Purity

By Sauce XIV

Summary: Malice had been betrayed. Now she is given a second chance at life. Malice's POV

Disclaimer: I do not own Riviera: The Promised Land, its storyline, characters, or pretty much anything. However, I do own this story, and, unless otherwise noted, the content of this story.

Author's Note: Chapter One is probably going to be the least original chapter in the story, because basically I'm just taking events from the game and throwing dialogue and descriptives into it. However, there is a good reason I'm doing this and that is to set up the storyline of Malice getting betrayed first, then a second chance at life and then the twenty-some chapters following it. On a side note, any innaccuray in regarding the events of this chapter is solely my fault, because I haven't played this game in awhile.

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Chapter One: Betrayed

Traitor. That was the only insult that fit. Or in his case, a bug that just won't die. Why is this Angel being led astray by the sprites? Why does he continue to defy the will of the Gods?

These were questions I wouldn't get to know the answers to.

I simply stared as the brunette Angel followed by his band of sprite followers entered the Maze of Shadows. I would have flew down and attacked him and his companions had I not been wounded in the last time we fought. That Angel, though he is either being betrayed by the sprites or betraying Asgard, is an extremely good fighter. But that's to be expected, because he is a Grim Angel. I merely wasn't expecting him to be that hard to kill, though. He would be dead by now had not Ledah interfered. Why did that blonde sacrifice his own life to save the traitor? He knew what we were doing was the will of the Gods, so why?

The wound that I received from the traitor's bolt-like Diviner, Einherjar, had not fully healed. Wounds from Angelic weapons such as Diviners take a longer time to heal. It hadn't even fully closed, actually.

Tuning myself back to reality, it appeared that I had lost sight of the brunette Angel and his entourage, so I flew deeper into the Maze of Shadows, giving chase at a leisurely pace. After all, I could fly, and the only one in his group that could fly was that wretched Arc, who should have died back in Lacrima. Had the traitor not been there, she would have died, and I would have wiped out an entire race of sprites. It was all for Hector I would tell myself. I hadn't really been fond of killing as of late, as it's not really fun when you have to kill thousands upon thousands in a short period of time, just for the sake of someone you don't exactly know, except he is one of the seven Magi of Asgard.

It was all for the will of the Gods. That much I know.

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"Ein," I started as I caught up to the brunette and his followers. " Why is it you dare to defile the will of the Gods?"

I then swiftly took in the enviroment, knowing that a fight was to be sure. Ein wasn't one to be swayed by my questioning. We were in a section of the Maze of Shadows where there was a winding road through the center with pits on either side with a massive crystal jutting up from one of the pits. It seemed flat enough in several locations to stand on it, making it seem as if someone once upon a time did something that involved that crystal. I don't know why, but it seemed so...so...pure.

Infront of me there was Ein, the brunette Angel. To his sides were four sprites, most likely his followers or something. How come Ein is traveling with only girls? Is he some kind of pervert? I asked myself. It was true in the fact that he was traveling with mostly girls. Even his Familiar, Rose, was a girl, though Ein would argue against his Familiar counting had I asked him.

All five of them brandished their weapons as I spoke. The Arc said something about revenge as she tightened her grip on her scythe, which seemed to be the size of her and then some. She had short, blue hair, and was mostly dressed in blue and black garments. On her back were wings that resembled that of a bat: small, black, and leathery. It was a wonder how those wings could support her and her scythe at the same time. She seemed roughly in her late teens-early twenties. Did I mention she had a hat with cat ears on it?

A red haired older girl, most likely a witch or some kind of spellcaster, was next to the Arc. She wore a red witch's dress that was pretty long, and sported a black, pointy hat on her head. She had her hand on a staff, mostly carved of wood with a red gemstone imbedded inside it. She appeared to be in her early-to-mid twenties.

A religious fencer was also near Ein. She had green hair and wore a green dress with white lacing on the edges. She had one of her hands on the hilt of her rapier. The long, slender blade was adorned with a green gemstone in the center of the hilt, with pieces of metal extending from that gemstone, and glimmered in light. She also had a silver Rosary around her neck. She appeared in her late teens and was the only one who wasn't actually tense about me showing up, meaning either she was very brave or very stupid.

Next to the fencer was a happy-go-lucky archer who only appeared to be the size of about four feet, and gave off the appearance of a child. However, she sported a massive bow, and that can only mean that either she is really stupid to use such a bow or a sureshot archer. She had yellow hear that was put in a double-ponytail, one of each side of her head. She also wore mostly black clothing that was covered by a yellow tunic of sorts. She appeared to be no more than a small child, but if I had to guess, she's probably in her mid teens.

And, of course, Rose. Rose, Ein's flying black cat Familiar, was clining to Ein's shoulder. Apparently she was scared half to death of me showing up, which I can see why since she can't fight.

"Malice! Where is Hector and why do you continue to follow him? Can't you see? You're being betrayed! Used!" Ein spat at me while brandishing his Diviner, Einherjar, which was strapped to his back.

Slowly I walked around Ein and his band, placing myself in his path, while drawing my own Diviner, Skadi.

Skadi was a blue axe Diviner, and was modeled after Longinus, the first Diviner. Ein's Diviner, Einherjar, was modeled after Fanelia, a Diviner that has tremendous power, but has been lost to the powers of time. No one knows the location of either Diviner.

I pointed Skadi behind me, in the direction of the winding path through the center of the room. " He is that way. I continue to follow him because he is following the will of the Gods, and it is my duty to serve the Gods. Just like it is yours, but you have strayed from your duty, and now have become a pawn of the Sprites. Why can't you see, Ein? You're the one being betrayed!" I returned to him, shooting him a cold glare while speaking.

" Malice, I will make this short. Move and I won't kill you." Ein paused, looking over his shoulder to see the witch restraining the Arc, who obviously wanted to kill me here and now. " I can't say the same for Serene, however." he added.

I chuckled, and went into a stance for battle. " Too bad, Ein! I will have to kill all of you here and now, as the will of the Gods commands me to do so!" This was going to be veeeery fun. I told myself.

" Fine then! Have it your way!" Ein returned. He then turned to his companions. " I ask of you all to stay out of this. I must not make Ledah's sacrifice go to waste." All of his group nodded, although Serene, the Arc, seemed very reluctant to obey.

He then turned back to me, and went into a battle stance as well.

We both just stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first the first move. Suddenly, he ran at me, yelling some kind of battle cry that sounded like " Euuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaa!" or something.

The battle had begun.

He reached me and swung his sword at me. Instinctivly, I blocked it with Skadi, then swung it in a horizontal arc, causing Ein to jump backwards, giving us some distance. I then flew straight at him and brought Skadi down from above at him. He jumped to the side and continued to throw sword swipes at me. I evaded most of them, but one swipe somehow got me over the previous wound Einherjar had left me on my right arm, causing me to yelp out in pain. I flew backwards after that, dodging a relentless assault of sword attacks.

As much as I wanted to stop and tend to my wound, battle doesn't work that way.

I flew forward and just before reaching him I veered to the side, swinging Skadi in another horizontal arc, hitting Ein with the side of my blue axe, causing him to shoot backwards a few feet. I then shot forward at him, spinning Skadi above me, and brought it down in a diagonal arc upon Ein.

Ein was just recovering from the blow Skadi had left him and was on his knees, so when Skadi came down upon him again he had little time to react. He jumped to the side and did a roll, stopping at the edge of the path. Had he gone any further, he would have fallen into the pit.

I then flew at him once more, bringing Skadi down vertically at him, causing him to jump backwards. However, he somehow managed to jump far enough to land on the massive crystal. I stood at the edge of the pit and stared at him as he adjusted himself. I then felt a warm feeling inside the hand I was holding Skadi with.

I looked at Skadi, and to my bewilderment it was glowing, radiating warm light. I then looked back up to Ein to see his Diviner was resonating as well. It seemed as if our Diviners were giving us extra powers or something; as if they wanted us to continue fighting.

I spun Skadi for a brief moment before jumping out over the pit and flying straight at Ein, Skadi following closely behind in my hands. When I reached him, I spun, swinging Skadi in a horizontal arc several times, connecting with Einherjar. After each connection, our Diviners emitted small balls of light; harmless balls of light.

I landed on the crystal beside him and turned to see Ein rushing at me, swinging his sword for a little bit before settling on which way to attack me. I had become aware of something by then. Ein seemed faster than before our Diviners resonated. I jumped backwards, and then swing Skadi as he swung Einherjar. The two Diviners danced with each other as we swung our weapons at each other. It dawned on me then that Ein didn't seem faster, he was faster, and that showed in his attacks, as they came much more swift. It was easier for me to block and counterattack though, so maybe I got powered up as well.

Ein continued to push me backwards and upwards on the crystal; his attacks came too frequent for me to stand my ground in one spot. Each time he swung, I blocked and counterattacked, and of course, the Diviners were releasing orbs of light still. Eventually, I reached a place where I couldn't go any higher, and was pressed against the edge of the crystal. Ein thrusted his Diviner at me. I said some Angelic prayer in my mind as I ran forward directly at Einherjar, placed one foot on it as it was thrusted, and flipped myself over Ein. As I was in the air, I brought Skadi down on Ein using the side of Skadi, and then landed a few feet away from Ein.

The blow from Skadi caused Ein to stumble backwards, straight into the point of Skadi, which pierced him automatically. I thrusted it forward some, causing Skadi to go right through him and out the other side. I then pulled Skadi out from behind Ein and watched as blood spattered everywhere. I swung Skadi in an arc to my side to clean it of blood that it had obtained in the attack.

How Ein could fight with such a wound was beyond me. Either way, Ein was pissed. He spun around, swinging Einherjar at a mad speed, causing me to jump backwards several times. Each time Ein swung, I dodged, and Einherjar would fly into the crystal, leaving a dent in it. Eventually I just jumped off the Crystal and flew back to the pathway. Turning around, I saw Ein jump off the crystal and shot straight at me with Einherjar poised. I lept backwards as Ein descended upon the ground where I once was. Einherjar connected with the ground, causing the ground to actually crack.

I would admit at this point that I was in awe.

Ein darted at me at that point and swung his sword once horizontally with maddening speed. I blocked it, but somehow the force of the attack caused me to go flying to the side. When I had regained control of myself again, I looked at Ein, who was now on the other side of the path, with his group behind him. However, I noticed that Ein wasn't advancing, but instead channeling the energy of his Diviner. I could only assume one thing, and that was that he was about to execute his Overdrive.

Instinctivly, I prepared mine.

" This is the will of the Gods! Disaresta!" Ein shouted as he ran towards me.

" Despair! Your soul is as good as mine! Trie Noir!" I shouted back as I darted at him.

When we met, we unleashed our attacks, causing a cataclysmic eruption. He swung his sword seven times with incredible speed, then a greenish-white being shot out of his sword and went straight through me, while I swung Skadi seven times as well, then swung it upwards causing a series of ice pillars to shoot out of the ground under Ein, impaling him several times. The blow from his attack caused me to shoot backwards into the wall, blowing a hole through the wall and then some. I do not know how my attack faired on him.

Apparently Ein didn't come to see if he finished me off, but I could tell he survived the attack.

I slowly and painfully got out of the rubble I had been put in from Ein's attack and slowly walked off to find Hector.

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I managed to get to the Triple Sutra section of the Maze of Shadows, where Hector usually is. To my wonder, Ein was there also, which meant that he defeated the five Dark Progenitors. Ein and Hector were having a full-crazed battle, kind of like the one I had with Ein.

After a bit, Ein was about to finish Hector off. I couldn't; wouldn't let that happen, so with what strength I had left, I flew straight at Ein and barrelled him over. I think flew backwards and grabbed one of Ein's companions, which happened to be the witch.

" Hector! Take this pathetic soul and mine and do what the gods have commanded you to do!" I yelled with my last breath.

" Very well. Ether Burst!" the Magi said, then fired his Overlimit and plowed a hole right through both of us. The witch died instantly.

I layed on the ground, waiting for death to take me, when I overheard Ein and Hector talking.

" She was a fine servant. Too bad she'll never know she failed." That was Hector...

" You mean she's not a Grim Angel?" Ein had replied.

" Yes, Ein. She failed to be a Grim Angel. Failed the test. I forged her a Diviner in secrecy and had her believe she was a Grim Angel."

" You betrayed her! She wasn't following the will of the Gods, she was only following the will of a selfish Magi! How inhumane must you get, Hector!"

A failure...? Not a Grim Angel...? ...I was betrayed...?

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Ending Note: Okay, I know that Malice was out of character through almost the whole thing. I did that intentionally, and I'll explain why in future chapters.

Please review. All kind of criticism will be taken, as long as you don't go "zomg it suxxored you sux at riting stop naoooo". Seriously, if you're going to tell me I suck at writing, tell me why and how I can improve.