Dual System: Ascension of A Nameless Nobody

Eunji kept her hands over her mouth and nose to make sure her unsteady breathing wasn't heard; sweating as the pressure of the highly-lethal demon could be felt like the weight of a mountain looming over her.

Worst of all, Sol was frozen like a statue in his tent, looking forward at the harrowing situation that was his tent; the flap was open. In the time that the demon had crashed through the ceiling, he didn't get a chance to close it.

Crap, crap, crap…! He thought.

While he wanted to reach forward and zip it up, that was hardly an option as the sports store was dead silent, save for the noises created by the prowling hellspawn itself.

What do I do? What do I do…?! He thought.

The footsteps of the Reaver Demon were not only heard, but felt; the dreadful vibrations reverberated through the floor, felt beneath the tent he sat in as he kept his hand outstretched, but too frozen in fear to grab the zipper.

He watched, gulping as the tall, winged demon continued to sniff around the air of the quiet sports store, rummaging through the aisles as its wings toppled racks of sporting gear.

While it made noise in its abrasive prowl, he finally summoned enough courage to grab the zipper, beginning to slowly pull it up to minimize the sound it produced.

Please, please, please…He pleaded in his head.

A lengthy inhale from the demon was clearly heard, sniffing up the air wantingly, desperate to find what it was seeking as he continued to pull up the zipper.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

–It was coming towards his direction.

Feeling the weight of those horrific steps marching through the store, stomping down on the wooden floorboards like muddy hooves, he frantically began to guide the zipper up now.

Come on…! Come on! He thought.

The heaviness to those steps resounded within him; each downfall of those acidic feet, stomping closer towards him made his heart beat just that much more erratically.

Just as it crept into the section of the store filled with tents–it zipped up.

"--"

He quietly breathed out in relief, but it was only momentary as the Reaver Demon continued prowling forward, hissing out as its thick tail with an ax-faced end swayed, whipping into the nearby shelves.

The breathing of the onyx-skinned demon sounded like the growling of a large mutt; while it slowly stepped around, sliding its trail across the floor behind it, they each remained as silent as could be.

It felt as if the most minuscule sound, nothing more than a breath exhaled with the slightest more volume, or a piece of the tent's material creasing, would cause the stalking fiend to lash out immediately without recourse.

Calm breathing, calm breathing, Sol…! Jeong-Hui taught you this! He thought.

All he could do was soften his breathing to the highest degree he could, though it was difficult as the presence of the daunting demon caused his chest to tighten and his pores to ooze sweat.

"--"

He placed his hands over his mouth, feeling his breaths exude warmly against his fingers as he clenched his own lips in an attempt to stifle any noise from escaping.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

The footsteps, being so very near now, vibrated the tent he hid inside of, reverberating against his body like horrific drums being hit.

Beyond the veil of the tent, he could see the outline of the demon that stalked the store's interior; it was hunched and tall, dragging a behemoth of a tail behind its slow steps. Past its lips, its tongue slithered out, vibrating like the bell of a rattlesnake.
Calm, calm, calm…! He thought.

By now, as the demon directly passed by his tent, his thoughts had become so diluted by fear that he repeated that one word over and over again in his mind as if it did anything but provide the opposite effect.

"--!"

He nearly screamed against his hands as the demon's tail slid by, brushing against the tent as its tongue continued to rattle.

With such a noisy tongue belonging to a powerful creature, it felt like less of a warning, and more of a sound that promised certain death to any that walked in its path.

But alas, the demon passed by.

Almost by reflex, he nearly let out a sigh before sucking that breath right back into his lungs, sealing it in.

"Kreeee…"

The demon hissed, leaning down as it seemed to sniff the fabric of the tent that Eunji was inhabiting.

Within the tent itself, Eunji clamped her mouth with both of her hands, trembling as she shut her eyes tightly out of fear.

"--"

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

By some miraculous happening, the Reaver Demon left the tent section, moving on as it aimed for the doors.

But, this wasn't exactly a good thing, either. Not for Ma-Ri, who was still hiding beneath the suspended kayak.

"--!"

If she didn't see the demon approaching her general direction, she could certainly feel it through the hefy vibrations emitted with each of its imposing steps.

It didn't have any thought to spare for the items in its path; the demon simply stomped forward, crunching paddles beneath its step and toppling racks with its far-spanning wings as its tongue continued rattling.

A difficult problem presented itself to her; a choice had to be made.

She looked around, keeping silent as she composed herself, though sweat lightly left her pores. There was a chance the demon could perhaps pass by her without noticing her, and it might not be a low chance at that, but it was something that was a large enough risk.

But, if she did choose to move, she would have to be both absolutely quiet and remain out of the black-skinned fiend's line of sight.

Neither of these options seemed easy, but she had to choose, and quickly.

As it stomped closer and closer, she quietly crawled across the floor, using the rack in front to break line of sight as she moved herself as noise-free as possible.

"--"

Trrrr.

The tongue of the demon, that hung low, continued rattling as it was new just a meter or two away from her as she managed to bring herself in the rack of sporting gear, hiding among the winter-suited coats just as the demon passed by.

She maintained her breathing to such a low that one could mistake her for not even inhaling or exhaling at all, but with that icy-cool calm, she managed to hide herself from the notice of the powerful fiend.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

It let out a grumble before using its fist to slam against the doors, unleashing a power shock wave from the simple thrust of its hand that blew the see-through doors straight off of their hinges.

But, it was never that easy.

It was a single stroke of misfortune that just before the reaver demon could step outside the bounds of the store—

"Achoo!"

Sol sneezed out with the most harrowing sneeze heard by the other three that were hiding in the store.

That was all it took.

For a moment, the fiend clad in abyssal skin froze in place as they all sat in total silence.


"—"

"Raaaaergh-!!!"

The reaver demon spun around and unleashed a banshee-like cry as its rattling tongue shook aggressively.

Just as it stepped forward with its onyx eyes locked in the direction of the young man who sneezed, Ma-Ri intercepted its path with a flashing thrust.

In an unorthodox display of agility, the tall creature managed to avoid the piercing end of the radiant rapier by twisting backward.

Crack.

The sound of bones cracking and reshaping sounded out as the demon seemed to bend its own spine backward for evasive advantage.

"—!"

She flipped by after barely missing, instantly going in for another attack as she thrust her rapier forward—

"Shining Typhoon!"

A swirl of radiance surrounding the trajectory of the rapier thrust as it hurled towards the demon.

Silently, the demon placed its palms together before snapping its wrists joints, holding its hands in an upside-down prayer.

What is it…? She questioned.

Just before the sharp end of her weapon could reach the demon, it stopped as a sphere of translucent, dark energy manifested in a shield around the reaver demon.

She immediately withdrew after failing to land her attack.

Though it looked like a simple barrier, the fact that she didn't know exactly what it's true nature was lead to her not taking any chances.

"Cowabunga!"

—Leaping in from the side, out of seemingly nowhere, Yeong-Un roared out with both of his blades reared back.

"Wait!"

It was too late for her to try to stop the spiky-haired young man once he already got going.

Yeong-Un crashed down with a massive overhead slash against the black sphere, resulting in an impact that had no visible release.

"Wha-?!" Yeong-Un uttered in shock.

"Get back!" She yelled out.

The stagnant sphere started to vibrate and hum while the multi-colored eyed young man stared down unknowingly at it.

Just as the black sphere released a shock wave, she dashed forward with a flash, tackling Yeong-Un away from the range of the attack.

"...Thanks," Yeong-Un grunted.