The Slayer Ascension: Cursed and Blessed.-Chapter 74: His turn.
"My turn," Gazel said.
He pulled his fist in and punched.
The world cracked.
His fist moved with insane force and speed, smashing straight into San's side. A sickening crack split the air, the sound of bones giving way like dry sticks. San's scream tore out of him, guttural, inhuman, raw.
Pain ripped through his body as he was launched backward, crashing through the jagged earth pillars the demon had raised.
Dust exploded.
Crian's expression finally broke.
The force behind that blow… it was monstrous. No, worse than that.
San coughed blood, eyes shaking, hands trembling as he pointed at Gazel. His voice came out shredded by fear.
"That demon… is stronger than a mid ranked demon."
Crian's eyes quivered.
Stronger than mid ranked?
Impossible. The scanning devices did not make mistakes. They never did.
Which meant only one thing.
This demon was far stronger than others at the same rank.
And with what he had just seen, every thought of holding him back was thrown out the window.
"San!" Crian barked. "Get up and fight. If you don't, we both die!"
San looked at him.
Then he looked at the smiling demon.
And something inside him shattered.
No… no… no…
His instincts were screaming. This demon was different. Not driven by hunger like most. Not moving with purpose like higher ranked demons.
He was enjoying this.
He just wanted to kill them.
For fun.
San's breathing became uneven. His hands clutched his head as if he could squeeze the terror out of it.
"There is no escaping this… please… please help us…"
He sounded insane.
Crian's jaw tightened.
San had lost it. Completely.
Fine.
Then he would handle the demon himself.
No.
Not alone.
There was still the fourth person.
He turned sharply toward the teenage girl still pinned to the ground, her body held down by his earth leash.
Her expression was empty.
No anger.
No fear.
No guilt.
Nothing.
Did she truly feel nothing after what they had almost done to her?
It did not matter.
He needed her.
She might not have formed her Radiance Core, meaning she could not sustain a long fight, but she had an Azura. That alone could tip the balance.
Hope flickered in his chest.
Crian withdrew the earth leash. The stone restraints crumbled away and he rushed to her side.
"Come on. There's a demon here. Help me take care of him."
She stood slowly.
Calmly.
She looked at Gazel for a second.
Then she turned back to Crian.
Her face was still dead.
"And why should I help you?" she asked.
No emotion.
Nothing.
"I believe what I should do as a human that you just tried to rape… is let you all get killed."
The words landed heavier than Gazel's punch.
She took several steps back as if that is prove her point, leaning against a large wall of stone. Arms crossed. Watching.
Waiting.
Crian's face twisted.
For a split second he wanted to tear her apart.
Ungrateful brat. Blessed trash.
But the demon was still there.
Still smiling.
San was broken.
Which meant one thing.
Crian would have to face the monster alone.
Since his Azura was defense based, not offensive, Crian chose the only path that made sense.
Turtle up. Wear him down. Wait for an opening.
Then kill him.
That was the plan.
And he set it into motion immediately.
He rushed forward, veins bulging, eyes sharp, summoning fist sized stones from the ground. They formed mid air, dense and jagged. With a flick of his hands he hurled them at immense speed toward the demon, sharpening their ends into vicious spikes meant to puncture flesh and tear through organs.
He expected the demon to duck.
Or jump.
Or retreat.
And when he did, he would step into the next trap Crian had already prepared beneath the cracked earth.
But what the demon did instead sent a chill straight into Crian's spine.
Gazel did not move away.
His body vibrated.
Slightly.
Barely noticeable.
Yet every single stone missed.
They tore through the air around him as if he was never there to begin with.
No wasted movement.
No panic.
Just precise, lazy adjustments.
Then he was suddenly right in front of Crian.
Crian did not even get to scream.
His arms went numb.
Blood sprayed.
Warm.
Thick.
He looked down.
And his mind refused to process what he was seeing.
His hands were gone.
Sliced clean off.
The pain was there. Screaming through his nerves. Blinding.
But it was not the pain that swallowed him.
It was the dread.
It filled every fiber of his being, crushing him from the inside.
Instead of roaring in agony, instead of embracing the pain like a warrior, Crian's voice came out trembling.
"Please… please…"
Gazel tilted his head.
"Shouldn't you beg on your knees?"
He grabbed Crian by the head and slammed him down.
The impact was brutal. The ground caved in beneath him. His knees hit first, then his legs buckled. Bone cracked. Fractured. Nearly snapping apart.
Agony swirled through him like fire.
Still, he forced it down.
"Please… let me live. Just this once. I beg you. I have a wife. A child. They are waiting for me to return."
His voice broke.
"Please. Please. Please."
He begged with everything he had left.
Gazel watched him with mild amusement.
The smile on his face widened slightly.
It was not a smile that promised mercy.
It promised the opposite.
He leaned closer, voice dropping to a near whisper.
"No. You will die."
A pause.
"But first… some torture will do."
One of his nails elongated, turning dark and sharp.
He pierced Crian straight through the chest.
Crian's vision blurred instantly. A sharp, stinging pain exploded through his nerves.
It was just a pierce.
Why did it hurt so much?
His mind screamed under the pressure.
There was no saving him.
Gazel grinned and began.
Bones were crushed one by one.
Slowly.
Methodically.
Each snap louder than the last.
One of Crian's eyes was gouged out. His screams rose higher, more desperate, more broken with every passing second. Blood soaked the ground beneath him, mixing with dirt and shattered stone.
He fainted from the overwhelming pain.
A sharp slap brought him back.
Back into hell.
Minutes dragged on.
Endless.
By the time the light finally drained from Crian's remaining eye, there was nothing left inside him.
He was shattered.
Completely.
Gazel stood over the broken body and sighed lightly.
"Well. You are no fun now."
With a casual swipe across the throat, he ended it.
Silence.
Then he turned his gaze toward the next person in line.
San was curled up, eyes shut tight, hands over his ears. He did not even know his partner was dead.
"Please help. Somebody help!" he cried.
No one was coming.
The sound in this place had already been neutralized. Their meticulous preparation ensured nothing would reach the Bulwark security.
No alarms.
No reinforcements.
No salvation.
They had sealed this place themselves.
They had dug their own grave.
To be continued....
