The creature tentatively known as the Aspect of Raziel blasted through Keke's defences like a gust of wind. While Keke was fast, this creature was haste made manifest. Before the shape changed Marilith realized what was happening, a sharp claw had slashed across her chest and deep fangs bit into her neck.
Keke could feel this creature's legs wrap around her waist and its arms grip around her back and instinctively knew what to do. While her right arm was pinned against Raziel's chest futilely clutching Pasurendra's blade, her left one grabbed a chunk of Raziel's hair, twisted it twice in her fist and jerked it back, yanking the creature's fangs through her flesh, slicing a part of her neck into ribbons.
Raziel howled at Keke's grip, but was quickly silenced when the Marilith smashed her forehead onto the bridge of its nose, causing it to weaken its grip and fall to the ground.
Keke touched her mangled neck even as she stepped back from her thrashing foe. She was wounded badly, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Raziel on the other hand, writhed in pain briefly, before twisting about until it was on its feet, except it wasn't standing upright, but hunched over with its hands on the ground like some great scuttling insect. Keke glared at this creature. It still had a contorted but still angelic looking face, large eyes, noble nose, and high cheek bones, but the rest of her was more Fiendish than Celestial. It's grey body was gaunt, almost skeletal, and its wings were like that of a burned bird's. It's hands and feet were sheathed in long dark talons, and it bled dark blood from multiple open sores on its body.
Keke guessed that whatever noble divinity it once possessed was long gone replaced by something darker. It was only a shell of its previous Angelic glory.
The devil angel screeched at Keke, making a sound bordering on agony and anger with a healthy sprinkle of madness. Keke wasn't deterred and simply screeched back, except her cry was of rage and vengeance. Before Raziel could react, Keke was upon her with the golden blade, swinging it wide overhead. Raziel easily slipped to the side, and flanked Keke, but the entire attack was a ruse. Keke was ready, she weaved away and sent a spinning kick into its face.
Raziel flew back, but landed on its taloned feet before springing forward into Keke again. Keke still hadn't recovered from her swing, but simply turned to her side and smashed the pommel of her blade into the creature's face, breaking a few of its fanged teeth in the process.
While this creature was fast and vicious, it's skill and combat experience paled compared to the Marilith general. As it reeled back from the last jaw shattering blow, Keke leapt towards it, kneeing it in the chest, sending it flat on its back.
As it sprawled on the ground, Keke impaled the golden blade through Raziel's chest, pinning its gaunt body into the ground.
Instead of simply dying however, the creature continued to squirm and curse in a high pitch whine. "I'll tear you apart for stealing Eliaoshinta from me you thieving whore."
Keke scoffed at this creature's poor attempt at threats and insults, she twisted the blade a few times in its chest, eliciting more screams from it. Oddly though, despite its suffering it refused to die.
"You can't kill me…I'm a god…", shrieked the fallen aspect of Raziel.
"You were a god," corrected Keke as she systematically stomped and snapped the creature's claws off. While it was incapacitated, it clearly wasn't dead, and there was no reason not to be safe.
"Regardless….even if I fail to kill you, the legions of Abaddon will tear you all apart, overwhelm you till this world is overflowing with Asura."
Keke scratched her head, as she glanced at the violet stream at the center of the room. Though it was shrinking, pulses of energy were still streaming upwards through the whole in the roof.
Perhaps Raziel was right. She couldn't kill it, at least not without special blessings on her weapons, and the longer she lingered, the more untenable this situation would become.
Distracted, Keke was caught off guard when Raziel rolled violently and ripped her ribcage through the golden blade, effectively tearing out her lungs as it bisected its own chest. What should have been a mortal wound was nothing to this creature as it forced itself upwards, balanced by its spindly wings, as it launched itself towards Keke once again.
Keke met Raziel head on, as she locked hands with it. While as a humanoid, her strength was greatly enhanced, she barely managed to hold her own against this monster, mutilated as it was. Raziel had obviously lost most of the power she once possessed as a holy Aspect, but it did not take away from her raw speed and strength. Keke attempted a twist and a hip throw, but Raziel held on slowly gaining the upper hand, forcing Keke to her knees.
"You weren't worthy of him! What could you offer him besides your lewd charms. You dragged him from the heights of heaven and drowned him in your diseased filth!" shouted Raziel in between snaps of her remaining fangs towards Keke's neck and face. "I loved him! Loved him!"
Keke knew Raziel was right. She couldn't offer Eliaos anything, their love ultimately got him killed and her imprisoned for millennia. She glared at the tormented jealous eyes of Raziel, but felt only a sense of pity as her rage left her. "We don't choose the one we love," she said calmly as Raziel's strength overpowered her.
Javindar watched powerlessly as Taraksun hobbled forward in a gait reserved for hunchbacks and other misshapen monstrosities. Deformed as it was, it still radiated a dread aura of power, and Javindar knew that despite Chloe's efforts, his end was near.
As death literally approached, Javindar struggled to get up from his kneeling position even as Chloe darted in front of him, shielding him from the first blow that was sure to come. Javindar thought it was a noble gesture but ultimately futile, he tasted his strength and knew that both of them would be swept away with one blow if Taraksun wanted.
As the Asura lord approached , it quickened its unbalanced stride, and to both Chloe and Javindar's surprise it hobbled past them and towards the fallen Grommish hero.
Javindar breathed a sigh of relief but it didn't last long. Nymk stepped out of the shadows in an attempt to block the monster, but was thrown aside easily, crashing heavily onto a wall with a sickening crunch. The prince noted that her movements were a bit sluggish compared to before, and guessed that despite her 'golem' boasts she was still more mortal than she let on. Nahbob also attempted to stop the creature, or more correctly he was in the creature's way. Javindar winced as his servant fled from Taraksun's path only to have a great blade cut him down from behind. Before he could react, what appeared to be the Baroness Stille rushed to Nahbob's side, but the great stone hands burst from the ground around her, easily grappling and pinning her to the floor.
After massacring his allies and servants, Taraksun proceeded towards the fallen Grommish hero. Instead of crushing him though, the Asura lord was pushed back under an onslaught from what surely was the black blade that Rina and the man in yellow discussed earlier. The blade was everywhere at once, swinging high, sweeping low, even twisting about the Grommish hero's hands in a manner that seemed morbidly unnatural. Despite its godlike strength, Taraksun was being defeated before Javindar's eyes.
Javindar was stunned. Partially because he was witnessing a battle straight out of legend,but more because he was being ignored. He was the Prince, the hero, the one fated to save the day, but even Nahbob was given more thought by Taraksun than he was.
"Jimmy's been possessed by the sword, " said Chloe in a small voice. "I don't know how he got it back from Martinez, but we have to leave. It doesn't matter if Taraksun wins, or if Jimmy wins, but we're dead if we stay here."
Javindar was puzzled by her statement. "Possessed? The sword Grey Iron? "
"Yes, I've encountered it before. It's unbelievably powerful but it's also batshit crazy. I watched it possess a knight once and they went on a killing spree. Jimmy and I were on a quest from my father to…..umm….correctly identify and to dispose of it, but we were sidetracked here when it was stolen. Guess Jimmy found it and decided to use it on ugly there as a final ditch. We should use his sacrifice and get away , because it doesn't matter who wins now, the victor will be hunting for us."
Javindar considered her statement and shook his head. He believed everything the fair druid told him but he was not going to flee from his destiny. "No. I will not run. I will help."
Chloe stopped, a look of betray fell over his face. "Look, I want to help too, but didn't you hear what I said. We are like small puppies compared to that thing, I watched you fight and you fought better than any man could, but in the end we're nothing to it. Also, that's not the only fight we have to watch out for. See that clearly demon woman and that other disguised demon woman cat fighting over there. I don't know if it's for top harem spot or whatnot, but I do know we don't want to be here to find out who wins. Please, I know you are a hero. You are the most heroic person I've ever met, but we can't fight it. We have to take the chance Jimmy gave us and get out of here."
Javindar nodded at her assessment as he finally forced himself off the ground. "I know my limits, and you are correct. I can not fight Taraksun, I would only get in the way, but I will not leave my allies behind."
Javindar knew that Chloe was right, and it took all his humility to admit that he was not the hero here. He was the handsome Prince, the one given the holiest of quests, the anointed warrior, and the one seeking his fair maiden's hand, but he was not the hero. He was just a witness to events greater than himself. That did not mean he could not help.
Javindar limped his way towards the battle as Chloe protested. However instead of rushing towards the fight foolishly he began hacking away at the stone hands holding the Baroness Stille prone. When Chloe realized what he was doing, she joined in, transforming herself in an excessively shaggy badger creature to help dig her out. He expected their efforts to be futile but his blade grew white hot and easily cut the stone hands as Chloe sifted through the rubble. He hadn't expected such a result from this weapon, but decided to question this boon later.
While badly bruised and battered, Baroness Stille emerged from the stone hands in better shape than Javindar was. Thunder roared above as the ground continued to shake. She glanced towards the almost shriveled violet beam, the two demonesses battling, and towards Taraksun and Grommish hero Jimmy fighting and shook her head. "I …I don't know what to do," she said with a defeated voice. "I can't …we can't fight a god. This, this is beyond me."
Javindar shuffled past her with the bestial Chloe at his side, and signalled the Baroness to follow. He approached Nahbob first and grimly noted that he was slain, cut down from behind by a single blow. It was Nahbob's duty to die for him, but Javindar would not leave his faithful servant and…and… friend in this place. Quogy was next to the fallen man chittering in grief. Chloe simply barked a few words at it, before the spider monkey obediently climbed aboard her back.
Javindar hefted Nahbob's body over his shoulders and made his way to what looked like Rina. The militia girl with all the crazy talk about epic heroes was unconscious but appeared alive.
"She was almost killed by a cave-in earlier," explained Stille as they loaded her onto Chloe. "Sammy and I did what we could for her, but she's not human. She's not dangerous...just something different."
They then went to the crumpled form of Nymk. Her lifeless body was broken, twisted out of shape by Taraksun's blow. Stille gasped and turned away and wept. Javindar guessed they knew each other. He wondered how he was going to carry Nymk, when suddenly Chloe began sniffing and nudging the body with her badger nose. Green motes flowed from the transformed druid into the archer. Javindar wasn't sure what that would accomplish but it illicited a gasp from the contorted corpse.
That snapped the Baroness out of her despair.
"Hold on," she said as she straightened Nymk's body the best she could and covered her with white motes. Nymk shuddered and her eyes flicked open and she greeted them all with a smile.
"I scouted a way out," said the archer, completely ignoring the fact she was dead( or appeared dead) a little while ago. "Despite travelling downwards for ages, we're actually quite near the surface. Something about the shifting passages here I think. We should be able to make it to the swan boat if we hurry."
"Wait, " said Stille. "We should proceed with caution. I do not know this swan boat you mention, but is not the island covered in Asura by now. The ritual is broken, but thousands must have made it to the surface."
Nymk shook her head. "Believe it or not, this apparently isn't just our fight. When I scouted our way out, there were…ships…over one hundred ships surrounding the island. Hammering the place with their dragon golems and mortars."
"That would explain the thunder," nodded Javindar.
"Sixty ships? Admiral Edmund has only thirty at most stationed at Grom City," pointed out Stille.
"Aye, the entire Grommish fleet was here, reinforced by a few airships. As for the others, I saw the Northern banners of the Narwhal, Crab, and Turtle. I even saw those massive Vinraji warships. Roughly twenty of them with a great golden ship leading them."
"Twenty? Vleda only had six by my count and with my Golden Eagle that makes seven, unless he had the rest in reserve," pondered Javindar. "No, that couldn't be it, we did not sell him that many, unless of course he bought some from the Sultan…"
"There was also a dragon. A great golden one the size I've never seen before. It was circling overhead, taking down the bigger Asura and the flyers that the airships couldn't catch. "
"The man in yellow," explained Javindar. "I came to the island with him."
Stille looked at Javindar with shock and a healthy measure of admiration. " You fought the big demon guy toe to toe, lead a fleet of warships to this island, and brought an Ancient Gold Dragon to the party? …and here I thought you were just a braggart Prince. "
Javindar shrugged. She made it sound like he engineered the defense of this world, but he only played a small part. He simply helped Nymk to her feet and signalled her to guide them out.
Jimmy's arm twisted and almost wrenched out of his socket as the blade Grey Iron, no that's not right, the blade wanted to be called Black Iron now, pulled and yanked him. He was just a puppet for the sword as it made impossible parries, powerful strikes, and movements that could only be described as super human.
Slash, hack, chop, kill.
Jimmy tried to stop the voice in his head, but it was overpowering. It was as if someone else was in his body, and he was just an observer. He recalled the knight he fought with the jerky automaton like movements, and shuddered. The screams of violence pounded in his head, and he was just lucky they were directed against Taraksun and not Sammy.
Jimmy watched in awe, as he plunged the weapon repeatedly into the monster's leg, calf, knee, and ankle. Black Iron was consumed with fury, but at least it was smart. Hampering the movements of a larger opponent was the best way to chip away at him. Still even with its leg suffering a mounting number of injuries, Jimmy was dismayed to see it was still regenerating.
Still, it still helped that the Vinraji Hero had crippled it. It was crouched and could not reach its full height due to some spinal injury inflicted on it, which therefore hampered its reach. On a whim, the blade dragged Jimmy behind it, and he saw a mass of bone spurs built up around its spin. Black Iron took advantage of this and hacked away at its spine, triggering a half dozen arms striking at where he quickly darted away from.
Fire and lightning rained down on Jimmy. For a brief moment, Jimmy resumed control of his body and he easily evaded the elemental strikes before the sword resumed control. Jimmy noted the blade didn't shirk from the strike, but realized Jimmy was more qualified to dodge it and allowed him movement of his body before taking charge again.
It was premature though, as soon as Jimmy felt the blade was fully in charge again he noticed a trap. The fire and lightning wasn't meant to strike him down but to hem into Taraksun's other ten arms. Jimmy saw an opening and knew he could reach it, but the sword plowed ahead back to the leg, hacking relentlessly at it again.
The arms slammed down as Jimmy watched powerlessly in horror. Five strikes he easily weaved and dodged, three he parried effortlessly, and one he even managed to sever half the hand in the process. Unfortunately one did break through and ripped through Jimmy's side. It was a fatal blow, worse than when Taraksun tore his arm off, but somehow Jimmy was still alive, supported by whatever fell magics that empowered this sword.
As Jimmy staggered out of reach, Taraksun's own injuries caught up with him. Despite its incredible regeneration powers, It's leg finally collapsed. The Asura lord did not topple over though, but it did take a knee as it howled in pain.
"I remember you," shouted Taraksun. "I defeated you thousands of years ago when that whore wielded you, and now I'll crush you with that vagabond you have as a host."
The Blade ignored the taunts as it simply retreated and began circling the immobilized Asura lord. Jimmy knew what it was doing and approved. They would attack from the back again, but this time Taraksun wouldn't be able to strike back.
"It doesn't matter if you stopped the ritual, enough of my legions made it through and we will tear apart this world. "
Jimmy ignored the comment. Considering that the portal was shrinking, but still opened even after he snatched away the scroll, he assumed Taraksun was correct. At this point he didn't care as all he, or most likely the blade wanted, was to exact bloody vengeance on the Asura lord.
After getting in position, the blade paused. This confused Jimmy as he thought they would strike immediately, but it waited till Taraksun realized where he was and began to turn left. Black Iron jolted right with inhuman speed, almost toppling the Asura lord as it tried to catch up and launched himself fully onto the monster's back.
Jimmy slammed into its back with both feet, but before he fell off he struck the Asura lord four times in rapid succession into the bone spurs and its surrounding ribs. As Taraksun reeled and tossed, Jimmy managed to hop off and skip away, circling out of reach again. However instead of getting into position to pick apart the Asura lord again the blade drove Jimmy directly ahead, catching Taraksun by surprise as he made two strikes, severing two heads in the process.
Taraksun roared in anger as Jimmy once again retreated, but it wasn't just an outlet for his fury as one of his tongues shot forward like a whip, piercing through his stomach like a harpoon. Before he could be reeled in the blade quickly severed the tongue but the damage was done. Even with the supernatural endurance granted to him, Jimmy staggered as his leg's buckled.
Get up! Weakling! Fight!
Jimmy took two steps before tumbling to the ground. The blade forced him to rise again but his body was broken, he simply rolled to his feet before he faltered and collapsed. He failed. Even with an artifact sword he could not defeat Taraksun. As the sword attempted to force him back to his feet, he could already see Taraksun regaining strength as the Asura Lord crawled towards him.
As Jimmy awaited death, his attention was caught as he noticed Sammy still reading from the scroll.
Why didn't she run? She had the scrolls, he was fighting to give her cover…why didn't she run?
"Sammy…..go….flee….." he gasped, exerting supreme effort to speak over the Black Iron.
Sammy shook her head slightly as she continued to read. Their eyes briefly met and he noticed tears streamed down her eyes.
Taraksun stopped as well. The Asura Lord glared at Jimmy then at Sammy, before his remaining eyes on his non severed heads grew wide. Jimmy wasn't sure how the Black Scrolls worked, but he assumed that three scrolls is more valuable than one scroll, regardless if the Eclipse was over.
The Asura Lord turned towards Sammy and quickened its pace as it dragged itself towards her, tearing apart his body in the process.
Fury rose in Jimmy and with a final effort he raised Black Iron up, and despite its mind numbing screams of protest, he tossed it into the monster.
Jimmy didn't see if he hit or not. All the pain from his wounds flooded into him as he seized up and collapsed in shock.
Javindar followed Nymk as she guided them to a concealed tunnel. The Baroness demonstrated unnatural strength as she hefted Rina while Chloe trotted close behind. Javindar laboured his way forward with his slain servant Nahbob in his arms.
"If magic cannot bring you back, I promise you a grand tomb fit for a Prince," swore Javindar.
As Nymk and Stille entered the tunnel, the entire chamber was shook but not just by Demonic shouting, but by the screeches of the Grommish Hero as if he were a man possessed. Javindar looked and saw that the Grommish Hero was back on his feet again and incredibly was carving up the Demon Lord with unnatural strength and speed.
Javindar felt humbled by such a display of power, as the Hero first crippled Taraksun before landing deadly blows in its back and on its heads. For a brief moment Javindar fostered a moment of hope, but it was quickly snatched away when the monster lashed out with an unexpected tongue whip attack. The Prince watched in dread as the Hero struggled with a final futile throw of the blade before finally falling into the ground.
Curiously, Taraksun ignored the fallen hero as it crawled towards a corner of the cave. That puzzled Javindar, until he noticed Holy Sampada, Whelp, still kneeling reading those accursed scrolls.
Javindar paused as he watched the Asura lord gain speed towards Whelp.
GrrrGrrr….
The Prince looked down and saw the furry Chloe creature yanking at his leg. He couldn't understand what she was saying but assumed it was …we should leave…now!
Javindar nodded at her and dropped Nahbob to the ground. "I must do this. I must see this through," he said as a final surge of strength welled in him.
Javindar tossed away his scimitar, his wicker shield, and his packs. Walking was hard enough without the extra weight and he lightened his load as much as possible. He kept his bow Red Flight though, and managed to snag three arrows before he shed his quiver as he made a slow run towards Taraksun.
While Red Flight had always been hard to draw, it was effortless in his hands now.
The first arrow struck right above the bone spurs in the monster's back, halting it in its tracks.
The second arrow struck the Asura lord in the neck, severing another head with its power and forcing the beast to turn towards him.
"Bravery! Valor! Glory!"
"I am Prince Javindar, Bey of Ghata, Holy Warrior of Puranas and wielder of the bow Red Flight," shouted Javindar. "Come and face me monster!"
His last arrow struck Taraksun like thunder. It pierced directly in its center as it charged, causing all its remaining eyes to go blank, but its momentum was too great as it barreled forward towards the Prince about to crush him. Javindar smiled even as a blur of coarse fur knocked him to the ground.
Raziel's strength was just too much as Keke was driven to the ground even as the chamber shook and the walls collapsed.
"You didn't deserve his caress! You didn't didn't deserve his love!" screamed the fallen angel at the demoness.
Keke was powerless to resist. Even if she reverted to her natural form, she knew she couldn't beat this creature. Whatever her imprisonment, forced or voluntary, in Taraksun did, it definitely imbued her with its incredible recuperative powers. At best Keke could hope for a draw until she could fall back and regroup.
"Did you see that? Taraksun has fallen," smirked Raziel as boulders fell from the roof. "…but not all of him. They might have exiled me out of heaven, and tore me from his body, but I still have a piece of his spark. I will be the destroyer, I will awaken the wrath."
Keke ignored her rant as she readied herself to drop her guise. Faced directly with Raziel's power she doubt it could stop her, but she wasn't going to fall prey to this bitch so easily.
"Hey, check out this wavy sword I found by that dead robed guy," said Martinez as he calmly stepped out of the shadows, balancing a silver curved sword in his hand.
Keke's eyes flashed as she instantly recognized it. She shed her mortal form, and though even her demonic body was not as strong as Raziel's, her extra arms quickly snatched Eliaos' scimitar. A comforting warmth enveloped as she stabbed the fallen angel in the side.
All strength fled from Raziel as she released her grip. Unlike all her previous attacks, this one hurt the fallen angel badly. She looked in horror at the scimitar with the same recognition as Keke did, and that shocked expression was frozen on her face when Keke neatly sliced through her neck, before slamming her head across the room with her tail.
"You did good girl," nodded Martinez. He then prodded Raziel's lifeless body with his foot before he retreated back in the shadows.
Keke didn't care, she simply coiled her tail around her reunited blade and cried. She did not cry the tears of victory or vengeance. She cried the tears of sadness she couldn't shed before, cried the tears of love that Eliaos always knew was in her. Even as the roof and cavern completely collapsed on top of her.