A radio news jingle plays through a multitude of speakers within Pentagram City as the local news network, Channel 666, comes on air, and with it, the hosts, Katie Killjoy, a spider bitch, and Tom Trench, a Pyro knockoff, appear on screen, seated behind their oval table as they greeted the audience with their usual pizazz.
Upon greeting them, though, the footage swiftly shifted from them to the footage presently being captured by one of their news helicopters, with it hovering awkwardly over a large-scale battle occurring somewhere in the more abandoned region of the City. A relatively young and new Sinner was fending off the henchmen of the local mob to that region, The Fossilizers, and in spite of the heavy opposition they were facing…
… they were fucking winning…
"Hoo golly jee, it seems as though the newbie is holding up alright, all things considered!" admits Tom as the footage shows our mechanical Sinner leaning forwards to duck under a club being swung at him, only for his back to twist in a manner that would no doubt break it as his leg leaned back and slammed into the top of the attacking Demon's head, causing it s chin to collide against the ground in an instant.
Thereafter, the Sinner flipped himself back up to his feet before diving for cover, with Katie cackling maniacally all the while.
"No doubt about it, Tom! Information about this Sinner is scarce, but based on how naked they are, they're no doubt a new kid on the block!"
"They don't seem like much, though considering how they're dealing with these meddling Sinners, I'd say they could stand a chance to survive for… maybe a week? Possibly more!"
"Hmm…"
"Does something about the newcomer intrigue you, Odette?"
Blinking slightly when she heard her mother speak out to her, Odette Carmine turned to face her parent before smiling slightly, nodding all the while. Adjusting her glasses, the younger Carmine turned back towards the screen, where the Sinner that was on it dove for a gun before taking aim and firing exactly two rounds from it.
Both shots hit their marks before the weapon was shot out of their hand via an Anti-Tank round. Normally, such a high calibre shot would obliterate anything that was touched by it, Demon or not, but the Sinner on screen merely flinched a little at it as he turned towards the one that had shot them.
"You could say that, mother. Whoever this Sinner is, they certainly are an intriguing one. Their body is entirely mechanical… and its basic structure brings to mind the machines that were built almost three centuries ago," smiled Odetta, to which her mother hummed softly to herself before nodding.
Yes… she could see a faint resemblance between this Sinner and those war machines that were constructed centuries prior. She recalled seeing one up close before her death, though that was besides the point, really.
What was the main point, though, was the fact that there was a new, competent individual now on the block, and by all means, considering how this new Sinner fought, the matriarch of the Carmine family could tell that they were not one to be reckoned with, and with a curious look in her eye, she wondered… could they one day be a client of hers?
"Oi, V, check this out!"
"Eh? What the fuck's goin' on?"
And as he asked this, good ol' Vox, flatscreen TV head that he was, scrambled over to have a look at the slightly larger TV that was present in the Vee's HQ, and when he had moved over to seat by Velvette's side, the guy's digital eyes' bulged.
"Oh, wow. Oh god, the Sinner person's actually lifting that Brachiosaurus up. Oh god he's performing an irreversible on it oh SWEET SATAN-"
His eyes widening to the point of bulging out of their nonexistent sockets was an understandable thing, all things considered, as, on screen, two of the three members of the Triple V Team were watching as a young Sinner spun around like a top, swinging a sizable Demon with the appearance of a Brachiosaurus via its tail around all the while. They ended it off by releasing their tail, sending the prehistoric themed Demon soaring skywards before disappearing in a flash of light, much to everyone present's amusement.
Well, more to Velvette's amusement, really. Vox looked more… intrigued than anything, as he rubbed at his nonexistent chin and examined the broadcast with intrigue.
Narrowing his digital eyes, the flatscreen TV head focused in on the broadcast and felt his essence seeping into it, and for a moment, the multitude of televisions amidst Pentagram City distorted momentarily as Vox's power narrowed in on the Sinner that had caught his eye; such mechanical prowess could not be ignored, not by him, and if he could steal some of this Sinner's parts for himself, well…
Ĭ̵̧̳̜͈͔̞̓͝n̷͔̼̎̈́̋ ̸͚̥͍͛͊̄ä̷̟͘n̶̛̹̞̑̓̊ ̴̢̘͇̐ĭ̴̬͙̾n̴̢̬̒͆̓͋s̶̖̖̮̥̞̮͑̊ţ̷͙͉̈́̓͒̅̄͝a̷̬̫̋̄̒͒̚͝n̷̲̠͔̙̥̣̽͛t̵̘̝͍̮̱̽͑̐̊̋̚͜,̵̗̖̫̾̋̇̓͊͜ ̵̜͍̪̄͂̾è̸̙̘͇͖v̷̲̠̲̄͊̀ḛ̴͊̀̈́͌r̵̛̺̟̯̞̉̏̉ý̸̭̝̑t̵̰̤̒̈́ḧ̷̭̼͚́̍i̶͇̻̗͊͐n̵̹͓̟͉̠̰̑ḡ̷͇̪̩̟̔ ̷̻̬̇̏̑̊́ạ̶̡̡̝͆̓r̵̰̥̪͊o̴̝͐̂u̵̫͖̇̓́͆n̶̡͎͙̝̗̂͗̏̅ͅd̷̟̙̑̎͒͆ ̴̤͇̠̬̠͈́ḣ̵̨͈̲̦̘̠̒̆̄͝ỉ̸̬̲̜̋̃m̶͙̞̞̙̌͗̾̎̈ ̴̪͇̭͚͖̖̌̍́̅g̵͖̺̹̮̭̋r̵̹̰͈̳͒͐̄̈͠ë̶̛̮͖̖̖́̏͝ẅ̵͔̗̫͓͈͚̃̚̚ ̵͚̮̋̈́̓͘ď̸̢̹̞͓i̷̢͙̮̥͗̍̊́ş̸̳͖̹̯͌́̋͐t̵͎͔̫̙̔͐ó̴̧̫̦̘̘̲ř̶̠̲͋ţ̸̤̼̩̣̘̐̒̊̑̌ḙ̶̈͊̀̕̕͜d̵͓̃͛̓͋̀̿.̴̞̥̻̺͇͉̊̌͒͗̎̊
̵̠̘͓̤̻̄͌̊͠
̷̨̭͂̈̄͗̽͐͜
̶̞͖͇͈͔̉̂̈V̸̛̳̗̲̬͎̈́̚ơ̶̝̬̦͒͗͝x̶̟͂̒ ̶̡̨̝̊̐̏͊c̷̡͖̮͍͗́̊o̵͓̼̍̀̔̍ų̸̈̓̑̏͆͝l̵̗̾ḍ̴̢͍̜̙̯͛ñ̸̫̲͠'̴̤̒̔̓́̏ẗ̷̳́̑̅͂ ̵̝̯̗̘͇̔́͂̆c̴̠̺̹̹̻͔̑̍͑̇͠͝o̸͙͊̓́̍̚ḿ̵̬̝͚́̐p̵̠̦̘̗̩͆ͅr̷̪͇̦͓̬͕̈̌̋̚e̵͖͖̘̔͂̀̄͝h̴̛͕̹͋̄͝ḙ̴͋́̏n̷̛͉̭͉̘ḓ̸̛̈́̈́̐͘ ̶̛͔̘̲̭̪̎̿̋w̴̢̖͛͆́h̴͈̝̺͕͔́̚a̵͔͗̾͌̽t̸͖̻̘̻̥̋͋͒̉ ̷̞͖͂͊̇͐͜w̷̨̭̙͇͐̆͌̽̀͜ͅả̸̹̗͜ş̵̖͖̙̀ͅͅ ̴̧͓̃̃́͘̕͜h̸͓́͊̀͗͘a̷̟͕̓̆p̵̺̯̘̫̾̾ṕ̴̧̮͕̱̖͙ě̷̢͎̜̘͚̽̋͘͠ņ̸͔̖̱͐i̶̮͚̪͈̲͐͆̚n̷̝͂̊͝͝g̸̼͓̺̮̯͋ͅ ̴̡̞̦͙͕̪̎̑̏̔͠͝a̵̗͖͚̯̘͗̀̃̑̅͘s̵̢̺͎̼͑͜ͅ ̷̧̢̙̞͎͙̓́̏ṭ̸̅͌͆̈̌̃h̴̡̡͕̻͆̓͗͘͠͝é̶̗̭̥ ̶͉̓̾͂̃D̸̘͊̀e̶̡̞̮͒͗͐̾m̶̗͓̪̒̎̃̂ó̶̜͙̻̝̪̼͛͠ń̴̗̲̟̏͑̄͑̇ ̶͇͚̐͋͗̀͠t̷̨̛̻̲͔̯̃͌͗ù̶̢̨͈̦̥̟͆̚͝r̷̖̐̓̌̕͠ǹ̶̢̫̫̰e̴͖͚͍̲̓̈́̕͜͠͝ͅd̸̦̾̃̔̊̈́͠ ̷̮̩̼̝͙͈̉̋̿̈́̋͗t̶̡͎̥̳͇͑̅͒ͅȍ̶̳͚̆͐͘͝ ̶̬̪͐͂͜f̵̛͖̤̝͘a̴̧̰̱͚̥͛̄͘͜c̶̗̝̠̬̘̫͊̽͐͠è̴̖̼̥̾̓̕ ̷͍͉̥̤̰͂͑h̷̨̪̲͛̅͜ḯ̵̪m̷̮͉͐̄͒͘,̷̨̡̠̳̋̌̃̉̈́ ̶̡̹̯̗̣͌̇͜ä̴̳̿̍̈́̊ń̷̰ͅḓ̸̺̈́̏ ̸̹̮̗̇͊͘͜͠a̴̜̝͚͇̖̋̌̕s̵̘̯̾̀̓̚͝ ̴͇͔̋̈́̏̽͒͘ì̶̝̖̣͙̚̕ͅt̵̰̠̤̤̜́̎̿̿ ̸̖̖̤̲̙̃d̶̡̜͍͎͔͋̐̌̽͒͝ȋ̷͕̘̬͚̻̜̿̃̚d̷̞̥͆̐̿͠ ̴͙̎̆s̸̤̳͝o̷̧̎͠,̵̼̣̻͛̅͌̈́́ ̴̣̈́̈͝ḩ̶͙̃͊́̍̕ȇ̶̞͚̗͉̞͎̓ ̶̞̫͉̫͑͜w̴̛͈̜̟̑̑a̵̟͎̻͗s̶̻͌̍̽ ̶̨̣̖̭̀̀̓͝m̵̧̠͙̗̃͌̋́ǫ̴͕̙̞̬̒̎m̵̜̟͇͎͋̀͘e̵̢̠̭͐͌͆͝ņ̸͂͛͒͘ẗ̷̗̻̜̝́̒̑̒͆̽ͅa̵̝̓͜r̴̛̖͔̼̰̖͆̊̈́̌̕ì̷̡̞͔͙̓̅͗ļ̸͊̃̈́̌̇y̸̠͎̟̟̞̾̌̆̈̋͝ ̶̬̩͔͎͐͊̀̏̀͝p̵͚͉̔̔́̀͂a̵̗͕͉̠̱̰̋̽̓̾̈̄r̴̮͉̥͇͉͆̅͘͝a̸̗̲̘̰̓ͅl̶̟͓͌́̀̚ý̴͈͓̹͈̗͚͌z̶̧̳̪̯̽̄͛̋́͜͝e̴̤̣̮͍̯̥͝d̶̼͍͎̘̮̮͐̈́͗͋͌͠ ̴͍̥͉̽̃̃̄͝w̸̝͇̥̠͋͜͝į̸͓̜͓͆̈̔̀ẗ̵͕́̔͜h̷͈̯́̂͝ ̵̡̣̼͐̀̈͑́̔h̶̭͐̈́̃õ̵̳̲͐͜r̸̮̥̘̽ŕ̸̞͖̮̅o̶̘̮͇̺̼̝͗̃̐̕r̶͎͙̦̈́ͅ.̸̗̲̙͜͝
̶͔̺͘Ḁ̸̲͓̲̪͓̀̊͋͋͝n̶̗̗͚̺̅͆͑͘͠ḑ̴̤̞̆͘ ̶̯̮̼̥̉̓̓̒̕̕s̸̝̰͑͝ͅe̸̞̟͚̳͖̐̅̽c̴̹͎̦̟͉̺̏̉̌ọ̵̩̦̝̻̇̐̒͑͘ń̸̢̿̔̈́d̶̢͕̹͙̫͌̒ş̶̦̥̘͉̣̃͆̄̋̀͝ ̷̻͚̇̈̓̑̌̀l̸̰͔̮̤̤̥͐ā̵͇̱̖̝̞͋̽͌̉ţ̸̡̥͔̟̋̀͂̅͝͝ẽ̵͔̭̭̏̔̀̓̕ͅr̸̨̰̯͚̮̼̅̈́̈́,̸͈̪̳͕̫̔͊̑͂͜ ̶͍̬̥̅͂t̸̩̺͈͎͂h̷͚͉̍̈̐̈́͐e̶͚̮̩̯͌͜ ̷̨̎͂̈͂͑s̴͕̃̀̈̅̈͘ͅc̷̘̱̯̜͔͍͒͗̂̅͊̕r̵̢̒ẽ̶̜̞̌̒̾͐͠ë̴͇͚̹́͠n̶͕͔̰̗͝ ̶̨̫̻͙̄͑͗̔̀̾ẅ̶̡̬̤̮e̷̗̪͌̄̄͂̕̚ǹ̵͓̯̯́̈́̾͝t̴̺̆̿͋̈̿͝ ̵̣̭͊͌̍͂b̸̼͔͂͌̓͗̈l̴̹̳̰͐̾͛̓͗͝ͅå̶̢̠̖͉̥̈́c̶̼͓̥̐͑͗͒͒k̷̛̜̠̯͍̋̃̀͘.̷͉̥̆̆͌̀
A strained gasp had escaped the bartender's lips when he saw the person on screen, and upon making that sound, the glass he had been cleaning fell to the floor, shattering in but an instant.
As this happened, the footage of the newly arrived Sinner blinked out, with the chopper that was broadcasting the whole thing having strangely crashed for… some reason (honestly, it was probably shot out the air!), and when it had done so, the pink skinned Sinner hissed out in dismay as he tried to make a break for it, only to feel the tightening of an invisible chain around his neck all the while.
"Something got you spooked, kid?" came a gruff voice from in front of him, prompting the Sinner to glance ahead of himself and spot one of the bar's head patrons; a former Overlord that looked quite a lot like a cat, and although he wished to answer truthfully, the younger Sinner instead sighed and shook his head, with him moving to clean up the mess he had made all the while.
"No… just… some ghosts from my previous life, I guess. People I never thought I'd ever see again…" admitted the Sinner, and upon hearing this, the former Overlord smiled sympathetically before asking for another drink.
"Yeah, Hell'll getcha like that, one way or another."
And not a moment later, the lights went out, among other things, much to every Demon present's ire.
Huh, that was weird.
That helicopter just crashed for no reason… and half of Pentagram City had gone dark moments thereafter. Thankfully enough, though, the red glow of Hell's skies illuminated the area just enough for Mikazuki to get a good grasp on his surroundings, and as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer lights around him, the former Pilot watched as several more Dinosaur based Sinners rushed at him.
Flipping over a three horned Dino that had made an attempt to skewer him on their horns, Mikazuki brought his arms up to catch the tail of a Stegosaurus attempting to punch four holes into his body, and after yanking back on it, he pulled them towards himself and clotheslined them, sending them to the floor before he leapt up and slammed a foot down onto their stomach. The contents that were forced out of their mouth were… a lot more graphic than one would like to see, to say the least, though Mika thought little of this as he threw the Stegosaurus Demon towards some of their compatriots moments later, ignoring the mess he had made all the while.
As the Dino Demons were knocked back from the body of their thrown compatriot, Mikazuki took a step back as a T-Rex looking mofo attempted to bite down upon him with their massive jaws. As he did so, Mika avoided a few strikes from their surprisingly long arms and a tail slash before avoiding yet another bite from them, with him this time reaching out to grab ahold of bot the upper and lower jaw, holding it in place all the while. The hydraulics in his arms strained slightly as he did this, with the T-Rex Demon grinning as they forced the Mechanical Sinner back.
Before much more could happen, though, Mikazuki's optics dilated slightly when he sensed something coming at him from behind, prompting him to lunge to one side as the tail-flail of an Ankylosaurus Demon was swung at him. Thanks to his relatively quick evasion, however, said flail ended up being slammed into the T-Rex Demon's mouth, shattering basically all of its teeth as they were sent reeling, and whilst the armoured Sinner appeared very much sheepish after what they had done, Mikazuki closed in on them and tackled them back.
The Ankylosaurus Demon was a hulking brute of a Sinner, but even so, Mikazuki's mechanically enhanced strength allowed him to knock the unsuspecting Demon onto their back, and as they landed, the former pilot slammed his metal heel down upon their neck, crushing it in an instant before twisting his foot to make sure they stayed dead, and moments later, he lunged to the side when a sword-like weapon came crashing down upon where he once stood.
Rolling to a stop as the massive Greatsword (unintentionally) beheaded the Ankylosaurus Demon, Mikazuki saw what looked to be a Carnataurus Demon with a bladed tail, one that, when scraped against the ground, was lit on fire. Scowling slightly at the sight of this, Mika watched as this Sinner in particular circled him momentarily, sizing him up all the while; although they were about thrice his height and five times his weight, they seemed to understand that he was no meager foe, and as such, they'd have to take caution with him…
"It's been a while since another Demon's been able to provide my gang and I a suitable enough challenge, little robot. And for the source of this challenge to come from a newly arrived Sinner? I have not known stranger days," admitted the Carnataurus Demon, with him speaking in a strangely high class tone of voice as he circled Mikazuki, who remained silent as he watched its blazing red tail scrape against the concrete; Mika was no fool, as he knew that in spite of his resilience, being cut by that thing would spell instant death for him, but all the same… "Have you nothing to say, Demon? Horrified into silence, no? I understand. After all, I, Dinobarudo, am quite the formidable foe."
Dinobarudo? Well, at least that was an easy name to remember, Mikazuki thought, but all the same, he could tell that this one was different from all the others he had faced prior to now. The way this Demon in particular had carried himself was with more purpose than all the others, and considering how he was speaking down to him, it showed that he had quite a great deal of confidence in himself, but all the same…
"I wasn't challenging anyone. I was in a library when the Dinosaurs that I assume work under you shot a rocket at it," stated Mikazuki bluntly, with him deadpandedly reminding Dinobarudo that the place they were standing atop once used to be a library. The larger Carnataurus Sinner, at the very least, did seem somewhat sheepish at the realization, but he shrugged it off with his tiny arms moments later.
"Meh, it's not like Sinners or Demons care enough to actually use its services. It is of no real loss to any of us," smiled Dinobarudo, with him seeming very carefree as he spoke, much to Mikazuki's admitted annoyance.
Excuse him! He was using the library's services prior to now! And considering how his background was that of an individual that had not learnt how to read or write up till some years prior, Mikazuki valued libraries more than most things!
Having noticed the former Pilot's sudden bout of anger, Dinobarudo got ready to attack, with him smiling devilishly all the while, though momentarily, he paused when he noticed the aura radiating off the young Sinner's person all the while. Strange… it pulsed with a level of power that felt too high for someone as young as him, but all the same, he thought little of it as he leapt into the air and slammed his tail blade down upon Mikazuki.
The aforementioned boy responded to this by lunging to the side, effectively avoiding the attack which melted the concrete with its superheated frame, before lunging forwards, charging at Dinobarudo all the while. Narrowing his eyes at this, the Tail Bladed Sinner reoriented his bladed tail before swinging it towards Mika at an angle, though before it could hit him, Mika leapt up and onto the tail blade itself. His limbs sizzled slightly as they landed atop the blazing tail blade, though he ignored this as he sprinted up the length of the opposing Sinner's tail before launching a dropkick towards his face, causing the much larger Sinner to stagger backwards all the while.
"Gah! Lucky shot, you-" began the Carnotaurus Demon, only to groan slightly as several bullets pelted his mostly armoured frame. Using his tail blade to block the shots, he watched as Mikazuki, having landed moments prior, use one of his own henchmen's guns to fire upon him as he backed towards a nearby rocket launcher, dropped by a Demon he had killed prior and upon noticing this, Dinobarudo snarled and closed in on Mikazuki, ignoring most of the shots fired all the while; his thick armour made it easy to do so.
As he closed in on Mikazuki, though, the former pilot saw that the Carnataurus Demon's tail had lost its scorching edge; it was now rusted… somehow, with it appearing quite dull because of this, though whatever the case, as Dinobarudo lunged at him, Mika leapt for the rocket launcher and grabbed ahold of it, with him taking aim and firing in a moment's notice. The rocket struck the massive Demon in an instant, seemingly taking him out all the while as the explosion engulfed his very being…
… though moments later, Dinobarudo leapt out of the cloud of smoke and shrapnel and slammed his tail blade down upon Mikazuki, who was momentarily surprised at the Demon's hardiness, though he got over it relatively quickly as he brought his arms up to defend himself.
Imagine his shock when, rather than crush him beneath it, the tail blade instead clanged against his armour with minimal issue. All Demons that were present to witness this gasped out in horror whilst Dinobarudo could only widen his eyes in shock, though moments later, Mikazuki, in spite of his own surprise at the situation, scowled and dug his sharpened digits into the Carnataurus Demon's rusted tail before heaving backwards.
And much to everyone's shock… Mikazuki had begun to lift the leader of the Fossilizers off his feet with this one act, and by the time he had realized this, it was already too late, as Mika began spinning like a maniac. His two feet remained planted firmly onto the ground as his waist shifted up a tiny bit before whirling around like a top, gaining momentum with each spin as Dinobarudo was brought along for the ride, and after a good ten seconds of spinning…
… Mikazuki released Dinobarudo's tail and sent him soaring into the Hellish sky, where he disappeared in a flash all the while. Mika couldn't even discern where he could've possibly landed, though all the same, seeing the Demon gone brought him some comfort, and as he turned away from the star that used to be Dinobarudo, the former pilot turned to what remained of his gang and glared at them.
They were all hesitant to fight him, that much was obvious, and a simple growl was all it took to scare them off at that point, leaving Mikazuki to himself all the while.
The area he now stood in wasn't much more than a scorched wasteland at this point, with Mikazuki feeling unsure of what he should do now as he vacated the region. He was here to learn more about Hell and whatnot, not join up in a fucking turf war… though whatever the case, it was what it was, and by God, he reckoned that he should just expect such things to happen on the daily at this point.
This was Hell, after all…
Whilst he left the premises without much concern, though, many a Demon did take note of his presence as they took images of him leaving the area. His nudity made it apparent that he was a new Sinner, and for someone so young to be so strong… well, it was a cause for concern… and intrigue, as Pentagram City's hierarchy could potentially be shaken up soon, thanks to this revelation…