awashlogs | o toi, le plus savant et le plus beau des anges

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o toi, le plus savant et le plus beau des anges

WHO: Akira, Dextera, Ryo (+ Pyra in the second thread)
WHERE: The woods
WHEN: 3/14ish
WHAT: Satan, a Devilman, and God walk into the forest to kill a guardian.
WARNINGS: Character death, violence; I'll update this if anything else comes up.

[ Link had cautioned him against harming the guardian, and while Ryo agreed that he had a point since the forest is sentient to some degree and that killing it could very well incur the forest's wrath, he decided to ignore the suggestion to leave it alone—he wants that thing dead, and he wants to know what it might be guarding. One must sometimes take risks in the pursuit of knowledge, after all.

A few weeks after learning about Dextera being in possession of a bullet capable of killing even even a god, Ryo, Dextera, and Akira decide to make the trip into the forest with the intention of tracking down and killing the creature.

It's been a couple of hours since they left town. Their surroundings are growing darker, the trees becoming more twisted and gnarly as they venture deeper. It can't be far now, and Ryo feels unease knot in his stomach—it's as though they're being ushered toward the creature, with nothing hindering their way. They haven't even seen a single animal since they left town. ]

I hope we're not being led into some sort of trap. [ He says, eyes scanning for movements between the trees, fingers tightening around his rifle. ]

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[ dextera slings the rifle off his shoulder, when akira gives his orders. he’d need to stay back anyway to shoot it, unless he wanted to try simply shoving the bullet against it—but knowing what they know about the guardian, it’s best not to risk an unnecessary fight when dextera is the only one who can use this. ]

Be careful. I don’t think I can purify the monster’s poison.

[ he hasn’t tried, but the forest has safeguards against this kind of thing. for guren, too. ]

I know. I won't forgot what it did to you, Ryo.

[Akira steps out into the clearing, alert for any sudden movements. Suddenly there's rustling through the trees, and he ducks aside just in time to avoid a whip-like appendage. It misses, and buries itself into a tree behind him.

Darting forward, he ploughs into the monster, pouncing on it to try and pin it long enough for Dextera to get a shot. He won't bother trying to claw or bite at it when he knows it'll be impervious; he just has to subdue it.]

[ Ryo's eyes narrow slightly when he catches sight of the familiar appendages, his grip instinctively tightening around the rifle; he knows the bullets won't do much except possibly stun it for a second or two, but it makes him feel a little less vulnerable and that one second could make all the difference in ensuring that Dextera gets the shot in.

He motions for Dextera to stay close, moving to stand out of sight behind one of the nearby trees while waiting for an opening. ]

[ dextera does try to take aim, but the unfortunate part of his rifle is that despite how bulky it is, or perhaps because of it, getting a shot on even a target like this wouldn’t be easy. if he misses, they could all die.

he lowers it and moves to ryo’s side. the creature already knows they’re all here, surely, so he doesn’t need to worry about speaking too loudly, but his voice is naturally quiet. a warning. ]

I’m sorry. I need to get closer.

[Akira can't do much to avoid the creature's appendages at such a close range when he's trying to keep the guardian pinned; as a consequence, there's a few tears in his wings and shallow cuts on his arms already, oozing murky yellow blood. He understands without even looking over that Dextera hasn't been able to get a shot off yet, so if there's something he can do to speed this up...

Suddenly he's struck with a more creative idea than brute force. He lets go of the monster just long enough to grab two of its appendages instead, wrapping them around the tree until it's effectively tied in place by its own arms. If it wants to escape, it risks damaging or breaking them altogether.]

Dextera, now--! [Akira's cut off as one of the remaining appendages shoots forward, piercing him through the chest. Another plunges through his stomach and twists its way in, trapping him in place. The two are at a stalemate.]

[ Ryo nods, moving as carefully as possible toward a closer tree, trying not to draw attention towards them; even if the creature knows they're there, they should make sure it stays focused on Akira.

He winces when he sees the appendage plunge its way through Akira's stomach, and he hopes that the sun pendant will do its job at keeping him safe from mortal harm. He glances at Dextera, then back to Akira; they're closer now, but can he make the shot without hitting Akira? ]

I… I’ll kill him if I shoot now.

[ dextera looks to ryo in a wide-eyed panic. like an electric current, the purification will shoot through the guardian, but as long as it’s buried into akira’s abdomen like that, akira will feel the brunt of it as well. the sun pendant may be able to do its job once, but dextera can’t make himself responsible for killing someone twice over.

the metal of the rifle rattles in his straining arms. ]

[From this distance, Akira can't hear their conversation. But he can guess the reason for Dextera's hesitation, and realise he needs to act.

The colour has drained from the pendant around Akira's neck, apparently saving him from the stab wounds being a fatal blow. With that in mind, he grabs the appendage in his chest and pulls it out with an agonised growl, then tears the one from his stomach in a mess of gore. Free from the guardian, he stumbles out of its range as much as he can... before sagging to his knees and collapsing, murky yellow blood pooling under him.

Dimly, as his vision swims and his limbs start to burn like fire, he realises: the pendant might have saved him from the stab wounds, but its use won't stop the poison.]

[ Fuck—did the pendant not work? Or did it work, but didn't provide protection against its poisonous claws; it's hard to say for sure from a distance, but the pendant around his neck does look duller than before. Ryo shakes his head in an attempt to clear his head, to work through all the potential scenarios and variables. Akira is in no position to keep fighting, so it's on them to end this now. ]

I'll distract it. Shoot it as soon as there's an opening. [ Whether Dextera protests or not, he steps out from behind the tree, rifle poised—and then he fires off several bullets in rapid succession, pulling the guardian's attention away from Akira before it gets the chance to finish him off.

But instead of going after Ryo, it swings an appendage in Dextera's direction. ]

[ dextera didn’t expect that, evidenced by the way his only option in a pinch is to hold up the rifle itself to defend himself. the creature nearly knocks the heavy metal weapon out of his hands, and as dextera scrambles to right it in his arms, it runs him through his shoulder. it won’t be enough to kill him, and the coat he’s wearing offers some amount of protection against poison, but it’s not perfect.

none of this is perfect. ]

Ngh!

[ it stings as it goes through, and dextera has to use his own bodily inertia to try to escape its stab. if it holds him in place, it can run him through. he knows this from the tactics of meta-beings. ]

I can… get it…

Dextera... Ryo...!

[Akira tries to pull himself up to keep fighting, try to draw the creature's attention for just a little longer by calling out, but he can't even get back to his knees before he collapses again, coughing up (now red) blood. His strength is fading by the second-- he's forced back into his human form, no longer able to sustain his Devilman appearance. He can do nothing now but hope the two of them can handle things without him.]

Akira— [ Dextera goes ignored, unsurprisingly. He puts himself between Akira and the guardian, raising his rifle once more to fire off a couple of bullets—until it knocks the weapon out of his hands, sending it clattering to the ground.

With nothing to defend himself with, the guardian quickly seizes the opportunity to drive an appendage through his abdomen and fling him to the side like a discarded piece of paper. ]

[ this is bad.

it isn’t going quite as wrong as the bogeyman fight, not yet, but that’s more a matter of proportion than actual casualties—akira looks like he’s fading fast, and ryo is at least close enough to a human to be affected by all those physical strikes and poison touches.

dextera’s shoulder burns, as he rips himself off one of the spikes. ]

Ryo…

[ of course ryo is the first person he worries about, even now, but then his attention is on akira. he’s not going to make it, is he?

it’s too hard to lift the rifle as he is, and so he ends up doing the very thing he didn’t want to resort to: he pulls the bullet from the weapon itself, and hisses through his teeth. ]

Akira, hold on.

Don't...

[Akira rasps, and reaches to try to get Ryo to stop. If Dextera can't take the shot, the best thing would be to run, not to try to defend him. But it's too late, and Ryo is already swatted aside.

He's in too much pain by now to try to pick himself up one last time. Dimly he's aware of Dextera telling him something-- hold on-- and he tries to keep his grip on consciousness for as long as he can, even if it's just long enough to see if Dextera can see this through.]

[ Slowly, Ryo gets back up on his feet, his legs unsteady and a hand pressed to the wound on his abdomen. It hurts like a thousand knives cutting into his flesh, but there's surprisingly little blood—his pendant did that, he assumes. It didn't completely heal him up like he had hoped it would in the event of a mortal injury, but it seems to have mitigated it. ]

Nghh... [ Gritting his teeth, he glares at the guardian with a positively frigid look that makes the blue of his eyes seem like ice. The creature's only response is to lunge at him, claws and appendages ready to finish him off this time—

—but then something sparkles like gold and a sudden bolt of lightning cuts through the air, knocking the guardian halfway across the clearing. ]

[ dextera watches.

there’s nothing else for him to do, when ryo manifests that strange light—he doesn’t know what it is, only that it’s powerful, and he wonders distantly if this is further proof of the person he suspects ryo to be. he doesn’t have time to dwell, though.

at the sound of the creature hitting solid ground after ryo manages to knock it away, dextera is snapped from his thoughts and remembers the weight of the bullet in his hand. the little shifts inside, unaware that its life will be given for what dextera hopes will be a meaningful purpose. with the rifle itself abandoned on the ground, he rushes the guardian and shoves the bullet against its form hard enough for the casing to break. ]

< O - wah! >

[ the little cries out, and then the purifying light suffuses the guardian. its very flesh seems to melt away, distorting around dextera’s hand, until the only thing that’s left is the crystal. ]

[ Ryo exhales a quiet sigh when he sees the light, some of the tension seeping from his body; they did it. The guardian is dead. But that lightning—something similar had happened at the end of the bogeyman fight, hadn't it?

He doesn't have the time to think about that, because there's something far more important. He rushes over to Akira and sinks to his knees, cradling him in his arms. Something stings in his chest and he doesn't know what it is but it hurts much more than his abdomen. ]

Akira—Akira, are you still conscious? [ There's a rare touch of desperation to his voice. ]

[It's difficult to tell what happened from Akira's perspective when he's clinging to consciousness. Even his devil body can't fight off this much poison, least of all when it was pumped straight into his heart and gut. So seeing the lightning created by Ryo is confusing: is it some sort of hallucination? Dextera purifying the creature, on the other hand, makes perfect sense, so maybe not...

As Ryo moves over to him and he feels arms around him, Akira winces. Breathing is too painful, and being moved, even moreso.]

Ryo...

[It's difficult to talk much, and his voice is faint. Instead, he reaches with a trembling, blood-slick hand to touch Ryo's cheek. Even now, he can sense his pain through his own.]

You beat it. Good job...

[ the crystal is practically vibrating in his hand with the contained malevolent energy, but dextera is also probably the only person who can hold onto this without going crazy. as curious as he is about what it says, he doesn’t want to ask shiho to touch it. if only the baroquemonger were here… but it’s something for later.

he pockets the crystal, and looks back to ryo and akira now that the moment has passed. his shoulder stings, and his vision is hazy, but he’s able to stand and can surely make it back to town, too. akira, however… ]

We have to get him back to town.

[ this is what he says, but akira doesn’t look like he’s in any shape to go, and neither of them can heal. ]

There's not enough time. [ He says it without looking up, one hand reaching up to slide over Akira's, squeezing it gently. Considering the blood loss, they'll have a couple of minutes left at best before Akira succumbs to his injuries, so unless they spontaneously learn how to teleport it just isn't possible.

All he can do is keep him as comfortable as possible until his life bleeds out of him. ]

We'll see each other again soon. Death isn't permanent here.

[ Even with the desperation coloring the edges of his voice, he speaks with conviction. His thumb sweeps along Akira's knuckles comfortingly while his other hand finds its way into his thick dark mane. ]

[Akira's heart aches, as he gently squeezes Ryo's hand in return. There's so much he wants to tell him, so much left for the two of them to do, and he can only wonder -- what if he doesn't come back? What if something goes wrong, and he never sees him again? He coughs, weakly, and looks over at Dextera.]

...Take care of each other. [In the forest, if they're in shape enough to explore further-- but also, if he really doesn't come back, this is his way of entrusting Ryo to Dextera. Ryo had been so lonely, once, but now he has someone besides just Akira.]

[ dextera doesn’t feel like he should be here. no matter how reasonable ryo is being about akira’s inevitable death, he’s witnessing the passing of a friend. akira is in pain. akira is dying, will be dead soon, and while dextera cares for him, he thinks he’s intruding, too— ]

…

[ —which is why it’s all the more surprising that akira would draw him in with a comment like that, asking them to take care of each other. his mouth parts like he’s going to say something, and then he thinks better of it. still, it’s enough for him to crouch next to them both, and in a moment of boldness, he places his hand on ryo’s back.

it’s support, of a kind. ]

[ It's barely perceptible, but Dextera might notice the slight tremble beneath the palm of his hand; Ryo isn't crying, but the sadness finds a way to show itself in a more subtle way. He doesn't look up or otherwise acknowledge the touch, but the touch isn't entirely unwelcome and keeps him somewhat grounded, anchored to reality. The pain in his chest is foreign to him, yet strangely familiar—like a fragment from a previous cycle of time and space, a fleeting sensation of déjà vu flits through his head like disjointed lightning.

He brushes his fingers through his hair, gently running his fingertips against his scalp when a sudden impulse takes possession of him, and he leans down to press his lips to Akira's forehead for a brief second before pulling away. ]

[Akira's breathing is growing shallower by the second, and he's colder to the touch. It's hard to focus now, his hand slackening in Ryo's and going limp. Yet somehow, seeing Dextera supporting Ryo gives him reassurance. His best friend isn't alone, and he can let go now -- maybe even, however briefly, see his parents again.

The kiss is like a final blossom of warmth against his skin, and his eyes, even as they well up with tears, flutter closed.]

It's okay... if you need to...

[Akira can't finish that half-formed thought. Soon, he falls still in Ryo's arms, the last breath leaving his body.]

[ dextera’s fingers twist into the back of ryo’s clothes—he’s much more susceptible to this than ryo is. although he’s died countless times, and he’s even murdered people with his own hands, it’s different seeing the death of a friend that was neither intentional nor necessary. it doesn’t matter if akira will come back.

it’s hard. ]

…Ryo.

[ he gives ryo a moment of silence, but they can’t stay here much longer. they’re injured and now akira is dead, too. the grimoire, though it’s in his care, doesn’t occur to him now as an option. ]

o toi, le plus savant et le plus beau des anges

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