Entity #444

3: Nazarius

Playlist songs for this chapter:
Terrible Thing- AG
Throne- Saint Mesa
***

I swallowed my heart. This being showed no visible signs of lying. This was also the first time I had noticed what seemed to be claw marks running over his skull, wearing thin yet deep channels through the cracked bone.

Befuddled on what to do, I just gave a small nod. I couldn't decide if what he just told me was frightening or captivating. Or both... what was this creature capable of?

The oversized death-steed started on a path navigating the rooms. He didn't have to tell me to follow. I scrambled to get up and instinctively stayed close behind, following at his flank. I wasn't about to lose the only company I had. His hooves and weight shook the walls and threatened to punch holes in the floor. My ears picked up the slight echo of the structures settling, and the fluorescents' buzz became mind-numbing.

I wasn't sure what it was about this creature, but something told me that he wouldn't hurt me. He didn't quite belong here either it seemed, and it looked like we were going to need each other's help for survival.

The more I thought about it, the more I was relieved by his company. What could be worse than ending up in a place like the Backrooms alone? At least I had-

What was his name?

"Uh..." I started quietly, not sure how to proceed.

The creature's neck bowed toward me as we walked, showing that he was indeed paying attention. He still kept his focus on what was ahead and behind us.

"What should I call you?" I jogged a few paces to catch up with the front of his body so as to make eye contact. If you could call it that.

He finally spoke after a few seconds. "They call me Nazarius."

"Ah, so... 'from Nazareth'?" The name had Latin roots, but it confused me. He didn't look like anything that would've come from Nazareth. If anything, this creature looked demonic.

"Dig a little deeper." He paused before hesitantly rounding a corner.

Ummm...

Silence filled the air again as I pondered over the name. I gave in, "what does it mean?"

He stopped in his tracks. "I, like the nazar amulet, was created to protect one from evildoers. I was named after the Turkish talisman. Its name is nazar, but many call it an 'evil eye' amulet." He flashed his red glowing eyes at me, then picked back up on his trail through hallways and rooms.

"Nazarius..." I tasted his name on my lips. What an odd and cryptic taste.

As unsettling and anxiety-inducing as the Backrooms were, talking to this mysterious being was a sufficient, almost comforting distraction.

"What are you?" This was going to be good. Was he a horse, skeleton, or antelope?

Or all three?

Or a wendigo of some sort?

...Fae?

He turned to me briefly. "La croisé was the term given to me within a dream."

"What?"

"I am of 'The Crusaders.'"

"Crusaders? Like Holy War and all that? Those Crusaders?"

He threw his skull with impatience. "Not the Crusaders of human history. It is a name for a particular group of semi-equines with other features, such as horns."

"That's an oddly specific name just to say that you're a horse with horns." We talked quietly as we rounded corners and passed through dimly-lit hallways. Tensions remained high, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know why Nazarius was running before I first saw him.

Nazarius paused and turned to me. "A Semi-equine Crusader was a normal equine at one point in time, then was chosen by Source to become a fight over flight animal, and therefore was given the tools/body armour to be so. Each Crusader is made to fight a different type of evil, but we are unfortunately a dying breed."

Nazarius gave a deep sigh. "It sometimes seems as though we were given the losing battle in this crumbling dystopian world," and kept on walking.

I stopped walking and turned to face him. "Wait- you mean there's more of you?"

"Not many, but I remember one or two."

I looked ahead and pondered what these other Crusaders might look like. Would there be feathers? Antlers? More horns? What about special powers? My mind was one hundred percent zoned out and pre-occupied.

Mistake.

"Get down!" Nazarius' voice thundered and his bony skull collided into my back. I flew towards the carpet with no time to catch myself. A shiny black blur flew by and a sizzle met my ears, followed by a pain-filled bellow from Nazarius.

I scrambled to turn myself over just in time to see some ungodly, skinny, humanoid creature tearing towards the stallion on four legs; full speed. It was roughly the size of a seven-foot human. A hell-filled screech emanated from its mouth, which bore rows of razor-sharp teeth.

I struggled backwards and pressed myself against a wall, my heart lurching and hands trembling. The next minute and a half were some of the most terrifying moments of my life. I watched in horror as the unknown creature spat what seemed to be caustic acid at Nazarius's feet & chest. Nazarius tried to dodge, charging the creature with his horns and snapping his sharp teeth. His shoulder had already taken a hit- for me.

The floor shook and the walls vibrated with each pound of Nazarius' chiseled, boulder-like hooves. I've never seen a creature so large move so fast. When the creature wasn't spitting at Nazarius, it took every chance it got to swipe at him with its claws. Nazarius' moves and dodges showed that he was a seasoned warrior, and his hooves were even able to strike the creature in the face once. The death-stallion quickly gained the advantage.

The creature started retreating when it couldn't spit anymore. It was at this point that Nazarius thundered after it with a monstrous roar, and clutched the creature's neck with his abnormal wolf teeth. It didn't have much time to struggle until its life was spent with one sharp thrash and a nauseating chorus of cracking.

An audible gasp escaped my mouth which I covered with one hand.

Oh my God, that was too easy for him. Terror raged through my veins.

Lungs heaving, Nazarius tensed his stance and tightened his jaws down on the creature increasingly, like a vice grip.

Unforgiving.

I looked on in horror as blood streamed down the body of the creature.

When he said 'meal', he wasn't kidding. Oh my God.