Page 117 of Unbinding the Demon
Wind roared up the mountainside, whipping through the trees as they bent and twisted. It caressed my face, and I was astonished to find that the air was hot. As the smoke cleared, I apprehensively stared down at the burning wreckage in complete disbelief.
Oh my god... He seriously just destroyed the whole fucking town.
49. The Battle of Evil and Corruption
-Thirty minutes earlier-
Thick clouds of smoke swirled up into the night sky, appearing like forlorn spirits drifting upon the freezing winds. Flames flickered and consumed the scorched flesh of the dead, leaving the blackened corpses unrecognizable. My hands gently cupped Gwendolyn’s rosy cheeks while I pressed her soft, warm lips to mine in a quick but loving kiss.
I pulled back and peered into her beautiful emerald-green eyes. Her gaze was both apprehensive and vacillating. Without saying a word, I flapped my wings and flew off toward the lloigor. Unease constricted in my gut upon leaving her, but at least she had Belzar to protect her.
As I soared over the area, I scanned the surroundings. Lacey and William were standing hand in hand among the wreckage, staring in utter disbelief at the lloigor. All but a few of the corrupted had been incinerated. And Adelstein was retreating through the back entrance of the church like the craven miscreant he was. I gritted my teeth in anger.
Of course he’d be too much of a coward to fight me himself! Why would I expect anything else from that spineless knave!?
Although I had to hand it to him. Summoning a lloigor was a damn good move. They were malicious cosmic souls that had traveled to and colonized The Abyss long ago. It was there that they grotesquely manifested their bodies out of pure, dark abyssal essence. They worked as a hive mind under the control of one great lloigor, their only desire being to enslave and bring death to all life. They usually dwelt within the abyssal shadow realm unless they were summoned out. The problem was, that thing actually had the potential to kill me, even with my powers unbound, and it could also traverse the shadows.
I’d never fought one before, but I still knew that Hellfire was the only way to kill it. I just needed to lure it far enough away from Gwendolyn and the others to safely do so without incinerating them and destroying the entire town. I contemplated teleporting them out of there first, but that would have been a foolish move. The lloigor would sense the shadowed activity and follow, putting them in unnecessary danger.
Freezing air hissed beneath my wings as I glided past its hideous, lizard-like face. It unleashed a deafening screech, then snapped its colossal jaws at me, flashing several rows of black, razor-sharp teeth. Its putrescent breath fanned my face as I soared by, nearly suffocating me to death and knocking me right out of the air with the stench alone. I gagged while swooping past a few swaying oaks. Then I flipped onto my back and flipped it off with both hands, further antagonizing the deplorable creature to chase after me.
“That’s right, come and get me, you foul-breathed, fat-tailed gecko!”
Its black lizard-like head tracked my movement like a true predator. It growled low, similar to a crocodile, while the long, sharp spines on its back bristled up in anger. The ground shook as it took a powerful step forward and began chasing me. Its lengthy, spiked tail swooshed behind it, cracking like a whip.
The oak trees snapped with branches and splintered wood billowing out all around as the formidable creature charged. I landed on the central tower of Aspen Hall, perched like a gargoyle upon the edge of the large gray bricks that made up the cathedral-like building. The wind whipped through my hair, and my eyes glowed with bloodlust, while I stoically watched my reptilian foe approach like a rabid dingo. I didn’t want to get too far ahead of it, after all.
A few measly pebbles plummeted down to the ground as I shifted on my feet. The lloigor screeched and came barreling into the side of the building. Two of its four arms scraped across the walls, shattering the large, paned windows and loudly cracking the stone. It began to rapidly claw its way up the side of the tower while snarling and snapping its disgusting, saliva-coated maw. I took off flying again, continuing to lead it further away.
As I glided over the deserted town center, it traversed the shadows and reappeared right next to me. I was taken off guard, as its monstrous spiked tail whipped out and smacked me right out of the air, causing me to crash into a random building below.
I burst through the ceiling with bricks, dust, and debris falling all around me. I unceremoniously landed in what appeared to be a classy Italian-style restaurant. A fancy crystal chandelier came smashing down with me, causing glittering shards to shatter and spray all over the floor. I found myself atop a tangle of luxurious marble tables, now smashed because of my fall. Cherry wood chairs topped with red velvet cushions laid broken in disarray, along with several decorations. I pulled off a menu that was impaled on one of my horns, briefly noting the quite fair price of their “Rosetti Spaghetti.”
As I stood up, ready to fly right back out of there, I heard the infamous click of a rifle. I glanced over to my left where I saw Kyle, that damn bartender, standing behind the bar like a filthy, frazzled dingbat. He was wearing zombie apocalypse-type raiment, with a buckle belt strapped around his forehead and everything. His light brown hair was disheveled, and his brown eyes were crazed and fearful. He looked like a fucking loon.
I was pleased to have found a survivor,even if it was just Kyle, and I didn’t want him to burn once I unleashed Hellfire. So I decided I should warn him to get to safety. I looked him dead in the eye with an infernal glow and opened my mouth to speak... Then he pulled the trigger and shot me. The bullet merely bounced off my chest and hit the floor with a ping. I held eye contact and watched as his face contorted with pure horror.
“Get below ground before I incinerate you.” Demonic ferocity darkened my features while my deep, diabolical voice bellowed across the room. It came out sounding far more intimidating than I had planned.
He began to scramble over to a nearby door. Then he stumbled and fell against a shelf on the wall, causing a few liquor bottles to crash to the floor. His trembling hands fumbled pathetically with the doorknob for a moment before he hysterically opened it and rushed inside as if he were running for his very life. I could tell it led down to the basement because after that, I heard him tumbling down a flight of stairs.
Well, I didn’t hear the rifle go off while on his way down, so I’m going to assume he’s okay.
My attention was ripped away from Kyle’s well-being and back to the fight at hand, as a massive, taloned foot came crashing into the room. I gave the lloigor the slip and sprinted out of the front door. No need to allow the worthless skink to corner me. The freezing wind assaulted my bare skin and hissed through my hair. I flew up and hovered at eye level with it. It was still digging into the building, searching for me. I formed a fireball in my hand and threw it at the idiotic thing.
“I’m over here, you dumb fuck!”
It screeched in pain, then looked at me while tilting its head in a creepy but curious manner. A low, dragonish growl rumbled deep within its chest, then it lashed out at me using its tail again. I dodged the attack, and we continued on with our deadly game of cat and mouse for a short while longer.
As I flew over the wavering canopy of frosted forestland, I smiled to myself, thinking the lloigor was almost exactly where I wanted it. I turned around to peek at its location, and then I frowned in confusion and brought my soaring to a halt. It had stopped following me just within the border of the town center and was staring at me with taunting, mischievous eyes. It lifted its head and let out a few smug reptilian chirps that sounded a lot like mocking laughter. I hissed in rage.How dare that six-limbed salamander mock me!Much to my horror, it turned around and headed back toward the church, displaying an obvious lack of interest in me.
Oh, fucking Hell no!
I dove after it, furiously flapping my wings to pick up speed. A torrent of flames poured from my hands, scorching its spiny back. It roared in pain as it turned back around and snapped its jaws like an angry viper. I did a skillful aerial flip to avoid its massive tail from striking me once again, then hovered in front of its snarling face.
“You’ll have to do better than that if you want to catch me, you nasty newt!” I sneered, then flew back toward the forest. But once again, it did not follow.
What the actual fuck is it doing? I figured this thing would be eager to follow me like some mindless lummox?
