“I CAST YOU OUT, DEMON!” he shouted, the flamethrower on his rifle poured out a stream of flames, covering the demon.
Xeqatl writhed in the flames, the first attack that seemed to truly impact the demon.
“Go back to the Hell from whence you came!” Guido ordered, a grenade from his launcher exploding against the demons chest, staggering the Master.
The demon again flung its arms wide, the wave of power sending all of the Heroes except Guido flying.
“Not this time, demon,” Guido said. “You are in my house, and I order you gone.”
Again the assault rifle sang out, the bullets driving the demon back.
The other Heroes rushed the demon, seeing it begin to weaken.
PhoenixHawk slammed a nearly solid blast of cerulean energy into the demons chest, staggering the demon. The NyteHawk followed with a similar blast, knocking the Master from its feet. Tirus and Celsius Bane wrapped it in ice as the other Heroes fell upon the demon.
Again the demon regained its feet, though slower this time. The Heroes continued to press the demon. Thaddeus rushed the demon as it regained its feet, a shield of dark energy surrounding the Scrapper. The demon almost smiled as it took that dark energy and turned it around, slamming Thaddeus back, sending him flying into a wall twenty feet away.
Lady Emily was there when he landed, but nothing could keep the Scrapper conscious. Though alive, and his wounds lessened, Emily knew Thaddeus was out of the fight, and activated his mediport transponder, instantly teleporting the Hero to the nearest hospital.
The battle raged, sending Khazm and Kwang Ghe to the hospitals as well, but the toll on the demon was evident. Guido stood in the face of the demons attacks, refusing to be touched, defiant.
“So, little priest, you think you have the will to stand against me?” The Master asked. “You do not know what we have started here. You were burned here before, and more will burn here still. Even if you defeat me, nothing can stop what I have set in motion.”
“Your plans end here, demon,” Guido said, punctuating his words with a blast from his rifle.
The demon laughed, a horrible sound that sent spasms through the Heroes spines. Guido added another gout of flames from his flamethrower, Xeqatl staggering under the heat. Celsius Bane and Guinness Prime moved in and slammed the demon to the ground. The Heroes poured on the attack in one last rush. Xeqatl tried to climb to its feet but couldn’t get past kneeling.
“You think you have won today, priest, but you are wrong. A true Beast will come upon you, soon. I have paved the way for him. Nothing can stop it.”
“This can,” Guido said, blasting the demon point blank with a shotgun blast. The demon’s body flew backwards, the parchment-like skin flaking away into a cloud of ash.
The exhausted Heroes dropped to their knees, all but Guido, who remained standing.
As the energy of their Master waned, the Hellions began to feel the weight of the press against them. All over Paragon City the gang members weakened, staggered. The battles they fought quickly turned against them and ended. Fire teams began to gain control over the blazes they battled.
As the members of the Onami Strike Force and Archangels of the Apocalypse caught their breath, Guido moved to the bound man at the front of the abandoned church. He cut the man’s bonds, and though the man towered over him, Guido’s robotic arms easily lowered the man gently to the ground.
Thauma Guard and the NyteHawk moved to the man’s side, studying the arcane symbols the Master had carved into his chest.
“Nothing will be able to reverse the change,” the NyteHawk said.
Thauma shook her head. “He may not even have enough of himself left to survive.”
Skida Marink joined her companions at the man’s side, her hands moving over the symbols lightly. “There is still part of the demon inside, but I think more of the man.” She concentrated, her hands glowing a soft green. Letting her power pour through her palms, healing energy filled the man’s body. His eyes fluttered open, a look of confusion on his face.
Skida helped him to a sitting position, where he looked around trying to regain his bearings. He held his hands out before him, studying them, then ran them over the skin on his chest, the dark crimson glowing veins, then up to the horns protruding from his head.
Looking around him at the gathered Heroes, a look of sadness took over his face.
“Dear God,” the man said, “What have I become?”
“You become whatever you wish to become, my son,” Guido said. “The demon holds no power over you anymore.”
“But I can still feel it inside of me.”
“It will always be there,” Thauma said. “But you control who, and what, you are. What is your name?”
The man looked down for a minute, then nodded to himself. “My name was Trevor Kingsly.”
“Hammerfist?” Kemchi asked. “I’ve heard of you.”
The man nodded again. “Now I am something different. I am part what I used to be, part what Xeqatl made me. Now I am Sharuk Haashkar.”
“What will you do now, Sharuk?” Guido asked.
“I will continue to fight, but I can’t do it as I did before. I can’t rejoin the life I had. I am not that person anymore.”
Sharuk stood, stretching his arms, out to the sides.
“More things have changed than how I look.”
The air shimmered around Sharuk’s right hand, a glowing nimbus that solidified into a huge, two headed battle axe.
“If I may, I would join you, priest,” Sharuk said.
Guido looked to PhoenixHawk, who nodded in approval.
“Then so you shall, my son. Welcome to the Onami Strike Force.”
In City Hall, Azuria thanked Thauma Guard on behalf of Paragon and all of its citizens.
“It’s what we get paid for,” Thauma said. “But I am still troubled by what that demon said about having paved the way for some Beast. Did Numina mention that to you?”
Azuria shook her head. “No, but she does not always share her visions. She may not know what the demon spoke of anymore than you or I.”
“Then we should be on our guard. If what the demon implied that was true, what is coming will be worse than what we fought today.”
“We will remain vigilant,” Azuria said. “As should you. Heed Numina’s words about your visions. Hold your team together.”
“More than just me holds the Onami together. Between us and the Archangels, we are a family.”
“There is a strength you don’t even realize in that,” Azuria said. “You are fortunate.”
“Yes,” Thauma replied, “I think we are.”