Major Demons Read online

  Lilith cut him off.

  “I don’t think we should be splitting up again. All it ever does is cause problems. Why don’t we all go kill Azazel and then all of us go deal with Uriel?”

  Shadow shook his head.

  “You still don’t get it? If we let Abaddon destroy much more of the Earth, there will be nothing left to save. It’s already going to take decades for humanity to get back to where they were after all the earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, and everything else he’s been unleashing up here. The Dragon is out of the way now. So here’s what we’re going to do. Leech, Lilith, Steam, and Thanatos will go after Azazel. Samael, Weapon, and Hypnos will deal with Uriel. Make sure you take them out quietly. We can’t have Uriel’s armies following you back. I’ll track down Abaddon. When Uriel and Azazel are out of the way, we all meet again and attack Abaddon together. I’ll send word once I’ve found him and I’ll track him until the rest of you arrive.”

  Weapon looked annoyed.

  “I just got away from Uriel’s army. You want us to go back? He’ll kill us.”

  Samael shook his head.

  “He won’t. I can take him down this time. Leave Uriel to me.”

  Hypnos nodded.

  “Yeah. Stop acting like a scared little girl, Weapon. You’ll be fine.”

  Shadow looked around the room. Everyone seemed to at least be in agreement that his plan was a logical way to address everything. He moved on to the next step.

  “We can’t all teleport. There’s a spell that can bring all of you to me after you finish your task. I had Jess write it down for me a while back and Steam thinks he can pull it off.”

  Steam nodded.

  “That or all of your heads will explode. I think I got it though. We should be ok.”

  Everyone stared blankly at Steam. He smiled nervously.

  “It was a joke. I’ve read Jess’s incantations. I can pull it off.”

  Shadow placed a large black pot on the table and passed out knives to everyone present. Lilith looked excited.

  “Finally! We’re all going to become blood brothers!”

  Shadow ignored her.

  “We need a drop of everyone’s blood for the teleportation spell. Lucia’s already covered. She scraped her knee playing around yesterday and I got what I needed. Everyone else needs to cut a finger.”

  Lilith had already sliced her hand across the palm and was letting blood drip into the pot.

  “Oh… well I guess I’ll teleport really fast.”

  Everyone cut one of their fingers and let a drop of blood fall into the pot. Steam added some other ingredients from his backpack. He re-read the spell when he had finished.

  “Alright. Shadow will be the transportation source. I need everyone else to say what they’re going to do before they teleport to Shadow.”

  Leech’s group said, “Kill Azazel” and Samael’s group said, “Kill Uriel.” The liquid in the pot started bubbling and turned a murky brown. Steam started handing out cups. Weapon protested.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. You want us to drink that shit?”

  Leech had finally had enough.

  “You’re welcome to leave, Weapon. Thanatos can switch teams. We can do this without you.”

  Weapon didn’t respond.

  “No? Then shut the fuck up and drink.”

  Everyone drank a cup of the thick liquid and Lilith slowly helped Lucia drink some from her sippy cup. Shadow nodded his approval.

  “Thanks, Steam. We’ll split up tomorrow. Good luck.”

  CHAPTER 52

  Muan caught up to the berserker army without any issues and accepted Adrenaline’s offer. Adrenaline had Muan begin berserker training immediately. He caught on quickly and was soon learning to integrate his animal transformations into berserker rages. Adrenaline didn’t have a large army, so he gave Muan control of half. His other middle demon, a berserker demoness named Nissa, was commander of the other half. The berserker demons in Muan’s army respected him after they saw what he was capable of as a berserker demon.

  After a few days of pursuit, the berserkers could see the Dragon’s armies in the distance. Adrenaline invited Muan and Nissa into his tent to strategize.

  “We have a couple of things to talk about tonight. First, we’re working on making a new berserker staff. It isn’t as powerful as the other two yet because we haven’t used it as much. It hasn’t absorbed enough rage or seen enough bloodshed. So it isn’t actually a legitimate berserker staff yet. It’ll get there eventually though and it enhances berserker powers slightly as it is. I’ll be using it when we catch up to the Dragon.”

  Muan looked at the new berserker staff.

  “Can I pick it up?”

  Adrenaline nodded his consent. Muan picked up the staff and immediately felt the urge to hit both Adrenaline and Nissa in the face with it. He placed it back on the table before the urge overwhelmed him. Muan looked over at Nissa, but she shook her head.

  “Nope. I’ve held one before. I know what it feels like. That’s great that Adrenaline got a new weapon, but I don’t need to touch it.”

  Muan sat back down and Adrenaline continued.

  “Second, the Dragon disgraced our order in favor of those idiots in Nightmare’s armies. They don’t know the first thing about being berserker demons. They don’t know our culture, our traditions, and the power they’ve been granted is misused. The goal of our attack is to demand to be reinstated into Hell’s armies. We won’t work for the Dragon directly anymore. I’ll demand to be made a major demon. There’s an opening from what I’ve heard. Astaroth was killed by Gangrene.”

  Muan grinned.

  “Nice. Old Toxic Touch put down the snake bitch. Good to hear.”

  “If the Dragon denies my request, and it’s likely that he will, I’ll attack him directly. I’ll go into a berserker rage and take him down for good. Nissa is in charge when I die.”

  Nissa looked pleased with the news and decided to rub it in.

  “Don’t feel too bad, little guy. I have way more experience fighting as a berserker and it’s obvious that I should be in charge.”

  Muan laughed.

  “Good for you, Nissa. I’ve worked for Shadow and commanded an army larger than all of Adrenaline’s forces combined. I’m a better fighter and a better leader… but go ahead and feel good about yourself for being a berserker longer.”

  Muan started a slow golf clap. Nissa lunged at him, but Adrenaline cut her off and shoved her back.

  “Enough. There’s no need to insult and mock each other. This is going to be difficult enough as it is without us turning on each other. I won’t have any more of that shit from the two of you. Understood?”

  Nissa turned and left without another word. Muan stayed behind.

  “You really want her leading the berserkers after you’re gone? She’s a hot-headed mess.”

  “It’s an army of berserkers, Muan. They’re all hot-headed messes. This is for the best. If our order is to be led into extinction, she’s who I trust to get us there after I’m gone.”

  “So if the Dragon accepts you as a major demon, Nissa isn’t necessarily your next in line then? Only if we’re headed for extinction?”

  “I think that’s fair to say. The two of you are equal in my eyes if our order can live on. She has more experience if we need to rush into death.”

  Muan turned to leave, but paused before stepping outside.

  “I’ll keep that in mind and may even hold you to that.”

  A few days later, Gangrene received a report that a force of demons was rushing towards them. Gangrene immediately informed the Dragon, who emerged from his tent in demon-form as Lucifer. Gangrene could tell that the injury inflicted by Abaddon was nearly healed. Lucifer showed barely any sign of injury as he walked. He smiled when he saw who was approaching.

  “It’s Adrenaline and his outcast band of berserkers. So they fled to Earth when I disgraced their order and cast them out.”

  He turned to Gangrene.


  “Be ready to destroy them. We have them ridiculously outnumbered.”

  Adrenaline stopped his army a short distance from Lucifer’s armies.

  “I will give you this one chance to accept us back. Not as one of your armies, but as an independent major demon with my own scythe and power. If this is unacceptable to you, I personally challenge you to a fight to the death.”

  Lucifer laughed. He held out his hands together and then pulled them apart. His armies opened a path straight to him.

  “Attack then, berserker.”

  Adrenaline tightened his grip on the berserker staff and looked to Muan and then to Nissa. They both nodded. Then he charged. Lucifer didn’t move. Adrenaline hit Lucifer several times in the face with the berserker staff. Lucifer smiled and took the hits for several minutes until a single drop of blood started to roll down his right nostril. He frowned, stepped back, and hit Adrenaline hard on the shoulder. He fell to one knee. When he got back up, Lucifer had changed form into a dragon and slashed with his right claw. At first, it looked like the claw had missed, because Adrenaline was still standing. Then, suddenly, his limbs and head fell from his torso and his body fell to the ground in six pieces. The berserker staff hit the ground and rolled a few inches from his open hand.

  Muan looked at Nissa and could see tears rolling down her face. He knew that she was going to follow Adrenaline’s final order, but he had to try to stop her anyways.

  “That’s Gangrene with the Dragon’s armies. I can get him to talk to the Dragon. We can be spared. There’s no need to throw our lives away.”

  “We aren’t throwing them away, Muan. We’re adding an exclamation point to Adrenaline’s final words. That asshole deserves to die.”

  Muan turned into a cheetah, ran towards Adrenaline’s corpse, and retrieved the berserker staff. Several demons in the Dragon’s army tried to stop him, but none of them were able to. He ran back to his berserkers.

  “Adrenaline told me that whoever held the berserker staff after he fell would be in charge of our order of berserkers. I hold it now. We will not rush to our deaths. I know the demon at the Dragon’s side and I know he can be reasoned with. There is no need for pointless sacrifice.”

  Nissa looked at Muan like he was a piece of shit.

  “You liar! Adrenaline left me in charge! Give me the staff.”

  She held out her hand. Muan shook his head. None of the berserkers looked ready to intervene.

  “Take it from me if you think you can.”

  Nissa ran at him. Muan turned into a crow, caught the falling berserker staff in his beak and flew into the sky. He could already feel the effects of the staff flowing through him. Once he was at a height of about fifteen feet, he turned into a gorilla, aiming a fist at Nissa as he fell. When he landed, she was no longer there. He felt a strong kick to the back of his head and it pissed him off. The next kick was caught in his large gorilla palm and he lifted Nissa into the air. He grabbed one of her arms and one of her legs and let the berserker staff fall. He caught the staff on his foot. Then he pulled with all his strength and ripped Nissa in half. He kicked the berserker staff into the air, changed back into a demon, and caught it in his right hand.

  “Anyone else have a problem with me being in charge?”

  The berserkers fell to their knees and bowed to Muan.

  CHAPTER 53

  Samael, Weapon, and Hypnos hid on a rooftop and looked at the angels a block over. Weapon pointed at Cassiel.

  “That’s him. He has nephilim heads attached to his belt. I think he’s one of Uriel’s middle angels tasked with killing nephilim. If we kill him, Uriel will come.”

  Samael nodded.

  “Good. I’ll go in first and…”

  Weapon grinned and shook his head.

  “Nope. Here’s how we play this. I’ll fire off a rocket from over there…”

  Weapon pointed at a rooftop closer to the angels.

  “… and then the two of you come in from behind and take them out when they’re chasing me.”

  Hypnos slapped Weapon hard on the back.

  “I like that plan. Never thought I’d see you volunteer to be the bait.”

  “Well my plan has a rocket launcher in it. I haven’t actually hit anything with my rocket launcher in a while. Samael? What do you think?”

  “It sounds like a good plan. We’ll wait in the bushes over there. I’ll signal you when I want you to fire the rocket.”

  Weapon nodded and crawled down off the roof. He ran across the street and pulled a ladder out of his coat. He climbed the side of the house, put the ladder away, got his rocket launcher, and waited for Samael and Hypnos to get into position. Hypnos jumped head first into the bushes. Samael looked up at Weapon and nodded before hiding in the bushes himself. Weapon took careful aim and fired.

  The rocket exploded in the middle of a large group of angels. Many of them were instantly incinerated and at least a dozen were seriously injured. The angels that weren’t seriously injured or that were far enough away from the blast radius looked for the source. Weapon put his rocket launcher away, grabbed a couple of pistols from his jacket, and jumped down into the street. An angel quickly spotted him and pointed, alerting the rest of the angels. Weapon turned and ran, occasionally firing over his shoulder. The angels followed Weapon and Hypnos followed the angels, throwing daggers and putting them to sleep as fast as he could.

  Cassiel didn’t give chase. He looked around to see if any other nephilim were hiding in the area. As he turned towards the bushes, Samael jumped out and cut off his arms. He then kicked him in the midsection and Cassiel fell hard on the street. His wounds gushing blood, Cassiel looked up at his soon-to-be murderer.

  “Samael. I never thought you’d show your cowardly face again.”

  Samael didn’t speak. He brought his sword up with both hands, blade pointed squarely at Cassiel’s chest. Before he could strike, a sword pierced his heart quickly and then withdrew. He fell forward and a strong arm caught him, turning him around and placing him on his back. He looked up and saw his killer, Uriel the Archangel.

  “I told you the day you were cast out that I would find you and kill you, Samael. You’ve brought several abominations into this world and justice will only be served when I kill them. Don’t worry, though. I will kill them. Hypnos, Thanatos, and Lilith. Still, justice won a small victory today with your death.”

  Uriel closed his eyes and made the sign of a cross. Samael spit at him.

  “Fuck you and fuck Heaven. I regret nothing.”

  Uriel reached into Samael’s open mouth, pulled out his tongue, and slowly cut it while Samael screamed. When his tongue was completely removed, Uriel threw it on the ground and stomped on it.

  “No more speeches from you, blasphemer. If you refuse to die quietly, I won’t give you the option.”

  Uriel saw Cassiel bleeding out on the ground.

  “You can still save me, Uriel. Please…”

  Uriel stabbed Cassiel’s heart and he exhaled loudly, settling into death.

  “I don’t heal, Cassiel. I enforce the laws of justice. Thank you for your sacrifice. Your death will be noted in the records of Heaven.”

  Samael drew his sword and then threw it as far as he could with the last of his strength. He didn’t want Uriel to take it as a prize. As he watched it sail through the air, he closed his eyes and died.

  Weapon and Hypnos finished killing off the small band of angels that had run after them, including the angels Hypnos had put to sleep.

  “We made good time, but I would have thought more of them would have followed you. We need to get back and make sure we clear out a lot more before Uriel shows up.”

  Weapon nodded.

  “Let’s go then.”

  It didn’t take long for the nephilim to make it back. They ran back up the street and saw Uriel standing over the corpses of Cassiel and Samael. Weapon put his pistols back in his coat and grabbed a machine gun. Hypnos continued to stand there and stare at his
father’s body. Weapon grabbed his shoulder.

  “I know it sucks, Hypnos, but we have to get out of here. We’re outnumbered.”

  Hypnos turned his head and Weapon saw his pupilless eyes glowing white. He let go of Hypnos’s shoulder and continued to slowly back away. Hypnos held out his hands and a harp formed. He positioned it correctly and began to play. The approaching angels started moving slower. Several of them started dragging their feet and a few dropped their weapons. Slowly, the entire army of Uriel laid down on the street and fell asleep. Uriel watched in horror. Hypnos’s eyes turned red and he threw the harp on the ground. A smile crept its way up his face.

  “You don’t fuck with the nephilim. We are a nightmare that you never wake up from.”

  Hypnos held out his hands. Uriel could sense something creeping slowly towards him and he looked at his sleeping army. Blood. Blood slowly flowed out of angel eyes, angel nostrils, and angel ears. Hypnos put them to sleep and was now slowly killing them. When Uriel started to feel tired, he immediately drew his sword and teleported back to Heaven.

  Weapon didn’t dare touch Hypnos again. He put the machine gun back in his coat, pulled out a lawn chair, sat down, and waited. When Hypnos finally put his hands down and turned back around, his eyes had returned to normal. Weapon slowly clapped.

  “Ho… ly… shit.”

  CHAPTER 54

  Azazel had hidden himself very close to Abaddon, where earthquakes rattled the ground every few minutes, but he was still out of sight. Abaddon had grown even more terrifying and unpredictable and Azazel didn’t want to interact with him anymore after what Leech had done to his Nephilim army. His injuries had mostly healed since his last encounter with Leech and he was strong enough to sense that nephilim were approaching. Instead of running, he waited to see who it was. If it turned out to be Shadow, he could teleport away. Anyone else was worth killing or recruiting.

  Leech walked fearlessly towards him. Lilith, Steam, and Thanatos stayed a considerable distance back at Leech’s request. Thanatos was having a hard time keeping Lucia happy, as the rumbling ground continually upset her. Steam summoned a levitating blanket of water for her to lay on and kept it a few feet off the ground so she wouldn’t feel the tremors.