Chapter 92 - Soul Edge PT1
The heat permitting from the molten Magma before, the heat that used to fill the very oxygen in the air with its presence, seemed to be almost non-existent compared to what was filling the air right now. This new, oppressive sensation completely dwarfed the entire atmosphere, making the heat seem fickle and inconvenient. A heavy weight fell onto everyone's chest, an almost dominating weight at that, one which tried to push them to the ground just with the force it exerted alone. Fortunately for them, they had been able to resist the urge to just fall to the ground, but the oppressive atmosphere remained.
All this came… from the new visitor to the party… or rather, an OLD friend Nico had used several times before.
IF eyed the weapon in Nico's hands, a weapon she had not seen in a long time. She actually found it difficult to recall the last time she had felt this weapon's power in the air, with everything that had happened she had completely forgotten about it. Now that it was back though, it was as if it triggered something in her as the brunette felt something click in her mind. In the instance afterwards, she remembered it all: the times, though few, when Nico would have used this particular weapon:
Their first Battle against Arfoire,
Against Black Heart in West Wind Valley,
The last few moments against the Killachine after it revived,
Against the Defiler,
The Ghoul at MS Mountain,
But, most importantly… the many times that they sparred when Nico could fully transform without losing control.
Rolling her eyes, IF couldn't help the remark that formed in her head that contained her typical snarky mannerisms. 'Well, better late than never dude. Was beginning to think you were going soft on us or something.' She thought as she glanced towards Maghda. In that moment, a particularly vindictive side of her couldn't help but influence her thoughts, bringing this particular thought into her mind. 'Though, if this is what I think it is, then that old hag's in for a lot of hurt soon.' She thought with a sly, nigh sadistic, grin on her lips.
Meanwhile, MAGES. and Stefan, the sole members of their little group whom HADN'T seen this particular weapon in use before, remained on edge with the weapon's presence.
'That thing…' MAGES. thought with narrowed eyes as her eyes lingered on it, unable to take them off its imposing, threatening form even if her life depended on it. Fortunately for her, she was not Maghda, so she would be spared this weapon's wrath. The Witch responsible for all this however? Not so likely. At least, that was what she hoped, part of her felt this to be pretty optimistic considering the aura and presence that this weapon excluded. 'It feels like those other weapons, those Devil Arms, that DEATHSTROKE posssses… although, this one seems to have the most monopoly over his soul. Its almost like it has established dominance over the other Devil Arms, like its saying 'I'm the top dog around here, bitches, better remember that!' or something.' I a way, MAGES. considered herself fortunate that she had knowledge of the Devil Ars beforehand, it explained greatly about this weapon's power. As well as how it affected everything around it with its very presence alone. It almost rivalled that of the CPUs weapons, now that she thought about it. The Mad Magician hadn't witnessed it herself, however she did witness it back in her home dimension, and right now this weapon seemed to roar with a power that rivalled, if not completely overtook, the CPUs powers.
Stefan on the other hand, didn't have the same information that the Mad Magician had. When IF told him about her adventures with her party, she said that Nico had a large arsenal of weapons, including ones that held more power than the others, some being more mystical than others. He had the feeling she didn't say everything about those weapons, but hadn't pressed the matter due to everyone having the right to hold secrets. Everyone was entitled to their privacy after all.
Now? That power he could sense from that weapon… even Ashbringer seemed to be on edge with how sinister and wicked it looked.
None of this registered in the weapon's wielder's eyes, however, his eyes just remained raptured on the weapon in his hands.
'This… This is…' Nico could hardly believe what he was seeing right now. It just didn't seem real to him, that he would be using this weapon in this situation. Any other Devil Arm, he could understand, each and every one of them sometimes had an aura similar to this one when he used them. However, this weapon right here? This one dwarfed theirs by a landslide, both in terms of power and also presence. Speaking of that, it felt like the other Devil Arms he possessed seemed almost… docile, right now, like their unrelenting lust for combat had been tamed just by this weapon alone.
He knew this weapon, he knew it all too well…
"Soul Edge…"
Nico whispered the name of the massive greatsword in his hands, a greatsword that he only used in DPU Form. A weapon that he thought was considered part of is DPU Powers, thus could only be used tin that form. He remembered this Sword, its appearance being the same as it was when he first turned into Crimson Soul. The sword's slitted eye shifted about, as if it was looking at its new surroundings before its eye landed on its wielder. The moment it did, the shifting ceased, and it seemed to hold his gaze for what felt to him like an eternity. The sight of the shifting eye definitely caused Stefan to shudder, not that either of the two noticed.
After a second (though to Nico it felt more like an eternity) Soul Edge's eye shifted towards Maghda, and thanks to her being a target for Nico's wrath earlier, it seemed to glower towards her intensely, like she had pissed it off beyond measure. The sword's form slowly but surely began emitting a sinister orangish red aura, an aura that barely communicated the malevolent nature the sword possessed. Its power however, indeed filled their beings as well as the very air itself with dread, anxiety and nervousness. It brought a new level of tension into the atmosphere, one that quickly pushed through the heat in the air and dominated everything. Like the blade just established its presence over everything as the big dog in this battleground. To them, it felt like they were in the presence of a wild animal about to run amok, the chaotic and wild nature of the blade showcased clearly in the bloodlust-filled gaze its eye possessed.
'… Is this what you intended before, Biko?' Nico questioned his demon persona as he gripped Soul Edge with both hands, holding it in a ready stance. He held it in a diagonal angle, with the tip facing upwards while keeping his legs spread evenly, right foot in front of the left. 'Did you know Soul Edge would do this?'
'Indeed. Soul Edge has been the first of your DPU powers to return, Nico, and it had been growing restless with all this demonic power you've been absorbing. I would say more, however there is a lot to discuss, enough that a face-to-face discussion would be the most appropriate. That is not possible currently, however suffice it to say that this form of Soul Edge is available to you, along with every shapeshift you have at your disposal, as well as its abilities. However, it is only at ¾ of its true power, that is the payoff for having it in human form.'
'Alright, got it. Thanks, Biko. I've been wanting to test Soul Edge's power for a while, anyways. Now then, lets fuck this bitch up.'
It almost felt like Soul Edge could hear his thoughts, for the moment he thought that the Sword's power suddenly swelled, its aura growing increasingly erratic as he almost got the sensation that it was laughing madly. Nico felt tempted to laugh with it, but didn't. That was his bloodlust talking, and that would be controlled by him and him alone, not the other way around.
He'd probably take some time to train Soul Edge when he was in human form so he could get used to this, the mental fortitude he had to restrain multiple Devil Arms just barely seemed to be enough to hold the sword at bay.
Looking over to Maghda, Nico glared fiercely towards her, his eyes narrowing as he raised Sole Edge above him. "Everyone, out of the way! Se's mine!" he yelled, making everyone snap out of their stupors from the slight demonic tones in his voice before they each parted ways. That allowed him to slam the sword down, the blade releasing a powerful energy trail that ripped through the platform and raced towards her.
Maghda quickly realised that the power the strike had would not be blocked, so she just as quickly rolled to the side to avoid the strike, and even then, she felt it nick a piece of her foot when it passed her. Luckily, the platform didn't get destroyed from the swing thanks to the Runes carved into it, they had been capable of storing demonic power to fuel the Runes, therefore keeping the mystic properties of random seas of flames active.
Speaking of fiery oceans, one glance downwards and Nico saw how the iron of the section he was on began to light up, almost becoming orange in colour Instincts reacted, and he quickly jumped into the air to land on another section. Just in time too, since the one he'd been one erupted into flames.
Upon landing, Nico raised Soul Edge for another swing, this one horizontal, but instead he held it in a defensive stance when Maghda appeared before him with a swing to his head. The two weapons collided and the resulting shockwaves that followed blew back anyone who was close enough. Namely Stefan and MAGES. while IF had already foreseen this and took precautions.
"Guh!" MAGES. cringed as she barely stopped herself from sliding off the edge into the magma pools below. Just stopped an inch before the ledge too, making her heart pound with the speed and force of a jackhammer. Just an inch more and she'd have fell in and faced a most unfortunate end. She placed a hand on her chest once she regained her balanced and stepped away from the ledge, heaving a sigh of relief. "The hands of fate have once again failed to claim my soul this day… this is indeed quite exhausting. I will need lots of Doc P after this."
Stefan landed beside her, although he'd managed to embed Ashbringer's tip into the platform to stop his movement, so he didn't have NEARLY as close a near-death experience as she did. Nevertheless, he didn't look too good, in fact he looked quite baffled by the amount of power released just then. "That sword must not be of this world, for no holy weapon would have that kind of power." He spoke through laboured breaths. He looked over to where Nico was, and how he was still deadlocked with Maghda's wormwood. He became witness to their breakup, and then Maghda manifesting several balls of Hellfire before shooting them as long homing rays at the male. Said male just swung Soul Edge diagonally and created a wall of similarly coloured Hellfire, blocking them. "In fact, I dare say that is not a holy weapon at all…"
"You're right, it ain't."
Looking over to IF, whom had landed a fair distance away before walking up to them, both Stefan and MAGES. raised a brow in her direction, wondering what she meant by that. "What do you mean by that, IF?"
"I concur with the man of gold and ash, Windwalker of Gamindustri. What is it that you know about that sword?"
"Well…" IF began before wondering what she could say. Not just because they wouldn't likely believe her, but Nico wasn't someone who trusted others easily, and thus telling strangers of his powers would not be considered a good thing in his books, especially without permission. Though she soon figured a way out of this predicament. "That sword's name is Soul Edge, and indeed it is a Demon Sword, however it isn't like the Hellblades and other weapons these guys apparently use. For one, its considerably more powerful than them, trust me I know, me and the girls sparred against it a fair number of times. Its also a sword he can't use unless a condition is met, or that's how it's been before. Now though, not so sure." In the end, IF pursed her lips as she thought back to those times when she'd seen Soul Edge. In all of them, the male had been in DPU form, never in human form. Thus, it stood to reason that he hadn't been able to use it unless he went DDD. Now? Now she was starting to wonder…
No matter. She'd likely only get answers once they were out of this hellhole…
Back to the battle between the two demonically empowered fighters, Nico and Maghda clashed once more, the two trading several wide blows that released ample shockwaves each time. Soul Edge and Wormwood constantly battled for dominance, the latter's captured souls screaming in delight for the chance to capture a, according to them, an extremely powerful soul for the collection. Meanwhile, Soul Edge sensed this glee, this arrogance within the Souls Wormwood possessed, and that only enraged it further. Nothing would DARE try to take it away from is wielder! Nothing!
As they clashed, Soul Edge's power became more and more potent, its fiery aura so solid that the blade's form started to decrease in visibility, like the energy itself was turning the blade invisible to the naked eye. In one such deadlock, Nico gave a fierce glare towards the smirking Maghda, whom just felt enjoyment from fighting such a thrilling fight as a worshipper of Khorne.
He'd be knocking that smirk right off her face in a couple moments.
'Time to use Soul Edge's powers, now let's see…. Ah, that one will do!' Soul Edge never really got much of an exercise before, and that was mostly to do with how destructive the Sword was. Nevertheless, him and Biko had trained its powers in his Inner World, and even now he could sense that Soul Edge's power had swelled since then. "Have a taste of BLUTSUCKER, bitch!"
Immediately after Nico yelled that, Soul Edge's power suddenly shot into Wormwood, spiralling around it and entering its form within a millisecond. At first, nothing happened, and just when Maghda was about to gloat at him, mocking him and Soul Edge for being weaklings… The woman's body erupted in various cuts, slash marks adorning her body. "W-What?!"
'Blutsucker, apparently this ability lets Soul Edge injure its opponent by sending its energy into the opponent's weapon, a necessary requirement for the ability to activate. The energy runs rampant through the weapon and then its wielder, filling them with cuts on the outside but does even MORE damage on the inside.' Nico thought to himself, analysing the ability Soul Edge told him. Like with the other Devil Arms, Soul Edge's link to him allowed it to send information to him about its powers, hence why he knew that more abilities for the sword had awakened. Even Though, he couldn't tell the full scope of this just yet, something did tell him that he would have to have a major overhaul in its powers.
Pumping demonic power into Soul Edge, Nico swung horizontally, sending an energy blast in her direction. The energy, to him, seemed to be reminiscent of the Hellfire flames that he used to use before they awakened fully. The blast surged towards the stunned Maghda, intent on blasting her into oblivion, however the woman raised Wormwood at the last second, generating a wall of Hellfire to protect her like he had done previously.
"Tch, Copycat…." Nico muttered under his breath, gripping Soul Edge's hilt in his right hand before he charged forth, unloading a dozen or so energy blasts in her direction. Weaker in power they were, their numbers compensated in his eyes, as Maghda became forces to block, parry or deflect the blasts until she had to flip over a diagonal swing from Soul Edge, Nico then shifted the blade's grip, switching the direction the blade's edge faced so he could launch an upward swing at her exposed back. Maghda however, predicted this as she cleverly blocked it with Wormwood, landing behind him and shooting a blast of Hellfire at him.
Blocking the strike by placing Soul Edge behind him like he'd sheathed it, Nico twirled around and blocked a swing to his head. Maghda cursed this, but didn't stop her swinging attacks, mixing in some Hellfire blasts, waves, whips and melee attacks enhanced with the element. It soon got old for the teen, who raised his weapon up high before he brought the large sword down, creating an explosion of demonic power that engulfed the two of them.
"Guh!" MAGES. grunted when she felt the force from the explosion hit her full force. Even as far from the epicentre as they were, the amount of power that hit them nearly sent the onlookers flying. Just went to show how much power the two had put into that strike, huh? "This battle appears to be reaching levels beyond what we expected."
On that, Stefan could agree as he witnessed the explosion. However, he noticed something else, too. There were tinier shockwaves rippling through the air, the kind of shockwaves born from clashing weapons. The man couldn't see it, but he could definitely feel the strikes of constant clashing within the smoke from the explosion. Turning to the brunette while using Ashbringer to shield his eyes, Stefan could only ask one thing. "Why aren't we helping again? It would be much quicker to end this woman's tyranny if we all worked together."
"You see that?" IF retorted, gesturing to the smoke. Unlike Stefan, she could make out the faint figures of Nico and Maghda engaged in single combat. Every survival instinct told her that, instead of getting involved, she should just stay back otherwise she would risk getting herself into something that she couldn't even comprehend anymore. "These two are fighting beyond us now. It's sickening, I know, but right now if we were to try and help Nico we would be more of a liability than anything. Remember how, while the guy and MAGES. tended to Tekken? We couldn't even scratch her, she'd been playing with us." She explained.
Stefan could only nod at that, grimacing to himself. Despite his pride and honor demanding that he join the fight, the man could admit that IF had a splendid point for them not interfering. Back while Tekken was being tended to, him and IF couldn't even scratch te woman, not inflict one spec of damage onto her. She merely toyed with them, playfully launching Hellfire attacks and making them scurry about like rats to try and dodge them. The random igniting of the sections this Platform had didn't help either. Right now, Nico and whatever that sword was were their best shot at defeating this woman, empowered by Khorne as she was.
With that humiliating thought, Stefan and the others returned to spectating the fight between Nico and Maghda. What was this, a battle between Hellfire users? No, this no longer seemed like a battle between two people…
No, this felt more like a twisted scramble of limbs and bladed weapons between two monsters.
In the next couple of seconds, Nico and Maghda emerged ironically the same as what Stefan had described in his mind, like scrambling beasts, the later jumping backwards with the former hot on her heels, the two engaging in a slashing fest in the middle of the airspace the latter had ended up in. The teen had little opportunity to use BLUTSUCKER again, since Maghda made sure to deflect their weapons away from each other during each clash to stop that ability.
Not that it would save her, but he'd give he an A for effort, though.
The two landed and then jumped backwards, getting some distance between them. Maghda smirked as she readied Wormwood, already feeling her demonic power repairing her wounds. Demonic power felt so much more effective at this stuff than Mana ever did, she couldn't help but be glad that she had made a pact with the Chaos God Khorne. "Impressive, boy. It appears your power is greater than when we last fought…" she remarked, her eyes then focusing on the Sword in his hand. "As is your arsenal, it seems."
"Believe me, you haven't seen anything yet." Nico mused, just as he noticed the platform section beneath him begin to ignite. The teen however, refused to let that hit him, so he jumped into the air to avoid it. Soul Edge quickly deformed itself into a mindless red mass, quickly shifting forms upon its master's will. In seconds, Nico had a Sword and Shield Version of Soul Edge. The shield was at least as big as his torso and stomach, with two demonic wings protruding from the top where Soul Edge's eye was located. For offence, Soul Edge formed a longsword-shaped sword with a single eye on the hilt's centre. Two large wings protruding from both sides, while its blade had a wide base but narrowed all the way to the tip.
Coming down on the woman, Nico swiftly swung his sword at her head, for the woman to block it with Wormwood. However, the male knew she'd go for that and swiftly kicked her exposed left thigh, making her wince at the force behind the blow. Before she could retaliate, the teen swiftly bashed her with his shield, knocking her to the ground thanks to having pushed her off balance with his earlier attack.
She didn't let him score another hit though as she quickly rolled backwards, getting back to her feet. Good thing she did too, for the blade's form became alight with orangish red Hellfire formed from the blade's eye. In that last moment, he had made a single slash that resulted in a horizontal line of pure Hellfire across the Platform. If it wasn't reinforced, then the Hellfire would have been able to melt the Platform into paste.
Jumping back to the teen, Magda unloaded on him with Hellfire waves before following up with a strike to his head. Nico deflected the first couple waves with his Shield, alternating between his Shield and Sword (Both being Soul Edge) before sidestepping the last one and subsequently avoiding the strike to his head Maghda didn't remain idle though as she twirled around and launched a 360 degrees wave, knocking Nico backwards.
However, the male would not be finished yet, not with the intent to rip her apart with Soul Edge's power so great. He quickly gave it a mental command and pointed it towards his opponent, generating Hellfire trails from its eye like bleeding flames to the tip, forming a large fireball that he launched right at her. Maghda countered with one of her own from Wormwood, causing a fiery explosion between them. Nico used that top his advantage however, and swiftly cut a larger Hellfire wave in her direction, much to Maghda's surprise when it cut through the explosion.
"Tch, DEVIL DRIVE!"
"?!"
Nico's eyes widened when he noticed that the woman unleashed a Drive Skill, not something he remembered her doing in the past. 'Mus have come with her Pact with Khorne…' Nico thought in frustrated annoyance. He then sent a mental command to Soul Edge, causing it to deform itself and shift into a new form for him to use. The mass deformed, writhing in his grasp for a brief nanosecond, and just when Maghda appeared behind him with a swing to the back of his neck, her form bathed in a fiery crimson and black aura reeking of bloodlust, the teen shifted his arms about with the new form blocking the strike and creating a shockwave that ripped through the air in front of him.
The form Soul Edge took, when Maghda laid eyes on it after righting herself, she realised was that of a two-handed Cleaver, rivalling its base form in length. Its main blade is organic and crimson, with its Eye located at the end of the weapon, while it sported a multi-curved metallic edge for slashing.
Its owner twirled around and swung at her neck, intending to slit her throat only for Maghda to quickly vanish and appear further away from him, generating more Hellfire blasts, only for the DEVIL DRIVE to allow her to generate ten times as many as before, and launch them at him. Nico however, generated a FIERCE coating of Hellfire from the weapon's eye, using it to create a 360 degree wave like she had done before to blow the enemy's attacks backwards.
Growling, Maghda Spun Wormwood like a helicopter blade, pouring out her energy to make more Hellfire and launch it as a spinning Disk the moment she slashed at him. However, Nico dashed forwards instead of dodging, his eyes shining with power as he went and activated more of Soul Edge's abilities. The moment the blade's edge med the Hellfire… it all just got sucked in like a vacuum, sucked into its eye which shifted about for a moment before settling back into place.
'PREDATOR… this ability seems to have two functions, but only one is available tom me for the moment…' Nico thought, mentally reading the information sent to him by Soul Edge. 'Apparently, the ability I do have allows Soul Edge to devour any type of Energy/Mana/Demonic Power-based attacks, refuelling its powers and satisfying its hunger.' More and more Nico saw how this weapon seemed to dwarf the other Devil Arms in power. He could see why this thing felt like it had asserted itself as top dog with the others.
Maghda however, did NOT look so amused.
Instead, the woman dashed forth and unleashed a swing from Wormwood enhanced by Hellfire, intending to reduce him to a pile of ashes. Raising Soul Edge and coating it with his own Hellfire, the male met her swing and bathed them in an explosion of Hellfire, one that filled up half of the Chamber of Suffering.
Deep within a dark void, a pair of sinister crimson eyes opened, their owner smirking with a toothy grin under their lips when it sensed a major exchange of power.
Soon, soon the time will come for that world to taste the power of Blood, war and chaos in its truest form…
Soon…
The time would come.
Back to the battle, Nico rolled out of the smoke, standing upright with Soul Edge in its Dual Swords form, to which Maghda approached him with Wormwood. However, the weapon didn't look to be in the best of shapes, something Nico quickly took notice of. "Oh? Looks like your prized Staff from your Mage days isn't up to snuff, huh?" he mocked with a sly grin behind his Mask as he pointed one of Soul Edge's swords at her.
Indeed, the weapon looked to be heavily damaged, with cracks both big and small, wide and thin, adorning its frame. Not only that, but the weapon didn't look as powerful as it once did, the constant clashes and how it was meant to be a Mage's weapon having an effect on it. Despite the improvements on the weapon, it was still something that wasn't meant for close combat, something that Nico specialised in. That would have been a problem if it were anyone else, but his speed had been a big help in getting close, as well as his ability to launch ranged attacks.
In essence, it had only been a matter of time before the weapon started showing signs of its weakness in close combat.
Knowing that to be true, Maghda felt her teeth grit together as she contemplated this. Her prized weapon wouldn't last much longer as much as she hated to admit it. That was established as a basic fact, and both of them saw it. After all, neither of them were idiots, this Staff hadn't been meant for close combat, and while Hellfire had done a good job keeping it together combined with the Enhancements made by her pact with Khorne, it could only go so far.
Then, the woman gave a small smirk, much to Nico's confusion, though thanks to his Mask it had been well hidden. She'd entered a dire situation, one that both he and his comrades saw (tough they dared not approach) so why did she smirk just now? "What's got you in much a chipper mood?" Nico questioned cautiously, making sure to ready his Dual Swords in case of an attack.
Though, that would end up being the LEAST of his worries soon enough.
"Oh, nothing much." Maghda replied as several explosions of Hellfire occurred around them. "Just that I think its time that the kid gloves come off, then you'll be under me in bed for the rest of eternity."
'Okay, aside from how she'd been planting explosives made from apparently condensed Hellfire, that response scares the crap out of me more than I'd care to admit…' he thought to himself, shivering at the lust-filled, seductive tone that she used. When the girls he cared for used it, the teen found it quite appealing, but when THIS hag used it (he didn't think the CPUs he cared for as hags even if they were over thousands of years old or something) it just seemed so wrong, like an old grandma trying to get a young boy into her web. 'For the rest of eternity, says the hungry spider to the fly.'
'Indeed, however be careful, I can sense something dark coming this way.'
SWISH!
Biko's warning came just in time as Nico saw briefly something flash, barely ducking under a strike that would have sliced him in half from the nose to the top of his head. 'Whoa, holy shit!' the teen cursed in his mind, before the used weapon returned to it's owner's hands and dispersed the smoke created by the explosions…
To reveal Maghda being the owner of two different weapons, ones that gave everyone chills just looking at them.
They were 2 ebony black one-handed, dual bladed Axes that she wielded in both hands. These Axes strongly resembled Soul Edge in appearance, considering their blades were made from devilish growth while sporting metallic, double ended edges. At the top of the Shafts where the blades protruded from, sat single crimson slitted eyes that occasionally glanced about.
Not only that, but Maghda now looked completely decked out… as in, she now had A full suit of Armour to call her own. The Armour held crimson red as its dominant colour, with black being the secondary one. The helmet covered her head, save for her face. There was a single extension going down the ridge of her nose, not hiding the vindictive smirk she wore. The helmet sported a line of small, lava-coloured red spikes that ran down the scalp and down the back of her head, with two large draconic horns protruding from the sides of the spikes. The Torso consisted of a set of Chainmail armour of a mix between demonic red and black, with additional dark red armour plating, the shoulder guards connected to the chestplate going down the centre of the torso having 3 long spikes matching the horn's colour protruding out. They went in order from the smallest to biggest, the smallest being the furthest away from the head and the biggest being the closest. The arms, clad in metallic gauntlets ending in gloves of matching design to the chestplate, matched this with the reverse ended spikes protruding from the tops of the forearms. From the waist was a skirt made from crimson flesh, one that reached her knees and looked remarkably like a wing's webbing. As for her legs, they were concealed by blackish red armoured Leggings, small red Spikes going down the centre of the shins to the feet.
Seeing the male's disbelief, and that of his comrades whom were gaping at her like fishes, Maghda grinned darkly as she held her Axes in a combat stance: the left one held in front and the right held diagonally behind it. "Let me introduce you to my Bloodfeeders, some of the many gifts bestowed upon me by my Lord Khorne. He is my gracious master, and I shall do everything in my power to become a demon prince worthy of his name. This Armour? A simple creation I made, blessed by my demonic power. Beautiful, is she not?" she moaned sensually as she did several poses…
Honestly looked both weird and WRONG on so many levels.
Remembering that she had a fight to accomplish, Maghda stopped her poses and gave a feral smile, her DEVIL DRIVE flaring in readiness as she crouched low, prepping to attack. Nico himself readied Soul Edge in both hands, not willing to let this creepy woman get the better of him.
Not for a moment, his buttocks and manly pride demanded it of him.
That, and he sensed something MAJORLY wrong with those Bloodfeeders of hers.
Just before she could resume the fight however, Maghda remembered something, glancing over to his comrades who were keeping back. Probably due to not wanting to get caught within Soul Edge's destructive attacks. "friends seem lonely, don't they?" she remarked with sinister smile, before raising her Staff and allowed Wormwood's glow to intensify. "Why don't we give the, something to do?"
From the moment she did this, the gates at the opposite side of the Platform slowly began creaking to life, the chains that operated them slowly moving upwards. The Gate lifted itself upwards, and from behind it came something that honestly, looked pretty disgusting… though something told Nico that grotesque appearances would be part of the course for Demons.
Everyone, save for Maghda who smirked like a devious little devil, recoiled with horror and disgust shining from their eyes and expressions as they saw the creature stumble in, yelling "fresh meat!" while holding a giant Axe in one hand and a sickle in the other. It stood at about 6 metres tall, and had the aura of a wild beast with no will or intelligence to call its own.
The upper body was mostly bare, save for a torn apron and a belt. There was no other clothing, and the body looked to be overly muscular with metallic chains acting as stitches in various places that had hollow orange cracks in them. Another chain surrounded its left wrist holding the sickle, indicating its use very well. The head had a pair of tusks protruding from the mouth filled with sharp spike like fangs, while 2 demonic horns came out the top of its head. 2 hollow red eyes burned with the desire to feast on the flesh of its enemies. It moved on 2 reverse jointed muscular legs that had 3 stubby curved talon toes. Its hands looked like a normal human's, allowing it to hold weapons.
"Okay, this thing fucking reeks!" IF exclaimed, covering her nose. The smell may be bad for normal people, what with how the others seemed to be covering their noses, but for someone like her and possibly Nico, it felt way worse thanks to their enhanced senses. It was like standing in the middle of a trash dispenser with everything smelling like rotten eggs… only on steroids. He couldn't help te tears building in the corners of her eyes, and could only IMAGINE where this thing had been.
Stefan could only nod in agreement, grimacing. "This thing likely has not even had a shower in ages." He commented, holding Ashbringer at the ready. He felt glad that his form was armoured, otherwise the stench might have made him throw up. "Still though, this foe looks quite powerful, so stand your ground."
A low chuckle escaped Maghda's lips as she grinned at the furious glare that Nico sent her way. "What, you thought I would focus solely on you? Khorne cares not for what type of bloodshed, but only that it flows! Blood for the Blood God!" she bellowed, her eyes wide with bloodlust and insanity. They almost seemed to glow like fires with said emotions, until she took a breath, closed her eyes and cleared her throat, camming the inner beast within. "Anyways, I believe that my beloved Butcher shall keep them company, so shall we take this to the next level?" she suggested, twirling Wormwood before releasing a large amount of power from her wings.
They flared to the sides like antennae, before they began to vibrate constantly while generating what Nico sensed as a powerful energy field around them. To get a good grasp of its strength, think of the force needed to push a Rocket into outer space, then condense it to a human. That's the level of force this field produced. Soon enough, the field did its job, and the woman slowly levitated into the air, ascending well up to 40 feet in the airspace above them.
Nico growled in anger at the woman, raw fury coursing through him. He wanted nothing more to rip that bitch apart for that move, however he kept a lid on his emotions for the time being. They were luckily all his, so he could remain in control of Soul Edge, something he found to be a major blessing right now. "You want to take to the skies huh? Well, fine by me!" he roared, activating Soul Edge's shapeshifting powers. The sword seemed to vibrate a ands shudder in his grasp, before it melted into a large mass that went onto his arms, legs, and back. The Mass shifted, enlarged, straightened and shaped itself into its intended form.
In seconds, the teen had 4 demonic dragon wings protruding from his upper back, with demonic growth also forming on his arms and legs, ending in 4 longsword-length metallic claws with opposable thumbs. From the base of his spine protruded a single demonic growth Tail with a spear-like metallic tip, the Soul Edge eye at is base. Flaring said wings, Nico took to the skies to give chase to the woman, who laughed madly all the while.
Chapter end!
Alright, here's the first part of the Maghda V Nico battle. As well as the first part in showcasing some of Soul Edge's new powers. This is something that's been a long time coming, and honestly I can't wait to get this all done. Look out for a possible multi-post in the near future, cause i've been writing up a storm for this.
Anyways, for those of you who wanna read something light hearted alread (god knows how much seriousness has been in the last few chapters) here's a nice old Special Event to calm your nerves. Though honestly I think i'm doing more SE's than even Rebirth 2 at this point. For more than one purpose, too.
Special Event - Nepflix
"Heya, Iffy! Whatchu doin' back here?"
In one morning within the capital City of MICROSOFT, IF stood off in the corner of the room, looking down at the phone Nico had gotten her while they stayed in Planeptune. The brunette had this intense expression on her features wile holding the phone in one hand. Neptune, whom had been playing on the Hotel's mandatory Leanbox Console, some game about these muscular men in a fighting ring wrestling each other from these two factions called 'Nepdown' and 'Nep-Raw', when she had caught sight of what the brunette was doing.
Needless to say, she had been curious enough to pause the game, stand up and walk over to her.
"I'm watching this series on Nepflix, it's about this guy with psychic powers who tries to live a normal life. It's one of thos e comedy/supernatural animes out there, and it's really interesting." IF explained while watching what looked to be the sixth episode of the said anime. She had heard there were multiple seasons, but only the first one had been uploaded onto Nepflix yet. A bummer, but she could wait.
Hearing this, Neptune hummed thoughtfully while putting an index finger on her chin her eyes looking up at the ceiling as she got a familiar feeling for some reason. That feeling came from the name Nepflix, prompting her next few words. "Huh, Nepflix huh? I heard its some fancy website that lets people watch whatever they please for free, or something."
"As long as you're on the right plan, yeah. The one I got gives me unlimited streaming access, so i can watch whatever's on here without worrying about fees, aside from the subscription fee which isn't that much to begin with, at least for someone like me who earns quite the sum of Credits." IF explained, just as the episode ended and she clicked on the next one. "With this Phone, I can watch it even when not in a major city, makes for some damn good entertainment at least."
It was then, that Compa joined the situation, having overheard from the room's kitchen section. "Oh, i've got Nepflix too! It's got some great comedy anime i watch!" she exclaimed joyfully, pulling out her phone. "It's really cool, it lets you know which anime are most popular and displays ones that might fit your fancy based off what you've already watched. I like slice of life anime myself, with some adventure on the side."
"Meh, i'm more of an action, comdedy, supernatural type myself..."
Soon enough, IF and Compa got lost in their own little world with this Nepflix of theirs, promptly leaving Neptune out in the dust.
Not something she liked, seriously.
Maybe she could go find Nico or something, that might cheer her up.
Nico gave pretty good hugs nowadays, anyways.
