The rock spikes crumbled as the large creature's tentacles squirmed; the pieces that had impaled it were dislodged with the struggling jerking movements. The sounds that were being emitted from the creature were signs that Daedalus had lost a long time ago whatever humanity he had left. They were roars, primal and full of rage. Though intelligence still existed, it no longer belonged to the man that raised the winged Deman who attacked him.

Extending his arm out, Matt helped Chris to his feet. Picking up his blade, he turned his attention to the massive Deman.

"Time to destroy this piece of shit" he said angrily. Focusing, he looked at the creature, planning his move. The first strike would be the hardest. Their enemy wasn't like most others; it was large but still had impressive speed, strong but didn't leave many openings like most others would when they would throw their strength. He had to make sure he could launch an attack that would leave it open for more.

"Matt, I'm going to need your help. If we want to defeat him, we're going to need all the strength we can muster. You keep him busy and I'll try to pry him off Daniel"

"Don't worry, I'm on it" he replied, his irises turning crimson and the familiar red aura engulfing his hand. Chris sprinted forward, luring the beast into launching an assault. As the tentacles flew towards him, Matt started his own assault, launching almost a hundred spikes out of the ground. They caught Daedalus in a weak spot as the spikes tore through the bottom of his appendages. Using an intact spike as a ramp, Chris jumped up onto a tentacle near the one wrapped around his friend. The large beast raised one of the other tentacles into the air before throwing it down onto the Hunter. Clasping the hilt tightly with his hand, Chris threw a violent swing at it, cutting through almost the entire mass of the Deman's limb. The top of the tentacle flopped around lifelessly as the nerves had been severed in the appendage though that didn't mean the creature wasn't screaming in pain as blood gushed out of the massive wound, splashing everywhere.

Seizing the opportunity, Chris leapt on the limb that Daniel has trapped in. Standing on the side he knew was about to fall on to the ground, he sliced straight through the top of the tentacle. The grip on Danny loosened as the limb dropped to the ground, letting Chris pull him out of its grasp after they touched down.

"How're you doing?" Chris asked as they backed away from Daedalus.

"Not great but I can still put up somewhat of a fight" Daniel assured his teammates "But at least now we've got a bit of knowledge about our enemy. He can't regenerate or not at a significant enough speed to help in combat"

"You mean he's sacrificed his healing factor for his form?" Kassi asked as limped over from the destroyed entrance.

"Yeah, it can't keep up with him. He might be able to close the small wounds but he can't regenerate his limbs. We can use this to our advantage!"

Unhooking the Leviathan skeleton whip from his belt, Daniel launched a head on assault. As the gigantic Deman regained his posture, it noticed the Hunter as he ran towards him. He lifted one of the green appendages into the air, blocking out some of the overhead lights. He followed his up with a pincer style movement with two of the others, hoping to squash the enemy. Daniel took his opportunity though and swung whip at the tentacle overhead, using the fangs in the skull to pierce the tissue and clasp onto it. He then ran towards the tentacle coming in fast from the left, jumping at the last second for his feet to land it, helping him swing up towards the top tentacle. As the two green appendages below him met in a thunderous clap, he passed over the top of one that had been raised in the air, just fitting in the gap between the lighting fixtures and the squirming limb. As he passed over, he swung back down onto the ground, using the full length of the whip. He then pulled, constricting the whip that was tied around the tentacle and bring the tentacle closer to the ground, the tip of it just barely touching.

"There! You've got a path now rip off that scale!" Daniel shouted as he struggled against the Deman's strength, his own injuries now starting to take a toll on his abilities, his chest started to turn a dark purple in bruising.

"I think not you little pest!" Daedalus shouted, using one of the pincers from his midsection to dismember the limb. The sudden shift from a giant resisting body to a lifeless weight attached to his weapon made Daniel trip, landing on damaged side. Using it to his advantage, Daedalus grabbed the Hunter again, this time dragging him across the floor where the remains of the rock spikes shed across the boy's back like a hot knife through butter before finished by hitting him against the steel wall, putting a massive dent in it. Though the red cloak escaped any major damage except from a few more minor tears as it has shifted to the side, his back was bloodied, beaten and almost broken. The Leviathan whip had been torn apart beyond repair, pieces spread across the room like they were made of paper. The Hunter was barely breathing as he lay on the concrete, slowly being surrounded by his own blood as it spread from the spot his back laid on.

"Shit!" Chris exclaimed, dashing towards his friend, hoping he would at least be able to pull him to safety. As he drew near, he was met the crash of many of the appendages. Before he was able to make a swing at the creature, it wrapped itself around his arm, pressing down to make Chris drop his weapon. After being disarmed, it lifted the Hunter into the air. He tried to free himself, trying to make his hands burn through the creature much like he had done to the wolf-like creature he met on his first day at the university. However, as much as he tried, the Purifier wasn't strong enough to make the Deman let go of him. He then looked down, noticing where he was being hung. If he was to be dropped now, he would be making a short trip through the razor-like pincers, almost certainly dying.

Matt took action, running towards the beast as he started to form a sharp spear in his hand. However, his attempt at an attack was futile as he was instantly picked up by the tentacles, two wrapped themselves around his arms whilst another two wrapped around his legs.

"Now you can wait until the master gets here" Daedalus said, leaning into the boy's face "I'm sure he'll be very pleased me. The legendary Icarus in his possession and the Hunters that have caused him so much trouble... dead"

"No! I won't let you!" Matt shouted, struggling with all his might to stab through the tentacles with spikes he was conjuring though it was no use. He had left himself drained by his prior usage of the magic.

"You have no choice you pitiful fool. You're going to watch your friends die and there's nothing you can about it"

"NO! BUT THERE'S SOMETHING WE CAN ABOUT IT!" Kassi shouted as blue flame-like aura surrounded the girl; her eyes turning an almost glowing white and a large Purity Seal appeared on the floor. From the seal, the air started to turn cold, making a slight mist on the bottom of the warehouse. Only after a couple of seconds once it had appeared, out of the mist ice started to form, making human shapes that as soon as they had finished being made started to walk. Hundreds of them all across the warehouse where there was mist.

"What Purity is this?! So strong and yet so controlled?!" Daedalus exclaimed in shock as a small army of ice warriors started to draw towards his lower part of his body.

"Heh... you really shouldn't have pissed her off" Daniel said weakly, propping himself up against the steel walling "You see, Kassi isn't in a normal state right now. That's her Pure Form, Dead Frost we like to call it. Little known fact, no matter how powerful you are, a Hunter can never raise the dead... well not normally. Kassi had a twin sister whilst her mother was pregnant. Unfortunately she was lost six months in.

"But then comes the part you're probably interested in. Because they were once part of one another, their souls are identical. Her Pure Form is something that results from that, well one part of it anyway. She's actually pulling her own sister's soul in from the afterlife, giving her a connection that means she's able to get other dead souls to help her. You can see why it's so rare though, very few people who have ever had that situation alone, never mind been Hunters.

"But now onto the second part of this explanation. Of course having an army of souls is good but only if you have some kind of shell for them to inhabit. Fortunately, Kassi is very well skilled in ice magic...and well you can see where this goes from here. However, you've actually been stupid enough to listen to an entire explanation about this rather than putting up much of a fight against it so you deserve everything that's about to come to you!"

"Our friends!" Kassi shouted in an unearthly, echoing voice "We ask you, attack with all your strength!"

The ice warriors started climbing the body, forming weapons in their hands and started attacking the Deman, axes hacking and broad swords slashing at the cephalopod-like lower body. One group went further up the body, attacking the pincers. However their numbers dwindled as they were being attacked by tentacles and the pincers alike. But as many as were attacked and destroyed, it did not matter; the souls would just return to the ground and create themselves a new body. Through much struggling, the warriors eventually got behind one of the pincers, over which Chris was hanging, determined not to be chopped to his death. The team pushed, making a loud struggle as they tried to dismember the claw. Noticing, the Deman swung one the tentacles which a number of ice warriors were hanging on to, stabbing and slashing, at the group trying to take out one of his deadly weapons.

Suddenly he backed off, howling in pain, as he felt bullets tear through his flesh. He looked down to see Daniel rapidly firing his revolvers before he stopped to refill the cylinder. Daedalus took his chance, swatting the boy into the walling near the steel entrance. As he gathered himself together, his head pounding as he realised he had fractured his skull, Daniel looked for his guns.

"Awww fuck" he exclaimed, picking up the broken remains of the custom made Schmidt M1882 "Hey Bella, how are you?" he asked the spirit sharing Kassi's body.

"Dead, you?" she replied, her voice distinctly similar to Kassi's though it was lacking the sense of seriousness that could be detected whenever Kassi herself entered battle.

"Dying... slowly if I might add. I can't hold up much longer, I need to stay out of this"

Then with a loud crack followed by a wet popping sound, the two looked up to see the right pincer being ripped out of place by the ice men. Daedalus screamed, shaking his whole body as his tentacles squirmed up and down, all most breaking Matt's arms from the force. The group then focused on dismembering as many tentacles as possible, starting first with one that was wrapped around Chris' arm. The attacks made him loosen his grip on the Hunter, allowing him to slide down the long appendage and onto the concrete.

Fully knowing what he had to do, Daedalus grabbed onto Kassi, wrapping one his tentacles around her, choking her. Her blue aura suddenly dissipated as her concentration had been cut off, her energy now drained. Suddenly, the ice men stopped moving, shattering as their forms could no longer be sustained, their souls being pulled back into the afterlife. They had done their job well though, leaving Daedalus in a weakened state with only half of his tentacles left in working condition. She tried to release herself, grabbing her knife and stabbing at the inside where her body had been constricted. After the second strike however, her body could no longer move, except for her squirming legs in reaction to the feeling of being trapped.

"As with all insects, it seems you Hunters all have a terribly short life span" Daedalus said, laughing as he attempted to crush the girl "Goodbye little bug"

"There's no way I'm going to let you do that" Matt said, a strange glow coming from his skin. Even through the black jeans he wore, a small amount of light was seeping through. His wings then started to form their own light as flesh started to crawl up it, sprouting gold feathers, the ones at the bottom forming blue tips. The glowing lights on his head started to take the shape of an eagle head forming over his own. A pair of gauntlets with shining talons on the end of them grew over his hands, allowing him to press down, tearing at the limbs holding his arms in place before finally cutting through. He then slashed at the two holding his legs, unravelling and allowing him to drop slightly as he started beating his wings, slowing his fall before he took off again and sliced through the tentacle wrapped around Kassi. As she started drop, Matt caught her in his arms, slowly taking her down to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked, putting her down as they landed.

"Yeah, thanks" she replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek "Now kick his arse!"

Matt started to create another spear, this time moulding the rock into the shape of a halberd before the rock itself started to change. The pole changed to a strong oak and axe head and spike turned into steel. Matt ran towards the husk that was his father, taking off as he got close and soaring fifty feet into the air. As many of the appendages drew closer, he took a large swipe with halberd, cutting instantly through in an unnatural fashion, like this new form was somehow giving him extra strength. He reached the top section, raising the spiked end at the Deman's chest and plunged. Daedalus grabbed the halberd, holding it as far away as he could.

"You should have run when you had the chance! At least that way you could delay the inevitable like the humans you've come to associate yourself with" he said, chuckling as pushed the other Deman away.

"You forget that we are human, it's only because of you that part of me isn't!" he replied, pushing back. The spike tip was touching Daedalus' chest, pressing in but not piercing the flesh. Then suddenly Daedalus gasp and a two slicing sounds were made. The second was the spike sliding through the Deman's left lung. The first however was a sword, more specifically Chris' sword, slicing through the Deman's neck. The shock of which had made Daedalus let go of the halberd and ultimately causing his downfall.

"Matt! Grab the scale!" Chris shouted as held Daedalus' throat, keeping him away from the boy.

"No please! Have some mercy!" the man grovelled but his requests fell on deaf ears. Matt, using his talon tipped hands, ripped the scale from the man's chest. As soon it happened, the body of the Deman started to shrivel up, making the man sink as the lower and midsections started to reform into his legs.

"Thank you" a voiced sounded in Chris' head before the scale turned to dust. After the man had been reduced to a naked shivering mess, the two picked him up by his forearms and dragged him to the entrance before throwing him down. He was bloody from chest to legs, covered in large cuts and bruises. No longer in possession of the healing abilities that Poseidon had been forcefully made to provide him with, he was on the verge of collapsing as Kassi walked over to him.

"You said something before your "master" coming here. Who is your master?" she asked, the seriousness in her voice would never be mistaken for anything else.

"Why don't you look up and see for yourself" he replied. Kassi did slowly, noticing an unmistakable figure.

"Guys, get the hell away from him! He's gonna kill you!"

Turning around, Chris noticed the person coming towards them was not human. That didn't mean he didn't recognise them though. Six foot one, short black hair, black feathered wings and a pair of sharp vampire-like teeth.

Allos.