"Ritz." Sakuri glared at the demon. "You're supposed to be dead."
"You think a puppet like him would even be capable." An air of smugness surrounded the blue demon as its crimson eyes pierced its gaze through each of them. "Still I have to thank you three."
"I don't like this one bit." Devin said, putting himself between the demon and Sakuri.
"Now, now there's no need for hostility." Ritz started, floating about the arena. "Soon I, you, will be freed from this Hell."
"There's no way we're letting you come with." Chris said, clutching Udine in his hand. "And even if we did you'd be killed on sight."
"He's not telling the whole truth." Devin said, readying Salamander. "Only one of us can leave huh?"
Ritz only chuckled ominously in response. "So clever, an old devil's tricks don't deceive you two so easily then."
"So that mean..." Sakuri began before falling to her knees in disbelief. "We're trapped here. My little stunt six years ago got you trapped in here with me!"
"Yes and how many deaths have you suffered again?" The demon taunts menacingly. "Once or twice for the boys, but you."
Sakuri immediately gripped her head, screaming in agony as she clutched at various parts of her body. Almost as if she was trying to stop a bleed. "Stop this! Please!"
"What have you!" Devin starts before clutching his throat as some invisible entity contorted his body before he fell over stiff.
"You son of a bitch if you don't explain what's happening I'll!" Chris began moving towards the demon before a sharp pain ripped through his abdomen, causing him to stumble towards the ground.
"What's wrong? Memories coming back?" The demon taunted once more as a blue light flickered at the other end of the room. "And that is my way out of here. Goodbye, my friends."
As the three laid paralyzed, Ritz floating towards the forming portal, Sakuri's hair clip began to glow once more. In a sudden flash of light her pains disappeared and she collected Salamander and Udine before quickly putting herself between the light and Ritz, her hands quivering from fear and anger. "I won't let you. Not after everything we've been through."
"You should be experiencing each and every one of your deaths, how can you?" The demon started before glancing towards the hair clip. "That clip! When did they gift you that?"
"What are you talking about, I've always had these." Sakuri gave a puzzled look as the two men started to recover.
"Six years and I've!" Ritz begins before shedding his blue exterior for a crimson red one, devil wings bursting from his back. "No matter, I'll just kill all three of you, break your curse, and be done with it!"
"You demons are all the same!" Chris said, grabbing Udine discreetly before blasting him with its ice. The demon floated before the two unfazed.
"Really? Do I look like that pathetic butcher?" Ritz spat as he moved above Chris to shower him with shards of obsidian before gliding in front of Sakuri. "Seems your guardians can't help your friend."
"What the hell?!" Devin jumped as an elongated arm leading to a shadow creature pulled him towards a red Aglaophotis before pointing at Sakuri. "Right, I think I know what to do?"
Ritz gaze darts towards Devin as the clip began resonating with the orb. An ominous energy filling within the demon. "I don't think so."
A bubble of crimson energy surrounded Sakuri, many different blades manifested around it as if they were to blend her into red mist. Devin threw the orb at her in an attempt to do anything, shattering the prison Sakuri was placed in as a ritual circle filled around Ritz. With a cry of pain and rage Devin was targeted by many projectiles made of dark energy.
"Shit!" He cried out trying to dive away from the attack, some hitting their target right against his back. The sudden blast caused him to freeze before falling forward.
"And it seems you don't know how to finish the job." Chris said, pieces of obsidian falling from his bloody body. An Aglaophotis sat under his arm as a smirk grew across his face. "Looks like we might have a fighting chance."
Ritz glared at what should've been a bloody paste nearing the girl that is causing him so much grief. As he charged at her, Chris pulled her out of harms before colliding with the orb in Chris' arm. The ritual circle appeared once more to trap the demon. With the slight delay they had Sakuri fed Devin the Elixir, their last healing item.
"Ugh..." Devin groaned as he came to before a force began pulling them towards Ritz. "What's going on!?"
"I assure you all that I will be freed! The demon roared as the winds closest to him began scratching the stone floor.
"Is there another Aglaophtis around!?" Chris yelled against the winds as he ran away from Ritz, Devin and Sakuri joining the sprint soon after.
"Not good, but..." Devin began as he saw the orb behind Ritz. Taking Salamander from Sakuri he wrapped its flames around Ritz to drag him away from the artifact. Sakuri sprinting towards the item to collect it and hit Ritz with it. "Who said we were hopeless?"
"Mortal fools, all this resisting just to return home. Do you know how long you've truly been here? How long you've been trapped." Ritz asked, sending more dark projectiles at the three now that the winds were dying down. "Why won't you give in and die?!"
"Doesn't matter, I have a job to do and your incompetence is starting to bother me." Chris said, rolling another artifact to Sakuri as it spawned at his feet. "Do the honors again?"
As Sakuri moved around the many projectiles that came her way she hit the demon once more before Devin pulled her away. Chris, meanwhile, had just found another orb at the other end of the arena. Taking the item to the still stunned demon before slamming it into him. With a painful shriek the ritual circles marking tore apart Ritz as if sending him into another, ever darker Hell.
"Well that's that then." Devin said as he was able to conjure a portal back to their base back home. "I think we need...a good long rest."
"Dit..." Chris started before he emerged on the other end of the portal in shock as crimson light glew through the bloodied halls of the base as cracks and holes had been chipped through the material. "...to."
"What the hell is this?!"Devin said as the sounds of demonic screams, cries of terrified humans, and thick rain pouring erupted around them. "This is not how we left this place!"
"Is this home? Right? Right?!" Sakuri's question turned cry had sent shivers up both men's spines as even they didn't know.
"Devin, look." Chris looked through one of the many holes in the walls to find a highrise with a working clock reading '4:20pm, June 6th, two-thousand and sixty-six.'
"We've been displaced through time and I think our absence left Primum Malum unchecked." Devin said, realization soon sinking in. "What have we done?"
YOU ARE READING
Demonophobia
Horror'Six years ago there was an incident in the Kyoto region of Japan. A book used for demonic worship called 'The Dark Grimoire' was discovered to have been stolen, but the perpetrator was never found. Such a book was told to have the ability to summon...
