Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga)

by Olson, Mitchell

  Instinctively he slashed out with his sword. The fireball, being small enough to cut, dispersed and died. The rebel exhaled with relief, then was knocked in the back of his head with another fireball. This time the flames were strong enough to incinerate his hood, leaving only the thin serpent-like mask he wore to protect his identity.

  Ash, having figured out the location of his enemy, charged in to deliver the final blow. He could hear the rebel’s footsteps once again trying to flee, but the boy followed the sound and when there were no trees in the way launched one more fireball. His flame collided with the ground and the rebel’s footsteps stopped. Ash caught up with the impact area and tore off his blinding. The forest around him was empty.

  A rustling in the treetops above tipped him off: the rebel had escaped by going up. The boy used his wings to perform a tall jump and landed on a tree branch high above the ground. He could see no sign of the rebel. His hopes of capturing their first rebel were dashed, but he refused to give up. He checked the sun and decided he had enough time to go after the enemy. He would find the first rebel and bring him to justice, no matter what.

  * * * *

  “Come on now, you’re only embarrassing yourself by pretending I can’t see you,” Prince Darko called to Aura. The death toucher crouched on his hands and knees in the tall reeds facing the river. The river where he’d just witnessed Prince Darko slaughtering demon bears with only one swing of his sword…

  Damn, he’s right… this is pathetic, I have to face him… Aura’s body was trembling with fright at what he thought the Prince might do to him. But Darko had a point, he already knew Aura was there, so there was nothing else to do but stand and show himself. Maybe he could explain his way out of this…

  “Okay, okay you got me!” Aura stood and said, holding his arms high to show he had no weapons or bad intent. “Prince Darko, I don’t think we’ve really had the chance to meet. I’m Aura Draxler, friend of your sisters and a valuable part of her team. We’re all here for survival training.”

  “Death toucher Aura Draxler,” Darko said.

  “Yes, that is me!” Aura said.

  “Survival training, hmm. I can help with that,” the Prince said, drawing his giant sword from the riverbed and holding it at the ready.

  “Now hold on a minute!” Aura said backpedaling, a renewed sense of fright coming back to him. “Your sister needs me! I’m the glue that holds this team together! Goddard would be super upset with you if I got hurt! Did I ever mention I’m a huge fan of yours?”

  Aura’s excuses did nothing to deter Darko. The Prince trudged through the river towards the bank where Aura stood. The young death toucher was about to turn and run when a terrifying sound came from the forest directly behind him. Aura turned and witnessed another demon bear approaching, only this one was twice as big as the ones Darko had slayed. The bear charged forward on all fours, its enormous red eyes appeared blind with rage.

  “New idea!” Darko shouted. “Use your ability on that demon there. Show me, and I’ll let you live!”

  This sucks! Aura thought. Trapped between a demon and a demented Prince! But I suppose if I have to choose…

  Aura turned to face the charging demon. He felt more confident facing something he knew he could kill with a single touch. The Prince had a wicked grin on his face seeing the boy take his offer. With the charging demon nearly upon him, Aura brought out his wings and leapt high into the air. The demon reared back on its hind legs, making it nearly fifteen feet tall, and Aura just barely cleared the beast.

  The boy turned in midair and fired a flame at the back of the bear’s head. Its fur was scorched a little, but the demon was otherwise fine. The bear turned its attention on the boy and ignored the naked man in the river. The demon lunged at Aura with teeth bared, demon spit spraying everywhere.

  Aura took off his gauntlet and did the stupidest thing anyone could do: the boy charged forward as well. His entire plan hinged on being faster than the demon, which luckily he was. The boy slapped his death touch hand down on the bear’s nose, pushing away from the creature’s powerful jaws at the same time. He felt the electric spark of soul power jolt through his hand as it always did when the power was activated.

  But the demon stood, alive and roaring at the boy who had managed to evade it. The demon slapped at the boy with a massive claw. Aura was in total shock that the demon had somehow shrugged off his death touch, and missed his chance to evade. The demon swatted him back to the forest floor, where the boy crashed into a thick tree trunk.

  That’s the first time… Aura thought. The first time my death touch hasn’t worked.

  The bear charged at Aura. A soft, throaty chuckle could be heard coming from Prince Darko. The laughter made Aura feel humiliated. Before the demon reached him, Aura created a large fireball and shot it into the creature’s face. The bear dropped, pawing at its eyes in rage and blindness, only feet in front of Aura.

  The death toucher used his frustration as motivation and jumped to his feet. In a bold and possibly suicidal move, Aura leapt on top of the bear’s head. He ran down its neck and onto its back, then dropped to his knees.

  “I’m taking your soul damn it!” Aura said. “And there’s nothing you can do about it!” He gripped the demon’s thick fur with his free hand and slapped his death touch hand down. The blue electricity-like power came back, attempting to rip the demon’s soul out. The beast reared up once more and thrust its razor-sharp paws at the boy. Aura was too high up on the creatures back so it could not reach him. The death toucher clung on, exerting himself more than ever to use his power.

  Blood trickled out his nose, and the demon was still standing and flailing wildly. Whether by accident or plan, the demon managed to press its back against a nearby tree and brush Aura off. As the boy struggled to climb to his feet, he locked eyes with Darko Satan. The Prince still stood waist-deep in the river, watching with unimpressed features.

  The enormous demon stopped flailing as it came to its senses. It had never known danger in its life, and this little devil boy was the first to teach it a lesson in fear. This sent the bear into a wild rage. Aura knew his only chance of making it out of this alive was by running away. Ignoring the Prince, ignoring the demon, Aura turned tail and fled.

  The demon pursued, and Aura took to the tree branches above. After only a few seconds the two disappeared from Darko’s sight. The Prince sighed and shrugged.

  “Death toucher,” he said. “I fear your powers may have been drastically exaggerated.”

  * * * *

  Shiva stood utterly speechless from her teacher’s words. She struggled to comprehend what he asked her, but there was no more breath in her lungs.

  “Do you mean it?” she asked.

  “Every word.”

  “Can I have some time to think about it?”

  “Of course. Take all the time you need,” Phoenix replied. “The sun started to shrink a while ago. You’ve come a long way. You’ve got your demon, now head back to the safe house.” Phoenix took off through the forest, leaving almost as fast as he appeared.

  He did zigzag patterns, trying to hide his destination by disappearing behind the trees. Shiva realized what he was doing and couldn’t help but smile at his actions. After saving her life and embarrassing her, Phoenix made it up to her by not revealing the direction back to the safe house.

  What a gentleman, the girl thought.

  Knowing that Phoenix likely took off in the wrong direction on purpose, Shiva started walking in the direction that felt right to her. She slipped her blindfold back over her eyes and returned to ‘determined’ mode. Her small but significant chat with Phoenix allowed her enough rest. She could move at top speed once again.

  She found that even with her body rested, her mind was still in shambles. Phoenix had really rocked her world with his question, and as a result the distracted girl missed a tree branch and plummeted to the ground below. Deciding it might be safer to travel by ground for the time being, Shiva settle
d for a brisk walk back through the forest.

  She passed uneventfully enough through the forest for a long time, still lost in thought. Then she heard something that didn’t belong in the forest ambience heading towards her. Two fireballs, she thought. They’re heading straight for me, but… Shiva turned her body sideways so that the fireballs passed right by her on either side.

  Hah! Too far apart! she thought, triumphant. Then a metal chain caught her by the throat and slammed her head into the ground.

  As she struggled to stay conscious, all she could think was: Why… a chain? Through blurry eyes she saw her attacker standing before her: a woman wearing a cloak and mask.

  Chapter Nineteen: Die Young

  Aura ran through the thick forest tree line as if his life depended on it, which it did. An enormous momma bear demon was right behind him. The enraged monster chased after the boy on its hind legs, running like a giant person. The demon slashed apart any trees in its path, ensuring that nothing would stop it from reaching its prey.

  Damn that overgrown teddy! Aura thought. Was it too powerful for my death touch to work on? But I’ve killed a greater demon with it before! Was that time just a fluke? Some sort of saved-up ‘power burst’ or something? Whatever it was, I should by all means be able to do it again!

  The demon closed in, and with the forest becoming more and more dense Aura was having a harder time moving forward. The boy’s heart pounded like a jackhammer. His foot got caught on something on the forest floor, tripping him to the ground. He didn’t catch himself properly, and ended up slamming his face into the dirt. In a matter of seconds, the demon would be on him.

  Aura had enough time to roll over and lock eyes with the demon, but little else. The bear demon bared its enormous fangs and went in for a bite. Before it could chomp down on the terrified death toucher, the serpent-masked rebel leapt out of the treetops.

  “Out of my way!” he yelled, slashing forward with his swords. The strikes from his blades cut an X-shape across the demon’s face. The big bear roared in pain as the serpent-masked man rolled over the top of the demon’s head and kicked off, rocketing into the sky once more and slamming the demon’s scarred face into a nearby tree.

  Ash appeared from the treetops above. The sight of his comrade lying on the ground caught his eye. The boy dropped down and rushed to Aura’s side immediately.

  “Aura? What are you doing?” Ash asked.

  “We…” Aura muttered.

  “Whatever! The important thing is that you’re alright!”

  “We should…”

  “You’ll never guess who I’m chasing! It’s a rebel, Aura! A real rebel is here in the Hellwood! He attacked me with two swords, and he seemed really strong! But I had him on the run with my flames! How cool is that, Aura?”

  “We should…go!”

  “Aura?”

  Behind Ash, the demon bear was up on four feet again. The creature had gone from enraged to berserk. Ash became aware of the monster’s hot, raunchy breath gusting at him from behind. The boy turned around at once expecting to see something his own size. He was met with the killer red eyes of a vicious, mad demon. He had only seconds to comprehend this, before another foe showed up on the scene.

  Through the tree line emerged the rhino-centaur demon that Ash had encountered earlier. It plowed through the scene unaware of the drama unfolding there, knocking the bear demon to the ground once more. The two demons tripped over each other, utterly confused. This gave Ash the chance he needed to make a break for it.

  “What are you just sitting around for?!” Ash shouted at his shell-shocked friend. “We should go!”

  Ash lifted Aura to his feet and the two boys skedaddled. The rhino-centaur was the first to get back on its feet and give chase. The demon bear was not far behind it, still looking to feast on some fresh devil.

  * * * *

  A bull-masked rebel stalked his prey across the Hellwood. By total luck, the man had run into an unexpected target not accounted for in the plot. Seeing this surprise guest and catching him off-guard, the rebel soldier couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spy on him. The buff rebel made absolutely sure to stay out of sight at all times, because he was tracking the deadliest prey in all of Hell: Prince Darko Satan.

  The Prince had his clothes back on and stalked the forest with no attempt at even trying to hide his presence from any of the dangerous demons around. The bull-masked rebel watched as Darko attracted the attention of a carnivorous hair-hog, only to cut the creature down in two slashes. Any woodland dwelling creature he came across was either cut or burned to death.

  The rebel could admit the Prince was talented at slaying demons, but he had yet to see how strong Darko truly was. He followed with utmost caution, seeing how dangerous Darko was firsthand. Tracking him was made easy, since all the rebel had to do was follow the trail of demon corpses.

  Eventually Darko stopped walking. The rebel examined him from afar, trying to deduce what the hold up was. Peeking out of the shrubbery, the bull-masked rebel saw Darko kneeling down and extending a hand to something on the ground. The rebel waited, his view of the Prince’s obstruction blocked by a bush.

  Finally, the creature in question moved closer to Darko’s outstretched hand. The bull-masked rebel saw that it was a small wolf demon cub. The little creature couldn’t of been any more than a few months old. It stared up at Darko with frightened animal eyes, and the Prince called softly to it. When the wolf cub came within reach, Darko extended his hand and started petting the cub gently.

  Who would have ever known, the rebel thought. Prince Darko has a soft spot for cute little creatures! Maybe we could use this against him somehow…

  His thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched squeal. When he looked back at Darko, the man was holding the demon cub by the skin on its neck. Darko was shaking the little fella violently, trying to make it squeal in pain and fright. His face remained emotionless the whole time.

  After a while, a chorus of howls was heard off in the distance. The animal music continued to come closer, until a pack of enormous black furred, red-eyed wolf demons appeared. The wolf pack attacked the Prince, who finally dropped the little cub. With his sword strapped to his back, the Prince engaged the wolves in hand-to-hand combat.

  He stopped a charging demon with a single punch to the side of its head. Another one leapt at him, only to be tossed to the side by a kick. A third wolf lunged at him with open jaws, and Darko only managed to grip its bared fangs in time to stop it. The Prince’s soul power flowed freely, and Darko easily tore the animal’s face apart.

  He wiped out the rest of the pack in minutes. When every last demon was dead, Darko sat down in the grass for a little rest. The bull-masked rebel sat frozen in terror, still watching from the bush far away. The man stared down at his trembling hands, lost in thought.

  I’ve got to be at least that strong to beat Darko, he thought. For now, I’d better get back to hunting those kids!

  * * * *

  Shiva’s vision cleared; she had managed to stay conscious. She saw her enemy, a woman wearing a far-too revealing outfit under a cloak. The mask she wore was shaped like a heart, but split apart down the middle as if it were broken.

  A masked woman… Shiva thought. Is she a rebel…?

  The girl had no idea why she’d be under attack from anyone unless they were of the rebel persuasion. If they had been tailing her, waiting for the right moment to strike, then this would certainly be it.

  Shiva lifted her head to examine the chain that was holding her throat against the ground. The two fireballs she dodged were connected to the ends of the chain. Those fireballs were now plunged into the forest floor, unmoving.

  “What…do you want?” Shiva managed to ask.

  The heart-masked woman said nothing in response.

  “You… you’re a rebel, aren’t you?”

  The woman raised her head slightly, as if lost in thought. She faced Lady Shiva again and spoke. “Do you think your family wi
ll miss you after I kill you? Do you think anyone will miss you? I don’t.”

  Shiva remained stone-faced. “That’s… all you had to say then!” The girl lifted her body off the ground despite the heavy chain and fireballs pinning her down. She had done enough weighted sit-ups in her life that this was hardly a challenge. With a deep gasp for air Shiva was back on her feet. The chain and fireballs remained stuck to the ground as the girl examined the strange weapon further.

  “So there’s a chain connecting these two fireballs? Looks interesting. But how does it work?”

  The lady rebel snapped her fingers, enlarging the two fireballs at the ends of the chain. With a flick of her fingers, the flames sprang to life and shot towards Shiva. Her neck was once again the target, as the chain spun and wrapped around her. Underneath her mask, the lady rebel smiled at the pain she was inflicting.

  Shiva did the unthinkable and grabbed a hold of one of the fireballs. She put everything she had into emitting her own flame and injecting it into her opponent’s. Caught off guard and too far away from her flames, the lady rebel could only watch as Shiva suffocated the fireball and claimed it for herself.

  Thanks, gramps, for spending a day teaching us how to use the flame thief technique, thought Shiva.

  Now in control of one end of the strange weapon, Shiva focused on sending the chain spinning in the other direction. The chain loosened as it unwrapped, freeing the girl from its choking grasp. The lady rebel grit her teeth in frustration and retaliated by willing the other end of the chain to spin the other direction and entangle her again. By the time she got it to rotate around her captive’s neck once Shiva had already managed to loosen the chain enough to slip her head out.

  Shiva had another surprise in store for the lady rebel as well: twin fireballs that she blasted at her. The rebel dodged out of the way, recalling her flame and with it the strange weapon that utilizes fireballs. She kept her distance now, knowing not to underestimate Lady Shiva.