The Fiend #26

The Fiend #26

link:

https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/59691678

-----

Richard Holden was on his knees within the Order's inner sanctum, hands clasped together and eyes shut. A prayer was what he was making; a confession to the one he believed in, who started the Order long ago and the crusade against the supernatural that threatens man. He would say, "Blessed be to you, saint Marcus, for I am dedicated to your cause and to have made heaster to the Order that you once led. But forgive me, for what I have done... I'm not sure if I have done the right thing. For what I did, I did it for the Order's safety. I may have sent someone to kill an innocent woman, one who served your Order for a time, and I believed she could aid the cause. But alas, I fear her knowledge of the foundation for which you made will be our undoing. If she dies, my dear master...then please forgive me, and allow me to be at peace, for my conscience needs to be clear for you, for your servants, for everyone that is on my shoulders."

Richard looked up at the statue of the angel said to have spoken to his founder. His eyes gazed on the smooth face of it and said, "I will gladly do what I must to preserve your image...no matter what. No matter the cost."

-----

Daniella, confused with Elizabeth by her side feeling the same, watched the redhead girl that was built strongly rise to her feet from a cloud of dust that finally cleared.

"Who are you," asked Elizabeth to her, maintaining a cautious stance with her gun at the ready on her hip.

"Hm," the woman noticed her beside the other, a bit confused by her, and said, "Huh? A human with a demon? Are you it's servant or something? I guess it doesn't matter, since I'm going to kill your mistress over there." Her talking about killing Daniella caused the two to be astonished at her; not understand the purpose for this encounter and the proclamation of one's death.

"The Order is paying well for her head, so I'm gonna have to ensure everything is done right. But I intend to have some fun while doing it."

Upon hearing the woman say the Order was part of this, Daniella fell into utter shock, and said, "The Order wants me dead...?"

Elizabeth too was in disbelief of this, saying, "that can't be right! There's no way in hell that's true; you're lying."

"I have no reason to lie about my work, little lady. I'm simply being honest before I kill, and for that, why lie?" The woman would say this and then hear Daniella start to laugh. She was trembling, laughter becoming an angry one. "So because I know the truth, Richard wants me dead," said Daniella as she started to transform out of anger, "In the end Behelith was right. In the end I'm just a monster for him to put down."

"Wait, Ella, we don't know that--"

"Who else would hire me," interrupted the woman. "Me and old Rich have a history. But that matters little now. You will have to die."

Elizabeth froze when that woman confessed to Richard's hand in this confrontation. Her mind raced on the reason for his judgement of Daniella; her hands clenching so tight that her nails pierced her palm to draw blood. "Damnit, Rich," thought Elizabeth angrily, "what do you think you're doing!?"

But her thoughts focused to what was now happening in front of her; Daniella now becoming the Fiend, growling and glaring madly at the woman who is named Jael.

"I'm not about to let you kill me so easily, you bitch," snarled the Fiend. To Jael, hearing this, she smirked and stretched out her arms as she replied, saying, "Give it your best shot. I intend to enjoy myself before I tear your head from your shoulders.

With a loud roar that echoed in the air, the Fiend ran towards Jael, who's eyes glowed a rose color at the excitement of battle.

-----

Maxwell King was walking along the sidewalk, troubled in heart for reasons he could not understand. He had just locked up the church, and intending to retreat to his quarters in the orphanage he runs along with the nuns of the facility. But that feeling, a feeling of being watched, plagued his mind and slowly would he come to a halt.

".... Goroth."

He turned around, seeing a tall man, bearded with hair down to the nape of his neck, and dressed in a suit and tie. Although he looked like a man, a presence that was dark and malevolent surrounded him. Maxwell knew him as Goroth, a demon from one of Mephisto's domains outside of the world of man. He was surprised to meet the demon like this, but not enough to bear any fear of him.

Goroth looked at him and said, "You haven't aged well, Maxwell. To think you were one of the Order's greatest magicians in your youth."

".... What do you want, Goroth," said Maxwell. "Do you intend to kill me, like you tried years ago? If so, then make it quick."

"Heh, don't flatter yourself, you old fool. If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you alongside your woman long ago." He spoke of someone dear to Maxwell, intentionally mentioning this "woman" to see how the priest would react. For a moment he saw Maxwell's face grow mildly angry. But then it softened and asked him, "why have you come here?"

"Tch. You've grown sentimental and boring...come with me. We're going for a drink."

"I'm not interested, thank you."

"You make it seem like I was giving you a choice."

Goroth turned, gesturing him to follow. Not wanting to anger the devil in disguise and risk trouble for his orphanage, the priest sighed and walked with him.

The two would later find a dive bar somewhere nearby. A glass of whiskey poured for Goroth, who took it and drank it down with Maxwell sitting by his side; a glass of orange juice was what he had drano from.

"Goroth, why am are you here?"

Goroth looked with a glance at him. Then he looked forward and was quiet, in thought on what to say to the man whom he knew well. "Things are happening," he started to say, "beyond this world, those who live outside this reality are making moves."

"And how, pray tell, do you know this," asked Maxwell while sipping his juice.

"You fool," Goroth glared at him with the eyes of a cat, "Unlike you, who renounced magic, I have my senses to the things beyond the mortal world, and heard whispers in the flowing tide that is invisible to the naked eye. And the whispers speak of one name."

"And what name is that?"

".... Azabel."

To this name did Maxwell freeze with his glass still against his lips. His blood ran cold at the name, yet shook himself and said, "You speak of an angel from the book of Enoch?" Goroth nodded and closed his eye as he resumed to drink the whiskey. "But the book of Enoch is merely a fairytale -- completely separated from the Bible, and for good reason. It's not true."

"And how would you know, dear priest," asked Goroth, "You have lived for only forty or so years, while I have lived for many millennia. I have seen the days of old that span back to those days of sword and spears, to seeing fire and brimstone falling from the heavens, and miracles by prophets and sorceries by magicians. Who then can claim such things as myths?"

"But... Azabel, in the book of Enoch...it can't be."

"Believe it. That is the name I heard whispered, and it is that name which will bestow a future of woe. I decided to offer you this in advance, so to see whether you'd act or not. Truly, I could see you die and not wink at it. But I'd rather see how you, a man of the faith, can survive."

Maxwell looked at Goroth, pushing aside his glass to ask him whether he knew who Azabel was, or their form. And when asked, Goroth remained vague; whether intentionally or not, it eludes the priest. But what was coming would be the beginning of something else... something terrifying.

An age of Woe

-----

Elizabeth stood as witness to the battle that had begun between the Fiend and Jael.

Their fists struck against each other, the ground quaking from the blows that were simultaneous and equal in power. The redhead huntress who seeks to kill the Fiend would parry a clawed hand, and throw in her own fist, which was had been blocked in like manner. It was a shocking thing to see the woman fight on par with the other who held the power of a devil and a human heart. She growled with the beastly female before pushing her back and striking her across the jaw with a powerful blow.

"U-Uh...?" The Fiend stumbled and was compelled to fall to her knees with a wobble. "M-My legs...," she thought, and realized that her chin was hit and caused the body to act against her will.

With a kiss of the fist that dealt the hard blow, Jael grinned and said, "You got skill in a fight to go toe-to-toe with me, but like anyone else, a good smack to the jaw and you'll crumple all the same." She stomped forward, intended to hit her again with another strike.

Although on her knees, the Fiend didn't waver in defending herself by blocking the fist. The force of it was like a heavy hammer, and the feeling of a great pain followed as her bones creaked within the arms. The Fiend fell some ways onto her side, wincing from the pain. "She's strong... really strong...kind of reminds me of..." Her mind ed the half-demon Behelith and her strength that matched her own.

The heart of a demon beats rapidly.

Those golden eyes glowed in excitement as she got up quickly in a squat. A smile exposing her sharp fangs as the rush of battle overtaken the senses.

"You're awfully excited aren't you," chuckled Jael while cracking her knuckles and raising them to resemble a boxer's stance. "Come on then, don't keep me waiting. If you can handle getting hit more, than I'm not complain--"

In the blink of an eye, Jael was face-to-face with the her extraordinary opponent. And without time nor the speed to defend herself, a strike--in the form of a hook--hit Jael's right in the face. Her blood streamed from her mouth as a shocked expression formed with the pain. Again, another punch, this time from the right, staggering her until it became a combination of left and right; each sounding like a cannon that rocked the very ground beneath them.

"Ella..." Elizabeth watched this unfold, to see the Fiend beating on her enemy without restraint or remorse. She was completely drunk with the thrill of a good fight. It was seeing someone else, someone less human and more of a devil; a sadistic expression replacing the anger she once had for the situation they all were in.

Keep hitting her.

Keep fighting her.

Keep breaking her.

Thoughts such as these repeated in Daniella's mind within the Fiend, until she roared to deal one last blow.

But with her own hands did Jael catch the fist intending to finish her off, and squeezed it tight. "Ptew...got a strong hand on you, I'll give you that." She was battered from the relentless blows dealt to her face and body. Yet she continued to smile as she said, "But I'm not done yet." With her hands did she pull the Fiend in close, and kicked hard against her abdomen to send her flying back and sliding across the floor.

"Allow me to show you something," said Jael while untying the rope that held the thin coat she had been wearing. She would cast it aside, and take from underneath her strange attire a small syringe containing a violet colored liquid. She showed it to the Fiend who growled and remained at a distance. "This is a vial containing a concoction made of some the Earth's deadliest herbs. If one were to be injected with it, they'd be dead in mere seconds as it reaches the heart and burns the veins like fire....but let me tell you a secret about me."

"A secret...?" Said the Fiend with a glare.

"Yes, a secret. I am Jael...but I am also named Hatsuke Yoko of the Hand. I was an assassin for over century, studying poisons and toxins that can kill any man. But what I have is not for myself, but for me. Bear witness for what I have in store for you!"

She jammed the syringe into her neck, smiling wide at the Fiend who stood in disbelief of the sight. The contents of the mysterious substance drained into her neck before dropping it.

"G... Ghk... G-Gah-ha-a-h... A-Ah!!!"

She twitched violently and erupted into full-on convulsions.

The Fiend, even in her form now, was in great horror of how one's body could shake so violently, frothing through clenched teeth with eyes growing bloodshot.

"What the hell is this...?" Elizabeth asked in genuine shock of the sight, before flinching to the bloodcurdling cry Jael would make as she fell to her knees with a hunched posture.

"Is she...dead?" The Fiend wondered as she heard nothing with her heightened senses. There didn't seem to be a heartbeat, even when focused her hearing to make sure of this. Then she sighed softly and said, "What a stupid way to go, poisoning yourself like that. Stupid human." The way she said this made her pause in confusion, and wondered why'd she say that as if she weren't herself human. She didn't feel anything for her either and was curious on her reason for this lack of concern.

But then Jael's body slowly collapsed onto it's face, having a position as it twitched slightly. It caught both of the women's attention to see this, and watched her start to rise up slowly. Steam seemed to be emitting off her skin as she rose with her upper body remaining hunched over and arms hanging outwards.

"Ah...~" a deep and satisfied sigh was what she made, and laughter that was low that became manic.

A sudden feeling came over Elizabeth and the Fiend -- a feeling that was all too familiar to them.

"T-This... This feels like that time..." Elizabeth thought, and ed the young man who calls himself the Woeful Prince; for the Fiend, it was the same, but not as the Woeful Prince, but as the boy she birthed and named Jericho/Sarah.

"AH HAH HAH HAH HA~A~A~H! I FEEL GREAT!"

Her presence wasn't like before -- this radiating flow of unadulterated power was similar to the mysterious figure that two had known for a time. The power that wasn't man...nor demon...but something greater.

"Now then," chimed Jael with her eyes trembling with anticipation, "I'm gonna tear you apart and make you scream for me!"

".... You look more of a demon than I do." Said the Fiend to herself. A pitiful stare was what she had before seeing Jael rush her with near-blinding speed that caught her off guard.

A fist collided with her face. The sound of a bomb going off was what it resembled, with the Fiend's face jerking back. However, that was the end as Jael dashed to her side and grabbed her by the face to slam her head backwards into the concrete; the ground crackling and rising at the sheer force of the impact. "Scream for me, little demon!" cackled Jael as she pressed her hand down to get a rise out of her enemy.

Instead, the Fiend grappled with her, revealing a change from her normal style of fighting that was more animalistic and brutal. This style was in the form of a triangle chokehold; intending to suffocate Jael.

"Now that's... surprising!" Jael was ecstatic from the hold that was clearly perfect from the position they were in. And since the Fiend was bigger than her (for she is 6'3, the Fiend being 6'6), the advantage weighed in her favor. It was fun to have a challenge, and she intended to match it in kind by holding the demoness with her free hand. She began to slowly pick up the Fiend with all her strength, urging her to tighten the hold around her head. But in the end, Jael succeeded to rise to her feet with the larger female in her grasp before slamming her down onto the floor again.

"U-Ugh...!!"

The hold releases from Jael, who stood up and beckoned her to get up.

"Stand up! We play this my way, not yours demon!"

"... So be it."

She got up and roared, a fist raised as Jael did the same. Simultaneously, they hit each other. Blow after blow drove their faces to appear damaged, healing slowly due to the constant attacks dealt to one another. It was brutal, relentless, and almost awe-inspiring to witness the these two fight to win.

Elizabeth watched in awe but also in confliction of Richard's purpose in having Daniella killed. He was a man who's always done the right thing, at least in her eyes. Now though, she wasn't sure anymore. Her feelings for Daniella overlapped the understanding of Richard's choice in condemning her at the hands of Jael, this strange woman who was rivaling that of the Fiend.

"Damnit... Damnit, damnit, damnit all," she chants in a bubbling anger, "Damnit Richard! You bastard, how can you think I'd abide this? How can you think I'd allow this! You have crossed the line!"

As she said this to herself, the Fiend's arm would be torn from her body by Jael. At the same time, her body would be punched so hard that the fist of the manic woman broke through her chest and out her back. The wounds were severe, and her healing was slowing down from the prolonged battle. Jael smiled gleefully, resuming her brutal assault with the severed arm she had torn from the Fiend.

Every blow met with a sickening sound that left the Fiend lying on the ground, half-dead and heavily breathing.

"You're fun for a demon. But all good things come to an end eventually. I'll you, Fiend."

Jael tossed her arm aside, intending to finish her with a stomp aimed at her head.

"No... ENOUGH!" Elizabeth shouted, a blinding light abruptly manifesting from her body. And at the same time, fired a blast of flames much different from the ones she would make -- now resembling a color of gold. Jael saw this, jumped back and raised her arms out to conjure a barrier. There was weight to the fire she held against, noticing this strange flame.

"Wait a second...are you--" the barrier broke and engulfed her completely and crashing her into the warehouse far back.

Elizabeth took the time to rush to the Fiend and seeing her severe state. It led to Daniella slowly morphing back to herself, with the large hole in her stomach still evident, alongside the stump where her arm used to be. The blonde was in shock to see her this way and immediately without thinking had engulfed them both in a light that took them away from that place.

Jael would slowly drag herself out of the rubble, a disbelief look on her face after enduring the blast made by the magician.

"Richard...you may have gotten me into trouble after all with this one," said Jael with a troubled feeling after seeing Elizabeth's eyes. They were glowing with a radiance unlike anything a human could do. This feeling...a familiar thing that was vague to the hired hunter.

What could it mean?

-----

"She hasn't woken up?"

".... No..."

"How... How could this have happened?"

About an hour later, in Maxwell's private quarters of the orphanage, both the priest and Elizabeth stood over an unconscious and wounded Daniella who was lying in his bed covered by a blanket that had been stained by her the wounds that were slowly healing. Yet she wasn't waking up.

Maxwell stared at her leaning down to her and moving her hair gently from her face. Then he hung his head and asked Elizabeth, "What happened...?" She didn't answer right away, and he again said in a more stern and angered voice: "What happened, Elizabeth?" She looked down and gripped at her own sleeves of her arms and said, "Richard... Richard sent someone to kill her. I was able to get her away after the fight. Maxie, I didn't--"

The priest, for the first time ever, did something against his peaceful nature by turning around and smacking Elizabeth across her face. She didn't resist it, allowing it to interrupt her and strike her.

"You did this. You, Richard, and the blasted Order, none of this would have happened if you didn't meet her. If she dies, it's on your hands, you hear me, YOUR hands!"

"... I don't... I want her to die," Elizabeth said quietly with a quivering tone behind her words.

"Yeah, well, that's not up to you or me...she had to decide, god willing. And you better pray she lives."

The priest kneeled over the bedside and gently held Daniella's left hand and closed his eyes with a grieving heart over the woman he saw as a daughter.

Elizabeth's heart too grieved. She saw Daniella there on the bed and grew angry at the man who was responsible for it.

"I'll be back..." She said to the priest who didn't acknowledge her leaving the small bedroom.

Some time ed as she ventured to Richard Holden's home, and knocked on the door to wait for him to answer. As she waited, her mind was in a dark place; ing how beaten and bloodied Daniella was by Jael, and knowing Richard was behind this unfortunate mess made her furious to the point of considering his death by her hands.

This consideration immediately came to the surface when seeing the door open and reveal Richard's face.

"Oh, Elizabeth, I didn't expect to see you this late--" a sudden force pushed him back across the hall and slamming against the wall hard. He groaned, and was then held in place by an invisible grasp bestowed to him by Elizabeth's magic.

The woman stormed in with the door shutting behind her according to her will alone, and grabbed Richard by his jaw and said, "You tried to have her killed. You bastard, you tried to kill Daniella."

"E-Eliza...beth...please..." He groaned from the increasing pressure on his body made by the magic that bound him. And it was only by Elizabeth's will that allowed him to suddenly fall to the ground and gasp a wide breath of air. She turned away, doing her best to keep herself from outright murdering him where he lies. When Richard gained his breath again, he slowly sat against the wall and explained himself to her about what he had done; enlisting Jael to kill the Fiend to protect the Order's image from the truth, a truth that originated from demonic influences. He explained and justified himself for doing what he believed was righteous, although immoral to everyone else's eyes. And the more Elizabeth listened, the more angrier she became with the man she held as her mentor.

When all was said and done, Elizabeth couldn't even look at him and grew silent.

"Elizabeth," he began to say while looking at her. "What I did, I did for you and the Order, so it can survive. The Fiend is a danger I could not allow to be on it's own any longer."

"... Bullshit." Elizabeth turned to him with a disgusted look, and said, "You wanted Daniella dead to protect your image. To keep secret something that would deem the Order a demon's private army. For a time, I welcomed serving you and the Order because I was raised into it, practically born to be what you trained me to be and I enjoyed it. But now... But now! Now you have shown me something I can't tolerate. You're no better than a leper who's hard on the eyes. We're done. I'm not leaving Daniella...and if you dare harm her again or even think of coming after her, I swear to your pathetic st. Marcus that I'll having your body displayed for everyone to see -- naked, gutted, and beheaded. This is my warning...and my last one too."

"....."

Her eyes were cold. These were the same eyes she gave to anyone she saw as an enemy or have earned her hatred.

Richard saw those blue eyes reflect his face like a mirror, and fear crept into him as her words rang as a promise and not a bluff to be intimidating.

She would gladly take his life.

To that knowledge did he fall silent and hung his head shamefully as she marched out the house. Unknowingly, tears flowed down her face as she was filled with many emotions after that evening.

What happens next is left in darkness.

To be continued

(Two images of faceclaim Jael belongs to a manga called "Tenkaichi" with the original character named "Kotaro"(?).)

•The Fiend:

http://aminoapps.vertvonline.info/p/fpwh73

FYI, here are the Fiend's wiki! I should also note that the Fiend currently in this story hasn't fully embraced the powers of the demoness Beleth -- that comes later! Nuff said! :japanese_goblin: