"That's what separates us demons from you monsters,"
As Satan declared that damning claim, they brought their fingers up, middle with index, nails sharpened at the tips of those blackened extremities, the Devil King's Six Eyes all let out a collective spark. Starting from the top then ending at the bottom, Madi, right at the back, still was seated on the ground, aiding her brother and his children's regeneration. Gritting her teeth, visibly frustrated, she ducked her head, replacing her former posture with another, now in the position, she acted as if her palms were mock defibrillators.
PUSH! A surge of life energy streaming through her baby brother's veins; nothing happened. PUSH! Another surge dug its way into his blood, replacing all damaged organs, all hurt bones with replacements, but still, nothing happened. PUSHHH!
"ARGHHH!" Frustratedly screamed Madi for her brother.
Pumping her flat palms right against his chest, a final third BURST of life spirit swirled together, formed together by HER Requiem energy, her collective power, aiming right into Ben's soul hid between his astral form. Splitting apart, Madi's purple aura shifted colors to that of natural green to mimic that of an endless grass field, voice cracking whilst breaking, tears squeezing out the corners of her eyes,
"COME ON! WAKE THE FUCK UP! YOU STUPID... stupid- Benny! Don't leave me, not like Mom, I finally protected my girl, I don't want to..." She sobbed between her words, grabbing at her face, "I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TRADED LIVES WITH MY DAUGHTER AND LITTLE BROTHER!"
There was something she could've done to help him, after three huge surges of life energy expanded upon by her Requiem energy, he was still comatose. Was he truly done, down for the count and over for the rest of the future war? Brushing her fingers against his attire-covered chest, she could still feel that signature spark from his soul, white lightning stinging the tip of her finger, she jumped at the abruptness of his refined innate defense. He was alive; it was just a matter of time before he jumped back awake, but for the time she was here, she could take her power to attack the Devil King, all of them paralyzed by their menacing presence, she was right out of their range. Or rather, that was what she believed.
Without hesitating further, the Empress of Light had vanished, warping right into invisibility as the Blanketed reality she controlled disguised her in the chimeras of her light dimension.
Moments away from raising the concrete labyrinth from the rocky ground everyone was standing on, writhing in agony at the psychological Takyr they'd used on the team to their front, Satan turned their head just at the last second. As Madi jumped right out from the gateway cleaved in space, she drew her bow and arrow made of light, aiming it right at the Devil King, yanking back the string then shooting with the plasma projectile,
"I was beginning to wonder where you were," The way they spoke with such calmness in their vocals, all the while standing there so nonchalantly, she couldn't help but gasp.
Skidding on her knees as she landed onto the ground, she warped swiftly, simply teleporting herself in place so she could sit up properly. Back on defense, she aimed her bow around, manifesting another light arrow. Not missing a beat, purple pupils darting all over the place, she searched for them, but even as she turned around repeatedly, she couldn't find any traces of them. Then again, the more she thought about it, it was likely just a ploy for her to get her defenses down so they could try and get her in the same position as the rest of her friends beside her. But she wasn't that gullible, she was out of the range from the Embodiment of Evil's mental attack, all she knew was that she had to take advantage of this before it was too late-
"MADI... HELP!" That scream, begging for aid, as sure as the moon would shine in the darkness of the night, she would tend to her brother and always help him.
However- she couldn't bring herself to move. Why was that? This is your brother! He's begging for your fucking help, move already! Even her brain knew. And in her chest, the way her heart pounded so rapidly, as in fear for the safety of her elder sibling, this was true. But deep, deep, DEEP in her soul, she knew- PHEW! The arrow had stabbed right through the chest of the Speedster Justice, earlier holding his stomach, collapsed right onto his back, immobilized, a burnt hole right in his chest. None of his fluids leaked out, maybe as a result of her cauterization as she suspected,
~Even if I'm wrong and that was Jay I just shot, I can just rip off my hand and feed it to him; it'd be like nothing ever happened~ Madi reminded herself.
Feeling her breaths begin to soothe themselves out, Jason's body faded into black mist, a ghostly entity replacing the chimera of her older brother, Satan smirking- Madi widening her eyes! All along, this is what they wanted from the beginning! To be around all of them, leave no one behind, the Devil King brought up their index and middle fingers once again,
"YOU PIECE OF SHITTT!" Screamed the Empress, charging forward, branding an all-purple plasma sword to replace her bow and arrow.
SLASH!! Went her arms as she brought down her hands tied around the bottom of the manifested weapon over their horned skull, but just before she could, the pentagrams hovering above those blackened horns went with a PING! As the audio reverberated out from the light source hovering over their distinctive features, everyone on the battlefield surrounding them had suddenly snapped back to reality. None of them, however, were fast enough to throw an attack, because just as the pentagrams shifted in color, the Personification of Death had finally been ready,
"Despairing Maze," Menacingly chanted The Devil King, instantly morphing the ground below, arising walls of hardened rock, curving and snapping them in specific patterns- to create a labyrinth, replacing the flat battlefield.
Slamming right up from the bottoms of this very planet, Satan's immediate mastery of earth manipulation was an astonishing feat, whereas Emma could barely make out the sight- she couldn't help but let out a tiny chuckle spitting out blood from her mouth. But just as she was about to fall right back unconscious, likely to shatter the back of her skull once she landed eventually, someone's hands protected her. Two fingers pushing out from the glove, emerald pupil analyzing her well-being, Death helped her up so she could rest in his arms, now her breathing controlled contrast to the ruggedness of her damaged state... she could barely make it out. His face, one of his eyes hidden by his greyed-out hair strands, she'd seen it before, recognizing it well enough,
"Aug...just...?" Weakly spat out Emmy to her younger brother, staying between the realm of consciousness and unconsciousness,
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Gen's resting, I managed to heal her when I woke up. You'll heal in time, too. Stay by Dad, tend to him, please. I have to take care of our Aunt. Stay alive for your little brother, Emmy, don't die like Celi did," August gently informed his big sister, kneeling beside his father, he placed her right down there, so she could at least be resting near him.
Hood moving with the hot summer breeze, covered extremities gripping at his collar, he brought it up to shield his pink lips from any prying eyes outside. Just as Madi had discovered, her brother was alive, but barely, he sensed it then when he placed Emmy down beside their dad, it wasn't anything normal like a state of normal slumbering, he could tell the difference.
Eternal Sight of Infinite Power, formerly the Four Eyes, had the power to see across long distances, analyze quick movements, register the flow of Requiem, Omni, and Takyr energy altogether, while manipulating Omni and Requiem together to allow for different techniques to be formed newly. All of these abilities meant that sensing the souls of others along with their status between the realm of the living and the dead was a simple cakewalk,
~Dad, what the hell happened to you? Your soul is unlike anyone else's, the best thing that resembles this is back when we ambushed Heaven. In a state of suspended death, huh? The only thing that can bring you back is your own will to live~ That organization of thoughts streamed through August's brain, now processing this, everything Emma would try when she'd fully wake up would be effortless.
"You, too, Dad. If you die, I'll come to Limbo and kill you again myself, stupid geezer," Worded out August to the lethargic father, laying there devoid of breath entering and exiting his lungs, a breath slid out from that crack between his lips.
Fingers entangling around the wrist, soothing his tanned skin from the past soreness, his shoulders let out an audible Click as the cape detached from the outfit. Letting the hood stay, stray black tendril gently flicking it to reveal the messiness of his whitened mop, the Requiem Reaper looked ahead, to where the labyrinth's heights had reached to that of the clouds, a crow was seen soaring overhead, black wings moving with the wind,
"Alright... it'll be a bloodbath," After August said that, no traces were left behind, and he warped to interrupt this new game Satan had started so suddenly.
Unbeknownst to him, the Devil King stood above the clouds, shrouded with their dark cloak, they stared right down, unleashing but a low roar from their mouth as they turned their head, Satan couldn't help but curiously stare as a certain couple battled an identical copy of the Embodiment of Evil themself.
In one of the far left corridors of the Despairing Maze, there laid Rose with Alex, the long-time best friends now couped together to fight off against this demonic threat. CRACK! The whip went as the edge snapped right against the Devil's back, causing it to turn right around, screeching in surprise, pouncing right at the Judge's face. Alexander didn't falter, so, instead, he grasped right at the clone's face, intending to slam them right down onto the concrete so it could just simply fade away. Widening his white eyes, the aura surrounding his soul swiftly shifted to black,
"Don't lose control!" Rose advised, watching as he turned his back to her, crouched on the floor, palms against the rocky ground,
"I got this shit, trust me, baby!" Alex yelled back reassuringly at his girl, the ginger smiling at the sound of his voice, she couldn't help but grunt, more Takyr sparking out from her insides to her exterior pale skin.
Dragging his fingers followed by his palm over his face, the tips of those extremities let out a harnessed hue, touching all over his features, from the core of his heart to the holy essence of his soul, he brought out that ocular technique, inspired by his former mentor. Judgment's Reign! The singular snowy texture signature only to his pupils expanded out like the cold winds of winter. Like a flashlight lighting ablaze the destined path they should be following, all Alex had to do was weave, spotting Satan's clone reorganize from the bats they'd split apart into.
The second following they formed together, a grab with a simple extended-out hand aimed right at his face...
~I can see it... I CAN SEE IT ALL!~ Alexander studied the incoming flow of the grab, maybe it was because of Made In Heaven's white bolts of Requiem lightning growing from the soles of the hoodie, but he couldn't shake the feeling- that this was something different.
Professional fighters like Jason, August, Azazel, all had learned to allow their signature energies to flow right from the Omni or Takyr spirit, throughout the whole of the body. Because of that natural flow, it was harder to tell the way the enemy would attack, leading the attacker to throw a right punch, but the opponent would be thinking,
~Is that a right punch?~
Channeling, a contrast to a natural flow of Omni, Takyr, or Requiem, was easier to predict. But right here, right now, where you'd believe the grasping hand to be flowing with Takyr, same as the rest of their body, it had been channeled right through the palm. The Judge had ducked right over the grab, then ducking right over it so their fingers could squeeze their extremities against the air, Amara clenched his fingers. Driving it right through their hollow chest then disappearing into a whitened bolt, once more reorganizing together jumping out from the lightning storm, putting the Devilish Clone right in a headlock,
"Now! Do it now!" Demanded Alex of his partner, kicking the back of their leg so they could fall onto one knee, the hit couldn't even let out a proper snapping sound.
CRACK-BOOM! Raising her head from the hung position, there it was, reddened pupils, entirely enveloped by the bloodied color, Takyr carving together right to the back of her head, incarnated into reality. Hands raising together, she clapped both palms against together, ginger strands levitating into the air,
"BLOW APARTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!" Screamed Rosalyn, her sonic cry infused with the chaotic nature of Takyr itself, vocals bulging out her throat's cover.
Right before he could get caught in the aftermath, the stream of white lightning jumped off his clothing, hood attached to his neck-covering collar, the Judge picked his partner right up at the end of the hallway, throwing his feet back throwing her onto his shoulder. Their feet rapidly hitting against the floor, the end of the sonic scream had penetrated through the hollow shell of the Devil King's clone, exploding out in an ever-expanding ball of Takyr. Right on their tail, just about to engulf their bodies, Alexander's Truth aura burst out from his soul- leaving a dust trail right behind his feet. BOOM! Radiated out the shockwave so the duo of lovers could fall right ahead, tumbling against the wall-made narrow hall, the brown-haired Amara and the red-haired Karlo both laid on top of each other.
The female on top of the male, Al and Rosey both twisted their heads to look down the narrow origination of where he'd run from, her hands on each side of his face on the floor,
"Heh... holy shit. We did it, didn't we?" Questioned Rosalyn of her best friend, then turning her head so she could make eye contact with his white eyes, Alex smiled,
"Yeah. Ya know, we never really had any privacy ever since... you came to the Empire, trainin' and all, right?" Retorted Al back at her smoothly, with that sort of seductive tone of voice,
"Well-"
Grabbing at the back of her hair, he pulled her right down so their lips could touch, spinning right around so he could be on the top instead- the Devil King couldn't help but bring their head from the left of the maze. Laughing, the Devil couldn't help but chuckle at the hypocrisy present, positive emotions drawn out from the love between two human beings, in the middle of a warzone- ironic, wasn't it?
"What insolent mortals humans truly are. And after what I said about humans, too, I suppose I forgot to mention their ignorance, I wonder what I could do to make sure they suffer from this... ah, and what a sight I'm witnessing," The Embodiment of Evil turned their horned summit to the side, and what laid bare was not another copy of themself, but that of their very own son.
Lucifer and Rahab swaying their hips from side to side, the latter Fallen Archangel with her arms crossed on the back of her head, the Demonic Prince, Morningstar flapped his lips as fast as he always did,
"It was a rather thrilling fight! But, truth be told, it could've been better. I didn't at all feel like..." He lost his train of thought at a new presence, the Prince sheathing himself of the cloak, Rahab kissed his cheek, then vanishing into a vacuum of Hellfire swallowing her up.
His four eyes scanning the morning's shaped vapors, a blur was barely seen, trademark green electricity to that of Orderly Thunder following it. Step. A new sound entered the enclosed walls of the maze, shoes' soles pushing against the earth, pebbles gathering together, flicking his finger, they formed all around his body to fly with his moving legs. Step. The son of the Emperor had easily barged in the labyrinth, the Prince turned his head, glaring with his glowing four pupils, sparking with the chaotic intent of Hell itself, he couldn't help but smirk. Feral grin painted over his lips, The Requiem Reaper's mop of white strands holding dried blood from the earlier battle, Convergence, and Divergence shining ahead,
"Oi, been a sec, hasn't it?"
"Seriously? You're still able to walk?"
"Seriously SERIOUSLY! Hah! It's like I'm fucking brand new, isn't it?! Now, why don't I show you... what I learned taking that nap you gave me?"
To Be Continued.