The battle ended and the archangel ascended, the Nordic trickster approached the damaged battleground where the Demon Lord had faced Metatron. The battle would be carved into the lines of history... had it not been so boringly unrevolutionary.
To Loki's unending disappointment, the Overlord had lost.
His temperament sour and cruel, the tryant hovered just above the still purified water where the battle was fought. At the northern edge of the lake, a ring of red stood out against the appalling turquoise of the holy water.
Of course, the source of that ring was a body. While all the others had been vaporized by the power of the angel, only this one remained.
"Well, well, isn't this a surprise. Looks like that protective mark has done you some good, Cain."
Cain's, or Naoya's, body lay in the water; while he lay on the verge of death, the Mark of Cain kept him alive, under God's assurance that he could not be murdered.
Loki smiled. He had had time to learn numerable spells, a basic dia among them. As the healing energy flowed into his body, his lifeless eyes came alives, the clouds fading as light came to them. He looked up at Loki with as dazed look of half-lidded confusion.
"Welcome back."
Loki could see Naoya trying to speak, but his time in limbo had uncalibrated his body, and his eyes were once again clouded, this time with confusion. When his voice came out it was hoarse and pitifully weak; the sound of a man who had known defeat and death.
"... Why..?"
"For fun, of course." The malice sparkled in the demon's eyes, his grin becoming sinister. "That, and I felt someone had to be punished for the great disappointment you gave me. You really got my hopes up, you know. Luckily you stuck around to..." He trailed off, watching the life fade from his eyes again.
The holy water had been stealing his newfound life away as soon as he was brought back. For a simple dia, it was only a matter of time before it took him again.
A short spell later, his eyes were alive again, slightly less fuzzy then before.
"As I was saying," Loki's voice dripped with a sweet venom, "Welcome back... Tell me, is that water hurting you? It must be rather inconvenient, coming in and out of the world of the living like that."
Realization dawning on his features, Nayoa's eyes were wide with shock, then narrowed in anger. Too weak to act, the small bit of life draining from him, he had no choice but to lie there, half hearing the voice of his tormentor.
"I wonder how long you'll last this time? I'll just have to count next time I bring you back."
Just as it looked like Naoya was going to say something in retort, the light faded from his eyes again.
Pausing, Loki broke into quiet laughter.
"Ohh, this is going to be fun..."
Eventually, Naoya's thoughts seemed to pick up again without much delay; his eyes would immediately ignite with anger.
"Kill... mee.."
"Oh, don't you worry, Naoya, you won't be dying anytime soon. I have plenty of mana."