The first thing I noticed in the basement was that there wasn't any guards around. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any kind of defence in place around here, even when the over abundance of prisoners inside. Then again, I doubt prison riots or escape attempts are too high on Frankenstein's list of worries.

The next thing I noticed was that the few individuals not cowering in fear from the pandimonium outside were too scared to even beg me for escape. It seems that they've given up all hope on making it out of here, not that I really cared about them. I didn't have time to babysit a bunch of humans even if I did free them now.

But something wasn't right here. There's no way that Frankenstein would leave the machine unattended. He knew that we would be coming for him, and if his little summoning circle and the army of demons was any indication, the man does not half ass things. Hell, he goes for over-kill more than anything else, so why on earth would he leave the most valuable object unguarded?

Yet as hard as I tried to look, I just couldn't see anything that would indicate anything other than an empty hallway. Could he really be so cocky that he wouldn't bother to defend his machine and kidnapped victum? I shook my head, and forced my paranoia out of mind. After all, even if there was a trap waiting for me, I couldn't exactly give up now. So I did the only thing I could; I walked through through the now familiar hallway towards the inner sanctum of Frankenstein's lab.

When I entered the room, the first thing I noticed was that the machine itself seemed more or less the same, and in a corner I saw that Mike was also more or less intact. The stoner was stuck in some kind of glass cage, and by the fact that he wasn't moving at all, I'd hazard a guess that he was stuck in suspended animation.

The last thing I noticed was the shadow hiding in the very back, obscured by the various lab equipment. A very familiar shadow.

He moved out into the dim light, and with an arrogant smile, he greeted me, “Why hello Barbas, did you honestly think that you could get away from me that easily?”

I didn't bother answering. Instead, I willed a thin line of banefire, and threw it at Sathanus. I didn't slow him down much, but it did buy me enough time to brandish my sword. With a flick of my wrist, I sent the weapon flying; not towards Satanus, but towards the cage holding Mike.

“That won't work.” Sathanus chuckled as he saw my sword bounce uselessly off the glass, “And now you're weapon-less. I seemed to forgotten just how stupid you were, Barbas.”

I grunted, and willed more Banefire into existence. I condensed the fire around my fists, and rushed Sathanus, hoping that he would be cocky enough to receive the attack head on. There was only one way that I was going to win this, and that's if Sathanus acts without thinking. He likes to play with his prey, and I was counting on that, because even with the fires of creation fuelling my body, I wouldn't stand a chance in an extended fight. I could pump out more Banefire than I ever could, but I was already beginning to feel the strain.

Like I was hoping, the demon prince didn't choose to dodge my overly slow lunge, but my blow didn't connect with him either. Instead, Sathanus unleashed the whole of his Will onto me, and I felt my knees buckle under the strain.

“Kneel!” He sneered, “I thought you learned your lesson the last time, Barbas. You can't fight me. You're weak!”

I felt my head lower to the ground as the pressure around me increased, but instead of feeling dread like I did last time, I only grinned. Although Sathanus didn't do the stupidest thing that he could have, he was still underestimating me. He was still gloating.

This time, instead of summoning more Banefire, I extinguished the amount I had around my fists and willed as much Heaven Fire, the Fire of Creation, into my body as I could. See, unlike Banefire, or the Fire of Destruction, Heaven Fire is its counter opposite, and like its name suggests, it's a force of creation. A skilled Angel could form whole planets with the stuff, and while I'm awful at using it to create matter – heck, I would be lucky if I could manage to make anything with it – I could use it in its raw form better than anyone. Thanks to a Einstein, I came to realize that matter is energy, and that's basically all Heaven Fire is. It was just up to me to use it.

With so much of raw power coursing through my veins, I could resist Sathanus' Will to a certain extent. It still felt like I was moving through molasses, but I could move nonetheless. I gathered as much energy as I could, and with a final push, I bolted from the ground and smashed my fist right into the Demon Princes' mouth.

Of course, a purely physical attack wouldn't do any lasting damage to the demon, even with all the pure kenetic energy it packed, but it did stun the man momentarily. I didn't let that moment pass, and quickly wrapped a handful of Banefire around my arms. My second punch did a lot more damage than my last, to say the least. And so did my third, and fourth, and fifth. Heck, I was pummelling Sathanus with everything I had, each punch expanding more and more Banefire.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

I felt my head pound with exhaustion as the last reserves of Heaven Fire faded away, but I still continued my assault. I continued until my arms gave out, and my legs refused to support my weight. Only then did I relent, and back away from the bloody, scorched mess that was Sathanus.

“Call me weak again, asshole.” I muttered, slumping away from the demon's body. I was about to move over to Mike's cage when I felt a huge force smash into my chest, knocking me off my feet.

“You're weak!”

When my blurred vision cleared, I saw Sathanus standing a few feet away from me. I don't know how he managed to heal so quickly, but he did. He looked battered and bruised, but it didn't matter, he was doing a lot better than I was.

“I will admit that you've improved since the last time.” Sathanus spat, “But you're still not good enough!”

“Yeah? I've got more where that came from.”

Sathanus laughed, “You might have fooled me once, Barbas, but even an idiot can see that you're spent! You're nothing now, and when I'm done with you you'll be even less than nothing!”

“Just try me.” I muttered.

I was buying time.

Although I was physically exhausted, I still had one final trick up my sleeves. Before I left my house, I brought with me two tiny little bottles. Inside one was a ball of concentrated Banefire, and the other contained a ball of concentrated Heaven Fire. To be honest, it was Frankenstein who gave me the initial idea of putting the stuff into containers, but it was his little loyalty test that gave me an idea on how to use them.

But I only had time to prepare one vial of each substance, so I had to get this last bit perfect. I opened the containers behind my back, and willed the two opposite fires into a chaotic swirling mixture, with each flame dancing along the other, close but never touching. Now all I had to do was combine the two, and watch the fireworks, but I needed Sathanus to come closer. I need him to let his guard down even further. I had one chance.

“Will you beg for mercy?” Sathanus continued, edging every closer to me, “Or will your pride prevent you from doing so? Oh, I do wonder how long it'll take for you to beg me to end you!”

“Fuck you.”

“But I think your defiance will give out first.” He smiled, “Don't think that our little date last was anything other than an appetizer, Barbas. This time, I have all the time in the world to break you.”

“I'd like to see you try, asshole.”

“Oh, you will.” He chuckled, moving closer still, “Trust me, my good friend, you will.”

The demon was less than a foot away from me now. The perfect distance. I used whatever remaining energy I had and threw the ball of fire at him. It wasn't a fast attack, and my aim was woefully off, but at that distance, I couldn't miss. The mixture of Banefire and Heaven Fire collided with Sathanus' left shoulder, and the second the two fires touched, the very fabric of space itself started to rip. With a huge rush of air, I saw the entire left side of the Demon Prince disappear, and the explosion that followed destroyed the other half of him. Being so close, I was caught in the explosion as well. I was thrown halfway across the room, and I didn't have the energy left to mend all the broken bones and organs. It was a good thing that the effect was smaller than my last attempt, because I doubt I would have stayed conscious if my body was broken more than it already was.

“That hurt!” A voice shouted, “That fucking hurt, Barbas!”

I laughed. It hurt more than anything to do so, but I laughed anyway. Because there Sathanus stood. The whole left side of his body was completely missing, and half his face was melted off, but there he stood anyway. I gave it everything that I could, more than everything, yet I still failed. Now, because of me, my friends would die. There was nothing else I could do but laugh.

“You've pissed me off for the last time!” The demon howled, “No more fun and games! No more underestimating you! I'll end you right now!”

He limped slowly towards me, the look of agony mixed with hatred strewn across his disfigured features. There was nothing I could do now. I used up the last of my tricks, and I'm all out of gas. I just hope that somewhere out there, Sara's doing ok.

Sathanus advanced on me, the look of bloody murder never leaving his features. He stood on top of me, and he arched his one remaining arm backwards, preparing to end my existence.

I heard the sound of the wind being cut in two, and...

The top half of Sathanus' body was disconnected from the bottom?

Wait, what?

I stared in disbelief at what I just saw, and as the two halves of the demon prince's body hit the floor, a saw the silhouette of a familiar figure standing behind where the demon used to be.

“Hiya boss.” She said with a wicked grin, “Did you miss me?”