Freed could barely lift his head. Blood was dripping from his mouth, his left eye was swollen shut and his right arm was twisted at an impossible angle. He tried to raise his sword with his remaining hand, but before he could even get his fingers around the handle, Antares appeared before him like a living shadow.
"Are you going to try to cut me? With that limp little arm? Pathetic." Antares' fist came down like a divine hammer, smashing Freed's face into the ground.
The impact cracked the concrete, and a gush of blood spurted out like a crimson explosion. Kiba instinctively stepped forward, but stopped as he felt Antares' suffocating aura intensify.
"... He's going to kill the guy..." whispered Koneko, her eyes wide, her nails digging into her own palm.
"This isn't a fight anymore... it's an execution," said Kiba, his voice breaking.
Antares lifted Freed's inert body by the collar, letting the exorcist's body dangle like a broken marionette.
"You like to talk too much, don't you? Let's see if you talk after that." He turned his body, and with cruel force, threw Freed against the nearest wall. Bones broke on impact. The wall cracked. Freed fell, spitting teeth and blood.
But Antares didn't give Freed half a second's respite.
With a single step, he appeared in front of him again, appearing next to his enemy like an incessant nightmare.
He stomped down on Freed's chest with violence, the sound of breaking ribs echoing in the silent air.
"Come on, use your holy sword. Cry out for God's help. Beg." Antares sneered, eyes shining with pure contempt.
Freed, now on the verge of unconsciousness, mumbled something. A prayer? An insult? It didn't matter.
Antares pulled Freed's leg, lifting him upside down, and threw him into the air. As the body began to fall, Antares leapt with millimeter precision, applying a spinning kick right into the exorcist's stomach. The impact sent Freed's body flying more than twenty meters, through two trees and falling like a rag to the ground.
Kiba put his hand to his mouth. Koneko took half a step back, her gaze still fixed.
"That guy..." Kiba muttered. "He's much crueler than the rest of us..." Koneko just nodded... "...Scary."
Antares landed on the ground, walking slowly towards Freed's broken body.
"It's over. If you'd kept quiet and run away, you'd have lasted longer." And then, in one last burst of energy, Freed tried to raise his sword. A faint glow from the sacred weapon still resisted...
But it was useless.
Antares reached out, enveloping Freed's arm with his destructive aura. With a dry jerk, the exorcist's entire arm was ripped off. Freed screamed - a grotesque, primal, desperate sound. Kiba turned his face away. Koneko closed her eyes.
Antares then stuck his fingers into Freed's chest.
"Let's see if his heart is as rotten as his words." He started trying to force out Freed's heart, who started screaming and shouting as he felt Booster Gear's nails hit him.
"STOP! STOP!!!" Before Freed could black out, Antares reached down and pulled him up by the collar, lifting his bloodied body with one hand. The neck snapped, and the exorcist groaned in agony.
"You've just been given a few more minutes to live. Where's the girl? The healer."
Freed tried to laugh, but the sound came out more like a broken squeak. "Fuck you, demon."
"Wrong."
CRACK!
Antares' fist slammed into Freed's chin, sending his head crashing into a tree behind him. He was still holding him by the neck, as if he were a rag toy.
"I'll ask again. And next time... I'll rip off every finger before you can blink. Where's Asia Argento?" He asked.
Freed coughed up blood, his eyes almost rolling, but something in Antares' voice made his mind break for good.
"There... downstairs... at the altar... they were... preparing the ritual..."
Antares stared at him for two seconds, analyzing the sincerity in his trembling voice.
Then, with utter contempt, he dragged him over to where Kiba and Koneko were watching - in shock.
He threw Freed at Kiba's feet as if disposing of garbage.
"Deal with him." His voice was as cold as ice. "If he tries to run, kill him. If he begs, ignore him. If you breathe... choose one of the two options."
Kiba's eyes widened in surprise at the command. Koneko kept her gaze steady, but even she looked uneasy.
Antares was already turning around when he stopped for a moment."I'm going downstairs."
Kiba slowly knelt down next to Freed, who was moaning, delirious with pain. "You should be grateful that you're still breathing. And to think he left you alive... he must be a lot more nervous about the fallen angels."
Freed tried to say something, but Koneko was already at Kiba's side, staring at him. "If I were you, I'd keep quiet. He can hear from down there..." She muttered before looking at Kiba.
"...I'll go with him." Kiba nodded, watching the girl leave the scene...
"Oh dear... I couldn't even use [Holy-Eraser]..." He muttered quietly in disappointment.
...
Antares and Koneko slowly descended the dark and damp spiral staircase. The walls were covered in moss and dried claw marks. The smell of old blood and rotten incense hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Their footsteps echoed like funeral drums in that deep silence.
When they reached the end of the stairs, they found themselves in a single narrow corridor, barely lit by blackened torches on the walls. It was a deep basement, as if it wanted to hide horrors that shouldn't see the light of day.
"They're probably at the end of that corridor... I can smell that person..." muttered Koneko, a little behind Antares. Her voice was low, almost as if she feared being heard by something in the shadows.
Antares clenched his fists, his gaze fixed ahead.
Save the girl. Kill the fallen angels.
They moved forward together, the sound of crackling torches mixed with the muffled sound of distant voices, whispered chants and the echo of their own tension. At the end of the corridor stood an imposing, ancient double door, made of thick, worn wood. On it, distorted religious symbols had been carved with dried blood and bones.
"It looks like this is it," said Koneko, stopping a few steps from the door.
"Possibly. I'm sensing some auras." Antares glanced at her. "Are you ready?"
Koneko nodded, firmly. But the cold emanating from that place was the kind that made the soul hesitate, even for the bravest.
"Okay. I'll open the door, then."
Before she could touch the rusty handle, the door creaked by itself, as if it had been invited by Hell itself. The sound was sharp, disturbing, and echoed through the basement like the wail of a trapped spirit.
The darkness of the interior was immediately invaded by the faint light of the corridor. The sight before them was something out of a nightmare.
Black candles floated in circles around an altar in the center of the room. The floor was covered in arcane runes that pulsed red and purple, alive like flesh. Chains hung from the ceiling, swaying slightly, tinkling like mortuary bells. The atmosphere was heavy, almost solid, as if the air was impregnated with malice.
"Welcome... demons."
The voice cut through the darkness like a knife. At the back of the room, on an altar high above the others, Raynare was smiling. Her eyes shone with contempt and her black wings fluttered with arrogance.
Behind her, Asia Argento was bound to the altar with spiritual chains, pale, her eyes misty, her breathing shallow. A gloomy aura enveloped her, as if the life was slowly being drained out of her.
All around, dozens of renegade priests rose from the shadows, like unholy puppets. They all wielded metal cables which, when activated, created blades of pure light. The sacred energy made the air vibrate and crackle.
Koneko frowned, taking up a combat position next to Antares.
Antares stepped forward, his gaze as sharp as a blade. His eyes glowed red for a second. "Fallen angels..." "Deal with him." His voice was as cold as ice. "If he tries to run, kill him. If it begs, ignore it. If it breathes... choose one of the two options."
Kiba's eyes widened in surprise at the command. Koneko kept her gaze steady, but even she looked uneasy.
Antares was already turning around when he stopped for a moment."I'm going downstairs."
Kiba slowly knelt down next to Freed, who was moaning, delirious with pain. "You should be thankful you're still breathing. And to think he left you alive... he must be a lot more nervous about the fallen angels."
Freed tried to say something, but Koneko was already at Kiba's side, staring at him. "If I were you, I'd keep quiet. He can hear from down there..." She muttered before looking at Kiba.
"...I'll go with him." Kiba nodded, watching the girl leave the scene...
"Oh dear... I couldn't even use [Holy-Eraser]..." He muttered quietly in disappointment.
He breathed in slowly, smelling the scent of blood, magic and despair in the air. "I hope you're ready to die."
Raynare laughed, clapping her hands softly as if she were in front of a play. "Arrogance... It's so charming when you demons think you can interfere in the plans of superior beings."
"You talk too much." Koneko growled
Raynare held out his arms, and the priests moved, forming a circle around the invaders.
Antares smiled, but it was no ordinary smile. It was something demonic. Predatory. "Then let's see who's superior. Start praying."
[BOOST!]
[BOOST!]
[BOOST!]
[BOOST!]
[BOOST!]
[BOOST!]
The room shook with the growing pressure of Antares' mana. And the ritual... was about to be interrupted by carnage.
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