Chapter 17: Battle of the Century
"What happened?!" a deep voice thundered through the darkness. Stepping into the light, the man in the black cloak growled as he saw Jinenji's dead corpse lying in a pool of blood. Evan was kneeling beside his fallen ally, who had finally (and very, VERY forcefully) been sent back to hell.
"Sir . . . Jinenji is gone. . . . I couldn't help him. . . ." Evan said, a slight edge to his voice.
A pair of serpent-like eyes glowed through the darkness of the man's cowl, a glint of moonlight coming off of a pair of vampyric fangs. "Who did this?" the man growled, his satanic eyes squinting.
"The female demon slayer. She attacked and . . . did something that made me unable to touch her. When I tried . . . I felt such pain as though I was mortally slain upon the end of her halberd. It was so intense that I couldn't move for hours!" Evan explained.
The cloaked man laughed a mirthless, evil rumble that felt was living through a thousand ice ages. "And you call yourself a demon overlord? Don't make me laugh, creature! . . . Oh well, he wasn't really needed anyway. Just a low-level demon knight."
"What was that?!" Evan growled, hopping to his feet. A flash of intense, radiant, fluorescent light erupted from Evan's feet and covered his entire body. When the light faded, Evan stood in a new demon form, his fists clenched, and his eyes glowing a light shade of yellow-green. A gray-silver spike armor covered his body, jetting out into shoulder plates on his shoulders and down his torso in an intricate design. His tail grew longer, spikier, and developed a stinger on the end. His once inch-long claws became three-inch talons of death. His wing span doubled, putting it up to seventeen feet. Finally, his horns grew longer and more curved, with ribbing on the end. He shuddered and looked at the cloaked man nervously.
"It's time, Evan, my Angel of Death. . . ." the cloaked man said gently, an evil grin shining in the moonlight. "It is time for you to relinquish your soul to me, so I may be reborn. With this transformation, you will give me the power to conquer the universe!"
Evan shook his head and took a step back. "No. I won't let you take my soul!"
"What?!"
"BURN IN HELL, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!" Evan shouted, drawing his flaming sword. "You insulted my friend, Molocha-Tenachten. I won't let you get away with it. And besides, I WANT TO RULE THE WORLD ALONE!!! NOT AS YOUR LAP-DOG!!!!" With that shouted, Evan lunged at the cloaked man and caught him around the throat with the searing edge of his blade, sending Molocha-Tenachten's head flying. Blood, thick and viscous, sprayed everywhere as Molocha-Tenachten, the Unknown Assailant, fell to the ground in death. A shining substance rose from his lifeless, twitching body, shimmering like a thousand supernovae. Squinting against the radiance of the light, Evan drew it closer and absorbed it.
Instantly, he was brought to his knees, feeling the unbelievable energy of the absorption. He burned like the heat of a million stars as he threw his arms out and his head back, yelling in the transformation. A dome of energy roughly a mile in diameter surrounded him and shook the very earth he kneeled on. The ground buckled and shattered in great cracks as lightning flashed from overhead. It felt as though the entire world would be torn apart by Evan's transformation. And then, the energy dissipated, leaving a ringing silence and a smothering darkness in its wake. Evan lay on the snow-covered plateau he created, gasping for breath. "N . . . now, your soul is mine, . . . Unknown Assailant."
Cal sat outside, swathed in his black ninja gi. He stood up, reflecting on how things have changed. The chill air stung his cheeks as he looked upward, his hand involuntarily going for the handle of Monosaya, his ninjato katana. "Long has it been since I faced such an enemy. . . ." he said aloud to the shadows. "I beg you, great Lord of Spirits, give me thy strength, the strength of the northern and southern winds, the strength to protect those I love!" With that said, a high wind generated around him, fanning out the loose ninja robes and his dirty-blond hair. "AHH!! I FEEL IT!! THANK THE STARS!!" he bellowed into the darkness of the night as he unsheathed his sword. Twirling it above his head, he lunged into the air and did a series of kata, or blade maneuvers, ending with a twirling figure eight that seemed to cut deep lacerations into the frigid air around him. He landed and twirled around, doing a backslash. "NEVER AGAIN, MIRANDA, SHALL I LET THE INNOCENT FALL TO THE DARKNESS OF HELL!!!" he yelled aloud, his voice echoing off the walls of his house and throughout the neighborhood.
When will I find my answers? Cal asked silently as he slashed downwards and then lifted the sword in a rising uppercut. I've got everything, and yet I feel empty! What is the mystery surrounding Althea and her fall from Heaven? Why am I so fucking clueless?! He did a series of backslashes and side slashes as he ran at his opponent. "YAAAAAIIIII!!!" he shouted, slicing first at where the enemy's ankles would have been, then jumping up in an upward diagonal slash that would have slashed through the core of the enemy's torso, and finally landing again in a downward slash that would have cut the enemy in half vertically.
From the porch, Althea watched her knight train in the arts of swordsmanship and the channeling of energy. He's so determined to get stronger. . . . she reflected as she saw him leap up in a ten-foot back flip that ended with him thrusting the point of his sword forward, directly at where the enemy's neck would have been. She smiled as she hugged herself for comfort. I wish he didn't have to fight anymore. . . . He looks so sick of having to charge into combat against a supernatural foe that he wishes he could be anywhere else than warfare. . . . She walked out of the porch and smiled to Cal warmly. "Why don't you come inside and warm up, darling?" she asked kindly as Cal came down again in a slash that put a large crater in the dirt of the front yard.
Breathing heavily, Cal's eyes flashed in the darkness. "Yeah. . . . I just don't want to put you in a situation like that again, my love. . . . I want to protect you from predators like Evan and Stitch. . . ." He wiped the sweat off of his brow, breathing in gasps. He sheathed his sword and sat down on the snow-covered ground.
Althea walked over to him and slid her arms around his waist, the mist of her breath rising in the icy eventide air. "You work too hard to protect me, Cal. . . . It's more than enough just to know that I have your love with me."
Feeling the shock wave of Evan's transformation, Cal stood up, helping Althea to her feet as well. "What the hell was that?!" he asked as he looked in the direction of the shock wave. He then felt the terrible energy that was expelled from the explosion that he couldn't see.
"It has begun. . . ." Althea whispered as she trembled and held on to Cal like a child that would hold a teddy bear during a scary movie. Cal wrapped his arms around her tightly, feeling her fear and wanting to make it disappear on the spot. "The Assailant has risen."
Cal looked down at her, holding her tightly. "Listen to me, I beg you. Whatever I do, you stay here, where it's safe. Please!"
"No!" Althea said loudly. "I'm not going to let you leave to fight it, do you understand me?!" Tears shimmered in her eyes, one cascading down her fair cheek. She sniffled in Cal's arms, resting her beautiful visage on his chest. "Please. . . . Don't go fight it. I . . . I don't want to lose you. . . ."
Cal looked down at her and held her tightly. "Don't worry. I won't run off until the morning. . . . I love you, Althea. . . . More than words will ever tell. . . ."
"C . . . Cal?"
"I don't want anything bad to happen to you . . . my love. I don't want to go to school and find yellow tape that had been put there by police after finding your body all torn up like Miranda was. . . ." Cal then held her tightly, kissing her on the lips lovingly. Pulling back gently, he looked deep into her eyes as they walked back into the house. "You've been there for me since the beginning of all this. I can never repay you for all that you've done for me. . . ." Together they went into Cal's bedroom. Turning off the lights, Cal undressed and lay down next to the already naked Althea. "You're the angel I've always longed for, Althea." He turned on the light next to his bed. Kneeling, he pulled something out of his drawers, a velvet box. Delicately opening it, Cal looked up at his love and smiled. Pausing, he thought about how he wanted to word how he was going to say what he intended to say. Finally coming up with it, he reached up and kissed her lips delicately, then whispered, "What I'm trying to say is . . . I want to be in your arms until the day I die." He took the object out of the black velvet box and then held her left hand. It was a twenty-four karat golden ring with a large diamond on it. "Will you . . . marry me?"
Althea examined the ring silently. Then she looked at Cal and, suddenly, she threw herself at him, hugging him so tightly that he thought she would break his ribs. She kissed him over and over again, whispering, "Yes! Oh, Cal, yes! Yes, I'll marry you!" Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sobbed out of happiness, her love for Cal was so grand. "Oh, Cal, you've made me so happy!"
Cal French kissed his demoness on the lips gently. "Fuck me!" he whispered as he reached down and gripped Althea's large penis, which was becoming hard as they spoke.
Althea kissed her way down Cal's muscular chest and licked his nipples as she went down on him, making him shudder in delight. Looking up at him lustfully as she undid the fastenings to his black ninja pants, she slowly slid them down to where the leggings were, at the tops of his split-toe tabi boots. She untied the leggings and took off his boots, and then slid the matte black pants off his legs. "I want you so badly!" she moaned as she ripped off his boxers and threw them to the other side of the room.
Cal reveled in his beloved Althea, the gentle light hitting the side of her face in just the right angle to make her look, for lack of a better word, angelic. She leaned forward, and, pinning him against the wall where he lay, she passionately French kissed him on the lips. She then held him to her, whispering in his ear her love for him. Licking his earlobe, she kissed her way down the side of his neck, licking at the muscular dip to his collarbone and then continuing on. She dipped her tongue into his navel and swirled around briefly, spurring a hearty giggle from him. She looked up and their eyes met. "I love you, Cal. . . . I'll never leave you!"
Cal stroked her mane of crimson hair gently as she went down on him. "I'll die before I let anything bad happen to you, my love. . . ." he whispered as he felt her very talented hands grip his penis about its base and slide it into her sensuous mouth.
She first started by gently wrapping her lips about the head of Cal's steel-hard cock, sucking on it like it was the tastiest lollypop on earth. Slowly, her lips and tongue maneuvered their way down the length of his eight-inch longsword until her nose was nestled against the bristles of his pubic mound, the coarse hairs tickling her nose and his scrotum against her chin. She looked up at him again as she slowly moved back and forth, making his cock fuck her mouth. Cal's breath caught in his throat as she lightly massaged his balls and sucked on his cock like there was no tomorrow. And, Cal had to admit; there might NOT be a tomorrow. He moaned in desire as he wove his fingers through her hair gently, feeling her hot breath on his pubic region and enjoying it.
Slowly pulling back off of his love-sickle, Althea looked up at him lustfully. Her saliva glistened on her lips and on Cal's penis in the soft light the lamp on the bedside stand offered. Enjoying the immense look of bliss upon Cal's face as she thought about their first encounter, she smirked and lowered her breasts to his penis, sliding it in between each globe. Since she was working up a sweat from giving him pleasure, the sweat had accumulated in the cleft between her breasts, acting almost like a lubricant. "This is a night you won't forget, my dearest knight in shining armor!" she whispered as she licked the head of his cock as she started to masturbate him through the use of her ample cleavage. Strings of pre-cum laced her magenta lips as she kissed the head of his cock, her own cock dying for release from such erotic fun.
Cal moaned as he felt her entire body take care of him. "Oh, Althea!" he moaned lasciviously as she licked the tip of his penis.
Massaging his testicles with her right hand, she used her left to rake his chest with her fingernails. Cal gently took her hand and sucked on each of the fingers, making Althea's eyes flutter with anticipation. She tit-fucked him for several more minutes, making him breathe heavily, on the verge of an orgasm, and then began once again to suck his cock, using her right hand to tickle the puckered opening to his anus. Sliding her slender fingers through Cal's cleft, she licked her middle finger and bathed it in his pre-cum, and then slowly slid it into his ass. Moaning, Cal arched his back as he tried to get the finger deeper. Letting her finger rest up his butt for a couple moments, she continued to suck on his cock, occasionally wrapping her tongue around its length. She then began finger-fucking him, sliding her index finger in along with her middle one, making Cal groan in delight. Slowly and deliberately thrusting her fingers up Cal's gateway, she curved them so she caressed his prostate through the walls of his bowels, reveling in the silky feel to his insides. That was all Cal could take and he exploded inside her mouth, nearly drowning her with over five ounces of hot, sticky, ropy semen. He arched his back, groaning as his eyes rolled into the back of his head from the pleasure given by her.
Althea licked her lips to get any more cum off of them, loving the taste of his nectar. She swallowed it wantonly, as though she had just tasted the best wine on Earth since the invention of wine. Then she continued to finger-fuck him, continuing to caress his G-spot and making him groan. The look on Cal's face was that of pure ecstasy, and it was all Althea could take. She needed to fuck Cal for all she was worth. Cal looked down at her and sighed, "You're so very beautiful when you look at me that way, my princess. . . ."
Althea moaned and crawled up to kiss him, their genitalia meeting and rubbing together, almost as though caressing each other. She lecherously took Cal's face in her gentle, soft hands and French kissed him, her tongue snaking its way into his mouth to dance with his. The taste of cum was still very fresh in her mouth, and Cal reveled in the carnal desire to get fucked by his ever so beautiful, demonic wife. "Cal. . . ." Althea whispered tenderly as she positioned the head of her bulbous girl cock at the back entrance to his core. She then slowly thrust forward, the head sliding past the ring of Cal's anus with minimal resistance. Cal tensed up and gasped as her length entered him unlubricated, but thanks to her fingering him while giving him a blowjob, he was loose enough that it didn't truly matter. In fact, he enjoyed the roughness as she ever so slowly entered him, inch by agonizing and alluring inch. Slowly, after five or so minutes, she was buried up his ass balls' deep.
He opened his eyes and looked up at Althea, who was gazing down at him lovingly. Her soft, velvety hands gripped him about his hips as she began to make love with him. She wrapped his legs around her waist and moaned as Cal gripped her inside of him like a vice. "You're so exquisitely handsome like that, Cal, my love eternal," she whispered lovingly as she leaned forward to kiss his lips and look into his eyes. She continued thrusting in and out of his stretched ass as she kissed him tenderly, holding his honed, scarred body in her arms tightly. Cal moaned and kissed back passionately, holding her about her waist tightly. His fingers crept back into the cleft of her beautiful ass and began fingering her as she fucked him, making both moan in ecstasy.
Switching positions as both were starting to get rug burns from thrusting back and forth with the other, Cal and Althea hopped on his bed, Althea lying down on the silken bedclothes and Cal straddling her hips. He positioned her cock at the entrance to his butt and sat down on it, thrusting it up into him forcefully. He moaned and arched his back, gyrating his hips as Althea thrust upward to meet his saucy ass. "Oh, Althea! Fuck me!!" Cal moaned as he leaned forward to suck on Althea's breasts. He suckled the right while massaging the left, gently pinching her nipple and making her moan a high-pitched squeal of delight.
Althea arched her back as Cal kneaded her breasts and fucked her cock, feeling about ready to cum like a torrent from the abyss. "Oh, Cal! Uhhhnnn, you always know how to treat me right!" she moaned as she gripped him about his hips and began slamming him down on her rigid, rock-hard tool, making both cry out in ecstasy. Cal arched his back as he came all over her, unable to hold back his orgasm from her talented, long, fat cock impaling itself inside his hungry arse. Althea came from the feeling of Cal's walls contracting as he came, her massive load ejecting into his violated ass with the pressure equal to that of a fire hose. Cal moaned in ecstasy and came again from feeling her cum, arching his back and crying out.
Slowly, both came back from the edge of Heaven and looked into each other's eyes. Cal leaned forward and rested on his lover's breast, sighing and holding her tightly. "I'm the luckiest man in the universe to have you, my angel. . . ." he cooed as he felt her now softening penis exquisitely slowly wither out of his butt, coated in both her own cum and his ass-fuck fluids.
Sighing in delight of such an erotic experience, Althea kissed Cal on the forehead and pulled the covers up on both of them, the delicious warmth generated ever so welcome. Cal rolled off of her and laid his head on her chest, his arm still tightly around her waist. Althea adjusted her wings so that they weren't digging into the small of her back anymore and then settled into the embrace and warmth of Cal, almost purring. "I love you, Cal. . . . I love you so much that . . . . . mere words are inadequate to describe how much I love you," she whispered as Cal looked deep into her argent-metallic eyes. His were filled with an indescribable love that made Althea's heart melt. She gently kissed Cal on the lips and sighed. Snapping her fingers, the lights shut off and they drifted off to sleep.
From outside the window, Tawny and Aria sat in silence, an energy barrier around the both of them. Tawny was in her vampyric form, her wings folded tightly behind her. "See, Aria?" Tawny whispered as she held the dumbstruck girl in her arms gently. "Althea and Cal are happily making love in this fashion almost twice, perhaps three times a day, and still Cal retains his powers. Maybe my theory about God is correct."
Aria looked back at her lover and smiled. "I guess I was just being a silly prude, wasn't I?" she whispered as she kissed Tawny on the cheek. Tawny smiled and held her tightly in her arms.
"We all have our preferences. It just took you awhile to see the beauty of yours, that's all. . . ." Tawny whispered, wrapping her armored cloak around Aria for warmth. All in all, though, she thought as she held Aria tightly, kissing her forehead, before I was a demon slayer, I used to not think all too much of lesbianism. It took me awhile to find it as well. . . .
Aria looked up at Tawny happily. "Shall we let them get some sleep and come over at six, darling?"
Tawny shrugged, the mist of her hot breath rising lazily in the air. She transformed back into her human form, her left eye remaining the glowing, vampyric slit in the darkness of the very early morning. "Yeah. We have a big day tomorrow. . . ." She got up and helped Aria up. "Say, what time is it?"
"It's four o'clock or so. . . . We should get some sleep as well," Aria said as she checked the skyline, which was starting to shift from black to dark violet, signifying the coming of the next day. Sliding an arm around Tawny's waist, the two walked back to Aria's red sportscar and got in, leaving Cal's house and driving back to their own abode. Aria still had some rather confused thoughts, but at least she knew that she wasn't alone, thanks to Tawny. She smiled and gazed over at her lover longingly as she drove through the deserted streets back to the marina. "A lot of good things happened tonight. . . ." she said, almost as an afterthought as she returned her gaze to the road.
Tawny looked over at her lovingly. "Yeah. . . . But, some very bad things happened tonight as well, darling. . . . Tomorrow, well, tomorrow we'll see who wins: us, or Evan. . . . You know, I'm glad that we made love. . . . I've wanted you since we first met, and, since tomorrow we may die, I'm glad we could be together, if only for just a brief period of time. . . ."
Aria sighed and gazed over at her happily. "Me too. . . . If we make it through this, I'll at least have figured something out from this whole painful scenario, that I'm in love with you. . . ."
Tawny leaned over and embraced her, resting her head on her shoulder as she slid her arms around her waist. "I'm in love with you too, Aria. . . ." The two drove back to her place in silence, just enjoying each other's company.
Parking in her driveway, Aria yawned as an overwhelming wave of exhaustion took hold of her. She looked over at her lover and smiled to her. "Come on, Tawny," she whispered as she stroked Tawny's mane of platinum-blond hair gently. "Let's go to bed. . . . A big day awaits us when we awaken."
The day shone painfully bright through the windows as the infernal screeching of Cal's alarm clock awoke them from their short rest. Eyes bloodshot and hair disheveled, Cal reached over and shut it off as he looked about the lifting gloom of his bedroom. Althea lay next to him, still clutching onto him tightly and in the middle of a dream she was having. The digital alarm clock read 5:06 AM, and, realizing that it was still very early, Cal just settled back into the warmth of the covers and Althea's embrace, letting the almost hypnotic rhythm of her breathing soothe the worries he still had in his heart. This might be the last time we spend together. . . . he thought as he rolled over in his sleep, looking at his beloved's sleeping, tranquil, angelic face and sighing, the thought of being separated from her almost too much to endure. I'm glad I proposed to her, before it was too late. . . . I don't want anything bad to happen, so . . . I must face my destiny alone. Just like how this whole mess started, I must finish it by myself. . . .
Althea rolled over in her sleep, the gentle curves of her very beautiful and slender body outlined by the dark blue of the silken bedclothes, her mane of thick crimson hair and pair of ribbed horns leaving impressions in the soft pillow she rest her head on. "Cal. . . ." she moaned in her sleep as she clutched Cal around his waist more tightly. Cal sighed and held her tightly, feeling loving warmth radiate from her sleeping form. I can't let her go out against an enemy like the Unknown Assailant. . . . Cal thought as he felt Althea's breath catch in her throat briefly. "Cal . . . come back. . . ." she moaned again, a fearful nuance to her voice this time.
Cal looked at her, seeing an almost tangible look of horror to her sleeping face. She's dreaming about me. . . . Cal thought as he looked down upon his sleeping angel lovingly. Gosh, I really must be important to her if she's dreaming about me like this. . . . That settles it. I'm not going to bring either her or Aria and Tawny to my fight. It's my fight and mine alone. I won't involve them. God knows that they don't want to face him anyway. . . . Smirking, Cal kissed Althea on the forehead and slowly removed her arms, making sure not to wake her. She moaned in her sleep as she clutched at the air, so Cal put his pillow in her arms so she might think he was still there. He dressed in his usual black attire and then got his trench coat on. Lacing up his boots, he tied his ninjato katana to his back and got up, getting black fingerless gloves that had metal mesh around the knuckles on. He then looked back down at his love and whispered, "Althea . . . you've been great. . . . I pray to the Almighty that when you awaken, the world won't be destroyed." Sighing, he blew a kiss to her and then left the bedroom, being as stealthy as he could so as not to wake her and thus not be able to fight the Unknown Assailant.
His mother sat at the table, drinking coffee and reading a book, her hair a mess. She looked up with some amiable surprise to see Cal already up and dressed. "Good morning, Cal. . . ." she said as she scrutinized him curiously. "So, what're you doing up this early? And what's with being armed?"
Cal walked over and hugged his mother one last time. "I'm going off to . . . do an errand. If Althea comes up looking for me, tell her my destiny called, and also tell her that I love her dearly."
"What? What's going on, Cal? What do you mean, `your destiny called?'" his mother asked curiously, a hint of mild worry gracing her face.
Cal sighed and looked back at her. "Watch the news. They should be reporting it as we speak, mother." He waved and smirked arrogantly, then said, "I'm going off to save the universe! See ya in Hell!" With that said, he ran off to his jeep, grabbing his keys and wallet as he went.
"WAIT!" his mother called after him as he hopped into his jeep, started the ignition, and tore out of there, leaving a patch of molten rubber on the driveway. "CAL!! WHAT DI D YOU MEAN, `SEE YOU IN HELL?!'" She sighed and walked back into the house. She walked over into the living room and turned on the television and indeed, a News Flash Special Report was on.
"Here we are in Ground Zero, Downtown Andale, where someone or something is attacking the city, threatening the lives of everyone!" the news reporter exclaimed. A tremendous explosion sounded and lit up the darkened background behind her, throwing debris everywhere and knocking the cameraman over. "This is bad! The police force and Andale Militia is giving this . . . this demon everything they've got, but the creature keeps coming back for-AAAAHHHH!!!" the newswoman was ripped out of the screen and torn to shreds, and then the camera was picked up. Evan's demonic face filled the screen.
"LISTEN, YOU PUNY LITTLE MORTALS! JOIN ME OR DIE!!" he growled, showing off his fangs and making his yellow-green serpent-eyes flash ominously. "THE END OF THE WORLD IS NIGH! YOUR DESTINY EITHER LIES WITH ME OR IN PIECES AND BURNING TO A BLACKENED HUSK!"
Cal's mother put her hand to her mouth in shock. "Oh my God!" she whispered, her breath catching in her throat. She then realized where Cal was going. "CAL!"
Ground Zero was in chaos. Those who were awake and at work or whatever were running for their lives as Evan, now an unstoppable demon overlord, ravaged the city at his leisure. "FOOLS! YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! IF YOU JOIN ME, YOU LIVE FOREVER!!!"
Several stopped running. One man, a teenager with dyed blue hair, walked up to him and kneeled before Evan. "My lord, spare me and I'll do your bidding without a second thought. . . ." the man said, not looking up.
"What is your name, mortal?" Evan growled, looking down at the quivering human with a distracted sort of amusement. "Never mind. I'll give you a new name. From now on, you'll be addressed as `Frost'."
"Th, thank you, my master. . . ." Frost groveled, kissing Evan's clawed, scaly feet.
With a wave of his hand, Frost was instantly transformed into a medium-level demon knight, complete with a mane of shaggy azure hair, a pair of foot-long V-like horns, a light spike armor, and a pair of leathery, bat-like wings. His eyes glowed cerulean in the pre-dawn gloom. Evan laughed and growled, "Now, Frost, you are immortal. I've given you the abilities of ice manipulation and the ability to convert others! Now GO!"
"AT ONCE, MY LIEGE!!!" Frost growled, spreading his wings and taking off. With a wave of his hand, he froze the entire street, including those that were running away from Evan's onslaught. "YOU, ALL OF YOU! YOU WILL JOIN MY MASTER AND I IN TAKING OVER THIS WORLD!!" He waved his hand again and shattered the ice around the people who were caught in the blast, turning them into low-level demon foot soldiers. The soldiers had no will of their own; no sentience, just existence. They looked almost like rams that walked on hind legs, with helix-like horns, a visage like that of a lion's, powerful hind legs whose feet had four-inch claws on them, and had a strong tail that had razor-sharp spikes on the end. Their arms were very muscular and had eight-inch claws on them, and their eyes were like that of a serpent's, with a slit for a pupil and the rest glowing red.
Frost looked back at his master. "What should you have me do with them, my lord?" he asked, flapping his wings to keep airborne.
Evan thought about it. "Have them tear this section of town down and build me a castle! And make the castle drawbridge out of the bones of everyone who disobeys me!" And so, the legions of darkness descended upon the hapless metropolitan area like a plague of locusts. People ran for their lives and were hunted down by the demon foot soldiers like so many foxes during a foxhunt. However, the demons' claws had an interesting effect to those they inflicted injury upon. Instead of dying, like would have been the norm, the victims transformed into more foot soldiers, more mindless beings to aid Frost and Evan in their quest for domination of the world.
When Cal arrived at the sight of battle, it was swarming with legions of evil and mindless demons. "Well, this will be interesting, won't it?" he asked himself as he hopped out of his jeep. He drew his sword and, channeling his energy into its razor edge, he blessed it with the energy of God and then looked over at the demons. "What the hell are they doing?" It looked as though they were constructing some sort of bizarre monolith out of the pavement and asphalt harvested from the street. Each demon foot soldier had a look of mindless and very ardent religious fervor as the creatures tore chunks of the black asphalt and tar concoction from the ground and plastered it onto the side of the great obelisk they were constructing. Shrugging, Cal smirked and pointing his glowing sword at the horde of creatures from Hell. "HEY, DEMONS! FRESH MEAT!!" he bellowed as a thousand glowing, serpentine eyes snapped to his direction. Waving the sword in front of him in a circle, Cal erected a barrier around him and then lunged at the mindless minions of Evan and Frost.
"DIDCHKA FRIESH CATROCKLAITEN-DE!!!" one of them howled as his flesh met the glowing edge of Cal's sword. The demon dropped, twitching and bleeding, and then disintegrated on the spot. The others closed in as Cal let his blood lust control his right arm. Dodging slashes left and right, Cal slammed the blade of his ninjato against the ground and a line of energy erupted through the cracked asphalt as it headed for several demons at once, exploding at their feet and sending them up into the air. Arms flailing and feet kicking in all directions, the demons landed on top of others, all disintegrating.
"FURDA KUON WALAKAITEN FUJIRODENTOACKE!!!!" another screamed as Cal sliced off its head, sending it flying through the air and dissolving as it crashed into the side of the monolith.
"COME GET SOME!!" Cal bellowed as his energy flashed, sending an aura out through his sword and slashing some across the face, leaving an ugly little blemish on their cheeks. "YOU WANT TO TAKE OVER EARTH!?! WELL, YOU'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME FIRST!!!" And so, he continued slicing up demons as they came at him. One grabbed the fringe of his trench coat, pulling him back and throwing him up into the air. However, Cal quickly countered it by slicing the air with his energy-charged sword, sending a tremendous crescent of energy at the creature, the crescent cutting the beast in half and cracking the pavement as it slammed into the ground. Landing on the demon's crumbling corpse, Cal then started a kata that was applicable in the heat of battle, slicing three or four demons across the face at once and jumping up into the air, doing a back-flip and landing on a derelict car's hood. He then jumped up twenty feet or so and, channeling his energy into the tip of his sword, he did a series of forward flips that sent crescents of energy everywhere, killing demon foot soldiers by the scores. He then landed and sliced three more at their ankles and knees, making the poor, mindless, helpless creatures fall to their deaths on the cracked, torn asphalt.
Breathing heavily, Cal straightened up to see that the demon minions were still charging him, the blank look of mindless fervor ever-present upon their faces. "Shit, this is hopeless!" he said as he slammed his sword into the ground again and sent a line of powerful energy at them, blowing up three or four dozen at a time. "At this rate, I'm never going to be able to muster up the strength to kill Evan if I waste it on these bastards!"
He fought on, however, realizing that he wasn't just fighting for his own benefit, but the benefit of everyone he knew, and also for the benefit of everyone he didn't know. The demons just kept coming, mindless and powerful, with talons that would turn him into one of them if they slashed him, and there was no end in sight to the horde. Cal realized, too late, that this was the reason why Althea and Aria didn't want him to go this one solo. The demon minions were too many, and he was only one powerful Divine Soldier. Cutting dozens of demons across the chest and then down across their left collarbone, Cal started to get desperate. The demons were getting closer and closer to him, and no matter how hard he tried to fight them, they were starting to win.
That was when a beam of bright fluorescent energy caromed into the core of the horde, blowing up dozens of the frenzied creatures in an instant. Both Cal and the demons looked to see what happened, and, standing on the top of the roof of the apartment complex was none other than Fen. "Hey there, Divine Soldier Lillehammer! Look's like you could use some help!" With that said, Fen drew his Shamshir sabre and leapt off the roof, diving into the center next to Cal, slicing five or six apart as he landed.
"You're most welcome here, my friend!" Cal said, wondrous relief flooding his every sense. And so, the two warriors began to fight off the horde of demons, Fen rejuvenating Cal's spent energy and charging it into his sabre as well. He then did a triple blade tornado at the attacking demons, his slashes dropping demons by the dozens. Cal smirked and lunged at the demons on his side and slashed downward, upward, to the left and right, and diagonally in consecutive intervals, carving a path through them and killing them off by the scores.
"So, Cal," Fen began as he sliced an arm off of an attacking demon, "what the hell were you thinking, going off and fighting this legion by your lonesome? You're a veteran! You should know better!"
"I didn't want to put Althea in this kind of danger! I left while she was sleeping," Cal gasped as he twirled his sword above his head and sent a tremendous cyclone of razor-sharp energy at the demons. The blade cyclone devoured them and slammed the others against the walls of the ruined buildings and the monolith, killing off them by the hundreds. "I proposed to her last night and she said yes. So, I don't want my beloved to be involved in this kind of fracas, so I sneaked out when I awoke. What about you!?"
"I came as soon as I saw the news flash. . . . Take that, you son of a belligerent, bestiality-obsessed whore!" he growled as he did an uppercut slash that lifted five or six demons up off the ground besides the target demon. He then slammed them down into the ground and smashed the razor edge of his sabre into the pavement, making them explode with cries of agony. He looked back at Cal. "Is it me, or are the demons starting to retreat?"
Indeed, Fen's assumption was correct. The hordes of demons were starting to recede, almost like how the tide lowers during low tide on a deserted, rocky beach. Several growled and others took off running on all fours, looking like tremendous, satanic gorillas as they left. "Huh! What cowards!" Cal smirked as he twirled his sword and sheathed it. Fen wiped the sweat off of his brow with the back of his hands, taking off his insectoid sunglasses to do so.
"Whew! What a workout!" Fen said as he put his sabre back in its sheath.
"No kidding! I'd been fighting them off for about fifteen minutes before you showed up! I was beginning to wear out from doing all I could to not get slashed by them."
"Heh. . . . Wise of you, ninja-boy. If you got slashed by them, you would have transformed into one of them, and then I'd have to kill you. . . ." Fen said condescendingly.
"Yeah, I knew that. Why else would I go through such trouble to avoid their talons?" Cal asked sardonically as he wiped the sweat off his face. "So, now what?"
"Now, we find their master and kill him," Fen commented, walking up to Cal and clapping him on the back. "So, when're you gonna have the wedding?"
Cal shrugged. "Dunno. Soon, that's all I can say, man. . . ."
The two walked through the deserted streets, an ominous gloom hanging stagnantly in the air, almost like a foul stench that refused to dissipate. "Well, I guess we took care of all of them. . . . Let's go find that son of a bitch Evan and end the legacy of the Unknown Assailant once and for all!" Fen said enthusiastically. And so, the two warriors set off into ruins of the city to find Evan, the lightening skyline signaling the arrival of the next day.
The deserted streets were filled with corpses of dead humans and demons alike. The sidewalks were stained red and festered, like a wound that had been open for too long. "Damn, this is terrible!" Cal said as he looked around at the damage done by Evan's rampage.
"Indeed it is," said a voice from behind Cal. "You see, Cal, this is the work done by a man who has lost all sense of self. Your dear sweet Evan no longer considers himself by that identity any longer. Now, he is a danger to everything."
"Who said that?" Cal asked, drawing his sword and looking around wearily. Fen also drew his sabre and turned in the direction of the voice.
What arose from the ashes of the burned-out street was a translucent being, in the form of a fourteen-year-old girl with raven hair and pale skin (more pale because of her translucence.) She had a round, oval face that was pervading with innocence. "I did," the shade said.
Cal recognized her almost instantly. "M . . . Miranda?!" he breathed, dropping his katana on the ground carelessly. Fen sheathed his sabre and folded his arms, observing Cal walk up to his former ally and lover. "I . . . is it really you, Miranda?"
Miranda nodded grimly. "Yes," she whispered as Cal hugged her gently, his arms nearly going through her formless body.
"I . . . I missed you, love. . . ." Cal said as he looked down into her glowing eyes. "We all have. . . ."
"And I missed you, Cal. . . ." the ghost said, caressing the side of Cal's face as she looked up into his eyes warmly. The contact between the two made Cal shiver involuntarily. "But, my time here is short. I must first tell you about what Evan has become."
"We know," Fen said, shrugging. "Evan's been possessed by the Unknown Assailant, giving the demon all its power."
Miranda shook her head, her raven hair bobbing from side to side. "No, that's not quite it, my Divine Knights. . . . Early this morning, it started with the death of Jinenji, or Stitch. Tawny slew Jinenji in a very vulgar fashion, by first paralyzing him and Evan, and then dissecting Jinenji while he was still alive. Well, fast-forward about four hours, and Evan is just regaining control of his body, and that is when the demon Molocha-Tenachten arrives to see why Jinenji died."
"Who's Molocha-Tenachten?" Cal asked.
"He is the Unknown Assailant." Miranda looked up at the slowly brightening sky, her pale, slim, glowing figure accented by the faintest of halos. "Well, Molocha-Tenachten insulted Evan's friend, and sent Evan into an apocalyptic rage. Realizing that he was strong enough that he didn't need Molocha-Tenachten, Evan killed him and absorbed his soul."
"So? That's the same as being possessed, isn't it?" Fen asked condescendingly.
"No. Not at all. It is much worse than getting possessed, because you don't draw off of the spirit's energy, but rather absorb it into your own psyche. This process makes you much, MUCH stronger than by ordinary possession. It's called Spiritial Assimilation, and now, Evan Johnson is an almost unstoppable force. . . ."
"Spiritial Assimilation. . . ." Cal echoed as he thought about it. Miranda caressed the side of his face lovingly one more time.
"Tell the others that I will always be with them, dear Cal. . . . And I will always be with you as well." The beautiful, mournful spirit looked at Fen. "Keep trying, Fen. I'm sure she will forgive you one day."
Fen nodded his head. "I hope so, Yoko. Rest at peace for all eternity, and we will think of you and your strength when a situation like this arises."
Miranda blew a kiss to Cal. "Take care, Cal," she whispered as she started to fade. "Take care now and forevermore, beloved noble knight of God. I'll be there for the wedding, though you won't see me." And so, Miranda's spirit vanished with the veil of smoke coming from the ruins of Town Square.
Cal knelt and sighed, closing his eyes. "'Ey, you alright?" Fen asked as he walked up to Cal, laying a hand on his shoulder and squeezing encouragingly.
"She was a good person. . . ." Cal said quietly, his eyes shut tightly as he knelt on the shattered asphalt, taking in the sting of the cold air around him.
"Yes she was. . . ." Fen agreed. "I've been chasing her for years now, and I'm glad she's finally at peace with the rest of the world. Now she can be with her lover Ayame in the glory of Heaven, if they let her in. . . ."
Cal looked back at Fen, a slight tinge of irritation to his steely glare. "Of course they let her in, you moron! Didn't you see the halo about her ethereal form?"
Fen shrugged. Just then, there was a loud clapping coming from the east, echoing off the fragmented and decimated walls of the fallen buildings. "That was quite a show, wasn't it?! WELL DONE!!!" Evan flapped his gigantic leathery wings, his flaming sword hanging limply in his right hand, his eyes glowing with malice. Frost was at his right side, grinning maniacally. "It must have been quite a thrill for you two! Did you enjoy yourselves, fighting off a legion of darkness again?"
"EVAN!" Cal barked, grabbing his katana and Fen drawing his again. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS NEEDLESS DESTRUCTION!!"
Evan threw his head back in a loud, raucous, demonic laughter that was filled to the brim with criminally insane hatred. "YOU FOOL!" Evan yelled. "Why don't you see the beauty of what I'm trying to create here, Cal? Are you too blind to see that this all serves a higher purpose?"
"Go fuck your higher purpose, you little faggot," Fen growled. "I don't have the same ideals as my man Cal here does, but I still fight for justice. To me, you're just another paycheck, and if I need to be, I'm very entrepreneurial when it comes to my job!" he pointed his sabre at the two and flicked it back and forth threateningly. "Come on! Show me what you got!"
"GLADLY!!" Evan growled, diving out of the air at an unfathomable speed border lining on the speed of light, towards the demon slayer, his flaming sabre at the ready. The crimson-gold inferno surrounding the blade trailed behind the descent as Evan impaled Fen on the end of the sword right through the stomach. Fen gasped and shuddered as he felt the fiery sword of death slice through his insides.
"FEN!!!" Cal yelled, running to the aid of his comrade in arms.
Using the last of his strength, Fen swiped at Evan, cutting him along the arm deeply. He then slid off the end of the sword, blood gushing out of the grievous stab-wound. Cal wrapped his arms around his ally, looking into his eyes fearfully. Looking up at Cal, he gasped, "T, tell Tawny . . . I'll t, take my l, love for her to th, the grave. . . ." Fen sighed and his eyes dulled, rolling up into the back of his head as he died.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!" Cal screamed, a malignant wrath flooding his heart and making his eyes glow with energy. He then looked vengefully at the demon master Evan, who shrugged.
"What a pussy! I certainly wouldn't die from one simple stab wound to the gut. . . . Oh well. What can one expect from a lowly demon slayer, huh Frost?" Evan asked his underling as he laughed, seeing the fallen demon slayer's body as a prelude to his domination of Earth.
Cal got up, grabbing Fen's sabre in his left hand. "You . . . you will DIE!!!" he bellowed, lunging at Evan with the two swords. Frost stepped in the way.
"Let me take this cretin, my lord. He's nothing to you, so sit back and watch the fun!!"
Evan shrugged, folding his arms in front of his chest and flapping his wings leisurely to a height of perhaps thirty feet. "What the hell? I need some good entertainment anyway. . . ."
"Thank you, my liege. . . ." Frost said gratefully, turning his head back to Cal, whose energy was coming off of him in long tendrils that made it look like he was on fire. "Come on, mortal! Show me what you got!"
Needing no more incentive to slice down the creature, Cal lunged at the demon knight, slashing first at his face with the Shamshir sabre and then, with his ninjato, he uppercut him along the center of his torso. A large gash spilt blood down Frost's clothes and onto the ground as he looked on in shock. "MASTER! You said I was immortal! Why am I bleeding?!" he hastily ducked a slash that would have decapitated him if he didn't act evasively.
"I lied."
"WHAT!?!?" Frost howled.
"You must have been arrogant to face Cal, so I let you. I need not your help, Frost. I just wanted to test out my influence. IT WORKED QUITE WELL, WOULDN'T YOU SAY?!" With that said, Evan waved his hand and Frost caught on fire, howling and screaming in torment as the flames licked the demonic spike armor clean off of his skin, and then the skin clean off of his bones.
"You're a very evil person, Evan," a voice growled from behind him. Turning his head, he saw Tawny flying towards him, holding the halberd in her right hand and her left clenched tightly. Aria and Althea were on the ground, running towards Cal.
"What are you doing here?" Cal asked curiously as he looked at the two. He then realized that he was in deep shit with Althea, seeing the frosty glare coming from her glowing silver eyes.
"Likewise, Cal. . . ." Althea grumbled, her fists clenched angrily.
"I didn't want you to fight him, damn it! Go back home, all of you! This is between Evan and me!" Cal said exasperatedly.
"If Evan has a thing against you, he has a thing against me as well!" Althea countered, gazing at Cal compassionately.
"Our battle is destined to be intertwined, Cal, so just get used to it! You didn't act this way when we fought against Aukos, so why are you acting this way when we're fighting against an enemy we know?!" Aria asked offensively.
"That was up on the Astral Plane, where when you die, if your line isn't cut, you just wake up hurting! Here, though, if you die, you DIE!" Cal growled, looking at her in an irritated sort of way. "I don't want that to happen to any of you! Don't you see that?"
Aria sighed and shrugged. "Darling, get down here and help us reason with our thick-skulled leader!" she called up to Tawny, who was glaring evilly at Evan.
With that said, Tawny flew down and landed next to Aria, her eyes narrowed with the preparation of killing again. "Look, Cal," she began, almost gently, "we're your friends. We're not about to let you face this shit by yourself, so just let us be here, all right? We'll let you charge Evan first, but we're going to remain here, just in case he is too powerful for you." She grabbed Cal's hand and squeezed it tightly. "We all believe in you, Cal. We just want to watch you save the world again. Do you understand?"
Cal shrugged, smirking. "I guess so. . . . I just don't want you guys to become casualties of this war, like Fen was. . . ."
"F, Fen. . . ?" Tawny echoed, a slight tone of worry to her voice. "Wh, where is he?" Cal pointed to his dead corpse, lying in a pool of his blood off to the side of the destroyed thoroughfare. "N, no. . . !" she whispered, walking up to him and kneeling, picking up his cold right hand.
"His last words were about you, Tawny," Cal whispered, kneeling down and laying a hand on the small of her back. "He said, `Tell Tawny I'll take my love for her to the grave.' He thought of you in the last moments of his life, so please don't waste his sacrifices by running into this battle against Evan and I. . . ."
Aria kneeled on Tawny's other side, holding her hand tightly. "Are you alright?" she whispered gently as Tawny's eyes glazed from holding back tears.
Wiping her eyes on the back of her hand, she looked at Cal and growled, "Kill him, Cal. Kill him for all the people he's slaughtered meaninglessly and all the dreams he's shattered this morning! Kill him for Fen and for everyone who won't be going home to their loved ones tonight!"
Cal nodded and patted her comfortingly on the small of her back. "I plan to kill him for many more reasons than those you just stated. I'll kill him for commanding Jinenji to slay Miranda as well, and for his betrayal of light!" He looked back at Evan, who was leisurely waiting for them to attack. "YOU! PREPARE YOURSELF, EVAN! IT'S TIME WE FINISHED THIS!!"
"BRING IT ON, `BROTHER!!!'" Evan bellowed, swishing his flaming sword and causing a vortex-like emission of flame and heat from the inferno sword he wielded.
And so, Cal lunged up into the air, the glow from his sword trailing behind him as he slashed upward at Evan's face, Evan blocking with his sword and knocking Cal's off to the side. Cal did an aerial back flip as he dodged an upward slash from Evan, the tip of the blade nearly scalping him as he landed on the ground. He got up, looking up at the flying demon and motioned for him to attack. Evan smirked and dove downward and parried, making Cal have to dodge quickly or end up like Fen. Sidestepping the thrust, Cal slashed Evan's right wing along the leathery membrane, cutting clean through the skin and slashing again at his tail. Evan growled and whipped his tail around Cal's feet, tripping him and lifting him up into the air, making him drop his sword. Looking at him, Evan started laughing. "Not too bad, for a mortal!" he laughed, trying to cut Cal in half. Cal, however, threw a beam of energy at Evan's eyes, blinding him temporarily and making him drop him to the ground. Rolling toward his ninjato, Cal lunged at the incapacitated demon lord. "YOU FUCK! MY EYES, MY EYES!! GOD, MY EYES!!!" he wailed as he clutched them tightly.
Taking advantage of Evan's weakness, Cal sliced upward along his spike-armored torso, cutting a deep gash into the satanic armor, but not penetrating it. Evan opened his eyes briefly, enough that he could throw an attack, and slashed out at Cal, who had to block the large, fiery sword with his ninjato or get cut along the throat. Sparks jumped from the opposing energies and the ground between the two warriors shattered with the explosion of power that sent both Cal and Evan skidding backwards for about ten feet each. "You had to go and piss me off, didn't you, Evan?" Cal growled as he lunged for a second pass. Evan blinked and saw Cal's thrust just in time, knocking the tip of the deadly blade out of his way with his sword. "Your sins must be atoned for, with your very own essence!" Cal then slammed the tip of the ninjato into the ground, blasting a line of energy at Evan's feet. He sent multiple blasts towards him, each blast exploding with grim accuracy at Evan's feet, making him drop his flaming sword and fly upwards to a height of perhaps a hundred feet. He flailed in agony as the energy coursed through him, making him shudder and try to counteract it.
Finally mastering the disabling energy at the apex of his ascent into the sky, Evan balanced out his fall with using his wings, though they were only slightly more useful than trying to use a rock to fly with. He channeled his energy into the palm of his hands and threw several beams of energy at Cal, who had to dodge hastily. The first wave crashed into the pavement and completely liquefied the fragments into molten globs of cement and tar. Dodging the second wave, Cal was hit by the third wave, blasting him into the side of the gigantic monolith the demon minions were trying to build. The thing split in half as Cal crashed through it, landing on the other side and skidding to a stop right in front of the curb that belonged to the store Eclipse.
"CAL!!" Althea screamed worriedly.
Five minutes passed and Cal still had not returned. "Huh, looks like he's dead. . . . Oh well. Who'll miss him anyway?" Evan asked humorously as a beam of energy flew down at him. He hastily dodged it and said, "Wha, what the. . . ?"
"No, I'm not dead, you bastard!" a voice growled. Cal stood atop the monolith, covered in lacerations, bruises, and the like. His trench coat was torn from the energy blast, blood trickled down the left corner of his mouth, and a large cut ran from just above his hairline on the right side of his face all the way down through his eye to his chin. Another crossed at the center of his cheek, making an "X" on his face just under his right eye. Both wounds bled grievously. His energy flowed from his matte-black form in large tendrils, making him look like he was on fire.
"You're alive, I'll give you credit for that. . . ." Evan growled, smirking. "Looks like we both got powerful in the past days, huh, my once dear friend?"
"We were friends in another life. Not anymore. Your sins are unforgivable! Not only did you ruin my life not more than three weeks ago, but also you have endangered my friends, both old and new! You've slain enough this day, demon, and now it is time for you to rest!" Cal growled, clutching his side painfully. He pointed his sword at Evan, an evil glint to his eye.
"This is the Calvin Lillehammer we know up on the plane who slew Aukos!" Aria whispered to Tawny and Althea, enraptured by Cal's bravery and his ability to stand up to a villain who could easily destroy the entire human race within a matter of days.
"If I'm so evil, Cal, then how come I'm of a Light energy signature? You, dear Cal, you are the dark one!" Evan growled, a toothy grin splitting his face.
"Darkness is not evil! It is merely the absence of light!" Cal countered. "Enough of this! It's time for you to meet your boss!" With that shouted, Cal leapt off of the top of the monolith, diving with an unfathomable speed at Evan. "ONE MORE PASS WILL ENSURE THAT ONE OF US WILL DIE, EVAN!! YOU READY?!!"
"'TIS TIME FOR YOUR DEMISE, MY FRIEND!" Evan shouted, his blood lust fueling his charge towards his enemy.
The two swords connected, and in an explosion of energy, Cal was on the other side of Evan, their backs turned towards each other. Then both collapsed to the ground. "NO!" Althea screamed as she ran to Cal. A tremendous gash split his side, bleeding freely all over the ground. Evan twitched and looked over at Cal. "Heh. . . ." he gasped, lying down on the shattered cement near a ruined fountain of the city's founders. "N, not bad, my friend. . . . Not bad . . . at all. . . ." Those were Evan's last words, for the cut to him had been a lethal one. His crimson blood flowed out onto the ground, dissolving the pavement because of its lethal potency. His horned, scaly head lay down on the ground as his eyes went blank.
A dome of energy erupted from the now dead Evan and it encompassed the major metropolitan area of the city, fading out the walls with the intensity of the light expelled. "AAHHHHH!!!!" Althea, Tawny, and Aria screamed as the iridescent, warm energy enveloped them like a second skin. The light energy covered Cal as well, making him a silhouette thanks to his shadow energy signature. He looked up, clutching his wound tightly. It began healing almost immediately, thanks to the light energy passing through him.
The dome of energy grew in size to about perhaps nine or ten miles in diameter, reaching a height of over four miles into the sky. Everywhere faded out in the expulsion of energy, the light reaching the farthest reaches of the world. The light was seen all the way up in Siberia and down in New Zealand, the intensity was so powerful. After about an hour, the energy dissipated into the morning sky, leaving a mammoth crater in its wake. Cal got up, hurting like nothing else he had ever felt, but at the same time, feeling content. Althea was crouched on the ground, her head between her legs and her wings folded up tightly against her horns as she slowly looked up at her fiance. He looked down at her and offered her a hand up. She grasped it and Cal hauled her to her feet. The sun shone through the clouds, casting an ever-welcome light about the crater, catching its brim just right to cast a gentle shadow about everyone and everything within the impact mark. A chill breeze met them as Tawny helped Aria to her feet, kissing her lovingly. It was going to be a beautiful day.