Prologue

*Hah* *Hah* *Hah*

A luscious, green forest spanned on for miles, with the occasional river twisting and turning under the trees. Large, thick branches sprouted from various trunks and the sheer size of each wooden limb blocked out any hints of moonlight.

Under the shadow of leaves and wood, a faint outline of a figure could be seen. It took in deep, shuddering breaths as its whole body shook in desperation to take in more oxygen. To a mere human, his figure would've been grotesque: 2 horribly deformed wings budding from the upper body, slitted pupils, abnormally sharp teeth hanging from his gums, and various animal heads emerging from the abdominal area.

Yet for all his "ghastly" looks, bulging muscles, unbelievably high kill count, and the ability to fly, the monster seemed scared.

No, scratch that, it was absolutely terrified.

*Snap*

He whirled around, still greedily sucking in air, and a horrified expression made its way onto his face.

"W-Where are y-y-ou?" He shouted, looking around and turning his heads for any sign of him.

It took all of his courage to even get that out of his throat. The man, no the hunter, was just that scary.

Of course, he had heard of rumors and of his reputation, but he had merely dismissed the possibility of meeting him. Besides, hearing about him and seeing him was vastly different.

A 6-foot, towering redhead that usually donned a black coat with red clouds sewed randomly. An assassin that could back up his talk with finesse, skill, and strength. The now brightest half-devil of his generation and in possession of an unique and devastatingly efficient sacred gear.

*Snap*

"N-NO" The figure started to curl itself up, its animal heads snapping and gnashing their teeth but still keeping a wary lookout.

*Snap*

That was 3 now; his calling card. Just like a black cat is a sign of bad luck and a 4-leaf clover symbolizes luck, those 3 snaps foretold certain death.

"Are you really that scared?" A cool, suave voice bounced from tree to tree before reaching his ears and the figure could only fall backwards with a blank, resigned stare.

"Ya know, I expected more from a S ranked Stray." He stepped into a position that allowed for a good look of his face to the figure.

The figure took one glance at his face and blanched, as all the color from his mutated face seemingly disappeared.

It wasn't that its hunter was devastatingly handsome with spiky, shoulder-length hair. It wasn't the toned arms packed with tight, dense muscle that screamed strength.

No, it was those eyes. Those, piercing blue eyes that peered straight into his soul (if he had one) and demanded utmost respect. The stray couldn't help but be drawn to that beautiful, stunning blue abyss that promised death and only death.

*Glurk*

Too late.

His eyes weren't trained enough to keep up with the sheer speed of his hunter. All he could do was look up at the man and look back down to the ground, only to see his chest pierced by his arm. All he could do was spit up blood and the crimson liquid slowly made its way down his chin, which then dripped onto that same arm.

*Drip* *Drip* *Drip*

The mysterious redhead (wow wonder who it could be) waited for the stray's eyes to lose a burning spark, called life before pulling his arm back out with a sickening squelch. He squatted down to the ground and wiped the said arm on the grass, and used his other hand to pull out a phone.

"Esdeath, the job is done."

"I see."

"..."

"..."

"Oh come on! I was expecting a 'good job' or something like that."

"..."

"Whatever. Just make sure to have a bowl of ramen awaiting my return."

"..."

"Please?"

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

He turned off his phone and proceeded to get up from the ground. While stretching his legs out, he placed the device on his arm and it vanished with a POOF.

"Did she just hang up on me?"