kapuchu

Ianus Congreatio: Secret societies, horror, and mystery in the shadows of Prague.

I posted a small thing :>

Ianus Congreatio: Secret societies, horror, and mystery in the shadows of Prague.

Lucie stood stock still for the short time it took Aleksandra, to round the corner and stare at their quarry with murder in her eyes. What exactly she said, she couldn't determine. For while she was, she dare say, above average intelligence for women in current society, she had yet to learn the Russian language. That did not, however, mean that she did not understand the intent behind the words. Soaked through with things she'd rather not think about, uncleanly things smeared across her face and just about everything else, Aleksandra was not a pleasant sight, and it wasn't difficult to guess who she held accountable for her current state.

Amber eyes flicked towards Aleksandra, the faux deep voice of Lucie cutting through the silence, speaking in English. "We are not done with him," she said. "I can't let you have him until he has answered a few question. And even then, I wouldn't want to kill him. He could be useful later on."

Aleksandra, hopefully, dealt with she turned her attention to their captive, once more smiling at him. She reached out with a hand, running her gloved fingers across his cheek as she sent a pulse of her powers through him.

Even just standing there she seemed to look down at him despite being of the same height. Then, using the same deep voice, but reverting to speaking Czech, she spoke, "So first of all, who are you and why were you spying on us? And secondly, Filip," she smirked then, knowing full well the implications that would dawn on him, by having her know his name, "what exactly do you know about the men that have been kidnapped recently?" There was no need to mince words or try convoluted interrogation tactics to get the information out of him. One look at his face told her that her lurching forward and saying 'boo' would have him wet himself. The sheer weight of her presence and personality, and the looming danger of Aleksandra behind him, should ensure that he talked.

Ianus Congreatio: Secret societies, horror, and mystery in the shadows of Prague.

@Astarael42
Yaaay!
Might have to speed the others up, as Lucie and Aleksandra are the ones ahead.

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

@I-Am-X
Style Points are for Styles only. So we basically need 3 battles with max style points to get 1 upgrade on a style. Personally feel that it's a bit too expensive (if we only get ~1 battle per chapter). I get that Styles are big and powerful upgrades, but ~9 months just to get to lvl 2 with one is... eeeh.

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

@Zarkun
Reigning punlord? Oh, please. That's nothing.

*Remains completely still*

@Mimic

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

The fire raining down on the ground below receded shortly after Fenn and the Allegiance had disappeared into an adjacent building, duking it out with each other within. That left Lily alone with the so-called Champion, and the small horde of lesser angels. They were numerous, and would no doubt want to get rid of her as quickly as possible. Lily, of course, had no intentions of letting them do so.

She made no move as they rose all around her, essentially forming a near impenetrable sphere of angelic forces around her. She met the eyes of any she could, while slowly revolving around herself. Hardly anyone did not sport some injuries from her earlier barrage, be it small scorch marks on their armour, or severe burns on their body. A few, she saw when she glanced downwards, lay still on the ground. No more than a handful, but the fact that a simple barrage had killed some of them did not speak well for them.

That was when the first one came for her, darting in quickly to swing at her before retreating back to its position. Another one followed, then another, and another. They came from all sides, faster than they should have. Lily weaved left and right, up and down, dodging as many as she could. Pain pierced her mind as skin split from where the angels managed to hit home, but it never stopped her from dodging out of the way of the next to come, the blade rushing millimetres past her face.

Yet she never tried to retaliate. Back and forth her eyes flew, searching for the next attacker even as she went above the current attack. She was searching, looking... waiting.

Hardly a dozen seconds had passed before the champion made its move. She looked up, meeting its eyes.

And then she grinned.

The scar over her right eye, as well as the eye itself, started glowing, easily overpowering the inherent glow of her elemental form. Her form roiled like the inside of a sun, the flames of her body becoming restless and volatile. Her form seemed to swell, and then exploded.

An echoing boom rocked the surrounding area, shattering windows and charring everything in the vicinity. Lesser angels were obliterated, cooked inside their armour or turned to ash from the heat of her combustion. The champion itself, powerful though it may be, found itself thrown away like a rag doll from the shockwave that followed, it having knocked away cars like toys.

And from its centre, once the fire had dissipated, stepped out a beast. Standing on two legs, and well over two metres tall, with digitigrade legs ending in clawed feet. A tail, longer than It was tall, extended from behind it, half a thick as her waist at its base and tapering to a rounded point. From the head sprouted twin pairs of horns, extending backwards nearly a foot in length each. Scale covered the majority of its body, and claws tipped each finger.

Lily stepped forward, spreading her massive, black wings, and Roared.

The Champion knelt some distance away, its front charred from where Lily’s combustion had hit it, and the rest scratched from the impact on the ground. It pushed itself up to full height, then raised its shield, pointing its sword forward, as if issuing a challenge. It was one Lily was more than happy to accept. Mist coalesced in her hand, a large warhammer falling heavily into her grip. She crouched, muscles tense and rippling underneath her taut, scaly skin.

She attacked first, propelling her forward with a powerful flap of her wings, hammer crashing down against the Champion's shield. He pushed her away and followed up with a thrust. Dodging to his left, she swung again and hit home. The sound of metal against metal rang out as the hammer met his shoulder guard, sending him staggering, armour cracked. Her next blow was pushed aside, the shield slamming into her and sending her reeling.

A deep growl emanated from her throat, a challenge as much as a threat and a warning of what was to come.

"You are strong," the Champion said, "But not strong enough. Even in your current demonic form, you will die here today."

Lily looked, if anything, disappointed. "I had expected something... more. Not an empty threat or assessment." Her tail twitched, slamming into the ground with enough force to dent the asphalt. "And you think this is the extent of my powers? Oh, young one, you are sadly mistaken—" her hammer changed, becoming a large axe instead "—this isn't even half of it!"

She charged again, jumping over the attempted retaliation, landing behind him and quickly struck him in the back, cracking more of the armour. The Angel relied mostly on its armour and shield to protect itself, so if it lost either it was at a huge disadvantage. So her first task was to get rid of it. To weaken it.

The angel turned, but Lily was already gone, off to the side and attempted a strike at its side. The angel managed to turn in time to block it with its shield, but the draconic form of Lily was gone, replaced instead by the, far smaller, feline form. "Let me show you how a demon fights."

The next minute was a blur of thrusts, slashes, and bludgeoning blows. Not one attack was repeated, each strike coming from a different angle, a different weapon. She struck his pauldron with an axe, received a blow bludgeoning strike from his shield, sending her back. Distance meant nothing. She leapt on him again, taking and receiving hits alike, dodging what she could, much like the champion himself. A blow to his helm in trade for a cut in her abdomen. A thrust to his chest, drawing blood, in trade for her tail as she quickly jumped away.

Lily sprung forward, and the Champion grabbed grabbed her sword as she attempted to thrust it at his weakened plate, wrenching it from her hands and throwing it aside. Seconds later she found herself flying into the wall of a nearby building, denting it even as she fell to the ground. It wasn't the first injury she'd had. Cuts dotted her entire body, her tail had been sheared off, and she was certain at least two ribs were broken. She stood up shakily, glaring at her adversary.

"Your time is over," he said, stepping closer. "Not even your True Form could save you." He raised his sword, ready to strike her down where she stood. "Now you die." The sword fell.

A shield met it.

Before him, Lily grew, sprouting wings and tail once more, horns erupted from her head and her limbs thickened with muscle. "How many times must I tell you—" her free hand shot up, grasping the cracked helmet, the titanic pressure of her grip shattering it in moments. Her tail then whipped around her, slamming the angel in the side and sending him skidding along the ground. "You aren't worthy of that honour."

A hammer, this one larger than any before, materialised in her hands. She stepped over to him, swinging, and shattered the already cracked shield in his hands. She struck a second time aiming for his chest. He sidestepped and struck at her, only for a shield to block it.

Again, the champion struck, but instead of meeting flesh or scale, or even a shield, his arm was stopped by Lily, grabbing him around the wrist. Using his one free hand, the Champion threw a punch at her hand, but was stopped, Lily grabbing his wrist mid-swing.

She pushed her face into his, snarling. “It’s over. Die."

With enough force to punch through metal, Lily drove her horned skull into the Champions, stunning him and sending him stumbling as she released him. The hammer found its way to her hands once more, and with a mighty heave she sent it crashing into the chest of the Champion, punching through his armour and—finally—meeting flesh.

She struck again, and again, and again. In the end, there didn't seem to be a part of the Champion's chestplate which was whole, punctures from where her hammer has shattered it—and crushed his internals underneath—covering it. She growled, and spat, a glob of blood and ichor mixing with the angel's own.

Turning around, she looked over at Fenn, still watching her from the building where he and the Allegiance had done battle. She raised a hand at him, a greeting as much as an assurance that their task was done, and started walking away.

Behind her lay the Angelic Champion.

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

Lily and Fenn watched as the stranger shadowing them finally revealed their hand, in the form of bloody spears raining on the angels before them. The Angel Champion they had been sent to hunt and his own retinue of guards quickly distanced himself from the front lines, allowing the Hierarchy angels to take the brunt of the assault. The smartest among them were quick to move behind the armored figures of the Ardors and Allegiance as they rose their shields against the onslaught. Others among them were not so lucky, the spears claiming the lives of some of their rank, and claiming the wings of many more.

Still, most of the smaller angels managed to survive the assault with wounds light enough to continue fighting.

That was, at least, until blood suddenly splattered onto the streets between the two groups, most of it at the feet of the boy who had claimed to be an archangel.

It seemed innocent enough, but knowing that it was the blood of a demon spoke volumes of its capabilities. Staying near it would do them no good. Muscles coiled, Lily jumped away from the splatter of blood, narrowly avoiding the resulting explosion. She landed several metres back, skidding to a stop with her claws dragging shallow gouges into the ground.

Even as she righted herself, her attention was drawn to the fight between their demonic tag-along, and the self-proclaimed Archangel. Their tag-along was by no means a bad fighter, she was just not the best. Lily watched her with pursed lips, taking note of her individual attacks, her stance, footwork, and not to mention how and when she took to the offense. What she saw made her grimace. “He’s using a spear!” She called out. “Get in close where he can’t use it!”

That out of the way, she turned back to the small horde of angelic minions, scanning their ranks. “Almost fifteen against two… Bad odds, Fenn,” she muttered, loud enough for her companion to hear.

From up ahead, the sounds of clanking metal could be heard as the remaining angels reared to run them down, the Allegiance golden armor and the remaining Ardors crimson shields clearly visible among the survivors of the blast.

“Then even them,” Fenn growled from the edges of the thin, red mist, eyes fixed forward and out of her view. The tone of barely contained menace, however, told her the hound was moments away from charging the enemy line himself.

“That would only make it all the more unfair for them,” she laughed, stepping forward to stand beside him. “But there’ll be time to think about odds later.” A menacing grin crept upon her lips, her elongated canines all but glinting in the sun. “The time for talk is over. Sic ‘em, Fenn!”

As though an invisible chain had been loosened from his neck, the dog darted forward with fearsome speed and a hungry snarl. An Affinity, one of the smaller, avian angels that had been blasted forward by the explosion had enough time to raise its gaze towards the oncoming monster, loping forward on three legs, an Ardor’s sword held outwards by one of its long limbs, before a tree trunk arm fell over it, crushing its head against the pavement.

Lily followed close behind, hammer in her hands and murder in her eyes. A Compassion which had eluded Fenn’s charge came at her, only to come to a grisly end when its face met Lily’s hammer. She jumped, vaulting over another compassion, and came face to face with an Affinity. It fell dead less than a second later, its heart—if it even had one—pierced by the warhammer-turned-rapier.

She had to give the angels credit. They didn’t run, not even when Fenn trampled them like a child would a sandcastle, or when Lily’s weapon crushed or pierced their armour as if it was paper. Of course, what else would one expect of the weakest, and most mindless, of their numbers? And stragglers of that explosion. Their chicken brains were likely too rattled to move out of the way.

The Allegiance, the largest among the core of charging angels, had gathered surprising momentum, and was leading the charge against them. With feline grace, Lily overtook Fenn, and could almost feel it as the centaur’s regard shifted to her. As she neared, the Allegiance’s blade lashed out with the clear intent of cleaving her in half.

She did not even try to move out of the way.

Fenn’s stolen blade crashed against the Allegiance’s sword with an impact that made her teeth clatter, throwing it off course. Of course, the dog wielded the blade like little more than a slab of metal, and had little interest in a demonstration of swordsmanship. The titans crashed against each other without barely slowing down, and Lily could see the hellhound’s slitted eyes constricted into bloodshot pinpricks.

And then she was past them, among the rest of the rabble. She redirected an Ardor’s slash at her throat, using the following shield bash as a springboard to propel herself into the air, where her body caught flame, shedding its fleshy form in favour of that of a pure elemental.

Around her, several motes of fire sprung into being, multiplying even as they grew in size. The temperature rose, growing nearly unbearable for mortals were they in her vicinity. And as it reached its apex, barely a handful of seconds later, hell was unleashed upon earth. Each of the motes took off from their respective positions, aimed at the ground below. Muted booms from where the orbs impacted upon the earth echoed throughout the street, each orb cracking the pavement, knocking down whomever or whatever it hit, setting it and everything around them aflame. Those who avoided being set aflame instantly sought shelter where they could, be it around their larger and stronger allies, or even in the vicinity of the hellhound, whose bulk shrugged off more than just a few of her orbs.

Amidst the chaos, Fenn had pushed the Allegiance aside and clambered onto its back, jostling back and forth as the thing tried to throw the dog off its perch. Pieces of bloodied gold flew into the air as the dog bit into the armor and mauled the back plate with the pommel of the stolen sword. There was something to be said about the centaur’s legs not immediately buckling under the weight.

I’m not done yet! Lily thought even as the barrage of hellfire continued raining from the sky. She brought her hands up above her, an orb of fire a particularly angry shade of red formed in between her palms. It pulsed once, twice.

She felt the Allegiance’s gaze on her then, and its buckling redoubled in intensity. Fenn’s claw slipped over the metal and fell to the streets. The centaur turned and charged at Fenn.

Lily threw her hands down, the orb following.

The dog turned and stood in time to slap away another swing of the sword, but the Allegiance still crashed onto him at full throttle. Gold and white, tons of flesh and metal, slammed into the demon, sending the both of them crashing through a brick wall and into an adjacent building.

The orb fell to the street below.

One unlucky Ardor, the one whose armour was cracked in several places from their earlier scuffle, had attempted to throw its shield over an Affinity to protect it from her barrage. In doing so, however, it left itself open. The explosion that followed cooked it inside its armour. The Affinity fared little better, and a shockwave of destruction erupted from there, knocking minor angels aside, and wounding most others in a miniature supernova.

Ianus Congreatio: Secret societies, horror, and mystery in the shadows of Prague.

Yay. Finally back!

Small post to start things off.

Ianus Congreatio: Secret societies, horror, and mystery in the shadows of Prague.

Even as she sped through the sewers, Lucie did her best to avoid splashing. Even if their would-be spy's own splashing footsteps would cover hers, it was good to be careful.

The stench was as thick as she remembered it. Like shit and piss, mixed with the halfrotten remains of the rich folk's food, not to mention the rats. Prague may be a pretty and near majestic city on the outside, but delve just a bit beneath the surface, and it was the same as everywhere else.

Now was not the time to reminisce, however, nor to criticise her home town. If everything went as she expected it to, Aleksandra would currently be chasing their spy, and be approximately halfway towards where she aimed to cut him off. She continued straight ahead, ignoring the grates to the outside, and the other offsprings of the sewer system. Ahead, she knew, the tube she was currently in would open up into a perpendicular sewer tube, exactly the one where Aleksandra and their guest would come running through.

But, as fate would have it, nothing would be easy. It seemed that, in just the last six months, things had changed enough down here to hinder her. Ahead was a cave-in, the roof and walls had caved in, blocking thoroughfare for any ordinary person. Luckily for her, Lucie was far from ordinary. Stopping in front of the cave-in, she put a hand to the cold stone and sent a pulse of psychic energy through it, quietly asking for a "place where it was not". What it revealed was that there was an opening, just large enough for a person of average stature to go through. Lucie may be somewhat taller than the average, but she was still a woman and thus small in ways men were not.

She found the hole in short order and crawled through, then instinctively dove into the shadows, only for the splashing of feet through muck to reach her ears.

Sakra! She cursed. Finding the way into this place, and crawling through it, had taken too much time. She was about to start running out to intercept their 'target', when the sound of splashing reached its apex, and a shape entered her field of vision. Lucie, still hidden in the shadows, saw him approach at a rapid pace. He couldn't have avoided noticing the barricade that was the cave-in, so the fact that he didn't slow down to a stop as most would, spoke volumes. He knew of the small way through, and planned to use it to escape Aleksandra.

We can't have that, can we? Lucie thought with almost sinister glee. She made certain to make as little sound as physically possible, as she stepped out of her patch of shadows. To Filip, it would look like she just materialised, or stepped out of the solid rock surrounding them. There was just enough light to see the white of her teeth as she smiled, now standing directly in his way. "Good evening, I believe you have a few questions to answer."