Their biggest threat approached them slowly, heading towards their now defeated enemy. Allos, a Demon of unmeasured power, had returned after a year of silence, his aura feeling much stronger than before. He now had switched out his previous attire of a simple shreds of human clothing to a now more menacing black and gold demonic looking armour, spikes protruding from the should guards and gauntlets. He placed a hand on the shoulder of Daedalus.

"You failed me Daedalus" he said, almost a gentle whisper before raising to a more serious tone "You know I don't accept failures"

"Please master, it was out of my control" Daedalus replied, shivering in fear "I beg of you, please just give me one more chance"

"To do what exactly? You're nothing more than a broken and beaten human now; you couldn't hurt an insect in your state"

"Oh please, no-"

There was a loud crack and a sharp gasp as Allos firmly grabbed Daedalus' shoulder tight and forced his other hand into his back, breaking his collar bone whilst shattering the man's spine and ribs. The others flinched, hearing the piercing of the person's body echo softly through the warehouse before being utterly shocked as Allos shoved his arm in deeper before ripping out the heart of the screaming Daedalus, the shock of the first blow starting subside to the overwhelming pain before he finally collapse to the floor as he bled out.

As Allos started to walk away, Kassi called out to him.

"Why?"

"Why what?" he asked.

"Why did you kill him?"

"Loose ends, I told him to either deliver the boy or I'd kill him. I don't lie"

"Why did you need either of them though? What's so special about Matt to you or Daedalus for that matter?"

"Questions that need no answers yet dear girl"

"You wanted to eat them right?" Daniel said, smirking as he lent up against the wall with blood dripping out of his ears and the side of his mouth.

"Ahh there you are Daniel, always ready to interrupt and spoil my fun" Allos said, his voice showing a great deal of annoyance at the young man.

"Save it. As soon as you entered the picture, I knew immediately what you wanted. A Deman's soul and flesh are valuable things for Demons, aren't they? Said to be able to increase your power tenfold by consuming one if I'm right? And how easy could you make it. You lured one of them out their hiding place and set the other one out to find them, probably promising him treasures and power. Wouldn't have mattered though, would it? As soon as you'd eaten Icarus, you'd have killed Daedalus too and gained even more power"

"Sharp as always"

"And don't you just love that"

"Hand over Icarus and I promise I will leave you be"

"No" Chris said, pointing his sword towards Allos "I might have never met you before but I know I liar when I meet one. As soon as you'd have him, you'd kill us all. There was no way I'd give him before; your lies make no difference"

"Then this will be your last mistake then" Allos replied, raising his hand as he prepared for a swift attack.

Suddenly the sounds of loud shouts started to erupt outside as boots slammed against the concrete alongside the sound of smashing glass and bright light pouring through the entrance as thirty odd men and women poured into the room with ranged weapons and body armour. Various assortments of guns and rifles, bows and throwing spears were distributed amongst the lot. The group parted amongst the middle as the last man arrived, holding a large lance over his shoulder as he marched down the centre.

"Attack!" he barked as the group unleashed their weapons, a storm of bullets, arrows and polearms thrown at incredible speeds towards Allos. Many of the bullets hit their target along with a few of the arrows before Allos took his chance to leave and avoid serious problems, disappearing in a cloud of black shadowy smoke.

"Stand down, target has fled. Cut the lights" he then followed up, lowering the lance as he had prepared to throw it. The bright lines behind then dimmed as the spotlights outside the warehouse were turned off, making the people easier to see. At the head of the group, Shaun stood as he looked around the area. Noticing Daniel, he headed over to him and knelt on the ground next to him.

"It's just not your day is it?" he said smiling at him.

"Well on the high chances I fractured my skull before, not at all"

"Don't worry; we'll take you all back to your dorm in a bit. I just need to speak with the others for a second" Shaun assured him before signalling over for medical assistance to help Daniel back on his feet. He approached the others as they were being checked over by one of the armoured women looking for any serious injuries "How are guys doing then?"

"A couple of minor injuries but they'll be fine once they've been given some treatment for it, sir" the armoured woman said, raising hand to salute.

"Thanks sis, could you get the others ready for going back?"

"Sure thing" she replied, gathering the others up to make their preparations.

"Thanks for arriving when you did. I don't think we could have held up for long" Kassi said, shaking Shaun's hand "I know we disagree on our methods but I'm glad to see that we can at least fight alongside each other when we need to"

"That's okay; you're still allies and, more importantly, friends. We wouldn't let you take on anything we didn't think you'd be able to handle on your own. Though speaking of that, it seems you took him down yourselves" replying as he looked over to Daedalus' body "We were looking for his location tonight and found  a couple of his followers who more than happy to tell us where he was and who he worked for. What do you want to do with the body?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Well really I meant what would Icaru- Matt I mean. What would Matt like to do with the body?"

"Burn it" Matt said, sitting on the floor as the feathers and flesh started to drop off his wings, turning to ash before they had a chance to land. The eagle head had now also disappeared along with the gauntlets, ash also covering his hair in and around the area the head rested.

"Are you sure? He was your father" Kassi asked, placing a hand on his arm.

"A long time ago, he was my father. The person he became is a completely different person to who raised me. In my eyes, that person died long ago and I wish to remember it that way"

-----

Dawn started to break over the university campus, orange glow seeping into the Chris and Daniel's room where the two, Matt, Kassi and Shaun sat as they talked casually. After being treated for their injuries, the Hunters took the body to a forest area of their town and silently burnt it. Now no longer a Deman, Daedalus couldn't be as easily disposed of other enemies. Upon returning to the room, the group rested as they waited for the next day.

"I can't believe you've never invited me here before" Shaun said to Daniel as they sat in the room's two only dining chairs whilst the others had the beds to relax on.

"Well I didn't think it would be up to your noble standards" he quipped, rocking back in his chair with a glass of Lilt in his hand. His friend chuckled and turned to the others.

"So then, elephant in the room, what are we going to do with Matt?" Shaun asked, putting the room into a very quiet state.

"Well, what would you do?" Chris asked.

"Me? I don't know. Matt's an extremely rare being. Having Deman to test and examine could provide us Hunters with some extremely interesting finds" Shaun replied calmly, glancing around the room "However… I think he's an extremely valuable ally too. And I can't deny that you've bonded as a group of fighters which, when the time comes, could be more help to us than prodding him with needles"

"Where would he stay though?" Kassi asked "He can't stay with me; my roommate would freak out if she saw him"

"Well he could stay with us" Daniel suggested "There's only one month of lectures left and then we leave for summer break. I've already sorted out a flat in the town for next year so there's no problem for accommodating him after summer either. I can also sort out a place for him to stay until then. I'm sure funding wouldn't be a problem with, would it Shaun?"

"Are you saying you want me to pay for Matt's summer accommodation?" Shaun asked, looking over to Daniel with slight disbelief.

"How observant of you" he replied with a smirk "Either way, it benefits us. At least if we need to contact him, we have a place we can go to find him. Actually, can you get him a phone too, that would help a lot"

"What am I? His mother?!"

"I'd rather say "rich friend who doesn't mind people mooching off him" but I know you do and that know that isn't true. You hate people mooching off you"

"Damn straight I do!"

As the group laughed, Kassi walked over to the kitchen area, opening the fridge to check for ingredients for a fry up. As she gathered the eggs, bacon and sausages, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning her head slightly, she saw Matt as he reach with his other hand into the fridge, picking up the tomatoes and mushrooms.

"You know what goes in a full English breakfast then?" Kassi asked.

"You don't spend time in England without learning about them" Matt replied with a smile on his face as he opened the overhead cupboard to get the beans and loaf of bread. "And by the way, thank you" he said, giving Kassi a kiss on the cheek before he got the pans out. Kassi started to blush as grabbed him and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips.

--- ARC ONE "MYSTERY BOY ICARUS" END. ---