The black ruins on the summit of a high mountain were drawing closer. A massive building of which only four floors had survived. The fourth floor was partially destroyed.
The Cursed flew through one of the second-floor windows and found himself in a twilight room. Black hostile shadows were everywhere. The dangerous space was oscillating as though in rhythm with an invisible sorcerous heartbeat.
In the center of the building was an inner courtyard, illuminated by the light of the moon and the stars. A giant black circle with magical signs and symbols had been drawn on its stone floor. The large black demon stood in the circle with his back to the Cursed. He raised his terrifying muzzle and looked at a large black cloud that was approaching from the north.
"Aha, I see now. It is the Circle of Power," the All-Seeing was saying. "And the black cloud moving from the north is a marker for the arrival of a great surge of energy. Be careful. You had better kill the demon before he receives the energy. Otherwise, he will be able to transform into his ultimate form, and then he is unlikely to be defeated."
"What is in the north?"
"The legends say that the Moon-Devouring One is in the north. He conquered the northern continent and built his grim palace there, whose sharp towers defy the starry sky. The surge of energy comes from him or from his closest minions, so that the Black Demon can replenish his strength and spread the influence of his cult even farther."
The Cursed did not need to be told twice. He ran across the gloomy room and jumped through the window. The glass and the remains of the window frame shattered into pieces. He landed in the courtyard and rolled to the side, softening the impact on his feet.
The Black Demon, absorbed by the sight of the approaching black cloud, turned around. He bared his large fangs. His evil muzzle twisted into a predator's grin.
And that was all the Cursed managed to see. A dark whirlwind swept toward him and delivered the first blow. The vampire's reflexes carried him aside, and the Cursed was thrown back, taking only part of the damage. Barely had he managed to get to his feet when numerous hissing fires flew toward him. They were advancing like a solid wall, and there was no way to escape them. And then the energy protection activated. It deflected the blasts while the Cursed took cover behind the columns of the gallery surrounding the inner courtyard.
The Cursed was running along the gallery while the Black Demon was firing energy bolts at him from his left claw. A whole trail of energy bolts stretched behind the Cursed. Chunks of stone were flying off the columns, and some of the columns were splitting in two. If not for the energy protection, he would already have been destroyed. He opened a burst of fire with the ray gun in return, but the monster merely brushed the incoming bolts aside with one swipe of its claw.
A multitude of bats appeared in the air out of nowhere and attacked the Black Demon's head. They were biting and tearing at his flesh. With one movement of his powerful arm, he swept them aside. Their bodies, drenched in their own blood, littered one side of the inner courtyard.
But no sooner had the Black Demon cleared away the obstacle of the bats than he collided with the Cursed's frontal attack. The Cursed was striking with two long swords. Their blades were much longer than those of standard swords, preventing the demon from reaching the warrior. But even with such an advantage, the Cursed had to deliver several blows, then retreat sharply or dodge aside with rolls or a leap, because after every wound that sent fountains of black blood spraying, the monster instantly lunged at him with the long black claws on its forelimbs.
As soon as he had delivered several blows into empty space, large shriveled hands appeared in the air around him and began tearing him apart. The Black Demon was tearing them apart with the magic flying from his claws.
When all the giant hands had been destroyed, black darkness descended upon the Black Demon. Feeling the pain caused by the destruction of his body, he looked at the Cursed with hatred. And then he saw something that, for the first time in many years, gave rise to a feeling almost like fear within him. The Cursed was looking at him with eyes in which darkness was swirling. The ancient forgotten magic of the demons who had once lived beneath the earth. The time of his existence had been numbered.