Chapter 19 - Last Resort

An arm sprouted from Ciel’s back, slamming into a demon creeping just behind her. Lazar used the opportunity to lunge forward and swing his blade at the stunned flesh eater. He heard the sound of blood gushing and saw the body fall, and this time the flying demon didn’t go over after it.

Instead, it screeched and dove straight at him.

Before its claws could reach, a second arm slammed into it, throwing it back. The demon flew further away into the open ravine, but it would be back soon, Lazar knew. He raised his halberd at ready while Ciel did the same with the two extra arms, both of them standing side by side as the next wave approached.

Lazar striked the shaft of the halberd into an approaching demon. It wasn’t as deadly as using the blade, but it was much easier to swing it quickly like this in his current state. He saw two flying demons approaching from the corner of his eye, both of them larger than the other had been. They looked to be the same type of demon, both with thick, blunt bodies and muscular wings that beat the air violently.

Lazar took a step back and aimed an arcing kick at a flesh eater, and he saw one of Ciel’s extra arms shoot out at one of the flying demons.

It punched into the body, but the demon barely budged, significantly heavier than the other one had been. Lazar heard Ciel curse, and her other arm barely rose in time to block one of the walking demons. A third limb grew, this one too amorphous to be distinctly named as any recognizable body part, and it rose in front of them as a shield.

Lazar frowned. Ciel hadn’t had any trouble piercing the soul demon, and these new appendages looked less defined, smaller and weaker than that attack had been.

Low on flesh, Lazar realized as he stabbed the halberd’s end into another demon. His own arm still bled freely from where the demon had bitten and torn into it, and he could feel his grip loosening despite his attempts otherwise. They needed to finish this fast.

His halberd blade gleamed in the light as he ducked under another attack, and his eyes traced it. The blade had had no issue cutting into the soul eater, he remembered.

“Ciel!” he called. The demon glanced back, and without hesitating, he heaved the weapon in her direction.

She caught it easily in one hand, and when she swung it at the flying demons, the blade easily cleaved a deep cut into the one in front, nearly bisecting it. The arm didn’t stop, circling back around, and Lazar grabbed the weapon back and pressed the blade into the second flying demon’s head just as it approached him.

Blood splashed across his arms, and he just barely managed to yank the weapon back before the demon fell into the pit.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see more demons approaching and the spindly one flying back towards them. They wouldn’t be able to keep this up for much longer. For now, this would have to do, and they would have to hope they could outrun the ones left.

Ciel slammed her knee into one demon’s gut as her arm tore another’s head clean off its body. Blood stained her skin, golden eyes gleaming as she took in their surroundings. She turned, both of them coming to the same realization. Lazar swept his halberd blindly behind him, hoping to deter the demons at least a little as the two turned and kept running down the path.

Just as they reached the end of the platform where the path narrowed again, however, a drooling tongue whipped down. Lazar reeled back as some of the liquid landed on his arms, gritting his teeth when he felt them burn. He was starting to get dizzy from blood loss, he realized.

Focus.

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The large demon from before—Ilana—peeled away from the cliff face, bringing a few rocks with her as she sneered down at them with those beady black eyes. She’d climbed across the walls and cut them off, Lazar realized. He should’ve realized he hadn’t seen her among the pack.

Lazar took a step back, halberd raised, and felt himself bump into Ciel, who was facing the approaching demons from behind.

They were surrounded.

A rock tumbled down the edge of the ledge, falling deeper into the cavern with a clatter. Lazar’s eyes scanned their surroundings rapidly, searching for a way out, but he couldn’t find one.

Ilana slithered down fully, completely covering the path ahead, and the group of demons behind them had only grown thicker. On the side, the spindly demon was flying closer as well. His eyes fell beneath them, over the sheer edge. He’d never been afraid of heights before, but now, he could feel dread building.

The seraph’s eyes darted upwards. They’d progressed further down the cliff side than he’d thought while fleeing; he couldn’t see the top they’d descended from anymore. But in the pressing darkness of the space, it was impossible to tell how far from the bottom they still were.

Lazar felt Ciel shift her position behind him. It was strangely comforting to have the flesh eater’s presence there. He felt a sudden, slightly hysterical laugh rise in the back of his throat. To think he would find comfort in a demon at his back.

“Is that really a seraph?” one of the demons murmured. The seraph tensed, feeling roving eyes on him. “He doesn’t have any wings.”

“Look at that weapon, he has to be.”

“Fallen?” another questioned.

“No other reason to be in the Abyss, is there?”

“Silence!”

Ilana’s booming voice cut off the other demons. She slinked closer, beady eyes fixed on the two of them, mouth drawn in a sneer.

“Enough chatter,” she said. “Don’t get distracted. I won’t tolerate failure because some of us,” she spat, “didn’t pay attention.”

Throughout it all, Lazar kept his halberd held steadily in front of him, his face a blank mask built from years of practice. He could see more than a few demons eyeing the blade warily. They were being cautious, he realized, because they didn’t know what he could do. Fallen seraphs were rare. They might not realize that he couldn’t access his magic anymore.

His eyes landed on the demon in front of him. The body was massive, and the scales certainly looked hard, but from the almost liquid-like way Ilana was able to fit into spaces, it would be easy for her to follow them. Indeed, she was positioned to block all their exits, covering their options in front while the horde of demons obstructed the back.

Lazar’s attention fell on his halberd again. Though its blade was now covered in demon blood and flesh, the bits of metal still visible beneath the grime shone as brightly as they always did. Sharp enough to cut through the sturdiest of material. Sharp enough to pierce stone.

Another rock tumbled into the ravine below, falling into inky darkness as it bounced a few times off the sheer cliff face before sinking out of view.

Lazar inhaled, and he steadied his grip on his weapon. It was a long shot, but it was better than standing there waiting to die.

Around them, the demons inched forward, backing the two of them closer and closer to the edge.

“Ciel,” he muttered. The demon didn’t react, and he could only hope that she heard him. “I need you to trust me.”

The demons stopped, and for a moment all of them stood still, waiting with bated breath for the first one to make their move.

And then Ilana lurched forward.

Lazar barely had time to yell, “Hold on!”

He felt something grab him, but he couldn’t tell if it was Ciel or another demon. He didn’t have time to check, because Ilana and the other flesh eaters were getting closer and closer and—

There was a second, caught on the very corner of the ledge, that time seemed to stop.

Lazar felt weightless, halfway between falling and floating. His breath escaped his lungs, and if he had closed his eyes, he might’ve been able to believe, in that single moment, that everything was still the same.

He saw himself, flying across the pale skies of Elysium, the wind in his hair, nothing else in sight. Soaring with his arms wide, white feathers spread, higher and higher into the light. Beyond the floating islands. Beyond the palace. Beyond anything and everything.

The images faded, leaving just the inky darkness below and the horde of demons surging forward.

Lazar breathed.

And then he jumped and plunged down into the ravine.