Demon Academia:SSS Fallen Berserker

The world exploded into chaos before Daemon could draw his next breath.

Gustav's hand moved with the casual indifference of someone swatting a fly, but the force behind it was anything but casual.

His palm struck Fuan Yi's chest with a sound like thunder, and the sergeant's blue-armored form hurtled backward through the air as if launched from a catapult.

The impact when he hit the cobblestones was deafening, a bone-deep crack that seemed to split the very foundation of the marketplace.

The ground beneath Fuan's body spider-webbed outward in jagged lines, the ancient stonework buckling and heaving as if the earth itself was screaming.

The crack raced forward with terrifying speed, cutting through the marketplace like a sword through silk.

Daemon watched in horrified fascination as the fissure carved its way past overturned stalls and abandoned carts, heading straight for the horse stable at the far end of the square.

The wooden building never stood a chance. The crack struck the stable's foundation with the force of a battering ram, and the entire structure collapsed in on itself with a thunderous roar.

Timber beams snapped and the thatched roof caved inward in a cascade of straw and debris.

It was the sound that followed that made Daemon's blood turn cold, the terrified screaming of horses trapped within the wreckage.

Dozens of animals burst from the ruins like demons fleeing hell itself. Their eyes rolled white with terror, foam flying from their mouths as they stampeded across the marketplace in blind panic.

The thunder of their hooves against stone echoed off the surrounding buildings, a primal sound that spoke of pure, animal fear.

Daemon stood frozen, his mind struggling to process the approaching wall of horseflesh and flailing hooves.

The lead mare, a massive chestnut with wild eyes, bore down on him with the inevitability of an avalanche.

Time seemed to slow as he watched death approaching, his body refusing to respond to his desperate mental commands.

"Move, you fool!" Fuan Yi's voice cut through the chaos like a blade.

The shout jolted Daemon back to his senses.

He threw himself sideways just as the mare thundered past, her hooves striking sparks from the cobblestones where he'd been standing. The rest of the herd followed, a river of panicked animals that flowed around the overturned stalls and scattered fruit like water around stones.

Daemon rolled to his feet, his heart hammering against his ribs as he watched the horses disappear into the narrow streets beyond the marketplace.

The dust they had kicked up hung in the air like a shroud, mixing with the acrid smell of burned fruit and the metallic tang of blood.

Fuan Yi lay where he'd fallen, his helmet shattered into a dozen pieces around his head.

Blood streamed down his face from a gash above his left eye, painting his features in crimson.

His blue armor was cracked and dented, but his eyes burned with undiminished fury as he glared at Gustav, who was walking away with the same casual indifference he'd shown throughout the entire encounter.

"Not... finished... with you," Fuan growled through gritted teeth.

The sergeant's gauntleted hand closed around the shaft of his lance, which had been thrown clear by the impact.

As his fingers tightened around the weapon, Daemon could have sworn he saw something; a faint red glow that seemed to emanate from beneath the metal, like embers hidden beneath ash.

The light pulsed once, twice, then flared brighter as Fuan rose to his feet with the fluid grace of a born brute.

Fuan's arm drew back, and the lance seemed to sing as it cut through the air. The weapon moved with inhuman speed, its point creating a sound like a bullet fired from a musket.

Daemon's eyes couldn't track its passage.

One moment it was in Fuan's hand, the next it was streaking toward Gustav's back like a silver bolt of lightning.

Gustav turned at the last possible second, and both Daemon and Fuan watched in stunned disbelief as the demon's head tilted slightly to one side.

His mouth opened, revealing those slightly jagged teeth, and he caught the lance sideways between his jaws as if it were nothing more than a thrown stick.

The weapon's momentum should have driven him backward, should have shattered his skull or at least knocked him off balance.

Instead, Gustav stood perfectly still, the lance held crosswise in his mouth like a dog with a bone. His golden eyes gleamed with amusement as he looked from Fuan to Daemon and back again.

"Daemon!" Fuan's voice was rough with desperation. "Run! Get out of the village and alert the first garrison you find. This is beyond us!"

Daemon's legs tensed, his body already turning toward the nearest exit from the marketplace.

He'd taken perhaps three steps when the hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end, a primitive warning that screamed of a nearby predator.

He turned his head slowly, dreading what he might see.

Gustav stood directly in his path, the lance no longer in his mouth.

The demon's grin stretched impossibly wide, revealing far too many teeth.

How had he moved so fast?

How had he gotten there without making a sound?

"Going somewhere?" Gustav asked, his voice carrying that same lazy quality despite the violence that had just erupted around them.

The demon raised one finger. Just one.

He placed it gently against Daemon's chest.

The contact was light, almost tender, like a lover's caress. For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then the world exploded.

Time slowed to a crawl as Daemon's feet left the ground.

He could feel his body rotating through the air, his world turning upside down as he flew backward like a leaf caught in a hurricane.

The pain hit him a moment later, a white-hot agony that radiated outward from his chest to consume his entire being.

Old injuries that had never properly healed flared back to life, adding their voices to the symphony of suffering that threatened to tear him apart.

He bounced off the cobblestones once, twice, his body ragdolling as momentum carried him toward a pile of wooden crates stacked beside a fishmonger's stall.

The impact drove the breath from his lungs and sent fresh waves of agony racing through his battered form.

His vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges as his body began to go numb.

"Daemon!" Fuan's voice seemed to come from very far away. "Are you still with us?"

The sergeant was already moving, his battered form launching itself toward Gustav with the desperate fury of a man who had nothing left to lose.

His left leg swept out in a powerful kick aimed at the demon's midsection, but Gustav flowed away from the attack like smoke.

Fuan followed up with a sweeping kick designed to take the demon's legs out from under him, but Gustav simply leaped backward with feline grace, landing in a crouch several yards away.

"Now, now," Gustav said, brushing imaginary dust from his bare chest. "No need to be so hasty. Your friend there can't leave just yet. I'd hate to get in trouble with Lilith over letting him slip away."

The demon's casual tone carried a note of genuine unease when he spoke that name, and he actually shuddered as if someone had walked over his grave. "She'd completely obliterate me if I let him escape and she should hears of this affair."

Daemon's mind reeled as he tried to process what he'd just heard. Lilith.

He remembered her from what seemed like a lifetime ago at the gates of hell.

She'd seemed pleasant enough, if a bit mysterious. But if she could inspire this kind of fear in a creature like Gustav. What sort of monster was she really?

"Hey." Fuan's voice was closer now, and Daemon felt the sergeant's gauntleted hand slap lightly against his cheek. "Are you still alive?"

Daemon groaned, his vision slowly swimming back into focus. "We're screwed," he muttered, tasting blood in his mouth. "Completely and utterly screwed."

Fuan's laugh was bitter. "Tell me something I don't know."

The sergeant rose to his feet, his eyes never leaving Gustav, who had wandered over to a water vendor's stall and was helping himself to a drink.

The demon's casual behavior was somehow more unsettling than any display of rage or malice.

He drank deeply, water running down his chin and dripping onto his bare chest.

Fuan's lance materialized in his hand as if summoned by magic, the weapon flying through the air to smack into his palm with a satisfying thud.

Without hesitation, he charged forward, the lance's point aimed directly at Gustav's exposed back.

The demon moved at the last second, the weapon's tip barely missing his spine.

Water from the broken pitcher splashed across his face and chest, and Gustav's expression shifted from bored amusement to mild annoyance.

"Really?" he said, touching his wet hair with distaste. "Such bad manners. Trying to stab someone in the bad? How noble"

Fuan circled warily, his lance held at the ready. "That's rich, coming from an uncouth demon."

Gustav's eyes narrowed, and for the first time, Daemon saw something like genuine anger flicker across his features. "Uncouth? I'll show you uncouth."

Fuan swung the lance in a wide arc, but Gustav was already moving.

The demon's speed was inhuman, a blur of motion that carried him forward faster than the eye could follow.

He leaped onto the tip of the lance as it swung back toward Fuan, balancing on the weapon's point with impossible grace.

Fuan's eyes widened in terror as he realized what was about to happen.

Gustav's leg swept out in a devastating kick that caught the sergeant in the ribs with the force of a sledgehammer.

The impact lifted Fuan off his feet and sent him flying across the marketplace like a broken doll.

He slammed into a stack of apple crates with a sound like breaking bones, the wooden containers exploding in a shower of splinters and fruit.

Apples rained down on the fallen sergeant, their red skins blending in with the blood that streamed down every hole in his body.