The Story of the Nightmare

[The Fighting Libra]

Well, here's the story about how I came across the Nightmare, a demonic handgun that I ultimately come to own. I ask that if you have any comments on it, please PM them to me. I'd like to keep this relatively story-oriented, so thanks in advance. Anyhow, here's the first chapter.

Chapter 1: The Stranger

It seemed to be ordinary enough, I was sitting in the bar, and all of the patrons were there. Or at least from what I could remember, they were. It was all of the patrons that had disbanded from the original bar. I had not stepped foot into the old bar, known as the O-MSPB by many, and I was now sitting in the new bar, known as the MSPB-Z. There were many of the patrons around, or at least the ones I associated with on a daily basis. There was Ellis and Cyg, Mega Raptor and Rose, Draco, GunnSlinger, Ai… just to name a few. Things were pretty normal, despite the most recent changes. We had our bar, Manae had become the new bartender, and with Raz there, everything seemed complete. Granted he may have been an ass at times, and sometimes I guess I tried to find his approval of me. It soon became an insignificant factor, because Raz had left without word to do what he felt he needed to do. We all had our tendencies to do this, we’d up and leave for a while, we may or may not let others know, but ultimately we would come back, share our adventures, and everything was normal.

I turned to see a stranger walk into the bar. I noticed him because I heard the door open, but I didn’t hear it slam shut. Come to think of it, I don’t even recall hearing it close. I don’t know if the stranger had closed it softly, or if he just left it ajar. But I did notice him, especially when he came up to me and picked up my piece.

“Nice gun. Mind if I try it out?”

“I won’t mind if you put it down.”

“Suit yourself. It’s not everyday that I see a gun like this.”

“It’s a custom of mine. I contacted the Colt gun manufacturers, and I told them that I needed a custom piece. That one is the first of the three, the Libra Colt Custom that fires…”

He had already pulled back on the breach and caught the shell. He analyzed it in his fingertips, and said, “.45 ACP rounds. Pretty nice.”

I took the LCC and the bullet from him, and I began to reload my gun to how it was. “Well, I also had Colt make me two other models of it. Same design, only different barrel diameters. I have a nine millimeter version, and a .50 caliber version as well.”

“I see you like your guns. Perhaps we might have to go somewhere so I can see them in action.”

I looked at him, and thought about giving him credit for his persistence and courage. It’s not everyday that someone walks into a bar and doesn’t get shot for picking up someone else’s firearm without getting shot. “Well, stranger, why do you want to see it in action so bad? It’s just another damn gun in the world. And how do you know that I won’t shoot you with it? You did just walk into here, pick up my piece, and ask to fire it.”

“But I could have shot you with it instead. You don’t really think you could have killed me, do you?”

I had raised my gun to point at his chest, and he placed his hand on my shoulder. He pulled out a card with an address on it, and said, “Meet me here. We’ll talk.” However, I didn’t yet understand how he had gotten behind me without me really seeing him make the move.

“Who the hell are you? Answer me that, and I’ll think about it.”

I didn’t hear an answer, and I turned to the stranger. He wasn’t there. He wasn’t anywhere in the bar. And the door seemed to be closed, too. Gunn came over to me, seeing that I was in a little bit of disbelief. He picked up my gun, and started to look at it. “So, Libra, I guess you made yourself a new friend…”

“New friend? The bastard picked up my piece, expects to be able to fire it, and…”

I was cut off by a gunshot. I looked up at Gunn. “…and why the hell did you just do that?” Gunn handed me my LCC. “The sights are slightly off. Might want to touch it up before you go and meet him.”

“Who said I’d meet him?”

“I could tell that you do. You don’t know him, he had the balls to handle your gun, and on top of that, you couldn’t get a bead on him. He moved without you knowing it, and I know you aren’t drunk yet. You want to know what’s up, and you want to know now. So I advise you follow your instincts, don’t you agree?”

I shrugged as Gunn turned around and made his way to the door. “Libra, just remember your move to California. You were glad you did it, and you didn’t question yourself later on about whether or not you should have went. You just did, and you were content with it.” Gunn walked out the door, and I heard it close. I looked at the card in my hand, and noticed that where I was wanted was a way away. I began to question the stranger and his intents, I mean, hell. Whenever some weirdo walks into the bar, he’s either looking to get killed or looking for someone worthy of taking on a job. I didn’t know what he wanted, or why he picked me. I took my keys out of my pocket as I handled them in my usual manner. I tossed them up, caught them with the same hand, and juggled them around until I got to the key I wanted. “What the hell? Where’s my apartment key? Ooh… that son of a bitch…” I put a twenty on the bar underneath of my glass as I got up and went to my car.

I went around the corner to find that my car was still there, wasn’t shot up, destroyed, or the tires slashed. I drove around a 1986 Ford Taurus, and I loved it to death. I had everything about it redone, it had a new transmission, new brakes, and I had it turbocharged. I stuck with it because it was a durable car. Wasn’t much to look at, but it sure as hell got the job done. I got in and I reached underneath the seat, and ejected the 6 cd changer cartridge. I pulled each cd out to make sure it was still there and not scratched. The stranger seemed to have a knack for pissing me off, and I was pretty content that he didn’t do anything else to set me off. I pulled the parking brake, turned the ignition key, and headed to the apartment.

I arrived at the Neutral Town Apartments shortly after, and I went up to my apartment. The door was cracked open, and the key was in the lock. I pulled the key out and stuck it back on my key ring, and walked into my apartment. Everything seemed in place. The TV was still there, my video games, and my DVD players. I drew my LCC and entered my room. I saw a figure jump out of the bedroom window, and I hurried over to see if I could identify the person. I ejected the clip and I pulled back on the breach, and I put in a fresh clip that was sitting on the dresser. I pointed my gun out the window, and started to shoot at the person as he ran towards the woods. The first two shots missed, and the third hit him in the shoulder. I saw him fall, grabbing his shoulder, and screaming with an intense pain. He got up and kept moving, and disappeared in all the forest brush. I grabbed my binoculars and looked at where he went down, and noticed blood. A lot of blood. “What the hell…” I said, as I popped the clip out and examined the bullets. “Hollow points? That can’t be, that’s where my rubber bullets were… Something’s wrong. And I think that stranger might be able to give me some answers.” I went towards my bed, and I pulled out my gun case. I popped it open to find out that my other LCC models were gone. I moved clips of ammunition out of the way, but I still didn’t find anything. I checked my clips to make sure that they were loaded, in which they were, luckily. “At least they didn’t clean me out completely…” I said to myself, as I checked the clips out. “Hmm… These are all .45 ACP rounds. Someone’s setting me up. The stranger knew what gun I had, the rounds it fired…” I figured it was probably a trap, but I didn’t have much of a choice. If I didn’t confront this problem, it could have shown a weakness. And if I didn’t confront it, I was pretty damn sure that whoever that stranger was, he would show again. And if that were the case, the end might not have been so peaceful.

[The Fighting Libra]

Chapter 2: The First Test

It had been about 15 minutes, and I had gotten myself ready to go out on this little expedition of mine. I had suited up in my favorite flight suit, rolled up the sleeves, grabbed a box of cigarettes, and outfitted myself with the one handgun I had on me. Luckily, it was my favorite, but in a situation like this, I liked to carry around four of them- two of the 9 millimeter LCC’s with the 16 round clip and one chambered, and two of the .50 caliber LCC’s with the 8 round clip and one round chambered. The .45 ACP rounds, however, was a mix of stopping power and decent clip size, and probably best suited for the job. It had a 10 round clip plus one chambered round, which was more than enough for me. All I needed was one bullet to kick the shit out of that guy, even though I planned on putting every single one of them into his head. He took my guns, and I didn’t know what he was planning. I figured it would be the safest bet. After outfitting my body with my firearm and quite a few clips, I headed out. I stopped by the front desk on my way out. “Hey, Zorak, if anyone goes into my room… I want them killed.”

“Family?”

“If you see any of them, just give them the warning.”

I walked back out to my car, started it, and I headed out. I figured I’d go back to the bar and see if I could get any information from the patrons. The bad part was that I wasn’t paying attention for the most part on who exactly was there, I had just gotten there and was trying to get drunk to forget about her. I gave Gunn a call on the cell phone to try to find him. “This is Gunn.”

“Gunn, it’s Libra. Meet me at the bar, alright?”

“Already there. Better hurry up, I’m about to kill someone.”

“Gotcha.”

I got there just as Gunn was walking out. He had his Nightmare with him, the mighty warhammer that he had. Looked to me like I had just missed the slaying. “Who was the lucky patron?”

“Aries. He put his bungee cords in my mouth.”

“I see. Do you remember what that stranger looked like? I’d remember if I saw his face…”

“Nah, couldn’t tell you. So I guess you’re going after him?”

“My guns are gone. Some prick hopped out of the bedroom window as I had gotten there, and I was left with only the clips and ammo for this one I have on me.”

“I see. Well, good luck to you. I got some business to take care of right now. Heading out to Mississippi, those damn white supremacists took a town. The state has so much extra in their budget, so they called me up. I’ll catch you when you get back.”

Gunn walked off towards the apartments. I considered him lucky. Getting paid to take out a few racist bastards, and here I am going to find some asshole who took my guns. I don’t even know if it’s the same guy, either. All I knew was that some fucked up shit was going on, and I was in the middle of it. I pulled out the card that the stranger gave me, and I looked at it. He wanted to meet outside of Neutral Town, somewhere in the forest. There was a crude map on the back of the few intersections I knew I’d have to go through. Nowhere I haven’t been through, until I made one of the turns. It was only about 4 in the afternoon, and the skies were already getting dark. Or at least in the area I was in out by the woods. I looked in my rear view mirror and the sky behind me looked relatively bright, which was disappointing. I hate fights in the dark, especially in the middle of the woods. First of all, you never know what’s going to jump out at you in the middle of the woods. And being that I didn’t have any help… that just made me try to stay on my toes even more. Not that I’d want to leave my guard down, it just meant that I didn’t have anyone to watch my back. I like to live, and I’d rather not have to use the cloning machine to get my revenge. I lost focus for a moment before I slammed on the brakes. The road was nothing but hard dirt, so the car slid forward, and the deer rolled over the hood of the car and landed in the middle of the road. I was going about 40 when this happened, so I probably hit it at 30. I got out and lit a cigarette, and checked on the deer. It seemed to be struggling with consciousness, but I didn’t detect any internal injuries or broken bones. Probably a couple of cracked ribs, but that was probably it. Nothing too severe, so I moved it to the side of the road. This took about 3 minutes because I had a cigarette, and the damned thing was heavy as hell. I got back in the car and began to go again, hoping that this wasn’t going to take too long. Unfortunately, I hoped for the wrong thing.

A winged demon came swooping down at my car, and I hit the brakes and pulled the wheel to the left. The car skid as the demon slammed its head on the top of the passenger side before bouncing over and tumbling on the ground. I got out of the car and I drew my LCC and my machete, hoping that this small endeavor would be short. The demon got up, shook its head, and faced me. It stood on its two hind legs, and had two smaller limbs in the front. From what I saw, it looked like someone took the legs off of a Velociraptor and slapped them onto a body, along with the arms. The tail was long and flexible, almost seeming like its dual purpose was a bullwhip. It appeared to have razor sharp teeth, and it had horns. Second guessing my equipment, I decided to grab the shotgun out of my trunk before it was too late. I ran to the trunk and fumbled around with the keys, and the trunk popped open. I put away the LCC and I reached for the shotgun, and I turned to my left as I heard a spine tingling shrieking noise, which I had confirmed was from the wretched beast. It was flying towards me fast. And to me, that was more than enough to get my heart rate up.

[The Fighting Libra]

Chapter 3: The Motive of the Damned

As the beast swooped in on me, I had managed to pull out the shotgun from my trunk. I fell back as it flew over, and I saw it begin a second pass. I raised the shotgun and I pulled the trigger, clipping its right wing and hindering its flying ability. The beast landed on the ground, using its forelimbs as support when it landed, and it began a charge at me. I raised the shotgun again, but it had already gotten close, and by the time I pulled the trigger, the beast had already turned its head towards the gun. The rounds managed to escape the gun before it bit down, though, but the barrel was wrecked and the gun unusable. It body checked me in the process, sending me to the ground. My machete was dropped by my car, which I was a good 20 feet from, and a monster in between also. I wasn’t very thrilled with that. I drew my LCC, knowing it was my only means of survival, and I reached down and grabbed the small knife I had strapped to my right leg. It wasn’t much, but I had to make due with what I got.

I raised the LCC and I fired off two shots, one hitting it in its chest, and the other in its right leg. It still moved around like it wasn’t hurt, but the bleeding and the scream of pain told me otherwise. “Good, this thing feels pain, and that’s just going to make it easier to kill it.” I began to run at it as it cocked its head to the side, and I saw a glint in it’s dark black eye. I would have sworn that it was smiling, and I should have seen the next part coming. It opened its jaws as I saw an orange glow, and I saw a fireball erupt from its mouth. It spit forth the fire like a flamethrower, and I jumped to the side to dodge the flame. It turned its head towards me as I rolled and kept running, keeping a step ahead of the flames. It began to walk towards me, and I fired at it again. I fired another four shots, but they seemed to be put of panic because only one hit, this one being in its right kneecap. It stopped spitting flames at me as it ran towards me again. For a monster with a shattered kneecap, I couldn’t have given it more credit. It still ran at me in full stride, almost seeming like it was moving faster. I leapt into the air as it reached me, and raised its head and made an attempt to snap at me. I slammed the knife down into it’s upper protruding jaw. I completed my jump only to feel a sharp stinging pain in my side, followed by a stinging pain in my back. It had swung its tail around and whipped me, and the force of it hitting me sent me flying into a tree. I slowly got back up, holding my left side, and I raised the LCC. “I hope you can understand this, because it will help you make the better decision. Whatever you are, you chose the wrong person to fuck with. And you really fucked up with the whole fire shit going on… that just wasn’t cool. And then you whip me in the side with that god damn tail of yours… do you think that felt good? Damnit, you fucking monster, I’m going to deliver you to hell if I have to do so myself!” I began to fire at the beast, and I empty the last of the 6 shots into its body. Two ripped through its head, one through its neck, and the last three into its chest. It fell down with a thud, and I saw the blood form a pool on the ground. I walked over to it as I ejected the clip and placed a fresh one in the gun, and then I advanced a round into the chamber. I walked over to my machete, and as I grabbed it from the ground, I saw the tail twitch. It sprang upwards and whipped me in my thigh. A stinging pain ran into my leg as I grabbed onto the tail, using the strength in my arm to try to restrain the damned beast’s tail. I swing my machete and it takes a nice piece of the tail off. The beast shrieks in pain as it swings the remaining part of its tail around, knocking the LCC from my hand and a good 10 feet behind me. It spun around quickly and lunged at me, looking to take a nice chunk out of my body, to say the least. I leaned backwards, and I pulled my left leg up hard and fast, kicking the damned demon in its lower jaw, snapping its jaw shut and forcing it to bite its own tongue off. I roll off of my back and I roll over onto my feet, as the beast looks at me. It spits a burst of fire at me, stopping when it feels the flames burning the open wound of its severed tongue.

The fireball got no farther than four feet of its mouth, though, and I ran up to it and swung my machete again, this time connecting with the side of its head, and cracking some of its skull in the process. It staggers a little before it falls to the ground, and upon impact, the machete lodges out of place. I pick up the machete and I begin to hack at its neck, not stopping until the head is completely severed. I pick up my LCC as I look at the beast. “Looks dead. Good, that damn thing was pissing me off.” I kick it in its lifeless ribcage. “Motherfucker! That shit hurts, ya know!” I walk back to my car as I examine it for any damages. Only damage I saw was a large dent from where it hit the car in the first instance. “Damn demon… that was my car. My first car. Fuck, now what direction was I driving in?” I got back in my car and remembered which direction I was headed in.

[The Fighting Libra]

I continued down the road a little ways before I came up to a fork in the road. I looked on the back of the card, and didn’t see a direction that it told me to head in. “Fuck me…” I said, out of frustration, so I flipped a coin. It landed on heads, so I took the left road. Figured I had a 50-50 chance at picking the right direction, and a coins guess is as good as mine. I continued down the road for another mile or so, watching out for any more of those hellish demons. I would swear I saw a couple in the shadows, but fighting another one of those wasn’t on the top of my agenda. I then realized I lost the blade that I had stuck in its head, whether or not it fell out, I couldn’t remember. All I knew was that I wasn’t gonna go back for it. It wasn’t worth it. I arrived at a cabin in the middle of the woods, which seemed appropriate enough. There were quite a few cars there already, all of which seemed abandoned. I got this impression when I saw the bullet holes in the tires and sides of the vehicles, not to mention the shattered windows and some spider webs. I looked at the time, and noticed it was going on 7. I was having trouble comprehending why the hell it was so dark, and why it was before. But then I remembered the demon I fought, and that just reminded me about what I’m probably up against. I didn’t care, though. I just wanted my guns back.

I got out of my car and knocked on the door. I unsnapped the belt over the LCC on my holster for safety precautions… or at least for my safety. I didn’t bother cocking back the hammer. I didn’t want it to go off if there was a brawl once the door opened. And if I were knocked to the ground somehow, I would have to kill the man. But that comes natural, and it would be more natural if the gun fell out and shot me instead. I sensed something strange at that very moment, after thinking that. I knew I was being watched; it was dark out, and I really didn’t like the idea of it being so. It was almost like something had awakened inside of me. Something like when I fought that demon. I sensed a presence behind me, like it was the devil himself. But I couldn’t really confirm that until I turned around. I drew my LCC and cocked back the hammer to find that stranger standing behind me. “Well, Libra, I was wondering when you’d finally turn around. I see you’ve finally decided to come here.”

“I want my guns back.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I said, I want my guns back.”

“Well, Libra, do you know why I had you come out here?”

“Your answer better involve me getting my guns back.”

“I’m testing you. What’s your full name again?”

“I never gave that to you.”
“Kovacs, isn’t it?”

“Mother’s name. What about it?”

“A demon hunter by the name of Matyas Kovacs was a demon slayer. He took down one of the strongest demons of the time, and is known as the Mortal Demon Slayer. The demon he killed was the strongest demon to ever die by the hands of a mortal. A true accomplishment, I might add.”

“So you’re saying my grandfather killed a strong demon? I should have known, he DID fight the Russians in the 1956 Uprising…”

“No, this was before your grandfather. And the demon he killed traced back to my bloodline. That’s why I called you out. I’m here to see if you have what it takes.”

“You want a fight? Is that what this is about? You’re pissed because my ancestors were obviously stronger than yours, and you think that you can kill me because of it?”

“I want to test your strength. You did slay that demon down the road a bit. An accomplishment, I might add.”

I lit up a cigarette, thinking about what he was telling me, and absorbing it all into my mind. From what I was getting, my ancestor killed his ancestor because it was a shitty fighter, despite being a “strong” demon. And now he wants my blood in revenge because he can’t accept defeat. I was just wishing that my ancestor would have slaughtered his mother or something before he was born, because I really didn’t feel like being in the middle of some dark woods at seven at night. Waste of good drinking time, I say. “So, stranger, how strong is that demon down the road? I’m sorry, I meant to say was. That wasn’t your dad or anything like that, now was it?” He gave me an evil glare, and I swore I saw a flame erupt in his eyes. “No, Libra, that was my son. And that’s why I’m going to kill you.”

“Let me get this straight. You want a rematch because your ancestors are weak, you jack my pistols as a motive to get my ass out here, send your son to kill me, and get pissed off at me for surviving? I’m sorry, I didn’t know you expected my blood line to be weak. History repeats itself to those who choose to ignore it, so I won’t pay any attention to you at all until you’re dead.”

The stranger drew a pistol and pointed it at my head. “Nightmare awakens…” it said. “Libra, you will meet my newest tool to kill you. It’s called Nightmare, after my ancestor, and after me. And don’t bother counting shots, as a demon pistol, it doesn’t rely on ammunition like your weapon. It just thrives for blood. Well, at least your blood. Libra! Prepare to meet your maker!”

[The Fighting Libra]

Chapter 4: The Demon Awakening

I stood there, looking down the barrel of the Nightmare pistol, and starting to see a surreal setting around me. I saw demons and hellfire, and the very brimstone that makes up Hell itself. Time seemed to slow down as I saw his thumb draw back the hammer, and I felt a force pulling back on my body. I instinctively went with the force and I kicked my left leg up, making contact with the demon Nightmare’s wrist. As I continued my fall back, I brought my right arm up from my position as it caught me, and I kicked my body off of the ground with my right leg. My left arm instinctively reached for my gun, unlatched and ready for use. I finished my somersault and landed crouched on my knees, my gun pointing towards Nightmare. “Libra, you’ll pay dearly for that. Now prepare to die!” Nightmare lifted his weapon and prepared to fire, but I got my shot off first. The .45 caliber bullet went through his right side, missing whatever organs he had. His body jolted ever so slightly from it, which got me scared. I thought to myself, “Damn, a bullet that size would make a normal person stagger… and he just slightly jolted? What’s a direct hit going to do? Make him cough? A headshot?” I had a few thoughts run through my head as he just stood there, and laughed. He laughed and laughed, and I saw him look to my left. “You sick bastard… I shoot you, and you laugh. Why do you laugh? Do you want me to kill you like your ancestor died to mine?” He laughed again. “Fool! You shall pay!” He waved his right hand in the air, and then swooped it in from the right. I felt a powerful force collide with my body. In my midair flight, I heard a heavy breathing sound, a breathing sound that just wasn’t natural. I landed on my right shoulder, and it felt like it had dislocated from where it was. I looked to my left to see a large, gorilla like demon above me. Its fangs were immense, along with the girth of its arms. It had claws at the end of its fingernails, which I noticed as it lifted its arm up, appearing ready to tear my head from my body. I’ll admit it. I was scared. I was scared for my life. A demon gorilla summoned by a demon who’s ancestor was killed by my ancestor… It sounded farfetched, stupid… everything but right. And now it was going to spell my death? I just didn’t want to have to cope with it. Yeah, I’ve killed some people that didn’t deserve to die, but then again, wasn’t it what I did for a living? Hired merc to do what I was paid to do… and I never took a job where I would be questionably wrong… My life began to flash before my eyes. I saw my first love, before and after I had lost her. I saw my graduation, and my entryway to merc work. I saw the innocent people that were going to take their revenge on me once I went to Hell, and then I saw a bright, glowing green light.

It struck the gorilla demon across the forehead as it swung its arm down towards me, the green force throwing it off into a direction other than where it was. I was very grateful that my life had been spared, in a way, and as Nightmare watched on, he screamed out. “What? Impossible!” I looked up to see a dark figure standing there in front of me, holding a green, glowing staff with a rock warhammer on the other end. I reached over to my right arm, still hurting from the dislocation earlier of when I landed on it. I felt a wetness, and concluded that it was blood. I also felt metal shards in my arm, and I pulled them out. It was a small instrument, not natural for the area, and it had a light that had been pulsing ever so slightly. “It’s a tracking device, and it gave me your vitals. I figured you might need saving, so I took the liberty of keeping a sharp eye on you.” The gorilla charged the dark man as he held out his warhammer, it running into a small force field in front of him. It threw the gorilla as he ran forward, striking it again in the forehead. I got up and recognized the figure as Gunn, the comrade in arms I had talked to earlier at Neutral town. “Libra, get Nightmare. I’ll hold off whatever demons he tries to throw in your direction.” I ran over to where Nightmare was, only to find him gone. I kicked down the door to find the cabin empty of any bodies, but I did see something that caught my eye. It was a familiar piece of craftsmanship on the table… well, actually five. I jumped as I heard a roar outside, something of a beast dying. I figured Gunn had probably gotten the gorilla demon. It shouldn’t have been too tough for him. A slight problem for me, but nothing to him. I walked to the table, and I picked up one of my guns. It was the other .45 caliber I used, and I pulled back on the breach. I looked inside the chamber to find a piece of paper rolled up in there. “A note in there?”

“Yup. Figures that he’d run from me.”

“Glad I planted the bug on you?”

“A little. I coulda killed it if I needed to.”

Gunn laughed as he looked down at my guns. “So, are you gonna try to find him? Or are you going to give it up, and just be happy that you got your weapon back?”

“Maybe. I’m sure he’ll find me if I don’t find him. All I know is that’s one hell of a gun. Scared me a little bit.” I lifted my right arm up towards Gunn. “Mind giving a tug?”

Gunn grabbed my arm and gave it a quick pull, and I felt my arm pop back into the socket. It hurt a little, but at least it was back in place. “If you ask me, I don’t feel safe here. I think we should go for now.”

I reached for my car keys, and noticed they were still in my pocket. All of my keys were, surprisingly. I pulled the note out of the LCC as I read it out loud for Gunn to hear. “Tuesday on Main Street of Neutral Town. You shall die promptly in front of all that you know.” I paused, and said, “Sounds pretty deep, Gunn. What do you think we should do?”

“Well, that’s four days from now. Lucky for you, we can probably prepare for it, somehow.”

“How so?”

“Well, he did say you had demon slayer in your blood, right?”

“Yeah. Some ancestor of mine kicked the shit out of his. That’s what this is all about.”

”Well, then, I’m going to teach you how to use your demonic ability, then. It’s dormant in your blood right now, but after slaying that first demon, things should be awakening in you. Your steps will become lighter, you can jump higher, and you can probably slow time down if you wanted to…”

I thought for a moment on what Gunn had just said. Time did appear to slow down as I fell backwards… could this have been part of my demonic powers awakening? I wasn’t sure, but I sure was glad that it was happening. I needed a way to level the playing field against Nightmare, and I had four days to do it in. “Gunn, you think we should start heading back to the bar?”

“Yeah, wouldn’t hurt. I could use a drink, anyways…”

We walk outside to my car, which was still in tact. I laid the guns in the back seat of the car, loaded and all. My other .45 LCC was in the right holster, loaded and all. I wasn’t about to chance another encounter like that, under armed, and this time, I wasn’t alone.