- Saint, Death, Lucifer -
Lucifer wanted to help Saint, but he was scared that he might draw Death's aggression. He thought it would be better if he waited and only stepped in if it seemed like Saint was about to lose.
Death rapidly blinked to Saint. He was on her in a moment, gripping his hand around her throat and lifting her off the ground. He was readying to slam her down when he felt both her feet kicking into him. The blow was strong enough to send him back once more.
What followed looked like a white light crashing against a shadow. Death had strength and speed, Saint had technique. Their fight started to destroy the resistance's evacuated headquarters, causing the sound of breaking stone to fill the air.
Death grabbed Saint's arm and threw her through multiple huts. He appeared above her, attempting to stomp her face. She dodged the attack and struck Death's smoke hidden face. She exchanged blows with him, striking him in the face or side as he hit her in the face, breaking her healing jaw with every hit.
Lucifer kept following their movements. He had shifted from being ready to step in, to now making sure no one else was nearby. As worried as he was for his own safety, he knew any normal being could easily be killed by what was happening.
Saint's body went flying through more huts. Death followed up, grabbing the back of her head and shoving her face into the ground. Lucifer thought she was losing, but before he could fly down he noticed her strike her palm against Death's stomach, sending him airborne.
Saint stood up. Her torn up face and clothes restored back to normal. Her expression showed no signs of defeat. She placed both hands together, closed her eyes, and stood still.
Death blinked back down and got ready to hit her. As he reached his hand towards her she deflected his wrist away. He kept trying to grab or strike, but every attempt was met with a parry. He started to grow frustrated and decided to just rush her.
As Death rushed towards Saint she sent an uppercut into his chin. She stepped forward and stomped her foot onto his. What followed looked like a boxer fighting a wicked version of their shadow.
Saint and Death struck one another, with Saint receiving more visible damage, while Death was receiving more blows. The exchange was quick, but to Lucifer it had felt like an eternity. He genuinely couldn't tell who was winning, or how much longer this fight would go on.
Eventually, Death pulled his foot out from Saint's. He had been holding back, causing the fight to go against his favor. His last shred of sense fell out of his mind. He was finishing this, even if he needed to almost kill her to do it. His body seemed to vibrate with afterimages.
The look of Death's body had assured Lucifer that he needed to step in now. He saw Saint put a hand up towards him. He couldn't believe she was seriously thinking about taking on what was in front of her. He already felt guilty for relying on her to help, and now he thought he might have gotten her killed.
Death struck at Saint, not like someone trying to punch, but like a beast trying to tear at its prey. Every swipe of his hand would tear off a chunk of her body.
Death's swipes were fast and powerful, but predictable. Saint used this fact to avoid the more compromising damage. It was clear to her that Death wasn't aiming to kill her, regardless of how mortal every one of her injuries looked. She wasn't as fast, and she needed to do something more drastic if she wanted this fight to actually end. As she was planning, one of Death's attack swiped across her face, taking her eye and a large piece of her cheek with it. She was undeterred by the damage and kept defending.
Death was rushing Saint down. Every step back she made, he made two steps forward. With every deflected attack, at least one was landing. The strip of land they were fighting on was slowly turning a mix of red and black. The scene was gruesome, and one Lucifer was grateful that no one else had to see.
Saint was moving towards an end goal. She knew what she had to do, and was ready to do it. It would seem like she was retreating, while the look on her face seemed unflinchingly confident. She stepped in, letting Death rip his hand through her stomach and out of her back. She grabbed the hand and pushed forward with all her strength, toppling the two.
Before Death could push her off she roared.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!"
The white left her arms as she slammed both hands into Death's chest. It sounded as if a small earthquake went off when her hands connected, causing Death's body to almost bounce off the ground. She struck her palms against his chest over and over again as he ripped his hand out of her, nearly cutting her in half.
Saint didn't have the speed or strength to match Death. What she does have though is durability. If it becomes a fight of who lasts longer, she wins. With every strike of the palm she felt herself get angrier. One upside to this awful situation was that it happened to be the perfect therapy for her. Fueled by anger, she kept Death pinned to the ground with palm strikes, not giving him the chance to do anything other than rip at her flesh with his hands.
Lucifer couldn't believe what he was watching. Saint looked like she should have been killed multiple times over, with Death ripping out large handfuls of regrowing flesh and cloth with every swipe of his arms. For all the damage Saint had been sustaining, she still seemed to be winning.
'What are you two?' He wondered, his eyes glued to the horrifying brawl below.
"WAKE!" She struck his chest. "UP!" Strike. "BEFORE!" Strike. "I!" Strike. "KILL!" Strike. "YOU!" Strike
Death's body was sunken into the ground. Saint kept striking until Death's arms stopped moving. She wasn't actually worried about killing him, only that he would keep fighting until she had to seriously consider the possibility. She got off of him and stood over his body.
"Enough!" She yelled. "Come to your senses or just stay down!" Her lower arms regained their white energy.
Death's hands twitched. He could still move, but his mind had its sensibility beaten back into it. His form returned to normal. He looked around at the blood, and then the pieces of flesh he had ripped off of Saint. He could stand, but felt too ashamed to.
"What have I done?" He mumbled.
"Lost," She leaned over him, offering a hand as the white energy faded. "Now stand up. We need to get going."
Death took her hand. She pulled him up and started to heal him. He kept staring at the horror story around them. It looked like a dozen beings had been flayed.
"I'm...I'm sorry," His tone was shaky.
"Apologize to Lucifer," She sighed. "I'm sure you came closer to killing him than me."
The restoration of Death's body was excruciating. His chest had effectively been caved in, and the rest of his body felt more broken bones than not. The feeling of his shattered bones being healed made it difficult for him to stay still. He gritted his teeth and dealt with it. He felt he deserved far worse than what he got.
It didn't take long for Saint to fully restore Death's body. She sighed and started to walk back. Everything that had happened made her seriously consider whether she should stay with the group or leave. She decided that she shouldn't let what happened cloud her own sensibilities. She did know one thing for certain, she was asking for far more from the guild than what she initially planned.
Death went back to Hrom, assuring the two that he wasn't going to leave in the other direction. He rode up next to Saint.
"Please let me give you a ride..." He asked. "After this is all over I'll make sure to stay out of your life."
Saint jumped up onto the back of Hrom. She faced off the creature sideways, keeping one hand on the back of Death's robe. She looked up at Lucifer. Her anger with him for throwing her at Death had subsided. She was actually thankful that he did. Had Death gotten away on Hrom, there would have been no chance either could catch him.
"Just go..." She said. "You should feel lucky that none of the humans saw you. Most of them fear you because of the stories of that form. Trust me, if you ever show them that "fabled" side of you, they'll fear you till the day they die, no matter what you do or say.
"I know..." Death answered. "Unfortunately, I don't think I'll have a choice in the coming war." He gave a sideways glance to Lucifer.
'How many times are you going to forgive me? I don't deserve your trust.'
"You're luckier than you know," Saint said. "Can't think of many beings that would rush to help you like Lucifer. Except for a few."
"Please don't compare them," Death sighed. "I just wish my "luck" didn't come at the misfortune of others."
"That's often what luck is," Saint chuckled. "You win while someone else loses."
Lucifer thought it was weird that he saw Saint smiling with Death. He couldn't understand why she would possibly smile after what just happened.
Death knew why Saint was acting friendly. It was something he would tell Lucifer about someday, much, much later. Until then, he would just enjoy the moment while he could, knowing full well that his fighting wasn't over, and that after this he and Saint would go their separate ways.