Sys Apoc Beta - Chapter 6 ((short one)) (Patreon)

Chapter 6 - Illusionist

Whatever—or whoever—was fighting had a voice that resonated with a deep, grave tone, sending chills down my spine as I imagined the figure waiting for us. 

The voice was guttural, like the one from the devil I had faced when we first arrived at the proving grounds. We moved toward the noises quickly, with Max leading the way, me close behind, and Mila bringing up the rear. 

This formation gave us two shields to protect our flanks, while I’d attack with speed or magic.

As our footsteps echoed through the tunnels, the noises grew louder, and I distinguished more voices joining in. In the distance, shrieks mingled with the painful, grave cries of what I assumed was one of the demon kin. The creature seemed to be under attack by several other enemies.

After a few more turns, we finally saw the source of the commotion. 

At a corner where two tunnels intersected, a thin, seven-foot-tall demon swung a giant rod toward three goblins that were attempting to strike him with their small, sharp swords. 

The goblins were the same size as the one I had fought earlier, and just as bloodthirsty. From the immense rod the demon wielded, flames erupted, licking at the grayish skin of the goblins. We were still some distance from the combat, but I saw everything clearly.

Max suddenly stopped, causing me to nearly crash into him. Mila halted as well, and before I could ask why we stopped, she voiced the question herself. 

“Why did we stop? We should help him.”

“Help him? Him? What the hell are you talking about?” Max asked, an edge of annoyance in his voice. “One of them tried to kill me.”

“Same here,” I added, remembering the giant red creature that jumped on me on first sight.

“Seriously? See, Mila? I’m not helping that bastard.” Max crossed his sword arm over the shield and leaned against the wall.

“But we don’t know if he’s like the ones who attacked you,” Mila argued, moving to my side trying to catch a good glimpse Max’s eyes, though she didn’t find what she was looking for in his eyes.

He kept staring at the fight, and I couldn’t help but recall the devil that had tried to kill me not long ago. Yet, in that same room, one of the elves had calmed me down and helped pull me from the grip of my phobia. That same kind had attacked Max and Mila.

“There are good people and bad people, no matter the race,” I muttered.

“What?” Max gave me a quick sidelong glance, still focused on the battle.

“Nothing,” I muttered again, my hands fidgeting with the dagger. Max had told me how to dismiss it—just throw it on the ground and then command it with my mind to make it reappear. The whole action only took a second, but I felt more comfortable with the weapon in my hands.

The demon swung his rod again, this time striking the goblin in the middle square in the chest, sending it flying into a wall close to us. 

The goblin started to move, but I acted quickly. I rushed forward, closing the distance between myself, the demon, and his enemies, and struck the goblin with all the strength I could muster. 

I had to crouch low to get under its guard, but when my blade found its throat and slit it open, the monster went limp. This one didn’t have any post-mortem craziness like the first I met. Thank God.

As I looked up, the demon’s eyes met mine for a fraction of a second during their fight. To my surprise, I couldn’t help but see the humanity in them.

One of the goblins struck at the devil, but his rod was long enough to deflect the blow. However, the second attacker seized the opportunity and struck down on the Devilman’s knee. 

He fell to the ground with a deep, guttural grunt. His dark, thick skin made it hard to see the blood in his crimson robe, but with that strike, I caught a glimpse of his wounds.

Beneath the tunic, there were several holes, oozing blood all over the alien. At that moment, the goblin whose attack had been deflected earlier lunged at him, slamming the devil against the wall. The second goblin attacked again, this time aiming for the devils neck.

Before I even realized it, my feet were already moving. If that alien turned out to be an enemy, I’d deal with it later, but I wasn’t about to stand by and watch him get murdered by these monsters. 

If he was evil, I’d handle it in due time, but if he wasn’t, I didn’t want to live with the regret of not helping him.

Just as I was about to reach the creature, a different noise echoed from the left tunnel connecting to the intersection. 

A giant blue figure burst into the tunnel, its head nearly brushing the far wall. My mind struggled to comprehend what I was seeing—it looked like it was made out of tentacles, with no face and no legs, but it moved quickly through the corridor. 

The sound it made was deafening, capturing the attention of the goblins. 

The demon managed to push them away, and a burst of flames erupted from the tip of his rod, hitting one of the goblins squarely in the head. 

Its thin hair caught fire, and soon its clothes did too. The creature ran in the same direction as the giant monster, with its friend following close behind, suddenly more concerned with the approaching giant than with the Devilman.

I took a step back from the elusive blue tentacle monster that approached, but to my surprise, as it should have crushed the demon and smashed him into the ground, it simply passed through him like a ghost in an old movie. 

It’s an illusion, I realized as the fake monster continued its path toward the fleeing goblins.It’s a freaking illusion, I repeated, moving again toward the devil, who remained on the ground, gripping his rod tightly. 

When I was twenty feet away, the devil stared at me, shoved away from his tired shock. When our eyes met, he threw his rod away and it disappeared. His hands were up into the sky. He was clearly surrendering or at least showing he meant no harm. Besides, I didn’t believe he could do any harm to me since his eyes were fighting to remain open and the ground below him was soaked with blood.

Maybe they’re not all bad. I felt a firm grip on my left arm. Max pulled me back with a forceful tug, looking into my eyes as if I were crazy.

“What are you doing, man?” he asked, his voice urgent. 

“We need to check on him. He dismissed his weapon and surrendered. You said yourself we need people to fight the boss on the third floor. That guy right there just made fireballs and giant illusions—I bet he’d be good in our party.”

Max stared into my eyes, and I finally saw what I had suspected but hadn’t confirmed until now. 

Deep in his gaze, I could see he was ready to kill—not like someone who contemplates the possibility to act on self defense, but as someone who wakes up knowing that they can and might kill that day. 

I had seen that look before, and I knew it wasn’t good news.

Max hand gripped my arm firmly and his voice sounded cold and menacing, 

“No, man, we need to get rid of it.”