-Callia-
The giant demon's hooved leg slammed down violently as he launched himself at me again. I twisted to the side, narrowly escaping a leg slamming into the stone. The vibrations reverberated through the floor and into the surrounding walls. Small chips of stone and dust shook loose, tumbling down to the floor. The other demon hidden in the evil presence also made its move. Incorporeal hands of ooze manifested throughout the hall, reaching to grab me. I danced around the hands, trying to make space between me and the bull-demon. Despite my efforts evading the demon, I struggled to make any kind of gap. My speed was only a smidge better than the demons, and the ghostly hands filling the halls clipped what little advantage I held there into a contest of equals.
As I narrowly slip past another of the monsters' stomps, ducking between his legs, I take the chance to thrust my spear into his leg. The thick bone-like cartilage of the hoof didn’t yield in the slightest. The feeble attempt even provoked an amused snort from the demon.
“Feeble,” its voice echoed with confidence as it seemed to be recovering from my earlier blow. “Human, I have found you rather impressive! Perhaps you would consider a deal of a different sort?” The demon's minotaur snout huffed in excitement as the demon seemed to be envisioning something desirable. I gave no response other than summoning my bow into my hand and launching a volley at the demon’s face. It swiftly shielded its face but grunted in pain as my arrows dug deeply into the flesh of its arm.
“For one as strong as you, we are willing to make numerous concessions.” The evil presence whispered at me, eagerly going along with the bull’s earlier statements. I focused my mind and found banishing the evil presence a matter of concentration, but it would persistently return. The bull-demon ripped a chunk of stone from a wall and decisively slammed it down at me. I jumped forward, catching the side of the stone, and shifted it into the void moments before it crashed into the ground.
“Just because you resist this avatar doesn’t make you more than a flea before my true might.” The demon puffed out its chest, ignoring my arrows that stuck deeply into his torso. “I have made deals with many humans who seek power above all else. Make a pact with me and become my champion, and I will give you gifts beyond anything the holy one will offer!” The demon grunted as he slammed his fist into the wall but missed as I jumped upwards. I landed my jump atop his clenched fist and ran up his arm. His other arm tried to swipe me off the arm, but I used my spear to pole vault over and launched myself legs first into his face. He tilted his head at the last moment and swung the point of his horn towards me like a head-mounted spear.
I forced myself to spin midair, catching the horn in a hard kick, but abandoning my chance at a better hit. My legs pressed against the horn, and I pushed with all my might. The recoil sent me flying back to the ground where I landed in a controlled roll. I can hear the giant bull-man-demon wail in despair as the cracked horn crashes down heavily into the ground. I have no time to celebrate my semi-successful attack as one of the ghostly appendages finally caught hold of me. My whole body immediately stiffened as the fingers slowly wrapped around the back of my neck.
“If you lack interest in Baal’s power, perhaps unimaginable wealth, not just money but treasures of all kinds. You will have every earthly treasure your heart desires.” The demon’s voice whispering into my ear was almost a physical presence. My whole body continued to stiffen and refused to respond. My mind slowed as I felt myself getting dragged into a nightmare and sleep paralysis. Before I lost the strength to move, my instincts took control, turning my head to the demon on my back and announcing.
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“In the name of Jesus I rebuke you.” There was no flash of light or scream, but the weight was lifted and my mind and body freed from its grasp. Immediately I hopped sideways, narrowly avoiding the other demon’s hoof. Softly panting, I put more distance between me and the bull again. The ghostly hands from before were slowly sprouting from the walls and ground, but whatever happened clearly had a lingering restraint.
“Poor Mammon lacks the right things to tempt a true warrior. Speak and I shall crown you queen of this world! I will grant you the power to claim the land for your precious humanity, and no foe will ever dare speak against you!” The demon got so caught up in his offer that he stopped attacking. Raising a fist and looking upward as he clenched it. I immediately broke whatever fantasies he conjured by adding six arrows into his exposed throat. He immediately recoiled and stumbled back a step before grabbing the arrows and ripping them all out at once. Black blood poured down his chest, rapidly pooling at his hooves. However, the look in his eyes showed how little he cared about the injury. The crazed frenzy seemed to grow as we locked eyes.
From the side, my instincts flared with danger, and I bent backwards while twisting my head. The guards previously barring my exit rushed through the doorway. One of the archers had taken a shot but missed as I contorted my stance, dodging it. The demon capitalized on the distracting lunging forward, bringing his fist downwards like an angry meteor. Behind me, the prison shook as the heavy strike impacted the tower like an earthquake. I strained to adjust my senses to my new position after blinking past the vault guards and into the entry room. A guard next to me tried to take a swing with his sword, but I ducked while stomping his foot. The guard immediately collapsed inward, screaming. I didn’t wait for any other signals to go and immediately darted into the tunnel leading up into the vault’s main corridor.
Behind an earthshaking roar shook the tower, but none of the vault guards could stop me anymore. I could’ve stayed and fought the demon in its turf, in a dungeon filled with enemy guards who I would have had to fight later, but with the exit clear there was no reason to stay. As I reached the end of the current tunnel, a vault guard rushed in to stop me. I pressed close, grabbing his wrists and delivering a knee to the guard's groin. He immediately collapsed miserably, screaming as his body collapsed inward on the point I hit. I slipped out of the tunnel and into the long passageway leading back to the main gate. Instead of running towards the gate, I turned back towards the granary and set a pace jogging through the tunnels.
In the dim quiet tunnels, the rush from my boosting skills started to fade, and a heavy exhaustion started to grow. It didn’t take long for me to arrive at the granary, and the vault guards outside immediately crumpled each under a single kick. Looking inside the smokey interior certainly didn’t look promising for any fire control efforts. In the distance I could hear the responders shouting to each other as they continued to fight the problem. Apparently the old wooden shelves and the barrels of food were far more persistent than I gave them credit for. I ran towards the distant light of an inferno, bypassing all the guards who were trying everything in their power to slow me down.
Diving right into the inferno I held my breath and relied on instinct tracking to lead me through the choking fumes to the passageway I used to enter the vault. I could feel the heat of the flames licking at any exposed skin, but in the few short moments I was exposed to them, it wasn't enough to do any real damage other than an impromptu tanning. Reaching the far wall, I hopped upward, landing in a smoke-filled tunnel. I pressed my way further on through the tunnel even as the smoke began to sting my eyes and my lungs started to ache, urging me to take a new breath. I burst out from the far side of the tunnel and immediately slumped over, coughing, as I greedily reclaimed my needed oxygen. After a moment my heavy breathing finally came under control and slowed down to deep, heavy panting.
I nearly let myself relax when my heart started singing danger. I blinked forward a dozen feet and immediately snapped my attention backwards. Standing not far from where I had been sticking a sword through the space I had occupied a moment ago was a familiar face I was most definitely not ready to see again. Valoran, the captain of the vault guard, was staring at me with hunger and hatred. While trying to hide the weakness in my limbs, I summoned my spear and raised it defensively. It really did seem never-ending with people and things I don’t want to encounter today.
