Teaser: Ryosei putting a blanket over Eika's shoulders while she falls asleep after finally figuring out math.
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Eika made it as far as the side room before she collapsed, coughing up several mouth fulls of blood, her eyes squeezed shut tightly and her body trembling from the pain. Several minutes passed, and when the attack was over, she sighed, looking over at her shaking hand; there were fracture marks all over them now.
"Heh, t-that sucks. Hah, it hurts so much, I c-can only laugh. Haha...haha...ha..."
The attacks from the cellular degeneration—which were becoming far more common than she liked to admit—were actually quite painful, especially since the price for splitting her soul was that she registered pain 500% more than regular demons in this body.
Well, her original body was pretty sensitive too, but she digressed; it hurt like hell and she wasn't afraid of letting that show when she is on her lonesome.
Still it wasn't as bad as her childhood; getting knives that carved out forbidden runes and seals into her skin was painful; having your scar-marked skin ripped off of your body even more so.
So she could take this little bit of pain.
What she said to Ryosei was somewhat of a half truth; her REAL body—which laid still and sleeping in the demon realm, her guardian watching over her—wasn't dying, but she couldn't say the same for this body—it was beginning to self destruct under the weight of her powers.
"To think, the greatest masterpiece of my lifetime, and it would be reduced to this. Honestly, your power is on a higher plane of existence—literally."
"I am His daughter, illegitimate though I may be, Rurielles. Would you expect anything less from the flesh and blood who takes after Him the most?"
"True, your sense of fatalism is indeed rivaled by the guy who picked himself apart a thousand times, all for the sake of being a god."
Eika tilted her neck upward to look at the owner of the voice and creator of this homunculi, the movement causing some of the skin at her neck to splinter and crumble into shards, falling to the ground like glass. Both friends didn't comment on it, though the underlying worry that came from Rurielles was certainly expressed, her green irises glimmering sadly in the blue moonlight that came in from the large windows of the room.
"Why're you holding onto that body so desperately, Eika? We both know you're suffering."
She just laughed, "If you think this little thing is suffering, you should see me when I'm REALLY in pain—I can't even speak and just tremble, and if it's really bad, I start laughing maniacally, like a psychopath. It's kinda freaky if I'm being honest..."
Rurielles just sighed, her tall, willowy frame moving forward to kneel in front of Eika's trembling form, rolling up the sleeves of her crisp white collar shirt, high waisted black pants crinkling as she muttered while lifting her friend up, "Y'know, I sometimes worry you're a masochist with how ridiculous your pain tolerance is, seriously..."
Eika again responded with some soft giggles that seemed slightly insane when paired with the blood spattered and dishevelled appearance she sported as her best friend for 5 centuries carried her limp body, concurring in a amusement laced tone, "I honestly don't know about that myself if I'm required to be honest..."
"You're not, so you're likely lying."
"My, you know me well, don't ya, Ruri-chan~"
"Not the nickname, please? It makes me shudder with disgust when you say it in that tone of voice."
The sounds of Eika's laughter and Rurielles's complaints faded into the distance as they walked to the basement of the experiment room, a trail of broken skin and hair trailing behind the pair like a path of scattered, glimmering breadcrumbs...
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[London, Britain, 3:27 p.m.]
A portly man of average height stood outside of a tall glass skyscraper, staring with bespectacled brown eyes at the entrance, a bored expression on his face. Dark circles from lack of sleep hung from his eyes as bags, and he was about as unattractive and unappealing as someone could humanely get.
Therefore, he was a decent vessel for the person whom he was housing.
"Well," a deep, almost seductive voice that did not match his rather unsightly appearance rumbled, "it appears the fool is romping around with these imbeciles. How unsightly of a married women. At least I found a decent vessel—he's so ugly that his eventual collapse from being hosted by me should take long enough."
The man chuckled faintly, his pose shockingly relaxed and powerful despite his appearance. He then proceeded to walk forward with the confidence of a king, making all those who saw him—including security and the front desk—trick themselves into believing he worked at the building.
He was only questioned when he walked to a particular elevator that was off-limits to certain personnel.
"My apologies sir, but I'm afraid I cannot allow you to pass; this is for authorized personnel only, you can't come in here."
The man looked at the foolhardy humans calmly, proclaiming with black and gold eyes, "I'm afraid I am allowed gentlemen, now move."
Shivers wracked the security teams body, a sense of dread and terror overcoming them as they pulled out their guns and aimed for the strange man, yelling, "Leave, demon! Your kind isn't allowed here!"
Everyone in the lobby stopped, nervously looking at the situation and flinching at the word demon, their eyes wide as accented English flowed around the demon and the security guards in titters.
"Demon? Did he say demon?"
"So they really exist? How horrid, I thought the news anchor was being luney again!"
"Why would a bloody demon be here of all places, we haven't done nothing wrong!"
"Why's a creature like that here?"
The demon who was possessing the man simply sighed a world weary sigh, tiredly muttered, "After all that trouble I took in quietly acquiring a host and entering this ridiculous farce of a building without causing a fuss. How insolent."
Taking off his glasses and smoothing back his hair, the image of a tall, beautiful man temporarily overlapped over the portly mans face as he open black eyes with a single golden star in them, remarking, "If you won't grant me the same kindness, I suppose I don't need to hold back; let's raise it to 0.0001%."
All of a sudden, an unimaginable pressure overcame everyone in the lobby, cracks appearing all over the marble floors before collapsing with screams being elicited from the now falling humans.
The portly man—now slightly taller and slimmer, his jaw now more defined and his hair no longer greasy looking—hovered in the air, as if on a platform, and stared impassively at the humans before walking to the elevator and descending at a leisure pace.
Like he'd fall with humans.
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The scientists that had begun the experiment on the subject paused when they heard a great deal of commotion from above. Suddenly, a sound like falling rocks making impact with a steel surface assaulted their ears, forcing them to cover their ears at the noise; it was excruciating, having to listen it.
They were so distracted, none of them noticed the pleasant ding of the elevator, signalling the arrival of someone foreign; nor did they register the man who came out in a high-class, midnight blue silk suit casually—his aura so impassive and natural that they only realized someone other than themselves was present when the rocks had stopped and they heard the hiss of the door to the experimentation door opening.
Only then did they reacted, yelling and panicking when they saw the unknown man in the room with the experimental subject, a beautiful women who was locked up in a device that was scanning her body. The man—once again taller, slimmer, more muscular, and more handsome—started to speak in his intoxicating and melodious voice; a voice that sent every female scientist in a blushing frenzy and male scientist into a fit of insecurity.
"Lilith, I was aware you were foolish and rebellious, but I didn't expected you were so desperate to act the idiot that you've attempted to give away my creation."
The blond hair woman with long golden hair opened her bright cerulean, instantly capturing the hearts of all present; her beauty went beyond any human terms without a doubt. In a satiny, chocolatey voice she murmured with a faint gleam of anxiety in her bright blue eyes, "Dearest... how did you get a body—"
The man, who remained completely unfazed by her looks brutally cut her off, his dual golden black eyes gleaming even brighter and suddenly, every scientist in the room died horrifically, their necks sliced cleanly and their screams cut short with how their vocal cords were cut as well.
Blood splattered crimson, dying the walls the dark red and painting the window that saw into the room; at the same time, all of the data that they had saved was immediately wiped and destroyed from any and all sources. His system was not to be utilized by measly mortals, let alone HUMANS.
"Such a thing is a simple matter if I apply the bare minimum of effort on my part—though I can't find a host as easily as someone weak like you can."
The women's face contorted, and in her eyes burned a bright emerald as she snarled, "WEAK?! How is a 6th dimensional being weak?!"
"My daughter is a 7th dimensional, and she didn't even try to become one. If she applied herself a bit more, she could just as easily become an 8th dimensional—though I suspect she doesn't want to lose what little freedom is granted to her..."
The women, Lilith, ground her teeth together from frustration at hearing his statement. How dare he compare that filthy half-breed to her, a being created straight by God?! Honestly, she takes her attention away from her husband for a LITTLE and he's already attracted to some whorish vampire woman and not only conceives a child with her, but he actually claims the daughter as his!
Thankfully that whore had died in childbirth, but the fact that he favored his child over him, his wife, was ridiculous!
A shiver overcame her spine when she saw his eyes go black, and suddenly the host was not longer simply above average; it was near the pinnacle of beauty, and even still, it was but a far cry and shadow of how beautiful her husband truly was.
It was a beautiful face full of soft and sharp angles, all of them arranged in such a way that it got as perfect as humans could reach, with dark, perfectly tousled black hair framing his face acting as a compliment, but what was most terrible and beautiful were his eyes—her husband's eyes.
Midnight and shadow on obsidian;the blackest and most and most beautiful of black. It seemed to swallow her whole, devouring her senses till all she was aware of was her horribly beautiful husband whom she shouldn't have crossed.
A graceful hand smoothly grasped and squeezed her neck tightly, the silent, cool fury of his eyes leaving Lilith worrying for the first time if she'd crossed the line.
"Darling," he purred with his voice, "mind repeating what that thought was? I could've sworn you were bashing on the Royal Princess. Treason? My, what a problematic concept from the Queen..."
Lilith choked out, "It's only treasonous because of that disgusting whore who stole you from me—"
"Funny, you make it sound as if I was ever yours. I never recall feeling what I did with her when I was with you; quite the intriguing prospect, don't you think?"
While he was talking, his hand continued to tighten around her neck savagely, a hatred thrumming beneath his calm exterior as he hissed, "But I was rather disappointed that the partner whom I'd only ever given myself to you was seeing another man, and one of my very creations of all things. I suppose the original wasn't to your taste, so you went with a knock-off version? Your lose I suppose, no?"
Lilith could no longer breath, but she still spit out, "Y-You... c-can't do-o... thi-is t-t-to m-me..."
A blank look overcame her husbands beautiful face as he replied monotonously, "My apologies, I don't mean to not condone treason. It's just, as the King and a father, I can't stand a slight to my child. You understand, right? After all, you had a "legitimate" with Baal, didn't you? I'm pretty sure he's still the 3rd prince, but do you know why?"
He brought his face closer, a sick smile overcoming his face while Lilith choked as he whispered, "It's too bothersome to remove him, but I can still get rid of him anytime—although it might be a tad more permanent, you understand? Yes? Good, now die."