Andrew knew he had found his match when he saw the beast appearing from the warehouse. For a moment he thought the thing had crawled out from the portal, but then he noticed something familiar about it. There were stretched-out tattoos on the things' face. Andrew knew immediately that it was Victor's friend. His heart sank. He did not know if he had enough strength to oppose the beast that was now approaching with its eyes glaring with bright yellow. The creature also had a certain luminous orange glow radiating from its body like a shield.
'Patrick,' Andrew said in a low tone as he watched the beast approaching. 'I did not expect this. Timing is crucial. I'm gonna try to keep this thing busy. I need you and dad to go to the portal. I'll distract this beast as long as I can. Hurry.'
Patrick nodded quickly. There was fear on his face as he regarded the thing. He knew they did not have much chance of survival. Hopefully, the thing would lose some of its power once the portal was closed, cutting off his connection to the underworld. Patrick looked at Craig and noticed the same bewildered look. They started moving away from Andrew slowly just in case the thing started swinging the large sword in his hand and Andrew failed to block. They had to wait for the right moment before darting for the warehouse. Hopefully, there were no other beasts or bad things waiting for them inside. Patrick felt frightened for Andrew's sake. He knew if Andrew would fall, they would surely follow. Almost nothing in the world would be able to stop that beast. They were several meters away from Andrew. Patrick noticed how Andrew was focused on the beast which was almost in striking distance. Any distraction might be the end.
Andrew clutched the battle axe with both hands. He held it out in front of him to block the first strike. The beast started preparing himself by rotating the sword in both hands, loosening up his wrists, and getting ready for battle.
'So, we meet again Odin,' Mormo spoke with a demonic voice that vibrated through Andrew. 'I slew your men one by one and I enjoyed doing that. They dropped to the ground like flies and you were not there to help them. I've come to settle the score once and for all before I drag your souls to hell and make you my bitch forever.'
Do not fear my child. You are not alone. We are with you. This is our battle now. The voice spoke in Andrew's head. He felt confidence rising from within. We fear nothing. We are the warriors of the North.
Mormo struck his first blow bringing his sword down sharply towards Andrew's head. Andrew was just in time to block it with his battle axe. Sparks flew from the axe on impact. Andrew was shocked by the power of the beast. He staggered backwards to absorb the impact. He stepped into a small ditch in the dark and lost his balance slightly. He knew if he had been a normal man, the beast would have sliced him in two.
We are stronger. Do not fear.
'Go now,' Andrew shouted for Patrick to move towards the warehouse. His eyes were still fixed on Mormo who was in Numbers' body. There was a grin on his face as he approached.
'Today you die, old man,' Mormo said and struck again.
Andrew blocked with his battle axe and staggered backwards. He knew he had to be careful when timing his swings with the battle axe. He had to start fighting back instead of defending. He needed a strategy. Maybe he could go for the legs or arms first, slowly incapacitating the thing with calculated strikes. Andrew watched as Mormo approached. He knew the third blow would soon follow. He had to take his chance. Mormo swung his sword sideways with the intent of beheading his enemy. Andrew ducked. He used the opportunity to strike out and jabbed Numbers in the crotch with the axe. He felt the impact and knew if this would have been a human being, he would have been down on the ground, left for dead. Mormo barely staggered back one step before proceeding forwards again. Andrew knew that was a good start. Numbers was strong but not quick enough. Andrew could use that to his advantage as long as he remained focused.
***
Patrick and Craig entered the warehouse. Patrick was shocked by what he saw. It was a place which made his worst nightmares seem like happy dreams. The first thing he noticed was the big hole in the cracked concrete floor. There was an orange light protruding from it. For a moment he was not sure if he had the courage to go any further. There were pentagrams of different sizes on the walls and floor. The stench in the warehouse made Patrick want to vomit, the stench of human flesh and blood. He noticed a trail of body parts scattered on the floor, bodies cut in half, heads, arms, legs and guts scattered everywhere.
Patrick retrieved the staff from underneath his sweater and noticed the amulet glowing even brighter. There were noises in his head. They were like demonic whispers, many at once. They were sharp hissing sounds. Occasionally he could make out his name. Patrick knew they tried to reach him and break him. Either way, he knew that not only their lives depended on his duty as banisher, but the whole world.
'Go now son,' Craig shouted. He was concerned when he saw the fear on Patrick's face. He wished that he could have been the one to carry the burden instead of his boy. There was not much he could do but protect Patrick as far as possible.
Patrick started walking towards the portal, uncertain about what to do next. Fear choked his throat as he approached it. He noticed the light coming from the portal growing brighter. He expected another creature from hell to jump out from it at any moment or better yet, a huge claw that would grab him and drag him down to hell, burning his flesh as he went down.
'Do it, son,' Craig shouted. 'We don't have - ' He felt a sharp pain from his shoulder blades. He went down instantly.
Patrick heard a loud thud from behind which caused him to spin around instinctively. His fear grew exponentially when he saw his dad lying on the ground. Victor was standing behind him with a heavy chain twisted around his forearm. He grinned as the chain dangled from his hand.
'So, faggot and his dad are here to play,' Victor said. 'Did you really think you could stop us?'
Patrick stared at Victor in disbelief. He could feel his heart in his neck and head.
'I was hoping for a moment like this so that I could finish you off with my own two hands,' Victor grinned. He brought the heavy chain down which landed it on Craig's legs. Craig roared in agony.
'Please stop it,' Patrick shouted. 'It's me you want. My dad has nothing to do with it. Come on man.'
Victor stood there for a moment looking at Craig lying on the floor. He brought the chain down again. This time he aimed for Craig's head. He succeeded as the chain made a dull sound. Craig's head bounced off the concrete floor on the impact. First, the blood splattered on the floor before it accumulated around his head.
'Please God, please don't!' Patrick shouted.
'Your God is not here now is he?' Victor said. He brought the chain down and again hit Craig over the head. Craig did not move this time. Patrick was paralyzed with shock. He knew that his dad was either dead or unconscious. He was hoping for the latter, but judging by the size of the chain, he was probably dead.
'Ah, fuck, I forgot, your dad was dying from the flesh decay,' Victor said. 'I should have let him live a little longer to watch him suffer.' He paused for a moment. 'Ah, well, we can always curse other people and watch them suffer. The world is ours after tonight, anyway.' He stepped forward with the chain dangling from his hand. Patrick could see the blood from Craig's head on it. 'Your brother's not going to make it either you know. After he is taken care of, we have all the time in the world to settle the score, you and I. I'm going to enjoy taking you apart limb by limb. Thereafter I'm going to enjoy raping that luscious sister and mom of yours.'
Patrick tried to hide the staff from Victor by pushing it back underneath his jacket, but it was too late, Victor had already seen the bright light radiating from it.
'That's one interesting thing you have there, Patrick,' Victor said slowly stepping forward. 'So you and your brother are the ones who carry this power after all, hey. Well, I know your brother does, but you, I don't think so.'
Andrew thought about darting towards the portal with the staff, but he had not been close enough earlier to see what was inside. He didn't just want to fall straight to hell.
'You know Patrick,' Victor said. 'I feel like cutting you up real slowly. What do you say?' Victor dropped the chain to the ground and pulled out a large butcher's knife from behind his back. 'This is going to be fun don't you think? I'm going to enjoy penetrating your flesh with this, cutting you open real slow. That to me, pure fucking poetry man.'
Patrick's felt a little dizzy. The fear had taken its toll on his mind and body. He knew he had to dart for the portal even if he had to jump in and find out afterwards what was waiting for him on the other side. He gave a step backwards getting ready to run. He turned around and tripped over a dislodged leg. He fell down trying to regain his balance but slipped on some blood. He fell with his hands into a lump of dark matter which seemed like a large liver. The stench mixed with fear was not a good combination. Patrick suppressed the urge to empty his stomach through his mouth. He was just back on his feet when he felt a blow to the head from behind. He went down again. When he turned around, Victor was standing over him with the large knife in his hand.