Oliver checked his phone, sitting on a chair in his kitchenette. 

 

"Damn, she said she'd be here by 5… she's already almost half an hour late… what the hell is taking her so long?" 

 

DINGDONG

 

Oliver turned and got up to open the door. 

 

"Hey Oliver!" 

 

He frowned. "What the hell took you so damn long?!" 

 

She stepped in the house, and he shut the door behind her. 

 

"Oh," she smiled, "I had to go buy some new clothes from the Underworld after school. What d'you think?" She picked up the edges of her skirt.

 

"It looks exactly like your old outfit." She was wearing the same green-and-yellow frumpy sweatshirt, same skirt, same boots… 

 

"I know! Doesn't it just look great on me? I love how the green compliments my hair, don't you?" Her train of thought switched suddenly, and she looked up at Oliver. "Anyways, we need to start training you now, so we have to go to the Underworld." 

 

Oliver looked at her outfit. "Wouldn't it have been easier to only make one trip to the Underworld? You were just there getting new clothes." 

 

She thought for a second. "Oh… oh yeah…" But then her face lit up. "Oh yeah, I remember why—I had to give you this!" She handed him his hoodie. He took it, wanting to explain how she still could've done this all on one trip, but he just stayed quiet.

 

"Well, we have to go! I'm gonna train you, and you're gonna be an awesome sidekick. Then you're gonna help me get to Rank One, and I'll be the strongest demon in the underworld!" She smiled to herself, sitting on his couch. "I can't wait!" 

 

"What's the point?"

 

"Huh?"

 

"What's the point of being Rank One? Why do you care?" Oliver asked. "What's so special about Rank One?" 

 

She fidgeted her feet, rolling her ankles. "Well, for starters, I'll be rich. Then I'll be able to buy all the food I want!" She smiled. 

 

"Food? That's it?"

 

"Of course! Food is yummy!! And, I'll be able to finally prove all the other demons wrong." Their eyes met. She stared into his, determined. "I'll show every demon in the underworld I can be Rank One." 

 

This girl is… something else. 

 

"Oh, wait, I just realized—does the Underworld even have a Rank One right now?" 

 

She folded her hands, intertwining her fingers, tapping the indexes. "Yeah," she said happily, looking at her hands. "But no one's seen him before. No one knows what he looks like, or what his name is, or anything. They just call him The Hornless Demon." 

 

"The Hornless Demon?" He asked. 

 

"Yeah! He's soooooooo cool, Oliver! I even got to see him once!" 

 

That took him by surprise. 

 

"Really? How?"

 

She clicked her tongue. "Well, I didn't exactly see him. I saw him! Just not his face." She faced Oliver. "The Ruler was taking care of me at the time, and—

 

"Wait—the ruler was taking care of you? You didn't tel—"

 

"Don't interrupt, Oliver! Now, where was I… oh yeah! The ruler was taking care of me, and one night he heard that the Rank One was fighting a demon. So he decided he was gonna go help, and he wanted to take me with him so I could see a demon fight for myself. So he decided to take me to this world. 

 

"When we got there, I saw a demon fighting a human being. And—the human was winning! He was only using his bare hands, Oliver, and he was still winning!"

 

"Wait," Oliver said, "the Rank One is a huma—" 

 

"Shhh, yes! That's what I said! But I'm not done yet so stop interrupting, Oliver!"

 

"Okay, okay." 

 

"Anyway," she said, rolling her eyes, "It was so awesome!! But then The Ruler told me he was just messing around, and yelled for the Hornless Demon that he could stop and finish him. 

 

"Then he smiled The Ruler's favorite smile… I think I forgot to tell you, Oliver? Did I tell you about Rank One's smile?" She didn't give him a chance to answer. 

 

"After all that stuff with the Demon Raids and the little girl and her family being killed, and after everything with his own dad, The Ruler got reaaallly upset. He wouldn't move or eat or anything. He was depressed for years and developed some sort of crazy anxiety." 

 

"What, like PTSD?" Oliver asked. 

 

"What's that?"

 

He sighed. "Nevermind, just continue. What happened next?"

 

"Well, he probably would've been depressed for a lot more years if The Hornless Demon didn't come. 

 

"I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but all I know is that one day The Ruler met some human, who would become the Hornless Demon and Rank One. And when they met, he smiled at The Ruler. And for the first time in years, The Ruler smiled. 

 

"The Hornless Demon helped him stop being so depressed all the time, and they became good friends. He eventually got to where he is now—happy and healthy, and a great ruler!! 

 

"And that's why both of them are so awesome!!" 

 

Oliver sat, trying to compute the story. "So you're saying he smiled, and that—"

 

"OH WAIT, I forgot I wasn't done! When I was with The Ruler and he told Rank One to stop fighting, he smiled and—Oliver, it was so cool!" 

 

She started getting animated, gesturing widely with her arms and hands. 

 

"He's just a human, Oliver—he's not even half a demon or an angel or anything—but he still was able to have the Blue Blitz. His hand started to glow blue, and he yelled "Blue Blitz!", and he punched the demon and there was this huge blue explosion of light and it was so awesome. He's called the Hornless Demon because he's just a human, but he's still the only one who can do The Blue Blitz. He just can't go into a berserk mode. That's why they call him The Hornless Demon." 

 

"So, he's a one trick Pony?" Oliver said. 

 

"No," she remarked, "he is not a one trick pony. He's just as strong as a demon, and he doesn't even have the advanced strength that comes with being a demon!" 

 

"...so what's a berserk mode?" He asked. 

 

She sat down calmly. "Oh. It's basically where you get so angry, you let your rage take complete control of you. It like, fully controls your body. I've only been able to do it once. Not only is it really hard to instigate, but you have basically no control of yourself when it does." 

 

"Oh," Oliver said, processing the waterfall of words he was just projected. 

 

Marilyn pulled her phone out of her skirt pocket and awkwardly fumbled to turn it on. "Oh my gosh!!! It's almost 6!! We've wasted so much time, Oliver!" She got up, pulling his sleeve. "Come on, we gotta go!" She yanked him off the couch. 

 

She flipped her right handover, palm up, and pressed two fingers down on the center intensely, closing her eyes. The blood red mark started to glow, intensifying until—

 

"Wait, wait—hold up, Marilyn. I thought you only get one "summon," or whatever, a day. If you make a portal for us to get there, how are we gonna get back??" 

 

"Oh, a normal portal to the Underworld is free; it only costs money if you're trying to get to a specific location, and not just the main entrance." 

 

"Oh… that makes sense, I guess." 

 

She focused back on her hand, and pressed her two fingers into her palm until a prick of blood appeared in the center of the circle.

 

Suddenly, a red mist filled the area, and materializing a few feet in front of them was a blood red door with a black knob. It smelt like sulfur and ashes. 

 

Oliver looked behind it. Obviously it was just a door… nothing behind it. He reached forward and grabbed the knob. 

 

It was sticky, like burnt plastic, and a type of temperature that was either so burning hot, it felt cold, or so freezing, it felt hot. But his hand wasn't hurt by it. 

 

Oliver turned the knob. As soon as the door was open the tiniest bit, a blast of heat smacked him in the face. Marilyn pushed the door open completely, and it felt like Oliver was facing an open oven door. He shielded his eyes, and at first his vision was distorted by the blurred heat. 

 

They stood side by side, facing the door. 

 

"Come on," she said, pulling his sleeve. 

 

They walked inside, and the door immediately slammed behind them. When Oliver spun around, he saw it dissipating into a thick red mist, fading into the air. 

 

He turned back around, examining his surroundings. 

 

"Uh, Marilyn? Why are we in a hospital?" It looked like he was in an empty hospital lobby. 

 

"This is just the main entrance—come on, I'll show you the city." She pulled him over to another door and opened it. 

 

Oliver covered his eyes from a second blast of heat, this one even stronger. When Oliver moved his hand away, he gaped. 

 

Before him was an entire city, bathed in a luminescent red glow. There were skyscrapers, houses, and what looked like people littered across the streets and sidewalks. 

 

"WHAT THE HELL?! THIS IS THE UNDERWORLD?!?! It looks like a normal city, just underground!"

 

"Yeah," she laughed, "that's the Underworld for you." 

 

Oliver took in the view, looking across this world that looked so similar to his own. He… didn't know what he expected from the Underworld, but it wasn't this. 

 

"See that?" Marilyn asked, pointing to a building a little ways off. "That's where you're gonna train. Come on, let's get started!" 

 

They walked across a couple streets, and Oliver saw the "people" up close. He could very easily tell they were demons, just like Marilyn, with wings, fangs, and sometimes horns among other things. A few looked at Oliver, and one even smiled. 

 

They got to the small building and opened the door. Marilyn flicked on the light, and Oliver was blinded by a stark white room. 

 

"What the hell?" He said, looking around. "We're gonna fight here?" 

 

Marilyn laughed. "I never said I was gonna fight you!" 

 

Oliver looked at her, confused. "Then, who am I gonna fight?" 

 

She smiled, pulling something out of her pocket. "This," she said, setting it on the floor. Oliver looked. It looked like a cellphone. 

 

"I'm fighting a phone?" 

 

Marilyn pressed a button, and it started to vibrate. She backed up. 

 

The phone clicked rapidly on the floor, shaking before stopping suddenly. Then, two metal pieces instantly popped out of the back, hoisting it up about 6 inches off the floor. What followed was a series of metal folding out of the back, forming intricate and advanced metal limbs from the bottom, increasing its height by inches a second. 

 

By the time it was done, Oliver faced a robotic skeleton, at least 6 ½ feet tall. It's body was sturdy, each piece of metal perfectly connecting into the next like a metal puzzle. The cellphone–looking screen flickered on, showing a blue digital emoticon face. 

 

"Oliver, this is Xbot. This is who you're going to be fighting." Oliver sized it up, not expecting to be fighting a robot for his first set of training. "I fought Xbot when I was training for the Rank Trials, and now it's your turn," she smiled. "If you can beat him, then I'll sign you up for the Rank Trials." 

 

Oliver looked at the digital face. "What the hell is that?" He asked. He pointed to a cat sticker on the upper right corner of Xbot’s screen. 

 

"It's a kitty." 

 

"...but… why?" 

 

"Because, I loooove kitties!! There sooooo cute!!! :3" 

 

"O…kay," he answered. 

 

"Now," she said, adjusting something on his back, "I'm gonna set him to easy so we can see what you'll do. And don't argue with me about that—even on easy, we'll probably be here for a few days, at least." 

 

"Huh? Why?"

 

"Well, it took me over a month to beat Xbot on easy mode." 

 

"WHAT THE HELL?! MARILY—"

 

"Good luck Oliver! Xbot, begin!" 

 

"WAIT, NO, MARILYN—"

 

Xbot immediately went into a battle position, moving with the liquidity of a human being. He crouched like a cat and charged at Oliver, sending both of them flying back. Xbot threw punch after punch as Oluver ducked and darted, avoiding them by a hair each time. They danced around, Oliver constantly ducking or juking another punch. Each movement from Xbot provided a metallic whirring noise, getting louder as he got faster. 

 

"Marilyn, h-hang on! I'm—" He dodged another metal fist coming his way. Shit, it's fast! How the hell am I supposed to— he dodged another punch. I-I can't even try to fight back—he's so fast, I'm spending all my energy just avoiding getting hit!

 

Marilyn was watching from the sidelines, evaluating Oliver's performance. "His reaction time is good for a half-demon," she said to herself. "Very impressive." 

 

Oliver waited for the smallest window, then threw a punch at Xbox. It moved effortlessly, grabbing Oliver's arm and twisting it. A cry of pain escaped his lips as his arm bent backwards. Xbot pinned him to the floor, landing blow after blow to Oliver's face. His metal fists sliced through Oliver's skin as they pounded his head into the floor. 

 

He was helpless. 

 

Marilyn saw the danger. "Okay, Xbot—stop!!" 

 

Xbot immediately stopped, backing up and standing stock-still a few yards from Oliver. 

 

Oliver coughed on the floor, trying to get up. "Shit…" His chest heaved and blood and sweat dripped down his face. 

 

"Are you ok, Oliver?" Marilyn asked. 

 

He took a minute, coughing and wiping off his face. He turned to Marilyn. "What the hell do you think?!?! That thing could've killed me!!!"

 

"That's why I stopped it, Oliver," she said, biting her lip. "I do care about you."

 

"Whatever!" He yelled, panting. 

 

"Oh, come on, Oliver! Don't be mad at me!" 

 

He continued to pant, then lowered his voice. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you." 

 

"Who are you mad at then?"

 

He looked over venomously at Xbot. "That! I… I think I know how to beat it." 

 

"That's the spirit!" Marilyn cheered. "Tell me when to start, Oliver." 

 

Oliver started to get up, examining Xbot closely. He had a plan… he just knew it wasn't gonna be easy. "Okay, Marilyn," he said, getting into a fighting position. "Start." 

 

"Xbot, begin!" 

 

Xbot sprang back to life, immediately charging at Oliver with a poised fist. Oliver dodged as he went for the connect, ducking and throwing his own punch at Xbot's torso. His knuckles were immediately cut and bleeding, but the adrenaline numbed the pain. 

 

Shit, this robot's sharp as hell. 

 

As Xbot turned to face Oliver, Oliver shoved it as hard as he could, sending it flying. Marilyn cheered. 

 

He charged towards it, not giving it a second to recover. He furiously punched it in the torso over and over, destroying his knuckles. Smoke started to spew from the impact. 

 

"Shit, is that Xbot?!" Marilyn said to herself.

 

Oliver took the smoke as a good sign, and kept hitting it as hard as he could. 

 

Marilyn moved closer to get a better look, and as she did Xbot grabbed Oliver's fist, flinging him through the air. Marilyn watch as the smoke trailed from Oliver's flying body across the room. 

 

"Xbot, stop!" She yelled. He froze, standing up straight. 

 

"Why? I had this!" Oliver yelled, getting ready to charge at Xbot again. 

 

"Because look at your hands, Oliver!" 

 

Oliver looked down at his knuckles. Deep, blackish smoke was seeping out of the various cuts. "What the hell?" He said. "What happened to me??"

 

Marilyn examined his hands and the smoke. "It looks like your arm has a lot of pressure you've been charging up." 

 

"Huh??" He said, staring at his hands, wondering what the hell she truly did to his body when she gave him that blood. 

 

"Look, you just have to release the pressure, Oliver." 

 

"And how do I do that?!" 

 

"Let go of your fists and let your arms lead your hands." 

 

What the hell? What does that even— he let go of his fists, and his arms instantly pushed his flat palms forward, sending a small gust of energy throughout the room. 

 

"What the hell was that?!" 

 

"It's called a Power Push," Marilyn said. "You charge your arms and release the built up pressure, and the arms will do the rest of the work. You just have to aim it at the person it's meant for." 

 

"...really?" He said. "Huh… okay. Sounds easy enough." 

 

"Okay, great, then let's try it—Xbot, begin!" 

 

Oliver prepared as Xbot sprung to life, charging at Oliver once again. He was ready this time, though. As Xbot approached, Oliver spun, grabbing what represented his spine and throwing him into a wall. His hands began to smoke.

 

"Okay… here goes…"

 

Oliver let go and gestured his upturned wrists at Xbot. His arms took knee control, stiffening his limbs into a battle position and blasting a gush of energy through the air, slamming Xbot into the wall again. 

 

Oliver looked at his hands, laughing in gleeful surprise. "Oh, shit," he exclaimed with a smile. 

 

"Oliver," Marilyn called casually. He looked up to see Xbot charging towards him, full speed. 

 

"SHIT!" Like lightning, he whipped his wrist upward and hit Xbot in the face with a blast of energy.

 

Xbot all-too-suddenly froze, dead in his tracks. His face glitched off, leaving a blank black screen. 

 

"I… I think I might've broke him," Oliver said.

 

"No you didn't, don't worry. That happens when you beat him." Oliver lit up, surprised. "I'm actually impressed, Oliver. I didn't think you would be him so quickly. Are you ready for the next level?" 

 

"What?! There's another level?!" 

 

"Uh, yeah. I told you already that this was easy mode," Marilyn said. "I'm gonna put it into hard mode, since I feel like you're prepared for that. Would you say you're prepared?" 

 

Oliver thought for a second. He was pretty sure he figured out Xbot's weakness… but wasn't positive. Yet on the other hand, he had this new ability. 

 

"Yeah… I think I'm ready. Let's do this." 

 

Marilyn smiled, going over to crank Xbot's difficulty knob to HARD. "Good luck, Oliver," she said, backing away. "Xbot, begin!"

 

Oliver tensed his body, ready to fight. But… Xbot didn't move. He remained still, his screen still complete darkness, apart from the cat sticker. 

 

"Huh?" Oliver walked up, getting a closer look. "Shit, Marilyn, I think I really did—"

 

BAM

 

Oliver went sailing across the room. Xbot had punched Oliver so far and fast, he didn't even know what happened until he heard the whirring sound from across the room. 

 

"What the hell?! What a cheap shot!!" He yelled indignantly. 

 

"Xbot is not only stronger now, but smarter too!" Marilyn yelled from across the room. 

 

"Yeah, smarter. Well, it… doesn't matter," Oliver mumbled under his breath. He got up, stretching his neck and shoulders. "It doesn't matter because," he started to get his wrists ready, "because I know it's weakness." 

 

Oliver turned just in time to see Xbot charging towards him. He raised his wrists and released 2 full speed blasts to the screen. 

 

Xbot stopped suddenly, but his face didn't shut off. Instead, it poised itself to look down at Oliver, and sock him square in the face. He went sailing. 

 

"What the hell?! That's it's weakness—it should've finished it!!" He screamed when he got up from the blow. 

 

"Xbot has no weaknesses anymore now that he's on hard mode. You're just gonna have to exhaust him, which is gonna be extremely hard considering he's a robot and robots don't have feelings." 

 

"SHIT!!" Oliver yelled, dodging Xbot's flurry of attacks. He was able to dodge every single punch, sweat dripping from his forehead and hair as he ducked. 

 

Oliver knew he was gonna have to try something different. 

 

He charge up his arm and directed his wrist towards Xbot's torso. As he did, though, Xbot grabbed Oliver's arm, sending them both hurdling through the air. Xbot grabbed Oliver mid-air and chucked him towards the wall they were sailing towards. 

 

Oliver redirected (thinking quickly), and kicked himself off the wall as his feet hit it, gaining velocity back towards Xbot. He charged his arm and blasted Xbot in the face, who turned and attacked Oliver's gut. 

 

"We're gonna be here for a while…" Marilyn mumbled to herself. 

 

LATER

 

It had been 3 hours. 

 

Marilyn was asleep on the floor, her clothes in a pile next to her. 

 

Meanwhile Oliver and Xbot were still going at it. 

 

Oliver was beyond exhausted, soaked in sweat and dried blood. He was beyond exhaustion, fighting with every last ounce of energy he had. Even Xbot was starting to fade. Regardless, though, he was still relentless in his brutality. 

 

At this point in the fight, Oliver's vision was starting to fade. His muscles felt like sore jelly, and every bone in his body wanted to collapse. The world around him started to blur into a mesh of white and gray. 

 

Sh-shit… I c-can’t gi-give in. I can't le-let him w-win… 

 

Xbot threw a punch to Oliver, and it collided with his skull. He felt light headed. 

 

Oliver charged up a blast and fired it, but accidentally missed. His vision was completely screwed up. 

 

Xbot punched him in the gut, winding him completely. He continued to punch him over and over, knocking the breath out of Oliver’s lungs. 

 

Marilyn was sleeping. She wouldn't even be able to stop Xbot if he truly did try to kill Oliver. 

 

Oliver recognized the situation. He knew he wasn't just training—now this thing might actually kill him.

 

BAM BAM BAM BAM

 

Over and over it punched Oliver in the gut and diaphragm, not giving him a second to breathe.

 

He kicked Xbot's legs, knocking him over. He needed to give himself some time to breathe again.

 

As Xbot fell, he crawled back. He was heaving and shaking, and his arms vibrated with smoke. 

 

The… the only way I'm going to have any chance of beating him, is channeling every last drop of energy I have left into one final blow. 

 

He staggered to stand up, and tenses his body, breathing heavily. Oliver focused everything he had left into his arms and wrists, shaking as billows of smoke seeped out from his bleeding wounds. 

 

Xbot stared him down, ready to charge. 

 

Oliver tightened his wrists. I-I'm too s-sick and ti-tired of this.

 

Xbot crouched slightly, then began to rush full speed towards Oliver. It seemed like it was using the last of its strength too. 

 

He got closer and closer, ready to land a devastating blow. 

 

Just as he was a couple feet away, Oliver lurched his wrists forward, palms up and arms limp. The strength built in his arms, locking them into place and sending a blast of energy so strong, both Xbot and Oliver flew backwards. 

 

Xbot went flying through at such a high velocity, the slam echoed throughout the entire building, crumbling parts of the wall and making Marilyn stir in her sleep. 

 

Xbot’s face glitched for a second before clicking to black. 

 

Oliver heaved from across the room, laying on his side. "I… I di-did it…" 

 

He started to fade, losing consciousness. Oliver's eyes shut, and he was out cold. 

 

It was completely silent in the building as the three of them lay unconscious. 

 

But, in the eerie silence, Xbot's face flicked on in a smile. But this time, instead of blue, it's face was red. 

End of chapter 7