Red steam hissed from between Cobalt's teeth as he raised his arms in a defensive stance, just as Izzbelle had taught him. Delta, closing the gap quickly, brought both of his hatchets down, clashing them off the Incubus' armoured forearms. The two stood there for a moment, both grinning as they struggled to overpower one another.
"Hah! Ya got guts, I like that! Ain't no fun when they just let ya kill 'em!" the Devil cried ecstatically, grinding the edges of his blades against the fangs.
Cobalt swallowed hard. He knew that whatever bravery he felt right now was just a side effect of the blood fueling the fire in his stomach, but he snapped back regardless.
"I don't plan on dying today!"
"Then fuckin' prove it!"
Winding his head back, Delta swiftly headbutted his opponent, clashing their iron horns against one another. As painful vibrations rocked through Cobalt's skull, he staggered back, allowing the Devil to drop down and sweep his legs out from beneath him. Twirling one of the axes around, he attempted to bring it down on the Incubus' neck, only to strike solid stone as he rolled out of the way.
Teeth gritted and fists balled, Cobalt scrabbled to his feet and rushed towards Delta, the fangs between his knuckles extending in anticipation of the coming blows. He ducked beneath another swing of the hatchets and punched him right in the chest. The thick flak jacket weathered most of the blow, but he didn't stop at one. Izzbelle's training clearly must have worked, because after landing a flurry of strikes on the Devil's midsection, Cobalt pulled back to find that he had left sizable rips in the armoured garment. Snorting, Delta shot him a gap toothed grin.
"Nice. Yer gonna be a fun one," he grunted, flipping the hatchets around.
"Kid, get out of the way!"
Eyes widening, Cobalt just about managed to stagger to the side as one of the hatchets went whirling past his face, burying itself in a training target a few feet away. As he recovered from the sudden attack, however, Delta loosed the second axe with a triumphant yell.
Keening through the air, the black iron blade embedded itself right in Cobalt's chest, cracking a few of his ribs and sticking fast, a mere inch from one of his lungs. Screaming, he fell to his knees, grabbing the hatchet handle as blood poured from the wound.
"Tch. Fuckin' amateurs," sighed Delta, conjuring another hatchet into existence.
Swearing loudly, Cobalt gripped the handle with both hands and wrenched it out of his chest, screaming as he felt the cracked ends of his bones grind against the rough iron. Red steam seeped from the gash, but it didn't heal.
It seemed his own blood wasn't nearly as potent as someone else's.
"For the love of all that burns...!"
Throwing himself out of the way of another tossed hatchet, Cobalt bit deep into his arm, greedily sucking his own blood right from their vessels. A mild wave of euphoria washed over him, setting his veins alight and forcing the gash in his chest to seal itself. As his ribs gradually fused back together, he pulled his teeth out and gasped for breath, feeling a dim red haze set in at the edge of his vision.
"Kid..." Lilith murmured in a concerned tone.
"Not now...!"
Grabbing the bloodied hatchet, Cobalt ran right at Delta, sparks flying behind him as he scraped the blade off the floor. The Devil took a step back as he swung it upwards, catching the blade with his own weapon when he tried to bring it back down.
"Hah, now that's a first. Still, ya only got so much blood in ya. How long d'ya think ya can last?" the Devil hissed, narrowing his eyes.
"As long as I need to!"
"Here's hopin' that's a while!"
Like a pair of feral dogs locked in struggle for dominance, the two went at each other, tooth and nail. Armed with a hatchet each, they swung, slashed and smashed. For every sizable gash left in the Devil's flak jacket, he would leave a similar wound in Cobalt's torso, staining the floor of the ancient Devil training hall with red splatters.
Bashing the blunt end of his weapon into the Incubus' jaw, he pulled his shotgun off his back and aimed it right at him with one hand. Though Cobalt managed to duck his head out of the way as he fired, a few buckshot pellets grazed the side of his head, knocking him onto his back.
"Aw, c'mon! This is gettin' borin'!" Delta cried, pumping the gun.
Clutching a hand to the burning wounds, Cobalt shakily got to his feet, his vision blurring a little as thick blood oozed from between his fingers.
"Don't give up now, kid," Lilith encouraged.
"I don't see you helping!"
"If we separate then he'll pick us off one by one! We're stronger together like this!"
"Right..."
As the Devil took aim, Cobalt quickly stretched out his arms and forcefully ejected his toothy armour, forcing Delta to dive for cover. As the fangs embedded themselves in the far wall, the Incubus ran off and ducked behind a training dummy, gasping for breath as his head pounded alongside his heartbeat.
"I- I don't understand, how am I running on fumes so quickly...?" he gasped, wincing as he touched a curved cut on his pectoral.
"You're basically recycling fuel. Diminishing returns. You can only do this for so long, kid, and even then it's inadvisable."
"I don't have a choice...!"
He bit his arm again, adding to the seeping bite marks accumulating upon his flesh. The blood flowed thick and fast down his throat, sealing his wounds and kicking his pulse into high gear. Cobalt's vision stuttered and blurred with every breath he took, and in the corner of his eyes he could see fluttering rose petals.
"Guh... O- Ocov et, amra ilobaid...!" he gasped, forming a magical rift from which he pulled forth the iron chain.
Winding it around his forearm, he took a deep breath and prepared himself to rush Delta.
"Alright... Here goes...!"
Leaping out from behind his cover, Cobalt ran forward, fixing to clobber the Devil before he had the chance to fire upon him again. But he realised that something was wrong when he reached the centre of the hall and nothing had happened. He ground to a stop, narrowing his eyes at the spot where Delta had been hiding. He was gone.
"What...?" he murmured, balling his fists as he glanced around suspiciously.
He heard the sound of hollow metal striking stone. Wheeling around, Cobalt saw another metal canister hit the ground just a few feet away, hissing as it began to emit thick smoke. Eyes widening, he held a hand to his face as it quickly filled the room, blinding him before long.
"Shit, not good, not good...!" Lilith breathed.
The smoke was choking and stung his eyes, but he remained alert with his chain gripped tight and ready to swing at any sign of movement.
"Where is he...?" he murmured, squinting through the smoke.
He received his answer in the form of a gunshot from above. Leaden shot rained down from above as Delta fired upon him relentlessly. Pellets struck his extremities as he ducked and dove to and fro, struggling to avoid getting struck in the head.
"Calm down, kid; he's firing blind!" Lilith cried.
Swallowing hard, Cobalt dropped down low, allowing the smoke to coalesce all around him. Far above, Delta cackled.
"Y'know, yer smarter than ya look! But let's not draw this out, huh? Ain't no fun that way!" the Devil taunted, scattering empty shotgun shells to the floor.
"You have to get up there."
"How? My wings aren't built for flight," Cobalt breathed, keeping his voice low.
"I don't know, alright? You're supposed to be smart, kid; use your brain."
Swallowing hard, the Incubus shut his eyes and struggled to think. His head was pounding from the adrenaline coursing through his body, and he was feeling a little woozy from all the blood he lost. This entire place was built for Devils; the likelihood of there being any way for a flight-incapable demon to reach the ceiling was slim to none. The walls looked steep and uniform. He wouldn't be able to climb.
Unless...
"I... I have an idea."
"What is it?"
"I don't know if it'll work, though."
"But what is it?"
"Agh... this is gonna hurt..."
"Kid, what the Hell are you- GAH?!"
Clenching one of his fingernails between his teeth, Cobalt clamped them tight and unceremoniously ripped it right out of its roots. He wanted to scream as loud as Lilith was, but with Delta circling somewhere above him, ready to fire, he just held his breath and got to work on the rest of his nails. One by one, he tore them out of his fingers, spitting them to the floor in a splatter of blood and saliva. By the time the last fingernail hit the floor, the Incubus felt about ready to pass out. The soft, exposed skin of his fingers stung in the cold subterranean air, the pain only intensifying as he clenched his fists.
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It was only a hunch, but it had to work.
Otherwise he was done for.
Licking his lips, Cobalt bit into his arm once more, feeling a brief bought of lightheadedness as his teeth pierced his flesh. He drank and drank and drank, until his stomach began to burn and a tingling sensation shot through his entire body. His veins glowed brighter and brighter, igniting his blood to a scaldingly-hot temperature.
"Kid, he's gonna see you shining through the smoke! What the Hell are you doing?!"
He ignored the Devil's complaints. Focusing on the pins and needles tearing through him, Cobalt took a shaky breath, almost choking on the smoke. The sensation gathered in his arms, before gradually coalescing in his fingertips.
That was it. He focused on the furnace in his stomach and he let it burn bright. Feeling the flames tear through him, Cobalt roared as a fresh array of fingernails ripped through the roots of the old ones, spraying red all over his face. They were thick and pointed, like claws formed from toughened bone.
He could tear Delta apart with these.
"Found ya, ya lil' shit!"
Cobalt leaped out of the way as another salvo of buckshot struck the ground. Scraping his new nails against the stone, he made a beeline for one of the walls, gasping for breath with every step he took. The rose petals scattered around him as he ran.
Kicking off an overturned training dummy, he leaped right at one of the walls, sinking his claws deep into the stonework on impact.
They stuck fast.
"Yes...!"
He braced his feet against the wall, giving him enough leverage to haul himself up. Though his hands hurt immensely, Cobalt used his newly-grown claws to climb up out of the smoke, reaching the upper half of the atrium before long. There, Delta was slowly circling the hall, his gun aimed right at him. He looked shocked to see the Incubus scaling the wall.
"What the fuck...?" the Devil breathed, raising his gun to his shoulder.
Cobalt swiftly kicked off the wall, tearing his new claws free in a shower of broken stone and chipped mortar. He flattened his wings against his back, launching himself right at Delta before he could pull the trigger.
"Ya clever little-!"
The Incubus grappled him around the stomach mid-flight, sinking his nails into Delta's tattered flak jacket as he dragged them both to the floor. They landed with a crash, whereupon the pair rolled apart and leaped to their feet, fists raised and ready. Spitting out a glob of blood, Delta grinned.
"Alright, no more fuckin' around. Ya ready ta die, blueskin?!" he hissed, cracking his knuckles.
Furrowing his brow, Cobalt flexed his hands, the sharp edges of his claws glinting in what little light there was.
"Can I ask the same of you?" he rasped.
"Of course! Ah'm always ready ta-!"
The deafening sound of grinding metal suddenly rang out through the training hall, deafening both of them. Gritting his teeth, Cobalt glanced up at Delta, who was covering his ears. Slowly, they both turned to face the entrance to the elevator shaft. The doors had shut, and a rumbling sound was emanating from it. As the smoke gradually cleared, the screeching and rattling grew louder, before suddenly going quiet.
Sparks sprayed from the doors as they ground open, revealing the inside of an old, rusted lift. There, clinging shakily to the operation lever, was Jelli. She was pale, and her face was soaked with tears.
Delta raised an eyebrow.
"Who the fuck are-?" he began, raising a finger to point at the Glutton.
He never got to finish his sentence.
Taking advantage of the Devil's distraction, Cobalt lunged right at him, grabbing hold of both of his horns before he even knew what was happening. With a mighty cry of exertion, he pulled Delta's head down and smashed his face flat against the floor.
He went down without a sound.
Gasping for breath, the Incubus staggered backwards, staring at the fallen Devil with wide, unblinking eyes. The man's wings and tail had gone limp; he wasn't getting back up.
"M- Mr. Trayer...?" choked the voice of Jelli from the elevator.
The Glutton slowly crept out of the shaft, gazing around the training hall with wide, terrified eyes.
"Jelli, what are you doing here?" Cobalt asked urgently, frantically wiping the blood off his hands.
She was staring at Delta, terrified.
"Th- The rescue team, they're here, a- and I said I'd go find you, I- I followed the lights you l- lit and I started thinking you might be hurt, and I h- heard sounds and... oh... s- so viel Blut..." she guttered, focusing on the red stains all over the floor.
Running up to his student, Cobalt stumbled a little as he grasped her shoulders.
"Jelli, listen to me. J- Just... Go back up and wait for me outside the lift, okay? I'll... I'll be up in a few minutes."
The Glutton nodded slowly, but kept staring at the blood. Swallowing hard, Cobalt gently took her cheek and directed her gaze away, leaving a reddish smear.
"Don't look at that, just... just look at me. Can you do this for me?"
"J- Ja- um, yes. Yes. Outside the lift, okay," Jelli stammered, shaking her head.
Cobalt nodded and let go, allowing his student to stumble back into the elevator. Grabbing the lever, she gave the Incubus one last look before pulling it, sending the lift back up.
With Jelli gone, he slowly walked back over to Delta. Arriving at his side, a wave of fatigue suddenly washed over him as Lilith materialised beside him, hissing through her teeth as she appeared.
"Ah, shit kid... did you have to bite so deep?" she asked, rolling up her sleeve to reveal bites on her arm matching her host's.
Frowning, she shook her head and conjured her pistol.
"Well, whatever. Let's get this bullshit over with," the Devil sighed, pointing the gun at Delta's head.
"W- Wait! Do we have to kill him?" Cobalt asked, grabbing her arm.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. Yes we do."
"But he was your friend, right?!"
"Emphasis on 'was.'"
"A- Alison! We could hand him off to Alison!"
Her good eye widening, Lilith took a step back and gave the Incubus an incredulous look.
"You want to hand a Devil - a member of the Alpha Corps, no less - to that fucking human?! Kid have you lost your fucking mind?!"
"Maybe I have!" Cobalt suddenly yelled, startling her.
The fire flared.
"Maybe I've gone fucking crazy with all the shit you've been dragging me into lately! This was supposed to be a nice field trip with my students! But because of you and your stupid fucking ex-lackeys, I'm once again being force to do things I really don't want to do! There's enough blood on my hands as it is, Lilith, and I am not getting them any dirtier! Do you understand me?!" he snapped, pointing an accusing finger at the Devil.
Lilith bared her teeth.
"The fuck did you just say to me?!"
"You heard me! Now put that fucking gun away! I mean it!"
She glared deep into Cobalt's eyes, but after a few moments, she sighed and dispelled the pistol. Folding her arms, Lilith looked down her nose at the Incubus.
"... Fine. We'll do it your way. Can't blame me if it goes wrong, though."
"Just shut the Hell up, Lilith."
Taking a few steps away, the Incubus reached into his pocket and fished out his mobile phone. He flipped it open and frantically called Alison.
"Yello? Bluebell?" answered the voice of the intrepid scientist.
The signal was patchy. It was a miracle he was able to get a call through from this far down.
"Alison, can you track this phone's location?" Cobalt asked breathlessly.
"Huh? Bluebell, I can barely hear you; are you in a tunnel or som-?"
"Just answer the damn question, Alison!"
"Y- Yes, yes I can track your location. Why, what's wrong?"
"Right. I'm going to send you a text in a little while. Go to this phone's location; I need you to pick someone up for me."
"Pick someone up? I don't under-"
"Just do it, Alison. Consider it another favour you owe me."
He ended the call. Snapping the phone shut, he marched back over to Lilith.
"Where's the emergency exits you mentioned?" he asked.
Hooking a thumb over her shoulder, Lilith directed the Incubus' gaze towards a small, heavily-rusted side door at the far end of the training hall.
"Closest one is that direction."
"Good. Tie Delta up with something, take him to the surface, then send a text to this number," he instructed, opening up his messages to Alison on the phone.
Lilith frowned.
"First off, I'm not your fucking gofer. Second, that's a bad idea. The further apart we are like this, the weaker we're gonna be," she told him, arms folded tight.
"I don't care about excuses, Lilith. Just hide him somewhere nearby when you get there," he hissed, throwing the phone at her.
Swallowing hard, the Incubus turned around and limped back towards the lift, feeling as though his energy was draining with every step. Pulling a lever to call for the elevator, he looked back at Lilith.
"Just... meet me somewhere discrete when you're done."
Lilith just frowned and hoisted Delta's unconscious body into her arms.
"Fine."
The lift arrived. Stumbling through, Cobalt pulled the lever and slumped against the wall, gasping for breath and sliding to the floor as the elevator began to rise.
He felt as though he was losing his grip on himself. Joy and anger seemed to ebb and flow like the tides, and it only grew worse with the pains in his gut. How he relished the thought of fighting Delta, how he lost the plot at Lilith...
"Get it together, Trayer..." he murmured, wiping his eyes.
He looked up.
"Get it..."
The cat. There it was, sitting amidst a pile of red rose petals. Staring at him. Taunting him.
Smiling at him. Smiling like a fucking person.
The entire lift juddered to a halt as it arrived at its floor. The doors slowly scraped open to reveal Jelli, nervously pacing back and forth across the Bastion hallway. Upon seeing him, her eyes opened wide.
"Mr. Trayer!"
She rushed over to him, wrapping her arms tightly around the Incubus, not caring for the blood that stained her clothes. The pair of them were cold, but at that moment in time, she was so warm.
Pulling back, her big eyes darted about frantically as she looked for any obvious wounds.
"You're hurt...! she gasped.
"No, no... I'm fine, just... just tired..." he replied, feeling his eyelids droop.
"Keep your eyes open, Mr. Trayer, please!"
Nodding slowly, the Incubus bit his lip and arduously heaved himself to his feet. Lilith was right; he felt incredibly weak.
His foot caught on the edge of the elevator door, causing him to trip. Jelli screamed as he fell, trying to catch him but only winding up going down with him. Cobalt managed to limply wrap his arms around her when they landed, saving her from the brunt of the impact.
"Ow. Sorry," he sighed, frowning.
Climbing off him, Jelli knelt down next to her teacher.
"The rescuers are here, Mr. Trayer. Come on, you can do it," she said encouragingly, holding his hand.
He heard her swallow hard.
"Do you... Do you need more of my...?" Jelli asked, trailing off.
"No. No... I can't ask that of you..."
"... Lust demons can live off, um... Körperflüssigkeiten? No, I- I mean... bodily fluids, right...?"
Cobalt slowly nodded, feeling ready to nod off.
"Yeah. That'll be on your next Biology ex-"
"What about saliva?"
Cobalt's brow furrowed.
"I mean... technically. Why do you-?"
She kissed him.
Without any hesitation, she grabbed the sides of his head and pulled his face close to hers. Pressing their lips together, Jelli shut her eyes and slowly slid her tongue into Cobalt's mouth. It was shaking, nervous, but oh so sweet. The Incubus was taken aback by her sudden bold move, but found himself not entirely disliking the sensation. Carefully, he let his own tongue slip into her mouth, not entirely by accident. He could feel his vitality return to him, as Jelli's sweet saliva-
Wait.
What was he doing?!
Pulling away, Cobalt gasped for breath as he fell to the floor. Jelli, on the other hand, squealed as she hid her face behind her hands.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...!" she babbled, unable to hold the tears back.
"N- No no, Jelli, it's alright!" the Incubus cried as he struggled to prop himself up on his elbow.
She began to cry, trying and failing to wipe the tears from her face.
"I- I- I can't hide it any more!" she wailed, tearing her mittens off.
She grabbed Cobalt's shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes.
"I- I'm in love with you, Cobalt!"
No. No no no, not now. Not this, not her, not like this.
This wasn't supposed to happen! Jelli's first love...! It can't be him! He knew that the moment she first touched her lips against his! He couldn't ruin such a precious thing for her! He hoped that she would eventually learn that such feelings couldn't be reciprocated and move on! It was better for her that way! Better for everyone! Cobalt cared about Jelli too much to form an answer, he-!
He bit his tongue, silencing his panicking train of thought.
"Jelli, listen to me. You've heard of the suspension bridge effect, right? That's all this is," Cobalt told her, almost desperately.
Cradling the Incubus' face, she shook her head.
"It's not. I- I've known for a long time. Ever since you made friends with me, I- I felt like... I mean... I- I know it's love, Cobalt. I can't think of being with anyone else."
Silently, he pleaded for her to stop. He didn't want to break her heart, not when she had already been through enough.
Sitting up, Cobalt took a shaking breath.
"You're... struggling with some complicated feelings, Jelli. I..."
He swallowed hard.
"Let's put a pin in it, okay? There's a lot going on right now, but I promise; later on we can talk about this, okay?" the Incubus breathed, looking deep into her eyes.
Oh, her eyes... It hurt him to see them so wide and vulnerable.
"O- Okay. Okay..."
She helped him to his feet, and with one arm across her shoulders, the pair gradually made their way back through Tempered Bastion 31-3, retracing the trail of destruction left in the wake of his fight with Delta.
But the entire time, he became aware of another sensation is his stomach, different to the ever-burning fires of Incubus hunger.
Guilt.