Chapter 11
The veiled man's form began to fade. Sparks of glowing dust burst from his body and rushed straight into Felix, swirling around him like a storm of light. Felix braced himself, expecting a surge of power, a flood of strength, or at least some kind of awakening.
But nothing happened.
Was I scammed?
Regret washed over him first, followed quickly by worry. He had just allowed a fragment of something he didn't understand to enter his body. What if it was poison? What if it was worse?
Then he noticed the protective dome starting to flicker.
His back shivered. His first instinct was to run — to abandon the little demonic child without a shred of thought and save himself.
But before he could move, the dome produced a dramatic explosion. The force pulled him inward violently. Felix's eyes widened exaggeratedly as he was yanked off his feet.
He cursed his fate. Why? Why didn't it fade away like every other protective barrier?
Felix clenched his palm tightly around the femur, ready to move at any moment.
"I am definitely going to die," he muttered bitterly. "You could have at least given me something to protect myself."
"Haaaaeee!"
The demonic centipede noticed him. In its hand, the thrashing demonic baby was trying to eat its way through his palm.
Felix gulped. His heart beat abnormally fast.
"I'm scared…"
With terrifying speed, the sinner moved toward him with clear purpose.
Felix turned and ran — not directly away from the monster, but nimbly through the purple demonic crystals, weaving between the towering pillars in a desperate attempt to escape.
—-
Felix weaved desperately between the towering purple crystals, trying to lose the monster in the glowing forest. His new demonic servant followed close behind.
He heard the sound of soft sizzling right behind him.
The centipede sinner was gaining fast. Its countless legs scraped and clicked against the crystal floor with horrifying speed. Felix glanced back and immediately regretted it. The black humanoid upper body was grinning with twisted hunger, while the demonic baby in its grasp thrashed wildly.
Felix ran harder, heart pounding. But the sinner was too fast.
It slammed into him from behind like a freight train. The impact sent him flying into a massive crystal pillar. Pain exploded through his back as he crashed to the ground.
Before he could get up, the centipede was on him.
Its segmented body coiled around his legs, pinning him down. The black humanoid part grabbed Felix by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Felix swung the femur wildly, smashing it against the creature's chitin with everything he had.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The blows landed hard, but the sinner barely flinched. It tightened its grip. Felix's vision blurred as air was cut off from his lungs.
The demonic baby in the sinner's other hand kept thrashing, trying to bite and claw its way free. The sinner never let go of it, as if the baby couldn't do enough damage to matter.
Felix struggled, kicking and swinging, but it was useless. The sinner was far stronger. It slammed him into another crystal pillar, then another. Each impact rattled his bones and reopened old wounds. Blood poured from his mouth.
I'm losing… badly.
The sinner finally drove its clawed hand straight into Felix's stomach. The pain was blinding. Felix screamed as the claws pierced deep, twisting inside him. Blood gushed out, soaking the creature's arm.
All through the agony, the sinner never released the demonic baby. It held the thrashing child tightly in its other hand, using it like a living weapon while feeding on Felix's suffering.
Felix's strength was fading fast. His vision darkened at the edges. He could feel himself slipping.
Then the sinner leaned in, opening its maw wide, ready to feed directly on Felix's flesh and life force.
In that moment, it finally let go of the demonic baby.
—
Felix yelled desperately at the demonic baby, his voice raw and broken.
"Come!"
He stretched out his blood-soaked arm toward the demonic child. Every movement sent fresh waves of agony through his pierced stomach. The wound burned like fire, blood pouring out in hot pulses with every heartbeat. The pain was so intense it made his vision blur and his legs tremble.
I don't believe you are not vulnerable to something. At least your humanoid part… I will not die alone, demon.
Fear, rage, and a deep, bitter refusal to die alone surged through him. He refused to let this monster end him so easily.
"Please follow me."
With all the strength he could muster — muscles screaming, stomach wound tearing wider with the effort — Felix picked up the demonic child. The weight felt like it would rip his body apart. Pain exploded through his core as he swung the hard carapace body and smashed it directly into the centipede sinner's head.
Like a miracle sent from heaven, the sinner was stunned. Its teeth — which were inches from sinking into Felix's flesh — shattered with a sickening crack. Corrosive black blood sprayed everywhere, sizzling as it fell to the crystal floor and burned small holes in the stone.
The relief was momentary. The pain in Felix's stomach was unbearable, like a red-hot iron twisting inside him. He could feel himself weakening fast, blood loss making his head spin.
Noticing the release, Felix struck again. He slammed the demonic child's body into the sinner once more. Both demons screamed in pain as the centipede fell backwards, thrashing wildly. The impact jarred Felix's entire body, sending fresh torment through the deep wound in his gut.
"Ohh… you are vulnerable in the head," Felix muttered through gritted teeth, breathing heavily. His voice was weak, but a spark of desperate hope mixed with the overwhelming pain and exhaustion.