[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/UY46axQ.png[/img][color=b18f71][h3]Blackthorn Investigation, Part Three[/h3][/color]
[i][u][color=b18f71]January 1st, 8:23 PM.
Cultist Hideout, New York City, Pricetown.
Interactions - None.
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Raising his blade, Nello caught the incoming strike of a ruthless cultist. It was quickly joined by another, which forced Nello to maneuver in a matter which allowed for him to deflect his second opponent's attack. Was one present to view this fight, a clashing cascade of steel echoed throughout the interior with every swing biting into the other's bladed length. 

Though Nello displayed masterful skill with the sword, each strike expertly deflected, his enemies maintained their footwork with impressive results. Throughout their sword-touched dance, as Nello gracefully slipped between his foes, the boy's eyes landed on a sight which caused him to nearly lose his balance. Brands had been seared into flesh, blatantly visible as fur was robbed from disfigured skin. [color=b18f71][i]"Going to stay on the defensive forever, Nello?"[/i][/color] An annoyed voice scratched at the back of the boy's mind, moments before he was kicked through a doorway. 

It sent Nello to the floor in the entrance hall. He would not stay down for long, however. Rolling to a knee, Nello was quick to deflect a bladed attack heading for him, but felt another cutting through his scales. With a sharp hiss, Nello shot up from the floor, jumping to his feet. Though the wound vanished nearly as quickly as it had arrived, the pain lingered for a fraction longer. [color=b18f71][i]"Stop fucking around!"[/i][/color] Nocturne exclaimed, [color=b18f71][i]"these chumps shouldn't even be able to touch you! Get a grip!"[/i][/color]

After yet another savage exchange, whisking blades slashing through air before clashing with a loud clang, Nello leaned against anticipation and managed to counter an incoming blow from a raging cultist. In a fluid motion, the young hero spun and slammed his sword hilt against his enemy's temple. 

It was enough to stun the cultist, allowing Nello a strong impact from his fist, which presented itself to the dark dweller's visage. With one enemy remaining, Nello advanced with a calculated step. He waited for the opposing swordsman to strike, where the young demon met the strike and countered with the backside of his sword. Slapping it against the cultist's head, it was as if Nello had struck the opposing force with a baseball bat, ending the threat. 

[color=b18f71][i]"Alright, enough,"[/i][/color] Nocturne barked, Calamity vanishing as he came into view, the demon's hands on Nello's collar. Black blood had stained his shirt, and though there was no wound beneath the cut in fabric, it was an injury the boy should never have sustained. [color=b18f71][i]"These aren't just muggers or fucking looters, Nello. They want to watch the world burn!"[/i][/color]

[color=b18f71]"Maybe they..,"[/color] Nello tried, meeting the blood red rubies staring into his very soul. In a way, they truly were. Nocturne shared a soul with the boy, after all. 

[color=b18f71][i]"Maybe they what?"[/i][/color] Nocturne frowned, [color=b18f71][i]"maybe they'll change? Maybe they'll learn? Fuck that noise!"[/i][/color] A shout met the young hero, before he felt himself shook by Nocturne. [color=b18f71][i]"Don't you get it!? If you are going to keep holding back, you are going to get killed!"[/i][/color] A finger moved to point at an unconscious cultist on the floor. [color=b18f71][i]"And for what!? For that!? They decided their fate, so stop fucking around, and grow up!"[/i][/color]

Paralyzed and glued to the spot, Nello tried to form words in response to Nocturne, with little luck. He was left staring into the endless pit of blood that were Nocturne's crimson orbs, the very same eyes meeting them. [color=b18f71]"Yeah..,"[/color] the boy managed, finally. [color=b18f71]"Because if I die, you die,"[/color] he finished, seeing a shocked expression responding to him. 

Silence lingered as if an addition to dust particles slowly flowing through the air, Nocturne's grip on his young hero's collar loosening, until tired hands fell to his side. [color=b18f71][i]"Is that what you think?"[/i][/color] Nocturne asked, his eyes finally breaking their shared gaze as the demon's attention fell. [color=b18f71][i]"That's all you think I care about?"[/i][/color]

[color=b18f71]"It's why you wanted this pact, right?"[/color] The boy frowned, attempting to maintain his disposition. No answer came to greet him, however, which prompted Nello to turn towards the basement door. At this point, he had forsaken subtlety in lieu of anger, which his conversation with Nocturne had only fueled. With a strong kick, the boy forced the door from its hinges and revealed a series of stone steps leading into dark depths below. 

[color=b18f71][i]"It was why I wanted this pact,"[/i][/color] Nocturne spoke, his voice trickling into Nello's ears as they descended a seemingly endless row of stairs. Torches rowed stone walls, and it felt like they had long since left modern life behind, entirely, the deeper they delved. Some kind of magic or trickery must have been at play here, perhaps a portal, or dimensional doorway. Nothing Nello would understand, at the very least. [color=b18f71][i]"It's been over six fucking months,"[/i][/color] Nocturne continued as the boy set foot on the bottom step, before he was presented by a large stone room. 

Cages lined the walls with countless shackles gripping victims tightly. Large torches painted the otherwise gray room a bright orange, and sights which proceeded to curse young Nello's eyes were of a most horrid nature. Upon the floor, one could make out a large pentagram drawn with what could only have been blood. Bodies of what had once been children laid lifeless within its shape, and one would be a fool to expect Blackthorn cages an empty adornment. 

Rather, Nello could clearly tell where the dissappeared children had been brought, many of whom could no longer be recognized as such. No, with twisted limbs and bodies warped into misshapen abominations, wide eyes would warrant tears at the realization. It was accompanied by groans of pain and cries of anguish, torturous devices presented as decorations with hapless young victims strapped to their unforgiving embrace. 

With his heartbeat quickening, Nello was struck by a stench to match the nightmare he had been presented, as if the atrocities before him painted a picture. As if the suffering of these children had been elevated to an art by the large demon sitting on a stone slab on the opposite side of the torture chamber. It was coated in blood, and drenched by guts, a sacrificial altar. 

Trembling, Nello met the sinister gaze of his new enemy, a creature licking its bloodied claws. "Welcome." It stated in a cold, chilling voice, a massive grin mocking their surroundings at its ridges. 

[color=b18f71][i]"I don't want you to die, because I love you, asshole!"[/i][/color] Nocturne shouted, taking the shape of Calamity, in Nello's hand.