72 Pillar

I stepped forward, looking straight at a severed body lying on the broken ground.

Madelyn stood in front of me, looking down at her own personal work, her sword still in her hands, still causing the space around its blade to twist and stretch, as if it were a tangible thing.

It only took me a few steps to get a clear look at the top of Zoganoth's body. His eyes had returned to their normal shade of brown as he looked up at the night sky.

I struggled, trying not to look down at the missing lower body of the demon, but I couldn't help but glance at the horrible

injury.

It was then that I noticed something, something that I somehow didn't notice before. Zoganoth's stomach, which was now split in two, blood wasn't pouring out of the wound like it should've been.

I'm shocked that I'm even surprised at this point when it came to such a strange occurrence. Instead of blood, I saw black smoke that disappeared as soon as it touched the air.

To my surprise, Zoganoth started laughing as if he had had the greatest time of his life. He laughed as if he was getting tickled and was about to pee his pants.

Yeah, I'm not even going to ask why.

"Well played, young pillar," he said as he looked at Madelyn. "Well played, the both of you," he continued as his eyes finally rested on me.

"Not dead yet, Akuma," Madelyn said, her eves cold.

The demon, upon hearing Madelyn's little remark, began to giggle and then once again laugh hysterically, as if Madelyn had told the world's funniest joke.

"Taoreta, Shoakuma, and then Akuma," he said, his smile never disappearing as he said those words. What names will you make up for us next?" he asked. "Tell me, young pillar?" he asked, his gaze focused solely on Madelyn. "What exactly am I?" he asked.

Madelyn began to raise her blade up in front of her chest, her hand began to turn, pointing the blade at the demon's chest, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

"You are a demon, a demon born from the evils of hell, sent to corrupt the souls of mortal men," she said.

I almost wanted to say "Yea!" to join in on her little explanation, but decided to stay quiet.

"Your kind are a blight on existence, a species that only causes suffering," she said.

Once again, Zoganoth started laughing, which was really getting irritating. "Demon?!" he yelled out. "Hell?!" he spoke again. "What fitting things you mortals say!" he said while laughing again.

I looked over at Madelyn and could easily tell that she wasn't bothered in the slightest by this guy's rants and raves.

"Funny and heart breaking," he said, finally growing quiet as his smile disappeared and his laughter stopped.

"But I guess such heart breaking matters no longer matter, do they?" he asked.

Madelyn said no more words as the sword in her hands came down and stabbed through the demon's chest, the demon that didn't even scream out in pain.

I stood there and watched as the demon, whose eyes once again returned to the night sky, began to crumble away as if he were made of dark ash mixed with dirt, his hands and feet disappearing first, leaving nothing but his torso.

"I still believe that you were better off just letting me kill you, young man," Zoganoth said, his body continually disappearing. "The path ahead of you will bring you nothing but pain. I should know, for I've seen many pillars suffer before their deaths," he continued. "I can't help but wonder, will you be any different?"

The demon, with a small chuckle, continued to speak as his whole entire body had completely disappeared, leaving behind only his head. "Stay alive for as long as you can," he said, with half of his mouth disappeared. "Stay alive so that I may watch you suffer for as long as possible," he said before he finally disappeared into black smoke and dust.

Madelyn and I stood side by side, both looking at the very spot Zoganoth had disappeared from, as if we thought he was about to get back up and continue throwing hands. Thank god such a thing never happened.

Madelyn turned around and began to dig in her pocket, bringing out a small device that almost looked like a phone. She brought it up to her right ear. "It's done," she said into the device before putting it back into her pocket.

I was about to ask who she was talking to, but before I could even say anything, the sword in her hands began to return back to its normal glowing blade before disappearing altogether. Her dark aura began to die down, and I could finally breathe normally again.

I paused, feeling a mix of relief and confusion as the surroundings transformed into a white fog, almost like a mirage, and everything began to return to normal. The wrecked houses, once thrown from their foundations, returned to their original state. The cracked streets were fixed, broken vehicles and uprooted trees vanished, replaced by their undamaged counterparts.

As the neighborhood restored itself, I couldn't help but notice our house was still missing. Typical.

"What's happening?" I asked, confused.

Madelyn turned to face me, her eyes now back to their usual blue color. She smiled reassuringly. "It's over," she said.

I attempted a smile, though I was filled with questions. While my gaze lingered on Madelyn, I noticed three grey-hooded figures approaching us from behind her. I couldn't see their faces, but each carried a wooden box on their backs. The one in the middle held my mother, who was still unconscious.

"Mom!" I shouted, rushing forward until a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I glanced back to see Madelyn looking at me with sympathy.

"Don't worry, your mom is in good hands," she reassured me.

"Who are they?" I asked, peering ahead at the hooded men.

"They..." Madelyn's words trailed off. "They are the other half of all this," she explained, her answer confusing me.

"They're the ones who stand between the normal world and our world," she continued. "They go by many names, but we simply call them Cloaks."

"Cloaks?" I repeated, the name making sense as they were literally wearing grey cloaks.

Madelyn nodded. "They're the ones who hide our world, cloaking the eyes of mankind."

***

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