Chapter 24 : Stop. Darting
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How long could he actually hold on? He could already feel his focus and strength failing him, as the creature's sharp fangs slowly sunk into the flesh of his arm.
The slow pace of the creature biting down causing inexplicable pain to radiate like strobing agony throughout his right arm and up his nerves.
Right as Vin began to slow down, his futile kicking finally easing, a blur of black and stark blue crossed his vision. From the other end of the aisle, Xenovia came blitzing down, sword in hand.
As she reached the creature, her free hand grabbed one of its hind legs, using it as a handle to lift up it's torso as she dashed by. Mercilessly, Xenovia swung her Excalibur deep into the stray's exposed underbelly, bisecting the creature in two in a gory display of lethality.
The deep, dark scarlet, nearly black blood of the beast sprayed over both Vin and Xenovia, as she came skidding to a stop. Darting back over to Vin, Xenovia wordlessly abandoned her sword, using both her hands to grab the lips of the creature, and pull the jaws out of Vin's arm.
Weakly, Vin covered his arm in a fresh layer of crystals to temporarily stop the bleeding, before looking up, his vision and hearing both hazy from the overwhelming pain and the loss of blood.
Despite that, as Vin looked up at his savior: her breathing uneven, her blue and green hair matted down by sweat and stained by black blood, her face making the most genuine expression he'd ever seen her make, even if it was one of worry mixed with relief; his foggy, delirious, adrenaline-riddled mind made one final conclusion.
At that very moment, Vin had never seen a woman so beautiful in his entire life.
...And then the world went dark.
First off, we see the introduction of the Excalibur's in this chapter. I wanted to do this for a while, so it's great to finally be able to do this.
Now, some of you may have read this chapter and already come to this conclusion, but let me just make it official. Yes, all the Exorcist-Babies use a different Excalibur Fragment.
They don't always get them, but when they get approval from the higher-ups, they're brought out of a secure vault. Now, let me do a bit of minor spoiling, as I reveal what Excalibur belongs to each person.
Xenovia - Excalibur Destruction
Irina - Excalibur Mimic
Ethan - Excalibur Rapidly
Vanessa - Excalibur Transparency
Jafar - Excalibur Blessing
Ezekiel - Excalibur Nightmare
Now, Vin would get Excalibur Ruler, but… well, it's lost, and currently belongs to a certain member of the Vali Team, so… yeah. The other notable detail is with Ezekiel.
I thought it'd be cute if people thought that prolonged use of Excalibur Nightmare makes him hallucinate, and that Sinclair, the magic fuckin' sword dragon is actually just a figment of Ezekiel's imagination.
It's still up in the air if Sinclair is actually real or not, by the way. I know the answer, but you won't until I think it's appropriate to reveal. So… maybe never,
I dunno. Also, when they don't have access to their Excalibur's, the Exorcist-Babies use blessed/weapons of light, sort of like how Freed would. That's what you were seeing Irina, Ezekiel, and Jafar use in this chapter.
[Augustus the Stray Devil]
Next up, the first encounter with a stray devil! The stray devil named Augustus. Yes, it's an Augustus Gloop reference from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
It was the first name that came to mind. Also, his design, especially with the ribcage jaws was heavily inspired by Gluttony from Fullmetal Alchemist.
[Unnamed Stray Devil]
The other stray devil that Vin 'fights' (or fails to), is inspired by a mixture of things, but mainly the Lickers from Resident Evil 2, and the 'Nobody' enemies from Devil May Cry 1 and 5.
[Dulio Easter Egg]
During the shower scene, we get a bit of backstory about Ethan and Vanessa, and yes, it was Dulio who saved them. He was on his way to get some good cheese, or something, and found them.
The guy has a soft spot for orphaned children, so that's why he stuck around so long. It's just a little Easter egg/reference for those paying attention, not much more.
[That's one hell of a way to fall in love...]
Other than that, the most major thing we see at the very end of the chapter is Vin's admission that Xenovia looks beautiful. What can I say, getting your life saved by someone does crazy things to you.
(Insert the Spike Spiegel line about loving women who can kick your ass here). Now, keep in mind that this does not mean that Vin and Xenovia are going to hook up in the next chapter.
Xenovia still holds little to no romantic feelings for Vin, the only difference in their relationship now, is that Vin is going to be… well, a little more aware of things about Xenovia now.
With all of that said, let's get right onto the…
REVIEW ROUNDUP
Elifortero says:
"I think the Midas' rings' will get the ability to create gold as a balance breaker."
Good guess, good guess. But keep in mind two things.
One, gold is actually really soft for a metal, it's not that great for weapons or defense.
Two, and this is going to be one hell of a bait for you guys: Midas' Rings don't actually contain the spirit of King Midas. It's a Sacred Gear that's existed for a long time before that point.
It's merely named after it's most famous wielder, King Midas. The Sacred Gear gave Midas the touch of gold, not the other way around.
Regardless, that's a good theory. Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Thanks for the two insightful comments! I'm glad that my story got you thinking so much. Really, if my story can get someone to stop and think, then that's some of the greatest flattery I could ever receive. Now, like other long posts, I'm going to go through this point-by-point.
Thanks for leaving another review, and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter just as much as the last ones! Cheers to you!
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