Sacrifices I

What followed the massacre of thirteen witches at the entrance of the temple was a series of covert assassination that caused death that rivaled those of the Salem witch trials. 

Although Irwin knew that those trials were political lynching by landowners to recoup their lands and investments, it was an apt description of the events, albeit an immoral one.

These women never even knew where he came from before he slit their throats or caved in their chests, partly in thanks to Olivette's skillful handling of her magik. 

Although Irwin was more physically and offensively powerful, he was not deft at creating a spell and would use more energy than necessary. 

That was where Olivette came in handy. Her expertise in witchcraft–being a member of the original Grand Coven and all–allowed her to surreptitiously cast her spells without leaking their location to the nearby witches.

Of course, Irwin took caution, too, as he always placed a full force punch or a well-guided slash that ceased the life of the witches in one strike before disintegrating and absorbing them for credits. One can never know what these witches had in store when they fight back, even a hint of trouble would be detrimental to their plan.

At least that's what Olivette had told Irwin when she admonished him for barging in the door moments prior. Fortunately for her, no one was in the hallway at that time and did not hear their entrance.

Not long after the assassinations, Olivette found a map of the temple atop a wall with a metal case with a glass window. Weirdly enough, it was an evacuation plan for the entire floor, showcasing all the exit routes, the staircases and the number of rooms which helped Irwin navigate the labyrinthian passage they have been traversing for a couple of minutes. 

Now that he saw the blueprints for the entire floor, his earlier thoughts were proven right as the rooms were designed to create a number of dead end passages either to confuse any invading forces or simply to frustrate demons who have no idea where to go.

Either way, he now knew where the entrance to the third floor was and the room on the second floor, which guarded something Olivette had wanted for a long while.

He turned his gaze towards her, silent amusement in his eyes. "You wanna finish them off on the third floor or do that after we raid the 2nd floor vault?"

"Vault first." She replied quickly before grabbing a hold of herself and giving him a soft smile. "It would behoove us to deprive them of their, uh, weapons, after all."

Irwin snorted, but didn't say anything.

He guided Olivette towards the 'Storeroom', having quickly memorized the layout of the entire floor. They did not see any other witch along the way, which worried Irwin deeply. Just moments ago, they were killing a witch at every turn, but the moment they settled on a goal, the floor was marked with their absence.

He knew a trap when saw one, but unlike the last time, he had someone to deal with that trap with him. 

Just as they turned a corner, Irwin pulled back at the last second and hid behind a wall. Three witches were standing in the hall after the bend, all of whom were dutiful in their mission.

"Who do you think's attacking us?"

Well, as dutiful as the witches could muster before they started gossiping.

The other witch rolled her eyes, arms crossed in boredom. "Don't matter. They ain't getting past the demons."

"Well, I heard that they're getting fucked over there." The earlier witch replied. "That's why Shanney and her troops were going down."

The third witch piped up. "Oh, aren't they welcoming Azazel's proxy?"

"Shut up, Tin-tin. Go back inside, will ya?" the bored witch roared indignantly.

The third witch hurriedly bowed her head and entered the storeroom, leaving the two witches to their conversation.

Irwin silently motioned for Olivette to ready herself as he took out his Indestructible Hex Bag and slowly palmed it.

"Flagello." He muttered, activating the spell as he stepped into the bend and showed himself to the witches.

He winded his arm before whipping azure flames towards the nearer bored witch, silver thorns piercing itself on her skin as the rest of the whip wrapped her like tinsel on a Christmas tree.

She didn't even have time to breathe before she was pulled back into Irwin's tight embrace. Irwin clamped her mouth to prevent her from screaming before throwing the Angel's Blade into the throat of the other witch, silencing her for eternity.

The bored witch tried to fight back, but all Irwin had to do was break her neck and let the flames burn her skin before trading her for thirty or so credits. He turned his attention towards the slowly dying witch as she flailed around the hall, blood painting over the beige walls.

He made it quick, retrieving the blade and stabbing her a few more times before trading her too. 

"Quite ruthless, dear Irwin." Olivette remarked as she, like usual, carefully stepped over the blood.

Irwin smirked, "Quite useless, dear Olivette."

He didn't bother with her scoff, merely knocking on the storeroom and waiting for the third witch to come out.

"Why are you knocking? Is there a–" Irwin stabbed the witch in her face before pulling it out and stabbing her in the heart, letting her drop dead before she could completely open the door.

He traded her corpse, allowing him and Olivette into the room. The glimmering treasures abound the chambers impressed Irwin, but what astounded him were the menageries of floras and faunas settled atop two twenty-foot long shelves. If he was a counting man–which he was not–he would guess there to be around 400 or 500 pounds of spell materials in each of the shelves.

That was not counting the spell books and grimoires neatly stacked on the bottom of the shelves; Forty books in both rows, all of which were, as per agreement, now owned by the Grand Coven.

"How's the sigils in here?" He asked Olivette.

She hummed, looking around in contemplation. "Well, mostly preservation runes for the ingredients and some restriction ones for the other treasures."

"Defense?"

"A couple, although it needs a caster to activate which…" She trailed off, waving towards the pools of blood. "I guess it's a good thing that you're quite bloodthirsty."

It was Irwin's turn to scoff. "Please, you haven't seen me be bloodthirsty. Now finish counting and let's go to the third floor."

"What? No, I need to inform a squadron to take control of this room." Olivette shook her head, her eyes trying to flit to the back of her head, but Irwin's hand had firmly grasped her forearm. "What are you doing?"

"It won't go away, Olivette." He locked eyes with her, face rinsed with the blood of the witches. "It'll still be here once we disable the defenses. If we take more time, Dagon could arrive and kill us. Do you understand the situation?"

He gripped her forearm tighter, anger blooming within his heart. He will not stand idly by while her greediness cost him his revenge. Dagon will die this day or he's taking everyone with him.

"I understand." She said, barely resisting against the unmitigated pressure he was unconsciously pouring onto the room. "Please. Let go."

He let her arm go with a glare, silently reminding her of his position and power between the two of them. He left the room and headed towards the stairs to the third and last floor without waiting for her to catch up.

Thoughts were brewing in his mind, back-up plans after back-up plans piling up to support the main objective. He was given a second chance in life to atone for his sins and if he wished to accomplish that, then the death of thousands were needed. No, it would be accepted.

Anyone who dared stand in his way would find the tip of his blade piercing through their hearts, even his so-called allies.