Tired and still rather dirty from the fight, pieces of Hraesvelgr safely stored inside their own extra-dimensional armory, the duo managed the climb upwards, towards the cratered roof of the building. They did so for a single reason.
"There." Alex pointed towards the edge. Precariously perched on the only remaining intact piece of roof, the Divinity Statue stood under the sun, shining gold. It was completely untouched as if the whole place hadn't been destroyed mere minutes before.
Sol raised his hands before lowering them. "I swear I'm going to develop a phobia for heights once this is done. We are so owed a beer or something stronger when we get back." He sighed before trying to figure out how to reach the statue.
"I want a hot chocolate, to be honest. Liquor is all well and good, but chocolate is where it's at." Alex smirked, before looking at the very narrow edge of concrete that still connected the platform where they were standing to the one with the statue. Edge that was no more than two feet in width at its widest point.
The narrowest point, Alex didn't want to think about it.
"Want me to go first or do you want to go?" Alex asked, willing to go, but exactly eager.
Sol was quiet for a minute before sighing and saying, "I better get this done now. The faster I'm off this roof the better." He unfurled Gevaudan and wrapped around the concrete edge before slowly making his way across. There were a few moments where Sol went stock still. While his face was turned away from Alex, if one was to look at Sol's face, they would have seen that his eyes would be shut tight for several seconds. The only indication of his stress was a heavy breath that came after each stall.
Finally reaching the statue, Sol called "I'm good… I'm good."
"Ok. Keep your hold on Gevaudan steady… I'm going to use it as a rope to reach you, ok? Stay there." Alex put his hand on the blade and, with the lightest touch on the metal, he moved forward, foot after foot, not looking down the building, but only on the next step.
A gust of wind made him clench his hand around the unfurled form of the whip sword that Sol was still holding, blood immediately dripping down both the blade and his palm, but it only lasted for a moment and, with a few quick steps, Alex reached Sol, the wound on his hand already closing back down.
The perk of being a Hybrid, even a failed - for now - one.
"You did the walk first, yours is the honor of the statue. Go on, spend your well-earned Red Orbs. I'm going to be here." He pointed to the corner near the inside of the building. "Sitting. Recovering from having almost fallen several floors. Go on." And he took a few wobbly steps towards the edge of the platform, before dropping down and breathing heavily, head thrown back and face to the sky.
"Alright… be back in a few minutes," Sol said before touching the statue.
As he touched the statue, the white void appeared as well as the various menus.
"Going to go with skills this time, I need to diversify what I can do." The skill menu opened up and Sol began to peruse through the list.
"Right, I'm going to take Beat Rush, Constriction," Sol paused mid-sentence and looked at an option very hard before continuing, "Binding Life and Time Step."
Sol knew these were some costly choices but he needed something more than Stinger and Rush Cut to survive here. Binding life could keep him in the game longer and make sure any healing items he found could go to Alex, provided there was a demon he could constrict with it. He watched his red orb counter drop by 50,000 before saying his goodbyes to the statue.
Returning to the… "DON'T LOOK DOWN, just talk calmly with Alex, then reach solid ground. You can worship the solidness and surety of it later just make it across and you'll be A- Okay." Sol began to rapidly think as he turned to Alex.
"O…okay so I just spent a wicked amount of red orbs getting some very useful skills. So, I'm going to do a reverse of what we did before and Gevaudan's link will be outside waiting for you when you get back." It was clear however that Sol's attempt at calmness was not going as well as he hoped it would have.
Alex slowly got up from his sitting position, before looking at Sol with a worried look on his face.
"Sol… are you Acrophobic? Afraid of heights?"
"I wasn't before, but after featherface nearly gave me the long goodbye, I'm pretty sure I am now." Sol said quickly.
"Makes sense, really. Well, I'm off to empty my wallet." And, with a smile, Alex tapped the statue, finding himself in the usually white gold space. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the default screen shattering away.
"That parasite inside me and Sol is getting pretty problematic. I think we need to remove it as soon as possible… Assuming it is possible." He sighed, before looking directly at the statue. "I pray to you, let Rodin be able to help."
Then, with a bow towards the Watcher of Time, he opened his options. As usual, he didn't look at the items, preferring to go straight for the abilities.
"I think to start with the racial skills I got, this time…"
Geryon Hybrid Powers
Blink (Move from one place to another without any time in between. Limited to five seconds of movements, only places that are physically accessible): 7.500 Red Orbs
Blink 2 (Time of movement is extended to ten seconds): 20.000 Red Orbs
Blink 3 (Time of movement is limitless, depending on magical energy consumed): 75.000 Red Orbs
Time Bubble (Create a bubble of slowed time in front of you that last for three seconds): 15.000 Red Orbs
Haste (Speed your personal time up, moving faster and doing more things in less time): 35.000 Red Orbs
Slow (Slow down a target personal time, making them move like they are in slow motion)(Consume Magical Energy): 50.000 Red Orbs
Alex didn't hesitate.
"Blink is a must, that's for sure. Time Bubble, too, too good to pass." He hummed and dithered for a couple of minutes, thinking of taking the upgrades for Blink, before shaking his head and opening the Calcabrina's page.
"Been a while since I checked your skills, uh? I haven't bought you anything yet. Unconscionable of me, really." He hummed a rather famous song while he scrolled up and down the options that he had access to.
Calcabrina (Combined Form)
Float (Keeping the umbrella open it will slow down any fall to a gentle float) - 2.500 Red Orbs
Levitate (As long as the Umbrella is open, the weight of the user is reduced to almost nothing. Higher jump, can walk on fragile and liquid surface) - Require Float,5.000 Red Orbs
Fly (Glide/flight for short distance with directional momentum chosen at the start of the movement) - Require Levitate, 10.000 Red Orbs
Defying Gravity (Unlimited flight, cost Magical Energy) - Require Fly, 300.000 Red Orbs
Tar Beam (Only combined form, charged.) (Charge the entire surface of the Umbrella and shoot a giant beam.) - Require Beam Spell to be bought, 25.000 Red Orbs
Improved Tar Beam (Can charge the beam for longer. Damage is increased) - Require Tar Beam, 50.000 Red Orbs
Calca (Sheath)
Rainproof (Require Barrier) (Strengthen the Barrier and extend it beyond the Umbrella's edge) - 5.000 Red Orbs
Waterproof (Require Rainproof) (Barrier is strengthened and extended more) - 15.000 Red Orbs
Impervious (Require Waterproof, Require Funeral March for a Marionette) (Extend the shield further, barrier is strong enough to block any attack once. Cooldown after this use) - 50.000 Red Orbs
Puppet Waltz (Require Beam Spell) (Lasers come out of the tassels hanging from the spokes of the umbrella, can be kept active during movement) - 15.000 Red Orbs
Funeral March for a Marionette (Require Puppet Waltz) (Calca get thrown up in the air, lasers come down from the tassels and it start turning on itself, the lasers hitting all around in a casual pattern) - 35.000 Red Orbs
Brina (Sword)
Running Stitch (The tip of the sword is charged with magical energy and, on hit, release a thin beam of energy in the enemy) - 8.000 Red Orbs
Cross Stitch (Require Running Stitch, Require Beam Spell) (The tip of the sword can now leave behind up to two trails of energy that will shoot forward. Charged) - 20.000 Red Orbs
Cross Stitch (Require Cross Stitch) (The number of trails of energy that can be used is now unlimited, but need to be continuously chained) - 40.000 Red Orbs
Back Stitch (Require Barrier Spell, Require Beam Spell) (Enlarge the size of the sword by overlaying cutting barriers on it. The size can change from slightly bigger than normal to great sword size. Weight is unchanged) - 25.000 Red Orbs
Blanket Stitch (Require Back Stitch) (Can now enlarge the sword to bus size. Weight is unchanged) - 50.000 Red Orbs
With a slide of his finger, he bought the Float, Levitate, and Flight power for his weapon, all the time looking like he was making an impulse purchase. "Whoops, my finger slipped."
After that, he tapped his lips with his finger for a moment, before buying the Running Stitch power for his blade. "I AM a bit low on offensive options in close quarters, after all."
Right after that, he went back to the general powers and, with the scant Three Thousands Red Orbs that he still had - 3.800 Red Orbs, to be specific - he bought the second level of Enochian Magic, leaving him with only 1.300 Red Orbs, but rather happy.
With one last bow, he returned to the normal world, his umbrella on his shoulder, teeth in full display in a wide smile aimed straight at Sol. "You know, shopping is REALLY nice to do, after almost dying."
Sol, who had made it to the other side, had Gevaudan extended and taught along the edge of the walkway, and called out in agreement. "Oh I agree, makes you realize that battles could have been easier if not for a certain birb and its stupidity."
"Battles could have been a lot harder, too. Remember Geryon?" Alex pointed at himself, before blinking and smiling. "And speaking of Geryon…"
Then he was right near Sol, seemingly disappearing and reappearing near him between blinks of the eyes.
"I got a teleport and a couple of more interesting things. Want to see them?" His smile was, one could say, devilish.
"Maybe when you reached the ground floor? I really don't want to be up here any longer than I have to." Sol said shakily but there was an evident note of happiness in his voice.
"I bought something to keep me in the game longer, myself. So any healing items I get, they'll go to you, until we can stabilize you." Sol continued.
Alex smiled, before taking a step forward towards Sol and throwing his arms around him in a rather tight hug. "That's awesome! Mostly because I want you to live as long as possible, but still! You're a great friend!" Then, he leaned back a bit, a sheepish smile on his face.
"Which is why I'm going to feel a bit bad about what I'm going to do… right now." One of his hands moved from Sol's shoulder to his waist and he tightened his grasp before he pushed both of them away from the edge of the building and into the air outside.
They started to fall before Alex twisted the hand that wasn't holding onto Sol and Calcabrina snapped open. Their fall reached a jarring stop, then turned into a gentle floating down. Like a demonic version of Mary Poppins plus one passenger.
"Ah! What the fuck man!" Sol screamed as the two floated down to the street below.
"I can fly, I can fly, I can fly…" Alex was singing - rather better than when he was a pure human, which was a bit strange, as far as modifications went - while they were floating down.
Sol meanwhile said nothing and kept his eyes shut. He was not a fan of the current situation he was in.
After less than a minute, the two touched the ground and Alex let Sol go without saying anything, closing Calcabrina and storing it away in his inter-dimensional armory. Only once he was unarmed, he turned towards him and opened his arms wide.
"Ok, there you go. If you want to hit me for the scare, feel free, I admit that I deserve it."
"Oh sweet merciful ground, you may be a hell illusion, but I will never doubt your wisdom again!" Sol said to the broken street asphalt as soon as his feet touched the ground.
Alex rolled his eyes, and turned, looking around and letting Sol have his own dramatic moment. He had his own, after all. However, he didn't resist the impulse to chuckle a bit.
"Yes, yes, sure. Want to go back to the Punks and see if they have found Rodin's bar? I kinda want to be there the first time they enter. Their faces must be pretty funny."
Sol quickly got up and stated, "Absolutely and I am buying a beer or something for our troubles. Victory Drink here we come!"
And without another word, Sol began to triumphantly walk towards the punk base, his feet planting a touch more firmly on the ground than they did before.
Alex smiled at Sol's retreating back, before following him, his weapon on his shoulder, whistling a happy tune from a Disney movie.
"I can fly, I can fly, I can fly…"
***********************************************************
The Punks' territory was in full activity. A few more people looked a bit wounded, but nothing bigger than scratches and, in a single case, a split on their arm. The Boss was fuming, however, and he locked on Alex and Sol as soon as they came back.
"You better have defeated the demon bird, because we ended up in a fight with the Nazis while searching for your so-called 'portal to hell'. For your sake, I hope it's worth it." His voice was a growl, the unkempt beard, and hair making him look like a ferocious lion.
Alex shrugged. "Well, considering Hraesvelgr's dead as a door nail, I think it was worth it. What do you think?"
The Boss's face went still for a moment before asking "You're serious?"
Sol spoke up in response, laughter in voice. "Oh yeah, dumb bird practically killed itself through its sonic blasts. Though I think I developed a fear of heights as a result." Sol's voice took a more serious turn, "What happened between you and the nazis?"
"We found the circle you two wanted us to find. It's in that building there." He pointed at a building near the edge of their unwritten territory. "There was a patrol of nazis near there. We fought, they fought, we got out mostly unscathed, they came out a bit less unscathed. But we are running low on restoratives and the nazi have the statue near the top of their tower. So, we are going to be royally fucked if you hadn't killed the bird and restored access to the second statue… Which you did. Good." The last words were clearly a threat.
However, threat or not, neither Sol nor Alex looked scared about it. They appeared almost nonchalant.
"It's precarious up there so I'd watch your step… oh and take the stairs, they're safer," Sol said almost as an afterthought.
"Yeah, definitely. Anyway, you want to see what's like at the Gates of Hell?" Alex asked, chuckling darkly, making a shiver run down the spine of everyone around.
The Boss steeled himself visibly, before nodding. "Let's go."
********************************************************
The first words out of Sol's mouth as he stepped foot in the Gates of Hell were "Rodin! We're bringing you new customers and I would like to order a drink!"
"Something sweet for me. Also, if I give you some materials to make a weapon, how much?" Alex followed Sol quickly, sidestepping the circle that worked as an entrance and made space for the others to pass.
"What?" Rodin didn't manage to say much more than that, before the rest of the scouting party that the Punks had sent appeared. One, then two more, then four, and the Boss all strode out of the circle, before stuttering to a step when they saw Rodin and the bar.
Alex and Sol were smirking, and Rodin was blinking, surprised. Then he noticed the limb replacements.
"What the fuck." It wasn't even an exclamation, just a flat delivery of disbelief.
Sol approached them and quietly told Rodin, "Alex wasn't the only one to take back a body part. Many of them have arms, legs, and other parts replaced. Sorry, we couldn't give you a warning, sir. Been a bit crazy out there.
Rodin didn't say anything, only gave a long look at Sol, before shifting his eyes towards Alex, who was smiling sheepishly. On the surface. On the inside, he was clearly enjoying having managed to fluster - even if only a tiny little bit - the ancient being.
"Yeah, sure. Take a seat while I deal with the other customers." The admonishing look he gave to Alex was ignored, while the duo sat down at a table, waiting.
******************************************************
"So, how much business do you think we just gave Rodin?" Sol asked while looking at the crowd of punks exchanging Red Orbs for various weapons.
The flow of red went on for… a while. "I'm guessing a lot. A lot more than recent times, anyway, considering how empty this place had been the entire time we were here." Alex waved his hand towards the area around them.
Alex was right in his observation. The survivors that made up the punks were buying various weapons from Rodin at an alarming rate. This ranged from pre-made devil arms to creating new ones based on various body parts that they had had on their persons upon entering the bar.
There was also a not so small degree of warnings given by Rodin about the nature of hybridization, the potential health problems that it was going to eventually lead to, and the method of fixing them through complete hybridization. The punks took it well enough. There was some cursing, slight arguments, and attempts at bargaining but there was a general consensus of what they needed to survive.
Which was good, Sol thought to himself. The punks weren't a bad crowd per se. They were just caught up in the madness like the rest of them.
"I wonder if Rodin's going to give us a finder's fee for all the customers we brought him." Alex mused, resting his chin on his hand. "I hope so. I don't have nearly enough Red Orbs to make a new weapon and I want one really badly, even if I still need to master this one." He was, of course, referring to Calcabrina. "Having more options is never a bad idea, after all."
"I'm going to be honest, he better. That's a lot of people we just brought in. That both weapons, drinks, and anything else Rodin has…" Sol trailed before looking at Alex.
"What do you want to do with those parts from Hraesvelgr anyway?" Sol asked.
"Hoping for another Devil Arm. Something with a good AOE, to diversify a bit. Calcabrina is all good and well, but it's not all that good in a group, as you have seen." Alex twirled the umbrella in his hand, before making it disappear back into the inventory.
"Well, I think you have gained that." Rodin appeared from his position at the bar, now that the Punks were busy drinking and showing each other what weapon they had gotten. "So, I'm gonna offer you a free weapon and… let's go with 10 Thousand Red Orbs each for the customers you have brought me."
Sol was silent for a few moments, his mouth opening and closing. "Thank you! Ummm… I … we weren't expecting that but again thank you!"
"Yeah, it's… Honestly, it's great. Since we're talking about weapons…" Alex shrugged and let the materials that he had taken from Hraesvelgr - basically everything from the throat down on the table. And the ground. And the booth near.
The punks fell silent a moment later, watching with surprise the giant bird parts just… lying there. Especially because Alex, no matter how behaved, always had that feeling of being a good boy, one of those that never broke the rules. It wasn't as true as it looked.
"Can you use this? I know it's not the most powerful thing that we have met, but…" He shrugged again. "I think it would work well with something that uses sound. Or something. You're the smith, I'm trusting you."
Rodin looked at Alex with an inscrutable look, before nodding. "I can whip up something. Wait here." The whole parts vanished before Rodin himself disappeared in one of those red magic circles.
And the bar fell silent.
Sol turned and looked at the punks before easily saying. "He killed it, he can do what he wants with it. Besides, you all should have seen how he pulped its head." Sol said with a shaky laugh before turning to where Rodin had disappeared. "Any chance we can get those drinks before you work your magic?"
A couple of glasses, filled with smoking liquid, appeared in front of them. Alex nodded towards the bar. "Thanks!"
Then he took his cocktail and started sipping it. "Persephone's Kiss. How… Appropriate."
"Hey," Sol said as gestured to his glass. "Kinda tastes like pomegranate."
"It does." Alex smiled and sipped his cocktail, ignoring the punks. They were looking at the two of them with a more… wary look, now that they had demonstrated something they could do.
***************************************
After Rodin had given them the weapons they had required - Sol had giggled like an idiot while swinging Vendetta around and Alex wasn't really far behind, twirling his new weapon like a majorette's baton - and they had returned to the Punks' territory, both of them opted to ask for a room to sleep in. And maybe a place to take a shower.
"Before you go." Richie stopped them with a few words. "I want to know how strong you really are. How about sparring with one of my boys?" He gestured to one of the Punks who looked like he didn't have any kind of prosthetic.
"Do you really think that's a good idea? What if someone gets hurt in a bad way?" Sol asked before gesturing to himself and Alex. "I mean we've just been trying to survive, there was never a need for that."
"True. But, from what I understand, you two have mostly fought against demons, not humans." Richie waved his hands towards the tall tower where the nazis had made their base. "Humans and demons fight differently from each other. As for wounds, don't worry about it." He pointed at the large white tent that Alex and Sol had seen when they had reached the Punks' base. "We have a doctor."
"Okay… well… we're not getting out of this are we?" Sol asked a nervous edge to his voice.
"Not a chance." Richie said with a grin.
"Well, fine by me. I'm not one for unnecessary fighting, to be honest…" Alex proclaimed, although everyone around him was looking at him with disbelief. "But it does sound like a spar could be a good idea. But I do want to take a shower later. So. Which one of you wants to spar with me and who wants to spar with Sol?"
"I'll take the armored one." One of the punks said. Emerging from the group was the punk that Sol and Alex had first met when they had arrived at the punk's initial base. His limp was a little less pronounced than before but what drew Sol's eyes was the large scythe that he had propped on his shoulders.
He looked at Sol briefly before fully introducing himself, "Sol, yeah? Name's Romero."
"I hate to say it like this, but are you sure you want to fight with that limp?" Sol asked.
Romero smirked, "Trust me, I haven't lasted this long without getting used to it. Let's go."
"Alright then." Sol responded, not quite sure of how to handle the situation.
"Then…" Romero suddenly kicked the ground, soaring above Sol, his scythe already extended and aiming for his shoulder, his grin bloodthirsty. "Let's start!"
Apparently, his limp wasn't as big of a handicap as it looked like.
Without conscious thought, Sol raised his pistol and Gevauden across himself to block the scythe. The weapons caught the blade's edge and before Sol could react, Romero kicked down into Sol's forward-most leg. The strike sent Sol to the ground and Romero used the momentum to launch into another attack. Descending downward, Romero aimed at Sol's back. Sol dodged to the left and the scythe carved a deep gash into the asphalt below.
As he rose, Sol unfurled Gevaudan and wrapped around the scythe's handle, attempting to pull it away. The two struggle for control briefly before Romero leaped again. The loss of ground contact made Sol stumble briefly, losing the grip on the scythe. As he came down again, Sol began to back step and released Gevaudan again. This time the bone whip wrapped itself around Romero before it constricted around the punk. Before Romero could react, Sol pulled and the punk was sent forward to the ground.
The sudden movement winded Romero and as Sol moved forward with his gun, Romero kicked up again, this time angling his bound scythe towards Sol's neck. Sol while managing to raise his right gauntlet and Gevaudan's handle to block the blade only served to bring the scythe blade closer.
"Enough!" Richie shouted, halting the two. If it had gone on any longer, Romero's scythe would have easily found Sol's neck, and Sol's gun was aimed directly between Romero's eyes. Both men were panting greatly, and Romero began to smirk.
"Not bad, but you're not as strong as you look."
"No… But I haven't been juicing or grafting body parts… yet." Sol responded before tilting the gun up and slowly releasing the hammer. Unwinding Gevaudan from Romero, Sol took a step back.
"You could have attacked me more during our fight. Fired that gun of yours too." Romero said as he adjusted a screw on the scythe.
"Too many people around, couldn't risk a stray shot." Sol said quietly.
"Well be prepared too, those nazi bastards won't hesitate to kill you. So next time just pull the damn trigger." Romero said sharply
Alex didn't say anything, but he kept his gaze on Romero and Sol, as he had done the entirety of the fight. His grip only now was relaxing on the handle of his blade, still sheathed inside the umbrella.
Seeing that the two of them were cooling down, although both of them were breathing heavily, he took a couple of steps forward, patting Sol on the back. "Congrats on your win. So, it's my turn now, right? Who's gonna fight me?"
The smile that he was wearing was rather thin, but it wasn't some kind of threat or anything. It was just his resting face: a Mona Lisa smile.
"I'll take him." A female voice called from the crowd. The woman who stepped out of the crowd had for the most part the typical punk look. However, aside from the obviously enhanced physical characteristics, it was evident that there had been serious changes to her body just under the skin as made evident by the blackened veins that crisscrossed across her more visible sections.
She took something from her back and placed it in front of her. It was a golden wheel, beautiful in its creation and work but still an evident tool of murder. She leaned forward across and batted her eyes at Alex.
"What do you say? Think you're strong enough for me?" She asked with a coy smirk.
Alex looked at her, before starting to chuckle, until it turned into a full-on laugh. That… didn't help with the woman, whose expression soured more and more, until she grabbed the wheel and shot forward, fury etched on her face.
"Don't look down on me!" The golden wheel described an arc in the air, coming down on Alex. The cloud of dust that rose from the titanic impact obscured the visual of everyone for a moment until it stopped.
Alex wasn't there anymore. Instead, he was standing where she had been a moment ago, his smile on his face, but he wasn't laughing anymore.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm not looking down on you, I promise. I was just amused by your attempt at seducing me. You see, I'm gay, so… You cannot distract me like that." And he shrugged, even going to put his hands in his pockets.
Her face twisted in anger before she shouted, "Well someone should have fucking told me before I showed OFF!"
The woman lunged forward at Alex, swinging her breaker wheel across her body in an arc. In mid-swing, part of the wheel disengaged and swung out further increasing her reach.
Alex didn't move. He didn't even take out his hands, really. And yet, the weapon never reached him. A bubble of gray air appeared in front of him, grabbing the weapon and stopping it in mid-air, uncaring of the strength or the momentum. After all…
When someone told time itself to stop, anything else was meaningless.
"Well, this is Strike Two. Go for the third attempt, let's see if you can do better." Yes, he was provoking her. But that was because she was clearly easy to provoke and, the angrier she got, the easier it was to see how she would attack.
The woman tried to wrench the breaker wheel from the time bubble before pausing and taking a breath. As she did, the blackened veins seemed to darken in color, before she turned to Alex and adopted a boxing pose. Without a word, she lunged forward and unleashed a series of jabs and crosses against him.
Alex disappeared again, but she was ready, this time, and turned on a dime, already punching towards his probable point of reappearance. She was right, but he was just a little bit faster, reacting with a magical barrier made of interconnected magic circles covering the entire front half.
"Well, you adapted way faster than I thought. Congrats." Alex half bowed, showing his respect for her, the Time Bubble vanishing and letting her weapon fall on the ground. "I think it's time for me to counterattack."
The weapon that appeared in his hand was not Calcabrina, but what Rodin had just made for him. "And this is the perfect situation to try my new weapon. Thank you, really." He was smiling wider, now. Before the staff in his hand started glowing a little.
With a snarl she pressed forward, moving around to Alex's off-hand side before…
"Uh!" She gasped for a moment as her leg locked itself in spasm. The sudden stop halted her momentum briefly, causing her to fall forward at an off-angle. Mid-fall, however, she leaned further in, pressing her hands against the asphalt and using her strength to launch herself forward into Alex.
Alex would have been surprised by her sudden recovery, but the constant situation of danger, the fights against demons, and the bosses had taught him a lesson: no matter what, don't give your enemies any chance.
He twirled the staff like a baton, the ribbons and strings of pearls echoing like bells in the air, before he slammed the butt of the weapon on the ground, the fan of feathers at the top opening slightly, the air making the vibrate.
"Seraphim…" At his name, the gem on the top of the staff - It was made from the heart and the larynx of the Hraesvelgr, a sort of core that housed what power Rodin could recover from the corpse - shone brighter. "...Sing!"
The woman was near enough to hit Alex with her punch, but a wave of vibration - it was sound, pure sound, so strong that it was basically a physical wall - slammed against her and sent her tumbling back. The ground under his feet cracked in a radial spread all around Alex, the air booming from the attack.
A moment later, he had blinked near her, the sharp tip at the butt of the staff aimed at the throat of the woman, his smile firmly in place. "Want to continue?"
She made to get up and as she did so, her arm spasmed, causing her to fall down once more. "Dammit, not yet. It's not over yet!" She shouted as she quickly rose and flung out her spasming arm.
"Maggie! Enough!" Richie shouted over the crowd. The name, 'Maggie' drew her ire immediately before she clutched her arm to still the slight tremors. With a glowering look, she trudged over to her breaker wheel and tore it loose from the time bubble. She didn't bother to look at Alex, instead, her eyes were locked firmly on Richie as she went back into the crowd.
"Don't ever fucking call me Maggie!" She hissed as she left.
Richie watched her leave before sighing. He approached Alex before looking back. "Don't mind Mags. She hasn't had the best of times here. But then again who has?"
Alex answered with a wide and empty smile. "Not me!" Then his expression returned to normal, Seraphim in his hands.
"So, what about that shower?"
Sol removed his helmet before asking. "Wouldn't mind a chair to have a good sit down while we plan our next move. Would you all mind if I do?"
The Punks all around were now suddenly much more wary of Alex and Sol, considering that neither of them was fighting to kill. So, they were guided to an empty building where they could sit and take a breather. Or a shower.
And a few hours of sleep, considering the amount of time since the last time they slept.
****************************************
The edges of the map, a paper one, were ruffled, with a few heavy paperweights keeping it flat. Richie pointed at a drawn line on it.
"This is the edge of our territory. The tower is here…" His finger stabbed a point where there was a small x made in gold. "And the nazi's territory covers more or less from the line to this point here." Another line, this time in black, that marked the place where the roots were.
"They have been trying to expand during these last days. Pushing and pushing without stopping, especially after they got their new armor." The expression on Richie's face was a thunderous one, but a smirk replaced it soon after.
"Now that we have access to some weapons ourselves, though… They are gonna taste the concrete!" A rather loud cheer came from the other Punks around him, while Sol and Alex kept studying the map.
"You were the first other group that Rodin met outside of us, which means…" Sol taps the location of the nazis on the map several times. "Which means that they only have the basic equipment and armor from the statue."
Sol looked at Alex before looking at the rest of the crowd. "One of our first meetings with Rodin, he lambasted me for wearing, what was it Alex, 'cheap armor only there for looks'? Maybe I got that wrong, but you guys get the point."
Sol brandished Gevaudan. "We have better weapons and armor than they do. We're stronger than they are, and you guys have already bled them a lot."
"Assuming that they haven't found something like an upgrade item list or something, anyway," Alex muttered, before looking down at the map. "How many of them are there? If it's a precise number, that's good, but even a rough one works."
Richie hummed for a bit before one of the Punks whispered something in his ear. "In this camp, we are around fifty. Three died since the start. I know for sure that four more of the people who appeared with us were killed by demons. The rest are the nazis."
Alex nodded. "So, around… what, fifty-five? More or less. Not as good as I hoped, but it is what it is. Do you know when they tend to attack? Morning, noon, or evening? Night?"
Richie took a moment to think before responding. "Whenever the clocks read morning or noon. They'll only attack in the evening hours if they're desperate. They won't fight in the night. Demons tend to come out more around those times."
"Makes sense, I don't want to deal with hordes of demons while tired, either. So, have they attacked yet today?" Strictly speaking, there wasn't a 'night' in the city where they were. But according to Richie and his group, there was a dark period, when the light of the sun was obscured by… something big and slow. That tended to rain demons down, for some reason, and it only seemed to happen in this area.
Yeah, neither Sol nor Alex knew how or why this occurred.
"Not yet." Richie's answer made Alex nod again.
"Ok. Do you know where they are going to attack?" Alex asked.
The boss looked at the map for several moments while placing his finger on a portion of the map. It was a building almost right next to the roots and the boundaries of their expansion.
"That was the location where we last had our last big fight, just before the bird destroyed our first major headquarters. It's an apartment complex. That means lots of food, lots of general materials, clothing, you know, everything one could ever ask for. Now the area is exposed which means they have an easier time getting in and looting. We could trap them there, prevent them from getting out, and get rid of them entirely."
"Would it work? How good are their weapons and armor? You said something about them, right? What did they look like?" Alex asked, gazing at the map like it contained the secrets of the universe.
"Usual things we'd pull off the street, blades, bats, cudgels. Think the most impressive weapon was a shotgun or two. Dangerous as hell you know, but…" The boss taps his replaced limb with a smirk before continuing. "Armor was mostly medieval stuff too, though it seemed their big wigs got that stuff. The rest were in the white uniforms with red patches. I think the physical enhancements are the only things that have kept 'em around this long."
Alex sighed in relief before Richie frowned.
"Although…" His expression turned pensive, while his fingers started tapping on his leg. The bad one. "Some of them seem to have gotten a new set of armor. All white. With helmets and spears. Apparently, they can make them appear from nowhere like you two do." His frown was more than expressive enough to show Alex and Sol what he thought about that power in the hands of literal nazis.
"That might be a problem. But, we have better weapons than they do for the most part. So… So, I guess if we win the numbers game so to speak, and gang up on the armored ones or just get lucky, that issue will resolve itself. And who knows, maybe you guys could salvage that stuff for yourselves and use it going forward." Sol stated, taking in Richie's words as he did so.
Richie nodded, and that was that.
************************************************
The group that had gone with Alex and Sol to the cratered apartment building was composed of ten people. The reasoning was that the nazis never moved in groups smaller than three and bigger than twelve for… some reason. So, with the addition of Sol and Alex, they were enough to deal with any group one-on-one.
That was the plan, at least.
Sadly, you know what they say about plans and men and mice.
The ambush Punks were hiding in the remains of a flat in the building, waiting and observing any possible entry into the apartment building until one of the sentinels hurriedly alerted the group that they were coming.
Indeed, a group of ten people, all dressed in white and holding what looked like long-swords or zweihanders were walking towards the building. Their stride was full of swagger and confidence, even when one of their members was something like sixteen to seventeen. Oh, he was tall enough to pass for older, but the way his face was still soft with baby fat made his age all the more apparent.
"Well it's an even playing field." Sol said quietly, as he checked his gun. He doubted it would do much to an enhanced person as it normally would but he figured it'd do some damage if up close and personal. Clicking its safety off and drawing Gevaudan, he spoke once more.
"I figure we hit them hard and fast, that way we take a few out and help anyone else out if they need it. Cool?" He asked the rest of the group.
The Punks nodded, their new weapons ready, while Alex looked out of the window first. "How do you want to do this? Shock and Awe, Fake Wanderer, Stealth Run?"
"Well, turnabout is fair play after all. Kinda wish we had some big-ass stereo so we could shock and awe with some Ballroom Blitz. Beggars can't be choosers I guess." Sol stated absentmindedly.
"Yeah. Unless there's a boombox or a stereo around here." Alex stopped and looked back at the Punks, who were suddenly pinned under his gaze. "Is there a boombox or a stereo around here?" His question was normally curious, but all of them seemed to freeze.
One of the punks made a face, "Damn!" She hissed, "I knew we forgot something!"
Sol smiled at that, before schooling his features. "Guess our blitz has to be accompanied by our voices and arms." He looked back at the nazis. The group of ten had just begun to enter the building, while also trying to remove some of the rubble for easier access. Sol would have referred to that as removing 'ankle biters' or materials that would always seem to trip you up.
"They're focused on clearing the front entrance of rubble. Everyone ready?"
"I suddenly have Genie flashbacks. Any chance you're going to yell Geronimo! or something while jumping out of here?" Alex asked, Calcabrina already in his hands, while the other Punks looked unsure of what to answer. Well, beyond two that were trying to not fall into laughter, their shoulders shaking and a hand covering their mouth, even if everyone could hear their muffled snickers.
"I mean now that you mention it…" Sol trailed off before pausing, putting his pistol and Gevaudan away, and drawing Vendetta. "Time to emulate our boy, Brooklyn."
"Okay, operation Aladdin in 3, 2…"
*********************************
Neil was a believer through and through, but that didn't mean he enjoyed moving blocks of broken bricks and asphalt away. They shouldn't be doing this, this wasn't their job. This belonged to…
He was so caught up in his own musing that he didn't notice the sound of footsteps getting closer behind him until it was almost too late.
"Geronimo!" A voice shouted and he turned to see a man in blue armor swing something in his direction. Neil instinctively brought a large brick that he had just been picking up to protect himself, only realizing at the last moment that he should have gone with his sword. The brick shattered under the strike and while he was cursing his decision, Neil's last thought was.
"That's a big sword."
*********************************
Sol struck down as hard as he could, letting Vendetta's weight and sharpness do the work for him. He had made it halfway across the street before picking out a target, a guy whose back was to him. The man tried to block the strike with a large brick, but Vendetta broke right through and lodged itself in the man's head. Sol stopped for a moment, realizing what he had just done, before taking a breath, pulling the massive blade out, and bringing it back down. He could deal with crossing that line later, right now he needed to keep it together and help the others clear the building.
"No Quarter!" He shouted with a shaky breath while holding Vendetta above himself.
"Arapaho!" One of the older punks threw himself from the first floor's window, the heavy club coming down on the second nazi in the area, who managed to twitch out of the way. Twitch, because he definitely didn't avoid the hit, as the bones in his left arm were broken almost instantly.
"Navajo!" The second older Punk charged from the other window, a mallet that looked like it belonged to Harley Quinn in her hands, the side that tried to splatter another nazi's head filled with spikes. Sadly, the group had managed to recover from the surprise and was regrouping back all together. At the very back, the one that looked like the leader of the small band.
"Activate your armor! Don't let them-grk." The blond, officer-looking guy choked on the blade that had suddenly appeared from his throat, severing his spine and pushing all to the front. A movement and the blade was yanked to the side, revealing the funereal face of Alex from behind the leader.
"Pocahontas." His voice was as grave as the tomb, no matter what he had just said.
With two of the ten dead and one grievously wounded, the front entrance and foyer became a sight of chaos. Sol, steeling himself, had charged the nazi that dodged the spike mallet earlier. His strike sent the other directly into the path of the mallet's follow-up. The spiked mallet didn't miss this time, and the nazi's head detonated in a shower of gore.
Sol dismissed Vendetta and drew Gevaudan in its place, in order to not get his blade caught on anything within the interior.
In the meantime, the attacked nazis started to… change. Plates of white armor started to appear on their bodies, as helmets made of the same material, but with a strange, halo-like attachment on the back of the head, covered their faces. The swords in their hands turned white, too, alongside growing in length, while a small, circular shield appeared on their off-hand, a cherubic face on it.
Alex took a step back, his face an expression of shock. "Bianco Angelos?"
"So some of Agnus's work found itself in their hands huh? Well, that armor won't save you all from us. It's 10 on 7, we got this!" Sol shouted as he released Gevaudan and sent it towards the nearest Pseudo Angelo. The wearer blocked the strike with their sword only for Sol to constrict it and pull them forward. Dismissing Gevaudan mid-pull, he summoned Vendetta again and swung. The swing sent the Pseudo Angelo skidding across the floor. At first, Sol thought the wearer had tanked the hit. However, as the wearer got up, Sol noticed that they were clutching at their side. He couldn't see the wound from that angle but the heavy stream of blood and the gurgle in the voice told him that Vendetta had bitten deeply.
"A useless fuck like you won't stop us… Gah! We are the pure, we are the future!" The wearer shouted, struggling as they did so.
Sol readied Vendetta, before stating "And your future ends here."
"Listen to my friend there." Alex lazily answered as he twirled his umbrella, before pointing at the group as a whole. "He knows what he's talking about. Not like me. I'm just your garden variety homosexual."
That was enough to stun them for a moment, as they didn't expect anyone to say that to them. Then, Alex smirked.
"Well, your usual homosexual with a magical laser beam." And, from the tip of the umbrella, a beam of magical energy shot forward, sending the group skidding back, while the demon-human hybrid moved his attack from side to side.
While Sol focused on his opponent, the rest of the punks descended on the Pseudo Angelos in pairs of roughly two each. Sol's Angelo made to turn and help their fellows but was stopped by Sol's voice.
"Your fight's with me, and if you are as pure as you say then you could take me easily right?" Sol said in a low voice but audible tone. The Pseudo Angelo seemed to growl under his helmet before charging at Sol. Sol's opponent opened with a fast thrust, and as if on an instinct he didn't quite realize, Sol Time Stepped aside. The world slowed for a brief moment, long enough for Sol to reposition himself and strike down at the sword. The sword held but was driven into the floor, and Sol followed through with a horizontal slash that the Pseudo Angelo dodged under. Before Sol could react, he felt a sharp kick into his knee and was forced into a stumble. Turning he realized that Pseudo Angelo had retrieved their sword and was readying it for the next strike.
"C'mon asshole, let's get this shit done!" Sol hissed.
The Pseudo Angelo growled, before jumping upwards, a round shield firmly attached to his wrist and sword's handle safely held in both hands. He slammed into the ground with the strength of a meteor, cracking the concrete and sending a small shock wave all around him.
Seeing this, the others started doing so, trying to escape the beam that Alex was still using to keep them pinned near the Punks.
"Scatter!" The hybrid's shout was loud enough to be heard above the cacophony of the combat, at least for those who needed to hear it. Either by diving or rolling away, the punks avoided being hurt by the falling nazis. Well, hurt too much.
"Coward!" Sol roared as he rushed his retreating foe. The nazi realizing what was coming rose their shield in defense. Vendetta wedged itself deeply into the demonic metal and Sol actually took a moment to relish in the sound of the nazi crying out in pain as the blade bit into their hand. That moment ended when Sol felt a sharp pain bit through his arm. As he had struck the Pseudo Angelo, so too did the Pseudo Angelo strike him. Their sword, already weakened from the previous clash, snapped off, with a large portion of demonic steel lodging itself deeply into the exposed part of Sol's left arm.
Sol bit back the cry of pain, and with great difficulty, ripped Vendetta out of the shield, Time Stepped backward and thrust forward. The Pseudo Angelo couldn't jump away fast enough, and took the blade head on… directly in the abdomen, dropping their blade in the process. With a shout masking his pain, Sol pushed forward driving the Angelo into the wall behind them. Upon impact, the blade sank further, releasing a torrent of blood. In a last desperate act, the Pseudo Angelo's uninjured hand shot up and closed around Sol's throat. There was a moment of struggle between the two before Sol scrambled for his gun and leveled it.
Seeing what was coming, the nazi tried to push the gun away with their injured hand and Sol fired. The first few shots bat the hand away while remaining struck the helmet at point-blank range. At first, the shoots didn't do much, merely denting the articulated metal, but soon enough the rounds began to pierce it until eventually the head of Pseudo Angelo snapped back and the hand around Sol's throat relaxed its grip.
"Retreat!" One of the armored nazi shouted, after seeing that three of their forces had died and several more were already wounded. "Retreat! We need to alert the Gen-" And then he fell silent.
A bubble of gray had enveloped him, while Alex stood there, the tip of Calcabrina tapping on the concrete, his head cocked to the side. "So, your leader calls himself a General. How.. quaint." He was, of course, acting, as he didn't really behave like that. But, as the saying goes, fake it until you make it.
"What do you think, friend of mine? Leave one of them to go back and alert them that they aren't going to survive our coming?" His voice had turned vaguely lilting, almost like a cantilene, before Alex smiled grimly. "Well, if I don't change my mind, anyway."
Sol wrenched the hand free from his neck before taking several breaths and rubbing at his throat. When he looked at Alex, his response was in a distant and pained tone.
"We can't… we can't let them go back… they'll… tell, fuck!" Sol bit out clutching at his arm, in pain. "They'll tell the others what we have and what we can do. We gotta make this quick."
"As you ask of me." Alex was definitely acting, as he made a mock bow that made his duster flare outwards, before getting up. The gray bubble vanished, letting the nazi inside drop to the ground before he slammed the tip of the blade against the joint between the neck and the head.
It yielded under the Devil Arm, cutting the throat of the nazi in moments. The remaining six nazis took a step back.
It didn't help them.
Alex was in front of them, umbrella in his hands, the blade swirling in a quick arc, sending splatters of blood against the ground. The moment after…
He was at their back, the tip of the blade already pushing against the armor of the back most nazi. Which then exploded, his Running Stitch skill charging the blade enough to send him flying forward and bowling his companions like pins.
Sol took another breath, swapped out Vendetta with Gevaudan, and tried to desperately ignore the noise of a body sliding down from a wall, before looking at the punks and pointing them towards the six survivors.
One the nazis had skidded close enough to Sol, where he forced them back down with his foot. They clutched at Sol's leg before he drove Gevaudan down on their neck. Sol closed his eyes and twisted the blade, feeling and hand that was gripping his thigh slacken and fall to the floor.
The punks wasted no time in falling upon the remaining nazis. Their armor might have been effective in keeping them safe in more favorable conditions, but after repeatedly getting hit with the force of a magical Mac truck courtesy of Alex, their armor couldn't hold under the blows of eight demonically enhanced people with a bone to pick.
Alex didn't say anything, he just stood there. Motionless. Brina sheathed once again, the canopy of the umbrella closed and tied together tightly. A faint, fake smile on his face. A Mona Lisa one, even.
And yet, if someone were to observe him closely, they would have been able to see the minute tremor of his hands, his knuckles white on the handle of the weapon. His arms and legs had an unnatural stillness in them, denoting that he was keeping them locked together like steel bars, probably to not collapse. Finally, his smile and eyes…
His smile was fixed in place, without the natural motility that came from the true ones, while his eyes were empty. He seemed to be looking at the carnage, but he wasn't, not really. He was just looking in that direction.
Sol walked up next to Alex, his gait slow and heavy. He stared at the carnage briefly before turning away. "I feel like I'm about to throw up." He said simply. He was still holding his arm, his hand the exposed part but not touching the sword shard that was still embedded there.
"We'll raid this place for everything that it's worth, raid the bodies for their armor and weapons, and just… just rationalize it all." Sol finished quietly.
Alex's answer came without him moving his lips. "I'm feeling bad that I'm not really feeling bad. Like there's something inside me that's saying, 'What's the big deal? They are only human,' And it makes me want to puke."
"I understand that. These weren't demons… pieces of human shit sure, but they were human. Now… they're just…" Sol trailed off before shaking his head.
Rolling his left shoulder in discomfort, Sol continued, "I wonder if that's how demons really see us? Just, meat and energy to be used and discarded?"
"I don't know. I'm still human inside, no matter how many parts of my body are demonic." Alex's answer didn't help alleviate the fears that both of them were feeling. But was there really something that could alleviate those fears? That, the more you fought with the monsters outside your body, the more the monsters inside were going to eat at you, at your sanity and morality, until all that remained was just another monster wearing the skin of a human?
In the end, the two companions stood there, watching as a mix of old and young Punks, all with a replaced limb or body part, beat to death the remaining nazis.
And, like a choreographed explosion, the corpses vanished, leaving only red orbs that started swirling around, going to those that had helped kill them.
Sol felt the red orbs for a moment before giving a soft sigh. With his good hand, he lightly punched Alex in the arm to get his attention. "Think about Dante man. He was born with it all and despite some seriously unhealthy dietary choices, he turned out alright. Although, I wouldn't mind getting some of that particular biology. Eating pizza all day every day sounds like a dream… Or, think of yourself as a would be Naoki Kashima, body of a devil, soul of a human. Just don't cut deals with blondes who have heterochromia." Sol said with a shaky laugh that didn't convey any real joy.
Alex barked a short laugh, surprised by what Sol had just said. "Be it a tall gentleman with blond hair or an elegant girl with a white sundress, uh? While I admit that I often used Cyphre as a surname in fiction, I'm not that foolhardy to do so here." The smile on him was now looking a little bit realer. "Still, I'm… I don't know where I would be without you, Sol. Thank you."
"You're welcome brother, hell I'd be dead several times over without you knowing my fucked up luck. So anything I can do or say to keep spirits up, I'll do. No matter how silly it is." Sol responded in kind, legitimate joy peaking through his voice.
"Awww, how cute! How disgustingly human!" The voice came from behind them. It was utterly unremarkable and plain. It held a faint tone of fake sweetness, like that old aunt you only met once per year at a family reunion. It was like molasses was poured directly into their ears.
And all that completely failed to mask the utter disgust that filled it to the brim.
The two turned around as fast as they could, only to be met by a man who looked like an office worker: immaculate shirt, leather shoes, black suit, black tie. Even his black hair was cut short and typically styled back.
The only things that marked him as completely unnatural, were the black whip in his hands and the burning eyes that were glaring malevolently at them.
RedEyes.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
So, I had some personal stuff to deal with over the weekend, and over the last few days, I was going through final checks and time got the best of me.
Now, later today I will start posting Sol and Alex's shop and skill list for a better understanding of what is available. Not everything, because... things are about to go down.