Obsidiana: Part One
Paulida checked his harness and walked by everyone else's, making sure they were set. He pulled up his sleeve and checked his watch. “1 Am should just be the nightwatch for now Lorea, Senarre you're jumping off the bow Carmilla and i are jumping the stern, you should land on one of the battlements around the main spire break in the glass and distract the demon long enough for carmilla and i to take this guy out and then we can have a nice drink tomorrow night after some much needed rest.” He walked over to Senarre and hugged her. “Good luck if anything goes wrong, don't matter if I don't make it out, you are the priority here over my vendetta, got it?” She nodded her head and walked over to the bow of the ship.
She tapped on Rosario's shoulder, “Have you ever jumped from an airship before?” He looked at her like she was crazy. “No, and I don't ever plan on doing it again.” A voice cracked through the radios around their necks. Kian said, "You're over where you need to be. You can jump now ill bring the Brujeria back around in about an hour when you're done, get up to open air, and hit the button on the chest of the harness. It will inflate the balloon with wind magic, and I'll scoop you up like a bird or something.”
They landed on the edge of a large stained glass window that bore the design of a deity holding a blade. Senarre pulled the gun with the long, squared-off barrel and pointed it at a panel of the glass. “Time to test this one out.” She pulled down on the trigger and fired four shots, causing the glass to crack, allowing her to hit it with the butt of the weapon, forcing it in, allowing her to step over the broken glass. Rosario followed close behind. They walked into a dark room flanked on all sides by glass windows dimly lit by the moonlight, casting colored shadows in the room. She walked forwards Rosario behind her, her gun drawn in her left hand and the sword given to her by Ryvr in the right. She stopped moving when she saw the sharply dressed man. He was standing, looking out of one of the stained glass windows at the soldiers on their nightwatch in the fortress below. Senarre broke the silence with “Yo.” The man turned around and smiled wickedly. She said, “Solomon, I take it? Didn't quite catch your name last time.” The man spoke up calmly, “In the flesh, I take it the pace at which you found me is due to that damned storm, he's fast and efficient, a prime target, too bad we couldn't get to him personally, oh well i take it you didn't come to talk philosophy again, half elf?” She raised her gun and said, “Eh, not really in the mood for conversation right now, would you accept an ass beating instead?”
The man lunged forward with the canesword, but he was parried by two swords, forcing his sword into the ground. “The one who casts no shadow is stronger. I can feel your mana leaking out, prickling on my skin, a such a sensationally sensual sensation.” Rosario pulled up one of his swords to strike at the man's neck. Solomon pushed back with a mote of fire, aiming it square at the center of Rosario's chest. He blocked it with the flat end of the Fading Moon at the last second and stepped back, walking cautiously in a circle around the man. Senarre rushed forward, shooting at the man to make an opening to get in with the sword. He stopped her sword with the canesword, and a large hand holding a greatsword emerged from the ground and blocked Rosario’s attack. Solomon dashed backwards, making space between the three of them. “Now, now didn't your mothers not teach you not to gang up on others at the playground, that's ok though I'll call some of my friends to help me too.” he slammed the blade into the ground, causing a series of holes of brimstone to emerge from the surface's figures distorted like humans but not. Crawled out, horned and armed with blades, Rosario tapped the end of his sword onto the ground. He and Senarre met in the middle of the room, backing up to each other. “Ready?” She said to him, he shook his head and said, “Drop in.” They turned. He lunged for the Solomon, both blades drawn, and she leaped forward towards the hellspawn.
Paulida pushed open the door the man who looked like a rotting corpse stood there staring into the dark. “Hello there, man of many names.” The figure said in his almost gurgling tone. Paulida pulled the sword from his back. “Marw, any chance we could just end this easily, let me send you off and you can die with dignity.” The corpseman laughed, “Did the family die with dignity? When you cut down the mother lit the house on fire so that the infants inside could burn.” Paulida stopped for a moment. “I am a sinner, and I admit as such if the girl ever finds out. I have resigned myself to the fate.” Carmilla stepped forward, but Paulida held his arm out. “Leave the room, I need to do this alone.” She looked agitated. “Why would you stick me on this team, then I should've gone with the others?” Paulida frowned, “I need someone to collect my body if it doesn't go well because if she wants a burial, then she would try to get me herself, and I want her out of this life I've made for her.” She walked out of the room reluctantly.
Paulida flourished his sword. Marw said, “So, what caused you to turn on me that day, then, old friend, I stood in the cold holding my insides in. I had almost resigned myself to death when that demon appeared to me.” Paulida blinked and found himself back in the cold air that day he stood over the elven woman, clothes stained crimson, the small child clinging to her, he stood his weapon raised, tears streaming down his face, his hands trembling. He raised the sword and brought it down in front of him. He blinked, and it was sparking against a blade of rusted iron. “What was that, Marw?” The man, like a corpse, laughed and said, “I'm not going to explain my technique to you; we are warriors in this current moment.” He walked forward carefully, holding out his left hand. “Eight great fourth and second depths.” Black lines snaked across the ground from his position and connected with the living corpse. Marw walked off unfazed by the attack. “Does a dead thing have a need for a stomach or a fear response? You should know you've been there.” Paulida blinked, and he was standing in a small cottage, a woman on the couch next to him, a small child lying across both of their laps, fast asleep. He opened his eyes, and a rusty sword was stabbed into his shoulder. Marw smiled through yellowed, broken teeth .“You saw one of Ishmaels didn't you, didn't you? You couldn't react if it's one of his memories, then.” Paulida moved forward in a burst of speed, keeping his eyes open. He stumbled forward, seeing two elves in front of him, one with a longsword and one with a handful of white fire behind them, and a man wielding a black blade with eyes of purple crimson. He swung his sword at them all, and it sparked a contact with Marw’s rusted sword. They locked blades for a moment, and Marw held out his hand. A flash of purple light sent Paulida flying across the room. “I know you wouldn't dare, you know the price of it, quite sad that the exchange is a little piece of yourself every single time,e isn't it?” Paulida slowed himself, digging his sword into the ground, “Fifth and third depths.” The weight in the room shifted, pressing down on Marw. He held out his hand in front of his decaying face. “Quite fascinating, really, I haven't dreamt since my death, and now seeing visions of my life is quite reassuring, I have long since left that behind, nd though, you can't beat me at my own game Old friend.”
Marw rushed forwards, bringing his sword down on paulida who deftly parried it. They traded strikes for a moment before breaking off and circling each other like animals sizing up prey. “Why don't you use the other half?” Marw said in a mocking tone, “I know you must be itching to use it with not having much effect with your current lineup.” Paulida struck the ground with his sword. “I can't use it not until I can secure a better life for her. I'll die a happy man if I can.” Marw mimicked a frowning expression as best as he could. “You are a deadman, and yet you care to pretend to be a father, for the woman whose family WE murdered in cold blood.” Paulida broke the stalemate and rushed forwards throwing a mote of fire at the man. He caught it in his hand and amplified it, throwing it back, causing Paulida to bring his sword down in a defensive stance. He held out his hands and said, “6th depth.” A series of gargoyle-like creatures sprang out of the ground in front of him, forming a shield phalanx around him. The massive ball of fire detonated and spread ashes around the room. Paulida fell to one knee, seeing a small half-elf child run up to him with a drawing with two stick figures, one with brown skin and dreadlocks. Another figure with brown hair and pointed ears. “Look, pa i drew us on an adventure,” he thought to himself. “Fuck”
He was pulled out of the vision by a sword dragging across his chest. He grasped at the injury, feeling his hand coated in warm crimson. “Why didn't you go for the neck, Marw?” the undead man smiled, “Why would I desire to end this so quickly? My catharsis would be not as sweet, I've been unable to eat, sleep, drink, fuck for the last twenty-odd years, my torment has gone on far too long for me to grant you release so quickly would be like paying the finest of brothel workers for a two-minute outing.” he rushed forward, catching Paulidas blade. Both created a mote of fire in their off hands, lunging at the other. “Let me set you free, Marw. I once considered you a friend; allow me to do you this service as a last rite.” Marw laughed and said, "You're a damned hypocrite, you know, whatever you call yourself now you've lived multiple lives, and yet you come with the nerve to tell me you'll set me free, you'll kill me.”Paulida frowned. “You're right, I do not kill the innocent anymore. I seek atonement for my sins. I hope that my soul will burn for my misdeeds. Should I burn for eternity, I would hope to see you there.” Marw laughed his lungs, making a horrible metallic sound on the exhale like a bag leaking air. “You are just a hypocrite all the way around, then, the one who bears the seed, and yet you still hold to such beliefs as death, love, and honesty. Were I in your shoes, I would’ve had the world at my feet, raped and pillaged, to my heart's content, become the second demon god, tell me then why did you betray me, leave the DSOC?” Paulida swung his sword down he caught Marw’s in a blade clash “I left because saw what was left of Santos in me, i saw his daughter crying for her father, the father that never came home to her, i saw the fear in his heart when he was lying on the cold snow holding his intestines in, the sadness in his heart when the last action he took before leaving this world was holding his daughters locket, i am not Ishmael santos, i am not Project Al-vida-12 i am not a demon god, i am Paulida.”
Marw said “Cute” in a sarcastic tone. Paulida fell forward onto his knee. He was in an inn suite he was putting candles on a cake and lit them with a handheld mote of fire a small child ran over and blew them out and he handed over a small wrapped gift the child tore it open pulling out a dented and scratched Revolver “Thank you pa your the bestest dad in the whole world.” he turned back away from the cake “Happy birthday kid, I did my best this year.” The child smiled and said, “It's ok, pa, you always do your best.” he turned back around. Marw stood there. He rushed forward, and his blade met Paulidas in a shower of sparks.
“Drop out,” Senarre called out. She lunged for Solomon, and Rosario turned the other way, aiming for the hellspawn, clashing the Fading moon against the blade of the hellspawn, bridging the other sword down on its neck, spraying a steaming, warm purple from the wound. A larger one with a sword the length of a man came running, “Can't block this one.” He stowed his second sword and grasped the fading moon in two hands, wreathing its blade with black stones. He called out,” The large sword came down towards him, but he caught it with the blackened edge of the fading moon, cutting through the blade and into the creature holding it.
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Senarre’s blade crashed against the canesword of the archdemon. He smiled and said, “You're very much stronger now; my guess wasn't without basis.” She shot at the man a short burst of fire from her weapon, its muzzle let out a sound like rushing air, and closed the distance to strike again. She caught his canesword with her blade. “You feel the same as last time, thought you were gonna get stronger, " she sped back. “Drop in,” She turned to the hellspawn, firing short bursts at three of them, causing them to fall to the ground before swinging the sword wide, taking the head clean off another.
Rosario clashed with the cane sword with one blade in hand. They struck at each other, neither getting the edge. “Youre pretty good, I thought you would've gone crawling to big brother to fight your battle for you, little Lorea.” Rosario forced his blade to the ground, striking at the man's chest, leaving a gash and tearing open the double-breasted vest the man was wearing. “Nah im not too into running for help from my brother because then I'd never live it down.” The man swung his sword, and Rosario caught it with the blade in reverse. “She told me you like to talk philosophy? Is that true?” Solomon smiled, “That would be correct. I regaled her with my thoughts last time we clashed, and she was not too keen on indulging me. Perhaps you will?” Rosario deflected a strike and prepared to bring the blade down on him again. “Maybe depends on what you wanna talk about?” Solomon smiled, “Why do you humans kill? It's quite paradoxical, you preach peace, and on the other side of the coin is destruction; you subjugate and destroy everything.” He lunged forward at Rosario, slashing him just above the shoulder. He stepped back in pain. “Good question, although I wasn't a philosophy major, so I'm not sure about the answer to that question, but if I had to guess at it, it would probably be some bullshit like expansion or money or power?” “Drop out,” he jumped for the hellspawn, bringing his sword down on one outstretched arm before cutting through the neck, severing the head.
Senarre struck at the side of Solomon's face, aiming for the eyes as he turned his head, slicing the top of the ear off.“Damn, thought I could've blinded you.” Solomon smiled, “What makes you think I couldn't just regenerate it like I did when you disemboweled me last time?” “Eh, worth a shot,” she struck at him with the sword, bringing the gun up towards the man, causing him to raise his arm to deflect the shots, and she brought the blade down on his arm, severing it. He pulled back, and she put her boot over the severed arm. “Need this ?” he held out the stump where the arm once was and grew a twisted appendage out of it, covered in patches of fur and armed with five taloned fingers. She stepped back, aimed her weapon, and pulled the trigger. The weapon clicked “Empty.” She whispered under her breath. The Archdemon rushed her. She raised the gun to block his strike, the talons caught the weapon, cleaving it in half and tearing into her shirt and jacket, three talon marks cut into the area near her collar bone, staining it red “Drop out” she made distance between her and the archdemon pulling a small vial from her holster and raising it to the wound on her chest and crushed it allowing the fluid to enter the wound foaming up on contact with the blood she whispered under her breath “Thank you carmilla.”
Rosario clashed against the archdemon. Senarre jumped in and said, “Need a weapon.” Between parries, he threw her his sword and generated a spade-shaped blade on the back of his hand, catching the demon off guard. “Very peculiar power you have here, just seeing it makes me tremble, primal response better not play around then.” He held out his hand and said calmly, “Akuma yume-yari,” and a spear materialized. He swung it wide. Rosario created a black stone sword in his hands, both blades grinding on the shaft of the spear. Senarre brought two swords down on the Archdemons' backs, tearing at the clothes on his back. The three moved in sequence like an intricate dance of parries and counters.
Paulida fell to the floor, his shirt tattered and soaked with blood. He got to his feet and quietly thought, “Shit, this is going on too long, I need to end this soon.” Marw held out his hand, and a mote of purple light began to glow. “Why don't we end this? Paulida, if that's what you call yourself now.” Paulida steppedforwards, his knees cracking. He held the sword with both hands and dug it into the ground, cracking the stone. He raised his hands and said, “Eight great hot first fourth fifth.” The mana in the room shifted, and oppression filled the room. Ethereal daggers tore through Marw, cutting and slashing, tearing him to pieces, and then regenerating their wake. The dead man walked forward, rusted blade in hand, through a flurry of slashes. “You have such power yet underutilize most of it, a true demon such as yourself shouldn't fear their own power.” Paulida smiled, holding his ground as the man walked towards him. “Not really into that title.” The mana in the environment pressed down again, and a series of garoyle-like structures appeared in a circle around both men, spears pointed inwards. “Marw, this is the final act of our story.” Gargoyles stepped forward, closing the circle inch by inch. Marw held his hand out. “Fascinating, I've never seen this stage of the release in this configuration. Even back then, you rarely used the phalanx configuration.” The gargoyles moved forward. Paulida rushed forward on the offensive, forcing Marw to be cut by both the ethereal daggers and one of the gargoyle spears. “One,” he repeated, forcing the undead man on the defensive, “Two.” Paulida struck hard against the rusted sword of Marw. He grabbed the small, withered hand of the skeletal corpse man and squeezed, pulling the rusted sword out of his hand, and shoved the rusted blade through the man's chest and pulled it out to the side, tearing through soft, leathery flesh.
The Gargoyle circle closed, running 12 spears through Marw. He moved forward, attempting to unhook himself from the ring of spears. A brilliant flame erupted from the spears, burning him. He continued moving forward as Paulida raised two fingers, “Eight great cold first depth.” He inhaled sharply, and his eyes shifted to a brilliant blue. He coughed a stream of crimson that poured from his mouth. A voice rang out in his mind, bouncing like an auditory illusion, “Let me in, for I shall grant all in the world and more.” The mana in the room shifted ice cold, and Marw was frozen in place, not by fear but by a rapidly spreading wave of frozen air coating the room,m yet he still burned frozen in place by the freezing of his skin and bones. “What is this trickery? You hide new levels of magecraft from me ?” Paulida stepped forward, weakly falling on one knee. “I just burned off a little on the fuse for this.” The small amount of hair on his chin turned white as if it had aged by a decade. His eyes flickered a moment before fading out, “Eight great hot eighth depth.” Marw screamed out in pain, “How could you? What is that?” Paulida began counting down from thirty-three.
“Three, Two, One, Qué descanses en paz amigo mío.” A large spectral bell appeared behind Paulida. He raised his left hand and made a motion like pushing to the right. A giant hand rang the bell, and the sound echoed through the keep. Marw screamed as he was incinerated and reduced to ashes, and the gargoyles dispelled. Paulida walked over to the ground where Marw was once held. An old patch lay on the ground, tattered and worn, only the large letters on the bottom were legible: D.S.O.C. He picked it up. “This must have been your tether then.” he held it in his hand and manifested a mote of fire on it, causing it to catch fire. It lit a brilliant green chromatic fire, and screams were heard in the room. The fire burned out, and ashes lay in the palm of his hand. “Goodbye, Marw, may you find peace after the torment.”
Carmilla entered the room. “You look like shit, by the way, you're all torn to pieces, need a heal ?” “No, I don't think it would work that well on me.” She held her hand out to his chest, and a pale light emerged to no effect. Why didn't it work?” Paulida banged his chest. “It won't work on me, not normal healing magic at least always been that way for the most part, it's not important I'm not dead, and if anything needs stitches, you can sew me up back at the manor.” A siren rang out. The base was on alert, a voice cracked on a loudspeaker, “All men to the courtyard, we have intruders.”
Senarre slashed at the demon, slicing through one of his legs and forcing a blade through the abdomen. Rosario forced the end of the spear to the ground and slashed the demon's throat. He fell backwards and steadied himself. “Looks like my contract here is over, got no reason to be here, so it looks like we'll be seeing each other another time.” He sprouted wings and ran towards the glass windows on the keep, jumping straight through it, raining glass on the courtyard below. He hovered in the air for a moment before being pulled down. Senarre had jumped, grabbing him from one of the blades, and both fell to the ground, landing hard. He blinked, and she was standing over him, her hair had become untied in the fall and blew in the gentle breeze, a sword aimed at his neck. “Looks like I got my boot on the devil's wing, how bout we end this here?” she smiled cockily. Solomon's vision flickered; he saw flashes of a very tall woman brandishing a silver blade, wreathed in white flames, eyes glowing. “You're very strong, then you make every hair on my body stand on end, very dangerous, you'll make an excellent specimen for the project, then I'll drag you back to pale eyes, then.”
“You won't be dragging me anywhere.” “Oh i in fact will,” he reached a clawed hand under her and grabbed tight on her calf, digging the talons in one side, poking through the other side's tattered skin and cloth. She fell to the ground in pain, swinging her sword at the demon on the way down. “Good thing I don't need the extremities intact,” the demon kicked at her side, rolling her on the ground, and picked her up by one arm, raising her to his face. “Fuck off,” she spat in his face, and he closed his hand around her arm, twisting it on the joint and shattering the bone. She screamed out in Pain. A slash of wind took the demon's arm. Rosario stood behind him, hovering a blade by his neck. “Now's your chance to leave, and I'll take it.” He tapped the blades, one of black stone and the other the Fading moon, on the ground once, twice, thrice. He rushed forward in a flurry of slashes. Solomon picked up the sword Senarre had dropped and opened a portal of brimstone around her, dropping her into it. “I'd really appreciate it if you gave her back right now, cause I'm trying to work through some things and I'm not sure I can do it without her.” Solomon raised the sword in a defensive stance, blocking strike after strike. At the moment he had an opening, he struck downwards, cutting Rosario's shoulder to abdomen and pulling back his clawed hand and palm, striking him, sending him skidding across the courtyard. “Welp, looks like he's dead ill just have pale eyes smooth things over with clan Lorea later.”
Solomon tried to fly off to no effect. He looked back; his wings were tattered, torn by slashes. The mana shifted in the environment, heavy and oppressive, sharp like a blade pressing on skin. A sword cut through the air, passing clean through Solomon's abdomen and digging into the stone wall behind him. Solomon turned around, “Like mother, like son, I suppose.”
A voice rang out in Rosario’s mind, “Don't do it, don't you can't, don't you'll lose the sight.” he stood up. His shirt was tattered, the pink scarf wrapped tightly around his face, blowing in the wind. Six rows of obsidian skull lanterns formed from the ground, turning the ground around them to black stone. Rosario stood. His shirt sliced open, revealing his chest and rapidly snaking venous patterns of Purple-crimson spreading from the wound on his chest up to his eyes, which shifted from green to Purple-crimson. He raised his Jagged sword of black stone, pointing it towards Solomon. The blade exploded outwards in jagged spikes before reforming. His hand rested on the longer-than-standard handle, stretching outwards to a jagged black stone flower on its guard before stretching out into a long blade. A black stone butterfly flapped peacefully through the air, landing gently on the blade. Rosario said calmly “La muerte revolotea como una mariposa con alas de obsidiana; eso será tu nombre, mi espada”