Chapter 1: Indebted
In a certain city, while people were sleeping, various demons could be seen moving around. Their destination was a rather old and poorly maintained building. The most striking thing was the neon sign above the main entrance.
All these demons positioned themselves near the entrance, completely surrounding the place, as they were awaiting the return of a certain demon hunter.
But to their misfortune, that guy went to hell along with his brother, with no news of their return.
Fortunately, another figure was approaching the premises.
All the demons were alerted upon sensing the presence of the person approaching.
A young man of about 17 years old could be seen calmly walking towards his temporary home.
The striking feature of his appearance was his white hair. His clothes were completely worn out, as if he had traveled miles just to return, and had encountered several demons along the way.
Upon sensing his demonic energy, the demons thought they had found their prey, but they couldn't have been more wrong.
One of them, resembling a wild blue monkey with prominent fangs protruding from its snout, lunged at the boy.
Perhaps if it had chosen to attack him from behind, it would have fared better, but the boy swiftly caught hold of his face, instantly stopping him in his tracks.
"I'm tired. I've traveled over 300 kilometers and I also want to take down that guy, so I don't have time to play." Said the boy with a hint of annoyance, yet still sporting a wide smile on his face.
By increasing the strength of his grip, the demon met an instant death as its skull exploded.
Upon being discovered, all the demons revealed themselves, showing the boy that he was completely surrounded. One person versus various types of demons, a highly unfavorable fight for them.
"I didn't think they would throw a welcome party, and since they went through the trouble, it would be rude of me to leave without breaking the piñata." He said confidently and excitedly.
One demon, resembling a skeletal figure in a black robe wielding a scythe, was the first to advance.
His attack missed by inches as the boy moved his head.
"I just got a haircut recently, so I don't need any touch-ups." He remarked.
With that, he sent the demon flying with a spinning kick, crashing into another group of approaching demons.
Different types of demons launched their attacks, ranging from animal-like demons to those with somewhat human appearances.
But it didn't matter as the boy, using only his body, took care of them, displaying superhuman strength in the process.
"Come on, a party would be boring ..."
Before he could finish speaking, one of the bull-like demons charged at him, sending him flying at high speed towards a wall, resulting in his body crashing through it.
An attack that would be enough to kill a human, even the strongest ones would have died from the impact. However, from the debris, the figure of the boy emerged, walking as if nothing had happened.
"Now, it's my turn."
Demonstrating not only superior strength but also speed, the boy's figure swiftly moved in front of the demon, sending it flying with a single kick to the skull. The demon's body collided with others before vanishing, its skull shattered by the impact.
"It's rude to interrupt someone whil..."
But once again, he was interrupted, being stabbed by several swords through his body.
Each of these swords cleanly pierced him, blood flowing from his wounds, yet his face displayed complete nonchalance.
"I must teach them some basic manners."
He reached behind his back, drawing an eye-catching sword.
Its hilt took the form of a dragon's head with two wings, its open mouth housing the blade. The handle featured swirling designs that connected to a skull at the bottom. The name of this sword is Alastor.
Although currently just a simple sword, as its wielder lacks the ability to unleash its true power.
With a single swing of the sword, the demons surrounding him were cleaved in half.
It was only a small demonstration of what this weapon is capable of.
Of course, if he were with its original wielder, he would be obliterating them with lightning.
More demons attempted to attack him, but the outcome was the same; they were cut and decapitated by Alastor.
"So, are you the last one?" He asked upon noticing the demon in the form of a towering minotaur wielding a large axe.
The demon simply advanced toward him without hesitation.
"You could have at least answered with a roar." He taunted.
The axe crashed just inches away from the boy. Seizing the opportunity, he climbed on top of it and sprinted toward the minotaur's head.
His sword swing only managed to slice off one of the demon's horns.
"Maybe I can sell this for a good price." He quipped.
Enraged at being treated as a mere joke, the demon roared in fury.
The boy leaped to evade the axe, which cleaved through the air, narrowly missing him.
"I'm tired and hungry, so let's finish this." His journey had been exhausting, and all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep. Yet, several demons had awaited him with a welcome party.
Blocking such a massive axe with a sword would be considered madness, but he did it.
His feet slid back a few inches, but he managed to block the attack and repel it.
Taking advantage of the demon's vulnerability, he hurled Alastor toward its neck. The demon tried to use its free hand to remove the sword, but its size hindered the effort.
"Goodnight."
The boy leaped toward the sword, kicking the hilt. As a result, Alastor pierced through the demon's neck, causing it to vanish.
"That was entertaining. We should do it again sometime."
But his words fell on deaf ears as all 50 demons were annihilated without a hitch.
With nothing more to do, he proceeded to enter the building. The interior appeared dirty and dusty. Ignoring that, he went straight to the couch, placed his sword aside, and proceeded to lie down. His intention was to sleep for at least 12 hours.
...
The sound of the door opening caught Desmon's attention. Sleeping for only 6 hours wasn't enough, but after finishing his business, he could return to it.
"Desmon, I thought you wouldn't come back. How long has it been, 3 or 4 months?" The person who asked was Morrison, the current caretaker of the establishment, but not for much longer.
"It's been 4." Desmon replied with a bored tone.
What started as a simple task of getting rid of demons turned into a mission of waiting for them to appear, without a fixed date. He had to wait in that town until the demons attacked.
The worst part was that the town was far enough away that no means of transportation were viable. It required a long journey on foot.
"So, I assume you successfully completed your first job?" Morrison asked.
"This answers your question." Desmon tossed a bag towards Morrison, containing the payment he received for eliminating the horde of demons.
"That should be enough to cover the fee for borrowing Alastor, although I hope Enzo doesn't charge me late fees."
When Desmon went to get a weapon, Trish took him to Enzo's shop, and among all the Devil Arms, he chose Alastor. He could have picked more weapons, but choosing one would come with a price for its use, and not even having a place to call home, he limited himself to selecting just one.
Of course, all these years he had been using only his body to kill demons, but Dante advised him that a good sword could come in handy.
But why would Dante give him advice and allow him to use one of his weapons? The answer is simple.
"By the way, this doesn't cover what's left." Morrison said.
"What do you mean?" Desmon was about to go back to sleep, but Morrison's words gave him a sinking feeling.
"As Dante's son, all of Dante's debts have passed on to you. So, apart from your debt with Enzo, you have many more to repay. And if we include what Dante owes Lady, it's something that might take you about 30 years to pay off."
Morrison was relieved in part, but for this poor boy who had just returned after his first job, discovering that he suddenly had a lifetime of debt was not easy to swallow.
"I must be dreaming, right?" He wanted to deny that his new life had been destroyed in a matter of seconds.
"With work and effort, I'm sure you can sort it out. By the way, while you were gone, Lady took care of Dante's other debts, and she opened an account in your name."
When Dante found out that he had a son, he made sure to transfer any debts or property to his son's name. But in this case, he just inherited pure debt.
"By the way, where is that guy? I want to pierce his heart with Alastor."
"If I knew, he wouldn't be transferring everything to your name."
With a heavy sigh, Desmon slumped onto the couch.
"Fortunately, I have a job that could be useful to you. It's better than nothing, don't you think?"
"Tell me."
Resigning himself, all he could do was keep working to cover all the expenses. Of course, if he were to encounter Dante, he would make sure to run him through with Alastor, even though in their first encounter, Dante had easily defeated him.
"It's something simple, you have to hunt some supposed demons."
"If that's all, maybe it's not so bad. Where is it?"
He felt more upbeat knowing that the job involved getting rid of those demons.
"Japan."
But his expression changed when he found out he would have to travel halfway across the world to get there.