I felt him, standing right beside me. And I froze in place.
His voice whispered mischievously in my ears.
"Too late."
"...!"
Before I could even react, an end of something was hurled at my face. Right before my eyeballs, two claws hovered, closing in on me.
It was too fast. Watching was the most I could do.
But right before it pierced through my irises, a sword cut into my view, and slashed the claws into halves. To my left was Daniel, who had launched a full swing with his right sword, and was immediately prepping for a second attack.
In one swift motion, Daniel launched forward, stabbing towards the demon with his other sword. However, before it could connect—once again, under my eyes, the demon vanished.
Where?
"Here!" The demon yelled.
I saw a blur shoot out from the corner of my eyes, and immediately it warped towards Daniel. Fortunately, he responded just in time, as he made a full rotation without wasting a single second. He swung both of his arms whilst he turned, and immediately crossed swords with claws.
Regenerated claws.
I didn't delay. Seeing my golden opportunity to escape, I ran as fast as I could, easily gaining acceleration.
If there was nothing I could do. Then I should run.
The demon and the crusader continued to exchange attacks. The demon would cleave at anything under his eyes, bearing 10 lengthy claws as his weapon. On the other hand, Daniel retaliated by successfully fending off each attack, slashing back and forth at such speed that his hands became a blur. The demon—now smaller in size appeared faster than earlier, but Daniel was even swifter.
As his eyes followed the movements of the demons, he negated the downpour with just the necessary amount of effort. And with much straining, he managed to push him back.
He was right after all. I was a hindrance.
The demon was hunched over, still bearing over him despite reducing in size. However, it was an advantage for Daniel, as he lowered himself even further. He utilised the difference in size to slip past the constant barrage of attacks, slipping under the demon's elbow and taking a step forward.
In that second, he pulled upwards.
"Krrh!"
The demon recoiled in pain as his face was torn right at the middle. A thin line separated its grin, and several dark particles oozed out of the wound.
Daniel did not skip a beat. Taking advantage of the opening, he rushed towards him and flipped his swords.
He was now holding them in a reverse grip. He lunged forward at once, intending to stab through the two eyesockets of the demon. Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy.
The demon didn't seem to regenerate its face. Rather it didn't try to.
From the side—the ribs of the demon, a hand sprouted.
It divided the visage that was once there in half, and it extended to be abnormally long, and abnormally fast. Daniel was caught off guard by this.
The shadowy hand protected the demon's eyes, taking the full brunt of his attack. The twin swords lodged deeply into the palm. They sank. And he couldn't pull them out.
Of course it burnt from the divine energy, but only slowly. Too slow for such a fast-flowing battle.
Instantly Daniel gave up on the attack, abandoning his weapons in an attempt to retreat. However it was too late. The demon had premeditated that.
Yet another hand tore through a different visage on the demon's form. It launched itself at an even faster speed than the former, and grabbed Daniel by the shoulder. Now he couldn't escape.
It pulled him closer to the demon. And as it did, the demon also stabbed his claws forward, not bothering about the worsening wound on his face.
The crusader was approaching death at the same speed as the demon brought it. At that velocity, escape was impossible.
Fortunately, the male crusader was a quick thinker. Immediately registering the inevitability of the attack, he raised his arms and shielded himself while muttering the Psalms of Protection.
"I live and dwell in the Most High!" He screamed.
The attack connected—but not to him. As a blue light enveloped his being, a circle took form around his shoulders. Simultaneously, the hand gripping his shoulder was burnt off in an instant. And a barrier materialised before him.
The claws only managed to slightly poke through the translucent barrier, but they only got trapped in it. Daniel planted his feet on the ground, and bare-handed, he charged a fist at the demon's face.
It hit.
To the right of the beast's face, nothing was. The wound had been aggravated to the limit from the impact, and one half of his face exploded in an instant.
"KIIEEE!"
The demon made a horrendous sound that Daniel didn't bother trying to understand. He was unfazed by his agonising shriek, with only one thing lingering in his heart.
Eliminate.
His footwork got faster, but so did the demon's. One desired to purge a filth—an abomination from his sight. While the other seemed…angry.
Daniel managed to regain his weapons, as the hand that held them exploded—unable to further contain the divine energy. Catching his swords with both hands, he spun them rapidly, stepping forward, and cleaving downwards.
Once again it connected. But only for a second.
Under four watchful eyes—mine and his, the demon vanished.
Only one out of two crusaders saw the demon again the next second.
I did.
The demon appeared before me, immediately intercepting my movements. I reached for my cross, but I was too slow.
In an instant, my entire body was off the ground. And I felt numb whilst I struggled. I was unable to even comprehend what was happening to me—not until I felt the cold wind graze my skin.
The demon had lifted me by the neck and jumped ridiculously high into the skies. The blue membrane of the Holy Barrier seemed to be the only thing limiting him.
I gasped. I struggled. But it was futile. Weakly, I pushed my hands beneath my pellegrina, and extracted my cross. At the moment, that was the only defence I could think of.
He didn't just watch me though. Through my clouding vision, I saw several red rays of light emanate from his body, cladding him in an eerie glow.
I tried to say the Psalms of Protection—the only one I knew, but with my neck squeezed, and my throat narrowed, only empty words could be uttered.
I didn't want to die though. I can't give up now.
At that moment, I felt a descent. A sharp descent.
Both I and the demon fell from the sky at once. However, the demon was accelerating the fall, pushing my head towards the ground.
If I fell, I would die.
I can't die.
So I won't die.
I mustered every ounce of energy left in me, and grabbed the demon's wrists with both hands. My cross was on my left, and my rosary at my right.
If there was one thing I knew, it was that no matter how powerful a demon was, direct contact of these two things was always its kryptonite. It might not destroy him at once, but it did inflict unimaginable pain.
I was betting my life on his tolerance capacity, even in those few seconds I had left.
It burnt—it burnt its mark—the cross, into the demon's skin. And from the rising dark particles, and the pained shrieks of the half-faced demon, I could tell that it hurt.
However this demon was intent on killing me. It remained relentless in its descent, even accelerating further.
Was I really going to die?
Why was I even attacked in the first place?
Was I really going to..?
Right before my head hit the ground, my skull splintering into countless fragments, I saw Daniel—bare handed.
He had his hands wide open, stretched out, beneath me. And he was running even closer, as if to intercept my fall.
"....!"
Was he…?
I did not die. He caught me.
He held me by my shoulders and back, immediately stopping me from reaching certain death. However the force on him was large and strenuous, forcing him to lower his body.
His already fractured ankle shattered, and his knees bent forward. Blood shot out from the injuries on his leg, but he didn't concern himself with it. Instead he focused his all on shielding me from the demon…who was already attacking.
The demon's claws stabbed downwards, slowed down by the barrier, but still fast enough to kill. It tore through the translucent barrier, and headed dangerously close to the backside of his neck.
I saw it unfold. But this time, I understood.
I was quick enough to know what was going on, even in a split second.
Was Daniel going to die because of me?
Really?
…..
NO!