by George Fry
“Uhh… five… hundred...”
“What!?”
“Shit, I don’t know! There’s too many to count!”
“Well, this is a fucking mess.”
“Can you fools really not handle these pests?” Stolz grunted.
“Hey, we don’t have big fuck-off superpowers like Drifter, okay? I’m a little overwhelmed.”
“Please… we just need to strategise.”
“I got nothing.”
“Then allow me.”
Stolz seemed a little too excited over the prospect of coordinating his new comrades for battle.
“Tap and the short one. With your speed, you can shred through the scales covering these beasts easily. It won’t be enough to kill, in fact, you should avoid killing. Just weaken them. Stay on the move and rip through as many as you can, as many times as you can. Wearing them down will be your top priority.”
“Okay and what about you?”
“I, along with Spinal, shall guard the large one, while he, along with his gunslinger, pick off enemies from a distance. A widespread assault, designed to wear down their defences should be more than enough to defeat these sycophants.”
“Alright.” Dale turned to Tap. “I’ll cover the left and you focus on the right. Let’s rip them apart!”
The two dashed into the horde of monsters, swiping past every demon in their path, too fast for any of their foes to react to. They were blurs swimming through the sea of serpents, leaving trails of gleaming lights in their path.
Those lucky enough to be at the front of the pack, were free to attack the group directly, unfortunately that meant having to battle Spinal and Stolz head on, a far more difficult task than they envisioned.
Spinal may not have been the most experienced, but his spiked body made for a brutally punishing defensive shield. Able to extend and even shoot his spines to subdue enemies, he kept them at bay for the Bigger Bastard to swipe aside whenever possible.
However, the real unbreakable wall bocking the serpent's assault was Stolz. An indomitable warrior, unyielding in his steadfast battle style. Blades held at his front and back. Any serpents foolish enough to even come close were torn apart by the sheer force of his swings.
Keeping the rest of the crowd under control was Amanda, standing atop the Bigger Bastard’s back, firing rifle shots and explosives to pick off any straddlers attempting to flee. None escaped her sight, she made sure they were all neatly packed in for the others to easily blow apart.
The Bigger Bastard was perfect for this role. When not swatting away weakened creatures with his massive claws, he was charging dark energy blasts with his mouth and blowing away packs of serpents at a time. Their large numbers meant nothing to him.
The serpent's tried to fight back, with their meaty tails, large jaws and poisonous saliva, but they hardly got the chance to utilise any of them. Being forced to huddle together by Amanda’s gunfire made it impossible to use their tails, and their enemies were either too fast or too heavily armoured for their bites have any effect.
Their poison was their only useful weapon, which had no effect on Stolz or the Bigger Bastard’s armour. They tried to focus their attention on Spinal, but Stolz was adamant on protecting him. The armoured soldier would deflect the poisonous bullets with his mighty zweihanders, leaving Spinal to fire spines into the mouths of the monsters to seal off their spit.
It had only been a mere twenty minutes and the serpents already desperately wished to retreat.
They were beyond upset. They were promised an island full of defenseless humans to assault, abuse and feed on, but were instead met with an unexpected ambush from both humans and demons, somehow working together in perfect harmony and they were far more powerful and coordinated than they could ever hope to be.
“This was a setup!”
“Nahas betrayed us!”
“I don’t want to die here!”
The demons were exhausted and their wills whittled away. They knew if they continued on they were dead.
Having noticed their aggression turn to fear, Dale took it upon himself to address them.
“Hey, if you’re not even going to fight back, then get lost! Go back to Hell while you still can and stay there!”
The fighting stopped momentarily as the remaining demons considered the option. They all nodded in agreement and quickly slithered past the group and retreated.
“We did it." Dale cheered. "We actually convinced them to leave. We barely killed any of them, too.”
“They sure weren’t as tough as I thought they’d be.” Amanda commented.
Stolz scoffed at the thought. “They were mere pawns, far too accustomed to leeching off of their master. As if they could possibly stand up to true warriors. You could have dealt with them easily on your own, if you hadn’t foolishly drawn their attention.”
She turned to Dale. “Yeah… if only.”
“Don’t ruin my moment.” Dale responded.
Near the edge of the city, rummaging inside a convenience store a couple miles away, Catherine had gone her own way, looking for anything to replenish her stamina after her loss against Drifter.
With no one around, she helped herself to any sandwiches, snacks and drinks she fancied, but it wasn’t enough, she needed something to calm her nerves and help her clear her mind and think about what to do next.
She went behind the counter to grab a pack of cigarettes, but there were no lighters.
“Oh, come on!”
Catherine kicked the counter, not in the mood for a treasure hunt.
The building suddenly shook. It had been shaking periodically for the past ten minutes now.
“Those guys are still fighting?”
Catherine wasn’t interested in joining the fight, she had no stakes in the matter. At this point she was just waiting for Locke to finish his business. Following him was the only purpose she had left, if she could even call it a purpose.
Another quake caused the draw under the register to slide open slightly. Curious, Catherine took a peek.
“Yes! Finally!”
She found her lighter and left the store.
Catherine travelled down the road, the rush of nicotine giving her peace of mind. Now she just needed a tranquil place to rest. A place to escape from the eerie emptiness around her. The large roundabout in the middle of the road, covered in grass and trees seemed perfect.
As she laid in the grass, surrounded by nature, it reminded her of her personal sanctuary. She could finally laze around in peace. Watching the steel clouds, floating through the air, Catherine lost herself in her thoughts.
“Even if Locke finds Alexander, what is he supposed to do then? Will he just magically make all our problems go away? Humanity’s not gonna give a shit. And how is he going to deal with Drifter?
There’s no reasoning with that guy, especially if you're a demon, and you can’t fight him, either. As long as he’s around, this all seems pointless...
Those two guys following him though… they seem okay… maybe they can help… will they even want to? I doubt they even trust me after I just tried to kill them.”
Her tail bobbed over her head.
“I still can’t control it...”
“Brothers! There’s a human in here!”
Catherine shot up from her lounging spot and looked over at the voice. A serpentine monster stared back at her, the look in it’s eyes unnerved her. Soon others started invading the outside of her small hideaway, lurking around the trees and bushes, watching like starved predators.
Catherine jumped up, threatened by their presence.
“This one looks delicious.”
As the monsters gently closed in, one broke out of the pack and slithered towards her. The creature was far taller than she was, looming over her with its intimidating stature.
“We’ve just suffered through a pretty traumatic experience, care to relieve our stress?”
Leaning its head in, the creature desired a closer look at its p
rey, but at that moment, Catherine reached out with both arms, grabbed it by the throat and chucked it over her shoulder, slamming the creature into the ground with a powerful throw.
The other serpents laughed uproariously.
“You showed her!”
“You were real scary!”
“Dumbass!”
Enraged and humiliated, the fallen demon immediately rose up and in a spiteful fury and spat poison at the repugnant human. Caught unaware, the poison ejected at such speed, it slathered Catherine’s eyes before she could even see it coming, burning and blinding them.
She screamed in agony, but that was nothing compared to the seething hatred, boiling inside her.
These self indulgent, disrespectful creatures. They were the reason she had to hide herself from the world. As long as they existed she would forever be stereotyped as a monster, just for carrying the same title of demon, when she'd rather die than be associated with any of them.
Confident its prey had been fully subdued, the serpent moved in. At this point, they were free to engage in whatever degeneracy they had in mind before they eventually killed their pacified target.
“Just for embarrassing me, I’ll make sure your suffering lasts twice as long, you harlet.”
The moment it tore her jacket off, Catherine snapped. Her eyes stopped stinging, instead they burned a deep red and her sight returned. She changed her mind, she wasn't the one dying today.
“You’re the monsters…”
She grabbed at the demon’s head and in a concentrated rage, dunked it into the dirt.
“You’re all fucking monsters!”
She stamped on its head, crushing its skull and killing it instantly.
Catherine couldn’t contain her anger anymore, her soul had ignited into an intense inferno, her demonic warrior spirit had been reignited.
“You’re not demons! You’re gluttonous, egotistical, disgusting, mouth-breathing hedonists!
I'll destroy you! You worms! You cancerous cockroaches! I’ll devour all of you!”
Shocked by her sudden outburst, the demons couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“She kills one moron and now she thinks she can take us all on!?”
"Just makes them all the more fun to play with."
“This human needs to know their place.”
The snake monsters suddenly threw themselves at Catherine. However, the corpse of their deceased ally melted. Its gooey aftermath slid up Catherine’s arm and solidified, beefing up her muscles.
With her new strengthened claws, she swiped at one of the attacking creatures, ripping through the scales and flesh from under its head like flimsy fabric, leaving a massive gushing gash exposing its insides.
The other monsters backed off, watching their comrade scream in terror, as they bled out profusely. They couldn’t stop it, their vision darkened and they quickly fell unconscious from blood loss. None of the others helped him, they simply watched in disbelief at their brother drowning in a pool of his own blood.
Catherine absorbed the corpse of the fallen serpent, converting his body into a second forearm, giving her twice the killing potential.
“That’s not a human!”
“A demon!? But, why is she fighting us!?”
“Her eyes. They're murderous.”
Without saying a word, Catherine lunged into the crowd of confused demons and wildly slashed her massive claws around, ripping and tearing everything in her sight. It was a bloody massacre, unable to react to the sudden storm of death they had unleashed, the creatures could hardly defend themselves. Before they realised they were being attacked, they were already dead.
The more she killed, the more corpses she added to her collection. Once the creatures tried to retreat, it was far too late. She already had enough material to extend her arms into twenty foot long meat blades.
With one swing she felled every tree, sign post and street light in the vicinity. There was no escape, she eviscerated the last of the monsters like a massive blender.
Hundreds of demons butchered into oblivion by a single angry girl. The roundabout become a ring of blood and death, the soothing trees, razed in a furious rage and the soft grass, tainted by the stains of violence. And yet, her hunger wouldn’t subside. The massive amount of corpses fuelled her power and her anger. Catherine was far from satisfied.
“Holy shit! What the fuck happened here!?” Dale cried, looking over the carnage.
“Oh, lord... what did those monsters do?” Amanda sighed.
Just when she thought she couldn't contain her impulses any longer, Catherine had found her next victims.
“Well, aren’t those fuckers unfortunate.” Drifter commented, finding a couple of fresh serpent corpses lying just outside a mysterious gate.
“They have holes in their chests? What could have caused this?” Pad wondered, holding her child close for comfort.
“Who cares? Let’s go.”
Just as Drifter was about to touch the gate, Pad yanked on Drifter’s sleeve.
“No! Wait!”
“What!?”
“This place. You can’t enter it.”
“Yes I can, watch.”
“No! It’s sacred ground!”
Taking a closer look, the inside did look rather exceptional. It was full of greenery. Trees, grass, even fountains. All enclosed in a wall of hedges. A heavenly oasis in the midst of a demonic desert, but nothing special by human standards.
“It’s just a garden.”
“No! That’s holy ground! Only the Demon King is allowed entry!”
“Well, I don’t see any Demon King around, so fuck it!”
Drifter kicked the front gates open.
“But, what if there’s still a guardian living here? What if we end up like those serpents!?”
“What’s so special about this fucking place? Is it the Garden of Eden?”
“Y-yes. How did you know?”
“Nani!?”
Drifter never imagined his sarcastic guess would actually be right on money.
“The Sacred Garden of Eden.”
“Really? Well, ain’t that interesting?”
Chapter 15: Bloody sanctuary
✽✽✽
Strolling down the marble laden path of the lush haven, Drifter felt no fear of repercussion or punishment for daring to enter the sacred grounds.
The Garden of Eden. Was it really the sanctuary told of in biblical times, or was the name just a mere coincidence? Even Drifter couldn’t help but be a little curious.
His progress was halted by the demon mother, clutching at his sleeve.
“Please, I’m begging you.” Pad shivered in fear. “We must leave this place.”
“Why?” Drifter responded. “It’s nothing special. I mean, sure it looks pretty, but it’s just another fancy garden.”
“This garden is the personal paradise of the Demon King. A place where he and his elite followers gather to bask in its radiant light. A place of meditation, celebration and bliss.”
“So?”
“It is not a place for commoners to just waltz into without permission, lest you incur the wrath of those who worked their entire lives, yearning to be accepted by the elites, surviving deadly battles and proving their superiority over the commoners.
Acceptance into Eden is considered the highest honour of any demon.”
“Well, there’s no one here now.”
“YOU DON’T KNOW THAT!”
Pad’s anxiety accelerated, she absolutely needed to convince Drifter this place was not to be trespassed in with such carelessness.
“When I was young, I too, foolishly stepped foot into the garden, but I was caught and nearly executed for my crime. If it weren’t for my father begging the elites and taking the punishment in my stead, I wouldn’t be alive today.”
“You keep calling this place sacred, like it’s some holy ground, but this just sounds like a bunch of rich arseholes trying to keep the peasants out of their private little pa
radise. What makes this garden so special?”
Pad was so consumed by her fears from traumatic memories, she failed to mention the most important aspect of the garden.
“It is the only place in the entire Demon World with natural light.”
She pointed to the ceiling. Stretching across every corner of the world was an all encompassing void. A black barrier, robbing the residents of their sky. An oppressive reminder of their inescapable prison.
“However, Eden is the exception. Lucifer's light broke through the darkness, giving us hope that one day, demonkind could venture beyond the boundaries of this wasteland.
What lies ahead we do not know, but if we've been given the opportunity to explore beyond this harsh, barren world, to discover brighter pastures, then it was a risk we would gladly take.
That is why, for as long as Eden has existed, the King’s of this land only granted access to those they considered elite.”
“And that light lead you to the human world?”
“No… not even Lucifer knows what lies beyond that light. These days, we've all given up on it. The human world is our new bastion of hope now.”
“You gave up on paradise and now you're stealing it from humanity instead. Fucking pathetic...”
“I… I never wanted to steal from anyone… I just want to raise my child in a healthy environment. This world has been decaying since the day I was born, but now it’s uninhabitable…”
“Let’s just keep moving…”
Deeper into the garden, past the fountains and marble pillars stood a tremendously tall tree. It towered over everything in the haven, providing shade from the intense light, bearing fruit from its countless branches.
“Wait!” Pad asked.
“What now? If you need to piss there’s a fountain over there.”
“N-no! We must be weary of the flaming sword!”
“What the fuck are you whining about now?”
“The flaming sword, which faces every which way, attacking from all directions, to punish those who approach the Tree of Life without consent from the King.”
Drifter had enough of the woman’s ramblings and marched toward the tree, ignoring her pleas. He got close enough to reach out and touch it with his bare hands, resulting in… nothing.