The Demon’s Bride

Out of reflex, Elise's eyes shut close and her hands moved to the blade, trying to turn it to ash but she heard a loud clank and looking down, she found the blade falling on its own and the Warren looked at her with a shocked face. 

"Yo...You what is that power you have?" asked the dark sorcerer but Elise didn't know it.

She didn't waste the time and directed the pistol toward the man again and Warren, who was taken by surprise, was shot on his arm he saw his own arm blast and severed. With a grit of his teeth and the man ran away.

"Lady Elise!" Ernest came to her side with worry. 

Elise shook her head, saying she was safe and sound, and she looked at the scene around her. People were mostly running for their life, unable to help one another as their life was also on the stake. At first, there was this desire and hope in her to help the people from their death but seeing the black clothed skeleton with bright green eyes and the gleaming sharp scythe, she knew there was no longer helping for the people who was destined to die here.

The grim reapers were all busy in their work without noticing her gaze on them. "Ernest. What do you have with you?"

Ernest pulled out a small pistol from his pocket which was much shorter compared to Elise's long pistol, "Have this with you," Elise then passed the flask, "It's holy water and it should work to stop the regeneration for the creatures you would face. Please go away from here and find a way to step out of the village."

Ernest frowned, "I cannot leave you alone here, Lady Elise."

"I will be fine," Elise answered with a smile and she pulled out Hallow carefully from her picket. Ernest cocked his head to the side over seeing the chick, wondering why she had brought it out. "Hallow, can you help me?" Elise asked the chick for his consent.

Hallow bent his wings for salute, "Though there are a lot of grim reapers here, they won't think I am the same being as them without my scent anyway." And when Elise placed the chick down, the feather of his body begun to turn into a darker shade of black and his body enlarge, his bones crack as if it was shifting the place to transform.

Ernest's human eyes enlarge wider than saucer over the transformation that suddenly took place and gasped. Fortunately, the situation around them was chaotic that his mind wasn't too sane when seeing Hallow's transformation into a large Black Hound.

"Now," Elise woken Ernest who was stunned and the man stumbled to himself and nod.

The dark sorcerer in the village wasn't exactly happy with the presence of the Relics and likewise apply to the current fights. While the humans and the mythical being try to escape from their vicious crossfire, afraid of getting caught. Those who had death shadows with them could not do anything, however.

Elise knew it was useless to save the people with death shadows behind them. She tried to shoot the enemy only to futile as from behind another Relic came and killed the person. She closed her eyes, the death was heavy to watch with her eyes and she could never familiarize herself with the death but she had to. Elise decided to walk across the village to the fence and destroy the barrier with her power.

"The red hair! It's the Demon's Bride!" yelled the Relic who found her.

Hallow growled at the Relic that came near Elise. His mouth was snapped wide and his teeth sharply bite over the Relics's neck by jumping.

"A dog?!" One Relic said with shocked. 

"A hunting dog," answered Elise from behind, pulling the trigger that caused blood to splatter on her cheeks, coloring some of her clothes with red colors. 

She didn't stop and continue to run for the fence and when she saw it was near a smile came on her lips which only faded, "Stop...!" whispered a voice near her ears and she did stop, looking around she found no one but upon a closer inspection, Elise noticed a thin thread near her feet which she almost pulled.

"Tch, you are indeed as smart as the news said," came the voice from near her and Hallow hissed while standing behind her.

"For Hell's fucking sake! Can't you all play fair?!" Hallow demanded, hearing one of the relic who settled on the tee laughing.

"Fair isn't a word for us, and what are you? A talking dog?" asked the man without knowing how it was the last word that could trigger Hallow's rage.

"You fucker! I am not a dog! I am a..." Hallow only realized how dumb he was for speaking and rolled his eyes, turning to Elise, "There are many of them, Elly, be careful!"

"I know," Elise whispered, she looked around her, finding the Relics on all sides, "I don't think it is a very great hobby for you all to ambush a woman on her own."

"What can we say?" One Relic spoke with a chuckle. "We love ambushing a woman like you."

"So it is me that all of you want?" Elise questioned, taking her time to delay the fight. 

"Want to give up, girl? If you do so, we will escort you to our base and perhaps we can discuss then what we want from you," answered the relic.

"How kind, you are unlike your other enemy and very polite," came the sudden praise from Elise that had the man laughed.

"We are indeed polite and unique. Flattery won't get me anywhere however. Come here," demanded the man.

Elise replied the man's smile with a laugh, "You don't understand sarcasm, sir. Rather than unique, I know what you are," the man's eyes narrowed on her word and it worsen, when Elise spoke aloud, "You are 'The unacceptable' who doesn't belong from either Heaven and Hell," and from her words, Elise saw the man's smile falling, "As a creature that doesn't have place, do you wish to attack Hell just so you can have a place for your own?" She looked at the man and shake her head as if in pity, "How embarrassing."

The Relic's corner of lips twitched. His smile faded and anger filled his eyes which Elise had expected, "You will regret your words, woman."

Elise offered the man a smile, "I think you should be the one, because from what I see, your end is near," and she wasn't lying because the death shadows loomed around the Relics. Someone will kill them and she knew she was also possible of becoming that someone. 

The Relic jumped from the tree and landed on the ground, "I will be the one to take her," declared the same Relic. The others that were on the ground, circled her. They have no way to escape. Hallow was confident he could bring down some Relic, but he wasn't confident not to have the Relic wound Elise. "Elly..." started Hallow when he saw Elise had stopped her eyes, looking somewhere on the ground.

"I know you are there," Elise called, no reply came which she had expected. "I know you have been hiding near me. You don't have to hide, you can come out. I need your help."

Hallow frowned, wondering who she was talking with and of.

Elise's blue eyes fell on her shadows and a smile begin to appear from her lips as if she could see someone there, "Come out, shadows." She whispered. The relics around her wondered if the girl had lost her marbles after being cornered by them only to have their evil smile wiped when the following event took place.

Within a second after her words, a loud burst of black shadows appeared from beneath Elise's feet. The shadows left its hiding from her pool of shadows with a loud blast like thick black smokescreen. Her bright red hair was pushed by the wind, unbridled as it danced with the wind. Her eyes were fixated on the shadows which lurked out without form in the beginning. It only came in shape after a while, taking the appearance of long hands with sharp fingernails that gleamed even brighter than the blades the Relic had in them.

Slowly, the hands individually crawled out on the ground, turning the table to Elise's advantage.