78 Etrigan #78

"This is pointless," Wraith remarked after cutting down the demon and tearing it to pieces. It's already been five minutes since he declared his intention to leave, and it seems he did not reconsider.

Monaghan, Natt, and Deborah had tried to convince him to stay, but he turned a deaf ear to the trio and ignored everything they had to say after making his peace.

They didn't appreciate his sentiment and felt cheated, especially Monaghan, whose pocket suffered a dent to pay the vigilante. But ultimately, there was nothing they could do to convince him to stay.

They knew the vigilante was acting as a mercenary. It was profit that moved him, and not kindness.

"Good luck..." Wraith remarked as the sword in his hand disappeared, and he turned around, walking away. However, he only took a few steps before Monaghan got in his way, followed by his friend Natt.

"Out of my way," Wraith calmly said as he stopped, staring into the hitman's eyes, and the latter felt chills running down his spine, but he couldn't back down.

They'd already come this far, and backing away now not only meant everything would be for not, but it also meant eternal damnation for the hitman, prompting him to stand his ground.

"You can't leave yet. You haven't bought us enough time," Monaghan angrily exclaimed through gritted teeth, spreading his arms apart as he instinctively tried to look bigger as if that would help him somehow.

"I can't?" Wraith mockingly remarked with an audible scoff. "And who's gonna stop me?" the vigilante asked as he tried to walk past Monaghan, only for the hitman to get in his face again.

Monaghan wanted to speak out in protest. However, no words came out of his mouth when he opened it, only wheezes as Wraith planted his fist into the hitman's abdomen, making him collapse to his knees on the cemetery's soil.

Natt looked at this scene in horror, as he barely noticed Wraith move and only realized what happened when his friend was heaving on the ground while holding his stomach.

However, Natt was a war veteran. His reaction to sudden danger and threats, cultivated through years of war, was instinctive, almost immediate, as he reached for his gun.

Still, Natt wasn't nearly fast enough to contend with Wraith, as the latter had already drawn his own weapon and aimed it at the veteran's face before he could even touch his pistol.

Natt raised his hands in surrender, wisely choosing to let the vigilante be on his way, and the latter said nothing as he lowered his gun and walked away, leaving it in his hand.

Natt and the still wheezing Monaghan could do nothing but helplessly watch him leave. Their minds were going into overdrive as they tried to figure out a way to survive the ordeal now that the Wraith was leaving.

The Mawzir was slowly healing back. Without the vigilante to strike it down, nothing would stop it from killing everyone present and dragging Monaghan to the darkest depths of hell.

They could try to run, but it would be pointless as the Mawzir would track them down eventually and pick them off one by one. Jason Blood and Wraith could take care of themselves as the former was an immortal, capable of calling a demon prince of hell to aid him in battle, while the latter could directly tear the Mawzir to shreds.

Catwoman might have the means to survive as well. But Monaghan, Natt, and Deborah were ordinary people, despite the hitman having a few gimmicky super powers like glimpsing into people's minds and X-Vision.

Monaghan was nothing more than a killer for hire, with a strict code of honor that had too many brushes with the supernatural side of the world for his taste. Nothing less. Nothing more.

Their only hope right now was if Etrigan came through and brought back the antique rifle before the Mawzir fully recovered. However, even if that happened by some miracle, their chances of survival would still be minuscule.

Monaghan, Natt, and Deborah, the gun experts, were dead tired, and Jason Blood couldn't hit a shot with a gun to save his own life because of his origin and distaste for firearms.

While Catwoman could be the one to pull the trigger, she wasn't really a sharpshooter as well, not to mention she seemed ready to leave now that the Wraith was walking away.

The hitman bitterly smiled as he turned to Natt and Deborah, taking note of their expressions. The war veteran seemed intent on seeing the ordeal through to the end, putting on a resolute, earnest face as he nodded at Monaghan.

Deborah, on the other hand, looked conflicted, seemingly unable to make a decision. However, she quickly abandoned her hesitance and firmly nodded as she looked at the hitman, indicating her will to stay and fight till the bitter end.

Jason Blood sighed, his gaze alternating between the trio, amidst their touching scene and the vigilante who was already walking away. He momentarily hesitated but ultimately shook his head and turned to leave as there wasn't much he could.

"I've done all I could as well. Sorry, Monaghan," Jason Blood remarked with a shake of his head as he walked away from the trio, much to their dismay, but they didn't stop him as they knew he couldn't do much even if he stayed.

Monaghan wanted to curse. Their chances of survival were rapidly slimming, and they were already infinitely close to none. He sighed in defeat as he turned to Catwoman, who already had her back facing them as she walked away.

The cat burglar didn't seem interested in justifying herself as she decided to leave quietly, but seemingly sensing the hitman's gaze on her back, she turned around and flashed him a smile.

"This, as far as curiosity can get you, I'm afraid. Too much curiosity kills the cat, after all," Catwoman remarked with a shrug as she momentarily stopped to look back at the trio. "And I plan to live a long life," she concluded with a shake of her head as she resumed walking.

The trio silently watched them leave, unable to feel anything but sheer helplessness.

Realizing there was no chance of victory and unable to bear the thought of his friends dying for nothing, Monaghan sighed, firming his resolve as he prepared to ask Deborah and Natt to give up and leave him to his gruesome fate.

He took a deep breath as he looked at the Mawzir's body, almost fully healed, and turned back to his two friends as he opened his mouth to speak.

However, he had to swallow his words as Jason Blood loudly grunted, clutching his head in pain and falling to his knees, making everyone stop moving, including Wraith.

"Etrigan finished dealing with the Arkannone, and he has the rifle..!" the demonologist exclaimed through gritted teeth, his body squirming in pain, causing everyone's expression to change.

The trio's expression ignited in hope, and Selina seemed amused at the sudden turn of events. However, Wraith was the only one frowning as he sensed a 'but' coming.

And sure enough.

"He's coming here, and I can't control him for some reason!" the demonologist added, his breaths turning rapid as he heaved while clutching his chest.

As if on cue, the silver liquid slowly merging and, taking the Mawzir's shape, began wriggling more rapidly, as if energized and revitalized by the revelation.

"Gone! Gone! --- the form of man —!" Jason Blood shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice distorting further with every word he spoke as his body ignited in a bright orange flame.

That was all Wraith needed to hear as he hurriedly broke into a mad sprint, activating his phantom belt and turning invisible as he turned his body.

Catwoman copied Wraith's actions as she too escaped, leaving the mortified trio staring in horror at the transforming demonologist on their own.

"Rise, the Demon Etrigan!!" he bellowed. His voice was now completely hoarse and gravely as the blaze dissipated, revealing not Jason Blood but a towering, yellow-skinned demon with a scaly face and long, sharp claws capable of rending steel.

The demon was tall. It stood at 6.4 feet as it inspected its surrounding with two red, ominously glowing orbs that spoke of violence and malice, seemingly searching for something or someone.

"To hell and back, Etrigan is as mighty as he is quick! He comes for the eldritch stench in the air that makes him sick!" The demon, Etrigan, as he sharply turned his head in Wraith's direction despite the latter being currently invisible.

"There!" Etrigan exclaimed and began sprinting on all fours towards the vigilante. However, he had understated Wraith's speed and the advantage his head start had given him.

He would catch up eventually, but why wait for what you can get immediately?

Etrigan stopped sprinting, grunting as it performed a gesture and disappeared, appearing right in front of the running Wraith.

...

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