Pope Matthew slowly rose from the rock beneath them.
His red eyes were glowing, small black horns protruded from his forehead and his canines had extended into sharp fangs.
Since he'd sacrificed so many souls, his connection to the Demon Lord was very strong right now.
And he fully intended to use that to his advantage.
"Keep her safe," Alex told Liam, before rushing forward to attack.
Liam pulled Felicia behind him and drew out own his sword.
The Pope appeared more demon than man right now.
They felt like they were reliving the same confrontation that Saintess Joan had 400 years ago.
Alex reached the Pope who didn't do anything to shield himself.
Without hesitation, Alex brought the Holy Sword down on the man's shoulder. Instead of making an impact, the sword went right through him.
It cut through him as if he were made out of air and his entire body dissolved into black mist.
Alex stiffened in shock, clenching his teeth. The Devil, indeed, has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
Felicia and Liam watch with bated breath.
In the next second, the Pope reappeared behind Alex and raised a clawed hand.
Thankfully, the Holy Sword acted as a magnet. It pulled Alex's attention to where the demonic entity was.
Spinning around he struck out at the Pope again.
He dematerialized himself once more.
This went on for a while.
Neither was able to touch the other.
Irritated, the Pope resumed his form and sent a bolt of green lightning at Alex. Which he blocked with the Holy Sword. The moment the dark power came into contact with Goddess Kartara's blade, it disintegrated.
The Pope kept up his assault.
Loud cracking and sizzles filled the air as he did his best to land a fatal hit.
The Pope was determined to get rid of him first as he was the primary source of protection Felicia had.
If her brother dies, it will kill her spirit and leave her vulnerable. That mere mortal standing with her will not be able to help her in anyway.
-------
Despite feeling depleted, Felicia couldn't bear to watch anymore. Though her brother wasn't loosing, he wasn't winning either.
They were essentially having a standoff.
Alex would soon run out of luck.
Yanking her dress up past her knees, she rushed forward to help.
"Felicia!" Liam cursed and went after her.
Felicia knew her magic was unstable as she'd used so much of it to heal her men. She did not trust what would come out of her should she try to attack with it and didn't want to risk accidentally hitting Alex.
Forgoing her powers, she pulled out the knife she'd strapped to her thigh earlier this morning and directed it at the Pope.
It suspended in midair, flipped around and came right back at her.
Liam shoved her aside and knocked it down with his sword.
Growling like a mad dog, the Pope directed a blue ball of power at him.
Liam dodged it, but the ball swung back his way.
Liam dodged yet again, but the ball kept following him.
Alex stepped in and cut it in half.
The Pope was furious.
The Goddess's sword truly was a force to reckon with. It defied everything he did. It could cut through just about anything. No magic could go through it.
He couldn't go through it.
In that case, he would just have to get around it.
Soaring into air, he flew directly towards Felicia.
"Not so fast, Devil! You will not lay a hand on my Saintess!" Alex snarled.
The Pope grabbed the Holy Sword with both hands and tried to rip it out of Alex's grip. The blade caused his demonic magic to dwindle and fizzle. He didn't care. He just had to dismantle the fool. Their bodies spun and jerked from side to side as both men fought for dominance.
"I will kill you all today!"
"Not if I kill you first!"
Felicia watched with clenched hands. Her fingers began to heat up as her magic responded to her emotions. She checked to see if her power was ready to be used and it was still trembling within her, heating her blood.
Liam held his sword like a javelin and waited for the right moment.
Once the Pope's back was facing him, Liam shot his sword forward.
The blade hit the Pope in the back of his calf and sunk in deep. He roared and shoved Alex away. The wound was a physical one so it did not hurt him too much. Especially with all the black magic flowing through his veins.
But in that brief moment when he reached down to dislodge it Alex barreled towards him and severed his left arm.
The Holy Sword hit the Pope just past his triceps and the rest of his limb simply fell off.
"Yes! Yes!" Felicia cheered. Would it really be over today?
Matthew screamed as he had never screamed before. He lost an arm!
HE ACTUALLY LOST AN ARM!
"Finish him, Alex!" Liam shouted.
"No! This is impossible! This cannot be!" He wailed in fury and pain. "I cannot lose!"
"You will lose!" Alex boomed. "Now that history is to repeat itself, the only thing that awaits you is what Saintess Joan did to your master!
As a last ditch effort, the Pope released an explosive burst of power which sent Alex flying back. He was about to slam into the rocky bank when Liam and Felicia rushed forward to catch him.
The Pope crashed to the ground.
Felicia lifted her hand and threw out a bolt of lightning. It barely missed the Pope who rolled away to grab his severed arm.
Sitting up, he opened his mouth. His jaw hit his chest and his eyes rolled back into his head.
Felicia, Alex and Liam watched in horror as his mouth emitted smoke like a chimney and widened to three times the size of his head.
It briefly glowed red, before he spewed out a colossal green serpent!
The serpent detached itself from the Pope's mouth and raised its head, fixing its beady eyes on all three of them. It towered so far above them, they had to strain their necks.
The beast let out a roared hiss which was the most chilling sound they had ever heard.
Instantly, their fear skyrocketed.
"Goddess!" Liam exclaimed. "What the hell is that?!"
"A nightmare," Felicia replied, her heartbeat thundering in her ears.
Ever the Guardian, Alex took only a few seconds to process the new threat before engaging with it.
The symbols on the Holy Sword glowed as he rushed forward.
Liam was about to assist him when Felicia grabbed his wrist. "Don't! It's made out of black magic! There is nothing an ordinary blade can do to harm it."
Liam nodded, but did not relax his stance. "Will he be able to handle it?"
"He won't be handling it alone!" Felicia asserted, before rushing forward and hitting the snake repeatedly with massive bolts of purple voltage.
Liam shielded his eyes from the flashing lights.
Blinking rapidly he moved off to side and tried to see where the Pope was.
But there was nothing.
The man had vanished.
The Pope had already slipped away as soon as he'd conjured the snake.
With his detractors distracted, he crawled on his hand and knees and slipped into the frigid waters of Lake Joan.