Blake stared at his party's unknown savior. His apathetic eyes shone as it looked deep into his soul, as if laying out all his secrets bear before him.

"Thank you for saving our lives, good man!" Ward exclaimed, a simple man, he danced with death today and he was just glad he didn't have to go.

Even if the situation seemed a little weird.

"Excuse me uhm... mister-?" Dana asked, still on edge.

"I am Georges Delacroix, from the Church." The scary man introduced himself as Georges.

Blake was not versed in the Elysian traditions and standard attire, but considering his cassock, cross, and purple sash, he was a priest at the very least.

"Then Father Georges, if I may ask, how'd you find us?" She noted how the man had said that they were lucky he found them, and she had her suspicions, as rude as they were.

She would spare no expense when it came to her friends.

"You are adventurers, no? I came to retrieve you, before death claimed you first."

"But the quest hadn't expired yet. As per regulation, the Guild would report us missing if we hadn't returned within three days, it's only been two nights."

"Yes, three days. Yet I saved you."

"What changed?"

"That." The mysterious man said, pointing at the torn up battlefield littered with foul-smelling blood.

"Something came up. Do not worry about it, I will handle it." He continued.

"Dana! How could you suspect our savior like that? If he wanted us dead, he would have merely left us to die!" Ward interrupted, a bit naïve, but he had a point.

"No, it is fine. She merely did the rational thing. However, I cannot waste any more time. Where are the rest?"

"-Charles! Marge! Dana, we have to go back for them!" Blake finally spoke out, his voice tinged with panic.

Dana was about to protest when,

"Calm yourself. Point me in their direction." Georges said, more commanding than offering.

"Follow me!-"

"Oh no you don't!" Dana held Blake back, determining it was too risky to return.

"But-" Blake tried to protest, yet was interrupted once more.

"I will handle it. Point me in the direction. You three must return to the Guild, and stay there."

"Hey Blake, I think we've had enough for today... and I'm worried for them too! But... I think this is the logical choice." Dana reasoned, always the pragmatic one in the party.

"I know that... but!"

"Blake! She's right. We've had enough, its time to let the professionals take care of it." Ward hammered in the point even more, he held out hope, but prioritized his friends here first.

"We came from that way... about ten minutes on foot." Blake acquiesced, pointing past the trail of panicked footsteps.

"He means to follow the trail, Father Georges-!" Dana advised, but without even waiting for them to finish, Georges dashed, seemingly as light as a feather.

- - - - -

It stared, and stared.

By now, my blood had run frozen cold and my nerves were strung like tight bowstrings. Approximately two minutes had passed after I had steeled myself to do battle, yet...

It just stood there, smiling and bobbing its head on its socket like a child as it leered at me playfully.

What's it waiting for? What's holding it back?

If I had to guess, the angels hanging onto me so tight they were practically trying to fuse themselves onto my body, but neither side were moving, which worried me.

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This was good, for the moment. The more I held on, the longer I could stall. For who? God only knows...

This was making me even more nervous, any more and I'd fear I'd be stuck in this deadlock forev-

With a jerk, the angel on my right shoulder grabbed at my wooden spear, and guided it to haphazardly block the bony claw coming straight for my cheek.

Fast!

I was completely caught off guard, and I felt my muscles scream in agony as they were forced to work in unfamiliar conditions. Even still, taking initiative, I shove the skinless hand away from me by hitting it with the blunt side of the tip.

It was strong, but thankfully I made enough of an opening to stab the sharp tip into where I presumed its heart was. My aim was a little off, but I had managed to puncture just below its collarbone.

Hopefully I could leverage this to be able to keep it at range.

The monster looked at me, now that we were up close...

It looked like any other man, but it really can't fool anyone. I see those void eyes that don't see anything but what's in front of them, no wisdom in those eyes. They were filled with less substance than a dead man's.

Yet that smile still sends shivers down my spine.

It tried to grab at me with its other hand with frightening speed, but with a push of the spear lodged in its body, it just barely missed my face.

I saw it's eyes flash, and I just knew it was going for the spear.

Mustering up all my courage, I threw a left jab as it tried to break the spear still puncturing it, hitting it square in the temple. Good news, I stopped it from breaking the spear.

Bad news, I had no idea what to do next.

"Rah!" So I threw another punch.

However, it didn't do as well it did the first time. As my left hand neared its head, it snapped its neck around and bit at my closed fist, latching onto it and breaking my fingers.

The pain was simply unimaginable, my head felt muddy as I felt each and every sickening, fleshy crack.

So I panicked, in desperation and as the pain flashed a bright white into my mind, I gripped the handle of the spear tight and launched my head at its own, headbutting it as it still had my hand in its mouth.

"Grahhh! Ah...!" As I stunned it, it let go of my hand, but it had already reduced it into a gory mess of shredded flesh and shattered bone. I yelped in pain, but the demon simply stayed quiet, not uttering a single cry of pain.

It was like it didn't even know what pain was, like it didn't even posses the instinct to react to it, in any way any other human would've.

Instead of fear, the white hot pain searing into my mind fueled rage within me, as I looked hatefully at the monster with empty bright eyes.

I looked at the angel on my right almost pleadingly, and it seemingly understood and relented, as the angel grasped the spear tightly with an iron vice grip, I bent down as it immediately took the chance and leapt at me, not caring that it was practically digging the spear deeper as it lunged across its length.

As its nasty head neared, I picked up a hefty stone with my now free hand, and slammed it into its face.

It recovered fast, but by then I had taken the chance and lodged the spear's sharp free tip into the ground, turning the shoddy weapon into a stake that held the demon in its place.

Kneeling on the ground, where it belongs.

"Die... Die! Die!!" I tore up my vocal cords begging for its death.

As I flew into a rage, I mercilessly slammed and smashed the heavy stone into its grinning visage, warping its smile into a puddle of bloody flesh. Its nasty blood flew from its possessed face and sung of its pain, staining my own.

Blood trickled freely down the spear's shaft as it shook and flailed. In my rage, I failed to notice its hands trying to grasp for me, as the angel's own tried to bat it away.

But it must've been because the angels didn't exactly bear physical form... and my own carelessness, that it was able to grab hold of my leg and crush it like it did my hand.

As I was forcefully dragged out of my rage-induced vengeful state, I was forced to kneel as I lost feeling in my right leg.

I was now face to face with it.

I took a glance at its hands now reaching for me, — in a speed that I wouldn't be able to possibly react to— and the skinless face with crushed eyes and pulverized smile.

I laughed.

"That look fits you better, heh..." Seeing its decrepit and ruined state simply gave me a burst of joy nothing else ever could.

It was apparent, I was gonna die now, but not without taking this parasitic monster with me.

I used my pulp of a left arm as a sacrifice to stop the advance of its own bony hands, as I raise the stone in my hand and proceed to practically wrestle with the dead man impaled on a stick.

But I was no match, obviously. No matter how much I collapsed its face in, no matter how much it struggled, I wasn't even sure this thing could die.

I wasn't scared. I've seen more haunting nightmares that would make the divine quiver, and greater joys that could completely burn away any scar this monster could inflict when I peered into the boundless throne.

Yet I couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment. I was just reborn, I knew my objective, and I already failed so early...

As I stared at its hands that had finally gotten its way onto my neck, slithering like a snake, I could only look at its faceless visage with hate.

It smiled, until it stopped.

With the way I had destroyed its face, that shouldn't have been possible, but its smile stopped because its head literally disappeared, reduced to atoms.

It was replaced with a brilliant, familiar golden light. And then, I saw it fade into oblivion, taking the demon with it.

"You fought well, child." I heard a voice in the distance, it was monotone, yet held undertones of evident surprise.

"You think so? I had help..." I muttered as my muddled mind flickered in and out of consciousness.

"I see." He responded, I could hear his footsteps nearing.

And as the adrenaline of the fight wore off, and the pain settling in... I fainted to the sight of my guardian angels, who led me here.

Their faces never changed, blank, unmoved...

Thinking back to it, they must've known this would've happened from the start. My victory was decreed before the battle even began, huh?

"Ha!" I laughed, I've had enough of this. Tomorrow is another day, I hoped they planned that out for me too, just don't make it too painful, yeah?

"..."

"[Oh Lord in the ever-distant Elysium, King of kings, God of mercy, This humble servant requests thou heal this lamb before me, for he hath fought in thy sacred name.

Greater Heal!]"