Without another option and enough time to figure one out, Nathan was forced to stand his ground and face the pair of Demons head on. Sparks flew as he brought the machete against the Demons’ claws to defend himself. Even the inexplicable increase in his physical capabilites wasn’t enough to keep up with the two opponents he faced. Claws found their way past his guard and tore bloody lines up his arm, but he grit his teeth and bore the pain. With a roar, he stepped in closer and brought his weapon across in a brutal horizontal swing. Faster than anything he had done over the past moments, the Demon was caught completely off guard. Had he managed to close in a bit further, he might have managed to bisect it completely, but as it was he simply buried the machete into the Demon’s stomach about two-thirds of the way through. The sheer force behind the swing forced one into the other and with a sharp kick, he freed his sword while knocking the pair down. Just in time to deal with the third.

As he heaved deep breathes, Nathan realized the pain in his arms no longer burned, having already quickly settled into a dull sensation. The last creature was on him before he could dwell for too long. As he backpedaled away from the frenzied creature, he also watched it carefully. Duck under one swing, get his weapon up to block another, take another step back. It was only a few more moments until an opportunity presented itself and Nathan didn’t hesitate for a moment to take it. He felt his back press up against a totalled car and leaned back onto the roof to let the Demon’s swing pass by overhead. His right arm shot up, catching the creature’s other arm at the wrist mid-swing and halting it. Pushing forward off the car, the machete came down in his left like a flash and cut clean through the Demon’s arm. It couldn’t feel pain, but it nevertheless screamed and the inhuman sound hurt. Wincing, he kicked the creature hard, throwing it to the ground. He would have taken the opportunity to finish the bastard off, but instead he spent the second he had gained to reload his pistol. The uninjured Demon had picked itself up and was already running to join in.

Despite the numerous cuts and gashes running down each arm, he had no trouble with steadying his aim and firing off a few rounds which forced the Demon down and into cover. The other two were injured badly enough that they stayed down on the ground, and Nathan didn’t need a better opportunity for him to try and bail it. He ran around the piled up vehicles, firing off a round every so often at the lone Demon to force it down. By the time he was near the pistol’s effective range, he just gave up on trying to keep the Demon down and focused on simply running. His feet felt lighter, the bag didn’t seem to weigh as much, and when he turned around, he was surprised to find out that he was actually making fairly good distance from the creature. He didn’t know what was happening, but he was going to try and get as much as he could from it.

In each of my hands was a dangerous black needle - and I let them both fly.

Two of the Demons fell instantly, landing facedown with a black needle sticking out the back of their heads. Score. I had managed to hit them both straight in the eyes, piercing them through the brain and even penetrating through the thin backing of the skull.

The other two Demons took no hesitation as they sprinted towards me, claws extended.

My left hand was definitely my least-dominant hand, so I suppose it was quite lucky that I was able to get the needle directly through the eye sockets of both Demons.

Screeeeeech

These two were later-spawns, I was sure of it. They had more scars, which means they were uglier and smelled worse. Later-spawns also tended to “speak” differently, though somehow I couldn’t place the “difference” in their words.

I leapt into the air just as the rightmost demon began to bring its claws onto me. I put both of my hands on top of its head, neatly vaulting over both creatures. My wings twitched and shifted - like a dragonfly’s - and I twisted in mid-air, breaking the demon’s neck.

Now this was mainly for my own amusement. The demon wouldn’t die, no, but its head would be lolling in place and, if I’m lucky, it will run around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Yes, there it goes, running, running… Crashing into a tree. I’ll just leave it be for the time being.

The second later-spawn could be slightly trickier, as it now knew that I meant business. So it ran.

Demons aren’t cowardly, as they don’t feel fear, but they do have the instinct to live and to share intel they’ve gathered. My abilities and I would be valuable intel to share, so I couldn’t let this Demon go. After a quick glance at the helpless Demon with the snapped neck, I crouched down low onto the ground.

Ready…

I might as well give this creature a headstart.

Set…

I could just hear it quickly but carefully making its way out of the forest. Branches swaying, rocks tumbling, birds shrieking…

Go!

The trees were a blur but my body easily dodged trees, branches, and leaves alike. One! Two! Three! I twirled in mid-air to shake my thoughts. There I go off counting again.

The trail of the Demon’s scent was nose-wrinkling powerful, and my four agile wings allowed me to weave between the trees and find my way to the front of the Demon. In one fluid moment I drew a metal needle and pushed it through the eye of the Demon before rocketing towards the sky. Dang. I gotta go back and collect my needles.