Even after a simple night away from the constant battering of nature's hammer, the wind still cast an unexpected weight over the group as it hugged them as tight as possible. The crunching of snow and distant growls overcame nature's call, daemon's finding comfort in the safety of the white curtain. Velvet's orbs of gold scanned the hazy horizon, past the tall pine and cascading flakes; while the great walls of their target bore down on them. The samurai emerged from the clutches of the dark Hadlow Hollow - the glistening crystal unnoticeable in the shadowing mask cast over its entrance - with a twist of his shoulder as he prepared himself for the upcoming battle. Lastly, the half-malak crept out with a single finger already pressed against the dense blanket; hair completely camouflaged in the wallowing weather, as he attempted to concentrate.
However, his sense took a few seconds too long, and the ravenette's impatient tapping in the snow caused his face to scrunch up in difficulty. As Velvet was only moments away from breaking his concentration with a single cough, his eyes lulled open with a flash of tiredness. "Got it, but I'm having difficulty sensing enemies in this area," he explained with a hint of annoyance, standing up from his crouched position and dusting off the mass of formed snow.
"Must be the blizzard," Rokurou stated with a hum, his expression cracking slightly as a flake landed perfectly on his nose.
"And your teleportation?" Velvet inquired with a slight brow raise as she tapped her bicep, already beginning to figure out how the man at her side worked.
Sarid chuckled slightly, his methods becoming clearer to the unlikely allies he had acquired, for better or for worse. "We'll have to move to the city ourselves from here, but I should have no trouble getting to each bomb once inside."
The daemon woman sighed with a frown, her silent hopes at getting to past this storm without trouble going up in smoke. "We can make do, but you're the human here; don't collapse on us, or I'll use your power myself," she dismissively threatened with a mild look, before stalking off into the icecaps. Sarid rolled his eyes and jogged after her through the veil, with Rokurou not far behind with his hands itching upon his blades.
"That reminds me," the samurai called out as he arrived into a stroll with the pair. "Where do you think the boy who took the compass ran off to?" he asked with a far-off gaze.
"That blonde kid? He's in Hellewas, with Exorcist Teresa and the other child," the half-malak answered after a moment of recall. "I saw him as I was scouting the city for our distraction."
Velvet cast a look over the man as he mindlessly spoke about his solo job, "Makes sense, malakhim are always tethered to their exorcists after all." The slight pause in her sentence brought her a moment of consideration, "Most of the time," she added, separating her sight from silent wanderer.
"Hmm, that means we might run into him during our attack," Rokurou expressed with a hint of potential discomfort on his face.
Velvet rolled her eyes with a sigh as she felt a hint of deja vu come over her, "Are you getting squeamish about killing the boy because you feel indebted to him healing you?" she accused with stern tone.
However, the samurai turned his expression over in a second, a confident grin running over his lips. "No, if he gets in the way, I'll take him down. But..." The half-malak and ravenette both lowered their gazes with mild annoyance.
"But?"
"I have to remember to thank him first," the daemon admitted with a sly smirk. Sarid almost slapped his forehead with his palm as the samurai failed to let go of his ways.
"Right." Velvet's look was full of judgement, before staring straight ahead with a mind full of disappointment.
"Does that bother you at all?" Rokurou questioned, as she turned to slightly look over again.
A flash of remembrance hued her mind, travelling away from where her body was in that moment. "No, not really, I just know that malakhim don't taste very good." The cracking of glass and the rush of power burdening her fingertips wrenched her away from the unpleasant memory.
Rokurou found amusement in the simple words however, "Malakhim don't suit your palette? I'll call that a positive." Sarid stifled an uncomfortable chuckle as he went over the words, rubbing his throat unconsciously with discomfort. The samurai sent a confused brow raise in the half-malak's direction, "Am I wrong?"
The white-haired man went to explain, but the searing gaze on his face forced the words down his throat. "Uh, no, no not really," he nervously stated as the the look burned hotter.
The daemon woman just let out a tch and decided to simplify the explanation, "Human flesh is mostly what my 'palette' is suited to, however they don't carry much diverse flavour with their strength," she coldly corrected, feeling a twitch in her cheeks as Sarid shuffled again and hovered away very slightly. "Malakhim offer a fresh texture of strength, but the after taste is rather vile." Rokurou soon caught on to the sentence, and the reactions the half-malak was emitting; soon letting put a fairly broad laugh that only extended with the harsh side-eye he was given.
After travelling for only a few more moments under the cover of snow, the visage of Hellewas emerged from settled cloud; as did the front gates. In the vicinity of the great city, the weather calmed, and the prideful sheen of Abbey steel glared from the wooden barrier. "Who goes there?!" An exorcist yelled out from the comfort the walls exerted, and out from the veil stepped a figure writhed in black; along with a man clad in a sunset kimono, and another in a compact forest vest that stood out among the North.
Velvet's boots of metal stomped forward aggressively, and dragged her bandaged arm across her vambrace; eliciting a clean cry of steel as the slightly daggered fingers that lay in its cloth sang across the surface threateningly. "Oh, I'm pretty sure you were expecting me," she goaded with crossed arms, bearing a harsh glare as the exorcist duo looked at eachother in shock. A pleasant sensation bubbled up from within her as she caught the drawing of weaponry from their person, her entire being itching for a fight.
When the exorcists stepped forward with their steel bare, her arms snapped out from their position as she readied her stance. Rokurou cracked his knuckles at her side, and flipped out his amber daggers with a feral grin, while Sarid drew a single kunai in a backwards grip - his feet light and agile - and narrowed his eyes at the two adversaries. "I expect no hesitation, or I'll kill you myself," the woman ordered with her signature predatoral tone.
The half-malak's eyes closed as he released any former connection among the exorcists, and then narrowed them purposefully. "They won't stand in my way."
The exorcists suddenly raced forward, stomping through the uneven blanket without a hint of hesitation in their bodies. Velvet readied herself with a steady cry, until she barreled forwards like a lion and immediately out-paced the minor foes. "I'll rip you apart!" She darted towards the left orderly exorcist with the snarls of a ferocious beast, as he desperately raised his shield in preparation. The right exorcist was left with the samurai and the ninja, as he slightly shook under their gazes.
Velvet bounded through the snow and leapt with superior force, sending her feet right into the shield of the exorcist. The strength was immense, and the guard groaned as the exorcist was sent flying back into the snow with a painful cry. With Rokurou and Sarid, they nodded to eachother before racing forward at the lone enemy. The exorcist raised his shield at their charge; the samurai being first as his blades suddenly weighed hefty, and they came down with a rush of bage energy. The strength of earth came down upon the shield like a rockfall, as he immediately fell to a knee under the blow. The exorcist let out a shout of exertion, until a flash of yellow illuminated his side; Sarid sliding past in a blitz as a deep gouge split across his only standing leg.
Crimson stained the snow, the first drop of many.
The unfortunate man yelled out as his foundation gave way, collapsing onto his knees. Rokurou grinned wolfishly with a gleam in his daemonic sight, and struck out with a wry kick that batted the shield to the side as an uncomfortable snap sang from his arm. His yell was abruptly silenced when the daemon's blade pierced his throat with disgusting ease. Rokurou, span and ripped out his dagger as a splatter of blood gurgled out onto the innocent blanket below. The half-malakhim turned away with a sad grimace, trying to ready himself again for the murder he would commit.
Back with the ferocious daemoness, she pounced over towards the downed man, before springing over him with clean slice of her glistening wristblade. This exorcist - who managed to deflect the attack with a sudden shift of his shield - was definitely the more skilled of the two, as he rapidly got to his feet to evade a skirting boot blade that swung over the snow in a circular motion. Finally on the attack, his spear lashed out with the purpose of piercing the woman through the face, however; Velvet tilted her head casually as the spear stabbed the open air. Assault eluded, the exorcist went to wrest the spear back for another chance, until her bandaged arm caught the pole in its tracks.
Snap!
The exorcist's confidence shattered as his spearhead was snapped from its place, and against all he was taught; emotion filled his heart again. Fear. Velvet gracefully twisted around his guard, and roughly slammed the poised tip right into the man's ribs. Ivory pooled among his uniform as he stumbled back with a splutter, and another slice rendered his chest open like a canyon. The woman recovered from her cartwheel, steadily sauntering towards the gasping exorcist as he neared the gate. With a scoff, her leg darted out and smashed into his chest, and the man flew back and crashed through the gate with a withering cry; the cool air of Hellewas welcoming them with the uneasy scent of blood and chaos.
As the trio entered the city, the winding roads were silent and unwelcoming, streets vacant of any sign of life. "The townspeople are gone, I was right, this was a trap," Velvet mused with a sense of seriousness, but no underlying worry.
"Get ready for a fight," Sarid quickly announced, his sensory skills already relaying to him of the ambush. "They aren't hiding, they're waiting. They think they can win through sheer numbers," he explained, the concern on his face steadily growing.
"More food for me then," Velvet coldly welcomed, stomping forward through the ghostly streets. However, a seed of doubt was planted in the minds of Sarid and Rokurou, as the half-breed's eyes bespoke of adversaries of a much greater size than they're expecting. The samurai let out a breath and jogged after the woman who escaped into the fog, the slight howl of the winds following in her dreadful wake. As they each turn across the centre of Hellewas and face the church, an expected sight awaits them.
A line of exorcists were positioned across the street, and at their behest stood Exorcist Teresa - with her malakhim - on the steps of the church, looking above each one. To no one's surprise, a perfectly alive Magilou stood proudly at her side, bound but not shameful in the slightest. The trio, undeterred by the sizeable force, kept their consistent pace across the cobbled road towards them. Nature rumbled across the city, as the air spoke of calamity among the embers of despair.
Eventually, the exorcists took their chance, and surrounded the trio; the two men casting analytical gazes throughout the ambush, whereas their faithful Mistress of Evil stomped forward without a flinch. As blades poised readily around the criminals, and the call of snow grew in volume, the clinking of chains and steel on stone halted; as Velvet paid no mind to the sea of hostility painted among the city. Panning her gaze up, the ravenette laid eyes on the orchestrator of such a poor ambush, and the bright Jester that found no tension could sour her mood.
"Well, look who actually showed up to rescue me. Aww, you're more of a softie than I ever gave you credit for, daemon lady!" Magilou sang without a care in the world, shuffling under the binds that held her hands together.
Slam
Teresa's noble staff of gleaming gold and symbolic naivety bashed the ground in a silencing notion - the fiendish grin never disappearing from the Witch's elvish face - as the praetor glared deeply at the uncaring daemon. "You're here. You're the daemon that escaped the island, along with that samurai and traitorous malakhim." The blonde woman seethed behind her walls of reason, an underlying purpose in the army of swords she ordered to tear this group apart.
As a particular spear of an orderly neared too close for comfort, a single finger pushed the tip away from the daemon's throat, as she cast a deathly look at the one who came too close to the wolf. The exorcist stepped back slightly - weapon even more tensed than before - as a casual hand laid on her hip. "So what if I am?"
Teresa's eyes burned with anger at her dismissive tone, as she twirled her staff around her and jabbed it directly towards the daemon threateningly. "You hurt my dear Oscar! You will pay for that. Slowly." Velvet rolled her eyes as few of the exorcists scampered forward, an orderly leading their charge.
"Sounds pretty emotional to me," Rokurou remarked as he flicked the blood off his daggers, and readied them for battle. His orange eyes circled him, as more and more exorcists moved in to eliminate the criminals. Sarid's vision flicked from one to another, hundreds of scenarios running through is head like film as he noted each and every characteristic to exploit.
He was sure of it now. "Don't let us hold you back," he suddenly stated without looking, his mind flashing back to the stories he heard; the nightmares created by the one he currently stood next to. The one he now helped on her treacherous endeavours. The one who destroyed his world.
"And I want that half-malak alive!"
The Lord of Calamity; Velvet Crowe.
The words rang freely in her ears as did knells of old, echoing around her mind like a cacophony of voices. His words of assurance were typical, but they confused her. She could feel her insides twist like a hungry snake, as she sighed in acceptance. Her skin prickled, as her daemonic biology lusted for the ivory that pulsed all around her, and she prepared herself for the fight of her life. Glowering at the surrounding uniforms of arrogantly nobility, her fists tightened in boiling anger that she let overcome her conscious mind. Bandaged fingers twitched and coiled together - knife like fingers digging into the palm - as her claw rumbled in anticipation behind the mental gates that barred its way. Golden eyes grew hard, as snow crunched underfoot through the dainty whisper of wind.
Velvet pushed the half-malak away as an axe sailed downwards into the cobble where he once stood, and she snarled with hostility as her left hand slammed into the throat of the exorcist in a vice grip. Her gaze bore deep into his soul, staring hungrily at the humanity that rested within, until she let out a shout as the ravenette plunged his head into the ground with a sickening crunch! The scream of displaced air whispered into her ears, and in a beautiful flip of darkness, she slammed her metal boot into the invading sword; sending it clattering across the ground. Bending her upper body swiftly in a flexible arc, Velvet's bootblade gifted a clean gash across the exorcist's open throat, who scrambled back as red coated his hands and slightly sprayed out among the madness. She stifled a sadistic look as she glared around her, evading an assault of steel with a great acrobatic flip.
The exorcists scrambled back in fearful hesitation as she stood in the centre, heaving with exhilaration as she rose up to look straight at the praetor who watched in stunned silence. Wisps of vile darkness trailed through the crevices of her bandages, as a strange crimson mist invaded the golden light of her hazel orbs that sat surrounded by specks of blood, and she allowed her true nature to come alive.
"Come face me!"
Squelch!
Rokurou and Sarid nodded to eachother over the terrible screams that began to rock the city peace, and they soon rushed the wall of blades that poised ready for their attack. The half-malak sped right past their stalwart guard, catching the sides of some foes as they winced with a cry. Leaping up, he struck out with a side kick that sent one reeling into Rokurou's waiting blades that slammed right through his chest with the singing of sliced flesh. Sarid's kunai clashed with the constant swinging of an exorcist's broadsword, as the half-malak dipped between his superior reach, until he leapt up and over the man's wide shoulders. Through the rushing of air, his hands flipped between multiple signs as he took a deep breath, and blew. Three balls of fire blazed and struck a group that watched in bafflement, before they went up in a burst of spitting flames.
Landing at the samurai's side with a mild huff of effort, Rokurou smirked with thrill as Sarid let out a slow breath, before each rushing off into the great ambush with an aim to spill the blood of their attackers.
~~~
A body, battered and thrashed with splotched red, crashed into a wall as it violent crumpled among the debris. Velvet let out an anguished yell, as her cursed appendage scraped across the ground and dragged up into the stomach of an unfortunate exorcist. He spluttered with a horrid wretch as it clawed up and out of his body in a rain of ivory. Before it could even fall, a violent kick smashed his form across the ground in a carpet of vermillion; sending a couple of attacking exorcists to stumble in worry. "Come ON!" she cried angrily, diving off to the side of an ambitious fire arte, and tearing the vulnerable leg off another man who collapsed in a convulsive heap. Her claw desperately tore the limb she still carried into stray flecks of flesh as the fulfilling rush of energy replenished her reserves yet again.
Bodies decorated the street, alongside the feral marks that accented them. The gentle whiteness that still angelically floated down in droves was violently contrasted by the pools of crimson that lay around from their dying vestiges. The chidden sun scowled at the stains upon its paradise, as it hid behind the grey cloudy curtains that shielded the sky.
"Damn it!" An explosion of water rocketed across a portion of the street, catching the therion's attention. A spark of yellow zipped across the roads, until it impacted the cobblestone with a shout of pain. Sarid trembled in pain as he struggled out of the crater, groaning as he did so. Velvet's eyes softened from their hardened gleam, as it caught the traits of ruffled snow-white hair - now dirtied and messy - and a ripped olive vest. The exorcists, catching wind of the weakness in their defense, dashed over to sieze the half-malak.
"Sarid!" Rokurou's worried voice yelled out over the mayhem, his breaths becoming more and more rapid by the minute. The honourable samurai carried his dagger cleanly through an enemy'a abdomen, and raced in the direction of his fallen ally; until a pair of exorcists barred his way. "I can't get to him, Velvet!"
She snarled to herself as the adversaries dove forward and away from her rage, as she whipped her daemonic claw back, and smashed it into the earth; sending her in a large pounce over to the man. "Out of my way!" she roared, lunging straight towards the exorcists with a poised claw. One could only look up, before the tremendous force crushed him into the debris, the miniature talons desperately scowering his flesh like a blender. The other exorcist could only spare a look of surprise, until the limb batted him into a nearby building - a few screams sounding out upon the attack - as Velvet quickly grasped the half-malak and pulled him up harshly.
Sarid, a dazed look overcoming his features as he wobbled on his feet, sucked in sharply as he touched his injured side. He was part human, nowhere near as resilient as a daemon or full malakhim. "Thanks Velvet," he sounded out with a shaky voice.
The daemonic hold - like fingertips on her mind - ceased their gentle grasp as her limb vanished into its lie, and she cleared her throat as she went to speak. "Keep an eye on yourself for once, I'm not dragging around an exhausted half-malak because you don't know your own limits." Passively, the white-haired man shook his hair free of the collective dirt, and gave her a confident nod after brief embarassment. "Alright..." she began, releasing the unusually tight grip she held on his collar with a frown, and cast an inquisitive look over the battlefield. "...It's time."
As her words rolled over his mind, he couldn't hold back his frown at finally utilising their secret weapon. "Fine, give me a few minutes," the half-malak responded, until he disappeared from her hands in a crackle of yellow lightning.
Teresa - upon catching sight of his abrupt escape - growled angrily. "You've been abandoned by one of your allies, it seems he's understood the futility of your situation!" she attempted to goad, but couldn't hide the tightened grip that wrapped around her staff; as Magilou giggled silently in the corner.
Rokurou grinned slightly as he caught sight of his ally off to start the next phase of their plan. Twisting his foot, he ducked under a wild crash of bellowing wind, and cleanly swung his daggers across an opposing spear; which held despite his superior strength. Lashing his weapons upwards, the spear flew up with his push and he sliced three swift lacerations across the exorcist, as the foe collapsed with a gurgle. Suddenly, Velvet appeared next to him in a single bound, her form shuddering in fatigue.
"We need to buy him some time," she spoke in low whisper, warily casting her stare over the seemingly unending wave of exorcists. Her body weighed her down, as marks glistened all over her while the sluggish liquid of the enemies they had slain slowed the daemons' movements. However, the taste of a unending and dangerous battle reinvigorated the samurai's blood with a boil, as he birthed a toothy smile.
"No... problem!" Rokurou enunciated as ducked under a wild swing from an orderly, gouging the man's legs with a barrage of attacks that pulled him to the ground. "Hang in there!" he yelled, diving to the rocky snow as flames endowed his previous position.
Velvet beat the crackling fire back with a watery slash from her wristblade, the dripping azure cooling the furious arte as she flipped over, stomping on the downed exorcist the samurai had left behind with her heel. "You- too!" she responded with a twist of her boot, a snap sounding out as the man's whimpers silenced. A pair of spears came towards her at seperate angles, as she huffed in irritation. Lunging forward, she weaved under one and guided the first with her hand, into the opposing adversary. He yelled out as the spear threaded his stomach with a violent stab, until his head vanished from his body with the explosive crunch of his skull in a great daemonic palm.
The still shocked exorcist that had been the inadvertent killer of his ally, stepped back as the daemon glared at him from behind the visage of steaming crimson that lined her once flawless features. As the warm sensation drawled down over her lips, she let her tongue run over the tasteful iron and even let out a muffled hum of delight. Horrified, the exorcist gasped and rapidly fell over himself in the slippery snow, dashing off into the silent streets of Hellewas. Velvet let a smileless dry chuckle escape her mouth as she watched him run, "Too easy," she tiredly remarked, lazily dragging her eyes over a new formation that the exorcists took against the ravenous daemonette.
"Who will taste my blade next?!" Rokurou growled out aggressively as he kicked another lifeless body to the tight formation the Abbey held around their praetor.
"You fiend! All exorcists, form up!"
At her order, the surrounding wall of blades dispersed as they centered on an array before their captain. Velvet leapt over to the back of the samurai, stumbling with a trudge as she raised her wristblade against their forces. "As I hoped..." she mused with a fatigued huff. The surrounding shields were still valiantly raised against the daemons, as many still trembled in similar tiredness at their seemingly unending stamina.
"I admire your endurance, but you will regret this soon enough..." she yelled with a flourish of her staff. "Number Two." That same blonde child from before, stood lifeless before the praetor, no hint of emotion in his eyes as usual. Adhering to the order of Teresa, an orb of violent flame formed between his hands, and shot out with great force. It struck Velvet in the side, as she collapsed with a cry of pain. Despite the severe stinging of her flesh, the woman immediately made sure to catch her fall with a wince.
"Can't even finish your own work? Coward," she grumbled as her fists tightened threateningly, and she glared directly at the praetor.
Teresa proved surprised for but a moment, as she stepped forward slightly with narrowed eyes. "I won't fall for your taunts, that arm of yours is too dangerous." Her eyes eventually landed on her malakhim at her side, who stared onwards with no sense of self. "Besides, to dispose of daemon filth, one ought to use the appropriate tool," she stated without a hint of shame.
Velvet gripped her side as she stretched completely, holding back a grunt as she inhaled sharply. However, through her mild gasps, you could hear a slight chuckle of amusement on her breath. "Well, I've got tools of my own. Tools of flamestone, sulfur, oil and a teleporting malak," she revealed with a victorious glare.
"Those will... explode," Number Two's voice sounded out, emotionless.
Teresa stepped back with a gasp of realisation, "That half-malak... you were a diversion!?" A flash of lightning. A voice called out among the winds.
"Don't blink."
BOOM!
A shockwave barreled out among the storm of confusion, the sound rocketing through their eardrums as smoke plumed across the calm azure sky. The exorcists stumbled with their footing in shambles; eyes snapping to the gathering smog that hung over the docks. Teresa's viridian orbs widened at the dreadful sight, "What!? Our stores of flamestone!" she cried in shock as the warehouse went up in flames. The praetor's gaze flicked back to the perpetrator as he knelt there, at the side of these daemons. The traitor malak bore eyes of sad cerulean, a hint of regret blossoming underneath his cool exterior as he flashed a toothy grin. However, a trail of ivory dribbled from the corner of his mouth - form suddenly becoming racked with exhaustion - until he stumbled into the hesitant grip of that monster. Velvet held Sarid's aching figure with uneasy hands, passing an incredulous look that steadily sank with that familiar coldness. "How da-!?"
But what happened next disturbed the man greatly.
BOOM!
Another. One that he had not planned for.
Sarid's eyes sharpened like steel as he scrambled out from the hold of the woman, as another shockwave rumbled deep within the icy rock. And this time, screams were mangled with its thundering roar. Many of the people present were flung to the ground in a mass of bewilderment, a cacophony of coughs and splutters echoing as a scent gunpowder and ash lingered eerily close. This time gasps of disbelief and horror shot out like the unsheathing of blades, as their unwilling sights settled upon the trembling debris.
BOOM!
BOOM!
It was a sea of fire upon an innocent dream. The aura of serenity emitted by the sleeping city, shattered by the manic eruptions that bellowed across its landscape. Households of naive residents, collapsing with a creak and a crumble. The singing of scorned flesh wafting on the air of the protectors who were wrought with grief. A blizzard of a thousand winds would yield to the blaze that smothered this peaceful city, and the daemon in black stood in blissful silence. Teresa could bear it no longer, and as her crackling sight trailed to linger on their enemy, a rush of darkness and a flash of steel sent her careening backwards with a harsh yell.
Weapons clattered to the cobble built on snow, as mayhem of fear consumed the hearts of the faithful at the sight of this unyielding beast. Crimson scattered onto the ground like a spray of pellets after Velvet's bootblade carved right through the praetor's shoulder.
"Rokurou! Sarid!" she cried in order, as the samurai lunged forward and split his knives through the bold garb of an exorcist.
"I'm with you!"
The half-malak was paralysed. The birth of hellfire creeping along the once calm Boreal, as disarming roars of doubt and disbelief sent shocks through his mind; teal orbs centered on the reflection of his doing imprinted upon his mind. The snow-filled scope of warm, innocent hearts dying before his vision of heroics. 'How did this happen...?!' his brain cried out in its prison of naivety, planning and information naught in the cradle of pain these hands stung him with. The outside world was silent. By his demand, it be so.
Until, the roaring flames that licked the freezing gales of the icecapped land, were replaced by equal eyes of determined fire. Golden medallions, hardened in the furnace of hatred, seared the noble blue that looked through them.
Smack!
An impact. Velvet's fist launched violently into the jaw of the stunned malak, as he fumbled in a daze of sudden shock. The blaze seemed finite in the glare of the beast. "Move it!" The daemon roared out, ripping him up from the bite of frozen stone by his collar, and wrenching him over as Rokurou desperately fended back the few who were overcome by their emotion of desperation. Sarid's mind cleared briefly, as his footsteps fell in tandem with the two who blitzed at his side from the scene. But, they would never forget the stench of flamestone that permeated the failing breaths of Hellewas.
"Hey! Aren't you forgetting someone!?"
Teresa stumbled up with a great shake in her form - the vermillion red severely staining upon the exorcist garb - as she slammed her hand against it in a cry of pain and anger. "What are you doing!? After them!" she yelled wrathfully at the still stunned exorcists.
"But, Lady Teresa! The civilians! The port!" An orderly shouted desperately, his hands trembling with anxiety. Their friends, their families, all in danger.
Even as her steely gaze fell on him, and the feet of the perpetrators stomped further and further away, she could not keep the burdening emotion that rumbled within down as she growled with irritation. "Grr! Orderlies, put out the flames and tend to the victims at once!"
~~~
The group dashed across the ghostly port that burdened with a blaze, the weather calm in the volatile show that presented itself. Even so, the spitting flames that smothered the warehouse in its undoing heat settled a pit of suspicion and confusion upon the passing gaze of the half-malak. Its place nowhere near the trio of explosions that rocked the city's foundation. Caught up in his analysis of the degrading storeroom, he didn't notice the steps of his falling behind. "Sarid! Hurry the HELL up!" a gritty yell snarled from ahead of him, as he quickly picked up his pace with a grimace.
The ships that swayed in the settled ocean were overcome with similar fire, rendering them unseaworthy as they raced towards the lone one that sat undisturbed. Dyle - hands coated in a dusty black grime - waved at them from the helm. "Come on! We're ready to set sail!" he cried from his post as they sprinted down the berth.
Fwhoom!
A ball of fire accumulated upon the icy winds, shooting towards the lizard who balanced upon the ship, unaware of the arte that catapulted in his direction. The blazing attack seared his scales as he was flung back onto the deck with a cry, as Velvet ground her boots into the stone with a screech. With a growl, her vision darted to the opening to the berth, and in the wallowing cries of flame; stood Teresa with an expressionless of simmering anger under the surface; still wincing at the wound that gathered around her shoulder. The rest of the group halted with a tick of annoyance - Rokurou's daggers immediately poised before him - as they knew they wouldn't be leaving without a fight. "I won't let you leave! Never!" the exorcist seethed, the two malakhim staring blankly at her side.
The daemoness stomped her left foot forward, cracking the stone aggressively as she spoke through clenched teeth. "Get ready, don't spare a single one," she ordered with a clench of her fist. A slight stumble at her side caused her orbs to flash to the side for but a moment, the wind picking up again with a whistle as her hair flapped in the breeze, while the half-malak stumbled in his place. Hands shaken and unstable, he attempted to focus his gaze upon the woman who's protective conviction blazed as hot as the fire that licked her heels. Even through his mental instability, he could feel the ice cold look that pressed against him once again. "Stay back, half-malak. You'll only get in the way," she stated matter-of-factly. Magilou from the back of the berth grinned in amusement at the denial.
Sarid frowned with a wince, and stepped down with a shameful turn; the fluff of his snowy hair swaying over his pitiful look.
"Number One! Number Two!" Teresa's shouts wreathed over the burning sea like a wave, and from the palms of the soulless puppets that stood reigned at her side, grew the congealed orbs of water that thrashed in their circular shape.
Swoosh!
They erupted forward as if blasted from a cannon, and the daemon's did not yield in the face of such an attack. Her tattered cloak swooping through the crisp snow, Velvet's leg came down with the force of an avalanche; heel smashing right through the arte with a violent crash! Rokurou's eye gleamed viscously, and flourished his blades with the skill of a master, and split the orb in two with striking precision. The two artes fell to the icy lumps that adorned the cobble with a slosh, freezing almost immediately. In this short moment, the therion sprung into action instantly, feet pounding against the stone with intense speed.
"You deceitful snake!" the praetor cried in earnest as she could see the shimmer of darkness race forward. Raising a firm hand, wind dispersed from the palms of those she pulled the strings of; no expression visible as they bombarded the daemon's approach.
"I am a daemon. Spare me your sermons."
Squelch!
The furious air that blew towards her like a hurricane, was abruptly whipped away in a swipe of crimson. A feeling of oppression sunk into the environment, as the sickly stench of daemonblight flooded the port's surroundings like thick oxygen. Teresa's orbs widened once again, as the cursed appearance of that inhuman appendage scarred her mind, as if struck by the limb itself.
Velvet's therion claw announced its presence with a ferocious crash, as she leapt high into the freezing winds of the North. The tasteful assault of biting flakes and searing winds delicately slipped from her skin without a hint of attention. Casting her golden gaze down to the three who waited below in horrific standstill - strips of miasma emanated from her arm with poisonous rapture - and she tensed it with catastrophic temptation. "DEVOUR!" she roared, like lightning striking the peaceful sky.
She came down like a thunderous storm, a hammer crashing into the fragile earth with stupendous strength.
Teresa scrambled from her place, and the claw struck the berth with overwhelming impact; spanning a web of destruction along the cobble and sending her adversaries reeling back into a cloud of dust and snow. The malakhim flew back with a painful fall, their toneless cries flashing out among the chaos. As the cloud faded from coating the ruined dock, the praetor lay kneeling in place with a repetitive heave of her rapidly beating heart. A sign of desperation flickered over her expression as her malakhim rose at her side again without a flicker of hurt.
Velvet lashed her claw out to the side as it vanished in a mist of dark brume. Her eyes carried a sense of disappointment through the daggered sight.
"As Exorcist Praetor Teresa, I give you this order! Do it, Number Two!" Her abrupt cry caused the group to narrow their eyes in suspicion, until the young malak raced forward; a wallowing blaze forming between his palms as he dashed forward. Everyone tensed in alarm.
"That kid's going to blow himself up!" Magilou yelled out in unusual surprise.
Shink
Until, the arte vanished in spark of yellow.
The daemon's eyes blinked in surprise, as the visage of a figure appeared before the malak for the briefest of moments. "That speed..." she murmured in thought, a knowing twitch in her lips which forced a shake of her head.
In a split second, a flash of lightning coursed around the mayhem, and the young boy who raced forward found himself concentrating nothing through his fingers. A ping of confusion prickled in his features, until Velvet siezed the opportunity to send a destabilising kick right into the malak's face. He stumbled back, until a spinning kick sent him off to the side in a heap of snow. Carrying her momentum, the daemon lunged from her position; steel bare to run the stunned praetor right through.
Clang!
"To think you were a daemon!" A figure clad in similar noble robes stood to the praetor's defense in shape of her spear, her ginger hair tied in a ponytail fluttering from the force she struggled against; emerald eyes hardened in a naive sense of betrayal. Grinding the wristblade against the weapon's shaft, the daemon rose an eyebrow at the sudden intervention.
"The crybaby exorcist?"
"I wasn't crying!"
Boom!
Another explosion sounded out, however the force and sound was severely muted. The horizon lit up with a flash of boiling energy, as the arte that had seemingly vanished burst a while away in the sea. Waves encompassed the docks, shrivelling in tandem with the forceful burst that flew across its shining surface. Again, a flash of gold sparked out among the rising tide, and a body rolled onto the dock; soured with salt and hefty water. Sarid's chest heaved with unbridled exertion, his knife against his chest in a weak grip.
"What!?" Eleanor gasped out in surprise upon catching sight of the face from before appear from nowhere. Taking this chance, Velvet slammed her head against the praetor's in a wild attack, letting her stumble away as the daemon leapt back. In a single motion, the samurai sprang forward with his daggers laid bare as he went for the vulnerable exorcist. Through her shaky exterior, Eleanor still proved her ability as she rapidly recovered and deflected Rokurou's swift blows with steady sweeps - leading him to backpedal quickly - as she stared them down defiantly.
"Two praetors, not looking good!" Rokurou enunciated with a slight huff coming from his lungs, hungry but wary for more.
"Magilou! Take Sarid with you onto the ship!" Velvet yelled out without looking back, knowing of his completely defenseless form from the move he just pulled. The Witch, already preparing a snide response, had her tongue caught by the look the daemon gave over her shoulder. With a sigh and a shrug, she went to attend the fallen half-malak best she could with a brisk skip in her step.
Soon enough, the two daemons found themselves cornered by the praetor's and their powerful malakhim. Although, there are some animals you just don't corner. As Number Two stumbled up from his battered position, the therion found her eyes catch onto this, and a dark idea filled her mind.
Squelch!
"Knock them back. That's an order. Knock them back, or I'll eat you!" Velvet harshly threatened, her claw's grip around the malak's small figure tightening aggressively as the sheer presence caused a gnashing feeling to form within his soulless gut. As her eyes gleamed that steely gold, and she snarled her words akin to a beast, his eyes flashed with realisation.
"An... order..."
Another flame arte within his palms. However, as it hummed with building power, the ground that lay steadfast under the exorcists rumbled in earnest with a searing heat. Teresa and Eleanor gasped in shock as they witnessed the malak adhere to the woman's orders.
Boom!
The cobble erupted with violent flame, sending their adversaries soaring backwards from its power. "Now!" Velvet cried, as this became their big chance. Rokurou didn't spare a second glance, as he swiftly dashed onto the ship where a waving Magilou and resting Sarid lay waiting. Velvet was not too far behind.
And, neither was the malak boy she subconsciously dragged with her.
As the ship finally felt the rush of the waves crash against its hull, and the chilling winds fill the sails with its faithful air, the burning ruins of what remained scorned their existence. Hellewas is no more, and Lord Artorias Collbrande will know.