Chereads / Delphine of Moria / Chapter 23 - Hunting Under the Moon

Chapter 23 - Hunting Under the Moon

Delphine knew and understood the fear in Edward's eyes; she understood the pain and agony he and the city guards must have been through to face that unholy being.

"You fear the darkness, don't you? You fear the ones who brought darkness to the earth, don't you?" Delphine asked.

"Why do you ask me these things?" Edward asked.

"I need to know if you are telling me the truth about this creature," she answered.

"I tell you no lie, demon hunter. Everything I have told you is not a lie. This creature is beyond any of us, even our strongest men could not handle such a beast. Hell itself has been spreading all over, for a long time. It seems as if it shall spread for all eternity."

"This isn't the first time the demons returned to earth. What I know... or so I'm told, is that many decades ago, a man who wields the power of gods cast a spell that separated the earth from the heavens. And because of this, a portal from hell to earth opened and caused all the demons to be released. They were all led by Armageddon, the unholy elder dragon who served the underworld for thousands of years. Because of that event, the world has been plunged into a world of darkness and death."

"Who is that man? Why would he do such an abysmal thing? He must answer for his crimes!"

"Oh, that was a long time ago. He must've already been taken care of by someone or something that drove the demons back to Hell. Many years later, the demons returned and took control over the lands of the earth. And it is up to all of us to drive them back to where they came from. Some people don't actually go out and hunt the demons as I do... it takes years of training to even survive to be all by yourself in the world."

"Indeed. Such is needed to hunt down the creatures of darkness. If I had enough strength to even lift a sword, I would not hesitate to pierce their hearts. As a priest and an instrument of your god, I am to make sure that the peace is kept in this city."

Then, Delphine had nothing more to say to him, and she kept her eyes closed for a brief moment before saying anything else. She knew that she would be a heavy burden upon the priest as she was prepared to hunt the creature Edward told her about.

Then Delphine said to him, "Would you do me a favor? If I die fighting the monster, would you take care of my companion? His name is Simon. But don't worry, he's a hunter and a skilled fighter. The demons killed his family and his people. And he's with me, of course, so there's no way he would turn into a monster.

"He could be your assistant, the leader of the city guards, and even your chef."

The thought came into Edward's mind about keeping Simon, and he started to doubt that anything would come good from it. But, he knew that he couldn't let Delphine down; he knew that if he refused, the situation would be even more complicated. Delphine is the type of person who would request someone to do something heavy for her that could nearly be difficult to accomplish.

Then Edward answered and said to her, "I'm humbled. Here I am, a servant of our Lord, and yet I worry only about saving myself. But you, a merciless, loathsome demon hunter who comes to me in secret, you've resolved to lay down your life fighting this creature. You're more concerned about that young lad than you are about your own fate. All right. I accept.

"But please forget about dying. While all of this must be kept secret, I will do everything in my power to help you. Let's not do anything to make that man suffer."

"Thanks. I'm in your debt," Delphine said. It was at that moment when she prepares herself for the full moon to give out its appearance in the sky.

Then, she leaps out of the cathedral through the window, and she starts running on the rooftops of other buildings. She ran as quickly as possible to search for this creature that disturbs the night and the city's inhabitants. Then, Delphine senses that the demonic creature is somewhere to be seen on the higher buildings. She knew that the night has begun and the time of hunting a powerful monster has started. Then, she started to hear a noise that sounded like a monster getting ready to hunt down its prey.

She started to realize that there was a mighty demon hiding in the shadows and seemed to be lurking her to him. Delphine started to look at multiple directions as to where the creature could be, and all she could see was darkness. She then pulls out her greatsword and was ready to fight against the opponent the old priest mentioned. She understood that demons enjoyed feasting on fear and ripping apart anyone who stood in their way. Suddenly, she sensed a ghostly figure standing behind her, and he held up his weapon to cut her down.

Then, Delphine blocked the attack with her blade and starts swinging back against the opponent before her. The demon was exactly portrayed as Edward mentioned to her, and she kept her distance as the demon was preparing to attack her again. Delphine runs towards the powerful creature and tries to land a strong blow onto him, but he dodged her sword.

"You know, you're breaking curfew by being out at night. You'll only have yourself to blame if you're mistaken for a monster and killed while you're running around up here," the demon said.

"You're the one who shouldn't be up here. I know who you are, monster. You're the one responsible for the killing spree around here. You reek of dark magic, vile demon," Delphine said.

"Who are you to think that you would stand a chance against me, the one who dominates all who stand in my way?" He asked.

"I am your destroyer. And once I am done with you, you will beg for your miserable life!"

"You don't know who I am, do you? I am feared amongst all mortals who stand before me. Your people always think twice before lifting their swords against me."

"Whatever deal you made was a mistake. And I know you serve the darkness to receive power."

"You and the rest of humanity should know who we are! You should be down on your knees, thanking our lord and master for bringing peace to these lands!"

"We shall have peace when every last night creature is driven away from earth and sent back to where they came from. You should be down on your knees, thanking me that I won't have to tear you apart."

"Do you really think you can stand a chance against me? Do you really expect me to believe you're different?"

"Of course. This power you hold, you wield it foolishly and arrogantly. And you will pay for what you've done to these people."

"Enough talk. Time to die!"

Then, the powerful demon pulls out his greatsword and uses magic to light the blade on fire, and he charges towards Delphine. She kept her eyes upon her enemy and remained focused on this duel she was about to have. Then, their swords come together and a duel emerges as the full moon began to be covered in blood. Every time Delphine encounters a demon more powerful than the others, the moon will always have bloodstain the surface. Delphine swings her sword at the creature's blade, and they vigorously fought against each other.

Delphine starts to notice that this demon was very skilled with the sword; she had to use everything she could to survive the night. She spins in front of him and swings her sword from all kinds of directions to see if he could dodge them. Delphine used her sword to learn something new, and she even danced with the large blade on some occasions. Then, she tosses the sword up and starts punching the creature in the face and began kicking him in the chest. She had to figure something out to put this powerful opponent out of his misery, and she had no other options.

Then, Delphine catches the sword before it lands on the ground and starts slicing the demon's legs; the legs were not dismembered, but so much blood began to leave his lower body. She started to realize that her plan was working and that a good chunk of the night creature's armor was falling off. Delphine had so much dark power against many of her foes, which allowed her to find all the weak points of the higher-level demons. The night creature still had some power left inside him, and he refused to give up to such a worthy foe.