With her grenade launcher, Lena leaped over the car hood and charged toward the target. The Dreadnought blasted his energy barrel guns at Tiara while she zig-zagged through the air, dodging his projectiles. She might not last long, but who knew how strong a full-fleshed demon could be.

The zombie girl dashed toward the cyborg tank demon's back. She raised her launcher and fired one explosive ball.

The grenade touched the demon’s bareback and exploded, splattering some flesh off his spine. He screamed and turned around, glaring his single red eye at Lena.

“Shoot his waist!” Tiara shouted.

Lena nodded and fired again.

Boom!

The Dreadnought’s upper body fell off his tank body and landed backward to the broken concrete. He threw his arms around, but he couldn’t hop up.

Tiara landed on the Dreadnought’s chest and stared at his face. “You have been a bad boy.”

With a giggle, she thrust her claws into the demon’s eyeball and yanked it out from his socket. As the Dreadnought screamed, Tiara tossed her fireball into his eye socket. His skull exploded with a bang.

John could smell the demon’s burnt brain matter on the ground. The thing smelled like a pig dipped in gasoline. "Damn, girl! You popped his ass."

Tiara glanced at him. "You mean his head?"

John shrugged and looked around. No more demons showed up so far.

After Alexia and Kara joined them, they approached the mall entrance. Through the barrier doorway, two gun barrels struck out, aimed at John.

"Stay back, monsters!" A man's voice shouted behind the door.

John held up his metal hands. "It's alright! We are friendly!"

"How can we be sure? You might be demons too!"

"Do we look like demons?" Kara asked.

"Your red armored girlfriend sure looks like a fucking demon!" The man shouted.

John glanced at Tiara. She only shrugged.

Maybe they should leave the civilians alone, but they might have vital information on what was happening. If demons attack them again, they might not survive long.

John stepped toward the door. "Listen, we are from the Space Paranormal Defense agency. We are only here to help."

"The Space Paranormal Defense?" The man asked. "I thought they are a myth."

"He is telling the truth," said Alexia.

"Bullshit! Our world is being attacked by monsters! And you are one of them!"

"Come on, Hershey," said a woman's voice. "You saw them fought those things out there. Obviously, they are on our side."

The man's voice groaned. "You're right, but I'm keeping an eye on them."

After the barrels moved back, the man and woman opened the door. The man was black with a short beard and little cracks spread across his face. He wore a gray hood and carried an energy rifle. The woman wore the same outfit, except she has a cap on her head, over her blonde ponytail. Their eyes remained wide at John’s squad.

"I'm Hershey, and this is Lohan," the black middle-aged man explained. "Follow us, but don't try anything funny. I am watching you, freaks."

John and his squad followed the two armed civilians through the mall, approaching a stairway to an underground subway station. The cyborg werewolf got a feeling there were more people below the subterranean level.

At the bottom, many civilians sat along the back wall, facing a long subway train. Men, women, and children, wearing dirty clothing as if they were homeless. Some looked traumatized and depressed, while others rested with their families. The demons truly ruined their lives.

As Purple Squad approached the train, two guards in gray armor suits rushed toward them with their plasma rifles out. "Hold it right there!"

Hershey stepped in front of them, raising his arms up. "Wait! They are on our side!"

"Are you crazy?" One of the militia guards shouted. "They're demons!"

"Not all of them!" Lohan corrected.

Alexia stepped forward. "We are agents from the Paranormal Space Defense. Sorry for our strange appearance, but we are not hostile."

"I don't even know what the hell the Paranormal Space Defense is!" The second guard exclaimed. "You could be-"

"Lower your weapons!" From the subway, a tall old man in a military gray uniform stepped out. His square face barely has wrinkles, but his buzz-cut hair and short beard were white, not slightly hiding his age. He must be a general, because of the medals on his chest.

The guard stepped aside, letting their commander approach the Purple Squad.

"Sorry for my men, but we are super suspicious," the general explained. "I'm General Shaw from the Earth Defense Corp. I know your organization."

"Thank you, general," said John. "We know what caused the Earth to appear in hell. An ancient beacon of some kind. One of our agents activated it by accident, and we are here to shut it down to return the Earth to normal space."

"Do you know its whereabouts?" Lena asked.

Shaw crossed his arms. "If you are looking for the expedition team who brought the beacon here, tough luck. The demons captured them. They probably got the beacon too."

Alexia sighed. "Shit….. That explains why we lost contact with them.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

If the demons got the beacon, they will surely guard it to keep the Earth in hell. And the agents could be dead too.

"We need to find the beacon at all costs," said John. "If the demons have it, we will take it from them."

"You must know where it is," said Lena.

Shaw studied them with his keen eyes. "Sorry, I don't….. But I know where the expedition team is.”

“Where?” Kara asked.

“At the football stadium, ten blocks from here. Half of my men are there too, being tortured or God knows what demons do to people…..” Shaw sniffed. “If you can save them all, I will appreciate that.”

John nodded. “We will do our best to save them.”

“I hope so.” Shaw gazed around. “We don’t have many supplies here, but we can give you what we don’t need. We are preparing to use the subway to move the civilians to a better shelter. No human can survive out there.”

Kara smiled. “Good thing we aren’t human.”

“What’s the Earth’s state now?” Alexia asked.

Shaw rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know. Everyone lost communication when the sky turned red. Demons landed and took them. I imagine every country is fighting them still. But so far, I feared we are losing.”

“Then we better find the beacon as soon as possible,” said John.

“Can we come with you?” Lohan asked, blinking her eyes.

Kara smirked at her. “I think you are better off with them than with us. As Shaw said, no human can survive out there.”

*****

On a rooftop, John peeked over the ledge where he could see the entire football stadium, shaped like an oval. Lots of demon soldiers stood guard near each entrance, and five Dreadnoughts drove around on the street, gazing at every intersection.

“It looks like they are heavily guarding the stadium,” said Lena, “but why?”

Tiara gazed over the zombie girl’s shoulder. “We demons hate it when unexpecting visitors ruin our entertainment. Getting in will not be easy.”

A loud noise of cheers roared from the ancient amphitheater. It sounded like a ball game started, but John knew that wasn’t the case.

“What exactly are they doing in there?” Kara asked.

Tiara grinned. “Playing with their food.”

John growled. “We have to bust in there now! The team could be in peril!”

Tiara shrugged. “You can try, but your head will get blown off.”

“Not if I keep moving.”

“But they can slow you down,” Alexia warned.

John beamed his blue eyes at the perimeter. In the outer wall, more figures stood with sniper rifles, aiming their red beams at the street.

Indeed, it would be suicide if the entire squad rushed to the structure. John could survive, but many blasts will prevent him from saving the captives on time.

He gazed at the stadium roof. “Can you fly me to the stadium, Tiara?”

The demon blinked her eyes at him. “Why? You have mommy issues, big boy?”

John glared. “Listen! This is-”

“I’m joking!” Tiara laughed. “I can carry anything. What’s your plan?”

John stared back at the stadium. “I need to reach the roof. It will be quicker to avoid the guards down there.”

Lena blinked her white eyes. "But they will see you!"

Alexia held her finger with a slight grin on her face. "I can cast an invisibility spell on them. Nothing can detect my magic."

Tiara shrugged. "Some demons can."

Alexia glared at the demon woman.

"Just cloak us when we are in the air. Okay?" said John.

Alexia nodded. "When you reach the top, give us a signal when you need reinforcement."

"Got it." John rose to his metal bare feet. "Let's go."

Tiara hopped onto the roof's ledge and stretched out her wings. She flapped them, hovering in mid-air.

She turned around and held out her arms toward John. "Come to my arms, dog."

John snarled. "For your correction, I am a wolf."

"Whatever."

John placed his metal arms around the devil woman. He smelled her sweet charcoal hair, which he couldn’t help it.

Alexia faced them and waved her hands in a circle as they glowed purple. “Protege eum chlamyde, cum in oculis meis!”

“Did she say cum?” Tiara asked before the invisible bubble appeared around John and her. They could see through the bubble, but Alexia held up her thumb. Apparently, they were ready.

Tiara glided over the street, high in the air. As John looked down, the Dreadnoughts didn't gaze up. Alexia's spell was working.

Tiara didn't seem to grow tired as she carried John, who was supposed to be very heavy. Perhaps all demonic women were stronger than they looked.

Tiara approached the roof and placed John on it above the cheering spectators. He could see the audience were all demon soldiers in black armor suits like the guards outside. They rocked their fists in the air, shouting at the open grassfield down below.

On the field, a giant demon stood, raising a giant sword that looked like a machete. He wore a heavy black armor suit with large bat-like wings, razor-sharp tall horns, and a short black beard around his chisel face. Strange he looked the same as his fellow demonic soldiers, except he was bigger.

“Who the hell is that?” John whispered.

Tiara glared at the giant demon as if his sight disguised her. “My former mate.”

John widened his blue eyes toward Tiara. “Former mate? As in….. Ex-boyfriend?”

"One of them." Tiara hissed. "I slept with many males before my exile. After all, we female demons love sex." She winked at him.

"Ooooookay. Who is he?"

Tiara glared back at the football field. "Lord Torgek. He is a demon general who loves torturing his enemies in combat. He forces them to fight him in the arena. When he kills them, the amulet on his belt takes their soul, giving him strength. As you can see, he never lost a battle."

"Why did you dump him?"

Tiara rolled her yellow eyes. "I found him in bed with my sister. So I stabbed his heart and left. Too bad that didn't kill him, but he was a piece of shit."

"What about that other demon on Hades we fought? Was he your ex-boyfriend too?"

"Drokon? No, he was a court jester. My king sentenced him to exile because he didn’t put on a good show. He performed poorly.”

Demons. They were sure evil, even to their own kind.

“Bring out the humans!” Torgek roared in the arena.

His deep voice was so loud, it sent shivers up John’s spine. He never knew monsters could fear demons.

From an open gate, two demon soldiers pushed three humans into the open. One human was a bald Marine soldier, and the others wore white lab coats. Probably scientists, but John couldn’t be sure. Whoever they were, they might be the expedition team.

Torgek smiled, staring at the crowd. “Do you want to see me spill their guts all over this field?”

“Yes!” His demonic army screamed.

Torgek laughed with satisfaction. “My pleasure!”

John rose to his feet. “Tiara! Grab his attention and rescue those people! I will fight him!”

“As you wish.” Tiara formed a fireball on her palm and tossed it down like a baseball.

Torgek charged toward the humans, but the fireball exploded behind his head. He groaned and rubbed his minor wound. “Who the fuck did that?”

“Up here, motherfucker!” John leaped off the roof edge, charging over the audience on all-fours. He raced across each demon’s head, knocking them and pushing them aside quickly.

When he landed onto the field, the two demon soldiers charged for him with their blasters out. He morphed his left arm into his mini-gun and blasted them apart before they reached him.

All the demons on the seats booed at him, but he ignored them. They should fear him for what he planned to do with their general.

Torgek turned toward him. “Who the fuck are you? How dare you interrupt my game!”

John changed his left bionic arm back and faced the giant. “Did your ugly ass mother tell you killing unarmed people is wrong?”

Torgek growled, shooting steam from his nostrils. “I’m going to rip out your spine and wipe my ass with it!”

“Jesus, you are disguising.”

The demon roared, shaking the entire stadium.