"You know, that armor may protect you, but that doesn't mean you can't get hurt," Eska
said, looking at the hulking shadow in front of him. He had carefully aimed one of his
knives and it had pierced through the armor, most certainly leaving the Living Inferno with
a good gash. Some blood was leaking out of the place he struck.
The Living Inferno just flexed his claw like hand before jamming it into the ground.
Eska got a bit of a nasty surprise as fire erupted from the ground and headed towards him in
a straight line. "Nice try!" The demon jumped away, conjuring up knives and throwing them to
dissipate the flames. It was only meant for a distraction, however, and the Living Inferno
took this opportunity to attack Eska head on, one claw nicking the demon's arm.
Eska just let out a sigh of annoyance before assaulting his armored opponent with a
myriad of knives. The Living Inferno landed on the ground and dodged to the left. Eska
summoned up more knives with a smile and threw them. It was like playing a game of darts,
really... 100 points if he hit the Living Inferno's already injured spot.
His knives were swatted away, but one made contact with a shoulder plate and cracked
it. Eska now had two spots to aim for. "I'm pretty sure he's not your target." Both men were
so engrossed in the battle that they didn’t notice Abby had found them. The Living Inferno
didn't seem too pleased. "Abby, run away!"
Eska on the other hand was smiling. "Well, you've saved me a lot of trouble. Tycara
doesn't belong in your body, so why don't you be a dear and come with me? I promise the
extraction process doesn't hurt too much." Abby just rolled her eyes. "Right. You already
know what my answer is going to be, so why bother asking?"
"Good point, but why don't you let me kill your friend first," Eska said, throwing one
glowing knife at the Living Inferno with such speed and accuracy he was sure it wouldn't
miss that injured crack in his abdomen. Abby wasn't going to let that happen. "Heed my call!
Blades of Heaven and Hell!" The words that came out of her mouth felt so foreign and as a
strange energy began to overtake her, Abby knew that it was Tycara fighting right now.
The Living Inferno was shocked as two of the blades deflected the knife and the other
four circled around Abby. Eska himself seemed surprised to see her using Tycara's power.
Abby tried to put on a calm expression, but on the inside, she was a mess. She had no clue
as to how Tycara's power worked, let alone how to control it! It was cool that she saved the
Living Inferno, but what the hell was she supposed to do now?
Eska grinned viciously. "Well, seeing as your able to use her power, I shouldn't worry
about you dying easily. As long as you are alive, I can extract Tycara's soul... so I don't
have to worry about the state of your body!" Abby was really getting tired of seeing knives
glowing with a chaotic energy, especially now that Eska seemed to be able to summon an
infinite amount.
She summoned all six blades back to her to work as a shield. Abby knew she had to
protect Tycara's soul from him, no matter what. It was when Eska threw a huge volley of
knives that the blonde mother realized that there was no way she could block all those,
blades or no blades. As if on cue, she was tackled to the ground by the Living Inferno just
as the projectiles collided with her makeshift shield.
Abby stared up at his red eyes and gasped sharply when she started to hear metal
collide. He winced every time a knife came in contact with his armored body, but he only
held her closer. "Your blades are useful and in combination with me, you'll be safe." Abby
tried to get away from his embrace as blood started to leak out onto her. "Get out of the
way! You're dying!" He shook his head as Eska continued his assault. "It's fine. This armor
takes most of the impact so let me protect you..."
After what seemed like an eternity, the downpour stopped and Abby was able to push him
away. The Living Inferno got up on one knee, breathing heavily. She could see blood coming
out of the cracks in his armor in tiny streams. She thought her luck had turned when she
spotted Isaka and Krystal coming at them full force. "Don't worry, Abby I-" Isaka was cut
off when she ran right into an invisible wall.
Krystal helped up the demon who had fallen over holding her head. Abby turned around
to see Eska smiling. Another barrier... "If you don't mind, I'd rather keep this little
battle between us three. Fitting isn't it?" She could hear Isaka and Krystal shouting
something on the other side, but all her attention was focused on the Living Inferno. "Are
you alright?" He gave a curt nod, his breathing uneven. Of course he wasn't alright... he'd
taken a horrible assault for her.
Abby came to the conclusion that she'd never hated anyone more in her life than Eska.
Hell, she barely knew the guy but she wanted to tear him apart. Abby stood up. If she didn't
hurry... if this battle didn't end soon, the Living Inferno was going to die. She summoned
back her six blades, prepared to fight. "Tycara," she whispered under her breath, "if you're
there, this would be a great time to rear your head and help me win."
*****
"Goddamn it!" Isaka cried, trying to bash the barrier in with dark energy. Both her
and Krystal had tried unsuccessfully to break it. They watched in disdain as Abby prepared
to take on Eska by herself. "Even if she has Tycara's swords, she can't win alone..." Isaka
said sinking to the ground. The barrier had negated her attempt to warp inside using her
shadows. Krystal shook her head. "No... no! We aren't going to just sit here and watch
this!"
The blonde calmed down when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Seth. "No worries.
We got two goddesses, don't we?" As if on cue Faye and Erin stood side by side. "He may have
a strong barrier, but the underside of it is rather weak," Faye said, her ribbons plunging
into the ground. Erin readied herself, a strange energy glowing around her own hands.
Eska had been prepared to attack Abby head on (his earlier assault was done in order
to get rid of the Living Inferno) but he soon found himself trap in a myriad of ribbons.
"What the he-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence as Erin's snake golem emerged
right underneath him, it's rocky mouth open, fangs gleaming.
Abby watched in slight shock as it swallowed him and rose up into the air. That's when
she saw it... her chance. Without a second thought, she pierced the snake golem's mouth with
her six blades, hearing Eska's painful cry. She felt a sick satisfaction as blood started to
seep out of the cuts. Abby started taking deep breaths and realized she didn't feel so good.
Then again, tapping into Tycara's powers couldn't be too good for her. She walked over
the Living Inferno before sitting next to him. His eyes were closed and she couldn't hear
his breathing. Abby's heart froze. "...I'm still alive..." he said suddenly, his red eyes
meeting hers. She would have hugged him if it weren't for Seth saying, "Are you alright?"
She turned to see the young man trotting towards her. "Kind of. He needs some help,"
Abby said and watched Seth nod. The barrier had dissipated it seemed. Krystal came over, her
hands glowing with holy energy. "I should be able to heal some of the small wounds and at
least make the bigger ones a little less fatal, so-" The blonde's explanation of her healing
powers was rudely interrupted as the mouth of the snake golem busted open, the six blades
piercing it disappearing.
Everyone stared in surprise as a bloody Eska came out and landed gracefully on the
ground. "That was not bad, not bad at all. It's going to take a little more than that to
kill me." Isaka just stepped forward, her face twisted in a smile. "I'm actually glad you're
still alive... so now I can rip you apart for killing my little sister!" The demon cracked
her knuckles and went after Eska with much fury.
Erin and Faye watched from a distance. "I would help her..." Erin murmured and Faye
finished the thought. "Yeah, but she should have no problem killing him now. Plus, I think
she needs to vent." Abby watched the battle with dazed eyes, not really paying attention
(did Isaka just sever his arm?) and not really watching as Krystal started healing the
Living Inferno's wounds.
She felt so tired... so tired... Seth let out a startled cry and caught Abby before
she fell over onto the ground. The blonde mother was fast asleep.
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