~58~ Archdemons: Flowing Crimson

Tetsuno watched Getsuo with contempt. He felt disgusted and irritated by Getsuo's presence. It was weak, beneath him, not even worth his time. Aberrant? It didn't matter. All that mattered was power.. and vengeance.

"Now die!" Getsuo roared, "kill this bitch!"

At first, three of the six ran at Tetsuno. They each had daggers drawn and sprinted at him full speed. But in Tetsuno's eyes, they seemed to be moving in slow motion.

"Pathetic." He said, bored, as he scraped the edge of his katana across the spikes of his lower arm plate, the blade striking aflame as he then exploded forward and, with a single wave of scarlet, his sword struck, cutting cleanly through all three Golden Sin members, killing them instantly and lighting their bodies on fire.

Then came two more. This time one of them carried a sword and a large shield while the other wielded a large axe. They came at him simultaneously, the first in front holding up his shield, acting as a guard for the second, who raised his axe above his head as he charged. Tetsuno bolted forward, the man with the shield shifting to block and bracing for impact, but then Tetsuno swiftly danced to the side and got behind his guard. In one swift slash, the man's head was cut clean off. The second then let out a furious roar and swung his axe down on Tetsuno, but it was all to easy as he dashed under the axe and pushed forward, grabbing the weapon's upper handle and shoving it forward. The back end of the axe then crashed into the man's face, sinking deep into his skull and knocking him to the ground.

"Nice moves." Getsuo spoke. "Tell me, where exactly are you from? Because that isn't your average swordsmanship."

Tetsuno, hunched over, stood limp. His breath was inaudible and the only thing to be heard was the crackle of the flames around them. Memories began to flood his mind, memories of scarlet skies and smoke, memories of death, of demons.

Then he lost it.

Tetsuno's head craned to the side and twisted up to look at Getsuo, the light of the flames now casting demonic shadows across his mask and reflecting off of his eyes, making it seem as though they were glowing.

Getsuo tensed, noticing the change in Tetsuno's demeanor. He looked his hand, the sickle and chain dropping to the ground as he gave it some slack. He then grabbed the hilt of his sword, shifting his feet as he got into stance.

*plip*

A droplet of water landed upon Tetsuno's blade and hissed as it was evaporated.

*plip, plip, plip*

The sound of rain soon drowned out the crackling flames. The downpour also created a sort of mist in the darkness, making it difficult for Tetsuno and Getsuo to see one another.

"Ah yes. I love playing in the rain. Let's see how long those flames la-" Getsuo suddenly became overwhelmed with a sense of dread as Tetsuno vanished and instantly reappeared arms length away, the edge of his flaming blade skimming Getsuo's throat as he fell backwards, narrowly avoiding the weapon as it burnt his neck.

'How's he so fast..!' Getsuo thought, barely having time to regain his composure as Tetsuno stepped forward, both hands holding the his katana as he did a swift, powerful downward slash.

Getsuo had kick the ground with one foot while lifting the other, spinning himself to the side as he crashed to the ground. Scorching flames seared past him, catching his robes on fire. He quickly rolled away in the muddy ground before standing to his feet, having put out the flames.

Another swift cut came at him in a wide arc, which he had to draw his sword and block, using the chains as extra strength to hold the attack back, but it wasn't enough to keep the onslaught back. Tetsuno slid forward, hooking his foot behind Getsuo's heel and pulling, knocking him off of his feet.

Simultaneously Tetsuno and Getsuo thrust their swords forward. And then they both stopped. Getsuo was pinned on the ground while if Tetsuno went any further down Getsuo's blade would pierce his heart, while the flames of his own blade were inches away from Getsuo's eye.

"Ha.. you are better than I thought. It caught me off guard.. won't happen again." Getsuo grinned as he sprung his foot, crashing it into Tetsuno's chest and knocking him back a couple feet before he leapt to his feet and dashed back, creating a good distance between him and Tetsuno.

"Tell me," Getsuo said, having to yell over the drumming rain. "What is your name?" He waited a long moment, but Tetsuno never gave an answer. He simply stared quietly at Getsuo, the urge to kill the only thing he felt in that moment. "Heh. Why am I not surprised. Well, then you can die, you nameless Aberrant."

The sound of clinking metal came then as Getsuo loosed his chains. He then swung his arm, spinning the chain, the sickle weighing down the end as it whistled through the air, the blade becoming soaked in rain before it was sent flying towards Tetsuno, who was not impressed.

He raised his katana and pushed it against the chain just before the sickle could lob off his head. The chain then began to spin round and round about his blade and when it was tightly wound, he wrenched as hard as he could. Getsuo was sent flying towards Tetsuno with a yelp of surprise hat was quickly silenced as ironclad spiked knuckles were brought down on Getsuo's head, crashing it to the ground and shattering it open, blood blood and gore splatter across the ground mixing into the mud. Blood now soaked Tetsuno's entire fist and he stood, hunched over, as he stared emotionlessly at the corpse he'd made.

"He was nothing." Tetsuno said blankly. "How disappointing. He was no fun."

Standing back to his feet, Tetsuno turned his attention to the last standing member of the Golden Sin. The man stood, sword dropped to the ground beside him while he shook and trembled with terror. Raindrops hissed as they hit Tetsuno's sword and he approached the man, who fell to the ground as he tried backing away from him.

"A-a-a demon! You're a demon!" The man said.

Tetsuno stopped before the cowering man, sword held out to his throat. "Maybe I am. But supposedly so is your boss."

An audible gulp came from the man.

"Take me to him."

"But.."

"Now."

"I-of course.."

•

•

•

The Golden Sin member took Tetsuno through a deep forest of winding trees. Droplets of water that made their way through the branches would then fall through the canopy and to the dirt where they sank deep into the soil.

Tetsuno kept his blade drawn as he closely followed the Golden Sin member. His eyes never left the cowering man as he led the way through the ever twisting maze of trees.

"You best not be playing games." Tetsuno spoke. "I don't suggest it."

"Y-yes sir.." the man answered fearfully.

"Detsun." Came a voice from a ways off in the forest at that moment. "It really is too bad, I had high expectations for you. But you are little more than a cowardice traitor."

Tetsuno grew tense as he felt and insane feeling of dread. He instinctively raised his katana to block as he also positioned himself behind the Golden Sin member, Detsun, using him as a meat shield. Then a sudden gust of energy, like a shockwave, blasted through the trees in a thin wave. The blast completely severed Detsun's top half from the waist, as well as all f the trees as far as the eye could see. Tetsuno was sent flying back, the shockwave knocking him off his feet and back where he slammed into a tree stump. Then one of the hundreds and hundreds of trees that fell all at once crashed down on his leg, pinning him.

With a groan of pain, Tetsuno grit his teeth and pushed at the tree with all his might, but it refused to budge. Then he realized two more trees had fallen and stacked themselves over the one that now crushed his leg. And then he heard the sound of crackling flames.

Tetsuno went pale and lightheaded as he turned his eyes upwards, looking ahead of him. A couple yards away stood a dark figure, scarlet flames burning around its body. The figure had strange purple energy swirling around it while it's eyes flared directly at Tetsuno. Massive black wings spread from its back as well, and as it drew closer, Tetsuno became overwhelmed with emotions, confused and jumbled.

Now, as the demon drew closer, Tetsuno could make out the details clearly. It was the same one that had killed his wife, his village. It had a flat face with hollow holes for eyes that gave off an ominous purple light while two coiled horns curled from the sides of his head. His body was long and lanky, his arms hanging low, chains wrapped about his body. Black spikes and blades stuck out of the sides of his lower arms like serrated swords. The demon had a large underbite, sharp, jagged teeth jutting out of his lower jaw.

"Now.." the demon hissed. "Let's see who our invader is, shall we?" The being knelt down, a long talon reaching for Tetsuno's mask. In desperation, he reached for his katana, his fingers grasping for it, digging into the dirt as he willed his arm to reach, but the hilt was just out of reach. Then the demon noticed what he was reaching for.

"Oh?" It stood and reached a long arm out for the weapon, picking it up off the ground. "What an expertly crafted blade.. is this Bloodstone crafted into the side of the blade? So you can set it aflame? How intriguing."

The demon stared silently at Tetsuno for a long moment. Then it spoke, it's voice cold and sinister.

"Too bad its been wielded by a weak mortal. It has been tainted."

*CRACK*

The demon grabbed the weapon in both hands and then bent, snapping the blade in two. As Tetsuno watched, helpless, as the demon snapped his blade, it was like watching his soul, his heart, being shattered. In that moment, his drive was eliminated and he lost all sense of determination. He'd lost. It was that simple. He was a mortal, as Azazel had said. He was nothing.

The demon tossed the two halves of the katana aside, casting them into the flames that slowly encroached on them, closer and closer. This was it. He was going to die. No god would save him. No hero would come running to save the day. He was dead. This cruel cruel world, there was no such thing as miracles. No such thing as heroes. No such thing as hope.

Power was the only thing that mattered. And the weak would be crushed beneath the strong.

"It would seem you don't know who you were challenging, boy." The demon hissed. "I am the great Demon Lord of Hellfire, Aamon. Did you honestly believe you could… what's this..?"

The demon, Aamon, moved his talons towards Tetsuno, the claws grasping his mask before lifting it up and tossing it into the dancing fire, revealing Tetsuno's face.

As Aamon placed a talon against Tetsuno's forehead and brushed his hair aside, Tetsuno noticed that the demon's talons were scorching hot. Then he realized that Aamon' as entire body was rough, black and scorched. Aamon was literally made of volcanic rock.

"Ha.." Aamon laughed. "HAHAHA!! I know you.. you are that royal bitch from Keska, a village I destroyed myself long ago! Come for revenge have you? HAHAHA!! Why the hell would Azazel choose a weakling like you to become an Archdemon? Oh well. It doesn't matter. I'll do him a favor and speed the process."

Aamon placed the tip of his talon against Tetsuno's skull. Even though Aamon had spoken of strange things that would interest him usually, Tetsuno just didn't care anymore. He was weak, and he had lost. He accepted it and lost his will.

"Now, I suggest biting your tongue. This will hurt, these are my primordial flames, and they will incinerate your soul." Aamon said. "Now die."

The talon then began to sink into Tetsuno's skull, piercing a hole into his head as purple flames scorched his body, but that wasn't the worst pain. The worst thing was the dreadful feeling of being torn apart at a molecular level, everything about yourself shattering and breaking and your mind feeling like it was being torn asunder. The pain of having one's souls shattered.

And then it all went black.

Abeza Tetsuno, the Aberrant, was dead.