The Devil in Me remastered

Chapter 6 - the Akuma Devil

I instantly held my hands against my head in pain. Casper had just said the same name that the devil told me. I was about to say something when our carriage just stopped. David checked the device on his wrist as it started to flash rapidly. Melena got up to leave the carriage when a massive claw mark shaved the seat where she would've been had she not moved. Everyone exited the carriage in haste. Behind us the raging ocean and a dead carriage operator. All around us was silence and signs of a once happy civilization.

David shouted out "to the right!" Everyone snapped their heads to see the demon we were looking for. Casper seemed to just teleport there and stab her hand through the ghost. His body turned all white and molded into the ground, trapping Casper's right arm and holding her there until we killed the ghost. David closed his device and told everyone to stay together and don't trust their eyes. This demon general uses illusions to confuse and slay his targets. I wanted to listen to him, but I can't stop thinking about what Mazoku said. I told David to trust me and stay with Melena. He had no choice but to nod and stay ready to kill. I made my way to Casper. The closer I got to her the stronger the tingle felt in my spine. I'm starting to notice the pattern, I didn't feel anything with the fake ghost but when the real thing is nearby a sort of sixth sense triggers in the form of my spine chilling. Armed with this new knowledge I ripped up one of the market stands and blindfolded myself. I pulled the sword hilt from the pouch and extended the blade. I relied on all my senses until I finally caught something. I had this sense of smell that led me somewhere. It felt cold and definitely darker, there wasn't direct sunlight coming in. Before I could get any further the spine chill intensified. I snapped my hand back and blocked an attack from the ghost. The sword clash sparked and burned the blindfold. The ghost was right in front of me. His body looked like a wooden doll that had a carved smile and no eyes. A flashy kimono covering what I assume was his body. I knew this was the time to use my ace in the hole. In my head I chanted Mazoku's name, when I felt that he was listening I begged him to give me tips on defeating this guy. Mazoku told me to use something called devil vision. To perform it I have to focus on a single target and slow my heart rate. Without question I glared at the doll, my heart rate felt in sync with my spine tingle so I calmed myself down. I felt that thinking about Casper dulled my emotions and turned my thoughts into bliss. Knowing this I concentrated hard enough to where the signature heartbeat rang throughout my ears. It wasn't the world that slowed down but my perception of the world. I understand now, when my vision ceases color it means the object or character isn't important. The wooden doll had the same black line as the others yet around his waist.

I understand now that the black line is his life force. This demon doesn't have a spine so his life force belongs in some kind of tie to his waist. I thanked Mazoku for his blessing and engaged the demon general. As I began to perceive the world at normal speed fighting him seemed so easy. Every attack he made I could predict within seconds. The ghost swung down on me, I severed his arm along the shoulder joint. With my blade pointed down I locked my eyes to the next point of contact. With one graceful swing I had disarmed the ghost. I dug my sword into the black waistline and dragged him all the way back to David and Melena. I planted the sword into the dirt and threatened to pull it out and end his life if he didn't give us information on Judy Calmer.

The ghost spoke through a speaker in his neck. In a scratchy voice he just reflected on his life choices. Casper called out to us, saying that we should just rip his memories out of his head. She told me that I just had to dig my finger into his brain and seek out his memories. I did so yet something was off. The demon possessed no brain yet had some of his soul into this wooden doll. So this was the elusive nature of the ghost, the true reason he was never caught.

"There must be more of these tricks" David kicked the doll off the sword and grunted to himself. I should've known something was off, without even noticing we were surrounded by hundreds of the dolls. David whispered under his breath "who invited these hunks of wood." David drew his sword, cutting up all the enemy. I defended Melena to the best of my ability. Those dolls weren't hard to conquer yet there were so many it was impossible to keep up. Melena joined the fight but the three of us didn't do much damage as the dolls were now coming in with metal plated armor and more joints to attack at impossible angles. "Fox stance, third style devour!" Melena roared from the field while moving with incredible speed. Something was making sense in me. There was a chance to get out of this if I only knew how to use these stances David and Melena used. I played defense and observed David as he fluently moved through the dolls and sliced like a blender. He called it the water stance, while Melena primarily used the fox stance. I took a swift breath until one of the dolls caught me off guard. I was knocked on my back and my breath fell short. Casper could only watch from afar as the dolls swarmed us further and soon captured Melena. David is running short on stamina, the dolls still towering in numbers. I may have been pinned down but I was able to see as Casper had this dark red glow to her eyes "Devil's gift, Akuma wrath technique" she finished her chant and melted the carcass she was attached to. Her second horn sprouted a new texture while the other copied. She twitched at the fingertips as this light glow of blue flames surrounded her. She jumped into the frey, dismantling not just the enemy but everything in her path. The enemy couldn't hurt her as the black substance acted like a full body suit of impenetrable armor. She burned the ground as she walked. When the dolls toppled over her she balled up and released a massive amount of flames that evaporated the last of the enemy. Only one doll remained though, the wood fell off him to reveal the true identity of the ghost. A cowardly scrawny fleshy humanoid that Casper easily caught up to and was thrown to the ground. I shook off the pain and yanked the ghost away from Casper so we could salvage his memory. David and Melena pinned him to the ground with their blades and he was officially ours. The devil could struggle all he wanted but the blessed blades David and Melena used to pin him labeled him useless in the strength department.