All my fear and uncertainty was pushed to the side as Aurielle returned. The uncomfortable sense that something was missing began to fade and a small green flame ignited inside my chest. I could not help but laugh as a feeling of comfort had washed over me.
Donte and Charly looked at me as if I had lost my mind, while the Demon scowled. Her eyes radiated fury and scorn.
The Demon shrieked with a shrill voice, “Filthy invader, you dare mock me!”
I smiled at the Demon as I stretch my arms and legs. It felt good to have these back after so many days. The next time we did we did something like this, I had to make sure I made some time to walk around.
The Demon’s scowl deepened even further at my lack of a response. “Loathsome creature! Tell me, what did you do to me?
My smile widened further as I felt the ground tremble slightly. “What’s wrong, Demon? Did you not like being reminded of what you once were? That is what my power did isn’t it, remind you of what it felt like to be human? I think I am starting to understand how it works now. Those wounds inside your soul. The scars and obsession that you can never forget. That is what Wren’s little flame targets. How did it feel to relive the event that turned you into this?”
The Demon paused for a moment as her fury was replaced with confusion. “Me… that was me, wasn’t it? Do it again. Take me back there again!”
“Only a Demon would enjoy reliving its worst memories,” I said with a sigh. I felt the ground under my feet rumble even more now, but I ignored it as the power in my right eye activated. “I wonder what would happen if you remembered something from a happier time?”
The flame in my right eye bathed the Demon in a gentle glow. She stumbled backward, clutching at her head as her eyes widened in horror. The Demon began screaming in agony as she beat her head against the ground over and over again. The surrounding Demonkin backed away in terror as her emotions flowed through them.
The Demon slammed her head against the ground again as she screamed, before suddenly falling still. to my surprise, I saw the red fade from one of the Demon’s eyes as a single tear streamed down her face.
She spoke softly, not in the shrill voice of the Demon, but in the soft voice of a young girl. “Mom… Dad…” Just as fast as it faded, the red returned to both her eyes. “No!” she roared, “You horrible pest, what have you done to me?”
“I simply reminded you of something you once loved. Do you not want to remember them? They were your parents once. You loved them.”
“They were Insects! They were weak! They were trampled under the boots of the invaders! I will have my revenge on every single one of them, but you… you, I think I will keep. I will lock you away, keep you as one of my pets. You will show them to me again. Do well and I might even keep your little friends here alive for a little longer.”
I chuckled as the rumbling under my feet finally came to a stop. “I have no interest in being anyone’s pet or feeding your obsession. I know how that always ends.”
"You think you can defy me? An entire army could not stop me. Nothing will stand in my way." The Demon hissed as she addressed the Demonkin around her. “Kill the boys. Cut off her arms and legs. She does not need them to be my pet.”
A Demonkin snarled as it moved closer to me. Donte and Charly pointed their weapons towards the creature, but I did not bother moving. It was too late for them to be any threat to me.
Just as the Demonkin was about to pounce on us, the ground began to heave. A mountain of rock and earth swelled under our feet, knocking the Demonkin backward. Donte and Charly stumbled to the ground in surprise, but I was able to remain standing firmly.
My arms stretched out wide, I grinned at Demon as the ground continued to rise up. “Putting me on the same level as that army… That is just insulting. Armies mean nothing to me. I am the Immortal Calamity!”
The ground continued to heave. A figure was slowly revealed under the mountain of dirt. Dark grey scales tougher than stone, fangs larger than a full-grown man, just the head alone was bigger than a mansion. The colossal snake rose up out of the ground, two bright green eyes glaring down at the Demon.
“Say hello to my tiny friend, Naga.”
The Demon stumbled backward. Her eyes showing true fear for the first time. She turned to run, but the rest of the snake’s enormous body had already begun to rise up out of the ground. It easily encompassed the entire clearing of trees, surrounding the Demon like the walls of a city.
“This… this is impossible!” the Demon stuttered as the few remaining Demonkin gathered around her.
Standing comfortably on top of the snake’s head, I looked down at the Demon and smiled. “I admit, it was not easy. It took days to heal the injuries on a creature this big and fully bring it under my control. This little snake was truly dangerous. It nearly killed me once, but I was not going to let such a perfect specimen go to waste. A creature like this is too magnificent for that.”
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“No, no, no. I will not die now. I must cleanse this land of the invaders! I will not let you stop me!”
I shook my head as my consciousness sunk into the massive snake. I commanded Naga and she began to slowly constrict her body. The Demon looked around in a panic as the massive walls of the snake’s body started to close in around her. Her red eyes glowed brighter as she released a horrible screech.
I felt nauseous, as her power washed over me, but Naga was completely unaffected. She was already one of the undead. She could not feel pain or nausea. The Demon’s talent that had easily crippled an army of over twenty thousand was completely useless against her.
The few Demonkin attacked the snake in desperation, leaving cracks along many of the scales as they attacked. Their show of force was impressive but ultimately futile. The snake was unfazed by the vicious blows as it continued to constrict tighter and tighter.
The Demon slashed out with her claws leaving deep gashes in the snake’s body, easily cutting through the scales. Her attacks were not any less powerful than when Charly attacked the snake with his crossbow, but in the end, she was just too small. Her claws were more powerful than any of the Demonkin, but to a creature of this size, it made little difference.
The Demon attacked franticly, leaving dozens of deep wounds in the snake’s body. Green flames poured from the injuries. The Demon started to slow down as the pain from the fire burned her soul. It was the only thing that stopped her from burrowing into the snake to save herself.
To make sure nothing unexpected happened, I used the power in my right eye again. The blue flame would not affect her for long, but by the time she recovered, everything would be over.
The gentle blue light seeped into her soul as the Demon collapsed to the ground. I expected her to begin thrashing around again like she did the first time, but when the blue light entered her body something unexpected happened.
When the blue light came into contact with the green flames burning her soul, they reacted explosively. The two energies mixed into a golden flame that burned every corner of the Demon’s body. The power in that fire was beyond anything I could have expected. It was not as simple as the two flames being added together. It was an exponential explosion of energy. Within a single moment, it roared through the Demon’s body before turning on her soul.
I blinked in surprise as the Demon fell to her knees. She looked up at me with two brown eyes as the red faded completely. Tears streamed down her face. I could feel the golden fire destroying her body, but despite the pain, she must have felt, the Demon smiled at me. It was a soft, sad smile. A very human smile.
“Thank… you…” she said softly before collapsing to the ground.
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The surrounding Demonkin howled in rage and anguish as the demon fell still. I had Naga crush them, but not the body of the Demon. I had to see that for myself.
The Demonkin struggled in vain for a moment before being flattened under Naga’s massive weight. I then climbed down to look at the unmoving body of the Demon. There was not a single injury on her body that I could see from the outside, but she had died all the same. I could still feel the golden fire still burning her from the inside. It felt like… like it was burning away all the demonic energy inside of her.
The Demons body twitched and convulsed as the golden flame continued trying to do… something, but it had no direction. I could feel it stampede through her body wildly, destroying muscle and ligaments. Bone was turned to ash as her skin slowly began to melt. Within moments, there was nothing left of the once-powerful Demon but a smoking husk.
Charly and Donte climbed down the snake to join me. They looked at the smoldering body of the Demon in awe.
“What did you do you do to her?” Charly asked.
I shook my head as I whispered, “I have no idea.”
Donte quickly lost interest in the smoldering corpse as he looked up at the colossal snake in wonder. “This is amazing! Are you actually controlling the snake?”
“That is Aurielle’s talent, and why she was gone for so long. She was trying to revive this monstrosity. She was too weak at the time to focus on multiple things at once so she left me alone for a while so she could complete the process,” I said as I poked the smoldering ashes of the Demons body with a stick. The golden flame was gone now that there was nothing left to burn, but I still had no idea what happened.
“That is incredible! With this thing under your command, we could even take on King Sebastion himself.”
I suppressed a chuckle. “Don’t be ridiculous. Sebastion could kill this little snake with a single wave of his hand. Do not underestimate someone Aurielle trained personally. Size does not matter to someone at his level.”
Charly frowned. “We should not let the army see this thing. It will not be long before they catch up. Hurry and send it somewhere to hide.”
I nodded as I looked up at the colossal creature. The green faded from its eyes as it looked at me in confusion. “Alright Naga, I have a mission for you. Kill any remaining Demonkin in the area affected by the mist. If you can, escort any living humans to the mist’s edge. Once you are done, return to me.”
Naga’s hiss echoed through the trees as she turned away. Her giant body plowed through the forest leaving nothing but destruction in her wake.
Between all the destroyed trees and the massive hole in the ground, I knew there was no way I could explain destruction on this level. So, I had Donte pick up what remained of the Demon and we moved back in the direction we came from. I could only hope the army would not explore the woods and find the real location of our battle.
It was less than a minute of walking before we found the perusing army. General Arthur was standing at the front while a soldier examined the ground, following our footsteps through the trees.
“Ye three are still alive? Glorious!” General Arthur shouted in surprise, “Where is the Demon? we cannot let it get away.”
Donte dropped the smoldering husk on the ground as he put his hands on his hips with pride. “We already took care of it. The demon will never be a threat to anyone again.”
General Arthur examined the body for a moment. I could see suspicion in his gaze, but he clapped his hands excitedly, shouting even louder. “Glorious! Ye three are the pride of the Novus Kingdom! Ye will be declared heroes for a deed like this.”