Babylon

Today was just like any other day in Conquest of Babylon Online, after the revelation that this game was anything but. The sky was beautiful blue, the grass a fine green, and the dirt roads led in many directions, towards the different locations in the game. The sight was a deception to the nasty world that hid behind it. It was a world where people were killed by horrible monsters, murderers, and themselves each and every day. One that firmly established the true meaning of 'Natural Selection', for only the strongest of players survived. Weak people were nothing but a burden that was easily disposed of via blade or foe.

A young, blue-headed man paced back and fourth across a trail, as if waiting for someone or something.

"He's still not back?" the man sighed. "He's still in my friends list, so he must not have died. He's probably helping someone and just forgot to tell me.... again. I guess I'll leave him for now. He can come find me when he's done with all of that. He'll probably have a story or two to tell, like always." the man, Licht as he was named, stopped pacing and begun down the road, towards his newest destination. He had been eager to leave all morning, but was hindered when a friend of his decided to start adventuring before Licht himself even awoke. He waited for a couple of hours with no response, and was finally now reaching the limit of his patience. For you see, Licht had a quest to complete.

It had been months since he obtained Hope's Edge, a blade of magnificent power over the element of Light. With it, his power had increased to levels he could have never achieved before. In fact, since he got it, he had never lost to a single foe. Then again, he never did before. You don't survive much if you lose at all. Maybe it would be more useful to mention that he hadn't actually fought anyone or anything that came close to killing him since he found Hope's Edge. Sometimes, he even thought he was invincible. But he knew his limits, and he knew that he was not unable to die. Caution was still a factor in his daily life, with the exception of now.

The quest, Finding Hope, had never been completed, even though he gained the aforementioned blade. While for the longest time, Licht believed the quest to be corrupt, today proved him wrong. Today, he awoke to a quest marker he hadn't remembered setting. As he went to his quest log to remove it, he found that the quest designating the location was none other than the Finding Hope mission, and thusly his interest was piqued. He wondered if he would find another blade like this, or something else relating to the blade. While Licht wasn't really able to be considered power-hungry, what person wouldn't be excited at the promise of more equipment like that? Think of all the people he could protect and help if he was unstoppable!

With the initial excitement of finding the quest to be active died down, Licht finally thought. He began sending a message to his friend about what had happened, and to track him when he wanted to meet up again. Licht would be heading towards Demon-owned territory, which feasibly meant that he would be attacked by fellow players on more than one occasion. However, his blade made demons the easiest of foes to defeat, Angels being the hardest due to their natural resistance. Of course, his passive did help him do damage against them, but they were mostly calm. Demons, however, weren't usually so docile.

And so, the next couple of hours traveling took him to a demon-owned territory. The sky was noticeably darker here, making the theme much more fitting for devilspawn. Likewise, were he to venture into angel-territory, the sky would be brighter, the grass even greener than the area he was in earlier, and there would be bright-white clouds as far as the eye could see. He had to admit, this game had stunning visuals. He fell for them when he first started playing, and still did. Most of the time, they always set the mood just right.

By the looks of the surrounding environment, the location he was being taken to would most likely be a cave of some sorts. The thought of monsters inside did excite the young man, who was venturing alone. He had become accustomed to one traveling partner, in the form of his best friend Marco, the man who he had to ditch, but was more than capable enough of handling anyone he met along the way, monster or player. A thousand men couldn't touch him with the sword, not with the abilities he wielded. Considering one of his moves, that might not be an exaggeration. But, as he approached the caved where the marker stood, he found he hadn't seen anyone this whole time. Monsters, yet, but people hadn't attacked him. No stereotypical bandits, nor random thugs, nor anyone just passing by. It was.... desolate.

Well, more fighting for him then. The Abyssal Cave was what the place was called, and without much care, Licht ventured in alone to see what made its home inside.....

Nara turned to face Ameratsu. They had just entered the dungeon, The Dark Caves, a party-only area. She would have much preferred doing this alone, but she needed her to get the Black Arrows that most of the creatures here drop, and she would very much like to have the boss's drop.

"I know what we're going up against. At first, we'll be fighting Tunneler Beetles, then we'll encounter a group of enemies called Dark Elf Scouts. After them, we'll start fighting Dark Elf Warriors and Dark Elf Archers. The skeleton's I create can handle most of the creatures easily, while my armor will protect me from archers. There is another enemy we should look out for, the Dark Elf Assassin. He hides until we pass him, then he attacks the one in the back. I shall need assistance should I become attacked." Nara reasoned that Ameratsu didn't need to know what she'd be after, although she guessed that she'd figure it out after they start fighting the Archer's.

She waited a second for Ameratsu to soak in all that she said, then turned and started walking toward's the first group of enemies in their way, Tunneler Beetles, brandishing her scythe. No need to waste mana on such weak creatures...

Suffice to say, this hadn't been what the Devil of Scarlet Flame, the so-called Princess of the Scarlet Covenant, had expected.

It had taken a great deal of preparations, expenses, research, and investigation to get her to the ground upon which she now stood, topped off by a long journey to a distant corner of Demon territory. First, she had needed to buy the exact details of a strange area quest gained by a party of Demons exploring a certain area, something that hadn't come cheaply given how difficult it was to find a reasonably rewarding quest in the game with so many players taking on any such missions they could find as a means of easy leveling. Then, she had needed to schedule an expedition, gathering up a full squad of her best Forwards - a term that was now commonly used to describe a guild's main PvE dungeon and quest clearing force, as opposed to Slayers and Wardens, the former describing those members of a guild whose role was to hunt down and eliminate rival players or factions, and the latter describing the guild members who focused on protecting guild-owned territory from the incursions of enemy Slayers and hostile NPC enemies alike - and assuming direct control of the expedition herself, moving to the site of the newly discovered dungeon in order to, with any luck, clear both it and its unique area quest and claim whatever special rewards there were in this forsaken ruin for the Scarlet Covenant. The squad, known within the Scarlet Covenant by the sub-designation of The Crimson Vanguard, were the elites of Lucia's exploratory expedition to the base of the tower, and, aside from the hour long flight from the guild's fortress of Caladrom, she hadn't expected any inconveniences to hinder this elite task force in completing its mission.

So, upon circling the landing zone once and seeing, of all things, a lone Human player venturing casually into their destination of The Abyssal Cave, Lucia was, naturally, somewhat baffled. Solo players were an odd enough thing within their own race's territory, but seeing one entering enemy-held land so fearlessly was almost unheard of. The fact that this boy was doing so with such a calm, confident demeanor, then, made Lucia almost sure that this was some kind of trap, albeit not likely one meant specifically for them. Her Heightened Awareness ability hadn't alerted her to any stealthed players on the ground below, nor had it warned her of anyone targeting her party. Yet, even still, she couldn't shake off the feeling that whoever that Human player was, he had some sort of plan in store for any Demons who happened to notice and confront him. Why else would he be showing himself in plain sight in the middle of enemy territory, without even a single player to back him up?

In any case, it seemed like things were going to be more complicated than Lucia had thought. She herself wasn't worried overly about any sort of ambush, as, given her powerful combination of the passive abilities of Heightened Awareness and Wicked Eye, she would have advance warning of any such attack. Besides, there weren't many players in her level range, and even if the enemies were stronger than anticipated, her powerful AoE skills worked best when she was alone. But, on the other hand, although her Forwards were very skilled, high-leveled, and equipped with cutting edge gear, the reason that they held their position as Forwards was largely due to the fact that they were reluctant to enter into PvP combat, a feeling she could understand and sympathize with. By leading them into a possible enemy ambush, it would put both their persons and their morals at risk, and Lucia, although she herself did not entirely share their hesitations, did not wish to needlessly compromise her own comrades. So, consequently, a rather odd plan began to form in her mind.

She was going to do exactly what the Human seemed to be doing: leaving her backup in ambush, and entering alone, in plain sight, uncaring of the risks of enemy attack. Signaling her party members to quickly rise above the cloud cover and only descend once she gave the word, she herself dived from the heavens, landing outside of the area and glancing about. A quick search using her passive abilities showed that, unless the assumed enemy presence had nearly the maximum number of levels in stealth, there was no ambush outside the cave, at the very least. So, deciding to take a small risk, Lucia walked calmly into the cave.

The Human player was only a few yards inside when, most likely, he would notice her. As she was making no attempts to conceal herself, unless he either scored a critical failure on his spot check or simply had no situational awareness whatsoever, she highly doubted that he wouldn't notice her, considering she'd even gone to the trouble of acquiring a target lock on him, something that would greatly boost any sort of awareness roll. But, just in case he did somehow miss her, the Demonness made a point of reaching up to her back, placing a hand on the large two-handed sword that rested there, and drawing it with an audible whirr as the blade brushed against its scabbard, and planting it tip first in the ground before her. This gesture of drawing her weapon showed that she was ready for a fight, but, at the same time, the fact that she had planted the blade instead of actually leveling it at her target would hopefully demonstrate her intentions not to simply attack right away.

"Stop right there, Human," Lucia said calmly, staring down the young man as her eyes flashed red, the secondary ability of her Wicked Eye activating and beginning to press down on her acquired target with an almost tangible pressure. To her surprise, however, the resulting debuff that appeared on her enemy's stat bar seemed remarkably weak.

He's almost unaffected by my Wicked Eye...? No wonder he was so confident about appearing here. He must be my level, at least, if not higher. I see. In that case, things might quickly become even more... problematic. It seems avoiding a confrontation will be more expedient than simply cowing this boy into leaving, as I originally planned. Nevertheless, if I play my cards right, that still may be a viable backup plan.

"Tell me... What brings a lone Human player into Demon territory?" She continued, not showing her inner nervousness at her realization of the boy's level, and instead continuing in a calm, composed, and methodical manner. "What is it you're after here?"

"I am your Dark Knight..."

--Amaterasu had sighed to herself when she got the PM and party invite by Nara. Being how Amaterasu was a solo player, she wasn't keen on parties, since she had to worry about two people. Yet accepted quietly anyway, and went on the quest with Nara. Checking her equipment to make sure she had full power in the dungeon, that as she looked at the dungeon level, she noted her level and the dungeon's were a good distance apart, by about 5 levels. She was a little too strong for the dungeon, but kept it to herself.

--Upon entering the dungeon, Nara spoke. Amaterasu didn't really pay much attention to what she had said. As her armour began it's cloaking ability as she basically disappeared from the Phantom Boost. She soon saw the tunneler beetles, never really liking bugs she drew her sword and charged in, knowing she will be regaining health rapidly in the darkness, though the beetles weren't real easy, she didn't kill them with one hit, but she didn't waste more than three seconds to kill one and moved on to another. After the beetles were killed, she waited quietly for her partner and ally, cloaked in her camouflage.

Licht

It would seem, with all the 'warning lights' going off in him, that Licht was not the only player in the area, as opposed to his original assumption. Although it didn't take as much, Licht never did turn around to face the player until after she had retrieved her weapon, only because he had to conceal a sigh. There was no way it'd be Marco yet, for he would at least send him a message about whether or not he was coming. Well, that and the fact that this player was around Licht's own level meant that it couldn't be Marco. Marco was not a weak player, but he wasn't as close to Licht in level as this person was. This person was...

...strong...

If only it was the older days of CoB. He could've challenged this person to a friendly duel without worry of killing or death. Just for fun. But that wouldn't be likely here. Considering that the person before him was defensive, with her weapon out, and the fact that she was a demon, odds are the only 'spar' they'd end up getting in would be one to the death, which was something Licht avoided as actively as possible. However, this might prove to be impossible. While the woman gave no signs of simply attacking outright, Licht was already receiving a small debuff in his speed stat. The move read, "Wicked Eye" under the debuffs display. He wished it actually mentioned the conditions for the debuff to apply, but sadly, it did nothing but give him a vague theory that whatever it was involved her eyes.

Not that that really did anything.

She called out to him finally, addressing him as 'Human'. He had to admit, he thought he looked more like an Angel to most people, but maybe she had checked to see he hadn't any debuff to the element of Darkness or something. Or maybe a guess. Either way, he listened as she continued by asking, obviously, why he was here and what he was here for. Her words seemed... 'boring', as in they didn't betray any real emotion. Was she aggressive? Scared? Happy? Sad? The truth was, judging by her voice, he couldn't answer that. Licht couldn't consider himself such an actor. He only really speaks the truth, for the most part. At this moment, he might not speak the truth simply because he doesn't exactly know why he's here, or what he's here for. Yet, making something up on the spot wasn't his favorite thing to do. He could, perhaps, be vague as to his reasons here. At the very least, this woman knows that Licht isn't some low-level player, and hopefully that would be enough to deter any aggressive action towards him. If not, his identity usually worked wonders on demons since it was essentially a demon's bane with their weakness to Light and his fondness for it.

Licht spoke with a normal tone. It wasn't a casual one, but it was not one that made him seem scared or aggressive. It was boring, like hers, yet it did betray his caution in but the slightest. "I've only come here for my own reasons, and I'm afraid I can't say what I'm specifically here for." he explained the basis of his presence here without revealing the fact that he had no clue what he was looking for. "However, I do know I did not come here seeking blood from another player." he made sure she could see him eyeing her large blade as he spoke. He himself hadn't drawn his weapon.

He would try his best to avoid doing so. While Licht was probably not the most popular player in the game, he might be so to the Demons, who should avoid him due to his aforementioned ability to slice them down rather easily. He could only see revealing his blade as a negative action, due to the fact that this woman'd probably notice who he was, flee, and return with overwhelming odds. Unsure of how deep this cave went, or how strong the enemies in it would be, he feared that such an action would make it impossible for him to complete this quest, which was necessary. Whatever was in this cave, Licht needed.

"Now, I must ask what you are doing here." he begun. "Although I may be considered an intruder here, I don't recall seeing any of your kind on the roads to this place." Licht walked due to the fact that flying made it easier to be detected, however, he expected at least a few demons on his way. That wasn't the case though. Maybe this area wasn't too popular, but Licht was more informed on the Human areas for obvious reasons. There might be something he missed. "Why have you come here? Did you simply spot me and venture in here, or was this your destination before?"

---

Earlier this morning, Marco had left his friend and traveling companion, Licht, because the man ALWAYS slept in. Jeez, you'd think he was dead half the time. Maybe it was because he made the most of every day or some bullcrap like that, but he always seemed to drop like a rock as soon as he found a nice place to lay down, and it was near impossible to wake him up conventionally. So, it came as a surprise when he got a message from Licht before he could even get back to their camping spot.

"Marco,

That unfinished quest I mentioned quite a few times.... well, I just got a map marker for it. It's deeper into Demon territory, but I can't let this go unchecked. So, of course, I expect great plunder and a good fight. To be honest, maybe something more. However, I'll be gone for quite a bit because of its location. You can choose to follow or not, and if not, I'll tell you when I'm done."

Marco sighed and wore a small smile on his face. "He was probably so excited while writing this he didn't even think." he shook his head. By now, Marco and Licht were essentially best friends, and such behavior was predictable from his friend. Marco could tell when Licht truly was excited for something. "But I hope he realizes I'm not crazy enough to venture into Demon territory without an escort. I don't have no rare blade like that...." Marco sighed again, this time because he knew he had to follow his friend, but also had to spend a fortune to do so. Good thing he had one handy.

....

....

....

"Already in the cave? Damn, he walks fast..." Marco mumbled to himself before turning to face his newer traveling companion for the time being. A Human, which made him feel safer. "Glad you could help....?" Marco shook his head. He knew this man due to gossip and the sort, but also knew the man had many different names. He just wasn't sure which one to use. "Is Blade preferred, or do you want me to call ya something else?"

As they cleared out the Beetles, Nara noted that Ameratsu wasn't dealing quite as much damage as she was hoping. Perhaps this meant that she was a lower level, or was more skilled in a different area? Whichever the case, she didn't seem to complain.
After a few more groups of Tunneler Beetles fell, they encountered the first Dark Elves. The Scouts, armed with bows, began their usual 'we see you, don't come any closer or else we'll start attacking' animation. Nara charged them, her breastplate's ability to deflect ranged attacks protecting her. When she reached the first scout, it took out a dagger, and slashed her. The damage wasn't much, but a small indicator sprang up under her health bar. "Be careful, they deal poison damage at close range." She said, downing the Scout.

Asher Evans went through many titles, though he was generally known as his weapon of choice, also his username- Blade. He was only known by his username and titles, and never by his real name. Even after 11 real-time months, which was the equivalent of much more time inside the game he's trapped in- the Conquest of Babylon Online. The goal is simple, really, to just kill and throw out players of other "Races." To him, those targets meant Angels and Demons, as he was, in the game, just a human. A human of greater power, however. Though, this can be used by Asher as no more means as to intimidate opponents and/or strike them unconscious quickly enough.

It was this power that Blade Slizer had made his reputation within the Human Race, which got him so many jobs and enemies. the other races? They may or may not know of him. Then again, Blade particularly cared not. In fact, Blade is just another guy in the game- one who wants to just get back into the real world. Yes, it's entirely possible to be a Forward, a player who focuses on getting through the Tower of Babylon, but Blade never went into the front lines (not that he never would). So, for now, Blade was a sort of mercenary. He took jobs for a price, and they all ranged from escorts to item retrievals to acting just like a Forward. What was the price? It was reasonable and varies between every job, though many players always think that they would need a large fortune to pay him to escort them through 3 floors in the Tower of Babylon.

And so, the price was much, much lower than what the player expected when he brought a large sum of gold inside his inventory when he wanted to be escorted through the Demon's territory. "Wait... your employment isn't extremely expensive and costs 1 month of saving gold?" The boy, "Marco" he wanted to be called, asked.

The mercenary sighed, resting his head on his hand as he leaned to one side of the chair. "No. I honestly am surprised that people always think that way of me..." Blade responded. "Besides. What am I going to do with a pile of digital currency that would probably be gone after this whole thing is done?" The boy tried to answer that, but couldn't. "Exactly. I only need enough gold, gald, whatever in order to live through these times. Now what is it that you need from me? Most likely, I'm charging less than half your offer for your mission."

True to his word, Blade Slizer did charge less than half the fortune- 3/8 to be precise. What Marco wanted was to have Blade escort him through the Demon's territory and get to this cave where his friend was located in order to help the said friend complete his quest. And now, they stood at the entrance to the cave in which this friend was located. "Already in the cave? Damn, he walks fast..." The boy mumbled. "Glad you could help....? Is Blade preferred, or do you want me to call ya something else?" Marco didn't exactly know what name to use- though, it was obvious that Blade was annoyed by it. He didn't need a special title to live in this game. Just a sword.

"Blade's fine." Blade Slizer responded. "Anyway, we might want to hurry up and help your friend as fast as possible. This is still Demon Territory, and I am sure that we don't need Wardens coming after us with Fireballs blazing." Blade unsheathed his Nhazul's Blade, looking around for any Demon Warden scouts. "And your friend might be in danger, considering that he went all alone in here." Blade added as he walked into the cave, looking inside to see if there were any Demon players lying in wait. He doesn't trust his own Of the Shadows ability to get a sense where an enemy's at, mainly because they can cloak themselves with their own abilities. He'd rather use his own eyes. "Clear. For now." Blade called.

---

A young woman, clad in shimmering scales, gazed out over the saturated plains of the Angel territory from the safety of her cave. It had been mostly quiet, with just a few Angels zipping about to get in some questing or to go hunting for players. They didn't take time to notice Sylpha, The Lone Fae, observing the land and waiting. Waiting for what, exactly? Well, not too long ago, Sylpha received a quest marker, one leading to the last pieces of the Sylph set, Sylph's Embrace and Sylph's Gust. She had been looking for them for quite a long time, but was quite disappointed when it turned out they were in a high-level dungeon, located deep in Angel territory.

This would prove troublesome, since a lot of creatures in the Angel area were resistant to light. If she were to go up alone, Sylpha would most likely enter stalemates with all the monsters, and make no progress. She was of a moderately high level, but not enough to be able to hastily deal with those of her own kind. She'd wanted to put off leaving her cave, as that would most likely mean she wasn't going to return to it. Lately, Sylpha had found that staying in one place for too long would make you an easy target. She may have had one of the highest speed stats in the game, but in other areas, she was pretty average. A fight would be quite one-sided.

Sylpha walked to the back of her cave, where a simple bedroll and chest resided. Activating the chest, Sylpha withdrew Shimmerthorn and Heaven's Needle, her two precious weapons. They protected the admittedly glass jaw girl, and they did a magnificent job. Many of the Angels wanted them for themselves, but none of them could catch Sylpha. A fact she prided herself on. Equipping Shimmerthorn and her mask, Sylph's Visage, Sylpha activated her wings and took flight out of the cave.

She zoomed out, over the rolling pastures and holy ruins, and even a few players. Some were fighting, others searching for loot. A few even noticed her, but didn't pursue her. Her speed buff simply put them off. After a bit of flying, and her stamina getting low, Sylpha landed in front of a beautiful forest. Brightwood Glade, it was called. Sylpha knew that it was a high level dungeon, as she'd been past this area and lifted the fog of war here, but she did not know it was a party dungeon. A further affirmation that she'd need to shed her solo ways if she were to complete her set.

She sighed. "Oh God, I know I'm going to regret this." She muttered before opening the requests chat channel, and posting a party invite:

{Sylpha} requests players to join them at [Brightwood Glade]. Click here to warp.

While she would much rather have a Human come with her, as they would be able to take down the monsters easier, she didn't want to risk being at a disadvantage against whoever came. They could easily attack her, and if an Angel did, she'd at least have the capability to escape. Sylpha drew her bow, and waited to see if anyone would show.

Ah. So that was it. Yes, as expected, this was turning out to be somewhat inconvenient. Lucia did not wish to drag her Forwards into this mess, but, on the other hand, she couldn't afford to back down here and give up the evidently quite rare loot this dungeon housed - at least, if the accounts of the party that had stumbled across this place to begin with, only to be repelled, were to be believed - least of all to such a high leveled enemy player. But, on the other hand, it seemed like her initial suspicions of an ambush hadn't been unfounded, as, just before she could open her mouth to give her reply, Heightened Awareness registered two more players approaching the cave.

"Didn't come looking for a fight, huh...?" Lucia chuckled wryly. "Well, then, I guess that answers my question for me. Although, I hadn't expected that word of this dungeon would have spread into the Human areas. In any case, I suppose that error on my part doesn't particularly matter, considering that you Humans now seem to have me surrounded." Shooting a glance back over her shoulder, she smirked slightly. "Alright, fine, since it seems diplomacy has served its purpose, I'll get right down to the point. This dungeon, and all it contains, has been claimed by my guild." Making this matter-of-fact statement, Lucia snapped her fingers, at the same time muttering a single word under her breath. With a sudden surging of blackness, her shadow spread across the entire floor of the cave, momentarily sweeping outward across the plateau outside the entrance to the cavern. In the next instant, at least two dozen crimson-clad figures abruptly appeared in the sky above, diving downward towards the ground below and landing, taking up positions outside of the cave.

Although Lucia had been reluctant to call in her reinforcements, realizing that she was surrounded had been the last straw. She had, after all, wished to avoid conflict, but when three players of one faction surrounded a single player of another, the results were generally quite predictable, even if the ambushing party had originally wished to avoid bloodshed. She couldn't risk allowing these enemies to grow cocky enough to make a move against her, so, by showing that she had a large party of high-leveled and well-equipped reinforcements, she had hoped to bluff them into standing down and accepting her terms instead of trying to force her into an unfavorable situation.

"Relax," She said calmly. "These are just my Forwards. I'm not so stupid as to throw away the lives of Slayers against three players powerful enough to stroll through Demon territory with impunity. But, on the other hand, I'm also not foolish enough not to bring backup into a situation where I'm cornered. Now, then, let's be frank. Name your price, then stand aside. How much can I pay you to leave this dungeon and get out of our way without a fight?"

Most likely in any other case, Licht would either mention he was not here in this dungeon for the loot that it held, but the challenge, or he'd back down to avoid any fighting, however, this was probably one of the very rare exceptions to this trait, since the quest Finding Hope had led him to this place. No, Licht could not back down here, otherwise he'd never... find hope? Well, the quest was obviously important if it had something to do with his sword, and that was reason enough for him to be stubborn about leaving this place, even when reinforcements for the woman had arrived.

It was only as she mentioned being surrounded that Licht finally picked up Marco, as well as someone else tagging along with him. Licht refrained from shaking his head and sighing at Marco's untimely appearance. It probably just made things worse. But, at least he wouldn't be alone now. Licht took a small step towards the woman, a subtle intimidation method.

The step itself was almost unnoticeable. Typically, if someone scares you or seems dangerous, you try to move away from them. But the opposite is also true. If you consider someone to be threatless, you'll have no problem moving towards them. Licht had to assume that this woman had to theories about him judging by the circumstances. The obvious one is that he was just stupidly overconfident in his ability, but in that case, she would've descended upon him already, so he couldn't see her reaching this conclusion. No, this woman had the other, more correct assumption on him. Since she hadn't summoned her allies to attack him yet, she must figure that Licht wasn't simply overconfident, and that he was strong enough to warrant worry in a fight, which was true (He'd like to think). But in the end, that step Licht took was only a way to test the woman's resolve. He didn't expect her to jump back or anything, just the smallest twitch in the face would give it away. But....her face didn't betray her emotions, a trait Licht was a bit envious of. Although you couldn't consider him an 'open book' when it came hiding his emotions behind his face, he was not impossible to see through either. The step was simply to give the subtle impression that he didn't consider her or her allies to be a huge threat, and that he was only avoiding confrontation because he wanted to. Hopefully. She could just see right through it in the end....

"Were I able to just leave this dungeon, I would have never ventured into this territory in the first place." Licht answered, flexing his fingers as he did. Usually, when a demon doesn't get what it wants, it reverts to violence. While this can be true for any member of any race, it is especially so for hellspawn. Licht couldn't help but think that he'd be fighting players within the next few minutes, and some preparations for his fingers was certainly needed since he had an easy time here. "You won't be able to buy me off, nor convince me to leave. I suggest you take this chance to avoid any unnecessary casualties and exit this cave."

When this turns into a fight, I'll have to regroup with Marco and his escort. Should be easy with only this woman in my way, but... I'll be careful not to underestimate her. She definitely doesn't seem like she'd be leading a group of high-level demons without being one herself, so she probably has a trick or two up her sleeve. Not that I don't but... until I can Analyze her, I'm in the dark about how strong she is. I'll only really know if we clash blades though, but hers looks like it might hurt.

This damn quest better be worth it....

---

"Blade, eh? Easy enough to remember." Marco said, following the man into the cave. This is where he should be, right? Blade gave a small look around, giving the 'ok' for the area. As soon as he said that, however, Marco noticed a pretty nice ass demonic woman blocking his view of Licht, whose coat he could just barely see. They didn't appear to be fighting yet. Yet, as soon as that thought popped into his head, the woman, seemingly aware of them, turned her head to see them. After mentioning how her clan owned the dungeon, she gave a simple snap of her fingers and quite immediately, Marco noticed that the outside of the cave was blocked by some strong-looking demons. It would appear that they were surrounded now.

"Licht, you're going to get us killed, you know that?"

....well, that's what Marco wanted to say, but odds are that'd just end up giving the demons confidence that they wouldn't be much of a fight or something, so the words never left his mouth. These demons did look scary though... Marco could honestly only stand there and see how Licht ended up turning things. He never was good with dealing with demons, probably because of his sword. Marco wondered if Licht had revealed his blade yet. It may have either send them running, or cause aggro, depending on the demon. A half chance, but enough, right? Well, that's the impression that Marco got from it. Either way, Marco was ready to fight. Licht could save them, right? And they had Blade too! Maybe this wasn't so helpless?

Amaterasu Mirayel

---

Amaterasu nodded as she attacked the scouts from a distance in annoyance, "Tenebris transitu angustia!" she yelled seeing her Hp bar drop about 15% from the use of the move as the pulse of darkness that hit about ten scouts before dissipating, which envokrd her to now charge in to finish those that remained in about one hit and as soon as she noticed the enemies were all killed she sheathed the blade she had. Until realizing her blade was broken which she sighed as she looked at the blade, 'Damn... There goes my dark blade...' she thought before she opened her menu and selected her newer blade, which she got from a drop, The Blade of Despair. She soon sheathed it as she looked at Nara, "You able to continue...?" she asked in a cold and quiet manner as she stood looking deeper into the dungeon with her cold and expressionless eyes.

---

Nara nodded. "Next we shall be fighting more dangerous opponents. Give me a minute to summon some help." She said. She closed her eyes, focusing on the phrase. She has been putting everything she had into making these things tough, and it certainly paid off. She opened her eyes. "Broma, Gathos, Hickta, Caldra!" Six skeletons started rising from the ground. They were well armored, wearing chainmail, and carried a mace and a shield. "These should last a few battles, assuming that we don't encounter any surprises." She said. Nara then motioned with her hand. "Advance." She said, and the skeletons obeyed. "Let us keep moving." She said, following her undead warriors.

You know how sometimes, it's just too quiet for you (and your companions) to be alone in the area? Well, it was way too quiet, especially in Demon Territory. It wasn't surprising, therefore, that Blade and his companion to find a Demon player.... confronting the Human Player Marco needed Blade to escort him to/protect. It was at the point in which the Demon player had snapped her fingers, supposedly sending a signal that brought in the presence of, what Blade sensed, 1 and a half parties of Demon Players to the mouth of the cave. "Relax. These are just my Forwards. I'm not so stupid as to throw away the lives of Slayers against three players powerful enough to stroll through Demon territory with impunity. But, on the other hand, I'm also not foolish enough not to bring backup into a situation where I'm cornered. Now, then, let's be frank. Name your price, then stand aside. How much can I pay you to leave this dungeon and get out of our way without a fight?" The Demon Player said.

"You won't be able to buy me off, nor convince me to leave. I suggest you take this chance to avoid any unnecessary casualties and exit this cave." The blue-haired Human Player responded. It seemed he looked ready for a fight. Is this even worth his life...? Blade thought. Then again.... He did leave his fried behind, most likely in excitement. Only a newbie would do that for a petty little new thing that appeared for them...

Upon closer inspection of the two clashing players, Blade had recognized them through various accounts of their appearances from various clients and players. The one in blue was Licht, a Human player who mysteriously gained a set of weapons, equipment, and skills from an item in some cave (Is a cave seriously the only place to find ANYTHING useful now?!), all of them giving the boy an advantage against demons.

The other player, the girl in red, was the infamous Lucia Fair, the Devil of the Scarlet Flame. She was armed with the power of a Field Boss, a Dragon the originated within the Demon Territory and went on a rampage, killing many players in the process. Lucia herself was known to somehow absorb this power, but Blade heard nothing else about her.

This made him even more cautious, especially after seeing the words "Wicked Eye" appearing in the Negative Stat Effect list. At first, Blade checked himself out before fully appearing before the two players. He can chant. His attacks look normal enough, and so did his defense. Blade's health wasn't exactly dropping, and neither was his mana or stamina bars. Weird…. What is this…?

Sighing, Blade finally stepped out of his hiding place and appeared in front of the two players. "It seems that fate has brought us here together…" Blade muttered. "You don't see two players of different races that are worth gossip and rumors among all races together at once." Blade then turned to the Demon Player. "As much as the three of us want your…. unique type of hospitality, the three of us are here on a quest that appear once in a lifetime. While I do not like to draw my blade in intent to use it against flesh, I am not afraid to knock you all out if I must to protect and aid in the quest of these two." Blade stressed the word "knock", as if to specify that he will not "strike" or "cut" down anyone, but to knock them unconscious.

"Oh?" The Demoness asked, giving a slight, mirthless chuckle at the rather interesting responses her proposal had earned her. "A quest that will only appear once in a lifetime, is it? Well, now I'm even more interested in this place." Indeed, that revelation changed the situation a great deal. Such a one-of-a-kind quest would surely have rare rewards granted to those who completed it, and, unlike the drops of a dungeon, which could only be picked up by one person, the earnings of a quest would be given equally to the entire party that completed it. However... Lucia had already entered the dungeon, yet she saw no indications of such a quest, something that didn't entirely surprise her. It was not unheard of, after all, for a unique quest to be accessible only to a single person or group at a time.

In that case, it seemed that Lucia's best interests now pointed in a new direction, one that would result in increased profits for herself, and decreased chances of casualties amidst her Forwards. "Then, in that case, how does this sound? Allow me to join your party, and myself, along with my Forwards, will assist you in completing your quest, in exchange for you sharing that quest with us. You lose nothing, and gain the help of one of the Demon faction's best clearing groups to boot, while we can turn even better profits than expected. Arrangements for the loot can be made after we clear the dungeon and finish the quest. The way I see it, it's a win-win scenario for everyone involved." Admittedly, that view of things didn't take into consideration the fact that this quest might give rare, or even unique loot that could only be claimed by one party, but, if that was the case, Lucia already had more than one means of ensuring that this reward was granted to her, and her alone...

"You don't see two players of different races that are worth gossip and rumors among all races together at once."

Licht's heart nearly skipped a beat as this man, whoever he was, started off with a line that could've destroyed that very cover he was working so hard to keep up until he absolutely had to ditch it. 'Idiot', 'fool', and 'dumbass' were among the immediate insults he was going to shout at the player, but the woman apparently didn't pick up this and instead focused on the mentioning of the quest. Offering an alliance, there was definitely the chance to avoid conflict, but now that meant they had to share the loot, whatever it turns out to be.

Marco had to have opened his mouth at some point.... ugh....

Licht saw the most obvious problem with working together, namely, using his sword in front of the demons. Judging by his words, the other human knew who he was by appearance, but these demons didn't seem to. There was always the chance that they were oblivious to who he was, even with the sword but.... Judging by her gender, he race, and her probable level, that was Lucia Fair, an individual much more popular than he. And if it was, something told him that she didn't get to where she was now by being oblivious, unfortunately. He was still in a bit of a pickle here, but maybe....

"One of the best demon clearing groups, you say? Are you self-proclaimed, or is your boast warranted?" Observing the woman, Licht switched to the general info tab, and saw the name Lucia Fair appear, confirming his suspicions. He avoided gritting his teeth in frustration. "Either way, your help would be appreciated, rather than your hostility.... I would accept these conditions." he said, not betraying his knowledge of the woman. It was scary that she could do the same and find his username, but most people didn't bother with general information, as it gave them their designated weight, height, name, eye color, and voicefile. Nothing that'd actually help someone in a fight. Licht only thought to do so since the mysterious man Marco brought with him mentioned her being worth gossip. And to be honest, he was certainly correct.

Thank god nobody looks at the general information tab on the field. Or maybe she has me figured out already, and is just testing me? Although I'm more popular because of the sword I wield, not my (admittedly) odd appearance, she could've already seen through me. I have to watch out, and assume absolutely nothing.

Joseph Lee, or Seph, as he was named in the world of BO, was just walking around aimlessly like he would do on certain days that he didn't have a request from one of his old friends or from a weak character he bumped into. Why would he waste time doing such a thing? He had no clue. Maybe it was because he enjoyed a good walk every now and then. Whatever the reason, he was growing real tired of the dark and gloomy scenery of the demon area of the game. He had no reason to travel outside of the area though and stayed to his roots. He came to a town that he was used to seeing everyday. His base of operations, if you could call it that and the place where he rested at during nighttime hours of the game.

Passing in town he received the hello's and bows from some players who he had the pleasure of helping in the past. Some of the other townsfolk averted their eyes from his cold gaze, while others just pretended he wasn't there. He enjoyed those people more than the others. He hated being looked upon and talked about, much less being talked too. Still, when a person needed help, he couldn't help himself but to help them. No matter how cold he tried to act, people of weaker levels still seemed to think he was safe enough to step up to for help. Lucky for them that he was. He never denied a request from someone weaker or even someone strong enough to take care of themselves. However, he would never out right talk to someone, especially if said person was weaker than him. He would only talk to someone if he had to, or someone he already knew and trusted. If you were to know him that well then you would be one of the small few and if you were to just meet him after the start of real like in BO then you would be part of the sum he could count on one hand.

As he was just about to walk into the inn where he stayed he was stopped by an incoming message.
"Hey man. It's me, Korin. I have a request for you. I know you're not part of the Angel race, but I have just been randomly invited by a weaker character to party inside of a high level dungeon. Thing is, I'm busy at the moment, but I still worry for that player. If you would be so kind, would you please follow the link and assist them? I'll be forever in your debt man. Thanks. -The Korinator."

The first thought on Seph's mind was that Korin had to change his signature. The second thought was that the man should be lucky that he use to party and spar with him. If it wasn't for the bond the two had then he would've denied immediately. He touched his hand on the link and saw,
{Sylpha} requests players to join them at [Brightwood Glade]. Click here to warp.

Great. She's a female. That guy sure knows how to get me to do things.

Reluctantly he pushed the link and was warped to the destination. The scenery was at least a good change. He had always felt warm in Angel territory. Sick to his stomach at times, but on a day that he was hoping for a change of environment, this was pretty good. Everything was brighter here. Still the dungeon might prove to be uglier than the exterior. He walked to the woman who had her back turned. "I am here to assist you." He said. Even though he was there to help he couldn't get rid of his glare, especially as he saw that she was masked. Based on all he knew, it was a trap. However, she was a weaker character so it shouldn't be a problem if she would attack him. Hopefully it wouldn't cause a problem.

"If you're wondering how a demon got your request, I was forwarded it from a friend. If you don't want my help I could leave if you want."

It was a wonderful day, or at least for all appearances sake it was. The lone individual moving smoothly through the sun soaked surrounds, the being went unnoticed unless one was paying enough attention. A few birds twittered sweet nothings into slightly pointed ears from the relative safety of their homes as she slid past. The femme was in no mood to be slowed down today, her barriers needed more mana from her and she was running low on mana potions. Lilac eyes slid around in their sockets as they searched for stealthed players and wards, though she was in a slight hurry she was not stupid. No....she couldn't afford to be stupid or defenceless, she didn't have her bro-...alright that was it, no more thinking of him till she had returned to the mill.

She shuddered slightly at the thought of returning to the mill, but she had no choice. Get out...then get back. Out then back. She tossed up for a moment whether or not to just waltz into the little neutral town via the front gate. At this train of thought she reached up to brush her fingers against her-...no, oh she'd forgotten that she'd had the mask on. The tips of her pale fingers brushed against painted porcelain, a sensation rising from her chest as she almost missed the feeling of her warm skin. Her throat worked before she took to the left in a sudden sharp turn, going from patches of sunlight to dappled coolness as the trees welcomed her willowy form as she stepped among them.

The town wall was not far from her position, but if she were to vault over it too close to the main gate it would cause a lot more trouble than if she did it behind the pub. Y'see she may have accidentally punched a town guard, mistaking him for an enemy. In her defence it had been an incredibly dark alley, but nooooo....he'd wanted to cart her ass to the gaol. So she'd gone for the oldest trick in the book, she ran. Either way, that very same guard was watching everyone coming through the front gates like a hawk. She was an angel yes, but that doesn't mean that she was completely repentant for that. I mean, who comes up behind someone like a creeper then grabs their arm?

She shook her head and once again focused on getting to where she needed to go. The young woman hopped lightly over a bubbling brook and then found herself facing a clearing around the wall, drainage ditch included. Huh....well, nothing ventured nothing gained. Shreya almost laughed as her body went down into a sprinter's starting position. Never gets old then....inserting parts of an old life into the new one. Her boots gripped the grass and then she launched forward, skidding slightly as she braced herself before leaping over the drainage ditch. Her hands pressed against the stone and mortar before she spread them out and then scuttled up the wall. She was in and out in 6 minutes flat after negotiating with one of her NPC potion sellers.

"Well now...back to the mill I go." She murmured to herself, moving on auto pilot as she did every evasive trick in the book just in case anyone was following her. See...there were rumours brewing about a fallen demon's treasure nearby and if she had any guesses she knew who had started the rumours. But she'd promised not to harm them, she had not however....promised that she wouldn't strike down any who came to seek monetary gain. She drank at least two mana potions as she made her way back inside the mill, whispering messages into her almost transparent barriers. They had different colours that changed according to their strength. Blue being the weakest and silvery-pearl being the strongest. As she passed through her final barrier she looked over at a figure lying down on its back, completely motionless.

"I'm home brother...I'll let the NPC take you if they are strong enough to come through all five barriers, I promise. Tell...tell mum that I'm sorry, that I did what I could....okay?" She said gently, looking at the bags of treasure that they'd amassed here...they only had three left now, not much of a 'treasure' any more. Dust motes spun lazily in the shafts of sunlight that came into the dim room from the boarded up windows.The femme wondered what she would do after her brother was taken from here.....would she leave? Or stay?

Shreya went and sat down on her pallet to ponder this further, the scratchy steel grey woollen blanket warming her behind. She sighed lightly as she reached up to undo the ribbon that held the mask to her face. She thought about the possible future for a good amount of time. After a while however, she stirred at a shattering sound, mana flowing back to her in a rush....the first barrier had been broken. She twitched minutely and then grasped the fox mask in her hand, heart jumping like a jack rabbit. Whether in excitement or anxiety she could not tell, but it was not the time to think about that at the moment. Now was the time to wonder....who was coming to see the fallen demon and the bronze fox?

Talks like this

As polygons drifted up into the digital skies, Haruo sheathed his great weapon and sat down to observe the blue sparkles in the sky. He had completed another tough mission, once again solo. It was difficult and being a demon, he had to continuously rely on his potions to ensure he would not die. Having 'reincarnated' his character from an Angel into a Demon didn't help either, as he lost all his previous weapons and he had to begin from scratch. He was still a long way from his previous level, but he was desperately. not to mention recklessly, power-leveling his way through, which was dangerous for a low-level player such as himself.

Finally, Haruo decided that his breather was over and stood up, dusting down imaginary dust from his backside.

"Well... can't lolly-gag around." he quipped to himself, quoting a famous line from one of the classic games he played before.

Several months ago, Haruo wasn't a nobody Demon that was working alone... Haruo had been the famous 'Angel of Death' and usually worked together with his close friends as mercenaries. He had been one of the so-called 'Hall of Famers' along with several strong players, among which Haruo knew were still active and maintaining their status, such as 'The Dark Enforcer', 'Scarlet Flame', to name a few of them. Perhaps 'Scarlet Flame' had died out in fame, but no doubt that the incredibly powerful player was still active. However, there were these stories of several new players rising the ranks and becoming new 'Hall of Famers'... although things like that didn't matter in the current state of this game.

The digital winds blew across his face, throwing his white locks all over the place... just the way he liked them. The winds were so soothing and... so real, that it was hard to believe that this was a game. However, as Haruo took a step forward, he knew very well that the hazards were real.

Death in this game meant death in the real world too. This was the Death Game that the players had to deal with ever since it's first announcement. By the 'God', the game's creator: Kenpachi Ramasama.

Haruo's fist tightened with anger as he remembered all the shocked expressions, the depression, the crying, the pleading of the people around him. Haruo had titled Kenpachi Ramasama as their unjust 'God' and had vowed to end the tyranny. In a way, this helped Haruo survive through several occasions when depression attacked. Not completely immune to the matters at hand, even the free-spirited Haruo was affected and would often just want to hole himself up in his room to cry out his heart at the misfortune that befell them all. By imagining that Kenpachi Ramasama was merely the Final Boss and that he was the main character, he could get away from all his depression by thinking it a game. It was a game, but a game where death was real.

Too many have died, too many have lost those they care about, too many have resorted to the worst means of surviving: Killing others.

Haruo trudged along the route back to the village where he was given the quest he had completed without any obstructions. Once back, he received his reward and was about to leave when he heard commotion in the middle of the village square. Knowing not to ignore such a situation from past, he made his way through the dense crowd of low level players to meet a spectacle of a large group of Angels standing before two other Angels who were on their knees.

Haruo knew who they were.

"...Saint's Order." Haruo muttered under his breath.

Of course he knew who they were. He and his friends had given them a good walloping. The Guild had always tried to recruit Haruo and his friends back when he was still an Angel. It was also because of this Guild that Haruo first soiled his hands with a kill when he protected Tano from being killed. Would you believe it when a member of the Saint's Order stepped forward to stab one of the kneeling Angels in the shoulder was...

"...Tano."

Haruo couldn't believe this. He stepped closer forward to get a better look.

"LISTEN UP!" Tano spoke out as he looked around. "THIS IS A WARNING TO ALL OF YOU ANGELS!"

Tano sunk his sword deeper into the other Angel's shoulder, who was yelling in pain while the one beside stared in fear.

"SUBMIT TO OUR GUILD! THE SAINT'S ORDER REQUIRE YOUR ASSISTANCE AND IN EXCHANGE WE WILL PROTECT YOU! THIS IS WAR! WE WILL BE THE ONLY CLASS THAT WILL ESCAPE THIS GAME, KEEP THAT IN MIND!" Tano exclaimed, then pulled the sword out from the victim's shoulder before pointing it at him.

In a softer voice, "He will be an example to those who defy our grand design."

"NO. PLEASE!" the player yelled as he tried to flee, but with a few quick chants from Tano, magic light bound him in place.

Just as Tano swung the sword as if to behead the Angel, Haruo cracked.

"TAAAAAAAAANOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Tano's celestial sword clashed against a wooden sword as Haruo stood between him and the other Angel. There were gasps all around. Tano's eyes widened in recognition as he saw Haruo's username.

"...Haruo?!" Tano stepped back. Haruo also took a step back, but did not leave the Angel's side.

"Tano. What's this supposed to mean?" Haruo asked quietly. "How come you're with THEM?"

Haruo pointed at the group behind Tano, the members of the Saint's Order.

"...Haruo. I'm a prized member of the Saint's Order. They are my subordinates."

"You joined the Guild that were going to kill you?"

"You don't understand Haruo. There is no longer any freedom of choice. I joined them because it was the only way."

"BULLSHIT TANO!" said Haruo angrily. "You were just afraid to DIE for what's right."

"You don't know the first thing about what's right!"

"YEA!? I sure as hell know not to kill an innocent life just to prove a point!"

"DON'T LECTURE ME ABOUT KILLING WHEN YOU KILLED SOMEONE YOURSELF!"

Haruo's kill flash through his eyes, causing a small guilt to form in his chest but his anger was more pronounced.

"I SAVED YOU, YOU INGRATE!"

There was a short silence before Tano finally spoke.

"We won't get anywhere with just words." Tano lifted up his sword to eye level. "You're still a friend Haruo. I don't want to fight you, so step aside and let me finish what I started."

"You've gone down the wrong road Tano."

There was a warning tone in Haruo's voice.

"...You said the same thing that Akio said." Tano said quietly. "I'll have to do to you what I did to him."

Haruo was stunned at the sentence. Akio was the other friend Haruo was always with, together with Tano, they jokingly called themselves the three Musketeers of CoB.

"Tano... no... you didn't..."

A sharp cut through Haruo's cheek pulled him back to the task at hand and he quickly rolled to the side. Tano was in an outstretched pose, his sword pointing sharply in the place Haruo previously was at. Tano looked straight at Haruo with expressionless eyes.

"Yes. I killed Akio because he wouldn't join the new world... the Saint's Order."

"Tano... you... TAAAAAAAAANOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Anger flashed in Haruo's voice.

The celestial sword and the wooden sword clashed again, but this time Haruo was thrown aside.

"Your petty little sword can't do anything to me Haruo. You're still a low-leveled peasant... do you really think you can stand up to the might of a powerful Saint's Order member?" Tano seemed to pity Haruo, twirling his sword around as he observed Haruo getting up.

"This 'petty little sword' is the 「Black Accommodo」." Haruo said before dashing forward to attack. "YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?!"

This time when their swords met, Haruo maintained his footing, but Tano was now the one backing up.

"What the... impossible! This is just a weak weapon wielded by a weak person!"

Haruo pushed and Tano was forced backwards, shocked.

"Tano... you, Akio and I used to watch anime together. You should know that the weaker one is... he'll always be stronger if he has hope and believes in himself."

Haruo readied his stance as Tano's vein popped in his anger.

"THIS IS REALITY ASSHOLE! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS HAPPINESS, HOPE AND ALL THAT NONSENSE! GO TO HELL HARUO!!!"

As Tano launched at himself and the two met in an even clash.

"I've always hated you Haruo. Always the leader in everything, never second to none."

Haruo's spirit dropped and his grip slackened. Seeing an opportunity, Tano struck with great speed.

"BUT TODAY! I'LL ERASE YOU AND I'LL BE FREE FROM YOUR DAMN SHADOW!" Tano yelled as he performed an active skill, effectively chaining several attacks on Haruo.

With his health bar dropping incredibly low, Haruo could not afford to be struck again. Quickly, he dodged Tano's next strike quickly and blocked the next two weakly.

'...I never knew... I never knew that Tano hated me...' Haruo thought to himself as he endured each of Tano's attacks with a defensive maneuver. 'I thought we were best friends... Did Akio have the same thoughts as well...?'

Haruo's spirit was slowly receding as his initial anger and determination was now replaced by a deep sadness and helplessness as he realized just how alone he was in this world. Distracted by his depression that he had held at bay now rushing to comfort him with it's deathly atmosphere, Tano cut through his slackened defenses and struck Haruo, sending his health dropping to the red zone and dangerously teetering between death.

Weakened, Haruo fell back on his back and await his death... with depression being his only comfort.

"No hard feelings Haruo. I was just stronger, and you weaker. But don't worry... you'll be the light to guide them all to a new order." Tano reassured him in a creepy voice, raising his sword up to deliver the killing blow and erase Haruo from existence.

It had taken over an hour for Shreya to let her brother's body go, a high level NPC finally breaking through her barriers in an effort to retrieve him. However when she checked the surrounding area map she discovered a congregation of guild members in one of the nearby lower level village. Now that....was unusual to say the least, unless they were gathering to do some sort of quest nearby. But the young woman highly doubted that the Saint's Order were coming out of the wood work unless they were doing something that they deemed important.

When she noticed a red dot enter and then engage one of the purple guild member dots after a few moments and she frowned a little before curiosity began to niggle at her. She bit her lower lip, contemplating her options before sighing and leaving all unnecessary items underneath her sleeping pallet. She grabbed Lady Luck and slid the sword into its sheath on her right hip, slinging her bow and quiver onto her back, her last piece of necessary equipment was the Mask of the Wise. She looked down at the shiny markings on the fox mask for a moment before she tied the ribbons back in place, pulling her dark hair up into a ponytail around the ribbons, hiding them.

This all done, Shreya walked out of the mill, placing various traps about the place as she did so. She stood in the shadow of the white washed building before crouching and concentrating hard on that village where it seemed that something was afoot. In a burst of blue-white she was gone, magic glittering in the air for a moment before going away. The young woman found herself in a much more volatile situation than she had first thought, shimmering into being just behind two kneeling angels. Without a second thought she touched their injuries gently, using Angel's Kiss to heal them.

She turned her head at the sound of a hollow thunk, metal sinking into wood as an angel attacked a weaker level demon. The demon was defending weakly....obviously wounded and the angel was spouting off in a creepy voice.
"No hard feelings Haruo. I was just stronger, and you weaker. But don't worry... you'll be the light to guide them all to a new order." As the angel raised his weapon she took in a breath.
"MAY THIS PROTECT!" She yelled, throwing up her hand and a silvery bubble flew from both of her hands, one going to land on the ground before the demon, the other enveloping the two slightly injured angels. That was the strongest barrier she had...now was a good time to prove that guilds weren't all that they were cracked up to be.

It was a dangerous game she was about to play, a game of bluffs and occasional attacks. The angel it seemed, hadn't really taken notice of the young woman behind him...until this point. Onlookers were murmuring to each other, elbowing others and continuing in the twisted game of Chinese Whispers.
"It's her.....The Bronze Fox.....but why would she defend a demon?" Cold murderous eyes bored into hers and she tilted her head slightly to the side, her main option was to think on her feet now.
"Don't you think it's a little disturbing that angels are attacking others just to make an example of them? It's like bobbing for apples on Halloween but getting a mouthful of worms instead." She said calmly, unsheathing her sword and holding it in front of her.

"Y-...take down the barriers this instant or I'll kill you for defying the Saint's Order!!" The angel snarled at her and she twitched subtly as his goons spread themselves out.
"Call off the dogs otherwise I'll put them down and you'll be left with no back up." She said smoothly and she sensed the guild members move back of their own accord. So they'd checked up on her huh.....darn.
"What right have you to tell me what to do?!" He advanced towards her threateningly and she stepped toward him.

"I have the right to advise you against your current course of action, I have said right because I chose not to live under oppression or fear." She returned in a heartbeat, only for him to strike at her with his blade. The femme brought Lady Luck up in a flash of silver, the distinct clash of metal against metal ringing out in the village square. The tall girl stared into his eyes for a moment before shoving back against him to test exactly how much give she would get. Not much it seemed as she hopped back lightly, meeting his head on charge again and again before....for a moment she had a reprieve, throwing a health potion through the demon's barrier.
"Hey Circle....don't lose faith 'kay? I gotcha covered." Shreya said encouragingly without taking her eyes from her target, knowing that the poor demon was feeling pretty despondent right now.

"It seems....that we are evenly matched, though I never did catch your real name..?" She pointed out when she once again found herself hilt to hilt with the angry guild angel. "We're going to be at a stalemate for a while I think, if we keep fighting. How about...you give me the demon and the two injured parties and we leave it at that. Let the demon get stronger, so you can actually have some honour in beating him when he is at your level....rather than annihilating him now and not saving face." She proposed, blinking those strange lilac eyes for a second before listening to the crowd around the square. For a moment Kaoru wondered if she would have gotten this notorious if she'd gotten into scraps in the real world rather than the virtual one. But this was a very scary situation to be not paying attention in...even if it was for such a brief second, so she refocused her gaze on her opponent's with nothing short of sheer determination. Surely his pride would win out and he'd realise that there was more merit in defeating the demon at a later time. Hopefully? Maybe?

Talking
Spells
Other characters talking

Azrieal Kain

Ever since the game had taken it's twisted turn things had seemed to go well for Azrieal, that meaning he was still alive. On top of that he had managed to get his hands on a rather impressive set of gear and had maintained a high level. Proof of his success was currently scattered about around him, bodies of nearly ten angels who had been stupid enough to wander onto Demon controlled land. Hell, if he hadn't finished them off someone else would have because nothing was as easy to spot as light in the land of the dark. Yes, they had been begging for death and Azrieal had delivered it to them, though not without help. He had a partner, someone strong enough to rely on and oddly trustworthy despite his strange personality. Not that the man wasn't annoying but he got the job done and that was all Azrieal cared about. The Devil of Vengeance stayed on guard for a moment, listening to and observing his surroundings, wanting to ensure he had eliminated all of the pesky angels. When nobody came to avenge the fallen pests and seeing as he found no signs of further life he dropped his guard. The Demon looked down at his blade, the black metal shimmering as the blood from fallen foes seeped into it, feeding the gluttonous object, Azreal's own health unscathed after such an easy fight, his blade returning the favor for the meal.

With a smirk he put the sword away, his hand going up to his mouth and a sharp whistle echoing seconds later. He was informing JJJ-S that it was all over, that it was safe to come out. He had considered not doing so, leaving the man waiting and retaining some of the peace that he found when alone, but knowing The Unwelcome Guest he would have popped in to check up on things rather quickly and all the more disruptive. With his sword put away and his companion signaled Azrieal looked towards the mouth of the cave he was currently standing in front of, inside was a quest item, a player quest, a mid-level character requesting an uncommon sword from inside but being too cowardly to get it themselves. He generally disliked cowards but the mission was easy enough and the pay was substantial, though he was suspicious of the higher than average compensation for such a simple mission now that he had found angels. He took a deep breath, sighing as he looked down at his now glowing ring, the ghastly blue hue alerting him to something more than an uncommon item, something on the rare side. He hadn't noticed it earlier but if it was deep inside the cave still that would make sense and combat distracted him beforehand.

Azrieal didn't like the idea that somebody sent him into an ambush, or at the very least lied to him about the true value of what was inside the cave, it wasn't something he would accept in the real world and even less when the game had the stakes of his life. He did however like the idea of what could await him inside, a smirk on his face, anything that caused his ring to react was going to be worth the trip, even if it was simply valuable and not of use, and even if he had to fight something strong and claim whatever he could from its body. Of course it could have been a monster, ten angels would make more sense for fighting a strong creature than searching for an item, though the numbers could have been due to the location, either way there was promise beyond his original expectation. Still he was curious enough to continue on even with the risk of things going south, turning down when there could be a reward wasn't his style, besides if he were to go back and question the quest giver without all the information it would get him nowhere. If he was right and the offer on the mission had been above average because the angels, or the increased difficulty, were already known to the one who requested help he would have to show his displeasure of that fact. For the moment he just began speaking, assuming his partner was already behind him, an often occurrence with JJJ-S that often made Azrieal feel a bit ridiculous, especially when he was incorrect and in the middle of a crowded area.

"It seems our temporary employer sent us into a more interesting situation than he led us to believe J." Azrieal's hand reached up and ran through his hair, there was no point in staying outside when the good were inside, or best guess it was inside. He had one thing to do first, he had to search the bodies of the dead. "You look at those, I will search these." Azrieal went to the right and began searching through the corpses. As he had suspected there was little of value, a few low quality potions and some assorted armor and weaponry that didn't come close to being worth the inventory space. He did find a few coins, a decent ring that he could sell or trade, but nothing really desirable or special. With a sigh he stood up and turned back to JJJ-S, "Nothing good over here, looks like we are going to have to go inside to get anything out of this trip." He didn't wait for JJJ-S to respond and instead moved towards the mouth of the cave, going inside and trusting JJJ-S would be following in his footsteps as usual, doing his best to block out whatever his erratic companion decided to say.

Once inside the cave he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, the cave had been designated for people of a lower level than himself and it was unlikely there would be much of anything to challenge him unless his ring was reacting to a creature as opposed to an object. There was no reason to assume things would be easy though, arrogance was always his state of mind but stupidity was not and he quickly used his ring to enthrall several of the lesser creatures keeping their distance and sent them forward as advanced scouts. He didn't move forward, he stopped, allowing his controlled minions to search the dark depths, waiting patiently for new on what lay ahead. He wasn't thinking about that though, whatever lay ahead would be revealed shortly enough, the current thought going through his head was what JJJ-S would decide to pester him with during the wait. He never talked about anything Azrieal wouldn't mind talking about, always something random, for once Azrieal would like silence or some conversation that helped their survival like which guilds they should be looking into joining and what other missions they could take down to earn a bit more cash.

Haruo laid on his back, expecting to die any moment until he heard a female voice.

"MAY THIS PROTECT!" He heard her say and a barrier formed between him and Tano's blade, effectively stopping it from reaching Haruo.

"It's her.....The Bronze Fox.....but why would she defend a demon?" Haruo could hear the hostility in their voices and he struggled to prop himself up on his arms to look at his savior. It was an Angel.

"Don't you think it's a little disturbing that angels are attacking others just to make an example of them? It's like bobbing for apples on Halloween but getting a mouthful of worms instead." She said calmly, unsheathing her sword and holding it in front of her.

"Y-...take down the barriers this instant or I'll kill you for defying the Saint's Order!!" Tano snarled at her and she twitched subtly as his goons spread themselves out.
"Call off the dogs otherwise I'll put them down and you'll be left with no back up." She said smoothly and the guild members move back of their own accord.
"What right have you to tell me what to do?!" He advanced towards her threateningly and she stepped toward him.

"I have the right to advise you against your current course of action, I have said right because I chose not to live under oppression or fear." She returned in a heartbeat, only for him to strike at her with his blade. The femme brought her sword up in a flash of silver, the distinct clash of metal against metal ringing out in the village square. The tall girl stared into his eyes for a moment before shoving back against him, then meeted his head on charge again and again before....for a moment she had a reprieve, throwing a health potion through the demon's barrier.

"Hey Circle....don't lose faith 'kay? I gotcha covered." Shreya said encouragingly without taking her eyes from her target.

Haruo caught the potion and nodded slowly even though she couldn't see him.

"It seems....that we are evenly matched, though I never did catch your real name..?" She pointed out when she once again found herself hilt to hilt with the angry guild angel. "We're going to be at a stalemate for a while I think, if we keep fighting. How about...you give me the demon and the two injured parties and we leave it at that. Let the demon get stronger, so you can actually have some honour in beating him when he is at your level....rather than annihilating him now and not saving face." She proposed.

Haruo popped the lid and downed the potion, waiting for his health to rise back up. He knew full well how Tano was going to handle being 'evenly matched'... he wasn't going to accept a 'stalemate'.

As expected, Tano struck lightning fast, but this time, metal and ancient wood clashed against each other as a rejuvenated Haruo stood against Tano yet again.

"That's enough Tano!" Tano's eyes widened at the tone that Haruo was using. That tone that he used to use back then when Tano had gone too far.

"Tsk... stop thinking you can order me around Haruo. I'm not afraid of you anymore!"

Tano stepped back from their clash, causing Haruo to fall forward as he lost his balance. With Haruo's balance broken, Tano struck advantageously at his exposed neck.

"Don't make me do this Tano."

"DIE!"

In reply, Tano was shoved aside by a large wing before he could complete his attack. As he fell to his back for the first time in this fight, the square erupted with gasps. A little stunned, Tano looked up to see Haruo floating with his feet slightly off the ground, with a pair of black feathery wings that looked like they were dying, dark feathers strewn all over the place. The wings folded themselves inside Haruo and disappeared, causing Haruo to drop down on his feet and look at Tano.

"BASTAAAAAAAAAAARD! MAKING ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL!"

As metal and wood met again in a deadlock, Tano and Haruo struggled for dominance, Tano growling in anger and dissatisfaction as he failed to overpower Haruo, Haruo grunting and gritting his teeth as he fought to maintain the deadlock. It seemed that Haruo was beginning to lose his footing, he glanced at his savior and rocked his head side to side, telling her not to assist. He turned his attention to Tano again.

"Remember when I said that this 'petty sword' was called the 「Black Accommodo」? Here's the thing-" Haruo smiled at Tano. In response, the wooden sword seemed to darken in shade, turning it into the color of black wood.

"-the stronger the opponent's weapon, the stronger it becomes! It's the ideal weapon for PvP fights!"

In that instant, Haruo weaved backwards as if to force Tano to lose balance, but then moved to the right, then forward. It was almost as if Haruo was doing the hula-hoop. But this was not the case, this wasn't an active skill either... it was a style of combat. A style of combat that Haruo used when he was the 'Angel of Death'. A combat style that all players had learned to associate with the 'Angel of Death', and termed 'Angel of Death's Disarming' by those who admired it and those who feared it.

It was a split second too late for Tano as he finally realized what he was caught in. This time, as Haruo weaved to the side, he flicked his blade, bringing Tano's attacking arm forward, causing him to move out of balance. In a flurry of movement, Haruo slashed, cut, diced, minced Tano's attacking arm, causing polygons to erupt everywhere and Haruo's combo meter to fill up like mad. To finish with a flourish, Haruo swept Tano off his feet and sent his flying towards his subordinates. In that instant, the square stood in stunned silence as they contemplated what they saw, whispering amongst each other.

"W-was that... 'Angel of Death's Disarming'?"

Tano cradled his injured arm in pain while his sword fell onto the ground near Haruo's feet. Picking it up, Haruo approached his fallen opponent. Quickly, the members of the Saint's Order stood between him and Tano, some surrounded him. Regarding them cautiously, he tossed the sword to the ground near Tano and sheathed his own weapon before raising his hands up.

"I'm clean boys." he told them, then to Tano. "You're lucky you're stronger than I am, even with 「Black Accommodo」, that's all I could do to you."

Haruo pointed at Tano's health, which Tano glanced at. Nothing really changed that much at all.

"You know what would've happened if I was any stronger, don't you?" he asked, the matter-of-fact tone evident in his voice.

"Tsk..." Tano signaled to his subordinates, some which helped him up. With the help of the members, Tano took his sword back and sheathed it, although he continued to cradle his arm. Slowly, he and his assistants backed away.

"I know... that's why I can't let someone as strong as you walk free outside our guild." Tano explained slowly as he looked at Haruo. The remaining members of the Saint's Order that did not accompany Tano began to circle around Haruo. Haruo looked around him warily. "You should've let me kill you, for being old friends' sake, Haruo."

As Tano slowly backed away, he laughed rather hysterically and turned back to give Haruo one last crazed look before he teleported.

"Have fun, friend."

That was it before they disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Haruo to deal with the other Saint's Order members. As they drew their weapons, he glanced at his savior.

"...I need your help again. You down?" he asked, drawing 「Black Accommodo」 from it's sheath again and readied himself for combat.

Apparently this guild angel didn't like being evenly matched with a girl...? She she narrowed her eyes slightly as she saw the flash of his sword and she expected a blow. But none came because of that familiar sound of wood against metal, the demon had come back into the fray.
"That's enough Tano!" She wisely ducked out of the way as the two young men decided to have another scrap after exchanging a few words.
"Tsk... stop thinking you can order me around Haruo. I'm not afraid of you anymore!" Shreya almost winced as 'Tano' stepped back and then went for Haruo's neck.


"Don't make me do this Tano."
"DIE!"
The resulting reaction from the angel made Shreya think that there were a few screws loose in his head. Though she was still a little perplexed at the gasps in the square....what, was this angel that high up in the guild that everyone thought he was untouchable? Honestly....the foolishness that could come of believing the mythology surrounding some players.
"BASTAAAAAAAAAAARD! MAKING ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL!" Ohhh she was so very tempted to point out that the angel had started this whole hullabaloo but no....that would be silly, better to keep her mouth closed than have her tongue cut out.

The two males had deadlocked again, struggling for dominance as the de-Haruo looked over at her and shook his head. No interfering....gotcha. Shreya then covertly looked through her inventory and grabbed out a teleporting scroll. She scuttled over to the barrier with the angels still in it, passing the item to them by pretending to stumble for a second.
"I'm assuming that you guys don't have a teleporting spell of your own yet. Hold onto each other when you use it and be good to each other, okay?" She murmured gently, listening to their whispered thanks before one of them managed to bite onto the other's clothing and they then used the scroll. The only reason that they were able to do it was because the scroll itself hand an anti-binding clause on it...funny how the world works right? She then dissipated the barriers and reabsorbed the mana they'd cost her.

"Remember when I said that this 'petty sword' was called the 「Black Accommodo」? Here's the thing-" Haruo smiled at Tano and the girl watched as the wooden sword seemed to darken in shade until it was black wood."-the stronger the opponent's weapon, the stronger it becomes! It's the ideal weapon for PvP fights!" Confusion made her tilt her head to the side slightly as Haruo did a complicated- ohh.....it was a combo move. One that she remembered trying to replicate the footwork for jokingly when the game had still been 'safe', her brother laughing as she fell into the mud on the side of the road. Shreya's skin crawled as she watched Haruo practically make mincemeat out of Tano's attacking arm before he sent him flying back to his subordinates.

"W-was that... 'Angel of Death's Disarming'?" The murmurs filling her ears again as everything else happened a bit quicker than she expected. Hmm....maybe the Saint's Order wasn't all it was cracked up to be....but you gotta admit, they weren't stupid. They were protecting their unit's leader and surrounding Haruo at the same time.
"I'm clean boys." Then the demon male spoke to Tano. "You're lucky you're stronger than I am, even with 「Black Accommodo」, that's all I could do to you."

Shrey tuned out some of the conversation, deeming it none of her business. She opted for watching as Tano signalled to his lackeys, some of whom helped him up. With their help, Tano took his sword back and sheathed it despite still cradling his arm. Slowly, he and his assistants backed away.

I know... that's why I can't let someone as strong as you walk free outside our guild." Tano explained slowly as he looked at Haruo. The remaining members of the Saint's Order that did not accompany Tano began to circle around Haruo. Haruo looked around warily and Shreya sighed a little...what a mess they were in. "You should've let me kill you, for being old friends' sake, Haruo." As Tano slowly backed away, he laughed rather hysterically and turned back to give Haruo a look that let his mental status as obvious as a Made in Australia sticker on the bottom of a kangaroo plushie before he teleported.

That was it before they disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the two unlikely allies to deal with the other Saint's Order members. As they drew their weapons, he glanced at her and she inwardly groaned. No chance of getting out of here without bloodshed then huh?
"...I need your help again. You down?" He asked, drawing 「Black Accommodo」 from it's sheath again and readied himself for combat.
"You're not just going to let me teleport his ass out of here are you? Alright, alright....I get it, you're meant to murder us and then report back to your master. Haruo...if you want my help you'll have to accept my party invite or my spells will hurt you instead of the dogs." She said the first parts to the Saint's Order, the last to Haruo as she sent him a party invite.

"I'll help you because you're a demon, if you were human I would have left you here. Humans are in my black books at the moment." She said, her voice sounding just a little hollow because of the mask as she did a little slide between two Order members. She ducked as they went to strike her, only to slice into their ally. She tutted at them like she would at a puppy's antics, moving to protect Haruo's rear. "So why the change from angel to demon?" She asked almost casually before deflecting a hasty attacker, the edge of her sword slicing into the foolish angel's fingers as his hilt failed him. She kicked him away, leaning against the demon for support at the briefest of moments before bouncing forward to begin her attacks.

Sylpha was about to head into Brightwood Grove when a player appeared near her on the mini-map. It caught her off guard, causing her to jump. She turned around, and was already apprehensive. The perception bonus from Sylph's Visage was showing a dark indicator surrounding this newcomer, which indicated a Demon. Damn it, I knew this was a terrible idea... Sylpha felt anxiety rising up in her, but she fought it down. Her expression may have given away her uneasiness, but her mask hid that from view; a blessing, if she wanted to survive this new arrival.

Then...he approached her, without drawing his weapons. His amber eyes were cold, as a Demon's would be, a complete opposite from their rather warm color. "I am here to assist you.". The man said simply. His eyes still glared and pierced SYlpha's mask, despite this offer. While it may have been a foolish move, Sylpha moved her hand to her face, and removed the mask. She returned the Demon's gaze with her own magenta eyes. She had to look up, as he was quite a bit taller than her, but she showed that she wasn't scared. Even if she was, in the slightest. "If you're wondering how a demon got your request, I was forwarded it from a friend. If you don't want my help I could leave if you want." The man said once more.

It did answer part of the question in her mind, since she thought the request was for the Angel region only, but help was help. A Demon would be more susceptible to the creatures in the dungeon, but they would also be able to attack with full force. With a bit of doubt, Sylpha held out her hand. "No, it's fine. As long as you don't stab me in the back, I won't leave you at the mercy of the Light-based monsters in there. Well, you already know who I am. We can talk all about you and the quest on the way. Come along, if you would." Sylpha revealed her dragonfly wings, and sent a party invite to "Seph", her new ally. At least she hoped so. The Angel began fluttering towards the entrance, a large pathway surrounded by trees of golden leaves and birch-like bark...a pleasant image, despite what lurked inside.

Seph looked at Sylpha, wondering why in Babylon's name would she want to go to a super high dungeon. That's like suicide. Maybe she wasn't that smart. Well, it didn't really matter. A favor for a friend is a favor for a friend.

"No, it's fine. As long as you don't stab me in the back, I won't leave you at the mercy of the Light-based monsters in there. Well, you already know who I am. We can talk all about you and the quest on the way. Come along, if you would."

To this he didn't say anything. His thoughts were doing all the talking that he needed.

Who in the world does this chick think I am? I don't join parties just to kill people I am partied with. That's one thing. Another thing is that she wants to talk about me. If she looks at my info tab she can know all about me. Really. Seph. Demon. Strong. Lightning user. Done. What else does she want to know? On top of all that she wants to boss me around like I'm her pet dog. Well I'll show you who the dog is. Hold on. I can't attack her. She could die. Damn. I wanna go back to the inn. I thought I was gonna meet a kind person or something. I always take jobs without asking about the client. Not that I'm getting paid for this. Dang, I should start charging like that one guy. What was his name. Oh crap, she's leaving.

He looked out towards her as she flew away. Butterfly wings weren't really common. Must've been the first time he saw them. He drew out his black feathered bat wings, a design he won from a demon and mixed it with his own, and flew after her.

"So um, why do you want to do this quest?" He asked. Maybe if he got some information on her motive, he could find out what kind of perks this quest had to offer.

"You're not just going to let me teleport his ass out of here are you? Alright, alright....I get it, you're meant to murder us and then report back to your master. Haruo...if you want my help you'll have to accept my party invite or my spells will hurt you instead of the dogs."

<< Shreya Nila >> has invited you to join a party. (Accept)?

He pressed the (Accept) option and quickly retracted his arm, nearly getting his finger chopped off when one of the Saint's Order members slashed at him. Off the corner of his eye, he saw the fox-masked player moving into action.

As one of the enemies moved towards him, he retaliated with 「Black Accommodo」, giving both of the player's knees a good rap causing the player to collapse into a roll. Haruo observed the others and readied his sword.

"I'll help you because you're a demon, if you were human I would have left you here. Humans are in my black books at the moment." He heard the girl speak in a hollow voice.

"Ah... sounds interesting, no doubt. Perhaps we can talk about it after we get rid of our problem?" He replied with genuine interest as he fended off another attacker. They met blow for blow, a higher leveled fighter against a lower one, yet Haruo was able to stand his ground, using his previous experience to assist him in battle. He could hear his partner fighting, although he could not see it. As he flicked his sword with expertise to send one of the fighters off balance and blocked the next attack.

"So why the change from angel to demon?"

He heard one of the Saint's Order being kicked then felt someone leaning against him for a short moment before it left him.

"Well, you see. Healing, barriers, support, bows. All nice things, yes. But-" Haruo shoved one of the Saint's Order members backward. "-as you can see, that didn't fit me at all."

"But that's not really the point. It's the second reason. The Saint's Order." Suddenly, Haruo's eyes seem to look threatening as his posture changed while he looked at the Saint's Order members.

Darkest Flight skill activated flashed on Haruo's optics.

"They are everything an Angel isn't." Haruo's dying black wings spread and he began to float up, a dark energy forming around his sword and body. "They hunt others of their own kind down, and give them no choice but to join them in order to live. Angels with wings should not be held down. We are free. We have our own choices to make!"

A battle roar erupted from his lips as he charged at anyone within his AoE range, darkness and polygons spreading around like wildfire as he struck with 「Black Accommodo」.

"If the Saint's Order is a corrupt light, I became a Demon to strike them down with just darkness!"

As he finished, several members were down, either on their knees or their backs as they stared at the Demon before them. He floated down slowly, his wings folding into him and the darkness fading. Dropping to his feet, he pointed his blade at the nearest member and walked towards him.

"Unlike you guys, I don't kill so I will let you leave." Haruo told them before sheathing his sword. "But if you do not heed this warning, I will kill you."

"Go back to where you came from and tell Tano that I will be waiting for our next meeting." He told them in that deadly, quiet tone that they feared. "And when we do... warn him that he will be facing the wrath of a fallen angel."

He looked towards his teammate, "Is it safe to assume that I can leave those to you?"

As one of the members behind him recovered and charged him, he managed a quickdraw and deflected the guy away, sending the man sprawling into the ground.

"Oh... and don't kill them... if you can help it." he added.