Hunt until you're hunted

[WP] "Hunt monsters long enough, young man, and you start to become something like them." The old hunter said. You thought he was being figurative, until the day you started growing spines.

Finally! it was graduation day at the academy. After years of training and lectures, the students of the 397th batch under the demon hunting corps will receive their badges and soon, will be assigned to their respective units where they will finally be allowed to put their training to use.

Sgt. George Wright, The top student of the batch. the one who managed to snag all the honors of said batch and was rumored to be well on his way to the front lines under the recommendation of the Academy head. There was however, one problem the people of his batch were weary of and that was his incredibly short temper. Brilliant as he may be with his wits and his quick decision making, the man was not someone anybody would make an enemy of if they wanted to remain uninjured until they left the academy.

The commencement ceremony ended and each soldier was introduced to their respective units and commanding officers. The merriments were to wait til all was settled.

George walked up to his new unit, the look they all had were ones of pure madness. He was certain that they would definitely be amusing company. His grin seemed to grow wider, the more he imagines of whatever happened on the frontlines but he restrained himself. The Unit leader came into view and he stood firm for a salute. One which was returned immediately by the elder

"Son, Are you sure you want to be taking this track?" The man's tone was serious, as if it was a life and death matter. It probably was but George wasn't one to shy away from danger.

"Sir, yes Sir! I plan to do everything I can only the front lines, even at the cost of my own life"

A soft sigh escaped him and he couldn't understand if something was wrong with the kid or if George was just plain stupid. "We're hunting monsters here, kid. Demons. Hunt them long enough and you become something like them"

At those times, George just kept thinking that it was a sort of warning about the loss of sanity, the kind the people in his company seemed to already have developed but he shrugged it off and followed the company as they retreated back to their respective base. They had no time for merriments of any sorts for the next day, he was to go with them for his first mission.

0600, November 2X, 18XX

At 0600, the company was already assembled and as soon as they assembled, they began their ascent up the mountains to deliver supplies the base had requested. More like they were bodyguards for the supply vehicles yet it didn't matter, the road up their base was a perilous one. The kind that never seemed to run out of demons no matter what the hunting corps did. Halfway up the ascent, the forest grew darker. It seemed more ominous to anyone yet they proceeded anyways. The next thing they knew, a black figure had came down from above with a loud thud. The impact strong enough to make such a large impact that the ground shook with its landing. The creature emitted such a powerful screech and as George stood, shocked with his first encounter with the monsters he's only heard about, his platoon was already on the move with their swords and rifles. Now he understood what it meant to be a member of their platoon. It was for the bravest of the bravest or possibly the stupid ones. he was neither and was ready to fight.

With a deep breath, he took up his sword and charged at the beast, successfully landing a few deep slashes on its torso and legs. The kind deep enough to immobilize it. of course the finishing blow was made their unit leader.

"From here on out son, there will be more where that came from. Best get yourself ready and keep your sword ready at all times"

And it was true. The entire trip, George barely got a chance to breath as one monster came after the other. There was one thing he noticed from the creatures, however. They all had bands around some parts of their bodies. At first he had shrugged it off with the though that it might be the soldiers it had consumed but years later, His thinking had changed.

It had since been 5 years since he had joined his platoon, they lost some and they gained some new members. Yet the few that had managed to stay by his side had much more crazed looks and he was now one of them. one look at him now and one would be sure that they were well on their way to a mental institution or so the newbies said. He just shrugged it off.

As he was retiring to his room, he felt his back start to sting and his clothes slowly ripping. He rushed to his quarters and immediately shut the door. He turned to the mirror, frantically ripping his clothes off.

Spikes! Spikes were growing and so did scales. His hands.. What was happening to him was one he could never understand. He let out a blood curdling scream and the next thing he knew, a scaly hand had covered his mouth and it spoke in a voice that he grew accustomed to hearing for the past 5 years

"C-captain?"

"I told you, didn't I? Kill enough of them and you become one" He gazed back at the reflection in the mirror and slowly, he saw how his features had been replaced with that of the creatures they had been killing for years. Now he understood why the forests never run out of creatures.