Death's End

Chapter 12 - Exorcism

"D-Demon..." Alvaro stuttered. His face paled visibly as beads of cold perspiration trickled towards his chin.

Giselle spread her lips in a snickle, revealing pointed teeth as sharp as miniature daggers. As she lifted blood-stained claws to her face, a forked tongue slithered forth. She licked the blood off a finger of pale violet.

"Delicious." A second tentacle-like appendage erupted from the demon's back, joining its purple twin in the air. Yurisivel screamed, "Giselle, what are you doing?!"

Demonic talons sunk into a body before Giselle. As they withdrew, a wedge of grisly flesh was clutched within those serrated claws. The demoness regarded Yurisviel for a moment, her eyes exuding nothing but a glint of demented amusement. Her jaws opened wide, and she swallowed the haunch of human meat whole.

Giselle began to eat her mother alive.

Yurisviel's mind lurched from disbelief and utter revulsion, but the truth was monstrously apparent. The girl who came from a village and lost her mother, the girl who was tortured at the hands of vile bandits, the girl who-

A bolt of realization surged through Yurisviel.

"The Scent. Looks like Aderis dabbled in vile demonic arts," Zenvix uttered calmly.

So that's why she had the scent. Yurisviel realized to her dismay. The demoness tore a second chunk of flesh from the mangled corpse before her, scarfing it down before turning her horned head slowly towards the trio.

"I must admit‒I thought my little surprise here would be ruined because of that man. Concealing my aura was...difficult." The irises in her eyes have shrunk forbiddingly to slits, reminiscent of a pit viper. They now glared unblinkingly at Alvaro.

"Fortunately, the fools beside you were so eager to protect poor, poor Giselle. Especially the she-human," the demoness cackled. Alvaro clenched his fists in fury. "Why, you little..."

"Giselle, I know you are in there! Please, please...come to your senses!" Yurisiviel cried out. The demoness only shrieked with laughter. "Stop it, Yurisviel. There is no Giselle, only a demon to be killed," Zenvix responded quietly.

"If we do not exorcise this demon, we will become its next meal. What will happen to your goal then, the goal which you have so arduously sought to accomplish all these years?" Zenvix asserted.

Turning his head towards the foe, Zenvix declared his assault, "Men, surround the beast!" He charged towards the demoness, sword in hand. His four retainers fell into stride behind him before dispersing their positions at different angles facing the demoness, encircling her. A brief rush of hot air fanned out towards Zenvix as a raging fireball struck the monster. Or would have, if not for the demoness's purple claws, which sunk into the fiery sphere, dissipating it.

"You will perish today, spawn of Aderis," Alvaro said, his face an icy mask of contempt as he began to whisper the next set of power words. Zenvix locked eyes with the sorcerer briefly before giving his command.

"Attack!"

The prince and his men assaulted the demoness on all sides. "How foolish," Giselle smiled. As two soldiers closed in on her position from left and right, sword and shield raised, tentacle-like appendages came hammering down with unnatural force, buckling the two men who tried to parry the blows. An instant later a discordant sound of breaking steel resounded, as the abominations punched a hole through shields, perforating the soldiers where they stood.

Zenvix swung his sword in an overhead strike, missing its mark as the demoness sprung agilely behind one soldier, sinking its fangs into the man's neck. The protection of his gorget stood no chance, rupturing beneath the powerful incisors.