I am sitting on a bench in front of the hospital with my eyes closed. Chewing gum and trying to sense the fractals, I'm disheartened that I can't match the local skills. Even though the Terrifying World is left behind, I still need to be able to protect my loved ones in times of danger. Finally, I feel something.
The fractal of a High Demon is an energy code woven into an astral body, a combination of Platonic solids: cubes, tetrahedra, octahedra, icosahedra, and dodecahedra. It's a complex mental geometric pattern, a sort of a psi-rune. Well, usually. Right now, all I see is a pile of jumbled geometric shapes. When my soul was transferred into this world, the code was torn apart and turned into a chaotic mess of mixed polyhedra. In the past, when I killed generals, my astral body absorbed a finished fractal. My current task is to reassemble this complex structure from hundreds of elements. The process could take years. And I may have to fight today.
Yesterday, I noticed a small bruise on my sister's cheek. She said she had fallen. Three days ago, there had been a scrape on her delicate wrist, as if she had slipped on the tarmac. Falling again, she said. Or maybe someone made her fall.
I get up from the bench and walk across the lawn toward the fence. Wearing a faded T-shirt, worn blue sweatpants, and trainers, I look like a vagabond, but that's okay — it's not like I'm not going on a date.
I reach out, grab the fence, and leap over it in one smooth motion. Being a champion among the school children, Arthur has a pretty well-conditioned body, and I know how to use it. The local wizards don't scare me. Even before I became the strongest hellhunter, I had always sought out challenging opponents. My goal was to destroy the entire race of demons, and that's exactly what I did.
I found out the location of Helen's school beforehand. I get there by bus. My parents gave me some pocket money, but I didn't spend it, saving it for a moment like this.
It's midday now — the classes at the high school have just finished. Helen must be on her way home.
After a bit of a walk home from school, I turn my attention to the muffled noises in the alley. I run there and see one bitch holding my sister from behind, the second hitting her in the kidneys, and the third filming it. I catch the upraised fist of the girl hitting Helen. This thin blonde with wild eyes seems to run the show. The arrogance of the gang leader is evident in the sharp features of her face.
"Brother?" Helen exclaims, both surprised and delighted.
"What the hell?!" The girl whose arm I'm holding screams. "Do you know who my parents are?"
"Well, I don't, but I know their daughter is a real bitch."
Without releasing the blonde, I slap the hands of the girl holding Helen. Startled, she lets go of my sister. I turn to the third girl and snatch the camera from her. Slipping the confiscated item into my pocket, I frown and yell,
"Why did you attack my sister?"
I stare at the one who filmed — she has the most terrified eyes — and she doesn't disappoint me.
"It's all Kate's doing!" She points at the blonde. "She's long been bullying Helen at school!"
"Shut up, you wretch," the blonde growls, trying to escape, but my fingers are clamped like a vise around her arm. "You're screwed, you fool! I'll tell my brother, and he'll make mincemeat out of you. Ouch... let me go!"
I twist her long blonde hair around my fist, pulling her haughty face close to mine. She looks almost grown-up, no more than a year younger than me.
"Listen carefully," I growl, my threatening voice making her shrink back. "Touch my sister again, and your brother won't rescue you. Got it?"
She's silent, her eyes flashing. I understand: this troublemaker won't back down until I beat her brother-protector, who she'll run off to complain to as soon as I let her go. I don't want to risk Helen getting caught in the crossfire.
"Hospital 67, room 14. If you and your brother want trouble, come to see me. But don't touch my sister, or you'll go to school without ears. Got that? Now go."
I release the girl. Rubbing her wrist, she runs away, her friends following her. As she leaves the alley, she shouts,
"You'll be dead by tomorrow, you hear me? Your brother will die!"
I could run after her and make good on my threat, but what's the point? It wouldn't help. The only way to stop the bullying is to put the troublemakers in their place. Talking won't do anything.
Helen sniffles, tears in her big eyes. I immediately take her into my arms and stroke her hair.
"Calm down, dear," I whisper into her ear.
"They're coming for you, brother! Kate's older brother is a trust fund kid. Her father works at the Mayor's office. They're from the Longstrides. The police won't do anything to them."
"Is that why you haven't told me anything? How long have you taken the bullying?"
"Since last year," she sniffles again. Poor thing! "We should tell our parents."
"Why?" I wipe away her tears. "Have you forgotten that your brother is a champion? I'll take care of it myself."
"But you can't use Prana anymore!"
"Does that mean I'm no longer a champion?" I pretend to be offended, turning away. "Don't you love me anymore, sis?"
She slaps my forehead.
"Stupid brother!" She cries and I can't help smiling.
My sister can't keep her pouty face and grins too, showing all teeth. We go to the nearest café. My saved pocket money comes in handy to buy my sister something sweet.
We sit down by the window and order a chocolate ice cream each. At the table next to us, attractive girls in school uniforms are laughing. Their melodious giggles are a delight to my ears, and their slender figures and long legs in black tights are a feast for my eyes. I'm not the only one — all the male customers are drooling, their eyes fixed on the girls. Suddenly, one of the girls catches sight of me, and her smile freezes.
She tucks her long hair behind her back, stands up and walks over to our table. I don't immediately recognize Olivia Morgan, my ally in the Terrifying World, known as Kali, because of her youthful appearance and braces.
Memories flood back in a torrent. My 'old' life flashes before my eyes. For a few seconds, I return into the Terrifying World, to the time of war and madness. Together with Olivia, we're walking through the corridors of the underground dungeon — the realm of the Subterrors. Behind us, the smoking corpses of our defeated enemies reek of charcoal. Fractals make the oppressive darkness around us as transparent as daylight. But the heat is unrelenting — the primitive ventilation shafts bring little fresh air down into the endless depths. As a result, we've both stripped down to almost nothing. I have to make a conscious effort not to stare at the sweaty cleavage between Olivia's breasts.
"Feeling a bit nervous, Thunderer?" Her eyes narrow into playful slits. "Your face looks strange. If we weren't in enemy territory, I'd say you seem… excited."
"Looks like your night vision is playing tricks on you," I reply, finding an excuse. "I'm perfectly fine."
"Are you? It's a shame." Her face becomes both sad and so breathtakingly beautiful that my gaze is torn between her glistening body and her coral pink lips. "My mates in the camp say that Thunderer has a heart as hard as Citygrave's skin. I hope I've finally managed to melt it."
"Why?" I squint, suspicious. "Are you going to make fun of me or something?"
"What do you mean, 'why'?" Her eyes widen. "Lots of women would love to share a bed with the slayer of five Demon Generals as a token of gratitude for saving thousands of lives."
Wow, that's news to me. I had no idea about my popularity. But it changes nothing. I'm not going to rest until I've eliminated the last of the demons. Only after I have defeated the Lord of the Covey and saved the world will I be able to think about a wife, a family, children, and a home with an apple tree in front of the porch. Not a moment before.
But for now, the closeness of her warm, sweaty, soft body is alluring. My thoughts race and my heart pounds, its rhythm echoing in my throat. A question slips from my lips,
"Are you one of them?"
"Of course," she replies without hesitation.
Her willingness makes me look away awkwardly and even stirs a fragile hope in me.
"Perhaps one day, Kali. Perhaps, if humanity is saved."
"I'll wait, Thunderer."
I look around me: the café patrons, the waiters, and beyond the panoramic window, a busy motorway. The cold sweetness of ice cream lingers in my mouth. Here comes Olivia, sweet and dear Olivia. Her school skirt swayed with every step. We've both been waiting for this moment: when all barriers are broken, when we've paid our dues to the Terrifying World with the last drop of our blood, when...
"How dare you come here?" The girl snarls, rolling up her sleeve. "You asked for it — I'll kick your ass."
…we can forget about fights. What the hell?