Chapter 44
Alex didn’t know what to expect. Demons, monstrous, booby traps. He could have walked into a lake of lava. That would have been a stupid way to die after making it this far.
But there was none of the above.
It was an enormous room with a hundred meters to his right and left, and two hundred meters in front of him, it had a tall ceiling. The floor was made of a smooth polished black stone. There were no torches, but the place was well lit.
Alex could see where the light was coming from. A hundred meters in front of him, red light shone out from the ground in a circle ten meters in diameter. Standing at the edge of the circle were demons. They hadn’t noticed Alex and Keira entering.
There weren’t that many demons, only about a dozen. There wasn’t any sign of Satan, either. Alex felt pretty confident.
Keira tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the left and right of the circle. There were two demons sitting on the ground opposite each other in a meditating pose. Their eyes closed, they held in their hands metal rods that were glowing red. The demons chanted away under their breaths.
“Satan’s not out yet,” she whispered.
“Perfect,” Alex said. “We kill the demons, then we get the hell out of here.”
“Not so easy,” Karen pointed to the demon wearing the long black cloak. “That’s Merculis Azarath. He won’t be easy to defeat.” She then nodded at the demon standing beside him. “That’s Zamara.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
“She’s a skilled demon. A challenge even for you… She battled Satani once, over a thousand years ago.”
“Who won?” Alex asked.
“Satani did… but she let Zamara live as she was the first demon to have drawn Satani’s blood in a duel. She’s gotten better since. She eats only the black fluid that flows out of crushed human bones.”
“That’s disgusting,” Alex muttered.
As if now hearing him, Zamara turned her head to look back at them. Even from the distance, Alex could tell her eyes were red. She tilted her head to the side and smiled as those red eyes took in his longsword. Her lips moved. Alex didn’t hear any words escape, but beside her, Merculis Azarath turned to look back.
For someone who was Jamie Azarath’s father, Merculis didn’t look that old. But then, demons didn’t age the same way as humans did. There wasn’t much of a resemblance either. Merculis had blue skin. He was of a slender build too, though he did have a strong jawline, high cheekbones and black hair.
“Alex Jones of earth,” Merculis said. His voice carried through the cave and echoed, bouncing off the walls.
His guard up, Alex walked towards the demons, Keira by his side. All eyes faced them, aside from the two demons that continued to chant away. Merculis had a kind face for a demon, and he even smiled as Alex stopped ten feet away.
“You killed my son,” Merculis said.
“Yeah… I’m not sorry about that,” Alex said truthfully. Jamie Azarath was an ass.
Merculis’s lips tightened, his eyes dimming. “You don’t need to be on the angel’s side, Alex,” he said. “You still have time to join us.”
“I’m not on their side,” Alex said. “I’m here to stop a war between you cunts and save millions of human lives that’ll die.”
“Humans will die anyway,” Merculis said. “Their lives on earth are so short, barely worth anything. Strange creatures. Their existence is immortal, you know. The soul persists on forever. Yet, their brief period on earth determines where that soul goes.”
“I’m not here for a philosophical discussion,” Alex growled. “You can either get the fuck out of here, or you can prepare to die.”
Merculis exchanged a glance with Zamara. The green-skinned demon stepped forward. “Don’t die too quickly,” she told him, smiling pleasantly.
“You… don’t do the same?” Alex muttered, frowning.
And then it began.
Zamara’s hands were at her sides. Alex barely saw them rise. The blades that were flung at him were a blur. It was pure instinct that saved him. He moved his head back and at the same time, moved his sword to the left just a little. He managed to deflect one blade, but he hadn’t moved his head back enough. The other blade cut his cheek.
Alex cursed silently, then realised Zamara had only just began. Beside him, Keira drew her swords and charged. But Zamara ignored her and continued to throw blades at him. Alex focused intensely, his eyes on the whizzing black blades that came at him. Their speed and accuracy were more than anything he’d ever faced before.
He was no longer thinking about stopping Satan from breaking out.
His focus was to stay alive.
Zamara seemed to have an endless supply of blades by her waist. Despite his best efforts, Alex had cuts across his arms, his legs, two more across his cheeks and another shaved off part of his long hair.
All the while throwing blades, Zamara walked towards him casually. When she was only ten feet away, she dropped to her knees and thrust her arms forward. Alex only saw one blade. It clanged with his sword and sparks flew as it deflected up and hit the ceiling. He knew she’d thrown another blade. It had dug into the lower muscular part of his leg.
Zamara climbed to her feet as Alex dropped to his knees. She stared at the cuts on his face and body and nodded approvingly. “Not bad,” she said. “You have talent, but you’re a little rough around the edges. A shame really. If you had another four or five months, it could have been a real challenge.”
Zamara now drew out a black curved sword. Alex grimaced as he pulled the blade out from his leg. There was a lot of blood there, but it would stop soon. Demon Hunters recovered quickly, and he had Lucifer's energy flowing through his body.
He climbed to his feet, preparing to fight her and winced as he felt pain shooting up his leg. So much for his healing abilities, he though. Behind Zamara, he spotted Keira. She’d tried to make a dash for the chanting demon to the left, but had been blocked by Merculis’s demons. Keira was battling them furiously. She was good, but so were they. Merculis simply watched, his eyes going from Keira to Alex.
Zamara waved a hand at him. “Hey, focus. Distractions will cause you to lose your head. Literally.”
Alex frowned. He wasn’t used to his opponents giving him advice, especially when said advice was actually good.
“Hey bud, gonna need to access some of those awesome fighting skills of yours,” Alex said.
“You know what to do,” Lucifer replied.
Normally, Alex wouldn’t have tried this before duelling any other demon, but Zamara really seemed like the type to want to give him the best chance at winning, or at least, of being a worthy opponent. So, he said, “Can I get a moment to gather myself?”
Zamara smiled widely. “Sure thing.”
“Thanks,” Alex nodded gratefully.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on memories. Not his own. Lucifer’s. There was this part of his mind that, if he really concentrated hard on, he could feel it there, like a large vault in his head. Alex found the vault. He didn’t have to rummage through it. It was a strange sensation, as if, rather than having the voice in his head, his body was now shared by two entities, two sets of memories, but most importantly, two sets of skills. But Alex still felt in control. He was in physical control and not sharing bodies.
“You ready their young human?” Zamara asked.
Alex opened his eyes and smiled. “Yup, thanks.”
“Loving the eyes,” Zamara said. “All red and bright,” she nodded appreciatively.
Alex couldn’t tell when it happened, but he knew it did sometimes. His eyes became a fiery red. Usually, it meant his body was as strong as it could be, or stronger than normal.
The duel began. Alex felt relaxed and light on his feet. Zamara moved fast and her body whirled as she came at him. It took all of Alex’s concentration to hold his own. Her blows were fast, and as Alex blocked them, he began to
move back.
And then, Alex fell for a trick. Zamara feigned an attack to the left. Alex moved to block with his sword and left himself open on the right. Zamara spun in a circle and her sword came at him to his right. Alex just about managed to bring his sword back to parry the strike, but then, Zamara’s foot rose straight up, as if she were doing the split with one foot on the ground, the other in the air. It struck him on the chin.
Alex tasted blood as his teeth bit his lip and tongue. He staggered back and expected Zamara to give him no break. He was right. She came at him again, and this time, she threw her sword at him. Alex blocked it, but the second he wasted staring at her in surprise nearly cost him his life.
Zamara had thrown more than just her sword at him. He turned sideways and a dagger flew past his chest. Another stuck itself in his arm. Alex pulled it out and angrily threw it at Zamara. It was a good throw, but she batted it away like it was nothing.
Now sword less, Zamara had returned to throwing daggers at him again. But this time, with much more veracity. Alex deflected as many as he could with his sword, but again, they were getting through. Another dagger stuck itself in his leg before a third entered just beneath his collar bone.
Alex dropped to his knees, gasping for breath, he was in pain. Blood dripped from every part of his body. Zamara stopped throwing daggers at him and watched.
“Little bit disappointed,” she said.
“Just give me a sec,” Alex replied through deep breaths. He rested one hand on the hard black rock, his palm flat down. “I’m a little rusty but… I think I’ll get you in the next round.”
Zamara smiled at him sympathetically. “I’m sure if there was another round in say, two years, you would definitely be a worthy opponent. But I'm afraid I’m going to have to cut your head off now.” She indicated at Merculis behind her. “He wants it as a trophy on his wall.”
Alex lowered his head and looked down at the hard rock. He could feel the vibrations as his hand trembled. He looked up at Zamara and smiled. “I’d be lying if I said it’s been fun,” he told her. “You cut me quite badly. So, I’m afraid I’m going to have to crush you.”
Zamara threw her head back and laughed. Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “I love your spirit,” she said. “Are you going to crush me from there on the ground, knees bent with exhaustion?”
Alex nodded.
Zamara must have noticed the serenity in that nod of Alex’s, because she stopped smiling. Her eyes widened in wariness. She glanced down at her feet as the black rock beneath began to shake. Alex saw her hands reach to her waist, where he imagined were many more daggers. But it was too late for that.
The black stone floor beneath Zamara cracked, then shot up in the air, taking her with it, it crashed into the ceiling, squashing the skilful demon.
“Fuck yeah,” Lucifer said jubilantly.
Breathing heavily, his eyes closed, Alex felt the daggers that were stuck in his flesh. He pulled them out swiftly and groaned as he climbed to his feet. His body was crisscrossed with deep cuts that stung as they bled. He could feel some of the healing. Demon Hunters had extraordinary healing abilities, but it was going to take a long time to recover. Especially from the wound just under his collarbone.
Still, with steely determination, Alex hobbled forward towards the demons and the large circle that was Satan’s prison. Keira was still battling Merculis’s demons, while the man himself watched. Keira was holding on, just about. But she was hurt. She had cuts across her arms, her legs, her face. She battled with the sword in her right hand as her left hand pressed just below her lower ribcage. There was a lot of blood there.
Alex picked up the pace, and with a roar, he jumped into the action. Alex fought with rage and forgot his pains. When he slashed with his sword, he chopped off limbs, he cut through bone and he battered skulls. As the demon numbers dwindled, Keira stopped and watched, eyes wide as Alex headbutted a demon so hard, it fell straight back. He then leapt onto the demon’s head, his knees crushing it, he rolled forward and ducking under another demon’s strike, he drove his sword straight up in its chin.
Alex was covered in blood, but now, most of it belonged to demons. That was the last of Merculis’s demons, aside from the two chanters. A small part of Alex was horrified by what he’d done. All around him were dead demons, some with their skulls crushed, others with legs and arms separated from their bodies. It wasn’t anything Alex hadn’t seen before, but this time, he was the reason for it.
But it was a small part that felt guilt. Most of his mind was still in survival mode. He’d finished of Zamara. He’d finished of Merculis’s demons. There remained the man himself. With sword in hand, Alex limped towards the demon.
Seeing his approach, Merculis calmly pulled off his leather doublet and even took the time to fold it in half before placing it neatly on the ground. By his waist was a black scabbard with the edges lined in gold. Merculis pulled his sword out. The blade was black and curved. The sharp edge had a silvery glint that sparkled in the red light.
It looked like the type of sword a skilled swordsman would use. It was light and sharp.
“He’s talented,” Keira said, with a huff.
She stood beside him, and Alex looked her up and down. The bleeding just above her waist seemed bad, and her hand continued to press against it. “You okay?” he asked.
“I’ve been worse,” Keira said with a grimace.
“Sit this one out,” he told her. “I’ve got him.”
Keira nodded her head grimly. “I think I will.”
Merculis stood wearing black leather trousers and a white vest. His arms were toned, and for his age, which Alex assumed was a lot, he looked to be in good really good shape. But, so were most of the demons he’d already face.
And then it happened.
Merculis began to grow. He was about seven foot to begin with, but when his transformation was complete, he stood at nine feet tall. His horns had sharpened as well. The sword in his hand seemed to have grown too as it didn’t look any smaller in his hand.
Again, this wasn’t anything Alex hadn’t seen before. “You just want to give up?” he asked, as he limped forward.
“You chose the wrong side,” Merculis said.
“Maybe,” Alex said. “There wasn’t really much to choose between. You’re all cunts you know. I’m just going with the cunt that’s going to cause the least amount of human deaths.”
They were done talking.
Merculis came at him with the black sword in hand. This time, Alex didn’t need a moment to prepare, to access Lucifer’s memories, his talent and experience. Alex parried Merculis’s strikes. He held back from going on the offensive as he got a good feel for the demon.
Merculis was good, but Alex was better. He feigned to the left, then struck to the right. As Merculis blocked it, Alex charged forward and headbutted the demon.
Merculis took a step back in surprise. It wasn’t often he was headbutted on account of the sharp horns he had. And he had never in his life been headbutted by someone who didn’t have horns themselves.
It was the arrogance of the human that made his lips curl in anger. Merculis brought his head forward in fury, attempting to smash it onto the human’s forehead. It was what Alex had been hoping for him to do. Ready for it, he simply sidestepped, then grabbed Merculis by the horn and pulled down. At the same time, he brought his knee up and slammed it against Merculis’s mouth.
As the demon staggered back, his front teeth broken, Alex went on the offensive. Sparks flew as their swords clashed. There was power and speed behind Alex’s strikes. A deadly combination that eventually breached Merculis’s defences. The demon’s sword flew out of his hand. Before he had a chance to recover, Alex drove his sword into Merculis’s stomach. He pushed it in until it came out the other side. He continued to push until the hilt was pressing against the demon’s vest.
Alex waited until Merculis stopped breathing. Then, he pulled his sword out and moved towards the chantin
g demon to his right. In the background, he heard Merculis’s body hit the ground with a thud.
The chanting demon did not open its eyes at Alex’s approach. He wondered if it even knew he was there. Alex raised his sword and aimed for the neck as he swung the longsword. The chanting came to a sudden stop as the eyes flung open. Then, the head slid off the neck and rolled five feet away. Alex did the same to the remaining chanting demon.
Finally, he dropped to his knees, breathing heavy, he rested on his bottom, then lay on his back and closed his eyes.
Chapter 45
Alex didn’t know how long he lay there on the ground with his eyes closed. At some point, he became aware of his body healing. The little cuts began to itch as the skin came together. It was the deep cuts that made him wince. Zamara’s blades had cut deep, some even grazed the bone.
Feeling the muscles come back together, feeling the bone heal, it really hurt. The last time something like this had happened was when Mark, the Demon Hunter, had slashed him with his swords. Alex had blacked out from the blood loss. His body had recovered whilst he’d been unconscious. He wished he was unconscious now. This slow healing wasn’t the worst pain in the world. But it was constant and it made his head ache.
Alex didn’t know when Keira came to stand over him. He didn’t hear her steps, or her heavy breathing, at least, not until she kicked him on his hip.
He opened his eyes and glared at her. “What?”
“You did it,” she told him.
“I know that,” Alex replied. “This is my victory nap.”
“You were asleep?” Keira asked.
“I wish,” Alex muttered. He sat up and looked around at the carnage. Dead demon bodies, some decapitated. Lots of blood. Yup, it wasn’t a great sight. Alex climbed to his feet and walked towards the circle of light.
Towards Satan’s prison.
The black stone stopped and there in the ground was a fifty-feet deep and a hundred feet wide pit. The bottom of the pit was filled with lava. There was nothing else in the pit. Just lava, and the wall of the pit. It was covered by what looked like a lid of thick blue glass.
The Devil's Apprentice: Book 2: Descent to Hell Page 23
