As the Charred Council’s Magus appropriated the key and turned its power against the Hatred that had claimed it, the Angelic Champion saw a chance to slip past the demon’s defense. Wings flared and boosted him forward over the corpses of his command, golden blade lancing forward to plunge into the enemy’s center. 

Mid-stagger, the Hatred tilted imperceptibly to one side, and the blade that would have impaled it skittered instead over its crystalline hide, carving a groove along its path. The angel had no time to dwell on his failure before he was forced to duck under the demon’s whirling scythe. The second arc came on the coattails of the first, and a desperate parry nearly saw the blade wrenched from the soldier’s hands. 

In a split-second decision, the soldier leaned closer and low into the next arc, trading the scythe’s singing blade for the crushing weight of the weapon’s staff slamming against him. 

The blow knocked the wind out of his lungs and sent him flying back to the entrance. Forcing himself to his feet by using his sword as support, the champion eyes wandered to the mausoleum entrance. 

A towering demon was charging through, arms like tree-stumps sending tremors along the stone walls as it loped forward, and the soldier knew that the baleful amber eyes and the wolf’s grin were directed at him. But for a member of the Hellguard to meet an end in war against the old enemy was nothing strange. If all he could do in the end was to buy time for the Council’s Agents, then he would do so with steady hands, staring death in the face.

The champion readied his blade, steeling himself for the moment in which the beast would be close enough to smell its breath.

It was then that he realized that the monster’s focus was not on him, but on something behind him. The idea had not even occurred to him, so outlandish it seemed in his mind, but he had no choice but to entertain it as the monster vaulted over him.

The Hatred rose its weapon just as the monster fell, and the Hellhound grabbed onto the staff, bearing down on its target. The smaller demon’s needle-like legs sunk into the floor, sending cracks and raking the floor as it began to be forced back under the monster’s bulk. 

The hound opened its maw, and an orange glow began to emanate from its gullet, along with the tell-tale sound of crackling fire. 

A moment later, the glow receded, and the hound closed its jowls, instead twisting its grip on the Hatred’s weapon in an attempt to wrestle it to the floor. This proved to be a poor tactic, as the scythe suddenly spun between the two. The hound stood to its full height, avoiding the blade suddenly arcing upward towards its neck by a hair’s breadth, and then surging forward with a raised fist with the whole of its weight behind it.

Dust and stone erupted from the impact, and the Hatred landed several meters to the side, its sharp legs making a scratching noise against the floor as it rose from its sudden leap.

The Hellhound slowly turned to face it, shoulder’s cracking as it fell back to all fours. Its scaled tail swished back and forth menacingly, in a manner that reminded the angel of a cat considering what to do with a mouse it had caught.

A grave voice grated from its maw. “This one has fed well.”

Barely had the words left his mouth before a nearby wall exploded inwards, carrying with it dust and blood, and the remains of some, as of the moment of impact, indistinguishable demon. As the dust settled, in stepped creature more draconic than either angelic or demonic, over eight feet tall and powerfully built. Only its face - the only part not covered in black scales - betrayed its femininity.

“But has it fed well enough?” Asked Lily, flexing her wings casually. Her eyes scanned the room, taking note of the presence of Akoni, some human, Champion and Hatred. The sight of the scythe-wielding demon seemed to catch her interest, causing her slitted pupils to widen, if only slightly. “A demon wielding a weapon? Now that’s rare,” she all but purred. 

The hound grunted, eye rolling to fix on those that had been fighting the demon until then. "Mage! Either get that bauble out of here or do something with it!"