The Four Horsemen, Part 1

"Aw man, that was one tough mission! I'm sore all over!" Grover wines.

Currently, it's a few weeks after Mikey joined our squad, and we have been going on mission after mission, dealing with countless Demon Nests.

"You're sore? I did all of the fighting!" Jamie snaps.

"Children, we all played a part, no bickering," I grumble.

"You barely did anything!" the two cry, causing me to chuckle.

"That mission was too easy," Mikey mutters to himself.

"You were great out there, Mikey!" Ella exclaims, causing Mikey to turn away and blush again.

Did Ella just compliment Mikey…?

WELL I WON'T LOSE TO HIM!

"W-what about me…?" I lamely add, causing Jamie to smirk and giggle.

Ella swiftly turns away from me and hides her face, but I can see her ears grow beet-red.

"Y-you w-were so, great, L-Luis…" Ella stammers.

"Why is it so hard for you to compliment me?!" I sob.

"Well you're just a monster," Austin replies to Mikey

"If I wasn't so weak...then I could heal all of you right now...I'm so worthless!" Ella sobs.

"No...Ella! You did fine! Great job out there, with all your strength boosts!" Jamie replies as she gently pats Ella on the back.

"I didn't get any help…" Austin mutters.

"Well you were so far away from the action snipping. It would have been too much of a hassle escorting Ella to your location while all of the Attackers were getting down and dirty in the front!" I explain.

Attackers, Supporters, Shooters. I haven't used that terminology in a while. Speaking of the topic, let me give you the breakdown of your squad. In order to do that, I'll take you back to a few weeks ago, when we first got our Slayer Licenses.

***

"What the, why does my License say that I'm a supporter?!" Grover shouts at Nick.

"Ah yes, that. From what we gathered after watching you kids fight, we've determined your roles between Attacker, Supporter, and Shooter. In this group, we have two of each" Nick explains.

"Yeah, and shouldn't I be an Attacker?!" Grover cries.

"From how you fight, yes, Grover, you would be an Attacker. But, due to the mobility of your Cursed Ability, having you act as a supporter on the battlefield will be far more valuable, since you can effortlessly transport people or objects., ie: you can easily transport medical supplies of information, which is why you are best suited to be a Supporter," Nick explains.

"But I don't want to be a Supporter, I want to fight! How can I become the next top Slayer if I don't fight!" Grover pouts.

"Supporters are actually far more valuable and get far more credit than Attackers or Shooters," Nick replies, which shuts Grover right up, in a good way.

"As for Ella, Jamie, and Austin, Supporter, Attacker, and Shooter respectively, that should come as no surprise," Nick then continues.

The previously mentioned three nods.

"But as for Luis and Mikey, we struggled to figure out where to place them. But after some thought, we figured out that this was the best bet: Luis as an Attacker, and Mikey as a shooter," Nick continues.

"WHAT?!" I cry.

Mikey lets out a "tch," and looks even more annoyed than usual.

"An Attacker? I don't want to die on the front lines! Besides, all of my wind attacks are ranged!" I cry.

"If you don't want to be an Attacker, then why do you wield a sword? And yes, although most of your attacks are ranged, it's a common misconception that wind users are ranged fighters, when in fact, due to the shredding power of wind, wind users are best suited for melee combat," Nick explains.

"And what about me? I kick ass in hand-to-hand combat," Mikey asks.

"Mikey, you are a special case and are versatile in both Attacking and Shooting. While you may be even stronger in melee combat, your range and knowledge of guns far exceeds anyone rookie I've seen aside from Austin, placing you in the Shooter category," Nick explains Oh, and one more thing…"

"LUIS, IF YOU WANTED TO BE A SHOOTER THEN WHY USE A KATANA?! AND MIKEY, IF YOU WANTED TO BE AN ATTACKER THEN WHY DO YOU USE GUNS?!" Nick snaps..

"Ah, I didn't think that through...I just wanted wind and a sword…" I admit.

"Because I'm that good that I can turn ranged weapons into melee weapons. This is why I didn't want to join you damned Slayers, already putting a label on me!" Mikey grunts. 

"What about you, Nick, what are you?" Grover excitedly asks.

"Oh, I'm an Attacker," Nick answers. "Lighting may be better suited for ranged attacks, like fire, but due to my speed I was always more valuable in melee combat."

Back to the present.

***

Upon walking into our dormhouse, we see a lone Nick sitting at our kitchen table. "Ah, welcome back!" Nick greets us. "I know, I know, you guys just got back from a mission and you're tired, but I have another one for you.

I groan.

Ella groans.

Even Grover groans.

We all groan.

"We haven't had a break in weeks, I feel like I'm about to drop dead!" Jamie wines.

"Agreed, all of these nonstop missions are going to severely impact our productivity out on the field," Austin scientifically adds as he does the anime glasses guy thing again.

"Well, don't worry. If you six feel so inclined to take up this mission, then we get an entire week to rest up beforehand, and a week after," Nick replies, causing the six of us all to cheer.

"You say we get to rest up and prepare for this next week? This mission is something special, isn't it?" Mikey asks.

"Ah, how very acute of you," Nick replies. "Notice how I said we before? That's because this mission is difficult, difficult enough that I will be accompanying you." 

"Woah, we get to fight alongside the Bumblebee? This is epic!" Grover cheers.

"No, this isn't epic, not one bit. Why is this mission so special?" Ella asks.

Nick sighs. "Well, you see, this is the tricky part. What I am about to tell you is high class information. Until you promise to accept this mission, I can not give you any details," he answers.

I begin to sweat. "What do we do, guys?" I ask as I turn to face the others.

"Well, if we want to become great Pro Slayers, then it is imperative that we take this risk, though that would be the non-logical answer," Austin answers with a smirk, as he does the anime glasses guy thing.

"Well if Austin says we should, then it must be a good idea!" Jamie adds.

Mikey shrugs. "I'm strong, should be easy. I'll do this mission alone if you're too scared, don't hold me back," he replies.

"Hah! Like I'd ever pass up a chance to fight alongside the strongest Pro Slayer!" Grover laughs as he cracks his knuckles.

I feel something grab my hand, and I look down to see Ella squeezing mine. I then peer back up and meet Ella's gaze.

"What do you want to do, Luis?" She asks.

Why the Hell is everyone asking me.

I take a deep breath in…then out. I let go of Ella's hand and turn back around to face Nick.

"We'll do it!"

Nick smirks. "Just what I wanted to hear!" Nick booms, as he splays out his arms. "I knew you six were the right squad for the job!"

"So what's the mission about?" Mikey asks as he crosses his arms.

"This mission is one so perilous that every squad it was handed to so far has declined," Nick begins to say. I can hear Ella physically gulp.

"Demonism, the worship of demons," Nick continues. "Typical, the worship of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. For generations, there was a saying that four demons are ought to rise and bring upon a revolution to this world, a revolution that will either bring great change or absolute destruction to humankind. The four demons are known as Death, War, Famine, and Pestilence, abilities and appearance unknown."

"Demonism. Makes me sick," Mikey spits. I don't blame him. It's unsettling, knowing that people worship these man-eating creatures.

"This cultist group has dubbed themselves the "Cards of the King," a public church, and are planning on summoning the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to our world. We don't know much, if anything about the members, we can only assume that they have some sort of tragic past that led them to this point," Nick explains.

Everyone is speechless. My heartbeat is pounding so fast, and so much blood rushed to my head that the only things I can hear are my pounding heartbeat and my throbbing head.

Until I burst out laughing.

"You're kidding me, right? People who worship demons? Demons destined to bring upon revolution of the human world? Sounds like a load of horse crap to me!" I laugh.