58. The Death of Masma

Book:BROKEN : Satanic Verses Published:2024-5-1

The wind whistled very hard. Devada bounces off the altar. An old woman with a disfigured face came up to her and said, “Only your father’s love can save her!” Devada is stunned. The woman who came suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a trail of laughter that made the whole body feel cold.
“Dad!” Devada limped towards Nick. It was still clear in sight how the poor man over there had become Yacumama’s toy.
Devada’s screams were in the air as she managed to grab hold of Yacumama’s tail. With all her strength and supernatural abilities, she managed to overthrow the snake’s large body to cause a shock to the earth. The snake, believed to be a stealth, hissed and vomited Nick’s body. Her red eyes lit up. The big beast countered Devada’s attack aggressively. However, the girl used a trick to dodge. Until an opportunity opens, Devada climbs the snake’s head.
“Go away, I don’t want to kill you! I just want to save my mother!” Yacumama hissed in pain as Devada spoke while pressing down on the horns towering over the snake’s head. Next, the monster became a shard of cool wind.
“Dad!” Devada limped towards her father. The water that pooled in the eyelids fell, brushing the red liquid down her face.
“Wake up, Daddy!” Devada stared blankly all over the wounds that wrapped Nick’s body. Nick’s eyelids clenched shut. The man could not hear his daughter’s sobs.
“Why did you come back, idiot?” A string of questions suddenly escaped Nick’s chapped lips. Nick’s eyelids began to open, scanning Devada’s bloodied face.
“Daddy, only you can save mother. Hurry up, we don’t have long!”
“Masma ….” Nick struggled to his feet. Along with Devada, he slashed the distance created. Nick could see how Masma endured the pain when her life was forcibly removed from her leg.
“You must confess your love to mother!” Nick fell silent. Instantly, he remembered his vow to Jess.
“That’s ridiculous! You think we’re in a fairy tale?”
“Dad, I don’t want to argue. You’ve seen my mother’s condition.”
“But not in such an unreasonable way! Who influenced you? Dev, you have sense as a man.” Devada was silent, starting to be affected by Nick’s words while the man was silent, seeing Masma looking at him with elegy.
Nick distracted. Thinking of a way to free Masma from her group without breaking his sacred promise. Suddenly, a cold wind touched the nape of his neck. Before long, a whisper ran in his ear. “Don’t lie to yourself if you really love Masma–the woman who gave birth to your son.” The sentence buzzed over and over.
“Daddy, what are you doing?” asked Devada who felt strange with the behavior of her father who screamed and covered his ears for no reason. However, Nick paid no attention to Devada. His tired eyes were fixed on Masma. Deep down there, there is a feeling of love left for Masma.
The magical whispers continued to pound the ears along with the onslaught of Asmodeus’ spell. Until finally, the voices covered in magic sent his memories back to the past. Beautiful memories with Masma in which no one else, including Jess.
“Masma, I love you!” Nick’s words in the past accidentally slipped from Nick’s lips with his eyes closed. After that, a mysterious laugh was heard along with the sobs of a girl that was familiar to both Nick and Devada’s ears. A cry that jolted consciousness instantly.
“What happened?” Nick was surprised to see the surrounding conditions. One sentence magically changed the situation.
“Masma!” He screamed. He rushed to grab Masma who was lying in the flames. Nick put Masma’s head in his lap. Tears suddenly flowed when he realized the woman was no longer alive.
“Forgive me!” Nick drifted away in regret.
“Dev … Dev!” He scans the surroundings when he finds out that Devada is not nearby. Jumping over the blazing fire, he put Masma’s body under a tree that was still standing.
“Deva!” Nick is back on the move looking for Devada. It was silent, only the flames and fallen trees could be seen, as well as the injured and confused demonic women. Seeing the women, Nick’s emotions overflowed.
“You killed Masma and now you are hiding our child. A female devil, you must pay for it!” Nick attempted to injure one of them with his bare hands.
“What are you saying?” The woman tried to fight back, but what happened was shocking.
“What happened? Where is my power?” The long-haired woman complained. In various ways, she expended her magic power, but couldn’t. She called out to her friends, but they were speechless. One by one, they fell unconscious. A condition that confused everyone, including Nick.
“If you guys can get hurt, that means you … Damn it!”
“Where’s Dev, where?” Nick shouted while strangling the woman until she collapsed helplessly. Just as he was feeling frustrated, his vision suddenly caught a movement in the pile of rubber tree trunks. Shocked, Nick saw a bloodied hand dripping from the gap in the pile. He screamed when he saw the owner of the hand showing his face.
“Deva!” Nick ran to his daughter.
“What happened?” asked Nick as he carried Dev.
“I don’t know! Everything happened so fast when you confessed your feelings for mom.”
“What about my mother, did you succeed?”
“Your mother is there!” Nick pointed his index finger nervously. He couldn’t deny the pain as Dev’s smile would soon disappear.
After stumbling, Devada froze. Her blank gaze on Masma turned to Nick. The man looked down sadly, as if he knew what Devada wanted. To Dev, he says “I’m sorry, Dev. Like you said, everything happened so fast. I found your mother lifeless when I opened my eyes. We were fooled. In fact, that sentence didn’t help anything. In fact, I broke my promise to Jess.” Nick’s explanation made Devada’s jaw clench. No tears flow. The pain of losing a mother is too deep.
“You tricked me, old granny! Ha!” Dev’s irises slowly changed color. She started taking it out on nature.
“Stop it, Dev! You can kill every creature in here!” Nick tries to quell Dev’s anger by hugging her even though Dev’s strength manages to create a powerful wind wave and sparks that are not kidding. Nick knows very well how Devada feels, but he doesn’t justify Dev’s anarchic actions.
“No, Dad! That old bastard tricked me. I’m disappointed in my stupidity. I failed to save my mother!” Dev increasingly brutally plays her hand.
“No, Dev. It’s my fault, just kill me! Don’t punish nature who is just a witness!” Dev doesn’t listen to Nick’s words. The anger that flared up made her spit it out even more. In fact, without realizing it, she made an accidental punch shot at Nick. Next, the man was blown away with blood spurting from the mouth. The incident brought Devada back to her point of consciousness.
“Daddy! Sorry!” Devada hugged her father regretfully. A smile stretched between Nick as he fought his way through his consciousness.
“I hope you will accept this patiently. We must go back and bring those cursed women to receive their punishment. Dev, they are not demons.”
“So, Daddy meant ….”
“Asmodeus … Asmodeus!” Suddenly, the long-haired dragon woman that Nick had strangled woke up.
“Asmodeus, why did you take our power and injure us? After all, we made sacrifices for you.” A moment after that, a blinding light flashed.