Infinite Darkness 

Chapter One

It was an incredibly windy day. The trees shook wildly, as if it was going to be ripped from the ground, but were trying their hardest to resist being uprooted. It was icy cold, and thick layers of cloud hid the sun. It was like winter in the middle of summer. Many people were confused by this strange change in weather, it was unbearably hot the day before, typical of summer weather. However, now it was cold and frigid, atypical of summer weather. 

Joshua stared at the sky, his brows furrowed in confusion. His clothes flapped violently, and his hair became a mess. The wind hit his chest and almost pushed him backwards. He grunted and looked at his house behind him, contemplating staying home from school. He decided against it and drove through the wind. 

He grunted as the wind pushed viciously against his chest, he began to wonder why he decided to go to a school that day. Joshua sighed in relief as he stepped into the school building. To his surprise, there were many students attending today. He thought that the wind would stop others from coming. He shrugged and headed towards his locker, placing his bag inside and arranging his books.

An arm slung over Joshua's shoulder and loosely wrapped itself around his neck. He was tugged backwards, almost falling over by the force that pulled him. 

"Hey, buddy!" A voice chirped happily

Joshua turned his head and saw his best friend Dokyum, he was wearing his signature sunny smile, and his eyes sparkled. Joshua chuckled, untangling himself from his friends hold and greeted him. Dokyum yawned, stretching out his arms. He looked outside and clicked his tongue.

"That's some crazy weather!" 

Joshua followed Dokyum's gaze and nodded in agreement "I was thinking of not coming today."

Dokyum looked at Joshua as if he was offended by his words "And ditch me? Over my dead body. I'd drag you here if you did."

Joshua laughed and closed his locker door "I don't know why they didn't close the school off for today. It would be much safer if they did"

"Because education is important."
 
Joshua and Dokyum turned around to see who spoke. Dokyum smiled gleefully and waved enthusiastically "Hey bro, how are you?"

"Well, and how are you, Joshua?"

"I'm good Seungcheol" Joshua replied

Seungcheol was Dokyum's older brother, older by a year yet somehow ten times more mature than his brother. He was taller and had a little more muscle than his younger brother, but was more lean than muscular. 

"What do you mean by education?" Dokyum asked 

"School's going to stay open because education is important, even one missed day can have a huge impact on your learning" Seungcheol explained

"That's rich words coming out of a person failing almost all of their classes" Dokyum snorted

Seungcheol frowned in disapproval as his younger brother laughed. While Seungcheol did seem wiser beyond his years, in fact, he wasn't that bright. Dokyum was younger by a year, yet was ten times more intelligent than his older brother. 

"I'm not the best at practical work" Seungcheol grunted angrily "However I am not stupid!"

Dokyum rolled his eyes and crossed his arms "He says this all the time, but don't be fooled. Yesterday he asked me ‘why it is dark at 12 am but bright at 2 pm? When am means morning and pm means night'. I thought he was kidding, but he was one hundred percent serious." 

"It's a genuine question! It doesn't make sense if you think about it!" Seungcheol huffed furiously 

Dokyum ignored his brother and turned to Joshua "Do you know why Seungcheol always speaks so prim and proper like a 50-year-old grandpa? It's because he's compensating for his lack of brains and intelligence." 

Seungcheol gasped, and he frowned angrily, he muttered something under his breath and stormed away, telling Dokyum that he would get his revenge. Dokyum chuckled fondly and stared at his brother.

"He's a big softy deep down." 

Joshua nodded in agreement "Let's get to class now yeah?"

Dokyum frowned and begrudgingly agreed. They both began walking to their class which was on the third floor of the school. The building was four stories high. Some deemed it a safety hazard, however for the 50 plus years the school has been running there has never been an accident regarding the top floor so many disregarded it. 

"You know I wasn't planning on coming today" Dokyum grumbled "Seungcheol forced me to come today. Honestly, I'm so tired. I didn't get any sleep last night."

"And ditch me? Over my dead body. I'd drag you here if you did" Joshua chuckled

Dokyum smiled, and they both shared a laugh. Joshua and Dokyum had been friends since they were young, five years old to be exact. The duo had always been close, and they clicked even when they were young as if it was a friendship made to be. Dokyum sparked fun and happiness in Joshua's life, and Joshua kept him grounded and supported him. Joshua was also good friends with Seungcheol, but not as much as Dokyum due to the age difference as well as Seungcheol's seriousness and strictness, which prevented what could have been an extremely close friendship. However, Joshua knew he could rely on Seungcheol, trusting him and supporting him just as much as Dokyum.

"Are you planning on doing anything after school?" Dokyum asked as they began to climb the stairs towards their class

Joshua hummed thoughtfully and then shook his head "No, I'm planning on going home. It's too windy to do anything."

"Really? I think the opposite!" Dokyum chuckled 

Joshua frowned, his head tilted to the side and his brows furrowed "How so?" 

"The wind makes it perfect to go hunting" Dokyum beamed "Seungcheol, and I are planning to go to school."

"I would think that the wind would give away your position" Joshua pointed out "Wouldn't that be a bad thing?"

"That's the whole point!" Dokyum assured him "You can be stealthy if you want, but that's not fun. The best part of hunting is the adrenaline you get. You should join us!"

"You know I'm not allowed" Joshua reminded him

Dokyum waved his hand dismissively "Just watch then. It'll be loads of fun!"

Joshua begrudgingly agreed, which lead to Dokyum giving out a massive cheer. He bounded up the stairs with a newfound amount of energy that made Joshua's head spin. Joshua couldn't help but grin at his friend's excitement and attempted to catch up with his friend. Dokyum was so excited that he bowled through everybody and he even tripped a poor girl down the stairs! Joshua's jaw dropped as the girl came barrelling down the stairs and smacked right into Joshua who would have tumbled down as well if he didn't hang on to the railing. Joshua apologised immediately and took a step back to give the girl some space. She just huffed and pushed her hair out of her face and stormed off angrily, muttering ‘How annoying.'

Joshua sighed and looked up to see another person fall down the stairs. It was a small boy, and Dokyum may or may not have tripped this poor boy, but Joshua quickly reached out his hand and grabbed onto the boy's collar before his head smacked the concrete floor. The boy looked up at him with shaking fists and an unquenchable fury in his eyes. Joshua gulped, and his heart dropped. He let go of the boy's collar as if he was stung and winced. The boy turned around to fully face Joshua who almost lost his footing and fell down the stairs himself.

"Joshua" The boy growled, "What the hell?"

"I didn't do anything!" Joshua stammered, his voice was almost a whine 

"What the hell are you doing letting that thing loose without supervision!" The tiny boy spat

"It's not up to me to keep Dokyum in line, that Seungcheol's job" Joshua squeaked as sweat rolled down his back, making him shudder

"Listen, I don't care if it was the King's job to supervise him. I almost died! I was two stories high! I was dropping to my death!" The tiny boy roared

"I don't think you would have died!" Joshua chucked nervously, his eyes darting around looking at anything but the tiny boy

"Hey, Woozi!"  Dokyum cheerfully greeted as he clambered down the stairs back to Joshua 

Woozi's nostrils flared, and his eyes burned with anger. He clenched his teeth as well as his fists, an animalistic growl ripped from his chest making Dokyum falter, and his face fell. "I am going to kill you!" 

Dokyum's face became paler than a sheet of paper, and he looked at Joshua with fear in his eyes "I'll see you in class yeah? You know what happens if I never come."

Before Joshua could reply Dokyum ran up the stairs with a godly speed, Woozi scrambled up the stairs vowing that when he caught Dokyum, he would rip him to shreds slowly and painfully. Joshua sighed as he imagined this cat and mouse chase through the hallways. Of course out of all the people at the school he had to go and trip the aggressive and short-tempered Woozi who had the strength of a lion, but ten times worse. Even a real lion would be scared of him. Woozi was in the year level below Dokyum and Joshua and were good friends with him. They were close enough that Woozi wasn't going to put up with Dokyum's antics, but then again Woozi didn't put up with anyone. He barely tolerated people he liked let alone people in general.

Dokyum did make it to class. However it was 37 minutes late, and the teacher was not pleased.  After being yelled at Dokyum was still smiling like a lunatic and Joshua almost groaned. The end of the day soon came near, yet the wind even bellowed and stormed on as violent as ever. Joshua sighed, reluctantly taking a step out of school and was almost knocked over by the wind. He stumbled backwards and tried to catch his breath after the wind knocked the air out of his chest.

"This brings the term ‘winded' to an entirely different meaning!" Dokyum laughed from inside the safety of the school. Joshua turned around to glare at Dokyum but was almost knocked off of his feet. Joshua groaned, and he stumbled against the wall of the classroom and was right next to Dokyum who barely peeked his head out from the door. 

"I will drag you out here and sacrifice you to the Wind God if you don't stop being annoying" Joshua sighed as his patience was drawn thin

"There's no such thing as a Wind God!" Dokyum smiled triumphantly "There's nothing you can do to me."

Seungcheol suddenly arrived and peaked his head out the door. He was surprised to see Joshua and was even more shocked to see him pinned against the wall by the wind

"Joshua! Are you coming hunting with us?" Seungcheol asked

"He is, I convinced him," Dokyum said proudly, puffing out his chest "He's gonna watch us."

"How's the wind out there?" Seungcheol asked

"I sent him out there to test out the wind. It doesn't seem too good" Dokyum told his brother

"Is that what I am to you? Some test dummy?" Joshua groaned 

Dokyum gave him two thumbs up "You're the best test dummy!" 

"Well let's not stall time," Seungcheol said fully opening the door and letting the wind knock Dokyum off of his feet. Dokyum let out a yelp as his hit the floor and he groaned and whined. Seungcheol looked down at his brother and laughed, calling him a baby and powered by the wind as if it was nothing. Dokyum and Joshua just watched in awe as their jaw dropped

"Is your brother the Wind God?" Joshua whispered

"If he wasn't before he is now" Dokyum gasped, still sitting on the floor

Seungcheol turned around with his arms crossed and yelled through the wind "Are you two coming or are you just going to stay there?"

"I was thinking of going home alone" Joshua called

"Nonsense, you're coming with us" Dokyum snorted, and he scrambled over to Seungcheol. Joshua was about to refuse, but decided against it and followed Dokyum. The duo was panting when they reached Seungcheol, the wind proving to be a big challenge to them. Seungcheol frowned and continued to walk on.

"Any good hunting spots?" Seungcheol asked

"I heard the middle of the city is good today" Dokyum panted

"Isn't that too out in the open?" Joshua asked

Seungcheol shrugged "It's not like we're going to be seen."

Joshua nodded in agreement and began to head to the middle of the city. When they were halfway there, Joshua stopped the brothers and looked around

"I think the lake would be a good spot today," Joshua said as he pointed to the lake that was not too far off.

Seungcheol and Dokyum followed his gaze and shrugged. They then made a five-minute walk towards the lake and stood in the grass and looked around. It was dead quiet despite being beaten and battered by the wind. The two brothers looked at each other in confusion as Joshua found an excellent spot to watch and sat down. 

"There's nothing here" Dokyum told Joshua as he looked around 

Suddenly the ground began to rumble violently, and the water started to splash and spray water everywhere. From the ground erupted a bizarre frog-like creature. It was as tall as a lamppost and as wide as a tennis court. It was brown and with red specks and was covered in a green slime that dripped down its body and disintegrated the grass around it, turning it black.  It had six eyes that would blink out of sync and fangs that pierced through its skin and out of its mouth. It began to screech loudly. From his waistband, Seungcheol pulled out a brown cylindrical stick. He pulled them stick apart and revealed two spear tips on each end and reattached the base together to form a double-bladed spear. Dokyum pulled out a sword from underneath his shirt and pointed it towards the discussing creature.

"Any stats?" Dokyum yelled

"B!" Joshua yelled back  

"Well, this is going to be a piece of cake!" Seungcheol laughed

He leapt up high into the air and dove towards the considerable frog, driving his spear through one of its eyes. It screeched loudly and thrashed around. Seungcheol quickly pulled out his spear and landed safely on the grass. Dokyum rushed forward, slicing one off its front legs off. The frog lurched forward, trying to grab Dokyum in its jaw, but Dokyum nimbly jumped out of reach. The frog had barbs at the bottom of each foot, so it swiped at Dokyum who got caught tangled by the barbs and was unable to escape. The green slime began to pool down its missing leg and form a new one. Seungcheol dashed forwards and speared the frog down enabling Dokyum to slice its leg off and freeing himself. He then leapt high into the air and sliced through the frog's neck, decapitating it. Dokyum and Seungcheol looked at each other triumphantly, and Dokyum cut the severed leg from his back. Dokyum yelled out when his hand came in contact with the severed limb and dropped his swords. Seungcheol turned to look around at his brother, eyes full of worry. He was about to call out to his brother, but then the frog's body began to regenerate around its head. It opened its mouth and shot a green slime onto Seungcheol's arms. The mud ate away at his clothes and burned his arms. Seungcheol dropped his spear in shock and darted away as he yelled out in pain.

"Joshua, what the heck is this thing?" Seungcheol screamed in pain

"Acid" Joshua replied simply

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Dokyum cried as he tried to get the aid of his hand and his back

"Slipped my mind" Joshua shrugged "It can also regenerate its body parts."

"We already know that!" Seungcheol growled, picking up his spear through the pain and throwing it at the frog. The spear lodged itself into the back of the frog. The frog screeched and thrashed around. A murky slime leaked out the end of the frog, and it became smaller and smaller until it was about the size of a tree. Dokyum picked up his sword and rammed his sword into the middle of the frog's face,  spurting out more murky slime. The slime spattered onto Dokyum and his hissed in pain, leaping away and falling over. The wind carried the slimy acid everywhere making Seungcheol jump left to right to dodge the acid. 

The frog leapt towards Seungcheol and caught him in his barbs. The frog's eyes blinked, and it slammed Seungcheol down onto the ground, making him cry out in pain. Seungcheol tried to struggle out of it, but the more he moved, the more the barbs dug into his back. Seungcheol his spear backwards and hoped that he'd hit it. The frog shrieked and flung Seungcheol away, crashing to the ground and lost his breath. The spear fell out of its eye after it jumped around and its four eyes began to blink furiously. 

"Its weakness is its eyes!" Dokyum yelled as he rushed to his feet and slashed two of his eyes in one swing.  The frog slammed Dokyum to the ground and Seungcheol struggled to get back onto his feet, but when he did he rushed to pick up his spear and leapt towards the frog stabbing the frog in the other eye. The frog thrashed around, and Seungcheol flew through the air like a rag doll and smashed into the floor. With the rest of this strength, he pulled out a gun from his waistband. He pointed it towards the frog, his arms shaking and his fingers trembling. He pulled the trigger and the ripped right through the frog's eyes. The frog collapsed onto the ground, and it exploded, leaving behind a dark brown stone flecked with red. The acid vanished like it never existed, and Dokyum and Seungcheol got up onto their feet, Seungcheol pocketed the stone and sighed, stumbling around trying to gain his balance.

"I think that's enough hunting for today," Dokyum said, and Joshua rushed to help his friend

"I agree" Seungcheol "Joshua, are you sure it's B-ranked?"

"Positive" Joshua nodded "It was a B-ranked Behemon." 

Behemon's, monsters that came from another dimension for only two reasons: To consume human souls and to take over Earth. Causing havoc and destruction along the way. This was a problem because not only were Behemon's trying to devour their soul and take over Earth, but they were also from a different dimension. Since they belong to a different dimension humans are unable to see them and are unaware of their existence, sometimes steering towards their doom without even noticing. The only reason why humans and the Earth haven't gone extinct is due to an unusual breed of humans. This unique kind called Spirit Slayers.' 

Spirit Slayers not only can see Behemon's and the spiritual world, but they also possess extraordinary powers and purge the world from Behemon's. Dokyum and Seungcheol were Spirit Slayer's whose life purpose was to kill and cut down the life of Behemon's. They dedicated their lives to kill Behemon's as did every other Spirit Slayer who ever walked the Earth did. They were both talented and strong Spirit Slayer's who were unrivalled by many Spirit Slayers alive.