In a blink of an eye the demon's supernatural speed put him behind Thomas, raking at his back with black claws. Thomas though was a trained demon slayer, and all those years had prepared him for exactly this moment. The slayer was just as fast, his sword meeting claws and deflecting them away. The move opened up the demon's side and Thomas didn't miss it, slicing deep into the demon's flank. The demon howled in rage and launched itself into a flurry of attacks, each one powered by its supernatural strength and speed. Thomas was no ordinary mortal and matched the demon blow for blow.
I took the moment to catch my breath, and reload my shotgun with solid slugs. Instead of the standard pellets these shells contained one giant mass of metal, each one inscribed with a series of holy runes and soaked in holy water. I knew I didn't have a chance taking on a true creature of the Pit in a fair fight. Instead I kept my back braced against the wall and waited for my opening. The instant the monster showed me his back and Thomas locked its claws with his sword, I fired both barrels. The demon roared as the blessed slugs tore into his back. He turned to face me and Thomas was there to take advantage of the distraction, shoving his sword into the creature again.
The fight between the demon and demon slayer continued, both sides slashing and stabbing at each other. I stayed back unsure of how much I could still move after being thrown into a wall twice in less than an hour and then dropped though a floor. I continued to fire slugs whenever the demon showed an opening, hoping to distract it for that one moment Thomas needed to finish the duel. Finally, I hit it in the leg, buckling it at the knee. The demon roared, its burning red eyes glaring at me. Thomas brought his blade down, severing the demon's head from its body. Red flames slowly consumed the creature, melting it down to a black ichor.
Empty of shells, I tossed the shotgun aside as I leaned back against the wall to catch my breath. Thomas stood over the area where the demon dissolved and said a prayer. He swung his sword a few times, an attempt to flick off as much of the demon's remains before wiping it down with a cloth.
"I owe you an apology," Thomas said, extending a hand, "looks like I needed a bodyguard after all."
I shrugged and pushed myself off the wall. "That's what I'm here for," I said. I started toward the demon slayer when a sharp pain bit into my side. I clutched at the source and twisted away, landing on my back in the rubble. Above me stood the man in the suit, eyes furious and mouth foaming. I looked down to see the hunting knife plunged into my side.
"You bastards have no idea what you've done. No idea what you've taken from me!" he screamed. Realizing his hand was now empty, he reached down into the rubble to retrieve a solid chunk of concrete. He wrapped his fingers around it and I could practically feel its weight in his hands. As he glared at me, the intent to smash in my skull written on his face, I finally realized I was face-to-face with the cult's leader, Charles Heverfore. I pulled myself slowly along the ground, intent on getting far from Heverfore as possible before he could get close enough to beat me to death.
Thomas rushed forward, his enhanced speed and strength stopping Heverfore in his tracks. I heard a faint whisper of Latin and Thomas put his palm to Heverfore's forehead. Thomas loosened his grip and Heverfore surged forward, punching the demon slayer in the face.
"I don't understand," said Thomas, his lip bleeding, "There's no demon within you to exorcise. You are no longer a puppet to their whims."
Heverfore spat in Thomas's face, using the opportunity to startle the demon slayer and take his sword from him. Unlike when Thomas wielded it, the blessed sword didn't glow though it was still deadly. "Of course not, you idiot. I just needed the demons for their power. I'm the one in control, they dance to my tune," Heverfore said. He swung the sword and Thomas dodged out of the way. He wielded the sword like a club, swinging and jabbing at the slayer who always moved to avoid the blow at the last moment.
As Heverfore continued his assault, I dragged myself closer and closer to their battle, waiting for the right moment to strike. The Hunter Guild, after all, was focused on hunting demons and protecting humans from the Infernals that sought to corrupt them. Thomas couldn't harm Heverfore, he probably still couldn't even comprehend why the man was trying to kill him, because as evil as Heverfore might be he was still human.
I, however, was not bound to the same ideological constraints. In fact, The Hunter Guild partnered with the paramilitary firm I contracted with because of the amount of jobs we did in active combat zone. We'd seen the evils man could visit upon his fellow man up close and personal.
Thomas missed a step, his feet caught in some of the strewn rubble and fell backwards. Heverfore sensed his opportunity and moved forward to deliver the killing thrust. With Heverfore salivating at the chance to cut down the demon slayer, I too took my opening. I got to my feet and wrenched the knife from my side, trying not to focus on the pain nor the blood now flowing from the wound. After all, there's no pay if Thomas didn't make it back to the guild alive. I flipped it in my hand, catching the blade in my fingers. Then I flung the knife end over end until it buried itself halfway to its hilt in the cult leader's back.
He jerked upright, startled by the pain, and let out a scream for a second or two. All the time I needed to drive myself forward. I landed on his back, pushing the knife in deeper and pinning Heverfore to the floor. I picked up a chunk of stone and bashed him in the back of the head, one, two, three times until the man stopped moving.
I rolled off the dead man, clutching my side. Thomas handed me a cloth to put over the wound and apply pressure. It was only later I realized it was the same one he used to wipe down his sword. The Hunter Guild assures me that it's not poisonous, but do they really care about a hired gun like me? Thomas lifted me to my feet and hauled me up the basement stairs and out the door. I drifted in and out of consciousness until we reached the car outside.
"Thanks for saving me back there," Thomas said once we were back on the road, Heverfore Manor behind us.
"That's the job," I said, still in pain, "Though you folks really should realize, eventually, that some people just can't be saved. It would make fighting humans a lot easier for all of you."
Thomas shook his head. "I can't afford to think that way. The guild exists to protect humanity, to save those corrupted by evil."
I sighed. "Yeah, I know," I said, settling into the chair on our way back to the guild headquarters and thinking about how I'm going to spend my money.
Using the Reddit Writing Prompt of (to shorten it down) a professional bodyguard protecting a demon slayer, I finally got around to writing this story I've had in my head for a while since there was another prompt a long time ago I missed out on about a demon slayer needing a bodyguard. And yes, if you're wondering, I did choose a title reminiscent of "The Hitman's Bodyguard" in the hopes that people would read it because the names sounded similar. And it must've worked if you're reading this because then you had to have made it through the previous two parts, and a total of 3700 or so words (thus splitting into three parts). If you just skipped everything and jumped to this part (why would you) the link will take you to a shortened version I submitted to Reddit because I hate splitting stories on Reddit. But back to the story. I guess the main thing I wanted to focus on is skill set and why would a demon slayer need someone to protect them that wasn't also a trained demon slayer. I know it probably was longer than needed (maybe I could've taken out that part involving the hellhounds) but I really wanted to get the point across that Thomas could take care of himself, and perhaps the main character was just in the way. The inspiration I had for Thomas's character was Michael from The Dresden Files books. As one of the three bearers of the holy swords, not only do they fight the Denarians but they're required to save the mortals they possess, even if that mortal is truly evil like Nicodemus. And, if you're wondering about the main character's shotgun, well I re-read the entire Tales from the Nightside series over these past three months and I tried to recreate the shotgun used by Shotgun Suzie Shooter, the best bounty hunter in the Nightside. Finally, if you've been wondering about the lack of stories, I've actually been working on a longer piece (like the Emberwilde Comes Pokemon fanfic) but I've been running into a few problems putting it all together.
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