The Twice-Enchanted Blade: Part 9

There was barely a moment of respite for me, however, as a welcoming committee consisting of two ape-demons was charging at me. I hastily parried the first one’s attack with my sword, then pulled out my handgun and shot it in the leg. It dropped on one knee, where I finished it off with another shot. The other came charging at me. It managed to land a glancing blow. My armor managed to protect me from serious injury, but I got knocked into the door. My enemy swung his cleaver again, and I ducked under it, and his weapon got briefly stuck in the gate. Not waiting for him to recover, I got behind him and shot him in the back three times.

It was a stroke of fortune that, at the time of our arrival, the library was currently on the first floor, saving me some trouble. Avoiding the staircase I climbed earlier, I went instead through a door, and found myself in a veritable maze of bookshelves.

I had two tasks here: finding the librarian and releasing Astaroth from his contract. For a moment, I thought about whether I had time to rush the wizard and kill him before the demon returned. I concluded it was too much of a risk, and besides, even if I succeeded, Astaroth would be freed anyway.

Walking between the shelves, filled with rare tomes that would seriously tempt Annabel or Civet to accept Maximillian’s offer, I kept an eye out for both my targets. One of them appeared in my sight soon enough. I didn’t even bother imagining what the librarian would look like, but even the bizarre creature I encountered never would have popped into my mind. It had a tiny torso, covered by a cloak. Out of it protruded three eye-stalks and six long spidery limbs, each ending in a hand with four elongated fingers. It seemed to use those appendages as arms or legs as needed. As it was sorting out some books, one of the eye stalks noticed me while I was trying to quietly approach it from behind. I charged it with my sword, ready for combat, but to my surprise, it started emitting a loud noise and skittered away.

I was on a timer now, as Maximillian was bound to notice the alarm. The creature was agile and was able to move above the shelves and get out of my sight that way. I began to panic, wanting to avoid having to deal with the wizard for now, when I noticed a lit lantern on a table, and a plan began to form. It would stand to reason that the creature had a directive to protect the library, so in a desperate ploy, I took the candle from the lantern and set one shelf on fire. The priceless books burst into flame, and a few seconds later, my gambit succeeded. The librarian came out of hiding and started grabbing books from the affected shelf in a panic. It failed to notice me this time, focused on its precious task. With a single swipe of the sword, I cut three of its legs off, then, after it fell down, I pinned it to the ground with a stab. While it was ineffectively trying to fight back with its remaining limbs, I started rummaging under its cloak, finally setting my hand on a large silver key.

It was time to look for the safe then, and luckily, it wasn’t hard to find, being haphazardly placed under a table. Given the tower’s particular conditions, it made sense that it was kept in such a place rather than a more elaborate hiding spot.

The key fit inside the lock, and I opened the safe in haste, as the fire was spreading quickly. Inside, there was a skull decorated in gemstones, some ancient-looking amulets, a couple of books, and a piece of ominous-looking parchment. That was the item I was looking for. I took it out and placed it in a fire, where it exploded in a cloud of yellow smoke. Quickly, I rushed out of the room before the smoke suffocated me, and continued upstairs to try locating my companions.

I almost ran headlong into Maximillian while I ascended the stairs. On instinct, I dashed into the so-called summoning room. It was a circular room, with a ritualistic circle covering most of the floor, and several tables covered in magical memorabilia around the edges. Maximillian followed me inside.

“I offer you command over demonic armies, and you return the favor by setting my library on fire!? Pearls before swine!”, the wizard was livid. “The offer stands no more. You are going to die here, and your companions will spend the rest of their miserable lives building my magnificent tower!”

I tried to think of a witty retort, but nothing came to mind, so I just shot him. He was still considerably quick with his blocks, but I closed the distance while shooting at him and, when my magazine was empty, switched to melee. I thought I had him on the defensive, but I underestimated his speed. While I was lunging forward, he summoned a tiny crystal spear beneath my foot, destroying my balance. He then summoned a larger one, which hit me straight in the chest. It failed to penetrate my armor, but it still hurt like hell, and I dropped to one knee. Before he launched another attack, I threw my sword at him. He knocked it out of the air, and I used that second to get back on my feet and draw my war hammer. It was time for round two.

The fight was interrupted, however, by a dreadful presence which was, under present conditions, almost reassuring. Astaroth glided quietly into the room, then said in his deep, booming voice, “Sorry I took so long”.

“Took you long enough”, responded Maximillian, “I changed my mind, Astaroth! Kill him! Make it hurt!”

“Oh, I wasn’t talking to you”, the demon smiled at the wizard with infinite malice, and the latter grew pale. “The contract is null and void. You can take pride in the fact that you humiliated a Duke of Hell for years, but it ends now”.

Now in complete panic, Maximillian tried to launch a spell at Astaroth, but he had no chance. The demon moved faster than I could follow, grabbed the wizard’s arm, and ripped it straight out of its socket. Sorcerer dropped to his knees, screaming in pain and terror. Astaroth turned to me.

“Well done. You proved to be most useful. Would you perhaps be interested in cooperation sometimes in the future? I can promise you real power, unlike this pathetic wretch”.

“If I can be completely frank, I would prefer never to see you again in my life”.

The demon laughed.

“Smart choice. This one, on the other hand, will not be given a luxury to choose”, he picked up Maximillian from the ground effortlessly. The wizard was in a state of shock, not giving any resistance. “He will be made an example of. My subjects in Hell haven’t seen me in a while, and I need to remind them of what happens if they cross me. As for you, I suggest you leave this tower as soon as possible. Unless you can survive without breathing, that is”. And with that, the demon and the wizard disappeared as if they were never there.