Karl Brunett

Pain seared through my thigh as I failed to roll away from the Midnight Wolf’s latest attempt to pin me down with its massive claws. I hissed in pain as the wolf snarled and doubled down on its attack with a sideways snap of its large jaws. Rather than rolling away I pressed hard on the balls of my feet and launched myself backwards into the air to lightly land on the roof of a slowly corroding F-150.

Henry and Albert took the opportunity to pound the wolf with rifle fire. Plasma bolts smashed into the monster’s flank with the sizzle of flesh and fur. The creature attempted to flinch away and continue its charge in my direction when the heavy fifty caliber round from Albert’s prized rifle smashed into his cheek, removing a large chunk of fur and flesh to expose the yellowed skull underneath.

The Midnight Wolf spun around to charge Albert’s position, barking and snarling in rage. I pressed off the top of the truck with enough force to shove the two-ton vehicle backwards several feet as I interposed myself in front of the pissed off animal. It attempted to side step me but I had already activated [Reaper’s Cleave], my axes slid sideways into its meaty chest. Red blood sprayed into my face from the savage wound and I attempted to follow up my attack to find the massive wolf had hopped back behind the burnt-out husk of a compact car.

Henry moved to reposition, carefully avoiding the fight between Andras and Keeg. Explosions of ice, the sizzle of void energy, and blinding holy radiance squared off against baleful hellfire. Cars and trucks were tossed around as the Dark Elf fought blade to blade with the large hell spawn. Meanwhile the low growl of the Midnight Wolf reminded me to focus on my own fight. He stalked low, keeping his head below the edge of the row of abandoned cars to protect himself from Albert’s rifle.

I lowered my stance to match the wolf’s, my axes held to either side as we stared at each other and moved down the line of cars. In my peripheral vision I saw Henry and Albert climbing on top of one of the various box trucks that dotted the lot. The violently intelligent wolf saw the movement as well as I did and decided to slam one of the cars between us in my direction.

I quickly sidestepped away from the pile of screeching and sparking metal as it slid in my direction. The wolf barked and hopped forward to smash another vehicle at me. After about the third car shaped projectile was smashed my way, I sprinted ahead of the wolf and kicked the next car ahead of him with all my strength. The front end lifted up slightly from the force of my blow and shot forward to cut off the wolf’s advance.

The wolf mounted the car in anger and caught another fifty-caliber round on its flank, its head swung in Albert’s direction and glared with luminescent yellow eyes. Taking advantage of its distraction I charged up the hood of the car and activated [Cheap Shot] and [Brutal Strike] and landed a vicious double handed strike against the forward flank of the beast. More blood sprayed from the wide wounds and I quickly stepped through the crimson shower to kick the wolf hard in the side.

It tumbled off the top of the vehicle, blood fountaining into the air and landing hard on its back across the cement. I slid down to deliver the killing blow against the Midnight Wolf to be greeted with a buzz saw of feet and claws. I stumbled in my advance and fell back myself, catching several large gashes in my arms and legs. “FUCKER!” I screamed in pain and fell back to create distance from the wounded beast.

“DUCK!” Henry yelled from the roof of the box truck behind me. I laid flat where I had fell backwards and rolled to the side as a steady stream of bright green plasma streaked over my head and pummeled the Midnight Wolf’s soft guts. The smell of burning flesh and fur reached my sinuses and caused me to slightly retch.

Soon the magazine on the Heavy Plasma Rifle went dry and the stream of plasma ceased, leaving a residual heat shimmer between the wolf and myself. I quickly gained my feet and stared through the smoke and heat, looking for any kind of movement. When I didn’t see any, I moved forward to closer inspect the wolf to verify the kill.

“The fuck?” Stepping through smoke I found only blood and scorched marks where the wolf had previously been.

The sound of the animal's claws clacking unevenly across the asphalt to my right alerted me to its limping retreat. I hopped on top of the nearest car and found the target of my ire glaring over its shoulder as it looked for a place to retreat to. I walked casually toward the defeated wolf and she rolled over in submission and whimpered, exposing her already ravaged stomach. So, you’re done fighting, are you?

Henry and Albert walked up on either side of me and stared down at the submitting wolf. She glanced at the two new arrivals, but knew I was the one that held her hands.

“She recognizes you as the Alpha. You decide if she dies or leaves.” Albert said plainly.

“Seems she was subdued by that big bastard out there, not her fault, only doing what she’s ordered.” Henry added casually.

I considered the two Hunter’s advice and stared into the pleading yellow eyes of the Midnight Wolf and for some reason couldn’t bring myself to end her. I didn’t suspect she would be particularly grateful, but I wasn’t the type to kick a dog when its down.

“Go.” The wolf stared at me carefully for a long moment then rolled to her feet and quickly limped off into the shattered woods. An explosion of power and the crash of cars and trucks snatched our attention back to the fight between Keeg and Andras. “Let’s go finish this big bastard.”

Keeg

The enraged Dark Elf man was shoved back in a furious clash of steel and magic. Holy heat radiated from his body and rage colored his eyes. The demon, Andras, laughed at the smaller man while deflecting magic attacks from Carly and Stephen. “Just give up, little Dark Elf. Your God has left you, even now your power wanes. Become my Knight and I will return your wife and daughter to you.”

Keeg responded by tensing his legs and launching forward in a flurry of attacks that the demon deflected with ease. It released a rumbling chuckle as the enraged Dark Elf spent his rage against Andras’ massive sword. A wall of ice sprung up between Elf and Demon causing Keeg to look around frantically, bewildered by its sudden appearance.

“GOD DAMN IT KEEG! HE’S GETTING INTO YOUR FUCKING HEAD! SNAP THE FUCK OUT OF IT!” Carly screamed from behind him, straining her magic to keep the demon at bay.

“HE’S WORKING HIS WAY OUT OF THE GRAVITY FIELD! WE NEED KEEG BACK IN THE FIGHT!” Stephen called out in warning.

Carly ran up and put a frigid hand on Keeg’s shoulder, the man flinched but stared straight through the barrier of ice she’d created as if looking at it would will it to disappear. “I don’t know what that giant fuck is rambling about, but he’s in your head and you need to kick him out. We can’t take him without you or Karl, and Kal and the Hunters are busy with this bastard's mount. We need you.”

Keeg’s stared for a long moment as the sound of ice shattering as the force of the demon's sword strikes echoed across their battlefield. Carly was about to speak again when she felt the tension in the larger man’s shoulders ease slightly. He cocked his head a bit to look behind him at the young frost mage and released a heavy sigh, then quietly responded, “You’re causing frostbite, and... you are correct.”

Carly released his shoulder and spoke quickly as the demon was about to break through the ice barrier she’d erected, “Keep him busy, in one spot if you can, I need a few seconds to charge a spell.”

Keeg nodded back to the girl in acknowledgement just as Andras’ sword crashed through the ice barrier flinging shards of ice in every direction. Carly created distance while Stephen unleashed a [Particle Wave]. The wave of charged particles washed over the demon’s body causing his skin to darken or sizzle in spots. Armor struck by the wave was merely tarnished, not broken. Stephen frowned as the demon laughed at his attack.

Keeg muttered a silent prayer to his god then shouted, “[Holy Chains of Mork]!”

The ground began to rumble and crack in several places around Andras. The demon looked around in shock as long, thick chains of holy white light burst forth from the cracks in the ground and proceeded to wrap around his arms, legs, and waist. He strained against the holy implements and roared his displeasure. Keeg’s eyes widened as the demon seemed to be physically overpowering his magic and he shouted his warning, “THEY WON’T HOLD FOR LONG!”

“[Mass Manipulation]!” Stephen shouted behind him and proceeded to increase the total mass of the demon by several magnitudes. Now, not only was he being restrained by holy magic, but he was also fighting against the suddenly increased mass of his own body. Still the monstrous demon roared and strained the magical chains that bound him.

“I NEED ANOTHER SECOND!” Carly yelled, her body radiating an unnatural cold that condensed the scant particles of water vapor around here into a gentle, cool mist. Her eyes shone like great blue beacons of light as she stared into the dark sky, fixated on something only she could see.

Stephen launched several [Gravity Spikes] while Courtney took carefully placed shots with her laser pistol that appeared to do little to the giant demon. Her presence in the battle thus far had been limited largely to support as she had very few offensive options, and fewer still that were effective against demons and undead.

Keeg could see that Andras was about to break free of his restraints so he readied himself for their next clash. I won’t let the monster goad me again. He steeled his resolve, despite the pain of not knowing whether or not the demon spoke truly of his family. He had been separated from his wife and daughter when the undead swarmed. He had spent the last three weeks believing they had long since passed. His heart hoped that the demon was lying about their deaths, but he also knew that despite what one would think, demons, true demons, don’t lie. And Andras had all the telltale signs of a true demon.

Just as it appeared the demon would free itself Carly called out into the dark sky, “[ICE METEOR]!”

Everyone looked into the sky, even Andras, panic set in on his face as he expected to be instantly smote by thousands of tons of ice. When the impending doom of rock and ice didn’t instantly fall on his head, he began to laugh as Carly collapsed from the mental strain of the spell she just called upon. Courtney was there in an instant providing healing support and dragging the woman behind a truck.

“What the hell was that!? All bark and no bite. You’re all going to die by my sword...” Andras stopped monologuing in frustration as he realized everyone’s attention was still on the sky above him. Stephen’s eyes squinted then shouted a warning to Keeg as he began to backpedal to Courtney and Carly.

“BACK! NOW!”

Keeg responded to the urgency in his voice and fell back to their position where Stephen instantly erected an [Electromagnetic Shield] around the group. Andras looked around suspiciously and began to taunt them all again just as the dark roiling clouds opened miles above him to reveal a potentially world ending ball of ice and rock hurtling through the atmosphere at thousands of miles per hour.

Andras was only able to stare in shock as the city sized chunk of ice crashed into his position with all the fury of a million runaway freight trains. For a moment it seemed like time stood still, then the first super-heated shockwave rolled over the parking lot lifting asphalt, car, and man into the air and throwing them away from the impact site to smash against a low hill nearly a quarter mile away. Keeg thought he briefly saw Karl and the Hunters tumbling through the air in the opposite direction just before his body bored through the dirt and rock of the hill they had impacted.

He can’t remember the sound of the impact because he’s pretty certain the pressure ruptured his ear drums before his brain could categorize what was most definitely a deafening roar. Somehow, he managed to remain conscious and painfully dug himself out of the ground to find a scene of chaos the likes of which he’d never seen before. Just how the fuck did she get a spell this powerful!?

Where Andras once stood was now a crater several dozen meters deep and nearly a half mile in diameter. The Home Depot that once stood at the other end of the lot simply ceased to be. All the cars and truck they had been fighting around were gone, either vaporized or thrown burning into the woods or city around them. A ring of fire was slowly extending into the distance, fat flakes of burning ash floated lazily in the air around them.

To Keeg’s surprise he spotted the form of Andras still in one piece, collapsed to his hands and knees in the middle of the crater. Then his surprise increased as the demon began to slowly move, broken armor plates falling off the demon radiating heat and smoke as they hit the ground around him. He rocked back on his knees and pulled more broken pieces of armor from his body and stared up at the sky that was quickly sealing over with the signature black clouds that had previously announced the introduction of the terrors they now faced.

An exploision of rock and dirt to his left distracted his attention from the impossible demon and he smiled as Stephen used his magic to force his way out of the hillside. Courtney dragged Carly’s still spent form out of the hole coughing and hacking for a fresh lungful of air.

“Fuck, he’s still alive?” Stephen muttered as he spotted Andras slowly rising from his kneeling position.

“He’s hurt. We need to finish this, I think I saw Karl and the rest of our party tumbling off that way, we are on our own for now.” Keeg pointed in the direction where he’d last saw their other three companions being dragged off by hurricane force winds then shifted his gaze back towards Andras, still struggling to gain his feet, “Let us remove this abomination while he’s weakened.”

With that last statement Keeg pressed firmly in the ground with his lead foot and rocketed down the slope to smash fully into Andras before he could regain his senses. His shield caught the eagle faced demon on the beak and he smiled satisfactorily to the sound of bone cracking at the impact. Andras howled as he was spun over backwards to skip across the inclination of the crater.

The demon flipped to his feet on his final bounce and released a desperate roar from within his broken face. The last of the ruined bits of armor fell from his body to leave him bare except for a loin cloth. His massive sword had blown away in the meteor impact, though the massive clawed hands were weapons in their own right. Andras glared daggers at Keeg then looked to where Courtney was tending to the unconscious ice mage.

He flexed his shoulders and a pair of majestic black and white wings unfurled from his back with a loud snap. Before Keeg could engage the demon he’d already lifted from the ground and began a missile like trajectory to remove the being that had caused him such pain from existence. Keeg began pumping his legs hard to reach his previous position on the hill when a dark beam of void energy lanced up from the ground and sheered Andras’ left wing from his shoulder.

The demon screamed his pain and landed surprisingly gracefully in front of Stephen with a heavy thud. Before Keeg could reach the fight, Andras had Stephen in his massive clawed right hand. He held him tightly and began to squeeze. For all the pain the youth must have been in he just smiled as he brought a brightly glowing hand up to the demon’s elbow and muttered through grit teeth, “[Sol’s Touch]”.

Just before the young man was to have his neck crushed in the giant demon's grasp, a light like staring at the sun flared where Stephen had placed his hand. When the spots had cleared his eyes, he saw where Stephen had landed and already began to scramble painfully back to their groups’ healer. Andras, on the other hand, stood in shock staring at where his right arm now ended just above the elbow. The removal had been so quick the demon didn’t have time to recognize the pain.

Keeg roared at the demon, “[DIVINE MIGHT]! [MORKS SEARING ALACRITY]! [JUDGEMENT]!” His body surged three separate times with divine light as he quickly buffed himself with abilities he’d never used in conjunction before for fear of what effect it would have on his body. The first boosted his strength by 50 points, the second boosted his agility by another 50 points, and the third infused his armor and weapons with the Divine Judgement of his patron deity, Mork, the Merciless Avenger.

He surged forward feeling the temporary adjustments to his attributes and deciding he should have done this a long time ago. There was just the slightest amount of pain as his tendons and muscles flexed and strained in ways they hadn’t been properly prepared for. The demon seemed to respond to his advance in slow motion and failed to evade or block his first attack which slid smoothly across his exposed stomach, revealing black and steaming guts to the hot Arizona air.

Keeg followed that attack with a spinning shield smash aimed for the demon’s knee that connected with explosive force. Andras’ knee shattered on impact which lost him the ability to maneuver, but not the ability to fight back. He swung his left hand with claws extended in a vicious swipe aimed to tear out Keeg’s throat. Keeg simply leaned back with his enhanced agility and let the attack breeze past his face and thrust forward with his sword cleanly piercing Andras’ chest.

“[Pillar of Light]”

Holy light lanced down through the body of Andras to connect with the end of his sword. The great demon screamed in pain as the holy energy vaporized all the organs in his chest cavity. Keeg stared directly into the demon’s eyes as he writhed in agony, unable to break free from the Paladins holy fire. Smoke drifted from Andras’ mouth and black blood leaked from his eyes as the life left his body.

Keeg twisted his sword and wrenched it free, where Andras’ body finally slumped over face first, dead. He turned to attend to the other members of his party when he saw a finger twitch from the corner of his eyes and focused his attention on the demon's body. Another finger twitched after a moment of staring and Keeg grimaced.

“Hmmmm. Better safe than sorry.” Keeg raised his sword just before the timer on his previous buffs ran out and cleanly severed Andras’ head from his shoulders. He watched for a minute to ensure no more movement was registered in the body, satisfied that there was truly no life left in the fel creature he returned to his previous task with a smile, “That’s better.”