Demonsong: Part Four

by dragonsfang

Game Over

Akuma suddenly whirled and saw the Great Beasts emerge from the forest; all activity around him stopped. The Demons looked upon their old adversaries with hatred gleaming in their red eyes, as did the Great Beats through their own glowing eyes. Only then did Akuma notice the girl and two white Lupes sitting on Fenrir's back. The girl was on her feet, armed with a heavy wooden spear with the blade made of a dragon fang.

Without any apparent signal from either side, the Demons and Great Beasts leaped forward, with Incubus and the two Lupes leaping from Fenrir's back to the ground. The girl immediately leaped onto one of the Lupes' back and gripped its sides with her knees as it leaped forward to join the battle. The Dragonets bugled and trumpeted from above and dove down upon the Demons with gouts of flame expelling from their nostrils.

In the blink of an eye, flames and fireballs were everywhere. The ground around Incubus and the Lupes exploded from fireballs, showering them with clods of earth and dirt. The girl's teeth were gritted together and her spear was aimed forward to impale any creature that dared try to attack her or her NeoPets. Her Lupes snarled and snapped at the Demons that swooped past them, while the Dragonets that surrounded them flamed any of them that dared to get too close.

"Incubus! The King Demon is just ahead of you! Get him while you can!" the Hydra bellowed with one of his heads as the other seven seared Demons.

"Right!" she said. The two Lupes leaped forward with snarls on their lips; the Dragonets around them bugled as they drove forward with the Lupe Tribe.

The King Demon stood on a giant plateau that overlooked the battlefield; an arrogant look was upon his face, if you could call it that, and his double pair of wings were spread wide. The Lupe that Incubus rode upon began to race up the incline; Incubus slowly rose to her feet on its back, using her spear to balance her. The Lupe slammed sideways up against a shale outcropping of rocks, sending Incubus flying up the side. She stabbed the spear into the side of the plateau and used it to leap upward to face the Demon King with her dagger made of a dragon tail blade drawn.

The Demon King seemed surprised to see her, then quickly regained its arrogant air. So, you are the one that all the Dragonets have been talking about. Incubus, isn't it? That means demon in human speech, am I right? My name is Akuma, which means demon my tongue.

"Frankly, I don't care what you're name is, Demon. All I care about is destroying you and letting this world return to the way it was!" Incubus snarled. She swung her dagger, but the Demon leaped back and evaded her blade several times. She snarled like a wolf and slashed at him again, this time slicing through the membrane of one of his wings.

So, you are better than I thought. But you are not so tough without your stupid NeoPets! Akuma bellowed. He lunged at Incubus, but she leaped out of the way and, for a split second, the Demon's back was exposed. She slashed with her dagger, and sliced a deep gash that ran across the Demon's spine and side; black blood oozed from the wound, making the rocks slippery.

Screaming in pain, the Demon King whirled and caught Incubus on the side with one of the clawed hands. She tried to regain her balance, but the slippery rocks made it impossible. She fell to her hands and knees, and rolled out of the way just as Akuma's clawed foot smashed into the ground where she had just been, creating a gaping hole.

"You can't destroy me so easily. I am not one of the city humans that has lived the pampered life; I've lived in the wild with the Lupe Tribe and know how to stay alive," Incubus snarled.

I will destroy you, you wretched girl, and the Great Beasts. You're time is over! Akuma bellowed. He lunged at Incubus and swung his clawed hands at the girl, but she leaped back and parried with her dagger blade. Suddenly the pair found themselves in a deadly body lock, claws and dagger blade locked together.

Akuma began to press down upon the much smaller Incubus, forcing her down to her knees. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the ground of the battlefield a hundred feet below her, and the gouts of flame from the Demons, Great Beasts, and Dragonets Her Lupes paced below the plateau, fangs gleaming lethally in the flashes of firelight.

It seems that all those years living in the wild didn't help you this time, human. Hope you enjoy your fall, the Demon King snarled, pressing down even harder with his heavy body.

"That's what you think, Akuma, the Demon King," Incubus retorted through clenched teeth. She suddenly slid between his legs, throwing the Demon off balance, and slammed into him as hard as she could, slashing his wings as she did so he couldn't fly. He fell to the ground futilely flapping his shredded wings; once he hit, the white Lupes leaped upon him like wolves and tore him to pieces, while the Dragonets charred his carcass to nothing.

The Great Beasts suddenly bugled triumph as the rest of the Demons evaporated in a fiery spectacle, for their King was dead and they died when he did. The Griffin glided over to where Incubus stood on the plateau, dagger still clutched tightly in her right hand. It was stained with Akuma's black blood, as were the rocks under feet and herself. The Griffin gently picked the girl up in her talons and soared back to the other Beasts where they stood, also cut and bloodied.

One of the Lupes had regained Incubus's spear, and she lifted it from the Lupe's mouth, hands shaking as she did. The Dragonets were settled slightly in the trees, many-faceted eyes gleaming in the coming darkness.

The Chimera stepped forward, long tail slowly writhing. Incubus, you have shown more courage in this battle than all of us put together. You alone killed the Demon King, and with only a dagger to aid you. You are the greatest human warrior alive, and, because of this, we would like to make you and your Lupes part of our team.

Incubus looked up at them, bronze hair falling in her face. "But I'm not a mythical beast, nor are my Lupes. How could we join you?"

We will give you a rank among us, and it is the most powerful rank that any creature could have. All of this kind has died off in the last millennia, but it is still the symbol for power, bravery and courage, the Phoenix said, coming to rest among the other Great Beasts.

Incubus, rider of the White Lupes, we give you the rank of Dragon, as a symbol of our honour and respect for you, the Griffin said. The Dragonets in the trees bugled their approval, while the two white Lupes howled theirs.

"Dragon? But, I don't deserve this. I only did what I had to do," Incubus said.

"Yes, but that proved to be bravest deed out of all of us. You do deserve it, Incubus. You alone acted upon bringing us back from the Realms of the Dead, and you were the only one who even still remembered the Demons. You are now one of us," the Hydra said, one head speaking while the rest nodded in agreement.

Suddenly Fenrir lifted his head and pricked his sharp furred ears. They want us back in the Realms of the Dead. We must leave.

The Chimera turned back to Incubus, golden eyes gleaming in the darkness. Call when you need of us, ask what you want of us. Our sword, our service are yours. With that, the Great Beasts began to fade away, returning once more to the Realms of the Dead. The Dragonets keened a mournful cry, while the Lupes whined deep in their throats.

It wasn't until the Great Beasts had completely faded away that Incubus the Dragon leaped onto one of the Lupes' backs and pointed them in the direction of home, with the Dragonets swirling in great aerial patterns overhead.

The End