"Ninety-two percent." Evan stated colorlessly, as he injected his sai into the throat of the demon, absorbing its soul into the Vessel.

Another bloodthirsty fiend charged towards him, hungry to avenge its fallen brethren, but with a graceful cut of his blade, Evan felled the beast, claiming yet another demonic soul to add to the Vessel.

"Ninety-three."

He proceeded to the portal of swirling blackness from which the demons emerged, dispelling it with a flip of the Dark Coin. As always it landed on tails.

Evan fingered the face of the coin, opening the floodgate of memories held within it.

Her soothing hand still remained fresh in his mind; it was the only thing keeping him warm in a world of endless December. A mere phrase uttered her lips was enough to liberate his calloused spirit.

"How was your day?"

Evan quelled the nostalgia and journeyed back home.

~~~

Evan opened the doors to the Citadel and strolled over to Mac, handing him his Vessel.

"Pretty heavy this time," Mac stated, placing the Vessel with the others. "You must have killed a lot of them."

"It relieves the pain."

"Still broken over what happened to Alyss?"

"I'd rather not discuss it."

"Let it go, Evan. She's gone," Mac responded, "That was a year ago. You can't go soft on me."

"Look, I bring you a myriad amount of demons every day. What more do you want from me?"

"Give me the coin."

"I need it to do my job."

"Every slayer in the Stygian Covenant knows how to open and shut the portals without the Dark Coins now. Everyone except you. That girl weakened you and that coin from her is nothing but dead weight."

"You know nothing about her," Evan's voice went quiet, radiating dangerously.

Mac recoiled, "Listen, I'm doing this for your sake. I know from experience that connections wither resolve. Just give it to me."

"Conversation over." Evan replied as he turned and walked away.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Mac reached into Evan's pocket to grab the coin before he could escape.

"What the fuck, Mac!" Evan snapped into action, wrestling Mac over the coin.

"Let her go, Evan!"

"Fuck you."

Evan's last word fell along with the coin. The black currency twisted viciously in the air before making contact with the marble floor below. The sound of the coin hitting the surface resonated, triggering the magic to take effect. Swirling black smoke spiraled out of the coin as the portal was conjured.

"What have you done?!" Evan cried.

"Just close the portal!" Mac responded.

But it was too late. The demons were already pouring out of the gateway like water from a faucet. Mac swiftly made a run for the Vessels. The Stygian Covenant could not allow the demons to get a hold of them. They might manage to free the souls inside of them. Years of hunting down thousands of demons would have been for nothing.

Evan initiated combat with the monsters standing before him. A demon slashed him with his sword, but Evan was too fast. With a mere flick of his wrist he managed to parry the blow with his sai and then drive in close for the final strike.

"Ninety-four percent," Evan muttered.

The clattering of boots sounded off in the distance. Evan looked back to see the members of the Stygian Covenant arriving to the Citadel to fight back the demonic forces. Evan took advantage of their assistance to swoop in and pick up the Dark Coin, but a powerful force propelled Evan backwards along with everything else in his vicinity. Thunderous footsteps shook the ground as another being emerged from the portal.

A Devil.

Evan got to his feet and acted quickly by summoning a ball of electrifying energy. He released it at the Devil but the lightning bolt bounced off of his adversary like a twig. Evan swore. He was never great at magic but it was the only thing that was effective against a Devil.

But then Evan remembered the Vessels. With the power of the souls within them maybe he would have a fighting chance. Unfortunately, it was a risky endeavor. Absorbing demonic souls into one's body wasn't exactly safe for the host's mind. But it was a sacrifice that needed to be made if they were going to stop the demons.

He stormed towards the room behind the Devil. Scattered demons polluted the path but Evan cleaved through everything in his way with ease. The Devil took notice of Evan and produced an enormous ball of Hellfire, hurling it at him. Evan leaped behind the cover of a throng of demons, allowing them to take the heat of the blast. Evan sprinted as fast as he could to the Vessel room, sliding beneath the legs of the Devil and dashing through the door.

Without any further hesitation Evan took one of the Vessels and opened it.

"Don't do it, Evan!" Mac cried. "You know what those souls will do to you."

"I don't have a choice!" Evan exclaimed.

Before Mac could stop him Evan absorbed the souls into his body. Darkness invigorated him as the voices of several demons whispered to him in his mind. Evan silenced the voices and exited the Vessel room.

Evan imbued his faithful sai with all of the energy that he could muster and threw it at the Devil. Unlike the lightning bolt, the blade managed to penetrate the skin, greatly weakening the monster. The Devil collapsed but also laughed.

"Pathetic pygmy." He snarled. "Not even you can destroy a Devil."

He was right. No matter how powerful Evan was nobody could completely kill a Devil. But he could vanquish him back to Hell with the Dark Coin, but in turn it would be lost forever.

Evan grabbed the coin and dug deep into his resolve, fighting back the part of him that refused to let go of her and against all of the voices of demons in his head who told him not to.

Evan flipped the coin; for the first time it landed on heads. The coin touched the Devil banishing him back to Hell along with the last memento Evan had of Alyss.

"One-hundred percent." Evan whispered. "The pain is gone."