This is an old story that I wrote for a contest. Needless to say, I did not win. I did some quick last-second editing, and here it is, to haunt me again.

The two rookie Hunters each held a flashlight in their left hand, and a weapon in their right. They both wore blood-red hooded robes; these uniforms indicated that they worked within the Crimson Link.

"Hey... I don't see any sign of the poltergeist that the Captain told us about," said the thinner boy. "Isn't that weird?" His companion looked down at him and replied,

"Yeah... paranormal activity is at its highest at 3:00 am. What the heck is going on?"

The house was empty, except for the two Hunters, and the only sounds were the creaking that their footsteps made on the rotting wood. The smaller boy was more nervous. He turned to his left and saw that his ally was no longer next to him. He flinched when a CRASH and a gunshot broke the silence. His hands trembled and he couldn't help screaming out when he heard an eerie voice say,

"Artemis... leave my eternal sanctuary in peace and LEAVE!"

Artemis relaxed and laughed a bit. "Hecate, you're the only one who would use such a hack-eyed phrase."

Hecate reappeared from behind Artemis, and said, "Geez. I thought I was pretty scary..."

They started thinking that maybe the poltergeist wasn't real. Perhaps someone was just paranoid, and they assumed that this old house had a ghost of sorts. But nevertheless, they had to throughly search the house.

Then, the boys heard extremely heavy breathing. It didn't sound human. And that's because... it wasn't a human. It was... a demon.

"Hecate!"

Artemis wielded a sword that was similar to a katana, while Hecate used twin pistols. They turned around, and the demon was behind them. It had the head of a bull, and its body was wrapped in chains. Hecate immediately fired bullets into the demon's head, but it had no effect. The demon used one of the chains, as if it was a part of its body, to lash out at Hecate.

Artemis threw himself between Hecate and the chain, and used his sword to deflect the chain back at the demon. The demon then proceeded to aim two chains this time... one at each of the Hunters. They lost their footing and fell to the ground. The demon let out a roar that sounded like a bear, but much more fearful. Those two were done for.

That's when I rescued them.

I saw everything through the eyes of my familiar, a crow sitting outside of a window of the house. I rushed in, and used my double-bladed battle-axe to target the demon's weakness. The horns of its forehead...

I severed one, and darkness poured out of the demon's eyes and mouth. It was no longer a threat.

"You're Nyx... from the Azure Link! I can tell from your uniform!" My uniform, it was the same design as Hecate's and Artemis', but it wasn't the color of blood... it was sapphire blue.

I didn't converse with either Hunter. I left that house without looking back. The first sights outside the house were the crimson-colored sunset and a lake filled with azure-blue waters.

The Crimson Link... the Azure Link... Links... of the same chain... Chain...

My familiar was the only one to hear me say,

"I'm the one who summoned that demon in the first place."

Fun facts you might like to know:

The two guys in the beginning were originally supposed to be boyfriends, but I thought I'd get in trouble for doing that, so yep. (The contest was on a kinda homophobic website O.e) My mind is blank, so I can't think of a way to hint at their gayness right now.

And...

I really like naming my male characters after female goddesses.