|
Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jun 7, 2018 8:49:14 GMT
Demmy and Wisma could see that the forces assailing Mival were much more intense that it previously seemed. Battalions of the strange, red-skinned humanoids lined several of Mival's streets. Their forces seemed impossibly large, especially given how quickly the events unfolded; their forces seemed to have appeared in only a matter of seconds, and yet there were probably at least a couple hundred warriors wandering around in the city streets. The two also observed that it seemed like the guards were losing very quickly; they were swiftly becoming overwhelmed through tactics and numbers by the fiendish warriors.
Off in the distance, Demmy in particular could make out several monstrously huge forms, well over 8 feet tall, lumbering through different sections of Mival. They looked similar to the smaller warriors, but their bodies seemed to be even more heavily armored, and Demmy could make out massive tusks jutting out from their lower jaw, though she could not make out any more details.
A shrill cry filled the air around them, as the figure riding atop the flames in the distance visibly pointed his weapon towards the tavern. Several of the red-tinged soldiers turned to face Demmy and the Violet Bar in general, many choosing to approach the location with their shields and spears raised while others prepared their bows, the tips of their arrows licked with black-tinged flame...
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Jun 7, 2018 20:51:58 GMT
A shot tore through the night air, and ripped one of the red tinged soldiers. The fiend snarled, then fell over, before more shots began to fire out at the bow demons.
"Get your filthy legions out of my city!" Xero shouted, taking another shot with his rifle. He was hunkered behind an overturned trolley, only poking his head out to line up shots and fire them before the archers could hit him. Beside him was Chalodna, who had been given a pair of pistols, and was firing them when she could. One archer went down to a bullet through the head, and another dropped to a knee from a bullet through there. "Mival doesn't welcome the evil army!"
"The fuck did all these assholes come from? And why here and now?!" Chalodna snapped. "Was just gonna report to the fat ogre upstairs, when all her old buddies come to play. Just my fucking luck!"
"Wait, you mean these are all Vasaluta's pals?" Xero asked.
"If anyone knows what these are, probably her." Chal grumbled. "But there's so many of them..."
"Then perhaps you should fall back." An all too familiar voice echoed in their minds. Chalodna's eyes widened as she recognized the voice. "Leave this to me, or you can support me. Your choice."
"Am I hearing things? Cuz that sounds like-"
"Demmy?" Chal said in shock. "What the-"
"I have no time to explain, so just stand back and watch for now." Demmy's voice echoed through their minds. Suddenly, the mental voice rang through the minds of the approaching demonic horde, the guards, and everyone in the area. While it was still in Demmy's soft, mild mannered tone, there was an unmistakable edge in it, a sinister, dark tint within.
"Infernals and demons, whoever has conjured you has made a grave mistake. This city you invade, this land you harass and pillage is under my control. Turn and leave at once, and you be spared a slow, painful death. Refuse... and your conjurers and summoners will wish for the sweet embrace of Death."
The woman in question now stood before the Violet Bar, and looked out at the approaching horde. There was no ounce of fear on her face, no hint of fright, merely a cold, impassionate look...
___________________
Inside the Violet Bar, Molly recognized the voice of Demmy, and wanted to run down to the window despite how much of this made no sense to her, yet, Demmy's words to her remained. She had to stay back, out of danger. Whatever Demmy had planned, she had to have faith in her.
"Please... Please know what you're doing." She clutched her hands against her chest. "Please don't die on me, please..."
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Jun 8, 2018 1:51:55 GMT
"Do we still not let anyone in?" a husky voice asked Wisma. Read had turned her broad face towards her.
"Yes," Wisma said. "And now we shoot her if tries to get in. My restaurant is only under my damn control."
-
"What?" a feminine voice asked in disbelief behind Molly. The lebran towered in the door frame. Her black eyes were wide.
What was that woman? She had intended to follow her out the window after a lie to her companion, but now she only wanted to know what gave her these dark powers.
She had thought the creatures patrolling the street were soldiers of Lloxt, come to reap the lebran lives here, but she opposed them? How else could she have such twisted, unnatural abilities if she herself was not of Lloxt though?
-
Small footsteps on the rooftops above the carnage paused as the disembodied voice echoed throughout the minds of Mival.
The monster woman.
The diminutive assassin stood motionless, dirty, little fingers twitched, as she considered what her announcement meant.
She might be a dangerous freak, but did she really intend to fight the entirety of the force that now inhabited the city?
After a long moment, the killer smiled. Her grin was tiny and cold.
If she did, her little friend would be left defenseless.
The footsteps resumed, though now they traveled in the direction of the bar she had followed her to from afar.
She had intended to kill the top-heavy woman first, but a hitwoman as successful as herself had to be flexible.
-
"Oh no," Alex moan. He was huddled behind a dumpster a dozen blocks south of the Violet Bar. His legs, folded against his chest, shook like leaves. Blood stained his clothes, but it was not his.
That voice. It was Demmy.
Sam had been right.
"I'm sorry, Sam," he said, as if she could hear him. His already damp eyes welled with tears. "I'm so sorry."
"A... Alex?" a weak voice asked from his side.
Nauyaca laid against his shoulder. He had an arm around her, putting pressure on an enormous gash between her ribs, but crimson still spread across her pale shirt like dye. She did not tremble like Alex. Her body was instead terrifying still.
"I messed up, Yaca. I... I really messed up."
|
|
|
Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jun 8, 2018 2:33:01 GMT
"Stand in our way, and you will die alongside your people," a cacophony of voices replied aloud to Demmy. It was a surreal sound, hearing hundreds of voice speaking together in unison; it was like some kind of machine, thinking and acting as one solitary unit. And yet, it was composed of many minds, minds who seemed to be at once unique and yet completely unidentifiable.
An armored shape flew in closer to the combat, riding atop a flaming shape that resembled that of a horse. The figure held up their lance and loosed a hideous yell from their cracked, bloodied lips. Immediately, the footsoldiers before Demmy surged with a visible burst of power as their stances became more aggressive and their muscles visibly swelled. The archers fired a volley upon Demmy, aiming to strike her with their arrows or set fire to the Violet Bar. The spearmen meanwhile rushed Demmy's location, maintaining their block formation to interpose themselves between the back units and their opponent, intent on killing her.
The mounted figure looked about from his aerial roost, observing the carnage that it had created. In its scanning, however, it noticed a figure moving about amongst the rooftops. The figure was diminutive in stature, but seemed to be actively avoiding being spotted. A sadistic grin spread across the armored figure's lips. It finally had the chance for some sport of its own. With a yell, the armored being dove down towards the sneaking figure, lance thrust forward with the intent to impale its prey... _____________________________________________________ Heavy footfalls stomped about near Alex. Peaking over some of the smaller buildings and meandering near the alleys was the titan that had wounded Nauyaca in the first place, its pike still dripping with fresh blood. The heavily armored figure snorted and sniffed around, gold-red gaze thumbing about, searching for the creatures that had escaped it earlier. The figure flung aside objects in its way, sending objects such as wagons flying into nearby buildings, looking for any sign of their presence. The creature was eerily silent in its hunt, making no noise besides its deep, deathrattle-like breathing as it lumbered through the ruins of Mival...
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Jun 8, 2018 2:53:34 GMT
The arrows that had been aimed at Demmy and the Violet Bar were thrown off course as the breeze which had been blowing around Demmy picked up in power, like a localized hurricane. The arrows flew away from their intended targets, toward the ground or back into the ranks of the demonspawn and their spearmen. Demmy's stoic face etched into a sadistic smile, even as two arrows made it through, and sunk into her left shoulder, and her right thigh.
"Trying to kill those I owe a debt to, and their friends... Unacceptable."
Now the wind was blowing at full force, causing Demmy's skirt and hair to flutter aggressively. Around her, dark particles of energy began to surge upward, and the uniform she had been wearing, the Violet Bar uniform, changed. It darkened and lengthened into a tattered rust colored cloak, and beneath it a skin tight black suit. Above, lightning clashed and flared across the sky. Demmy's already long white hair lengthened out, and reached to her knees while the ivory color morphed into a raven black. The eye in her right socket faded away, revealing an empty, blood crusted hole, and several tentacles reached out from within the socket. Now she was covered with a dark purple aura which surrounded her, and she chuckled.
"Time to have some fun for old Demogorgon, then."
With a manical smile, the eye tentacles surged with eldritch energy, and four of them fired into the advancing wall of spearmen. The beams began to cut through them, burning through their flesh and muscle, and the invaders began to drop like flies. The eye beams carved through the streets, setting any flesh it touched ablaze, and Demogorgon shifted them to aim two of them over at the archers...
"Do we shoot her or not, because that woman is a monster!" Xero explained, firing another round at an archer.
"She's on our side for now, so don't." Chal told him. She had been amazed and terrified by what she had seen, yet it was hardly the strangest thing this city housed. Just another day on the job for her, another freak show making a splash. "Just focus on the real enemy!"
"I am, but, goddamn it all!"
___________________________
Molly was shocked, stunned silent at the transformation she had witnessed. Sam's words, those of the miniature assassin, and Heather's warning and those of the old woman suddenly made far too much sense for her. She fell to her knees, mouth agape, and eyes fixated only on Demmy.
"I.... W... What?" She weakly gasped.
Her closest friend, her co-worker that she thought she could trust... a monster...
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Jun 8, 2018 3:54:29 GMT
The gobsmacked Molly was pushed aside by the huge frame of the stranger as she forced her way to the window. Her onyx eyes glared now, and her mouth was twisted into a hateful sneer.
What was this woman with the demonic powers? Was she of Lloxt or were the warriors she faced?
While she watched the woman carve through the legions of scarlet soldiers, something resurfaced from the depths of her mind. Her frown softened. That was right. Lloxt had more enemies that her goddess. It was said Lloxt came from a world called Timor, a world from which it fled to protect its child. Lloxt was a corrupter, not a conqueror, so these soldiers could not be of Lloxt. That meant they must be of Timor.
It was the woman who was the agent of the Lloxt.
The thoughtful frown of the lebran became a twisted smile as she stepped out onto the roof.
It was time to serve her goddess.
-
Hearing the cry and feeling the wind of the flying cavalryman, the assassin dove to the side. The gnarled lance slashed away a small part of her cloak as it bored into the rooftop.
Rolling as she hit the ground, the small hitwoman stopped her momentum with a knee, spun on it, and launched a bolt, crossbow aimed for the slits on her assailant's helmet...
-
Alex squeezed his mouth shut as he heard the rampage of the otherworldly giant, lips carrying the salty taste of tears to his tongue. He tried to control his shaking. He was unsuccessful.
Besides him, Nauyaca weakly picked up a jagged-edged rock. The sight sent a pang of guilt through Alex. She was ready to fight even after she had been hurt doing so for his sake. If she had not stumbled across him by chance, he would have been killed by one of the smaller, crimson creatures like so many others he watched fall. The ease with which she had snapped its neck from behind had surprised him. She had seemed surprised as well. They looked so human, it was easy to forget that all Pientans were inhumanly strong. That strength had failed against the larger, armored being though, forcing them to flee.
He held the bleeding boran tight. Sam was right about more than Demmy. He was just a burden.
|
|
|
Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jun 8, 2018 4:29:14 GMT
The red-skinned humanoids stood no chance before the ire of Demogorgon as her beams cleaved through their ranks. Though the heat of the beams had little effect upon their infernal forms, the sheer kinetic force behind their blasts shredded through demonic flesh and bone, cleaving entire lines in half from their raw power. Several of the archers were not lucky enough to avoid the vicious beam, and many were similarly cut down like their melee-oriented comrades. The soldiers pushed forward through the winds as best they could, their improved physical prowess allowing them to weather the gales surprisingly well, and lashed out with her spears toward the monstrous humanoid figure.
From the sides, several large-ogre like figures finally emerged, clad in heavy armor grafted to their very flesh. About 12 of them tilted their hands to the side, before the flesh above their elbow joint ripped open to reveal a crossbow grafted to their arms. A volley of hellfire rained down upon Demogorgon, killing several of the lesser soldiers in the process, while causing horrific burns to Demogorgon and melting the surrounding stone into molten slag. Some of this slag touched the Violet Bar, threatening to set it ablaze in the process...
The arrow struck the armored figure on the side of the head, causing the man-like beast and its infernal steed to veer to the side and crash land, sending the figure rolling across the hard pavement and dispelling the fiery steed. Shockingly, however, the figure popped back up onto their feet, looking no worse for wear besides visible irritation on its fiendish visage. Lips curled into a feral snarl, the figure charged forward as his horse emerged from the earth beneath him in an impressive display of flame. Readying its lance, the figure prepared to impale the assassin...
The fiendish giant drew ever closer to Alex's location by mere coincidence. Though it did a poor job of searching in and of itself, it was quite systematic in its approach to hunting its quarry. Suddenly, the giant paused, noticing a visible trail of blood leading towards the dumpster Ale was hiding behind. With a terrific bellow, like that of an enraged bull, the giant fiend charged towards Alex and Nauyaca's hiding spot, its pike lowered to skewer the two of them...
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Jun 8, 2018 4:52:13 GMT
The hellfire volley engulfed Demogorgon, and a loud scream of pain echoed from the resulting blast.
"DEMMY!" Molly shouted, snapping out of her shocked trance. She wanted to run out to help her, but knew she'd either get blown up by Wisma for trying, or die to the flames.. "Demmy!"
Yet, the wind picked up once more, and the hellfire that had rained down on her was blown away. The slag that touched the Violet Bar was also moved a ways away, keeping the building safe for the moment. Where the hellfire had once been, stood a smoking, twitching, yet very much alive Demogorgon. Beneath her cloak, some of her flesh had been charred, and a trail of blood dripped down her face, yet when she looked up, that cry of pain turned into laughter.
"Damn, that hurt more than I expected." She winced. Her mouth opened wide, and a black orb fired out at the nearest fiend. The large ogre was struck in the chest, and the orb detonated, sending the bleeding, mangled form sprawling across the street. At the same time, Demogorgon's eye beams continued to target the soldiers and archers, but one swept over toward the larger enemies to cut them down...
_____________________________
"You... You're too noisy."
The fiendish giant's eyes widened as a shot tore through its thigh, and caused it to trip and fall to the ground. There, to the side in an alleyway, was Micah, with her own rifle in hand. For a moment, her eyes drifted to Alex and Nauyaca, then back to the fiend.
"Die." She said, before firing it again at its head...
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Jun 8, 2018 6:47:42 GMT
Demmy left a trail of sheared metal and ruin flesh among the lesser soldiers, but the next line of spearmen quickly shambled forward, trampling their slain companions. They let out a synchronized roar as they charged the monstrous woman.
BOOM!
Shattered glass flew past Demmy, and the spear-bearers staggered as if cowed by the sound. Some outright dropped dead. Others could now only limp or stumble.
"Reload," Wisma told Read as she passed her a smoking blunderbuss. Then she rose her voice. "Vale! You get a raise if you keep them from touching my bar again!"
Beyond the broken window, one of the blood-colored warriors managed to shrug off its injuries. Raising its jagged spear, it rushed forward and attempted to skewer the distracted Demmy. It was intercepted by another spear however. The pitch black projectile, sleek aside from a single barb behind its slim head, plunged from above and passed cleanly through the neck of the devilish soldier. With a gurgle, it dropped its own spear and slumped backwards, held in a standing position by the weapon run through its jugular. Then, starting from the head and moving down the shaft, the black spear disintegrated, turning into a stream of black smokes or grit that swirled upwards, leaving the dead creature to crumple.
The lebran woman stood above the Violet Bar sign, perched on a narrow ledge like a wingless bird of prey. The black cloud gathered into her hand, retaking the solid shape of the spear. Her other arm was wrapped by flowing lines of ink, living tattoos, each extending from her short sleeve. They engulfed her free hand and took the shape of vicious, hooked claws. A psychotic smirk stretched across her long, high-cheeked face.
“I,” she said grandly, as if the very concept of her existence was of singular, cosmic importance, “am Mussurana. I am my goddess's red right hand. The hand with which she destroys. I am her cleansing fire. Her sword. I am her terror. I am the Rhea. The daughter of Falajax. And I am here to destroy her enemies.”
-
The short humanoid sprung into the air as she was charged once more, her small frame almost appearing to float up on its own. Placing a flat palm on the top of the lance, she swung herself out of its path with supernatural grace. Catapulting herself at her attacker from this position, she landed on their shoulder and held herself in place with her knees. Producing a dagger from her waist, she stabbed it at the exposed face of the horseman with a small, hateful cry of her own...
-
Nauyaca chuckled into Alex's shoulder. He felt blood seep into his sleeve.
"I... I recognize that voice... it's my little junior librarian..."
|
|
|
Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jun 8, 2018 23:34:38 GMT
The orb struck true into the chest of the massive armored giant, sending the creature sprawling backwards are orange blood splattered across the city streets. The creature's body rapidly began to heat up as it lay still, a flame igniting within its body, before it exploded in an impressive display of fire and cinder, setting several of the nearby buildings on fire in the process.
Demogorgon's eye beams continued to wreck havoc upon the ranks of the smaller red-skinned warriors, but for every one that fell, more seemed to fill up behind them before they resumed their march towards her, undaunted by her terrible assault. Several turned their attention to the newcomer besides Demmy, rushing towards her with their shields raised to form a testudo formation.
Demmy's eye beam cut across the ranks of the massive ogre-like fiends, but they weathered the assault much better than their smaller brethren, mostly becoming bloodied and scarred as the beam ripped across their bodies. Enraged, the beasts loosed a roar in unison before rushing in formation towards the monstrous woman, pikes lowered to skewer her.
In the back, a volley of arrows fired towards the violet bar, their tips alight with crimson flame, intent on killing the woman who had blasted away several of their comrades at this point. __________________________________________
The massive ogre-like creature's head erupted in a shower of fiery orange gore from the blast, before it fell to the ground in a limp heap. A low hiss escaped its lips, almost as if death was a relief for it. However, Micah noticed that the creature's body began to fill with a fiery glow, as its veins and orifices began to radiate a burning light.... __________________________________________
The armored figure loosed a hideous cry of pain as the dagger pierced its flesh, spraying the assassin with hot, orange blood. The pain of the attack caused the knight-like creature to drop its lance in shock Enraged, the figure grabbed its diminutive opponent by the neck, eyes burning with a ruthless desire for revenge, before it attempted to smash her face in with its shield's edge...
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Jun 8, 2018 23:54:18 GMT
Demogorgon snarled as the ogre creature exploded into a fireball. She had to be careful, moreso than usual, when dealing with them. Otherwise, she could set the entire city ablaze with just their deaths. At least she had the Lebran woman here to help her... or so she hoped. Anyone who spouted being the warrior of some divine being was usually quick to turn into one of her enemies, and right now, she really didn't need that. Still, the main issue here was how to kill the exploders, without them setting the entire city ablaze?
And, how to cut the head from this army...
"Yes, Ma'am! I'll try my best!" Demmy called back to Wisma with her human, sweet smile on her face, before turning back to the flaming arrows and pikes aimed at her. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled as strong as she could. At once, the powerful gales of wind were channeled and focused upon the attacking intruders. The arrows aimed at her were blown back, and the pike charging giants were swept off their feet and tumbled through the air, one of them crashing back into the archers, and another into a lamp post, which snapped in half and fell ontop of it.
"You two, I need both of you to go and stop the core of this infestation." Her mental voice reached Xero and Chal, who had managed to down one of the large ogre creatures, and sheltered behind the trolley to avoid the resulting explosion.
"You mean you know how to stop this?! Well, I guess a demonic being would know best..." Xero muttered hunder his breath. "How, and where do we go, because this city can't handle this!"
"Based on what that bouncer said earlier, it is in a building in the slums area, two miles to the north and east of here. I can sense that is where this fell energy is coming from, and I do not have unlimited reserves to use."
Chal smirked, and hoisted her rifle. "Well, if it gets me away from all this heat, and cuts off where these bastards are coming from, then I'm game!" She grabbed Xero, and began to run out of cover, hurrying as fast as they could to avoid the demon army...
__________________________________
Micah's eyes widened as she recognized what was about to unfold. She turned and ran, but the fiend exploded before she made it more than a few steps. She found herself carried through the air by the force and heat of the explosion, and she landed with a thud onto a flipped over car...
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Jun 9, 2018 3:31:09 GMT
As the ogre-like creatures unhindered by debris or the twisted remains of their smaller comrades rose, reaffirming their grips and raising their voices once more, a dark shape fell upon them like a plunging raptor. Mussurana struck one heavily in the chest, toppling it with a groan as its sternum strained. The moment they hit the ground, the huge woman stabbed down with her spear, piercing the back of its mouth and skewering its brain.
"So much for the cavalry," said Wisma as she rose from where she had taken cover from the volley of arrows to pick off one of the contributing archers with her musket. She was quick to duck back down before what she knew was going to happened next.
The already black-clad form of the lebra woman became a lightless silhouette as the body of the fiend swelled from within with a crimson light, then erupted, smothering the street in a sea of flames. The fires that licked the surrounding buildings grew stronger. The flames were not the only thing to rise however. A tall, female figure materialized from the heart of the fire, chin raised proudly, apparently unconcerned with the infernal heat.
"The fires of Falajax are hotter," Mussurana announced before effortlessly sidestepping a pike thrust at her back. Turning on the horned humanoid responsible, she raised a flattered hand and slashed at its arms. A scarlet glow consumed the fair hand and allowed it to cleave through even the fireproof flesh of the ogre. It stumbled back without not only its weapon, but both its forearms. Chuckling at the sight, the lebran curled her flat hand into a loose fist. The severed limbs of the fiend collapsed to ash, and the soot rose into the air as if alive. Swirling between Mussurana's fingers, the animate ash took the shape of a fan of black daggers, which she promptly hurled at the line of archers hanging back from the action...
-
Gagging pitifully as her already damaged throat was crushed once again, Nita reached out desperately, fingertips coated by frost. One palm struck her assailant sharply in the nose, breaking it. Her other hand grasped at the face of the fiend, fingers searching for their eyes to gouge them out...
-
As the final vibrations of the explosion traveled from the dumpster into Alex's back, rattling his lungs and stealing his breath, he realized a fresh wave of warmth was flowing into his shirt.
"Y... Yaca?"
"H- Hey, Alex," she answered weakly. "S... So... I think that reopened my wound... s... sorry..."
"W... We need help!" Alex cried hoarsely to their rescuer. "S- She needs help! Now, p... please!"
|
|
|
Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jun 9, 2018 4:03:08 GMT
The lesser footsoldiers, though unwilling to surrender, have visibly had their ranks thinned. What once seemed like in insurmountable force was visibly running low on reinforcements, and though there were still plenty of the creatures, it was becoming obvious that they were no longer the unstoppable threat they were before. The corpses of their comrades served only to hinder their attempts at combatting their enemy, but they pushed forward as best they could, forming a shield wall to interfere with Demmy's beams, attempting to use their sheer force of numbers to distract her from the larger ogre-like beasts.
But not all of them focused their attention on the two protecting the violet bar, however. Roughly 20 of the human-like creatures turned their attention towards Xero and Chalodna, rapidly rushing towards them in their block formation with the intent to surround and butcher them...
Meanwhile, the remaining fiendish giants split themselves into two groups: 5 focused their attention on Demogorgon and 5 focused on Mussurana. The five focused on Demmy fired another volley of hellfire bolts upon her, hoping to strike her down from a distance and avoid her swirling winds. The remaining five turned to face Mussurana and formed a block formation, closing the distance before thrusting her pikes at her in unision in the hopes of one managing to skewer her...
The fiend snarled as its nose cracked, causing orange blood to drip down over its cracked, raw lips. The pain of the blow spared the fiend a gouged out eye, but also cost the assassin the opportunity to cripple the creature, as it dropped the assassin reflexively with the impact. Circling back around atop its fiery steed, the figure drew a vicious, single-edged blade from an ebon hilt, before it dismounted its steed and adopted a defensive stance, as if daring the assassin to challenge it.
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Jun 9, 2018 4:24:10 GMT
Demmy didn't bother to dodge the hellfire bolts. Rather, she welcomed the fact they were aiming at her. The flames poured upon her and sent her pain receptors into overdrive, creating fresh new wounds upon her frame. Yet, the flames parted, revealing the ever stretching manical smile on her face.
"My turn, infernals." She announced. The tentacles in the right eye socket spiraled forward, and stabbed into the middle fiendish giant's gut, before netheral energy surged through the tentacles and into the enemy. The giant exploded, but not of the usual fire, but as an amplified bomb of dark power. Those that had been around it were sent sprawling to the sides, two crashing into some of the remaining foot soldiers.
All the while, Molly found herself entranced once more by what Demmy was doing... but for some reason, the fear she had was slowly subsiding, and was being replaced with... thankfulness. It was clearly still the same Demmy she knew, firmly on her side, doing everything in her power to protect her and everyone in the bar.
"You can do it, Demmy! And you too, Mussu!" She found herself shouting.
___________________
"Hostiles chasing us!" Xero shouted. He tossed out a grenade he had on him into the approaching horde, and watched as it detonated beneath their feet. Several of the foot soldiers were crippled by the explosion, if not killed outright, yet there were still more that simply got up and kept after them.
Chal tapped onto her ear. "We're on Violet Street heading into the sub-urban district! We need support fire at once, if either of you two are open!"
The response came from a sniper round striking the lead foot soldier, and erupting within him, blowing him apart. "Yeah, I'm open. Vasaluta's getting into position near the source of the anomaly. She's located it as well."
"Good, now keep these fuckers off our tail so we can stop this!" Chal kept running with Xero, while more sniper rounds rang down from a tall building two blocks over...
_________________________
Micah groaned as she lifted herself off the upturned vehicle. "Help... Yes, I can help. Ears still ringing..." She said, before she pushed herself off and landed on her feet. She could taste copper in her mouth, and her left front tooth had been shattered by the impact, but she would live. She ambled over to where Alex and Nauyaca were.
"Show me where you're injured." Micah reached into her pockets for her personal first aid package. She never left the office without it, because Chalodna for some reason was a walking disaster zone waiting to happen.
High above the city, several of the large four eyed ravens watched the carnage unfold below. One especially had its eyes locked down on where Micah was, and let out a low, hissing caw...
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Jun 9, 2018 5:45:03 GMT
Stretching out a lanky arm, the lebra woman seized the shaft of the farthest pike and gave it an enormous tug, intercepting the rest with its gnarled head. A vein bulged from her arm when she heard Molly call out to her though, and the pole weapon snapped in two in her fist. Adapting quickly to her own outburst, she released the splintered shaft, sending the ogre that pulled at it onto its bottom, and snatched the head as it fell spinning towards the ground.
"My name," hissed the giant lebran, her voice absolutely venomous, "is Mussurana!"
She swung her arm out in a wide arc and slit the throats of three of the fiends. They silently fell backwards and bathed an unfortunate building in flames as they exploded. Leaping out of the raging flames like a demon, she gripped the skull the last infernal soldier left standing with barbed claws made of compact carbon and attempted to slam its head down into that of its fallen comrade, planting a knee in its gut to double it over and begin the process...
-
Grasping her red-ringed throat and heaving raggedly, the small humanoid stared down the armored figure for a long moment.
Then, she spoke.
"I... Idiot."
With a clench of her fist, the assassin vanished from sight. A moment later, small footsteps could be heard fleeing to the west.
-
"Y... You better look close, doc," Nauyaca coughed, "because it's small. P- Pretty hard to see, y... you know..."
Alex hesitantly removed his hand from the wound, letting the Pientan peeled away what remained of her shirt. The young man began instinctively moving his eyes away from her bare chest before seeing it was featureless and recalling that, as bipedal squamates, borans had no mammaries. Nauyaca managed to send him an amused smirk despite the blood trickling from her lips. "T... Take it in, big guy... m- might be the only time you see this..."
Alex only squeezed her hand in response.
The wound on her side was deep, at least three inches. It t stretched nearly thrice that in length. Mercifully, it was a clean cut. The head of the twisted pole arm had passed between her ribs, at most nicking one. It bled freely, but not as torrentially as one might expect.
"P... Pientans are tough," the librarian explained. "O- Our blood vessels contract to slow bleeding. P... Pretty neat, right?"
|
|
|
Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jul 10, 2018 4:30:22 GMT
The infernal giants facing Demmy quickly pushed themselves back to their feet, ignoring the mangled remains of their allies that had been crushed beneath their bulk and their nasty burn-like wounds from the nethereal energy. Within their simple minds, an infernal voice hissed a command: distract the woman, allow the other soldiers to regroup and assail other areas. Following this command without heed to their safety, the giants quickly maneuvered themselves into position to surround Demmy, before lashing out in unison with their twisted pikes...
The strength of the pientan caught the infernal giant by surprise as the two heads of the fiends slammed together. The impact dazed the two creatures, leaving Mussurana an opening to finish both of them....
The remaining footsoldiers near the violet bar, realizing that they were outmatched, attempted to regroup themselves into a different formation. A new command pressed itself into their obedient minds: ignore the two superhuman warriors, and instead focus on destroying as much of the town as physically possible. Having no option to disobey, the red-tinged humanoids moved out, ignoring the intense conflict and instead moving around into the remaining city, searching for humans to butcher and setting fire to surrounding structures with their infernal arrows...
The knight-like creature snorted as his foe ran off into the shadows, not even bothering to chase the figure. The figure instead summoned his fiery steed once more, examining his surroundings. A powerful presence asserted itself within his mind, overwhelming his own sensibilities in the process. The voice demanded he aid the soldiers chasing the two guards heading deeper into the city. The creature caught wind of the sounds of powerful rifle blasts and saw several of his infantry exploding violently from the resulting gunshots. Smiling, the knight shot through the air like a fiery meteorite towards the source of the resounding gunfire, aiming to crash into it and set the building ablaze...
The soldiers, focused on Xero and Chalodna, quickly began to keep up their hustle, paying no heed to the deaths of their comrades, though many were too crippled to keep up the pursuit and simply turned to destroying nearby structures. Many threw their spears at the duo in an attempt to cut them down, the iron weapons flying not too far but striking ground and wood with audible, terrifying weight...
Another roar seemed to emerge from within the depths of the city, seemingly echoing from the source of the madness. The sounds of heavier footfalls rung through the city streets, signaling the arrival of something new... and much worse than before...
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Jul 10, 2018 5:31:38 GMT
The pikes pierced through the body of the demon, and Demmy's eyes widened at the pain that coursed through her body. Black blood spilled down onto the ground beneath her feet...
Yet, she chuckled.
"Congratulations... you played yourselves."
With a blood curling scream that ripped from her throat, Demmy channeled the inner netheral powers she held and discharged them through her body... which meant up the infernal giant's pikes and into their bodies. The demons's bodies were wracked and assailed by the dark energy, and they found themselves being blasted through the air and off their feet, sprawling for dozens of meters before they exploded away from the bar.
"Now... to just not be a pincushion..." Demmy stammered, as she began to pull out the pikes from her body, only to freeze at the sound of a new roar. "Oh JOOOOOY."
"O-oh. Sorry, Mussurana!" Molly was quick to fix her error, before she looked back at Demmy. "Demmy, are you okay?! Do you need ai-"
"Stay back where it's safe. We're not done out here yet." Demmy hissed, pulling one pike out of her, and nearly dropping to her knee from the pain. She was far from death from these... but that didn't make the pain any less real...
____________________
"Oh no... Sorry you two, I have my own problem here!"
The sniper in question had barely managed to spot the oncoming knight of death flying through the air. The sniper, wrapped in a brown sheet of sorts, swerved their gun to face the incoming threat and quickly fired two shots. hoping to either hit it or divert it away. If not, they were ready to hop out of the window down onto the balcony below...
________________
"Well ain't that just peachy!" Chalodna hissed as she and Xero swerved to the side, barely avoiding the heavy impacts from the spears. "We have to outrun these assholes now, or hope Vasaluta's in range to cover for us."
"Knowing the fat troll, she's taking her sweet time." Xero panicked, throwing another grenade back at the approaching soldiers.
_______________
"That is... rather neat." Micah surveyed the cut carefully. If she had been surprised by the lack of female anatomy on the librarian, she hadn't shown it for even a moment. From her first aid med, she pulled out a small tube, and opened the front of it.
"Sealing cream. Aids in cellular regeneration and prevents blood from spilling out." She ran the open end across Nauyaca's gash, and gently pressed against the tube. A thick creamy layering, similar to tooth paste, squeezed out and ran across the top of the gash. Once it ran the length, Micah closed the tube up, and gently pressed the cream into the open wound. "Now it won't bleed out, and in a day or two, you should be good as new."
|
|
|
Post by Stage on Jul 10, 2018 18:09:27 GMT
As the crimson cavalier shot away in a ball of flames, the small, battered form of the assassin, back slumped against an air vent, rematerialized, only feet from where she had vanished. The footsteps had merely been an illusion to fool the fiend, but it appeared as if they had not been needed.
"S... S-Stupid..."
Forcing herself to her feet, the diminutive hitwoman scurried across several more rooftops, nearly missing a jump once. She was exhausted and injured, but had suffered too much to give up now. She would have the girl's head. She swore it.
And she soon stumbled upon the chance to. Clearing the final gap between two rooftops, the tiny woman found the building she was looking for. She had recognized the uniform the girl wore.
Icy eyes scanned the situation. It seemed the girl's workplace was an epicenter within the chaos. Two dark-haired women were engaging a number of reddish soldiers, and they appeared to be far and away superior. One of them was familiar. The tiny assassin glowered. She was tempted to put another arrow through the woman's throat, but a much greater opportunity was before her: the girl. She was leaning out of a window like an idiot. And with her friend distracted-
The hitwoman smiled coldly as she pressed herself flat against the roof and lined up a shot...
-
Throughout the battle, Mussurana had been habitual scanning the rooftops around her. It was an old, deeply ingrained instinct in the lebran warrior. Battles on Pienta raged through treetops and not keeping an eye trained above would often cost one dearly. It had so far been fruitless, but now it allowed the female giant to spy something twinkling on the roof adjacent: a crossbow.
The coal black eyes of the lebran traced where the weapon was aimed. When they reached its target, they narrowed slightly.
How interesting.
Returning her gaze down to the groaning ogres felled by her in human strength, the self-proclaimed demigod formed a set of ashed claws around her hands and slashed down, severing the spine of one giant and ripping into the throat of the others.
BOOM!
As another pair of fireballs rocked the street, the balled form of Mussurana spiraled up, riding the shock wave to perform a tremendous back flip. No sooner than the lebran planted her heels on the ledge in front of Molly, she heard the click of the bolt leaving the crossbow. With the speed of a striking viper and the precision of a diving falcon, the ebony-haired woman snatched the iron-tipped bolt from the air, only feet away from the bespectacled girl it has been intended for.
"A friend?" she asked Molly, twirling the bolt and glancing across the street at its small, bewildered-looking owner.
-
As the hellish knight tore across the firelit horizon like a comet, a shard of the night sky tore away to intercept it. A dark figure aloft on wide, shadowy wings collided with the lance-bearer, tackling it from its ethereal steed.
Plunging towards the city, the red solider and the ebon stranger crashed down before Chalodna and Xero, their impact only made nonlethal by the billowing of the newcomer's black wings. Flexible, boneless wings steering the unknown intruder away from the fiend as they tumbled and bounced across the ground, it deftly flipped to its feet, which were mounted on long, spidery legs attached to an otherwise human body. Although the form of the interloper was vaguely human, features such as its solid black eyes, which glared at the fallen fiend so coldly it made the surrounding flames seem only lukewarm, were not.
-
"T... Thanks, Junior," Nauyaca smiled weakly. "T-Tell you what... you can stay after hours from now on if y-you want... y... you seem like the sort to fall asleep in a library."
Trembling hands grasped Micah's gratefully. Alex's voice shook as well. "T-Thank you s-so much... th-... thank you..."
|
|
|
Post by Orcus on his Throne on Jul 10, 2018 19:02:03 GMT
Heavy footfalls rung through the city streets, like the clang of iron against the earth. The sound grew closer and closer to the area near the violet bar, but it seemed as though the source of the noise was purposefully avoiding the bar now. Through the smoke, flames, and mounds of bodies, one could make out massive, iron-clad figures, around 7 feet tall, marching through the city streets. The creatures looked like animated statues rather than living creatures, for their bodies appeared to be made completely out of metal. Moving out, the creatures would periodically disappear into the fire and smoke, followed by the sounds of collapsing buildings. It seemed as though the creatures had a different task than their comrades....
The soldiers, overly focused on their pursuit of Chal and Xero, failed to notice the approaching grenade. The explosion erupted amongst their ranks, very quickly slimming down their force of around 16 to merely eight, leaving mangled corpses in the explosive's wake. Despite suffering from heavy casualties at this point, the small squad continued running after the two guards, intent on blocking their advance....
The knightly fiend snorted, spitting out a glob of orange-hued blood. The figure pushed himself to his feet and dusted himself off, picking up his sword and shield in the process. The figure turned to face the wiry figure, his fiendish gaze locking with the newcomer's. The infernal warrior took pause, observing his foe closely, before he spoke, his voice like that of a chain smoker.
"Vis sont nin onos airom. Qoura uoxeleum elles?"
|
|
|
Post by Executus Gira on Jul 10, 2018 23:41:30 GMT
Molly's face paled as she saw the arrow Mussu had caught. That... that had been aimed at her. Her eyes followed Mussu's, and what little color was left in her face paled even further when she recognized the distant form.
"That's the murderer! The assassin!" Molly squealed, scrambling to get as far away from the window as possible. "Not again, not again!"
Demmy had been too focused on the distant armored titans to notice the arrow, but Molly's screaming had brought her attention back to Molly, and where she was looking. It only took Demmy a moment to connect the dots, and when she did, she shifted her gaze over toward the distant assassin.
"As much a friend as these infernals are." Demmy sneered. Three of eye tentacles were locked on the assassin, and the ends began to glow a deep dark red... while the others prepared to fire on any of the iron giants if they returned...
______________________
The sniper in the building breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness... the attacker was preoccupied with... something else. Was that a renegade demon, or... "Scratch what I said before. I'll help you pick off the attackers." The sniper said, with a decidedly male voice.
"Glad to hear that." Chal managed a weak grin, before she aimed her gun back and fired into the attacking infernals. She could see the newcomer squaring off against a decidedly more evil being, and right now, the last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near that fight..
"And why not just keep running?" Xero asked.
"because if we run, they'll just keep chasing, so clear out the enemy, then we can advance forward."
__________________________
"I might take you up on that offer..." Micah said. "I'm sure the library's quiet after hours, and peaceful. Chal's snores make it hard to sleep."
She put the tube away into the first aid med, and put that away as well. "Can you stand? Do you need help to move? A place to rest for now?"
|
|