The industrial wasteland sprawled before them like a graveyard of twisted metal. Rusted machinery jutted from the ground at impossible angles, and the air shimmered with heat from fires burning in distant pits.
Nao, Hana, Kaito, Riku, and Yuta stepped carefully over jagged scrap, senses straining. Somewhere in this maze of metal and rubble lurked a demon, waiting to strike.
Leading them was Shinzo, the Lampmen captain, lantern held high.
Beside him, Kuro carried a heavy crossbow, eyes scanning for threats, and Mika's hands glowed faintly with a healing light, keeping pace. The trio moved with precision, a practiced rhythm honed over countless hunts.
"Stay alert," Shinzo instructed, voice calm but sharp. "We don't know what we're facing. Don't underestimate the metal here-keep your distance from anything that moves unnaturally."
Nao tightened his grip on the Beast Dog charm, beads of sweat forming on his brow. "Got it," he muttered, his companion growling low. Hana's hands flickered with heat, flames ready but cautious. Even Riku's twin swords hummed softly, tuned to the metallic resonance around them.
The first minutes passed in tense silence, broken only by the creaking of twisted steel and distant hisses from burning fires. Then the demon emerged.
A hulking figure crawled from behind a pile of scrap-its body a patchwork of welded metal plates, headlights glowing like eyes. A long sword hung from one arm, a massive hammer from the other, and the air around it shimmered as though the metal itself was alive. Kikaio, the Machine Demon, moved with impossible speed, sparks flying from its pistons and wheels.
"Stay back!" Shinzo shouted, stepping forward. Energy crackled from his palms as he fired a blast toward Kikaio's torso. Sparks erupted as the demon deflected the attack with a swing of its sword. Kuro loosed a bolt from his crossbow, but it bounced off Kikaio's armored chest.
The demon's roar shook the ground, grinding metal against metal. Then, with terrifying precision, Kikaio unleashed a torrent of pressurized water. Hana was hit first, pinned beneath a collapsing stack of scrap.
Her flames roared in defiance, but the metal and water pressed down, crushing her. Her limbs went rigid, her fire surging uselessly against the torrent. She couldn't move, couldn't fight. Only her eyes reflected the fear and frustration as she watched the others battle.
Nao reacted instantly, summoning his spectral Beast Dog. The massive creature lunged at Kikaio's legs, teeth snapping as sparks flew from the demon's swinging sword. For a moment, it seemed the hunters might have an opening, but Kikaio's telekinetic control over the debris became horrifyingly clear-piles of scrap rose into the air, spinning like blades toward them.
Riku charged, twin swords ready, aiming at the demon's midsection. He ducked under a swinging scrap beam, slashing with precise arcs, but Kikaio countered brutally. The demon's hammer smashed down across Riku's back, sending him sprawling into the steel. Blood trickled from a deep wound across his side, his twin swords falling uselessly to the ground. He groaned, barely conscious, pinned and immobile.
"No!" Yuta yelled, but Shinzo's hand shot out to hold him back. "Don't rush! Watch your footing!"
Kuro fired another bolt, aiming for Kikaio's joints, but the demon struck back before he could release another. Metal scraps, controlled by Kikaio, slammed him between two massive beams. The crossbow clattered from his hands, and his scream echoed as the crushing metal ended his life. Silence fell over the battlefield, the first of their group to fall.
Hana, trapped beneath the rubble, could only watch. Her hands glowed weakly, futilely, as she struggled for every breath. Her companion, Nao's Beast Dog, snapped and lunged at Kikaio, but the demon's sheer size and control over metal made every attempt nearly useless. Sparks flew, molten grease scattered, and the demon roared again, triumphant.
The survivors' faces reflected shock and grief as they witnessed Kuro's body mangled beyond recognition.
Riku was still pinned, groaning in pain. Hana's immobile form shivered beneath the weight of water and debris. Nao's heart hammered in his chest as he tried to rally his courage, calling to his trapped friends, but the reality of the demon's power pressed down on them all.
Kaito, bleeding from a cut along his arm, gritted his teeth and raised his sword. Sparks erupted with each clash against the demon's metal, but it was clear the battle was far from over. Yuta's demonic energy surged, shadows coiling along his skin as he prepared to strike. Even as despair threatened to overtake them, a sliver of hope flickered: the combined efforts of the hunters could still create openings, if only they survived long enough to exploit them.
The industrial wasteland was now a scene of chaos-water spraying, metal debris flying, and the cries of the fallen echoing into the scorched sky.
Hana's faint, glowing hands reminded them of what was at stake. They had lost Kuro. Riku was trapped. Hana was immobile. But the fight was not over.