Everyone readied themselves just as they heard a demonic shriek from behind the firewall. Just like that, the barrier was quickly breached by a four-legged feral demon that crash through, only to be shot in the head by Rhynsa. It fell on the ground, causing the demons behind it to scramble out of the way. Sammael ran and pounced one of the demons while Anubis, showing his mastery of using the crescent sword, sliced a demon’s head off. The way he moved did not indicate that he was blind. In fact, Anubis started to get the handle of his newfound vision, even if it was limited and he still relied on his other senses.

Wepwawet, who saw how efficient the bullets were while also complimenting Rhynsa’s marksmanship, suddenly got an idea.

“(I got an idea),” said Wepwawet. “(I can try and enhance your sniper instead of being your spotter),” said Wepwawet.

“(Enhance how?)”

“(You remember the Soul Dispersal Ritual? I can do a smaller version with your bullets. It will make the demons think twice before they consider risking their lives).”

Rhynsa smiled. “(That’s a good plan. And you know what’s make it efficient? Magazines).”

The Fuzandre put down a bag that, when opened, showed it full of magazine stocks intended for rifles, especially the bolt-action rifle being handled by Rhynsa. Wepwawet did not even hesitate to start the small ritual. What he did caused the bullets to emit a blue light before they dissipated.

“(Done),” said Wepwawet. “(Make it count).”

“(Let’s test it, shall we?)”

Rhynsa found one target, a small, gremlin-like demon with wings, also the reason for the earlier shrieks. Using his echo senses, he managed to predict where the fast-moving demon would end, timing it with his shot. The enhanced bullet shot through the demon, but it did not pierce through anything vital like its head, but instead one of its wings. While cleansing bullets would harm and even burn the demon, Wepwawet’s Soul Dispersal bullet turned it up a notch. It caused the demon to start disintegrating from where the bullet impacted. The demon did not even realize that it was already dead until it saw itself disintegrating. However, instead of the expected shrieks and wails of pain, the demon just looked…very peaceful, even after its body turned to dust. The same could not be said with the rest of the demons, however. When they realized that the demon was permanently killed, they became scared, and stop advancing further.

Rhynsa turned to Wepwawet, who looked rather satisfied of his work.

“(You gave them a peace of mind?)” remarked the Fuzandre.

“(Soul Dispersal is not an agonizing execution),” said Wepwawet. “(Death doesn’t have to be full of anguish).”

“(We are talking about demons here, Wepwawet. They are the embodiment of anguish).”

Wepwawet simply shrugged. “(We have our ways. We didn’t become the guardians of hell’s gate because we’re ruthless, after all).”

Rhynsa couldn’t help but find it amusing. He didn’t have time to give his usual snarky comments, though, and continued defending the position from the demons. He was the most effective defender who managed to stop the demons, though he did not want to take all the credits.

He was just going to suggest Wepwawet to do the enhancements to all the magazine stocks when there was strong feeling of dread that filled the air. Wepwawet, Anubis, and Sammael felt the same thing. For both Anubis and Sammael, however, that feeling was followed by a feeling of familiarity. It was like their bodies remembered this sensation before.

That familiar sense became clear when, among the chaotic attack by the demons, they saw a hooved demon, not bigger than an adult, slowly and menacingly walked towards the tunnel’s exit. As its body became visible under the daylight, they all felt their heart skipped a beat.

This demon was an old enemy, and not just any old enemy. This demon was caprine.

Rhynsa was the first to react. Using the Soul Dispersal bullet, he quickly took aim towards the caprine demon’s head and fired a shot. In any other circumstances, the bullet would score a headshot. However, the demon’s hellfire, which looked more intense than regular fire, melted it before it even managed to reach him. This quickly drawn him towards the Fuzandre, in which he let out a toothy grin.

“Hey, batsy!” he said gleefully. “I’m back!”

“Azgal,” said Rhynsa with a dreadful, but condescending tone in his voice. “Oh, fucking hell. He’s the last thing we need.”

The gravity of the situation became clear for the rest of the defenders as they were also struck by the fear. However, the nightmare was just starting.

The fear caused by Azgal’s entrance seemed to cause many of the defenders, whether it was humans, Lycans, or hellhounds, to become panicked and greatly reducing overall morale. However, that was also the moment when Arnulfe sensed something else. After he had gotten over the dreaded sensation from Azgal, he sensed something even more familiar than the goat demon. This feeling only come once before, but he could never forget what it did to him and his then travelling companions, one of which was with him now.

“(Of course),” remarked Arnulfe. “(Of course, it’s going to get worse).”

Sammael also sensed it and quickly warned Anubis, but it was a bit too late. Anubis managed to avoid a quick, invisible attack using his trained senses along with his Soul Particle Sight, but despite of dodging it, the Jackal felt sick and momentarily lost his balance.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Well, well,” said a familiar voice. “You’ve made quite a company, ashen one.”

“(You),” said Arnulfe, voice low due to anger. “(I was just wondering when you’re going to appear. I’m surprised it took three years before you show your face around us again).”

The demon was the bat demon that Arnulfe, Rhynsa, and Mizarka lost to when they were ambushed by him. The bat demon’s appearance looked vaguely like a Fuzandre, specifically Rhynsa’s model of having separate limbs for wings. That was the only resemblance, however, as the horns, the red, reptilian eyes, and the back ridges were not a Fuzandre’s characteristic.

“You miss me? I’m flattered,” said the bat demon as he approached the ensemble. The darkness surrounding the demon made it look like he was gliding despite of not opening his wings. “Ditched the loincloth for proper pants, I see.”

“Oh, shut up,” said Arnulfe, annoyed that it was the first thing the demon remembered of him.

Rhynsa, on the other hand, could only swore under his breath by the misfortune.

“(You know that other demon?)” asked Wepwawet.

“(He’s even more dangerous than Azgal),” said Rhynsa. “(Be careful. He has an ability to amplify your deepest fears and overload your brain).”

“(That explains the red, wispy aura),” said Wepwawet.

“(Shit! This is not how I imagine this battle turns out to be!)”

The bat demon walked towards Azgal’s side, who looked at him and said, “Did your prince send you to wipe the floor after I’m finished? Two wrath demons aren’t exactly necessary to deal with these ants.”

“I won’t underestimate them if I were you.” He then pointed at Arnulfe. “He’s mine. You go deal with the others.”

Azgal scoffed. “You just came and you’re ordering me around. Who the hell are you, anyway? You ain’t Barbatos, that’s for sure.”

“Camazotz,” said the demon with a smile. “I’m his duke, by the way.”

Azgal, apparently realizing the title’s weight, said, “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

“But don’t worry, Infernal. You play your own game. I’m off-duty.”

“Off-duty, how?”

“I came up here, all by myself,” said Camazotz with a smile across his chiropteran faces. “A little benefit for a duke of hell like yours truly. But I’m not against helping a fellow demon. In fact, it may make things more interesting. When these mortals are desperate, they will breed insanity, and insanity can be so unpredictable. That’s the beauty of it. Too bad they might not be able to appreciate that.”

Azgal once again stopped Rhynsa’s bullet as Camazotz was being attacked by Arnulfe, this time helped by Sammael.

“Rude,” said Camazotz.

“You’re the one crashing the show!” exclaimed Arnulfe. “I won’t let you make this worse!”

“Well, too bad for you, goat head over there’s the one you should be wary of. And do I hear you speak Tragorian? Now, that’s a language I’m interested in, not some crude Hordo you’re talking with.”

Camazotz’s fear amplification ability caused the defenders to become even more chaotic as demons started massacring them. Sammael realized this, and with his own demonic ability, he canceled out the fear amplification, though he did not manage to stop it, just divert it back towards the demons.

Camazotz, despite of knowing that his ability was foiled, just smiled.

“And I see you have a Barghest with you! A creative one at that, too,” commented Camazotz. “Well, then. Let’s have some fun!

Meanwhile, Azgal, who was rudely interrupted by the attacks and Camazotz, threw something from his left hand, which he kept behind his back.

“Present for you,” said Azgal.

The ‘presents’ were the heads of two humans, violently decapitated in the most gruesome way possible. Some of them screamed upon seeing the two humans, and others even commented that the two humans were in fact two of the Hunters that volunteered to guard the other end of the tunnel. Azgal unceremoniously stomped on the heads, splattering gore everywhere.

Azgal did not need Camazotz’s ability to spread fear. The two heads were enough to cause the defenders to be so demoralized they started to lose their concentration fighting against the demons. Rhynsa couldn’t imagine what the two, and possibly other volunteers, faced when they were defeated by the demons. He could only imagine agonizing and torturous deaths, which also caused him to lose his usual temperament. He never felt so angry with the demons’ disregard of life.

Wepwawet sensed Rhynsa’s welling anger. He quickly put his hand on Rhynsa’s shoulder and said, “(Don’t get too riled up. He’s doing this to try and make you act compulsively).”

“(And you don’t?)”

“(I have someone I can trust with my life. Look there).”

Rhynsa saw what Wepwawet meant. Azgal, too, when he quickly turned around and stopped Anubis’s slashing attack. Azgal’s hand started to let out smoke as he got off the grip. The wound on his palm did not heal.

“(Quite a toy you have there, blind one),” said Azgal with a grin. “(I wonder. Where is your half-blood friend, Jackal?)”

“(Preoccupied),” said Anubis. His voice was unwavering and he looked fearless, even if his eyes were cloudy and unfocused. Azgal, however, could tell that the direction he looked at was directly at his eyes, so despite all odds, the blind Jackal could see.

“(You don’t look as big as your aura),” commented Anubis.

“(Ah, so you regained your vision, somehow),” said Azgal. “(But does it matter? Big does not equal strong. It only makes you a big target. I prefer to be small and fast).”

“(Are you fast enough against me?)” taunted Anubis, prompting Azgal to scoff.

“(Hah! You have one hell of a courage, little Jackal! Let’s see how you fare against this!)”

Anubis was quick to move away when a hellfire was launched towards him. Rhynsa, helping Wepwawet, also realized that Azgal was too close to comfort and relocate. Wepwawet tried to distract Azgal from his brother by shooting him three times, all of which did not connect as the bullets were melted by the hellfire. Anubis quickly counter-attacked with his sword, showing a surprising expertise with the khopesh on his hand. Unfortunately, Azgal’s hide was too thick for the sword. Like before, the attack caused a rather prominent cut that let out some smoke. The sword was also very well-made as it did not break despite of it bouncing off Azgal’s arm.

Anubis wasn’t sure what happened, but he was sure the khopesh Wepwawet gave him had a special property. In his vision, it seemed to be swirling with blue ‘wisps’, apparently protecting it from harm. The ‘wisps’ came from his hand. It wasn’t even a conscious effort. He somehow knew the sword would give him the edge he needed.

But he must not be distracted by this, Azgal, the greatest enemy they faced up to that point, stood by in front of them menacingly. He was already ready to resume the fight, so Anubis returned the favor by returning to a combat ready stance. He could hear the efforted grunts, laughter, and even a loud yell, some of which he could identify with Arnulfe’s voice. The Fuzandre was fighting as hard as Anubis was, especially since the Jackal was aware that the demon calling himself Camazotz had a personal business with the furless Fuzandre.

But even with all these, and with Azgal lunging towards Anubis, the Jackal wondered what Ifrit and Sahia were doing. All he could do, before his mind became focused on the prospect of staying alive, was to wonder if the two managed to be reunited with Sahia’s family.