It seemed Hell didn't have much of a vetting process, and Khaine had been accepted into their ranks without much of a fuss. That certainly made this more convenient from his end. It turned out that these demons were quite different from the army he had once served in. Whereas the Hell he knew was a strict and organised place, this Hell was relaxed and easy-going, with a murderous undertone. It was almost off-putting, but then he expected as much. Regardless, he'd have to work with the tools he was given. First, he would recover this staff. Then, he would begin to pursue his grander schemes.
"Will you be alright? You look kinda fire themed." Khaine looked to the side, and noticed he'd been addressed by a... well, he wasn't entirely sure what it was. It looked like some kind of undead abomination was in the middle of absorbing a small child. She didn't seem very bothered by it, so he assumed that was normal.
"I'll manage", Khaine retorted, as she proceeded to leap into the water. Faintly, he saw her form shifting beneath the waves. A shapeshifter, then? Whatever. She was probably one of the strange results of Hell's surprisingly accepting attitude towards inter-species mating, and the abnormally high success rate of such pairings, two facts that have undoubtedly left mortal scientists stumped for years.
Returning to the matter at hand, the environment certainly wasn't ideal. Fortunately, it would take a lot more than being submerged in water in order to harm him, but it wouldn't be comfortable. With an inward sigh, faintly resembling the death groan of an old car engine, and dropped into the water. Dropped would be the correct term. He had no need to breathe, and his sheer weight was more than enough to drop him down to the bottom. With a gesture he sent a number of chains into the face of a nearby underwater cliff and pulled himself down, like scaling a cliff but in reverse. Moving down he looked around the environment. Everyone would be searching for the artifact by now, but without some form of lead it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Lacking any sensory abilities that might help, he doubted his own ability to find the artifact in question. As such, while his other teammates searched, his role would be to prevent the enemy from doing the same.
Reaching out, Khaine focused on the ruins below him. Red lightning flashed through the water, jumping from building to building as it spread throughout the ancient city. Wherever it struck, the lightning left behind a little gift. Movement-activated mines, arcane binding seals, boobie traps on the doors, and even a number of fully automated sentry turrets. In truth Khaine's abilities were limited only by his focus, and now he was able to devote his full focus to this task. Large-scale environment manipulation was a specialty of his. He'd make sure that any enemies attempting to pass through would find their way barred in a hundred different ways. And if anyone turned out to be particularly persistent, he would get involved personally. Of course there was every risk that a demon might fall victim to these traps, but most of them had been designed not to trigger for demonic entities. Most of them. And considering the diversity among Hell's ranks, some of his more esoteric companions might not count as being 'demonic' enough. Oh well. If it was a big problem, he could always remove them from a particular area.
Having placed his traps Khaine chose to stand watch, using a series of chains to hold him in place high above the ruins. He could already see a number of other parties moving, but hadn't yet decided who he'd intervene with. Whomever turned out to be the most trouble, probably.
At last, the mighty Antaeus was called to battle! Truly, this would be a day of sorrow for the enemies of Heaven. He would make clear to the unworthy the true price for their sins, a message best conveyed through plentiful corpses. The mighty Antaeus himself stood at the edge of the water, gazing down without the least bit of apprehension. Water wasn't exactly his strong suite, but there was no need to fear! The wise Deva would not have deployed him, had she not believed in his ability to surpass such challenges. He would conquer this strange new environment without pause! And once he arrived on the battlefield, all would fear his power. Nay, the power of Heaven and Earth, which had merely chosen him as it's unworthy vessel. A messenger of certain DOOM to the fools and infidels who opposed the reign of Heaven.
.....
Glancing around, Antaeus once more made sure there wasn't some sort of alternative route. An elevator, maybe, or a nice old-fashioned set of stairs. But no, alas, no such route presented itself. Of course he had no qualms about tackling this challenge, nor was any obstacle great enough to make him hesitate from his path. However, one must always be aware of their surroundings. Indeed, he was merely being wary of all possible approaches. The forces of Evil were sneaky and treacherous, they would not hesitate to take advantage of some unknown approach in order to attack from the shadows. Not that such an attack would phase Antaeus, not in the slightest. It was merely prudent to properly consider the possibility. Just in case.
.....
Having completed his survey of the surroundings, checked for enemies, stretched, and run out of excuses, Antaeus finally stepped into the water. It was wet and cold, flowing around him like air. And yet it still had the substance to slow his descent. Upon losing contact with the ground Antaeus rapidly returned to his original size, as he began sinking down towards his target. At this size his sheer surface area slowed him down far too much, even with his immense weight, and he simply drifted down like a giant angry statue. He did his best to look intimidating, but this was hard to do when one was afraid to move. Not afraid, cautious. After all, he was completely surrounded by water, and who knew how it would react to sudden movements? Best to leave it alone, if at all possible.
Slowly, Antaeus' massive frame descended upon the sunken city. He seemed to be centred on some sort of temple-like building, and he had no way to reduce his size before impact. Hopefully he didn't crush anything important. It would be rather unfortunate if he managed to break the artifact they were after on his first mission....
