Lore/Story Angels And Demons: Chapter 25

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Chapter 25: Demon
~Nicolas~


"Katherine, now!" I shout. I flinch as Sarza attacks my magical shield with his relic weapon. The huge black sword is curved at the end, with black presence surrounding it. The man himself, Sarza, is only a frail middle-aged man, but the weapon he uses contains huge power.

The strain on my shield is too big. I grit my teeth and release my shield just as Sarza raises the weapon to attack again. I jump to the side as the man's sword cuts through the empty air.

I turn back and see Sarza looming over me. "Agh!" I shout and cast a Bash spell. It explodes in the man's chest, making him stagger back. Just then, Katherine jumps on the bandit leader with her dagger, Grayblade. The dagger charges with white energy as the elf attacks.

The man's attack damage is high, but his speed, not so much. Katherine's Multi-hit spell attacks the sword with so much power, that Sarza drops it. Katherine swings her dagger, but Sarza swings his right arm, which starts to glow with black energy. I shout, "Kass, dodge!"

On the bandit's arm is a silver bracelet with a black stone on the front. It explodes on contact with Katherine's dagger. She cries and jumps back. Through the smoke, Sarza attacks again, his bracelet growing into a black blade.

Luke suddenly appears between Katherine and Sarza, his cloak flapping and fire particles disappearing around him. Sarza, surprised, pauses the attack. Luke uses that opportunity to send the tip of the staff into the man's chestplate. "Thytha!" The mage shouts and the staff explode into flame. Sarza is sent flying back onto the ground.

I leap up, my spear raised over my head. Something flashes between me and Sarza, and I instinctively dodge back. Sarza has his relic sword in his hand, which has connected with the middle of my spear. I release it before my weapon breaks in half and explodes, all the magic escaping outside. The explosion sends a jolt up my right hand, and I step back in pain.

I yell and bring my left hand onto the man's chest. I focus all of my magical energy onto my palm, and release it, just like when I fought with the Necromancer under the fallen city of Ancient Nemract. Bright light flash as the man raises his sword in defence. With a huge explosion, the sword shatters, and the dark spirit inside is vapourised.

I grab the collar of Sarza's armour and pull the man up. I throw him across the room, onto a wall. Luke places his foot on the man's chest.

I look to the side to the remains of my spear. I need a new one. I think.

I stride over to the bandit leader. Katherine comes to stand next to me and Luke.

"Who do you work for, bandit?" Katherine asks. She points her dagger at the man's throat. "You're not the final boss, are you?"

Sarza spits into Katherine's face. She cries and staggers back, hands on her face. Angered, I kick the man from the side of his ribs. He gasps in pain. I grab the man on his neck, and ask quietly, "Who... is your... boss?"

The man cowers in fear. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you!" He says. "His name is Ba'al. He is a...."

The man abruptly stops. A look of desperation crosses his face. Something starts to glow red on the man's neck. It is a golden collar with magical runes carved into it. The man screams as the collar starts to steam.

A dull noise sends blood all over the place. I release the man's headless body in horror. I touch my cheek and look at my fingers. Blood. The golden collar falls to the ground.

I stand up shakily. "How... did that happen?" I whisper.

"It was probably a spell which was activated when he spoke about his employer," Luke says. He sounds shaken.

"Ba'al," Katherine mumbles behind us.

Silence follows. I glance at the body. "Well, he's dead. We can't change that." I say finally.

We walk over to the other side of the room, where a pile of crates are lined on the wall. "We need new gear as well. Maybe we can find something new...?" I say and drag a large crate nearby onto the ground. I open it and see it is full of weapons. Most of them are lower quality than those of what we have. One catches my attention: a wand with a black leather grip and a white polished stone on the end. It's not as magnificent as Luke's original wand, Detlas' Legacy, but it was better than the one he used now. I call to Luke and toss the wand to him. The mage takes the wand. He points the wand at the wall, but nothing happens.

Luke nods. "I have to take this to the identifier. But this is better than this one." He motions to his wooden wand. "Thanks."

We rummage through the crates for another few minutes, in which I find a pair of large, white boots. I feel immense magical energy coming from them. I take it and examine it. Two milky gems were embedded into the boots. I hang them from my belt: they had to be identified later. I also take the best spear I could find.

"We should go," Katherine says. She has a black quiver hung on her shoulder. For Day, I guess. She also holds a golden bracelet in her right hand. I nod and hurry after her.

We come to the room's entrance. Luke pulls it open easily. The door was closed while our fight with Sarza.

As soon as we open the door, a girl comes running to us. Zeena, Day's stepsister. Tears are on her cheeks. "Day's shut the door and is fighting bandits!" She cries. I swear and throw the supplies we got from the crates to the side. I ready my spear, which could still be used physically. "How many were there, and how long ago?" Luke asks Zeena as we start running to the large door. We pass many townspeople of Ternaves we have rescued.

"It was about twenty minutes ago." Zeena sobs. "There were more than thirty of them."

I swear. I spread my wings and hit the door with all my might. It swings open violently. I swing my spear and shout, "Day?"

A smell of burning fills the air. All around us, bodies lay. Some are burned, some are pierced by arrows. Fire still crackles on some of the corpses. In the end of the hall, amidst bodies and slumped on the wall is Day.

"Day!" Katherine cries. We rush to the boy. He weakly opens his eyes and looks at us. "You... succeeded." He croaks and smiles.

Zeena sobs and lays her hand on Day's shoulder. Day holds his stomach, from where blood drips. Luke mumbles something under his breath. Warm red light flows from Luke's open palm to surround Day's wound. Luke's eyes widen. "You're lucky, Daila. The blow missed all your important organs."

Day chuckles. "I'm barely alive." Luke, Zeena and I stay back as Katherine goes back to fetch the others to get back to under the sun from Sarza's room. Katherine goes into the room first to cover Sarza's body.

Once the healing's complete, I pull Day gently up. The boy flinches from my touch. I see from the corner of the eye him examining my black wings.

I nod to Luke and Zeena. "You two go on ahead. I'll take him back."

Zeena starts to complain, but Luke gently pushes her towards Sarza's room. Luke takes Day's bow and quiver with him.

I sigh and look around me. The burning, the corpses.

"What happened here?" I ask.

Day replies with a calculated tone, even scared. "A fire-using mutant. Went on a rampage and killed lots of his own."

We start walking towards the others slowly. "You're not human, are you?"

Day suddenly stops walking. After a pause, he says quietly, "What do you mean?"

I look into the distance. "Don't mess with me. You're not a human, nor a mutant of any kind. What are you?"

Day lets go of my shoulder. He staggers, then straightens his back. He looks at me straight in the eyes. His eyes are red, with slits for pupils. "How did you know?" He says with a deep, rumbling voice.

"Your reaction to me being an angel," I turn back and say. "How you survived thirty bandits without a scratch."

Day smiles coldly. "I guess my fake wound didn't fool you." Day looks down at his hands, which starts to turn darker in colour and scaly. His nails start to get longer. "Yes. I am a demon."

"What is a Dernling doing in Ternaves, may I ask?" I ask.

Day's eyes flash in annoyance. "I am not a Dern demon. I am a demon from the Molten Heights in Gavel."

Day looks at my spear, then at his hands. "I am not armed. Your spear is despicable. Do you want to fight still?" Behind Day, the air erupts into fire.

I smile and shake my head. "I'll pass. Besides, I don't think you would want Zeena to watch you turn into some fiery monster."

Day nods. "Fair enough. But remember this; we are enemies. I will never trust you. When the time is ripe, I will kill you. I am doing this for the sake of Zeena and the people of Ternaves. I will not lose the people I love again by angels like you."

"Why do you hate me so much?" I cock my head and ask.

Day snorts. "I don't care if your intentions are good. I know for a fact that all angels are the same: they only care about themselves. Know this, Nicolas - if you do anything to Zeena or anybody else, I will kill you and all of your friends."

"I've been warned." I nod. I put my spear onto my back. "And we have a deal, demon. One day, we'll settle this."

The fire dies down behind Day, and his skin changes back to normal. "I look forward to that day."

I turn around and walk towards Sarza's room. The corridor is now empty, as all the hostages have followed Luke and Katherine out of the cave. I pick the supplies I left on the wall and walk towards the narrow staircase that leads above ground, with a demon behind me.


***


Luke, Katherine, Day and I stand back and watch as the captured townspeople reunite with their loved ones and return home. "Are you alright, Day?" Luke asks. Day smiles and nods. "The wound's closed up."

"Good. Can we go to the identifier of this town?" Luke says. "I want to be able to use my new wand."

Day nods. "Sure thing. This town got its own identifier a few weeks back when adventurers started to come here more often."

We walk under the warm sun towards the South. With the bandits gone, the town seems happier and brighter. We walk into the southern sector of the town, in which a blacksmith, a few houses and an identifier's house stand.

Day identifies its quiver, which comes out to be called Infinite. It is enchanted to have an infinite supply of arrows. Day was so happy, he kept thanking both the identifier and Katherine, who had picked up the quiver.

Luke's wand ends up being a rare item named Magicant. It was better than Luke has expected, as it strengthens Luke's body in every way.

Katherine's bracelet is really expensive to identify, as it is revealed to be a legendary item. Ra is its name, and it heals Katherine constantly during battle.

My spear ends up being a unique item called Sandscar. Its class was way lower than my old one, Skull Breaker. What ends up the most expensive of all, are my boots. They cost me about 25 blocks of emeralds. As the identifier casts his magic onto the boots, the gems start to glow and something starts shifting inside. When the spell is complete, the boots are shiny white, and the two gems have swirling spirits inside.

"These boots are a powerful artefact." The identifier fixes his glasses. "They are called the Seven-League Boots."

"The Seven-League Boots?" I ask.

The identifier nods. "A djinn resides in these boots that let you travel at an incredible speed. Try it on!"

I untie my current leather boots and try my new boots on. Instantly, I feel my body become lighter, and the world around me becomes sharper. I feel the boots humming with energy.

I will the spirit inside the boots to run at full speed. Wind rush past me as the world around me flies past me. When I stop, I find myself standing on a hill near the blacksmith's shop. I look back and see Katherine, Luke and Day waving at me in the distance. I laugh. This was amazing.


***


Day turns back to us. "We, as a town, haven't repaid you yet." He says when we get back to the town. I am panting hard, my legs heavy. I didn't know that the djinn took my energy when I ran, so when I kept running at full speed, it drained a huge amount of my energy. Katherine had laughed about it and called me stupid.

Day leads us to the main market. The townspeople greet us with respect. We make our way to the stables, the grandest building of the town. As we walk in, a large, sun-beaten man with a red bandanna comes strolling towards us.

He grins when he sees us. "Aren't these the heroes who destroyed the bandits?" The man booms.

"What's up, Ensker?" Day grins and slaps the man's hand.

Ensker turns towards us. "Welcome, heroes! Come in."

The smell of animals fills the entire building. Horses of different colours are everywhere. In the middle of the stable is a stall with a man sitting down, smoking. He jumps up when he sees us approaching.

Ensker looks at the man and says, "Spirit horses for these children, Heknu."

The man, Heknu, nods and hurries to the back of the stalls. He brings a few crystal balls in his hands and places them on the counter. "You are free to choose whichever you want. Daila will show you how to name them."

Katherine picks a white crystal. Luke chooses a chestnut colour. The one that appeals to me the most is the black one.

Day nods. "Throw the crystals to the ground. That will spawn the horses. Touch them on their brow with your hand and shout, 'I bind thee, spirit horse, as my steed. As thy master, I name thee..' then say whatever name you wish to name your horse."

We nod. We throw our crystals to the ground at the same time. With flashes of light, three magnificent horses appear in front of us. In front of me stands a beautiful black horse with long manes. Its feet are grey, and its body is slim, built for speed only. I look at the horse's eyes, and I feel the animal's consciousness. I realise that my horse is a female. I feel her curiosity and hunger for food.

Luke's horse is a large chestnut horse, with broad shoulders and golden mane. Katherine's horse is white in colour, with a similar build as mine.

I smile and touch my horse's brow. Katherine and Luke do the same.

"I bind you, spirit horse, as my steed!" Katherine shouts. "As thy master, I name thee, Snowstorm!"

"I bind you, spirit horse, as my steed!" Luke says. "As thy master, I name thee, Eldoren!"

"I bind you, spirit horse, as my steed!" I shout. The horse's eyes flicker. "As thy master, I name thee, Shade!"