Blood Oath of the Shadow

Silver spear split the air sending bursts of energy crackling as it drove straight through the heart of the entity howling before him. The figure collapsed instantly its body dissolving into thick black ash before it could even touch the roof of the old building along Sudirman.

Axel stood frozen caught in the fine drizzle. His leather coat soaked through slowly growing heavy against his shoulders. Sharp sulfur mixed with wet asphalt filled the air and he let both scents fill his lungs as if he needed proof this was real. Beneath his feet the black ash dissolved in the rain seeping slowly into concrete cracks like frozen blood.

The world felt reduced to nothing but black and white.

The Order’s doctrine whispered in his head exactly like the Old Commander’s voice that once echoed through the initiation hall 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺. Axel tightened his grip on the spear shaft feeling the runes carved into the wood still warm from spent energy. For five years as a hunter he knew every word by heart. But tonight felt different. Something hung thicker and heavier in the air than usual.

Two shadows darted from behind the water tank at his back. Their steps made almost no sound yet Axel did not need to turn. Instinct honed through hundreds of battles spoke first. He swerved left in one fluid motion spinning his spear with deadly precision. The cold metal tip pierced the first demon’s neck right through the gap in the thick scales guarding its throat. The creature stared in shock its yellow eyes flaring wide but Axel had already pulled free and swung hard at the second demon’s waist. Both crumpled without a sound melting into pools of ash that quickly mixed with mud.

𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘦 he murmured his voice flat and hollow.

He wiped the thick black fluid coating the spear tip with his leather glove. Beneath the flickering streetlamp the blood looked exactly like crude oil. Axel’s stomach turned not from the sight but because this wet night refused to give him a single moment to breathe. He glanced up at Jakarta’s gray sky piercing the veil of smog but found nothing deeper darkness stretching on endlessly.

Enough for one day. He wanted to get back to headquarters file his report then close his eyes. Maybe if he tired himself enough the nightmares of initiation would finally stay away.

Then the compass on his wrist shuddered violently the vibration traveling all the way up to his collarbone. Its small screen blazed with blood red light that stung his eyes accompanied by a faint siren only he could hear. This was the highest emergency alert. Displayed clearly was the symbol of an inverted triangle crossed by two lines the classification for forbidden target rank SS.

𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘦

Axel went still. Rain dripped onto his eyelids yet he did not blink once. The signal felt so strong and threatening the compass itself shook like a living thing terrified. The Order only issued SS codes for threats capable of leveling entire cities targets meant to be handled exclusively by elite teams of five senior hunters. In his entire career Axel had seen this code appear only three times and always from a distance while special forces moved in.

By every rule of the Order he should retreat immediately report to central command and wait for backup. But another voice rose in his mind older and louder one that had echoed through headquarters halls when he was still a trainee.

𝘙𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩

That was what the Old Commander had said staring straight into his eyes on graduation day. Axel never knew if it had been a warning or a challenge. Tonight though those words felt like permission he had waited for all along.

He ignored the warning flashing on his screen. His gaze locked onto the coordinates blinking fast in the upper right corner. Distance five hundred meters. Five hundred meters west where the glass office blocks gave way to older buildings stretching toward Kota Tua.

𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 he repeated softly to himself 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦

No answer came. But biting cold crept up through the concrete seeping through the soles of his boots. The hair on his arms stood straight up something that had not happened since he killed his first demon. This energy was nothing like what he knew. Demonic power usually burned hot and sharp like a blade drawn across skin. This was different. Pure cold darkness like the bottom of an endless void swallowing every trace of light nearby. Streetlamps flickered wildly and for a heartbeat his own shadow stretched impossibly long.

𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬! 

The compass on his wrist shattered. Its glass spiderwebbed into thousands of shards scattering like burning snowflakes. Axel flinched back half a step on instinct blue sparks arcing across his skin yet he felt no pain only numbness proof the surge was far too powerful for standard equipment to contain.

And beneath his feet darkness began to take shape.

Axel looked down. In the murky rain puddles thick black shadow bubbled like living liquid. It shifted shrank then spread fast until it formed the outline of a giant hand its long thin fingers creeping across rooftops leaving soot wherever it passed. The hand moved with impossible speed sweeping past Axel so close it nearly brushed the hem of his coat before vanishing north toward the ancient structures of Kota Tua.

Cold earth and metal clung to his nose like thick fog. Axel swallowed hard his chest tight. For the first time in years he felt something close to fear. Not fear of death he had made peace with that long ago but fear of something he could not understand.

𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘦

In all his training the Order had taught only one absolute rule about this class 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘈 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳. 

He remembered the Old Commander’s face when he spoke of this eyes dim voice rough as if the man had witnessed it firsthand. Or perhaps lost someone to it.

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 Axel whispered to the dark 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭

He set his jaw tight his heart hammering faster pumping blood that felt hotter than normal. His right hand still gripped the silver spear and he noticed the runes along its length glowing faint responding to the lingering darkness still hanging in the air.

Five hundred meters. It could feel like a mile or an arm’s length depending on how you looked at it. Turn back now and he would live. Report the threat wait for the elite team and watch from the sidelines like he always had. That was the golden rule of the Order 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦. 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘸. 

But something deep inside refused to bow. Simple curiosity maybe. Or boredom with hunting the same low level beasts day after day. Or perhaps buried so deep he would never admit it even to himself a need to prove that darkness this vast could still be beaten.

He stepped to the edge of the roof. Far below Jakarta’s wet streets glistened under yellow lamps. No cars. No people. Only rain and mist.

His target moved fast but Axel held one advantage. He knew every inch of this city. Three years of patrols had taught him which roofs would hold his weight which alleys stayed hidden which paths never appeared on official maps.

𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 he told himself 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴

He ran leaping cleanly from one roof to the next his leather coat snapping behind him like a broken wing. Rain stung his face but he did not care. Ahead the giant shadow hand darted between old buildings heading straight for Kota Tua’s heart where colonial stone structures stood tall guarding secrets buried beneath their red brick foundations.

Axel kept chasing. The shattered remains of his compass sparked once more on his wrist one last warning.

But he had come too far to turn back.

He jumped one last time landing on the roof of an old shophouse and watched the shadow hand pause above the steeple of an abandoned church. Strung from its fingertips like a thin thread stood a small still figure.

Slowly the figure turned.

Even through three hundred meters and the curtain of rain blurring his sight Axel saw two pale points of light set in its face eyes most likely glowing like a sickle moon behind storm clouds. Not red. Not yellow. Pale white cold and utterly empty of emotion.

And for one fleeting moment Axel swore the figure smiled.

ㅡ To be continued ㅡ