"They're coming."
Chester, leader of the Outer Defense Corps, stares into the distance with his hawk-like vision. The trees of the forest sway back and forth erratically, as if giants were shoving them aside. However, the distant rumble of tens of thousands of feet slapping against the dirt betrays the subtle difference.
"Hold steady," Uriel says. The Archangel of Protection lands beside Chester and narrows her eyes. "Prepare for battle. I want everyone armed and ready in five minutes. The Burrowers are sure to attack from below, so get eyes in the sky and ready the archers. If one bloodskin pops his head up..."
"We will separate it from his body," Chester replies. A look of determination passes over his face. "Damn. I pleaded to the Creator that Camael's divination would fail. Naturally, her visions always come to pass."
Several angels behind Chester and Uriel begin shouting as they realize what's happening. Scouts fly forward to gauge the size of the enemy army, while messengers rush toward Mount Sinai to alert the inner forces of Heaven.
Uriel purses her lips. "My sister did not tell us what the result of this battle would be. Either she doesn't know, or..."
"...or the answer is not one we would like to hear," Chester says, finishing Uriel's sentence.
"Don't dwell on the negative possibilities," Uriel murmurs. "We are angels. We will win, as we always have."
"Uriel!" A female voice cries out in alarm from above. Before Uriel can raise her head, Sophia, one of the Valkyries, lands nimbly beside her. The other three follow a moment later. Hyacinth, Penelope, and Catherine.
The sounds of their feet lightly impacting the ground cause Uriel to turn and face them.
"The demons are coming!" Sophia continues, her voice raising an octave. "There are so many of them! What should we do?"
"Don't worry," Penelope says. The gigantic, dark-skinned angel rests her hand on Sophia's shoulder. "What harm will demons bring upon us when our teacher is here? Uriel might wipe them out before we even see them."
Catherine nods. She traces her fingers through the air to form magical letters. We must not allow the demons to enter Heaven.
Hyacinth blows a strand of long, white hair out of her face. "Psh. Whether it's one bloodskin or a million, I'll kill them before they can close the distance."
After speaking, Hyacinth motions with her hands to summon her elementally enchanted bow. It appears in her grasp like a weapon stolen from ghosts. A faint, high-pitched whistle emanates from the wind-based implement as the air spins around rapidly to form a semi-solid object.
Hyacinth pushes past Uriel, summons an arrow created from the air, aims, and fires.
THOOM!
The projectile fires faster than a cannonball. A sonic boom erupts from the front of Hyacinth's bow as the arrow sails into the forest. A distant explosion reaches the sister's ears a few moments later as a tree begins to topple to the side.
"Hmph. Three demons dead, infinity more to go," Hyacinth says, a deadpan expression on her face.
Uriel smirks. "Rash, and always raring to go. That's what I love most about you. Come on, sisters! Don't let Hyacinth have all the fun!"
Sophia's eyes sparkle at the word fun. "Y-yeah! Let's go! First one to kill a thousand demons gets one of my home-made cookies!"
Penelope grins and rolls her eyes. "Pass, but don't think I'll let ye win, either."
Catherine's expression darkens. She unsheathes the Sword from Heaven from her belt and summons Camael's tower shield as well. Using the tip of her weapon, she traces letters in the air. This isn't a game. Don't lower thy defenses, not even for a second.
...
Minutes later.
Demons burst from the ground and spring at the waiting angels, only for enchanted and elemental weapons to slash and smash them where they stand.
"The Burrowers have arrived!" Chester yells. "Kill them before the others!"
More and more of them erupt from the ground. Their tunnels provide a pathway for other low-ranked demons to spew from the ground like lava from a volcano. Even as the angels slice and dice the first demon arrivals, the sudden outpouring of fire-types catches them off-guard.
"Ahh! There are too many!"
"Hellhounds! They brought Hellhounds!!"
Demonic wolves with a hundred eyes, iron-tearing claws, and abominable faces follow after the Burrowers. They pounce from the holes in the ground, along with the fire-types, and begin tearing and slashing at anything they can see with wings.
One angel swings his unenchanted sword at a Hellhound's neck, only for the animal to whirl around, catch the blade in its teeth, and bite down.
CRACK!
The blade snaps in half between the jaws of the wolf. A moment later, the animal tears its angelic attacker to shreds.
"Jeremiah! Nooo!!" Chester shrieks in rage and flaps his wings. He rushes the wolf with dizzying speed, swings his sword in an upward arc, and swishes it through the animal's neck. The Hellhound never gets a chance to react, and its head falls cleanly from its body.
Tears boil in Chester's eyes. "Demon bastards!! I'll kill every last one of thee!"
...
Uriel and the Valkyries fan out. They attack demons wherever they find them, but the grins and thrills seem to have worn off for most of them.
Penelope slams her earthen greatmace down, splattering an enemy like a pumpkin. His entrails spray in every direction. "These demons are only grunts?! Where are the Lords? The Barons?!"
Sophia's bo staff twirls in her grasp. She jumps, flips, and kicks three demons at the same time, using razor-sharp water blades to decapitate all three at once. "Jeez! The demons don't know when to quit!"
Hyacinth flaps her wings and soars into the air. She aims her bow and begins firing rapidly at the demons below as if it were a machine-gun.
Swish swish swish swish! Boom boom boom boom!
Four arrows fly out only instants apart, and impale four demons through the head. The wind-arrows hit the ground with explosive force, collapsing several tunnels beneath the angel's encampment.
Suddenly, Hyacinth's heart skips a beat.
"Over there! I sense several strong presences!"
Hyacinth's razor-sharp eyes pick out three demons with higher mana signatures than any other demons that have yet appeared.
An Emperor and two Barons.
Berith, the Emperor of Backstabbing, arrives alongside Orias, the Baron of the Stars, and Vepar, the Baron of Toxicity. Orias pulls his hood a little lower and grumbles.
"Damn. Spotted already."
Berith smirks. "I'm an Emperor at my peak, now. Don't worry yourself, Orias. I'll protect you if you're that scared."
Orias's shoulders sag. "I'm not scared, but it's a pain in the ass, having to fight. If I'm here, that means I'm not digging out gems... wonderful, beautiful jewels..."
Lower-ranked demons run past their superiors, gleefully throwing themselves into the fray as they rush to kill angels as quickly as possible. While the crowd flows around her, Berith scowls. "I can't say I enjoy your proclivity for colored rocks. If you're not going to fight, stay out of my way."
"No. I'll go..." Orias mutters. "...But know that I do so hesitantly."
"Right," Berith grunts.
While the two of them have a quick spat, Vepar clenches her fists together.
I'm the last of the original demons who obtained Leviathan's power. Despite that, I'm still only a Baron. I must prove myself today and ascend to the rank of Duke. My pride demands it!
Vepar runs forward, leaving the other two behind in her dust. Berith spins on a dime to face her. "Hey! Don't run off on your own, insect! Bah, foolish Baron."
Berith's words fall on deaf ears. Thanks to the speed and power increase afforded by the rank of Baron, Vepar easily outpaces the lower-ranked demons around her. She fires gas from her feet and leaps into the air, using the fumes like jet boots. Despite the vapor pouring upon the demons below her, none of them suffer any ill effects thanks to her using non-toxic gas.
Vepar blasts through the air and races toward Hyacinth. The dark-skinned Valkyrie hardens her eyes and quickly fires three arrows at the Baron of Toxicity.
Whiff whiff whiff!
Vepar transforms into a cloud of gas, allowing the arrows to sail through her harmlessly. She reforms a second later and lunges her poisoned nails toward Hyacinth's face.
WHAM!
Something big and heavy smashes into Vepar from below, flinging her up into the sky. Penelope, positioned on the ground below her sister, gives Hyacinth a thumbs up. "Watch yourself up there!"
The pillar of rock sent flying from the ground knocks the wind out of Vepar, but she manages to right herself in midair, transform into poison gas, and fly to Earth's surface below. She lands amidst total carnage as demons and Hellhounds tear through the angels, along with goblins and a few scattered orcs. The orcs appear to be new creations of Lucifer since they weren't around during the battle against Hercules a few years ago.
One orc raises a club above his head and roars like an animal. "Grooohhh!! Kill angels! Rip wings! Cut off heads!!"
The nearby orcs howl together. "Grohhhh! Sheol give order! We obey!!"
Sheol, the head orc, leaps atop a nearby Hellhound and rides it like a horse. His powerful legs wrap around the wolf's gut, allowing him to use his club freely as the animal rips and tears apart all in its path.
Vepar gives him and the others only a fleeting glance before turning her rage toward Penelope. The seven-foot-tall giantess brings down her earthen warhammer to splatter two demons at once. Her weapon smashes through them and hits the ground with a metallic WHANG, sending an earthquake in every direction. Guided by the Valkyrie of Earth's power, dozens of rocky pillars erupt nearby, each one in the shape of a fist. They catch many demons unaware and uppercut them, shattering their jaws in the process, while others manage to dodge only by the skin of their teeth.
"She's the one who hit me," Vepar hisses, narrowing her eyes. "Nobody deprives me of a kill!"
Vepar jumps forward and lands on her hands and feet. She darts left and right, weaving between various demons and angels as they punch, kick, and slice one another to pieces. Scythers bring down their bladed limbs to cut off the arms and legs of various angels, while big, brutish-looking demons use their giant bodies to create formidable walls of flesh and muscle and bring them down upon the angels.
Vepar narrows the gap between herself and Penelope. The instant she arrives in striking range, Vepar pauses for a split second to weave hand signs. "Kss, nobody humiliates me!"
A cloud of neurotoxins erupts from her mouth, affecting demons and angels alike. The neurotoxin induces hallucinations in all who inhale it, and the effects are instantaneous.
"Eeeyaaah!!" One female angel shrieks in terror as the demons around her seem to transform into ghastly, melted-flesh abominations. Those same demons shrink from her in fright as she seems to triple in size and loom over them like the king of all Titans. Both sides erupt into chaos and scream in panic, their voices only adding to the chaos and confusion.
Penelope gasps as she inhales the toxins. Without understanding what's happened, her heart skips several beats as the demons she was gleefully ripping apart only moments before turn into monstrous fiends, incalculably more horrifying than before, while her brothers and sisters begin to appear like Valac's undead angels, the Undying.
"W-what manner of devilry...?!"
Penelope's eyes widen with fear as she shakily tries to fend off the attacks of the abominations around her. One melted-looking ghoul jumps at her, but when she hits it with her mace, its entrails spray all over her golden armor, sending waves of disgust up her body.
"C-Creator, guide me! Guide me!!"
Vepar grins evilly. She charges at Penelope and leaps atop her back. She rakes the Valkyrie of Earth with her poisoned nails, aiming for the exposed flesh on the back of her neck, as well as her head.
"Ahhh!!" Penelope yells in fright and swings her mace around, trying to shake Vepar off. "Help! Help!! Something's on me! It's on me!!!"
Vepar's poison proves to be fast-acting. Within seconds, Penelope's movements slow to a crawl. Her veins turn green, then purple, and finally black.
"H-huh... hurts.. g-get it... get it off..."
Penelope stumbles forward and faceplants into the ground. Vepar transforms into her gaseous form at the last second and materializes nearby, smirking all the while.
"Stupid little birdie. That's what you get for ambushing the great Vepar! Ehehehe..."
Suddenly, footsteps!
The light pitter-pattering of a nimble runner are Vepar's only hint as to Sophia's arrival. The Valkyrie of Water swings her bo staff down against Vepar's back and catches the Baron off-guard. She slams Vepar into the dirt and grinds her face against the dirt.
"Get your hands off my sister, you stinky, dirty, poo-poo head!"
Sophia yells at Vepar and spins her staff around in her hands. Before Vepar can react, a torrent of water materializes in midair and impacts her flank with the force of a hundred firetruck hoses. A veritable Niagara Falls blasts out of nowhere, striking Vepar with enough intensity to crush her bones and sweep all the nearby demons and angels off their feet.
Penelope's body starts to float away under the summoned river, but Catherine flies down, grabs her, and lifts off with one of Penelope's arms over her shoulder.
Too dangerous, Catherine writes with her sword, as she flies up to Hyacinth. These demons came prepared.
"Don't give up!" Hyacinth yells. "The demons aren't the only ones who foresaw today's battle."
As an afterthought, she adds, "What happened to Penelope?"
Did ye not witness her battle?
"I'm a little busy up here."
As if to punctuate her words, Hyacinth fires three more wind-arrows at a few demons who managed to regain their footing amidst the sudden floodwaters. Their heads vanish, and their bodies fall over, dead.
One of the demonesses poisoned Penelope. Heal her. I'll assist Sophia.
Catherine passes Penelope off to her sister, and Hyacinth quickly wraps one arm around her dying sister's waist. "Where are the other healers?"
They're waiting in Heaven. Thou art the only one out here.
"Tch. My healing isn't the best... but I'll do what I can."
Catherine forces a smile. A moment later, she lunges to the Earth below, where Vepar has just finished regaining her footing.
"Damned filthy stinking pigeon," Vepar hisses, as she glares at Sophia, standing atop the foot-deep floodwaters. "Denied a kill twice in a row! Gah!! How infuriating!"
Catherine splashes into the water behind Vepar, and suddenly, the demoness realizes the two Valkyries have flanked her from the front and back.
Catherine raises her shield, hops out of the water, and flaps her wings. She accelerates from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye and bull-rushes the Baron of Toxicity, while Sophia fires several water bullets at her as well.
Vepar starts to snap her fingers and activate her mist-body form, but her hands won't work properly. An instant too late, she realizes one of her thumbs must have broken when Sophia pile-drove her into the ground. "Gah! Shi-"
She doesn't get to finish cursing. Catherine rams her from the back at the same time as Sophia's bullets pierce her from the front. Vepar barely manages a gasp as Catherine flings her off her feet and shoves the Baron of Toxicity beneath the floodwaters.
Vepar's vision spins and whirls.
Can't... focus... water? Am I underwater?! M-must get up... can't breathe...
A boot presses against her back. Catherine stomps her foot into the water and holds the Baron of Toxicity down, raises the Sword from Heaven, and starts to stab it toward her back.
The world around Catherine slows to a crawl. Compared to the movements perceived by lower demons and the other Valkyries, her adrenaline enables her to envision the world around her as a series of still images.
Her sword crawls toward Vepar's exposed back. Sophia grins eagerly at the sight of Penelope's attacker nearing death. Hyacinth retreats to the safety of Mount Sinai.
And, from beneath the water, five tendrils of shadow begin to emerge.
A surprise attack!
Catherine perceives the movement of the shadows, taps her foot against the mud beneath her feet, and leaps backward. A moment later, five shadow-lances stab the spot she was just standing in. Had she moved a second later, she would have died a gruesome death.
Who attacked me?!
Aided by the adrenaline coursing through her veins, Catherine's eyes dart around and pick out a hundred demons standing in the water nearby. None of them appear to be the culprit.
Catherine flaps her wings and hovers in the sky. A moment later, Berith materializes atop Vepar. She reaches into the water and pulls the Baron of Toxicity up by her neck. "Imbecile! I told you not to rush in blindly! If you're so eager to die, perhaps I should let that angel have her way with you!"
A flash of light snaps into existence beside Berith. Orias appears as if having stepped through an invisible portal. "Don't hurt Vepar. Satan won't like that."
Rage engulfs Berith's face. "Don't tell me what to do, little Baron! Satan has no power over me!"
Orias doesn't offer a counter-argument. "Give Vepar to me. I'll transport her to Belial. Can you handle the Valkyries by yourself?"
Berith's eye twitches. "Don't insult me. I've battled the Valkyries many times. They're vermin, like the rest of their kind."
The Emperor of Backstabbing casually tosses Vepar to Orias as if she's a sack of garbage. Orias catches the barely-conscious demoness with one hand, plucks a gem from his chest, and snaps his fingers. Another flash of light engulfs him, and he disappears without a word.
Catherine's eyes harden as she meets the gaze of the Emperor beneath her. Berith. She appears much more powerful than when we last fought.
Sophia flies over and hovers beside her sister. "What are we going to do? It took all four of us to push Berith away the last time we fought!"
We don't have that luxury, Catherine replies, drawing letters in the air. We have to hold out until reinforcements arrive. Strike while the iron is hot!
"Right!"
In unison, both Valkyries flap their wings and dive toward Berith like eagles hungering for a field mouse. Berith motions with her hands, sucks into a shadow beneath the water, and disappears.
Sophia screeches to a halt. "Ahh! She's gone!"
There! Catherine points her sword toward a flicker of motion fifty feet away. The instant Berith starts to emerge, the Valkyrie of Fire falls upon her. Berith jerks back, startled, but quickly deflects Catherine's incoming sword.
Clang! Clang! Ting!
Even with Catherine's accelerated perception of time, Berith matches her movements with ease. Sophia stays in the rear and manipulates the water around Berith's feet, solidifying it like glue, but it proves no obstacle to an Emperor at the peak of her power. Berith easily jumps and shifts around, her feet moving through the hardened water as though it were air.
Whiff, whiff!
Catherine brings her sword down again and again, but twice in a row she strikes nothing but air. Berith grins greedily, and a glint appears in her eyes. "Can't keep up, little Valkyrie?! This is what happens when you try to take on an ascended Emperor!!"
WHAM!
Berith's fist moves impossibly fast. She smashes it against Catherine's enchanted chestplate, and sends Catherine hurtling hundreds of feet backward. Her body transforms into a mortar shell as she plows through angels and demons in her path. Catherine skips across the water, tumbles, and twists, only to come to a sudden stop as she crashes into one of Penelope's fist-shaped stone pillars. It shatters on impact but still manages to stop her forward momentum.
Catherine blinks. She splashes into the water and tries to regain her vision, but stars dance in her eyes. After a few seconds, she manages a weak gasp for breath, but ends up swallowing water instead.
"Catherine!!" Sophia screams in fright. The pink-haired Valkyrie stares in horror at her sister's crumpled body, as the water wraps around her body like a flesh-devouring monster. She starts to fly toward her sister, but a fist formed from shadow explodes from the water at her feet and strikes her across the face.
Crunch!
Two of Sophia's teeth tear from their sockets. Berith's shadow-fist flings her a few feet into the air, and she lands in the water gracelessly, nearly breaking one of her arms when she lands.
"Ah... ahhh... nnn..."
Sophia manages to pull herself up by sheer force of will, but a moment later, she crumples to her knees and clutches her arm as the rush of adrenaline wears off.
"Ho, ho, ho! So this is the might of the Valkyries?" Berith laughs, taunting her battered opponent. "All those times the four of you held me back, and now you fall before me like an ant in a landslide! Have a taste of my awakened powers!!"
Berith lunges toward Sophia, who yelps in fright. Before the Valkyrie of Water can defend herself, Berith backhands her and sends her tumbling to the right. Sophia drops her bo staff and hits the water with unusual force, sending waves splashing in the direction Berith slapped her.
Berith closes the newly created gap instantly. She grabs Sophia by her collar, and the petrified Valkyrie can barely manage a whimper before Berith begins toying with her.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Over and over, Berith cackles gleefully while battering the helpless woman held in her grasp. Sophia tries to raise her one functioning arm to defend herself, but Berith smacks it aside, snapping it like a twig.
"Bahaha!!" Berith cackles. "You should see the look on your face! I'm having the time of my-"
Berith doesn't get to finish her sentence.
A horrible, foreboding sense of danger is the only warning she gets before something taps her shoulder.
"What-?!"
Berith whirls her head around to look, and a summoned being comprised entirely of light drives a fist into her face.
WHAM!
Berith reflexively drops Sophia, as Uriel's summoned warrior knocks her end over end. Berith plows straight down into the makeshift lake and hits the ground hard enough to send every drop of water in the vicinity scattering to the furthest reaches of the Earth.
"W-w-wha...?"
Berith gasps in surprise as her eyes refocus. A moment later, she spots Uriel, the Archangel of Protection. Uriel wraps one arm around Catherine's waist and Sophia's as well. Beside her, two summoned angels stand, and above her, a cube and orb hover in the air.
"I leave for two minutes, and you show up. It seems you didn't learn your lesson the last time we clashed, bloody little rat."
Uriel hands her battered sisters to the female light construct. After cracking her knuckles, she summons a blood-red spear.
"I'm feeling a little aggressive today. I think I'll only use one spear for you, this time. You know, to draw out the pain."
Berith's teeth chatter for a moment as memories of all her past defeats come rushing back. However, she jumps to her feet and shakes off the ominous foreboding in her heart.
"Our battle won't go like it did last time, Uriel. I'm twice the demon I was before!"
Uriel smirks. "It doesn't matter if your power increases a hundred-fold. Against me, you'll always lose."
Despite the ominous pressure from Uriel's presence, Berith manages a smirk.
"Oh, I don't think so. Angelkind will fall, today, Uriel... and there's nothing you can do to stop us."
Uriel flaps her wings and rushes toward Berith. "Pretty words from a filthy SOW!"
.....................................................
Minutes earlier.
Shepherd flaps his wings slowly, lazily. The angel appears bored as he flies above the forest belonging to the demons.
It's become something of a ritual for him. Once a week, he leaves Heaven and soars toward the one place he feels at home, far away from the Undying, or the Damned, as he calls them.
Having long since been locked up in cages by the Archangels, the Undying are no longer a threat to the other angels. Still, Shepherd has grown used to flying out to visit his friend among the demons.
Shepherd spots the designated forest clearing, one that might normally be difficult to pick out from above, thanks to the densely packed trees around it. With only a thirty-by-thirty foot open space, it barely stands out from the forest around it.
The angel circles overhead twice, looking for danger. However, all he spots is Smealum, sitting quietly in front of a smoothed-over stump. With a nod, Shepherd dives to the ground and pulls up at the last moment, landing nimbly on one foot. The other touches down a split-second later, and he bows slightly to Smealum.
"Hello, brother! Look at what I've brought!"
Shepherd eagerly reaches into his pouch and procures a dozen blueberries, but unlike the ones on Earth, these seem to glow with an inner light, as if there were tiny lightbulbs contained within.
Smealum glances up from the apple held in his hand; one he appears to be half-heartedly biting. He doesn't seem to enjoy it much. "Oh! More divine fruit from Heaven, eh? You're too kind."
The black-skinned demon holds out a hand and licks his lips. Shepherd hands over the bounty and nods eagerly. "I picked the best ones, just for thee!"
Despite his ravenous hunger, Smealum forces himself to pop the berries in his mouth slowly, one at a time. He rolls them around in his mouth, splits them with his tongue, and allows the juices to spill around to every corner of his mouth. A shudder goes down his back after the first one bursts. "Damn. I can't get enough of these. No wonder you hate fruit from Earth."
Shepherd plops down on the other side of the stump. "Hah! I'm glad thou hath finally grasped the differences between our realms! Food from Earth is little more than ash in my mouth."
The two comrades fall silent as Smealum spends several minutes tossing berries in his mouth. He smacks his lips loudly, unable to control himself. Waves of pleasure flow through his mind, almost as if he were ingesting addictive drugs.
Shepherd clears his throat. "Erm. Come to think of it, thou art a demon. Why doesn't fruit from Heaven cause thee any pain?"
It takes Smealum several seconds to respond. He has to physically restrain himself from putting another berry in his mouth. "Should they? Aren't these just berries?"
"Nay. They are the same fruit as any grown on Earth, but Heaven's Light infuses all plants with holy energy. Frankly, they should be toxic to demons."
Shepherd blinks. "Hm. Maybe I'm not a demon, after all."
"Hah!" Shepherd laughs. "That's right! Thou art an honorary angel! After all, thy pacifism stands apart from the rest of thy blood-sucking-"
Shepherd stops himself from continuing. His smile fades almost instantly, and he lowers his head.
"My apologies. I did not intend to slander thy people. It... it just... the words came from my mouth unexpectedly."
Smealum purses his lips. "I know your feelings regarding demons are especially intense. However, by now, you've surely seen the good in my people. Why do you still hate them with every fiber of your being?"
Shepherd continues to stare at the ground. Questions and uncertainty swirl in his mind.
"I've met three other demons besides thee, brother. Two of them hesitantly accepted my presence. The other one, the demoness, she seemed nearly as pure-hearted as thee, but... two demons, out of millions..."
"Belial," Smealum says, nodding. "Yes. She is a kind soul. Willing to fight, but never to end another being's life. Torn between her peaceful instincts and the pressure exerted by other demons, she has yet to reach enlightenment. Still, I know what you mean. Most demons can only conceive of a path involving violence and murder... but I know there is another way."
"How am I to trust demons when violence is their god?" Shepherd asks. "Even amongst themselves, demons rip one another to shreds. If that is how they treat their brothers and sisters, what lengths will they go to defeat their enemies?"
Smealum and Shepherd shake their heads in unison. The Animus sighs, as he stares at the last remaining berry in his palm. "Sometimes, even I wonder if a path to peace is impossible. Perhaps demons are doomed to die because of their greed."
The Animus pops his final berry in his mouth, but unlike before, he barely seems to notice its incredible taste. His heart burdens him too much to enjoy such a trivial pleasure.
Noise in the forest catches both brother's attention.
A few seconds later, two glowing red eyes peek out of the foliage. An unknown demon steps into the clearing, a massive grin plastered on his face. Behind him, two more demons emerge. One of them appears to be a scyther, while the other is a massive Brute, one with a thick, tree-trunk-like body reminiscent of Bael. The demon in front, however, appears to be a Lord or a Baron, with decently long horns, and an evil glint in his eyes.
"Kekeke, I told you I smelled an angel! Well well well, what have we here? Smealum, is that you?"
Smealum jumps up, as does Shepherd. "Hidan? Why... what are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same thing, weakling," Hidan says. Smoke hisses from his mouth. "Today is the day we assault Heaven. You know the orders, yet you disobeyed our great Emperor and decided to laze about in this little meadow, like always. As for that fellow beside you, I wondered if the rumors were true, but... to think you'd be cavorting with the enemy..."
Hidan's animalistic eyes lock onto Shepherd. He grins ferally, exposing two prominent canine fangs.
Smealum walks over and places himself between Shepherd and Hidan. "Don't do anything stupid, Hidan. Leave. My brother is of no concern to you."
"Hah! Your brother? Now you have my attention! I was going to smack you around a bit to teach you a lesson, but maybe I'll just kill the both of you!"
Shepherd winces. Intense bloodlust erupts from Hidan and his cronies as the three of them greedily eye the two weaklings daring to stand up to them.
"Don't fight for my sake!" Shepherd says, pleading with his brother. "I'll fly us out of here!"
Smealum shakes his head. "These three have seen too much. If we run, they'll come after us on another day."
"How right you are!" Hidan says, tracing his fingers through the air. Electricity crackles in his grasp as he summons the faintest vestiges of his elemental power. "Your scent calls out like dung to a dire wolf! No matter where you go, I'll find you. Why not present your neck to me? I'll make your death painless, hehe."
"I've never killed anyone in my life," Smealum mutters under his breath. "But there are things one can experience worse than death. Make the first move, Hidan... if you dare."
The sudden change in atmosphere makes Shepherd's eyes dart from demon to demon as he tries to think a way out of the fight.
Smealum is barely a grunt! His horns are little more than circular bumps, while Hidan is a Baron! If that weren't bad enough, the other two look just as scary! He can't possibly win!
Hidan's eye twitches. A moment later, he falls onto his arms and pounces at Smealum. "Get 'im, boys!!"
A surge of light in Hidan's mouth is the only hint of the incoming attack. Smealum slaps his foot against the ground and dodges left, narrowly evading a bolt of lightning as the Baron targets him for attack.
"L-look out!" Shepherd cries. "To your l-left!"
The scyther pounces at Smealum from the direction he dodged. Smealum ducks at the last second, narrowly avoiding a horizontal slash aimed at his neck.
So fast! Shepherd thinks to himself. I... I have to call for help!
Shakily, the angel starts to flap his wings, but before he can take off, the massive brute-demon jumps at him. "Where you think you're going, little birdie?!"
Wham!
A meaty fist crashes against Shepherd, strikes his unarmored chest, and plows him backward into the ground. Shepherd grinds to a halt and squeezes a few tears from his eyes.
Gah! M-my chest! Ribs... broken...
He tries desperately to suck in a breath, but all the air in his body seems more desperate to escape than to re-enter.
Smealum whirls to face his friend, but he can barely spare a glance before the Baron and scyther fall upon him for a second time. The two of them appear to be a team that have fought together many times in the past. Their movements, practiced to the point of perfection, betray no openings.
"We nearly killed an Archangel with this technique!" Hidan laughs, bragging as he charges another magic attack. This time, pinpricks of light appear across all ten of his fingers. A moment later, he fires multiple small bolts of electricity toward Smealum, who bends over backward to evade them. Unfortunately, the scyther swings the flat of his blade at that second, and slaps Smealum across the face, sending him spinning into a dizzying whirl. He flies away from Shepherd to the opposite side of the clearing and bangs his head against the bottom of a tree.
"Hahaha! You're even weaker than I expected!" Hidan cackles. "As expected from our resident pacifist!"
Despite the brutal pounding he just took, Smealum leaps to his feet, seemingly unharmed. Before he can take up a defensive stance, his eyes swivel to Shepherd. His brother screams as the Brute demon stomps his boot against Shepherd's back, grabs both of his wings, and pulls with all his might.
SHRRRIKK!
An agonizing sound of bone and entrails separating erupts from Shepherd's back. The angel opens his mouth to scream, but no sounds come out. A second later, he falls limp on the ground.
The Brute nudges him with his foot. "Heh, not birdie anymore. Now me the birdie!"
A stupid grin passes over his face. He turns around and holds up Shepherd's bloody wings, then flaps his arms. "Look, guys! Me stupid birdie now! Bahaha!"
"Kekeke! Good one!" Hidan says, cackling maniacally. "Just for that, you can take his life! This bastard here is mine!"
He points toward Smealum, but at that moment, Smealum vanishes.
Something smashes down on Hidan's outstretched arm with the weight of a windmill. His arm instantly rips from his socket and slams into the ground.
Hidan blinks in surprise. An instant later, agonizing pain explodes in the spot where his arm used to be.
"Eeeyyaahh!! Wh-what the fuck?! My arm! MY FUCKING ARM!!"
Hidan turns to look for Smealum, but a hammer-like fist hits the back of his head so hard that his vision goes black.
Wham!
Hidan plows into a tree head-first. He flops to the ground, and the other two demons stare at him in disbelief.
"Holy Hell! What just- was that Smealum?!"
They sweep their eyes around the forest, but once they spot Smealum, their terror turns to confusion. The demon's unconscious body lays against a different tree from before, along with Shepherd.
The Brute whirls his head to where Shepherd was laying a moment before, but he isn't there.
The scyther blinks twice. "It... it wasn't him? Who, then?!"
"Me."
From the darkness to the scyther's right, an impossibly deep voice growls out a single word. Shakily, both remaining demons turn to follow it.
Two pinpricks of white light stand out from the shadows of the underbrush. They rapidly intensify their luminosity, driving away the darkness like floodlights in a cave.
Eyes.
Two singular, glowing eyes.
"It seems you enjoy toying with those weaker than you."
Footsteps.
The solitary figure paces forward two steps.
Icy-cold dread washes through the blood of the scyther.
"No... no... the rumors were true... it's that human. That human!"
He emerges from the shadows, a man wrapped in swaths of black cloth. In his hand, he clutches a simple wooden staff, one which curls into an upside-down U-shape at the top.
"How will you react when the weak one is you, I wonder?"
The man vanishes. A moment later, the scyther's head does, too.
The Brute stands, frozen in place, as his friend falls to the ground, dead without knowing what hit him.
The human reappears mere feet from the final remaining demon, moving too fast for the Brute's eyes to follow.
"Like those before you, you'll perish without saying a word."
The Brute's head disappears.
.....................................................
FOR RETURNING READERS FROM CLASSIC: Please use spoiler tags when commenting on anything that might ruin the story for new readers, especially if that information is based on your knowledge of Classic!
This is what a spoiler looks like! Click it to reveal the text!
owo?
>!This is what a spoiler looks like! Click it to reveal the text!!< >!owo?!<
Submitted March 30, 2019 at 08:51PM by Klokinator https://ift.tt/2K61Srx
No comments:
Post a Comment