Waking the Sangraal

The nurse sat quietly in Lilith's room. A small dagger rolled from side to side between his hands. A cold reptilian creature sat on his head. Its oversized tail flopped from side to side against his shoulders as it watched the dagger in his hands. The lizard quietly hissed and, for the third time, sank its fangs into the nurse's skull. Scorching venom seeped into what was left of his brain as he finally lost control. With the fangs still in his head, the nurse stood with the dagger ready to strike. He approached Lilith's bed and placed his fingers against her neck again. There was no pulse.

The nurse slightly lowered the dagger as if he were disappointed. His attention was momentarily stolen by something banging against the door. The exact second he turned away towards the door, Lilith revived. As if by instinct, she snatched the dagger from the nurse. Before he registered what happened, she sat up and drove the blade into the back of the reptile. It lifted its head to screech. She grabbed it with the other hand and bashed its head against the wall. Blood splattered as its skull ruptured from the impact. Then she plunged the blade into the nurse's temple and pushed him out of her way.

The creature on the other side of the door had already pushed its head through. Lilith threw herself to the floor and leapt for the closet. The hairy beast struggled to break through the hole as she quickly tossed her robe aside and got dressed in her regular clothes. Before she could reach for her coat, the monster was in the room. Its hindlegs dragged the floor as if they had not been used for several days. Without thinking, Lilith raised a hand and blasted it with a lightning bolt. She gasped when she realized what she had done. Lilith snatched the Yamato from its hiding place in the back of the closet and vaulted through the window without bothering to open it. She landed on her feet below on a piece of asphault floating in a street of lava.

"What the hell's been going on while I was gone?" She glanced at the sky as she hovered over the fiery stream. The sun was hanging low in the sky. To Lilith, this was an ominous warning in the words of her grandfather. If the Idda Corrof was not destroyed by the end of the sunset, then she would lose her powers again, and all would be doomed.

Lilith sighed. "No pressure, though."

(X)

A twelve year old girl stumbled as she climbed rocks and debris. The rest of her family stood above her on top of what used to be their home. Her father teetered carelessly on the edge of the rubble as he reached down for her hand. When she touched his fingertips, she slipped and slid a foot down the rubble. Her right shoe fell into the flood waters that had decimated the neighborhood. Acrid vapors and bubbles rose from where the shoe had fallen into the sea of acid that was once water. Skeletons of people and beasts floated by in the festering street. The father leaned further, but he could not reach her without falling over himself. The girl reached up again, but the piece of rubble she was holding on to was beginning to loosen.

In desperation, the father began searching for something he could extend for her to grab. His attention, and everyone else's, was diverted to a low roaring in the sky. Fearing another meteor strike, the father stood and fell back against the pile of rubbish.

A large flaming orb fell in front of him and stopped on the heap. Dante stood as the flames died around him. He pointed to the top of the pile without looking to telegraph what he was preparing to do. Then, standing on air, he reached down and pulled the girl up. He literally tossed her over his shoulder. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she flailed as she landed on top of her mother on what used to be the roof. Still not looking back and ignoring the gratitude, Dante was engulfed in more flames as he flew off towards the center of the city.

(X)

The accidental son of Ariel and Koromos waved his hands in the air. The lava beneath him rumbled as an island of rock appeared in the fiery river. He lowered onto the monolith as it lifted itself in the midst of fire. Dressed all in black, he sat on the rock with his legs crossed as smaller islands appeared at random along the street. The Idda Corrof glowed in his chest as he gathered its power. The air around him rippled as he consciously ripped it to shreds. Thunder clapped and roared around him, then suddenly fell silent. He listened intently for hidden messages in the air.

He was startled by a rumbling in the air. It wasn't one of his own. He stood and turned to challenge the invader. He leaned back in surprise as the Yamato pierced his neck. As Lilith dropped to the monolith, the force of her momentum shook the stone and left footprints. She quickly stood and yanked the sword free. The creature fell forward as he rushed to get a little distance. He jumped onto another monolith.

Unimpressed, Lilith asked, "Do you have a name?"

He rubbed the wound as it closed between his fingers. "You can call me Koran. You?"

Lilith raised the Yamato until the blade was under her nose. "You can call me Goddess or Sangraal."

"I'd rather not." Koran raised his hand and wiggled his fingers. The lava beneath them bubbled as if something were breathing in it. "Sangraal? Holy Blood? Your blood is anything but holy."

"That is only your opinion." Lilith raised the Yamato to her face as if to prepare for a strike. Then she suddenly stopped as she got a sense of sudden danger. At the last possible moment, she jumped back and landed on another monolith. Before Koran could jump after her, he was blinded by an instant blast of light. He lost his balance and fell into the lava river. When the light died, Dante was standing where Koran had been.

"That sucks," Lilith said as she leapt to her father's side. "He's trying to take the easy way out." Lilith looked at him sideways when he didn't answer. "What happened to you?"

She didn't know if he would have answered. Before he could open his mouth, the lava bubbled again. They watched Koran rise from the hot river. As he came up, they saw a monstrous head raise up beneath him. He was standing on a scaly, almost crystalline arachnid shaped creature with eight jointed legs. A scorpion tail rose behind it.

"Meet my new pet," Koran called to them. "It used to be a Phantom, but I upgraded it."

"I'm impressed," Dante muttered as he raised his fist. "I call the little one."

"Not a chance." Lilith raised her own fist for a quick game of Rock Paper Scissors. She played Paper, but Dante played Scissors. "Damn."

"I call the little one," he repeated.

Lilith quickly shook her head before vaulting towards the creature. Koran threw himself from the creature's head as she reached for Tiamat and Marduk. Before she actually reached the Phantom, she felt the air around her warp and press against her. Her ears popped as the air suddenly exploded, and they disappeared from the Earth.

(X)

Lilith landed on an obsidian floor. Her boots echoed into the surrounding emptiness. The sky was dark blue and decked with stars. A large burning star hovered over the horizon. Lilith closed her eyes as she strained to listen. A low rumble rolled beneath her feet. The pitch increased until it became higher than her father's devil wings' whistling. She opened her eyes the instant something under her shot her into the air. She flipped out of the way as an obsidian pillar ruptured from the ground. Three other pillars appeared from the ground around her. They were connected by a large fence of chains to form a cage.

Lilith kneeled to prepare for a leap to the top of the fence, but the Phantom appeared from above. On four legs, it landed above the cage. It tottered as the four legs held it unsteadily on the pillars. It held the other four legs in the air in an absurd balancing act. A growing shadow appeared from the Phantom's abdomen and quickly grew. Lilith raised Tiamat and Marduk and released a barrage of bullets. She cursed when she realized the shadow was falling towards her. It burst into glowing dust before falling upon her. She jumped to avoid the debris. She landed with the Yamato in hand as the shadow debris glowed and formed into goat beasts.