by J. C. Diem
“Nice doggy,” I said cajolingly and its teeth bared even more. Its growl intensified as it geared itself up to attack. Menace emanated from it and fear raced up my spine. This trial wasn’t going to be as easy as the last five had been. Cunning and intelligent, the hellhound didn’t rush at me blindly. Stalking around me in a circle, it searched for an opening.
Holding my dagger ready, I kept my eyes on the dog rather than watching where I was stepping. Stumbling over something unseen in the mist, I lost my balance and the hound sprang. Eyes blazing in hunger, it’s mouth was open wide to crush my throat. Coming good on his promise to Nathan, Sam appeared out of nowhere. He barreled into my legs and we both tumbled to the ground.
Landing with a disappointed snarl, the hellhound whipped around and growled at Sam. Terrified, but determined to help me, the imp cowered at my side. We climbed to our feet as the hound prepared to attack. Weaponless, the imp didn’t look like much of a threat. The hound almost seemed to grin as it chose its target.
“I will endeavor to distract it,” Sam whispered. Before we could discuss a plan, the hound was bounding towards us.
Far braver than I’d ever expected him to be, he threw himself at the hellhound. Its jaws descended and latched onto his shoulder. He screamed in agony as he was shaken like a chew toy. Claws raked down his body, shredding his clothes and his flesh.
Feeling sick with dread for my friend, I circled around the hound while it was occupied. Staying out of its peripheral vision, I sidled up as close as I could get. I darted in and stabbed my dagger into its side. With a startled yelp, it let go of Sam. He fell to the ground in a boneless heap as blood flowed from his terrible wounds.
Favoring its injury, the hellhound was insane with fury that I’d managed to wound it. “Come on,” I goaded it and gestured with my dagger. “You aren’t afraid of a pitiful little mortal like me, are you?” I was limping from the injury that the rat had given me, but the pain wasn’t enough to incapacitate me.
Its ears flicked as if it could understand me. Lowering its head menacingly, it stalked me warily. Deciding I was more dangerous than it had anticipated, it threw its head back and howled. Answering bays came from the darkness and more hounds appeared in the mist.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groaned. The master gate had indeed altered the trials to suit what he thought was a dangerous foe. I wasn’t facing a lone hound anymore, but an entire pack of them. I moved away from Sam, hoping they wouldn’t take their vengeance out on him. A total of six hellhounds moved to form a circle around me. “I’m doomed,” I muttered in dread.
Perhaps not, a voice said inside my head. It wasn’t Fate this time, but the lord who had been chosen to be a spokesdemon for my posse. I am willing to lend you my aid, but you must allow me to utilize your body.
Just the thought of a demon being in control of me was chilling, but I didn’t have any other choice. Their sense of self-preservation was as strong as mine. If I died, so would they, theoretically anyway. Fine, I replied. Take these mongrels down before they tear me apart.
As the first hound sprinted forward, I relinquished control to one of the twelve deadly Demon Lords that resided inside me. My dagger grew and morphed into a double headed axe. It was gigantic, but almost weightless in my hands. I went into action before the hound could break off its attack.
Heatless crimson flames arched through the air as the weapon sliced into the hound. Its head was cloven from its body, but another one was already sprinting towards me. I watched in awe as my hands wielded the axe with stunning precision. Spinning in a deadly arc, it beheaded the beast then I was turning to confront my next foe.
I now understood what it was like for a vessel when they were possessed. I felt like a puppet being moved around, yet it wasn’t against my will. My limbs had been taken over, but my mind was still free.
My hands twirled the axe as if I’d been training with it for centuries. I cut down three more hounds until only the original one remained. Its eyes went flat with rage to see its pack destroyed. It threw its head back to howl for more backup and I was suddenly leaping through the air. Swinging the axe as I descended, it sheared through the hound’s neck and its head fell to the ground.
“So,” the gate drawled, trying not to sound shaken by my unexpected victory. “You have survived the sixth trial, but I am afraid this round does not qualify.”
“What?” I said in outrage. “Why?”
“You did not face the hounds alone,” he said slyly. “The imp came to your assistance.”
The Demon Lord spoke up inside my head, whispering a way out of this dilemma. “You didn’t specify that I had to fight alone,” I said. “Therefore, the trial is valid.”
Face twisting as if he’d eaten something sour, he grudgingly gave in. “Fine. Ready yourself for the seventh trial then.”
With the demon now fully in charge of my body, my exhaustion and pain had been washed away. Alert and ready, I turned in a circle, watching and listening for the next threat. Glowing red eyes appeared in the mist as a beast trotted noiselessly towards me. It quickly picked up speed until it was galloping. It is a nightmare, the demon murmured. It resembled a horse, but was far larger than normal. Shadows seemed to emanate from it, making it hard to focus on in the gloom of the shadowlands.
Instead of attacking, it veered around me and split into two. Both of the sinister horses made another pass and split again. I now had four nightmares prowling around me. Their backs stood far higher than my head and they bared their teeth to show fangs as wickedly sharp as the hellhounds’.
Only one of them is real, my demon advisor told me. We just have to discover which one is the original and destroy it.
“I’m sure that’s going to be really easy,” I muttered back.
It was impossible to keep my eye on all four nightmares at once. Even with their size, they moved soundlessly. I managed to avoid the rush of the first horse, but a second one crashed into my back and sent me flying.
Landing next to Sam, I was relieved when his eyes popped open. The wound on his shoulder wasn’t as bad and the bleeding had stopped. “How are you feeling?” I asked, watching over my shoulder for the next attack.
“I have been better,” he said with a groan.
“Stay right there,” I told him and gingerly patted his uninjured arm. “Try not to get trampled.”
He smiled weakly, but I was already up and running. All four nightmares came at me at once and my axe began to move. Dodging their hooves as best as I could, I stayed down low and aimed for their legs. Swinging my weapon, I sliced into all four of the horses. Only one of them screamed in pain when the blade nicked it.
“Gotcha,” I said in satisfaction and felt the demons refocus their attack. Limping away, the nightmare sent its three copies at me, but my axe held them at bay. Sprinting towards the original foe, I sheared off both of its back legs. Crashing to the ground, it flailed uselessly and gnashed its fangs at me. The axe went up then came down, severing its head. All four nightmares shimmered then disappeared.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirty-Eight
I’d barely finished axing the nightmare to death before the master gate was speaking. “I admit, I did not anticipate that you would make it this far into the trials,” he said in a rattled tone. “It will be interesting to see how well you do against your next opponent. The eighth trial begins now.”
Sam’s eyes rose into the sky and his mouth dropped open in shock. Before he could yell a warning, gigantic talons wrapped around me and lifted me into the air. My demon hitchhiker reacted far faster than I would have been capable of and I was propelled into action. My axe sliced into the black skin to the flesh beneath, severing the appendages.
I fell ten feet to the ground and staggered to catch my balance. Shrieking in pain and anger, a massive creature with huge leathery wings and a long tail that was wickedly barbed at the end glared down at me. It wasn’t a wyvern that I was facing in this trial, but something far more
dangerous. This time, it was a dragon.
About the length of a bus, its legs were long and muscular, but its arms were smaller and more dexterous. Its wounded hand was clutched to its chest protectively. If it breaths fire, you will be doomed, my demon advisor told me.
Apparently, burning me to a crisp wasn’t in the dragon’s plan. It had a more hands-on approach in mind. It swept towards me and I managed to dodge away from its claws. It glanced over its shoulder slyly and I only remembered its long tail when it smacked into me. A barb scraped a long cut down my side then the force of the blow sent me sailing through the air. I let out a cry of agony when I landed. Tumbling head over heels, I fetched up against the wall. From somewhere nearby, I heard the hellgate chuckling in glee.
Sam crawled over and helped me to my feet. “You have to run,” he said, watching the dragon anxiously. It hovered around two hundred yards away. Its wings beat the air hard enough to create small whirlwinds in the mist. I could almost feel it gloating as it stared at me.
“Where can I run to?” I said and leaned back against the wall for support. “It’ll be on me in a second.”
I have a better plan, the spokesdemon said.
He whispered his plan and I nodded in agreement. “Let’s do it,” I said out loud.
I didn’t have to act injured as I stumbled away from the wall. The dragon let out a shrill scream of triumph as it flew towards me. I kept my axe at my side until the last possible moment before raising it. As it swooped towards me with its back legs extended, my weapon changed into a spear. My inner demon surged forward and leant me his strength once more. I hurled the spear at the creature’s chest and it smashed through the tough scales to pierce its heart.
Sam crowed in glee as it fell to the ground and landed with a resounding thud. I staggered over to the already fading beast. Waiting for the spear to clatter to the earth, I picked it up and it became an axe again. I turned to the master gate in time to see him gnashing his teeth in frustration. He clearly hadn’t expected me to best the dragon. Only a few demons had ever made it this far. I hadn’t forgotten that no one had ever survived the last trial.
Realizing I was watching him, the gate schooled his expression to neutrality. “You have done well to make it this far,” he said with almost believable admiration, “but I fear your life is about to end. The ninth and final trial begins now.” His expression was quietly gleeful as he peered down at me.
Holding my axe with both hands, I felt the ground tremble. For a moment, I dared to hope it was just a distant earthquake. That hope withered and died when legs appeared in the mist. My head tilted back sharply as I gaped up at the behemoth that was striding towards me.
At least a hundred feet tall, instead of being black like the other illusions that I’d faced, its skin was as red as the glow from my axe. It had the arms, legs and body of a man, but that was where the resemblance ended. Its feet were cloven and its scarlet pupils were slit instead of round. Horns rose from its forehead and curved backwards for several yards. Black, leathery wings unfolded. They reached far into the sky as it stretched them before it folded them back up again. It opened its maw to reveal teeth that had to be a foot long, then it roared loudly enough to make me wince in pain.
I fear that this trial is different from the others, the spokesdemon warned me.
Different how?
This foe is not an illusion.
What is it? Now probably wasn’t the best time for this discussion, but the colossal creature didn’t seem to be in a rush to squish me like a bug. It was too busy admiring itself to even notice me.
It is a leviathan. They were created many millennia ago, but were deemed too dangerous to use as weapons of war.
Why? It looks like the perfect weapon to me.
Unfortunately, leviathan are as stupid as they are fearsome. Their hunger for destruction is so ferocious that they are nearly impossible to control. Only the master gate, or a demon with unparalleled willpower, is able to make them obey their orders.
Great, I gulped. So, how do we defeat it?
The demon went silent when the beast finally noticed me. As far as I know, no leviathan has ever been defeated by a lone warrior before, he said at last. It usually takes over a dozen Demon Lords working in tandem to kill one.
Malicious glee appeared on the leviathan’s hideous face as it stomped towards me. The ground shook with each step, making it difficult to keep my balance. When it was only one step away, it lifted its hoof up high.
I went on the move before it could squish me as flat as a pancake. Sprinting towards its other hoof, I noticed long hairs growing on its legs. Reading my intent, the demons inside me were reluctant to follow my lead. My plan wasn’t to confront the behemoth head-on like they would have, but to use stealth tactics to defeat it.
I don’t care if you think I’m a coward, I said with a mental scowl. I can’t fight this thing hand to hand. It’s too big and too strong, which is why no one has ever defeated it alone. Their pride wouldn’t allow them to hide and fight from the shadows, but I was far more practical than that. They were immortal and being defeated didn’t result in death for them, but it would for me.
Conceding that they had to lower themselves to fight like a human, they banded together for the sake of survival. Making my axe disappear, they launched me upwards. Jumping ten feet into the air, I landed on the back of the leviathan’s calf a moment before its hoof smashed into the ground. I clung to a couple of strands of hair while I waited for the ground to finish shaking. When it stilled, I began to climb.
Taking a step back, the leviathan peered at the ground. It looked around in confusion when it didn’t see my flattened corpse. Lifting its hoof up, it searched the bottom then bellowed in rage when it realized I was still alive.
Wow, this thing really is dumb, I thought as I reached the loincloth that was slung around its hips.
Finally realizing that I was clinging to it like a leech, it tried to dislodge me, but I scurried out of reach. Gigantic hands slapped at me, but it couldn’t twist around far enough to see me. I climbed up higher, scaling its gigantic butt until I reached its back. Thankfully, its back was just as hairy as its legs and I had something to hold onto as I climbed higher.
If I hadn’t been infused with the strength of twelve Demon Lords, it would have been impossible to scale the beast. Sweat dripped into my eyes and I wiped it away with my sleeve. Glancing up, I saw that I’d nearly reached its shoulders. I had no idea how I was going to kill this thing, but I kept climbing anyway.
Enraged that it couldn’t rid itself of me, the leviathan jumped up and down in a frenzy. Hearing a distant bellowing laugh, I realized the master gate was enjoying the show immensely and scowled. My inner demons were just as indignant that we were being used as entertainment for the sadistic, magically animated hunk of metal.
Waiting for the leviathan to stop jumping, I peered upwards and was discouraged to see that its head was devoid of hair. “It looks like this is as high as we can go,” I said to my team.
I see no way for us to incapacitate our foe, the spokesdemon said in despair.
Reaching between its shoulder blades, the leviathan couldn’t quite grasp me. Its fingers groped the air several feet above my head. Letting out a frustrated roar, it started spinning around and around in a circle.
Closing my eyes before dizziness could overwhelm me, I had to hold in a hysterical laugh. It turned and turned like a dog chasing its tail before eventually stopping. Wheezing for air, the leviathan lost its balance and went down to one knee. It hit the ground hard enough to almost shake me free, but I clung on with sheer desperation.
Head hanging, it made sounds like it was going to barf. Its neck was right above me and was currently exposed and vulnerable. Remembering how I’d severed the spokesdemon’s spine to disable him, I desperately seized on the idea. The demons grasped what I was thinking and went into action.
Climbing higher, I wrapped a thick strand of hair around my left hand to anch
or myself. My axe appeared in my right hand and I began chopping. At first, the wounds were too insignificant to bother the leviathan. When blood began to flow, it flinched. Lurching to its feet again, it renewed its efforts to try to dislodge me. A hand came towards me and I swung the axe. Two of its fingers went sailing off into the air and it let out a screech of pain. Bewildered that something so small could actually hurt it, it began to run as if it could somehow escape from the agony.
Coated in the leviathan’s blood by now, I grimly kept chopping until white bone appeared. I clung to the hope that its anatomy was similar to a human’s. Hacking and slicing, I broke through the bone and kept on going. I knew I’d hit its spinal cord when it collapsed in mid-step.
“Timber!” I shouted as the monster fell. Bracing myself as best I could, the axe changed back to a dagger. I held on tight as the mist rushed up towards me. The leviathan hit the ground hard and I was sent flying. I landed on my back and the wind was knocked out of me. Unable to breathe, I stared up at the darkness, praying that I hadn’t just broken every bone in my body.
“Violet!” Sam shouted in panic. His voice was distant, but quickly drew closer. “Where are you?”
I held up a trembling hand, hoping he’d be able to see it in the gloom. He did and veered towards me. Kneeling at my side, he took my hand and held it to his bony chest. I was touched to see tears standing in his eyes. “You are alive!” he said in disbelief. To my surprise, he was carrying my jacket. He knew how much it meant to me and had been kind enough not to leave it behind.
“Mostly,” I croaked. “Are my legs still there?” I didn’t have the energy to lift my head off the ground to look.
Examining me, he nodded. “Everything seems to be intact.”
“That’s good.” My side was on fire and the wounds that the rat had made when it had gnawed on my leg stung. Still, I’d come out of the trials with far fewer injuries than I’d expected. I was frankly amazed that I’d survived at all.
