The Aegis.
A marvel of druidic magic. A fully functional multi-purpose ritual array, massive enough to reach the very limits of Earth's magical energy.
A misguided witch once mumbled how it reminded her of the Stonehenge, but Dagon was generous enough to remind her that the rock formation was merely a prototype of the nearby druidic circle. That was, of course, before Dagon removed the witch's spine and devoured her very soul.
The pitch-black stones, obsidian smothered in deer's blood, were as identical as if they were birthed by the same mother. Nary a single block was imperfect, every cut, smoothness, density, and shape.
What had remained of the pages of the Black Grimoire, before the Men of Letters took it away from its matron coven, had a detailed instruction on the creation of the Aegis, a last line of defense against the Nordic invasion and, eventually, a peace offering for the Roman gods in a vain attempt to save the last of their druids.
Able to be used in ways not even its original creators thought to be possible. The specific page had been in the hands of the demons for decades and, yet, they had only created the monstrosity in the last decade.
The materials and manpower it took to build the array not only halved the resources collected by Dagon's forces throughout the centuries, but also gave her siblings the opportunity to chip away at her forces.
It was the culmination of hundreds of years of magical research and convening with pagan gods. The perfect mixture of Fairy, Pagan and Human Magik.
And, as of this moment, two cantankerous witches continued on their way towards the Aegis.
In an attempt to stop them, Dagon had released the hellhounds she had kidnapped from Hell's Incubatory. As such, dozens of invisible murderous bloodhounds were now chasing after Irwin and Charlotte as they sprinted up the hill with the Aegis in sight.
Their legs ground against their thighs, ankles aching from the steepness of the hill, lungs burning when breathing. Irwin nearly stumbled to the ground from the sheer exhaustion but, thankfully, Charlotte had been right beside him to help him up.
Irwin wanted to thank her, but opted to push her away as he sensed a change in the air. The very next second, the ground in their previous location was dug up by a sudden heavy thing landing upon it.
Hellhounds.
His proximity to the demonic hound made him aware of its presence as it snarled at his direction, still invisible to the naked eye.
"Defend yourself!" He ordered her hastily, putting up his broken left hand in front of his body.
He felt the toothy maw of the infernal beast sink onto his forearm, resisting the urge to scream in pain. He brought his right hand and struck the hellhound with the Angel's blade, destroying its soul as its body lay limp against his skin before it dropped to the ground.
■■
All tradeable items have been scanned. Please select which item to trade:
▪︎ Hellhound - Class 2 Infernal - Adult Offspring Variant: 23
■■
The ashes of the hound spread across the steep hills and followed the breeze that made past the bluffs of this part of the island. He had once hoped that the same breeze would take him with them, freeing him from this prison.
But now was not the time for such dangerous thoughts. He ordered Charlotte to protect him as he quickly perused his Trade Shop, searching for the materials to fight against the Hellhounds.
Two five milliliters bottles of holy oil, worth fifty credits each, and just enough to coat the two-credit grade-less eyeglasses he bought for both of them.
Although he no longer had his flaming whip, lighting a spark was but a simple matter to any witch. Bluish-white flames engulfed the blades of grass as he passed the eyeglasses through the blaze, enabling them to perceive the hellhounds' invisible forms.
Their form was ghoulish and much bigger than he had thought them to be. The exposed flapping flesh and maw that opened like a snake became more terrifying in what he had to describe as X-ray horror.
Snarling, drooling, ballistic hellhounds surrounded them in a fan-like formation, clearly well-trained by their masters.
"Seventeen." He counted, gazing towards Charlotte for a brief moment. "You look good in that."
She cleared her throat before answering. "Uh, you too. Should we?"
Irwin did not reply, merely tearing off a part of his already destroyed sleeves and tying up his broken left hand into a fist.
The quickness with which he moved from his position startled the hellhound at the front, but that, too, was quickly removed as its head was torn off the rest of its body. If that wasn't enough, the body began to disintegrate into nothing but ashes.
He could feel his ankles nearly tearing off when he landed near the decapitated hellhound, so much so that he had loosened his guard and let a hellhound within his zone of safety.
He skipped back, forcing his feet to move. He stumbled onto the ground, keeping his legs aloft.
He did so because Charlotte was there to protect him from the incoming bite attacks. She constructed a small dome around him which staved off the hellhounds' attacks and cause them to bite at glass shards, eliciting wounded yelps from the invisible cannibalistic dogs.
He took the time to fix his position before motioning at her to remove the dome. The slashes, one at the snout, and two bleed the demonic hound to death.
Fifteen left.
the fact that it took a tenth of his stamina and some of Charlotte's to kill three hellhounds made him aware of how dangerously close to death they were.
He cursed aloud, leaning back to avoid an attack from another hellhound. His hand moved downward, as if it was an icepick merely doing what it was made for. The blade pierced through the dog's head, trading its body for a few credits.
Fourteen left.
If he added in the sounds of another wave of demons and witches that would soon converge upon their location, then…
"We're absolutely fucked." He groaned, hiding behind Charlotte's glass wall.
The hellhounds, smarter than the normal ones, had spread around them. He figured they would begin an all-out attack once they turned around and decided to flee.
Sure, they could take time to decimate the whole litter and, frankly, it would be plausible. But they would not come out unscathed and would be quickly dragging their bodies to exhaustion.
"S-sir." She called out to him, tapping the last of her magical energy to solidify a curved wall of glass shards. "J-just let me go. You need to live."
Irwin contemplated her words, hands gripping the blades of grass as he forced his exhausted body to ascend the hill. His gaze caught the sight of the large stone circle, thoughts swirling of the last memories of his past life.
He could not die here, not after the things he had done. He was given a good life, a better life. Yet, here he was, like a damn fool, being dogged by demons from another dimension.
HIs mind steeled itself from the decision he had made, cashing out seventy credits and taking out a yellow-green potion bottle from his remaining pocket.
"Stamina potion. Drink all of it. Once the effects are done…" He said, giving her a resolute nod.
She smiled, a tearful smile. "Hopefully, I'll be dead before it hits."
He roared against his straining muscle, gaining an almost rhythmic sense of movement as he climbed the hill on all fours.
As he ascended the hill, his sensitive ears could not help but pick up her last words to him.
"I hope you can avenge me."
He pushed through, paying her words no heed.
He could drink a health potion. Make himself comfortable and strong enough to run, but that would only reduce his defensive and offensive options down the line. Besides, he has to save some stamina for when he activates the teleportation spell.
He wanted to use the Monster Banishing Sigil. God only knew how tempting it was, but hesitation spread to his mind once he was reminded of how expensive and rare it truly was.
He could only buy one. Once bought, the item disappears from the Trade Shop. He doesn't know if or when it will reappear. It did not matter, however, since he could not afford one.
One thousand credits. It blew his mind when he read the price. He asked why it was that expensive and the answer came from the item's description.
If he was reading it right, then the card could bypass any restriction, wardings, sigils, law, and rule in the universe to teleport him or a target creature anywhere on Earth. And by target creature, it meant any target creature, which meant it could also target Archangels, pagan gods, or, maybe, God Himself.
He severed his thoughts once he reached the peak of the hill. The obsidian boulders looming over his feeble form and what seemed to be streaks of purple lightning traveling around its surface threatened his very essence, even from afar.
As his eyes caught sight of the massive magical circuit as it emitted an aura he was readily familiar with, another sight caught his attention.
Standing alone at the center of the array was a man covered in torture marks, a gash dripping with blood, whips marks scraped against his very skin. His long locks of blonde hair, although dirtied and bloodied, could not hide the fact that it was full of splendor.
His head was adorned with a crown of metal thorns, leaving his eyes destitute, just like his body.
But what was more interesting was the shadow behind him. A shadow with a shape of a raven's wings, glorious and full of life. But behind that glory and grace lie solitude and pain.
"They really don't want me to escape, huh?"