A/N: This is meant to introduce Steel Strife as a character before the events of my other stories. To give a better idea of his powers and abilities as well as inspiration for the Redemption project he runs in general.
Review at your leisure.
Every job or mission starts out as 'simple' and 'routine.' After all, one doesn't do anything at the start. It's as the mission progresses that the situation develops and problems may arise. One such 'routine' mission for the ascended Angel of Justice, Steel Strife as he was called in English, was quite simple in premise: stamp out a cult that had begun developing in a small town in the Russian wilderness. And it originally had gone off without a hitch, finding the source of the cult and killing its members before they could summon some sort of demon or calamity. However, as he withdrew his blade from the leader's neck, he felt a shift in the air, in the temperature, the very fabric of reality.
A demon. He thought. The ritual was interrupted. Which means…. This was planned. With his divine senses he could even smell what kind: a Calumniator demon of the Greed circle. One that carried with her a rot of Hell based flowers known to poison even the strongest of Hell's denizens. He stood up and looked around the basement of the ruined temple, seeing nothing even in the darkness. What do you think, Nael?
I think it's just another creature to slaughter. Said the sealed Sin of Wrath, Nael.
Wouldn't be too sure. Could be a real threat. Steel shot back, almost mockingly.
Hmph. Face it and find out, then. If you're so desperate for a challenge.
"You can't sneak up on me, you know." He said simply, his forever dysphonic voice carrying his signature rasp. "I learned from the best." He suddenly sensed danger and moved to the side just in time to avoid two daggers, discolored and dripping with poison, by mere millimeters, the sharp blades embedding themselves in the stone floor.
"As did I." Came a familiar, contralto voice he hadn't heard in millennia. To the untrained eye it'd be like she appeared out of nowhere, but Steel could see her slowly descend from the shadows on batwings. Semira. One of the handful of Greed assassins. Fitting for an assassin, she had a rather short, lithe form only really thrown off by her sizeable measurements above and below. She was dressed rather lightly, wearing dark leather most likely harvested from hellhounds, lined with their fur, and studded with infernal metal. The dark materials hid her pale skin well, concealing her body, breaking up her silhouette, and hugging it tightly so as not to create unnecessary noise.
"So. You're the famous Nameless Blade'." She said, pulling down her face mask to reveal acid burns and scars on her lips. "I hear you go by Steel Strife now. Stupid name in my view, but who cares?"
"I'm much different from the Nameless Blade of four thousand years ago. I wear actual armor now." He said, putting his sword away. "How are you, Semira. Best poisoner in Hell, still?"
"Mm. But apparently not a threat, in your eyes." She noted with disdain, indicating to his now sheathed ninjato. "Disrespectful."
"I carry no respect for demons to whom I am not related." He scoffed, crossing his arms.
"So the rumors are true: you've ascended. Abandoned your former life and your people for some angelic tramp."
"That 'angelic tramp'…" He growled, stepping forward a hair. "Was my wife. And you'll do well to keep a civil tongue in your mouth before I cut it out."
Semira laughed; the sound melodic yet maniacal. "Oh, like you could!" She smiled in a creepy fashion. "My poison would cut you down before you could close the distance!"
Out of sheer spite for the diminutive assassin, he blinked forward through the Ether and stopped right in front of her, glaring down at her as she reacted immediately, jumping back with her daggers drawn. "You sure about that?"
"So… your powers truly are that of an angel. Not merely a divine servant." She growled softly, gripping her blades tightly. They were stained green and even from where he stood reeked with blood and rot. "Here I worried you'd gone soft. Guess that explains why Blades keep ending up dead."
Steel's eye twitched a bit at that as he winced. "I had no choice." He said simply, though he didn't sound like he believed it.
"Oh bullshit." She spat. "You know, I may work alone, but a fellowship is a fellowship. And I'm going to finally be the one to take revenge for the others and collect that sweet payday."
"Stronger than you have tried." He said, sliding his blade out of his sheath, flourishing it before tapping the tip against the floor. "You were one of my teachers. I know how to fight you. Do you really want to do this?"
"I taught you what you know, son of Lilith. Not what I know." She said, twirling her blade before lunging forward. Steel met her and their blades clashed. His armor was heavy, so he didn't bother avoiding her strikes. Her sharpened demonic steel and her poison didn't make it past his blessed tungsten armor. So he focused on aggression, striking and counterstriking. She was fast, though, and his armor was heavy enough it slowed him down.
Soon, however, he managed to disarm one of her daggers and force her on the defensive. With one dagger, she couldn't stand to the weight of his blows so her only real options were dodge or deflect. But a cornered animal is a dangerous thing and she proved that. As soon as her foot touched the wall, she unleased a spew of acid from her mouth, dousing him in a sizzling caustic mess that chewed through his helmet and armor. As he recoiled and ripped his now weakened helmet off, she kicked off the wall and jumped over him, racing towards her discard weapon as soon as she landed.
The moment he could see again, he simply pointed at her and launched a bolt of divine lightning, catching her square between her wings. It took her down immediately, causing her to slide along the ground. He sighed and scoffed. "Thought you'd put up more of a fight than that." He mourned as he approached her.
She pushed herself to her knees, panting and groaning. "Yeah… well. Direct combat was never my strong suit." She admitted with a sad chuckle, pulling a small black flower out of her pouch and giving it a sniff. "Plants were always more my thing." She suddenly turned around and launched a powder from the hand with the flower, catching him in the face.
He stopped a distance away, brushing himself off and coughing slightly. But otherwise… he was fine. "Hell's Tongue? Not a bad pick for a demon or even a Nephilim. But I have the immunities of an angel. So… that's just mildly annoying."
She scoffed and drooped. "Damn… Thought that would work. But you saw it coming and you knew."
"I could smell it the moment you pulled it out." He said, closing the distance and standing before her. "Your poisons won't work on me. You're not fast enough to land a killing blow. You know damn well we could fight until judgement day. But you're still a Blade. I'm willing to let you go."
"Please… even if you don't kill me, my employers will. Just give me a proper death."
"Very well. I'll let you pick."
She chuckled. "Face to face. Just stab me in the heart and be done with it." She said, giving the flower another sniff. Unseen by him, she took a single pedal and began chewing it.
He sighed and knelt before her, ninjato aimed at her heart as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Any last words?"
"Yeah…" She looked up at him and smirked before spitting a glob of acid in his face with the chew pedal mixed. "You're an arrogant prick."
He recoiled and reached his hand up, burning the acid away with fire before it could eat away at him. But the damage was done: the poisoned acid got into his mouth and on his skin. He absorbed it immediately. Spitting it out did nothing. "W-what…?" He asked, his strength leaving him as his minor burns didn't heal. "What did you—"
"I'm a poisoner." She said, standing above him. "I poisoned you. You self-righteous fuck… so wrapped up in your angelic power you thought you were hot shit. But Angel's Bane doesn't care. I let you corner me so you'd be close enough for my acid. I let you disarm me so you'd think I was oh so on the ropes and desperate to get my weapon back. I'll admit the lightning took me by surprise, but it sped up my manipulations just so." She cackled. "I'd heard the Nameless Blade killed so many he'd gotten complacent… I was right. Now look at you: that angelic power you were so proud of stripped from you. You inherited their immunities, sure… but also their weaknesses."
"I… still have my demonic power." He growled, flames wreathing his blade even as he couldn't stand. "I can still fight."
"Oh, I know. That's why I won't get close. Besides, I really don't want to kill you. Not directly." She took out a small black orb. Inside his soul, he could feel Wrath writhing.
Strife! You have to move. You CANNOT let her use that!
Steel was moving slowly, barely able to stand as he focused all of his energy on healing his wounds. As soon as they were, he made to stand. But then he received a blade to his chest, piercing right through his armor. He felt back as suddenly he felt heavy. Heavy enough he could barely move his fingers. What…?
Damn! A void orb and Gravis!
What are you talking about, Nael?
"Don't bother trying to move." Semira interrupted their dialogue, tossing the orb up and down playfully. "That's Gravis. The Gravity Blade. It's made from the core of a neutron star, meaning it's dense enough to pierce just about any material. But it's also been cursed: whatever it stabs takes on the weight of that star." She knelt a short distance away at about eye level for steel. "Which means you weigh more than ten suns. At least, that's the gravity affecting you, and you alone. Eventually, it'll crush you if you don't remove it." She smirked and twirled the glass orb on her finger before giving it a single crack and rolling it next to him.
Nael, what is that?!
A void orb! Ancient weapon. It will send you to the Void! A place outside of reality and matter, far from Creation! A place of pure anti-matter completely opposite to Creation!
Well. That's not good. He said, trying and failing to move something besides his fingertips. Nael, a little help!
You fool, I'm just as stuck as you are! You got complacent and now we're doomed!
"I think I should go." Semira said, sighing as she stretched languidly. "I really do feel bad for this. Especially for losing such a nice weapon… but a job is a job. For what it's worth, I didn't hate you nearly as much as I did other demons. You were a good student. Too bad I never taught you pride comes before the fall~"
"Funny… you say that…" He growled; his teeth almost shattering. "Should… take… that advice!" He managed to snap his fingers, breaking them in the exertion. But it was enough. A wall of pure Hellfire, supernatural fire hotter than any sun, surrounded them, slowly closing in. She tried to approach, but the heat was too intense, even for a denizen of Hell. "If we go, Semira…" He smirked; the orbs crack slowly growing. "We go together."
As the walls closed, her cold, insane mask fell and all her face showed was rage. "Fuck you!" She shouted, leaping towards him and ripping the dagger out of his chest to try and stab him. Even weakened, he managed to catch her arm and hold her in place just in time for the orb to shatter, the vortex within raging and pulling in anything in a five-foot radius… before collapsing on itself. The fire faded, leaving only scorch marks and melted stone as evidence of the conflict.
They fell. The ground disappeared and they began falling. Semira tried to stab him a few more times but he managed to kick her away. She spread her wings and flew off; Steel spreading his own wings to try and stabilize. What was that Nael?
Like I said: It's a void orb. Ancient weapon, one I thought was gone forever. It sends you to a place the furthest from the Creator's light. From Creation itself. It's… supposed to be empty.
Supposed to be? Steel flipped himself and looked down. There was a large city of red and darkness. Well, certainly isn't. He tried to flap his wings, but his stomach was still bleeding and he was weaker than he'd ever felt. So the fact he managed to slow himself down enough to only crash through one brick wall was good enough for him.
This day started out so simple…