People Fear Death Even More Than Pain [Marceline & Kite]

Kite’s hand was lit ablaze with the purpose of lighting their way through the bug infested cave and although his intentions were meant to help but the heat that would radiate from the flames he created would cause discomfort for his partner to the point to where she felt the need to pick up her speed to walk further ahead of him to escape the heat, in reaction to this he lowered the heat of his flame a bit to make it a lot more bearable ” Sorry about that. I’m not use to I turned down the heat, you can get a tad closer. Don’t want to be too far out if they decide to get on the offensive.“ The Demon Slayer said to Marcy, he wanted to apologize in a bit better of a way but at the same time he was had his attention more focused on the various demonic energies ahead of them as they continued to descend deeper into the cave towards the danger, the multitude of demonic signatures, with one feeling much more dangerous than the rest but he was too far from it to actually be able to tell what exactly the species was of this particular demon but he knew well enough that once that battle started it would be the hardest and strongest demon he would have fought to date. The notion of which got Kite excited enough to pick up the pace to catch up to Marcy. It was when he got closer that she had asked him a question regarding if the bugs knew the reason for why they are down here and gave a second option about the matter if that were the case would they have attacked already. The Demon Slayer pondered this question for a second before opening his mouth to speak ”hmmm that is a good question.“ he compiled his thoughts and then continued ”Without a doubt I doubt they know anything. Based on the beast that we encountered it would seem they are more feral and rely on instinct. The big bug in charge however would have some level of intelligence however. Unfortunately for us an attack is going to happen sooner rather than later. They most likely can sense what I am might be prone to attack.“


Kite couldn’t have been more correct, he heard the scattering of feet on the cave floor but it was too late, he saw Marcy being bumrushed by a beetle similar in looks to the stag beetle form before but slightly smaller but it hovered over Marcy who was on the ground with searing venom dripping on her skin, ”Woah, Marcy are you...“ he was in the middle of asking if she were alright but as he started his approach on the beetle to back up his partner something unexpected happened. Bursting through the wall completely flanking the demon slayer was a massive beetle silver in color and much larger completely overpowered Kite and slammed him into the wall. He wasn’t paying attention and didn’t think to consider that the beetles could have burrowed tunnels next to the main passageway. Kite was strong enough to hold it at bay for the moment but being pinned by a bug as big as this with many arms he had to get away. ”Wow and just when I started to think they couldn’t get any uglier.“ Kite opened his hand activating the gates again this time it rippled not before him but right above the massive beetle and slowly a sword started to slide through it tip first and it dropped right next to the beetle severing one of it’s arms clean off. It backed off and let out a shrieking cry which is when Kite made his move. His arms were out wide as two streams of fire flared out in a large plumes but soon began to condense down into the shape of two twin swords ”Flame Demon’s Flambergs “ which was the name of his twin sword spell. With his right hand he slashed downward at angle searing through its front most arm following up with an arching left kick slamming into the beetle’s hard shell causing stinging to ring through out his leg. ”Gah, it’s like armor.“ Kite had a momentary limp before he shook it off in time for a face off with the bug who brought it’s sharper claw for an attack which Kite countered with a reverse swing slashing under its arms striking it’s side. He saw he was standing by his large sword that was sticking out of the ground he turned and used is right foot to kick it but towards the bug striking it in the back where it’s shell was segmented striking right into the soft flesh of the bug causing it to fall back with it being propped up by only the handle and blade. Kite jumped up and came down slamming his feet on the torso of the bug causing it to slide down the length of the blade causing further damage internally. Kite was ready to finish it off but he stopped when he heard a strange sound, words in a language he had only heard once in his life and his eyes locked on the source. It was Marcy just holding onto the bug surrounding it with a white aura which he realized was the death magic she mentioned before ”Wow, now ain’t that something.“ he would say ignoring the still very much alive demon bug which twitched and tried to grab a hold of Kite with its remaining arms but not willing to have it Kite swept his blade across the neck of the demon searing through it effectively decapitating it. ”Don’t worry, the rest will join you.“ he said turning his attention to the numerous number of bugs that would be his next target. ”Marcy, we have a bug problem.“
”“

That was one bug down for the count but not without effort, Kite could have just about kicked himself for letting a demon catch him off guard in such a way would more than certain cause Asmodeous to look upon him with shameful eyes. That was a look he would avoid from here on out especially now that the demons had gained Kite’s full attention and had every single one of them pinged with his demon sensing ability. Kite wasn’t sure how Marcy was doing with her opponents or rather victims which he saw her handily handle some of the bugs that had jumped her. This took a load of his shoulders in a way. He wouldn’t have to come come and rescue her from peril, at least not for the moment even though he would if the situation called for it. After the quick glance at his job partner he would set his sights on the wall where the massive beetle broke through for its attack on Kite. ”If wonder….“ Kite said letting his senses go off like a radar and he was right, right around on inside of the opening he felt the presence of another bug similar to the variety of bug he and Marcy had encountered at the entrance of the cave. ”Hide and seek huh?“ Kite would say as he cocked his right hand back and pivoted on his heel to the left turning towards the wall with flames swelling around his fist and ready to go ”Olly olly oxenbug!“ he said during the rotation and once he had came around fully the flames on his fist had grown quite large and his hand was already on it’s way out as a punch ”Flame Demon’s Desolation Fist!“ he shouted as he threw out not only his own hand but a large fist bigger than himself made from his flames and it rocketed towards the spot on the wall where the demon was still waiting and the fist broke through the hollowed out wall catching the bug with his flames causing it to squeal out in pain. It had ran through the smoke towards Kite with it’s incredible speed looking to strike Kite with its wings. A clever tactic if not for Kite shifting to the side and grabbing the bug by its face and one of it’s arms pushing back into it. ”Sorry but up and close is my thing.“ he would say as he would throw his knee into the underbelly of the bug striking a much softer area than the shell on it’s back. When it’s wings gave up the struggle against Kite’s strength and went to what would be it’s knees if it had any. Kite smirked when he saw this. ”Must suck for you… you had no idea that I was a demon slayer.“ he said with a big ol grin on his face as he reached down picking the bug up over his shoulders and once it was secured he would let the flames sprout from his feet and shoot him up into the air using his fire rocket ability smashing the bug into the ceiling wall up above and that is when something unexpected happened. The bug yelled out in more pain than he had expected and once he landed on the ground and took the time to look up he saw why. Sticking out it’s right side was a sharp pointed rock that was attached to the ceiling and kept it pinned up there. Kite realized his current position was directly beneath the stuck bug and a grin came across his face as flames swirled beneath his feet circling around him with his arms crossed across his chest before thrusting his hands up towards the ceiling with his palms facing the bug ”Flame Demon’s Commandment. First!“ he shouted as the swirling flames turned into a torrent of flames circling each other until it capped off at the top which also rotated and struck into the stag beetle catching it completely defenseless, engulfing it in all of the swirling flames reducing it to ash. Kite brought his hands back down happy with how things had progressed but that is when he got a ping from his senses of an incoming threat from below so he jumped up in time to see another one of those beetles with outstanding strength attempted to breech attack him. Kite back flipped and remained facing the nasty bug. ”Bring it on.“ he would say having it’s full attention and leaving a possible opening for Marcy to strike if she had an opening.

”“

Kite had made short work of his target reducing it to ash with his Flame Demon’s Commandment and now it was on to the next target whom Marcy had already engaged in combat with the last demon in their presence. The demon slayer had not seen the strike that had stuck the undead beauty but he did take notice however of the cracks that were running through her skin and within those cracks shined a light, a light bright in color consisting of white or a bright golden color. It was something Kite had never seen before and he was ready to act when he saw Marcy was picked up by the bug, holding her up by her collar but before he could make his first step Marcy spoke to the bug, a command. She had commanded it to look into her eyes and when it did it froze in place and Marcy fell free from it’s control and rolled back to her feet. Thinking that the bug was going to be frozen in place Kite advanced towards Marcy only to be caught off guard by what happened next, the bug’s attempt to strike her again but right before it made contact with her, Marcy vanished in a cloud of ashy smoke, a sight that caused Kite’s eyes to widen. ”Marcy!“   he shouted with a distinct concern in his voice, but soon the concern and worry vanished as fast as Marcy had in that moment. ”You bastard will pay for that!“ he shouted as the flames surrounded him signifying his anger was flared up and with his feet lit ablaze he charged at the bug with his movement amplified and he closed the distance between them and slammed his fist into the bug sending it crashing into the a nearby wall and away from Marcy. While it was effective in getting it away from her it wasn’t enough to keep it down for good,no he would need to do more. He walked over to the bug as it attempted to push itself off the ground Kite’s boot would stomp on it’s back driving it flat onto it’s belly and would remain pressure on it to prevent it from coming back up. Kite would lean over with his head craned over the bug ”Flame Demon’s Rage.“ he would say with no remorse in his voice as a plume of fire would erupt from his mouth and engulf the demon’s upper torso in flames completely cremating half of its body. Kite’s gaze would shift from the bug to Marcy who was laying on her back after reforming into a solid body but the cracks were worse and there were more and more lights escaping from them.

Kite couldn’t sense anything from them, they weren’t many but he had seen this once in the demon world, they were souls. ”She...souls are her life source. he said, realizing quickly just what was happening. He had not seen someone like her but he was aware of the existence of beings that lived off the souls of men.. Succubus was a common word for them. ”I don’t know where they came from…. I don’t know what you did. But they gotta go back. You’re not dying on me.“ he declared but at the moment it was all talk. He had not the ability to harness souls nor manipulate them so he had no true method of driving them back into her and she was fading fast, he could tell by the amount of souls pouring out of her, it would be like how blood would pour out of a human, only so much can be lost before it’s too late. That’s when a thought came to him ”If i can’t heard them to her then plan B”“ he would think as he began to inhale sucking in a lot of air into his lungs but he also sucked the souls that had escaped from her into his mouth and held them there, his cheeks were puffed like a squirrel with food in it’s mouth and then Kite closed his eyes and only wished he could say sorry to her for what he was going to do next. He leaned down next to her and presses his mouth against hers and expelled the souls that he stored into her mouth with the hope that this would be a sufficient way to give her souls back to her. He would break away and watch to see if it had worked.

”“

Kite’s lips had pressed against Marcy’s as he let the souls that he had sucked into his mouth pass into her’s and filling her body with them. Kite had no idea if it was working at first but when her eyes had suddenly flashed open he knew that it had some effect whether it have been the souls passing through his mouth into hers or if it was just the action of his lips touching hers.Kite used his stomach muscles to help push the numerous souls from his body into hers and would only pull away once he felt every last one leave his body. Kite backed away once he broke contact, actually surprised that he wasn’t affected by her decaying ability and just watched as the cracks that had flooded her body to seal up showing clearly now that his plan worked and she wasn’t going to vanish. He would watch as she sat up staring right at him and would just remain seated upright silent as her eyes gazed into his. Kite wasn’t sure if he should apologize to her for doing that or if he should remain silent or even change the topic by going to move onto the rest of the demons in the cave. A bead of sweat would roll down his cheek as he would watch her look away from him and stand up, which he would do as well while she dusted off her clothes apologizing to him for showing how weak she was. Kite heard this and put a hand on her shoulder, ”I didn’t see any weakness here. If you were weak then you wouldn’t have comeback.“ He would say to her and would walk around so he was making eye contact with her again. ”It takes a great deal of strength to accept help from another...although you didn’t really accept it more like I...“ He would pause for a second ”I’m sorry if I have crossed some sorta line by doing that..but it was the only thing I could think of to save you.“ he would say started to defend his actions even though there was no real need to but a smile would form on his face changing course to his playful nature ”and i swear, i felt the earth shake when it happened.“ he would say to her but unfortunately due to the amount of impacts and fighting that was taking place the cavern floor’s structural support gave way right beneath their feet and they would fall through with it plummeting into the darkness.

They would land on something soft and moist which would be the only reason why they didn’t die or get hurt in the fall. Kite would sit up and look down at Marcy ”Hey are you alright…?“ he would ask her and as soon as she would answer they would hear the sound of something breathing and almost snarling. Kite’s gaze would shift from her to the thing that was the cause of all the demons. Standing twenty some odd feet in front of them was a massive demonic bug with a long pointed face that only a mother could love. It’s arms were long and claw like resembling that of a praying mantis. It had a long slender torso that rounded out in a fat bulbous body, like an egg sack with four legs on each side. ”Uhm Okay I take it back.. Now we have a bug problem.“ Kite would say to her before a sudden change in temperature would occur and a whitish blue aura would radiate from the Demon and our from him a large wave of cold would come at them. Kite would then turn and roll Marcy out of the way of the frozen nova and attempt to take the brunt of the attack by using his body as a shield a few meters in front of her. He would grunt against the attack and fall to one knee as the cold could be felt through his body for the first time in years.

”“

It would seem that Kite’s attempt of convincing her that she was not weak were not received very well. She admitted she was weak in power and she had let it get to her and then shrugged off his hand from her shoulder and gave him a stern stare. She stated that she had only came back because that is what the souls do, they animate her body making it possible for her to appear alive. She belittled her existence more and then declared she had no problem accepting help, but when he said she wasn't weak in his eyes she went off on a small rant saying that deep down he secretly thought she was weak whether he knew it or not. He crossed his arms just as she was doing and shook his head, ”Sorry, but you're wrong. Not even deep down do I view you as weak and for someone who doesn't want to appear weak you sure seem to want to convince me other wise. You're not weak and I don't think you're weak.“ he would say standing firm. He would sigh and return the state ”We can continue this talk about you being weak or not when the jobs done, but I bet you will surprise the both of us by the end.“ he would say as he did his best not to scold her. He received a response regarding his statement about the earth shaking and then the next thing he knew the floor was gone and they were landing in the lair of the beast and what a beast it was. It was smart enough to attempt to attack them first, possible it knew of what fate fell upon it’s underlings or it was able to detect that Kite was a demon slayer and he was an immediate threat? Or perhaps it could sense the impending death that was radiating off of Marcy, either way it attacked and with a wave of cold energy that caused Kite to protect Marcy by tackling her to the ground and using his body as a shield to protect her from the arctic blast. However the cold had just barely touched him when something interesting had happened, leather like wings wrapped around him acting like a shield against the cold aura. Kite’s eyes were not fixed onto Marcy’s and nothing else. Both of their red eyes remained locked onto each other's, his attention was given to her completely given to her eyes due to a mix of confusion and surprise. He would feel as she rolled them both over, still encased in her wings as she positioned him on his back with her laying on top of his chest, but Kite dared not look away, he didn’t want to stop. Next thing he would watch her do is look at the demon bug and hiss before she would release them both from her wings and take flight to combat the bug. It was only then Kite was able to see the full extent of her transformation, the horns protruding from her head, her fingers now claws, a tail now extended from her back and her clothes were no longer the same as before, now it seemed her body was encased in some sort of material that acted as natural armor covering her chest and hips. Kite wasn’t scared of this form or in awe for that matter, no he instead smirked as he watched Marcy inhale for her next attack, ”I am so going to call her out now for her weak comments earlier.“ he would saw before sitting up only to let himself lay back and back rolling over his shoulder and making it to his feet just as Marcy would let loose a breath of some sort of energy that did damage to the bug. His gaze would meet hers before she turned her attention to the bug and drew in her hands to her stomach and gathered her magic. Not wanting to be left out any longer Kite finally focusing on the bug, with his natural aura now flowing from his body he held out his hands in front of him and gathered a small ball of flames and held it there for a moment, letting as much of his demon slaying flames gather into the ball before finally lifting his arms above his head, opening his arms to let the small sphere expand into a large ball of flames above his head. It wouldn’t look like a fireball, there would be no flames sprouting from it, Kite had condensed so much of his flames into the sphere it looked more like an orb of white light.”Flame Demon’s Inferno Destroyer“ he would say before hurling the ball of fire at the bug demon just as Marcy let loose her attack. His ball of fire would hit right after Marcy’s beam hit the bug, causing an explosion. It would scream in pain, from the attacks and would respond by unleashed green liquid from it’s body spraying it all around him, Kite would see this and use his fire rocket to create some distance before he would feel his cheeks puff out before letting loose his plume of flames from his lips ”Flame Demon’s Rage!“the stream of flames would hit the demon causing flames to surround it completely.  Sensing that this bug was tougher than he thought he jumped way back into the cave and pull his arm back behind him and he would let the flames gather just around his hand, it was time to charge his new attack.

Staying still for the moment Kite would let flames swirl around his fist like a whirlpool, torrents of flames could be seen swirling around his hand several feet in diameter and it all swirled into his closed fist which was started to turn red from the heat. This was his biggest attack to date but the only drawback was that he had to gather enough flames and condense it into his hand to unleash the full might of this attack. Soon enough the swirling flames would start to shrink as more and more of his flames poured into his hand, he could feel a slight increase of heat in his hand, nothing he couldn’t handle but it was something he noticed and he wasn’t the only one, once the attack’s charge hit a certain cap the Bariael would notice the sudden change in heat, and the pressing threat that Kite’s right hand was becoming as time would pass, it would let loose a screech at Kite’s direction and would charge as fast as it’s maggot like legs would allow it to move. It wasn’t fast by any means, if they were to race Kite’s speed would surpass the bugs without a doubt but the problem was, while slow the bug was large therefore it could cover more space per stride and it would close the distance between them quickly. Kite would dive out of the way, the swirl of flames moving with him, as if it were an extension of his hand. Kite would use his free hand to plant onto the ground before he would do a one handed handstand then transitioned into a back handspring landing on his feet looking at the demon now closer than before. ”Phew, that was close. If I didn’t see ya coming I would have been in trouble.“

Kite would shoot Marcy a look as he started to run away from the big bad bug, ”Hey, can you distract the bug with your fancy new form? I’m sure it hasn’t ever seen such a beautiful transformation up close and  need some time...I can finish it with this attack without a doubt but I need to charge it up?“ He would ask her hoping that she wouldn’t mind the way he worded his request, for some reason he had to throw a flirty like comment into his request. Matter of fact he wanted to flirt a bit more with Marcy but that couldn’t be his focus at the moment and he wouldn’t allow it to happen. He wasn’t kidding when he said he could finish the bug. If he got this attack of his fully charged he could decimate the bug entirely. He would look over his shoulder as Marcy flew about the bug doing her thing in attempt to take it’s full attention but such a feat would prove to be more difficult than how Kite mentioned. Had this been a demon more similar to Asmodeous she could easily distract him with just her appearance but this nasty bug didn’t seem to have any trace of thought in it’s body. Unfortunately not all demons were as intelligent as the Demon king, actually not even that, he met evil demons that he could actually have conversations with, possessing some sentient thought but this beast, it was more instinctive like a wild animal than any demon he has dealt with so far. That was also why he felt so blessed at the moment, had this demon been any bit as smart as the other demon they would have figured out a more effective way to deal with Kite’s charge time whereas this beast just knows it has to stop him but doesn't have the ability to formulate a plan for it.

Kite would not stop running until he heard the sound of some sort of scream from the bug, not one of pain but like it was calling out to someone or something. Out from the ground came two bugs with looks exactly like Bariael but much smaller and less powerful than the big guy, matter of fact it was less powerful than the bugs they had faced earlier, ”Why would it summon bugs weaker than it’s thralled?“ he would ask himself trying to figure out what it might be doing but regardless of what it’s goals were it wasn’t going to fly with Kite there. Kite would change direction and run towards one of the bugs and would slam his boot into the side of one, soccer kicking it into it’s sibling which would be followed by Kite jumping up in the air and landing on them both squishing them with his body weight. Green colored liquid, similar to the toxic liquid that Bariael had sprayed everywhere, was now covering the ground and the bottom of Kite’s pants, ”That’s gross, not only are you as ugly as the big guy you smell as bad.“ he would state trailing off in order to front roll out of the way of a large claw slamming into the ground where he was once standing, ”Sorry ugly but can’t let anymore of you running around, one of you ugly S O B’s is enough for this world.“ he would say as making a run for it again trying to create as much distance from the beast as he could. The beast would then make it’s attempt at Kite once again once it freed its arm that was stuck in the ground and would chase Kite this time with much more ferocity in it’s attempts. Kite’s hand’s had lost it’s simple red glow and was so bright in color it couldn’t be considered red any longer, it was pink and Kite could feel the intense heat that was burning in his hand now, he wanted to release it now but it wasn’t the time, it wasn’t strong enough.

Kite couldn’t keep running away, the more he ran the more it was hard for Marcy to distract the beast, but at this rate the beast’s attention wouldn’t shift from Kite, the attack he had been charging what seemed like for ages was too dangerous to ignore. Kite would stop in his tracks skidding to a stop and would charge at the demonic bug who was still slowly giving chase, it would screech and lower it’s head looking to take a bite out of the demon slayer. Kite would hold out his free hand and draw forth Shamash from the gates that he had kept open and would hurl it like a spear with a low side arm throw at one of the smaller back legs of Bariael causing it to stumble from the pain and loss of balance. The sword would crash into the ground tip first and would have it’s handle in the air for Kite to grab as he ran past the demon. Kite would stop only to grab the sword and pull it from the ground holding it in front of him pointing at the bug struggling to get back up on it’s remaining legs and would speak, ”You want my attention so bad? Well now you have it.” the bug would shreek once again once it was on it’s feet and would take even slower steps towards the demon slayer who was standing still with the sword leaning on his shoulder. ”Come on ugly, let’s see what ya got now.“ Kite would say just before the bug would lift it’s mantis like leg and would try to pierce Kite’s body like a spear but the demon slayer would swing his massive and heavy sword swatting it out of the way cutting it in the process. Kite would then rotate the sword in his hand and jab it into the beast, staking him to the ground and as much as the bug tried to move the sword wasn’t budging. ”Marcy I could use a lift.“ he would hold his free hand up for Marcy to take a hold of it and lift him into the air. Kite would be in the air when he was released from Marcy’s grip and would free fall directly on top of the bug but now there were no more flames around his hand, all that was left was his white hot colored hand and right as he was within punching range Kite would throw his fist forward ”Flame Demon’s Immolation Fist!“ he would shout just as his punch would make contact forcing a large explosion to erupt from his hand powerful enough to shake the entirety of the cave, the demon would scream in pain as the the flames and the force of the explosion would annihilate the demon entirely not even leaving ash in it’s wake. Kite would finally land on the ground with his hand completely burned due to the intensity of the heat, it was so bad he couldn’t move his hand. He could stand but he didn’t move. He would just look up at Marcy with a smirk holding his injured hand with his healthy one and would just say ”So miss, how care to tell me how power like this makes you weak?“

”“