The Perceptive Girl (2)
1507 Words
Early evening. Brighton Plains.
As expected, Aurielee and I easily track down the cult's HQ.
This crumbling fortress is the only thing sticking out of these plains.
Now this gets me thinking: Why didn't the police or the military invade this place yet?
Most likely, there must be some magical barrier that only admits the most loyal of cultists. Or maybe not.
Of course, there are cultists with machine guns securing the HQ's perimeters.
Invading this place while ensuring her safety is gonna be difficult.
But who said battles like what I've experienced so far are easy?
And also, there's the matter of exposing myself as Gjallarhorn.
But then, she most likely dreamed of me transforming, so I might be letting her off the hook this time.
While still hiding, I transform with a whispering voice.
“Gjallarhorn... Gjallar-form!”
Aurielee is definitely amazed by my transformation.
“Yes! I've also dreamed of you transforming into a superhero who will fight the cult leader! And before you ask, I'll keep this a secret to everyone but you.”
“You sure can read my mind. Alright, let's go bust that cult!”
We can't risk being showered with bullets, so we have to enter the HQ stealthily.
While holding her hand, I look for the spots that are not heavily guarded.
There's a formation of rocks we can climb on that lead to the roof.
Good, we can literally crash their party.
We stealthily climb the rock formation, ensuring that the gun-toting cultists don't see us.
And when we successfully climb the roof, we take a peek at what the cult is doing from a hole.
“Purge this old rotten world and reshape it according to the will of the overlord.”
“So be it.”
“Immanentize the eschaton and be ensured of instant wealth and security on our plates everyday.”
“So be it.”
“Let those unwashed ones suffer the consequences of their inferior thoughts and deeds with the power of the overlord by our side!”
“So be it.”
“Now partake in this drinking of the blood of those we deemed unworthy of living in this world we are reshaping...”
Wait a minute! “Those we deemed unworthy” might refer to those religious leaders they've slain!
These cultists have really got more than a few screws loose!
Once she and I agree to finally spoil their party of drinking the blood of their victims, I punch the roof so hard that it collapses in no time.
And here we are, dynamically entering right in front of the cult leader himself!
“AHAHAHAHAHA!!! So... Miss Aurielee Metzinger. You have decided to voluntarily offer yourself to our overlord.”
“Not a chance, Mr. Aldair Astello. Not a chance.”
Good. Her psychic powers even include divulging the cult leader's identity.
“And you... the one called Gjallarhorn... we already know of your immense powers. But no matter! That armor of yours will crack from the millions of bullets that will be fired upon your rotten carcass!”
“Not a chance! For I sound the beginning of the end of evil! The Resounding Horn, Gjallarhorn!”
“Enough small talk. Everyone, pump that armored freak full of lead! And capture her, too! Do not ever harm her!”
No sooner do the armed cultists open fire at us, while the unarmed ones flee to safe spaces within the HQ.
Still holding her hand, we dexterously hide from the trails of bullets.
As we find cover in the debris coming from the collapsed roof, I begin to unleash several Vacuum Fangs on the gun-toting hooded men. They're instantly knocked out with just one hit each.
In just five minutes, all 151 armed cultists are wiped out.
As we emerge from the debris, I gallantly declare...
“So all you've got are those pea-shooters. Now where's that power of darkness you're bragging about?”
“You scum of the old world! No matter! I will forego the sacrifice of that woman and try to stop you for good with the power of the supreme overlord Asmodahaka himself!”
The cult leader then brings out a fruit that looks much like an apple, but is colored blood-red – which is an indication that it is imbued with the blood of those who were sacrificed.
“Naltus imahaflag'n corporeo untiga munilwa! Awaken, Master of Unrelenting Darkness!”
Once he bites the fruit, an evil energy wraps his body, forming a goat-dragon hybrid demon monster.
No doubt, I'm about to face an evil god myself quite early.
“Aurielee, go find yourself a place to hide!”
“OK, Bernard!”
Once she takes cover in a different spot in the HQ, the evil god gloats.
“I AM ASMODAHAKA, MASTER OF UNRELENTING DARKNESS. MY AWAKENING MAY BE INCOMPLETE, BUT HUMANITY WILL STILL BOW TO MY WILL AND MY WILL ALONE! I WILL KILL ALL THE OTHER GODS THESE FILTHY HUMANS WORSHIP!”
“Not a chance, man. There's a thing called free will. Humans can worship any benevolent god they want... as long as they don't act as jerks to others. Simple as that.”
“NONSENSE, MORTAL! YOU MAY HAVE THE POWER OF A SLEEPING GOD IN YOU, BUT IT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO MY AWAKENED FORM! I SHALL ENJOY BATHING THE ENTIRE WORLD WITH THE BLOOD AND GUTS OF HERO PRETENDERS LIKE YOU!”
“Alright then. You're just mouthing off.”
With his darkness-fueled wrath, Asmodahaka initiates the battle with a charging punch, which I then evade.
His series of kicks and punches are nothing to my quick reflexes.
He then changes strategy, as he fires balls of pure darkness at me.
Thank goodness that I'm able to deflect those balls with my shoulder armor.
He then switches back to physical mode, and his methods of attacks are getting more brutal.
Asmodahaka utilizes his tail, fangs, and claws that are imbued with the power of darkness in an attempt to scratch this armor of mine.
For a second, I'm getting too overconfident as I land a blow on his grotesque face.
Once he finds an opening, he counters it with a darkness-powered kick to my lower torso.
“AAARRGHHH!”
“Bernard!”
Ugh! That hit me real hard. But then... I shouldn't fail her!
“I won't fail you, Aurielee! RRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”
Something awakens within me, born from my sworn mission to protect the psychic girl at all costs.
I rise from my knocked-down state, charging at the evil god with every ounce of my righteous indignation.
He is appalled by my fighting spirit as I begin to land powerful strategic blows to his weak spots.
If he unleashes darkness-elemental attacks, I wash them back at him.
Good, his energy levels are dwindling fast.
With that, my feet glow with the brightness of pure light.
“YOU DAMN MORTAL! I SHALL STILL SUBJUGATE YOU!”
I jump towards the sky, with the shining moonlight behind me.
The moonlight powers my feet even more as I begin to do the diving kick that is aimed right at his heart.
“Shining Aesir Kick!”
Asmodahaka desperately tries to stop my Shining Aesir Kick by lobbing more darkness balls at me.
However, his efforts are in vain, as the balls are deflected by the light-elemental energy surrounding my feet.
He can only stand in fear as the feet finally connect to his heart with tons of impact.
As the evil god begins to disintegrate, he lets out his last words of defiance.
“As long as there is wickedness in the hearts of men... I... shall... return! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”
Asmodahaka is finally killed off, a huge explosion consuming his entire body and turning it into dust.
In the explosion's wake lies the unconscious body of the leader of the Serpent's Fruit cult, Aldair Astello.
Minutes later, after I de-morph, the police and military arrive at the scene.
The cult leader and the surviving cultists are arrested, ultimately putting an end to the terror of Serpent's Fruit.
Aurielee then hugs me with all her heart.
“We did it, Bernard! You indeed live up to the name of Gjallarhorn. I do study a little bit of Norse mythology, you know.”
“Glad you're aware of that.”
“Now that this crisis is over...”
“Yeah yeah, we can safely go back to our mundane jobs and stuff.”
“But you know, everyday can be an exciting day. You just need to fine-tune your mind to make that happen.”
“All that, coming from the perceptive girl herself.”
“Oh, you.”
---
Monster of the Week Information
Name: Asmodahaka
Height: 212.9 cm (6' 11”)
Weight: 199.9 kg (440.7 lb)
Monster Type: Goat-dragon hybrid demon monster / human cult leader
Human Identity: Aldair Astello
So far, he was the only monster who was not created by the hooded figure. As Aldair Astello, he was the leader of Serpent's Fruit, an evil secret apocalyptic cult that sacrifices virgin women to hasten the end of the world. Anyone who had the guts to expose his crimes, especially benign and sane religious leaders, were ripe for execution by his cult's snipers. As he aimed his sights on Aurielee Metzinger, a girl who has the power to perceive the future, as his next sacrifice, the hooded figure decided to help Gjallarhorn this time, by using the power of the object they held to lead him to the girl, as well as to protect all three from the immediate dangers the cult brings. When Gjallarhorn finally confronted the cult leader, the latter decided to forego the sacrifice and transformed into the evil god he worshiped, Asmodahaka, albeit in an incomplete state. Despite the incomplete transformation, Asmodahaka was still able to go toe-to-toe with Gjallarhorn, utilizing much of his darkness-based attacks. The evil god met its end by the light-elemental powers imbued into the Aesir Kick, leaving the then-powerless cult leader in the hands of law enforcers.
- Writer
