"My, my." the demon had rested its unkempt chin on its clawed hand. "Watching the two of you desperately try to communicate has been fascinating. I will return to my realm as you commanded me. But first, may I interest you in an offer? I assure you, it's one that the two of you will never see again in your lifetime?"
I knew not to take up the offer. My promise to Uncle Rue and whoever Demiurge was wasn't going to be broken.
The other last surviving member of the ritual was on the verge of agreeing. She had no mouth, but every muscle in her body twitched. She even sped forward. I tried to drag her back, but she sent me flying with a wind blast from her palm.
"Clever girl. You women are always the wiser of your species. Because of that," Preyahct sat up on his haunches. "I offer you omnipotence, the power beyond all living beings. All you need to do is speak the words and that power is yours."
Despite being sprawled out on the ground, I laughed. She had no mouth. How was she supposed to ask for omnipotence?
But as I sat up, I watched the skin on her face unravel like old fabric. I watched her mouth mutter the words through a scarlet lens.
"Give me the power, great demon. Grant me Omnipotence!"
As expected of a demon, Preyacht began to cackle. It was like metal being dragged through an empty valley, the sound reverberating off the highest peaks to return to my ear in a sickening ebb and flow of sound.
As expected of a demon, the Shrieking Terror gave my classmate what she asked for. I watched her skin sprout glowing lines like tattoos imprinted by the hand of some divine being. I could feel the mana flower off of her in a violent torrent. She began to echo Preyahct's cackle.
I could feel her power from several feet away. It was heavy. Heavier than I'd ever felt. Heavier than the current King of Diamond's power probably.
As expected of a demon, there was a catch to the gifts he offered. The nerd's body began to contort. The glowing white lines on her skin began to bleed and leak like blood. They became the same sickening color mana that was tainted to summon Preyacht. As the great demon began to vanish, the chalk at his mighty feet began to fade. The rotting smell subsided. My eyes stopped leaking blood, and my vision returned to normal.
Now with untainted vision, I watched my classmate warp into somethin other. Her limbs stretched out in front of her. Her fingers lengthened into thin talons. Her skin stretched between her fingers and limbs until her arms became the wings of a bat.
Her skin sprouted yellow fur with red lines that twisted and broke at old angels. Her eyes shrunk into little slits. Her ears were pulled upward, sharpened at the ends until her ears mimicked Pryeacht's.
She hunched over, her clothes tearing off of her beastly body. Her toes burst from her shoes, clawed talons carving into the ground as her transformation reached a close. Like her master, she let out a horrible screech.
The last member of my friend group was gone.