18

Beelzebub

My consciousness floated between the ether of realities like a phantom in search of my essence. I tracked it back to the engine room, where all the Diabolics were stored. Fuck. Drifting through the portal, I arrived to find the headless body of my former mortal host body. So frustrating after all the work I did to get that cheap piece of thread roomy enough to contain me in all my glory. Now it sat, slowly dying, and I couldn't interact with anything in this incorporeal state.

The only thing keeping blood flowing and the muscles from stiffening was my potent essence coursing through the veins, though all the Diabolic features had faded. Perhaps they'd retreated inward to conserve the life of this host. I didn't have a lot of experience losing my head. Lost an arm once, that was annoying trying to retrieve, but this was an entire fucking body. How was I going to get this back to the rest of me? When I lost my arm, I still had control over the receptors, but that proved pretty useless because it turned out that walking with fingers wasn't all that simple. Still, I had fully functioning limbs all attached, minus the head. If I focused, I might be able to steer it.

Metal clinked. I saw Eligos at the end of the railing, surrounded by unconscious Fae. Their magic was palpable in the air, despite the stillness of their bodies and shallow breaths. Great. What was he up to? He grabbed one of the five orbs powering the dimensional travel. Wait—weren't there supposed to be six?

Eligos squeezed the orb, breaking it open but holding the wildly whipping essence to keep it from flying throughout the room.

"Calm yourself," he said. "I mean to offer you freedom, yet you need to obey my guidance."

Arrogant asshole.

He held the essence over the head of a feathered Fae, lying completely unaware of the essence spilling into his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. The essence poured from Eligos' grip like yolk slowly seeping from an eggshell. The body convulsed, the former person screaming as a demon burrowed their way into a new home and made it more accommodating without the presence of a Fae roomie. I'd deal with a second demon once I regained my strength; with these demons distracted, now was my chance to get it back.

I called out to my lost essence, attempting to bring back some of the composure in my limp limbs, but struggled to access full autonomy over my essence still circulating within the dead host body. Ugh. If I hadn't killed the former tenant, I might've been able to sway the anatomy better. Well, unlikely. Mortals didn't move too well without their heads. Still, I struggled to control my former body. Former limbs. Guide them to obey my essence's will, tugging on the ghostly strings like a puppeteer in the shadows.

The only way I could interact with the body was as a specter, whispering from the ether between reality, practically dipping my toes into the dream world. It didn't help Wally's soothing voice reeled me away from this objective, speaking sweet words and offering support. Why was he trying to comfort me?

My body jostled in his grip. Were we moving? What the actual fuck was he doing? I ignored it. If I allowed myself in the moment, I'd lose the weak hold I had over my lost essence. I trusted Wally. Whatever was going on, he had a reason and would handle it. This was my only opportunity to reclaim my lost essence before it fully faded from my grasp.

I stared at the body, willing it to move, demanding it in this astral form to heed my call and obey. Fingers wiggled. I focused again, and then… Nothing.

"Move, you piece of garbage!" I kicked the air, wishing I could kick myself. I'd kick my own ass, given half the chance.

The fingers tightened, and a fist formed.

"Yes." I snarled. "You got this, you beautiful bastard. Now, carefully lift yourself up."

My headless body wobbled, grabbing the railing and pulling itself upright. I turned back to Eligos, who continued helping ease the demon into the reality of their newfound freedom.

"One foot at a time," I instructed. "Make your way, quietly, through the portal, and then we'll meet up halfway."

I waited for my bumbling body to slowly approach the exit, knowing I'd have to move quickly once it'd escaped into the labyrinth. My chest tightened, reeling me away. Why was Walter hugging me so tightly? I shook it off. Damn, I know I'm cute, but can't he tell I'm too busy for cuddles?

"Devils truly are wickedly marvelous." Eligos appeared in front of my body, armor fuzzy as his body settled from the blurred movement. "I knew obtaining one, obtaining Beelzebub, would be all this vessel required to run eternally through any and all worlds."

I scoffed. He'd be quite disappointed when he figured out he'd been conned with second-rate demon essence and a small lump sum of devil essence.

He swung a fist. Oh, hell no. I commanded a counter, body obedient in the heat of the moment, and braced the strike with two raised arms. Eligos' metal knuckles tore through my skin.

Reeling back a fist, my body followed suit and swung. I wouldn't go down this time. I wouldn't let my shock distract me. I didn't care who Eligos was once upon a time; all he was now was a threat to my life, my future, my love—Wally.

The two of us clashed back and forth. Whether from exhaustion, lack of control, or fading essence, my body struggled to land as many blows as Eligos.

"This isn't like your world, Beelzebub." Eligos punched my side, breaking several ribs, then whipped behind it and kicked my body in the back, knocking it to my knees. "You have no claim here. Without your domain of Hell, you obviously lack your full fury. For centuries I cultivated the perfect plan, biding my time, waiting for a weakness to present itself." He kicked my body again and again, forcing it to yield beneath his heel as he stomped over and over, bloodying his boot.

"Bez," Wally's voice called out, "I won't leave you. Not ever."

What? I considered returning to Wally, getting an explanation behind the cryptic words yet comforting tone. No. I needed to return with a win. Needed Wally to be safe.

"When that feeble magus captured you, I wanted to strike then, tear the Collective asunder, but that damned Fae claimed it'd incite a war." Eligos continued kicking, breaking bones, unleashing lifetimes of rage unto the wrong foe. "It didn't matter. You laid waste to the mages and their city anyway, all with the help of your murderous psychopath misfit mage. That despicable filth, undeserving of all the world gave him and other mortals."

"What?" I roared, fuming with fury. He had the audacity to speak ill of Wally, speak lies on his name, paint a phony legend over the kindness Wally wanted to give the world.

My body sprang back in a blur, fully synchronized with my will, unfazed by Eligos' attacks. Now, that fucking knight would die.

The two of us sparred, his moves still too quick to counter, so I didn't waste the effort. I was Beelzebub's personal punching bag for eons; I could handle a few hits from an ignoble knight. Eligos swung a fist, and I finally managed to grab ahold of his arm, pinning it between my bicep and battered torso.

Now would be a great time for a headbutt. I sighed. I missed having a head. Missed having a fully functional body. No matter. I blocked his other arm, willing my body to squeeze the armor until it cracked. Eligos focused his essence on restoring his precious suit, and I used that fraction of a second to punch him in the head, knocking his helmet clean off his shoulders. But Eligos had already retracted his head to hide deep within the confines of his armor for protection. Gah—we looked like fucking fools, two headless demons dueling it out.

And over what? He wanted to punish Beelzebub for leaving Hell? Newsflash, he was trapped, rotting away, and I needed to make sure it stayed that way.

I commanded my body, having it keep a firm hold on Eligos' arm I'd pinned, then made the body flip over the knight, tearing his arm off in the process. He bellowed, furious shouting from within the suit as his body thundered inside the metal, and tendrils whipped chaotically, searching for the lost limb.

"Sucks losing a piece of yourself, doesn't it?" I cackled, instructing my body to lift the arm, and beat Eligos with his own armored limb.

Again. Again. Again. I pummeled him. Metal clanked, cracking against each other. Once I created a solid chink in the back of his suit, I'd punch a hole through it and rip him out. No hesitation. No sympathy. No reminiscing. I seethed with rage, unleashing all my hate, my power, and my will to survive. I'd tear him to pieces, reclaim the villa, kiss Wally, find Mora—yell at her for being so unprepared, and maybe hug her—then…

I gasped, feeling my tether to my former host body snap.

A lance protruded through my stomach, impaling me like a fucking shish kabob. The feathered Fae lifted it high, holding my flailing body no longer answering my willpower, my orders.

"Thank you, brother." Eligos struggled to his feet, retrieving his lost arm and reattaching it. "I knew the honor among demons was always stronger than the fear of devils. We are bonded now, family in belief and convictions."

"Ha, whatever," the demon dressed as a feathered Fae said with a laugh. "I always wanted to gut Lilith, the vile old shrew. Guess killing this second-rate devil is a close consolation. Who is he exactly? I don't recognize the essence."

"Beelzebub, and his essence is altered from bonding with a mortal mage. Weakened most likely," Eligos explained inaccurately. "And we can't kill him. We must harness the essence, cultivate it, and with it—we'll be able to lay claim to all Hells, raise armies of our brethren seeking freedom, and kill devils undeserving of their titles or realms."

"Even Lilith?" the feathered demon asked, lowering my limp body.

"Every devil." Eligos grabbed the lance from the demon, who didn't resist, and then he dragged my body to the edge of the railing.

With a wave of his hand, Eligos telekinetically removed all the wires that had been attached to the six orbs and rewired them to the lance. My body thrashed, anguished, and suffering. Even without the link to the rest of my essence, the suffering and pain were clear.

"What are you doing?" the demon asked, which I wanted to know too, holding tight to every snapping thread that kept my mind here.

"I've connected Beelzebub's devil essence to the ship," Eligos said. "Once I've retrieved all his essence, I'll be able to tear through time and space and use this vessel to attack other devils with the strength of one. Armies of Diabolics will rally behind us as we usher in a new era, one without devils."

"Oh." The feathered demon had a flabbergasted expression, either not understanding Eligos' impassioned drive or not caring, as few demons bothered with such irrational sentiment. "So where is the rest of the devil at? A head can't be that hard to find."

"I'm less concerned with his missing head, more so with the fiendish mage who fled with it," Eligos said. "I've sent another to retrieve the mage—alive."

"Boring."

"Necessary. If the mortal dies, so will Beelzebub."

The feathered demon's sapphire irises shimmered, and the sky-blue of the sclera around them widened with delight. "A dead devil?"

"No. We need him intact." Eligos patted the demon's shoulder. "Remember, in order to achieve the impossible, we must…"

His voice fell away, the engine room fell away, the smug smile of the feathered demon fell away, and I sprang forward, back inside my feeble body and still lacking the necessary essence required to finish this fight.

The scent of mana filled the room, and potent Mythic residue permeated beside me.

A set of golden eyes were on the floor.

"Aw, fresh gorgon eyes." I smiled, searching for Wally to tease him they'd taste best scrambled with a side of bacon.

But he was nowhere to be found. I sniffed the air. Sweat, blood, fear, and pain wafted from his recent arrival here, though his stay was brief. What had happened to him? Why'd he ditch my ragdoll body? And what the hell was he going to do with a random ass pair of gorgon eyes?

I turned around, taking in the room of statues filled with perfectly petrified potential host bodies. Hmm, it appeared Wally had stumbled onto these on his own despite the fact I hadn't shared the details because I didn't want him distracted by side projects.

My lips curled into a wicked grin, delighted by the bounty presented by Wally. The fastest way to recover a modicum of my strength was through possession, feeding deeply on the mana from a strong host. The villa wasn't exactly rolling around in a wide selection, and these statues could only be released through gorgon magic. Or the magic that still resided inside a fresh set of delicious eyes.

Guess I'd have to pass on the tasty treat. I had to figure out which one of these fools would make for the most suitable threads to find and kill Eligos in.