The demon was agile and quite intelligent. Eclipse kept zig-zagging in the narrow streets, kicking trash cans at the priest whenever he could. The narrow space made it difficult for Shadow to shoot. His latest tries hit walls, garbage, and even sky when his face was smashed by a flying dustbin.

"Dang!" he cursed under his breath as he pushed the bin out of his face. 'That thing is nimble!' He jumped over a lying bag and turned the corner.

He was so heavily focused on running that he was taken aback when Eclipse jumped at him. Shadow would be pinned to the ground if he didn't slip on a gooey substance, bending backward just in time to avoid the demon's sharp claws.

Eclipse landed meters behind him, mumbling a curse under his breath since he completely missed. He wanted to turn back, but the priest, despite the stars bursting cross his vision, fired three bullets laying on his back. None of them hit the target as the demon dashed forward rather than risk getting shot.

'Maybe I can lose him above the roofs!'

Eclipse quickly latched onto the wall. He should have done this sooner, but the corridors were too narrow for him to fully spread his wings. He barely climbed two paces when a bullet swished just a hair's width from his nose.

"Gyahh!" he shrieked, so terrified that he promptly let go of the wall.

Shadow quickly shook the dizziness away and resumed his chase. "Stay still!" he barked.

"What idiot would do that?" replied the demon.

The priest's eyebrow twitched. Point taken.

Heat spread through Shadow's body. 'I have to finish this soon.'

His eyes glanced at the silver weapon. It was a unique one as it didn't shoot normal bullets but compressed spiritual energy. His current limit was about fifteen bullets without needing to catch his breath. It was handy, but straining his limit would leave him defenseless for a few minutes.

Eclipse stepped on it, tugging his wings close to not damage them since this part of the street was literally crawling with trash bags and cans. Once he found solid ground among the piles of garbage, he kicked back, sending a wave of disgusting mass toward the annoying priest. It slowed Shadow down but covered Eclipse with trash too.

'I have to get out of here!' the demon shouted in his mind as he exited the narrow street, shaking a yellow, star-shaped peel off his head. His yellow eyes glanced at an old building among less old looking ones.

'Maybe I can hide there!'

Eclipse dashed inside, and two bullets that dug into the door frame told him the priest was still hot on his tail.

The demon had no choice but to head to the top floor. The rooms there were sporadically full of furniture as most of it was stolen or destroyed. Eclipse quickly hid inside one room, turning silent and still just behind the door. He expected the priest to pass him. Then the demon would take him down with a surprise attack, but nothing happened.

'Where is he?'

The demon dryly swallowed, feeling a tingling in his tummy. The floor behind him squeaked, and he turned around.

In a big hole in the corner, he saw standing Shadow, who had just pressed the trigger. The bullet flew, missing the target by just a millimeter.

Eclipse yelled, realizing he had overlooked such a big plot-hole in his plan. He dashed out, barely noticing his previous footprints in the thick layer of dust. No wonder his plan didn't work.

"For the love of...!" Shadow didn't finish his cursing as he stumbled from the hole. "Does it have devil's luck?" He blindly shot into the corridor, and this time he finally hit his target.

The demon shouted in pain as one bullet was too close to his shoulder-blade. He felt his blood was escaping him. For the first time, he tasted the fear of being hunted. He smashed in the door in front of him, entering the last room. With his body and momentum, he knocked into a massive table pushing it forward and blocking the window in front of him.

Before he could head to another one, bullets started to fly around with a few scratching him. His small heart was wildly beating as he pressed his back against the overthrown table.

"Begone evil creature!" shouted Shadow the moment he was ready to pull the trigger, hoping it would be for the last time.

The moment the trigger was about to be pressed, the demon smashed the floor, letting his instinct to survive control his body. Debris was thrown into the air, and the bullet didn't leave the barrel.

"Uach!" the ebony hedgehog shouted as he lost his footing. The rotten wood broke, and its pieces shot through the air. The priest covered his face, and a big piece sliced his sleeve. His body slid off crumbling stones, and dust filled his nose.

The deafening noise devoured Shadow's sneezing. His body tensed up as it was ready to release another storm from his lungs, but at the same time, it was pushed back by adrenaline.

His fall lasted only for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity for him. The priest's body crashed down. A sharp pant escaped him together with the sneezing. His vision was soon blocked by falling debris, rocks, wooden beams, and bricks landing on his body, burying him alive.

The demon jumped to the next building, watching over his shoulder as the structure was brought down. He took a breath before climbing down and standing in front of the ruin once most of the dust settled down. His heart was beating loudly, pounding in his chest so greatly that it seemed it was trying to escape.

In his life, he had noticed a few priests, but either he was able to run away or avoid them completely. This guy was on another level. If it wasn't for the poor state of the structure, he wouldn't have been able to escape so easily, if at all.

'He... is dead, right?' He sniffed. 'The fall must have killed him...' He was nervous and his wounds hurt, but he still smiled.

As his mind calmed down too, he realized this priest was strong. He wasn't like any of his previous prey. What if his heart was the one he was looking for? Should he bring the corpse home for his master to feast on? Or take it for himself and his darlings?

Nobody else knew about it, and he had been craving better quality meat for weeks. Maybe he could keep the body and give only the heart to his master. If the rumor demons spoke of was true, then there might be hidden treasure in the hearts of strong people. Such a heart was more valuable than thousands of souls. He vaguely remembered it could have something to do with one's spiritual power.

'This guy seemed to possess a lot of it,' the demon pondered.

If it was true, even the priest's body should be delicious as it was full of spiritual energy. Feeding on his meat would definitely have a positive effect on his power.

Before he could approach the buried body, he heard somebody behind him. He quickly turned around, expecting another hunter. However, he found just a small blue hedgehog, shaking in his sneakers.

The demon couldn't believe his eyes; his top prey was standing there! What a pleasant surprise. This night was just getting better and better. His mouth was watering; a forked tongue licked the escaping saliva, almost tasting the delicious flavor of the young meat.

"Aaahhh!" the boy shrieked and started to run away.

The demon snickered to himself. The hunt had started, but because of the wounds, his mobility was limited for the time being. It was still enough to catch one runt.

Five minutes later, Eclipse wasn't so sure anymore. 'How can it run for so long?'

The gap between them gradually increased.

'Are we exiting the town?' The demon noticed the number of buildings was decreasing. 'Oh well, it matters not.'

Sonic's heart beat like crazy, pumping the burning blood through his whole body. He could only think about how to run away, but he was at the same time afraid to speed up. If he went any faster, he wouldn't be able to turn around corners.

'Why didn't I listen to the Father? Why?' he shouted in his head.

From the moment Shadow asked him to go ahead, he had a bad feeling, so he secretly followed him. He had lost him a few times, and the finding of a fresh corpse had left him speechless for a couple of minutes until he was awoken by a loud, crumbling noise. He ran in that direction, afraid Father Shadow might be in danger, but it was now him in need of help.

'T-This path!' He made a sharp turn. 'It leads to the abandoned factory!'

The boy knew that place quite well, he used it as a hideout and a practice course for three years now. His confidence rose up.

'I can lose him there!'

"I have had enough of this tag!" the demon barked. He didn't dare to go too high or fast for his wings scratched the walls. Thankfully, he didn't need to fly for long as he soon overcame the child.

Sonic abruptly stopped in the middle of a puddle, splashing water around. His eyes locked onto the scary figure in front of him.

Eclipse spread his wings to make himself more menacing. He bared his teeth in a wide smile, and his eyes sparkled with anticipation of a tasty meal.

"It's time for a midnight snack!" he shouted and opened his mouth, ready to sink his fangs into fresh meat.

Special thanks to LigerCat for editing this chapter <3.

  Dedicated to iloojin  for taking her time to BadAss Critique my book <3