Page 75 of The Misfit Mage and His Darling Demon

My chest tightened. This was a trap. It had to be. I led us directly into it, thinking I knew the first thing about outsmarting a demon.

22

Beelzebub

“What the actual fuck just happened?” I dragged my claws along the stonework wall where the portal should be in full effect, but nothing appeared.

One second I was stepping through the portal, Wally’s hand in mine, and then everything burned, shoving me back into the labyrinth. I could tear this wall down, but it wouldn’t lead to Wally. The engine room was in the villa, technically speaking, merely a dimensional layer or two apart, but the entire room was sealed off to limit access. I seethed with rage, ready to obliterate every piece of this fucking fairy hellhole until I found my Wally.

“Calm yourself, Bezzy.” Mora traced her fingertips over the symbols lining the doorframe. “Something’s missing.”

“Yeah, the fucking portal.”

“No. Look, Bez.” She ground her teeth, snapping a fang in the process. “You just assembled these. What’s missing?”

I followed her hand, searching for an inconsistency. But in truth, I wasn’t paying attention when I threw them together. Isort of winged it, trying to impress Wally and show Mora up because I could be as clever as the two of them. The symbols looked right, then the door opened so quickly I couldn’t help but boast. This was probably all my fault. My impulsive arrogance had once again endangered Wally.

“Wait.” I reached for one of the symbols wedged between a stack in the most bizarre fashion, some archaic mortal language shoved between Sylvan and Diabolic letters. “This wasn’t here before.”

“And these two are missing.” Mora pointed to gaps toward the lowest reaches of the wall.

“My doing, I’m afraid,” Eligos’ hollow voice echoed from his suit and through the corridor. “Limited the parameters to allow only those without Diabolic essence to cross through.”

His glowing golden eyes stared from the darkness; every lantern dimmed despite his nearby presence.

I growled, summoning a coat of sheen black essence to line my forearms and shins. It expanded and hardened over the flesh of my body. Flesh that didn’t have enough essence to create a full-body buffer. This conjured essence would lower the protection lining my body overall, but so long as I kept up with his movements, these shields would withstand any strike he attempted, from his armored attacks to the many blades he wielded.

“I’m going to kill you.” I glared.

“Before or after I take out your king?” Eligos chuckled, his laughter rattled inside his suit.

Blurred figures whipped past me, snatching Mora and dragging her deeper into the labyrinth. Claws clashed, slashing through rock and flesh.

“In the mortal game of chess, kings are most valuable, yet the weakest pieces,” Eligos said. “I hold no value toward Morax, butyou do. And her weakness will be easy to exploit in order to hurt you.”

“I’ll kill you, then your damn demon lackeys—if Mora doesn’t finish them first.”

“Is that before or after I obtain your misfit mage and slaughter that insufferable witch?”

I froze. Did he mean to collect them himself? If so, he might attempt to skirt past me, the fearsome devil, and leap into the portal. I wouldn’t drop my guard for a second, refusing to give him any opportunity to flee. Or had he already sent another demon to procure him? How many demons had he released? I heightened my senses, listening to the chaotic battle between Mora and the demons that’d snatched her away, attempting to discern how many—

Eligos appeared in front of me in a flash, hovering, fist raised, and a moment from punching right through my head.

I deflected his assault. Barely.

“Not happening a second time, asshole.”

“For a god, you’re lacking in a skilled move set.” Eligos wiggled the fingers of his other hand before balling them into a fist.

Dammit.Of course I’d fallen right into an obvious trap.

I spun around, kicking his chest with the heel of my foot—which throbbed between his armor and essence and my current lack of either—then I used the blow to propel my knee upward and knock his three blades onto the ground before they gutted me.

Metal clinked against stone undisturbed. He didn’t bother retrieving his lost weapons, which meant I wasted three seconds savoring a futile victory. I zipped up the wall, scanning the terrain in the process, and kicked off the ceiling to rocket at him, weaving between sharpened spears.

“I’m so sick of you, Eligos.” I punched his helmet, cracking it slightly until the glow of essence restored it.

“You know my name, shocking.” I could feel his hateful smirk over a shitty pun as black lightning formed around his armor, propelling toward me.

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