The Soul Keeper

As I stumbled backwards, something stepped out of the rift. 

It was a demon, by every sense of the word. With its dark red skin, leathery wings, massive, deadly horns and a face that reminded me those of gargoyles, it looked like the demons of our world's books and paintings.

It was nothing like Vixia, Delthur or the Demon Lord. This thing was ugly as hell.

It reached forward and grasped the shaft of the spear stuck in my shoulder. I couldn't take my eyes off its massive claws. 

"Kai!" Lucius shouted. I heard his footsteps approach. At the same time, a crackle sounded. A bold of lightning hit the creature's left wing. 

It wailed in pain and let go of the shaft. Freed from its grasp, fell to the ground. My vision blurred as it released its magic. Was that Lucius who had just ran past me?

I grasped the bloody shaft and pulled the spear out. Waves of pain threatened to overcome me. 

"Wait, the wound-" Asher's shout was interrupted by the creature's loud, ear piercing shriek. 

Soul's Respite slowly began to heal me as I scrambled to get back up on my feet. My eyes widened as I noticed the battle happening before me. 

Lucius was trying to block the claw strikes of the demon with his sword. Continuously getting pushed back, his expression was that of anger. As much as I wanted to go help him, the wound on my shoulder was still hurting like hell. The souls, while doing their best to heal me, weren't as powerful as those I had before. It was taking painstakingly long, yet there was nothing I could do.

Asher, on the other hand, was casting a spell. His bright blue eyes were fixed on the creature while magic gathered around him. He was preparing something big – I could feel it.

I turned my gaze back on Lucius – he was way out of his depth. He could barely keep up with the demon's speed.

A glance at my own would was enough to show that I was in no shape to fight just yet, but perhaps…

Flames danced on my fingers. Perhaps I could do it. If I focused, if I mimicked his actions…

My flames leapt towards the creature as it slashed at Lucius' arm. The young man quickly stepped back, then noticed what was going on. The demon shrieked again as my flames leapt onto its eyes. Blinded by the bright purple flames, it staggered for only a moment.

That was all Lucius needed. He dashed forward and thrust his sword into the demon's chest. 

Silence followed as he let go of the sword and took a few steps back, holding his arm. Blood seeped through his fingers as his expression twisted with pain.

"Well, damn." He mumbled as he stumbled. I was quick to offer help – he grabbed on to my arm for support, then sighed. "Well, that worked."

I hesitated. "I don't know about that." Looking at the creature, it was standing there, motionless. I couldn't tell whether it was breathing or not. It wasn't bleeding though, despite the sword stuck deep in its chest.

I narrowed my eyes. "Lucius," I spoke with a low voice. "Are you sure you actually got its heart?"

The young man shrugged. "I should have, unless its heart is somewhere else that is." His expression twisted with pain. "Damn, this hurts." He glanced at his wound. 

The claw mark was indeed quite a deep wound, I could imagine how much it hurt. I glanced at Asher; he was still gathering magic – was my hunch, right?

I didn't have to wait for long to find out as life returned to the creature's eyes.

"Look out!" I shouted as I summoned a wall of flames. Despite that, the explosion of tainted demonic magic was more than enough to knock us off our feet. As we hit the ground with a painful thud, the creature shrieked. 

I covered my ears – the magically enhanced sound was more than enough to send my mind into chaos. 

"How on earth is it even alive?" Lucius shouted. I shook my head – I had no clue. I forced myself to get up. The spear would had healed by now, and I was a bit more prepared to fight.

Lucius struggled to get up behind me. I could tell at a glance that he was in no position to fight right now. I extended my arm to the side as my sword materialised from the cloud of darkness. 

"My turn. Make sure Asher heals you as soon as he's able." I said to Lucius. The young swordsman clearly wanted to protest, but since he couldn't even stand up straight, he knew his words would be meaningless.

I stepped forward as I released my own magic. It was nothing compared to that of this demon, but it was all I had. If I had my old strength, I could probably take this creature on one on one, but as I am now, I stood little chance against it.

Flames danced on my skin as my wings appeared on my back. My eyes shone bright purple and a dark miasma spread from my sword. 

I was ready to give this my best shot.

The creature didn't quite seem aware of me. It felt around the blade stuck in its chest, then removed it with a simple motion, throwing it to the ground like it was just a splinter. My grip on the hilt of my sword tightened as my heart raced.

Now was my chance – while it was distracted. I dashed forward, leaving a trail of fire behind me. But… where was I supposed to strike? Stabbing it was clearly not working out too well. Maybe cutting its head off could work.

Deciding that was the best course of action, I swung my blade horizontally. A wave of magic threatened to push me back as soon as I was close enough. I persevered against the tainted, diluted magic, but it slowed me enough for the creature to step back to avoid my attack. It hissed, showing its long, split tongue.

It lashed out at me, its claws extended and ready to dig into my flesh. I leapt back to avoid it, then moved closer one again in an attempt to attack it. It was fast to retreat as my blade made its way to the demon's exposed throat.

I gritted my teeth – this thing was fast. Too fast. I could barely keep up, even while using Fallen Grace. 

"Kai, get down!" Lucius' voice sounded. I could hear the urgency in his words. Without even a moment's hesitation, I threw myself to the ground. And just in time too, as a bright light flashed, and a stream of lightning filled the void my upper body left.

The creature shrieked, I noticed it stumble and step back. Then, the smell of burnt flesh and skin reached my nose. I grimaced – I hated this smell.

I scrambled to get back up as the creature wailed in pain. It felt around its chest. 

"How is it still standing?" Lucius cried out as Asher wheezed. The blonde sorcerer held on to Lucius for support. That spell must have taken up most of his strength. "I don't know." He whispered, out of breath. I felt magic gather around him once again. He wasn't giving up.

Glancing at the creature, I sure did want to just run away. Despite the smoking wound in on its chest, it was still standing. Did it even feel pain properly? Had it lost all sense of self? What was this creature? 

Questions whirled inside my mind as I dashed forward – I had to get rid of this monster. I swung my sword with an overhead strike, then feinted that attack at the last possible moment in hopes of confusing the creature. 

It worked. Kind of. I turned my overhead strike into a horizontal slash aiming for its throat and unleashed my flames upon the creature at the same time. Either it'd get burnt or lose its head.

Unfortunately, it chose neither. Instead, my flames disappeared, and my sword bounced off a magical barrier that appeared around it. My eyes widened as it swung its claw at me. 

A blade made of pure darkness appeared in its hand as it lashed out at me. I blocked its relentless strikes while continuously backing off. How could a creature as crazed as this have such fine control over its magic?

Lightning struck the creature's arm, but it didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"Asher, do something!" Lucius shouted as he dashed towards his sword, still laying on the ground a little ways away.

"I am doing something!" The blonde sorcerer replied as another lightning strike illuminated our surroundings. "It just doesn't care!"

I gritted my teeth – how was this monster not affected by pain at all? If I had some time – a moment to breathe – I might have been able to figure it out, but as things were, I was still barely surviving its flurry of attacks. I fed more mana to my flames, hoping to distract or weaken the monster somehow.

Yet it wasn't me who distracted it. As the sharp edge of a blade suddenly burst out of its chest, I was just as surprised as the creature. Only when I glanced behind it did I notice Lucius. Unfortunately, the creature also noticed the young swordsman. With a powerful swing of its long, strong tail, it hit Lucius in the stomach, sending him flying.

I didn't let that moment of distraction go to waste. My sword found its throat and my flames spread from my fingertips to my blade. I wasn't about to let it come back to life again.

I heard the gurgle of blood filling his throat. Pitch black, disgusting blood appeared in the corners of its mouth and dripped down.

"Go to hell." I whispered as I motioned to pull my sword out of its throat. 

By the time I'd noticed what was going on, it was already too late. A rift appeared behind the demon as it grabbed my arms. It staggered back, pulling me along into the unknown.