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Post by DanteMGalileo on Feb 3, 2017 21:15:25 GMT -5
Upon the acid making contact with its flesh, the degenerate angel let out yet another human-like roar, increasing in volume when the bombs impacted its wings. Its skin burned where the acid touched it, creating the putrid stench of burning skin. The wings drew more of its yellow blood. It was in agony...
A scream exactly like a person erupted from the creature as Liderc tore out from its back, holding what appeared to be its lungs in his shapeshifted, oversized hands. The beast screamed in pain, its voice human. "I can't believe you used to be a swift, just like me... Pity not all of our kind can be a flawless as me."
There was a sickening sound as its lungs were torn from it and tossed to the side. Its respiratory system gone, it fell on itself, wings and limbs sticking out from under it. The green angel landed, hands reverting back to normal as he summoned the naginata again, this time its blade oversized and serrated, a wicked grin on its wielder's face. "Let's take those wings away, eh, Tepui?"
If nobody intervened, the degenerate angel would suffer a drawn-out, agonizing death...
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Post by ryocker on Feb 4, 2017 20:41:05 GMT -5
Jack pulled out his hammer, the mallet pooofing into a bigger, heavier hammer soon after. Bryn looked ready to cry, turned away from the screaming, gurgling corpse. "Would a hammer able to make earthquakes speed up matters?" he asked, shambling toward the suffering beast.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Feb 4, 2017 21:19:40 GMT -5
Once the corrosive slime had eaten away at enough of the creature's skin, Kelsey tore herself free from the tangled mess of flesh and pus and scrambled a safe distance away. After catching her breath, she looked down at herself and scowled. That ordeal was gross enough without her having to utilize her most disgusting ability. Oh, geez, and now the slime was burning her clothes! "Dammit, I liked this outfit."
"Why didn't you just set the tendril on fire?" Tri asked as he casually sat next to her. "Probably would've had the same effect."
"Because..." Kelsey stopped herself, staring blankly at her ruddy, slimy hands. Why didn't she do that? "F*** you, that's why."
She jumped and whirled back around when she heard the sickening sounds of Liderc tearing the beast's lungs out. She immediately gagged and looked away again, casting a desperate look at her master. "Tri, seriously, that thing is in agony! You're sure there's nothing we can do for it?!"
"Well, considering it has no repertory system anymore, I'm gonna go with no," Tri plainly responded before shooting Kelsey a grin. "But hey, look on the bright side. If this thing has a soul, you could call dibs."
The thought of consuming this degenerate's soul, as with every soul she had combated prior, was the last thing on Kelsey's mind. Against her better judgment, she turned her attention on the bloodied beast again out of the corner of her eye, her expression full of fear and concern.
"Seriously, though... like I said... can't change it back to what it used to be," Tri offered with a gentler tone. "All that's left to do is end its suffering."
Kelsey sighed and sat straight up. If that's really all there was to it, then perhaps the best thing for her to do was be merciful.
She raised her hands, fingers dancing like she was controlling a marionette.
Shadowy tentacles wrapped around the degenerate angel's wings.
She swept her arms in opposite directions...
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Feb 4, 2017 22:05:04 GMT -5
There was a sickening tearing sound as the degenerate angel's wings were stripped from its malformed body, accompanied by its humanlike screams...
And then, silence. The dying angel's form was enveloped in light, reverting back into a humanoid shape, its skin still yellow, clothing a simple black tunic and leggings. A disproportionately large pool of the yellow fluid surrounded it. It cracked open a single grey eye...
The eye settled on Kelsey, a weak grin visible on its face. "... Thank... you..." it muttered, before it shut the eye again...
The yellow angel's body suddenly burst into flames, which quickly went to work, cremating its body. Within minutes, where the hulking monster had once stood was nothing but a pile of ash, and a few surviving dark yellow feathers.
The green angel exhaled and dispelled its weapon, collecting some of the ashes and feathers in its hand. Liderc made a tongue-clicking noise before stating, "Pitiful. Tepui Gaia, some poor idiot sent to scout this area back during the war. Never came back, poor bastard." He then took out what looked like a green crystal, speaking into it as it glowed. "Keruv Liderc Shamash Serapis reporting. One down. Feathers seem to belong to Tepui Gaia, will send feather and ashes back to Homerealm for identification."
It was almost as if this hadn't fazed the green angel...
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Post by ryocker on Feb 5, 2017 15:01:26 GMT -5
Jack tucked his hammer away, turning away once the being had been snapped into pieces, reverted to normal, and burst into flames. "...That was too much, even for me," he sighed. Meanwhile, Bryn seemed to be in a considerably blubbery state... The poor guy was bunched up, seemingly doing whatever he could to not burst into tears.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Feb 5, 2017 15:20:01 GMT -5
For the longest time, Kelsey just sat there looking utterly dejected, mouth open slightly as she slowly breathed in and out. Little by little, her blue eyes darkened and her skin lightened to their natural shades while her nails and fangs were reduced to their normal size, but even with both the monster and the demon placated, she was still shaken. If there was anything she could be thankful for, it was the confirmation that the angel's suffering was over and that he was at peace when it happened. Things were calm now...
But that didn't mean she was over it.
"Hey..." Seeing this, Tri placed a hand on Kelsey's shoulder. "You did alright, kid-"
As if she hadn't heard him, Kelsey sprung to her feet and started marching back towards the three men.
"Whoop! And she's off, folks!" Tri's smile quickly returned. "Look at this girl go! She is not a happy camper! WHOO!"
Kelsey continued to ignore his banter as she whipped off her flannel shirt, wiped as much of the remaining corrosive residue as she could off her arms and flung it aside. By the time she reached Liderc, she looked mostly normal, save for the absolutely livid expression on the verge of tears.
"YOU..." She jabbed a slimy finger in the green man's face, her eyes shifting between him, Jack and Bryn. "Someone. Anyone! Explain to me what the hell just happened!!!"
"Well-"
"NOT YOU!!!" Kelsey screamed, directing her finger at the unseen, unfazed astral projection.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Feb 5, 2017 15:49:08 GMT -5
"First of all, watch your tone, demon girl. I didn't HAVE to save your filthy behind. And I was doing fine on my own, thank you very much," Liderc responded, his wings bristling out. "I'm surprised you could have done that. I don't like demons, but..."
It looked as though the next words he said actually caused him pain. "... You fight okay. For a demon. I guess." The bristled feathers seemed to revert somewhat back to normal. The green angel then cleared his throat. "The name's Keruv Liderc Shamash Serapis. I was sent here to check on the anomaly here after the scout didn't report in when he was supposed to. What you saw was... the anomaly. Not to be confused with normal anomalies. That was a degenerate angel. An angel too cowardly to die properly in battle that became a monster from the stress on its form. ... There's probably many more I've still gotta destroy. And stay out of my way."
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Post by ryocker on Feb 5, 2017 16:00:46 GMT -5
With his mask perfectly contorting with his eyes, Jack looked confused. "Angels? You mean the winged, magical guys?" He soon flinched as Bryn blew a hankerchief from who knows where and tucked it back away.
"He's one of those, Boss," he sniffled. Jack looked unconvinced.
"He couldn't be. I thought those things were myths!"
"You didn't say nothin' when a cerberus lady got us our lunches earlier..." Bryn was not accepting his boss' baloney.
"Animal people are different, though!"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Feb 5, 2017 16:21:50 GMT -5
Kelsey straightened up and raised an eyebrow at Liderc, clearly offended by his response. Last she checked, she got herself out of that mess and delivered the final blow, and considering the things she had fought in the past, she was willing to bet that she could've handled herself without the extra help. As if his psychopathic behavior during the fight wasn't enough, this guy was quickly getting on her nerves. Less pressingly, Kelsey was pretty sure that, by definition, no anomaly of any kind could be described as "normal," but she let that slide and decided to get to the point.
"First off, I'm not a demon."
"You know, in a way, you kinda are..." Tri stated before being shushed by Kelsey clearing her throat.
"Ahem... Second, I was just in the middle of my own important matters back home when... out of nowhere, I somehow get dumped into another dimension, and the first thing that happens is I get attacked by some weird... degenerate... Left 4 Dead-looking angel motherf***er! I feel like I have whiplash from just how quickly everything is going on around me!" Kelsey narrowed her eyes at Liderc. "Let's just say that you're not the only one with a lot on their plate, buddy, so I would appreciate it if you didn't take that tone with me."
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Feb 5, 2017 16:34:53 GMT -5
"Hmph. If it looks like a demon and fights like one, it is a demon. But that's beside the point," Liderc replied, turning on his heel.
"This was an off-day. I could have handled him fine on my own. Your assistance was... Noted. I suppose the Inferno might have its sanctions slightly lifted..." He mumbled that part mostly to himself. "But seriously. Stay out of my way."
The green angel extended his wings and prepared to take flight...
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Post by ryocker on Feb 5, 2017 19:57:26 GMT -5
"Sticky Finger PINCH!"
A sudden tightness snapped his right wing, twinging Liderc as he soon realized flying wouldn't work. He eyed Bryn. Game time, buddy. "Before you go anywhere, pal, I think you owe us at least an explanation."
Bryn noted his unwillingness to fly, smiling before folding his arms. "You openly admitted that other guy's weak point were his wings, yeah? Not a good idea to show your back to my boss, then, if you and him are the same thing.
"Now let's get a few questions settled, shall we?" Jack huffed, keeping both hands on the extended gloved hand's rope. "For one, who are you working for? And what can a pair of schmucks like me and Bryn do to get your side on our side?"
He normally wouldn't demerit himself so much, but Liderc hadn't paid him or Bryn any mind since they all showed up together. And he was none to happy about that...
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Feb 5, 2017 20:22:56 GMT -5
Kelsey just glared at Liderc as he attempted to fly off and was subsequently confronted by Jack and Bryn. She didn't need to explain herself to this brat, as if he would care regardless, and she wasn't about to just stand around and let him insult her when she had more pressing business to attend to. Thus, she left the duo to interrogate the angel and walked away. If they weren't going to help her, she could at least confer with the all-seeing, apparently all-knowing archdemon that she knew she could trust. Probably.
"What?" Tri questioned as he followed his charge. "You're just gonna leave the punk? Just like that?"
"F*** him," Kelsey replied. Once she had put a considerable distance between herself and the strangers she had fought with, she turned and faced the projection, arms folded and expression serious. "Now how exactly are we getting home?"
Tri raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "You really wanna go back so soon, Kels? We're in an alternate dimension. As long as we're here, we might as well explore."
This completely unprecedented response caused Kelsey's jaw to drop. "W-?! B-?! You're the one who's always on my case about banishing the Noble Ring!"
"There's plenty of time for that. I'm patient." Tri grinned coyly. "I would've thought you'd appreciate the break you've been offered."
Kelsey shook herself off and calmed down, though it was evident from her baffled expression that she was still very taken aback by Tri's calm reaction to their situation. Then again... this was Tri. He was pretty lax about most things.
Still... exploring another dimension. It sounded insane. As if things weren't crazy enough back home.
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Post by DanteMGalileo on Feb 5, 2017 20:32:15 GMT -5
"Let me go. I don't have any qualms about burning you to ash."
That was ineffectual against the two strange men. "Persistent, aren't we? Fine. You win. Kinda. Sorta. Where do I begin..."
The green angel tried to pull his wing out of the hand, groaning upon realizing he was stuck. "If you let me go, I'll tell you more."
"I'm Keruv Liderc Shamash Serapis. Or just the Keruv. Fear, admiration... both are good reasons to call me that. I'm from Homerealm. No, I'm not telling you where that is, but it is, well, the home realm of my species, the angels. My f- The Serapis- I guess you'd call him the king- sent me out to check on the anomalous readings we've been getting about this place. Lo and behold, I've only been here for a few hours, and what do I run into?" He pounded a fist into his palm. "A degenerate. And by the readings we got? There's more. Gotta kill 'em all. Poor bastards."
All the while, the green angel kept trying to free his wing. "Let. Me. Go."
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Post by ryocker on Feb 5, 2017 20:48:03 GMT -5
By this point, The hand let go, flying back to Jack as Bryn started stomping in place. "Well alright then. So we know you're working with more angels... Got anything else to tell us? Maybe locations of interest for a pair of treasure seekers?"
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Feb 5, 2017 21:26:19 GMT -5
"You're... sure that they're not gonna cause any trouble while we're gone?"
"Positive. I mean... the whole reason the demons started upping their game is because they're after you. With us gone, they'll just slink back into the shadows for the time being."
"I... guess that's true..." Kelsey looked towards the city, really taking in the sights and sounds calmly and in greater detail. Now that the battle was done, the park seemed... peaceful. Despite being in another universe, things didn't seem too different here. Excluding the strange people, obviously, but she had enough experience to take that sort of thing in stride. Who knew what she and Tri would find here? Could be interesting. "Alright. But just for a while. You can summon us back to my dimension, right?
"Right."
"So we explore for a while, have fun, relax, and go home once we've had our fill."
"Deal." Tri beamed and gave Kelsey a fist bump, then he turned his attention back on Liderc, Jack and Bryn. "Whadya think those three are up to?"
Kelsey frowned at him. "You tell me."
"Peh... Nothing you need to worry about."
With a curt nod, Kelsey picked her flannel shirt back up, stuck her hands in her pockets and observed the men. At the very least, she figured it would be rude to leave Jack and Bryn without a word. She decided to stick around long enough to answer questions should they have any, then she was out.
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