A smile crossed Indenuel’s face, one so dark and twisted that Martin could not comprehend this was possibly Indenuel. This was all the devil. The devil threw himself against Tolomon. He grunted but stayed where he was on top of him. The devil tried again, but Tolomon simply adjusted his weight to pin him more effectively. Martin felt the buildup of pain, but Indenuel’s body was chained to where he couldn’t use it on anyone but himself.
The devil threw his head back, hitting Tolomon square in the nose. The bones in his nose snapped. Martin winced, but the man simply looked annoyed as if a fly had landed on his face and he couldn’t get it.
“You will release me, Tolomon,” the devil said, his voice gravelly and black.
“I will not.”
The devil threw his head back and tried to hit Tolomon again, but he grabbed the devil’s head and forced it back to the ground before adjusting to get a better position to pin him. The devil thrashed beneath him, breathing deeply, struggling desperately in Tolomon’s grip before he let out a scream. The stained-glass windows broke. Martin covered his face before Nathaniel was there, blocking the shards of glass with his shield for both of them. Martin lowered his hands enough to see tree branches fighting over one another to enter the Cathedral as the stone began to bend. Martin’s eyes widened. The branches pulled back and there was a moment of peace before an entire tree broke through the Cathedral wall. Tolomon wrapped his arms and legs around the devil and rolled away from the branches and chunks of stone. Nathaniel leapt over them, sword and shield held out, blocking the branches that came too close.
Martin sensed the shift. The devil tapped into corrupted pain, creating a huge buildup of power. But he couldn’t, not without hurting himself, until Martin realized the devil wouldn’t care about hurting Indenuel’s body.
“Tolomon! Be prepared!” Martin said, holding out his arms.
With another scream the devil threw himself at Tolomon to distract him enough before pain came through his arms straight toward Tolomon’s gut. He crumpled, his breathing stopped all together. The devil leapt to his feet, chained as they were, struggling with the irons as Martin grabbed Tolomon’s face, throwing a hasty net over the corruption in his body and seeping it out as quickly as possible. Tolomon sucked in some air once the corruption was gone.
The devil stumbled forward, then strained with all his might before the irons around his arms and legs shattered like they were made of glass. The devil rolled his shoulders and head, his body cracking and popping. His fingers twitched and his arms jerked in ways that should have broken the bone.
The devil turned, facing Martin, completely free of the shackles, his eyes blazed in blackness as he threw more pain at Martin. He instinctively threw all his power to create the shield. The black ooze of corruption hit the shield, trying to spill out, but Martin kept his gaze steady, forcing the shield to collect it all, making sure not one drop of ooze went astray, keeping the devil focused on him so he didn’t see Nathaniel still fighting the tree branches behind him. The power of the ooze hitting the shield created a wind, strong enough to push the glass shards away from them.
“You think you can defeat me? Me, a God killer?” the devil asked.
Martin said nothing. The longer he lasted not speaking to the devil, the better it would be. Despite his son’s promises, the devil knew every single one of the High Elder’s secrets, and it would undoubtably shatter his family if the devil said them.
A few objects whizzed past Martin’s head in rapid succession, striking the devil. The corrupted power stopped, and Martin saw four daggers pinning the devil to one of the pews. With the distraction, the tree stilled. Martin used the time to smuggle the corrupted pain with his shield, and Nathaniel jumped on the trunk, sprinting to the single root connecting it to the earth, before chopping it off.
Tolomon appeared by Martin’s side, holding two swords, wiping the blood from his nose with the back of his hands. Martin touched his shoulder, healing the broken nose.
“How much damage can we do to Indenuel’s body before it’s too much for your power to heal?” Tolomon asked as the devil tried to get up.
“Bruises and broken bones I can heal easily,” Martin said as Nathaniel stood by Tolomon’s side. “Organs a bit harder. Please don’t cause too many of all three.”
Nathaniel and Tolomon nodded. The devil threw his weight against the daggers, tearing the shirt and his flesh. The shirt tore away, revealing the black mark of the devil as blood collected and fell from his torn wounds, but the devil acted as though he didn’t even notice.
“The first one to mentally crack under the devil’s words buys the other a drink after this,” Tolomon said, striding forward. The devil saw them coming toward him with swords, and he smiled as he pulled out two daggers from the pew as easily as if they were stuck in butter.
“You really think you have good odds on that one?” Nathaniel asked with a smile, meeting Tolomon’s every step.
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” Tolomon said as he came down hard on the devil with both swords. The devil blocked it with his daggers before using one of the swords to block Nathaniel’s incoming attack.
Martin took a few steps back, glancing at the door, waiting for Dalius. He kept his arms ready for whatever pain the devil tried to give them, but he was far too distracted fighting them both at once. Martin watched as the devil kept up with the two of them. Both of them did different stances, fighting in different styles, hitting fast and quick with swords, and the devil had two daggers to fight them off. Martin pushed forward with his powers, keeping the fatigue from Nathaniel and Tolomon.
Nathaniel punched the devil with a strength that should have knocked him out, and Tolomon followed with a punch to the other side of the head. The devil began to laugh. “Such a strange sensation, pain,” he said, sounding as calm as if he was relaxing on a summer day while Nathaniel and Tolomon panted, covered in sweat. “Wouldn’t you agree?” The devil made a quick motion, almost too fast to see, as he blocked one of Tolomon’s swords and aimed it directly at Nathaniel’s heart. Nathaniel blocked it with his shield, but not before the devil kicked him hard in the chest, throwing him backwards. Tolomon kept his face steady, taking on the devil as Nathaniel struggled to his feet. Martin helped him, touching him enough to heal whatever hurt was there before Nathaniel rushed back into the fight.
“Ah, so sweet. Brothers in arms, willing to die for each other,” the devil goaded.
“Do not listen to him,” Martin said, keeping his arms steady, trying to keep the corruption at bay.
“But not willing to share the same woman. Doesn’t that anger you, Tolomon? Jealous Nathaniel won’t let you borrow his wife for a night? It’s what you want, isn’t it?” the devil asked as he blocked blow after blow. Tolomon kept his face steady, saying nothing. “What harm can it do, really. After all, Martin sleeps with a girl half your age. There’s plenty of sharing going on in Martin’s household. What is one more? Why not do the same with Rosa?”
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Nathaniel stabbed Indenuel through the shoulder. “Quiet, devil.”
The devil was fast, and the calm manner in which he talked was unnerving.
“Oh, but don’t you know, Nathaniel? She never wanted you. She wants Tolomon desperately. Sleep with Rosa, like you’ve always wanted. Like she always wanted. You’ve been in Nathaniel’s shadow for far too long, even though you don’t deserve to be. You didn’t deserve any of the bullying you received in school. If you had Nathaniel’s heritage, his titles, you would have been one of the top generals of the war. You would have everything in life.”
Tolomon again said nothing as he brought his sword down hard, dodging the blows, trying to get past the devil’s daggers. Martin held his hand out, preparing to keep the corrupted pain inside the devil for as long as possible.
“I know what you are forced to do as Graduates,” the devil sneered. “It’s all so unfair, don’t you think? You want to stop it, but you can’t. In this one instance, you are powerless. Come to me, sell your soul, and I promise I will put an end to it.”
Tolomon let out a shaky breath as Nathaniel punched the devil hard with his shield. The fighting again turned into a blur as the devil laughed before stabbing Tolomon too close to the heart, pulling it out again.
“Go, I can hold him!” Nathaniel said.
Tolomon gripped the wound, practically stumbling into Martin’s arms. Martin closed his eyes, reaching under the shirt for the wound to make sure no torn piece got healed inside Tolomon’s body.
“Does it frighten you, that the only reason why Rosa chose you was because she could keep her titles. Kept her luxury. She only loves you because you are the son of a High Elder.” Nathaniel said nothing, exhaustion hitting him, but he kept going.
Martin kept the pain in the devil contained as he finished healing the wound in Tolomon’s chest. Tolomon nodded his thanks before joining the fight again.
Nathaniel managed to grab the devil and pin him to the pew, a sword to his throat. Tolomon came with his two swords, pointing it at the devil. “There is nothing you can say that will turn us against each other,” Nathaniel said. “Understand?”
The devil laughed, despite the three swords pointed at him. “You haven’t been following along, Nathaniel. I’m not trying to turn you against each other, I’m going to turn you both against her! I can prove her promises to you are not nearly as pure. Prove her to be the whore you don’t realize she is.” The swords didn’t waver, but the glares turned darker.
“Impossible,” Nathaniel said.
“Oh, she and Tolomon act on it.”
“We’ve done nothing,” Tolomon said.
“Oh really?” the devil asked. He grabbed Nathaniel’s arm, and he stiffened, blinking repeatedly. Martin winced. A possessed individual had the power to transfer memories of that individual, and the devil used it far too much to break men’s wills. “Look how they laugh. Look how they talk. You can see it in her eyes. If I was possessing her, I would show you her mind. Let you see exactly what her fantasies are with Tolomon. Oh, they are dirty.”
“Liar!” Tolomon said, pressing his sword closer against his throat.
The devil laughed again. “Do you want to see what she told Indenuel? Right outside the room where you lay recovering from gray death? Barely a door between you?” the devil asked.
“You keep your lying tongue where it belongs,” Nathaniel said.
“It’s alright, I’ll show both of you,” the devil said.
The devil broke Indenuel’s arm to get out of Nathaniel’s grip before he threw his hands in their direction. Both men backed away from the invisible impact. They both blinked in surprise as whatever memories were in Indenuel’s head was now placed in theirs. Nathaniel’s eyes widened, his mouth open, before he shot a look at Tolomon. Tolomon used the opportunity to again wipe the blood from his nose before he looked at Nathaniel, his face impossible to read.
The devil laughed as he jumped into the air, floating fifteen feet above them again, closing his eyes as he held his arms out, not concerned one of them hung at an angle. The howling wind picked up, blowing through the broken windows and wall of the Cathedral. Martin again covered his face to keep the bits of glass from cutting him.
A dagger stuck out of the devil’s foot, expertly thrown by Tolomon. “Coward! Come fight us!”
“No, I don’t think I will,” the devil said before a blizzard of ice and snow threw itself into the Cathedral.
Martin ran forward, the whiteness almost blinding as he reached forward and felt Nathaniel, grabbing his shoulder. “Son! Are you alright?”
He said nothing, gripping his sword and shield, looking at Martin before trying to see the devil through the whiteout inside the Cathedral. He was still in a state of shock. “She’s not here to defend whatever memories he showed you,” Martin said, placing another hand on his shoulder to keep his son’s gaze. “He only showed you what he wanted to show you. Please, give Rosa and Tolomon the benefit of the doubt.”
Nathaniel nodded, gripping his sword again. “You’re right. Thank you.”
The blizzard slowed to a thick snowfall as the devil dropped to the ground with seven daggers in his feet, shoulders, and arms. Martin turned to see Fadrique standing at the doorway, his arms out, staring in horror at what was going on.
“You were serious? He’s possessed?”
“Keep the weather under control,” Martin shouted. “Where is Dalius?”
“How should I know?” Fadrique asked before he closed his eyes, straining with the pressure the devil was throwing at the weather. The snow continued to fall, but Martin could at least see.
The devil cackled as he pulled daggers from his feet and arms. “You are so willing to hurt your friend, Tolomon.”
He didn’t let him continue. He leapt at the devil with his two swords, throwing every ounce of strength into keeping the devil distracted. Nathaniel joined, and once again it was a blur of movement, the men almost dancing around the devil with their metal, and the devil barely keeping up. The weather dropped completely, and though it was still cold, the snow ceased to fall.
Once again Martin felt the corruption build. He threw his hands out, keeping it contained, but the devil began to cut through it. Martin threw a shield at the devil, just past Nathaniel and Tolomon, blocking the ooze that spilled from the devil’s hands. The devil began to scream in frustration as Martin sensed something. He looked up to see, just outside the broken glass and wall, Navir kneeling on the ground, his eyes closed, sweat pouring down his face, keeping whatever corruptive powers at bay. Dalius had to get here soon. He was always late, but it was only a matter of time now.
Nathaniel disarmed the devil as Tolomon gave him a good, firm kick to the ground. The devil hit the marble ground, and Tolomon expertly pinned him. Nathaniel helped keep him down.
The devil laughed, sounding in pain, yet still laughing. Martin threw a shield over the devil. The temperature fluctuated from freezing to burning hot as Fadrique was on his knees, trying to keep things under control.
“You will never defeat me, Martin,” the devil said, laughing again. Martin said nothing, not daring to speak to the devil. “Would you like to know the future? Dear, dear Martin the Healer. High Elder of God’s Holy Church?” Martin tried to keep his face steady. “Do you want to know how your son here reacts when he finds out what you did? Would you like to know the mental anguish he will feel when he’s told. Nothing you do or say will prepare him for the moment he losses all respect for you.”
“That will never happen!” Nathaniel shouted.
The devil laughed again. “Oh, I would love to tell you what he’s done right now, just to prove you wrong, but that means you’d do everything in your power to end it. And I’d still like it to keep going for a while yet. It brings far too many souls to hell. The hate they have toward your father is delicious.”
“Enough!” Martin shouted.
“I will get those you love!” the devil shouted. “I will crack this shield, just like I’ve cracked your marriage.” Martin refused to acknowledge him. “Such a wonderful position I have you in. Ignore Inessa, you keep Sara. Keep Inessa from her isolation, you lose Sara.” The shield around the devil flickered.
“Enough,” Martin forced himself to say again, not nearly as confident.
The devil laughed. “You know how many demons watch you rape her every month?”
Martin closed his eyes, his brows furrowing. “That’s not what I’m doing to her.”
“It’s what all of you are doing,” the devil said loudly enough to carry to Navir outside. “Raping women to fulfill your carnal pleasures. The younger the better, right Fadrique?”
Martin kept his eyes shut, focusing on his power, the shield growing. The devil cackled. He opened an eye to see the corruptive power filling the space within, trying to suck the shield away.
“Sir!” Tolomon said.
“I can hold him.”
The devil was beside himself with glee, hiding in the darkness under the shield.
“Father! He’s killing Indenuel! Lift the shield!” Nathaniel shouted.
Martin dropped the shield immediately, seeing Indenuel’s body seizing in pain while the devil laughed. “I feel it. I can actually feel it!”
The pain shot to Tolomon and Nathaniel. Tolomon screamed while Nathaniel dropped to the ground, eyes closed, looking as pale as death. Martin’s heart grew cold.