Malvvosia spun through the air dramatically and landed gently on a crenulation, the strength in her legs able to support her weight and absorb the force of the landing with such ease it appeared as though she was landing in slow motion. She cackled and leaped to another crenulation, her anticipation waiting for a possible fight had made her somewhat giddy and she had no qualms with others seeing it. Preparing to jump once more Malvvosia suddenly stopped and stood up straight, holding herself stiff but for the hand that held her gun which began to spasm and shake erratically.

At the same time, the hound turned his head, gaze fixing to a point far in the distance. Its nostrils flared, and a deep, rumbling growl reverberated from within its chest as it bared its teeth.

“Do you smell that Cerberus? Oooh, you simply must with a nose that big. It's on the wind, can you not smell it?” Malvvosia’s entire body began to shake, her smile grew massive and her human appearance began to undulate and ripple as she struggled to maintain the facade. Though she had described the sensation she felt as smell, in reality it was something no other being could experience in the same way as her. She could feel the rage inside all beings at all times, feel it as though it was a part of her being. ”Ohhh what rage this is, like a horde of insane men driven into a frenzy! It is thick in the air, like the al’mighty asshole himself poured syrup over the world. Can you smell it?!” A piercing cry echoed through the clearing, Malvvosia turned her head towards the sound a moment after the horde of demons broke from the forest and charged the wall. The gleeful demon cackled loudly as she observed the approach of the horde, more amused by the unnatural hunger and ravenousness of the group than concerned by it. “Look at them! Smell them! Oh the unfettered hunger, the rage! Let us take our fill of the battle my friend, and once the horde is suitably crushed we shall have to find who, or whatever, was able to do this so that I may shake their hand! If they even have a hand that is.” Malvvosia looked back over her shoulder at the massive dog behind her “Coming?” The question was asked with the lighthearted unconcern normally reserved for requesting to walk to the store, or through a peaceful park.

The threat in the dog’s stance stood in deep contrast to the demoness’s casual tone. It could even be said to be excessive for the opposition they faced. Which made his next question seem even stranger. “You claimed you wished to protect these humans?”

A rare moment of seriousness took over Malvvosia and she turned away from the approaching danger to properly face her ally. “Yes,” was all she said in response to the beast.

The demon huffed. “Then I shall leave you to that,” he said, a moment before leaping off the ramparts towards the charging enemy.

It took a moment for Malvvosia to realize the implications of the demon hounds words, that he would not be joining her in the fight. Excited as she was at the fight she was moments away from partaking in, she still held off long enough to call after the charging beast “And just where do you think you’re going, Cerberus?!”

Had she called out after another, the words may have been lost in the wind, but the dog had sharp ears. When the question reached them, the beast let out a bark of laughter. “Is it not obvious, Crone?” He roared.

“To shake hands!”

Unbeknownst to Malvvosia, the hound had recently found himself in a similar situation during the battle for the previous seal, charging heedless into a demonic mob in search of one of the keys that would lead to their goal. While back then some of the demons had had enough sense in them to scramble out of the way, the horde racing towards the city was madenned beyond fear. In that last outing, however, the hound himself had been under orders to keep his fire in check.

No such command had been given to him this time.

Before crashing into the vanguard, the beast drew breath, the space between his scales emitting a threatening glow. A torrent of fire erupted from the hound’s maw, swallowing the demons in front of him even as he charged headlong into the enemy.

And then he was in the midst of the horde. Those engulfed by the flame shrieked, too blind by either the pain or the light to do more than be trampled underfoot. A few others parted from his path, a primal instinct directing them away from the tongue of fire. Most simply leapt forward at the hound’s passing in an attempt to clamber on to him.

Those who managed to find purchase on his hide soon found their grasping limbs bursting into flames, the heat emanating from the scales searing the unprotected flesh until they slipped off. Those who stubbornly held on even then screamed as scalding metal chains wrapped around their bodies, carelessly tossing them at the surrounding mob. And still the hound spewed fire to clear the path before it.

He had almost cleared the mob when the gout of flame sputtered. The final ranks of creatures contracted in a last-ditch effort to contain the giant that had plunged into their midst, but at the last moment, the hound leapt into the air, prodigious strength carrying his large body well past the remaining rearguard.

A few loping strides further, and he disappeared into the treeline with a crunch of splintering wood.

As for the horde of berserk demons, those simply surged forwards, their numbers closing and trampling over the wounded in their rush to reach the walls. Soon, the only visible remainder of the hound’s incursion was a streak of charred and broken bodies left forgotten in the mob’s advance.

*********************************************************************************

Malvvosia leapt from atop the wall and plummeted towards the ground, her form changing along the way while she fired her gun into the charging horde. Once her clawed feet hit the ground she immediately pushed off, aiming herself towards her prey. As she soared across the ground she saw a large boulder ahead of her she was about to pass and had a sudden burst of inspiration. Her whip manifested in her hand and as she passed the large rock her whip came alive and coiled itself around it. Malvvosia continued to travel a little longer, her unnatural whip growing in length all the while. When she began to lose momentum from her initial push off she slammed her feet into the ground and heaved with her whp arm, adding the last remnants of her momentum into her swing. The large boulder popped free of the earth creating a shower of dirt and pebbles. It arked through the air with great speed, flying past the demoness that had freed it and through several dozen members of the ravenousness horde before returning to its place in the ground. Taking advantage of the path she had just cleared Malvvosia pushed off from the ground again and landed upon the boulder, now in the middle of the enraged army.

Being the closest target now that Fenn had left the area the majority of demons turned inwards and rushed towards the demoness, clawing and climbing over each other in an attempt to be the first to sink their teeth into the shadowy form of their foe. Rather pleased with the whole situation Malvvosia put her gun away, deciding that matters required a hands on approach. With one clawed hand balled into a tight fist, and the other hand tightly gripping her whip, the demoness wadded into the fight. Each punch that landed would shatter bones (if the thing being hit even had any that is) and send the crippled corpse flying backwards or into the air. As she attacked she also kept moving, slipping through openings or making her own so that she could move to a new place on the battlefield. As she moved around her whip grew in length and trailed behind her creating a barbed lead one could follow to track her path through the crowd. Like a deranged seamstress, Malvvosia weaved her way through the throng, her whip as her thread and her fists as her needle.

As her whip neared the limit of its growth Malvvosia leapt into the air away from the horde and landed between it and the wall, an area that was becoming increasingly smaller even with both her and the gunners efforts. Malvvosia dug her claws into the ground, stiffened her legs so that she became like a pillar of stone, and with both hands pulled her whip. Countless demons were grabbed by barbs, or caught in loops created by the whip, and all were pulled together into a massive ball held together by the deadly tendril. The demoness continued to pull and her whip dug into the bodies it had ensnared. With one final mighty heave the whip sliced through the bodies, the hundreds of barbs acting like saw teeth, and left a pile of eviscerated corpses on the ground.

Malvvosia made to wade back into the fight but noticed some of the horde had made it to the wall and were beginning to climb it. As her whip was still at its maximum length Malvvosia willed it to wrap and ensnare the group that fell upon their eviscerated allies. Once again the demoness pulled, forcing the caught demons into a ball, but instead of killing them as she had the last group unlucky enough to become caught in her barbs, she heaved and swung the group through the air like a wrecking ball. The demon ball slammed into the demons climbing the wall with such force that even those who were not hit directly were still thrown from the wall. Under normal circumstances Malvvosia would have immediately gone back to battle once the wall was clear of prey, she would have charged back in as she cackled with glee and slaughtered her way through the seemingly endless buffet of enemies. But she was there to protect the humans, so instead she took a moment to observe the battlefield and determine if her usual preference for fighting would actually help or hinder. Though she had managed to keep the majority of the horde away from the section of wall she had been fighting in front of, the rest of the wall was still in great danger. The impressive turrets atop the wall were powerful, but because of their angle they could only shoot a relatively small section of demons at a time. The guns were slaughtering countless demons, but the sheer numbers were clearly winning out. Had the turrets been at ground level they would have easily sliced through the entire army before it even made it halfway to the wall. It was then that Malvvosia had another sudden burst of inspiration: she swung her demon wrecking ball through some of the horde that had gotten too close for comfort while she was thinking then retracted her whip back to it’s normal size, the action mixed with the barbs acted like a chainsaw and cut up the demon ball. Malvvosia pushed off from the ground and landed back on the crenulations she had been dancing upon a little while ago. She quickly made her way to the closest turret and gently plucked the human manning it off, placing them carefully off to the side. She then grabbed ahold of the turret and began to pull, trying to rip it free from the wall. The sheer weight of the machine coupled with how secure it was to the wall made it almost impossible even for Malvvosia. The demoness quickly glanced at the horde, they would be at the wall any moment and she did not have the luxury to take too waste time. Though she was not happy about it, she realized her true form would be required for the task.

Malvvosia’s shadowy form collapsed inwards, her shadows solidifying, creating a blackened glassy seed floating in the air. The seed pulsated and new limbs pushed their way outward, stretching the skin of the seed. Once her transformation was complete Malvvosia’s true form was revealed to those atop the wall. The upper half of her body was that of a four armed woman with hair that wistfully defied gravity as if in water, and her lower half belonged to the form of a monstrous spider covered in massive spines. From within the spines on her back came a powerful heat that caused the humans nearby to back away if they had not already. Malvvosia grabbed the turret once more, this time with four arms, and dug all eight of her pointed legs into the stone of the wall. With one sharp tug the turret came free and with a push from all eight legs that turned the stone beneath her into rubble both the demoness and the turret flew into the air. The demon spider, turret in hands, landed in the midst of the swarm, the force of the fall crushing any who were unfortunate enough to find themselves beneath her. Wasting no time Malvvosia once more dug her legs into the ground and began to fire the massive turret. As expected, the rounds from the mighty gun tore through the demons with ease and would only slow after they had pierced several dozen bodies.

The recoil of the gun was fierce without the strength of the wall to counteract it; Malvvosia was more than strong enough to aim the massive firearm, but the dirt she had planted herself in was not as suited for the task and the demoness found herself being pushed backwards. Normally being forced back was something to be avoided, but under the circumstances it proved helpful as the demons behind her who did not move out of the way would be pierced by the massive spines on her back. As the displaced turret took care of the army in front of her, her spiny abdomen took care of those behind her. When the bodies impaled on her spines became too much she would vigorously shake her backend, sending the impaled bodies flying off as well as shredding any creature that stood too close. In addition to her spiny defences, the scorching heat that emanated from Malvvosia proved to be just as dangerous for her attackers. Her mere presence scorched the immediate area around her, igniting stray plants and weeds; a fate shared by those who foolish enough to get too close.

The attacking force quickly decreased in size, what was once a massive horde that emanated rage so powerfully it made the air feel thick with it, was rapidly becoming a pitiful and impotent thing that stood no chance at breaching the wall.

Following a bunch of oversized spiders through a jungle island would have been a strange point in the experience of a demon hunter, let alone a smith, but here Souta was. He trudged dutifully after the broodlings, kicking through undergrowth where necessary, until their scuttling led the misfit trio to an elevated area of thin soil and wind-worn piles of rock. His face grew dubious as the miniature demon-spiders soon abandoned their tracking for the sake of a rather vicious squabble. Souta heaved a sigh, looking around at the scenery for any kind of monsters until a sudden thututututut drew his attention. Snapping his head back to the broodlings, he spotted a cluster of long spikes in the ground, and their source turned up a moment later.

An unsettling emanation radiated from the demons, but whatever the color of their leakage, Souta wasn't too concerned. After the kind of things he'd seen in the Undersky and on that forgotten island, these beasts left much to be desired in the realm of intimidation. Snarling and scrabbling the Assaults converged on the intruders, and like a batter at the plate Souta wound himself up and waited for just the right moment, until...whack! Without any regard to limiting his strength the stocky man heaved his newly-gained Mountain Buster in a horizontal arc, aiming to drive its pointed head into the demon's body. While the brutal impact alone might have very well been enough to put it down for good, Souta didn't get the chance to find out. The next second the weapon's stake extended and, on impact, unleashed a small but savage explosion to hurl whatever remained away

Carried almost off his feet by the weapon's weight, Souta found himself too occupied to express satisfaction in his armament's first use, and instead stumbled forward. Another attack came straight on the heels of the first, obliging Souta to aim a kick at the Assault to fend it off before he heaved the Mountain Buster into position for another swing. A thought flashed through his mind. Man, am I glad that I've been mostly fighting dumb beasts so far. This stuff wouldn't fly against a real opponent.

Ferrus noticed that Vega appeared to be hesitant to battle the changling and he wasn't sure to as of why. Perhaps he was actually scared of it? Was this figure really that dangerous? And god forbid that he'd have a secret agenda to backstab him with his help. Either way, he couldn't help but to push him along for the ride.

"What's the matter?" the fiery Ferrus asked humorously, "Scared of a little demon or something?"

His captive began to stammer, who rather than fighting the actual demon, wanted to battle the other minions that formed around him. He even claimed to not be a natural fighter, which the primarch simply scoffed at.

"Then why is everyone at camp so scared of you?" he replied, before dropping it completely with an annoyed sigh, "Don't answer that - Very well. Just stay close to me and don't get far."

Already the looming figure was upon them, who looked down at the two with purple glowing eyes in a devilish glare. Ferrus had to admit, while he faced many ugly and terrifying demons along with his brother, he'd never quite seen a demon of this caliber before. The energy it gave off was distinctly unique and his presence felt cold and unmoving. This was definitely no ordinary demon, but Ferrus believed that if they can kill it now, they won't have to worry about it later. Yet he knows nothing about who this figure actually is and the consequences he may bring upon his captive. He approached the dark figure confidently while pointing his flaming sword straight at him.

"My my, aren't you a hideous thing!" he boomed confidently as he glared back at the demon with equal resolve, "And yeah - I'm the heavenly fly that's attracted to your demonic shit. It's kinda my job really."

The demon had already began to taunt the primarch.

"Now ain't that awkward just standing there in plain sight with that big ol' red and white armor, now shuffle outta there like some bad kiddie who shit their pants, if you wanna fight just come at me already."

Before Ferrus could have a chance to charge, the demon focused its attention to Servin in a cackling fit of glee

"Oh? Oh? And who's there there too? Sevrin they called you? Ahahahahahaha! I must say thanks, maybe if you don't piss me off I'll let you off, I'm not nearly as bad as you guys think, besides that body's useless to me now, but those fancy tools might be worth coming back for later."

Ferrus paused once the demon mentioned the word "body". He issued a quick glance at Servin before something clicked in his head. Was this the demon that attempted to corrupt his captive's body and forced him into the monster that his allies had warned him about? He wasn't too sure - as Servin never mentioned its name - but if it indeed was the demon that made "Vega", then they were already fighting a very powerful and dangerous foe. If it corrupts his captive once again, then not only will he fail the mission, but their leading guide into the realm of Mundas' lair will also be gone. This must be why Servin was so hesitant, if it turns out to be true. The stakes here were high, perhaps a bit too high, but even has the corrupted Assaults and Scarecrows began to surround them and the figure continuing to taunt them into submission, Ferrus had to try just for a minute to test his opponent's strength. Just a little bit of info can go a long way in beating him in the long run. But still, they definitely shouldn't be here for too long.

With a cocky smirk, Ferrus plunged his flaming sword into the ground, causing a Magma Pulse to set back the closest minions to him. He'd then quickly lunge towards the demon as he swiped his sword to unleash a barrage of Scorching Bullets towards him.

The approaching Assaults were taken down fairly easily... Or so it seemed, as their bodies were chunked, they kept moving with unchanging ferocity. Even missing a head they continued onwards. On the other hand, compared the precision-based solutions of Gideon, the more brutal solutions of Wrath and Souta were more effective at stopping them. Their bodies split in two, still moving, were considerably slower, and Souta almost completely shattered the one that chose to rush him, decidedly ending it, while Wrath and Gideon were left to either finish off what was left.

They had to finish them quickly though, the larger one with the same corruption was beginning to edge out of the forest, though it's mass seemed more like mashed up flesh then a coherent beast. Yet here it was, somehow a coherent beast. Regardless it seems they've found out something about how these beasts work... One thing was clear though, they were most certainly already dead, and moving purely with just what they assume is Vega's demonic power.

---

Despite their... Contrasting powers, and their differences, the angel and demon's attacks were more than simply effective. The flash freeze and flash fire following it, with the force and penetration of the spears caused a majority of the golem to shatter spectacularly, in a flurry of frozen stone, or molten rock. Those closer would even be met with a great shockwave to blast them back, and enough to cause the party to falter, yet it was a very decisive strike, leaving the core of the golem more than simply vulnerable, almost entirely exposed and even a bit damaged by the blast itself. There was ample time to finish it off here. The shockwave knocking away even some stones it would've used to reconstitute itself.

Yet of course, they couldn't become complacent, this golem was essentially immortal until it's core was exposed, and while they could do the same thing again, it was a pretty specific setup. Had they used a different combination of attacks, they probably could not replicate this.

---

The men on the walls with their guns just watched in awe as the two demons below, not only fighting each other for kills, also massacred the oncoming demons... Many of which with jaws open and were too transfixed on watching the carnage...

"What are you all doing?! Give them covering fire!", the soldiers snapped out of it and fired at demons on the outliers. As they learned from previous charges, aim to stop them first, because it seems they can continue on without heads or even most of their bodies. Which didn't really mater at all to Mavvlosia and Fenn, who completely with their attacks obliterated their targets. The rapid ripping and powerful strikes of the female demon, and the hellhound whose jaws and claws shredded anything they came into contact with. It was a beautifully brutal display. Truly they were some of the top demons Hell had to offer.

Soon the waves would approach the other parts of the wall and they would need to adjust, not too much of a problem, as the horde began to wane.

Fenn however would charge deeper into the forests ahead, on the trail of a familiar scent, yet as he did and pursued, striking down demons, he would find nothing but the truth to how these demons were formed. Coming into a clearing, there were a large number of slain demons, fresh, very fresh. Yet amidst their blood, he could not tell where the scent of Vega led anymore, just that he was here. Before he could dismiss this and head back, he noticed that the corpses left behind began to stand up, the familiar, purple energy rising up from them before wrapping and taking the place of their wounds, reconstituting them... It was clear to Fenn now what and who was responsible for these unique abominations. Yet as he watched them he heard shrieks amidst the trees... Another wave was coming for the wall. He could head back now and help with the defense, or slaughter these fresh ones, yet there were many, and that may take some time.

---

Sevrin stepped back to give Ferrus some room as he watched him make his decision. So he would charge Vega head on? Personally, Sevrin had no idea how strong he was at all. He could simply be speaking big, but based on evidence, it can be assumed that Vega has sufficient demonic power restored to go into direct confrontations, and without any of the limitations of a physical body to boot, very different from when Sevrin was possessed. During which, he was both weak in demonic power, and was limited by his body's strength. Relying mainly on the Devil Arms he had stolen to fight on par with others. Here though...

As Ferrus made his charge, the demons were set back, screeching with rage as a molten wall forced them to step away. Vega gave an amused face before his visage was erased by the flaming angel's blasts of fire, sent straight from his sword. Dust blew up around him, it seemed to work, for a moment, until Vega's voice rang out,

"Hahahahaah! I like you! So you're gonna pay for the meal yourself, what a gentleman", the dust cleared in an instant as what appeared to be a jet black wing flapped it away, called forth by Vega, before disappearing. Though black... It was clearly that of an angel's, and not like the demons who imitate the visage of angels either. There was no time to properly confirm this, as it was only visible for but a short glimpse, disappearing into his cloak.

As soon as Ferrus was back in stance, the demons he had warded off earlier were jumping him. Before he could respond himself, they were soundly slashed out of the air. It was Sevrin, having jumped into the air with Kerberos and slashing them with the knives.

"I'll take care of them, you just... Try not to get us killed", Sevrin clearly thought this was a bad idea, but it'd be worse to leave Ferrus behind. Afterall doing so would also put him under great suspicion, coming back alone and all. He sighed briefly before he prepared himself for the rest.

"Kuahahahahaha! Well then you heard the man, try not to get yourselves killed", Vega raised a hand at Ferrus, beckoning him tauntingly.

Fenn continued his inexorable pursuit through the forest with nary a thought for the obstacles in his way. The earth and trees in his wake bore marks of his advance in the form of deep gouges where his claws had sunk, broken tree branches, bent trunks, and large scores in numerous trunks where coarse black scales had brushed against them.

The hound had locked into a singular scent, one he had felt before, faintly, at the site where he had first seen the destruction of a Seal. One that had once again been present when a thin blade had split his hide and torn his stomach open. The scent was stronger now, burrowing into his snout with a numbing intensity. It reminded him of the sickeningly sweet stench of rot.

It was in his mouth now too.

Along with broken tree branches, his path was littered with the bodies of the crazed demons, where they had accosted him in his path. The hound had answered with fangs, claws and monstrous strength, and many of the creatures left behind were now missing limbs, or had had their bodies bent at impossible angles. A good number had not even been killed, left instead to squirm and cry piteously in their broken bodies, but the hound hardly cared.

The sickly scent may have been wafting from them, but they were not its source.

Even as he had been forced to slow down his approach to accommodate for his bulky frame amidst the trees, it did not take long for Fenn to reach the scene of the carnage.

Numerous demons lay dead inside the clearing, haphazardly strewn about wherever they had fallen. The corpses were covered in wounds, the still fresh blood splattered over their surroundings seeping into the forest floor. The cloying scent he had followed mixed with that of the charnel, stagnating in the air over the clearing and giving it a dense, viscous quality, almost as though he was breathing in mud.

The hound marched to the center of the clearing, senses attuned to his surroundings. If his prey was to be found in the vicinity, however, it had concealed itself capably.

An irritated growl built inside the demon’s throat. “I know you can hear me, snake!” he challenged, powerful voice sweeping over the still surroundings. “You who sunk your fangs in me before you shed your skin! Face me, so I may return the favor!”

Outside the hound’s field of view, there was movement. Three of the demons that until then had been as corpses stirred. Darkness cloaked one of them, a black cloud lifting it above the ground, while the other reptilian monsters brought their limbs under them and began to creep forward. From underneath the cloaked demon’s darkness, a single, clawed appendage was raised with a sharp talon pointed at the back of the hound’s neck.

It the blink of an eye, it had stretched and covered the distance.

But rather than soft flesh, it was caught in Fenn’s fangs. A baleful eye stared back at the small demons as steaming blood began to drip where the blade was being held.

The two reptilian demons shrieked, surging forward. Fenn turned to face them, roughly pulling at the cloaked demon by its talon. With a heavy wrench of his head, he smashed it to the ground, the blade finally snapping from the force. Fenn swatted away the first of the smaller demons with his tail as he turned, but as the other jumped forward over it, the hound brought up one of his tree-trunk arms, snagging it off the air.

Without stopping, Fenn raised it over his head and leapt at the cloaked demon. Dazed from the previous impact, it barely had a chance to look up before the combined weight of Fenn’s fist and the squirming demon in his grasp fell over it with a meaty crunch.

The two creatures shrieked and squirmed as he held them under his weight, motes of flame beginning to gather where he held them. Finally, with a snarl, the hound pressed down. A detonation rocked the clearing, fire spreading from its center.

There, the hound turned, bringing his weight away from the charred remains. Where since he had arrived at the human’s settlement all that had adorned his scales were the chains affixed to his arms, orange flames now rose and flickered over his fur, bristling like raised hackles.

The hound spat the remains of the cloaked demon's bladed talon, and snarled furiously as he saw more of the corpses rise, the cloying scent growing in intensity the moment the purple poison seeped into the bodies. From beyond the confines of the clearing, he could hear the screeches of more demons rising, the forest coming alive with their cries, yet his quarry still did not show itself.

“COWARD!” Fenn howled. “It shall be known that the dreaded architect of the Seals’ destruction quails at the thought of facing a single hound!”

When all he received in response to his taunt were the howls of the newly revived creatures, the hound’s expression grew darker. His lips moved, the words now low and grave, if no less filled with menace. “Very well, then. I shall leave nothing left of this place for you to hide in.”

The ground under the corpses glowed for but a moment before plumes of fire rose from under them.

From afar, smoke and flame could be seen beginning to rise from the forest, the unchecked fires brought about by the demon beginning their rapid spread.

A thought had Lily's fiery body turn ethereal, losing its physicality for long enough that the explosion and debris passed through her with no harm done, and in front of Cassandra materialised a rose coloured, transluscent barrier of her own making. The result of her and the angel's attacks had been unexpected. She had anticipated a guardian of this place to be durable enough to not simply shatter at alternating temperatures.

But contemplation could come later. Smaller bits of the scattered boulders were already starting to remake the golem. She turned to Cassandra, barking the order to finish it.

But she hadn't needed to. The half-demon already had an arm outstretched, a vast mass of mist at her finger tips. From it formed a spear, thick as her leg and over twice her height in its length. It hovered at her side, the broad head gleamed in the sun as Cassandra's gaze spotted the exposed core.

Eyes narrowing, she murmured a word. "Gáe." In one, fluid motion she whipped her arm forwards, the spear following as if thrown from her hand. "Bolg!" A huge spear, for a huge opponent. Crafted and torn from myths and legends itself, Cassandra sent forward the spear of mortal pain and death, straight for the heart of the golem.

Wrath moved back into the Assaults, having replaced both Rage Bringer and his crossbow to their places of storage and flicked free the claws on his Wrath Dealers and was dancing a very dangerous dance with a pair of the lizards, delivering bladed jabs and deadly left hooks where he could. While Rage Bringer would have allowed him to focus more on taking down as many of the undead demons as he could at one time, but they'd already proven that they didn't much care about wider attacks that could hit multiple, so he opted for a more accurate form of attack, aiming for vitals with his Wrath Dealers that Rage Bringer might have missed.

"Anyone else," Wrath ducks a swipe from an Assault and counters it by grabbing the offenders head and slamming it into the ground, shattering it, "think undead demons is some kind of oxymoron?" He hopped back from another swipe and then dashed back in the short distance, unleashing a partially charged Serrated Uppercut and putting an end to the creature. The large one was out of the forest now, which meant they were running out of time.

Gideon continued his assault on the waining lizard monsters, quickly using his pistols to wipe away at the approaching folk. They weren't easy to eliminate still, as they moved with lightning fast precision. Still the half-demon was able to kick one in the face before jabbing a blade straight into its throat. Another one one came up behind him, only to find himself crucified in place while his skin burned in agonizing pain before finally exploding into bits. While he brushed off his clothes, he can hear Wrath nearby mention something about undead demons being an 'oxymoron'.

"More like sheer irony." he answered back before shooting another demon in the head.

The larger demon was already out of the forest and they were running out of time. They need to finish this quickly or risk the consequences.

---

With their powers combined, both the Angelic Primarch's freeze beam and the half-demon's fire attack were capable in completely shattering the golem's defenses and leaving its core vulnerable. Mallus wasn't expecting the golem to be exposed so quickly at that stage - no doubt due to the addition of Cassandra's own attack - but it only proved how weak this stone guardian was in doing its job.

Yet they need to be quick to capitalize on the golem's weak spot, as the rocks attempted to reform back into its original shape. With Cassandra forming her own finishing attack, Mallus had no choice but to give into his own. He clasped both of his hands on Tyrfing, swinging it above his head as he unleashes a Freezing Slash towards the core. With both of their powers combined, their victory would be nearly assured.

---

Ferrus charged at Vega and his minions with a fiery charisma, easily taking care of a good chunk of the opposing minions and made a straight bee-line towards the demon higher-up. For the moment, the Primarch believed that the attack had connected. But suddenly he witnesses a jet-black wing disperse the dust around him, with the demon continuing to taunt him for his efforts in battling him alone. Yet that wing puzzled Ferrus for a second - a wing looking very much like an angel's, yet not like a demonic-imitation of one either. What was this thing? Still now wasn't the time to clarify this as it quickly disappeared into Vega's cloak.

Yet as the Angelic warrior prepared to engage Vega once more, the demons he thought he eliminated earlier suddenly attempted to lunge at him. Being taken off guard, Ferrus was a tad slow to react, but would be saved by Servin's premature interjection into the fray.

"I'll take care of them, you just... Try not to get us killed."

Ferrus seemed somewhat peeved that he disobeyed his orders and considered scolding him as if he was Mallus, but he held off on it. He nodded at his request and said nothing as Vega beckoned for the Angel to come with a teasing nature.

"So be it!" he called out as he rushed towards Vega as he issues a low swiping motion of his blade, which would be followed by a Burning Slash.

A loud thud echoed through the clearing as Malvossia dropped the large gun she had borrowed from the men on the wall. The eviscerated bodies of the demons laid in pools of their own blood that seeped into the ground and turned the earth to mud. The large gun sunk into this bloody mud a few centimetres and Malvossia's legs were doing much the same. The demoness clenched four fists and placed them upon her wide hips, she stretched her eight legs as far as they would go to gain some height and with great satisfaction observed the battlefield. Had she still possessed a mouth Malvossia would have been smiling wide. Deciding it was time to return to her preferred form she began to will her self to change but stopped as a piercing cry emanated from the forest. She turned towards the sound and could see large plumes of smoke rising from deep within the wooded area. Before she could contemplate the significance a new wave of lesser demons broke from the forest and charged the wall.

Four hands grabbed a hold of the once-mounted gun and pulled it free from the mud, sending up a shower of bloody mud that coated some of Malvossia's legs. She began to fire the mighty gun, doing her best to absorb the recoil even as it forced her backwards through the now softened ground. The mix of recoil and the fact the weapon was covered in a slippery substance made it much more difficult to aim than it previously was, causing some of the shots to completely miss the demons and slam into trees, blowing them apart. Less effective than it once was or not Malvossia continued to fire until the bullets stopped exploding forth from the gun and she was met with a faint click. Now empty the gun only served as a large and heavy object, properties Malvossia quickly took advantage of. The demoness produced a length of thick webbing which she quickly took and tied to the gun, using all four arms she swung the gun around her with the length of webbing. As she swung she willed the web to get longer and longer until it was long enough that the gun was able to slam into the approaching hoard. Dozens of demons were sent flying back by the makeshift flail, their broken bodies spinning lifelessly through the air like a thrown rag doll. Malvossia continued to spin her weapon, making the web shorter as the hoard approach so that she could continue to bash away at them. The lesser demons quickly came into range of mounted guns on the wall and the men that operated them opened fire.

When the demons moved close enough to be fired upon they became difficult to fight with a large flail, so Malvvosia released it from her grip. The massive gun spun through the air whipping the attached strand of web around erratically, tangling around many demons and pulling them along with the aerial artillery. Malvossia charged into the fight, her massive size allowing her to walk over top the demons with ease, each of her 8 pointed legs spearing any unlucky enough to find themselves beneath her deadly gait. Those that did not find themselves beneath her were met with punches that could pierce their flesh , and a spined thorax that emitted a heat that burned even the denizens of hell.

Malvossia trampled over the demons, slaughtering them with ease as she moved to clear the areas where the guns failed to kill, and laughing all the while.

The large Assault would stumble forward. As it got closer it became clearer and clearer what this large aberration was. Bits of other smaller Assaults, bound into one large being. A kind of frankenstein of demon lizards. Still, it made it no less of a threat knowing this. That kind of size was bound to hurt if it made any meaningful impact. In the end however it was simply a large demon, more useful for smashing walls than it was for fighting three rather nimble combatants, and skilled slayers of demons no less. It's frankensteiny construct would likely be it's downfall. It's body seemed to just barely hold together in some areas, and any bit that separated would just start instantly rotting and then turning to dust.

The solution seemed simple, still, the sooner they were done killing this abomination, the sooner they can find the Broodmother her own home on this island, to use as a base.

---

The heart of the golem shattered, the distinct sound of a thousand shards of glass and then... Silence. The red shards of the orb that made up the golem's core floated slowly over the pile of rocks that once constituted it. It was a strangely beautiful site watching them disintegrate peacefully into the air as crystalline dust. Still, it seems the way forward was now clear. After dusting themselves off, they would continue up the path, and reach the exit of this strange cavern.

Walking forward into the sunlight, they would be greeted by a floating oasis. A small lake set upon by trees on all sides, and a few rock formations. They found themselves lingering her for a short while, but after some deliberation...

"It seems this area is safe Commander Mallus. It may be a good place to make a checkpoint", reported one of the angels. There would be no reason not to here. This was going to be a long stay and expedition. With the order from Mallus the angels got to work, while others went back towards the bottom to notify the DHO crew of this area and escort them here.

"Commander Mallus, it appears that there is more area ahead. With your order we can take a retinue of angels and scout ahead to see the path forward", the angel officer was awaiting more orders. Would the order be given the angels would simply, scout ahead. Although the assistance of powerhouses such as Mallus himself or Lily would not be necessary. They can use their time off to look to other duties... For now.

---

The waves of demons began to wane as the battle continued, the fervour for battle and carnage strong in these two particular demons made them especially compatible with this job. While Mavvlosia slaughtered the demons out front, Fenn brutalized those within the forest before they even reached the settlement. His rampage causing flames to erupt, burning away the forest slowly but surely. His indiscriminate rampage though would avail no threat to Vega as he had intended, but it did cause demons that emerged from the forest to be wreathed in flames. More fragile than they already were, the ones that swam through the most intense flames would find themselves crumbling away before Mavvlosia could even touch them.

The forest burned slowly, with no demons left to slaughter, there was not much else to do but head back. Mavvlosia would be the first to see that their display, may have been a bit overboard. The people on the wall... As demons the two could just taste their fear. It was palpable. Still, the commanding officer tried his best to speak amidst this,

"G-good work you two, uhh... There don't seem to be anymore demons, s-so thank you...", it didn't seem there was much else to the job, but... What about that forest fire? It wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

"Oh uh... I'll have to report that forest fire too... We'll... Probably put some minor defenses where the... Forest used to be", he continued. Still, the fire itself seemed to be an issue in and of itself, but given the terrain and environment, it wasn't going to engulf anywhere near the whole island, just maybe affect the view from the walls.

It seems their job was done, for now.

---

As Ferrus rushed at Vega, the phantom demon would jump back, avoiding the initial slash and making some distance, before kicking up a blast of inky black and purple energy. The Burning Slash from the angel general would just disappear into it. As the dust settled, Vega just smirked at the angel, his hands were in his pockets, with seemingly no intention to take them out.

"Come on kiddo, that fire's gotta have more bite than that", he didn't strike back... Yet. Was it carefulness? Or was it fear? It was... Neither. His smirk said everything about how he was handling this situation.

Meanwhile... Behind Ferrus, Sevrin himself was doing quite well. Though he was not around when Sevrin was possessed by Vega, it would be of note that Sevrin's fighting style was quite different. Evading and counter-attacking far more frequently. He seemed to prefer the bladed greaves Hydra over the blades and chain. In any case, it seems that area was under control.

@Zarkun@Lmpkio@Lugubrious

The distressed researcher bit her thumb nervously as she watched the fight unfolding below, having pulled her vanishing act the moment the monsters had appeared. Samantha clung tightly to a tree branch some distance away from the melee, her camouflage keeping her out of the monsters’ sights.

And her teammates’, for that matter, which became somewhat worrisome when the half-demon Gideon pulled out his firearms. No amount of hazard pay would make up for being hit by a stray bullet or bolt of magic.

So Samantha thought, but this was already a touch better than her old solo expeditions. No armed escorts then, never mind hazard pay.

“Not to say,” she whispered to herself, a hint of giddiness mixing into her voice, “where else am I going to see a Nephilim in action?”

Indeed, the tall warrior had torn into the group of Assaults with an ease fitting the scraps of information she had found regarding the dead race. To their credit, Gideon and even Souta were not far behind. “In fact, this fight is going so well I wonder if I could convince them to take one alive… well, as alive as an undead monstrosity could be.” She doubted they would listen to her, though, particularly if they had to carry the squirming beast while they looked for the spiders’ den. It already was hard enough to simply try to ask questions about the Council given the company without mixing in bizarre vivisection related favors.

She would have to content herself with gathering samples from the corpses. The largest and most twisted of which, she noted, was slowly stumbling towards the brawl. A brawl which, while she had been too busy staring, had moved closer until the Frankenstein’s monster of a demon was marching uncomfortably close to her hiding spot.

Samantha, shifted against the branch, trying to reposition herself to see if she could move somewhere farther away—when a shuddering tremor made her stomach sink.

The branch splintered, and she fell with a surprised yelp, her camouflage broken. She landed unceremoniously on her back, letting out a dizzied groan as she propped herself up to took a look at her surroundings.

Her gaze quickly found the team she had been sent with, noting with some embarrassment that they were all staring in her direction. “Come now,” she half-slurred, “is this really the first time you see a scientist fall from the sky?”

It took Samantha a moment to realize they were not in fact focused on her, but on something past her. She felt a tremor on the ground, and blinked. Swinging her head back, she came face to disfigured face with the abomination she had been keeping tabs on moments earlier.

Ah, of course. How could I forget?

The creature lifted a maimed arm, its mouths opening to let their keening wails. But no wail was louder than the scientist’s as she stood and dove away with terrified briskness. The blow missed her by inches. At the same time the flap on her knapsack flew open, and pages of parchment flew out as though carried by a strong wind, flapping onto the creature’s face while Samantha fled into the bushes.

---

@ConteAmarula

By the time Fenn left the forest, the flames had already reached the tree line. The fires danced phantasmagorically behind his black silhouette as he lumbered towards the city’s walls.

He noted that they remained largely in the same state he had left them, proof that he had not overestimated the Crone’s ability. Humans milled above the ramparts, some facing the flames while others ran to and fro on tasks of their own.

When the hound came into view, some of the weapons mounted atop the wall turned to face him. Fenn sneered at them. He almost wished for them to open fire, if only to give him an excuse to vent his frustration. The snake had eluded him. Had set puppets against him in the face of his challenge. Had remained hidden even as the hound proceeded to turn the surroundings to cinders. The seething rage had bolstered his flames, and even with the flames no longer dancing over his fur, the air was heavy with the hound’s restrained anger.

He clambered onto the ramparts. Truthfully, he had little interest in what the humans had to say. Even when he first approached the walls, his intent had been only to kill time while prey came to him. The pretext of defending the settlement from the horde of demons had been all but abandoned when he had caught a whiff of the snake. He did, however, have a reputation to uphold. If not for himself, then for his warlord. Had another demon not been at the wall, he may not have had such freedom to act.

The Crone was already waiting above the ramparts, along with the man who had sought their aid at the wall. Fenn approached, ignoring the tension among the observers. Then ignoring the man’s stuttering thanks, until he finally saw fit to leave. He was not the only one to do so. After the display, the wall’s occupants had decided to give the two demons a wide berth.

“This is the second time this snake eludes me,” he remarked gruffly, glaring at the burning forest. “The first time, my quarry struck a blow while I was weakened and preoccupied with another foe, then left before I had a chance to recover. This time, it avoided me entirely. Even alone, it ignored my challenge. What does this tell you, Crone?”

Atop the wall Malvossia watched as the fire spread throughout the forest, confident that without intervention of some kind there would not be a tree left for kilometers. Part of her was somewhat saddened by the loss, but she could not deny the tactical advantage of more open area, and watching things burn never ceased to be amusing.

"G-good work you two, uhh... There don't seem to be anymore demons, s-so thank you..." Malvossia turned her head slightly to look at the man who had addressed her, amused by his choice of wording given his current company, then looked behind her to find that her lupine friend had rejoined them on the wall. The demonness turned to face the man, her eight legs moving like a cascade as they re-positioned her body. This seemed to make the man more nervous and he quickly muttered something about the fire and defenses. Malvossia spoke, her voice like that of a thousand demons talking over top each other at once, but with an eerie harmonious tone that seemed to echo in from no-where, but somehow it was still clear the demon was the source

"When the fire clears, I will weave a new forest of my own. One of silk stronger than steel, that burns to the touch. Even a demon would think twice about getting caught in a web spun by me." If the man registered what she had said it was unclear as he simply saluted and left. Malvossia did not spare the fearful human another thought and turned to face the great wolf who had begun speaking just after the man had left. She took a moment to consider the question, mulling over years of wars she had both observed and participated in. She recalled the actions of kings, and generals, and warlords; how their choices impacted the battle, but also how those choices could be seen by those not privy to the end goal. "I could be mistaken, but it would seem you wish me to tell you, that I think he fears you." Malvossia shook her thorax, dislodging a piece of demon carnage that had become stuck in her spines. The chunk flew through the air and landed at the foot of a solider who reacted so violently to the errant gore he nearly fell off the wall. "Never mistake fear for good tactics, Cerberus." Malvossia raised herself up to her full height and gave another shake, dislodging more gore. "That feels so much better. I rather dislike this form, but it looks like I'll be stuck like this until the fire ebbs." The demoness performed a mighty stretch and cast a side glance at the wolf, who did not seem too pleased with her answer. Though it was difficult to tell for certain as his expression had not actually changed. Mavlossia shrugged "Take no offense my friend. I am sure there are plenty a creature that find you frightening. Your quarry may well be among them, but I doubt their actions are motivated by fear. What the enemy is trying to do is no small feat, and they face a mighty opposition." Mal gestured towards the bloodstained battlefield to emphasize her point. "An intelligent general does not push when it risks their goals, just for the sake of proving they are not afraid. You will get your chance to fight this creature you hunt, but for now, cast your thoughts not on the coward that got away, but on what might be coming in their wake."

The hound let out a surly grunt at the demoness’s answer. Yet, he found himself feeling pleased, the air around him losing some of its weight. He had prodded for a piece of the spider’s mind, and had received a more thoughtful answer than he had expected. That did not, however, mean he agreed with the reasoning.

“I have heard humans refer to such an outlook as ‘result-oriented,’” the hound drawled with heavy sarcasm, “eager as they are to spin deficiencies of character as desirable traits. Should that be the case, one must wonder what was achieved through this exercise.”

“To answer that, we’d have to look at what it caused. There is of course the obvious; the deaths of countless demons. Then there is the copious amounts of blood that the battle left in its’ wake. There is also the now raging fire which I presume we have you to thank for? Though there is no way your quarry knew that would happen.” Malvossia crossed both sets of her arms and pondered a moment before continuing. “It could have been exactly what it was. An attack, meant to breach the wall and storm the city. With the defences down there is a chance the attack might have succeeded and your quarry could have gotten what they wanted. If you have the resources to spare it’s worth taking a crack at your goal, even if there is only a slim chance of succeeding. Considering how weak these demons were, I doubt this attack cost them very much.” Malvossia stared out across the battlefield at the raging fire that looked like it would be burning for some time. With a disappointed sigh the demoness lowered her body to the ground and tucked her legs underneath herself; she crossed both sets of arms atop a crenulation and rested her head upon them. “And let us not forget the most classic of reasons. A distraction. If your quarry is in anyway intelligent -and it is best to assume they are- they would know the angels and demons beyond this stony barrier would be off trying to thwart their plans and would not remain within the city. With the defenses down, an attack would clear out any remaining foes within, the non-human sort anyway. But what do you think, Cerberus?”

“I question the point of attacking this place to begin with. The one who sent these demons off to battle, the one I sought to hunt down and kill, was the same demon that destroyed the other Seals of the Apocalypse. I recognized the snake’s scent in the wind the moment they showed themselves. With that said, no seal has been found within this city.” The hound blew a rough breath through his nose. Had the enemy’s goals changed since last time? Could it be that destroying only some of the seals had been its objective?

No, were that the case, would it still be sneaking in the shadows? The Imp described this one as one of the most powerful demons she had ever come across. Had it managed to restore itself completely, what need would there be to hide then?

Fenn shook his head. “As you said, a distraction seems likely at face value. However, this attack would not have given the snake an opportunity to act. Did you notice during battle, Crone? The demons we fought were but meat puppets. Living corpses. Weak as they were, slaying this warband in the first place must have taken some time. I can say with certainty, as well, that the snake was in the forest when I charged in. Even if it did not show itself, it was never truly unaccounted for.” The hound let out a short, caustic chuckle. “Even if its aim had been to infiltrate this place during the assault, you yourself have shown such measures are unnecessary simply for the sake of crossing these walls. It seems more likely, then, that the snake was testing the limits of its powers. Either that, or...” At that, the hound fell uncharacteristically silent, narrowing its eyes.

“Or…? You seem to be in a bit of a dramatic mood.” Malvossia tilted her head slightly so she could look at the wolf with two of her slitted eyes. “I must say” she continued, “it rather suits you. Paints you as a rather ponderous and prudent pooch.” The demoness giggled, at least it could be assumed to be a giggle as the sound she immited was that of a band of cackling demons.

“It was not my intention to amuse,” he groused.

She turned her gaze back towards the fire. “Don’t leave us in suspense my friend. Or…?”

“It occurs to me,” Fenn said at length, “that the snake may well have found allies to act in its stead.”

Malvossia quirked an eyebrow that she did not have. “You came to this conclusion, how?”

A white figure surrounded by a starry blackness flashed through his mind. Yet that is hardly the only party who could take an interest in the Seals’ destruction. Some are closer than we would wish, and need only to recognize the chance to act unnoticed when it is presented to them. The hound grumbled in annoyance at the turn his thoughts had taken. Thoughts that availed him naught, that could only lead him to indecision, where it was not his place to make those choices in the first place. Like a spider sitting on its web, jolting at every tremble of its threads. I forget myself.

“By assuming the worst, naturally. I have found such thinking often reaches closer to truth.” The hound gave a ponderous roll of his shoulders, and turned to leave. “I do not think this snake one to waste time so freely otherwise.”

“The human’s have a saying for assuming.” Malvossia giggled but did not elaborate further. “Best to keep on our toes and tackle what's thrown at us, rather than be concerned about could be’s and maybes.”

“There is wisdom in that, aye.” The dog let out a slow chuckle, sparing the demoness a glance. “Alas, wisdom is wasted on a restless hound.”

“So long my friend. I shall remain a little longer to help the humans strengthen the defences.”

Wrath finished his opponent, slicing the last of the zombified demons in front of into pieces with the Wrath Dealers' blades before turning to face the massive abomination. After a moment's consideration, he flicks the blades back into their "closed" position and draws the Rage Bringer, the large great sword resting on his shoulders. Focusing his energy for a moment, the Nephilim slams the tip of his sword into the ground and opening a chasm under the abomination in an effort to try and slow it down. Following that, he would approach the monster at a run and bring the great sword around to try and take off an arm. "Back to hell with you!"

Upon hitting the massive Assault unit, Gideon was quick to discover that this abomination wasn't simply its own organism. After shooting it multiple times, the half-demon could notice several smaller lizards falling off its body as it stumbled forward. It was made out of a whole swarm of them! It was rather intriguing to say the least. Yet as he continued chipping it with his weaponry - as well as the occasional spear that would rise from the ground - Wrath would begin his own assault by slamming the tip of his sword into the ground and cause a wide chasm underneath it before proceeding to attempt in slaying it.

Gideon made sure to keep wide range away from the Nephilim's influence while he quickly fired a whole barrage of Bullet Hell towards the giant Assault to whittle him down even further.

---

With the golem having been easily taken care of, Mallus looked at the fallen foe unimpressively it's utter disintegration into the air. The angelic primarch showed no signs of remorse, sympathy, or pity towards it - only recognizing it as yet another filthy and insignificant opponent that had been defeated by his hand. With a silent scoff, he signaled his men to march forward as they continued heading deeper into the caverns.

Mallus expected to encounter heavier resistance the farther they went, however he was mildly disappointed as they reached the cavern's exit. The locals here called that giant heap of rocks their line of defense? How shameless. Yet as the Primarch looked up at the surrounding location, he caught his attention upon glancing at a floating oasis. It was indeed a welcoming sight for the warriors to encounter and perhaps a place to settle down for the day. Yet Mallus didn't seem to be the only person who believed this, as one of his officers clearly suggested.

"It seems this area is safe Commander Mallus. It may be a good place to make a checkpoint."

The primarch simply nodded his head.

"Indeed." he bluntly stated, "Proceed to assemble a base of operations here immediately. We'll be here for awhile."

The angel officer would immediately get everyone set to work, while Mallus stood on the edge of the oasis' base overlooking the vast floating landscape beyond. But it wouldn't be long before his train of thought would be interrupted once more.

"Commander Mallus," the same officer reported once more a few moments later, "It appears that there is more area ahead. With your order we can take a retinue of angels and scout ahead to see the path forward."

The armored primarch took a second to scour the lands ahead, glancing at any notable details within the nearby floating islands and platforms, before responding.

"Order authorized." he answered nonchalantly while pointing at the location, "However, my assistance in the matter will not be necessary. Several scout parties, by themselves, should be sufficient. If they see anything of interest or immediate alarm, they must report back to me immediately."

The primarch would then hover his gaze towards the demon portion of the expedition, carefully observing both Lily and Cassandra's behaviors before looking back on the horizon.

---

Ferrus' strike missed his mark as Vega effortlessly jumped back and released a cloud of purple smoke to encapsulate the battlefield. The fiery primarch was rendered blind for a moment as he looked around wildly for the demonic entity. But once the gas settled, the angel looked to see the opponent just standing there - hands in pocket - and began to mock him once more rather than retaliating.

"Come on kiddo, that fire's gotta have more bite than that."

Ferrus' glared back at the cocky demon with a raptured look. Just looking at his very punchable face and smug aura made him absolutely livid. He shouted angrily as he swiftly pointed his blade at Vega and fired a large beam of fire towards him with
as much careful precision he could muster. Then he would follow it up by issuing a powerful tornado of fire in an attempt to capture him in place - or disorient him - as he went in for another strike.

Yet all the while, his senses were going off at an alarming rate. The figure's movements and attitude must clearly define that he had complete control over the situation. Perhaps he was luring the young Primarch into a trap. Yet Ferrus thought he could sense whenever the trap was going to burst out and attempt to jeopardize the entire mission.

Whether or not his fiery aura would let him is up to debate...

To say that the sight of a gigantic demon, stitched together from the bodies of its smaller counterparts, did not give Souta chills would have been to lie. Still, that didn't mean he wouldn't give the aberration his best shot. A moment passed as the smith, fatigued from his battle with the beasts, caught his breath and composed himself. The others moved to engage the monster first, and when Souta's nerves re-steeled themselves, he followed.

While unable to target its more vulnerable bits, Souta knew exactly where to strike. He jogged forward, gradually building up speed while burdened by the weight of the Mountain Buster on his shoulder. Wrath and Gideon, powerful as they were swift, made their attacks. Leveraging his mighty weapon, the former cleft the ground itself to hinder the behemoth's movement before swinging at his arm. Gideon, meanwhile, met it with an onslaught of projectiles. With the chasm keeping the enormous Assault from moving too much, Souta wove between falling chunks of demon to bring the heavy, explosive head of the Mountain Buster down on his adversary's foot in a tremendous wallop. While it cut an imposing figure upright, it would be nothing more than a pile of weak demons if it came tumbling down.

It had felt as if the Golem had died far too easily, and it was for that reason that Lily remained on guard even as the dust settled, and the fragments of construct's core fell around it. It had sizzled when she touched it, picking up one small piece before it, too, dissolved.

Now they were at the oasis above, Lily and Cassandra ascending so as to get a farther view. Neither saw anything except continuous land. The lake, trees, and rock formations ahead were the most interesting parts of the floating landscape, but there was precious little beyond that. It almost disappointed Lily. The golem had whetted her appetite, and made her believe that more challenges were ahead, but no such thing occurred. All that was left was scouting.

Cassandra was more enthusiastic, it seemed, hurriedly digging into her backpack for her coal pencils and paper. She found a rock protruding from the ground and flitted towards it, alighting on it with as much grace as she could muster, then started sketching the area ahead of them.

Lily knelt down behind her, looking over her shoulder at the image starting to take shape. She glanced back and forth between the rocks on the paper and the ones that were very much real. "You drew a lot as a child," she said quietly, only for them to hear. "I'm happy to see that you've stuck with it."

Cassandra's hand stilled, her cheeks growing faintly brighter. "Mère," she chided, glancing over her shoulder, meeting the now-green eyes of her mother, and let out a small gasp–she had returned to the brown haired, dark-eyed appearance that Cassandra remembered from her childhood. She looked as the woman she had known as Susannah, as mother.

Lily returned her surprise with a grin of her own, utterly unapologetic. "I figured you might appreciate it," she said and put her hand on Cassandra's cheek, guiding her to look at the unfinished sketch once more, and started undoing the tangles in her hair that flying had caused with a small brush-Cassandra also took the hint and resumed drawing, leaving the elder demon to do as she wished.

"I have acquired many skills in my time," Lily continued after a short while, "but drawing was never really one of them."

"Ironic," Cassandra chimed in, pausing just for a moment to offer Lily a teasing look and smile, "seeing as you seem so fond of creating masterpieces, if of the flesh and not the page."

Lily snorted, and had Cassandra been anybody else would have avenged the comment by foregoing care and simply tugged a knot out instead of coaxing it undone carefully. "Are you accusing me of being a harlot?" She asked, wrinkling her nose. "Young women shouldn't use such language," she shot back.

"I have seen the... shapes you prefer these last few days. How you don't suffer backaches is a mystery."

Lily hummed. "Being able to walk away from a building falling down on your has its advantages," she replied and pulled gently on Cassandra's hair in its entirety, pulling it into a ponytail before separating it into three, each portion held between different fingers. "Besides, this is nothing. There was one man many years ago, and he had a certain fascination, shall we say."

"You're kidding?" Came Cassandra's reply, though she didn't turn her head her incredulity was clear from tone of voice alone. "Quelques hommes... By the way, why are you braiding my hair?"

"'Some men' indeed," she laughed. "And because I think it would suit you, and it's generally better for flying. It doesn't tangle as much, and I think it suits you." A moment passed, and Lily reached a hand over Cassandra's shoulder. "Give me a ribbon, or something."

Though unseen, Lily was certain that Cassandra rolled her eyes, as she let go of the pencil and, with a flourish, produced a small length of purple ribbon. "You're lucky my Projections are better than yours, or you'd have to let all this work go to waste," she teased.

Taking the ribbon, Lily tied it in a bow around the end of Cassandra's braid before letting it fall down her back, eyeing her handiwork. "You're lucky, because if you hadn't I would've just used grass."

The indignant glare Cassandra sent her over her shoulder was met only with an innocent smile and fluttering eyelashes. "You wouldn't dare," she said, taking hold of her braid and cradling it over her chest.

Lily shrugged, and rose. "Maybe not, I suppose we'll never know, since you did have a ribbon."

Their attention was grabbed by the nearby angels who had returned, one of them seeming to be giving a report to the one who had actually been useful in the altercation with the stone golem. Lily turned her attention fully towards it, picking up the conversation that was happening.

"Scouting parties, not a bad idea," Cassandra said under her breath, her eyes once again trained on her drawing.

Lily, however, had other things in mind. "Are you certain you shouldn't tag along?" She called out, meeting the angel's gaze from afar. "They seemed not very useful against that pile of rocks below."

Cassandra glanced up, frowning. "Mother," she admonished, "what's the point?"

"Not much of one," Lily admitted flippantly. "They're very easy to rile up, those angels."

Sighing, the younger demoness packed her pencils and sketchbook, closing her backpack. She stood up and hoisted it over her shoulder. Now standing even with Lily, she gave her a disapproving stare, and while it didn't make her back down it did give Lily pause. "Let's go," Cassandra said and motioned towards the entrance back into the pillar-tower.

"You seem angry?"

Cassandra shook her head. "I'm not. But our time is better spent getting word back to the Demon Hunters, and whoever else need to set up a forward post here. Leave the angels to scout ahead if they want, because if both of you stay here, and both of you are so bored you just end up antagonising each other, he will get hurt."

Lips pressed in a thin line, Lily nodded and followed her daughter, sparing the angels a passing glance. A part of her was happy that Cassandra had specified that the angel would wound up hurt, not her, and yet it seemed there was some judgement in it. Disappointment, perhaps? She hoped not.

She fell silent and dutifully followed, manifesting wings once they were inside the spiralling stairs to gently hover down rather than walk.

There was time until their next mission. So far, they had secured one area.

Perhaps Fenn had time to play fetch?

The combination of Souta's mighty blow to the frankenstein monster's foot, and the slice against it's poorly constructed arm served to stop it in it's tracks, with the arm now dangling a little, it needs more work it seems, but it can no longer use it properly. Considering Souta and Wrath were quite close, it's sights were set on Gideon, whose Bullet Hell served to be breaking down it's body. Using it's other undamaged arm, it went for a swing at Gideon, blindly aiming to consume these new targets.

Though it was now essentially unable to move, sitting in place and flailing, necrotic demon flesh seemed to climb back up it. It was also regenerating, although in a kind of gross and unorthodox way, patching itself up using itself. Observing from afar, after some dozen seconds, they noticed it as a total was smaller in size, but was moving ever so slightly faster... This could take awhile it seems. Souta's smash on it's foot though, was the last to properly reconstitute in any way, and even then it now appeared to have a gimpy leg.

---

Vega's smile never faltered all the way to the blast of fire. As it made contact with him, the same black energy sputtered off of him as it appeared to make contact. He didn't move, staggering, with one foot back, his face was turned away taking that precise strike. The tornado of flames obscured the two of them, whipping up a substantial storm. Wasting no time it appears Ferrus would go in for a strike, but as soon as the two completely disappeared into the swirling flames, it was but a moment before they disappeared again, those observant would notice that as soon as they made contact with Vega himself, they seemed to vacuum up, and disappear into it. Vega's hand was upon Ferrus' neck, his entire body a black shadow with glowing purple veins, the same inky darkness he used to defend with earlier. His voice echoed as he continued to taunt the angel,

"Kuahahahahahaaha! I guess they're right about hot heads, act first, die first". As Ferrus felt the grip upon his neck, he immediately understood what was happening up until now... This black aura... It consumes any form of magical energy. His fire had done nothing. Not to mention... Having drained all that power, Vega himself seemed more powerful, and even faster.

"Still, you've got an impressive amount of power, any other demon would've been roasted to a crisp, but since it's me I just get more to eat", Vega held Ferrus up high.

"Now then, let's see what your soul can offer me", he brought his other hand, dredging it deep into Ferrus. No matter what he did, any attempt to use his fire would just result on him giving Vega even more power. The process was painful, would he die...? Who knew, but it seemed likely. At that moment, Vega would feel a kick at his back, a slicing blade from the Devil Arm Hydra. Sevrin was interfering. Vega turned his head, dropping Ferrus as he pulled out a glowing orb of fire, then crushing it in his hand.

"If you wanna donate to me sooner, just say so. I'll take any donation", he smiled.

Ferrus, laying on the ground, was miraculously, not dead. But the flames he could muster were meager, with a bit of time he can still move to fight but any angelic power he can use was severely limited. But what happened next... Told him everything of what kind of threat Vega was.

Vega smiled as he formed a blade in his hand, but it wasn't just any blade. Although in a dark shade, almost ethereal, and emanating a kind of black and purple fire, it looked exactly like Ferrus'.

"This is a little trick I learned while around demons. You probably know by now, but demons within them hold a manifestation of their power... Imagine my surprise when I found out angels also have something like this", Vega was in control, confident. He turned to Ferrus, just turning his head,

"You must really love this sword, for it to be your soul... Well you must be wondering why you ain't dead, all I did was copy your soul, with your own energy, and now this sword will be part of my collection".

Sevrin seemed ready to run, but he looked at Ferrus... Running now would only arouse suspicion towards him and jeopardise the information he has learned, as they may not believe him, but fighting Vega after he has become more powerful than when they just met him... Was almost a death wish, or at least guaranteed to make him even more powerful, after learning his abilities. Ferrus himself was left with fewer options too. Maybe they can send for help? But who knows how long that may take...

There Souta stood, already breathing heavily, ready to wipe a bead of sweat of his forehead with a smirk and crack his first-ever demon-slaying one-liner, and the blasted thing started pulling itself together. The thought of swinging the really heavy Mountain Buster around a few more times, perhaps even more so than the peril of a regenerating demonic corpse-mass, forced a heavy sigh from his lungs. He went ahead and took care of that pesky sweat bead anyway as he stood up, his weapon de-summoning as he did. "Okay, time for something really cool." Either this would work and the threat would be over with, or it wouldn't and he'd have a pretty good excuse to let the actual superhuman warriors clean this mess up.

A Trawler appeared in his hand, and after swinging it a few times he let it fly. On a jet of water the hook sailed upward, flying higher and higher until it could securely lodge in the meat mountain's upper torso. After testing the line quickly -since the horrible thing would be yanking him off his feet any second now- the smith used another burst of water beneath him to burst him up as he yanked on the hook. A moment later Souta was flying upward, carefully watching to make sure a stray limb didn't make mincemeat of him as he ascended. With a final boost he shot up past the anchor point, and he sailed up until gravity started to work its magic. For a moment, he seemed to hang in midair, wind whipping around him. If he wasn't scared to death and regretting this decision immensely, he might have thought about how lovely the view was, but the fall a moment later pulled him back to reality. The Trawler vanished in a spray of water, and the Mountain Buster reappeared. "Rrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" he half-bellowed, half-shrieked as he came down atop the enemy's head with the pile hammer, and the impact drove its spike in with explosive force. The same explosion sent Souta flying backward, the noise from him now 100% shriek, to try and resummon his Trawlers and save himself a quick date with the earth by hooking onto a tree.

As Souta moved himself into position for his power attack, Wrath hopped back a couple of steps, sheathing the Rage Bringer to draw Death's Rain, leveling the crossbow even with the monstrosity's center mass and waiting. While the Nephilim wasn't entirely sure what blacksmith was up to, he could see that some kind of opening was about to be created and he wasn't going to miss the chance for a decisive blow, no matter how strange the set up might seem.

Sure enough, however, as the clip of bolts began to head towards max speed for a Burst Shot, Souta's hammer struck a powerful blow to the top of the undead creature before sending him sailing away. Wrath capitalized, tossing the crossbow up into the air after locking the trigger to keep charging it and moving in. Rage Bringer flew free of it's place on his back, connecting a powerful blow to the creature's caved top half before being spun around to making a powerful horizontal slash across where it's midriff would normally be. Leaping up, the Nephilim landed on the creature's chest and pushed off as he sheathed his great sword once more, knocking it off balance and landing in a crouch after flipping and catching the crossbow as it finished falling and spinning up. "And here's the money shot." In a surprisingly spectacular flash, the full clip discharged in a shotgun style blast nearly point blank into the mass of flesh, shredding it where it stood.