2.6: Tesrif

I hurled the fireballs towards the demons and the closest two were instantly incinerated. The smaller demons readied their weapons for an attack, but the massive armored figure held up his hand in a signal to hold.

“Even in the Cities of the Golgotha we’ve heard rumors of a powerful demon leaving a trail of corpses in their wake. If you are who you say you are… why would you waste your time on lesser demons who pose no challenge to you?”

“My bloodlust needed to be sated, and I figured I would warm up a little before taking on a real enemy.”

“So the low leveled Rogue, Shapeshifter, Summoner, Dark Priest, and Spell Archer aren’t with you?”

After I hesitated to answer, he sighed loudly and held up his hand again. Clutched in his gauntlet was a small red and black medallion, and he crushed it with a squeeze of his fist. The ground trembled and the torches in the ruined building glowed brightly. Had I not been nearly 50 levels higher than the heavily armored demon, I probably would have been worried about what was happening. Instead, I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my finger on my arm impatiently.

The top of the nearby building exploded outwards as a gargantuan demon burst out of it. As it came into full view, I couldn’t help but notice just how much it reminded me of the Balrog from Lord of the Rings, except this one had the lower half more like that of a centaur. It slammed and crashed as it made its way towards the demon who summoned it, and stopped when the tall demon held up his hand.

“Kill her, Vehemos.”

The creature roared and reached both of its arms over its shoulders. It pulled two flaming claymores out of the molten core that was its torso and raised them in preparation for an attack. I looked up at the building-sized demon as it swung the massive blades downwards and let out a sigh. Right before the edge of the flaming swords could hit me, I grabbed the edge of each blade and pushed back with all of the demonic strength I could muster. Each sword was probably three times longer than the length of my body, and I not only stopped the attacks from hitting me; I shoved the demon back so hard it knocked him off balance.

With its arms flailing to catch his balance, I flew forward with a burst of speed and drew one of my swords. I flew as fast as I could manage while I reached out with my sword extended. I felt the blade slice flesh and cut through bone, and I felt the spray of molten blood splash on my wings and armor. I opened my wings wide to stop in midair, turned, and flew back towards the creature. I reached out and again felt my blade cleave through the creature like a hot knife through butter. I landed and used one gauntleted hand to stop my momentum. The flaming demon gurgled once and his severed head toppled down and hit the ground beside me. I swung my blade hard to rid it of any blood before sheathing it. I reached down and grabbed the smoldering head with one hand before tossing it at the large armored figure.

I had provided the mother of all distractions, as the armored demons had completely failed to notice my companions moving to attack. Tifa smashed two demons with her metal-plated arms and stomped on a third as she charged ahead. As the enemy turned to retaliate against the new threat, four more demons dropped dead with arrows sticking out of their foreheads. Ikelos rushed forward wearing a suit of ancient looking armor that glowed with an ethereal purple light. He held out one hand, and swarms of bats appeared and began attacking the demons ferociously.  He raised the other, and his pack of demon hounds materialized and joined the ensuing chaos.

I watched the action unfold like I was a spectator at a sports game, and slowly made my way towards the others. My new companions made short work of the remaining demons, until only the large armored figure was left. Areandra had frozen his hands to the ground with ice arrows, and Tifa had her fist ready to crush his skull should he make any attempts to move. Ghost turned towards me as I walked up and his eyes were wide circles of amazement as he studied my true form intently.

I moved very closely to the demon and knelt down in front of him. Even on his hands and knees I was impressed by the sheer size of him. He had to be at least 9 ½ or 10 feet tall, and even beneath his heavy platemail I could tell he was very muscular. I reached forward and grabbed onto his helmet, and he started to shout.

“Wait… please… just kill me. Just get it over with...”

I wondered why he was so eager to keep his helmet on, and I gave into my curiosity and pulled the helmet free. Long blue hair spilled free and covered the demon’s face, and I dropped the helmet and grabbed their chin with my gauntleted hand. As I lifted his face towards mine, I realized that the demon in front of me was not a he at all. Her skin looked very similar to mine, with a slightly more reddish tint, and she had sharp striking features. Her entire face was crisscrossed with scars that stood out against her otherwise attractive visage.  She glared at me with a look of anger and I released my grasp on her. I stepped back and held up my hand to the others.

“Let her up. If she makes any stupid moves, I’ll put her down before she can even blink.”

Areandra retrieved her arrows and Tifa took a few steps backwards. The tall demoness stood up slowly, unsure what was happening. The slump of her shoulders and her hanging head told me that she knew she had been totally and completely defeated.

“Do you believe I am who I say I am?”

She nodded and glanced up at me.

“I have never seen anyone stop a Hellfire Demon’s attacks with their bare hands… and the way you decapitated it within the span of a few seconds was astounding. I never stood a chance… I really am a failure. Now kill me and be done with it, Demon Lord Allexus.”

“No.”

“Wh-why? What could you possibly gain by keeping me alive? If you hope to torture me for-”

I held up my hand to interrupt her and removed the gauntlet from my right hand.

“You were a worthy foe, Tesrif. If it had just been my companions… you may have been able to stand your ground. But against me you were nothing more than an insect to be crushed beneath my boot. However…”

I sighed deeply and held my bare hand in front of her.

“I don’t want to kill you… because I want you to join me.”

“J-join you?! What!? What would a demon lord as powerful as you want with me? I am nothing… I am a hideous-”

“Stop. I want you to be my servant. Whatever abuses you have suffered in the past are just that… in the past. I may be a powerful demon lord, but I will never treat you cruelly or unfairly. All I ask is that you serve me with the same dedication and strength that you displayed today. I won’t force it upon you… but you are smart enough to know what happens if you choose not to.”

“So… either join you or die? How is that not cruel or unfair? You’re no better than my brother...”

I sighed deeply and motioned for Judas to come over. He had listened intently to the entire conversation, so as he approached her he knelt in front of her. Even on her knees she towered over him. He waved his hand in front of himself and removed his disguise.

“Lady Tesrif… Lady Allexus is in my charge. I have dedicated my life to her not because I was forced to, but because she saved me from a life of tortuous servitude. I would willingly give my life to protect her, but unlike every other demon lord… I can say with certainty that she would do the same for me.”

Tesrif appeared moved by what Judas had said, and I could see a look of hope in her eye that I hadn’t seen before. Still, her jaw clenched and she sighed deeply as she weighed her options. Areandra stepped forward and spoke softly.

“I just met Allexus today… but she took time to train us and guide us through our first major combat. After witnessing her overwhelming strength for myself, I am glad to have her as an ally.”

I would have blushed from all the compliments if my demon body would have let me, so instead I folded my arms over my chest as I waited for her answer. After debating for a moment longer, Tesrif looked up at me and nodded. I reached my hand forward and touched one finger to her forehead, and she drew a breath sharply like I had shocked her. A black diamond appeared on the spot where I had touched and she blinked rapidly.

“I… I don’t feel any different.”

“The changes aren’t physical beyond the small black diamond on your forehead. I can summon you to my side instantly, and you will feel compelled to follow any order I issue. Killing anything will fill your new Blood Tithe meter, and you will become more powerful when it fills completely. Doing so will also grant me a large amount of experience as well, so we both benefit.”

She nodded slowly and reached for her helmet. I grabbed her wrist gently and shook my head as she looked at me.

“No. You don’t need it. I am proud to have such a strong, beautiful demon as my servant, and I don’t want you to feel like you have to be ashamed of who you are.”

I could tell she wanted to argue, but my control over her prevented her from doing so.

“If I may ask… who gave you those scars? Was it your brother?”

She nodded slowly and a look of hatred passed over her face.

“He took every opportunity to show me just how inferior I was to him. He thought I should look as worthless and weak as I had proven myself to be.”

Anger flared up inside of me and I let out a low growl.

“I assume you’d like to be present when my companions take him down?”

She flexed her fist and nodded. I sent her a party invite and introduced her to the rest of the team. She led us to a small passageway that would take us directly into the heart of Denoches’ fortress. I could see the fear on her face as we drew closer, but every time she glanced at me I saw her look shift to one of steely determination. Once the large crudely built structure came into view, we hunkered down and I formulated a plan.

---

Since I was little I have always loved playing various strategy games, and there were often times when I preferred those opposed to classic RPG’s. I loved the challenge of having to anticipate what my opponent was going to do, and I had become quite adept at it. Even something as intense and action-packed as Holy Damnation could be broken down to a series of actions and reactions. If I do this, the enemy will do this, and then I will do this, and then they will do this, etc. A single variation in the strategy often had a butterfly effect that was incredibly hard to predict.

After Tifa scouts the area and reports back, Areandra attacks the three sentries, starting with the closest two first. The third happens to notice the commotion and sounds the alarm before he’s killed as well. A nearby unit of demons responds to the alarm and moves to engage. The sounds of battle and the alarm reach the main building where Denoches and his legion of demons are holed up, and they rush forward to join the combat. Mages hidden in an old store cellar ambush our group from the left flank and force us to regroup. Instead of my new companions being on the offensive, they are now wounded and are forced to rely on me to fight for them.

No. Bad outcome. I can provide a distraction for the closer enemies while Areandra attacks the furthest sentry first, then she can remove the other two. That has the greatest potential to go unnoticed by the enemy. Tifa, Tesrif, and Ikelos’s hounds will ambush the nearby unit of demons, while Areandra will remove anyone attempting to sound the alarm.

It’s one thing to formulate the plan in your head, and it’s another to actually see it put into action. Every second that passes that goes according to plan means that I had accounted for every possibility and successfully took the best course of action. It also means that I need to continue to strategize what to do next.

“Tesrif, you and Tifa need to move to that outcropping for cover. Ikelos, have your hounds attack from the rear of that structure to draw them out that way. Areandra, hold your fire until the demons start heading back this way. Ghost, maintain your protection and regeneration enchantments on Tifa and Tesrif, but otherwise conserve your MP.”

I summoned a single demon warrior and spoke quietly as the others moved into position.

“Stay by the Ghost’s side. Kill anything that gets close to him, but don’t attack anything unless he is in danger.”

The warrior nodded and ran after Ghost. Having a healer in the back without support was just begging for the enemy to ambush them, so having one of my high leveled demon warriors protecting him would ensure he wasn’t disturbed. I waited until everyone was in position to walk ahead slowly towards the enemy. After reequipping my Demonspawn disguise, I moved into the open and made my way towards the closest enemy demon.

“Excuse me sir… I seem to be a little lost… I have wandered around here for nearly an hour trying to find the bathroom. Care to help a girl out?”

He turned abruptly and drew his double-bladed axe. As he charged at me, an arrow struck him in the forehead.

“I’m gonna take that as a no.”

I gave a thumbs up to Areandra and motioned for her to move to the next position. From my vantage I was able to see a large group of 15 or 20 demons crowded around a smoldering fire. Areandra cast a spell and drew her bowstring back, taking careful aim at one of the demons. Tifa, Tesrif, and Ikelos were hunkered down behind cover just out of sight. I watched the arrow fly through the air and begin sparking like a firecracker as it struck one of the demons in the throat. His body convulsed as he fell to the ground, and the demons around him jumped to their feet.

The crackling arrow had been the signal the others had been waiting for;  they rushed forward and were on the enemy before they had a chance to defend themselves. Tifa had used the speed and mobility of her demon hound form to close the distance and sprang up with a running leap at the enemy. In midair she shifted to her armor demon form and crashed into the enemy demon with a bone-shattering impact. Tesrif shrugged off blows from nearby attackers and cleaved two demons in half with her large claymore. The group’s summoner was outfitted in his magical armor and riding atop a pitch black horse that had a jagged horn reminiscent of a demonic unicorn. He was using his swarms of bats and demon hound pack to flank the enemy, while he fired blasts of energy from his staff. A disguised Judas zipped in between the enemies, using his bare hands to push them off balance and make them easier targets for the others.

Once the group had been swiftly dealt with, I jumped down from the sentry post and joined the others. Areandra was able to see the entirety of the battlefield from her perch, so it was best for her to remain where she was. As we moved to cover, I filled them in on the next part of the plan. I could see Tesrif’s face light up as she heard my strategy that not only was tactically sound, but it also allowed her to exact her revenge on her brother. Once everyone was in position I gave the signal for Tesrif to begin.