Pine Garden

[Bern]

Lulu

Flick.

"Don't badmouth yourself like that..." The angel frowned a and flicked his forehead in annoyance. "I wouldn't be your girlfriend if you didn't have any value. I'm far too selfish for that. You see I've been using you too, the emotional turmoil within you is quite delicious to feed on, but I really hope you stop putting yourself down.... And for that matter in my world, this kind of relationship isn't even strange, different species intermingle all the time.

The angel suddenly smirked and crawled further forward until they were face to face. "I wonder if we had children would they be as grumpy as you or as sweet and perfect as me?"

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Aruna said nothing, instead covering his forehead from the flick.  It hurt like a bitch.  He should have deactivated that spell but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Well given that we are both selfish, probably the worst kinds of brats," he said, chuckling.  His hand drifted from her back to her horns.  They were sharp, strong.  He could sense his own magic intermingling with her own.  The demon horns were symbols of their people, signs of their everlasting determination.  "They really do look good on you Lulu, these wonderful horns suit you so well, so does this forthright confession.  We will have to do something about your modesty though."

Aruna chuckled, sighing with pleasure as he felt her presence sooth his mind.  "Demons and angels, light and dark, we've been enemies for centuries.  We cohabited, but the balance of power was always shifted in favor of the light.  Demons are monsters to be vanquished, at least according to them.  You know, in my world, a demon is just someone who draws power from the dark and studies under the creatures banished by god."

Aruna's fingers wrapped around the horns, pulling her up ever so slightly.  "Turmoil, the very burden of living.  I don't mind it all that much Lulu to tell you the truth.  When i'm so at peace like this its...."

"Its hard to want to do anything."

"Lulu tell me, did you ever love another demon like me?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

"Blah blah blah. Jesus christ you stickler, a gorgeous woman opens her heart out like that and you're still stuck on that war of yours? No wonder you're so grumpy all the time." A jokingly sassy tone echoed around the two. But that was... impossible. Didn't he just gets punted kilometers away?

BOOM!!

As they could turn their glance, the comet already crashed on the ground a few dozen feet away from them - causing a massive burst of flame to crack all over the street and erupt around the trio. The shadow that emerged them was hurt here and there... but no worse for wear. Or rather, he still refused to go down.

What was that madman's deal anyways?

"Missed me yet?" Its smug grin gleamed over the dark flames like the moon.

But before he knew it, the condensed water of the clouds he hit came crashing down on his head, smacking and splashing him all over.

Ow.

[Bern]

Lulu

"Oh look it's the ant."

SWOOOOSH.

With a wave of her hand The giant sword manifested behind her and cleaved through the burst of flame, no not just cleaving through. It killed the fire itself before it could even reach the streets and then tore straight through the remains of the room right at the insect himself.

She turned her head around to gaze at him with smug superiority, somehow managing to look down upon his feeble actions even from her position on the ground. Of course that was the natural outcome, no matter how low she went he would always be lower.

"Apologies for the brutality earlier, it's hard to hold back my strength when I step on an ant so I don't crush it."

[yinsukin]

Aruna

"Stuck on the war?  You say that as if its over, when we both know its still going on.  In fact, we are both preparing for the next great battle," he said, putting folding his hands behind his head and staring at the sky.  "Light and dark are forces that clash endlessly with one another and in different ways."

But the fight has evolved.  Aruna continued to flicked the horns on Lulu's head, as if to check their authenticity.  The truth was that the days of angels and demons fighting for the supremacy of their domains was long over.  Now it was just people fighting for themselves.

"I swear, I can never seem to kill you.  You remind me of my old tyrant days, back when I used to rule over the humans.  The cockroaches never seemed to be able to be put down."

And that is how he ultimately lost in the end, their perseverance and his lack of understanding.

"I shall give you a choice.  IN truth it may be more annoying to put you down than to simply tell me what you know about the graces.  If you release your knowledge of the light to me, i'll let you live.  Otherwise your too dangerous to be left alive."

[Kotomine_Rin]

ZEKE

The sword shot forward with the strength of a rocket, crossing the distance in an instant. But unlike before, he managed to slightly shift his center of gravity and deflect it by a bare breath. The sword slammed between his forearm and his neck, and the impact blew him away a few feet - but it avoided pushing into him nonetheless. No, he must have moved before the bullet had left the chamber. But even from this distance, prediction alone shouldn't-

Unless he was starting to evolve this very moment. No, not this moment. Ever since he fought that woman in the arena.

Haah...haah...that's...right... kh...

"My, my, my. That's just cruel. If you were going to crush me, a hug would be way more painless..." A smug voice echoed past the wounded man. A dozen animals emerged from his shadows. Among them, a three-eyed raven - the same that spoke earlier. As far as the vessel was concerned, even the spot on his neck and arm where he tried to deflect the sword throbbed. Yes, his eyes weren't so casual anymore. They looked annoyed.

A sudden sneer shot through the air, cackling at them - once again, a different voice.

"Khaha! Idiots! Whether I give you answers or not, I can tell you just want to shish kebab me. You can't just - CHKWAKWAKWAHHHH!?"

The buzzing was annoying. So the iron grip of the vessel's fist closed on the brid's neck. Softly. Tightly. Without the slightest restraint. The void was silenced. And this time, he spoke.

     _{"Fine by me."}
"________________"

He smiled, way more relaxed than earlier. No, it was the same smile that man had in the arena. But if the birds were Zeke and the man in front of them was also Zeke, who were they talking to right now?

Either way, if Aruna had any questions, now would be the best time to ask away.

[Bern]

Lulu

"I would never hug someone as disgusting as you tchh..." She sneered and turned her attention back to her beloved who was giving more attention to the horns she had grown than she deserved. It was a strange sensation but not an unpleasant one and were they not so occupied with this unwanted company she would have taken what she craved from Aruna by now.

"My touch is only for the people deserving of my love like sweet Aruna here. And I doubt he even has anything to share, he looks like a joke who will never amount to anything, maybe we should just let him go? He wants something by being here and denying him that would be the most fitting punishment don't you think?"

[yinsukin]

Aruna

"I'm not so arrogant as to think a creature that has defeated me twice is worth letting go without a price," he said.  "Why did you help me on my quest?  Why are you so interested in seeing me grow in the power of the light?"

The amalgamation that was Zeke was a wild card that could uproot him in the long term.  However, if there was anything their battles had proven it was that he was impossibly hard to kill.  Killing a man was easy, but killing Zeke was like killing a country, there was always some sort of straggler that kept him alive.

The hands fondling her horns dropped to the ground as his red demonic eyes focused on the human known as Zeke.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

The dark beast blinked for a second there, wide-eyed in surprise. Out of all possible things... she'd ask the most obvious one? Jeez, when she put it that way.... well then...

He put a hand on his hip and smiled.

Because I like you.

He didn't even pay a glance at the Archangel any longer. What a fool. Nobody deserves love. It's something given, by choice. The fact she'd utter such foolishness meant she understood nothing about it. Then again, he'd expect nothing else from a mere soldier of God. And yet...

He was happy they both got this far.

[Bern]

Lulu

"If that's how it is, stay silent you silly little man, you've lost all hope now, too bad..."

SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH

Lulu behind massive sword in hand moving to slice him apart over and over with unrestrained fury. but it wasn't glowing hot anymore, no this was the more refined and chilling move of death itself.

And not even emotions can stand this chilling light for it destroys all, even your very hopes and dreams.

"YOU WILL DIE!"

[yinsukin]

Aruna

"Nonesense, you don't love me, only yourself, or what 'yourself' even is.  Just because we share an understanding doesn't mean I accept all of your feelings!  Flippant, trite, fragile: those emotions are what i'd describe you as.  What does a mass of human desire need with affection, friendship or love?" he asked, finally standing up to face the man.  The blade of darkness extended, doubling in size as it was filled with light.

"Before you die, tell me why!  Why do you feel these things?!"

Aruna's voice cracked, booming through the very sky above them.  Aruna's arm shined with a blinding light that rivaled the brightest star.

[Kotomine_Rin]

ZEKE

Dying, huh? If only it were so easy... then I wouldn't have to disappoint you.

And a blade of death shot through the air. With grit teeth and a pained expression, it smashed on his ribs and cut him down with such force, his shell cracked all over the blow with a final gasp. Hurled to the side, he fell haphazardly at a speed even he couldn't overtake.

Beyond that speed, a kick smashed straight towards Lucy's jaw. How?

[DRUNKEN STYLE]?

No.

[CAPOIERA]?

No!

[CUSTOM MADE]

YES YES YES YES!!

Seeing through her attack's nature, he shifted his center of gravity and used the momentum like a whip. This way, he could deliver this blow exactly while falling. You might liken it to one of those training dummies that attack you as you hit, the spinning ones. That too, he took from a ninja movie. It was nothing short of a miracle, an impossibility that a man of his power simply couldn't replicate. A fighter who knew as much as the basics of close quarters would see through it and dodge it barely. It was a strategy that would never work on a monster like Valerie, let alone an Archangel, one who rules over miracles.

But Zeke didn't plan. He gambled. And thanks to his struggles, he refined his movements to grab onto this miracle. This was perseverance that could only belong to a mortal. Could Lucy face it head-on? After all -

Isn't... it obvious? I'm only... human...!!!

And so, the blow rushed to connect with unparalleled vigor, reaching for the divine territory of their power head-on! Using this opening, he would go all out and strike with all he had to turn the tables. To assault her with claws, kicks, punches, elbows, rocketing blows and everything at his disposal.

[Bern]

Lulu

SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISH

The kick split the air with his unyielding determination, the determination that would seize a miracle eve from the jaws of defeat. Such was his determination yet-

It could never reach her.

Not because of some divine intervention bending his attack out of the way, not even because she narrowly dodged it by moving at just the right time. In fact she didn't move at all. There was a much simpler explanation for it.

He was in the wrong place.

The length of his leg could never match up to the length of her blade, not in this form at least. That one miscalculation turned his whole comeback upside down.

"Begone!"

And the moment his kicked passed the halfway, yes the very moment it became apparent that it would miss, her sword moved on it's own accord interdependent of her arms. It followed Zeke's momentum and was going to use it to pick him up and hurl him away.

"Aruna let it go. It is what it is. You'd do a lot better if you learned to accept things at face value."

[yinsukin]

Aruna

A small chuckle filled the destroyed ruins of the mansion.  Then it grew into a low bellowing laugh.  Eventually it evolved into the cackle of a maniac. 

So you've accepted yourself then?

Aruna's body, arm, blade and wings shining with light, flew beside the clash, his red demonic eyes making contact with Lulu for the briefest moment.  The demon's muscular back stood in the path of the man being catapulted into the sky.  The second the shockwave from the strike was felt, Aruna's back would open up, allowing Zeke to pass through.  A flurry of slashes carved by the dark blade of shining light would slice through his body, threatening to cut him into ribbons.

"I hurt you because I took you at face value, but my values, yet now the angel of love says I should take Zeke only at face value.  Thinking deep or shallow, I wonder when that sort of thing is appropriate.  Perhaps that is my true folly."

The demon never once had to utter another word.  The demon of light and dark were connected to both.  The shadow of Zeke and the Light of Lulu, their minds both came to him.  Was this coincidence or fate?  If it was fate, then perhaps that is the one force greater than even the gods.

[Kotomine_Rin]

ZEKE

What?! The lack of impact against his foot was the only warning he got that something went terribly wrong. But even if he wanted to regret it, he had no time before the gigantic blade smashed straight AGAINST HIS VERY BODY!! It dragged him away, sealing every power at his disposal.

The ground is the sky... the sky is the ground... where am I... this laughter...

But not his body.

It pivoted on the sword as he flew towards the demon, moving unorthodoxly to brace his vessel from the impact and use the blade as a platform. And just as Aruna's sword slashed at him a couple of times, he kicked away from the sword despite the gash that it opened up - and unlocked his magic to blast away straight past the demon. He avoided the full combo, but just for a moment, the gaping abyss and Aruna's gaze met.

And the abyss looked back, with something utterly unseen sleeping inside.



And it spoke.

"Mael is alive."

And with a burst of light, the comet boomed to fly away