Chapter 23 #3
Not that it mattered. Milo’s banishment kicked in in waves, repelling and neutralizing the magic of Kingston’s halo. Even his wings diminished some, feathers crumbling to ashes as they were locked within Milo’s perfected banishment.
“How’s it feel, devil?” Milo tightened his grip on Kingston’s face, digging his nails in deep. “All that power, and your possession means nothing in the end.”
“Stop him!” Kingston roared.
The devils possessing Stone and Barlowe flew close, throwing plants and ice at Milo to no avail. His perfected banishment shattered all magical attacks, but because his focus was split on countering incoming magic, it slowed the exorcism of the devil possessing Richard Kingston.
The devil possessing Robbins attempted to bind Milo with her golden warding chains again, only this time, they rusted over instantly.
The symbols cracked apart. The golden glow turned a deep copper brown.
The chains themselves crumbled into ashes, propelled and destroyed by Milo’s banishment in tandem with telekinesis.
“I’m in my perfected state,” Milo declared, blue eyes shimmering with the purple glow of psychic energy. “As long as I channel all four roots simultaneously, you can’t touch me.”
“Let’s see about that,” the devil possessing Whitlock appeared from below, bringing two other devils with him.
The hex enchanter slapped a hand on Milo’s chest. “Stop casting.”
“Your commands require contact.” Milo smirked, his body pulsing with a thin protective layer of levitation repulsion. The very magic in our cores that allowed us to float now coated Milo from head to toe, repelling threats.
The sensory enchanter slapped Milo, attempting to strike enhanced pain throughout, but Milo’s cloak held strong.
“Wait your turn, you’ll all be banished soon enough.” With that, Milo sent a surge of telekinesis, propelling the devils away and leaving him alone with the devil possessing the number one enchanter. Milo applied more pressure, dropping the shrieking devil to his knees.
A high-pitched scream drew Milo’s attention. Hovering high in the sky, a small child wriggled in terror, surrounded by a shimmer of light.
“You might be immune to our casting efforts, but these mortal fools aren’t,” said the devil possessing Enchanter Lopez.
He held the child by the collar of their shirt with one hand and tapped his forehead with the other.
“One thing I’ve learned, studying the mind of this feeble witch, is that enchanters such as yourself waste time and energy protecting the vulnerable. ”
Milo glared, still focusing his banishment on expelling the devil from Richard Kingston.
“Your species would be so much stronger if you all collectively culled the weak,” the devil said, teleporting away, and leaving the small child to plummet.
Milo leapt into action, flying faster than he’d ever done before, and catching the child midair. It wasn’t enough. A shimmer of light appeared, quickly followed by a man’s scream. Milo spotted another bystander falling from a terrible height. He soared over, wrapping the man in a telekinetic grip.
Shimmers of light sparked from every direction, carrying a screaming person in their wake.
Some of the bystanders snatched into the sky were able to levitate on their own accord, but many required Milo’s intervention.
He swept back and forth, catching innocent people before they plummeted to their deaths.
As he held nearly thirty people in his telekinetic grasp, waves of magical strikes came from below.
Deadly plants erupted from the earth. Shards of jagged ice catapulted ahead. Golden chains bound the witches who tried to fly away on their own.
Milo did everything in his power to dodge the strikes, weaving not only himself, but everyone in his grasp. It took all he had to sweep through the sky, keeping every single person safe.
Kingston zipped through the air and hovered in front of Milo in a flash. His hand was clawed from the devil’s vampiric nature slipping through. The hand was bloody, though. I blinked with confusion, mine and Milo’s.
Blood trickled down Milo’s face, making his vision splotchy. He’d been slashed across the face.
“Aren’t you a tasty treat?” The devil licked his clawed fingers, then lunged for Milo and sank his fangs into Milo’s neck.
I quivered, synced to Milo’s aching body. A rush of heat swept over him, followed by an icy chill that left him drained. Milo’s magic waned, giving way to the civilians he held telekinetically. His eyes rolled back, locked in Kingston’s embrace as he gorged on Milo’s blood.
There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t help Milo. I couldn’t interact. I couldn’t reach my core self. All I could do was watch Milo’s agonizing death.
The devil laughed, leaning back some and basking in the bloody mess he had made. “You were a fool to think you could defeat us on your own.”
And in that instance, a fist struck Enchanter Kingston with such tremendous force that it sent him propelling to the ground and crashing through the street several hundred feet.
“He’s not alone.” Gladiatrix floated beside Milo, fury on her face and body tensed for combat.