Satan's Last Stand (the Connor series) - Dirk B. (Page 46 of 55)

I'm trying to catch up. I like the wine idea. But saying wine from Garden of Eden seems too much. It would be vinegar. How about the place in South American has original seeds and hence plants or pure uncontaminated plants from Eden? Basically, non-hybrid plants. And the wine was made from them.

I can't remember if I already mentioned some of this, but I plan to have Connor battle a powerful lieutenant of Satan's while the rest of the final battle is unfolding. Connor and "Louie" never really like each other, right from the beginning of book two, where Connor is behaving super bratty, and  Louie is Satan's chief of staff at the Vatican. In fact, it's Louie who kills Connor's gay young lover, although I'm not sure if he does it on Satan's orders or because he knows it's what Satan wants. Connor, of course, blames Satan for the death, which triggers their battle halfway through book two (the one where Connor loses). Like Satan, Louie's zombie body is home to many demons, and he draws more to himself (into his zombie body) before his fight with Connor. That makes him incredibly powerful, though not quite a match for "boosted" Connor (after he drinks the wine made from grapes from the Garden of Eden). Since the wine only lasts so long, Connor's powers return to their usual un-boosted level, which is still very powerful, though not as powerful as Louie at that point.

The final battle between Connor and Louie will happen something like this: Louie rides out during the final battle to fight Connor one-on-one (a sword fight). Connor, still boosted, is clearly the stronger of the two, although Louie is no lightweight. Then Connor's boost runs out, and Louie begins to kick his butt. Connor's sword is knocked from his hand, and Louie keeps hitting him hard enough, Connor doesn't even have the presence of mind to draw the sword back to himself (using his telekinesis).

Fortunately, when Michael gave Connor the wine, he also gave him a small vial of the wine to carry with him, just in case. Connor also carries a vial of holy water given to him by Pope Romano in preparation for the battle. Connor, beaten to a pulp, is knocked down hard at one point, and the vial of holy water falls out of his pocket. That's when Connor remembers both vials. He uses the holy water to splash Louie's face, which causes him to back off just long enough for Connor to drink the other vial to re-boost his power just long enough to turn the fight around. It continues as a nasty fist fight, but Connor now clearly dominant. Once Connor has beaten Louie to a pulp, although both are still standing, Connor draws the sword back to himself and beheads Louie.

The other alternative is that Connor continues pounding Louie, and rather than use the sword, he hits Louie so hard with a final punch, he beheads him.

Neat trick: since Louie is a powerful demon, he uses his supernatural powers to set his sword on fire, and uses the burning sword to fight Connor, including sending flames shooting at Connor from the sword's tip. Connor lights his own sword, and they continue their sword fight. This seems somewhat like a lightsaber ripoff, so I may not do it. However, I at least have the option of doing so, because it's sufficiently different from a lightsaber that Mickey Mouse is unlikely to send me a cease and desist letter.

Yeah, but are they ever going to work with him again, and how much did he have to shell out to protect his IP?

Oh, he lost potential money big time. But you don't have a deal with them, so it's loss-less for you. I'd say "laser-ish-swords" are yours, go ahead. You're not going out of your way to infringe on "Jedi".

Similarly, I've been asked multiple times if my characters who summon lightning are trending on Sith, but eh... they don't get laser-swords, they don't have mild prescience, and I haven't received a cease & desist yet. Should one arrive, I shall fight it. I have a concept of "electric charge" but let them try to trademark a Farad. Hope that works out for them.

While Connor gets the cacas beat out of him by "Louie", Alpha Male (Connor's strongest cousin and second in command) runs to save him. Alpha engages with Louie, but is no match for ~ten powerful demons in one corporeal body (even un-boosted Connor is no match for that). However, that gives Connor a chance to drink the extra vial of wine to temporarily re-boost his powers. Louie runs Alpha through with a sword before Connor can save him. Enraged, he takes the vial of holy water given him by Pope Romano and splashes it across the demon's face and eyes, blinding him. Connor then begins to viciously hammer Louie's face, with him unable to see to fight back. The holy water eats away at Louie's face, and Connor's ongoing assault knocks pieces of the face and skull away, a chunk at at a time. Eventually, Connor punches Louie's nose and jaw right off. Once it's clear that Louie is on the verge of collapse, Connor either draws his sword back into his hand and chops off Louie's head or Connor punches his head so hard, he decapitates the demon body. At some point right before that, Connor says something like "See you in Hell," or something more fitting given the fact that the End Times are almost over and demons will be thrown in the Lake of Fire. I like the fact that Connor will be punching chunks of Louie's face off (mostly skeletal parts) as the holy water does its thing. Gross, but then it's not a living human. In fact, leading up to the battle, Satan had ordered his corporeal demons to allow their faces to deteriorate sufficiently that they looked half-decayed so as to instill fear in Connor's cousins.

I'm seriously considering making demon blood dark purple or something more nasty. They are dead, after all. I've read pooled cadaver blood is dark purple, hence the color. I'd give the zombies a corresponding skin color (e.g., pale lavender), but that would be a dead giveaway and isn't the least bit scary. Or perhaps the demons keep the blood color in check like they do other signs of decay (until the bodies die). After all, they're keeping the body as close to human as possible, including breathing (oxygen), which would keep the blood red. If they're trying to scare someone (e.g., when they attack a human), their blood color could change to scare the intended victims. Also, they could let their skin partially decay. And stink to high heaven, with mucus oozing off their decaying flesh even before they're killed.

Details TBD.

This is going to be so gross!

I couldn't make out the lyrics, especially Angela Lansbury. Found another version online, though. Catchy tune. :-)

Further to making the corporeal demons more gross, I'm going to give them the ability to dissolve their own skin, especially on their faces, as they attack someone in order to instill fear in their victim. I can fit that into the story right from the start of book one, and they'll all use that skill during the final battle to attempt to terrify Connor's cousins (aka Omega Force).

Depends on how much has oozed away. Since they're animating a dead body to begin with, I would think the loss of facial skin wouldn't matter. I guess it should putrify as it slides off the face. Anybody know what color putrified skin is? Snot green might work.

Or the green of vomited pea soup.

Garum sociorum  (I think I spelled it right) was a Roman delicacy that's still eaten today in some places. It's basically rotting-fish sauce prepared so it doesn't poison you.