The purgers felt powerless and miniscule compared to the raging hellhound. Is this what the incubus meant by the end of times? Dorian started to panic. He has not panicked before a beast in his entire life. He always viewed them as vile creatures that deter the balance of life and saw himself as a savior and cleanser when disposing of them. Unlike his companion, who chose this profession for the money, women and fame, he chose it with an honest heart. He believes what he's doing is necessary in such dark times He never backed down from facing any beast, never refused a contract. He always enforced his own law and justice upon those creatures. But this monster before him, it made him question his principles. Was he really capable of bringing the hammer of justice down on this monster of hell? Would he let it ravage and destroy innocents because of his incapabilities? He could not bear to stand powerless and watch. The two men sat in their hiding spots and watched the rains of meteors pulverising the land. A spectacle they had never seen before in their lives. Dorian got anxious, he could not bear to see more of what he saw. He could not let evil defeat him. Rex on the other hand was in awe, he never witnessed such power. This far exceeds what he experienced against the incubus. He is imagining how much a head of a beast like that is worth. He was still furious about the gold of the incubus which he did not receive. He could blame the dead garrison's captain for that. In a desperate attempt, Dorian calls the child demon.
"Hey you! make your brother stop, those people had nothing to do with this! This is between us and him", he shouted. The brutal deaths of those people bothered him but what got to him is the sense of defeat and powerlessness. The child fixes its eyes on the pleading purger.
"All of mankind is concerned with this, whether they know it or not. This…This is our message to them, can you not see it Dorian? Destruction, despair, dread, death…. This is the essence of our message and you are fortunate enough to witness it all"
"A message? A damn message? Don't fuck with my head, demon. Why are you here?
For the first time in ages, Dorian succumbed to rage. That time against that incubus, he was violent, ruthless but not this enraged. Rex is staring at his furious partner with understanding eyes. He knows what angers his friend. With the shower of meteors before them, Cineros takes two steps forward and calls on to his wrathful brother.
"Off with you brother, you did enough", said the child calmly, ignoring Dorian once again.
The hellhound moves its head and stares at its brother on the ground. It heard him. It closes its mouth, marking an end to the devastating shower of meteors, then rushes down with wings piercing through the stirred clouds. It lands behind its brother, shattering the ground beneath it and causing a tremor.
"Our purpose here is done. We delivered our message. Demisdonna's failure caused us to take a more drastic approach", the child points at the destroyed Forgehorn.
Enraged and sick of hearing the demon spout nonsense, Dorian leaps at the child, preparing his glacial sword for a savage swing and aiming for the head. Rex tried to stop his partner but it was too late. He reaches his target within a blink of an eye and then, with a spinning motion, cuts the child's head off and his body turns to ashes. Is that all? Was that talking and conversing about a bigger message all for naught? Absolutely not. Behind Dorian, ash gathers from the ground and the body of the child is reformed again. I just hit him, I took his head off his body, thought Dorian to himself, looking back at the demon. The incubus's regeneration is nothing compared to this. The child's body was made of ash, it could not be cut down. He could swing at it till the cock sings again at dawn and it would not change a thing. He is invincible. Dorian finds himself hopeless against the child, his iron will, for the first time, has been shaken.
"A pathetic effort, Dorian…I expected much more of you…You keep failing my expectations"
The child's disapproval looked genuine, he held the two purgers in high regards, as the only mortal he knew of, who could hold a candle to hellish beasts. Rex joins his partner and the two finally face off against the demon child. The hellhound is sitting in its landing spot, licking its wounds, not giving a worry about the two men standing in front of it. The matter was now in its brother's hands.
"You alright? You look shaken", said Rex as he examined his comrade.
"I'm alright. How will we deal with this?", replied Dorian trying to hide his nervousness and mental fatigue.
Dorian was trembling with rage, his body at its limits. Rex saw all of that but chose not to give a remark, a bigger concern is on their hands. How could they approach a fight with a being they never faced before in their lives. So calm and so collected. So far, the child has not shown any weakness. To their knowledge he is invincible. Nevertheless, the purgers steel themselves and get ready to attack. The child sensed it, their bloodlust and readiness to fight. The two exchange their look of approval and both charge at the child, haunted by the idea of imminent defeat. With nimble leaps they close the distance and each one of them swings his sword. Dorian coming in from the right and Rex from the left. As they were about to land their coordinated strike, the child hurled them backwards with a thunderous shockwave coming from its palms. The pair crashed through several trees before slamming into the ground, bones broken and bleeding everywhere.
"Wha–What the fuck is this", moans Rex with blood coming out from his mouth.
Dorian could not answer, he could not utter a single word. The cumulative injuries from before and the blows he received against the hellhound took a toll on his body. He lays there on the ground, totally defeated and broken. He tries to get up and grab his sword anew but he fails. His body fails him. Rex barely stands up back to his feet, and what he saw made him take the knee once more. The demon child is levitating in the air, with his brother on his side. They have completed their mission, sent their message. Now, it's time to go back. A blinding light shines on the two beings. The demon child takes another look at the defeated purgers.
"We shall meet again, Dorian, Rex…You still have to fulfill your purpose"
Then the light teleports them back from whatever they came from.The light faded and the air fell still. Only the groans of the broken purgers remained beneath the trees they'd shattered.