Strife of a man once vengeful. Delusions of a being once human.

The moon shined brightly, revealing a gruesome scene.

Small puddles of blood were scattered along the ground. Bodies of fallen thugs lay strewn across a dimly lit street in Osaka, Japan upon which a tortured man stood, clutching his head in pain and pulling at his semi-long, jet black hair. He knew himself only as "Jayhawk", and his now dispersing thoughts struggled to cling together.

I can’t breathe, my hands are burning, my vision is red...this is happening way too often Jayhawk thought as he began taking a new form. He knew well what was changing his body, but was helpless to stop the transformation. Chains shot out of the ground, latched onto his wrists, and instantly lit him ablaze. Crimson, metallic skin slowly spread across his body under the flames, deforming it with spikes at the joints of his arms and cracks along his chest. The few men still alive stood still as they watched in disbelief, making fearful remarks on his new form.

“W-what the hell is happening to him?!” one man cried.

“That ain’t natural! He’s...some sort of monster!” yelled another.

'Some sort of monster'...that's harshly accurate.

Jay’s thoughts dissipated as his morphing body riveted with strikes of pain. His skin burned, his muscles extruded violently, and his corrupted mind coveted one goal:

Blood. Blood must be spilled!

The men around him were taken aback by the deafening demonic roar let out upon the completion of Jay’s transformation; the chains holding him back snapping off easily from the force of energy that exploded out of him.

The demon that now stood before the helpless and unaware victims was known as Ira, the Demon of Yin.

“...W-what are you dumbasses sitting there for?! Shoot that thing!” one man yelled, firing his gun at Ira hopelessly. The bullets came to no avail, springing off Ira’s armor-like skin and falling to the ground. He turned to face his attacker, red eyes locked on his target as he bared his now sharpened teeth. The growl he let out upon locking eyes with the man was unlike any normal beast.

“Kichiro, I think you pissed it off!” yelled a man off to the side

Within one swift movement, Ira unsheathed a previously normal claymore off of his back and lunged forward, thrusting his now darkened and flaming-red weapon straight through the man’s chest. The strike pushed him back with enough force to pin him against the brick wall behind him. Gasps and reactions from the other men could barely be heard over the sound of Ira immediately tearing his sword from the flesh of his victim. The pull ripped the blade out of the wall, and a scratch of cement and sparks lit the ground as the tip of his heavy sword scraped along it with uncanny ease.

“Who’s next...? YOU?!” spoke a harsh voice as Ira pointed his sanguine-soaked blade at the face of another man, who petrified in fear.

“...I don’t hear any objections!” yelled Ira as he javelin-tossed his sword into the next terrified human who stood before him, hitting him square in the forehead and instantly taking the life from his body. He slowly fell to his knees as blood caked his now lifeless body.

With his momentum built, Ira moved to quickly retrieve his sword from it's previous victim and swing it in a braod swathe beside his last target, beheading the man standing nearby. Without hesitation, he then leapt towards the only man attempting to flee in a single bound and cleaved him in half with a single downward strike, a resounding crash of metal and concrete signaling the following silence.

Upon the grotesque murder of his last foe, Ira’s body throbbed. His enemies lay lifeless on the ground, and his time was up. He dropped his sword and collapsed to his hands and knees as the darkened form slowly faded away from his body, returning control back to Jayhawk.

The feeling of his own natural body relieved Jay as he re-adjusted to using his own legs, his own arms and his own mind. He was but merely a spectator when Ira took control.

“Well....that was tediously harsh” Jay said to himself as he observed the mess he had made. “I can’t believe I let those punks catch me off guard. They didn't deserve this”. Jay stepped carefully around the gore of his victims and began walking forward, eager to put the slaughter behind him. He sheathed his sword and placed his hands in his pockets as he walked, unable to avoid pondering the situation.

That's gotta be the quickest turn I've had in months... Jay thought as he aimlessly marched. He was worried. Ira had been on edge lately, triggering easier than normal and acting much more vicious upon transformation. Ira didn’t act out of whack unless he sensed equally demonic beings nearby, and although his recent outbreaks had been in different places, Ira was always perked at the sense of fiends looming someplace else. Like a dog that sensed a ghostly presence.

That gives me an idea. I should return to my post Jay concluded, trying to follow the train of his thoughts.

Spreading his arms out, Jay channeled a dormant, light-aligned power until white wings sprouted out to nearly double the length of his arms. Adjusting his newfound appendages, Jay leaped high into the air and took flight from the momentum, flying towards his usual watch spot on the top of mount Fuji. Jay eventually gathered enough speed to nosedive from high above the clouds, speeding towards the ground until he was at sound speed and swooping back up into the sky. It would be a long flight without urgency, and Jay needed to return to his post as soon as possible.

After nearly 3 hours, Jay could finally see the mountain top where his watchtower stood. It was a small shanty with two rooms and a ladder leading up to a bedroom with a long balcony. Landing softly on the balcony, Jay rested his sword on the wall inside and opened his closet to exchange his bloodied clothes for regular pair of jeans and a red, sleeved shirt which he carelessly tossed upon his bed. His wings poofed out of existence in a small cloud of spectral feathers as he begun to strip out of his previous outfit.

Maybe what Ira senses is something stalking me, or watching me in some manner. Or perhaps this world is finally coming to its end. Who knows... Jay thought aimlessly as he headed out onto his balcony, grabbing a thick, black leather jacket on the way. It was the first time in a while that Jay had felt truly lost to the answer. I’ll have to do some investigating and watch the happenings in this world very closely. Something's up

Upon taking position on his post at the top of the tower, Jay began his watch. He closed his eyes as his mind expanded outward from the mountaintop, covering the eastern hemisphere. Every life form, plant animal and man alike; Jay could see them all through his mind's eye. What they were doing, their health and condition, everything. He watched the eastern landscape closely and precisely, not unlike a hawk, searching for anything that stood out or something that could clue towards what troubled him.

To Jay’s dismay, he found nothing. No man, animal or even plant was out of the ordinary. Ira’s power inside Jay was the only dark essence for thousands of miles, and it would take quite some travel time to check the western region.

“Looking for something?” said a voice from behind Jay. He quickly turned to see a longtime ally of his; a short and sprightly young man whom he knew as DJ, standing in the door to the balcony. The wind blew his white hair into his face, which he occasionally flicked back with a quick movement of his head. His grey unzipped hoodie blew with the wind, revealing a blue shirt under it. He stood there with his hands casually placed in his black jean pockets.

“I could feel you expand. That isn't always safe, y’know....” DJ warned.

“How did you find me?” Jay asked half-heartedly, knowing DJ always followed him somehow.

“How I didn’t know for so many hours is the real question. After all, you were flying pretty fast and using a lot of power.” DJ explained, leaning against the door frame. Jay had seldom been annoyed that DJ could track him so easily, unless he gloated about it.

“Well, at least you’re the only one who can track me. What do you want?” Jay asked, returning his gaze out on the balcony.

“Company.” DJ said. He yawned. “I’m bored”

“Well I’m busy.” Jay remarked, hoping to shove DJ off before he proposed anything.

“I can help!” DJ piped up

“No, you actually can’t” rebutted Jay

“Help you find that bugging dark essence? Yes, I can” Dj said confidently.

Jay froze, nearly sure he had heard wrong. To his knowledge, there was no way DJ could sense that like he did. Though DJ had the same innate ability to track essences and power source, but had never shown ability to sense alignments within them, such as Pure or Evil. The idea that his friend could tell the moral difference between beings was a foreign concept to Jayhawk.

Jay turned to face him slowly, confused and bewildered “....how did you know that? You can’t sense alignments, can you?” Jay asked, knowing that DJ would practically read his mind anyways.

Dj chuckled “Lucky guess?”

‘You know I don’t believe in luck.” Jay remarked, walking closer to DJ "What's the secret?"

“Well, I could tell something was bugging you, I just assumed it was something you couldn’t find when I felt you expand your mind.” Dj said half smiling, throwing his arms out in expression, expecting Jay to buy his story

“Spit it out, DJ. You know something I don’t and you came here to confront me about it” Jay pressed, sure as he was of the situation.

“Always perceptive, Jay. You know me too well.” Dj said, smiling widely, nudging a fist into Jayhawk's chest. It bugged Jay that DJ was so pipe around him, like he was always trying to imply something with his words that Jay could never pick up. “Worry not, I’ll explain it all”

Jay walked inside and took a seat on a small chair in a corner across the room from DJ “Enlighten me, then. What’s this all about?”

“Remember the Rakukan Teki incident?” DJ asked, bringing up one of their most recent co-operative hunt against a cult that worshiped blood and vampirism, all in praise of a so called 'demon king of blood'.

“All too well. They back again? I know most of their inner circle members got away..” Jay admitted, recalling the incident in which they had managed to outsmart him by having him chase after decoys while they escaped.

“Not exactly. They’d vowed to 'spill blood upon innocent soil’. Both of us know this world has none of the sort” DJ explained., closing the balcony door behind him. Jay grunted in agreement. all too sure their world was too old and too populated to be innocent soil.

“Well I know that bugged you, because it bugged me as well. So I decided to do some digging and investigations of their whereabouts" DJ described, his face more serious now "As of now, I know where they are headed, and what they plan to do.”

Jay stood in urgency, a new drive pulling him. ‘Damn, good work! If they're trying something new, we don’t have much time. What’s their plan?”

Dj hesitated. “Well......there’s one slight problem that may or may not affect you.”

“And that would be?” Jay asked. He knew DJ wasn’t sure of everything, but this seemed to be deeper than that.

Dj sighed ‘Ponies”

“...pardon me?”

“Ponies, Jayhawk. Friendly, happy go-lucky ponies. Wonderfully jolly, multi-coloured equines”

“Ponies?”

“Yes sir. Pegasi and unicorns too!”

Jay shook his head in confusion “So, ponies, pegasi and unicorns?”

“That would be correct”

“...what about them?”

“Well...do you have a....problem with any of them? Maybe any relations or acquaintances of sorts?”

Jay scratched his chin, pondering. He remembered a pact he had made with a peculiar pony while stuck in Tartarus a few months back. He wondered if it would finally come into effect. The details still remained hazy in his memory. “I’d say I’m probably on okay terms”

“Good. You’ll be visiting them soon.” DJ said, clapping his hands together.

Jay stopped, locking his wide eyes with DJ’s. Dj simply returned a sheepish smile back at him.

Jay slapped his hand into his face “You have GOT, to be fucking, kidd-”

“Not kidding, Jay.” Dj cut in. “That’s where the Rakukan Teki are headed, according to evidence”

“But-...what evidence?!” Jay exclaimed in per-emptive frustration.

“These babies.” DJ said, pointing at his own eyes. “I managed to track down what I guessed was a backup hideout of theirs in southern Africa. When I got there, all I found was the remnants of what seemed to be a small portal and some scattered notes about, well, small portal usage. Beginner stuff, not much unlike we’ve done.” DJ stated, referring to their constant use of large scale portals to other worlds “When I managed to re-activate it, the portal lead to a beautiful landscape dotted with houses and what looked like a small town”

Jay stared at him with a concerned look as he continued “Upon using the 'hawkeye' ability you taught me, I noticed ponies, some with wings and some with horns on their heads, walking around as if they were sentient. Talking, bartering, running small shops. I even saw a pink pony bouncing around the place like it was on drugs” DJ chuckled, remembering the sight he himself barely believed.

Jay rubbed his eyes as he let out an exasperated sigh “So you’re saying I gotta make friends with some colorful ponies?” Jay said, hoping his guess would be shot down.

“Oh, no. You could barge in the place fucking up everybody’s shit like it’s 1939!” Dj exclaimed in reference. “ I didn’t see any sort of guards or policing going on. The whole place looked so 'Goody-two shoes'. Which is why I’m so sure about this. What I saw through that portal was, without a doubt, innocent soil”

Jay frowned, regretting his hesitation in the destruction of the clan. Had he attacked them head on with DJ’s help instead of trying to find out more about the clan's intentions, they probably could have ended it before their leaders got away.

Of course. The only ones who manage to get away decide to cause more problems. Just my luck Jay thought, his frustration growing.

DJ seemed to notice, as he added in “Hey, look on the bright side: at least no one will try to get in your way. Just find the circle members and wipe them out. Cakewalk!” Dj advertised, trying to lighten Jay’s mood.

Jay clenched his fists, suddenly more angry that they had ever escaped him. “You’re right. Simple mortals. Cakewalk.” He rushed over to his sword and sheathed it, slinging the scabbard onto his back. “David, take me to that portal. I am going to end this.”

Author's Note

(Characters in mirror may appear edgier than they are)