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Post by knightc3 on Mar 13, 2008 18:16:01 GMT -5
He looked up at the girl's face and nodded. He could guess what the 'less controllable' side might be capable of. He had encountered many demons before and they would all have a problem on their hands if she turned now. Besides, he had no choice but to follow her whatever she did. So it fell on him to control her, somehow.
He could the glow darkening as the demon surfaced within the girl. The process took lesser time than he was expecting. Before he knew it, the orb was on the ground and she had stumbled back right towards him. The best thing would have been to move out of her way. He could see her glowing brighter than before she had touched the object. He understood she would release that dark energy into whoever touched her right now. He could see it but others couldn't. He feared one of the others might come forward and try to help her if he moved out of the way.
He didn't want that to happen. He didn't move an inch as she fell back against him. He took hold of her to keep her from falling over. I got... , he couldn't convey anything further. He felt some of the darkness enter his body and spread. He was in for a surprise as for a moment all the pain was gone. Very soon the traces of the reaper's energy mixed with the dark energy creating a rift in his body sending a shockwave of pain down his entire body. Before he could comprehend what had happened, everything went back to like it had been before he had touched her, with the pain returning.
He knew there would be consequences for this action but he didn't know what they were. Whatever had happened in him was dormant, for now. Are you alright? What did you find out? , he asked the demon hoping she hadn't detected what had just happened.
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Post by The Mammoth on Mar 13, 2008 19:56:00 GMT -5
Galius shook his head, Karsten refused to learn, he refused to listen. He would now suffer the taint that she would wrestle with, the taint that hurt Galius, the orb that could have stolen his soul, if what the demon said was true. He had no expectation of Karsten making the right move, nor making the logical one, he would now find himself brawling with the darkness of hell, as she would, but, should one fail, there was now two chances to obtain the information. Galius waited, if one of them survived, he would listen, if they didn't he would move on...
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Post by Da Pwny on Mar 13, 2008 20:27:16 GMT -5
"Get off me, you idiot!" she hissed, pushing him back rather forcefully. It was for his own good; she was the only one who could touch the orb and withstand the effects. And now that he had touched her, part of that poison had gone into his body, inadvertently enscrewing her further, as no doubt the reaper would blame her out of his own ignorance. "Can you not put two and two together human, or must I make all decisions for you now?" Carella was rather pissed at what had transpired, as she would rather have fallen. And of course she knew exactly what had happened.
Calming down a bit, she composed herself again, saying "In case you did not quite understand the concept, the idea was for me to take the full brunt of the evil within the Hell's Eye. When you touched me, that darkness transfered to you. Get the picture now?" The pissy attitude was already working its way into her, and she would need to control it somewhat if the group would have any chance of surviving.
"As for the origin of this Hell's Eye... Its fuzzy at best, but I believe we can obviously start looking nearer to the city's center. This one was not allowed to see much, but what we did see was a small building with a spire... made of red brick, with stained-glass windows, several of which were blown out. I believe our search starts there." Getting up, she shook the dirt off of herself. If this Karsten human learned his lesson, perhaps they would survive. But the next time he touched her after she saw through a Hell's Eye, perhaps she would not be able to hold back...
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Post by knightc3 on Mar 14, 2008 0:02:48 GMT -5
Karsten was somewhat disappointed. He barely heard the demon shout at him. He was hoping the dark energy would reduce his pain but it was just a moment's relief. He had completely forgotten that the reaper's energy might cause even more problems when he acquired the darkness.
Of course, this was something he didn't want his companions to know, but the pain was too overwhelming to control for a long time without losing your mind. He was looking for anything that would help. The dark energy had been a need at this point, and it still was, his mind too overwhelmed to think about the consequences. He didn't care what happened to his soul or what the reaper had said about his past sacrifices and actions meaning nothing in face of the little help Carella had given him in time of need.
Even though he didn't realize it right now, Karsten was losing faith in the reaper, his methods and specially the Rules! His mind wasn't ready to accept the thoughts that were an obvious conclusion to Carella, that what the reaper had done with him was 'wrong'. It seemed his mind was starting to believe that sub-consciously.
He had been thrown off balance when Carella had pushed him away. He got up and said to the demon, disappointed and annoyed himself for not getting rid of his pain. You do not need to make decisions for me. I know what I am doing... Calm yourself, before you hurt somebody.
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Post by Da Pwny on Mar 14, 2008 3:37:06 GMT -5
"You know what you are doing?" she questioned him, her eyes glaring at him. "Then why are you harming yourself, putting your very life in danger, and my own for that matter? For what? To keep me from falling backwards? I would have been perfectly fine, but now, you have brought upon yourself something that will harm you worse than you know. The pain you have felt up until now was barely what your soul could feel should you continue down that path..."
Was she actually caring for him? Not really... but she didn't want his soul being wide open to getting devoured by some creature of the Abyss. That would be more than she could ever handle, and possibly even more than she and the reaper could prevent from coming about... It was the one thing holding her back, Carella's heart; for a demon to grow, they needed to consume souls, but because of Carella's phylosiphy, the demon inside her had not grown in many years. She prefered it that way, but the demon was becoming grouchy. Even she was questioning this reaper's 'rules', even though she knew she didn't have much place to do so...
"I'm tired of sitting around" she abruptly said, "I say we get a move on now to this place... at least before we all grow old and wither away." She was, of course, speaking to the humans and such in the group, as she herself was not capable of doing as such...
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Post by The Mammoth on Mar 14, 2008 4:21:53 GMT -5
Galius pushed off the wall and began walking west again, toward the inner parts of the city. The day was growing long, and it would be nightfall before long. Traveling in Varamen was never easy, for a while, attacks would be limited as Galius' reputation traveled far. However, once they made a good distance from his home, thugs and attacks would be more common. It was at least a few days travel to the inner part of the city. Galius had traversed much of it before landing on the east side and staying, however the description given to him by the demon was consistent with Great Cathedral.
As he walked, he didn't look back, he didn't want to look back, it would remind him of what he was leaving behind. He knew those behind him would follow, but he never cared if they did or not. He didn't ask them to lay their lives on the line for his cause, but he figured they had something riding on it as well...
Before long, the sun had gone down. The night was dangerous in Varamen, as the true hell that it was showed itself in the darkness. Galius turned around, seeing if the others were still with him. If they were, he wondered if they could brave traveling at night in this place...
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Post by knightc3 on Mar 15, 2008 2:20:02 GMT -5
((I am assuming here Swytch that Carella is following Galius...))
You don't need to worry about your life. The reaper is not coming back. I am on my own now. I ... I had hoped at least you will understand the choice I made and why... Karsten followed behind Carella. As night grew on the city, he could see the faint glow of demons filling the sky with a red light. He was amazed at the number of demons or some forms of demons that were in the city. He caught a glow from the corner of his eye. As he looked down at his own hand, he realized he was emanating a faint glow just like Carella. He closed his fist and put his hand back down to his side.
The rift had opened a hole big enough for a demon to squeeze through into the mortal world. But Karsten had unknowingly suppressed him with hardly any effort. He knew he now possessed a demon inside him, who he might be able to control fully if he tried hard enough. He let out sigh as he smiled thinking of the irony. A few hours ago he had been possessed by an angelic reaper and now he possessed a demon!
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Post by Da Pwny on Mar 15, 2008 4:13:17 GMT -5
*note: parenthesis = telepathy, no parenthesis = private thoughts*
Carella let out a grunt. "Whatever. Just don't let it get to your head... and don't even think you are safe from the darkness you invited into yourself..." And good riddence to that reaper... Her attitude was becoming more passive, as she had little care for idiots who thought it was 'cool' to play around with things as such. Picking up the orb, she put several layers of cloth around it to keep the thing from radiating any more energy into her, and stuffed it into her pack snuggly. It would need to be purified so that the evil inside it would not escape and ruin everything they'd worked so hard to do...
She easily caught up with Galius, her darkness now dissipated to a more manageable level, thanks in big part to Karsten. "I will assume that you know where this place is. I have been around the city barely a few times, due mostly from being holed up in the local hospital." She knew he would not respond with his voice, so she gave a slight nudge to his shoulder, telling him that she wasn't going anywhere until this was all said and done...
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Post by The Mammoth on Mar 15, 2008 5:05:40 GMT -5
He looked over as he kept walking, and grinned. He nodded and pointed west. He knew the general direction and area, but not exact distances. Once they had gone deep enough into Varamen than he recognized the area, the Cathedral would not be hard to find. Galius kept moving, not fearing the night. Fear was not a luxury that could be afforded at a time like this.
---
Meanwhile, back at the remains of Bernie's. The dark figure wandered the now abandoned streets, and soon came upon the display Galius left for him, the remains of his minion.
"Oh, Sal. You are so useless..." The figure spat out, a low hiss that would chill someone's soul to the bone. The man, or whatever he was, laid his hand on the corpse, and the ground, and with a chant of a few words, the corpse dissolved into ash. From the ash, thousands of black parasites poured out, and surrounded the man.
"Now go, be more use in death than you were in life!" The parasites poured into nearby homes and buildings, and within a few minutes, a few dozen pale soldiers came to his side, the blue cross yet to be tattooed to them...
---
Galius knew the inevitable was not too far off, he could feel the hunger that lurked in the shadows, waiting for them. Something had been following them, and though he didn't know what, the sounds of grumbles and roars that came from the alleys beside them were a sound no man would ever want to hear.
Emerging from the shadows was more pale men with blue crosses on their head, no doubt soldiers that had been following them. Galius began to wonder how many people were left, who had survived this onslaught by this maniac. He also began to wonder if whatever was controlling these pale beings would fade should the caster be cut down...
The pale men had with them massive burning beasts, the flames on their backs glowing a bright blue. No doubt, these beasts were Hellhounds, and no doubt, they were hungry....
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Post by knightc3 on Mar 15, 2008 6:41:34 GMT -5
Karsten didn't respond to Carella. He kept walking behind her. The red glow from the surrounding was increasing. That meant the sources were coming closer. He stopped walking and stood there and watched as massive flaming creatures emerged around the corner. He could see through the darkness and spotted them before the others, thanks to the 'gift' left my the reaper.
We have company, no doubt you can feel it too. Is there anything between us and the flaming beasts. I am afraid you will have to help me with the non-demons as I cannot see them. He was hoping his voice would come back faster. This kind of communication was really slow and probably distracting for her. He had seen a beast like this only once before and that was for an instance before it dissapeared into smoke. It was time to test how strong his new companion, the demon, really was. He just hoped he would be able to maintain control once it was let loose.
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Post by Da Pwny on Mar 15, 2008 10:10:53 GMT -5
Carella hissed as soon as she caught wind of the beasts... Archnemesi of sorts, she hated the dogs of hell... even earthly dogs barked at her, though they were more easily scared off with a raspy hiss. "Company indeed, and the worst kind at that."
Turning to meet this new threat, she relayed to Karsten "You stay in the back for now, fighting only if necessary, and that's an order. Got it?" Of course, she wasn't going to wait for a reply; if she was lucky, the idiot human she once felt sorrow for would no longer be her problem within a few minute. But at least she had to look like she cared a bit for him. At least until he was gone from her sight...
Claws tore through her skin, leaving small bloody streaks in their path as the transformation started somewhat half-assed... Carella was saving her energy for when it was necessary, which could be sooner than later. The teeth were next, the canines (oddly named enough as she was part cat demon) extending slightly as the rest of her teeth sharpened to a razor's edge. Her ears were the last part of this current transformation after her legs, which became more catlike in what would have been an extremely painful fashion to a human as her mouth opened, her breath quickening as her new-found ears twisted backwards, jumping every now and then in agitation as they were easily visible poking out from beneath her bandanna.
She could smell familiar scents among these freaks, some of them having come surly from the bar itself... The thought dawned on her as she looked over to Galius, hoping he would hold up for the time being... He had to be super pissed by now, as he had to have come to the same conclusion that she'd just gotten...
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Post by The Mammoth on Mar 15, 2008 10:34:05 GMT -5
Galius waited, watching...
The beasts hadn't attacked, the pale men hadn't either. Nobody moved, besides Carella's transformation. It was a stand-still. Galius didn't flinch, his hands upon his blades, waiting for the demons to make the first move. His mind was calm, his hands steady, his eyes fixated upon the beasts. The attempt to scare them had failed, and it was completely obvious. The beasts had no fear, but the men controlling them stepped back, something that caught Galius' eye. Perhaps these men haven't lost all of their humanity, they still have fear...
Galius waited, until suddenly the first beast lunged forward, only needing to travel a couple feet. However a yelp was cut short, as the beast lay in two pieces on the ground. Galius' fury was apparent, his eyes were burning like an eternal flame, and even hell itself could feel the cold chill that was sent down the spines of these men. No amount of corruption, no spell, could sway the fear that Galius' gaze put into them.... Until Carella's transformation finished. The combination of the two sent the men into a frenzy, fleeing. However, the beasts remained behind, no longer at the mercy of their masters. Without a doubt, now that they were no longer on a leash, they would be a much more fearsome enemy.
Without hesistation, the beasts attacked. One went for Carella, one for Galius, and another burst from the shadows tearing for Servios.
Galius sidestepped the beast, slicing at it, only to be swatted away by it's paw. Galius quickly found himself on his back, without any sort of defense, his weapons knocked from his hands. The beast was insanely powerful, and not only that, it was lightning fast. It went right for him, its jaws going for his neck to end the job...
Suddenly, Galius felt light, felt odd. He couldn't see the beast anymore, just a grey shell of Varamen. In the same instant that he felt that, he had all feeling return, and the beast stood before him. The difference was, Galius was behind it... Holding his weapons....
He hadn't been this confused in a long time, but he wasted no time striking, and lodging his blades into the beasts back. It roared out, turning around and clawing at him. Galius ducked the blow and stabbed the beast up through its neck, ending the battle. Pulling his blade free he turned to face another running from the shadows.
Where were they all coming from, and what the hell happened that Galius avoided death and appeared behind the beast!?
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Post by Da Pwny on Mar 15, 2008 15:53:19 GMT -5
The one that came straight for Carella found himself with a clawed hand going straight down its throat as she struck first, her speed blindingly fast. Before it even had time to react, she'd torn a gash straight down the side of it, licking at the blood as it flew by. So long had it been since she'd unleashed this kind of power that it was almost a rush, only her human side was there to keep her mind on track from simply tearing the Hellhound apart for fun. However, she wasn't so fortunate to dodge the second one that came at her.
Knocked to the ground, Carella hissed and spat as she managed to turn herself over, her clawed hands the only thing between the beast and her own throat. But after that last burst of speed, she wasn't quite as strong as she had been, and cried out loudly as the beast broke through her defense and tore her throat out... she laid still for a moment, apparently dead. The beast ate at her a little more before turning its attention elsewhere, a fatal mistake on its part as Carella snapped to, rising up behind the hound...
Without the restraining part of her, Carella's change took full swing, the full horror of her demon side showing forth... the tiny fangs grew as large as a tiger's, a few pairs of spiny limbs jutted out from her back, and the voice she once had was fairly much gone for now... replaced with an animalistic growl as her eyes burned a bright sun yellow, the purified fury showing through. Why these beasts thought they had the right to desicrate her body was beyond her, and it only fueled the anger behind her deepening rage...
The Hellhound looked back at her and abruptly whimpered... right before it was torn in half lengthwise from the back as Carella roared like a lioness... How dare they touch her body, how dare they feast upon her flesh... they would all pay for it, they would all pay for that one's sin before she was throughly exhausted... And there was plenty of fodder to go around right now...
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Post by knightc3 on Mar 15, 2008 20:06:36 GMT -5
He could see three of the Hellhound go for the others He was the middle of the now spread out group. He couldn't really see the others but saw the Hellhounds get slain from what he assumed were Galius' or Servios hands. All he could do at this point was watch Carella fight. He surprised to a certain extent to see her transformation. He kept his eye on her as she went down. He was about to move forward to help as he saw the second beast overpower her but of knocked sideways in a wall by one that had come up from his side. He stopped himself from falling and got away from the wall of the alley He moved forward in circular motion to avoid getting corner.
His axes were in his hands when he heard another growl from behind him. He was now trapped in between two of the beasts. He looked from one to the other, both glowing in his sight. He called upon the his demon he had been hiding from the others till now. Fortunately, the demon had its own sight which now made him see the others as well. To the demon they were prey but to Karsten they were his companions.
Turning his attention back to the beast in front of him, the demon hurled one of the axes towards its eyes and followed after it with surprising speed. His body complained again of the exertion it felt but it was nothing he couldn't handle at that point. He was hoping to finish off this beast before the other got a chance to attack him. The beast turned its head as the axe lodged into its skull. Making a swift jump to grab the axe handle sticking out, Karsten stuck the other axe through the beasts throat way up to its bone. Before he got a chance to pull the axe and finish the job on this beasts. He was knocked off into the side of the alley by the hound behind.
Both his weapons were stuck in the first beast. He didn't have a chance to get up as the second hound jumped on top of him and placed its huge paw on his shoulder, pressing down hard and ready to devour him. Taking the knives from his boots, he waited for the hound to come closer as he would not get a chance again if he missed. As the beast went for his throat, biting down hard to his bone, he stuck the two knives into its eyes all the way to its brain. The beast died on top of him, never letting go of his throat. He tried to get up from underneath it, knowing fully well that the the other was closeby, still alive. The flame on the one he had just killed had died. He reached up to his mane and pulled at it. As the jaws dislodged, they took a bit of the flesh from his neck as well.
The demon was the only thing keeping him on his feet, his body resisting every move it was being forced to make. He got up to his feet taking the support of the wall behind him and waited. The injured Hellhound was focused on him, circling him and sprang forward. He dodged sideways, sliding along the wall, took hold of the axe which was still sticking out of its neck from underneath and drove it through using the force of its jump. His axe came free as it tore through the beast's neck. The beast hit the wall and went down, its neck barely hanging to its body.
As Karsten fought back the demon for control, his body finally gave up as he fell down to the ground next to the beast. He just lay there resting, too tired to move.
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Post by The Mammoth on Mar 18, 2008 9:01:25 GMT -5
This hellhound was larger than the others, no doubt the pack leader. Galius quickly prepared himself for the onslaught to be wrought by this massive creature. He took a side stance, spreading his base wide to have a place to stand firm against this beast. Once the creature had reached him, it stopped, circling him. It moved slowly, and Galius watched it with his eyes, not shifting his position. As it circled him, and got near his back, it lept at him, lunging to attack him at the neck from behind. Ducking and bringing his blades up overhead, his grip reversed, he stabbed the beast in the jaw. Pulling the blades free he rolled to his right and to his feet. It howled and the hair on its back bristled.
Spreading its paws, the beast opened its mouth wide and let out a roar, followed by a pillar of flame barreling right at Galius. Galius dived to the side, rolling to his feet, and hurling his blade right down the beast's throat to shut it up. Without a second to waste he ran up to it, and stabbed it in the side of the neck, flipping over its back and dragging the blade as he rolled along the flaming back of the beast. He was moving quick enough the flames only licked him, hardly causing any pain, but this hellhound was not finished yet.
Now only fighting with one blade, Galius had to be absolutely sure of his attacks. The beast was getting sluggish, losing its strength to his attacks, but it was no doubt not finished yet. Almost as if it had planned it, Galius ducked an attack, only to be swatted like a rag doll with the beasts paw. Sliding across the dirt, Galius came to a stop a few feet away, rolling to the side as the beast landed where he would have been. It pawed at him again, this time missing and getting its paw taken off. Galius flipped to his feet, striking firm right at the neck again. The beast was prepared however, and clamped down its jaw on his arm. Galius wasted no time, and quickly had his other hand on the blade, jamming it cleanly into the beasts skull, ending the fight.
The beast fell limp, its jaw on his arm, blood trickling from its mouth. Galius pryed the beasts mouth off of him, and check his arm, it wasn't bad, a few bite marks, nothing that wouldn't heal quickly. Finally he turned, and Servios was in trouble. Standing in what looked like shock, Servios hadn't attacked, and the beast in front of him was about to bite his throat out. Galius pulled his bow and quickly nocked an arrow, taking aim to hit the beast right in the head...
((Figure Talin will join in when he gets back))
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