Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso
OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls
A/N: Hey guys. It's been a while right? ^^ Sorry, but school is kicking my ass… I actually think I'll withdraw from one of my classes because no matter what I do I just can't raise the grade! That's actually one of the reasons why I haven't posted anything, another because I wanted to write up a few more chapters before reviewing one of them. So there you go. I hope you enjoy this next chapter and don't forget to review! (and sorry if I haven't answered anyone. Once again I've been busy and barely have time to myself these days DX)
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The trio with a slim group of comrades passed through Cinderburn and was walking casually through the realm of the daemons. Sophie was slightly impressed. There were places for the damned to burn and rot, but yet there were other places for them to freeze and drown. The area reminded her of Hell in her own world, but there were several differences. Everything was decorated in a festive manner, not kept dull and boring throughout the years. It was as if this place was its own little society, different villages and towns and even cities as they passed by. They were all in a hurry to get to Hellhound, which Xaskesiel said was in the center of the realm, but from the look of the rising moon they had to be quick. They ran with superhuman strength through the roads and sneaked their way through every nook and cranny. Eventually they reached a rotting sign that would lead them down the road to Hellhound, Naum letting in a gulp as Sophie grumbled lightly from how long it was taking them to get there. "Now I hear the ceremony will be in one of those buildings," Xaskesiel pointed to a large spiraling tower that reminded her of a castle or cathedral. "We have to take this slow. The three of us will sneak in through the back doors and make our way inside while the others stay outside in case anything goes wrong. Once we do we have to see what Cinderburn is doing. If he's chanting we may be too late, but if he's still gloating then we have some time to stop him."
"I don't see why you're helping us so much," Naum snorted. "You have no business to."
Xaskesiel smirked, looking over at Sophie who had her eyes set on the town as he looked back at Naum, "It's none of your business what my intentions are. All you need to know is that I am not going to betray you or the woman. Now either we do this together or separate, but we have to do this now. The moon is too high in the sky and they may have already started –"
"Then stop talking and let's get going!" Sophie snorted; jumping down from the rocky ledge they were looking over and landing casually on her feet. She huffed as she made her way to the town, letting Naum and Xaskesiel follow if they wished to help. She had her own reason for being here. She had to defeat them in order for her world to stay intact. Too many demons in one area will destroy a world, as what happens with overpopulations of humans, demons, and even angels. Any species really, Sophie had come to understand, and that was why Death was so important. He kept a species from becoming too overwhelming for an environment. That was why she was here, to play Death in this scenario. She sighed, feeling her death scythe waiting for her patiently in her black haze as she neared a building, knowing instantly this was where a ceremony must be taking place.
She sneaked inside before Naum had a chance to pull her away, grumbling under his breath as he followed after her. Sophie took many narrow turns and followed a high concentration of dark aura as she made her way to the end of a hallway, stopping at a ledge and holding out her hand for Naum and Xaskesiel to stop. They looked over, seeing many daemons listening to a dark looking man speaking to them as they suddenly roared with laughter. That's when Sophie saw it, an altar laid out using black marble almost against a stone wall. That must be where they were planning on making their magic and sacrifices before opening a portal. Sophie had never seen anything like this and wanted to watch the whole thing play out, but if she did then the portal would open and her world may be destroyed. She sighed. Even if it didn't work it still interested her, but she'd have to stop them regardless. Before Sophie could summon anything Xaskesiel pulled her back, shaking his head. "Not yet," he whispered, "but once Cinderburn has stopped talking and starts his sacrifices."
"But didn't you say –"
"We can't have all these daemon eyes on us at once. I can play as the distraction and make a ruckus so everyone looks to me," Xaskesiel continued, "and once they do sneak behind the large rock tablet and smash the stone alter. That's the only way to truly stop this tonight. Then try to capture Cinderburn. If you two do that he won't be able to create the portal anymore." Sophie nodded at his words as Naum looked at him suspiciously, letting the daemon walk away and blend into the rest of the crowd. Sophie pulled Naum away before he had a chance to argue as they blended into the shadows, Sophie disappearing with Naum gripping her hand tightly as they vanished. They waited for Xaskesiel's signal, and the signal they were giving was the man jumping out of nowhere and landing at the daemon's feet before he started his chanting. Sophie tried to hold back a snicker as Naum rolled his eyes, finding his stupid stunt appalling and dumb with what they had to do. Either way, with Xaskesiel's apologetic cries and mumblings to the man, he gave them enough time to appear behind the tablet without anyone noticing. Then something happened that shocked even Naum, Sophie pushing him behind her in a swift motion as she summoned her death scythe. All in an instant her eyes changed to her normal intense crystal blue and shinigami green eyes, the aura a lot stronger then it had been when he last saw her. Then all eyes were on her, feeling her aura as she raised the blade of her long scythe and aimed it at the altar. Xaskesiel tried to hold off Cinderburn as he was shoved to the ground and the regent ordered his men to attack, daemons flying down from all directions towards them. Naum pulled out his sword that had suddenly appeared as his own aura revealed itself and he stopped a few, unable to stop the others as they slammed into Sophie.
For the daemons they felt they were too late, but for Sophie she didn't have enough time. As she slammed her death scythe into the altar it began to crack and break right in the center, but the collision of the other daemons caused her to let go of her scythe and she was slammed into the stone floor. She groaned before the daemons began attacking her, the scratches and bites they gave her doing them no good as she summoned a bunch of aura and they went flying through the air. At the shock Naum was able to get himself free, grabbing hold of Sophie before she could be ripped in two by a daemon. He pulled her back and snarled protectively, Cinderburn grabbing Sophie's scythe and ripping it out of the altar. "So a couple of goddesses have come to us, is that it?" he smirked, Naum's eyes narrowing at the daemon's smugness.
Sophie shoved Naum away and glared at the daemon's smirk. "I don't care what you call me, but that scythe is mine –"
"Actually I was hoping you'd come, mysterious outsider~" he smirked, Naum's eyes widening once he figured out that they had been played.
She snarled, but Naum stopped her before she could do anything. "Naum let go –"
"Sophie do you have a different weapon?" he asked before he glared at the daemon, "Because I can tell he's been playing us like fools."
Sophie sighed and brushed him away, giving the daemons, whom were trying to crowd them, a hard stare and they suddenly backed away with fear. She smirked, crossing her hands over her chest waiting for him to continue. "I can tell by your scent that you're a… wait let me figure this out." Cinderburn said, closing his eyes and sticking out his tongue like he was thinking.
Sophie snorted, "If you're just going to play games –"
"Hah!" he laughed. "You're a God of Death!" All of the sudden the daemons began to attack them again, Sophie summoning her guns and firing them at the daemons.
They all flinched at the gunshot and Naum stood at a ready stance with fear in his eyes, Sophie giving the startled Cinderburn a sly smirk. "I may not have been in this world long, but I'm beginning to believe you're as incompetent as a lower class demon and even more pathetic then an insect."
"Oh is that so~?" Cinderburn chuckled lightly; nodding at his guards to grab Xaskesiel and throw him on the altar. Naum and Sophie watched as he was reluctantly tied up, unable to stop them as they were cornered by the daemons that Sophie assumed to be his guards. "This pathetic excuse of a daemon is the leader of the Gods of Death," Pinazaliel told the group, the rest of them laughing at him. "We will teach them all~~ an example and attack every one of them right after we finish our ceremony," he told them, looking over at Sophie with a grin, "and we have just the right creature to carry out our plans –"
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Sophie smirked; shooting a daemon that was standing too close to her body and let him dissolve into an eternal nap. Then the room erupted into chaos, the daemons pouring in everywhere as Naum fend them off. Sophie still had her eyes on Cinderburn, glaring at him as he continued to hold her scythe with a cocky confidence. "And after I'm done with you," she snarled, "I'm going back home and leaving your pathetic world behind –"
"But what you don't seem to understand is my master has ordered me to do this," he smirked back.
"What master –"
"Lord of the Daemons, of course!" Cinderburn laughed as if she was stupid. "Don't you realize where you are little lost death god? Once I use your blood and summon a portal to your world we'll populate your world like flies. Even the daemons that live in your own world will quench with fear as we, Daemons of Ga, come and destroy you – What's so funny?!" he snarled, listening to Sophie laughing insanely as she held her hand to her side.
"Oh I'm sorry," she laughed and wiped away a tear, "I thought you said you'd destroy us? You must be mistaken. It is I who will destroy you." Cinderburn yelped at the death scythe was ripped away from his hands, Sophie holding out her own hand as her gun disappeared and she summoned the scythe back into her hands. She gave him an evil smirk, one that rivaled even the most powerful daemon in the universe. "Let's dance~~" she laughed, jumping at him with her scythe raised as she aimed for his head and tried to pin him down to the floor.
Cinderburn yelped and tried to dodge, barely getting out of the way as she aimed for his body. She was going at a speed that he couldn't keep up with, quickly being pinned to the ground with the long blade of her scythe. Out of nowhere she slammed four black knives deep into the daemon's hands, feet, and heart. Then her gaze left his with disinterest, casually walking over to Xaskesiel and quickly untying him. "Thanks kid," Xaskesiel chuckled as Sophie shook her head.
"Yeah no problem –"
Her eyes widened as she felt a knife imbed itself into her back, blood flowing down her back. Sophie snarled and threw the knife to the ground, chasing after Cinderburn with anger in her eyes. The three of them fought the thousands of daemons, Naum, Xaskesiel, and the God of Death that had accompanied them being the only main ones fighting as Sophie chased after Cinderburn with hatred in her eyes. She used her powers to slam him into walls, the daemon avoiding them as others came out of nowhere to try to pin the woman down. Sophie wouldn't have this, swinging her scythe around her and killing them with one deadly stroke. What she hadn't realized was that he had her blood on one of the knives he was holding, chanting a spell as he avoided her and daemons jumped out of nowhere to keep her away. Before she realized this it was too late, a portal suddenly summoning to his aid as Cinderburn laughed and jumped through it. "Let's take this war into the next world!" He laughed confidently, Sophie jumping after him with her blade raised and striking down on a daemon that tried to pass through.
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It happened in an instant, Jericho noticing as the earth began to shake. Everyone could feel the shaking, especially those in the shinigami realm and looked out windows and even the doors to wonder what was going on. He fell back in shock as someone else beside him jumped towards the building and fell to the ground. The shaking happened again and all eyes were on a large energy portal that had opened up in the middle of nowhere. He snarled, feeling the aura of a demon as the creature stepped out of the portal as if it were normal and looked around. "Now this is a paradise," Cinderburn laughed, staring up at the snog in the sky and laughed insanely. Then he noticed the other shinigamis, a smirk coming to his face at their confused or frightened faces.
Hearing a scream behind him Sophie jumped out of the portal as the daemons trickled behind her, swinging her scythe and hacking them in two as she kicked the head of a daemon at his feet. "Don't you dare," she snarled and looked up, her eyes glowing with intense anger, "expect to come here without a proper invitation." Cinderburn raised an eyebrow at the comment, "Do you even expect to get any respect around here?!" Sophie laughed at him, causing him to snarl. "You're pathetic! The only reason I let you come here is because I wanted to see how you'd fair. Well little~ daemon, ready to die and meet your maker?"
She stepped forward, Jericho letting in a gulp. The woman was going mad with bloodlust, licking her lips as blood trickled down her cloak, body, and down her scythe coating her hands. "Who are you?" Cinderburn raised an eyebrow, Sophie stopping her advance as her smile grew wider.
Cinderburn gulped, seeing the confidence on her face as he saw the colors in her eyes swirling around in an ominous glow. "Sophia Maurus Ioreta Serbus, a servant of darkness and God of Death~" Once she noticed that Naum and Xaskesiel had come through the portal she ran for him, her eyes blazing for blood as he held up his arm and screamed as his limb was torn right off. "Didn't expect you to be good," she snorted, slamming the butt of her scythe and throwing the daemon into the trees. "Your generals were as incompetent as you~"
Naum and Xaskesiel did their best to hold off the daemons, corralling them back towards the portal and trying to keep them away from Sophie. Many were too scared to help Cinderburn, but the few who went in to help were severed right in half as Sophie's blade seem to fly around her on its own and cut them clean in two. They didn't even flinch when Cinderburn screamed, being pinned to a tree as Sophie laughed evilly and suddenly set the tree on fire. "Gods, that woman is not going to let him die, is she?" Xaskesiel decided to say, though he had a smug smirk on his face.
"Necrosnare get your head in the game," Naum snarled at him as he brought out his sword and stabbed a daemon in the chest before slashing another one in the arm. "Stupid God of Death."
"Stupid Goddess of Life," Xaskesiel snorted back, his axe gleaming in the sun as he brought it down and cut several daemons in half. "You should be thanking me," he commented smugly. "You wouldn't have been able to get here without me –"
"Yes I know that," Naum huffed, "but knock that off. You're one to talk –"
"Oh I'm~ one to talk," Xaskesiel chuckled as he split a daemon in several pieces as the bits sprayed onto them like raindrops. "Who made you king of the world?"
"Your mother," Naum looked over at him with a smug smirk on his face.
"Ouch! That hurts!" Xaskesiel huffed sarcastically, "If I had a mother that is," he laughed lightly before messing up Naum's hair and dashing away.
Naum snarled and looked around, watching as Sophie pinned the daemon to the tree as he screamed from the black flames, a monotone look growing on her face as she glared at him through angry blue, green, and yellow swirling eyes. "… Who are you trying to contact here?" she asked, Cinderburn laughing and spitting in her face.
"I'm not helping some daemon like you!" he laughed before glaring down at her through hardened eyes. "You have no right to speak to me when you know perfectly well your soul is as black as my own. You're just holding back, aren't you?"
"… Who is contacting you?" She asked one more time, pushing the blade of her scythe deep into his neck and causing him to start bleeding, "Or else your head is rolling right off and I'll have your soul tell me everything."
He smirked. "Without little Kaoboros around Ponta will fall whether I'm there are not, and with my men coming closer it's only a matter of time till I take the Dagger of Death," Cinderburn whispered, letting out a gasp as she stabbed him further.
"Damn you!" she growled, hearing him laugh as the flames took the rest of his body. She swiped her black scythe away and his body plummeted to the ground, nothing but burning ash and cinder.
Xaskesiel smirked, patting the woman on the back as she let out a cough. "What an ironic way to go," he chuckled lightly, "especially with that name of his –"
"Damn it Xaskesiel," she growled under her breath, clutching her chest as she straightened out her back and tried to glare him down, "this isn't the time for jokes –"
"What do I have to do to get some help over here?!" Naum yelled at them, Xaskesiel and Sophie looking at each other for a split moment before jumping over to aid the man. The daemons quickly fell once their leader was out of commission, either running back through the portal or dying by their weapons. Sophie got more and more frustrated as the daemons died around them, regretting killing Cinderburn much too soon before she gathered all the information she currently lacks.
Letting out a raged cough Sophie looked towards the portal, a groan escaping from the pit of her chest. "What are we going to do about that?" she huffed, looking over at Naum and Xaskesiel expecting an explanation.
"I don't know," Naum looking over at Xaskesiel with angry eyes, who whistled quietly to himself and looked away, "and I don't even understand what happened –"
"Well that seems to be happening a lot lately!" Sophie growled, straightening up her back and coughing into her hand.
Naum and Xaskesiel exchanged glances, Naum's sword vanishing from his hand as he walked over to Sophie and grabbed her shoulders. "Hey, are you okay –"
"Y-yeah it's nothing," she chuckled nervously, letting in a big gulp as she shook her head. "… We should probably close that up," Sophie thought, stepping through the portal and walking back into the other world. Naum and Xaskesiel began to follow behind her, until a loud voice called to Sophie and ran towards them.
"Step away –"
"Naum calm down," Sophie huffed, her hands crossed over her chest as she stepped back through the portal and glared at the shinigami that was stopped by Xaskesiel's axe. "So… Jericho," she narrowed her eyes, "what are you doing back?"
"L-look I –"
"Don't even start," she growled, taking a few steps and poking Jericho in the chest. "You jerk. You run away like some coward? How could you! –"
"Sophie calm down," Naum sighed, grabbing her arms and forcing her backward. Jericho's eyes widened, seeing an eerie white glow radiating from her eyes. He forced her to spin around, glaring into her eyes. "… Damn it," he growled, "they're corrupting you."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Sophie snorted, pushing his hands away and glaring back at him.
"… You should have told me you heard voices," he sneered, Sophie raising an eyebrow.
"Naum," she sighed and shook her head, grabbing his arm and pulling him aside, "you're going to have to explain this to me."
He frowned, glancing over at Xaskesiel and Jericho, who looked at them like they were crazy, before letting a deep sigh escape his lips. "Look… do you even know how my parents died?" Naum began.
"… I don't know –"
"My father," Naum chuckled lightly, gently grabbing Sophie's hand and rubbing her fingers, "one day, even though its forbidden, he grabbed hold of the Divine Dagger with his bare hands. A light surrounded him and voices spoke to him… and… when he woke up… all he heard was them."
"Them?" she raised an eyebrow at the tone of his voice, noticing Naum starting to get shaky as he continued to chuckle.
"I don't know what they are," Naum sighed, "but soon he wasn't himself anymore… he acted differently. He yelled at absolutely nothing, cursing the supposed voices in his head. He went crazy and one time, on a mission, he almost killed everyone around him with a justification that he had to. My father… he couldn't take it anymore and he stormed back for the dagger, grabbing it with his bare hands and crying out in a strange tongue as the light surrounded him. Then he disappeared and I never heard from him again." Sophie frowned, watching as Naum bit the bottom of his lip and began to draw blood. "M-my mother wouldn't take this. She seemed to know exactly what was going on, and I overheard that she was going to confront them… wanted to bring my father back in exchange for her own soul, but… she disappeared too and the two of them weren't seen ever again," he sighed and shook his head, placing a hand under her eye and brushing her eyelashes. "Don't… Sophie don't let those things take you. Don't go towards that light… I can't lose another person to them," he finished, letting go of her and taking a step backward.
"… Well," Sophie shrugged before letting out a sigh, stepping through the portal, "I don't know what you're talking about, but whatever Naum."
He gave her a smile and she smirked back, Xaskesiel laughing and skipping over to Naum. "What's the plan kid?!" he asked, Naum sighing as Sophie smiled.
"I suppose…" Naum looked over at Sophie, as if looking for guidance. Then his eyes widened, seeing the portal starting to close. "Sophie jump back!"
"Wha –" she gasped in horror, feeling a chill roll down her back as hands roughly grabbed hold of her shoulders. "DAEMON!" Sophie yelled startled, the portal closing quickly as Naum reached out his hands to grab her back into her world.
"Sophie!" Naum screamed, Xaskesiel pulling the man away from the portal before it closed up on his hands.
His silver steel eyes widened in shock, pushing the daemon away and beginning to cry out for Sophie to come back. "Get a hold of yourself!" Xaskesiel grumbled, Naum clawing at him and cursing at the man.
"Enough," they heard a rough voice, the two foreigners looking over at a woman with long, dark brunette hair push Jericho aside and glare at them, especially Naum. "I don't know what's going on, but you better explain yourselves," she growled, Naum narrowing his eyes as Xaskesiel simply smirked.
"My my~" Xaskesiel crossed his arms over his chest, setting himself between Naum and the other woman, "a part of my kin I see –"
"What are you talking about –"
"Don't play coy Obki," he smirked, causing the woman to raise an eyebrow, "you don't remember whom I am? I didn't think three thousand years would change us. Weren't you the one who told me to ditch the feelings I felt after my mate died and man up?"
"… Necrosnare?" Fiona paused, a smirk coming to her face as a chuckle escaped her throat. "Oh gods, what is going on here?!" she began to laugh, startling the subordinates behind her. "If you're here, that means –"
"Xaskesiel how to the gods do you know this woman?" Naum pouted, pushing the man away and grumbling under his voice.
Fiona smiled, holding out his hand to him, "Fiona Obki, head of the Obki family and God of Death. Welcome little stranger. I assume you're from another world?"
"W-why yes," Naum chuckled nervously, letting go of her hand and retreating by rubbing his arm with his hand. "D-don't tell me we're in Sophie's world now?"
"Well~ I'll have to say so," Fiona nodded, turning her eyes to Xaskesiel, "though you haven't told me why two little space travelers ended up here."
"Ummm… Naum Karawan Kaoboros, servant of light and Goddess of Life –"
"Ah you're Sophie's counterpart!" Fiona laughed lightly. "So you know Eve then?"
"Y-yes!" Naum exclaimed, surprised the woman knew his mother, "S-she's my mother –"
"Awe that's cute," Fiona smiled, before looking over at Xaskesiel with a neutral look on her face. "What's going on here Necrosnare? Why are our worlds colliding yet again?"
"Well…" he chuckled lightly, looking over at Naum with a nervous look on his face, "You should ask the kid. I'm only around to help."
"Naum," Fiona turned to look at him, getting the man's attention, "what's going on?"
"Ummm… m-miss you see…" he eventually sighed, scratching his head and turning away to look back where the portal had been. "D-o you know of a dagger –"
"Oh gods don't tell me those stupid Time and Space characters showed up," she growled, quickly getting Naum's attention.
"Yes ma'am –"
"You have to go to your own world and get Sophie back now –"
"But we don't even know how the portal closed," Xaskesiel explained, placing a comforting hand on Naum's shoulder and gently pushing him aside. "The daemons are trying to contact someone, but we don't even know who nor the daemon who grabbed Sophie –"
"It was Ekahuz Curseblade of Furybrood," Naum stated simply, Xaskesiel looking at the boy wide eyed while Fiona looked at the boy intrigued, "and he has been on my burning case ever since I was born." He finished with a snarl, Xaskesiel backing away slowly as Fiona simply stared at him with a look of sympathy in her eyes. "If he's behind this… oh gods we're in trouble," he sighed, Xaskesiel trying to crack a smile, though he had a worried look on his face.
"Who's Eka –"
"Curseblade is a human soul that was turned into a Goddess of Life, and had turned his back on his comrades and joined us daemons," Xaskesiel told the shinigami, looking over at Naum with a slight smile on his face. "Though… he's fallen even lower because he's started eating the deceased," he continued, a smirk coming to his face as he heard a few of the shinigamis trying to listen on their conversation groan with disgust, "but I've recently heard he's trying to corrupt those souls to turn them into mindless drones of loyal followers. He's putting me out of business," he chuckled, coughing slightly as he noticed the annoyed look on Fiona's face. "Anyways~ he must be behind the making of that portal, though I wonder who he was trying to contact –"
"If he has a counterpart here like I do with Sophie then it must be that being," Naum stated roughly, glaring at Xaskesiel before looking over at Fiona. "That being is up to something, and with the gods as my witness, I'm going to tear him limb from limb till the only thing left beating is his cold, dead heart," he snarled under his breath, a smirk coming to Fiona's face startling Xaskesiel.
"You're more like Eve then you think," she winked, Naum looking up blinking confused as she chuckled and turned to the shinigamis trying to listen to their conversation. With one cold stare they fled, Fiona smirking to herself before sighing. "Listen well," Fiona began, her voice becoming low so only Naum and Xaskesiel could hear. "We can explain more of this later, but right now you must come with me into the building… but at the first moment you can you must disappear. If the council gets wind of Life's involvement here they'll try to kill you," she roughly explained, causing Xaskesiel to gulp as Naum simply nodded. "Now," she continued, pulling a card from under her suit pocket and handed it to Naum, "once you've escaped go to this address and make sure no one follows you. He's a trusted friend and treasures Sophie's life more then you two will ever know. He won't harm you and will explain the matter to you better than I ever can."
Naum looked at the card as Xaskesiel tried to peek at the writing. "Undertaker…" Naum thought aloud, looking up at Fiona as she turned her back on them.
"Come follow me," she said modestly, Naum slipping the card into his pocket and obediently following Fiona as Xaskesiel groaned behind them and slugged towards the white, shiny buildings.
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A/N: And now that's it for now! That's right, there's someone elses involved in this. I'm just wondering what'll happen to Sophie =O I hope you've enjoyed this. I don't know when I'll post another chapter, but hopefully it'll be soon ^^ So… SEE YOU LATER! =D