(Going into the climax! Hope everybody's been enjoying the ride... TUNE IN TO THE FINAL CHAPTER FOR A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:3)
Dia cracked her knuckles, taking a deep breath. It had been a long while since she'd attempted this. The last time was probably… yeah.
No time to think about that. I've got somebody I might be able to save this time.
She flipped to the third page. "Ego attero meus obex!"
The net surrounding the demon disappeared, and it only took a few seconds for it to snap its eyes open, glaring an icy blue at her. It stood, glancing at the flames around itself before giving a snort. A grasping noise echoed from the back of its throat, and she heard it speak in her mind.
Nice containment circle. I haven't seen one so weak since Alphides tried to destroy me.
She rolled her eyes. "Well I think you know as well as I do that I didn't make it to be used for very long."
The kid probably thought she was even more whacked out, speaking to herself. Well it wasn't exactly her fault that just because demons were telepathic, it didn't mean that humans could talk back the same way.
Give it a try.
Yeah, encouragement from a demon didn't sit well with her.
Page five. Alright, it was time to do this. Come on Dia, you're forty one years young. Kick this demon back to where it came from, wherever that is.
"Ego dico super vox intus. Vobis, everto, inquam…" she chanted words of power, flames rising and dipping in the circle at each word spoken. The demon seemed to grow agitated, flaring its wings and snorting in annoyance.
Let's go.
"Ego reprobo vos per fides!" she shouted. And so it began.
>>
JD watched, jumping slightly as Dia's voice increased in volume. Demon Perry seemed to be staring past the woman to glare at him. He usually liked the blueness of Perry's eyes. Now they were just freaking him out.
Perry, are you even in there anymore? Is it too late? I didn't get to say goodbye… no, I'm not going to think like that. He's going to come back. I'm going to get that hug.
"Deejay? What's going on?"
"We're getting your dad back, Jack. He'll be here soon."
Suddenly, the demon let out a roar, and JD was hit with the same overwhelming wave of pain and dizziness. The walls trembled with the force of the sound, and he could hear the church bell slamming itself against the steeple above. Everything reverberated.
Despite this, Dia still stood, chanting the same phrase over and over again. "Ego reprobo vos per fides!"
Another roar. Jack was crying, covering his ears, and JD knelt over him, doing the same. The slamming bell above was demonic in itself, like a church hymn from hell.
And then he heard the snap, like a gunshot, and the slams. He realized what was happening just a second before the roof above Perry and Dia caved in.
>>
When the smoke cleared, JD found himself clutching Jack against himself and leaning against the back wall. In front of him, the altar was covered in a giant mound of rubble, tiny pebbles still rolling to the bottom.
"Dia!" He sprang up, sprinting down the aisle. Shit, no one could've survived that…
"I'm over here, kid."
She was against the side wall, trapped under a smaller pile of rubble. "Jumped out of the way at the last second. Nothing's broken, but I'm weak and kinda stuck under here," she said, smiling up at him, her eyes betraying grimness. "Guess you'll have to dispatch him yourself, eh? There's no way I can channel the power in this condition. I'm… sorry."
Oh god, she meant- No, no it can't be over! No, he's going to live!
His head swung around frantically. Come on, where is it! Aha, there! He'd finally spied the book wedged under a few rocks. He unlatched Jack from around his neck and set him down next to Dia.
"Jack, I want you to stay here and look out for Dia, okay? Whatever you do, do not come after me, okay?"
Before Jack had a chance to respond, Dia interrupted. "No kid, it's too dangerous. You are not going to try it."
JD stood and stared down at her, challenging her with his expression.
"Sometimes," he said, letting out a sigh, "sometimes if you care about somebody enough, you don't care how dangerous it is."
He turned away from her angry protests and picked up the book. Alright, now was the- what was that noise?
A rumbling was coming from the large rubble pile, forcing him to throw himself to the side as it exploded. A shape rose into the air, disappearing into the dark void above.
Perry had escaped.
>>
This is it, Perry. Anything else to say before we end this?
Yeah. I hope you're ready to have your ass kicked by my protégé.
>>
JD circled the room slowly, trying to figure out where the demon had gotten to. He'd flipped to the correct page, and read the instructions slowly; surprisingly, everything but the spells was in English. It seemed that Dia had completed everything but the last part. He just needed to continue chanting the phrase she had until the demon was banished. Easy, right?
But it would kinda only work if he could find said demon. Come on Perry, you can never resist a challenge for lo-
CRASH. JD staggered as he felt the floor shake. Spinning, his chest was gripped with an icy pressure as he saw Demon Perry in front of him, looming over Dia and Jack. His reflexes were better this time though, and in a second, he had snapped out of it. I've got to get his attention.
JD yelled out to Dia, pulling her out of the panicked look settling on her face as she gazed up at Perry.
"How do I get him to notice me?"
"Now is not the time kid!"
"Just tell me, damn it! I need to distract him!"
"Piss him off!" Well, wasn't that just the most general statement ever that really didn't help him?
"How?"
"How would you piss Perry off?"
Heh, that he knew how to do. JD smiled grimly. "Hey!" he shouted towards Demon Perry. "Hey, Percival!"
Oh, that got his attention. Okay JD, start chanting. "Ego reprobo vos per fides!"
The demon seemed to laugh at that, and stalked closer. Okay, this was not good. JD backed up, pointing a hand forwards and chanting again. "Ego reprobo vos per fides!" Nope, nothing happening here!
There was Dia's voice. "You need an inflection on the 'fides!'"
"Well thanks for telling me that now! Ego reprobo vos per fides!"
The demon paused for a moment, as if hindered by something. Oooo, now we're getting somewhere. Still, Perry was getting closer, and JD didn't have much more room to back up.
"Ego reprobo vos per fides!"
This time, the creature seemed to wince. Come on Perry, help me out here. I know you're in there. "Ego reprobo vos per fides! Ego reprobo vos per fides!"
The demon roared, causing JD to cover his ears once more. Augh, he would never be able to resist that- Swoosh. Oh god, it had him in its claws! No, no, no, no, no!
He squirmed helplessly as it held him aloft towards the sky, up towards the heavens. It would destroy him any second now, he just knew it. He shut his eyes, preparing for the final blow. I'm sorry Perry… I tried.
NEWBIE! DON'T YOU DREAM OF QUITTING ON ME NOW!
P-Perry? Eyes flew open, and he stared downwards, deep into the demon's eyes. Somewhere, somewhere deep in the void of that icy blue, there was a spark.
"EGO REPROBO VOS PER FIDES!"
He shouted it to the roof, screaming it over and over again. He had to keep trying; had to for Jack's sake, for Perry's sake, for his own sake. He couldn't let it end like this
Before he knew it, the demon was echoing his cries, making horrible noises that made JD want to curl away. They hurt so badly to listen to. But he knew he couldn't, and kept shouting. "EGO REPROBO VOS PER FIDES!"
The demon threw him, and he watched as the ceiling above him turned into a blur of blackness, deep as the night sky of a new moon. Sailing across the room, he yelled a final time.
"EGO REPROBO VOS PER FIDES!"
And then he hit the wall, blacking out.