THE HUNTED HUNTER

CHAPTER 9: THE TECH KNIGHT

Kael took a few steps back, his gaze locked on the being standing in the shadow. His arm had begun to heal but the bloodied sleeve of his shirt caused the thick fabric to mat against his torn skin, sending sharp pains up his arms whenever he moved. 

The moonlight glinted off the sleek metal armor plating covering the stranger from head to toe and the blue runes etched across the suit pulsed faintly with magic. 

A mechanical mask covered his face, the two glowing eyes at the front the only thing that seemed to hold any hint of humanity. Their gloved hand was still pointed at him, the blaster at the center humming with restrained energy. 

"Magic-tech armor," Kael whispered to himself as he cradled his arm close to his chest. It wasn't easy for just any human to come by a tech infused with magic. 

So who was this person? And why did they want him dead? They... seemed human, so there was no way they were working with the Order. Or... were they? 

Kael was about asking then who they were when they suddenly tilted their head to the side. Suddenly, a deep mechanical voice spoke. 

"Duck." 

Kael's face squeezed into a small frown as he paused, blinking. "Huh--" 

Before Kael could say anything, a loud whine erupted from the direction of the suited figure, cutting through the air. Driven by instincts, Kael dropped to the ground just in time as a bright burst of energy bolted out of the beings glove, whizzing past his head. A loud explosion sounded behind him and warm liquid rained down on him. 

Kael turned slowly, his eyes widening as he found the remains of a werebeast. From the look of it, it had tried attacking him only to have its body blown to pieces. 

Kael whirled back to face the suited figure, his frown deepening even more. "I... uh, thanks?"

The armored stranger remained still for some moments, not saying a word. Then slowly, they stepped out of the darkness each step heavy. The slaughter surrounding them mirrored off the face of their helmet as they slowly scanned the field. 

As if on cue, all the beast's lurking in the shadows raced forward, with most of them ignoring Eldrin and Kael and heading for the tech stranger. 

And then the air charged with arcane energy. 

Snarls and growls echoed across the open space but the stranger didn't look concerned. Instead, they stretched their hands, extending a second blaster from their forearm. And wth an icy click, they fired.

Red bolts with smokey streaks flashed like lightning, killing the monsters before they could even close to ten feet. Wolves burst into a million pieces in mid-air, Faes and vampires contorted as they were blasted with arcane fire from its wrist. 

Kael hauled himself upright, resting on the god-blade as Eldrin ran to him. "Are you all right?" the vampire growled, as he held his arm where a large gash was. 

"I'm not dead yet," Kael snarled as he watched the metal being cut through a demon wolf with a light saber from the top of its wrist. "I don't trust it." He swung his blade as he walked towards a snarling vampire hybrid. "Magic and machine don't mix well." 

The tech warlock didn't seem to want anything to do with him, but Kael could not trust them just yet. If there was one thing he had learnt, it was that looks were deceiving. But he would get back to them after he was done with beasts from the Order. 

Kael snarled and leaped, tearing through the vampire hybrid with a savage slash. As he stood back up, pair of ghouls raced towards him. His grip on the god-blade tightened as he hissed, his still healing hand burning with pain. With a clean swerve, he crashed the blade into the beasts and they wailed before bursting into pieces. 

Within minutes, the battlefield was littered with bodies, the ground soaked with blood and the air rotting with the stench of dark-magic and death. 

"RETREAT!!!" screamed a burning werewolf and the remaining monsters immediately scurried into the darkness, their defeated howls and hisses echoing behind them.

Kael paused, panting as he brought the god-blade down at his side. The armored figure after seeing the monsters were retreating, lowered their blasters to the ground. 

"Who are you?" Kael whispered, as he walked towards them. "Why did you help us? Who sent you?" 

The armored figure tilted their head before letting out a soft sigh. "Is he always like this?" they muttered as they shifted their attention to Eldrin who stood at a corner, watching with a grin on his face. 

"He asked me more questions than this when I helped him out of his grave," the vampire said with a shrug as he wiped his bloody hands on his trousers. "I'd say he's always like that."

Kael's frown deepened as he watched the interaction between the two. "You know them?" he asked, turning to Eldrin. 

"An old friend--"

"I'm an ally, not a friend," the metallic being immediately corrected and Eldrin scoffed. "I'm Mira," they stretched their hand towards him, "a former member of the Human Resistance."

Kael stared at their hands as he arched a brow. A... girl?

"You look surprised, hunter," Mira muttered as she withdrew her hand after seeing he wasn't going to take it. "I'm sure you weren't expect a girl, huh?" 

Kael's expression remained stoic as he sheathed his sword. "You do know that this single act of yours has caused the Order to see you as a threat, right?" he asked, ignoring her statement. "You are going to be hunted."

"Oh, I've been a threat to them for a long, long time now," Mira said as she tapped the side of her helmet. With a small hiss, the helmet slid open, revealing a young woman with short black hair and piercing blue eyes. "I'm Mira Knight... but you, Kael Draven, probably know me more as the Tech Knight."