As he made his way towards the boss room, he found it odd just exactly how manufactured it was. Statues carved from a mix of stone and oak lined his path, each one showing the same person in various poses. Themes of flowers and general plant life seemed to be present throughout them, alongside the image of royalty or nobility. Yet, he noticed that as he continued down the solitude path, the statues slowly began to crack and rot. Root and vine slowly consumed the lower half, eventually forming a sort of tail.
Well, that cuts out having to fight a healthy lesser demon.
As he continued down the path, he eventually found himself in a mix between a throne room and an overgrown garden. Grass and stone weaved into each other, with flower beds that propped up statues of marble. Roots weaved through the polished floor, forming a matrix of both cooled stone and wriggling roots. Yet, it all paled when compared to his main focus. Sitting in the center of the room was a massive flower bulb. Nearly his height, it was a mix of both bright amber and dark crimson, both colors twisting and bleeding into each other. Stepping closer, he saw something press against the inside of the massive bud, a shadow of a hand appearing before fading away.
Reaffirming his grip on the handle, he watched as the bud suddenly began to shift and shake. As the bud slowly began to bloom, the familiar sweet-yet-rotted scent entered his nose. Yet, there was something else within that smell. It seemed…sour in a way, but also not.
Once the flower fully bloomed, Jake watched as the devil slowly rose from its center, a smile on its oaken face.
“Why hello there, little beast,” the Devil said, its eyes showing clear amusement. As it slid off of the flower head, it seemed to glide towards him, not even parting the grass and flowers. As it became closer and closer, he felt the air around him become sharper, digging into his skin like thorns. “How fearless you are. Lesser men would buckle and kneel, yet you stand unaffected.”
Staying silent, Jake mentally went over just what would be best to do. There wasn’t any show of weaponry, so melee could work as a way to engage. However, there is the issue of summon control, which would force him to split his attention. Additionally, entrapment based magic will most likely be used to impair him.
“A mute, I see. Unfortunate,” the Devil muttered as it slowly circled him, its voice filled with false empathy. As if trying to bait some response, the Devil brought its face close to his own, its glowing eyes staring directly into his own. Once their eyes made contact, Jake felt
“No matter. I can find my enjoyment in other ways,” the Devil said before turning its back on him.
Now.
Quickly pulling out his pistol, Jake aimed at the Devil before firing off a barrage of bullets. Suddenly, roots bursted out from the ground before weaving into a wall, absorbing the impact of the rounds. As if taking revenge, some of the roots broke away from the wall before rapidly flying towards him. Ducking under the attempted strike, he quickly dashed away before it suddenly dug into the ground.
“How amusing. A smart choice for a mortal,” it said as the roots began to unravel, showing it staring directly at him, the glowing eyes seeming to show amusement,“Just for that, I'll play along.”
Suddenly, the devil flew towards him in a burst of speed. Bringing up his guard, Jake felt a heavy strike slam into him, pushing him back. Quickly recovering, Jake ducked as a whip-like vine swung at him, cutting through the stone behind him. Rolling out from another strike from the vine-whip, Jake fired off another barrage of bullets, only for them to be smacked out of the air.
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“Come on, show me something interesting!” it shouted at him before rushing towards him. Ducking under a swipe from the Devil's talons, Jake slammed his ax into its side before jumping back from another swipe. However, the distance he gained was rendered useless as spikes suddenly burst out of the ground. Rolling out of the way, he quickly dodged another swing fr4om the whip before firing off another barrage.
Focus and Advance.
As the world grayed out, Jake quickly rushed towards the devil before swinging his ax at its neck. However, it suddenly caught the edge of the ax, its eyes shifting into glee.
“How interesting you are, little beast,” the devil chuckled.
Ripping the blade out of its grip, Jake quickly jumped back before firing off another burst of rounds. However, the distance he made was quickly covered as the Devil rushed towards him. Dodging another swing from its claws, he quickly put away his ax and pistol before quickly unsheathing his sword. Parrying a strike, he rushed forward before slamming the pommel into its stomach, pushing it back. Taking the gap, he swung his blade at its neck, only for it to evade, the edge of his blade merely grazing its neck. Jumping back from a swing at his torso, he then lunged forward, jamming the blade in between oaken scales. Feeling the ground underneath him shift, Jake jumped back as a wooden spike suddenly burst out from the ground. However, he wasn’t fast enough. Feeling the sharpened root pierce into his side, he quickly cut through the twisted roots before rolling out of the way of another attack. Ripping the shard out of his body, he tossed it aside before bolting forward.
As claw and sword clashed, he began to notice something. Small motes of light appear at certain points of its body, as if to bring his attention to it. With each one, he felt a slight pull on his mind towards it.
Cut it.
Evading another swing, Jake saw another mote of light form on the devil's side. Shifting his body, he lunged forward and jammed the blade into the mote of light, splintering to reveal it digging into the Devil's body. Letting out a roar of agony, the Devil swung at him, forcing him to jump back.
“INSOLENT SWINE!” the devil roared, its wooden face twisting into that of rage. As if obeying a command, various tendril broke out from the ground before flying towards him.
As Jake cut down the tendrils flying towards him, he felt the same sound begin to echo in his mind. With each swing, he felt the air hum. For every step he took, the ground echoed like that of a drum. As he continued to fight, he couldn’t help but feel…different. Static jumped through his fingers, the buzzing echoing in his ears. He felt his heart slam against his chest, sounding like that of thunder.
As he continued to fight, he saw it. A gap between the aggressive tendrils, which were bent on puncturing him.
Now.
Shifting his body, he launched himself forward, weaving between the vines. As he quickly closed the distance, he saw the Devil’s eyes widen in shock. Slamming its talons into the ground, vines and roots began to burst from the ground before forming themselves into a barrier.
Advance.
Feeling a new strength enter his body, he quickly closed the remaining distance before slamming his blade into its throat. Not wasting any time, he ripped the blade out of its body before twisting his body and cleaving through its neck. As the body fell onto the floor, he watched as its body sank into the ground, only to be replaced by a large flower, its petals a bright crimson.
As he began to put the items in the flower in his bag, his hand paused at one of them. A Daemonic Core about the size of his fist, it seemed to shiver in his hand, the roiling navy energy seeming hellbent on breaking from its shell. As he watched the core shake against his grip, he suddenly felt the hunger from before rising back up. It bit and twisted at his stomach, seeming hellbent on wanting him to consume the core. Looking it over, he couldn't help but admit that something about it seemed…appetizing.
‘Might as well,’ he thought before putting the entire thing in his mouth. Gulping it down, he felt a burning sensation last in his mouth, yet accompanied by a sweetness of sorts. As the feeling in his mouth faded away, he felt different. Better, even. Taking a glance at his wound, he saw that it was already closed, leaving nothing but a faint scar. Not only that, he felt…invigorated, somehow. As if all the stress of the previous battle has barely even existed.
‘Time to go home,’ he thought before making his way back to the entrance. He had a few things that he needed to check.