Page 91 of Ascension
I bring the sword back, swinging the blade with all my strength and slice cleanly through the demon’s neck. Its desecrated head falls, rolling across the floor, body standing upright for a long moment before it crashes to the ground.
Maximus gives me a dry look. Sure, I know the point is to not kill them, but I made a promise, and this girl sticks to her word. I give him a smug smirk at my show of strength. I’m definitely no Xena warrior princess, but at least I haven’t sliced my own arm off.
My eyes widen at the thought, crouching to knock on the wood floor. I really don’t need any bad vibes right now. Maximus cocks his head to the side, observing me as though I’ve just lost my mind. Well, that remains to be seen. I jump back to my feet just in time to see five more demons materializing around their fallen comrade.
Maximus sends a gust of wind their way knocking them back. Raising his arms, he creates flowing lava, encircling the demon’s feet and ankles. They cry out in pain, the scalding lava burning away their pale, withered skin. He sends a blast of icy wind, solidifying the lava around their legs. Freezing them in place. I blink over at him, seeing him give me the same smug smirk I gave him a moment ago.
Fear freezes me to my bones at the sight of a demon reaching towards his back. Rage quickly burns the fear away and I use all of my strength to shoulder him to the side. Surprisingly knocking his hulking form away with relative ease. I grit my teeth, eyes narrowing on the demon, my anger amplifying at the thought of him harming the asshat God of Destruction. Lifting my sword, I intend to run the demon through with it when a column of fire curls from my palm. Wrapping around the blade and blasting into the demon’s chest. I continue my movement, stabbing him just for good measure.
I jerk my arm back, the flames still curled around the blade like a vine. The demon stumbles around, his entire body engulfed in flames for a moment before erupting into a cloud of ashes.
“Well, that works too, I guess,” I huff out. The rage is still burning inside me. Maximus’ palm lands on my shoulder, turning me roughly to face him. A mix of anger and fear twists his features, along with something else I really don’t want to decipher right now.
“We need to do something, Kyros. This isn’t working,” he growls, eyes flashing to his bonded brother behind me. I turn to face him, too, and Maximus loosens his grip on my shoulder to knock a group of demons across the room with a spinning tornado.
“Adrian,” Kyros calls before grunting, slicing at another demon near him. Adrian dissipates over to us. His copies still hold most of the creatures back. He spares a moment, his worried gaze scanning me over, checking for any injuries. I stupidly find my gaze doing the same thing despite myself. Sighing a breath of relief, I find him unscathed. His eyes catch on my sword, still wreathed in flames.
“We need to create a portal, but it can’t be to the infernal realm, or else more demons might come through,” Kyros explains before lashing out at another demon that breaks through Adrian’s ranks.
“I can open a portal to a pocket dimension, trapping them there before opening a portal to the infernal realm,” Adrian, explains
A grin spreads over Kyros’ face, apparently approving of his plan.
“We need to get ready though, it will take a lot of my power to do that, I’ll need to pull back some of the copies.” Kyros and Maximus take their stance before Adrian, protecting him from the demons about to break through. I step forward with them but Adrian catches my hand, his fingers gripping mine in a tight squeeze. Turning to face him, I see the indecision on his face.
“Please stay safe,” he says finally, wisely not wasting his breath by asking me to cower in a corner.
“I’ll be fine, just don’t take the power that’s making my dress.” I attempt to chuckle, swallowing roughly. Trying to lighten the mood, but the sound just comes out hollow. Fighting back the words I really want to say. Fear twists my stomach with the thought of what channeling that much power might do to him.
He gives me an appreciative look. “Never.” He nods, giving me a half-hearted smirk. With that, I untangle my hand from his, stepping forward with the others. Despite my attempt to stand by their side, they both angle themselves in front of me. Preparing to take on the brunt of the growing horde.
I glance over to Mateo and Titus. Not seeing them there for a moment before I hear the clash of blades above me. I lift my gaze seeing the god of war, and the god of vengeance now airborne. Titus’ golden wings cut through the air, following Mateo further from the stage. Kyros meets my gaze as I lower it once more, seeing what I just had. He motions for Adrian to start summoning the portal. Now would be our best—if not only—chance.
A blue light catches my eye, forming behind the swarm of shadow demons—the blue glowing orb grows inch by inch. The Adrian copies blink out of existence one by one as the sphere grows. Maximus lets loose a row of tornadoes, aiming straight for the demons. He knocks a few back, but not nearly close enough to the portal to force them in.
“Olivia, can you aim your fire?” Kyros shouts over the billowing wind whistling around us.
“I can try,” I offer, unsure.
“If you can use your fire, we may have enough time to blow the ashes and remaining demons into the portal before they multiply again,” He explains the suicidal thought.
“What happens if they multiply before we get them into the portal?” I ask hesitantly, eyes wide in shock.
“We’ll have to all dissipate out of here and regroup.” His lips twist in displeasure at that thought. “I don’t want to let these demons loose in the school, but we’re about to be overrun.”
I nod in understanding. This will be our only opportunity. I look over at Maximus, seeing the strain on his face as he attempts to blow the demons back while not destroying the entire school in the process. I step past them raising my sword before me, recalling the thoughts that called the fire to shoot towards the demon before. The anger and fear of Maximus being turned to shadow.
I let that feeling amplify, hot fury burning inside me. I think of all the people’s lives at stake if this plan fails. Maximus, Adrian, Kyros, Mateo, Kali, Domenic, Zina, and Lucas. I repeat the names in my mind. Letting the need to protect them overpower me.
The feeling builds to a crescendo before I let it loose. My eyes pop open as the flames leap from my sword, engulfing the first few rows of demons in a glowing blaze. The fire is so hot, their forms crumble to ashes in seconds. Maximus wastes no time, his winds lifting the ashes up and into the portal, along with the remaining demons. Now finally able to reach them past the masses that once stood before them.
I step forward, ensuring all the demons are either burnt to a crisp or pushed through the portal kicking and screaming, my earlier discomfort lifting with Kyros’ words. In this scenario, it’s our lives or theirs, and I won’t beat myself up over defending my friends. Maximus sends the last of the demons through the portal. Adrian firmly closes it with a loud snap. Relief washes over me, fatigue sinking into my bones from the exertion. The fire instantly disappears, the sword clattering to the ground.
A mix of voices shout my name, the sound distant and foggy, muffled as though I’m underwater. I jerk in surprise at the feeling of an arm wrapping around my chest—a cool hand gripping my throat.
“Get your hands off our mate.” I hear the growl across the room, the words not making any sense through the fog in my mind.
“That’s priceless.” The man holding me, Titus, my mind barely registers, barks a laugh. “All four of you? Oh, Olivia, what mess have you gotten yourself into? You should be begging me to take you.” He pushes his hand harder against my throat as he speaks my name, jolting me into awareness. Adrenaline pumps through my veins.