Zeke was lifted up by Gill with a firm grip on his hair.

  The Demonologist was still skinny. He wore his Healer’s Garb over a closed yellow lab coat and his black flame mask that covered half his face.

  “Let’s not do this here,” Gill said. “You know… out of respect for this dear space.”

  A surge of Black Magic came from Gill, and then Zeke was launched to the only door in the treasure room with a single throw.

  Zeke’s body hit the gold-plated floor and tumbled for a bit right before Gill dashed over to his side and sent him flying out the door with a Black Magic-charged kick to his gut.

  The hit had Zeke blast past the stone door, bounce off the flagstone floor, and slam back into the yellow masonry. Zeke heard alarms blaring from all over as he slid to the ground, sounding like a nuclear power plant meltdown.

  Damn, the whole hospital is alert now, Zeke thought as he clenched his teeth. What does that mean for the others? I can’t believe I was the one to mess up—!

  A knee to the eye interrupted the self-deprecating thoughts, causing the back of Zeke’s head to pound into the masonry. He screamed, feeling his brain rattle, and then attempted to do a hand sign.

  While Zeke was fumbling with his fingers, Gill grabbed a wrist, concentrated way more than enough Black Magic, and twisted it.

  After letting out a pathetic yip, Zeke took a swinging kick to the face and rolled down the corridor. The world around him became a whirling, blurry mess. When he ran out of kinetic energy, he planted his hands against the flagstone flooring and made the mistake of pushing himself up with a broken wrist—it did not go well.

  He dropped, screaming, staring at the approaching Gill through the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut. Fighting without the Healer’s Garb automatic healing was a whole different experience.

  Zeke rolled over to his back, removed his leather gloves, carefully pulled up his sleeves using his teeth, and looked down at his twisted, purpling left wrist. It hurt just looking at it. With a strenuous effort, he made the desired shape with his hands and pressed them together. The name of his Healer’s Garb didn’t make it past his lips as a throaty growl of an engine disrupted Zeke’s thoughts.

  He moved his eyes up as the engine’s voice grew louder, and saw Gill leap out of the way of a speeding chopper motorbike. Zeke’s eyes popped out, and he rolled out of the self-driving bike’s way.

  The two-wheeler turned on its own, fell on its side, slid away, and then disintegrated into goop.

  “I know you Tainted have a special bond and all that,” Yuri said as he walked out of the treasure room with a leaking vial hanging from a finger. “But ignoring me completely is just plain rude.”

  Gill planted his focus onto Yuri, buying time for Zeke to summon his Healer’s Garb.

  “Vesklepios,” Zeke said under his breath, and he let the Garb heal him as he pushed his back onto the wall. I’m sorry, everybody, Zeke thought. I screwed you over. Use your powers to defend yourselves.

  “You’re not a demon…” Gill said to Yuri, who produced another vial from his jacket pocket. “Nor are you human… who are you?”

  “I’m applying for an internship position at Providence Infirmary!” Yuri said as he popped the cork from the container and dumped the thick gray liquid before him.

  “Wait… that magic…” Gill said.

  The liquid quickly expanded and shaped into a roller stand with a monitor. Yuri pulled his sunglasses from his pocket, clicked the monitor on, and raised his hand behind it. “My specialty is…” The display showed an image of his skeletal hand. He put his glasses on and then pushed his hand into the back of the screen—a beam, bearing an intense blend of orange, red, and blue, blasted out of the screen as Yuri announced, “Radiology!”

  Gill dodged the attack easily, while Zeke pushed back against the wall and stared at the multicolored energy blast speeding past him. The blast punched a hole into the staircase they had come from, and the energy it emitted was indescribable.

  Once it subsided, Zeke averted his attention back to Yuri, who was doubled over.

  “What strange magic…” Gill said. “You’re strong. Would you like to be a part of my family?”

  “What?” Yuri raised his chin and frowned. “What kind of weird question is that? Hold on, does that mean I’ll be someone’s uncle? I’ve always dreamed of being someone’s fun uncle…” he shook his head. “No! It’s still weird! The answer is ‘no’!”

  “Shame…” Gill said and then spread out his hands. “But allow me to introduce you to some very important members of my family anyway.”

  Gill didn’t make a hand sign or give any vocal commands, but the monsters appeared on cue seamlessly. There were five of them, extending from his Healer’s Garb. They were hairy with bulbous heads, a single yellow eye, and great maws. The long, thick, limbless beings undulated around Gill’s lanky body with serpent-like movements, laughing in unison with their varying voices.

  “Meet the Taste Buds,” Gill said.

  Zeke already started to visualize Yuri’s funeral as one of the monsters sprung toward him.

  “I’m Sweetie!” the first monster said. It let out a laugh that was the loudest of them all and opened its giant mouth.

  The Blind Weirdo evaded being chomped with a well-timed duck, but the monitor was destroyed. Then, another one thrust at Yuri’s legs.

  “I’m Sal!” the second one said. It had the deepest and most demonic voice.

  Okay, now he’s dead, Zeke thought, but no, Yuri was quick. He leaped into the air as Sal tried to chomp his legs off, and then the madman ran across the monster’s long body, reaching Gill.

  Monster #3 went in for a chomp at Yuri’s head; he jumped out of the way and landed on the floor with his shoulder.

  “I’m Sour, ya bastard,” the third one said, looking down at Yuri. It had the brightest yellow eye, shining like a tiny sun. It nosedived at him, and Yuri front-rolled out of the way, coming face-to-face with the fourth monster, who bashed into him with its round head.

  Yuri went flying and landed on his face.

  Zeke gritted his teeth as he watched the painful landing. Come on… get up.

  The Blind Weirdo stood up and removed his broken shades, keeping his eyelids closed. “Those were expensive...”

  “Name’s Uma,” The fourth one said. It was the smallest of them all.

  The last one came charging at Yuri. “And I’m Bittie!” It grew in size as it opened its maw, covering almost the entirety of the corridor.

  Yuri pressed himself against the wall, allowing himself to get crushed by the monster’s body as it rushed past him. Once it shrank, Yuri, with a mostly smashed body, started running towards Gill again.

  The Buds weren’t willing to let him land a single blow on Gill.

  They went after Yuri from all directions, going for his hands as Gill stood with his hands behind his back.

  Yuri was a spectacle. He hid his hands in his armpits, flipping, sidestepping, and rolling out of harm’s way.

  Somehow, Yuri found an opening in the tangle of hairy monsters and sprinted through it; with the Buds behind him, Gill was open.

  Go, Yuri! Zeke thought.

  “Impressive,” Gill said and crouched, making a quick hand sign, and a shoal of demonic piranhas erupted.

  The valiant combatant hit the ground, screaming as he got devoured.

  “Yuri!” Zeke shouted.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  The Taste Buds were reabsorbed into their master’s Healer’s Garb.

  Gill turned back to Zeke and walked up to him. “Your friend… unlike that girl with glasses, he was actually a threat… where did you find him?”

  “Don’t you do the cool-walk-away thing to me!” Yuri’s powerful shout called back their attention.

  Zeke’s mouth fell open as he witnessed Yuri getting up with piranhas still biting away what was left of his flesh. His clothes were in shreds, revealing meat and bones underneath. Half of his bloody skull was exposed. He took a step forward in his bloody, skeletal form. “I’m not dead yet.”

  Genuine shock and confusion settled on Gill’s face, and Zeke took it as a cue to try something. He got up; his wrist was on its way to full recovery, so he was ready to put his pain tolerance through another test. He had his veins swathe his fist, doubling in size.

  Yuri broke into a run as Zeke pulled back his enhanced fist.

  But things rarely went as planned, as Zeke was reminded.

  Sour emerged from the back of Gill’s Garb and lunged at Zeke. “Nice try, asshole!”

  The monster bit into Zeke’s throat, and as he fell, he saw Yuri taking a brutal upkick to the chin.

  Zeke slammed an enlarged fist on the top of Sour’s head, and it let go, but not of the smile on its round face.

  “Eat this!” Sour said and spat a pitch-black fireball at Zeke, smarting him right over his left brow.

  Zeke cursed in Spanish and struck the monster with a heavy punch from his enhanced fist. It hit the floor and then retreated, whimpering, reabsorbing itself into Gill’s Garb.

  The pain from the side of his forehead panged like acid as soon as Zeke straightened himself, forcing him to stumble and fall.

  With a hand over his burn wound, he helplessly watched Gill move up to Yuri.

  Just a few bits of flesh were on Yuri’s jaw as it hung off the corner mouth.

  Zeke scoffed as he pressed his palm harder onto the burn wound, radiating with intense Black Magic. It was taking long for it to heal.

  Vesklepios, come on, come on, I have to help Yuri.

  “Your durability is pathetic,” Gill stopped moving and said to Yuri, “still, you’re a formidable specimen. What are you?”

  Yuri halted, grabbed his jaw, and popped it back into place. “Well, I once sent a DNA sample to figure out my ancestry composition, and according to it, I am 72% West African, 20% Northwestern European, and 8% Eastern Asian, and, get this, 2% of that is Chinese.” Yuri put his hands on his hips, laughing. “Isn’t that crazy?”

  Sweetie came out of Gill’s Garb in a lunge, bit onto Yuri’s torso, and tore off a good chunk of what was left as it pulled back.

  The munching and crunching of Yuri’s ribs, organs, and meat in Sweetie’s mouth boomed across the corridor.

  Yuri looked down at the giant cavity of what used to be his torso and let out a weak laugh before dropping to his knees.

  Aida was against the wall as she sat on the floor with her knees pulled up and her cheek resting against them, her mouth forming a pensive frown.

  She stared at the black iron door, scrambling through bad ideas in her head in search of a good one that didn’t involve using her kitsune speed or Healer’s Garb.

  Shortly after her downward trip to the room, Aida had taken a peek at what was past the only door in the room. It was a corridor split three ways, but her interest was one to her north, in front of her—with double steel doors at the end.

  The Black Magic was inconclusive, as it was everywhere, but the stench of unholy discharge solidified her theory that Kimberly was behind those doors.

  As Aida went deeper into her thoughts, looking for a thorough plan, the image of the Amdukias appeared.

  She had never seen the creature with the unicorn head up close. Books depicted it with a humanoid body and claws in place of its hands and feet. AJ was the only other soul Aida had shared about wanting to find the creature.

  A part of Aida wondered just how much AJ was actually paying attention to her as she gushed about the Amdukias. Maybe it would be for the best if she didn’t pay attention at all. The search for the creature should be something she should do on her own.

  A sensation struck that pulled her to her feet. It was sudden but impactful, like a wave of radiation swept her body—her soul. Even after it dissipated, she clung to the memory of the feeling like an old wound. Without a doubt, it was Vesklepios. “Zeke, what are you—?”

  Another impact on her soul silenced her. The undeniable burst of another Healer’s Garb’s being summoned nearby, but the energy was much darker and heavier.

  Aida jerked and hissed at the emergency alarms going off, hurting her heightened hearing.

  Zeke is in trouble, she thought as she approached the door and then halted. Running away from where Kimberly could be seemed like a bad choice. Aida took a moment to think about it and then made her decision.

  She raised her hand, holding her index and middle finger up. “Sukunabikona,” Aida called, and right after her Healer’s Garb materialized around her, she extended her hand to the side and summoned Tsukikaze.

  Getting into her regular stance, one foot forward, legs slightly bent, Aida focused on the iron door and took off.

  She blasted past the iron door and rushed down the corridor as an orange streak, her frame just a blur lost in the burnt color.

  The gray steel double doors were forced open with a speeding shoulder bash. Aida reached a pre-surgery room, and a legion of demons in yellow lab coats and covering their faces with purifiers were standing around and looking at her, all stunlocked.

  Aida scanned the room, and as soon as she felt the slightest killing intent, she gripped her katana’s handle and did her speed trick again—as she stayed in place, afterimages of her spread across the room and slashed every demon in one fell swoop.

  Black blood sprayed in every direction, splatting on the yellow masonry walls. When the afterimages vanished, and Aida stood up, the demons dropped all at once—making for a massive thud.

  They weren’t lethal cuts but hurt just enough for them to use an excuse to not get back up and try anything.

  Aida sniffed and looked to her left, spotting another steel door. She ran towards it, dodging the puddles of blood and jumping over lab equipment in her way.

  She made her dynamic entry into the delivery room with a kick, where a couple of demons in lab coats and purifiers were, each with them armed with medical equipment.

  Several afterimages dashed from Aida and took care of the demons without difficulty.

  Aida dropped her sheathed sword and took on a more relaxed stance as she noted that she couldn’t see the walls or floor in the room. Everything was coated with paint so dark it seemed like she stepped into a black hole. She turned back and looked at the door she busted through, providing light from the pre-operating area. The room on the other side seemed to belong to an entirely different Realm, and the door frame didn’t seem to be attached to a wall.

  The other light source in the room came from the surgical light hovering over the hospital bed.

  Kimberly was lying on it.

  With her depth perception hindered by the room’s extreme blackness, the pregnant young lady on the bed and all the equipment looked tiny in the distance. They grew in size as Aida moved up to her.

  Aida removed her mask as she reached the barely conscious Kimberly and examined her. She was in a yellow hospital gown with her legs propped up and kept apart by stirrups. Her face was turned to the side, haggard, drenched in sweat, with pieces of her hair stuck on her discolored brown skin.

  Her swollen stomach was exposed with transducers wrapped over it, one in the middle and the other over her uterine area. They were connected to a heart monitor to her side that beeped calmly, playing audio of the Seed’s heartbeat and another machine under it spitting up sheets with contraction patterns. The graphs it showed were hectic.

  Multiple thin tubes were attached to her arms and connected to bags of reddish-blue liquid on top of poles. Aida snarled at them—the inducements.

  The inducements Gill and his awful brigade used were chemical compounds commonly used for labor induction. Thanks to her heightened sense of smell, her nose went beyond the substance’s nauseatingly sweet and metallic fragrance. She was able to pinpoint its composition: the main component was ichor from Ilithyia, the Greek goddess of childbirth mixed with oxytocin, and a unique blend of sulfur plus a diabolical cocktail of soul essences (curated for the sake of the Rebirth Seed).

  Aida allowed her kitsune teeth to sharpen, tore the tubs from Kimberly’s left arm with a single bite, and then did the same for her right arm.

  Kimberly made a groan, getting Aida’s attention. She blinked one eye at a time. “You’re not with Gill, are you?” she said in a feeble voice.

  “No, I’m not,” she said.

  Kimberly forced a weak smile. “So, you’re here to kill me,” she said with a tear falling sideways from her eye.

  “No, that’s not what’s going to happen here,” Aida said. “We’re going to help you, okay? Just rest. That’s what you need to do right now.” She gently pulled her eyelids down and removed the transducers from her stomach; her movements were becoming shaky from the Seed’s demonic energy.

  Aida detached the stirrups from Kimberly’s legs and lifted her up in her arms, loudly groaning.

  She exited the black room and entered the pre-operating room filled with even more groaning demons spread across the floor. Aida placed the sleepy Kimberly down against a cabinet.

  Reinforcement had to be called in. Aida pushed her fingers into her mouth, took out the wet strands of black hair stored under her tongue, and stood up, extending the strands in her hand. She flared her Mana and focused on her fellow Infirmary member.

  AJ appeared in a white flash with Aida’s hand on the side of her hair. She pulled away, looking around with confusion and anger on her face. “I was talking to Sylvie. She was telling me about—”

  “I need you to get Kimberly back to the Infirmary,” Aida said, pointing back at her, and then ran to one of the collapsed demons in the room. She passed her finger over the demon’s slash wound and rushed back to the delivery room’s door.

  “What about you?” AJ asked as Aida drew the Infirmary’s sigil with the black blood.

  “Zeke’s in trouble,” Aida said and opened the door to the Infirmary. “I think he’s fighting Gill. I have to help.”

  “Maybe, I can, too—”

  “You need to take Kimberly to a patient room and watch over her,” Aida said as she went to Kimberly and helped her up. “AJ, please!”

  “Okay,” AJ relented and moved up to Aida, taking Kimberly and letting her lean onto her side.

  Aida watched AJ take Kimberly into the infirmary's waiting room, closed the door, and slapped her hand onto the drawn sigil. She smeared it until it was a gooey mess.

  As it was no longer needed, Aida got rid of the demon disguise, switching back to normal.

  Then, she turned and dropped, standing on her hands and feet as she transformed into her hybrid form. Her large tail grew out from behind, her fox ears popped out the top of her head, and she ran to the door on all fours as her eyes and hair changed color.

  After exiting the pre-operating room, Aida forced herself to a halt. She stood up, gaping forward, and her tail hung down.

  Akachi stood on the other side of the yellow corridor.

  Anderson’s Medical Fun Facts: The longest recorded pregnancy is 375 days.