Arc II: Chapter 03

Resounding Arms

"No way! That's not fair!"

Urd groaned as she rolled her eyes. "What are you babbling about now, Marler?"

"You cheated!" The Demon growled in anger as she pointed around at random. "There's no other way that you could've beaten me that easily!"

The white haired Goddess covered her mouth as she gave a dainty laugh. "Oh my, Marler, why would I ever have to cheat? I could beat you a hundred times in a row if I so desired." Her eyes quickly narrowed and focused on her opponent. "I just can't help it if I'm that good."

"I've had enough of your stupid gloating!" The Demon's fangs were visible as she snarled angrily. "This time I'm going to wipe the floor with you."

"Care to make a little wager on that?" Urd flashed a confident smile, taunting the Demon with the tone of her voice. "We'll say that the winner gets a bottle of sake, a good bottle, not that garbage you gave me last time. Plus the looser gives the winner a back rub."

The Demon was grinning impishly. "It's a bet! You're gonna regret this one, girl."

"Are you ready to loose, Marler?"

"I'm gonna make you eat those words, Urd. Game on!"

The television lit up to reveal the Pokemon Stadium level of Super Smash Brothers Melee. On one side of the screen was Bowser, being played by Marler. On the other side was Pichu, wearing its blue scarf and flight goggles, who was the chosen avatar of Urd.

Their fingers flew across the controls, almost too fast to be seen. The characters on screen performed an intricate dance as they responded to their master's commands. Bowser used his flame breath. Pichu teleported behind the great lizard and used its thunderbolt attack. Bowser quickly recovered and grabbed the small Pokemon, biting it a few times before hurling it across the screen. Attack, dodge, counter, special move, smash attack. It went on for a minute or two, until the match was interrupted. At least it was for one player.

Urd suddenly stopped playing. Am I really hearing that? What's that noise? She quickly reached forward and turned the television off.

The Demon cried out in protest. "What the hell are you doing, Urd? I was going to beat you that time! You forfeited the match, so I win the bet!" Her joy at defeating her old friend (finally) quickly transformed to indignation at being shushed. "What do you mean, shhh?"

"I think I hear something." The Goddess bore a look of concentration as she strained to hear the sounds again. "Can you hear anything, Marler?"

The Demon took a few moments to listen before responding. "All I hear is someone running up the hallway."

Sure enough, it was only a second later before the door slid open. It was a damp looking Keos, breathing a little hard. He shot a hard look at Marler before speaking hurriedly. "Lady Urd, something's happening out west. The sentries are reporting a lot of noise."

Urd turned to him quickly. "What is it?"

"I don't know, I've never heard anything quite like it." Keos shook his head as he answered. "It started less than a minute ago, and it's just getting louder."

"You want to go check it out, don't you?" Urd glanced over to see a small grin on Marler's lips.

The Goddess of the Past picked up the Masamune as she stood, her clothes transforming onto a battle outfit of purples and gold trim. "Of course, what else would we do?"

The Templar seemed a little uneasy at her intentions. "Er, are you sure you want to do that, Lady Urd? We can just send the noon patrol out a little early."

"And what fun would that be, Keos?" Urd allowed a small amount of excitement to show in her eyes. "Besides, it's better than constantly being accused of cheating."

Marler pointed an angry finger at the Goddess. "You'll get yours, Urd! Just wait till we get back!"

With that, the three of them flew out of the house, heading southwest of Nekomi. As they soared over the western wall, Keos called out to someone on the ground. "Dinekes, you're in charge till I get back!"

"You know, Keos," Urd told him as they flew, "Marler and I can probably handle whatever we find out here. You don't really need to come along."

"I wouldn't be dong my job if I let a Goddess go wandering around with nothing but a Demon by her side," he answered resolutely, "no matter how powerful she is."

Marler shot a dirty look at him. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Just because we have a common enemy, doesn't mean I don't think that you'll betray us as soon as it suits your purpose." Urd sighed at the exchange between the two. It certainly wasn't the first time Keos had voiced his displeasure at having Marler around, and it was obvious that it wouldn't be the last. Truth be told, she was getting a little tired of listening to their little exchanges.

"This isn't the time for this you two." Urd positioned herself between the bickering pair. "The noises are getting louder."

They were silent for a moment. Urd finally figured out what she had been hearing just as Marler spoke. "It's gunfire, and lots of it."

"It sounds like a war over there!" Keos wasn't overstating it. As they came still closer, the noise became nearly deafening. As they came over the abandoned highway, only two or three kilometers from the edge of the city, Urd saw that war was a very appropriate description.

A group of several hundred men, dressed in camouflage, were firing their rifles into the tree line near the edge of the blacktop. The constant barrage was accentuated at points by grenades exploding near the forest edge, seemingly at random. About thirty or so of the creatures lay beside the highway, their tick, oily blood covering everything near them. As much effort as the humans had put into the fight over the several minutes that the battle had been heard, there was surprisingly little to show for it.

Still, it seemed that the last of the Cruel Angles minions were being cleaned up by the mortals as they hovered overhead. Marler let out a low whistle as the last bursts of rifle fire sputtered out. "Thirty five killed with nothing but human weapons, huh?"

"Thirty four killed," Keos corrected her, his eyes scanning the scene like a hawk. "Those two lumps on the end were part of the same animal."

Marler gave an irritated snort as she crossed her arms. "Does it really freaking matter? I'm trying to give those humans down there a compliment for having the stones to fight those things with those worthless weapons of theirs. You've gotta admit, that's pretty damn impressive." Urd had to agree, these guys definitely had guts. Either that, or they were stupid as hell.

"It's not that." Keos was wearing a bit of a scowl, as if he was unsure about something. "It's just that…" The God trailed off, fixated on the dead creatures beside the highway.

The two women watched him for a moment, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, Urd glanced over at Marler. The Demon just rolled her eyes and shrugged. Turning back to him, the Goddess had the impression that Keos had grown more tense in the last few seconds. "What is it, Keos? What's bothering you?"

He glanced over at her, then back down to the ground. "Well, those things down there are relatively new. The raids had been comprised entirely of corrupted humans until recently, but lately we've been seeing animals being used."

"So what?" Marler had her finger in her ear as she indirectly told him to get to the point.

He was acting more distracted, and Urd was starting to feel a bit nervous when she noticed him gripping the hilt of the no-dachi at his side. "The animals have only been used in small numbers, usually individually. We've classified them as scouts, since they hardly ever pose any real threat to the city. But I've never seen so many in one place."

Urd was starting to see where he was going with this, and she felt thankful that Masamune gave her a warm tingle to reassure her. "Keos, if you're right about this…"

He nodded darkly. "I think we should hurry back, Lady Urd." He took the words right out of her mouth. They turned and began to fly back to Nekomi.

"I don't really care either way," Marler spoke from behind them, "but I don't think you two are going to want to do that." Urd looked over her shoulder to see that the blonde haired woman was still floating in the same place as before.

"What the hell do you know, Demon?" Keos barked angrily at her, having stopped only a few meters past Urd.

"We don't have time to mess around, Marler," the Goddess spoke quickly.

Marler simply looked back at the highway, cracking her knuckles. "If you two want to run back so bad, then go, but I came all the way out here to have some fun. I intend to do just that."

Keos looked at Urd with a bit of confusion as the two floated back. Urd was about to ask what was going on when the Templar's sword was suddenly freed from its sheath. Urd blinked at the two, wondering what they perceived that she did not, then it hit her. Demons and Templars could adjust their spiritual sensitivity on their own, something she, as a Goddess, couldn't do. Moving her free hand over the hilt of her massive sword, she simply asked, "How many?"

The Templar shook his head. "I don't know. There's too much noise for me to sense all of them."

"A lot," Marler said stoically, not flashing the smile Urd usually saw when the Demon fought. "There's a whole friggin lot of them. There's no way in hell those guys can last even a minute against that many."

Urd began to think. How can we save them with just the three of us? Usually there's a squad of Templars dealing with stuff like this. She felt the Masamune tingle in her hands, communicating with her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Well, I guess that's the best we've got.

She opened her green eyes as the first shots began to ring out among the alarmed voices of the humans. Dozens of humanoid creatures were rushing out of the trees, evil roars echoing over the blazing rifle fire. The ghastly, sort of pinkish creatures bore little resemblance to the humans that they once were. Most looked more like rats or insects than humans, with tentacles or huge, lobster-like claws instead of arms. It seemed as though they had grown in size as they were corrupted by the Cruel Angel, with every last one of them being between six and seven feet tall. The seething mass charged forward, trampling the creatures that were felled by forty or fifty bullet hits.

"Marler, get in there and try to keep them off the humans!" Urd had to nearly scream to be heard over the noise below. The Demon nodded and darted forward, orange flames engulfing her hands as she flew. "Keos, remember when we talked about tandem programs?" He blinked in surprise before nodding. "We're aiming about thirty meters into the trees."

The God immediately sheathed his sword before pulling away to the required distance. Urd had never seen it performed, but she knew it was possible. She simply didn't know if it they could pull it off. I just hope we can keep our timing down. Keos stopped around thirty meters away, nodding to her as his white, feathery wings appeared on his back. Masamune caused a strap to appear from its scabbard and Urd wasted no time slinging it across her back. Okay, here goes nothing.

She began to summon her energies as her hands moved in arcane patterns. "Oh, Spirit of Thunder, swift in the sky! You who make the Earth and air tremble with your voice! I, your servant, call upon your awesome power!"

Urd could see the Templar as he mirrored her every move, though she couldn't hear him chant. Still, it seemed to be working so far. The dark clouds swirled overhead, angrily churning and turning black as they continued to sprinkle an icy rain on the lands. Flashes lit the ground below as blue arcs of energy built up in the black masses above. "Power that smashes, I call upon you now! Become thunderbolts in my hands!" Raising her arms above her, a glowing blue magic circle appeared above her, a good ten meters across, with an identical one over Keos. That's when it happened.

A huge arc of blue lanced its way across the sky, forming an even larger circle around the two programs. As it seemed to solidify, a spider web of designs appeared within the colossal mandala. This was her first time seeing this phenomenon. Urd was taken aback for a split second as she stared at this new program that seemed to be writing itself before her very eyes.

The rapid flashes of lighting snapped her back as she renewed her effort. If we loose it now, there's no telling what will happen. The bolts of electricity were striking for kilometers in every direction. As they drew together, they all arced back toward the massive program, channeling their power in an amazing display.

As the sky itself lent its power to the two Celestials, the pair swung their arms downward in unison, pointing at the forest where still more of the creatures were appearing from. As one they yelled as powerfully as they could, "Destructive Thunder!"

The flash was blinding, even for Urd, and it was only an instant later that she felt the titanic clap reverberate through her body. She felt the sound more than she heard it, as she noticed her ears were no longer registering much of anything. Feeling slightly disoriented, she looked at the forest they had targeted, or what was left of it.

It looked like a meteor had hit. A large, blackened trench could be seen where the lightning had cut across the Earth. No trees stood for a number of meters around the line, which she could now tell had large chunks of newly formed glass within it. The few trees that were visible were charred and had lost whatever foliage they still had. It wasn't as accurate as she had hoped, but it seemed as if it had worked well enough. Bits of the creatures were scattered around the site. From the damage to the forest, she was amazed that anything was left.

Urd scanned the battlefield, trying to regain the big picture. The creatures that had been outside the kill radius of the program had already closed the gap with the humans. Marler was darting through the melee, hitting the creatures hard, but there were too many. Men were falling every second, and they couldn't use another program for fear of hitting the mortals. She saw Keos fly forward as he drew his sword, yelling a mighty battle cry that she could barely hear as her ears began to recalibrate.

She reached over her shoulder to grip the handle of the Masamune with her right hand. The black sheath vanished and the great weapon was free to fulfill its purpose. Please lend me your strength. It tingled in her hands as she bolted toward the ugly battle before her.

Coming down almost too fast for the human eye to see, she swung the blade in a huge downward arc, cleaving one of the monsters in half and cracking the highway where she landed. Turning the cutting edge to the right, she twisted in the same direction, decapitating another of the bloated creatures.

The Goddess had no idea what was happening. She was no stranger to fighting, but she had never in her life even swung a sword. How was it that she felt so at ease with the weapon? Was it Masamune guiding her in the ways of the blade? She had no answer, and no time to think of one.

Her feet only centimeters off the pavement, she rushed forward and impaled another pinkish form, receiving an angry howl for her efforts. The sword was halfway through it, and she became a bit alarmed when it began to violently pull itself further down the blade in an effort to get its purplish tentacles on her. She was shaken from her warrior's mentality as her mind began to process the thing that was trying to kill her.

The retched odor of decomposing flesh, the powerful, unnatural movements as it thrashed toward her, the putrid, infected looking tentacle arms writhing their way closer. Its face was still oddly human, though contorted by hate and evil. It was frightening, and it somehow made her think of the Voices. If she had been able to see them, she thought…no, she knew that this would have been their form.

Masamune tingled urgently in her hands as it was jostled about by the creature. She blinked at the weapon before turning her frightened eyes back to her monstrous opponent. This was definitely one of the Voices. It had come for her.

Again the weapon tried to gain her attention, but she could not tear her sight from the black eyes of the thing. It was almost to her, but she couldn't move. She felt a tingle again, this time all the way through her arms, up her neck, and settling in her eyes. For an uncomfortable moment everything blurred beyond recognition, then returned in a hazy image.

Belldandy was unconscious, a pained look on her face. Skuld was crying, hysterically grasping toward Urd. "No! Don't let them take me!" In an instant, a rotting tentacle wrapped around her littlest sister's slender neck, yanking her into the air. Belldandy, too, was in the clutches of a monstrous figure, trapped in a huge pincer-like claw.

"No!" Urd called out, struggling forward only to find herself bound by an invisible force. "Don't you hurt them!"

"I'M NOT GOING TO HURT THEM," came a chorus of a thousand voices that spoke as one, "I'M GOING TO EAT THEM."

She felt the creature's hot breath on her face. The white haired Goddess blinked at the thing's barely human features before her eyes narrowed. "I don't give a god damn what you are," she uttered, "I'm not going to let you harm another person on this Earth!" She spat in its face as she twisted the blade upward.

It let out a howl as it hesitated from the pain, its tendrils almost touching the Goddess's throat. Her muscles tensed as she let out a powerful shout. With all her might she sliced upward, cutting the thing in twain from the abdomen up. The halves fell disgustingly to either side as the legs continued to stand for several seconds, thick blood spurting forth. Then it staggered and fell, twitching in a pool of its own oily vitae.

Trying to wipe some of the viscous fluid from her face, she instead wound up smearing across her cheek and nose. Her fear was gone, dispersed like smoke in a gale. With a deadly look in her cold, emerald eyes, she turned to the next creature. Her angel, World of Elegance, appeared over her shoulder, looking equally enraged. I can't, I won't let them hurt my loved ones. She swung Masamune before her. No, I won't let them hurt anyone. I won't let anyone else in my sight die.

"I'll kill them all."

In Heaven, there are very few places that Celestials are forbidden to enter. In one such place, a solitary figure sat. The room had an open view of the blue sky, and the walls consisted of a series of white, polished stone pillars and arches that were covered in vines and flowers. The ground was red and white stone, carved with special runes and wards that only the most learned God or Goddess would understand. In the center was a chair that seemed to have formed itself from the living rock below it.

It was in this chair that the figure sat, concentrating. He had been there since the beginning of the crisis on Earth, since the Cruel Angel was released. His energies were focused on one thing, and one thing only.

Periodically, the Chancellor of the Council of Heaven would come and report on the progress of things outside. The Chancellor had been the only visitor in the past month, as this person had desired. Unnecessary interruptions would hinder the efforts He was putting forth.

"Almighty?"

The Lord slowly opened His eyes at the familiar voice. Looking up at the man who dared to enter His sanctuary unannounced, He smiled. "Odin, my old friend, I haven't seen you in decades. How have you been?"

The grizzled old Templar moved before the Almighty and knelt stiffly. "Still gettin' older, Lord. I canna get around like I used to."

"I can see that, however my powers are being directed to another purpose right now. I cannot remove the stiffness from your bones, but perhaps this will help." Slightly raising His right index finger, a chair like His own rose from the stone behind Odin. "Have a seat."

The ancient God seemed to feel as old as he looked, settling gingerly into place. "Thank ye, Lord. I'm sorry I've not come ta visit ye in such a long time, I jus' never got around ta comin over ere. But ye know that yer always welcome in my pub, Almighty. If ye e'er ave the chance, ye should come visit. Tha place looks jus' tha same as when I opened it almost two thousand years ago."

The Almighty chuckled a bit. "Perhaps when this is all over I will take you up on your offer, my old friend. Now, to business. I trust you have not come all the way here for a simple social visit."

Odin gave a small grin of his own as he nodded. "Aye, I haven't. I was fortunate enough ta bump inta young Belldandy las' night. She wanted ta know if I could do 'er a favor."

"I have not been able to watch everyone as closely as I should." The Almighty smiled again as he spoke. "How is Belldandy?"

"The same as I remembered 'er," he laughed, stroking his tangled beard. "Fulla life an love fer everybody. The lass did ne even recognize me for a few minutes. She's definitely back ta 'er old self again."

"That is good to hear." He nodded briefly before returning to Odin's reason for coming. "So what is this favor that she asked of you?"

He huffed out another laugh before answering. "Well, she wants young Skuld ta come ta Earth with 'er next week. Bell said tha the lil lassie was still 'avin a few problems controllin 'er powers. So she asked if I could grease tha wheels a bit and get someone assigned as a bodyguard for 'er while she's down there."

"Did she have anyone specific in mind?"

"Aye, that young lad Gilgamesh," he replied. "He jus' recently made Firs' Order, but he seemed a good kid. If ya ask me, Lord, I think he'd do jus' fine."

The Lord didn't hesitate in His response. "I trust your judgment on this matter, Odin. If you believe he is capable, then I give my blessing. Chancellor Marduk will be here later for the daily report. I will inform him of my decision on this matter."

"Thank ye, Lord." Odin bowed slightly in his seat, hesitating for a moment before voicing a question. "If ye don't mind me askin, Lord, jus' what ave ye been usin' yer powers for? I heard ye've all but left the war to tha Templars an the Goddesses at Yggdrasil."

"You have heard correctly, unfortunately." The Almighty sighed before looking up at the old Templar again. "You know that the Cruel Angel gets his power from the souls he consumes."

Odin nodded solemnly. "I figured as much. Tha same as last time."

"Yes, but this time he has changed his tactics. I felt his powers swell drastically just before the fall of Hell. Within seconds of his release, he entered Hell and took over their afterlife." Odin scowled at this. "Moments after that, chaos broke out there. It wasn't long before all of Hell was under the Cruel Angel's control."

"What about Hild?" Odin's concern was plain on his weathered face.

"I do not know," the Almighty answered, shaking His head. "However, I do not believe that the power I am facing right now is comprised entirely of human souls. I fear the worst for her and her Demons."

Odin's scowl deepened. "She may 'ave been tha head o tha Demons, but I could ne'er ave wished such a fate on 'er." He suddenly looked up as a thought seemed to strike him. "Wait, you're facing his powers right now? He's tryin' ta break inta Heaven?"

"More precisely, he wishes to gain entry to our afterlife."

Odin's jaw went slack. "If he got in there, all tha souls, he'd be unstoppable! Even ye would ne be able ta defeat im then!"

"Now you see, my old friend, this is why I have been out of sight all this time." The Lord explained calmly what Odin was just coming to realize. "I have been devoting all my powers to keep the Cruel Angel out of Heaven. In fact, I have been fairly successful in keeping him trapped in Hell for some time now, but he is growing stronger. Some of his minions are capable of tearing the soul from a human and supplying it to him, and with every soul he consumes, the more his power leaks out to Earth. I will not be able to contain him in Hell much longer, I'm afraid. If things do not change to our favor soon, I fear it will only be a matter of time."

The warrior nodded and spoke gravely. "I understand, My Lord. If ye e'er need anythin' jus' call. I may be old, but I'm still a Templar." He lifted himself from the chair, then knelt. "By yer leave, Lord."

"You may go, my old friend," the Almighty spoke, raising His hand, "and feel free to come visit me whenever you like."

Urd spun around, swinging Masamune through yet another servant of the Cruel Angel. The creature fell as she tried to catch her breath. The stench in the air prevented her from breathing deeply, though, which was part of the reason for her being out of breath to begin with.

Her combat outfit was soaked with freezing rain and coated with the blood of her enemies. Her white hair was matted together, sticking to her neck and face. The Masamune was no longer shining, instead it was covered with the same oily substance that was making the cold air thick with the stench of decay.

She was squinting, trying to get the water out of her eyes, as she peered about for her next target. The enemy's numbers were thinning, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that the battle was almost over.

The Goddess' eyes widened as she saw him. A single human, separated from his comrades, unsteadily moving back from one of the monsters as it advanced on him. She darted forward, ignoring the icy drops of water as they struck her face. Will I make it?

One of the creatures lumbered into her path, apparently unaware of the deadly force that was streaking right for it. The thing turned toward her just in time to have its arm severed at the shoulder as she flashed by. She ignored its howls as they faded behind her.

The human suddenly planted his feet firmly on the blacktop as the creature lunged at him with a snarl. I'm not going to make it. As it opened its abnormally large maw to bite the man, he gave an odd sort of grin. Raising his rifle up, he shot from the hip as something 'blooped' out of the underbarrel.

Urd came to an abrupt stop as she covered her face with her arms. Oddly enough, the heat from the explosion felt kind of nice in the cold rain, but the pressure from the blast and the noise was something she could have done without.

Looking over her arms, she saw him roll and slide to a stop several meters away from the shattered husk of the creature. "Hey!" She called out to him as she floated over to him. "Hey, are you alright?"

As she rolled him onto his back, she could see that he was pretty far from alright. She tried not to wince at the deep wounds and burns that he displayed, but she knew she had failed when he looked up at her. "That bad, huh?" She could hear him struggle to suck in every breath. "I guess I shouldn't have been so close to the damn thing." He was bleeding everywhere. This man is dying.

She tore off one of the decorative pieces of cloth that hung from her battle costume, pressing it into his gut. "I suppose you're probably right," she replied softly, trying to channel her power into his wound. It was just some stupid first aid program, but it was the best she could do. She knew it was impossible for her to save him, but she wanted to make his passing easier, even if it was just by a bit. "What was that you used, anyway?"

That odd grin returned to his darkly tanned face, despite his obvious pain. "It was a forty millimeter, high explosive grenade. Shot it straight down the bastard's throat." He coughed painfully, bringing blood to his lips. "I saw what you did, you and your friends. You must be one of those angels everyone keeps talking about. Thanks for helping my men." She watched as the rain thinned the blood on his face even as it mixed with the thick goo of the monsters blood. With her free hand, she gently tried to wipe the foul liquid away.

"It's my job," she told him, feeling quite helpless, "but it's also something I wanted to do. Now try not to talk."

She heard heavy footfalls as Keos stood beside her. "Lady Urd, it seems like the enemy force has been destroyed."

"Keos," she looked up at him, hoping, "can you do anything for him? I've never been any good at healing without my potions."

The Templar tensed a bit as she looked at him, though she wasn't sure why. He peered down at the human for a moment and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Lady Urd, I can't heal something this extensive."

"What the hell happened to him?" Marler's tired voice broke in after several seconds of silence.

Keos didn't even look at her as he replied icily. "As if you care, Demon." She flipped him the bird behind his back.

Spinning around, the Goddess quickly asked, "Marler, do you know any healing programs? Can you help this guy?"

"What? I just wore myself out trying to help your precious little humans here, and now you want me to help this one, too?" The Demon rolled her head around on her shoulders. "I'm tired, I just want to go back and wash this nasty crap off me."

Urd's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Marler."

"Tch," she sniffed, whining loudly. "Do I have to? I mean, he might prefer death to my kind of healing."

"Marler!"

The blonde pouted a little before moving over to the dying man. Keos kept an icy stare on her, but kept quiet about his obvious misgivings as she knelt across from Urd. "This is going to hurt…a lot."

"I'm already in pain," he wheezed and gritted his teeth. "Whatever you are going to do can't be much worse than what I'm feeling now."

Marler looked at him skeptically. "I don't think you understand what I mean by hurt. I mean it's really, really…"

"Damn it, if you're going to do it," Keos snapped, "do it while he's still alive!"

"Screw you, ass!" Marler angrily and animatedly pointed at the offending Templar. "If you think you're so damn good, why don't you do it yourself?"

"Stop this right now!" Urd's voice boomed over half the battlefield. She pointed at Keos, "You! Shut up!" He looked as if he had just been scolded by his mother, but she wasn't finished yet. She turned her ire toward Marler. "You! Heal! Now!"

The Demon sulked, acting as if she wanted to mimic the Goddess' outburst. "Fine, fine. Ready, human?" He nodded his response as she placed her hands on his blood covered chest. "On the count of three. Three!"

Every muscle in the man's body clenched. What started as a barely stifled groan quickly turned into agonized gasps for air. Marler had closed her eyes, concentrating hard on the task before her. Urd could feel the hair standing up on the back of her neck as she tried to calm him. She grabbed his hand, which squeezed hers tightly.

Keos had pulled out a sheathed knife. Quickly dropping the blade beside him, he knelt over the man's head, leather sheath in hand. "Bite on this," he instructed the human, "so you won't bite your tongue."

His spasm and thrashing continued for about a minute, but it seemed to Urd more like ten. She could only imagine what it must have been like for him.

As quickly and unexpectedly as it began, Marler ended her program. She was panting as she removed her hands from the groaning human. "I'm impressed you're still conscious. I knew you guys had stones." The man let out a short burst of laughter before groaning painfully again. "Oh, you'll be really sore for the next few days."

His breathing was as heavy as the Demon's. "Thanks…I think."

A/N:

Okay, I'm hoping that there was nothing too out of the blue there. Urd was a little emotional in this chapter, but hopefully it all made sense to you.

I changed more in this chapter than I have in any other so far, I think. An unexpected outcome of this rewrite, something that I enjoyed, was the irritated banter between Marler and Keos. Of course, you might expect this from a Demon and Templar, two groups whom think very little of each other. Still, I hadn't even really thought about it until now, and I think I'm going to have more fun with this whenever I can realistically fit it into the story.

As far as the afterlife goes, it's a separate place in Heaven (that is why you don't see souls wandering around Yggdrasil). They have their own place to 'live' after they die. It's the same with Hell's afterlife, it just isn't as pleasant.

() – The Valkyries didn't exist in the manga when I originally wrote this story, so they do not exist here. (I still can't get over the fact you're reviewing my story again after all these years.)

Just to reiterate, the Celestials do live longer than humans. I'm thinking about twice as long for the current generation of Gods and Goddesses. Just go with me on this, I think it will work better this way (assuming it even comes up, it might not.).

Thanks for reading, and double thanks for reviewing!

Katamari Damacy