Jason stood up immdiatley, his armor forming around him completly. He walked straight into the nearest shadow, reappearing at the church, his sword drawn. Although his armor always disappeared during shadow travel, so the boy had none for the next minute or so. He really wished he actually remebered that small fact so that he would use it and keep his armor on. Whatever was in there was going to learn to fear the hand of the next true heir to the demon throne, it would know what his wrath felt like; for it had taken a being that was like a mentor to Jason, and it would learn what true power felt like. Jason wanted to get Ansen back, for the man was one of the only ones to not want him dead, therefore anything messing with Ansen would feel Jason's blade.

Caroline watched the situation, she smiled a slight bit, then looked at Elaine and nodded when she asked if the other girl was ok. Her attention immediately switched to the man who came to the group, yelling something about trouble at the church. Sakura immediately began running towards the church to assist. Leaving Caroline behind. Caroline looked a Feress "Do you want the girls to come along or stay back?" She asked, concerned that what ever was at the church might bring harm to the girls.

Vanessa appeared next to Jason "So, what'cha doin?" She asked him with a toothy grin, obviously not caring too much about what would be going on.

Arya and Lyari looked up when they heard Dusk's voice. They looked at each other and immediatly ran after him.
Once they arrived at the church, they stopped. Arya drew her blades and Lyari took his bow. That creature would not have Ansen. They both looked at their allies and nodded before charging towards the entrance of the church.

Carden's eyes widened as the group began to head towards the church. What was going on, was someone hurt? Could their be some kind of...dark creature there? He shivered at the thought, scared. Nevertheless he followed along the group, these people really might help him and he couldn't afford to leave them behind. Carden slipped his knife out of his belt, but he doubted he'd be much use to any of them if something happened.

Feress looked over at Dusk with his eyes widening in shock as the man called out for the need to aid a member of the group and he immediately stepped forward, only to freeze in mid-motion when Caroline asked him about the girls. He looked over at them, then turned to face them, giving them a look of extreme seriousness. "You two MUST stay behind me. No running away and no stepping forward. They will not pass me, I promise." He said before motioning the young ones to come along as he quickly made his way to the church. I knew this silence was too dangerous

By the time Jason arrived it had seemed a lot had happened within the very few minutes Ansen was left alone. There were bodies strewn about the area and the Cianid's blade laid beside one of his knives, both of the weapons caked in blood. Besides that, the man Jason came to rescue wasn't where he should be, and there were two hooded men standing at the doorway of the church, conversing with each other as if they hadn't noticed the boy yet. "We have the one who has darkness in him in the church, why do we have to stay here?" One of the mysterious figures said, glancing over at the bloody scene just feet away from the church. "His friends are bound to arrive any minute."

"Because..." The other one spoke up with a sense of agitation. "We need all of them dealt with. This is our only chance to hit them while they're outside the walls. Right then, see to it the others get to work with that fighter in custody. We have company." Just as he said that the others were arriving and the scene, and he turned to face them as he took up the sword of their missing comrade's. The other one went inside, and then four other threats emerged from the church, all victims of the corrupting darkness. There were three who were prior town guards, and one who was actually a Cianid with a uniform similar to Ansen's only with a brown theme. Hopefully it didn't have the same skills as Ansen. "You all have made a big mistake coming for your friend."

Jason smirked. They didn't see him. He walked into the shadows and appeared behind the hooded man who chose to remain outisde, and drew his blade. Jason's sword touched the hooded man's neck, with Jason holding his head in place. There was nothing this man could do that wouldn't result in the loss of his head. "There will alot of your blood when this fight is over." Jason growled, his armor forming around him.

Dusk arrived as quickly as he left, his powers allowing him to travel quickly once more. Watching as the two talking (arriving mid conversation) He watched as the others came from the building, hooded figures being nothing more than new targets. Dusk dew his blade in one swift motion. "No." Another blip and in his purple smoke he was at the figure who had threatened them, his bladed already swinging up their chest. "You made a mistake taking him." He spun in and arc, sending a boot the backside of one enemies head, delivering them directly towards Jason. He was center of the enemies collection, but he doubted they would all have a chance of making a target of him. He wasn't alone either.

Elaine chased after Feress' heel, listening to his orders and once again staying behind him. She had first run to the other girl, the half demon as it were, and nudged her to follow, only thinking to take a slower pace for her to keep up when she was halfway to the church. She kept at a speed to keep Feress in comfortable distance, and the other girl i n fair sight.

Alexandria watched as the group all began to scurry off, heading to some new destination and danger. Deciding if she was going t try and help the boy, she should continue to follow them. Speeding through air and walls she headed at a slightly different path towards the same destination. She arrived nearly last and was just in time to see the odd masked one dive headlong into danger. "Foolish..." she muttered dryly to herself. She began creating blades once more. Those hooded figures were a bit too occultist like for her taste.

The princess saw Jason appear behind the hooded men. The other corruptions were distracted by this.
Arya, beeing the fastest one saw her chance and took it. She dashed passed the corrupted ones and went after the other one that went inside. No way she was going to let that one escape. She turned around to look at the others and shouted: "Take care of the other ones! I'll go after him."
Because of Arya's agility she was able to dodge almost any attack that was dealt towards her. She swiftly followed the figure further inside the church getting closer to it.

Lyari couldn't help to feel a little worried about his friend, eventhough he knew she would be fine. He was to lost in thought that he almost didn't see that arrow flying towards him. He catched it just in time and shot it back through the chest of one of the guards. He saw Jason fighting the hooded man. The demon would be alright on his own.

Sakura arrived shortly after the masked man did. She looked around, Ansen was missing, but someone who looked like him, yet in a brown uniform, came out of the church. And it seemed that him, the former guards, and the hodded figures weren't happy to see any of them. But something did feel off about the church, it wasn't a place of holy worship anymore, which meant she wouldn't feel bad about causing damage to it. "Alright, lets test the Ansen look-a-like" She said as she fired a fireball that was rather weak by her standards, but was still as fast as any fireball she's ever fired.

Caroline followed the girls, making sure the back was safe and to give the kitsune any warning of a sneak attack if one was to happen

The hooded man who stayed to challenge the group froze in place when Jason held him in a position where he could not resist and only chuckled as one of the other tainted guards went to try and strike the demon child that held the cultist with a blade to his neck. Another guard was immediately down by a boot to the head, but surprisingly he wasn't out of the fight yet as he twirled around and lunged at Dusk with his blade at hand. That had left the other two to deal with the group, the cianid being one of them.

It wasn't hard for the wolf-like creature to find a target as Sakura's weakened fireball came his way. His response was typical for a trained warrior and he was noticeably quick like the guardian who fought by their side. Within seconds a knife was sent Sakura's way and the Cianid was coming behind it, his sword already drawn and ready to strike when he got close enough. There wasn't even a word that escaped him, nor was there any form of emotion coming from the corrupted individual. It was as if he didn't even care if he would die from this fight.

Feress who had caught up skidded to a halt when he spotted the fighter coming towards Sakura's way, and he was quick to realize the situation at hand. Secrets wouldn't help now so he made the decision to come out with it. "There's so way that Cianid survived that ambush! They must've taken him when they tried to take Ansen!" He exclaimed, shifting his stance to a more combat appropriate one as he glanced over his shoulder at Lyari who had dealt with the last guard. It was unfortunate they were fighting old allies, but it had to be done. There was no cure for darkness other than death, for now.

Inside the church Arya had ran in there was barely any signs of life, the benches were full of cobwebs and dust and almost every artifact of faith was either destroyed or vandalized. Near the alter was a dark bubble that was too dense to be seen through. It was some sort of capture spell that came from the practices of darkness, and the one Arya had chased was leading her attention right to the one that was holding the barrier, another cloaked mysterious individual who was holding his hands out to the bubble and chanting something that was evil to the breath.

Jason watched the other guard coming his then turned his attention to the hodded man. "You really think I want you alive?" He asked with a short chuckle, the slammed his swird through the hooded man's neck before ripping it out the front, tearing open his throat and artery. His blood all dained down into lungs, drowning him. A perfect fail safe to ensure his imminent death. Jason walked towards the guard, then a massive wall of telekintic energy salmmed into the guard, with force equivalent to something like a house falling on you from around 200 feet in the air. Then the boy turned and ran inside after Arya. The moment he entered the church, his armor failed and his skin began to smoke as it burned. He was in obvious pain, the demon having been a creature who's weakness was cenerted in places like this. But he pushed on. Reaching out and grabbing Arya's wrist. "Its not safe here. If they have the power to wield darkness in a place like this, then they have more power than even I do. We need to leave before they kill us all. We're no help to Ansen if we're dead."

In the back of a tavern, Damien waited for his food. Killing had turned out to be a lucrative business, and no one would ever suspect that a face as young as his would be so deadly. He had now had both feet on the dark path, and it felt good. He wouldn't be able to go back to his old town any longer, but the information he'd gathered had already led him away, to this new place. No one recognized him here. He'd give his soul to taste the blood of Saria's murderer.

Arya looked around the church cautiously. She felt colder the further she got, she felt more miserable with every step she took. In the distance she saw a pitch black bubble, bulging with energy. Arya stopped dead in her tracks backing away a little. Her hands were icecold. She saw a hooded figure infront of the bubble chanting a song that send shivers down her spine. She stared into the darkness and somehow was drown towards it.
Suddenly she felt someone grab her wrist and she instantly woke up from her trance. She jumped and quickly turned around looking into Jason's red eyes.
Smoke came from his skin. Was it burning? "Jason! Are you okay? You're burning!" She saw that he was in pain and supported him. Then he spoke: "Its not safe here. If they have the power to wield darkness in a place like this, then they have more power than even I do. We need to leave before they kill us all. We're no help to Ansen if we're dead."
Arya nodded her head. She feared that if Jason didn't leave, he would die.

-

A dismal wind carried itself through the abandoned town. Not a single breath of life manifested itself in the ominous, dusty air. That is, if you do not count the short hooded figure riding on a horse - or was it a pony? - subtly clopping against the cold flagstones of the square. The figure stopped the pony, and took out a map from his old leather satchel.
"What a dismal-lookin' place." The figure sniffed. "Now, lessee. The circle's last known location was... here." The figure craned his neck, attempting to cover 360 degrees.
"No one in sight... nuthin' a few runes won't fix." The figure clasped his rust-eaten gauntlets together, muttering a single word. "Derh."
A single blue, glowing rune for the word 'seek' emerged from the figure's hands. It shifted course towards a rickety, time-worn church in the far distance. The figure squinted. "Hmm. Somethin' seems ta be goin' on inside there... No matter. Giddy-up."

"Thought as much" whispered Sakura as she moved out of the way of the thrown knife and launched a much more powerful fireball at the ground to kick up dirt, and used it a chance to preposition as her surprise came in. Her surprise being Caroline, charging through the dust cloud and slamming herself into the Cianid and lifting him off the ground and slamming him into the ground. If the Cianid's sword went into her, she wouldn't have noticed in the mode she was in.

Vanessa dropped in from the main doors of the church, letting off a low whistle when she saw what one of the hooded figures was doing "Haven't seen this done in some time, but I think it's too late to stop it, better get out of here Jason, might want to pull your girlfriend by wrist so she's not standing there, awe-struck." She said as she poked at Jason's shoulder "Plus you know what happens to us if we stay in a place like this for too long, and I'm sure you want to live to become king." Vanessa's skin was smoking more than Jason's.

The possessed guard was thrown onto his back shortly after the death of the cultist as Jason went into the church, leaving the guard to be a threat still after he recovers from his daze. That wasn't much of an issue for when the guard did come to his senses, Feress had walked up and raised his staff to swing down on his head, a swift blow intended to knock him out. After dealing with the guard, the Kitsune stared down at him before returning to Elaine, his eyes following the fights he walked by. They ended up spotting the stranger who was approaching the group, and the small one immediately ushered the children behind him as he held his staff in both hands. Is he another cultist? Who is he?

The cianid raised his arms up to try and shield himself from the debris, but he didn't really expect something like Caroline to come out and grab him. He did notice it, and he did try to jump away, but he ended up being grabbed and slammed into the unforgiving ground, a loud cough escaping him as the air was knocked out of his lungs. The fighter didn't give in, though as he tried to kick away the strong woman and plunge his sword into her stomach, unaware the attack was probably futile due to his now fatigued state.

Jason nodded at Vanessa and immediately began pulling Arya out of the building. Although he stopped at the doors and looked over his shoulder. These cultists had to be put down and their shield of darkness destroyed. Because for all the half-demon knew, Ansen was behind those very walls. He looked at Arya and Vanessa. "Go on. Get the others to safety. I'm not letting them take Ansen and I won't let them torture these poor innocents anymore. " He says and turns back towards the cultists. Vanessa would know that the boy was accepting his most likely imminent death, due to the fact he had a very strong urge to protect the innocent even if it meant giving his life. His skin began smoking more intensely and he fell to his knees, letting out a loud cry of pain as he built up power to destroy these cultists. With his face contorted from the intense pain that gripped him, he turned and yelled. "Get out of here! Vanessa, ensure their trap doesn't entrance the others and ensure they get away. That's an order!" Follwed quickly by another yell of pain. As the holy magic here focused on the demon tht was building up his power, the more power, the more the holy magic tried to kill him. Even as Jason prepared for death, he hoped he hadn't given Vanessa rhe one order she coudn't , or possibly woudn't, follow.

Arya clenched her fists and lowered her head, trembling a little when she heard Jason cry in pain once again. She didn't want to leave Jason alone. She wouldn't let him die. Arya looked up tears welling up in her eyes. "If you think I'm going to leave you here on your own you must be really stupid! I'm not going to let you die!" She cried out. The princess then kneld down in front of him. "At least not on your own..." She whispered then looked at him. "I know this is something you need to do, but at least let me help you. I don't want to leave you alone..."

Dusk allowed the chaos to flow around him. Battles of small sizes all around him echoed out as he forced deeper into the building, behind a few of his comrades, including he princess, and the demons. Losing a sword in some hooded body he took to a two handed stance. Sidling far behind the others as he watched the going-ons. At first he saw the girl let herself be drawn into some odd state. Then he saw as the boy threw her back, and seemed to offer some form of ultimatum. "Have to be a hero..." Dusk muttered, the boy fell to his knees and the boomerang known as Arya went back to him. This was going to get both annoying and complicated. "Bugger this." Throwing his remaining blade with alarming precision, it had enough force behind it to leave a memorable effect. "Let's not all go committing suicide. If we are staying then we are staying, not blowing the place up with whatever other magic demon farce you have hidden up your sleeve." He threw his arms up, allowing for the automatic crossbow mechanics to extend, unfold, and load. He now had two readied weapons once more.

Elaine "watched" the calamity occur, her eyes often only foll wing Feress and his seemingly less brutal ways. Her head never once allowed for Vanessa to enter her sight for more than a second. She wasn't ready for that again. Just as some new figure seemed to be riding up to the group, Feress seemed to ready for more combat. Would he be fine on his own? Elaine didn't want to doubt his prowess but perhaps he would need help. Drawing her small and ornate dagger she clenched it with white knuckles. She didn't exactly know what she planned to do with it, other than help. Whatever help had to be. Small little droplets of tears were formed in the corners of her eyes, she didn't blink as the person approached, the air of clashing wills brought some sense of dread to her, and even the actually un-threatening body approaching, seemed to loom as the reaper would.

Alexandria flew coldly, finding a way around to the other end of the church, she flung her weapons through the boarded up windows. Dull blades of earth and splinters of old wood rained across the dusty floor. The dirt kicked up and the spirit wandered in, the sounds of conflict being dulled by the soft wood walls that stood between her and the danger zone. A quick sweep of the eyes and her weaponry began to follow her sit, lifting off the ground and finding a home in the heavy air. She wondered how long it wold take for her to be found, the room she had entered was sealed off, windows and single door shut out for a long time as it were. Bent nails and warped wood kept it that way. The sound of footsteps and in-audible speaking was close. She would likely be finding something soon, be it enemy or mystery, she would have to find out. She raised a hand and her bladed followed it, forming a sort of circle around her arm. "Scatter." A single word lead to the wall ahead bursting open, chunky swords finding their way out and piercing the wall across their exit hole. "Let's get t it then.." She sighed as she began to fly outwards, searching now for either people to smite, or things to reveal. A trail of blades followed her, flying like missiles, being guided by the ghostly angel of death, known as Alexandria.