Dimas kept his distance, staying in the air while trying to keep the army of silvery tendrils from overwhelming Salvador, who was busy sacrificing and then quickly regenerating his hands in order to hit Melchor with molten cobalt. And Melchor was handling them both, swirling around their attacks while countering with his own. It was all they could do to keep him from simply blowing past them and going after Hector again.
Hector, in the meantime, worked on remaking his armor. Much as he would’ve liked to help, he knew that rushing back in would just put Duvoss and Xuan in danger. The best he would’ve been able to offer was a distraction, but that was exactly what Dimas and Salvador were trying to provide for him now.
‘Careful behind you,’ said Garovel. ‘We’ve drawn everyone’s attention.’
Indeed, Hector turned in time to see Ismael’s purple flames descending upon him. They smacked against his shield as he rolled away, but he found that they would not come off. Melting flesh stuck to the metal like glue, continuing to provide potassium fuel for the flames. Hector smothered them with an iron coating.
Asad appeared next to him, materializing a storm of glassy spikes to keep Ismael and Nere occupied. “Are you alright?” he asked with two voices.
“Yeah,” said Hector. “You?”
“Wouldn’t mind a little assistance. Here.” Asad pressed a tattooed hand against Hector’s fresh armor, but they were interrupted before he could finish strengthening it again. He and Hector were forced to dive in opposite directions to avoid a destructive path from Nere.
And Hector just tried to keep moving as he raised his shield to deal with more flames.
Chapter One Hundred Two: ‘The demon in the mud...’
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Dust trickled down from the ceiling with each successive tremor, and Ibai Blackburn bit his lip as he stared up at it.
He’d been trying to ignore the shaking. He really had. But it just kept reminding him that a battle was going on out there. A real battle. And so close.
But Mama and Papa would be so cross with him if they found out that he left the room. Worse, they’d be disappointed in him. And of course, if he ended up having to explain precisely how he managed to get out, that would only make them even more upset.
But it had to be done. These quakes were simply too enticing to go uninvestigated. Maybe if he was sneaky about it, no one would find out.
shit->fan
ReplyDeletealso yes, an even fight for hector?
Never. From now on, he shall alternate between fighting Satan, Cthulhu, and the Pillsbury Doughboy.
ReplyDeleteSo will Ibai become a sneaky cockroach to escape the room?
ReplyDeletethe Pillsbury Doughboy.
ReplyDeleteNot the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man?
Did Asad strengthen Hectors armor or didn't? It is a little unclear.
ReplyDeleteHe did not. Edited for a bit more clarity.
ReplyDeleteWell, now I'm sad that Ibai's an aberration. He almost seems like a sweet kid, underneath all of the murdering.
ReplyDeleteA sweet, fully grown kid in his mid-thirties, yes.
ReplyDeleteHe hasn't even murdered anyone, though!
ReplyDeleteOh, come one. Satan's just too easy. Do you know how many things are supposed to ward off demons? Horseshoes, crosses, heroism, cleverness, and pure selflessness, all of which Hector has in spades.
ReplyDeleteMid-thirties?? I guessed I've missed this fact... I figured he was 15-something (people start shaving in different times), but mid-thirties... Are all the abberations immature? Ibai and Geoffrey are both on the eight years old level of personal development. Can abberations "grow up"?
ReplyDeleteOuch man, that hurts :( not cool.
ReplyDeleteYou're gonna get a Concorddoken, Ibai!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm hoping for a more interesting resolution than that.
Personally, I wouldn't feel safe with anything less than a firehose of holy water.
ReplyDeleteNo, but he knows he wants to, and in some ways that is almost as bad. I would suggest LSD to keep him entertained, but if they want to try that to make him more manageable, they might as well just kill him, and they never will do that.
ReplyDeleteOh, not YOU, Satan. I meant a totally different Satan. Y'know how it is. It's such a common name 'n all.
ReplyDeleteHe'd been trying to [the] ignore the shaking.
ReplyDeleteGot it, thank you
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point. Edited, thank you.
ReplyDelete