One Year Later

“If the prophecies are correct, we should see our first outbreak of hives any day now.”

Samuel walked over and sat in the chair opposite of me while slamming an old book on the table. I covered my mouth as dust flew into my face.

“What's this?” I asked him. “Haven't I done enough readings on demonology? Shouldn't I be reading more scripture or something?”

Samuel bent over the table and thumped my forehead. “Don't be a wuss, Ira. The Almighty won't punish you just because you're learning about the enemy. Now, take a look at this.”

The old man placed his finger knowingly on the width of the pages and opened the book exactly to the position he wanted. I was surprised to see that this particular book had hand drawn pictures. The images looked to have been scribbled fast as if the artist was in a rush for some reason.

“It looks like a big pile of dung,” I said, pointing at the scribbled black mass.

“You're not the first to point that out,” Samuel said nodding. “Did you think demons would just sprout out of something Holy looking? Oh heavens no. These creatures are VILE, Ira. They are mindless murdering things. Terrifying and...”

“Did you draw these?” I asked him, fingering the image. This book wasn't a reprint but was handwritten. Some of the text was hard to read due to a mixture of old age and cheap ink.

“Ahh, that's pretty smart deduction out of you,” Samuel said, sitting back in his chair and smiling. “I'll say yes, but!” He raised a finger to me, my mouth already open with another question. “That, is a story for another time. All you need to know is that these are what hives look like. They seep from the ground from large cracks and once they've reached the apex of their growth, they become sort of like demon factories.”

“How do I destroy them?” I asked, putting my hand behind my back and fingering the polearm attached to the baldric around my torso. I never left without it these days, no matter how uncomfortable it was.

“You literally have to get into deep shit!”

The other patrons of the library all looked up from their books to stare at Samuel and I. Some shook their heads at us and I could feel my cheeks redden from my mentor's lack of decency.

“Do explain,” I said in a whisper, hoping he would get the hint to keep quiet. Sadly, it didn't work. This was an exciting subject for this retired warrior.

“Well, fire is always best. If you can put the hive to flames then you will surely kill it. However, the flying demons,” he said, pointing to the winged dots that buzzed around the scribbled turd, “will make sure no fling torches make it to the hive. So! It's best to somehow get close enough and submerge yourself into the dung, find the heart, and destroy it.”

“That sounds... horrible.”

“Did you think fighting demons would be clean? Honestly, Ira, sometimes I wonder about you. Do you have any balls?”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at this, followed by a loud hissing noise from the librarian across the room. “Sometimes I wonder how you became a Judge for the Almighty.”

Samuel shrugged, “No one ever said the Almighty wasn't a fan of a good joke now and then.”

One of the doors to the library swung open, banging loudly against the wall. Once again having their thoughts interrupted, the people who had come to this library for peace and quiet all groaned in unison. A small goblin child burst through the open door and ran through the aisles of books in our direction. I knew this boy to be one of the messengers who was often sent to remind me that it was now the time to train.

“Ira, sir!” said the goblin child, “Sir Gauss said-”

“Yes, yes, I know,” I said, petting him on the head.

The goblin boy, named Marin, peered up at me and smiled with his nasty yellow teeth. I think he looked up to me which, honestly, was a nice change from all the evil my horns brought me. I most likely would have been more accepted by the people of the Refuge if I figured out a way to keep them hidden, but I refused. I kept them out as a reminder of what was to come. An army of evil. Demons. Witches. Necromancers. The apocalypse was near.

“Sir Gauss seems pretty upset sir,” Marin said.

“Isn’t he always?” I replied, standing up. “And don't call me sir, that makes me feel weird.”

“But sir, aren't you a member of the Black Knights? It's only customary that I-”

“I’m not exactly a knight,” I said, tussling the small black wisps of hairs on the goblin boy’s head. “Not yet.”

“You better get going,” Samuel said, shutting the dusty book. “You won't be the only one hearing Gauss' yammering if you don't get on your way.”

“You're probably right,” I agreed. “You know how I get carried away with literature.”

“Books are great and all, but they won't save your ass like that polearm will when your waist deep in hive shit.”

“Seriously,” I said, turning towards the door. “How are you a judge?”

Gauss was waiting for me in the middle of the sand pit. He held a sword in each of his hands today, making this the ninth day in a row he'd showed up with a different weapon to combat me with.

“Why, are you always late?” he asked, his head following me as I jumped over the gate and made my way into the ring.

“So sorry, Master Gauss. I didn't mean to.”

“Studies in the library are only half of the knowledge you must know in order to vanquish the evil threat heading our way.”

“Samuel says the same thing,” I said. “So, don't take it out on him. It was my fault for my tardiness, and I apologize.” I bowed my head to the man and, after a few seconds, he nodded back.

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“Today, you will face me as I wield two swords. You will-”

My brain zoned out as Gauss explained the training we would be going through. Every day with this man was the same. He would tell me that my goal was either to disarm or force him to submit using anything in my disposal. Why he thought he needed to re-explain this to me every time we met was beyond me. He was just that kind of teacher.

“Are you ready to begin?” he asked, putting a foot forward.

“Always,” I responded, doing the same.

Gauss didn't hesitate or even allow me the chance to pull out my polearm. I sidestepped as he brought both of his swords down in a vertical attack. My hand moved to the haft of my weapon and I was able to brandish it just in time to knock away his next strike which was targeted at my ankles. I used the momentum of my body to spin and return the favor by attacking his ankles as well.

Gauss jumped over my swing and slammed his elbow into my head. This was the fourth day in a row he'd been able to land this attack, but now I knew how to counter it. I let myself fall backward, feigning surprise only to kick the base of my polearm and smash the bottom end of it into his face.

I'd hit him harder than I expected, the loud cracking sound that came from his chin made me feel like I had gone too far. I was about to apologize when Gauss answered my strike to his face with an aggression I had never seen before. He came at me from all angles with both swords moving in a blur. I was only able to block a few strikes before the edges of the blades, dulled for the protection of the spar, began banging into the sides of my arms. I fell to my knees.

“Never hesitate!”

Gauss slapped the side of the blade across my face. The pain brought a white-hot anger into my mind and I dropped my polearm and attacked him at the waist. This took him by surprise, one of his blades flying into the air as we landed together into the sand. I punched him in the face, he spat in mine, I punched him again, he spun me onto my back and held my wrist down with his free hand. He was pointing the dull tip of the blade at my neck, a small smile appearing on his face.

“This is where you submit,” he said.

Did he forget that I still held the power of the devil? Was it not him that told me to use it to my advantage? I could easily send a right cross to this man’s temple, one powerful enough to send his head flying across the room just like I did Adino.

Adino… The leader of the so-called hidden society of the Night Blades that lurked in the shadows of the Refuge. A secret society within a secret society. Did they even exist at all? Ever since I killed Adino they had kept completely silent. But, I knew they were out there. Adino just wouldn’t have said those things for no reason.

“I submit,” I said, raising both of my hands. Feelings of shame washed over me. Was I really just about to kill my mentor? All because he had bested me in a duel? But… was he really better than me? When would I be allowed to use my arm to its fullest? I doubted that Gauss knew how to train someone with my circumstances. But how would I ever get proficient with this arm if I couldn’t use it?

Standing up, Gauss walked over to his blade, picked it up, swung the sand off it, and replaced it into his sheath. He turned to me as I was wiping his spit from my face.

“I apologize for that dirty move of mine. I blame my instincts, which you successfully pulled out of me and for that…”

Gauss clapped his hands twice and walked off to the side of the arena, leaving me there with my mouth hanging open. Never before had that man ever given me any recognition of my improvement. This was the first.

“Thank you, Master,” I said, bowing my head.

“Now, it is time you fight with a new warrior. One, I believe, you will find more trouble than even I.”

“And who’s that?” I asked him. “I thought you were the best warrior here?”

Deborah walked out onto the arena from the opposite side. In her hand, she held the same sword she had slain Jonni’s demon with. Just looking at it sent chills down my spine. It was thin, long, and had a rainbow effect across the metal when the sunlight flashed over its steel.

We stood there staring at each other. Not a time went by when she was in my presence that I did not think back to the time I saw her bathing. I just couldn’t get her breasts out of my mind! I had prayed to the Almighty so many times to relieve these thoughts from my head but so far my prayers had gone unanswered.

“You’re weak,” she said, taking a few steps towards me. “Are you afraid of me? Afraid to fight a girl? What about the demons that will morph themselves into bare-chested succubuses? What about them? Did Judge Samuel have a chance to teach you about them?” She stopped within range of striking distance. “Will you fight them, or fuck them?”

Those last words took me by shock and I was ashamed that it sent a bit of electricity through my groin. Sensing my lack of preparedness, Deborah slashed at my face, the wind making a hissing noise as I stepped backward. Her blade’s edge wasn’t dulled.

I bent low, grabbing the haft of my polearm just as her sword whizzed overhead. I gave a quick glance over my shoulder, looking for Gauss, but he was not there. I was alone with this crazy girl.

I turned back around and blocked the next attack, then the next. Deborah was gritting her teeth as she advanced onto me. Six months ago, she had been accepted into the ranks of the Black Knights, and ever since then I had never seen her take the black armor off.

She feigned an attack at my throat and I moved my polearm upward to block it. She took this chance to front kick me in the gut, sending me onto my back. She was on me in half a second. A fist connected to my jaw followed by another. She had flung her sword into the sand next to me as she went to work on my face.

The punches to the face kept coming, bringing along an explosion of light in my vision. I was at a loss of what to do. I didn’t want to hurt her. I couldn’t…

“You.. will… start treating me… Like! A! True! Warrior!” The last punch hit me so hard that for a second or two I couldn’t close my jaw.

My brain must have switched to a mode of survival, because I did not intend to punch her shoulder as hard as I did. And… with the bad arm.

Deborah flew off me and halfway across the arena where she spun a few times, sand flying in the air after her. My head felt like it was floating a few feet off the ground and it took a while for me to realize that I may have actually killed her.

Slowly, I stood up with the last bit of my strength and stumbled over to her motionless body. I was seeing double vision and my jaw was on absolute fire. I almost fell over a few times but each time I was able to regain balance by the grace of the Almighty. What the hell had just happened? Why had she gone crazy on me?

Both of her eyes were closed when I fell to my knees beside her. Her shoulder pauldron was dented inward but looked to have taken most of the damage. Hopefully.

“Deborah,” I said, shaking her. “Wake up. Wake up!”

She didn’t move, but something else did. The ground beneath us slowly began to shake which it had never done before in the past. Was this some sort of quake? What was going on?

The sound of moving sand was coming from the middle of the arena and I turned to see some sort of sinkhole forming. A black line began to form and streak towards each end. Once it hit the wall it expanded outwards a few feet before stopping altogether, as did the tremors.

I turned back to Deborah, my brain still in a state of confusion. I shook her more violently now. “Wake up, Deborah, they’re here!”

The girl’s eyes blinked a bit, sending a feeling of relief through my body. What would Gauss have done to me if I'd killed his first apprentice? Could I ever have lived with myself?

“What?” she asked, her eyelids lifting only half way. She picked up her hand and let it graze my face. “Did you… hit me?”

“Yes, I’m so sorry, I-“

She put a finger to my lips, then popped my cheek with her palm.

“Good boy.”

A sudden stink hit my nose as I helped her to her feet. From here I could see a brown grainy mush forming and oozing from the depths of the fissure. This was the forming of a hive, I just knew it! But what was to come… I wasn’t sure. You could only learn so much about demons from reading books. But why was it here? Why choose to debut yourself in the center of the society that was trying to destroy you? How did they even know how to find us?

“They are here,” Deborah said dreamily.

We were leaning on each other, watching our possible demise float disgustingly upward from the ground. Was this really happening? Or was I slowly entering into a concussion?

Deborah dropped her head onto my shoulder.

“We have to fight them. Just us two. Together.”

“Looks like it,” I said.

“We’ve got this,” she said.

And there we stood, watching the fecal hive rise from hell. Neither of us was ready for what was to come. As Judge Samuel might have put it... we were in deep shit.