Fog's Belly II

Brighver mountains, Derunia

***

Dreygo cautiously ambled towards the path that Elain had directed. The voices again echoed in his hearing, somewhat calling his name.

'The magic playing tricks on me. Well, I could handle that. I am a Demon. I have experienced more of this in hell.' He convinced himself.

The Harbinger fixed his eyes on his direction and disregarded the voices. He should be more vigilant as the Seer's territory was nearing.

Finally, a wooden house appeared from afar, and its surroundings were hazy as the fog thickened. He prowled from tree to tree, as the house was heavily surrounded by natural forestation, anticipating the presence of enemies nearby.

The place was quiet but the cawing of crows increased as if they scavenged for human or animal corpses. A different stench now unpleasantly entered Dreyo's nostrils. It was like a combination of burnt or cooked herbs and sacrificed animals, as he had imagined.

'Witches and their witchcraft.' Dreygo smirked. Easy.

He gained a few sightings of the Demon guards roving along the wooden verandah that surrounded the wooden house. He estimated about ten of the demon guards holding rifles, five in front and five at the back.

'Now maybe these are the guns that Elaine talked about.' He had never seen one.

He assessed that he cannot attack the house head-on. Stealth would be the best option as killing the Demon goons one by one. Dreygo hunkered from bushes, boulders, and tree trunks just to avoid the enemies' point of view as they constantly swept their vision to their surroundings. The house was about four meters elevated from the ground by large wooden foundations.

He hid behind the nearest tree and the only way to penetrate further was to sprint towards underneath the elevated flooring with perfect timing as the demon guards were looking the other way. He succeeded, undetected. It appeared that these demons were on high alert, as maybe they could sense his demonic presence within the reach of their capabilities.

He crawled up to the back porch of the house where there were two demon guards, side by side looking outwardly. He used the columns to climb from underneath to the main floor of the house. He successfully landed on the wooden floor and with extreme care to prevent creaking sounds from his footfall.

He sneaked at the back of the two guards oblivious to their forthcoming deaths. As he closed his gap, Dreygo immediately choked the Demon from behind. The demon gasped for air and was not able to alert the other.

The demon's face was reddening in the process as the choke was strong with eyes almost popping out. The gagging alerted the second Demon that stood a meter away.

The second demon managed to aim his gun but was not able to squeeze the trigger as the purge blade struck his neck as Dreygo outreached. The second Demon's mouth and eyes lit up as the Demon ether separated from its human host.

His stealth was maintained. A faint shrieking sound appeared when the Demon ether entered his body. A slight pain of bursting heat alternately a cold sensation experienced the harbinger's skin and the Demon's host disintegrated afterward.

Dreygo felt an improvement in his Demon Harbinger's power while the other Demon was still lodged in his other arm. The choke got stronger and with one squeeze, his neck would snap.

The Demon fainted at Dreygo's arms and then he dropped the body slowly to the wooden floor. The demon was still breathing but weak enough to retaliate. Dreygo gently buried his weapon in the Demon's chest.

The second ether entered his body and with the same sensation - uncomfortable.

'I will get used to this.' His senses heightened a bit.

He scanned the whole area and cautiously sauntered along the verandah toward the entrance guards. He peeked behind corners and found the other Demons were still oblivious to their nearing deaths. Five guards stood along the verandah's stretch. It was maybe fortunate that the Demons were standing close to each other.

'A surprise attack should do the trick.' Confidence grew in him.

Dreygo was not used to hiding in any fights when he was in hell. But he heeded Elaine's advice that bullets could kill him hence, the stealth attacks.

'No other way.' He gripped his dagger in his right hand and sprinted towards the nearest demon from his hiding position.

His footfalls were very audible as his sole thumped against the wooden floor alerting everyone in the house. The Demon veered towards Dreygo and aimed his MP5 at him but he failed to pull the trigger as the purge blade lodged in his chest right a split second before.

The harbinger used the first demon as a shield against the others by hugging the lifeless body.

They all together squeezed the trigger and all the bullets lodged at the Demon's back as the harbinger was safely behind him. The bullets tore the Demon's back and through his clothing. Blood splattered on the walls as the MP5 bullets invaded the flesh.

Then he gained long and fast strides towards the four demons while carrying the demon's corpse as they continuously fire their weapons. One or two bullets grazed Dreygo's arm but he felt nothing as adrenaline rushed through his veins.

As he closed the gap, he threw the body towards the four demons causing them to disorient their aims. Dreygo immediately stabbed his weapon at the four demon guards one by one, swiftly and simultaneously.

Five demon ethers escaped their respective hosts and into Dreygo's body.

The Demon ethers augmented Dreygo's strength. He felt it and it was dubiously refreshing.

He proceeded to the entrance door. He kicked it open and dislodged the door's hinges causing it to fly away. As he stepped inside, an unnatural chill embraced his body. He was freezing. He felt his movements now impedes as ice crystals gradually crept onto his body.

A witch, wearing black hooded clothing that covered almost her body, had the capability to bend ice and coldness. She stood at the center of the wide space inside the structure.

Dreygo saw the Seer standing farther behind the witch who cast the ice spell and two Demon guards holding a samurai sword standing at both sides. Dreygo felt that the ice crystals thickened every second and prohibited his movements.

'It's freaking cold.'

He collected all his energy from within but struggled to free himself from the embracing ice. He sauntered towards the witch as his strength seemingly endured the magic. The ice crystals progressively cracked as he was breaking free.

The witch was surprised. He uttered inaudible language to cast another ice spell but the Harbinger's persistency had made the witch worry.

The ice crystals burst outwardly from the harbinger's body. Then, he darted towards the witch and stabbed her abdomen with his purge blade. No demonic ether this time.

'A human witch.' Dreygo deduced.

The two demon guards attacked him with their samurai swords swinging just after fell dead to the floor. Their attacks were continuous and simultaneous as Dreygo dodged every one of them, shuddering back.

He used his dagger to fend off some of the attacks and when he managed to catch one samurai blade with his bare left hand, he gave the Demon two quick stabs with his dagger, one in his rib cage and the second to his temple.

Blood splats on Dreygo's face as he dislodged his dagger from the Demon's forehead. The other Demon started to sprint towards him but Dreygo threw his dagger straight to the Demon's forehead and delivered his quick demise.

Demon ethers dramatically entered Dreygo's body and he gave a faint smile to the Seer who stood from a distance. With every intention to intimidate. But unexpectedly, she seemed to be smiling too, and not a hint of fear on her face. The hag's smile was more devilish than Dreygo's.

It seemed that everything that transpired was already expected and foreseen. Not even black magic from her was not evident as of that moment.

"That is quite a show." The old seer indifferently said.

"Are you not going to fight me, Seer? I know you are stronger than the witches I encountered. You are a Demon Witch. I can sense your foul soul still carrying the stench of hell."

The Seer chuckled and said, "I am not going to fight you, Dreygo. There is a message that I need to deliver."

Dreygo cautiously walked towards the seer and scanned his head to the surroundings for a possible surprise attack.

"Just you and me now, Dreygo." The Seer said. The Seer sat on the wooden floor with her legs crossed. A basin with cooked leaves was in front of her and created a smoke that wafts in between them. The Seer signaled him to sit in front of her and Dreygo followed suit.

"You want to know where Kragus is?" She asked.