The Day of Reckoning

When Briar made her way up the hill, she readjusted her hood, letting it down and tightening the pony tail in her hair. The wind was enough so that it gently blue her dark hair behind her while her darker eyes, glowing silver took in the sight of an open encampment of some sort, dug into the earth and meticulously designed for living space. It was like finding a hidden pyramid or a tomb in the jungle and Briar was in slight awe, dampened by the fact that it was done by these killers. They had killed, families, mothers and fathers. Briar thought of every parent without a child and every daughter without someone to lean on and she felt less impressed by the carved out temple.

The temple had enormous doors and a row of some sort of military contingent on the steps. There had to be near fifty of these fighters, many of them with guns. Briar didn't detect strong magic coming from them at the least. She used her chemical signals and summoned a large swarm of bees to the area. Briar was intent on having the first attack, not letting them catch her off guard. But the fired first and she had to stomp her foot quickly, bringing up a thick wall of nettles to block any of the bullets fired in her direction. She dropped to her knees and bent over quickly, trying to be sure most of the bullets would not find her. Her swarm of bees was already on the move, picking up on the light from the guns. The swarm turned on the group, causing disarray, shouting, as the insects stung the group and buzzed about. Between reloading and the bees, it gave Briar a quick recovery in this situation.

Briar still had her Blade of Thorns and as far as she was concerned, she only had to get to them before they got off another shot. The female ran quickly up towards the stairs slashing at the group with an eagerness she rarely reserved. She thrust and swung her scimitar, cleaving off an arm there, and hacking into the closest people. The stairs was a tight fighting place, but not for long. She had killed some but now she recognized that she might be in the way of Johann or Artorias' next moves. Even more unlucky, she hadn't thought about it before but now that she could hear it, it angered her: the stairs weren't so tall that they couldn't be slid or climbed or even jumped down from, depending on where. The plant mage was being flanked due to poor planning, now just doing the best she could to hold her own. Her blade broke then, hit against the carved wall and bent by a blocking wakizashi and katana combo. "Damn it," She cursed taking a hard hit by heavy wooden club. The man wielding it was behind her current opponent, whom had reached up and over to slam it into her right shoulder.

WC: 504
TWC: 6990

His hand rushing to the hilt of his weapon the old man drew it with the supersonic speed, dashing forward, propelled forward by the explosively released compressed air of his magic, launching himself into the group of Blood Seal members, his free hand grasping one of them by the head, smashing the man's head down into the stone stairs with enormous force and velocity, dust being thrown up as the impact cracked the carved material beneath. His rapier in hand, Johann stood up, his left hand sullied with blood that slowly dripped down his fingers, forming a stark contrast to the almost white stone of the ground they were standing on. For less than the blink of an eye Wolf could've sworn that time seemed to stand still, and a whisper reached his ears, familiar, but not unwelcome ... "Moooore". Before the Keeper of Onyx Moon had any time to think about it though, the other dark guild members had been hit with the sudden realization that the enemy was in their midst, 20 or so people turning their heads in shock before weapons were drawn, aimed and unleashed, starting a deadly choreography that almost resembled a dance. The runes on Wolf's body started glowing in a golden glow, the shining scripture visible on his neck and beneath the visor of the mask as a similar set of runes flared up on the black blade in his right hand, surrounding it in an aura of light, of hallow, golden radiance.

The first weapon swung at Johann was a blade. A sword, dull and of simple construction, but effective at what it was supposed to do, no doubt, the blade flying through the air towards the masked mage's head, Johann avoiding the attack with a swift backstep, the pommel of his sword producing an audible crack when Johann brought it down onto the figures head before they collapsed. From behind, a heavy axe was swung for his shoulder, Johann stopping the weapon with his glowing rapier, grasping the shaft of the weapon and using his momentum to swing around, his left fist burying itself in the man's chest. From his side, Wolf heard the sizzling of gunpowder, his head swinging around just in time to see the muzzle of the pistol pointed at him lighting up, Johann tilting his head so the projectile narrowly missed it, impacting into another man's shoulder behind. Johann shoot forward, his rapier slicing off the the hand that was still firmly grasping the gun before a kick into the person's stomach sent them flying. Unexpectedly, a heavy iron chain tangled itself around his rapier as he came to a halt, a woman in the uniform of Blood Seal holding it, pulling in an attempt to disarm Johann. Instead, Johann let go of the sword, kicking it up into the air along with the chain, the woman's eyes widening in shock as Wolf dashed towards her, a forceful uppercut into her stomach causing the air in her lungs to escape with a gutteral gasp, Johann grabbing the other end of the chain she had dropped mid air before pulling it back in towards them, wrapping the forged iron around her neck with insane speed, his other hand pulling the rapier out of the chain's still twisted and around it, holding it to his side before pulling, the Blood Seal member's neck snapping with a disturbing sound. On this day he would show no mercy.

"RAAAAAA", another one charged at him from a gap in their lines, the spear in his hands aimed at the vicious foe before him that had dared intrude into their domain. With a leap forward the man stabbed at the masked mage, Wolf turning to the side as the tip of the weapon soared past, his left hand grasping the spear as his left hand met the attackers face, the individual in black uniform tumbling back, letting go of his weapon before Johann turned the spear around, hurling it at the man who was holding his profusely bleeding nose, the improvised javelin making it through his chest about half way before stopping, a bloody gurgle escaping the other as he collapsed. Johann ... no, Wolf hadn't had this much fun in a long while. This would certainly prove to be a great hunt, another subtle whisper crawling up the edges of the old man's consciousness, vanishing as fast as it had come and only leaving behind the ring, the echo of it's deep, distorted voice ... "Yes, moooore".

--------------------------------------------
Job Word Count: 755
Total Job Word Count: 7.458 / 8.000

Briar backstepped after being hit with the club, needing a moment's recovery for her sore shoulder. She lifted her weapon up to block the next heavy hit by the club and she felt her whole weapon tremble. Was it about to break? She put her free hand to her lips and blew out a kiss through the mask, exhaling a toxic mist aimed at those fighting nearest to her. The five fighters, including the club wielder inhaled the spell right in and collapsed where they stood. Five others around them looked as if they were fighting sleep for a moment, appearing dazed and unsure. All the others around them were forcefully still trying to make their way into the fight. She could tell by the sounds beside her and behind her that Wolf was faring very well in his own fight. But where was Artorias?

Briar focused on the advantage she had right now, using her scimitar to slash at the ones who were dazed, slicing the throats of three men. They fell down dead. Briar swiped downward with her blade, letting it dig into another man, barely standing on his feet and saw his lifeblood spurting out between his neck and shoulder. A fighter dressed in black, of indeterminable gender aimed a gun for Briar, above those she was fighting in close range. Briar caught sight of the gun a split second before the trigger was pulled. It was so close she actually yelped in expectation, and then her mouth dropped in awe. The gun-holder had accidentally shot the final swaying man in front of her and he looked fiercely angry about it to say the least. Briar's clothes were covered with specks of the man's blood as he had taken the bullet through his throat, something which might have hit her square in the forehead.

Briar, with vigor, began stabbing and thrusting her blade as fast as her arm would allow into the sleeping men by her feet, ending their lives without any fancy moves. They didn't deserve fancy, they simply deserved a non-memorable death. She jumped backwards off the stairs and into another body holding a gun. She twisted quickly, and rounded around him, rolling her body to try to slide out of the fight. She was better outside of up close combat and needed to retreat and shoot off a few spells to regain her stamina. The person with the gun was a woman with brown eyes and when she fired, Briar felt the bullet graze her left arm. She breathed hard trying to get out of the way, but the woman was as fierce as she was. She stormed forward, using her gun like a staff and slamming it into Briar's already injured arm. Briar cried out again as the hit landed and then lifted up her free arm as if she were about to deliver a back hand. Three bamboo shoots burst from the ground; two stabbing through the female fighter's legs simultaneously and the third bursting from the ground and piercing the chest of a fighter who tried to make his way over the pile of bodies and down the stairs to her.

Briar saw the look of apprehension and pain in the female's eyes. The woman struggled to move, trapped to the ground as crimson blood slid from her legs and down the shoots. The woman tried breaking the bamboo with the butt of her gun and looked up at Briar. In response, the plant mage used her Blade of Thorns to slice off her head in a steady swift motion. With the sound of a loud crack, Briar caught sight of Wolf breaking the neck of the person he was fighting. They made a decent team it seemed. Half of the fighters who had come to ambush them on the stairs were already dead or dying. Briar's right arm was sticky with her own blood, but she didn't have time to tend to it right away. First, finish the fight on the stairs, then use her healing spells to clean herself up, Briar thought to herself.

WC: 685
TWC: 7675

Two glowing, white orbs shining through the visor of the mask Wolf turned to face the next attacker, forgetting, in his frenzied state, about both Yona and Artorias completely. All he could set his thoughts on was blood, slaughter, revenge for the fallen, vengeance he would personally achieve with his own two hands. Blade in hand Johann burst forward slamming the weapon into a man's side, a spout of blood exploding from the wound as the blade cut through flesh like butter, nearly separating the man into two. From behind, two arms grabbed Johann, the massive extremities locking him in place, the absolute brute of a man that had grappled him grinning viciously, as if he was already enjoying the prospect of imminent victory. A complete fool, truly. Leaning his head forward and swinging it back with all his might the old man heard the other's nose crack as he gave the mountain of muscle a headbutt to remember for a lifetime, the grip around him loosening for a moment, Johann seizing the opportunity to ram his elbow into the thugs chest, the breath audibly being forced of his lungs before, with one quick strike, his head was cleaved off his shoulders cleanly, the lifeless body collapsing into a pool of its own blood. "Pathetic. This is no fun. Hawk !" Wolf called out loud to Artorias who had kept himself in the background up until now while making his way over to his mentee with a few timed dodges and a little acrobatics as he maneuvered through the group, grabbing her by the shoulder "Take them all out. No survivors" before both turned to shadow, reappearing well outside the group of thugs as Artorias ran up, his entire form glowing with sparkling lightning energy. "Understood". Johann had grown tired of his play with these idiots.

Spreading his arms, his eyes glowing with a royal gold, bolts of shimmering, yellow electricity shot forth from his hands, almost covering the area before him entirely before slamming down onto the group of Blood Seal members. It took but a few moments before the effect of the spell stopped, the electricity dispersed and they all fell simultaneously, their remains staying unmoving on the ground, the smell of burned skin and flesh slowly starting to fill the air around. Moving back to the stairs the masked Onyx Moon Keeper placed his hand on the shoulder of his comrade, his gaze focussed on the stone doors ahead, "Good job, Hawk", the masked Artorias responding with a short bow. Ironically, Johann disliked these gestures of submissiveness, even if they were only symbolic, but at least the other man had refrained from calling him "my lord" in this state. "Hawk. Briar. From now on things are going to get a little more nasty, I guess. We're gonna go in and assault them directly. No tricks and no fancy plans, just killing everyone in sight. If there are any objections or comments it would be best to discuss now", not wasting a second thought about the people they had just eradicated, focussed only on the goal ahead. After a brief period of time that would allow for wounds to be healed and discussion to be had, if there was any at all, Johann raised one arm, his flat palm aimed at the massive gateway. "I'd take a few steps back", he spoke, waiting a few seconds before wind started flowing to his hand, compressing more and more air into a glowing, energized sphere, streaks of flame bursting from it every other second or so. The energy that he had accumulated would be more than sufficient for what he had in mind. Releasing the sphere, the projectile shot forth, taking a blink of an eye to strike the door, a flash of light bathing their surroundings in a deeply red light as the ground shook below, the massive explosion of pure force unfurling before them as the door crumbled, large pieces of solid rock and stone falling o the ground, the once impressive and majestic entrance to this temple in complete ruin.

--------------------------------------------
Job Word Count: 683
Total Job Word Count: 8.000 / 8.000 (S rank WC reached)

Second S rank Word count: 141 / 8.000

Briar flicked her emerald eyed gaze towards Artorias, whom she thought had vanished in the fighting all but entirely. His body radiated slivers and strikes of lightning and with an incredible attack all the remaining survivors were killed. The Blood Seal members with their metal armor and guns and blades had become a mass of lightning rods awaiting their electric demise. In this brief moment, Briar caught her breath. Her weapon was nearly destroyed and she let it dissipate for the time being. She looked herself over and whispered, "Aloe Allay," healing up the injuries she had sustained so far. She was keeping up fairly well, considering that she had no time to prepare and was only just beginning to realize the extreme danger that they were in. Taking out a dark guild was inherently dangerous, but once she was on her own fighting left and right, whether or not she survived depended more upon her skill than she had thought. Yona relied on Johann for back up, but here with the sheer number of enemies, Briar had to start relying on herself.

When her mentor warned her and Artorias that ahead would only be more danger, Briar nodded slowly. She could sense his ferocity, his eagerness, but there was something else in the exhilaration. The beast inside of him. They still had to learn how it got inside and if he just killed everyone or let that creature out once more, she wasn't sure that he would get his answers. "You need to keep one alive to get answers from. Unless you don't want answers anymore," Briar said gently. "That thing inside of you got there somehow and after all this even I have a feeling that these people know how." She supposed that Wolf already knew or suspected his answers and hadn't told her, but if he had been honest, she needed to remind him of how important not just surviving this little personal mission was. Planning wasn't much of her strong suit and she didn't mind that he encouraged them to just kill without thought. Thinking only made her sympathize, and she had no reason to be humane with these murderers.

Her mentor lifted his arm and Briar reflexively took several steps back. He told them that they should move back, but Briar had already moved. She had seen his power and she knew to not get in his way. When the swirling wind obliterated the gateway, the door, and even part of the outside flooring, Briar was satisfied with the distance she had moved to not be in the way this time. Briar breathed easily through the gas mask, letting it filter out the smoky aftermath of the explosion and then stepped forward. "If anything happens down there, you remember you're not allowed to play hero either." Briar said to Wolf, already moving down the stairs ahead of him. With a quick casting of a more powerful spell, Briar allowed sharp brambles to grow outward from around the forearms, wrists, and her hands. The sharp thorns pointed dangerously outwards, creating what looked like natural gauntlets, and it was something which she had never done in front of another person before. The thorns were tipped with a dark yellow colored poison, but in the dim lighting of the underground temple, in the cloud of rubble from Wolf's big explosion, she doubted anyone would be able to see it.

She raced down the stairs in front, as reckless as ever in her haste to fight, but her feet carefully made each step with grace ever downwards. Last thing she wanted was to fall down the stairs when she finally got to the bottom. After a while, a few lanterns were lit up against the stone walls, the spiraling staircase leveling out onto an open floor. There were no people in sight and Briar thought herself very lucky. She paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking into the open room with high ceilings, noting four large carved columns and two rooms coming out of this larger room. There were black banners and red banners all over the wall and a few long tables stretched against the sides. It reminded her a little bit of the dining area back at the WFTC. Of the two other rooms she could see, there was one to her left, and one to her right. She didn't see that there was a third room located at the base of the stairs, behind a black banner with the symbol of the guild upon it, facing her back. Briar also didn't see the arms reaching out of the dark of that very hidden room to grab her. Strong masculine arms looped around her, one over her shoulders and neck, choking and dragging her backwards as the other arm grappled around her waist. Briar flailed a bit, getting dragged into the dark back room, her glowing eyes readjusting to the darkness. She could see the large room as she was pulled away from it, and from the two other rooms several figures coming into view in black garments. She was more focused on the sudden struggle at hand than how Wolf and Hawk would deal with the situation out there. The coal colored banner fell back into place and the room she was in became hidden once more. She kicked her legs out and dropped her weight fully, expecting her body to drag her captor down. Instead, his strong arms continued to hold her in place. She reached upwards, punching and swiping her fists and arms, but he wore some type of armor, blocking the poisonous thorns.

Briar watched as a second, more lithe figure walked towards her from somewhere in this hidden room. There was an odd set up in this room: a few large chests against the wall, a long carved table, and a small dish-like altar filled with a dark liquid. The lithe figure made their way towards Briar, speaking in a sultry honey voice. "You're not the one we were hoping to grab, but you'll do." Briar couldn't quite get a good hit in on whoever was holding her, but when the honey-toned stranger approached, Briar launched a successful strike out. Her double right hand punch struck the woman in the face twice and the Blood Seal female fell back in shock as her face was sliced open. Briar felt the arms around her neck and waist tense as they jerked her backwards once more, temporarily cutting off the air she needed to breath. In the dark, Briar could see already the poison taking place as the woman growled and touched her bleeding face, "I thought you were holding her!" It was a bit late to complain, Briar thought, as the female's face began to swell and pustules formed. Her lips got large and her eyes widened as she grabbed for her own throat. The poison's swelling had blocked off the woman's airways and she died before Briar's eyes of suffocation. Briar smirked behind the mask she wore, thanking Johann for the gift of dark vision in her head.

WC: 1187
TWC: 8862

"Oh, trust me, girl, I will get all the answers I'm seeking from the big boss himself." Johann spoke as the cloud of dust cleared around them, stepping over some pieces of larger rubble to gain access to the temple before them, followed closely by Hawk, a set of similarly constructed stone stairs leading down into darkness, only the occasional torch lighting up their surroundings faintly. From now things would get serious. The enormous explosion was hard to miss and had undoubtedly alerted anyone who wasn't already, and they would surely face fierce resistance. Still, that didn't stop Yona from rushing down the stairs first, leaving both Johann and Artorias a good distance behind before suddenly vanishing from sight as the ground leveled. "You just can't help yourself, hm ? What happened to not playing hero ...", Wolf quietly thought to himself. In truth, he himself couldn't wait to get advance further either, his hands shaking nervously, the vengeance he had sought for so, so very long getting closer to him with each echoing step through these halls.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs a few seconds after Yona had, Hawk still silently following behind Wolf, Johann was taken aback by the intricacy of the architecture and construction for a second, his black eyes wandering over the cold stones that had been soiled by the ... plethora of ugly banners and symbols all over the place. There was no way Blood Seal could've built something as advanced as this temple. No, it had been here for a long time before they had taken over ... but just how long, precisely ? Perhaps no one could tell exactly, but it was ancient at least. In his excitement and haste, however, the absence of Briar had almost gone unnoticed by Johann, Hawk behind him raising the distorted voice under his mask to make himself known "My L- Friend, it appears that Briar has vanished" "Hm ? What the ...", the runes on Wolf's form flaring up in crimson colour as his senses heightened again, confirming Artorias' suspicion. The girl had seemingly vanished from the reach of both their advanced senses, Johann nervously grinding his teeth against each other. "Fine, Hawk, we'll have to-", his sentence cut short by another explosion that shook the ground, one of the walls to the side bursting, pieces of stone and dry dirt scattering all what seemed like an improvised living space for the members of Blood Seal.

Immediately bursting from the hallway were 3 figures, all of them dressed in a similar black uniform to those the other members of the dark guild had worn before, but of seemingly higher quality, more decoration, just generally looking like they had a higher status then the others, one of them wielding an enormous, muscular, dark arm in his right arm's stead that quickly transformed back into a more normal form after apparently having smashed the formerly closed gateway to this room, all of their eyes being of charcoal colour with differently coloured, glowing pupils in their middle. Quietly leaning over to Artorias, Johann whispered "You go and find her. I'll deal with our new friends", masked Hawk nodding before dashing off to the side, letting his heightened sense of smell guide him to Yona. Wolf, however, was confronted with his own information that his heightened sense of smell was giving him, the rotten, sulfuric stench of demons filling the air as the 3 positioned themselves to his front and sides. "Welcome, good man ! Welcome to this humble abode of ours. I apologize that we cannot give you a more formal welcome, but please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alastor." the one in the middle started speaking with mild, yet calculatingly cold voice. The man had blonde hair, wasn't particularly built, but didn't seem unfit, one of his eyes covered by a black, square eyepatch, pointing a finger at himself before pointing it at one of his comrades "This is Dajjal", the slender, robed figure on Johann's flank giving what resembled a bow, "and our big guy over here is Raum.", the mountain of muscle that had smashed the doorway offering only a grunt in response "I suppose you could say that I have a position of leadership in this wonderful organisation, so I must ask: What might your name be, my friend ?", Wolf returning only silence. "Hmh, I see. I regret to inform you, though, that this is perhaps a rather inconvenient moment for a surprise visit since you are interrupting a little ... "project" of ours, so may I inquire as to what your business is with us, with Blood Seal ?", Johann barely holding it back before bursting out with his own question "How ?!" "Hm ?"

"How. How the hell do all of you have demons inside you ? How is this possible ?! EXPLAIN YOURSELF !"

--------------------------------------------
Second S rank Word count: 1.011 / 8.000

"You have a lot of fight in you," laughed the bulky man grappling Briar by the neck and waist. As she fumbled about, trying to use her elbows to slam into his chest, trying to reach up and scrape his face open with her gauntlets, it was to no avail. The dead woman lay on the floor but the male seemed unconvinced that Briar had any real power. "Release me, I'll kill you too!" Briar demanded with her sophisticated voice, through the mask. Briar heard him chuckle again, a sound that made her uncomfortable. It was like how the beast inside of Johann laughed when it nearly pulled out her entire spine. It was far too gleeful and yet still dark. "That's no real incentive, you know?" Briar growled and then an idea hit her. It was stupidly simple. She would have slapped her own face if she weren't going to poison her own self. Briar twisted her leg, leaned back into the male as if falling, as if giving in. And then she lifted and stomped her boot down upon his foot- especially glad that she designed them with a slight heel.

There was no way something that obvious was going to work on a grown man wearing some sort of armor. However, his cry filled the hidden room for half a second, before he caught his voice, hoping it would not break the room's secrecy. Briar broke out of his grip in the intended millisecond and jerked forward. Briar turned around, ready to fight him. In the dark, she was lucky to have Johann's gifted dark vision. He wore some sort of metal mask over his face under his hood, and though his robed clothing was torn to shreds from her flailing, it only revealed a shining layer of metal beneath it. Briar drew a quick arc in the air with her right hand's index finger. Around the man, roots sprang out from the floor, wrapping over and around him until it created a birdcage just his size. From the roots came flowering purple flowers and dark green leaves, about the same time that a shortsword materialized in the man's hand. "I am Anmo and no cage will hold me!" The man guffawed, slamming his weapon against the created cage. With the hit, the cage made cracking sound, but it did not break. A cloud of poisonous spores filled the cage then and Anmo realized his error.

Briar stood there, watching him, making sure he would die, making sure that he would be restrained as she caught her breath. Her left hand touched her neck thankful to be out of his powerful grip. Too hard of a squeeze and he might have been able to break her back! Anmo's eyes glowed orange and from his head grew pointed fox ears and from behind him a long bushy tail. He dropped his weapon and Briar clenched her hands in anticipation. The cage had to hold, the poison had to affect him as well. Sol had taught her well and she had designed this spell with many of his teachings in mind. The poison was dealing damage every second that passed and even though it appeared Anmo grew fangs, Briar could also see the glowing in his eyes weaken. Anmo grabbed the cage directly and pulled on it hard, snapping some of the roots in place apart. He reached up and pulled off his mask, showing bright orange lines glowing down his cheeks. He reached and grabbed the cage again, unleashing his power. "I told you, no cage.. will hold me!" Briar felt his magical aura grow despite him looking much weaker in a physical way. So he had a demon inside of him, she realized. And if it was anything like Johann's... then she was about to get screwed over in this little hidden room.

Briar stepped forward and punched with both of her fists, over and over, slamming them relentlessly into Anmo's grinning bloody face. It was frightening, the way he smiled with crimson raining from his eyes and nose. His skin was destroyed and still, his grip did not relent. Briar moved faster, hitting harder, feeling his nose break. She heard a loud crack and leapt backwards quickly as her poisonwood cage broke. The man wobbled on his feet, and took a single step. "Come on," Briar whispered, "Any second," She added. The poison had to kill him, just sooner rather than later would be nice. On his second step, Anmo lifted his arms out for her, his body swelling in odd places, his neck and his hands, his leg limp behind him. The toxins were finally in effect. Anmo breathed out, "I'll break your bones like I did your cage," and then collapsed to the floor and did not move. His ears and tail vanished and Briar exhaled, finding she had been holding her breath after all. "Well, he's dead, thank god," Briar said to herself.

With a sudden and surprising lurch, a hand upon Briar's ankle pulled her down. Briar fell backwards and lifted her arms to punch, her bloodied and spiked thorn gauntlets ready to fight on. To her unfortunate luck, only her arms remained, her onslaught having destroyed the magical gauntlets, having used up the poison and the thorns. "I can't agree more. I didn't like him much," came the sweetened tone of the woman Briar had been so sure she had killed before. The female's eyes glowed green, a slit in the middle giving Briar a hint as to what was coming. This was a cat demon, long claws on her limbs, fangs from her lips, and heightened senses. "Gagoze, Andras, Kasadhya, secure the room," the honey-voiced lady ordered, and Briar found it insulting that she wasn't being given serious attention. Had she not just killed one of the Blood Seal in front of her? Briar crawled backwards and moved to get to her feet, readying up. She didn't care if there were three more- Wolf needed her to handle this. Johann needed her to handle this. Three figures appeared around the room, two behind Briar and one from behind the female before her. One of them spoke up, "We can handle it from here, Lady Kasha. You can go assist Alastor, if you like."

What!? Was it like she wasn't even standing right there!? The radiant cat-woman slipped out of the wall a moment before the banner was lifted, revealing Artorias' face. He had just gotten close enough and figured out where Briar was, but the timing was horrible. As he lifted the banner to enter the room, a double fisted claw attack sprang at him as Kasha leapt through the wall, using the force of her body to knock him backwards and away from the secret wall. "Let's dance, you and I, hmm?"

WC: 1144
TWC: 10005

The two glowing eyes staring at the form of Alastor, Johann's expression dominated by nothing but hate and anger under his mask, he asked again "How !?", the corners of Alastor's mouth going up with glee. "Oh, you don't know ? I thought this is why you have come, intruder ? The art of sealing demons within a human being is something that Blood Seal has pursued since its founding and has been the goal of our organisation ever since. As you can see ..." Alastor raised one of his hands, the fingers slowly turning into long, sharpened claws "... we have had decent success in our endeavours. Again, though, why would you care ?", Wolf remaining silent once again. Blood Seal would find out in due time why he had come. Still ... Alastor didn't seem to take being denied the answers he sought while he had been so generous too well, the corners of his mouth going down again, a neutral, stoic expression finding its way back onto the young man's face. "Very well, if you're not one for talking, maybe you prefer to let your actions speak for you. Raum ! Dajjal !", both figures nodding their head as their names echoed through the halls of the temple. Explosively, Raum's form started swelling, the man in black uniform surrounded by an aura of darkness as he leaned on his forearms, resembling a gorilla. On the other side, the masked Dajjal was engulfed in a similar, dark aura as she drew two long, swirled daggers. Alastor, grabbing a cane from his side before pulling a part of it off, revealing the blade hidden within as he held the weapon with a dark, clawed hand. "I commend you, friend ! You and your allies have come far for simple intruders, but I regret to say that this will be the end of your story. Now, if you would be so kind ... die !"

Leaping forward towards Wolf Alastor extended his hand, the blade aimed straight at the masked older man as from the side, with a loud grunting sound, Raum stormed towards him like a giant ape, and with a single, powerful jump, Dajjal burst forward, the two blades reflecting the orange glow of the lamps on the walls as her blades swung towards the old man. "Well then, I suppose now that you have given me the answer I wanted ..." Johann lifted his right arm up as the demonic members of Blood Seal charged, his fingers ready for a snapping motion as on them carbon coloured runes lit up "... I can get rid of you !", snapping his fingers "Impulsus Pressura". The single sound of snapping fingers was amplified by multitudes, a shockwave of sound and pressure echoing from his hand and slamming into the bodies of the Blood Seal demons before hitting the walls, pebbles and dust raining from the ceiling as their surroundings shook. One after the other, the dark mages stopped in their tracks before their bodies lost all composure, all muscles relaxing as they collapsed into unconsciousness. With the simple snap of his fingers the old man had eliminated his adversaries. Artorias hadn't returned yet, but the old man didn't even think about stopping now. He was too close. He had to get answers, he had to know why. With what Alastor had said, he had gotten a clearer picture of what exactly was being played here, but the answers he had hoped would clear up his past had only raised more questions ... and so, he had to push on.

Meanwhile ...

Artorias had followed the girls tracks. Having well internalized the smell of burning charcoal that all Onyx Moon members had when they put on their masks he simply had to keep following the one trail that deviated from his own and that of his lord, making his way back and into a dark corner before pushing through what looked to be a black banner into an even darker hallway, his darkvision guiding his way until hitting another black piece of cloth. Pushing it to the side again, he had found what he sought, but was surprised to find even more members of Blood Seal here, too. He opened his mouth to speak, but before could do so much as utter a single words he felt the force of two clawed fist pressing against his ribcage from the side. Much to his surprise and shock, the claws, instead of going right through his elemental lightning body, found and struck flesh, delivered a force that launched the falcon off his feet and sent him crashing into a wall to the other side, dust and shards of rock thrown around as the stone cracked. Hastily getting back onto his feet the knight hissed under his breath, his animalistic side showing at the pain he was feeling, his wounds revealing sparkling, yellow electricity under his skin before closing in what seemed like tiny flashes of lightning. At least she didn't disable his healing factor. "You damn ... dance ?", the falcon drew his blade, sparks of electricity dancing around his form, his eyes glowing with deep, golden colour, "I will give you the dance of your lifetime, demonic scum !", the masked Hawk thinking only about how to end this most effectively so he could successfully complete the task his lord had given him, drawing the katana by his side and pointing it at her before, with the speed of lightning and cracking thunder, releasing a thick, golden bolt of glowing electricity rivaling the power of actual lightning at her.

--------------------------------------------
Second S rank Word count: 1.984 / 8.000

Briar was left alone with the three newcomers, standing on her feet, annoyed and uncertain. How calm and cool these three who entered were was unnerving. As if there weren't a dead man on the floor and as if the woman, Kasha, hadn't died and then stood back up ready for a fight again. It was almost a bored attitude, mutually shared across the three. Gagoze, the oldest looking, was a white haired woman with pale blue sightless eyes. Andras was wire-thin but of average height, his expression muted and his skin pulsing as if things were crawling beneath it. Kasadhya was obviously the youngest female, but she was as plump as she was fresh faced, her thick blonde hair curling around her cheeks and shoulders like a plus sized model. The older woman approached from the front lifting a single hand. In response, expecting some sort of spell or attack, and trying not to give them a chance regardless, Briar released a thick cloud around her, filled with spores, a spell to go after all three of them. And once they were stuck in her spell, she would be able to target them one on one, killing them with a vengeance, killing them for Johann.

As the spores filled the room, Briar heard the footsteps of the two mages behind her pause. She let out a small breath of relief. Right now the three of them would be hearing the most frightening sounds, distracting and loud, dealing damage to those who could hear it as well. The older woman simply stared at her and shook her head, hand still raised. "Enough games, host," Gagoze uttered. A beam of bright light shot from Gagoze's hand and blinded Briar for just a second. Then, she felt sick to her stomach and an intense pain inside of her intestines. It reminded her of the time Sol had poisoned her back when they first met, back when she fell to the ground curling up into a ball. She just couldn't do that here. Despite feeling sharply ill, the green haired mage lifted her hands enclosed as fists to prepare her next spell. Another wave of pain hit her and the sound of footsteps behind her resumed as Briar let out the softest sound of a grimace, trying to control herself. The male behind her spoke out with a tone of slight amusement, Andras with the pulsing skin, "She was attempting a fear based spell, causes damage. Did you feel anything sister?" In reply, the plump blonde shook her head, "Nothing, Andras. Are you all right mother?"

The woman trained her pale lifeless eyes on Briar's face lowering her hand. "I'm blind, not deaf. And I have taught you far better than to question my abilities. This one here, she's a good fit for Ketsueki," Gagoze nodded. She waved her hand dismissively, as if she were just some old grandmother waving off young ones. The shock and pain of the poison was digging inside of her belly like a hunter's knife. Briar lifted her arms quickly, fighting the pang of poison inside of her again and launching a barrage of pointed, barbed, cactus needles at the old woman before falling onto her knees from the strain. The plant mage was a bit surprised seeing the needles strike the old woman all over: Gagoze didn't even flinch. Meanwhile, Briar felt a bead of sweat slide from her brow and in-between her eyes, the start of a poison induced fever. "Yes, a good fighter, a strong body. She will do very well." Briar frowned behind her mask. What was the old lady talking about? Gagoze was admiring her, complimenting her as if she were a slab of fresh meat in the market. It was unnatural, the way the three were so in sync, so calm. It was unnatural the way that they addressed her and ignored her.

These three were clearly working and thriving together, their demons based some how on the number three and their abilities sharing to each other. Briar thought for sure if she could kill the old bag, the other two would be far less protected. She sprang forward from her knees, getting to her feet and lifting up her right arm, readying for a punch square at the blind woman's face- but still Gagoze did not move. Kasadhya, still behind the nineteen year old, let out a chortling laughter, lifted her own hand as Briar moved and shot out a blinding colorless light towards Briar's back. Upon hitting, Briar felt her feet freeze in place, her arms stuck in mid-strike just inches from the older woman's face. She growled, shouting, "Damn it, no! No! What is this?!" Some sort of paralysis to hold her was in place and there she was frozen like a fool, reckless as ever going forward with a plain-looking punch. The man, Andras, rolled his eyes. "Why do they always fight?" Briar looked through her periphery and saw the wirey man laying a black and red cloth on the stone table. She saw the symbol of the Blood Seal upon it and her eyes went wide with a stunning comprehension.

The altar, the table, the strange stone bowl of dark liquid... all components to something. It had taken too long, but Briar realized suddenly that the reason why they were so calm and the reason why they had done her no serious damage so far was likely the same reason that they had been eyeing her the way that they had. This room was for rituals, for powerful spellcasting, and she herself was to be a part of it. She struggled hard, pulling on her arms and legs but the spell held firmly. Kasadhya stepped forward and over the dead Anmo, who still lay bleeding where he had collapsed, and rested her hands on Briar's shoulders. "It's very important that you don't struggle too much, I don't want to give Ketsueki a damaged body. Now, how is your iron level? Do you have any blood-based diseases? It's for the research aspect, of course. Always important- mother says to document every thing we can." Briar found the pain from the poison seemed to be entirely draining now, causing her to grit her teeth when she wanted to instead carve out her own stomach. Briar had control of her head, and only her head. She was like a forced patient at some sort of crazed hospital. The three weren't that intimidating, just frustratingly effective, and Briar could not believe she survived a demon like Anmo to go toe-to-toe with these freaks.

The nineteen year old spat at the blonde and said, "Ketsueki and all of you can screw yourselves. I'm refuse to be a part of this." The blonde flinched backwards and wiped at her face, whining about the saliva sticking to her cheek and nose. Briar closed her eyes, biting her lip until it bled. The poison inside and the piercing pain would not stop. She sweat like she was in a sauna now and trembled and convulsed in place. The old lady had merely lifted her hand and inflicted a pain worse than all of Briar's punching had done to the dead man's face. Gagoze stepped forward and placed a cold clammy hand on Briar's cheek. "The demon wants what he wants. For his freedom, for you, he will be another weapon in our favor. For Berith and the Blood Seal, we all live and die." She rapped her bony hands once on Briar's forehead, "You're young now, but think of this... you will live much longer and have power beyond your dreams. And you too, will serve our leader, Berith."

This was all a load of nonsense to Briar.  She screamed as loudly as she could, the sound echoing in the hidden room, bouncing off the walls. Whether or not the scream came from anger or pain, it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was a combination of both. Briar met the blonde woman by the eyes, casting a spell that only required her own voice and concentration. She uttered, "Hag, I demand for you to release your spell and--" Briar didn't know if her spell had worked, suddenly feeling as if her tongue was detached. Like a puppet with cut strings, her mouth fell open and her body felt limp and wooden. Andras had come up behind her and grabbed her by the skull, transferring some sort of power. A flash of overly bright light again, a throbbing pain behind her eyes, and Briar felt as if she had fallen within herself... deep into a pool of dark blue, looking up to see the three mages carrying her body to the table as if she were a rag doll, no longer in any sort of recognizable agony.

Yona hadn't known or understood how, but her mind was forced inward and her spirit was forced outward. She couldn't make her body move, she couldn't make a sound, and she felt as if she were fading or slipping away. Whatever spell this was, whatever the three were concocting together, Briar's counters and spells were nothing before them.


Lady Kasha leapt through the wall, using the force of her body to knock him backwards and away from the secret wall. "Let's dance, you and I, hmm?" The man she had found her strikes colliding with was struck backwards and into a wall. It was just the way she liked to start a fight, by landing the very first blow. To her dismay, she saw his wounds closing up and healing, sparks of lightning. A loud scream could be heard echoing from the room behind Kasha: the woman in there was clearly putting up a fight for now. Kasha couldn't risk letting this lightning-user in there right now. It would ruin everything! Quickly she made a decision to cast a spell clasping her hands in front of her and mumbling something so low that none could hear her. An aura of colorless misfortune surrounded her body, filling the area around her invisibly, within burst range. Surely the magic would be detected, but there was no way it would be paid much mind.

When he drew out his katana and fired a swift bolt of lightning for her, Kasha opened her arms wide and welcomed it, "You'll find it isn't so easy to kill me!" It was a waste of a life, but necessary to get him close enough for her aura to affect him. It slammed into her, shocking her whole body, causing her to fall over and collapse. The female's heart stopped, her breathing stopped, she lay there dead and fried upon the stone floor. Around her body within the range of her spell, her aura lingered so that any who crossed through might become sorely unlucky. Her aura could cause those around her to trip, to forget, to cut themselves, and to miss obvious attack maneuvers. As the woman fell to the ground dead without a word, it was the fastest and most unusual death Artorias had likely encountered so far. Kasha's dead form lay sprawled out in front of the banner of the hidden room: the only way in was past her.

WC: 1880
TWC: 11884

Artorias' eyes widened under his mask as the woman spread her arms and ... took the attack ? She didn't even attempt to dodge the attack, the bolt of electricity slamming into her chest, sparks and smoke dancing around her form as she collapsed face forward to the ground, her dead body impacting on the cold stone floor with a subtle thud. For a brief moment Hawk could've sworn that he had senses a flash of magical energy emitting from her, but it had been gone as soon as he had noticed, so he figured it might have been a sudden shock in the face of death ? Or perhaps a last act of defiance ? He couldn't be sure, but he remained vigilant. Something was terribly off not just with this place, but also these people. They had somehow not only acquired the knowledge and power to seal demons inside living beings, but also used it to a great extent, going so far to even seal the lowliest of demonic creatures inside the environment around their new base. None of this made sense, but it was evident that these people couldn't be treated like the joke of a patrol that they had encountered earlier. They were dangerous, and that woman had even managed to hurt his elemental body. "Enough of a dance for you ?", he whispered to himself just as another scream rang out behind the now fallen woman, Artorias sensing the presence of at least 3 ... no, 4 mages behind what appeared like a thick cloth banner. He decided to not take any risks and kill two birds with one stone, the katana still in his hands flaring up with golden runes briefly before both the weapon and the wielder exploded into magical lightning energy, blinking out and back into existence in the room behind. Immediately observing, Artorias gaze fell on the lifeless body of Briar being carried by 3 more figures, all of them bearing the mark of Blood Seal.

This was more than just bad. Regardless of what opinions he held about the girl, his master obviously liked and cared about her ... and from what Hawk could tell, she was unconscious at best and at worst ... he didn't dare finishing the thought. If that truly was the case then his master would no doubt blame him. He had to do whatever he could to try and rescue her, if it wasn't too late already. Still, in this situation and with his electricity, he couldn't engage from a distance for fear of hitting Briar with one of his attacks. Meaning he had to get closer. Ready to storm forward with lightning speed Hawk grasped the weapon firmly, sprinting forward at the group, the blade covered in sparks of golden electricity, ready to slash at the targets to his front before, suddenly and disastrously, his foot caught an unevenness in the stone floor, getting stuck, Hawk's momentum carrying face first into the ground. "What the ..." the falcon knight murmured to himself as he slowly got up. He hadn't injured himself or felt any pain anyway, but he had come to a stop, picking up the blade from the ground beside him, the element of surprise gone.

On the other side of the temple Johann was ever advancing deeper into the ruins, kicking down a set of heavy steel doors that led to a large hall, stone walls to all sides, though no lighting to speak of. For others this room would be pitch dark, but Johann had no trouble seeing with his runic night vision, scanning the area with two glowing, red eyes shining through the mask. He couldn't spot anyone, but also couldn't rid himself of another creepy feeling ... certain he was being watched.

--------------------------------------------
Second S rank Word count: 2.631 / 8.000

It wasn't much of a challenge to maneuver Yona's body now that she was physically incapacitated. Upon the table, without so much as rope, chains, straps or tape, the nineteen year old's body rested. Her hood had fallen off to reveal her long dark green hair and her silver glowing eyes remained open, allowing her to participate only in observation. Her mask was not removed, at least not that she could tell, and the three mages had moved around her. They lit up incense, setting up various stones of various sizes. "Don't be afraid, this is for our protection. New transfers are always a bit hard to control to start," Kasadhya explained, caressing Yona's head with her palm. "The important thing is to stay calm, it will hurt. But you are safe, I assure you." Andras was moving his arms in the back of the shadowy room, lifting up the branches of a fallen tree which had been resting on the floor. He dragged the massive tree towards the table, laying it parallel to Yona's body upon the floor, spreading dirt as the roots quivered in the motion. Gagoze, the old lady was inspecting a dagger about the length of her forearm, silver with runes upon it. As an observer, it was like Yona was watching the scene from a distance through a pair of binoculars.

Gagoze waved to the other three and they too drew out daggers covered in elaborate symbols and runes. Gagoze held her dagger over Yona's chest, over the blue fabric, and uttered words that sounded a bit nonsensical to Yona. She wanted to shout, to kick, and curse; Yona was a fighter without the ability to fight. It was horrific, and she didn't know what to expect but she doubted that she would live through this. Yona had accepted that death was plausible in this mission, but what she had not expected was for it to be so easy, and so out of her control. To die without a fight was to die and be forgotten. Kasadhya fluffed out her blonde hair and leaned over Yona, moving to put both of Yona's hands palm up on her stomach. Then she cut designs into  Yona's palms and arms with purposeful motion, a tool simply doing its job. Andras on the other hand, he used his runic dagger like an artist, taking time to make careful fluid cuts where desired: cutting small runes onto the woman's revealed stomach. When they both finished and stepped back, they placed their daggers ceremoniously upon the stone bowl.

Gagoze gave them both a nod and the two placed their hands, one upon Yona and the other upon the tree, concentrating in full with glowing tendrils of magic. Gagoze lifted her dagger and finally, to Yona's horror, she was stabbed in the chest about an inch deep and about an inch above her beating heart. The blood oozed out and Gagoze left the blade where it was. She held Yona down by the shoulders, safeguarding whatever effect the spell might have. Yona screamed and thrashed, but beyond a blink of her eyelids, she remained trapped and her body, like an empty shell abandoned by its snail upon the beach, remained open as a vessel, no longer Yona's to control. There was no light this time, but the blood in Yona's body from the cuts made drew upwards and into the air in thin swirls while a dark black smoke seeped from the tree. Together the blood mixed with the essence from the tree and Gagoze grinned. "It has begun. Either Ketsueki will be sealed in her body or he will consume all of her blood and she will die. Shouldn't be long now, my children, just stay focused to keep control of the process."


It had taken about half a minute, but Kasha got back to her feet. She touched her dark hair and her cat's ears and frowned. "Two lives left, I better make them count or Berith will be angry." She stretched her arms and climbed with stealth into the dark back room. Artorias had fallen to the floor and she shook her head. This was a terrible time to be clumsy, but it meant that her spell had worked. Her aura of unluckiness was unusual but it was bound to have terribly good outcomes for her at least. She concentrated on her own magic, letting a visible aura of gold appear around her. It was her luck aura, something that gave this woman with a black cat demon, a better chance to hit and a better chance for her hits to deal more damage. This lightning user was far out of his league with Kasha and he didn't even know it yet. As he picked up his blade, Kasha clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "We're not finished yet, partner. I guess it's up to me to take the lead, then."

Her claws were still sharpened and she had the impressive agility and speed of a cat. If he had been paying any attention by now he had to have realized that her cat like reflexes were going to be too much for him. Like a predator, finally ready to pounce, she lunged forward again. She darted left and right, zigzagging to avoid any strikes he might have made, and then Kasha attempted to slash at him twice more with her savage claws. A single lucky strike would be enough to knock him into the wall, but a luckier strike would knock him out of this hidden chamber all together. The three mages at work with their blood sealing ritual needed to concentrate and interrupting the event would be dangerous for them all.


As Wolf entered the great stone room, kicking down the massive doors and discovering the deep hall of the Blood Seal leader, Berith, his eyes glowed red through his mask. It was silent, eerily quiet, and cold in this room. The deepest darkest room in the whole establishment, the room which none could enter without permission, and Wolf just entered as if he had owned it. The sound of stone grinding against stone would echo throughout the room as three large stone circles lifting from the surface of the floor, from every wall, and from the ceiling. The stone circles lifting out of the surfaces were each a 3m diameter and 10cm thick. They weren't enough to create great shadows and they did not seem like they were about to fall or move any farther than they had come. It was just as if every surface was now covered with awkward angles and possible tripping hazards. When the stones came to a stop, the cold in the air increased slightly, enough so that Wolf might see his own breath in the air or feel the itch to rub his hands together for warmth.

A voice came from somewhere in the room, though still there was no visible source. "I don't know you or who you think you are. I watched you from afar devastating half of my mountain, slaughtering my little army, killing my best men in a single flick of your hand." It sounded almost like the male voice was impressed, "I never thought my perfect hideout would be discovered out here, but then you must have had very good reason." Lights appeared in the room then, at the center of every circle, glowing motionless blue orbs appeared to set the scene up with dim blue lights. "Was there something you desired of me, a reason for your unnecessary and murderous trespass? Or was it really just the instructions for sealing demons that you were after?" The voice was calm and without emotion, filled with the sound of pride and seething with sheer power. It also sounded like his questions weren't meant to be answered as he continued speaking.  "After all I've seen, it appears you intend to fight me, stranger. I'll acquiesce under two conditions: first you must remove your mask and give me your name, it is terribly dishonorable and rude to hide yourself at this point. And tell me also, just this, where does your power come from? "

WC: 1368
TWC: 13248

Standing up, drips of cold sweat started forming on Hawk's forehead, the figures placing Yona on the altar and beginning what seemed like the start of an ancient and sinister ritual. He had to stop this by any means necessary. Raising the blade up and pointing it at one of the three he would attempt the same thing from before again, a focussed bolt of electricity. The girl would be in potential danger but he had to take the risk, lest she succumb to the Blood Seal mages and their twisted plans. The falcon, however, had no time to do even as much as think about preparing his spell, the soft, yet calculating voice ringing out behind him as his eyes went wide, his head whipping around. "What ?! How ? You shouldn't even be ... gods dammit !", Artorias barking out at the familiar woman that had appeared behind him, turning his body, his blade to instead face her. Not only had she been able to somehow resist the fatal blow he had dealt to her, but also there was something about that woman that had Artorias most primal of senses revolt, tell him to run, to flee and hide away from her reach. Of course the falcon would never do such a thing, he was part of a guild, he was loyal to his master, and he had a mission.

Biting his lip the man raised his katana once again, holding the blade over his shoulder and pointing it at the demon before she took off sprinting at him, her reflexes and agility astonishing, perhaps even surpassing his own. A factor Hawk hadn't taken into consideration. The woman was approaching fast, but Artorias still had the advantage in sheer speed, and so took the opportunity to deliver the first strike, his katana slicing through the air with lightning speed. She wouldn't possibly be able to avoid it ... and yet, his blade had struck nothing, passing by her neck by just an inch, a mischievous smile spreading across the woman's face before Artorias could once more feel the heavy impact of two clawed hands on his chest, the momentum carrying him off his feet as he was launched back violently, thrown back into the black banner he had avoided just moments ago and through the thick piece of cloth into the alleyway behind, skidding across the cold stones of the floor beneath a few times before coming to a stop. Coughing, the pain pulsing all across his body, a feeling the man hadn't felt in a while, the still masked Hawk slowly got on his knees, small wounds all over his body closing in sparks of golden electricity. Just what exactly was this woman to be able to even cause him pain, let alone toy with him like this ?

Meanwhile ...

Wolf entered the spacious hall, his steps echoing from the massive stone walls around, the air noticeably getting a lot colder the with each step he advanced forward, his breath freezing as it left the mask. Still, this cold was nothing with the runes enhancing his endurance. Extreme temperatures already had little effect on the old man, and this was hardly worth being called a cold breeze. Still, Johann had the feeling that this was far from all. Stopping at a sudden rumble of his surroundings, the two glowing red orbs watched as stone circles emerged from surfaces all over the place. Whatever the purpose of this was, Wolf was unsure, he knew he triggered some sort of reaction with his intrusion ... and sure enough, it only took moments for the other presence to make itself known, speaking with eerily deep, echoing voice, but without visible source. "So you're supposed to be the big boss already ? I'll be honest, I expected more from a dark guild making itself out to be oh so important. If those were your best men, if this is what you call a perfect hideout, then this will only take moments.", the Keeper's voice responding back into the frigid darkness, "A reason ? I suppose there is a reason for it ...", both of the keepers hands going to his mask, pulling off the dark leather that turned back into its usual white again, the charcoal colour disappearing from the old man's hair, going back to its original silver. "... please, allow me to introduce myself: Johann von Weiss, last surviving member of the Weiss dynasty." Johann slowly drew his blade from its scabbard, runes of deeply golden glow lighting up all over it, his eyes flaring up with the same bright, golden energy. "I think that answers your questions, no ? Who I am. Why I have gone to great lengths to find your guild. To find you. And why I have come at last. Why I have come to get what is mine. Blood for blood"

--------------------------------------------
Second S rank Word count: 3.470 / 8.000

To her fortune, Yona could not feel the pain as her blood left her body. Through the carved out runes on her skin and the dagger just above her heart, her blood and spirit seemed to be merging with that of the demon. The aura of evil was palpable, even to Yona as she lay there unable to move or speak. She could not and did not even blink, watching the dark swirls above her body in utter horror. She heard Artorias' voice for a moment and then he was gone. She had fought, been outnumbered, out-magicked. These three together were more powerful than Yona and drew on their power from each other. She could only gaze upwards, watching as flickers of blue flame appeared amongst the smoke, evidence of the non-consensual binding was taking place. The three mages around her were silent and focused, using their energy it seemed to control the demon. If it took three mages to control the demon, Yona thought, then just how powerful was this Ketsueki?

The sound of Artorias crashing out of the room made the older mage, Gagoze appear relieved. Kasha on the the other hand let out a laugh bordering on that of the truly warped. "That was luckier than even I had hoped!" Kasha had laughed. She felt her aura of misfortune, invisible to the eye, dissipate and then frowned. She might still have the luck to land in good hits, but that wouldn't account for her reckless behavior. The sword which had narrowly missed her neck, was likely to hit the next time it came her way. She moved as swiftly as she could towards the man on his knees. "All right, I don't have much time for dancing, let's finish this," Kasha proclaimed. She dashed straight forward towards him, fearless and reckless and unbelievably lucky. She leapt into the air and aimed to pounce upon him. If she succeeded she would slash at him, right and left, back and forth across his face, chest, and neck until lifeless. In normal situations Kasha would not chance a grapple with an opponent physically superior to her, yet injured as he was, surely she could grapple with him and succeed. Plus if that failed, she still had another life after this one.

At first, surprised silence greeted Johann with the revelation of his survival but then words came out of thin air. "An honor to meet you, von Weiss. It is impressive that you survived so long and yet it saddens me to know you came here only to die the same way that your family did. I was personally in charge of that particular attack." It was silent again, and the temperature lowered once more in the air, Johann's body releasing a natural body heat like a small breath-cloud around him. "Had the Weiss family simply helped me, we would have left without harm. Such a tragedy, especially given that they begged for mercy, saying they didn't know how to seal demons. Back then, I thought it was a lie of course. But seeing you, well, now I think it must be true. Wouldn't you rather learn the great art of your heritage, wouldn't you rather have the power to seal demons than to simply kill?" The voice speaking to Johann finally made itself known. A tall male figure with a short dark beard and dark grey hair stood at the center of the room upon one of the raised circles, arms folded in front of him. He was merely feet away from Johann and yet showed no fear.

"Doesn't it seem wrong to you that I, a non-noble civilian, raised up above the status of your family? I stole the secrets and knowledge to your birthright ability and as the last remaining member.. you aren't even a full Weiss mage are you? Without that power, you might as well be as helpless a mage as I was all those many years ago." The man motioned towards Johann, "Come and join me and I, Berith, will spend a lifetime teaching you and extending great power to you. Join me and nothing you desire will be out of reach." The older man's open palm stretched out to Johann in a welcoming way but his words were clearly manipulative, using his pain against him. Johann had missed out on a family leading up him through his magic, through adulthood, through every challenge, he had had that all stolen from him by Berith himself. And now Berith mocked him for what he lacked, offering it out as if he could take away from Johann and return what was lost on a whim.

WC: 781
TWC: 14027

When the person that later introduced himself as Berith started speaking once again Johann's face went pale, the expression on his face slowly but surely changing from a stoic, nonchalant stare to a look filled with one thing and one thing only as the conversation went on: Pure, raw and unfiltered hatred for the one before him, the already raging fire inside his chest turning into a blazing inferno. He could hear Mars' whispers clearly now, a never ending stream of words and sentences, but right now, the old man had no mind for the arrogant lord of war at all, ignoring him as he tapped into his own powers, bloodshot veins becoming visible inside and around his eyes of golden glow. "I see. So you are the last piece of the puzzle. The Omega ? Good.", Johann's voice making no mystery of the resentment and disdain he held for the leader of Blood Seal. He had never felt such burning anger, his throat hurt as his muscles tensed, and he wouldn't have thought that is was possible to feel more hate ... until the man started speaking again and showed his face, crawling from the darkness of shadow like the vermin he was. "That's why ... this is why my family, my friends, everyone I knew had to die ? For a futile attempt to gain more power ? Well, knowing that ... I would rather walk through the depths of all hells and return beaten, bruised and broken than to learn from you."

Indeed, Berith's words were eye-opening, but they hurt. Johann's heart felt as if it had been impaled, and little drops of water started forming in the corners of his radiant eyes. The leader of Blood Seal, though, wasn't done at that point, his lips parting once more to speak. Johann had more and more trouble standing still, holding himself back and listening to what Berith had to say with each word that left his mouth. "No, it doesn't. I don't care one bit about nobility, I don't care about titles, about honor. I just want back what you have taken from me. All I, all we wanted was peace. All we wanted was TO LIVE, BERITH !", the VP screaming at him while the little drops of water now running down the sides of the old man's face, crystallizing as they fell to the ground before impacting as little spheres of ice. Is that why his family had been targeted over others ? Their status ? Class ? Was it because they held the supposed secrets the man had described to him ? Everything inside Johann's head started spinning. "Can you do that ? CAN YOU GIVE THAT BACK ? Of course you can't. Stop trying to lecture me about class. You have brought so much terror, so much pain to the world, and yet ... you have the audacity, the supreme arrogance to look down on ME ? To talk about Birthright ? I've had ENOUGH", all runes on the old man's body suddenly and violently flaring up with both a dark purple and a golden glow, spreading, burning across his skin to cover his entire body, his sword still raised, pointed at Berith lighting up with additional, deeply amaranthine runes. "I will show you what it means to endure a life of pain and suffering, Berith. I will show you REAL pain, and when I'm done with you, when I have, with my own two hands, obliterated every last bit of your legacy, I will spit on your broken corpse. Make your final stand, demon." , Johann almost screaming at the other with a distorted grimace dominated by pure hate, the dark aura that had formed around the runes of his blade explosively flowing to the tip of the weapon before erupting into a beam of pure, corrosive darkness.

Meanwhile ...

"Fuck", Artorias thought, swiftly raising himself back up on his feet. Swearing was atypical for the knight, but then again ... he had never been in a situation like this. He had never been outclassed. Never been forced to fight with all he had. Briefly, his head was spinning from pain before vanishing. Lifting his head and setting his gaze back on the direction he had so violently been flung from, the cat demon approaching through the hallway, the now torn down banner allowing the faint light from the ritual room to reach Artorias. The way she spoke, the way she moved ... he didn't like this ... at all. But, still, he had received an order from his master, and if anything, he wouldn't stop trying to fulfil it or die in the process. "If you want to finish this ... then come get me", Artorias sheathed his sword and spread his arms, breathing heavily, a determined glare in his eyes. And sure enough ... the woman fell for it, dashing straight at him. "Sigil of the Storm", the falcon knight closed his eyes, whispering to himself as a runic circle appeared beneath his feet, flashing with electrical energy, his eyes opening again, the pupils shining with pure, golden glow "and now ... Vanguard of the Storm !", his entire body bursting with pure electricity, exploding from his form to fill the entirety of this hallway. There was nowhere for her to run or hide now.

--------------------------------------------
Second S rank Word count: 4.399 / 8.000

Kasha was caught off guard by the male's strike. She had expected more bolts of lightning or some futile attempt to best her at hand-to-hand combat. She had expected her own swift attack to be lucky once more and make it through for a final blow. This fight was taking longer than the female had desired and as one of Berith's top fighters, it was quite embarrassing. Kasha stopped less than a foot from Artorias and stared blankly through him, feeling the electrical surge power right through her. "Not over yet," She proclaimed before falling backwards. Her body was charred head to toe, her hair burned up and sticking out at odd angles. The glow in her eyes diminished as if she was truly dead this time, but Kasha had one final life left. All she needed was a minute to restore herself and she could return and end this man. She had to, before he messed up the whole ceremony of the three mages in the back room. Not over, she thought lying there on the floor. All she had now was to wait.

Berith stroked his short beard and withdrew his hand, withdrawing with it his offer to help the man. Here he was extending an offer of a lifetime and Johann ignored it out of what... pride? It wasn't like the noble-born could undo what had been done. "I am truly sorry to hear that is the case. We could have done great things together, you and I. The point is I didn't need you or your family to get so far," Berith explained dusting off one of his sleeves with the back of his hands. He appeared unfazed by Johann's outburst but deep down he was more than impressed, he was afraid. "It turned out there were other families, you know. I went through each and every one of them," He smiled a cruel and dark smile, still standing there while Johann had shouted and covered his body in runes. In the face of Johann's blade, Berith gave him only a chuckle. "Can you believe that it only took one more dead family for me to get what I wanted? They wrote it all down for me."

Berith sighed and gave Johann a wave of his hand, dismissive and reluctant in nature. A bursting spike of ice shot from below Johann giving him little time to react. His dark robes fluttered about him from where he stood upon a raised dais-circle. These raised circles still served little purpose besides perhaps acting to trip Johann as he moved, but that would be too simple for real combat. Even through his magical ice attack, Berith spoke on, as if he were not an old mage at the bottom of some headquarters in the mountains but an old man sitting by a camp fire, regaling his grandchildren with stories of his youth. "I spent over a year studying the language, interpreting the words, and several more years dedicating myself to learning those runes. The same runes covering your whole body," Berith looked somewhat sad, "You really are such a waste of talent. To get the same results, to seal demons, I've had to experiment for a decade. Can you believe that?! I practiced on my own men and then taught my skill to three other mages. We've been building up an army of demon-bound mages. So if you're here alone, then someone you brought with you is dealing with them I imagine." Berith gave a one shoulder shrug. Clearly he was trying to get under Johann's skin in a mental-emotional way by bringing up the slaughter of other families and the danger his companions were currently in, but would it work? Or was Johann too angry to care?

WC: 630
TWC: 14656

Breathing even heavier than before, the wave of lightning and electricity emitting from the falcon knight's form ceased, Kasha stopping in her tracks, her clothing singed, the sharp smell of burnt flesh immediately reaching the storm mage's nose. "Not over yet ? Fuck that. I've had just about enough of you", Artorias drew his katana once more. Nearly out of magical power, the next few seconds would decide this duel. With heavy steps Artorias marched over to her still lifeless, unmoving body. The woman had wasted too much of his time already. Perhaps it was already too late. The falcon knight grit his teeth. It was her fault. A hateful expression dominating the man's face, Artorias had finally lost it, drawing back his blade wide, aiming for her neck.

On the other side of the temple the beam of pure darkness zapped past Berith, impacting into one of the massive stone walls of this hall behind him, exploding with a flash of energy, an eerie darkness swallowing its surroundings whole, leaving behind nothing but a crater and dust. Glancing down the blade and his arm, Johann saw the reason he had missed. A spike of ice had dug itself through his arm that was still holding the blade, piercing through muscle, flesh, bone cleanly, blood slowly dripping down the icicle that had shot from the ground. The pain was intense, though numbed by the cold. Still, the VP was unphased. He had endured worse, his eyes burning with energy, fueled by his rage. Berith's words only added more fuel to and already burning, raging inferno, Johann's voice making no mystery of the sheer hate he felt for the man when he spoke "I see. I was wrong about you all along, Berith.", his other hand grasping the ice spike, breaking it in two before pulling out the top portion from his arm, the blood red ice hitting the ground with a resounding clink, the whole in the old man's arm immediately beginning to close, restoring the limb back to its original form. "I see now that I have not just the desire to destroy you, I have the obligation to do so. You are a blight upon this world that has to be removed. I don't care how much time you wasted in the pursuit of your vile goals. This ENDS now !", Johann's thoughts going back to Artorias when the other spoke those words. He wondered how his friend was doing, how Yona was doing ... he was confident they would be alright. They just had to be.

"What's wrong, old man ? Still haven't defeated this guy ? Come on ... useee meee", the lord of war's voice creaking in the back of his skull. Johann ignored him. He wouldn't need Mars to deliver what he felt was his personal justice. No, he would do this himself. His eyes and runes flashing, flaring up with bright orange and red colour, almost black flames dancing around his form, the icy air around him flickering with heat before Jo swung his rapier, a swath of flame erupting from the attack, a burst of scorching heat and fire engulfing everything in a wide cone before him. "Venit summa dies, Berith.", the Vice President spoke, the light of the blazing fire covering the entirety of this hall in red and orange hues.

--------------------------------------------
Second S rank Word count: 4.990 / 8.000

Slowly, as Artorias made his way over, Kasha's hair began to heal, appearing silky and unsinged. Her charred face also began to heal, her body repairing itself. Her eyes fluttered in her unconsciousness, death revoked one more time. She was just in time for Artorias' blade to cut through her neck, thoroughly decapitating the cat woman. Kasha did not revive again, her blood spilling to the floor grotesquely as if it showcase a dramatic and final death. Her claws receded and she lay there red stained by Artorias' feet.

Back in the hidden room, Kasadhya nodded eagerly, staring up at the swirling mass of demon essence and Yona's blood. "It's working, he accepted her body!" The old mage said nothing in response, concentrating too much to break for mere words. Of course it worked, she had practiced for years. Runes carved into the skin and piercing the heart created a unique situation for blood, runes and magic to intertwine. It had been a brutal and coarse way to achieve the gift that various families had naturally obtained. If the gift of using runes was already in your genes, already in your blood, it took far less effort and far less magic to complete a transfer or a seal. And when working with demons, one could never be too cautious. The whole reason there were three mages concentrating and using their magic here was for their own protection as well as Yona's. Too many times had they tried solo-sealing and Berith's former high mages had died in the folly. Yona felt weaker and weaker, gazing up through her eyes in horror as she lay there still paralyzed in the center of the three mages.

Artorias would be too late to stop the ritual sealing now and if he interfered, if he killed the mages he risked everyone's life and Yona's would surely be forfeit. If Ketsueki saw a weakness in the magic through the killing of the mages, without immediate replacement for that power, the demon would certainly consume Yona's form and attempt an escape. Andras set his jaw hearing the battle between Kasha and Artorias take place, "I don't think Lady Kasha survived." His small utterance hung over the three in the room, understanding all the risk and fears were something they would have to face if Artorias returned to the hidden room.

Berith was still confident in his own power and ability, able to find Johann's power impressive. As the hall filled up with flames, it seemed to engulf everything, every stone, wrapping around every crevasse, shrouding about Berith himself. His voice continued to speak in spite of the fire, his image wavering as it came in and out of sight through the fire. "No, boy. This has just begun." Two spikes of ice shot from beneath Johann again aiming for both of his legs. In the intense and radiating heat, a thick cold fog seemed to exude from the walls. The temperature would not raise, even though the room was clearly ablaze. It seemed the icy aura was met equally by the intensity of the firestorm attack. "Do you hear them, Johann? I have demons to spare and three qualified mages who can still seal them. What will you do if your friends come in here, filled with demons, facing you for a fight? What would you do to protect them?" Throughout the room echoed a loud sound, the scream of a young and familiar woman. It was the same sound Johann had heard when he had nearly tore out Yona's spine. The illusory screaming seemed to be coming from all around and Berith simply kept talking. "Johann, the runes in your blood give you such a gift. Runes will be carved into their bodies. That's how they do it. They use a dagger and stab it into their chest. The screaming means the ritual has already started." Would his words get to Johann? Would these mind games affect him?

WC: 663
TWC: 15318

Leaning against a wall, Artorias breathed heavily. The woman had given him way more trouble than he could've ever anticipated, her enigmatic magic taking more out of him that he would've been comfortable with, the storm mage having spent nearly all his magical power and losing his temper in the process of defeating her. Well, at least she seemed defeated definitely now, her blood running through the grooves between the individual stones that made up the floor of the hallway. It was now that the falcon knight would finally see that he still had a lot to learn, he still had to get stronger, that he couldn't be satisfied with himself. He would have to strive further, to achieve greater things, to become stronger. For his saviour. For now though, he had to take a short break and wait for some of his magic power to come back before he could try to help the girl or he would surely be defeated.

Johann on the other side of the ancient temple leapt back, the two ice spikes shooting from the ground only narrowly missing him. Not only that, the flame he had sent out seemed to flicker, burn like the raging hate inside his heart, but the old man felt no heat. His own magic and the magic of Berith seemed to be in relative balance, cancelling each other out, creating an equilibrium of magical energy as sparks of flame and cold air were launched away from the elemental storm to all sides. "Indeed, Berith. It has only just begun. I'll make sure that you will suffer", he spoke sharply, the blazing fire almost swallowing his voice before finally dying down. Johann, however, only had eyes for Berith, all his senses pointing him towards the enigmatic leader of Blood Seal, the familiar scream nearly drowned out by the pounding of his own heartbeat. Through the cold and his rage he had the feeling that his skin was about to burst open in places. "The best thing I can do to "protect them", to protect the world, is wipe you out.", he spoke quickly, his voice cracking with disdain. He needed more power. More energy. The runes on his body flared up with unknown intensity, sparks of electrical energy dancing around the Vice President's form as his two glowing, amber eyes were locked on Berith. Johann, for the first time, without noticing and instinctively knew what to do, certain runes activating, shifting, forming circles on his skin, changing into glyphs and lighting up with magical energy. Almost without thought he spoke one word before his aura suddenly exploded with magical energy, "Suscitatio", extending a hand towards  the leader of Blood Seal, in his hand, blue flame, mixed with sparks of sizzling electricity, erupted into a beam of almost pure, scorching heat, bursting forward at his opponents before, ultimately, exploding into a inferno of lightning and roaring blue flame. But Johann knew what Berith could do now. The other wasn't a pushover. Bursting forward, the sound barrier breaking once again as he rushed through the air towards his adversary, he stormed off, the holy, glowing rapier in his right hand, appearing behind the demonic leader before, drawing the blade back wide, swinging it down.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Second S rank Word count: 5.554 / 8.000

Berith shook his head, even closing his eyes at Johann's words. His head perked up as he saw the runes alighting upon Johann's body. "It is most beautiful to see it occur in its natural state," Berith said, "But a sealed demon within is still a demon, regardless of how it got there." The second half of his words sounded different, a hoarse voice with intense changes in tone spoke the last bit, indicating potentially that Berith and Johann were not alone. It indicated that it was possible that Berith too, had a demon. Berith stepped sideways upon his raised icy dais, feeling the heat and electricity upon his skin but not taking a direct hit. He cried out loudly in pain, but raised his arm to admire the scorched cloth and burning skin.

When Johann burst forward, moving so quickly that Berith had no time to react, and appeared behind him, sword in hand, Berith made a slight inward smile. "Oh Johann," He uttered before a scream tore out of his throat. The sword sliced downward through Berith's shoulder, amputating the limb entirely, and then dug itself into Berith's leg about half way. Berith fell forward screaming, grasping at his bleeding wound. His body gave off cool air the way that a body should have given off heat and the screaming transformed into the screaming of a familiar friend: Arti. The image of Berith, too, changed before Johann's eyes. Arti seemed to stand upon the dais, crumpled and bleeding, howling out in pain. His eyes looked up to Johann as if to question why as he spoke, "My lord, why have you slain me? My lord?" His voice sounded broken, betrayed, and in desperate agony.

Berith was nowhere in sight as Arti's face contorted in pain, locking eyes with Johann. Three of the circular dais from the floor rose upwards and then tilted on their sides, like three enormous mirrors all facing Arti and Johann, allowing Arti's screams to echo and allowing Johann to see Arti's face wherever he turned his head away to. There was no escaping the visage of his dear and loyal companion dying by his hands. Berith, truly Berith, was hidden in the room using the ice circles around to make it easy to mask his magical and physical presence. From the large mirrors exuded a thick icy fog, one that could deal damage by turning all water particles in and outside of a body into tiny particles of crystalline ice.

WC: 416
TWC: 15734

Swinging down with all he had, a satisfied grin found itself onto the old man's face. He had scored a direct hit, the cold steel of his delicate blade digging through his opponents shoulder and taking the arm cleanly off before embedding itself into his leg. The scream of pain coming from Berith was music to his ears. After all these years he would finally get the revenge he so dearly desired, the blood starting to pool on the cold stone floor as he hastily stepped back, readying his blade for another strike as Berith collapsed. He was sure he had heard the other's voice change just seconds before, meaning that, possibly ... the leader of Blood Seal had done the unthinkable and actually experimented with demonic powers, no, even worse than that. Berith had sealed one within himself, and now used the creature's powers to his advantage. He had to end it quickly while the other was still startled and down from his surprise attack, his hate and anger only fueling his magical power. Swinging once more, he brought the rapier down for a strike. His eyes widened.

Where Berith had just collapsed, where he had stood just moments ago, now was his most trusted companion, his friend and advisor, Artorias, the storm mage, crumpled and bleeding profusely, his eyes staring at the silver haired male before him in terror and pain. "My lord, why have you slain me? My lord?". It was unmistakably his voice. Johann, in pure shock, dropped the rapier mid swing, the force of the attack throwing the weapon to the side, skitting across the stone floor before coming to a stop with a metallic ring. "W-what ?", the old man couldn't help but take a step back, Artorias' screams of pure agony echoing through the extensive hall around them "H-how ... Why ... Artorias ?", the intensity of the runes on his body dying down, the red colour vanishing, leaving behind only the black scripture. He didn't understand. Where did Artorias come from ? Why was he where Berith had been just moments ago ? It didn't even come close to making sense.

Instinctively, Johann turned, looked around, his eyes darting back and forth to try and spot the cold mage that he had faced. His eyes only widened more, the shock, disbelief and pure disgust clearly written on his face. Everywhere he turned, everywhere he looked, all he could see was Artorias, his blood, his pain, all he could hear were his screams. Shaking his head, his right hand grasped its side, flashes of memory passing by before his inner eye. The bloodstained face of his father. The cries of his mother. The gunfire. The silence. All the years of repressed pain and anger seemed to burst from him in these minutes, but why ? ... Why did he do this ? It was his fault. Still grasping the side of his head with one hand staring, he stared at the bloodstained other. The blood of his brother that he had shed. The sudden, strong, irresistible urge to empty his stomach overcame him, unable to repress it, the Vice President's body simply reacted. Just what on earth had he done ? What was going on here ?

-----------------------------------------------------------
Second S rank Word count: 6.113 / 8.000

Berith pressed onward, sliding behind the icy mirrors, through the thick fog. He watched it wrap around Johann, damaging his skin first. He heard the man's scream, the same screams he had heard every time he performed his illusion spell. This spell, in particular, was the one which broke his victims. This spell was the one that struck fear into the hearts of any who had heard of his name. This spell was the one which made his opponents give up, grateful for the mercy of death at Berith's hands. Once Johann was truly broken, that was when he would face death. He would face his own demise without chance of understanding the illusion, and without the chance to redeem himself for the horrors he witnessed. Johann was no fool and no easy target, but the illusion was almost a cheat. There was no reason for Berith to expend all his energy, all his fighting prowess, all of his abilities when he could cripple a man of Johann's rank with his own mind. Berith wet his lips, feeling the brisk chill in the air as it turned the water vapor into ice, making it unbreathable.

He considered simply waiting for Johann to end his own life, to end his own misery. Johann had dropped his weapon, but most of his opponents had picked their blades back up. Most could not bear the thought of destroying the thing they loved most. The amusing part was how they never considered why Berith had stood in place, unmoving for so long. They never did question why he came in, apparently unarmed, apparently without any guards or protections, without any gratuitous magical spells. And without questions, Berith was already able to get Johann to believe in his presence. The entire time Berith had been able to use a lacrima to project his voice while he lay hidden, flat beneath an icy dais. He scratched his cheek and exhaled. The man was grasping at his head until his stomach roiled out a heaving mess. Berith would be sure to have someone else deal with that. Perhaps, he ought to just kill last surviving member of the Weiss family. He couldn't handle much more of his blathering and whimpering anyway.

He stepped forward, in front of Johann and closed his eyes. He doubted Johann would even notice him in this frame of mind. Then, Berith stroked his beard and exhaled, "It's time you meet the real me. Be grateful for your end at my own hand, that I may spare you a lifetime of guilt and regret." With a burst of sharp ice, spikes pointing out in every dimension like an exploding snowflake, Berith transformed himself. The demon he had sealed within his body was revealed: ten feet tall, steel blue skin, and eyes glowing a fluorescent icy blue. Enormous wings of ice protruded from his back, black onyx horns slid upwards in pairs from his temporals and his forehead. Berith's hands formed dagger-like nails, his ears pointed up sharply, and his robes merged together and formed a set of spiked armor, all of the angles only increased the impact of his appearance. The old man's beard shortened and his wrinkles faded, his lips giving a grim smile, thrilled at the transmutation of his body by the demon within him. "I am Berith, and your life is mine," Berith said, his voice deep and hollow, having a natural and eerie echo in his resonating pitch.

The demon-man drew back his arm and swung it wide, giving Johann a spiked backhand where he was kneeling. The blow would have been enough to break bones and fall several thick oak trees; it should have been enough to end the little man. After his intended hit fell, Berith cracked his knuckles and drew out a longsword which was eight feet long, sharp and glistening like the circular daises in the room.

Image of Berith:

WC: 652
TWC: 16386

For more than just a few seconds, the old man was too distracted, too caught up with the flickering images to all sides that danced around to notice the burning, quickly soaring pain all flaring up all over his body, the skin on his fingers and hands gradually starting to gain a shade of blue as the frost settled on them. The old man's healing factor was trying to counteract the intense freeze, but the sheer cascade of cold he was hit with was simply too much to keep up with. Gasping for air, his lungs stung with intense pain. His attention immediately started shifting from his environment to himself. The Vice President had never felt such intense, gapless pain, as if thousands of glowing needles were simultaneously driven into his skin, the silver haired male falling forward on all fours, barely able to stay conscious. "W-wha- what is ... going ... on ?!". Slowly, Johann started to lose all grip on his own sense of perception, his own sense of reality. He couldn't breathe, every move brought about intense agony, staring down at his hands as the world around him started to spin. He was sick, he couldn't think straight, his heart started racing uncontrollably, everything he had stood for, everything he had cared about torn down in just a few minutes. Would this be the end ? He could sense, albeit vaguely, that he was being addressed, a harsh voice speaking out in his direction before he felt a dull impact that, surprisingly without pain, launched him off his feet, a n all encompassing, universal numbness of mind and body setting in. The old man's bones cracked audibly when he was thrust into a sheet of pale ice, shards of the frozen material scattering, mixing in with scarlet liquid that became part of their friggid surroundings immediately. Lying there, the old man's frozen body was still. Was he really this weak ? Everything he had worked for so long, so hard, with everything he had been able to give ... gone ? Just like that ?

It was tragic, really. In this very instance he couldn't help but think about the past. He regretted so many things, had made so many mistakes. He had never told Ruvel how much he meant to him as a friend. He had never expressed his admiration for Cirven's strength. Yona's charm. Artorias' loyalty. He had wasted 30 years of his life, time that he could have used for so much more, chasing a shadow that would now come back to haunt him, that would now spell out his demise. "Everyone ... I am so, so very sorry ...", the tears of regret he instinctively desired to cry frozen solid before they could even be shed. All around him there was only darkness. No sound, no light, only his consciousness, floating in an endless sea of black. So this is what death would be like ? It wasn't like people say ... not peaceful at all, not comforting. He was cold, so cold and afraid. Why was there no one around when he needed them ? Why did everyone abandon him when he needed them ? Why would they only come to him when they wanted something ? He couldn't help but be a little angry, though the feeling soon faded back into nothing. It's not like it mattered anymore either way. "Are you really going to give up this easily, old man ? Tsssehehehehe ...", a deep voice broke the silence. Even in death he couldn't get rid of this terrible voice. "What does it matter ? It's over anyway, whether I fight back or not makes no difference. He is simply too strong for me. I have no chance.", the VP's voice spoke back calmly monotonously. For the first time, well, ever it seemed like Mars was truly angry, agitated, shouting back "IDIOT ! You're running from a fight ? And you dare call yourself vessel for the noble Second Seal ? Pathetic."

Johann couldn't help but laugh "I don't care about you, I don't want to be a vessel. It's unfair. What have I done to deserve all this ? It's all your fault, Mars. It's all your fault ...", a back and forth between the Lord of War and the Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company ensuing. If it wasn't such a disturbing circumstance, perhaps it even would've been comical. "Listen to yourself. Heartbreaking, really. You prefer to cry like a child and blame others ? Fine. Do what you want, old man, but if you die that means I'll kick the bucket as well, and I'd rather not. Give me your body." "What ?" "You won't need it anyway if you really want to die now, will you ? Tsehe." "Do what you want, Mars. I'm done. Everything is lost. It's over." "I'll take that as a "Yes" then. Looks like I'll have to show you the power of Faith, human.", the Second Seal's tone shifting drastically for his last few words "Sleep now, old man, to awake in a new world contrasting the yesterday. May you find your peace.". With that, Johann's consciousness finally slipped from his grasp and the darkness consumed him whole.

Almost as in shock, the Vice President's eyes were ripped open, his expression shifting immediately, the pupils radiating with pure, bright magical power as slowly, the darkness crawled back into the white, replacing it entirely. Much like Berith, Johann's form shifted, engulfed by dark, swirling energy as his hair grew longer, his skin and hair turning into an ashen pale, his physique became more slender and around his head formed a dark ring of spikes, a halo crowning the angel of doom. Mars was now in complete control. Still somewhat embedded into the sheet of ice, the Lord of War swerved his head from side to side, his bones cracking as they shifted back into their original positions before finally, with a playfully easy jump, he lifted himself back on his feet and stood up. "Aaahhhh ... it feels so good to finally walk with my own two feet. Can you imagine what it feels like having to sit in a cage for millenia ?", Mars stretched playfully, his deep voice echoing through the extensive hall, paying little to no attention to his opponent as he swung his arms around, back and forth before taking a few steps in one direction only to move back to his original spot, the glowing runes of pure magical power glowing on his form. "Phew, it stinks of demon in here.", he commented, eyeing Berith with a playful grin before opening his mouth anew. "I um Burith, und your lufe is mune", he copied the other's words, mocking them with exaggerated laughter before finally returning to an amused grin "I hate your kind. Always so dramatic. But ... very well, Berith, you at least shall have the immense honour of knowing the name of your reaper. I am Mars, but people have known my under many names. The Lord of War, or simply War, the Second Seal, Angel of Doom, whatever floats your boat." The old man had had a point, it was kinda chilly in here. Should've maybe brought a jacket ? Eh, whatever, next time maybe. Mars' toothy grin revealed the enlarged canines decorating the corners of his jaw. "So, do you want to begin ? Or beg for your measly little life ? Either way, I'm waiting ..."

-----------------------------------------------------------
Second S rank Word count: 7.444 / 8.000

It seemed that Berith was enjoying himself, his head reared back in full body shaking laughter as Johann's old body crashed against the wall and fell broken to the floor. With a wave of his hand the lights came on in the dimly lit room and the light bounced off all of the icy daises, like mirrors reflecting the beams and casting several bright spotlights upon Johann himself. He lay in his pool of vermillion life's blood, and Berith let him for a moment, prolonging the man's pain and prolonging his own pleasure. He turned the blade over and back admiring the eight-foot-long weapon as Johann appeared to mumble and talk to himself. Berith's flexed his wings, making his size look even bigger as his form filled up the enormous room, "All right. Let's end this then; I am not without mercy." But he gave a second's pause as he stared in confusion. One second led into another, as the ice-demon observed the changes befalling his nearly dead opponent. A dark spiked circlet around his forehead, the echoes of his bones cracking when he got to his feet. "How is this possible?" Berith said for a moment, still gawking, aiming his blade at Mars, "Every bone had to be broken. You could not possibly stand and yet... do I smell... a monster before me?"

Berith laughed then in realization, "You're kidding! No wonder you won't join me! You have considerable power of your own. Well, then... to arms, brother!" Typically that was a statement made amongst mortal men who fought side by side for the same causes; here it was used to challenge the beast who seemed as much a demon as he was himself. There was an amused grin on Mars' face that caught Berith by surprise. When Mars introduced himself it made no difference to Berith. The way Mars' taunted reminded Berith that he still had a weapon in his grip. His hand tightened, the long ice like claws digging into his own flesh and drawing dark black blood as he took a conditioned fighting stance. He lifted his free hand replying, "Whatever you call yourself, this is where you die!" A barrage of ice daggers was expelled, glowing white and blue towards Mars. And following up right behind those daggers, the enormous winged demon stepped forward, moving 3 meters in just a single two-step motion. With the longsword brandished before him, thrusting swiftly across the rest of the distance between them, Berith made an attempt to attack Mars and wipe his amused grin off his face.

WC: 429
TWC: 16,815

Mars frowned, listening to the demon's words that echoed through the dark hall. "Me ? Join you ? Oh no, that's just the stubborn old man, Berith. Though ... you are correct. Me joining you is an idea so ridiculous I cannot even entertain the thought". For Mars, the only being he would ever accept as a leader, as an authority, would be Father. But, naturally, Berith was naive, he had no idea, despite dedicating his life to the research, what he was dealing with, who he was facing, and foolishly believed he even got close to Mars, believed he had a chance. Mars grinned to himself ... Berith would learn soon enough. There was one thing that bothered the Lord of War though. "Brother ? I am not your brother, demon. I am not like you, though not unlike you at the same time. I am Mars, the Second Seal of the Apocalypse, cursed and blessed, damned and divine, and you dare call me brother ?". The Lord of War felt truly offended. That a lowly demon would assume him brother ... No. Unacceptable. He had been created to strike these creatures, this vermin from existence. And his purpose he gladly would fulfil today. Laying eyes on Berith's weapon, Mars lifted his right hand up, stretching it out to his side.

With a swirl of what looked like deeply dark, intensely black energy Mars' own weapon manifested in his hand, grasping the massive scythe firmly, the grin on his turning into a satisfied smile. "This is where I die ?" Mars asked curiously as the shards of ice burst through the frigid air towards him, simply crushing or deflecting them with extremely fast sweeps of the dark scythe. "Amusing, really. I was just about to say the same to you", the sadistic, toothy grin returning to his face when Berith charged, steel scales seemingly starting to grow on his skin, covering it almost entirely. With one scaled hand, Mars simply stopped the blade mid thrust, holding it in place, the scythe in his other hand lighting up with flame, though this fire was different from the flames of the old man, dark, almost black, radiating with intense, scorching heat. "This is where YOU die", the Second Seal spoke, his distorted voice almost cracking with manic joy before he swung the dark weapon in his right hand towards his demonic opponent.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Second S rank Word count: 7.872 / 8.000

Berith held his longsword before him, mirthless as he listened to the demonic being before him speak. The creature called Mars could really go on. He was a demon, but he was not. He was divine and powerful, created for the use of world destruction, and yet supposedly nothing like Berith himself. "Is it not more evil to destroy the world instead of killing a few minor players? The von Weiss family might even have been forgotten by now. Humans are like ants, for every one you kill, there's another hundred being born." Berith spoke from his own righteousness through the demon's lips, haughty and offended himself that Mars thought he was such a lesser being.

While the scythe spun around deflecting each of Berith's ice daggers, he had to give credit to Mars for his reflexes. He still held his impressive sword before him and even as it seemed Mars went through a secondary change, scales lining his skin like a lizard, it would appear that Berith had little to do. Mars didn't try to stop him, try to block him. He held the scythe ready to attack and dashed forward, skewering his own body upon Berith's hefty blade. Even then, Mars did not stop. Berith started to pull his sword back, but the blade was frozen inside of Mars' torso, crystallizing every drop of blood upon the weapon and making it impossible to withdraw. Was that really Mars' goal? The time it took for the massive blue demon to realize that he would not be getting his blade back, Mars was upon him.

The firey blade glistened, reflecting off the ice mirrors, even melting them just enough that drips of water splashed to the floor like the stalactites in a cave. Berith leaped backward away from the swing of the curved blade, directing his magical power with haste to the frozen mirrors and daises around him. Instantly, images of Artorias' death were replayed his words howling out, "My lord! Why have you slain me!?" Other images, like memories from Berith's perspective, appeared, the horrendous slaughter of Johann's family. One by one the fall of men, and women, and children. And just to be sure his mental games would crush his soul, Berith added one more: a real-time image of Yona herself lying upon a stone table, surrounded by three figures and bleeding. Her eyes showed such an intense fear it would be impossible to not feel it too. Swirls of her blood combining with the dark aura of a demonic presence indicated that the three were trying to seal a dangerous demon inside of the green haired girl.

"This is where you die," Berith heard, resounding around his specialized lair. He felt the warmth of blood upon his stomach and looked down. The smell of his flesh where it had been burned and still smoked and smoldered from the wound up to his nose caught his attention. He placed both of his clawed hands before his stomach, confused and dazed at the sight of the gaping wound. It was as if it appeared by magic. Why hadn't the illusions worked this time? What was going wrong? How could he have planned so poorly? He touched the wet blood and looked back up to Mars, trying to understand it. In seconds, he started to claim himself and recompose. He pointed a bloodied finger at the images, "Some of those are real you know. Your friend was indeed caught. If you kill me, you won't have time to go and save her. If there is anything left to save." His voice became dark as he clenched his fists, his body slowly shimmering into an icy mist. He just needed to get out of here; if he could get to a safe room, he would be healed by his followers. The thought of running away to save himself appalled Berith's ice demon so much so that even as his lower half vaporized into sparkling crystals, it was obvious that the old man had been given his body back.

"That demon will devour her. Body, mind and soul," The threat hung in the air as it left the old man's lips, his torso beginning to fade into the mist form. Only his arms, neck, and head remained, but it was enough to continue, "Unless you let them seal it within her. And then she too will have power like me. That girl will become my apprentice and you... you will face her in the end." Berith's laugh echoed throughout the room once more. He was confident, cocky, despite having such a grievous wound. There was no way that Johann would be unaffected by his illusory ice pictures. It would give him time to escape and recalculate this situation.

WC: 796
TWC: 17,611