Hey yall! New chapter here!
Now, fair warning, this is a purely IF oriented chapter, with some Stefan stuff mixed in. It is also a purely action oriented chapter, which means a lot of high paced combat, basically one big action scene. Just warning you now. Also, IF's powers will be delved into a bit more, and we'll see how Stefan measures up to the rest of the cast, though he likely won't be a part of the main cast.
Anyways,
On with the story!
Chapter 84 - Mutations, sword and Herald
Okay.
Now that she was fighting this thing herself, holding it off while Stefan went inside that Armoury to retrieve whatever he wanted to retrieve, IF had to admit to herself.
She could understand now, the difference between a Herald and a Bloodletter.
Before, she just assumed that Heralds were basically Bloodletters whom were given positions of power and that's it. They would be no stronger than their brethren and she'd be able to take one down. After all, taking out their brethren was nearly a piece of cake for her once she got over how utterly twisted they looked. Aside from some new headgear, a weapon radiating power, and a height difference compared to the average height a Bloodletter had, surely things wouldn't be too difficult for someone like her. It would make sense to assume that the Heralds of Khorne would be just as simple to take down, right? Well, those were her thoughts, her opinions, on the situation beforehand…
Which were knocked out of her from the first hit that it got in on her… seconds after the fight begun.
Heralds had their powers for a reason, IF realized from that moment on, and that made them a HELL of a lot different compared to normal, average Bloodletters. According to Stefan, these variants of Bloodletters got their titles as Heralds through a particularly vicious tournament of blood, guts and gore, and the winners would be elevated up to a Herald with their Hellblades gaining powers from the transformation. Maybe she had been a tad arrogant back there, letting her powers get to her head and make her think that these things wouldn't be able to harm her given her exact nature. Through assimilating various monsters to make her weapons, it sort of made her feel like she was on top of the world. But, the moment she clashed with the Herald of Khorne before her, that instance cut her pride and arrogance down to size.
'Note to self: NEVER underestimate the Demons species…' she thought to herself in irritation. 'Jeez, if dad were here, I'd never hear the end of it from him, that was one of the first lessons he'd taught me when he began my training.' She couldn't help but think that about her father, when she barely dodged the side swing from the larger version of a Hellblade, one that created an air blast that left a deep, six-foot-wide fissure behind her going in the same direction it swung. Geez, that weapon looked, and was, dangerous. 'The moment a Mercenary got cocky with their abilities, then they already lose before they even make the first move on their target.'
Jumping back, IF barely managed to avoid the Hellblade's overhead slam, a large blast of demonic power erupting around the weapon to form several pillars. The pillars managed to create a shock-wave that sent her further back, however the brunette managed to stab her primary weapon: her right arm in Axammer form, into the ground enough to stop it. Only, in the next second as IF looked up, her eyes widened when she saw how the Herald had already closed the distance between them. 'So fast!'
"Guh!"
A hand, equipped with long talons, grabbed onto her neck and ensnared it in a cobra-like grip. The brunette gasped and heaved as she struggled to get the hand off him, reverting her arms into their armored claw forms to tear away at the limb holding her. However, it might as well have been a freaking rock with how little she was able to dig her claws in, much to her frustration. She never even got a chance to exclaim this frustration as the Herald raised her up high before slamming her onto the ground headfirst, with the strength of a train ramming into a wall.
It was thanks to her BOW powers that her skull hadn't cracked open.
Raising her into the air again, the Herald held her before its facial features, rearing its head back before letting out a loud roar. IF cringed as the sheer volume the roar had practically shattered her ear drums, making the virus within frantically try to repair them to their optimal capacity. However, to her horror, this only allowed the roar to re-shatter them once it was done, leading to a constant struggle between destruction and creation.
Luckily, this only lasted for like 3 minutes, though to her it felt much longer. Afterwards, it slammed her into the ground face-first this time, before tossing her away like a rag-doll. It threw its sword after her, intending for it to impale her gut and, quite possibly, spill out her intestines like some sorta gory splendor show. However, the brunette managed to recover in mid-air, kicking the Hellblade away from her while flipping backwards, landing in a crouch.
The Herald did not like that. Not one bit. It growled in frustration at the lack of gore, before it threw its hand to the side, holding it out towards its Hellblade. The weapon was motionless at first, but then IF saw how it trembled, before shooting out the ground and back into its waiting hand. "Tch, well ain't that helpful…" she muttered under her breath. Seriously, does this guy have all the tricks or what?
She didn't get more time to think, as the monster already closed the already short distance in one big burst of speed, swinging at her head. After she raised her Axammer to block it, the Herald constantly hacked and slashed away at her in brutal, ruthless and unrelenting fury. It moved so fast, so fast in that there was barely a millisecond between each strike, that IF barely blocked each strike without being totally overwhelmed.
Eventually however, her luck ran out when a particularly vicious strike turned out to be a feint, and she had her entire right hip torn to shreds by a thrust from the demonic Hellblade. IF gasped, pain coursing through her from the wound like the hot Hellfire that Nico commanded. She stumbled back, clutching her side with an unholy grimace on her lips. She could already feel the demonic energy from that attack entering her, and like what happened with Noire, she could feel herself weakening tremendously from the blow.
'Tch, a DPU's energy is usually poisonous to a CPU… but I guess that can be applied to anybody that the wielder doesn't like, huh?' The woman thought as she felt her C Virus already going into action, enclosing the area with the damaged Biomass like a quarantined Bio-hazard. That'd stop the poisonous energy from spreading and festering through her bloodstream, at least. Though, She doubted that an ordinary virus would have as much ease doing this as the C Virus did, or rather, THIS Strain considering it was infused with A DPU's power beforehand.
IF once again, got no room to breathe as the Herald was already on her with an overhead smash. She raised her Axammer to block, only to cry out when the Hellblade shattered the limb into many pieces. Pain shot up her arm as IF screamed in pain, something that only served to fuel the creature's hunger for blood, guts, gore and Skulls. The C Virus rushed to fix the damaged limb, as IF quickly formed her blade to parry, not block, the next incoming set of attacks.
Barely, she managed to hold her ground long enough for her Axammer to be repaired, and once it returned to its full function, the brunette instinctively became made aware of the C Gene inside her increasing the density of the cells within it to strengthen its defenses. The brunette then shifted her blade into another Axammer, allowing her to dual wield them as she fought back against her opponent.
Raising her right Axammer, IF blocked one swing and deflected it away from her while swinging her opposite weapon. The creature parried her strike, going for a series of rapid thrusts that came down on her like a meteor shower. IF gritted her teeth, trusting her instincts with her life here as she waded between the strikes. It never got any easier, as one clean strike would spell doom for her.
Didn't help that each strike was empowered by demonic energy, which was a HELL of a lot more violent and primal than the energy CPUs seem to use. She remembered it being called Share Energy, or Shares if one wanted to shorten it further.
One such demonic energy-empowered strike came at her right shoulder. Instead of blocking or parrying, IF sidestepped it as the energy launched from the Hellblade like it was an attack all on its own, shooting through the air like a beam. The chaotic energies barely managed to singe her skin layer, however they didn't get inside and that was the thing IF counted on the most.
Though, if she didn't think of something to stem the tide soon she would likely find herself on the receiving end of that Hellblade soon enough.
Close combat seemed to be its specialty, and it had ways of keeping her up close to it. That demonic Hellblade definitely had the danger vibe going for it, so she had to be wary of its potential. Even now, she could hear the voices in her head, voices coming from the Hellblade itself. All of the souls tat it had claimed, all screaming and moaning in eternal torment within the twisted structure. It sent shivers of dread down her spine, fear coursing though her blood at what her fate would be if she were to meet her end here.
She couldn't allow that to happen, not yet.
There were still things she had to do, things she had to see.
For one, she had to figure out what the heck was going on with the whole plot unfurling around her and the Party. With the Demons, the Abnormals, hell even that strange witch lady who seemed to love causing trouble. Though I had been a while since the Party had last seen her, their first meeting definitely left an impression on them. Especially Nico, what with his experience in fighting Abnormals, as well as the many shitty things he'd seen in his life. But, what IF wanted to do most of all, was figure out what she felt for the male.
With how she had been here for a while, it had given her time to think, think about what she felt for the male. Stefan's words echoed in her mind, like that all too naggy grandmother breathing down your neck about issues that you should have dealt with long ago. 'It takes a LOT to get through those barriers he puts up around his heart, and from what I can tell from your story it seems you girls have only breached one of them.'
That just sounded like a challenge. A particularly daunting challenge, but a challenge nonetheless. Honestly, as a woman, she didn't feel like she should give in that easily, especially if what she was feeling was true. If she DID like Nico that way, then she'd have to get her game on and fast before the other girls got their claws into him first. Still, it wouldn't do for her to think on these things in the middle of a battle, so she focused back into it…
Only to see a blade nearing her face.
Inside the Armoury, Stefan cursed under his breath as he frantically searched for whatever it was that he was trying to find.
'Where is it?! Where did they-?!'
The man had been searching for what felt like an eternity for this mystery item, spurred on by how the sounds of combat raged on from behind him, between IF and that accursed Herald. He had to hurry, he didn't want IF to be alone out there for any longer than necessary while fighting that thing. He may not know the full extent of those powers she possesses, but he DID know that Heralds were brutal fighters, and their Hellblades constantly crackled with their violent demonic energies. Also, when they struck you, it was like they were striking away at your very soul in an attempt to suck it up into a prison full of torment and agony.
He had to hurry, he had to support his comrade! He would not lose anyone else to this madness! Never again!
'Whoa, shit!'
The brunette cursed in her mind as she flipped sideways, spinning into a slash to the Herald's back to sent it to the ground. The creature however, used the momentum to get into a handstand, and push itself back into the air taking its Hellblade with it. The brunette BOW furrowed her brows as she glared at it, her eyes shining with hatred for the creature. She raised her Axammers, her only weapons able to stand up to it in close combat, before she began to morph.
Her Axammers reduced themselves to liquefied oozes, splitting into six before reforming into her 6 Tentacles for each arm, making 12 in total. From her back, her 4 pixie wings manifested, spreading out in a magnificent splendor. This would be her plan for the time being, to focus on mid to long-range attacks until Stefan got his ass into gear and got back out here. She had no doubt that she'd be unable to hold it off indefinitely, that would be an impossibility with her current level of strength.
This guy definitely was one of the toughest enemies she'd faced in a long time. Monsters? Peh, she'd take them down in her sleep. Abnormals? Okay, slightly trickier, but still doable. Demons like the Herald? Oh, pure challenge right here. None of her Skill attacks had done a thing to this guy, she knew she'd tried them. Not DEMON FLAMES, not LA DELPHINUS. That left her with only her BOW powers, and even then, they'd barely kept her in the fight, or alive for that matter
Maybe it would be time to put some of those newer mutations she'd mentioned back in chapter 51 a try now. It had been some time, and they felt a little different compared to back then, so why not?
IF gave her wings a single flap, and with that motion, an uplift of air was created as she took to the skies. The woman smirked beneath her Armour's mask, her eyes almost glowing with predatory glee as she reared her Tentacles back, then thrusted them forwards. The Herald, after it recovered from its fall, turned responded by doing a mix of pivoting and sidestepping to avoid the Tentacles, slashing away at them whenever it got the opportunity. In about 5 minutes, IF's Tentacles were torn down to half their lengths by the strength behind the Hellblade, their severed forms laying limp on the ground as the Tentacles themselves grew new ends. They continued to attack, lunging, slashing and stabbing away like demented psychopaths while the Herald sliced away at them with its Hellblade, sometimes using demonic Energy to enhance its blows while it roared in primal fury.
Though through this fury, IF began to gradually notice things about this creature that she hadn't before.
With all the fury and power it had, its intelligence seemed to be lacking in comparison. Sure she could sense that the creature was intelligent as it targeted the glowing sections of her Tentacles to try and sever them, however compared to the amount of power it possessed the Herald didn't have the same level of intelligence. It was like it was built more to be a soldier rather than a commander.
'According to Stefan, these things were selected without choice and forced to fight their brethren for the chance to ascend into a Herald. That must mean that, in the eyes of Khorne, strength meant the most in battle. Honestly, I can't disagree with that, but I can't agree either.' She thought to herself, frowning beneath her Mask as she reformed her limbs into arms.
The Herald, seeing this, growled as it held its Hellblade in a ready stance. From that growl and its gaze, IF could detect a noticeable ounce of confusion mixed with caution. That alone confirmed her theory that, while powerful, its intelligence seemed to be lacking in comparison. 'Let's see, which of these mutations should I try first… Well, there was THAT one, so I'll try that one first.'
Her first mutation activated as IF reared herself backwards… before diving towards her enemy like a falcon. Her wings tucked in behind her and the Herald reared its Hellblade backwards. It didn't know what she was up to, but those thoughts fell from its mind in favor of primal blood-lust and savagery. She neared the creature in seconds, and the Herald roared as it swung its Hellblade towards her head, intending to decapitate her. As the blade neared her face, time seemingly slowed for both parties. The crackling demonic energies running along the Hellblade's edges neared her, illuminating her features with their orangish red glow.
But, just before they could touch her skin… IF tilted her head downwards.
"Gotcha."
The woman said that one word, that one word as she flew right past the Herald, landing in a kneeling crouch like a knight before a king while the Herald completed its swing. For a moment, the two stayed in their positions, silent. This silence lasted for the longest time, almost stretching on forever…
SIZZLE, SIZZLE, SIZZLE, SIZZLE!
"GRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
…until the Herald let out a pained shriek as it stumbled forwards.
IF stood tall, turning around and grinning beneath her Armour's Mask as the Herald writhed in agony. Her Wings shifted about, unfurling back to their original positions before she retracted them into herself. Her eyes shone with predatory glee, her BOW Instincts roiling at the success her attack gave her. Stumbling about, the Herald covered its face in its clawed hands, dropping its accursed Hellblade. She briefly heard the entrapped souls within that thing cry out in protest, but they didn't last long.
Slowly, it stumbled about and glared at her with hatred, slowly removing its hands to reveal what she had done. If she said that it looked awful before, now it looked much worse, with how its face had multiple third degree burns on it. The cheeks were gone, one could see the inside of the mouth now, with its tongue looking like it had melted in some areas. The space around its eyes looked horrifically charred, and some splotches of scorch marks adorned its twisted horns.
"What?" IF asked, playing the innocent one as she grinned heavily towards her prey. She held her arms upwards, as if to prove her innocence… before she swung them, one after the other, in wide arcs. From her arms, several sharpened projectiles made from blood red Biomass shoot out from them, igniting when in contact with the oxygen in the air before they impacted the Herald. The Herald had done its best to dodge, scooping its Hellblade back into its hands, but eve it could not avoid the surprise assault the brunette launched at it.
'Super-heated Biomass… Basically, I harden my Biomass into projectiles and launch them from my arms, or my mutated weapons. They ignite into flames on contact with oxygen thanks to some volatile chemical reactions the virus created inside me. Never got the chance to test it before now, so I didn't know how well it would work…' IF thought to herself, examining her arms. She remembered what Nico had said to her about her powers early into their training, when he told her about that Hypnos T Type Tyrant that he had encountered back in Raccoon City.
He told her about how the C Virus had the power to evolve itself through natural selection, making her potential for evolution practically limitless. That opened her eyes to the possibility that even though she already had complete mutations like her blades, claws and Armour, all of them still had the potential to change, to evolve further. There would be nothing, NOTHING that would stop her body's cells from getting better and better. Nothing. Under no pretense was she ignoring her enemy or thinking that she'd got this in the bag with this mutation. In fact, IF noticed that the Herald was already charging at her, her attacks having left its face, right shoulder, and the left of its abdomen with third degree burns.
The brunette however, raised her right arm and morphed it into her Axammer, blocking the first slash. The Herald growled, sending the next one her way the next millisecond. She deflected it away from her before slashing at its exposed arm, making it stumble backwards before she jogged into its personal space, her eyes sharp as she twisted on her heels and slammed the blunt side of her weapon into its stomach, knocking the wind out of it and sending it tumbling across the ground.
Using this opportunity, IF swung her Axammer while applying Super-heated Biomass to it. The result, was the Axammer erupting into searing hot flames that burned with a crimson hue. She swung it, launching sharpened projectiles too small to see properly with the flames covering them, towards her opponent. The Herald, refusing to get hit by those again, tolled out of the way and got to its feet. It growled in anger, demonic energy radiating around its body while its wounds started to disappear. In the next second, the injuries it had sustained were gone, like they had never existed.
'Healing?! No, wait, this feels like Nico's DPU healing, it only happens if he has enough energy to spare. Now that I think about it, I can sense that its reserves have dropped drastically since the battle began. Looks like its focusing solely on me and not on Stefan anymore, seeing me as the bigger prize out of us.' IF thought to herself, furrowing her brows as she prepared another one of her mutations for her right arm. Nico had told her and the girls once, after one of their Sparring sessions, that his DPU energy helped him heal his wounds. Wounds that normal humans wouldn't be able to survive. However, that healing wouldn't be activated if he didn't have the reserves to fuel it. Thus, his healing wasn't infinite. It seemed to be the case for this Herald here, as well.
Whelp, that was somethings he could use to her advantage.
IF's Mutation began t activate as her Axammer reverted back into a right arm. In the next second, her arm began to tremble and ripple, a clear sign of the limb undergoing a transformation. The limb began to extend, bulking in size as it started to form segments. The arm's flesh started to shred away, giving leeway to the mutated flesh underneath that soon started transforming into a black carapace-like structure.
When the process completed itself, IF looked at her arm, but before she could look at its appearance she noticed the Herald coming back for more. She reflexively swung her new limb, allowing her to witness how it slammed into her opponent before it could get within a sword's striking distance, knocking it away. She now looked at it, and saw that her arm below her elbow joint, had become a 15-foot-long, black segmented whip shaped like a Scorpion's Tail. The bulbous tip at the end was equipped with 2 long stingers both filled with what IF instinctively knew as explosive, volatile Biomass. She could only imagine what it would be like if she let it enter something.
'Heh, a whip. That'll help me keep this thing off my back while I summon more Mutations…' IF thought while rolling her arm backwards. She whipped the ground behind her, getting a feel for the weapon before she flicked it forwards. The Herald, having gotten into a one-knee crouch like she had earlier, looked up and barely noticed it in time. It ducked its head to avoid the horizontal swipe, and IF circled the Whip around into an overhead smash. It repeated its previous gesture, but then IF followed up with a quick smack to its side. The Herald grunted, pain coursing through its physical form as both heard the tell-tale signs of bones shattering upon contact with the Whip. 'Looks like it has good strength, feels pretty easy to wield too.'
She got an idea, and a feral smile formed beneath her Mask. The brunette retracted her limb back to her, the limb retracting till it was the length of her forearm. So, it could be extended and retracted by her will, huh? Interesting. IF made a mental note of that as she shot it forwards. To her surprise and joy, the two stingers on the end? Yeah, well they apparently could count as fingers or digits on a hand as they grabbed onto the Herald's leg before it could recover. She raised her arm upwards, lifting the Herald into the air before she slammed it into the ground back first, repeating the process over and over.
SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM!
'GODDAMN, this feels almost like therapy.' IF exclaimed in her mind. Every slam, every exertion of strength she put on her new Whip Mutation, it felt like her stress kept gradually leaving her body. All of her issues, all of the tension, all of it got poured into that slamming festival, and while it'd leave the Herald with some wounds to recover, it'd likely leave IF feeling like a whole new woman. Something she prided herself in when she finally felt like she'd done enough, before flicking the Whip away and tossing the Herald into a wall.
All the while, her body activated another stored away Mutation. The back of her waist? That was where THIS Mutation cantered itself around. From there, a bulbous lump of IF's Biomass began to swell there, even going through her coat which was only possible thanks to her clothes being made of the stuff. Remember, IF's body made those clothes when she first became infected. The thing about her Biomass Clothes: Not only did they cover her, but they provided an extra defense, and served as a passable means for her Mutations. Essentially, Mutations that would shred normal clothes, if she wore them at any point, wouldn't be able to break these ones.
Useful stuff, let's be honest here.
Plus, with the way things were, IF felt like she'd be likely to lose those 'normal' clothes faster than she could buy them. It was almost like they were a Mutation all on their own, able to withstand her transformations while keeping her protected. Thus, Biomass clothes seemed much more practical, both in battle and for their Party's budget.
Finally, the bulbous Biomass exploded backwards, extending in the form of 12 long, thin strands of fleshy Biomass. These strands enlarged, sharpened and took on a more plant-like form each, while new nerves were connecting to IF's brain. The brunette BOW shuddered and groaned at the feeling, almost stumbling over as the Mutation applied itself. The first time for new Mutations was always the most intense, THAT had been something she'd learned since day 1 of Infection.
Soon though, the brunette gasped as the Mutation completed itself, so she looked behind her to see what was up. Her eyes caught sight of 12, long, thin Tendril-like appendages, each of them protruding from the back of her waist. Each of them looked like they were made from flattened, sharpened leaves neatly put together, while ending in long, sharp organic tips. 'Holy…'
Back in Lastation, it had been revealed to them, back in that abandoned factory, that the C Virus was a mix of two different Viruses, the Veronica Virus and the G Virus. IF had asked the male about those some time after that whole disaster, and he had informed her of what they really were. For one, the Veronica Virus, AKA the T-Veronica virus, was a Variant of the original Virus that kick-started Umbrella's research into Bioweapons for warfare: The Progenitor Virus. Under the correct conditions, it allowed the host to retain full intellectual capabilities whilst granting them powers that vary depending on the person. Meanwhile, the Golgotha, often abbreviated as G-Virus, was a highly advanced strain of the Progenitor Virus. Possessing fierce, regenerative abilities, the G Virus was capable of essentially granting infected subjects biological immortality.
Combining those two, made the C Virus.
Right now, with what IF had learned, she quickly figured something out about these Tendrils, and that was that, unlike her Tentacles, these things came PRIMARILY from the T-Veronica Virus. Another thing she noticed was how they lacked any of those orange glowing tips. 1 of them slowly lowered itself so she could look at it a bit closer. When she did, the woman's eyes fell upon some faint… tubes within the leaves at the base of the tips. Huh… they looked like they could do something. But… what?
Well, perhaps the approaching Herald that chose to attack her from her left flank would give her an answer.
That halted her thoughts in their tracks, allowing her instincts to take over. IF quickly launched 2 Tendrils towards her opponent's shoulders, for the Herald to sidestep one and slash away the other. Its Hellblade blazed with demonic power, almost reflecting the rage its master emitted for the mortal before them. However, this just allowed the brunette to launch 4 Tendrils at its lower body, thwacking its legs out from under it and resulting in it tumbling across the ground beside her, ending up about 7 meters behind the brunette.
This would be the perfect time to try and see what abilities these Tendrils had. They had to be different compared to her Tentacles, otherwise it would mean she'd just got more of the same thing. IF narrowed her eyes as she called upon the Tendrils' instincts once more, and she already begun feeling something wet gathering beneath their tips. It coursed through them like blood, and in the next moment IF saw how each Tendril pointed their tips at her enemy…
Before shooting 12 long streams of green acidic liquid.
'Holy, corrosive acid?!' IF shrieked in her mind when the liquid landed on the creature's right arm. The reason why she called it corrosive? Whelp, it began eating away at the creature's arm the instant it came into contact with the fleshy limb. The Herald gave a loud roar of both pain and anger, its eyes wide with both those emotions as well while it applied more demonic power to those wounds it had sustained. 'Damn, that's broken as all hell!'
The power to corrode an enemy's Armour, down to the bone. That was what IF had seen from her little experiment. She saw how it ate away at the limb down to said body part, chewing through flesh, organs and the like as if they were nothing but a buffet to it. Her Tendrils had a ranged ability to them just like her blood, something that the brunette remembered all too clearly. She could feel the C Virus within her screeching in glee, glee at how successful its mutation was at harming its most recent obstacle.
That was something she had been noticing more and more often about herself, now that she thought about it. IF, lately at least, had only barely noticed it, but she did. She didn't know when it became so prominent, though, but she had slowly begun seeing her enemies as less of a danger, but more like obstacles for her. Obstacles that posed little threat to her. She still could see her comrades as such, thus could still express worry about them, but when she regarded an enemy she didn't see them as such. Only as a means to evolve herself further, becoming better than what she once was.
It didn't seem so major a change back then, but right now the fact that she was slowly regarding a Herald of Khorne, a deity that could and would have ripped her to shreds if she were still human, as a means to evolve. Not fight. It was like she had gained a splotch of arrogance on herself, or rather, a significantly greater portion of herself had become more viral than human. Honestly, that thought kind of worried her, made her think that she would eventually lose herself to the instincts inside of her. The power of the BOW wasn't something to scoff at, and this little tweak to her mentality she got from it became increasingly apparent the more she used her powers. Hell, it practically did multiple 'jumps' in potency whenever she triggered more and more new Mutations.
She mentally noted to have a talk with Nico about that later. Perhaps he could shed some light on this situation she was developing…
Plus, it may help her discover just how she truly felt about the guy.
The brunette didn't get much more time to think, as the Herald already went on the offensive, closing the distance between them with just as high a speed as it normally did. Like her acid blasts hadn't affected it one bit. The brunette cursed under her breath as she quickly curved her Tendrils in front of her, blocking each swing from hitting her flesh. However, it came at a cost, and that was how her Tendrils would be sliced trough like a hot knife through butter by te vicious Hellblade. Part of her swore she could hear mocking, demented laughter coming from the blade. As if the tortured souls within were laughing in excitement, excitement at having a potential new member to torment till she was just like them in mind, soul and spirit.
Eventually, she was reduced to 2 Tendrils with the rest having been severed by half, thus had to retract inside her in order to regenerate. She could feel Biomass being converted there for that express purpose, though she didn't focus too much on that right now. She quickly li her forearms on fire, superheating her Biomass before swinging her limbs at it. The burning Biomass flew through the air, almost reminiscent of Fireballs, and hit it in the face to knock the Herald backwards . The creature roared as it held its face in one hand, stumbling backwards... only for a few seconds before it lowered its hand, glaring heatedly at her.
All IF responded with was a smirk. "Heh, looks like you got burned." she remarked, mentally grimacing at the horrible pun she had unintentionally made. But hey, at least she was joking about the situation, right? Sarcastic humor, ever heard of it? 'Okay, IF. Stop talking like your breaking the fourth wall. Oh Goddess I'm becoming Nep.' the girl moaned in her mind, bemused. Though, she soon found herself on the defensive once more with how the Herald already came down on her ass like one of those strict drill instructors in Military Boot Camps. It swung down first, then both left and right, before finally ending in a downward thrust. IF managed to parry the attacks, up till the last one which released a force of pure power that sent her flying.
Flipping through the air, IF quickly threw several fiery Biomass projectiles at her opponent, each of them slowing the creature down long enough for her to get back into a favourable position. She held her arms up and shifted them into her claws, eyeing her opponent with the eyes of a Predator. 'Alright, I think I understand the difference between the Tentacles and Tendrils.' she thought, before ducking as once again, the Herald got in close and swung its Hellblade with the aim to decapitate her. She barely dodged that one in time, heck she still managed to feel the violent demonic energies emitted by that infernal blade as it sailed overhead. She then slashed away at its arm in dual swipes, reminiscent of her former weapons, the Qatars, before jumping onto its shoulders and using it as a springboard to get away. She flipped through the air, before twisting and landing on the ground to face her opponent, which had been tumbling from her movement. 'Looks like the Tentacles are the more physically capable, able to attack and defend easily. Meanwhile the Tendrils specialize in mid to long range combat, with their ability to fire Acid blasts at enemies making the formation of proper Armour for them difficult. I'll have to keep a note of that as the fight goes on.'
The problem was, she didn't know how long she would be holding out against this thing. Despite its apparent weaknesses in its regeneration, its physical abilities trumped hers any day. If she hadn't assimilated its brethren beforehand, IF knew she'd have been dead a thousand times over already. Even with that extra Biomass, IF could barely keep up with its relentless attacks, though she had to admit that as time went on, it gradually became easier to read it with how her optic nerves were slowly adapting to its movement. This process, of course, being sped up by the C Virus within her. No only that, but IF did NOT want that Hellblade anywhere NEAR her flesh. The way it had that thrumming aura of pure demonic energy, the pure DANGER coming from it, it made the back of her hairs stand on end. That stuff about obstacles and the change in her mentality? Well, that Hellblade was an exception to that. The C Virus KNEW that it was a threat, unlike its wielder. It was almost as if it were saying that the Herald wasn't the real threat, but the Hellblade was instead.
Something that got proven in the next instance when the Hellblade got itself embedded into the ground thanks to the Herald wielding it. From the blade, a torrent of Demonic power rushed out, creating a massive trail that surged towards her, blowing up a large trail in its wake. IF cursed as she rolled out the way, but her right leg unfortunately got itself torn off her socket, up to the middle of her thigh. IF cried out, gasping as she fell to the ground while sliding to a halt and ending up close to the walkway's wall. She growled and cursed repeatedly, gripping the limb with her hands as she stole a glance towards it. She grimaced harder when she saw the damage dealt to her leg, something that honestly shocked her aside from the anger and pain.
This would mark one of the few times IF had been damaged. In the past, she had tested herself in terms of healing by cutting herself with various tools, or fight varying Abnormal Monsters. Through those times, her injuries had regenerated back to full, and she barely felt a drain on her Biomass reserves. Honestly, the word regeneration didn't really fit, in her eyes anyways. Instead, it felt more like a portion of her Biomass was taken away from the 'core' of her reserves, then sent to the damaged area to spread, like a (pun intended) virus to reshape what was lost. When cuts were made, it LOOKED like healing, but in reality biomass was forming over the damaged area. For blunt attacks, IF's body simply bent itself back together to the proper proportions. So far, she had never felt what it was like to have such a large portion of Biomass leave her reserves to form a new limb, until now.
And just to be clear... she didn't like it ONE FUCKING BIT.
It could be attributed to that deep sensation of loss one felt when a gamer, whom had done so much progress in an RPG game, suddenly died and lost that progress because they failed to save their game beforehand. Depending on how much progress had been made before becoming lost, the feeling of loss would have either a great or small impact on their system. In this case, it was freaking WORSE. The reason? Because, as she feared, the demonic energies within that Hellblade were freaking PAINFUL. They burned through the area around her stump, slowing her down and making it difficult for her body to spread itself back into shape. Not something she wanted to get used to feeling, but a part of her did quip on how that her body, now that it had been exposed to such a strike several times now (the faint cut on her side and now this), the C Virus would be able to forge adaptations and Mutations to deal with this should it happen again.
However, that would have to hurry the fuck up, cause the Herald was already charging towards her. It had taken out its Hellblade, and was now stomping towards her like a deranged psychopath, its eyes alight with glee at the probable 'victory' in its grasp. It raised its massive weapon once it was close enough, prepping to stab her and finish her off.
Though, the brunette wouldn't let herself fall that easily.
Her body trembled dangerously. and the Spec Ops Candidate quickly morphed her Arms into Tentacles, releasing her Tendrils as well. Both Appendage types lunged at the Herald and began whacking away at it, trying to keep it at bay while her body worked on adapting to this demonic energy. She could feel the virus working overdrive to get the body back to its original shape, the shape it needed to be in so it could fight effectively.
'It should hurry the fuck up, I'm not going to wait around while this guy tries to eat my soul or something!'
Nevertheless, IF focused quickly. She knew she was in a bit of a bind, as her mind manipulated her many long appendages to parry, block or deflect the Herald's attacks. The Tentacles would be up in front, whacking away at the Hellblade since they were the physical of the two. Her Tendrils remained on the rear lines, getting in a few Acid Blasts whenever possible. Unfortunately, since there were so few openings, the Herald managed to dodge each blast, and would keep an eye out for the next strike from them while dealing with her Tentacles. Though, thanks to those Tentacles, it couldn't get near her main body since they had already been mutated. Not externally, but internally. She knew this, IF had felt it in her very being. They'd been outfitted with cells that could resist Demonic Energy, though it only applied to them... for now.
For a while, things remained in this stalemate, with the Herald going more and more into a frenzy while IF tried her best to keep the creature at bay. Her Tentacles swayed like violent, savage serpents, madly thwacking away at her opponent's body which were blocked or parried by its Hellblade. The demonic Herald of Khorne would strike with the brutality and blood-lust that its godly master was said to be known for, increasing its ferocity every second with demonic energies overwhelming the physical shape of its Hellblade. Slowly, her body began to push the Biomass out to shape the limb she had lost, having adapted enough to begin purging the demonic energy from her system, but to it couldn't have come fast enough. She wanted to move, to fight, to get out of this terrible situation.
Sadly, things began to get worse for her.
The Tentacles slowly began losing ground as the Herald began pushing towards her position, the Hellblade blasting through the Acid blasts her Tendrils fired while also managing to get hits in on them. The brunette's heart began to thump wildly within the confines of her rib-cage, almost like it was next to hear ears. Her breath became labored as nervousness, anxiety and dread began to rise within her gut, warring against each other to create this chaotic mix of emotions. These emotions fueled her strikes gradually, something that would prove to be more of a bane than anything as she began making sloppy movements, movements fueled by the desire to survive rather than actual planning. Her heart pounded at this point, pumping life essence throughout her body in just as wild a pace while the demonic Herald stomped towards her, advancing through the failing Tentacles and flanking Tendrils.
'Th-This is bad...!' the woman thought as she witnessed the Herald gaining more and more ground on her. Her leg had just barely begun to reshape itself into its original form, and her appendages had already lost half their ground. She quickly commanded the Tendrils with her mind to focus on its lower body while the Tentacles were to focus on its upper body, most importantly its face. Hopefully that would slow it down some, and when her appendages acted upon their orders her idea worked. Sort of. It didn't slow down as much as IF had hoped, in fact it barely slowed down at all. It was like it had sensed what she was feeling deep inside, the fear, dread and desperation, feeding from them and getting closer to her like a fly would a bright light. 'If I don't do something...!'
"Hey, you there! Foul Demon, get away from her!"
'... Huh?'
SMACK!
"GUUUUOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!"
IF felt a gasp leave her lips when she saw what looked like a Hammer, a Hammer made from this strange, golden energy come flying out of nowhere and hit the Herald right in the face, sending it into a bewildered, disoriented state with how hard it hit. She didn't know why, but that energy felt oddly comforting to her right now, like the warm embrace of a parent cradling their child who had a nightmare through the night. The Herald cried out in pain, feeling the golden Energy surge through its head and utterly wrecking its shit just like what IF's Acid did to its lower body… which was still healing by the way. It gave the Tentacles the opportunity to do what they did best, slamming into its chest to send it flying across the walkway. This left their wielder safe for the time being, safe enough to return to her 'healing', somethings she took solace in. Though, still...
'Whoa, what the heck? Where did that…?'
Slowly, IF turned her head to the entrance to the armoury. At this point in the game, she had honestly forgotten that she was meant to be stalling for time in place of learning about her newer Mutations. This objective though, soon returned to the forefront of her mind when she saw a familiar person standing by the entrance, glaring heatedly towards the Herald. However, when she saw him, IF almost backpedalled in shock, her eyes wider than dinner plates as se barely even recognised the person there. "S-Stefan?!" she shrieked, barely able to express her shock right now.
The reason? Stefan Von Kessel, Captain of the Ostermark Order… looked like a whole new man.
Gone was his rags and his 'prisoner' feel to him, replaced by a man who had the resolve to shake entire mountains. To topple Celestia and even stand up to the Goddesses themselves, possibly even prevailing. His light blue eyes, they shone with a strength that made what he showed her before look like a pebble in comparison. Before, they were filled with weariness, fatigue and a lack of sleep. Now? They looked like they'd gotten the best sleep of their entire lifetime. His hair was no longer that unkempt, scraggly mess that it had been before. it now looked like a near-bald cut, sporting a ginger tint to it to let his blue eyes shine in their full glory.
His appearance had also changed, no longer did he wear those rags that were once clothing. Now, he wore this excellent golden and crimson Armour that concealed him from the neck down. Its shoulder pads were golden, and larger than the golden plate-covered arms that ended in large matching bracers. The hands were concealed by black leather gloves. The torso had a crimson colored tunic and silver colored Armour plates with golden outlines. Around the waist, there was a silver plate belt, with golden outlines and crimson jewels embedded into it. On the legs, were some silver-plated leg guards, ending in matching Greeves.
All in all, the man had this look of a vindictive gladiator going on about him, and that sword he was holding only helped this image.
"Shit, dude… have you had a makeover?" IF couldn't help but ask as her eyes wandered over his form. Not to be confused with checking him out, she just looked the armour over as she began to get similar vibes to those from Nico's DEATHSTROKE Armour. 'Wait, I'm pretty sure that the Ostermark Order, thanks to its political power, has access to similar technology to the Spec Ops. So, him having Armour like that makes some form of sense.' She added in her head.
Still, even with how long he spent in there (something IF hadn't been keeping track of admittingly, in favor of not getting skewered by a demonic Hellblade) could NOT have given him enough time to get a haircut or a new wardrobe. The Armour she could understand somewhat, they could have had it in that Armoury alongside that strange Sword. But the haircut? the lack of fatigue? Nope, nope she didn't get that. She wanted some answers from him, and IF had a strange feeling that it was due to that sword for some reason. She didn't know why, but just looking upon that blade gave her the feeling of being someone who'd been chosen for a great honor.
Stefan regarded her with a raised brow and a small upturning of his lips. "Well, we can talk later, right now we have ass to kick, don't worry." he told her, pointing his sword towards their opponent. IF looked back to it, and soon she had only 2 things to say right now.
"Alright, yeah."
With that, the duo charged towards the Herald, whom roared as it raised its Hellblade which thrummed with demonic energies before it charged back. Stefan charged forth, taking the close combat role as he held his sword out for a slash. As he closed the distance, the weapon's orb-like thing began to crackle with golden energy, energy that covered the blade's form as Stefan activated a Skill. "Taste the wrath of my Ashbringer! CRUSADER'S WRATH!"
With the sword, the Ashbringer, coursing with energy, Stefan slashed at the creature's chest as he ran past it. The attack had been too fast for the Herald to avoid, and thus when the man stopped behind it, there was a glowing golden strike on its chest, one that erupted into an explosion of golden energy. The result? The Herald growling in pain as its chest gained a long, wicked looking scar diagonally along its chest.
Stefan didn't stop there as he twisted around on his armoured Greeves, and charged towards the creature's back. Ashbringer crackled with energy, energy that shone with its vibrance as Stefan activated another Skill of his. "There is more to where that came from! TEMPLAR'S VERDICT!" He bellowed, before sliding to a stop, right befre its back as in a sword's range. Rearing Ashbringer back, the man made several rapid thrusting motions. He managed to stab about 10 times into the demon's back until it twisted around with its Hellblade raised for an overhead strike. Stefan however, smirked as he twirled on one foot, avoiding the blow and ending up at its rright rear flank. With the momentum of his twirl, the man did a diagonal slash, causing the Herald to stumble as Ashbringer's energy burned it from the inside out.
Furious, the Herald allowed its bloodlust to fuel its adrenaline, iggnoring the burning in its wounds caused by that sword as it spun with a reverse slash, one that Stefan had Ashbringer block for him. The combination of his LIGHT DRIVE Skill, combined with his sword's power, allowed him to endire the strike witout being blown across the wide walkway. The two locked themselves together, entering a deadlock as Ashbronger contested with the Hellblade for dominance. The two blades constantly released their individual energies as long sparks, crackling through the atmosphere while their wielders struggled to overpower one another. Stefan mentally thanked good fortune that he'd activated his Drive Skills early on, as things like this who were leagues above him in the physical department would have smased him to mush if he didn't have it.
However, he had to give his comrade a chance to get a hit in, therefore Stefan pumoped Ashbringer with his energy alongside its own, allowing him to push the enemy back and break the deadlock at the same time. He then raised Ashbringer to the ceiing above, making to activate a Skill until he saw the Herald doing something of its own. The creature stabbed its Hellblade into the ground, and if it weren't for his battle-hardened instincts Stefan probably would have perished to what came next. The Hellblade pulsated as it released a wave of demonic energies, energies that came at him like they did to IF earlier when they chopped off her leg.
Fortunately, Stefan had other Skills he could use aside from offensive ones.
"DIVINE SHIELD!"
Raising Ashbringer, the golden orb pulsed with power as an equally golden barrier manifested around him, forming a protective dome-like shape around him with its size being that of a small house. The attack collided with his barrier, and Stefan smirked when he saw how it couldn't brea through it. The energies fuelling the attack simply vanished moments later, allowing him to lower the barrier... right before the Herald closed the distace between them and swung at the cntre of hsi face,intenting to cut through it horizontallty.
'Shit!'
The man reacted on instinct, bending backwards so the Hellblade sailed harmlessly over his head. He then twirled around on his feet, like he did before, as he activated another one of his Skills. "JUDGEMENT!" Ashbringer, pulsating with power, was swung in a reverse upward swing reminiscent of a wheel, and the energy it was enveloped by? It released a large wheel made from it that was the size of a small house. the energy attack sailed towards the Herald of Khorne, which held its Hellblade to launch one of its own attacks against it. The two energies once again clashed, this time temporarily as they each erupted into an explosion of glorious splendor. Unfortunately, the Herald still suffered some damage as it got hit in the chest with a few stray golden energy streaks.
It got no respite however, as IF soon came in with a strong strike of her own, slamming all 12 Tendrils into its wounded chest before it could begin healing. The Herald stumbled backwards, its centre of balance completely open to them. However, it didn't remain that way as the Herald back flipped onto its feet once more, throwing its Hellblade like a boomerang towards her.
'Shit!'
The brunette barely dodged it by ducking her head just seconds before it could skewer her, lying on her front with her Tendrils spread across the ground. She then raised them up and slammed them back down, propelling her into the air when the Herald almost body slammed her, its form being larger than hers thus it would have crushed her under its weight.
Fortunately, this gave her the chance to aim her Tendrils and start peppering it with Acid blasts. They came down upon it like rain, peppering its body before it could have a chance to dodge. The Herald growled and roared in pain, feeling the Acid eat away at its body with the ravenous appetite of a Piranha. Reaching out, it recalled its Hellblade back to its waiting hand and slashed upwards, forcing IF to fall back as she landed in a crouch position.
Now that it was no longer being beset by acid blasts, the Herald began to get up, however thanks to those blasts it found this simple action to be one of the most difficult things it had to do in its life in this world. Its legs had been badly corroded by the acid, said acid having eaten down to the bones and the tendons. It was a miracle that it could even move them at this point, even though it was already furiously pumping demonic energy into its legs to speed up the healing process. Though, it would not be quick enough, unfortunately for it.
Seeing that it was vulnerable, both IF and Stefan glanced at each other, seemingly communicating through words alone. This lasted for a brief instance though, and at the end the two shared a brief nod of understanding between each other. IF raised her right arm and formed her Axammer, retracting her Tendrils and releasing her Wings. Stefan went and yelled out "LIGHT DRIVE!" as he became engulfed within a bright golden aura. What was interesting about his aura, compared to the other Drive Skills, was that his formed a set of wings made from pure Golden energy. Purely cosmetic in practicality, so he couldn't fly with them, but nonetheless they did help enhance certain parts of his Skillset more than others.
With their powers ready, both IF and Stefan took off towards the Herald, said Demon letting out a roar of defiance as it swung its Hellblade, desperately trying to strike its opponents down. Sadly, the brunette deflected the blow as Stefan flew by, Ashbringer already going in and decapitating the beast at the head. The now headless corpse… fell to the ground and dispersed into nothingness.
It was over...
They had won, at last.
Chapter end!
Whelp, here you go ladies and gents.
I finished yet another chapter of content. For the next chapter will be the Halls of Agony Level 3, then the chapter afterwards will have the Chamber of Suffering where the two groups will FINALLy meet up. You have no idea how excited that makes me, and I hope to do this next couple chapters justice. But fist, here's a little something extra hat I said i'd be doing:
IF's second BIO!
NAME – IF
AGE – late teens
RACE – Human (Formerly)
BOW (Current)
GENDER – Female
OVERVIEW – IF is a Guild Agent who encounters Neptune and her party when the Monster Cave Dungeon is the victim of a Banshee Infestation. She then is recruited by Neptune and Nico, whom she had encountered previously. During the fight against an empowered Ganache, IF is infected with the C Virus, forcing Nico to save her life by infecting her with another strain of the C Virus, enhanced by his own Demonic Energy, turning her into a BOW with full control over her mental faculties.
HISTORY – Born from a one-night stand between her father, a Mercenary, and her mother, a fashion designer, IF spent her childhood wandering from place to place. Her father had taken her under his wing and started training her once she was old enough to fight. He taught her many Skills a Mercenary would need, such as combat, survival in the wilds, etc. When she was 8, her father was killed while on a Mission, which led her to follow in her father's footsteps and become a Mercenary.
MUTATION – IF's mutation is one that varies, she can control her body down to the cellular level, allowing her to make weapons out of her body parts, form new appendages as well as change her appearance to better bland into her surroundings. She can also morph into her 'true form' which allows her to use the Virus's full unrestrained power. Nico has correctly told her that her powers are aided by what he calls the 'C Gene' which promotes the growth of stronger cells and killing off the weaker ones, a 'survival of the fittest' mentality.
Tentacles - A set of insectoid Tentacles, their thickness rivalling that of an average bodybuilder. They numbered at 6, and had sharp glowing orange tips. Each one protruded from her shoulder, having replaced her entire arm up to the shoulder socket.
Tendrils – Brought into being by the T-Veronica aspect of the C Virus, IF generates 12, long, thin Tendril-like appendages, each of them protruding from the back of her waist. Each of them looked like they were made from flattened, sharpened leaves neatly put together, while ending in long, sharp organic tips. The difference between the Tentacles and the Tendrils is that the Tendrils come from the T-Veronica side, while the Tentacles come from the C Virus as a whole. Unlike the Tentacles though, the Tendrils didn't have glowing orange areas anywhere, as well as possessing the ability to spew acid from the base of their tips onto their foes that would melt them into goo.
Blades – when her blade mutation is applied, IF inner half of her arm remains human. The outer half, plus the hand, becomes a mass of crimson flesh and bone armour, shaped like a ribcage that was a full forearm longer than her true arm. Its shape resembled an overly muscular limb, with the point after the hand being where her limb shifted its shape to a broadsword-like shape. It had a single metallic edge from the point where her hand used to be to the tip, the edge straight for the most part till it curved into a diagonal tip.
Claws – A set of metallic claws that grow around her wrist and form 3 10-inch-long fingers.
Whip – to better engage in mid to long-range combat, IF's C Virus taps into the G Virus aspect and mutates her arm below the elbow joint into a 15-foot-long, razor sharp whip. The limb looks like that of a long, black Scorpion' Tail, ending in a bulbous tip that was equipped with 2 curved stinger-like appendages. It is primarily a blunt tool; however, the bulbous tips can be used for stabbing as well. The Stingers can inject some explosive Biomass particles that, after a few moments, culminate and detonate, killing the creature or removing one of their limbs depending on where they are stabbed. They are also movable digits, allowing them to grasp onto objects, furthering their diversity.
Axammer – An arm that looked normal down to the elbow, save for several Tendrils made from flesh wrapping around it and going into the shoulder. Below that though, was a long, large organic shaft, as large as a bodybuilder's arm. At the tip, there was a large Axe blade, about 8 feet long and 6 feet wide. The blade was double tipped with a large crescent edge, a single notch next to the bottom tip. That same tip of the Shaft had a large shell-like structure, meant for bashing and crushing.
Armour – IF can form an armour that covers her entire body, save for the top portion of her face in black armour, with many fractions. It enhances her physical abilities further than her BOW traits could alone, and she can have it cannibalize her body to enhance her movements further.
Wings - 4 dark green reptilian wings made from her flesh, the lower ones being shorter than the upper ones.
Superheated Biomass – Thanks to the T-Veronica aspect of her powers, IF is able to heat her own Biomass molecules to a hardened state and shoot them as projectiles. She can either do it from her limbs, or any of her mutations. Thanks to this superheated Biomass, she can also perform various feats such as shooting fireball-like projectiles from her arms, or heating her own touch so that it can burn her opponents. IF is able to unlock orher means of utelising this ability the more she uses it.
Regeneration – IF's body has the ability to fix its injuries, no matter their severity. In the past, she had tested herself in terms of healing by cutting herself with various tools, or fight varying Abnormal Monsters. Through those times, her injuries had regenerated back to full, and she barely felt a drain on her Biomass reserves. To IF, it felt like Regeneration didn't fit the way her power worked. Instead, it felt more like a portion of her Biomass was taken away from the 'core' of her reserves, like an animal taking bits of its gathered food for eating during winter hibernation, then sent to the damaged area to spread, like a (pun intended) virus to reshape what was lost. When cuts were made, it LOOKED like healing, but in reality, biomass was forming over the damaged area. For blunt attacks, IF's body simply bent itself back together to the proper proportions. In case of more lethal injuries, IF's Biomass reserves detach a significantly larger portion compared to smaller scale injuries to recreate the lost shape. This presents a weakness to her healing factor, if she were to lose too much of her Biomass reserves, IF wouldn't be able to use her powers, at first. If the situation persists, and she doesn't gain sustenance soon, then she loses some manner of control over herself and targets anything she could get her hands on that is organic. To combat this weakness, her body has developed a specialised Mitosis that helps procreate new Cells for Biomass, however it is only a short-term ability. Her body generally relies on external nutrients, hence why she sometimes sinks to a more predatory mindset at times.
There.
Now, Bio's WILL be updated with newer abilities once they manifest, so make sure to pay attention to any author's notes that appear. Think of ths feature as part of those gamer fics you've likely seen around in franchises like PJO and Highschool DXD.
Now then, before we finish up, i'll present to you another Special Event, been a while since I've done these.
Special Event - Classes on Umbrella
Once again, the classroom for the story is paced with cast members, both known and unknown. Like before, those that had been revealed already were hown, while the ones that haven't are shrouded by sillhouettes.
Again, in walks Teacher Nico, holding a clip board and looking as serious as ever when he does these things. "Good day class." he spoke,silencing the cast s he stood before the podium. Behind him, the symbol of Umbrella appeared in all its twisted spendour. "In today's class we will be going over one of the corporations thathas been mentioned quite a lot in the story, but never actually seen: Umbrella, Avenir's former rival company."
A hand was raised straight into the air. "Um, Teacher DEATHSTROKE, sir, what exactly is Umbrella?"
"Well, its been a while since we've tackled that subject, so I doubt the readers remember." Nico remarked thouhhtfully, before looking down at his clip board annd nodding to himself. Alright then, lets start fromthe beginning. Chian herself said this, but Umbrella was a masive corporation with its hands dug in many fields. Such as pharmecutical medidicine as well as medical equipment. They were a well-funded company, business prices were fair, balanced, and the workers were paid handsomely. The ideal picture of a proper company. Almost TOO perfect. Like Chian said, they were 'two-faced bastards' as while they had a good public image, behind that they were secretly researching the use of viral diseases to use as biological weapons. They created many creatures from these experiments, here is some of them." On the board behind him, a series of pictures along with labells appeared briefly. Yet each one had left their mark:
Licker.
Hunter.
Zombie.
Tyrant.
"Geez!" Neptune exclaimed, kicking the air beneath her desk with her feet. "Those things look ugly as heck!"
The rest of the Party, scattered throughout the classroom, agreed.
"They do, and they behave as such too." Nico replied solemnly. "The Umbrella's origins start with its founding members: Ganache, as you all know, Dr. Oswell, Dr Spencer, the Earl Spencer, Edward Ashford, and James Marcus, who were university classmates. All were virologists with some associations with the eugenics movement either themselves or by association to another prominent figure. Their viral research began about 30 years ago, when Marcus found a specilaied flower deep within Lastation's southern regions, called "Stairway of the Sun", theorizing that it bestowed powers on its consumers via mutagenic viral infection. In a trip to the those southern lands, the fabled flower was discovered in an underground garden and a virus discovered within it. However, the problem for them was that their cultivated versions in their labss wouldn;t et the virus, so they had to bring live samples back to Lastation."
This time, Compa raised her hand. "Um, how did they do that without anyone finding out? Something like that seems a bit big to me." she asked with confusion.
"Thank 2 things: Credits, and bribery." Nico stated dryly, and everyone else frowned at his words. Those two were infamus weapons in their own right, definitely. "In any case, requiring significant funding beyond their financial links to bring about their eugenics dream, Spencer formed the company known today as Umbrella Pharmecuticals on behalf of Ashford, Ganache, and an indifferent Marcus and established a base in the Ndipaya garden so Progenitor samples could be transported over to their labs back in one of their Labs in Racoon City instead. Requiring more money, the three agreed to a plan later known as the "t-Virus Project", where they would independently develop strains of Progenitor virus to sell to the military as a weapon. Time passed, and 2 of the founders Marcus and Edward, were killed by Spencer in a bid for power, while Ganache went into hiding. Though, he later resurfaced when he was sure Spencer wouldn't have been looking for him still. Marcus however, managed to spread out from the T irus project before his demise, by having the newly created T Virus abandon its deathly origins in favour of using its mutigenic properties for keeping the hosts alive, albeit in a mentally damaged, canbnibalistic and animalistic state instead."
Images of the Zombies, as well as the animals infested with the T Virus appeared on the board, sending chills down everyone's spines.
"That's so cruel..."
"You can say that again, Compa..."
Compa and IF shuddered at the images shown before they vanished, much to their relief.
"Things began to change for the worse for Umbrella, however. There were spies from other companies suspicious about their activities, spies whom they managed to figure out and silence befor ethey got word out to their superiors. Some of those were Spec Ops Agents from other Nations, which didn't bode well fr Umbrella's pubic relations as one can guess. However, the start of their downfall didn't begin in Racoon City as one might expect, but in Spencer's former Mansion which he had heneforth called the 'Arklay Laboratory', hidden within the Arklay mountains, a rather mountainous region in Lastation that was close to Racoon City. The facility was put on lockdownwhhen it experienced a containment failure, but several "Cerberus" BOWs escaped their cages and ran amok in the mountains, killing and partially-eating several hikers over the next two months and wounding others, who turned into Zombies and killed and ate others. Armed Umbrella teams in the Arklays failed to destroy the BOWs during their attempt to reopen the nearby executive training school. In the end, a group of Lastation Spec Ops Agents, given the codename STARS (Special Tactics and Rescue Service) were tasked with infiltrating the Arklay laboratories to contain the threat, though they were unaware of the dangers lurking inside. Worse still, one of them was a double agent, working for both STARS and Umbrella, whom had all but a couple members survive while the rest were killed off. Reports sated that he was killed later on, though. In the end, only a couple of them survived, the rest being killed off and eaten by the Zombies and Cerberus. They managed to destroy the Mansion and the Laboratory however, thus the virus threat had been dealt with... or so they thought."
IF raised a hand. "I get the feeling that there was more to this Outbreak than meets the eye." she stated with a suspicious frown.
The chibi teacher Nico nodded his head in response to her words. "You're correct, IF. There WAS more going on than just the Outbreak. For you see, at Umbrella's research lab in Racoon City, one of their members was planning to ell their work to the authorities for failing to impress Spencer with his work. His name was William Birkin, and he had developeed a strain of the Prohgenitor Virus into the "G" Virus, something IF should know about considering how it made her C Virus strain possible." Nico explained, gesturing to said Spec Ops Candidate. "In the weeks ahead of the planned link-up, he dumped his T-Virus into other facilities, such as a sewer treatment plant and the recently-opened P-12A facility for processing failed experiments. This resulted in the T-Virus slowly spreading around Raccoon City, which by a week had the Raccoon General Hospital under strict quarantine. Expecting Umbrella to find out about the deal, Birkin paid off The Racoon City Police chief Brian Irons to have the sewers cleared out, allowing a policeman to patrol it and interrupt an Umbrella Security Service (USS) team handling C-4 charges. Made aware to the operation, Birkin released his lab's "Hunter R" Bioweapons, which went on to kill the rest of the research staff and his own guards so as to make himself and his wife, Annette, the only people aware of G-Virus."
Noire scoffed in disgust, crossing her arms under her bosom. The lack of care for human life these people had was disgusting...
"The USS operation went awry when the U.S.S. Alpha Team under Operative Codenamed HUNK - No Neptune, not THAT type of HUNK - shot Birkin during their recovery of "G" and failed to spot he still had a sample in his possession. Afterwards, he injected that sample into himself witht he last of his strength, an act that would inevitably doom an entire city to destruction. Transforming into a powerful monster, Birkin rampaged through the sewers and killed or crippled all but HUNK and destroyed the case they had stolen. This exposed the sewer ecology to the T-Virus which, after a brief but violent competition between rats and giant cockroaches, led to rats fleeing to Victory Lake, Raccoon City's reservoir, and infecting the Raccoon Dam employees, allowing contaminated drinking water to find its way into the city. When Umbrella realised this, they immediately deployed the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasures Service (UBCS) company they had on standby since the first hospital cases with orders to evacuate civilians, with the expectation that the outbreak would be contained with the help of the Lastation military. They also calld in Spec Ops from other Nations, myself and Team RAIL included, to assist with the evacuation. Though this wound up also giving Umbrella the opportunities to test their BOWs in combat with both as well as giving the prototype Nemesis-T Type, as well as the Hypnos T Type and THANATOS, orders to eliminate the STARS survivors, who had attempted to expose Umbrella after the Mansion Incident, as well as the Spec Ops Agents. The UBCS force was eliminated, however, and the Lastation military pulled out of the city to their blockades, abandoning the remaining survivors that failed to be evacuated to their fate. That fate: a Nuke."
Images appeared on the board, showing them the Chaos of the Outbreak first hand. They saw Zombies infesting the streets, feasting ont he living. They saw BOWsrunning amok through those sreets, killing survivors and anything else they deemed a threat. They also saw the Spec Ops as well as the STARS members fighting a losing battle aainst the two T Types sent after them.
"Holy..." Vert whispered, her hands covering her mouth while her eyes shone with silent horror at the sights. "That's just... so brutal..."
Even that mystery brown haired girl looked like she was going a little green.
Neptune shuddered, not liking this ay more than the others, but nothing could compare to the feeling of guilt and failure that Noire felt, watching this. These had been HER people, and she had not been there for them when they were being butchered like animals. Instead she had been up in Celestia, totally forgetting about her Nation as she fought the other Goddesses. More and more, the realisation of how utterly pointless the Console Wars really were began to crop up in her mind.
"There, that should wrap up this lecture. All of you, remember this: We may be fighting monsters, but sometimes the worst of the monsters are actually humanity themselves." Nico stated ominously, before he left the room and the class became abuzz.
