Chapter 3: Stand up
Swiss Alps
"Damn it!" Airenal flaps his wings harder, accelerating to even higher speeds. "Damn it all!"
Suddenly, something punches a hole through Airenal's left wing, causing him to lose control and spiral to the ground. In less than a second, Airenal has crashed into the ground.
"Oumph!" Airenal gasps as the wind is knocked out of him. Luckily for him, the snow is quite deep, saving him from serious injury.
A moan escapes Airenal's lips as he lies on the snow. Above him, the blue sky seems to stretch endlessly.
"It's so unfair." Airenal's eyes are beginning to tear up. "Why do we have to die? Why must it always be the Grigori who suffer? The Devils and Angels continue to grow while we fade!" Airenal remembers his comrades, killed effortlessly in front of him. "Curse you God! Is this your punishment for us betraying you!?"
"What a stupid question." Above Airenal, a flash of light fills the sky before a figure manifests itself. "A dead God has nothing to do with you dying. You die because you're weak."
Airenal can see the white suit and yellow aviators. The outfit of the reaper. Airenal closes his eyes. He would soon be joining his fallen comrades.
"[Light Brigade: Assault]" The reaper's foot begins to glow.
Swiss Alps
Unit 20 hears the explosion from afar, but its implications do not register in his mind. His entire body is in agony. White flames surround him, but his clothes are unblemished. It was like the flames were burning his soul to ash, leaving nothing but a beating heart and nothing else.
"Gah!"
"Arrgh!"
"It-it burns!" Around Unit 20, some of his team are rolling on the ground, their hands grabbing at the flames. Others have simply stopped moving, their eyes empty as they continue to breath.
Not that Unit 20 could calmly analyse these facts. Despite being the leader, he wasn't some super powered human who could overtake obstacles through sheer willpower. He didn't have some magical weapon or tool hidden in his bag that would miraculously allow him to survive.
He was simply, for a lack of a better term, a human with above average physical specs, a fairly high IQ and some leadership capabilities.
For Testament, these sorts of people made perfect cannon fodder.
"Fuck-you." Unit 20 gasps at his murderer, as the flames burn away the last of his mind, leaving nothing but a body.
Swiss Alps
"Tch." Blake glances at his communicator. On the screen, red dots representing the [Testament] soldiers blink slowly. All the remaining men are on a hill roughly 750 meters away. Judging from the image, it seemed as if they were surrounding something. Blake effortlessly manipulates the screen's settings until a chart appears. At the top of the chart, there is a heading labelled Unit 1. Below the heading is a column of numbers. At the moment, all the numbers are 0. Blake flicks his finger to the left, revealing an identical chart with the heading Unit 2. Same as the previous chart, all the numbers are 0. Blake flicks through the rest of the charts, each one displaying the same column of zeroes, until he reaches Unit 11. Here, some of the column's of numbers are continuously changing while others remain static.
"BMI, Blood Sugar Levels, Bone Density...Damn these suits monitor a lot of stuff." Blake continues to scroll down, until he finally finds the value he wants.
"75...76...74..." Blake murmurs to himself, reading the flickering numbers. "That's odd. They should be in combat, so why are there heart-rates so low..." Blake trails off. "..fuck." Using his magic, Blake effortlessly jumps 40 meters into the air. He quickly scans his surroundings and upon seeing the hill, turns himself to light and rockets towards it.
Grigori Headquarters
"Are you sure your readings are correct?" Azazel asks.
"Absolutely." Sahariel hands Azazel a sheet of paper. On it, two near identical diagrams are printed. "On the left is Slash Dog-sama's magical levels when he activates his Longinus. On the right is the magical spike we monitored coming from the mountain."
"...they're pretty much identical." Azazel grumbles. "What a pain. Granfrey!" A Fallen Angel immediately appears on Azazel's right. "Contact Michael and Sirzechs and inform them that we have a Longinus reading. Then tell them to send their best teams immediately to the location specified." Granfey nods, before rushing out of the monitoring room.
"Is asking for reinforcements really necessary?" Sahariel asks once Granfey is gone. "We have our own team up there already. Capturing the target should be no problem." Azazel shakes his head.
"Sahariel, it would be foolish to assume that we are the only ones who are capable of sensing Longinus spikes." Azazel sighs. "I wouldn't be surprised if another organisation has already sent their own operatives to capture this Longinus holder. In fact, I would wager that right now, another faction is fighting our men for possession of the Longinus."
Swiss Alps
Blake kneels down next to one of the soldiers. Blake could see the man's chest slowly moving up and down as he breathed. The man's clothing is in tatters, his fingers filed to bloody pulp. No doubt he had been scratching at his metal vest until his fingers had worn down to the bone. The other bodies were the same, all their fingers having been worn down to the bone.
"How...interesting." Blake muses. He removes the visor from one of the soldiers. The man's nostrils open and constrict as he breathes, but it is his eyes that Blake is drawn too. They're empty. "...[Soul Burn]." Blake murmurs to himself, reciting a piece of information that had appeared in his head. "A side-effect of certain higher-level [Holy], [Faerie], [Demonic] and [Divine] magics. A powerful technique that attacks the spiritual aspect of its target, leaving the body untouched. Often used in rituals involving possession, when a healthy body is required." Blake took a deep breath. "How dangerous."
"Are you here to hurt Emma?" A girl's voice asks from behind Blake. Blake hadn't noticed her, as the possesor of the voice had virtually no magic power to notice. Blake slowly stands up and turns around. In front of him, a young girl, no older than 12, stands. She is wearing a white one-piece dress, with ragged edges. Her hair is long and black, with a pair of wide blue eyes looking out from underneath the bangs.
"No." Blake answers. "I'm not here to hurt you." His eyes carefully analyze the girl in front of him. Other than her lack of magical energy, she didn't seem to have any other noticeably interesting features. Blake briefly considers that she had the potential to be quite attractive when she grew older, but since he wasn't into young children, that consideration quickly disappears.
"Then can Emma call you her friend?" The girl, who Blake assumes is Emma, claps her hands together. Her face shows a happy expression.
"I suppose so." Blake opens his mind, searching for any tell-tale signs of magicians. While his sensory skills pale in comparison to Law's, they are sufficient enough to sense all but the most powerful cloaked beings. Satisfied that there are no other beings save for himself and the girl, Blake turns crouches down until his eyes are level with Emma's. "Now then, what happened to these men?"
"Oh." Emma smiles the smile of a child who had done no wrong. "I killed them."
Swiss Alps.
Blake's face remains neutral, but his mind is racing. If the girl had indeed killed his men, then that meant she was the Longinus that Blake had been sent to retrieve. [Light-Man] vs [Soul Burn]. Blake's index finger on his right hand begins to glow. Four shots. One in each leg and arm. Maybe a quick flash of light to disorientate her.
"Mister," Emma tilts her head. "What are you-" Before she can finish the sentence, Blake raises his left hand.
[Lightshow].
The light is so fierce that it causes even the snow to whiten even further. As the blast assaults Emma's eyes, Blake points his glowing index finger at Emma.
"[Light Brigade: Scou-" A sudden ominous premonition causes Blake to jump backwards. Not a moment too soon. A pillar of white flames immediately explodes below where Blake had just stood. At the same time, a powerful magical aura washes over Blake. Its source, the girl known as Emma. Blake rolls backwards, landing in a crouch position, his eyes trained on where he had last seen the girl.
"Unknown entity detected." The voice coming from Emma's mouth is feminine, but at the same time not of this world. "Possessor's retina's have been damaged. Commencing healing process 1 through 12. Assailant located. Checking Akashic Records...Identity confirmed."
"Akashic Records?" Blake smiles, recognizing the name of the mythical library containing every single piece of information in existence. "That's a heavy claim to make you know? The [Mind of God]. Or as I prefer to call it, the archive of the [System]." Blake smile turns bitter as an old memory resurfaces. He immediately crushes it. Best to focus on the task at hand.
"Blake Dawn. 16 years of age. Affinity for Light-based Magic. Affiliate with the organisation known as [Testament]." Emma begins to recite the information. "Originally a member of Heaven-affiliated unit [Whirl]." Emma shudders, before continuing. "According to the [System], Blake Dawn has been deemed as a [Fallen] for the murder of-" The rest of Emma's lines are drowned out when Blake fires a laser at her.
"You talk too much." Blake's body begins to glow. "That ain't cute." Emma looks at Blake with blank eyes. A shield of white fire had protected her from the laser, leaving her unscathed.
"The Lord has made his decision." Emma draws a cross of white fire in the air in front of her. "Blake Dawn shall be trailed by the Lord's [Mercy], the power of [Incinerate Anthem]." The flames of the cross grow hotter, to the point that Blake can feel a small headache beginning to form. The first signs of his soul and mind being turned to ash.
"Heh." Blake smirks. "So you've admitted you're the possessor of that annoying Longinus." Blake points his hand at Emma. "While it may not be the one we're looking for, I'm sure Cartwright would be happy to have it anyways." Blake's entire body begun to glow as he begins the process to turn his body into light. At the same time, Emma's body is surrounded in a thick cloak of white flames.
"May the Lord have mercy on your soul."
"Let's dance bitch."
Swiss Alps.
No hesitation. No warning. In a blink of an eye, Blake is on the left of Emma, a sword of light making its way across her shoulder. In another fraction of a second, he's behind her. A fan of blood explodes from Emma's shoulder. A deep wound, no doubt cutting through both bone and muscle. She doesn't cry out. Instead, white flames immediately cover the wound. Blake could see that they were slowly healing the wound, recreating layer after layer of skin, muscle and bone.
"Tch." Blake makes an annoyed noise with his tongue. "Damn her regeneration ability." Generally, the advice given to those who encounter regenerative enemies is to run in the opposite direction. If that wasn't an option, there were two methods of victory.
A) Attack them so fast and so furiously that they cannot regenerate fast enough.
Or B) Crush the rengenerator's spirit by causing them insane mental pain and anguish from continuously harming their body.
Blake had heard of some fool having defeated a Phoenix with the second method. Blake however, had no time to slowly wear down Emma's spirit. Times, he wasn't even sure if the girl was capable of feeling pain. This left the first option.
"[Railway]." Blake makes a small cage with his fingers, creating tiny will-o-wisps. Once a sufficient number had been created, Blake opens his hands, allowing the wisps to float into the sky. The wisps, numbering in the hundreds, immediately spread out all over the hill top, surrounding both Blake and Emma.
Emma, in spite of all this, has not moved. Her wound, having finished healing, is completely gone. Not even a scar remains to show where Blake's sword had cut her.
"Aren't you going to attack me?" Blake taunts. Emma however, is silent. Suddenly, Emma's eyes flicker.
"Magical analysis of [Railway] complete. Support-type spell. No offensive capabilities." With that, Emma thrusts her hands forwards, touching the burning cross she drew in the air. The cross immediately expands to gargantuan proportions, before being fired directly at Blake.
If the flames touch him, his soul will immediately be burnt away.
But Blake doesn't move.
Even as the cross quickly closes the distance between him and Emma, Blake makes no attempt to dodge.
As the cross reaches him, it immediately expands and explodes upwards, drawing a gigantic flaming cross in the sky.
Emma looks at the giant crucifix, the mark of Blake's judgement by God.
She puts her hand's together to pray for the soul of the departed-
"Ugh!" Emma gasps, the first time she had ever reacted to pain. A blade of light is protruding out of her chest. Blood, crimson and warm, flows freely from the newly opened hole.
Swiss Alps.
"Nice try little girl." Blake whispers softly into Emma's ear. "But you're 10,000 years too young to be fighting someone like me." White flames immediately begin to try and heal the wound, but Blake channels extra mana into the blade, preventing it from closing. Emma cannot attack Blake, as she has used the majority of her power in her previous attack. As it is, she is barely able to stop her lifeblood from running dry.
"How?" Emma asks, blood beginning to flow from the cornors of her mouth. "I know your weakness. Even though you travel at the speed of light, you can only travel in a straight line. In order to change direction, you have to revert back into a physical form and then change your course. The cross was designed exploit this weakness."
"I know." Blake replies, twisting his sword and forcing Emma to exert more mana to keep herself alive. "It was a good move. Had I tried to transform and move past the cross to attack you, I would have to transform twice. Once when I'm directly in front of the cross. And another time when I'm directly beside it. If I had done that, you're spell would have instantly killed me in either of the two instances when I transformed back into human form."
"Then how-?" Emma trails off, having realized the answer. "[Railway]."
"Correct. For someone who knows everything, you're remarkably bad at seeing through plans. [Light Brigade: Scout]." A hole opens up in Emma's left leg, forcing her onto one knee. She doesn't bother trying to heal the new wound. If she tries, she will die.
"I guess that's what they call analysis-paralysis. You look at so many possibilities, trying to find the perfect solution, that you end up wasting valuable time. And most importantly, you miss out important possibilites. [Light Brigade: Scout]." Blake opens another hole in Emma's right leg, forcing her into a kneeling position. "Of course, you can't forget the limitations of your host."
"...A human cannot comprehend all the knowledge of The Lord."
"Correct. You may be the [Spirit of Mercy] dwelling within the Longinus, but you're still forced to rely on the mental facilities of your host." Blake fires another [Light Brigade: Scout] into Emma's right arm, punching a hole through her bicep. "Your host needs to be capable of handling Omniscience. The mind of a 12 year old girl is not capable of that. Hell, I doubt that even Michael can take that much knowledge. I'd be amazed if you're host is still mentally sane after this fight."
"[Railway]'s ability-" Emma coughs. Her mana is running out. Soon, she would be unable to sustain this level of regeneration. Death would follow soon after. In spite of this, she still has to know, has to update the Records. "-is to-"
"-create [Tracks]." Blake fires a fourth laser into Emma's other bicep. Now she was completely immobile. "My weakness is pretty big. Thus, its only natural that I have a method of bypassing it. By using [Railway], the will o wisps mark out the path I need to take to reach my target beforehand, removing the need to continuously transforms to change trajectory."
"How... innovative." Emma, in spite of herself, can't help but compliment Blake's spell. Such a simple solution. Such destructive capabilities. "So now you're pretty much unstoppable."
"I wouldn't say that." Blake laughs. "The other members of [Testament] are pretty messed up strong as well." Emma doesn't hear that last bit, having finally given into blood loss. Blake immediately draws his sword out, allowing Emma to use the last of her power to heal the wound in her chest. The other four wounds remain.
"You were lucky." Blake murmurs to Emma's unconscious form. "If the others had been sent, I don't know if there would be enough of you to fill a coffee cup." With that, Blake picks up Emma's body and places it over his shoulder like a piece of baggage. He then turns into light, leaving nothing but the will o wisps as an indication of his battle.
I'm finally back from my 2 month vacation! I didn't have a computer, thus I was unable to update! Well here it is, Chapter 3 of God-slaying! Don't worry, I'm still writing [Revelation], but its harder since there are so many more characters to introduce!
Thank you for staying with me after all this time!
Daemon
