The Rescue II

Tsengshe Hospital, Tsi Luen, Cheena

***

"Officer Sho? Where is he?" Dreygo asked Elaine.

"He probably escaped as he's spooked by these demons," Elaine said.

"Then we have to look for him. I could sense the other demons at the far end of this wing."

Somebody screamed along the corridor. A woman's voice rattled at the sight of the corpses lying on the floor. Dreygo and Elaine scurried to the source and found a young nurse, emaciated in fright on the floor as she witnessed the downed officers.

"Let's go before the others come," Dreygo said.

They pursued the demon auras where they emanated. It was on the far end of the west wing of the same floor.

'The officer must have escaped. The two officers must have saved him.' Dreygo thought as they ran along the corridor. The demonic presence was nearing them as they turned corners.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots echoed through the walls as they were nearing the location.

'It was not silenced. The officer must have a weapon with him.' Dreygo assessed.

On the last turn, he saw blood drops on the floor and trailed along toward the open door. A slight commotion of broken things that were heard. Dreygo shoved Elaine back as he sensed danger. Elaine did so without resistance. Her handgun was still in his hands.

'She was useful, she saved my life countless times.

The Harbinger sprinted towards the open door without hesitation and Elaine slowly followed from behind.

Dreygo barged in to surprise the perpetrators. He saw one Demon thug dropped on the floor, bloodied with bullet holes in his forehead but the other was facing his back, strangling Officer Sho against the wall. His legs elevated from the ground his face grimaced for the dire need of air.

The Demon thug's face was close to his, salivated to have hungered some fresh meat. The Officer's head turned red and he was about to faint. His hands started to sway limply and his legs now faintly struggled for futile kicks.

Dreygo without stopping lunged at Demon's back and his blade must land on the most vital parts of the human body. If the blade landed on the thug's wide back, he might miss the heart. Secondly, if he stabbed his nape through, it might hit the officer's face.

'Two crucial stabs.' For a split second, Dreygo must decide. His senses flared as pressure kicked it.

He stabbed at his rib cage, the blade buried hard, a slight cracking sound was heard as the weapon found itself through the gaps between the bones. The Demon released the Officer from his grasp and the Officer fell to the floor.

The Demon resisted succumbing to death as the blade found its way through. Blood sprayed out, painting the floor and walls red, and made the Demon disoriented as he covered the blood with his hand.

"You think you can stop this, Harbinger? He's prepared for your arrival. And with every move you make, he is ready." The demon taunted.

"Who?"

"Lord Kragus. You can't get to him without surpassing the Lord of Envy." The Demon coughed with blood. His chest was still pressed against the wall.

"I am going to kill you all, Demon. Nothing can stop me from killing him."

"You do not have the power to kill him. He's jumping from place to place, devising ways to summon chaos, and building an army." The Demon retaliated but the blade and with Dreygo's force, pushing him hard against the wall, had discouraged the Demon to do so.

"What army?"

"Army of the dead and the living. There is no way you can stop him." The Demon laughed.

But for another second, Dreygo buried the purge blade in the Demon's neck for a kill.

"You talk so much!" Dreygo hissed.

The Demon's ether escaped and the same process of demonic absorption was experienced by the Harbinger. Elaine, who stepped inside the room, was not used to seeing demon ethers visibly escaping their host and entering the Harbinger's body. Such a phenomenon was gruesome to look at.

"What are those?" Elaine asked as he watched the Ethers closer.

"Demon Ethers. These Demons possessed human bodies as vessels to roam around the Earth freely and unnoticed. If they were killed by my blade, their souls will be sent to Limbo for judgment - either to be dispersed into nothingness or I don't know what else."

"The Ethers," Dreygo continued, "were their demonic powers. I absorbed them and every unit of these Ethers augmented my strength and would revitalize my Harbinger powers."

"You don't look ok when they get inside your body." Elaine mused.

"Do not worry, Elaine. These Demons make me stronger. This is what Viriel had discussed. I must absorb a thousand demons to regain my full Demonic strength." Dreygo explained.

The second demon flinched as it regained consciousness. He started to stand, struggling at first with the injury he just experienced. Blood continued to gush out from the bullet holes and trickled down to his face. The demon shook his head as the bullet wounds gradually closed.

Elaine jerked instantly and aimed his gun at the demon. The Demon turned to Elaine as the latter was the first who showed signs of hostility. Before she pulled the trigger, the purge blade was instantly thrown and connected to the demon's forehead. The blade went through and buried through the wall, skewering the demon's head with it, eyes wide and blank.

Elaine sighed heavily and lowered herself, squatting on the floor to subside the raging adrenalin in her system. The Demon instantly died but remained standing as its head still lodged against the wall.

Dreygo's throw was accurate and triggered his reflex to kill the enemy instantly without further assessment. Dreygo casually walked to the last demon and took the blade out causing the corpse to fall and leaving blood stains on the wall's paint.

Four demon thugs were now killed and the Officer was safe. Officer Sho was still half unconscious and Elaine immediately attended to him. She rushed with her knees crouched on the floor and shook the officer, trying to wake him.

He did wake up and came to his senses after a few shoulder shakes. "Officer, you are safe now. We must go or others might come!" Elaine said.

"Who are you?" The officer mumbled as he fluttered his eyes.

"We are here to rescue you. You are being hunted by the Triad." Elaine responded.

"They do not die. These guys did not die even though I shot them many times!" Sho said shakingly.

"We'll explain later, Officer. But this time. You have to come with us. You are in great danger." Elaine replied.

Police sirens surrounded the hospital. Dreygo knew that corruption webbed beyond authorities including the police force. Hence, delivering Sho to them would impose a great danger on his life.

"It must be the nurse that reported the corpses on the floor. She might have identified our faces." Dreygo assessed.

They scurried to emergency exits and Sho was them.