Hellbound Second Advent

by Decoyar Brown

  “I can’t see them very well. Let me zoom in and take a look.” Charles almost dropped his camera when he realized what they were.

  “Charles, what is it?”

  He pointed and fell backward. The words wouldn’t leave his mouth.

  Gloria reached for her backpack and took out a pair of binoculars. When she focused, she almost tripped over also. “Those are demons. I can’t believe this. Those are demons.” She dropped the binoculars and held her heart; it was beating too fast.

  “We have to get it on camera. We didn’t come all the way out here to be scared. Give it to me.” Gloria demanded. She took the camera and zoomed in on the flying demons.

  Charles got up and looked through the binoculars. “I think I see other people fighting against them.”

  “Where?” Gloria asked.

  “Just a little to your right. At two o’clock.”

  “Oh my. I think I recognize the one with the orange hair. It’s the Demon Slayer!”

  “But who is that with him?” Charles asked. “There is someone or something helping him fight against those creatures. Gross. What hideous armor.”

  “He looks like one of those things that was in Times Square.”

  “They must’ve became friends overnight or something. There’s something different about the Demon Slayer. Why isn’t he carrying a sword? His hands are covered in green flames.”

  “Wait a minute,” Gloria said. “I don’t think it’s the Demon Slayer. I think it’s his brother—the one we saw at the Stock Exchange building.”

  “No, I don’t think so…He looks like a kid—no older than sixteen. Are you telling me there are more orange-haired people running around?”

  “Seems so, but I think I’ve seen that kid before. He was in Times Square that day. Wait a minute. There are more people fighting against the creatures. They are wearing strange white armor and helmets.”

  “Really? Let me see,” Charles said.

  “Give me a moment. I think I see more of those scary armored men coming from behind them.” Gloria walked closer to the edge to look over.

  Charles tapped her on her shoulder. “Oh, Gloria…” His voice trembled.

  “Oh my, they are—”

  Charles tapped her again.

  Gloria looked back at him and said, “Can you stop? I’m trying to record… here.”

  A Fritz Claw suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Lightning sparkled from the creature’s body as it walked closer to them. It brushed its claws together, and sparks flew. A taste for blood was painted on the demon’s face.

  “Charles, what are we going to do? That thing is freaky,” Gloria whispered.

  “I don’t know. Just stay calm. Don’t move. It might just leave us alone.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Gloria sounded sarcastic. “Stay still? It might just go? You think it’s a bear or something?”

  The demon teleported to appear closer and raised its right hand.

  Charles pulled Gloria close to him as they fell to their knees.

  With its large talons, the Fritz Claw slashed at them, but a spear pierced its chest. The powerful spear pushed the demon twenty feet away. An orange energy glowed from the handle as it parted the dirt.

  The demon was pinned to a large rock. It tried to pull the spear from its chest and roared in pain and frustration.

  “Are you two okay?” A male's voice asked from behind them with a Hebrew ascent.

  When they looked they saw someone standing in a white and gold metallic uniform. A falcon head-shaped hel­met hid the upper half of his face leaving his mouth and eyes exposed. A large shield that resembled a giant wing was in his left hand. On is back, he had only one brown wing.

  Gloria said, “Yes, we are. Who are you?”

  “I am Captain Samson of the Kabbalist knights. We are here to destroy the tower and prevent Armageddon from coming.”

  Gloria said, “Armageddon? Are you saying that it’s the end of the world? Are you saying that building is here to bring destruction to the earth?”

  Samson nodded.

  Gloria looked at the tower. “Charles, I guess you were right about that feeling you had a few weeks ago.”

  Charles tittered. “I told you.”

  Gloria said, “Would you mind doing an interview about who you are, what’s going on here today, and what’s going to happen?”

  Samson smiled and shook his head. “Not at this time. I have to help the others fight against the demons. I would suggest that you two leave immediately. It is too dangerous here.”

  “Hey,” Charles asked, “Did you see where that creature went?”

  The Fritz Claw was gone.

  Samson rushed over, pulled out his spear, and the rock crumbled. A trail of blood ended just a few feet away.

  “You two, come over beside me.” Samson instructed. “I have a strange feeling it might still be around somewhere.”

  Gloria was the first to get behind the knight. Before Charles could get behind Samson, two Fritz Claws appeared behind him. Charles looked back and screamed.

  The demons growled at Charles like angry lions.

  Samson flew off like a rocket to jam his spear through the first demon’s stomach and smacked the other one away with his shield. He used the edge of his shield to behead the injured demon. Blood squirted up like water from a fountain. He thrust his leg out and kicked the alpha demon off his spear. After it connected to a rock, it splattered apart like a jigsaw puzzle.

  Samson aimed his spear at the demon he had smacked away, and the spear burst with bright orange energy as it shot toward the creature. The creature teleported away in the blink of an eye, and the spear left a small crater in the ground after it connected.

  Charles grabbed Gloria and pulled her close. They were both trembling.

  Samson looked around, trying to pin point where the demon would emerge next. He levitated and threw the shield through the air like a Frisbee. The alpha demon appeared before Gloria and Charles and surprised them. It thrust its claws at them, but the knight’s shield jammed it in the ribs, sending it to eat dirt.

  ‘I thought so…’ Samson ran over to Gloria and Charles, pulled his shield from the creature’s body, and kicked it over on its back. Blood leaked everywhere. “This demon would not stand again.” Samson helped Gloria up and smiled at her.

  But then, a white laser beam struck Samson in the head and knocked off his helmet. He tumbled and rolled before he fell on his back. After he sat up, Samson shook his head, ran his fingers through his curly black hair, and put on his helmet.

  A male figure in demonic armor walked toward them. His armor had black shimmery scales on the upper arms and thighs. Crimson metal plastered his chest, forearms, shins, and feet. His head was concealed in a red and black helmet, horns curled up on the sides of his head, and his white eyes glowed. “You must be a warrior angel. You don’t seem that tough.”

  Samson stood up and said, “Looks can be deceiving, creature. But I won’t be foolish enough to underestimate you. I’ve never faced a demon who spoke in our tongue.”

  The armored figure chuckled. “First off, I’m a man—not a demon. My name is Nathan Rasputin. I am a man who fights with the power of a demon. That doesn’t make me inhumane, does it?”

  Samson said, “Oh, I see. You are a Naraka knight. Any man who sides with the demons is very foolish. He should know the consequences of fighting on the side of evil.”

  Nathan burst into laughter. “How foolish. Don’t you see how far we’ve come? The stairway to heaven has risen, and your God has still not come to salvage this world. Countless people died and were sacrificed for this to be where it is. Heaven is on the brink of breaking, and your Savior has not showed his face.”

  Samson said, “Yet you have come to defend it. If you are so confident in your stairway, why are you here protecting it? Why are the demons coming to earth if the stairway to heaven is already built?”

  Nathan snickered and replied, “Tovarisch, earth is the final cons
truct of the key. The stairway is almost whole—and then we will be knocking on heaven’s doors.”

  “Not on my watch. The Kabbalist knights’ sole purpose is to destroy the Naraka Knights and the demons. We have traveled here from Jerusalem to destroy that tower. You will not get to the door of the kingdom.”

  “The Kabbalist knights? I’ve never heard of them,” Nathan said. “As far as destroying the tower, that tower is the key to our salvation. It is not going to be knocked down anytime soon. Sorry to say, angelic warrior, but your trip was irrelevant.”

  “We shall see.” Samson pointed his spear at the Naraka Knight and held his shield under it. He placed his left feet forward with it slightly bent, showing a leveled stance.

  Nathan said, “Come get some, angel.”

  Swiftly, Samson projected towards Nathan, and sent his spear through his heart.

  “So fast…that’s impossible.”

  “I did say earlier not to underestimate me, right?” Samson pulled his spear out and slashed Nathan’s body in half with the edge of his shield. Nathan’s blood splattered and his other organs fell out before he hit the ground.

  Charles pulled Gloria to him and shielded her eyes from the gore.

  Samson said, “You two need to leave. There is no telling if anyone else with the same intentions might show up.” He cleaned off his weapon and shield with some leaves.

  “You killed him?” Gloria said. She began to cry with her hands covering her face. “I can’t believe you killed him.”

  “He would have done the same to us if I had let him,” Samson said.

  Charles said, “Nevertheless, he was still a human being. There’s no telling if he was possessed or something.”

  “From birth, we were trained to be warriors. No mercy, no fear is our motto. Kill or be killed is the code. And we protect the innocent at all costs. You guys don’t seem grateful for my help.” Samson took off his helmet and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

  “If I remember correctly, you were the one who said not to underestimate me.”

  Samson turned around and saw Nathan standing with his arms folded across his chest. He did not have a scratch on him. “But how?” Samson’s heart thumped rapidly. “How did you survive that fatal blow?”

  “Easy. You see, I’m a very important weapon in the Naraka Knights’ arsenal. I have the ability to duplicate myself.” Another clone walked up from behind. “Like this.”

  Samson put his helmet back on and turned to face him again. “I will find a weakness in your abilities.”

  “Weakness?” Nathan frowned. “My weapon does not have a weakness. Don’t waste your time, tovarisch.”

  “Everyone has a weakness,” the Kabbalist knight said before he got ready to deliver his attack.

  Samson ran toward him to do combat. He thrust his lance-like spear at him when he got close enough.

  Nathan created a third clone that jumped from Samson’s blind spot and delivered a punch to the chin.

  The Kabbalist knight did notice the clone, but he used the momentum from the punch to counterattack. From the opposite direction, he spun with his shield and sliced the clone in half. He threw his spear at the clone that had walked out from behind the first one.

  Even though the spear was traveling at a magnificent speed, the clone caught it with both hands, and slammed the spearhead into the ground.

  ‘He caught my lance? Impossible…’

  The first clone jumped in to attack. He punched him with a few jabs and a hook shot, knocking him to the ground. Nathan’s replica snickered after Samson’s helmet fell off.

  With great speed, Samson was back on his feet. He used his shield to slice at the first clone but his aim was short. The cut barely sliced the armor. He gasped after he saw the second one released a beam of bright light from his hand that struck him in the shoulder. Samson’s armor cracked, but the beam didn’t penetrate it. Before he could recover, Samson saw another beam of light racing to his face. He used his shield to block it. He fought to keep his balance as the beam grew larger in radius and pushed him to his knees.

  Nathan’s other clone walked closer to the Kabbalist knight. He aimed with his hands and another beam of light shot out. The intensity of the light increased to a thousand watts. The bright light was consuming the warrior as the two of them ganged up on him. Samson’s shield and armor was melting.

  “No!” Gloria shouted. “Stop! Don’t kill him.” She was watching the carnage from behind a tree.

  “Yeah. Leave him alone!” Charles yelled.

  The clones were startled, and Samson used that opportunity to punch one of them. He was two weak to do any real damage. The other clone kicked him to the ground.

  “You are a lucky man, Kabbalah warrior,” one of the clones said. “Her yelp saved you. You should thank your God for your liberation.

  “Demon, I will die proudly protecting the innocent. My ancestor Machnolin laid down his life for humans—and I will gladly do the same.”

  “Machnolin? Ah…You are a descendant of the Fallen ones? That explains your strength and agility. Your history is strongly recognized in our circle. Speaking of history, before we kill you, let me enlighten you about our weapons. The Naraka Knights have the power to copy each other’s abilities. The only bad part about that is that we can only copy two at a time. But that is not my point. There is a weapon called the Xano 3 that is used by a Japanese assassin. Wong’s weapon enables him to create any weapon he pleases. Another ability of mine is that I can make other knights’ weapons stronger by giving them a boost. Let me show you an example.”

  Both clones raised their right hands and an FGM-148 Javelin appeared in their palms.

  The clone continued, “This is a rocket launcher. My ability allows me to change the construct of this weapon however I please. My other ability is to transform light into energy.” He changed the shape of the FGM-148 Javelin by lowering the mouth’s size. The head of the Javelin resembled the mouth of a handgun.

  One of the clones aimed his weapon at Samson, and the other aimed at Gloria and Charles.

  “This is where it gets nasty,” the first clone said. “I’m going to destroy you three simultaneously. This one is going to burn a hole through your armor, and the other is going to blow up those two you were trying to protect.”

  “You are going to explain what your weapons do and destroy us at the same time—just for the fun of it?” Samson asked.

  Nathan said sarcastically, “Um, yeah. That’s pretty much the idea.”

  “Why don’t you go ahead and kill me first?” Samson’s voice quivered. “Kill me before you kill those two.”

  “You know what? That sounds like a good idea.” Both clones aimed at the Kabbalist knight and prepared to fire at him.

  Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. Then a loud boom sound came from behind them. The tremor caused all four of them to fall to their faces. The three looked at the Naraka Knight to see if it was his doing but he too was eating dirt. Samson looked in the direction of the tower, and he was in marvel at what he saw.

  “Oh my, what is that thing?” Gloria asked.

  A six-story tall being was banging against the tower. Lightning sparked, thunder boomed, and lava sprouted with each force from the being.

  “What in the world…?” One of the clones tried to balance himself, walked forward to see what was occurring.

  The creature that banged against the tower resembled a giant white statue. It moved gracefully and slowly. The head was shaped like a bison, and the horns curled up. The face resembled the statue of Poseidon. The body was like a humanoid and built for destruction. Green orbs were attached to its ankles and wrists.

  Nathan’s clones interest changed to the being as they ran down the mountain side.

  Gloria and Charles watched in awe as the giant kicked the Tempar Ragge and Slangers aside. The demons exploded on impact.

  “I am the savior of this world!” a powerful male voice said from within the statue.

&n
bsp; Gloria asked, “What in the world is going on?”

  Charles looked around for his camera and began to record.

  Chapter 28

  A New Power

  When Claudius turned around, his eyes were wide open. The demons’ attention had shifted to the giant statue, and he didn’t have a problem with it. He was overwhelmed and exhausted, and he was relieved that someone had come to his aid.

  The creature was not as colossal as the tower. It punched and kicked the tower and caused the ground to tremble, but the blows were not affecting it. The creature had to use some of its time to fight against the demons that were attacking him from below.

  Claudius knew he had to buy the being some time. “Zack, we have to help! This might be our only chance to destroy that tower. Let’s help that … thing … and get the demons’ attention.”

  Zack fought his way through the demons and landed by Claudius. “What in the world is that thing?”

  “I don’t know. It just appeared out of nowhere. On the bright side, it has the same goal as us. Destroy the tower!”

  Zack grabbed Claudius, spun him around, and threw him up to crash down on the demons that were attacking the being. A wave of fire surrounded Claudius as he exploded down on the demons. Some met their demise on impact, and others were pushed back with limbs detached from their bodies. Zack fired his vibration balls to push back the demons from around Claudius.

  A mild tremor started to occur, and a large black demon leaped up from underground. It had the limbs and body of a centipede and the claws of a scorpion. It jumped toward the creature that claimed it was the savior of the world and began to eat at its feet.

  “What in the world?” Claudius asked.

  “I am the savior of the world. Nothing can stop me!” The statue kicked the demon aside and the damaged on its leg began to heal.

  The demon buried itself underground.

  Zack said. “Wow. You don’t see that very often!”

  But then, the demon jumped up from underground, jammed its claws into Zack’s back, and dragged him underground.

  “Oh no, Zack!” Claudius yelled.

  A beam of light struck Claudius in his back. He landed ten feet away and was stunned. He shook his head to regain his vision.