Filth! Despoiler! Abomination! The dragon did not need to be told that the gigantic crimson thing clawing its way up out of the pit was an enemy. It seemed to possess a primal, instinctual hatred for the demon. The dragon exerted its will, and the dragon blade it held grew longer, broader and heavier, both blade and hilt lengthening, the magic weapon transforming from a large one-handed sword to a massive double-handed version. Two clawed hands wrapped tight around the hilt, and two scaled wings beat hard against the air, driving the myrmidon towards the ground with the point of the sword aimed directly downwards.
An eerie, hollow ringing sound filled the air as the blade pierced the demon's finger. It sunk through a few inches of flesh, then met something hard, hard enough to even turn aside a dragon blade. The swordpoint slid down the curve of the demon's bone-or whatever it had instead of bone-and sliced open a large cut in the creature's skin over the course of about a second and a half. The wound oozed some thin and foul-smelling fluid of a dull yellow color that bubbled and foamed when it hit the soil.
The demon let out a deep bellow of anguish as it slowly pulled its head up above the ground. It reached over to try to swat at Ryan, but a quick flap of his wings and the dragon was safely beyond its range.
Destroy this monstrosity! the dragon raged. He raised one hand, the sword quickly returning to its previous size, and pulled. For several dozen yards around, pebbles, rocks and loose debris of all sorts, including charred hunks of wood from the church, rose up from the ground, high up into the air. Ryan closed his fist, and the various debris came hurtling downwards and inwards, striking the demon from all directions at once. He was only peripherally aware of his other companions throwing themselves to the ground to avoid the deadly shower of small objects.
The demon raised a hand of its own, causing the air to swirl about it, deflecting some of the projectiles, but a good number struck it all around its enormous crimson head and neck, opening gashes small and large, bleeding more of the vile yellow fluid.
William stood quickly, holding his hands over his head, then quickly thrusting them forward. A flow of pure water burst from his palms, spraying out and dousing the demon. It roared in pain, and William turned his hands so the water would spray into its mouth. Sasha caught on and joined in with her power, soaking the demon with the combined output of a small stream, diluting its abominable blood and getting in its mouth in great quantities.
Perhaps the demon needed to breathe, or perhaps the water was simply inimical to its nature in some way, but it seemed to fear the stream of water. It gurgled and conjured fire, throwing it at the shamans. Ryan instinctively reached out and nullified it with voidfire, freezing and shattering the flame bolts, leaving both shamans to dive out of the way of a small but dangerous hailstorm.
For all his talk of needing a sword, Karl at least had the good sense to stay clear of the battle. Not so Noren. The smith bellowed a deep warcry and leapt onto the demon's head, swinging his forge hammer down with both hands, driving the head of it into one of his enemy's eyes.
The demon roared at this and tossed its head backwards, though the hammer had not done any apparent damage. It sank into the eyeball a little, then bounced off again without breaking or deforming the eyeball in any way. The smith was thrown loose, but it gave Ryan an idea. He pushed off with his legs, leaping forward, then used his wings to give him the maximum momentum as he brought his sword out in front of him. The myrmidon drove the dragon blade into the demon's enormous eyeball, thrusting it in up to the hilt, then clawed at its surface for good measure before pushing back and leaping backwards to safety to try to avoid the imminent counterstrike.
A crimson hand swept down towards him, and the dragon raised the blade and fell to one knee, letting the demon injure itself further against its length. The impact jarred the dragon, knocking him back a few steps, but he was uninjured.
By this time, the shamans were back up and conjuring more water to assault the voidhell-spawn. The half-blinded monster seemed to feel fear for the first time. It clasped its hands together and began to gather power, and the dragon's blood tingled. Ryan leapt forward again to strike at the other eye...
...but his sword met nothing as the demon lord suddenly vanished with a loud crack, a minor thunderclap of displaced air. The dragon faltered, then caught its equilibrium with its wings and quickly descended to the ground. Looking down, Ryan saw a gaping pit where the demon had been, descending at least thirty feet beneath the ruined church site.