Chapter 13 - Flesh Eater

The stalagmite cracked, broken pieces splashing into the water as the entire cavern trembled with the impact. Lazar grit his teeth and dodged out of the way before the entire thing crumbled, quickly ducking behind the next closest stone. On the other side of the cavern, the flesh eater was similarly occupied, though he noted that she blocked and pushed aside blows more often than she dodged. Probably slower than the soul eater, then, but strong enough to clash with direct strikes.

His eyes shifted upwards. The whole time, the soul eater hadn’t moved from the ceiling, practically mocking them as he flew just out of reach. Those strange wings of his looked almost like a web, the way they stretched over the inky expanse. Only a small section maintained their former shape, flapping steadily to keep the demon afloat.

Lazar’s eyes scanned the cavern walls, searching for a way up, but though they were rough with stones and black flowers, their rounded curve would make them difficult to climb, especially quickly.

Another blow blasted the stone apart and Lazar skidded across the water’s surface. The appendage jerked back, retracting to the main body of the wings, and three more shot out.

Lazar inhaled and forced his mind to focus, tightening his grip on the halberd and readying himself for the blows as he traced the paths of those whip-like extensions with his eyes. He heard Lord Andire’s voice ringing in his mind, his fingers flexing on instinct as old memories of endless nights training flooded his head.

He spun to the side as the first blow pummeled into the water. Droplets sprayed and Lazar jerked up the end of his halberd to block the second blow, just barely managing to heave the pulsing flesh back enough to jump away in time to avoid the third strike.

This time, as the appendages began to retract, Lazar slammed the blade of his halberd in a downward string and dug it into the third extension, putting all of his weight into the strike.

Silver metal sliced clean through the twisted flesh, and he heard the soul eater screech as the rest of the wing retracted back. The cut off section pulsed, lumps of flesh bubbling. Lazar jerked back, but the blade of the halberd was stuck into the cavern floor. In a split second decision, he let go of the weapon and threw himself away just as the cut off lump of flesh shot out into spikes, a few slicing into his cheek as he rolled back into the water.

The spikes retracted and the section fell limp, but before Lazar could retrieve his weapon, another attack forced him further away.

The seraph’s eyes flicked back. Across the cavern, the flesh eater was running across the edges on the raised dry parts of land, likely to avoid alerting the soul eater to her presence. For a brief second, grey eyes met a single visible gold one, and they both moved at the same time.

Lazar dove forward, faking a second dive at his weapon which proved enough of a distraction to keep the soul eater’s eyes on him.

The flesh eater sprinted forward, using the momentum to run up and leap off the hard cavern walls. The soul eater jerked around and brought up one of those gleaming arms to block a punch aimed straight at the base of his throat. The demon’s position wavered for a moment before he shoved back and the flesh eater fell and landed back on the ground, sliding across the water. Lazar used the moment of instability to dive forward and retrieve his halberd, thankfully dislodged by the spikes.

He lunged forward, bringing the shaft up to block a blow aimed at the flesh eater. He saw a second strike coming at his side in his peripheral vision, too quick for him to move away. This time the flesh eater brought her forearm up, muscles bulging as she shoved back the appendage.

The wings retracted again and the soul eater rose even higher up, far into the cavern’s ceiling and beyond what either of them could reach. Lazar’s eyes narrowed, and he pulled for essence on instinct, mouth already forming the beginnings of a wind chant, but the pang in his soul was a painful reminder that that was no longer possible.

The soul eater laughed darkly, the sound echoing throughout the cavern as he drew his wings back. Lazar could see the flesh rippling, and he tensed, waiting for the next attack.

“You test my patience,” the demon snarled. He flew higher, vanishing into the shadows, and instinct made Lazar run from his position, realizing what an easy target they made.

The flesh eater seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she too bolted. Water sprayed around them as they sprinted further into the cavern, where the amount of rocks and stalagmites grew, providing more cover. Lazar felt the cavern rumble and heard stones cracking, and he didn’t have to look back to know that the demon was following them. His eyes fell ahead, noting from the consistent curve in the path that this passage likely circled back to the main cavern that they’d just been fighting in. If the soul eater realized it too, he would be able to cut off both exits with his wings.

Lazar’s eyes fell on the other demon who now ran beside him, her wild hair flying back and revealing the multitude of golden eyes on the right half of her face, all of them staring unblinkingly.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Do you have any way to hit him?” he called, only just now realizing how hoarse his voice was. His throat burned even when swallowing.

Lazar’s eyes darted backwards. He heard another rock crumble, but he still couldn’t make out the demon’s position in the darkness. The emptiness on his back felt more prominent than ever. If he still had his wings, it would’ve been easy to fly up. But as it was, the soul eater remained out of reach. Lazar’s eyes traced the movement of the appendage as it retracted.

The turn in the passageway sharpened, and he could tell they’d be back in the main cavern area soon.

The demon glanced at him, those golden eyes sharp and glowing in the darkness. “I might,” she said simply. “But I don’t really have the resources right now.”

“What do you need?”

“Flesh.” Her voice was blunt. “Haven’t eaten since I got sealed in that rock. Not a lot to work with right now.”

Of course. She was a flesh eater, after all, and her abilities would naturally be depleted without food. The idea should’ve repulsed him, should’ve made his spine shudder, but in the moment Lazar didn’t think about anything but the fight. He himself had no way to reach the soul eater in his current state, at least not reliably, and they couldn’t afford to put all their hopes on uncertain methods. The soul eater was fast, and their best chance would be if they both attacked at the same time.

His eyes fell on the empty cavern as they continued to run through, water sloshing around their legs. The seraph stopped, and his head snapped backwards just in time to see one of those wings, freshly grown, plow through a row of stone pillars just behind them before it whipped back.

“I cut off part of his wing,” Lazar said, thoughts spinning. “Would that work?”

The demon turned to stare at him, and he couldn’t read her expression.

“It would.”

Lazar’s grip tightened on his halberd. Up ahead, he could see the path curving back into the main cavern, where there were far less places to hide. “I’ll distract him,” he said, jaw set.

He felt the demon’s eyes on him, sharp and assessing. Finally, after the silence had stretched long enough, she nodded.

Lazar exhaled and he braced himself as the passageway widened again. He heard the demon turn, running in the direction of the sliced off wing, while the seraph ran towards the center of the clearing. Sure enough, the soul eater turned his way. His regrown wings were spread wide behind him, multiple different sections branching out in jagged, crooked formations, those yellow eyes all honed in on him.

“Done running?” The demon sneered, and Lazar’s eyes narrowed, shifting between each branch and taking in the way they bloomed out from the central wings. A web woven around a connecting point.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the flesh eater crouch down by the sliced off section of wing. His focus snapped back to the soul eater and he flipped his halberd around with a flourish.

It was more than a little risky, and it almost certainly wouldn’t work. But it didn’t have to, he reminded himself. All he had to do was get the demon’s attention for long enough to distract him and do as much damage as he could in that time frame.

He took a step back, getting in a ready stance. When the next attacks came, his muscles strained to avoid them. He heard his breathing grow heavier, the combined exhaustion of non stop running and his new and old wounds piling up. Still, he didn’t dare lose focus, because when the wings began to retract, this time he didn’t jump away.

Lazar leapt forward, landing on one of those extended appendages, one hand grabbing the warping flesh and the other reeling his halberd back as he rode on the retracting wing towards the soul eater.

The soul eater snapped his hand down and the wing followed the movement, but Lazar was already expecting it.

The seraph leapt off, and for one exhilarating moment, weightless in the air, he could almost believe he was flying again.

He swung the halberd down as the soul eater raised his arms to block. Cold metal dug into hardened skin. The demon screamed and dark liquid pooled into the water. Lazar grit his teeth and pressed harder, urging the blade to push through.

The skin of the soul eater’s wings bubbled, and one of them shot forward, throwing Lazar back.

The seraph flew across the cavern, landing hard against the wall and sliding down into the water. It felt like a great weight was pressing down on his chest, and he felt a sharp stinging in his ribs. He tried to force himself up, but his limbs only jerked once before giving out entirely.

He slumped back down, watching his twitching hands that he couldn’t get to move. Only his eyes remained under complete control, and they fell on the soul eater, soaring just low enough to be visible again, arms bloody as his wings twisted together and formed into a single pulsing weapon reeled back and aimed directly at him.

Lazar didn’t close his eyes even as it surged forward, staring directly at the makeshift blade as it drew nearer and nearer and—

A squelching sound rang across the cavern. Thick, viscous dark liquid fell into the water, clouding its surface, and the soul eater gagged. His arms were raised in defense, but bloodied and cut by the halberd strike, they weren’t enough to block.

More blood spilled out of the demon’s mouth, and manic eyes darted about wildly, finally landing on his chest, where a hand had thrust through his guard and pierced straight through him.

At the edge of the cavern, just close enough to see in the corner of Lazar’s eye, was the flesh eater. Her face and hair was smeared with blood, and she had on a wide grin as she stared up at the soul eater. Sprouting from her shoulder, a second arm grew, extending upwards and impaling the flying demon. Lazar could see the freshly formed flesh still pulsing and bubbling. The soul eater coughed again. His yellow eyes rolled back and the demon fell down towards the earth. The hand retracted, leaving a gaping hole in his chest.

As Lazar watched the soul eater’s body land in the water, limbs jerking and twitching, exhaustion finally overtook him. His eyelids grew so heavy that he could no longer force them open, and his consciousness faded.

The last thing he remembered seeing was the flesh eater, more arms sprouting from her back, stepping closer.