- Death and Lucifer -
The sound of metal clashing was loud enough to drown out all other sounds.
Every swing of Death's scythe lifted Lucifer off the ground when he blocked. Every time Death would close in, Lucifer would shoot flames from the sword. The two held each other off without making any progress.
Lucifer slammed his sword against Death's scythe and caused the flames on the blade to roar stronger.
Death didn't struggle to push Lucifer off of him. He swung his scythe around his body, knocking Lucifer back. He pursued and attempted to bring the scythe blade-side down on Lucifer's shoulder.
Lucifer blocked the heavy attack, his feet sinking into the ground as he did. The scythe's blade was to his back. He knew what would come next.
Death pulled his scythe to him. Lucifer ducked under the blade and ran towards Death.
Peter was watching in horror, but not for the reason the others assumed.
'He's goin' to break the sword. I can't conjure a new one.'
Lucifer brought his sword up towards Death, and with it a tower of flame. He surrounded both of them in a ring of fire.
"Disappointing." Death said.
Death lodged the bottom of his scythe into the ground and blinked behind Lucifer.
Lucifer already had his hand pointed behind him. He shot a jet of flame at Death and immediately turned his hand to his left side and then right, shooting flames at every location Death tried to blink to.
"Predictable." Lucifer insulted.
Death was frustrated that every angle he tried to blink to was immediately met with fire. It reminded him of Amaterasu. He had no plans to blight an area over an argument, so it restricted his options.
"Who are you hoping wins?" Lao asked Yvere.
"I hope they knock each other out." She responded.
Lucifer had his own restrictions. He couldn't use his blue fire or larger attacks. He wouldn't risk his team's safety just to win.
Death blinked back by his scythe, his clothes now smoldering. He lifted the scythe from the ground. Beings had started to gather from the woods, curious about what was going on.
"You can't fight he-" The hooded woman was interrupted by the sound of Lucifer's sword slamming against Death's scythe. "Is that the Fallen Prince and Grim Reaper?" The woman questioned.
"They're havin' an argument. Just let them get it out of their systems." Peter told the woman.
Death tightened the grip around his scythe. He spun the weapon around his head fast enough to generate a wind current.
["You've done better than usual"] He complimented.
Lucifer knew what Death was doing.
'Any fire that touches his scythe will be negated. So be it then.'
Lucifer created his wings. He held his sword horizontally above his head with one hand, leaving his right hand open. He rushed forward and jabbed the sword towards Death's chest.
Death brought his scythe down in a swooping motion attempting to sever Lucifer's free arm.
Lucifer dropped his sword and grabbed onto Death's scythe as it connected with his blade. He jumped up and breathed fire at Death's head.
More hooded onlookers had come from the forest. There was now a crowd standing behind Peter asking him questions about the duel.
"Duel's code. Ya want to know ya have to fight them yourselves." He responded to the questioning group.
Death released his grip on his scythe and blinked backward. He held his hand to his smoke-covered face. For a moment Lucifer's father flashed in his mind, enraging him.
Lucifer kicked his sword back into his hands. He didn't expect what came next.
["LUCIFER!"] Death roared so loud the entire crowd covered their ears.
'I'm a fool for wanting to fight the old you.' Lucifer thought, now feeling a sense of fear creep into his mind.
Death rapidly blinked all around Lucifer creating after images. His anger was misplaced, he knew that, and yet it didn't stop him from doing what he did.
Lucifer flew up, dropping his sword and listening for Death to follow. He had one hand pointed behind him and one aimed above him. He was ready to strike the moment he heard anything.
Death leaped from the ground and twisted his hand around Lucifer's leg. Lucifer hit him with a blast of fire, but noticed him disappearing immediately. Death appeared behind him and ripped a chunk of one of his wings out before getting blasted away.
Lucifer started to fall. He returned his wings and spun himself into a ball of fire. He landed on his feet and sent out the flames around him, scorching a large circular area from his landing point. He went to reposition his hands and felt Death's hand punch clear through his stomach.
"DUEL OVER!" Lao and Yvere yelled so loud they nearly split their throats.
Peter rushed over with flames and kept one hand ready to fire at Death.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Peter shouted.
Death looked down at Lucifer who coughed up blood on his arm. He pulled his arm from Lucifer's stomach.
"I...I didn't mea-" Death was interrupted.
Lucifer pointed his palm at Death and shot a massive blast of blue fire at him. Death blinked out of the way.
"We're ev-" Lucifer coughed up more blood. "-en. Fuck." He held his stomach.
Lao and Yvere rushed over. Lao shot a dirty look to Death. Yvere's eyes shifted nervously from Death to the hole in Lucifer's stomach. Lucifer sat down. He wasn't in danger of dying, but he knew how this looked.
"We both took it too far. Don't suddenly act afraid of him. I've had my fair share of almost-lethal mistakes in a duel."
Yvere closed up Lucifer's hole and repaired his broken leg. She drained some mana from him after healing. She and Lao both worried that they should have stopped the match sooner.
"You both did a good job. We're the only ones to blame for what happened." Lucifer assured the two healers.
Peter walked past Death and grabbed the sword from the ashen ground. He kept his vision low as he walked. Death had transformed back into his normal form. His robe was covered in burns that revealed his darkened skin. His face had a small patch of melted skin.
Peter gave a hand to Lucifer and lifted him up.
"Go heal him. I know you're upset, but he's still a member of our team. If I can forgive him you should be able to." Lucifer told Lao and Yvere.
As the two healers went over to Death, Peter glared at Lucifer.
"Ya told me to mind my limitations, how about ya remember that next time ya throw yourself at an ancient?" Peter berated.
"Sorry." Lucifer apologized and put his hand on Peter's shoulder before walking past him. He met eyes with Death who was being healed by Yvere. He held his hand out and Death shook it.
"What was that?" Lucifer mouthed.
["I'd rather not say. I never meant to use it against a friend."]
The two let go of each other's hands and walked back to the campsite. They both noticed the crowd peering at them from the trees.
"Elves and their hearing. I'm sure we have a long line of questions waiting for us when we travel through there in the morning." Lucifer said.
"Let's just be happy they don't appear to be angry with us." Death said.
The two hadn't forgiven each other. They both simply decided to suppress their frustrations for now. Death felt guilty about his attack against Lucifer, and Lucifer felt ashamed that he let his emotions lead him into such a serious duel.
"What do we do about this alliance?" Lucifer asked.
"I'll contact Hades and ask him his thoughts on it. I'll try contacting Milu, though I don't expect her to answer. I'm sure Hel will answer, but you know how she is." Death sighed.
'I'll leave Yama alone for now. That problem is probably the easiest to solve.'
"It's uncertain. I hate that this is going on at the same time as the resistance movement." Death clenched his fist.
"What are you going to do if you find out the unknown is responsible for this?" Lucifer asked. "It's unlikely, but it is currently the only thing that stands out as a reason for this alliance suddenly working."
Death stopped.
"I can't say what I'll do when I meet them. I just know that right now I'm in less of a mood for discussion."
Lucifer stopped and thought to himself.
'For you to speak like that you must really be angry. I wonder how much of that is because of me?'
"Whatever happens happens. I've always felt like this world's peace was held together by tape. Our part of the world is only peaceful because of you, Heaven's army, and Satan. As many problems as we all have with each other, we need to remember what matters most."
"Keeping humanity safe." Death said.
"Their kind don't deserve to suffer because of the whims of a bunch of petulant gods." Lucifer sneered.