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Years of Lies [IC] [Best Veteran Q2 '12]

SV

See You Space Cowboy
3,393
Posts
13
Years
  • Seen Feb 7, 2022
Ryuu heard Kerin the vampire speak to him now.

"Why do you insist on pissing people off? Are you trying to make enemies out of everyone?"

Ryuu can't say it was the first time he was asked that question, or the second. He had been asked questions like that for a long time now. Many various forms of the question came with it. He looked at Kerin now, somewhat baffled by the question in this place.

"Are you stupid vampire, or are you just oblivious? Why do you think they sent us here in the first place, to drink tea and tell stories? We're here to fight. To kill each other. Ultimately, we're here to die."

He said, as a stood up from his stances and cracked his neck, smiling a rather horrid smile at Kerin. Then, he continued.

"All I'm doing is training now, preparing. But training against trees is too boring. The best way to improve oneself is to train against live victims. And if you die here from it now, then perhaps I'm doing you a favor, because the fights you'll experience where we're fighting for real will be a lot more painful and worse than what we're doing here."

Ryuu placed both hands on the ground now, and squatted, looking at the ground. Then, he looked up at Kerin, and said a quick, "Get ready", before using the ground as a force to push off from as he bolted towards Kerin with the intent to ram into him.
 

Eeveemaster9

Years of Lies
505
Posts
14
Years
Chapter 3.5 - Bernkastel Vermillia - Demon District

"Thank you for the necklace... I'll stay for up to an hour for training, and if the Vampires don't accept, then they don't accept. Honestly, I don't want to be in an alliance with them, so I'm not gonna make an effort. They either accept me or they don't..."

'Xavier isn't very smart when it comes to people,' was the first thing that came to mind. It was true. Right there, before his very eyes was the solution to everything. If he could just form some sort of curiousity, he would get just how SIMPLE everything was... Marisa knew. Well, without looking into the future of course, but she would know if she knew of these conversations. Vergil knew as well, and he was being oddly calm about it. It was quite surprising to myself that he hadn't told anyone. In any case, Xavier didn't know. I gave him everything I possibly could, and he was thinking either too much, or too little.

"And if they don't, and the Vampires get into a fight with you... Understand which side I'll be on to help, and don't be offended..." He could take this either way. That last bit was simply a test to see how much he was actually thinking, and how much he was assuming. It was a good test. A test I had done with several different people in the last twenty-four hours.

Finally, the elevator stopped. What we stumbled upon, was basically unavoidable. A fight had broken loose. Between whom? Most obviously, Ryuu had been a contender. Kerin was facing the demon; saying something unintelligable from our distance. He was hardly beaten badly compared to Ryuu and the training center. The places not protected by barrier were smashed. Natruo was going to be peeved off... But that was the least of my concerns. Calmly, I stepped out of the elevator, and surveyed the area. Marisa was in a tree; untouched. She hadn't been fighting Ryuu. Then who had been?

"Lucifier, who is it?" I whispered under my breath. The tattoo on my arm -a snake with diamond shaped scales- looked around. He uttered the answer to me inside my mind. I looked down at the earth holding up Ryuu's weight. I could feel Lucifier's power surge into my left eye. A symbol forming across my vision the color of crimson. Then it disappeared in a series of flashes, and I was now looking at the world through a diagram of lines. The temperatures of everything were represented by colors ranging from albino whites, to blazing reds of flame. Ryuu's body was especially red and orange. However, the only thing that was basically one solid object of red, was the thing directly underneath him inside the ground. Raike. At is side, was the completely opposite color. A bright baby blue figure. Mammon.

"Lucifier, permission to restrain Ryuu. Alice, permission to collect Mammon and Raike. All others, unimportant to the task." I muttered to myself. One of these days, people were really going to send me to a mental hospital...

Well, they wouldn't if what I said was true. Did I speak the truth? Yes. The snake tattoo slowly faded out of existance, and seconds later, two pentagrams glowing with a blood-colored light, were drawn into the ground. A dark cone of light engulfed both, and at the same time, two figures ascended. A demonic woman with formal clothing and blonde curls. Another, a tall man with jet-black hair, had clothing which consisted of all black, and a jillion belts with no purpose in holding it together. The man had his arm crossed over his chest, while the woman had her hands on her hips like some human about to give a lecture. Once the pentagram and light disappeared, they went into action silently. The man -Lucifier- rushed forward at the same moment Ryuu did; eyes a glowing, dark cranberry trained on the target. Instead of running straight into the other demon, he made the swift movement of going behind him, turning sharply, and sticking his leg out. A perfectly executed trip. The moment Ryuu hit the leg at that speed, there was no stopping him. And even then, you could tell Lucifier was much stronger than the mortal. His leg didn't cave from the force, and he was even faster than the rhino. That was a Demon Servant for you. Once Ryuu was out of control (falling), Lucifier pressed his body a-top him, forcing Ryuu to stay down and not to regain his footing. The two fell hard at the ground; sliding just slightly across the earth. Lucifier's strong arms pinned Ryuu's upperarms to the ground, and he sat on his back. "......"

Alice, on the other hand, wasn't throwing herself at some murderous demon. Instead, she basically skipped over to the place Raike's body was; leaned forward, and stuck her hand through the ground like it wasn't even there. In one swift motion, she pulled the human out; tossing him, along with Mammon, into a nearby clutter of branches and leaves. "~!"

Myself, one hand on Xavier's shoulder to keep him from leaving, spoke from my spot by the elevator. "If you want to train, Ryuu.... Feel free to fight Mammon to your hearts content... People aren't going to fight you to the best of their ability, due to the fact that they want to save things for the arena..." I hoped that he remembered who that was. "And don't worry, I gave her the order on the helicopter to have you win. So she is quite capable of entertaining your training schedule...."
 

SkyisUmbreon

But it Refused
806
Posts
13
Years
"Ugh.... ****...." I groaned, but I didn't hear myself say it, it was more a matter of me thinking the words and my lips moving to form them, my ears were still ringing from the impact. Before I could even come fully back to my senses I could already hear a familiar voice in my head, starting to lecture me about how I was an idiot and that I was going to get myself killed. I couldn't even move really, my movements were completely restricted for some reason, not like I didn't have the energy, but it was total lock down. Mammon's voice kept on going on in my head about how stupid what I had done was, and how I was going to kill us both, blah blah blah "No one told you to stay with me through that skirmish, I already told you I wasn't gonna be relying on your powers for everything, and I needed to test his strength... and also vent on him for what he said in the copter...."

"I still think that your were worried for me Mammon, I heard how you tried to cover up that last part of your sentence, hah...." I laughed wearily in my head, feeling my body retaliate against me viciously for putting it through that fight. Maybe I should have used more of my magic abilities during that fight, but I really didn't want to get serious over that oaf, or at least that was my own reasoning. After fighting Ryuu, I had deducted that wasn't only a muscle head, and actually did use his brain sometimes.... and he was also hella strong! The next time I fought him, I wasn't going to lose. I recognized the vow as the last part finished echoing in my mind.

Ever get the feeling you're being watched, or that other saying... something like you can feel someone walking on your grave? Well I started feeling that way, and I didn't think it was just a coincidence; someone was definitely watching me and I wasn't just making it up.

"Mammon.." I voiced silently in my mind before I felt someones hand grasp my shoulder and just toss, and I mean Ryuu style toss me out of the ground, and into a mess of branches and bushes Ryuu and I had knocked down during that fight. "Damn it! I'm done with being manhandled!" I raged quietly to myself as I rubbed my head softly and massaged my sore arms, thinking about how I wouldn't be so objected to Mammon's healing right now. Who hell could reach through solid earth and grab me like that knowing my exact location and everything? Another demon, like mammon probably... I also thought it was safe to say that Bernkastel had intervened... hopefully I wouldn't be getting another lecture, Jeebus.
 

Eeveemaster9

Years of Lies
505
Posts
14
Years
Chapter 3.5 - Mammon - Underworld

"No one told you to stay with me through that skirmish, I already told you I wasn't gonna be relying on your powers for everything, and I needed to test his strength... and also vent on him for what he said in the copter...."

I huffed. "It's in the contract that I protect you from fatal harm... I couldn't just leave you like that, or I'd be screwed over... Well, I kinda wanna vent at him TOO you know! I had to lay back and have him 'kill' me, remember?! He thinks I'm DEAD. That he killed me with his 'fists of fury'." I snorted at the last bit.

"I still think that you were worried about me Mammon, I heard how you tried to cover up that last part of your sentence, hah..."

Immediate reaction to that one, was for my cheeks to heat up. A reaction, I tell you! "That's...! O-of course i'd worry! You're my contractor and all... I'm supposed to protect you from dying... JEEZ. It's not like I like you or anything...!" And that was my mistake. He never mentioned anything of that sort. He only mentioned that I seemed to worry/care about him. I didn't realize this.

He was just uttering my name, when a force above him grabbed his arm, and yanked him out. Wha--- Ryuu? Did Ryuu do that? How?! I popped my head out of the ground; panic striking me when I didn't see Raike with the first look around. Then I spotted him; tangled among the broken pieces of trees. Breathing out, I removed myself fully from the Earth, and slid back into a tattoo on his skin. Quietly, I healed him from the inside out, while observing the new change in plans. Bernkastel and Xavier had entered, along with another two Demon Servants. Lucifier, whom had Ryuu pinned down easily, and Alice, who I assumed was the one to pull Raike out.

Man. Did I have some explaining to do for Bernkastel...
 

SV

See You Space Cowboy
3,393
Posts
13
Years
  • Seen Feb 7, 2022
Ryuu could see Kerin in his sights. He was almost upon him, when the unthinkable happened. He was tripped, yes, tripped, by someone. Ryuu former expression of happiness and glee was replaced with one of confusion. Ryuu was pinned down on the ground, an unknown person above him. He struggled to see who his attacker was, who was unrecognizable to him.

"What the-" Ryuu began, before he spotted Bern in the distance. He connected the two together, and fumed.

"BERN!" He shouted from underneath the newcomer. Ryuu's expression of confusion was now one of anger. And not just the simple frustration he had on the copter, or the fake and laughable anger he displayed throughout his stay here. No. For the first time, he was actually angry. His eyes fixed on Bern as he screamed loudly from underneath the person on top of him.

"WHAT THE F*** DO YOU THINKING YOU'RE DOING!?" He screamed at her, as he squirmed underneath the other. His squirms turned into struggles, and then to exertions, before eventually he was doing anything possible to get the guy off of him. His screaming could send shivers down people's spines. If there was glass in front of him, it was as if those screams would break it.

Yea, that bad.

But the scenario called for it. What Ryuu despised the most was when people, in short, f***ed with him. Mess with him, hinder him, basically anything that would get in his way. The night before, Ryuu specifically told Bern, don't f*** with him. That was the agreement. Not an alliance. Just a simple statement. I won't f*** with you, and you won't f*** with me. Needless to say, it wasn't a good way to start up an agreement.

"If you want to train, Ryuu.... Feel free to fight Mammon to your hearts content... People aren't going to fight you to the best of their ability, due to the fact that they want to save things for the arena..." Bern said. The name was familiar to Ryuu. He heard it before. It was the same as the thing she summoned on the plane. "And don't worry, I gave her the order on the helicopter to have you win. So she is quite capable of entertaining your training schedule...."

Ryuu looked at her from underneath the man still holding him down, just about ready to explode. He spoke back to her, harshly.

"I was fighting the human, Bern. I was training with him. You have NO RIGHT to interfere with my fights. You should have left me alone. THAT WAS WHAT WE AGREED ON!" I yelled. Bring up the fact that the demon he wounded on the helicopter didn't help either. It wasn't so much the fact that it was alive that bothered him as to the fact that she said she let him win. And then there was this other on top, one who could clearly have enough strength to subdue him and hold him, and one who was fast enough to catch up to him while he was running at Kerin. It was different than the life he was used to. Out in the Demon District, in the area he lived. He was the strongest. He was the king, if you will. Out here, all of these others popped up. And then Bern goes and stops his own fight, and tells him he let him win earlier. It was insulting, hurtful. Not physical pain, no. It was much worse. It hurt his pride.

He was beyond angry now. There's a word for beyond angry. Furious? A bit more than that. Enraged. Yes, that seemed right. He was Enraged. He screamed out loud even more as he attempted to test the limit of the guy on top of him, who held him down. In a quick motioned, he pounded his fists into the ground, and then, with all his might, brought the guy off of him. Panting heavily, he stood up now, taking a look back at the mystery man, then looked back at Bern. He spoke.

"I don't need your charity, or your help. I don't wanna fight you pets, or train with them. I will fight my own battles, and I will win them like I always have. You have crossed me. Expect no mercy." He said, as he pointed at her, and then began to walk.

Not crush anything, not hit anything, but simply walk away, mulling the days events over. He noticed Raike off to the side, now tossed in some branches. Still angry, he smiled a bit as he reminisced the fight they just had. It was a long time since he had enjoyed anything so much in his life. It was an even more entertaining fight than the one he had with Natruo. Sure, Natruo was a tougher opponent, but Raike was a more interesting one. He was a human, a species Ryuu didn't care sh*t about, but all of a sudden, this Raike comes along, and Ryuu learns something. Not all is as it seems. In any case, it was one of the most fun fights he has probably ever had.

"I'll be seeing you soon, human." He spoke to him, in a very different tone than he had before with the human. It wasn't exactly friendly, more like respectful. It seemed Ryuu had gained a bit for Raike, and in the process lost all of it for Bern. As he walked away, back into the sea of trees, still fuming at Bern and her cohorts, he made up his mind he'll win them all, and he'll do it on his own. He won't get help from anyone else, and he won't get special training from anyone. He'll train, he'll fight, he'll bleed, and ultimately, they'll die.
 

Swolligator

Butcher of the Sands
1,955
Posts
14
Years
[WARNING: This post is kind of graphic, and yes I have had permission from Eeveemaster9 to bunny Mira and Michaela's characters, as well as Natruo.]


Akira Tsukuda – Angel

Natruo was about to begin teleporting them when he stopped and looked Akira in the eyes, in response and deference, Akira downcast his eyes, not wanting to look into the eyes of the god, especially after the outburst he had just made. With an evil grin on his face, Natruo began talking to Akira, "Angel, I have an idea," he proposed.

Akira didn't really want to know, but general curiosity took over, "What is your idea, Natruo-sama?" His heart began to beat a hundred beats a minute thinking that because of his outburst earlier, Natruo was proposing some sort of punishment for him.

"If you kill these two lovely female contestants behind you for me, saving me having to kill them during the Poppy Games, then I will not bomb you with traps in the arena." The blood drained from Akira's face, what Natruo wanted him to do was just pure evil, he couldn't kill the two contestants behind him, one; they had done nothing to him, and two; they were female! Akira could not bring himself to hit a girl for no reason, much less kill one. "It would mean that your chance of survival would increase by thirty, maybe forty percent, fifty percent would be pushing it a bit."

Akira turned around and looked at the Demon and Human, behind those obvious details, they were both girls, yet with Natruo's proposal, they both looked at him more menacingly. "Natruo," he said over his shoulder, "you are and evil b@st@rd of a God, so I sadly am going to have to accept your offer-" the moment he said accept, the two girls had looked at each other and were on him within seconds, the Human pulling a sword out from behind her back.

Akira was lucky that he had his wings at least halfway stretched out so he was able to buffet the two girls backwards as he himself was pulled backwards next to Natruo by a flap of his wings. The two girls quickly recovered, but Akira was able to adopt a stance that would allow his to take them on in the intervening time. The human rushed at him from the front while the demon took off up into the air; he was going to have to be more careful about the demon than the human as she tried to hack away at him with her sword. Using his wings to push him and swivelling on the balls of his feet, he was able to miss being struck by the sword many times, however the human was skilled enough with it that she was able to make a couple of scars on his arms, chop a few feathers from his wings, and give him a fairly large gash on his waist. Seeing an opening in her attack, he took the chance to lunge forward, grasping her wrist and wrenching it enough to not just dislocate, but break it so her sword fell to the ground below. He launched forward again as she gasped in pain as the searing in her wrist got to her, launching a punch in her abdomen which made her double over, followed by a sharp rise of his knee that connected with her face, breaking her nose and splattering blood across the concrete.

Now in extreme pain, she stumbled back, her torturous screams echoing into the emptiness. Akira was about to run in for the finishing blow when from above, the demon he had forgotten to watch launched herself downwards, colliding with Akira and forcing him to the ground. She grabbed the back of his head by the hair, wrenched it backwards causing pain to flood through Akira's body before she slammed it into the ground. Akira felt skin on his face rip and his nose crunch as it connected with the concrete. She did this once… twice… three times as Akira lay dazed on the ground.

"You seem to be beaten and have failed me, Angel…" Natruo yelled from the side lines, "you're being beaten by girls!" he ridiculed in addition.

Anger ripped through Akira's body, the God was messing with him and on the brink of death, this did nothing but annoy Akira immensely. He felt the demon let go of his hair and grab his wings, then splitting pain in his shoulder blades as she begun to rip his wings off. In a spasm of pain, he hand hit metal, the humans blade, and clenching onto it with all his strength, he swung it in an arc behind his body, managing to slash a gash in the demon's thigh. Her grip lessened as she stumbled back off of his body, gripping her leg in pain. In an instant, Akira was off the ground, blood now pouring freely from his nose and now his face; his clothes torn to shreds and caked with blood. He flapped his wings hard, buffeting the demon with blasts of wind, keeping her off guard before he took the opportunity to sink the blade into her chest; piercing her black demon heart. She looked down at the blade before looking back at Akira; a single tear shedding down her face as she was about to die. The motion jerked Akira and he felt a pang inside; he had gone against his own morals and killed a woman.

"What have I done?!" he whispered through the stream of blood coming from his nose. He left the sword lying in the demon and turned around to face the recovering human. He saw the pain in her eyes; it was right beside the anger that fuelled her. She ran towards him raising her right arm that was not broken; rage now filling her face. Akira felt the punch connect with the side of his face as he took the punch he deserved.

"You deserve to get a hit," he spoke to her, the blood bubbling from his nose when he spoke, "before I kill you." Her motion carried her on as she went flying past Akira, and as soon as she was past him, he pulled his fingers back and curled then, forcing his palm forward and making contact with the back of her skull.

She was dead before she even hit the ground.

Akira turned to the cheering God as he clapped at Akira's win. Akira sunk to his knees, in a pool of blood that was not his own. He looked into the blood that now pooled around him, Akira got a good glimpse at his broken face; the face of a killer. Tears now slid down his cheeks as he remembered seeing his sister being carried out on a stretcher; half her body burnt away.

It was his entire fault.

His tears now began to join the swirling blood as it journeyed across the pavement. Killing the two females wrenched both his heart and mind in two directions as they each tore apart. He screamed, he screamed at the top of his lungs in pain and anguish. He cursed at the god profusely, he cursed at the world, and he cursed the universe. Akira had gone past his own morals that had been set in stone since he had stuffed up last time, it was the one thing Akira had lived by, the only real constant thing about him, and he had destroyed that. He felt no anger towards the God, it was hatred instead, but a dark hatred that sat bubbling beneath the surface. He would reap all he could from the God, he swore to himself and on the bodies of the two people he had just murdered that he would get his revenge against the evil god that stood before him. "All in due time," he thought to himself.

Akira's face seemed to darken, and he could have sworn that his wings had darkened in shade, as he began to recollect himself, drag all the pieces of him that were left and piece them together. The moral he had once lived by was now shattered into pieces; unable to be pieced back together. Akira stood up onto his feet, the exhaustion finally reaching him as the adrenaline stopped pumping through his veins. Akira swayed then faltered, falling down to the concrete and splashing into the pool of blood now nearly two metres in diameter around him. Not giving a care, his vision swam as the God walked over to him, and closing his eyes he let the darkness take hold of him, relaxing in its grips.
 
Last edited:
5,114
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17
Years
  • Age 30
  • AU
  • Seen Feb 18, 2023
"Are you stupid vampire, or are you just oblivious? Why do you think they sent us here in the first place, to drink tea and tell stories? We're here to fight. To kill each other. Ultimately, we're here to die. All I'm doing is training now, preparing. But training against trees is too boring. The best way to improve oneself is to train against live victims. And if you die here from it now, then perhaps I'm doing you a favor, because the fights you'll experience where we're fighting for real will be a lot more painful and worse than what we're doing here."

That was the last thing Kerin heard before Ryuu charged. Kerin braced himself, ready to take the attack and try and counter-attack in someway (of course, he had no idea how). He didn't really want to fight Ryuu anymore. He had lost interest in Marisa and focused on Kerin, and that was enough to unmotivate Kerin. He was never a guy that fought for himself. Well, sure, he did get in a few punch ups over previous punch ups but Kerin never fought purely because he wanted to. He wasn't like Ryuu, he didn't thrive on the heat of battle or on the reactions of others. He was the sentinel, the Robin Hood of his world. If the strong took advantage of the weak, Kerin was there to punch those ass-holes in the face.

Then, Bernkastel interfered. Quite efficiently too, taking the situation swiftly into her own hands. Ryuu was stopped, Raike was looked after and Kerin was slightly confused. It had all happened a little fast, Kerin couldn't quite keep up. Ryuu was furious with her it seemed, shouting all kinds of profanities. It was all over now, and Ryuu was released and was walking away.

"Maybe you should think about someone else! What do you have to live for? What do you have to die for other than yourself?!" Kerin shouted at the demon. He didn't expect him to hear him nor answer him, so Kerin turned his back on him, to Marisa. He smiled at her.

"You okay?"
 
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Eeveemaster9

Years of Lies
505
Posts
14
Years
Chapter 3.5 - Marisa Ryunatta - Vampire District

"......"

I watched, silently, as everything gave way to violence in a flash. Why do people fight? Surely for a purpose to each different. I could never really understand why Ryuu did what he believed to be 'good'. No matter how many times he would fume on about his lust for murder, all that I really got, was that he was much different than comparing myself to Bernkastel. His mind worked oddly. For one such as himself, you would immediately come to the conclusion that he had some sort of tragic past which shaped him into a monster. But that didn't seem to be the case. He was, instead, born this way. A mind not shattered by the great sin of killing even his own parents. Even if I had the power to, I would have never killed my father.

However, just as I couldn't understand him, he couldn't understand us. He was like a new, exotic species; unfamiliar to our customs and judgemental to our ways. We say yes to friends and peace. He says yes to fighting and gore. One could say we had nothing in common, but that wouldn't necessarily be true. We both lived for some sort of purpose. That was one. A purpose we may, or may not have realized just yet. A small piece in a thousand to make the big picture. Perhaps we were from that same puzzle; just waiting for some other piece to join our parts together. In order for his piece to fit nicely into place, we had to admit that he wasn't some monster born from the depths of Hell. We instead had to say to ourselves; 'His reasoning is perfectly fine. He's alive, and he's simply expressing the very innards of his soul in a way that doesn't seem normal. To him as well, we're the abnormal ones'.

It wasn't long, before the bloodshed began. Though I thought all those things inside my mind, I couldn't bring myself to watch what Ryuu did. I could hear the shouts and bashes. The crumbling of trees and earth as thinks toppled over. Ryuu and Raike and Kerin.... Kerin didn't want to fight. He was simply protecting me from the demon. As for Raike... He's the one that stepped in front of Kerin and smashed his boot into Ryuu's face. What was his goal? Raike surely was an odd one in a sense. He was the first to really challenge the rhino, and give him a hard time in the helicopter. Even before Bernkastel. So what did that all mean? He had gut, that was obvious. But what could you call him? Brave? Or perhaps oblivious to the dangers? I found him to be brave, but with a sliver of fear. Of course, one would have to be completely insane and stupid to not be even chilled by the presence of Ryuu.

When I finally overlooked from my perch in the tree, I saw that the fight had been but a short struggle. Raike was absolutely nowhere to be seen, and Ryuu was taking a stance that made my insides jerk. He was going to charge. Charge right into Kerin. Fear crept over me in an uncontrollable shiver, and I leaned forward to cry out for Kerin to fight back. To fight Ryuu to the best of his ability and not to die. He couldn't die. He shouldn't die. He wouldn't! Ryuu wouldn't kill off a contestant yet... Would he? The pessimistic side of my mind kicked in; urging my eyes to the brittle pile of broken wood and boulders. Oh... Oh Goddess. Please let Raike be alive as well. Though I hadn't met him, nor particularly liked him, I couldn't bear the thought of a human being buried inside such a disgraceful tomb.

My cry for help was a little on the premature side; though, who could blame me? It happened all so horribly fast, that my eyes only saw a blur of objects moving over eachother. The object I had seen, happened to be the man known formally as Lucifier. The servant of the Underworld, and a great bearer of destruction. To whom had the pleasure of being pinned by such a figure? Of course, it was none other than Ryuu. At first, my mind recongnized his confusion. I hadn't predicted that a new person would come into play. And secondly... Who had sent him here? From what I knew, servants couldn't do things on their own. They had to be ordered by a master of sorts; may it be their contractor, or the Demon Lord himself.Just as I registered Ryuu's clear and unshaved outrage, I came across the figure whom his anger was directed towards. Who else could possibly peeve him off more, than Bernkastel Vermillia? Relief swept through my body, and I collapsed onto the branch I had desperately been clinging to.

I hadn't worry about Bernkastel risking her actual life over such a fight. She was strong, and a master of many things as she had generously proved. Her name was famous, and almost everyone on the face of Earth knew her. Not by physical, but by word of mouth. Either in the greatest of respect, or lowest of standards. She was truely amazing.

And then, the ultimate fury erupted from the very core which was Ryuu. This was unlike anything I had ever experienced. He was, a hundred and two percent, absolutely blinded by the fury of what Bernkastel had done. He roared and struggled with all his might; until finally breaking free. By the words of which he spoke, the two had agreed upon some sort of deal, and Bernkastel had trespassed over it. Trespassed to save Kerin from an unnecessary fight. That was a great price to pay, in a sense. But nothing could compare to the price of a life. She had done a rightful thing.

Once the demon left away from sight, I slid down the tree with shaking limb. Once at the roots, I stumbled into Kerin's arms. "I-I'm okay... Uuu..." I mumbled; pressing my face deep into the other vampire.
 

SkyisUmbreon

But it Refused
806
Posts
13
Years
- I grinned, thinking about how Mammon's face had immediately turned red after I mentioned her concern for me, and girnned even wider when she denied feeling any attraction to me even though I had never mentioned it. This demon was really intresting, and fun to tease, but it wasn't a one way thing, because he had made me almost blush once before. I could really see many more fun times between me and the demon, and I was looking forward to laughing my ass off. I felt her slide back onto my skin in tatto form, and began to feel my body mending and my fatigue fading, and silently thanked her in my head for it. As Ryuu walked by after blowing up at everyone else, he also said he would be seeing me soon, more of a statement then a farewell, and his tone had changed as well; it was more respectful. As he exited the arena, my thoughts shifted back to Bernkastel and her intervention, and I realized it wouldn't be long before she came over to question me.

Feeling slightly better, both from the healing, and the newfound respect I had earned in Ryuu's eyes, I got up, and did my best to limp off the scene without Bernkastel seeing me. And as the healing progressed, my limp turning into a sprint as I headed toward the human elevator. I waved a goodbye both to the vampire Kerin, as well as the little girl. Kerin in my eyes had earned some respect too, becuase at first, to be honest I hadn't really thought he could do anything, but apparently he could, whenever it involved the safety of his friends. I admired that. I turned my head back to the nearing elevator, praying that I wouldn't be spotted by Bern.-
 

Eeveemaster9

Years of Lies
505
Posts
14
Years
Chapter 3.5 - Natruo - God District

It was odd, how swift the fight seemed to last. Most fights that I had created, usually lasted more than this. The person would hesitate longer. They would ask for reasons. Annoying questions which had obvious answers. These questions would mostly consist of 'whys'. Why are you having me do this? Why me? Why should I listen to you? Why should I not slit your throat? Yes, some were definitely on the amusing side. My personal favorite was with a girl who had killed a younger one right before they were to go into the arena. The smaller girl's broken body had been horribly cut from the struggle, while the winner had only sustained a few bruises here and there. She moaned because of her 'sin' and asked God for forgiveness. "I forgive you," I had said with raised eyebrows. That sparked her to look at me hatefully. "You're no God of Heaven," She had spoken savagely. "You're a God of Hell!"

I thought about this memory, while surveying the damage. Two girls; a human and a demon, dead. One boy, an angel, somewhat alive. Alive, being that he had a heartbeat. His eyes had clouded over momentarily as he lay staring at me. Obviously, he loathed me for making him do such a thing. And then, they closed. He had fallen unconscious. Sighing, I finished my trip over to his crippled body, and squatted down. "....." I moved his face ever so slightly, to get a look at it. Nose broken, with cuts ripped open to smear blood across his cheeks and lips. "....." Not minding the blood that got onto myself, I picked him up into my arms. He wasn't the first to fall unconscious, but that didn't mean I was used to carrying such a thing. His wings were awkward to position; especially when they fell as limp as the arms falling at his sides. I didn't carry him far. Only to the insides of the building and settled on a piece of furniture. Being careful as to how he was positioned, I backed off and whipped out my cell phone. One could say I was old-fashioned.

"Hello?"
There was a period of silence, before a small fit of coughing came from the other end. "You killed them...?"
"No, I had another contestant do that," I answered honestly.
There was a sigh. "Natruo...."
"More efficient," I insisted.
There was a bit of shuffling in the background. "...Fine. I'll collect them. Make sure you repay them..."

I hardly had time to answer, before the signal was cut. Looking down at the screen of my phone, and then at Akira, I mumbled to myself a few insults. Directed towards who I had been talking to.

"....."

It was easy enough to heal him. Nothing of extreme urgency, really. I cleaned up his skin the best I could with a cloth, before slinging his body over my shoulder. The clothing wouldn't matter. The others would probably think he got into a fight with another contestant, and didn't get a scratch. That would, perhaps, work well with him.

~~~~~

I decided to teleport to the Angel's Tower, firstly. His new room. I wasn't simply going to dump him off in a training arena full of weapons and teenagers preparing to fight, while he was unconscious. Silently, I placed him down on the bedspread. And just as quickly, I left the room.
 
5,114
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17
Years
  • Age 30
  • AU
  • Seen Feb 18, 2023
"That's good, I'm glad" Kerin put his arms around Marisa to pull her closer into the hug. He was legitimately glad. He wouldn't have even challenged Ryuu if Marisa had been upstairs, somewhere else. He would have called Ryuu an idiot and told him to go away. If Ryuu had called Kerin a coward, he would have walked on and paid no attention to the demon. If Ryuu had called Marisa weak and useless, Kerin would have retaliated. He would have punched back. But they were all ifs, Ryuu had done none of that. All he had done was charged at Marisa but Kerin had stopped him. Then, nothing else but a useless half fight.

Kerin's eyes caught the wave directed towards him by the exiting Raike. Kerin slowly waved back, a little surprised. What did... what did it mean? Of course, he knew it meant goodbye but he didn't expect Raike to acknowledge him, just leave or something. Were they... were they friends now? No, wait, aah! The whole thing just confused him. Taking Marisa's hand, he led her back over to the elevators, back over to Bernkastel. He needed to thank her, didn't he? That's what friends did, right? Bleaugh.

"Thanks Bern," he said to her, nodding his head. He wasn't sure what Ryuu was yelling about their agreement, but he was happy Bernkastel had stopped whatever was going to happen. He wasn't doubting his abilities, he just didn't want anyone else to get hurt. "Thank you."
 

Eeveemaster9

Years of Lies
505
Posts
14
Years
Chapter 3.5 - Bernkastel Vermillia - Demon District

"BERN!"

The inevidable roar from his throat erupted out my name. Or at least, a nickname for 'Bernkastel'. The nickname was sounded out exactly like "burn', which was very appropriate to the situation. Ryuu could be compared to that of fire. An uncontrollable thing that destroys anything in its path. I, being a witch, respect fire greatly. Except, Ryuu wasn't any ordinary fire. He was a blazing inferno. The deepest and hottest lava pool in Hell. And I had overstepped. Past the safety of water, and burning my feet badly. His immense fury was like nothing I had ever experienced. A fit of absolute rage that surprisingly scared me.

"That didn't look like training, Ryuu. Raike may have agreed to fight you, and that was fine. Kerin, however, didn't. He was protecting a younger participant from getting injured. You attacked him, and that is against the rules here..." I kept my voice steady and blank; unconsciously using my grip on Xavier to keep myself in place. It wasn't that I was going to collapse. It was that I was holding myself back. I knew I went overboard by having Lucifier attempt to restrain him, and I knew I was going to pay for that. I knew so, so I did my part not to add 'gas to the fire'. Why is it my mind always reels back to the whole fire concept? Perhaps it is in my future. Perhaps for the better. Once Ryuu had finished speaking to me, I glanced over to see that Raike had made himself over to the elevator. Though I recongnized that he was ditching, I didn't do a thing about it. 'Mammon,' I thought. But she didn't come to me. Instead, I saw a trail of almost invisible red light coming off from his left arm. I immediately came to the conclusion that he had made a sort of contract with her, and that she was the reason he actually survived a brawl with Ryuu. "......." I let him go. I would speak to him when I was calmer.

"Thanks Bern," I blinked several times, and finally noticed that Kerin, along with the little Marisa clinging to his side, had come over to me. He was thanking me for my help. For stopping the rhino from attacking him and Marisa. I nodded back slowly; not wanting to be modest.

"Your welcome... Train well, Kerin. Marisa, stay safe...." Gently, I pushed Xavier off in the direction of the actual training area; away from the elevator. Giving out a silent good bye to the two vampires, I moved away with him, to talk.

"If Ryuu does anything like that again. A fight... Hold me back. I did something rather... Unnecessary back there...." I looked back at the two demons I conjured. Lucifier was quietly brushing the dust off himself, while Alice observed the arena curiously.

'Lucifier.... Go back. Alice.... Watch over Marisa.' The two looked at me for confirmation, nodded, and did as instructed. Lucifier disappeared into a cloud of black mist, while Alice 'poofed' in a pink smoke, and fluttered over to the vampires as a moth. A clumsy, natural-looking moth.

I turned back to Xavier. "In any case.... At least try to learn something new and helpful here... Though you'll probably know everything...." I paused, shook my head. "....Don't leave for another fifty-five minutes..." And I moved away; easily concealing myself on the opposite end of the center, and away from where Ryuu had walked off.
 

Swolligator

Butcher of the Sands
1,955
Posts
14
Years
Akira Tsukuda - Angel

Akira swam somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness; along the thin line that separated the two from each other. His mind ran blank and far as he stretched out into the vast emptiness of darkness; a place he felt comfortably safe in. Here he had no care in the world, no body to maintain, no thoughts to plague his mind, no people to worry about. In this dream like unconscious state he was finally at peace. He relaxed fully, feeling all the weight just drift away into the oblivion that surrounded him; peace at last.

Then the warmth came, slowly and lightly at first like a miniature mist until it became heavier, pelting his consciousness and making his body convulse sporadically. It soon filled his entire body and consciousness as blinding light began to take over the billowing darkness that shrank back. He mentally grasped for it, his hand coming in contact with concrete instead as his body continued to convulse as Natruo healed him. Akira's consciousness soon returned to his body, and too tired to remain alive, he let go, still trapped in his newly healed body.

It shifted as Natruo flung Akira over his shoulder and teleported him to his new room within the training confines, laying it on the bed then leaving. Akira had about an hour or two before his body recovered and he opened his eyes into the sunlight that drenched his room. He turned over on the bed, hoping to fall back asleep, but no mtter how hard he tried, sleep eluded him and he finally gave up, swinging his legs over the bed and collapsing on the floor as he tried to stand up.

Akira felt weirdly off balance; like he had been in bed for what felt more like months than mere hours. Grasping the side of the bed, he slowly lifted himself up, regaining more control over his body as time went on. Within several minutes he was able to walk around his room without having to hold on to anything. He was quite disappointed with the room, white walls and bedsheets accompanied by a white bedside table, "they could have at least added a little bit of colour to this place," he croaked.

He opened the door, into yet another white washed hallway, his attention taken by a plate that sat at the foot of his door.

"Eat up Angel, you will need your strength," read the note attached atop a bagel, a piece of sticky tape keeping it from blowing away in the non-existent breeze. He managed to eat very little of it as most of the food was half cold anyway, it wasn't until he took the note off of the bagel bun did he realise who the note was from. Written in cursive letters was a name that Akira would never forget, one that made him boil with anger beneath the surface.

"Thanks, Natruo-sama," he said spitefully.

Fed and changed, Akira made his way to the steel elevator that stuck out like a sore thumb in what he assumed was the angel's quarter of the training grounds. He did not need to wait as the elevator opened as soon as he pressed the button, almost as if it was anticipating his use of it. It didn't take long for it to reach the bottom, soft angelic music playing its sweet melody to him while he descended. All the time he was wandering how he could shut it off, redecorate the rooms, or get a transfer to another area....this last thought of living with Demons, or worse Humans made him shudder.

When the elevator door opened, Akira wasn't expecting the indoor forest lined with tables compiled of differing sorts of armaments; many Akira knew very little of save for a molotov cocktail. Much less the chaotic nature that the place was in; as if while he had been asleep, the participants had had a contest to see who could cause more damage.

Wiping dust from his eyes, "おはよう*," he muttered, lifting his hand slightly in a gesture similar to a wave. He made an attempt to survey the room, and finding no angels about he stood awkwardly in front of the elevator, balanced on both feet and wings tucked in behind him. He wondered if the dark circles under his eyes he had noticed in the mirror were dark enough to draw attention; attention that he did not need.

*(Ohayou: informal way of saying Good Morning, translates better as simply 'morning'.)
 

Eeveemaster9

Years of Lies
505
Posts
14
Years
Chapter 3.5 - Amelia Kunjui - Angel District

"....!!!"

I woke with a start; eyes wide as I took hold of the clock beside my bed. Okay... I had been completely and utterly wrong. Last night, I had been worrying over getting too little sleep. Yet, I overslept, of all things! Was there some sort of schedule to attend to? Would servants burst into my room any second and haul me down in my pajamas? Squeaking at the thought, I tossed the clock beside me, and 'attempted' to hurry. My version of hurrying, is getting out of bed only to realize I was already out, and tangling myself even more in the sheets. Lovely. Whimpering quietly, I took the time to unhook my heels from it all. And once I was at my feet? I kinda stood there dumbly. Wait... Where was I again?

My eyes softened when I peered out through the balcony windows. Right... I remembered now. I was in the God's District. Having myself prepared to fight in some impossible game of strength and wit. Did I have either? No... And I highly doubted that I could work up enough muscle to even stand a chance. In all honesty, Marisa could probably beat me down with... Like.... Whatever little kids beat people with these days. Chairs? Stuffed animals? Sulking, I made my way around the room. I didn't have much strength anymore. Shizuka was a good ally and all, but I could almost feel that we'd be a part from eachother in the arena. Then what? Knowing me, I would probably entangle myself in a vine, and strangle myself attempting to get out. Haha;;;;

Going through the process of showering, I was amazed at the different features for the shower. They were really pampering us... Even for a government leader's child, I was unfamiliar to this level of quality. Washing and drying my hair accordingly, I stared at myself in the mirror for a moment. Why did my mother always add layers and layers of makeup? I looked perfectly fine... I wasn't as beautiful as Paris, but I wasn't an ugly orc... I couldn't wrap my mind around the answer. So, instead, I brushed it aside and got myself dressed. I was still new to the whole 'pants' thing, so it did indeed feel odd to my legs. A plain purple sweater, and I was off.

For once, I could actually TASTE the food I was eating! Meaning, I hadn't eaten my small portioned at that moment. I was, instead, taking my time with fluffy pancakes and fruit. It was nice. The servants were even getting a kick out of it; asking me if I wanted a different topping on my pancake, just to see how I would react to the flavor. I kind of felt sorry for these servants... Sure, they were supposed to serve us at our stay here, but wouldn't it get boring? Cook... Clean... Cook... Clean... How aweful of a life. Listening to our orders... The servants at the Demon's Tower probably had it the worst. Paris, and Ryuu. Normally I would worry abou the servants tending to the vampires... But that group seemed like generally nice people. The humans were... Diverse.

"Excuse me...?" I turned to the nearest servant to me, and they immediately perked up; awaiting an order.

"Ah... Well.... Servants have to listen to my orders, right?"

He gave a slight nod in reply, which made me smile. Happily, I stood from my seat at the table.

"Then I order each and every one of you to have fun in the entertainment room when nobody is around to cater to!"

This stunned him. His mouth opened slightly to protest, but he closed it firmly shut after a moment. He smiled in gratitude, and bowed. There... Now they didn't have to sit around bored all day! Because, we were probably going to be down for training for that much. Waving a small good bye, I parted ways, and entered the elevator.

Coming out from behind the sliding doors, I was amazed at what I saw. The entire place had changed significantly over the period last night. It was like a real place to train for survival. A small pack of trees (I thought the broken ones were supposed to be that way) and tables of equipment. Others were here as well, and no teachers. Looks like I wasn't late after all.

Gazing all around in awe, you could tell that I wasn't looking in one particular direction. Right in front. Because of this, I didn't realize that someone had stopped, and... "...!!" I bumped weakly into their wings, and stumbled backwards in surprise and confusion. Looking up, I saw that it was someone I had never seen before. They hadn't been on the helicopter, yet...

"S-sorry..." I mumbled, quickly passing around him. He was, obviously, an angel. And he didn't seem to be a teacher. That meant, he was here to participate in the actual games. I willed a glance over my shoulder at him. He looked strong... And mean. Was he going to be like Ryuu? Was I supposed to suspect that he'd grow a pair of bull's horns, and charge at me? A shiver when down my spine, and I hid myself behind a tree.

~~~~~~~

Not long after, did I hear the grand, prideful voice of Natruo. Turning around to peer in it's direction, I saw that the God had walked into about the middle of the training grounds, and was talking to everyone; hands in pockets.

"Listen up! And feel grateful for this day. You are all here to train, for one reason or another. Either your pitifully weak, or you want to become stronger. If you want to survive, use this day to your advantage! Each station has one professional at it. You are expected to keep the weapons within their eyesight. No fights between participants are permitted. Fail to restrain yourself, will result in your immediate termination." He glanced in Ryuu's direction, and then at the new participant. "....." And he left the building swiftly.

Exhaling, I carried my eyes over to the boy again. Well... Train, right? I watched as the barriers disappeared, and each professional stood waiting. Swallowing hard, I went to the nearest station; knot tying.
~~~~~~~~~
Note: All participants are able to train, now. The professionals are Gods, so they will offer up duels to practice your strengths and weaknesses.
 
Last edited:

SV

See You Space Cowboy
3,393
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13
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  • Seen Feb 7, 2022
Ryuu paced back and forth among the trees. He was angry, and he appeared to try to 'burn' out the anger as he would his stamina and energy. Although it didn't look like it, the constant motion of walking back and forth was soothing, but Ryuu had never been this fumed for a while. It did little to calm his nerves. Still, it did. Suddenly, he stopped and took in a deep breathe. He could feel as if his blood boiled the moment he stopped, and instantly punched a tree in retaliation. His arm broke through the thick tree, and went out the other end. A bit of blood trickled down from his knuckle as he withdrew from it, still furious.

He began thinking of the unpleasant things he would be doing to the competitors he despised, which was basically everyone. Closing his eyes, he made mental pictures of all of them getting their just deserts. He saw the angels, the humans, Marisa. Kerin. Then he saw Bern in his mind again, and screamed loudly, unable to control himself as he tackled the visual representation of her in his mind, and beat it senseless. He abused his knuckles, hands and forearms with a vast array of hits and punches. Just then, the visual representation became a reality, and he saw that 'Bern' was nothing more than a tree branch. He screamed once more and got up, and began pacing again. Standing still wouldn't help to bring his temper down, so he had to keep moving. He had to keep burning all that extra anger and energy.

In the distance now, he saw Natruo, standing in the center of the room. He spoke to all of the contestants.

"Listen up! And feel grateful for this day. You are all here to train, for one reason or another. Either your pitifully weak, or you want to become stronger. If you want to survive, use this day to your advantage! Each station has one professional at it. You are expected to keep the weapons within their eyesight. No fights between participants are permitted. Fail to restrain yourself, will result in your immediate termination."

Obviously, Natruo shot a quick glance at Ryuu. Ryuu stared coldly back at Natruo. He didn't care if they sent the entire God district at him, nobody was getting in his way anymore. Still, there was one big problem. Ryuu had one disadvantage against other demons. They had wings. For a reason long in his past, Ryuu did not. He was the only wingless demon. He made up for it with his strength, but if they were to take to the air, which they very well might, Ryuu needed something long-range to combat them with. The barriers disappeared, a professional was at each station, awaiting to help train them. A whole day of training would be nice, and Ryuu would make the most of it. The question was, what was he going to train in?

Ryuu walked passed the other contestants as if they weren't there, and eyed each station with limited interest. There were all kinds of stations for weapons, and abilities. Then he got to the magic section. He walked passed each one with limited interest. Wind Magic. Fire Magic. Water Magic. Void Magic. Iron Magic.

Then he got to another one. He eyed it, with interest. There was a man who stood there. Ryuu approached him, and examined it. Earth Magic. He always liked the ground. Like him, it was harsh, hard, strong, and able to crush mostly anything.

"Hello, sir." The god said. Ryuu didn't return a hello, only stared off into the same direction, in his mind thinking the possibilities. It was plainly obvious of one thing. He needed to get a way to target people in the air. Finally, Ryuu spoke.

"What is this for?"

"Earth Magic, sir. The ability to control minerals. Most commonly, the dirt around you, but not limited to that. You can also use sand, and oth-"

"What about long-range capabilities?" Ryuu demanded, cutting off the god.

"Earth Magic has that capability too. There are a variety of techniques for both long and short range fighting. Obviously, Earth is strongest the closer to ground the opponent is, but-"

"Show me." Ryuu said again, cutting him off. The god nodded, and the proceeded off to the side a bit. He then concentrated on a point a little ways away from him. Suddenly, the dirt in the area over there moved, and shot a few feet into the air, then hit back down. Ryuu looked intently at what had just happened. He wasn't impressed.

"What if a target is in the air?" He demanded.

"Earth Magic's capability with what I can teach you will be limited with people in the air, sir. I can probably teach you to move a piece of earth up to four feet in diameter."

Ryuu snorted, and looked back where the rock he moved once was. He yelled.

"That's it?! Pah! Useless!" He said as he made his way away. The god kept his cool, and spoke.

"Sir, if I may explain something?"

"WHAT?!" He yelled back at him.

"Earth Magic is perfect for one such as you. The main ability of it is all about endurance. From looking at you, I can tell this is exactly what you're about." Ryuu's attention was grabbed now, and he listened with interest. "A demon may have wings, but can they maintain flight forever? No, they will eventually have to go to the ground. And once they do, if you choose to learn what I teach you, you will, to be put frankly, dominate them."

Ryuu grinned a bit, and spoke. "Alright, then. What do you have in mind?"

The god nodded. "Earth Magic has many different abilities. But for the purpose of time and interest, I will teach you how to use two main ones." He moved over to the side, and began to demonstrate. The first is the Armor of Earth." The god moved his hands into the air, and different pieces of earth flew around him, and soon covered his body almost like another, bulky layer of skin. Ryuu watched intently.

"This is obviously a very tricky and advanced technique to master in one day, so for you, our goal will be for you to be able to put up a Wall of Earth, instead of the full cover of the armor. It is less tricky, but it doesn't provide full 360 degrees protection. However, it does provide protection from many attacks, helping with your endurance plan."

Ryuu nodded. The god continued.

"The second magical ability is called Aftershock. I actually saw you use a very primal stage of it while you were having your fight with Raike. When you crashed down into the ground, and created that deep impact, many surrounding trees and objects were completely destroyed. If, say, you were using Aftershock whilst you would have done that, the length of the damage could double, perhaps even triple." The god walked a bit forward, and tapped the ground with his fist. The resulting collision with the ground casued cracks to form and travel quite a distance away. And that was with just a tap.

"Again, this will largely depend on the amount of force you put into the ground, but it could potentially cause quite a bit of damage. Combining your own natural weight with this attack could be quite threatening, and not just to your opponent."

Ryuu kept listening, holding his comments. These abilities would definitely come in handy.

"Those are the two abilities you should learn in this day. But, none of it can be learned without learning the first fundamental ability of Earth Magic."

The god turned to the side, and saw a boulder a few feet in front of him. In a motion of his arm, the boulder lifted, and moved a few feet to the side.

"Moving a rock. Once you are able to do this ability, the others will follow soon after. However…." He looked back at Ryuu, "…it is a lot more difficult than you may realize. We will probably be spending quite a bit of the day merely attempting to do it. Why don't you give it a try?"

Ryuu snorted, then walked over to the rock. He looked at it, perplexed for a minute, then back at the instructor, speaking plainly with a tone of anger.

"I've never done this before! How the f**k do I start?!" The instructor walked over, and gave an example.

"The most common way, or the most basic way, of moving a rock with Earth Magic is motioning with your hand. Place your hand over the rock, and try to get it to move an inch to the left."

Ryuu was right next to the rock, and lifted his hand, aiming at the rock. He tried to 'concentrate' on it, clenching his other fist as he expected something to happen.

"Do not try to move it with your muscle, Ryuu. Try moving it with your mind."

Ryuu shot him a look that said 'I dare you to say one more thing to me right now'. He then looked back at the rock, and looked at it intently, hoping to see some sort of result.

"Focus on the task. Imagine you have your hand right next to the rock. Now push it. Mentally push it towards the left."

Angry, Ryuu finally snapped.

"YOU WANT ME TO PUSH IT?!" He yelled, before kicking the rock high into the air, it going all the way to the other side of the building. "THERE, I F***IN PUSHED IT!"

The instructor merely observed Ryuu, not speaking for a while as the demon walked back and forth, pacing and angry. The god finally sighed.

"We're going to be in for one long day."




The next few hours consisted of the mundane and supposed simple task of moving the rock. Ryuu got angry on multiple occasions, bursting out screaming numerous times as he crushed rocks, tossed rocks, elbowed rocks, and smashed rocks. If the rocks had any feeling or emotion, they would be in deep pain right now. The god constantly said how the most difficult part of learning Earth Magic would be the first step, the seemingly simple task of moving a rock a mere inch or so to the left. Finally, after much struggle, and what seemed like forever, a breakthrough appeared to be made.

"…use your mind, not your body, and move the rock. Imagine the rock is an extension of your arm. Imagine it is in your arm. Now…give it a gentle nudge to the right."

Ryuu held his arm extended, appearing to concentrate. Still nothing happened. In a sudden and by now routine burst of anger, Ryuu scream loudly again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGHHHHHH! WHY WON'T YOU MOVE!?" He screamed at the rock, as if to achieve some sort of reply. He then proceeded to run at a tree, and with all of his might, lifted it from its roots planted in the ground, and swing it around, preparing to toss it. The top of the branch almost hit the god, who calmly ducked out of the way as Ryuu tossed the tree. Here were two beings who appeared to be complete opposites. Ryuu was a large, strength driven demon. He was arrogant, angry, and quite frankly rather terrific. The instructor was a skinny man, not nearly as tall as Ryuu, nor as big. He had a reserved and quiet demeanor. Indeed, these two men were complete opposite. The god sighed as spoke.

"Perhaps this isn't what's right for you, Ryuu. Maybe you should consid-"

"NO!" Ryuu yelled. "I started this, and I'm gonna finish it." Ryuu walked back to the rock, completely enraged now.

"But Ryuu, it is clear that Magic, of any kind is not good for-"

"I will decide what's good for me, NOT YOU!!!" Ryuu screamed at the god, and as he did, the rock moved to the left. The instructor and Ryuu both turned, perplexed looks on their faces. The god finally spoke.

"Astounding…" he muttered. Ryuu turned to him.

"What?! What happened?!" He yelled, confused. The god now turned to Ryuu.

"…It appears I may have been training you the wrong way. I think you just moved the rock with sheer will and anger, rather than the traditional use of the mind and magic. With you, you combine what little knowledge of magic you know with your…emotions, particularly anger, and it somehow made the rock move."

"So what are you saying?!" Ryuu asked.

"I'm saying…get angry, and let's move some rocks."



Another hour had passed, with Ryuu finally getting the hang of Earth Magic.

"Again." The instructor said. Ryuu yelled out loud as he forced the rock to move to the left a few feet.

"Move on to the bigger one next to it." Ryuu did so, seeming to scream at the rock as his veins appeared around his body. It was focus in a different regard, and the god now saw a different side of Ryuu. He wasn't as mindless as he first thought. He was angry, yes, but he didn't just pour out anger now. He used it. Combining now the newly forming Earth Magic with his superior strength, and you'll have a tough time fighting against him. Ryuu had now become a natural with moving a single rock around. The god nodded, and spoke once more.

"You've mastered the first lesson. Now we'll teach you how to control multiple rocks at the same time. For this, a normal Earth Magic wielder would spread around his concentration to multiple points in the ground before pulling out the rocks. With you, it will be similar. You must concentrate on multiple points in the ground, and with your will and anger, force the rocks out." The instructor gave a quick demonstration as he moved his hands to the side, and multiple rocks popped out, encircling him. They were all the same smooth surface, and all were the exact same size and they encircled him, then popped back down in the ground. "Let's give it a try."

Ryuu nodded, and lowered his head to the ground. For a while, nothing happened as he merely appeared to be looking at the ground. Then suddenly, his arms stiffened and his veins were shown as he appeared to get stressed. His facial expression appeared to be of him lifting a truck. Actually, this wasn't that different from that. Ryuu slowly rose his arms in the air, letting out grunts as he did. Slowly, rocks began popping from the ground, and with one final push, Ryuu yelled, and numerous ones appeared around him, encircling him. Unlike the god's his were all jagged, and every single one was a different size. Still, he had got it done. The rocks fell around Ryuu with a massive thud. Ryuu smiled, please with his progress.

"Excellent work, Ryuu. We can begin learning the aforementioned abilities."



The rest of the training progressed like earlier, the god instructing as Ryuu screamed and yelled for his Earth Magic to perform the required ability. At first, the god found the screams uncomfortable. But eventually, they came so frequently, that the god had gotten used to them.

The day was slowly coming to an end, as the two now faced off at each other. Ryuu stared down the god with a smile, his clothes covered with dirt, and a bit torn. The instructor was clean and untarnished.

"Prepare!" The god suddenly yelled at Ryuu, and began gathering rocks from the ground and sending them flinging at Ryuu. Ryuu held his ground, and parted his feet, raising his arms strenuously as he raised a Wall of Earth right in front of him, the incoming rocks crashing into it. After a few more hits, the Wall of Earth collapsed, but Ryuu was already on the move, dodging the incoming rocks as they attempted to hit him. The instructor marveled at Ryuu's combination of speed and strength, but focused back at tried to knock down Ryuu. He summoned additional Earth from the ground in an attempt to captured Ryuu from all sides, but Ryuu pounded at the ground, using his Aftershock ability to stop the incoming Earth waves in their tracks, ripping them apart. Ryuu was getting awfully close to the god now as the instructor went all out now with Earth Magic, flinging spike-shaped earth at him from the ground, and forming other rocks into balls to fling at him. Ryuu was fast, but he couldn't dodge or protect himself against all of them. He summoned another Wall of Earth, only to see it collapse from the multiple impacts. The other Earth Magic attacks began to surround Ryuu as he soon had no place to go. Close enough to the instructor, however, Ryuu smiled as he jumped up in the air, narrowly avoiding most of the attacks, and then came crashing down right in the region where the god was standing, using Aftershock to amplify the attack on him. The god also prepared as he used other Earth Magic abilities to hit Ryuu at the same time.

The was a large crash as the ground around shook and cracked with their impact. After the smoke and dirt cleared, Ryuu sat on one knee on the ground, breathing heavily as the god stood not too far away, he too breathing rather heavily.

"Excellent work, Ryuu." He said, as he gathered his composure. "You have learned what you set out to learn. I must say you have excelled even my expectations. I'm rather impressed.

The demon merely grinned as he panted heavily. The sun outside was gone now.

"Well, it appears you have accomplished your day's training, and actually gone well into night. I wish you luck in the competition, demon Ryuu."

Ryuu looked over the god as if to analyze him for the first time since they had begun training. After a while, Ryuu gave him a grunt, a sign of his approval, and departed. It was small and meaningless maybe to some, but it was Ryuu's way of saying 'thank you'. This was a rare sight indeed, and something perhaps not to be taken for granted.

Ryuu left the training area finally, and for the first time, his body registered with how tired and hungry he really was. He nearly collapsed on a number occasions as he slowly treaded up the steps to the dining room, where he hoped a hot meal would be ready.

A day of battling and training ended today with Ryuu learning a lot of new abilities, and even learning something additional about himself: Sometimes, sheer will can prevail.
 
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Eeveemaster9

Years of Lies
505
Posts
14
Years
Chapter 3.5 - Bernkastel Vermillia - Demon District

"…."

Well. This was unexpected; seeing two angels in my room. I first eyed Amelia, who had pulled her hand back and away from my desk. And then the other was Shizuka, seated peacefully in a nearby chair. I didn't have to hunt them down, so that made my life just a tad bit easier to cope with. Calmly, as if unaware of their presence, I led myself inside and shut the door. Why did they bother coming here…? Surely, it was of importance. Because of the way Shizuka looked me over; I came to the conclusion that it was his idea to meet with me. Amelia just happened to be dragged along as an ally. Why else would she be here with him? Somewhere deep down, I was glad that Amelia managed to get one person to help her out; a good one, at that. Despite the dark wings, and overall dark appearance and intimidating eyes, he was unlike the most obvious villain, Ryuu. He caught my attention on, of course, the helicopter. Why did everything keep leading to that? Well… Amelia seemed to trust him. Perhaps like him…

I snapped back into the present, and looked up from the implanted grass. The thing or, in this case, person that I caught eyes with, was an angel. That was the first observation I made. Next, I realized that I didn't recognize him as being one of the participants on the helicopter. I had taken a great deal of time in remembering each face, so there was no way I could have forgotten someone like him. I assumed he was trouble, and slid into the covers of branches. His eyes were nearly the same green as my own. Perhaps lighter. And though they were soft, the rest was of a sharp appearance. A toss of hair slicked into a Mohawk, with a pair of dull-colored wings crossed over his back. I noticed how the very tips of the longest feathers, crossed over and the arched bones were much more defined than Amelia's. Perhaps even Shizuka's.

When he looked my way, I didn't hide. Instead, I gazed calmly over at him. I showed no sign of worry, because I didn't. I didn't worry about this new person. What could I learn, just by staring and observing his behavior? Plenty, I would say. His story could open up like a book inside my hands. All I needed to do was watch how he reacted to particular persons. And there was an array of persons here for him to interact with. It was training, as well. I can learn about what he's trying to improve, and from there, minus those from all the stations available, to get his strengths.

My wandering eyes trailed over in the direction of a familiar voice; a loud, booming voice. Obviously, it belonged to Ryuu. Immediately, I slipped myself out from the crevice of my tree, to peer through the branches. There, the hulking participant stood over by a station with a single, male trainer. Noticing that this trainer taught Earth magic last year, I assume that he still is, and this is his new station. I flinch at this realization. This wasn't what I had been expecting. With my observation, I labeled Ryuu as someone who had no knowledge of magic, and wasn't going to deal with the exhausting process of learning. What was expected was him to flaunt his physical strength, and train in some sort of long-range weapon to his tastes. He wasn't completely stupid. He knew that he would be at a disadvantage against a flying, magic-wielding opponent in the arena. Well…Perhaps I needed to give him more credit. Learning magic was a difficult task; especially for demons whom are usually made for physical strength. What he was attempting, was gaining the ability to control nature itself. This was definitely worrying; especially if this particular trainer taught him how to manipulate plants. Heaven forbid that, please. All I needed was competition as large as he, chasing my allies through a forest-styled arena. Wings and flying would be meaningless. From the ground, he could throw boulders and summon earthquakes with his fists. From the air, he could potentially have vines wrap around ones ankle, and drag them down.

'But then again…' My mind kicks out the pessimistic thoughts, to think logically about the situation at hand. It would take him more than a day to learn about plant manipulation. Not to mention, he wouldn't have the patience to sit and talk about a plants feelings and spirit and the-world-is-connected stuff. It was a miracle already that he hadn't popped a blood vein in his head from the amount of anger he's always in. Alright, so I didn't have to worry as much as I had thought. Just watch for earthquakes and figure out some way to get the vampires to safety…
My posture calmed, and my attention turned next to the rest of the stations. Many had familiar faces from last year. I decided to be just a tad concerned when I didn't recognize the trainer at the Void Magic station. Meaning, they must've 'replaced' the woman from before. Even though she was a Goddess, I was still irritated—

I stumbled back, and held my head as a sword cut through and snapped every muscle in my body to creak in pain. An imaginary sword, of course, but it hurt like the same thing. A stabbing pain that jolted me out of all thought, to concentrate on calming this new issue. I didn't need this now. Not now, when I could be observing Kerin and Xavier and—

My hands slid away as the pain turned into a low throb. Something I could deal with, at least. No emotion. My face went blank, with only a prickling trace of pain in my eyes. No emotion. Excusing myself from the forest, I wandered out like nothing happened, and slid over to the Rope-Tying station. Well…. That was something I could work on to distract me. There would be no real point in training with magic. I'm a demon named Bernkastel. No magic stations for me.
As I moved over to the station, I heard a fit of laughter from the weapon's station. Raising my eyebrows, I turned to see that the instructor, a man with deeply tanned skin, was smirking and letting out a few chuckles at the sight of me. I frowned, until I realized who he was.

"Silence, Gatious… I'm trying again," I mumbled. He didn't respond with words. He only snorted, and flashed me a thumbs up. Sighing, I went to the station filled with ropes, and gingerly picked up the smallest piece I could find off the stand. As I began fiddling with it, the trainer came over, and looked down with amused blue eyes. "Do you need help, witch?" He asked teasingly. I shot him a blank stare, and pulled my fingers free of the knots. "……." I looked back at the chart, and promptly ignored him. He didn't leave, though. I knew he wouldn't leave. The Gods were just getting started.

"Oh come on, Bern. Don't be so cold!"

I paused, midway through what was supposed to be a noose, and looked up. Finally, I gave in and held out my hands. "Untie this," I ordered quietly. He laughed out, and examined the intricate and otherwise random knots and pieces that made up the rope around my hands. I had tied them together. You see, I never excelled in rope tying. Actually, I couldn't work with rope at all. That's why I didn't hang myself back in the previous games. I didn't know how to make a noose around my neck, without it winding up around my thigh.

Gatious wandered over and calmly gazed down at the mess the instructor was attempting to undo. "Mmm… I rate it a seven on the SRTS" Like I knew what it was. When my eyes flickered up at him, he took it upon himself to translate his gibberish.

"Sucky Rope-Tying Scale," He grinned wider. "You managed ten, two years ago. Hey, you're losing your skills, sweetheart! Get a nine." Oh shut up.

"Hm? I dunno, man. This is a pretty amazing piece of art." The instructor raised my still-trapped hands for Gatious' amusement. It looked horrible. Like a tornado got a hold on a piece of long rope, and went to town. It didn't look like it was created by a demon. "Maybe we can hang it up in the museum if Bern loses this year?"

Just as he went to try his skills at untying it, I flexed my fingers, and the rope immediately burst into a ball of flames. The trainer, taken by surprise, jumped back and stumbled right into the rack of ropes. Gatious snorted loudly, and once the flames had disappeared, wiped the ashes and debris off of my hands. My face was emotion-missing, but it certainly got the point across. Gatious grunted, and helped the stunned instructor find his legs and stand. "Oh come on, Creniz. Bern's not gonna lose. She always wins."

This comment had me with mixed reactions. I was impressed and glad that Gatious wasn't sick of my winnings yet. Though, it did put a bit of unwanted pressure on me to win; because I wasn't planning on winning the games. If I won, the situation would be worse for those in the districts. I needed to lose. Not to Ryuu and not to this new participant. I needed to lose to myself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the end, Creniz helped me perform the noose I had been trying to achieve since the second games, and Gatious was kind enough to switch his "SRTS" to "ARTS" or "Amazing Rope Tying Scale". I didn't care all that much. I could make a noose, and nothing else. And I bet you, I'll screw it up when in the arena. Make some sort of 'intricate' nest of rope, probably. Rope and tying have never been my strong points. Then what was, then? Perhaps these Gods were right. Maybe Gatious was right for once. Perhaps I was such a threat because of my ability to truly stay calm and faceless during a situation, among other things that they knew about me, like the demon servants. Speaking of which, I hadn't heard from any of them since the whole Ryuu incident. 'That and Mammon's behavior…' As I watched Creniz with his rope trap lesson, I rolled my memory back to how Mammon kept close to the human Ryuu had been 'training' with. There was no real way Raike could've left a fight with a demon unharmed; especially Ryuu. Mammon had helped him. To what extent, though? Did she go as far as make a contract with the boy? That would surely be interesting. Mammon was extremely picky when it came to her contractors. He had to be some sort of specialty if she found interest in him. 'Lucifier probably won't take that too well…' I mused.

I checked the time. Hm… I had spent nearly that long on this station alone?

"Pardon…" I mumbled; standing up and giving a gracious nod towards Creniz. He blinked, frowned, and then smiled. Such an odd one… Slowly, I made my way around the arena to observe what the others were doing. I had easily blanked out all outer noise, so it came as a slight surprise to hear that besides the clacks of metal and Ryuu's roars of anger, it was otherwise peaceful. Ryuu seemed to be getting a hang on the whole magic controlling, with what the tutor was teaching him now. A sort of wall made of rocks. My interest in what the others were learning dwindled down the farther I went through the building. Some were practicing magic, while others, deadly-looking weapons. Stations such as herbal and medicine were left untouched.

The first person I noticed after Ryuu was the angel named Pewita. Her hands were slipping along a table filled with long-range weapons at a station. A gleam in her eyes, and she picked up a stack of small throwing knives. Not even glancing my way, Pewita faced the thick board target across the station, and threw. I watched with interest as each knife came down on either a red or blue dot on it. Red, meaning the person would die from such a wound, and blue for places that would render a limp useless. A long-range specialist showing off her talent certainly was entertaining. Too bad she was a dangerous girl… She would've been an excellent piece.

Moving on, I allowed myself to step into the Traps Station to watch Fang fiddle with some wire, pieces of metal, and vine. It definitely looked complicated; by the way he handled it with such care. Nobody would be able to copy this design just by observing and researching it. They would need to be taught by a professional. And this was a professional. His fingers knew exactly how the mechanism would react with the smallest amount of weight on a particular spot. The way he touched and fixed it was natural, and he didn't hesitate. Even the instructor was giving praise, and looked to be impressed.

"How does it work?" I asked. I'd never seen such a complex trap before. The way the vines overlapped the wires and the plates make a design on the floor. Fang looked up, and grinned.

"Hey Bern! Here, I'll demonstrate!" Jumping up to his feet, the vampire took a few steps back and retrieved a plastic dummy from a table. It was about the size of myself, I noticed absently. Dragging it over, Fang half tossed, half laid the dummy out across the trap, and stepped back quickly for the reaction. The trap activated, and the dummy jolted slightly from something underneath. Wires and vines shot out, and within three seconds, had the victim cocooned. It was a very impressive result, with such little to work with. Fang trotted over to the mess of wire, and carefully tapped the tip of his shoe against a metal plate over by the dummy's head. The wires retracted, and he lifted it up to show the final result.

I inhaled, and looked it over with my eyes. "You're scaring me, Fang." I joked silently; tracing my fingers along the grooves. The plastic had been cut into harshly to make crossing designs all over what would normally be flesh. These kinds of wounds wouldn't kill right away, but they could potentially make the victim bleed to death. It would be extremely painful. Flipping it over, there were large holes in the back, where the metal plates had dug in. Wonderful, I have an alliance with a sadist.

"Natruo isn't the only one who can make deadly traps," Fang smiled, tossed the dummy away and rolled up his sleeves. "Think I should hook up a noose, Bern? Like, wire around the neck, and when they go to sit up, it'll activate the final blow? Because I don't want to be TOO mean. You know?" I think this was 'mean' enough. I stared at him with emotionless eyes. "Go ahead," I answer back. He fist-pumps the air, and goes right to work on his new accessory to the torture device. If the victim did manage to free themselves from the first portion of the trap, they would only throw themselves into another. I didn't want to be caught In ANY of Fang's traps.

Conscious that Fang could have some random trap set anywhere now, I slipped away to continue my observation of the participants. Finally, someone was poking around the herbal station, and the woman there was happily pointing out poisons and antidotes and whatnot. Who else would be interested in herbs, than Amelia? Silently, I moved up from behind her, to see what she was learning. Her immediate reaction was to squeak and jump away from where my wings had brushed against. I didn't remember her being this jumpy…

She didn't say anything to me. Amelia swallowed hard, and turned back to the table and ingredients she had been working at. Even though her act was impressive, I knew she couldn't concentrate with me within a meter of her. Her wings were shivering lightly, due to her muscles being bunched up so tightly. I watched as she attempted to create a mixture for natural poison; a tasteless substance that even I couldn't detect. As Amelia's hand reached out for the vial of pointed red leaves, I nonchalantly took her wrist with my thumb and index finger, until her hand was over the proper ingredient. She mumbled a hesitant thank you, and fumbled to finish the poison. When she finally finished it within a small wooden bowl, and breathed out and smiled at her accomplishment. Before the instructor could see it, I took the bowl and looked at the clear-green liquid that slid across the bottom.

"…" And as calm as someone taking a simple drink of water, I tilted the bowl over my lips and swallowed it down.

The reaction was immediate. Amelia yelped and took the bowl away from me to stare in horror. When I licked my lips to get the rest, she looked as though she was going to faint. "Th-that was poison, Bern! You need to get to the hospital!" When her hand reached out to pull me away to get an antidote, I waved her off and tilted on my heels to walk away.

"… It should have been a clear white." I said simply in return. I didn't even bother to stay and see more of her reaction. I needed to get the taste out of my mouth. Didn't I say it was a tasteless poison that I couldn't detect? I think I did. And that mixture was perhaps the bitterest thing ever to cross my lips. If you wanted to kill someone with tastes, that was the mixture you needed to have them drink.

~~~

After backtracking and taking a swing of water to revive my taste-buds, I decided to check out the other side of the training arena. This end sported most of the weapon-related stations, so it was to no surprise to find Nokoto practicing defensive combat skills under the cover of the forest. Not caring too much about her, I moved on to find Shiro quietly holding a long, thin, and slightly curved blade within her grip. The quietness of her breath as she regained it was to be admired. Sweat beaded her collarbones and face. Leaning against a nearby tree, I watched the vampire calmly. She was, obviously, still drugged up. Though, not as much as when she was on the helicopter. She appeared to be somewhat sane, and that basically was it. What was she doing, though? The trees, from my perspective, seemed to be unharmed by the blade. Not a scratch was showed on their strong trunks. So why was she so out of breath? Was she simply slashing the air? I frowned at this. What was needed by training with the sword was the ability to keep hold when hitting a solid object; the ability to directly hit a specific area on a target…

I was just beginning to turn and leave Shiro to her useless training, when she moved. Her legs allowed her to move forward at a startling speed to most who hadn't seen a vampire move before. It wasn't blinding or making her form blur, but it was certainly faster than a human, demon, angel… You name it, a vampire was faster than. Her shoes, built for grip, looked as though they were gripping nothing but air. At this speed, wherever she 'stepped', left the ground undisturbed. Her sword was tucked down on her hip as her form leaned down for added speed. Her feet came together just a meter or two from the nearest tree, and she jumped upwards. Her body skyrocketed up about a quarter of the height, before she moved forward and snapped her feet against a tree. She continued to go upwards with this tactic; the trees giving her the bounce she needed to scale right to the top.
I watched, now interested, as she lost room to jump any higher. I could just barely see her above the trees. Vampires, of course, can't fly. So now what? Shiro's hands moved around accordingly so her sword was posed above her head for a strike. And, with all the momentum she could possibly get from such a height, she fell. Shiro's sword slammed down through the air with unbelievable power. When I heard the snapping of branches, I finally realized what she had been doing. The ground, I noticed, was littered with the debris of trees. She had been slicing the branches off of the trees right down to the trunk. Interesting….

When she finally came crashing down along with the bits of tree, I decided to part ways before she noticed my presence. My brain was already memorizing everyone's skills, and saving them for later use. Shiro was, technically, considered an enemy until the other four vampires gave word of her cooperation. Thus, it was simply best to learn about her strengths, and make a plan to guard against them.

~~~

It was getting late, I noticed after a few more minutes of wandering. Most of the participants had left to eat supper, and even the instructors were beginning the long process of packing up. I hadn't done much training myself, as I only learned how to avoid trapping my fingers within a few feet of rope. I had noticed a few people watching me as I walked, so perhaps it was for the better that I didn't really do anything all that eye-catching.

Instead of going back to the Demon's Tower like you would suppose, I turned on my heels and went in the direction of the Human's elevator. My conversation with Xavier would have to wait. My priority at the moment was going to see Raike. I hadn't seen much of him all day. Either he had been avoiding me while training down here, or he never came back down after the Ryuu incident. Mammon hadn't reappeared… Well, I was curious as to what he had been doing. Not to mention, if he could be a potential ally.

Clearing my mind of everything until all was blank; I stepped inside the elevator and made my way up inside the building. I didn't know what to expect with this meeting, but I did know what I couldn't mess up as badly as I had with Ryuu. The first place to check would be his room, perhaps. I didn't want to appear with all the other humans as witnesses. Jin was basically insane, and Nokoto… Well…. I didn't expect much from her. And she just might have an alliance with someone else, and tattle. All I needed, was for Raike to be alone.
 

SkyisUmbreon

But it Refused
806
Posts
13
Years
- The breathing that came from my mouth, matched the slow rise and fall rhythm of my chest. I hadn't bothered to close my door again once I had gotten inside, or even take my shoes off, I had just passed out on the bed. My eyes weren't tightly closed, but rather relaxed as if I was sleeping in one of my numerous snugs in the Human District. There I basically had my own little network of places where I could stay, since I didn't have a real set home with actual parents. I slept as I had always trained myself to, always relaxed, and always vigilant so that I would be able to detect any kind of presence that might be lurking in my room, or in the building itself. The contract I had made with Mammon had boosted both my physical AND mental capabilities, which were both already fairly sharpened so now the chances of sneaking up on me were pretty low.

My dreams that I saw behind my closed eyelids, in my mind were dark; memories of my old life, memories of the people who had fallen to me... the memory of Fausto. Yeah, I said it, remember that guy who I had been watching on the helicopter, the one who had tried to romance Nokoto, the one who's skull I bashed in? He had been manipulated by Natruo on the heli, and had caused a few mental injuries to one of the angels... He was sleeping when I killed him, he had no chance of defending himself, no chance to even yell. In my dream I was standing at the door of his room, watching myself drive my fingers into the center of his brain, seeing the small little jump he made as his life was instantaneously stolen from him. Then the me from the dream turned to look at me, and smiled; a cold, chilling, bloodcurdling smile that made me want to puke. The bed behind him burst into flames, but he didn't notice, he just slightly lifted both of his hands from his sides, as if to say "What did I do wrong? Isn't this what we wanted?" Only it was in a sinister voice.

The only hint that I showed any emotion outside of the dream on my bed, was me grabbing the bedding with a gloved hand, and the quick flash of a frown. Invisible to the naked eye, my aura flared considerably, only causing a slight outline of charring on the blanket. Back in the dream, the memory version of myself disappeared, and a ghostly transparent Fausto rose from its dead body, and stepped out of the bed, walking towards me until we were a foot apart. I tried to say something, but I couldn't talk and in a chilling fusion of mine and his voice, I heard the repetition of my own slogan "Anything to survive, right?"

At this I woke, not sweating, not yelling, but my eyes snapped open, and I got out of bed, walking into the bathroom to go wash my face. As I lifted my head to look at the mirror, I quickly glanced down again, because for a moment, I had seen a ominous sight. Fausto was right there, staring back at me.
 

Eeveemaster9

Years of Lies
505
Posts
14
Years
Chapter 3.5 - Bernkastel Vermillia - Demon District

Upon the elevator doors opening, I took a few steps into the hallway, I couldn't help but notice that a door which should normally be locked, was wide open. Raike's designated room. I inhaled at this, and rolled my shoulders; preparing for the worst. One must always prepare for the worst, so they are ready for anything. Pushing aside and simply thinking that he was in a rush to get in and didn't bother to shut the door, would ultimately have you surprised to encounter him possibly dead from an attack. 'For now, I will assume he was sleeping, and somebody broke in without permission.' Feeling a few of my joints crack into place, I moved fluidly through the short hall, and to the door. This close, I noticed that it wasn't completely dark in there. Light spilled out enough from the hallways that I could see that there was no immediate danger inside. There was Raike, though. He was still dressed in his clothing from earlier that day and he stood just inside the bathroom; splashing water into his face. I observed the way his clothing and hair were ruffled, and came to the conclusion that he had previously been in bed, sleeping. Silently, I observed him. Dark brown hair slipped across his forehead, and slightly into the ink spheres below. When those two spheres gazed upward to look in the mirror, I slid back slightly at his reaction. Had I been spotted? I watched the way he inhaled and his hands tightened just slightly. It wasn't me. He hadn't seen me just yet…

I lightly rasped my knuckle against his door, even though I had already entered the room. My emerald eyes glowed in the darkness. "Pardon my entry, Raike… But leaving your door open while contestants are training to kill… Isn't exactly bright." Instead of moving towards him, I slipped away to turn on a small lamp on his desk. Only then, did I close his bedroom door. I preferred darkness over having the entire room blindingly bright.

"I hope you won't mind me having a word with you at this hour…
 

SkyisUmbreon

But it Refused
806
Posts
13
Years
-"What's wrong with me" Is the question I would have asked myself as the knock on my door came to my attention. Normally I would have heard her before she stepped out of that elevator, before the doors opened. It was that dream, that haunting image of the one I had sent to the next world that must have clouded my senses. " Whatever, forget the dream. Possible enemy in my room. Focus" I told myself mentally, and forced myself to relax, shaking my head slightly to clear my mind of the dream. My mind screamed "Outsider!" And my body responded, my normal blank/slightly irritated look came back to my face, my arms automatically crossed and a soft sigh escaped my lips. This was the look I took on in public normally, I had perfected it. It showed nothing else but a fake irritation.-

"Well, that was 13 words, so you're already over your limit."

-There was a small table with two chairs, one I requested since I wouldn't be eating breakfast or dinner with everyone else by force of habit, but on the off chance I wold have company and despite my protests, the other chair was brought in as well. I motioned to the table with a slight wave of my hand, then walked over myself and sat down, looking up at her with the same expression.-

"What do you want Bernkastel?" -My voice would have sounded rude to some, but that came with the normal look. Show no favoritism, and not too much respect to anyone.-
 

Eeveemaster9

Years of Lies
505
Posts
14
Years
Chapter 3.5 - Bernkastel Vermillia - Demon District

"Well, that was thirteen words, so you're already over your limit."

Ha... This was going to be interesting. Not Ryuu-interesting, but interesting enough. His comeback was perfect. I would have smiled, but then I would just be killing myself with pain. It was so annoying at first, but I got used to it freakishly quickly. No emotion. My eyes glazed over to the chair he had motioned towards, and I automatically slid into the seat opposite from him. Flattening out my skirt, I raised my eyesight back to him.

"You have sparked my attention, Raike. And I would like to work something out for when we are present in the arena... You made a contract with Mammon, correct?" I couldn't screw up like I did with Ryuu. Not with this one. Though he was a human, he was strong. If memory served well... A wizard of fire magic. And with Mammon at his side, he was one of the strongest opponents out there. Mammon was a master at fire. She worked well with him, and he would easily be able to learn techniques. Raike would be a very good asset to have as an ally. And if he did make an agreement with me, it would have its advantages.

In the light of the small lamp across the room, I watched as Mammon's tattoo reappeared on his neck. There... All the evidence I needed that she made a contract with him. I relaxed, and felt my own snake tattoo coil around my neck. Its head laid on my collarbone. As I felt the sensation, I thought about what Raike could have possibly done to pay Mammon back for her powers. 'Fausto,' I remembered him instantly. The limp body I had found when I slipped through his window the previous night. While I was chatting with the vampires, someone had killed him by crumbling his skull. Raike must have killed him before I could, to complete his contract.

"Your payment... Killing Fausto? Saved me the trouble, I suppose..."
 
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