Wrong Side of Heaven.

The Tailspin was flying North towards the current destination, and on board was one other than Kite from Sabertooth. Moments ago he was in the guild hall enjoying some coffee and relaxing when he took notice of a new flyer being posted on the job board. Out of pure curiosity Kite got up from his table and was the first to go over and read it. A smirk had formed from the lips of the demon slayer after he read the details in full, ”Talk about a cake walk.“ he would say to himself stuffing the paper into his pocket before he threw back the rest of his coffee and made his way through the guild and onto the docks where the Tailspin had been parked. The ramp was down and he walked up it and entered the expansive Cargobay only to be instantly greeted by his newest travel companion EDI. “Welcome aboard Captain.” Kite would smile at the greeting and proceed to head up the catwalk stairs scaling to the upper most level of the cargobay and would only stop once he reached the dining area where he would take a seat and pull out the paper and lay it on the table, ”EDI we have a job.“ he would tell her, prompting her to ask the usual question. “Anything good? And what is the destination. ”We are flying north just past the desert’s edge where there is a bit of forest before it turns into all mountains, there in that wooded area is a bandit encampment.“ He would say to her only to pause for a moment, ”A large group of bandits decided they would raid a caravan that was on it’s way Shirotsume.“ EDI would respond with a question of her own. “What was the caravan delivering?” Kite would shrug ”Can’t say. Shirotsume is a small but richy place, it’s possible it was fur or some other sort of trade. Either way the shipment got hijacked and the goods stolen.“ EDI would fire up the ship’s engines which would roar to life and settle only letting a small humming be the only noise to be heard until take up, “So are we going to retrieve the goods?” she would ask but Kite would shake his head with a more serious look forming on his face,”The job didn’t mention anything about retrieving the stolen goods. I guess they figure that the goods were either already sold off, destroyed or no longer worth it either case that isn’t the priority. During the raid someone got killed so my purpose is to destroy the camp entirely. Shut it down.“ No response would be made by the AI other than the turbines on wings spinning to life causing a sudden downward force onto Kite as the ship lifted into the air. “No time to waste Captain.” Kite would smile at her enthusiasm. ”Got that right. Fly us high and keep a lookout EDI. I’m heading to my bunk to prep for the job. “

With EDI already rocketing towards the desert Kite would enter his bunk get ready for the mission, it wouldn’t take long for the ship to reach the destination so time was short. Kite was already wearing his Black shirt, fatigues and boots but once in the room he put on his blue ribbed long sleeve coat and hooked the buttons together. He would then pull from a rack mounted on the wall his newest weapon Divine Rose, a lacrima saber he managed to pick up by sheer luck. The would sling it over his back and from the sword roots would wrap around the sword creating it’s own scabbard with a single root would wrap around his torso diagonally and would be secure against his back. Kite would climb up the ladder and once he would reach the top he would pull the panel to his room shut and head up to the cockpit. ”How’s it looking?“ he would ask EDi while looking out the window. “Very good, I have located the base you are going to attack but there is a complication..” Kite would hear the hesitation ”What...what is it?“ Kite would ask EDi who would respond, “I am circling the ship back now, if you go to the cargo bay you can see yourself, I opened the bomb door.” Kite would nod and make his way out of the cockpit only to stop when EDI spoke “Good Luck Kite.” Kite would nod ”tell that to the bandits.” he would then make his way to the cargobay, the draft coming up from the open door in the floor. Kite would lean over the side to look down only to see shards of ice and fireballs whizzing across the camp. ”Huh. Looks like they started the party without me.“ He would say outloud and EDI would reply “Want me to land?” Kite would smile ”Nah keep her airborne and wait for my signal. I got this.“ He would say before taking a step off the edge and would free fall towards the ground. Only when he got close enough would he use his flames to guide him towards the area where the ice and fire were being shot from. Using his fire rocket he would be pushed towards a bandit with is fist already on it's way to the bandit's face. The force of the punch would slam the bandit into the ground causing a small imprint to be made in the ground where he landed. He would use his fire rocket again but this time as a means to flying shoulder tackle a bandit who was readying a fireball to hurl across the way. He would instead go flying into the wooden fence surrounding the camp. The ice bandit would turn his attention to Kite and throw an Ice spear directly at him. Much quicker than the bandit expected Kite caught the Ice spear inches from his face and would smirk, ”Ice Huh? How unlucky for you!“ He would shout as the ice would melt in his hand. The bandit would make an shield made of ice trying to block what would come next but it would be to no avail. ”Flame Demon’s Rage!!“Kite would open his mouth and would unleash a steady stream of white flames onto the ice bandit’s defenses, melting it in seconds and the flames would smash into the bandit sending him crashing into a small hut catching it on fire in the process. People would exit the building on fire as well screaming and exiting the camp.
”Yeah you better run!“

Satisfied with how the start of this little raid was going Kite would continue his mission by causing as much destruction as he could on the encampment and on any who would oppose him. He would watch as many people would exit the burning buildings and huts and literally run for the hills using the hole that he left in their now broken fence with some actually screaming for their lives. Kite had expected every person on this side of the camp to flee and a vast majority of them had done just that save the small handful of men, five in total would stand in a circle around him. Four of the men didn't impress Kite all that much, they were scrawny and had no trace of magic power just basic clubs and maces. The fifth one however didn't has a slightly different judgment cast upon him. He was a tall man just a hair taller than Kite was and much more muscular, and on each shoulder was a massive war hammer which showed that the man was significantly stronger than his fellow bandits as it would take most average to adept warriors to wield just one of those hammers with two hands. Kite was very much interested in meeting this man in battle but first he must go through the four weaklings. Kite’s aura would rise once as a means to show them just what he could do if he wished it but then let that aura extinguish so that only his slightly increased  body heat was all that could be felt. ”The sad thing is, even without my magic the four of you don't stand a chance against me.“ Kite would say announcing his self imposed handicap and would take up a fighting stance. In most situations the person surrounded would sit and wait to see what the opposition would attempt to do but Kite wasn't passive in that sense, in a fight he was always the aggressive party and he was about to show these men that. The man that Kite was facing to his right would be the first to feel Kite’s aggression. Kite would charge from his spot and close the gap between himself and the bandit slamming him with a stiff arm clothesline slamming the back of his head into the ground. The man laid there and held the back of his head which was a clear sign that Kite could break focus from him and shift it to one of the other three. The most threatening was the on flanking on Kite’s left with a knife in his right hand, blade up and looking to shank the demon slayer. Kite would meet the man’s attack by reaching out with his right hand and taking a firm grip on the bandit’s right wrist. Kite would give a slight pull, jerking the man’s knife hand to Kite’s right hand side and at the same time Kite would pivot in that direction and would press his left hand into the bandit’s elbow and would rotate further to the right,busing leverage and pressure to cause the bandit to land belly down on the ground with Kite’s still stiffened arms pressing hard into the subdued man’s knife arm using his body weight until Kite slid his left knee in so he was pressing his knee right above his elbow joint and propped his right leg up as if he were taking a knee but he positioned his leg more to the side for balance, the bandit was stuck now. In this position Kite could do usually one of two things. The first being the less painful route which would be removing the knife from the bandit’s hand. The second option and Kite’s favorite option was to use his right hand to pull up on the man’s wrist and use the knee to hyperextend the arm and possibly break it. Unfortunately for the violent demon slayer he wouldn’t get to do either option, one of the bandits came in to attempt a downward stab on Kite. Kite would press of the man dodging the knife which would instead dig into the subdued bandit’s shoulder instead. With the bandit screaming from getting stabbed it created a nice distraction for the bandit who tried to do the stabbing who was panicking, Kite came back but with his right foot up and drove it down on the back of the panicking bandit’s neck forcing him face first into the ground.

Kite would stand up straight and hold out his right hand for the last of the four who wanted to try to take him out and would do the “just bring it” sign, ”Come and get it.“ he would say but instead the bandit would throw down his club and look to make a beeline to the hole where mostly everyone else ran off through only to meet a large metal hammer striking him in the chest. If not for the loud thunk one could hear the cracking of the bones. Kite would give the hammer using foe a glare, ”Wasn’t he one of your men?“ the brute would laugh instead and shrug “My men? Ha hell nah. My men don’t run from guild trash like you.” The glare would narrow but a smirk would form ”Guild Trash am I? Never seen shit talk trash before.“ The comment being clever but also the thing that would have the Hammer Bandit chasing after him with his hammers swinging. Kite would duck under the strike aimed for his head and would back away from the follow up strike aimed for his stomach. Kite recognized the man’s skill, while brutish his skill with the hammer made him quick and dangerous. After the combo strike didn’t workout he would lunge forward with both hammers above head and would try to smash both down on Kite’s head. Having a faster reaction time, Kite would hop back and then proceed to do a back handspring, while in the middle of his rotation he would open his gates to hades and would pull out Shamash from the gate and would then land right side up with his sword being held on his shoulder. “I thought you weren’t going to use magic you coward.” Kite would sigh, ”I didn’t. I said no magic this is true but I didn’t say anything about not using weapons.“ he would hold out his sword. ”Why, are you going to wet your pants now that it is a fair fight?“ the man would laugh and with a quick lunge he would heave his hammers above head and try to do the heavy strike from before, but this time Kite wouldn’t dodge, he would instead swing back at the hammers knocking the hammer blow and the bandit back where it came from. Kite would now go on the offensive he would swing left to right horizontally which the bandit would block with a hammer, and quickly fire back by swinging in reverse which knocked the bandit from his base and open his midsection for a strike. Kite would bring the blade across his body and point the pommel of his sword at the bandit’s gut and would violently jam it into his sternum causing his knees to buckle from under his unbalanced weight. Kite would scoft, ”Nighty night.“ and would drop the blunt side of his blade down on the bandit’s head knocking him out. ”That takes care of that m...“ and that is when he was interupted by a high pitched scream. ”on to the next.“ he would race to where the scream came from and would skid to a stop when he found the source.

Before him was a large burly man, large arms, hairy, the closest thing to a manly man and Kite’s eyes would widen from what he saw him holding or rather who he was holding. Caught in his large arms was none other than Marcy, the dark mage whom he had a rather interesting experience with during a job. During any other situation this would fill him with some joy but right now all he had feeling was anger swelling in his blood at the sight of Marcy being assaulted by the big pervert. ”Hey Ugly! Let her go.“ Kite would demand holding his sword in his hand and his free hand tight in a fist. The Creep would release Marcy’s neck from his mouth and his hands would stop groping her but they wouldn’t relinquish their positions either. “Sorry buddy this kitty is mine to play with get your own.” Kite felt more rage fill his insides but would remain calm as he spoke to Marcy, ”Don’t worry, this oaf will learn his place.“
The oaf he was speaking about would laugh “yeah and what will you do about it bitch.” He would say before he slowly went to take a bite on Marcy’s ear. Kite would drop his large sword and he let the unusual adrenaline rush flow through his veins and combined with his fire rocket technique he closed the gap between himself and the man who was abusing Marcy. Kite’s hand would open up and encompass the man’s face tightening his grip on the man he wouldn’t smirk or change his expression, ”Flame Demon’s wrath.“ White flames would spew onto the man’s face, he would scream in pain as he would release Marcy to place his hands on his face. Kite would rotate left so he would catch Marcy from possibly hitting the ground but kept a hold of her with his left arm while his would use his right hand to stab the man through his shoulder with his Rose Saber. By this point the flames had spread over his body while the roots took hold in his body. Kite would break his serious expression to give Marcy the first smile he was able to muster since coming to this camp, ”Looks like I got here in the nick of time huh Marcy.“ Kite would push Marcy so she was able to stand up straight on his own before in one swift motion he would slide into the man's left leg above the knee and then his right below the knee. He would fall to his knees as the roots would take hold in the ground, his face was charred from the fire and he was almost crying from the pain. ”As much as I would want to finish you off that isn't my place.“ He would freeze and look over at Marcy as he spoke to the wounded man, ”That honor is hers for what you tried to do to her.“ Kite would now direct his voice to Marcy, ”What do you wanna do to this one.“

The only sound Kite was focused on was that of the bandit’s screaming, the same bandit who had been the one holding Marcy captive upon their meeting of fate. Despite the demon slayer’s warning the bandit decided he wouldn’t release her and now was holding his face in agony from the flames that scorched his face. Before Kite would pierce the man’s shoulder which would bring him to his knees and root him in place he would see the man’s face. It was burnt and whatever hair he had on his face was singed off, the scent of burnt hair actually permeated the immediate area. If the bandit would somehow survive Marcy’s wrath he would have permanent facial scars from his third degree burns. Kite would mumble to himself as he held Marcy just seconds before his sword strike, ”I thought you were ugly before but now, much better.“  The strike from his unnamed rose blade would have dropped him into a kneeling position which is when the sounds of the man in pain were replaced by the audible laughter from Marcy. It was that of an maniac laughing hysterically as she broke free from Kite’s embrace and walked over to the bandit. The wind would blow which would blow her cloak to her right hand side revealing the tattoo on her on her almost bare back and it was activating. During their last meeting Kite had not seen this part of her transformation, he knew her alternate form well but didn’t have a clue that it came from this tattoo like crest on her back. The leather like wings could be seen peeling out from the tattoo as the rest seemed to morph around her figure creating the familiar two piece armor covering her upper torso and her hips. He fingernails were already like daggers as she approached the man. He could hear her speak to the man on how powerful fear was as she held him up with a single claw under his chin. She would look back at Kite as he asked the question regarding the fate of the bandit, the initial answer he would get would be her tongue along her teeth. She would look down at the man again and would speak once more this time on the topic of death and how he should not fear it for it was set in stone. Kite wasn’t a squeamish man, death and the like didn’t bother him but as a light mage he should stop this but on a personal level he wouldn’t interfere with this. The man had planned unspeakable things he was gonna do to Marcy and that was enough for Kite to ignore the situation and thus what he did not see he could not report. He could hear sound of chirping or more accurate squeaking sounds, he was curious to what was making the ever growing sound but the next thing he knew Marcy was grabbing him by the arm and then the next was being pulled off to the side to avoid the flood of rats that would come out from voids surrounding the bandit and would begin to consume the bandit. He didn’t need to see this either, the screams were that of a man who was losing the battle for his life.

It was during the feast of the rats that Marcy shifted from this demonic form into the form she took when he had seen her in clutches of the bandit. Her demeanor had changed as well for she was now possessing a smile filled with joy, a smile one would not typically hold upon murdering someone as she had be would mentally shrug that detail off and roll with it returning the smile. She would refer to herself as silly for being caught like that and ask what he was doing in the encampment to begin with. ”Well, the this band of good for nothing thieves had ransacked a caravan on their way to Shirotsume. The cargo is unknown to me but the guards and driver in charge were brutally executed. I was sent here to shut it down. The rest you know. “ He would address the facts then give his attention to the topic of fate. ”Wouldn’t surprise me. We did work well together in the job. And here our paths cross again.“ the irony of this was that he was light guild and she was dark. He was a slayer of demons and by all rights she was a demon and yet they meshed well together. Ill fate wasn’t a wrong way to put it. The squeaking of the rats would vanish as they scampered away from the remains of the bandit which was just his skeleton. He would watch as she bent down to pick up the pile of bones and would turn them to dust, as this happened creatures would sprout from the ground, some were teal, pink, purple and the like and all had a look similar to that of a Wyvern which would collect several light orbs from the dust. Kite had no knowledge of these creatures but he knew these objects, they were souls. Never would he forget when he ate these things to save Marcy’s life. The creature would drop it onto her and it would enter her body. ”If you had enough of those you could have your own parade at christmas.

”Come with me to my ship. I’ll drop you off anywhere you want to go.“ He would say but either way he would escort her out of camp and towards the ship. He would be insistent if she had tried to decline and would take her by the hand and walk in that direction. He would look over his shoulder at her as they would walk side by side, still holding her hand and would ask her a question that was on his mind,”So I told you why I was there. Why were you at that encampment?“ he knew the answer to the question would be standard dark side stuff but he was generally curious plus he wanted to have a conversation during their walk to where his ship was parked, However the destination was not theirs to decided. Neither would notice the strange veil during their walk that stretched across the road like a curtain. Neither would notice a change in scenery either, the giant fortress before them or where the road ends with a large canyon like distance. Kite didn’t see it and if Marcy didn’t see it one of them would fall off.

Meanwhile in the fortress, Archangel Gabrielle would be already aware of their arrival the second they crossed the threshold of the veil. The alarm would be silent and only heard by her as mirror like monitors would manifest before her. “We have intruders. Apprehend them and bring them to me. Use force if necessary.” She would demand into a communication system consisting of an array of piping with horn like openings at the end of each pipe.  

”“

Kite felt no true remorse for for what happened to the bandit, what he was trying to do to Marcy ushered justice but not by his hands but by hers. Should she have chosen to spare him he would have been surprised but not as surprised as bythe appearance of these soul collectors that Marcy seemed to have sired to her. It would be apparent as Marcy explained that these things came in a variety of colors and so many that he wouldn't be able to truly distinguish them from one another. He would watch as Marcy would scratch under the chin of one of them as if they were a cat or a dog or any other domesticated animal.

After sharing with the immortal beauty that was Marcy the reason why he was there. However her response to his explanation was shocking. She basically lectured him on being in her words "a cliche legal mage." The word cliche legal mage rang in his head and it slowly light the fire of his emotions which was his anger. ”Cliche? Me?“ he would glare at her for the first time since their knowing one another and automatically defend himself. ”I wasn't here to be the plucky hero, My mission was to seek out the bandit's camp and crush everyone in sight by any means I saw fit.“ He would pause and the word Cliche would still bang into the walls of the cranium ”The only person I had to save here was you Miss shake it up.“ he would say bitterly. Why was he so bitter about this, it was't as if she had actually insulted him or anything, she was simply sharing her opinion. This sort of thing was bound to happen either way.

After things "cooled" down a bit Kite would take his friend by the hand and lead her in the direction where his ship was parked and waiting for him. He could have easily been lazy and had EDI come extract them but he knew that would shorten the time he would have with Marcy and despite their difference of how to conduct one another he wished he could see a bit more of her so he would take as much time as he could get. That being said the moment he had touched her hand the effects of her decay magic began to take hold but luckily his flames helped quell it for a time but Marcy seemingly had an issue with him holding her hand or rather that was her words but her face didn't seem to be resolute, it was as if she didn't know what she wanted him to do and when she mentioned that he should let her hand go he would respond in kind, ”If you don't want to hold my hand then let go.“  he would tell her. Shortly after she would and pull her hand close to her and had a small blush on her face. If he had not been as observant he would have missed it but he didn't antagonize her over it. He would change the subject by asking why she was there and she would explain that she was following the orders of the voices in her head. That answer would have worried Kite if she didn't elaborate first and go on to explain that when death is about to occur the voices urge her to clean up and having decay magic she was in fact a servant of death. That was an interesting piece of information, if she had some sort of connection to death itself that would explain how she even exists in this current state.

The transition from their world and passing through the veil that lead to the alternate world was discreet but the canyon that was before them was not. He had stopped right near the edge but he didn't get a chance to warn Marcy who stepped off the edge and fell. ”Oh shit Marcy!“ he would lean over the cliff and look down to see the damage and much to his relief she was alright despite dangling for her life on the edge of a bottomless gorge. She would look up at him and in a rare moment she would show emotion in the form of fear, fear of plummeting to her "redeath" and she even practically begged Kite to pull her up. Kite would reach down with his right hand and reach far enough for her too grab but of course he wouldn't do this without saying a word. ”Oh so you want me to help? that wouldn't be too cliche of me would it?“ of course him saying this would more than likely insight an argument which he would gladly partake in but of course this little argument would distract them from the threat. As Kite was pulling Marcy up from the cliff side is when the threat revealed itself in the form of an entire platoon of angels? Full fledged angels with white wings, outdated armor and spears for weapons. This platoon had them surrounded from all sides, ”Shit.“ Kite would look at Marcy as he would set her down on her feet he would look around ”Geeze bring enough soldiers? It's almost like we are a threat or something.“ He would jest not entirely sure how to go about this, it was then a bell would gong behind a shroud of fog revealing a palace like fortress behind it and it made more sense where they came from. ”Anything else bad wanna happen?“ but he would get an unexpected answer. "You trespassers, you are under arrest. You will come with us at once to face judgment. Demons." Kite would look at Marcy who was a demon and the fact he was a demon slayer made sense to why they were thought as threats. Without a doubt, the two of them could wreck every single one of these foot soldiers but as it stood there could be worse in the fortress and he didn't want to get them into worse of a situation. ”Fine We will go with you.“ Kite would put his hand up. Marcy would surely object but before they knew it they were transported via a magic circle and would be in a large chamber. Above them in high behind what looked like a judge's bench with three chairs with the center one being higher than the others. Kite would look around to see this was almost like a typical court room but what would catch his attention was three orbs of light materializing in front of the chairs and then they would take the form of three angelic beings. the woman in the center would speak, "Two travellers, you both hold signatures akin to demons. As such you will be put on trial to determine if you are in fact demons. As per our customs we ask for your defenses." Kite would smirk, ”Court room hearings are bull shit.“

”“

It would seem that Kite's words had struck a nerve with Marcy regarding to his saving her struck a sensitive nerve. She declared that she could have saved her own self if he hadn't arrive so soon and that if he had come later than when he did, the bandit would have been a pile of bones and deep down Kite knew that was the case. ”Oh I don't doubt that one bit but is actually the question was just how much more of a handful would he have gotten if I weren't there? “ Kite would scoff back due how ridiculous this was. He didn't want to fight with her on something so petty but being called a cliche mage was an insult. Yeah he was on the other side of that line between good and evil but with his magic possessing demonic origins it was a daily test not to give in those desires to wake the demon in his heart. Marcy would ask him why he was getting so heated over his opinion and in that was a very good point. Why was he heated over her opinion? Maybe it's because he has striven to be more than a typical legal mage. He had no problem with killing those who upset the balance of the world. However after a moment of really thinking about it the answer was extremely clear. He actually cared what Marcy thought of him and the idea of her having some sort of negative outlook on something about him just hit a nerve of his own. Of course during this indepth thought Marcy went on a bit of a rant on how they were opposite and such there would be a difference in opinion as there always would be. Her words weren't 100% wrong they were opposite he was the hero and she was a vilian. He walked the path of light and she of the dark and yet that didn't matter to him one bit. He would ignore the part of being called Cliche and would firmly take her hand into his and look into her eyes, ”I would never shun you nor would I ever hate you. Not ever not for the light or anyone else. My being here with you is the very act that makes me not a cliche hero or legal mage. The magic council would order me to turn you in or take you out if they found out about this. I could lose my place in my guild over this association between the two of us. None of that matters as much as being near you."

It was from that point where Kite had her by the hand that he would lead her towards his ship and would also be when she would pull away her hand from his. She would blurt out that she in fact wanted to hold his hand but because of how long she had gone without being able to interact with humankind due to her cursed power. As she went on and on it became clear to him that while she was a dark mage she was a woman who was full of love and compassion for life and it was her magic always being active that prevented her from expressing it. So she ended it by saying she couldn't have what she wanted. Hearing this touched his heart, he knew that he couldn't ever truly understand but it was enough to cause whatever bit of anger to wash away. He wanted to tell her that she could have what she wanted, that touch she longed for but of course before any sort of action could take place Marcy kinda fell off a cliff. Kite would initiate a rescue by lending her a hand but would give her crap for her comments earlier but had he known she would get up set over it he wouldn't have done so. The words she would speak would surprise him, did she worry about what he thought too? Were these emotions something she worried about due to he being a light mage and her a dark one? ”You're wrong.“ he would say the instant she gripped his hand and he began to pull her up, ”I would feel sad if you were to cease to exist. but you are right about one thing. A friend wouldn't be the correct word to use.“ Kite would lean down as he pulled her up and plant a kiss on her lips. ”I would never let that happen and I would never give you cause to feel that way.“ The tingle of her decay magic would tingle on his lips but his fire fought back against it. He wouldn't waste time by pulling her up but it was then they were surrounded.

They would share the same thought on not liking how this was looking. He would surrender on their behalf but catch an attitude from Marcy about doing so. He understood why, they did nothing wrong but at that moment they could wipe out the platoon but who knew what sort of weapon was pointed at them or how large this place's military force was but the only thing was he didn't have time to explain that to her until after things were situated. Once the teleportation was complete he would explain. ”I'm sorry. But I would much rather see what is going on then cause them to unleash a full might of their army. This way we can see what we are up against.“

It was like clock work, in a flash an angel would appear and demand their defense. Marcy would challenge this hearing by saying that they were infringing on their right to a lawyer and a fair trial but the angel would simply yell out the word silence to hush Marcy. "The only rights you have demon is death and we shall judge thee according to our justice system and then you both shall perish. Perhaps we shall start with you." she would lift her finger at Marcy as if to attack right on the spot. ”We demand a trial by combat.“ the words would escape his lips and cause the angel to stare at him. "What did you just..." Kite would flare out his magic. ”You heard me. the two of us against your trial by combat and when we win you let use go“ the angel would laugh. "You two are truly foolish. Die here in peace or in combat it doesn't matter. You both shall die like the demon scum that you are." and with a flick of her wrist she would teleport them a new location. Kite would land his stomach face down on the ground. ”Can we stop with the teleporting already!“ he would hit the ground and push himself up onto his feet and look at Marcy. ”At least we aren't dead..but what is this place?" the building looked exactly like a giant stadium, a Colosseum. A loud clap would be heard as the bitch that sent them there would usher the start of the games. The first opponent would be a lone angelic warrior with a simple sword. ”This is our challenge? this will be fun. Let's take this guy out together and make this quick.“  Kite would pull his lacrima saber from his back and hold it out as he charged in. He would swing left to right with a back handed motion and slash at the angel. It would use it's sword to block the strike and counter attack. Kite would lean back matrix style and avoid the blade. He would go with the momentum and use his free hand to perform a back handspring and bring his foot up to deliver a solid kick to the angel's chin reeling him back a bit and leaving an opening for Marcy to take a few shots.

”“

Kite got his answer to how she would have handled the bandit and it seemed she was conflicted on that one, she could have reduced him to bone in seconds if she allowed herself, Kite knew this for a fact and yet something very human happened in the form of her scream. ”I wouldn't have known where you were if not for that scream you know. Sort of a blessing in disguise.“ He would say as a means to quell the flames of their argument. This was strange for sure, he never had an attraction like this in his life. He knew he liked women and had his ability to use his silver tongue to charm them but he never had actually allowed himself freely feel love? Was that the correct word for this emotion that. He knew it existed but never truly felt it. Not once and even if this was the case could this be a love that would even make sense. She was demon he was demon slayer, that would be one argument that could be made against any type of union between the two of them but demons have had union with humans so this would be no different. She is a dark mage and she is an enemy, from a legal standpoint that would be correct but he didn't see it that way. An enemy was someone who wanted to destroy him or someone he wanted to destroy. Neither was the case here, as a demon slayer it was his prerogative but he would never cast his flames at her and if she wanted to kill him then she wouldn't have warned him about her decay magic during their last encounter at the cave.

All of this would be even more confusing when Marcy fell from the cliff. She held his hand and he didn't want to let go, she hugged his waist as she pulled herself up from the valley below. Normally he wouldn't have been so bold to kiss her or anyone, but with her words he felt like he needed to match his words with action and one he desired as well. He would feel her return the kiss and that would cause his stomach to churn a bit but she would push him away and warn him that he would die if he kept touching her due to her magic always on. Kite would just smile, ”I don't care.“ would be all he would say. It would be all he would need to say at the end of the day, it was resolute in tone and attitude.

Of course this little happy moment or what could have been a happy moment would quickly shift from a very intimate moment to a legal one and shift to combat a trial by combat. Kite would lock swords with their first foe, a warrior angel who seemed to match Kite blow for blow but Kite was just feeling out the angellic being. He didn't want to overwhelm his foe yet. However Marcy would have a different tactic. She would speak in a foreign tongue and that was all Kite needed to know to get the hell out of the way. Kite would land a stiff push kick into the gut of the angel and jump back away from him as a the circle caused the angel to stop his charge. He would then be surrounded by totem like poles and their mouths would crack open and a shrill high pitched laughter would be heard from each pole, and all aimed at the angel. The sound emitting from the totem poles were so powerful Kite could see the soundwaves crashing into the angel who was screaming from the pain of his flesh being torn off and his muscles decaying from her magic. ”Nice. That's new.“ Kite would say as he ran up to the screaming angel and would hold out his hand letting white flames create a wall of flame, within that wall of flame twelve ripples appeared and all aimed at the angel who was kneeling in pain. ”Flame Demon's Inferno Burst!“ Kite would let lose a barrage of flame projectiles onto the subdued angel. The warrior angel would try to get up from the attack and Kite would put an end to it. He would pierce his sword through the angel's back finishing off the angel. Kite would look up at the crowd and Gabriella, ”We won now we will take our leave." Kite would demand but instead of a comply Gabriella would flick her wrist, "It's not over yet until I say so." The flick of the wrist would be a signal for another wave of enemies to appear. Two more angels this time the pair were holding a sword of light and a shield and two smaller angels holding shovels. Kite's gaze would shift from their new foes up to Gabriella, ”Fine.“ He would point at her and let his flames flare out from his body and his eyes would glow red, ”but remember this lady. Every angel you throw at us will be blood on your hands.“ His hand would be held out to his side and would pull from his large sword from the gates of Hades. He would hold Shamash with one his right hand and wielded his rose saber in his left hand. ”You're done!" he would charge at the two stronger looking angels without consulting Marcy. He wanted slash at two simultaneously. They would hold up their shields to block, the angel on the left would defend against the lacrima saber. but the angel who tried to defend against Shamash would be sent to the ground due to the force and weight of the blade. This would leave it to a one on one situation for the time being. Kite would unleash a fury of attacks on the shield arm of the angel, using Shamash to overwhelm the angel with how quick the weight would smash into him. With the shield out of the way Kite would slam his fist into the angel every opening he had. He would then chain a combo from the punch by slashing down wards on the angel's shoulder. Kite would keep the pressure until another opening would present itself and thus Kite would swing his lacrima blade back onto the shield from an upward angle causing the angel to lift up his shield to block, Kite would then use Shamash to swat the shield out of the way for the attack Kite was waiting to unleash. Rose would glow a bright color and with a slash just missing the angel a thick crescent shaped blade like attack would strike the angel and send him to the ground.

Kite The first angel Kite had swatted away would charge back at the demon slayer this time prepared for Kite's heavy sword. Kite would engage in combat clashing swords, but this time the angel used his shield to help brace the weight of the sword. Kite would take advantage and throw a stiff side kick pushing the angel away from him. Not one to let his opponent regain his composure Kite would press the attack again using Shamash to lead the flurry of strikes. The angel would brace for the attack with his shield and use his sword to meet the lacrima saber. However the speed and the weight of Shamash would cause problems for the angel. The next strike would not only knock him of his base but open him up. The angel's shield was up and Shamash and rose were pounding on the shield until the angel's defenses let up with his shield dropping to his side. ”Got ya.“ Kite would land a solid swift kick to the angel sending him skidding to the ground. Content Kite was going to release a spell but stopped when he heard the angel he hit with his rose saber get up from behind and looked to pierce him through the back. Kite would side step and turn so he would catch the arm that held the blade and would use his hips for leverage and would toss that angel into the one he had just kicked away. With a thud they would crash to the ground with one angel laying over the other one. Kite would look up at the leader who had put them in this trial and then would look back at the threat before him. ”Flame Demon's Rage!!!!“  He would shout as he would release a blast of searing hot flames would smash into the angels catching both of them in the blast. Kite would notice the look on Gabriella's face from the attack, she was worried about her angels but Kite wasn't done. ”On your hands.“ he would say to lead angel but that is when the battle damaged angels would charge at Kite, swords drawn. Kite would grab the closest sword and would use a wrist lock technique to guide the angel around and instead of hitting Kite, he would get a clothesline from the demon slayer forcing his back to the ground. The second one would try to attack Kite with a stabbing jab. Kite would deflect with the sword arm to the outside and with extended hand with flames already swelling around his knuckles. ”Flame Demon's Exorcising Strike!“ He would fold his fingers using a "one inch" punch technique slamming his fiery fist into the chest of the angel and unleashing a full force attack to send the angel across the arena hitting the ground with a thud. He wasn't going to get back up.

”“

Kite had thought that the fight was over with the warrior angel, the trial by combat would be over. Kite would watch as the same creature from the compound would materialize and would snatch up the soul of the angel that just fallen in battle. The soul collector would take the harvested soul to it's master for her to eat. ”Man. I could use a bite to eat.“ Kite would say to Marcy jokingly. Truth be told he was hoping that he would run into an angel with a sword of fire or something like that so he could get his munch.

Unfortunately that wouldn't be the case, Gabriella would make sure that wasn't the case, and instead of upholding her end of the deal for a trial by combat she instead sent out more of her minions to try to deal with the two of them. Kite had already decided to take on the angels that were equipped with light swords and shields while Marcy would deal with the shovel wielding angels. Kite didn't see what happened on her side of the battle field but he did hear Marcy speak, which made him look over to see Marcy standing over the angel she had just slain and her now transformed in an all too familiar form. Kite would stand next to Marcy with his sword leaned against his shoulder and his eyes fixed on the arch angel who was already angered by Marcy's words and calling for a next wave of angels to fight them, the demon invaders. ”It doesn't matter how many you send at as. Why not save us the trouble and fight us yourself?" he would ask her very condescendingly but not a single word would be wasted on Kite. Instead the sound of the gate shattering open would be heard and from it were six angels all with Kite and Marcy targeted. Before they could really grasp they were both surrounded by the angels, one had rammed into Marcy's back from behind. ”Who the hell do you think you're hitting?“ On instinct Kite would grab that angel by the wing but before he could attack himself two angels slammed into him causing him to drop his sword and they took him up towards the sky and fast speeds. Kite would lock his hands on the both of them, ”Oh you wanna go?“ he would say but at the moment there wasn't much he could do, that was until Marcy did something strange and powerful. Kite could see it all happening, Marcy being attacked by the sword wielding angels and her creating a strange orb of light in her hand, a dark light. All of a sudden the light would expand and a dome like structure was created by the immortal and captured all of those that had surrounded her. Next that would happen would be the dome within seconds shrinking down as sudden as it appeared sucking in all that was caught in it, even Kite and the angels that were pushing him in the air could feel the sudden jerk back to the ground and that was Kite's cue to act. Kite would put a hand on both of the angel's head and would knock them together causing them to hit eachothers head. This would cause them to loosen their grip and that is when he would act and use both of his feet to kick the angel back and create some distance. Kite's hand would activate and would call back his Shamash through the gate's of hades once again. With a hard shot Kite would slam shamash into one of the angels and sent it crashing to the stadium floor. The second angel would attempt to slam Kite with his shield but the demon slayer would use his hands to grip the shield and then his arms to lift himself above the angel's defenses and right by it's head. Kite would hold his hands out pointing right at the angel's face at near point blank range a white swirl of fire would surround him, ”Flame Demon's commandment, First!“ he would say as he would send a vortex of his flames onto the angel not only causing damage with his fire but with the impact from it free falling and crashing.

Once Kite would land on the ground near the angels that he had attacked, the loud laughter of Marcy. Just like the last time he witnessed this from he heard the laugh again but it was suddenly cut off. This made Kite look away from the angels that were getting up over to where Marcy was standing and a look of dread came across his face. He would see Marcy frozen for a moment looking down at the blade of a sword that had pierced her from her back and was sticking out her chest. Kite couldn't react fast enough as another angel ran his blade through her stomach causing more black blood to spill from her. It also caused her to cry out in pain and he noticed it, the all too familiar cracks that spread over her body, like at the cave. As he watched her body begin to grow limb, he would start to head into action but was stopped by the two angels he was fighting, one managed to stab him in his side while the other smashed his face with his shield causing Kite to back away from the sword and have a trickle of blood run from his mouth. Kite's magic aura would flare brilliantly and despite their holy looking nature anyone nearby could feel the fury of his flames. Stone that was used to construct the stadium would melt and the people would feel as if their faces were melting off. The walls began to melt as did the metal shields that any would be holding ”I'm tired of playing games with you! Marcy needs me! Flame Demon's Desolation Fist!“ he would shout he threw his hand forward and from the punch a large Fist made out of fire would slam into the angels and their shields causing them to crack. While they were recovering from that attack he would hold his hands out and cupped in front of him gathering his white flames into a sphere. They would continue to gather and the ball would grow until it was at full size several meters in diameter and scorching hot.  as he lifted large ball of flames over his head and hurled it at them. They both would lift their shields up to defend but the flames were too hot and with how much they melted from his aura the shields would shatter and they would get caught in not only the core of the attack but be pushed to the other side of the stadium where the attack would explode. Once the smoke was clear the two angels would be seen on the ground, their skin and clothes burnt and no motion was to be seen. They were extra crispy now. He was huffing and puffing now from the amount of magic he used, however it was a gust of magic energy from behind him that caused him to spin to see that Marcy had taken to the sky and let lose a large energy blast crushing all that were near it. Kite would begin to run towards where she was falling towards but he wasn't going to make it in time if he just ran. ”Fire rocket!“ he would shout as his flames would add extra propulsion to his lunge towards her. He would catch her in his arms princess style and skid to a stop. He would drop to one knee, using his propped up knee to keep her back propped up at a 45 degree angel with his arms still around her. ”Don't worry I got ya." he would say to her while looking up at Gabriella who was most displeased with what had happened. While she was prepping the next wave Kite would use his flame aura to spread to Marcy to begin to hear her with his low healing aura. ”If you need to rest for a little while I can take the next wave.“
”“

Kite's gaze would remain locked on Gabriella as he held onto Marcy for a little longer than he probably should have. The area on his skin that was holding her was tingling from the battle of his flame aura and her decay magic that was going on. However the part of his pant leg that was pressed against her as well as the area of his shirt didn't get so lucky. There were several holes in his shirt including one giant one near his ribs and from the knee down on his pant leg was gone. Marcy would sit up and away from Kite's grip and surprisingly make a joke of sorts. She would describe to him what a soul was like, they didn't look tasty as she mentioned but she did describe them to be like spaghetti and were fun to slurp down. Kite would smirk from this, ”Kinda like flames, but they are more like soup then spaghetti.“ he would say bringing his thought to life through his words. What happened next was completely unexpected, Marcy had not only thanked him for saving her but had also went as far as to refer to herself as a damsel in distress. The words would leave Kite in a state of shock during which she would stand up and start to talk smack on the angel that had been putting them through absolute hell but if it were only smack talk it wouldn't have been so unexpected, but when Marcy shook her ass at the the angel was baffling for sure, but the sound of an explosion would shake Kite awake and the heat of fire would make him realize he could eat. Kite would inhale sucking in both air as well as the fire into his stomach. The heat of these flames would fill his gut completely cause his body temperature to rise. ”Hehe, thanks for the food Marcy. Hit the spot.“ he would say to her but her attention was else where and soon Kite's was as well. Coming at them from where the broken gates were another squad of angels. There were seven in total five angelic warriors and two of those angels that wielded light swords and shield. Kite would stand ready and let his aura rise again creating an insane amount of heat. Before he would attempt to fight he would glare at Gabriella, ”Come fight us yourself coward.“ but Marcy had a different idea in how to engage them, she would hurl another lacrima bomb at the angels. The blast caught most of them in it but the guardian angels defended against it. Marcy was on a roll and with her hands over her head she would summon a weapon forth, crackling could be heard until the item was fully manifested. In her hand was a long chain whip but it didn't remain in that form for long. Kite would watch as the chain links would drop to the ground and form ninja stars, and with accuracy she would throw the projectile weapons at the angels causing some serious damage to the lot of them.

Kite wasn't sure what had gotten into her but he was enjoying the battle mania that Marcy was displaying but she had decimated more than half of the angel horde and this wouldn't do. Kite would flare his aura and let his fire rocket shoot him over to the angels and just as one was going to attempt to attack Marcy like a fool. Kite would intercept the angel warrior with a stiff flying kick which would send the angel flying back himself. ”I'm about to show you rejects that you are on the wrong side of heaven.“ he would say putting his arms to his sides and instead of his flame like aura a different aura would appear. Surrounding his body in a tight aura was a blue color and a surge of power would flood Kite's muscles. Kite was activating his inner power that was still a mystery to him but the angels were about to find out how terrible it was for them. Now that he unlocked his power Kite let his flames release themselves, the white was outlined with the blue aura and was just as hot as before. Using it one last time Kite would use fire rocket to race towards the one of the angel warriors who would swing his sword in an attempt to counter Kite but it would be of no use, the angel would realize just how slow he was and instead would hold up his sword to block the incoming attack. Kite would slam his open palm into the sword with so much force it would be pushed back into the angel's face breaking his nose in the process and the angel would crash into the ground. The angel that he had kicked would then attempt to take Kite out next but Kite would raise his sword and block the strike and then use his a side push kick to knock the air out of the angel. The next would be the angel with the light sword to come at Kite. A mistake, Kite's sword would smash into the angel's light shield and unlike any other time he had done this, it wasn't just the weight of the sword to be a problem. The force of his blows had increased two fold and the ground would crack under the force of the strike, Kite would reach down and grab the shield of the angel and with brute force would tear the shield out of the angels grip. The angel would reach for it but would reconsider as Kite's blade came down and up catching the angel in the side and sending him spinning in the air. Kite would use his free hand like a hammer into the back of the angel and sent him back into the ground face first. Kite was ready to finish this and thus he held his weapon over his head and was about to bring it down but the angel was smart enough use it's wings to lift Kite and his heavy sword into the air. "Warriors prepare an attack. I'll" he would say which the angels would comply and would gather below them. ”Nope.“ Kite would thrust his head forward and headbutt the angel which caused the grip from around his own waist to loosen. He would slam his fist and then sword into the angel sending it crashing into the other two.

The blue aura around him would vanish but that wouldn't usher in anything but the end of his little boost. Kite would pull out an explosive lacrima that was charged with fire and would push it into the slot of his sword. Dropping down to the ground above them Kite would slam his sword downwards which would create a Large explosion to occur and would send all caught in the blast flying away from him. and luckily in the same direction. ”Flame Demon's Rage!“ he would shout as a plume of flames would pour from Kite's mouth and slam into the opposition. ”Ha so who's...“ Next. The word was going to be next but before he could say anything, a large blast of light would be launched and in the direction of Marcy. Not a word would be said, Kite would jump with all his might and land between Marcy and the blast, he would face her as the blast would smash into his back and would send him crashing into one of the nearby walls face first. The wall would break from the force of impact and Kite would be belly down.

”“