Arthur's eyes widened as Legion's feet exploded off the floor like coiled springs and the demon launched itself towards Arthur.
"Wha—!"
He ducked just in time. The creature crashed into the wardrobe.
CRACK! CRASH!
Splinter flew as wood split under Legion's weight. With one shove of its clawed hand, the wardrobe collapsed into rubble.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Arthur muttered, his chest filled with dread. If he had been a second slower, his ribs would've been crushed like that wardrobe.
Legion pulled its hand out of the wardrobe, jaws stretching open, and a long drool of saliva pattered down on the ground. Its tongue drooped, pierced through with a dozen rusty nails, and it unleashed another ear-splitting screech.
DDDIEEE!!
Arthur didn't have the time to be paralyzed by fear. His pupils contracted, and he instinctively reacted to the incoming danger.
Swallowing all his fear, he let the adrenaline kick in.
Without a moment's hesitation, Arthur dodged, narrowly avoiding Legion's attack. His body flew forward, slamming the door open and shutting it behind him.
Before he could steady himself, the door exploded as Legion slammed through.
CRASH!!
"Oh, fuck—!" Arthur cursed. He rushed down the stairs, breath ragged, and the floor shuddered beneath his feet. Behind him came the shattering roar of walls giving way, the creature ripping everything in its way. The staircase groaned under the weight of chaos, but he didn't dare glance back—one look, and he'd be dead.
Arthur's gaze locked on the front door. His pulse boomed in his ear as he lunged forward, desperate to reach it, just to get out of this house to save himself. The nearest neighbor was too far. His grandmother should've chosen a much more crowded neighborhood. But there was no point in complaining now. Anything was miles better than being trapped and shredded apart by that thing.
Legion moved faster, noticing Arthur's plan. With an impossible-leap, it vaulted over him, a blur of claws and nails, and slammed down in front of the exit. The floorboards rattled under its weight.
Arthur halted his step, grabbing the railing to stop himself from crashing straight into its jagged frame. Another screech rattled the entire place.
Arthur spun to his left and bolted toward the kitchen as the monster pivoted to chase.
YoOUu CanOoT RUUUUUNNN!!
Arthur could feel that the monster was chasing him closely behind. Once, twice, its fingers snagged his shirt, nearly grabbing him, but Arthur didn't want to look back.
He was just inches away from the door. He busted it open and threw himself into the yard and kept running, lungs burning, legs screaming, as the crashes and screeches followed.
He ran blindly into the woods, hoping that he would lose the monster.
"Huff… ugh… hah…" Arthur finally stopped running as he ran out of breath. Nausea hit him after running so much, so he sat and leaned against a tree.
He scanned the area, and after making sure that there was no trace of the monster, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
His eyes fell to the dagger in his left hand. He didn't even realize how tightly he'd been clenching it while running for his life.
He doubted he could kill that thing by swinging this dagger around like an idiot. But he was still clinging to it. Even now, his fingers refused to let go of the dagger.
"Grandma…"
The word slipped from his lips as he breathed hard.
Dorothy. Crazy Dorothy. That was what everyone in town called her, the mad old woman who spoke of demons and devil no one else could see.
They mocked her. He ignored her.
Now her words clawed back from the grave, and Arthur realized with horror: she hadn't been crazy at all.
He loved her, but at the same time, her wild antics made him the prime target of bullying in school and the community, to the point that he had no friends because everyone thought that Arthur was just as unhinged as his grandmother.
But now that he saw the monster with his own eyes, guilt knifed through him. He wished he'd never cursed her under his breath a few times in the past.
"Were you the only one who could see them, Grandma? It must've been so lonely…" Arthur whispered regretfully. "I am no different than you now. I can also see them. So, I guess you're not alone anymore."
"I'm sorry for being too late, Grandma…"
In Arthur's mind, he pictured how the monster must have stalked her, waited, then killed her brutally.
'And now that monster is out to get me,' Arthur thought as he watched the direction of his house.
Arhurt looked at the distant outline of his house, no bigger than a smudge against the horizon.
He began to wonder if that monster stopped chasing him, wandering aimlessly somewhere, maybe getting strayed until the town's square.
"That would be great. At least that monster will be killed by the cops and the townsfolk. Maybe a few deaths will happen, but it doesn't matter; they all can die," Arthur said coldly. "They never thought of me as part of the community anyway."
Arthur was never the talkative type, and with his grandma's antics, the townsfolk simply pretended he was nothing more than a ghost.
Even in school, nobody paid attention to him, and he lived a solitary life.
'Maybe after seeing that demon, they'd finally believe in Grandma's words,' Arthur thought.
He wished that was the case, but he was wrong. Terribly, fatally wrong.
Because not long after that, footsteps echoed from the opposite direction from where he had come. He rolled to the side just as three rusty nails sliced through the air toward him.
StoOp RuUuNiing!
Arthur cursed every vile name he knew as he scrambled back up. His feet pounded against the ground as he lunged to the side.
However, this time, the demon didn't try to chase him like before.
Instead, Legion reached up, ripping nails from its own face, and hurled them at the fleeing boy.
With deadly precision, two nails sank deep into Arhurt's heels. His legs buckled, and he fell face-first to the ground.
"Ack! Urghh!" Arthur grimaced as the sharp pain in his heels made it impossible for him to stand.
He tried crawling away, dragging himself forward, but the heavy steps of the demon drew near.
If he wanted to live, he had no other choice but to face it.
Clenching the dagger in his hand, Arthur aimed it at the demon who stood tall and menacingly in front of him.
"Back off, or I will kill you!" Arthur yelled as he tried to intimidate.
Legion froze, its head tilted, staring at the dagger. It halted its step for a moment, as if the rusty dagger were truly a menacing weapon against a demon.
Legion pulled two more nails from its tongue and threw them precisely at Arthur's wrist.
"Arrgghh!" Arthur screamed in pain. Amidst his pain, he realized that the demon wanted him to drop it. But it was his only lifeline, so he pushed through and clenched the dagger with all his will.
The demon screeched again, seemingly annoyed by Arthur's stubbornness.
Legion stretched its long limb as it tried to grab the boy by his neck.
"B-back off—urk!" Arthur was powerless when Legion strangled him. The demon's cold fingers were wrapped around his neck so tightly that Arthur's face turned blue.
Arthur's struggle weakened as seconds passed by. As his consciousness was fleeting, he could hear another voice in his head.
Not Legion's voice. Not twisted and mocking. The voice was steady. Cold, commanding, like a general rousing an army before war.
Do not fear, boy.
The voice rang through his skull like iron.
The demon is feeble against you as long as you will it.
'Do… not… fear…' Arthur repeated weakly inside his mind, though his limbs were failing him, his breath slipping away.
Yes, do not fear. For you shall awaken me—your own inner demon—to fight back.
The calm voice continued, steady and irresistible.
Arthur heard it clearly, but he could do nothing at this point as his body had been severely weakened. He imagined his grandmother's death in the hands of the demon, accepting the same fate.
You know what to do, boy.
Strike your heart with that dagger, and avenge your grandmother.
'Avenge… my grandma…'
Cast away your fear, and call me by my honored name. I shall fight by your side, as a partner. As a servant.
Arthur remembered how his grandma left him a final message to stab himself in his beating heart to awaken his own demon.
Naturally, such a crazy idea would be unthinkable for him to do before. Who would choose such a death?
But as he was on the verge of death, he was willing to risk it.
Arthur forced himself to gather the last strength he had left. He ignored the throbbing pain, lifting the dagger, and summoning the last bit of strength, he drove the blade into his beating heart.
Arthur's eyes widened. He felt the tip of the blade piercing his heart, how the aorta burst, and the blood continuously gushed inside him.
His chest flared for a moment, yet the loss of oxygen drowned the pain soon after.
In only a few seconds, he lost consciousness and his life.
…
…
…
BA-DUMP!
Arthur's eyes snapped open.
A surge of blood rushed through him, adrenaline flooding his body. Even with a dagger buried deep in his chest, his heart pounded harder than ever before.
Hmmm?
Legion's eyes narrowed in surprise when he saw the heat around the boy's body.
The heat radiating off the boy's body began to grow hotter and hotter until the demon was forced to release its grip on Arthur's neck. It took a few steps back, watching as that heat twisted into a powerful aura around the boy.
Legion was confused.
By human standards, Arthur should've been dead for over a minute. Yet, vigor began to flood back into his body, as if death itself had rejected him.
Legion noticed the dagger deeply lodged in the boy's chest, an unknown fear and danger twisted in its gut. It took several cautious steps back and yanked six nails from its face and tongue, preparing to attack.
He… Aawakens…
The demon muttered, bracing itself for the real battle.
Meanwhile, Arthur felt as though fire consumed him from inside and out. He felt as if his chest detonated again and again, every explosion fueling him further.
Yes, my boy!
Explode with anger against your enemy. Stare into the eyes of the one who slaughtered your loved one!
Arthur rose and opened his eyes. His pupils turned crimson, and blood also started streaming from the corners of his eyes. He had shed all his fear, doubt, and nervousness.
The blood coursing through his veins healed all kinds of wounds, reforging his flesh. Power awakened and uncoiled inside him.
He glared at Legion with unrelenting hatred. Not only did he direct his anger at the demon for killing his grandmother, but at himself for running away, while the one who robbed him of his loved one was still alive.
You know me already, boy.
I am the demon lurking inside your heart all this time. I am the righteous executioner hidden deep inside your lonely soul!
Call my name, and summon me to fight by your side!
"I know," Arthur growled, seizing the dagger's hilt. "And you shall accept my contract. Heed my call—"
Arthur took a deep breath and declared with all his strength;
"Come to me—the Headless Executioner, Dullahan! I summon you with my blood!"
Arthur pulled the dagger with all his might, and he screamed as blood erupted like a fountain, spraying the ground crimson,
"ARRRRGGHHHH!!!!"
The blood coming out of Arthur's body soon clumped together and writhed, forming and molding into the shape of a towering horse and the armored warrior who rode it, holding a greatsword.
Legion's eyes widened. Realizing the danger, it hurled all the nails toward Arthur's heart.
But before they could hit him, the dagger in Arthur's hand turned into a longsword.
With a single motion, he slashed through the nails midair.
YoOUuu—!
Legion stumbled back as it saw the menacing headless horseman standing behind the boy, mounting atop a black steed with burning red eyes, his body clad in pitch-black armor.
There were tendrils of black aura behind Dullahan, announcing to everyone who saw him that he was a demon bound by contract.
Arthur raised his sword and pointed it at Legion. Dullahan did the same, as the headless executioner was fully under his control.
Arthur's voice was cold, filled with killing intent.
"I will hunt you this time, you filthy demon!"