[NERO]
Nero can't believe it.
Novena almost died, almost got torn to shreds…
All because she forgot she had a Vital Star.
Here's a thing about Novena. She's one of the best the Order has to offer, is in the top three of their batch of Knights-to-be. She has her own unique fighting style, tailored to specifically suit her talents and skills. So far, no one was able to replicate it, indicating to its actual complexity. Nero knows, because he himself tried and he is the top one of their batch!
Moreover, many of the officers, the Executives, favour Novena, what with her 'good girl' attitude, not to mention her… work ethics. Which is comparable to a worker ant, also known as 'work, work, work, work'. In this respect, she and their other batch mate, one of the older ones, are terrifying with the amount of work hours they could clock in per week.
Basically, Novena potentially could be the perfect Holy Knight. Potentially could be entered in the running for Supreme Commander of the Holy Order in a few years, even. If she lives long past that, well… Might even be the Vicar, once she's grey and wrinkly and old.
It's just that she. Could. Be. So damn. Dumb.
Case in point, this.
Nero resists the urge to palm his face, maybe give Novena a good shaking. The older Knight might be one of the better combatants, one of the better Knights, but unlike him, Novena has no safety nets, no boosts whatsoever. A plain, fragile, and very much mortal human. She came so close to death today, she definitely would've died hadn't Nero arrive in time.
Good thing his hair is already like this, because Novena would give him grey hairs this early in his life, what with her bullshit.
"I don't know whether to smack you, or to smack you." Nero tells the older Knight, who is currently choking down the vial of Vital Star she has on her. He doesn't get why the others keep calling the things nasty; it's actually pretty sweet? A little tangy, even. The different sizes offer different flavours, but Nero has to say the Vital Star M is his favourite for its strawberry flavour. "Or how about I toss you off the damn cliff in Caerula Beach?"
Novena finishes her Vital Star S, hacking and sputtering and she grins at Nero, her cuts and wounds already healing. Nothing can be done about the blood she already spilled, and the uniform she's torn to shreds. Still, she grins up at him, tired but ultimately fine.
"How about you head on ahead?" She replies, gesturing vaguely with her hand. "You're going for Headquarters?"
Nero shakes his head and he bites his lip, turning his body and discreetly rolling his right sleeve down to cover his… arm. "On a mission from Supreme Commander himself." Nero replies. "I'm going after His Holiness's murderer... Witness account says he's headed for Fortuna Castle."
The man in red… just who is he? Who is he, who bears the same white hair, same blue eyes as the person Nero sees in the mirror, every morning, every night? Who is he, who comes to their island just to kill their leader? Who is he, who seems to know something sinister, knows of a monster that lies in wait at the bottom of their beds?
Who is he? He who took a sword to the chest, and dares to say they're similar.
Nero can't deny he's bothered, very much so, but more than that, he feels confusion. Confusion, atop anger, atop the feeling of being lost. It's not a good feeling.
He hates feeling like the world just sweeps the damn rug from under his feet, hates feeling confused and helpless.
Damn that bastard in red. To the depths of Hell, preferably.
"You should go ahead," Nero looks up, drawn out of his thoughts at Novena's voice. He's not surprised at the furious look on Novena's face; the old man was like a father to Novena, who never met her parents before they were killed in an accident. "I'll… I'll follow you in a bit. Or report back to Headquarters."
Nero could say that he personally doesn't have any attachments to His Holiness. How could he, when the man is revered as something holy, something untouchable. Outside the very rare private sermons the man holds only for the Knights, Nero rarely sees, let alone meet, the Vicar of Sparda. Right now, he's pissed at the man in red, but only because he committed murder. Massacre. Right in Nero's turf. But nothing else. He can't help it.
It's hard to miss something you don't even want. Or even know.
But Novena, however…
Novena loved the old man like her own flesh and blood, looking at His Holiness both as her most divine superior and as her grandfather. Well, closer as a father, really, if Nero remembers their childhood. There wasn't any official adoptions, or whatever – Children of the Order are rarely adopted by families, as the Order technically had already adopted these orphans – but it was obvious to everyone that His Holiness has always favoured Novena. Like his own child, even.
Bottom line is that, with His Holiness murdered, Novena…
Novena just lost a father. The closest thing she has to a father.
And she wasn't even there to avenge him.
Nero sometimes wish he has Kyrie's way with words of comfort. Hell, even Credo's blunt assurances would work, but. He's just Nero. He can't comfort anyone to save his life, and with his own detachment with the man himself he would just mess it up and upset Novena further. Which… is the last thing he wants to do.
(He may annoy the older Knight within an inch of her life but he… he does care for her. Really.)
Nero watches her for a moment longer, trying to gauge her current state. It's clear that Novena is trying very hard to keep it together, from the way her jaw is locked, the way she's still. Too still.
Nero can't help but hesitate. On one hand, he has a personal issue with the man in red, orders or not. On the other hand, Novena…
As if hearing his thoughts, Novena looks up at him, forcing a grin onto her face. It looks horrible on her, that fake expression coupled with the blood. Her blood. "I'll be fine, Nero. I'll check in on the outpost at the market place… then make my own way." Her expression shifts, and she's good at that. Compartmentalizing to better do whatever job she has to do. "Anyway… what happened? How is Kyrie? The General? The citizens?"
Ah, this is a safer topic. Nero could talk to Novena about anything but emotions. "We're not sure but we think that this," Nero waves a hand, his left one, to indicate the general situation. "Is the assassin's fault. No proof yet, though, so I'll be dealing with that too while I go after his ass. And Kyrie… Kyrie and Credo are fine. They escaped to Headquarters along with the rest of the folks."
At least there's that. With Kyrie safely in the Headquarters, and Credo and probably the rest of the General's squad in there, it's one of the safest place to be. Nero doesn't have to worry, if Kyrie is safe and protected. He could concentrate on the hunt and nothing else. Kyrie will be fine.
Yeah.
Nero turns to the older Knight, who is thankfully on her feet now. She's still bleeding, but not as badly as before. She's using her Caliburn as a crutch, and her short sword is hanging limply from her other hand. Nero itches to go down and help her, get her to the nearest Order outpost… but knowing her, she'd get mad at him for not prioritizing his mission.
An absolute dumbass.
"You're gonna be fine, right?" Nero asks, masking his worry with the usual rough attitude. "You need a walking cane? Your glasses? Your meds?"
"Hah, hah, hah, laugh it up you brat." Novena replies, rolling her eyes with an exasperated laugh. She then straightens, standing like she doesn't need to be supported, standing like she's not allowed to show any sort of weakness, not allowed to be human. Which is ironic, considering what Nero and Novena is. "At any rate… you should go ahead. The murderer won't capture himself."
Nero watches the older Knight hobble to one of the hidden getaway routes scattered throughout the city. Sometimes, it's infuriating and frustrating to watch Novena stubbornly stick to her pride, or her 'honour', as she calls it. Her honour as a 'Knight of the Order'. Nero is sure, that given the chance, Novena would gladly die for the cause.
Nero can't help but sneer.
"Go do your mission Nero!" Nero focuses, sees Novena halfway through the hidden entrance behind strategically placed crates. Novena's fixing him one of her looks, and Nero returns a scowl of his own. "I'll be fine. I'll even catch up with you later."
And with that, Novena ducks down into the tunnel, pulling the grate close and pulling the crates nearer to hide the entrance a bit. If Nero focuses really hard, she could hear her shuffling through the escape tunnel, the brush of her torn clothes and the wet quality to her breathing. Nero hopes that there are still Vital Stars in the outpost, or the supply caches are still fine.
Novena might be older, the higher ranked Knight, but the two of them knows that she is far weaker compared to Nero.
"Order, schorder…" The white haired Knight mutters darkly, rolling up his right sleeve once more. He flexes his hand, stepping up to the strange circular platform on the end of the balcony.
The platform lights up bright blue, and those mysterious, floating things appear in the middle of the buildings, several meters up the ground. It was just pushing the edge of… of Devil Bringer's newest ability. Nero takes aim and throws his hand out, as if snatching something out of mid-air, and the phantom limb appears, flying forward to latch onto the blue thing.
Nero relaxes when the phantom limb pulls him off of his feet, not fighting the feeling and letting it help him speedily sail through the air like a bird. His momentum easily carries him forward a couple metres more, and he drops onto the next balcony with a smooth roll, stopping on his feet.
Nero rises with a huff, bring his Devil Bringer close to his face for inspection. Sure he hates the damn thing, but he can't deny its power and uses.
Almost half a year ago, Kyrie and some of the kids from the orphanage went to the forest for a quick field trip. It was supposed to be quick, safe. Nero was with them, Credo assigning him as their personal bodyguard and chauffeur.
Then an Assault came out of nowhere and mangled his arm.
Long story short, what Nero thought was an infection was actually a mutation. He may not have the taken the advanced lessons like Novena, but Nero was no idiot. He knows what a demonic infection is. Thing is the mutation didn't spread throughout his body and killed him, rather it all localized itself to his right arm, from his elbow to his fingertips, and thus Devil Bringer is born.
He had trained with it, instead. What choice does he have? He needs to stay in the Order, because there he's relatively safe, definitely assured of a roof over his head, food on his table, and clothes on his back. So he trained, to get stronger, to keep his position as a special operative.
It worked, at the price of lying to people, especially ones important to him.
The things he has to do-
Nero backs up in alarm when the red web crawls over the door leading out of the balcony, and more surrounding the area, boxing him in and trapping him with Scarecrows that manifested from vortexes that appeared from the ground. Nero grimaces; those red webs are a whole bitch to deal with, and he found out the hard way. The electrocution way, to be specific.
Thankfully, to get rid of them is fairly easy. Just kill the demons in the area, and voila! He's free.
So he proceeds to do just that; slicing and dicing with Red Queen, shooting them down with Blue Rose, or outright tearing them apart with the Devil Bringer. He made quick work of the demons, mentally apologizing for making the small pond absolutely disgusting from the demon bile he spilled there, and soon enough the barrier shatters, leaving him free to progress.
And to collect the red shiny things.
Devil Bringer is useful in collecting the red shiny things – Nero really doesn't know what these red things are – because the arm absorbs them, turns them into a non-corporeal form which is then stored within the magical space of his right arm.
Or some shit like that.
While he doesn't know what these red shiny… Red Orbs? Yeah, Red Orbs. He doesn't know what these Red Orbs do, exactly, but since demons have been dropping it left and right, it's probably important? Better to keep them and save them for later, just in case, than not bother and regret it later. He has quite a bit stored already, so he hopes he can find something to use them for, if they're useable at all.
Nero takes the long drop as he leaves the balcony, nonhuman physiology making it extremely easy for him, and two more Scarecrows appear in response to his arrival. Nero merely whips out Blue Rose, pulling the trigger twice and ending up with two dead demons.
Nero smirks as he saunters forward, through the narrow alley way. Ah, he remembers this path, it should open up to the edge of the trading district, as well as the edge of Port Caerula.
True to his expectations, the path opens up, widens and becomes more open spaced. To his left are the network of roads that make up the trading district, the whole place basically being a huge ass marketplace. To his right is the path leading up to the port, branching out into piers with the fishing boats and a handful of transport ships are anchored down.
That doesn't Nero though, because in front of him is… is a red crystal probably a couple heads taller than him, and three times wider.
What the hell?
Nero walks up to it, giving it a knock- oh? It dropped a Red Orb just now. Nero gives it a firmer knock, and more Red Orbs chip off from it.
Nero smirks, and unleashes Red Queen on the thing.
He walks away later with a veritable fountain of Red Orbs, and his theory of the things being some sort of valuable is getting truer and truer by the minute. Nero also snooped around the area, finding more Red Orbs and a couple weird, shiny things. One that is blue and seems incomplete, and a green one that healed Nero of injuries.
Convenient.
Port Caerula was easy enough way to take to the mines, the area preceding Ferrum Hills, which is in turn a shortcut for Lamina Peaks that would take him to Fortuna Castle. Nero breezed his way through the Port, Scarecrows of differing variants popping in, and Nero made the bridge go down by shooting the control panel when it didn't respond to him in the first place.
So satisfying.
Now, Nero had crossed said bridge, pushing the aside mine entrance's heavy double doors to reveal what he thought to be a dead end. Until he noticed the floating things very obviously making him a path.
"Where the hell do these things come from, anyway?" Nero mutters to himself, briefly jumping down to the empty canal to fetch the stash of Red Orbs there, and he jumps up, latching onto one floating thingy and quickly latching onto the next one, easily pulling himself over the railing and landing on the second floor.
Nero has to pause, because there are two very, very weird statues in here. Statues that he was sure wasn't here before? They don't like the statues one would get as decorations though, considering their sheer size and, well aesthetic. Fortuna is a very anti-demon place, who in their right mind would put up demonic-looking statues as decorations in their homes?
That's just asking to be raided and branded 'sinner' by the Order.
The one in the corner is snake-like, holding up a shield that seems to have a multitude of eyes – glowing blue – staring back at Nero. The figure behind the shield is staring at him with an unreadable look on its expression, but it doesn't move, doesn't do anything. It merely stands there, waiting.
The other statue is of… of a creature with a male lion's head and a female human's body, made out of the whitest marble and gilded in gold. It's carrying a massive hourglass on its back, and the lion's head is baring its fangs, as if caught mid-roar.
What the hell…?
Nero approaches the least threatening looking one, the lion (or is it a lioness?), and he stares at it for a moment, wondering what to do. Maybe he should touch it…? His Devil Bringer does all sorts of things when touching objects of obvious demonic nature.
So taking a deep breath, Nero reaches out and touches the lion statue.
Hail, young one. Warrior born from grand blood, warrior born from enemies' corpses.
Nero yanks his hand back, almost yelling in shock when a voice invaded his head. The voice is timeless, featureless but heavy, coating his senses, his mind, almost suffocating him but not. "What the hell…?" Nero breathes deeply, wrangling his heart to stop jackhammering in his chest.
Common sense dictates that Nero leaves the thing alone, get as far away as possible…
But then again, Nero has always been the curious type, not to mention a rebel. So he steels himself, mentally preparing himself for the second time. He breathes through his nose, before reaching out and placing Devil Bringer on the base of the statue, closing his eyes to concentrate better.
Calm yourself, young one.
Nero just ends up twitching this time, though he doesn't pull his hand away. How does he speak to this thing, this voice? Does he need to speak aloud, or-
Worry not. Words meant for us, we will hear. To speak with your tongue is unneeded, as your thoughts will suffice.
Huh. Cool. So Nero wonders just what the hell this freaky looking statue is – Nero's not gonna lie, the craftsmanship is superb, but it really is freaky, okay – doing here, seemingly waiting for him.
A conflict of great proportions is near. Demon blood will spill. We, as the Tradesmen of Hell, appear to you with a proposal. We shall grant you boons, in exchange for the items you call Red Orbs. We are named the Divinity Statues, we are the Tradesmen of Hell, and we offer you our services.
So those Red Orb things are important! Nero wastes no time in directing another though at the Divinity Statue, because he gets stuff in exchange for the Red Orbs? Like hell (oh, pun) is he gonna pass up on that chance.
But Nero has to say that the 'conflict' portion is troubling…
You've amassed quite a bit. We shall take it, and in return we give you your boons.
The statues glows golden, the light from the hourglass it's carrying is pouring out and gathering at the base to form something. Nero takes a step back, looking on in fascination, and the light soon solidifies into a treasure chest, white and gold and inviting.
So Nero doesn't hesitate to pop open the lid. His eyes widen at the sight of Vital Stars – two of the small ones, and a single medium – because while they're similar to the ones the Order issues to their Knights, they're also different. More sinister looking, definitely. But then again, they're items made from Hell, so that's probably to be expected.
(Okay but why does the Order have Vital Stars too, and looking extremely similar to the Hell-made ones…?)
Nero turns to the last item in the chest, a curious golden orb.
For simplicity's sake, they are Gold Orbs. They shall revive a warrior on the brink of death once contact is made.
Hell yeah?!
Hell yeah!
Nero gleefully grabs the 'boons', Devil Bringer absorbing them for safe-keeping. The Vital Stars are nice and all but the real bad-boy of this little gift box is the Gold Orb thing. A revive is useful, very useful, and Nero knows he's going to need all the advantages he could get his hands on, to go after that man in red and cut down the demons in his way.
The assassin isn't going to get away from him the next time.
Nero glances at the other statue, before eyeing the Divinity. Nero hums for a moment, before nodding to himself and approaching the other one. It's just now that Nero realizes that the statue doesn't have actual legs, rather the lower half of their body is snake-like, complete with the winding coils and the interlocking scales.
Now who is this one…?
Nero touches the shield with Devil Bringer-
Hail, warrior! We are Servants of Ares, and we are here to challenge you!
Nero pulls his hand back, rubbing at his ears from the phantom shouting. Jeez, this one has no volume control. Nero puts his hand back with a disgruntled huff, wondering about this 'challenge'.
Show us your power, your prowess in battle, and we too, shall give you a boon! We are named the Combat Adjudicators, the Combatants from Hell; defeat us, and the reward is yours!
Well then.
It didn't take long for Nero to break the so called 'Combatant from Hell', and his reward is that blue fragment thing. According to the Divinity Statue, the Blue Orbs (four of the fragments can create one whole) increases his vitality, allowing for more endurance and energy to combat demons.
Cool.
Nero was just about to leave, finally satisfied with his 'earnings', when the doors on the lower area opened-
"The hell you doing here hag?" Nero leans over the railing, staring at Novena with utter shock.
The older Knight is dressed not in her usual attire, but instead wearing the men's version of the uniform. Novena looks uncomfortable, no doubt worried about her range of movement, and while her skirts is sometimes too short to be modest, Nero knows it also allows her the greatest range of movement so he can't give her too much judgment.
Fashion choices aside, Nero can't smell blood on her, so that means she probably got her hands on some Vital Stars and chugged those down.
Good.
While not a perfect solution, the Vital Stars would do a good job of getting Novena out of the danger zone as well as get her back to fighting condition. And outside the safety of the city or other Order strongholds, everyone who steps foot outside needs to be in fighting condition.
Novena grins up at him, smug. "I did say I'll catch up to you."
So she did. Nero watches Novena climb the ladder – that he never noticed – to reach the second floor, and something strange happened.
Her eyes simply passed over the Divinity Statue, as nothing remained of the Combat Adjudicator.
"You sure you good to fight? I'd hate it when your joints start to ache, you know." Nero says, watching closely if Novena pays the slightest bit of attention to the weird thing practically in front of her.
"Slow down on the grandmother jokes Nero." Novena chuckles, shaking her head as she turns away and heads for the door leading out of the mining hub. "Mission first, then annoy me all you like later."
Nero follows the elder's lead, and he casts a surreptitious glance at the Divinity Statue, whose surface just gleams prettily. So Novena can't see it…? So why could Nero? Is it because of his non-human status? Because if that's the case, it makes sense…
Better make sure he's alone when accessing Divinity Statues and Combat Adjudicators, then.
Nero turns back to Novena, who is fussing with the trailing ends of her coat. Nero rolls his right sleeve down – Novena shouldn't see his arm – before jogging to catch up. Without saying anything, Nero grabs Novena's short sword, gaining a yelp of alarm from the older woman, and the he just cuts off the ends of her coat, reducing the length to something closer to Novena's usual preferred 'dress'.
Nero (gleefully) tosses the cut of excess away, casually handing the weapon back to the gaping older Knight. So what if he enjoyed defacing Order property? No one has to know, right?
Right.
"While I don't approve of your methods, I can't get mad at you," Novena sighs in defeat, shaking her head and smoothing down her clothes, twisting and lifting her legs to check for movement. She seems satisfied, with the way she nods to herself after a moment. "Nero, why are you like this?"
Nero just snickers under his breath, climbing the stairs and going out into the excavation site. There are wooden houses spread out, temporary structures to house the miners as well as act as storage for whatever they were mining here. Nero doesn't care much for local news – aside from anything demon related, of course – so he has no clue what valuables could be mined from Ferrum Hills. Probably the metals for their swords.
The duo travels through the massive area, heading for the entrance leading to the mining tunnels, but Nero has to stop, throwing a hand out and herding himself and Novena into the shadow of an empty house upon seeing the thing atop one of the hills.
"What is it?" Novena hisses in alarm, instinctively switching to a whisper and putting a hand over her Caliburn's hilt. "Nero?"
Wordlessly, Nero points at what he saw. It seems to be a monument, shaped like a stone tablet and sized up to a thousand times. From this distance, there are ornate etchings on the surface, and they look foreboding to Nero.
And as if some sort of higher being is eavesdropping on Nero's thoughts, the stone tablet shudders and jerks, as if alive. Something appears in the middle of it, cracks that glow like molten metal, and it spreads and spreads, until it forms an opening big enough for five elephants to come through.
"The Hell Gate…!" Novena whispers in alarm, and Nero has to stare at her in shock.
A Hell Gate?!
That's bad news.
Before any of them could say anything more, a ground shaking roar rends the air, before something bursts out of the Hell Gate in an explosion of hellfire. The thing, a demon, leaps high into the air, landing in the middle of the excavation site. It throws its head back with a triumphant roar, and massive wings of fire surges out from him.
Nero turns, holding Novena close to himself and letting his coat take the brunt of the flames as the fire washes over the two of them. Nero grimaces when the heat licks uncomfortably at his skin, but thankfully that's the worst of it. Nero and Novena – who is looking at the demon with murder in her eyes – pat down the flames still clinging to Nero's coat, and once that done, Nero whispers to the older Knight.
"I'll take the thing head on, and you go around from the back." He murmurs lowly, a plan formulating in his mind. While Nero and Novena normally don't work together, they did train together for years, before becoming fully fledged Knights. It wouldn't take long for their bodies to remember working together. "You still got some of your effects?"
"As much holy water I could carry and more vials for my Caliburn." Novena replies, just as lowly, peering over Nero's shoulder to watch the demon pace through the houses, muttering something to itself. "You ready?"
"Let's go." Nero moves into the open, and Novena disappears into the shadows, manoeuvring and taking advantage of the distraction Nero is providing. Nero casually walks into the path of the demon, and it ignores him, continuing to mutter to itself, like some senile grandpa. Something about being a while since the thing came to the human world?
Well at least it still hasn't noticed Nero's… well. Non-human-ness. Ah, damn. With Novena here he can't use his ace in the hole… Tsk, better keep it close to his chest, manage the fight without it. Besides, Novena is no pushover, and Nero has been fighting for years already, without Devil Bringer back then.
He can pull through.
"You know," Nero begins, pulling attention to him as Novena creeps from behind the demon, easily climbing up one house like a cat and hiding there, waiting for the right moment. "You really ought to not set off fires in a mining place."
The demon sneers, flaming maw stretched over fangs made of burning brimstone. "Insolent little pest… 2,000 years ago no human would act in such way, until now…"
Nero makes a face, gesturing casually with Red Queen. "Wanna make it another 2,000?" Ooh, that's gonna piss him off.
"SILENCE!" The demon roars, and it brings its massive sword down upon him. Nero smirks and flicks Red Queen up, the tip catching the pointed end of the demon's sword. Nero sees Red Queen's tip glow bright red, but he's not too worried. After all, his darling is made to take and dole out punishment. A bit of heat won't do any lasting harm.
Nero shoves against the demon, making the thing stagger back and glower at him with literally flaming eyes. "Futile pest, I shall show you the wrath! Of Beri- GAH!"
Nero bursts out laughing, having seen Novena creep up to the demon as close as she could dare. Nero had seen the holy water she flung in the demon's face, and now the demon is snarling and spitting, the blessed water corroding the parts where it splashed across his face.
"I'll show you what a pest actually is, demon," Novena drawls, and Nero has to shake his head and roll his eyes. Trust Novena to dramatic as hell. Her and her zealous self. "Prepare to die."
Novena is forced to jump away to safety though, when the demon (Beri? Berry?) swipes a massive hand at her in blind fury, roaring and causing a ruckus. While the demon Berry flails a bit more, Novena had rushed back towards him, with that glint in her eye when she's in a hunt present.
"I don't remember telling you to attack his ass from nowhere." Nero drawls at her as she rushes past, aiming to disappear once more.
"I don't remember making a finalized plan either." Novena retorts, and before Nero could reply, she's back in hiding, lost behind the wooden houses and leaving Nero with the furious demon all by his lonesome. Thanks Novena, best team work ever. A hundred percent would do again. Nice.
"PEST! INSECTS BENEATH MY FEET!" Berry howls, making Nero's ears ring from his sheer volume. "I will slay you where you stand, worthless humans!"
Berry throws his head back with a roar, and the wave of fire the pours off of him is far stronger, far more potent than the first one. This fresh wave is massive, nearly bright white in its intensity and heat. Nero curses, diving off to the side for the relative safety of the building. He crouches and pulls up the hem of his coat over himself, and he winces as fire licked at his skin, scorching it.
Seeing the small tongues of fire stubbornly clinging to his coat – thank the research department for their clothes somewhat proofed against elements – Nero is quick to drop and roll, snuffing out the fire as he gets back to his feet.
Shit.
A quick look around assures Nero that the place probably wouldn't survive… Nah, no, the place really wouldn't survive. At the rate the demon is going, they're going to leave this place totalled. Nero has to wonder how he will report this to Credo, that he, while not the cause, is involved in the destruction of an important Fortuna economy contributor. Not something he looks forward to.
Maybe he can leave that to Novena? After all, she's also here for this incident, and she's way better with making reports than him. Nero could just bribe her with a few lunch and a promise to help her on some missions.
When this is all over, of course.
"Nero!" The white haired Knight looks up in alarm, hearing Novena call his name but unable to locate her by sight. Ah, where was she? Unlike Nero, Novena is unfortunately far more delicate, severely handicapped by her human limitations. "Nero, are you okay?!"
"I should be asking you that!" Nero returns, pulling out Blue Rose and moving out into the open, taking aim with Blue Rose and unleashing a hail of bullets on the demon.
Berry, unfortunately for them, wasn't too affected by the bullets, so the demon just stands there, taking what Blue Rose could dole out. It laughs, loud and mocking, and that just pisses Nero off, who puts Blue Rose back in its holster and drawing Red Queen this time. Nero charges forward, with a quick swing coming in from the left.
Berry merely hops back, deceptively light on his feet despite his sheer bulk. The demon retaliates by bringing its massive sword down on him, and Nero is forced to dodge, roll to the side instead of blocking the blow.
While Novena gets tunnel vision when she really gets going – like, right now – and she's liable to not pay attention to her fellows aside from their location… Nero still can't risk going all out, sneak in a Devil Buster. Nero can get away with a few shows of other strength though, but he has to be quick about it, can't let Novena known he can do more.
While Order members get a few genetic modifications… they shouldn't get physical capabilities the same as Nero's. Actually, no one should get his physical capabilities, because he's not entirely human.
Nero's attention snaps back to Berry, when the demon begins to advance on him, fire blazing, and suddenly he clenches a fist, fire gathering there. The demon pushes it into the ground, and it accordingly rumbles, the ground roiling beneath Nero's feet. For a moment, nothing happens, nothing changes, but all of the sudden, Nero sees the ground heat up from beneath him, and he grimaces.
Aw, heck.
Pillars of flame blaze from the ground, bright and stark against the shadows cast by the surrounding walls and cliffs. Nero dodges them, grimacing when he feels the flames lick at his heels, and he picks up the pace, bending low and pumping his legs. The ground shakes as pillars, one after the other, chase him like a bloodhound on a scent. Troublesome, and very much dangerous, even with Nero's nonhuman capabilities.
Off to the farthest side of the excavation site, he sees Novena dodging as well, cartwheeling and darting away from the fire pillars chasing her. She had shed her outer coat, leaving her in that skin tight sleeveless she prefers for maximum mobility, and Nero could see the scorch marks on her arms. She's clutching at her stomach, and that could only mean she's injured more than those burns. Damn it.
Berry laughs in glee, no doubt entertained by their plight. "Feel the might of the ruler of Fire Hell!" Berry crows in triumph, the flames on his back flaring strongly, as if to prove his point. The ridiculous amount of fire is making the whole place feel like an oven, and Nero grimaces as sweat begins to trickle down the sides of his face and neck.
The pillars die down, thankfully, and Nero doesn't hesitate to stop and rev Red Queen's Exceed system to the maximum. He lets go, the blaze of his sword's engines helping him streak towards Berry rapidly. He manages to take the demon off-guard, and Nero is able to land a couple solid hits, even scoring a sizeable crack on the demon's rock-like body.
Berry roars, rearing back on his hind legs and dropping suddenly, intent on crushing Nero beneath his bulk.
Nero pulls back immediately, leaping out of the way, and he draws Blue Rose to fire bullets at the demon as he repositions somewhere else. Berry brings an arm up to stop the bullets from reach his face, and the demon snarls in fury. Berry makes a move to retaliate, but he hisses, whirling around when Novena appears out of nowhere, slamming a glass orb full of holy water against his side.
"The pest has bite…!" Berry remarks, almost surprised, and he suddenly jumps straight into the air, body twisting, and his flaming tail sweeping across the ground.
Nero's heart lurches to his throat when he thought Novena got caught in the attack, and he can't help but let out a gusty sigh of relief when he sees Novena get out of range, sprinting towards him before Berry could recover fully.
Nero easily catches her, letting her whirl around before pulling her in, killing her momentum and easily setting her on her own feet. Novena pants through her exertion, and Nero subtly increases his own breathing as well, to make it seem he's just as tired as she is.
"Holy water doesn't have much effect," Novena begins, sheathing her short sword and refilling the vial of holy water in her Caliburn. "If it wasn't blessed water, the flames would've evaporated all of them. As it is, only half reaches the demon, and it doesn't last long. Just gives him harsh rashes, if anything."
Nero winces, rolling his shoulders. "Then we gotta make do with what we have. We come at him at different directions, keep the pressure on." He says. With that fire and that demonic strength, they're at a huge disadvantage. "There's gotta be a way to weaken his fire…"
"Take these," Novena says quickly, handing three of the holy water orbs she has on her. "Those are half of what I have left, so we ought to make it count. At the very least, we can use these as distraction…"
Nero pockets them carefully, making sure they're in easy reaching distance. "Thanks. Now," Nero nods at Berry, who is advancing at them at a languorous pace, a clear indication that he's not threatened by them, even allowing time to recuperate. The asshole. "You go left, I go right?"
"Sure." And with that, Novena sets out in a dead sprint, going low and both hands on her Caliburn for a stronger attack. Nero doesn't allow himself to lag behind, matching Novena's speed with his own, and he revs Red Queen as he goes.
They cross each other, right in front of Berry and thus forcing him to pick one to concentrate on. Nero slides in from the right, Red Queen's blade bright red, and Novena matches him, her own sword dripping with holy water.
Berry, however, wasn't so nice, leaping back and easily clearing several metres to regroup and dodge their attacks.
The two hunters doesn't cease up on their assault, though, and when Nero sees the older Knight reach out with a hand, he knows what she's planning to do. He switches Red Queen to his right hand in flash, and grabs Novena's outstretched hand with his own. He spins, whirling Novena around, before releasing her, sending her flying right at Berry at breakneck speed.
Nero runs after the older Knight, putting on more speed to catch up.
Berry looks quickly between them, before letting loose a fearsome roar and swinging his massive sword at Novena. It was a massive thanks to Novena's flexibility and agility that she managed to dodge the sword, by laying her own Caliburn across the demon's sword and pushing against it, practically shoving herself away from the blade's path with perfect timing.
Novena twists in mid-air and launching another holy water at the demon's face, this time the glass shattering against Berry's nose and splashing holy water across his face. The demon roars in pain, flinching backwards, and Nero sees Novena land on the demon's head unsteadily, balancing herself with difficulty while the demon flails.
Nero sees her manage to stab her Caliburn into Berry's eye-
"NOV!" Nero yells, skidding to a stop when the demon wraps a flaming fist around Novena. The older Knight screams, writhing and flailing as the demon squeezes, tightening and tightening its grip until Novena goes taut from pressure and breathless from pain. Nero's gut churns and his heart leaps to his throat-
No, no, no, no, no, not Novena, she's just human, she won't SURVIVE-
"You…" The demon gives Novena one last look, before squeezing his hand one last time. The sound of bones breaking feels like daggers to Nero's ears, and he couldn't stop the helpless scream of anguish ripping itself from his throat. "Should rest."
The demon opens its hand, tipping it carelessly and dropping Novena on the ground.
She doesn't move. She doesn't move.
Nero sees red, and he charges forward with a roar of fury. Devil Bringer is unleashed, and the phantom limb, grown to ten times its size, latches around the demon's torso. Nero ignores the shared pain, ignores the flames eating away at his phantom limb, and he heaves, he pulls, and he tosses away the demon away from him.
Nero pants in exertion, the demon hitting the side of the cliff with an almighty crash and bringing debris and rocks crashing down on its damnable form. It's not a prison, hardly would stop the demon, really, but it could buy him precious time.
Nero turns, running for the unmoving body. He skids to a stop next to it, and he falls to his knees, hands fluttering helplessly over Novena's broken form.
Please, please, please, please tell me she's not dead-
Nero carefully presses an ear to the older Knights chest, tries not to flinch from the blood dripping from her nose and mouth-
… thu-thump…
Nero leans away, the backs of his eyes burning, but he tamps it down, tamps everything else down in favour of getting the Golden Orb out, getting the Golden Orb to stop Novena from dying. She's alive, but barely, he doesn't have much time, he needs to hurry or Novena's heart will stop-
The Golden Orb sinks into Novena's chest, and the sight of her breathing made relief flood Nero's whole being, made him sag against her stomach, feeling her blood rush and her heart pump with life.
Shit.
"N-Ner…" Her eyes are unfocused, and she interrupts herself by coughing up blood, body shuddering from the force of it. Nero shushes her, gathering the smaller Knight in his arms and quickly leaping away, taking advantage of her disorientation to use his full power to make things easier. "Wha…"
"It's fine, it's fine. You should rest." Nero says quietly, ears pricking at the sound of the demon escaping the rubble, now back on its feet and pissed. "You got pretty banged up there, Nov."
Novena mumbles something incoherent, before her eyes roll to the back of her head and she falls limp, unconscious. Probably for the better; her body, though strong and had gone through the necessary medications required from Knights, is still human.
Abhorrently weak, fragile human.
Nero sets her down, away from the fight, and he rises, grabbing the last of Novena's holy waters and strapping her short sword to his waist as he goes. "You know, I was holding back so she wouldn't see my arm. My sin," Nero begins quietly, addressing the demon with deceptive calm. "She doesn't like it, you know. And she definitely wouldn't like it when me, her darling little brother… is one of the scum she hunts oh so religiously."
The demon's eyes – well, eye now, because the one Novena stabbed has yet to heal – widen at the sight of Nero's Devil Bringer, it's decidedly non-human form.
"You…!" It points its sword at Nero, face twisting up. "You are not human!"
Nero bares his teeth. "And you should've wished I was actually one!"
Nero charges, superhuman abilities easily carrying him across the field and he pulls out Blue Rose with Devil Bringer, pumping the revolver full of demonic energy and aiming it at the demon's face. He pulls the trigger, and his smirk is full of teeth when the demon underestimated the power of his charged shot, the demon wailing when his face exploded with corrosive demonic energy.
Nero draws close, pulling Red Queen free and executing a high roller, tearing up the demon's legs and torso as he climbs higher and higher. He twists at the apex of his momentum, pointing Blue Rose at the demon once more and setting off another charged shot.
Recoil sent Nero flying backward, and just in time, the demon's hand swiping the space where he was previously.
Any minute now-
Nero's charged shots has a rather magnificent delayed effect, one that causes an explosion far greater than the first one. The demon wails from the first explosion, face getting torn up and warped from the sheer force. And upon the second explosion, the demon sags, severely weakened.
And free from fire.
Nero easily locates Novena's Caliburn, and he picks up the smaller sword on the way to the demon, strapping it beside Red Queen. Just to make things fair, Novena's weapons will help him kill the burning bastard, one way or another.
Nero leaps high, and the phantom limb makes an appearance once more. "You're going to regret what you did!" Nero snarls, and he grabs the demon by the face, heaving the asshole up into the air before dunking him into the ground, the ground shattering and cratering beneath the impact.
Nero's not done yet.
He rushes close, stabs Red Queen into the softer, much more vulnerable demon flesh, and he splits it open, relishing in the demon's pained wail as its chest is torn open. Nero hastily dumps all of the holy water orbs into the crevice, and he pushes the flesh together, watching it stitch itself back together.
"Now for the encore…!" Nero steps back, and he grabs the demon with the phantom limb once more, upper-cutting the bastard to send him into the air. Nero rears his arm back once more, and lands a solid punch on the demon, sending it flying towards anther cliff.
Nero's brings Blue Rose back up again, Devil Bringer filling it with demonic energy, and he can't help but grin when he aims at the demon's chest.
The demon's chest that is filled with orbs of holy water.
"Go back to Hell." He fires the shot, and he watches in satisfaction as the demon's chest explodes with holy energy, ripping through his unholy flesh, eating away at its own tainted energy. The demon, brutalized and mauled, could only slump against the side of the cliffs, surrounded by rock and rubble and magma-like blood gushing strongly from the massive hole in its chest.
Nero stalks forward, drawing Novena's Caliburn with his left hand. Unlike Red Queen, it's far slimmer, shorter and lighter; not as able to take punishment as Nero's own darling blade. But Nero was given freedom to fiddle with Novena's Caliburn, equip it with a small engine that spreads holy water along the blade instead of explosive accelerant. It's still a nasty one, against the right targets. A venomous snake, instead of a prowling tiger.
The white haired Knight steps up to the demon's pathetic form, carefully climbing its side to reach its humanoid part. With a scoff, Nero shoves it facedown into the ground with the phantom limb, revealing broken spines and cracked, weak flesh.
"This is for Nov, you shit-face." Nero hisses, and he draws the short sword as well, Novena's second weapon, stabbing both swords deep into the demon's back. It howls, but could only buck and flail weakly. Nero moves to the back of its neck, revving Red Queen deliberately. Making sure the demon knows what's going to happen next. "And this is for everything else."
Engine powered out to the maximum and the demon reduced to something so pitiful, it was almost obscenely easy to swing Red Queen and lop off the massive head from the demon's shoulders. Nero watches the head roll on the ground, dripping that magma-like blood, before the body starts to dissipate, starts to disappear.
The white haired Knight drops to the ground with a grunt, and he turns when he hears the clatter of Novena's weapons falling to the ground. He walks over to them, picking them up with a small grin on his face. He pats the Caliburn, stowing the swords away for safe-keeping. "Nov really ought to name you guys. You took down your first big baddie from Hell!"
He makes his way back to Novena, intent on returning to the unconscious Knight when a ball of light flew at him from nowhere, spinning around him once before seeping into his Devil Bringer like it belongs there. Nero can't help but stare, wondering what the hell just happened, before he decided that he exhausted his mental faculties enough for the meantime and he'll just leave that be for now.
"Things are getting weirder and weirder…"
Ah. What a day.