The demon roared, a guttural sound that rattled windows and sent cracks skittering across the asphalt. Its bulk loomed like a tower of muscle and hate, claws glistening with the ichor of a dozen past victims. Renji planted his feet, chest rising and falling as adrenaline surged through his veins like fire. His demon eye pulsed with a faint glow, tracing every twitch of the monster's movement—the weak points, the cracks in its hide, the faltering rhythm of its breaths.
The fight had shifted.
The demon lunged, swinging its maul with bone-crushing force, but Renji sidestepped in a blur, pivoting on his heel. His body moved with the fluid precision of a master martial artist, every strike calculated, every motion honed. He lashed out with a spinning hook kick—his heel cracked against the beast's jaw with a thunderclap, snapping its head sideways.
The creature howled in pain, its teeth snapping like jagged stones. Renji didn't give it time to recover. He drove forward, fists like pistons. A straight punch sank into its chest, followed by a rapid-fire flurry of taekwondo strikes—elbows, knees, and lightning-fast kicks tearing into its flesh. Each impact rang like a war drum.
Thud. Crack. Thud.
The demon staggered backward, black blood spattering the ruined pavement. Renji's breath came ragged, but his eyes blazed. This wasn't just survival—this was vengeance. Every punch was for the family he saw slaughtered in his vision. Every kick was for the life the abyss had cursed him with.
The demon regained balance with a furious bellow, swinging wildly. The maul whooshed past Renji's head, close enough to graze his cheek with the sting of displaced air. He ducked low, swept the creature's legs with a spinning kick, and brought it crashing to the ground. The shockwave cracked the asphalt, dust and smoke billowing into the night sky.
"Get up," Renji growled, voice trembling with fury. "I'm not done with you."
The monster staggered upright, swiping blindly in rage. Renji's eye pulsed again—he could see it now. Every opening, every flaw in its defense glowed before him like cracks in glass. He surged forward, delivering a tornado kick that landed square against its ribs. The snap of bone echoed, followed by another scream that split the night.
Still, the demon swung. Still, it fought. Its massive claw tore a shallow gash across Renji's arm, hot blood spilling down his sleeve. The pain flared, but he didn't falter. Instead, he gritted his teeth and twisted with the momentum, unleashing a back kick so brutal it drove the air from the beast's lungs.
"Stay down," Renji spat, chest heaving.
But the demon refused. It lumbered forward, weakened but furious, raising the maul high for one last strike. Time slowed. The moonlight gleamed on the blood-slick weapon. Renji's eye burned brighter, illuminating the monster's fatal weakness—its overextended stance, its exposed core.
Renji smirked.
He shot forward in a blur, sidestepping the downward swing with razor precision. His hands wrapped around the demon's wrists, twisting with superhuman strength. The maul clattered loose, spinning into Renji's grip.
The beast froze, realization dawning too late.
Renji's breath fogged in the cold night as he swung the weapon at its jaw with every ounce of fury in his body. The steel head of the maul crushed it's lower jaw and throwing the large beast into the air.
The monster's eyes went wide, its roar dying into a strangled gasp as it landed heavily.
Renji leaned close, voice low and cutting.
"Death by your own weapon? That'll be very embarrassing."
With a final shove, his glowing veins bulged when the smashed the maul into the abdomen hard enough to make the demon expelled a coil of its own intestines through its mouth.
A tremor shook the ground as the kinetic energy of the maul got transferred into the earth shattering the pavement beneath. Black blood spread like ink across the street, steaming in the night air.
Renji stood over the corpse, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his brow. The weapon dangled from his hand, heavy with victory. He looked down at the fallen beast, eyes cold, then cast the heavy maul aside with a clatter.
The silence that followed was deafening. The city seemed to hold its breath.
Renji flexed his wounded arm, the demon eye still glowing faintly. He wasn't sure if this was the end—or just the beginning of something far worse. But one thing was certain.
He would not drown in the abyss. He would wield it.
And tonight was proof. He turned his back on the demon and walked to where the children mother was still partially buried in debris.
The children ran from him upon seeing his demon eye while he helped them dig out their mother then check her pulse.
" She'll live just unconscious" He said simply it was then the eldest boy crept forward to him.
" Thank you sir, you just saved our lives" the boy said, his face and that of siblings were streaked with tears of relief.
Renji managed a light smile. " No problem boy, just wait here and guard your family help will be here soon"
The sounds of approaching sirens suddenly increased in volume and made the boy turn in the direction, in turned back with a second to see Renji already disappearing into the distance.
An armoured truck skidded to a halt at the scene along with an ambulance. The alpha operatives stepped out as soon as the truck stopped.
Akihiro let out a wolf whistle " what in heaven's name happened here?" He wondered while the ambulance immediately got to work.
" What the hell did that?" Jade muttered in disbelief and left Akihiro to trail her eyes to the spot where the demon's corpse still laid.
" Let's ask the kids" He suggested and strode towards where the children watched the ambulance team help their mother onto a stretcher.
" Hey children, we're a team that specializes in the killing of these things, this is my colleague Jade. Um what exactly happened here?" Akihiro asked.
The children stood behind the eldest who fidgeted. " Um sir?" " Hey little one" this was from jade now who knelt down to his level. " What my friend was trying to say was that we save people from these things but now we need your help, tell us what exactly happened here okay?"
The boy stared into the eyes of the nice lady for a while then gave a nod. " Okay…"