Page 147 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

I do the same to a second tentacle, all the while flashing myself closer to the demon. He’s much uglier the closer I get, and the smell of putrefaction is rather noxious. I can’t blame Mine for wanting to be as far away from him. But as it happens, I’m used to this. I’ve even had worse. The higher a demon ascends, the more they reek of putrefaction since the energy becomes more and more polluted. It’s only when they’re at the eighth level that they are able to control everything perfectly and mask the stench.

As I flash myself right in front of him, he roars loudly, sending a gust of putrid wind toward me. I dodge it and lower myself to the ground. Time is of the essence here. Otherwise, Tommy might not make it.

I scan his chest carefully, looking for any weak spot. The skin is a hard shell, similar to that of a reptile. No wonder it barely budged when I tried to penetrate it the first time. Yet on a closer look, I notice a darker spot close to the center of his chest.

It’s small. Barely visible. My aim must be incredibly precise to hit it, and with the thickness of the shell, I will need momentum too.

Pursing my lips, I jump back. My eyes are still focused on that small dot. I take a deep breath and let the remaining energy flow through me. Combining my two blades together, I turn them into a translucent spear. The sharp end is a deep blue as I infuse cryos into the tip.

The remaining tentacles move wildly around in an attempt to pin me down.

I move faster.

And when I’ve gained enough momentum, I sprint toward the demon, spear aimed toward the tiny black dot.

He attempts to protect himself with his tentacles, but I cut through them before pushing the sharp tip of the spear into his chest.

He shrieks in pain. His hands reach for me. I’m holding on to the spear that’s still lodged into his chest as he frantically moves around, pulling at me and trying to get me off him.

I hold on.

His wails of pain intensify as my cryos spreads within his energy core. When the outside of the armor starts turning a light blue, I finally let go and propel myself back.

Breathing hard, I wait for the result.

The cryos acts from within, and in a matter of seconds, his entire body becomes a light blue before it explodes.

To my surprise, Mine pulls me inside the shield, placing his body in front of me as pieces of the demon fly everywhere.

“It’s done,” I whisper when there’s nothing left behind.

The shield flickers in and out before disappearing too now that I am running low on energy.

Mine slowly turns.

“And Tommy?”

“Look.” I nod to the middle of the hall, where a shimmery light becomes stronger and stronger.

From a small, golden energy ball, tens of flickering lights burst out. Some are weaker than others, but they are still intact.

“There he is.” I point to one of the shimmery dots. It may not have Tommy’s previous form, but I can recognize the energy signature.

The air crackles with a new type of energy, and my eyes widen in surprise.

“We need to go. The collectors will come to take the souls. Take me where you found those items.”

He nods and grabbing my hand, he leads me down a windy path out of the main hall and into a smaller wing of the castle. As we enter one room, there are glass cases on every wall and some in the middle. A couple of them are broken—the ones Mine took the items from.

“You did a good job. How did you know which ones had energy in them?”

He shrugs. “I didn’t. I just hoped.” He flashes me a confident smile.

“You were lucky then.”

“Perhaps. Butyouwere spectacular. Is that how you usually kill demons?”

I surreptitiously preen at his praise. Good on him to recognize it. He is a fine observer.

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