A vile smell rose from the brimstone red of blood and entrails that spilled from allies, foes, and those that were supposed to be protected. Hundreds of bodies blanketed the landscape of debris that was once a great city, wails and cries of the dying were heard over the strong winds, their hands wet as they tried to hold their own life in their wounds. If only she had more training to assist with their injuries, in the knighthood she was groomed for solely combat.

The spirits of the recently dead roamed aimlessly, not yet aware they were dead and that they would meet true nonexistence if they were not to seek shelter from the real horror to come. A sense in Yin energy was coming from the vast distance, but she was distracted by the smell and sight of a battle that was truly ungodly; fitting for battles between there armies led by Demons.

Above, she could see the sunlight having its own battle with thick clouds that were a profane-black with only a little light caressing her skin, deep as rich earth. The lack of sunlight only made her colder, and fortunately for her more impassive to her surroundings, or that could also be because of the fact that a large part of her body weren't charred until her bones were blackened. Her skin was covered in the soot of the nerves and flesh of her right arm, shoulder, and parts of her torso that were completely disintegrated.

“Dammit, Ose," she thought bitterly, her frustration boiling within with each sharp breath in her chest. "If it wasn't for your ridiculous obsession with me, I wouldn't be here--suffering in hell and then some."

Ever since he first laid his eyes on her, she was convinced the Demon Lord had secretly fallen in love with her. The threaded sigil of his eyes that seemed to hold the magic of the aurora lights remained visible on the back of her uniform, though her body was barely there. In the name of her tormentor, the 'Great' Demon Lord Ose, she walked towards the edge of the battlefield.

Her left hand crossed over her body, her trembling palm rested on her sheathed sword, the word left less scathed than her other half when her teeth suddenly chattered and her spine tingled as she felt the presence of the danger she was sensing in the distance nearby. When she looked back, she saw the aimless spirits seem to find purpose as they rushed past her, the winds they created nearly blowing her helmet from her face.

"Burburus," she thought to herself seeing larger, grotesque ghost-like creatures manifest, seemingly from thin air.

These creatures quickly devoured these spirits of the fallen, she held her hand in front of her face, blinded by the chaos the took place as even the dead was massacred twice again. They even consumed their physical forms, leaving nothing to be taken back to their families to bury. Fortunately for her, the burburus would not touch the bodies of the living and strong-willed, but right now she wasn't sure how much longer she would be either. Luckily, she decided to leave Jugo behind to assist the recovery team, because at the battlefront this was just a suicide mission, unfortunately, she couldn't communicate with him since she hit her head against a rock. It seem to have damage her ability to echo him to send the recovery team in her direction.

Her legs continued trudging forwards, the ravenous eyes of the burburus slowly looking at her and she splitting sound of flesh unhinging from their jaw in hopes of swallowing her body and soul before other could. She could already imagine them coming at her like piranhas, and rip her soul into dozens of pieces. Her head turned towards them, a murderous glare in their direction startled them further from her.

“Are you things such cowards a human woman frightens you?" she yelled at them, as if they could understand what they said when only gurgling and blood sputtering down her lips.

“Damn."

A sudden surge of Yin emitted from a central point right behind her, she realized the burburus were not cowering from her at all. It moved closer, and the closer it came, the further the burburus moved. Something these things feared were almost always of greater danger to her, and in her state she was sure she couldn't survive it. The energy glided through the standing debris, it resembled a human, except it stood nearly eight feet with ash skin and charcoal-black hair that fell across large beady eyes with fishbowl black irises, and he had the face of a young man.

A black kimono with intricate patterns covered it form, and a pair of geta hung from its feet as it floated over towards her. She tried to move back from whatever this was, she wasn't sure what it entailed. It reached it five fingered hand towards her, each finger covered with long, sharp black claws.

“Is it going to attack me like this?" she thought, sweat covering the edge of her hairline in unease. Her eyes fell closed a she waited for her body to be further mutilated, yet instead she felt a ball of Yin from its palm.

It hands were so large it covered her entire chest in a chill. For some reason, it finally placed it feet on the ground and just stood there. She was sure it was waiting for her heart to stop and she was sure the second it did it would devour her what it wanted from her and leave the rest for the burburus. A sigh of relief escaped from her lips as it eyebrows furrowed in annoyance that her heart was still strongly beating. She winced as it nails slowly dug in her skin, but only enough to draw blood through her uniform.

“It can obviously harm me, so why don't it?" she thought, unsure of how to get around this at all.

Hours passed, the ghostly being stood over her with its hands still over her chest. Though her hand landed on her sword, it was not threatening enough for her to attack, and she was sure provoking it would result in a quicker death.

After a while, she wasn't sure how long it been, all she could remember was the sun was rising when she first started moving and now it was setting. Yet, this, what she assumed was another kind of burburus, continued standing there and so did she. Her body had nearly reached it limit for standing, and as her eyes closed for a few minutes, she finally opened them to find the burburu with the kimono was no longer in front of her. Instead she felt its Yin lying upon her back.

It was leaning against her back, she could see its long, slender arms extend over her shoulder casually. The burburu itself did not weigh much, but its energy felt so heavy it nearly frightened her. A soft, human-like laughter emitted from the creature when it felt her heart rapidly pounding against her chest as she realized how much power it had, it could have been consumed her. Alive or not.

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“Are you playing with me?" she thought, it lead it face across her shoulders. It wide oversize eyes gazing at her, and a long smile spread across its face causing its eyes to squint into crescent shapes.

Once again, she tried to move, but it had her fasten in place with its arms. A palm laid against her face while it caressed the curls underneath her helmet with a long nail. Her vision had started to blur, and she felt her head goes limp, quickly she pushed forward drawing her sword in its direction because it was obviously doing something to her. Through teary eyes, she couldn't see where it stood and she looked around desperately trying to find its form.

Her hand slipped from the hilt of her sword, and it clattered against a dead woman's amor. This left her left arm paralyze and her right arm was just charred bones. It chuckled, it was behind her once again, and it rougly grabbed the risk of the one arm she had pulling her close to it. Then it cold fingers found its ways underneath her uniform, her eyes widened, afraid of the implication of what this thing might do as it caressed her bare back.

She thrashed vigorously trying to escape its grasp. Suddenly, she felt almost out of body as she felt high energy strains on her back being pulled from her body.

“I-It can do that?" she thought as she saw it held the ties between her soul and body on its palm. It chuckled, as it strummed against them like a guitar causing her to bury herself against its kimono as she grabbed it while she trembled from unbearable pain.

“mmm-stop!" she managed to gargle out, her hand reaching up to its neck in an attempt to strangle it. Except she only had one working hand, and it was currently weakened.

“No." It muttered into her ear, and with a nail it severed several of her ties. She let out a blood curdling scream, her body felt like it was tossed into a pot of boiling water.

“Hey!" she heard a strong, threatening voice nearby yell. Footsteps started heading in their direction after she screamed and the burburu in the kimono kissed it teeth in annoyance.

As it disappeared, she fell back into the firmness of the bodies beneath her. People with the same sigil decorating the back of their uniforms appeared over her--the recovery team. A dozen of them ran from the forest and a helicopter appeared overhead.

Her eyes fell closed as she felt herself slowly start to float above her own body. A strong, warm hand touched her chest, and she felt herself being slammed back into her body and even harder into the ground that it squashed the bodies below her and cracked the ground. She jolted up, her good hand grabbing the arm of the hand as she wheezed feeling like a truck crashed against her body. Jugo deep, brown eyes gazed at her with an eerie calmness, and then he shoved his finger down her throat.

Her hand clawed at his arm as he forced her mouth open. "You're alright, breathe," he monotonous voice was not reassuring at all, but she inhaled deeply and then a wail emitted from her lips. Akin to a newborn baby after birth, while Jugo continued forcing soul past its limit to stay in her body that was in so much pain she wanted to die at this point. "She's fighting, hurry up."

Several humans and reapers surrounded her as they injected her with something that paralyzed her, but did not ease the pain and placed a oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. They hauled her onto a stretcher and tightly strapped her down, before she was rushed in the hospital with Jugo warm hand still lying across her chest to force her to stay together. Jugo looked relatively calm, as expected of the nature of a reaper, and honestly she was glad he remained that way for her sake.

When the helicopter was lifted from the ground, she could see the burburu who could seem to cut ties between soul and bottom sitting upon a pile of bodies as lesser burburus ate around her. It waved at her, a crooked smile stretching across its face.

“Son of a bitch," she thought as she slowly and weakly lifted her arm to reveal her middle finger, before her head fell back against the stretcher, and her arm fell back to her side.

It wasn't long before she felt the very familiar shift in Yin energy even compare to the garden of death left in Northern Europe. Her surroundings were now surrounded by red clouds rather than the blackened one she was in for the last 72 hours. Though, this realm resembled much of the middle world, it did not naturally have edible food, water, or such since the residence there found no use for things middle worlders were required to survive. She never thought she'll be happy to see the place where her soul is to be tortured when she is to finally cross over into the afterlife.

“Get job, vanguard ." she heard over the wing of the helicopter, and she turned her head to see her Lord Dazriel, a noble demon who was a close advisor of Ose, creator of reapers, and the man who made her a baroness within the demon hierarchy, standing right at the door in all his glory. His eyes narrowed with a perverse excitement seeing her body battered and her soul hardly holding on. "You continue to prove to be a great asset to us."

Her eyebrows furrowed at his words, her fist clenched in anger at him daring to smirk and congratulate her for nothing more besides the fact he was entertained by seeing her at her lowest.

“I'm sure she would appreciate your word of gratitude, Lord Dazriel," Jugo said, not at all conveying the anger and hatred she was feeling right now, but she was sure the demon could sense, especially through her eyes.

“I'm sure," Dazriel said with a smirk on his face. "Get as much rest, Lady Kaprice. You earned it, especially for what else is to come."

With this a snap of his finger, he signaled the reaper and human alike surrounding her. They tightened their grip on the stretcher, their eyes averted to avoid looking at their battered comrade, or perhaps the cruel smile of their superior. Many knew that Great Lord Ose paid special hateful attention to her, and so did his subordinates, but she was sure than anything it was a form of love that the Lord himself would understand. And she vowed to escape anyway should could before he loved her to death.

Suddenly, an ominous chill washed over her. The air grew heavy, and she felt a strange pull in her chest, as if something was yanking at the very essence of her being.

Her breath quickened, the world blurring around her. She could see Dazriel standing at the door, a predatory glint in his eyes, watching her with twisted amusement.

“Get as much rest, Lady Kaprice. You earned it, especially for what else is to come."

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced through her, radiating from her chest. She gasped, her heart pounding erratically as she clutched at it, but the rhythm faltered.

“Jugo—" she managed to whisper, but the words barely escaped her lips before darkness began to creep in.

As her vision dimmed and the world around her faded, a final, agonizing thought crossed her mind:

Her heart stopped.