Trees burned. The ground burned. The sky seemed to burn. Darkness burned. From the smell of it, some of Maria's hair burned as well.
She'd lost her hat at some point, leaving her golden hair free. It was at that point the beast had stopped trying to climb back up on focused on killing her, a questionable blessing.
This beast didn't have the common decency to be a stupid, bloodthirsty creature. No, it had to use tools, grabbing fallen trees and either swinging or throwing them at Maria, too big to deflect or parry. Maria would have gone behind it and stayed there to give it a Yharnam spanking, but that tail kept sweeping and flailing about at her when she did. Beasts weren't supposed to have tails like that!
Still, she fought, to defend her mother, to keep this thing from the town that would be unprepared for it, and to kill it. She just had to keep fighting…
She rolled from another swung burning tree, stabbing her saber into the ground and drawing one of her pistols in the same motion. With no time to reload primer, she'd have to make every shot count, and she did, aiming for the eyes. There was a crack, and the beast roared one of its claws coming up to cover its face as one crimson eye closed. It didn't affect its vision since it had 6 more, but the pain forced it back, allowing Maria to heal herself a little before drawing her sword again. This beast was big, strong, tough and fast, but it couldn't heal, and she wasn't going to run out of Light Magic. She could outlast it.
Maria faced the beast straight on, sword in hand, the ground shaking under her feet from the beast's heavy footfalls and thrashing.
Behind her, there was a childish laugh, as if some little girl was enjoying ripping the wings off birds.
Maria realized the ground wasn't shaking in time to the beast's footfalls.
She quickened, darting to the side as she turned. Behind her, ogres with dark smoking streaking from their heads stalked though the trees, their eyes on Maria. And behind them, a figure with dark hair, surrounded as if by thick black flames. For some reason, she was holding a paper bag in the crook of one arm, some kind of pastry in her other hand.
"I went to the bakery for a little snack and this is what happens," the childish voice said. "Why are you always breaking my things, Maria Campbell? And what did you do to poor Miss Estella?"
The beast roared, seemingly at the reminder of its name. and then it was leaping at her, long and short arms forward as the ogres charged and it at became a whirl of running, rolling, quickening and swinging her sword.
"How curious," the voice said as Maria fought, managing to slip between two ogres before she was trapped. "She should be dying, from the length of time I've been draining her soul to replenish my Dark Magic. This is the first time this has happened. I should probably write it down, in case it's something important."
The beast had no compunctions about striking the ogres to get at Maria, a small mercy. If she timed it right, she could get it to kill them for her so she wouldn't be so overwhelmed.
"Did you come to rescue your mother? How did you even know to come here? Are you so insistent on ruining other people's fun that you can just show up to where they are?"
Maria drew a pistol and fired at the voice. It was her last bullet in that cylinder. Worth it.
"Ah! Meanie! I was still eating that jam roll!"
Abyss consume. Missed.
"You know what, if that's what you do to poor, innocent jam rolls that haven't been eaten yet, then I'm glad! I'm GLAD I held Miss Estella punish your wicked mother!"
Maria lunged at the voice, sword forward, only for ogres to get in the way. Her sword flashed, again and again, trying to cut their flesh but it was too thick. She dodged back, and was nearly skewered as the beast clawed at her and she managed to roll away just in time.
"Miss Almera said she deserved to roll around and filth, and I suppose she would know. And she was right if she's anything like you, you bully."
"What did you do to my mother?!" Maria demanded, ducking under an ogre's swinging arm, only to be struck full on by another, sending flying. She tried roll, to get to her feet, but the ground beneath her suddenly started getting brighter, and she quickened on the ground, seemingly crawling as a burning tree slammed down on where she'd been. The tree shattered as it struck, throwing fragments in all directs and hitting Maria indirectly.
"I wanted to try out making a Dark Familiar for the first time, but if you're here, I suppose you went and ruined and ruin that too, didn't you? The Dark Familiar was feeding on your mother's soul, drawing out every little bit of power it could as it drained her to make itself stronger! The woman's probably hollowed by now, every memory and feeling drained away, an empty shell. But you probably interrupted the experiment! Now I have to start all over again! What a waste of a Dark Familiar!"
Cold filled Maria, cold horror as the girl's words registered. "No…" she said softly, all too familiar with the sorts of 'experiment' that could break a person's mind.
It left her standing still for a moment too long.
The shadows and firelight shifted and Maria was struck as the beast's enormous left hand slammed into her, sending her flying. Flames licked her clothing as she struck the ground, her sword ripped from her hands as the force sent her rolling on her side. Her entire side was pained, but she had no time to heal as the beast leapt again, sailing high up, arm raised high. Maria rolled, then stumbled as her side protested.
"Hah! Yes! That's how it feels, you meanie!"
The fist came down like a hammer, flames exploding in all directions as it struck, knocking her off her feet again. She managed to catch herself with both hands, even as her side screamed in pain and her left hand complained about having to do this clenched into a fist. It felt like broken ribs.
She called eldritch light to her hand, but even healing took time. She stumbled and ran, buying that time even as the remaining ogres followed. Many had already been killed, mostly by the beast, but under the influence of Dark Magic, they just kept coming, a deadly distraction.
And she didn't have a sword.
The beast roared, and leapt again, high into the sky, above the trees, a sickening parody of the sun as it raised up its might fist.
The pain subsided and she still had no sword.
For a moment, her mind remembered another lost sword. A beautiful sword, that fed not on blood but demanded great dexterity, one that cut with blood and fire…
The beast came down, and Maria prepared to roll.
There was childish laughter, and then darkness obscured her sight, obscured the fires, the sky, the ground and the beast.
"I'm helping, Miss Estella!"
In complete darkness, unarmed, Maria was struck by the full force of the beast's fist, slamming her into the ground. She felt heat and force and pain as her ribs broke again, and felt something stab into one lung.
Her body spasmed in pain and heat and Maria let out a pained cry. It was like a child sobbing.
She felt the heat and pressure on her body leave, as if the beast had stepped back to admire its handywork. Frantically, desperately, Maria called eldritch light, tried to heal. Pained numbed as bones tried to knit again, as flesh tried to mend, but she needed time, she needed time.
The darkness receded, showing only three ogres still standing as the beast stood on the lip of the cliff, leaning forward so as not to fall. Had it been blinded too? It leered at Maria, and for a moment, despite its bestial nature, its crimson eyes seemed filled with malicious intelligence and recognition, its wrinkled face suffused with petty satisfaction.
Her legs knit, and Maria was able to move them, but not enough, not enough as she frantically tried to stand.
The beast roared and raised its left fist. Fire flared and Maria knew she was going to die by immolation before she could heal herself enough to be mobile.
"Go, Miss Estella You can do it!" For some reason, the voice was muffled, as if through a mouthful of a jam roll.
Frantically, Maria felt around with one of her hands, still trying to heal. A stick, a rock, something she could use as a weapon, anything!
Her hand came down on the cool, cold hilt of a sword. For some reason, its form stirred something in Maria's fingers, as if something long forgotten yet familiar.
The wave of fire hit, Maria barely turning her face away as flame and force sent her flying upslope, end over end.
Hunter's garb didn't burn but that didn't matter, as the heat still suffused her, and she felt her body burn, even as her hand, which had never ceased healing, made the pain vanish as she felt herself strike rocks and ground and fallen, burning trees.
And then, eventually, the fire ended.
Maria heard the beast roar, even as she felt gravity taking hold of her, sending her rolling back down the slope now that the force that had pushed her up had run out. That saved her, as the beast overestimated its leap while Maria fell and rolled downslope until she came to a stop.
"Miss Estella! Miss Estella, she's back here!"
The beast couldn't not understand, a small mercy. It continued to whirl where it landed, looking for Maria.
It was just enough time to mend just enough injuries.
Groaning, Maria pushed herself to her feet, using her sword a leverage and….
Wait.
Maria stared at the sword in her hand. It was long and thin, with a smaller blade jutting from the other end, technically making it a twinblade. Both blades had a slight curve, and a and elegant guard curled along one side of the grip. It was completely black, with a shining white outline.
As if by instinct, she flourished the sword. It seemed to weigh nothing as it moved with her every gesture, seemingly made for her hand. An impossible weapon. And old friend.
From the trees, there was a scream of anger, jealousy, outrage and envy. "No! You thief! That's mine! That's my Dark Familiar!"
The beast roared, and Maria looked up to find it facing her. With a bellow, it charged down the slope, its body a contrast of fiery hair and dark flesh as came at Maria.
The sword spun on her hand as by instinct Maria grasped the hilt of the shorter blade on one end, twisting it.
There was no click, no scrape of metal except in her mind and soul as the black twinblade broke into two swords.
For a moment, a single, eternal, endless moment, Maria Campbell, Maria of Cainhurst, Maria of the Astral Clocktower, felt… complete.
The beast spun, sweeping its arm in a wide arc. Maria leapt, spinning and crash down on the beast's bicep with both blades, before kicking off to land behind it.
As it spun to face her Maria joined both blades together and fell into a low stance, blade held level next to her head with both hands, pointed at the beast. As the beast charged she thrust.
Dark Magic left her in a rush as a beam of darkness streamed from her blade, striking the beast full on.
As it staggered, Maria quickened forward, twinblade held overhead as she leapt. Both blades slammed into the beast in succession.
For the first time that night, the darkness and fire were filled with a scream of bestial pain.
Estella Almera, The Covetous Demon of Hatred
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Lady Maria Campbell, Wielder of Light and Darkness
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Rakuyo (Dark Familiar)
Crushed and claimed by Maria Campbell, the Dark Familiar borne from her mother's Dark Soul has taken on the form of a quiet, unfaltering friend, for the bearer had wished for such a friend in her time of need. Let the slaughter begin.
Even after all this time, the dark still hides power waiting to be discovered.
Skill: Soulhunt
Slay the victim and consume the power of their soul to restore your Dark Magic. For its power is the power of the soul, borne of the soul, and fueled by the soul.