Chapter 6

Henry wasn’t really sure what he expected to happen. Then again, how would anyone really prepare themselves for the situation he was in? The world had just been turned upside down on him, and he was trying to process everything going on. So, watching an epic monster battle take place in a rift between dimensions…yeah, pretty unpredictable. That being said, if he’d had any expectations, they were blown away quite quickly.

Loki’s battle plan had been simple. Somehow, the exorcists had already known what type of Tiered Demon was approaching. Something about each demon giving off a certain frequency, almost like digital data. The exorcists were able to identify what was coming through a rift thanks to that information.

Knowing it was a Larpen, they formulated a plan to take the creature down without allowing it to utilize its strengths. As Loki had mentioned, the Larpen’s main strengths were its raw physical power, tough defenses, and the caustic saliva it had. With the D.E.D. at their disposal, Loki hand crafted a battle plan for victory.

First, it was up to the scarred ones to immobilize the larpen. Apparently, depending on how powerful of an exorcist you were, that is, how well you resonated with the frequencies of the other dimension, you could form bonds with a differing amount of D.E.D. at a time, dependent on their individual strengths of course. The Exorcists had developed a ranking system for the D.E.D., and as such, there was actual a scale of how many ‘D.E.D. Points’ a D.E.D. cost to summon, and an individual’s D.E.D. Points dictated their classification in the organization.

Low tiered Exorcists had a rating of under 100 D.E.D. Points. Mid tiered ranged widely from 101 to 500, and High tiered had 500+. That was the little bit Loki had mentioned to Henry, though Loki had refused to inform Henry what Loki’s D.E.D. Points maxed out at. Additionally, Henry still didn’t know what his own D.E.D. Point limit was. Though apparently you could increase your limit over time and experience. All of which Henry was informed he would learn through his initiation.

At the very least, having over 101 D.E.D. Points implied each Scarred One should have multiple D.E.D. at their disposal, or at least a very powerful singular D.E.D. And because the type of Tiered Demon arriving was known in advance, the members selected for the mission had been picked based off their D.E.D. collections.

Meaning each and every one of the Scarred Ones had D.E.D. that came with ranged, magical abilities. Specially, they’d been selected because they had magical abilities capable of ensnaring, immobilizing, or otherwise trapping their target. So, while the D.E.D. they’d summoned appeared different, a menagerie of monsters of sorts, all the skills and attacks they were using were meant to hinder the larpen.

One attack launched towards the larpen encased its hind legs in ice. Another caused a sticky webbing to launch towards it, ensnaring its front right forearm. Even more attacks came on against the creature, encasing bits of him in heavy, earth like materials. The most interesting of the Scarred Ones had a D.E.D. that looked somewhat humanoid, who actually threw a massive, weighted bolas type rope towards the larpen. The rope masterfully closed off the Larpen’s jaws.

The moment after the Scarred Ones began their attacks, the Jokers joined in. Jokers were stronger than Scarred Ones according to Loki, though Henry didn’t know by how much. Regardless, while the Scarred Ones stood back, commanding their D.E.D. to launch their crowd control styled attacks, the Jokers rushed forward. As they did, Henry noticed they summoned larger, tankier type D.E.D. Their chosen demon companions were all covered in heavy armor or thick fur, scales, or flesh. Their job, for the fight, was to keep the Larpen’s full attention and to ensure he could not attack the Scarred Ones.

This meant putting their D.E.D. in danger, but they still readily accepted their orders. One thing Henry noticed about the whole group was how they completely trusted Loki, and not a single one questioned Loki’s battle plan. Henry didn’t know how many times they’d all fought together, but they were acting flawlessly as a cohesive unit.

With the larpen hindered by the Scarred Ones, and occupied with the tanky D.E.D. of the Jokers, Loki joined the fray. Loki, the only unique masked one in the group, took on the task of killing the larpen, personally. And as Henry watched Loki calmly walk into the battle, he had to admit, Loki’s confidence was not misplaced.

The grim by Loki’s side was incredibly fast, quickly outpacing Loki to rush ahead. Its sleek form moved with unparalleled agility as it bobbed and weaved between the other D.E.D., using its claws and teeth to strike the larpen over and over again. Even from a distance, Henry could see wounds opening on the Larpen, a neon green ooze flowing from each wound that was opened.

In fact, as Henry watched, he was pretty this fight was in the bag. They’d talked up the dangers of the Tiered Demon, and yet they were easily cutting it down. From what he could see, this fight was going to be over in an instant.

And yet, he couldn’t’ have been more mistaken.

While the wounds being inflicted on the Larpen were many, none were cutting very deep. After all, the creature was massive, and covered in scaled armor. As the attacks continued, Henry noticed the flow of essence the larpen was sending through the rift seemed to lessen. With the flow slowed, the Larpen’s body began to glow, and its form gained mass.

The creature let out a wild, dark roar, and suddenly the skills and techniques being used to hold its form down weren’t as effective. Ice cracked, weights were thrown off, and bright liquid bubbled and frothed from its closed mouth, burning quickly through the binding placed over it. With a mighty roar the Larpen swept aside one of the tanky D.E.D like it was nothing, sending the thing hurtling off into the distance. A loud thud and a whimper said that attack had done a lot of damage.

Still, Loki called out to his teammates, and the attacks continued. The grim moved even quicker, darting rapidly to and fro, avoiding swinging limbs and blasts of acid to keep striking. At the same time, even as the grim held its own against the larpen, Loki paused. A glowing around Loki’s fingertips caught Henry’s attention, and a moment later a pentagram appeared in front of Loki.

The tanky D.E.D and their exorcist handlers moved to protect Loki, who’s actions had drawn the full attention of the larpen. It ignored the grim striking at it and let out an enraged roar. With more speed than Henry had expected of the creature, it began barreling towards Loki. Whatever it was Loki was doing, the larpen knew it was bad. Whatever Loki was doing had the Tiered Demon concerned.

Unfortunately, even as it rushed towards Loki, the other exorcists doubled down on their attacks. Every single skill and ability the Scarred One’s D.E.D. had were thrown at the larpen, while the tanky D.E.D. all stood their ground, using their forms as shields and obstacles before the Tiered Demon. And of course, the grim continued its relentless attacks. With the larpen on the move, it exposed its hindquarters and tendons…if demons had tendons…and the grim took advantage of this fact. Bright green blood splashed all around its back legs as the grim latched on, and the demon dog did its best to slow the Larpen’s advance.

Loki didn’t even bother looking at the creature. The whole time, Loki’s masked face was directed towards the pentagram, and whatever it was he was doing. Then, the glowing light intensified, and from the pentagram before Loki a massive shape appeared. It was larger, much larger, than the grim that was still holding tight to the larpen. And while the grim seemed like a demon dog, this creature Loki summoned appeared to be a wolf, though its size was greater even than the Larpen’s.

The wolf’s glowing red eyes glanced once at Loki, and in them, Henry saw resentment. Whatever it was Loki had just summoned, it was not happy with its circumstances. There was a battle of wills for a long moment, before the creature turned to face the larpen. The lizard headed demon opened its mouth, launching the yellow acid towards the black, giant wolf. Henry winced. That acid, if it made contact, would end the wolf. After all, it could instantly melt flesh according to Loki.

In response the wolf opened its mouth and let out a massive roar of its own. Visible wind ripped from its mouth, rushing towards the larpen, catching the acid, and sending it flying harmlessly away. The Tiered Demon winced at the roar but continued on. However, the creature Loki had summoned seemed to have already grown tired of the situation. With impossible speed the wolf blew past the tanky D.E.D. the exorcists had been using to protect Loki. Wind swirled around the massive wolf as it moved, energy crackled, and a gleaming silver sword appeared in its mouth. The giant wolf twisted its head, angling the blade ever so slightly, as it rushed past the larpen.

It happened in a split second, and even as the wolf passed the larpen, the blade disappearing from its mouth, the black wolf started to fade. In a mere instance, the giant creature Loki had summoned disappeared, so quickly Henry could have imagined it. Yet, there was one clear form of evidence remaining of its existence. The Larpen’s form had a glowing green line running across its body, and after a few moments of silence, it slid, split cleanly in two by Loki’s creature’s attack.

As the larpen pieces hit the ground, its body faded away into an essence like substance, leaving only the exorcists and their D.E.D. remaining. The Scarred Ones and Jokers began cheering, but even as they did, Loki’s form stumbled, and only the sudden arrival of the grim by his side kept him from falling to the ground. They’d gained victory, but whatever had happened, had drained Loki.

After witnessing the whole battle Henry could only come to a single conclusion. Without Loki there, the exorcists wouldn’t have been able to bring the larpen down. Without whatever it was Loki had summoned, this fight wouldn’t have been won.

Which created two new questions for Henry’s list of things that likely weren’t going to get answered tonight. One, what the hell had Loki summoned. And two, just how powerful was Loki, and how many members like Loki were there in the D.E.D. Exorcists Organization?