"Mono/Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
Narration
[Message/communication apparatus]
Date: Late-September 1089
Location: Kazdel
POV: Narrator
Two inhuman monsters, one is descending from a stairwell made from blood and another who steps forth undeterred. Chittering and chattering of jagged maws resounded again, but their voices were unsure. The King of Vampires is intrigued; her blood smells different and she certainly has little to no qualms of defying him.
Their steps stop, and they level their gaze into one another. Duq’arael should have been insulted when her kind; the lower lifeforms, even dared to stare him in the eye. So what’s this feeling he senses creeping up into him, alien and fascinating?
Still, he took offense at what she had done earlier.
“Color me surprised, worm, I sensed a unique scent from your blood.” Nyx scowled with evident disgust in his voice. The Pythia could feel that such smoothness made his savage emotion even more jarring than it already was. The Grey Serpent doesn’t answer, her mental synapse has been bring non-stop that he is a real deal… stronger than that Ascalon girl she met briefly and the Emperor’s Bde, who fuck up her body bad, combined if raw power is concerned.
Luckily, she was used to getting her ass beaten by one of the strongest women in Terra and a certain Kuranta whose skill only gets sharper despite his circumstances. Still, she wouldn’t lie that a tinge of fear crept on her spine and was soon superseded…
By exuberant exhiration.
Her feet kicked the ground until it cracked and the wind howled from the abrupt change after her body defied the notion of resistance. With a hand pulling the bow string taut, she let loose a mighty arrow that wouldn’t lose out to the might of Londinium’s Wall of Cannons. Her arrow broke through his defensive yers. His minions are slow to react before they surge forth in an attempt to ensnare her.
Her arrow almost smashed through his chest if not for these meddlesome tendrils that were suspending it in the air. It snapped her arrow which is surprisingly harder than expected. Nyx clicked her tongue for that failed surprise attack, then again it was too obvious and she doubted such a thing would even work against the being standing so unconcerned amidst his minions.
The Sanguinarch for his part doesn’t stay idly by, he commanded his minions to swarm the Grey Serpent. Fresh tendrils of crimson spear and a tsunami of devouring maws crash in her direction. She wasn’t perturbed in the slightest and instead scanned through the incoming rains. Time slowed down for her; she saw every possible one that could potentially cause harm and evaded them promptly.
Her feet move and dance amidst the muddy and bloody soil without even a sliver of fear. Mind and body seemingly integrated to its very core without flimsy blemish of uncertainty. Her dance was not a lonely one; especially with how death’s agents are lining up for a waltz. A tendril shoots from her fnk and she bends down before delivering a kick that shatters it into a billion cells of fresh sanguine.
She dodged a retively small wave of abominable creatures to deliver an arrow back at the Duke of Crimson. His gaze is still impassive, but he can see how she only gets faster. Nyx decides that frontally he is nigh-unassaible and retreats back just in time before the ground sinks beneath her. Duq’arael’s Arts had commanded his minions to burrow deep and strike from her supposed blindspot, as that was proven untrue.
The Grey Serpent hummed a nigh-unnoticeable tune. His sensitive hearing caught on quickly but he was puzzled since there was never any information of her being able to use Arts… or so the rumors say.
Her flexibility starts to annoy the King of Vampires, he grows tired seeing how long she is kept testing the water. He her to be as aggressive especially after making an example of her disciple, yet she doesn’t seem to mind that primitive’s death all that much.
“Is this all you amounted to?” He taunted her, and she replied with a condescending smirk.
“Is this all YOU amounted to?” She throws his taunt back at him.
“I mean, you’re a king, right? How come YOU struggled?”
“…” His face morphed into budding fury.
“You called me a worm, and I concede yes… I’m a worm… but what would that make of you, Your Majesty?” She theatrically, and mockingly, extend her palm towards him while dodging the intensifying strikes like they were mere afterthought. She did keep in mind to not let his controlled blood seep into her, she didn’t know the extent of his power.
“The King of All Fucking Vampires struggled against a worm!” In a blink of an eye, Nyx had already aimed her pistol which slipped past his senses. Hot originium-propelled leads were spewed from her gun.
“Enough!” As, he proves much too formidable himself. The Sanguinarch suspends all of her shoots before grinding them into dust. His fury is visible to the world which could only hold its breath.
Nyx grinned, she found a sore spot. Before she could capitalize on it further, 22 sharp spikes of blood sprouted from the ground. She barely dodged them, it did nicked her cheek a little. Still, she reveled in the fact of how easy it is to anger him. She threw a grenade behind her, destroying 3 dozen of them at once from skewering her from behind.
His hand moves and waves upon waves of crimson remain combined into a hand with cws that are seemingly cradling the sun in its palm. This hand stood amidst the ruin, surpassing even the tallest piece of ruin for all to witness. His ‘allies’ could only watch in muted silence while the Babel and Cordelian forces stood stunned seeing such a humungous and dreaded construct eclipsing the dimming light upon Kazdel.
Like an ominous prelude to an upcoming catastrophe, hundreds if not thousands of dead bodies from the fallen had been resurrected into a twisted mockery of what they once were. Bodies that are nothing more than rotting stitches of decaying meat.
She growled audibly in displeasure but not because he tried to drown her in a literal wave of death. No, Nyx is seeing those abominable bloodlings wreaking havoc inside several faces of what appear to be Cordelian PMCs remnants.
Now that was what angered Nyx in turn, it gets personal from here. To see her students being disrespected in such a way filled her with fury of her own. It is one thing to use the real body and mind, but to just use it as a skinsuit only fanning the fme burning inside.
Her Arts fred into life and her voice spoke of venom. One might argue that was nothing more than pinly hypocritical feelings for her to have, considering that she had done simir misdeeds. Yet she sure as hell never tried to use dead people in her cruelty; she has standards. Regardless of her intense hatred, the Grey Serpent still held some rationality to not y down every card on the table so easily.
“I heard from Vaskie that Sarkaz respected the dead…”
“Of course, but it never extends to your ilk. Your misbegotten kind, invading treacherous outblood, had robbed us of our birthright… and that delusional King of ours dared to entertain coexistence? After seeing Kazdel destroyed time and time again? She is a fool.”
“She is indeed a foolish, idealistic, and unrepentantly optimistic girl… but you and I are worse.” Nyx stood tall amidst the ruin, and the Sanguinarch’s frame was highlighted by the skies rippling with thunder and rain that was soon to follow. Mother Nature was intending to wash away the earth but Sanguinarch’s will was simply unmatched at the moment’s notice.
“We are pieces of shit, we keep the world clean and that’s our lot.”
“Oh please, do not even bother to impart that mistaken culture and understanding of yours to me.”
“Who the fuck would want to share shit with you?”
“I have enough of you and your subpar intellect.”
“Hey, this subpar intellect is exactly why I could scoff at your bullshit and superiority complex.”
“An animal trying to imitate intelligent speech? Don’t make me ugh, worm.”
“No wonder you’re so pale and sickly looking, your speech slurred into bumbling nonsense under the sunlight.”
“Insolent cur!” His hand was raised and innumerable blood spikes were being shot towards her general direction. Nyx holstered her great bow and unsheathed a pair of daggers. The Grey Serpent starts deflecting or destroying projectiles coming her way; not looking even worse for wear and her sneer reflects how much she looks down on him.
The resurrected mockery of the living then starts trudging forth to overwhelm the lone Grey Serpent. She is not the least concerned about their existence, if anything she dashed forward to meet her foe head-on. One could only imagine what sort of lunacy induced insanity prompting her to close in the gap despite being outnumbered. The answer was simple, quite so actually.
The Grey Serpent is a specialist in systematic annihition operations.
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“She is stronger than expected, but still within the predicted limit.” The Doctor is watching the drone footage to showcase a duel between a living camity and someone being sent to fight said camity. They are not alone, several Babel operators are also watching silently, fear crept into them seeing how little disregard for their surroundings these two are showing.
The Grey Serpent could move like a masterful dancer. She avoided a shambling lunge from the Sanguinarch’s minion before jamming her dagger straight through their cranium. Using the momentum of the zombie falling on its back, Nyx unched her body backward with a summersault and pointed her Originium pistol toward her surroundings. She shot a total of 15 bullets in 5 seconds, her weapon seems to be a worthy craft of sophisticated technology itself.
The Doctor recognized the pattern of said weapon, something they had not seen for ages, and now in the hand of the Grey Serpent. They feel quite surprised that a… guest… had reached Terra. While they are immersed in piecing the puzzle together, the other are more awed and intimidated watching her dispy of raw might.
“… Is that woman even human?” Nyx shoots an arrow to the skies all of a sudden, an action that puzzled the Sanguinarch and everyone present but he appears to take no heed to any of her parlor tricks.
“I had been traveling from Sargon to Higashi, yet this is the first time I see something so strange and horrifying.” A Sarkaz operator tilted their head, just what on earth was that arrow supposed to be?
“… We should not let her step inside Rhodes Isnd, she is too dangerous!” A male Perro operator panicked seeing how she just ripped a rge abomination in two with nothing but her bare hands. Such a dispy of power does not assure him whatsoever.
“That’s not yours to decide.” Kal’tsit entered the command center and admonished the operator who spoke out of turn. He felt like his heart had stopped for a millisecond when Theresia’s favored friend and advisor plus one of the leaders locked her eyes with him.
“P-Pardon me, Ma’am!”
“If you have time to gawk and do nothing, then you surely have time to assist the evacuation.”
“Y-yes, Ma’am!” The operator hurriedly departed from the HQ while the lime-haired Feline stood next to the Doctor. Her eyes are equally glued to the screen, she just witnessed how Nyx chucked a grenade down one of the bloodlings’ gullets. A sickening mist of blood exploded not long after.
“What do you think?” The Doctor said offhandedly, while Kal’tsit noticed the undertone of their voice.
“… I was conceited.” She said while handing over the medical reports of everyone they had managed to save thus far. Kal’tsit’s preliminary tally shows that at least 22 Cordelian PMCs were killed with none returned without heavy injury. Babel had managed to reinforce their HQ which was about to get overrun by the mercenaries afflicted with Duq’arael’s Arts. They were unstoppable because the only part they were in control of was their mind.
The Mercenary under Hoederer fared worse with only about 30% might be saved. The man himself was seen caring after the new W, he maintained a stoic fa?ade but it wasn’t hard for her to see through him.
‘Shame, if only Kazdel is not at war, Hoederer would have been a fine schor and teacher.’ The Feline unconsciously stares at the ground briefly, the weight of her shame still lingers around her despite her friend’s best efforts.
“Good.” They scanned the given document before pcing it on the table. Their mind already formuted myriads of scenarios to ensure the operation would succeed.
“Progress of the evacuation?”
“The evacuation should be finished within 45 minutes. Her Majesty was too stubborn to leave the battlefield. Mantra and Radiant are hard at work in restoring communication, the former told me it would take a while”
“It is within permissible level, she is not stepping on the battlefield with false bravado… You know better, right?” Kal’tsit does not answer but she firmly gred at them. She never really divulged what she had done in the past to them, but the Doctor could read her like a book and unravel her dirtiest secret, no different than someone who left a key to their house by the front door.
“Thought so, rest assured Operator Logos and Ascalon would not even let a fly touch Her Majesty without permission.” Kal’tsit was about to suggest assisting the Grey Serpent, yet she also understood what the Doctor was thinking. It is not the first time for her to deal with inhumanly powerful Terran… but she has been theorizing that Nyx is neither Ancient nor an Elder in the first pce.
She might need to make a gamble when Nyx comes for her analysis. The equally enigmatic and resourceful Feline has her suspicion that the Doctor knows more of Nyx. All that despite having little frequency of contact with the alleged Pythia whatsoever.
“Very well, I’ll return in assisting Her Majesty upon the battlefield.” Kal’tsit proceeded to leave the room but not before a word of advice from the Doctor.
“It is well within your rights how to handle a patient, do not, and never, forget that.” Kal’tsit trembled slightly, which would have been noticeable by any Elite Operators that might be present. Even Mont3r being hidden from view was shaking from the enigmatic Doctor’s words. She swallowed the lump in her throat and made haste back to the frontline.
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Nyx is simply put an incarnation of a storm made up of gray and steel. Hands, legs, and even her tail could no longer be considered limbs and appendages; they were weapons. She crushed a humanoid abomination with her tail, shattering its non-existent spine before ripping off its head. Her guns and daggers are used intermittently like a concerto of death. Her toughness to withstand their jagged teeth, cws, and crude bioweapon only confirms her formidable aptitude in warfare.
Her humanoid foes are tougher than the rotund mass of leeches and incomprehensible maw of teeth. Each of her strikes was like hitting an estic form of flesh, made worse by how the creature was seemingly regenerating to undo the damage. If her strikes were heavy and focused all the time, that might be a cause for concern because of the aforementioned resistance, but said toughness meant little when her hands could thrust 8 times in a single breath.
The Sanguinarch has been controlling the blood Arts to rain hell upon her, and while she does sustain damages along the way, her regeneration is nothing to scoff at. He had summoned his deathless army in the thousands already, not once did she show emotions other than focus. The rain had gone sharper and deadlier, each raindrop was a small bde or bullet in the truest sense and the Grey Serpent fought on and on to dispy her commitment to fight.
He halted the attacks and walked around her. Nyx did the same and took this opportunity to catch her breath, he still looked down on her which was good. The creatures are watching motionlessly, trapping the Serpent and safeguarding the King.
“It has been centuries since I met something as troublesome as you.”
“And it hasn’t even been a decade since I met someone as egotistical as you.”
“Egotistical, is it? Where am I in that spectrum of yours?”
“… You have every right to be.”
“Then how about you bend the knees? I could use an obedient pet such as yourself. I have a particur fondness for a beast who could bite more than it could bark. Rest assured, I’ll not stoop so low as to partake on an animal.”
“Sorry, I’m not into pet py…” She bit back the st part to be left unsaid, he doesn’t need to know after all.
“Rumors have foretold stories of how you still failed some mission, how is this any different?”
“Color me surprised, I thought you were too holy to listen on a drunken revelry.”
“It was not my intent, these rabbles had been rabble-rousing so much that it grates my ears.”
“Sounds like something I should care, which I don’t in the slightest.”
“As, you’re too conceited to reach on a hand to your own salvation.”
“I mean yeah, sucking your dick sounds like a cheap way out, but I refuse.” In the blink of an eye, she let loose another arrow without even showing a drawing motion. The Sanguinarch decides to py her game. He constructed a net of blood around the way and once the arrow got close enough, he returned it to the sender.
Nyx was briefly surprised but the Pythia would not get done in by her arrow that easily. Side-stepping the returning projectile, Nyx jumped upward-sideway to avoid a blood creation shaped like a shark’s maw from swallowing her whole. She is precisely mid-air when the rain of blood restarts. Nyx feels how the rain has been breaking and tearing her body piece by the tiniest piece, but her expression doesn’t change.
It is not just the Duke of Crimson who has had enough of this back and forth. He commanded the construct to crush the irritating Pythia to death and surely a literal building being dropped on her would inflict a much potent wound. The hand then falls on the earth, but Nyx presses onward undeterred, unbending, and undaunted against the personification of the utter camity in human form.
She pulled out a specialized arrow from her quiver and rested it on her bow. She dodged a spear of blood shooting at nigh-supersonic speed and even repurposed one of them as a springboard; allowing her to hitch a ride along the way before it dissolved into a mist of red. Her reflexes indeed took a toll on her stamina, but the sheer adrenaline rush and her dulled pain senses ensured that she could still tango pound-for-pound against her foe.
Pressing on the momentum she had managed to amass, the Grey Serpent somersaulted away and let loose the arrow against her target. Electric current ran through its sharp end and a blitzing howl of storm rippled through the air. The Sanguinarch was finally forced to stop moving like this was merely an afternoon walk. Her arrow ripped the tower of blood apart. The destruction caused rains to befall its surroundings and prompted the onlookers to evacuate rapidly to not get caught in the crossfire between two nightmares made manifest.
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A literal earthquake shook the battlefield, causing the remnants to either flee in abject terror or those still on the battlefield to witness the momentous occasion of how the Grey Serpent destroyed its target singlehandedly. The King of Sarkaz watches it all unfold along with her dutiful operators and the KMC’s ckeys still observing the battlefield.
“Nyx…” Before she could even step forward closer to the raging storm, Kal’tsit’s hand stopped her in her tracks.
“Forgive me your Majesty, but I could not condone further recklessness.”
“She bled for us out there, what sort of King would I be to let her stem the tide by her lonesome?”
“The kind of King who understands the necessary steps needs to be taken. Watch…” They turned their head, watching as how Nyx was thrown up into the sky but gracefully avoiding the tendrils with minimal movements. She stabbed her dagger deep, tearing up a tower of flesh and blood for all the world to see.
“You realize it, don’t you?”
“…”
“We are watching a person on par with someone from the Age of Heroes. It would do well for us to focus on getting as many people out as possible. It would contribute more to her fight with him, especially with how we must screen them…” Her eyes screen the wounded, but Theresia knows that look.
Kal’tsit is parsing and dividing those whose health is no longer possible to save. The Sanguinarch could use blood as a tracker, so she must make the bitter choice. Sighing with deep regret, she could only watch as the duel between them intensified all the more. Kal’tsit nodded after deeming her dear friend had understood the stakes at hand.
“Ascalon, how is the situation?”
[I’m wrapping up the northern end with Logos. We still need some more time.]
“Any blood altars you uncovered?”
[None so far, the Sanguinarch possibly came without much preparation.]
“Continue sweeping the ground, we cannot be negligent.”
[Understood, Ascalon out.] The Feline sticks to her King for the rest of the battle, she knows her and her tendencies. Saving the mercenaries and PMCs is already way too risky, she would not entertain anything else more than this. Despite everything the Doctor had assured her, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she shouldn’t trust them too much… and she desperately wished to be wrong.
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This is a war between the Grey Serpent who made herself the nightmare against Ursus' Army and the King of Vampires who singlehandedly stopped multiple invasions by his lonesome. A war is all a matter of survival, but to these two it appears to be nothing more than how much camity and atrocity each side could cram against the opposing side.
Nyx bolted forward like an arrow herself, annihiting his creations with a simple strike to its core. She doesn’t just stab and kill them willy-nilly, Nyx has been searching about what was the source of this vampiric witchcraft.
The answer is that her mental synapse noticed a particurly disgusting and unusual congregation of energy close to the creature’s shoulder. She got closer to the Duke of Crimson who stood resolutely on his ground. She folds and holster her bow once more before reaching inside her coat to grab a pair of Originium carbines. Her aims are true, it only took a single bullet to disrupt these creatures’ core, not enough to annihite but sufficient to make them stagger in pce. Her eyes never waver to aim at the pale-skinned vampire’s face.
She took a shot that was easily deflected, but that’s not the point since the carbines are being left to dangle on their respective sling. Nyx pulled her sword for the first time, and she made a throwing motion. For the first time, Duq’arael’s senses screamed danger; causing him to halt for a beat. The grey bde was thrown with supersonic speed, capturing all and every defensive measure he had on hand.
Yet he still managed to conjure tendrils strong enough to withstand the impact. Everyone could feel the power of that impact, and he was forced a single step back. The King of Vampires was in disbelief, which made way to fury.
“Insolent maggot!” He was about to form a tidal wave made of his minions. Then he feels something falling straight above his head, causing him to stagger and evade. His eyes caught a brief gnce at the perpetrator… it was the same arrow Nyx had shot into the sky a few moments ago. He couldn’t understand, the arrow should have fallen back to the earth ages ago but instead returned at this moment.
Such is why he made a fatal pse.
The Grey Serpent is already in front of him. Her right hand is clutching the sword, her intent is clear and his eyes are focused on the unknown object.
The Sanguinarch congregated blood into cws and intended to eviscerate his foe. Nyx used the sword to sever the first cwed hand, but the second one pierced deep inside her chest. Duq’arael senses are flooded by pain, causing him to not notice her free hand still going strong.
The Grey Serpent pressed forth, swung her left arm, and chanted softly.
“Maximus in minimis.”
A ray of silvery esoteric energy, unseen to anyone but herself, formed most dazzlingly before wrapping her arm… and her fist connected with Duq’arael’s jaw.
Force, enough to ftten a whole canyon, was transferred into the Sanguinarch's very being. His soul was momentarily shaken, his body gone numb, and most importantly that segue of memory gone blurry for the briefest moment.
All of that pales in comparison with but a single fact undeniable fact…
He feels pain from a mere physical strike.
He, the Monarch who ruled over blood and his exalted lineage feared throughout the nd… felt… pain from just that? He couldn’t remember the st time anyone had managed to achieve such a feat.
He turned countless armies into mere feasts, yet he was unable to even stomp a bug?
The echoes of such a strike are no different than a barrage of battleship cannons compressed into one magnificent hammering blow, his lower face burst and shattered into a messy pile of gore. Nyx could feel her arm’s very bones, flesh, and skin breaking from how much force she put into it. She grits her teeth, enough to taste iron from how tough he is, but seeing his disbelieving eyes shake in surprise is a good reward for her trouble.
Nyx still suffered an injury from his cwed hand that bore a hole into her body. Regardless of her condition, she grinned with satisfaction at her simple trick. She knows people like him, so far up their asses they think they’re invincible. The best way to overturn invincibility is none other than using sheer insanity, or so she thinks.
He was lifted high into the air, with pained disbelief marring his expression. Nyx capitalizes on his momentary shock and delivers a full-blown roundhouse kick square on his torso. The King was unched like a ragdoll, crashing through several ruins while his mindless minions started liquefying back into uncontrolble blood.
A hush fell on the battlefield.
“…You…”
Blood from the very edges of this region rallied to him and his will. The King of Vampire’s face had already reconstituted into his prime looks, but The Sanguinarch's expression morphed into an uglier one, he couldn’t accept someone he deemed a mere worm to humiliate him so badly using cheap tricks. Thus with an incantation, the weather itself seems to shiver while Nyx could feel more than a hand of death brushing her neck.
“… I suppose there is some truth in it…” His expression rexed once more, and that’s when Nyx could no longer feel anything from her mental synapse. If he was a raging tide before, now he is as cold as ice… and the Grey Serpent is standing on that gcial surface.
She doesn’t just stand there and watch it all unfold however, Nyx blitzes forth with her sword at the ready; intending to finish what she started. She closed the distance rapidly before her eyes locked themselves on a crimson crown now nestled on his head.
She swung her sword downward…
Only to be the one got unched crashing even further away from her target.
She smashed through a dozen or so buildings; scrapping and wounding her body on all manners of obstacles. Before recovering into a slide and avoiding a blood-red pilr surfacing where she would have been skewered to death.
Her body is bleeding all over, and a part of her blood seems to start boiling out of her control. Curiously, metallic sheen beneath her flesh could be seen reflecting the scarce amount of light phasing through the dark clouds overhead. Just as quickly as that sheen was seen, however, it was soon covered by a new yer of flesh and blood.
Nyx nded on a ruined roof and continued dodging the tendrils that kept raining on her. This time their movements are much more lethal and precise, with less frequency but ampler patience to strike when she is exposed even the tiniest moment of pse.
She jumped through a broken window and ran in parallel on the deserted hallway. The walls were soon breached by a mass of red and abomination. She inspects the force of each tendril before tens or so coalesced into one rger specimen. Her eyes also see the Duke of Crimson now truly looking at her, not merely her shadow.
The tendril is more of a tentacle filled with razor-like teeth with sharpness enough to cut through 3 inches of wolfram in a single concentrated strike. Nyx pulled out her pistol and shot at creatures that tried to outfnk her, the Originium gun proved itself ineffective in terms of lethality but it was enough to hold them at bay while she slipped past the forsaken corridor. Her sword, on the other hand, did some magnificent work. It couldn’t cut well, but anything it touched seemed to shiver and wither slowly.
A gigantic tentacle made a huge sweeping motion, intent on ripping the top floor clean in one fell swoop. It did just that, throwing the Grey Serpent unto the skies. Red appendages shot up towards her. Using the inertia, she overcorrects her fall and slides down with her sword cutting them all into nice sanguine cubes.
When one turned back and was about to smack this annoying gnat of a Pythia, Nyx jumped sideways just enough to twist her body mid-air to avoid the smaller ones that had been looking for opportunity. Her tail which has been left as an afterthought finally comes into py, she uses its robust finesse to its utmost.
Coiling her tail on one of the bloody appendages, she swings herself to once again twist her body mid-air before sliding down the carpet of blood. Sainguinarch’s minions grew like tumors of flesh, each one trying to exert their domination on the Grey Serpent. She paid little mind and when one of these creatures aimed for her neck, she crushed it barehanded like squashing a bug.
She soon takes refuge in another serviceable ruin while spectating the destroyed tentacle reforming itself. The Grey Serpent wasn’t found wanting when another one just made itself known to her.
Crashing through the decrepit walls. Nyx stood her ground and wrestled with the tentacle despite the burning sensation at her very fingertips. She proved superior with even footing, she pinned it on the ground before setting her sight on another not far.
Unfortunately, not everything was evaded. She feels a sting on her left arm and sees that it has been torn open from a tendril that branches out, the force causes her to veer a little from an incoming jagged teeth. It sunk its fang into her body, yet the creature found out that Nyx’s skin was tougher than it looked; slowing down its progress considerably before being put to a halt by Nyx herself.
She hummed a simple note, despite the growing side-effects, and her leg was covered by a thin yer of grey. A sickening squelch of bloody tissue being crushed by her feet resounded. It immediately tried to reform back to its roots with a significantly longer process. More than a dozen tendrils shot past its weakened ilk, but the same tactic won’t work the second time. The Grey Serpent meticulously evaded and even parried a good chunk of offshoots.
Her instinct bred of danger, she moved her head sideway to catch a glimpse of monstrous crimson cws almost ripping her head in pieces. Then a sickening crunch smashed into her fnk.
“Gah!” The Grey Serpent was thrown outside and smashed through blood pilrs already prepared to welcome her. Her vision was bnking out, but her recovery was truly noteworthy.
Sliding on the muddy field, she managed to halt her uncontrolble advance with one of her knees touching the ground. Winded but not out, she gred at the Duke of Crimson who was sporting a thin smirk; he was looking down on her.
“Now, that’s the appropriate posture to address me.” She notices his jagged crown formed with the darkest of crimson color, she senses energy that is not too dissimir with demonic or eldritch. Heaving a sigh of annoyance and exasperation, she gets up and resumes her stance even when her blood seems to be going out of control.
“… Your blood defies me? Intriguing…”
“What can I say? Guess that just proves me being someone not too fond of getting bent over like a cheap whore.”
“Truly a shame, you made a ughably poor conversationalist…” His scoff is a mix of pity and amusement.
“Credits where it is due, you’re much more entertaining than I ever gave you consideration of… How long will you st, however?”
“Well, I’m not a quick shot; you could count that much.”
“We’ll see, worm.” Unlike before, his hands turn the blood into orbs. These orbs then turned his usual cadre of bloodlings, but unlike before this one is dark red and Nyx could feel her skin crawl from revulsion. She also observed how the sea of blood that only protects him occasionally turned into a nigh-transparent shield.
It brought her bad memories of the Emperor’s Bde.
What transpired next was a sublime dance, a true continuation of their deadly duet made manifest. Nyx took the first move and shot past the obstacle around her, she increased her speed despite her blood raging to leave her body. A thrust was aimed at the Sanguinarch’s heart, but the shield proved to be much thicker than it suggested.
He countered with a swipe of his hand, staggering the Grey Serpent’s footing who instead of going against the force; used it to her advantage. With her being flung away from him, she pulled her bow and strung it tautly. Chanting in her ‘Arts’, the arrow managed to penetrate his shield; wounding him.
He tastes pain once more but takes no more heed for he is sure that in terms of raw power, he alone reigns supreme. The projectile pushed through his body, but it reformed itself despite the searing heat. His confidence is warranted simply because she has a limited amount of those damnable weapons, compared to his arsenal which is aplenty.
The Duke of Crimson raised spikes of blood around him, these soon morphed into more of his minions and gifts. His hand raised and mist started surrounding the Pythian’s body. His words are rich with arts and the truest form of will.
Nyx was soon swarmed with a tougher but smaller creature that reformed faster than she could swing her sword and daggers. She is being ripped apart for each second that passes, but her defiance to even bend the knee after being forced only fuels her adamant resolve.
The Grey Serpent’s bde carved a sizable chunk of flesh into fkes that scattered into the wind. That is all well and good only for the blood to reform into mist, restricting her agility and mobility. Her skin feels like being burned, but her hands never stop nor did she acknowledge the accumuting damage on her visage.
Letting her tail coiled on her sword, Nyx fully leveraged the fact that she couldn’t protect herself from everything and instead selectively chose her poisons. She gets thrashed around, but each time she has an opening she never squandered it.
A tendril had cracked her ribcage, the excess force was then utilized to propel Nyx upward and focused her shots at the Crimson Duke who was accumuting damage himself. Her vision darkens, but her body refuses to yield and her mind is far from being broken.
Minions converge on her position, submerging her with both mass and number. She uses everything she has including biting and gnawing at them. Duq’arael was flummoxed seeing her doing such an insane move, does she not realize that will only result in her body being filled with his blood?
Duq’arael’s pride demanded him, he demanded upon his psyche and bloodline, to no longer py around with mere puddles of rain. He deemed her worthy of complete annihition, and perhaps be inducted into his own byrinthine of memory if she could survive long enough.
Slowly but surely, he outstrips her regenerative speed. He could finally spy upon more and more visible wounds opening up. He was also surprised to see there was not just flesh inside her body, but also weapons and steel.
He surmises that also contributes to how tough she is. Only an insane lunatic would embed thin, sharp, ptes inside their body to fashion armor. Unfortunately for all her strength… she’s ultimately an Ancient who feels physical exhaustion despite her indomitable will and resolve to fight unto the bitter end.
“Pity…” He watched how her dulled movements left her wide open to be finished without his direct intervention. He was once again reminded that she was still an outblood who evolved like the rest of them. She is no Elder, a mere Ancient Terran who bit more than she could chew.
Thus the torment began.
She couldn’t keep up.
First, a spike of pulsing blood tore open her fnk. Her responses dulled.
Second, bloodlings crawled up to her neck and bit deep eliciting a soundless wail before Nyx's reflexes yanked it off of her. Still, her neck is now open.
Third, in a cruel sense of humor, a bloodling took up the face of one of her te students and stabbed her in the back with an inhuman hand. She spits out blood, but her hand replies in kind. Shattering them back to a limitless puddle of blood.
Fourth, the mist had turned into a fog, bulling her movement and she was forced to do nothing but protect her vitals.
Fifth and so on, her body is being torn apart. Blood was shed, skins were torn, and even bones were broken… and yet she keeps standing amidst the torture that she no doubt had also inflicted on others.
Nyx is quite literally being fyed alive. Her nerves are being pulled piece by piece off of her body. She had lost her vision, everything was dark, and only pain accompanied her. She stood there while the spectators watched with a mix of horror and glee. She is not invincible and by the end of the day, no one could measure to a King of Sarkaz royal court.
The Cordelian could only watch helplessly from afar as their teacher was suffering hell on earth.
Babel’s operators could only stare grimly, this is the reality of their opponent.
The mercenaries who sided with them had already deemed her a lost cause, while those who had a bone to pick with her rejoiced to see her being tortured to death.
Willing the blood to withdraw, he stood admiringly at the broken Grey Serpent in front of him. There she still stands where she is with her arms crossed in defensive position, and the bde is still in her hands.
Her body, however, was not so fortunate. She is missing chunks of flesh here and there. Her skins are mostly gone. Bones and nerves are visible for observation along with a few odd pieces of metal still embedded as her hidden weapon. Despite all of that, her torn eyes gred exactly at his position.
He could not force her body before, but now? She motioned her forward… and the broken Serpent complied. The bloodlings made up their way, their chittering and chattering seemed no different than soldiers celebrating their victory. Now they watch their monarch savor his spoil.
“… You’re quite the charmer, I fancy this broken visage of yours.” His hands caressed her torn cheek, he admired his handiwork. He notices the sword and wrenched it off her hand. Her fingers twitch, and her entire being shook.
“…What an interesting tool… sadly, it is useless when it mattered…” He threw the bde like a piece of junk. Nyx grunts, her fury bzes, but she can’t do anything. He inspected her body, seeing that this woman is a bonafide lunatic… no, a warrior and she is more Sarkaz than most of them in this day and age.
He turned her body around, cradling her entire figure; it was his property by the right and might. He brushed a pristine part of her neck, tilting her head sideway… and sunk his teeth.
Her blood tasted sweeter than everything he had ever savored.
Nyx body convulsed… Her eyes shot open, her crimson hue was drained away like her blood. Leaving only a disbelieving pink and amber shaking amidst her desecration.
As befitting the finest of wine chilled to a perfect temperature with rich moisture, the King savors it drop by nigh-intoxicating drop. This is how the world revolves and evolves with the Sanguinarch amongst the topmost beings to settle for what he owns and owes by rights. His quarry, Nyx, only whispers out words that are long lost to the wind.
Thus the end is here…
… for her torment.
“Hands… off… You piece of shit!”
“Gh!? AGH!” The Duke of Crimson’s throat burned like hellfire and brimstone was rammed into his vampiric lungs, his body was melting as he tasted the most venomous acid he had ever known to exist. He commanded his blood… who seemed to be tearing at each other…
While it is true that his blood had invaded Nyx’s body; ravaging her from the inside… the reverse is also true.
These minions that shouldn’t have felt anything seem to be writhing and melting in agony, an anomaly upon the realm he reigned upon. The sea of blood boiled with sickly green splotches showing up and appeared to be waging a war of its own. The alien substance is slowly but surely being subsumed by the more plentiful one, but in the meantime… his blood arts is rendered weakened.
Before the Duke of Crimson could even retaliate in fury, the Grey Serpent evaded his strike and… sang.
Not a humming so hollow.
Nor a hymn oh so holy.
Not a chanting of sorrow.
Nor a whisper of mere eulogy.
The observers’ drones flickered and glitched, confusion and frenzy shrouded their eyes except for an enigmatic, hooded, individual who nodded and left.
For this one st dance; their encore, would be belongs to them alone.
“Urkraft ned fr?n rot!
Upp till gudablod!
L?rads grenar!
V?x inom mig!”
She ended the first verse by pulling the knife embedded in her elbow and dragging it to spark a light and fme before coating it with her venom. Nyx coated her dagger by biting hard on it, she would have no other window of opportunity as good as this one anymore.
“Du gam tr?d!
V?rldarnas s?d!
Stig upp mot skyn!
L?t dagar gry!”
With a graceful twirl, she evaded a hastily made sword made of blood. Her arm’s aim is true, striking him where his brain cortex was supposed to be. She doesn’t stop because that wouldn’t be all it took to incapacitate, much less kill, him.
“Du l?kande tr?d!
Som urkraften h?r!
M? du st? f?revigt gr?n!
Och sprida livets fr?n!”
She continues to lead him into her tune and rhythm of this dance. Bending backward and flowing naturally into a kick, the Grey Serpent struck his jaw before using her hand to pivot her kick and drive the knife deeper into his skull.
The King of Vampires was thrown from his footing, crashing on the blood-soaked mud that was waging war against the Grey Serpent’s venom which fought valiantly despite facing its own death. Nyx pursued him, and her voice was audible once more.
“How long?!”
[15 minutes, hang on my dy!]
“Bst it!”
She pulled the knife from his body and renewed the coating. She tried to stab his heart next, but his minions were starting to stabilize themselves. A ramheaded demon struck Nyx’s fnk, throwing her off her tempo and song but she recovered by coiling her tail at a nearby pole and flung her back crashing against the ram.
“Vaner sprid!”
She crushes it in one fell swoop, using the impact energy to keep pining down the Sanguinarch whose body is momentarily paralyzed. Nyx straddled him and started stabbing him repeatedly. Her focus is broken when 8 bdes of blood pierced her back, one even tearing up a hole in her heart. But she doesn’t stop and keeps on stabbing like a crazed woman.
“Asar bind!”
A small cut on his legs to immobilize, 3 or 4 stabs to the joint to obstruct his Arts coordination, a punch empowered by her singing made anew, and so much more that Duq’arael is collecting wounds at record speed. As, Nyx ultimately is slowing down. The damage she received was no joke, coupled with how her arms were getting slower.
“Maktens vindar!”
Rains of blood fell on her while her hands were pummeling and injuring the King, heedless of her own dimming vision and injured body. It is no longer a dance, it is just where a plebeian and a King indulged in the most basic wanton savagery ever known. Technology against witchcraft, bare hand against esoteric weaponry; it is none other than that.
“Urkraft ned fr?n rot
Upp till gudablod
L?rads gr-”
Despite being dazed by the searing and sizzling sensation of burning flesh strengthened by agony, he is not a King for nothing and cuts off her singing for real. Nyx gritted her teeth, before continuing with severing and wounding his body. He finally broke free from being left so vulnerable he swore to kill anyone who witnessed his shameful situation.
The Grey Serpent was sent smashing against the ruin, while the Vampire already recovered most of his wounds… but his tattered regalia spoke of the humiliating beat down he was subjected to.
“I’ll rip your skin! Tear apart your flesh! And scatter your disgusting blood to the four corners of Terra!”
“Shut the fuck up, Twink!” Nyx unched herself, akin to a ballista bolt, and tackled him back on the muddy ground. Her fists are coated in both blood and venom, her eyes are bloodshot, and her body has wounds all over. Compared to her other body parts that recovered slower, Nyx fists are the fastest.
Each time her fist connected, it was broken and shattered over and over again. The Duke of Crimson could now really FEEL the agony coming from her fist. He let out a scream full of anger and agony, smashing his fist on her face. The Grey Serpent's vision went dark immediately, she couldn’t even perceive sounds nor did visuals. Only her sheer wrath, unbearable pain, and physical feedback on her fists form a clear enough image to wipe that disgusting lips of his clean.
Nyx's blood proves more tenacious than expected while Duq’arael’s blood is simply way too numerous. Thus they fought on for what feels like an eternity altogether. The King of Vampire who simply couldn’t die, against the Grey Serpent with a maddening degree of resilience.
POV: Duq’arael
‘What is this woman made up of?!’ I could not fathom an Ancient with this much strength to go around, lolly-gagging with the rest of her lesser like nothing out of the ordinary. No…
‘She is no Ancient… but I never recalled- gah! Damn reprobate!’ When was the st time I fought being reduced to this? No different than those drunken fools and their revelry? This is humiliating. Our blood was shed, skins were torn, and even bones were broken… and yet she keeps on regenerating or protecting all that matters. Her arms’ muscles were torn time and time again.
None of us entertained the idea to let go, I do notice how her powerful punches and kicks are waning in frequency and power.
“Nghh!” And these… pain… they’re worthy of someone called as such. But no…. I refuse to be beaten down like this.
“You wretched-!” I kicked her off my body. Forcibly compressing the blood, I rapidly retook control by banishing the contaminated blood… To think she has such a poison in her, how utterly disgusting that I was immersed in its taste… No matter.
When the rush of adrenaline and impatience wore off. I prepared myself once more, this has turned into an undignified slugfest… What I thought to be a worm might actually be a real snake… a small one, but a snake nonetheless. Gazing forward… I see her, standing ramrod straight ready for combat.
Her arms are still raised, but her eyes are not looking at me. Her heartbeats are weak, yet her blood and adrenaline never seem to stop supplying the necessary energy to defy me. She has perseverance that I thought to be lost in this world.
This corrupted world filled with outblood and soft, idealistic, mixed-blood… but what is she? She has traces of weaknesses, but held little doubt to sow chaos when it reared its head…
“… You’re still ready to fight, despite being unconscious?” Why…
“Heh…” How…
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, this is simply marvelous! How long since I ever felt like this?! Hah…” Ridiculous…
“…” She doesn’t answer, but her body naturally responded her footing being strengthened, her posture solid, and those unrecognizable but cognizant mists wrapping her limbs and weapons… what a fascinating creature… no, not a creature…
“Heh, I suppose even a worthy contender could still rise from even the dirtiest of stocks… Shame, you still have your limit.”
“… *cough*… Shut it…” Oh? This turns out to be a really interesting evening.
POV: Nyx
“Fucking hell…” That’s the first thing I could honestly say still seeing him standing with nary a wound, minus his tattered Regalia of course. Sighing out my exhaustion… I brought my fists back up again…
Ribs broken. Lips chaffed. Ears ringing. Eyes stinging. Organs obliterated. Limbs twisted and broken. Bones shattered… so much more… but my body did its job dutifully… I couldn’t feel anything anymore… my adrenaline was shooting high… too high…. Nigh…
‘Keep it cool Nyx… it isn’t your first rodeo.’
“Still wanting for more? I must say… I admire perseverance.”
“… Hah… hah…. Whatever…” I was ready to throw hands again… until for fucking finally, his voice is here.
[Sorry for the wait midy.] Grinning, I rexed... and jumped straight for my bde. He chases after me, and our swords collide. Just like that one time, from the vagueness of my memory, our bde had killed the sound itself. This time, I could perceive voices coming… They tell me to stop… who?
“There is some truth in that title of yours.”
“… So, you concede?”
“Hah, hardly…”
“Well… I concede.”
“Truly, now?”
“Yeah… that I’m done here.” Kicking him away from me, but the goddamn piece of shit, bloodsucking, cunt, shithead, asshole, egomaniac, manchild twink, god complex, asshat of a King keeps chasing after me.
I couldn’t muster anything left, keeping myself upright is a miracle really… how the fuck is Terra teeming with these kinds of shits? It almost felt like there was at least an immortal or really hard-to-kill local by a ratio of 1:1000…
Before he could finish me for real… a rge shadow descended from the sky. It is a vehicle bristling with weaponry enough to scorch an entire district or two. It is painted in Cordelian symbols and colors.
What’s that? Why, that is my- ahem, Cordelian’s VTOL.
The Duke of Crimson was momentarily distracted, and I just sucker-punched him. His body froze just long enough, but he only looked annoyed from having his fun ended.
“BRING THE PAIN, CONRAD!” It hovered only for a second, before unleashing its payload. Rockets, grenades, and even Originium bullets rocked where I was standing. I see that my feet are moving away from the ground while the King of Vampires is still being kept busy with sudden paralysis… heh… fuck…
‘Fuck… it’s… getting… dark…’
[END OF CHAPTER]
Author’s Note:
Yo there, this is me, myself, and I, the author who is malding because of this chapter. While realizing that this Fan-fic had reached its 1st year… 3 weeks ago… lmao.
By the way, the song was Laerads Limun by Hindarfjall.
Holy fuck this is kinda long… There is just no realistic way for Nyx to win in the truest sense here… Which is in line with how bullshit his power is. Sure, she could keep on pummeling, but her body still has its limit. Remember why she only hums and rarely sings? No? Oh ok.
Then let me tell you other reasons...
In-game it used a bomb that doesn’t exist yet at this point. Sure it might just be a mechanic, but W’s bomb did provide quite an edge, narratively speaking.He is a fucking King of Vampire who killed a Feranmut (Terran God).This guy is not the strongest, Nachzehrer King beats him by miles, and the Lord of Fiends in full power overpowered other world-ending threats.I re-read episode 13 and yeah… he is still retively nerfed because his blood altar was not made correctly. The one here does not recycle, only hasten reformation and he even said that there are necessary ingredients with a great cost.I don’t bring the Babel ops because they are too busy cleaning and guarding Theresia. No way in hell they would go out of their way when their King is not in a good position.Doctor.Nyx already injected enough doses of combat-enhancing drug to OD’d herself a thousand times over.It has to do with her body, next chapter expnation.The fight was quite long, further eboration next chapter expnation, again.And more reasons that I’m too tired to list… god… I want a vacation… Wait… I’m still a NEET… FUCK! AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH
The next update would be about Nyx, finally, and I mean FINALLY, get some understanding about what she is.
Update? UH… Maybe next week….
Ciao.
