by George Fry
For a brief moment, Dale was relieved. The knife had been soundly lunged into the demon’s skull, but it was barely effective. The face of the waitress finally peeled off, plopping to the ground like a wet mask. The rest of the uniform followed, revealing the monster’s coated skeleton.
The human eye the woman stabbed was completely expendable. It’s true eyes were buried deep in its sockets, peering at her with an eerie glow, safely tucked away from the knife’s tip.
The woman felt sick to her stomach, but wasn’t given the leisure of lamenting over her actions. Without a second thought, the demon shoved it’s claw straight through the woman’s chest, tearing through her lungs and heart.
She died instantly.
Her still bleeding body was tossed aside, as the monster returned to its original target.
Nothing could describe Dale’s horror. It all happened too fast for him to properly react. All he could think about was how this was all his fault.
He wanted her to stay, he wanted to do what Drifter refused to. He wanted to protect her, to be a hero, but she died anyway. It was only now that he realised, he never even asked for her name…
The demon struck at Dale, only for him to instinctively jump back, landing just shy of the wailing wall, as he felt its cold embrace just inches from his neck.
He had nothing left to defend himself with, nowhere to run and no one to help him. He desperately searched his body for anything he could use and that’s when he found it. A gun.
This weapon was his last hope, but just as he was about to fire he soon realised. It was the same gun from the pub. The one Drifter cartoonishly twisted the barrel of. It was completely useless.
“Drifter! You fucker!!”
Out of pure anger and desperation, he tossed the gun at the demon. The force of the throw pierced through the demon’s liquid defense as the gun’s trigger was caught on a rib. The firearm slid down the bone and pushed against the trigger.
A single second. A miniscule amount of time was all that was needed for the gun’s mechanism to ignite the gunpowder setting off an explosive spark that caused a massive backfire thanks to the blocked barrel. The resulting burst of flame, ignited the ooze covering the demon, turning it into a raging inferno.
As soon as he noticed the demon screaming in agony from the flames, Dale got the hell away from it before he caught fire. It only took a minute, but the monster’s body soon turned to ash leaving nothing but a black smudge behind.
The wailing wall dissipated and Dale was free from the monster’s ambush. He was amazed he actually survived, but staring at the body of the woman he failed to protect, it was a hollow victory. It almost seemed pointless.
There was nothing left for Dale to do. He was too frightened to leave through the front entrance, lest he be attacked by another demon. Instead, he chose to check the back by going through the kitchen.
Everything in the kitchen seemed normal, with the exception of the man with his head in the sink. His attire suggested that he was a chef and Dale deduced he was the one who cooked their meals earlier. He pulled him out, but he was already dead. Clearly drowned by the monster, either to keep him quiet, or simply to dispose of him.
With a sickening lump in his stomach, he pushed himself onwards, to the back door exit where, out on the street, he spotted Drifter surrounded by more demons and their hostages.
“A foolish human like you could never understand our goals.” The demon replied.
“Are you still talking?” Drifter yawned. “You know you can’t win, right? Just go back to Hell already.”
The demon laughed. “I must admit, my species is not suited for combat, our weaknesses are far too exploitable. But, any weakness can be turned into a strength.”
Drifter was intrigued and the demon continued.
“Our bodies secrete a liquid that acts like our muscles, to command and protect our bodies, but it is highly flammable. We are not suited to living outside of our home, but for the sake of reviving Lucifer, we will gladly risk our lives for the future of our kind.
Attack us if you dare, but with so much of our secretions covering this area, the damage would be severe. Everyone here will die.”
“I won’t.”
“You would let the innocent perish?”
“You never planned on letting them live in the first place.”
“You’d sacrifice their lives?”
“Call it what you want, but I don’t play those games anymore.”
Drifter didn’t give it a second thought. The idea that these monsters had him cornered was absurd, that'd they release their hostages, delusional. He didn’t even need his sword. A single spark was all it took.
“Don’t waste my time.”
He fired a speck of light that immediately ignited the demon’s body, triggering a chain reaction that engulfed the entire street in white flames, incinerating everything in their path. The fires lit up gas tanks, causing cars to explode, as the screams of people and demons alike cried into the night sky.
And so, another peaceful street corner was left in utter chaos, with the lone man in the white coat standing in the epicentre of it all, completely unfazed.
The last demon refused to die, not until his questions were answered.
“How? How can a human exhibit such cruelty?”
“A demon confused by human cruelty? That's kinda funny.”
The monster disintegrated into ash as the screams came to an end, with only the sound of the raging flames filling the silence.
Dale stepped back from the doorway to avoid the fire, but even from a distance he was horrified by the sight. The sheer callousness of Drifter’s actions could not be understated and yet, he expressed no sorrow nor pleasure from his actions. He looked the same as always, like he’d seen it all before.
Against his better judgement, Dale barged through the flames to follow after Drifter, who wandered into a nearby alleyway, but once he caught up, Drifter had vanished, with a bright portal left in his place. A tear in reality.
“What the fuck am I doing!?” He thought. “Why am I following him again!? Is it really worth it!? After what he did to those people….!?
No… I have to follow him. I need to know… What kind of heartless prick just sacrifices innocent people like that!? How can someone with so much power use it so carelessly!?
I need to know, what kind of person you really are, Drifter...”
Chapter 3: Hell's Wasteland
✽✽✽
Hidden in the dark alleyway, illuminated by the white flames of the burning street, laid a tear in the fabric of reality. A portal to another world, or so Dale assumed. Where it lead, he had no clue, but he was certain Drifter passed through it.
Refusing to be left behind, he steeled himself for whatever horrors waited on the other side and crossed through the dimensional rift.
The experience felt near instantaneous. In a single flash of light it was already over. Dale landed on the rough earth beneath him, checking his body to see if he made it in one piece. As the portal sealed shut, he checked his surroundings.
A barren wasteland, devoid of all life. Rundown shanty homes made from wood and dirt that were built up against stone slopes that spiralled downwards into a quarry. There was no wind, nor was there a sky, just craggy walls off in the far horizon, that stretched upwards endlessly into pitch darkness.
Looking over the edge of the road, Dale peered into the bottom of the quarry, hoping it would give him some context for what this area could be, but it was just an empty abyss. There was nothing of interest, it was like the whole place was enclosed in a massive crater.
To his right, stood a colossal stone tower, connected via a marble bridge. It had an imposing presence, whoever lived there clearly had power over the residents of the quarry, if there were any.
The site wasn’t entirely abandoned however, as just up ahead, Dale spotted a familiar white coat. He was so enamoured with the new locale, he nearly forgot why he was there in the first
place.
Dale rushed after the man. “Hey! Drifter, wait!”
The man sighed as he turned around. After catching his breath, Dale was ready to lay into him.
“What in the holy hell were you thinking!? Do you have any idea what you were even doing!?”
Drifter said nothing.
“Well, do you!?”
“You come all the way to Hell, to lecture me?”
“What the hell? We’re in... Hell…?”
“Hell. The Demon World. Essex. It’s all the same.”
“But, where’s all the fire and brimstone and tiny devils sticking pitchforks in people’s butts?”
“Long dead, or they never existed.”
“So, are we in a specific circle of Hell, or what?”
“Circle? What? This is probably where those oil cunts lived.”
“Oh… well that’s disappointing.”
Sadly, Hell was not as disturbing or bombastic as Dale imagined it to be. No tortured souls of the damned, or lakes of fire, or volcanic spires shooting magma. This world didn’t scream phantasmal nightmares, it was simply dull and depressing.
Drifter continued on his way, as Dale quickly realised what he just did.
“You bastard! You can’t just deflect my question like that!”
His cry fell on deaf ears, as Drifter kept on walking.
“Those were innocent lives, Drifter and they were snuffed out by you! You didn’t even try to save them! You just murdered them, like they were nothing!”
Drifter stopped. “What happened to that woman from earlier?”
“Wha…. she’s….”
“She’s dead, isn’t she.”
“She save me... she stabbed that monster in the eye, but it wasn’t enough and before I could anything…”
“Human lives mean nothing to demons, we’re objects to them. They’ll use us as hostages, food, weapons or kill us as entertainment.”
“But, why did you…?”
“Never play by their rules, it only ends in tragedy. You kill them and move on.”
“But, that’s not fair…”
“Life's not fair.”
Though saddened by this harsh truth, Dale still held out hope. For what, he wasn’t sure, possibly a better future, not that he knew what that would even entail. Whatever the case, he couldn’t let his sadness get the better of him. Despite its emptiness, he was still in Hell, he had to remain vigilant.
As they reached the bridge to the tower, a sudden thought crossed Dale's mind.
“Wait… Why are we here?”
“Philosophy isn't my thing.” Drifter replied.
“No, I mean. Why did you come to Hell, or the Demon World, or whatever this place is?”
“They mentioned something about Lucifer, so I got curious.”
“You know anything about him?”
“No, but I’m sensing a demonic presence in that tower, I’ll probably get some answers there.”
“You’re surprisingly talkative.”
Drifter suddenly went silent.
“Oh, real mature…”
They continued along the bridge. Dale took note of the two gargoyle statues, sitting on pillars at the center of the stone walkway. He was impressed by their incredibly detailed craftsmanship, with each individual scale carved into their body. They were almost lifelike. They even started shivering the moment they got close.
“Oh, balls…”
The pair of gargoyles awakened from their slumber, spread their wings and soared into the sky, circling the two from above like vultures. They were around the same height as Dale himself and easily grabbed the defenceless boy.
“Dammit! Let go!”
Dale tried to fight back, but the monster had already flown high enough that breaking free would result in a deadly fall.
The remaining gargoyle flew after Drifter. Without even flinching, he waited for the demonic bird to close in. Even with the speed the creature flew at, the second it made a swipe at him, Drifter slipped to the side, without even moving a muscle. He violently yanked the bird out of the air, clasping its neck and without hesitation, crushed its throat. He discarded the lifeless monster and left it for dead.
Above him Dale was carried off to the top of the tower. Drifter showed no concern, in fact, he was amused by the idea, that some stupid demon believed he was playing right into their hands by capturing his sidekick. Drifter didn’t need persuasion, he was coming for them whether they liked it or not.
The white marble tower was stained a dirty red by dust and decay, with its giant stone doors cracked and frail. Too impatient to go to the hassle of prying them apart, Drifter simply punched a massive hole in the door to stroll through.
Inside, the tower was decorated by stone seats with murals covering the walls, depicting darkness, demons and a single angel emitting a light that seemed to illuminate the land like the Sun. The room gave off vibes of a satanic church.
On the other side of the room, was a human like demon, wearing robes, like a priest. With dark grey skin and long hair, flowing over his cloak.
“Welcome, to the Tower of Heylel. I am Priest Ferrum.” He greeted. “Although, it’s rather insulting for the Legendary Demon Sword to brought to our place of worship.”
“Okay?” Drifter had no clue what he meant.
“You look confused. Are you not aware of our Lord, Lucifer?”
“Not the religious type.”
“I see, so you are not aware of Lucifer’s greatness. The one who casts light upon the darkness and reveals the truth hidden deep in the abyss of one’s heart. With his guidance and strength, our kind were able to live in the light in this otherwise, blackened world.”
“Could you shut the fuck up about your dumb religion? Is this Lucifer guy around or what?”
“Only the master of this tower is fit to answer that question. I am but his humble servant. Come, I shall take you to him.”
Knowing full well this was obviously a trap, Drifter followed anyway. He didn’t survive this long, in a world infested with demons, without learning how to muscle his way through an ambush.
The gargoyle that captured Dale carried him to the top of the tower, dropping him in the center. He didn’t appreciate being dropped face first, nor the chilling gust of wind kicking up dust across the tower, but at least he was still in one piece.
Dale spotted a lone demon, standing on the edge of the tower. He immediately attempted to sneak away.
“Where are you going, boy?” The demon asked.
“Shit... “ Dale cursed. “You’re not going to kill me, are you?”
“No. You are bait.”
Dale was confused by the demon’s calm demeanour. They kept their back turned, but he could tell they had a humanlike appearance, but with grey skin and claw like hair, his body hidden behind a black cape.
The demon seemed surprisingly civil, but Dale still needed clarification on who he was baiting.
“Are you after Drifter?”
“If you are referring to the human wielding the sword, then yes.”
“You... might want to quit while you’re ahead.”
“He’s already entered the tower.”
“You’re not really going to fight him, right?”
“We’ll see. The priest wishes to test him, first.”
“Um… why? What do you want from him?”
The demon finally faced Dale and upon his face was the same detached look as Drifter. Total ambivalence, with only a single purpose driving him.
“Tell me, human? What is it like, living in a world full of light? A world that’s prosperous and beautiful?”
“Prosperous and beautiful? The only world I know is dark, dirty and depressing. Society completely forgot about me and left me in a gutter to rot.”
“I see… it seems humans haven't changed much since the days of Lucifer.”
“What‘s that supposed to mean!? You think demons are better than us!?”
“Demons are naturally more powerf
ul than humans and yet, humanity were the ones gifted a world of light. A world they do not deserve. A world they take for granted…”
“That’s no excuse for going around fucking everything up! Our world wasn’t that bad, until you guys started destroying it!”
“Says the gutter boy.”
Dale was immediately silenced.
“Fool. You become defensive simply because your race was insulted, even though it was that very same race that ignored your plight and left you to rot. Blindly defending the ones who neglected you, a slave to your own tribalistic ways. For too long I've seen my own kind fall victim to such stupidity and it seems humans are no different.”
“What are you trying to say?”
A small spire, raised from the floor next to the demon. Sitting on top was a stone shrine, with a sharp knife, shaped like a scimitar, but with no handle, just a raw blade.
“I wish to test the human wielding the Legendary Demon Sword, so I shall give you a choice. Abandon the human world and take up this blade as an honorary demon, or continue to live your pathetic life in a world that abandoned you.”
“What’s a Legendary Demon Sword?”
“I’ve already said enough, far more than any human deserves. This opportunity will not come again. A human being gifted a demon weapon is unorthodox, but at this point, I'll accept anyone to carry on our legacy. Now, fight with us.”
“What if I refuse?”
“Then I’ll dispose of you.”
Drifter followed the demon priest up a spiralling staircase. The two didn’t speak a word to each other, as they silently ascended the tower, until a ceiling came into view. A room, roughly up the tower’s halfway point.
This was it. Drifter was prepared for whatever trap was waiting for him in that room. They arrived as Ferrum signalled Drifter to stop as he unlocked the door.
“Please, follow me.”
His suspicions grew.
“What kind of church has a colosseum in it?”
The room was a large empty space, with seats against the walls and stained glass windows.
“This place was where our Lord Lucifer would watch as his followers battled with each other.” The priest explained.