Elsa Bathory ~ Scene Post
"Dammit... Dammit!"
Ether stops in one place, his foot digging into the soft, fleshy ground of the arena, as he looks up at his opponent. It has been almost two hours since he entered the clock tower. It should be almost midnight by now. Back when he entered the area, he expected this operation to take about this much time. He expected to get in, rush to the top of the clock tower and deal with the guardian fast. Back then, he had no idea what he's getting into.
His eyes narrow as his opponent, an enormous orb-like mass made of numerous human bodies piled together like some kind of demented clay, each one silently screaming in agony with its mouthless face, quivers and shifts in the air. One side of it that has an enormous black gap in it, the one where he managed to crack this shield of bodies, faces his direction. Then, as if this couldn't get any worse, an enormous tentacle with rough orange skin emerges from the gap and twists in the air. The large mouth on its end pulses with red energy, spits out several sparkles and then roars, an enormous stream of fire erupting from it and going for Ether. The android has no choice but to run, his feet making unusually harsh noises against the arena's fleshy cover as he circles around the enemy.
Back when he entered the clock tower, he already began suspecting something was much worse than it should have been. He faced enemies, harpies, gremlins and even worse, but there seemed to always be the same similarity between them. Whenever his sword cleaved through one and ended its life, it never tumbled down into the gears in the tower's core. Instead, it shed its very living shell, feathers falling off, the armor shattering apart and skin peeling off until there's nothing but a chalk-white human corpse, and then, with a quiet shriek, was strung up through the tower's mechanisms and into the main room.
Back then, he found it suspicious. Now, he knows why. When the tower became infested, its main mechanism became merely an accessory. A large gate of black and blue opened in the trapdoor above, one that lead into small pocket dimension of pulsing walls of flesh held together by pillars of bone. And there, waiting for him, was the Guardian. The Legion, as it was called, an infamous demon that could convert entire crowds to its liking and offer them unity. Unity in the form of its eternally tortured flesh.
Only now, does Ether begin to wonder if he should have brought a bigger gun.
"Dammit!" He exclaims again as the stream of fire stops and the tentacle pulses again, this time with blue energy, and shudders, launching a huge beam-like projectile of blue energy in his direction. The attack forces him to dodge by jumping, his body spinning like a top as he lands on another side of the demon and crouches as he slides across the ground.
"Dammit... I won't let you end it like this!"
His dash is fast and precise, providing enough momentum for him to deliver a wide spinning slash to the demon's side. The creature shudders and shrieks, the numerous bodies of its shell screaming in unison to the point where they sound euphoric, and then continue screaming as another part of the monster's shell breaks apart into numerous bodies and falls to the ground. Ether's reaction is a grim smile... One that instantly fades as another tentacle whips out of the resulting cut, twists violently and fires in the android's direction.
His weapon's edge digging into the ground is the only thing that keeps him standing. His hands cling to the thin handle with all their remaining power as a small cry of pain escapes his lungs along with a puddle of glittering blood. His right eye is a mess of black, red and gold, and the sigil within it spins erratically as it attempts to keep track of his enemy. The enemy that, by that point, points both of its tentacles in his direction.
"Curse you... This is nothing." He exhales harshly as a trickle of red forms on his chin. "As long as I can stand, I won't let you escape. As long as I still have the power..." His voice rises, becomes commanding. "Cenotaph! Activate Advent Mode!"
The command is rendered mute by a violent roar, as both tentacles shiver at once and roar, releasing an enormous stream of fire in his direction. It completely devours the place where Ether stood a mere moment ago, leaving nothing but dancing flames. For a minute, the arena is silent. Then, amidst the orange stream of flame, a single line of crimson energy rushes toward the demon and slices.
The creature shudders, the loud euphoric scream escaping it once again as its shell crumbles, leaving behind nothing but a pulsing cage of flesh surrounding a small blob of ectoplasm, numerous faces twisting and turning as they endlessly scream for mercy. Five tentacles whip ominously through the air, no longer continuing their barrage of fire, and then all point in the same direction.
There, suspended in midair, is Ether. His right eye is back to normal. The rest of him isn't. As if painted by the creature's blood, his armor is completely black, its usual elegance traded for harsh shapes and angles decorated with a cross-like pattern. A cloak of golden energy hovers behind him, a thin and pattern of seemingly meaningless lines and circles carving itself into it right as one watches.
"Legion..." He speaks up as he raises his arm and tenses it, setting his weapon - a large red sword with a hilt design reminiscent of a Celtic Cross - into combat position, "I won't let you make them kill anymore."
The rest of the fight takes mere seconds. As the demon pulses once, the souls trapped in its core screaming as their energy is sucked out to power their jailer's energy cannons, a flare of blue fills the air and charges toward the knight in front of it. The answer to it is several lines of red, each one slicing through the demon and forcing it to spin in the air as its opponent cleaves through it on incredible speed, each strike precise and meaningful.
Finally, the blue energy from Legion's cannons stops as another slash goes right through it, following by its opponent sliding away through the air and turning around as he stops. The scarlet edge of the blade glimmers in the dimness of the room and flares white.
"Pitiful demon who feeds on despair... This is the end of your selfishness. I shall take everything you have, for your sake and for my own desire."
The last dash is almost blinding. There is a giant flash of white as the sword cleaves the monster apart, sending its dismembered form to the floor. Its former prisoners, the numerous souls, scream in joy as they begin forcing themselves apart, each one dancing through the air and turning purest white before fading out into the world beyond this one. The only trace remaining is a piece of malevolent energy that kept it chained. It hovers in the air, its bluish colors glittering ominously, and then vanishes as it is drawn and absorbed into the sword in Ether's hand.
And as they disappear and the organic shell of the demon on the ground rots into nothingness, so does the room around them. Slowly, the faint colors of blue fill the air and one by one, pieces of flesh and bone disappear in favor of an old-fashioned mechanism surrounding an enormous white crystal glimmering with energy. Ether sighs and lowers himself to the ground, his armor making a soft clanging noise as it touches the ground.
Another one down.
Ether stops in one place, his foot digging into the soft, fleshy ground of the arena, as he looks up at his opponent. It has been almost two hours since he entered the clock tower. It should be almost midnight by now. Back when he entered the area, he expected this operation to take about this much time. He expected to get in, rush to the top of the clock tower and deal with the guardian fast. Back then, he had no idea what he's getting into.
His eyes narrow as his opponent, an enormous orb-like mass made of numerous human bodies piled together like some kind of demented clay, each one silently screaming in agony with its mouthless face, quivers and shifts in the air. One side of it that has an enormous black gap in it, the one where he managed to crack this shield of bodies, faces his direction. Then, as if this couldn't get any worse, an enormous tentacle with rough orange skin emerges from the gap and twists in the air. The large mouth on its end pulses with red energy, spits out several sparkles and then roars, an enormous stream of fire erupting from it and going for Ether. The android has no choice but to run, his feet making unusually harsh noises against the arena's fleshy cover as he circles around the enemy.
Back when he entered the clock tower, he already began suspecting something was much worse than it should have been. He faced enemies, harpies, gremlins and even worse, but there seemed to always be the same similarity between them. Whenever his sword cleaved through one and ended its life, it never tumbled down into the gears in the tower's core. Instead, it shed its very living shell, feathers falling off, the armor shattering apart and skin peeling off until there's nothing but a chalk-white human corpse, and then, with a quiet shriek, was strung up through the tower's mechanisms and into the main room.
Back then, he found it suspicious. Now, he knows why. When the tower became infested, its main mechanism became merely an accessory. A large gate of black and blue opened in the trapdoor above, one that lead into small pocket dimension of pulsing walls of flesh held together by pillars of bone. And there, waiting for him, was the Guardian. The Legion, as it was called, an infamous demon that could convert entire crowds to its liking and offer them unity. Unity in the form of its eternally tortured flesh.
Only now, does Ether begin to wonder if he should have brought a bigger gun.
"Dammit!" He exclaims again as the stream of fire stops and the tentacle pulses again, this time with blue energy, and shudders, launching a huge beam-like projectile of blue energy in his direction. The attack forces him to dodge by jumping, his body spinning like a top as he lands on another side of the demon and crouches as he slides across the ground.
"Dammit... I won't let you end it like this!"
His dash is fast and precise, providing enough momentum for him to deliver a wide spinning slash to the demon's side. The creature shudders and shrieks, the numerous bodies of its shell screaming in unison to the point where they sound euphoric, and then continue screaming as another part of the monster's shell breaks apart into numerous bodies and falls to the ground. Ether's reaction is a grim smile... One that instantly fades as another tentacle whips out of the resulting cut, twists violently and fires in the android's direction.
His weapon's edge digging into the ground is the only thing that keeps him standing. His hands cling to the thin handle with all their remaining power as a small cry of pain escapes his lungs along with a puddle of glittering blood. His right eye is a mess of black, red and gold, and the sigil within it spins erratically as it attempts to keep track of his enemy. The enemy that, by that point, points both of its tentacles in his direction.
"Curse you... This is nothing." He exhales harshly as a trickle of red forms on his chin. "As long as I can stand, I won't let you escape. As long as I still have the power..." His voice rises, becomes commanding. "Cenotaph! Activate Advent Mode!"
The command is rendered mute by a violent roar, as both tentacles shiver at once and roar, releasing an enormous stream of fire in his direction. It completely devours the place where Ether stood a mere moment ago, leaving nothing but dancing flames. For a minute, the arena is silent. Then, amidst the orange stream of flame, a single line of crimson energy rushes toward the demon and slices.
The creature shudders, the loud euphoric scream escaping it once again as its shell crumbles, leaving behind nothing but a pulsing cage of flesh surrounding a small blob of ectoplasm, numerous faces twisting and turning as they endlessly scream for mercy. Five tentacles whip ominously through the air, no longer continuing their barrage of fire, and then all point in the same direction.
There, suspended in midair, is Ether. His right eye is back to normal. The rest of him isn't. As if painted by the creature's blood, his armor is completely black, its usual elegance traded for harsh shapes and angles decorated with a cross-like pattern. A cloak of golden energy hovers behind him, a thin and pattern of seemingly meaningless lines and circles carving itself into it right as one watches.
"Legion..." He speaks up as he raises his arm and tenses it, setting his weapon - a large red sword with a hilt design reminiscent of a Celtic Cross - into combat position, "I won't let you make them kill anymore."
The rest of the fight takes mere seconds. As the demon pulses once, the souls trapped in its core screaming as their energy is sucked out to power their jailer's energy cannons, a flare of blue fills the air and charges toward the knight in front of it. The answer to it is several lines of red, each one slicing through the demon and forcing it to spin in the air as its opponent cleaves through it on incredible speed, each strike precise and meaningful.
Finally, the blue energy from Legion's cannons stops as another slash goes right through it, following by its opponent sliding away through the air and turning around as he stops. The scarlet edge of the blade glimmers in the dimness of the room and flares white.
"Pitiful demon who feeds on despair... This is the end of your selfishness. I shall take everything you have, for your sake and for my own desire."
The last dash is almost blinding. There is a giant flash of white as the sword cleaves the monster apart, sending its dismembered form to the floor. Its former prisoners, the numerous souls, scream in joy as they begin forcing themselves apart, each one dancing through the air and turning purest white before fading out into the world beyond this one. The only trace remaining is a piece of malevolent energy that kept it chained. It hovers in the air, its bluish colors glittering ominously, and then vanishes as it is drawn and absorbed into the sword in Ether's hand.
And as they disappear and the organic shell of the demon on the ground rots into nothingness, so does the room around them. Slowly, the faint colors of blue fill the air and one by one, pieces of flesh and bone disappear in favor of an old-fashioned mechanism surrounding an enormous white crystal glimmering with energy. Ether sighs and lowers himself to the ground, his armor making a soft clanging noise as it touches the ground.
Another one down.