Every Time the Moon Shines, I Become Alive[Private Job - Marceline]

I HAVE BECOME DEATH

the destroyer of worlds

TAGGED: ...   |   WORDS: 937   |  NOTES: ...

It was true that she had simply disappeared off of the world the moment she had left Savage Skull and all of the people she knew. However, there was still one part of her that would reside in the world as the natural process of all things living: decay. If she could not be there on her own free will, due to her Master's disliking of her roaming freely without his consent, her magic was everywhere. Of course, it may not truly be all of hers to claim, but the remnants of what has been destroyed will remain in the minds of those forever. She was a ruthless ruler of Earthland, though never truly the ruler from the start, but now, she rested in the depths of Hell. Deep in the bowels of Sin, where a brimstone castle towered underneath the darkened skies like a looming monster. This building was none other than her former kingdom's home, the one in which her family resided in for centuries.

Resting on the throne in the elegant, elaborate throne room, was none other than the black-haired beauty, herself. The Crimson Scholar so named from the red cloak that enveloped her lascivious figure and short stature. She had a hand resting her head, her legs crossed over with the crossed leg tapped its heel against the stone chair. Footsteps rocketed through the marble flooring and Marceline glanced up from her daydreaming to stare at one of her servants.

"Your highness," the Neko girl stated, instantly falling into a position of inferiority before the queenly woman.

"Rise," Marcy breathed out in a monotonous voice, her free hand flicking a finger upward to motion for the girl to stand to her feet.

"There has come a letter for you, your majesty; from the underground section in Crocus, they say a man is looking for you," she quickly answered.

Laughter filled the room as Marceline found it entertaining to know that someone, a man more specifically, was looking for her. What man in this world would come looking for her? Especially since all men she had met had subsequently died. Very few of the people she knew had survived the decimating aura that ate away at everything it touched. Her laughter stopped when realization dawned on her and she began counting off her fingers who it could have been. Dubhlainn? No, she hadn't seen him since the time he nearly made her fail the job in kidnapping the nobleman. Jaeger? It was a possibility with how intrigued he had been with her, but other than that, no reason to come looking for her. . . Kite? As if a legal mage would avidly go searching for a dark mage, especially one that has proven to be powerful.

She hopped to her feet as a final name came to mind and in an instant, she was ordering the girl to grab her things. "I want everything of mine on me; my weapons, my pets. . . anything that you think would be useful to me!" Marceline watched as the Neko girl scrambled away from her master and dashed back through the throne room to gather up her things. In a matter of minutes, she was fully prepared to leave and exited Brimstone Castle in the best way she knew: ash travel. Her body crumbled away and the dust of it flew into the air, swiftly through the corridors and hallways and out into the air of Sin. It would not take her long to lift up into the sky of her homeland and start traveling off to where the letter had instructed her. As long as the travel would be, she was quite excited in being able to see Raiza after so long of having not seen him.

---

"There he is," the mage stated softly to herself, shifting into full form mid flight and freefalling toward Raiza. Palluhae appeared around her, entangling their limbs with hers, so that she didn't fall to her death from shifting so quickly. They lowered her gently to the ground and then disappeared again, as if they had never been there to begin. Adjusting her stature, the woman glanced up at her job partner, who now happened to be a whole head taller than her. She remembered having towered over him, but with the recent change of gender and appearance, sort of, she shrunk. Solemnly, she sauntered over to the Savage Skull member and crossed her arms over her chest from underneath her red cloak. "It's been a while since I've last spoken to you, I must say," she stated in a monotonous voice once more.

"What is the reason behind why I was given a letter and told that some strange man was out looking for me?" She quirked and eyebrow at the mage and tilted her head a little, the strange design of the shaved part of her hair more apparent. Still as regal as ever, the woman tapped her foot lightly against the ground, where a strange beast bounced around her feet. Though she wouldn't sit here and interrogate him over why she was summoned by the man, but she was still curious nonetheless. In fact, if she could recall, their last job was a rather stiff job to have handled in the sense that neither were comfortable with each other. Being the student of Death and Raiza the grandchild of one made for an awkward encounter with the two of them. Was she meant to bow so low to him when he was not truly Death that she had known for so long as her master?

I HAVE BECOME DEATH

the destroyer of worlds

TAGGED: ...   |   WORDS: 952   |  NOTES: ...

Haunted Village was well known for its villagers claiming that their homeland was haunted by that of spirits. Marceline found that rather absurd to begin with, but in this day and age, things like that weren't as unheard of anymore. So, a village full of ghosts or a forest rampaging with zombies and other monstrosities was considered the norm. Here, it was apparently alleged that werewolves were roaming the farmlands at night and destroying the village, itself. This included the destruction of crops, reports of missing children and otherwise, and the assertion that these werewolves planned on expanding throughout Fiore. The Magic Council and the villagers, themselves, sent out a request to all mages, legal and dark, to help them during this time. All of this was under the condition that none of the aforementioned werewolves could be killed, but rather, returned home.

She wasn't fearful that any of the werewolves would get out of hand, as she had faced things much dangerous than werewolves at her own guild hall. The ashwights, though creatures who were meant to guard the cult and its members, were very violent creatures naturally. Even the own land of Sin was a devastating place to roam, in that the monsters there were far more of monsters than those across Earthland. More so, the harsh weather conditions of Sin resulted in a thick smog always floating around and heat that was near unbearable. For someone, whose body was made of clay, standing within the barriers of Sin was as if they were asking for death. Yet, she embraced the world of Sin, raised there from when she had been born, never wanting to leave at all. Haunted Village was nothing compared to her homeland, and thus, Marceline did not fear what was in store for them.

Stubbornly, the woman raised a hand in response to Raiza's snarky comment about her change in gender and outward appearance. A stern look was upon her face as she abruptly shut him up and began talking over what he was saying to her. "The contents of the letter mattered not to me, it is more that I am here to willingly help a friend in need," she stated. "Yes, I did read the letter as a whole; in fact, I had one of my subjects read a loud to me and then I read it myself." Her hand would lower, only to flick her hair over her shoulder and her red eyes gaze up to meet Raiza's. "The reason they ask us not to kill them is because these werewolves are essentially innocents; we can kill them. . . at the risk of failure. However, the Magic Council is a bunch of prissy assholes, so if they ask us not to kill, we're going to have to obey for the time being."

Marcy breathed in deeply and watched as Raiza raced off to a tree and climbed up into it to look at who knows what. She cocked an eyebrow in his general direction, but remained silent and vigil as the man came back down and started talking. It was something about suspecting a larger amount of energy than the rest of what he felt, which she didn't understand. Perhaps it was because, even though she was a B rank mage, she wasn't all that adept at sensing another's magical power. "If it is the alpha, then I think it's best that we take them down first, as a pack without an alpha is no pack at all. Once the alpha's down, it's very likely that the rest of the pack will be more hesitant in attacking, as they'll see just how powerful we are. Mind you. . . we'll have to be skillful in taking the beast down without actually killing him, a sort of. . . assert of powers, so to say."

Marceline cleared her throat and straightened her posture more, the crimson cloak sweeping around her bodice. "Things you should know about werewolves if you're not already aware: silver will kill or severely harm them on the spot. So, we'll want to use any type of silver that you can find, but make sure any damage dealt with it does not kill them. That being said, no head or heart shots and make sure not to aim at any vital organs that could potentially end in death. Likewise, my magic has also indefinitely grown stronger, so I want you to be careful when maneuvering through it, along with any opponents you bring into it. Okay, so the last part wasn't so much about werewolves, but here's another fact: wolfsbane is a great way to immobilize a werewolf. Get into their bloodstream and it instantly take affect, causing them pain, but otherwise no harmful or killing damage."

Now that she was finished with her rant, a sly grin spread across her lips and she bounced a little on her feet. "With all of that being done and said, how do you want to go about solving this little 'Perfect Moon' issue?" she inquired. Depending on how Raiza saw it, she figured he would at least agree with taking the big guns, a.k.a the alpha, first. Perhaps, getting rid of the omega would be the next best thing, followed by any stragglers that were left over. However, he knew more about the current situation than she did, as he had been here a few days longer than she had. Given that she had been handed the letter rather late, she would have been at the encampment sooner than he expected. Her gaze shifted quickly from him to the surrounding areas as she tried to think of other tactics to their issue.

I HAVE BECOME DEATH

the destroyer of worlds

TAGGED: ...   |   WORDS: 915   |  NOTES: ...

The alpha werewolf was the largest probably in the pack, especially since he had potential of being stronger than the rest. No, that was entirely incorrect to think that; the alpha was the strongest of the pack, that's why he was alpha. Marceline looked away from Raiza and began to question the motive of the job and why they weren't allowed to kill. Dark mages, not being able to kill? How in the world would they render such large and formidable beasts useless? She heaved a sigh and turned on her heels, walking over to the tree that Raiza had climbed into previously, and letting her soul collectors lift her up. Peeking over the tops of the trees, the woman was certain she was able to fee the alpha's presence far better than the rest. Just how exactly were they planning to take this beast down, knowing full well that he could be a larger match than them?

However, when her soul collectors lowered her back to the ground, she was quickly greeted by a bowing Raiza. Her eyebrow quirked upward and she nearly laughed at the odd behavior that the Savage Skull member was displaying to her. "I'm a queen of my own castle, but I'm not a queen of country; there's no need to bow to me in the least," she retorted. She was flattered that he would take it so seriously, despite knowing that she was not a true queen at all. "As flattering as it is to be called 'your majesty' I am, unfortunately, not entitled to such a gracious title as it is. If you want to meet a queen for real, I suggest going to the capital of Fiore and ransacking the castle there to find her." A shrug formed over her shoulders as she finished speaking and crossed her arms beneath her large bust.

When he brought up her going out to gather the wolf's bane, she was certain that wasn't the best idea to do. "You're forgetting one crucial detail about me, dear Raiza; you forget that everything I touch wilts and dies. If the wolf's bane dies, then it would not be useful in immobilizing and rendering the werewolves when in battle. The best that I can tell you is a precise location in which you would be able to find the wolf's bane growing. Otherwise, I'm pretty useless unless there's something that you want me to do with the potency of my magic." She tilted her head a little, waiting to see what Raiza would say about the potential issue that she now imposed. One wrong step could bring the whole plan to disaster and she wasn't certain how they'd be able to fix if it that did happen.

Her eyes subsequently darted toward the sparkling in Raiza's hand as a sword formed within his palm at the hilt. Marcy cocked her head to the side more as the mage began to question her about the weaponry and its design. The one thing she had never been taught was the structure of a weapon, so she had no idea what she liked best. Moving her hand to her waist, where a whip was coiled and tightened against her belt, she started to think of things. She pursed her lips tightly together, scrunching her eyebrows in thought, then unhooked and uncoiled the whip. Its blades glittered in the fading sunlight, and the metal clinked together in a chime-like sound as it unfurled. Red optics followed the beautiful weapon, though as sharp and threatening as it was, it was not as pretty as the sword.

"I suppose I prefer blades over bullets," Marceline finally answered him, her eyes never moving off her weapon. "I like how they're able to hook into the flesh of my victim and it off, leaving the victim scrambling in pain." A smirk splayed across her lips, her eyes darkening a little, like she was deep in thought over how her weaponry was. "You're more adept with guns, I presume, but as much as I happen to look like it, I don't know a thing about them. Most of the time, I just use my magic, which does have bullets, in a sense, but nothing like that of a gun's bullet." She was rambling now and decided to quiet herself down before things became too awkward or Raiza thought weirdly of her. Ever since being around Kite, she's begun to notice how she rambles a lot and how she worries over what people think of her.

"You know, if there's someone else you invited on this job, perhaps they could go retrieve the wolf's bane instead?" the woman inquired. If there wasn't any wolf's bane, they would have to rely on silver, but silver was more potent and able to kill. Whereas, wolf's bane only immobilized and made a werewolf useless, rather than killing them by poisoning them. She plopped down on her ass and stared at Raiza as he worked on the weapon, watching him intently as she thought. "Aside from wolf's bane and silver, do you have any other options about what to do with the werewolves if those don't work? I figure we should have a backup plan if the wolf's bane and silver end up not being as effective as we think it's going to be." Marceline gave a shrug, however, figuring it wouldn't be the big of a deal as the two of them were fairly strong together.

I HAVE BECOME DEATH

the destroyer of worlds

TAGGED: ...   |   WORDS: 1,646   |  NOTES: ...

A rustle in the brush had Marceline on her toes in a matter of seconds, but that rustling disappeared quickly as it had come. Afterword, the young woman paid no mind to what was going on in the underbrush just a few feet away from her partner and her. However, it was only after a subtle amount of voicing could be heard that the woman began to wonder what was going on. She was certain that she had not brought anyone else along with her, unless the message to her had some how gotten out of the castle. Perhaps, one of her servants had thought her mistress would need a bit more help than the mage she went on the job with. Not that she minded it in the least bit, but she knew Raiza's strength compared to what the servant was thinking. Sighing, Marcy rubbed her face a little, then looked back to the underbrush that the sound was coming from.

"I ask my servants one thing of them and they cannot obey the single request that I make," she stated in a solemn, but irritated tone. Pulling her arms free of where they were crossed over her chest, the deathly mage sauntered over to the shrubbery. Just as she had made it over there, a young child had popped out from the bushes and nearly ran into her torso. Taken aback by the appearance of the Grim Heresy shrine maiden, the woman stepped back and tilted her head a little. It shouldn't have taken her by surprise that another of her guild-mates had come along on the job, but she was still getting used to the Pact. Unfortunately, even if she wanted to feel the presence of the other mage, her body didn't allow for the soft tingling sensation that would have ensued. That was the only bad thing about her clay form; the fact that she was not able to feel things was often a hindrance to her.

Staring at the blind girl, Marceline was a little curious on how she had learned about the job she was on with Raiza. Did she simple forget about inviting the girl to the job or was there some other way that Aoi had learned of it? Tilting her head until she could tilt it no more naturally, the woman brushed some hair out of her face and spoke up. "Aoi, what are you doing here? Don't you know that it's dangerous for a little girl like you to be running around some-" Her sentence was cut off and she waved her hand at the child, as if she didn't give a rat's ass about it anymore. "You know what, I'm not going to question how or why you even came here, I'm just glad that you're here is all." With that being said, the mage faked a smile toward the little girl and looked back to Raiza, momentarily in thought.

"Actually, it's not just the two of us, Aoi," Marcy answered her guild-mate's question, realizing now that she wasn't able to see Raiza. That explained a lot, considering the younger woman wasn't capable of seeing at all; so, poor Raiza wouldn't be acknowledged by her. "One of my old-time friends invite me on this job with him and I told him I'd help him out with it since we haven't really done anything else as of recent. I hope that you don't mind it's not just the two of us anymore, Aoi, but the more of us there are, the quicker we can get this done." She cleared her throat and would turn back to Raiza, as if she was done speaking to her guild-mate about the job. Yet, it was soon after that a thought dawned on Marceline's mind and she was turn back to the young girl behind her. "I know that you can't see exactly, but if I gave you an exact description of the flower that we're looking for, would you be able to find it for us?"

Marcy would pause for a moment and let the question settle on Aoi's mind, then proceed to explain the reasoning behind her question and the flower. "I explained to Raiza that wolfsbane is capable of immobilizing the werewolves if they get too out of hand. It's better than sitting here trying to use silver weapons and making sure that the silver doesn't hurt the werwolves. The only reason why I say this is because silver burns the flesh and fur of the werewolves when they touch it. Now, Raiza doesn't know much about wolfsbane, so he said he wouldn't be able to find it very well without knowing it. Me, on the other hand, well, I can't touch anything without accidentally killing it off; in fact, I can't even get near it. So, if you'd be willing to go out into the forest for a while, we could use a bit of wolfsbane to help with the job."

Now that she had finished explaining to Aoi what they would like done, she would turn back to Raiza just as he handed her the silver-bladed sword. Her hand quickly swept it out of his and held it on the handle, just below where they guard started on the weapon. She skimmed it over with curious, red optics, though didn't say a word as he began to explain the weapon to her. He told her it fit her theme nicely, with how the majority of it was silver, encased by a gold hue, and topped off with an amethyst. Marceline simply nodded in response to the magus, not all too certain what she was supposed to say to him. With the weapon in hand, the woman would slice through the air, away from her two partners, to test it out. It wasn't all that bad, but it wasn't her whip that she was so accustomed to, so she'd have to get used to it quickly.

"Definitely not my whip, but I guess it'll have to do for now," Marcy said, letting out a sadden sigh as she spoken. She really loved using her whip, but the metal it was made out of wasn't anything close to the silver they needed. Tungsten was a heavy, thick, and sharp metal, best used as a means to make sure a weapon didn't rust and break easily. However, that sort of metal was harder to work with and wouldn't have an effect on the werewolves, themselves, like silver would. "So, now that all of this is made and ready to go, are we just waiting for nighttime to come around or are we going to head in now?" Her eyes darted toward the sky, but the sun was still slightly over the horizon, in spite of it almost being dusk. They would have to get ready soon, though that was entirely up to Raiza, since he was the plan maker of this party.

As she said this, Raiza would speak to her, claiming that even with the weapon she had now, he'd feel better if she had the gun, too. Turning her head to look back at him, the chilling metal of the gun was placed in the palm of her hand and she looked down at it. Her eyebrows scrunched together and her fingers curled around the handle of the gun, finger never touching the trigger. Holding it up, she'd point it toward the forest, once again away from Aoi and Raiza, and close one eye like she was aiming. She tilted her hand from side to side, as if she was testing which way was more comfortable to hold the item. Eventually, the young woman dropped her hand to her side, and with her ash, wove a gun holster quickly to her belt. Marceline placed the gun into the makeshift holster and glanced back at the weapon mage in a bit of amazement.

"Are you sure you'd feel safer with a person who can't even wield a gun correctly?" Marceline inquired to Raiza. She was slightly baffled by his choice of words, considering she had never once wielded a gun in her entire life. In fact, the only weapon she had ever wielded was her whip and that was only recently that she started to use it. Biting her lip, the woman glanced back down at the weapon again, as if she was afraid to touch it all of a sudden. "I mean, I don't accidentally want to shoot Aoi or you if you happen to be in the vicinity of me when I have to use it." Despite being a narcissistic asshole that she was known to be, she cared deeply for anyone who so much as desired to be near her. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt them because of her own magic or her fault of not knowing how to properly wield something.

When Raiza asked her who Aoi was, she merely gave a shrug of her shoulders, like she wasn't all that familiar with her guild-mates. "She's just someone who's in the same guild as me," she answered the Savage Skull mage, "nothing wrong with that, I hope." Her eyes would momentarily dart back toward Aoi's direction, as if she was doubting her own words at the time. A very soft feeling could be felt beneath her skin, but the feeling was so slight that she barely took notice of it. One thing was certain though, a thought was settled in her mind that no matter what, she could not let harm come to Aoi. What the reason was behind that, the woman wasn't all too familiar with; let alone, she barely understood the feeling. "Do you mind if we actually get this job a roll now? I'd hate to wait too long for things to get started and finished."

I HAVE BECOME DEATH

the destroyer of worlds

TAGGED: ...   |   WORDS: 1,118   |  NOTES: ...

How was she to know that Aoi would react so badly toward a comment that meant nothing more than just being words? As far as Marceline was aware, Aoi was some child to her, significantly younger than her in years by milleniums. If she had to compare her age to those in the guild, she would be more around Eris's age, given she was immortal. On the outside, she merely appeared as an 18-year-old woman, though deep down she was well over thousands of years old. No one other than her brother and Kite were aware of just how old she was, and only Kite because of how attached she had become to him. She had not meant to insult Aoi in anyway at all, but she had taken it just as that and now, how was she to make up? Perhaps, just leaving it be was best, as it was clear she was far too angry over having been called a "little girl."

Marceline stared at Aoi as she went off on her, any apparent emotion of shock and confusion not clear on her features. She was silent as the young woman berated her over calling her a little girl mistakingly and not knowing it would cause much of an issue. Of course, she struggled with determining what people found offensive and not, as she did not convey emotions well. Biting her lip, Marceline kept to herself and let Aoi go off on her for as long as she wanted to, even letting her threaten her life. The last thing she wanted was bad blood between her guild-mates and her, so it was best just to keep her mouth shut. When Aoi was doing sputtering out obscenities and threats, though, she was baffled that Marceline said she was glad she was here. "Well, yeah, of course, I'm glad you're here; Raiza and I wouldn't have gotten off to a good start if not for you," she answered.

Hearing Aoi state that she would be willing to help brought a genuine smile to the Coming Storm's face, and she swung her hips a little in excitement. "Well, you'll be able to fight these werewolves; the only thing we're not allowed to do with them is kill them," Marcy stated. "It sucks that we can't, but I can understand why the Magic Council doesn't want us randomly slaughtering innocents." That was something common for dark mages, so she still wasn't quite sure why the Magic Council allowed for them to go on the mission. If they couldn't kill the werewolves in order to permanently solve the village's issue, then what was the point of it all? "Go wild with them, do as you please, you just can't kill them," the woman would stress to the other before quieting down. With that much explained, there wasn't any point into rambling on with the subject when both parties understood.

Marcy merely nodded in Aoi's direction when she said that she was going to skip off to find the wolfsbane for them. She didn't want to keep her time, considering time was precious for them on this job, and the moon would be rising soon. This would lead her into focusing her attention back onto Raiza, who happened to pop out of his mech just in the nick of time. However, she managed to catch what Aoi had said before she ran off to hunt down the elusive flower, causing her to appear shocked. "I... never thought about that," she murmured mostly to herself, though Raiza would be able to hear what she was saying. In all honesty, the only time she had met Raiza was back when she was a man, and she was strictly heterosexual at that point. Glancing toward Raiza briefly, the woman would blush and look away, not hearing what her job partner was saying to the other.

As per what Raiza had said, they were only on this job for business strictly, nothing more and nothing less of that. If they wanted any sort of sexual relation, then it would have to be found outside of just doing jobs together. Besides, Raiza likely had a significant other, and with her liking Kite and all, it wouldn't be possible between the two of them. However, if he was up for a little night of fun, then she wouldn't turn him down because that was her specialty. Kitty wouldn't mind in the least bit that she did this, right? Oh, what the hell, he wouldn't even find out in the end. No harm in doing something that her significant other wouldn't ever find out about, and she could already tell what was on Raiza's mind after Aoi left. It was rather unexpected, though, when his hands had touched her shoulders; a sensation she hadn't felt since she had been alive.

A shiver ran down her spine, a reaction that even surprised herself, up until he began whispering sweet nothings into her ear. He inquired how long it had been since she had been touched, and not counting Kite being a persistent asshole and stepping into her aura? It had been well over 2,000 years since she had last felt someone touch her in a way that would not harm her. "Quite a few millenniums," Marceline answered him in a soft, almost sorrowful voice from the question he had asked. The shoulder massage he was giving her did wonders for her, though, relaxing the overworked muscles and releasing tension. Her mind felt a little tingly. . . she didn't understand this feeling; it was like she couldn't think straight with what was going on. "Yeah, relaxing for a bit doesn't sound all that bad," she responded in a drone-like manner, gazing ahead of herself.

She felt Raiza's hands skim down her back to massage the lower half, then ride back up to where her bra clasped, subsequently unclipping it. This was when her hand shot back behind her and roughly grabbed hold of his wrist, then yanked him toward the front side of her. Her other hand grabbed hold of the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to her eye level, pressing her lips to his briefly. Afterward, she'd pull away and push him to the ground, straddling the Savage Skull member between her legs. Marceline leaned forward and kissed him again on the lips, moving his hands to pin his wrists above his head. "If this is what you're asking for, you didn't have to say a word," she murmured, momentarily breaking the kiss. It was quickly followed by a bite to the neck and a hand working to remove the clothing that separated them. . .

I HAVE BECOME DEATH

the destroyer of worlds

TAGGED: ... | WORDS: 1,584 | NOTES: ...

Marceline jumped to her knees when Aoi made a return appearance shortly after having gone off to find the Wolfsbane she had asked for. She cleared her throat and stood with her left forearm clasped by her right hand, weight resting on her left leg. Biting her lip, the woman embarrassingly looked away from the smaller girl, in spite of knowing Aoi wasn’t able to see her actual expression. Removing her right hand from her arm, the woman raised it above her head and dragged it downward in a straight line in front of her. Ashes formed from the air particles and trickled down around her, coating her in their substance and covering her vitalities. Before long, the woman was now standing clothed in her normal attire: booty shorts, a leather crop-top/vest-like shirt, and her signature red cloak. With her face now half-covered by the red cloak’s collar, she remained silent as Aoi scolded Raiza and her for having done what they did.

“We had nothing better to do while you were away; so, we had to do something in order to keep ourselves entertained, right?” Marceline retorted. Her words were slightly muffled by the cloak’s fabric, however, they were still able to efficiently hear what the youthful magus was saying. A little comment here and there didn’t hurt, but she wasn’t going to stand there and argue with her guild member over the incident. Besides, she had quite liked what had occurred, even if it meant that she was, in a way, cheating on the lover she recently obtained. What a horrible way in saying what she loved meant to her, though, it was true that she saw him simply as a trophy for her efforts. Love was not something she easily expressed and while she did love Kite dearly, her views on what love was, was different to most others. Where they were seen as equals by some, she viewed him as someone she was meant to obey the every command of and nothing more. He was, essentially, just another master.

“Hey! I don’t moan when I yawn!” she yelled, pouting and crossing her arms over her chest like she was a five-year-old girl throwing a temper tantrum. With one hand she flipped her hair over her shoulder and began walking away from the scene, ignoring both Aoi and Raiza now. She stopped in her tracks, however, when Raiza said something about wanting to meet their guild master in order to talk with them. “You’ve heard of her, I assume,” Marceline answered him in a rather vague attempt to tell him who their guild master was, but at the same time, not tell him. “She’s known to level cities, like Hera Reyold, only her leveling cities is to instill fear in people, not because she was simply angry. Our master is the herald for the world, the thing that will bring the world out of its current destruction and rule over it with a fist. Unlike the Magic Council, she knows what people want; you don’t even have to say aloud and she’ll know what you want. Or. . . perhaps. . . I’m exaggerating.”

Turning her head away from Raiza, she outstretched her right hand, where a chain formed from the ashes of the fire in her palm. She gripped the end of it, letting it set ablaze with a deep and burning fire, one that was stronger than the natural fire that occurred on Earthland. The chains rattled as they came crashing to the earthen floor, hitting it with a heavy thump and sounding as if screams emitted from them. Her other hand reached down and grabbed the hilt of the gun that she had attached to her belt earlier, unsheathing it and twirling it in her hand. “I’m going to go handle some of these werewolves; you’re both free to join me when you’ve finished up with your dilly-dallying,” she stated. As that was said, the woman took off at a jog, quickly disappearing into a cloud of ash that was swept away by the wind and brought to the village itself. It was sundown by now, the sun was gone and the moon rising high into the sky; it would be a matter of minutes before they started to transform.

Appearing in the center of the village, Marceline shifted back into her natural form and let her red optics rake over the scenery. From some shrubbery between two homes, a creature popped out of the bushes and came charging at her, arms raised and hands shaped into claws. Smirking, Marcy raised her right hand and brought it above her head, whipping the chain around as it if was a lasso. Seconds later, she released it from its tight spin and let it wrap around its target, binding the arms to the werewolf’s bodice and yanking it down. She tugged on the end of the chain she was holding on and dragged the werewolf closer to her, using her combat booted left foot to press down on the creature’s face. Looking into its eyes, she could tell that it was rather confused and didn’t exactly know what was going on even with itself. For a small moment, Marceline felt pity for the beast, then remembered that she had to deal with this thing no matter what.

Bearing down upon it, the woman raised the gun Raiza had made for her and fired it off, forcing a bullet into the arm that was exposed to her. The werewolf howled out in pain, it’s cry a piercing scream and warning to the other werewolves in the vicinity that would soon come charging at her from all sides. Kicking the chest of her captured prey, she turned it over so that its other arm was exposed to her and she fired the gun off. Another howl pierced the skies, however, Marceline ignored it as she fired off two more shots, one for each leg the beast had. Her chain would unravel from the creature, leaving it laying on the ground where it was now paralyzed and unable to fight against her due to the Wolfsbane in its veins. She smirked and kicked it in the chest again, sending it backward and away from her by a few meters before she turned to face the other werewolves. Two more had come charging at her, intent on killing her for injuring their comrade, but it wasn’t these werewolves that she was curious of.

Beyond the befuddled and fearful werewolves that were only attacking because of an injured comrade, stood two tall and burly werewolves. She figured that they were the alpha and the omega, but why they were not attacking her was something she couldn’t quite figure out. Perhaps they were using their pack members as a sort of pawn in this battle, one where they were deciding if it was worth fighting. Curling her lip up in disgust, the woman would charge at them; however, one of the confused werewolves had intercepted her attack. Instead, she had become focused on this creature, blocking its attacks with a quick flick of her wrists and firing a bullet through its chest. Luckily, the bullet would strategically miss the heart of the beast, skimming past it, but letting Wolfsbane flare out through the targeted veins. In a matter of seconds, the second werewolf would be down and unable to move, writhing in pain from the plant’s toxic effects.

Marceline let a huff of air exit her lungs and through her lips, brushing aside some of her raven hair and glancing up at the alpha and omega. They were still standing there in silence, their arms hanging at their sides, resting on the tips of their toes in mild curiosity and entertainment. She frowned at the idea that they were finding it amusing she was busying herself with taking down the weak creatures around her. So, instead of focusing on what the two werewolves were thinking, the woman turned back to the two weak ones she had downed. With her chain whip, the woman raveled it around the nearest werewolf and bound its limbs together, dragging it off to one of the empty cottages. Tossing the hefty beast inside, she dusted her hands off and pulled out some ashes from the pouch that rested diligently on her hip. Using the ash, she bound and hogtied the other werewolf, dragged it toward the same cottage and threw it inside as well.

She grumbled inaudible words underneath her breath and turned attention back to the alpha, omega, and remaining confused werewolf. Her arms crossed over her chest and her foot lightly tapped against the ground, not at all entertained with what they were doing. If they wanted a fight, then they would get a fight, but standing idly by would only irk the magus that wanted to quickly end this job. Sticking around in one place for too long rattled her nerves a little because she knew deep down that the members of the Magic Council were watching. They would know that she had previously been here before and either they would be appreciative of what she had done or hate her eternally. “Come on, big boys, you know you want to come and fight me, yet you’re both standing there like half-witted creatures,” she taunted them. The two werewolves would growl at her words and look at each other, then simultaneously they would move in to attack.

I HAVE BECOME DEATH

the destroyer of worlds

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Her gaze steadily watched the alpha and the omega, waiting for the perfect moment that she could launch herself at the duo and attack. She lowered her stance precisely, arms slightly cinched at her sides with the elbows precariously pointed outward, whip held tightly in hand. As the alpha was the strongest of the two, the woman’s gaze pinpointed on him, mouth baring thorn-sharp canines in his direction. His attention was elsewhere though, staring ahead at something that was behind her, but she was not aware he wasn’t looking at her. Taking a step forward, she waited just a moment longer before she pressed off the toes of her feet and rushed the alpha and the omega. Amidst charging the two werewolves, the woman shifted out her whip for a more bladed weapon, summoning her sacrificial blade. The dagger was held poised in her hand and she flipped into the air just as the alpha was heading toward her, but he charged right past her.

Confused by the actions of the werewolf, Marceline tumbled to the ground, rolling on her side as she bounced along the ground. Skidding across the dirt, the woman quickly flipped up and onto her feet, sliding backward a few more inches before she came to a full stop. Her cape was drenched in dirt and mud from the rolling, weighed heavily down by the earth that coated over the crimson hue. She watched as the alpha went charging straight for a mechanical beast, a vehicle-like creation that Marceline knew was something of Raiza’s belonging. Tensing her muscles, she prepared herself again for another launched attack, but as soon as she was about to press off her feet, a gun fired off. A blinding light flashed before her eyes, causing Marceline to shut her eyes tight so that she would not go blinded by the brilliance. When the light died down low enough for the woman to open her eyes again, she cracked one open and gave a brief once over of the surroundings.

The alpha was gone, but the omega that had been charging toward Raiza, along with its partner in crime, had been the one to get nicked by the gun. Instead of all four limbs straining with muscles to push the omega nearer to her job partner, the werewolf was now missing a single leg. It limped toward Raiza like it was still determined to get to the magus, but the fact it wasn’t used to only having one leg to hobble on proved to be difficult. Eventually, she watched as the omega toppled to the ground in a heap of pain and misery from having lost one of its important appendages. Her ears rung heavy with a howl from the beast, causing her to cover her ears momentarily while the howl echoed into the air. A snarl curled her lips and she lowered her hand back to the ground, pushing with all three limbs to hurl herself at the injured creature. Dagger still poised in her hand, the woman flung herself into the air above the omega, then curled downward to impale the creature with the death energy.

Despite its injury, the omega rolled out of Marceline’s way, causing her to stab the sacrificial weapon into the ground deeply, carving a gouge into the dirt. She frowned at having missed her target, turning her head quickly to look at the omega, who only returned the wicked gaze with a pained one. Ears were flattened against its head like it had submitted to the fact that it was in pain and not able to fight as easily as its alpha. On the other hand, it lashed an arm out at Marceline, causing her to jump backward in order to narrowly avoid its claws. Marcy hissed in its direction, spittle flying from her mouth, then she lunged her dagger at the werewolf’s face, slicing a wound from its right cheek to its left temple. Another howl of pain emitted from its maw, casting into the air like a siren calling out a tornado warning to those around it. Angered by its howling, the woman stabbed the dagger into the werewolf’s muzzle, breaking through bone and shattering a few teeth.

This is when her aura set in, the invisible tendrils crawling along the flesh and fur of the omega, weaving its way into the follicles of the beast. It writhed in agony as the decay effects set in, burning away fur until all that was left were ashes around the being’s naked body. Seeing this, Marceline took a few steps back, then dispersed into a cloud of ash, floating away from the omega far enough that her aura could not reach it. As her body reformed in its new place, a frown was apparent on the woman’s features as she gazed toward the fallen omega. The creature didn’t look like it was up for getting back to its feet and fighting again; so, she could safely assume that it was down and out for the count. Her frown would turn upside down and slide into a smirk, then she looked away from the fallen werewolf to the three weaker ones. These beasts were well aware of what was going on, but in spite of it all, they were standing together in unison, ready for a fight.

Originally, Marceline had thought the three angered werewolves would have had enough of her when she had first attacked them. Unfortunately, she was incorrect in thinking that, for now she was standing there with the three beasts proudly staring back at her. Marceline shook her head and chuckled a little, giving out a sigh of laughter as she realized what exactly was going on around them. These werewolves thought they were capable of fighting against these two dark mages, but alas, their theories would be incorrect. Raiza and she were two mages not to be messed with, two people who were willing to fall into the depths of darkness to get what they needed done. Rolling her shoulders, Marceline paced along an invisible path, then turned to face the trio of confused werewolves for a final time. She bowed slightly in their direction, but it wasn’t exactly a bow, rather than a stand that lurched her forward onto her toes.

She released a battle cry that pierced into the air like a banshee’s wail, causing the werewolves to dance in their place anxiously and look to each other. Without hesitation, the woman broke her stance and hurled herself at the three beastly creatures, not thinking what damage it would cause her. Taking the gun from its place on her hip, in its holder, she raised it in front of her and tilted it slightly, firing it off at one of the werewolves. The bullet flew across the space between her and the werewolves, then made its mark as it implanted itself in one of the legs of the beings. Her target struck, the werewolf let out a wail of pain and hobbled around comically for a moment, trying to hold its wounded leg. Once the hopping was over, the beast whipped around to face Marceline, only to charge her as she came skidding to a halt mere meters away from it. Its claws came slashing forward, smacking into her cheek and gouging earthen flesh from its place like clay being carved by a knife.

Head turned to the side, blackened blood could easily be seen oozing out of the wound the werewolf had manage to get on her. She shakily raised a hand and touched the injury, removing her hand from its place to look at the blood that had coated her skin. A frown appeared on her lips and her red optics dilated, shooting upward to give a death glare at the werewolf in return. Despite how much she wanted to touch the werwolf, to drop it dead on the ground, she wasn’t allowed to kill these beasts and that alone pissed her off. Gritting her teeth, the woman fired the gun off again, aiming it at the werewolf’s chest now that they were in close proximity of each other. The bullet went straight through the creature’s chest, causing a gashing hole where it had gone through and setting the wolfsbane into its bloodstream. Before long, the werewolf was finding its limbs difficult to move around and afterward, it merely toppled over and onto the ground.

Without further adieu, the woman turned her piercing gaze onto the two remaining werewolves, waiting for them to attack her. As they saw that their comrade was down and out for the count, she expected them to simply launch an attack on her in retaliation. Just as she had assumed, the second of the werewolves lunged at her, raking out its claws in hope of catching them on her skin. Marceline was smart enough to dodge the attack, however, and leapt backward a few steps to narrowly avoid being clawed to death. It let out a howl of anger and lunged at her again, lashing out with its other hand, making a crosshatching of injuries for her. Across her chest welled black blood, oozing down the torn fabric as it peeled downward and revealed parts of her torso. Disliking that her favored clothing had been soiled by the werewolf, Marceline unsheathed the wolfsbane-alloyed metal from its home.

The weapon rung as it entered into the atmosphere, shining in the moonlight, and Marceline swung it in the direction of one of the werewolf’s arms. Blood sprayed into the air as the sharp edge of the sword came into contact with the soft flesh of the werewolf, splattering onto the ground. She did not hesitate in causing another injury to the other arm of the bipedal wolf, blood, too, spraying from that wound on the creature. As both of its arms hung uselessly at its side, the werewolf glared menacingly at Marceline, calculating how it could attack her. Seconds later, the werewolf snatched at her with its maw, bearing large canines at her as she leaned backward to avoid having her face chomped on. Marcy took this opportunity to use her sword and cut the side of the werewolf, causing it to stumble backward in immense pain. A howl broke through its lips and into the air like it had for the omega, but this one sounded in more pain and misery than a calling for help.

As she took a step toward the creature, taunting and menacing, the creature took a stumbling step backward and crashed to the ground. The fall kicked up dirt around the werewolf’s immobilized body and Marceline, creating a hazy battlefield for the third and final werewolf. However, she was adapt in being able to navigate places where sight was something that lacked use and easily found where the third bipedal creature was. She managed to easily dodge one of its attacks, but unfortunately, she wasn’t able to counter the quick attack that had followed after it. So, the claws of the beast gouged a wound across her back, tearing open the fabric of her cloak and nicking her skin precisely. Marceline let out a surprised cry of pain as that was the first time she had been conscious of being able to feel any pain at all. Lurching forward, the woman placed a hand on the wound at the center of her back, feeling blood ooze down the length of it.

Swallowing down the pain, she weakly turned to the werewolf and lashed out with her sword, swinging it toward the gut of the beast. In spite of her weak attempt to mutilate the being, the weapon skimmed air and she found that the werewolf was nowhere in sight. Unable to look around any further, the woman collapsed to her knees, dropping the sword in front of her and onto the ground. Her head hung low and she stared lifelessly at the ground, letting her aura take its effect with the earth that was around her. A light glow pulsated around her as the grass began to wilt and the leaves on the trees turned brown and fell from the branches. All life that had been taken by the effects of the aura slowly began to course into her, vitalizing her and healing the wounds on her body. Blood crusted where it had trickled down, the wound on her chest slowly closing up first, followed by the gouge on her face.

I HAVE BECOME DEATH

the destroyer of worlds

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Instantaneously, a burst of energy enveloped the magus, surrounding her in a barrier-like field as Raiza came to defend her wounded body. Still quite unable to move from her injuries, it was no doubt that she would not have been able to defend herself, and her pet had not been with her. If she had brought Ramakrishna along with her, it would have been a change of events, for the small creature would have defended her. However, she was resting there on the ground in a kneeling position, unable to even move her head to see Raiza defend her against the alpha. Something in the air, though, called to her, a rancid stench that smelled of rust and metal, a scent that she was quite familiar with. Marceline’s pupils dilated as the scent clogged her nostrils and soon it was the only thing that she was able to smell. Slowly, her head lifted and she breathed in a long draw of air that was filled with the smell of blood from Raiza’s injury.

Marceline ran a tongue over the sharp fangs located in her mouth, a low grow emitting from her throat before she was up and on her feet. The movement was a blur of motion and at first, she was going for Raiza, but her attention was drawn to the injured alpha more. With a burst of speed, the succubus launched herself at the male creature, taking him down in one fell swoop, pinning him to the ground beneath her. Clawed fingers dug into the wrists of the beast, their knife-like length being used as a means to pin down the hands harshly. She leaned forward and sniffed him, dilated pupils looking over the golden fur of the alpha before glancing toward the injury on his leg. An abrupt growl irrupted from her lips and she yanked her claws free of where they had pierced through the tendons and bones of the alpha’s wrists. Marcy shot up to her feet and wiped at her mouth as if she had just drank something delicious and was clearing it from her face, but nothing was there.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she answered Raiza when she had heard the subtle words of concern coming from her injured ally not far away. The alpha had risen to his feet by this time, but Marceline had become quite faster than the alpha, snagging up her sword and dropping low. A swing of the blade and the alpha’s leg was cut clean off, leaving him one-legged like the omega had been left from Raiza’s attack. Emitting into the air was a pain-filled howl before the alpha went crashing down in a matter of seconds, unable to get up from its injury. “You should tend to that wound of yours; the blood is rather distracting to me,” Marceline added, nostrils flaring as she glanced toward Raiza. Looking at her job partner would allow for him to see the dilated pupils contained in her irises, ones that hungered for bloodlust. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt you. . . I have decent control over the hunger for blood, just know that actually smelling it makes it harder for me.”

She cleared her throat and let her gaze drop back down to the alpha, who still had not gotten up from where he had fallen. “I doubt the alpha is entirely down; he may be down for a bit, but I can’t see him losing a leg as being the thing that keeps him down. Knock out the rest of them and tie them up; we can wait until dawn because that’s when the sun starts rising and they’ll change back. I honestly don’t know how we’re going to explain the loss of limbs on the alpha and the omega, but we can deal with that later,” Marceline stated. With that being said, she turned away from Raiza and looked out over the quiet village that they had been rampaging about in. Luckily, nothing was disturbed aside from a few fences that had gotten in touch with her aura and a small amount of building sides. Somehow, they were going to have to fix that, too, or hopefully the village wouldn’t mind that there was a small amount of damage.

Her head swiveled back in the direction of Raiza briefly, then she began heading away and toward the weaker werewolves. They were down and out for the count, surely, but she couldn’t be too certain and wanted to assure that they would remain harmless. Under the control of the alpha, it wouldn’t take much for these wolves to get back on their feet and attack Raiza and her again. By the looks of it, Raiza wouldn’t be able to take much more damage at the rate he was going, not with that injured arm of his. Utilizing her magic, the woman materialized a rope made of ash from the bones of her victims and wrapped it around one of the wolves. Before long, she was tying the rope tightly around the arms and wrists of the beasts and knotting it, leaving the wolf there and pinned. She then moved onto the second of the werewolves and manifeste yet another rope made of ash, twisting it around the bodice of the beast and knotting it.

This was followed by the third wolf meeting the same fate and one large rope that bound all three of the werewolves together in a seated position. All that was left was to deal with the omega and make sure that the beast wasn’t going to do anymore harm to them or the surroundings. However, the omega had disappeared on her, so she wasn’t all too certain where it had gone to or where it was right this instance. “I don’t know where the omega is; it escaped me, but I figure with as much injuries as it has, I doubt it’ll be doing much,” she called to Raiza. The woman dusted off her hands and let them fall into hiding underneath her cloak as she turned back to face her injured partner. “I think once they’re all taken care of we can head out of her, but for all we know, there could be more werewolves around her.” Marcy shrugged her shoulders and trudged back to Raiza, glancing down at the alpha, who was now slowly meandering to his feet.

I HAVE BECOME DEATH

the destroyer of worlds

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While Marceline Anicetus certainly was a queen, one that would have ruled a kingdom so long ago, she was not a queen in her name. She was but a mere magus, blessed, or in some cases, cursed, with the very magic that allowed control over the lives and deaths of beings. To her, this was neither a blessing nor a curse, it was simply something that she had been given as a gift for being restored back to life. It was her duty to assure that the cycle of life and death continued, even when Death, Itself, was not around to assure such a thing. Essentially, she had become the very servant of the entity, Itself, obeying Its commands without a second thought or whim of her own. Life could not exist without its opposite, and thus, Marceline was the one who had to bring forth that opposing side when needed. Perhaps, it was because Death was too lazy to do Its own work or, perhaps, it was because It had someone willing to do as It asked?

She didn’t mind doing the dirty work; in fact, she found a sense of comfort it in it as she took the lives of unsuspecting victims, watching as the light died from their eyes. In a way, she could confirm with her own eyes that the ones who passed on had passed on peacefully in whichever way she decided to take their essence. Her magic had become so corrupt from the taking of lives, however, that it was true she was becoming the entity of Death, Itself. It was consuming her alive day by day, as if she had only been a vassal to the god until her body was fit to become Its vessel. Yet, she couldn’t help but often wonder if Death found the same sense of comfort as It took the lives of the old and young from the world. Was Its job of caretaker to the world of souls really that time consuming that It had become lazy and in search of another vassal to do Its job? Marceline couldn’t once think in her entire life that her master was someone who was too lazy to do the work for Its own good.

Her gaze wandered over the village they had precedence over, watching as many smaller, more feeble-looking, werewolves appeared from the shadows. These smaller werewolves must have been the children of the werewolves they were currently undertaking, ones who had, unfortunately, inherited their family’s curse. It saddened her slightly, that the children would be forced to live constant lives of having to change with every full moon that occurred. They were just children, they shouldn’t have to succumb to the ideologies of werewolfism or be expected to do just as their parents did. Turning her sight from the children, her eyes would be met with much taller, more stronger werewolves, who likely had been summoned by their leader’s calls. Marceline wrinkled her nose up in disgust at the other werewolves, not really in the mood to fight these guys, but knowing she had to. She glanced toward Raiza momentarily, certain that he would want to take the lead in finishing off the alpha and his crew.

When Raiza fired off the gun, Marcy nearly jumped out of her skin, not expecting the gruesome male to deal a blow so quickly. The werewolf had let out a howl of pain as his other leg was shattered and now, seemingly, disallowed for him to get back up. With the alpha down and the three confused werewolves tied up so they didn’t do anymore damage, all that was left was the omega. Both of the dark magi didn’t know where the omega was located, just that it had run off someplace likely to lick its wounds. Which, that wasn’t a bad thing to think about, it was just they didn’t know where or when they were meant to expect the beast. They had injured the werewolves fairly well, especially considering the omega had a similar, even exact, injury to the alpha. Now, it was just a matter of playing the waiting game, hoping that the omega would come out and they could play a little bit.

However, they also had to deal with the fact that there were now extra werewolves in the vicinity, who were ready to fight. It was quite clear that the alpha had called for reinforcements and that the werewolves were not ones to disregard the beck and call of their leader. Rolling her shoulders, Marceline turned to face back toward the werewolves that had gathered to fight in the name of their alpha. Her hand extended outward and a light, almost pale, purple hue began to glow at the base of her hand into her palm. Slowly, the woman’s arm was enveloped by the light, shrouded in the whiteness at the epicenter of the saturation, encased in a pale purple all around. As the light began to die down, a metallic form would appear from her limb, shaped into that of a crescent or similar to a scythe. A sly grin spread across her lips and she lunged forward at one of the gathered werewolves, first as a taunt, then as a blow.

Marceline swung her arm forward, bringing the sharp blade of her weapon form to the chest of the unsuspecting werewolf she attacked. The beast howled out in pain, but despite the large gash on its chest, it had swung its clawed fists forward, smacking into her face. She stumbled backward slightly, dazed, but gratefully still alive, then lurched forward to take another swing at the distraught werewolf. However, this attack whizzed through air, the werewolf no longer in front of her, but having leaped to her backside and slashed at her back. Marcy let out a cry of surprise as the claws dug into her back and gouged out chunks of the tattoo she had and shredded sections of her cloak. Whirling around, the woman lashed her arm at the werewolf, slicing an ear off the beast and cutting down along it’s bicep and tricep. Spinning on her feet, again, the woman threw out her arm once more, cutting across the werewolf’s stomach and slicing off half of its right arm.