Chapter 244: Demons
"ON THE FLOOR NOW!" The Marines screamed at the dazed men inside the breached room. "DOWN NOW!"
They grabbed anyone still standing and kicked their legs, making the hooded men fall down onto their knees before being slammed face down against the dirt floor.
"We got a hidden passage here!" Someone yelled and in the glows of the mage lights, the Marines saw a section of the wall was half blocked open by one of the escaping hooded men who unluckily turned and faced the blast from the flash bang, rendering him half blind and screaming.
"Section 2, go check it out!" The LT ordered and the men of Section 2 piled up next to the hidden door before entering cautiously one by one.
They did not go far when the narrow passage opened up into the city's sewers and they found themselves before a raised stone platform that was surrounded by flowing water. Under their beams of light, they saw four figures standing in the middle of the platform and they yelled, "Hands where I can see them!"
Ignoring the stench of raw sewage, Ply sidestepped to the left while the others spread themselves out to cover the area with their weapons. The four hooded figures continued to stand there silencing and unmoving.
"HANDS!" The Sergeant roared at the four. "PUT YOUR HANDS UP, NOW!"
One of the hooded men flipped his hood back and they saw he was wearing a half golden mask. "Well, I certainly did not expect you Barbarians to find our hideout so fast!"
"But you are all too late!" Golden Mask smiled. "I will be seeing you again. That is if, you all survive!"
"Hahahahahahahaa!" He laughed and suddenly he leaped off the platform and vanished like smoke into the shadows with his laughter echoing off the sewage tunnels. "Hahahahahahaaaaa..."
"Fark!" The Sergeant ran to where the Golden Mask had disappeared, shining his flashlight all over but he couldn't find any traces of the man. "What the fark!?"
"Take them away!" The frustrated Sergeant ordered the rest while gesturing the unmoving trio in the middle.
"Sarge!" Ply yelled. "Something is not right here! I don't have a good feeling about those guys!"
As if to confirm his point, the three hooded figures suddenly started to spasm on the spot. Bone cracking sounds could b heard from the hooded figures as they appeared to change shapes underneath their cloaks.
"What in the Gods name is going on?" All the Marines aimed their weapons at the three who appeared to look taller and thinner. Their limbs seemed elongate while their bodies hunched lower.
One of the hoods of the men, fell back as his head appeared to grow horns. The Marines looked with horror as the flesh on the cheeks of the man ripped apart as he opened its mouth in agony. His teeth fell off from his mouth in bloody chunks as fangs grew in its place and the wide eyes behind the mask turned yellow.
"DEMON!" The Sergeant cried out in horror. "FIRE!"
Almost instantly the Marines of Section 2 open fired. Ply's hands turned sweaty as he kept working his bolt after each pull of his trigger only to find his rifle was empty. In his fear, he had fired off all his ammunition in his rifle and he has forgotten to reload, he just kept squeezing the trigger in fear.
The heavy rounds hammered hard against the Demon possessed elves as their body underwent horrifying transformations. Bloody nails fell off as claws grew out, while bone spars pushed through flesh, skin, and cloth.
"BACK! FALL BACK!" The Sergeant yelled and started shoving the fear rooted Marines towards the tunnel. "GO!"
Ply nearly tripped as his jellied legs barely responded to his action but his section mate caught him in time. They quickly drag themselves back into the tunnel and out into the cellar and found Section 1 with their bound prisoners staring at them in confusion.
"RUN! GET OUT!" The Sergeant appeared behind them and tossed a grenade into the tunnel. "FRAG OUT!"
The thud of the grenade sent dust and dirt drizzling down from the roof of the cellar. "Demons! Farking demons! Get topside now!"
The LT looked confused but he quickly acted, ordering the Marines to bring all the prisoners up and evacuate the building. As they exited the room, the secret doors exploded as a vaguely humanoid creature smashed its way through.
Everyone looked back in horror at the demon with a permanent grin whose skin over the face was so tightly stretched that it had torn off in many places, exposing the flesh underneath. It had skeletal arms with claws and a pair of 'S' shaped horns growing out from the side of its head.
Its body appeared thinner as the quite form fitting cloak now looks baggy over its skinny and tall frame. It turned its bloody head and gave a peal of mad laughter as it spotted the Marines and the prisoners.
"FESSH MEAT!"
"RUN!" Someone cried and it became a mad scramble up the stairs. The LT cursed and quickly ordered, "Section 1, provide covering fire!"
The training the Marines had, taken over and they quickly turned and fire at the demon host, buying time for the rest to climb up the stairs. The demon host flinched as shots hammered against its body causing foul smelling dark red blood to splatter all over the cellars.
"Fall back!" The order finally came and the Marines quickly climbed up the stairs leaving behind a broken demon host just as two more demons came in from the wrecked secret entrance.
Due to the racket of the guns, all the people that lived nearby or in their own stores were wakened. Glows of mage light lit the area as curious bystanders gathered while others watched on from their windows.
"Evacuate everyone from a two hundred meter radius!" The LT ordered. "What is HQ's reply?"
"They are sending in the rest of Falcon company to support us!" The radioman replied. "But they are at least 15 minutes away!"
"Shit!" The LT cursed. "Never mind! Get the people to safety-"
The side of the store exploded into bits of wood, plaster, and stone as a hulking creature roared. It crawled out on all fours like some kind of animal. Tatters of clothing remained on its body as bone spars and thorns had grown out everywhere.
Its head no longer had any resemblance of a person anymore as long blunt fanged snot had stretched the skin tautly. It sniffed the air and cocked it horned head before howling.
Ply felt goosebumps as the howl sent tingles of primal fear down his spine. He nearly dropped his rifle as he took back from the creature.
"HOLD FIRM, MEN!" The LT voice roared out and he raised one hand up to the sky with his palm facing upwards and chanted a spell. "Inspire Courage!"
The LT glowed slightly and a ring of energy motes expanded out from him. Each soldier that was within the ring, no longer felt fear as the spell canceled away the effects of the demon's howl. "Kill it!"
With their hearts fortified, the Marines fired at the demon host, which screamed in pain while trying to close in with the soldiers.
The third demon suddenly appeared from the ruined walls, and it too charged towards the Marines. Ply no longer panicking, fired his Magelock at the charging demon who looked similar to the first demon but its legs were bent backward.
"DEMONS DIE!" An Orc Marine heaving the MG-1, advanced step by step forward while hip firing his machine gun. The bright red tracers peppered the dog demon and the force of the bullets sending sprawling to the ground.
"KILL!" The Marines yelled a war cry and advanced up by fire movement, their shots forcing the demons to be unable to do anything and before long, they laid unmovingly on the ground with gunshot wounds all over.
Even the shop front was so badly shot up, it looked like a mini warzone with numerous bullet holes all over the walls.
"CEASE FIRE!" The LT ordered. "Some go check if they are dead!"
The Marines poked and prod the bodies for a while before yelling, "Clear! They are dead!"
"Go check the one in the cellar too!"
-----
Joseph frowned as he looked at the Marines policing up the area where the demons had appeared. In the daylight, the demons did not look as frightening as in the night but it still makes one feel revolted by the dripping pus and smells of hellstones.
"So what happened?" He asked the company commander of Falcon. "How did these vile creatures came back here?"
"Well, Sir, they appeared to be summoned by someone," The CO of Falcon replied. "Platoon 2 was sent to investigate an illegal gathering here and upon the pursuit of some escaped suspects, one of the suspects escaped but the left behind three presents for us."
The CO gestured to the tent at the side where the bodies of the demon hosts were temporarily stored. "From the statements of those arrested, they have no idea who the person is responsible as they were all masked or hooded up to conceal their identity. The only name they know is they call him Golden Mask."
"We got enough evidence from them that they are planning to raise up in arms," The CO continued. "It's more than enough for life imprisonment or death."
"Squeeze more info out of them," Joseph replied. "I want to know who that person who is capable of summoning demons!"
"Yes, sir!"
-----
UNS Singapore, Captain's Quarters
"Demons?" Blake frowned as he looked at the screen with the image of Joseph. "Any causalities?"
"Thankfully, none, Sir," Joseph replied. "Except for the three whose bodies were used to host the demons."
"Do you need anything?" Blake asked. "More troops? Or specialized personnel?"
"Well, Sir, if you could spare Dr. Sharon or Magister Thorn," Joseph thought for a while before replying. "They will be a great help in determining the origins of these demons. And also someone with good investigative skills."
"Got it," Blake nodded. "I see what I can do on my side. Out."
"So what do you think?" Blake asked the gathered Officers in his office.
Marine CO Frank frowned worriedly, "Well, I don't really think is a good idea to sent either Dr. Sharon or Magister Thorn down."
"The city is still hostile," Frank explained. "And we can't afford to have anything happen to either one of them."
"Pfft," Dr. Sharon waved off Frank's concerns. "I am a big girl, I know how to look after myself! And besides who else knows how to do a biopsy here?"
"Still you are too important to be exposed to any dangerous situation!" Frank argued back.
"If I may," Magister Thorn raised his hand up. "I think we both should be there."
"Why?" Blake asked.
"Because, its a demon, which I had some minor experiences with demons in my life," Thorn replied. "Also, I think with Dr. Sharon's help, she can help on the science side."
"And while I may be old," Thorn grinned. "I can still protect the Doctor if needs require."
"Hmm," Blake rubbed his chin as he thought of what to do next. "Tavor, what do you think?"
"I think it is a good idea to sent both down to Orwell's Point, Sir," The Intelligence Officer said. "But I would propose a few additions."
"Like?" Blake raised an eyebrow at Tavor.
"Add in the two girls from the Hero's party," He suggested. "The girl mage can help Thorn with the magic side of things while the hunter girl can help with the investigation part. She does have very good tracking skills, so maybe she could help us trace and find where the person responsible is."
Blake nodded, "That sounds good to everyone?"
"Alright, all of you, go pack your holiday outfits and luggage, you are on the next flight down to Orwell's Point!"
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