Chapter 10:

The battle pt.2

Lights Off


Lunna Victoria's point of view

I got up and walked towards the church door which was on fire with a purple tinge, I deduced that it was the mixture of normal fire burning the wood and the “blessing” Holyotov received were creating a mixture that was beautiful of see yourself

But I didn't have time to stand and watch, I wanted to see the Ascla being burned alive outside the church, so I quickly put the fire out to prevent it from becoming a fire and went outside to the church.

She was there burning in an almost blinding blue fire, I was sure she was going to burn to death but I felt something strange

I couldn't tell what it was but my instincts told me something was wrong, that's when Ascla stopped struggling and just turned into a blue bonfire huddled in front of the church.

After that Klovis and his soldiers started to gain an advantage over the enemy army, it was somehow possible to see a good part of the enemy troops fleeing the place.

"That's right! Run away cowards!” I was already feeling the joy of victory coming, then I saw Emilys in despair crying with Father John in her arms

“Did he die too? How did this happen?" I then ran to where the 2 were

Once there I asked Emilya what had happened and she explained to me what she could see of the fight between John and Adam

I then checked if John was alive and luckily he was but his heartbeat was very weak and he had a horrible wound all over his body.

Lunna: He's alive but he's too weak

Emilya: Thank God! What should we do ?

Luna: I don't know! I understand a lot about how to take lives but not how to save them

Lunna: For now we should go back to church and then we can think of something

Emilya: Right!

I then carried the priest to the church and saw a weird girl riding the sheep I had seen before.

She was getting close to Rickshark's ashes, she didn't look at all well, she was pale, sweating all over her body and looked like she was about to pass out.

I communicated with Klovis that I was finishing taking care of the rest of the army and he asked me to observe any suspicious moves she made.

Emilya then told me that that girl was called Annie Walker and that the two became friends when she was with Elai.

She just climbed down from the sheep and spat on the ashes cursing Rickshark with all her might and then took a wand and burned what was left of his clothes.

She seemed to be just taking care of her business until Dorothea accompanied by a few more people aggressively came up to her.

Promptly the sheep positioned itself preparing to attack the group but Annie stopped it.

From what I could see the two had not liked each other for a long time and the war was the perfect excuse for them to solve it

Annie then called Dorothea to fight alone and she seemed to have accepted, that girl had the courage to fight someone even under those conditions, I wanted to meet her as soon as I had a chance, maybe Elai could help me with that

Speaking of Elai, I wondered what he was doing in the midst of all the chaos  around here. If he were walking from the club to here it would take more than an hour and a half at a fast pace

Amazingly, that girl even in those conditions was getting the better of the fight, well considering the ease with which Dorothea took that punch from me so it wasn't all that impressive

I was really interested in that fight but suddenly I heard the noise of a dry branch being broken. I quickly looked for where this noise was coming from and to my misfortune the sound was coming out of Ascla who at that point just sounded like a pile of skin and bones

She was moving slowly as if awake from a long sleep

“Emilya! Protect the priest at all costs!” I screamed as I ran towards Ascla

“Klovis! That damn demon hasn't died yet!" I immediately told Klovis and he didn't believe the news either.

As soon as I got to where she was I took my knife and with all the strength I had I made a vertical blow aiming at Ascla's head and to my surprise my knife broke as soon as it came into contact with her head

"What the fuck!" i was impressed with her newfound toughness but i was still angry so i dropped what was left of my knife and i went to hit her with my bare hands

The first thing I did was kick her and it felt like I was kicking an iron bar. She still didn't seem to be fully conscious so I kept hitting her further and further away from the church.

I hit her so hard I felt my hands begging me to stop, I knew I wouldn't defeat her like that, what I was doing was a desperate attack

Little by little she was waking up until at one point she opened her 3 eyes and gave a deafening scream and a red and black aura started to come out of her

As I covered my ears I could see the streetlamp lights going out until the light bulbs burst, she looked like a totally different demon than before.

“Ah! I'm finally free!” she moaned in pleasure after giving the scream

I quickly composed myself and tried to punch Ascla but she slapped my arm as if it were something casual.

My arm was instantly broken and I felt an absurd pain and she looked at me with a ghoulish smile

With my other arm I used my pain as motivation to punch a lot harder but this time Ascla didn't even bother to defend himself, she actually offered her face and my hand hit her full on but to no avail.

She then took my arm and crumpled it up like a sheet of paper and then let go of me and looked at me like she was daring me to continue the game.

"What is it ? Wasn't it you who wanted to open up to me and see me beg you to kill me?” she looked at me laughing in ecstasy

I then advanced on her with the intention of kicking her but before I could lift my leg she slashed my chest with her claws and before I could scream in pain she slammed her whole body into mine throwing me to the ground

Ascla: Let's go! Enjoy me more! I won't let you die anytime soon!

Ascla then walked calmly towards me, her intention was obvious, she would have fun with me in every way possible until she killed me or turned me into one of those things

I knew my destiny but I wouldn't surrender without a fight. I was ready to have my limbs broken until I had the option to bite her, I wouldn't give up

It was then that to my surprise Klovis was right behind Ascla and took a swing with his spear that I was sure would split her in 2 but what happened was much worse

Ascla raised her hand and simply held the blow like it was nothing!

She then squeezing the blade until it broke like glass, she then pulled the weapon along with Klovis and put her hand through his chest

“Klovis! NOOOOO!" I could only say this as Klovis was getting drier and paler as Ascla regained his youthful appearance.

Once she was done, she just threw his body towards me and turned her gaze towards me again

"Now let's go to the main meal" she looked at me as she stuck out her oversized tongue

It was then that that sheep from before hit Ascla with such a strong headbutt that it flew away

When I looked to the side the girl Annie was standing there but she was different

Her hair was down, she wore far less clothes than a short time ago, her skin was a reddish hue and there was a small horn on her forehead.

Annie Walker's point of view

Ah... How good I was feeling... Hitting Joseph's mother really did me good

Her blood on my hand showed me a door to master my metamorphosis, I felt a heat inside me that made me take off my coat

As soon as I defeated her I could see Ascla was alive and causing trouble, so I asked Carmen to attack her with everything

Carmen didn't let me down, she headbutted Ascla and made her fly a few meters, as soon as I got close there was a beautiful blonde wound on the ground and beside her a dry and pale corpse

The woman wouldn't stop looking at me, a little while longer I would call her on a date but at that moment I had work to do

Annie: Are you interested in me?

Lunna: I'm sorry, I know your friends from church, they spoke highly of you

Lunna: But what really caught my attention was your sudden change of appearance

Annie: What do you mean by that?

Lunna: How did you not notice that your skin is red and that horn on your forehead?

It was then that I realized that my change was not just internal, I really wanted to have a mirror to check what had changed in me

Before I could continue the conversation Ascla got up from the floor with an angry expression

Annie: There is! I was frustrated that I wasn't the one to have killed Adam!

Annie: But killing you will be even better

Ascla: How insolent! You just got a horn and think you're superior to me!

Ascla: Adam was just a puppet, I planned to kill him myself as soon as I got my hands on the book he kept

Annie: I don't think I'm superior to you, I AM superior to you

Annie: No matter how old you are, the humiliation of being defeated today will linger on your soul forever

Ascla then rages and flies quickly towards me

She seemed strangely slower but still she was fast, I pointed my wand towards her but this time a fire came out so strong that the wand fell apart in my hand

"What happened?" I was impressed by the fire that seems to have delayed Ascla a bit

Carmen: Now you're too powerful for that weak wand to handle

Annie: Cool... But now what? How am I going to attack?

Carmen: Use the fire of your heart

Annie: Using the fire of my heart?

Carmen: You no longer have the limitations of a human, you are one of us, use this fire that burns inside you

"Using the fire that burns within me..." I spoke to myself as I concentrated, Ascla then continued his onslaught

I tried to throw something in Ascla but nothing came out so she punched me in the face that made me lose my senses.

I must have flown about 2 meters when I heard Carmen's voice echoing

"Master... Master!" she screamed worried about me

I recovered from the blow with a rage inside me that burned, then my hands started to catch fire

I then joined my hands and launched a blast of red fire towards Ascla

She then backed off a little but then she got up and started walking calmly as if the flames had been giving her a sunbath.

She got close until Carmen kicked her away again

Carmen: Are you fine master ?

Annie: I already told you to call me by name! We are friends!

Carmen: Sorry I'm still adapting to the human world

Ascla recovers from the blow and advances again towards us

"That filthy vassal of yours is irritating me!" she said in a tone that I could no longer call her "woman"

"We are friends!" Carmen then advances again towards Ascla

Annie: Yes! That's how to talk

Carmen then manages to scratch Ascla but she manages to scratch Carmen back

It looked like Ascla was fighting a white bear but unfortunately she was winning the contest.

I then gathered the flames in my hand until they started to burn me and yelled for Carmen to back off

As soon as Carmen jumped back I fired the blast with everything I had, Ascla in response fired flames from his mouth

At that point the superiority of Ascla's flames was remarkable, this time she was getting close to me and I could only defend myself by throwing more flames

When she was in front of me I was already without the strength to continue attacking, she then prepared her blow but Carmen intervened and took the blow for me

Carmen was not a light devil, seeing her flying after taking the blow surprised me

Ascla looked disrespectfully at Carmen as if she was mocking our friendship

I tried to do something but my flames weren't enough, my death was certain in her next blow

So I decided to face death with my eyes open, I was ready to take the blow when a transparent screen emitting a white light appeared between us

Ascla scratched that screen hard and the screen crumbled like glass. She tried to hit a few more times but with each hit a new screen appeared

"Don't just fucking stand there!" a familiar voice yelled at me angrily

As soon as I looked I saw that it was Joseph who had a face like he just cried a lot, he was the one making the barriers

"Another worm has joined the killing" Ascla then turned to Joseph as I walked away

She moved forward to attack Joseph who kept moving constantly to avoid her attacks.

Joseph: Annie! Attack her with your flames! I've got your back

Annie: Don't give me orders

I attacked Ascla with my flames but they had no effect

Joseph: Attack her like you did just now

Annie: I can't, I need more time

Joseph: You are the person I least expected to make excuses right now

Joseph: Charge your flames and I hold it

Ascla: I'm listening! Do you think I'll let you fulfill your plan?

Ascla then advanced on Joseph who was barely making barriers fast enough to keep up with her attacks, I had to help throw some flames to distract her.

Our plan wasn't working, if I wanted to have any chance of attacking her like that again Joseph would have to be able to hold her longer

Joseph was about to take a blow from Ascla when gunshot sounds caught our attention.

“shots? But who would be with a gun right now?" before I could finish talking, a motorcycle hit Ascla full on

She then got rid of the bike like it was nothing but that was enough for Joseph to get rid of Ascla and have some time to breathe.

Elai: Looks like I was late for the party! But at least I can still help with the main boss

Annie and Joseph: Elai ?!?!?

I had no idea where Elai was, since that bastard Tyller betrayed me I was out of date on my friends

Annie: Elai? Where have you been all this time?

Elai: It's a long story but I think that demon won't let me tell the story now

Elai Rivers point of view

Oh! Glad I made it at the right time, Joseph got a cool skill but he didn't seem to be able to deal with Ascla

Elai: So... What's the plan?

Annie: The plan is for me to be able to carry my flames long enough to be able to burn the Ascla

Elai: Right! I hold her while you carry the flames

Annie: Hey! How are you going to do that ?

I ran towards Ascla who looked more evil than before, I didn't know what had happened, I didn't see any of the mercenaries in the few glances I gave around the arena

“Aaaaah! How many more of you are still going to show up?” she came towards me like a real devil, that was her real essence

I made a diagonal swipe from top to bottom with my scythe and she held the scythe like it was nothing and smiled like it was routine for her.

I dropped my scythe and activated my brass knuckle, I caught her totally off guard and punched her in the jaw that made her fly a good few meters

She stood up soon after and put her jaw back in place and her eyes burned with hatred

Ascla: How was a human able to do that?

Elai: Huh? Why should I tell you?

Ascla: It doesn't matter! The only thing you've achieved is being able to die first

Ascla came again like a beast and I mounted my guard as Klovis had taught me

I punched her again but this time it was held my hand, before she could do anything I changed my brass knuckle and hit it with my free hand

This punch had less energy than the previous one but she felt pain, she still didn't let go of my hand so I started punching her repeatedly as she squeezed my hand until she grabbed my other hand

"With you I will make a point of being very slow" she slowly increased the strength of her grip

I tried to get rid of it anyway but her hands felt like two handcuffs that at this point were already cracking the bones in my hand

Joseph quickly stepped forward with a crowbar and pierced one of Ascla's eyes who with his extraordinary strength used me as a weapon to hit Joseph as she howled in pain.

She shook me and I hit the ground like a rag doll making my gun fly from where it was stored

Joseph took the opportunity to shoot Ascla at point blank range, who finally decided to let go of me.

I was dropped on the ground, I was skinned and with several broken bones, I didn't have the strength to get up from there, I would have to wait for someone to come help me

Joseph was being chased by the Ascla and Annie was just joining the flames to give her attack

It was then that I saw Carmen coming to me slowly

Joseph Taylor's point of view

I was desperate, I had just pierced a succubus eye and she was furious behind me

To keep making barriers besides being difficult was tiring me not to mention that I had already been running for a while

In a careless moment I felt the pain of being hit by Elai and then Ascla slapped me on the left shoulder which made me fall to the ground

"I wonder what a blessed soul's soul tastes like" Ascla then sticks out her tongue insinuating that she would rip my soul out

I wasn't about to let her do it at all, I tried to kick her but it was in vain, she didn't seem to feel pain, she even backed off

Ascla: Haha! Do you really believe your friend will manage to kill me? That's ridiculous

Joseph: Yes! i trust my friends

Ascla: Let me tell you a secret, if you were 5 times stronger you might have a chance

Joseph: What?

It was then that I could see from the corner that Annie had already finished preparing, so with all the strength I had left I made my barrier stronger so far.

“Die you bitch!” Annie shortened the distance between herself and Ascla and fired a unique attack that looked like a supreme character skill.

The fire passed through Ascla like a river, it began to light like iron in the forge

"Oh no! I'm dying!" Ascla thrashed as the flames engulfed her

"How can an ancient demon like me be defeated by human children!" she was in pain as her skin and muscles burned

She then let out a loud scream like a final boss in a game does before dying but what did she do next...

She started to laugh out loud as she was used to doing, but this time she was different

Ascla: Hahaa! Just kidding!

Ascla: You humans are so fond of playing

Ascla: I think you younger ones call it "trolling"

Ascla: I thought this was a great time to do a "trollge"

It was unbelievable that she was actually playing with us, I thought she was taking the fight seriously

Me, Annie, Elai, Lunna, Stevan and Klovis, we all did our best to defeat her and she didn't even seem to be getting tired.

Ascla: Oh I hope I can have more fun like this after you guys die

Annie spent so much energy on this attack that she couldn't stand up any longer, and Elai was still on the ground and Carmen was on his side.

Ascla: That's right! That's what I want from you, despair

Ascla: The more fear you feel, the better your soul tastes

Annie: Fuck you!

Burning Ascla appears in an instant in front of Annie

"I'll teach you to have more respect for your elders" Ascla then kicks Annie in the head that makes her flip over a few meters to the ground

“Is that all you have? Do you really want to respect you when you hit me so weak?” Annie spat blood as she mocked Ascla

Ascla: Even with my blood you're still a fool to think you're going to kill me

Ascla: It seems like there's still humanity in you

Ascla: Your humanity is what keeps you from realizing how superior I am

Ascla: As I reward you for being so weak and foolish I will kill you in the most humiliating way for a demon

Ascla's eyes start to glow red and Annie then starts to bleed from the holes

Ascla: The most humiliating way for a demon to die is when it can't stand the presence of a more powerful being and then it starts to fall apart.

Annie was dying there in front of my eyes, I got up and tried to do something but Ascla grabbed me by the clothes and threw me too far.

Ascla: You won't advance your turn

I fell and skinned myself on the asphalt of the street, there wasn't much to be done in that situation, even if I got better I wasn't able to help at all

If I were a coward I would have run away a long time ago, it was certain that the 3 of us would die at that moment

I took some courage, healed myself to basically stay upright and advanced again towards Ascla, if I were to die I would be the first so I could guide the souls of my friends on the other side

When I was getting close to Ascla Annie already seemed to have lost consciousness, I couldn't accept losing to her this time

That's when a figure appeared in front of me, I hit head-on with its furry white back

A few moments before...

Elai Rivers point of view

“Carmen? What are you doing here?" Carmen then starts sniffing my clothes

Elai: I don't have any cigarettes this time, sorry

She then grunts like she's telling me to be quiet, she then finds the book I had saved earlier

Elai: It's no use, I already tried to open this book but I couldn't

She then took the book in her mouth and threw it on the floor, then she spit her own blood on the cover.

After that it seems that the book "unlocked" and opened, Carmen then swallowed the book as soon as it started to glow

I was still curious to know what book that was and why Rickshark kept it but some of my doubts were answered when Carmen started her metamorphosis.

It was like watching a wolf transform into a werewolf as strange as that might sound

Carmen alternated between looking like a sheep, a devil and a woman, she gained long white hair, her upper claws gained thumbs, long horns grew on her head and she was now bipedal

"But what is this?" I couldn't help wondering aloud as I watched it all happen

"Take good care of Annie" Carmen then spread 6 wings and suddenly stopped in front of Ascla and Joseph who was advancing towards her

Elai: Hey! Since when do you speak my language?

I tried to move but everything was sore, I was still confused about the situation.

Carmen then hugged Ascla and took off to the sky quickly, I didn't dare to look away from the scene

Carmen flew high up to the clouds that were covering the sky and suddenly a white glow cleared all the clouds and lit up that dark night as if it were the sun

Soon after the rumble reached where we were and it was strong enough for my body to feel that it had taken a strong blow.

This explosion meant the end of the battle.

"Its finished?" I looked up seeing that blinding glow trying to search for some spark that could mean the remains of Carmen or Ascla but I found nothing but that artificial sun

As soon as the "sun" went out I saw that Joseph was also looking up as surprised as I was.

That was it... After running so hard I could just lie there on that cold ground, the smaller enemies had separated, Ascla was defeated and Rickshark didn't seem to be anywhere near there.

My eyes were starting to get heavier so I gave in to my will to rest

“Hello! Hey! I won't let you die before me” not long after I closed my eyes I heard Joseph's voice calling me

Elai: Oh come on! Can't I even take a nap after catching so much?

The 2 of us then laughed until we felt our bruises ache

Joseph: I'm sorry I can't heal you much, but I think you can get up now

Elai: You didn't have to worry about me so soon, aren't there any more injured people out there?

Joseph: I didn't have time to check... Everything happened so fast

Joseph: Ascla entering the church, me helping to evacuate non-combatants out of the church, my mother fighting Annie...

Elai: Did your mother fight Annie?

Joseph: When I arrived the fight was already over and Annie did a lot of damage to my mother

Elai: What are you still doing here?

Elai: Go look at your mother

Elai: I look at Annie

Joseph then goes towards his mother and I walk towards Annie slowly

She looked fine, Joseph even sad with her was able to heal her

She was slowly waking up and so I sat next to her

Elai: Good night sleeper

Annie: E-Elai? What happened ? Do we die?

Elai: It won't be this time that the other world will have our souls

Annie: Ouch! My head is killing me... This must be the worst headache I've ever felt

Annie: I never complain about a hangover again

Elai: Can demons have a hangover?

Annie: I don't know... I have to ask Carmen about this

Annie: Where is Carmen?

Annie then starts calling for Carmen, she tries to get up but I stopped her from making an effort

Elai: Annie... Carmen sacrificed herself to save us

Annie: What? No, no!

Annie: Elai! Please tell me this is a lie!

Annie then sits down and covers her face

Annie: Oh shit! It's starting to rain

Elai: You can cry... I won't tell anyone

Annie: What is this story? Devils never cry!

Elai: Maybe somewhere even a devil may cry after loss someone 

Annie: Maybe...

We stood there in silence until we heard a distant cry

Joseph was on Carlos' side and Dorothea was under his arms

It was obvious what had happened, I wanted to go there but at that moment I didn't think it was better to stay away

I wanted to ask Annie how she felt about it but I didn't know how she was dealing with losing Carmen

Some hours later...

After some time Joseph and I helped the wounded from the battle, Lunna was still in shock from losing Stevan and Klovis in such a short time.

Annie got up and went in a direction not knowing where she was going, I questioned her about what she was going to do but what she told me was that the farther a demon stayed from the church the better it would be.

I was worried about her, probably me and Joseph were the only real friends she had... But if she thought she needed some time alone I had to let her go

As soon as we entered the church we saw Father John in a horrible situation while Emilya kept praying

As soon as the priest opened his eyes he looked very confused by the situation so Joseph and I explained what had happened and he told us about the fight with Rickshark

After a few hours of work taking care of the dead and wounded Father John managed to get up and ironically was using the cane that nearly killed him

He said that every soul could be saved and that he would keep his cane as a constant reminder not to give up hope

After that he personally celebrated a mass for all the souls of allies and enemies killed in battle.

What happened next ?

Well, a lot happened later but this is a story for another time... See you later!

The end

BlueMors(BlueUnionBr
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