Re: Nightfall, Children of the Elements

[Shadoe Mayari]

Hasta felt something furry nudge his leg. He assumed that it was Fang, so he placed a hand on the wolf’s head just to be sure. He couldn’t really see Xiax because of all the darkness, so he couldn’t exactly tell what Fang wanted from him. He floated down next to the wolf.
The room suddenly became brighter. Hasta shielded his eyes, but didn’t flinch. He saw two figures by the doorway, but he still couldn’t make out their features because now it was too fucking bright. All he could tell was that one was glowing. He listened carefully to what they had to say, trying to learn what they were like from their voices and searching for an opportunity to throw out a witty remark (because why the hell not).

He noted that the glowing girl seemed a bit awkward and shy: not as confident as most people he had met that had powers like her’s. The boy didn’t have much to say, but he did note that he had a gun on him or something. He saw that Epsil guy fall over in the corner of his eye. What a strange guy, Hasta thought. Although, he did grin when Epsil used the name he gave to Anon.

[blackoutEquinox]

Aculeus noted that this Epsil character had quite the ego and decided to make an assumption that he was pretty powerful to be this nonchalant. He turned to say something to Lilith and Marcus but was interrupted by a sudden burst of light that blinded the three Oasins. When he could finally see again he saw two people by the door. One of them, a girl, was apparently the one that had caused the burst of light and dispersed the shadows. The other person behind was a man, with a rifle and probably a pistol judging by where his hand was. He looked rougher than the girl and probably had near to the same amount of experience as Aculeus had.

Aculeus looked at the girl, whom Hasta had named Anon for lack of a better alternative, and proceeded to say, "Just calm the fuck down girl. If you don't want to deal with us then just wait for us to go. Trying to push us out of here will probably only make us stay longer. Hell we've probably attracted a horde of decent size so you might actually live longer with us here." He turned to Lilith and Marcus, "You two should go find the guns. By the time you get back things will probably have settled down a bit." As Marcus and Lilith left with their orders, Aculeus wiped debris off a nearby counter and sat on it. "Let's try to be more civil now. I think there's strength in numbers and I can provide a lot of food. I'm willing to join with anyone. Now who's next?"

[quackers are yummylicious]

Upon hearing the man with the vine arm speak up, something about him wanting everyone to stick together, Nuala glanced over at Aden. While the prospect of food was quite enticing, she usually got along pretty okay on her own, and didn't feel any desperate need to join forces with him. Nor did she really want to abandon Aden so quickly. She might not have trusted him entirely, but she certainly trusted him more than any of the other people here, especially the man on the floor and the shadow girl...Anon or something like that.

"I...don't know," Nuala began uneasily, stepping outside the building again, lifting up her sunglasses and taking a quick look around. She thought she saw something move but between her own glowing, and the bright of the afternoon, she couldn't really tell. She quickly lowered her sunglasses again, rubbing her forehead as her headache resurfaced.

[Rose Hathaway]

"They never come looking for me. And if you did attract them, that's all the more reason for you to leave. I don't want you and your demons. Now, go fight the demons you brought outside of my territory. They're your responsibility." she said darkly to Aculeus. She walked over to him, and yanked a few strands of his hair away. "That was for shooting my hair, asshole." she snapped, and walked to the guy with the ego. Epsil, he called himself.

"You sir, need to pipe the fuck down on your ego. Just because I don't have a gun doesn't mean that I can't take my shadows and suffocate you. And if any of you call me Anon again, you will meet that fate as well." And now she remembered why she didn't talk to people. They all sucked nowadays.

[Big Uri]

Aden spectated at first, a firm frown on his face as things proceeded around him. The plant guy seemed to take control like it was his right, and Aden really didn't like that. Being someone else's follower was not in his nature. Besides, the man seemed to think that he was planning to stick around and try to have a group to belong to. Talking to Nuala was one thing for him, but joining something was way out of his aim, and these people didn't even seem to be cool to him anyway.

"I mean, good luck to you man, but way I see it is this group'd just be an unnecessary liability and danger. I'm going to wait the night out to make sure the coast is clear, then I'm getting the hell out of here," the brown-haired boy spoke up, the frown unmoving from his face. He saw Nuala's uncertainty, and almost felt sorry for her. She seemed way more out of her comfort zone than anyone else, and she seemed to be a decent enough girl, but he wouldn't even pretend to know her at all.

Regardless, though, anything around ten was way too big a group for him. Even aside from the likelihood of attracting more demons, he was putting at least some of his safety in a bunch of strangers' hands, and that wasn't the way he rolled. Even more than that, any kind of friction between  the group would leave them all at risk, and most of these people were downright volatile. He'd done well enough on his own, and he'd continue as such. He'd sit out the night in case demons had been attracted by them, but after than he was out of there. Food was nice, but it still wasn't going to last, and the wolf was hardly going to settle for plants, and if it had to hunt it was another unnecessary danger.

[quackers are yummylicious]

Nuala looked back and forth between Aden and the others. They all kind of scared her, and scary people were not the type that she wanted to live with. The one that had fallen over seemed really suspicious, and the girl with the shadows was just down-right terrifying. Nuala didn't really do well with large animals, either, they were too much like demons. While there might have been safety in numbers, she didn't find herself feeling entirely safe with this group. She didn't even know any of their names.

She nodded in agreement with Aden, shifting back onto the balls of her feet. "I...um...no," she said slowly, obviously struggling for words. How were you supposed to explain to someone that you thought they were scary? That was just hard. A simple no was so much easier.

She glanced down at her hands, concentration on turning off the glowing, and getting it to flicker for a second. That was improvement, she supposed. Hopefully it would go off soon, before night. Otherwise she could easily become demon food. She kind of wanted to follow Aden, but she doubted he'd let her anywhere near him unless she could control the glowing.

[Shadoe Mayari]

Hasta smirked when Anon threatened them with suffocation. “I’d like to see you try,” he muttered to himself.

But when Aculeus decided that it was time to talk this over, he sighed and glanced at a window. He honestly didn’t really care whether or not he was in group. He was powerful enough to take a couple of demons on his own, and, even if they could overpower him, he could escape pretty easily. Food wasn’t really that much of a problem, either; however, he couldn’t really tell what was food and what could possibly kill him at times.

But he was still just a kid. There was so much he could do on his own, and Hasta knew his limits. He could use a couple of people to be his eyes sometimes, although his sight wasn’t that bad… He knew that most of the others had decided against forming a group, but maybe he could just stay with the Oasians. He trusted them the most out of all of the older kids, and they seemed more welcoming. “I don’t really care. But as long as you guys don’t mind, I’ll tag along.”

[blackoutEquinox]

Aculeus winced slightly when Anon yanked out his hair, he then listened as everyone made their cases for either not joining or joining, looking at each person as they spoke. Their arguements made sense and they couldn't be blamed. At least they were being civil, which was, in truth, the whole point of the question. So far, only one person, Hasta, had agreed to join the group.

Lilith and Marcus returned silently with the weapons the rats had taken from everyone earlier. They made a point to show that the safety on all weapons had been flicked on. Lilith tossed Aculeus his rifle and Anon's pistol then slung her rifle over her shoulder. "These were a real pain to find you know." she said in a tone that hinted at annoyance. "We found them on the second floor in pile of glass shards and rat crap. Smelled like a freaking sewer. What'd we miss?"

"Hasta said he would come with us, the only one so far." Aculeus said as he caught the rifle and pistol. The pistol's weight gave off the fact that it didn't have a full magazine so he grabbed an appropriate fifty round box of ammo from his rucksack before tossing the pistol and extra rounds to Anon. "Think of this as an apology for your hair," he said as he rubbed his scalp where she had pulled his hair out. He flashed a small grin her way before turning back to the group.

"Yesterday we saw a park about half a mile from here, that's where we're gonna be heading if anyone needs to find us later. Free food if you ever need it, we won't be running out anytime soon." Aculeus turned to Lilith and Marcus as he finished speaking and motioned to them that it was time to go. "So yeah, maybe we'll see you again. Peace be with you all." The Oasians waited for Hasta to say anything before leaving.

[CodastertheDisaster]

Epsil's smile melted away to an expression that was completely blank, hinting at no signs of any emotion. Even his body language was relaxed and expressionless. He elbowed the ground and curled his torso up, using his enhanced strength to push himself to his feet. He looked Anon in the eyes, boring into them with his predatory amber orbs. "Good luck with that, Anon," he said provocatively, starting to walk out towards the exit.

At this point, he was taking note of everybody's expressions and posture. Anon was, as she'd been the entire time, irritated and angry. The two at the door seemed wary, the girl especially so, with a hint of something else, possibly fear. The group of three and the youngest boy seemed a little more at easy, and a little friendlier. Xiax was still passed out. "Oasins. I apologize for any offense I have given, but I ask you to take him," he said, pointing at the unconscious boy. "The wolf should follow. I am going to go check on the outside for now. I think they're coming."

He continued walking until he was standing at the curb. He surveyed the area, closing his eyes so he could focus on any minute sounds that might give away the demon's position. A faraway screech could be heard from the west. Epsil's hands curled into fists. He whirled around to face the rest of the group. "Alright, I don't care how much you like or dislike each other, but there's a Greater Demon heading this way. I've been hunting him for a while, he's a bitch. I think, if we work together, we'll be able to finally take him down."

He sighed, taking a few steps back towards the building. Suddenly he winced and swore under his breath. Dumbass, he thought, maybe I should listen to Ms. Anon...Tame my ego. Jumping off the building was nothing short of arrogance. I should've just let myself slide down until I was at a safe distance...

He took in a deep breath and sighed once more. "If you didn't hear a moment ago, I'm Epsil. I wish we could meet under better circumstances, but as of now, everybody is going to need to work together. I understand your distrust, but right now there is no such thing as a bad human. We aren't the enemy of each other, we're the enemy of those bastards. Now, we're either going to act like assholes and be loners, or we're going to band together like the humans we are, and kick the shit out of those invading bastards. I don't give a shit about how you feel, but I do give a shit about your life. We may very well be the one true hope of humankind's survival. Being alone is no longer an option."

Epsil sighed a third time, rolling his shoulders and popping his neck. "If I'm correct, a horde of little fuckers will follow Big Bitch, so get ready."

[Rose Hathaway]

Anon caught her pistol and the box, surprised that he paid for shooting her hair with some of his own and extra ammo. Her eyes were wide, bu she gave Aculeus a curt nod of gratitude and shoved the box into her cargo pants and the gun.

It was quickly pulled back out when Epsil mentioned demons. "I told you they never come here! And yet you guys brought them! Thanks a lot. Thanks a fucking lot." she said darkly and pulled out the magazine to fill it with her new ammo. She was going to need it, and very soon at that.

[quackers are yummylicious]

Nuala paled a bit at the mention of a whole horde of demons. She'd only ever fought two or three at a time at the most, and even then they were weaker ones. She assumed that their chances would be better if they grouped together, but...that was a lot of demons. She instantly stopped glowing, and proceeded to mutter a prayer under her breath for her survival instincts kicking in. No need to make herself a bigger target.

She coughed a little, shifting where she stood, before speaking up. "I can...distract the Greater Demon with illusions, but just for a little while...it'll give everyone a little more time to kill the weaker ones so we can all focus on the Greater Demon," she said, though she wasn't quite sure how long or accurately she could alter the light entering the demon's eyes, especially if it was more powerful.

[Shadoe Mayari]

Hasta silently stood with the Oasians. Upon hearing the news that a Greater Demon was approaching, he sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “We can’t avoid it, can we?” he asked, glancing around the room. “I can create a vacuum area near the edge of the city. That should delay them for a bit, unless they can fly.” He paused and gestured to the unconscious Xiax. “Also, what are we going to do with him and the wolf while shit goes down?”

[blackoutEquinox]

At the news of an incoming horde and greater demon the Oasians responded with trained ease. Aculeus ran over to where Xiax lay and picked him up easily and threw him over his shoulder. "We're going to the fifth floor. We can pick off anything within 1000 meters of our positions and make sure you don't get surrounded by demons." He turned to Lilith and Marcus, they were nervous, which was good. "Let's go!"

The three of them, and the unconscious Xiax, ran as fast as they could to the fifth floor of the building. Aculeus was a floor ahead of Lilith and Marcus and began to prepare some cover for the battle to come; he sat Xiax against a nearby wall before starting. Aculeus brought up his rifle and used the butt of the gun to start knocking glass out the panes so that they could aim clearly. He then proceeded to take desks from the office space and tip them over so that they made a makeshift barricade. Marcus and Lilith entered the floor after the third desk had been tipped and moved and moved one each themselves. In the end six desks had been made into a barricade.

They each calmly began to take out extra magazines and put them easily within arm's reach for quick reloads. Each one of them began to make their peace and prepare mentally for the upcoming battle that the may, or may not, survive. Lilith pulled out a rosary and began to pray; "Agnus Dei, quitollis peccata mundi. . ."

Marcus had his head on the ground and was saying his own prayers; "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. . ."

Aculeus bowed his head and prayed to his own Gods; "Great Threefold Goddess, Battle Crow, to your black winged host I dedicate the harvest of this field of battle whose crop is death. If this is the day for me to die, then I will go gladly with you with open arms. So mote it be." They finished at about the same and took time to look at each other before bringing their weapons up. They were ready for battle.

[Big Uri]

A quick switch into his thermal vision told Aden that Epsil was not lying to them. He mentally swore, his eyes dangerously. The fight didn't overly scare him, but it certainly made his plans more difficult. He supposed he had planned to stay the night with them anyway, so he could still steal away the next morning. In a way, being with the group was helpful, and granted him greater protection against demon attacks. Not that he needed them, he told himself.

"I can create fire, heat, that sort of thing," the brown-haired teen announced expansively, not seeming like he was willing to go into details. He had quite a combat-oriented power, he knew, and it was almost the sole reason he was still alive after so long spent fending for himself. But he still didn't doubt the power of the people he was with. Nuala had already shown the power that she possessed, and he knew that most of the others had some kind of special powers. Epsil claimed to be a weapon, Aculeus could obviously do something with plants, and 'Anon' could control shadows.

"I could stay back and snipe, but I'd say that I'll be more helpful on the ground since the other three have gone up there," Aden opined, looking around at the remaining people in the room for their reaction. He didn't seem very perturbed by the impending battle. He had no gods to make peace to, no creed to recite. The battle was enough for him to focus on, he looked for nothing more.

[CodastertheDisaster]

Epsil turned back to Anon, his eyes glowing dangerously. His features hinted at annoyance. "They 'don't come here' because everyone else has already killed them. Now stop being so damn worthless and get ready for a fight," he growled. It was plain that he wasn't going to get along with Anon very well.

The glowing girl, whose name he hadn't caught offered to try and create illusions to distract the Greater Demon. Epsil stared at her for a few moments, trying to work out a plan. "As long as you stay far enough away from him, go for it. Otherwise just worry about the little guys."

With the Oasisns already set up, and taking care of Xiax, the only person left to talk to was the brown-haired boy with the sniper. He admitted his abilities of fire control. "You're calm," Epsil noted, not giving him any orders. "And I figure you've been through a few large fights yourself, based on your demeanor. All I ask is to watch the others' back. Otherwise I'll trust your judgement."

The black-haired boy nodded and turned around, scanning the sky for the Greater. He heard the screeches and barks of the various demons scuttling through the alleys and down the street. The hoard most likely wouldn't be very big, at most three dozen. Without the presence of a Greater Demon, it wouldn't be a very big deal to take them all on, but the strength of their leader combined with the number of minions made it a potentially dangerous situation.

Epsil mentally chastised himself for jumping off the side of the building once more. It was going to limit his ability to climb up the sides of the skyscraper, a strategy he'd used several times before on the fliers. For now though, he'd have to use what he was given; that being a large amount of small demons to throw skyward.

"Brace yourselves," Epsil said calmly, just as the tide of small demons came crashing through the streets. The sound of breaking glass rang out above the discombobulated street, followed by the scream of the Greater Demon. It was large, most likely around ten feet tall. It's skin was jet-black and smooth, like obsidian. It was muscular, with giant clawed hands and feet. Giant wings sprouted from it's back, and a barbed tail thrashed back and forth in the air. It dove towards the ground, it's gaze locked on Epsil. The boy smiled, popped his neck and crouched, ready to fight.

[Shadoe Mayari]

Hasta shuddered when he heard the demons’ screeches. It brought him bad memories of when he was still with the Yellow Sign. But now he was fighting against the demons, not picking off any humans they had missed.
He followed Epsil outside, since he needed plenty of space to use his power, anyway. He saw the demons charging at them from a distance and decided to pick them off while he could still see them clearly. Epsil and the Greater Demon seemed keen on getting each other, so Hasta decided to leave that to him.
While the Lesser Demons were still a bit away, he studied the amount of fliers and land-based demons. He readied his power, but then suddenly stopped and glanced at Epsil and the group and asked, "Do you want me to throw them up or force them down?" He didn't want to screw his allies over by making them hard targets to hit.

[General Azimuth]

Fang looked around the room, unsure whether he should follow Master, even though he was being taken care of by Vines, or follow Squinty, leaving master alone. He decided to go with the young boy, and followed him outside. He ran ahead, trying to draw a demon or two away from the horde. He wasn't sure why, but he knew they would be weaker separated.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Xiax slowly awoke, fairly disoriented. "Wh-what's going on?" he asked, looking to the plant guy. He sensed Fang getting farther away, and started worrying a little. He try to push the worry away, and tried to get his bearings. The trio had set up sniping points, and he felt aggression from Fang's fading mind. "What are we up against?" he asked, standing slowly.

[quackers are yummylicious]

Nuala nodded slightly, wincing at the screech. She never really got used to that noise. She took a deep breath, preparing her mind for a split second. If she wasn't focused, it might not work out the way she wanted it to. She then let out an earsplitting screech herself, in an attempt to draw the Greater Demon's attention.

A dagger in each hand, she found herself crouching low to the ground, bending the light entering the demons eyes to make it see targets that weren't really there, people running into attack. Nuala tried to manipulate them to keep them away from the people that were real, but she realized a little too late that once the heat of the battle got started up, that might be more of a task than she had anticipated.

[Spaughtyena]

The 'Zo' skipped merrily along the
dark charred ground that may once have resembled a small shack, as it
took careful glances this way and that – sorting through piles of
dust and kicking over small pebbles – all the while humming
happily, wearing a tight smile that stretched ear to ear. The 'Zo'
was small in stature, standing no more than 4ft. Even more
interesting was the small black nose that sat on the tip of an
elegant muzzle, titled slightly. The weasel's fur was a bright white,
wrapped in a noble garment of purple, sporting a frilled white
neckpeice.





Slowly, the weasel stood, consciously
re-positioning the brimmed hat it wore before placing a slim paw on
the dirt-encrusted feather that poked through. To the left, something
caught the weasel's eyes. It was something so miniscule, hardly
noticeable considering. With an enthusiastic bounce the weasel moved
itself to a cracked human skull that protruded the gray dirt. Bending
down, it plucked a small, withered flower stem from the eye socket,
and raised it to it's nose, inhaling deeply. ”Mmm –
petal-y indeed Gemri! We must find us some wenches and wine... oh,
the W's are so... wackily-wonderful and witty!”




Bending down to the skull a second
time, the weasel's thumb pressed into the dirt within the skull's eye
socket, and quickly removed it with a flick of the wrist as it
dextrously hooked the skull on its claw, relinquishing it from its
earthly grave. The weasel smiled proudly as it held up the skull
proudly as if it had accomplished an impossible feat.
”Your name... is Einstein – we shall be friends...
FOREVER!!” The weasel's shout was great and full of passion
as it echoed multiple times off the various buildings in the
distance.




Almost at the same moment, the weasel
heard a strange noise, but seeming all too familiar. The sound of
shrieks and breaking glass. Demons...
The 'Zo's attention was caught as it looked into the distance, seeing
a section of the city being attacked by the only logical thing there
could be. Not only that, but the weasel could swear that there were
a few individuals - not that it wasn't to be expected, Demons didn't
regularly attack empty buildings – as far as 'Zo' knew anyway.




With one last smooth movement, the
weasel lowered the skull to its belt, and fastened it with a small
amount of thread that had come loose from the garment, frowning
slightly as it unraveled more as the knot was tightened. Placing a
hand on its hip, the weasel turned itself to the mass of buildings in
the distance with a determined smile, drawing a small stiletto from
its side. ”Demons start with 'D', and so does
'Decapitation' therefore, my best day ever – starts there! Let us
be off Gemri!!” The 'Zo' smiled once more and began
sprinting towards the large looming skyscrapers and the mass of
fiends that were sure to have all manner of fun – it was just a
matter of how you perceived it...

[blackoutEquinox]

Everyone seemed to be focused on the horde or greater demon, too focused to notice five jet-black demons slinking through the shadows to the group from the side. Aculeus caught them about 100 meters into their range. "Check north side. I see five jet-black slinkers. Adjust range to 800 meters. Choose your target and wait for my mark," he told the rest of the group. The sneaky demons didn't even know they were being watched. "Mark," he said calmly. All three of the snipers' weapons went off nearly at the same time and three demons fell, the other two were killed as they tried to rush the last 800 meters.

Lilith heard the unconscious boy wake up and walked over to him. "There's a horde and a greater demon on the way. We didn't know how long you'd be out so we brought you up here because it would be easier to protect you. I think your wolf went out to help fight. How are you feeling?" she asked as she put her hand to his forehead. He didn't seem to be running a fever but fainting is still not fun anyways.

[General Azimuth]

"A bit of a headache, but mostly fine," Xiax said, automatically responding. He slowly processed the rest of what the girl said. "Wait, Fang's, out there?" He stood briskly, pushing her away. He ran down the stairs, worrying about the wolf. As he hit the bottom of the stairs, he felt fur sprout all over his body. He zeroed in on Fang in his mind, as he left the building, falling onto all fours. Fur covered his body, his clothes seeming to just disappear, as he ran after his friend. He reached him, just as a demon closed on the wolf.

Fang leaped at it, as Xiax saw the two. His eyesight was slightly different, a bit duller, but the rest of his senses more than made up for it. The demon smelled foul, but he rushed it, helping Fang. The two wolves tore at its ankles, and as the demon batted at one, he backed off, letting the other attack. It was a simple, yet cruelly effective tactic, and the demon was soon a pile of gore in the alley. The wolves ran together, continuing the hunt.

[CodastertheDisaster]

The Greater Demon, undeterred by the girl's light-manipulating abilities, colided with Epsil. The boy raised both arms in an 'x', blocking the majority of the Demon's attack. He slid backwards, clouds of dust being kicked up by his feet. The pain in his shins was unbelievable. He grunted in pain, then shoved against the Demon, knocking it away a foot or two. He followed up instantly with a punch to the chest, which emitted a satisfying thud and sent the beast careening into the side of a building.

Epsil shook his punching hand a few times, chuckling lightly. His wrist was possibly dislocated after such a hard hit. He reached down with his other hand and twisted his wrist several times, putting it back in place, and popping it several times. For the most part, he was ignoring the small demons. At this point though, the others were destroying the small horde.

He cracked his neck, and seized a small demon by the throat. It was about four feet tall, with a brown-ish coat of fur covering it's body. It was somewhat androgynous, with no discernable gender features. It's hands and feet were much like a humans, as were it's eyes and mouth. Two horns sprouted from it's head like the tines of a large fork. Epsil assumed they were quite sharp, so he was going to improvise.

The screech of Big Bitch sounded again, and he repeated his earlier strategy of diving towards Epsil. The boy laughed, hurling the demon head-first at the angry Greater. The horns of the small demon caught in the mid-torso of its larger ally. Another high-pitched shriek sounded. Epsil leaped towards the falling demon, punching it in the back of the head. It slammed into the concrete.

Epsil landed on top of it, grimacing at the pain in his legs, then sent his fist towards the demons skull several more times. It struggled against him, beating its wings furiously. Its tail was what moved the teen, however. The spike on its tail tore at Epsil's calf, so he jumped away to avoid further leg injuries. He laughed a third time as the demon pulled its dead minion from its chest and roared. The small demons started moving towards it in a protective barrier. Epsil noted with a hint of pride several streams of blood originating at its head. He knew it would take a lot more to finish it off. He'd still managed to deal a few extremely painful blows. It was up to everyone else to actually kill the demon, though. He just hoped they'd come through.

[Shadoe Mayari]

Hasta decided that, as much as he hated it, he had to fight the demons hand to hand, since he couldn't really do anything from a distance without screwing his allies over. He trained some of the lesser demons towards him and away from his allies, leading them to the entrance of an alleyway so they had to face him one at a time.
As they charged at him one by one, he managed to knock them down with just one punch to the chest. It wasn't out of pure strength, but rather him forcing the air out of their lungs as he hit them. It was a mean trick he had learned from the Yellow Sign, but it kept battles short and clean. He then proceeded to inflate the demons, causing their lungs to rupture.
He began to train another group around.

[Big Uri]

Aden stood and watched for a while, taking in with interest the combat abilities and styles of everyone around him. It was always useful to know how the humans around fought, especially if they were as dangerous as this group was. It wasn't that he planned to fight them so much as he planned for fighting them. He didn't consider himself a violent person, but he had gotten into a lot of fights and always wanted to be prepared for the next one.

In any case, they seemed to be doing quite well without him. While Nuala's illusions may not have been effective, the immense strength of the cocky kid sent it reeling, and everyone seemed to have a comfortable handle on the little ones. However, it was only when he saw the demons begin to cluster that Aden got a glint in his eye. Area attacks were his specialty.

He stepped forward, heat rising around him, and thrust a palm forward, creating a fiery explosion in the middle of the demon group, like a grenade. He was good at attacking large groups because his attack spread, but he couldn't regulate it and had to watch for burning himself. In situations like that, though he was in his element, and he followed up his first with another flame attack.

[quackers are yummylicious]

Nuala scowled, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head so she wouldn't miss anything. Her illusions may not have worked on the Greater Demon, but she knew it would work on the Lesser ones. She reached out with her mind, locking onto one of the Lesser Demons and manipulating the light to make it look like his comrades were human. That was, until Aden decided to torch everything.

She jumped a bit, having not expected the flames in the slightest. She lost control of the demon she was attempting to manipulate, though she figured it didn't matter, since it was probably burnt to a crisp anyway.

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