Suddenly Marie would turn to her left to see another angry harpy flying towards her in a ball of fiery feathers. Looks like Marceoy's mate isn't too happy about having the bounty hunter kill her lover. Unfortunately for her, there was nothing she could do as she was forced to take the hit. Fortunately, the charge was fast enough to have Utada's bullets miss their target before having to deal with the nearby Atarah. Marie would be pushed back with the flames crackled through the air as they meteor into the forest, crashing into small trees and bush the deeper they go. Already a large tree was dead in their sights and Marie would be crushed if they reach it there in time. With breakneck speed, the Scarlet Hunter wastes no time then to whip out another gadget, her taser. With a quick knee to the breast, Marie then zaps Eve with the taser for a few burst seconds before being able to escape the hug of death. The harpy would presumably continue flying towards the large tree as Marie lands with her rocket heels.

As the harpy would began regaining her steps from the crash, or coming around after narrowly making an aggressive U-turn, the bounty hunter prepares her next attack by whipping out a netgun. She quickly fires at Eve a net that if connected with Eve, the harpy would not only be entangled but her strength being slowly seeping away the longer she struggles in it. The nullifying nets are an extremely deadly capturing tool if used to their maximum effectiveness. This is going to be a close one.

---

Ghelgath's troops were doing OK, but still does it seem like they are out matched. The Ice Serpents from above continue to bombard them with streaks of frozen ice beams, but even then they may eventually fall. Without Apia's support, this may begin to fall apart soon enough...

It was then the Lich hears a thunderous war cry from behind him. But before he can turn to address if it was the Bee Queen coming back, the armored Thaumaturge leaped towards him, just when Ghelgath recognizes Apia charging at him yet missing her mark. Well... at least she came back. As six laser rifles began firing upon Ghelgath's Golem, including the sudden appearance of Farris blasting her holy energy, Saef slides on the frozen ice to bisect the giant golem. Realizing his vessel has been lost, Ghelgath quickly shatters his connection with the giant ice sculpture and he leaps from the giant as it begins crumbling to the ground. The blast from Farris did weaken his troops that were still on the field, yet the Lich is far from finished.

He leaps towards the still firing soldiers and crashes into them with his battle axe in his hand. The shockwave should be able to knock them off their feet to stun them, giving him enough time to decapitate them all in one swift strike. Realizing the situation he's in, Ghelgath snaps his fingers with haste as a wall of incoming ice, snow, and wind begin to engulf the catacombs. Visibility will be reduced and chaos would perhaps ensue as the confused soldiers try to figure out where they are.

"Let's put yall bitches on ice..." the lich punned devilishly as he hides behind the thick cold fog.

He then takes a quick breather before exhaling all the air in his lungs to unleash his Blizzard Breath. The frozen particles would silently replace the thick cold winds as they eventually reach towards the soldiers, quickly freezing them upon contact with them. Some may survive, will some will be frozen solid. The stakes in this battle just got higher as Ghelgath prepares to make more troops to serve him.

---

At first, it may seem as if Flos would be able to find his way out of the castle. It seemed as if no one there would be able to stop him as he finally will breath his first fresh air of freedom. But all this would seem to good to be true. As he attempts to slice through the doors, his blade would be hit by an invisible solid object just meters from the door. An audible clang indicates that the object was metal in form, showing a flash of visible black and red armor as it suddenly pushes back the angelic general back a few good meters. Shortly after the invisible object can be seen in its entirely. The Phantom Horseman stood guarding the entrance out the door, its shield armed in one hand and the gunlance primed in the other.

"You performed quite the show, Flos." Mephilius compliments him from within the suit as he grins devilishly, "I gotta admit you actually entertained me a bit... Enough to make me desire an encore. Let's see how long you can last before you finally bore me into mutilating your wretched holy corpse."

With that he gets into battle position, blocking his body with his mighty shield, and fires his lance at Flos' direction with several explosive shots.

@Lmpkio

The shots launched themselves towards the angel, though he was prepared. Arm up, the shield too the vast majority of the damage, but the impact skidded him back a noticeable distance. The dust settled, giving Flos some time to look at his opponent.

"Afraid to join your brethren on the field, and hide behind your toys?" the angel smirked. "So be it."

Shield dropped, two slash shockwaves, one after the other. Following them was the black-winged angel, sisters drawn and speeding towards his target.

"DEFEND!" Apia shouted as tons and tons of Frozen Bees swarmed in front of her, taking the brunt of the laser attacks. While they'd surely die from it, they would form a reflective wall of icy mirrors that would... well, reflect, a heavy amount of the attack back towards her aggressors. Obviously, she wouldn't be entirely protected, as her arm was toasted from a few good laser hits and the occurrence some new spikes in her legs (minus one, which was shoved directly into her side, but she would not fumble under pressure in this case. She was there until death, and her weapon would reflect that.

A large yellow bug climbed out of the Honey Rod as Apia's other arm grabbed the torched one. One bug followed another, and another, until a swarm of Asian Giant Hornets was surrounding the Hivemother of Hell, before being sent out to strike as she retrieved yet another stinger out of her abdomen, leaping up in the air behind Saef in order to properly stab him.

---

Evelyn did not flinch under the kicks to her breast, nor the taser, but she did notice the tree up ahead that she was heading for. As the bounty hunter escaped the grip Evelyn had on her, the phoenix noted she only had a few seconds to react. Instinctively, as Evelyn approached the tree, she swooped upwards into the sky, narrowly missing the tree and, thanks to totally-planned math bullshit, dodged the net gun's shot as she redirected her crash course into a loop.

"DIE," Evelyn said in her monotone voice as she came into a nigh-unavoidable path with Marie. The two were going to either die together, or one would die trying to kill the other. In either way, death was coming.

---

"Wanna just try t'share a beach house? I've wanted one o'those fer' a while, but could never get one." Why did Hyperion not have any beaches? It sucked so much. There was always the simulation room that she had access to, but it wasn't a real beach. She wanted to tan her grafted skin naturally, not without the needs of any tanning booth or shit like that. Not like she couldn't cure skin cancer, though. She did it once before after around a week of testing for that specifically. Mountain Dew and bear piss do wonders for the skin, apparently.

Atarah stepped into the strike with the same side as Utada's swing (so if Utada was swinging with the right hand, Atarah stepped forward with her right foot) being more or less all aggression. This made Utada's swing from just slashing at Atarah, to landing across her entire back, even so far as the hilt aimed to crack against Atarah's shoulder, due to the short length of a Gladius. Atarah threw a hook with her right arm, not to strike Utada or parry, as Atarah's short reach wouldn't allow an attack, but to bind Utada's arm. Atarah aimed to throw her fist under Utada's elbow before Utada's slash could finish, and then pull it up and forward as it landed. This would bind their arms together by the time Utada's slash landed, allowing neither one of them mobility with their arm.

Of course, to time this bind in such a difficult to dodge manner, Atarah had to accept the slash across her back. By stepping into the blow, and making it so the hilt would land against her shoulder, she slightly would reduce the momentum, but otherwise, it would land at full strength. Save for the crucial detail of Atarah's magnetic aura and exceptionally tough skin. Being nearly immune to metal weaponry, Utada would find that last millimeter of distance nearly impassable with the whole blade landing across Atarah's back, resulting in a superficial scratch, rather than a vital armor breaching blow. And the longer the blade stayed close to Atarah, the more its systems would fry from Atarah's demonic corruption and magnetic aura.

If this had been successful, Atarah would hold Utada tight, while she aimed a punch towards the small of Utada's back with her free hand. This was aimed towards one of the weakpoints Soft Shadow Style had marked, and if it landed on target, the shattering wave of demonic energy would be activated, and Utada would take heavy damage, even through her titanium cloth skin and armor. But meanwhile, to distract her from this, Serah continued her advance. The best deception was one that could become the true attack, and the lance was gripped by a hand of earth and thrust forward for another SSS created weak point, this one located roughly where the heart would be on a human, attacking Utada from the front.

Serah kept her momentum in check, so that if Utada say, detached her arm to dodge, or Atarah hadn't succeeded at the grapple, she wouldn't impale Atarah. On the flip side, Atarah went all out, activating her Maximum Effort to boost her physical speed and power as much as possible right from the start. "Victoire's already got the battlefield covered in roses, you've already lost! This is just for stealing my prey!" Atarah shouted, anger and aggression oozing from her palpably.

@Banana@Lmpkio@floodtalon






"That doesn't sound like horrible idea, but I dunno, I almost wanted to build it myself. Get away from society for a little while. Start from the basics, re-invent everything from the ground up. Given my clinical immortality and lack of need for food or shelter, I could just devote all my time to it. I'd never catch up to someone like Hohenheim doing things that way, but I'd feel better about myself, and, eh, it's not like being the second one to discover something makes it any less fun to discover if you do it independently. But, in the more immediate comfort sense, it would make sense to try to find a job and some roommates. Let's see what we can see, eh? I'll see if I can sense any vast quantities of water. Hopefully I won't lead us to a sewer or water main." Miyu stopped for a moment and focused, casting her Circle wide to try and sense around for a large body of water. Of course, sensing so far out was very imprecise with Miyu's technique, and Miyu accidentally got a read on a fresh sea food place with a giant aquarium.

"Shall we?" Miyu motioned.

@KoL

@KoL@Banana@Lmpkio



Curses rattled around inside of the Saef's helmet as what he assumed was the demon commander leapt away. The pale demon landed near some of the soldiers firing at Apia, cutting them down with a single swing of his battle axe. More curses spilled out of his mouth as the sliding Captain saw the ease with which the better part of a squad had been wiped out.

Gritting his teeth he flipped over and gunned his jetpack again. Shooting back across the open section of the tunnels towards the Ice Demon. His position low to the ground allowed him to slip by another attack by the humanoid bee person. She really seemed to have it in for him. The beegirl certainly hadn't targeted Farris at all so far and the Herald certainly had a bigger reputation than him.

A wall of sleet and ice rushed to block his vision. Wireframe representations of the battlefield immediately leaping to his HUD courtesy of the passive sensors in his suit. Even so the extra annoyance was enough to cause his temper to flare up. And that was before some kind of magical power started creeping its way through the whiteout.

This ####ing Demon with his ####ing snow and his ####ing ice and he is ####ing killing my men!

"NO"

The word echoed out of the external speakers of his helmet. With it swept a wave of warm golden light. Unholy cold vanished before it and demonic ice melted into so many drops of water. Before the ####ing Demon could try anything else Saef was skidding to a halt next to him. Slush spraying out from the now semi-liquid layer of ice on the ground.

With murder in his eyes Saef swept the now three foot long blade in an upward arc at the current target of his hatred.

Elsewhere on the battlefield the soldiers were feeling the boosting effects of Farris's battlecry. Defenses were increased and wounds closed up under the healing effects of the resounding cry. That was more helpful in some cases than others. The place was still swarming with stinging insects and anyone too frozen to dodge or block an attack was also too frozen to cover their suit breaches. Even the extra defensive boost from the cry would be temporary.

SAWs were being being brought to bear on the larger creatures. Ordinance usage down here was a risky thing. A rocket or grenade in the wrong place could collapse a section of tunnel. Even the large bolts of the SAWs were a calculated risk. Given enough time they could melt a hole into the open air above.

A few bolts did in fact slam into the ceiling beside one of the Ice Snakes as the whiteout swept through the tunnels. The gunner had been momentarily disoriented at the sudden change in vision. Luckily it didn't last long. The armored men may have been able to fight but it just wasn't the same when they couldn't actually see the opponent. Ghelgath's Breath didn't manage to get far before the blizzard carrying it was swept away. The two remaining members of the squad he had all but wiped out shivered and strained against icy bonds as their suits' climate control systems attempted to keep them alive.

With few obstacles in his way, Wolf hastily arrived at the edge of the roses that were inching their way towards the Machina starting location. The corrosive mists produced by the viles plants hung over the area like a red fog on the already eerie battleground. For most Machina, getting through the deadly mists would be the biggest challenge, but not for Wolf. Taking what would have been the first step into certain death, The Inquisitor used a massive dispel clearing away a large area of the mists and allowing him safe passage to the roses themselves.

The moment he was in range, Wolf flicked the switch on his halberd’s flamethrower and began his purge of the vampire’s flowers. Though his flame and blade easily cut them down, the dark powers of the roses kept them growing just the same. Progress was slow, and it would take some time before his efforts would make a noticeable dent in the overgrowth. But for now, he had effectively drawn the line and ceased the dreaded roses from taking anymore territory.

@KoL

---

"You seen to never realize your place, demons like you are only good to dia and serve as an example to the rest of your kin," Farris said as she interposed her shield in the way of Apia's attack towards Saef, ready to block it. With another sweep of her blade, Farris caused a barrage of crystals to cover the corridor, countless spikes jutting out from many angles coming from the nearby walls. Gelgath's blizzard would be a double-edged sword, the Angel troops could see nothing, but likely the Demons wouldn't be able to see the myriad of crystals dotting the catacombs.

"I'll borrow this momentarily," Farris said to Saef as she dismissed her sword and picked the rime covered gun of one of Saef's men, who lost his strength right close to her, pointing it to one of the crystals. The defenses granted by her own warcry wouldn't be enough for Farris to resist the frost for much longer but, at least she could try one more move. "Let us see if your insects and ice can avoid this," she said, pulling the trigger. The moment Farris shot, the whole corridor flared with holy light reflected and refracted into the crystals that filled this section of the underground. It may not be enough to kill Apia and Gelgath, but certainly would be so to wipe out most of their minions, leveling the fight once again.

Or so, Farris though, before the red mist of the Blood Countess' roses began to mingle with Gelgath's blizzard, turning the already deadly attack into a true demonic nightmare of clingy corrosive ice. "When did—?" Farris asked, only to see the Demon Roses' mist seeping into the underground through the many holes in the catacomb's ceiling. "Such cowardly tactics," she cursed under her breath, before raising her voice, "Thaumaturge, we must retreat and regroup. In this position, we are surely going to perish. Fall back to the catacombs closer to our Base Camp. We shall be safe from the fog there!" Farris shouted, before trying to force her way through the remnants of Apia's and Gelgath's forces, cleaning an escape corridor for the survivors among Saef's platoon.

---

"Gah! Damn you, Avaritia," Victoire cursed as soon as Henry impaled them both. "You won't really let me have it my way, will you? Very well then, I concede defeat..." Even though she admitted her defeat, Victoire's lips curled into a blood-stained, devilish grin; her roses had finally caught up to them, which meant that the whole Graveyard was under her control now. Her job was done. Victoire wouldn't last long, but she didn't need it as well, she had just one more task to do before even her resistance failed.

Take Henry down with her. To the depths of hell, if need be.

"But I claimed victory for Hell once more. And, just to be sure," Victoire licked the blood running from Henry's neck, running her tongue upwards. She stopped the teasing with a bite on his ear, "I'll return the favor and have both of us become food for my last trump card. Let's die together, Henry! Your blood and mine together, to feed the ultimate Demon Rose construct!" As Victoire said so, she turned all the blood remaining in her body into a massive Demon Rose hedge, skewering and crushing Henry just like he did to her.

With a sky-splitting roar, Victoire's ultimate summon rose in their place. The Demon Rose Dragon which she had been trying to use ever since the battle of the Elicitor, had finally been born. With a mighty beat of its wings, it took to the skies, to search and destroy any who still dare to try to ruin its mistress' grand achievement.

"Tsc... dying like this may not be so bad after all. I'll remember the taste of your blood, Henry..."

[D. Rose Radius: 30720/7680/7680/3840/3840 meters] [Catacombs/Underground Coverage: 51.2/25.6/12.8 %]

<< Whole battlefield taken above ground, more deaths will only fuel the D. Roses' regeneration. Rose Dragon finally summoned, after months of failed chances.>>

---

"Ooh, I'm in Celestia again! What fun!" Sapphire bounced up from the floor in the resurrectorium she had arisen in, as though awakening to Christmas or a birthday, rather than rising from death. Without a fully developed sense of object permanence, the idea of a home was still a bit out of her grasp. She was the first to arise in this particular resurrectorium, as the first Angel to die in the battle. Her swished back and forth as she looked around for someone to be with. But it was empty, apparently none of Saef's soldiers being sent here quite yet.

"Waking up always leaves me so... Empty.. I think it's called hunger? Yeah, it's probably hunger! Mmm, I wonder if I'm feeling it like everyone else does?" Unable to quite process the feeling of hunger and its consequential emotions, it was instead to Pink, a sort of painless but still noticeable emptiness. Not too dissimilar, but still not the same feeling. Still, in the absense of any other driving forces, Pink set out to fill the bottomless void that was her "hunger" for negative emotions.

"Alright nose, do your thing, let's find someone absolutely delicious.." She closed her eyes, sniffing up into the air, left, then right, before her feet started following that nose, walking blindly through the halls of Celestia. Occasionally she bonked off a wall or two, but mostly her nose led her fairly well. Eventually, she nosed her way in through the doors of the Imperator's Hall, and her smile brightened as her nose told her the deliciousness she sought was nearby.

And so Sapphire Pink started towards the Imperator, still following her nose, until it tugged her down towards Ruxen. Unless Ruxen or Deva did something, Sapphire Pink would likely bump nose first into Ruxen, sniffing her way directly into a gentle boop.

@TheWindel

Henry woke up screaming in agony as he clutched at his chest, feeling for the cross he had impaled himself with. He sweated profusely as he clawed at where it should be, calming down as he realised he was fine. Sort of. "Shit." Henry got out of bed and opened his window, breathing in the cool air of Hyperion. "At least I got her." He smirked at that, no way in hell Victoire survived something that he couldn't. After replacing his torn up clothes, he hopped out the window, taking flight towards Eos's throne room. He touched down about a mile away, no need to get shot down by Hyperion air defenses, and walked the rest of the way, sneering at any civilians who glared at him. One person even started to make a move towards him, but that quickly stopped when Henry's Eyes glowed a bright Silver.

When he arrived the doors opened automatically, which was kinda awkward as he was about to kick down the doors like always did in Hell. A guard stared at Henry with his leg poised to kick, coughed awkwardly and looked away. He slowly lowered his leg and continued his walk to the Throne Room. Suddenly Henry stopped at glared at the guard, drawing his sword and barely holding himself back from killing the poor man. "You saw nothing. After that statement Henry turned on his heel and walked into the throne room, observing Eos doing Eos stuff.

"Hey there leader, just respawned from the graveyard and felt I should report in." He paused and hesitated to tell Eos what was happening. Don't shoot the messenger wasn't something anyone in Hell had believed in after all. "It's uhh... not great." Henry left it at that and waited for Eos's reaction.

---

Utada grunted as Atarah binded her in place, feeling her blow land but not do very much damage. This was someone she couldn't beat, a Harpy with the exact skills to counter her. She saw a lance coming at her from the front and could see Atarah's blow for the back in slow motion, there was no way out of this for her. She was gonna lose this battle, but that didn't mean that she had to let the harpy win. Utada pulled Atarah in as close as possible, locking both arms around her in a death grip. "Let it never be said that I don't get personal with my adoring fans!" Utada said in the cutest voice possible as Atarah struck her hard in the back.

Atarah would feel Utada begin to heat up as she purposefully overclocked her internal core, her skin beginning to glow as sparks began to fly off of her. "Alright now, time for the finale!" She had a cute smile on her face, but her eyes were filled with murder as she reached critical temperature. And then she exploded. There was no way Atarah would be able to battle after this, whether it be death or crippling injury.

Apia stood behind a semicircle of dead bees, once forming the wall until the light fried them all, as she stared down Farris and the rest of Saef's men, her eyes streaming down an entire volley of tears. Her cloud of giant hornets had a few casualties, but it was clear that it was still a lethal number when they began to swarm Saef's men, attacking them relentlessly as their stingers picked and attempted to tear off armor, all in an effort to so they could strike directly at the flesh.

The Honey Rod kept releasing swarms and swarms of bees as Apia fell down onto one knee, a swarm of giant hornets making a wall around her as she continued releasing bees. She couldn't walk, and while she saw that this battle was turning around, she couldn't celebrate too early. The bee woman stood back up, a swarm of giant hornets grouping around Farris as they began to sting her over and over. "Y-you aren't escaping the swarm THAT easily..."

---

"Lead the way," Lillian said as she pondered what kind of job she could get here. She imagined that everyone could use a doctor, and while she didn't have a medical license, she could probably try and get into working at a hospital with her expertise of alchemy and medicine leading her. She wasn't too scared about that, more or less she was scared about what Miyu would do for a job. She didn't seem like she would be a bad mechanic, with her Daimyo being nearby, but then again, did they get paid a lot? Lillian could work on her mech on her own, so it didn't seem like an overly complicated job that would pay well.

Bah, whatever. That's the future.

With Eve having dodged the first net launched at her, the harpy continues her seemingly unstoppable dive bomb straight into the ruthless bounty hunter. However, Marie is quick and immediately after realizing the hint that it'll miss, she takes one last gamble. She fires her nullifying net again, this time at a much closer angle while quickly side-hopping away from the harpy's descent. With no time to dodge, it would be impossible for Eve to maneuver herself out of this situation and indeed it met it's mark.

Judging by the speed the harpy was moving at, she will skid across the ground with several hops in between before finally stopping at the base of a large tree. While Eve may attempt to struggle to get out of the net, it will only exhaust her further as the magic began to slowly weaken her. The bird was finally trapped. Marie looks up to see her trapped prey and tips her hat. That was another close call. She slowly travels towards her fallen prey's body and looms over the harpy ominously, with the sun being eclipsed through the trees by her large red hat. The bounty hunter chuckles through her lips as she squats down to her grabs her victim's head and makes it level to her's.

"Not bad for a lil' ole harpy..." Marie compliments her briefly before issuing a split-second face of disappointment, "But not good enough. You had quite a bright spark full of vengeance and fury when you saw your lover die. Lover or not, you tried to avenge him and you flopped gloriously. You have no idea who you're dealing with don't you? I can kill you right now, maybe then you can reunite with your man for a brief moment before returning back to the safety of your little nest..."

With a cruel smile, she stands back up and grabs the net. She throws it on her shoulder before walking down the path of destruction that Eve caused during her charge.

"But that's just not satisfying for me..." she answers coldly, "Besides, a woman like me needs to be paid and entertained properly."

She emerges out of the forest to hear the faint sounds of chaos coming from the farther ends of the battlefield. Looks like the battle is either entering its climax or its just beginning to end. She then looks to her right to see the limp body of Marceoy lying back on the ground, covered in a pull of blood. The bounty hunter approaches it and glares at the disgusting corpse for a few seconds. She then activates one of her boot's jets, revealing a trail of plasma, and with it slices off the head of the male harpy, cauterizing the decapitation instantly. She then juggles the head on her boot like a soccer player before kicking it several feet in the air and catching it with her other freehand.

"Looks like I'll be bringing you two in to Lucille for one good ole' payday. she continues, "A pity I can't bring your mate in alive.. it would've been fun seeing him get tortured in all the most gruesome ways by your's truly."

She then opens up a portal and tosses both Eve and Marceoy's head into it, popping off at Lucille's throne, and then continues prowling the battlefield.

"But a widow like you will do just fine..."

---

Just as Ghelgath finished blowing his freezing breath, he suddenly sees Saef bursting out from the cold fog in a fit of rage and undying fury. Yet it was so fast and sudden, Ghelgath had to act as fast as he could to get out of harm's way... almost. The three-foot long blade was able to land a long streak on the Lich's lower stomach, all the way up to his chest. The tip of the blade was able to barely cut the surface of skin to reveal a bloody wound, but no organs or bones were luckily harmed. The strike did send the demon several feet back before bouncing once on the frozen ice and barely stood on his feet. Despite being bloodied, he can still fight while only being faintly impaired.

Yet before he can immediately issue a counter attack, he suddenly gets briefly blinded by a bright holy light and then sees crystals raining down upon the battlefield. With haste Ghelgath creates a thick ice wall that blocks most of the attacks as he runs out of the incoming fire and slides on the icy surface. But as he begins to issue a counterattack against the Angel Captain, he suddenly hears a call for retreat headed by Farris nearby as the Lich's cold air began to be infused by another toxic subject... producing something deadly as it is useful.

Corrosive Ice.

"Hmmm..." the grand lich thinks as he watches the new element come slowly in, "That's pretty dope."

Victorie's roses have finally reached towards the catacombs and it begins to eat away at every being unlucky to be where it initially came through. As Ghelgath looks upon the air's effect, he couldn't helped but to be pleased at this result. He may want to talk to Victorie after the battle to gain this new element. But now, he needs to get out of the catacombs. The toxic air leaves no prisoner left unscathed, especially in a place like this. Yet as he begins to high-tail out of the catacombs, he suddenly remembers Apia. He turns around to see the bee queen unable to walk as she weakly calls out to the retreating Farris. Apia had done a pretty good job in combating against the female angelic warrior, despite her initial reaction was to run off. If she hadn't come back to help Ghelgath, she would mean nothing to him completely. Yet her redeeming qualities shined through... and melted a tiny piece of the lich's cold-interior.

The ice demon comes back and picks up the bee queen as he carries her out of the catacombs as the rest of his icy soldiers began to slowly crumble and melt from within, thus ending their skirmish. The lich stumbles out of the dark entrance as he returns to the surface. He places Apia down on the icy surface as he breathes a sigh of relief.

They can finally take a moment to breathe...

---

As the first shockwave comes flying at him, the Hell Knight stands his ground as he uses his shield to deflect the blow, along with the following with a small push. The black angels behind them weren't quite easy to simply shrug off, forcing him to swiftly strike them down with a long swipe of his gunlance.

"Somebody has to guard the castle when everyone is gone." Mephilius answers back as his visor glows a crimson red, "Specifically to keep YOU prisoners in check."

The armored figure fires off his thrusters as he charges towards the Angelic prisoner in an attempt to pin him against the wall with his massive shield.

@KoL@Banana@Lmpkio



They were getting away

The urge to chase after the fleeing pair was strong. Strong enough that Saef stared down the tunnel the pair had vanished into for several seconds. His eyes glowed faintly through the tinted visor, unused magical power begging to be unleashed. To smite the demons that had invaded his home. He didn't though. The red mist seeping in through the ceiling prevented that. Eventually he bowed his head and swallowed his bloodlust. The unused energy draining back into his wellspring of power. The vengeful paladin was gone, the Captain in his place.

"Let's double time it people, back to the staging area. This looks like the work of that #### vampire. And grab the bodies of the dead as well. They may revive naturally but I don't want to leave any of our gear behind for someone to find."

The slightly battered company moved quickly. They had sixteen outright dead and slightly more wounded. Well, they had been wounded. Farris's warcry had healed most of them right up. Nanite patches were slapped onto those that were left or had received wounds afterwards. While the medics were busy others gathered the fallen bodies of their comrades. If any bees had been left behind no one paid them any attention. They were harmless without others to open suit breaches.

In less than a minute they were moving back to the portal that had brought them to the graveyard. Only this time they were moving through the tunnels that filled the lower reaches of the battlefield. The rush of quantum particles and the occasional clank of metal on metal was all that could be heard for several minutes as the group made its way through the twisting tunnels. It took longer than the straight dash aboveground but not massively so.

Eventually Saef called for a stop. The corrosive vampire mist was floating down from the exit ahead. Namely a large mausoleum that lay very close to the portal. It's presence here meant that the vast majority of the aboveground battlefield was likely covered.

"Farris." He said turning to the senior warrior. "I would have your advice if you would give it. I can purify and secure the area around the portal before my men and I fly above the mists and continue the fight from the air. Assuming that most if not all of the battlefield is covered in blood roses, do you believe this fight is worth continuing?"

Apia, now placed in the icy dirt by Ghelgath, looked back up at him. Did he actually do that? Someone in Hell actually had a heart for once, and it was the least likely person in Hell, given his powers thematically gave him a cold heart. Still, Apia tried to stand up in order to talk to Ghelgath at an eye's level, but she quickly collapsed afterwards. A few of her remaining bees flew over to her aid, lifting her up into the air and bringing her the Honey Rod for her to keep herself upright. "... I-I'd never believe someone with a cold heart l-like yours would save me... t-thank you..." Ghelgath would find a nice sweater when he returned to his castle, that was certain.

In the meantime, blood was slowly coating Apia's leg and arm as she looked around at the battlefield. It was a glorious fog of redness, and while it made her head hurt at first, she slowly realized that this was the work of Victoire. She was definitely the strongest without a doubt if she could pull this off. Still, the fog made Apia ache with confused thoughts and actions. "H-How do you think the l-leaders will han-d-dle this?" her voice quivered, bees flying around her leg in attempts to bandage it up.

---

Eve's body extinguished, revealing the general of the harpies under it, bloodied and bruised. Her feathers were untidy, and the symmetry of golden feathers was thrown off. Her eyes were cast into a dark scowl as she stared at Marie, her voice only emitting around halfway through her monologue. "... he wasn't my lover... I-I don't remember who he is..."

She was silent after that. There wasn't anything else to say.

Time passed. It continued to pass, each second the same as the last. He stood to the side of the throne, about 5 feet away from Deva. Far away enough to not annoy her with his presence, yet close enough to spring to action should danger arise. But no danger arose. Every second was the same as the last, Deva sat in her throne and Chen stood to the side. Sometimes things were different, today Ruxen was with Deva. Deva... enjoyed her presence. Chen would never admit it to himself, but so did he. Ruxen was the only one who ever really did anything in the throne room, Deva just sat down and Chen just stood around.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway, Chen's eyes snapping into focus as their owner came into view. A pink dog girl of some sort. Perhaps Deva had summoned her. Deva enjoyed animal girls. His mind began to wander for a brief moment as he wondered how Lady Si was doing, but he quickly focused on the wolf girl who was getting closer and closer. He observed her carefully, her eyes were closed and she appeared to be very focused on something. A scent perhaps, her nose is twitching quite a bit. The problem is that she isn't stopping and is about to cross the 15 feet mark. This was the mark that Chen mentally made for all visitors, you must stay 15 feet away from Deva at all times. Any closer and you have become a nuisance to the Imperator.

The wolf girl took her first step into the 15 feet radius, the only reason Chen did not kill her on the spot is the fact that she was obviously harmless. He stepped into motion, appearing between Pink and Ruxen in the blink of an eye. "State your business." He calmly said as Pink walked right into him, not budging an inch as her nose booped into him in a manner many would consider cute. His hands were at his sides, the left one calmly rested on the handle of his rapier.

"Thank you," the snake-looking girl said to Miyu, after taking a moment to recompose herself and try to find out what was happening here. It suddenly clicked in her mind when she heard the two of them talking about getting a house at the beach and finding jobs.

Before she could say anything to them, one of those annoying cats approached the duo and asked a number of questions. The snake girl remained quiet, almost apprehensive, as she waited a chance to speak again. "I'm sorry, but you aren't from here, are you? You can't just... claim a thing that you want, even if it's bare land, you need to buy it," she said right as the two of them were about to leave, fearing that she would have no other chance to do it if she let them go.

"The cats are very mean if you don't follow their laws," she added in a low voice.

"I have to go now if you need something, I'll be here," the girl said as she reached into her robe. A moment, later she offered a couple of 10% discount coupons to the duo of mecha pilots. The coupons, offering a discount on the purchase of a shortcake and tea combo, belonged to a sort of café, or a similar establishment, at the Downtown area. Unless any of the newcomers had anything else to ask her, the girl would leave shortly after that; she needed to deliver the ice cream to her friend before it melted, after all. Mysteriously, it didn't begin to do so already...

---

"Very well then, let it be your way," Farris said to no one in particular, after swathing Apia's hornets out of the air with a shield bash strong enough to cause a concussive blast of pressurized air around her. She observed Gelgath and Apia running away, around the same time as the catacombs too got covered in Victoire's Demon Roses. Or so they would, were not for the holy crystal barrier erected by Farris halting the advance of the deadly constructs. "We shall see how long you, wretched demons, will last before the might of the Divine Imperator."

Farris then turned around to address Saef's concerns. "I understand your concerns. However, letting your fury speak louder than your reason is the shortest way to an unsavory demise," she looked at the sky through her barrier before continuing, "That said, taking back this battlefield on our own will be a daunting task. The first objective we must concentrate our effort is on felling the duo that ran away from our previous skirmish. However..." Farris cast a gaze over the state of Saef's platoon then returning her inscrutable reddish irises to him. "We cannot concentrate on the battle if we have to exhaust our resources. Send your men back home and follow me, they have done well enough for today. I believe that they deserve to rest. Of course, if both you and they believe that my judgment is flawed, you are free to proceed as you wish."

"Whatever your choice is, make it quick, we have no time to squander," Farris said before she released the holy energy contained into her crystals, shattering them into a tiny million pieces. The resulting blast cleared this section of the corridor on both ways, leaving a route for Saef and his men to either escape from the battlefield or follow Farris toward the tunnel Gelgath and Apia used to escape.

Regardless of their decision, Farris flew out of the catacombs, closing in on Gelgath and Apia. "Do not think even for a second that you will defile and abandon these hallowed grounds without knowing the fury of Celestia," she said while hovering over the bloody mist. "In the name of the Devine Imperator, I condemn you: Fall back to the pity whence you came!" Without another word, Farris swept her sword in a wide arc, summoning a continuous storm of holy crystals to rain down on both Demons like hail cast by a vengeful god.

<<Rose Dragon moving towards the closest enemy unit, i.e.: Wolf, arrival on next post>>

---

As soon as Victoire came back to consciousness, within the darkness of Hell, she realized what happened at her final moments in the Graveyard of the Lost. "Tsc, I swear that I will make you pay for your choice, Avaritia," she said to herself, after touching her lips. As expected, not even a single drop of blood was left on them. "I expect that the other morons do not squander my work. T'would be a shame if Ruthria repeated itself, especially when I am certain that we outnumbered the enemy forces. Alas, t'is not in my power anymore. The first task I have now is sating my hunger, that battle drained me."

Having decided on her next course of action, Victoire stepped into Pandemonium's brimstone hallways. She didn't have anything special to report to the Hellish Council that ruled over them now. At least she could spare the time to feed of one of the dungeon's prisoners before doing it. Thanks to a revolt happening for a cause that she couldn't even fathom, Victoire didn't even need to go all the way to the dungeon.

A formerly captured human slave charged at her blindly, in an attempt to impale Victoire with an improvised spear. Victoire caught the weapon effortlessly, snapping it like a dry twig. The human, was a girl that was —no doubt— being held captive to serve as a future sex slave, lost her balance, falling right into Victoire's arms. "You needn't be this hasty. I'll take my time with you, regardless of you wanting it or not," she said to the hypnotized girl before driving her against a wall, fangs already brushing against the exposed paleness of the former inmate...

---

"I see." Those were the first words Eos said to Henry as soon as the Demon came to report the conditions of the battle. "Underestimating the abilities of our enemies just because our own have grown is still an issue that must be correct. This behavior has dragged the Machina to ruin many times," she said, probably to herself.

A moment later, Eos addressed Henry once again, "Is that all you wanted to say? If so, I thank you for your efforts."

---

Back in Celestia, Diana had —after a few days— finally finished helping Suparna find a new home for herself. The dragon girl now walked around the quite empty corridors of the gold and marble citadel. Anyone who previously knew her would notice an immediate change in her typical appearance. Now Diana had not one but two swords, the second one was seemingly made of some form of dark metal; her armor was slightly heavier and had more decorations. The dragon girl looked far more like a full-fledged knight than her usual roguish self, now.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Diana said to herself as she walked by the ornate entrance of Deva's throne room, right in time to overhear small commotion that was taking place inside. Once a rogue, always a rogue, though... naturally, Diana's curiosity came first and she found herself skulking past the doors and the Celestial Centurions that guarded it. Once she was inside, the dragon girl hid behind a pillar on the furthest place, several meters away from Deva's throne, listening intently to what was happening.

Little did she know that none but Iona was coming in, to fulfill an unrelated business.

"Do you care to explain why you are spying at Deva, Diana?" Iona asked. The Dark Archangel had her arms crossed under her bust while staring at the dragon girl with a gaze like that of a stern older sibling.

Diana nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden question. When she turned around and notice that it was Iona, of all people, who found her, Diana felt a drop of cold sweat run down her face. Her only temporary relief was that Iona turned her attention to the same event that attracted Diana in the first place.

"The two of you as well. What's the reason for this?" Iona asked Pink and Chen while making sure that Diana wasn't going to try to slip away before answering her question.

The tolls of battle that rocked the Nexus was nothing new for the Imperator of Heaven. At times, she would grow bored of their mindless conflict and would cast her eyes away from the fighting. Such was the case now as she meditated upon her throne, eyes closed as if to appear sleeping. She probably was, but very few beings dared to make certain of this fact. If she wasn’t asleep, then the blue Beastkin by the foot of her throne certainly was. That being said, the Imperator did crack an eye open and stared wordlessly at Pink’s growing proximity.

She saw no need to warn the pink Beastkin, not when Ruxen would do it for her. “Fuck off,” was Ruxen’s automatic reaction the moment she heard a small booping sound, eyes flicking open into a scowl. “Great. And who the hell are you supposed to be. Why don’t you find someone else to piss off before I piss off in your fucking throat,” she growled, cranky as ever and hoisting herself up to rest on her haunches.

Evidently, the sound had come from Pink boinking her nose right into Chen’s leg. Not that Ruxen particularly cared if it had hurt one way or the other. In any case, it seemed Chen had it all covered and so Ruxen huffed, padding away to put distance between her and that pink idiot before finding a new position to sleep in. However, the Imperator had been fully roused now and placed her sights on Chen and Pink.

“She may proceed. I assume she is here for Ruxen,” the Imperator said before closing her eyes once again. Knowing Pink’s nature, it was only a matter of time before the two wolves would eventually meet one another. It was much healthier than Ruxen crossing that annoying cat for the hundredth time at least. Speaking of which, that cat in question continued to listen in on Miyu and Lillian’s conversation in the Happy Verse.

Noire would have loved to intervene, but weird snake girl was also giving her the creeps. Good riddance that she was leaving! For now, she would just watch with swishes of her tail to keep her amused. There was still that weird cat talking to Ananta’s kids nearby that also made her unnerved.

@KoL@Banana@Lmpkio



Withdrawing troops to save their lives made a lot less sense in the Nexus. For men and woman like those in Saef's company death simply meant spending a fey days as spirits before being sent back to rejoin the fight. Their commander still wasn't comfortable with that fact. Death was supposed to be The End. The final journey. Not an inconvenience. Here it was more effective to hold an enemy captive than to kill them. It was nice not to have to write Condolence letters after every engagement though.

"Sir, I'm getting some odd readings from some of the suit diagnostics." It was First Lieutenant Stillwater. His second in command contacting him directly over the comms. "It might be Demonic corruption or it might be nothing. I don't want to take that chance though sir. We should take the company back to base and run full scans."

Saef could understand the Lieutenant's caution. The runes carved into the suits were a recent addition. So recent that this mission had been something of a field test. And despite the supposed protection offered by the angelic script it was hard to shake the paranoia from thirteen months of conflict with the forces of Hell.

The captain agreed with his subordinate. The smart thing would be to withdraw and run all the suits and equipment through a full battery of tests. A little earlier than planned but nobody would be accusing them of cowardice for leaving a place like this. He wasn't done here though. The two Demons from before were still out there and his company had barely engaged the enemy before being forced back. No, he wasn't done killing Demons yet.

"I'm giving you temporary command." Saef replied to his executive officer. "Withdraw the company and run those scans. I will stay and assist Farris however I can." There was silence for several seconds before a simple "Yes, sir." Came back. They both knew he would be getting in trouble for this. The General might even get involved.

Saef took to the air as his company retreated through the glowing portal. He caught up to Farris quickly, the suited Thaumaturge falling in behind the senior warrior. The pair didn't have to search for long before locating their prey. It appeared that the two Demons had stopped to rest after making their way out of the twisting and turning tunnels. A trip that must have taken much more time and energy than simply flying over everything had.

Farris did her thing, announcing the oncoming smite with all the righteous fury of a longtime holy warrior of the Nexus. And unleashing a storm of very nasty looking holy crystals when she was done. For his part Saef simply raised his weapon, once again a glowing scepter. Arcane symbols and runes flashed through his mind and a large magical circle formed in front of the rain of crystals. The prisms of the deadly hail shone with a new inner glow as they soared downwards.

Upon impact that glow would spring outward, blades of light slicing through nearby objects for half a second before their carrier crystals shattered or buried themselves.

Chen had seen Diana the moment she entered the throne room, nobody in Heaven was quiet enough to sneak up on him, much less Deva. It did not matter, he knew she was simply curious and held no ill intent. Iona came in soon afterwards, calling her out and questioning Chen as to what was happening. A chill went up his spine, no matter how many years he spent around her Iona still unnerved him. Of course none of this visibly showed, but she probably knew. She was just like that. He took a moment to consider his words before speaking, feeling Pink bump into his leg. "This pink wolf girl approached Deva without reason. I was merely doing my job as a guard, seeing as how nobody outside saw fit to do their job." His voice rose slightly at the last part, the guards outside would certainly be punished later for letting three different people inside without explanation.

“Fuck off." And with that Ruxen awoke, in a foul mood as usual. “Great. And who the hell are you supposed to be. Why don’t you find someone else to piss off before I piss off in your fucking throat.” Always a break from the mundane, Chen even found it amusing when she started cursing someone out. “She may proceed. I assume she is here for Ruxen.” The Imperator spoke for the first time during this whole encounter and Chen dutifully moved aside. "Yes Imperator." He then proceeded to move towards Diana and Iona, a steely stare focused upon the Dragon girl. "Is there something you needed here?" A clear indication to either speak up or get out.

---

"I see." Henry blinked twice, surprised by the fact that nothing was impaling him or beheading him. He glanced around, waiting for the portal to drop him into a black hole, but nothing happened. "Underestimating the abilities of our enemies just because our own have grown is still an issue that must be correct. This behavior has dragged the Machina to ruin many times," Eos muttered to herself, trying to figure out a good plan for the next battle. "Is that all you wanted to say? If so, I thank you for your efforts." Henry's eyes widened like saucers, what the fuck?

"Did... did you just say thank you?" The very idea of his leader not killing him upon reporting a defeat was insane enough, but a thank you? Holy shit why didn't he leave the Demons sooner, these guys gave him a hotel room, permission to torture POWs, and even thanked him for his services! He shook off his amazement and gathered his thoughts, there was more to report. "Um, no actually. I think I do have more to report." He then proceeded to report how the battle had gone in detail, from his battle with Zak upto Victoire appearing and him impaling the both of them. "And finally I want to report upon something I had found really fucking weird. When Victoire bit me it made me feel really strange, I think it may have been some sort of toxin. It numbed my pain and replaced it with some other feeling, a good one. It might be used as a paralyzing agent, I could barely move because of it. Probably irrelevant since most of our soldiers are machines, but it is something to consider. That is all."

Ghelgath looks back at Apia to see her struggling to get up while looking out at the cold landscape covered in this intense fog. The bee's words seemed to slightly warm up more of Ghelgath's frozen heart, producing a warm fuzzy feeling he has not felt since... well ever really. For once, his actions were appreciated by someone. The first, if not forever, in a really long time. Because of this, when he felt this new sensation, he didn't know what to say at first. The Lich stammered for a second, as if his lips melted slightly, before responding coherently.

"I-It's nothing..." he says quickly while rolling his eyes in a faintly nervous way while facing the other direction with his hands in his pockets, "Don't uh... l-let it get into your... head..."

It felt extremely awkward for him to mutter out his usual cold remarks while trying not to show his positive remarks, but he simply did it to the best of his abilities. If Apia only left the battlefield to leave Ghelgath for dead, those feelings would not have melted out at all, not even slightly as it is. But since she did try to help it meant something to him, especially since his initial savior Rufus, treated him badly despite the lich trying to "stand up" for him. Either way, he shouldn't be thinking on this too much.

Apia asks how he thinks the leaders will handle the battle at it's current state. The Lich can only shrug.

"Who knows..." he responds unsurely himself, "Whatever the case may be, we are at least out of the catacombs. The corrosive ice should be able to~"

Yet before he can finish, a familiar voice boomed over the cold air around them. That very voice made Ghelgath cringe with rage as he slowly around to see Farris hovering over them ominously. The lich snarls as he looks up at her with annoyance.

"Can you just take a chill pill or somethin'?" he blurts back at the hovering Angel with a growl of distaste, "Or give me an aspirin' cause your prideful boasting is already giving me a fuckin' headache..."

Of course, as she continues her boring boast, Ghelgath suddenly sees General Saef emerge from the mist. He can see that his facial expression represented vengeance and murderous intent towards the ice demon. He truly wasn't happy about him killing his men. Then again, his men aren't exactly infinite... and they aren't disposable like Ghelgath's. While the Lich can spawn his group as long as he has energy left, or if snow is extremely abundant on the battlefield, the Angelic General's is made of mortal men trained to the limits of their capabilities. His army is made of men that are often hard to come by these days. With each and every loss, Saef would suffer greatly as if he lost a son of his. And that is the tragedy of an army of personality... an army of flesh and blood.

Immediately after finishing her quick speech, Farris attacks the frozen general ruthlessly by chucking holy crystals at the two demons, with Saef unleashing his blades of light at the same time. Wasting no time in lolly-gagging, Ghelgath uses all of the energy he has left for form a large arching dome several meters thick as he protects himself and Apia from getting gored. The sudden loss of energy forced the Lich to drop onto his knees as he gasps for energy. His power is almost gone at this point... if he wastes the rest, he'll collapse completely and knock himself out, thus ending his time on this battlefield.

Yet he still has his frozen heart...

"Oh I aint' finished yet you two..."

He scrummages through his coat, revealing the heart of ice. If he breaks it, he can still continue to fight while being back at maximum energy. And indeed that's exactly what he does. Using all of his remaining physical might, he shatters the heart completely, instantly energizing him back to pre-battle status and then some. A frozen blue aura steams from his entire body as he slowly stands up. Already the wall was beginning to crack under the intense strain of the holy attacks. It can't hold out much longer. Of course, now that Ghelgath is back to full power, its time for him to bring the fight to them. However not before giving Apia a chance to retreat. The lich quickly creates his Lieutenant as he forms from the very snow itself.

"Your orders General?" he simply asks while wielding his ice staff.

Ghelgath looks back at the lieutenant with a nod.

"Get Apia outta here." he responds bluntly, bottling up his emotions, "I'll deal with these two while you guys find a way back to a portal."

The lieutenant nods understandingly, not even bothering to ask why he has a sudden kindness in his tone towards her, and attempts to pick up and persuade Apia to come with him if she wants to live. The choice to accept that or not is up to her, yet it doesn't change the fact what happens next...



With a sudden snap of his fingers, Ghelgath creates a powerful storm of ice vortex that surrounds the dome, with winds fast enough to absorb the incoming fire and sucking in anything else that gets too close. This buys time for Ghelgath to gather his composure and ultimately start his own final hurrah. This time, there's no need for an army. It was just him... versus them. And whether he perishes here or not, regardless this fight will be glorious to say the least. As he feels the ice flickering across his face and the crunching of slush by his boots, he begins to suck up the frozen and rocky materials as he slowly has them connect to his body. More and more ice and rock cover his body until he creates a hulking armored golem suit, one that was ready to do battle with these Angelic assholes.

He glares up at the sky and picks a target in which to strike first... his sights this time being placed on Farris first. The lich raises his hand at her and quickly fires a beam of frozen nitrogen and plasma towards her, emerging suddenly from the chaotic vortex at a surprising speed...

Apia watched as all the commotion occurred, her Honey Rod swarming the area around the two demons with thousands of hornets, all forming into a sort of formation. Apia heard what Ghelgath told his general, and she immediately acted in disgust of that idea. "You're kidding, right?!" she blurted out as she pulled another stinger out of her abdomen, another grunt passing through her words. "I-I'm here until we both aren't breathing! Keep y-your lieutenant here, h-he can help finish these fucks off!" It was two against two now, and unfortunately for the others, Ghelgath was back to full power.

Apia, managing to stand up out of her own willpower, ordered her sweeties to form up into what appeared to be a defensive swarm, encompassing the more vital parts of Ghelgath's frosty exoskeleton with layers upon layers of bee armor. The actual queen rushed off towards Saef on her own, being able to fly through the pain as an act of her resurging determination to send these Angelic bastards right back up to the Heavens. She lunged towards Saef with her stinger, trying to get through his armor and gash the man heavily, while a separate swarm of bees formed a thick shield to protect her should the need arise for that to happen.