The Lost Lord Ch. 16

Note: After this chapter, updates won't come as often. As I have already written up to this chapter once I started uploading them to Literotica.

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An eight limbed demon lashed forwards at a purple succubus. The bloodshot demon, Asura had a total of six arms and two legs. A crown of horns rested on his head, he wore golden armor resembling a set of chains covering his entire body, though each of his arms was uncovered. He had two short swords in the middle set of arms, javelins in the top set of arms, and the bottom set held a buckler in one and nothing in the other.

Asura's current enemy and foe, the purple succubus, Teras, had already confirmed that the bare hand was used for manipulating magic. In fact, Asura was already charging up a bolt of magic in that same hand. He shot out his arm and opened his hand to release a burning fireball. It exploded on a dry rock near the demoness. Shrapnel whizzed by Teras, though she coolly dodged each bit, even bending the wind to deviate the paths of some of the rocks.

In the beginning of the fight, Asura only had out one set of arms, case in point, he was too weak to fight Teras. That one set of arms, however, was enough to obliterate a small army of foot soldiers. It was painfully obvious to Asura that one set of arms would do not good, eventually he brought out a second set of arms, grasping the javelins he had on his back. He surprised Teras by throwing two javelins at high speed towards her direction. While she was surprised, it would take more than a surprise to knock her down. The first javelin only grazed the lace on her purple dress (everything about Teras was purple, skin, dress, umbrella, eyes and all). The second passed between her neck and the haft of the umbrella.

Thanks to her specialty in wind magic, Teras could nimbly dodge every blow Asura tried to land. His short swords and javelins could never hit her, not even with the second set of arms. Asura had a hard time believing that Teras was powerful enough to outmatch him, even with only two sets of arms. If that was the case, he had no choice but to bring out the third set, with his magic and shield. And that brings us to the present.

"It does seem that what you say IS true! You DO gain more power with each set of limbs. Perhaps I should cut them off?" Teras happily said as she smiled with her eyes closed as if the fight meant nothing to her.

With Asura's third set of arms out, he could finally match Teras' abilities. Even if both were members of the main pillar force of their Circle of Sin, without bringing out his maximum power, Asura could not match Teras who could fight at full power 24/7. Asura would have to end the fight before he expending his power too quickly. He gritted his teeth as the battle continued, in terms of ability, they were equally matched, though in terms of power, Teras could rely on her inner reserves of strength far longer than Asura.

You would think that these two pillar members, of different Sins, would fight each other someday with their immortality. At least sooner than one would expect. Lust and Wrath have never had a large conflict in a long time. In fact, the two circles fought the least wars between the two than any other combination of circles in the seven circles. Even the between Lust and Pride, who have frequently been allied to each other, have fought several wars between the two.

"I see you have arrogance the belongs only to Pride and Envy. Your impudence is unmatched." Asura said this as he managed to block, with his buckler, a gust of magical wind. He retaliated with his short swords, releasing dark energy from the tips.

"I learned that from the Princess OF Pride herself! She's quite fun, I especially like the way she screams..." Teras smiled dreamily, she gazed off towards the piercing sunlight (technically not the sun, as it is another world).

Asura made a mistake just then. He thought Teras was distracted for a moment, and he attacked her blind spot with his swords and javelins. He stabbed just below the neck with the javelins and into the abdomen with his swords, or at least he thought he did.

Practically the speed of light, Teras twisted around, leaving only an afterimage for Asura to stab. She then sliced downwards across Asura's chest, slicing through the gold chains easily. The chains weren't decorative gold, but an alloy allowing for superior protection.

A sword? Asura felt a slicing pain as Teras slashed down with a sword that he had yet to see in Teras' possession until now. Asura felt his thoughts wander... Me, Wrath's Fury... Slain so easily by a sadistic bitch slut. Such words... Are unbecoming of one of the honorable members of the Pillar of Wrath, perhaps I should deal with my death with some dignity? Warmaster, I've failed you. I'm not even fit for a funeral. Asura flashed through his life, visiting memories he was fond of, barely any.

"I expected more form the Fury of Wrath. How disappointing, you only sated MY lust by A small amount. Perhaps some of your friends may? Tell me that now, lest I make your death painful." Threatened Teras, she continued her sadistic smile, with obsessive eyes staring straight into Asura.

Asura choked on his blood, he managed speak with some dignity, however. "I-I know little of the abilities of my temporary comrades. *Cough* I believe the strongest to be... the hound and cat." Asura continued to suffer painfully as his death proved to be a slow one. While Teras only inflicted a single wound, it was a deadly one.

"The hound and the cat? Why that must BE Justinian's men. I've never even heard of them. Thank you for your information!" Teras then stimulated the wound with her blade than she seemed to produce out of nowhere. She applied pressure with the tip, inflicting even more pain on Asura's mind. He convulsed violently as his body was wracked with pain.

Asura couldn't even make legible words anymore, only groans and mumbles of pain could be heard as Asura did his best to dull and ignore the pain. Teras continued the sadistic display that befitted her title of 'The Sadist' well. She continued her mutilation of Asura's body until he arrived at his death throes, unable to live through the pain any longer. He would have begged for death, but it would impugn his honor, even though only the two was present. Also, he couldn't talk with his blood flowing where it shouldn't.

"The dog and cat, how unnatural for those two to work together. 'Tis ironic in a way." Teras mused to herself as she cleaned the blood from her blade. The blade itself was a slim sword, with no noticeable adornments. It had a rounded tip, sharp edges, and it was absent a guard. Teras lined up the tip with her umbrella, and slid the sword into the haft. One would have mistaken the sword for a 'cane sword', though it served as the handle for her umbrella. "If only I could make myself a cup of tea in this desolate wasteland." Teras then strode her way down a partially covered path, umbrella twirling in her hands. She thanked the umbrella for providing her with some cool shade. "Perhaps I shall find this dog and cat and fight to a pleasurable death."

And thus Rainer's side took the lead.

-

"Urhrah!" This grunt came from a bloodied demon fighting a battle against his supposed ally. The one named Archibald of the Parish had believed that Chigaru, the Anubite from the Sands of Sloth was supposed to be an ally. Which he originally was, but Chigaru and Yaotl's extreme sense of loyalty allowed them no allies but those loyal to the Shah of Sloth. Archibald couldn't fathom the flawed logic of the one he was fighting, after all, Justinian ordered the Anubite to slay The Lord of Lust and his crew with the team Justinian chose.

Archibald was surprised that the skills and strength of his friend turned foe, it was beyond what Archibald had expected. It was all Archibald could do to defend himself with his broadsword. He knew this mission he and his group was hired for was going to be no cakewalk. Fighting The Lord of Lust? Even if he were young and inexperienced, that would be no mean feat. The Rulers of Sin are supposedly the most powerful demons in the seven circles, and after that, the Pillar of Sin protects them, the most powerful demons in each of their Sin's Circle.

However, Archibald was no weakling, far from it in actuality. He and the rest of the Parish were renowned assassins, though it would be more appropriate to call them extremely loud people eliminators. In any case, each of the Parish had fought beings either from a pillar or at least equal to a pillar member's power. Chigaru would not defeat Archibald so easily...

Chigaru spun his polearm around his body before attempting to land a stunning blow on Archibald. The pole had two sharpened semi-circles on both ends of the staff, like a garden spade. Archibald parried the blow narrowly while also sidestepping in preparation for his own attack. "Damn dog! Go back to your bitch!" Taunted Archibald as he slashed at Chigaru's side. Perhaps the Ignorance of Sloth would ignore Archibald's strike?

Chigaru moved his polearm in order to block the broadsword with the staff section of the polearm. The Anubite thrust half-moons into Archibald, at high speed. Archibald deflected the thrust narrowly with his sword's guard.

Their fight was a complete stalemate, though in Chigaru's favor. Until Archibald tired out, or if one of the parties made a fatal mistake, their battle would continue until there was outside interference. And it seemed that would be the case, as there were two other battles going on near them, and they were nearly at their end. One was between a member of the Parish, Veronica, and the Romance of Lust, Tozomat. The other was between the Maturity of Lust, Caetorum, and Chigaru's only ally, Yaotl of Sloth.

"Why do I always get shitty men...?" The one who said this was Veronica, who was currently fighting against the voluntarily mute Tozomat. "Can't you even say hello to whom you are fighting?" She asked this as Veronica dropped her current weapons and summoned up a large scythe. She spun the scythe around her body with ease. When she was young, Veronica used her family assets to purchase only the best of the weapons training, and with every weapon she could think of, Veronica was impeccably trained in. From scythes to chakrams, from bows and arrows to slinging rocks, Veronica knew them all.

"I can do that much. My name is Tozomat, and it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance." After only those words, Tozomat clamped his lips shut, never to open them for the duration of his battle. He clashed his deformed arms together, as if to create sparks from them if the arms were metal. He did this because his arms were his main weapons, and not in the way one would think. If one thought that one's arms and hands would become weapons, then it would be a form of martial arts, but Tozomat, while trained in in hand to hand combat, literally turned his body into a weapon.

Tozomat fought with shadow manipulation, a form of dark magic used for manipulating one's shadow. And as a person's shadow MUST conform to that person's body, the body or shadow changed with each other. Tozomat tuned and sculpted his shadow down to the meticulous details, forming exactly what he wanted. In this case, he had an arm formed into a single, sharp spear. It had a keen bone protruding from the end of the spear arm for extra penetration and damage. His other arm was formed into a fleshy sword, with serrations on one side and a smooth acuteness reserved for the most masterfully skilled of swords.

It was hard to believe that ones own flesh could slice and destroy as easily as normal weapons, according to Veronica. She had heard of shadow manipulation, and even fought against weaker users of that magic. However, she had never seen such a skilled user of that particular dark magic. Out of her group, only Elizabeth and Forsythe used magic. Reginald used what looked like magic, but required none of the incantations or magical power that normal magic used.

"Ugh... I have to pay attention. I can't afford to lose focus in front of this kind of unpredictable opponent." Said Veronica to herself through gritted teeth. She was right, Tozomat's ability offered plenty of uniqueness and variety to his attacks.

Right when Veronica thought she had chopped off Tozomat's left arm, he had separated the arm from his body using his magic and reattached it when Veronica's scythe was clear. If Veronica wanted to inflict permanent damage, she would have to damage him before he could react with shadow manipulation. And that proved to be a very tough ordeal. Veronica slashed and swerved her scythe at many points of Tozomat's body, only to be parried and deflected by his fleshy weapons, or to have what she thought was permanent damage be repaired by his magic. At least the current flow of the fight was in Veronica's favor, as she wasn't giving Tozomat any room to go on the offense.

Veronica winced along with Tozomat. Each time he manipulated his shadow, Veronica saw what looked like pain on his face and body. Forcing his mortal body to contort and stretch into weird positions forced a painful price on him. She obviously did not sympathize with Tozomat, as such a unique and powerful magic must come with a heavy price, in this case, extreme pain. Especially when Veronica slashed the scythe's tip directly into Tozomat's chest.

Her scythe ripped through his suit (you can't manipulate the shadow of external objects resting on your body, AKA clothes, only your own), and Tozomat forced a hole to appear in his chest exactly where the scythe point appeared. Tozomat groaned in pain as he performed this ability just now, forcing a hole in one's body was no mean feat, nor a pleasant one. Tozomat, due to the pain, couldn't open the hole in his chest any wider, and the scythe managed to cut his chest slightly before Tozomat jumped backwards.

"Success! I managed to hurt him, even if only a little." Veronica smiled as she summoned a small dagger, which she threw at Tozomat in order to pressure him. "Wait a second..." Veronica thought something was odd for a second about Tozomat's gait, but diminished the thought. She saw no visible maladies or impairments, and she dismissed the notion. "It seems your dark magic is not invincible, as you seem to give off that feeling. Perhaps I-... Guah!" A large wound appeared on Veronica's chest as a bony, fleshy spear penetrated her chest from her back and all the way through her armor.

"Thus you meet your end. Your heart is punctured and your life will now diminish to nothingness, I suggest you say your farewells, as that is what I am doing now. Goodbye, Miss Veronica Deloes Astar." Tozomat said this neutrally, his words, however scare, would never show a hint of malice or hate. He believed that dealing fairly and equally with everyone was the correct way to proceed through his life. He only kept that mindset since he first joined the Pillar of Lust, and was titled Romance of Lust.

What happened just now was what Veronica tried to figure out. Apparently Tozomat separated his leg from his body and hidden from her view. He manipulated his shadow by giving himself a faux leg in order to fool Veronica that he was still all together. While Veronica taunted Tozomat, he manipulated the shadow of his severed leg, giving it a harpoon tip, and thrust it into Veronica's heart. Tozomat reattached his leg to his body, ending the painful feeling of having a leg freshly cut off. Shadow manipulation was no cakewalk. You had to feel the exact sensations one would normally have if something happened to them, in this case, losing a leg.

"E-Elizabeth... I can't let you win. Reginald, you r-really *cough* are like me. Forsythe, I-I still do not care for you... Ar-Archibald I-" Veronica couldn't say anything more as blood welled up in her throat, she choke painfully, attempting to prolong her life, even if by only several seconds. She had yet to say goodbye to Archibald.

"VERONICA!!! Ohhhh you motherfucking bastard... I am SO GOING to kill you." This commotion erupted from Archibald, whom was currently fighting the Ignorance of Sloth, Chigaru. "HAWH! I'm DONE WITH YOU!" Archibald, in a fit of rage unsuited for an incubus, threw all of his power into a single blow centered on Chigaru.

Chigaru, using supernatural strength, received the heavy strike. The Anubite could barely believe that such power erupted from the incubus whom had yet to show enough power that could end his fight. Chigaru was staggered, and pushed to the ground by the force of Archibald's strength. The hound's polearm was splintered, it being severed into three separate pieces. Chigaru scrambled to grab the two pieces which still had the deadly semi-circles attached to it, he did, and crossed them in order to block Archibald's second rage filled strike.

Archibald broadsword was nearly deflected, it would have been if it weren't for his quick hand that grabbed one of Chigaru's weapons and pulled it out of the way. The sword went into Chigaru's furry abdomen, devastating the internal organs that were inside. Archibald didn't stop there, with the half-moon he took from Chigaru, he hacked it diagonally into Chigaru's neck many times until it was covered in a bloody, gory mess. Finally, Archibald's overkill was completed when he used the half-moon to sever Chigaru's nose form the body, saying, "Fucking sphinx."

Archibald turned towards Tozomat and glowered venomously, if one could steam out of their body, Archibald's entire body would surpass that of a steamboat. "You... I will kill you. Endless despair awaits you."

"Greetings, my name is Tozomat, Romance of Lust. I am sorry for slaying your comra-" Tozomat started to apologize, but was quickly cut off.

"Don't give me that bullshit. This is a damn battle, and we both know there are casualties. That still won't stop me from taking revenge against you for Veronica." Even among merciless assassins, love is red until it ends in blue.

Not wasting any time to battle, Archibald chanted a strange mantra and rushed off towards Tozomat, landing the first strike that even Tozomat didn't expect. While Tozomat was able to manipulate his shadow in time to dodge the attack, Archibald's fresh onslaught was faster than Tozomat expected. Archibald unleashed a flurry of blows; each managed to reach Tozomat's body before his fleshy arm weapons could react. However, each did not manage to land a scratch on Tozomat due to his peerless manipulation of his shadow.

Tozomat was in a predicament, he was on pure defense, and he could not attack without possibly receiving a mortal blow in retaliation. Yet Tozomat made that risk. Before he joined the Pillar of Lust, his motto was, 'Just beat the nail with a hammer.' He said that because when he couldn't figure something out, just follow the simplest path and it usually won't fail. Tozomat swerved his head around, dodging one of Archibald's attacks with his broadsword and thrust his head straight towards Archibald in a head butt. Tozomat formed a wicked spike on his forehead due to his dark magic, and stabbed it towards Archibald for a possibly lethal head butt.

Archibald saw through the attack, and tilted to the side, managing to escape death with only a scratch on his ear. Their stalemate continued fiercely, both sides unleashing their most cunning and powerful of attacks on their opponent.

On more than one occasion, Tozomat was tempted to unleash dark magic other than shadow manipulation, but decided against it on the principle that it wasn't his style. Archibald, on the other hand, was persuaded to try a new tactic, one that involved some more than basic fire magic. While Archibald wasn't terribly talented in fire magic, he at least forced himself to practice several convenient spells that would prove useful in case he ran into a troublesome opponent like Tozomat or Chigaru.