by Eric Vall
“Am I just baked, or are those things bigger than before?” Todd asked inquisitively.
“I’m hoping that just means my powers are stronger than before.” I looked ahead at the onslaught of demons approaching. “We’re going to need it. Ready?”
As the first few demons entered through the door, I tossed up a few platforms of purple in ascending order. The imp leaped up them and then flipped over the group as he fired off a flurry of fireballs in succession. Like clockwork, six demons let out a scream of pain as smoke poured out of their wounds and they fell to the ground dead.
There were still about six or seven demons left rushing toward me. As the first one jumped into the air for the kill, I summoned a fireball with my left hand and incinerated him into a crispy pile of ash. At the same time, I threw out my right hand to conjure up a green spell at the three creatures who approached to my left. I lifted them up into the sky with my telekinetik fire and then closed my fists. The jade flame closed around them and crushed their bodies into heaps of bone and gore.
The fifth and sixth creatures were just about on me, so I let out a whistle to attract Todd’s attention and cast emerald flames around them so that they were transported directly in front of the imp. Todd struck both creatures in the throat with his dagger-like claws, and they crumpled to the floor.
“I hate to break it to you, Jakey,” Todd pointed back towards the door, “but there’s a lot more where that came from!”
“Fish in a barrel?” I asked.
“Fish in a barrel,” Todd clicked his tongue and shot me a finger gun.
The imp scurried off to the right and vanished into the air right as another large group of demons came crashing through the door. This horde had to be at least three times the size of the last, and the monsters were now ravenous.
I cast up two violet barriers on each side of the group to create a makeshift hallway that would funnel them towards my position. From above, baseball-sized balls of flame whisked through the air and struck the skulls of a few of the creatures. Some of the monsters tried to jump up and swipe at the unseen imp, but they had no idea where he was positioned.
My left hand still extended, I conjured up a massive ball of red Hellfire and launched it down the hallway. It tore through the remaining creatures, setting them ablaze. They scratched at the barriers as they tried to flee from their fate, but to no avail.
Todd reappeared beside me as another wave entered between the violet flames and pulled at my pants leg. “Why don’t you give ‘em the ‘ol printing press?”
“You’re a genius, Todd.” I smiled as I realized what he meant.
Todd and I both started to run backward, and I created a longer and longer barrier as we went. After we had run about sixty feet, the two walls ran half the length of the church and were filled with dozens of the red devils. I closed my eyes and reached down to think about what was at stake, and the violet embers burned brighter and brighter in my hands. I opened my eyes and clapped my two palms together in unison.
The flaming barriers followed my motion, quickly slamming shut on the demons who were between them. Screams of agony rang out as the creatures were smashed, every bone in their body reduced to dust, and every organ flattened. When I finally dispelled the walls, blackish-red gore crashed into the ground with a visceral splat.
“Look out!” Cupiditas called out from behind, and I turned around to see six of the devils leaping through the air directly towards us. A massive blue flame of Cupi’s time spell caught them from behind, and the creatures were put into suspended animation.
Todd ripped out the throats of two of them and then blasted a fireball between the eyes of the third. Then I reached out and placed both of my flaming red hands on the others, and my touch seared the demons’ faces before it set their entire body aflame.
An enchanted green pew, broken at the end to form a makeshift spear, flew past my right side and skewered five or six more demons against the stone wall.
“Nice shot, Liby!” I exclaimed to the succubus.
“We are making great headway!” she called out from above. “Azazel’s forces are thinning by the minute!”
I looked to Cupiditas as she threw both of her hands down into the ground and summoned up what could only be described as a tidal wave of fire. The ripple of red flames traveled across the floor of the church and engulfed numerous demons as they tried to enter the chapel.
More of the fuckers entered from the rear, and I had to spray them with a shot of Hellfire to melt them in their tracks.
We were killing these fuckers, but they just kept on coming. As soon as they fell, a dozen more seemed take their place.
“Hey Liby, can you give me some spears?” I yelled.
A handful of tiny yellow spears shot in my direction, and I cast an emerald flame around the projectiles. The attack was redirected towards the minions who had just run through the back door. One by one, they fell as the razor-sharp projectiles pierced through their skulls.
As they fought, I noticed something miraculous. The girls finally had their horns. Theirs looked somewhat different from mine. Cupi and Liby’s headwear curled outward in a spiral pattern like a ram, while my blue horns were more similar to Azazel’s, curved and facing upward. Something about seeing the succubi sprout their horns was satisfying. When we fought Earl, our relationship was still budding. Now, we were much more intimately connected, and our powers were working together in full force.
“It looks like we can all be horny together now!” I joked as I took out another cluster of monsters with my Hellfire.
“That’s the Jacob we know and love!” Liby smiled widely as she slammed a demon into the wall with her telekinesis and snapped his neck.
A blast of what sounded like a trombone rang out, and the demons who were swarming the church froze. Without warning, the creatures left alive turned around and retreated back towards their master.
Cupi and Liby flew up out of the missing ceiling to see what was going on while Todd and I rushed out the front door.
Raphael had apparently recovered and made quick work of the demons, and he and Azazel were locked in an epic duel on the outskirts of the church property.
The Archangel had ditched his robe. Now he wore a slick, white SWAT-like armor set complete with a bulletproof vest and weapons galore. Raphael soared through the sky, borne by wings of brilliant, angelic white. Azazel tried to knock him out of the air with various attacks of red, blue, silver, and even black Hellfire, but Raphael was too quick. The demons that we had been fighting now ran towards the Archangel to save their master.
“Azazel is such a pussy.” Todd shook his head.
“I can’t say I blame him.” Cupiditas said as she and Liby landed beside us. “Raphael’s already kicked his ass once before.”
The four of us chased the demons as we hurled any projectile we could conjure. Even as their comrades fell, the creatures didn’t break their stride or turn their attention away from Raphael.
A wall of purple flames shot up in front of us, and it took everything in our power to stop ourselves from smashing into it. Superbia stepped out from behind a tree, and her hand aglow with violet flames.
“Sister, do not make us fight you,” Libidine pleaded. “Can’t you see that you’re on the wrong side?”
Superbia snapped her fingers, and the purple barrier started to bend at the center and snap closed on us like a mousetrap. Before we were crushed by the fire, I cast a group teleport and sent the four of us behind the naked redhead.
Cupiditas unleashed a wave of blue flame on her sister, and the young woman froze in place.
“Sister, please,” she pleaded. “Azazel is a monster. Why do you continue to serve him?”
The madame’s eyes glowed black as matching dark fire emerged from her palms and covered her tiny body, breaking Cupi’s spell. She landed on the ground harmlessly and didn’t even take a moment to reorient herself before she turned her protective aura into a deadly attack.
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nbsp; Libidine pushed herself off the ground into the sky to avoid the blast, and the grass withered and died the instant the pitch-black fire struck it. As Liby took off, she unleashed a slew of her golden darts at her former partner, accompanied by a ring of fire that I had summoned.
The enemy succubus rolled out of the way at the last second, but Cupi used this distraction to pounce on the woman like a panther. The redhead and the blonde rolled around on the ground as they struggled, but Cupi was finally able to gain the upper hand and pinned Superbia to the ground.
“You know what Azazel will do to you, right?” the redhead pleaded, nearly in tears. “I only want what is best for you girls. It’s my job to protect you, and siding with a mortal against him isn’t in your best interest.”
Superbia tried to break out from Cupi’s grip, but the blonde reaffirmed her dominance and pushed the madame’s wrists back into the ground.
“I understand that, sister,” she said through gritted teeth. “But Jacob has done more for us in the last week than Earl or Azazel or Lilith has in our entire lifetime.”
“He treats us very well, Superbia,” Libidine added as she landed beside the two struggling succubi. “Better than anyone has ever treated us, and we’re happy with him. You say you want what’s best for us, but isn’t this it? To be happy and protected by a kind soul?”
“But Azazel…” Superbia argued.
“Fuck Azazel!” Cupiditas spat. “I’d rather die than spend another day under his twisted rule. I saw it in your eyes when he tore that man apart earlier. You don’t stay with him out of affection or loyalty. You stay because you’re afraid.”
“And so should you, Cupiditas!” the redhead sneered. “I’ve seen him do things much, much worse than what he did to that poor man back there. That will be you if you don’t submit to his authority.”
“I’ve already accepted my fate.” Cupi glared. “If we are meant to die, then at least I’ll go out on my own terms.”
“Now she’s even starting to sound like Jacob!” Todd laughed.
“Is this how you feel as well, Libidine?” The redhead stopped struggling and looked over at the succubus with the bat wings.
“I do, Superbia.” Liby nodded in agreement. “What happens will happen, but if this really is the end of the line, at least I can say I have no regrets.”
Cupiditas released her grip on her madame, who now showed no signs of resistance whatsoever. Then the two women stood up, and Superbia started to rub at the dirt that was smudged all over her skin. Her petite breasts jiggled furiously as she scrubbed, and I had to do my best not to stare at the woman who moments ago was threatening to kill us. The succubus had a tiny, cute body, but she still was devastatingly sexy.
“Will you join us then, sister?” Libidine asked the redhead.
“We will see, Libidine.” She shrugged. “Honestly, I want to be on the winning side of this particular battle. But I will say that I hope it’s your friend who emerges victorious. Good luck, Jacob.”
The redhead nodded and then pointed in the direction of the commotion. Todd, the succubi, and I took off towards the swarm of Azazel’s demons.
As we ran up to the group, Raphael was emptying magazine after magazine of enchanted bullets on the demons and Azazel below him.
Azazel was finally able to land a blow on his airborne target when his green fireball halted the hailstorm of bullets in front of him, and he turned them around at Raphael. The Archangel tried to dodge, but several of the shots punched holes in his wings and sent him spiraling towards the ground.
Raphael was able to slow his descent by adjusting his body so that he was gliding rather than falling. He threw his hands out in front of his body and conjured up a dagger with a white flame. As he passed by the demon’s position, Raphael swiped at the King of the Fourth Circle with his weapon and left a massive gash across his face. He turned so that he could go upwards again and hung in the air for a second before he turned back towards his enemy below.
The second time the Archangel swooped down for the strike, Azazel caught him by the arm. He knocked Raphael’s gun out of his hand and began to pummel the Angel’s face, each blow from his massive fists sending crimson mist into the air.
Desperate to escape the assault, Raphael broke free with a knee to the demon’s stomach and caused the mammoth of a creature to double over in pain. While Azazel was momentarily distracted, the Archangel grabbed what looked like a taser out of his tactical vest and ignited it as he rammed it into the demon’s throat. Azazel’s body lit up with a white light as the electric-like plasma engulfed his body, and he let out a howl of pain.
Azazel desperately lashed out with his right hand, and the blow struck Raphael on the chin and threw the dark-haired man out into the horde of approaching demons, who swarmed the Archangel with rabid glee.
As Raphael struggled to fight off the monsters, Azazel started to make a run for it.
“Oh, no you don’t, motherfucker,” I said under my breath and then looked back at my friends. “Can you help Raphael with crowd control?”
“Of course,” Cupi agreed. “Where are you-- Oh, Jacob, please don’t tell me you’re thinking of going after Azazel!”
“We have to make sure that he doesn’t get away,” I said as I ran towards the area in the treeline where the demon had disappeared. “If he does, this has all been for nothing.”
“Can I have your video games if you die?” I heard Todd’s voice faintly joke as I sprinted into the tree line.
The wilderness seemed to be thicker than before. Somehow, I thought that traversing this area in the daylight would have been easier than it had been at night. In a bizarre way, it was even worse now that I could see just how many possible routes the coward could have taken. Thankfully, it wasn’t hard to spot where Azazel had been. He was a massive demon, so anywhere he ran, he left broken saplings and stomped down bushes in his wake. I continued to push through the brush until I stumbled out into an old graveyard that was hidden away in the woods. Azazel stood across the way, his hands across his chest.
He was waiting for me.
“Now what, mortal?” he mocked.
I drew summoned red-hot Hellfire into my hands, and my eyes narrowed.
“Now? You die, Azazel.”
Chapter 23
“I assumed you had a death wish when they told me you’d defeated Earl,” Azazel chuckled. “But I didn’t realize that you were this much of a masochist. I am the Master of Witchcraft and the Father of Warfare, and you are nothing more than another mortal who will soon be crushed under my hooves!”
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, you Diablo fuck,” I sneered. “Earl and Gallu said the exact same thing to me and look where they are now.”
“You amuse me, mortal.” The demon laughed as his eyes started to glow red. “It’s a shame that you’ll be nothing more than ashes in a few moments.”
Before Azazel could make his move, I hurled a ball of Hellfire right at his assholish face. My attack struck him in the left shoulder, but did no damage whatsoever.
The demon clicked his tongue in amusement before he summoned forth his own massive fiery projectile and then launched it forward. Just as the flames were about to turn me into burnt toast, I cast a purple spell with one hand and a green spell with the other. This created a massive wall of intermixed flames that absorbed the attack and sent it spiraling back toward Azazel.
The demon leapt out of the way as the fireball incinerated the tombstones behind him. Then I cast the teleportation spell in front of me and kicked a nearby loose tombstone into the portal.
Azazel bellowed as he caught the entire headstone in his right palm and then crushed it into dust.
“This is the way you killed my servants?” He shook his head. “This is child’s play! Although I am impressed that a mere mortal can dual-wield his magic.”
Azazel picked up one of the gravestones and chucked it at my position, but I was able to deflect it with a barrier of purple. As the de
mon tried to launch another concrete frisbee at me, I charged him, encased myself in emerald flame, and reappeared behind the demons bulk. At close range, I unleashed a beam of white-hot fire into Azazel’s back.
My enemy let out a loud grunt of pain and then spun around and hurled his massive fist downwards.
I was just barely able to block it with a flaming violet barrier, but the impact of the blow pushed me downwards into the soft earth and formed a small crater from the shockwave. Azazel started to pummel me rapidly using both of his fists, and each blow to the shield sent my body deeper and deeper into the ground until my entire lower half was almost buried.
I threw up a green portal, and Azazel’s fist passed through all the way to the elbow and then reappeared on his left side. The demon’s eyes widened as his own punch knocked out a couple of his teeth and sent a cloud of blackish-red mist spraying out of his mouth.
I teleported myself behind Azazel once more and unleashed a flurry of red Hellfire. Each ball of flame hit the disoriented demon and forced him to stumble forward and eventually fall over. I shot out my left hand and encased my target with purple flames while at the same time using my telekinetic powers to hurl tombstones at his body. Each one struck Azazel, but they didn’t appear to be doing much damage.
“Now I’m starting to have fun.” Azazel pursed his lips in delight and then flexed his muscles and shattered the violet barrier around him.
The demon continued to laugh gleefully as he outstretched his hands in front of him, illuminated them with red Hellfire, and then spread them apart. As he did so, he summoned forth a massive broadsword that glowed red-hot with enchantment. Azazel wrapped his right hand around the hilt and then readied the weapon against the ground.
“It’s not the size that counts, it’s how you use it.” I shrugged. “At least, I’m sure that’s what you tell yourself every day.”
Azazel roared at my joke and then charged. Just before his broadsword connected with my back, I pulled out the ground from underneath my feet with emerald flames and transported myself across the graveyard to safety. The sword slammed into a nearby tree and sliced through it like a hot knife through butter. I shuddered to think what would have happened had I been a second or two later.