Inured to the cold by his own heated blood, Cobalt pressed deeper into Tempered Bastion 31-3, growing more unnerved with every step he took. To think that such a sprawling Devil ruin had lain dormant beneath the town for all these years...
Following Lilith's instructions, he used his torch to carefully relight the various steel gas lamps set into the fortress walls, marking the Incubus' path with bright blue flames. They illuminated the ancient stonework and intricate machinery set into the walls, as well as the countless ornamental weapons and suits of armour on display. As they passed beneath a weathered banner, he looked up to see it emblazoned with a pentagram, a symbol synonymous with power.
"Why would you build this beneath Brimstone?" he asked, holding the ferrohaem flame aloft as he traveled through an antediluvian training hall.
Rather than answer right away, Lilith abruptly ejected herself from Cobalt's body, briefly stunning him. Stretching, the Devil stepped over to one of the many mechanical training dummies stationed at one end of the hall. She flicked a switch on its back, causing its ancient actuators to hiss and grind as it juddered about.
"Brimstone didn't exist when we built this place," she remarked simply, taking a step back as the dummy clumsily swung its arm at her.
"Then why build it at all?"
"If memory serves, 31-3 was a staging post in the unlikely event we had to invade Earth."
"What? Why would you need to do that?"
"I said it was an unlikely event, alright?"
Cobalt frowned.
"So you were colonial expansionists, is that right?" he uttered disapprovingly.
The Devil gritted her teeth and shut the dummy down.
"No. If Hell was to be attacked, then it would come through from Earth. Easier to break through two weak dimensional barriers than a single tough one."
She clucked her tongue and rejoined him in trekking through the hall.
"Of course, we weren't expecting an attack from our own lessers," she added spitefully.
"Sorry, are you blaming me for something Lady Fesser did a millennium ago?"
"Not at all. I'm just saying that we wouldn't have gotten completely steamrolled in the Rapture had we not been fighting a war on two fronts."
"I thought you weren't bitter about Pandemonium."
"Oh, I'm plenty bitter, kid. Just not about the city."
Giving Lilith an incredulous look, Cobalt shook his head and kept going down a grand stone arcade, lined on both sides by massive steel pistons. With each step taken, he was having a harder and harder time shaking the feeling that he was being watched. If the explosion that stranded them down here truly wasn't an accident, then maybe leaving Izzbelle and Jelli alone to await rescue wasn't the smartest of plans...
At the end of the hall, they arrived in some kind of grand central chamber. Circular in shape and filled with all manner of Devillish frippery, once he got a few gas lamps going, Cobalt saw that in very centre was a huge steel elevator that led up to hellfire knows where. Lilith ignored the elevator and instead took flight, grabbing and twisting various valves set into the pipework above them. Cobalt heard the sound of ferrohaem sluggishly pumping through the steel veins of the fortress, reigniting the lamps that he couldn't reach and illuminating the entire chamber.
"Alright, that ought to make things easier. Let's see... emergency exits are in the east and west wings, though I remember the west augers constantly failing when we first installed them. Best go east," the Devil explained, landing next to Cobalt.
He made to reply, but she suddenly stepped close to him and whispered in his ear.
"We're being followed, kid."
Eyes widening, he looked down to see her discretely summon her pistol into her hand. He deigned to follow the Devil's lead, and just quietly followed her in the direction of the eastern hallway as her single eye darted around for any signs of movement.
From somewhere far above, Cobalt heard a very quiet clicking noise. Lilith noticed his eyes flick upwards.
"Son of a bitch...!"
Wheeling around, Lilith pointed her gun upwards and opened fire without warning, nearly deafening Cobalt. As he covered his ears, he noticed something dropping from the support beams up above.
A cylindrical metal canister clanked against the floor, hissing smoke as it slowly rolled to a halt. Lilith stared at it, mouth agape.
"Shi-!"
It exploded.
In a blinding flash and a deafening boom, both Cobalt and Lilith were knocked straight to the floor. As his ears rang and his head spun, the Incubus dimly registered the sound of someone cackling from high above. He felt the cold air rush against his skin as someone dropped to the floor, and felt their heavy boots vibrate through the floor.
"Well ah'll be damned! If it ain't our dearest Ome, in the fuckin' flesh!" guffawed a muffled voice, bearing a drawl so thick that Cobalt could barely figure out what it was saying.
Blinking a few times to clear his vision, he blearily looked up just in time to see a figure approach them through the smoke. He just about made out a long-haired head bearing a pair of iron horns before he was suddenly kicked in the chest. Thrown onto his back, the stranger stomped his boot down onto Cobalt's torso, pinning the Incubus in place.
"An' a fuckin' Devourer of Pandemonium besides. If that ain't insult ta injury then ah don't know what is," the Devil added, hoisting something off his shoulder.
He pointed the barrel of a shotgun directly at Cobalt's head. He recognised the model from history books about WWII. Swallowing hard, he just raised both of his hands as Lilith struggled to stand up just a few feet away.
"Ngh... Delta..." she spat, coughing through the smoke.
Delta grinned, his smile yellowed and gap toothed. The Devil was a ratty-looking man, and wore a weathered flak jacket bedecked with tactical equipment and more explosive canisters. A bandolier laden with shotgun shells was draped across his torso.
"Miss me, Ome?" the Devil asked with a wink, pointing the gun at Lilith.
She didn't smile back.
"More of the old man's favourite toys, I see. First Beta with the StG 44, and now you with the Winchester," she scoffed.
"Model 1897, if ah ain't mistaken! Gotta say ah can see why Alpha kept these babies locked up nice'n'tight; he's got good taste!" Delta replied, running a finger along his weapon's barrel.
Bracing it against his shoulder, he pressed down on Cobalt's chest, threatening to break his ribs once more.
"Tell me, Ome; what's the deal? First ya pinch the dang Iron Artillery, then ya fly the coop, an' then ya get poor ol' Betsy killed! An' after all he did for ya!"
"Beta got in my way. You'll end up the same unless you back down."
"Well ah always said he'd get killed one'a these days, actin' all high an' mighty like that. Besides, he at least told me an' Gam-Gam the sitch before he done got hisself blowed up."
Cocking his shotgun, he pointed it right at Cobalt's head once more.
"Ya got yerself into a contract, didn't ya? An' with this here strappin' cutlet, no less. Heh. Ya couldn't fuckin' write it."
With the gun barrel pressed firmly against the Incubus' skull, Delta hunkered down, his fetid breath turning Cobalt's stomach in an instant.
"Heard 'bout ya 'round town. Some kinda Devil killer, huh? Helluva title for a lower demon, gotta say. Didja really kill Diate an' Betsy? Major props if ya did," he whispered, his smile betraying how lightly he was taking this situation.
Cobalt didn't say anything, and before the Devil could taunt him any further, Lilith suddenly opened fire with her pistol. Taking his boot off the Incubus' chest, Delta darted backwards, nimbly dodging his old squad leader's bullets as he took cover behind a statue.
"Ooh, why so cold, Ome? Thought ya'd be happy ta see an ol' friend at the very fuckin' least!" he cackled, gripping his shotgun tight.
Scrambling to his feet, Cobalt rushed over to Lilith's side, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. As Lilith conjured another magazine into her hand, she shoved the Incubus behind a statue on the other end of the chamber, right as Delta leaned out from behind his cover.
She dived behind the statue next to her host as the other Devil open fired, unloading salvo after salvo of leaden buckshot into their cover. As dust and chunks of stone were blasted free, Delta slowly marched towards them, calmly ejecting shotgun shells to the floor with every pull of the trigger.
"C'mon, we don't gotta do this the hard way, y'know! I'm sure Alpha'll forgive'n'forget if ya just say yer sorry!"
Teeth gritted, Lilith gestured for Cobalt to stay down as she blindly fired around the side of the statue.
"Not a chance! Only way you're bringing me back is in a body bag!" she yelled, hastily pulling the magazine out of her pistol once it clicked empty.
Delta chuckled.
"Well shit, Ome, say less!"
Cobalt heard a gentle click, followed by the sound of metal rattling across the floor. Eyes widening, he looked down to see another one of Delta's stun grenades roll to a stop at Lilith's feet. Grabbing the Devil around the stomach, he dragged her out from behind cover just as the bomb went off, knocking the pair of them off balance. Lilith tried to get back into the fight, but with a hand clasped firmly around her wrist, the Incubus dragged her down one of the side hall, out of Delta's sight.
"What the Hell are you doing, kid?! What happened to 'no more running?!'" she snapped, holding a hand to her head as Cobalt pulled her along behind him.
"Not running! Just regrouping!"
Ducking around a corner, he stopped to catch his breath.
"Okay, who is this guy? And please, don't hold out on me, Lilith," he gasped, peeking out back down the corridor.
Delta wasn't following, but he could hear the Devil's heavy boots echoing off the ancient stone of the bastion.
Lilith grit her teeth, but soon sighed and nodded.
"Delta, another one of my guys from the Alpha Corps. He's a shock trooper; one of the best," she explained, checking her gun.
"What does that mean?"
"It means he's an expert in guerrilla tactics and psychological warfare. We used to send him ahead of the main attack party in order to break enemy spirits and sow dissent. He's dangerous enough with his bare hands, and now he's got a fucking shotgun."
From somewhere down the hall, they heard a long, low whistle, followed by a high-pitched laugh.
"Alright, if ya wanna play, then ah'm game! Don't expect too big of a head start though, alright?! Heha!" Delta cackled maniacally.
Gritting his teeth, Cobalt gazed down at his hands. Clenching his fists, he watched the blood vessels flash through his skin as his flesh began to prickle. His heart was pounding, and though he was definitely scared, he also felt the spark of determination burning alongside the hunger in his gut.
"We have to take him out here," he breathed, looking over at Lilith.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Location's hardly ideal, kid. Delta knows this place almost as well as I do."
The Incubus swallowed hard.
"Yes, I know, but there's also no chance of any collateral damage. Not like with Beta," he murmured, cracking his knuckles.
Lilith gave him a look.
"Kid, are you sure? It's not that I don't trust you-"
She frowned.
"- not just that, anyway. Look, we can't risk you losing your nerve when shit hits the fan. You gotta be ready to commit from the first punch," she said, nervously looking around for any sign of Delta.
Clenching his teeth, Cobalt nodded and raised his arms. The fire flared, and just as he hoped, his entire body lit up. Teeth pierced through his arms, forming neat rows of sharp, enameled scales. When he clenched his fists, the pointed canines piercing his knuckles extended.
He used to find his carnimancy alarming. Horrifying, even. But Cobalt was getting better at it, and with Jelli's blood fueling him, he felt ready to take on anyone, Devil or no.
Looking into Lilith's eye, he gave her a nod.
"I've got this, Lilith," he told her.
Glancing down at the teeth, the Devil took a deep breath and sighed.
"Right. Sure."
Melting back into a formless mass of ferromantic magic, she engulfed the Incubus and fused back into him. Cobalt just opened his arms and let it happen, silently enduring the pounding headache it gave him.
"Don't die, kid."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence..."
"Anytime."
-----
Veins running hot and teeth aching for blood, Cobalt carefully picked his way through the darkened arcades of the Tempered Bastion, glancing over his shoulder every few steps. He could hear Delta's boots still echoing all around him, but with the acoustics as they were, it was impossible to dictate just where the Devil was hiding.
"Keep alert. No point in hiding. Just gotta wait for him to come to us. Just... be ready, kid," breathed Lilith, sounding on edge.
Cobalt suddenly heard heavy footfalls behind him, spurring the Incubus to turn on his heel and raise his fists, ready to leap into action. But there was no-one behind him.
"Don't let him get into your head."
He frowned and clenched his fists, grinding the teeth against one another.
"Right..."
All around the walls, the various pipes and valves began to rattle and clang, making a sound not unlike someone laughing.
"Got it..."
He felt his foot catch against a wire. Eyes wide, Cobalt looked down just in time to see himself blunder straight through a tripwire, linked to an explosive canister mounted on a spike that had been driven into the floor.
"Gah-!"
The Incubus threw himself forward, crying out as the canister violently exploded, peppering him with tiny fragments of heated metal. Stunned by the blast, he staggered back a few steps-
- right onto a pressure plate. He felt a sudden drop as his foot plunged downwards, followed by a sudden surge of pain as sharp blades bit into his leg. Screaming, Cobalt dropped to one knee, shaking all over as he stared at the bear trap he had just stepped into.
"Shit! Pull it off!" Lilith cried.
Grabbing the blood-slicked jaws of the steel trap, the Incubus hissed through his teeth and desperately tried to pry it off. From somewhere behind him, he heard a high pitched titter.
"Hoo boy, well lookit what we got here! Fresh meat, still squirmin'!" cackled the voice of Delta as he stomped up behind him.
Fumbling against the teeth of the bear trap, Cobalt swore beneath his breath as he struggled to force it open.
"Y'know, ah'm surprised Ome's kept ya around this long. Ah admire the gal, yeah, but she can be a ruthless bitch, 'specially with friends. Didja know she used me as bait to draw out Conquest once, an' didn't even consult me first? Damn near shat mahself," the Devil spoke aloud, calmly drumming the fingers against the barrel of his shotgun.
"Ignore him, kid, keep trying!"
Cobalt clenched his teeth and struggled through the pain, forcing his armoured hands in between the trap jaws in order to force them open. He could hear Delta getting closer.
"Ah, Conquest... Now there's a scary bitch! War's all fire'n'brimstone an' Death's mighty grim, but that gal put the genuine fear of God in me that day! Heh... I'm still pickin' arrowheads outta mah back ta this day."
The Incubus flinched as he felt the barrel of the shotgun press against his back.
"Point is, Ome'll drop ya as soon as ya stop bein' useful. Tell ya what; I like to see mahself as a lil' more... malleable than ol' Betsy, so I'll cut a deal with ya. Give up Ome an' the prototype, an' I'll leave ya be! Scout's honour!" Delta told him, pushing the gun muzzle right between Cobalt's wings.
Cobalt froze.
"Kid...!"
What if he did take Delta's offer? He was a Devil, so surely he would know a way of breaking the contract, right?
"C'mon~ ah'm not gonna wait fer the whole day, son~" the Devil pressed, repeatedly poking Cobalt in the back with the gun.
"You... can you break contracts?" he asked, wincing as he gently teased the bear trap teeth out of his flesh.
"What are you doing?!"
Chuckling, Delta slowly circled the trapped Incubus, keeping the shotgun trained on him the whole time.
"Sure sure, whatever ya want! But ah'm on a limited schedule here, so yer gonna wanna make yer mind up fast!"
After much groaning and straining, Cobalt finally managed to open the trap just enough to move his leg. Taking a sharp breath, he glared at the Devil.
"I think I've made up my mind...!"
Tearing his leg free, the Incubus dove towards Delta, grabbing the barrel of his shotgun and forcing it aside right as he fired it. Deafened by the blast, he gritted his teeth and swiftly brought his knee up, kicking the Devil right between the legs.
He stood there, completely unaffected. Raising an eyebrow, he fixed both eyes onto Cobalt.
"Rule one: never leave home without a codpiece," he said with a grin, wrenching the weapon out of the Incubus' hands.
Spinning the shotgun around, he rammed the stock into the Incubus' stomach, keeling him over before smashing it against the side of his head, knocking him back to the cold stone floor. Pumping the weapon, Delta took aim and fired. Cobalt just about managed to scrabble out of the way, the teeth on his arms digging into the stone in order to aid his escape.
"Nice try, but ya ain't the first Incubus I killed," he sighed, racking the gun again.
Eyes widening, Cobalt felt his heart rate increase rapidly as he stared down the barrel of the shotgun. Without thinking, he raised his arms and tensed every muscle, willing for something - anything - to happen.
In response, the teeth lining his arms rattled and twisted around, each turning to face Delta. They were quivering in anticipation, the light from his veins pulsing brighter in time to his heartbeat. Biting his lip, Cobalt tapped into the fire deep down, causing the muscles in his arm to writhe violently as super heated blood began to build up in his vessels.
The Devil seemed to recognise what he was doing, as he raised his hands to protect his face right as Cobalt willed the teeth to blast forward. They each shot out of his flesh at once, knocking Delta back as he struggled to protect himself from the countless jagged fangs. Feeling a wave of fatigue wash over him, the Incubus scrambled to his feet and took off down the ancient bastion hallway, keeping a wary eye out for more traps as he ran.
"What the Hell was that?! Were you seriously considering giving me up?!" Lilith cried indignantly as he skirted through a wide, empty storage chamber.
"Just leveling my options..." Cobalt panted breathlessly.
To his right, an array of old steel pipes began to rumble. Feeling his skin crawl, he ducked right as one of them ruptured, spraying a jet of bright blue flames over his head.
"... Delta knows how to turn this entire place against you, kid. You better have a plan," she continued.
Cobalt looked down at his injured leg. The jagged wounds left by the bear trap were healing, but nowhere near as quickly as he would have liked. Jelli's selfless gift was only going to get him so far.
"I might have an idea. I just need to get him somewhere open and empty. Then I need to get that gun out of his hands," he murmured, shoving through another steel doorway.
"Bad plan. You're running on reserves right now; you're not gonna be able to-"
"Lilith, you're not being very helpful."
"I'm being realistic."
Cobalt frowned. Delta got one thing right; Lilith was far from a kindly woman.
As the Incubus ascended a flight of stairs and ran down another hall, he flinched as he heard Delta's laugh echoing all around him.
"How is he getting around so fast...?" he breathed, feeling his legs burn and his lungs bottom out.
"Maintenance passageways at a guess. Delta has a knack for this kind of cat-and-mouse bullshit."
He heard more rumbling. Flinching, Cobalt turned to stare at another array of pipes set into the wall. One of them was already broken.
"This is getting old..."
Pressing his back against the wall, the Incubus glared at the pipe's broken end, waiting for the noise to stop. Rather than a gout of flame, however, another hissing canister popped out and clattered to the floor.
"Oh for the love of-!"
He managed to cover his ears as the bomb went off, but the bright explosion blinded the Incubus almost immediately. Crying out, he fell to his knees as he held his hands to his burning eyes. Delta's laugh rang out from somewhere behind him.
"Keep moving, kid!" Lilith urged.
"I- I can't see anything!"
"Dammit, you're sitting duck!"
"You think I don't know that?!"
Swearing under his breath, Cobalt leaned against the wall as he struggled to blink his vision clear. No matter how hard he tried, however, everything remained a dark, blurry mess. He could hear the Devil's footfalls growing louder.
"I might have an idea."
"Is it a good one?!"
"Do you know how spiders detect their prey?"
"What?!"
He swallowed hard. No point wasting time trying to explain anything. He hoped that Lilith would pick up on what he was doing quickly enough.
Raising his hand, Cobalt splayed out his fingers and incanted beneath his breath.
"Menidutitrof ihim ad. Orref. Tiureop ni sirbenet muc sitcip subitepat!"
Just like before when he was substituting for Madam Pudon, he felt his nerves alight with Devilish magic as the spell began to take effect. Though he couldn't see, he could hear countless strands of barbed wire burst from every dark nook and shadowy cranny of the bastion's hallway, painfully coiling around his arm as they pulled themselves taut. By the time the spell was complete, Cobalt was standing in the middle of an iron cobweb, surrounded on all sides by sharp barbs.
"Lilith," he breathed, wincing through the pain.
"What?"
"I'll let you use my arm. Just this once. If I feel a disturbance in any direction... you know what to do."
"... right. We'll need something with a wide angle. I'm thinking a lupara."
"I don't know what that-"
"Don't worry about it. Brace up."
With his right arm occupied with maintaining the barbed web, Cobalt's eye began to sting as he felt his left arm go numb. Lilith exerted her control, summoning something heavy into his hand and experimentally turning it over. A lump formed in his throat as he felt her press his finger against a trigger.
Cobalt stood in silence, focusing all his energy on clearing his vision.
He suddenly felt a vibration along one of the wires. Without even having to say anything, Lilith pointed her gun in that direction and willed Cobalt to pull the trigger. The Tempered Bastion's acoustics amplified the gunshot tenfold, and the recoil jarred his arm badly, even with his sense of touch dulled from the Devil's influence.
"Did... Did that get him?" the Incubus breathed, seeing a little bit of light eke through his murky vision.
He felt another vibration along a different wire, this one stretching in a different direction. Lilith wheeled his arm around and fire in that direction before dispelling the gun.
"Let's hope so. Luparas are only good for two shots."
"R- Right..."
A few moments passed and nothing happened, whereupon Lilith silently relented control, allowing Cobalt to use his other arm again. Affirming his grip on the barbed wire, he reached up and rubbed his eyes, sighing shakily as they stopped hurting. Though slightly blurred, he could see again, so he looked up-
- directly at the gap-toothed smile of Delta.
"Neat trick, son." he said simply, plucking on one of the wires.
"How-?!"
"Ah'm the granddaddy of tripwires'n'pressure plates; ya ain't the first ta try this kinda shit."
He swiftly grabbed Cobalt by the throat, forcing him to dispel the barbed wire web as he was lifted off his feet.
"Didja know there was a kind of angel that specialised in trapmakin'? Sprites, they was called. Tricksy lil' fuckers, the lot of 'em," the Devil rambled casually as he dragged Cobalt down the hall.
Though he choked and struggled, Cobalt couldn't seem to break free. Delta arrived a large steel door and forced it open, reveal a yawning elevator shaft.
"Yup, them lil' shits just loved ta run rings around ya. Poisonin' water supplies, riggin' doorways to blow, turnin' every fuckin' floortile in sight into a pressure mine or a clamp trap or a..."
He snapped his fingers as he held Cobalt over the drop.
"Hey Ome, they was mainly under the thumb of that skinny creep in the mask, right? What was their name again?" Delta asked, tapping their chin.
"Famine," Lilith choked in the back of Cobalt's mind.
"Eh, it'll come back ta me. Enjoy the trip down!"
With that, he let go of the Incubus' throat.
For the second time in far too short a span, Cobalt found himself falling through the frigid, stale air of Tempered Bastion 31-3. He didn't bother screaming this time. He just took a sharp breath and tried to orient himself, striking his arms and legs off the walls of the dark shaft as he plummeted.
"This is gonna hurt, kid...!"
Oh, Cobalt already knew that.
He landed abruptly. Hitting the floor with a violent crunch, Cobalt cried out as the bones in his leg buckled from the impact, snapping painfully as he crumpled to the ground. Gasping for breath, he ignored the agony he was in and arduously dragged himself through the elevator doors, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He was in another training hall, this one larger than the last.
"Open... space..." he guttered, wincing as he looked down.
His leg was bent at an erratic angle, and he could see the tell-tale flash of white bone peeking through a tear in his trousers. Cobalt was honestly surprised he hadn't passed out from the shock.
From the elevator shaft, he heard Delta laugh, followed by something scraping against stone.
"H- He's coming down to finish us off. C'mon kid, heal that leg already!"
Cobalt shook his head.
"I- I... I can't... I'm out of..."
He cried out as his stomach panged, knotting itself painfully as the fire roared for sustenance.
Nervously, he glanced at the scar on his arm, left over from the last encounter he had with a Devil.
"Do... Do you think...?"
"What? Kid, no, that's not-"
"I- I'll hold back. Just enough my leg - agh - heals."
As the Devil's keening laughter drew closer, Cobalt opened his mouth wide and bit into his arm, flinching as his teeth pierced his skin. Blood flowed thick and fast down his throat, and while it was nowhere near as tantalising as Jelli's, it was enough to fuel the fire. As his veins lit up, the muscles in his leg forcefully constricted around his shattered bones, painfully pulling them back into place. The broken edges fused together and the gaps wounds seared shut in a blast of red steam, allowing the Incubus to climb back to his feet.
Pulling his teeth out before he got carried away, Cobalt's eyes widened as he looked down at his newly healed leg.
"Wait a moment," he murmured, taking an experimental step.
Perfectly healed.
"Lilith, it worked. Do you know what this means?" he said breathlessly, holding up his arms.
He clenched his fists. Fangs erupted from his flesh in a splatter of hissing blood. Sharp, aligned and perfectly formed.
"I... I can keep going for as long as I need to..." Cobalt said, cracking his knuckles.
"Don't get carried away, kid. You've only got so much blood in you."
The Incubus smiled despite himself. He didn't know why, but this new information inspired a certain confidence in him.
He heard footsteps behind him. The Incubus whirled around just in time to see Delta march out from the darkened elevator shaft, his shotgun clutched in both hands and aimed right at Cobalt.
"Well ah'll be. Thought ya was just an undergrown anklebiter, but ya really got a hang of that dang carnimacy stuff, huh?" he commented, keeping the gun pointed as he planted a hand on his hip.
Cobalt jabbed a finger at the Devil.
"Enough running, enough tricks and enough messing around. Let's just do this," he called, his other fist clenched and shaking.
Delta glanced down at it and grinned.
"Heh. Mighty confident words fer someone pissin' his britches earlier on. Who am ah talkin' ta here; the man or the monster?"
Slinging his shotgun over his shoulder, the Devil held out his hands.
"Well it don't matter anyhow. Ah'll kill ya like every other Incubus I met. Aicsa, aicsa!" he cried.
A pair of dark iron hatchets appeared in his hands. Spinning them around, the Devil dropped low into a combat stance.
"Bring it, blueskin!"
Cobalt furrowed his brow and licked the blood from his lips. His heart was hammering, and the teeth on his arms were rattling in anticipation. He could feel his confidence ebb and flow with the fire in his gut, but if he could keep it fed with his own blood...
He pounded his fists together.
Then Delta didn't stand a fucking chance!