The Tumultuous World of A Demi-Demon

Chapter Eighteen

I stumbled backward and fell onto my wobbly knees. My head throbbed with so much intensity it felt like someone within it was pounding my skull with a hammer. Everything was spinning, and for a moment, I was about ready to release all my digested food on the ground. I managed to control the urge for a few seconds, but couldn't hold it in any longer, so I puked.

The sound of the crowd groaning in disgust echoed through my head, but I ignored it. Wiping my mouth, I did my best to pull myself together and get back on my two feet.

"Is that all you got?" I sneered, walking towards them with my dagger still in hand. That caused Madame Hepler to snarl my way, then rush at me again.

At first, it looked like she was coming for my head for a second time, so I got into a defensive position to block it. However, in the last split second, she changed her aim and sucker-punched me in the chest. My ribs crunched on impact. I flew across the balcony and smashed into its concrete fence. I let out an agonizing moan and clutched my chest with my dear life; it felt like it was on fire.

Recoiling her tail and flattening her wings, Hepler returned to her position next to Sharq and hissed, "Should I finish her, your greatness?"

Sharq stared at my crumpled body and clicked her tongue. "Hmm... That was too easy. How boring!" She brought up her bedazzled hand to her mouth and yawned, then flipped her green locks and gestured Hepler to get on with it.

"Jules!" "Julane!"

Devlin and father pushed through the guards and, with fear-stricken faces, ran to my side. My father's hands shook as he tried to cup my bruised, swollen face and wipe the blood spilling from my mouth. Tears streamed down his face as he kept saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," over and over again.

Devlin, on the other hand, burned with rage. His eyes glowed a fierce red, and his body went jet black. His veins exuded a fiery orange, and his long bull horns pierced through his skull as his massive black wings covered both my father and me.

His eyes were the most intense I had ever seen them; they were screaming bloody murder. His growl was deep and terrifying. "I'm going to rip them apart."

"Wait..." I barely whispered. He didn't hear me, so I reached out and grabbed his ankle.

He turned back at me and demanded, "What now?"

"This is my battle."

"I don't care."

"You should be with your family," I reminded him, doing my best not to choke on my own blood at the same time.

"Well, you're my friend, and that's part of my family," he concluded before averting his attention to the two female devils. "They messed with the wrong girl."

Placing my head on his lap, my father rocked back and forth with tears running down his puffy face. "I'm so sorry, my baby. I should have never told you about this world; that only fed your curiosity, and now you're in p-pain," he stuttered, still unsure on how to stop the bleeding.

The last time my father cried was when my mother's parents passed away in an accident. It was extremely heartbreaking and seeing him like this only disheartened me even more.

"I'm sorry for coming here," I apologized as the metallic taste raided my mouth. "I should have listened." I gurgled on some more blood, and my father's eyes grew more concerned.

"Shh, don't talk," he whispered with worry. He then looked up at Devlin and asked him, "What do we do? I can't fight them, I'm not strong enough, and you're outnumbered."

Devil Boy shrugged with his focus still on the women. "You stay here. I'm going to take them out alone."

"Don't be stupid," I snapped at him. "Call one of your family members."