FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 22: The End is Nigh

Tens of thousands of bodies of every shape size and species collided in what was a fight for the world, but not this world, but Earth. It was here on this day that ultimate victory would be decided and at first glance it would have appeared that Malus had the upper hand.

A fortress in a canyon that was filled with the most horrendous creatures that hell had to offer. It was nothing but a choke point for nearly a mile before reaching the citadel that laid in the center. Even after that there was nearly forty levels to fight through to reach Malus’ inner sanctum where his spell made of stolen artifacts was being conjured and would be complete soon. He had to be stopped and yet it was an impossible task... for those that couldn’t think more than laterally.

The wall, made of the sides of cavern, normally solid and an assurance of safety, tumbled slightly and a nearby demon, a simple imp with a simple mind, heard.

“Whats it?” He grumbled at the faint sound. The small creature, no higher than a human’s waist, gripped his rusted and poisoned halberd that stood two heads taller than him and walked towards the wall.

The features of the stone were unremarkable, nothing but swirling grey textures and yet there was most definitely a noise. It was barely there, a quiet scratching noise.

The imp’s head tilted slightly to the side in confusion. Many things in the world made noise, a human screaming as his guts poured out, an imp as his guts poured out, a bird as its guts poured out. They all made wonderful noises. However, a stone, a massive stone wall? Those didn’t have guts to pour out and make it scream. No noise should be made and yet it did.

Perhaps a closer inspection.

The imp came right up to the wall and at this point the other twenty or so imps and other demons were noticing.

“Greekis,” another imps called out. “You doing, what?” Their grasp on language was vague a best.

“Noises,” Greekis said and then tapped the tip of his halberd against the stone. The noise then stopped.

“No noises,” the other imp smirked and a few chuckled. “Greekis of no hearing.” More chuckles.

Greekis felt his face go flush with anger. He knew what he heard and just as he was about to go spill the other imp’s guts, the noise came back and it was louder.

He was about to call out about the noise again, but the wall suddenly collapsed. A small mountain of stone came crumbling down and crushed Greekis before he could cry out in astonishment.

The other twenty imps weren’t any more lucky as a veritable swarm of vermin came pouring out of the hole and quickly overran the remaining imps.

Once the coast was clear Jason, Janice, Eeskit and Hercules came out.

“Well, we’re in,” Jason said and gazed around the chamber they were in. It was a large room with a cavernous ceiling and several entrances and exits. “Now it’s as simple as finding and stopping Malus.”

“Somehow I doubt it’s that simple,” Hercules said.

Eeskit came up, his long black nose quivering. “F-foul air. Yes, foul air that way.” He pointed towards one of the ways out which led to a dark downward decline. “Must be bad-bad demon.”

Jason could feel it as well, a dark presence that seemed to cling to the air. Antes gave him a feeling of warning.

“Malus is far more powerful than anything you’ve ever faced,” the angel said internally. “The fight ahead of us will be challenging.”

“We have no choice,” Jason replied and that seemed to be enough for the angel.

“I’ll take point,” Hercules said and rallied his men. Jason and Janice followed behind while Eeskit organized his clan to cover the rear.

The tunnel slowly led downwards and was only illuminated by a soft blue glow that emanated from the fungus growing on the walls. It pulsates like a heart. Everyone did their best to not touch it.

For a while it seemed that there would be no resistance. The halls were empty and the party went further and further down until that all changed.

“Wasn’t expecting fresh meat so soon,” a soothing and ringing voice said. “But you mortals can be so intuitive at times. I am impressed.”

As the cavern opened up again to a large room, the group was met by the sight of two very different demons.

The one that had spoken looked like an ox, but with scales. There was also another that didn’t look like anything they had seen before. It was tall and lanky with long spindly arms and a beaked face and four large bulbous and black eyes. It spoke.

“The master will not be pleased with this,” It wove it’s four finger hands together and brought it to its face in a thoughtful gesture. “However, if he kill them...”

“He will be most pleased,” the ox said in its disturbingly sweet and alluring voice that did not match its large and muscular physique at all.

“It is decided,” the tall one said, it’s voice like a chronic smoker’s. “They die.” It grinned, showing rows of needle like teeth that were coated in a black bile.

“We all new that it wasn’t going to be easy,” Janice said offhandedly.

“About time we get a challenge,” Hercules snorted and spat, pulling his round shield from his back and hefting it. He gestured to his soldiers and they formed up around him and began to approach the two demons.

The ox gave a roar and charged without any other warning while the tall one raised two of its four leg like limbs and stabbed them into the ground. A few moments later, just before the ox struck the wall of shields Hercules and his men made, two spikes came from the ground and impaled one of the center men, killing him instantly. The sudden attack from below startled the shield wall and the ox broke through goring another soldier with his horns and trampling a second under his hooves. As he passed, the soldiers tried to strike him with their spears, but the blows glanced off of the scales.

“Poseidon’s breath,” Hercules cried out as his spear glanced off of the back of the ox while he barely dodged another spike from the ground.

“We need to take care of the tall one,” Jason said and formed his ice blade.

The tall demon laughed and cackled as it delighted in the killing, but did not fail to see Jason and Janice coming up on his rear.

“I see you,” it grinned and lifted up a hand. Several dark spots appeared on the ground, like tar pits and from it sprouted shapes that slowly took form. They were smaller versions of the tall demon and they instantly attacked with teeth and claws.

Janice rolled to the side and two of the small demons leapt at her like crazed grasshoppers. They landed and tumbled with no grace, but instead scrambled to get back up and launch themselves once more at the girl.

They never reached their target and bolts of ice impales them and sent them sprawling.

“I’ll hold them off,” Jason called as he produced more spears of ice and threw them. He hovered several meters from the ground with a pair of large metallic wings, calling on Antes’ power to aid him. “Get to that thing and kill it!”

Janice paused for a moment to look at the demon. It was busy focusing on Hercules and no longer concerned itself with Janice and Jason.

She ran towards the demon with her sword raised, but when she was ten meters out, mere moments from striking it down, two of the black eyes seemingly floated around its head to look at her.

“Nothing escapes my attention,” it said in a low voice.

There was pain as a spike came out of the ground and pierced Janice’s leg. The green spike lingered for a moment before forcibly pulling itself back into the ground.

Janice screamed out and fell, hitting the ground hard enough that she dropped her sword. It clattered and skidded far away and out of reach.

“Oh, did I do that?” The tall demon grinned. “You stay there and I will get back to you in a bit. Right after I kill these other humans.”

Hercules wasn’t doing well. Half of his men were dead and the other half were wounded in one way or another and barely able to handle both the ox and the constant attacks from the tall demon.

A wide swing of the ox’s doubled blades axe clove a man in two. He was still screaming and his legs still kicking when they hit the ground. Hercules was just barely able to roll under the attack and struck out with his spear again only to have the top bounce off of the ox’s calf. The beast was invulnerable and it perplexed Hercules. Everything has to die. Not even the angels were truly deathless.

Another swing of the ax got nothing, but still, not many were left. More attacks rebounded harmlessly off of the ax’s hide. It had been struck a hundred times and yet no blood showed.

“Did already!” Hercules screamed and made another harmless jab.

“Your blades can not hurt me,” the ox sang. “No blade of man can pierce my hide.”

Hercules grew enraged at the small taunt and found himself nearly pierced by one of the tall demon’s spines. It hit hit back, but at such an angle that it pushed him forward a bit and that gave Hercules an idea.

“You lumbering oaf,” Hercules cried out. “No matter why you’re here in this cave away from the fighting. Your master thought you too much of a clutz to have in the real fight. You’d kill more of your own than ours.”

“I am his perfection,” the ox snorted and made a swing at Hercules. It was wide and sloppy. “You will die.”

Hercules grinned. He was already getting to the beast. Demons were so easy to anger.

“If you’re perfect to him, then I can only imagine how low his standards must be,” he continued. “Does he use you as a fuck toy?”

The ox roared a burly roar that was more appropriate for its size than its normal one.

Hercules stood his ground. He knew that the ox would charge and if he stood his ground, then the other demon would attack as well.

The ox threw its ax aside and lowered his head and charged.

Janice watched from where she had fallen. She thought him mad for facing down the ox head on.

“Stupid fool,” The tall demon smiled to himself. “The perfect still target.” It reared up and stabbed two of its limbs into the ground to send out spines.

Hercules stood there for as long as he dared. He focused all his thoughts and he believed that he could feel the slight rumbling of something under his feet. He just needed a few more moments.

The ox was in a full charge, using all four limbs to gallop with his gory horns lowered.

“Just a little longer,” Hercules said to himself and then at the last possible moment, he leapt out of the way.

Neither the ox or the tall demon realized what had happened until a few moments had passed. The ox had been stopped dead in his tracks and had actually been lifted several inches into the air.

“Wh- what is this feeling?” The ox said as drops of black blood dripping to the ground.

“It’s you dying,” Hercules said and walked in front of the ox and looked at it’s sorry state.

The ox was pierced by two of the tall demon’s spines. They went all the way through him into the chest.

“It’s- peaceful and yet...” he coughed and spasmed, dying before he could finish his sentence.

The tall demon gave off a long wail, but it wasn’t one of sadness of killing it’s companion, but one of pain.

The small creatures attack Jason also began to spasm. They twisted and arched in unnatural ways and then slowly began to melt into a black tar. Jason couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of revulsion at the sight.

Janice was getting a front two seat to the sight of the tall demon doing a similar dance of pain and used the distraction to dig into her bag for her health potions that she was now quite adept at making.

The tall demon cried out and was desperately pulling at his legs that were in the ground. He screeched and yanked until the legs finally came out, a ruin of blood and shredded meat and right after that, the ground buckled and out came Eeskit.

The vermin was covered in the blood of the demon, holding up a serrated sword that had bits of flesh on it.

“Enter the domain of the vermin underworld,” Eeskit said and lunged at the demon who was in too much shock to defend himself. “My world. My world.” Eeskit began to stab viciously at the demon repeatedly and the thing swiped at the rat several times before one blow weakly knocked Eeskit off of him.

“You are all wretched,” The tall demon cursed at them. “Unworthy of even the pitiful existence.”

“Maybe,” Janice said and stood up.

The demon looked at her with disbelief and then noticed the bulbous empty bottle by her feet.

Janice took a shaky step and picked up her sword. The demon moved to stop her, but it was too slow.

The swing was quick and clean, severing the demon’s head from its body, sending a fountain of blood up from its neck. The thing twitched once and then fell.

“I’ve never seen anything so ugly before,” Janice said and heaved a sigh. Her leg was still in pain, but it was healed and that was enough. She quickly went over to Hercules and his few remaining soldiers. Hercules was unscathed, but his soldiers needed some help.

“That quite something,” Janice said as she tended to the wounded who nodded their thanks.

“One must be quick and decisive on the battlefield,” Hercules beamed though there was some sadness as his eyes went over the mangled bodies of his me. “If only I was quicker.”

“More are going to die before the day is over,” Jason said as he walked over. “As much as I hate to say it, we need to keep moving.”

Hercules nodded. “I understand fully. The mission comes first.”

After handing out the last of her potions, Janice went over to Eeskit who was looking down at the tall demon’s body with a flask in hand.

“That was quite the heroics there,” Janice said.

Eeskit looked up at her, a twinkle in his eyes. “Eeskit no left behind. Rest of clan watch backs. Eeskit will be part of glory and to be with queen.”

Janice blushes a little. “You know that I don’t want to be a queen.”

Eeskit was silent for a moment, still looking up at Janice. “Eeskit knows this. He went over to the demon’s body and collected several samples of the blood in several flasks which he put into a satchel.

“What’s that for?” Janice asked and gave a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure her small talk wasn’t wasting time. Jason and Hercules were still getting ready and ensuring that the rest of Hercules men were in good condition. She had a few minutes.

“Blood is arch demon spawn,” Eeskit said. “Rare. Potent. Good for alchemy.” He places the last flask into his satchel. “Should bring more next adventure.” He patted the satchel and gave Janice a smile.

“I’ve had enough adventures,” Janice laughed and began to lead them back to the group.

“When as old as Eeskit is you are, know that there are many more adventures,” Eeskit replied and then stopped suddenly. His nose twitched as he took in deep breaths of the air. His pupils dilated to the point where the were black dots. Ears flicked and fear came across his face. He looked at Janice and was about to say something when he suddenly flinched.

How could she or anyone else not have seen him. The room was large and they were near the center of it and yet they didn’t see Vessius come in, a menacing corrupted demon with wings of rotted meat and rib bones, with pale and splotched skin and armor of rusted black steel and they didn’t see him as he skewered Eeskit from behind.

“Run,” Eeskit managed to croak before his body was flung away by Vessius.

Janice screamed and held her hands to her mouth at the sight.

“My master bids you welcome,” Vessius said.