The demon stood at its full, monstrous height, glaring down at Damien and his summons.
Smoke rose from its charred body, and its reptilian eyes flicked between Damien and the recently summoned Luton. It let out a guttural roar, shaking the very ground beneath them.
For a moment, there was silence, the kind that foreshadows a storm. Then, the demon charged forward with incredible speed, its massive frame moving like a blur toward Damien. Its claws stretched out, ready to tear through anything in its path.
Damien turned to Luton, a smile tugging at his lips despite the dire situation. “Show me what you’ve got, buddy. Let’s see what devouring that Obsidian Drake has done for you.”
Luton rippled in response, its gelatinous form quivering with energy. Then, with a sudden burst, it launched itself forward.
Bang!
The force of its leap left a crater where it had been moments before, propelling it toward the oncoming demon.
Graaaah!
The demon snarled as it noticed the slime hurtling toward it and raised a massive hand to block the attack.
Luton, undeterred, slammed into the demon’s hand, instantly engulfing it. The demon’s snarl turned into a roar of agony as Luton’s devour ability activated.
The slime began to eat away at the demon’s hand, dissolving flesh and muscle with terrifying efficiency. The acrid stench of burning flesh filled the air, and the demon roared again, this time in pain and fury.
It swung its other hand in an attempt to swat Luton away, but the slime reacted with eerie precision, shifting its form to envelop the second hand as well.
The demon thrashed, trying to yank its arms free from Luton’s grip. Finally, with a mighty pull, it managed to wrench its arms out, but not without consequences. The skin and muscle on its arms had been stripped clean, leaving grotesque, skeletal appendages behind.
The demon’s roars of pain echoed across the battlefield as it stumbled back, trying to regain its footing.
“Now’s our chance!” Damien shouted. Luton had given them the chance to attack the demon and Damien wasn’t going to let it go.
“Bring that bastard down! We need it dead!” Damien commanded Fenrir and Cerbe to strike.
Fenrir darted forward, its massive jaws clamping down on the demon’s ankle with bone-crushing force. At the same time, Cerbe’s three heads each bit into the other leg, their jaws tearing through muscle and sinew.
Fenrir growled, twisting its body to shatter the demon’s ankle bone, while Cerbe yanked back with incredible strength, ripping through half of the demon’s other leg.
The demon howled in agony, its massive frame crashing to its knees. Blood poured from its wounds, staining the already ruined ground beneath it.
The demon’s tail, long and whip-like with a serrated tip, lashed out wildly. It struck Fenrir first, slicing through the wolf’s thick fur and leaving a deep gash across its side. Fenrir yelped in pain but held its ground.
The tail then swung toward Cerbe, slamming into the three-headed canine and sending it flying across the battlefield.
Boooom!!
Cerbe crashed into a pile of rubble, momentarily stunned.
The demon, though gravely injured, managed to claw its way upright. Its reptilian eyes burned with hatred as it turned its attention back to Damien.
Just as the demon prepared to launch another devastating attack, a shadow swept across the battlefield. Aquila, Damien’s majestic Griffin summon, swooped down from the sky with blinding speed.
The Griffin slammed into the demon from behind, its powerful talons digging into the creature’s shoulders and forcing it to fall forward.
Damien gripped the remaining half of his broken sword tightly. It was now a pitiful weapon, but it was all he had left.
Channeling every ounce of magic essence he could muster, he poured it into the broken blade. The sword began to glow, its edges sharpening as the magic essence extended the blade by an additional two feet.
As the demon struggled to keep its massive frame off the ground, Damien leaped forward, using his (Wind Manipulation) Skill to propel himself with incredible speed.
Damien slid under the demon’s falling body with his sword facing upward. With a fierce cry, Damien pushed the glowing blade upward towards the demon’s falling forehead.
The demon’s face smashed into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust and debris.
Booom!
Crack!
The sword pierced through the demon’s thick skull with a sickening crunch, embedding itself deep into the creature’s brain.
Graaaaarr!!
The demon spasmed violently, its body convulsing as it let out one final, earth-shaking roar.
Then, it went still.
Damien panted heavily, his body trembling from exhaustion. The demon’s massive corpse pressed on him, its once-terrifying presence now reduced to a lifeless husk.
He pulled the broken sword from the demon’s skull and pulled himself from underneath it, collapsing onto the ground beside it. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to catch his breath.
Fenrir limped over, blood staining its white fur, but its eyes shone with pride. It nudged Damien gently, as if to check on him.
“Good job, Fenrir,” Damien muttered, patting the wolf’s massive head. “And you too, Luton.”
Luton bobbled over, its form rippling as if in acknowledgment.
Just then, Cerbe also walked close to its summoner. Damien turned to the Three-Headed Hound and smiled. He remembered how it had chewed through the demon’s leg and even tore it apart. “You did just as good as the other two.”
Damien lay back against the ground, a tired but triumphant grin spreading across his face. “We did it,” he whispered to himself. “We actually did it.”
Kreeeeii!
Aquila let out a triumphant cry as it roamed the skies and Damien sent it a thumbs up. “You’re not an exception.”
For a moment, there was silence on the battlefield. Then, from the distance, the faint sound of cheers began to rise. The townspeople, who had been watching from afar, realized that the nightmare was finally over.
But Damien barely heard them. His eyelids grew heavy, and exhaustion finally claimed him. With a deep sigh, he allowed himself to drift into unconsciousness.