There was clearly a massive misunderstanding, but Orion wasn't about to clear it up - mostly because he couldn't. He didn't even know who the hell that shadowy Warlock guy was, let alone why he had swooped in with his monster birds to save him.
Not that Orion was complaining. If it hadn't been for him, he'd be headless demon chow by now. The Silver Blade, Kalen, had only shown up after the fact, strutting in all shiny-haired and righteous with his anime-protagonist sword swings.
'Cool as hell, sure. But personality-wise? Yeah, this guy seems like a total pain in the ass,' Orion thought, forcing himself not to flinch as Kalen's steel-grey eyes bore into him like knives.
There was something in that stare, something sharp, suspicious. The Exorcist wasn't looking at him like a person. He was measuring him. Weighing him.
'Appearances can be deceiving,' Kalen's mind whispered darkly. 'Why would the Warlock save this boy? That bastard has slaughtered countless innocents, and his group of rogues seeks nothing less than humanity's downfall. Either this child has caught his eye… or he's already connected to them. Whatever the case, I cannot take any risks.'
Orion didn't even get the chance to protest. In one swift motion, the Silver Blade spun him around and cuffed his wrists behind his back.
"Hey - seriously?!" Orion squawked, wriggling like a kid fighting against a seatbelt. "I didn't even do anything. Isn't it innocent until proven guilty?"
The cuffs clicked shut, hard and cold.
"They'll dampen any spirit energy," the swordsman said flatly, before nudging him. "Now walk forward."
"You think I'm some superpowered threat?" Orion snorted, half amused despite the steel cutting into his wrists. "And you're scared to let me walk behind you?"
One sharp glare from those piercing silver eyes shut him right the hell up, at least for a second. Orion swallowed, nodding obediently, and shuffled forward where the swordsman signalled with a tilt of his chin.
"So…" Orion tried again, his tone annoyingly casual for someone in supernatural captivity. "Where are we going?"
Silence.
"At least tell me how long we're walking - I've got asthma and don't have my inhaler."
The swordsman sighed like a man regretting every decision that led him here. "Just walk. It's only one klick to the gateway."
"One klick?" Orion repeated. "What the hell is that? And what's a gateway? Is it like a train station, but for demon hunters?"
No answer.
That didn't stop him.
"So, you're an exorcist, huh? Do you get paid for that? Like a salary? Or commission per demon?"
No response.
"What's your sword made of? Looks expensive. Bet it's custom."
Nothing.
"Do you dye your hair, or are you naturally dramatic?"
The swordsman's jaw twitched.
"Contacts too? 'Cause those eyes are too pretty to be real."
Still nothing.
"Ever think about doing shampoo commercials?"
That was it. The swordsman halted abruptly, pulling Orion's hood to stop him. The cuffed youth almost fell back, but the silver-haired exorcist held him up effortlessly.
"You're dragging your feet and talking too much," the Silver Blade growled, patience at its limit. "I've got things to do."
And before Orion could even crack another joke, he was hoisted over the man's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Hey! Wait! I'm a grown man, you know. This is embarrassing!" Orion flailed, but the next moment the wind tore across his face so violently it stole his voice.
The world blurred. Streets, houses, and shattered streetlamps streaked past as if gravity had been turned off. His stomach dropped into his shoes, his ears popped, and when they stopped a minute later, Orion's legs wobbled uselessly as the swordsman set him down.
"Holy shit," Orion gasped, dizzy but exhilarated. "That was like a motorcycle ride. Without the motorcycle. Or the helmet. Or, you know, basic safety regulations."
The Silver Blade ignored him, scanning the narrow alleyway before them. A dead end, grimy and stinking of trash.
Orion blinked, suspicious. "Don't tell me... You didn't drag me here to touch me, right?"
The swordsman's head turned, glare sharp enough to cut steel.
"I mean, technically you wouldn't be a pedo," Orion said with a grin he absolutely did not feel. "I just turned eighteen today. Not that I'm consenting. I like them tall with big jugs. That's women, to be clear."
"You're almost as annoying as that oaf," the swordsman muttered, shoving him forward.
"Wow, you're not even denying it. That's reassuring," Orion deadpanned, but the man wasn't listening.
Step by step, they advanced to the wall at the end of the alley. A cracked, mouldy brick surface that looked about as magical as wet cardboard. Orion was ready to crack another joke about sketchy kidnapping scenarios when his eyes caught something...
A keyhole. Embedded in the brick.
"That's new," Orion whispered, wide-eyed.
The swordsman produced a key from inside his cloak. Its edges gleamed with a soft, pulsing blue light that painted his hand like it was dipped in starlight. Without a word, he slid it into the keyhole and turned.
Hummmm.
A deep, celestial resonance thrummed through the stone, like the echo of a distant choir. The wall groaned, ancient and weary, as light bled through the cracks like molten sapphire. The bricks folded inward, unravelling into nothingness until the dead end wasn't a wall at all anymore...
It became a swirling blue portal - a literal gateway to somewhere else entirely.
Orion's jaw dropped. "Okay. Not gonna lie, that's the coolest thing I've seen all day. And I just watched a giant demon with six arms get diced like sashimi."