You are worthy

Stacy rolled him out of bed and onto the floor while Fiona and Asmodeus were locked in fierce struggle. He searched for his trousers and quickly pulled them on while drawing his new pistol from the attached holster. The demons moved at such blinding speed he could not get a clear shot.

Sparks of infernal energy erupted with each swing of the demonic blades as they crashed together. Neither gave way. Fiona swiftly dodged several swings of his massive sword, swings that made her furniture casualties of war. She pivoted and swung as his sword whiffed past her; her blade struck his left horn, severing it from his body. He gritted his teeth in pain but never slowed his assault.

Trying a new strategy, Asmodeus turned from Fiona and went after Drayce. The mortal fired several shots as Asmodeus charged him; the bullets ricocheted off the Aspect's chest. Drayce frantically dove to the floor as the blade whizzed past him with a mere millimeter's margin.

Drayce struggled to rise again. Asmodeus raised his sword and prepared to land one swift deadly blow. His swing was stopped by Ragnarok; Fiona deflected the strike in the nick of time, but she had leaned too far, spun off balance. Asmodeus struck her with a powerful backhand of his fist, sending her across the room.

He raised his blade to send Drayce to the ethereal plane. Stacy leapt at the demon as he swung, chewing viciously at his neck and clawing at his eyes. He struggled to get the devilkin off him, flailing her body around, growling his annoyance. Her bite held until he slammed her into the wall and gripped her throat. He held her high and sharply flicked his wrist. With a loud snap and a soft cry, Stacy's lifeless body went limp. Asmodeus negligently dropped her corpse to the floor.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Fiona yelled, leaping at him. He quickly grabbed his sword and thrust as Fiona flew down. The blade pierced her, impaling her through the chest. He spun her around and nailed her body to the wall. Blood poured down the blade, some escaping her lips as she coughed.

"Nooo!" Drayce shouted.

Asmodeus' hand gripped Fiona's throat, choking her. "You're next, as soon as I'm finished with her!"

Drayce fired his pistol's remaining rounds to no effect. He punched Asmodeus directly in the face but it was like hitting a concrete wall. "Get off her, you fucker!" he yelled, breaking a dining room chair over the demon's head.

He saw the sword Ragnarok laying on the floor. "Drayce... Don't!" Fiona's broken voice stopped him as he reached for it. From the look on her face, he knew he would surely die if he touched it. And if he died, so would she.

Drayce panicked. What could he do? Everything he tried had no effect. What good was he if he could not protect anyone he loved?

Drayce suddenly felt a strange disturbance in the room. The sounds of Fiona's cries and Asmodeus' yelling diminished from but a whisper to dead silence. The dark blood oozing from Fiona's wound stopped flowing -- the droplets hovered in thin air. Dust motes froze in the mystic light. Everything in the room was completely motionless and silent.

"What the hell?"

Ragnarok, the cursed sword, sprang to life. It hovered in front of Drayce, then stabbed the floor at his feet.

A blinding flash illuminated the room. Drayce blinked and swung his dazzled eyes away.

When he turned back, the sword was gone. Standing in its place was a young teenage girl in a pink dress straight from an animated fairy tale. Wings of an angel with bright ivory feathers sprouted from her back. Horns of a demon, curved forward to sharp points, rose from her skull. Red glowing eyes stared up into Drayce's

"W-Who are you?" Drayce asked.

"I am everything, and everything is me," the girl spoke, in an eerie ethereal voice that echoed hollowly against the walls.

Drayce took a step backward. "Are you a friend or an enemy?"

The little girl smiled. "I am neither."

Frustrated with her riddles, Drayce focused on trying to move Asmodeus again. Even using all of his strength, he could not budge the demon's body frozen in time.

"That won't work," the little girl said.

"Then what will?" Drayce shouted at her.

The little girl walked over to Asmodeus. "My poor Asmodeus. I remember the day I created you and my other children. So young and full of promise. But you lost sight of your purpose. Humanity was never meant to be yours."

"You... created him?"

The girl ignored Drayce's inquiry. "This creature," pointing at Fiona, "has had such a tragic existence. Perhaps it is better to let her die, to put her out of her misery."

"No! She doesn't deserve this!"

She turned to Drayce. "What makes you think so? She has ended thousands of lives, threatened to upset the balance of the universe, and used you to suit her needs. She is a demon, evil by her very nature."

"Maybe it was her intention to use me in the beginning, but I know that isn't how she feels now. I have felt her love, and witnessed her pain. I love her. She'd do anything for me, and I'd do anything for her... Anything."

The little girl walked to Drayce, taking his hand in hers. "This is why I came to you, mortal. It is when you are at your most vulnerable that you are also at your most powerful."

Drayce shook his head. "I don't understand any of this."

"Balance must be kept at all costs, lest the universe and everything I've created eventually implodes. I cannot bear to take the life of one of my first born myself, so it is up to you to summon the courage needed to defend that which you hold most dear."

The girl shone with a brilliant radiance. "You are worthy."

The blinding lite dissipated. Drayce found the sword Ragnarok in his hand. Time resumed. Fiona's choking cries of agony pounded his ears.

Righteous fury erupted within him. With a mighty swing, Drayce's blade passed through Asmodeus' thick neck as it it were nothing but air. Asmodeus went motionless; black blood spilled from around his throat. His head fell to the floor as his empty corpse tumbled like a marionette with cut strings.

Asmodeus' body ignited in a pale blue fire. The roaring sound of millions of souls imprisoned within his body erupted from the flames. After several millennia of imprisonment, they were finally freed from their torment.

Drayce rushed to Fiona's aid. She screamed in terrible agony as he pulled the sword from her chest. She was alive, but barely. He held her in his arms, putting pressure on the large wound.

"Drayce.... I'm..... sorry."

"Shhh. Don't speak. Save your strength."

Adrenaline coursed through his body. The blood seeped between Drayce's fingers. She gasped for air, choking on her own blood.

"Hang on, damn it! Don't you dare die on me!"

He reached for his shirt lying crumpled on the floor close by. He applied firm pressure to the large gash but she quickly bled through the wadded fabric. The wound was too severe.

"Drayce... I want you to know..."

"Don't you start talking like you're going to die!" he interrupted. Tears overwhelmed him, pouring down his face. "You can't die! We're bound together, remember?"

"Not even that... can stop this now. Just... Listen to me. I used you... to get to Asmodeus. I didn't expect-" She coughed up more blood, her voice grew faint. "I didn't expect to fall in love... But I did. I wanted you to know... our time together... was my favorite."

Drayce felt so powerless. He cursed the Gods above for making him relive this agony all over again.

He grabbed Ragnarok, staring at the hilt with glowing dragon's eyes. "Help her! Please help her!"

☆