Chapter 104 - Skies End Attack

That following morning, Nico and Rinjiin worked some more under the watchful eyes of the Teostra, on the Dragon Ship. They had gotten most of the electronics and hydraulics within the ship replaced, now all they needed to do was to repair the Dragon Ship's outer shell. Seeing the damage again today, even though a lot of it had been repaired yesterday with the help of draining the residue Electricity via Alastor, Nico ad to once again appreciate the amount of damage a Devil Arm could be capable of. Though, Biko did comment how the Devil Arms powers are only as good as their wielders.

The male himself stood atop the dragon's head, dressed like a mechanical engineer with their signature jumpsuits with rolled back sleeves, bright jackets, construction helmets and gloves with some tools and other bits of equipment used for mending hulls. The male looked like he was hard at work, hammering away at a new piece of armour that would be it of this section of the ship. Rinjiin himself was taking care of the middle section, but unlike Nico he was working at a much faster rate due to having more experience with this ship's layout. Even now, the male could hear the sounds of construction equipment running like no tomorrow as Rinjiin worked tirelessly for his goal.

He had to hand it to the man, he sure took good care of this vessel. It might as well have been a second child to him, at this point. He guessed this came from having so much experience piloting it, using it to keep harmful beings whether they were Abnormal or Human, from his little sanctuary. Nico still didn't fully grasp the concept of a Spec Ops Agent, the enemy of all Abnormals, suddenly going 'oh I'm gonna live in a nest of dragon Abnormals!' but he figured that the saying 'to each their own' applied here.

That saying would be abused like hell if Neptune were around…

His thoughts drifted to the girls in the Party while he worked, and a soft sigh escaped his lips. He had only been away from them for a day, and already he was beginning to miss them like a housewife wanting her husband to finally come home from his trip across the continent. Seriously, was this what would happen to him in the future if he was married or some shit? Seriously, he really needed to stop being so wimpy. He could last a while away from those girls, yep that was so within his power.

'I am not sure; however, I do believe that the #insert whip sound# applies here…'

'SNICKER…'

'You two shut up…!'

Wiping his brow, Nico released a slight 'whew' from his lips, as he looked upwards towards the skies. The next thing Nico knew, he was putting a hand over his brows to shield them from the morning sun rays. The skies of Skies End would rarely part ways to expose the sun, as Rinjiin had once told him, but today was one of those rare days, so they were currently busy working their asses off under the sun. A goo thing that it took a lot more than sun to make him sweaty. He'd been trained in various fields of weather conditions by his mother, so things like this were nothing for him.

"We're doing good work here, boy~!" Rinjiin called out from his spot, having stopped the equipment to yell up at the male. He too wore some construction worker's outfit, though instead of a helmet he still wore his Chinese style hat. "Just a few more patches here and we'll have the lower section of the Ship to do. We'll do that together!"

Nico yelled "Got it!" right back at him, before the two resumed working as the sounds of heavy-duty machinery resonated throughout the island. Neither of them had much fear that he Hatchlings would be disturbed by the noise, as Rinjiin had informed them that they were quite deep sleepers. Plus, Teo used his body to cover the cave entrance in order to block out the sounds from entering and disturbing their beauty rest.

'Heh, this stuff, now that I think about it… is pretty relaxing… even with the threat looming above us.' He thought to himself while going back to his work. It made his muscles work on something other than training, which was an interesting piece of life experience for him. Mentally, Nico wondered if he could find some areas back at Leanbox that wee under construction, maybe take a Quest one might have submitted to the Guild. He'd like to see what it would be like to actually build something instead of destroying everything… even though he was geared towards that very purpose.

Last night, after he had Urthemiel created and brought into the world, Nico had little time to get some sleep. This was due to him being kept awake from the experience of actually creating his first monster, not something he had expected to happen to him in hindsight. Hell, he could only IMAGINE how people would react if they found out that one of their better Agents had the ability to create his own monstrous minions like this. He could imagine the nobles gaining a lot more support against the Spec Ops Program, while other Agents would be ore afraid of him, maybe even amass in groups to try and kill him.

That had happened more than once before, though aside from one time they were merely a bunch of jealous weaklings who wanted to have a go at one of the girls from Team RAIL or had been dumped by ONE of them (you know wo he was talking about). Though, he didn't see why they would have to target him, they KNEW they wouldn't be able to best him. Maybe they thought he had been weaker than those two girls because his reputation wasn't as big as theirs?

Those were his thoughts at the time, before he decided to 'show' them just who they pissed off…

Helen had a lot of work that day regarding hospital calls.

Still, it showed that the spirit of the Spec Ops Agents was not what it once was. No, thanks to the world being what it was, it had become diluted by horny idiots who thought that just being one of them meant that they were the shit. It's something that disappointed the 'real' Agents who took this job as seriously as they did. That was mostly why Helen didn't have that many people to train (aside from the rumours-which were true BTW first and experience here-of her brutal training methods) these days.

Back to Urthemiel, he had the Archdemon hide itself shortly after its birth, so that people weren't aware of it's existence as of yet. He had only just met Rinjiin, and while he seemed connected to his mother in some way, he still didn't see that as trustworthy material. Thus, when the man questioned him the following morning if anything strange had happened (as apparently some of the dragon Hatchlings and Teo had been woken from their nap by Urthemiel's demonic powers. He mentally noted to make sure that any future Archdemons would be birthed in seclusion, so this didn't happen again) he hadn't told him of its existence.

All he said that some stray Abnormals had been sighted and their roars were what scared them. They didn't come close enough to be a threat, so Nico had let them be.

Then, aside from his Skimmer receiving some upgrades via Desecration, and how he had his hidden weapon clean up the remains of his blood, leaving no evidence of the incident last night, Nico had spent the last portion of the night training with Biko. Training… in his new powers that is.

One of the things they trained in was the Bone that they had attached to Nico's leg. Apparently, it had been an external addition, so Biko wasn't able to equip it himself whenever Nico had it equipped. This Bone, they had decided to see what it was by practicing tapping into its powers like that Butcher demon could, then using them against some of the monsters in the Desert section of his Inner world.

Biko had told him once about that, actually, how those Monsters were beings born from his own cognition, beings that only take proper form when he wanted them to. They were actually part of his monster creation ability, if he gave them enough power, a form to take, then expelled them from him, he would have been able to create an army of Abnormal-type monsters to serve him. Though, due to his occupation, awareness and power levels, Nico hadn't been able to do that until now.

Apparently, being a Candidate for the role of DPU meant that he had an Inner World the whole time, ever since he first took breath in this world, but he was never aware of it due to being unable to access it. On the flip side, he wouldn't have been able to anyways, due to it having lacked the proper solid form that it did now. If he had tried, then it would have just pushed him out again or at least shown him nothing but a hazy, empty void.

Not to be confused by his own nightmares, THEY were a whole new set of worms.

In any case, Nico and Biko tested out the Bone on those monsters while they tried to have the two for lunch. They did this due to reflecting an aspect of his personality called 'recklessness', though there was much more to that which he dared not mention, as Biko had once told him. For the sake of the experiment, Nico had refrained from using anything except is demonic energy to empower his CQC Skills, and the Bone itself, against these mental Monsters.

Those tests yielded some… interesting results.

One, this Bone had the ability to empower his regeneration by quite a bit, at least 25% if what they had estimated was any indication. This ability seemed o be a constant, as if it were constantly active whenever it was summoned. That power increase may not seem like much, but when Demonic Energy was applied to his healing, it gave him a 20% boost in healing. So, an extra 5% would be more than welcome. In addition, it would boost his healing so that if he were to get hit by a Ghoul's Kagune, then he would heal like it was an ordinary wound.

He'd call this ability BODY ARMING from then on.

Second was the ability he had seen the Butcher use on him and his comrades a few times back in their battle, an ability he had coined 'VORACIOUS EATER'. The ability to Devour any form of offense, be it physical, mental, or any sort of energy. This would result in the energy being converted to Nutrients and then added to his own body, making him stronger and sustaining him. Seemed like a far cleaner way of hunting for food than the method he applied 'before'.

It truly seemed like an ability that was like many of his powers, versatile in that it devoured anything in it's path. The only downside was that, thanks to their tests, it was confirmed that the Bone could only devour a varied amount of power, depending on the difference between the enemy's mental strength and his own. There was no fixed amount of power that would be guaranteed to be absorbed, sorta limiting the Bone's potential a bit. Maybe they could do some training on mental resistance, it would help him resist the hormones that were starting to awaken, too now that he thought about it.

Lastly, was one useful power that he discovered from this Bone. An ability that involved the Bone stealing something from the enemy and sealing that something within itself. That something, upon further research, had been a Skill, as in one of those Skills that were the foundation for the Hyperdimension. It's mechanics seemed to revolve around sealing the Skill that the enemy uses most, for example if a foe used a raged Skill more often than others then this Bone would seal that Skill within itself. It only lasts about 10 minutes before the Skill is returned to its owner, and even then, it can only hold one Skill at a time. Despite these limitations, Nico could see the potential for this ability's use in fighting powerful Abnormals or other Agents and human enemies.

These three abilities were what that Bone was capable of, and whenever it was deployed he always got the feeling that something came out with it. He didn't know what it was, but hee felt like it was something deeply interwoven within the Bone's essence, something that he wouldn't truly understand for a long time. Still though, since they knew what the bone could do, that it could be transferred to another when the original wielder dies, and these tests confirmed it to be harmless too, then they could start training in its usage in battle. Nico had to train this thing, so that eh knew how he could use it in battle as the Bone still took too long (in his eyes) to summon.

Still, the fact that they had things to train in made him realize that he had a LONG way to go in the path of the monster.

"Say, kid!"

When the male heard Rinjiin's voice and pulled himself from those thoughts, Nico turned to see Rinjiin starting on another section of the ship, but had paused his work to come over to him. "You need something, sir?" he asked the older man.

Rinjiin waved a hand dismissively at the professional tone and response that the teen just gave. "No need for formalities here, son. We're not even on the mainland, nor does the Spec Ops Community know you're here. Essentially, you've disappeared from their eyes." He told him, to which Nico frowned but could see the logic. This place was after all a part of uncharted areas, so it would make sense that the Spec Ops Community wouldn't know of this place. Hell, he doubted anyone aside from impending mercenaries, Rinjiin, Helen and now himself knew of this place. "Anyways, I just wanted to ask you something. How's Helen faring these days?"

"Mom?" Nico questioned, arching a brow, getting a nod from the man. For a moment, Nico pondered on what to say to this question, his natural sense of distrust rising through his mind quicker than an Olympic athlete. He wondered what to tell him, while also searching his body visually for any signs of ulterior motives. Wen someone asked him about his mother, Nico would admit that he was maybe a TAD overprotective of her (nearly tore a guy in half for referring to her as a MILF in front of him). Se had done a lot for him after all, and he had just shown himself that he could be a better son to her last night.

That… sounded weird, in his head.

In any case, the teen didn't see any signs of ulterior motives, just curiosity about how an old friend of his was doing. It was with this knowledge, that Nico begrudgingly responded to his question. "She's doing fine, she works as the head of the WDD now, as a retired Agent though she keeps her skills up. I think she might be getting some grey hairs soon though, and not because of her age." He explained, reminiscing about past times. He remembered all the shit she had to put up with from supervising Spec Ops Entrance Exams, attending to the arrogant higher ups, pausing many men's advances on her by showing her ring then beating the hell out of them if they still persist, she was a busy woman. Incidentally, he could imagine how relieved she must be right now to finally get a break from all that with her meeting her friends in a pub for a drink.

When he looked back to the man after pausing his trip down memory lane (something he rarely did regarding his mother thanks to current times) Nico noticed that the man looked quite amused, if the way hi lips were shaped was any indication. He soon got his reason why though, when Rinjiin released a bitter chuckle. "Ah yes, I see. I figured something like that was why she wasn't an Agent anymore. You wouldn't believe how shocked I was when I found that out."

"Wait, you didn't know she was retired?"

"Nah, I live mostly in isolation with my babies here. Last time I heard from her was when she helped me disappear from the Mainland. I only managed to get in contact with her again recently, and even then, she told me not to do so unless extremely necessary for risk of being found again. Just in case my would be 'assassins' tried to make a repeat performance." Rinjiin replied, shaking his head afterwards as a scowl appeared on his lips. "Looks like that may be happening now, though."

Nico may have kept a straight face at that, but internally was a different story. He felt a stab of guilt pierce his being since he was the cause of this new vulnerability tat the man had. He may be atoning for that mistake, that misunderstanding between both sides, but Nico sill felt the responsibility lay on his shoulders. "Yeah, apologies for that…"

"No need, I thought you to be suspicious and attacked first." Rinjiin responded dismissively, waving it off. "Besides, we both have some trust issues, don't we?" Now THAT caught Nico's attention as he looked to the man in moderate surprise. Rinjiin's eyes twinkled as he gave a knowing look to the teen. "You forget, I was a Spec Ops Agent too, you know. I can tell when someone is distrustful of others, and you reek of it. More so than the average person, borderline paranoia." Rinjiin explained, a worried frown soon crossing onto his lips. "You son are just one step away from falling into a pit of madness from which there is no escape from."

His ominous words gave a long, awkward tension to the air like a child getting a present that wasn't really fit for their character. However, Nico made sure it didn't last long as he looked back down at the hole in the head section he had just finished repairing. "Even so, I shall not deviate from my path. We Spec Ops are meant to be as monstrous as possible, so we can survive against the other monsters that want to rip us open like banana peels. You should know this, Rinjiin. More than anyone." He responded, scowling. His eyes shone like flames, though they didn't have any demonic power of power from his other side rushing through them at the moment. "We Spec Ops are nothing but monsters fighting other monsters. We don't just stare into the abyss till it looks back at us, we jump into it and drown ourselves in it. That's why, it doesn't matter if I'm becoming more and more insane. Insanity is part of the Spec Ops lifestyle."

Looking at him now, Rinjiin winced as he saw the pure malice, darkness and rage in those light blue orbs. Those emotions almost destroyed all traces of light, of humanity, in his eyes just then, sending shivers down his spine. 'Geez, just what has this kid seen? How does one so young have such a twisted, distorted view of the world?' the man wondered, a spark of pity forming in his chest. Though he didn't show or say anything about it. 'If a kid as young as him is like this… then this world really is fucked up beyond imagining…' he thought. "Even so, every Spec Ops has the right to walk away, to dispose of their armour and live a happy life."

"That's where you're wrong, Rinjiin." Nico responded sharply, almost catching the man by surprise with the edge he had to his tone. "Even if we were somehow able to retire, there will always be people who will try to kill us, to do us harm either directly or through those closest to us. To them, we are no different than those we fight. They don't see that we are only like this because we do the shitty work that they don't have the guts to. They lie, cheat and try to steal from us, even though we're their greatest defence against the Abnormals, monsters that normal Agents can't handle on their own. In essence, we are always fighting, Helen sometimes faces off against assassins trying to end her for large grudges held against her by her enemies. I have to be aware of my surroundings constantly so that assassins don't get the drop on me. At least Abnormals operate on instinct, we can't blame them for that. But us humans…?" The male didn't realize it, but he had just gone on a rant for goddess knows how long, something that he didn't do that often. Was this a result of his hormones or demonic powers? Nevertheless, Nico ignored it for the time being. When he finally paused his rant, the male took a minute to catch his breath, before he spoke once more in a softer, resigned tone that carried immense weight behind it, more so than any guy his age should. "Sometimes, we humans are the greatest monsters, we just put Masks over ourselves to hide it."

As the kid before him ranted, Rinjiin could only feel more and more worry for the kid's mental state. The way he spoke just now, the pure hatred and self-loathing that overflowed through each syllable that left his tongue, it detailed a powerful darkness within the kid. A nightmarish being that fed and fed on whatever negative experiences he had. A being that constantly loomed over him, shadowing him, cloaking him in a cloak of death, despair, and madness, whispering into him thoughts of just ripping people apart for no good reason. A darkness that had been festering for a long time, he guessed, a darkness that was toxic, dangerous and unhealthy for him to have. It ripped, tore away and shredded through him daily, constantly driving him closer towards tipping over the edge. It threatened to consume his mind, body and soul at the smallest opportunity like a hungry devil, making it so that he walked on a thin tightrope between sanity and madness. Who knows how many times life has nudged him over the wrong side, from what he was sensing the kid had seen a LOAD of horrific shit in his lifetime, things that no teenager should have seen.

All of that, Rinjiin could see swirling through Nico's darkened irises. He probably didn't even notice this himself, he was that far gone. Either that, or he didn't care or someone had conditioned him to think this way. If he was a betting man, Rinjiin would bet on the third option.

It worried him, it worried Rinjiin immensely, cause it felt like the kid would snap at any moment. He didn't even feel like a human anymore, just a rabid animal one second away from going on a blood rage. Even from afar, Teo could sense the negativity radiating from Nico right now, and while he had his body tensed to leap at any slightest attack, Rinjiin recognized that it too had concerns.

He would have opened his mouth to say something, when he saw something else inside his eyes, a faint white flicker. A flicker of light, a flicker of resistance against the madness. His heart almost leapt at that, pulling desperately at it in his mind so that he knew it wasn't just him getting his hopes up. "That's… well, I guess I can't disagree with you there, this is a perfect example of your… analogy." Rinjiin slowly tried to say, hopefully the kid wouldn't rip off his arm. Judging from their battle, the kid had killed before and was pretty damn good at it. "But, even if we are all monsters like you say, we at least have to pretend that we have some form of humanity. If not for ourselves, but for those we consider precious. Do you have anyone like that?"

"Those we… consider precious…?" Nico reiterated, frowning once more as the darkness within his eyes swirled like a whirlpool. Almost taking away the light of life in those irises of his. But, before the darkness could completely take hold, Rinjiin nearly audibly exclaimed a sigh of relief when he saw the tension fade away from the kid, his shoulders slouching from their previous tense positions as a soft fondness formed in his brightening eyes. "Yeah… I guess I do…"

A smile had formed, taking all onlookers by storm.

That smile on his lips, Rinjiin had never seen a smile so full of fondness, of joy and happiness, before on another being. Even Teo had a look of surprise, as it hadn't expected Nico to be even capable of. The male in question chuckled as memories of his comrades formed in his mind, comrades that he considered precious. "I guess you could say I have precious comrades… A Party I'm in full of people whom make my world just that little bit brighter. You could say that they are some of the few good things in this world that are left." He told the man.

He may have said it in the past, wasn't too sure, but Nico once again couldn't stress enough how glad he was that he was with Neptune and the others. They may have caused some 'changes' in him as of recent times, they may drive him up the wall sometimes with their antics. Yet, Nico could never eve think of not wanting to have met them. Not just Compa, all of them were like lights to his darkness, they were the reason why he had begun to retrain in his other side after all. He had literally returned from the jaws of death, just so he could help them beat Arfoire that one time. He risked a LOT for those girls, so it would be safe to say that they were what kept him sane, kept him from falling off the cliff into the world of madness.

The male honestly couldn't or rather didn't want to, imagine a life where he hadn't met the girls.

Pretty sure the world wouldn't want to, either.

'While I am sure this talk is developing the story's lily ranks between you and your new friend, I believe it is time to put this on hold. Reason: Look up.'

Biko's words were like that sudden halting of the music by the DJ when he slips up. Nico swore that he actually heard a sound like that echo from somewhere, but quickly dismissed when he sensed an abundance of malice nearby. His eyes widened in shock, horror and surprise when he saw several large figures appear from behind the clouds, large enough to register as a threat against the island. Alarm bells rang through his mind when the figures pushed through the clouds which parted like when curtains were being drawn.

Those figures soon revealed themselves to be... Zeppelins. Large ones at that.

'What… the fuck…?'

That was all Nico could think as he, along with a stunned Rinjiin, looked up towards the Zeppelins as they closed in at significant speeds. Teo growled and slowly stood up on all fours, trembling as if trying to restrain itself from leaping into the skies to combat the approaching enemy.

Each Zeppelin looked quite… primitive in structure, like they had been hastily assembled with weak supports, dishevelled looking frames, and worn-looking propellers. Yet, this primitive design actually enhanced their intimidating appearance, as they looked to have the skulls of large Abnormals, as in really large Skulls, placed over their Noses with shining searchlights for eyes, sharp maws etc. The loud sounds of propellers swishing through the air filled their ears, breaking the two men from their transfixed states.

"Oh shit, looks like those assholes have come earlier than expected!" Nico cursed as he stepped off the Dragon Vessel. The male landed on the ground, bending his knees slightly before he took a few steps forwards, gritting his teeth while narrowing his eyes at the approaching enemies. He knew that they wouldn't be able to use it, its repairs were yet to be completed. It would most likely be useless to them during this battle, he figured, which meant they had only him, Rinjiin, Teo, and Urthemiel to fend off the invasion. Before he could do more, a large vortex of emotion hit him hard in the head, making Nico nearly jump at the suddenness, though he soon calmed himself when he felt that it was his Archdemon that was the cause. Judging by these signs, he felt like it wanted to fight, to showcase it's powers to him.

Looked like it would be getting its wish soon enough.

Rinjiin scowled at the various Zeppelins, his eyes focusing on what seemed to be the lead vessel with unhindered discontent. His fists were clenched, teeth gnashed together as his emotions reached a boiling point the more that he looked at these things. "I know these guys…" he spat, drawing Nico's attention as the Agent regarded him with a mix of curiosity and confusion. "They're the Merc Raiders. They hunt down exotic goods and sell them on the Black Market. I had more than a few run-ins with these pests in the past." He explained, his eyes aflame with fury while Teo got beside him, growling in equal anger. It held a wing around him in a protective manner, showing how possessive the Abnormal was over something it considered its own.

'Nico… Judging by how much malice I sense from him; this man seems to have a personal grudge against these 'Merc Raiders'. I sense that he has a significant history with them…'

The teen nodded his head in agreement with his Demon Persona's words. He had sensed it too, using his affinity for negative emotions, the teen had sensed a lot of malice and killing intent within Rinjiin when he spoke those words. Those weren't the only emotions he sensed though, he could sense deep pain, betrayal, resentment, and a whole array of complex feelings just bursting at the seams. It would make sense for Biko to assume that this guy had a history with these people.

Glaring up at the Zeppelins, the teenage Spec Ops Agent scowled, barely resisting the urge to don his Armour on the spot. Nico was also aware of these Merc Raiders, they were a tribe of Leanbox Bandits that scoured the Nation, raiding settlements and stealing their resources, technologies, and their crews. For the males, they would be either executed on the spot or used as slaves if they didn't join up with them. For the women… well, he didn't need to go any further with what he had already used to describe those scumbags, did he? Nico would have hunted them to extinction if he could, but in recent times they have been able to avoid detection by the authorities, almost as if they had been backed up by someone powerful. A rich Noble who had a use for them, most likely. Nico wouldn't have put it past those assholes to do something as rotten as protecting criminals as long as it served their own interests.

The two that came to mind would be either Yvoire, or Count Mott.

There were many others, but so far none of the others had done anything against them. However, judging by the testimony Stefan had given to his friend IF (whom had told him what had happened during the morning of yesterday), it seemed that the Count had some… investments with Maghda, and by extension the forces of Chaos. Or at least, he knew about them, that much was for certain based of Stefan's testimony. He may not trust men all that much, but there were exceptions, and Stefan was one of them.

True, it may seem a little fast, especially for someone like Nico whom was used to men being lying scumbags bar a few exceptions but consider the circumstances. When one fights with another on the battlefield, just by doing this back in the Hellverse Dungeon, it allows people to understand each other in ways that words would never do. Their battles back then, had shown him that the rumours about his family's honourable methods had some merit to them. That was enough for Nico to believe that man's words, and along with them, Count Mott had been doing some dirty dealings anyways with Mojang Village.

Just then, a loud, echoey voice resonated throughout the area, coming from the lead Zeppelin. It sounded like it was coming from a loud speaker or something similar, though the voice could still be considered masculine. "Been a while, hasn't it Rinjiin? Who knew you were in this backwater place, sitting atop a goldmine of fortune!" the voice bellowed through it's speaker. Nico figured it was masculine, and he trusted his senses enough for this to be the case.

It also confirmed that this voice and Rinjiin knew each other.

Especially when Rinjiin responded with fury rivalling the intensity of his weakened Hellfire while shaking a fist towards the Zeppelins. "It couldn't have been long enough you sick fucker! Leave this place alone, there's nothing that a money grabber like you would want to get your grubby mitts on!" he yelled, Teo roaring afterwards. Nico however, noticed the powers of fear and dread in the man's tone, something that he doubted the others would have noticed aside from Teo and possibly his Archdemon (Which was slowly making its way towards their position with the intent to spring into action the moment a golden opportunity presented itself).

"Oh, I beg to differ, old friend." The voice mocked back, laughing. It was as if that laugh was like some form of signal, the men realised. The reason: The Zeppelins all began brandishing weapons, as in Ballista along the main deck, drop pods for their payloads, as well as side cannons that looked horribly wicked. Both males gritted their teeth before they looked to each other and gave unified nods, looked like things would be getting dicey after this. "Tell me where those Hatchlings are, and I won't burn you down where you stand!"

… Okay, this guy was spouting nothing but pure unadulterated BULLSHIT right now. Bout time to correct him then, Nico thought to himself as he stepped forwards with a stride that felt so nostalgic and sickening at the same time. Rinjiin made to stop him, but one look from the younger male Spec Ops Agent made him stop any such attempts. He just froze at the sight of the kid's gaze, as he saw that same darkness he saw before return with a vengeance. In fact, it looked even more potent than before, with the promise of bloodshed and death being the sole chain that held it back.

Something about this kid had changed, and he didn't want to get in his way.

"You focus on repairing your vessel, Rinjiin." Nico stated with icy coldness in his tone, worse than any ice attack than Raven would have been able to create. The teen then turned to look up towards the Zeppelin fleet, his darkened eyes flashing with Demonic Power which began to manifest around him as well. His SP and Demonic Power reserves rose within him, like two hungry wolves eager to dine on a feast of flesh. "Me, I'll focus on holding the enemy off."

The first thing that registered in his mind when he heard that was: was this kid serious? Fighting an entire fleet of Zeppelins, outnumbered and outgunned. Not to be rude like or anything, but that sounded like a bad end just destined to happen. Rinjiin made to exclaim how ridiculous that plan was, as after all Nico may be powerful but he was still one man, a mocking laughter escaped the head Zeppelin's speaker and stopped him. "Hahahaha! How foolish, you think that you will be a match for me?! Me and my men?!" he sneered, several laughs coming from the background, also in mockery of Nico's 'suicide run' in their eyes.

Oh, how they would soon regret those words.

In response to this, Nico merely gained a dark smirk gradually, his eyes shining with predatory hunger as he gazed up towards the fleet. It was the kind of gaze which would give people nightmares for the rest of their lives, as well as befitted someone about to commit mass genocide. He raised his hand to the air, and called upon his strongest Devil Arm out of the many he had, the demonic and sinister form of Soul Edge manifesting in his hand through a vortex of Hellfire. instantly, the moment it came into being its PREDATOR ability activated, covering it with a crimson miasma while its eye shined brightly, like a single evil eye in the midst of a blackened abyss. Nico gripped it by it's blade, before pointing it towards his enemies while his smirk widened.

The moment that blade made an appearance, everyone looked taken aback by the sight of such a weapon. Rinjiin did a few spit takes, shock and dread rushing through his veins at the sight of the blade. Teo hissed and growled at the sword, its instincts telling it to NOT get anywhere NEAR that blade if it wanted to live past this battle. Hell, even though they couldn't see it completely due to the distance between them, the Speaker jolted at the monstrous presence the sword unleashed upon the surroundings. It was almost like the blade could affect the very atmosphere itself just with its presence alone. That damn eye which glared at the Fleet from Nico's position wasn't helping things either.

Though, he was not done, not by a long shot.

"Oh, believe me…" Nico began, chuckling like the demons that he hunted as he felt the potency of both his energy reserves rush through his system, empowering him and vitalizing him for combat. It felt like adrenaline, only a thousand times more effective, his eyes focusing on his targets with borderline predatory hunger. The close surroundings around him began to heat up from the demonic power he radiated as he put his hand on his Chest, activating his Armour Module, thus donning his Armour once more. When the male's Armour got revealed, it DEFINITELY got people's attention as, through his sensing negativity, Nico sensed some of the foes in those Zeppelins pissing themselves from fear. The combination of his Armour and Soul Edge DID give him a rather sinister, demonic knight impression. "I'm MORE than capable of ripping you assholes to shreds. This is just Tuesday for me, whom is experienced with fighting against large hordes of enemies. But, this time I'm… not exactly alone in this."

When he said that last bit, he said it with such a twisted, deadly vibe to it that it succeeded in giving everyone more shudders than a horde of stampeding Abnormals. It was like they could hear the sirens of death ringing loudly through the atmosphere, telling them that they would soon be guided (read: FORCED) over to the afterlife. He raised his free hand slowly into the air, drinking in the tension he could sense, before clicking his fingers and smirking devilishly behind his Helmet. Now, three, two, one…

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!"

Oh, if only he had a camera and were in the enemy's close vicinity, he would have loved to see and record their expressions when that roar came about. It would have been priceless, he thought to himself as he glanced behind him. His smirk turned into a full-blown grin behind his helmet while his eyes shone with wisps of hellfire, the ominous form of a certain Abnormal rising from its hiding place becoming visible. Hell, for him and Rinjiin, it blocked out the sunlight as if to say 'heads up boys, the boss is here' which could be seen as ironic considering the hierarchy between them.

Up above them, the massive, intimidating form of Urthemiel the Archdemon of Leanbox became visible, spreading its wings to their maximum lengths. Slowly lifting it's large neck, its eyes shone bright azure blue, narrowing into a wicked glare while it growled menacingly towards its' masters' enemies. The Wings almost had a sense of majestic impact to them, if it weren't for their true appearance, though soon enough people wouldn't have the ability to see them anymore. The reason: They were engulfed in Azure flames, the Primordial (or Primal, he would call them that anyways) Flames encasing their forms.

Accompanying this, was a large, twisted roar that echoed throughout the skies. It was a primal roar, one that established the presence of an apex predator in a large environment. If there were animals nearby, they would have scattered in fear, not wanting to be chowed down on by this carnivorous creature. Nico could sense the fear emanating from within the Mountain, Urthemiel's roar having disturbed and scared the Hatchlings with the power it emitted.

With these fiery wings, Urthemiel took to the skies like a bullet, going so fast that not even Nico could properly visualise its movements. The male even had a slightly wide-eyed expression behind his Helmet, while the Zeppelins became quick to respond. The Archdemon saw dozens upon dozens of long, sharp arrows flying through the air toward it, their tips laced with crackling green energy. However, to it they would be best served as toothpicks as its hide made them bounce off it harmlessly.

"Growl… ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!"

A low, glutaral growl escaped its snout at the pathetic attempts to hinder its advance. Foolish mortals would learn the truth of their folly with this next attack. The Archdemon reared its head back, and let out another roar, one that created a shockwave that ripped through the air without mercy. Any who had been too close would have had their eardrums shredded from the sheer volume, but instead it send the Zeppelins flying backwards a good 60 miles. Flaring its wings, Urthemiel released a large stream from those wings, easily capable of encasing an entire Zeppelin if it hit one.

"Oh shit! Mages, defensive barrier!"

FWOOSH!

As the Flames flew, in front of the main Zeppelin a massive magic circle, easily being a similar size to the Flames, manifested just seconds before it would have been too late. Not a millisecond later, the flames smashed into the barrier with massive force, rushing into it and bundling together while quickly making to devour the pesky Barrier without stopping. Long, thin streams of Azure flames arched past the barrier and the Zeppelins, illuminating and scorching the very air around them.

When the flames collided, the commander (the one who had been all taunting before) quickly saw that the barrier wouldn't hold, as he hadn't even gotten the chance to breathe again when he saw cracks immediately forming on the barrier. Those flames, they weren't the ordinary ones he was experienced with, nope, not one bit. They had a ravenous nature unlike any other flames he had ever seen, and there was this sense of overwhelming eldritch presence from them that just sent chills down his spine. They did NOT want those flames on them, not even a small fragment.

Back outside, The Primal Flames licked away like a thousand ravenous animals finally sinking their teeth into some juicy meat. Even with several hundred Mages powering it, the attack would only last another couple seconds before they would be incinerated.

Fortunately, there was one thing they could do to stop them from experiencing being burned from existence, the man knew, and quickly he relayed those orders to the rest of his men.

Just as the barrier caved under the assault from the Primal Flames, each Zeppelin shuddered under their own weight as a bright red flash enveloped them. The Flames passed right through the space where the Zeppelins once occupied, and for a moment both Archdemon and DPU assumed their enemies' dead. However, that soon became apparently wrong when they sensed a bunch of negative emotions to Archdemon's right flank, and the creature instantly ascended over a large energy attack that would have ripped a hole in its wings.

Growling in outrage that its foes had survived that attack, the Archdemon turned to face its incoming threats, its wings returning to their original forms while its prepared to strike with a stream of Primal fire from its maw when it saw something that stunned its master to silence.

"What the hell…?"