“Alright then.” John readied his sword. “Let’s play your little game.”
He lunged forward with a horizontal strike. The blade impacted into the brute’s skin, leaving barely a mark as he passed. The monster was covered in muscle, head to toe, making it a walking tank. It slowly turned around and brought its fists down where John had just been. The sterile white tile floor buckled under the weight of the monsters fists, making two craters in the floor before it pulled its hands out and swung again. The fight, though skewed as it was, reminded John an awful lot of his sparring match with Samuel. A larger, stronger opponent matched with a much faster, weaker one. He ran around the monster before him, striking every so often, while easily dodging the brute’s own attacks. The only issue with the technique was that the damage John was inflicting was minimal at best. Small cuts covered the monster, but barely any of its black blood dripped down.
On the other side of the room, Aerin was faring no better. She slapped her hands together and released a volley of blasts at the beast before her. All of them struck their target, but none seemed to inflict any damage. Aerin quickly backpedaled away from the monster as it brought its two giant fists down hard onto one of the metal tables that filled the room, sending the contents flying through the air as the table snapped into pieces. Aerin clapped her hands together once more, but this time she upped her attack. Dozens of Cyphers appeared all around her, just as they had when she attacked Holland moments before. She thrust her arms forward toward the monster and the Cyphers released their torrent. Explosion after explosion slammed into the monster’s hide, slowing it a little, but still it resisted.
John slid under one of the beast’s strikes and managed to land a decent hit on its leg. The creature let out a bellowing roar as the blade tore through a few inches of its muscular flesh. John scrambled back to his feet and dodged to the side before the monster could crush him in retaliation. He glanced over toward Holland briefly before laying on another attack. The old man was still busily at work at the computer terminal, but he looked to be working quicker than before. Time was running out, or at least running low and John didn’t have the leisure to slowly whittle the monster down with such shallow blows. He needed to take it out quickly and so he bet everything on one move.
He ran around the monster once more, allowing himself to get a good distance between them. Quickly, he jumped up a series of tables and machines until he was about fifteen feet in the air. The beast shuffled towards him, and John waited until it was in a good striking distance before attacking. He leaped from his perch with his sword raised high overhead before bringing it down hard against his target.
The blade was met with heavy resistance as it suddenly stopped midair. The massive man had grabbed the sword with one arm and held John suspended. It smiled wickedly before spinning John by his sword and releasing him with great force. John slammed into the wall behind him hard enough to crack the concrete and leave a small indention. The impact had been enough to knock the breath out of him and he coughed hard in an attempt to quickly refill his lungs. The monster shambled towards him with a smile on its face as it cracked its knuckles again. It stopped just in front of John and raised its fist high into the air to finish John off. The temporary pause gave John just the opportunity he had been waiting for; in one swift motion John drove the blade forward into the monster’s face. The flesh on its head was much softer than the rest of its body and so the blade tore into it and out the other side with ease. The heavy body stumbled wildly backwards until it fell to the ground with a massive thud. It thrashed about before catching fire and burning up just as all the other Demons John had faced before had done.
“You’ve both been good company, but I do think this is where we part ways!” Holland shouted from across the room.
John looked over at the computer terminal and saw that Holland wasn’t there. The few screens that had survived Aerin’s onslaught now shined a bright blue, an indication of their destruction. John turned and dashed for the elevator on the other side of the room. He ran around the massive Bloodstone and had nearly made it when he saw the doors closing. John ran hard for the stairs leading up to the lift, but stopped immediately when he heard Aerin scream behind him. She had either gotten careless in her fight, or the beast had surprised her, whatever the case it had managed to backhand her away. She had slammed into a table, toppling it and all of its contents over. As she pulled herself up slowly, disoriented from the attack, the monster stood over her with its fist raised ready to crush the young Angel. It smiled as it thrust its massive hand down at her.
There was a sudden rush of wind in the room as the air in front of Aerin burned hot. She opened her eyes to see John standing in front of her. His blade, coated in a bright red flame, was firmly planted within the monster’s right arm. The sword had managed to slice all the way from the middle of the creatures hand before stopping somewhere in the forearm. The brute quickly pulled its mangled arm back and let out a terrible pain filled roar. It stumbled backward, gripping the wounded arm with its other hand, holding the chunks of flesh together as best it could. John readied his sword for another strike. The blade before him burned hot, and for what reason he wasn’t sure. Just moments before he couldn’t land a single hit on his enemy, but now he cut into it like a hot knife through butter. He lunged forward and the fiery blade tore into the monster’s flesh as if it was nothing. John made short work of the Demon by finishing it off the same way he had done to the other. The blade drove through the creature’s head and out the other side, causing it to burst into flames as its soul was stolen. With both monsters defeated, John placed his blade behind him and a fiery sheath burned up around it.
“You alright?” He asked as he bent down and held his hand out for Aerin.
“I… I’m fine.” The only real thing that seemed to have been injured was her pride. “Thank you.” She said as she took hold of his hand and stood up.
“Let’s get going.” John said. “He’s already got-“
John’s words were cut off as explosions suddenly rang out inside of the room. Two blasts started near the base of the Bloodstone and worked their way up opposite walls from each other before meeting above the large rock. Large chunks of concrete began cracking and falling downward as the whole room began to collapse.
“Move!” Aerin shouted as she ran.
John followed Aerin as they made their way around the Bloodstone and to the other side of the room. Along the way she fired a few dozen explosive bolts towards chunks of concrete falling from the ceiling that would’ve otherwise crushed them. When they finally reached the elevator door, Aerin didn’t wait around for it to open. She slapped her hands together and blew the doors clean out of their sockets before jumping down inside the shaft. John quickly followed her just as the space behind him was crushed by a large chunk of concrete. Their destination was a good ways up and there was only one way to get there fast. John took hold of one of the cables that ran up and down the shaft and gripped it as tight as he could. Aerin squeezed in between him and the cable and wrapped one arm around him while holding a small spell in her free hand.
“Ready?” She asked.
“No.” John said with a sigh. “Do it.”
Aerin pointed the palm of her hand toward the base of the cable and let the spell fly. It severed the metal wire in half, causing them to suddenly accelerate upwards at great speed. John closed his eyes and grit his teeth as he held the cable as tight as he could. As they approached the base of the elevator Aerin charged another spell. She let it loose and it tore through the bottom of the lift. Two wings extended out from behind Aerin and she grabbed onto John with both hands. He released his grip on the cable and grabbed onto Aerin tightly. She beat her wings one good time and carried them both into the gaping elevator. Luckily, there was just enough space left on the floor to stand. The doors slid open with a sharp ding and they rushed into the office just as the elevator gave way and fell behind them. They both let out a sigh of relief as they tur
ned to find no one in the office to greet them.
“I don’t know what you two did, but you’ve stirred up the hornet’s nest!” Diamond shouted over the earpiece. “We’ve got a helicopter coming in fast!”
“Dammit!” John knocked some of Holland’s strange artwork from his bookshelf before he and Aerin ran out into the hall. “Lazarus? Where are you?” John shouted into his earpiece.
“Security room, mate!” Lazarus answered over the radio. The sound of gunfire could be heard reverberating throughout the building. “Everyone’s coming out of the woodwork, building feels unstable, whatever you’re doing, do it fast!”
Up ahead was a sign that indicated a stairwell leading to the roof. Aerin tore open the door and John quickly followed her in. They both ran as hard as they could up the flight of stairs until they came to the door. John kicked it open and Aerin stepped outside around him. The rooftop was wide open with a few air conditioning units here and there. At the far end sat a raised platform where a helicopter sat with its rotors spun up to speed. Richard Holland stepped up into the chopper and turned around to face his pursuers.
“Richard!” Aerin shouted as she readied a spell in each hand.
“Not today, Angel!” Richard shouted back. He reached to his left and released a large arm that dropped down horizontally. Atop it sat a mounted machine gun that he took hold of. “Maybe next time?”
Holland squeezed the trigger and the weapon responded instantly. Aerin had to quickly convert the spells in her hands into a shield in order to block the hundreds of bullets that were suddenly flung in her direction. John ducked his head down and made himself about as small as Aerin as he could in order to stay behind the shield she had erected. The bullets slammed into the shield, wedging themselves within its magical barrier; they continued to do so until Richard’s gun suddenly ran empty. As soon as his weapon made the tale tell clicking sound of an empty chamber, Aerin retaliated. She pulled her arms back slightly as she readied herself before thrusting them forward again. The shield, and the hundreds of bullets that she had collected flew toward the chopper; but Holland didn’t flinch in the slightest. The wall of lead collided with an invisible barrier a few inches away from the helicopter. The bullets bounced back and forth rapidly between the two colliding walls until they were shot in all directions, leaving the helicopter completely unscathed.
“I told you I wouldn’t go down so easy!” Holland shouted. “The whole chopper is spell proof!” He said with a laugh before motioning to the pilot to take off.
“Spell proof?” John mused as he patted Aerin’s shoulder before stepping around her. “I’ve got this one.”
He reached behind him and gripped the sword that was held suspended in its flaming sheath. He pulled it out and spun it in his hand before he readied it to throw. The chopper rose slightly off of the platform and began to move forward, but John compensated by aiming his blade slightly ahead of his target. Richard Holland could see the plan forming before him, and there was a fear in his eyes. The old man turned and shouted to the pilot to move, but it was already too late. John took two steps forward before hurling the sword forward as hard as he could. It spun end over end through the air and wedged itself firmly within the chopper’s tail rotor. Chunks of sharp metal tore off and flew in all directions. An endless stream of warning tones and alerts blared within the helicopter’s cockpit as it began to spin out of control. The chopper rotated slowly as it arched out away from the building. Suddenly the nose dipped a little and the craft descended rapidly toward the roof. John and Aerin both dove out of the way in separate directions as the helicopter dug into the concrete rooftop. Its rotor blades broke more and more each time they slapped the hard surface, sending deadly shrapnel in all directions.
John opened his eyes to a large fire all around him. His senses were completely disoriented from the crash. He couldn’t feel anyone’s presence, nor could he particularly see straight or hear over the ringing in his ears. He pulled himself up onto his feet and slowly made his way around the fire to the wreckage of the chopper. The closer he drew, the more he could start to feel again, and he could feel that Holland was still nearby. Luckily John’s sword was where he left it, firmly planted in the tail end of the helicopter. He wrenched it free with a sharp metallic squeal and found that it was completely unscathed, much to his surprise. As he examined the blade, he heard something moving nearby. Holland was crawling away from the wreckage, a trail of blood behind him. The man looked to be near death so John decided to finish him off while he had the chance. He thought for a moment on whether if he should or not, but considering how important it seemed to Aerin, he felt the need to.
John stepped closer to Holland and raised his sword. He paused for a moment as Holland stopped crawling, as if the man sensed his time was near. Without wasting another moment, John brought the blade down and drove it deep into the concrete. Defying John’s expectations, Holland had quickly rolled to the side and avoided the killing blow. Before John could pull the sword free and strike again, Holland swung his legs around and knocked John off of his feet. He fell backwards suddenly and felt most of the wind knock out of his lungs, not because of the sudden fall, but mostly because of the shock of the matter. Holland got up onto his knees and brought his fist down, which John promptly blocked before swinging a punch of his own. He hadn’t expected the old man to have as much fight in him as he did, but the fact of the matter stood, and John was determined to beat him.
Holland threw another punch that John quickly countered and retaliated against. John’s own efforts seemed to be in vain, as Holland appeared to be well versed in hand to hand combat, something that John wasn’t as acquainted with. The old man grabbed John by his leather chest plate and shoved him back into an AC unit. The sudden impact disoriented John, allowing Holland to get a good hit in on his stomach. John coughed hard from the hit before grabbing Holland around the neck and slamming him down to the ground. Holland hadn’t expected the sudden throw down, and he was stunned for a brief moment, just enough time for John to land a solid punch to the nose. There was a loud crack from his face as John’s fist connected with him. Before he could manage another hit, Holland knocked him back down to the ground once more. This time was different, however, Holland didn’t go in for another attack; instead he now held John at gunpoint.
“There we go.” Holland said before spitting out a glob of blood filled saliva. “Yeah, that’s better. No more fighting. Nice and quiet.”
In the flickering light of the intense fire behind him, John could tell that something was different about Holland. It wasn’t his outfit, his hair, or his body; the difference was in his eyes. Earlier they had been normal, hazel colored eyes, at least that’s the color John remembered seeing. Now they were something different, they were a dark black, almost as if his pupils had overtaken his entire eyeball.
“You’re not human, are you?” John asked.
“How observant of you.” Holland said with a laugh. “How much did she tell you about me?”
“Not a thing.” John said.
“I didn’t figure she would, I’d imagine I’m a touchy subject.” He smiled. “Do you know what a Grimoire is, boy?” Holland asked, but stopped and shook his head. “No, I guess you wouldn’t… I am the perfect combination of Human and Relic. I know things you couldn’t possibly comprehend. I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe.” He said with a smile. “Anyway.” Holland pulled the slide back on his pistol. “You’ve been a real pain, you and that Angel. You know how much I’m going to have to rebuild? That bitch Meredith knows where I am now… and I was just starting to like this city.” Holland shrugged before aiming the gun at John’s head. “Oh well.”
John looked left and right quickly for a way out, but found nothing. Holland’s finger was planted on the trigger and he squeezed it. Without warning, a blade pierced Holland from behind. The action caused him to reel his arm back as he pulled the trigger, sending the bullet that was intended to kill John harmlessly off into the
side of the chopper. Holland stumbled backward as thick streams of blood poured from his chest. He fell to his knees and screamed before the blade was suddenly torn from him. Aerin stood behind him holding onto John’s sword, blood running down the blade. She kicked Holland in the back, causing him to fall down on his face next to John. Aerin walked up and stood over Holland’s body; there was a wild look in her eyes. What happened next would stay with John for the rest of his life.
Aerin brought the sword down into Holland’s back. The blade penetrated with little effort as blood sprayed from the wound. She pulled the sword free once more before slamming it back down. There was something wrong with the scene playing out before John. This was the first time someone other than him had wielded his sword, and Aerin did it with such malicious intent. There was a feeling permeating throughout him as Aerin continued to massacre the old man before him. He could feel all of Aerin’s feelings. All her sorrow, regret, anger, hatred, all of it swirled around within him. Each time she brought his sword down into the man it was like a heartbeat that echoed throughout John’s entire being, and her feelings were the blood. For a moment, they were connected by more than the tether between their souls. There was a bridge between their hearts.
For a while Holland screamed every time he was stabbed, but after the fifteenth or so time he ceased function. His body lay there in a pool of his own dark crimson blood, motionless. Aerin pulled the sword out and held it in her right hand. She brought her left up to wipe the sweat from her brow as she breathed heavily. Suddenly Holland’s body began to change. The pool of blood around him began to boil as his own body burned away. The flesh and bone turned to a pile of ash, leaving one peculiar item behind. In the center of the pile was one lone book. It was leather bound and sealed with a belt. The cover was black and looked worn with age. Just as she had done with Holland, Aerin brought the sword down into the book.
Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale Page 22
