With a Sword and a Prayer

The Demon Lord, with his sharp senses, noticed the pair of intruders almost immediately, and stood up from the table. His heavy mahogany chair fell back as if it were paper. Standing, the Demon Lord looked formidable. He took the appearance of a handsome male, although he was a foot taller than any man that either Aron or Ana had ever seen. He was giant in height and was proportionally broad. Ana had no need to wonder if he was toned under his tunic because he only wore a loin cloth which bulged as it strained to hide what lay beneath. His hair was short, almost as short as Aron's but slicked back, his eyes were a burning, searing red, and his teeth were fanged and sharp like a wolf. His skin was crimson all over, as if bathed in blood over and over until he had been stained that way for good.

"Which one of you betrayed me?" the Demon growled as he reached for the nearest of his generals.

Unaware of Ana-Maria's dreams, and ignoring their protests, the demon squeezed the orc's head until it popped in his hand and the carcass of his dead minion dropped to the floor.

Aron vaulted over the banister and landed on the table, sword already drawn. The three remaining orc generals began to advance, but the demon waved them off as he reached for the great axe beside his chair.

"He's mine," the demon declared haughtily.

With a mighty swing of his foot, the demon overturned the table, and the impact broke it into pieces. Aron had already leapt from table before the attack struck, but the demon was also incredibly fast, moving towards the adventurer while he was still coming down. A great axe required a great effort to swing though, telegraphing the demon's next attack as well. With the demon's superior strength and speed, he brought the axe down in half the time it would have taken for the common man, but it was just long enough for Aron to land and immediately dive aside.

The clang of the steel on stone rang out, but the demon didn't care. He instead immediately reached out to grab the human, but Aron swiped his sword across the demon's palm before rolling away to safety. Aron clambered to his feet but the demon was up first, and running at him with the axe raised again. Just as ill-timed as the orc standing stand, Aron thought, and waited until the last second to dodge, just as he had then too.

While he was still mid-movement, the demon kicked a piece of broken wood into his path, causing Aron to stumble. Though he didn't fall, he was caught off balance just long enough for the demon to swing the axe one handed, and though Aron saw it coming and raised his sword to brace for impact. Too late though. But what should have been a fatal blow instead glanced off his body, and Aron was thrown across the room rather than divided into two.

Both Aron and the Demon were surprised but the Demon was the first to realize what had happened. He cocked his head to the balcony where Ana-Maria was kneeling as she chanted and recited a prayer of protection.

"White Witch," the demon spat.

The Orc generals were already on their way up the stairs. As he rose to his feet, Aron took the dagger from his boot and threw it towards them, watching as it sank into the skull of the leading orc. Dead, it fell backwards, collapsing into the other orcs and all three fell to the foot of the stairs. That would give him a few extra moments, but nothing more. The Demon was already approaching again. He swung his axe one handed again, but Aron dove out of the way, keeping a clear path this time and rolling towards a nearby candelabra.

As the Demon rushed forward again, pressing the attack, Aron grabbed a candle and flicked the wax into the eyes of the demon. While the demon was momentarily blinded,. Aron ran his sword into the demon's gut, causing him to howl like a beast. With a swipe of his arm, the demon swatted Aron away, separating the adventurer from his sword. The demon removed it himself, and tossed the valuable weapon to the other side of the room. But Aron still had another dagger that he kept in his other boot.

Armed with just that small dagger against the demon with a great axe, Aron leapt low, and sliced the demon's leg, and with another shout of pain, he fell to one knee. Before the Demon could attack again, Aron danced around his back, and shoved the dagger deep into the shoulder of his axe carrying arm. As his wounds mounted the demon did just as Aron hoped, he dropped his axe. Aron grabbed it immediately, but it was heavy, heavier than anticipated. Yet, still, with all of his strength, Aron brought the axe around in a wild, sloppy motion, and slammed the blade into the demon's heart.