me, but I bring my hands up to block, and the two of us are locked in a stalemate. "You're brave, trying to fight Reaper head on," I smirk.

"Am I?" Hunter smirks back. "You're the one who couldn't tell that I was coming until I was right on top of you, super-human senses be damned!" Swiftly, I drop my elbow, knocking the bowie knife out of Hunter's hands before landing a powerful triple kick upon the Hunter, causing blood to erupt from his nose as he's sent flying backwards.

"Stupidly brave," I taunt as Hunter's smoke begins to clear.

"I'll hunt you down, Reaper!" Hunter cackles as he loads up another arrow. But before he can fire it, a giant, hairy fist shoots out of the shrubbery behind Hunter and palms his head like a basketball, before hoisting the hunter off of the ground.

"H-huh…?" Hunter asks as he's slowly lifted off of the ground.

And then…a figure steps out of the shrubbery. A giant, big-footed, gorilla-looking figure with black hair covering its body. It looks like the missing link between man and ape.

 Bigfoot.

"B-bigfoot…?" I stammer. "Is that a bigfoot?!"

"HAH!" Hunter spits. "Like I'd fall for that again!"

"No, seriously!" I reply. "I think it's a sasquatch!"

Slowly, Hunter looks up to what's holding him, and when he sees the large, hairy hand his eyes widen. Next, Hunter turns and peers over his shoulder, and when he sees the giant, hairy man-ape behind him, his eyes widen even further. "B-bigfoot…" Hunter softly says as droplets of moisture form at the corners of his eyes. "Bigfoot!" Hunter then booms. "Oh, how I've been looking for you, bigfoot," Hunter then continues as he twists his body around and aims his crossbow at the sasquatch. "You were once the once who got away, but now, I can finally avenge my dad by hunting y-"

But before Hunter can squeeze the trigger of his crossbow, the sasquatch clenches its hand in one swift movement, collapsing its powerful fingers upon Hunter's head and caving his skull in, crushing Hunter's head and sending blood splattering all across the forest floor in an instant.

"AHHH!" Crimson and I gag.

"H-he crushed him!" Crimson yelps.

"Man, I really thought that he'd be a recurring character!" I add.

Meanwhile, the flames caused by Hunter's fire arrow continue dancing up the tree towards Crimson. Once they're close enough, they ignite Crimson's rope on fire, causing the Devil to break free and hop to the ground beside me.

"Couldn't you have melted them yourself?" I ask.

"It's more fun this way," Crimson answers.

"Hmm…" the sasquatch grunts as it lifts Hunter's limp body up to his face. Standing at around nine feet tall and five hundred pounds, even the tall, muscular Hunter looks like a mere baby compared to this beast. And then, without another thought, Bigfoot rears its arm back before launching it forwards, catapulting Hunter's corpse deep into the woods, never to be seen again. Bigfoot throws Hunter's body past Crimson and I so quickly and so powerful that Hunter's blood slices our cheeks as he passes by.

Our eyes widen.

"Wh…what….?" I ask as I turn around, seeing the carnage and destruction of blown over trees caused in the bigfoot's wake. "What…just happened…?" I ask again as I turn around to face the bigfoot.

"What are you…?" Crimson asks, shell-shocked by the beast's strength as well.

"I…am a bigfoot," the sasquatch answers. But when it speaks…it doesn't open its lips. In fact, it doesn't move at all, or even make any noise. Instead…Crimson and I listen to the bigfoot internally, as if it's speaking directly into our minds.

"Woah!" Crimson and I cry as we recoil backwards, clutching our heads.

"T-telepathy…?" I ask.

"My apologies," Bigfoot says. "My kind using thought-speech to communicate, telepathy. Those who experience it for the first time, usually develop headaches as a side effect."

"What are you doing here?" Crimson asks.

"I am the Guardian of Nature," Bigfoot continues. "Every piece of wildlife on this earth is home to a bigfoot. We live in forests and woods, protecting nature and ensuring that everyone around it takes care of the Earth. And if they don't…we kill them."

"So is that why you killed the hunter?" I ask. "For disrupting nature?"

"It is," the bigfoot answers. "For killing its inhabitants and reducing nature to ash with his burning and exploding arrows…he was a blight on this world, and so, I killed him."

"Why are-" Crimson begins to say, but the bigfoot cuts her off as it takes a step towards us. In response, Crimson and I take a warry step back.

"I have no time for you-" the bigfoot begins to say as it lifts a hand up, extending a finger towards the spreading fire behind us. "-I need to deal with that first."

"Oh, the fire?" Crimson asks as she turns around to face the inferno. "I have an easy solution for that." Crimson opens up her mouth and begins to inhale, sucking in the air around her. And slowly, the embers flickering off of the flames begin flying into Crimson's mouth as well, and then, the entry of the fire is sucked into Crimson's inhale. By the time that Crimson is finished inhaling, the fire is gone. Crimson then lets out a small burp of black smoke.

"Hehehe…" I smirk as I rub my chin and peer down at Crimson's stomach.

"Wh-what is it?" Crimson blushes.

"Looking' a little chubby there," I smirk, earning me a smack on the back of my head by Crimson. "It was a compliment…" I grumble as I rub the back of my sore head. "I like curvy women."

 "That didn't sound like a compliment," Crimson matter-of-factly replies.

"Make up your mind!" I snap. "Are you offended or are you not?! And besides, when did you get so girly?"

"Living with Circe," Crimson answers.

"I'm sorry to interrupt-" the bigfoot says as he slowly lifts a hand into the air, causing Crimson and I to turn our attention to it. "-But…there's one more thing that I need to do while I'm here."

"Anything we can help with?" I ask. "I don't like guys like that hunter too, running around and killing our kind for no good reason."

"Yes, there is something that you could help me with, Reaper," the bigfoot says, causing my eyes to widen.

"How…did you know that I'm…?" I ask, as my body tenses up.

"It would be a big help if you rolled over on your tummy and stayed there."

Mine and Crimson's eyes widen.

In the blink of an eye, we re-appear on either side of the bigfoot, chambering our fists. Crimson engulfs her fist in Hellfire, while my fist begins to glue bright blue, the color of souls.

"Hmm…" the bigfoot mutters, unphased by our speed. "They're quick."

"HELL-FLAMING SOUL FLASH!"

Crimson and I roar as we launch both of our fists forwards, engulfing the bigfoot in an inferno of Hellfire and an explosion of blue soul energy.

"How…did you do that?" Crimson asks as the both of us hop a step backwards.

"I'm not sure…" I answer as I stare down at my hands. "I think I just did that… subconsciously since I don't have my sickle-sword to channel energy through. That was like the attack I used against you."

"Hmm…" we hear the bigfoot mutter, and the two of us turn our attention to the sasquatch again, watching as my Soul Energy and Crimson's Hellfire dissipates. And when the smoke settles, mine and Crimson's eyes widen, because we see the bigfoot wrapped in a charred-black cocoon made out of tree roots. The roots then begin to separate and slink back into the ground from which they came. Finally, the roots fully slink back into the ground, revealing the bigfoot, who is unfazed by our attacks.

"H-he's unfazed…?" I ask.

"Our joint-attack…only burnt the roots…?" Crimson asks.

"Damn that Ezra…" the bigfoot grunts, causing my eyes to widen. "Err…I mean Saggitarius!"

"What's the matter, Zach?" Crimson whispers to me after noticing my body tense up.

"No, it's just…Ezra, that name…it sounds familiar to me…" I answer.

"Sagittarius didn't tell me that they were this powerful…" Bigfoot grumbles to himself. "He told me that this would be an easy task…"

"Just…who are you?!" I cry. "And why are you after me?!"

"Who am I…?" The bigfoot asks. "Well, you can call me Cancer, of the Twelve Zodiacs. As for why I'm after you…I'm not sure. My superior only told me to bring the one called Zach Reaper alive." Cancer then points to Crimson, causing her to flinch. "As for you…" he begins to say.

"I was told that I can kill you."

Cancer then lifts a knee high into the air before stomping it into the ground, sending dozens of tree roots flying towards Crimson. "Nature, huh…?" Crimson asks as she surveys Cancer's attack flying towards her. "Even regular fire could do the trick here." Crimson then lends back and takes a deep breath in, puffing out her stomach as she does so, before leaning forwards again and cupping two hands in front of her mouth. "HELLFIRE ROAR!" Crimson shouts as she exhales, releasing a powerful flaming breath upon Cancer, and reducing his tree roots to ash.

 "Woah!" I marvel. "So you can breathe fire too now, huh?"

"I can produce the Flames of Hell from any point of my body," Crimson explains as she watches Cancer's roots melt to ash.

"Nice…" I then smirk as I peer down at Crimson's stomach. "You're skinny again!"

Cancer then slowly lifts his arms into the air in the form of an arch on either side of his body. "I command you, o, mighty Earth…" Cancer begins to say.

"Is the speech…necessary…?" I whisper to Crimson, who shrugs in response.

"-To tangle my foes," Cancer finishes. Vines then shoot out of the trees all around Crimson and I, all flying towards us. Swiftly, I bring my arms up in a cross as black claws softly shoot out of my knuckles.

"Nice!" I exclaim. "Still got a little bit a' werewolf juice left!" Using my black werewolf claws, I dance across the forest floor as I slice through every vine that flies towards me.

As for Crimson, she ignites both of her arms in hellfire as she extends them out to her sides. "Hellfire Waxwing!" Crimson shouts as she swings both of her arms outwards, using her tendrils of spiraling flames to slice through all of the vines. The vines that Cancer used to attack us then limply fall to the ground as Crimson and I turn to face him again. Next, Cancer lifts his knee high into the air, before slamming it into the ground, causing the Earth to tremble and sending shockwave tremors flying across the ground towards Crimson and I.

 "Is this…part of his nature-controlling abilities?" Crimson asks.

"No," I answer. "Just pure strength."

In order to defend, Crimson ignites a hand on Hellfire then slams her knuckles into the ground, sending a trail of bursting flames flying towards Cancer. "Hellfire Eruption!" Crimson and Cancer's attacks fly towards one another, Crimson's burst of flames and Cancer's shockwaves of Earth, and when the two attacks collide, they cancel one another out in the form of a mighty explosion. And through the explosion, I charge, slashing my mighty werewolf claws towards Cancer, who brings a single, hairy meaty arm up to block. My claws slash against Cancer's arm, but my eyes widen when I notice that my attack has no effect.

"I didn't…even draw blood?" I ask. Cancer then swings an arm towards me, bashing his powerful forearm into my nose and sending me flying backwards, blood rushing from my nose.

"Are you really trying to kill me?" Crimson calls to Cancer. "Then you should know that no Earthly-nature can resist being burnt to ash by the Flames of Hell."

"You didn't let me finish," Cancer replies. "I was told I can kill you, but I wasn't ordered to. I just figured that I would, and that it would make my job a lot easier to capture the Reaper in a one on one. But, after your help putting out the flames, I figured that I would spare you."

"So…he was just taking it easy on us…" Crimson says to herself under her breath.

"You had ample time to say that!" I snap.

"You speak as if you could kill me that easily!" Crimson calls to Cancer.

"It's because I can," Cancer replies as he lifts his knee high into the air before slamming it back into the ground. And when he does, the earth all around us begins to tremble. Mine and Crimson's eyes widen as we leap backwards, just barely dodging to large, stone spikes which shoot out of the ground. If we had been a second late…then Crimson and I would be impaled…

 "See," Cancer says. "And that's me trying not to kill you two."

Before our altercation can develop any further, Crimson and I hear a voice call to us: "Zach! Crimson!" Crimson and I then turn around to where we heard the voice, watching as Evelyn, Raiden, Circe, and Koga rush over to the two of us.

"Gah, so there are more of them?!" Cancer cries. "Saggitarrious didn't mention them…so they must not be worth a damn…"

Cancer then turns around and begins walking away from Crimson and I. "Hey, where are you going?!" I snap as I turn around to face Cancer. "I got my whole crew now, things were just getting good!"

"Hold on, Zach," Crimson orders as she extends a trembling hand out to me.

"Huh, what is it?" I ask, but then, when I see what's so horrifying as to make a Devil itself tremble, I pause. For I notice that the Earth around Crimson and I, as far as the eye can see…has been shattered to bits.

"That…was just a stomp…" I gasp.

"A non-lethal stomp," Crimson adds.

"You should listen to your friend," Cancer says as he continues walking away from us. "If our fight were to continue…you would die."

"But I thought your orders were not to kill me?!" I snap.

And then…Cancer pauses. When Cancer turns and peers over to face me, my entire body goes cold. For Cancer's glowing red eyes pierce mine, digging straight into my soul, and devouring it. It's as if I can sense his bloodlust. "If our fight were to continue, then I won't be able to hold back any longer," Cancer begins to say, causing my entire body to go pale.

"So I'm retreating now before I accidentally kill you and incur the wrath of my superior, who is FAR stronger than I am." Cancer then turns around again and continues walking, meanwhile, I drop to my knees in fear. "But I'll warn you, Reaper-" Cancer continues. "If you wish to pursue me…then you will encounter eleven others JUST as strong as I am, if not stronger."

"SO PURSUE ME, IF YOU DARE…"

I don't move.

And then…Cancer vanishes from sight.

"Teleportation…?" Crimson asks. "Or simply invisibility? Judging by the fact that I can't sense his presence anymore, I'll assume teleportation."

"You don't…feel that…?" I ask, my voice trembling.

"Feel what?" Crimson asks as she peers down at me.

"His bloodlust. I felt like a baby."

"I see…" Crimson replies as she looks up and touches a hand to her chin. "Cancer, huh? Of the Twelve Zodiacs? There are eleven others as strong as him, and for some reason… they're after you." Crimson then peers down at me again. "Zach…it seems like you've gotten yourself into some real trouble now."

"Zach, Crimson!" Evelyn cries as she rushes over to us, then kneels down next to me and helps me up to my feet. But when she notices that I'm trembling, Evelyn frowns. "Are you…alright, Zach?" She asks.

"I'm fine," I answer as I stand back up and yank my arm away from Evelyn. "I'm fine…"

"Zach's just on edge because we encountered a truly formidable enemy," Crimson explains. "And for some reason, now a group called the Twelve Zodiacs are trying to capture him."

"A foe powerful enough to hold off a Devil and force a Reaper to their knees… how horrifying…" Koga comments.

"The Twelve Zodiacs, huh?" Raiden asks. "What's this mean?"

I open my mouth to explain, but before I can say anything, I'm interrupted when my phone buzzes. I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, seeing that I've received a text from Douchebag, my dad.

"What is it?" Circe asks.

"My dad," I answer as I look up and slide my phone away. "He wants me home, so that means you guys too. Let's go."