Page 49 of Unbinding the Demon

The freezing wind blew through my wispy bangs as I stood among the sea of burning corpses and scorched earth. Belzar stood protectively beside me, with black, putrid blood dripping from his muzzle and soaking through his fur. Sparks crackled up from the charred human remains around us. They swirled up into the deep midnight-blue sky until the frigid air extinguished their fiery life force.

The front of the church was burning, casting a warm glow across the ground. The barren branches of the small Japanese maple swayed in the breeze while the flames flickered and licked at the building behind it. Shadows from the branches danced ominously upon the dead, like the grasping fingers of wraiths attempting to snatch up their souls.

Tension coiled in my gut as the alien, godzilla-like creature let out a bone-chilling screech. It lunged at Azathoth, its colossal jaws snapping like a snare, menacing and monstrous. With a mischievous swoop, he darted at it before soaring away, luring it from our midst. With each thunderous step, its massive hind legs shook the ground. It launched after Azathoth like a relentless predator in pursuit, hungry for the chase.

The moment Azathoth was a suitable distance away, more of the corrupted began slowly emerging from the soughing trees. It seemed as if they had been patiently waiting for him to leave, like opportunistic ticks hidden within the tall swaying grass. There weren’t as many as before, but certainly a lot. Fear and dread washed over me. My gaze shifted from the corrupted to Lacey and William, who were still watching the creature in disbelief. They stood hand in hand, frozen in shock.

Fuck, they need to snap out of it!

“Guys!” I shouted to grab their attention, springing into motion.

With my arms flailing like a windmill, I raced toward them, moving like a whirlwind of desperation. As I jumped over and around the crispy bodies, relief from the immense fear I had been unknowingly suppressing washed over me.

Lacey and William were alive! They weren’t corrupted, nor among the dead. Tears of gratitude spilled down my cheeks as I hurried over to them. William turned around and saw me, then he nudged Lacey with excitement. She whipped around, and they both began running toward me as well.

“Gwendolyn!” Lacey shouted as she stumbled over a blackened corpse.

“Gwenny-Love!” William grabbed my shoulders and shook me like a madman the moment we were reunited. Minor cuts peppered his face, and his appearance was wildly disheveled, making him look like a filthy, paranoid crackhead who had just been attacked by a mob of angry raccoons.

“I think someone laced my weed!” His crazed eyes darted all around my face.

“For the millionth time, no one laced your goddamn weed!” Lacey hissed, then latched her arms around me in a panicked hug while panting from breathlessness. “Oh, my god! I’m so glad you’re okay!” She squeezed, then looked into my eyes with desperation. “Do you know what’s going on!? Or what that thing is!?” She pointed to the... lloigor? I think that’s what Azathoth had called it. “And what’s the deal with Ashton turning into a fucking demon!?”

They were both clutching onto me with suffocating grips. I would have been fine with it, but a bunch of corrupted were slowly approaching. We didn’t have time for explanations or a heartfelt reunion.

“I’m really, really glad you guys are okay too.” I gently shook them off. “But there’s no time to explain anything!” I rushed my words, but then proceeded to explain anyway as I pointed to the creature off in the distance. “I’m not sure what the fuck that thing is, but I’m sure Ashton’s going to kill it! And yes, he’s secretly a demon. His real name is Azathoth. Aunt Elowynn summoned him out of The Abyss!” They both stared at me with confused and downright dumbstruck expressions. Then their gazes shifted back and forth to one another.

Belzar growled as he mauled a few snarling corrupted, bringing our attention back to the perilous situation at hand. He tore the bodies limb from limb with his lethal jaws. Body parts and entrails sprayed out around him, soaking the ground with blackened, rotten blood.

“What the fuck?” Lacey’s wide, fearful eyes stared over at him. Horror took over her features the moment she realized we were slowly and subtly being surrounded.

“Don’t worry! That’s just Belzar. He’ll protect us.” I pointed to him as I reassured them, since they were understandably terrified. The corrupted were closing in, so I took out both of my swords. The shiny metal blades reflected in the flickering orange firelight as I held one up for them to take. “Quick! One of you should take my extra sword. They’re really good at killing the zombies.”

Lacey put her hands up, her body tense, while shaking her head and stepping back. “William, you should take it. I wouldn’t know how to use that thing.”

“Don’t worry, bitches. I got this,” William said with a determined expression. “I practiced using blades for a whole fucking month to prepare for my sword swallowing performance, so I’ve got some damn good moves.” He snatched the sword from me with confidence, then stared in awe at the otherworldly sight of it. “Where in the hell did you even get these?” he drawled as he ogled the blade.

I whipped around and stabbed a corrupted right in the face, turning it to ash. “They were a gift from a friendly undead prince in the Abyss. I’ll explain later!” I slashed through another one’s chest. “Lacey, stay close to me!”

William’s eyes bugged out of his head once he saw what the swords could do. In a sudden frenzy, he thrust it skyward like a maniac. With wild screams echoing from him, he flailed it around, taking out several of the corrupted in his chaotic wake. “Eeeaaahh! Take that!... Haha! And that!”

We were both downright mediocre at wielding swords. We surely would have been dead already if the blades weren’t magic or if Belzar wasn’t mauling most of the corrupted before they got to us. But it was still pretty cool fighting zombies alongside William. His wavy hair danced in the wind, while the blade glimmered and flashed in the firelight from the burning bodies. He dramatically slashed and spun, reminding me of a Viking on the battlefield.

Although Lacey didn’t have a weapon, she was still fucking them up pretty good. Blackened blood splattered across her face as she kicked and punched while screaming like a furious beast. She looked like a warrior goddess, going all Sekhmet on their asses. Although she wasn’t actually killing any of them, she still weakened them considerably, making it easy for me to deliver the final blow.

The harrowing screeches of whatever creature Azathoth was fighting resounded across the valley. The ground shook, and a distant building collapsed, with dust and debris billowing out around it. In between slaying the corrupted, I was able to steal quick glimpses of his fight. He was still trying to lure the beast away from us, but it seemed like it wouldn’t stray too far from the church grounds. Whatever the thing was, it was a worthy opponent, even with Azathoth’s powers unbound.

Lacey smashed her fist into a corrupted man’s face, then jumped back. “Gwendolyn, now!” she signaled for me to stab him, pulling my gaze back to our fight.

I drove my blade deep into his grotesque body. He snapped his sickly jaws and stared into my eyes as he crumbled to dust. The black engravings on the blade swirled within themselves, almost alive with magic. “Nice job.” She grasped my shoulder, fighting to reclaim her breath. Her eyes spoke volumes, revealing a storm of fear and determination churning within them.

“I could say the same to you. You're totally kicking ass!” I praised her back.

“Yeah, well, what can I say? I took Oliver's advice and learned some self-defense moves,” she said with a smile.

Luckily, Belzar was holding most the corrupted off, giving us a second to catch our breaths and exchange smiles. Our moment of rest was short-lived, though. Movement coming from the church caught our attention. My gaze shifted to the charred remains of the church doors. About half a dozen corrupted came snarling out of the building, like a gang of decrepit hobgoblins. The fire highlighted their distorted features, making them appear all the more menacing. It wouldn’t have been too big of a deal if it weren’t for the infamous obsidian daggers they all had in their hands.

They’re armed?

A feeling of dread dropped into the pit of my stomach as a familiar-looking, corrupted man came shuffling into sight among the others. It was impossible not to recognize the dark brown waves that tumbled down to the nape of his neck. His once-handsome, sun-kissed face now bore the pallor of ashen gray. Vibrant blue eyes that were once bright and alive had transformed into dark, soulless pits.

Oliver ...

Lacey and I quickly exchanged distressed looks, then we both peered over at William, who was now a small distance away. Sparks swirled up from the low flames that devoured the burning bodies between us, illuminating his distraught countenance. He was a statue, locked in shock and horror. Disbelief gripped him as he stared at the heartbreaking sight of what his beloved soulmate had tragically become. Sorrow and rage surged within my heart, and I had to blink back my tears.

Oliver’s gaze zoomed in on William, and a sinister grin twisted across his face. “Hello, lovedove.” He sounded as though the abyss had possessed his voice, making it much deeper and raspier than normal, with an eerie otherworldly echo to it.

The other corrupted with the daggers passed us by and began to strategically converge on Belzar. However, Oliver went straight for William. He snarled and struck out over his head with his dagger, aiming straight for William’s throat. William swiftly blocked it. Tears were streaming down his face, and his hand trembled. Flashing obsidian clashed with glinting metal as the abyssal weapons violently kissed between the two lovers.

“Oliver, please... This isn’t you,” William whimpered through his tears.

“William! You have to kill him! He’s not Oliver anymore!” I screamed, as Lacey and I tried to find a quick way over to them around the living and burning corrupted.

It was proving to be extremely difficult to find a safe path without burning ourselves. My heart thumped frantically in my chest as the fight unfolded. Anxiety surged like a tidal wave, crashing over me. I feared for William, terrified that Oliver might strike the final blow. Unable to move quick enough, I was utterly powerless to intervene. A strangled sob left my throat as I tripped over a burning leg, only to be caught by Lacey’s firm grip on my arm.

Oliver glared with murderous intensity, fury fueling his every move. As he charged, William staggered between the blows, blocking and dodging, while tears streamed down his filthy cheeks. “Please, Oliver! You need to stop!” he urged, desperately trying to shake sense into his lover. But Oliver was deaf to his reason, causing the hope in William’s eyes to flicker out like a dying candle.

“Hang on, William! We’re coming!” Lacey shouted as he tumbled across the smoldering ground with Oliver.

I was downright discombobulated and suffocated by all the chaos. But then I had a harrowing moment of clarity...

Azathoth was off fighting that formidable lizard thing. It was clearly a force to be reckoned with, keeping him distracted and occupied. I glanced over at Belzar, who was being attacked by the armed corrupted. He whimpered in pain while fighting back, as they ruthlessly stabbed him. He was trying to teleport away, but the daggers were somehow preventing him from doing so. William and Oliver were trapped in a deadly brawl. And Lacey, although she was kicking ass attacking the corrupted, was still unarmed and could only stall them.

Oh shit... I’m completely vulnerable .

“Mwahahaha!” Adelstein strode through the flickering flames like a specter of malevolence. His cackling laugh filled the air, twisted and gleeful, like a puppet master reveling in his chaos. “Well, well, Ms. Gallagher, it seems you’ve fallen right into my trap!” he gloated like an overstuffed toad. “Although I must say, you’ve lasted far longer than I had originally planned. I thought my children would have had you cornered the moment my lloigor distracted your pathetic satanic swain. I never anticipated you’d have a way to kill them yourself.” He cackled and twirled his dagger. “No matter, you’re still no match for me!” The black smoky ribbons began to eerily swirl around him as he grinned with murderous intent. “Remember the plan! Keep the mutt at bay!” he yelled over to the corrupted who were attacking Belzar.

“William!” Lacey screamed, with tears running down her cheeks, breaking my focus on Adelstein.

I glanced over just in time to see Oliver stab William in the stomach. William went stiff yet trembled, with his mouth falling open, stunned by the pain. Blood streamed down his abdomen, staining his pink shirt crimson. Oliver growled in his face with a sickening grin, relishing his triumph. He was too distracted to notice William unsteadily lifting his sword. He plunged the glimmering abyssal weapon right through Oliver’s stomach, and for a very brief moment, a look of shock and realization flashed across Oliver’s face.

A whirlwind of immense regret, pain, and torment swirled within his blackened eyes as he longingly gazed at William. His hand shakily reached for William’s tear-streaked face. “I love you.” His whispered words died with him as he crumbled to ash right before he could caress his beloved’s cheek one last time.

“Oliver?” William sobbed weakly. He tried to grasp at the falling ashes as they gently slipped through his trembling hands, only to be mournfully carried away by the lamenting winds. He fell to his knees in sorrow, then collapsed on his side in pain upon the small pile of Oliver’s dusty remains.

Lacey made it over to him, falling to her knees as well. “William!” she cried as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

I began to rush over to them, but a searing pain shot through my leg, causing me to fall to the ground. One of Adelstein’s smoky ribbons had lashed out and wrapped around my calf like a venomous, scathing tentacle. I screamed in agony. It felt like someone had poured hot, glowing lava right onto my flesh. He grinned as it dragged me over to him.

As I clawed desperately at the burnt grass and scorched soil, I peered through the flames, making eye contact with Lacey as she knelt by William’s body. More screams of pain were ripped from me as I was yanked over one of the burning corpses, singeing my stomach and arms.

I rolled onto my back, just as Adelstein was looming over me with a look of pure hatred in his black abyssal eyes. His tattered white cloak gently swayed in the breeze and glowed with a soft blue hue beneath the shimmering moonbeams. Yet the hood cast a dark shadow across his sinister, marred face. The firelight flickered over his cruel features, making him appear even more villainous. The serene, jeweled heavens stretched out behind him, contrasting with his ecclesiastical ferocity.

“Azath — Ah!” I tried to scream for Azathoth, but Adelstein’s smoke tentacle tightened around my leg, snapping the bones like flimsy twigs.

Tears of anger and pain pricked my eyes as he glared down at me with an ugly scowl. “You’d dare call upon that demon to save you!? Rather than execute the will of God!?” he gritted his words with fury. “You truly are a bride of the devil.”

“Yeah, well, bride or not, of course I’d rather him come and save me, you crazy fucking lunatic! And even if you kill me, Azathoth is still going to kill you, along with all the innocent people you’ve corrupted!” I seethed through my agonizing pain.

He laughed psychotically, spraying his rancid spit all over my face. “Oh, my dear, you are wrong. For you see, I have summoned a lloigor. A creature who possesses more than enough strength to slay a demon. Their bodies are made of pure dark abyssal essence, after all.” He raised a confident brow and snickered. “Why do you think he hasn’t come back to save you yet? Hmm? It’s because my lloigor is successfully holding him back. And even if he manages to defeat it, hundreds more of my children are patiently waiting along the edge of the barrier for me to kill you. As soon as I do, they will all spread out and convert the world, and there’s nothing that odious evil beast of yours can do to stop it! For it is the will of God!” He made a sudden slash at my throat with his dagger.

Our weapons clashed as I swiftly blocked his attack. My eyes widened in surprise. Despite Adelstein’s insurmountable strength, I could actually hold him off. My sword was visibly draining his energy as our weapons pressed together. Ribbons of black mist were being sucked out of his dagger and consumed by my blade. His face contorted with appalled rage at the sight of it.

“What is this!?” he hissed, then glared at me, his eyes flashing with anger. “Ms. Gallagher, please try to understand! We have the divine opportunity to create a Christlike utopia, free of sin and autonomy. And yet, you still choose to fight me and take the side of that satanic vermin who murdered your aunt instead?” His face was now right in front of mine. “I ask you now, lower your weapon!”

I glared back into his delusional black eyes with loathing. “No,” I whispered with a venomous bite to my voice, dripping with detestation. He tried to push down on my blade but failed. “If you hadn’t stabbed and poisoned Azathoth, he would have never accidentally delivered that fatal blow to her. You may not have killed her yourself, but you caused her death. Then you left her there to die like a coward. And I will never forgive you for that.”

He snarled with rage. His skeletal abyss arm struck out, and he grabbed my hand. I screamed in agony as he grinned with sadistic delight, crushing my bones as if they were nothing more than mere toothpicks. Snaps and crunches were heard, while pain radiated throughout my hand and down my arm, forcing me to drop my weapon. My skin sizzled and decayed, exposing open wounds along my fingers. The blade fell to the ground beside me, while he lifted his dagger high above his head in a fit of fury, ready to strike.

“You stupid, sniveling little witch! In the name of God,

you die now!” He began to thrust the dagger down upon me.

I flinched in terror, but then Adelstein froze mid-strike. He looked as if he were gasping for air, with his mouth repeatedly opening and closing. He wheezed and looked down with fear, his hand trembling as it moved over his stomach. That’s when I noticed the tip of the twin sword poking out through his abdomen, slowly turning him to ash. I furrowed my brows in confusion.

What the hell?

“Not on my watch, bitch,” Lacey said from behind him. She stood triumphantly, with a hostile scowl on her face and the hilt of the sword in her hands.

Despite the bruises and grime, she looked positively radiant. Her tight black curls danced in the wind behind her while she smiled down at me. Tears of relief filled my eyes as I smiled back at her. She pulled the sword out of Adelstein, causing him to fall forward over me with a pained grunt... And then he caught himself with his hand placed firmly on the ground? My eyes warily searched his pained features, as sickening dread and trepidation crept over me.

If he’s dying, then how did he catch himself like that?

His pained expression warped into a malevolent smile, with devious corruption lurking in the depths of his abysmal eyes. The black mist rapidly healed his stomach; then he whipped around and stabbed Lacey in the chest. She cried out in pain, and her blood sprayed all over as he removed the weapon, only to plunge it right back into her.

“No!” I screamed in panic. Tears streamed down my face as I frantically picked up the sword with my good hand and tried to defend her.

One of his smoke tentacles snaked around my neck, searing my skin and debilitating me. His abyssal hand grabbed her by the hair to keep her in place. He stabbed her repeatedly, causing scarlet droplets to splatter across my horrified face as I desperately thrashed and screamed. The iridescent obsidian dagger flashed each time it was removed, only to be thrust right back into her. I could hear the loud snaps of her ribs breaking from the force of the vehement attack.

“I want this to be the last thing you ever see, my dear. Your pathetic best friend dying because she foolishly tried to save a whore like you!” He looked like a bloodthirsty monster, relishing in the gruesome moment.

I gasped for air, as Belzar appeared with a puff of mist and clamped his jaws down on Adelstein’s head, forcing him to release both of us. He snarled and growled as he thrashed Adelstein’s body around like a pitiful little rag doll. Adelstein’s bones loudly cracked, and his white, tattered cloak flapped through the air as he was violently thrown off to the side. Belzar seethed with unrefined feral rage as he growled and pounced after Adelstein again.

“Belzar! Get them out of here, right now! I have to unleash Hellfire!” I barely registered Azathoth yelling to Belzar from somewhere far off in the distance. I was too busy weakly crawling over to Lacey, crying and grimacing through the pain.

She was on her back, with her beautiful face gilded by the warming glow of the firelight. Rivulets of blood trickled from her mouth, soaking her shirt. Luckily, she was still breathing, giving me a glimmer of hope. My heart shattered, feeling raw and exposed. I sobbed uncontrollably as I grasped her limp hand with my good one.

“Lacey, you need to hold on. Azathoth can heal you. You just need to hold on.” I felt Belzar gently bite my leg, and a black mist surrounded my vision. He teleported us through the shadows to one of the mountainside cliffs that overlooked the valley.

The ground beneath us was suddenly rocky and cold, with brittle grass gently poking at our injured bodies. Gone was the crackling of burning remains and harrowing snarls. The wintry wind whistled lamentations through the clanking trees above and rustled through the quiescent leaves on the ground below. Wispy clouds glowed with soft blue halos under the bright lunar rays. They crept across the bejeweled midnight sky, extinguishing the glittering stars like cruel shadows of death disguised as lucent angels.

An expression of both confusion and concern flashed across Lacey’s face as she took in her new surroundings. Then her gaze snapped to me with urgency in her eyes. “William... He’s still alive...” she gasped out while weakly squeezing my hand.

My eyes widened with shock, then I looked back at Belzar. “Belzar, quick! Go get William!” Belzar nodded and then disappeared.

“ Gwendolyn ...” She smiled at me as tears poured from my eyes. “I want you... to know that I-I’ve always loved you like a sister.” Her trembling hand reached up and lightly rested on my cheek.

My lower lip trembled and hot tears welled in my eyes, temporarily blurring my vision. “You are my sister, Lacey. And I love you so, so much. You mean the whole world to me.” I tried to put my injured hand over hers, but intense pain radiated through it, causing me to grimace and pull it away. “But please, don’t talk like that. Azathoth is going to heal you, and everything is going to be okay.” My voice cracked with sorrow. I was reassuring both of us, not just her, but I wouldn’t admit that to myself.

She smiled again. “ Azathoth ...” She laughed softly, then coughed up more blood. “Who knew th-that an evil demon of all things w-would be our hero?”

“No, no, you’re the one who stopped Adelstein from killing me and releasing his children into the world. You’re the true hero, Lacey.” A small psychotic laugh escaped my lips. I was becoming numb and in complete denial. “You were so brave. You’ve always been so brave,” I whispered.

“Darrell is-is away,” she tried to gasp as she began to violently shiver. “He’s visiting a school out e-east for criminal ju-justice. Please, t-tell him I lo-love him.” She was still smiling, even as her life was slipping from her.

“You’re going to be okay, Lace, please, please just hold on.” I shimmied out of my hoodie, then laid it over her and gently wrapped my arms around her shaking frame to keep her warm, snuggling as close as I could. “Azathoth is going to heal you. Just hold on.”

The smile remained on her face as the light faded from her eyes, and she became unsettlingly still.

Belzar reappeared with William’s limp form. The dagger remained lodged in his stomach, and he was badly injured, but he was still breathing. He gently placed William’s bedraggled body down beside us. His big, golden, wolf-like eyes looked over us with sadness and pity in their depths, as if he were sorrowful that he hadn’t been a better protector. Then he whimpered and limped over to the edge of the cliff.

His head eclipsed the full moon as he lifted it to the sky and let out the most terrifying, otherworldly howl I had ever heard come from a canine. The mournful sound sliced through the silence like a serenade to sorrow. It sent a bone-chilling shiver crawling up my spine. I was sure only a creature born of The Abyss could conjure something so haunting and harrowing.

I surmised he was signaling to Azathoth that we were all safe because, as soon as he stopped, a blindingly bright fireball formed high in the sky. It burned fiercely against the midnight blue horizon, drowning out the light of the stars and full moon, and reflecting along the bottom of the ever-growing clouds. The entire valley was so brilliantly illuminated by it that it almost looked like daytime. I stared in complete awe at its splendor... and then it dawned on me…

Holy flying frittatas! That’s Azathoth!

My mouth fell agape as he began to rapidly descend to the ground, reminding me of a meteor falling from the heavens. A deafening boom drowned out the sound of the reptilian creature roaring in agony as Azathoth made impact. A massive flaming shockwave ripped across the entire town in a ring of fiery destruction. Buildings combusted as they collapsed, leaving them in demolished, smoldering ruins. Mighty trees crashed to the ground in a fiery blaze. Massive billows of smoke plumed up into the darkening sky, obscuring my view of what was happening down there.

Wind roared up the mountainside, whipping through the trees as they bent and twisted. It caressed my face, and I was astonished to find that the air was hot. As the smoke cleared, I apprehensively stared down at the burning wreckage in complete disbelief.

Oh my god... He seriously just destroyed the whole fucking town .