Chapter 10: Intel
Danny sighed, his shoulders dropping. "This is gonna take some time..."
Rumi checked her phone. “I think we've some to spare.” As a show of peace, they each dismissed their weapons.
"Cool." Danny let his hands drop. "Okay. Just the basics, because if I go too deep, we’ll be here all night. Also, if we’re gonna be grilling each other, we should at least start with introductions."
Rumi exchanged a glance with Mira and Zoey. “We’re the Hunters.”
Danny raised a brow. “…Is that a title? Just Hunters?”
“We prefer to keep it simple,” Rumi said flatly. Considering that the Demons knew who they were as HUNTR/X, this was another plus that this supposed ghost guy wasn't connected to them.
“Right…” Danny nodded slowly. "Okay. That's... actually really cool. I didn't know Seoul had this kinda stuff."
"We keep it quiet. The people don't need to panic, knowing that there are demons trying to eat steal their souls," Rumi said.
"Understandable, I guess." 'Explains why I also can't really see your faces all that well.' Danny tapped the side of his mask.
“And you?” Zoey finally asked.
He hesitated for a heartbeat, then said simply, "You can call me Phantom."
Mira held in a laugh. "A ghost name Phantom?"
"Hey, it stuck, and I kinda like it." Danny assumed it was because it was so close to his actual family name.
"So… Phantom," Zoey tried out the name. "What can you tell us about ghosts?"
Danny rubbed his chin. "Well, I'll start with the fact that ghosts are usually people who died and didn’t move on to their respective afterlife.”
“Obviously,” Mira muttered. "We can get that from TV."
Rumi raised a brow. “You said usually.”
“Yeah...” Danny nodded once. “There are other things out there." His mind went to representations of nature and concepts, but that was a whole bag of worms. "But when people say ‘ghost,’ they typically mean that.”
HUNTR/X nodded and asked him to keep going.
Danny relaxed. "Okay, so. When a person dies and doesn't move on, there's usually a reason. Unfinished business, regrets, something along those lines. However, their obsession isn't always related to it."
Zoey tilted her head toward him. "What does that mean?"
"Ghosts typically have a fixation that they have formed around and have their powers be related to it. It can also affect their behavior and how they think."
Mira frowned. "Well, the only purpose of Demons is to serve their King. I suppose you could call that an obsession."
Danny hummed. "I figured it might be something like that if they are all created by this Demon King. Thankfully, Ghosts don't have to worry about anything like that." Yes, the Ghost Zone has a King, but it was more a title or respect than any political power after the empire split across the Zone. "Goals tend to act according to their obsession, but that doesn't mean they don't have free will or anything. The problem is that 'obsessions' can spiral out of control if they let it."
"Spiral how?" asked Zoey.
Rumi's expression hardened. "Can they be dangerous?"
"They can be." Danny didn't deny it. "But most of them aren't evil."
Mira crossed her arms, her glaive resting against her shoulder. "That's a pretty generous read."
Danny started counting examples on his fingers. "Someone who died as an aspiring rockstar may have been obsessed with making people remember her name."
Mira hummed in thought. "That doesn't sound so bad. Was her music any good?"
"Oh, no. She's great. But she was so insecure about her music that she thought that she needed to try and hypnotize people to get popular.
"Oh…" While they were building up their brand, HUNTR/X both experienced it themselves and seen others who fell into the trap of insecurities regarding music. Ironically, it's the insecurities about themselves that they overlooked. "Is she still…?"
"Nah, I stopped her, but we eventually had a talk. Major improvement from when I first met her."
"So, what's she doing now?"
"I think she's on her third tour, this time in Europe, with her band right now."
"Huh…" The girls weren't sure how to feel about a ghost band going on tour, but if they weren't causing trouble or disturbning the Honmoon, things should be fine. Right?
Danny snapped his fingers. "There was a girl from the middle ages whose mother wouldn't let her go to the costume ball and tried to attend a human prom."
"Seems innocent enough." remarked Rumi.
"But when she gets emotional, she turns into a dragon thanks to her magic amulet."
"That's… Huh." Zoey tried to imagine how that would go. "I assume you stopped her from eating anybody."
"Well yes, but actually no. The ghost herself didn't do anything at prom. Her amulet accidentally got into the hands of one of the popular girls, which caused a whole scene when she turned into a dragon and ruined the prom for everyone."
"Wow…" Mira chuckled. "Would pay good money to see that happen."
"You weren't the only one." Danny chuckled. "For what it was worth, the ghost girl did get a dance in the end."
"That's nice."
"Yeah… but then there was time she was forced to find a bride for her brother which became this whole thing. Which led to me helping her overthrow her prince of a brother and save the kingdom."
"And you lost me," deadpanned Rumi.
"Yeah, the ghosts have homes in the Zone which can vary in size, in this case, an entire Kingdom."
"Do you know any that you would consider evil or a general ass?" asked Mira.
"Well, there is a prison warden, who I assume died during a riot on Earth, who now tries to keep order in the Ghost Zone."
Zoey nodded. "I think I know where this is going."
"He's your judge, executioner, jury, executioner, jailer, and, if necessary, your executioner." replied Danny, running his finger across his neck three times.
Rumi raised a brow. "Uh, you said “executioner” three times."
"Yeah, he really likes that part of the job."
Mira huffed. Such a strict adherence to rules was already bringing back memories. "How'd you come across him?"
"I broke one of his rules while crossing into his territory and got imprisoned with a bunch of other ghosts. Had to team up with less than savory characters to stage a jail break and kick his butt."
"Nice," grinned Mira, appreciating the rebellion against authority. "Get on his most wanted?"
"You have no idea…" While Walker had calmed a bit since his teen years, he still a stickler for the rules of his realm.
Assuming everything was at least half-true, HUNTR/X could agree at this point that this ghost had lived a colorful… afterlife?
Seeing their body language, he chuckled. "Yup. I've fought a lot of ghosts. Some of them are genuinely terrible. Some of them are just sad. Most of them are somewhere in between. Granted, one still tries to hunt me for my pelt. And not the only one who tried."
Mira laughed. "A Ghostly Ghost Hunter?"
Danny nodded. "Yup. That's one way to put it. I think he died during one of his hunts, so now he tries to be the world's greatest hunter. Considering I'm just learning about them now, I doubt he's fought a demon before."
Rumi made a contemplative expression. "Other ghosts have hunted you?"
"Yeah, they really don't like it when I stop them from terrorizing people."
"Pretty heroic of you if you ask me," remarked Zoey.
"I try." Danny gestures to the air. "I don't cause trouble back home and try to live a relatively normal existence, but the next thing I know, something like ghost plants are trying to take over."
"I'd have thought news of all these ghosts would have shown up on the news."
Danny shrugged. "Eh, most people dismiss it as tourism propaganda."
Rumi hand drifted to her arms. "If you don't mind me asking, what's your obsession?"
Danny's expression went solemn. "That's… a very personal question. I can theorize all I want about other's obsessions, but to ask a ghost directly about theirs is actually rude."
"Oh, I'm sorry…" Rumi quickly apologized.
"Please don't hold it against her." Zoey patted her friend on the shoulder. "She didn't know…"
"It's fine. Ghosts can get touchy about their own obsession. Maybe some other time" Danny then gestured to the trio. "Since I shared a little bit about my side of the world. I suppose it's your turn now."
Rumi thought about what to say. "Well, I guess contrary to Ghosts, most Demons aren't dead humans. It's only the Saja type Demons that made deals with Gwi-Ma in life with the price of serving him in their afterlife. That's what all demons have in common. They serve the king of the Demon World."
Danny hummed in thought. It was possible that this Demon World was one of the Infinite Realms of the Ghost Zone, but he would probably have to ask Clockwork about that to confirm. "Is it safe to assume that it's not the devil I imagine from Halloween?"
"In some parts, they are alike," answered Zoey.
Rumi decided to recite the same story Celine had told them. "For centuries in this land, Demons have always haunted our world, stealing our souls and channeling strength back to their king, Gwi-Ma."
"For what?" asked Danny.
Rumi's jaw set. "If Gwi-Ma consumes enough souls, he'll become powerful enough to manifest in the human world."
Zoey frowned. "If that happens, he would begin to enslave every human in sight, consuming even more souls to grow even more powerful till nothing could stand in his way."
Danny thought back to all the interactions he's had with other ghosts. It was the emotion expressed by a soul that gave Ectoplasm its potential. He had met many ghosts that could siphon off power from others. What was wrong with this Gwi-Ma that he needed to consume the very soul?
Also, from the sound of it, there was something specific holding back Gwi-Ma compared to his demon servants. 'I can see why they have a kill-on-sight rule for demons.' Ghosts were more nuanced depending on their type, but Danny had mostly just killed animalistic ones that were trying to kill someone and couldn't be reasoned with.
Rumi's resolve brightened. "That's when heroes arose to defend us. They could drive back the darkness using the power of our connected souls."
Danny blinked in surprise. "Huh. I was expecting something like those vampire-slaying movies. Then again, thos weapons of yours sting."
Mira grinned. "Don't get us wrong, we are also badass warriors."
Danny held up his hands. "Not denying that."
"Thank you. With this connection of souls, the first Hunters created a shield against the Demon World to protect our world, the Honmoon."
Zoey demonstrated by drawing her finger on the ground, causing string-like apparitions to appear.
Danny followed those strings and seemed to gaze around him. Ever since landing in Korea, he knew something felt different, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He supposed this was why.
By manipulating the strings of the Honmoon, each of them held their newly formed weapons. "It is from this Honmoon that we can create our weapons to fight the demons."
"Still, the Honmoon isn't perfect," shrugged Mira.
"Yet," reminded Rumi.
Zoey nodded. "Some still come through. Every generation, a new trio of Hunters is chosen to continue this duty, and that's us."
"Damn. I can't imagine what it's like having that sort of legacy. Must have had years of training."
"Yup! We spent hours doing drills and learning how to free fall from a plane without a parachute.
Danny blinked at the statement. "Uh... What?"
"It's nothing." Mira waved it off. "By the way, do you always fight to K-pop?"
Danny's cheeks flushed faintly, visible even beneath the mask. "Oh. You heard me humming. Yeah, uh, my friend got me into it." He paused. "You guys heard the whole thing?"
"Most of it," Zoey admitted.
"Great," Danny muttered. "That's not embarrassing at all."
Mira grinned. "You've got good taste. HUNTR/X is solid."
Danny perked up. "Right? I've been listening for years. My friend sent me their stuff when they were still underground."
Zoey's pulse jumped. "Which is your favorite album?"
Danny didn't hesitate. "Resonance. The production on that one was insane, especially the bridge in 'Echoes.' That beat drop? Perfect."
Zoey grinned. HUNTR/X worked so hard on that one. The wait was worth it. She'd written half those lyrics in hotel rooms at 3 AM, fighting exhaustion and label pressure. For some reason, hearing praise from this ghost felt different than the mass public.
"Anyways..." Rumi stepped in before Zoey could spiral herself. She pointed to the Thermos. "You also have some demons captured in a soup can. How did you do that by the way?"
"Sorry. I didn't mean to step on anyone's toes. Just followed my instincts when I saw them. Also, it's not a soup can," Danny said quickly. "It's a Thermos. It's designed to catch ghosts, but apparently it works on demons."
"Who made it?"
"Sorry. Trade secret." Maybe if they earned his trust, he could gift them something down the line.
Mira crossed her arms. "Fine. So, what exactly are you planning to do with them?"
"Well, normally I'd send ghosts back to the Zone, but according to you guys, that's not where these guys came from." Danny glanced at the Thermos again. "I can assume what you want me to do with these guys."
"Trust us. Demons have taken the souls of many innocent people over the years." Rumi interrupted.
"Is that really the only way?"
"Gwi-Ma has control over them to do his bidding." Rumi tightened her fists. "Demons don't deserve to live if all they bring to the world is death and suffering…" Still, there was a hollow feeling in her chest, hoping that it wasn't an absolute. Should her marks go away, so will that fate.
Danny stared at the Thermos and contemplated his options before sighing. "These are demons on your turf for however many years. I'd be saying otherwise if it was a ghost." Danny extended the thermos. "Here. Just, uh, be careful when I open it. They're pretty packed in there."
Rumi stood a few feet away, posture already coiled. Mira held her glaive at her side, weight planted, and Zoey rolled her shoulders once, knives low and ready.
Danny twisted the cap and pressed the button. The thermos fired out a concentrated beam of green-tinged light that expanded violently. Five demons tumbled out in a heap, disoriented and snarling. They scrambled to their feet, realized where they were, and lunged.
Zoey moved first. She drove her blade through the nearest demon's chest before it finished standing. The creature dissolved into violet mist. Mira swept low, catching another at the knees and pinning it to the pavement. Her glaive came down hard. Another burst of light.
Rumi drew her sword in one fluid motion. The remaining three demons scattered. One rushed Zoey. She sidestepped, spun, and caught it across the throat. It collapsed mid-stride and evaporated.
Mira caught the fourth demon with a spinning strike that severed its torso. The final demon tried to flee. Rumi closed the distance in two steps and ended it cleanly.
It was no different from when they first appeared and killed the leftover demons from the fight. Danny stared at the violet particles drifted down, dissipating before they hit the ground. 'I am so glad that anti-ghost weapons aren't a one-hit kill.'