”You WILL be mine!”
“Watch out!” The priestess shrieked in panic, raising her sleeved arms in a frail attempt at defense!
A fiery bark sounded as coruscating green flames enveloped a pair of wicked, engraved warglaives as they were brought to their deadly purpose; a sickly green light illuminating the bushes as the shadowy, horned figure of the Demon Huntress spun around to slash at the incoming vines! With a display of supernatural speed, the two warglaives scythed through the incoming ghostly vines with blinding speed, causing them to fall harmless to the ground around the priestess and demon huntress.
The vile ghost let out an echoing snarl of outrage, before sensing the demonic presences nearby.
“Defilers!” Its shrill voice howled; wide, glowing eyes fixed on the horned figure in the duo before her; before its ghostly visage retreated across the gravestones, diving down into the darkness of the nearest crypt.
“It’s getting away!” The young priestess called out, but stopped as she saw the ghostly tendrils of the specter vanish down into the crypt.
“Damnit!”
“That is an unnecessary thing to about a cursed ghost.” The Demon Huntress spoke, casually sauntering forward to stand next to the priestess as the cursed green flames died out around her two warglaives.
" … besides, you promised me a succubus. Or at the very least some demon, Alisa."
There was a strange unnatural resonance to the Demon Huntress’s voice. It was smooth, yet warped with an ethereal, echoing tone to it. Still, despite its warped sound, the priestess could sense a distinct tone of disappointment in the Demon Huntress’s voice.
“That was what the rumors said… or one of the rumors at least. The caretaker was pretty adamant that the place was haunted, and not many people take them lightly anymore after the scourge fell on Lordearon and undead became a regular occurrence.” The priestess murmured as she pushed herself off the half frozen grass and sat up on her knees. The cold, late autumn air was freezing, and she wrapped her wool grey cloak tightly around herself. Alisa’s steel grey shot up from beneath her raven black hair to stare in a frown at the Demon Huntress.
The Demon Huntress in question was clad in little more than a simple, demonic set of greaves, wrist and shoulderguards with but a stylized loincloth; her black and slightly scaly demonic skin seemingly completely unaffected by the cold.
Even now, Alisa couldn’t shake the feeling of unease she felt around the half-demon. It felt as if a dozen hungry wolves were silently regarding her from the dark beyond her vision, although given the fact they were in a haunted graveyard; she wasn’t sure if she could entirely blame the Demon Huntress for that.
“We need to purify this graveyard. You are still going to help me, right? … even if it is not a demon?”
“A pact is a pact.”
“I prefer ‘contract’; a pact sounds… less than holy.” Alisa muttered, standing up to face the crypt before them in the moonlight. Even though she stood at a perfectly reasonable 5,6ft, she was utterly dwarfed by the looming demon huntress next to her. Standing at at least 8ft tall, she barely reached past the half demon’s hips.
A private thought occurred to Alisa, wondering how the demon huntress’s horns would even fare in the cramped quarters of the crypt.
“We need go after it. If that thing does indeed eat souls then it is a threat to every other spirit in this graveyard!” Alisa stated firmly as she took a step towards the crypt, something she did as much to calm herself as she felt the chill around them increase. She reached beneath her cloak and clutched the holy symbol and sacred texts that she held close to her bosom, convincing herself that they would work.
“Mhm, it would be quite a feast… if not the most delectable one.” Zirahael replied, gazing out across the darkened cemetery; her burning fel green eyes dim from behind her black silk veil. Indeed, she did not even need to use the power of her spectral sight. She could feel the trapped demonic entities within her salivating and chafing at their bindings; so starved that even the miserable and forlorn souls in this graveyard were an almost irresistible meals to them.
“I am not going to comment on that.” Alisa replied flatly; this time making an intentional decision to not look at Zirahael and instead kept her attention at the crypt.
She would prefer only having to worry about one soul eating entity at a time if at all possible.
“Remember, I am here to sanctify this place; including the ghost. Or at least give me a chance to do so before you munch its soul.” Alisa said as she produced an oil lamp and lit it, allowing a warm, bright glow to light up the pitch black darkness of the crypt, illuminating old cobwebs, moss stained stone walls and damp steps.
“Some would say such a soul eating creature is beyond redemption.” Zirahael commented, casually following the smaller human down into the catacombs; crouching down slightly.
“I could say the same about you.”
“I devour demons, not people. Usually.”
“Please don’t speak any further… I want this over with as soon as possible so I can just go home.” Alisa grimaced as she stepped into the darkness of the crypt’s stairwell. Why did she always automatically say ‘yes’ whenever someone asked her? Why in the light’s mercy had she been so quick to accept the Bishop’s request to cleanse this graveyard?! She was hardly past her noviciate stage as a priestess! She was no Paladin!
And now, delving into the pitch black underground surrounded by demons and undead; she felt the protection of the light was smaller than ever!
“I can hear your heart. Quiet down!” Zirahael commented, the suddenness of her words almost causing Alisa to spin around and hit her!
“SHUT IT!” She hissed in an angry whisper!
“Unlike you, my soul is still pure and undesecrated!”
“There is no need for such hurtful words.”
" … "
Alisa kept shut, with the exception of briefly muttering some quiet blessings from time to time over her oil lamp. Some ghosts could be invisible to the mortal eye, and she did not wish to walk headlong into some life sucking spirit! This may have been her first exorcism, but she had been dutiful in first reading the holy script on how to deal with evil spirits! She was not going to fail her first real mission. Not a chance. As such, she made a quick mental note of her preparations.
Holy symbol, check.
Sacred scriptures of warding and spirit protection, check.
Holy water, check.
Meditation to cleanse her mind of bad thoughts… probably check.
Finally, after walking for what felt like an eternity down the wet, cold steps of the crypt; they arrived at the lowest chamber, and what met them was enough to make Alisa’s jaw drop! Illuminated by the light of her lamp, Alisa could see the main stone coffin had been cracked; lines upon lines of unholy text and black geometry had been drawn on the carved stone of the coffin and around the floor and walls. Small charms of rope and bones hung from the ceiling, swaying gently in a nonexistant breeze.
There were signs of necromancy all over the chamber!
“Light have mercy… !” Alisa gasped, just before an icy wind blew through the chamber and passed right through her clothes as though they were nothing - snuffing her lamp out in the process and casting the whole room in a complete, impenetrable shroud of darkness!
“You dare invade my eternal tomb?! This is MY home! And I will not suffer the living!”
The familiar, ghostly voice of the specter from before now filled the darkness around them; coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time!
“I-it’s the ghost! Quickly! Help!” Alisa called out, frantically fumbling with her oil lamp as what felt like a thousand icy cold fingers closed in around her!
With a snap, green, baleful flames lit up the chambers as unholy fel fire once again surrounded the Demon Huntress’s glaives! Yet part of Alisa did almost not wish her companion had done that, as she could now see the entire chamber filled with writhing, ghostly vine-like tendrils emerging from the naked stone walls around them - and the horrific visage of the specter looming protectively before the broken coffin in front of them, her previously beautiful ghostly face turned into a horrific, bestial mask as she growled at them!
“Join us then! You will never leave!”
The ghostly voice shrieked! Alisa did not hesitate this time; she reached into her cloak and produced her holy symbol, holding it up towards the baleful visage of the specter!
“Repent, spirit - abandon the darkness around you and step into the light and be judged!” Alisa called out, as a bright, golden light surrounded her truesilver medallion and filled the chamber! The specter shrieked in agony, instinctively backing away!
Alisa quickly took a step forward, pursuing the fleeing specter with the intent of cornering her - but she did not notice one of the tendrils behind her creep forth, using her own shadow to wrap around her leg and cause the priestess to immediately stumble forward onto the cold, hard floor as she felt a biting cold paralytic grip around her ankle!
“N-nmnoo,-” Alisa yelled, though her lips refused to move properly and she saw her holy symbol begin to dim on the floor in front of her. As it did, darkness began to surround her and she sensed the spectral tendrils close in from the shadows all around her.
Or, at least; that was until she heard a bone chilling demonic howl as Zirahael lunged forth like a blur of darkness and hateful fel fire! Many of the spectral tendrils closed in to try to catch the demon hunter, but even those that made contact with her demonic skin immediately pulled away - as if her very demonic being was frightening to them!
With lightning speed, Zirahael slashed one of her glaives through the ghost in a trail of green fel fire! Where mortal steel might have passed harmless through, the demonic weapon tore out a chunk of the specter’s side and it howled in unimaginable agony and reeled back - evil fel fire clinging to the ghost’s form and burning the specter as though she had been a living creature of flesh and blood!
Alisa gasped, feeling the tendrils retreat from her and she raised up a hand.
“No, wait!” She called out, before the Demon Huntress struck again - tearing another chunk out of the specter! Its shrill screams of agony were now deafening, banishing the deathly silence of the crypt with sounds of immeasurable torment as the specter’s very soul was being immolated by demon fire!
Finally, in seconds that had felt like an eternity; the demonic Night Elf delivered the killing blow; the spirit shattering into a cloud of liquid dust and green flame as Zirahael’s warglaive cut through it a third time! The dusty motes began to evaporate, the evil green flames of the demon huntress’s weapon died out, and everything fell once more in complete darkness.
Then, everything was silent…
“Wha… w-what have you done?!” Alisa growled, calling out into the darknes that now shrouded the crypt. Sensing control of her limbs slowly returning from the sudden paralysis, she pulled her leg up to her. Alisa could not feel when she clutched her calf muscle, yet the leg moved when she willed it to do so. Hopefully, whatever ailment the specter’s touch had caused was only going to be temporary.
“The choice was between its soul or yours. Would you prefer that I chose differently?”
" … no." Alisa said, hesitantly at first. Part of her knew the demon huntress was right. That it had not been hers, but Alisa’s fault. If she had performed the exorcism rite correctly, if she had managed to sanctify the spirit in time, if she had not put herself at such risk, then maybe they could have avoided this outcome! Even though she knew all this, it still felt bitter, and the worst of it all was that she did not know if she felt this way mainly because she had failed to save the spirit, or the knowledge that she had failed her task.
“You… destroyed its soul!”
"There are worse fates… " The Demon Huntress answered with a nonchalant tone that made Alisa frown and peer through the darkness towards the faint green light of the demon huntress’s eyes as they were peering down at her. Finding her oil lamp, Alisa managed to finally light it; and a warm, orange light filled the crypt - illuminating the ominous figure of the tall Demon Huntress standing right before her.
Even with the vile ghost vanished, Alisa still felt an unnatural ease around her, and it was not just because of the haunted crypt.
"I still failed my mission… " Alisa sighed, lacking the strength to argue after the near-death experience.
"Not quite… " The demon huntress responded in her echoing, ethereal voice; cocking her head slightly to the side as she studied the priestess before her.
“Your mission was to banish the evil presence in this crypt. And you still have work to do.”
Zirahael gestured towards the vile calligraphy and unholy runes that desecrated the walls around them, left behind after whatever necromantic ritual had been performed within it.
" … and whoever did this is still at large."
Even when she knelt down before her, the demonic elf still loomed over Alisa. Her black lips curled into a fanged grin that almost made the human reach for her holy symbol once more.
“Perhaps I can join you in catching them, especially if your church keeps being as generous with its rewards. This has been a fun diversion from my usual work.”
"You are not the one who have to clean up this mess… " Alisa murmured, peering away from the tattooed half-demon towards the unholy mess left behind all around them. With a sigh of resignation, Alisa accepted the fact that there would be no sleep for her this night, and so she picked up her scrolls and holy water.
The whole crypt was going to need a thorough cleansing.