Carpe Diem *HF* Chapter Nine
By StevenBlueKing
Chapter Nine
Salvanza pulled back the sheets of his bed as he gazed at the clock that rested in his bedside cabinet. 00:35. He hadn’t realised he’d been in the Danger Room for four hours. It didn’t seem that long. But he was glad to have the chance to collapse on his bed and go to sleep. In the next room he could hear Toby cussing up a storm. Morte’s tarantula had escaped and left the dead body of a mouse on her bed. Safe to say the Purple Rook wouldn’t be happy to see the Assassin the morning. Roberto just laughed. In the room on the opposite side he could already hear Waya snoring loudly. With a chuckle, he climbed into bed before an inhumane screech filled his ears. An explosion! From the sounds of things it came from the hospital wing. Instinctively he dived to his feet and headed to the door before he heard the turret above him loosen. Within moments the colossal spiral plummeted through the roof of the Outer Circle quarters, rendering its members to a stony prison.
Epyon dived underneath the metal table he sat at, sending the broken components in front of him crashing onto the floor. A blast rocked the castle, making the walls quake. As the tremor stopped, the young Knight raced to his feet, his hair turning white as he activated his powers. The blast seemed to have come from the entrance to the living quarters on the other side of the castle. As he ran for the door he heard another howl. With a wince, he recognised what the noise was. The left turret over the Outer Circle rooms was down. He had to get there fast! With a burst of super speed, the Knight ran towards the epicentre.
Porscha shot up in bed, the silken sheets sliding off her nightshirt. A steady trickle of sweat poured from her face. Within seconds her fiancé was beside her. “Kyle, what was that?” she said, her voice quipped with fear.
Kyle jumped out of bed summoning his battle suit to replace his boxers that he slept in. “Sounds like a bomb went off on the other side of the castle. Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Kyle teleported into the corridor where he collided roughly with the Purple Knight, the two of them crashing to the floor.
“Did you hear that?” Epyon questioned as he scrambled to his feet, dragging Shadow off the floor. The Prince merely sneered. The Knight blushed. “I guess so. Come on, teleport us there now.”
The mangled hospital bed flew through the air, crashing into the wall, directed by a telekinetic bolt. It smashed forcibly, knocking the remaining bricks out of place. From the rubble rose the Purple King, his tattered suit hanging from his bloodied body. A distinctive, powerful aura surrounded his diminutive frame as his jaw locked in pure fury. His icy cold eyes became submerged in pure energy. “WHO DARES ATTACK ME IN MY OWN HOME!?” he shouted, gliding through the dilapidated ward. His eyes flared even more as they locked on the demon. “DIAMOPHER!”
“Glad to see you still remember my name,” the demon said, “I mean, afterall, you sent these lackeys to try and kill me. Didn’t work. Sure, they sorted out the Illuminati, but I thought it’d be rude to not finish off what was started.”
“Why?” Steven growled, “what is the meaning of these attacks? EXPLAIN yourself.”
“You Hellfire Club types never change,” Diamopher growled, “so arrogant, so full of yourselves.” A bolt of mystical energy erupted from the demon’s palm, smashing Steven against a wall. The King slumped to the floor. Diamopher floated over to him, lowering his body towards Steven. With a chuckle, he kicked the old man squarely in the ribs, tossing Steven’s body into the air. “You people imprisoned me, that fool Shaman, but now I shall have my revenge, as will the Illuminati.”
Suddenly, five blades darted into the demon’s toughened skin, making it wriggle back. Charlotte withdrew her fingernails, a glazed over look in her face as she slashed the demon across the face, before planting a kick in its abdomen, toppling it backwards. Steven winced in pain as he coughed blood, his hazy eyes falling on Charlotte. Rage was now in control. That could get her killed. With a flick of his mind, she collapsed to the floor. With an effort, the King staggered to his feet, glaring at the demon. Without speaking, he unleashed a powerful telekinetic blast at the demon, smashing it against the floor. In the corridors he could see Epyon and Shadow enter.
“Dad?” Shadow said as he saw his father, concern seeping through his words.
“No time to explain Kyle,” he said, pushing past the pain, “the left turret has come down. Toby, Salvanza, Waya and Storm are imprisoned in there, from my scan they’re all unconscious. Free them. And get David and Porscha out of here.” Obediently the Prince phased from sight. “Epyon, protect Charlotte until she comes around and then assist me.” As he finished speaking the bewildered faces of Blackfire and Morte greeted the King.
“WTF?” Morte muttered, her tight black silk nighty hanging to her frame, “that’s the demon that attacked us!”
“Silence!” Diamopher screamed, blasting Blackfire and Morte off their feet, “you will all be destroyed.”
“Think not, I better stuff to do than be destroyed” Xeus said as he swung from the fractured balcony, plunging a sword into the demon’s neck, before kicking it swiftly in the chest. Then, he unleashed a barrage of energy bolts upon Diamopher. He screamed wildly, before swiping the Bishop off his feet. His eyes burned with fury as energy swirled around his frame. “YOU MUST ALL DIE NOW!” The bolts flared from his body, heading for Steven.
The King smiled as he erected an immense barrier around himself and his students, deflecting the bolts back towards Diamopher. They struck with fury, burning into his body relentlessly. Steven dropped the shield, hovering into the air. In his hand he formed two beams of pure psionic energy, unleashing them into Diamopher’s head. The demon rose from the floor as two beams shot from Steven’s eyes into his. Diamopher’s head jolted backwards.
“You terrorised people when you first walked this earth,” Steven screamed, “murdered innocent people, destroyed them and their families. Now you proceed to do it again. But I won’t let you. You are just some jumped up demon who shall feel true fury, true vengeance. NO ONE attacks me and my friends.” Steven’s tone became more ferocious, more forceful as he spoke, before cracking at the end. His body’s kinetic energy began to surge into his mind as it converted into pure psionic power. Connecting to the Astral plane, the Purple King drove the energy across the telepathic highway, allowing it to latch onto Diamopher’s ‘image’. With a cruel smile, Steven forced the energy into the demon’s mind. Then, in a split second, he changed the power back to kinetic. The sudden outburst caused Diamopher’s head to explode as blood and bone went raining around him as his body fell lifelessly to the ground. Steven hovered for a moment as his cold gaze fell upon the demon.
“Steven?” Blackfire whispered quietly. The King grunted as he descended from the ground besides the Purple Enforcer.
“Make sure everyone is okay,” he said coldly as he began to walk through the rubble, “then get them to meet me in the War Room.”
“Okay,” Blackfire said softly. “Did you kill him?”
“I don’t think a demon can truly ever die,” he said, “evil can never be purged. All we can do is be there to fight it and hope we make a difference. But sometimes, we don’t. Sometimes we fail Sharon.”
“FOOL!” Raito screamed as he unleashed an assault of mystical bolts upon his viewing pool, sending the ancient structure smashing into pieces around the dimly lit cavern, “the demon failed me. The Hellfire Clubs are once again victorious.” Biting down hard on his lower lip, he opened a portal, the golden chalice of Diamopher falling through. “I’ll show you what happens to failures,” he said as he dissolved the goblet, tossing the remains into the fiery chasm in the centre of the room. Anger still ridden across his face he collapsed onto his throne. “The Illuminati will triumph over the Hellfire Club,” he mused, “and Steven Booth shall pay dearly, as will his Courtiers. Mark my words.”
End Chapter Nine