This is where everything really begins in this story, so I hope y'all enjoy the next segment!
There probably won't be any update next week because I'm traveling on Sunday and I have no idea if I'll have any internet access or enough time. I may, however, post another one beforehand, if I get some nice reviews. *wink wink*
Anyway, without further ado...
Devina was immediately distracted when Allen started tearing the butterflies off Suman. "Stop, stop, stop! Leave Suman," and in his haste to get the butterflies away, one managed to brush his left arm, leaving a little hole in its wake, making Allen hiss. Devina realized Allen's left arm was irreparable and gripped his coat to pull him back.
"Allen," Devina was wishing she was a healer, she was wishing it with all her heart because Allen's left arm was limp and his entire frame was shaking. Timcanpy, his golem – the communication device used among Order members and for other purposes − was floating next to him, his golden wings flapping tirelessly.
The butterflies that attacked Suman finished him off and then flew away, only to turn back sharply, and Devina could sense that she and Allen were next. She wound herself around Allen covering him completely by wrapping her arms around him, trying to obscure him from the vile creatures. She could feel him wince and he was about to object, the purple butterflies were at her back when they were all interrupted.
"Tease," a deep voice spoke from the darkness before revealing its owner. Tall, dark and handsome, dressed in an immaculate black suit with a white shirt underneath and a top hat on top of his wavy hair. His eyes were gold and piercing, and he had a mole under his left eye. "Come." The butterflies were black tornadoes whirling back into his raised palms. Devina couldn't help but feel reminded by her own power. The swarm of butterflies reshaped into two separate giant butterflies, each resting on either palm; he kissed one of them before he addressed the two Exorcists. "My, my, aren't you two a lovely couple."
She untangled herself from Allen as gently as she could. She glanced at him, hoping he'd know who this was but Allen seemed clueless, and about ready to faint. A moment later though, a flash crossed his eyes and Allen gasped. "You bastard," the green cross on his left hand buzzed to life and then went out when he tried to activate his arm.
"Allen, stop," Devina urged but he was screaming in agony and she wanted to die rather than hear him scream one more time. "Do you know who he is?"
"He was in Suman's memories. He's the one who threatened him and had him become a traitor," Allen spoke, venom seeping out of his tongue.
"That arm of yours, can it be Innocence, boy?" the stranger asked, drawing nearer before he knelt right in front of Allen and began studying his face. "You're Cheating Boy A, not that you'd recognize me when I'm in this form, but still…"
"What did you do to Suman? Did you kill him?" Allen questioned, "answer me!" he yelled when the strange man didn't answer.
"Well, I had to. He was my enemy, after all." He lit up a cigarette right then and there and started smoking it, inhaling in the toxin. "Well, there's no harm in me telling you since you'll be dead in a minute. You see, these," he said, moving his hands, where the butterflies rested, "are called Tease. They're cannibalistic golems the Earl made for me." The golem butterflies flew away. "They eat humans and the more they eat the more the reproduce and grow."
It hit her then. This man was a member of the Noah family, one of the Millennium Earl's followers and those who obey the Earl's orders. Devina wanted to smack herself in the face because it had taken her so long to associate what Klaud had told her about the color of their skin with this stranger's.
Devina had to act; she needed to get Allen out of there and fast. She aimed for his right arm and placed her hand under his arm in a second. She was about to lift him when a hand wrapped around her throat, tight, constricting and suffocating and dark. Devina had a rod protrude from the center of her chest and pierce right through the Noah's, but it didn't seem to injure him, in fact, it seemed to pass right through him. Her focus was faltering, air dwindling and vision blurring. Allen was not going to be okay because he was going to try to help her now and that would absolutely get him killed.
"What a nasty little power you have," the stranger smirked. "A strike of luck, really, that I'm your opponent." She used the remainder of her strength to tug at his hand clenched around her throat. "If I let go, will you obey me?" he asked, tantalizing.
She couldn't breathe until he allowed her some air. She gasped and gasped and she swallowed all the oxygen she could get. He was about to choke her again when she croaked, "okay,"
"I can't hear you, love,"
"I'll cooperate," she gasped.
"Good," he grinned before he lifted her up and catapulted her into a tree. Devina heard herself scream, her back sounding a few unpleasant cracks. "That was Tease's power, devouring humans and all," he went back to explaining, as if never interrupted. Devina tried to hurl herself up but the pain was so immense and overwhelming, she wanted to go to sleep. "This is my power," and the Noah's hand went right through Allen's chest.
Devina was crawling. She was crawling toward her friend, slowly and deliberately. "Allen," she cried out. "What are you doing, you bastard?"
"Don't worry, love. He's not hurting yet. You see, my hand – no, my entire body – can pass through objects. That is my power, but it only happens if I'm not willing to touch them. That's why if I pulled out my hand and let's say, I decided that I wanted to touch your boyfriend's heart, I could rip out his heart right out of his chest." Devina couldn't breathe. His hands were inside Allen's chest. "Tell me, how does it feel to have your heart ripped out while you're still alive, boy?"
But Allen didn't flinch and he didn't make a sound. Instead, he stared back at the man in the top hat, eyes unblinking and headstrong.
The man seemed astonished, "you don't care, huh? Oh, well, I'm not gonna rip your heart out, that would get my gloves dirty." He drew back. "I'll have Tease do it, like I normally do."
"Normally…" Allen echoed.
"Yup, she'll devour your organs, like she did to all your Exorcist friends who died due to their internal organs being removed. Daisya Barry, Kazana Reed and Chakar Rabon. Suman helped me so I didn't do that to him, instead I left a Tease inside him and had him be a mating ground and that earned me quite a few more Tease." Allen clenched his uninjured fist. "Oh, right, there was a General Yeegar, as well. I don't think I killed him right away though, I don't remember why I did that… Oh, yes! I made him a messenger."
Devina couldn't take it anymore, this was more than enough, more than she could possibly take. She wanted to kill him.
"He must've been in a lot of pain because most of his organs were eaten by Tease." The Noah continued, not at all discouraged by Devina and Allen.
"You- how dare you? How dare you do that to everyone?" Allen shouted.
"Oh, you hadn't heard, too bad,"
The back of Allen's right hand collided with the Noah's cheek and he jerked backwards, cigarette flying and the hand he had immersed inside Allen involuntarily exiting. "I will never forgive you," Allen hissed, about to punch him with his left hand but Tyki stopped it easily.
"Allen, stop," Devina tried to move forward, edging closer, dragging her body.
"Devina, stay where you are," Allen commanded and the Noah's eyes glistened.
"Did you say Devina?" he said aloofly as he lifted Allen's left arm, twisting it and easily breaking it. Allen's agony and screams and pain were reverberating within Devina's bones. She couldn't have a chance to ponder the Noah's words.
"Allen," the girl cried, forcing herself on her feet.
"Yes, come here, darling." The Noah beckoned to her to come closer and she froze in place. He laughed jovially, "aren't I lucky? I am looking for Allen Walker and I'm guessing white hair there and cursed arm is him, and you've been calling him Allen all night so that is indeed Allen Walker. I am really, really lucky. And now, he called you Devina, is that right?" he asked, eyeing her greedily.
Neither Devina nor Allen spoke. The Noah was in front of Devina in a flash and he held her face in his palm and she recoiled.
"I should've recognized you," he said quietly, as if talking to himself. His face hardened, "Devina, be a doll and activate your Innocence, please." The Noah commanded. Devina made no attempts to do anything at all. "If you do not obey me, I will serve you his heart for supper. Do as you're told," Devina whimpered before she lifted her right arm and formed a connection with the powers surging within her. She allowed the white liquid to seep out and float around her palm.
"What do you want me to do with this?" she asked, hoping he'd ask her to send it flying through his brain and then solidify it there.
"Can you wait for a second?" The Noah said before he let her go, turning to Allen. He gripped his left hand and seemed to be channeling powers through it because Allen was screaming. He was screaming louder than ever before and the Noah tore Allen's arm out of its socket. Devina was running at the Noah, her bones already sharp as icicles and flying at him, when he drew back, the sharp icicles were going to end up piercing Allen so she dropped them to the ground.
"Did you know, boy, that we had the power to destroy the Innocence?" the Noah asked. "Did you know that this girl has an Innocence that both protects and destroys the Innocence?" he chuckled.
"What?" Devina's head turned toward him. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"We're going to test it out right now." The Noah informed the two Exorcists, holding Allen's left arm in place. He squished it so hard until it was destroyed, and the green crystal that was the original shape of Allen's Innocence remained, held between his thumb and index. "Pick up your little rods, girl, and send them through the Innocence."
"No, no, I won't," Devina objected, shaking her head. "Go ahead and kill me."
"No, I won't kill you yet, the Earl has several plans for you. But you will destroy this Innocence or you will watch your friend die."
"Do you think I'm stupid? I know you're going to kill himanyway! I will not destroy his Innocence," this isn't happening, this isn't happening, this can't be happening.
The Noah went to stand next to Allen and held back his right arm. "I will break every limb from his body until there is nothing left, or you will destroy his Innocence."
Devina still didn't budge but he twisted Allen's other arm and Devina was hyperventilating and then she was screaming no, no, no, and the rods were flying anyway and she didn't know whether it was her or she lost control, but the Noah dropped Allen to the floor as the Innocence turned to glittery green dust.
"Fascinating…" the Noah breathed out, delighted. "Absolutely magnificent,"
Devina was on her knees and she was crying; Allen wasn't looking at her. She needed him to look at her because she didn't have a choice. She couldn't stand to watch him die. She was sobbing so uncontrollably, that the Noah had walked over to her without her noticing. He caressed her hair, his hands trailing her cheek before ending up behind her neck, where he they rammed into it forcefully and professionally. Everything went black then.
Lenalee had seen Suman's light disappear deep within the forest, so after rescuing the little girl caught in Suman's evolved Fallen form, she went back to the ship and got to Lavi who in turn picked her up on his hammer. The two followed the trail of light into the dark forest, trudging past trees; they kept getting cut by tree branches and other splinters, but they didn't seem to care. Lenalee was frantic and panicked and shaking; she needed to find Allen and Suman. They also had no clue what became of Devina.
They reached a clearing and their steps were cut short when they saw a pool of blood on the ground. "A-allen-kun…" she gasped, "Allen-kun! Allen-kun!" Lenalee shouted, spotting Timcanpy fluttering his wings to land in her open palm. "Tim, what happened?" she asked the golden golem, who in turn flew in the opposite direction.
Lenalee's eyes came across a white pale trunk, or so she'd thought but it wasn't really a tree. Devina's face was at the center of a leafless autumn tree made of bones, rooted to the earth. "Devina," Lenalee called, "Devina! Devina!" she reached for her friend and touched her cheek but the girl was not responding. "Lavi, what do you think happened here?"
Lavi was frozen on the spot near the blood on the ground. "I don't know what happened…" Lavi glanced between Devina's rooted form and the pool of blood less than a foot away from him. Timcanpy fluttered his wings and Lavi made his way over to the two girls. "What is it, Tim?"
Tim opened his mouth and popped out the green crystalized Innocence.
"Is that Suman's Innocence? Tim?" Lenalee asked and the golden golem nodded with his entire being.
Tim then flew a little farther away and opened his mouth wide to project a screen, which replayed the events that transpired in the forest between Allen, the Noah and Devina.
"Allen-kun… he saved Suman…" Lenalee gasped. "That was the light I saw earlier,"
The two observed as Suman's head was torn open from the inside out, and the butterflies immersed, "but… why? Allen-kun saved him… what is happening?" and then they saw the dark, well-dressed stranger approach.
Lavi's eyebrows shot in recognition, "A Noah!" he watched as the Noah ran his hand through Allen's chest and Devina's intervention, then being strangled in the process. Lavi felt bile forming at the back of his throat and he forced it down as he watched her fight the Noah, conjuring up a rod that went right through his chest but he didn't seem fazed. Lavi's forehead creased in an effort to comprehend what was going on.
Lenalee held her hands to her ear as the screams of her friends resonated through the forest. They watched as the Noah broke Allen's arm and made Devina destroy his Innocence. Lavi's heart raced, his eyes flying between the projection and the girl rooted to the earth a few miles away. They saw Devina wailing, screaming and hysterical, the Noah gently caressing her face before he made her pass out hitting the back of her neck. They watched Allen taking the chance to send Timcanpy away with Suman's Innocence before the Noah could turn back to him. That was when Tim's mouth closed, his projection ending.
Lenalee glanced at Lavi, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Allen is probably…" he trailed, his eyes on the pool of blood, and Lenalee held back a sob. He saw a card, with a black ace in its center, lying on the ground and picked it up examining it, before he shoved it into his pocket. His golem made a buzzing sound.
"Lavi," he heard Bookman's voice, "you must return to port. A messenger has arrived."
"A messenger? Gramps, we have a situation… Devina, she's…"
"What is it?" Bookman asked.
"It's her Innocence."