Spirit Hunting Union

The curved dagger manifested in Quinn's hand as he muttered the command word.

He rushed closer to Jett immediately. Who cried and trembled away from him. But when Quinn caught him, he gripped him hard.

He sighed.

"Be free from the pain years from now."

Thus, he plunged the dagger into Jett's right eye. A thick fluid spilled out in a hot spray across Quinn's hand.

And the scream that followed was so guttural it might reach the heavens.

Yet, Quinn grinned.

This feeling again… It felt so good. As he yanked the dagger free from the socket. A wave of warmth clutched at his heart.

Jett fell to the ground, pinning his palm against what now was a ruined cavity. Blood leaked from it down his arm.

He cried,

"Ah-ah-ah!!!"

But the pleasurable feeling Quinn felt disappeared. He was again left with the mid-excitement he had always self-contained himself with.

He stared down at Jett with disappointment.

Then mumbled,

"How about doubling the pain for you?"

…!!!

Jett screamed as he drew away from him,

"NO! NO, NO!! Please, spare my life! PLEASE!"

Quinn's expression was neutral. He mumbled under his breath,

"Of course, I'm sparing you. I just need to feel that warmth again. And I'm done with you."

Thus, he crouched closer to Jett in a second and grabbed him by his collars again.

Jett resisted, trying to break free. But Quinn held him still.

And so he stabbed the second eye.

Jett roared in greater agony. His eyeball slopped down the socket, blood spraying out non-stop.

Right there! That's the feeling again.

Quinn could feel it making his heart race like crazy.

Jett cried,

"AH-AH-AH-AH! AHHHHHHHHHH!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Yet, Quinn grinned widely, closing his eyes as he spread his hands to both sides.

He shouted,

"SO LUCKY YOU DON'T HAVE A THIRD EYE! JETT CROSS!"

Jett roared back in pure pain,

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

… Right then, Quinn stopped grinning.

Silence spread across the room. So much that you could hear the faint sound of blood tapping against the tiled floor.

Then Quinn smirked. Mumbling silently,

"Tch… kill me? Talk about some nerves from a blind bastard."

***

Minutes after Quinn left, Jett was still nurturing the pain. It felt like fingers were pressing the empty sockets hard. Shooting agony as sharp as the tip of an arrow into his brain.

At times, he could at least take slight breaths. But all of a sudden, he would just run out of air to breathe. As though intentionally trying to suffocate himself.

Jett slammed his fists into the ground, crying,

"HELL! HELL NO! I-I can't see anything! Just kill me already! HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!"

In an instance, he heard the door creak open. His instincts had pushed him backwards in fear before he himself knew it. His chest beat like crazy, not helping the storm going on in his head.

Was it that monster again? No, no...

"... He did too much this time. Geez, how could someone be this cruel?"

Jett heard a strange, masculine voice say that.

In a second, his heart beat slowed down. But he only knew it wasn't the devil guy this time. Still not who it really was.

Because he could see absolutely nothing. Nothing! His vision wasn't black or anything. He just… couldn't see anything.

Damn it!

All of a sudden, he felt a faint air blow at his face. He flinched back, but a gentle pat landed on his shoulder.

His lips parted. And he asked,

"Who… are you?"

Now, it wasn't a masculine voice. Instead, it was that of a woman old enough to be around fifty.

The woman reassured him, her voice so warm that Jett got a picture of his dead mother,

"We'll help you, child. So sorry for what happened to you. This is so… monstrous."

Jett felt tears streaming down his face. His chest sank.

But he wondered what his tears looked like now that both his eyes were gone. So, he asked: "What do my tears look like?"

The woman didn't answer on time. When she did even do so, she stammered, not getting straight to the point.

Jett couldn't hold it and yelled at her,

"Just say it already!"

The woman later gave a response,

"A mix of blood and water. I'm so sorry, child."

Jett turned his head down, gritting his teeth. He shook his head in regret and rage.

"No, no… I AM GONNA KILL THAT BASTARD! I WILL STRANGLE HIM TO DEATH MYSELF!"

… The masculine voice calmly slipped in,

"I was going to do that anyway. I'll carry that burden for you, don't worry." After a few seconds, the same person said, "River, check the conditions of the others."

Three now? Who are these people?

Consequently, the female who seemed to be "River" gave a response:

"This is bad. They're all dead too."

Then came a deep sigh from the masculine voice.

"All for fun and power? Geez. Even the previous beholders of Dark Divinity weren't this evil straight away."

Dark Divinity?

What are they talking about?

***

Quinn got to their neighborhood. Thundermouth.

But not knowing the house number, he called the team leader. The man sounded a bit off when he picked up… But anyway, Quinn asked for the number.

And he got his answer.

Even so, he waited almost an hour at the doorstep for everyone else to arrive. Turns out he must get a spare key too from now on.

Again, everyone was so quiet. So off. Quinn had for a second thought there was a visible bloodstain on him or something. Before he checked and confirmed there was none. Because he had already cleaned himself up in the club's restroom before taking a cab.

What's up then?

Oh, maybe something went wrong where they were coming from.

Maybe. If so, Quinn knew well not to bother anyone either. He just went upstairs when they got inside.

But what contrasted his earlier belief was what Lady Maya said when she came to his room.

A gentle knock came on the door. Quinn rose from the bed, asking the person to come in. It was the old woman.

She just stood by the door and asked:

"Sleeping?"

Quinn carefully nodded.

"Just about to."

But then, she went quiet.

That bugged Quinn a little.

His shoulders stiffened.

Soon, she replied,

"Alright then. Have a good sleep."

Quinn nodded back.

"Thanks, Lady Maya."

But she didn't leave yet.

She turned back inside and told him that: "The thing's so brutal. So inhumane. But I can't let them do what they want to do…"

Quinn's brows creased. And he fully rose from the bed.

He asked,

"What's that?"

Lady Maya went quiet for some moments, clasping her hand on the door edge. She later told him off,

"You should go to bed. Maybe head for a jog in the morning too. Have a good night, Quinn."

"Wait…"

But she had already gone, gently closing the door.

… Quinn stood still for a while. In total wonder. But he soon dismissed both her and his stacking thoughts, slipping back into bed.

Whatever.

Everything she said makes things a bit gloomy. But at least, he knew they wouldn't kill him in his sleep.

He could handle what else comes after...

"Hm?"

Quinn frowned.

Did he just think they wouldn't kill him?

Yeah, he did.

'Geez… I'm trusting people again.'

Anyways, they were really worth the trust. No one but those three have been there for him after his rebirth.

And the morning jog the woman suggested? Yeah, he should try that too. It would help stretch some bones…

Quinn sighed as he turned his face to the bed, closing his eyes.

Meanwhile, even after everything, his heart still pounded faintly.

***

The morning light slipped through the blinds.

Moments later, Quinn woke up and stretched. He could feel the fatigue of yesterday all over his body. His body felt sore as well.

Not giving him a longer time to ease himself, someone knocked on the door. Quinn grunted.

"What again?"

It might just be the old woman here to call him down for breakfast. Well, she's best at caring.

But when Quinn opened the door, it was the girl.

Quinn raised his brows.

"Oh… hey."

River was dressed in a casual shirt and jeans. But not what you wear around the house either.

"Heading somewhere?"

River responded,

"We need to buy some things. I'll be waiting in the car."

And she left.

Quinn was baffled. Since when has it been his role to buy something? Something like what? Groceries?

Anyways, he brushed his teeth and put on some clothes too. Before joining her downstairs. And they went into the car.

He didn't check the whole house. But it seemed neither Lady Maya nor Silas were home either.

Did they go on a morning jog then? But Quinn had never seen them go for one before.

In a moment, River handed him a white nose mask. The same one she had put on too.

She informed him,

"Here. You need to cover your face."

Quinn tilted his head in confusion before taking the mask.

As he wore it, he asked,

"Aren't we just going to buy something?"

…

Right.

…

River responded, her voice a bit warmer,

"No."

Quinn creased his brows.

Surprisingly, his breathing started to stall.

"What…?"

The words froze in his throat as he slowly ran out of breath. Only able to take slight ones. Immediately, Quinn went ahead to pull down the nose mask. But that was when it dropped.

His hands stopped moving.

No matter how much he tried, he couldn't move any more. Not even a finger.

Lesser air flowed through his nostrils.

"What…?"

River gave him a gentle look. The last thing he heard before the darkness took him was:

"I'm sorry."