Daemon Sinners vs Gustav(3)

Gustav rolled his shoulders and let out an exaggerated groan, his golden eyes scanning the debris-strewn marketplace with the irritation of someone forced to endure a tedious chore.

The demon's hair caught the dying light as he tilted his head back, studying the darkening sky with obvious impatience.

"This is really dragging out," he muttered, his voice carrying that same lazy quality despite the carnage surrounding him. "I've got places to be, people to terrify. Did you know there's a bounty of fifty thousand gold coins on my head? Quite flattering, really. Though I suppose I should wrap this up before some stronger, ambitious fool tries to collect."

The demon's bare feet made no sound as he walked across the blood-slicked cobblestones toward where Fuan Yi lay crumpled among the scattered apples.

The sergeant's blue armor was cracked and dented, dark stains spreading across the metal where blood had begun to seep through the gaps.

His helmet was long gone, leaving his face exposed and vulnerable in the fading light.

Fuan struggled to push himself upright, his gauntleted hands scrabbling against the stone.

Each movement sent fresh waves of agony through his battered form, but still he fought to stand.

His lance, responding to some unspoken call, flew through the air to land within his reach.

He grabbed it desperately, using the weapon as a crutch to pull himself to one knee.

Gustav paused a few feet away, his head tilted in mock curiosity as he studied the wounded guard.

"Let's see," he said conversationally, as he observed Fuan intently. "Three broken ribs on the left side, two on the right. Punctured lung. I can hear it whistling when you breathe. Shattered collarbone, dislocated shoulder, fractured skull, internal bleeding, and oh, this is interesting, a completely ruptured spleen. You really should be dead already."

The demon's clinical assessment was delivered with the same casual tone one might use to describe a particularly unremarkable meal.

There was no malice in his voice, no satisfaction. Just a predator cataloging its prey's wounds in curiosity.

Fuan's eyes went blind with rage. He pushed himself forcibly to his feet as he stared at the demon before him.

He swung his fist in a desperate haymaker, pouring every ounce of his remaining strength into the blow.

Gustav caught his wrist effortlessly, his fingers wrapping around the metal gauntlet like a vice.

"Tsk, tsk," Gustav said, shaking his head in disappointment. "Still fighting? How futile. You redbloods just never learn."

The demon yanked Fuan's arm downward with bone-crushing force, sending the sergeant's body into an awkward tumble.

As Fuan fell, his feet leaving the ground, Gustav's leg swept upward in a devastating kick that caught him in the midsection.

The impact launched the guard into the air like a broken doll, his armored form spinning end over end as he rose toward the darkening sky.

Fuan's screams echoed off the surrounding buildings, a raw sound of pain and terror that seemed to go on forever.

Gustav shaded his eyes with one hand, peering upward as if watching a particularly interesting fireworks display.

"Quite a trajectory," he observed clinically. "I'd say about thirty feet. Not bad for a human."

Fuan's screams grew louder as gravity reclaimed him, his body plummeting back toward the marketplace.

Gustav stepped forward with casual precision, timing his movement perfectly.

He caught the falling sergeant in mid-air, his hands closing around Fuan's throat like a spider wrapping up a fly.

The demon's grip tightened, and with a contemptuous grunt, he drove Fuan's body into the cobblestones with the force of a sledgehammer.

The impact was final and absolute.

The sergeant's form crumpled like overripe fruit, his armor buckling inward as bone and flesh gave way beneath the overwhelming pressure.

Blood spread outward in a dark pool, mixing with the scattered apples and broken stone.

Fuan Yi, sergeant of the Guass city guard, was dead before his body even stopped twitching.

While Gustav had been occupied with his grisly work, Daemon had been crawling.

Every inch was agony, his battered body screaming in protest with each movement. However the primal need for survival drove him forward, inch by bloody inch, toward the shadowy refuge of a grain storehouse at the edge of the marketplace.

His fingers had just closed around the wooden threshold when Gustav's foot slammed down on his back, pinning him to the cold stone.

The impact drove the breath from his lungs and sent fresh spikes of pain racing through his already damaged ribs.

Pure adrenaline flooded Daemon's system.

With a desperate surge of strength, he managed to lift his chest off the ground, rising several inches before Gustav's foot crashed down again, driving him back into the unforgiving stone.

His ears rang with a high-pitched whine, and he could taste blood as it ran from his nose and ears.

"Fascinating," Gustav crooned, his voice carrying the same detached interest he'd shown when cataloging Fuan's injuries. "Your survival instinct is stronger than any I've encountered in a human. Most impressive."

The demon's weight shifted, pressing down harder. "You know, I've studied your species for quite some time. Humans are greedy, selfish creatures driven by base desires. But when real pain arrives, when death comes calling. You lot are so quick to surrender to despair. To accept your fate, whatever the fuck that is."

Gustav's golden eyes gleamed in the dim light as he leaned down, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I'm doing you a favor, really. Killing you now, cleanly, instead of letting you face the horrors that await in Hell. You're far too weak and pitiful to survive what's coming."

With tremendous effort, Daemon managed to turn his head enough to look up at his tormentor. "Where..." he gasped, each word a struggle. "Where is Fuan?"

Gustav shrugged, the gesture casual and dismissive. "He lasted longer than I expected, I'll give him that. But there's hardly anything left of him now."

The demon's laughter rang out across the empty marketplace, echoing off the surrounding buildings like the call of some carrion bird.

"Tell me, Daemon Fallenstar. Do you feel rage? Do you taste despair, knowing that your death is inevitable? Though I suppose you don't know the guard well enough to seek revenge for him. Too bad, that would have been interesting."

The demon's grin widened, revealing those too-sharp teeth. "You picked one of the wrong circles of Hell to be dumped into, my friend. The things waiting for you there... well, let's just say they make me look positively charitable."

Gustav finally stood, his foot still pinning Daemon to the ground.

He yawned loudly, working the kinks out of his neck with a series of sharp cracks. "Well, this has been entertaining, but I really must be going. Bounty hunters to evade, chaos to sow. You understand?"

The demon lifted his foot, and Daemon caught a glimpse of the blood that now stained Gustav's sole.

Fuan's blood, mixed with his own.

"Goodbye, Daemon Fallenstar. Try not to scream too loudly. I would try to make it fast enough."

Gustav's foot came down with the force of a falling boulder, aimed directly at Daemon's chest.

Something primal and desperate surged within the battered man.

His hands shot up, catching Gustav's ankle just inches from his ribcage.

The demon's eyes widened in genuine surprise as Daemon's fingers locked around his foot like iron bands.

"What?" Gustav snarled, pressing down harder. "Impossible."

Daemon held on, his muscles straining against the inhuman strength pressing down on him.

Blood streamed from his eyes, nose, and ears as he fought against the overwhelming force.

With a roar of pure rage and desperation, he actually managed to push Gustav's foot back, lifting it several inches away from his chest.

Gustav's surprise quickly transformed into fury.

Without lifting his foot, he reached down and slapped Daemon hard across the face. "You fool! You're only prolonging your death! Just die!"

Daemon refused to let go. Through blood-stained lips, he managed a grim smile. "You said it yourself," he gasped. "I've got... stronger survival instincts... than most humans."

Gustav's teeth ground together in frustration. "Get your filthy redblood hands off my foot!" he snarled, launching into a desperate barrage of slaps and strikes.

Each blow sent shockwaves of pain through Daemon's skull, but still he held on.

The standoff could not however last forever. His body jolted in waves of blinding pain.

Daemon's body, pushed beyond all reasonable limits, finally began to fail him.

His hands started to shake, his grip weakening as his nervous system went into shock from the accumulated damage.

His fingers began to slip, muscles cramping and seizing as his body prepared to shut down.

Gustav felt the change immediately, his golden eyes lighting up with predatory satisfaction.

"There we go," he purred. "I'll remember you for a few decades at least. That's more than most humans can say."

The demon raised his foot high, savoring the moment.

Gustav's foot came down like the hammer of judgment, aimed squarely at Daemon's heart to crush it once and for all.

"Goodbye, Daemon Fallenstar."