Some say death is merciful.
The ending of all beings, that which provides life with meaning.
A final destination for most.
In this moment, however...
All Kira felt, was fear.
And horror.
The sweltering heat brought him great discomfort, and his clothes were wet with his own blood as he staggered away.
Tears streaked down his cheeks and his saliva mixed with his blood as it dropped down his chin.
Despite that, he tried his best to move quietly. Even with the bones in his left leg crushed, he gritted his teeth and pushed on.
Because he didn't want to die.
He couldn't die here.
Not here, not now.
And so, with hot tears pouring down his cheeks, he dragged himself forward.
***
"Wake up. There isn't much time before Mr Welt gets here."
A whisper wormed its way into his ear.
With a sigh and a grunt, Kira sat up.
The room was cold and dark. The sun had yet to peek out from the horizon, but he was already required to get up from bed.
If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to eat that day.
With a sigh, he turned to the owner of the voice. A scrawny looking boy the same age as he was with hairs like poorly drawn scribbles.
Kira gave him a nod as thanks before jumping down from his bed.
Dax grinned at him,
"What, still won't say anything?"
Kira shrugged, but remained silent.
Dax smiled wryly, "This guy..."
Then he turned around to get ready himself.
They were both part of an orphanage, with Kira being the newest addition.
Kira looked around, his face a bit dark,
'Calling this place an orphanage is a bit of a stretch, really...'
The place was more of a hub for all sorts of terrible people. Prostitutes, monsters, and the occasional peddler often visited this large compound.
The reason it was called an orphanage, was because the main form of labor, and how the people who ran this place made their money, was through child labor.
It was a grim and dark reality. But it was reality nonetheless...
Kira clenched his fists.
He had been brought here just half a year ago. Over that period of time, he had got to truly experience hell, only a bit worse than what he was used to.
His parents had died a year ago, in a demon stampede that had destroyed their entire town.
The Blood Howlings were a vicious race of demons fresh out of the abyss that loved to bathe in blood, so the massacre that had ensued was not a pretty picture.
The scenes of his parents being ripped to shreds were even less pleasant to remember
Perhaps as some cruel joke made by the gods, he had survived.
Unfortunately for him, after wandering for a few days, exhausted, thirsty, and starving, he had been found by a merry band of demon hunters, who had thought it wouod be best for them to make some extes coin by selling a half-dead ten year old into the hands of questionable merchants.
After that, it had been one woe after the other. Despite being so young, Kira had learned a lot from his mother. So he was quite intelligent.
He had quickly learned the dos and donts of working at the orphanage.
The first and most important rule he had come to learn about rather was a matter of being inconspicuous.
The more one stood out, the easier it was to attract doom.
As such, he had learned to keep his mouth shut and only do as he was told.
Once he had put his clothes on, Kira gently reached under his pillow and pulled out a knife. It seemed like a regular knife at first glance. And yes, it was indeed very regular...
However, the materials used to make it were decent, making it a very good weapon.
It had been a present to him from his father, and he had kept it close.
Without hesitation, he tucked it under his belt.
It was time to work.
***
"You stinky mutts. I don't know why the boss bothers keeping you fed when you're all going to die anyways! Hahaha!"
Most adults looked rather imposing in front of a ten year old.
Staring at the man who was a symbol of fear within the orphanage, Kira was struck with a deep sense of disgust.
The man had a sickening white pallor, and was thin as bones. Despite the quality robes he donned, he lookrf incredibly wretched.
Kira slowly lowered his head.
His third rule was; the more wretched they looked, the greater their ego and cruelty.
'Stay calm. Don't let anything show.'
He lowered himself a bit so as to become even more inconspicuous.
In his world, sacrifices often came in the form of others. If it wasn't him, it would be another. However, Kira was fine with this, as long as he got to live another day.
Jareb, the sickly man, and the person in charge of them swept his reptilian gaze across the crowd of malnourished children before clicking his tongue.
Then he ran his tongue across his yellowing teeth,
"Alright, I will be letting you mutts off now. But remember this. If you do not bring your full quota back, the best thing that would happen is a minor beating and a day without a meal. However, if I'm in a bit of a good mood, Chumpy will get to have a snack."
At the mention of the name, Chumpy, all the children, including Kira, shivered with fear.
Kira's gaze turned cold.
A grin of his face, Jareb nudged his head at the guard behind him. The guard nodded, then yelled whilst drawing the silver curved blade at his hip,
"Alright, get the fuck out! Don't come back till you have your full quota!"
With that, all the children scurried out of the gates.
And into the streets of the City of Iron.
***
"So what do you think? Should we head over to Ramone and his guys today?"
"I heard they had a good haul last time. Hopefully, we can get lucky by going with them today."
Walking behind the crowd of older boys, Kira felt uncomfortable.
In the City of Iron, no, on the entire continent of Varicai, Demon Hunting was the most popular line of work.
By hunting down demons in their nests, one could acquire both fame and fortune.
However, glory come only to those who could subdue death.
The Demons were not mere fearsome beasts.
They were agents of wicked destruction and madness, driven only by their desire to corrupt and consume all that lives.
The truest enemies of humanity.
And so, battling with them was an intimate dance with death itself. Once could easily become lost in the music of demise.
As such, the entire economy of the City of Iron was grounded by the Demon Hunting profession.
As Kira went over this information in his head, a tap on the shoulder brought him back to reality.
"Kira, let's go meet up with Yoseph and his crew, see if there's any work for us."
Kira glanced at Dad then nodded.
'The only job we can do that can meet the quota, is working for the Demon Hunters.'
To be specific, working as their porters.
In a low grade City like this, were access to spatial treasures was severely limited, the demand of Demon Hunters for porters to accompany them into the nests of these nightmarish creatures was quite high.
As such, people of less fortune, such as himself worked as their porters, assisting the Hunter's in bearing their luggage and burdens for the duration of the Hive Clear.
Then, they would be rewarded for their efforts in coin.
Kira grimaced, 'Would have been wonderful if the survival rate was not so low...'
In a year, only about three in ten of these children would survive doing such dangerous work. The ones that did survive ended up dying later on, or would become Demon Hunters themselves after buying their freedom, although that was quite rare.
Looking around at the dirty faces of the children he walked with, Kira felt cold and terrified.
As his thoughts grew darker, they arrived at the City center.
It didn't take long for Dax and Kira to find the men they were looking for.
A band of five men who took on Demon Hunting as work.
At the head of the Hunting crew was Yoseph, a gruff, wicked-looking man who wielded a steel Halberd as his weapon of choice.
To his side was Storm, the archer, Fredrick the Lancer, Wisp the scout, and Lorent the Magic Caster.
Their crew was quite special, even amongst Demon Hunters. After all, they had a magic user amongst them.
Watching the two boys approach, a displeased look appeared on Yoseph's face,
"You two look disgusting."
Dax nervously chuckled and bowed,
"Sorry, boss. Hope we aren't late."
Yoseph snorted,
"Whatever. Just make sure not to stink up our luggage." He said whilst pointing at the bags lined in behind them.
"Since we plan on going a bit further into the hive beyond the East Gate today, we will hire more porters. That means you will have to share your pay. Got it?"
Kira's eyes widened. He wanted to say something, but but his tongue.
Meanwhile, Dax simply nodded and bowed again, thanking him profusely.
As he had known Dax for some time now, Kira could tell the boy was also not happy with the situation. But what could he do?
He was just a powerless child.
They also needed the money dearly.
Yoseph sneered then turned around,
"We leave in three minutes."