Chapter 14: Shadow surfer

Amon's body turned into golden light particles as he harmlessly passed through the sea of monsters. They attempted to attack him, hacking, slashing, yet it was as if he was not there. As if he was on a different plane. A few seconds and a far distance later, Amon's figure emerged as he materialized before an ancient church.

"Found you~" His mouth curled upwards as he stepped towards the large closed doors.

Before he could reach it, however, a loud explosion ensued as the door blasted into countless tiny pieces. Shielding his eyes Amon's body turned hazy once again. The golden light surrounded him just in time as a figure slashed at his head.

His sword moved to intercept the attack almost immediately. A loud clang followed by a shockwave sent him tumbling backward. Amon took a second to straighten up and glared at the newcomer. A hooded figure stood before him, the stranger's features hiding behind the shadows.

Amon, however, was able to see past his hood. An ancient-looking man with mummified skin. His eye sockets were empty, and his mouth sewed shut. The very sight of him was enough to make most men cower in fear. Yet Amon laughed instead. His voice boomed as he glared at the man.

"Well, well, well. A shadow surfer. No wonder you were so shy." He chuckled as he circled the strange man.

The hooded figure reluctantly pulled back his robes, exposing his shriveled head. His dark empty eyes eerily followed Amon, almost as if he could actually see him. For a second, both of them stood there unmoving as they faced one another. The distant sound of a monster's roar marked the start of the battle as the mummified man made the first move.

His body jumped into the shadows of the church, moving with surprising grace. Amon's eyes did not lose him; he watched as the demon closed in on him, jumping from one shadow to another. Amon stood there unmoving, waiting for his chance. The second the demon attempted to jump towards Amon's shadow was when he finally made his move. The sword sang as he stabbed at his shadow, where the shadow surfer tried to take him by surprise.

The sound of metal meeting metal resounded as the shadow surfer used his long nails to parry Amon's sword strike. Seeing that his sneak attack had failed, he turned heel and tried to jump back to the shadows. Amon's lips curled upwards at that; "Oh, no, you don't!"

His body suddenly shone brightly, expelling the shadows and causing the demon to shake in pain. "You don't like that do you?"

The shadow surfer kept retreating, trying to avoid Amon, who was slowly walking towards him. The Abyss dweller's figure flashed as he appeared mere inches before the demon, catching him by surprise. The shadow surfer instantly attacked with his claws aiming for Amon's eyes, yet his attack harmlessly passed through him.

Not one to waste any time, Amon plunged his sword into the demon's chest, making him shake in pain as he relished in the suffering of his opponent. Amon's eyes flashed brightly with a hint of madness as he glared at the empty eye sockets of the shadow surfer.

The demon threw his head back; his sewed mouth tore open as countless horrendous insects crawled out; a deep inhuman roar escaped his mouth. Without waiting for him to continue, Amon viciously headbutted the demon, cutting his screams short.

"Shut the fuck up, you ugly bastard!"

Glaring at him, Amon slowly twisted his sword and roared:

"Go back to whatever hell you crawled out from!" With a sudden yank, the shadow surfer tumbled to the ground. His body began to bloat as golden light escaped his eyes and mouth. Summoning a light shield before him, Amon watched as the monster kept expanding until finally, he exploded with a bang sending flesh and blood all over the place.

"Well, that was nasty. But you, you were weak. You can't be the one that summoned all of these monsters. You can't hide them from me, not at that level, so where is the bastard hiding behind the scenes, like a rat." Amon muttered as he kneeled before the remains of the shadow surfer.

Amidst all the flesh and blood, was a single white crystal looking out of place. Amon absent-mindedly grabbed it and threw it in his mouth.

A sudden bright light illuminated the area, followed by Marquis's voice, "What the fuck Amon?! That's nasty! At least wash that!"

"Oops, you saw that?"

Clicking his tongue, Marquis landed before Amon with a thud as he replied, "And I wish I didn't. I came as soon as I could. What did I miss?"

Pointing at the mess of limbs and blood, Amon spoke:

"Shadow surfer," he then motioned towards the deeper part of the ruined city and continued, "Abyss minions."

Marquis released a sigh, walked over, and tapped Amon's shoulder, "First, try to calm down. Your aura is all over the place."

Taking a deep breath, Amon closed his eyes the golden light that surrounded him slowly dimmed before it disappeared. When he opened them again, the madness that seemed to hide in their depths was no more.

"The bastards are back."

"Any strong ones?" Asked Marquis.

Amon quickly shook his head and replied, "That's what I don't understand. There are none. I mean, yes, the shadow surfer would have caused mayhem if left unchecked, but he was still weak. The problem is I couldn't sense their presence until they were already on me."

A serious look overtook Marquis's face as he solemnly nodded, "Let's take out the trash first, then we'll look for whoever is pulling the strings."

"After you, princess." Grinned Amon.

"Oh, piss off."

With that, the duo disappeared in a bright flash of light. Amon's figure materialized before the horde of monsters that seemed to be rushing after him. With his sword in hand, he waited for them to come with a savage grin.

Before he could do anything, Marquis appeared in the air, standing on top of a light spear. "Don't do it! That's cheating!" Amon's eyes widened as he cried out.

Marquis smirked before he raised his hand and pointed downwards. Behind him, hundreds of golden spears appeared out of the void and rained down on the monsters. Explosions ensued, quickly followed by bestial roars of pain.

The monsters stood no chance.

"That's not fair." Amon standing a distance away muttered, disheartened.