Rogue Adventures - A Tale from Neverbeen Universe

24

He found himself in a situation which he hadn't foreseen. With growing alarm he witnessed the boy transform into one of the most vicious and wretched creatures there ever was. Quickly he searched the body for the artifact, found it and put it into his pocket. But Raphael was too late; the mist encompassed him too quickly. He was trapped. And when he heard the manic laughter of that shadow devil he readied himself for the fight.

Not being able to see much he gripped his sword tighter and waited, listened into the mist. Suddenly a shadow emerged and grabbed him, its ghastly claws elongated. Raphael slashed his sword to cut the claw from its limb and free himself. But the blade didn't hit anything solid and went right through the shadow creature. Yet its claws were very real and very sharp; they dug into Raphael's right arm and red hot Daemon blood gushed from the wound. He gasped as the shadowy monster tore at his wound, worsening it and ripping flesh from his bones.

Luckily he was left-handed and still had his sword tightly gripped. He swung it at the shadows, back and forth and as hard as he could so he might free himself from this monster. But it seemed as if he fought the air; he couldn't get that shadow devil off of him. Raphael gasped again, gritted his teeth, as the creature slashed his claws across his chest. He had no other option left or he would be torn to pieces. He teleported, tried to escape from this place.

But he ricocheted from the influence this magical mist created. Quietly he cursed his luck. Breathing heavily he looked about, tried to guess where the shadow devil was right now so he might somehow fend it off. Fortunately Gene wasn't here with him; a human stood no chance against an opponent even he struggled to defend against.

'Gene.'

The thought of his lover gave him new strength. He had to continue for his sake, he had to survive until that nightmare was overcome and nullified; he couldn't die here and now.

The monster cackled and shrieked with delight, its contorted voice echoed through the mist, seemed to come from everywhere at once. Raphael had no idea where his enemy was. He could only wait. As he listened into the impenetrable mist, he could hear the dripping of his own blood. His shirt was soaked through and stuck to his skin as if glued to it; the wounds throbbed with pain, and they slowed his movements and made him sluggish.

When a shadow pounced him, he struck at it with his sword, swung it with all his remaining strength to keep the monster at least at midrange. Its shadowy limbs elongated and clutched at his wrists, pulled so hard and abrupt that he could hear his joints snap. Again he teleported, and again the mist wouldn't let him through. He fell to the floor, rolled around and pulled himself up with a grunt.

Raphael racked his brain how to counter a foe he could hardly see and who couldn't be physically hit. Before he came to a conclusion, something gripped his ankle and dragged him across the floor. He struggled to free himself, while tiny pebbles and gravel grazed his skin. Until he was suddenly pulled in the air, dangling headlong for a moment, then was thrown around and smashed to the ground. Raphael let out a groan as he felt the impact dislocate his shoulder and lacerate his brow.

Dizzily he shook his head. A grim giggle echoed through the mist. This mad monster seemingly had fun tearing him slowly apart. Raphael struggled to his feet, panting hard. He tried to calm down, clear his mind. He couldn't fight in the state he was in, so he needed to resort to other measures. Murmuring low magical syllables he felt how the pain, which was coursing through his whole body, receded. He didn't heal — he knew no healing spell — but the magic took away every sense of pain. Soon he didn't feel anything anymore. With a nasty noise he righted his dislocated shoulder, then wiped some blood from his brow and took a deep breath.

When the creepy creature struck again, he teleported, then lashed out telepathically as he sought its mind. What he found was a shattered wasteland, an utterly fractured mind, torn with madness. There was nothing left to attack there; this shadow devil had totally lost it, never able to return to sanity ever again. He couldn't even trick its mind into letting him go. This creature was not able to think coherently anymore; it acted on pure instincts and malice, and it feasted on destruction and the suffering of its prey — in this case, Raphael.

Somehow it sensed where he was, perceived him with all of its senses. Yet he could confuse it for a few seconds if he teleported. So when the shadow devil was upon him again, he teleported once more. Each jump was bad for his heart condition, but this was a higher probability to survive than being torn to pieces.

Then someone else stepped into the influence, tore through the mist and revealed this hidden battleground. Both Raphael and the shadow devil were surprised. But while the shadowy creature applauded the arrival of more prey, Raphael saw this was his chance to escape. As the mist evaporated and revealed the faces of the new arrivals, Raphael's heart skipped a beat as he recognized the four of them. Azrael, Thanatos, his father and...

'Gene.'

Then he teleported away.