Third Person

~

'Those children aren't to be underestimated,' Nightmare's voice echoed at the forefront of Arius' mind as he watched the burnt husk of his most wonderful minions fall lifelessly to the ground from the lightning user's attack.

He realized as much now, he could almost see their burning resolve in their eyes, their readiness for combat, and the fierceness of their auras called out to him.

'How intoxicatingly wonderful,' he mused to himself as he created more of his six-legged beauties.

'I'd handle them myself, but I figured it's long overdue you prove your worthiness at my side.'

His Master's intentions were clear as day and Arius would willingly lay down his life if it was all the proof he needed.

'There's also reason to believe they're more than three. My watchers reported ice shards at the site of the Hikegani fight, force them to show themselves.'

Arius adjusted the covering over the tip of his nose, tingles of anticipation buzzing within his hands as the watched the children charge at him, splitting off in different directions before coming back at him.

Power couldn't help but be tested to prove its standing. Like the burning gold of day gives way to the pitch dark of the night, he'd crush these children, with the absolute power bestowed on him by his Master, and make way for the long overdue remake of this world.

The Keeper cut through his swarm swiftly and with the aid of her teammates she was before him once more, testing the metal of his weapon in quick successive slashes, each hit increasing in strength and vigor.

An unforeseen kick to the face sent him flying off his beast and into the lamppost at the other end of the street. He picked himself up and sprung backward before she could use him as a landing pad.

They met in another clash of weapons, the vision of one of his minions flashed in his mind in a warning and he managed to evade an onslaught of dark feathers and changed the structure of his insides before one could cut him in the neck.

He vanished and materialized away from the Keeper, with his abilities, these children were already fighting a losing battle. He stretched out his arms, the skies clouding with more insects, "Haven't you realized it yet? Surprise attacks have no effect on me!" He cackled.

He couldn't be injured, and with so little magic energy expended on healing and rejuvenation, he could summon more and more minions to his liking. Overwhelming these children would be no problem, and he planned to do so. The more he realized his win, the less entertaining this fight became.

"Believe me, we know," The Keeper said, as she approached him, the carcasses of the beauties she'd killed left behind her. He'd deemed her a violent and unrefined creature from the onset, her unpolished fighting style shining through like a dim torch in the night.

But a torch, no matter how dim, still produced light, and it was that light he'd come to exterminate. Tokyo and Japan itself would soon be rid of their only saviors. Chaos would ensue, feeding into the frenzy of the demons at Nightmare's command.

"Everyone in position?!" She screamed taking a stance.

Arius stared, snapping out of his thoughts to realize he was in the middle of the street. For the eyes of his minions he could pick out the blood magic user perched on the side of the building behind him and the lightning user was somewhere off to the side.

He was more or less surrounded but he saw no point to their strategy. If they all came at him at the same time, he'd easily shift and materialize somewhere else.

"Ready!"

Arius' confusion had barely settled in before the area around them was engulfed in freezing gusts of terrifying wind. He braced himself closer to the ground to keep from being carried off by the holwing currents.

He squinted his eyes open against the dust and flying debris, to get a better look at what was happening now. He was almost impressed.

They were in the center of a raging twister, its height stretching far above several buildings and its strength picking up and tossing everything in sight. His minions included.

"Having your little bugs look out for you is a cheat move, let's see how you deal with the three of us yourself," She hissed.

"There's no such thing as cheating, dear child, merely advantages," he scoffed, "And I doubt you can keep this up for long, so all I have to do is avoid your attacks until I can summon my beauties without them being blown off."

"We'll be done before she has to stop," the blond archer stated matter-of-fact and already taking aim.

The other two lunged for him as well, starting an onslaught of blades, lights, and slashing feathers, which he managed to dodge and evade with only a few near misses.

But gradually he could feel the wear of his missteps wearing on him, the lack of his eyes making him have to think much quicker to avoid the traps the three set.

The flurry of feathers crowded his vision, forcing him to change his structure until he found his way out. He barely started looking until a form barreled toward him. He raised both hands, managing to stop the Keeper's punch from connecting with his face.

The impact sent him backward just in time to connect with a vehicle that had been picked up by the winds. He scowled, a hiss leaving his teeth, how was she still going, and what was the point of this when they knew they couldn't hurt him?

He'd had enough of their games, he made to stand when suddenly a spike of pain shot through his veins, from his shoulder. He'd barely managed to check what had happened when he felt cold metal wrap around his leg, swiftly lift him from the ground before violently slamming him back down.

He felt the rise of bile in his throat as the eerie weakness held fast and unrelentingly unto him, blood clawing its way up until he coughed it out.

What was happening? He needed time to figure this out before these children could do any real damage. The sound of whirling blades interrupted his thoughts as he got back to his feet.

"Is that a helicopter?!" He heard the blood user's voice call out.

"I need to stop the Tornado!" The Keeper called out.

"You can't!"

"It could cause them to crash!" She returned and Arius felt the air around him still almost immediately, "Besides, we already got him with the spell."

Spell?

Arius looked down at his shoulder, a talisman with bold, glowing red symbols was attached to his sleeve. More intricate symbols in the form of vines twisted down the length of his arm dripping venom as they crept along.

A poison spell that could work without breaking skin was undeniably new to him, the pain was excruciating and almost numbing, making him unable to do anything.

The feeling of a blade around his neck drew his attention, and for the first time in a long while, a burning shame filled his chest, was this really his end? Bested by children? How unbelievably...weak.

Kira smirked as she looked down into Arius' amber eyes, the hate in his gaze would be enough to make anyone step back but she held her ground, she was the one in control here.

"Hurts, doesn't it? And it'll keep getting worse unless it gets cured," she continued, "Lucky you, we're willing to make a deal."

"I'd sooner die than become of aid to human vermin like you," He spat.

"You're human too,"

"One who joins with the Master's cause becomes more than those who fight against the reality of his promise."

Kira rolled her eyes, "You're all delusional, what exactly are you fighting against, what is it that makes killing tens of hundreds and thousands of innocent people feel good to you freaks?!" She pushed the blade closer to his neck.

"I told you he's not worth talking to," Troy sighed, lightning crackled in his right hand, taking the form of a katana, "Step back, and let's end this."

"We can't kill him just like that!"

"Of course we can, I pieced enough information from our earlier battle, he's of no use to use now," Kuro chirped cheerfully.

Kira knew Arius deserved to die, but she really didn't want to be here for that. Walking off would be more of a blow to her image and she knew that. They had to do this, for the city, for everything they were struggling to protect.

She sighed deeply, nodding to Troy, secretly thankful he'd taken the initiative to give her the option to let him. The news helicopter was still above them, the people needed to know they could rest easy tonight.

She was about to step back and give way to Troy when Arius' dark cackle filled the destroyed street on which his bug minions twitched uselessly due to their controller's state.

Kira had barely opened her mouth to questions when a spurt of thick red blood filled the air, clouding her enhanced smell with its strong coppery scent.

She watched as Arius' arm dropped from his shoulder, his sickle coated in the dark liquid that dripped from his severed limb.

The wild laughter stopped, and the aura around him changed, pulsing and sending chilling shockwaves through the three heroes.

Kuro's eyes widened, "What the-"

"Power can only be proven when it's tested, devotion in itself is the greatest test of all," Arius murmured, standing slowly so as not to wobble, "What kind of servant would I be if I lost my Master's Honor to such a measly trick."

The air pulsed once more, and dark masses began to spawn randomly, growing legs and large ogling eyes.

"Thank you, Demona and angels, thank you for awakening me, if one must raise above the trickery of you dishonorable humans to be stronger then I guess I've passed!"

"Demona, get back!" Kuro screamed, dashing forward.

Kira wanted to react but she was instantly rammed from the side and carried off at an alarming speed as a demon locust bulldozed her into the side of a building, glass and metal scraping along her skin with the impact.

Arius stretched his neck, willing the magic back into his veins so he could change his form. The buzzing of the insects within his body filled him with calm, they stretched out of his wound, slowly shaping themselves until he got a new arm. All this new power was more than he could have hoped for. Intoxicatingly wonderful.

"Brat, what happened?" Troy asked as Arius turned to them.

"When he cut off the arm with the spell, it stopped affecting him, in addition to that...he seemed to have unlocked an increase in power, just like you did when you could summon two Thunderstrikes the other night."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"How bad is it for us?"

"I don't know yet, but from what I can guess...his range has probably increased."

Arius raised his sickle, pointing it at them, "Let's have some fun shall we?"

***

Jade cursed, the words unclear and easy to dismiss with all the pandemonium happening around them.

'Take them and run!' she remembered the Commissioner's words to Officer Kaneko as soon as they noticed the weird insects push through the five-hundred-meter line.

'But mum!'

'Moriko, get home and lock the doors!'

Jade hadn't hesitated in dragging the blond after the officer. They had to leave before things got more dangerous. Now here they were, running as the sounds of buzzing drew nearer behind them and the screams of people heightened.

Officer Kaneko dodged into an alley, waving the girls to follow her. After Jade had released Momo's home address in the blonde's place, the officer had determined the quickest route to get them there, but the streets had become dangerously rowdy as they pushed on.

"Can you girls keep going a bit more? We can't stop for too long," the officer said panting softly through shaky lips.

"C'mon, Blondie," Jade urged Momo.

"I need to go back for Mom, we shouldn't have left her back there!" Momo blurted out before turning to exit the alley but a buzzing form zoomed by, causing her to shriek and stumble back.

Jade clasped a hand over her mouth to muffle the rest of the sound before pulling her back. She turned to Officer Kaneko, "Let's go," she pulled Momo along more forcefully now.

As they continued she reached out to Kira telepathically, 'Kira! What's going on? The bug things have crossed the line!'

It took a while but Kira's voice reached her back, 'Technical difficulties, we're working on it.'

More screams reached them as they stepped out of the alley, they ran out into the open road to see groups of people dashing past them as the bugs seemed to be coming from the other side now.

"There's a subway up ahead, let's hide down there!" The officer leading them called, firing furiously as one bug crept dangerously close.

Jade was just about to follow when Momo grabbed her sleeve, pointing to one of the many monitors hoisted onto the side of a building. Live footage from a bird's eye view of the fight was being broadcasted.

And things weren't looking good for the trio of heroes that had arrived on the scene. Jade's hands unconsciously went to her necklace, a strong need to do something, anything at all, filled veins with emotion so powerful she feared she'd lose control.

'Kira...are you...'

'Things look worse than they are... really...'

'I can see you from here, moron! You three need help!'

'Jade there's nothing you can do! Now shut up and let me work!'

'Kira! Vermillion!'

Her grip on her jewelry tightened as she watched Kira take another hit from that Arius guy, the impact knocking her into the ground hard enough to make a small crater.

She should be there, she should be fighting alongside them, but she had no idea what to do, or how to go about it. There was also the fact that she didn't want to. It wasn't her job, and she'd gotten Momo back.

'What are you really afraid of?'

Troy's question echoed in the depths of her consciousness. The answer was one she knew even before the question was asked, it danced around her neck with each movement and haunted her dreams at night.

***

'Remember, Jade, if you lose this... you'll never be able to touch anyone again.' Ms. Hills hummed as she clasp the necklace around the young teen's neck.

'And it always has to make contact with my chest, blah blah blah,' She huffed, watching as the older woman slowly pulled off the gloves that had long since imprisoned her hands.

Two long years, unable to feel another's warmth on her skin. Two long years of being unable to look anyone in the eye.

After two long years of loneliness to finally experience the touch of another's skin to hers once.

***

She couldn't take the necklace off, if she lost it in battle, that would be the end of ever interacting with someone again.

She didn't know if she could ever go back to that. Especially not after coming so far. She turned to Momo who was still trying to get a glimpse of the screen as they ran towards the subway.

***

'Hi there and welcome to the Class 1C get-together! You don't look like you're from around here.'

'You could say that again!'

'And you're all alone.'

'I thought Japanese people loved minding their business.'

'Was that supposed to offend me?'

'Are you offended?'

The blond flashed a blinding smile, 'Not really!'

She rolled her eyes and tried to walk away, she'd only come to look around, she heard footsteps bound after her, followed by a startled scream before she was roughly tackled to the ground by the annoying blond.

'Sorry, I tripped,' the stranger chuckled nervously before peering closer at her, 'You look beautiful up close.'

Jade was sure she'd be bright red if blush could show on her skin, 'Whatever.'

***

Just a few words and persistent meetings had restored her confidence in being able to interact with the world again. Before she knew what was happening, she'd made a handful of strangers her world, wishing they'd stop their dangerous antics and just be.

All she could do was watch and hope until she couldn't watch anymore. There was the sound of screaming behind her, she spun to see Momo's eyes locked on the form of a falling billboard a few feet away. The demon insects had chewed its legs and it was tumbling forward at an alarming pace.

They were far enough that to not be in the landing zone, but there were still so many people running, a lot of them running, fear and desperation wafting into the air as the crowd continued to push against each other.

'Stop looking at me like that...'

'None of that has anything to do with me!'

The emotions bubbling up within her weren't her own, she didn't have to put her life on the line for strangers. She turned around and met the empty space where Moriko used to stand.

Her pulse quickened, and she scanned the area until she found a blond head of hair dashing toward the landing zone, struggling to get to a young wailing child even when the shadow of the falling contraption continued to lengthen on the ground.

'I know a place where you could fit in,' Ms. Hills' voice played in her mind.

'Really now?'

'There are other people like you, working to save the world and make a difference.'

'Not my thing.'

A chuckle, 'Kids are usually meant to jump at the chance to be heroes.'

'Give me a break,' a glance at her hands, 'How does a curse help anyone?'

She realized they wouldn't make it back in time almost immediately. Her pulse tripled just as the burst of power seeped out, chilling the air and causing waves of freezing ice to spill from the ground, spreading further up until a dome of glimmering ice trapped almost the entire street.

The sound of loud crashing caused the stunned people to flinch as the billboard made contact with the ice dome.

Jade sighed in relief when only a few shards shook loose from the structure. That had been way too close for comfort. And undeniably reckless.

In the crowd, no one would notice one inconspicuous teen with frost on her feet and hands. At least in this dome, the people would be safe from the bugs outside, the temperature was cold but not unbearably so. They'd just have to hold on until she was done helping Kira and the guys.

The decision had been made and even though she had no idea of how she'd fit into their equation, they needed her now.

She'd barely taken steps to find somewhere to transform when a hand was clasping at the hem of her jacket. Moriko was at her side, holding the lost child beside her own trembling form, she pointed past Jade to another mounted monitor that everyone else was gasping at now.

Jade faced the screen, unable to keep the shock from her face as she saw what was on. Arius was holding Demona by the neck, there was no sign of the other two, probably indicating that he had taken care of them earlier.

As far as the helicopter was, Jade could still pick out every detail. Kira's struggle to escape his grasp, her bloodied face, and the harsh movement of her lips as she struggled for air.

Arius spun to face the camera of the news chopper, "Behold your savior, Tokyo city! And quake in the face of ultimate power," he cackled, "But fear not, as there's allegedly one more! An ice user who's been absent for far too long...your comrades are dying dear wielder, come save-"

"Don't!" Kira's modified voice through her Mask boomed, sounding far more menacing than she ever would. Bright green orbs locked on the camera, and Jade felt completely bare before them like they were completely holding her in place, "Remember your promise!"

'Promise me, you'll look after everyone...'

Jade hissed through her teeth, 'Stupid Vermillion, keep your shit promise yourself, and don't die before I get there!' She communicated telepathically.

She had to get away from Momo, and fast.

***

Kira groaned as Arius threw her across the street again, launching forward to plant a hard kick to her jaw.

She spat up some blood, making a solemn promise to thoroughly disfigure him when the bones in her legs healed. After his power up, things spiraled downward unbelievably fast. They had swarms of insects coming from all directions. When Kuro took control of half the swarm, Arius would spawn more.

Kira tried to get a hold of him and tried to drain his abilities but he slipped out of her chains with his dematerialization ability.

They'd barely been able to regroup and before they knew what was happening, Arius had separated them in the heat of battle, taking down Kuro first and Troy before finally coming to her.

She could hear the slow beat of their hearts, allowing her the small relief that they were both alive and closer than she thought.

She gritted her teeth as she inspected her legs. While fighting off the bugs, one had managed to grab her by both legs and shatter the bones from the knee down.

Her regeneration abilities were all over the place trying to fix the more fatal injuries and that as well. She couldn't stand and her magic energy was draining rapidly.

She pushed herself to her knees using her staff as support to lessen the excruciating pain that flooded her system.

"You're quite the persistent one, Demona, I'll give you that at least," Arius mused as he took a few steps back to smirk down at her expression, "How does it feel to be at my mercy now? How humiliating it must be right? Unfortunately for you, I have no deals to make."

He grabbed the hair beneath her hood, tilting her face up to meet his, "I'll make your death as painfully slow as possible, starting with letting you watch as my pets devour your friends." He turned to the group of bugs seated on a lamppost, "Find the two and bring them here!"

He turned back to her, "You didn't want the ice wielder to show up right, then you shall all perish in their place."

He shoved her rough and pulled back, cackling madly as he went, "I'll conquer this city in the name of my Master!"

'What a pain,' Kira growled to no one in particular, 'Lucifer, how long until I can stand again?'

'Twenty minutes, maybe fifteen if you try to push it but you'll break down again in no time.'

'I can't wait twenty minutes,' she hissed, trying to push herself up but her feet buckled beneath her painfully, dread filling her as she spotted two bugs soaring back with the bodies of her teammates, both of them unconscious and bruised up. They were dumped unceremoniously to the ground.

Kira felt the blood leave her veins as the number of bugs around them increase, the drooling mandibles clacking in anticipation. She had to save them, but what could someone who could barely stand do? She needed a plan, a means to at least slow Arius down but as she was, she was useless.

Weak.

Unable to protect the people who depended on her to lead them. Unable to save the city she fought so hard to defend.

"Guess you were right, Lucifer, I'm not cut out for this. Now thousands of people are going to die."

'And I guess you're going to allow that right? Are you going to shut up and let me help you, let one of us take over!'

'Even if she did that, her legs still need to heal to move dumbass!' Mammon snapped.

'We can't just sit back and do nothing!'

"Your screaming match isn't letting me think," Kira hissed under her breath, closing her eyes and trying to stabilize her emotions, so much energy was thrashing around inside her, she couldn't look up for fear she'd just burst into tears.

'Focus on their heartbeats, they're fine,' she told herself over and over as she tried to calm down.

Nothing in her arsenal could help her right now, she had to hurry or they'd all be dead. Even if Jade did come, Arius would kill her too. Kira couldn't let that happen.

'C'mon kid, we're right here, ready whenever you are,' Mammon growled, and once again, Kira couldn't fight that feeling that made them feel more present than they should.

She closed get eyes, trying to connect to that flow of power that pulsed through her when she first unlocked Mammon's abilities. The darkness that rested too out of reach so she could do anything to accomplish this seemingly unending mission decades older than her.

She couldn't stop fighting, not until she was dead!

Arius' paused, mouth hung open in the order he'd been about to give his pets. The unnatural shift in the air around them would be impossible not to notice. Not with the slow creeping increase in the menacing aura behind him.

He was slowly realizing he should have killed the girl first.

He spun, about ready to launch and use his sickle to slice her head off once and for all when a pulsing outburst of magic aura caused him to stumble backwards. The shock waves continued to pulse bright purple and green streams of energy and light.

"What the-"

His words were stopped as he witnessed two dark pillars of cloudy mass form at the Keeper's side, condescending to look even more solid by the second until actual human features became distinguishable in the mist.

The glare simmered down to a light thrum, leaving two figures standing on either side of a glowing one kneeling on the ground.

One was tall and dark-skinned, clothed in a dark expensive-looking suit with thin glasses perched on his nose. The other was tanned with a hulking build, ink black tattoos crawled up the exposed muscle of his arms, and a brutish grin split his face reaching his pitch black eyes with deep green pupils.

"She actually managed to summon us?" The suited demon mused, hand reaching up to touch one of the three horns on his temple.

"Kids these days are full of surprises," The larger one barked in laughter.

The first demon looked down at Kira, "She's expending so much energy she's gone into a meditative state. Let's hurry this up."

"W-who are you?!" Arius practically screeched at the two figures that had seemingly appeared from nowhere.

They faced him as if just realizing his presence. The larger demon grinned, the ground beneath his feet trembling as he took several heavy steps forward, "We're the two guys about to give you hell for messing up our Boss."