The Demon Among The Knights-Chapter 32 - 31:The Deal
The moon’s fractured surface was still trembling from the devastation Luci and Push had unleashed. Dust and debris floated freely in the vacuum of space, illuminated by the faint light of Earth in the distance. Luci stood over Push’s crumpled body, his chains coiled loosely around his arms. The air—or what passed for it—seemed to crackle with tension.
Push’s body, twisted and mangled, began to twitch. His aura, dim and fractured, reignited slowly as his regenerative abilities worked to piece him back together.
"You just don’t know when to stay down, do you?" Luci muttered, his smirk widening as he crouched near Push’s twitching form. "You’re like a roach. Annoying, persistent, and oh so satisfying to crush."
Push coughed, black blood dripping from his mouth as he forced his body upright. His broken bones cracked into place, his aura sparking with a flickering glow. His eyes, blazing with fury and desperation, locked onto Luci.
"You think this is over?" Push spat.
"No," Luci said casually, standing to his full height and cracking his knuckles. "But I want to end it now ."
With that, Luci grabbed Push by the neck, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. With a single, powerful throw, he launched Push toward Earth.
---
Through the Atmosphere
Push’s body streaked through the void like a comet, igniting in flames as he collided with Earth’s atmosphere. His aura flared wildly, struggling to protect him from the intense heat, but it was clear the descent was taking its toll.
Behind him, Luci leapt from the moon with ease, his chains trailing behind him like glowing meteor tails. In an instant, he caught up to Push.
"Not so fast," Luci said, grinning wickedly as he raised his leg. With a devastating kick, he sent Push hurtling downward even faster.
Push screamed as his body accelerated, the flames around him intensifying.
---
On Earth
The battlefield below was a scene of chaos. Knights clashed with demons, the metallic clang of swords meeting claws echoing across the plains. The ground was littered with bodies, both human and demonic, as the fight for survival raged on.
Amid the fray, one knight looked up, his sword lowering as his eyes widened. "What’s that?" he shouted, pointing at the fiery streak descending rapidly from the sky.
Another knight followed his gaze. "An asteroid?"
Brianna, the knights’ commander, raised her sword, her sharp eyes narrowing as she assessed the situation. "No, that’s not an asteroid," she said. "It’s something else. Something alive."
The knights murmured uneasily, the fight momentarily forgotten.
"I’ll check it out," Brianna said firmly. "You all stay focused on eliminating these demons!"
"Yes, Captain!" the knights chorused, rallying behind her order.
With a burst of speed, Brianna broke away from the main battle, sprinting toward the fiery object descending from the heavens.
---
Impact
Push hit the ground with a deafening explosion. The impact carved a massive crater into the earth, sending a shockwave that flattened nearby trees and sent debris flying in all directions. Flames erupted around the crater, licking at the edges as the ground continued to quake.
Moments later, Luci landed on top of Push, the force of his arrival deepening the crater. Push lay at the center, his body broken and smoking, as Luci loomed over him.
"What’s the matter?" Luci taunted, slamming his fist into Push’s face. The impact sent another tremor rippling through the earth. "Can’t regenerate anymore?"
Push groaned, his aura flickering weakly as he tried to rise. But Luci didn’t give him a chance. Another punch followed, then another, each blow driving Push deeper into the crater.
Every punch sent shockwaves across the landscape, shattering the ground and forcing nearby trees to collapse under the force.
"You’re getting slower," Luci said, his tone mocking. "Is that all your Father’s power could give you? What a waste."
Push’s body trembled as he struggled to speak. "Why..." he wheezed, his voice barely audible. "Why are you... helping these humans? You don’t care about them. You’ve only ever cared about yourself... you’re Luci, the—"
Before he could finish, Luci delivered a bone-shattering punch that sent Push flying across the battlefield. His body tore through trees and boulders before finally skidding to a stop in a mangled heap.
Luci straightened, brushing the dust from his knuckles. "Still talking too much, huh?" He crouched, ready to leap after Push, when he froze, sensing a sharp presence.
---
A New Challenger
"Lower your sword," Luci said without turning around. "I know you’re there, Brianna."
Brianna stepped into view, her sword drawn and pointed directly at him. Her silver armor glinted in the dim light, and her expression was cold, unyielding.
"You figured it out, didn’t you?" Luci asked, his voice calm and amused. "You know what I am."
"You’re a demon," Brianna said, her voice steady.
Luci turned slowly, his smirk widening. "Well, I guess the secret’s out."
Brianna’s grip on her sword tightened. "And I’m going to kill you"
Luci’s smirk widened as he faced Brianna, her unwavering gaze locked onto him. His chains clinked lightly as he toyed with them, clearly unbothered by the intense tension in the air.
"Well, you can’t kill me anyway," Luci said with a casual shrug, his voice laced with mockery. "But I’ll give you the chance if you really want to try."
Without warning, Luci reached out and grabbed Brianna’s sword mid-swing. With a flick of his wrist, the blade shattered into countless pieces, the shards scattering across the ground.
Brianna didn’t flinch, her face as calm as stone.
Luci chuckled, clearly impressed. "You’re tougher than most. I’ll give you that. But how about a deal instead?"
"What deal?" she asked, her voice cold but curious.
"How about I help you end this little war of yours," Luci said, his chains glowing faintly. "And in exchange, you pour that holy water of yours on these chains of mine. Sound fair?"
Brianna’s eyes narrowed as realization dawned on her. "So you’re the young demon," she said, her tone heavy with both accusation and dread. "Sixteen years old but strong enough to destroy your entire planet... The one we were told to run from on sight. The one no one has a chance of surviving against."
Luci tilted his head, his smirk growing wider. "Well, I think I’m quite popular. Don’t you?"
---
Push and Pull’s Fusion
Not far from the crater where Luci and Brianna stood, Push’s broken body tumbled to a halt, crashing into the dirt near his equally battered brother, Pull. The two demons lay still for a moment, their auras faint and flickering like dying embers.
"Brother..." Push groaned, crawling toward Pull. "We... we have to... use our last power..."
Pull, barely able to move, nodded weakly. "Yeah... our only chance..."
With great effort, the two reached out, their fingertips just barely touching. A sudden surge of energy erupted between them, and their auras merged, forming a swirling storm of gray energy. Their bodies began to fuse, bones cracking and reshaping as their forms united into a towering monstrosity.
When the transformation was complete, the fused demon stood over fifteen feet tall, with two faces on either side of its head, four muscular arms, and a single massive body. Their aura, now a sickly gray, radiated malice and power, shaking the ground beneath them.
Their voices overlapped, creating an eerie, discordant sound: "Now we will destroy Luci... and this entire planet."
---
The Interruption
The massive demon launched itself into the air, flying with terrifying speed before landing between Luci and Brianna, causing the ground to quake violently. Dust and debris swirled around them as the fused demon straightened, their menacing form towering over the two.
Luci didn’t seem fazed. He glanced at the monstrosity, his smirk firmly intact. "Oh, look. Push and Pull finally learned to play nice. Too bad it won’t help."
The fused demon’s voices rumbled with venom. "When we’re through with you, we’re going to smack that grin off your face."
"In your dreams," Luci retorted, his chains clinking ominously as they began to glow faintly.
Suddenly, a group of knights rushed onto the scene, their swords drawn and their expressions determined. "We’ll take care of them, Commander Brianna!" one knight shouted.
The fused demon turned its monstrous head toward them, the two voices overlapping in mockery. "Huh... small fry? How about facing something on your level?"
With a guttural growl, the demon scraped one of its claws through the air, tearing a rift open in the fabric of reality. From the tear, countless demons began to crawl out, their twisted forms writhing as they poured into the battlefield.
The knights faltered, their confidence wavering as they saw the horde of demons amassing before them.
"We’re outnumbered!" one knight exclaimed, gripping his sword tightly.
---
The Deal is Made
As the chaos unfolded, Luci turned to Brianna, his smirk unfaltering. "You know, this might be the perfect time for you to hold up your end of that deal." He tapped his chains meaningfully. "Pour that holy water on restrictions, and I’ll wipe that grin off their ugly faces for you."
Brianna hesitated for a moment, her gaze shifting between the fused demon, the horde of enemies, and Luci’s confident expression. Finally, she sighed. "Alright. It’s a deal."
Luci’s smirk widened into a full grin. "Now you’re talking!"
As the holy water poured over Luci’s chains, a faint hiss filled the air, but the expected result didn’t occur. Instead of the chains falling away completely, only one of them, the one on Luci’s left arm, shifted slightly. It didn’t fall—it turned pitch black, its links rattling ominously as if alive.
Brianna stepped back, confusion etched on her face. "Huh? The chains didn’t come loose?"
Luci glanced at the chain on his left arm, his smirk softening into a look of mild disappointment. "Yeah, well, that’s because these aren’t just any chains." He gestured to the glowing one still intact on his right arm. "This one? It was made by Merlin himself. Forged with holy water and holy magic. Nothing short of Heaven’s intervention could break it."
He turned his attention to the blackened chain on his left. "But this one... this one was made by Lucifer. And apparently, even his work has its limits." He raised his arm, the blackened chain rattling weakly as it loosened slightly. "It’s disappointing, but I guess this will have to do."
Luci’s aura began to surge, dark and suffocating, the air around him growing heavy. His smirk returned, sharper and more sinister than before. "And you know what? This is enough."
Brianna tensed, gripping the hilt of her shattered sword’s remnants. "What do you mean?"
Luci exhaled deeply, his breath escaping like smoke, swirling and twisting unnaturally in the air. The ground beneath him cracked, the very earth groaning under the weight of his unrestrained power. His crimson eyes burned like embers, and his voice, low and chilling, echoed across the battlefield.
"I mean, now that it’s loosened, I don’t need to hold back anymore," Luci said, his tone calm but laced with a dangerous edge. "And that means I’ll kill everyone—knights, demons, and anything else that crosses my path."
The battlefield fell silent, every eye turning to Luci as his aura expanded
---
(To be continued...)
