The demon drops down onto all fours, its tail whipping behind it as its forked arms pierce the hard earth and propel it forward, it's speeding figure barely visible in the light of the burning town, even to my superior senses. Master Prakash steps back behind the other masters, conjuring an orb of light and throwing it out above us, its radiance illuminating outwards as the demon nears us, its form a blur, the dark red point of its pupils highlighting its path through the darkness.
Master Volkov steps forward and throws his hands out, casting a Shield of the Seraphim, a dome of eldritch magic lined by mystical iconography appearing around us, protecting those inside it as the demon slams into it with force. The magic shakes and sparks but holds strong as its claws and skinless face press against the surface, the demons raw flesh leaving streaks of blood on the shield as its dead eyes look upon us.
From behind its lipless teeth slithers out a long, barbed tongue, its underside covered in tiny appendages, that detaches from its mouth and drops to the melting snow below. My grip on the Chi-infused Jian tightens as my eyes follow the tongue, its unnatural length undulating across the ground and around the shield, working its way behind us. I hear master Fieraru say something to his fellow masters as he breaks away from the front and rushes to the back, glancing at me and darting between the downed disciples, his Tao Mandalas held before him.
Not wanting to split my focus and trusting in the prowess of a master sorcerer, I turn my attention back to the demon, watching in disgust as a rasp of gurgling laughter leaves it, its lower jaw starting to distend with the cracking of bones, its exposed cheek muscles tearing. From the now gaping orifice gushes out a torrent of dark, spoiled blood, the outpouring splashing on the floor and seeping into the snow, starting to flow around the shield and branch out; unknown, black symbols forming along its path.
The demon stands and places its forked arms against the shield, the magic composing it starting to darken outwards from the point of contact while the symbols etched throughout start to warp and shift, gaining jagged edges and broken pathing. I see the air around the hands of master Prakash start to saturate with eldritch magic before she places her hands on the shield, its form starting to warp inwards towards us. The surface stretched, master Prakash claps her hands together, the tensed shield rebounding and impacting the demon.
Blood sprays out from the demons various injuries as its pushed back and screams out in pain, its segmented spine stabbing into the ground in support, before it leans back, falling silent, its body pulled taut, what remaining skin it has on its chest tearing. Suddenly, it springs forward, slamming its face into the shield, its nose crunching against it, a web of cracks growing out from the impact. With a grunt of effort from master Volkov, he rotates his arms out, their length wrapped in strips of magic, the shield beginning to mend.
Seeing the situation escalating, I call out to master Prakash and get her attention. As she looks at me, I begin to channel my Chi and point at myself, then the demon, gesturing for permission. Her eyes tighten before she gives me a sharp nod and taps master Volkov, indicating to me with a tilt of her head, causing him to quickly glance to me before refocusing on the demon, its mutated body looming over us. Permission granted, I wait as master Prakash sends out a burst of magic to the demon's bloody face, temporarily blinding it and causing it to howl.
With an opening made, I create a portal, its exit placed a bit above the demon, and jump through, Jian raised to strike. Falling at speed, the chilled night air biting at me, I plunge toward the unaware demon, a smile forming on my face as I land on its hunched back, stabbing Jian into its spine. The demon stumbles and screeches in pain as I balance and pull Jian from it, intending to continue striking, before its wail turns to laughter, its body bucking with great strength.
I jump from its back, landing softly on the cold ground as the demon braces itself on all fours and turns to me, a wide, blood-stained smile on its face, its torn cheeks extending it to its ears. Beyond the demon, back in the shield, I catch sight of the masters rousing the disciples and clearing the river of vile blood, before an action by the demon draws my attention. I watch as its throat start to split open, broken teeth lining both of its sides, before a black, pointed tongue peeks out and a harsh, penetrating whisper leaves it.
"Innnnnteeerrlooopeeeeerrr..." It drawls, it voice breathy. A smirk starts to rise on my lips as it speaks, its game clear as day. Demon are as demons do, tempting you with secrets and forbidden knowledge, wanting you to fall as they have, becoming an agent of sin and corruption, a plague upon your fellow man. I raise Jian in guard and resummon my Mandala as the demon ambles closer, its tail swaying, the spines bony fingers scratching at the Shield of the Seraphim, its magic starting to flicker.
The snapping of tendons sound in my ears as the limbs of the demon start to elongate, its flesh tearing and breaking. I catch sight of its bare feet sinking into the frozen ground with force, trying to read what I can of its alien body language. The air's thick with tension, the cries from the town fading and the thrashing, frigid winds ignored as we stare at each other, readying to kill one another. I shift my feet, adjusting my stance and my centre of gravity, as the demon twitches.
It bolts towards me, its every step tearing chunks of solid earth from the ground as it closes the distance, its form mimicking that of an animal, the wicked smile on its face reflecting my own. It reaches me quickly, pouncing at me and swiping at my head with its split claws but I raise my Mandala, blocking the strike and stepping back to disperse the force. As it goes for a second attack I tug at it with telekinesis and make it stumble, then flash towards it and swipe at its right arm with Jian, the blade cleanly slicing through and disarming it.
The demon cackles with hoarse laughter and grabs out at me, but I dodge, lowering myself to ground and slipping behind it. I attempt a second strike aimed at its leg, but I lose my footing and trip, feeling something pull one of my own legs out from under me. I land on my back with a grunt, the demon contorting its body and mounting me, beginning to rain down strikes, as I raise my Mandala and struggle to block its attacks. Taking a risk, I glance down at my legs, finding the dismember arm of the demon gripping my leg.
A whisper in an unknown language sounds from the demon above me, the voice not matching that which previously emerged from it, my nigh-perfect memory catching that it's a constant repeat of four phrases. I run them in the back of my mind for now, putting limited focus on deciphering them, as from the corner of my eye I see the bony tail of the demon circle round us and start to rise, its sharp, pointed end aimed down at me. Jian in hand, I flip it and stab at the demons side, but it shows no reaction, continuing its assault.
With a scowl, I blast the demon with a burst of telekinesis, sending it flying up and off me, the planned lash of its tail barely missing my face, its near-fatal strike falling short by a few centimetres. Reaching down, but keeping my sight on the airborne demon, its screech moving away from me, I clutch the severed arm and expand my Ring of Containment, placing it inside. Rolling back, I quickly stand, dispelling my Mandala and conjuring an Eldritch Whip that I lash out, wrapping it around one of the demons legs.
With a Chi-enhanced, over the shoulder pull, I swing the demon overhead, bringing it hurtling towards the ground with great force, its grating cry passing over me. With a mighty boom the demon smashes into the earth, its impact rumbling the land beneath me and its piercing voice dying, the snow around it thrown up. I pant with exertion and take a breath, then race to the demon, blowing the upturned snow away with a quick use of telekinesis, Jian at the ready.
As the snow clears and the crater shows, I frown at the site of it, the gouged pit empty, a hole in the earth telling me that it escaped underground. Fearing an ambush, I enhance my legs and jump, forming a platform Mandala under me at the height of my leap, crouching down on it to survey the earth. The figure of master Fieraru running out of the shield catches my eye, his hands held at his side, a sphere of rotating magic forming in hands.
I smile as I see him jump, raising the magic and slamming it into the ground, a pulse of magic travelling over the earth, the snow glowing with the colour of eldritch magic. The plain of disturbed snow starts to shake, the sound of rumbling earth and haunting laughter reaching my ears, the whispering undertone partially understandable to me as the broken figure of the demon rises up, its limbs captured by bars of flowing earth, "It is - to be in -, - to - in -! - - to Kivutar, - to - - of -!"
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A worrying feeling pings in my mind at the evocation of the unknown deity, when I see master Prakash rush to join Fieraru, bands of heated metal erupting from her hands, wrapping round the demon and binding it. The lack of reaction from the demon, the twisted smile frozen on its bloody face, causes me to frown, the sight of its soulless eyes fixed on my elevated position making my skin crawl. Staying put above in case of an emergency, I watch the masters prepare to destroy it.
Master Fieraru conjures green flames in his hands, a spell I think I recognise from the second Doctor Strange movie, then thrusts them out, the sickly flames washing over the bound demon, that starts to shriek in pain. My eyes narrow at the sight of the burning demon, my close encounter with it giving me a certain understanding of it. I may not know the power of the conjured fire, or its source, but I know the demon and how it doesn't fear pain, the feeling seemingly not affecting it.
Sure enough, the demons pain-filled scream started to choke, broken up by small, fragmented laughs, before it starts to moan in great pleasure, the unnatural sound making me cringe. At same time, underneath it voice, I hear the whispers grow louder, the looping words starting to become clear to me, "It is - to be in pain, - to - in injury! Pain - to Kivutar, - to the - of injury!" A notification sounds in my ears as I step off my platform, falling down towards the demon, Jian raised, landing on the ground behind it.
With a powerful swing, I swipe my sword through its neck, decapitating it and sending its head tumbling. The masters flinch at the display of sudden violence, before together we flick our sight to the head in shock, the moans continuing to issue from it, its red eyes locked onto the me. I lift Jian and go to stab it through its brain, hoping to put it down, but miss, the heads leaking blood solidifying into spider-like legs that it uses to dodge. As I go to chase, an impact to my back sends me flying.
Landing in the snow, I recover and roll to my feet, looking to where I came from, seeing the headless body of the demon held down and bound by magic from the masters, its vertebrae-lined tail raised in my direction. Ignoring the pain radiating from my back, I search for the head, my eyes catching sight of it starting to climb down the crater hole. With a curse, I sprint to it, throwing myself into the crater and reaching in, managing to catch it by its hair.
I start to pull at it, feeling it grip the earth around it, fighting back. Getting my feet under me, I let out a shout and pull, the muscles in my arms flexing, before I feel its resistance stop, managing to pull it from the ground. Catching myself before I fall back, I raise the head and go to stab it, but the expression on its face makes me pause; tears of blood running from its closed eyes, while a despairing look marks its face. With a snort of derision, I raise Jian again, before the whispering suddenly stops, the words now clear to me,
"It is aching to be in pain, ailing to live in injury! Pain belongs to Kivutar, ailment to the daughter of injury!"
The eyes of the head snap open, it eyelids curving up into a smile as it starts to glow, its circulatory system visible from under its skin. My eyes grow wide as its plan dawns on me, a gurgling word leaving it as I drop it and kick out, getting it as far away from me as I can,
"Idiot."
The flying head explodes in a shower of gore; flesh, blood, and bone projecting outwards, before freezing in place. Worried, I start to move back to the masters, keeping an eye on the display as I do, watching as the bits gather, coming together and forming a rotating circle of tissue. A sense of foreboding washing over me, I spin and start to hurry, when all manner of sound around me abruptly disappears, the world falling silent. With only the sound of my rushed breathing audible, I run through the falling snow, putting space between us.
The tense silence is broken by a noise, akin to a drop hitting water, before a cacophony of sounds physically hits me, causing me to stagger. As I go to recover, a formless grip coats my body, starting to pull me back. Plunging Jian into the solid earth beneath me to resist the pull, I whip my head back, furrowing my brows at what I see; the ring of flesh forming a portal.
Through it I see an endless number of towering, copper rock pillars, carvings of anguished faces lining them, rising up from a sea of blood to a sky of burnt orange, a black sun looming above. Upon the pillars hangs hordes of winged creatures, fanged mouth opened wide on their smooth, eyeless faces, an impression of hunger projecting off them and reaching me. The force of the pull starts to increase as I look beyond the portal, my hair whipping, before a shout of my name causes me to turn back in the direction of the sorcerers, finding Thomas running alongside the masters.
They stop at a near distance and conjure eldritch whips, sending them out and wrapping them around me as Thomas spins his hand, a portal of sorcery opening up behind me. Twisting an arm around the whips I secure them and grip their length, feeling the masters start to pull, their combined strength beating the draw of the demonic portal. I extract Jian from the ground and step forward, stabbing it down as I move away, repeating the action as I draw near the masters.
Halfway there, I see a look of shock appear on Thomas' face as he stares behind me, when I feel a sudden pulse of energy spread out from the enemy portal, the magic of my allies dissipating as a result. The pull on my body increases, Jian cutting a line through the earth as I'm dragged, before I close my eyes and sigh, hearing the shouts of my apprentice. Flicking my eyes open, the figure of a reaching Thomas reflects in my sight, his struggling body held back by a thrown out arm of master Volkov.
Stretching out a hand in their direction, Jian gripped in the other, I smile at them all, then call out, shouting to make my voice heard over the wind, "Get Yi Hye-Rin!" With a channel of my spiritual power I cast telekinesis, grasping at Thomas and tethering him to me as I see a look of comprehension appear on the face of master Prakash, her eyes flicking between my apprentice and me. Pulling Jian from the ground I jump back, allowing the portal to swallow me, the screaming figure of Thomas following me.
We pass through, coming out the other side, the portal closing behind us, emerging high above the blood sea and the pillars, an overpowering smell of metal assaulting my nose, before we start to plummet. Pulling Thomas to me as we fall, I grip him by the front of his red robe, his scared face coming close to mine as I begin to shout, "Memorise as much as you can! Okay?!" He holds my gaze to avoid looking at Hell dimension around us, the unholy screams of demons filling the orange sky, before giving me a shaky nod.
Thrusting a hand out beneath us, I conjure a Mandala platform, crashing down onto it, Thomas in my hold. Stabilising, I turn to him and place my hands on his face, giving him a smile, before speaking, "I'm gonna throw you now, try and stay alive as long as possible." His shaky breath starts to settle as he looks at me, giving me a nod, "Defend yourself as best you can; I'll take as much of the attention as they'll give me, keeping them away from you."
As my words breach his fear he starts to try and protest, but I don't give him the chance, grabbing his robe and starting to spin around, launching him into the air with a combination of telekinesis and Chi-enhanced strength. He goes flying up, a squeak leaving him as he shoots away, a small laugh leaving me as I hear him.
Looking away from him, I peer down, the hordes of demons appearing in my sight, their monstrous forms covering every inch of this realm, sky, sea, and land. When they see they have my attention they start to roar, a loud peal of laughter leaving me at their pathetic attempt at intimidation. Raising Jian before me, with a summoned Mandala beside me, I step off, a wide smile on my face but a sliver of fear in my heart.
I might actually die here.
