these humans were pathetically no match for him ; and as for the demons , though some seemed to beg a novices understanding of the mysterious training that made conor nothing less than a celtic god , fighting him in groups of eight or even ten , fighting him with great coordinated speed and ferocity , they never lasted more than a few seconds , their swords or pikes or morning stars flying apart , their horned heads next , their malformed bodies mortally gored or cut five times before they even struck the bloody temple floor .