December 25, 2014
Sky above, sky below, I alone stand almighty!
–Blackstar, Soul Eater
DK's POV:
I legitimately did not know where this thing began or ended. It was a dull, dark grey, and every inch of its back was covered in gravestones. It had not one, not two, but three heads, the one on the farthest right with a gigantic, almost Jason-like hockey mask, the middle one with some kind of material sewn over its face in a disturbingly Leatherface-like manner, and the one on the far left eerily resembling Freddy Kruger. All three heads, under their horror-movie resemblance, were those of dragons. Noah stood practically under the monster, still holding the Book, and I stared at the Horror Dragon, Hazel slack in my hands. Akuma was in a similar state of near-frozen awe. Lock shot past the monster, chasing after one of the little goblins, and quick as thought, the right head snapped the goblin up, sending Lock into a panicked backpedal as it chewed and swallowed. My eyes widened in surprise as a new gravestone popped up on its neck, reading "Gremlin". Akuma pointed to the bulk of the creature dumbly. "And how, in the name of everything freakish and unholy, are we supposed to fight that?"
I thought blankly for a second, then pointed. "You take the left head, Lock can have the right, and me n' Hazel will get the one in the middle." He sighed, as if he were about to say something, but merely nodded. "Sure thing dude." He launched himself up at the Freddy Kruger face, and I brought Hazel up, beginning to fire. Lock swooped in and buried several dozen fire daggers in the thing's Jason face, making it roar. Just as Akuma reached his face, long spikes shot from it like macabre whispers, blocking his blow and sending him flying backwards, bleeding from a slight graze on his temple. I had to dodge a sudden slam from one of the creature's feet, flickering to the side and singing the limb with a blow from Hazel. The monster keened and withdrew the limb as Lock continued sending her many magical daggers into its back, sides, and the one face she was "in charge" of.
The smoke cleared, swirled, and cleared again, sparks flying from Akuma's attacks, and the creature was bleeding heavily from Lock's unending barrage of knives. But none of our attacks were truly doing much damage, and I sighed and signaled Akuma with my eyes. He dropped away, skittering backwards through the shadows to come to my side. Hazel squeaked in shock as I passed her to him, staring at me from her barrel. "W-wait, DK! What are you doing?!" Lock powered her broom upwards, watching us from above, her eyes narrowed. "I'm going to do what I do best." I said cheerfully, and then my face darkened as I turned towards the Horror Dragon, my eyes glowing a dark, demonic red.
"I'm going to completely annihilate thing little beastie."
Kage's POV:
I suddenly slammed open the car door, making Kid yelp as he fell from a sudden lack of balance. I began marching resolutely towards my brother's signature, and Kid popped the door open behind me. "Kage! Where are you going! This is no time to deviate from the plan!" he said angrily, and I turned. "DK's going to do something reckless! Can't you feel it, Kid?" His yellow eyes narrowed, then closed, and I could feel his awareness brush past mine as he began using his Soul Perception. They snapped. "That register! He can't be serious! Its…it's like the Kishin Asura's! More!" he gasped, and I nodded solemnly. "The Demon King feeds off Anger and Wrath, not Madness. While Madness is more numerous, Rage can be more easily evoked. DK can gather far more power from far fewer people in far shorter of a time than Asura. His power is unstable though, so he tries not to use it too much. There's too high a chance he'll simply loose himself in it and start going rouge, so to speak."
I quickly chanted my mantra in my mind and spread my Shade Wings. "Which is exactly why we should be there to stop him, in case that happens. Kid nodded, making a throwing motion as Beelzebub appeared and leaped onto the magical skateboard. "Right, let's go. I'll be right behind you." he said firmly, and I launched myself into the sky. The overwhelming aura of anger and madness ahead of us grew stronger by the second, and then we both skidded to a halt, seeing Lock and Akuma approached. Akuma had Hazel over his shoulder, in weapon form. Lock saw us first and slowed down, and then my brother. "What happened?" I asked them warily, and Akuma gulped. "This Horror Dragon thing came out of the Book of Eibon, and nothing we could do would scratch it. DK apparently decided it warranted a "final solution", if you will." Lock shrugged. "I certainly don't blame him; we were rather hard-pressed, and doing very little damage to boot."
Kid scowled from beside me. "Whether or not you do damage isn't the problem here, it's what damage DK might do later if he isn't contained." he snapped, and Lock glared at him. "You weren't exactly around to lecture us at the time, so we did what we had to! Damn Reapers!" she spat, and I narrowed my eyes. "Both of you, stop that. His aura is already affecting us from here." Kid and Lock had the decency to look ashamed as the Nightstalker paled, looking over her shoulder at the dull red glowing beginning to light up the clearing behind them. "He is trying to contain it, right?" I glanced at Akuma. "You were his host Akuma, what say you?" His evergreen eyes, so alike to mine, closed briefly, and then he shook his head. "He's limiting it more or less to this forest, but other than that, all the stops are loose, so to speak." he said worriedly, and we all glanced towards the forest below, nervous.
DK's POV:
"The Demon Lord of Anger, hmm? I think you would make an excellent addition to the Chapter of Wrath." Noah said in approval as I cracked my neck a few times, and I smirked mirthlessly. "I already told you, I'm not part of anyone's collection. This body here is special addition, limited time offer, currently expired, one of only two ever made, and with the other one currently destroyed, I suppose you could call me priceless." I raised my hands, energy crackling at my fingertips as my eyes darkened, glowing red. "And you could also call me very, very pissed. Collecting my weapon, and my Nightstalker? Don't make me laugh." Noah and the Horror Dragon shifted nervously as my power spread outwards, and I grinned, the taste of Rage humming on my tongue. "They're mine, and I most assuredly do not appreciate some greedy little sorcerer trying to steal what I've rightfully corrupted."
The very air around us began glowing a dull, sickly red, like the light of a volcano. "You say you want everything? Do you want my power, the power of a demon god?" Every hair on my body began tingling with power as I cocked my head. "I mean, you did say everything, didn't you?" Noah's eyes gleamed, a mad kind of avarice shimmering in their depths. "Yes! Yes! I am Noah, I will take your power! I will take everything! It is all mine!" he cried, actually stepping forward as the Horror Dragon, perhaps having a better sense of self-preservation, cringed. I stepped forward, gathering my power around me like a cloak, my whole body glowing a dark, angry red. A smirk was twitching and flickering on my lips as I drew my hand back, energy gathering around my hands. "Well then, take my power. Take the power of a true god."
Merry Christmas!