Race with the Road Demon
Two sleek black vehicles tore down the straight stretch of road.
From the start, the leader was the Black Knight, roaring like an enraged beast. Despite the savage engine growl, its obsidian body glided smoothly over the asphalt. The Road Demon, robbed of the lead, hung back a bit before giving chase.
Roque glanced at the rearview mirror. He could see flames flickering in the eyes of the demon at the wheel. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Not much of a start for the one who picked the fight."
At that moment, as if he'd heard Roque's mutter, the demon's eyes flashed wide. And with them came an even fiercer blaze.
The Road Demon's coupe sported a massive supercharger bulging through the hood. Its intake snapped open with a clack, sucking in air with a sharp whoosh.
The next instant, the compressed air let out a piercing screeeeech—like a ghost's wail—and the Road Demon surged forward. It pulled up right alongside Roque, close enough to touch. The smile vanished from Roque's lips.
From the Road Demon came the supercharger's ear-splitting shriek mixed with the engine's thunderous rumble-grrr, a cacophony that sounded like the devil himself barreling down the road.
As if the earlier lag had been a lie, the Black Knight and the Road Demon raced side by side in perfect parallel. Their engines echoed through the forest of Midland's skyscrapers.
And in that moment, Roque frantically worked the accelerator and clutch, shifting gears while yanking the wheel. The endless straight ahead split into a T-intersection.
The Black Knight skidded sideways, leaving black tire marks on the pavement. The Road Demon mirrored it perfectly, like a reflection in a mirror.
"Huh."
Roque's expression hardened slightly. The drift was impressive enough, but beyond the intersection, a swarm of other vehicles appeared that hadn't been visible before.
In that brief hesitation, the Road Demon accelerated instead, weaving through the gaps between cars.
With ghostly acceleration and braking, the Road Demon quickly pulled ahead. Other drivers startled by its hulking black mass and deafening roar honked wildly or slowed to let it pass.
Thanks to that, Roque's Black Knight could follow comfortably. He just had to slip through the path the demon had cleared. But at this rate, he'd never take the lead. Roque's eyes narrowed.
Sticking close to the demon's tail, Roque got a sense of where it was headed. Straight on, they'd hit Midland's northern coastal road—a sparse, winding path along the seaside cliffs on the city's edge.
He chased the demon's rear for a moment. Sure enough, it veered toward the northern coast. The gap between the Black Knight and it was decent now; if he wanted to bail, this was the last chance.
Roque's lips curved into a grin again.
"...Fine. Let's see this through without interruptions."
His foot danced on the pedals as his right hand shifted gears. The Black Knight's engine snarled grrr rumble and closed in on the demon.
Moments later, as they broke free of the city outskirts, only the two cars remained on the road. The Black Knight charged aggressively, determined to make up lost ground. The distance shrank until collision seemed imminent.
On the twisting coastal cliff road, the two vehicles swapped the lead back and forth amid bellowing engines. It was impossible to call a clear frontrunner.
Roque twisted the wheel and shifted gears in a frenzy, an unconscious smile creeping onto his face.
Then his brows furrowed. His Aura Master senses had picked up something else.
"What the—?"
From the inner curve of the coastal road where the two were racing, cars burst out in a cloud of dust.
Three of them, all with sleek bodies overloaded with flashy wings, lights, and mods that screamed over-the-top tuning.
They kicked up gravel on the coastal road and rapidly closed in on the Black Knight and Road Demon from behind.
The lead one popped open its sunroof, and a human stuck his head out. Pink mohawk, piercings jangling from his nose, lips, and ears. He bellowed,
"Found you at last! You fucking bastard! You ditched me good last time! Think I'd just let it slide—?!"
"What a moron."
Roque muttered, eyeing the thug in the rearview. But he quickly pieced it together—these must be the drivers the mechanic mentioned, the ones obsessed with the Road Demon and who got run off the coastal road.
"I'll show a geezer like you the power of a real supercar!"
The mohawk ducked back inside. Then the three modded cars closed in tight on the Black Knight and Road Demon.
Roque let out a dry chuckle. How the hell had he gotten dragged into this?
But his amusement faded fast. From the front bumper of the nearest car—close enough to scrape—came a clank, followed by a whirrr as a spinning saw blade emerged. Another's bumper sprouted a long machine gun barrel, and from a third's sunroof popped what looked like a missile warhead.
"Psychos."
They weren't bothering to distinguish between the Road Demon and Roque's Black Knight. The saw-blade car latched onto the Black Knight's rear. The whirring blade inched toward its bumper.
Assessing via the mirror and gripping the wheel tight, Roque pondered his move—then glanced at the Road Demon racing alongside. It was looking back at him. Those blazing eyes said it all:
Anyone interrupting the race doesn't get a pass.
Right then, a psshh from the rearmost car's bumper launched a missile. Roque's hand slammed the gearshift, foot stomping the accelerator.
As if on cue, the Road Demon eased back just as the Black Knight surged forward. The missile flew into the vacated spot and boomed.
The three modded cars punched through the flames and smoke, still in pursuit. One with a spinning saw, one with a machine gun, one with a fresh missile.
As the Road Demon fell back and closed in, the machine gun muzzle spat fire. Sparks flew ting-ting off the demon's car.
But before the bullets could shred it, the Road Demon swerved rearward faster, smashing the machine gunner's bumper and crushing its barrel. The gun car fishtailed.
On this serpentine coastal road, that split-second error was fatal. The machine gun modder couldn't follow the sharp right curve, smashed through the guardrail, and plunged into the sea.
The mohawk in the saw car's passenger seat gaped at the smoke billowing from the wreck.
"No fucking way..."
He yanked open the sunroof again, heaving his upper body out. A heavy shotgun was in his hands.
"You motherfucker!"
Shotgun rounds poured into the Road Demon. Its already-holed body from the machine gun took more punctures. The barrage made it wobble slightly.
Seeing it in the mirror, Roque slammed the brakes.
The Black Knight, which had pulled ahead, spewed white smoke and jerked to a halt. As if anticipated, the Road Demon glided past smoothly. The mohawk's car barely swerved around thanks to its separate driver.
The problem was the missile car bringing up the rear.
"Whoa!"
Its driver yanked the wheel hard. At the same time, the Black Knight released the brakes and accelerated, their bodies narrowly avoiding each other.
But like the first, the twisting coastal road was unforgiving. Rattled, the missile car spun out of control and slammed into the guardrail.
Its sunroof missiles went off with a pew-pew chain of explosions.
Roque glanced in the mirror at the fireworks, smirking faintly. Then he floored it, chasing the lead modder and Road Demon.
"Fuck! You assholes! And what the hell are you?! Another demon?!"
The mohawk, half out the sunroof, swung his barrel toward the Black Knight after seeing the missile car go down. Forgetting he'd led with the saw blade.
"Die!"
His gun flashed. Roque's left hand extended slightly forward.
"...Wha, huh? What the fu—"
The mohawk, emptying his mag with a rat-tat-tat, mumbled dumbly at what he'd just seen. The bullets from his barrel had veered off, sliding harmlessly into wrong directions as if hitting an invisible wall.
"Damn it! Demons after all! Tricking me again!"
Screaming, he yanked a fresh mag from below. But before he could reload, the Black Knight closed right up to the modder's rear bumper.
And up front, the Road Demon was slowing to approach.
"Chainsaw! Spin up the chainsaw!"
Balancing on the shaking car, the mohawk jammed in the new mag and yelled. He saw the approaching Road Demon as the bigger threat. As ordered, the circular saw on the bumper whirred viciously.
But the Road Demon stopped just short of the blade's reach. The mohawk pounded the sunroof, screaming to speed up, but the driver was already nauseous just holding the line on the sharp coastal turns.
Then the Black Knight slid smoothly around the curve, pulling up on the modder's right. Suddenly, it was boxed: Road Demon ahead, Black Knight to the right, guardrail to the left.
"Back off already."
Roque muttered. Three sides blocked meant they could just retreat. Two down already—that was enough. But the mohawk clearly disagreed.
"You demons!"
He aimed at the Black Knight's window—right at Roque. Seeing it, Roque flicked his left fingers. The shotgun flew into the air like it was on a fishing line.
The mohawk howled, pounding the sunroof. He screamed to just ram something—anything.
The already edgy driver, prodded like that, whipped the wheel.
Couldn't catch the Road Demon, so the Black Knight beside it would do.
But then the cliffside road curved sharply again.
Unable to check ahead because of the Road Demon, and slow from the earlier shake, the saw modder plowed into the guardrail. Its spinning blade sheared right through, sending the car sailing unimpeded into the void.
"Aaaah—!"
From the receding road, the mohawk's scream faded, followed by a boom and a plume of black smoke.
Roque checked the mirror and muttered,
"Shame about the car."
A straight, clean road stretched ahead. That last big bend must've been the coastal road's final twist.
As the Black Knight cruised it, the Road Demon slid up alongside on the left. Roque turned to look.
Bullets had shattered the demon's windows, revealing its face from the shadows. Compared to the fiery eyes, it was just an ordinary mug. Even the flames had dimmed.
Their eyes met.
The demon grinned. Roque found it ridiculous, but his own lips mirrored it.
Then a sign appeared far ahead, with a fork: one to Dragonland, one back to Midland. Roque eased off the gas, steering toward the Midland path.
The Road Demon honked once—beep—revved its supercharger with a final screeeeech, and shot forward toward the sunset road. As if it could run forever, it shrank into the distance.
Roque watched the dot dwindle toward the wasteland, then turned the wheel. For some reason, the Black Knight's grrr rumble seemed laced with regret.
Roque stroked the wheel soothingly.
"Next time, we win."
As if in reply, the radio—which had gone dead—crackled back to life with smooth jazz filling the cabin. Roque chuckled softly.
"Auuuugh..."
Then, astonishingly, Elizabeth—who'd slept through it all—stirred with a stretch. She yawned wide, blinking sleepily.
Then she piped up.
"Elizabeth saw a strange person in her dream."
"...Who?"
Elizabeth rubbed her eyes casually.
"Don't know. Just kept wanting to run. Said nothing could stop him."
Roque's eyes flicked to the mirror. The Road Demon was gone, vanished into the wasteland. He muttered, staring ahead,
"...Some speed demon ghost, maybe?"
Elizabeth tilted her head blankly, blinking. Then,
"But where are we?"
"Sleep more. Long way to go."
"How long?"
"Dunno. We went pretty far—about an hour."
"...Then the ice cream might melt."
She looked at Roque.
"Can Elizabeth eat it here?"
Roque opened his mouth to say no, but caught her sparkling eyes and sighed softly.
"Yeah. Go ahead."
Elizabeth tore open the packaging and dug in with the plastic spoon. A faint joy softened her usually blank face. Roque draped an arm over the door, steering one-handed.
The Black Knight headed into the neon-drenched heart of the city. At a leisurely pace this time.