Five minutes had passed. Lo lost count of the demons that poured from the stairwell's exit as he continued hacking and slashing as much as possible. Beads of sweat poured down from his forehead, even so, he had no time to rest. Ava would help whenever she could, but she was mostly unable to even stand.

"Evyn and Hero, you'd better be faring better than we are," Lo said wearily.

*****

Evyn cleared the lobby of any remaining demons. "It's safe now, Hero." 

Hero peaked out from behind the front desk. "Why am I here with you guys again?"

"Because, if I get injured you need to warn someone."

"If you say so." He dusted off his jacket and followed after Evyn, who started up the stairwell.

The floors were empty, ransacked by the devil's brood. An eerie feeling hung over the silent hallways and rooms.

Both Evyn and Hero rushed up the stairs as fast as possible, but every time they thought they were getting closer to the horde that awaited them, the footsteps got quieter. 

After a few minutes, Evyn smashed her hand into the wall beside her and growled. "I'm so much slower than them. Why?" She morphed back into a human and sat on a step. "There has to be a faster way."

"Well, young demon," said Hero, "Confound it all then."

Evyn looked him in the eyes. "Nobody uses that word anymore, 'Confound'. The last person I heard use that was..."

"Undoubtedly." Hero stood and began whirling around, creating a miniature tornado around him. When the breeze subsided, the demon, Rob, stood in his place.

She stood swiftly. "Rob? I watched you die. I killed you!"

"You did kill me," Rob said solemnly, "But demons don't actually die. We're truly immortal, unlike the angels. You just dispel us for a little while, but we always come back."

"Why are you here?"

"You killed me for the first time. I've fought many wars across millennia, but you freak of nature managed to kill me. Demons can disguise themselves as humans, but you are an anomaly. I deserted my rank to find out what you are."

Evyn grabbed him by the collar. "What's keeping me from throwing you over the stair rail right now and watching you splat on the ground, 10 stories below?"

He poofed behind her and whispered in her ear, "Because you need me."

Her eyes glowed in a dull rage, but she withheld herself.

"I do need you, to figure out what I actually am. But right now, we need to stop our kind from killing my friends." With that, she turned and continued up the stairwell again, but this time by leaping from railing to railing.

Rob smirked and followed after her.