Marcus/Rocco
By the third hunt that week-
We stopped feeling like amateurs.
Not completely.
Seraphina would probably stab me for even thinking that.
But still, something had changed.
We moved better now. Faster, cleaner, with less hesitation.
The panic that used to hit the second a demon appeared was fading little
by little, replaced by instinct and repetition. That was probably dangerous in
its own way. But right now? I'd take it.
The rain had started an hour earlier. Not quite heavy, just enough to
soak the roads and turn the forest trails slick beneath our boots.
Noah looked personally offended by the weather.
"I just want it noted," he said while pulling his hood up higher, "that
hunting monsters in the rain feels deeply unfair."
"You complain in every climate," I replied.
"That's because suffering adapts."
Ahead of us, Callie ignored us completely as she crouched near a patch
of mud.
"Fresh," she said.
I stepped beside her.
The tracks were clearer than usual thanks to the rain.
Large. Deep and recent.
"It's moving toward the lower district," I said.
Callie nodded once.
"Which means if we move now, we intercept before it reaches civilians."
That part still hit differently every time.
Civilians. Normal people.
People who had no idea how close this stuff got sometimes.
Seraphina stepped forward from behind us, coat darkened slightly by the
rain.
"Formation?"
She looked directly at me.
Testing again. Always testing.
I scanned the area quickly. Dense trees to the left. Open slope ahead.
Poor visibility of the rain.
"Riley stays mid-range," I said. "Callie flanks right. Noah stays with
Riley until engagement starts."
Noah pointed at himself, teasing. "Wow. You trust me now."
"I trust you not to die immediately." I teased back.
"I'll take it."
Seraphina said nothing. Which usually meant my answer was acceptable.
Probably.
We moved deeper into the forest.
The rain muted everything.
Footsteps, breathing, even the wind felt quieter. But underneath that
silence.
I felt it. That pressure in the air.
Closer now.
"Three o'clock," Riley said suddenly.
I turned instantly. Movement. Fast.
The demon burst through the trees without warning. Bigger than the last
few.
Its body twisted unnaturally as it lunged-
But this time, nobody froze.
Callie moved first.
Her whip snapped forward, forcing the demon to shift mid-air instead of
attacking cleaning.
I stepped in immediately.
One blade intercepted its claw while I drove a low kick into its thigh
hard enough to disrupt its landing.
The demon snarled violently and swung toward my head. I slipped under the
strike and answered with an elbow across its ribs.
Impact vibrated through my arm. Hard body.
"Behind you!" Noah's voice rung out.
I reacted instantly as another demon rushed from the trees- Riley
intercepted first this time. Not with strength. With timing.
She swung a metal baton Seraphina had started training her with,
striking the demon's arm hard enough to redirect the attack before pivoting
backward smoothly.
Too smooth for someone who'd only started training weeks ago.
The bracelet pulsed faintly against my wrist again.
The second demon turned Riley- Noah stepped forward immediately.
No hesitation.
He drove his shoulder into the creature's side, throwing off its balance
long enough for Riley to recover.
"Okay," he grunted, "that thing is way heavier than it looks."
The demon roared and swung toward him. Noah ducked late, barely avoiding
the claws.
"Still alive!" he announced immediately.
"Focus!" Riley snapped.
"I am focused!"
The first demon attacked again.
I met it head-on. Steel clashed against claws as I directed the strike
instead of blocking directly, stepping into close range immediately.
Knee to the ribs, elbow to the jaw, low kick to the jaw.
The sequence flowed naturally now. No wasted movement or hesitation.
The demon staggered. I spun into a roundhouse kick aimed toward its head.
But it caught my leg.
My eyes widened slightly.
The creature yanked hard-
I twisted mid-motion before it could throw me fully off balance,
planting one hand against the ground and driving my free heel directly into its
face.
The impact forced it backward. Space restored but barely.
The bracelet surged.
Harder this time.
The energy rushed through my body violently enough to make my heartbeat
spike.
Not unstable. But stronger. Different.
I moved before the feeling disappeared.
The demon lunged again, I stepped inside its reach.
My hand locked briefly behind its neck as I drove repeated kneed into
its midsection with explosive force.
The creature roared violently and forced me backward, but this time,
something answered.
The bracelet burned. And suddenly, chains exploded outward.
My eyes widened.
Dark metal shot from the bracelet itself, wrapping around the demon's
arm before slamming tight with a violent metallic snap.
The creature froze.
So did I.
What-
"Rocco!"
Callie's voice snapped me out of it.
The demon roared violently, trying to pull free.
Instinct moved faster than thought.
I grabbed the chain and pulled.
The force dragged the demon toward me at terrifying speed. Exactly like-
No time. Move.
I stepped forward the second it entered range.
One blade slashed low across its torso while my fist smashed into its
jaw hard enough to snap its head sideways.
Then I spun fully into the finishing strike-
My heel crashed downward onto its skull with explosive force.
The ground cracked beneath us. The demon stopped moving.
Silence hit the clearing instantly.
Rain continued falling softly around us. By then, the others had
finished the other demon.
Nobody spoke for a second. Because nobody understood what had just
happened. Including me.
The chain slowly dissolved into black particles before completely back
into the bracelet.
My breathing felt uneven now. Not just from exhaustion but also shock.
"…You felt that too, didn't you?" Callie's voice quieter this time. Different.
I looked toward her. She was staring at the bracelet.
"Yeah," I admitted slowly.
Riley walked closer carefully. "What exactly was that?"
"I have no idea."
"That," Noah said immediately, "was the coolest thing I've ever seen."
Callie ignored him.
"That wasn't like the normal realm energy," she said quietly.
Seraphina finally stepped forward.
And for the first time in a while, she looked genuinely serious. And not
her usual calm-serious but concerned-serious.
"Describe what you felt," she said.
I frowned slightly.
"It just… happened," I replied. "The bracelet reacted and then the
chains appeared."
"No," she said sharply. "Before that."
I paused, thinking back.
The surge, the pressure, the feeling right before the chains manifested.
"It felt…" I hesitated. "Like something answered me."
Silence.
The rain suddenly felt colder.
Seraphina's gaze lingered on the bracelet for several seconds before she
finally spoke.
"The chains are part of the prison."
She turned, watching me. Like she was waiting for a reaction that never
came.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"… You're not surprised."
I blinked. "What?"
"The realm being a prison," she said slowly. "You already knew."
The others looked toward me immediately.
I opened my mouth then stopped. Because honestly? I wasn't sure how to
answer.
"I've seen things there," I admitted quietly.
Seraphina's expression sharpened instantly.
"There?"
"In the realm."
The rain suddenly felt louder.
"What exactly have you seen?" she asked carefully.
"…My father…"
Complete silence.
Even Noah stopped moving.
"He talks to me sometimes," I continued slowly. "Mostly during
meditation. Training too."
I frowned slightly.
"He was the one who explained the bracelet to me the first time.
Nobody spoke. Didn't even look away. Because the atmosphere had changed
completely.
"…Dad?" she whispered.
The word cracked slightly coming out.
Right I understood. Because while I'd only regained fragment of my
memory, Callie had spent years believing she'd lost everything. Including him.
Forever.
"I don't think it's really him," I said quietly. "At least… not
completely."
But Callie's eyes had already started watering slightly.
She looked away immediately, trying to hide it. Times like this reminded
me that she's just a kid acting strong and it made it worse.
Seraphina noticed too. Her expression softened. Just slightly.
"He speaks clearly?" she asked.
"Most of the time."
"And nobody else can see him?"
I shook my head.
"No."
That answer seemed to bother her more than comfort her.
"The realm should not function that way," she murmured.
"But it is," Riley pointed out quietly.
Seraphina's gaze shifted back toward the bracelet. Like this changed
something important. Maybe it did.
Callie finally wiped at her eyes quickly before anyone could say
anything.
"…What does he say?" she asked softly.
I looked at her for a moment before answering.
"He mostly trains me."
A weak laugh escaped her then. Small.
Painfully nostalgic.
"…Yeah," she whispered. "That sounds like him."
I moved forward, giving her a hug. To which she held onto me tightly.
Seeing her in pain, hurt more than anything else.