Cover Me

While the hellhounds hunted down the cult, Noah and Luca walked along the corridors of the conspicuous castle-like building they went in.

Based on Luca's narrative, this building was a normal two-story commercial building on the outside, but it had five floors worth of basement that was designed to appear like a castle under the mountain.

In such a highly invested place, there was bound to be important things to be hidden. Aside from the actual sacrificial hall and the bones of the other sacrifices, financial records should be kept here as well.

This might not be a warehouse like Noah wanted to find, but this place should do if they found the business documents here.

"I can pick up electronic signals from a room two floors above us. Let's see if there's a computer connected to the Internet there." Luca ushered Noah forward to move faster in case someone went to that room and began destroying the files they needed.

They then located an elevator and queued for the second basement floor. As soon as the doors opened, Luca was shocked to see lots of guns aimed at them.

He entered through the shadows and got to the sacrificial hall directly. He didn't know that the first two floors were actually heavily guarded!

The guns rained bullets at them as the shell casings pitter-pattered like a downpour against a tin roof. Noah grabbed Luca and pulled him up, punching through the elevator box's roof. How powerful was a hellhound's pounce and claws after all?

Noah grabbed onto the ropes and kicked the mechanism holding the box. The box fell while Noah and Luca were sent to the highest floor.

The witch then jumped off and skidded down to basement one, with his claws drawing cracks on the actual shaft of the elevator. From the opposite side, he then propelled himself to break through the closed elevator door.

Bang! The guards on that floor were also alarmed that there were intruders in the building. However, they knew that they were supposed to be met on the second basement floor. So when the door exploded as Noah pierced through it, they were caught off-guard!

Luca readied a flash bang while being carried by Noah. After the initial shock they created, he threw it out to blind everyone who would take another look at them. It gave Noah enough time to go through them, slashing their abdomens open and letting their insides flow.

The duo then ran again, changing their plan. They located the room in the second basement while on the first basement floor. Noah easily took care of everyone while Luca continuously locked onto the signal.

When they were above the room, Noah broke through the floor and dropped to the room. Luca jumped down as well.

No one was collecting data; it was just a computer left on. Luca came to it and used the watch to scan the room for any electronic traps and tripwire bombs. Noah didn't even know their smartwatch could do so many things so he only listened for any incoming hostiles.

"Clear. I'll see if I can retrieve their files. Cover me, Noah." Luca used his smartwatch and a thumb drive to break into the computer. The thumb drive was actually a wireless device that would make it easier for the smartwatch to hack into it.

Of course, he also had discreetly called Theresa to check in on his progress while helping him break in and not leave any traces.

Enemies abounded the place, and Noah was prepared to jump in and out the two floors. However, when he detected Caliga and the others raging through the first basement floor, he only concentrated on anyone who would come to the room.

"It's here. I'm downloading it." Luca even made a wry grin out of sight.

Really? He was claiming ownership over Theresa's actions? The woman only laughed out through Luca's earphone as she worked her technical skills on the file.

"Tell me when you're done." Noah stayed alert, beginning to sense a demon in the area. He couldn't tell where it was going to appear, but he wished Luca could evacuate safely in case it was a rather nasty kind.

It would be unbelievable if they hadn't heard of Sleepydog yet; more so when a low-level demon was exorcised from a body just hours earlier.

Luca's power ring started to react, and he turned to Noah who was also gazing in the direction of the bogey the ring was sensing. The hunter then whispered, "A demon is coming here. Could it be the handler of that guy we killed?"

"It should be."

Noah held his hand higher, morphing the seemingly still-human blue hand into a completely monstrous shape. The entire arm grew double its size and grayed in color, thick veins pulsing all over it. The nails turned into hardened skin, resembling more of a real hellhound's clawed paw.

He wouldn't even think of expending all his reserved energy again if he didn't think he couldn't handle what was coming.

"Luca, don't fight with me now. Let Caseus take you outside."

"Why?" Luca just pulled out the thumb drive and shot the computer to destroy it when he turned to see Noah and his overly serious expression.

"It's a strong one. If you die, I won't be able to live it down…" Noah only flicked his gaze at Luca for a few seconds. "Go now."

The hunter grabbed Noah's collar. "I don't want to leave, but I will if you promise me that you'll be out there as well. I don't want to tell Rosanna that I left you down here just because you said so."

Who was he to act tough and strong? Luca wasn't considered a top-tier hunter. He was above average at most. He was still training after all.

Even if he wanted to be an idiot, he didn't want to be selfish. Noah would only be burdened by his existence if he stayed.

"Thank you."

Noah only smiled at him before a considerably big hellhound dropped from the hole. He wasn't as big as his big brother Caliga, but he was the fastest one. Luca growled as he forced himself to ride the hellhound and let him be taken to safety.

He knew that Noah was a witch, but he still kept on praying that he would be saved from the incoming handler.

From the shadows, Luca traversed it just like how the motorbike would do it. It seemed to be a skill high-level familiar could do. When he saw light again, he was already outside.

The hellhound hopped from one roof to another, gaining considerable distance from the building. He stopped at the highest possible elevation in the area and turned to the direction where cars were rushing in.

Theresa then came through Luca's feed again. "Corso! We secured the documents. We're also detecting a huge surge coming from the west side of the underground castle. Wait, your location tells me you seemed to have gotten out already!"

"Noah's still down there." Luca bit into his lip until it bled. "The handler had probably arrived. Don't make things too difficult for Noah."

"What? No…" Theresa tried to use the satellite to make a read, but the signal couldn't reach past the three-floor height gap between the first floor and the first basement. "I can't find Noah as it is."

"I have a hellhound with me. I'd know where he is when he gets out." Luca reached into his collar and took out his rosary. He held onto it tightly. "He'll get out soon."

…

Luca's timing was quite good. If he stayed for another five seconds, he would have been crushed by the handler.

What came was indeed a demon of gluttony. Its face was three times bigger than it should be while the body was nothing but a baggy belly. The arms were like claws that were designed to dig through the earth… and flesh.

It was not even trying to intimidate Noah by talking; it just kept on hurling slashes and biting things. What it did was seemingly trying to bury him under all the rubble of the castle… along with all the other guards still inside.

Things would probably be easy for Noah if he could pierce through the demon's hide. The demon was specially designed for getting buried so its hide was surefire protection from the crushing pressure. Moreover, it had a guard over its eyes.

Without an entry point to toast it from inside, Noah couldn't even start imagining how to kill it.

Caliga and the other hellhounds were also jumping around to jolt the demon with their force, but the demon was too sturdy. It could catch the blows of all seven without even budging. Even if Noah joined them, it didn't make a difference!

Actually, there was one more move that he could try. However, it would warrant him to lose all his oxygen under the collapsing castle.

He only had a few more seconds in retaining his claw, and he didn't think he could outrun this demon. It could also phase through the walls, having a bigger pursuit advantage than him.

The demon growled, and its voice reverberated as if making the entire castle jolt some more. The floor began to break, and Caliga dashed to Noah to get him on his back. The hellhounds began to descend from the falling rubble while evading the demon and the debris falling down.

"Caliga, are we going to die here?" Noah held onto the hellhound's neck firmly.

"I don't think so." Caliga shocked Noah with his voice in his master's ears. "I feel something scarier is coming."