Chapter 4: Chapter 3: GangXta

Life inside the confines of the city of lower babel isn’t easy by any means. Not to those living ordinary lives, nor to those combating the daily demonic threats. However tough the life it the city might be, most of the residents are aware of one thing: it’s a lot better than getting chomped on by demons in the wilderness.

There 6 Knights organization bases inside the city of lower babel: Compound 11; Compound 15; Compound 28, Compound 36, Compound 72 and the elusive Compound “Omega”. 

Compound 15 is one of the main compounds of the Knights’ organization, housing the most advanced research facility and a state-of-the-art containment center within its confines. This compound boasts the best agent survival rate as well as has a 67% illegal contractor capture rate, and a 99% demon extermination rate, which are the highest rates out of any compound. And the reason for these high capture and extermination rates is simple: the group known as the “X squad”, the most decorated team in the entire organization. Timothy Matsuhide is the official squad leader, however, everyone with even a speck of insight is aware that he is not the one in charge.

Each year, a multitude or recruits join the knights with the dream of eventually becoming members of the infamous squad. However, only the most competent are invited, personally picked out by X himself.

Calvin is a tall, well-built red head male with a thick bushy beard and a slightly receding hairline, that he tried to have covered at all times with a baseball cap. He was a loud, well-spoken Irish man, who rarely took anything other than capturing contractors seriously. When it came to battle, he used his trusty machine gun that he always kept up and maintained himself. In close quarters combat, he uses the techno-great sword, usually carrying it around in a suit-case on his back. He has a tendency to wear military cargo pants, combat boots and a tank top everywhere he goes, only dressing up something else when he’s around his kids. Because of his attitude and overall rough appearance, X nicknamed him “Brick”.

Maddie is the enforcer of the group, specializing in close quarters combat. He fights by mostly using dual Scorpion class energy blades, in times of need severe danger he uses the experimental knight force-field plate armor made for him by Rebeca. He has a rather calm and timid personality when it comes to talking to everyone other than the members of his squad. Because of this, Calvin, George and Jebua all consider him an insincere sociopath. Behind his calm persona hides a battle hardened demon hunter obsessed with combat. Because of his blonde hair and handsome face X gave him the nickname “Pretty-boy”.

George was a man with a scary appearance, but a gentle interior. A straight edge kind of guy. He was kind and intelligent, often reading books in his free time. He was extremely tall, the tallest out of the entire squad, he had a buzz cut and a short beard. His face was extremely scarred, adorned with large burns, cuts and bruises, his eyes were replaced by a cybernetic vizor, giving him an even more terrifying appearance. In combat, he was the explosives specialist, using dual pistols as his side-arms. X nicknamed him “Vizor”.

Jebua, also known as “Jeb” is the last combatant of squad X. He handles espionage and recon. He primarily uses a silenced sniper rifle as his weapon of choice, along with an energy spear when things had to get personal. He was a black male of average build, was bald with a scar going down from his ear along his cheek. His personality was rather twisted and cruel, being traumatized many years ago. It because of this that Jebua was almost always drunk. He also picked up a nasty smoking habit. He is known to easily smoke over 10 packs a day, henceforth, X named him “chimney”.

There was one last member of team X that didn’t take part in missions yet was still an integral part of the team’s success. Her name was Matilda, at first glance a gentle woman. Her dress style was sharp and professional, her demeanor was calm and composed. Blond hair, long legs, large bust and a slim figure, she was an attractive woman often fawned over by other squads, receiving multiple invitations to join every single day. However, on the inside, she was a calculative deviant with a criminal background. Years ago, X raided her criminal organization and forced her to work for the knights. Matilda handled intel gathering and maintenance of the X squad and operated as a buffer between the team and Matsuhide. X nicknamed her “lips”.

On normal days, the members of the squad spend their days cooped up in their office, which is structured more like a lounge than anything else. A leisurely area, with a couch, a tv, gaming consoles, a pool table and even a bowling alley. The interiors also differed from the rest of the facility. The usually plain white walls were covered in paintings created before the cataclysm. A variety of antique sculptures, pedestals and vases were placed around in order to make the room more bearable, giving it a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Most of the decorations were procured by X during his many expeditions outside of the city. There was no doubt all the artworks found in the headquarter were priceless, but there was one piece that held a certain, sentimental value to X. It was a large panting located inside of X office, hung on the wall opposite to his desk, It was a reproduction of the painting of Napoleon Crossing the Alps, the words: “The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies,” were inscribed on it in blood. For some reason not known by anyone, this painting resonated with X. He would often spend long idle hours in his office, with his legs placed upon his desk, staring deep in into the panting, admiring it to his fullest extent.

The members of the squad were doing exactly what they were usually doing when Timothy notified them about an upcoming raid operation. Maddie and Calvin were playing pool, with Jeb making bets on who was going to win. George was reading a book, X was sitting in his office and Matilda was browsing the web.

“The information extracted from the bartender of the Gun-barrel indicated the location of the base of operations of the Phoenix gang,” Matsuhide said over the intercoms.

“Well, fellas, you heard that. No more games, you have a job to do,” Matilda said, closing the screen of the laptop, staring at the guys arguing.

 “That’s tomorrow thought,” Jebua shouted out while looking for a cigarette inside of his back pocket.

“Don’t you have to prepare, though?” Matilda asked.

“No, the boss told us about the lead before-hand, if anything, we’ve been waiting for Matsuhide for a couple of days now,” Brick responded while scratching his head.

“He should have let us interrogate the bastard. He would’ve talked much earlier,” Maddie remarked while resting his cue on the pool table.

“Who’s up for a drink?”, Jeb remarked while lighting his cigarette.

“Me!” X screamed out, peeking his head through the doorway out of his office.

“You can’t even get drunk!” Matilda retorted while frowning slightly.

“It still tastes good though,” X replied with a smile.

“Yuck!” she exclaimed demonstratively.

“Well, I’ll go if the boss is going,” Calvin retorted while picking up his jacket.

“Me too,” Maddie added.

X slowly came out of his office and leaned in on Matilda’s desk. “Are you coming with us?” he said.

“No thanks, I have some better things to do than to hang out with a bunch of sweaty old men. No offence Maddie,” she said while applying lipstick.

“None taken.” Maddie scratched his head.

“Well suit yourself Lips, lets go guys”, X said while making eye contact with George.

“I’ll pass, boss”, George said without diverting his attention away from the book.

“Sure thing,” X placed his hand on George’s shoulder, “Have a good night!” he said while approaching the exit.

“You too guys,” George briefly lifted his eyes.

Calvin, Maddie, Jebua and X Walked out of their headquarters and continued walking down the hall.

“So what’s the plan, boss?” Calvin asked.

“We throw a god damn super party!” X replied.

The group gathered inside of a bar X frequents, a quiet place on the outskirts of the city of lower babel. They were joined by Joseph and Arthur, along with his teammates, Dalas and Viktor.

Dalas and Viktor were a duo of elite demon hunters before Arthur joined their team. They were both melee combat specialists. Dalas was a large, heavily armored, cyber great sword wielder, while Viktor was a small and fast dual wielder.

Drinks start to roll. X treats everyone to a pint of beer, seeing as only one brand was left after the demons invaded.

“So tell me, how did you know we were going out?” X murmured to Joseph.

“Matilda invited us to make sure you don’t go overboard, well to be completely honest, she sent invites out to everyone in outpost 15, but most were too scared of you to join,” Joseph explained.

“I’m glad she’s being her usual spiteful self,” X remarked, glaring at Dalas while slurping the foam off the top of his beer.

“Ahhh, the infamous X how nice to see you again!” Dalas exclaimed.

“Of hey Vic, how are the kids?” X asked, with a mischievous smile.

“Fine, how are yours?” Victor responded in his usual calm tone.

“Did you not hear me?” Dalas slams his pint on the table, interrupting the two.

“I heard you. It’s just that I was curious about Vic’s children,” X responds while avoiding eye contact.

“I have children too!” Dalas loudly exclaimed.

“Yeah, but I don’t care about yours,” X murmured while continuing to sip his beer.

Suddenly, a loud argument ensued, with Maddie and Calvin shouting incomprehensible profanities at one another.

“Boys! Calm down, we’re in a public place. What’s the matter?” Joseph intervened, attempting to stop the argument.

“Oh the usual, Maddie’s being a big baby!” Calvin said while laughing, before downing an entire pint in one go.

“What I’m saying is that we better be careful tomorrow. We shouldn’t rush in. After all, Phoenix is a known Invoke class contractor.” Maddie slammed the table.

“Yeah, and who made you boss? We go in like we always do, me you and boss at the front, Jeb and George at the back!” Calvin screamed tilting his head towards Maddie.

“This entire predicament seems fishy! You mean to say that after searching for their outpost all this time, some random criminal job-hunter knows where it is. Doesn’t that seem fishy?” Maddie screamed out.

“X take care of this!” Joseph grabbed X by the shoulder.

Rebeca suddenly walked in, watching the ensuing conversation from behind a corner.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, watch how a true leader resolves conflict”, X said while gesturing and climbing on to the table, “Oh hi Bec!”, he waved after noticing her standing in the doorway.

Rebeca waved back.

“Rock, paper, scissors. The winner decides how we approach”, X said while crouching down from the table in front of the two.

“Let’s do this”, Calvin and Maddie screamed in unison.

“That’s the spirit!” X screamed out.

Meanwhile, Arthur, Joseph, and Dalas were having a conversation.

“What a bunch of savages”, Dalas frowned with seeming disgust.

“X seems to have them figured out,” Arthur said while looking at the unfolding mess.

“Rookie, X is one of them. In fact, he’s probably the biggest savage out of them.” Dalas closed his eyes for a brief moment before looking up at X.

“He might appear rough at first glance, but X has everything under control, in his own way,” Joseph replied while attempting to make eye contact with Dalas, who didn’t even notice.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from a demon,” Dalas said as silence filled the bar. 

“What was that?” X turned his head back, looking directly at Dalas, and made his way to the other end of the table before crouching down and confronting him mere inches from his face. “You were saying?”

“So, what made you cross the border, anyway? Weren’t you human before that, I can’t imagine what made you want to become a demon,” Dalas said, leaning back in an attempt to put some distance between himself and X.

“Are you an idiot? There is no border, you don’t suddenly become different when you achieve a demonic transformation,” X remarked while signaling for the bartender to bring him another pint.

“I don’t think that’s quite right, whose to say that you haven’t been influenced by your demon to think the way you do, there is a reason we consider all demons threats it is because they can no longer be reasoned with,” Dalas placed his hand on his chin and smiled.

“You’re a bit of a dickhead, aren’cha?” X retorted, confronting Dalas.  

“What X was trying to say is that corruption is not as dependent on demonic energy as you might think. When bad people attain power, they become evil. And hell, sometimes even good people who attain power become evil, but that has less to do with the nature of power and more to do with the nature of the person wielding that power,” Joseph explained, trying to break up the argument.

“Nah, what I wanted to say is he’s a dickhead, now lets drink,” X climbed down from the table, grabbed his beer and approached Rebeca.

“You don’t get drunk anyway, why would you want to drink so badly,” Dalas said in his last attempt to provoke X.

“Cause it tastes good, plus I want to see you get shitfaced and make an absolute ass out of yourself,” X turned back his head before continuing to approach Rebeca.

“Bec! What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t one for parties!” X exclaimed with open arms.

“I’m not, but seeing as Mattie invited me just to spite you, I couldn’t let her down,” Rebeca explained while sipping on a cocktail.

A few hours passed. The group continued arguing, drinking and making a scene to the point where they scared away all the other residents of the bar. However, the owners didn’t mind, seeing as their tab was already double the amount the restaurant usually makes per night.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Arthur approached X.

“I’m sorry”, He said while slurring his words, leaning ever so slightly on the table.

“You’re drunk, everyone’s sorry for something when they're drunk,” X retorted.

“I shouldn’t have attacked you back then. You are an amazing demon hunter, I know that. I just couldn’t fathom the possibility of a demon being a good person,” Arthur explained while getting teary-eyed.

“Whoa, whoa, no need to cry about it,” X raised both of his hands, “Honestly, I shouldn’t have provoked you either. I just thought that you attacked me because you were following the orders of your contracted angel. You see me, an Excalibur’s previous host had a bit of a falling out,” X explained while scratching his head.

“You mean you fought Arthur Raymond?” Calvin screams out in shock.

“He killed Arthur Raymond”, Joseph added while clearing his throat.

“I didn’t know,” Arthur stutters. “I can’t really converse with Excalibur yet.”

“You’ll get there eventually, but when you do, be sure to keep whatever you learn about me to yourself,” X said while looking down at the ground, “You’re a good kid, I think I’ll come over to teach you a few things one of these days,” X smiled.

After hearing everything, Arthur smiled, before immediately throwing up onto the ground.

“Hey, what the hell are you doing?!” the bartender screamed out, waving his fist at the rowdy demon hunters.

“I think that’s our cue to leave,” Joseph grabbed X by the shoulder.

The group hastily ran outside. Maddie picked up Arthur, Vitor helped Dalas and X threw exuberant amounts of money at the bartender in order to appease his anger.

“So, what’s the plan now?” X said while standing outside the bar.

“I think that’s enough for today, boss,” Calvin said while scratching his head.

“Yeah, I have to take this kid home”, Maddie pointed at Arthur, who was barely conscious.

“I have to sober up a little, or I won’t be able to shoot for shit tomorrow,” Jeb said while lighting his cigarette.

 “Come on guys, the night is still young!” X exclaimed.

“Sorry X, I have work tomorrow,” Joseph shook his head.

“Yeah, us too. Dalas had a few too many”, Victor stated while carrying his partner on his shoulder.

 X looked up at the murky night sky. No stars were visible. A strange sense of nostalgia filled up. A felling so integral to his being, yet he himself was being made uncomfortable by it.

“I’m still here”, Rebeca smile while cracking open a can of beer.

“Hell yeah! Just like back in the good old days!” X screamed out.

Rebeca and X spent the next couple of hours wandering around the city. Laughing and engaging in speculative conversations. Eventually, the two made it to a rooftop of a tall building climbing up on the fire ladder. They sat down, staring at the sky, drinking their last cans of beer.

“Look, it’s clearing up”, Rebeca said with a certain gleam in her eyes, “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Yeah, the stars are pretty nice,” said X.

“No, I mean the moon. It’s almost full!” Rebeca said with a captivated expression solely focused on the night sky.

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“I guess so”, X stumbled, “Hey, remember when we first met?” he said, diverting the conversation.

“I sure do,” Rebeca shook her head and diverted his attention to, “I honestly didn’t know what to make of you. You would break everything I gave you. You were loud and confrontational. And appeared to be hostile for no reason.”

“You sure you’re not talking about yourself,” X smirked.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Rebeca frowned, “But you know, as much as you hate to admit it, you do have a softer side. The way you take care of your team, the way you teach and nurture them, makes me a little jealous,” Rebeca smiled.

“I know,” X stood up, “Well, I think it’s about time for us to roll. I’ll get you home.”

“We still have to climb back down,” Rebeca sighed.

“If you can keep a secret…” X said while repeatedly dragging the soles of his feet against the ground.

“We’re gonna jump off, aren’t we?” Rebeca grabbed the top of her head with her right hand.

“You don’t sound surprised,” X smirked while extending his hand to Rebeca.

“I knew,” Rebeca grabbed on while anxiously smiling.

As the two slowly approached the edge of the building, a vista of the city opened op in front of them.

“You do this often?” Rebeca asked in a nervous tone, clutching tightly to X’s side.

“Every Friday,” said as he launched the two of them off the side of the building.

Rebeca began screaming violently as the two twirled around in midair. She looked up at X only to see his bored expression. The city below the two slowly expanded, getting ever-closer and, like a gaping maw with the toothy skyline of tall buildings, that eventually swallowed them whole. The pair safely landed on the ground, with Rebeca held tightly in X’s arms.

X put her down, climbed on top of a motorcycle and said, “Get on. I’ll take you home”.

The drive was short, far shorter than the two had expected. Rebeca made sure to hold on tightly to X’s back throughout the ride, felling his heart beat along with the warmth of his body.

Eventually, the pair reached Rebeca’s apartment. X escorted her to the door and said, “It was fun. We should do this more often!” 

“I didn’t know you rode,” Rebeca said while laughing.

“Yeah, I didn’t either, the thing’s not mine,” he smirked while scratching his head.

“You know,” Rebeca stumbles, “You can stay the night here if you want.”, she blushed ever so slightly.

X’s eyes widened.

“I don’t think this would lead anywhere the two of us wouldn’t regret in the near future,” X said with a serious expression, “And plus, I still have to take care of my daughter.”

X put his hand on top of Rebeca's head, “Good night, scaredy cat,” X smirked before leaving Rebeca speechless in the middle of the night.

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BONUS

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Name: Calvin Calahorn

Alias: “Brick”

Species: Human

Age: 45

Height: 192cm

Affiliation: Knights

Rank: Special grade investigator

Description: A member of squad X. Wields a custom modified machine-gun in battle along with a techno great sword. X recruited him 20 years ago when he was a vagrant living outside of the city. He is one of the most reliable members of team X, often preferring a “guns blazing” approach to situations. He was two daughters and a wife, they live in a luxurious apartment in the green district of the city.

Stats:

Strength: 3/10

Stamina: 3/10

Vitality: 1/10

Speed: 2/10

Magic: 0/10

Intelligence: 3/10

Adaptability: 4/10

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Name: Maddie Bjorn

Alias: “Pretty-boy”

Species: Human/contractor

Age: 32

Height: 182cm

Affiliation: Knights

Rank: Special grade investigator

Description: The enforcer of the group, specializing in close quarters combat. He fights by mostly using dual Scorpion class energy blades, in times of need severe danger he uses the experimental knight force-field plate armor made for him by Rebeca. Contracted to a wind demon often using the demon’s magic to amplify his own speed or cut through the magic of other contractors. 17 years ago X scouted the boy when he was applying to be a knight, after which X taught him how to fight, because of this his style of combat most resembles X. He is has been divorced 19 times and has 25 kids. Is almost broke because of the expenses of all of his children.

Stats:

Strength: 2/10

Stamina: 4/10

Vitality: 2/10

Speed: 3/10

Magic: 1/10

Intelligence: 4/10

Adaptability: 6/10

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Name: George Silc

Alias: “Vizor”

Species: Human

Age: 52

Height: 198cm

Affiliation: Knights

Rank: Special grade investigator

Description: He has a buzz cut and a short beard. His face was extremely scarred, adorned with large burns, cuts and bruises, his eyes were replaced by a cybernetic vizor, giving him an even more terrifying appearance. A kind and gentle soul who often functions as a strategist for the team when X isn’t around. His wife passed away when giving birth. He has a 16-year-old son who is also looking to become a knight. He and X met 30 years ago when X first joined the knights. The two quickly became friends and founded the squad.

Stats:

Strength: 3/10

Stamina: 4/10

Vitality: 1/10

Speed: 2/10

Magic: 0/10

Intelligence: 7/10

Adaptability: 6/10

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Name: Jebua “Jeb” Dulua

Alias: “Chimney”

Species: Human/contractor

Age: unknown

Height: 188cm

Affiliation: Knights

Rank: Special grade investigator

Description: He primarily uses a silenced sniper rifle as his weapon of choice, along with an energy spear when things had to get personal. He is contracted to a poison demon. He was a black male of average build, was bald with a scar going down from his ear along his cheek. Despite the line of his work, he got this scar when his ex-wife slashed at him with a knife. It is widely accepted that he is a terrible person. His family hates him. X met him when he was an assassin hired to kill him.

Stats:

Strength: 2/10

Stamina: 4/10

Vitality: 2/10

Speed: 3/10

Magic: 1/10

Intelligence: 4/10

Adaptability: 6/10

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Name: Matilda Vein

Alias: “Lips”

Species: Human

Age: unknown

Height: 174cm

Affiliation: Knights

Rank: Secretary of X

Description: At first glance, a gentlewoman. Her dress style was sharp and professional, her demeanor was calm and composed. Blond hair, long legs, large bust and a slim figure. Matilda was responsible for intel gathering and maintenance of the X squad and operated as a buffer between the team and Matsuhide. X and Matilda met when 10 years ago he dismantled her organized crime ring. She often states that she loathes him, despite that she is grateful to him for changing her life for the better.

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TRIVIA

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Demon ranks:

Contractors and demons are broken up into 4 ranks based on their demonic energy: Contractor; Invoke; Titan; Demon. At the rank of contractor, the person only has access to the bare minimum abilities, their general abilities, other than regeneration, are similar to that of humans. The Invoke rank refers to a contractor being able to invoke their power, taking on a demonic form by screaming out the words: ”I invoke”. The titan rank contractors’ invocation becomes larger and significantly stronger. When reaching the rank of a demon, a contractor crosses a boundary where they are no longer considered human, this is because they are able to freely shift between all three forms without invocations and can manifest an aspect of their demonic powers in their human form.

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Energy blade:

A standard knight weapon made by utilizing force-field technology. It features a variety of shapes and models. Standard – is shaped like a broadsword, Scorpion - is shaped like a curved sabre, the curve can be changed or accentuated to make it function like a hook. Spike – features a narrow rapier like blade with adjustable blade length, Universal – a model that allows its user to pick whatever mode that he wants. This model is a lot more difficult to use as the wielder has to manually adjust the shape. X and Pretty-boy are the only ones capable of using this model, and pretty-boy finds that it is annoying to use.

All the blades can be stored in a circular badge, making them appear only when they are needed.

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Techno great-sword:

A weapon developed by Rebeca, when not in use, the techno great sword looks like a metal suitcase. To use the weapon, the wielder pulls the handle up, forcing and extending it into a position below the suitcase. The force field is deployed, levitating a detached part about the size of half of the suitcase in the air in order to support the blade. The weapon is highly durable and able to cleave most contractors in half. It was designed to be used as a last resort type weapon when combating Invoke class contractors, because of the shell that surrounds their bodies during an invocation.

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