Chapter 34: Sower of Discord (Part 3)
Meanwhile…
"Wait, you hear that?" Akai asks, running alongside Hayabusa and Kagura. "Is that…"
"It's Cyclops!" Hayabusa acknowledges. "Kagura, where's it coming from?!"
"The whole place is demolished… he might be under the rubble!"
Cyclops' faint cry for help echoed around, confusing the trio. Hayabusa teleports around the destroyed infrastructure, trying to find anything, either it be a face or a limb that resembled the little giant. He returns without results.
"Can't find him anywhere… the demons are closing in, we need to-"
"H-Help! Help me!"
The three turn around and see Cyclops walking out of the rubble, missing his hat. His clothes were slightly tattered and charred on the edge. His tiny arm was simply hanging lifeless (indicating it is broken) while he clutched to two objects on his right arm.
"Cyclops!" Kagura ran, embracing the mage. "H-Hey, what happened?"
"Ships… Cyclops saw ships falling… we couldn't get out, so many flying things-"
"W-Wait… Cyclops," Akai interrupts, growing nervous. "U-Um… where's Nana and Harley?"
Cyclops lifts his right arm and shows what he was holding: A tattered, black hat and a pink fleece jacket. Kagura gasped in shock.
"No…"
The mage easily burst into tears again, smothering his single eye to the objects.
"I d-didn't see it coming… I didn't save them!"
"N-No, no, no one saw it coming, Cyc," Hayabusa comforted. "It's okay… it's okay-"
"T-They're dead… Lance and Odette is dead, too! I couldn't-"
"Hey, listen to me!" Hayabusa says, putting his hand on Cyclops' shoulder. "Listen to me… It's okay, we suffered losses ourselves… Kagura and I, we lost our clans. We lost Hanabi and Furukuzi, and we moved on. If we did, then you can, too. I know, it's a stubborn burden, but this is part of the job description, okay?"
A loud roar was heard from the field, and Akai squints his eyes to try and see clearly the moving target from a hundred meters away. "Dudes, it's one of those big things! We need to go!"
"Akai, take Cyclops with you and go to Lesley!" Kagura commands, carrying the mage. "Inform her of her brother!"
"Wait, what?"
"We'll cover you! You need to bring Cyclops to her, now!" she pressed. "The demons out there are too many, you won't be able to take them out!"
"But-"
"Come on, Akai! This is your only chance!" Hayabusa eggs.
The panda nods. "So, whatcha say, Frogger? This may be our last delivery!"
The frog on his hat croaked with determination. Akai grins as he carries Cyclops onto his arms, the hourglass digging onto his armor. "I won't let the two of you down!"
"Then we'll consider it handled. Go, we got this!"
Akai gears up and jumps off the ground, reaching a tremendous height. He lands on one of the intact structures before leaping again.
Hayabusa then turns his attention to the approaching demon horde. "Well… what next?"
"Give them the time we need."
"I doubt we'll last five minutes," the ninja jokes nervously. The Wretch would take 20 seconds to reach the two of them. "Any last kiss before all this?"
"No, let's just do it in the afterlife."
"Okay, situation handled." Hayabusa pulls out his katana and does a basic stance, preparing to strike. "Let's do this…"
"For Hanabi and Furukuzi!"
"For the Land of Dawn!"
The two charge straight to the Wretch as it tries to butt them with its head. Kagura launches her umbrella to the side and teleports before throwing it again at the Wretch, surprisingly stunning it and throwing it off to the side, crashing onto a building. Metal rods hit the head of the Wretch, and as the rods fall, Hayabusa teleports and kicks one of the rods straight into the Wretch, forcing it to pierce its skull. The demon groans in pain as Kagura slams it further into the building, concrete boulders crashing onto its body. Hayabusa dissipates into the shadows and eviscerates the head of the Wretch, finally killing it. He lands down and cleans his blade with a swipe.
"That's it?"
"Ravagers behind us, stay sharp," Kagura dictates. She points to the horde of demons sprinting to their location. "Let me handle this."
"Reapers up my front."
"Morphlings and Hellhounds to the side!"
"Great, they covered us. But this is what we want. C'mon, Kagura, let's give 'em hell!"
As the two fought against the hordes, Rafaela was growing anxious. She was with Uranus, Kaja and Estes, along with the Royal Guard and a few Nazar.
"Rafaela… is something wrong?" Estes asks.
"The lovers… their curse urges its escape."
"You mean Hayabusa and Kagura? They're engaged in combat?"
"My senses tell me they stayed put to give way for the panda and Cyclops… but the latter pair will not make it to Gossen and-"
"That's not important. What about the curse?"
"I believe… we might have to bring it back," the angel suggests, looking onto the whole landscape. Fires were raging around, and the shouts and roars of the soldiers and monsters faintly echoed. "It can wipe out a wide area, and it's too risky. Gossen and his group are too close, and the other groups can get caught by the force winds-"
"It's your call," Estes finalizes. "What matters is that we've given Alucard enough time with the gem. It's your decision to make… And I know you will make the right choice."
Meanwhile…
"Akai… w-where are we going?"
"To Lesley and Gossen, we'll try and stay there," the panda said.
"But, Hayabusa and-"
"They're staying put. We're leaving them there-"
"But-"
"I know, I know… if only it doesn't end this way… everyone dying."
"Then, we need to-"
Akai suddenly gets knocked to the ground by an unseen force, easily crashing down. He was able to grip Cyclops closely on time, the both of them surviving the fall. The panda looks around, shaking his head.
"AKAI!"
"I'm a-alright, it's alright…"
Cyclops shakes the dizziness from his head and pushes off Akai's arm, trying to take a look around. He sees a black figure floating above in front of them, shrouded by thick smoke.
"It's him!"
"Who, the Dark Lord?" Akai asks, forcing himself to stay alert. "Cyc, go! I'll take care of this!"
"We can't!"
"What?! Why not?"
Cyclops points to the other end of the road. A swarm of Ravagers were now sprinting to their location, accelerating faster.
"Screw it." Akai quickly grabs Cyclops and leaps high into the air, seeking to escape, but a large, black hammer slams them back into where they leapt of, breaking Akai's staff. Cyclops' hourglass only received a few cracks, however.
"You can't find a way out of this one, panda," Andras called out. "You will suffer a fate akin to his friends'." He slowly raises his finger and points to Cyclops. The mage quickly summons orbs of cosmic energy, his blue eye angry.
"I'm tired of running… Akai, let's do this!"
"What?"
"Hahahahah! How brave!" Andras summons a sword and brings it down upon the duo. Akai steps forward and kicks it off, spinning off into the air until suddenly regaining control and flying back. The panda raises his arms and deflects the blade with his forearm armor. The Dark Lord dismissively sighs, throwing more and more swords, but Akai keeps deflecting them one by one, preventing them from reaching Cyclops. The young mage fires his cosmic balls to the swords, causing them to spontaneously dissipate before they could reach him.
"O-Okay! Now we're talking!" Akai leaps up and balls into the air like a wrecking ball, slamming butt-first onto Andras. The Dark Lord falls from the air along with Akaia, crashing onto the ground. He rolls and regains his footing, angling his arms back before throwing them forward, unleashing a volley of swords and arrows onto Akai. The panda proceeds to block most of them, but an arrow slightly punctures his chest armor, nearly reaching his skin.
"Akai, be careful! I'll provide fire!" Cyclops throws a wave of stardust onto Andras, the cosmic energy diminishing the Dark Lord's aura. Andras tries to shake them off, but the stardust clings to his armor, preventing the aura from coming. Akai jumps and lands a punch onto the armor, creating a small dent on it.
"I won't let you breathe!" Akai began landing a flurry of punches and kicks, nearly subduing the Dark Lord. He kicks Andras on the groin, but instead of hurting Andras, Akai's foot sprained due to the toughness of the armor.
"Then I won't let you live!" Andras manages to shed off the energy and unleashes a volley of swords around the vicinity, spreading off into vector-based directions. Akai gets thrown back, two blades piercing through his big belly. Cyclops covers himself with his arms as he was too late to escape from Akai's trajectory. The two of them skid along the dirty asphalt, the panda struggling to get up.
"I can go through the palace all I want, but I desire that all of you be dead before me," Andras said, conjuring axes and blades. They fly off and slash at Akai, the panda covering himself. An axe breaks through the armor and pushes him back a few meters. "The ninja and his muse will soon die from my pets… Do you think I know not the curse?!"
"Cheeky thing, just keep monologuing," Cyclops mutters, bringing out his hourglass and configuring it. "Just do it… Stupid."
Akai stood up and raises his fists, charging towards Andras again. The Dark Lord conjured swords bit by bit, stabbing Akai's torso over and over as he approached. The panda slowed subsequently, falling to his knees as he was a meter close to the Dark Lord. He simply falls on his belly, the swords still keeping him hoisted. Andras wills the weapons to dissipate and Akai drops instantly, bleeding on the ground.
The Dark Lord approaches Cyclops as the mage configures his hourglass, the artifact glowing with blue and white specks of energy.
Akai tries to stand, holding back the pain and the bleeding. "Hey… I'm not d-done yet, you freaking-"
He stops talking. An axe lodges itself onto Akai's head, slicing his skull and killing him. The frog on his hat jumps off and leaps onto Andras, but the Dark Lord catches it in mid-air and crushes it with his fist. He throws the mess forcefully onto the ground and stomps it with his foot, grinding the asphalt with the metal boot.
"Now… the lonely… 'giant'."
Cyclops finishes changing the settings of the hourglass as it grew brighter and hotter, frantically looking around him. The demons have already cornered his only exit. Cyclops tries to run to the sidewalk, but Andras catches Cyclops by the neck and proceeds to tighten his grip, on the mage, suffocating him.
"I've been rather unkindly with the others… Don't worry, little one. This will not hurt as much."
Cyclops held on to the hourglass. A low, humming noise could be heard from within it. He pulls the handle of the hourglass, somewhat 'unlocking' it.
"Cyclops will avenge… Nana and Harley!"
He 'locks' it back by pushing it down, causing the whole block to explode outward in a huge wave of cosmic energy, the demons either disintegrating or turned to ice. Some demons were able to sustain injuries, but they suffered severe lacerations, burns, or frostbite from the ordeal. Andras was on his knees as the cosmic power began acting against the armor, causing it to collapse inward and crush the spirit.
"Rrrrrrggghhhh! Gah, that youngling… I should've known better about the little mage…" Andras muttered to himself and recovers his black aura, the energy slowly fading and dissipating away from him. His armor slowly mended, but some of the damage was irreparable due to the severity of the sustained attacks. His cape slowly flowed in the breeze, tattered due to the combat wearing off its quality. He looks around for the mage, peering onto the epicenter of the blast. There was a large, circular scorch mark around, peppered by flecks of white dust and cerulean streaks. Both Cyclops nor the hourglass couldn't be found.
"I don't need any more clones… I will put them back to me. There are more to end… And it will be done. The world will meet its fate."
Meanwhile…
"Kagura, on your right!"
Kagura slams her umbrella to another Wretch, purple energy streaking off of the weapon. The demon recoils before charging again. Hayabusa teleports within its open jaws and stabs its upper jaw, hitting the brain. The Wretch stops in its tracks and slumps down as the ninja teleports back to Kagura, throwing a volley of shuriken and kunai at the Hellhounds.
"In a minute, we're done for-"
"Don't say that, we still have one more trump card!" Kagura exclaims. She throws her umbrella within a group of Ravagers and teleports within it. Kagura unleashes the energy within the umbrella, bursting the area around her with purple light. Suddenly, a Reaper knocks her off, disarming the mage. Kagura recovers her footing and shoots beams of pink energy towards the demon, but it was barely fazed or hurt. It proceeded to grab the umbrella and tried to tear it down.
Hayabusa notices it and curses to himself. "Oh, I won't do that if I were-"
The Reaper breaks the frame of the umbrella along with the canopy, and instantaneously, the weapon explodes, releasing the hundreds of spirits of the monsters that were encased within it. A dark, scarlet cloud flowed around in the air, dozens of contorted and warped faces of demons seemingly forming around the cloud.
"Crap, this is not good!" Kagura yells. "Hayabusa, we need to take cover!"
"How long before they dissipate?!"
"About a couple more seconds!"
"Wait… I don't think we need to take cover…"
"What?"
Hayabusa points to the cloud that was beginning to diverge into smaller clouds, sparks of lightning emanating from within them. They began coursing through the infrastructure and around the streets, phasing through the demons that were approaching the duo. The enemies suddenly become scorched from the lightning, still shaking from the shock. A few received immense lacerations around their body, and they died, presumably from the blood loss. On rare occasion, the whole demon's body would disintegrate into nothingness as they came into contact with the clouds.
"Is the area clear?" Kagura asked, trying to get out of the building they were in, which was a tidy café.
"Let me check… Just a Wretch. I'll deal with it." Hayabusa teleports into the street and faces the demon. "Hey! Big mouth! Right here!"
The Wretch turns its head to Hayabusa, looking down on him and snarling.
"Yeah… that's right… c'mon…" The ninja was waiting for the spirit cloud to grow nearer. "Steady…"
The Wretch roared and charged at Haya, its jaws wide open. He teleports above the Wretch and stabs its spinal cord, causing it to yelp in pain and stop abruptly. The dark cloud coats over the Wretch and the demon mistakenly inhales the gas. Hayabusa could feel the dark energy combusting within the demon.
"Haya, get off!"
The ninja takes Kagura's advice and gets up, nearly getting caught by the explosion of viscera and purple energy. He lands on the ground, safe and sound, the blood of the Wretch splattering on his armor.
"Disgusting…"
"Your sword…"
"What about my- Damn it." Hayabusa's sword was broken in two. It has no use for him anymore. He drops the blade in disgust. "No more weapons… except for one."
"Yeah… does Rafaela know?"
"She knows…"
The two of them stand on the center of the avenue, their backs on each other. The two of them were panting, somewhat exhausted.
"How about Akai?"
"He… I hope he made it."
Hayabusa nods in agreement. He eyes a wave of demons approaching his side of the street. "Kagura… We're gonna need it any second now."
"I agree!" she answers back, looking at the group of Wretches that were sprinting at them. "C'mon…"
In the front of the citadel, Rafaela and Estes were now reversing the lockdown of the curse. The black essence of the curse was trying to break free of the transparent prison it was in.
"Faster, Estes!"
"Calm yourself… It will be no more than a few seconds… Done!"
The orb shatters instantly, the shards falling to the ground. The accursed essence suddenly zooms into the sky, straight toward Hayabusa and Kagura's location.
"We did the right thing," Estes told the angel. "No sin committed. This is the plan."
"I hope… the Dark Lord has approached Gossen and Lesley. It won't be long before it reaches Tigreal."
"Alucard is almost done with the Gem. I can feel its energy radiating from here. All we need to do is wait."
Meanwhile…
"Haya…"
Kagura points to a black meteor in the sky, falling towards them. "It's here."
"Ready, Kagura, on the count of three…"
"Two…"
"One!" The duo counted simultaneously as the essence enveloped around them, scarlet prominences of energy arcing around their bodies. Hayabusa and Kagura grunted in pain and shock as explosive energy begins coursing through their bodies, already creating the destructive reaction.
"BREAK!" Hayabusa suddenly zooms through the asphalt and breaking it down, leaving a trail of volatile soul energy that obliterated the demons. Kagura burst through to her side in a flash, clearing half of the street in mere seconds.
"This feels… immense…" Hayabusa muttered. "But… it's killing us… we need to… wipe as much as we can…"
"Before they reach the citadel!" Kagura zips around and kicks a Wretch to a weak structure, causing the building to collapse and crush it to death. The mage punches through the bodies of Ravagers and Hellhounds, fist-sized holes and craters appearing on their bodies as they fell instantly. Kagura noticed her arms and hands, small specks of purple and white energy covering them.
"Haya… one more minute!"
"Don't take my kills!" the ninja joked, but he was growing nervous, as the energy was beginning to corrupt his body as well. "C'mon, don't combust!"
"More Spitfires and Hellbats going down!" the mage warns before skyrocketing to the atmosphere, taking down the flying demons one by one. Hayabusa obliterates a Reaper before following her, taking down a few Hellbats as well.
"Look, he's fighting Lesley and Gossen!" Hayabusa points. Andras was clashing against the assassin, and most of the swords that Gossen threw were being deflected. He begins to dive down, but Kagura clutches his arm and embraces him. "W-Wait, we have to help-"
"WE CAN'T, OR WE'LL BE KILLING THEM INSTEAD!"
"But-"
Kagura kisses him lightly. "IT'S OKAY! We know we won… We don't need to worry anymore… We'll see them again, okay?"
Hayabusa, dumbfounded, simply wraps his arms around Kagura's waist and lays his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes.
"It's alright… We've done our part."
"Okay… I believe you."
"Don't let me go… let us fall again…"
The two of them began to spontaneously combust, their souls growing even more volatile by the second. The purple energy arced around them, like dust from a comet as they fell burning, their bodies glowing with immense energy.
"Furukuzi…" Kagura closes her eyes, smiling.
"Hanabi…" Hayabusa closes his, determined and content.
"We'll see you again!"
The two crash to the ground and explode in a burst of energy and destructive flame, immediately collapsing the structures around the epicenter of the blast. The demons try to outrun the energy, but they disintegrate as they get caught within the radius, the explosion spanning about a few kilometers, the winds travelling further than the energy with unmatched speed…
Meanwhile…
Gossen crawls on the ground, his lower left leg roughly severed. Andras summons a sword and impales Gossen on the back, preventing him from moving. The assassin screams in pain, slamming his clenched fist on the ground.
"You can say goodbye to her before you meet her again," Andras mocked. Gossen looks up and sees Lesley's dead body, her braid undone. Her rifle lay next to her, broken. He cursed himself. It was a work of art, that weapon of hers… Only to be destroyed by the Dark Lord himself…
"Screw you," Gossen spat. "I know of your infamy… No one will forget!"
"Oh, they will, one by one." Andras conjures an axe and strikes it onto Gossen's head, killing the assassin. He forcibly pulls the axe back to him, the weapon also pulling Gossen's body until his upper half tears off of his legs.
"This… is fun," Andras remarked, holding the axe with Gossen's body still hanging on the blade. He dematerializes the weapon, and the upper half of the body falls into the ground, the intestines trailing on the ground. The Dark Lord begins to advance, but a whole gale blows from his left, slightly disorienting his balance. Andras covers his arm as pieces of ash and debris began blowing to his direction, as well as a few bodies of soldiers, civilians and demons. Specks of blood, cinders and clouds of dust were carried by the strong winds for a few seconds before slowly dissipating. Andras stood upright and brushed off the dust on his arm.
"At least there will be much less of a hassle… Now, Tigreal, where are you?"
The Dark Lord looks in front of him. The citadel of the Land of Dawn was nearing, but he'd have to act even faster.
"They are occupied… Hah." Andras slowly transforms into a cloud of smoke before preparing his trajectory. "I got you now."
He suddenly dashes at supersonic speed, some of the lampposts and windows breaking from the force. Andras suddenly materializes back into his armor and conjures gauntlet blades on each of his wrists. He digs his armored shoes to the ground, breaking the asphalt off as he slices through Natalia, the assassin unawares. Andras slides around and begins to clash against Tigreal who was just finished killing a Ravager.
"N-NATALIA!"
"Ah, look at you… Surprised, aren't you?" Andras chuckles, his gauntlet blades turning into dual broadswords. "Give me a challenge and stop making me bored."
Tigreal yells and charges forward, blocking Andras' strikes and stabs, but the Dark Lord sidesteps before slashing at the gilded knight's legs. Tigreal grunts in pain as Andras tries to cut through the armor, but it was only receiving scratches.
"Tigreal!" Roger calls out, trying to help, but Andras throws a black dagger to the hunter's chest. Roger drops to the ground, clutching the dagger and trying to pull it off. "Agh… hold on!"
"Papa?" Ruby calls out, wiping the sweat off of her forehead. She sees Natalia's body lying dead on the ground, a pool of blood emerging from the gash on her stomach. Ruby covers her face in shock, a murderous urge suddenly burning in her chest.
"NO! Hold it back… no!"
"Roger, get out of here!" Tigreal warns. "You need to flee!"
"You heard the knight, let's go!" Roger beckons, trying to stand up. "Ruby, follow me!" He grabs her hand and retreats as fast as they can. Roger turns into a werewolf mid-leap and Ruby rides on his back, wielding her bloody scythe.
"I smell… Ah, someone familiar resides within the girl, I see!" Andras cackles. "A brother of mine, a scoundrel, resting within her!"
"W-What?" Tigreal asks, panting.
"You don't know? Hahahahahah! A bastard fuels her drive, knight, and you won't live long enough to find out!"
"We'll see!" Tigreal bashes Andras with his shield, but the Dark Lord conjures swords during the bash, making punctures on the shield. One of the blades pierce through the shield and Tigreal's arm, causing the knight to drop his arm. Andras summons his gauntlet blades and stabs through Tigreal's armor before spinning away in a flash. The gilded knight drops on one knee, supporting himself with his sword.
"Do you see how I killed her with one fell strike?" Andras asked, pointing at Natalia's corpse. "Consider yourself extremely lucky!" He uppercuts Tigreal, but the knight manages to recover from this attack and stabs his sword straight onto the spirit's chestplate. As the sword was blessed, Andras screamed in pain, the blade burning the spirit.
Tigreal grunts as he tries to stand again and tackles Andras down. He grabs his shield and uses the sharp, bottom corner and slams it on Andras' neck, creating a worsening sear mark on the obsidian armor.
"You… will… stay… down!" he growls, striking his shield down with every word. Tigreal then pulls out his blade, but the Dark Lord raises his arms, preventing the blade from plunging onto his face. The sword began to burn through Andras' armor, and he wills blades from the ground and stabs Tigreal's sides with them repeatedly. The knight loses his grip and Andras recovers, phasing upright.
"Sorry… But I will not miss a reunion of a lifetime." Andras then launches his chain sickle, piercing through Tigreal's body. The hook latches itself onto his back as Andras leaped around, causing the chain of the weapon to wrap around the knight's body. Tigreal screams in pain as the chain began to restrict itself tighter onto his body, crushing his bones and skin. Andras then phases through the ground, looping the chain around before appearing back to his original position. He pulls the chain with sudden force, and the knight bursts into two halves, the viscera splattering on the nearby cobblestone.
Andras sheathes back the chain sickle and dematerializes it.
"Glasya-Labolas… flee from that young maiden and face me!"
Meanwhile…
"Papa… they are too many!"
Ruby pulls a Hellhound's body to her and slashes it sideways, cutting it in two. She leaps up and digs the blade of her scythe onto the socket of a Wretch, furiously tearing it up and pulling her blade out from the skull, killing the demon. She collapses to her knees from exhaustion, her knuckles bleeding.
"Papa?" Ruby turns around to see the werewolf, his furry skin mangled with severe wounds and bite marks. "P-Papa?!"
She races to Roger and cradles him. The injuries were insane and tremendously difficult to mend, he would die from the bleeding within the minute.
"P-Papa… talk to me…" Ruby shakes Roger up to try and get his attention. The wolf's head slowly rotated to face her, making quiet, whimpering sounds. Roger lifted his claw up to Ruby's hand and gripped it, basically clinging to her. Ruby's tears silently fell down, and she saw the light on Roger's eyes begin to die out.
"N-NO! No, no no no no, NO! Don't go… Not yet… I can't take it, I don't wanna… Papa!"
The werewolf slowly closed his eyes as his breathing slowed, more and more blood pouring out of from his wounds. Ruby began clenching her fists, but tried to hold back the feeling. She lowered her body and clutched Roger's body.
"No, please, not yet… Not you too! Damn it, please…"
Roger's head slumped sideward as his breathing abruptly stopped. Ruby was in a state of panic. She tries to hear his heartbeat, but it wasn't there.
"NO! PAPA!!! PAPAAAA!!! DON'T LET ME GO!!! NO!!!"
She began to cry, balling her hands and slamming it to the ground. Ruby didn't notice that she was basically breaking the asphalt with her strikes. She covered her eyes and tried to calm down, but a familiar voice began to whisper in her head.
"Look at him… All because you wanted to hold back."
"Grrrr… shut up…" Ruby mentally said. "Not.. now…"
"But I know you… You know what lover boy said to you! Let. Go. You promised, yes?"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" she shouted, her voice beginning to warp. "SHUT UP! STOP… making me hear… THOSE SCREAMS!!!"
"The screams? Of those you murdered, of those they murdered? Tsk tsk tsk… I know what you want, little one. All that you know is gone, and guess what? You will die, anyway… so why not give it up for one… last… dance?"
"SHUT… UUUUUPPPPP!!!" Ruby vocalized, scratching and tearing at her hair. She dug her head into the ground, trying to cover her ears. As Andras grew near, her urges began to intensify, and she slammed her forehead into the asphalt, trying to stop it.
"You wish to kill, Ruby… I've been with you ever since little old grammie got cut open like a pig fresh from the sty."
"S-S-SCREW YOU!"
"Oh, do not deny it… They haunt you every night, yes? That's why he is always there, the insolent brat… He knows not what he's meddling with."
"Glasya-Labolas!" Andras called out, summoning black swords from the void.
Ruby slowly stood up from her position, her legs set in an awkward manner.
"S-Shut up…"
"Your sanity and innocence slowly draining away, breaking, bending by my hand, by my voice… And the truth is present, naked… You seeing red, mind filled with hatred, your heart longing for their blood as debt for their screams!"
"Freaking scum…" Ruby growls, outstretching her arm, recalling her scythe. "Little shits… killing my friends… getting away from it?"
"Yes… yes… that's it, slow and steady, falling onto your own temptations… What you truly love… is revenge, and nothing else, forevermore!"
"Brother… why are you there? You make the girl suffer from your own actions? She has, long enough. Let her go and-"
"Let what go?" Ruby asked, her normal voice returning. "I… I'm not letting go… of what I have… I have an urge… An urge to dance… Heheheheheh… HAHAHAHAHAHAH!" She laughed maniacally, covering her face with her hand. Ruby uncovered it, and her expression grew even more twisted, her eye slowly turning bloodshot with a red iris forming. Her lips curved into a wicked smile, exposing her teeth. "You're killing my friends… you're going to do it again… Heh, you really think… their spilt blood won't be paid?"
"Let go of the girl," Andras threatens, conjuring more and more swords. "You are making her less human!"
"Oh, but no, brother!" A warped voice spoke from Ruby. "I love her… very much, she showed spirit, and I granted her gifts, in a manner as generous as I can be! I will not let each other apart… we will be together…"
"Hahahahah… do you want to dance?" Ruby asked, her normal voice returning. "You know what I did to those wolves? The ones that killed my grammie? You killed my lovely papa… Come here, little shit… I WILL SHOW YOU!!!"
She charges with sudden speed, catching Andras off-guard. Ruby slashes, spinning downward and creating severe gashes on Andras' armor. The Dark Lord levitates to gain higher leverage, but Ruby leaps up and snags his legs with her hook, bringing him down again.
"COME HERE! LET ME CARVE THE HELMET OFF YOUR FACE!"
"You've always been the bastard between the family, Labolas," Andras says before phasing below the ground and reappearing above Ruby, stabbing her with two broadswords on her back. The little red hood simply shakes Andras off, removing his grip off of the blades. Ruby stood as if she wasn't hurt at all, gripping her scythe with only one hand.
"Are you afraid of what has become?" Glasya-Labolas taunted, before reverting back to Ruby's voice. "You… I'm not letting you near him at all costs!" She slams the butt of her scythe on Andras, slowly pushing him off before spinning with a flurry of slashes, easily cutting down Andras' armor.
"An abomination you are!" the Dark Lord yells, summoning more swords. He throws them towards Ruby, the blades piercing trough and jutting out of her body, yet she walked without any hassle, dragging her scythe with her. "How long will this last?"
"As long as we want… as long as she wants!" the demon inside Ruby cackled. "Shall we, dear miss?"
"Yesss… blood for my friends… and I…WILL TEACH YOU HOW TO DANCE!" Ruby charged and brought her scythe downward, the weapon suddenly growing larger. Andras got caught by the blade and was pushed down to the ground. Ruby lets go of the weapon and leapt on Andras, biting at the weak section of armor on the neck. She jumps off and spits off the obsidian from her mouth, some of her teeth falling out.
"You need to stop!" Andras threatened. "Don't make me, brother!"
"Then we will make you! I've had enough of being the belittled!" Ruby prepares to jump again, but a Wretch breaks through the infrastructure from her right, slamming her to a nearby wall. The demon tries to catch Ruby with its jaws, but the girl simply jumps within its mouth and cleaves through the Wretch, reaching its insides. Ruby was able to claw out of the Wretch's stomach as she recalls her scythe back from Andras and its travels through the Wretch. Ruby slices from inside and crawls out, blood covering her whole body and dripping from her clothes. She lifted her hand and licked some from her hand, giggling.
"More… more blood… for all you've killed!" Ruby suddenly get pulled forward as Andras conjures a sword and pierces it through Ruby's only eye, rendering her blind, but she simply laughed it off, pulling the blade out with ease and slamming it onto Andras' neck. The Dark Lord recoils from the pain as Ruby recalls her scythe to slash Andras down. The malevolent spirit was able to recover his dark aura, preventing the scythe from going further.
"The rampage will cease! You may be immune to pain, but to kill you is all I need…"
"Not without one more… One more shimmer of indifference!" Ruby pulls the scythe off and blindly strikes Andras, the scythe lodging onto his helmet. The Dark Lord grabs the scythe and snaps the handle in two, but Ruby kicks Andras and grabs the blade in mid-air, stabbing it again to the spirit's side. Andras grunts from the pain and summons his gauntlet blades, stabbing through Ruby's torso multiple times, but it was barely effective. She simply backed away, growing tired. She was not giving up.
"Feisty lassie... enough of this." Andras conjures several swords from the ground and two of them cut off Ruby's heels, preventing her from walking. She grunts from the pain but continues treading. Andras, frustrated, grabs one of the swords and stabs Ruby square in the forehead, but she still smiled creepily, her eyes staring at him. But she fell, growing weak.
"No, brother… don't kill the girl!"
"I am… I'm relieving her from your torment!" Andras stabs Ruby's heart, linking the blade with him. Slowly, dark essence began to coil around the weapon, absorbing the spirit, known as Glasya-Labolas: Author of Bloodshed.
Andras stood up, thinking that the ordeal was over, but Ruby was still breathing, smiling innocently. The Dark Lord summoned five swords above Ruby, aimed downward to her.
"And your host will perish… along with your frail hope."
The swords stabbed Ruby one by one as she began to dream.
"Alucard…"
SHICK!
"You're so… understanding…"
SLOSH!
"I am going now."
SHRICK!
"Don't be mad at me… I tried."
SHOKK!
"I know… you're proud of me…"
SHLICK!
Andras sighed, dematerializing the blades. "For the first time… I've felt sorry for a corrupted host. She doesn't deserve to endure that. Now… no guilt for now. Victory draws near, and I will finish what Alice and her little goons couldn't."
A large explosion was heard far beyond Andras' sight. He could feel the death of many of his demons.
"The metal men."
Meanwhile…
"Alpha?"
Saber was genuflecting, as he attempted to shield himself from the blast. All he could remember was that Johnson had to self-destruct in order to shake off the hordes of Morphlings and Ravagers restraining him. But the winds and the ashen dust was messing with his sensors, corrupting his broken interface.
"S-Saber?" Alpha's voice squeaked from the comms.
"Alpha, where are you? My sensors cannot find you!"
"On… your… right…"
The cyborg turns right, but he couldn't see anything, only a pile of debris and boulders from the fallen infrastructure. Small fires emitted black char and burning paper and trash littered the avenue they were in. The barricade they set up was demolished easily when the demons began to crowd within them.
"Alpha? I cannot pick up Beta's ping. Do you have her with you?"
"Saber…"
"Hold on, I'm seeing you in the radar-"
He stops and looks below him. Alpha was there, yes, but shards and pieces of his metal armor was littered around him, his visor broken, exposing his green eyes. One of his arms were gone, and fuel and blood was leaking out of it. Alpha's face was broken and deteriorated, the machinery within him exposed. He opened his arms, and Fanny laid next to him, coughing up blood and dust.
"Saber-"
"Don't worry, Alpha. I can still fix-"
"He's c-coming… Andras…"
"Alpha- wait, wait… Andras?"
"We know who he is, Saber… it's Andras… you know him, he won't let anyone go…" Alpha began to cough up fuel and smoke from his systems, small sparks bursting from his limbs. "You need to save-"
"S-Saber?"
"Fanny, calm down… you're going to be fine," Saber comforted, grabbing her body. The machinery on her hips were busted up, and only one pair of swords were completely intact. Her flight systems are beyond repair. "Listen to me, you need to go to Estes, okay? You need to be with Chou and your other friends-"
"N-No! I want to-"
"Listen to me, Fanny. Go out too early and that may be one minute less for Alucard! You don't need to worry about me, or Alpha. We'll be alright, now go."
He beckons Fanny to go and retreat to the back. She limps as she walks, clutching her bleeding side.
"Take your time! We'll protect you!"
"S-Saber," Alpha began to whisper. "B-Beta… didn't survive the blast. She couldn't move-"
"Okay, we need to get you out here-"
The fellow cyborg clutched Saber's arm. "No… I want this… I want this…"
"Alpha. Alpha." Saber called out. "You don't need to do this-"
"I w-want to… I can't… fight anymore… Spear is broken… integrity at 9%-"
"Screw the statistics! I am getting you out of here, dead or alive!"
"Saber…" Alpha resumes, trying to lift himself up. His upper and lower halves began to tear off. "D-Don't waste… this chance… your life… is a p-precious thing, and t-thank you… I will count and name stars with Beta n-now-"
"No, Alpha. Alpha!"
"It's a wondrous thing… an event as pleasurable, as similar to death… A luxury, w-we never really… b-beheld…"
"Alpha!"
Saber's sensors couldn't pick up Alpha's ping, for it has already died out. He outstretches Alpha's arms, as he was in a fetal position. Two halves of the drone that was primarily Beta was there under Alpha's body. He was protecting her.
The cyborg drops down the debris and sees Johnson's shield from the other side of the road, but not the fellow cyborg's body. Charred carcasses of Ravagers and Reapers were littered around, a downed Wretch buried under a pile of debris with its long claws sticking out.
"Status."
"Frame integrity: 79%. Number of Swords: 8/12. Power Capacity: 27.4%. Overdrive Mode: Active. Surviva-"
"Hold it. Overdrive is still active?" he asked, seeking confirmation.
"Overdrive Mode: Active. When Active: F.I. increased to 85%, P.C. increased to 95.1% and increasing drastically. Survivability Rate: 0.0000000329%."
"Worth a try… As long as he is delayed," Saber mutters. He receives a sudden alert in his radar. A blip was approaching fast. The cyborg raises his arms and makes an electric field around himself, deflecting Andras' black sword. The Dark Lord swiftly charges through, tackling Saber back with one push with his shoulder. Saber rolls and skids on the ground, bits of his armor flying off. The metal on his body had multiple scratches and streaks of gray, the paint tearing off. He gets up groggily, one of his antennae hanging off.
Andras looks at Alpha's lifeless body then to Johnson's damaged shield. "Ah… Too late again, was I? Hmm… Saber, was it?"
"Activate Overdrive Mode… now."
"Calculating Risk-"
"Skip them, we're on the clock," Saber mutters, removing a shard of debris on his arm. "Why do this… Andras?"
"You know me? Impressive… I thought I was about to slaughter someone who doesn't acknowledge who I am!" Andras joked. "Hah… you may have encountered me…"
The Noumenon and Malefic Energy began to overheat, escalating the energy levels within Saber. "You were one of the reasonable demons out there… There was a world when you were at peace with us-"
"I am not the same Andras you once met years ago," the Dark Lord interrupted.
"You… told me, told us… that to become powerful, you must be human… And that the strongest shed away their humanity to save humanity… a paradox."
Small arcs and bolts of red energy began to emanate from Saber's body. The interface was beginning to glow with a red color, multiple warnings blipping on it. Saber slowly stood up, his wings releasing his eight remaining swords.
"If we put that in a sense… bastard… you're just dung from the creek!" Saber suddenly charged with immense speed, gripping two of the swords and slashing Andras sidewards. The Dark Lord attempts to retreat by materializing forward, but Saber steps on the ground and dashes back with the same stunning speed, his swords striking the black armor of the spirit. He lands back to his feet, gripping and tearing the asphalt.
"This… this power… feels awesome," Saber muttered. "Who am I even fighting for, again?"
"You're only prolonging your torture!" Andras said, summoning his weapons from the void. "Don't imitate her!"
"Who? Ah… the girl… what she did was of pure intent… we become our own demons someday, just so we can save the ones we love…" the cyborg replied, losing his sense. "What is love, anymore? More and more demons are coming for me, eh? Heheh… I've never felt more alive… Andras…"
The Dark Lord throws one of the javelins and it pierces through Saber's shoulder. The cyborg, however, simply pulls it out, barely feeling hurt. The slits on his helmet slowly turned red as the energy within him spiked tremendously. His head hung low as bit by bit, his memories began to disappear as he slowly grew insane.
"Adrenaline rushing… More and more to eviscerate? I am born a weapon, I've always been… And the sky grows dark…"
Saber's swords angled around him, pointed at the demons and Andras. He grabs one and points it at the Dark Lord.
"You want to get to the Gem?"
"Even if it means killing everyone here," Andras replied. "Are you listening to yourself? You're the one losing sense, not me!"
"Aren't you glad… that I made things even more simple for you? You'll just have to go through me, no more philosophy… no remorse… no hint of fear!"
The demons from the sides began to dive at Saber from the windows and rooftops, and his swords suddenly ejected from the frames of his wings, flying around and circling the perimeter. They began to eviscerate multitudes of the demons, hacking them down with ease.
"This mechanical body, it has given me limitless power… And it's calling me… Rrrrggghhh… Aaahhh…"
Andras throws his swords simultaneously, and Saber raises his arms. Shields of red energy sprouted from his wrists, and he blocks and deflects each of the swords, causing them to dematerialize. Saber channels the kinetic energy received and slammed his shields together, releasing an immense force wave against Andras, pushing the Dark Lord off and damaging his armor.
Andras wills his aura back, slowly repairing the obsidian plating protecting the spirit. "You've lost your mind…"
Saber's breathing labored, his head slowly looking up towards the Dark Lord, the enemy that killed many of his friends… his family…
The swords stopped attacking the demons as they travelled back to Saber.
"And I think… I think I need to go… ON A KILLING SPREE!"
Saber dashes forward and recalls his swords with him. Andras tries to block the slashes, but the red energy breaks through the aura, the blades easily lodging onto the armor and piercing through it.
"Ragh! Time to clip your wings!"
"I'd like to see you try… as I kill without trace… and you will atone for your mistakes as you brave the rising storm!"
Andras summons his swords and they revolve around him. Saber reaches close and strikes down Andras with a flurry of his blades, easily cutting through the black swords and breaking them. The spirit lands a palm of void energy towards Saber, breaking the robot's armor and exposing the exoskeleton. The cyborg doesn't pay attention to the structural damage of his suit and charges again, digging his gold swords onto Andras' chest and stabbing repeatedly, carving through the armor.
"No mercy for a sinner, proud of his own malice!"
"Get… OFF!" Andras manages to summon his gauntlet blades and stabs Saber through the side and on the faceplate, but the cyborg keeps on piercing and stabbing Andras. The volatile energy of the cyborg travels to Andras' armor, and the plates began to slowly break from the intense heat and radiation. Saber hops off of his current position and thrusts his jets downward, slamming his foot onto Andras repeatedly before impaling the suit of armor with his swords. The Dark Lord quickly breaks the sword as Saber attempts to plunge his spare one deeper. Andras blocks and breaks it with his arms as Saber suddenly gets pulled by the jaws of a Wretch. The cyborg rotates his body and boosts upward, bursting through the demon's skull, killing it instantly. The Spitfires began to turn their attention to Saber as the cyborg wills his six remaining swords back, the blades travelling around the air and downing the demons. A large swarm of Hellbats began to approach, and Saber zooms towards them.
"Retribution is at hand!"
Saber releases the pent-up energy form within his suit, the red lightning arcing and forking through the Hellbats like a scarlet light show, electrocuting and burning them quickly. Andras rises to the air and conjures a gigantic hammer, swinging it to Saber. The cyborg dodges it and cuts off the handle with one of his swords, pushing Andras back to the ground like a meteor. The Dark Lord was stunned by the move as Saber began tearing the armor off with his bare hands, crushing them with his hands bit by bit. A Ravager tackles Saber off, but the cyborg simply stabs it with his sword, immediately killing it. Saber recuperates as Andras dashes towards him, raising his sword. He manages to block the strike with an electric shield.
"Yield, Andras… the truth will persevere! With one swift strike of his blade, your regime ends. Poetic justice at its finest!"
Andras stomps Saber's foot, crushing it, and punches through the shield, shattering it completely before stabbing the cyborg with his sword. Saber clutches Andras' arm and pulls the sword off, dislodging himself from the lock. Saber recalls his swords back to him and through Andras, and the Dark Lord catches them one by one, easily breaking them bit by bit. As the swords travelled, Saber extends the frames of his wings and forcefully tears them off of his back, wielding them as stun batons. He charges forward as Andras breaks the last sword, catching him unawares. He strikes his batons repeatedly, stunning the Dark Lord with shocks of red electricity. Andras grabs Saber's arm and tears it off completely, but Saber remains unfazed. He kicks upwards and somersaults, making Andras stumble, and he charges with his foot. Unfortunately, the Dark Lord catches it and breaks the joint, causing it to dislocate. He then forcefully punches through Saber's body. Metal, oil and blood bursts through the other side of the punch. Saber suddenly slowed and stopped attacking, the red light on his slits slowly blinking and powering down.
"A few more left to end, Saber, and it will soon be over..."
"W-Who… is more delusional? The maniac… or the self-righteous destructor?" Saber asked. "It is d-done… all h-he is doing… is waiting for y-you… And we will h-have the last laugh…"
Andras wraps his hand on Saber's helmet and crushes it with his grip, the metal and oil bursting and leaking out and onto Andras' armor. He pulls his arm off of Saber's body as the cyborg's body drops lifeless to the ground, the red energy on his body fading into grey. Andras slowly puts his hand on Saber's body, the metal slowly absorbed into Andras' own armor, serving as substitutes and repairs, The gashes and dents slowly reformed back to one-hundred percent integrity.
"What is prophesized is to become a reality, Saber. And those who live through it will enjoy my blessing… they will enjoy it very much."
Meanwhile…
"Only us left! Saber has fallen!" Kaja says, lashing at a Reaper with his whip. The electric whip coils around the demon and incinerates it into cinders. The Nazar King flies to Estes, who was making more and more healing runes around. "Estes, Saber has fallen. Has Fanny recovered in the citadel?"
"She is, but half of the Royal Guard is gone, and your men have fallen in the field," Estes pants. "Where is he?"
"The Dark Lord? He will be here in a minute-"
"Everyone, fall back!"
The two notice Rafaela and Uranus retreating with ten of the Royal Guard, black swords falling from the sky. A black cloud slowly materializes, and Andras appears, his tattered cape flowing.
"Anarchy behind me, and salvation in front," Andras says. "Only you and me, Estes… my brothers were wrong to let you consult them."
"They were of your descent, but they knew what is fair!" Estes retorts. "She would be very disappointed with you!"
"She won't be when I bring her down myself, foolish elf. You cannot deny the end of Gaius! You try and prevent the inevitable, but I bring it to you!"
Uranus slowly mends the dents on his armor, recharging his energy. "You oppose the balance, just to bring all of this chaos?"
"The hardest decisions… they require the strongest wills!"
"If you believe so, then let's end this!" Rafaela challenges. Kaja cracks his whip, the lightning sparking the ground. The Royal Guard releases their light constructs and they form shields and blades of light, aimed at the Dark Lord. "Let's see if you can fight a collective will… equal to yours!"
"You dare test me, Andras… the Sower of Discord?!"
Estes slowly conjures two glowing blades of moonlight to his hands, radiating with clear energy. "You are in a losing fight, but you do not see it… Peril awaits you in the citadel, Andras!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone