Sin or Suicide

-Daniel Fleeting-

(1097 AD. Somewhere outside Jerusalem)

The battlefield was decided. It was a great dusty plain, with mountains to the far west, and Jerusalem straight ahead barley visible in the distance.

I could see the banners of the Seljuk Turks standing their ground a mile ahead of our regiment.

I grasped my holy weapon tighter. I paid no mind to the mortal foes that made up the enemy rank. I kept my eyes moving constantly, searching for the demon.

Father Fredrick said I'd know him when I saw him.

Hours rolled by. Our two opposing armies simply stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Then I saw him. A tall man in black armor strode out in front of the Seljuk lines. A red mist clung to his body, and I felt an overwhelming sense of evil from him.

He began to pace in front of the enemy. He was talking to them, encouraging them to slay God's soldiers. They began to stomp their feet.

A steady beat began to fill the air. It was a beat of death, and the demon was conducting.

Then the demon casually pointed towards us.

The Seljuk's roared and ran at us. They ran past Satan's creature as if he were a rock fixed in a stream. They came on horses and they came on foot.

They came bearing sword and axe, bow and spear. I heard Crusader Commander Williams raise his voice.

"Men at the ready," he yelled.

And then they hit us.

The first one to fall was one of ours. He took an arrow to the throat. He was a youth with blonde hair and round eyes.

The second was an older Norse man. Someone I suspect simply marched across the world to die on a battlefield. An axe was planted in his head, cutting it in half.

The deaths mounted exponentially, seas of blood stained the dirt field.

Over the din of the shrieks and cries of pain, I heard laughter. I tore my eyes from the heathens slaughtering God's warriors.

My gaze once again found the demon.

He was laughing.

It was the most beautiful sound that I had ever heard. It was like a lilting flute intermingled with bird song and a babbling brook.

It was terrifying.

My sword started to glow.

A golden aura seemed to emit from it. My terror seemed to subside, and a feeling of warmth washed over me. I felt my feet take a step forward towards the demon.

Suddenly the demon stopped laughing.

His blazing red eyes and beautiful pale face locked onto mine. My blood stopped in my veins.

A thins sneer emerged on his fine lips.

My sword grew brighter, and I kept walking toward him. No enemies stepped within my path. I proceeded unchallenged, and my steps grew larger. The demons sneer turned into an ugly grimace.

His lips didn't move, but I could hear his voice, it

was cold.

"Little human, you know more than the rest of the puppets, yet that sword you hold is not a toy. Turn around, for you know not what you deal ... you should just..."

His voice all of a sudden sounded muffled. Instead a warm buzz seemed to fill my ears. I felt concentrated, and focused. His presence was cleared from my mind.

All of a sudden he broke out into a huge grin. The smile twisted his face even more, making him seem like a snarling animal.

I stood not ten feet from the monster. Well within hearing range. The demon began walking towards me.

"You're a Judicair," he said calmly.

The warmth was still present in my mind. I simply nodded serenely. A voice spoke through my mouth. It sounded like my voice, yet the words were not mine.

"Yes Prince Devnikolus, Lord of Destruction, I am a Judicair, and I have come to return you to hell so you may meddle in this war no more."

Devnikolus cocked his head to the side.

"You're new." He said. "Your Celestial personality has not integrated with your human one," he paused, "If I remember correctly, that means you were made this year, perhaps even this month."

I felt the voice talking again. "It is true that we are not yet one, and that we are new, but Raphael himself wishes you banished back to hell. Much holy power has been invested in us for this task."

I didn't remember being told all this. But the voice seemed confident. I contented myself to simply watch.

All of a sudden the voice was speaking to me, silently in my head.

~Daniel, you must fight, I am too weak and too new to fight this demon. But we have been given power, great power to vanquish our foe~ The voice said.

I gripped the blade tighter. I knew my task.

Devnikolus shrugged, "It would seem you are not to be dissuaded, very well." The demon waved his hand, and a red spark appeared.

The spark grew and glittered, and formed shape. The demon now held a sword with a black blade and a silver hilt, with a blood red ruby in it's pommel.

I remembered what Father had told me.

I threw the cross down on the ground. A green spark flashed. The demon screamed. I looked up at him. He was gazing at the cross. His eyes seemed less red, as if they had been drained.

The voice spoke through me again. "Prince Devnikolus, I challenge you to a battle of immortality."

The demon tore his eyes from the cross, his face still twisted in obvious discomfort.