[IC] Saving the Damned Cont. (AkiraShadow & HiddenBeauty)

[akirashadow]

As they approached the crypt it was evident it had not been visited for sometime, the forest had begun to reclaim that which rightfully belonged to it. As the pair pushed through the vines Akira had to struggle as the demon clasped to the evil energy using it to regain its once drained powers. The crypt felt as cold as a winter storm iron torch holders hung bare from the walls with the remaining ashes, yet to be blown away sitting on the ground beneath them. Akira staggers trying to maintain his balance, the cold air making it increasingly difficult for him, needing the maintain a temperature to not only keep himself safe but also the demon. He slumps himself against a wall, shaking as he pulls his bag from his shoulder before dropping it to the floor. He rubs his hands together frantically to try and keep them warm. "C-come f-fl-flame." he shivering announces as his palm emits nothing but a small amount of grey smoke. "per-perfect.... t-t-too cold." he points out to Allura as he fumbles the bag open before rummaging through it contents. "I-it m-must be he-here... Some... Somewhere." He grabs a small box from within, his hand uncontrollably shaking the box like a babies rattle as he tries to hand it to Allura, "I can't." Is all he says as he places it in Allura's hands, folding his arms across his chest, quickly clenching and relaxing his fists as he does so.

Akira tried a couple more times to conjure fire through magic, each one resulting in failure, the wet skin and clothing making it impossible to channel the right energies. He shivers out a sigh as he glances over to Allura, he could think of only one way to keep himself warm, however it would most likely be met with disapproval. "do it." Akira states still shivering.
'you realise the wou... openings have been sealed, by her spell'
"Th-then give me o-one at l-least." Akira pushes himself off of the wall. "I-I'm ready." With that Akira leans forward hunching over his stomach, as the uncomfortable feeling of the skin of his back slowly tearing open begins to take place. He grits his teeth trying to avoid voicing his pain, although it was a pain he was used to feeling, the cold air was making it more severe then usual. Then that feeling he'd been waiting for, it was almost like an instant relief. "c-come here." Akira says as he straightens up, grabs Allura and pulls her against him. There was a swooping, like a large bird had flown over head, black feathers could be seen out the corner of their eye's. "Th-this should help... a li-little at least." Akira was already feeling the ability to cope better as the demons wing blocked the cold air from hitting him from every direction. Although it was not enough to embrace them both, it had wrapped around most of Allura's body. "I'm sorry if this is un...un-comfortable for you but i-it's all I could think of." Akira looks to the opposite side trying to see as far into the darkened crypt as he could. "This may be more dif-difficult then I first thought."

Yet another obstacle in their path, and they didn't exactly have the luxury of time. Shadow hunters hot on their heels, Akira's so called friend, who would supposedly be somewhere within. For every answer there would only be more questions. What awaited them within this labyrinth of the dead, aside from the so called Necromancer? Why was it so important that they came here? The only way to know for certain would be to find those answers, but first the cold issue was at the forefront, for without surpassing it there'd be no way to discover them.

[HiddenBeauty13]

Allura watched as Akira feebly attempted to create fire but he was too cold, just as she was. Shivering slightly, she reached out and accepted the box of matches from her but her hands would not stay still, making her unable to light the match as well. "D-dammit..." The angel muttered softly to herself as she rubbed profusely at her arms. Why was it so cold? It was nearly unbearable at this point and Allura's eyes and tear-drop birthmark burned bright blue in the unnatural darkness as her angelic side worked to keep her body at a temperature that was not considered to be life threatening. Allura was so focused on keeping her internal temperature warm that she was slightly startled as Akira suddenly pulled her to him, wrapping her in an unexpected amount of warmth. At first, she could do nothing but stand there, surprise still evident on her face. Allura would have never expected Akira to use his wings, even if he managed to only use one. She knew it had to be painful, having to force the wing out of his back like that; it was that reason alone that kept her from doing it herself.

Eventually, she pushed those thoughts away and hesitantly wrapped her arms around his torso, knowing that he was completely covered by his own wing. "I-It's okay...I'm much warmer n-now." The angel replied with a slight smile as she glanced up Akira. Surprisingly enough, there was only a minimum amount of burning, despite the large amount of direct contact with Akira. In fact, Allura could feel the feathers of his wing tickling he back of her neck and arms. She would have actually giggled if she hadn't been so miserable by the cold that still continued to assault them. However, after a few minutes of being wrapped up in Akira's wing, Allura's body finally stopped shaking and she figured that it would be an ideal time to make a fire, now that she could actually hold the match without shaking. "I'll go on and make a fire before I start shivering again..." Gently, she pried herself from his embrace, feeling a lot colder after doing so, and pulled out a match before lighting it. It was only then that she was finally able to get a good look at Akira's current form and she felt her eyes grow wide. Even with one wing, he looked...amazing, almost like a haunting yet beautiful nightmare. Where did that come from? The angel thought, a light blush coming to her face as she did so. A beautiful nightmare? Wanting to get her mind off of the random thought, Allura quickly scanned the ground for something to use as firewood, though she was surprised to find a small pile of dry sticks and timber lying near the far wall

"Who do you think would actually come here? Especially after all the bad things circling around the village in about it." She asked after she'd finally gotten a small fire going. It seemed quite odd to her. "No one could have just tossed the sticks in here and they landed in a neat pile like this. It's just not possible." Looking from Akira, Allura glanced over slightly at the darker part of the corridor, wondering just what evils it held further inside. In all honestly, she wasn't exactly in a hurry to find out, either.

[akirashadow]

For a moment Akira was able to experience a warming relaxation in his embrace if Allura. feeling the warmth being shared between them made it almost possible to forget his current predicament. But just quickly as it came it seeped away once Allura was warm enough to remove herself from the shelter of the demons wing. The wing expands out as Allura moves away before slowly folding back to Akira's side to block the cold from at least one angle. As Akira glanced down the hall into the darkness the evil that hanged in the air was evidence enough that the grave keeper had left long ago. His mind was plagued with thoughts of whether bringing Allura to this place was such a good idea after all.

As Allura questions about the wood she had found Akira turns to face Allura, primarily to inspect the area. "There's no telling how long they've been there, but I believe it may be a waymark." Akira answers as he moves towards the small flames the wood was creating. "Treasure and fame seekers alike will have come here after the place had stopped being maintained. It may be hard to picture right now, but for most normal people these crypts can soon turn into labyrinths, to the point that you even need to mark the exit.... whoever put this here was a skilled explorer they knew what they were doing." Akira sighs deciding not to finish. Allura could probably tell herself from what Akira had said, the fact the wood was still there was evidence that they hadn't made it back alive. "This evil air... this is more then just a necromancers doing." The small fire struggled as it held strong against the bitter cold that the crypt endures. Akira moves and stands against Allura to block as much of the cold air off of them as he could.

As Akira's body adjusted to its current situation and slowly began to feel content with the situation the wing folded away towards his back. The feathers dissipated into the air as though they never existed a small smoke cloud left in its wake disappearing into the air. "Once you're warm enough, we start to move." Akira states, he had no intention of staying here longer then necessary. He had a task to do and the sooner he completed it the quicker he could leave. "Just one thing." Akira says resting a hand on Allura's shoulder and looking into her eyes. "As much as I trust your ability, we both know that you're at a bigger risk here. With that in mind... if I say run, don't stick around and don't worry about me following, okay?"
'Interesting....' Akira's eyes flicker red for a brief moment "It would appear he likes..." the colour drains back to brown 'her... this could get very fun'. Akira shakes his head slightly in a moment of confusion. "But first we'll need a light to guide us." Akira looks down to his other hand, as though concentrating. "heh... much harder when you don't pay the price." he mutters but eventually a tiny orb generates and levitates above Akira's palm before raising up between the two of them. The orb stops in front of Allura's face before spinning around her head in one rotation, upon completion the orb has grown a small amount in size before concentrating light down the hall. Although the end could still not be seen it was a significant improvement on the light given by their small fire.

[HiddenBeauty13]

"Don't worry about me, Akira. I'll be fine." Allura told him with a reassuring smile that she used to cover up how she actually felt. In all honesty, she was a bit nervous about venturing further into the darkened area but she knew that it was something that had to be done, whether she was nervous or not. The angel was snapped out of her thoughts as Akira began to form a ball of light. Her eyes opened up in wonder as it circled around her and Allura wondered for a moment if she could do the same, though she eventually came to the conclusion that she would probably need more water that what she currently had now to do so.

Eventually, the angel became warm enough to the point where she no longered shivered and her clothes were mostly dry. "All right, let's go catch us a necromancer." Allura added with a determined smirk, standing as she did so. The quicker they got this done, the quicker they could get ahead of the shadow hunters, though she knew it would be quite of a challenge for them to search for her and Akira now. She waited until Akira was on his feet before stomping out their fire. "Just in case someone happens to walk past, we wouldn't want them to see our little fire here." Her eyes then glowed a bright blue as she glanced down the hall. "Now let's go."

The two started their walk down the hall, the little glowing globe lighting their way down. So far, the only thing that posed any danger was the large spiderwebs that hung from the low cieling. "Can all demons make glowing orbs of lights like that one?" Allura asked as she swipped as a spiderweb, determined not to run into one. They tickle her skin a way that sends chills up her back.

[akirashadow]

As Allura stomps out the fire he moves the freshly burned wood further from the entrance with his foot, a smart individual could easily deduct a recent burning fire from such evidence. As they walk down the hall the glowing orb successfully navigates its way through the gaps and clearings of the spiders webs as though it was a physical entity and not just one of conjuration. It was a simple yet rather effective method of leading the way, as the pair swiped their own path through the spider webs to follow it. Akira shares a small smile when Allura asks about the magic itself. "Well it'd be pretty difficult for most of them, Volkran alone would not be capable of such a spell as he's a creature of dark energy. It's one of the only natural spells that I'm capable of casting. However it's nothing special, most hunters and adventurers would learn spells such as this one to deal with situations like this."

As the pair navigate their way through the hallways so far it has consisted of a single route. Every now and again the sound of shuffling footsteps, or an item being knocked echo's down the halls to them. The sounds were putting Akira on edge, with each one heard he'd scan around them, his hand not leaving the hilt of his sword. "As you can see, this isn't exactly a pleasant place to be." The inevitable smell was starting to seep down the hall towards them, and as they walked further in the smell of degrading grew stronger, the scented plants that'd be used to hide this smell were mostly wilted, and those that were still present, it was clear a losing battle was being fought. It wasn't long until the path forked off in two different routes, it was unclear where either of them lead with each one looking identical. The orb of light begins shinning down the path to the right, as though it knew what it was trying to find and where to go to find it. As the pair begin to walk towards the path the orb had lit a voice echo's out to them "Not that way, Mortals. Only despair awaits you on that path"
Akira quickly turns about as though expecting to see someone down the other path. "What are you?"
"We're your friends, Akira... We seek to fulfil only what is right. So come...this....way"

In normal cases such a voice would be considered one of evil intent, although Akira seemed incapable of thinking it for himself as he changes course. His hands relax as he releases his grip on the hilt and takes hold of Allura's hand, taking a few step before glancing to the orb. "This way." As though hesitant the orb remains where it was ignoring Akira "I said this way!" Akira calls out again a tone of anger in his voice, the orb as though panicked quickly changes course and rushes ahead of the pair. He looks to Allura with a smile "Ok, lets go." Is all he says whilst leading her down the hall. It wasn't long before many break offs from the main hall begin to appear, the orb quickly shining down each one before returning. It was almost obvious that each one was a small section, likely reserved for family burials. As they stepped in line with each one the smell was almost unbearable. "Sorry about this..." Akira says to Allura. "Didn't think we'd end up passing through this way."

---

Meanwhile back at the town...

"Look you're not exactly being helpful here, we've killed 2 of you already." Lance states as he takes a cloth to wipe fresh blood from his blade. "That's 2 more then we originally planned, for now anyway. This is a peacekeeper town, as such you should not be acting with such hostility towards hunters." The people in the tavern start to get rowdy as their voices grow. "QUIET!" Lance demands "Allow me to try this again, we're not here to carry out an execution so DO NOT tempt me." Irvine raises his hand to Lances chest and pushes him back softly.
"Calm down...." Is all Irvine says before returning to stand next to Lance.
"Well then, here's the full reason we're here." Lance unfolds a scripture as he reads from it. "The town, Haven, is to be 'purged' under the agreement and treaties signed by each guild on the grounds of breaching their duty as peacekeepers. The grounds for this breach include, but may not be limited to...." Lance looks up at the patrons "Housing the wanted mark Akira Shadow, with the full awareness of his crimes. It has been deemed on this occasion should the town cooperate as to his whereabouts, the title of peacekeepers will be reinstated and the purge shall not be carried out." Lance finishes reading from the scripture as he folds it up and forces it back into his pocket.

"The purge has been authorised by all guilds but one, ours. If you cooperate and tell us where Akira Shadow is, or has been then we will not authorise it, no one else has to die tonight." Lance looks at the confusion on some of the patrons faces. "As I can see not all of you here are demons, but for those of you that are you'll know Akira well for the traitor mark he bears on his right cheek. Unfortunately humans, werewolves... other were creatures... fairy folk, any race I haven't mentioned your lives all hang on the balance of telling us where he is or where he has gone. You have 1 hour to decide before I lose my patience." Irvine and Lance step back until they're to the wall of the tavern, observing as the patrons become rowdy once more, shouting and accusing one another as they try to figure out what to do.

[HiddenBeauty13]

The further they traveled down the corridors, the more Allura was set on edge. The heavy darkness that pressed behind them unnerved her and the unknown in the darkness before the globe prickled the hair on the back of her neck. Evil energy seemed to ooze from the walls and every little sound made her fidget, making the angel glad that she wasn't alone because this had to be one of the most frightening situations she had ever been in. However, the expression on her face remained the same: tight and uncomfortable but there was no obvious signs of fear.

She was put more on edge as they began to encounter forks in the corridors and Akira began to follow something or rather someone than the orb. Were they really going the right way? Could she trust his reassuring smile this time? It was not like she had much of a choice now since she was deep inside the labyrinth with no heavenly clue as to how to get back to the entrance. There was nothing else that she could do other than to go along with what he said. Allura did trust him that much.

As they neared the family burial grounds, the smell became too much for Allura and she had to use her free hand to cover her mouth and nose, afraid that she would loose what little food that she had eaten. "It's okay...I can handle it..." Her voice was shaky as she responded to Akira, her other hand clutching his tightly as if it would make it easier to keep her food down by doing so. Despite the smell, the angel found herself to be curious of the people buried there.

What were their lives like?
Did they live in a big house or a small house?
How many children did they have?
Did they die old or did they die young?
Did they die of natural causes or were they killed before their time?

The questions may seem pointless to some but Allura liked to use her imagination sometimes, especially when she was bored or wanted to take her mind off of current events. She eventually pulled herself out of her thoughts as the corridor morphed into one hallway that seemed to widen gradually. The angel stopped suddenly in her tracks as if she had hit a wall...a wall made of nothing but evil energy. The angelic side of her took over immediately: her eyes and birthmark began to glow a bright blue color and the air around her seemed to crackle with pure energy. She slowly removed her hand from his and glanced over to him with a slight smirk on her face.

"Akira, I think this is it..."

[akirashadow]

The hallway had been long and to avoid tasting the horrid stench that had surrounded the stroll had been a quiet one. As they reached the wall of evil energy it seemed almost too simple. "Possibly..." Is all Akira said as he glanced around the place. The voice that had 'controlled' him to come this way had been silent and Akira had regained his more logical mind. "The family crypts is usually to close to the surface for a necromancer to hide here, I don't like this." Akira gritted his teeth as his eyes flickered red, even though it was just for a moment. "You will have your turn soon enough demon, so wait!" Akira ordered his voice echoing back down the corridor.
'Akira, we need to talk...' A voice rung out in Akira's head, he recognised it although it wasn't the demons.
"Not now, bad timing." Akira spoke openly as though responding to the voice he'd heard as though it was a person standing before them and speaking to both him and Allura.
'Then I'll keep it short, there's one of 'them' here so you might want to keep quiet until I find you.'
"Ok I understand, we'll keep the noise down." Expecting to be greeted by a confused look Akira simply said "Sorry about that, that was..." Akira remember that Allura was yet to meet his contact and cut himself short. "Well lets get through here then shall we?"

Filled with a sense of urgency more than courage, or logic Akira had discarded his previous concern as he raised his hand towards the wall. 'Volkran, do it...' As Akira thought to himself part of the dark energy seemed to phase into his skin as though he was absorbing the energy. "This could take a while..." Akira smiled to Allura nervously. "Maybe... you could use your powers to help neutralise it?" The man was holding considerable control over the demon, although he had not deemed it necessary to point out that Volkrans actions were restricted within his arm during this procedure. Which even though it didn't appear as such, his current actions were that similar to a ritual. The wall of energy however was considerably powerful and it would take some time to break. Then like a loaded trap the wall released a sudden burst of dark energy over Akira knocking him back a step. There was so coughing as the light leading them was engulfed in the energy making there surroundings almost pitch black, and then the coughing slowed, and eventually stopped. The energy dissipated into the air releasing Akira from its prison. "Hello again angel..." The familiar twisted voice of Volkran would be easy to identify, even in this dark. The fire red eyes of the demon stared deep into Allura's blue eyes. "Even in this darkness, your eyes emit brightly." The demon reaches out its hand then quickly withdraws it as he feels the angels aura from her true form. "oh..." Volkran states with a chuckle. "This could be most fun. How does feel, to have to work with me to get through this?" Volkran asks as he knocks on the wall of energy. "Do not worry, I'll protect that pretty little angelic face of yours from being consumed by what just hit this fool. I wouldn't want to lose my fun..." The demon was as much as a creep as he was any time he spoke to angel, his choice of words deliberate in an attempt to discomfort her.

[HiddenBeauty13]

Turning slightly, Allura observed her partner with curious eyes. She knew that he had been talking to the demon at first but, then, his tone changed...as if he had been talking to someone else. He was not as curt or quick to yell at this particular being and the angel wondered for a moment if it had been the being that had threatened her and the old lady after she had healed his stab wound with holy water? Deciding that it would do her no good to think about all that now, she pushed those thoughts away and focused at the situation at hand. The angel wasn't entirely sure what Akira was doing but figured that it was to help them get past this point somehow. However, it would seem that the enemy they were going to meet was stronger than they both expect and, before she knew it, Allura was standing in a pitch black corridor with Volkran in front of her. Her eyes narrowed slightly as he attempted to touch her, ignoring the extra things that he said to her. She could deal with scary demons that tried to rip her body apart but, instead Akira had to be fused with a smooth talking demon that couldn't keep his hands to himself. Knowing that thinking like that would make it harder for them to work together, she pushed those thoughts away too. For now.

"What should our plan of action be? Whatever you and Akira tried to do just now didn't work--at all--and heading into there blindly would be bad idea...Do you think there is a way that we can draw the thing closer to us without us having to go in further than necessary?" Allura inquired, her blue eyes seeming to search for an answer in the darkness around them.

[akirashadow]

Volkran stared at the barrier of energy in front of them not initially responding. He took a short step towards it and rose his hand against it once more. "Oh trust me, just like the minds of any mortal this can be broken..." Reluctantly however the demon lowered its arm back to his side. "Well there's only two things we can do, that foolish human friend of yours lead us down a one-way corridor the only ways are through... or we head ba-..." The demon paused as he stared back down the corridor, his eyes narrowing as he did so. Staring into the endless void the demon moved standing between Allura and the way back. "This one is mine!" The demon announced drawing the sword sheathed at his waist, what he was exactly referring to at first remained unclear until "Return to your place of rest or cease to be." The demon held his stance for a short time before sheathing the weapon and turning back to the wall. "Heading back is not an option, they have awoken. However they have agreed they'll leave us be but we cannot pass back that way." The demon looked to the angel. "The spirits of the dead are not amused by your presence, nor mine, though they're more inclined to tolerate my being here than a servant of the..." The demon shivered before uttering the word 'Gods'.

So it had been decided for them, they were to find a way forward from their current position or in all probability die trying to return back the way they came. The demon leaned up against the wall next to the wall of evil as though contemplating a course of action. He could feel something else here, not the necromancer or the dead, something much more sinister in intent. "So, that's what he meant by one of 'them'" The demon spoke up after a moment of silence had passed "We need to be done here before it locates us. wait... shouldn't you be able to expel spirits, like a priest would?" The demon probed, pissing the angel off by trying to go through the wall again was clearly not going to help. "Although the idea of drawing the enemy to us might work, we'd draw everything to us that resides in here. Both those that would do the necromancers doing, and those that'd just do it for personal fun." It was an extremely late response to the angels earlier question, almost as though he'd completely ignored it and only just thought of the idea himself. 'Akira, follow our voice, my friend.'
"Ahhh so that's what made him come this way... banshee's..." The demon mumbled as he remained immune to its calling. The voice was merely trying to lure him back, back into an ambush that would tear them limb from limb with their rage if they didn't have a plan.

[HiddenBeauty13]

Allura quickly whipped out her staff as they were somewhat threatened by the spirits that dwelled in the labyrinth behind them but soon realized that it was not needed. However, she felt herself become slightly frustrated at the fact that they only had two options here: either go forward or die trying to go back the way they came. The demon and his little side comments weren't helping the situation much either, but he did help her to think of an idea, one that she hoped would work in their favor.

"I don't expel spirits since I'm not a priest...but I can purify spirits." She stated and then walked over to the wall of energy that held them back. "This wall here...it's technically like a spirit in a way. Someone had to create it and that someone has a soul, a rather tainted one at that. So, what I may be able to do is purify enough of this wall to allow us to pass through and hopefully find a way to get out of her." The angel explained as she unstrapped her water bottle from her belt. She wasn't going to wait on the demon's approval but she would listen to his feedback if he provided her with some.

Taking a seat on the floor, Allura positioned the water bottle in front of her before closing her eyes and chanting softly to herself. The water began to glow a faint blue color that increased in intensity as she continued to chant, her chanting gradually speeding up as time passed. There was not set time as to how long it would take the water to reach its highest point of purity, but Allura did know that she could shorten the time it took as long as she put more energy into the purification...which she did until the hallway was partially lite by the glowing bottle of water.

Once it was ready, she carefully stood to her feet and brought her ups slowly, drawing the water out of the bottle at the same time. It collected in the air in front of her until it was in a spherical shape. The angel then gestured to the wall of evil energy, thrusting the orb of water towards it. As the purified water collided with the wall, a distinctive hissing sound could be hear and a light steam formed in the air as pure water burned a hole right through the wall. Once the steam cleared, Allura discovered that her idea had worked and that a relatively small but passable hole had been made.

"Come on before it closes back up." The angel stated before carefully hopping through, hissing slightly as her calf managed to come into contact with part of the wall. It burned like hell but, luckily, she still had that ointment that the old woman had given her before they left.

[akirashadow]

Volkran watched out of fascination and intrigue as Allura started to use her angelic magics. For a change he was witnessing it first hand rather than through the eyes of the mortal. "Interesting... well if it works, it works I guess." Is all the demon had to say, although he felt comfortable in the environment the current circumstances were not exactly in his favour. The spell itself appeared to be water based and involved manipulating its very being. How Allura could control in such a manner was beyond the demons comprehension as it seemed to act against all form of natural flow or fall as it was raising without trying to spill itself back.

As the wall hissed through the steam Volkran attempted to glance through the opening. The hallway on the other side didn't seem to have any form of distinct light source and was still filled with the same darkness. Although his eyes had adjusted so that he could see more than just in front of his face, the darkness that surrounded them limited it with heavy severity. The demon raised his hand and felt a soft shiver of excitement and joy as he stroked the wall where the opening had been created only for him to withdraw it when his hand hissed from coming into contact with remnants of the spell. The withdrawal was accompanied by a small grunt from the burning sensation giving Allura a small 'you'll pay for that' look before watching her pass through the opening. Once Allura was through Volkran also passed through the opening the wall feeding him more power as it came into contact with his body.

Once through to the other side he stares at Allura with a small smile on his face as he raises his hand toward the opening, the evil energy within drawing towards it out of his will as the opening sealed shut once more separating them from the family burials. "So it would appear that Akira will not be rejoining us for some time." The demon commented a look of evil intent on his face as he spoke, stepping forward infringing on Allura's personal space as he spoke quieter. "Now that we're out of danger... why don't we, have some fun?" The demons hand rested on the grip of a dagger as he pulled it from its sheath and then....

"Sleep Demon!" An unfamiliar voice ordered from nearby. With almost perfect synchronised timing the clank of the metal from the dagger hitting the floor could be heard, followed by Volkran dropping to the floor like a ragdoll in front of Allura completely void of any sign of conciousness. The sound of a torch being ignited comes from beside the pair revealing a cloaked figure standing before them. The opening in the hood appeared to be faced towards Allura no facial features could be made out within its void. "So are you a friend, a prisoner, or his new play thing?" The figure questioned. "Whichever it is once he fulfils his lust he'll no longer have a use for you. You understand that right?" The figure stepped towards Allura but quickly halts himself. "No need to be defensive, I'm not here to cause you trouble. Quite the opposite in fact." The cloaked man looked down at himself. "I see... my appearance is not helping the matter. I ask you give me but a moment." As he finishes saying this the man reaches up with a gloved hand and pulls back his hood. The cloak appears to bask in a light completely blocking the man from view, once it fades it reveals a young man who appears in his early 20's clad in well maintained chain and leather armour. The cloak had changed from black to... red and was now more of a back cloak with hood then a full body one. The man had short brown hair and blue eyes and donned a smile as he looked at Allura "Hopefully slightly less intimidating now?"

The man in his new appearance looked down on Volkran/Akira's un-concious body. "wait..." He looks back to Allura, looking her up and down while he does so. "Ahh... so you're the reason for his delay in making it here." The man cleared his throat. "I can see how he could be so easily delayed. However bringing a young lady like yourself to a place such as this cannot exactly be doing his wooing attempts any favours." Pretty assuming for someone who hadn't even introduced himself. "Hey Akira." The man knelt down and tapped Akira's shoulder. "Get up, it's time to move." The man just stared at his un-concious body then looked up at the wall. "Ah... well that isn't good." With that said the man hauled Akira up to his feet on his shoulder. "We need to move somewhere a bit more appropriate for what needs to be done." The man spoke holding the torch in his free arm. "If you'd like to follow me. We'll use the necromancer's old set-up, he's been here a while and be moving between different sections of the crypt." The man began to lead on still not introducing himself feeling Allura would only naturally follow, especially given that he was slowly hauling Akira away from her otherwise.

[HiddenBeauty13]

Allura rolled her eyes slightly as the demon began to speak to her about "having some fun". Did he not remember that they were trapped deep in some labyrinth in the middle of the woods with some evil being that probably wanted them dead at this point? They had more important things to focus on. Just as she was about to go off on Volkran, a voice suddenly rang out in the hallway, commanding the demon to sleep and, much to Allura's surprise, he did just that. "What the hell?" She mumbled to herself as she quickly wiped out her staff, holding it an offensive stance. Whoever that was, they had to be powerful!

The owner of the voice did not remain unknown for too long as he--she assumed it was a he--lit a fire, showing himself to her. However he was cloaked and still looked dangerous, even if he hadn't attacked her yet. "You better stay back." The angel warned him as he tried to step closer. He finally realized that his appearance wasn't helping the situation and Allura watched as he transformed into, well, a man. With slightly narrowed blue eyes, she watched him try to wake Akira up and then fail before dragging him off somewhere. Just what was this man planning to do. Sighing a bit to herself, the angel figured that she didn't have much of a choice but to follow but she would definitely stay on her guard regardless.

"So what exactly are you?" She inquired icily after walking along in silence for who knows how long. It was a bit hard to track time in such a place. "No normal being could simply change their appearance like that as you have...or knock out a half demon man just by telling him to sleep." Though it wouldn't be a bad power to have, especially if Volkran was being weird at the time. Allura could simply knock him out just by telling him to sleep.

[akirashadow]

The man lead the way through the crypt, his torch illuminating their path with every step he could. With the dead weight of the demon, progress was slow at best. At every break in the corridor the man would stop, looking down each path before continuing. He didn't explain what he was doing instead he lead silently until Allura spoke "Do you always ask questions whilst brushing aside those of the other party?" The man asked out of curiosity. "Here's the deal I'll answer your questions, but I must insist that in return you answer my previous ones." There was a pause before the man continued "What I am is a mage, one of a particular type of magic... though its use is often frowned upon due to some not heeding its consequences. You see, as I'm sure you understand all spells require the channelling of energy and those incapable of that may choose the path our mutual friend here chooses. Blood Magic." The man smiles to Allura before continuing "Those that are worthy can reap its benefit without its harmful consequences. As for that little trick with Volkran, you need to know their true inner thoughts to manipulate their very state of being. Sure it's a neat trick but one that takes a lot of practice."

A short time passed before he spoke again "So which is it? Do you accompany the man, or the Demon?" The man stopped to turn and look at Allura "You know one, does not normally tolerate the companion of the other. Unless.... never mind we're almost there." As they come to another split in the corridors the man raises his arm across in front of Allura "Stop." he spoke softly and quickly turns his head toward her, struggling he lifts his arm supporting Akira's weight and places a finger on his lips. Then as a breeze starts to build he just freezes in place staring at Allura. The breeze was evidently blowing against them, its origin unknown but a strong presence could be felt in the corridors break, its intent unclear as its dissipated energies constantly switched through different elements from malevolent to peaceful. Eventually the breeze died down and when it could no longer be felt the man sighed turning away from Allura as he continued to walk. "That was discomforting."

Shortly past the corridor break he carefully lowers the un-concious Akira to the floor and hangs the torch in a holder. "We're here." After speaking the man pushes against the wall struggling as the stone quietly scrapes against the floor until it gives a wide enough clearing. "Ladies fir-... I guess this isn't the time for manners" interrupting himself the man steps through the gap grabbing the torch once more. It was but seconds before the echo of multiple torches igniting in unison echo'd back out into the hall before the man walked back. He leant in the opening against what was clearly the frame for this door, before putting his feet against the door itself and forcing it open wide enough to let Allura see inside. "Everything we need to help him is in here." The man was calm as he hauled Akira up once more and headed inside. He draped Akira over to what was essentially a stone altar and pulled Akira's body onto it. "I hate to say this but... you're going to have to hold him down, he isn't going to like this"

[HiddenBeauty13]

"I only do that with strangers with enough strength to knock out a demon without even touching him..." The angel mumbled to herself but eventually agreed to answer one of his questions if he answered one of hers. Allura then listened silently as the man began to explain who he was ad she found herself wondering what he had to do to get to the point he was at now with his magic. "I originally traveled with Akira...but that demon has been popping up a lot more lately." There was only a hint of annoyance in her voice as she began to think of all the times Volkran has caused trouble for her. However, she pushed those thoughts aside as they suddenly encountered a random yet powerful breeze that brought goose bumps to Allura's arms. It felt as though they were being monitored by someone...or something.

Once they got moving again, it didn't take them long to arrive at the place that the man had spoken of before. The angel stood back a little ways from the entrance to the room, watching with a raised eyebrow as the man opened and then entered the space. It wasn't long before the entire room was lit with torches and she could see clearly inside...though she didn't have much time to look around.

"What exactly are you going to do to him?" She inquired curiously as she pressed down firmly on Akira's shoulders. The whole set up reminded her of the time the old lady healed her burns that she received after healing Akira in that cave. She remembered being held down by him as she struggled to cope with the pain of her wounds healing. "How will you wake him up?"

[akirashadow]

"Wake him?" The man asked with a unwelcomed chuckle. "Unfortunately it isn't quite that simple." The still unnamed man circled Akira's un-concious body as he lined his ligaments up straight on the stone altar. "A man that has fallen this far from grace cannot be as easily awoken as a demon can be slept. But then that's the beauty of it, I do like a challenge." Having finished the man walked round to the opposite side of the altar, examining Akira once more as he does so. "What we need to do here is pull him back from the brink."

The man had been standing in thought for some time as he stared at Akira's un-concious body. "I cannot feel his thoughts whatever happened back there has scattered his regular thought patterns." The man takes a step forward before walking to Akira's side. "Very well old friend." The man moves one of his hands over towards Akira's head, not touching it, just letting his hand sit a few inches for contact. "Show me what it is you fear.... You seek to walk on your own two feet once more free of this demon." The man goes silent as if trying to locate something important. "You wish to breath your own air? Idiot, even with a demon inside you still need to..." As if realizing something the man moved his hand to above Akira's chest. "ahh... it appears we have a stowaway. But this body is full no more can take residence of this body. Yet it hides in his lungs, seeking to slowly withdraw from him his life." The man moves his other hand, which was gloved closer to Akira's head before glancing to Allura. "Whatever happens next, don't break the chain." With that said the man rested his un-gloved hand on Akira's chest. "I can feel your thoughts now... Wake up Akira!" As the man finishes Akira almost instantly snaps awake a choking gasp escapes his mouth as he immediately tries to sit up only for the man to push hard down on his chest. "Stay down and stay quiet, we need to get this out!"

As the man speaks he clenches the fist of his gloved hand and a strange, black entity begins to exit form Akira's mouth and dissipate into the mans hand. All the while Akira still trying to gasp for air struggles under his restraint. "I said stay still!" A pulse emanates from the hand pinned to Akira's chest and from the stone altar beneath him a cracking sound echos from the force that was just driven through it. The pulse had momentarily stunned Akira but it wasn't long before he started to struggle once more staring into Allura's eyes. However as time passed the struggling weakened down as the Akira gradually obtained less and less air. "Please... Allura... let me go..." Akira struggled to speak but uttered out those words.
"Don't listen to it Allura!" The man could tell what was happening. "That isn't Akira." As the man worked, whatever kind of spell he was casting what appeared to be black cloth was starting to extend from his glove and travel up his arm. "No... not yet." The man shock his arm lightly trying not to move his hands position too much as it continued to absorb the darkness from Akira's body. Strangely the shaking seemed to prevent the cloth from extending further, retracting it like it had a will of its own.

It wasn't long until the struggle stopped completely and the gasps became de-energized wheezes. "Akira?... Akira!" unable to move the man shut his eyes tightly, upon opening them blood began to seep from the corner of his eyes. "Just a litle...more." Something that seemed like a screech echo'd through the room as the darkness stopped coming from Akira's mouth and the man flung something across the room before a fireball shot form the same hand, following and eventually engulfing whatever it was. Able to move once more the man moved the hand he had rested on Akira's chest slapping across the face. "Comeon snap out of it." Akira took a deep gasp of air, but his eyes simply flickered shut. Not saying anything the man took a dagger with a jagged blade from his belt and slit his own hand open with it before using the same dagger to slit open one of Akira's hands joining their wounds he looks to Allura [color=red]"Desperate times call for desperate measures... he's dying."[/color red] The man knelled down at Akira's side lowering his head.

"Great Bistamon, lord of blood. Hear me now as your priest, you cannot take this man yet. He would perform your doing, and he'll pay the price for doing so without following your teachings. Though his soul belongs to you already, this should be the end of a chapter, not the end of the story. So I ask not you pardon him, but you pass on his punishment to me. For as a follower of your teachings it's my duty. Let his blood be my blood, let his wounds become my wounds, let his pain become my pain." upon finishing this their hands are forced apart and Akira takes a deep breath. Still linked with Akira's mind the last thoughts pass through the other mans head. "You?" The man looks in Allura in shear fear as he stumbles backwards, more blood seeped through his eyes and from the wound he'd cut on his own hand. "Ah... An.. angel?" although clearly in pain the main seemed to be more frightened of Allura then his own fate. As he stumbles and staggers further away from the pair the cloth that was once circling his arm embraces the mans full body.

As Akira comes to he looks at Allura the demon strangely revitalising him. "Can you let me go now?" Akira asks with a smile. There was something that sounded strangely odd in his voice, almost like he was healthier than usual. Akira glanced over to the man who was now backed against the wall at the far end of the room. "Hey, what are you doing a-"
"Are you mad?! What did you bring an angel here for?! You do realise they're here to kill you?!" The man had been looking at Akira but his vision quickly snapped back to Allura almost as though he was expecting trouble.
"Oh Allura? She aint so bad." Akira slides off of the altar before grabbing hold of Allura's hand waving at the other man. "You see Hades? Nothing to worry about. She apparently wants to help me." Probably not the best choice of words, though it was too late to take them back. Given the sensitive issue of trust Akira smiles nervously at Allura almost as though asking forgiveness. "And you'd tell her my name?"
"Oh comeon 'Abomination' they haven't sent anything after you in over twenty years." That was when it became clear, Hades' sudden fear from identify Allura. He must once of been in Akira's position, although it seems that was quiet some time ago. "Besides she's probably never even heard of you before today. After all, she's still alive." Akira spoke openly to Hades mainly as a friend though his consideration for the other person hearing this conversation seemed to be absent. It wouldn't take much to tell that this 'Hades' had been hunted by angels before and that him still standing was evidence that those sent after him were not.

[HiddenBeauty13]

Allura hadn't known what to expect when the man suggested pulling Akira "back from the brink" but she definitely had not expected him to almost die in the process. However, she had picked up on something that he had said during the process: "...it appears we have a stowaway. But this body is full no more can take residence of this body. Yet it hides in his lungs, seeking to slowly withdraw from him his life.". He must have been talking about that thing that had spoken to the angel after she successfully healed Akira a few days before. Unfortunately that was all the information that she was able to receive about it from the mysterious man, leaving Accalia even more lost about its true identity than before.

While she was happy that Akira was back form the brink of death, the angel was a bit concerned about his sudden change of personality. It was weird with him acting like this and saying odd things but the angel decided to brush it off for now. They had a bigger things to worry about now, not including the very scared Hades in the far corner. "If it makes you feel better, the angels' main priority is to find him." She stated whole pointing to Akira with her free hand. "You aren't on their minds right now and you're not my main priority at the moment, so you don't have to scared of anything." That's all she said to Hades before promptly turning to Akira.

"I'm going to see if I can find this necromancer with my magic. We can't afford to get side tracked anymore." She gently slipped her hand out of Akira's and began searching around for a rock or just something sharp that she could use the draw with. Eventually, she found a jagged rock and quickly used it to draw a circle on the altar where Akira just laid. The circle would serve as their starting point in the place where they were now. She then climbed onto the altar and sat down in front of the circle, keeping the point of the rock inside the circle. Afterwards, Allura closed her eyes and began to focus on honing in on the necromancer's energy.

A few moments passed with nothing happening as the angel was having a bit of trouble picking up where his trail of energy was the strongest. Then, quite suddenly, her eyes--now glowing a bright blue color--flew open and her hand began to scribble lines into the stone beneath her. At first, it looked sporadic and random, as if she was just scribbling down nothing in particular but, as she continued on, one could see that she was actually drawing a picture of the hallways that would take them straight to the necromancer. After a few minutes, she stopped just as abruptly as she started, dropping he rock with a soft patter. Her breath came in short gasps as she attempted to recover after using so much magic to draw the map.

"I...I found him. I...I finally found him."

[akirashadow]

Hades approached with caution as he watched Allura use her powers to track down the necromancer. His familiarity with the layout of this crypt made it easy for him to follow almost from the start, though Akira's gaze was more one of confusion up until the spell was finished. "So he's here?" Akira asked pointing to the end of the scribed drawing. "Are you familiar with this part of the crypt Hades?"
"Well, I've been over that way in the past. It was my initial search point when he was located here originally. Not an easy place to get to. Well not for you anyway."
"What do you mean? What's down there?"
"oh... uhh... Reapers, fair few of them too." Hades looked over to Allura before continuing. "You see Reapers believe that Akira here is... well, a bit past his expiration date. The event that made him what he was, should have killed him and it's created a loophole that Reapers do not understand."
"They might go after Allura too..." Akira spoke turning his attention to her. "Not so much you, your vessel. We should try to find another route for getting to this open room." Akira once again pointed at the finishing point of the drawing. He leant towards Allura and whispered "If we encounter Reapers, run. Don't look back just run, they'll be more interested in claiming my soul than yours." Akira took a step back. "Right then, shall we head out?" More of a rhetorical question then anything else as he didn't await an answer before heading back into the crypts maze like corridors.

"I know a short cut." Hades announced shortly after they'd left the ritual room. The man raised his hand to wall and rested his palm against it. A few seconds later and the wall appeared to be moving, like the flow of water. "This way." is all he said as he stepped in. On the otherside, what appeared to be an even older corridor built between the crypts walls, filled with cobwebs but completely cut off from the crypts stagnant smell of death, what it lacked in any form of visual pleasing it made up for in more pleasant smells. "Hades will typically use a portal network." Akira explained. "So long as there's something on the other side he can turn any wall into, essentially, a magical doorway. Come on." Akira took Allura's hand as he began to lead her down the ancient corridor, as they progressed the area got more and more claustrophobic to the point they were squeezing between walls sideways on in order to advance. "Couldn't... of picked... a wider... corridor?" Akira questioned as he forced himself through, his leather armour clinging to the stone and resisting his movements as he went.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"They... they were staying with an old woman here in the town." One of the demons had stepped forward and offered information to Irvine and Lance in light of the authorisation of the town to be purged. "Is that right?" Lance asked openly for the tavern patrons to object if they wanted to. "Fair enough, where can we find her?"
"Wait! Wait!" Another patron called out. "They left town, they're heading for the crypt on the outskirts, they said they'd help take care of the undead creatures problem. There's no need to involve the woman."
"And you know this how?" Lance probed.
"I overheard them talking about it when they were still here."
"How do we know you're not just trying to save your own hides?" Lance asked. The tavern patrons started to get rowdy claiming that the patron had spoken truth. "Ok... ok you've proven your point." The hunter exclaimed. "Demon come here for a sec, we still need that woman's name." As the demon stepped forward toward Lance, Lance drove a blade through its stomach. "You... you offend peace keepers everywhere, you would give up one of your own to save your own skin. Even when you knew full well that they were no longer in town." Lance withdrew the blade as the demon fell to the ground. "Peace keepers! You have my word that no purge shall be undertaken in this town! Irvine, lets go." The demon hunting pair then left the tavern their goal was ahead of them, the towns local crypt, a dead end. At long last they'd be able to catch their mark.

[HiddenBeauty13]

The angel stepped back and watched as the two men examined her drawing. Thankfully, it seemed as if Hades was very familiar with the layout of the crypt so getting to their next destination wouldn't be a problem...until he mentioned the threat of reapers. Even though they would be more of a problem to Akira than to her, Allura didn't plan on running away if they encountered one like Akira wanted her too. Running away wouldn't do her much good since she wasn't familiar with the layout of the crypt and would probably get even more lost down there. Plus, they had been in a similar situation in the cave a few days ago and she didn't run away then, so she wouldn't run away now. Staying and fighting were the only options for her. However, Allura kept her thoughts to herself as they headed back into the corridor.

Hades' shortcut was a lot better than the corridor they had previously been in until it began to get more narrow and narrow until the walls were so close that her staff scrapped up against the walls as she slide along. Allura grimaced; the sound was three times louder than usual since the crypt was already a relatively quiet area. "How much longer do we have until we at least get to a wider part of this 'shortcut'?" She inquired, hoping that they could hear her over the sound of her staff scraping against the wall.

[akirashadow]

As the group struggled on through the narrowing wall space Akira stopped occasionally to ensure Allura was keeping pace with them. The only way to do this eventually came to having dust the wall with his forehead just to look back. "Surely, it can't go on much further." Akira answered to Allura. "This is starting to get Ridiculous. Hades! How much further?" There was no response. Akira rolled his eyes as he turned his head back to the route they were travelling, a bend in the passageway had cut off Hades from the line of sight. With a sigh he turned back to Allura once more, sneezing as his own head wafts dust in his face. "How you holding up with all this? Kind of a lot to keep pace with huh? I promise as soon as we've dealt with this Necromancer, we'll have a chance for some respite." A long awaited true rest, given their last one was rather rough with them.

As they spoke Akira slowly etched his way along the wall, his back scrapping up against the uneven stones. But as he progressed the walls seemed to come to continuous bends almost zig-zaging. but never truly turning them around at any point. Akira almost fell flat on his face when the opening widened suddenly due to the effort of having to squeeze out of the tight space. Before him Hades was stood almost completely still, he didn't speak, didn't turn to look at Akira or Allura he just stood staring ahead of him. "What are you doing?" Akira asked. Straight after which a screech echo'd down the hall towards them.
"Akira, the fallen hunter. Hades, the eternal damned... this is a fine occassion." A voice spoke, filling the air with an instantaneous chill as it did so. Hades raised his hand toward the wall beside him, is surface becoming waved like water.
"Go... now, head north. We'll regroup at the Necromancers domain." Hades whispered. Before Akira had the chance to object, Hades grabbed him with his gloved hand and shoved him through the opened portal. "You go too." Hades said to Allura not turning back as he drew his sword. "I'll hold this thing off." Hades stroked the blade as he spoke "The powers of Hell I beseech thee!" The blade igniting with a blue flame as he charged down the now open path to the Reaper.

[HiddenBeauty13]

"That will be one much needed break..." Allura mumbled more to herself than to Akira before focusing her attention to the problem at hand: They had managed to fall behind Hades and he wasn't responded to Akira's calls, not to mention the fact that there was something driving the angelic side of her crazy; that was never a good sign. As they finally arrived at the part of the corridor where it widened, they discovered that Hades had run into a Reaper. The angel could feel a chill run down her back as it spoke and she wondered just how powerful it was. However, it didn't look as if she nor Akira would be fighting the thing as Hades pushed the half demon through one of his portals, also telling her to go too. Knowing that it would be futile to protest, the girl nodded before stepping into the portal herself. Allura then looked back, watching as Hades began to fight the reaper for a moment before the portal closed completely, leaving nothing but a plain old wall in its place.

She turned away from the wall to look at Akira, trying to offer him a reassuring smile, but it was pretty hard to do considering the situation at hand. "Hey, don't worry. He seems to be capable of handling himself." The angel said, hoping that it would be enough to ease his mind for a while. They had other things to focus on at the moment that would require his full attention. "C'mon...he said that we should head north." It wouldn't be a good idea to idle around for too long, especially with the threat of reapers lurking around every corner. With that thought in mind, she began to head in the direction that she assumed was north though her doubts were soon pushed away as she felt the presence of evil energy growing the longer they walked.

In addition, the appearance of the corridor began to change as well. Smooth walls morphed into cobblestone walls with stones that were surprisingly neat and well placed. Allura figured that the creator of this particular part of the labyrinth took their job quite seriously. Occasionally, there would be a gap between two stones and the angel wasn't surprised to find them filled with the bones of some poor soul. However, it did make her wonder if the person had been buried down here and their bones were moved around or if they had actually died down here and their bones had been carelessly tossed into a hole in the wall. The corridor widened slightly as they kept moving forward until they began to hear some sinister chanting in a language that she could not recognize. "We're almost there..." Allura said as she grabbed her staff from her belt and held it firmly in her hands. She wanted to be ready for anything that may happen once they arrived at the necromancer's hideout. A few moments later, the end of the corridor could be seen and the angel paused to make sure that they were both ready to enter before stepping inside.

The first thing that the pair noticed was the smell: the room reeked of bodily excrement, blood, and who knows what else. It was strong enough to make Allura gag and she had to fight to keep from retching. It was dome shaped and could have easily been the size of a (very) small town. The walls were lined in the same stone that the corridor had been lined with but the floors here were much more interesting. Intricate designs had been drawn onto the floor with some sort of red liquid--probably blood, considering the circumstances--and tall metal torches had been strategically placed sparsely, giving the room an odd red tint. One could almost consider the necromancer's lair to be an amazing sight...if you took out the countless dead bodies, severed body parts, and freaky coffins laying around.

In the middle of the floor sat a figured clothed in red robes that pooled around him on the floor, looking as if he was sitting in a pool of his own blood. Allura assumed that he was the necromancer that they had been searching for. He definitely looked like a necromancer: his skin was extremely pale, as if he hadn't seen the light of day in a few decades and the angel was sure his skin would probably burn right off if the room was any brighter. Although the black hood of his cloak covered most of his head, she could clearly see his eyes, one of which was an odd milky color. He's probably blind in that eye... It was something that Allura definitely took note of though she wished that he was blind in the other eye too because she didn't like the way his gaze seemed to bore into their minds and souls. It was amazing how this one eye man was able to make her feel vulnerable and exposed just by looking at them! If that wasn't enough proof of his undeniable strength, the air around him was so thick with evil energy that the angel was sure that she could physically touch it.

"Ah, my guests are finally here...but I must say, I expected you two to arrive much earlier than this." His voice was deep and seemed to vibrate the air surrounding him as he spoke, and much to Allura's surprise, he sounded...bored.