Chapter 51 (1/2)

Eight people dressed in purple robes stood in a circle around a glowing orange orb. It wriggled and bulged as worms swam around inside of it. A circular rune inscribed on the floor shone with a red light, illuminating the people.

“Is this really the only way?” a man asked. He was the demon talking with Loffel and Gabel earlier.

“No, but this is how we’re doing it, Troy,” one of the figures replied. “Chad and Tina disappeared after killing Zollstock.”

Troy stared at the worms wriggling inside the gelatinous orb in front of him and frowned. The metal doors behind him swung open with a clang and a black clad man dragged a hornless demon by his right leg into the room. The hornless demon remained expressionless as his bare skin scraped against the rocky floor. The black clad man tossed the demon into the circle underneath the orange orb. The hornless demon grunted as his body collided with the surface. His eyes widened and his body shook when he saw the glowing orb above him.

“Please, no,” he said. His lips were cracked and the outline of his bones were visible underneath his skin. “Not the worms.” Red tendrils rose out of the rune beneath the hornless demon and wrapped around his body, pinning him to the floor.

One of the robed figures chuckled. “Don’t worry, this’ll be the last time,” he said and smiled. He turned towards the black clad man. “Bring all of them.”

The man nodded and stepped outside of the room. Doors slammed open and shuffling sounds echoed through the chamber. A few moments later, a line of hornless demons stood at the entrance to the room. Their mouths were slightly parted and their stares were unfocused, as if looking through the walls behind the men. Each of them shook as they approached the wriggling orb and a few wet themselves. More red tendrils erupted from the rune and wrapped around the twenty or so hornless demons, positioning them around the orb.

“How do we stop them afterwards?” Troy asked.

“They’ll die on their own,” one of the robed figures with a white beard said and smiled, “given enough time.”

“Too many lives will be lost,” Troy said and frowned.

“Can you stop the corrupted one?”

Troy’s brow wrinkled. “No, but-“

“Then join hands with us,” the bearded demon said and motioned towards the pile of demons on the ground with his head, “or join hands with them. The choice is yours.”

Troy looked at the trembling demons on the ground and gritted his teeth. He extended his arms out to the side and looked around. “Well?” he asked. “Let’s hurry up and do this.”

The bearded demon smiled and extended his arms out to the side. The other robed figures followed suit and pillars of red light engulfed the eight demons. Orange streams of light extended from the orb and made contact with the foreheads of the demons lying on the floor. The light streams wriggled as worms squirmed out of the orb into the bodies of the demons. They screamed with wide eyes as the worms dug into their skulls and disappeared from view. After a few moments the screams stopped and were replaced by moans.

The demons thrashed against the ground and grabbed at the red tendrils around their bodies. The tendrils dimmed as particles of red light flowed into their bodies. A breeze blew through the chamber and whipped into a cyclone around the struggling demons. A few managed to climb to their feet and lunge at the purple robed figures before a white light flashed and they disappeared from the chamber.

The bearded demon let out a shaky breath before he nodded. The image of an outstretched hand reaching for his throat flashed in his mind. “Let’s board the airship and get out of here.”

The other demons murmured in assent.