Chapter 10

“Well, Rosemary is on board,” Baltoh said.

He and Selene were lying in the bed of their new favorite hotel room (after Baltoh repaired it with a quick spell), both naked after having made love just a short while ago. Just moments before, Selene had returned to the room, having left New York to go up to Earth in order to bathe, as was customary after sex or battle.

“Oh, really? I’m going to need details,” she purred, kissing his chest.

“It turns out she is a seriously kinky slut and a completely submissive masochist. She was literally begging to be fucked and calling me her master. Plus, she is really into you and Molly. Not to mention she is a serious squirter; she sprays like a water fountain.”

Selene perked up with amazement and amusement. “Really? Well after my first little taste of domination with Molly, I have to admit that I am more excited than before.”

“I figured as much. I told her I would let you and Molly have a turn with her after I gave her time to heal. I really think that—” Baltoh was suddenly cut off as a massive pulse of energy rocked the city to its core, shaking every building and bringing everyone to their knees.

The air was thick and heavy with ominous power and it felt like gravity itself was being magnified. Baltoh’s eyes widened and he bolted to his feet, rushing over to the balcony. This power was equal to his own, possibly even greater. There were only a handful of possibilities for such an oppressive aura, and none of them were good.

“Angel Art: Hope Beacon Summoning! Angel Art: Rose Window Shield Summoning!” he called, clapping his hands together.

Four Hope Beacons began to rise from the ground, each at the very edge of the city. It was the maximum number of the crosses that could be summoned in any given place and time. Up above the very center of the city, a pond-sized rose window of yellow and violet glass appeared, casting an image of itself down upon the city with the light passing through it. With the help of the four crosses, its diameter was expanded to cover all of New York and its power was great enough so that not even an army of Gargoyles could break through, but it would only buy them time.

“Baltoh, what’s going on?” Selene asked desperately as she rushed over to him.

“Our proximity to Hell, we’ve finally gotten so close that the most powerful Demons can slip through. These are the true monsters of the shadowy depths, the foes that have brought me nearly to the brink of death,” he cursed as the potency of the suffocating curtain of energy increased in weight.

“Wait, you mean they’re all coming here?! All at once?!”

“No, only two of them: the rider and his mount. Their power levels are equal, but you are only sensing one of them because it is completely eclipsing the other. We need to get dressed, we only have minutes before they arrive and we need to get organized.”

“What the Hell is going on?!” Raphael shouted as Baltoh met up with the other Archangels on the roof of a building. There were twenty other Archangels in total, as well as a few Angels, including Selene.

“One of the Masters of Torture has arrived and he’s not alone. There is also a Titan with him.” Everyone paled and cursed at the severity of the situation.

“What are Masters of Torture and Titans?” Selene asked, gripping his arm.

“They are the next level of Demons, well beyond Archangels,” Michael admitted, being forced to swallow his pride.

“How is that possible? I’ve never heard of these things!” one of the other Angels asked.

Baltoh took a deep breath. “As you know Demons have been summoned to Earth in the past—as it is the only way for them to cross between dimensions and can only be done by humans—and while they are normally defeated before they become too much of a threat, they have been known to reach full strength and cause natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and plagues. Masters of Torture and Titans are far too powerful to be summoned, the mass of their energy is too great and heavy to be actually lifted and pulled through the inter-dimensional barrier.

Essentially, the difference between Masters of Torture and Titans and Demons is how they are born. Titans are born through large numbers of Demons managing to fuse together into one massive beast, just like Sinners join together to transform into Bleaks. Depending on how well the process goes, they can retain their intelligence and continue to use Demon Art, or lose their minds and become raging beasts, often used as steeds for the Masters of Torture. Masters of Torture are born more similarly to regular Demons; however, instead of being born from the hatred of Hell residents that have crumbled into ash, they are instead born from the remains of slain Demons.

Just like with the prisoners that eventually crumble away to ash, the remains of killed Demons stay and fester, becoming more and more concentrated and focused. After a while, all the hatred and evil that made up the Demon’s existence is compacted and processed to its purest form, like the coal remains of ancient decayed organisms. This dark poison eventually joins up with others and forms a Master of Torture. Even I have to fight for my life when I encounter them.”

The description of two foes that they about to fought reinforced the severity of the situation, with dread crushing everyone with the same weight as the dark energy that filled the air. Before the conversation could continue, there was a deafening crash and the whole city shook violently, causing several buildings to crumble and fall apart like houses of cards. Red cracks flitted through the rose window hologram cast upon the city as the forces of darkness below crashed against it like a wild bull against the gate of its pen.

“We don’t have long, have all the people been evacuated to the outskirts?”

“Yes, we got them all out of the city. Most likely, our enemy will come up through the center of New York, so we hopefully won’t lose any people,” Raphael answered, just before another crash that sent more cracks through the barrier.

“Ok, I’ll face the Master of Torture, and the rest of you fight the Titan. Selene, I want you and all the other Angels to stay out of this fight and guard the humans in case any Gargoyles or Demons attempt something.”

Everyone nodded and the third crash rang out as the shield broke. In the center of the city, twelve city blocks suddenly sank into the ground and the four Hope Beacons in the corners shattered like vases. A deluge of Hellfire roared up through the massive fissure with a colossal beast hidden within, visible only from its shadow. Hovering above the city, the beast released a deafening roar and the geyser of Hellfire died down, allowing everyone to look upon the creature.

The beast was a winged two-headed dog with a ten tails, larger than its body when joined to together and each one far longer, and an iron collar on each neck. Its black scraggly hair was matted with blood, its red eyes glowed like hazard lights, both heads had rhino-like horns on the bridges of their noses, two pairs of bull-like horns protruded from behind its ears, its long jagged fangs poked out past its jowls and glistened with acidic saliva, its claws looked more like talons and appeared almost too large for its paws, and its dark-grey wings were webbed with spindly bones and were missing most of the surface membrane, but the creature was still able to fly. If it curled up its body, it would still dwarf the world’s largest sports stadium.

Standing on the Titan’s back, holding a chain that led to its iron collars, was a Demon. The entity was garbed in black armor with a pair of large batwings that almost looked like they were carved from onyx, a pair of gazelle-like horns made entirely of shadow fire, a tail lined with spikes, a pair of large gauntlets on his arms instead of shackles, and a helm that looked like the face of a goblin.

The Master Of Torture held out his hand and a guard-less broadsword appeared in his hand, made of Hellsteel instead of the traditional Demon bone, just like Baltoh’s. Giving a low sigh, the Demon pointed the sword straight at Baltoh, challenging him.

“All of you go, this is my fight,” Baltoh said as he stretched his arm in preparation and summoned his sword.

As the Archangels departed to face the Titan, Selene gave him a kiss laced with worry, but also filled with tender love. “Don’t let him get to you, he’s nothing. Besides, you aren’t distracted anymore, remember?” She whispered, gaining a small smile.

Baltoh mirrored the expression and kissed her back. “I remember.”

“Good, now go show him how dangerous you are in your prime,” she said once last time before leaving.

Baltoh turned to the Master of Torture as he spread his wings, preparing to pounce. With a wide smile on his face, Baltoh widened his stance and got into a fighter’s position, brimming with confidence and excitement for the battle. Moving faster than a speeding bullet, the Demon leapt from his mount and zipped over to Baltoh, bringing down his sword with devastating power. Baltoh blocked the strike and the building under him instantly shattered from the power transference. It took all of Baltoh’s power to push back against the Demon’s sword, but his grin did not diminish.

“Well, well, well, it seems that we finally get to meet. I am Amon, leader of forty infernal legions under Prince Baal.”

“Baltoh, leader of the forces of Heaven under nobody,” the hybrid countered, pushing the Demon back with the ear-stinging scrape of the broadsword blade grinding against the serrations of Baltoh’s edge.

“Then I guess it is time to see which is greater, darkness or light!” Amon gleefully roared before spinning around and delivering a powerful kick to Baltoh’s gut.

Baltoh staggered back through the air but regained his balance, brandishing his sword as Amon charged towards him. “I already wield the power of both worlds. This is not a question of light vs. dark; it is a question of whether your hatred is greater than mine! Now we fight with our lives on the line to prove who has the greater resolve!” Baltoh thundered, blocking Amon’s slash.

Upon the collision of their swords, every window within a square mile shattered from the invisible shockwave released upon impact. Before Amon could deliver another spinning kick, Baltoh reached behind him and grabbed the Demon by the throat with his tail. With a powerful whiplash, he threw the demon straight down into the ground with enough strength to create a pool-sized crater in the wreckage of the building that had been destroyed.

Sword in hand, Baltoh swooped down while casting the Divine Smite spell. Amon rolled to the side, barely dodging Baltoh as he plunged his sword into the ground with enough power to reduce nine square blocks of the city into a colossal crater filled with the rubble of the buildings that had originally stood in its space.

“Demon Art: Abyss Blast!” Amon thundered, pointing his clawed finger at the hybrid and launching a condensed jet of shadow energy, as large as a bus.

Baltoh was thrown into the air by the attack, wrapped in smoke with half of his vest and shirt burned away. “Angel Art: Feather Arrows!” he called, pointing his wings at Amon and launching a volley of feathers, burning with white fire.

Wrapping himself in his wings, Amon tried to roll away but the bolts made their mark, puncturing his wings over and over again. He gritted through the stinging pain and got to his feet, ripping the feathers out of his wings and then taking to the air. Flying towards Baltoh so fast that mortal eyes could not catch him, Amon swung his sword in a diagonal uppercut slash, but the hybrid blocked the attack, beginning a lightning flurry of exchanging attacks and blocks. The air around them was practically set ablaze from all the sparks being released by the colliding swords.

Spotting and opening, Amon lunged forward and pierced Baltoh through the heart with his sword. Baltoh coughed up a mouthful of blood but managed to retaliate by sharpening his two Demon wings into nail-sharp spikes and plunging them into Amon’s chest, piercing his armor and skewering his lungs. With blood dripping from Amon’s helm, the two foes separated before instantly attacking each other once again, ignoring their injuries and instead just swinging their swords wildly at lightning speed, attacking and blocking each other a hundred times every second.

“Demon Art: Debt Retrieval!” Amon called, swerving back to cast the spell.

Surging up from the ground, a dozen huge skeletal hands reached out of portals to Hell towards Baltoh, almost like a crowd of miniature Bleaks all clambering for the same target.

“Angel Art: Final Penitence!” Baltoh countered.

Falling like mortar shells, huge wooden crossed appeared out of the sky and landed on all of the hands like the nails of a crucifixion, shattering the bones and pinning them to the ground.

“Angel Art: Enlightenment Flash!”

A blinding ray of light shined from Baltoh’s feathers, temporarily crippling Amon’s ability to see. With the Demon distracted, Baltoh shot forward and slashed him from shoulder to hip, tearing away his armor and shredding his flesh with the gut hook near the end of the blade and the serrations that lined the edge.

With blood spraying from the fissure carved across his chest, Amon snarled and clapped his hands together with his sword between his palms. “Demon Art: Incinerating Inferno!”

Baltoh was thrown back, nearly howling in pain as a sudden bonfire of Hell flames engulfed him. The black pyre burned away what was left of his shirt and left his skin badly charred, but he was alive.

“Demon Art: Undead Rejuvenation!” they both called, flying towards each other.

The two fighters were both wrapped in black auras as their numerous wounds were healed, repairing their bodies in time to lock swards. The second their blades collided, Baltoh spun around and kicked Amon in the side, sending the Demon plummeting out of the sky like a meteor and crashing through almost a kilometer of buildings as if they were made of stacks of tin cans.

“Demon Art: Monster Slash!” Amon thundered, getting to his feet and carving an X through the air with both hands.

Baltoh instinctively raised his sword, blocking an invisible cross of ten razor-thin energy blades. Baltoh was pushed back through the air by the joined blasts breaking over his sword, and before he could mentally recover, his eyes were pulled up by the sudden appearance of a shadow. Amon had appeared above him with an entire building in his grip. With a roar, Amon swung the building down onto Baltoh like a sledgehammer, with the hybrid having less than a second to become intangible and pass through it unscathed.

As Baltoh came up through the building, Amon slammed into him with shadow energy streaming from his arm, allowing him to interact with the untouchable Baltoh. Amon shot straight down, slamming Baltoh into the ground as the thrown building shattered. Upon impact, all the rubble of the building was thrown upwards into a vast mushroom cloud of dust from the two fighters hitting the ground.

In the bottom of a smoky crater, Amon had Baltoh pinned to the ground and was punching him in the face over and over again with his arms moving as blurs. With his face bloody and his desperation mounting, Baltoh stabbed Amon through the shoulder with his tail and flung him horizontally, sending him crashing through another line of buildings like an indestructible missile.

“Angel Art: Spear of Destiny!” Baltoh roared, jumping to his feet and clapping his hands together.

From between his hands, a paper-thin beam of golden light shot forth, taking the shape of a huge blade that sliced through everything in its path. Slamming his sword into the ground, Amon brought himself to a stop as the blade approached, slicing straight through the buildings that he had just smashed through.

“Demon Art: Tombstone Shield!” he bellowed, slamming both hands onto the pommel of his sword.

A car-sized tombstone burst from the ground in front of him, acting as a barrier against the blade. The massive voulge of light smashed into the tombstone, one of the few forces it could not break. Flying out from behind the shield, Baltoh burst out and swung his sword towards Amon’s neck, hoping to decapitate him. The Demon managed to lean back enough to avoid a fatal strike, but Baltoh still managed to slash his throat, causing a fountain of inky blood to spray forth.

Baltoh quickly spun around and kicked Amon in the gut, once again sending him shooting like a bullet through building after building. Not wanting to lose the opportunity, Baltoh chased after Amon, reaching him in less than a second. Flying over a blood-splattered parking lot, the two foes pointed their clawed index fingers at each other, the sharp talons just inches apart.

“Demon Art: Abyss Blast!” they both shouted.

“Angel Art: Crusading Canter!” Gabriel called, using his sudden speed boost to avoid the colossal black fireballs being launched from the twin heads of the Titan.

“Angel Art: Halo Discuss!” Rosemary shouted, attacking the creature from behind while its attention was focused on Gabriel.

Pulling at her halo, she drew a long chain of identical rings of golden light and threw them at the beast. The rings struck the Titan like hailstones, doing little more than bouncing off its powerful hide. With an annoyed snarl, the Titan turned to her and swatted her out of the sky with one of his tails, sending her crashing into a city bus with enough strength to cleave it in half. Lying at the end of a long crater in the street, Rosemary cursed and slowly got to her feet, just as she was encompassed by a massive shadow. Flapping her wings desperately, she took flight and fled as the Titan tried to stomp on her with one of its colossal paws.

“Angel Art: Final Penitence!” Raphael called from behind the beast.

At his command, half a dozen large wooden crosses fell out of the sky like missiles and slammed into the creature’s back and momentarily threatened to throw it off balance. Furious, the goliath turned to him with one of its head and launched a house-sized black fireball. The blast struck Raphael head on, sending him plummeting out of the sky while wreathed in flames.

“Angel Art: Divine Smite!” an Archangel with short blond hair called, rocketing down towards the Titan with her sword raised.

Sensing her approach, the Titan raised its two heads and opened one of its jaws, unleashing a massive Abyss Blast. The Archangel blocked the attack with her sword, cutting through the beam of energy and struggling to keep moving forward, even with her strength increased. The blast finally ended and the woman’s sword was knocked to the side by the final bead of energy, but just as she was about to reattempt her attack, the Titan reached up with its other head with lightning speed and stabbed her right in the gut with the horn on the bridge of its nose. The force of the impact and the size of the horn ripped her to pieces and ended her life.

“Amelia, no!” another Archangel by the name of Remiel yelled through his long braided beard, mourning the loss of his comrade. The Archangel turned to the Titan and clapped his hands together, spreading his wings to their maximum length. “Angel Art: Incense Suffocation Seal!”

On his command, four pillars of stacked incense lanterns burst from the ground, forming a fence of white lightning around he Titan. Once completed, the four pillars each began spewing thick clouds of incense smoke, filling the space within the prison but going no further. In seconds, the Titan was invisible, hidden within a cloud of smoke. Over the sound of the dense vapor spraying out like water jets, everyone would hear the beast coughing and hacking on the fumes as it burned its flesh like gaseous acid and pressed on its body from all sides as if it were at the bottom of the ocean.

“Angel Art: Divinity Ray!” all the Archangels called, pointing their fingers at the Titan and firing beams of golden light as large as Hummers. The beams struck the Titan, causing it to snarl in pain and illuminating the smoke cloud.

“Keep shooting! We have to kill this thing!” Michael ordered, pumping all of his energy into his blast.

All of the Archangels were thrown back as the Titan released an earthshaking roar and was wrapped in shadow fire. The black explosions shattered the four pillars and pushed aside the Divinity Rays as if they were mere beams of light. Furious at the harm they had caused it, the creature reached out with its two heads and snapped up a pair of Archangels, than knocked the rest back like a group of flies with its tails.

“Damn it, how is it possible that this thing is so powerful?!” Raphael cursed as he pushed aside the wall of a broken building that had fallen on top of him.

“Michael, we need Baltoh, he’s the only one who can face something like this!” Rosemary barked.

“No! We don’t need him every time something goes wrong! We are Archangels of Heaven, we do not need help destroying this rabid mutt!” Michael yelled angrily, trying to nurse his bruised ego and his bleeding scalp.

“Besides, Baltoh is held up fighting that Master of Torture. He can’t help us,” Gabriel said as he popped his dislocated shoulder back into position.

“So then we need a plan.”

“I think we should try and get this creature back together with is rider,” Rosemary insisted, “then have Baltoh use one of his hyper blasts on them both. I believe I heard that Demon Abaddon remark that it was the spell he would use to destroy them when he encountered them in Hell. Instead of separating them and beating them individually, we should get them together and take them both out with one big attack. Michael, we can’t do this without Baltoh.”

“Damn it, have we really fallen this far?!” H

“Wake up Michael, we haven’t fallen. Everything else just rose above us,” Gabriel said.

Michael closed his eyes and mulled over the decision, muttering curses to himself from his bruised ego. “Very well. You lead the way Rosemary.”

The beautiful redhead stood up. “We need to hit this thing with every sealing spell we have. Hopefully we can stop it or slow it down enough for Baltoh to lure that Master of Torture over here.”

“Ok, I’ll get us started. Angel Art: Hope Beacon Summoning!” Raphael shouted.

Four buildings around the Titan shattered as a group of Hope Beacons appeared in their place, giving all the Archangels four power boosts.

“Angel Art: Final Crucifixion!” Rosemary called, feeling her strength return.

Shaking the entire city, a massive cross burst from the ground, towering above the skyscrapers and casting a shadow over the Titan. Dozens of whips, adorned with thorns and bits of twisted metal, reached out and wrapped around the Titan, pulling it up and slamming it against the cross while tearing at its flesh. The beast howled in pain as its canine bones snapped and its muscles tore so that its limbs could be secured to the cross by the three train-sized nails. Wrapping around the necks of the Titan, a crown of thorns formed and acted as another bind to the cross. Finally, a building-sized spear blade appeared in the air and plunged itself into the monster’s chest.

“Angel Art: Rosary Restraints!” all the Archangels called as the Titan roared in pain and frustration.

From their beaded bracelets, countless red chains shot forth and wrapped around the beast, further securing it to the cross while burning its flesh like hot wire. Pulling on the chains with all their strength, the Archangels pulled the cross out of the ground and sent it falling back like a chopped tree before shaking New York with its landing.

“Angel Art: Final Penitence!” Gabriel shouted.

Half a dozen towering crosses began to fall from the sky like bombs, slamming down into the Titan each with the weight of a mountain. Throughout New York, buildings were thrown from their foundations by each devastating impact and clouds of dust completely filled the air. The massive crosses had skewered the beast like harpoons, weighing it down and keeping it pinned.

“Angel Art: Incense Suffocation Seal!” Michael announced, slamming his hands on the ground.

As per the spell, four familiar towers of stacked incense lanterns burst from the ground around the beast and began spewing forth their smoke, which crushed the Titan like the weight of the ocean and literally burned its lungs. As everyone stopped to catch their breath, the massive creature unleashed a roar as low and deep as the beating of war drums and its body began to burn with black fire, slowly eating away at all of the seals. Even with their power enhanced with four Hope Beacons, the Archangels still could not keep the beast or its gargantuan energy restrained.

“Quick! Start hitting it with everything you’ve got before it overpowers the spells! Rosemary, go get Baltoh!” Gabriel shouted as he began launching bolts of Blessed Lightning at the awakening beast.

Baltoh and Amon stood in the middle of a barren wasteland, their feet buried under the powdered rubble of the buildings that had originally stood. Almost a third of New York had been reduced to dust and ash from their dynamic battle, much of the destruction being the result of them both smashing each other over the head with entire buildings like a pair of cartoon characters. Both fighters were caked with blood and panting heavily, having each received countless injuries that would have meant the death of any regular Demon or Archangel. It was not the fighting that had drained them both of their energy, but the injuries, both fighting through and healing them. In the battle, Amon had lost his helm and Baltoh his hood.

His lungs aching and begging for air, Baltoh lunged forward and punched Amon in the face, sending the Master of Torture staggering back. Baltoh didn’t let up, he chased after the Demon and continued punching him with all of his strength. Struggling to stay on his feet, Amon could do nothing as his face was pummeled again and again by Baltoh’s callused fists, bloodying his nose and cracking different areas of his skull.

As Baltoh took one step forward, the ground beneath him crumbled and he lost his footing, forcing him to shift his attention away from Amon and to instead fix his balance. This gave Amon the opportunity of a lifetime, and he took it by stabbing Baltoh through the gut with his tail and then spinning around, delivering a powerful kick to the center of his chest. Baltoh was thrown off the Demon’s tail with all of his ribs broken and blood streaming from his mouth and gut. Barely landing on his feet, Baltoh materialized his sword and tried to ignore the severity of injuries while they mended themselves.

‘Damn it, this is why I make sure never to fight these guys for extended close-range combat. We’re too evenly matched and we’re just wearing each other down. At this rate, we’ll just kill each other or reach a stalemate in which neither of us can move and the fate of the battle and perhaps the world will lie on whether or not Michael and the others can slay that Titan,’ he thought to himself, blinking hard to straighten his blurred vision.

Forming his sword from black flames, albeit at a much slower pace than before, Amon charged towards Baltoh with the last of his strength.

“Ok, this is the deciding clash, I know it. Whoever outlives and outlasts the other in this final battle will be the victor,” Baltoh said under his breath as he widened his stance and leveled his sword.

Amon raised his sword above his head and brought it down towards Baltoh’s right side, aiming for the veins between his shoulder and neck. Baltoh blocked the attack with an uppercut swing, and while Amon tried to pull his blade back for another attempt, Baltoh delivered a devastating cut from shoulder to hip, sending the blood spraying across the ground with a deep satisfying splat. Fueled by adrenalin and rage pumping through his veins like his inky blood, Amon pulled his sword back and countered with a stab to the left side of Baltoh’s chest, puncturing his lung and sabotaging his breathing.

Both struggling to stay awake and on their feet, the two fighters locked swords once, twice, three times, with each collision sending showers of sparks as if the blades were red-hot. On the fourth clash, Baltoh was able to maneuver his sword past Amon’s and deliver a deep cut across the shoulder, then twist the blade and send it sheering across his throat. Gurgling on his own blood, Amon roared and swung his sword wildly, slashing Baltoh diagonally across the face.

With his streaming blood blinding his left eye, Baltoh staggered back and snarled in pain. Amon lunged at the opportunity, swinging his sword from the side and cutting Baltoh’s stomach open and leaving his entrails dangling. With a demonic roar of anger, Baltoh raised his sword high above his head and struck Amon’s left shoulder with a cleaving angle. Pulling down on the sword, Baltoh carved through the Demon’s flesh with the serrations and gut hook, ripping him open like a chainsaw. Amon’s shoulder and ribs were shattered by the brutal strike, the muscles were all severed, the nerves cut, and the veins spraying blood like fountains. Amon stepped back with his whole left side from the waist up barely clinging to the rest of his body. It was almost as if someone had tried to cut him in half with a saw but started at the wrong spot and were stopped at the waist.