Purgatory

Akira was eating silently his gaze locked on the floor, deep in thought about the spirit that he allowed to get away. He hadn't noticed the dish before him with the sweets suddenly being devoured. At least, not until he looked up and noted that there was nothing left. A hand appeared in his vision and he followed the hand that replaced the last sweet to Lucian's face.

He lifted an eyebrow as he stared at the demon who continued to stare right back. If he hadn't been looking so closely he would have never noted that demon had turned a slight red color around his cheeks.

"That was appreciated. The situation in the town square remains, however," Lucian stated as he sat down, crossing his legs and arms. It seemed that the man was trying to redeem himself for the recent event.

Akira stayed quite for a while before finishing what was on his plate, which wasn't much to begin with. After a moment he flicked his eyes over to Sangre before looking back to Lucian and cleared his throat, "I know the general direction the spirit went in. We can start there," he answered, agreeing wholeheartedly that they needed to go after the thing before it was too late.

Lucian pursed his lips briefly, a tad miffed that the embarrassed blush had been noted. He didn't need to look over at Sangre for confirmation of this fact--well, he wouldn't be visiting Inferno any time soon. He didn't bother to respond to Akira's words verbally, only nodding faintly before getting up. He glanced at the jacket that was laying slightly crumpled atop the bed and grabbed it loosely, throwing it at Akira's face.

"Cover up," He said curtly with a slight narrowing of his eyes. Honestly.

Akira was startled as his black jacket landed over his head. Reaching up he pulled it off and frowned at Lucian in response. What was he on about? He had a shirt on and it wasn't like he was going to walk out of the inn without his jacket. Slowly the exorcist stood up and pulled the form fitting leather over his arms and buttoned it up. The long cloth went far passed his waist, the buttons only reaching to his belt line.

He went to the door and opened it not bothering to look if his two companions were following or not. Down the stairs, through the bar and then outside in a few minutes he stood in the street and looked around. They'd come from the alleyway to his left, and from what he could still feel around him, the lingering sense of evil, he figured the spirit had gone down the street to his right. Probably back into the shadows to hide until dawn.

With that destination in mind he started out, moving briskly as there were very few people out and about in the dead of night. He constantly looked down each alleyway as he passed them, hoping to gain a glimpse of the human that was possessed.

Lucian yawned, the demon had long since been waiting for Akira. Well, perhaps not over long but to someone who had already time-hopped to his present location (as he liked to call it), it was long enough. He could see the exorcist, the man so lost in his outwards sensory that he was not paying attention to his immediate surroundings. The faintest glimmer of a smirk sparked on Lucian's face, perhaps due to his innately demonic nature.

He casually extended out his foot just as Akira was about to walk by, tripping the exorcist. Lucian only shrugged as he watched the man stumble, blinking his eyes as if he had had no influence in what just happened. "Oops," He said softly, stepping over Akira. "Well, don't just lay there." He said with a bit of a snarky chuckle.

Had he... really... What the hell just happened? Akira's thoughts whirrled as he found himself losing his balance and then falling to the ground. How had that happened?! With a loud huff of air he hit the ground, and groaned softly. It took him a moment, a bewildered look on his face as he lay there with his hands on either side of his face ready to push himself back up. Lucian's voice hovered over head and it was with realization that the archdemon was the culprit behind his sudden trip with gravity.

He lifted his head upwards and glowered at Lucian as the man stepped over him and continued to give him a snide remark. His eyes narrowed and he ground his teeth together as he slowly lifted his body off the ground and stood up. He was going to pay that demon back, that was for sure. Just as he was about to unleash his bind upon the man in payment, he caught a shift of shadows from the corner of his eye.

The spirit!

All thoughts of dragging Lucian to the ground were lost as he turned on his heel and shot down the alleyway. His magic already prepared, he had nothing to do but to unleash it. The near invisible wraps shot through the darkness, glinting just right against the moonlight. They wrapped around the target, catching and holding fast. The scream that issued was one of terror and anger. The voice was the same one that belonged to the spirit that he had chased after earlier.

"Human!" It cried as Akira slowly walked towards it, "Fool," it cackled soon after, laughing hysterically. An eyebrow lifted as he wondered what it was the thing was laughing about. Though, that curiousity was soon sated as he felt another presence enter the immediate area. The dark aura was hard to miss, a sickening feeling spreading through his body as he looked off to the right of the spirit that he held fast.

From the thick shadows a figure emerged, taking shape slowly as it stepped into the single shaft of moonlight. The mass was nothing but pitch black, almost like tar, but with features. Akira felt a swell of bile at the back of his throat as he laid eyes on it.

The humor immediately left Lucian's face, the demon instantly backtracking to stand next to Akira. How had he missed that? They had been tracking an ordinary spirit... This was one of the many concerning things about this timeline. His inaccuracy was beginning to become something of a hassle--or perhaps... perhaps that person had succeeded in masking his presence at last from the demon. Tch, annoying.

He did not waste any time, pushing Akira back further with the palm of his hand as he raised his other arm parallel to the ground. Time magic wouldn't work in this scenario so logically... It would be best to imprison the spirit first so it wouldn't interfere--they'd need quite a bit of focus for the task at hand. He willed a bit of the familiar tinge of his magic to his palm and muttered a few words under his breath.

An inky black hue touched with a few ripples of white surrounded the spirit briefly, perhaps for only a few seconds. The aura dissipated soon afterwards and the spirit went to move, not realizing the spell that was cast. As soon as it took its first step, the gravity pulled the creature down from the center of body and it was forced against the ground. It released incomprehensible wails--why did they always do that? Always with the wailing and the headaches that followed after.

His arm dropped back down at his side. Keeping up the gravitational field wouldn't be a bother--dealing with this, however...

Akira lost his concentration of the binds and they fell away easily as Lucian was suddenly before him, pushing him backwards. He was confused as to why the demon had jumped in, but the atmosphere around him was different as well. It wasn't the usual calm and uninterested feel that Akira seemed to notice at all times, no it was different. Something had this man on edge. Was it the monster that had just stepped into the moonlight? Probably, even the exorcist was having trouble facing it properly.

One arm stretched out, flexing its fingers with long claws attached to the end. A mouth split open on the eyeless face, the jagged teeth seemingly caught together as if the shadowy spirit were still stuck as one large mass. Or rather, not a spirit but a wraith. Akira had only faced one wraith in his life time and that one had almost killed him.

His heart raced as he watched the thing warily, wondering what he was going to do to take it down. If they could take it down. He moved ever so slightly off to the side away from Lucian's protection. His body charged with his electricity, the bluish white light jumping in jagged arcs all across his frame. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, glaring at their opponent.

First Akira sent his binds, intent of wrapping the creature up and then letting loose his electrical charge right after. The wraps made it to their target, but the creature hardly moved as it allowed itself to be confined. Something wasn't right, it seemed to easy to have caught this thing. Still, Akira pushed the magic down the binds, the lightining crackling as it went.

The power washed over the creature, danced around it several times and then faded away without doing anything. Akira's voice gasped lightly, the short intake of breath was followed by his head lifting a little in shock. The wraith shuddered once, and Akira's binds shattered, all of it except for the ends in which the wraith took hold of. A harsh pull brought the exorcist forward quite a bit and he was far too close to the damned thing. He let go of his bind immediately and had to duck right after as the thing swiped at him. His heart was in his throat as he stood back up and drew his blades. Damn it he thought, grinding his teeth. It seemed the wraith was more intelligent than others.

Again he was pushed back, this time more gently than the first. Was Lucian seriously trying to protect him? What for? There was no reason to. The exorcist huffed in agitation. He was trying to do what he was supposed to do and the demon was preventing him from doing so. He was about to say something, but Lucian gave him a strange look and that silenced Akira.

As he watched from behind the shorter demon, the spirit that Lucian had contained a moment ago was lifted off the ground and propelled at the larger wraith. Lucian used it to attack the wraith, slamming the spirits body into the wraith over and over again. It was then that Akira realized what Lucian was trying to do. He was distracting the damned thing so that it's attention was not on Akira.

Swiftly, the exorcist moved from behind the demon and ducked into the shadows. The wraith was growing ever more agrivated as it swiped at the lesser spirit that constantly blocked it's way towards Lucian. It's growling was growing in intensity and Akira was sure that if he didn't do something soon, it would unleash a torrent of power that none of them could sustain.

Akira positioned himself against the wall and lifted his hands. His binds shot outwards, criss-crossing over the expanse between him and the wraith. They curled around the creatures large shoulders and neck. A slight pull of his hands back towards his chest constricted the binds and the wraith cursed.

The exorcist electrified his body once more hoping that this time he would manage to do something to the damned thing. The electricity bounced around his form and then leapt across the binds, crackling sharply as it went. With Lucian keeping it's attention for the most part, he was sure to do something.

The moment his magic hit the wraith, it yelled out, the dark form shuddering from impact. Entirely enraged, it whirled around to face Akira, ignoring Lucian completely with his puppet of a spirit. It's large claw snapped outwards, slapping the smaller spirit away from him. The thing's lips curled into a snarl, the jagged black teeth opening in a silent roar of rage. It twisted it's arm around the binds that the exorcist held. Akira was still pumping his magic through the binds, electrifying the wraith, but it didn't seem to be doing much anymore.

"Let us see how well you fare to such a spell, shall we?" The wraith growled. Akira's eyes widened slightly and he immediately released the binds, but to no avail.

The darkness swirled around him, twisting up to catch him in it's sickening hold. The feel of the wraith's power curling against him made his stomach churn. For a third time, he let his power crackled all across his body in an attempt to get out of the things hold. It was fruitless as the wraith laughed at his attempt. The darkness that held Akira's struggling body tightly shuddered and the sound of cracking and snapping filled the air.

The wraith's dark magic washed over the exorcist, black tendrils of shadowy light arcing around him. Akira's head fell back, his screaming filled the alleyway. The wraith turned his attention to Lucian, black lips pulling up into a wicked smile, "Care for a taste, demon?"

What was wrong with him tonight? Lucian dismissed his gravitational magics, the spirit having been knocked out in the flurry of activity. It wasn't the fact that his tactic didn't last for very long or even the fact that this wraith was powerful. He couldn't see anything. He ground his teeth together. This was absolutely frustrating. Earlier he had been able to see just fine; he had seen Akira's approach, the meeting with the demons, everything. But now... now he was just as blind as everyone else and he did not know how to cope properly with it.

There was no way he could've foreseen this happening or being wiped of his sight. But now was not the time to dwell on how or why this was happening. He was going to have to force himself to figure out the answers later, when he was alone. After they survived.

He ignored the wraith's statement as he strode closer to it, blank eyes piercing back at the thing. The demon narrowed his eyes and raised his arm parallel to the ground. There was too much movement, he was going to have to negate it. He didn't trust his time magic enough to use it right now. Ordinarily, he would've slowed things down but right now... he would have to rely on someting he knew worked.

He was clearly going to have a headache tomorrow.

He murmured a few words under his breath, a few black strands of energy swirling around his hand. He directed it forwards with a faint gesture, the energy levitating towards the wraith. Once it reached a close enough proximity, the strands began to wrap around themselves, spinning faster and faster as Lucian forced the gravity in the area to knit closer together. As it did so, it began to form pressure between the exorcist and the wraith, slowly working to wrap around each of the binds to hold them in place.

The first pang of his future migraine hit him. Tch. That was really going to be such a pain later. He pushed it away from his mind, breathing steadily to maintain his magic and force the wraith into paralysis.

The tendrils of dark magic wrapped around Akira's body slowly left him. His body was shaking, his breathing hardly regular, shallow and quick. Blood trickled down from his nose and corner of his mouth. The moment the tendrils left him, he dropped to the ground on his knees. His vision wavered in and out as he knelt there, unaware of what was going on before him.

The wraith gave a low growl of anger as it felt it's body trapped in the power that the demon wielded. It lifted it's head to glower at Lucian from it's temporary prison, "He said you had a weakness," it cackled, a bit of discomfort in it's voice, "He'll die eventually. All of the exorcists will. They've been marked you see. You can't possibly think you'll win this. I can crush that human's body in my claw just by curling my hand around him. Just imagine how he would scream if I did that to him, how do you think he would die? Would he die begging for you? For his life? Or would he-" The wraith stopped mid sentence, going quiet suddenly.

"I'll see you again, little demon. Next time, I'll kill that little pet of yours," it growled at him after several moments of silence. The wraith shuddered and then slowly disappated into nothing more than black shadow sinking into the ground.

The instant the entity disappeared, the strings of magic holding it disappated as well. And as soon as that happened, the migraine pounded in his head in full. Tch. That was quite annoying. But not as annoying as what he had been told. Things were out of place here. In all the previous time streams, he had not known about Lucian. There had been no knowledge of Akira, of the exorcists, or of anyone that would eventually group together at all. Yet somehow in this time stream... somehow it was...

His eyebrows furrowed. He did not like this. He needed time to himself.

Taking off the cloak around his shoulders, his voice came out in little more than a growl as he threw it at Akira. "Go back to the room--I'll join you later," There wouldn't be any further interruptions tonight, if his gut feeling was anything to go by. He turned on his heel, walking away from Akira towards the edge of town where he could find a place to think on his own.

---

Above the alleyway, on top of a roof of one of the taller buildings in the town, a dark cloaked figure stood, watching the fight below. His hood covered his face entirely, aside from the lower jaw and lips. The moonlight was slowly sinking and the sunlight was beginning to take it's place as the fight drew to it's close. He was slightly disappointed that the exorcist hadn't been killed, but that just made things all the more interesting.

The demon, on the other hand, was much more fun to toy with. Let the man think that he had the upper hand, that he knew all there was to know. A smile twisted his lips as he watched the demon storm away from the human, leaving him alone in the alleyway. The things he could do right then... Take the exorcist, force the demon to follow and be brought to a tragic end like always. Or kill the exorcist right there. No, that wouldn't do. He wanted to see the demon's hidden emotions.

He'd been hoping to see Lucian completely lose his composure, but it seemed it would take much more than that. His hidden gaze watched the exorcist for some time, plans forming in his mind. A soft laugh shook his shoulders. Now... there was an idea.

"Lets see how you dance to this one, Lucian," the figure muttered to himself and then dropped off the building, disappearing into the city like a ghost.

---

Akira slowly pulled out of his daze, having not felt Lucian throw his cloak at him. The cloth settled over his shoulder and back of his head. His chest rose and fell slowly, regaining his breath after the near death experience. Every muscle ached, the copper taste of blood lingered in his mouth as he knelt there. Lifting his head, the cloak slipped back off his head to settle on his shoulders. The wall before him wavered, blurring in his eye sight.

It took a moment for him to remember that Lucian had ordered him back to the inn. He wasn't sure where the man went, but he figured that the demon wished to be alone. Slowly Akira moved his body, wincing as he went. Once he was on his feet, he stumbled slightly in the alleyway and had to use the wall to brace himself. It was a slow walk back to the inn with him leaning against everything that he could to make it.

Going up the stairs of the establishment proved to be troublesome, but he somehow managed. Akira wasn't even sure on how he'd gotten back to the inn, blanking out for most of the walk back. There was too much pain and exhaustion to keep standing. He made it to his room somehow, though he wasn't sure if he'd had help or not. Akira fell upon the bed without removing his clothes or the cloak over his shoulders that had somehow stayed there.

Perhaps it was dellerium, or maybe something else but he'd rolled over to his back, dragging the cloak over to cover his chest. It was warm. Warm and comforting and even had a certain, faint scent to it that immediately had him associating it with Lucian. The exorcist frowned slightly as he shifted his body into a more comforting position. With Lucian's cloak covering him, he fell asleep.

---

Janus Abraxis

---

“That’s not how you exorcise a demon,” Janus huffed as he watched the ongoing spectacle. The demon stood in front of them, leaning against a store’s glass display at the far end of the plaza with the clear intention of cutting of any attempt to escape. He looked disdainful as he eyed over the feeding witch, perhaps angry even, but was far more miffed at the fact that his prey had been stolen. If anyone should’ve done the deed, it should’ve been him. Once again his fun had been snatched away moments before he could reach it.

He pushed off and strode over, heedlessly stepping on the victim’s body which still lay in his pathway. “What? Sleeping on the job already?” Janus remarked, exercising his skepticism at Ryu. The angel was in the process of clambering up of the floor, having just been laid out by a surprise delivery from the exorcist. How was he meant to kill any wraith with those abilities?

“Get up you worthless pipsqueak. This isn’t over yet.”

Approaching the statuesque exorcist in his typical manner, casually, Janus waited for any signs of possession. Hell, most demons would’ve probably killed her then and not even bothered with the risk. Just the same however, such an act should not have been mistaken as a gesture of kindness from the demon. Assuming the spirit did take over, he’d get to fight the spirit and tear up the worthless meat bag. A win win scenario in Janus’ books. Such was his amazing capacity for tolerance.

Of course, there was his duty to consider also. If the wraith remained on this world, even if consumed within her, so to would the fissure. On most occasions this would’ve been unacceptable, but once again Janus’ greed won out. From everything he'd observed thus far, the one thing Virie possessed that perhaps rivaled his avarice was ambition. The more fissures he left open, the more prey he had to fight. It was a remarkably useful coincidence overall, and one he planned to exploit until the meat bag inevitably burnt out.

"Still in there witch? Hurry up and die so I can kill both of you," he cooed in a dull tone.

Even Reika had her smart moments. As rare and as short a time that they lasted, these moments did happen. The youkai bounded up, practically throwing herself at Janus' mouth to silence him. "SHHHHHHH. You can't interrupt Mistress!" She wailed, small hands grasping on to his lips to get him to be quiet. And thus the smart moment of Reika ended for the demon began to make absurdly loud yells in her efforts to mute Janus. (By effectively speaking louder than him)

"Be quiet, you insolent demon." A low female voice sounded, though it sounded a little worse for the wear. Absorbing spirits was tiring work. She was going to need a parfait after this. Virie snapped her eyes on the bizarre duo, the male looking far more disgruntled than her own fox demon.

"Sadly for you, it just isn't my time to die yet. But have not a fear," She purred, batting her eyelashes at Janus in an almost maidenly manner. "If I do die, I'll be able to linger around you in Inferno." She wasn't even about to let on Reika's little slip-up, that she was at her most vulnerable during the absorption process. Though there was only a small window of time, if Janus were feeling particularly ambitious, he could upstart the whole process and increase her risks of actual possession. But something told her he wouldn't do that. They'd both be putting on this little charade, pretending to close rifts and exorcise spirits. A little unspoken, mutually beneficial agreement.

Janus sniffed as he plucked Reika away from his lips and flicked the tiny youkai across the plaza. At best the midget was only a minor distraction, hardly worth spending his time on. Her master on the other hand was shaping up to be a different case. Even in her rarer moments of vulnerability it seemed that the exorcist would lose none of her insolence. That was fine also, the more they fought, the more fun there was bound to be had. The question was what sort of challenge could a fragile meat bag possibly provide? Leaning forwards, Janus pocketed his hands before whispering into Virie’s ears.

“Unfortunately for you, there’s a special place in hell reserved for naughty little meat sacks,” he stated, “Limbo.”

He stepped forwards slightly, the initial sounds of his footsteps muffled by her dress as he trampled over it on the way out, probably on purpose. “Shall we report to HQ? I’d rather not waste anymore time in this boring little town,” Janus called over his shoulder, not that he’d wait anyway.

The smoke cleared but it was far too late for Ryu to do anything. Was Virie... had she absorbed the spirit? What was going on? The archangel was utterly confused, and a feeling a little sick to his stomach as he watched the woman standing there as she finished whatever spell she'd invoked. Reika lunged forward, latching onto Janus who seemed to be curious about the situation as well.

The demon tossed aside the little youkai without so much as a thought and continued walking towards the exorcist. Ryu felt a shiver cross his spine and he shuddered slightly. Something was definitely wrong with that woman and he was beginning to think that he really disliked working with the both of them. How was he supposed to do his job if those two weren't even remotely serious about the situation?

Or maybe... maybe they were a part of it somehow? No, that wasn't right. It didn't make sense. Ryu shook his head slightly and reached up to run his hand through his hair. Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss somewhere in the situation he was in. Janus couldn't care less about the angel, nor did it seem that he cared about the exorcist either. Well, that was expected, the man was a demon after all.

However, Ryu had thought that the human woman would have at least had some sense of duty and care to the job given to them. Rather it seemed that she did not. Perhaps she had her own agenda to follow. That seemed to be logical in a sense, though what that was, Ryu had no idea. At the same time, he was beginning to think that perhaps he didn't really want to know.

“Shall we report to HQ? I’d rather not waste anymore time in this boring little town,” Janus shot over his shoulder. Ryu couldn't agree more, though he was pretty sure they were both eager to get back for entirely different reasons.

For a moment he thought to ask Virie what it was she'd done. A bit of curiousity overwhelming him. Even so, his mind told him not to, that he really didn't want to know. She'd done something, that was for sure, but it wasn't exorcising the spirit from the human. He felt his stomach churn a second time and he cleared his throat. Ryu nodded towards Janus, though the man had already turned around.

"Agreed," he answered.

The archangel wanted to ask his commander a few questions about the group he'd been put with. Not that he expected full answers, but maybe things would change along the way. He was hopeful anyway. As he walked past Virie, he gave her one single glance before looking away to follow Janus who was steadily growing farther away. Ryu didn't want to be left behind a second time.

"Hurry, Virie, or he really will leave you," the angel called back, hoping to release the tensions that were between them already. He hardly noticed that his hand was gripping his staff so tightly that the human's hands were growing white at the knuckles. How he wished they were back in Resmyrd already.

---

---

The red-headed woman was sitting in a large armchair when the innkeeper returned from his quick journey to the next room. Perhaps she had thought about nodding off for a quick nap--it had been, after all, a rather trying day thus far: first Treylion's offer, then encountering a possessed human who would have been better off dead, then finally meeting the puppet of an angel that she would be working with after all of this time. Of course, nothing could be made easy for the demon; why else would she have had to return to Resmyrd to find a damn fleshbag to exorcise the spirit from this woman? Whoever had decided to invoke the seals that prevented demons from outright destroying spirits had been a damn fool all those millenia ago--it would have made this particular situation so much easier in the long run. On top of that, the angels would not have to intervene at all! Leave everything to the demons and things would get done... Now, however...

"Ma'am, the exorcis'll be here in a few minutes," the barkeep broke the silence. "Just woke 'im from his sleep. Didn't seem too upset by it, though..."

The woman nodded and smiled nervously. "Thank you--time is of the essence..." Of course, she was none too concerned about how the angel was having to deal with the spirit or if the spirit ultimately consumed and killed the vessel. The demon had already inflicted some nasty-looking burns on the flesh of the woman; who truly cared if another human's life was so quickly cut short? Between the three races, humans were the creatures that one could never tell if they had always been this vulnerable and powerless since the beginning of time or if they were purposely keeping themselves ignorant.

"...Yeah... I'm sorry to hear about her, by the way..." the barkeep continued. Funny enough, pity and sympathy were emotions that Xana rarely fed from, but they tasted rather dry and bitter to her. Those were things that she did not often solicit from her victims, but he appeared to be bringing them up to the fore. Perhaps it was time for a quick meal before her exorcist appeared--she was feeling rather peckish after the stick-up-its-ass angel utterly failed to show any sort of emotion at all.

"Do you often have people... come in asking for exorcists?" the woman continued, trying to play off the man's pity.

The barkeep shook his head quickly. "No, ma'am--most people jus' go to the cathedral and file the paperwork... damn waste of time in situations like this, though..."

And there it was--a spark inside of him, something a bit more than sympathy. There was a bit of passionate hatred in him after all, she realized. Before she could continue her emotional assault, however, she heard heavy footsteps coming from the darkened hallway. Was that her exorcist-to-be finally coming to get the damn job done? With whatever pathetic excuse for an exorcist she could grab, Xana would finally be able to continue her task and move on from there, even if she had to drag the stick-up-her-ass angel by the hair through the mud to do so.

She stepped out of the portal, her booted feet touching upon purgatory for the first time in a millennium. Leiriya emerged from the doorway created by her superior in a matter of seconds. She'd been chosen to fill in a spot, but not much else was told to her when she'd heard the call from Treylion. As she left the doorway, it shuddered once and then closed abruptly.

"Leiriya," Treylion's voice called to her and she turned her face to look in his general direction. Her eyes were covered with leather cloth, far too sensitive to be looking directly at the sunlight for she was a being of the darkness, always having had her eyes covered.

"My lord, what need have you of me?"

"There is an angel and an exorcist who need your... abilities. You should know that the gates are being broken steadily and that this world is threatened to be overrun by our lost spirits and wraiths. If you can, return them to inferno. If not... allow the angel to kill them. If at all possible, avoid killing the humans, allow the exorcist to perform their purging to draw out the spirit."

Leiriya turned and began making her way to the door without saying anything. Even though she couldn't see with her eyes, she could still see through her sense. Her footfalls were steady, a nice even pace that didn't mark her being in a hurry, or being all that slow either.

"One more thing," Treylion called out and she halted in her steps, coming to a full stop instantly, "Tell Xana that I thought I had ordered all demons to not shed their human appearances unless absolutely necessary. She's testing her boundaries with me when she should not. Any further disobedience will be dealt in full by me."

A faint twitch in Leiriya's lips were the only indication that she perhaps found the notion amusing. Maybe she thought that Xana's getting on Treylion's bad side would be entertaining. Either way, she did not say anything and continued on her way outside of the exorcists home.

The demon left Resmyrd and headed out of the city. It didn't take her long to get passed the gates nor onto the road. She didn't know whom exactly she was to meet up with, but figured it would all fall into place one way or another. Leiriya wasn't one to ask questions about things when she knew she'd figure it out as time went. Moving passed a particular hill, she felt the presence of another demon not to far off.

Turning her head, she looked directly up it's slope to the top. Only then did her lips curl into a smile. It could have been described as chilling to look at, for it was far from amusement or even happiness. She didn't say anything, only letting the other demon know of her presence there. Leiriya was entirely sure that the one up there was Xana and that the demoness got the message very clearly as she was sending it off at a high level.

Turning away, she started down the dirt road without another look over her shoulder. She had someone to meet, if she wasn't mistaken. Perhaps luck would be on her side and she run into her party sooner rather than much later. Not that time mattered all that much to the demon. She was a being of eternity, after all.

---

---

---

---

‘Magic’ was a bit of a misnomer for what he did, but from a kid, Zilocke was willing to let it slide. The angel—he was pretty sure she was an angel, though he had limited experience to guess from—produced a snowglobe then, and it wasn’t long before he found himself assailed by, of all things, bubbles. A few of them popped on the rougher edges of his facial hair, and a few others on his nose or cheeks, and he grinned widely. “You and I are going to get along spectacularly, kiddo.”

Producing a handkerchief from somewhere in one of his many pockets, he dabbed carefully at the little girl’s face until she was free of tears and mucus, then combusted the fabric, holding the flame far enough away from both of them that it wouldn’t cause any inadvertent damage. It became ash in his hand, and this was picked up by the wind to drift away somewhere he knew not. He was often quite like that, himself. He wondered if this girl had any more direction than he did, and cocked his head, setting the bell woven in his hair to chiming.

Shrugging to himself, the large alchemist rose, taking the girl with him and setting her easily on his shoulders. “All right, little Miss. Two questions.” He held up a pair of fingers for emphasis once he was certain she was holding on enough that she wouldn’t fall right back off again. He started walking, then, long, easy strides that ate ground in the way a starving man eats hot food. For all that though, he seemed the furthest thing from rushed. “What’s your name, and where are you going?”

She had been more focused on the bell in his hair, she had finally discovered the source of that chime! She wanted to reach up and prod the bell several times to make it jingle but before she had a chance to, she found herself flying momentarily into the air! Her eyes were wide in pure delight and she immediately held out her arms as if to flap them to prolong her flight.

Somehow this man had mastered flying, all she had to do was stay on his shoulders! She happily flapped her arms as he guided her, only pausing briefly to stare at the fingers in front of her face. "My name...?" Oh! She knew the answer to that question! "Ilyana! I'm Ilyana and my last name rhymes with weeeeeeeee." She leaned in real close to his ear as if this was a really important secret. "Pssst, it's Ree." She giggled as she pulled back, resuming her motions.

"I don't... remember where I'm going though," She faltered and furrowed her brows. She was here to fight something... someone? Bad shadow ants? "Um, I think I am supposed to be battling shadow ants with long capes!" She embellished a little to make her story a bit cooler, since regular old shadow ants didn't sound very fearsome. But shadow ants with capes, now those were worth adversaries.

Ilyana Ree, was it? Interesting name; it didn’t sound so different from some of the dialects around here, but then he supposed that was irrelevant. As for where she was going… shadow ants with long capes, was it? Well, definitely a greater task than shadow ants with short capes. Everyone knew that only bards and fools wore short capes. “My, my, Miss Ilyana, that does sound awfully important. And you’re in luck! I think we’re supposed to be going to the same place.” He’d take her to Resmyrd; it was where everything important seemed to be coalescing at the moment anyway. The letter of his summons wasn’t very specific, but unlike he often chose to portray himself, Zilocke was not an idiot. Given all he was capable of seeing, it would have been a massive oversight not to notice the disturbances in the passages between this world and the next.

“My name is Zilocke, but since that’s a boring and silly name, you can call me Zee. And then we can rhyme! Won’t that be fun?” He picked up humming a tune to himself as they walked, partly to occupy his time and partly to see if he could coax the kid into singing along. It had been so long since he’d met anybody interesting—he’d almost forgotten what it was like, really. Days in his shop were just mundane people coming by to ask him for mundane things. It was really a small-scale miracle that he hadn’t just up and left sooner.

His footsteps carried them out of town and onto the road, which at this stage of the journey was made mostly of dirt, deep ruts carved into it where the wheels of wagons and carriages had passed countless times over interminable years. Out beyond civilization, the world was oddly quiet, and he had the vague sense that nature was holding her breath in anticipation of something—or perhaps bracing herself for something. It was vaguely disquieting, but he made no sign of it, continuing to hum along with his surprisingly-agile treads as he went, setting himself and by extension the angelic child on his shoulders into a comfortable traveling rhythm.

---

---

Over the crest of one final hill, Xana and her newest companion found the angel sitting with the vessel. Both of them seemed relatively calm, sitting down against the arid landscape and doing absolutely nothing. It seemed rather eerie to the demon--the world of the humans was rather diverse in its environments, much like Inferno, but even this was rather bizarre to see two bodies doing nothing in this wasteland, especially human shells like these two. The quicker they went through with this exorcism and dealt with this woman, the quicker they would be on their way to... where, exactly? There were no further orders than "Repair any gates you come across and exorcise any humans that might be possessed", but from here, where do they begin to look?

The angel nodded toward the exorcist, almost ignoring the demonic presence that led him to their location. This was the thanks she received for going back to that damn city to find this defective exorcist? She had absolutely no tact, this one... Perhaps she would be able to inquire as to why these imbecilic companions of hers could not appreciate the things she did for them all, but who would listen to her, exactly? She figured that the other demons called up were having some troubles of their own--Janus trying not to murder the angel and exorcist that had the misfortune to partner up with him, and Lucian trying not to let his overwhelming apathy and aloofness cause the others to do absolutely nothing--but nothing on this scale with a broken human and an angel with the biggest "holier-than-thou" complex she had ever had the misfortune of meeting...

Suddenly, another presence, this one demonic in nature. Had Janus come to slaughter someone for her? Perhaps Lucian had finally thought his companions insufferable enough to abandon them and seek some demonic company? When the demoness turned toward the horizon, however, the figure she spied was neither the juggernaut nor the mystic but someone else entirely. She could make it out from here--a lithe female figure that bore two thick leather straps around her eyes as to block her sight completely. A chilling smile slowly crept across the entity's face, something that would seem otherwise unnatural. Xana did not recognize this demon--had Treylion summoned her to keep an eye on her with regards to that folly of a promotion?

Xana sighed and rolled her eyes as she began her transformation back into her human guise. Why was Treylion all of a sudden so concerned about how she conducted herself? She had been on the surface for how many years now, and not once had he cared how she acted until now!? It was not as if she had no idea as to what she was doing--she had not been spawned from the birthing pits a century ago, she wasn't that naive--and she had been one of the most effective agents on the surface before all of Inferno broke loose. The Apokalyon had never before given a rat's ass about this--Xana had done things like this all the time, let herself a little bit loose on the reins when she was assured no humans were about, which she had assured herself there were none after a quick sweep. Was this solely about the promotion she now figured was a lie, or was this more about trying to control a 'rabid dog', in her 'master's' eyes?

In either case, there was work to be done. The newly-humanoid Xana stared at the 'companions' she was being forced to work with--the angel that had as much emotional energy to feed from as a rock, the exorcist that had nearly died from shock when she had transformed when he had already known that she was a demon--and screamed inwardly at the fate that had been bestowed on her. This was going to be a long and trying process...

It was dark. It was cold, too. He could feel his ragged breath in his chest, a sharp pain all throughout his body as well. He was most likely wounded by something, but what that was he didn't know. Akira couldn't see in the darkness, his senses were heightened to their fullest and still... he couldn't see anything. Even so, there was a cold chill running down his spine. Something was wrong, something was out of place and he was definitely in danger where he was.

It was maddening not being able to figure out what was after him, if there was anything at all. The exorcist turned full circle several times as he tried to figure out where he was. Akira ground his teeth together, frustrated at the situation. Why was it he always ended up in something where he felt utterly helpless? A sound finally assaulted his ears, laughter. Where, though?

"Akira," the voice called.

He whirled around. Both hands reached back for his weapons, gripping the handles of the blades tightly. He didn't draw them out completely, but he did pull them partially from their sheathes. The exorcist didn't answer the call of his name. He looked around wearily, unsure of what would happen next. The voice laughed again.

"Akira. You really are helpless. Pathetic too. I can't wait to tear you apart, limb from limb."

He shook slightly, the cold sweat working it's way all across his frame. The blades came free and he started to gather his power around him, the lightning crackling across his body. The darkness shifted and a figure stood before him, right in front of him not but a few inches away. Akira startled, gasped in shock and stumbled away.

"You can't run away. Don't think that Lucian can protect you from me either. I have plans for you, for all of you," the figure laughed. His hand stretched out and slashed at Akira so quickly that he hardly saw it coming at him. Sharp claws cut across his front, tearing him apart. The weapons dropped from his numb hands, shock flooding his body. The dark figure took one step forward and shoved his claws into the exorcist, straight to his heart.

Akira jerked, coming awake in an instant. His heart pounded furiously in his chest and there was a thin layer of sweat coating his forehead. What the hell just happened? His breathing was erratic, and he could still feel the lingering pain of where the man had injured him. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his heart, relaxed his lungs and looked around the room. There was a form on the other bed and it took him a moment to realize that it was Lucian who was lying there.

Slowly he sat up, hardly making any noise on the bed as he watched the demon's sleeping form. His lips pulled into a frown. What did that man mean by Lucian protecting him? Akira had never asked for it, nor did he need it. He could take care of himself well enough. He groaned softly to himself as he pulled his legs off the bed and stood. The exorcist moved silently over to where Lucian was lying and stared at him.

He looked... attractive like that. Lying there. Silently. The man's arrogant attitude could use some work, but aside from that. Akira lifted his hands to run through his hair and found that he was still holding the cloak that Lucian had thrown at him earlier. He was more than grateful for the demon's sleeping position and the darkness, for a deep blush assaulted his face as he realized what he'd done. Foolish... why had he slept with the cloak in the first place? The last thing he remembered thinking was how warm it was and that it held faint traces of the demon's scent.

Akira's throat tightened at the mere thought. He should return it immediately. Turning to the bed he leaned against it, one leg up on the bed next to Lucian as he leaned over to cover the demon with the cloak. The heavy cloth fell over the demon's form but Akira didn't move, didn't leave. He watched the demon's face for a moment, still confused by his dream. To add to it, he remembered how Lucian had been in the alleyway, pushing him back away from the enormous wraith that had attacked them. Lucian had been protecting him right there. Also, there had been something different in the archdemon's demeanor when he'd done that.

What was it with that man? Why was it that Akira was starting to feel a bit of attraction to him too? He reached out his hand and gently brushed a few locks of Lucian's hair from his face. Akira leaned forward, growing closer to the demon's face. There was an unexplainable fear at the back of his mind. The dream was still running rampant through his head. Something about those words unsettled him and he felt that he had so much more to do before something happened. He felt like there was something missing, and that 'missing piece' was sleeping right beneath him.

As he grew closer, his heart skipped a beat. Akira stopped, unsure of what he was feeling or what to do about it all. His jaw tightened and he started to pull away. It was a damned dream. Nothing more. Why was he getting so worked up over a dream?

---

Janus Abraxis

---

"I have a proposition for you," she cooed, brushing up close to the demon. Janus’ green orbs shifted only ever so slightly from their forward position, barely millimeters, to regard the sinister touch of her arms. Whatever he felt, there was barely any indication of it as he continued to stride on emotionless, not caring to break from his strong pace. The battle was already over, why should he bother to entertain her idiotic musings? It was all a waste of air in his opinion. "While I do hate you as much as I'm sure you hate me, I feel we may just hate each other a tad less than that idiot back there."

Her violet hair flickered over her shoulders, seemingly motioning towards the subject of her conversation. Janus didn’t need to turn to understand that she referencing Ryu, the helplessly duty bound angel. For all of his shortcomings, at least the man had the decency not to annoy him. Half-regarding the short witch who insisted on remaining next to his side, Janus could only roll his eyes over.

“Uh huh,” he grumbled, swatting aside her patchwork witches hat like it where a fly. Perhaps he’d hoped that the thing would fly away far enough, taking her with it to rid him of her useless dribble. Not one to be rebuked, she stayed with him and pressed on the topic.

"When we go back to headquarters... why don't we just leave him there? I have no use for him and he will only slow up my... ambitions. But perhaps if an accident were to... befall him when we reached Resmyrd, there would be no choice but for him to stay behind. And we, of course, as his ever-so-noble companions would carry on in his stead."

There she was again. So certain, so shamelessly ambitious. You would’ve never guessed it given her diminutive stature, but he’d witnessed the intense hunger to rise in her eyes. The little meat doll just had yet to realize her place and for a second he contemplated on how best to toy with her. Did she’d honestly believe he’d allow himself to be used by her? To willingly go along with her plans? Sure he liked a fight, but there were plenty of other places to find it. More to the point, regardless of what happened here, and the lack of a closed fissure, there were countless other teams who’d eventually mop up the mess. No, Janus wanted something permanent and far more tangible than whatever Virie had offered. She was just a human, a temporary distraction.

“That’s a good idea,” he replied, creasing his brow with false enthusiasm before malice abruptly entered his tone. Bending over, he whispered into her ear, “Or~ I could just report you to our superiors and watch as you struggle sweetly. Oooh~ Maybe they’ll even give me the honor of killing you.”

Rising up, Janus smirked smartly, “Don’t get ahead of yourself meat bag. You’re just a flash in the dark, and soon, you’ll be nothing human.”

She tightened her hold on his arm ever so slightly. Yes, she had been expecting this from him. Why would be willingly agree to her plans? But she had ways to make him see her end of things. Ways to enforce precisely what she wanted. "Oh, you're cute, Janus, really. Why don't you go on and report me? Sing that the Raymbraint heir is a traitor, hmm?" She settled him with a side-long look. Even a lowlife demon such as him would be familiar with her last name. Her family had that rather flashy heritage as exorcists--most of the time, she disliked it but sometimes it came in handy.

"Your threats mean nothing to me. What could you be reporting that they don't already know? You're right, I can't offer you anything. Except maybe..." She trailed off with a hint of a smirk and retracted her touch just like that. "Oh but, you'd never accept favors from a "meatdoll" even if it were in your favor." She batted her eyelashes at him in fake offense before pulling away completely and striding ahead of him. He was already doing what she wanted anyway.

Her noticeable lack of reaction didn’t go unnoticed by him, producing a small pang of disappointment in the form of a sigh. Contrary to appearances however, he wasn’t entirely disappointed. Had she caved in too easily that wouldn’t have been fun for him either. No, Virie would continue to be the assertive, overconfident meat bag she was, flaunting the name of her family about. Personally, Janus didn’t care for such things. The only people who earned his respect were through demonstrated prowess mixed with a combination of personality (what was the fun of a rigid, stern warrior after all?). Janus ended up shrugging ambiguously, his pale features colored by a crooked smirk as his green eyes narrowed towards her back.

“Squirm. Do what you will, human,” he cooed, “It’s no skin off my back.”

The door closed and his face was a brilliant red color. His lungs seemed to forget what air was and he stood there breathlessly for several moments. He had been totally unnerved with Lucian kissing him, not to mention that demon didn't even blink throughout it. Akira slowly reached up and brushed his lips that tingled with the reminder of having Lucian's warm mouth on his.

Finally, air squeezed out of his chest and he took a deep breath to compensate. Turning just slightly, he dropped down on the edge of the bed, still in a daze. Several minutes passed and he was still like that. It took a moment, but he felt weary again, eyes heavy and sleep begging to take him away.

The exorcist tilted backwards till he was sprawled out across the bed a second time. He gazed at the ceiling, but the image didn't last for long. His eyes closed without his realizing it as his thoughts were centered on Lucian. The kiss burned along his lips and his thoughts wavered. Dreams collided with one another, all of them around the demon. They were most certainly... pleasant dreams.

***
Morning the following day

Akira moved down the street slowly, the sunlight bright as it started to make it's way towards the center of the sky. He hadn't said a word to Lucian regarding what had happened the night before. To be honest he was still a bit in shock. What was he supposed to say to the arch demon anyway? Even so, he was pretty sure the damned man knew about the dreams too right after.

Akira growled softly to himself, his mind in turmoil over the situation. With a slight shake of his head, he glowered at anything and everything before him. The exorcist continued that pace for some time, lost in his own thoughts, his senses not even stretched to pick up anything around him. He was aiming to leave the small town behind, thinking that they'd caught the spirit the night before and that was that.

The closer they got to the far gate, though the less and less people were around. It was a strange thing and had Akira been paying attention he would have noted it too. As it was, it took him several minutes to even think that his not seeing people was a bit odd. He slowed his pace and glanced around. After a moment, he finally stopped all together, about fifteen feet from the gates.

"Lucian..." He said softly. He didn't voice the rest, pretty sure that the demon had already caught on to the situation far before he did. Akira ground his teeth. Fool he thought to himself as he reached back to unsheathe his weapons. His body electrified, crackling with the bluish white light of his power. Slowly he took a step forward, trying to sense if anything was around them.

The moment his weight shifted, the cobblestone ground beneath him collapsed. A gasp of shock escaped him, the only sound he made as he plummeted about eight feet down. As he hit the ground the rocks around him juggled his body like a ball and the edge of his knife sliced into the meat of his forearm, cutting deep. His hand immediately released the weapon as he hissed in pain and clenched his fingers around the wound.

Warm blood spilled over his fingers and covered his hand and clothing. However, the deep cut was the least of his worries as a sound in the darkness of where he fell caught his attention. Akira looked up sharply. The rocks around him obscured his view and so he had to shift his body to look over the piles.

The moment he sat up to see what it was that was there, a sickly feeling filled his stomach. Very similar to the night before. That feeling increased as something slid around his throat, tightened and pulled him down into the corridor. His body slammed into the walls of the tunnel, a cold liquid soaked his back as he was pressed there. His hand gripped the slimy thing that was wrapped around his throat, blood dripping from his arm profusely.

The other arm was caught by the same thing and whatever it was slowly twisted around his arm up to his shoulder, tightening as it went. Akira's heart beat rapidly as he looked out into the darkness. The tar like form before him shifted and it's mouth parted. A grate some ways down shed just enough light from the street above to give the thing a bit of shape.

"Scream for me," it growled in an inhuman voice, "Bring Lucian to me so I can rip him apart."

It was indeed the same creature that had attacked them the night before. Akira ground his teeth, narrowing his eyes at the creature in defiance. His breath huffed in and out of his chest as it was hard to breath past the black tendril around his throat.

"Why don't you kill me and get it over with," he spat out, having just enough air to finish the thought.

"Funny... human. Don't rush your own death. There'll be plenty of time to break your body apart and then let you die. A simple little scream is all I need," it coaxed, "Here, let me help you."

The tendril around his arm and shoulder tightened, pulling outwards. Akira's head fell forward and then backwards, eyes squeezed shut and teeth clenched tightly. A slight groan of pain escaped him, but not a scream, as his shoulder was dislocated. The tar creature gave an inhuman growl of anger and Akira smiled slightly at him, triumphant only for a moment.

Claws raked down his entire front, tearing apart his black robe and white shirt beneath it. Blood splattered forth and Akira issued a slight cry of pain that echoed just a bit in the tunnel. He winced inwardly, angry at himself for such weakness. The tar like wraith grinned, the black mouth pulling back to reveal more tar like teeth.

"Much better, was that so hard? No need to push yourself, little human. That'll come later," it hissed gleefully.

Akira coughed, a bit of blood coating his lips and falling from the corner of his mouth. He lifted his head up just a bit as it had fallen forward slightly in the tendrils grip around his throat. A grin spread across his lips as he gazed at the creature, his vision was slightly dim, but he was still conscious.

"I'm not done yet," he retorted and his body lit up with his electricity. He pulled every ounce of energy he had into the power. Drawing it all together he aimed to bring not only the wraith before him down, but the ceiling as well.



Ah. This was the place. The building in the middle of nowhere, seemingly out of sorts. It was exactly where she needed to be. Leiriya was most certain that her presence hadn't gone unnoticed either by the angel commander Rai. The demon approached slowly, even so.

She moved up the small incline, almost seemingly taking her time with not a care in the world. As she reached the door, she stood for a long moment before lifting a hand and knocking gently upon the wood. Leiriya waited to be greeted, wondering as she stood there, what kind of exorcist and angel she'd been paired up with.

If anything, she hoped that things would be semi interesting as things down in Inferno had gotten rather boring as of late. Being what she was... things got rather dull quickly. Even so, she also wished for the job to be done. Hopefully her group was both effective and quick at their jobs. If not... well, that remained to be seen.

His power escalated, electrifying the very air around him. When he'd gathered enough of it, he unleashed it all upon the monstrosity before him. The tunnel shook, shuddering with the amount of pressure he exuded into the shot. A very large, brilliant blue jagged light exploded in front of him. It engulfed the creatures entire body and then some. The ceiling overhead was torn asunder. Solid rock flew in all directions, including up and outwards.

The sickening feeling of the black tendrils around his throat left and though he couldn't feel it, he knew the one holding his dislocated shoulder had unraveled as well. The beast let out a loud screech of pain as Akira's power shot through it. However, the exorcist was fairly sure that what did the most damage to it was the exposure of sunlight from overhead.

Once he was free, Akira crumpled to the floor and immediately covered his head as best he could with his good arm as a rain of rocks fell down over him. The wraith continued to scream as it backed away into the darkness. Once it was out of the light, it hissed and growled. The exorcist felt himself stuck under a few of the stones and his heart skipped a few beats. He couldn't tell were the wraith had gone, nor did he have any strength to shatter the rocks himself or move them with his binds.

Unable to turn over to see what was pinning him, Akira lay panting on the floor of the cavernous tunnel his vision swimming in and out. It was a struggle to stay awake hoping that the creature would leave entirely, or perhaps Lucian would come to remove the rocks so that he could be free. Then again, if Lucian came and the wraith was not gone... Well that would defeat the purpose of Akira's destroying the tunnel in the first place.

The growling hadn't stopped and it was obvious the wraith was very irritated at the situation. To this, Akira smirked. He'd won and that was satisfying.

"You'll die here, human," the creature snapped.

"Fine," he responded. Akira didn't mind. He was genuinely alright with that fact. Course, he'd been walking that fine line for some time anyway. His fighting was only half hearted, anyone would know if they watched him carefully enough. The exorcist was on the road to getting himself killed, and he didn't care.

The darkness scoffed back at him, but didn't respond. After a few minutes, there was a sound from where the wraith stood and then the exorcist couldn't feel it's presence anymore. He wondered briefly as to what happened, but then again he really could care less. So long as Lucian was alright.

To that thought he ground his teeth together. Why was he so suddenly worried about the demon? It's that damned dream... he cursed, putting all the blame on the strange dream he'd had the night before. It was the only logical thing. Besides, why would the demon have any care for him anyway? He was only a human. The more that he thought about it, the more he was convinced. Akira's words to Lucian that night, about his thinking that the demon was what he was 'missing' had definitely put the other in an uncomfortable situation. Why else would Lucian up and leave so suddenly?

But then, why would he kiss the exorcist too?

Akira sighed heavily and rested his head against his forearm that was stretched out above him on the ground. His other arm was awkwardly down at his side, at a very unnatural angle due to the dislocation. He would have much rather died during a fight, but he supposed this was just as good as any. Protecting something that he cared about, even if it was one sided.

***

Lucian Faust

"My, that's cold of you don't you think?" the voice came from up above, seated on top of one of the buildings. He was cloaked head to foot, dangling his legs off the side of the roof as he leaned back on his hands to survey the situation.

"Well, I suppose I figured that the little trap wouldn't have gone unnoticed by you, Lucian. Even so, I was hoping to see you go after your little pet. After all, you keep turning back time to save him don't you? Or so I'm told anyway. I don't remember any of this, but you remember it all don't you?"

The figure stood then, climbing slowly to his feet. He stretched his arms up over his head, bending backwards slightly and popping some of the vertebra in his spine. Putting his hands on his hips he turned his hooded face towards the demon.

"I'm a little miffed by the fact that you keep halting my plans, Lucian. Of all the exorcists and demons -and god forbid the angels-" he added with a sigh of annoyance, "You... you are by far the most dangerous. Well, to me anyway. That little nifty power of yours... such an annoyance, Lucian."

Turning, the figure in black began to pace on the rooftop, his hands gesturing as he talked, "I suppose I could just go after you, forget the exorcist or anyone else. I could take you head-on. But the problem with that, Lucian," the figure bent at his waist as if he were going to whisper the next part to the demon, "Is you would want that, wouldn't you? Leave everyone else out, and fight you directly. The other problem with that little idea that I've had in my mind is unfortunately, I would lose."

He flipped his hand around in a circle, annoyance in his voice, "It's that little time thing of yours again. The more you turn back time, the more you learn about me. It’s very inconvenient don’t you think? So, I’ve been enjoying going after your human. I can put him through hell you know, I can bring him to the brink of death, and you know the best part? You’ll just turn back time so he doesn’t die. Then I, get to do it, all, over, again,” he said each word very slowly and precisely at the end.

“But I’m getting tired because of your lack of response. You either avoid the situation, or you’re so schooled at keeping your emotions at bay that you have nothing to show in the first place. Quite the mood killer, Lucian,” the man hissed in anger. Standing straight again he paced along the rooftop once more, “You know I think he’s begun to realize that you’re something of importance to him. It’s not quite love just yet, but it’s getting there. Disgusting really, why love a demon of all things? And you, nonetheless. It really does irritate me.”

He shook his head, the hood of the cloak and robe the only thing to move to indicate it, “So, I have a proposition to make to you, dear Lucian,” the man seated himself then, dangling his legs on the side to stare directly at the demon below him, his gloved hand lifted in the direction of where the street had exploded not too long ago, “I can kill him right now and you can turn back your time and we start this whole thing over again, just so I can… well, kill him again. Or!

“You quite using your time magic and I’ll just… have fun with him in an awful attempt to get a reaction out of you, because it’s ever so entertaining. In the meantime, I won’t kill him, and you’re free to go about whatever it is you want to do in the meantime. All because I’m rather tired of you stopping me when things get good at the end. And don’t even try to cast anything, I’m much faster than you are, trust me, dear Lucian.

“Oh, and one more thing before you decide, Lucian. I know you’ve been dying to know how I know about you and Akira Hikaati as well as everyone else. Perhaps you shouldn’t be so willing to trust all who hold power, hm? Just think about it. Now, your answer. Time’s ticking, Lucian. He’s losing all the precious lifeblood as we speak,” he finished condescendingly, his hand that was pointed towards the wreckage started to twist slightly in a slow circle.

---

It seemed like an eternity had passed before they came within reach of the promised gateway, and by the time both Takeuchi and his angelic companion had caught up with the demon Lili with their charge he was sweating profusely, his breath coming in long, ragged draws that slowly lengthened with each gasp for air. It had taken every ounce of concentration for him to make it this far, and they end of their journey was just around the corner as some would put it, but it still looked like they were miles away. His limbs felt as if they were weighed down by lead chains, forcing his once shuffling-step into an awkward drag that was continuously slowed them down, something he might worry about if he wasn't pouring every ounce of concentration into confining the powerful wraith in the combined auric field. A sigh of relief might have escaped his lips if the wraith hadn't targeted him, suddenly bursting forth with an unknown swell of power, taking advantage of his weakened state.

The malevolent spirit had been biding its time patiently, waiting and watching as its captors dragged it to some unknown destination, presumably the location of a gate the demon would then open to hurl it through. The Meister was weak though, and every step had been taking its toll on his crippled body, so it decided to save its energy for the right moment would it could burst forth and overwhelm the pitiful creatures trying to send it somewhere it didn't want to go in the first placed. They would pay, albiet the angel and demon had to be finished quickly, the human could die a slow, agonizing death, something that seemed only fitting giving the already inevitable, drawn-out deaths destined for them. After bursting forth from its bonds the dark entity swiped a vicious claw at the Meister, hurling him backwards into a nearby tree, and then it launch at the angel in a flash, wanting to eliminate any threat it had of being captured again. Once it dealt with the angel . . . the demon would be of no consequence.

That was it. Liri's patience was wearing thin, and when the Wraith at last burst from the body it was contained in, overwhelming the human's part of their defenses, Liriael set the body on the ground and drew the sword at her hip. The first thrust it made in her direction was parried by the silvery steel of the divine blade, and Liri whirled the instrument of death in a broad circle, slicing up and into the Wraith's arm at the elbow. The heavensmade sword did what ordinary steel could not, and wounded the creature, causing it to stagger backwards a few steps. That was all Liriael really required, and she stepped forward again, trying to get in underneath its guard and put it down.

Unfortunately, the creature moved to the side, its reach seeming to stretch supernaturally long, and a talonlike claw dug visciously into Liri's shoulder, making her turn to stumble back, shifting her grip to her other hand. Cackling madly, the Wraith went in to hit her exposed side, but she was quite ready for that, and pivoted, slashing at its abdomen to distract it, then abruptly redirecting, slamming her uninjured shoulder into its midsection and successfully knocking it prone. Her sword, she used to stake it to the ground by stabbing it between collarbone and pectoral muscle on the right side, or what would have been the collarbones and pectorals had it been human. The anatomy was close enough for the analogy to work, anyway, and though it thrashed around, it couldn't get free.

Glancing over at Xana, Liri narrowed her eyes just slightly. "Now... would perhaps be a good time to open that gate." She just hoped the delay had not killed their exorcist, but she couldn't exactly check when her blade was all that was keeping the thing in place.