Humanity Versus Demonkind, Nick Venom [free novel 24 .txt] 📗

if she possesses no soul.” He suggested.

Austin shook his head. “No, that’s a dumb idea. Let’s go meet with the President, instead.” He said as he turned around and grabbed his Hell-Ax. 

“He’ll be waiting for me.”

“The demon always waits in the shadows, lurking. He’s been preying for long now.”

“I see… then let’s not make him wait longer.” He said with a sigh. He headed to the Office, arriving after getting lost twice and having to ask for directions.

Once he arrived, he found the door wide open. Vice was sitting at his desk, staring at where Austin would appear. 

“Oh, hero, finally you’re here!” He exclaimed as he shot up from his desk. “I have been patiently waiting for your arrival.” He said with a smile, but it was hiding his true emotion.

Austin nodded, keeping a blank face. 

“Come, come, come.” He said, beckoning him inside. He appeared frustrated. “Your first mission is ready. I need you to finish it now!” He emphasized his last word. 

Austin nodded. “Okay,” He simply responded.

“Good, then let’s start.” He said, anger resting in his voice. “A dungeon appeared outside of the Capital. The unit I sent out hasn’t responded. I’m sure something happened to them. The demons must’ve taken care of them and are on their way here. I’m sure of it.”

Austin nodded. “Got it.”

Vice scowled at him out of frustration before correcting himself. “G-Good. Then go to the main gate then diagonally left. You’ll find the dungeon there.” He said.

Austin nodded, turning to follow Vice’s orders, but stopped as another voice emerged into the room.

“As the Pope of the Holy Church of Howling, I declare that this “hero” be disposed of!” A man shouted as he entered the Office, dressed in a white cassock with an attached pellegrina, a pectoral cross suspended from an iron cord, and formal red shoes. 

“I denounce this hero as he is a demon in human form!”

Vice glared at the Pope, frustrated by this man’s sudden actions. “You have no authority to be here.”

“I am the Pope of the Holy Church. I have as much authority as you. I would even go as far as to say I have more than you.”

Vice jerked his head back, surprised to hear the Pope’s words.

“Guards, kick this man out of the Presidential Office and tear down his church! Nobody will have more authority over this land than me!” He exclaimed.

Guards quickly filled the room, all holding weapons as they surrounded the Pope. The Pope, however, didn’t budge as they pointed the tips of the spears closer to his face. 

“I will not flinch at these barbaric tactics! I am the Pope, no mortal being can scare me. When I die, I’ll ascend to Heaven, and you heretics all to Hell!”

The guards flinched at the mention of them descending, but a single glare Vice kept them firm in their decision.

Vice approached the Pope with a cold glare. “I am the king here! Nobody has more power, strength, or authority over this land than I! I made this man the hero because he can do more than you praying monks have done in the past few months!”

“I have prayed to God and we shall wait until he makes his decision. His decision will be filled with the touch of Heaven, not Hell’s. That man is a spawn created by an evil God, one of which we don’t pray to.”

“It appears that he knows a little too much,” Aizen remarked, being ignored by Austin who continued to listen to the arguing as it occurred.

“Well…” Vice started, grinning to himself once he realized the direction of his sentence. “It appears that your God is evil since he was given this power at the same time as your praying began. I see a connection, now do you?”

The Pope jerked his head back, nearly gasping at the accusation. He was more than angered by the implication Vice was setting up. “How dare you! My God is pure, clean, and untainted. His God is the opposite.” He declared as he pointed at Austin. “We do not share the same faith.”

Vice laughed vigorously. As he stopped, he turned away from the Pope and approached the window wall. “You have no more authority. Guards! Take this simple man away now!”

The guards nodded, retrieving the tips of their spear and approaching the Pope. They grabbed him, very ruthlessly, and began taking him away from Vice and Austin.

“The Holy Church will not stand for this act of insolence!” He exclaimed.

“Don’t worry, you won’t stand for long.” He said with glee like a child who managed to trick their parents into getting them a toy. 

“President! President! President!” A male staff member shouted as she charged into the room. 

“What is it?” He snarled, turning to face her.

The staff member flinched at his words but kept trudging forward. “The demons are invading the Capital! The guards at the main gates are being overwhelmed!”

Vice stared at the staff member with a dumbfounded expression. “I... “ He started before his voice trailed off.

“Austin! Save the Capital!” He then shouted after a few moments trying to regain his voice.

Austin nodded, turning around and disappearing at Aizen’s insistence. Once he was gone, Vice turned back to face the glass. “I’ll show you that the hero that you denounced will become the Hero of Howling. I’ll gamble everything on it.”

“Your sins will soon come for you.” The Pope spat before being dragged away by the guards.

The room then fell silent as Vice stared at the door. “I’ll gamble everything for it.”

***

“Are you ready, my little birdie?” Aizen questioned him.

Austin shook his head. “No,” He calmly said. “I’m not.”

“Then don’t worry. I’ll be there to… assist.” He remarked.

Austin furrowed his brows, unsure about what Aizen meant. Assist me? How? What is he going to do?

“Don’t worry. I’m not doing anything, yet.”

“What are you going to do?”

“You'll find out soon.”

Before Austin could question him further, he heard cries of people coming from outside. He sprinted forward, not noticing a small red mist floating around his Hell-Ax.

TBC…

Episode Three "Demons"

“How dare you touch the Pope!” A priest shouted at the guards. “Take your filthy hands off him!” 

The guards glanced at each other, unsure of what to do. 

“B-by Vice’s order.” A guard whispered, scared of the situation he found himself in. He, among the other guards, found themselves thrown in between God and Vice. And they yearn for one side rather than the other.

“He is a mortal man ordering around the body of God! You are defiling him!” He waved them off, using his body to block the guards from retrieving the Pope. The Pope simply walked out of their grips, heading away from them and towards the entrance/exit. 

The priest followed after him as soon as he shot dirty glares at the guards. The guards cringed in the glare, similarly to how they did under Vice’s glare. They couldn’t gather the strength to challenge the priest or the Pope, letting them leave with dumbfounded expressions. 

Now on the way out, the Pope turned to the priest with irritated eyes. “Where have you been while I was being handled so ruthlessly? You vowed your loyalty, yet never came to my aid until it was too late!” he scolded the young priest. “Do I take today’s performance as your opinion of me?”

The priest shook his head violently. “I apologize for my insolence!” He cried, bowing his head. “It was never my intention to deceive you in any way.”

The Pope turned away in a huff, stomping away like a child. The priest chased after him, not wanting to be left behind.

Once they reached the entrance of the Presidential Office, the priest sprinted in front of the Pope and opened the door, keeping it open enough for the Pope to walk through and bask in the glaring sunlight. 

“Finally, out of that wretched place!” The Pope exclaimed. “God remembers his treatment on his body and Karma will soon arrive to deal the punishment. Wait long enough and Vice will be reduced to ash!”

The priest nodded in agreement before staring at the passersby. They all glanced at him with curiosity, fear, and bewilderment. Saying negative things about the president in front of his building and his guards was a feat too dangerous to try.

“Your Holiness, what shall we do about the demons?”

“The one Vice unleashed or the outside ones?”

“Outside ones, your Holiness.” The priest answered.

The Pope nodded his head. “Priest Hansel, call in God’s Soldiers. Unleash them to the sinners outside and inside of the Capital.” He ordered as he walked away from the Presidential Office. “I’m sure that God’s forces will fare better than any demon fake can.”

Priest Hansel nodded in agreement. “As you wish, your Holiness.”

***

God’s Soldiers, an elite unit working under the church, was sent to deal with the demons, spearheaded by Hozo Ultain, a priest. They marched through a dense forest, crunching flowers and weeds in their path and ignored by the small critters and monsters in the area. Their minds were set on the demons.

“Come on, we’re close!” He ordered as he reached the estimated location of the demons. He led a hundred soldiers, all donned in the church’s white, silver, and gold colors. They stuck out among the greenish nature surrounding them.

“Sir, the scouting parties haven’t returned. I’m afraid that something happened to them.” A fellow member of God’s Soldiers informed him, named Yahu Temple. 

“What are you implying? That we retreat?”

Yahu shook his head. “Never, sir. However… I fear our chances if a few of our comrades were taken down. Especially since we’re unsure of their numbers.”

Hozo scoffed at him before turning to focus on his front. “We’re charging forward! Kill all of the demons! Let’s show this coward the true strength of God’s Soldiers! God is with us!” He shouted before charging forward. The entire company charged alongside him, except for Yahu who watched them move forward.

I’m sorry to my ancestors for being so weak. I’m bringing shame to my bloodline. Yahu thought to himself as he watched Hozo and the entire company sprint towards an unknown destination. Hozo’s original plan was that they would stumble into demons to then slaughter them all and keep moving forward. 

Yahu picked up his pace, hoping to meet up with Hozo and the others before he’s left behind by them. As he sprinted to reach them, he heard the cries of Hozo and others that he knew erupting from the front of the pack. A large group of demons had appeared within the dense vegetation and now clashed with God’s Soldiers.

Yahu pushed himself to reach his comrades, finally grabbing onto the tail of the group and being led forward by them. However, he quickly realized that he should’ve released his grip. The demons, which began as a trickle, now flooded the forest. 

“Ahhhh!” A man cried out as a demon bit into his flesh, tearing chunks out. 

“Ssttooppp!” A man slurred as a demon clipped his tongue with the tip of a sword. The rest of the sword quickly came after him, slicing him vertically but finding a dead end at his chest. The demon decided to kick the man’s body off his weapon before searching for, and quickly finding, his new prey.

Yahu stopped, freezing in place. His body slightly trembled as it witnessed the gruesome nature of the