The silence that followed was sharp,too sharp. No laughter, no moans, no music. Just the buzz of an old ceiling fan and the weight of tension thick enough to chew.
The demon leaned against the wall, hands still in his pockets, as if he hadn't a single care in the world. "So… is this where you sprinkle holy water and give me a timeout?"
The priest stepped forward. No hesitation. "This is where you get dragged out from the shadows you've been hiding in."
"Oh please," the demon scoffed. "I am the shadow."
The priest said nothing. He just took a breath and raised the crucifix again. It glowed faintly now, as if warming up for war.
The demon's smirk twitched. "You sure you want to do this, preacher? I mean… you're in my playground now."
Suddenly, BAM!
The priest lunged.
He didn't chant. He didn't wait. He just threw the first punch. And to everyone's surprise,including the demon's—it landed.
Right across the jaw.
The demon stumbled back with a grunt. "Oh. So it's like that?"
His smile cracked wider, fangs peeking out.
The lights flickered. The walls pulsed, like the room itself was holding its breath.
Then the demon moved,fast.
He closed the gap in a blink, slamming the priest into the wall so hard the crucifix clattered to the floor.
"Oops," the demon grinned. "Didn't mean to redecorate."
The priest grinned his teeth, elbowed the demon in the ribs, and broke free. He grabbed the crucifix mid-roll and pressed it hard against the demon's neck.
Sssssss.
The demon let out a howl not of pain, but insult. "Really? The ol' hot metal trick? You priests never change."
He shoved the priest back, and suddenly the air went cold. Real cold. Frost began crawling up the walls, and the lights turned blue.
The priest's breath came out in clouds. "Parlor tricks," he muttered.
"Oh no," the demon said, voice deepening, "this is just foreplay."
Suddenly the floor cracked, glowing symbols flaring beneath their feet. The demon raised one hand, and the air rippled like heat off asphalt.
The priest raised the crucifix again, but this time, it burst into flame.
"Holy fire," he said, calm but out of breath. "You forget,I'm not just a priest."
The demon raised an eyebrow. "Exorcist? Monk? Secret Jedi?"
"Former soldier."
Then he punched the demon again only this time, the blow lit up with a burst of golden light.
The demon reeled back, laughing even through the pain. "Now that's more like it!"
They fought like mad things slamming into walls, flipping tables, fire and frost mixing like a storm gone rabid. The demon summoned shadows with claws. The priest countered with blinding flashes of divine light.
At one point, the priest ducked a claw swipe and threw a chair. Not a blessed chair. Just a regular wooden chair. It broke on impact.
"Seriously?" the demon said, brushing the pieces of wood off. "Furniture?"
"Improvised weapons are in the Bible," the priest huffed. "Look it up."
They circled each other, bruised, breathing hard.
"You're not bad, holy man," the demon muttered. "Not bad at all."
"You haven't seen bad yet," the priest growled.
Then they both lunged at the same time...
to be continued.