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

demons. They were cruel, disfiguring before killing. Some even stretched out deaths, causing more and more cries for mercy. 

The entire attack, which was meant to be a message to Vice, ended in failure as the demons quickly outnumbered and overwhelmed God’s Soldiers. Their armor didn’t last long, neither did their weapons against the thick skin of the demons.

It was a massacre… and Yahu was stuck in place watching it. 

***

“Back so soon?” Vice taunted, staring at a defeated Pope. Priest Hansel stood by his side, comforting the middle-aged pope. 

“My PED Unit was destroyed and so you believed that your precious God’s Soldiers could do better? I see… even though their weapons and armor were less than useless.” 

“I… I had no money to purchase better equipment. I foolishly believed that my training would’ve been enough.” The Pope muttered, his voice full of sorrow and self-pity. 

Vice, meanwhile, basked himself in the Pope’s worries. 

“What about that demon you sent out?” Priest Hansel half-shouted, half-growled. Vice glared at him, unhappy with the priest’s tone. 

“I don’t remember sending out a demon. I sent out the Hero of Howling.” He retorted. 

“Is he… Is he taking care of them?” The Pope asked. “Is that “hero” dealing with the demons as you assumed?”

Vice smiled, nodding his head. “He’s been doing his job well. So much that I’ve been caught off-guard. A young kid like him able to handle a large battle-ax like that is something I’ve never seen. You should’ve seen how he killed the demons at the main gate. He pushed them away with ease and has been moving through the forest towards where the dungeon should be. Where your soldiers fell.”

“And yours too.” Priest Hansel snarled before the Pope shook a skinny and frail finger at him. He then turned back to face Vice.

“Show me.”

Vice nodded, being filled with excitement. He had forced the Pope to submit under him - the dictator of the Howling.

“With pleasure.”

***

Austin raised Hell-Ax high into the air before slamming it down into a demon, cracking its thin skin like an egg. The yolk spilled out. 

“Having fun killing, my little birdie?” Aizen taunted him. “It appears you’re enjoying this more than you can reveal.”

“I’m not.” He insisted as he wiped the blood off his forehead, which had splattered onto him after slicing a demon in half vertically. The red mist lingered on his weapon, still invisible to him.

“It appears that you are.” He remarked.

“I’m not. I don’t-” He stopped himself when he felt the smile on his face. He forced his muscles to correct his expression. He couldn’t fathom being gleeful to slaughter. Demons were cruel and disgusting monsters, but they were still living, breathing, and moving beings. It was a horrible thought that entered his mind. 

“I see that you agree with me.”

Austin ignored him, cutting down the last demon at the main gate, slicing it horizontally. With the demons cleared, Austin glanced at the main gate and noticed that there remained only the limbs of the guards that he bypassed through. They had been killed while protecting the town from the demons.

Austin silently prayed for their souls to ascend before continuing his mission. He ventured far into the forest towards the dungeon spouting out the demons.

 

TBC…

Episode Four "Free"

Austin finished up with another clump of demons, stained with layers of blood, and trudged forward. He shook off the blood that had begun to gather on the blade portion of Hell-Ax, but not the red invisible mist. Soon it would be too much to take off with ease.

“I suggest that you hurry up… otherwise, you’ll have an upset stomach.”

Austin’s stomach dropped as he recognized the urgency of the situation. He picked up the pace, silently praying that he’ll make it in time. 

After a few minutes of running at his top speed, he entered a blood-stained scenery. The grass was embedded with blood, filled to the smallest cell with blood while trees held bloody partial and full handprints as well as corpses that rested against them.

“W-What… What happened?”

“Life.”

Austin scowled at himself before turning away from the thickest parts of the scenery. He looked around the battlefield, asking out loud, “Any survivors?”

“I wonder.”

Austin ignored Aizen for a moment as he glanced around at all of the corpses, hoping to see one alive. He, fortunately, managed to find one. 

A young man, part of God’s Soldiers, was badly wounded but not dead… yet. Blood was pouring out of his wounds at a rate that Austin couldn’t keep up with. It looked as if an ocean was flooding out of him. 

The young man, his eyes wide open, turned his head slowly to meet Austin’s stare. “W-Who are you?” He asked.

Austin crouched down next to him. “My name is… Austin Shield. I’m going to help you.” He reassured the man.

The young man shook his head slowly as if going too fast would’ve popped his head off. “No… D-Don’t.”

“Why?” Austin questioned. “I’m going to take you back and then-”

“N-No… I failed. I froze… when God gave me m-my first challenge. I f-failed him.” Austin could hear the tears forming in his voice. He sounded like he would explode with tears at any moment. 

“Y-You didn’t. I’m sure that this wasn’t-”

The young man shook his head. “L-Let me atone for my s-s-s-sins. I’m sorry, God.” He muttered before closing his eyes. He was still breathing but he would be dead in a few minutes. 

Austin nodded his head, rising to his feet. He turned away from the young man and approached the other corpses. “A-Any more?” He muttered, his voice shaken by the young man’s words. 

“This is not the worst I’ve seen in mortals. Many died more gruesome deaths, even some that you pass here. However, that man dies with his, stupid, faith.”

“Don’t try to comfort me, Aizen. I’ve been with you for the last few months and… even when you acted nice, I could tell there’s an agenda at play. You called Vice a demon. Well, I don’t see you as any different.”

“I’m sorry, my little birdie. I don’t remember saying that I was the God of Love or another silly title. I also controlled the Graveyard… I don’t believe that the “kind” and “nice” Gods would fill that role.” He said before cackling. 

Austin tuned him out as he trudged forward, passing by more and more bodies, some of them being God’s Soldiers or the demons. He now headed to where the dungeon was reported to be. To do this, he walked over a path of bodies that led him up to the entrance of the dungeon. 

At the entrance were the bodies of several PED agents, some in unnatural positions and others in positions that confused Austin. They looked as if they had been sat against walls or laid on the ground by humans intending to fake a scene rather than bloodthirsty demons. 

However, Austin couldn’t think much about them as he heard the growls of demons from inside the dungeon. The sound had been terrifying but quickly became a sound he was familiarizing himself with. He charged forward into the dungeon, undeterred by the growls of the demons. 

The demons and their boss were waiting for him.

***

Agent Rector was the only PED Unit member to not head to the dungeon. He was ordered to stay back, assisting with the protection of the Capital as he was needed to help install bravery in the guards lacking the same motivation as their younger selves.

He found himself on the main gates, sometime after Austin eliminated the demons. He stared at the bodies of the guards, only a few limbs remaining as evidence that they existed. Neither of them had families, so nothing could be returned to their bloodline. Well, in a way, they had been returned to their bloodlines as their limbs soaked themselves in blood puddles.

“Crazy, isn’t it?” A Presidential Office guard, one that was guarding the same entrance that the Pope and Priest Hansel had emerged through, spoke up. He had been watching Agent Rector survey the carnage inflicted by the sudden demon attack.

“Yeah… it is.” He weakly muttered. “Go and call more guards. Have a few begin digging graves. The rest will help me carry these bodies then search for the rest?”

“The PED Unit and God’s Soldiers?” The guard, named Joey, questioned.

Agent Rector nodded. He had heard of rumors about his unit’s fall, but he had tuned them out or thought of them as fake news being spread around. He couldn’t believe what the citizens muttered. He couldn’t force himself to believe the truth.

“Yeah… them.”

Joey nodded. “I’ll get everybody. You-” He started before patting Agent Rector on his shoulder. “Make sure you’re okay. You can talk to me or the others after the day’s over.”

Agent Rector nodded, his stare focused on the limbs. His eyes fought a war between shedding tears and not shedding them. The latter was on the losing side.

Joey nodded his head as acknowledgment before turning around and running off to grab more guards. 

They’ll be digging and carrying all day.

***

Austin entered a great chamber within the dungeon, met without any resistance. He was allowed to waltz in without a single demon jumping out to confront him. It was as if they had been ordered not to interfere.

The boss was waiting for him. 

Austin, meanwhile, looked around the large chamber, a size of a block in the Capital (a normal Earth block size), in search of the reason behind his easy entrance. 

“He’s coming,” Aizen warned him, speaking for the first time since he entered the dungeon. His voice, which used to be annoying at times, felt reassuring amidst the creepy contortions of the wall and floor. It waved up and down like a wavy Lays chip. 

“Who is?” Austin questioned, glancing around. He got his response immediately as the ground began trembling. The trembling grew in intensity as the footsteps reached the chamber. 

After a few seconds, the footsteps revealed themselves to be a demon lord. The demon lord grinned devilishly at him, wielding a large baseball bat. 

“I. Am. Demon. Lord. Vulbrik.” He announced, enunciating his words with power behind them. 

Austin pointed Hell-Ax at Vulbrik. “What are my chances of winning?”

“One. Hundred. Percent.” He said, mocking Vulbrik. 

Austin rolled his eyes before focusing on Vulbrick. He charged forward, hoping to get the first strike in. Vulbrick, however, expected the attack and easily parried it with his weapon. 

“Again!” He exclaimed. He pointed the tip of the bat at Austin, moving it in a way that resembled somebody wanting more. 

Austin complied, raising Hell-Ax high into the air, before charging in for another attack. Vulbrik raised his weapon to parry Austin but didn’t expect that it was a feint. He redirected the attack, having it at an angle.  

Hell-Ax sliced into Vulbrik’s skin, tearing through it like butter. Vulkrik shouted in anger before trying to grab the weapon with his free hand. He, immediately, regretted his action as his hand burnt at the single touch of the weapon. 

“Arggg!” He growled as he fought through the pain. 

Austin ripped Hell-Ax out of Vulbrik before going in for another blow, this one slamming into Vulbrik’s other shoulder. Vulbrik reacted through grunts and gritted teeth. However, something was off as Vubrik couldn’t move. He tried to charge forward but slammed into an invisible barrier. He bounced off the barrier, revealing to Austin what he