The Lesser Evil - 11. The Temple of Dawn

The morning sun had already filled the bedroom with its golden rays, but Edwin and Lothar were still in bed, finishing their breakfast. The shopkeeper could not remember the last time he had enjoyed a meal so thoroughly, though he suspected the company had a lot to do with it. Last night’s activities had left him especially hungry, and the demon had proven he was up to the task, providing them with an abundant, refreshing meal.

Edwin was still naked, lying under the sheets, with the demon sprawled out next to him. As much as he wanted to stay in that bed forever and enjoy Lothar’s company, he knew they had work to do. Perhaps the most important part of their quest was ahead of them.

“Agilmar? Are you sure of that?” Lothar seemed equally surprised and suspicious.

“Yes. Sigrid performed some kind of ritual and summoned her sister’s spirit. She told us it was Agilmar who killed her. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes,” Edwin explained, detailing to Lothar everything that had happened in his absence.

“Him being a high priest, it makes sense he was able to reach the angels. They wouldn’t be open to just about anyone’s calls, but someone like him… it makes perfect sense,” Lothar concluded.

“But why? How could he do that to his own daughter? How could he ruin her life like that?” the shopkeeper asked, a part of him still refusing to believe what he knew must be the truth.

“I think he’d disagree with you on that. If he’s as fanatical as you say, he must believe working directly for the angels is the ultimate purpose in life, even if it gets you killed,” the demon said. “I’m more surprised he didn’t offer himself up.”

“He’s a monster is what he is,” Edwin shook his head, a disgusted look on his face. “Ida is so caring and kind, she would’ve made a great priestess, but this… Who knows what the angels will do with her?”

“Nothing good,” Lothar added. “At least nothing good for us.”

Edwin gazed quietly into the distance, afraid to even utter the words that were on his mind. He refused to even accept the possibility. “Do you… do you think it’s too late now?”

“We can’t think like that, Edwin,” the demon entwined their fingers together and gave him a look full of encouragement.

“I can’t help it. As much as I try to stay optimistic, sometimes I start doubting everything and I wonder if we’ll ever manage to bring Ida back,” Edwin confessed. “I just can’t lose her, Lothar, not after…”

“After what?” the demon asked.

Edwin hung his head low, avoiding his gaze. He did not wish to reopen the old wounds once again, as he had done with Sigrid, but were they even closed in the first place? He realized he still thought of Marcella every day, praying for her recovery every night before he went to bed. Perhaps opening up to Lothar would make him feel better, even if just for a moment.

“I don’t usually talk about this, but… I have a sister,” he finally spoke, letting out a sigh and looking back up to find Lothar watching him with keen interest. “Her name is Marcella.”

“Oh? Where does she live?”

“She’s living with our parents… in Ahrabet. I haven’t seen them in over three years,” Edwin explained, biting his lip. As Lothar moved closer, placing a comforting arm around his waist, the shopkeeper found himself opening up, words pouring out of his mouth as he told him about the accident he wished so hard had never happened. Once he was finished, he felt the demon wrap him in a warm hug, planting a soft, gentle kiss on his forehead. It was a sign of affection that he never expected from someone like Lothar.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” the white-haired man spoke softly. “And I know you think it’s all your fault…”

“It is. She can’t walk because of me. She’s only sixteen, and I ruined her life, her future!”

“Stop, and listen to me,” Lothar was insistent. “Accidents happen all the time, even when we are being careful and have nothing but the best intentions. You can’t blame yourself for what happened to your sister... or Ida.”

Edwin looked away, still unconvinced, but Lothar continued: “Hey, I hate seeing you like this. Why don’t you tell me your favorite memory of Marcella and you? I’m sure you have no shortage of those.”

Finally, the shopkeeper’s lips curved into a smile as he recalled his childhood and all the happy moments he spent with his little sister by his side. It was so difficult to single out just one.

“That’s true, we were always close, always having fun. I can’t choose,” Edwin stared into the distance as he mused about his younger years. “Well, I guess there is one that always makes me smile. It was Marcella’s eighth birthday and we all went to the beach, the whole family. We brought food, swam in the sea, and then we built sandcastles. I wanted mine to look like the royal castle of Ahrabet, and Marcella wanted to make the Wisian castle, but… well, she was eight, it looked more like a big lump of wet sand. Anyway, after we were finished, I went to take a swim again, but Marcella tripped and fell, destroying my castle. When I came back, she tried to convince me it was a wave that did it. And when I asked her how come her castle was still standing, she said it was ‘a wave that only destroys ugly castles!’”

“Hah! She sounds like a sharp one,” Lothar let out a loud chuckle as Edwin observed him, appreciating how his eyes crinkled when he smiled.

“Oh she is so clever, you wouldn’t believe it,” he gushed, thinking fondly of his little sister. “She would always have an answer for everything.”

“I can see how much you love her,” the demon noticed, “and I’m sure she loves you just as much.”

Edwin was ready to protest, when Lothar shut him up with a kiss. It was spontaneous and playful, and the shopkeeper couldn’t resist smiling as the demon held him in his arms, making him feel all giddy inside.

“Stop smiling when I’m trying to kiss you!” Lothar teased him as he pulled away, but Edwin wasted no time in grabbing him by the shoulders and bringing their bodies closer together.

It was barely an hour later that loud knocks on the door drew their attention away from each other, and the two men quickly dressed and went downstairs to find Sigrid and Isolde waiting outside.

The tension in the room was palpable, with the young blacksmith woman standing moodily to the side, eyeing Lothar with a distrustful gaze. Sigrid, on the other hand, curiously observed the demon, as if wanting to ask him a million questions.

“My word… A demon in the flesh,” the mystic spoke, almost whispering, as she looked at him. “That is something I never thought I’d see with my two eyes.”

“You can say that again,” Isolde muttered, seemingly unimpressed.

Edwin merely rolled his eyes and turned around, ignoring her. The last thing he wanted was to play the mediator between Lothar and her, especially when they had to focus on the task at hand.

“I’m sorry about what happened to your sister, Sigrid,” Lothar said, breaking the awkward silence.

“I appreciate it,” the old woman nodded. “But I have little use of people feeling sorry for me. What I want is for that snake Agilmar to pay for what he did to her. So, here I am, and I will do whatever I can to help.”

“Thank you,” Edwin nodded as he brought a chair for the woman to sit.

“We should go to the temple and find him then. We need him to summon Ida, or whatever angel that took her. That’s our only way of getting her back,” Lothar stated. “And then, once we don’t need him anymore, we can... deal with him.”

The old mystic looked over at the demon, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. “You know what, I think I’ll enjoy having this one on our side,” she replied, pointing at Lothar.

“I can’t disagree there,” Edwin smirked. “But we should wait for Reiff, we promised we’d wait for him. I’m sure he wants to find his wife as much as we want to find Ida.”

“When is he coming?” Isolde sounded impatient, though Edwin was unsure if she was eager to find her sister or simply to finish the task so she would not have to be in the same room as Lothar.

“I’ll go look for him,” the demon said without waiting for a reply. “Perhaps he’s at the docks like last time.”

“Good luck, and come back soon in case he shows up here first,” Edwin replied. Lothar gave him a nod and blinked out of the room, leaving the two women staring wide-eyed at the empty space where he stood merely a second ago.

As time passed, Edwin’s boredom shifted into impatience and then anxiety, as he wondered why neither Lothar nor Reiff were showing up. While Sigrid and Isolde chose to settle down in the kitchen, where they drank herbal tea and talked as if they had known each other for years, Edwin remained in his shop, trying to stay busy with his trinkets and jewelry. Just as he was focusing on polishing a pair of ornate emerald earrings, Lothar suddenly appeared, startling him.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” the demon quickly apologized. “I can knock next time.”

“That’s alright,” Edwin replied, cracking a smile to show that he was far from being angry at him. “I take it you didn’t find Reiff?”

“No,” Lothar shook his head, frowning. “No sign of him anywhere. I looked all over town, but I have no idea where he could’ve gone.”

“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Lothar,” the shopkeeper said, sounding concerned. Even though he always used to see himself as a realistic person, lately he noticed he was becoming more of a pessimist, always expecting the worst. It was only Lothar who managed to brighten his spirits with his very presence. “I know it’s possible you may have just missed him, this is a big town. But what if something’s happened to him?”

“I think that’s quite possible. We’ll find out soon enough either way.”

“There’s no point in waiting then, is there?” Isolde asked, appearing from the kitchen. “Let’s get going. The sooner we find Ida, the better.”

“Good luck, all of you,” Sigrid called out as she entered the room. Even though she wanted to join them, the others managed to convince her to stay, just in case Reiff showed up. In reality, they did not want the old woman to slow them down or get injured.

“Thank you,” Edwin replied as he and Lothar put their jackets on. “Now, let us go,” he added, taking Lothar by the hand.

Isolde took one look at them and shook her head vigorously. “What? You expect me to… No, no way. I’ll walk.”

“Isolde, don’t be silly. It’s much faster if we just blink there,” Edwin rolled his eyes. “It’s perfectly safe too, trust me. I’ve already done it. Besides, I don’t want you walking through the town alone. The last thing we need is for you to disappear like Reiff.”

Reluctantly, the young woman stepped closer and grabbed Lothar by the forearm, trying not to look at him. “Fine. Hurry up then, let’s…”

A moment later, before she could even finish her sentence, the three of them were standing behind a house across the street from the Temple of Dawn. With dark clouds covering the sky and obscuring the sun, the street looked darker than usual. Even the grand temple, with its white pillars and golden arches, seemed as though it was drained of color, its shine dulled by the chilly, gloomy weather.

“I suppose we’d better get moving,” Edwin was the first to speak, shivering in the cold wind.

The three of them moved quickly until they crossed the street, reaching the temple itself. As he observed it, Edwin could feel his heart racing. Rather than a place of worship, the building looked almost haunted now. It provided no comfort, no sense of safety, only painful memories as he thought of Ida and how he had been missing every day since she disappeared. Was this really the day he would finally find his friend and rescue her?

“You two go ahead through the front door. I’ll blink in through the back, just in case,” Lothar suggested, jolting Edwin out of his deep thoughts.

“Huh? Oh, alright then,” he replied as the demon vanished before his eyes.

“Are you serious with this?” Isolde grunted, hitting Edwin in the arm. “Can’t you see what he’s doing? He’s leaving us to be the bait while he goes undetected through the back! Who cares if anything happens to us, right?”

“Nothing is going to happen to us, we’re just going in to find Agilmar. He’s not going to cause a scene with all the people in the temple.”

“Then why did he suggest we split up?”

“Because it’s the smart thing to do. Look, you don’t have to trust him, but at least trust me. Lothar has never let me down before.”

“I hope you’re right, because if not, I’m going to kick both of your asses,” the young woman grabbed Edwin by the arm just a little too strongly and pulled him with her, approaching the temple.

With a loud creak, the massive wooden door opened, and the two friends entered, finding the place strangely empty. Aside from a few priests sitting quietly in the back aisles and praying to whatever gods they believed in, there was no one else. Edwin proceeded through the temple, expecting priestess Giselle to appear at the worst moment and attempt to kick them out like last time. He glanced around, hoping to see Lothar pop up, but the demon was nowhere to be seen. Just as he approached the altar at the centre of the nave, a door on the left opened and a young priest appeared.

“We need to speak with Agilmar, now,” Isolde immediately spoke, eyeing the man with all the confidence she could muster. “Where is he?”

“I shall go and tell him he has visitors. Please wait right here,” the priest said and turned around, disappearing into the same chamber he came out of.

It was soon after that the door opened again, only this time, it was Agilmar himself who came out, flanked by two of his guards. The tall men with their chests up high, an emotionless look on their faces. Even though they wore priest robes, they made sure the blades of their swords were clearly visible.

“And how may I help you on this fine day? I hope you did not come here to harass my priests again. Giselle is not here, in case you wanted to implicate her in any more of your preposterous theories.”

“Drop the act, we know it was you,” Isolde replied, her words filled with contempt for her father.

“It was me? Good heavens, what have I supposedly done this time?”

“We know you killed Mildburg,” Edwin spoke angrily, almost shouting, his voice echoing through the temple. He could see Agilmar’s perfect facade beginning to crumble as the high priest looked alarmed at the men sitting near the entrance, looking up to see what was happening.

“Leave us, please,” Agilmar called out to them, watching them leave the temple.

“We know everything. You killed her because she was helping me find Ida. Which means you had something to do with that too,” Edwin added.

The look of shock on the old man’s face was quickly replaced by another smile, which only served to make Edwin even angrier. “You think I did something to my own daughter? Now I’ve heard it all,” Agilmar chuckled heartily. “Guards, escort them out. I will not tolerate this nonsense.”

Just as the two men stepped forward, a door in the back burst open, startling them all.

“Look who I found in the back, knocked out and tied up,” Lothar said, walking into the room with Reiff following right behind him.

“Reiff, are you alright?” Edwin asked, concerned about the man.

“I’m fine, just banged up a little.”

“Who are you, anyway?!” Agilmar questioned with panic in his voice. With Edwin and Isolde on one side, and Reiff and Lothar on the other, he was surrounded. “Guards, seize him!”

“I wouldn’t bother with that,” the demon replied, conjuring two fireballs that swirled around just above his palms. The flame reflected in his red eyes, making them look even more demonic than usual. “Unless you want to watch me killing everyone in this place and burning your precious temple to the ground.”

“What… what are you?” Agilmar whispered as he stared dumbstruck at the man in front of him. Edwin glanced between him and the guards, wondering if any of them would dare make a move, but they all seemed too frightened to even lift a finger.

“What’s the matter? You’re used to dealing with angels, but you’ve never seen a demon?” Lothar smirked at the old priest. “You were the one who summoned the angels to come and take your daughter, as well as the priestess Helga years ago.”

“I…”

“That wasn’t a question,” the demon cut him off, his tone icy, as he approached Agilmar menacingly, snuffing out the fireballs. “Now you’re going to do it again, and tell them to return the women. Or else...” he suddenly blinked and reappeared behind the old man, grabbing him by the throat, “I will end you and everything you’ve worked to achieve. Your church, your entire legacy… they will be history.”

Staring straight ahead, Agilmar swallowed hard and finally nodded. “Very well. I shall do as you ask.”

“Get on with it then,” Lothar ordered, pushing him towards the altar, while everyone else stood around, all eyes on Agilmar.

Edwin watched as the high priest stood at the altar, the candelabras in front of him casting an eerie glow on his pale, wrinkled face. The man calmly picked up a holy book, opening it and flipping through the pages. Once he finally found what he was looking for, he started whispering what sounded like a prayer. The shopkeeper could barely understand the words, but he could clearly hear the names Ida and Helga being pronounced. He stood in silence, gripping Isolde’s hand tightly as they waited for the high priest to finish his summoning prayer, every second feeling like an hour.

After a while, Agilmar finally recited the entire prayer, closing the book in front of him. Edwin looked around, feeling as if he would jump out of his skin due to the anticipation and tension. The prayer was completed, so why was nothing happening? Unless the old bastard had tricked them all. Perhaps he did not go through with it, or changed a word or two on purpose just to make it fail. He would have to be a fool to try and sabotage them, though, as Lothar was clearly prepared to end his life at the first sign of trouble.

As Edwin looked over at Lothar for support, thinking of all the ways things could go wrong, a glimmering light manifested next to the altar, twinkling in the air and growing in size with every second. The shopkeeper could hear a stunned Isolde gasp, and just a moment later, the familiar figure of his best friend appeared, standing before them in the flesh. Dressed in plain, light-gray robes, the girl seemed frightened, her eyes darting around the place. Even though her face looked as beautiful as always, Edwin could notice the fear in her teary eyes.

“Ida… I can’t believe it,” he cried out, rushing toward the girl and wrapping her in a warm, tight hug, Isolde following suit. It wasn’t an illusion or a trick, she was really there! Edwin sobbed, his tears falling on the girl’s shoulder. He could not let her go, lest she disappeared on him again.

“Edwin...” the young priestess cried, unable to contain her tears, as she hugged her sister and her best friend. “Isolde… I’m here, but… but how? What happened? The angels...”

“I know, you’re back,” Isolde spoke gently, something Edwin had never heard before. She stroked her sister’s long, brown hair, gazing lovingly into her eyes. “You’re back, and that’s all that matters.”

Just as the three of them separated, the shimmering light appeared yet again, revealing a tall, middle-aged woman dressed in robes similar to the ones Ida wore. Even though Edwin had never seen her before, he had a pretty good idea of who she was. Of course, his suspicions were confirmed as soon as he looked at Reiff, seeing the stunned expression on his face.

“Helga!” the old man called out, his voice hoarse and weak. He was obviously on the verge of tears, struggling not to let them fall. The woman turned to him, a hint of recognition in her eyes.

“Reiff, it is really you,” she replied, extending a hand to him. As if drawn by a magnetic force, Reiff approached his long lost wife, his eyes never leaving her face. Without hesitating even a second more, he wrapped his arms around her, letting tears freely fall down his face.

“I don’t understand…” Ida whispered, looking at all the familiar and unfamiliar faces around her. “Isolde, father… what happened?”

Edwin looked at her with sympathy as he squeezed her hand, wondering how to explain everything without hurting her even more. How to tell her that it was her own father who had betrayed her?

“What happened was Agilmar let the angels take you away,” Lothar said, approaching them before Edwin even had a chance to speak. “And he did the same with Helga.”

“What do you mean? And who are you?” Ida asked, turning to look at the white-haired man walking towards her.

“She doesn’t need to know all the details right now! Can’t you see she’s distraught?” Isolde insisted, taking her sister’s hand. “Come, with should get out of here. You should get some rest first, and then we’ll tell you everything.”

“No, I need to know! Isolde, you have no idea where I’ve been, the things I’ve seen… I need to know I’m not losing my mind.”

“You’re not, I promise,” Edwin interjected, gazing into his best friend’s eyes. There was nothing he wanted more at that moment than to reassure her and make her feel safe, make her feel like everything would be alright and life would go back to normal just as if nothing had happened, even though he was well aware that would never happen.

All of a sudden, he spotted a strange glimmer of light out of the corner of his eye. His eyes went wide with shock as he turned and saw a fiery sword slicing through the air, as Helga lunged toward Lothar, ready to strike.

“Lothar, look out!” Edwin yelled, getting the demon’s attention.

Lothar turned around, just in time to see the angel’s blade coming toward him, mere inches from his head. Blinking at the last second, he reappeared behind the altar, hurling a fireball at her.

With lightning quick reflexes, Helga blocked the projectile with her sword, causing it to vanish. Astonished, everyone watched as her feet left the ground and she flew toward Lothar, slicing through the air with her sword.

“Helga, what are you doing?!” Reiff cried out, but the woman did not even turn to look at him. Her eyes were fixed on her target.

“Getting rid of this demon scum,” she replied as Lothar blinked yet again to another corner of the temple. “Stop running away and face me, coward!”

“We need to leave, now!” Isolde yelled, grabbing her sister and pulling her by the hand. “Edwin, come on!”

“No, I’m not leaving Lothar here,” the shopkeeper insisted, nervously watching the battle before him. There was no way to help, but he could not just leave Lothar at a time like this.

“Edwin, go!” the demon shouted at him as he fired another ball of flame, narrowly missing the angel. “Reiff, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to kill your wife… Or what’s left of her anyway.”

“Stop them!” Agilmar shouted from the corner he was hiding in, gesturing towards his daughters as they made their way toward the exit. The two guards immediately rushed over, their swords drawn, attempting to block the exit.

Stopping in front of the two men, Isolde drew her own blades, staring at them without flinching. “I will kill you if I have to,” she threatened, causing them to snicker.

“Give me one of those,” Reiff said as he approached the blacksmith woman, taking one of her blades. “Now it’s a fair fight.”

The guards looked at each other before lunging forward, their swords clashing with their opponents’.

Ida screamed in panic as she watched her sister fighting off the much bigger man. Unarmed, Edwin quickly grabbed his friend by the hand and pulled her toward him and away from the fight. He glanced around the vast temple, trying to find something, anything he could use as a weapon, when he noticed Agilmar making his way toward the back door, trying to escape.

“Like hell you will,” he muttered, grabbing a large candelabra off the wall and rushing forward. Panicking, the old priest opened the door, but before he could close it all the way, Edwin grabbed the door and slammed it open. He swung the heavy candlestick, but the priest grabbed it, trying to wrestle it away from him.

“You meddlesome rat! You’ll ruin everything,” Agilmar panted as he tried to overpower Edwin, but the young man was much too strong for him.

“Bastard! You deserve to die for what you did,” Edwin grumbled, slamming the old man against the wall and letting him fall to the floor.

“Father! So it’s true,” Ida asked as she ran over, tears spilling down her face. “You did this to me? How could you?”

“How could I?” Agilmar scoffed, looking at his daughter in the eyes, not a trace of remorse on his face. “You should be honored the angels chose you to join them! You would have become one of them, joining their ranks and their mission. You still can, it’s not too late.”

“You are insane! I never wanted any of this!”

“Insane, and a murderer,” Edwin added as he grabbed a rope from one of the curtains and tied the priest’s arms and legs so he couldn’t escape. “Keep an eye on him,” he told Ida as he rushed through the temple, just in time to see Isolde slash one of the guards across the thigh. With a scream, the man fell down to his knees, dropping his sword in defeat. His partner was already lying on the ground, knocked out cold by Reiff.

“Give up, the girl is ours,” Edwin could hear the voice of the angel from behind him. As he turned around, he could see Helga flying through the air, narrowly avoiding the fireball Lothar flung at her. The projectile hit the wall instead, setting the curtains on fire. “Even if we lose her, there will be others. And they will convert even more souls to our cause. More soldiers to fight against your kind,” she continued with her taunting, her eyes trained on the demon.

Lothar blinked again, and Helga wasted no time in zooming in towards him, ready to strike. Only this time, her target was not Lothar. Swinging her sword through the air, she slashed the burning curtains, causing them to fall on top of the demon.

“Lothar!” Edwin screamed, seeing the heavy fabric engulfed in flame cover Lothar. Just as he was about to run over, Isolde grabbed him, pulling him away.

“Are you crazy? We need to leave while we still can,” she hissed at him, watching fire spread from all the places Lothar hit with a fireball.

“I’m not leaving,” he insisted, ignoring her warnings. Just as he broke free from her grip, Lothar reappeared behind Helga, his white hair singed in places. Edwin breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed the demon seemed otherwise unharmed.

“Did you really think my own fire can hurt me?” he mocked the angel, conjuring another fireball and firing it at her. In a blink of an eye, Helga had her sword in front of her body, ready to block the incoming projectile, but it never came. Instead, the ball of flame hit the ground beneath her feet, just as Lothar muttered something in the old demonic language.

“You missed,” Helga smiled proudly, but then gasped in horror as she watched the demonic fire beneath her vanish, leaving scorch marks in the shape of a pentagram. “What did you do?!” she yelled at Lothar as she tried to move but was unable to leave the circle, as if an invisible barrier surrounded her. “You will pay for this!”

“Helga, please! You can fight this,” Reiff pleaded as he watched the angel furiously swing her sword, trying to break the spell.

“Reiff, that’s not her anymore. She’s been converted,” Isolde tried to reason with him. “Whatever the angels did to her, she’s not your wife anymore. She’s one of them now. Come on, we have to leave.”

“No…” the man struggled as Edwin and Isolde grabbed hold of him, trying to drag him to the exit. His eyes filled with tears, he could not look away from his wife. “Helga, please, listen to me…” he continued begging, but the angel paid him no mind as if he did not exist.

“Ida, we have to go,” Edwin called out to his friend, who was still in the back, watching her father with a mix of sadness and disgust.

The girl looked up at her friend, but before she could make a move, Lothar blinked behind her, pressing a dagger against her throat.

“Don’t move,” he ordered.

“Lothar, what…” Edwin stared at him, unblinking. Fire was spreading through the temple, filling the place with smoke, but the only thing he could see was the man he thought he loved holding a blade against his best friend’s neck. “What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, Edwin,” the demon replied, his red eyes filled with regret. He glanced to the side, noticing the angel slowly breaking his trap.

“No, no, don’t say that,” the man begged as he walked toward them. Lothar could not betray him like that, he just couldn’t! Not after everything they’ve been through, after Edwin gave him his soul, his heart. The demon made him open up, tell him his secrets, his dreams. Even in the darkest moments, he was able to make Edwin feel like everything would be alright, but now…

“Lothar, please, you don’t have to do this,” Edwin pleaded, glancing between the demon and Ida. Was he truly about to lose his best friend again, after having just found her? His heart breaking into pieces, he stood and watched as Lothar grabbed Ida by the arm.

“I have no choice, I’m sorry. Now please, run before it’s too late,” the demon repeated before vanishing along with Ida.