Devil in Shepherd's Robes

Ch 14: To Rise Above

"Why the hell are you alive!" Ephram's voice boomed, shaking the ground beneath his feet.

"Look who it is! My old pal, E! Where's May and that little mouse creature? I've missed you all so much!" Pestarrem said, his voice growing more and more monstrous as he spoke, smiling from one ear hole to the other.

Ephram took a few steps forward to confront the rat demon, his gaze never once breaking away from the monster. He didn't know how or why this creature had survived the sewers after the tortured demons had been let loose on him. It was apparent, however, he had at least been hurt. He thought to himself that if he was still wounded, perhaps defeating the rat demon would prove to be simple.

"I'd stop right there if I were you." Pestarrem exclaimed, pointing down to what now lay between his feet.

The rat demon had managed to walk over to the unconscious body of Restavel, lifting his head slightly to bring the tip of his bone protrusion above her head. With one swift motion, he could impale her at any time. Ephram knew that if he didn't do what the monster said, she would be gravely injured. As long as the rat demon didn't know her true name, however, Restavel stood a chance of being saved. Even a demon can feel unimaginable pain and break past the point of no return. If a demon's body was broken to a certain point they would die for real, not just be thrown into the Abyss. Impaling Restavel's head would most likely kill her for good even without speaking her true name upon her death.

Halting in his tracks, he stood firmly in place. There was absolutely nothing he could do at the moment, his best bet was to somehow convince the demon to move away from her body, then find a moment to strike.

"I want to know. Why do this?" He asked, stalling for time before the creature decided he'd had enough fun and impaled the maid.

"Why? I would be overjoyed to tell you!" Pestarrem began, laughing throughout every word he uttered.

"When you so courageously left me and my brothers for dead, I'll have you know those disgusting creatures almost did get me! They mutilated my brothers beyond the point of no return, and nearly did the same to me! I was lucky to escape, mostly intact. Can't say the same for my dead brothers!" He said, holding up his left arm to show off the stump where his hand used to be.

"You tried to kill me! For no reason other than satisfying the demons above ground! You're the one who started this, and I'll be the one to finish it!" Ephram yelled as his agitation grew.

"SHUT UP! You... you took everything from me!" Pestarrem shouted, his white eyes harboring a deep-rooted hatred for Ephram. He felt as if the only time he was truly alive was when facing his sworn enemy. Whatever was left of the rat demon's soul began to burn with the fiery passion of rage, consuming his every thought as he stared maliciously at the demon before him.

He closed his eyes slowly in an effort to calm himself, beginning to lift his head up in a threatening motion as if he were truly about to impale Restavel. No amount of begging would save the maid from what he had in mind; nothing could stop him now.

"Wait! I... I'll tell you my true name if you let her go! Don't hurt her!" Ephram suddenly shouted, reaching out desperately for the rat demon to cease his plan.

As Pestarrem slowly reopened his eyes, looking curiously at the demon he knew as E, he began to wonder what he could possibly be thinking. A demon's true name is their biggest weakness, it can cause all who know their name to hold power over them. Names can hold power, but for most demons, they hold weakness. Demons with no true names can be killed by traditional means alone, but a named demon is much harder to kill. The name itself acts as a type of firewall against death itself, but even that firewall isn't impenetrable. Pestarrem slowly began smiling once again, stepping away from the maid and resting his bone protrusion back upon the ground.