With every gust of wind seared through the abandoned mansion, sound of weep from its used timbers creaked as protesting its tortured past. Fallen concrete walls left this property without roof, and it could be mistaken as an art installation that stand on the hill. The summer sun blazed down on the suburban city of Kyoto, its fiery ignited the sky in a brilliant conflagration that contrasted with the wounded city after disaster. The torching temperature caused the overgrown grasses surrounding the mansion to wilt, their edges curling inward as they swayed by vaporized heat. The sun was tint by a yellow filter to make elongated shadows against a decrepit wall look like God was painting a tableau of decay and despair.
Behind a half-torn pillar lurked Rin, his face emotionless as though he was wearing a mask as he hid from prying eyes. He observed the bloody scene from distance, his eyes darting at a beastly creature with a horse's head hung from the ceiling like some ominous omen—its blood ran in rivulets along the mud floor, flooded with crimson on the dirt-brown floor. The smell of thick stench of dead animal, the coppery tang of rust mixing with the damp mud and wood. He was the one responsible for the kill.
The investigator gagged at the sight, and tried to breathe through their hands that were covering their noses from the loathsome smell, he spoke with barely contained fear, "Is this all our men?"
"Sir, with the recent earthquake, I suppose they are all at relief centers…"
"Can someone tell me what is this all about? This must have been some kind of devil worshiper's sick ritual. This is simply sickening." The other officer vomited.
"It is no ordinary mare. It is a demon lord from hell! His name is Horse Face, Brother of 'Bulldog'," gasped the homeless man who had stumbled upon it first, his eyes wide with terror as he clutched at his tattered, filthy clothes.
Farey lit in the police chief's eyes like a bursting flame, the muscles in his jaw tensing as he ground his teeth together. "Enough with your nonsense! Someone takes that head down now! I can already feel these nightmares plaguing me…"
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The officers drove their patrol car toward the highway, the vehicle's engine growling as they picked up speed. The corpse of the strange horse-like creature lay in the back, its odor crept into the upholstery. When they were just few miles from the station, blocking their path was an ethereal young woman wearing fashionable clothes, her eyes devoid of life. The driver slammed on the breaks, the tires screeching as the car came to an abrupt halt. He rolled down his window, his voice a mixture of irritation and bewilderment.
"What the hell? Lady, get off the road! This is the police!"
No response from the zombie-like figure. One of the officers, his uniform immaculate and crisp, stepped out of the car, his face expressed of concern. "Lady! Can we help you?"
Her focus of her gaze was few feet above the patrol vehicle, and she barked into the emptiness, "get out of my way! The Gatekeeper! Even after I die, the army of Hell will still come for you for eternity."
The cop moved closer cautiously, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he tried to reason with her. "Lady, this is the police. Now calm down." That's when he noticed it; a vibration that started as a low hum and rose to an unsteady crescendo, shaking the asphalt beneath them and consuming everything in a deafening chorus. When it finally ceased, a layer of melted asphalt boiled and bubbled under them, the acrid smell of burned rubber filling the air.
"That's more like it! The Gatekeeper! This is the power I was waiting to see!" She laughed manically and stretched her arms wide, her fingers splayed as if grasping something invisible in front of her, her face a rictus of glee.
"Stay away! Head on the ground! You are under arrest!" shouted the officer, his voice strained with fear as he reached for the gun holstered at his hip. His fingers froze, betraying his instinct as he attempted to take control of the situation. But then, as if summoned by some malevolent force, a booming sound that spoke from above to drown out the officer's command: "I know I can find you here. Bulldog!"
The Gatekeeper's roar reverberated through the smoky interchange of the highway, the sound waves distorting the air and rattling the few remaining intact nearby car windows. Highway steel bar fences seemed to bend in response to the sheer power of his present.
"You will pay for the life of my brother with those men!" Hell beast Bulldog's words dripped with venomous rage as she lifted one officer by the throat, the man's feet kicking uselessly in the air. With a snarl, she hurled the other officer through the shattered car window, attempted to punctuate the Gatekeeper's further action by the piercing sound of breaking glass and crumpling metal.
"Your arrogance knows no bounds. But it won't save you from my wrath—my vengeance is only your prelude to death." The Gatekeeper's voice grew stronger by words. "It was I who cast the spell—Awaken the Dragon!"
"So it was you who killed Master Yorkma and my brother...you used him as bait to draw me out?" The words escaped her lips in a snarl panic.
"Yes! It had been my plan to lure you out of your veil."
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Quietness pervaded the village at the edge of high peaks, the thick cloak of night swallowing the landscape in its calm embrace. After the fire blazed 1/3 of the village into ruin, villagers decided to perform animal sacrificial offerings to prevent demons from stalking the land again.
Some believed the fire was caused by the retaliation for the beast who had been murdered in open execution. Some blamed it on the flying man who many saw above the village. All the speculations weren't proven by any hard evidence, the rumors of foul play were among them spread widely.
"I exposed our identities—this is all my fault," Master Kwon cried out regretfully, his voice broken with anguish as he buried his face in his hands. He could not bear to look at the destruction around them, he settled his heavy heart with guilt. "The Hell Beasts Bulldog possessed Fung to infiltrate us, they left Fung there as bait at the massacre of the refugee camp. Simply to locate the Gatekeeper."
Alice nodded, her eyes distant and haunted as she recalls the horrifying night. "Yes, I saw him take Claus with my own eyes — the same man from an old picture, and at the relief center — but he looked young like me." She held tight on to the wooden desk before her, fighting to control her own pulse. The Gatekeeper was to be at least 80 years old.
Master Kwon heaved a sigh, the responsibility of Alice's safety bearing down on him like a heavy yoke. His chest rose and fell with the slow repetition, measured breaths he took as he gathered his thoughts. With asserting proposition, he said, "We don't know for sure what happened here, but we must be prepared for another attack from those dark beings at any moment. Your friend Fung is not herself anymore…let us gather what provisions we can so that if they do not arrive within the next few days, we may be spared. Perhaps, just perhaps."
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Alice and Master Kwon had spent days preparing the stone shaft for the coming of the hell beast, its every corner was meticulously adorned with miniature Buddha statues and candles they collected. The faint flames kept the room warm and safe for the moment.
While Master Kwon entered deep meditation, his body still and composed as he centered his mind, Alice had been trying to reach home without success. Her hands fumbled with the phone, frustrated with concern.
Then, suddenly, a gust of wind snaked its way into the room, extinguished all the candles in the room save one, plunging the chamber into near darkness. "Someone with power beyond anything I've ever known is near!" Master Kwon shouted in his temporary blurred vision. A stranger strode in, his footsteps light but deliberate. He carried a gunnysack stained with blood, the gruesome contents hidden from view, and an unconscious girl—Fung—over his shoulder. "Avoid your suffering, Bulldog has been defeated." His emotionless and frigid words were the harbinger of the chaos that had descended upon them.
Master Kwon stepped forward, his body tense and coiled like a spring, ready to protect Alice from this intruder. But instead of any unwanted aggression, the man handed him the sack. When Master Kwon saw what it contained—decapitated skulls of demon lords from different hellish realms—he trembled in shock, the scale of the situation had escalated like a tidal wave drowning him into the deep ocean.
"I am here under Claus's last wish! You have no choice but to come with me!" The Gatekeeper grabbed Alice's arm, his grip iron-like but warm as he pulled her toward him. With an agile force like breath, extinguished the remaining candle. All was plunged back into complete blackness of unknown. Alice, Fung and the young man were nowhere to be found.