Demon Hunter 5

"A fist fight, then?" asked the demon.

Bob put up his fists and swung precise fast jabs. He faked with his left and sailed in with his right. His right caught the demon off guard, and hit him hard enough to spin him around. On his way around, the demon grabbed the sword at his back and threw a foot out. The kick caught Bob at the ankles, knocking him to his back. The demon finished his spin and leveled the tip of his sword at Bob's throat.

"Throw down your weapons and step back!"

The other Hunters, seeing their friend's plight, had moved forward, weapons drawn, eyes white. Dillon let out long breath of air. If looks could kill, Jaquel would be dying a slow, painful death.

He snorted and threw aside his sword. The rest followed suite, throwing their weapons aside.

"Now-let him go!"

"Stupid, incompetent humans!" The demon spun his sword, bringing it high over his head.

"Leave him alone you bastard!"

A sword with an oak handle zipped through the air and stuck into the ground next to Bob. Bob snatched it up and rolled, swinging out the blade to block the overhead slice. Sparks flew as the sword blocked the blow, but flew out of Bob's hands.

A black blur shot over the four waiting Hunters' heads, and kicked off Bob's shoulders as he stood up. Rich flipped, snatched the sword out of the air, and landed in front of the demon.

"Jaquel, it's time to even the score. You've beaten me before, and I see you've been promoted to Guardian of the Pearl, but this time you're not sneaking up on me. Give it up now, and I will spare you."

Jaquel stepped back and answered, "You couldn't beat me then!" He charged forward. "And you can't beat me now!"

The next scene was lost in the shower of sparks that flew from the blades' contacts, but it was clear that the fight was furiously fast. They kicked away from each other, and then went back at it. Rich was winning when Jaquel spun and reached into his armor. When his hand reappeared, it held a bag of red powder. He ripped it open with his sword and threw the powder into Rich's eyes.

Rich grabbed at his face and stepped away from his assailant. The demon tried a cheap stab from behind, but Rich was quick enough to spin and block it. The demon grabbed Rich by the neck and lifted him into the air.

As the Hunters watched, the next happenings appeared to be in slow motion: Rich tried to bring up his sword to slash at Jaquel, but the demon kicked it away. Jaquel raised his sword and impaled Rich through the stomach.

Bob roared. Time went back to the original speed.

He charged the demon, kicking his sword to his hands in one fluid motion. He swung the sword, letting it fly. The demon felt it coming and threw Rich to the ground. And back flipped away from the hissing sword. Bob was right behind it, shotgun in hand. He pointed the gun at Jaquel and squeezed the trigger. In his rage, his aim wasn't too hot, and the slug zipped past Jaquel's ear. Bob was on top of Jaquel, swinging the gun like a sword. Jaquel leaned back, rolled, jumped, and did anything else in his power to keep away from the barrel. Bob pumped a round into place and steadied his aim. Jaquel was inches away from the end of the barrel. As Bob fired, Jaquel leaned backward into a back handspring, bringing his foot up under Bob's grip. The shotgun flipped through the air and into Jaquel's hands.

Jaquel brought barrel down and pointed it at Bob's head. He squeezed the trigger. From out of nowhere, Dillon shot in front of the barrel. The slug hit him square in the chest, the slug ripping through his vest. The lead weight slammed through his skin, through his rib cage, through tissue, and slammed to a stop at his back vertebrae.

He was sent into Bob, who caught him and set him down gently.

Alex leapt in from the left, a flying sidekick slamming into the side of the shotgun's barrel. It skittered across the room, and Alex started her attack on Jaquel.

Bob mumbled nonstop in a language unknown to him or anyone else in the room. He stared at the demon as Jaquel slammed his fist into Alex's chest, sending her skidding on the ground backward. His eyes flashed red once, twice, and finally stayed that color.

He rose, throwing off his vest. He ripped off his shirt and elbow pads. He flexed his legs muscles, and the kneepads snapped off.

"You killed my brother," Bob whispered in voice filled with anger and hate. His eyes flashed a violent red, and he was suddenly in front of the demon. Jaquel raised his fist to punch Bob, but it was crushed with the terrifying power of Bob's grip before it could be thrown. Jaquel howled in pain and tried a kick, but Bob snapped out his leg, smashing through the demon steel armor. The demon's leg bones snapped with such force that everything below the shin was ripped clear off.

The demon screamed and howled with pain, begging for mercy.