Chapter 155 - Venting Stress
After Nico had left the sanctuary of the Nature Elves, it didn't take him long to decide to head out deeper into the forest, wanting to savour this peaceful tranquillity for a little bit longer before he had to return to the Capital. Since he had been out here for an entire day without messaging anyone to tll them where he was, Nico assumed that his comrades would be somewhat worried for him… either that, or they were neck deep in training, something which he hoped was the case. Someone like Mundus walking around was bad enough, but then if one took into account the Abnormals, Arfoire and the various Demonic forces invading Gaminustri like unending tides, then they'd see the overall shit storm that this world would be heading into in the near future.
More than that though, it showed that the girls were independent warriors, strong female leads who didn't rely on others to shape their fates for them, something Nico respected in people.
Nico respected independence, he valued it highly to be frank. It was why he went on so many solo missions and usually took care of matters on his lonesome. He loved it when people didn't rely so much on others but their own strength, since it showed a strong sense of self in the person, as well as increased their chances of survival in this world. To a Spec Ops Agent, overly relying on others when in a combat situation was pretty much a death sentence,. That kind of attitude stopped people from training themselves, making themselves stronger and better than what they originally were.
He wasn't the only one though. His mom, his comrades in Team RAIL, every one of the colleagues he had, pretty much everyone in the Spec Ops community respected this trait, they encouraged it in each other even. It was something that held deep weight and relevance to them, more so than the Guild or even the Military since they didn't face the same dangers as Spec Ops Agents did. No matter who they were, be it weak or strong, self-dependence for them had to be a must. To them, every day was a struggle to survive, so how could they afford to rely on others? Sure, pack strength was a thing, but in the end one isn't going to get anywhere in this line of work by relying on others and limiting their own growth. The strong survive, the weak die after all.
As a result, Nico hoped that the girls were making use of this opportunity to dive into their training, because of this defeat and the looming threats around them, none of them could ever afford to be lax. There were tons of ways for them to grow in strength, ways which they would have to discover themselves. Nico wouldn't help them unless absolutely necessary, as he didn't want to impede their training in some misguided notion of helping them. Lending one's assistance to another may not be considered a bad thing, lending too much assistance becomes coddling, and Nico DESPISED that notion with every fibre of his being. Coddling was what a lot of Agents had when joining the Spec Ops at the beginning, and if they didn't toss that side of them away soon then Abnormals would not hesitate to devour them.
He himself wanted to do some training when he got the chance, learn more about the powers he now possessed.
At least then, he could test out a few theories he had been developing.
About 12 minutes passed with The male simply walking, walking through the depths of the forest at a leisurely pace, immersing himself within the sounds of the wilderness around him. His nostrils kept track of all the scents in the surrounding vicinity, whilst his Bracers were each set to mapping this Forest out for him, since he'd decided to name it the 'Natue Elf Forest' in a tribute to the hidden race here which impacted him so. Quietness and serenity surrounded him and embraced each and every one of his senses, frming in a strong tranquillity which soothed the teen down to the very depths of his being. Not something he encountered very often recently, and part of him even suggested that he take his comrades here some day for a camping trip, maybe even bring Team RAIL along for the ride if they weren't too busy. It would be worth even enduring the attempts at seduction Lucy would likely attempt, just to ease the minds of his comrades. Especially with the whole Mundus stuff.
Though, it didn't take him long to begin thinking about what had happened to him.
Whilst he walked through the peaceful wilderness, Nico's expression slowly but surely grew more and moretroubled. His eyes darkened slightly whilst his hands, still within his Trench Coat, gradually clenched into fists. 'Seeing those Nature Elves in the state they were in… damn, it really puts things into perspective…' Nico thought to himself, taking his right hand out of its Trench Coat pocket and using it to clutch his chin in a contemplative manner. 'I… I don't feel like what I did back there was the wrong thing to do, especially when it comes to my ideals… but…'
Flashbacks to what Gelmudo told him rung through his mind, causing Nico's frown to widen, almost becoming a scowl as anger started to bubble deep within. Anger which his Demonic powers started to react to which showed itself as his body started to gain a thin red cloak of energy. The male quickly suppressed it though, using his own willpower as well as taking deep breaths to try and calm himself. It only got worse though, when he remembered what Yvoire told him, about how the Spec Ops were a lot shadier than Nico could have ever expected. That old bastard had the gall to say such things when he knew of Nico's situation, his condition, but considering what he had seen oday the redhead male felt like he had much more evidence to support his arguments. Nico's backstory wasn't the only skeleton in their closet, it seemed, especially if slavery was being used in an illegal method despite the ban on it passed through by the CPU.
Now, what was worse what that he had been opened up to the possibility of there being innocent Abnormals like the Nature Elves. Even now, the male scowled at the mere THOUGHT of associating them with those creatures, like ti was an affront to his comrades themselves to commit such an act. Now that he had his answers from them, Nico couldn't help but begin to wonder: Were there others like them? Were there other Abnormals who were innocent yet were hunted down anyways? Who just wanted a peaceful life but didn't have a choice to it due to their very nature? Worse still, how many of those Abnormals had he killed unknowingly? How many had he killed without realizing what he was actually doing, killing innocent creatures which had done practically no harm to anyone? He wanted to think that his hands weren't tainted with such blood, but if he were frank, then he'd admit that his hands were practically gushing with red blood, his kill count so high that he couldn't recall them all.
'Pondering these thoughts won't help you, Nico.'
'Biko…' Nico called out when he heard his Demon Persona speak, his words echoing through his mind while carrying a sense of sternness and slight scolding. When he heard him, the teen had paused his stride mid step, before stopping completely as he glanced behind him, checking to see if there were any enemies using is various detection methods. Once he'd confirmed the enemy count to be zero, the teen then focused back on the link between him and his Demon Persona. Biko's intervention had timely struck again, the male mentally mused, though the teen didn't joke around about that right now. Not when he had instead focused more on what he had just been told. Though, it wasn't nearly as much information as he would have wanted, not to mention that he wanted an actual answer to his questions, not something short like that. The teen thought about his words, but didn't get a chance to reply, since Biko had already begun his next sentence.
'What's done, is done. Even if you have been killing innocent creatures under the guise of 'they're Abnormals, so they're bad', you were also simply doing your job. Your part of a mercenary group no matter how much you try to justify it. Killing enemies, you are contracted to kill is your job, you go out there, kill the enemy and get paid for it at the end. As much as I abhor the notion, something you'll agree with me on, you simply didn't have the 'responsibility' like that old coot said. You could use that as an excuse to justify your past actions, but that would be the cowardly path, and I know you damn well enough that you wouldn't even CONSIDER the cowardly option. Those trials alone are proof of that. For the ones you killed outside of your job, you were simply following your instincts, not to mention lot of those times you were attacked first, usually in an ambush. The times when you struck first may not be small, but those times you attacked those you considered dangerous. You had to make calls, and quickly at that, nobody can rightfully mock you over that.'
As much as he didn't like to admit it, Biko had made several important points just then, points that he both found agreeable, and others not so much. He had been right in saying that most of his kill count came from doing things like Quests or urgent jobs issued by the Guild. The Clients too, they each held the belief that Abnormals were the enemy since they caused a lot of problems for them such as kidnapping, murder and non-consensual breeding. Those were just a FEW things, others included destroying livelihoods, ruining homes and separating loved ones from each other forever. Though, there were a select few who just wanted to 'vent their stress' by having them kill off a selective amount of Abnormals in an area, but even then it was a job, and someone had to do it no matter what. Sometimes it had been him, other times it wasn't.
Not to mention, that Biko's comparison with Yvoire's words spoken to him during their talk made even more sense than they did back then, something which filled his throat with bile that his body wanted to hurl. Though, Nico refrained considering the validity of those statements being as high as they were. The more that he began to think about it, the more that Nico began to believe that Yvoire's words held more truth to them. More truth than even that old coot himself would have expected. Of course, Nico didn't believe he was 'wrong' completely per say, he DID consider Count Mott to be a dangerous threat out there, not to mention the Demons and the other hostile forces would make it quite beneficial to remove any 'corruption' which could prevent the military from defending to their fullest potential. Like for example tightening the military's budget for his own needs like Avenir did in Lastation. Or having the more experienced forces defend only his own mansion from invaders whilst leaving the rookies and other similar experienced soldiers to fend for themselves, thinking that would solve everything.
As for his killing of Abnormals OUTSIDE of his job, Nico indeed attributed them to mostly doing what Biko had indeed said he had. Making the calls based off prior knowledge of them, experience, as well as the general rule of 'the strong live and the weak die'. This mentality wasn't as simple as people made it out to be either, strength didn't just mean physical strength, but the ability to calculate what an enemy's weakness might be and to figure out their exact weaknesses or where to hit to strike the most damage. Then, there was the aftermath to consider, should on take out an enemy they would have to wonder if the enemy was operating alone or in a pack. If it was the latter, then they would have to conserve their strength unless they took a shot at and killed the pack's leader, breaking the unison and forcing the pack to scatter. Pack leaders were like pillars of stability and strength, something others looked up to. It wasn't that different for leaders too, the Goddesses being fine examples of this ideal. Should a leader fall, then those who follow that leader will scatter away in the hopes of finding a new leader to rally behind. Strength in body and strength of mind, both of those were adhered to in this mentality.
Though, the most important aspect of it, was indeed survival. To live to fight another day.
Looking down at his right hand, Nico brought it away from his chin to look it over, his eyes shining with thoughtfulness. As he looked at it, the teen imagined himself, fighting and killing any and all Abnormals who stood in his way. Abnormals, humans, it made no difference to him. Nico remembered hos past deeds, many of them being horrifying and brutal to the common witness. There had been few times when he had saved someone's life, to be sure, but compared to the times he had taken lives, leaving nothing but death and destruction in his wake… there could be no comparison.
There was a GOOD reason why he had been nicknamed the 'Black Reaper' after all, he wouldn't be surprised if there was a way to make a mountain which pierced the clouds above out of the many corpses which lay at his feet, slain beneath his claws or his blades. His weapons of choice dripping with rivers of thick, crimson blood which gushed down from them like waterfalls. His whole body being the same way with his clothes carrying the stench of death with crows circling around him from overhead, his head reared upwards towards the heavens whilst his mask covered his features… his sole eye hidden from view yet still covered in the life liquid.
A snarl ripped free from his lips as Nico clenched his hand into a fist. 'What those Nature Elves said about me… cannot be anything but a lie… I'm no good person, I'm nothing but a monster… a Demon which destroys everything he touches…' the male thought to himself, throwing his fist downwards and shaking away the image of himself standing atop a mountain of corpses. It felt like a sin just being near those creatures of purity, and he would likely be committing that sin repeatedly in order to keep his word to some of them.
Those being Qing He and He Lin.
Afterwards, a tired, no, exhausted sigh escaped Nico's lips as the teen closed his eyes in resignation to his fate. It wasn't something he could escape, nor would he ever escape. The reason why his comrades had accepted him would likely never be properly understood by his primal mind, nor would his instincts allow him to. He was nothing but a freak of nature, nothing more and nothing less. That was truly how it should be for him… None of this aiming shit, Nico should stay in the way of biting at whoever tries to get into his personal space, rip out their throats and tear their lives asunder.
Just as his thoughts began to spiral further downhill into the depths of madness, something which would trigger his Ghoul side if he did any more, Nico's eyes sharply swung open as he suddenly tensed. His instincts told him to, his nostrils detected foreign scents in the air and according to the Motion Trackers in his Bracers, there were enemies incoming. Or rather, there was simply ONE enemy incoming, from the east according to his detection methods. 'Huh? What the hell, why is one enemy heading my way? From what I can sense, it feels like a Demon of sorts, similar to a Bloodletter only stronger. Probably a Herald…' Nico thought to himself, before remembering the classifications and Rankings of the Demons.
According to Biko, Heralds of Khorne were in between Bloodthirsters and Bloodletters in terms of power levels, so between Ground and Sky Class. This one he was sensing however, seemed to be more on the Ground Class though, which told him that Demons all had varying levels of power, power which would come with their age and how much they trained themselves. Thus, whilst Nico didn't feel like he would have much of a problem dispatching it, especially with his current Arsenal, he DID have to wonder what a Herald of Khorne was doing out here. They were meant to lead groups of Bloodletters into battle according to what he knew about them, so one coming here on its own seemed rather… unusual. Enough to be a cause for concern in his eyes, anyways. Still though, considering the kind of day that Nico had, the male honestly welcomed the chance to vent his stress through combat… he'd been meaning to test out some of his powers against some worthwhile opponents, Demons were WAY better sport, especially the Khornate ones (although he didn't have any experience fighting the other three Chaos Gods or their many demonic hoards).
'Now then, what should I use to take this fucker out? Odds are, he won't be alone, so... hmmm, yeah, that one will do...'
It was with that thought, which Nico prepared to fight with, as he hopped back from where he sensed the incoming Herald of Khorne. The moment that the male landed, the sounds of crackling flesh resonated behind him, filling his ears as his invisible Rinkaku Kagune erupted from the back of his waist. All six Tentacles exploded outwards, whipping the air around him before smacking the ground around him, lifting themselves in rapid jerking motions before pointing towards the direction of the incoming enemy. With them out, Nico's left eye turned into its Kakugan form as the teen swiftly slipped his Mask on. All the while, the male decided to light his hands in Hellfire, forming a pair of swords shaped like his Ouranos in them. Recalling what he knew about them, Nico recalled that Khornate Demons prided themselves on martial prowess, they didn't use anything like trickery in favour of just enjoying a brawl in its purest form, relishing the slaughter like men masturbating while watching porn.
Finally, the Herald showed itself, jumping out of the wilderness with its burning Helblade a literl manifestation of rage itself. Nothing compared to its patron Chaos God, according to what he knew, but still. Nico could practically bathe himself in the amount of burning rage and scorching hatred which got emitted by the Demon and its infernal weapon, as it landed before him and ghave a mighty roar. The roar ended up shaking the ground all around them, causing the trees in their vicinity to rattle like they were slightly destabilized bowling pins. Not to mention that it released this large heat wave that, if it were able to, it would have set this entire forest on fire.
'Alright, time to get back into the swing of things… goddamnit, I've missed this.' The teen thought with an excited smirk spreading across his lips beneath the crazed grin of his Mask. His lone uncovered Kakugan eye shined with dark, sinister and fiery killing intent, almost like his eyes had become the Hellfire flames that he commanded. The moment that the Herald saw this expression, its own eyes blazed brighter at the prospect of an actual opponent. Its tongue fell out of its maw as it mimicked licking the space where its lips should have been, practically SALIVATING at the thought of the upcoming fight.
FWOOOM!
Instantly, Nico burst forth into a mad sprint, amplifying his speed with a certain movemtne Skill he had learned during his trials: The Star God's Broken Shadow. In essence, it was a speed skill which allowed him to move so fast that he left an afterimage, one which wouldn't be able to keep up with his movements. This would be one heck of a useful skill for him, since before meeting Zelretch Nico didn't exactly have that many means of dodging attacks. Aside from his own physical ability and his Warping, then his DEMONIC OVERDRIVE, but none of those were proper evasion-type skills. He'd relied mostly on either his own ability or the abilities that Nico's various Demonic Weapons possessed. Not something which he could do forever, since there would likely be times where Nico would be separated from his beloved Devil Arms. The Skill came in a series of levels called 'Stages', and there were up to 8 of them, meaning the max number for those who fully master this technique would be 8. Though, fully mastering it gave HUGE advantages in the speed department.
Right now, he was only on the fifth stage, and if he got the chance he'd learn more Skills like these, but for now, what he had would be enough.
After that speed boost, Nico appeared right behind his opponent, who suddenly tensed when he brushed passed him. The very next second, the Herald of Khorne howled when dozens of slash marks, both light and deep, formed all over its person. Not only that, but all its limbs got cleaved off, several holes opened up in its body, and its head got separated from the rest of its body. The poor Demon's mind couldn't even register what the fuck it had just went through, or what its opponent had done, the only thing it knew was that it had been damaged severely, dealt life-threating injuries. Of course, the creature didn't feel any sense of fear or anything of that like, if it did then it would have shamed the name of Khorne! Fear didn't even register in their dictionaries, they were nothing but rage incarnate after all.
Nico, however, didn't stop there, no he had something ELSE in mind, something which refused to let the Demon explode like the rest of its kind did when they were defeated. If his idea worked, then he'd be able to deal with multiple birds with one stone. Not only would he be able to protect the hidden Nature Elf Village, but perhaps he himself could get some well-deserved 'stress relief' from this whole ordeal. Goddess knows that he wanted to have some after the shit he had just went through, physically and mentally.
Instead of letting that happen, the redhead teen mentally commanded his Rinkaku to act. The set of appendages quickly obeyed the commands of their master, and swiftly lunged forth at speeds which surpassed the falling Demon's body detonating. A split second before they contacted the bodyparts, including the head, each Tentacle seemed to... split their tips open at least a quarter downwards to reveal a series of mouths filled to the brim with crimson coloured fangs, fangs sharper than any sort of blade imaginable. They even formed their own eyes as the Rinkaku eagerly scooped up the fleshy bodyparts of the Demon before it could detonate, devouring the flesh with fervour.
That included the head.
Closing his eyes, Nico felt one of his theories about his body's new powers come to fruition when, like a camera in a theatre, images played through his mind with HD level clarity. It was like watching a movie inside his own head, something which made the teen smirk to himself. Thanks to his Gene Seed Implants, Nico now had the ability to gain the memories of those that he ate, as long as his Kagune or he himself devoured the opponent's brain. He figured that if the brain was damaged in any way, then the memories would have been affected as well, too. He wasn't completely sure, but sure enough that he didn't want to put that to the test for the time being.
Especially since, thanks to those memories, Nico discovered that there was a camp of Demons being set up nearby, consisting of over 8 groups of 80 Bloodletters, making the total number being 640. In the centre of their camp, there stood one of those Obelisks, the same kind of one that the Defiler had come in through. It seemed to serve as their rallying point, and the Demons were using the forest as a means of cover. It also looked like infighting was a common occurrrance, not surprising since those Bloodletters were what they were. Any deaths seemed to get quickly replaced, making him wonder just exactly how many Demonic Legions Khorn had.
Probably a whole hell lot, his brain answered him.
'It is relieving, to know that we have a chance to let loose. I will admit to wanting to see how far we've come up to this point. Still, it would be wise for you to not underestimate the World Eaters, they ARE a Legion of Warriors who have WAY more experience in combat than you. It DID take you a whole day just to finish some off way back when, if you recall. Odds are, some of them may give even the current you a run for your money.'
'To be blunt Biko, I'm hoping for that. Thanks to everything so far, haven't had a chance to properly let loose. My body's practically SCREAMING at me for some action.'
Going for so long without actually having to fight something like this… wasn't exactly Nico's thing. Back in the trials he could at last occupy himself with some training either in reality or in his Inner World, since it involved his body moving and his adrenaline pumping through his veins in some way or another. Heck, even before then, Nico rarely foun himself standing still and just taking everything in. He'd been pretty much constantly on the move, always doing something be it fighting or training himself. Of course, he spent SOME time with his new comrades, but that had been a secondary priority to him as difficult to swallow as that sounded, training and getting stronger had been more important to him. How could he spend time with others if he was too weak and got mauled to death out in the field? Plus, its not like they spent a lot of time winding down since they fought a lot in Quests against Abnormals and Demons. So, it essentially meant that he sorts of didn't need to worry about that stuff.
So, to him notfighting or having that surge of adrenaline pumping through him for an extended time… it felt foreign, alien and weird to him.
Thus, Nico wanted to get back into the action.
Rolling his right shoulder, Nico nearly moaned in relief when he felt some satisfying cracks coming from it. Thoughts of the upcoming battle filled his mind, and also extended through his links o his various weapons, making each of them howl with delight and almost salivate with bloodlust. Each of them shared his feelings regarding battle, unsurprisingly considering their true nature. At the thought of more combat, Nico felt his Kagune tremble as if it had a will of its own, trembling at the thought of sinking itself into more flesh. Sometimes he really did wonder if it had its own consciousness, or semi consciousness especially with its abilities…
'Meh, food for thought later, right now I've got some skulls to smack, kneecaps to shatter and a whole lot of shredding ahead of me!' The teen thought to himself with an eager smirk, adjusting the cuffs of his Trench Coat then his black leather gloves whilst his legs seemed to move forth towards the direction of the camo of their own accord. Looks like the body wats what it wants, the teen mused to himself. A mirthful cuckle escaped his lips wilst he continued his stride, his Kagune retracting back into him. Ready to spring out into existence again at a moment's notice.
Time to HUNT…
Making his way through the forest proved to be a disadvantage, since Nico couldn't get a good visual. Therefore, the teen summoned Soul Edge and had it carry him up into the air. Nico COULD have morphed his Rinkaku into one of the many forms he could turn it into, but to be frank he wanted to use it for offence instead. It held him from its position on his back, all the while he held Rebellion in one hand whilst a fiery replica of it, made from his Hellfire, got grasped by his other. He did this so he could get a better visual, using the memories of his recent victim to locate the camp whilst also to identify it.
'Nico, I can sense the Demons better, it seems that they are getting close. I know you have a strong desire to kill, but do you have a plan? Or do you plan on just winging it and relyon your instincts like you usually do?'
Biko's voice resounded through Nico's head when he asked that, causing the redhead to tilt his noggin before he responded. 'Of course, I'm going in like I usually do. Fighting with my instincts is what I've done for along time now, its not like I'm going to be changing anytime soon. If anything, I wanna showcase some of my powers that I gained before.' Whilst he responded to this, Nico mentally kept his senses active and honed in on the Demonic Energy signatures. Since he was going fairly fast through the air, I wouldn't be long before they would come into focus.
'Very well. Fair warning, if you plan on utelizing your Archdevil Arms, you will only be able to use one at a time for the time being. The strain on your soul is much greater hen using one, when in comparison to a normal Devil Arm, the difference is like comparing a mountain to a small lump on the ground. Using two at once will be impossible for the current you, but you SHOULD be able to sustain one Devil Arm alongside one.']
Hearing the warning, Nico's mouth tightened whilst his eyes narrowed in contemplation. Memories flashed through his mind, memories of when he had just started out in using Rebellion, the once-named Alastor, the once-named Harvester and his twin handguns. Each of them had a link to his soul, with his Handguns being the weakest... at least if he used one of them. Otherwise Harvester won, but that was beside the point. He recalled his drained he'd become after using just one of them, of how he felt like he could sleep for multiple hundreds of years at a time due to his tired he became. Learning how to wield Devil Arms effectively had NEVER been easy, so to hear that the Archdevil Arms would be WORSE than them put things into perspective. He figured that he had only managed to wield Ouranos that effectively when he fought Okada was due to his own urgency and his prior experiences in soul weapon-related matters… then there was that poison to consider too.
'Thanks for the warning then, Biko. I'll keep it in mind when I go about murdering these sons of bitches.'
Finally, it happened: Nico found the Demon's camp.
The male had seen it come into view moments after Biko's warning about the Archdevil Arms, and when it did he saw a large camp, surrounded by a large wall made with long, tall sharpened tree trunks. Their leaves and branches had been pretty much severed from them with their tips like those of stakes. Even from here though, Nico could smell the smell of blood and death from within, not to mention that he could see the many masses of Demonic Bloodletters and their Heralds mangling within. It… caused him to gulp in order to try and contain his building excitement.
'Looks like they're preparing to move out…' Nico thought as he closed his eyes and expanded his senses, immediately picking up on a TITANIC level of bloodlust and twisted joy from these Demons. 'Probably found a target that they wish to bring down, like a fortress or a military outpost….'
'Furthermore, it seems these Demons are moving in groups of eight. Peculiar, but then again I recall that Khorne has a very… close, almost religious, relationship with that number. One could say its his Sacred Number. It makes me wonder if the other Chaos Gods have their own Sacred Numbers like this guy does. Odds are, it will likely be the case.'
'Sacred Numbers, huh? Sounds kind of interesting, might want to look up on that in the future. Anyways, this camp looks like it'll be trouble in the future for the military to handle… meh, I'll just kill them all now and have my thrill. Speaking of which, now that I look at it, it does look more like an outpost than a Camp…'
'BAH, CAMP SMAMP DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL SHIT, KING! JUST BATHE IN THEIR BLOOD ALREADY! I WANNA SEE CARNAGE!'
'That's ALL you ever want to see though.'
'YOUR POINT…?'
Nico shook his head, dismissing the link he had to his Ghoul side before he focused back on his newest prey. His opened eyes began to gain a dull red glow, his Kakugan having reformed as he deployed his Armour. A small smirk tugged at his lips from beneath his helmet as he reared the Replica of Rebellion backwards, twisting the grip he had so that it resembled that of a Javelin. 'Oh, I'm SO going to enjoy this…' Nico thought as he ignored the maniacal cackling resonating from deep within his mind…
And then with a spear-like thrust, threw the blade.
The moment that Nico threw the Hellfire blade, the male clicked his tongue, and when he did so… the blade suddenly exploded, erupting into a freaking rainfall of Hellfire missiles which landed upon the unsuspecting Demons. Demonic howls and roars of inhuman fury erupted within the camp, their owners outraged beyond comprehension at the surprise attack. Nico swore that he heard some of them yell out 'damned Slaaneshians!' or something. How strange…
Shaking his head, Nico opted to throw his free hand to the side, and when he called upon his Hellfire powers, the male flicked his hand out… and thus, over 700 basket-ball sized fireballs morphed into existence above his head. Nico himself, held a massive bloodthirsty grin beneath his helmet, the shadows born from the flames signalling his location to the Demons. However, Nico didn't give a damn as he flung his arm downwards and his shower followed suit. If he thought the roars from before had been ear-piercing, the onesright now would have practically rendered him deaf with their volume and intensity. A mix of pain and rage could be sensed by him down below.
Instead of causing fear and dread though, inside Nico he could only feel the elation that came with having a good slaughter. 'Heh, honestly don't see much diffence between me and Khorne at this rate…' the male thought to himself. If he were in a saner state of mind, then he'd feel disgusted by the fact he'd just compared himself with the things causing so much death and destruction on a needess scale, but right now he didn't give a damn. All he wanted was a good fight…
And soon, he would get one.
After his little pre-emptive attack on the camp, it was time for the main event, something which his Ghoul Persona drooled over inside his Inner World. Nico bathed himself in Hellfire, becoming somewhat of like that one guy ho got th ability tturn into a fire man from cosmic energy alongside his three companions, before shooting down to the surface like a meteor. The flight had beenshort lived, but the moment that Nico crashed into the ground, the Hellfire covering him expanded outwards in all directions, taking the form of a huge wave which filled the entire camp. Each and every Bloodletter, including the Heralds which commanded them, fell to the ground from the impact that Nico had made, his strength in human form making the shockwaves from his little manoeuvre resembling a low tier earthquake.
Of course, none of these Demons got axed off during this, or any of his previous attacks. Their skin, their very blood, burned like searing infernos of rage and hatred, allowing them to resist most fire-based attacks. As such, Nico had over 600 Demons to fight against, Demons which would make fighting that army of 100,000 Fishmen back in the Water Trial look like a walk in the park in comparison. Those guys had tstarted off easy at the beginning then got progressively harder as time went on. These guys? They'd got much more experience from the get-go…
Good thing then, that he ALSO had that kind of experience under his belt.
The moment that Nico landed on the ground, he switly sprung into action, not paying the various small remnants of his own Hellfire which were scattered across the burning Camp any mind. He quickly stood up and reached behind him, grasping Soul Edge's hilt and drawing the massive blade. With Soul Edge taking up his free hand, Nico then burst into a sprint like a rocket and jumped forwards, not even caring who he landed on as he stabbed Rebellion into the nearest Bloodletter he could find. The momnt he did so, Nico's ears registered the sounds of the beast choking on its own blood, sending no small bouts of euphoria through him. It felt goddamn GOOD to be back…
'Eyes on the prize.'
Biko didn't need to say anything at that moment, but he did so anyways when he sensed the Bloodletters approaching them. After devouring his first victim's soul with his sword's SOUL EATER, the male quickly moved on to the next Bloodletter, cleaving it through with Soul Edge before flicking Rebellion upwards, knocking an attacking Bloodletter's Hellblade right out of its hands, kicking it in the stomach. That resulted in him knocking it down, of which Nico exploited the opening and hopped onto its chest, stabbing it in the head. He then used Soul Edge, which was embedded in the dying Demon's noggin as a post to flip his body into the air, performing a split kick which knocked away several Bloodletters attacking from his left and right flanks. He even twirled himself around and parried several slashes to his person, before launching a double kick to a Bloodletter's face and used this attack as a springboard to propel himself backwards.
This resulted in Soul Edge jerking itself fre from the impaled Demon just before it detonated in its signature explosion, further propelling nico away from the horde of Bloodletters as they began to get reorganized by the Heralds. As he flew, the Armour-clad redhead noticed that the Heralds were staying within the depths of the horde iself, regulating orders to the rest of them. Though, judging by what he could sense, Nico got the idea that they wished to join the battle themselves but restrained themselves in order to better lead the other Demons.
'Heh, if Neptune was here, she'd make a joke about them, probably…' he couldn't help but think as he landed, sliding to a halt. Holding Rebellion in one hand and taking Soul Edge out the ground in the other, Nico held them in a combat stance taught to him by a… very gifted mentor, way more than what his mother could have been. Well, maybethat wasn't necessarily true, but the fact was that the one who taught him on swordplay… well, he came from a different background, and his skills Nico had seen for himself.
Still, that wasn't important right now. What WAS, was simply that he just wanted to vent.
And these guys would be his unwilling targets.
"Alright now boys…" Nico began, as he began to release all his own pent up bloodlust, murderous intent and desire for mass slaughter ontot he entire camp. It practically erupted like a roaring blaze, intent on burning everything else out of existence and scorching like a literal flame. The moment that he released it, it followed suit with everything, EVERYTHING he had contained within himself, resulting in this chaotic STORM of emotion. His anger at how twisted things in the world really were, his confusion at his comrades seemingly accepting his Ghoul side so easily despite his experiences telling him that wouldn't have happened, his frustration and oppression at being unable to do anything which only got fanned by the searing flames of rage at all the injustice he had seen. It all just EXPLODED out of him, worse than a nuclear explosion and far more impactful than one of those could ever have been.
His inner chaotic emotions had been so great, that even the Bloodletters and Heralds nearly got caugt off guard, although soon after they all shared their own variants of warped glee. Laughter, joy and ecstasy born from the promise of bloodshed filled their very beings as they raised their Hellblades to the air above, roars of excitement filling the Camp. As they roared, each of the Bloodletters stormed through the Camp towards him, with the Heralds having mixed into them in order to keep the horde in line with their target.
All the while, Nico just grinned savagely under his Helmet, his eyes shining a crimson red light.
"Shall we dance?"
"Hmmm... so THAT is what happened..."
In a far of location, a familiar man wearing a hat, also known as a fedora hat, floated in the air space overlooking the forest itself. The very same forest in which Nico had guided He Lin back to as well as the one filled with the Demonic Presence. Though, only Nico and the man himself knew of it, heck only they could sense how palpable the energies generated were, though there were other signs for people to notice should they even open their goddamn eyes to look. For one, the skies themselves turned red, as of flames were burning them to ashes, while a crimson hue took over the atmosphere like a fog rolling over a beach to conceal it from view. In addition, the energy itself affected the forest somewhat, some of the areas having already been Desecrated and transformed into twisted variations from its presence.
Though none of this piqued his interest one bit.
No, what HE had more interest over was the fact that there had been a whole Nature Elf VILLAGE located within this forest, right under his very nose as a matter of fact.
Nature Elves were seen as quite the rare commodity in the world of Gaminustri especially by those who yet still knew of their existence. They were highly valuable just from their taste alone when cooked by an expert chef, turning them from rowdy brats into delicious meals which could cause a swarm of nhungry Nobles to salivate in joy and ecstasy. That wasn't even beginning to take into account how eating their flesh gave so many benefits to the consumer aside from the taste, the longevity itself being one such bonus. When they had been hunted in the past, most people believed them to be a threat due to them having the ability to look into one's soul, although anyone with a brain would have known that to be a simple farce, what humanity REALLY hunted them for was the longevity that their bodies promised them when cooked to perfection. It would be every chef's dream to cook with such fine ingredients, while it was every mortal's fantasy to be able to live as long as what they would be promised when sampling such... exquisite cuisine.
Nowadays however this didn't happen nearly as much, mostly due to how they had mostly faded out of the public eye thanks to there being so few of them in existence. One could call them an endangered species, thus when he had heard there were so few of them remaining, he had lost any interest in taking them for himself or his master. Their benefits would be lost in time, due to them being hunted to extinction either by humans themselves, or the other Abnormals, as even with their identities as Abnormals themselves they would be considered some of the weakest of the Abnormals. Not ONE of them would have been a threat to say an X Rank, or even an E rank Abnormal.
So, when he got wind of there being an entire VILLAGE full of them right under his nose... excitement and glee didn't even BEGIN to cover what he felt inside.
The very THOUGHT of being able to sample such fine delicacies like the flesh of a Nature Elf when cooked to perfection, made his mouth water. His own fantasies however, weren't as important right now, as despite what he wanted, he was more of a practical man even before... what he had done to make himself stronger. That meant that, despite his great joy in discovering this SPLENDID news, he still had to about how to go about this. Perhaps when he brought them home he could turn them into breeding material, have them forcefully breed to make more and increase their numbers. Turn one of the many potholes of land his master owned into a farm for these Abnormals. Raise them up like pigs before selecting the 'juicy' ones for the feeding of his master's pallet, hell if the master wanted any company for the night, he cuold just select one of the more attractive ones from this flock and have them be one of his many toys.
One thing was for certain though, and that was that he'd be taking them back to his master whether they wanted to or not.
'Hmmm, good thing that the trail here isn't cold yet. I'll simply pay some... colleagues of mine a visit, have them track down this Village of merchandise with some pets of theirs, then bring them back to the Master. Odds are, they'll try to kill themselves by destroying their Nature Spirit Cores. Doing that is like a death sentence to all those lovely benefits, as their destruction releases a wave of energy through their bodies which pretty much destroys all the interior. Leaving them as nothing more than useless fleshy sacks. Once they attempt to do that, we'll knock them out with a paralyzing Agent or something, should they want to have FUN with the merch then that should be fine too. Everyone has needs, after all, it would also serve to break their spirits some more...'
Thoughts like that wandered through the mind of one Gelmudo, as he turned on his heels and flew back towards the Capital.
Chapter end
If anyone has noticed anything like repetition with the power descriptions, its because I made this entire arc way before some changes had been made tot he other chapters pre release. Just consider them as reminders of what these powers are like and what Nico can do with them. Also, if anyone wants to they can try and draw some fanart of Nico and the characters, maybe even a battle between them and some Demons. It'd be pretty cool and this fanfic has no shortage of potential for fanart, at least in my eyes.
