Chapter 25: Chapter 25 : You all are so fucking amazing
want to read ahead or want to support you can join my patr-eon and u will be able to read ahead by 15 chapters
patreon.com/Elsapataky
-----------
Vin stabbed his arm blade at the beast as it pounced, shifting sloppily to the side to attempt to avoid the snap of it's jaws. Although the sharp point found purchase in the shoulder of the monster, it wasn't enough to deter it, as it's right claw pinned Vin's chest to the floor, leaving Vin winded as his broken rib poked the skin of his chest painfully.
Desperately, Vin covered his right arm in even more crystals, as the monster proceeded to bite down, Vin attempted to keep the crystals as rigid as possible, but slowly but surely, the monster's iron-hard fangs began to dig deeper and deeper into his arm. Crying out as the jaws of the creature simultaneously threatened to snap his arm and chomp down on it like some sort of macabre chew toy, Vin trashed in vain, unable to summon anymore crystals without threatening to lose focus on keeping the one's covering his attacked arm as rigid as possible.
Slowly, Vin began to realize the hopelessness of his situation. He couldn't fight off the stray devil before him, the best he could do is hold on until help arrived. But with everyone else distracted by Augustus, how long would it be before they realized there was more than one stray devil in the building? How long could he actually hold on? He could already feel his focus and strength failing him, as the creature's sharp fangs slowly sunk into the flesh of his arm. The slow pace of the creature biting down causing inexplicable pain to radiate like strobing agony throughout his right arm and up his nerves.
Right as Vin began to slow down, his futile kicking finally easing, a blur of black and stark blue crossed his vision. From the other end of the aisle, Xenovia came blitzing down, sword in hand. As she reached the creature, her free hand grabbed one of its hind legs, using it as a handle to lift up it's torso as she dashed by. Mercilessly, Xenovia swung her Excalibur deep into the stray's exposed underbelly, bisecting the creature in two in a gory display of lethality.
The deep, dark scarlet, nearly black blood of the beast sprayed over both Vin and Xenovia, as she came skidding to a stop. Darting back over to Vin, Xenovia wordlessly abandoned her sword, using both her hands to grab the lips of the creature, and pull the jaws out of Vin's arm.
Weakly, Vin covered his arm in a fresh layer of crystals to temporarily stop the bleeding, before looking up, his vision and hearing both hazy from the overwhelming pain and the loss of blood.
Despite that, as Vin looked up at his savior: her breathing uneven, her blue and green hair matted down by sweat and stained by black blood, her face making the most genuine expression he'd ever seen her make, even if it was one of worry mixed with relief; his foggy, delirious, adrenaline-riddled mind made one final conclusion.
At that very moment, Vin had never seen a woman so beautiful in his entire life.
...And then the world went dark.
I'm back!
That's right, baby! I may have said that I was feeling burnt out, but today was genuinely great, and the atmosphere was just perfect for writing, so everything flowed out of my mind perfectly!
Before we get into the Review Roundup though, I want to make one very special announcement…
WE'VE HIT 100 FOLLOWERS!
I'm actually stunned, seriously. You all are so fucking amazing. When I went to check out my story for the fifteenth time that morning alone, and I saw that we hit 100 followers, (well, actually 101, but hey, semantics) I ran downstairs and practically shoved my laptop in my mom's face because I was so excited. You all make every second I spend working on this story worth it, and I know I say that every time, but that's because it's the goddamn truth!
So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Not just to the people following, favoriting, and leaving reviews on this story, but to every single one of you who have taken time out of your day to read my story. It… It truly means the world to me.
Now, onto some of the story details of this chapter:
Chapter Notes
[The Excalibur's]
First off, we see the introduction of the Excalibur's in this chapter. I wanted to do this for a while, so it's great to finally be able to do this. Now, some of you may have read this chapter and already come to this conclusion, but let me just make it official. Yes, all the Exorcist-Babies use a different Excalibur Fragment. They don't always get them, but when they get approval from the higher-ups, they're brought out of a secure vault. Now, let me do a bit of minor spoiling, as I reveal what Excalibur belongs to each person.
Xenovia - Excalibur Destruction
Irina - Excalibur Mimic
Ethan - Excalibur Rapidly
Vanessa - Excalibur Transparency
Jafar - Excalibur Blessing
Ezekiel - Excalibur Nightmare
Now, Vin would get Excalibur Ruler, but… well, it's lost, and currently belongs to a certain member of the Vali Team, so… yeah. The other notable detail is with Ezekiel. I thought it'd be cute if people thought that prolonged use of Excalibur Nightmare makes him hallucinate, and that Sinclair, the magic fuckin' sword dragon is actually just a figment of Ezekiel's imagination. It's still up in the air if Sinclair is actually real or not, by the way. I know the answer, but you won't until I think it's appropriate to reveal. So… maybe never, I dunno. Also, when they don't have access to their Excalibur's, the Exorcist-Babies use blessed/weapons of light, sort of like how Freed would. That's what you were seeing Irina, Ezekiel, and Jafar use in this chapter.
[Augustus the Stray Devil]
Next up, the first encounter with a stray devil! The stray devil named Augustus. Yes, it's an Augustus Gloop reference from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was the first name that came to mind. Also, his design, especially with the ribcage jaws was heavily inspired by Gluttony from Fullmetal Alchemist.
[Unnamed Stray Devil]
-----------
want to read ahead or want to support you can join my patr-eon and u will be able to read ahead by 15 chapters
patreon.com/Elsapataky
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone