Chương 191: And The Man Answered...
"Who is it that dared enter my land and kill my people?"
"Your land?" Archibald harrumphed.
"Not dead yet." Scott remarked.
Irwin groaned, "Fine. Come the fuck out, whoever you are."
The demons trapped within the Devil's Trap and making some unnecessary noise, immediately halted their movements once two sets of footsteps echoed through the marble porch just outside of the light.
The demons bowed down to two demons Irwin never wanted to see within a mile of Lisbon Valley. Inside of their original meat sacks from the television show, Alistair, grand torturer of Hell, and Azazel, demon general and Prince of Hell, stepped inside of the doorframe and an inch outside of the Devil's Trap.
Not that it would do any good as they would have a thousand ways to escape; one being the hundreds of demons currently surrounding the estate.
"I'm not sure what to say…" Irwin barked a laughter, spreading his hands with a breathy sigh. "To be in front of royalty is an honor, in and of itself. But to think that the general of Lucifer's army, creator of the Special Children, and one of the five–Sorry, one of the six Princes of Hell… Should I bow?"
"Ah, here I was, just forgetting about the death of my sibling." Azazel flitted his yellow eyes down as he shook his head. If he was even somewhat surprised at what Irwin knew of him, the expression on his face didn't
"How are you, Richard? How is the family?"
"Not as bad as yours." Irwin replied. "And this is…?"
Alistair cackled as he bowed his head, milky eyes twinkling with delight and bizarre curiosity. "Alistair, at your service."
Although Irwin knew who he was, his name still jolted something within Irwin's body. Like a switch had been toggled, a dribble of sweat poured down his blood-stained brows.
He had unwittingly and unintentionally met with the grand torturer's techniques during his month-long captivity on Dagon's Island. He was surprised at himself at how fast he had gotten past the torture, even having the nerve to joke about it to his friends and family alike. Yet, in the face of the mastermind behind his pain, Irwin found himself clenching his fist in silent frustration.
Irwin stepped forward, ignoring the rapid thumps of his heart. "What is it you want, Azazel? I'm sure you didn't destroy the front door just to say hello. What? You want your Special Children back?"
"Oh, I've dealt with that." Azazel snapped his fingers, and the unconscious forms of Garth, Ansem, and Andy flew out of the dark expanse and into the hall of the manor.
Irwin reflexively caught Garth first, before using his body to cushion the fall of the other two. "Sorry about that," He muttered as he pulled all three inwards with Scott helping him with the twins. "You got it."
Archibald helped Scott deal with the three, as Irwin invigorated his magical energy.
"I don't need them anymore… I have other toys to play with." Azazel cackled dangerously. "Dagon's Bane. They call you that for killing my sibling. As if she was some monster hoarding gold." The door frame broke apart by a miniature earthquake radiating from Azazel's anger. "Thorough humiliation, that's what I like to inflict on my victims. But, I have to say, feeling it is not… It removes the fun in it. It's just not the same. "
"Yeah? Why don't you cry me a river?" Irwin's eyes glowed with a purple hue as made contact with the demons trapped within the circle and he commanded, "Return."
Upon his command, a streak of black smoke escaped the facial orifices of the two meat sacks, traveling up for a moment before being pulled downwards into the cracks on the floor. Before they could escape back to the underworld, Alistair whistled with his two fingers, which pulled the demon back into his arm, blackening his skin and grafting it with pus and boils.
"Nice trick, fucker. I'm done playing around, Azazel. I can kill the bitch, I can kill you." Irwin pushed forth with his magical energy, matched by Azazel, who stood still in response. "Get the fuck out of my town."
His left foot dug deep beneath the hardwood floor, only to feel Archibald's hand on his shoulder. "Son!" He said, fear in his voice. "No, please, don't…"
"Listen to your father, son. Anger won't do you any good," Alistair mocked.
Anger had nothing to do with what Irwin was trying to do, but he was certainly glad that it was what Alistair thought of. If anything was to matter right now, it was to get the Prince of Hell to finish his business with him.
By deliberately giving Irwin back Garth and the twins, Azazel was spooking him with his immeasurable plans and unknown tactics. It was the yellow-eyed demon's bread and butter.
"When the clock strikes midnight, my forces will swarm your little home and shed so much blood that it'll flood all the way to the small dock." Azazel closed his eyes as the smile on his face widened. "Unless, of course, you give me a member of your warm, happy family. It could be your father, that beautiful aunt of yours, your lover, or… maybe your sister?"
If Azazel really wanted Irwin angry, then he had done it now. Gears clicked into place as Irwin rushed forward without so much as warning. His left fist, winded back up to the side of his face, combusted into blue flames before belting a full-powered punch.
Azazel's eyes flinched with surprise as the flaming fist wandered past him and to his left, landing straight into Alistair's face and sending the demon torturer flying into the shadows that seemed to strangle the light of the moon.
Alistair disappeared from the light of the hall like a popped bubble; Only the sound of his body crashing into the fountain in the middle of the front lawn was proof of his existence.
He inched closer to Azazel, who met his gaze with a grin of his own. Irwin didn't flinch either, merely allowing the heat to radiate from his arm to the demon.
"What do you think they'll call me after I hang your soul in my mantlepiece?" Irwin barked like a dog, stepping back from the confrontation with a huge grin on his face.
"You have an hour to choose." Azazel allowed himself to be swallowed by the darkness, his yellow eyes remaining for but a few seconds before receding back into the darkness.
There was utter silence in the hall. It was not until a clattering resounded in the kitchens, followed by loud arguments, that Irwin came to his surroundings.
"Scott, tell the guests to sit still, would you?" Irwin asked, not waiting for his answer before turning to Egoi. "Handle the second and third floor. Make sure everything is closed and locked."
He withdrew to the parlor room, where Garth and the twins were coming out of unconsciousness. "Ease up." He said, tossing each of them a Health potion.
Garth made himself comfortable on the couch, chest breathing heavily. "Dude, I didn't–"
"There's no need for that. Just heal up because we have a lot to do."
"What are we doing, Irwin?" Ella's voice was like a calming wand that reached into his mind, bringing a smile to the nervous man's face.
"We're in a siege, Ella." Irwin breathed out his nervousness and looked her in the eye. "We need to take out our soft targets. Grab Peachy, would you?"
"Yeah, of course." She gave him one last look before heading upstairs, leading Irwin to notice Archibald and Lady Anastasia having a silent, heated conversation.
"Garth, you still have your Monster Banishing Sigil? The silver card." Irwin brought out potion after sword after guns out of his spatial bangle as the rest of the household began to work in overdrive.
Andy toggled a mechanism behind a portrait of Archibald, revealing three bandoleers of Devil's Trap bullets and four modified M1 Garand rifles. Ansem fumbled his way into the fireplace, reaching out to the side to grab a small box containing ten metal bottles of holy oil and a cigar box of Phoenix Ash that Irwin had bought for five hundred credits.
Garth shuttered down all the windows and locked all the doors while throwing the silver card onto the main table in the parlor room. "Still have it. Who should have it?"
"I still have mine." Ella informed as she carried down an irate Annalize, who was clearly woken up from her beauty sleep as she still had her nightgown and ear mufflers on.
"Peachy? Ella, what is she doing up?" Archibald scolded Ella as he tried to hug Annalize away from the girl, only to be hushed by Irwin.
"Yes. We don't know if they've set up spatial locking sigils, but we have a 50-50 chance." Irwin "We have to arm her. Ansem, get the go-bag under my bed. Garth, give her the food pack on the pantry; below the gas tanks." He reached out and caressed her cheeks with his free hands, an act that she reflexively leaned into but leaned away once she gained a hold of herself.
"I know it's tough, Peachy, I know I've done you much harm, but know that everything I do… I do it out of love, out of necessity, and sheer idiocy!" His last line brought a smile on the poor girl's face, which delighted Irwin. "Wherever you go, know that I will–"
"Everybody stop!" Lady Anastasia's words halted all people to a standstill. She floated out of her wheelchair and neared Irwin within moments, "What are you doing with my child?"
"Getting her out of here." He answered, unflinching. "I have a magical item that can teleport her on the other side of the globe. I don't know if it will work against Infernal sorcery, but we have to save her from this."
"She cannot–"
"I will give her munitions, and enough magical items to protect her until one of us saves her." Irwin interjected. "I will not let her be in this house when a hundred fucking demons is besieging it."
"My child will not leave my side." Lady Anastasia put Irwin in his place, pushing him off with her magical energy. "I will go with her if necessary. Until then, I will protect her."
Irwin stared at Lady Anastasia for a while, thoughts swirling with protecting her sister and the fear of the enemy before grumbling and walking away from the confrontation.
Seeing the stand-off reduced to nothing but grumbling on one side, Ella placed Annalize into her mother's care as she took out her silver card.
"What do we do with these, then?" She asked.
"I'm guessing you aren't gonna go, too, Archy?" Archibald laughed away Irwin's question as he armed himself with the rifle with familiarity. "Fine. Keep it close to family. If anyone is hurt beyond current repair, use it on them."
"Uh, is family–"
"Yes, Garth. You are included in that."
"Check the other bedrooms, see if we have enough weapons for a hundred demons." Irwin said, "If not, then maybe we can head to the armory."
Archibald peeked through the blinds and reported, "They have completely surrounded the estate. The armory's out of the question."
"Completely?" Irwin tilted his head as an idea popped in his mind, "You know what? We've been neglecting our yard. Why don't one of you hit the switch on our sprinkler?"
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