The Return | Cricky

Chapter VIII: Paralyzer

Water turned to tanned flesh and coarse hair. Tattooed tentacles wrapped his arms, laced with the same dark magic Yuu had to remove from Rosanna's blood. Barely a glance at Aziza and he fired a bullet of water at her head; It was split by her sword with equal skill and malice.

Within half a breath, Ricky was parallel to me, glare burrowing deep into the demon between us. "Go," He told Aziza, "And don't fucking argue with me on this. He's here to kill you."

"No argument to be had. I don't run away from my fights." She calmly walked back inside, presumably on her way down here. Not foolish enough to jump off a balcony, but foolish enough to fight a demon that seeks her execution. Everyone says she takes after her mother. Ville would fall in love with someone that damn headstrong.

Of course, our servants aren't much better. The oh so familiar sound of Ezra telling Yuu to stay inside while he brandished his katana kicked off the fight. If Ryan wasn't on his deathbed, he'd be here complaining about what a hassle this all was while covering everyone's blind spots. Perhaps Ezra had gotten a little too reliant on him for that, or perhaps this demon was just far too advanced an opponent. Dark magic and razor waves soared through the air, forcing Ezra into a defensive position. He couldn't gain any ground, and Aziza cutting in seemed to make the dance that much more difficult for him.

The demon didn't care about us—we were merely flies to him. Buzzing, irritating, but ultimately harmless. He was here to kill Aziza, and if he squashed one of us in the process, so be it. One hand caught Aziza's throat while the other captured Ezra's. The tattoos on the demon's arms morphed; Vibrant neon rings formed to pattern the tentacles. It all happened too fast for me to realize, to recognize. Then, two limp bodies crashed to the ground, gasping desperately—horrifically—for air.

Yuu had given little regard to Ezra's warnings and stayed in a window where he could see the fight. Immediately, he came running out, right past the bastard demon without any concern for his own safety. The demon didn't seem to care. He stepped over Ezra's body, watched completely emotionlessly as Yuu collapsed to his knees in a hysterical mess.

"I know what poison that is and I can't cure it. You need to use the spell you used to save me." I quickly told my love, knowing damn well the impossible decision I was asking him to make. We'll deal with that trauma when the demon trouncing through our garden isn't an issue anymore.

A little green blur came launching out of no where, razor sharp teeth latching into the demon's forearm like a rabid dog. He barely winced and looked down to Justin with the same irritation he'd given us. Between clenched teeth, Justin proudly declared, "Can't poison a poison dragon, bitch!"

No, but apparently he can dislodge one from his arm with a single flick. Justin went careening across the garden, crashing into a bush. It was probably the stupidest thing any of our servants have ever done, but it gave me the window of opportunity I needed to sneak up behind that fucker and pull him down into my shadow. He managed to throw me as deftly as he had Justin. Thankfully I have better recovery.

We tumbled into the depths of the shadow dimension, both landing on our feet without much effort. I hadn't been this far down since I brought that mercenary here. After what I did to her, I didn't think I would come this far down again, but life always has it's exceptions.

"You're throwing your life away for a fight that isn't even yours. You do realize that, don't you?" He mocked me.

The depths weren't even affecting him. He walked this world as freely as I did. Suppose my only option is my smart mouth. "You've nearly killed two of my own, but even if you hadn't, I'd still happily fight for Ville and his family any day. I don't expect you to understand. You clearly don't value life at all."