76 The sword of nightmares (1/2)
[...]
”...? What's wrong Ashy? You got so quiet all of sudden. What happened to your usual talkative personality?”
[...]
Drya had entered the gates of the castle and was now walking across the entrance hallway. The castle had no illumination and the entire place looked like it had been ravaged. All of the curtains were shredded and broken pieces of the structure were lying all around the floor. The lights of the sun barely did any help against the heavy shadows that covered the entire place.
”This place is just as chaotic as ever... We really should hire a housekeeper, don't you agree Ashy?”
[...]
”You know, even if you don't speak I can still feel your pain. I rather you chat with me a bit so I don't get too lonely but it won't really make any difference for you if you stay quiet.”
[...]
”Fine, fine... Suffer in silence like a spoiled kid... Whatever pleases you.”
[My sister is going to destroy you...]
”...!! Oh!! Finally feel like talking!! Go on, let it all out!”
[She will never forgive you for what you did... She will hunt you and bury you...]
”Right, right... Stick-girl ad her amazing magic stick! I'm sure she will be really mad!”
[Laugh all you want... But just keep in mind that you just doomed yourself... You think capturing me will give you control over her... But there is no force in this universe that can control Evlin...]
”Is that so...?”
[... Is that so.]
”Haha, you even answer the same way she does now! You really are her sister!”
[... You think I'm bluffing...]
”Eh, not really... I just couldn't care less... Everything is already set to deal with her. Stick-girl can come after me with all the anger she wants. When everything is over, she will just be another tool to be used by me and my kin.”
[We will see about that...]
”Oh!! Confident arent you? That will just provide an even better taste once I get stick-girl to lick my shoes and follow our orders.”
[What do the demons even want Evlin anyway?]
”Youll see!”
Drya continued to walk until she was in front of a large door at the end of the hallway. She opened the doors and entered a place that in the past would be a ballroom. But now, it was nothing but a zone filled with sleeping demons resting their wounds.
The whole place was an open space filled with creatures of all sizes and colors, all bearing some kind of deformation or injuries. They were surrounding some kind of block of stone that was bearing a sharp object piercing its surface.
[Where are we...?]
”I guess you could call it the recovery room...”
[Demons have a recovery room...?]
”I told you didn't I? We are constantly being attacked by those guys that wear blessed metal. Those of us that are lucky enough to survive can return here to recover their energy. The barrier of the castle stops any human from entering, so we are all safe and sound in here.”
[... I bet Evlin can break your barrier...]
”Yes, yes, Evlin is amazing, I get it... She's going to come, kick our butts, save your life and then everyone will eat ice cream together. Now please stay quiet. It's about to start.”
[...?]
Ashley, as an astral projection from outside her body, noticed something approaching the stone block. It was a girl about her height and with short bob red hair. She was wearing the same clothes Ashley was wearing before fusing with Drya.
[What... What's going on...???]
”This is our master... The leader of all demons... And the guy that ordered us to capture your sister.”
[Guy...? Why does he look... Like that??]
”It's his curse... His appearance can't be seen by a human soul. So he takes the form of the person in this world you hate the most.”
[... I see...]
”Mmmm... You're releasing some nice negative emotions... I wonder who is it that you're seeing...”
The leader of the demons takes the form of the one those that see him hate the most, so right now, Ashley was looking at the one person in her life that she hated more than anyone, herself.
She observed as a figure that looked exactly like her approached the sharp object in the stone. Looking closer, it was possible to notice that the object was some kind of sword drenched in black. Both the blade and the holder were of the same color as Daren's fur when he is in his lion form.
The demon leader picked up the sword from the stone and started to release energy waves around the room.
[What's happening?? What's that thing?]
”That thing is the devourer of whispers... The demon leader's trusted weapon. It eats the souls of the opponents right before it kills them. Their pain and suffering right before their death gets engraved in the blade and anyone who holds it can listen to their agony!”
[This is disgusting...]
”I know right? I love it!!”
[...]
”Anyway... Our boss is a very generous guy. He absorbs the power of the sword and then uses his own ability to share it with us. Look at our hands.”
Ashley listened to Drya's command and indeed, her hands that had been almost burned to ashes from the blessed shield's energy were now completely recovered.
”Good as new!!”
[...]
Ashley looked around and noticed that the demons in the room were also slowly regenerating their wounds. Scars, lost limbs, bruises, burns, any possible kind of injury was little by little starting to disappear and returning the creatures to their original state.
The demons finished recovering and proceeded to leave the room. However, Drya decided to stay and after she was the only one left she approached the demon leader.
”Hey, boss!”
”What do you want...? I'm busy...”
Even his voice sounded just like Ashley's voice. Ashley was feeling really strange while observing a plant version of herself and a human version of herself talking to each other despite neither of them actually being her.
”I have a present for you!”
”A present...?”