The Fallen Angel

"That's a nice tattoo." Hunter pointed to the black mark that peeked through Arden's shirt sleeve. "Can I look?"

Arden tapped his cigarette against the ashtray to remove the ashes, then he looked at Hunter sitting across from him. "It's not a tattoo."

"Then what is it?"

This time, it was one of the girls asked him. She had been sitting next to Arden, but Arden ignored her. The girl leaned over and was about to lift the sleeve of Arden's shirt so she could see the tattoo more clearly, but Arden pulled his hand away and glared at her. "Hands off."

The girl, a red-haired girl named Anna, who was also a student of Sunbrillo, pursed her lips and put on a frown. "I'm just curious."

"I don't have to fulfill all your curiosity," Arden replied, before taking another sip of his cigarette.

Tonight Arden and a bunch of Sunbrillo delinquents spend time downtown. After being satisfied playing at the game center, they stopped by to eat at a fast-food restaurant. Tomorrow was a day off and the Sunbrillo dormitory abolished the curfew on the weekends, so it looked like they'd be exploring the city until morning.

There's actually another reason why Arden chose to be with these kids, even though he's built up a reputation as a bright student of Sunbrillo in a short time. The creatures, which he hunts, mostly roam around people who lead sinful lives. And if they appeared, it would be easier for Arden to track down his main prey. The prey that made him come to this city.

Anna clenched her fists and hit the table before walking away from there, stomping her feet. Her anger made the other, who were busy with their phones and chats, stop their activities and follow Anna's departure, before their attention turned to Arden.

Arden, who doesn't care about them all, enjoys his white cigarette alone while fiddling with the cigarette pack in his hand, the contents of which are almost empty. As Hunter said, these were expensive cigarettes, and they actually tasted different from the cheap cigarettes Hunter used to give him.

"You shouldn't have been that rude to Anna," Hunter rebuked. "She just wants to get to know you."

Arden stuck the end of the lit cigarette into the bottom of the ashtray and pressed it firmly, extinguishing the embers. "What should I do, then? Apologize?" asked Arden. He wasn't really going to apologize. The question was just a banter, and Hunter understood that. Hunter didn't answer and just sighed before muttering something about a handsome man wasting his face.

As Hunter pulled a cigarette out of his leather jacket pocket and Arden turned his head to the window to look at the parking lot, he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. An unnatural movement that made Arden immediately turn his head back to Hunter. This time, however, his gaze fell not on Hunter, but on a door behind him that led to the restroom.

The movement was only a fleeting shadow, but that was enough for Arden's eyes. He stood up and headed for the restroom, ignoring Hunter, who called out to him.

Arden entered a dark, low-ceilinged hallway. The walls are painted black and red. There is only one neon light whose light is not as bright as the lights in the restaurant's dining room. The lamp emitted an intermittent buzzing sound, then the flame flickered before turning off completely.

Arden's hands were on alert. He looked down and followed a trail of black drag, which looked like oil and mud. The trail ends at the door to the women's restroom. Arden pushed open the door slowly. His ears caught the soft whimper of someone, coming from one of the toilet cubicles.

Arden again followed the trail across the red and white floor, which led him to a booth where the soft whimper sound had come from. Arden pushed open the door and found Anna behind it. She sat on the closet, crying. Her face brightened when she saw Arden. She must have thought Arden had come here for her.

"I'm afraid of the dark," said Anna, in a whisper. "Why did the lights suddenly go out?" And before Anna could speak again, Arden raised his hand and put his index finger to his lips. His eyes moved, looked around, and he found the creature there.

Demon.

Not the Demon Arden was looking for, but simply a lowly demon that absorbs people's fears for life. But no matter how low a demon is, the information from them is still useful.

The demon was pitch-dark in color, blending into the background. Instead of arms and legs, it has tentacles like octopuses, which are now sticking out and creeped to the toilet cubicle wall. Its eyes were perfectly white, and it was ready to absorb the fear from Anna when its eyes turned to Arden.

"Fallen Angel…," it hissed. Its tongue was sticking out, red as blood. Its voice was like the hoarse rattling of a snake. "What is a Fallen Angel doing in this place?"

Arden didn't answer the question. He didn't want to ball Anna up with the situation, because she couldn't see and hear the demon.

"Get out," Arden ordered Anna. Anna seemed confused when she looked at Arden, and Arden grabbed her hand, motioned the girl to get up and lead her out of the toilet. As soon as Anna passed through the toilet door, Arden closed the door and locked it, then he returned to the cubicle where the demon was.

Now the demon is no longer attached to the cubicle wall. It stood in the middle of the toilet with its black tentacles moving like the ripples of a river. Apart from the white crack on its face, there was nothing else there.

"You took my prey," said the demon. "It's an act that cannot be tolerated."

"You want to play up with the human," Arden retorted. His left hand slipped under his right sleeve, touched the painting of black ink etched on his skin, which Hunter called a tattoo, and pulled it down in one jolt. Black dots like mercury dispersed in the air before gathering and forming a weapon. A long-handled scythe, like that of the angel of death. "It's an act that cannot be tolerated."

The demon roared, and as Arden prepared to fight, the demon turned around and jumped out of the small window behind it.

Arden cursed before running out of the toilet, lunging through the back door of the restaurant and chasing the demon.