the gunslinger gets revenge

At times, the concept of 'demon king' felt like a childish attempt to find someone to blame for something unavoidable.

Tornadoes did not occur due to 'dragon kings', but because of the eternal war between warmth and coldness at the sky.

Earthquakes occurred because the world was alive.

A demon turned into a monster because society grew complacent otherwise; when all else failed, conflict bred progress.

Was that why demons existed?

Was that why they ate humans to survive?

The gunslinger thought about this instead of anything important.

The gunslinger smoked even though it was unhealthy.

The gunslinger watched the demon king toss a girl over his shoulder as though she were a thing.

Watched him almost tear a halfling's head off with a button. 

It was a good thing that the town had emergency protection spells, or else the ensuing shockwave would've torn apart nearby market stands (and a few eardrums).

The demon king was dangerous.

Was he dangerous because he wanted to, or because somebody had to be?

In the past, they'd attempted to kill every marked demon lest any of them awaken, only to realize the curse could just move on to new hosts.

Was the solution, then, to kill all demons?

Humans killed more humans than any other species. 

Therefore...

Therefore?

The gunslinger questioned his duty instead of following it.

Back when the gunslinger still had a name, he'd always told the villagers my brother is not evil, he's not like them, he won't kill anyone.

To date, he couldn't tell which part was true and which wasn't.

Why he hadn't killed Lev on the spot.

Why he hadn't killed this one on the spot. 

Why the girl had saved this one.

The gunslinger hopped off the roof.

Demons relied on their sense of smell more than sight, or even hearing, which made them surprisingly fragile. 

The halfling who'd failed to ambush the demon king had to be very mighty in order to dodge something like that, let alone stay invisible for so long.

While anyone who'd finished elementary school and paid attention in class could craft basic illusion spells, invisibility took too much time to cast, concentration, and mental fortitude for most people. 

With a bit of squinting, the gunslinger could tell where the half-demon girl landed, as a few dust particles swirled in the middle of the street.

The demon king fled across the desert town, and the gunslinger followed. 

The demon king hadn't noticed the gunslinger yet.

He fled from the sun. 

"That was the librarian," said the girl. "Dunno why she attacked you. I thought she was nice."

"Unsure," replied the demon king, "But I shall deal with her later. Where is your house?"

"It's exactly three blocks away... or, well, not really, also a couple houses to the right. Also I get that you're mad like I would be too but you won't kill her right?"

I'm not. And I won't."

"That's fine just confirming. By the way... could you put me down now..."

"No. You walk too slow."

The demon king's voice sounded strained.

Demons with sufficient training could walk under the sun without getting that debilitated. 

Was it an act?

The half-demon librarian was buying a kitty mask. 

"You're very hot," the girl.

"Thanks," replied the demon king. 

"No, you... I mean you literally... you have a fever."

"And?"

"And..." she trailed off. 

Against his best judgment, the gunslinger smoked as he followed them.

The half-demon librarian struck again, earning another hypersonic missile. 

The girl screamed, presumably because she'd lost another button, this time without consent. 

Buildings rattled. 

Windows broke. 

The half-demon librarian managed to fully dodge it this time, but she had to halt her illusion to do so.

Around them—the two demons, the hostage, and the gunslinger—people scrambled for cover.

At this rate, it wouldn't take long for local authorities to grudgingly do their job.

"What is it?" Demanded the demon king. "A duel? Is that what you want?"

The masked librarian rolled in the air before very dramatically landing on the dirt. "Sorry! Just wanted to test something. Bye!"

She broke out running this time. 

The demon king did not follow.

Why? 

Official or not, his authority had just been challenged. 

It was baffling enough that he'd let other demons roam within his territory.

That he would not hunger for more. 

Perhaps he was that weakened by sunlight.

Odd. 

Lev had never really struggled under the sun.

Was this due to Lev's halfness?

Should the gunslinger show himself?

A direct confrontation had gone terribly last time. 

Which reminded the gunslinger... 

This demon could bend time-space. 

During their first encounter, the gunslinger hadn't been able to correctly gauge the demon king's powers, for the demon had seemingly teleported every time the gunslinger shot him.

There was a name for this threat level... what was it again... the hunter's association kept sending flyers about it because hunters kept dying to them...

...in any case, a direct confrontation could be absurd.

Could.

It'd been a while since the gunslinger had to investigate a target before attacking.

Time-space... not spacetime.

There was a difference.

A spacetime mage would teleport a few times before having to cool off lest their body melt due to whatever mechanics allowed them to do so in the first place (spacetime and time-space were everyone's worst subjects), but time-space mages with enough expertise could, in theory, move through this field faster than anyone else... for a few seconds.

Back when the gunslinger followed the demon king to his castle, as he'd readied what should've been a lethal blow, he saw, instead, how the demon whizzed out of three simultaneous attacks, taking the girl with him—the same who'd been a physical shield then, and an emotional one now.

The gunslinger had also seen the nosebleed that'd followed.

The demon king was unable to control his magic.

He was not able to use it for long.

If he could use it right now, it'd be uncontrollable and short-lived.

If he did, the gunslinger would know what to do.

He had to act before the commissary showed up.

Why?

Silently, the gunslinger approached his next target.

Why?

"So," the girl told the demon king, "Just know I'm also poor, so I don't have much to offer. The tea I have there is the one you gave me. So."

To which the demon king responded, "That's fine."

"Though I can offer one leg."

"Not funny."

"Yeah. We're two blocks past my apartment now by the way."

Were they?

Oh, they were.

Five blocks away from the commercial area the demon king had decimated with buttons.

The gunslinger had been too busy following them to notice or care, but those two had no excuse.

The demon king stopped walking.

Had he noticed how passersby fled, how houses nearby shut their windows?

Was he used to it?

As he was about to turn, the gunslinger readied his gun.

The demon king was too dangerous.

The demon king had to die.

Couldn't they—

No.

But—

No.

The demon king's expression didn't change at the sight of a demon hunter aiming at him, but the girl grimaced.

"Another one," said the demon king. "Go on, shoot."

While the demon king failed to recognize the gunslinger, the girl did, scrambling. "Wait, Sionn, that's—!"

The demon king vanished from...

...no.

He moved behind the gunslinger.

He bent time as though it were fabric.

The gunslinger, who was not particularly fast, strong, or brave, could not have possibly countered a hind attack.

Could not have dodged it.

Instead, he predicted, correctly, where and how the demon king would strike—with his claws, barely able to position himself in time.

He predicted, correctly, that the demon king would aim to incapacitate instead of kill.

He predicted, correctly, that the demon king had dropped the girl somewhere to keep her from harm.

Thus, the gunslinger turned on his side.

With his good arm—the one he hasn't used yet—he aimed at the demon behind him, and the gunslinger shot.

Again.

Again again again again again.

He predicted, correctly, that the demon king would survive, though as he was about to use the revolver in his other hand, the gunslinger collapsed.

His revolver weighed triple as much all of a sudden—all of the gunslinger did. 

Under their own weight, nearby structures cracked and bent.

...ah, right...

Time-space was related to gravity.

Unfortunate...

"Tired," mumbled the demon king, hand covering his face, as blood the color of ink dripped to the ground. "I'm. So. Fucking. Tired. All of you. All the time. All the fucking time I'm so done so done just—leave me alone!"

At the other side of the street, the girl collapsed.

She must've returned to—what, stop the demon king? 

Save him? 

What, exactly?

But the demon king did not notice.  

"So be it," the gunslinger mumbled under his breath.

The gunslinger was not fond of magic, but if the demon king was to go all out—for once—so would Demonsbane.