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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 14:33:26 GMT -5
Lucifer's expression shifted a bit as Abel and Hitoshura ran at each other. The smile remained, but a single eyebrow raised. He looked over at where the body of Cain and Seth's most current incarnations lay. Cain was still, as to be expected. The man was only functionally immortal, after all. By no means invincible, and old age claimed him as well as it claimed any man. The point of interest was the younger one.
The heart hadn't stopped beating. Lucifer had seen enough human deaths to know even the most stubborn of hearts should have given out at this point. The heart was still beating, and despite the angle Seth's body lay on the ground, the pool of blood wasn't spreading further into the snow. The wound had been to the neck, if the teenager had a pulse it would still be flowing. Lucifer's smile widened a bit. Sevenfold was a machination of the numerous versions of "god's word" that had passed through history. But there had been a punishment set for one who killed Cain.... well well, wasn't that interesting? Lucifer turned his attention back to the combatants. Whoever noticed that life force still remained first could easily turn the current stalemate to their favor.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 14:51:46 GMT -5
Hitoshura began moving backwards more quickly, trying to put more distance between him and Abel. He was more durable, but Abel was faster than him. Just from the pure speed of his attacks and the ways he was somehow finding opportunities to attack despite the guard Hitoshura had up made another thing clear: Abel possessed the Beast Eye ability.
Hitoshura held out his arms and the ground beneath him began to crack. As he concentrated, he realized something was off about where the corpses of Seth and Cain lay. He could still feel the aura of a living human there. One of them was somehow still alive, even though they had both been definitely dead.
"One of your brothers still lives," Hitoshura said flatly. At those words, Abel hesitated, and that was just long enough for Hitoshura to finish casting.
"Gaea Rage!"
The entire wrecked battlefield sent up a large burst of energy, catching Abel off guard. Abel let out a yell and was sent flying. He ended up landing right in the puddle of blood Seth had left.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 15:09:30 GMT -5
(OOC: There is little medical misinformation in the coming posts. Our (living) characters just aren't medically knowledgable, kay? XD)
Due to how Seth had fallen and things had played out, landing in the bright red snow at Seth's side would make something hard for Abel to miss, particularly if Abel had tried to use his senses to confirm Hitoshura's claim. That was just in terms of aura and human life force. With where he had landed, he'd realize that Seth's body was still warm. Maybe not the oddest thing, he'd seen Seth die, but the weather outside was anything but room temperature.
Beyond that, Abel had seen Hitoshura cut Seth's throat. While his face and neck were spattered and to some exten speared with blood, there wasn't an open wound on his throat. What was there if Abel felt inclined to distract himself from the battle long enough to look was the traces of a wound you'd expect to be there after a week of perfect care. There wasn't even any evident scarring. Of most note, however, was that Seth was breathing. It sounded shallowed, it sounded labored, but it was breath.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 15:22:55 GMT -5
Abel's eyes widened as he landed. Not because of any kind of pain from the landing, but because he realized he could sense a living aura from next to him. Because he could see and hear Seth's breath. He turned his head toward Seth.
"Keiji?"
Hitoshura regarded Abel with a flat expression. Seth was somehow alive, Hitoshura wasn't quite sure how. But with that, whatever murderous instinct Abel had developed had for the moment dissipated. Hitoshura looked up toward where he knew Lucifer sat on top of the building. He seemed to be awaiting some kind of order.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 15:38:22 GMT -5
How many names, which name? He felt exhausted, and even that was an understatement. The comparison to nights spent trying to cram for a test that meant life or death flitted through his mind. School? Those weren't tests. Tests weren't something that required you to spit out a series of facts that couldn't save you if you were cornered in a dark alley. They couldn't help you save the person you'd sworn to protect. Most of those tests hadn't been tests at all, the fact that he'd ever thought of them as such just showed how shallow he'd been in so many of his lives.
Lives. That was it, of course. They all ran together, so many of them were so similar when stacked up against each other. He didn't know the number, but he did know that he'd been hit with every single one of them. That had been why Cain had insisted on killing him. How had that passage gone? 'whosoever slayeth Cain vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold'? Keiji wasn't very good at remembering Bible verses. Keiji wasn't, but Seth... now Seth was. He didn't know about sevenfold, but he was alive. The pieces weren't too hard to gather on that note. Keiji was the name, of course. This life.
None of those running thoughts would be evident to Abel, of course. What would be was the sharp intake of breath and the way Seth's body moved. Almost as if it were trying to pull itself into a fetal position. It seemed to be shivering a bit as well.
Lucifer acknowledged Hitoshura's glance with a neutral expression. It in fact was not one seen in this form often. The eyes remained as human as usual, but that lack of shine carrying age beyond appearance worn by a "child" Hitoshura had once met was there. The fallen angel didn't seem inclined to respond, simply glancing back over at Abel. When he'd brought up the situation to Hitoshura, he'd purposely left out any kind of order. It had been Hitoshura's decision to come here, and it remained Hitoshura's choice how to handle the situation. Lucifer of course had his own ideas how it should play out, but he gave no indication of them to his general.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 16:17:08 GMT -5
As Abel began to get to his feet, Hitoshura got the message. It was his decision on what to do, not Lucifer's. Abel was very shaky as he stood up, and Hitoshura took a few steps toward Abel.
"It would have been better if Seth stayed dead," Hitoshura stated. He actually hadn't gotten a chance to finish his sentence, because at that moment one glowing blade lodged itself in Hitoshura's stomach. Abel glared at him.
"I think you missed the part where I said I was going to kill you," Abel snarled. Hitoshura only continued to give Abel the flat expression as several more blades launched themselves at Hitoshura, slicing his flesh and lodging themselves in his body. When the blades pulled away from him, Hitoshura was a bloody mess. His markings were glowing red from his injuries.
"Your death will be a lesson to Lucifer, Nyarlathotep, and any other demons who wish to balk my rule. I will not run anymore," Abel growled. Hitoshura only chuckled.
Lucifer-sama, I think he's learned his lesson, Hitoshura said telepathically to Lucifer. Abel took several steps toward Hitoshura moved the blades so that they surrounded him. He held out his hand and closed it into a fist. The moment his hand closed into a fist, the blades all converged on that one spot...
...and the Hitoshura was no longer there. His presence had just simply vanished. Abel's eyes widened and he took several steps forward.
"Get back here, you damn hypocrite!" Abel screamed into the night air.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 16:36:13 GMT -5
Lucifer's expression returned to the amused smile he'd borne shortly after his arrival on the scene. It was the only response Hitoshura's message received. He'd gotten in for the time being, and it had only cost him three of the four members of his court. In all technicality, only two. But the Demon King had a few suspicions in regards to that third child of man. Even if they hadn't been involved in the same war, Lucifer was quite sure he'd be watching how that developed. Lucifer swung up and onto his feet as Abel raged against the heavens. He was in mid-turn when he paused and glanced back over at the King of Bel.
"I do believe he's taken a sort of shine to your little brother, King of Bel," Lucifer stated, smiling. He had his hands in his pockets and was speaking with a raised voice so Abel could hear him, "Do try to keep him in one piece before you meet again, will you?"
Lucifer was keeping a close eye on Abel's demonic energy. If there was no sign of attack, he'd simply step into the shadows and vanish. Even if Abel tried to shout at him. If the King of Bel did seem inclined to throw an attack his way, he'd stay looking at him just long enough to vanish in a flash of light half a second before impact.
As for the battlefield, it looked almost like a drunken man had driven a bulldozer through it. The ground was in complete upheavel. There wasn't a fully flat surface one in the area anymore. A few bricks seemed rather close to falling in the buildings around them and it was quite possible the very foundations had been knocked off center. Cain's body had cooled from the night time winter air. Seth had managed to work his way into a fetal squeeze, but his life force did seem to be stabilizing. He was, however, shivering more than before.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 16:53:17 GMT -5
Abel made no move to attack Lucifer. He only continued to glare at the man at his words about Seth. Actually, other than the glare, his expression was a lot more flat and emotionless than any expressions he'd held recently. And worth note was his pupils were still slitted.
He looked away from Lucifer and back toward Seth. Ignoring the sickening squelch of bloody snow under his shoes, he crouched down beside his brother and brushed some hair out of Seth's eyes. There was more pain in Abel's current expression than worry or compassion.
"Seth... are you alright?" Abel asked. No, Seth wasn't alright. He didn't know why Seth had come back, but coming back itself had obviously caused some kind of psychological trauma to his brother.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 17:06:36 GMT -5
Seth's face scrunched up as Abel brushed the hair out of his eyes. It was an involuntary reaction to the way Abel's fingers had brushed across his face. However, in combination with his voice, this time not distant and quiet as a frightened mouse, that finally pulled Seth out of his head. The thoughts more or less stabilized and Seth's eyes came to a slow open.
The Prince's eyes still seemed a bit glazed over. Seth turned his head to look at who had woken him, but he stopped when he saw the edge of Abel's cape. A sort of light came back to his eyes and he jerked into a sitting position. The sudden movement and the position he had been caused the rushing blood to give him a solid headspin, and he thudded backwards against the wall behind him. He threw up his right hand at the expected attempt to catch him. He had a weak "stop" symbol made with it.
"Don't concern yourself, Your Majesty!"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 17:26:18 GMT -5
Your Majesty. At those words, Abel felt some part of him break. He wasn't sure which anymore. So many parts of him felt broken after today. Seth's handwave kept him from attempting to help Seth up, but some part of him just felt hurt.
"What happened to you? You were... agh..." Abel reached up to his head and put a hand on his right temple. His face was scrunched up in pain, and he was sweating a bit. It appeared to pass, and he looked back toward Seth.
"You were screaming before, and I saw that Hito.... agh.... aaah....!" Abel suddenly grasped his head with both hands and began to scream. And then there was a rather loud and painful sounding cracking noise. At that moment Abel let out a yell and his knees gave out on him. The expression on his face was nothing short of panic.
He could feel something under his skin trying to push its way out. He'd had many injuries before, but nothing compared to this pain. It felt more like something was pushing its way through his skull than just the skin. Abel gave another gasp of pain as the points of bone pushed through his scalp and fresh blood flowed over his hands.
No... why now... Abel cried in his head. The blood that was now coating his hands had been dark red when it started flowing. Now it was closer to a black color.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 17:44:02 GMT -5
Seth had lifted his left hand to his head seconds after deflecting the attempt to catch him. His fingers were spread out over his forehead and a bit under his hair, and his eyes were concealed by the lower half of his palm. He was pretty sure he knew what had happened and why he had the spiking migraine threatening to rip his head open. It didn't make the pain any easier, or the memories that were still trickling into place any less hard to solidify.
He heard his king speaking to him, but the words seemed distant. Seth winced and lowered his hand a bit as Abel's words cut off. He looked puzzled at the way Abel was grabbing his head. It seemed an odd coincidence that his king would be suffering a headache at the same instant he was. It couldn't possibly be for the same reason. Seth looked somewhat concerned, and if Abel hadn't been in so much pain he might have realized his younger brother's eyes were in perfect focus despite seeming aged far beyond what they had been earlier.
When Abel began to scream, Seth dropped both hands and threw his weight forward. Things were moving so fast that by the time he'd reached his king, his knees had already given out. Seth managed to catch Abel so he didn't crash to the ground, but his king didn't seem to be much aware of his surroundings.
"Your majesty, pull yourself together!" Abel didn't seem to hear him. His eyes became huge as he saw the black shards of what looked like bone forcing their way out of Abel's skull. His king was a demon, Seth couldn't deny the largest possibility here. Horns!? Abel still wasn't sresponding to him, "Your majesty! ....Brother!"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 18:02:54 GMT -5
Abel wasn't responding to Seth because he couldn't hear him. The horns were emerging from right above his ears, and the cracking noise the bone was making as it extended and pushed its way out was resonating more in his skull than it would to the outside world, and at the moment, he was more focused on that cracking noise than anything else. It was the word "brother" that brought him back into awareness of the outside world than anything else.
His eyes shot into a terrified focus as he realized Seth was holding onto him. His eyes widened more, if it was even possible.
"Don't touch me!"
Abel very roughly shoved Seth away from him. The lack of Seth supporting him meant his knees impacted with the broken pavement. A small amount of blackish blood welled up from the impact, but Abel didn't notice. His hands were back to grasping his head at the points the horns were emerging from.
He was still breathing very roughly, and there were a few tears rolling down his cheeks just from the pain. By this point, the horns were sticking out a few inches from his skin, and the ordeal didn't seem to be stopping any time soon.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 18:19:06 GMT -5
There was more force than likely intended from Abel as he shoved Seth off him. Neither of them were that far from the side of a building, and the panicked force the King of Bel had used meant that Seth's body cracked every brick he hit. Seth only got a sharp exhale of air out as a response. The pain that assaulted him when he tried to move informed him of a fracture. He'd had them before, he'd died from them before, after all.
"Your majesty..."
His pain couldn't be anything compared to having bone forcing its way out of one's skin. He tried again to move, but at that instant the building he'd been thrown against finally showed signs of the stress the battle had caused. A brick fell from the position it had been teetering and Seth managed to get himself moved forward at just the wrong moment. Seth's pupils dialated as the hardened clay hit him at the back of his head. His body crumpled and he collapsed.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Sept 18, 2010 19:19:03 GMT -5
Abel didn't realize how hard he'd pushed Seth. He was hardly even aware he was in the mostly destroyed alley; every movement made his vision swim. He felt like he was going to be sick. And the horns continued to grow.
It was a good couple minutes before that noise subsided. Abel very carefully lowered his hands from the nearly nine inch long horns and stared down at his palms. They were drenched in black colored blood.
"...My blood is black." It was very likely Abel might have broken at that statement had he not looked up and seen just where he'd shoved Seth. His eyes widened and he limped over to Seth's side.
"Seth! Seth, wake up!" It was an order. He looked to where it appeared something, likely a brick, had hit him. The bleeding had stopped, but it had obviously been a killing blow... except for the fact that it didn't look anywhere near as bad of an injury as it should be.
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Post by mugenginga on Sept 18, 2010 19:28:40 GMT -5
Before, when he'd been somehow caught in a barrier halfway between life and death, the memories had still been assaulting him. His thinking had been fuzzy and he hadn't even been conscious for a lot of it. Now as his mind cleared and he heard someone shout his name, a distinct possibility dawned on him. First he had to respond to his ruler. Seth out a groan in response, his head throbbing with the noise. The back of his skull hurt like hell.
"Your majesty..." he winced as he opened his eyes, blinking in slight surprise that Abel was looking straight into his eyes. His hair was messy with blood, enough of it had tangled with it that it looked to be almost two distinct colors. He had intended on complaining about the pain in his own head, but not after seeing the horns, "Are you alright...?"
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