My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

It's a calm, clear afternoon like any other at Sakura High. Nina Furio sits on a bench in the school courtyard, her uniform in its typical blood-soaked state. Today had been a good day. She'd slain not only her fair share of rogue entities, but her school presentation as well. It'd be inaccurate to say the latter had gone perfectly, but she hadn't completely embarrassed herself at the very least. And it was finished, with only a single class left before the weekend. That alone was enough reason to celebrate. At this point, not even the obnoxious motorcycle revving in the school parking lot could ruin her good day. Not wanting to be late for her final class, Nina stands up from the bench with a satisfied stretch. She takes one final look towards the school's entrance, and her whole body goes cold.

Across the courtyard is a demon with a presence beyond anything she'd ever encountered. A single glance towards this unholy amalgamation of lust and greed had struck her with intense fear, an emotion typically reserved for times when she had to answer a question in class or order food from a restaurant. The creature's skin is a deep purple, and it possesses exaggerated features of both male and female. It boasts an extremely tall and broad frame, with rippling muscles tensed as if it's ready for battle. Or, from the lecherous, predatory expression on its face, something far worse.

Even more troubling is the fact that everyone around her is behaving as if there's nothing out of the ordinary. This demon clearly possesses a sinister ability to hide its presence from people who aren't sufficiently strong. From those who'd make for easy prey.

Upon seeing this unholy monstrosity, Nina can immediately sense that it far surpasses what she can handle. She considers herself capable, but this creature is on a completely different level of strength. Yet, if she didn't stop it, who would? The demon continues to saunter towards her with the exaggerated swagger of a Greater Demon Lord. No. Something even beyond that. At this moment, she knows what she must do.

If she uses her Eye of Ultimate Null, she risks the monster turning its attention on innocent bystanders. No, she has to get the creature away from all these people. She'll use her Sluggish Eye of Time Hold to get its attention. This demon surely possesses many abilities that are unknown to her, and it could likely match her speed even with her 13 extra steps, but her appearing to teleport around the vicinity will hopefully be enough to draw its attention. Then, she might be able to lead it to a secluded place. She'll have to come up with an actual plan at some point during the time stops, but she doesn't exactly have better options at the moment.

"I call upon thy power, Sluggish Eye of Time Hold!"

Her dramatic display does not generate the intended effect, however. In fact, the whole world appears to move in a flash around her. She has but a moment for her eyes to widen in shock and fear before-

*SNAP*

Nina falls backwards onto her butt, holding the eye that was just assailed by her own eyepatch. As she opens and closes the watery eye, the figure crouching before her transitions back and forth between the image of the demon and a rugged young man. His thumb and pointer finger are still outstretched from snapping her eyepatch.

The bizarre encounter invites chatter from nearby students.

"...it's a faceoff between The Deathly Silence and the mysterious delinquent!...I hope she purges the demon like all the rest...she's so cool...when did he get hot?..."

"-Huh? Oh, hey. Know where I can find a guy named Tetsuo Wakahara?" His voice carries an extremely bored tone, yet the intensity in his eyes threatens to burn a hole straight through her.

"I just don't want him showing up at my house in the morning when I'm trying to sleep. Know what I mean?" The boy's ravenous stare turns an otherwise charming smile into something crazed.

Nina sits on the ground in stunned silence. Following his first question, the appearance of the being before her seems to have stabilized to that of the teenage boy. He still gives off a suspiciously demonic vibe, but that suffocating feeling of hopelessly oppressive power has completely vanished.

"Um..."

"Hey, Gushiken! Over here!" Tatsuya is standing across the courtyard and waving exaggeratedly. Next to him is a pale, dark-haired girl in formalwear, looking less than enthused to be there.

"Coming Wagatsuma!"

Gushiken looks back at Nina with a concerned expression.

"You probably shouldn't sit in the walkway. You'll get hurt if someone trips over you. Thanks for the help, though."

The chattering continues as he leaves to join the others.

"...guess she scared him off...he must have agreed not to eat any students...I'm thankful she's on our side!...think she's into guys who do kendo?..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kanaye Gushiken races along the highway with reckless abandon, his motorcycle zipping past his fellow travelers in the night with blinding speed. An unfathomably beautiful woman materializes behind him with her arms draped over his shoulders and her lips up to his ear. Her legs float behind her like some sort of spirit.

"It seems my dear Kanaye made some delectable friends today." The lust demon's voice is dramatically sultry, as if she's moaning with every word.

"-Hm? Oh, that was just some guy trying to recruit me to his club. Seemed kinda lame."

"Didn't you notice their auras? He and that girl both possessed demon eyes."

Kanaye perks up at this, as if he'd just previously been asleep. "They have what now? I wasn't really paying attention."

The lust demon's hands wander down his chest as she whispers in his ear. "Hng, they're like you, Kanaye. Gifted with demonic power."

The teen drifts sharply and dangerously around a wide corner, narrowly missing another vehicle and earning an angry honk in response.

"I thought I was special."

"Of course you are, Kanaye, but not every demon's plaything becomes a night creeper. There are a number of people who've been granted similar...gifts to yours."

Kanaye's mouth forms a mad grin at this revelation, and he further increases his speed. Perhaps he'd stop by the club room next week after all.

*WHOOP* *WHOOP* *WHOOP* *WHOOP*

His thoughts are interrupted by the heavy sound of beating wings, and he looks up to see a colossal draconic demon flying above. Its scales are vantablack, and its eyes appear to burn like hot embers.

"Hey, Pride? What's that?" Kanaye asks nonchalantly, as if such sightings were an everyday occurrence.

"That appears to be Curse-striker, Prince of the Fellbeasts." The lust demon's tone is equally placid.

Kanaye nods knowingly at words that mean absolutely nothing to him and attempts to keep pace with the monster.

"What's he doing out here?"

"Searching for his rider, I presume. The two are said to be inseparable. Or, I suppose they were."

"Are they strong?" There's a wicked glint in his eye.

"Very."

Kanaye gives his signature crazed smile, and the intensity of his demeanor explodes like a switch had just been flipped.

As the bike approaches a sharp curve in the road, he fires out hellish chains composed of demonic bone, muscle, and sinew from his forearms towards the flying demon. One pierces the beast's side like a harpoon, and the other wraps around its hind leg.

"HOLD ON TIGHT, PRIDE!"

Kanaye lifts his bike up on its back wheel and hops over the edge of the cliff, unleashing his own demonic wings in the process.

Curse-striker jerks its body up at an angle in response to the painful assault. Kanaye glides behind it, struggling to stabilize himself in the air as the monster flails wildly. Even as it writhes in pain, the beast continues to ascend higher and higher into the night sky. Directly below them, Kanaye recognizes the city mall. Almost on cue, the entire building erupts in an oppressive, intense aura, and a fortress-like labyrinth engulfs the entire building. He has no time to process this before Curse-striker jerks upwards even more violently.

"HOLD STILL YOU OVERSIZED CHICKEN!" Kanaye shouts with terrifying glee.

As if in protest of his demand, the dragon's movements become even more sporadic, drilling through the sky in a corkscrew motion.

"FINE, I LIKE MY CHICKEN EXTRA CRISPY ANYWAYS! IGNITE!"

Demonic hellflame erupts from Kanaye's arms and climbs along the length of the chains, until the inferno engulfs the entirety of the flying behemoth.

"BURN BURN BURN! HAHAHAHA!"

Unfortunately, Kanaye's effort is for naught, as the beast simply absorbs the blaze. Curse-striker twists its body, swinging its draconic visage to face the boy, and unleashes a massive fireball from its maw. On instinct, Kanaye deflects it back at his attacker with Pride's Eye. The fiery orb soars past the demon as it quickly jets to one side.

"You should have known that wouldn't work. Look at his aura, silly." The lust demon whispers teasingly.

"Huh, I thought my hellfire would just burn hotter than hi-"

Suddenly, the beast drops in a divebomb towards the mall, dragging Kanaye along with it. The demon hunter's surprised scream morphs into maniacal laughter as the g-force distorts his face.

Curse-striker descends like a missile, but, instead of blasting straight through the building's roof, the monster collides head first into the protective barrier placed upon it. The extreme momentum of the dragon's dive pulls Kanaye along with it, and its colossal impact causes his demonic binding chains to twist and rapidly spin him around. As Kanaye hurtles towards the wall of the labyrinth, Pride's Eye glows, causing him to crash through a portion of the barrier as if he's shattering glass.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the mall, an extremely nauseous middle school girl collapses in exhaustion from the long climb down from the roof. She looks up from the floor, once again admiring her handiwork and reveling in a job well done. Suddenly, the force of an intense collision makes the entire building rumble. Her satisfied face morphs completely as a mysterious motorcyclist crashes backwards through the upper wall of the building, soaring right overhead.