《Subjugation and Septicity》


 Prologue

    Henry was a technical support worker. He had been working in that capacity for the last four years at the local branch of a large company, located right in the heart of Ha¡¯nar city. It was a city like any other, large, densely populated, and noisy.


    For the most part, Henry was satisfied with his life. Sure, he would have liked to have more money, and less work, but wouldn''t anyone? He had other aspirations of course. A nice house, a fast car, a family, his own yacht. But, he was still young, it was far too early to be worrying about these sorts of things. All in due time, he kept telling himself.


    In actual fact, it was far too late to be worrying about these things. Time had suddenly run out for Henry, when his typical day at the office had taken a drastic turn for the worse. Now Henry found himself pinned against a wall by a large piece of steel rebar, that had pierced his chest, and he was steadily bleeding to death as a result.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Henry was quite understandably, very upset about all this. His hopes and dreams had been shattered in a short instant.


    Why me? What did I do to deserve this?


    It was the first time in his short life that he had experienced the brutal extent of reality''s unfairness. As his life gradually slipped away, his despair deepening with every passing moment, he flicked through his memories, searching for something, anything, that could save him.


    Just as the last remnants of his consciousness were trickling into nothingness, he found that something. A strange dream he had had, two weeks before.


    Yes¡­ that dream¡­ I remember¡­ I just need to¡­


    Unfortunately, for Henry, his time was up. Before he could do anything more, he died.

 Strange Dreams I

    --------<strong style="padding: 0 3px">Two Weeks Prior--------


    Henry took the train to work. It was a fairly short commute, some twenty to thirty minutes, providing the train was on time. It sometimes was. At present, Henry was sitting on that very train, having just boarded moments ago. Not long after sitting down Henry''s thoughts drifted to a recurring internal debate he had been indulging in recently. A debate about his usual choice of breakfast.


    Should I switch from porridge to granola?


    It was this very question that had been plaguing his mind for some time. Truth be told he cared little for either, nor was he particularly bothered about staying ''healthy'', which both choices reportedly were. He had used to eat toast with jam, but while living with his now ex-girlfriend, April, who had cared about such things, he had got into the habit of eating the same as her. Even after April left him to go work on the other side of the world three years back, he hadn''t reverted, it had simply been less hassle.


    The origin of this internal debate was a recent realisation, that by switching from porridge to granola he could save almost one and a half minutes every day, which was around the amount of time it took for his porridge to cook in the microwave. He had then gone on to calculate just how much time this could save him in a year, then ten years. It was a surprising amount! What did he plan to spend that extra time on? Well that was the easy part, sleep, of course. An extra minute and a half of sleep every day, was something he was truly pining for. Still, actually switching was quite troublesome. There were so many different kinds of granola in his local supermarket, that he could waste a good portion of the saved time just deciding on which to buy! This further realisation had lead him to stick to purchasing porridge in his last few supermarket visits, and yet, he still wasn''t truly decided, hence the continued pondering.


    Sometime during this intense internal conflict, Henry had fallen asleep. He didn''t realise at first, as he was of course, unconscious. However, soon enough he became aware that he was dreaming.


    He found himself suddenly perched near the edge of a rocky outcropping, atop a high cliff. Before him lay what he could safely describe as a foreboding wasteland. As far his eyes could see, there were spindly rocky pillars of varying thickness and height, protruding from the ground. A dark red substance, which he was presuming to be blood, was pooled in vast quantities across the landscape, and seemingly dripping from most of the pillars. In the distance he could make out shadowy shapes moving about.


    As his gaze wandered to the horizon he saw the sky was dark, with a strong reddish tint, yet his vision was unimpaired. Scanning the sky, his eyes caught on a gigantic stellar object that hung there. It was a massive black sphere, looming perilously over the landscape below.


    Well this is possibly the weirdest dream I¡¯ve had in a long time.


    Henry was immediately shocked by the clarity of his own thoughts.


    Woah, what the... Is this a lucid dream?


    He had heard of such dreams, where people claimed they could fully control every aspect, in whatever way they wished. But, he had always been sceptical of such claims, having never experienced it first hand. Yet, here he was, clearly thinking, just like he would awake. Purely for the sake of experimentation, he was about to try imagining some attractive women appearing out of thin air, but just as he focused his thoughts on the pretty face of Amanda, a recent addition to the HR department at work, he was interrupted by a voice.


    "Greetings, Human."


    Henry spun around, letting out a yelp of surprise as he did so. He eyes found the source of the voice immediately.


    Woah!


    Before him, sitting on a throne comprised entirely of long thin spikes, sat a large humanoid like individual. He, and Henry assumed it was a he due to the immense musculature the ''man'' possessed, was adorned in what looked like tight fitting plate armour, sans helm. Like the throne he sat upon, the armour too was covered in spikes. As Henry looked over the imposing figure before him, he saw that some of the spikes from the throne appeared to be piercing into his body, and were covered in blood.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    What is with this blood obsession? Oh God, don''t tell me my body has been savagely maimed in some kind of horrific train accident and this is some twisted hallucination trying to match up with that traumatic reality!


    Henry was snapped out of his fatalistic panic, by the voice of the throned figure.


    "Human, what is wrong with you!?" roared the figure.


    There was clearly no concern for Henry¡¯s health in the figure¡¯s voice, only annoyance.


    "How should I know!?" he shouted back, still fearing for his real world body.


    After a lengthy pause, the figure continued.


    "Human, I have brought you here to offer you a deal. A once in a paltry human lifetime kind of deal."


    The figure¡¯s voice was really quite ominous. It was deep, raspy, much too loud, and seemed to reverberate a great deal, despite the open environment they appeared to be in.


    Experiencing immense confusion and concern for his own safety, Henry unleashed a barrage of questions directed towards the mysterious spike encased figure.


    "A deal!? Who the hell are you!? Where the hell am I??"


    Now that conversation had started proper, Henry had been forced to look directly at the face of the being he was conversing with. He quickly wished he hadn''t. Truly the throne-mounted figure had a terrifying visage. Demonic, would be the word he chose to describe it, not that he believed in such things. The figure had several large horns protruding from his skull, thick and black, twisting upwards seemingly at random. His skin was pallid, his eyes dark, his teeth blackened and sharp. Blood was continuously leaking from his eyes, trickling down his face, partially coating his teeth, and covering the exposed parts of his neck in a deep dark red. After a brief silence, the figure replied.


    ¡°Very well. I suppose I can fill in a few gaps your abysmal intellect has no chance of filling. You may refer to me as Lord Gyxr. As for your tragically mortal coil, it is currently in a state of rest, unharmed. This place, that you find yourself in, is my domain. I have brought your sleeping mind here. It may seem like a dream to a short-sighted imbecile such as yourself, yet, this place is very real I assure you. Don¡¯t strain yourself overmuch trying to understand, just listen to my deal and give me your answer.¡±


    Henry had calmed down somewhat, deciding that it was probably unlikely he would be having such a vivid dream if he was indeed horrifically wounded and bleeding to death. Instead, he started to appreciate the absurdness of the experience.


    My subconscious mind has gotten awfully creative all of a sudden. This is a far more interesting dream than I usually get. Now, how about those attractive ladies?


    Henry eagerly glanced from side to side.


    It was too much to hope for I suppose¡­ Well, as I¡¯m here I may as well try and have some fun with it.


    "A deal you say? As it happens, I am not in the habit of accepting deals from blood drenched strangers, especially ones as sinister looking as yourself," he retorted with a smirk.


    The throned figure was silent and completely unmoving, yet, Henry felt a sudden chill. Despite his inaction, the figure seemed to be steadily becoming more threatening.


    What is with this guy? He hasn¡¯t even moved once during our entire conversation. He doesn¡¯t even move his mouth when he talks. And what¡¯s up with those bleeding eyes, that is nasty!


    Henry started shivering.


    It¡¯s just the cold. I am definitely not actually terrified of some imaginary guy sitting on a pointy chair.


    "Listen, you spineless worm," the figure boomed out, even more loudly than before, "I have brought you here to offer you power the likes of which your worthless world has never seen! Now stop your mewling and listen to what I have to say, before I lose my patience and splatter your vapid brain across..."


    Before the figure could finish, Henry awoke with a start, as a sudden, immense pain emanated from his face. The source of his discomfort was immediately apparent, a large man, both tall and wide, was sitting on top of him. The man seemed to have just come from a cosplay convention, judging by his strange clothing. He had fallen as the train lurched, managing to fall directly on top of Henry, and catch him in the eye with something sharp. Henry was eyeing the man¡¯s skull adorned belt buckle as the likely culprit.


    "Whoops, sorry about that buddy. The handle broke," the large man said, pointing up at the broken handle he had been using to keep himself steady as the train moved.


    By the time the man had managed to get off of Henry and finish his apology, Henry felt a trickle of blood running down his face. As he dabbed at this fresh wound, with a tissue from his pocket, he started at the man. His name was Mike, at least according to the name tag he now noticed on the man¡¯s breast.


    Henry was feeling a strong urge to berate the lumbering fool for his poor balance. However, he reluctantly decided that such an action would be ultimately pointless.


    "Please be more careful next time," he instead said.


    The train eventually reached the station. The rest of the day was uneventful. Just another day at work. Henry soon forgot about the weird dream he had experienced that morning. It wasn''t until another week had gone by that anything else out of the ordinary occurred.

 Strange Dreams II

    --------<strong style="padding: 0 3px">One Week Later--------


    ¡°Great to see you, Lord Gyxr! My old pal! How have you been? You know, you should really get those wounds treated, blood is supposed to stay inside your body! Not cascade down your skin 24/7!¡±


    ¡°


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°

 Strange Dreams III

--------<strong style="padding: 0 3px">Present Day--------


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°

 Strange Dreams IV

    Henry was in the middle of a call with a well-spoken gentleman by the name of Peter, who was having trouble figuring out how to transfer his photos from his phone to his laptop. Usually a call such as this was a painful experience for Henry, but this gentleman was so friendly that it was impossible for him to be anything but friendly in return. Henry was trying to guide him through the process for a second time, when a ferocious noise from the other side of the room pulled his attention away from the conversation. The noise was quickly followed by a blast of intense heat. Henry was momentarily stunned by the sudden assault on his hearing, but soon recovered and turned to seek out the source of this aural attack. Unfortunately for Henry, the only thing his seeking brought him was terror.


    "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?"


    On the other side of the room, right where the intern''s desk had been just previously, was a circular ring of what appeared to be fire. It stretched from floor to ceiling, easily two and half metres in diameter. The centre of the ring was glowing ominously, and seemed to be emitting a great deal of heat, if the smouldering remains of the intern''s desk were anything to go by. Henry was frozen, unable to believe his eyes.


    Is this some kind of prank?? Hidden cameras? Please let it be cameras!


    As his thoughts sped about erratically, a loud WOOSH sound came from the fiery ring. Now standing in front of it was a strange creature, having seemingly appeared out of thin air. It was quite small, likely less than a metre tall, with bright red skin, long ears, sharp teeth, claws, and a tail.


    "What the fuck!?"


    Henry frantically looked about seeking help from anyone or anything.


    Oh shit, it''s just me here! I''m all alone!


    Henry had suddenly realised, that during his prolonged phone call with the elderly gentleman, his supervisor and the co-worker with the annoying laugh, had both slipped out. That left only Sally, who sat at the desk next to his, and the co-worker with the squeaky shoes, who sat nearest the door. Unfortunately, Sally was currently on holiday, gallivanting through some distance jungle countryside, and the squeaky shoe wearer had been on sick leave for a month or two. There was the intern of course, but he and most of his desk seemed to have been instantly consumed by the hungry maw of the flaming portal, as it had appeared.


    Taking another look at said portal, Henry noticed more of the miniature fiends were rapidly emerging, accompanied by the same over-loud WOOSH sound. The first imp like creature now seemed to be nudging its fellows and pointing energetically in his direction.


    Shiiiit!


    Henry quickly ducked down behind his desk, out of sight.


    It''s just a prank, definitely just a prank!


    "HAR HAR, you''ve had your fun! You got me! You can come out now!"


    Unfortunately, for Henry there were no hidden cameras. In fact, the only people that would be ¡®coming out¡¯ of anywhere, were more imps from the blazing portal. Not that they could really be called people.


    As he cowed on the floor under his desk, one of the imp like creatures appeared from around the corner, and with a savage grin leapt right at Henry. Before Henry could react, the imp like creature had sunk its fangs into the soft flesh of his right foot.


    "Yeargh! ... You little bastard!"


    Henry reflexively kicked out with his other leg right into the face of the imp like creature before him. The imp was knocked back from Henry¡¯s punctured foot and tumbled into the wall opposite. Adrenaline dulling the pain, Henry quickly started looking around for some kind of weapon to defend himself with. His eyes fell upon the fire extinguisher attached to the wall just next to his desk. He reached over and armed himself. As he turned back to look at the imp creature, he saw a second appear from around the corner of his desk. It too wasted no time and immediately pounced right at him.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    With a grunt of exertion, Henry swung his impromptu club at the lunging imp. The extinguisher connected solidly with the skull of the creature with a loud CLANG. The imp collapsed to the floor, clutching its head.


    Before Henry could celebrate his victory, two more imps appeared from around the corner of his desk. The first imp was also back on its feet, seemingly unharmed from its collision with the wall. Things were not looking good for Henry, but just as terror was starting to sink into his bones. A voice called out.


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    The imps immediately froze in place, including the one that had been writhing about on the floor clutching its head.


    Yes! Someone has come to save me! Henry let out a short laugh. ¡°Saved!¡±


    It only took a moment for his envisioned saviour to appear before him. Unfortunately for Henry, while the imps were fearing for their lives, it was not because the speaker was here to kill them and save him. Rather, it was because the speaker was simply a more terrifying one of their kind. This became all too clear to Henry in just a brief moment, as his gaze fell upon the newcomer.


    It was quite different compared to the imps. About as tall as a man, but much thinner, with an elongated face. Protruding from its arms were sharp blades seemingly directly fused to its bones. They extended all the way from above its elbows down just past its hands. They looked incredibly sharp.


    "Hee Hee. Well look at this, my very first human of this invasion. How delightful!"


    The creature''s voice was high pitched, scratchy, and very unpleasant to listen to.


    "Now what should we do with you? Eeehee, I wonder... Ah yes, of course!"


    Damn it! I am so dead! Damned monsters invading the office through fucking portals! What the fuck is this? What did I do to deserve this!?


    That and many other thoughts skittered through Henry¡¯s mind as he sat there surrounded by the otherworldly terrors. Henry closed his eyes, trying to will himself into a better reality.


    Henry¡¯s attention was snapped back to his doomed situation by the sound of metal screeching. Eyes open once more, he realised that the blade-armed creature was no longer in sight. It returned before long, carrying a large piece of steel rebar, likely taken from one of the building¡¯s support pillars.


    "Ah yes, here we are. All good invasions need a monument to mark their beginning. And you will be mine Human!" it announced with a delighted smile.


    With that the creature speared Henry through the chest with the metal rod in a single thrust. It pierced right through his body forcing him more firmly into the wall, and piercing a good distance into the wall behind him as well. The attack had been so swift, that Henry had no chance of reacting.


    ¡°YEAAAAARGHH!¡± Henry screamed.


    "Ah, that look of agony on your face is exquisite, Human! Hee Hee Hee!"


    Overcome by pain, Henry was barely aware of anything being said by his attacker. Nor the loud crash that followed his words.


    "Leave this Human, and make sure none of the others touch it." the taller creature ordered the imps.


    "Now then, on with the invasion!¡± the creature screeched. He turned to look at Henry once more, before departing.


    ¡°Have fun Human, try not to die too soon!"


    The creature turned and walked away, cackling madly, in search of new prey. The imps followed closely behind.


    It took a few moments for Henry to become aware of his surroundings once more. As he did so, he looked around the remains of his former workspace. At some point the creatures must have removed his desk without him noticing, as he now had a clear view of the room. The portal was still there, now rapidly spewing more of the hellish creatures, each accompanied by the same loud WOOSH sound as before.


    It wasn¡¯t just imps emerging from the portal. He saw a wide variety of other creatures, the likes of which he could not have imagined, even in his wildest dreams. Some of them seemed to be determined to obliterate any and all furniture and equipment they came within reach of. Throughout all of this, none of them paid any attention to Henry. As he watched, he began to feel tired, and cold.


    Well, lucky me. Front row seats to a demonic invasion. I can¡¯t wait to tell all my friends about it.


    His earlier panic was fading, along side his strength, as the inevitability of his death became ever more apparent.


    <hr>


    Ugh! Why me? What did I do to deserve this?


    It was the first time in his short life that he had experienced the unfairness of reality. His despair deepened with every passing moment. As his life gradually slipped away, he flicked through his memories, searching for something, anything, that could save him.


    Just as the last remnants of his consciousness were trickling into nothingness, he found that something. A strange dream he had had, two weeks ago.


    Yes¡­ that dream¡­ I remember¡­ I just need to¡­


    Unfortunately, for Henry, his time was up. Before he could do anything more, he died.

 Supplicant I

    Neither oblivion nor paradise awaited Henry upon his untimely demise. Instead, he found himself once more looking out over a blood soaked wasteland. Momentarily forgotten, the traumatic events he had just experienced soon came flooding back to the front of his mind. He quickly looked down at his body, but found no visible wounds, nor was he experiencing any pain. His thoughts, clear once more, raced, trying to understand what was happening.


    I was just¡­ dying? Dead? And here I am in that same dream again. What the hell is going on?


    Henry turned around and once more looked upon the sinister blood spewing form of Lord Gyxr.


    ¡°Greetings, Human.¡±


    ¡°Am I dead?¡± Henry inquired.


    Lord Gyxr paused before responding.


    ¡°The meagre life force contained within your Human body, is indeed completely spent.¡±


    I¡¯m dead? ¡­ How can I even be having such a thought? Is the mind not tied to the physical body after all!? Hmm, in that case...


    ¡°So, erm, you¡¯re a demon right? Is there an afterlife? You know, paradise?¡±


    Lord Gyxr seemed to ignore his questions.


    ¡°Pathetic weakling. You foolishly failed to accept my deal, and paid the price. Falling before such feeble enemies is truly reprehensible. However, despite your failure to accept my deal, I am still willing to offer you something. Your inherent weakness disgusts me, yet, I do see some potential for growth. However, the deal has changed. I have already chosen another champion.¡±


    I don¡¯t actually seem to remember what the previous deal was. Something about power? Well, if I am being denied paradise¡­ I suppose another chance at life, with whatever this ¡®power¡¯ entails might be a decent deal. Hopefully, it involves physical strength or something that will help me against those pesky imps.


    Henry recoiled, suddenly aware of the absurdity of his train of thought.


    What am I thinking? I am really evaluating my own ability to fight and kill hellish monstrosities!? I¡¯ve never even been in a fight in my life¡­ before those imps attacked me anyway.


    Henry let out another longer sigh.


    If that¡¯s what it takes to live again, I suppose I have little choice. I have to at least try. What¡¯s the worst that can happen? I die again?


    ¡°Well, what say you?¡± Lord Gyxr inquired.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The terms of the deal, will you accept Human!?¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°What terms?¡±


    ¡°Already I wonder if I am wasting my precious time with you, Human.¡± Gyxr¡¯s voice quite obviously revealed how unhappy he was that Henry had seemingly missed his explanation. ¡°To reiterate for your pitiful excuse of a brain: As my Champion you will be granted great gifts, that will allow you to survive against the invaders of your world. In return you will complete tasks at my behest, in order to further my goals. Outside of those tasks, I care little what you do.¡±


    Shit, great gifts and all I have to do is complete some tasks? Sounds a bit too good to be true.


    ¡°Great gifts sounds, well, great. But, could you maybe give me some clues as to what I might actually receive?¡±


    ¡°My gift to you, is the ability to acquire the power of creatures, or the properties of objects, via physical contact.¡±


    ¡°Shit. Seriously!?¡±


    Damn. I mean sure it¡¯s not super strength, or flying. Or is it? If I can find a ¡®creature¡¯ with that kind of power? The properties of objects is a bit less clear, but damn¡­ Steel skin? Diamond-hard bones? Heh, maybe I¡¯m getting ahead of myself a bit here.


    ¡°So, what kind of tasks? And what are these goals?¡± Henry asked.


    ¡°The only goal you need be aware of for now, is my desire to hinder the efforts of the other Demon Lords. The tasks I demand of you will be focussed around preparing you for future tasks, or working towards that goal, and possibly others. Does that satisfy you, Human?¡±


    The other Demon Lords? So, they are demons after all.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound so bad,¡± Henry admitted. ¡°Was there anything else I should know before I make a decision?¡±


    ¡°As I have already stated: Due to your inability to accept my decision earlier, I have chosen another Champion. As such, you will enter my service as a Supplicant. To become my Champion, you must seek out and destroy the current bearer of that title.¡±


    ¡°Woah, what? You want me to kill someone? Shit, I know you¡¯re a demon and all, but is that really necessary?¡±


    ¡°If you wish to become my Champion, then yes, it is absolutely necessary. Had you accepted my deal earlier, things would have been different.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come on! How was I supposed to know those dreams were real. No one in their right mind would believe something like that! Not to mention they kept getting cut short.¡±


    ¡°Spare me your incoherent ramblings Human. You had ample opportunity to accept my deal! Now, will you accept or not?¡±


    Fuck! I knew it was too good to be true. Of course my second chance at life comes with the small caveat of having to kill someone. I¡¯m no murderer¡­ Could I do it? Kill another to save my own skin? Someone sick or evil, sure. But, what if it¡¯s someone innocent, like me?


    ¡°If I refuse, I¡¯m dead, right?¡± Henry asked, though he was almost entirely sure of the answer.


    ¡°That is correct, Human.¡±


    Judging from this freak¡¯s attitude, it could be a damn child he wants me to murder! It¡¯s not really much of a choice¡­ Fuck. I¡¯ll just have to take the deal and hope this champion of his is some obviously evil asshole. Wishful thinking? Hah.


    ¡°Alright. I accept your deal.¡±


    ¡°Very well, Human. I grant you the title of Supplicant.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I guess. How do I find your champion?¡±


    ¡°I cannot give you the exact whereabouts. However, you will find them close by, and you may recognise them by the mark they bear.¡±


    As Gyxr spoke of the mark, a vivid image appeared inside Henry¡¯s mind: A gleaming white skull, dripping blood from every hole.


    ¡°Now begone!¡±


    And with that Henry slipped back into unconsciousness.

 Supplicant II

    Henry slowly came awake. He was back in the office, still pinned against the wall where his desk had once been.


    Alive! Still pinned, but I¡¯m alive!


    He threw back his head, lightly knocking it against the wall behind him, and laughed out loud, releasing some of the emotional anguish stored within him.


    It slowly dawned on him that the office was illuminated with a faint red tinge. Further investigation revealed that none of the electric lights were operational, and the source of the unnatural light seemed to in fact be from outside. Glancing out the window opposite him, he could only see part of the sky between two similarly tall buildings across the street, but it was indeed a faint red colour.


    Okay. It could be a coincidence, red skies are rare but not unheard of. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just that¡­ Definitely nothing to do with those hellish invaders!


    Shaking his head, he scanned the room from where he sat. His gaze quickly fell upon several mangled corpses that were piled roughly in the centre of the room. The sight caught his breath. They were clearly human, though he did not recognise any of them. Which was not surprising, as most of them were so mangled they lacked important facial features, and in some cases their entire heads.


    Tearing his eyes away from the morbid scene before him, he surveyed the rest of the room. It seemed some time had passed. The portal was no longer present, but his nose picked up hints of a charcoal like aroma, that and the sickly stench of death and blood.


    With the room surveyed, he turned his attention to his own situation. The steel rebar was still stuck through his chest, and a great deal of blood had soaked his clothes, as well as the floor beneath him as a result. He was quite disturbed by just how much blood there was.


    I should so be dead. I guess I was¡­ Fuck. So, Gyxr healed me? Or I¡¯ve gained some ability that¡¯s kept me alive¡­? Maybe both. Doesn¡¯t look like steel skin though. Ah, whatever, I can worry about that later. I need to remove this damn bar.


    He grasped the bar that was protruding from his chest and decided to test it with a little wiggle. It took him a moment to build up the courage and overcome the sense of dread the anticipated pain was causing. Finally, he wiggled it, and to his immense surprise, the part sticking out of his body sheared right off.


    Oh sweet¡­ Wait, the rest is still stuck inside me?


    Sure enough, looking down, he could still see the shorn end of the bar poking out from his chest ever so slightly.


    That can¡¯t be good¡­ come to think of it, when was my last tetanus jab? Oh, that reminds me, what about my foot? That damn imp bit me! And what are the chances they don¡¯t carry all manner of pathogens? Ugh.


    Henry was starting to feel ill. The question was whether it was his own paranoia causing it or an actual affliction. Looking down at his foot, he saw clearly the bite marks the imp had left. They were surrounded by the dried blood that had oozed out. He tried flexing his toes and moving his foot a bit, in an attempt to gauge how damaged it was.


    It barely hurts. Damn, this is great! But, again, Gyxr¡¯s healing, or my new powers? Eh, bar first, magical foot healing shit, later.


    Henry braced himself for pain, still dubious about the actual state of the bar sticking out of his back. He could easily imagine himself moving forwards, leaving the entire rest of the bar behind, his life gushing out through the hole it left. In response to the horrible thought, he altered his plan, instead deciding to turn his torso to the side.


    If the bar is still solid, then the pain should hit me as I rotate, if not then it should break off. Unless, I¡¯ve overlooked something¡­ Ugh, just do it!If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He was in luck, as he rotated his torso away from the wall he felt some brief resistance, but there was no pain. He had freed himself from his prison. His suspicions about the bar in his chest, were confirmed when he reached behind his back and found the other end of the shorn bar sticking out of him. The part that had pierced through his body was indeed trapped inside his body.


    Now free from the wall, he gingerly tested his range of movement, wanting to ensure he wouldn¡¯t be surprised by any immense pain the bar might cause. He could feel it in his chest as he moved, it was a surreal sensation, but it didn¡¯t seem to negatively affect him. Comfortable that he wasn¡¯t about to be overcome by the pain, he switched his attention to his injured foot, carefully removing his shoe.


    No way! I can barely make out the marks from that little bastard¡¯s teeth. This should be impossible.


    Upon closer inspection Henry noted that the surrounding flesh actually looked fairly normal, no bruises or sickly discolouration. It was difficult to get a proper look at his chest, but the same seemed to be true there.


    I really want to believe I¡¯ve gained magical healing powers. Because, that would be fucking awesome. But, I should probably assume it was just Gyxr healing me. At least for now. I can¡¯t help but think I should have some way of knowing what these ¡®powers¡¯ are. Maybe, if Gyxr wasn¡¯t such an asshole, he would have told me¡­ Guess I¡¯ll ask when I become his champion, or if I become his champion, even if I have to grill the bastard.


    Spending only a moment to consider how an attempt at demanding answers from a seemingly powerful Demon Lord might turn out, Henry climbed to his feet and made to move from the spot that had been his work station, and his grave.


    Henry made his way over to the window. Looking down at the street below he was stunned. It was pure chaos, like the aftermath of a vicious weather anomaly. Vehicles were scattered across the roa and pavements, all abandoned, some on fire. Even from the seventh floor he worked on, he could make out the unmistakable forms of people haphazardly scattered about, or their unmoving remains at least. A bit further afield, he noticed a large bonfire, sitting in the middle of a junction. He gaped at the sights before him, trying to comprehend the surreal madness of it all. Eventually, he stepped back from the window.


    Well, shit. Though, not sure what I was expecting¡­ Guess the police and the military didn¡¯t fare well against the demons. Mystical demonic powers trump technology? Even¡­ Fuck, they better not be planning to drop any nukes in the city!


    Knowing there was little he could do, even if his latest fatalistic imaging came to pass, Henry looked down at his watch to check the time. It dutifully told him it was 2:45 pm, and continued to do so for much longer than a minute. It was clearly broken.


    Henry pulled his phone out of his pocket, unsurprisingly it was a bit bloody, and despite his best efforts he couldn¡¯t switch it on. Instead, he picked up the headset he used for work calls, which had been scattered a ways from his upturned desk, but that too was dead. The desk phone it connected to was likewise useless. In fact, out of all the phones in the room that weren¡¯t just smashed to pieces, none were working.


    There¡¯s a slightly suspicious lack of working electrical devices in the office today. Almost like an EMP went off. Or some bullshit demonic equivalent. Either way, I¡¯m kind of fucked¡­ That much is obvious. No heating, no lights, no refrigeration, no nothing. And what about other survivors? There must be some¡­ I really fucking hope there are some!


    A brief sensation of terror brought upon by the thought of forever being alone struck Henry at that moment. Shaking the troubling idea aside, he decided to focus on more pressing concerns.


    This champion I need to kill. He said they were nearby¡­ I better get looking, and hope I don¡¯t run into any demons on the way. Or at least not any I can¡¯t kill with whatever powers I¡¯ve hopefully gained.


    His course of action decided, Henry scooped up the piece of steel rebar that had snapped off from his body, before making his way cautiously over to the door leading out from the technical support department, which was still closed. There was actually a large hole in the wall not far from the door, that was easily large enough for a man, or more likely a demon, to pass through. However, being a civilised individual, Henry decided he was happier using the door.


    The rest of the floor was largely as he had expected, having seen a large portion of it through the hole in the wall. The layout of this level was like many of the others, wall to wall cubicles, six rows altogether, with three walkways between. Things were a bit different now though, like in his section, the cubicle walls and desks were largely demolished, there was also a great deal of blood and a few severed limbs scattered throughout. He spent some time searching for anything of interest, but found nothing, and the few intact phones he noticed weren¡¯t working either.


    He was about to make his way down to the next floor, when midway to the stairs, a voice halted him in his tracks.

 Supplicant III

    ¡°Hey!¡±


    Henry spun round, metal bar at the ready.


    ¡°Amanda?¡±


    It was the recent HR hire, who looked as attractive as ever. Standing close to his height at 1.8 metres, she had shoulder length blonde hair, currently tied back into a ponytail. She wore a red blouse, and a knee length black skirt, both of which showed off her slim figure honestly. Her bust Henry described simply in one word.


    Glorious¡­


    ¡°Amanda! I am so glad you¡¯re okay!¡± Henry ran over to her and drew her into a fierce hug, heedless of courtesy. ¡°It¡¯s so good to see another survivor!¡±


    Amanda allowed the hug for a moment before gently pushing Henry away.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you too¡­ Uh, sorry, I don¡¯t recall your name.¡±


    ¡°Ah, no problem, I¡¯m Henry. I worked in tech support, just through the doors over there,¡± Henry replied. His elation at finding another living human only slightly diminished by the attractive woman not knowing his name.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m terribly sorry, Henry. Please forgive my forgetfulness. Oh!¡±


    She was looking at Henry¡¯s chest, a look of shock on her face.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    Henry was puzzled momentarily. Looking down at himself, he suddenly realised just how he must look. He was completely drenched in blood from his chest down, with the dried blood having turned his shirt and trousers a deep dark red. His shoe on the foot that was bitten by the imp was looking rather tatty too. Looking back at Amanda, he noticed she seemed completely unharmed in comparison. Other than looking slightly dishevelled, Henry could have easily believed she had just finished giving a presentation to the board of governors.


    ¡°Nope, despite how I must look, I¡¯m quite fine,¡± he assured her. ¡°So, demons, huh?¡±


    Amanda¡¯s face paled visibly at mention of the creatures.


    ¡°Yes¡­ Demons,¡± Amanda replied, her voice suddenly far less buoyant. ¡°They came out of nowhere. I was in the bathroom¡­ The woman in the next stall¡­ she was¡­ she¡­ they got her. There was nothing I could do¡­ Some of the others tried to fight them, but they¡­ all died¡­ every last one of them¡­ I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on! It¡¯s like something out of a horror story!¡±


    Amanda was clearly quite shaken by the situation, and Henry couldn¡¯t blame her, though he was a little surprised by just how shaken she appeared to be.


    How has she survived? I don¡¯t see her taking on the creatures willingly. I¡¯m sure there are plenty of other women that would be raring to kick some ass in her situation, my ex for one, but definitely not her. Not that I can talk, what have I done? Been bitten by an imp, got two of my own hits in, then died from a stab wound¡­ Maybe, I¡¯m underestimating her.


    Another though struck him as he lingered on the topic of the woman before him, but it was not a pleasant one, or a believable one.


    No¡­ There¡¯s no way she¡¯s his champion. She looks like she¡¯s been hiding the entire time! But, if she is¡­ Fuck! I can¡¯t kill her¡­


    A silence lingered between them, until Amanda eventually broke it.


    ¡°I was looking for survivors, but the upper floors are empty. We should probably stick together and keep searching?¡±


    Henry shook away his dark thoughts. Sticking together did sound like a good idea to him. A friendly, and undeniably attractive companion to keep him company in this trying time.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I was planning to do just that before you found me,¡± he replied, omitting the slightly different set of priorities that were currently motivating him.


    Of all the people to run into, I find her. I¡¯d been meaning to ask her for her number, but never got the chance. Finding a reason to drop by HR was never easy. Not that I would have had a chance with her, but now that most of the contenders have dropped from the race! Shit, not that I¡¯m happy that they died¡­


    ¡°Did you hear that!?¡± Amanda snapped him back to reality with a shout.


    Henry strained his ears, but heard nothing out of the ordinary.


    ¡°I think it came from downstairs,¡± Amanda continued, moving quickly towards the stairs leading down. Henry followed her, and as they reached the next floor, a muffled cry greeted him.


    ¡°Please! Somebody help!¡±


    Henry and Amanda both looked around hastily trying to find the source of the noise.


    ¡°There!¡± Amanda shouted, pointing at a smaller office that looked out onto the main floor through a glass wall.


    Dashing over to it, they saw a man inside cowering behind a large desk, who was shielding his head with his arms. He had pinned the desk on it¡¯s side against the walls, leaving only a small gap at the top, which he had mostly covered with a chair. In front of the desk, two red imps were eagerly trying to reach the man inside.


    ¡°Quick, go help him!¡± Amanda cried.


    ¡°What!? What am I supposed to do against two of those things?¡± Henry retorted.


    ¡°You have that club don¡¯t you? Use it and save him!¡±


    Henry looked down at the metal bar in his hand, then back at the imps. Taking a deep breath he stepped into the room.


    Just need to sneak up on them and get a good hit in.


    Henry crept closer to the imps, moving as quietly as he could, while being hindered by the random debris that littered the floor, as well as his damaged footwear.


    Okay, nearly there¡­ Just keep trying to eat that guy and I¡¯ll be fine!


    ¡°Yes! Please save me! Please, quickly!¡± the cowering man suddenly spoke at him.


    No! Why would you do that!?


    One of the imps started to turn, and Henry wasted no time adjusting his plan. Rushing forwards, he aimed a swing of his club at the creature, which to his relief, struck his target¡¯s skull with a loud metallic thud. The imp was knocked back into the desk and collapsed, but the second imp, who had been still trying to reach the cowering man, turned as it noticed its fellow collide with the desk. Unfortunately, Henry was still recovering from his swing, the lateral momentum of it exposing his right side, and before he could react, the imp leaped onto his leg and sank its teeth right into his thigh.


    ¡°Yeaargh!!¡± Henry cried out. ¡°You little red bastard!¡±


    Henry started bludgeoning the head of the clinging imp repeatedly. But, the impact of each blow was forcing the imp¡¯s teeth further into his leg. Roaring in pain and fury, Henry continued swinging at the imp, and after a few more solid hits, its teethy assault finally seemed to falter. Imminent victory spurred Henry on, his swings becoming more forceful, and continuing unabated even as the imp fell limp to the ground.


    ¡°You. Little. Fucking. Imp. Bastard!¡± each word was accompanied by another swing of his makeshift club, directly on the skull of the prone creature.


    Breathing heavily and near exhausted, Henry finally ceased his assault. Neither imp seemed to be moving, though Henry eyed the imp he had knocked into the desk suspiciously.


    Was that really enough to kill it? The second imp shrugged off several blows before going down¡­


    Henry looked back at Amanda, who had entered the room behind him. Her eyes were wide, fixed on the imp he had ferociously battered. She looked terribly pale, perhaps disturbed by the violence.


    ¡°Is he okay?¡± she asked.


    Henry was confused for a second, the adrenaline from his battle still affecting his mind, before he recalled the reason he had waded into battle with the imps in the first place.


    ¡°Hey! You can come out now, the imps are taken care of. It¡¯s safe!¡± he called out to the man behind the desk.


    ¡°Please¡­ Help¡­¡± The reply was weak.


    Concerned, Henry quickly peered over the desk to get a better look at the man.


    ¡°Shit! He¡¯s bleeding. Help me move the desk!¡± he called back to Amanda.


    Together they managed to uncover the man from his furniture fortress. There was a large pool of blood around him.


    ¡°That looks bad. I¡¯ll go find a first aid kit!¡± Amanda left the room in a hurry.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time! Just find something to bind the wounds!¡± Henry called after her.


    There probably isn¡¯t even time for that.


    Henry quickly went to rip a sleeve off his shirt. It took a few tries before he got it. Looking over the man more closely, Henry assessed his injuries. He seemed to have multiple lacerations on his chest and legs, and a deep gash on his left arm. With the remains of his shirt sleeve, Henry set to work trying to stem the flow of blood.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Hey! Can you hear me? Stay with me!¡± he called out to the bleeding man, looking into his eyes. As he did so, recognition struck him. It was Simon, the beverage spilling boaster himself.


    ¡°Cold¡­ So cold¡­¡± Simon¡¯s voice was barely audible.


    Ugh, Simon you insufferable prick. Looks like your luck has finally ran out. Wait¡­ Could he be Gyxr¡¯s champion?


    A faint hope began to blossom in Henry¡¯s heart. He quickly began scouring Simon¡¯s body for the mark that would identify him as the Lord Gyxr¡¯s Champion, but he couldn¡¯t find it, there was too much blood covering him.


    ¡°How is he?¡± Amanda had returned, she was carrying some bin bags, a cloth blanket, and a small plastic bin filled with water.


    ¡°It¡¯s not looking good. He¡¯s lost so much blood. I¡¯ve tried to stop the bleeding, but I don¡¯t think it will be enough.¡±


    ¡°Should we call an ambulance?¡±


    Henry looked at her raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t thinking! I¡¯ll try to help him.¡±


    Amanda moved to take over care of Simon, who was still breathing weakly. She started rebinding his wounds more tightly, before washing away some of the blood coating him with the water she had brought. Henry was watching this process very intently, silently hoping Lord Gyxr¡¯s mark would reveal itself.


    Come on¡­ It must be him¡­ Then I won¡¯t even have to kill anyone! He¡¯s dead for sure, no one¡¯s going to miss him, and I¡¯ll be saved!


    In his short life, Henry had never wished for something more fervently. His thoughts drifted to another fantasy.


    I gain great power as Gyxr¡¯s champion after the death of Simon. By day I slay monsters left and right, with ease, skill, and style. At night, I enjoy the company of Amanda, the woman I have kept safe from the evils plaguing our land¡­


    He was eventually snapped out of his imagining by the voice of Amanda, who was no longer trying to wash blood from Simon.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± she said quietly, head hung low.


    Was it him!?


    He felt nothing. Minutes seemed to pass. He still felt nothing. Henry¡¯s anger started to boil.


    ¡°We should bury him,¡± the voice of Amanda briefly interrupted his silent seething.


    His head snapped to her. Her face was red, like she had been quietly mourning the loss of Simon.


    ¡°Bury him!? What are you talking about!?¡± Henry retorted, barely able to contain his frustration.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just leave him like this!¡±


    ¡°Open your eyes! This whole building is littered with corpses! We can¡¯t bury them all! Where would we even put them? The nearest park is at least a kilometre away!¡±


    ¡°I know that! I know, okay! I just feel so helpless. All these poor people, I couldn¡¯t save them.¡±


    Her heartfelt sorrow and the concern she showed was helping to calm his anger. He let out a sigh.


    ¡°I know how you feel. Come on, we¡¯d better get moving. There might still be survivors on the lower floors.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? Is your leg okay?¡± Amanda asked him.


    ¡°My leg?¡±


    Henry looked down at his leg, suddenly realising with a start he had completely forgotten about the imp bite he had received only minutes earlier.


    I didn¡¯t even notice it after the battle¡­ It doesn¡¯t seem to be bleeding much, and it¡¯s not even painful. Shit, do I have healing powers after all!? I could test it¡­ Just need something sharp, and some privacy¡­


    After a pause he realised Amanda was still staring at him, awaiting his response.


    ¡°My leg¡¯s fine. The imp only grazed me, luckily.¡±


    No longer bolstered by adrenaline after the battle and subsequent emergency, Henry was gradually seeing his recent actions in a new light.


    I barely hesitated. I just waded in there, ready to fight some small monsters to the death. That¡¯s good in some ways I guess? Maybe a little more caution in the future wouldn¡¯t hurt, though. Dying again would sure suck¡­


    Discarding the depressing though, Henry took a deep breath, and then moved to the office door, before waiting for Amanda to join him, which she did once she¡¯d draped the cloth blanket of Simon¡¯s body. Now that he had been made aware of it, Henry noticed a slight twinge of pain in his leg with each step, but it wasn¡¯t enough to hinder him.


    As he emerged from the office, he scanned the room once more, which soon led his eyes to the elevator doors near by. For some unknown reason the building had been designed with the elevators and stairs placed on opposite sides of the floor.


    It¡¯s possible people were in the elevator when the power went out? Might be worth checking to see if they are still in there. If they kept quiet, they could be alive.


    ¡°Have you checked the elevators?¡± he called over his shoulder to Amanda.


    ¡°No, the power is out, I couldn¡¯t open the doors. Do you think there are people trapped inside?¡±


    ¡°Could be, let¡¯s go take a look.¡±


    They headed over to the elevators. Henry tried pressing the elevator call button, just in case. Sure enough, nothing happened. Instead, he stepped towards the doors of the leftmost of the two elevator shafts, preparing to open them by hand. It took considerably more effort than he¡¯d expected, but he managed it without injuring himself. Looking down into the shaft, he thought he could make out the car a few floors down, but it was too dark to tell. He listened for a time, but didn¡¯t hear any cries for help, nor the savage snarls of any hideous creatures.


    ¡°Hello?¡± he called down into the darkness.


    When no response came back to him, he moved onto the other shaft. Prying open the second set of doors, he saw the bottom of the elevator car just sticking out from above.


    ¡°Hey, the car¡¯s here! I¡¯ll try and open it.¡±


    It was an awkward angle to apply his strength to, but he eventually managed to prise open the inner doors to the elevator car. Then, as the contents of the car came into view, his breath caught. He heard Amanda let out a gasp as she noticed it too. Inside the car was an imp slumped against the wall. It was clearly dead, the fire axe buried in its face a dead giveaway.


    ¡°Here, give me a boost up, that axe could come in handy,¡± Henry suggested.


    ¡°Uh, maybe you should give me a boost, I¡¯m not sure I could hold you up for long. I probably weigh a bit less than you too.¡±


    At the mention of weight, his eyes inadvertently roved her body once more. She was quite thin, and would likely weigh even less if not for her top heaviness. He couldn¡¯t argue with her logic.


    ¡°Good thinking, let¡¯s do that.¡±


    Henry cupped his hands together preparing to boost her up into the elevator car. The logistics of this manoeuvre proved to be quite troublesome. Neither of them wanted to end up falling down the elevator shaft after all, but they eventually settled on a workable solution, and Henry gradually propelled Amanda into the elevator car.


    ¡°I can reach it, but I need to be further in to get a good grip,¡± Amanda admitted.


    ¡°Alright, hang on, I''m getting pretty close to the edge here.¡±


    Henry had initially stood side on to the elevator shaft entrance, pushing Amanda mostly towards the inside of the door, rather than towards the shaft. He now slowly shifted round, facing the shaft, allowing him to more easily support her legs, and push her further in.


    However, he wasn¡¯t prepared for the change in perspective the new position provided. Before he had been eye level with her hip, but mainly focused his eyes to the side watching his footing. Now, however, he found himself face to face, so to speak, with her well formed posterior. He was trying not to stare, but it was proving difficult, and as he pushed her further into the car, her blouse started to ride up, further increasing his difficulty.


    Woah, I need to calm down, this is getting me a bit too worked up. But, such beautiful ¡­


    Henry¡¯s thoughts ground to an abrupt halt. As Amanda¡¯s blouse had hiked up further, his eyes had caught sight of something. It was a mixture of white and red. He stood transfixed as more of it slowly crept into view. As he had feared, it was the lower portion of a skull, dripping blood. The mark of Gyxr¡¯s champion.


    No! That doesn¡¯t make any sense! How the fuck is she his champion?


    Henry kept staring at the newly revealed mark, unable to believe his eyes.


    ¡°Almost got it, just a bit further.¡± The muffled voice of Amanda bounced off him, completely disregarded.


    You want me to kill her!? Why do this to me Gyxr, you sick bastard!? Well, I won¡¯t do it! You hear me! I won¡¯t!


    Yet, despite his furious denial, he knew, deep down, he didn¡¯t want to die. He feared it, very much so.


    No! I don¡¯t want to kill her! She doesn¡¯t deserve this.


    His resolve began wavering after just a few moments, with his fear of death being simply too strong. A part of his mind began whispering dark suggestions. No one would have to know, it began. The creatures had already killed so many, what was one more? There would be other more beautiful women after her, it was no great loss. She hadn¡¯t even remembered his name! Then she forced him to fight two imps, to save a man he despised!


    No! That doesn¡¯t mean I can just go and kill her, to save my own worthless life!


    So, just lay down and die? Face oblivion? What about all those lovely plans? The nice house by the beach, the family? All forgotten, just so she can live? She¡¯s weak! She won¡¯t last a day on her own!


    No¡­ But¡­ How could I live with myself¡­ knowing I had¡­ killed her¡­


    With power, countless others could be saved. What is one life in comparison to that? Nothing!


    I¡­


    Henry¡¯s internal struggle was finally interrupted by the shouting of an incensed Amanda.


    ¡°Henry? What are you doing? Please let me down! Let me down, Henry!¡±


    Henry slowly let down Gyxr¡¯s champion. Seeing the axe brandished in her hand, he flinched.


    She¡¯s Gyxr¡¯s champion, she must have powers too? Is that how she survived? But, then why didn¡¯t she help me with the imps? She sent me in there with nothing but a metal bar¡­ Does she know!? Did Gyxr tell her about me!?


    ¡°Oh, sorry! I must look quite scary holding this axe up like that. Here, why don¡¯t you take it, it¡¯s a bit too heavy for me to swing about anyway,¡± Amanda suggested, smiling at him.


    Henry stared at the axe like it was a venomous snake she was offering him.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Amanda asked, when no response was forthcoming.


    ¡°I ¡­ Yes, I¡¯m fine sorry. I am just a bit¡­ tired. It¡¯s been a long terrible day.¡±


    ¡°Oh I understand, it¡¯s the same for me. Just hang in there. If we work together we will get out of here safely I¡¯m sure!¡±


    She doesn¡¯t know. There¡¯s no way she could know and spout that ridiculous optimism. ¡®Together'' ¡­ If only¡­


    The warring within his mind had reached a chilling conclusion. The facts were indisputable, by killing her, he could save countless others. As well as himself, of course. He steeled his resolve.


    ¡°Hey, could you check the other shaft. I think I saw something down there, but I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure thing!¡±


    Amanda headed over to the first shaft he had opened. Heart pounding, throat dry, Henry followed closely behind.


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± said Amanda peering into the darkness, trying her best to see anything.


    I¡¯m sorry Amanda¡­ But, I don¡¯t want to die¡­


    Despite his conviction, he hesitated. Doing the deed was proving to be too much for him.


    No, come on. Before she turns around. Just, do it! Do it you fucking coward!


    With a surge of motion, he extended his leg and kicked Amanda down into the shaft. She let out a long sharp shriek as she fell, before she disappeared into the darkness within.

 Supplicant IV

    Henry staggered back from the shaft a few metres, before falling backwards onto the floor. His hands shook uncontrollably, as bile rose in the back of his throat.


    I killed her¡­ She¡¯s dead¡­ Another human¡­ Dead, because of me¡­


    He continued to sit there, staring down at his hands, having difficulty believing the reality of his actions. He couldn¡¯t stop his mind from reliving the horrific moment as he had kicked her to her death. Over and over it replayed before his eyes, his foot extending, her piercing scream, and the sickening thud as she landed. He could only endure so much. The sick feeling in his stomach built steadily, until it reached bursting. He vomited, spewing the contents of his stomach all over the floor.


    He recovered gradually, his mind pushing away the bad memories, while fabricating explanations for his actions.


    I had no choice. I¡¯d be dead instead. Now, I can help more people. Save them!


    But, before he could emerge from the dark fog of despair entirely, his thoughts were interrupted, as a voice reached his ears.


    ¡°Henry?¡±


    Henry¡¯s eyes snapped open. It was coming from the shaft.


    No¡­ No! She¡¯s dead. I killed her!


    ¡°Henry? Are you there?¡± the voice of Amanda continued, refuting his denial.


    Heedless of the mess before him, he slithered along the floor to the shaft, refusing to believe his ears. As his head crested the edge, he could no longer deny it. There was Amanda, clutching the elevator cables that ran through the middle of the shaft. She was just above the barrier of darkness that permeated the lower depths of the shaft. She looked injured, her hair matted with blood. But, she was very much alive.


    ¡°Henry! Oh, thank goodness¡± she called up to him, her voice sounding a bit sluggish and confused. ¡°Can you find a rope and help me up? I don¡¯t think I can climb all the way back up on my own¡­ I¡¯m feeling dizzy, I think I hit my head on the way down.¡±


    Henry¡¯s eyes bored into her. Emotions welled inside him. He felt horrible pain, seeing her injured so. Feelings of guilt and remorse soon joined the party, tearing at his heart.


    I have to help her¡­ a rope, I need a rope¡­


    He turned part way from the lift before grinding to a halt.


    But, if I do¡­


    The horrible thought of his own death, was enough to sway his heart back to the dark path he had chosen. He set off in search of something to solve the situation, and it wasn¡¯t rope he was after. He stopped at a nearby desk. Only one set of its legs had been smashed, while the computer screen that sat on top had slid to the floor, but was still intact. He grabbed it and returned to the shaft.


    Unceremoniously, he threw it down at the injured woman below. But, he missed, the projectile whizzing past Amanda silently. She didn¡¯t even seem to notice. At least until it reached the end of its journey, with a loud crash.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Amanda called up at him.


    The feelings of pain, guilt, and remorse that still lingered within him, were blasted aside as his anger blazed.


    For fuck¡¯s sake! Just, die!


    In a flurry of motion, he dashed over and grabbed the remains of a nearby swivel chair. Returning to the shaft, armed once more, he took aim and threw his payload at the target below. This time his aim was true.


    ¡°Oww, what was that!? Henry, what are you doing!?¡± Amanda¡¯s voice was shrill, filled with panic and alarm.


    He had hit her, but not dislodged her. His jaw clamped shut. His fists clenched.


    ¡°Would you just fucking die already!¡± he roared out into the confined space of the shaft.


    ¡°Henry, what are you saying? We have to ¡­..¡± Amanda¡¯s words were cut off as he rushed off to find something else to throw at her.


    Ignoring her cries for help, he went searching for something larger, something that could end the horrific ordeal once and for all. It didn¡¯t take him long to find something suitable, a large metal radiator that had fallen off the wall. It was both heavy and large. He half carried, half dragged it over to the shaft.


    Amanda shouted out as soon as she saw him.


    ¡°Henry! Please¡­ What have I done to upset you?¡± She gasped as she saw what he was carrying. ¡°Don¡¯t do this, please!¡± Despite the darkness he could see tears in her eyes, or maybe he just heard it in her voice.


    He faltered, those same emotions trying to force their way back into his heart. She looked so pitiful down there, so fragile.


    No, damn it! I have to do this, or I¡¯m dead. I have to!


    His jaw muscles worked, grinding his teeth together. He slammed his hand against the radiator he carried, once, twice, three times, forcefully strengthening his resolve. Gradually, he stepped up to the edge of the shaft. He hefted the radiator, stretching it out in front of him as far as he could, wanting to ensure it would hit his target.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do this Henry! Please! Stop!!¡± Amanda shouted up at him.


    Henry released his grip on the radiator. Or he tried to, but his body was no longer responding to his commands. He seemed to be completely unable to move. But, he wasn¡¯t immune to gravity. As he stood there frozen, he began tipping ever so slightly forward, he was going to fall, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.


    Henry and the radiator both fell into the darkness. He couldn¡¯t even scream as he fell.


    <hr>


    Henry slowly regained consciousness.


    ¡°Urgh¡­¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    He was in a great deal of pain, and the left side of his body in particular seemed to be screaming for attention. He opened his eyes to assess the situation, but it was too dark to see anything. Instead, he carefully tried moving each of his limbs in turn, testing for damage. His right arm and leg were fine, but when he got to his left leg, he found he couldn¡¯t move it far without it hurting. Lastly, he tested his left arm, and as soon as he moved it, pain overcame him. The arm was clearly broken, and some gentle probing with his other arm revealed a sizeable bump around the elbow.


    How the hell did I survive that? Shit, did she survive too?


    He gingerly eased himself into a sitting position.


    ¡°Amanda?¡± he called out into the darkness. No response was forthcoming.


    Damn, my arm hurts. What are the chances someone has a spare sling for a broken arm in the office? If I can get out of here, maybe I can find out.


    Careful not to hit his injured arm on anything, he slowly started groping about in the dark with his other arm. He found the cold ridged metal of the radiator, it seemed to be resting at an angle, stretching from the floor to one wall of the elevator shaft. Near the edge of the radiator that was against the floor, his good hand found a distinctly feminine form. It was Amanda.


    ¡°Amanda?¡± he called out again, his voice overly loud in the confined space of the shaft, with just a touch of panic hinting through.


    There was still no reply. He carefully placed his hand back on her chest. She felt warm, but didn¡¯t appear to be breathing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t have a choice. I just wanted to save people, like you did. But, turns out I¡¯m really just a selfish monster.¡± he spat out the last words, self-loathing and anger warring within him.


    He slowly steered his thoughts back to getting out of his current predicament.


    I need to find one of the elevator doors, I really hope there¡¯s one in reach. The alternative doesn¡¯t bear thinking about it. Trapped alone, in here, with her¡­


    Standing up carefully, Henry looked up. Further up the shaft, light was spilling in from the door he and Amanda had both entered from earlier. The light didn¡¯t reach very far down the shaft, making it difficult to guess where the closest doors would be. He slowly felt along the wall searching for it.


    He eventually found what he was looking for. They were above him. At maximum stretch he could just touch the doors.


    Shit, there¡¯s no way I can get that open with my broken arm.


    During his blind groping earlier, Henry had noticed that the floor was actually the roof of the elevator car, which was amazingly intact despite all that had happened to it.


    My only hope is that I can get out through the doors below. If I can get into the elevator car, I should be able to pry them open, even with my broken arm. It¡¯s difficult to judge if the next set of doors will be close enough. I have to hope they are.


    He groped around in search of the hatch that would lead him into the inside of the elevator car. It didn¡¯t take long. His broken arm was only a small hindrance as he pried it open. Naturally, the inside of the car was also dark. As he made to jump down, a thought struck him.


    I won''t be able to pull myself back up with this broken arm. Damn it, if I can¡¯t open the door in there, I¡¯ll be stuck!


    He weighed his options.


    I guess I could shift the radiator so it ramps up to the door above. Will it reach far enough? Bit hard to tell in the dark¡­


    With this arm, my only way to open the doors will require my feet as well. I could only just reach the doors above, so it must be close to 2 metres. I didn¡¯t exactly measure the radiator before dropping it down here, but I doubt it¡¯s that long, especially propped against the wall so I can climb it.


    Henry sighed.


    Looks like the elevator car is my only option. I really hope I haven¡¯t misjudged the distance to the doors below.


    With his left arm still useless, getting through the hatch was tricky. He had to slide in along his right side, feet first, careful not to hit the edge with his damaged arm. He used his good arm to lower himself as far he could before he was forced to let go. As his feet hit the floor with a thud, his left leg, still injured from his earlier fall, gave out. He toppled over onto his left side, bashing his arm against the floor.


    ¡°YEEEEEARRRGHH!¡± he screamed.


    It took Henry a while to recover from the intense pain. When he had done so, he dragged him self over to where the door should be.


    It¡¯s here! What a relief. Finally, something¡¯s going my way. Now to open it.


    The door was just poking up from bottom of the elevator car. In the end he had to brace his back against the inside of the door on the right side. From there he could just about pull the door apart with his right arm and foot. Light flooded the car as he pried the doors open. He squeezed his way out through the half metre gap, careful to land most of his weight on his right side as he fell down to the floor.


    He set about looking for something to bind his injured arm with. During his search, he took a detour when his stomach notified him of his hunger. He found some wrapped sandwiches in a small office. They didn¡¯t smell particularly appetising, but that didn¡¯t stop him wolfing them down all the same. The search for an arm sling continued for a while, but he eventually gave up, opting instead to fashion a crude sling from some bin bags and duct tap.


    At least this will stop it from swinging about and hitting things. Not much more I can do at the moment. Just have to hope I don¡¯t run into any more those creatures.


    There were still a few more floors between him and the building entrance. Henry made his way down cautiously, constantly on the look out for danger and any other survivors. The trip down was uneventful, other than a brief moment of panic, when a monitor fell off a damaged desk just as he passed by. The lower floors were just as heavily damaged as the upper floors, but he didn¡¯t see any demons or other survivors. He eventually made it to the ground floor. After checking to make sure it was safe, he chose a chair with a good view of the main entrance, and sat down.


    Well, I made it. I killed Gyxr¡¯s champion¡­ Which makes me the champion now? I was expecting something to happen¡­ Like a meeting with Gyxr?


    ¡°Hey, Gyxr,¡± Henry said out loud. ¡°I completed your task. How about some guidance here?¡±


    Henry waited most of a minute before sighing quietly in frustration.


    What a fucking surprise. Puts me through all that, and doesn¡¯t even bother to acknowledge my hard work.


    Ah, anyway¡­ I guess I need to think about what else I¡¯m going to do. No new task means I¡¯m free to do whatever I want. Though, I guess it¡¯s more a question of what can I actually do with the city how it is.


    Finding more survivors would be a good start. Maybe I could even find someone that has some answers¡­ That would sure be nice. Otherwise, I guess I just need to try and stay alive. Avoid getting murdered again, make sure I have enough food and water to live off, and shit like that.


    So, time to gather some gear.


    The company building had its own cafeteria, so finding food and water wasn¡¯t an issue. Henry helped himself to some packaged sandwiches, storing them in a rucksack he had scavenged along the way. He quenched his thirst with some water, and added a couple of bottles to his pack. Having left the fire axe and the steel rod several floors up, Henry had to track down a new weapon. He eventually found another fire axe, two floors up, this one was still resting snugly in its wall mounted glass case. Smashing the case open with a small metal bin, he took the axe and slid it between the straps of his rucksack.


    Henry moved on to take care of his other needs. In addition to a cafeteria, the building had a small area with showers. Lacking his own towel, he used his new axe to pilfer supplies from the locker area. It took him a while to wash all the blood off his body, the broken arm didn¡¯t help matters either, but he managed. Finally refreshed, he donned the clothes his pilfering had also discovered, a new shirt and trousers, and some underwear that he really hoped was fresh. He even found some sturdy looking boots, they were a size too big, but he stuffed the ends with some extra socks he had found and made do.


    Alright, time to get going. Phew, even the thought of that is troubling. How demon infested is the city still? It sounds quiet, it even looks quiet out there, but all it will take is a few of the damn things and I¡¯ll probably be dead again.


    Where to go, I wonder? Where would survivors hide? Maybe a police station¡­ They¡¯d have access to riot gear, body armour, maybe even some guns? That would sure help.


    He racked his brain trying to recall the location of the nearest police station.


    Damn it. I¡¯ve been here for four years! How can I not know that?


    Henry sighed loudly.


    Ah, whatever, finding a map shouldn¡¯t be hard. Having to actually use a paper map though, that¡¯s funny. Eh, maybe funny isn¡¯t the right word. Life without phones is going to be kind of shit¡­


    Henry was finally ready to leave the office building he had spent the last few years working in. Not wanting to dwell on the painful memories of his recent experiences, he gathered up his scavenged gear and stepped outside without further hesitation.

 Roving the Ruins I

    The outside world was as he had observed from the seventh floor earlier that day. The sky still possessed the red tinge, and the city was still a shambles. Henry was no expert, but his best judgement of the time based on the current position of the sun, was that it was sometime after midday.


    Doesn¡¯t look much past the 2:45pm my watch is stuck at. But, that really doesn¡¯t make any sense¡­ The carnage, the emptiness, it¡¯s too much. Then again, I have no idea how many demons came through the portal. There could even have been more portals around here. Is it even safe to assume the sun is behaving how it should?


    Unhappy with his conclusions, he spent a few minutes looking around outside his office building, while listening for anything that might warn of him nearby danger. He found nothing, the local vicinity seemed to be completely devoid of life. He started off in the direction of the newsagent¡¯s he often visited coming to and from work. It was only a short walk away, about five to ten minutes usually, depending on traffic. That at least, was no longer an issue.


    He moved slowly and cautiously through the ruins of his home city, constantly on the look out for danger as he did so. The demons had done a thorough job. Every building he walked past seemed to have been heavily damaged, glass windows were smashed, doors flung away from entrance ways, while wrecked vehicles of all sorts were strewn about, with some having crashed into buildings. He even spotted a car somehow stuck in the side of a tall building, several floors up. It all added up to a rather depressing site.


    Is there no one left alive?


    It wasn¡¯t just things that were damaged though. As he had seen from his aerial vantage point earlier, there were the remains of people scattered about. Henry did his best to avoid them, but it wasn¡¯t that simple. He accidentality stumbled upon a few remains that were hidden out of sight, some behind walls, or cars and other obstacles, realising they were there only as he was almost on top of them, where the stench notified him too late. To say the grisly state of his office building had prepared him for what he saw, would be untrue. Even his own murderous assault upon Gyxr¡¯s champion had not immunised him to the horrors he unwittingly discovered.


    Like most of the buildings in the city, the newsagent¡¯s too had been ransacked. Shelves were toppled over, and their remaining contents spread about all over the place. Further inside the store, his eyes caught upon a body. It had been blocked from outside observation, hidden behind a shelf that was still mostly intact. It was not a welcoming sight.


    He conducted a thorough search of the place, finding the severed head of the body in the freezer of all places, where it was buried amongst the ice cream, before he finally he found the maps. They were stacked in a pile behind the counter. Many of them were damaged, singed, drenched in various fluids or ripped, but there were intact ones too.


    Alright, let¡¯s see¡­ Okay, looks like there¡¯s a police station not far from here, just opposite to a restaurant that I¡¯ve definitely been too before. I really need to pay more attention to these things.


    His next destination set, there was no reason to linger any longer in their, especially with the foul stench of death that permeated every inch. He made his way outside, but as his foot touched the pavement, an imp lunged at him from its hiding place beneath the street facing shop window. Before Henry could react, it collided with his midsection, sending him sprawling to the ground, and as he fell, his head collided with the pavement with a dull thud. The imp followed him closely, its small clawed hands keeping it in place as it fell with him, before it dove teeth first right for his face.


    ¡°Yeeeeargh!¡± Henry cried out.


    Using his uninjured right arm, Henry managed to stop the imp¡¯s toothy maw from savaging his face, but the pain of it biting into his flesh was still immense. He also managed to jostle his broken arm as he fell, making things far worse.


    Struggling to fight the pain, Henry sought for a way to fight back. With his left arm broken and his right arm taking the brunt of the imp¡¯s assault, there was no way for him to reach his axe. He was no gymnast, nor was he a wrestler, and as such, there was little chance he could wrangle the imp into some elaborate choke hold with his legs. Ultimately, the only option that came to him was brute force.


    Henry twisted his body slightly, positioning himself so that the imp still attached to his arm by its teeth, was between him and the wall of the newsagent¡¯s. The imp was surprisingly light, but the motion still caused further pain to emerge from his arm. Fighting through it, he enacted his plan. Bracing himself, he began smashing the imp¡¯s head directly into the wall behind it.


    It wasn¡¯t easy. The imp¡¯s teeth dug into his arm more unpleasantly with each bash, and the force of the blow was causing more pain to emanate from his other arm, but after several such hits, the imp released him and slumped to the floor.


    With his foe detached, Henry wasted little time in unslinging his axe, and bringing it to bear upon the imp¡¯s face with as much force as he could single handedly muster. His efforts released a sickening fleshy noise as the axe hit, but Henry was too relieved to not be dead to care overmuch.


    Threat eliminated, Henry ducked back into the newsagent¡¯s, and collapsed behind the counter out of sight from the street. His bitten arm was hurting considerably, and covered in a fair quantity of fresh blood.


    Okay¡­ Need to add medical supplies to my pack ASAP. Huh, guess this is a good test to see if I have those healing powers now that I think about it. Not that that will stop me from binding the wound.


    Reluctant to venture outside again so soon, Henry decided to make do with what he could find in the newsagent¡¯s, which turned out to be not much. With his arm covered with newspaper and string, Henry collapsed back against the wall behind the counter.


    What is with those things? They seem to latch onto their target with their teeth and sit there. Almost like an attack dog trying to disarm someone. Well, it¡¯s a good job they don¡¯t do more, those claws looked pretty damn sharp too.


    Weary from his recent battle, on top of everything else he had experienced that day, Henry slowly drifted off to sleep.


    <hr>


    Henry awoke some time later. The shop floor was still being bathed by light coming in from the windows, that was tinged with the same reddish hue. He still had no idea what time it was. Shaking his head in annoyance, he peeked over the counter for signs of trouble.


    ¡°Ah, your finally awake!¡±


    Henry let out a yelp.


    Sitting down next to one of the shelves was an elderly man and a young woman. The man, who to Henry¡¯s eyes looked at least 50, was wearing an old fashioned brown suit. His hair was grey and short, while on his upper lip sat a gigantic caterpillar of a moustache that was similarly coloured. Despite his age, he was quite striking. The woman was much younger in comparison, most likely late teens. Her hair was black and reached all the way down to her waist. She was almost dangerously thin in Henry¡¯s opinion, but otherwise quite pretty. She was wearing a low cut t-shirt and skinny jeans.


    Henry took a few breaths, trying to calm himself down before speaking.Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°You scared me half to death! Who are you? How long have you been there? What are you doing here?¡± he blurted out.


    ¡°Oh my, terribly sorry about that. I¡¯m Peter and this lovely young lady with me is Catherine.¡±


    ¡°Hi!¡± the young woman called Catherine greeted him with a warm smile.


    ¡°We were just passing by, when Catherine here noticed that freshly bested beastie outside. We went to investigate and as we approached this very shop, we heard the unmistakable noise of a sleeping human, that lead us right to you.¡±


    Shit, should have been more careful. Completely forgot about the snoring! Haven¡¯t heard many complaints since my girlfriend left me¡­


    ¡°We then decided to keep watch over you. Can¡¯t be too careful these days after all you know.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t mean to scare you, honest! You looked so peaceful sleeping there, I thought it would have been cruel to wake you,¡± Catherine added.


    ¡°Yes indeed. She was quite insistent that you remain sleeping. I was all for rousing you immediately, but Catherine here wasn¡¯t having any of it!¡± Peter finished his sentence, winking at Catherine as he did so. Who responded with a playful slap on his shoulder.


    Henry was caught completely off guard. The pair of them were acting like it was just another day in happy land, with no demonic invasion hell bent on destruction in sight.


    ¡°I see I owe you a debt of gratitude. I¡¯m Henry, thanks for watching out for me.¡±


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s nothing, anyone would have done the same. Right dear?¡± Peter replied jovially.


    ¡°It is dangerous out there,¡± Catherine cheerfully agreed.


    Their intense cheer was quickly becoming too much for Henry.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to appear rude, but you are aware of what¡¯s going on outside? You know, scary demon looking things, roaming around, killing everything in sight.¡±


    Peter barked out a laugh. Catherine quickly giggling along with him.


    ¡°Of course we are, dear fellow. As I just explained, the very reason we stopped here, was to keep an eye out for more of the buggers.¡±


    ¡°Um, Professor, I think Henry is saying that we don¡¯t seem to be very upset about the invasion.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, I see. You¡¯ve got it all wrong, lad. Of course, it is an absolute tragedy, the worst disaster in the history of mankind I¡¯ll wager. Believe me, I watched good men and women fall before my very eyes. Unable to do anything but watch as they died. But, Catherine and I have decided to keep our spirits up in the face of this adversity. We have to keep going, enjoying life as much as we are able.¡±


    Professor huh¡­ So an academic and his pupil? The ages look about right for it. She¡¯s really pretty hot too. Probably doesn¡¯t have a boyfriend either, given how things are¡­ Unless¡­?


    ¡°Of course the massive loss of life is abhorrent. But, the appearance of demon-like creatures through portals! Some of them even resemble common creatures found in works of fiction. An absolutely staggering discovery. Oh, I have so many many questions. Is the likeness purely coincidence? Have they been here before, recorded by the people of long ago, only to be dismissed as fantasy over the centuries?¡± Peter had the look of a young child, being given a new toy.


    ¡°Oh professor, please calm down. It¡¯s not good for you to get so worked up. I know how much this means to you. But, there¡¯s plenty of time for us to discover the truth,¡± Catherine had wrapped her arms around Peter from the side and was gently hugging him as she spoke.


    Shit¡­ Maybe a bit more than professor and student now. Lucky bastard.


    ¡°Say, do you happen to know what time it is?¡± Henry asked.


    ¡°Ah yes, infuriating business this EM interference, isn¡¯t it. How am I supposed to do proper research without electronics, I ask you. But, fear not, you are in luck lad.¡±


    Peter reached into his breast pocket and pulled out an ornate looking pocket watch.


    ¡°I have with me this lovely heirloom, passed down to me from my great-grandfather no less. Purely mechanical it is, and still in perfect working order. Now let¡¯s see...¡±


    Peter flicked open the cover of the watch, and held it out before him at arm¡¯s length.


    ¡°It is now 3:13pm.¡±


    ¡°What? Are you sure?¡± Henry inquired, as the seemingly impossible declaration reached his ears.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m sure lad. It says so right here, 3:13pm, Thursday the 7<sup>th</sup> of April.¡±


    Thursday? Ah, fuck. I arrived at work on Monday. Which means I spent three whole days stuck to that wall¡­ Guess, that explains how empty it is, and the extent of the destruction. Still, was I really dead for three whole days?


    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± Catherine asked him with a look of concern on her pretty face.


    ¡°Heh, apart from how fucked we all are you mean?¡± Henry regretted his words as he saw the frowns on the faces of the pair before him. ¡°Ah, sorry, I think I¡¯ll step outside for a bit. Stretch my legs.¡±


    ¡°Please be careful! There are still monsters about,¡± Catherine warned him as he moved towards the door.


    ¡°Indeed, don¡¯t hesitate to run right back here if you find yourself in trouble my lad. We can handle a few beasties,¡± Peter added.


    ¡°Thanks, I will.¡±


    Stepping outside, Henry started walking back the way he had come from earlier. He didn¡¯t intend to go far, as he was still very wary of further ambushes. As he walked, he let his mind wander over the various aspects of the situation he¡¯d found himself in. It was all quite depressing. The incredible loss of life, which he had little doubt had extended to most everyone he had ever known; the continuing danger from demonic monsters of unknown origin and abilities; and the complete asshole of a ¡®benefactor¡¯ he¡¯d found himself working for. There was also the mention of EM interference by the old professor, which seemed to imply things were worse than Henry had assumed. Dead electronics was a problem, but a complete inability to use them at all moving forwards was so much worse.


    Henry had walked a fair distance from the shop where he had met Peter and Catherine. Having run out of topics to ponder for the time being, he started heading back, but it wasn¡¯t long before he heard a faint scream. He broke into a run, arriving at the newsagent¡¯s shortly after, completely out of breath. Holding his axe at the ready, he burst into the shop.


    ¡°Woah my boy, where¡¯s the fire?¡± Peter asked with a smile, causing Catherine to burst into giggles beside him.


    ¡°I heard a scream¡­ and came¡­. running,¡± Henry managed between breaths.


    ¡°Oh, sorry about that lad. I was just playing a little practical joke on the lovely Catherine here. Gave her quite the fright!¡± Peter barked out a laugh.


    Catherine was wagging her finger at Peter in mock indignation.


    ¡°I see, phew. Well, that¡¯s a relief.¡±


    Henry put his fire axe away and took a seat next to the counter.


    ¡°By the way, I was wondering if you could tell me more about what¡¯s happened since the invasion started? I spent most of that time stuck in a building¡­ Has there been a response from the military? And where are all the demons?¡±


    Peter nodded gravely and sat down opposite Henry. Catherine joined him.


    ¡°Well lad, it¡¯s an unpleasant business, as you well know I¡¯m sure. Myself and Catherine barely escaped the initial wave. It took a bit of cunning, and I must admit, a lot of running. We¡¯ve been trying to get a message out since then, but with the lack of functioning electronics, it¡¯s been difficult.¡±


    Catherine was resting her head on Peter¡¯s shoulder. He absent-mindedly began stroking her hair.


    ¡°We¡¯ve seen no sign of the police or military. I can only imagine the local police forces perished trying to stop the demons. As for where the demons went, well according to a nice fellow we met just two days back, they have been spreading out from the invasion sites wreaking havoc as they go.¡±


    ¡°Another survivor?¡± Henry asked.


    ¡°Yes indeed, a most curious fellow. We spent some time chatting and trading information. Very friendly chap he was. Hmm, can¡¯t seem to recall his name...¡±


    ¡°Barry. He was hunting demons when we found him,¡± Catherine supplied for him.


    ¡°Ah yes, Barry. As I said, a most curious fellow. Challenged me to a duel of all things! Of course I declined, I¡¯m far too old to be throwing down the gauntlet.¡±


    Barry? Could it be Baz? ¡­ What I am thinking, there must be hundreds of people called Barry in the city.


    ¡°After a spell, we parted ways. He was set on hunting down and killing more of the demons, ¡®to prove himself¡¯, I think he said. And well after that, we wandered for a while and then ended up meeting you.¡±


    ¡°Lucky us!¡± Catherine added. ¡°How about you, Henry? Did you meet any interesting people on your way here?¡± Catherine asked him with a smile.


    He couldn¡¯t help swallowing noisily, almost choking on his own saliva.


    ¡°Ah, no, not really. As I said, I was stuck in a building for most of it. Pinned down by the demons.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you poor thing,¡± Catherine responded.


    ¡°Indeed, amazing you survived then, lad.¡±


    A silenced lingered in the air, which Henry spent trying to push aside the disturbing memories of his time in the office building.


    ¡°So, were you two heading anywhere in particular before you found me?¡± Henry soon asked.


    ¡°Well, in a manner of speaking, yes. Catherine has this notion that we should head west,¡± Peter supplied.


    ¡°It makes sense professor! There¡¯s a large military base out that way.¡±


    ¡°Yes, so you¡¯ve told me! But, don¡¯t you think it likely that the demons would be drawn to such a place?¡±


    A hurt look crossed Catherine¡¯s face.


    ¡°No need to get upset, my dear. I¡¯m just concerned about your safety. I couldn¡¯t stand losing you too.¡± Peter pulled Catherine into a hug, resting her head on his chest, and patting her head. He looked back at Henry.


    ¡°How about you lad? Where were you headed?¡±


    ¡°Well, I think I had a similar idea to Catherine as it happens. I was planning on visiting the local police station.¡±


    ¡°Ah I see, yes similar reasoning no doubt. And where is this police station you speak of? It would be a shame to split up so soon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s to the west too as it happens,¡± Henry replied. ¡°Not too far though, maybe about an hour to get there on foot.¡±


    Having extracted herself from Peter¡¯s arms, Catherine smiled reassuringly at Henry.


    ¡°We¡¯ll join you then!¡±


    ¡°That we will,¡± Peter agreed happily. ¡°Now, how about a nice luncheon before we head off?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Henry replied.


    They ate a decent meal from the food lying around in the shop. Henry was slightly concerned about dessert, but it turned out the severed head had been removed from the freezer while he was out.

 Roving the Ruins II

    Bellies full, they donned their gear in preparation for the journey. Peter had a large rucksack that looked to be quite full and heavy, while Catherine had a slightly smaller, but considerably more stylish pack.


    Better add a bigger pack to my list of things to look out for.


    While comparing their respective baggage, Henry noticed that Peter had a strange looking book wrapped in a sling, that was tied around his waist.


    ¡°Interesting looking book you have there,¡± Henry said, pointing towards the book in question.


    He saw Peter tense for a split second, before smiling back at him.


    ¡°Yes, a most interesting book it indeed is,¡± he replied unhelpfully.


    ¡°Oh come on, professor! Henry¡¯s nice, you can tell him!¡± Catherine interjected on Henry¡¯s behalf.


    ¡°I was not implying that he wasn¡¯t! It¡¯s just difficult to explain succinctly.¡±


    ¡°Something you could explain in an hour or so?¡± Henry asked suggestively.


    Leaving the newsagent¡¯s, Henry reminded himself to stay alert. The addition of two allies made travel seem vastly less dangerous, yet he knew that was a foolish assumption to make. Fortunately, it helped that Peter and Catherine both seemed to practise plenty of caution as they moved, helping Henry to do likewise.


    ¡°Well lad, I don¡¯t want to shock you,¡± Peter began, just a short distance away from the shop they¡¯d left. ¡°But, this book is actually a symbol of a pact I have entered with a self proclaimed demon Lord.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± Henry exclaimed.


    ¡°Please try to keep your voices down,¡± Catherine added, keeping her voice low, but stern.


    ¡°Right, sorry,¡± Henry replied, gracefully accepting his admonishment.


    ¡°Yes, difficult to believe, but completely true!¡± Peter continued.


    A champion¡­ Shit, I¡¯m not even sure how I should react to that. Gyxr didn¡¯t say anything about how to handle other champions¡­ Are we enemies? He did say my tasks would interfere with whatever the other demon lords are up to. Probably best to keep my own status a secret for now¡­ But, what about her?


    ¡°Wow, I don¡¯t know what to say,¡± Henry replied. ¡°I guess with the stuff I¡¯ve seen it isn¡¯t totally unbelievable. Is it the same for both of you?¡±


    ¡°Ah, not quite. Catherine is not directly in a pact with a demon like I am. You see, one of the perks of this pact, is the ability to give a small portion of the benefits I receive to another of my choosing. In this case, the beauty, Catherine.¡± He winked at her as he finished, and Catherine responded with a glowing smile.


    Gifting power to others? Damn, that sounds useful. I hope I get something like that¡­ Or maybe I do already? Still, I can¡¯t help but wonder about Supplicants. Is there someone hunting down Peter as we speak? Or did that mostly take place during the last three days? If every demon lord even allows that kind of thing¡­


    The conversation paused as they reached a corner. And continued shortly after they found nothing waiting for them around it.


    ¡°As I was saying, the book. It acts as a sort of¡­ information device I suppose you could call it. Through it I can track my perks received from the pact, and view other important information. It¡¯s really quite useful. I suppose its not unlike something from one of those silly games I¡¯ve seen my grandson play. Ooof, poor Timmy, I hope he survived.¡± Peter had continued his explanation of the book he carried, speaking the last part mostly to himself.


    That¡¯s it! That¡¯s the kind of thing I need. Where the hell is my book? Oh, shit¡­ Did Amanda have one and I missed it? Wait a fucking second¡­ Do I need to find that to complete my task!?


    Henry paused mid-stride as the horrible though struck him.


    It makes sense¡­ Fuck! Why didn¡¯t Gyxr tell me!? I need to get back there¡­


    Realising his companions were eyeing him curiously, Henry smiled and caught up with them.


    I guess I can wait until after we¡¯ve visited the police station. Some proper weapons would be so useful. Maybe I can extract more information from Peter while I¡¯m at it¡­


    ¡°Are there more like you? With pacts with this demon lord you mentioned?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, I expect so. There are many demon lords from what I hear, I can¡¯t imagine why they wouldn¡¯t also have their own ¡­ helpers,¡± Peter replied.


    ¡°That does make sense. These others then, they have books of their own as well?¡±


    ¡°I think it very likely, considering how useful they are.¡±


    Gyxr, you bastard!


    ¡°I see. So, a pact with demons, huh. Sounds a bit sinister.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it does rather, doesn¡¯t it.¡± Peter frowned unhappily as he replied. ¡°However, the demon lord I¡¯m assisting has assure me she has nothing to do with this unseemly invasion business. I¡­ Believe her, though I realise how the whole thing must seem.¡±


    Nothing to do with it? Interesting¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it. Catherine doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯d be okay with you doing anything evil anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true!¡± Catherine replied.


    Peter laughed heartily as he clapped a hand on Henry¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Well said. Glad you understand, lad.¡±


    As their journey continued, Henry tried to gleam anything else of interest he could with regards to demon lords and champions, but his efforts resulted in nothing new. Finally, a bit past an hour since they¡¯d departed, Catherine motioned for them to stop.


    ¡°I think I see it, just up ahead on the right,¡± she said quietly.


    ¡°That looks like the place,¡± Henry agreed.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°How shall we approach it?¡± she asked Peter and Henry.


    ¡°Come now, my dear, we¡¯ve been passing by all manner of buildings for the last hour or so, with little to no enemies in sight,¡± Peter responded.


    They had in fact encountered a single lone imp, about 20 minutes earlier. It had tried to execute an ambush by leaping out of a second story window, but had failed to find its target and had instead collided with the pavement. To Henry¡¯s surprise, Catherine had quickly rushed towards the prone imp and delivered several solid hits to its head, with the metal bat that had up until that point rested aside her pack.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just approach cautiously as usual then,¡± Henry supplied.


    They moved slowly towards the entrance to the police station. It was a relatively small building, four stories high, but somewhat dwarfed by the many large tower buildings nearby. There was a modest car park to the left side of the building, containing one or two squad cars, which were both wrecked. Before the building proper was a forecourt sporting a large water fountain that had fallen dormant, though the still water within had an ominous red tinge to it, not unlike the sky above. The building itself had either been rebuilt recently, or was new. It looked very modern, with most of the front entrance being comprised of glass panels and doors. Unfortunately, with all of that glass instead littering the ground, it looked far less impressive that it once might have done.


    ¡°It looks clear,¡± Catherine noted.


    ¡°Let¡¯s observe for a bit,¡± Henry suggested, motioning them towards the fountain.


    They quickly moved over to crouch down in front of the fountain, keeping it between them and the entrance to the police station.


    I was worried Peter might have trouble sneaking around like this, but it doesn¡¯t seem to bother him at all despite his age¡­ And here¡¯s me with a broken arm¡­ I¡¯m much more of a liability than he is!


    Huddled up against the fountain¡¯s edge, the source of the water¡¯s colour became clear. There was a torso floating in the water. It had no arms, head, or lower body, but did have a bloody spine extending out from the bottom. Henry soon regretted his choice of hiding place.


    ¡°It looks clear to me dearies,¡± Peter announced quietly. ¡°Let¡¯s make our way inside, shall we?¡±


    Henry raised an eyebrow slightly at Peter¡¯s strange form of address, but soon nodded along with Catherine all the same. They crept forwards towards the entrance, keeping low, and trying to remain silent. With the glass strewn about everywhere, and crunching underfoot as they moved, it wasn¡¯t easy, but they continued on as best they could, before entering the lobby of the police station.


    As Henry had largely expected, the place was a mess. The front desk had been split in half, with one part of it flung across the room. While, the floor, walls, and even the ceiling had been painted with disturbing amounts of blood.


    ¡°Looks like they put up a fight at least,¡± Henry noted.


    His observation stemmed from the large number of imp bodies that were scattered across the lobby floor, many of whom were sporting what looked like gunshot wounds.


    ¡°Mmm yes, indeed. I don¡¯t see any weapons lying around though, most curious...¡± Peter replied.


    Henry likewise considered the strange lack of weaponry as he conducted another sweep of the room. It was particularly strange, at least with the clear signs of fighting, and the reasonable number of varyingly mutilated human bodies that were mostly still identifiable as police, thanks to the uniforms they wore.


    ¡°These poor people,¡± Catherine said in a sad tone.


    ¡°They died doing what they were sworn to do: Protect the people of this fair city.¡± Peter had pulled Catherine into a hug, gently patting her back with one hand.


    ¡°I know...It¡¯s just so sad.¡±


    They waited there in silence for a time, giving Henry ample time to process the sight of humanity¡¯s failure in fine detail.


    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t we take a look around,¡± Peter said, somewhat cheerily. ¡°I was always a staunch opponent of firearms, but I can¡¯t deny their potential usefulness at a time like this. Henry, why don¡¯t you take this floor? Catherine and I, will start on the next floor up, and go from there. If you spot any trouble, give a shout and come running. Naturally, we¡¯ll do the same.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do that. I¡¯ll follow you up once I¡¯m done here,¡± Henry replied affirmatively.


    ¡°Right you are, see you shortly then!¡± Peter turned to address his student. ¡°Come on my dear, let¡¯s get going shall we?¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Catherine¡¯s response was quiet, clearly still upset about the large loss of life that had taken place with the station.


    I doubt Peter¡¯s faring much better. I¡¯m sure not¡­ Still, at least the officers had a fighting chance.


    With Peter and Catherine having disappeared up the stairs, Henry let out a tired sigh as he continued staring at the grim scene.


    Strange that there are only imp bodies here. I would have thought armed police would have had little trouble against them, they really don¡¯t seem to be too tough.


    Henry started towards the door on the left side of the lobby, while he continued his pondering.


    Maybe, there were simply too many imps. That combined with the element of surprise, could have been enough I suppose. Police officers are trained to deal with hostile threats from humans after all, not sinister demon-like creatures leaping through portals.


    Searching the left side of the building didn¡¯t turn up anything, other than more carnage. He made his way across to the other side, picking his way past the ruined desks and other clutter, and found a room with a mesh fence dividing it in half. There was a single door, with a keypad next to it, providing access to what lay beyond.


    An armoury! This is what I came here for!


    Henry rushed forwards with excitement strumming through his body. However, a quick examination of the room revealed it was void of anything even remotely resembling a weapon.


    Ugh, of course. What did I expect? It¡¯s been three days, other survivors must have come here and looted it. Either that or the demons¡­ The imps are essentially brain dead, but then there¡¯s Gyxr and whoever Peter works for. Probably safe to assume there are more intelligent demons roaming about the place. Maybe even some of those I saw as I was dying back in the office¡­ Or that one that killed me in the first place¡­


    Recalling the all too vivid experience of his own death, Henry shuddered uncomfortably. Forcing aside the unpleasant recollections, he continued searching for anything else of interest, but other than a door that seemed to lead down into the pitch black basement, he found nothing.


    Moving back to the lobby, he began his ascent up the building to find Peter and Catherine. He hesitated on the first floor, wondering if they had moved upwards already. It was just as he started up the next flight of stairs, that a voice reached him.


    ¡°Henry! Find anything?¡± It was Catherine, with Peter following close behind.


    ¡°No not really, just an empty armoury. Oh, and the basement. But, it''s pitch black down there. How about you two?¡±


    ¡°We found a hat!¡± Catherine exclaimed, beaming happily at him. She was wearing a medium sized, flat topped, straw hat, which had a long purple ribbon ran around the base.


    ¡°But, naught else I¡¯m afraid,¡± Peter added.


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad. Well, shall we continue up to the next floors?¡± Henry suggested.


    They continued upstairs, but found nothing of interest on any of the upper levels.


    ¡°I suppose we could check out the roof, but with all these large buildings around, I doubt we¡¯d see much of anything,¡± Peter said as they moved back to the central staircase.


    ¡°What about the basement? There could be something down there! Maybe gold!¡± Catherine added excitedly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the gold, but as I said before, it¡¯s pitch black down there. I don¡¯t think we can consider exploring it without a light source,¡± Henry replied.


    ¡°Mmmm, you might be right there,¡± Peter agreed.


    ¡°But, professor¡­¡± Catherine shot Peter a sad look along with her words.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry my dear. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll find much of anything in there. Henry here, already found the armoury, and it doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s anything else of value here.¡±


    ¡°Okay...¡± Catherine hung her head dejectedly.


    ¡°Oh cheer up, you found that nice hat after all.¡±


    They made their way back down to the lobby, past the carnage there and back outside. As they did so, Catherine spoke up.


    ¡°So, what now? Shall we head west, to the base?¡±


    ¡°Mmm, yes, nothing else for it I suppose. You¡¯re free to join us of course lad,¡± added Peter.


    Henry considered the offer for a moment.


    Sticking together would be good. Their upbeat attitude is kind of annoying¡­ But, at the same time, maybe that¡¯s what we all need with the world being as fucked up as it is. Hell, maybe I¡¯d even have a chance with Catherine if I stayed.


    Of course, I need to get that book from Amanda¡¯s body. Trying to explain that without revealing I¡¯m a champion, or a killer¡­ Yeah, probably not going to happen.


    ¡°I¡¯d¡­¡± Henry was interrupted by a loud clang coming from the direction of the police station.

 Roving the Ruins III

    ¡°What in the blazes?¡± Peter shouted


    Henry joined his two companions in staring back at the building they¡¯d just emerged from, and it wasn¡¯t long before another loud clang sounded out.


    ¡°It¡¯s coming from inside,¡± Catherine said in a near whisper.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Henry said decisively.


    Henry led the way back towards the heavily damaged entrance, and Peter and Catherine fell into step behind him without delay. They were greeted by another similar noise almost as soon as they entered the lobby, which quite clearly revealed the source as coming from somewhere on the ground floor. Henry wasted little time in bringing his companions to the door that led down into the darkness below.


    About to step through the door, Henry was stopped by Peter grabbing his arm. With his other hand, Peter pulled out his book, and Henry was quite surprised to see the light it was emitting.


    Damn, it acts a light source too? Can it pump out food and drink as well? I really need to get a hold of my own book¡­


    Glowing book in hand, Peter lead the way down into the basement. The light coming from the book wasn¡¯t particularly bright, barely enough to guide their feet and reveal obstacles directly in front of them, but it was far better than nothing.


    The clanging noise had continued unabating at seemingly regular intervals, and it wasn¡¯t long before they found the source. The basement room the stairs lead down to had several other rooms leading off from it, and it was inside one of those rooms that they found it. Peter was just about to lead them into the room, when he jumped back, pushing Henry and Catherine back as he did so, before moving back further to prevent the light from leaking into the room.


    A safe distance away from the apparent source of the noise, Peter used the book to illuminate his hands as he ran through a series of signals whose meaning wasn¡¯t hard to discern.


    Oh, shit¡­ Three demons. Two small ones, probably imps, and one larger one¡­ I¡¯m really in no state to fight something more dangerous than an imp.


    Henry got Peter¡¯s attention and hiked his thumb in the direction of the stairs. He wanted out of there. But, Peter emphatically shook his head in response. He then held up a single finger, and mouthed something at him. Catherine seemed to understand immediately, at least if her nodding was to be believed, while Henry took a few more tries to read the man¡¯s lips.


    A human. There¡¯s a human in there as well. Fuck!


    Henry managed to convey that they should move upstairs and talk. Careful not to make any noise and alert the demons, they emerged back upstairs shortly.


    ¡°We have to hurry, they¡¯re in danger!¡± Catherine whispered.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just rush in, it¡¯s too dangerous,¡± Henry replied.


    ¡°Let¡¯s come up with a plan quickly then dearies. Clearly, we should lure them up here, it seems the demons don¡¯t have trouble seeing in the dark, unlike us mere humans.¡±


    ¡°You got a good look at them?¡± Henry asked him.


    ¡°Indeed, two imps and a larger demon standing in front of a thick metal door, which the person is trapped behind. They had a small fire burning at their feet, whose purpose I cannot fathom,¡± Peter took on a pensive look.


    ¡°The tall one, what did it look like? Have you encountered one before?¡± Henry pressed him.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only seen those little ugly imp monsters so far,¡± supplied Catherine.


    ¡°Quite fearsome it was. About half again as tall as the imps, and carrying a large club that is no doubt responsible for that intermittent noise,¡± Peter continued.


    ¡°We have to hurry!¡± Catherine looked extremely agitated.


    ¡°Okay, how about you and I stand out of sight on each side of the door, while Catherine waits opposite behind a desk?¡± Henry posited at Peter.


    ¡°I can fight too!¡± Catherine huffed at him.


    ¡°Indeed, quite right! Let¡¯s have Catherine and I swap places, but there¡¯ll be no hiding behind desks for me.¡±


    Henry was amazed by their confidence.


    Is it warranted? They have survived this long¡­ Three days, where I¡¯ve only had to endure half of one. I¡¯ll have to trust them.


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s do that then. Now, how are we going to attract their attention?¡± Henry asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go. I¡¯m a fast runner!¡± Catherine offered.


    Henry didn¡¯t doubt it. He was fully aware of her skinny as a rake status.


    ¡°Alright, you get their attention, then run back up here.¡±


    ¡°Okay, here goes!¡±


    Henry unslung his axe and took his position. Catherine had already propped her metal bat against the wall on her side of the door. Looking over at Peter, Henry saw he had unsheathed a large knife from somewhere. Peter nodded at him. He nodded back.


    ¡°Oh no! Monsters!!¡± the shrill cry of Catherine reached him up through the open door.


    Doesn¡¯t sound very convincing. I guess the demons won¡¯t care though.


    Henry prepared to attack, hoisting his axe up high, but with only one hand to hold it steady, he was soon forced to brace the head against the wall. He didn¡¯t have long to wait the sound of thumping footsteps reached his ears.


    ¡°Coming!¡± Catherine cried.


    She burst through the door a moment later, immediately changing direction and leaping to the side. Henry lifted his axe off the wall, focusing on the footsteps of the approaching demons as they rushed up the stairs. There was definitely more than one coming, but he couldn¡¯t tell if it was all of them.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    I have to get the timing just right, if I miss we could be in trouble.


    He was getting ready to attack just as Peter shouted.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    Henry hesitated only a fraction of a second before plunging down with his axe with all the strength he could muster. Peter had timed it perfectly, causing Henry¡¯s axe to catch the first imp directly in the back as it tried to leap straight at the ageing professor. The second imp wasn¡¯t far behind, emerging almost immediately, but crashing into its ally, whose momentum had been almost completely halted by the axe swing. Catherine wasted little time in pouncing on the second imp, before wailing away with sweeps of her bat, and Peter was quick to step forwards and assist. Henry, meanwhile, stole a quick glance into the darkness.


    Where¡¯s the other one?


    Henry turned his gaze back to the continuing struggle just in time to see the second imp extract itself from Catherine¡¯s attempted battery. The imp dodged back from her incoming attacks, and then turned and made to leap past Peter, in an attempt to escape the ambush. However, as its leap brought it alongside the aged man, it appeared to Henry¡¯s eyes that Peter¡¯s entire body blurred for a fraction of a second, and before Henry knew what was happening, he saw the leaping imp had been impaled to an adjacent desk by Peter¡¯s knife. Unlike Henry, Catherine seemed unphased by the strange proceedings, and after diving after the imp, she reintroduced her bat to the small demon¡¯s immobile body, where she made short work of it.


    ¡°Phew! We did it!¡± Catherine cheered.


    ¡°Nicely done dearies! Those beasties never stood a chance,¡± Peter added.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not forget about the other one, that¡¯s probably more dangerous,¡± Henry said.


    ¡°Indeed, a stroke of luck it didn¡¯t join the fray with its chums here.¡±


    ¡°We have to hurry!¡± Catherine quickly amended, her previous cheer forgotten.


    ¡°Absolutely, let¡¯s stick with the same plan shall we.¡±


    Henry agreed and got back into position.


    ¡°Okay, here I go!¡± Catherine said, before heading back into the darkness.


    Henry looked over at Peter and shared another nod.


    ¡°Hey you big meanie, come get me!¡± the jeering shout of Catherine echoed up the stairs.


    Henry couldn¡¯t prevent a smile from spreading across his lips upon hearing the absurd cry, despite his nervousness, but it wasn¡¯t long before he heard her running back up the stairs.


    ¡°Its coming!¡± she called out.


    Just like last time, she emerged from the door and quickly dived to the side. The footsteps of the larger demon were audible even before it reached the stairs, causing Henry to ready his axe against the wall again.


    Here goes nothing.


    The footsteps got steadily louder, and Henry looked at Peter, awaiting his cue. He didn¡¯t have to wait long.


    ¡°Now!¡± Peter shouted.


    Henry put all of his strength into swing, planning to make short work of the larger demon. But, this time his axe swing hit nothing but air, before eventually crashing into the floor. The creature had not emerged.


    ¡°Oh my!¡± Peter exclaimed.


    The demon then burst forth from the door. Catherine had been waiting her turn to strike, and did so then. Aiming a swing at the creature¡¯s closest knee, her hit connected, eliciting a short shout from her charging quarry. It staggered slightly, but didn¡¯t fall.


    Before Catherine could attack again, the creature spun around, and lashed out with a kick in her direction. With a thud, she was sent sprawling into a nearby desk, dragging debris and other rubbish with her.


    ¡°Catherine!¡± Peter cried out. He took a step towards her, but the demon had already switched targets and swung his club straight at him.


    In the meantime, Henry had been struggling to pull his axe from the floor. With only one good hand to pull with, it was proving troublesome. He had seen Catherine get knocked flying, and was watching the club descend towards Peter with an immense feeling of helplessness.


    However, just as the club was about to hit the professor, the man¡¯s body blurred again, somehow causing the club to miss him by a hair¡¯s breadth. Unlike Henry, the club-wielding demon didn¡¯t seem shocked by the unusual event, and it simply carried on attacking, unrelentingly.


    Henry stood transfixed as Peter continued to dodge the demon¡¯s blows at the last instant, just barely avoiding each attack as the club continued to threaten his person. After several such narrow misses, Peter began fighting back, lashing out wildly with his knife. Unfortunately, though Peter scored numerous retaliatory this, the demon didn¡¯t seem phased by the shallow cuts the knife was producing.


    ¡°A¡­ little¡­ help¡­ lad!¡± Peter called out in-between dodging and attacking the club-wielding fiend.


    With another heave, Henry wrenched the axe out of the floor. He quickly moved into position behind the attacking demon, and threw out a horizontal swing at its back. But, to his great disappointment, he discovered his attack was completely ineffective, barely even scratching the demon¡¯s skin.


    The demon still tried to turn his attention to the new attacker, but this gave Peter the opportunity to press his attack, quickly forcing it focus on him again.


    ¡°Keep trying!¡± Peter cried out. Henry could clearly hear the exhaustion in his voice.


    Sparing a brief glance at Catherine, he saw she was slowly recovering from the powerful blow the demon head dealt her. Targeting the demon once more, he pulled back his axe and tried a vertical swing, aiming for the side of the demon¡¯s neck. But, his aim was slightly off, instead hitting closer to its shoulder, where the axe sunk into the skin only a fraction, before recoiling away as it hit the bone beneath.


    Shit! We have to stop this thing and fast.


    The demon reacted to his second axe attack immediately, spinning around, and aiming an upwards club swing right at his midsection. Henry managed to partially dodge out of the way, twisting his body sideways to protect his injured arm. The club clipped his shoulder, sending him skidding into the wall next to the basement door.


    ¡°Yeaaargh!¡± Henry yelled, as the weak pain from his shoulder mixed with the much greater pain caused by his broken arm colliding with the wall.


    Though Henry had been knocked out of the fight, Catherine had resumed her assault. With her weapon reclaimed, the lithe young woman carefully delivered hefty blows to the demon¡¯s back, while dodging away after each swing. Even in his injured state, Henry couldn¡¯t help but admire her efforts, though it was fairly clear she wasn¡¯t harming the demon to any noticeable degree.


    ¡°Henry! The axe!¡± Catherine shouted.


    Fighting through the foggy haze of pain he was suffering, Henry took a moment to locate his misplaced weapon. Just as he¡¯d been knocked away, so had it, and he discovered under a nearby desk. As quickly as he could, Henry retrieved the axe, before throwing it over to Catherine.


    Peter and the demon were still going head to head. He could see the sweat pouring from Peter¡¯s face, and the copious amounts that had already stained his clothes. Catherine took another swing with her bat at the demon¡¯s back, then dodged out of its reach to replace her weapon with the axe Henry had thrown.


    Axe firmly in hand, Catherine leapt up onto a desk next to the ongoing battle between Peter and the demon, and raised the axe high up in the air in preparation for a strike. However, the demon seemed to notice the danger, and tried to turn and attack her pre-emptively. Fortunately, Peter grabbed its attention once more, by unleashing a flurry of stabs aimed right at its face.


    Free to continue her intended attack, Catherine chopped down with the axe. Her swing hit home, landing right on the nape of the demonic creature, but Henry caught only a brief glimpse of the blade sinking deep, before it was obscured by the violent spurts of blood that emerged from within.


    Amazingly, an attack that would have likely killed any human instantly, only seemed to temporarily stun the creature. However, before it could recover, Henry saw Peter blur once again, and in an instant the man¡¯s knife was forced up into the demon¡¯s skull, entering from the underside of its jaw until only the hilt was visible. Henry felt a rush of elation as he watched the vicious combination land, but it was until the demon went slack and collapsed, that he dared celebrate.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Henry called out.


    That was way too close. I need to heal up and get stronger if I want any chance at staying alive.


    ¡°Professor!¡± Catherine¡¯s cry snapped him back to reality.


    Looking past the dead demon, Henry saw Peter had slumped on the floor beside it. Pulling himself to his feet, he lumbered over to assist the older man.

 Roving the Ruins IV

    Henry and Catherine were kneeling by the prone form of Peter.


    ¡°Are you hurt, Professor?¡± Catherine asked him.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ Just tired¡­ Go rescue the prisoner.¡±


    He did put up one hell of a fight, I¡¯m not surprised he¡¯s exhausted. We¡¯d have had no chance without him. He looks a lot worse than I would have expected though, like he¡¯s aged ten years in the blink of an eye.


    Peter handed his book, that was glowing once more to Catherine, and motioned to the stairs.


    ¡°Go.¡±


    Catherine hesitated, clearly reluctant to leave Peter given his rough state. Henry rested a hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go,¡± he encourage.


    They made their way down the stairs using the light of the book to guide them. Inside the room where the demons had been they saw the fire, still smouldering dimly. The room they were in, was clearly a holding cell. There were many doors with dinner plate sized square holes in the upper centre, and the fire had been lit right up against the thick metal door of one of the rooms. Henry finished off the fire with his boot, before moving closer to the door. He peered through the gap, trying to get a look at the person trapped within.


    I can¡¯t see anything in there. Did Peter really see someone in here?


    ¡°Hello? Please don¡¯t be afraid, we¡¯ve come to help you,¡± Catherine called over his shoulder.


    Trying the heavy door that sat between them and the unknown prisoners, Henry wasn¡¯t surprised to find it locked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go look for a key,¡± Catherine said.


    Unfortunately, the young woman¡¯s departure left Henry in the dark. Peering into the cell hopelessly, Henry wondered about the fire the demon¡¯s had placed, but struggled to reach a satisfying conclusion for its existence.


    ¡°¡­ Help¡­¡±


    Henry jumped as a faint voice came from within the cell. It¡¯s origin seemed not far from the door, and it sounded cracked, weak and possibly masculine.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re going to get you out of there soon,¡± he called into the darkness of the cell.


    He stood there listening for a reply, but hadn¡¯t received one by the time Catherine finally returned with a bunch of keys in hand.


    ¡°I think it has to be one of these. They were in a desk in one of the other rooms, but there were no labels that I could see!¡±


    ¡°Damn, we best hurry. I think they''re hurt,¡± he replied nodding towards the cell.


    Fortunately, not all the keys Catherine had brought were of the right kind. After discarding those, they found the correct key fairly quickly, and swiftly opened the door. Catherine held the book in front of her as they entered the cell, and they soon found the prisoner, who was sitting on the floor, slumped against the back wall. It was a young man, that Henry assessed to be around Catherine¡¯s age.


    ¡°Hey? Are you okay?¡± Catherine asked, as she stood over the injured young man. Her glowing book revealed the sorry state he was in, and the lack of response to her words. ¡°He looks sick, let¡¯s get him upstairs. Take his other arm, quick!¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Henry responded.


    They each took an arm and carried the young man between them, with Henry taking some care not to knock his damaged arm as he did so. Catherine guided them with the light from Peter¡¯s demonic book, and they reached the stairs with only some difficulty, then slowly climbed the stairs with a great deal more of it. Worryingly, the young man they carried, made no sound during the entire process. Emerging upstairs at last, they carefully lowered him into a sitting position against the wall.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Henry tried to wake him, shaking his shoulder gently. ¡°Hey?¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯s been in that cell the whole time, he must need water!¡± Catherine had pulled a bottle out of her pack, while Henry was trying to wake the young man.


    Bottle in hand, Catherine rushed over and carefully started tipping some water into the young man¡¯s mouth. The cold water splashing against his throat was enough to rouse him, and with a splutter and a cough, he awoke. Catherine pulled the bottle back as her efforts paid off, but the young man grabbed at it as soon as his eyes opened, before quickly drinking down the whole thing.


    Henry breathed a sigh of relief, as his worries that they had failed to save the young man in time dissipated. Leaving him in Catherine¡¯s care, he got up and went over to check on Peter, but found the older man fast asleep against the wall they¡¯d left him resting against.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re resting here for a bit,¡± he said to Catherine.


    The young man they had rescued, seemed to have fallen asleep again after having his fill of water, and Catherine soon draped a blanket over him, before doing the same for Peter.


    Henry and Catherine chatted for a time, keeping their voices low to avoid waking anyone, and to reduce the chance any passing demons might hear them. Talking about their lives before the invasion, it turned out Peter was an old friend of Catherine¡¯s father, and they had known each other for many years. Catherine¡¯s parents had lived in a medium size town to the south-west, a hundred kilometres or so away, and Catherine herself had moved to the city for her first year of university, to study biology. One of her classes was taught by Peter, hence why she called him professor.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you get some rest? I¡¯ll keep watch,¡± Henry suggested once their conversation had dwindled into silence.


    ¡°Sure, but wake me if you get too tired!¡±


    ¡°Of course. Hey, could I take a look at that book for a bit?¡± Henry pointed at Peter¡¯s book, where it rested on the floor.


    ¡°Umm, I suppose it¡¯s okay. Just don¡¯t damage it! The professor would be so upset with me if you did.¡±


    Henry smiled at her.


    ¡°It won¡¯t leave my sight, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Catherine pulled a thick jacket out of her pack, and draped it over herself as a blanket, then laid down using her pack as a headrest.


    Alright, you mysterious book, what secrets do you hold?


    Henry carefully turned the book this way and that, examining every side. The book had first caught his eye back at the newsagent¡¯s, when he had noticed the ridges all over its surface. Up close he could make out the variety of dark brown and red hues that had blended together into a single colour at a distance. Strangely, it felt slightly warm to the touch.


    Likely some residual heat from its time spent as a lantern. Or so I hope. Damned creepy otherwise.


    Henry was just about to take a look inside the book. When a large yellow eye burst into existence on the cover of the book, looking directly at him.


    ¡°Woah!¡± Henry cried, dropping the book, which landed with a meaty thud on the ground.


    ¡°Henry? Are you okay?¡± Catherine called.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine, sorry. Just, er, a splinter.¡±


    He reached down to pick up the book. The eye he had seen before, was no longer visible.


    Okay¡­ pretty sure I didn¡¯t imagine that. I have been under a lot stress recently though¡­ Wait, do people actually experience hallucinations due to stress? ... Anyway, a warm to the touch book that can sprout eyes... I think, I¡¯m going to put this down next to Peter and leave it the hell alone. With the way things have been going lately, I¡¯d rather not tempt fate. For all I know, these books might eat the followers of other demon lords.


    Henry went and placed the book next to Peter, trying his best to be quiet about it. Despite his decision, his gaze lingered longingly on it for a time. Pulling himself away, Henry moved back to his previous position and settled in for a boring session of watching for demons.


    It was a few hours later when his boredom was interrupted by the waking of Peter. The sun had gone down, leaving the room quite dark, even with the light of the moon ¨C which was also tinged lightly red. Peter questioned Henry about the state of the rescued man, then took over the watch, while offering his blanket for Henry to sleep within.


    <hr>


    It was light outside when Henry next awoke. Peter and Catherine were sitting a ways away, chatting quietly, but the rescued young man was still sleeping quietly. Rising form his bed, Henry walked over to join them.


    ¡°Morning, has he woken up yet?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Good morning! He was up a few hours ago, during my watch. I offered him some food and water, and we spoke a bit. He didn¡¯t say much, but he did tell me his name: Brook,¡± Catherine responded.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s good news. Sounds like he¡¯s recovering then.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, though it will likely be a while before he recovers fully. Now, can I offer you some breakfast?¡± said Peter, waving a pack of biscuits under his nose.


    Henry was indeed hungry. While he ate, Peter had decided to give an impromptu lecture on a rare type of cat. Peter¡¯s enthusiastic presentation style made the otherwise mildly interesting topic, quite enjoyable. It seemed that Peter was trying to provide some form of continued education for Catherine, now that the university was no longer doing so. Or perhaps it was an exercise to keep his own mind sharp.


    After Peter had finished his talk, the conversation switched to a more serious topic.


    ¡°So lad, did you decide if you were coming with us on our journey west?¡±


    Henry had spent some time during his watch considering the issue at length, but ultimately he reached the same conclusion: He needed to obtain Amanda¡¯s book, and could think of no way of explaining the situation to Peter and Catherine that wouldn¡¯t end badly.


    ¡°I have thought about it a great deal, and unfortunately, I can¡¯t come with you.¡±


    Both Peter and Catherine gave him sad looks.


    ¡°Oh, that is unfortunate news. We¡¯ve really grown accustomed to your company, you know,¡± Peter complained.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you come with us? It¡¯s much safer if we stick together!¡± Catherine added.


    ¡°Now now, I¡¯m sure he has his reasons. No sense prying.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t mind telling you. You mentioned you met a survivor named Barry the other day. Well I think I might know him, and I really want to see if I can find him and discover if it¡¯s him or not.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, a quest for a lost friend, how wonderful. Well lad, I completely understand. We¡¯ll be sad to see you go, but if you must, then you must. Just promise us you¡¯ll be careful,¡± Peter replied.


    ¡°We¡¯ll miss you! Hopefully we will bump into you again!¡± Catherine said, smiling at him.


    Damn, I could get get used to having a cheery girl like her around¡­ Ah, well, just another thing to blame Gyxr for.


    Keeping up appearances, Henry asked Peter and Catherine for all the details they could remember about Barry. They gave him a rough description of the man, as well as an idea of where they had met him and where he was headed.


    It actually does sound like him. Weird. Maybe I should head in the direction he went, once I have my book?


    ¡°Right, I¡¯ll head off. It was really great meeting you both. Please tell Brook I said hello when he wakes, and I hope to see you again in the future.¡±


    ¡°It was our pleasure. Take care now,¡± responded Peter.


    ¡°We won¡¯t be leaving for a bit yet, if you change your mind, we¡¯ll still be here!¡± Catherine hastily added.


    Henry nodded at their kind words, picked up his pack, and started towards the entrance. Peter and Catherine followed him there to see him off, and at the entrance, they said one final goodbye before Henry started on his way back to the office in search of the demonic book that belonged to Gyxr¡¯s fallen champion.

 Roving the Ruins V

    Henry was almost regretting his decision to strike it out alone.


    Damn Gyxr. If he¡¯d told me about that stupid book, I could have stayed with Peter and his attractive student! My chances of survival have gone way done without them¡­ Fuck, I better hope I don¡¯t run into anything before I get the book.


    Henry¡¯s thoughts went round in circles, always ending with the same result: Gyxr had screwed him over. Of course, he had also brought him back to life, and had made it pretty clear that he cared little for Henry¡¯s continued existence, so there was no way he was actually going to seriously complain. But, that didn¡¯t stop him griping about it inside his head.


    He was heading back in the direction of his office building. It was difficult to judge the time correctly just by looking at the sky, and the constant red tinge since the invasion had began didn¡¯t help matters either. But, based on the events of the day he decided it couldn¡¯t be much more than a few hours past sunrise.


    It was only about an hour and half¡¯s journey ¨C when travelling cautiously ¨C to the office from the police station, but with only one usable arm and no backup, Henry was being extra cautious. About half way through his trek, he ducked into a small shop to stock up on food. With it being close to four days since calamity had struck, and since the electricity had failed, Henry was all too aware of what that meant for a great deal of the food items within the city and beyond. A realisation that was helped along by the breathtakingly potent smells his nose discovered as he entered the shop.


    Unless I want to try living off biscuits and chocolate, I¡¯m going to need to visit a supermarket soon. The few tinned foods they have here aren¡¯t going to last me long.


    Henry stocked up on other non perishables and continued his journey. He had not seen any demons so far, in fact he had not seen much of anything. The city was quiet and lifeless, a far stretch from what it had been just a few days prior. It didn¡¯t help that he was alone once more, making it that much harder to avoid dwelling on the horror of the situation, including the number of dead, and the people he would likely never see again. His disturbed thoughts persisted all the way up until he reached his office building.


    Still as ruined as I left it, that¡¯s¡­ good, I guess? Hah, being comforted by the sight of burning cars and piles of rubble, if that doesn¡¯t show how fucked this all is, I don¡¯t know what else could.


    It didn¡¯t take him long to scale the building and reach the floor where he¡¯d left Amanda¡¯s body. But, with how dark it was inside the shaft, Henry chose to go one floor up and open the doors there to let in at least a small amount of light.


    The gruesome sight of Amanda¡¯s bloody remains greeted him, but Henry did his best to ignore the sick feeling it, and the memories preluding her death brought up. With the elevator car still stuck between floors, Henry searched the building for something to use to safely reach her, and stumbled upon a foldable aluminium ladder before too long.


    Returning to the elevator shaft, Henry lowered the ladder down into the semi darkness, and unfortunately, took note of the reason for Amanda¡¯s death as he did. It wasn¡¯t just the fall, but the radiator that he had intended to use as weapon against her, which had quite neatly decapitated her.


    Descending down the ladder, while trying to suppress the increasing nausea he was experiencing, Henry began his search for the book.


    There really aren¡¯t too many places she could have hidden it. She didn¡¯t have a bag with her¡­ It¡¯s either on her, or she¡¯s stashed it somewhere¡­ Hopefully the first of the those two options.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Henry stood there motionless for a time, staring at the deceased form of his co-worker. He knew what had to be done, but he was having trouble acting. It was a strange sensation. There was the body of the woman he had wilfully murdered in order to save his own life. Yet, something as comparatively innocuous as searching her dead body was giving him pause.


    Come on, it¡¯s a book! It¡¯s only going to be stashed under her blouse, or hidden under her skirt¡­ Just look and be done with it!


    Gritting his teeth, Henry knelt down and got to work. Amanda¡¯s body was still fairly well preserved after the day that had passed, which made things less unpleasant for him ¨C just as long as he didn¡¯t look past her chest. He patted down her blouse, but found nothing that shouldn¡¯t be there, and quickly moved onto her skirt. The garment on her legs was tight enough, that there wasn¡¯t really any place to hide it except the insides of the thighs. Henry paused again as he considered how unlikely a hiding place it probably was, but soon forced himself to look regardless. Snaking a hand between her cold legs, he found nothing.


    No! Come on! It has to be here! Shit¡­ it must just be on her back.


    Henry started to turn over Amanda, but as he did so, the top of her torso that had been pinned under the radiator unleashed a mass of sickly fluid. The stench hit him in an instant, overwhelming his attempts to suppress his nausea, and before he could stop himself, he emptied the contents of his stomach, loudly and violently.


    Ohh fuck!


    In the enclosed space of the elevator shaft, there was no escape. The stench stung his eyes, while his throat burned from it¡¯s recent acidic discharge.


    Blegh, this is fucked up. Seriously, fucked up!


    He reached his good hand down to finish turning her over, fighting back the urge to throw up once more. The continued movement caused more of the fluid to leak out over the elevator car roof, but Henry pushed on. However, Amanda¡¯s back revealed nothing other than Gyxr¡¯s mark.


    For fuck¡¯s sake! That fucking book isn¡¯t here!


    He vented his rage on the radiator. Unable to believe his cursed luck.


    What more do I have to go through!? What more does that sick bastard want from me!? I murdered his damn champion, the least he could do is tell me where the fucking book is!


    After venting his rage for a while longer, Henry eventually started to calm down. It helped that he still had another option to pursue.


    Okay¡­ Okay! Think! Where would she have put it? Somewhere close by, surely? What the hell else would she do with it? I can¡¯t even understand why she would part with it in the first place! Ugh, first I need to get out of this cesspit¡­


    Using the ladder he had brought with him, climbing out was easy enough. A strong desire to close the elevator doors, and shut off sight of the sickening scene forever struck him, but with only one arm it was nigh impossible. Fetching a drink of water, Henry took a seat to contemplate his next move.


    So, what was she doing back then? I was on my floor when she found me¡­ I think she came from upstairs? But, now that I know about the time loss, does that even mean anything? Maybe she took it somewhere else? Maybe she tossed it out a damn window for that matter¡­ Ah, this isn¡¯t helping. I¡¯ll search the building and go from there.


    Henry got to his feet and moved towards the stairs. Deciding to go with his first idea, he made his way up the several floors to reach the remains of the floor he knew so intimately, and from there he went up one more level before starting his search.


    He spent a good hour searching. Digging through the rubble, emptying battered desks, even picking over the rotting remains of the dead office workers, but his search turned up nothing. Moving to the next floor up, he continued his efforts, yet as that floor and the next several floors turned out to be just as empty, Henry began to lose hope.


    Five floors up from where he started his search, he finally found something. It was in one of the large meeting rooms located on that floor, and was quite a gruesome sight. It was a casual meeting room, usually possessing a circle of chairs for comfortable conversation. But, this room was different, as in the middle of the room, lay some human legs, with nothing else attached.


    Extending out from the top of the legs along the floor to the wall, and then up it, was a wide trail of dried blood. Not just drops or short streaks, but one thick solid line. Henry was stunned by the bizarre sight, and stood gaping at it for several moments as he tried to comprehend what could have caused such an occurrence. But, his gawping was quickly forgotten about, as his eyes fell upon a small book, that was laying on the floor just a short distance away from the severed legs.


    The book! That must be it! Oh, thank fuck for that!


    Henry scooped up the book and clutched it to his chest like a lost child. With his eyes closed in pure relief, he missed the sudden shift in his surroundings, at least until a voice called out to him.


    ¡°Greetings, Human.¡±