A pure white beam cascaded down from heaven, engulfing the entire island with an oppressive wave of celestial power. Its ominous energy threatened to spill down towards the inner part of the island, thus causing the fighting to halt for but a brief moment.
A brief moment in which Irwin used to sling his flaming, thorny whip at the distracted witch and tear off her right arm. His hands were as quick as the lightning thrown by the heavens as he pierced the witch's chest, broke her leftmost ribs, crushed her heart, and quickly traded her body before she even knew she was dead.
Ash swirled around him before it was injected harmlessly into his body.
Having broken past the western gate of the compound, Irwin and his group had fought a few strangling witches and demons half-way through the outer rim of the large compound. Most of whom were easily dealt with by the trio and consumed by Irwin.
In fact, his credit score was nearing the cusp of the 200-mark, which was a welcomed surprise given how chaotic a battlefield they were currently in.
"Just received news from Katja and Sekari. The northern and southern gates have been destroyed. Currently dealing with the hellhounds." Olivette recounted the information passing through her brain before her eyes flitted to the back of her head, no doubt receiving more information from the squadrons. "The angels have teleported out of the island after that explosion in the Aegis. What is happening, Irwin? I thought the angels were supposed to fight Dagon?"
Irwin glanced at her with a touch of irritability. "I just removed an angel from the board, woman. The Garrison would teleport in battle once we removed the compound's defensive sigils. Now, don't talk and just move."
Admonishing Olivette further would be detrimental to his plans. As such, Irwin silently motioned for them to pick up the pace. Their feet weaved throughout the broken streets and burning buildings.
What was once a sanctuary for demons under Dagon's banner was now a chaotic battlefield filled with demonic miasma and ambient hex magik. The smell alone would put off those with enhanced senses, but the truly terrible thing was every supernatural creature would find themselves worse for wear the longer they were within the island.
It was a type of radiation that only affected supernatural creatures. From the pulsing ache in his head, he fathomed that the excessive use of magical energy caused this.
Being familiar with the place enhanced his footsteps, tracing back his steps out of the pavilion when he was attempting a futile escape. Even though it had been longer than a month since that day, there was still residue from the various skirmishes he had participated in.
It became even more apparent when the sole gate that stood before the inner compound lay before him. A mound of dirt caked with blood and bile was entrenched on the side of the wall, remnants of the magical golem Charlotte had conjured.
The metal gate had been removed, replaced by a retinue of demons that oversaw the hole in the compound's defenses. The same retinue that now stood in Irwin's way, one of whom he was very familiar with.
"Bancletus." He said, a strange grin on his face. "Can't say I missed you, bud."
Seven demons stood in their path, all of whom emitting demonic energy that decayed the land beneath their feet. Such potency was unnatural, but was within Irwin expectation, given the severity of the situation within the island.
Bancletus scoffed. "I can't believe you're stupid enough–"
Irwin pushed forward and startled the poor demon as he appeared before him in a flash. His flaming whip–coiled around his right arm–struck the demon's chest and caused it to stumble a few feet back.
Irwin quickly followed his attack, leveraging the silver thorns adorning his knuckles to tear apart the demon's skin. The constant mix-and-match of Irwin's left and right fists disoriented Bancletus, prohibiting him from counterattacking as it saw fit to only defend against the ignoble strikes.
The rest of the demons did not dawdle, rushing forward to help their companion, but Irwin was not alone in this fight. Not anymore, at least.
Wielding a hefty halberd, Thrudgelmir made a face fit for a powerful warrior as he sent demons skittering back in fear and pain. The giant had no mind for defense as he used his enchanted gambeson to its full potential whilst only swinging his pole-arm without rest.
Brunhilde, unlike her companion, wielded her blade with deft and grace. Her style was a blend of parries and slashes, fit for a warrior queen and advantageous to their current situation.
Hephaestus and Olivette handled the other demons, their excellent teamwork a wonder to Irwin's amusement. The pagan god's stout build helped his defensive fighting and further amplified by Olivette's peculiar hexes.
It was a relief to have competent warriors backing him up, Irwin always felt like he was doing all the hard work within his team. It was a shame that this would be a onetime occurrence.
"Are you really sighing right now?" Bancletus was enraged at Irwin's lackadaisical approach in their fight. Even through warped skin and exposed large intestine from the severed gut, annoyance and frustration were evident on the demon's face.
"My bad. Let's finish this." Irwin flung his right arm, quickly uncoiling his flaming whip and wrapping the demon's right arm and a portion of its neck. The silver thorns were in full effect as they embedded themselves upon the fleshy form of his enemy.
"Go to hell!" He smirked as he pulled the demon inside of his melee range, popping the demon's head like a grape with a single full-powered punch.
Black tar-like liquid gushed out of the meat puppet's decapitated head, but Irwin quickly absorbed Bancletus's weakened form, as well as the demon's vessel in front of the prying eyes of its companions.
Irwin knew they felt Bancletus' corrupted soul disappear from existence, signifying the death of their kin; but, more importantly, it signified that they, too, could face a wicked demise such as the demon. The fact deeply worried the other demons and distracted them from the fight momentarily, allowing the rest of the group to make quick work of them.
Of course, the others could never truly kill them without the right resources. As such, it was down to Irwin to disintegrate them and absorb their essences. The demons were worth more than their vessel, especially Bancletus, who was an ancient well-spring of evil worth 133 credits.
"This is where we part ways," He said, gazing deep at his companions. "Olivette and I will head west where I saw the familiars going when we were escaping. Hephaestus, that enormous building there, that's Dagon's private sanctuary. The angels will be reinforcing you once they're finished completing their mission."
Seeing as he had acquired a few hundred credits, Irwin instantly bought two Angel Blade and gave it to Brunhilde and Thrudgelmir.
"This will keep you safe. It's likely that she has more than one of these, so be careful." He said.
"Yeah, yeah, don't be a mother." Thrudgelmir japed, twirling the blade with an unusual finesse. "I bet the three could take down that old codger."
"Braggart," Brunhilde huffed, gazing back at Irwin and giving him a respectful nod. "We will see you after the fight."
Hephaestus walked past Irwin before muttering, "And don't worry. We'll soften her up for you."
Irwin showed a grin as he watched them go further inwards before relaxing his facial expression and turning towards Olivette.
"How's the troops?" He asked.
Olivette's eyes flitted behind the back of her head as she responded, "The defenders are readying their counterattack. But… we still have aerial superiority thanks to Hephaestus' armors."
Irwin nodded. The forces of the Grand Coven needed to stay strong and waylay the enemy, so that Balthazar could rescue Charlotte without fail.
Dagon would surely have been informed of Barchiel's defeat and subsequent release from his imprisonment, adding in the escape of her prisoner and, frankly, she should be ashamed to be a demon if that did not rile her up enough to be provoked by the trio's defiant attitude.
All he needed now was to remove the defensive sigils which should be easy enough once they find the headquarters of the Borrower witches. In that case, Irwin turned towards Olivette.
He asked expectantly. "Do you have the spell?"
Olivette smiled coquettishly. "Of course, dear Irwin. Who do you think I am? Now, let's go find those witches."
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As usual, no chapter tomorrow.
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