The Holy Hunt


Hunting and exorcising demons that wreaked havoc in the Mortal Realm was the sole duty of the demon hunters, a special class of human souls residing in the Higher Realms. For this purpose, they were granted powers equivalent to that of angels. Exorcising demons was a simple job once the targets were captured, however, a group of demon hunters began to doubt their abilities as one demon in particular proved to be immune to their procedures.


The demon in question was no being of higher status in the Nether Realm, nor did he bear any special objects that repelled or negated the demon hunters’ holy powers, yet time and time again, he would slip through their grasp and escape, leaving many a demon hunter injured in his wake. As this elusive demon kept escaping captivity, the demon hunters began to question both themselves and the powers bestowed upon them. Seeing the seeds of doubt that were growing in their hearts, a group of angels took it upon themselves to capture the strange demon and hold him on trial for his crimes.


The demon hunters accused the demon of being ruthless and vile, accounting for the dozens of their comrades that were left maimed in their pursuit of him. However, the demon argued against their claims, asking them how he was ruthless.


“I only retaliated in self-defence. It was you who pursued me for no good reason.”


“No good reason? You’re a demon! What more reason must we have? You must pay for your crimes.”


“And what are my crimes? Just because some of us don’t qualify for the Higher Realms and must endure torture for centuries instead, it doesn’t mean that we must be deemed ruthless and vile.” The demon took a deep breath. “Name one crime I’ve committed in the Mortal Realm after I became a demon. If you can do that, I will gladly accept whatever punishment you decide upon.”


The Council of the Higher Realms deemed the demon’s request reasonable and appointed a group consisting of two demon hunters and two angels each to investigate his actions in the Mortal Realm. In the coming weeks, the group was dumbfounded by what they learned: not only did the humans say that the demon meant them no harm, they also showed proof of how much he had helped them since the day they had first met him. The demon had helped many towns improve their infrastructure, tended to countless bedridden patients, and even driven away groups of bandits. Not a single person spoke an ill word of the demon, and so the group returned to heaven with no evidence to proceed with the trial.


With the new information brought to light, the Council dismissed the accusations against the demon and decided to free him. Some demon hunters still opposed the decision, but they were enlightened as to why their powers did not work on the demon in the first place. Demon hunters could only exorcise the evil and guilty. The fact that they could not perform the exorcism was a testament to the integrity of the demon, who, even after withstanding untold torments that usually distorted the minds of many others, still remained true to his original roots.

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