Djinns, servants of Devils. Born to humans yet coerced into the dark. To humanity they were the enemy of the world. To monsters, they were just another hunk of meat.
But for the traitors in question, they found existence itself to be a spiteful endeavor.
That wasn't to say they were simple in their ways. Far from it, more often than not, a Djinn is convoluted and manic in life — or unlife. This is particularly prominent in Djinns who have taken contracts from others of the same kind. Making them inferior.
Their superiors on the other hand have much more liberty in how they conduct themselves. Some more than others depending on the contractor's nature.
And even further beyond that, are those with iron wills. Those who have become a Djinn out of necessity and wrath rather than fear and desperation.
Sho Yungi was one of these people. Dressed in a modest beige shirt with a black tie, Yungi sat behind a storetop. His feet were kicked up on the dark oak counter and a vile grin was cracked across his face. His long brown hair flowing down to his chest while his fiery orange eyes glowered with deep seated desire. His watch displayed a dark room, the camera fixated on a girl chained to a chair, squirming with a hateful glare in her eyes.
That was his wife. Or at least it would be once he got this next promotion from the Evil Society.
Yes, it was due time for a super rookie like himself to rise through the ranks. Perhaps he had his Gift to thank for this. [Amazing Roulette], a gift that kept giving. It could grant wishes so long as the odds were in his favour. And more than that, the margin of strength that the miracles could grant, would increase along with the amount of mana he [Bet].
Yungi had used this to practically leap up the corporate ladder, going from grunt to captain, and from captain to commander in the span of a month. And marvelously, a prime location for Djinn gatherings had been entrusted to him and his team by the higher ups.
Of course, there was the condition that he had to follow the orders of the quirky human cultist to capture some Cadet– But after that, this was all going to be his!
Truly, lady luck had blessed him with her grace!
Yungi's pupils widened as he felt the warmth of his lady wash his senses once more. His eyes sharpening at the figure standing in front of the tightly closed front door.
"Hey, Djinn. It's about time you gathered all your people up. The heroes are spread thin today and Aileen is on the other side of the city, if we want to move we have to do it now."
A coarse, gravely voice emanated from across Yungi, instantly sobering him up.
A man around his late twenties with sunken eye sockets and a hollow gaze was standing rigidly. He was dressed in pure white garments, a long trenchcoat had pooled at his feet. He raised his hand and pulled his hood forward to cover his face.
"Yeah, yeah. I called em before you even got here, you prick." Yungi responded with his buttery smooth voice, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the projection on his watch.
"Two are still stationed in the basement. Can't have anyone sneaking up through the drain, now can we?"
The hooded man nodded and looked around.
Customers browsing books turned their heads. Shelf stackers froze in place. Even the electrician paused.
Every single one of them was a Djinn.
"Good. I am Father Vein of the White Clad. You may address me as Shaman." The gravely voice resounded throughout the quiet room.
"Seeing as we are equally uncomfortable with this arrangement, I will cut straight to the point." Father Vein tapped his watch, projecting a file into the air.
The file was almost completely filled to the brim with words. Much of it ended in questions rather than statements, even the simple things such as name, age and birth place were all uncertain.
On the top right corner of the document was a picture of a boy. Pale skin, dark, raven hair, dark rings under his foggy black eyes. Minori Nii.
"This is our target. He is a Cube Cadet. Minori Nii. His magic affinity lies in fire. He seems to be able to cast a wide range of flame spells and is more than capable of taking down Djinns like you."
The crowd bristled with mocking annoyance at the thought of being bested by a teenage boy. Father Vein paid them no mind.
"Upon further inspection and probing we have found that Minori has extremely sharp vision, is able to grow in strength for short bursts as well as possessing the extremely rare ability to teleport. Our belief is that Minori Nii is someone with an extremely versatile gift."
Yungi tilted his head to the side.
'Hah, this guy… isn't that a bit of an exaggeration.'
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he turned his eyes outward. Shoulders tensed as he saw the scene outside.
Countless headless dolls drifted along the street, like termites infesting the city. Every one of them were dressed in ragged cloth. They were white but coated in a thick film of ash and dust.
Yungi kicked off his desk and stood up straight, his chair thrown back into the wall.
"What the hell?" He cursed and turned to his men to bark an order.
But instead of his men the same wooden puppets from outside were standing there. All of them dressed in tattered white robes, their heads severed from the base of the neck.
The customer was now stiffly facing its chest towards him. If he had a head, it would no doubt be staring at Yungi. The books the shelf stacker was holding had fallen to the floor and now the puppet began advancing.
The only exception to the seemingly abrupt appearance of the puppets was that cultist. Dressed in his pristine white robes, only now, a smug grin was plastered on his face.
'No way… that bastard tricked us! I knew we should never work with humans! Never mind the cult parading around like a guild!'
Yungi could hear sounds. They got louder every second. But they didn't matter, he couldn't afford the liberty of being distracted.
He was under attack.
Channelling cursed mana into his legs, Yungi launched a fast kick at his desk, making it fly into the air and barrel into the waves of puppets.
Splinters flew out from the impact, along with a cloud of dust. It took only a moment for the puppets to rise once again, this time, drawing weapons.
Yungi felt his ears ring, his head swimming as he fought to shut off the mind attack.
The man in white, Father Vein, had begun to move. He couldn't dawdle any longer.
Bending forward, Yungi felt his muscles ripple and coil, ready to pounce.
"...[Bet] a ninetieth of my mana. I wish for the power to best my adversary." Yungi whispered.
Under his feet, the floor shifted and swirled with black and red before coalescing into a roulette wheel, already spinning like the blade of a helicopter.
At the same time Yungi threw his hand into the floor boards, cracking it and pulling out a long saber from beneath it.
At the same time, Father Vein, whose face seemed to be frozen in a malicious grin, took a step back and raised his arm. The air seemed to thicken and then coalesce into spined mace, barely visible to the naked eye.
"Fvb cpsl mpluk! Ohcl fvb svza fvby khtu tpuk?!" The pristine white robes flowed as the white clad raised his mace towards Yungi, yelling something incomprehensible.
Yungi gritted his teeth, the mind attack seemed to only grow stronger.
But that didn't matter.
Ka-chik!
The sound of a metal pin sliding into place resounded throughout the room, the [Amazing Roulette] had landed on a golden slip on its wheel.
The slip turned bright, burning with golden fires before turning a vile tar colour.
Yungi felt his bones flesh and muscle renew with unseeable strength. His eyes grew fiercer and with it, so did his confidence.
He stepped forward, crossing the gap between the cultist and himself, the saber had leveled itself to slice through the column of Vein's neck.
A low growl escaped the Shaman, his mace swinging forward with a crushing force, knocking the saber to the side awkwardly.
Yungi took the chance, grinning as he slammed his sharp claws into the unguarded side of Father Vein.
Blood spewed from the newly formed gash, a river of it flowing despite how shallow it was. The wound was already blackening and festering with rot.
Yungi let out a bark of joy before kicking the Shaman to the side.
The frail body of the Shaman was thrown into a spin before landing on its feet. He stood in the light of the open door for a moment, clutching his wound. The same grin was frozen on his face, not a hint of pain in its eyes.
A bad feeling bloomed in Yungi's chest.
'Light of the…open door?'
Wasn't it closed before?
Father Vein seemed to freeze on the spot, his hands gripped his side tighter as he seemed to realise the same thing.
A shadow cast itself from just behind the Shaman. But before anyone could understand the implications of such an appearance, thin wires began spreading from the shadows… no, rather, they were simply growing brighter.
How long had they been there? Why didn't anyone notice them before?
Yungi didn't have time to answer those questions as in an instant, blood was spilt once again.
A blade darker than night, doused in a litany of iron red pierced through a pale white veil. The dull protrusion found its way out just as easily as it entered.
Behind the man in white was a heavy shadow, a put together man, dressed in a casual suit, with scaled black gloves greased with blood.
Over his face was a mask with wide hollows for eyes, a face splitting grin sewn shut with red strings and a long snout.
The hunting dog had reared it's head.