The walls around us splintered and shattered like glass as we were swept away. I hit the ground with a whomping crash and skipped several times before coming to a stop. I hacked up smoke as heat wafted off my toasted skin, burnt jacket, and hair.
We were at least several hundred feet from the house, and I saw Isha burst out of the wreck, spreading a set of metallic gold wings before she dove at me.
I activated Angel Regeneration, rapidly healing my burns and growing my hair, and sent a string of Demon energy into my jacket, repairing the scorch marks as I readied myself.
I pointed my hands at Clint and Natasha, who was knocked out cold and fired a fully charged gust, pushing them away to safety. I turned Gust on full blast and turned it back on myself as I summoned Osiris as well, upping my already impressive speed of 64 to 92.
I phased just as Evasion activated. She dove through me and smashed into the ground, creating a monstrous crater. I swung Osiris before her knees even touched the ground, hoping to catch her off-guard, but she caught Osiris with her claws easily and looked up at me.
"No wonder they both failed," Isha mused out loud. "This strange energy of yours is just like your mother's. They wouldn't even know how to begin to counter it."
She swiped at me with her free hand, and I dove away, summoning back Rebellion, which had morphed to Aquila in my hands, and I fired a Round Trip at her, pushing out the technique the fastest and cheapest I've ever done it as well, at just over 20 AE.
She leaned to the side to avoid the hit and watched in fascination as it dug into the dirt, kicking up dirt with each rotation. I swiped with Aquila, feeding it energy, and six sets of spectral blades arced out in a brutal diagonal pattern.
Isha stepped back, and I closed the distance, phasing through her just as a spray of metal pinion coated in the wind reached me. Just like her Harpy Assassins, she, too, had that annoying attack, except she was easily twice as fast, with masterful Fire and Wind manipulation.
I materialized by her right just in time to chuck the pair of sonic grenades I took from the car.
She speared through them with Pinions from her wings, but they still went off anyway. With my ears stuffed, I summoned a grenade launcher and unloaded a shot into her chest. The explosion sent her skidding back, dozens of feet away from where Natasha and Clint's recovering bodies slowly stirred. In my other hand was Thunderer, which had been soaking up demonic energy this entire time.
A second grenade crashed on her crossed golden wings. The third exploded before it even reached her when a near-invisible bar of wind speared out from an opening in her wings.
It shoved back the explosion and completely evaporated the right side of my chest, literally stealing the breath from my lungs.
I choked out blood as I spiked Regeneration, turning intangible as a wall of Pinions crashed on my previous position.
Fuck me.
I'd been one-shotted before, but that was typically an ambush or a result of carelessness. This was different. Isha completely outclassed me, and I feared even Devil Trigger might not be enough to take her down.
Don't fucking give up when the battle has just begun, Dante. I had no fucking idea what I was capable of.
While intangible, I let out a roar as I activated Focused Shot for both my Grenade Launcher and Thunderer. For the first time since I broke into Adept Tier with demon energy manipulation, I felt a mental strain, trying to juggle techniques. It was like somebody took Arbiter to my skull.
Unsurprisingly, Angel Evade malfunctioned just as I finished charging both guns, flashing purple before depositing me into the waiting claws of Isha, who had a victorious smirk on her face.
Thunderer ripped through her suit in a bar of Reddish lightning, shoving her all the way back. While her body was writhing with electricity, I fired my grenade launcher. The grenade slammed hard into her like it'd been launched from a cannon. It exploded in a reddish, brackish fire that carried a familiar corrosive edge that devastated some of my earlier opponents.
I swallowed fresh gulps of air as Regeneration finished regrowing my lungs, and I inspected my resources.
Resources.
HP: 395/790
AE: 210/500
DE: 490/660
For the first time in a fight, I had more Demon Energy than Angel Energy, and I didn't have enough Red Orbs to buy another fucking Stim. I was down to my very last one after using three of the four I purchased for the Hydra mission. I had to make this last one count.
I debated injecting it right now and rushing her with Devil Trigger to finish the mission, but Isha made the decision for me. I felt a sudden breeze. Evasion blared, and for the first time since I learned the skill, I wasn't fast enough to react.
I was in the air, bones in my left hand powdered, ribcage crushed, and then it hit me.
Pain more acute than anything I've ever felt before wracked through my body and soul. And when I gathered myself, I saw that I'd been opened up shoulder to waist.
My intestines were spilling out, and the world slowed down again as Evasion activated. I Burst as quickly as I could manage, and this time, it saved me.
A wild flare of demonic energy shot out of my stomach, shoving me toward the ground, and another erupted from my calves, flipping me so I landed feet first.
With my only working hand, I stuffed my intestines in my stomach and spiked Angel Regeneration as my eyes darted around for her. With a flex of my will, I focused my Regeneration on my stomach first, taxing it to close the wound rapidly.
On a whim, I flexed my understanding of human anatomy and reached out for my Shapeshifting affinity, letting it direct the healing.
And it worked, somewhat, and I guessed that had to mostly do with having a physiology that wasn't quite human.
A great deal of energy still flowed into my arm, rapidly rejoining the bones, but more than half of it was dedicated to making sure I didn't die the second my hand came off my stomach.
I had to switch off Gust, only keeping Osiris with me just in case I needed the speed boost to react to something. It hung on my back like it did in the DMC Game. I figured this out a while by just willing it there. It worked the same way summoning the sword or switching out weapons did. I guessed it all stemmed from my weapon Vault ability.
Despite my speed boost, Isha appeared across from me faster than I could blink, clearly proving that she'd been playing with me this entire time.
Without Evasion, I wouldn't have been able to react even if I wanted to. Noting that she didn't act immediately, I summoned a Stim and jammed it into my leg when I still had the chance.
"So, that's how you keep dodging," she said idly. "Certainly a fascinating trick. You're much more developed than I expected. Varied energy manipulation without Devil Arms at your stage of development is unheard of. You sons of Sparda are something else entirely. Culling you, regardless of how promising you are, will always be the prudent choice."
I did not let myself get angry at her comment. Instead, I focused on the particulars of what was said and the her appearance.
I saw that my one-two combo had done more than just a little damage. Her suit was partially scorched in the midsection, and her stomach was still healing.
"Virgil beat you, didn't he?" I said, with a flare of my glowing red eyes. Was it risky as hell bullshitting a Cambion like this? Hell Yes. But I needed those extra precious seconds until Stim finished working its magic.
She came to a sudden halt and tried to hide it, but the look on her face was telling.
"Somebody on your side tried something stupid like trying to turn him to your side, and he stabbed them in the back when he got everything he wanted, didn't he?" I snorted. "Typical Virgil."
"How do you know that?" Isha narrowed her brows. "You've had no contact with him since you were children. We've been watching."
"Haven't you heard?" I chuckled. "I'm clairvoyant now."
She snorted. "The closest thing to a clairvoyant on this pitiful rock is the sorceress supreme. And it's more likely that she showed you. You're trying to buy time. It's not like that cocktail will save you. Even with all of your energy restored, you're no match."
"True," I agreed, which took her back somewhat. "But what's the point of taking the planet? You know we're all on the lowest rung of power in the grand scheme of things. A Celestial, a Norse God, or hell, even another Arch Demon, could rob you of everything you've worked so hard to steal? Belasco is delusional if he thinks that's not a possibility."
"You do well to hold your tongue," She snapped, flaring her eyes. "I will tolerate no disrespect against my father, especially from someone who cannot begin to fully fathom his genius. We're closer to an Ascendant than you think, and when that happens, nothing will stand in our way."
"You're oddly okay with being replaced," I said, raising a brow, "because even you must realize that mutations can be unpredictable and powerful. All it takes is one anomaly, and you could have an 'ascendant' so powerful they could break the earth if they want to. Not even your old man will be able to control them at that point. And even if that doesn't happen, what makes you think your old man won't trade you for a newer model? He's done it before?"
Isha's gaze turned icy. She'd likely had this conversation between her and her siblings.
"I take it not everyone is on board with this new world order."
"I've had enough of you," Isha said, suddenly the heat spiked several hundred degrees.
I winced but still grinned. My resources were full to the brim, and my hand was partially healed.
"One last thing before you try to kill me," I said, raising a hand. "Are they still alive? A little Russian girl and an African mutant?"
"The Cambion and the witch?" she raised a brow, then laughed. "They're at the center of all of this!"
"Thought as much," I said while switching Osiris out for Rebellion and pointing it at her. "Ready whenever you are."
My bravado made her hesitate briefly before she snorted and dashed at me.
Cloak
Devil Trigger
Reality slowed to a crawl as energy filled me.
My strength spiked, and so did my durability. Wisps of violet energy rolled off me in waves, and I caught Isha's claws with my rapidly healing hand and watched as her eyes grew wide at my sudden strength. With a vicious grin splitting my face, I spoke.
"Down!"
(Read up to Chapter 115 on Patreon.com/Artandcreativewriting)