9.

  “If you wish to kill demons, you must know demons, know them inside and out,” Professor Jyphid said as he led the students in groups of four to their tables. Cole, Benny, and Gregor were put at a table with Angelica, unfortunately. And Tav was put with Juliet, Penny, and Trevor at the table across from him. Cole looked over to Tav, he was still getting used to the fact that whenever he looked at her, he could see the two horns running down the sides of her head. He did his best to act natural in front of her, and in all honesty, he didn’t have to act that much. Sure, she had horns, but she was still Tav, she was still this cool girl with pretty eyes, she was still the only girl in this school who wasn’t intimidated by him or after him for something.

  On each of the six tables were sheets covering massive bodies. “As this is your first class you will be studying the simplest form of demon,” Jyphid walked through the center of the room he reached out and pulled the tarps back revealing something resembling a common house fly save for the fact it was the size of a Great Dane. “This is a Beazulbug, they’re commonly found in the Midwest, they avoid cities but can be threatening if their nest is found,” he said, “That said, these samples have been grown by Hunter Farms who breed lesser demons for purposes of training and research. These have been provided by the University’s vendors for dissection and examination,” he said. “On every table is a selection of Damascus-imbued scalpels and other such tools of pathology, the assignment today is to find the Demon’s heart. Demon hearts can be used as regents in rituals for both good and evil, the student who extracts the heart will be allowed to freeze dry it and keep it for themselves, should the need for a ritual come about in one of your other classes. The rest of you can take any organs you wish, they’ll be just as useful if not quite as effective,” he said, “If you’ve any questions I’m open to answering them, that said, explore, get to know our enemy. Some of you may know your way around a demon corpse and some of you may just have to take the back seat today as the more experienced students take the lead,” he said.

  Angelica, Benny, Gregor, and Cole looked upon the great demon that lay before them.

  “This is messed up,” Benny said, “So, we’re just supposed to hack at this thing, try to find something useful in it? The Hunters I met told me the used ingredients they got from demons while they were helping my mom, is this how they got them?” he asked.

  “If what you said about the demon that had her is true, I don’t think something from this level of demon could have helped,” Cole said as he reached for one of the demon’s six limbs, lifting it up and letting it drop, “These look scary but they’re actually really weak, my brothers used to take me out hunting these for fun, we lived out in the country, they’re more a pest then they are a threat to the mortal world,” Cole said.

  “The assignment is simple enough,” Gregor said, “I’m sure that I can ensure we get every usable part of this demon bagged and tagged before class is done. We should relish this opportunity, its parts may be useful in other classes later,” he said as he looked over the demon with his expert analytical mind, “I see that it’s a male, that means it will have a larger heart, more potent in spells, but some of its other organs will be smaller than the female of its breed, still useful, but not as effective,” Gregor said as he lifted up the demon and inspected every inch of it. He looked up to his group, “So, who wants to take the pleasure?” Gregor smiled as he held up a scalpel to the other three.

  “You don’t want to go first?” Benny asked.

  “I’ve studied demonology and etymology from a to z, there’s nothing inside this creature I don’t already know,” Gregor said, then turned to Angelica, “You, angelic maiden, how would you like the honors? Your kind does a good enough job killing these things, haven’t you ever wondered how they tick,” he smiled as he extended his hand to the angel.

  “Well, I must get the most out of my studies,” Angelica huffed and took the scalpel, “My kind has killed this kind since the world was made,” she turned the scalpel over in her hand and held it like a pencil, not knowing quite how to hold a scalpel. “It should be me,” she nodded, cringing as she looked over the disgusting corpse before them, she closed her eyes, and said what could be called her mantra, “I am an angel,” this time those words felt a bit different. Like she was saying it to herself instead of declaring proudly to anyone who would listen to her, “I’m meant to know how to fight demons, if this can help me do that, then this is my duty,” her lips pursed and she cringed as she brought the blade down to the demon, having no idea where to start her cut.

  “This is disgusting, I shouldn’t be doing this,” Angelica said as her hand trembled, she brought the scalpel to the demon’s chest and cringed as she cut into it. “Gross, gross, gross,” Angelica picked a random and clumsy place on it and started to dig into the husk of the demon. This sick sound of broken husk and demonic bile made her cringe again as she gave it a few cuts. She made it three cuts in before she dropped the scalpel and stepped back, grossed out by the actual dirty world a Demon hunter may find themselves having to do, “I can’t, I’m sorry, I can’t,” she raised her hands and backed away.

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  “Let a professional handle this,” Gregor said as he took the scalpel, “It is a simple matter of making an insertion at the joint of the head and the thorax. Gregory jammed the scalpel just under the demon’s head, digging it in and moving his hand up and down as he cut the carapace connecting the neck to the body. “Make the insertion and let the blade do the work,” he slowly worked his hand with a surgeon’s skill, “Then you pull back the chest plate,” Gregor tugged the body of the demon open, and Angelica cringed as it made this sick kind of gurgling sound.

  “I shouldn’t be expected to do this, Angels decimate demons they don’t dissect them,” she said, “This is not the work my kind was meant to do,” she put her hands to her face, not wanting to look into the disgusting cavity Gregor opened. She brought her fingers apart and took a peek, and even that was too much for her. She got white in the face, and her legs got a bit wobbly, “This is disgusting,” she said.

  “Gloves,” Gregor held his hand out, and Cole handed him a pair of rubber gloves. He slid them on his hands, and with the calm proficiency of a surgeon reached inside, “Lady and gentlemen, I believe I’ve found the heart,” he wrung his hands a bit, and had to tug to get it loose from the cavity. He ripped it out and there was a little bit of bile spray from the connect veins to it. Some of that bile hit Angelica and she yelped out, jumping back.

  “I don’t want anything to do with this,” she turned to the professor, who was laughing seeing the angel react to the most basic demon examination with such revile.

  “Don’t laugh, I am ready to take an F for the day, though it is under protest. I am an angel, and I will not sully myself by being subjected to such a disgusting practice has hacking demons apart trying to find something that can aid me, I need no aid, I have the blessing of the Divine. Human hunters may find need for the demons and their corrupted organs. You, people like you, people not blessed by the Divines may need to resort to these frankly barbaric means, but as an Angel, I have everything I need to dispatch them already. This class is no place for an Angel,” she said.

  “Hold on,” Gregor said, wrist deep into the demon’s chest, deep enough for it not to matter that he was wearing gloves. “I think,” he twisted his wrist, “Yes, yes, there it is,” he gave a tug, and another spray of blood came out of the chest as he extracted the organ he was searching for. He held up a green, bile-covered blob, “And there we have the heart,” he smiled, “Quite large, just as I suspected,” he looked over his handiwork.

  “That is absolutely disgusting,” Angelica said, “Go ahead, use it in one of your silly rituals, I’m proud of the fact I won’t need the aid of anything so archaic, the Divines are beyond any rituals you men could do,” she said, scald on her voice.

  “We can use this?” Benny asked, “What can we use this for?”

  “Several things,” Gregor said, “It can be used to bless weapons, ground into a powder to forge weapons with, it can even be carved and cooked into jerky that can grant strength before a great battle,” Gregor said.

  “You can’t actually consider eating that can you?” Angelica asked, looking with vile at the sick organ Gregor was holding up.

  “I’ve had it before,” Gregor said, “It’s actually not that bad,” he said then turned to Cole, “Some of this in my system got me to Olympic tryouts,” he grinned.

  Cole looked to Angelica, “I’ve had it too, my brothers wanted to do some training with me, so they gave me some Demon Heart jerky beforehand, best performance I’ve ever had, and they still kicked me the curb,” Cole sighed, “But I was able to get a few hits in, it must have something to it,” he said.

  “Let’s make some jerky out of it,” Gregor said, “Just a few classes before we’re going to start doing hunts, we could use a boost on our first outing,” he nodded, “Of course, I’ll share,” he smiled.

  “Demon Jerky, this was something I didn’t think I would get,” Benny said, “But if it kills demons, I’m all for it,” he smiled, “Thanks Greg,” he gave Gregor a pat on the back.

  “No thanks needed,” Gregor said, “We’re all in the same class, we should all perform together,” he said.

  Cole looked over to Tav and saw her already elbow-deep into the Bezulbug on her table. Tav had taken point on the Demon dissection. She moved the scalpel with an expert hand, pulled the chest cavity open, rolled up her sleeves, and without even a glove on she reached into the carapace and started to root around.

  “I got it, I got the heart!” Tav said, excited as she ripped it out, leaving a trail of blood spilling on her classmates. “This means I get to keep it, I get to use it,” she said, marveling at it.

  “What are you even going to do with that?” one of the boys at her table asked.

  “Are you really going to eat that?” Penny asked.

  “It’s no concern of yours what I’m going to do with it,” Tav said, then turned to the Jyphid, “Excuse me, professor, do you have a bag I can put this in, I don’t need this yet but I want to make sure it's fresh when I do,” she said.

  Jyphid nodded, “Yes, I can arrange this to be air sealed for you,” he came to Tav and looked over her bounty, “Are you planning to use it for your first hunt, for finals perhaps?” he asked.

  “Sure, finals, let’s call it that,” Tav said as she handed the goopy heart to the professor, “It’s going to keep right?”

  “Won’t go rotten for at least eight months, this heart should be able to fully perform for whatever you need it for by the time finals come,” Jyphid smiled.

  “Perfect,” Tav smiled, she looked up, and without trying to her eyes met Cole’s. Cole smiled at her, and she couldn’t help but blush. Tav thought about what she would use this demon heart she had acquired for, about what it would mean to Cole when she used it and smiled back.