Defiance of the Fall

WHAT? - Zac exclaimed , completely unable to follow the quick turns . Was the man an assassin or a member of a death squad that some rival demon group had sent after the general? But why would they want to ruin their own invasion? From what Zac understood the incursion would close the moment the four heralds and the general were dead .

But he could only put aside his doubts for now , as he was completely wrung out but still surrounded by hundreds of demons . At least they looked shell-shocked by the turn of events as well , as they hesitantly stared at the two corpses on the ground . Zac used this brief respite to quickly take a swig of the azure pond water , the familiar burning sensation quickly spreading through his veins , temporarily muting the blazing pain in his various wounds . He knew he had to treat himself real soon though , as he was starting to feel woozy from blood loss , even with the water strengthening him .

Just as he put away the bottle the assassin suddenly spasmed again , and with a few wretched coughs he rose from the dead . Zac didn’t want to take any chances , and started to advance on the zombie demon .

Wait human , we are on the same side - the demon croaked as he weakly scrambled to his feet .

Shocked at hearing something else than demonic for the first time since he met Abby , Zac paused and hesitantly stared at the demon . The surrounding demons suddenly woke up from their stupor and started angrily screaming at the assassin again , which was completely ignored by him .

We don’t have time for a chat human , you should have a cauldron of poison from the imps . Throw the contents into a fire if you want us to survive - he continued .

Why should I believe you? Why did you kill that man? - Zac questioned , loath to just follow some stranger’s instructions . He glanced around and saw that most of the demons were closing in , except for a few who were taking care of the leftover monkeys .

It doesn’t matter . Unless you do something we’re dead . Even if you drink the whole bottle of the Cosmic Water your wounds will kill you before you’re out of this valley if you keep fighting . - The demon interjected , having seen through Zac’s original plan of trying to slash himself out with the help of the azure water . An arrow whizzed past Zac head as a reminder he was strapped for time , and he needed to act fast .

After hesitating for a while he decided to comply with the suggestion . He subconsciously knew he wouldn’t make it out , as the only thing keeping him on his feet was the temporary boost from the water . He had held off until now , but it was Hail Mary time .

He brought out the large cauldron , and with a grunt threw it into one of the fiercest fires created by the Herald . The contents spilled out over the fire , and instantly a huge purple cloud , far more sinister compared to what he had seen in the imp Herald’s cave , swelled out . The poison vapors created in the caves had only been from the small fires underneath the cauldron heating the concoction , but this time the poison was actually burned instead of heated up . It looked like it fused with the smoke of the raging fires , and quickly spread outward .

What now? - he asked as he turned to the mysterious demon .

Now I wish you the best of luck human - the demon answered with a slight smile as he popped another pill into his mouth . It was a different type of pill from the one that temporarily killed him , giving out a refreshing herbal scent . He then took one step and disappeared into thin air .

Zac got a sinking feeling as he turned back to the cauldron . The fire was spewing out purple gasses in a terrifying volume , and it quickly expanded outward . Judging from the horrified faces of the demons he realized he might have made a big mistake . Not wasting any more time on the enigmatic demon , he madly ran for his life back toward the forest . He stumbled and couldn’t keep a very high speed even powered with the water , and his wounds kept bleeding as he ran for his life . With the mountain winds helping , the poison cloud would likely soon envelop the whole valley judging from its rapid expansion .

Only a few of the demons bothered with Zac after seeing the expanding purple haze , and instead fearfully dashed away from the battlefield , unheeding of any wounded comrades screaming for assistance .

A few of the wounded demons went for Zac with madness in their eyes , bent on taking him with them to hell . However , most of those who had given up fleeing were even more wounded than Zac , and could only helplessly glare at him as he stumbled away fueled by the azure water . An errant arrow hit his back , but Zac only grunted and continued on .

But the cloud moved too fast , and soon it was right at Zac’s heels . As he ran he took out a rag from his pouch and put it over his mouth , hoping it would at least provide some protection against the approaching cloud .