Dark Souls Academy: The Sacrifice (Hell Dimension #4)

Chapter 41

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

B efore I could do anything, the ground shook again. This time, everyone glanced toward another falling wall. Some of us kept fighting, but it was a major distraction.

Instead of more demons greedily coming to join the fight, massive beasts stomped into the fray. I guess they weren’t using the hidden prison this time. This display was a statement. They had chosen my side.

What was even more shocking were the blue grass, purple plants, and fuchsia accents where red barren lands were supposed to be on the outside of the academy grounds. My brain pushed that tantalizing information to the side because I could only process so much at once.

I could, however, acknowledge that the thought-to-be-extinct beasts scared the crap out of the Nati Demons. When the lion-medusa thing turned the first demon to stone, the fighting turned into an uproar of fear. The griffin nuzzled his mate and smashed into the stone demon, shattering it to pieces.

My grin could have lit up all of Hell. They thought we were going to win the battle. They refused to join another losing war, so they would only assist if the odds were in our favor. I could have fist-pumped the air, but I slammed them into Lucifer’s gut instead.

The monsters weren’t the only things coming through the debris though. More of Lucifer’s soldiers were too. How many did he have? Fuck.

That wouldn’t ruin my mood, though. It was a glorious day. As if the Gods heard me and declined my access to such pleasantries, the sky opened up, drenching everyone in seconds. I wondered when the weather would change. At least there was no red sand to turn to cement under our feet. Small blessings.

The brief hints of pain on Lucifer’s demonic face were the only satisfaction I got, but I gobbled that shit up like a starved animal. Whatever kept him going needed to adopt me because the weariness that seeped into my bones mocked me.

I was embarrassed for myself. All my training wasn’t enough. I didn’t know enough spells, and even my elemental offensive moves were lacking compared to Lucifer’s. He knew every defensive block, both with magic and without, and it was pissing me off.

He was literally trained as an angel, human, and demon for thousands of years, Poison. Stop beating yourself up.

Kain was right. My need to be enough could overwhelm me later. It was time. I pushed forward as a wave of Lucifer’s soldiers came from behind us. Kain’s shadows were too slow to stop them.

I screamed my battle rage, refusing to let Lucifer rest even for a second. My blade glowed with power as I attacked. He didn’t want to seriously hurt me, and I had a feeling he was playing with me, enjoying the fight like my anger was foreplay. We made it to the rubble before a fucking tail shot out of Lucifer’s ass and slammed into my side. Taken off guard, I crashed to the ground. Arms with rigid bumps on them gripped me. I thrashed around, kicking and scratching anywhere I could. My head spun from the hit.

“Fucking T-Rex motherfucker!” I yelled, but his grip didn’t waver.

“Get back! I have her now. She’s my Queen.” Lucifer was delusional if he thought that would stop my mates. His manic eyes were crazed, so he probably wasn’t using his brain.

His hair was a black stringy mess in this monstrous form. The tendrils brushed against my cheek as he clutched me to his body.

Before I could back out, my lips slammed onto Lucifer’s talkative ones, kissing him with everything I had. He moaned and gripped me tight enough that my bones cracked.

The shouts of protest from my mates irked me. Come on guys, focus.

Lucifer growled when they moved to get closer. Magic flared up around us. I rubbed his chest to soothe him. My efforts actually worked. He melted under my touch, showing off to get a rise out of his sons. Kain in particular had a storm of rage that was about to burst out of him. The shadow beasts gathered around him moved in a manic frenzy.

It’s not real, stay on task, I pleaded to him. From experience, I knew watching me be with someone else hurt. The fact his last mate, Tila, chose Lucifer over him was a sore spot. I hated myself for hurting him, but there was no other way. This piece of shit was too strong. We needed to play mind games as well.

The beasts of legends came from both sides of us, a wave of enraged students who were led by my faction came from behind, and my mates and shadow beasts stormed from the front. Lucifer’s eyes widened as he became aware of the horde that descended upon him.

He threw his head back and screeched like a fucking pterodactyl. At that moment, I was glad the academy grounds had a shield over the sky, so no demons could fly above us. Because I bet Lucifer could fucking fly.

The sound vibrated the ground, making everyone stagger. Instantly, Lucifer’s followers stopped fighting to come to his aid. They didn’t even fight back as if in some kind of trance when some of the Fae took advantage of their opponents’ distraction. Several more lost their lives with Lucifer’s little stunt, but many made it past their enemies to descend on the creatures like crazed zombies.

I didn’t let myself worry about the beasts, though. They hadn’t lived this long by being weak. Lucifer was distracted, and I too would take advantage of the moment.

Since I kissed him, Lucifer thought I was now on his side, so he didn’t guard his chest. The same chest that my face was pressed against. With a snap like a starved cobra, I went for the amulet over his heart. My fingers trembled. I gripped onto all sides of the amulet embedded in his chest and pulled. The blazing hot crystal was loose from the last time I tried to remove it. I used my wind magic to rip the damn thing from his body.

My scream echoed around me as time slowed. Lucifer recognized what I was attempting to do, but he was too engaged in the fight and too late to stop me. I found my way in and pushed all my Succubus magic through the narrow slit as fast as I could.

“No!” Lucifer roared. Then, his eyes glazed over, but the magic wouldn’t hold. The amulet fought back and refused to leave his skin.

Fucking magic. “Hurry!” I shouted.

The hum of my blade rose as my mates came to my side. All our weapons glowed with the color of our jewels. They hummed in unison.

Altogether, my children.

Not even hearing the Goddess Nyx’s voice coming through our weapons shocked us enough to slow us down. Lucifer’s eyes were already regaining their focus.

As one, we dove for his chest, the tips of our blades leading the way. Everything felt like it moved at a snail’s pace, but it was one quick decision after another. We pushed through the metaphorical gelatin and inch by inch the blades disappeared into Lucifer’s flesh. At the last moment, his eyes flashed from rage to fear, but it was too late. We slid in the last few inches and hit home. Into the monster’s heart. Then, we all twisted in different directions, shredding it.

The life left his eyes. His body morphed back into the pretty boy version, which made me smile. This was the one that had tricked everyone. This one had given people hope and ripped it away. This was the one that hurt so many people when his promises all ended up as lies.

I smiled down at his corpse. My shifter dad’s voice echoed in my mind. “ A smile could light up a room or change the fate of a lost soul. Never forget to smile, sweet girl .” So, I smiled for all the lost souls that were Lucifer’s victims.

I didn’t stop there. Trigger and Kain were on the same wavelength as me and didn’t stop either, even as the others pulled away. They watched our backs as we carved Lucifer’s skin. Trigger flipped open the jagged square we made in the body. His giggles made me smile harder until my cheeks hurt.

When the heart was removed and we were coated in slippery, hot liquid, Kain turned around with the pulverized organ in his palm. He lifted it in the air with a roar of victory so others could see as he squeezed until the heart turned to dust. DUST! Lucifer Morningstar just died.

“YAAAAAY!!!” I screamed with all my might. Not just to tell everyone the Devil ended up blooded at our feet after all, but to let my soul cleanse itself. My face lifted to the rain falling from the sky. The smile on my face was huge enough it could crack my skin. Yes, we barely won, and the fatigue chomping at my heels would probably have me in bed for at least a week, but it was a triumph for us, nonetheless.

Others followed my shout of victory. As expected, Lucifer’s army stopped fighting. Their desire to tussle for a dead leader never rose.

It was over. There was no coming back from a shredded heart. We had done it. We won the fucking war!

I lifted my fist into the air as well. “All Hail King of Shadows.”

With their leader gone, and the demon way rising up inside of them, each demon bent at the knee. Kain and I pushed our energy into the air to help the ones with more power make their decision.

The beasts of legends let out piercing roars and bent at the head to show their position on the matter. Yet, to prove that they were not pets, they booked it off the destroyed lands immediately after. No one attempted to stop them. Their job was done, and the alliance had been announced to everyone present. I would reach out to them later.

The moment I set foot back into Hell, I made a promise to make a change, and now, I could deliver. It was time for a new demon way. I hoped the demons were ready for it because I wouldn’t stop until I succeeded. And I just proved nothing would get in my way. Not even the once legendary and feared Lucifer.