After the Advent, the exorcists showed up to "quell the tide of daemons" and "restore the human world". But daemonblight keeps spreading, and the only places they can keep safe are a few major cities.'
'And when the going's get tough, cut off the excess baggage. It's the "reasonable thing to do".'
'I suppose so, but it's too heartless. And that right there, that's the Abbey for you.'
The words of the residents of Beardsley echoed throughout her mind, as they scoured the gentle rocky surface of the Hadlow Hollow. Trekking through the winding caverns of gleaming stone - the repetitive trudge through icy waters and pungent liquids - the silence was deafening. "Hey Velvet... Can I ask you a question?" the samurai began, a serious look switching onto his face. At his words, the daemoness stopped her pace. Until, she felt something knock right into her back. Turning with a scowl, all the half-malak could see was too searing golden orbs in the darkness.
Unfortunately, this was a drawback of being part-human. He couldn't see in the dark like his comrades could.
As Sarid put on an apologetic smile when he noticed the scowl, Velvet turned back to answer the question. "You can ask whatever you want, but just because you ask doesn't mean you're getting an answer," she rudely responded with an uninterested expression.
Rokurou wasn't deterred however, as he quickly thought back to what took place a while back. "So... about that... whole apple thing." The mention immediately placed a frown upon her features. "You can't taste anything?"
Her gaze was hard. "...Not entirely," she mused with a calous look. "I can taste blood." Through the dark, she caught sight of Sarid's face of realisation, but didn't press for answers.
"Nothing else?" the samurai contemplated with a grimace.
"Nothing. And I don't think I can feel full, either."
"You don't think? You talk like you haven't eaten a good meal before."
Velvet looked on stoically, her sight focused on a memory, not of the sharded outcrop before her. "I haven't. Not normal food, anyway. Not since I became a daemon."
The samurai's face was unreadable, "So... what have you been eating?" Something told her he already knew, but seeked a specific answer from her. She ignored the malak's uncomfortable look filled with sympathy; a look that turned up the heat in her blood.
"Please, you both were in that prison with me. Where do you think they brought those struggling daemon's, where even the worst, pleaded for anything else?" A predatory fire was set alight at the back of her eyes, and the malak shied away as her caged arm twitched once again.
"...the Wolf's Den," Sarid thought aloud.
Rokurou's face flashed with instant understanding. "I'm... sorry."
"...I apologise for my words back there. I never knew what you went through," the half-malak's apology was sudden, but unimportant.
"Forget it, you suspected something anyway. Save your pity, this is just what I am now." Even through her harsh rejection and steely composure, they both noticed the hurt she smothered. "If we need food, give me a recipe and I can still cook... I don't even have to worry about how it tastes now."
The two stayed silent as she set her eyes on the rest of the cavern, turning in conflicted silence.
"Move, malak. This wolf bites," she warned with another glare. Noticing how he was in the way, Sarid scooted to the side with a disgruntled wince as she brushed past and strutted onward to search for that lizard daemon, the clinking of metal reverberating in tandem with the droplets of ice.
"You'll be rust on my blade!"
A disgusting scutter rapped against the rock in swift movements, as the giant centipede bobbed in waves across the surface. Until, a pair of amber daggers sliced right over its crustacean shell, splitting it in a marring of flesh. Painfully, a high pitch shriek came from its gnashing pincers, before a silencing blade jutted right through its abnormal face; splattering it with a pulpy green.
"Next!"
Rokurou looked up with a smirk upon hearing the voice, which only widened as he saw a creature akin to the one he slew go flying into the jagged wall, courtesy of the ravenette's strength. Springing around with another fierce cry, more verdant stained the beautiful marbled blue they traversed, as Velvet forced her wristblade deep into another's shrivelling skin. Spinning his daggers in hand, the samurai whipped around and dissected another that ambushed him in seconds - its continous insect-like chatter drawing to a still - while one more burst forth from the cracked stone. Letting out a harsh scream, it's glowing scarlet eyes locked onto the man, as it snaked towards him rapidly.
Shink!
Suddenly, it was halted as a kunai soared through the thick air and planted deep into its facial orphice. It writhed in agony; lime liquid spurting aggressively, before it fell in a twitching heap. Rokurou's eyes scanned the shadows, until he found a crouched figure in the back with a single finger on the stone and an outstretched hand. Sarid let a small smirk fall upon his face, before another yell ripped through the chamber, and a battered carcass dropped to the floor lifelessly. Numerous cuts and gouges over its strong shell, that lay shattered.
Velvet kicked the beast out of her way as she walked over to the samurai, and plucked the knife out of the insect's bleeding corpse. She hummed as she inspected it, turning its shining edge in her bandaged hand. Whipping around, she hurled the blade with extreme force - displacing air - as it crashed right into a slithering octopus that arrived from the tunnel. A sickening crack echoed throughout the northern cavern as its skull immediately caved, and purple pooled out like a morbid fountain.
"...You threw my kunai again, didn't you?" Sarid questioned with an exhausted sigh, as he manuevered his way over to the sinking amorphous body; which deflated like a balloon. Soon catching the slicked shine of the octopus' skin from the cave's mild cyan glow, he tore out his weapon with a grunt while the creature's innards warped its cleanly surface.
Squelch!
Even now, Sarid still mildly flinched when he felt the wave of dread wash over him, and that claw was unleashed.
They waited only a minute while Velvet had her fill of tearing apart the dead creatures like meat, as she felt invigorated by their strength compared to the one's reciding outside. As the last remnant of energy pumped through her veins, she turned towards the whistling tunnel while the other two followed in her steps. A thick scent struck their noses once again, and they followed its origin point along the coiling chambers and tunnels.
They eventually came upon where the stench flowed the strongest. Peering over the edge, a shifting black liquid stared back up at them as it clung to the rocks and its corners. "So it was tar we were smelling," the samurai evaluated with furrowed brows. "Careful, if you fall in, you're not getting out." It wasn't too much trouble for them to get over, as they leapt onto the multiple outcrops that was laid out as a path over the tar. However, there was one single problem.
Sarid sighed in irritation. "You want me to jump over tar, when I am pretty much blind?" he barked incredulously, staring down at the only noticeable sheen of the blackness that barred his way.
The daemon's steel boots tapped against the stone in an impatient rhythm. "Either jump and make that choice, or you can turn and go. Doesn't matter to me," she coldly stated, irked at his problem. However, her and Rokurou raised a brow as they saw him back up, seemingly preparing to sprint. "Are you stupid? I couldn't make that jump, what makes you thin--?!"
She was interrupted, when the half-malak broke into a run. As he neared the ledge, he didn't leap off, but targeted where the edge and wall meet. Finally reaching the fall, instead his boots caught the side with a desperate scrape, as he ran across it momentarily to make the leap across. The two daemons quickly seperated to make space, as Sarid tumbled to the ground in a practiced roll between them, and sprang up to continue their search. "Nothing really," he said with a cheeky smile as his hair settled back into place, watching for their various reactions.
Velvet sighed, but nodded nonetheless, and walked over to make more distance. While Rokurou scratched his head in bafflement at what had occurred, unsure of the man's underlying humanity. "Huh, guess I got a lot to learn," he spoke to himself with a smirk; turning back to catch up with his comrades.
Chirp!
Unfortunately, a cloud of daemonised bats had been awaiting their crossing, springing off from their perches with aggressive clicks and calls. The ravenette scowled at the incoming enemies, and decided to end it instantly.
Squelch!
As the first came swooping in with a twisting poise of its talons, a writhing mass of volatile energy that emanated from a certain appendage caught it immediately. The therion claw pulsated voluminously as it tore into the shrieking creature incessantly, ripping at it hungrily while the bat stayed locked in its hellish cage. In only seconds did its wings crumple, and the beast exploded with gore and miasma. An ominous red glow wisped from Velvet's pupils as she eyed the assaulting horde. Raising her horrid appendage towards them - her right arm readied at her side with the glint of her ring - the corners of her lips narrowed as she felt the power rush into her fingertips. She jutted her human hand forward, and the blade sprang out with a familiar click. However, the effect was different.
It was like the dragon all over again.
As the wristblade pierced the air, a hostile scarlet and anguished shout followed, until a storm of hazy stabbing energy materialised before her and streaked through the air. The cloud of bats stood no chance, as the attack gouged deep within the flying creatures and sent them reeling sporadically as they cried out. Dropping to the chilling ground, none of them rose from their place, the mysterious shooting blades lashing serrations across their meek bodies; killing them on the spot. The blight poured from its vessels, and the claw sucked all of it in a steady stream of miasma - gulping viciously - while the daemon stood stoic and weary. "...you won't get any passion or pity from me," she quietly hissed as her limb coiled with fulfillment.
Rokurou hummed in acknowledgement, while Sarid could only guess what happened from the brilliant flashes of energy.
Continuing their traversal through dangerous caverns, bothersome tar - much to the half-malak's displeasure - a violent winged daemon, and a raging women that could blow up at any moment, the group was nearing the presumed end and location of the lizard daemon. As the monotonous treading of maze-like caverns became increasingly abhorrent, it was Velvet that decided to strike up a conversation as they walked. "You are a fine swordsman," she surprisingly complimented.
"Not as far as I'm concerned. I've still got a long way to go," he denied with a contemplative shake of his head.
Velvet hummed in thought at his response, and decided to inquire about both of her comrades while she was at it. "Sarid, you also know a lot about those strange knives. I don't believe just a random half-malak would need to be so skilled. Especially with your arsenal," she wondered aloud, looking to the man who she pushed along with a rough grasp of his shoulder.
"My father... was an exorcist," he suddenly revealed. He winced as he heard the continuous pace stop abruptly, while the hand vanished from his shoulder. "Was, is the keyword here. Died in battle a few years ago, taught me all I know," he stated openly, slightly aware of any remarks that he would expect. But, none came.
"...Was he a good man?" The daemon's cold voice echoed around the chamber, the question appearing much more important than you would expect.
"I can only assume," he simply responded. "He was stern, strict and tactless. But, he was the kindest person I ever knew. He fought for the people, not for the Abbey." He answered the best he could, linking honesty with a few half-truths to convey his past while staying on the side of the group. The tension in the air dissipated as the hand returned to push him along, and the repetitive steps came back.
Rokurou's voice eventually sounded, "He seemed like a great man, even if he was an exorcist," he stated with compassion. Sarid nodded wordlessly.
Velvet found herself experiencing a mild conflict, as the man she pushed along felt a bit more real then she would initially admit. Shaking off her thoughts, she brought back her original wonders beforehand. "What kind of daemon are you?" she bluntly asked the samurai.
"I'm a Yaksha. A war daemon."
"A war daemon? Makes sense," she said, thinking back to his obsession with fighting.
He looked back to her with his hand on his chin in thought, "And what about you? You're awfully peculiar, even for a daemon."
"A daemon that feeds on daemons..." she heard him speak.'
"I'm a therion," she stated with a grim look to the side, brushing off the memories that came with the word.
"Therion? That's a new one. What sort of daemon is that?"
"A monster that feeds on foes to gain power. I don't know much beyond that."
Rokurou was overcame with thought, a hundred different theories on what else a 'therion' could entail. "Hmm... a woman that devours her enemies... I bet your daemon type is... 'Hag'. Am I right?"
Or not.
"What?"
His mischievous smirk disappeared instantly. "Whoa..." he chuckled nervously, "You've got the death-glares down at least."
He shuffled away before she could try to thrash him with her claw, a pleased grin on his face despite her furious expression. Velvet sighed in exasperation, before she remembered who still stood in her grip. "Sarid," he turned to face her - or where her two eyes were - an interested look on his face. However, her grip tightened harshly when she noticed him quickly brush off the smile he bore. "What about you? What malak are you?" she questioned in wonder, while Rokurou shuffled back after hearing the question.
The half-malak contemplated for a few seconds, seemingly trying to recall something. "I... don't actually know," he said with a sour look. The other two were surprised once again at this unique person. "Never found out really. My mother died long before I ever knew her, and my father never told me," he explained with sorrow. "I have an affinity with water artes, but that comes from my father's teaching."
The samurai stopped for a moment to recall what kept knew of Sarid's fighting styles. He eventually shrugged, "You use a mix of everything, I couldn't say from what I've seen. What about you Velvet? You've known him longer."
"By an hour, give or take. Hmm... If I were to say, it would be lightning. But, that obviously isn't an option," she speculated while reminiscing about their battles. "What was that orb you used against the praetor?" she suddenly brought up.
Sarid shook his head in refusal. "That's pure arte energy, quite similar to a physical attack. I may be able to infuse it with other elements now that I think about it..." The half-malak eventually dove back into his mind, scavenging through plans and thoughts for battle.
Velvet just stared with an exhausted look, "You're a handful..." she whispered in mild irritation, but couldn't stifle a fond memory resurfacing from her past. "Let's just continue, we can speculate later." Rokurou nodded in response, as they continued to explore the northern cave system.
After another while of battle - and Rokurou gushing over the qualities of alcohol - the group found their way to a large open chamber, seemingly at the end of the winding tunnels. Their footsteps echoed throughout as they scoured the area for any sign of movement. A large pool of tar was splayed out around half the size of the chamber. Until, they noticed something bobbing in and out of its depths. A uniform, white and gold.
Velvet's grip unconsciously tightened on the half-malak's shoulder. "An exorcist..."
Sarid, catching the glance of white in the shine among the blackened liquid, spoke in caution. "What happened...?"
"Did he slip and fall?" Rokurou questioned in thought.
Thud, thud, thud...
A series of rapid footsteps trailed towards them, and as they turned to look, a curved blade of metal careened towards them. But, the glint in the limited light was all it took, and shing of metal deflected the falling blade expertly. Sarid stood with his kunai drawn, cerulean eyes poised for any other attack as the daemon stumbled back, hissing in response as it readied its stolen sword and shield. "No, he was thrown in!" Velvet yelled in alarm as the daemons jumped into action.
Their eyes widened upon noticing its appearance. Among the wafts of horrid daemonblight, was the ripped and torn rags adorned by that of a sailor, and viridescent green scales lining the supposed skin. A reptilian tail swayed in hostility, and the beast raised its curved sword and buckler aggressively. A tongue of pink slivered out from its mouth of lined sharp teeth as it hissed again; two beady red eyes of a lizard glaring at them them viciously.
Rokurou quickly birthed his own wolfish grin as he drew his knives expectedly, "We've found our murderer!" His daemonic eye gleamed as he entered a furious battle; the war daemon within surging with thrill. Rokurou charged, hungering for a good fight. The daemoness whipped her hand to the side, and levelled her bandaged arm perfectly at her foe threateningly - and with a readying growl - pounced after her target fiercely. The half-malak watched on helplessly, only catching the hefty movements and flashes of steel in the darkness. But, he didn't waver, and cast his calculative gaze where he could.
"More fool's from Hellawes!" he gutterly snarled with severe distaste, as the samurai came dashing in with a quick one-two slice that faltered upon the daemon's shielded defence. Dyle's swipe was clumsy and slow, but held decent strength as it cleaved towards the yaksha. Rokurou leapt back with a grin, as the sword carried through and collided with the crooked stone. He growled with a grunt, "Come to hunt me down?" the lizard daemon asked hatefully, until he noticed the tapping of steel race towards him. He twisted around with a yell, contorting his blade into a horizontal slash that only cut air.
Velvet flipped over the obvious swipe with a stern look, "It seems so," she monotonously mused as she landed at his flank, spinning with a violent bladed kick that lashed his head to the side with a gouged cheek. Dyle groaned in discomfort, before rushing in mindlessly. The woman evaded his strikes with complex flips and confident weaves, the lizard grunting and snarling until his sword was deflected with another harsh kick. Velvet cried out ferociously as she sprang forward and unveiled her wristblade.
Screeeech!
Unfortunately, it shrieked as it glanced away from the daemon's exposed vital point; the shield pushing it off to the side. However, as the blade passed by, the ravenette seized his shield in a vice grip with her passing hand. Dyle could only spare a grunt of confusion, before Velvet carried her momentum through and tore his shield from his arm with a yell. Now lacking defense, the lizard gasped out as the stolen item was whirled around and slammed into his ribs. The daemoness spared a gilded manic stare as she kicked out his knees from beneath him, and leapt over him with a passing stomp.
Dyle - now disoriented - could only get a glimpse of what was before him, and it terrified him. Rokurou dashed towards him with a feral grin, and skirted his dagger right across the daemon's open chest, eliciting a shout of pain while ivory decorated the dusted rock. The daemon scrambled to his feet as his muscles struggled for energy and bled in the open air, he scraped his sword from the ground desperately as he heaved with exhaustion. "I won't die yet! Not until i have my revenge!" he spoke with surprising conviction, as his words made Velvet flinch slightly. He tensed as he stood, then released what he kept deep inside.
Roar!
His bellow shook the chamber, as minute rocks lost their grip from the surface above, and the air quickly escaped in the area of his yell. Velvet and Rokurou suddenly gripped their ears, as a mysterious ringing reverberated in their minds. 'Damnit! Our heightened senses...' Velvet assumed in her mind, as she watched Dyle grip his blade fiercely. However, he didn't have the chance, as a gargantuan fire erupted from their side. Quickly checking out the commotion, they found Sarid breathing out flame onto the giant pool at the other side of the chamber, completely lighting up their surroundings. The half-malak turned, and looked straight at the lizard daemon with a glare. Dyle scoffed and raced forward with a violent, cleaving swing.
Clink
Whoosh!
A kunai flew into the ground from afar, and the half-malak swiftly appeared in its place; much to the shock of the charging daemon. Dyle swung desperately, his sword hastily cutting through the air to try and remove the newfound threat. And it struck true. The blade sliced right into Sarid's chest, cutting cleanly through. However, he didn't wince, or cry out, or fall. Water leaked out from his deep wound, trailing onto the worn sword that had cut through him. Dyle could only stare in complete confusion, before the figure exploded into a veil of water that smothered the lizard, as he yelled out.
Velvet and Rokurou watched on, mildly baffled at the turn of events. Dyle struggled in the abnormally heavy husk of water that weighed him down, finding himself unable to move efficiently for further combat.
Scheeeoooo!
The ravenette's eyes widened slightly at the familiar sound, as she immediately looked up to above the lizard daemon. There was Sarid, somehow falling from above with a much smaller version of that energy in his palm. 'Revolving Purity!' The orb struck right into the writhing Dyle, the blast of mana lifting dust from the surroundings as the malak planted himself on the lizard's back. It was over. Sarid looked up at the pair who stared back with slightly raised brows.
"Water arte; substitutes my body with one made of water. Nothing really," he said with a smile.
Velvet let out a sigh as she placed a hand on her hip, looking at the scene from out of the corner of her eyes. "Lizard. You said something about revenge?" she stated with mild interest.
"Yes, yes! I did! Let me go first!" he yelled, squirming under the half-malak who still drilled the orb into his back. At his words, Sarid huffed with slight disbelief, but let the orb dissipate and stood up off the daemon's back; the bright light of the smoldering fire he created still burning at his side like a giant bonfire. Being free from the painful ordeal, Dyle gasped out as he attempted to stand; his back casting a paralysing ache over his body. Flinching as he steadily stood up straight, he looked up at the now trio that stood before him with varying levels of calm. "T-Those bastards at the guild who tried to kill me! They want me to take the fall for their smuggling operation!" he wrathfully complained with crossed arms.
Velvet rose a brow at who he mentioned, "What, are you saying the whole guild was involved?" she questioned.
"Of course!" Dyle barked out a guttural laugh, "You think a second-rate sailor like me could pull off all that mischief?!" He steadied his volatile emotions. "I mean, sure, I was in on it. Helping them wasn't without its benefits," he sheepishly explained.
Rokurou looked off for a moment before nodding, "He has a point. It would take more than one person to dig that tunnel into the warehouse."
"I wonder how they missed that..."
Dyle continued to speak, "Problem is, our extra-legal activities were a little TOO successful. The Abbey was bound to notice at some point."
"And dead men tell no tales..." The samurai presumed, "So they blame it in you and kill you to cover it up. Looks like it's not going quite like they planned," he added with a wry smirk.
The daemoness finally spoke up after contemplating during the conversation. "So, how do you plan to get this revenge of yours?"
"A raid on Hellewas. I'll kill the lot of them, this I swear!" he confidently stated with a pump of his arm.
"That would be suicide, do you have any idea how many exorcists are around?" Velvet questioned coldly.
"They'll hunt me down no matter what i do. I just want the guild to pay for what they've done to me." Velvet sighed, the similarities clear. "That's all I wanted..." Dyle turned to position his open back towards them. "But I guess... even that's not gonna work out," he sorrowfully said, welcoming his death with regret.
Shink!
The lizard daemon's cries rang out as he tried in vain to grasp his now missing tail, collapsing to the ground as he writhed in pain. The cruel woman sauntered over to the sliced off body part, picking it up to present to Dyle as he heaved with discomfort. "We'll take this back to town and tell them you're dead. Thst should be enough to satisfy the exorcists and call off the search," she explained stoically, placing a hand on her hip. Rokurou peered on with interest, while Sarid nodded along with a grimace at the twitching tail.
At her words, he abruptly stopped his trembling and glanced over curiously, his crimson eyes dying out into a pale orange. "But... why?" he asked weakly.
Velvet placed the large body part over her shoulder, "I have my reasons. We need a boat fixed for starters," she said with a expressionless gaze. "Plus, if you stir things up after I leave, I imagine it'll slow down anyone following me," she added on chillingly, apparent in using the daemon as a tool.
Nevertheless, finally having his chance at revenge, Dyle sprang up with a bow. "If that's what you want, miss. I won't let you down."
Velvet's stare was piercing as she looked through him, another piece of her plan in motion.