The Demon Wolf (Book 1 of The Devil and the Huntsman)

Chapter 12

They were not expecting Julius to still be alive after about six seconds because they thought themselves to be far superior to humans. Humanity always found many ways to fight a demon and would do anything to increase their skills. Being a hunter of demons always came at a significant cost; these hunters had either tragic pasts or loathed the demons more than anything on earth. Julius and Harald never really considered themselves to be hunters, but they had the high abilities and knowledge those people had. They would kill all the servants of darkness until they draw their last breath, and they might see it through.

Julius and the demon were clashing with each other until the demon lost balance, and the creature's sword shattered into many pieces. And then, the knight uses his greatsword and slices off the creature's head as the others witnessed everything. They watched as the blood of their fallen comrade stained the ground and nothing could be said about how intense the scenery is. Then, another demon charged towards Julius and was about to go for the killing blow with his bare hands. But Julius could think quickly about the monster's next move; he ran quickly with his blade pointing at the demon.

Then, he uses his greatsword and slices the demon in half as the upper half of the body was flying and blood was splattering everywhere.

"Which one of you has called to me? I know the sound of demons when I hear it!" Julius said.

"Our master, the guardian of Cirith Mantle, knew you'd come," one of them said.

"Then tell me where your master is," he said.

"He is at the tower waiting for you to come to meet him."

"And why would your master wait for me? Is he too cowardly to face me himself?"

And they all answered him, saying, "He gave us all a message to pass onto you. Pick your own side. It's an ultimatum. You will do exactly as the master says."

"Get out of my way. I don't have time for this."

"So, think you have a chance against us, do you?"

"I don't take orders from you, especially from your master. I'm going to that tower to find my own answers. Now, back off!"

"Death is too good for you, human. It's time to die!"

Then, they all pulled out their weapons and became ready to fight against Julius and kill him. They were all determined to cut him down and avenge the murder of their friend; this time, they all had a burning contempt for Julius. Then, all the demons ran as fast as possible towards their enemy, and they filled their minds with anger and fury. Julius held onto his greatsword, and he stood there and waited for his opponents to get close enough. They all circled the knight leader and waited for one of them to be the first to face him.

Then, one of them uses his sword and tries to slice off his arms and legs; a method some knew too well. Unfortunately, Julius had an iron will and could easily predict the demon's moves, and he parried the attack with his sword. Then, six more demons were running and trying to kill Julius with all the strength they had within themselves. Julius simply walked towards them and began deflecting and blocking every single attack that they were throwing at him. The knight leader was spinning around with his sword and mercilessly killing them with so much force and strength.

Every time he swings his sword, a demon dies and so much blood and gore stain his sword and the ground. The night would not be over unless he goes to the tower to either negotiate with the master demon or kill him. These demons were very vile creatures who would tear anyone apart if that person did not abide by their laws. Julius continued to block, parry, deflect and dodge every blow the night creatures released upon him. His greatsword was far stronger than most swords, and it was dipped and crafted with so much salt and nordic steel.

The moon was still visible above the sky; the wind was still howling, and the demons were still desperately trying to kill their powerful enemy. Nothing seemed to work on the demons as pretty much all of them were being sliced open and stabbed to death. Neither one demon could give Julius a single scar on his face or his back. The knight did not have time to hear a confession from the creatures because there was no need to hear it from such hideous monstrosities. And so, all the demons who were standing in his way were dead, except for one; he was covered in so much blood and gore and could not move another step.

Julius walks over to the demon and grabs him by the throat, and he chokes the beast to make him talk.

"Tell me, demon scum. Why must I care about your master waiting for me in his mighty fortress?" Julius asked.

"I can't tell you. It's heresy to pass down secrets!" The demon shouted. Before the demon could utter another sound, Julius continued to grasp onto his throat and made it seem as if the creature was being choked to death.

"Damn your master and your god! You will tell me everything you know... and you're going to tell me how to get inside that tower," he said. He knew that the demon could not pick up his sword to launch an attack. It was pointless because all of his other friends were brutally slaughtered.

Then the demon answered and said to him, "To get in the tower, you must kill the one who guards the entrance. After that, find the key in one of his pockets. It will open all the doors of the tower. More demons are lurking around the tower and will kill you if they catch sight of you. That's all. I've told you everything I need to know... spare my life."

Julius looks down at his blood-soaked sword and wonders if what he is doing is right. It was not in his nature to allow demons to live, and it went against what he believed in if he allowed this beast to continue causing havoc. For now, his one purpose in life was to eradicate all the demons from the face of the earth. His mind was trembling, and his body was shaking as he was trying to figure out what to do with the creature. He also understood that he could not waste any more time just standing there and doing nothing.

Then Julius releases the demon from his grasp and looks at the night sky and thinks about what he should do next.

"You speak very wisely and convincingly. You did not hesitate to tell me what you know and understand about the tower and your master... I can respect that. But still..." Julius said. Before he can say anything else, he raises his greatsword and slices off the demon's head, and watches it fly down.

"How can I allow someone as unholy and monstrous as you to continue living?" He asked. Then, he put the greatsword back to his scabbard and looked straight ahead; it was the dark tower that he saw last night.

Julius knew he had unfinished business to be dealt with, and he realized he could not rest until it was done. He would rather jump off a bridge instead of running away like a fool and not finish the job. Of all the things he must endure in life, he must put all the supernatural evil that lurks in the earth to rest. Then, he walked away from all the demonic corpses and continued the trail north to where the tower was standing. The road was pretty difficult to see at night and even harder to see where it could lead anyone.

As Julius walked, he heard so many voices all at once, and he could not do a single thing about it. Since he was getting so close to his destination, the demonic noises began growing louder. Even if that was happening right now, there was no way for him to turn back home. He continued to walk and not think about anything else that would seem to interfere with his business. The light of the tower was the only thing he could see out of anything from the dark scenery; the moon was the only thing that guided his path towards the fortress.

Then he spoke to himself, saying, "What's going on with me? I can't get these images and noises out of my mind. Those demons. How do they know me? What is it they're trying to show me?"