“Oh, fucking nice. I lost him, again.”

  Drifter followed Locke through the portal to the demon world he had left behind, only to appear on a dusty road between the large, overhanging walls of a canyon. However, unlike the majority of the neglected wasteland, obscured by the dust and dirt, a finely crafted marble pathway laid before him, leading down a long road toward a massively tall peak, with a castle hidden beyond it.

  Although he had been to the demon world before, architecture of this calibre was a rare sight, as was the castle sitting on the horizon. It was hard to make out the details, with the walls of the canyon closing around his view, but a spiralling staircase led up the perilous summit.

  He had a strong hunch that Locke was purposely drawing him towards the castle. Of course, he hadn’t the slightest clue why.

  Along the walls of the quarry were simple shelters built into the rocky cliffs, for housing the peasantry, although they were long abandoned. Dilapidated and worn down from decades of negligence and erosion, there was at least one point in time, where this place was a secluded, yet flourishing, society. The demonic equivalent of suburbia.

  “Three of them.” Drifter told himself. “Three demons up ahead, but only one of them seems tough enough to be considered a threat.”

  He sighed in exasperation. “Fucking hell… it can’t just be a straight shot to the castle. There’s always got to be a roadblock…”

  In the human world, Dale and Amanda arrived in the heart of Newport on the Isle of Wight, watching from the bridge on the river Medina as serpent-like demons rained down upon the city, ready to wreak havoc among its populace. They recklessly crashed through buildings and cars as they fell, ready to unleash chaos and destruction on a massive scale.

  “Welp, there’s no coming back from this.” Amanda accepted.

  “You what?” Dale was shocked by her cynicism.

  “You might survive, but I’m only human.”

  “You can’t think like that, Amanda. You’ve just gotta keep fighting.”

  “I never said I wasn’t going to fight. I’ll just go out, guns blazing.”

  “I won’t let that happen.”

  “Still trying to play the hero? You’re such a dork.”

  “I’m not playing…”

  The serpentine demons slithered through the city buildings, excitedly searching each and every corner for humans to torment. It was a sickening sight as Dale watched them gleefully crash through walls and rooftops, as they swarmed the streets.

  However, their excitement soon turned to disappointment, followed by a sense of raging betrayal. Something was missing. Many somethings in fact. Hundreds and thousands of them vanished before they had even arrived.

  “Where are the humans!?”

  “This one’s empty too!?”

  “What the hell!?”

  “I saved my appetite for this!?”

  “This is heresy!”

  “Have we been tricked!?”

  “This unexpected turn of events has left me greatly upset!”

  The city erupted into vitriolic ranting from enraged monsters, trying to pin the blame on anything from their master, to each other. They were promised humans to maim, torture and abuse, but they found nothing but empty streets. Screaming like children after discovering their toy box had been emptied before playtime.

  “There's no people here?” Dale questioned.

  “Do you think those army guys evacuated the city before we got here?” Amanda added.

  “You mean, they knew this was going to happen?”

  “I bet that police officer told them. He’s been following Drifter’s movements and probably gave them the heads up.”

  “He convinced the British army to actually do something productive? Clever bastard.”

  The tension that built up over the impending large scale attack quickly crumbled. Dale couldn’t help but crack up at the demon’s childish rantings.

  “Oh my god, look at them! They’re so pissed off!”

  “Look! There’s a human! Up on the bridge!”

  Dale’s laughter stopped.

  “Good one.” Amanda chastised. “You gave away our position. Appreciate that.”

  “Oh… bollocks…”

  All Dale wanted was to enjoy a moment of levity, but the front of the bridge was quickly blocked by the serpents and their intimidating numbers. Watching and waiting for the two of them to make a move.

  “Well then. The three of us versus… about… a hundred of them.” Dale nervously surmised. “I think… Are you ready?”

  “Just the two of us?”

  “No, I said three.”

  “Nope, Catherine’s long gone.”

  “What!? She ditched us!? When!?”

  “Don’t know. Probably around the time we arrived.”

  “Oh man… that’s a lot of gross, creepy snake monsters, with big jaws, fangs and rock hard chests? I didn’t think snakes could look so ripped and their scales look as hard as steel. I could probably take on one at a time, but a hundred is a bit much.”

  One of the monsters spat a warning shot, just narrowly missing Dale’s face, striking the ground and melting the granite. The creatures laughed at Dale’s shocked expression.

  “Oh, we are fucked.”

  “Alright, let’s start things off with a bang.”

  Amanda readied her rocket, planning to blow apart the ground with an explosive, but was interrupted when the ground started rumbling behind them. The earthquake threw Dale and Amanda momentarily off balance, even the demons were suddenly left petrified.

  “Jesus Christ, Amanda! What did you shoot!?”

  “What!? I didn’t shoot anything!”

  “We have arrived, humans!” A loud towering voice announced.

  A large, black, quadrupedal demon, with a lion’s face appeared behind them.

  “It’s the Bigger Bastard!” Dale cried.

  “That’s not my-”

  “Wait a minute.” Amanda interrupted. “I thought Drifter killed you!?”

  “That would have been far less humiliating, but his mercy has given me a chance to redeem myself, even if it means enduring the embarrassment of being spared by a human.”

  “Spared? I’m pretty sure Drifter didn’t do that on purpose.”

  “W-what…? I see… M-most interesting…”

  “You’re here to help us? Why?”

  “Ask the spikey one.”

  The Bigger Bastard wasn’t alone. Leaping from atop his back were a pair of familiar faces.

  “Spinal!?” Dale called.

  “Good afternoon, Dale.” He answered looking rather dapper for the occasion.

  “Dude, how are you and Reine doing?”

  “Fine. Reine’s been just lovely. She’s recently been giving me piano lessons, although her teaching can be quite rigorous…”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Helping, of course.”

  “But, how’d you know?”

  “Tap has been keeping tabs on you.”

  Spinal’s sly scarfed companion waved awkwardly.

  “Ever since that incident in Westgate, Tap has been keeping an eye on you two. He regularly visits me to inform me of your journey. How are your legs by the way?”

  “Itchy.”

  Spinal laughed. “So is my chest. Healing can be a rather uncomfortable experience. Anyway, once Tap witnessed your interactions with a certain chained demon, he began gathering intel in the demon world and soon learned of the attack that was to take place on this island.”

  “Cool, but why go to all the trouble?”

  Tap pulled down his scarf and simply stated. “You freed me from Tuffnail and spared my life. I owe you.”

  “He figured you’d show up here and quickly brought us all together to help with the fight.”

  “Wow.” Dale was in awe. Demons who were once enemies had now returned as allies.

  “Answer me this, human.” Asked a tall caped demon in his corinthian helmet.

  “Stolz!?”

  “Can a demon truly be accepted into human society?”

  “I don’t see why not… as long as you’re not an arsehole, most people won’t mind.”

  “I see… while I don’t need an excuse to wipe such vile vermin from this world, this is a golden opportunity I cannot waste.”

  “I didn’t think you cared about being accepted by humans.”

  “I have my reasons.”

  “Enough talking.” The Bigger Bastard announced. “I shall take the lead. Female human!”

  “Yeah?” Amanda replied.

  “Your body is puny and frail.”

  “I noticed.”

  “I shall protect you! Your ranged weapon will be much more effective from a higher vantage point! Ride upon my back, so we may destroy them together!”

  Amanda laughed. “Well, Dale. Guess we might stand a chance after all.”

  “Yeah… demons and humans working together. If only Drifter could see this.”

  “I really don’t need to see this…”

  As Drifter expected, blocking his path through the canyon stood a demon, having sensed the Legendary Demon Sword close by. The creature was humanoid, with dirty white skin, long unkempt grey hair and covered in rags. He looked tired and desperate.

  “But… I need it…” He begged, looking down at his feet in shame.

  “Go away.” Drifter shooed.

  “Then… I have no other choice…”

  The demon rushed forward in a feral rage, but Drifter remained stern. He watched as it raised its hand to swipe at his face with its claws, but as it drew near, Drifter lifted his hand and swiftly flicked its nose.

  Reeling back in shock, the demon’s nose stung, his eyes tearing up from the pain. While he stood paralysed, Drifter took the opportunity to walk right past him. He didn’t want to waste his time on such a trivial fight.

  “Hey!” The demon called. “Get back here! I’m not finished yet!”

  “Yes you are.”

  Although his pride was wounded, the demon had more at stake than just his ego. He needed that sword more than anything in the world and no human was going to stand in his way. He was going to fight till his dying breath.

  He dashed at Drifter, grabbing him from behind and tossing him into the canyon wall, embedding him into the stone, locking him in place. With his target immobilised, the demon was free to unleash a wicked storm of fists that pummelled every inch of Drifter’s body.

  Technique didn’t matter, he just threw out everything he had and hoped that it was enough to kill the human, as he beat him deeper into the rocks. Of course, to Drifter, it was just more of the same. Another arrogant, greedy punk, hoping to get an easy kill off a human in exchange for what they believed to be the ultimate power.

  Drifter allowed the demon to pulverise him to it’s heart's content, as they would soon learn how pointless their mindless lust for power was, once the fear set in. Truthfully, this was the only part of fighting demons that Drifter garnered any semblance of amusement from and yet, even their terrified reactions were getting old.

  Soon, the demon grew tired, slowing their punches and backing off to look over their work. Drifter remained unharmed, covering himself in a faint white barrier. The white aura surrounding Drifter intensified until he burst from the wall.

  In a flash of light, Drifter freed himself, leaving a large cavity in the rocks. The demon was shaken to his core, too tired to move or defend himself from whatever counter measures Drifter had planned. Drifter reached for his sword and drew it forth, only to chuck it to the ground.

  “That’s what you’re looking for, right?” He asked. “There… take it.”

  He took his leave, curious to see what the demon would do once they actually got their hands on the power they had been seeking. The demon took up the sword and felt the surge of power flow through him.

  “Incredible… this is it… with this we can survive… I’ll become the strongest… a demon without peer. The monsters that threatened us. Laughed at our suffering. Took everything from us.

  Our homes. Our lives. Our purpose. I finally have the power to take it all back! I’ll cut them all down! I’ll make them suffer! I’ll take my revenge on all of them! But first, if I am to be respected, I cannot let this human’s disgrace go unpunished! I must slay the previous wielder as proof of my power!”

  In a flash, he charged at Drifter, who kept his back turned. The demon was ready to swipe the sword across Drifter’s waist to cleave him in two, but the opportunity never came. Always patiently waiting until the last moment, as soon as he came close, Drifter backhanded the demon clean in the face.

  His fist struck with the force of a meteor, stopping the demon dead in its tracks. Their nose didn’t sting anymore, it had been completely destroyed, like a burst, bloody balloon. Not even the Demon Sword could protect him from the power Drifter had already amassed within his body from years of experience.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “It’s always the same. You’re oppressed by those with power over you, so you seek power yourself. You desperately search for the human wielding the weapon of legend, deluding yourself into believing it’ll be an easy win, simply because they're only human.

  But, those aren't the actions of someone fighting for the weak, or trying to right the wrongs of their world. That’s the same mindset of the very oppressors you were trying to fight against.

  You dumb fucks never learn. I don’t care whether you're the oppressor or the oppressed, I have no tolerance left for people who threaten the lives of humanity.”

  Drifter’s aura flared up like burning flames, as he pointed his finger at the demon. His aura then burnt out as he fired a bright spark. Upon impact, the spark exploded with a force that rippled through the demon’s body tearing through the skin on his back, blood spraying from the fissures in his body, shredded from the blast.

  Left in total despair, the demon’s body fell backwards, drained of all life.

  “Idiot.”

  Drifter took back his sword and searched for the remaining two demons he sensed earlier. They weren’t far, as he quickly discovered their location, hiding in one of the carved out houses built into the canyon. He kicked the stone door open.

  It was a small home, the size of a single room, with nothing but a stone bed. Sitting on the bed, trembling in fear was a female demon. She looked the same species as the one Drifter just killed. Same pale skin and grey hair, but in cleaner robes.

  She immediately grabbed something small and frail from the bed. The small object started crying as the woman helplessly asked.

  “Who are you!? Please, go away!”

  Drifter wasn’t going to bother pointing out the contradicting nature of her request, he was too busy piecing together the situation before him.

  “Oh no…”

  It was a mother cradling her young child. A baby. Drifter despised demons, but even he wouldn’t stoop so low as to attack a helpless infant. While there was still a slight chance it could be a trap, he didn’t want to stick around and find out. He pretended he didn’t see them and left, contemplating what to do next.

  “Are you… leaving?” The woman asked, peeking from behind the entrance.

  “Forget you saw me.”

  “Wait… my partner is still out there, did you see him?”

  “No.”

  “But, that loud bang… did you really not see anything?”

  “No.”

  “No you did, or no you didn’t?”

  “Just go back inside.”

  “He’s dead… isn’t he…”

  Drifter said nothing.

  “I felt it… the moment I heard that bang… his presence disappeared from this world…”

  “Later…”

  “Wait! Take me to him!”

  After trying to ignore her for so long, Drifter finally faced the woman. “What makes you think I know where the hell he is?”

  The woman glared at him. She knew. Without saying a word, her mere expression told Drifter she wasn’t falling for his ignorance. Her glare wasn’t out of hatred, but of duty. She needed to see him one final time.

  “Fine… it’s your funeral.”

  The grieving widow did not appreciate Drifter’s inappropriate word play.

  Still sprawled on the ground, in a bloody pool, laid the woman’s deceased partner. Drifter felt nothing, to him he was just another demon, but he was curious to see her reaction.

  She brought the baby with her, wrapped snuggly in a blanket, thankfully it had fallen asleep. She stared for a moment, as she slowly came to terms with the fate they had been dealt before finally speaking.

  “Oh, Chain… you sweet, selfless, stupid idiot. Why did you do this? You said it was do or die, but I didn’t think you’d actually…”

  Incapable of containing her sadness any longer, she lifted the departed’s head, closed his eyes and embraced him as her tears flowed.

  "Selfish cunt." Drifter thought to himself. “Letting his pride get the better of him, when he had so much more to live for. Still, makes me wonder… How many other demons have I killed that were just idiots trying to survive?”

  “Farewell, Chain. Thank you for everything…” She laid him down and pulled herself up.

  “Why must it be this way? Our home falls further and further into decay, as the selfish monsters that brought it to ruin move onto the next unsuspecting world, leaving us behind in their waste.

  Why must good people like Chain risk their lives trying to obtain powers they never wanted, just to win battles that never needed to be fought? As this world grows emptier, so too, do our hopes of ever living a peaceful existence.

  Fighting is the only way to live. Power becomes the only valuable resource. Winning is the only way to persist and killing is the only way to garner respect. But, death is the end result of it all, for everyone.

  We can’t go on like this… my kind were never meant to be warriors, but this harsh world has nearly brought us to extinction. Without Chain, what am I supposed to do?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Drifter looked the other way and walked. It’s not that he didn’t feel for her, but finding Locke was far more important than the plight of a random stranger.

  The widow contemplated for a moment, but she soon figured there was only one thing she could do, there were no other options left. Without saying a word, she followed after Drifter and it didn’t take long for him to get miffed about it.

  “What are you doing?” He groaned.

  “I’m not sure…”

  “Let me guess… you don’t have anywhere else to go, do you?”

  “There is nothing left for us here. No food. No water. Nothing. We can’t survive here without Chain. If we stay, we will surely die.”

  “Goddammit… I really am a sadness magnet…”

  “Please… I just want my child to be safe…” She pleaded, clutching her baby tightly to her chest.

  “Whatever… just don’t backstab me okay?”

  The look in Drifter’s eyes was unexpected. They didn’t look angry or threatening. To her, they looked sad, almost as if he wanted to trust her, but something was holding him back, something deep in his heart, even if he didn’t realise it himself.

  “I’m sorry…“ She replied. “I never even considered how difficult this must be for you…”

  “Uh… what…?”

  “My name is Pad and yours?”

  “Drifter…”

  “Thank you, Drifter.”

  “You’re pretty composed for someone whose boyfriend just died.”

  “I can’t afford to grieve for too long. Not until we’re safe.”

  Drifter muttered to himself. “An escort for a fucking demon. What the hell is happening to me?”

  Amazed at the situation he found himself in, he sighed in concerned laughter. “Locke, Chain, Pad? What’s your kid’s name? Key?”

  “H-how did you know?”

  “Are you-!? Just an… educated guess…”

  “How many do you see, Amanda!?” Dale asked, as Amanda scanned over the area, perched atop the Bigger Bastard’s head.

  “Uhh… five… hundred…”

  “What!?”

  “Shit, I don’t know! There’s too many to count!”

  “What a fucking mess.”

  “Can you fools really not handle these pests?” Stolz grunted.

  “Hey, we don’t have big fuck-off superpowers like Drifter, okay? I’m a little overwhelmed.”

  “Please… we just need to strategise.”

  “I got nothing.”

  “Then allow me.”

  Stolz seemed a little too excited over the prospect of coordinating his new comrades for battle.

  “Tap and the short one. With your speed, you can shred through the scales covering these beasts easily. It won’t be enough to kill, in fact, you should avoid killing. Just weaken them. Stay on the move and rip through as many as you can, as much as you can. Wearing them down will be your top priority.”

  “Okay and what about you?”

  “I, along with Spinal, shall guard the large one, while he, along with his gunslinger, shall pick off enemies from a distance. A widespread assault, designed to wear down their defences. That should be more than enough to defeat these sycophants.”

  “Alright.” Dale turned to Tap. “I’ll cover the left and you focus on the right. Let’s rip them apart!”

  The two dashed into the horde of monsters, swiping past every demon in their path, too fast for any of their foes to react to. They were blurs swimming through the sea of serpents, leaving trails of gleaming lights in their path.

  Those lucky enough to be at the front of the pack, were free to attack the group directly, unfortunately that meant having to battle Spinal and Stolz head on, a far more difficult task than they envisioned.

  Spinal may not have been the most experienced, but his spiked body made for a brutally punishing defensive shield. Able to extend and even shoot his spines to subdue enemies, he kept them at bay for the Bigger Bastard to swipe aside whenever possible.

  However, the real unbreakable wall blocking the serpent's path was Stolz. An indomitable warrior, unyielding in his steadfast battle style. Blades held at his front and back. Any serpents foolish enough to even come close were torn apart by the sheer force of his swings.

  Keeping the rest of the crowd under control was Amanda, standing atop the Bigger Bastard’s back, firing rifle shots and explosives to pick off any straddlers attempting to flee.

  None escaped her sight, she made sure they were all neatly packed in for the others to easily blow apart. The Bigger Bastard was perfect for this role. When not swatting away weakened creatures with his massive claws, he was charging dark energy blasts with his mouth and blowing away packs of serpents at a time. Their large numbers meant nothing to him.

  The serpent's tried to fight back, with their meaty tails, large jaws and poisonous saliva, but they hardly got the chance to utilise any of them. Being forced to huddle together by Amanda’s gunfire made it impossible to use their tails, and their enemies were either too fast or too heavily armoured for their bites to have any effect.

  Their poison was their only useful weapon, which had no effect on Stolz or the Bigger Bastard’s armour. They tried to focus their attention on Spinal, but Stolz was adamant on protecting him. The armoured soldier would deflect the poisonous bullets with his mighty zweihanders, leaving Spinal to fire spines into the mouths of the monsters to seal off their spit.

  It had only been a mere twenty minutes and the serpents already desperately wished to retreat. They were beyond upset. They were promised an island full of defenseless humans to feed on, but were instead met with an unexpected ambush from both humans and demons, somehow working together in perfect harmony and they were far more powerful and coordinated than they could ever hope to be.

  “This was a setup!”

  “Nahas betrayed us!”

  “I don’t want to die here!”

  The demons were exhausted and their wills whittled away. They knew if they continued on they were dead. Having noticed their aggression turn to fear, Dale took it upon himself to address them.

  “Hey, if you’re not even going to fight back, then get lost! Go back to Hell while you still can and stay there!”

  The fighting stopped momentarily as the remaining demons considered the option. They all nodded in agreement and quickly slithered past the group and retreated.

  “We did it." Dale cheered. "We actually convinced them to leave. We barely killed any of them, too.”

  “They sure weren’t as tough as I thought they’d be.” Amanda commented.

  Stolz scoffed at the thought.

  “They were mere pawns, far too accustomed to leeching off of their master. As if they could possibly stand up to true warriors. You could have dealt with them easily on your own, if you hadn’t foolishly drawn their attention.”

  She turned to Dale. “Yeah… if only.”

  “Don’t ruin my moment.” Dale responded.

  Near the edge of the city, rummaging inside a convenience store a couple miles away, Catherine had gone her own way, looking for anything to replenish her stamina after her loss against Drifter.

  With no one around, she helped herself to any sandwiches, snacks and drinks she fancied, but it wasn’t enough, she needed something to calm her nerves and help her clear her mind and think about what to do next. She went behind the counter to grab a pack of cigarettes, but there were no lighters.

  “Oh, come on!”

  Catherine kicked the counter, not in the mood for a treasure hunt. The building suddenly shook, although it had been shaking periodically for the past ten minutes now.

  “Those guys are still fighting?”

  She had no interest in joining their fight, as she had no stake in the matter. At this point she was just waiting for Locke to finish his business. Another quake caused the draw under the register to slide open slightly. Curious, Catherine took a peek.

  “Yes! Finally!”

  She found her lighter and left the store. Catherine walked down the road, the rush of nicotine giving her peace of mind. Now she just needed a tranquil place to rest. A place to escape from the eerie emptiness around her.

  The large roundabout in the middle of the road, covered in grass and trees seemed perfect. As she laid in the grass, surrounded by nature, it reminded her of her personal sanctuary by the river in Donnington. She could finally laze around in peace. Watching the steel clouds, floating through the air, Catherine lost herself in her thoughts.

  “Even if Locke finds Alexander, what is he supposed to do then? Will he just magically make all our problems go away? Humanity’s not gonna give a shit.

  And how is he going to deal with Drifter? There’s no reasoning with that guy, especially if you're a demon, and you can’t fight him, either. As long as he’s around, this all seems pointless…

  Those two guys following him though… they seem okay… maybe they can help… will they even want to? I doubt they even trust me after I just tried to kill them.”

  Her tail bobbed over her head. “I still can’t control it…”

  “Brothers! There’s a human in here!”

  Catherine shot up from her lounging spot and looked over at the voice. A serpentine monster stared back at her, the look in its eyes unnerved her. Soon others started invading the outside of her small hideaway, lurking around the trees and bushes, watching like starved predators. Catherine jumped up, threatened by their presence.

  “This one looks delicious.”

  As the monsters gently closed in, one broke out of the pack and slithered towards her. The creature was far taller than she was, looming over her with its intimidating stature.

  “We’ve just suffered through a pretty traumatic experience, care to relieve our stress?”

  Leaning its head in, the creature desired a closer look at its prey, but at that moment, Catherine reached out with both arms, grabbed it by the throat and chucked it over her shoulder, slamming the creature into the ground with a powerful throw. The other serpents laughed uproariously.

  “You showed her!”

  “You were real scary!”

  “Dumbass!”

  Enraged and humiliated, the fallen demon immediately rose up and in a spiteful fury and spat poison at the repugnant human. Caught unaware, the poison ejected at such speed, it slathered Catherine’s eyes before she could even see it coming, burning and blinding them. She screamed in agony, but that was nothing compared to the seething hatred that was rapidly boiling inside her.

  “Y-you self indulgent, disrespectful, arrogant monsters! You’re the reason I have to hide away from the rest of the world. As long as parasites like you exist, I’ll always be stereotyped as a monster just for sharing the same demonic blood as you! But, I’d rather die than be associated with anyone, or anything as inhuman as you!”

  Hardly listening to the strange human’s cowering, the serpent moved in on its subdued prey. At this point, they were free to engage in whatever degeneracy they had in mind before they eventually killed their pacified target.

  “Just for embarrassing me, I’m gonna make sure your suffering lasts twice as long, you whore.”

  The moment it tore her jacket off, Catherine snapped. Her eyes stopped stinging, instead they burned a deep red. Her eyes healed and her sight returned. She changed her mind, she wasn't the one dying today.

  “You’re monsters…” She grabbed at the demon’s head and in a concentrated rage, dunked it into the dirt. “You’re all fucking monsters!”

  She stamped on its head, crushing its skull and killing it instantly. Catherine couldn’t contain her anger anymore, her soul had ignited into an intense inferno, her demonic warrior spirit had been reignited.

  “You’re not demons! You’re gluttonous, egotistical, disgusting, mouth-breathing hedonistic monsters! I'll destroy you! You worms! You cancerous cockroaches! I’ll devour all of you!”

  Shocked by her sudden outburst, the demons couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

  “She kills one moron and now she thinks she can take us all on!?”

  "Just makes them all the more fun to play with."

  “This human needs to know their place.”

  The snake monsters suddenly threw themselves at Catherine. However, the corpse of their deceased ally melted. Its gooey aftermath slid up Catherine’s arm and solidified, beefing up her muscles.

  With her new strengthened claws, she swiped at one of the attacking creatures, ripping through the scales and flesh from under its head like flimsy fabric, leaving a massive gushing gash exposing its insides.

  The other monsters backed off, watching their comrade scream in terror, as they bled out profusely. They couldn’t stop it, their vision darkened and they quickly fell unconscious from blood loss. None of the others helped him, they simply watched in disbelief at their brother drowning in a pool of his own blood.

  Catherine absorbed the corpse of the fallen serpent, converting his body into a second forearm, giving her twice the killing potential.

  “That’s not a human!”

  “A demon!? But, why is she fighting us!?”

  “Her eyes. They look murderous.”

  Without saying a word, Catherine lunged into the crowd of confused demons and wildly slashed her massive claws around, ripping and tearing through everything in sight. It was a bloody massacre, unable to react to the sudden storm of death they had unleashed, the creatures could hardly defend themselves. Before they realised they were being attacked, they were already dead.

  The more she killed, the more corpses she added to her collection. Once the creatures tried to retreat, it was far too late. She already had enough material to extend her arms into twenty foot long meat blades. With one swing she felled every tree, sign post and street light in the vicinity. There was no escape, she eviscerated the last of the monsters like a massive blender.

  Hundreds of demons butchered into oblivion by a single angry girl. The roundabout became a ring of blood and death, the soothing trees, razed in a furious rage and the soft grass, tainted by the stains of violence.

  And yet, her hunger wouldn’t subside. The massive amount of corpses fuelling her power and anger overwhelmed her senses. Catherine’s lust for battle was far from satisfied.

  “Holy shit! What the fuck happened here!?” Dale cried, looking over the carnage.

  “Oh, lord… What did those monsters do?” Amanda sighed.

  Just when she thought her impulses would be left unheeded, Catherine had found her next victims.

  “Well, aren’t those fuckers unfortunate.” Drifter commented, finding a couple of fresh serpent corpses lying just outside a mysterious gate.

  “They have holes in their chests? What could have caused this?” Pad wondered, holding her child close for comfort.

  “Who cares? Let’s go.”

  Just as Drifter was about to touch the gate, Pad yanked on Drifter’s sleeve.

  “No! Wait!”

  “What!?”

  “This place. You can’t enter it.”

  “Yes I can, watch.”

  “No! It’s sacred ground!”

  Taking a closer look, the inside did look rather exceptional. It was full of greenery. Trees, grass, even fountains. All enclosed in a wall of hedges. A heavenly oasis in the midst of a demonic desert, but nothing special by human standards.

  “It’s just a garden.”

  “No! That’s holy ground! Only the Demon King is allowed entry!”

  “Well, I don’t see any Demon King around, so fuck it!” Drifter kicked the front gates open.

  “But, what if there’s still a guardian living here? What if we end up like those serpents!?”

  “What’s so special about this fucking place? Is it the Garden of Eden?”

  “Y-yes. How did you know?”

  “You fucking what!?”

  Drifter never imagined his sarcastic guess would actually be right on the money.

  “The Sacred Garden of Eden.”

  “Well, that’s… interesting.”