Page 115 of Unbinding the Demon
They’re armed?
A feeling of dread dropped into the pit of my stomach as a familiar-looking, corrupted man came shuffling into sight among the others. It was impossible not to recognize the dark brown waves that tumbled down to the nape of his neck. His once-handsome, sun-kissed face now bore the pallor of ashen gray. Vibrant blue eyes that were once bright and alive had transformed into dark, soulless pits.
Oliver...
Lacey and I quickly exchanged distressed looks, then we both peered over at William, who was now a small distance away. Sparks swirled up from the low flames that devoured the burning bodies between us, illuminating his distraught countenance. He was a statue, locked in shock and horror. Disbelief gripped him as he stared at the heartbreaking sight of what his beloved soulmate had tragically become. Sorrow and rage surged within my heart, and I had to blink back my tears.
Oliver’s gaze zoomed in on William, and a sinister grin twisted across his face. “Hello, lovedove.” He sounded as though the abyss had possessed his voice, making it much deeper and raspier than normal, with an eerie otherworldly echo to it.
The other corrupted with the daggers passed us by and began to strategically converge on Belzar. However, Oliver went straight for William. He snarled and struck out over his head with his dagger, aiming straight for William’s throat. William swiftly blocked it. Tears were streaming down his face, and his hand trembled. Flashing obsidian clashed with glinting metal as the abyssal weapons violently kissed between the two lovers.
“Oliver, please... This isn’t you,” William whimpered through his tears.
“William! You have to kill him! He’s not Oliver anymore!” I screamed, as Lacey and I tried to find a quick way over to them around the living and burning corrupted.
It was proving to be extremely difficult to find a safe path without burning ourselves. My heart thumped frantically in my chest as the fight unfolded. Anxiety surged like a tidal wave, crashing over me. I feared for William, terrified that Oliver might strike the final blow. Unable to move quick enough, I was utterly powerless to intervene. A strangled sob left my throat as I tripped over a burning leg, only to be caught by Lacey’s firm grip on my arm.
Oliver glared with murderous intensity, fury fueling his every move. As he charged, William staggered between the blows, blocking and dodging, while tears streamed down his filthy cheeks. “Please, Oliver! You need to stop!” he urged, desperately trying to shake sense into his lover. But Oliver was deaf to his reason, causing the hope in William’s eyes to flicker out like a dying candle.
“Hang on, William! We’re coming!” Lacey shouted as he tumbled across the smoldering ground with Oliver.
I was downright discombobulated and suffocated by all the chaos. But then I had a harrowing moment of clarity...
Azathoth was off fighting that formidable lizard thing. It was clearly a force to be reckoned with, keeping him distracted and occupied. I glanced over at Belzar, who was being attacked by the armed corrupted. He whimpered in pain while fighting back, as they ruthlessly stabbed him. He was trying to teleport away, but the daggers were somehow preventing him from doing so. William and Oliver were trapped in a deadly brawl. And Lacey, although she was kicking ass attacking the corrupted, was still unarmed and could only stall them.
Oh shit... I’m completely vulnerable.
“Mwahahaha!”Adelstein strode through the flickering flames like a specter of malevolence. His cackling laugh filled the air, twisted and gleeful, like a puppet master reveling in his chaos. “Well, well, Ms. Gallagher, it seems you’ve fallen right into my trap!” he gloated like an overstuffed toad. “Although I must say, you’ve lasted far longer than I had originally planned. I thought my children would have had you cornered the moment my lloigor distracted your pathetic satanic swain. I never anticipated you’d have a way to kill them yourself.” He cackled and twirled his dagger. “No matter, you’re still no match for me!” The black smoky ribbons began to eerily swirl around him as he grinned with murderous intent.“Remember the plan! Keep the mutt at bay!”he yelled over to the corrupted who were attacking Belzar.
“William!”Lacey screamed, with tears running down her cheeks, breaking my focus on Adelstein.
I glanced over just in time to see Oliver stab William in the stomach. William went stiff yet trembled, with his mouth falling open, stunned by the pain. Blood streamed down his abdomen, staining his pink shirt crimson. Oliver growled in his face with a sickening grin, relishing his triumph. He was too distracted to notice William unsteadily lifting his sword. He plunged the glimmering abyssal weapon right through Oliver’s stomach, and for a very brief moment, a look of shock and realization flashed across Oliver’s face.
A whirlwind of immense regret, pain, and torment swirled within his blackened eyes as he longingly gazed at William. His hand shakily reached for William’s tear-streaked face.“I love you.”His whispered words died with him as he crumbled to ash right before he could caress his beloved’s cheek one last time.
“Oliver?” William sobbed weakly. He tried to grasp at the falling ashes as they gently slipped through his trembling hands, only to be mournfully carried away by the lamenting winds. He fell to his knees in sorrow, then collapsed on his side in pain upon the small pile of Oliver’s dusty remains.
Lacey made it over to him, falling to her knees as well. “William!” she cried as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
I began to rush over to them, but a searing pain shot through my leg, causing me to fall to the ground. One of Adelstein’s smoky ribbons had lashed out and wrapped around my calf like a venomous, scathing tentacle. I screamed in agony. It felt like someone had poured hot, glowing lava right onto my flesh. He grinned as it dragged me over to him.
As I clawed desperately at the burnt grass and scorched soil, I peered through the flames, making eye contact with Lacey as she knelt by William’s body. More screams of pain were ripped from me as I was yanked over one of the burning corpses, singeing my stomach and arms.
I rolled onto my back, just as Adelstein was looming over me with a look of pure hatred in his black abyssal eyes. His tattered white cloak gently swayed in the breeze and glowed with a soft blue hue beneath the shimmering moonbeams. Yet the hood cast a dark shadow across his sinister, marred face. The firelight flickered over his cruel features, making him appear even more villainous. The serene, jeweled heavens stretched out behind him, contrasting with his ecclesiastical ferocity.
“Azath—Ah!”I tried to scream for Azathoth, but Adelstein’s smoke tentacle tightened around my leg, snapping the bones like flimsy twigs.
Tears of anger and pain pricked my eyes as he glared down at me with an ugly scowl. “You’d dare call upon that demon to save you!? Rather than execute the will of God!?” he gritted his words with fury. “You truly are a bride of the devil.”
“Yeah, well, bride or not, of course I’d rather him come and save me, you crazy fucking lunatic! And even if you kill me, Azathoth is still going to kill you, along with all theinnocentpeople you’ve corrupted!” I seethed through my agonizing pain.
He laughed psychotically, spraying his rancid spit all over my face. “Oh, my dear, you are wrong. For you see, I have summoned a lloigor. A creature who possesses more than enough strength to slay a demon. Their bodies are made of pure dark abyssal essence, after all.” He raised a confident brow and snickered. “Why do you think he hasn’t come back to save you yet? Hmm? It’s because my lloigor is successfully holding him back. And even if he manages to defeat it, hundreds more of my children are patiently waiting along the edge of the barrier for me to kill you. As soon as I do, they will all spread out and convert the world, and there’s nothing that odious evil beast of yours can do to stop it! For it is the will of God!” He made a sudden slash at my throat with his dagger.
Our weapons clashed as I swiftly blocked his attack. My eyes widened in surprise. Despite Adelstein’s insurmountable strength, I could actually hold him off. My sword was visibly draining his energy as our weapons pressed together. Ribbons of black mist were being sucked out of his dagger and consumed by my blade. His face contorted with appalled rage at the sight of it.
“What is this!?” he hissed, then glared at me, his eyes flashing with anger. “Ms. Gallagher, please try to understand! We have the divine opportunity to create a Christlike utopia, free of sin and autonomy. And yet, you still choose to fight me and take the side of that satanic vermin who murdered your aunt instead?” His face was now right in front of mine. “I ask you now, lower your weapon!”
I glared back into his delusional black eyes with loathing. “No,” I whispered with a venomous bite to my voice, dripping with detestation. He tried to push down on my blade but failed. “If you hadn’t stabbed and poisoned Azathoth, he would have never accidentally delivered that fatal blow to her. You may not have killed her yourself, but you caused her death. Then you left her there to die like a coward. And I will never forgive you for that.”
