Chapter 51
"Fucking hounds of Desolate," the demon growled, pointing his revolver at one of the creatures. He fired, blowing a large chunk out of a hound's head, sending it flying. Turning to Gray and Rachel with a smirk, he muttered, "You know what?" Gray responded by pulling out a colorful test tube and throwing it at three oncoming hounds. The test tube exploded on impact, obliterating the hounds and part of the city walls. The demon glanced at Gray before saying, "next time, start with that", who shrugged nonchalantly, as Rachel sighed. The three of them prepared for the horde of 23 regenerating hell hounds.
The demon fought ferociously, using his large hand to pummel hounds into the ground with bone-crushing force. Rachel unleashed her shadow powers, dark tendrils lashing out to ensnare and tear at the hounds, slowing them down. Gray wielded his bewitched sword, conjuring cursed flames that consumed the hounds temporarily, though they continued to regenerate. The battle was intense, the trio moving in sync as they fought to keep the hounds at bay. The air filled with snarls, gunfire, and the crackle of cursed fire, each second feeling longer than the last.
After five grueling minutes, Gray finally decided to end it. "You might want to brace yourself, demon," he warned. The demon looked at him, confused, as Gray unleashed another pulse of anti-magic. The wave swept across the battlefield, nullifying the hounds' regenerative powers but also disrupting Rachel and the demon's abilities. "What the hell is that?" the demon barked, staggering slightly. Gray chuckled. "Anti-magic. Now they're killable." With a swift swing of his sword, he beheaded a hound, permanently ending it. The demon, now impressed, smirked as he crushed another hound's skull. "Where the hell was that five minutes ago?" he asked. "Just kill," Gray replied tersely.
The battle unfolded like a violent symphony, each fighter contributing a distinct note of chaos and precision. The moment Gray's anti-magic pulse rippled through the air, the hounds' regenerative abilities faltered, leaving them vulnerable for the first time. Gray stepped forward with calm determination, his bewitched sword blazing to life, the cursed flames licking hungrily at the edges of its blade. With each swing, fire arced through the air, igniting the icy battlefield in a spectral glow. His strikes were swift, calculated, and devastating, the sword cleaving through hound after hound. One lunged at him, its teeth bared, but Gray sidestepped effortlessly, pivoting on his heel to bring the blade down in a scorching diagonal slash that left the beast lifeless.
The demon joined the fray with feral glee, his massive hand slamming into the ground with enough force to shatter stone and send two hounds sprawling. He grabbed one mid-air, its jaws snapping wildly, and crushed its skull with a sickening crunch before using the corpse as a bludgeon to knock another aside. "Not so tough now, are ya?" he sneered, his revolver roaring as he fired into the chest of an advancing hound, blowing a hole clean through it. A second hound leapt at him, but he caught it mid-pounce with his smaller hand and hurled it into a nearby wall, the impact leaving cracks in the ancient masonry.
Rachel moved like a shadow among the chaos, her body a blur as she wielded her dampened powers with deadly precision. Dark tendrils erupted from her hands, snaring one hound by the throat and slamming it into another, the force of the collision leaving both stunned long enough for her to deliver swift, merciless strikes. Despite the anti-magic field weakening her abilities, she adapted, relying on agility and cunning. She ducked under a hound's snapping jaws and countered with a spinning kick, her blade slicing cleanly across its flank. "Stay sharp," she called out, her voice steady despite the intensity of the fight.
The hounds, though stripped of their regeneration, were still ferocious. They attacked in coordinated waves, attempting to overwhelm the trio with sheer numbers. One group flanked Gray, snarling as they closed in. He crouched low, his sword glowing brighter as he channeled cursed flames into a wide arc. The fire erupted outward, consuming three of the beasts instantly. A fourth lunged at him, but Gray ducked and drove his blade upward into its chest, the fire searing through muscle and bone. He withdrew the sword in one fluid motion, spinning to deflect the claws of another hound before kicking it back toward the demon, who caught it with his massive hand and slammed it into the ground.
The demon's laughter echoed across the battlefield as he relished the carnage. "This is more like it!" he roared, grabbing two hounds by their necks and slamming their heads together with a thunderous crack. A third hound lunged at him, but he swung his revolver like a club, breaking its jaw before finishing it off with a point-blank shot. "Keep up, human!" he taunted Gray, though there was no malice in his tone—only the thrill of battle.
As the fight raged on, the trio adapted to each other's rhythms, their attacks becoming increasingly synchronized. Gray would weaken a hound with a flaming slash, only for Rachel to dart in and finish it off with a precise strike. The demon provided cover, using his immense strength to hold back multiple hounds at once, giving the others openings to strike.
One particularly large hound charged at Gray, its bulk and speed far exceeding the others. Gray stood his ground, his eyes narrowing as he waited for the perfect moment. When the beast was mere feet away, he stepped aside and swept his sword in a tight arc, severing its legs in a spray of blood and fire. The hound crashed to the ground, writhing in pain, and Rachel quickly finished it with a dark blade to the neck. "Not bad," she remarked, flashing Gray a rare grin.
After minutes of relentless combat, the battlefield was littered with the smoldering, lifeless bodies of the hounds. The air was thick with the stench of burning fur and ash, the ground scarred from the intensity of their attacks. Gray wiped sweat from his brow, his breathing steady despite the exertion. The demon surveyed the carnage with a satisfied smirk, holstering his revolver. Suddenly, a woman's voice called out, "Marco," prompting the demon to look in the direction of the voice. "Liz," he said before running towards the sound. "That's his name? Marco? Okay," Gray said as he collected some of the blood that fell from the demon as rachel said, "you and your obsession with collecting blood" to which gray replied, "blood is good, blood means ingredient" making rachel roll her eyes as he then had an idea, "oh talking about blood" he turned towards her as he tried to give her beady eyes.
After minutes of relentless combat, the battlefield was littered with the smoldering, lifeless bodies of the hounds. The air was thick with the stench of burning fur and ash, the ground scarred from the intensity of their attacks. Gray wiped sweat from his brow, his breathing steady despite the exertion. The demon surveyed the carnage with a satisfied smirk, holstering his revolver. "Wha-what are you doing?" Rachel asked as Gray insisted on staring at her with his beady eyes. "St-stop it, you look creepy," she added, but he persisted until Rachel finally gave in. "Fine, but only a drop," she said, making Gray happy as they continued exploring the city.
Twelve minutes later, Rachel and Gray found themselves smiling as they spotted a rift forming in the distance. "Huh, pretty convenient, don't you think?" Gray said, to which Rachel replied, "Don't jinx it." Suddenly, a bold, rushing man in golden robes appeared, accompanied by a blonde man with a Russian accent. "Hello, travelers from beyond the rift," the man greeted them. Rachel whispered to Gray, "Careful, he's a dark wizard." Gray nodded before asking aloud, "Alright, just to make things clear, I'm going through that rift. Do you have any intention of stopping me?"