"I usually battle on bridges much larger than this dinky thing," Greg stated, amused by the size of the bridge he stood on.
Azazel shook his head, his burning gaze fixed on the armored figure standing before him. He hissed, his sharp fangs showing in a threatening manner. His clawed fingers grew further, becoming fully beast-like. Red and black scales developed on the back of his hand and extended to his elbow. His arms were fully demon, yet the rest of his body remained human.
"Intimidating," Greg stated sarcastically. "I've seen worse things. You know, evil gods and stuff."
Azazel threw back his arms and roared.
Greg used the chance to lunge forward. He jumped into the air. He quickly plunged his sword downward as he pulled the trigger, blasting a bullet in Azazel's direction.
The bullet struck the demon in the thigh, leaving a superficial wound that would have been far worse for a human. His blood dripped from the wound as he stepped back to avoid the blade's strike.
Greg continued his relentless assault. He thrashed his sword and rapidly pulled the trigger, causing bullets to graze Azazel's skin.
The demon evaded the attacks and lunged behind Greg, plunging his clawed fingers downward into the man's lower back. Azazel thrust his open palm further, forcing the armor to crack open.
Greg yelled as he felt the claws dig into his skin, puncturing it in a few spots. The man jumped forward to the opposite side of the bridge. He turned around and faced Azazel, holding his weapon in front of his body.
"Quite the weapon," Azazel smirked.
"I stole it from an emo kid, Greg remarked as he showed off the sword. "Who would think to place a gun on a blade?"
Fine trails of blood trickled down Greg's back. Thanks to his armor, the demon was unable to harm the rift man too terribly. It would have been much worse if he had faced Azazel without his impressive armor.
Azazel growled and ran forward quickly, his arm readied behind him.
As Greg watched him approach, he slashed the sword forward while firing a torrent of bullets in the demon's direction. Two of the bullets grazed Azazel's waist, leaving behind a couple more shallow wounds, but they did not deter Azazel's movement.
As the two were in the middle of a heated battle, Blumbledore took a step forward. He closed his eyes and began to cast a spell, but he stumbled. He clutched his head, as he was feeling dizzy.
"I'm not as good at these battles as I was when I was a lad," he mumbled as he collapsed onto the ground.
"ASSHOLE. GET UP!" Zeus yelled as he lightly nudged Blumbledore's body with his foot.
The scream distracted Azazel. He turned around to glance at the collapsed wizard. "Dammit," he muttered.
While Azazel was distracted, Greg lunged forward and sliced the sword over the demon's back. His jacket cut apart in the center, and Azazel could feel a deep cut forming in the bottom of his torso.
He growled and turned around to face Greg, who was celebrating his victory with a devious smirk. The rift man had managed to inflict a deep wound while Azazel was observing the collapsed wizard.
"I'll destroy you!" Azazel roared as his eyes grew an even deeper shade of red.
Two black, demonic wings sprouted from Azazel's back. They had massive, feathered wings with a sprawling wingspan. The scales covering his lower arms traveled upward, forming his shoulders. Slowly, they began to sprout over his torso. His body also bulked up, as he was looking more like an actual beast from hell.
The blood from the cut in his back was dripping onto the wooden bridge below his feet. This angered him further, causing his feet to turn into clawed, beastly talons. The size of his feet caused the leather of his shoes to burst.
Greg shook his head and threw the weapon into the moat. He moved and picked up the Mjolnir. "You are forcing me to get serious."
Azazel's fangs extended as he seethed with rage. He was ready to pummel Greg into hell. His demon side was beginning to overtake his human soul.
"I am going to shred you into a million pieces," Azazel growled fiersomely, his red eyes glistening with blazes of fire.
As Azazel let out a powerful roar, Emma ran up to the scene, behind where Blumbledore had fallen. She gazed at Azazel with a worried look on her face.
She clasped her hands together against her chest, praying he would be alright. She had never seen him so worked up. She realized he was both a demon and Lucifer's son, so he should be victorious, but she couldn't stop the pounding in her chest.
"Emma," Zeus nodded to the girl. "Let's get Blumbledore out of here. There's nothing we can do right now."
Emma shook her head. "I want to protect Azazel."
Emma closed her eyes and extended her arms in Greg's direction. She was ready to cast a spell. She felt Zeus grasp her hands, stopping the spell mid-cast.
Zeus stood in front of her. When Blumbledore passed out, the barrier keeping him in place disappeared, so he was able to move out of the magic's range.
"Please," Zeus sighed. "You are no match for that guy. Don't get stuck in the crosshairs. How do you think Azazel would feel if you got hurt?"
Emma puffed out her cheeks and pouted. "You're right."
The two grabbed Blumbledore by the shoulders and quickly dragged him back to Granny's cabin.
Azazel snarled, then darted toward Greg. He slashed his monstrous right claw forward, grazing the front of the helmet the rift man wore. A crack appeared in the center of the helmet.
Greg jumped back, readying the hammer, as his eyes glowed yellow from the eye slits in his helmet.
The dark aura erupted through the demon's body. It spread through the entire area around the bridge. He grasped his clawed hands tighter. He could feel his power rising.
"Get over there," Azazel growled as he lunged forward. He snatched the Mjolnir out of Greg's hand with one quick movement.
He flung the Mjolnir. It landed far from the bridge, next to Granny's cottage. When the hammer landed, Zeus opened the door. A happy expression covered the man's face as he quickly retrieved his weapon from the ground.
"Mah hammer!"
Zeus ran back inside, tucking his prized Mjolnir under his arm.
Greg bent over and felt where the demon had wounded his back. "Damn. I could have sworn the bullets would've destroyed you."
Greg took the chance to attack. He jumped across the bridge and lunged with his sword toward Azazel.
Azazel dodged the attack from Greg's sword with the increased speed of his demonic form. The demon then pummeled a fist into the rift man's helmet, causing it to crack. It fell to the surface of the bridge in two separate pieces, revealing the face underneath the mask.
Greg stood there without his helmet. A scowl spread across his face. The man underneath the helmet was blonde-haired and yellow eyed. He had two small horns. It appeared that Greg was a demon himself.
"You're also a demon," Azazel noted as his red eyes focused on Greg.
"So what?" Greg scoffed and spit on the bridge, his blonde hair getting wet from the rain.
If Azazel was in his right state, he would have found it funny that Greg was a demon himself, but it was doubtful he had the demonic essence to transform into a beast.
Azazel sprinted forward. His two, powerful beast arms clutched Greg, holding him in a tight grip against his muscular body.
Greg failed and attempted to free himself, but it was of no use.
Azazel growled, his claws digging into the rift man's sides. As he did so, he heard armor shatter. The clawed tips of his fingers dug into the man's flesh, causing blood to trickle out from several new puncture wounds.
Greg grimaced, but remembered the many daggers he had tucked away. Each hand swiftly pulled out a dagger, stabbing them backwards into the demon's waist. He dug the daggers deep inside Azazel's flesh, making sure to move them around inside his body to cause more damage.
Azazel lost his grip on Greg. He covered the deep stab wounds with his lower torso. The demonic form snarled and thrashed forward, slashing across Greg's face with his clawed fingers.
Greg dropped to the ground. He clutched his face in his hand. Blood pooled in his hand. It trickled down his palm and into the ground, causing a pool of blood to form on the bridge. It seemed Azazel had caused damage to the man.
"Fine, I give in," Greg sighed with defeat. "Let's talk."
Slowly, Azazel's anger subsided. His monstrous form disappeared, and the demon returned to his human form. He collapsed to the ground, his clothing ripped to shreds from the transformation.
The wounds were still visible on his body. He clutched his waist as he felt extreme pain from the deep wound. Blood trickled down his body. The slash to his back and the small bullet wounds were also still visible and bleeding.
"We are both hurt," Greg began. "I give in. I will not attempt to steal the Mjolnir again. We'll both end up dead."
"It seems so," Azazel said, panting from the pain. "I am happy you have reconsidered the theft."
The two of them huffed and panted. The wound to Greg's face continued to profusely bleed out. The bridge would most definitely become stained with the blood from the repulsive wound to the man's face.
"I'm getting dizzy," Greg whispered as he moved his hand away from his face.
The extent of the wound could be seen. It was massive and extended as a slash across the center of his face. It went down from his forehead down to his neck. The entire slice of his flesh was a bloody mess.
We're both absolutely wrecked. But the power when I transformed...I didn't know I could do that.
Greg passed out on the bridge with his hands extended above him.
Azazel narrowed his eyes on the man from the rift. His vision began to blur. Without warning, he also collapsed on the little bridge.