London, England, European Sanctuary Zone, 14th January 2018
Jerian, Elite Knight Paladin of The Society, demon-hunter, angel-killer and a soldier, was sat in the half-ruined top of the bell tower of a small, run-down church. Gutted during the religious riots that had torn through the world after the Sundering of The Veil and the world had gone up in flames. At his side was belted an iron short-sword - it was best to carry around iron weapons, since both Demons and Angels found the metal poisonous - and held with both hands with a casual ease, a sleek new-looking rifle. He was wearing the standard body-armour and camouflage clothing as any soldier, but emblazoned on his chest and arms was the symbol of three interlocked rings, The Society's crest, and beneath that was a downward-pointing sword with three stars, one on either side and one at the point, denoting his specialization and rank.
He had been in the tower for a few hours now, on watch, and things had been quiet. He'd be relieved soon, and he was looking forward to some downtime, when he spotted a dot on the horizon. He frowned and tapped the side of his helmet, a small visor popped out, covering his right eye, magnifying his view. The dots became twelve winged vaguely humanoid shapes in a delta-vee formation, "Damn." He muttered, he tapped his helmet again and a small microphone appeared near his mouth, "Cell Omega this is lookout A-16, sector four, I have twelve bogeys incoming on my position, possible identification as Harpies, Alpha threat level."
"Copy look out A-16, sighting confirmed, positive ID as Harpy wing. AA battery engaging." Came the answer of his comm unit.
From somewhere below a group of anti-aircraft guns shot at the incoming low-level demons, tracer flared upwards and there were distant detonations and explosions in the air, a few Harpies vanished as the explosives caught them. Humanity had long ago learned that all demons had a terrifying regenerative ability, and that the best way to kill them was to blast them into chunks too small to heal. The other Harpies kept coming, though, ignoring the death-screams of their comrades.
Suddenly there was a roar from below and Jerian swore violently, he looked down out of the ruined half-collapsed wall of the tower and saw a nearby building crumble and collapse as something... big... smashed through it, "What the hell?" Jerian asked.
"Lookout A-16 this is Omega command, we're receiving reports of an unknown hostile inside the perimeter, can you confirm?"
"Uh... I see something." Jerian said, "Can't identify. It's big though, just took out one of the abandoned shops down here. Do you want me to engage?"
"Negative, just keep an eye on it, we're sending you reinforcements now. The Harpies were a feint."
"Acknowledged." Jerian said, he looked back up at the sky and watched the last Harpy try to dive-bomb one of the AA emplacements, but it only managed to fly face-first into the spray of bullets, "Harpies are neutralized." He reported, "The big... whatever it is is moving off, I'm going to follow."
"Copy that lookout A-16, reinforcements are inbound, be advised that we will be using your tracking beacon to guide them to the creature's location."
Jerian sighed, "Copy that." He switched him comm back off. He hoped his 'reinforcements' turned out to be something better than the last lot he'd had; half-trained and poorly equipped and sent to takes out an Epsilon-level demonic creature, half of them had died before they even saw the thing, the others ran screaming and got ripped apart.
"Oh well." He said to himself grimly, "Cannonfodder is useful as a distraction at least." He hefted his gun and clambered down out of the tower. At least tracking the creature would be easy; just follow the trail of destruction. Or at least the trail of even-more-destruction-than-usual, considering most of this area had been abandoned and torn up during the early days of the resistance of Free Humanity.";
Jerian, Elite Knight Paladin of The Society, demon-hunter, angel-killer and a soldier, was sat in the half-ruined top of the bell tower of a small, run-down church. Gutted during the religious riots that had torn through the world after the Sundering of The Veil and the world had gone up in flames. At his side was belted an iron short-sword - it was best to carry around iron weapons, since both Demons and Angels found the metal poisonous - and held with both hands with a casual ease, a sleek new-looking rifle. He was wearing the standard body-armour and camouflage clothing as any soldier, but emblazoned on his chest and arms was the symbol of three interlocked rings, The Society's crest, and beneath that was a downward-pointing sword with three stars, one on either side and one at the point, denoting his specialization and rank.
He had been in the tower for a few hours now, on watch, and things had been quiet. He'd be relieved soon, and he was looking forward to some downtime, when he spotted a dot on the horizon. He frowned and tapped the side of his helmet, a small visor popped out, covering his right eye, magnifying his view. The dots became twelve winged vaguely humanoid shapes in a delta-vee formation, "Damn." He muttered, he tapped his helmet again and a small microphone appeared near his mouth, "Cell Omega this is lookout A-16, sector four, I have twelve bogeys incoming on my position, possible identification as Harpies, Alpha threat level."
"Copy look out A-16, sighting confirmed, positive ID as Harpy wing. AA battery engaging." Came the answer of his comm unit.
From somewhere below a group of anti-aircraft guns shot at the incoming low-level demons, tracer flared upwards and there were distant detonations and explosions in the air, a few Harpies vanished as the explosives caught them. Humanity had long ago learned that all demons had a terrifying regenerative ability, and that the best way to kill them was to blast them into chunks too small to heal. The other Harpies kept coming, though, ignoring the death-screams of their comrades.
Suddenly there was a roar from below and Jerian swore violently, he looked down out of the ruined half-collapsed wall of the tower and saw a nearby building crumble and collapse as something... big... smashed through it, "What the hell?" Jerian asked.
"Lookout A-16 this is Omega command, we're receiving reports of an unknown hostile inside the perimeter, can you confirm?"
"Uh... I see something." Jerian said, "Can't identify. It's big though, just took out one of the abandoned shops down here. Do you want me to engage?"
"Negative, just keep an eye on it, we're sending you reinforcements now. The Harpies were a feint."
"Acknowledged." Jerian said, he looked back up at the sky and watched the last Harpy try to dive-bomb one of the AA emplacements, but it only managed to fly face-first into the spray of bullets, "Harpies are neutralized." He reported, "The big... whatever it is is moving off, I'm going to follow."
"Copy that lookout A-16, reinforcements are inbound, be advised that we will be using your tracking beacon to guide them to the creature's location."
Jerian sighed, "Copy that." He switched him comm back off. He hoped his 'reinforcements' turned out to be something better than the last lot he'd had; half-trained and poorly equipped and sent to takes out an Epsilon-level demonic creature, half of them had died before they even saw the thing, the others ran screaming and got ripped apart.
"Oh well." He said to himself grimly, "Cannonfodder is useful as a distraction at least." He hefted his gun and clambered down out of the tower. At least tracking the creature would be easy; just follow the trail of destruction. Or at least the trail of even-more-destruction-than-usual, considering most of this area had been abandoned and torn up during the early days of the resistance of Free Humanity.";
Jayne was hiding in the area's general store at the edge of town when the AA cannons started firing. She flinched at the sudden explosions and the screams of the harpies. "Please..." she murmured. "Not again..." It was right at that moment that everything started rumbling beneath her. She didn't know what it was, but all she thought at that time was that she needed to get out. She didn't know why and she didn't care, but she needed to get out. She quickly got to her feet and pulled her hood over her head, clouding her face in shadow. She ran out the back of the store and into an alley just in time to see it destroyed behind her.
Jayne ran and ran, in fear that whatever destroyed that store would come after her. Apparently it didn't, 'cause she didn't hear or see it anymore. She kept running though, up to the point where she hit the main street. Then it happened.
A harpy fell down from the sky. Jayne skidded to a halt and looked at it in horror as it rose to his feet again, quickly recovering from the damage done by the AA's. It didn't take long for creature to notice her, and it spread her wings - emitting a low threatening screech. Jayne took a step back, but the harpy had set its mind upon her and wasn't going to let her go like that. It rose from it's feet and in a sudden rush, flew towards her. When it crossed half of the distance towards the young girl, Jayne's eyes went red and then dark.
When she opened her eyes again, She was standing in the middle of the street, with no sign of the harpy at first sight. She shivered as deep within her, something growled contentedly. She wanted to grab her head to make it stop, but as her hands moved upwards, she saw them covered in blood. Her eyes widened as she looked around. "No..." She looked around again, and sure enough: everywhere around her were parts of the harpy that attacked her. It was ripped apart. "Not again..." she sobbed. She stumbled back a step and bumped against a lightpole. She slid down against it until she sat, and pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her eyes around them. She buried her face in her arms, as if making herself as small as possible would protect her from the creatures outside, and the monster within.
Jayne ran and ran, in fear that whatever destroyed that store would come after her. Apparently it didn't, 'cause she didn't hear or see it anymore. She kept running though, up to the point where she hit the main street. Then it happened.
A harpy fell down from the sky. Jayne skidded to a halt and looked at it in horror as it rose to his feet again, quickly recovering from the damage done by the AA's. It didn't take long for creature to notice her, and it spread her wings - emitting a low threatening screech. Jayne took a step back, but the harpy had set its mind upon her and wasn't going to let her go like that. It rose from it's feet and in a sudden rush, flew towards her. When it crossed half of the distance towards the young girl, Jayne's eyes went red and then dark.
When she opened her eyes again, She was standing in the middle of the street, with no sign of the harpy at first sight. She shivered as deep within her, something growled contentedly. She wanted to grab her head to make it stop, but as her hands moved upwards, she saw them covered in blood. Her eyes widened as she looked around. "No..." She looked around again, and sure enough: everywhere around her were parts of the harpy that attacked her. It was ripped apart. "Not again..." she sobbed. She stumbled back a step and bumped against a lightpole. She slid down against it until she sat, and pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her eyes around them. She buried her face in her arms, as if making herself as small as possible would protect her from the creatures outside, and the monster within.
The door slid open and in stepped one of the Privates, standing firm in the darkness of the room, only the light from the doorway illuminated a long rectangle across the floor. "Sir."
There was a moment of silence, then it was broke by a heavy Russian accent, "What is it?"
"You are wanted to join in the out-going reinforcements. An unidentified target has entered the perimeter, your assistance is required, Sir."
"Is it now?" The springs of a bed could be heard as they shifted and a man, early-forties in appearnce, stepped into the light. He was of decent height, had short, dark hair and dressed head-to-toe in an all black suit. This man, was first Lieutenant, Novak Markovich. The private stepped to the outiside of the doorway as Markovich walked out, the soldier followed alongside him.
"Transport has been secured for your destination and your equipment readied."
As they passed the comm room, Novak gave a quick salute to the generals overseeing the attack. "So what is the exact sitiuation, Private?"
"Actually, we don't really know. A-16 reported--"
"A-16? That's Jerian, yes?" The Russian glanced over his shoulder at the man.
"Yes, Sir... After reporting some on-coming harpies, a much larger target destroyed several structures as it barreled past the tower. Comm has him tracking whatever the thing happens to be." They entered a locker room and Novak went to his compartment, punching in the code. After the gears clicked, the door swung open and he retrieved a weapons-harness. It carried two, modefied, colt commaders, five grenades, three ammunition carriers, two tactical knives, silencer-attachments, gun-powder cases and a seperate scope from one of his long-range rifles. Novak was quick to remove his jacket, put on a body-guard and then slip the harness over this, sinching it tight. He wasn't really one to dress in armor, even if it could evidentally save his life.
Within minutes he was oustide and getting into the transport vehicle. It seemed like whenever the situation had unidentified variables, they always insisted that he go and check things out. Novak was the oldest in the colony, even though it certainly didn't appear that way. Looking not a day over forty, the man was well past the one-hundred marker.
There was a moment of silence, then it was broke by a heavy Russian accent, "What is it?"
"You are wanted to join in the out-going reinforcements. An unidentified target has entered the perimeter, your assistance is required, Sir."
"Is it now?" The springs of a bed could be heard as they shifted and a man, early-forties in appearnce, stepped into the light. He was of decent height, had short, dark hair and dressed head-to-toe in an all black suit. This man, was first Lieutenant, Novak Markovich. The private stepped to the outiside of the doorway as Markovich walked out, the soldier followed alongside him.
"Transport has been secured for your destination and your equipment readied."
As they passed the comm room, Novak gave a quick salute to the generals overseeing the attack. "So what is the exact sitiuation, Private?"
"Actually, we don't really know. A-16 reported--"
"A-16? That's Jerian, yes?" The Russian glanced over his shoulder at the man.
"Yes, Sir... After reporting some on-coming harpies, a much larger target destroyed several structures as it barreled past the tower. Comm has him tracking whatever the thing happens to be." They entered a locker room and Novak went to his compartment, punching in the code. After the gears clicked, the door swung open and he retrieved a weapons-harness. It carried two, modefied, colt commaders, five grenades, three ammunition carriers, two tactical knives, silencer-attachments, gun-powder cases and a seperate scope from one of his long-range rifles. Novak was quick to remove his jacket, put on a body-guard and then slip the harness over this, sinching it tight. He wasn't really one to dress in armor, even if it could evidentally save his life.
Within minutes he was oustide and getting into the transport vehicle. It seemed like whenever the situation had unidentified variables, they always insisted that he go and check things out. Novak was the oldest in the colony, even though it certainly didn't appear that way. Looking not a day over forty, the man was well past the one-hundred marker.
Jerian was carefully tracking the creature. He'd yet to get a solid visual on it, but it appeared to be some form of large quadruped, heavily armored with red and dark grey, almost black, scales. Jerian frowned to himself, trying to place the creature. He'd seen, and killed, virtually everything that the Supernatural Realm could throw at him. He'd been only fifteen when The Veil had collapsed and the world turned upside down, but even at that young age he'd killed. He'd been a part of The Society since he was a baby, raised to fight a war that, up until four years ago, no one knew existed. But despite his extensive experience and training, the Elite Knight Paladin couldn't identify the creature, which disturbed him.
He picked his way through a half-collapsed house, eyes scanning, gun at the ready, he frowned, picturing what seemed to be the beast's course as it smashed through the deserted outskirts of London and headed towards the more heavily populated and heavily defended sections of England's capital, nearer towards the Thames river. His eyes widened slightly, he thumbed his comms and said, "Omega command, this is lookout A-16, tracking the unidentified hostile. Judging from its bearing, it looks like it's heading right for you, any confirmation?"
There was a short silence from the other end, "Confirmed, A-16, hostile is on direct approach for Cell Omega HQ. Your reinforcements are inbound and we are shoring up our defences on this end. Any confirmation on hostile's identity?"
"Negative." Jerian said, "I'm going to try and get closer so I can get a clear visual."
"Be careful A-16, we don't know what that thing is yet."
"I can look after myself, Omega." Jerian said, "A-16 out."
He quickly made his way towards the loud thumping and smashing sounds as the whatever-it-was continued to tear through long-abandoned buildings, heading directly for the Houses of Parliament and Cell Omega HQ, located deep beneath them. It wasn't long before Jerian managed to catch up with the creature as it ripped through yet another building. Though it was partially obscured by dust and debris, Jerian saw that it was heavily muscled and it had a long, thick tail with a viciously spiked ball on the end, spikes seemed to grow haphazardly from it and from what he could see of its long, reptilian head it also had long tusks and sharp, dripping teeth.
Jerian swore, he recognised it now. "A Behemoth." He said, "A Lesser Behemoth. Well sh-"
He was thankfully cut off by a loud roar from the beast as it turned suddenly, its large yellow-black eyes staring right at him, full of hatred, anger, bloodlust. It roared another challenge and ponderously started to turn, shaking off pieces of glass and masonry.
Jerian scrambled out of the way as the spiked ball at the end of its tail, almost as large as he was, smashed into the ground where he had stood a moment earlier, he didn't bother trying to shoot it. Even a Lesser Behemoth has armoured scales and a thick hide; the bullets would just bounce off. What he really needed was armour-piercing rounds, maybe a missile launcher or some grenades. Preferably a tank or three.
Thankfully, Jerian was an Elite Knight of The Society; the highest field rank, and he was a Paladin, an offensive specialist. One thing members of The Society had going for them, besides better training and equipment, was magic. Humans weren't naturally adept at it, and in fact most human magic-users were laughably pathetic in comparison to an Angel or a Demon, unless there were one of the rare, blessed individuals called Aetherians, but The Society still had a trick or two to teach its operatives and Jerian was an Adept of Air, he had a natural affinity for wind magic.
Jerian reached out a hand and pulled at the air around and within the building. It was more difficult to perform magic dodging and running for his life like this, but it wasn't impossible. The Lesser Behemoth had finally turned around and was trying to free itself from the remains of the building it had been demolishing, Jerian forced his will upon the air, twisting his hands... and then his efforts were rewarded by a cracking sound, then grinding and groaning and then... the building collapsed on top of the massive creature, smashing it to the ground and trapping it.
Jerian took a deep breath and ignored the sudden tiredness that always came after using a lot of magic. He knew the creature wasn't dead. Behemoths were irritatingly resilient creatures, and it could easily shrug off the blow, but at least it had slowed the thing down and bought him a little time.
He thumbed his comms again, "Omega, this is A-16, hostile identified as Lesser Behemoth, approximately two-thirds through its Adolescent cycle." Oh yes, the creature wasn't even done growing yet, "I've managed to bring a building down on it, but it's only going to slow it down for a few minutes at best. I strongly recommend that someone brings out the big guns to take it down."
"Acknowledged A-16, unfortunately most of our heavy artillery was redeployed further south to ward off Charybdis' forces."
Oh yes. The Demon Lord - Lady? - who ruled over most of the Aquatic Demons, and who had taken over most of Earth's oceans as her new domain. Raids on coastal cities and the destruction of convoys and other water transport had apparently become her favored tactic. Jerian sighed, "Acknowledged Omega. Any chance of that back-up getting here?"
"In-bound to your location as we speak, A-16, you are to remain in the area and keep watch on the creature until you are relieved. We'll try and deploy something to hit the Behemoth with."
Jerian sighed, "Understood." He thumbed his comms off and decided to get the hell away from the creature before it could get free again. No matter how good he was, and he had no trouble admitting he was very good, one lone human against a Lesser Behemoth without some kind of heavy weapon was not good odds.
He picked his way through a half-collapsed house, eyes scanning, gun at the ready, he frowned, picturing what seemed to be the beast's course as it smashed through the deserted outskirts of London and headed towards the more heavily populated and heavily defended sections of England's capital, nearer towards the Thames river. His eyes widened slightly, he thumbed his comms and said, "Omega command, this is lookout A-16, tracking the unidentified hostile. Judging from its bearing, it looks like it's heading right for you, any confirmation?"
There was a short silence from the other end, "Confirmed, A-16, hostile is on direct approach for Cell Omega HQ. Your reinforcements are inbound and we are shoring up our defences on this end. Any confirmation on hostile's identity?"
"Negative." Jerian said, "I'm going to try and get closer so I can get a clear visual."
"Be careful A-16, we don't know what that thing is yet."
"I can look after myself, Omega." Jerian said, "A-16 out."
He quickly made his way towards the loud thumping and smashing sounds as the whatever-it-was continued to tear through long-abandoned buildings, heading directly for the Houses of Parliament and Cell Omega HQ, located deep beneath them. It wasn't long before Jerian managed to catch up with the creature as it ripped through yet another building. Though it was partially obscured by dust and debris, Jerian saw that it was heavily muscled and it had a long, thick tail with a viciously spiked ball on the end, spikes seemed to grow haphazardly from it and from what he could see of its long, reptilian head it also had long tusks and sharp, dripping teeth.
Jerian swore, he recognised it now. "A Behemoth." He said, "A Lesser Behemoth. Well sh-"
He was thankfully cut off by a loud roar from the beast as it turned suddenly, its large yellow-black eyes staring right at him, full of hatred, anger, bloodlust. It roared another challenge and ponderously started to turn, shaking off pieces of glass and masonry.
Jerian scrambled out of the way as the spiked ball at the end of its tail, almost as large as he was, smashed into the ground where he had stood a moment earlier, he didn't bother trying to shoot it. Even a Lesser Behemoth has armoured scales and a thick hide; the bullets would just bounce off. What he really needed was armour-piercing rounds, maybe a missile launcher or some grenades. Preferably a tank or three.
Thankfully, Jerian was an Elite Knight of The Society; the highest field rank, and he was a Paladin, an offensive specialist. One thing members of The Society had going for them, besides better training and equipment, was magic. Humans weren't naturally adept at it, and in fact most human magic-users were laughably pathetic in comparison to an Angel or a Demon, unless there were one of the rare, blessed individuals called Aetherians, but The Society still had a trick or two to teach its operatives and Jerian was an Adept of Air, he had a natural affinity for wind magic.
Jerian reached out a hand and pulled at the air around and within the building. It was more difficult to perform magic dodging and running for his life like this, but it wasn't impossible. The Lesser Behemoth had finally turned around and was trying to free itself from the remains of the building it had been demolishing, Jerian forced his will upon the air, twisting his hands... and then his efforts were rewarded by a cracking sound, then grinding and groaning and then... the building collapsed on top of the massive creature, smashing it to the ground and trapping it.
Jerian took a deep breath and ignored the sudden tiredness that always came after using a lot of magic. He knew the creature wasn't dead. Behemoths were irritatingly resilient creatures, and it could easily shrug off the blow, but at least it had slowed the thing down and bought him a little time.
He thumbed his comms again, "Omega, this is A-16, hostile identified as Lesser Behemoth, approximately two-thirds through its Adolescent cycle." Oh yes, the creature wasn't even done growing yet, "I've managed to bring a building down on it, but it's only going to slow it down for a few minutes at best. I strongly recommend that someone brings out the big guns to take it down."
"Acknowledged A-16, unfortunately most of our heavy artillery was redeployed further south to ward off Charybdis' forces."
Oh yes. The Demon Lord - Lady? - who ruled over most of the Aquatic Demons, and who had taken over most of Earth's oceans as her new domain. Raids on coastal cities and the destruction of convoys and other water transport had apparently become her favored tactic. Jerian sighed, "Acknowledged Omega. Any chance of that back-up getting here?"
"In-bound to your location as we speak, A-16, you are to remain in the area and keep watch on the creature until you are relieved. We'll try and deploy something to hit the Behemoth with."
Jerian sighed, "Understood." He thumbed his comms off and decided to get the hell away from the creature before it could get free again. No matter how good he was, and he had no trouble admitting he was very good, one lone human against a Lesser Behemoth without some kind of heavy weapon was not good odds.
Jayne's head shot upward at the sound of another building crashing, with the deep roar in response. Her eyes widened. She'd heard that roar before, but she couldn't place it immediately. She quickly scrambled to her feet - or tried to - before she fell down to one knee again. She put her hands to the ground to support herself, then used the lightpole to pull herself back to her feet.
She didn't know where the roar came from, but she was too open here. If it came across here, it would come back... And she wanted to prevent that at all costs. She shook her head to shake off the dizziness that usually came right after its appearance, and pulled her hoodie straight again. Then she ran. Into an alley and over a low wooden wall, then through a crater caused by (probably) a mortar shell, and onto the main street. She froze, as she saw a large scaled creature shake its way through a building that had collapsed on top of it. She hadn't been running away from it, but straight towards it!
The creature slowly turned its yellow eyes to the left, to the alley where Jayne had emerged from. It was no further than 100 meters away from her, and it could easily cross the distance before she could make a quick getaway.
Jayne already felt the monster inside her stirring. "No..." she mumbled. "Not again..." She took a few steps back, but then stumbled over a loose lump of debris which had fallen from the building behind her. She quickly crawled backwards on her hands and feet as fast as she could, but it didn't take long before her back hit the cold stone of the wall behind her.
She didn't know where the roar came from, but she was too open here. If it came across here, it would come back... And she wanted to prevent that at all costs. She shook her head to shake off the dizziness that usually came right after its appearance, and pulled her hoodie straight again. Then she ran. Into an alley and over a low wooden wall, then through a crater caused by (probably) a mortar shell, and onto the main street. She froze, as she saw a large scaled creature shake its way through a building that had collapsed on top of it. She hadn't been running away from it, but straight towards it!
The creature slowly turned its yellow eyes to the left, to the alley where Jayne had emerged from. It was no further than 100 meters away from her, and it could easily cross the distance before she could make a quick getaway.
Jayne already felt the monster inside her stirring. "No..." she mumbled. "Not again..." She took a few steps back, but then stumbled over a loose lump of debris which had fallen from the building behind her. She quickly crawled backwards on her hands and feet as fast as she could, but it didn't take long before her back hit the cold stone of the wall behind her.
There was the loud crunching of debris under the weight of six large tires as an armoured vehicle pulled up just a couple meters from where Jerian was located. Once stopped, the heavy metal door flung open and Lieutenant Markovich jumped down, carrying an assault rifle in his arms. He technically didn't do any operations during the day since his speciality was nocturnal beasts and beings, like the vampires, demons and weres, however he hadn't been out in the field for nearly a month now, so was glad for the opportunity.
As he looked around, he could certainly tell it was something big, for the buildings around them were in ruins, nothing but dust and rubble. He signaled and four soldiers clambered from the vehicle, "Each one of you get some place high and load in your armour-piercing rounds, I have a good feeling we will be needing zem... and kept quiet, don't draw attention to yourselves."
The men did as they were told, taking a wide advance and stationing in higher areas. Most of them even stumbled upon seeing the creature and trained their sights on it, however would not fire unless ordered to. Markovich stayed to the ground, taking cover behind a wall, he easily recognized the beast now, and it seemed to be watching something, or someone.
As he looked around, he could certainly tell it was something big, for the buildings around them were in ruins, nothing but dust and rubble. He signaled and four soldiers clambered from the vehicle, "Each one of you get some place high and load in your armour-piercing rounds, I have a good feeling we will be needing zem... and kept quiet, don't draw attention to yourselves."
The men did as they were told, taking a wide advance and stationing in higher areas. Most of them even stumbled upon seeing the creature and trained their sights on it, however would not fire unless ordered to. Markovich stayed to the ground, taking cover behind a wall, he easily recognized the beast now, and it seemed to be watching something, or someone.
Jerian had taken cover in a partially-demolished house, he spotted Jayne at about the same time he saw the transport. He swore colourfully and ran out of the building towards the transport, "Civilian!" He called out, pointing in Jayne's direction, "The Lesser Behemoth's trapped her!" He made it to the transport, either not noticing the Lieutenant's rank, or not caring. The Society collaborated with the military of the world's remaining governments, the UNRM, or United Nations Remnant Military, but acted outside of their normal command structure. In all honesty, most of The Society's operatives looked down on the regular military, though perhaps that was understandable considering that most Society operatives received better training and equipment for fighting Supernatural creatures than most military units, and they had a six thousand year history of fighting these creatures, compared to the four years every one else has been doing it.
"EKP Jerian, Air Adept, designated Lookout A-16." Jeria said, "I hope you boys have big guns, because that thing's got tough skin, and it'll take a hell of a lot of armour-piercing bullets to take it down." He looked over to the large beast, which hadn't seen the transport arrive, or if it had it seemed to be much too intent on easier prey and had decided to ignore the soldiers.
"EKP Jerian, Air Adept, designated Lookout A-16." Jeria said, "I hope you boys have big guns, because that thing's got tough skin, and it'll take a hell of a lot of armour-piercing bullets to take it down." He looked over to the large beast, which hadn't seen the transport arrive, or if it had it seemed to be much too intent on easier prey and had decided to ignore the soldiers.
Jayne's head turned to the left slowly as he spotted the military. She swore. She'd really have to fight her inner monster this time. That one guy was a member of what they called the society, and if one of those saw her turning to her monster side... It'd all be over for her. She'd have nowhere to turn, monster nor man. She just hoped those soldiers' guns were big enough.
The behemoth roared at her, its beak showing a set of large teeth. Jayne screamed in respons. Almost immediately, she stopped again, fighting hard against the monster inside her that responded to her distress. She had to focus to push it away again, to push away the urge to give in to it and just tear this behemoth apart. Even though she was only a small woman, this inner monster had already proven itself many times over against bigger foes than her.
The behemoth roared at her, its beak showing a set of large teeth. Jayne screamed in respons. Almost immediately, she stopped again, fighting hard against the monster inside her that responded to her distress. She had to focus to push it away again, to push away the urge to give in to it and just tear this behemoth apart. Even though she was only a small woman, this inner monster had already proven itself many times over against bigger foes than her.
"Guns? I brought grenades lad." Markovich smiled and reached behind himself, un-hooking two of the explosives from his weapons-harness. "Here, take zem... My team will draw its attention while I make attempt to get the civilian away. Think you can get close enough to use one on it?" He nodded towards the hand-grenades as he loaded his own weapon with armour-piercing rounds.In all honesty Novak didn't know if it would work, however, he certainly was going to risk it.
As the behemoth roared loudly, Novak to that as the sign and signaled for his men to open fire, and they most certainly did. Dozens of bullets sprayed the back and sides of the beast, however only about half actually penetrated its tough skin.
As the behemoth roared loudly, Novak to that as the sign and signaled for his men to open fire, and they most certainly did. Dozens of bullets sprayed the back and sides of the beast, however only about half actually penetrated its tough skin.
Jayne looked at the soldiers again, just before they started shooting at the behemoth. The creature's roar in combination with the guns going off all around her made her roll up and cover her ears, simply crying and screaming, asking for it all to just stop. It didn't even hit her that if they stopped, the behemoth would tear her to shreds.
Stop fighting it, let me out. I can help.
"No you can't, you'll just make things worse!"
The beast inside her roared and kept smashing into her mental defenses. Jayne was now under attack in every possible way, and unless that behemoth was taken out soon, she'd just give up and let the beast take control. She didn't want to, but it wasn't going to be avoided.
Stop fighting it, let me out. I can help.
"No you can't, you'll just make things worse!"
The beast inside her roared and kept smashing into her mental defenses. Jayne was now under attack in every possible way, and unless that behemoth was taken out soon, she'd just give up and let the beast take control. She didn't want to, but it wasn't going to be avoided.
Jerian took the grenades with a nod, "Well, they're better than bullets, but I'd prefer a tank." He smiled slightly, "But leave it to me, I can get close enough." The Elite Paladin turned around and ran off towards the Lesser Behemoth, zigzagging through cover; half-fallen walls, craters in the street and other pieces of debris. Eventually, he got close enough to use the grenades, the creature had turned to meet the hail of bullets and it was roaring in pain and anger, the spiked ball at the end of its tail smashed through the second floor of a building, causing a sower of glass and masonry to fall to the ground. Jerian pulled out the grenade's pin and threw it at the beast, hitting it in the side. The explosion tore though the armoured scales and tough hide beneath, evincing a deep roar from the creature. The scorched wound bled thick black ichor as the creature turned ponderously towards Jerian.
The Paladin dived out of the way as an immense foot smashed into the crater where he had been a moment earlier, Jerian scrambled to get to a safe distance and examined the creature for a moment. The bullets weren't doing much more than get it angry, and the wound in its side was hardly life-threatening, and he only had one grenade left, "Blasted thing is too tough..." He looked over to Markovich and shouted, "Aim for its eyes! They're not protected by armour!" He brought his own rifle up and started shooting at the creature's face, the bullets struck it in the snout and forehead, most bouncing off but a few penetrating into the thick skull beneath, the creature charged forward towards Jerian, who didn't flinch as the thing drew nearer, "One shot." He said to himself as he continued to unload his clip into the creature, soon it was close enough for him to see the flecks of foam around its beak and he could smell the charred flesh from its wound. Jerian pulled the pin from his last grenade and threw it just as the creature let loose a roar of challenge as it prepared to crush the pesky human underfoot.
The grenade flew true and entered the thing's beak. It bit down reflexively and the grenade went off...
The Paladin dived out of the way as an immense foot smashed into the crater where he had been a moment earlier, Jerian scrambled to get to a safe distance and examined the creature for a moment. The bullets weren't doing much more than get it angry, and the wound in its side was hardly life-threatening, and he only had one grenade left, "Blasted thing is too tough..." He looked over to Markovich and shouted, "Aim for its eyes! They're not protected by armour!" He brought his own rifle up and started shooting at the creature's face, the bullets struck it in the snout and forehead, most bouncing off but a few penetrating into the thick skull beneath, the creature charged forward towards Jerian, who didn't flinch as the thing drew nearer, "One shot." He said to himself as he continued to unload his clip into the creature, soon it was close enough for him to see the flecks of foam around its beak and he could smell the charred flesh from its wound. Jerian pulled the pin from his last grenade and threw it just as the creature let loose a roar of challenge as it prepared to crush the pesky human underfoot.
The grenade flew true and entered the thing's beak. It bit down reflexively and the grenade went off...
(sorry for late reply)
Jayne flinched when she saw the grenade enter the creature's beak. She moved back against the wall as far as possible. The grenade exploded.
Jayne watched in horror as pieces were ripped from the beast's body, but to no avail. For some reason the behemoth had manage to absorb most of the blast. The only effect the grenade had on it, was that it was enraged even more than before. It roared in frustration and dashed forward, working himself free of the rubble.
Jayne could no longer contain the creature. She screamed, a scream that increased in volume and went to a medium-pitch roar. Something best described as a monster's roar mixed halfway with a young girl's scream emitted from where she was. Her body underwent some minor changes. A blood red color creeped up from the tips of her hair to halfway her shoulders, leaving her with what looked like red extensions. Some pieces of her skin crystalized, leaving a few purple crystal patches to protect her vital body parts. When she opened her eyes again, they had turned from a dark black color to a crimson red. She rose, all signs of doubt and fear gone. A wicked grin appeared on her face.
"Finally..." The voice wasn't hers, or at least not entirely. Her voice sounded through in it, but most of it was the beast's. "Time to have some fun..." A dark energy gathered in her right hand and formed the shape of a blade - even though it was untouchable by anyone unless she wanted it to be. (ooc: something like this) She laughed a monstruous laugh and jumped up and around the behemoth, toying with it and delivering several blows against the now even more frustrated lesser behemoth.
Jayne flinched when she saw the grenade enter the creature's beak. She moved back against the wall as far as possible. The grenade exploded.
Jayne watched in horror as pieces were ripped from the beast's body, but to no avail. For some reason the behemoth had manage to absorb most of the blast. The only effect the grenade had on it, was that it was enraged even more than before. It roared in frustration and dashed forward, working himself free of the rubble.
Jayne could no longer contain the creature. She screamed, a scream that increased in volume and went to a medium-pitch roar. Something best described as a monster's roar mixed halfway with a young girl's scream emitted from where she was. Her body underwent some minor changes. A blood red color creeped up from the tips of her hair to halfway her shoulders, leaving her with what looked like red extensions. Some pieces of her skin crystalized, leaving a few purple crystal patches to protect her vital body parts. When she opened her eyes again, they had turned from a dark black color to a crimson red. She rose, all signs of doubt and fear gone. A wicked grin appeared on her face.
"Finally..." The voice wasn't hers, or at least not entirely. Her voice sounded through in it, but most of it was the beast's. "Time to have some fun..." A dark energy gathered in her right hand and formed the shape of a blade - even though it was untouchable by anyone unless she wanted it to be. (ooc: something like this) She laughed a monstruous laugh and jumped up and around the behemoth, toying with it and delivering several blows against the now even more frustrated lesser behemoth.
Jerian had scrambled away from the beast as soon as the last grenade had left his hand, as soon as it had gone off he turned, his eyes widening when he saw that it hadn't done much damage, "What? But... but that should have blown its head clean off!" His shock turned to horror as he saw the girl jump out of her hid- wait... his expression slid back into shock as he took in the girl... the thing's new form, "What in the name of The Nine?"
He didn't stay still for long. Training and four years of fighting had taught him tough lessons. Never stay still in a war zone, don't let yourself get pinned down and don't get caught out in the open. Jerian ran to the nearest bit of cover; a deep crater in the road and reloaded his rifle with a fresh clip of bullets. The rifle was standard military-issue, but the bullets were Society-made; most were iron, a few had silver mixed in, a few special ones even had tiny glyphs and sigils etched into it with lasers, though these were very hard to make, especially considering the destruction of a great swathe of the world's military-industrial regions, and the mines and refineries that had kept the raw materials flowing to them.
Jerian poked his head above cover quickly, to take in the situation in a glance and then ducked back. So, the... whatever it was was fighting the Lesser Behemoth, and it didn't seem to have much trouble. There was an old saying; the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Jerian smiled a grim smile, whilst that was true, such 'friends' very rarely remained so after the common foe was dead. Unfortunately he hadn't caught a good look at the creature assailing the behemoth, only that it looked similar to the girl, except one hand was wreathed in shadows that seemed to cut the behemoth's armour and flesh like a knife through butter, and some patches of a crystalline substance on it.
The Paladin thought this through; a strong melee offensive ability, full extent unknown, agile, great speed, crystal substance appearing to act as armour for weak spots, probably pretty tough too. All these thoughts and more ran through his head. His best shot was to hope that the creature tired itself out fighting the behemoth, but judging from its posture and its shown abilities, that was unlikely. Don't let it get close, ward off the shadow-blade weapon, aim for the soft spots uncovered by armour... he nodded, he'd use the rune-carved iron rounds. His most effective demon-killing equipment. He followed an old Paladin adage; 'When in doubt, overkill is always better than no kill at all'.
The young Paladin switched clips and then broke cover and ran towards the lieutenant and his men, using the various pieces of cover to try and hide his movements, hoping the... creature was distract by its prey. He intended to follow the adage to the letter; the more men he had behind him, the better. Hopefully massed fire would give them an advantage if the creature turned on them too.
He didn't stay still for long. Training and four years of fighting had taught him tough lessons. Never stay still in a war zone, don't let yourself get pinned down and don't get caught out in the open. Jerian ran to the nearest bit of cover; a deep crater in the road and reloaded his rifle with a fresh clip of bullets. The rifle was standard military-issue, but the bullets were Society-made; most were iron, a few had silver mixed in, a few special ones even had tiny glyphs and sigils etched into it with lasers, though these were very hard to make, especially considering the destruction of a great swathe of the world's military-industrial regions, and the mines and refineries that had kept the raw materials flowing to them.
Jerian poked his head above cover quickly, to take in the situation in a glance and then ducked back. So, the... whatever it was was fighting the Lesser Behemoth, and it didn't seem to have much trouble. There was an old saying; the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Jerian smiled a grim smile, whilst that was true, such 'friends' very rarely remained so after the common foe was dead. Unfortunately he hadn't caught a good look at the creature assailing the behemoth, only that it looked similar to the girl, except one hand was wreathed in shadows that seemed to cut the behemoth's armour and flesh like a knife through butter, and some patches of a crystalline substance on it.
The Paladin thought this through; a strong melee offensive ability, full extent unknown, agile, great speed, crystal substance appearing to act as armour for weak spots, probably pretty tough too. All these thoughts and more ran through his head. His best shot was to hope that the creature tired itself out fighting the behemoth, but judging from its posture and its shown abilities, that was unlikely. Don't let it get close, ward off the shadow-blade weapon, aim for the soft spots uncovered by armour... he nodded, he'd use the rune-carved iron rounds. His most effective demon-killing equipment. He followed an old Paladin adage; 'When in doubt, overkill is always better than no kill at all'.
The young Paladin switched clips and then broke cover and ran towards the lieutenant and his men, using the various pieces of cover to try and hide his movements, hoping the... creature was distract by its prey. He intended to follow the adage to the letter; the more men he had behind him, the better. Hopefully massed fire would give them an advantage if the creature turned on them too.
Jayne - or the demon monster controlling her - did take clear note of Jerian's movement, but it ignored him. It could care less as he was having way to much fun breaking down the Behemoth piece by piece. "It's been a long time since I've had this much fun!" he laughed wickedly, and jumped back into a building's doorway.
"Follow me, braindead monster!" he yelled. The enraged behemoth didn't hesitate, and charged Jayne's occupied body. The monster inside Jayne grinned, and steered her body through the house in high speed. The Behemoth hit it, and the masonry and Iron beams keeping it together crashed down. The medium sized office building came crashing down, and enveloped the entire area in a shield of dust and smoke, making it impossible for anyone to see what was going on Behind it. Screams could be heard as Jayne executed more attacks on the creature's now exposed skin.
"Follow me, braindead monster!" he yelled. The enraged behemoth didn't hesitate, and charged Jayne's occupied body. The monster inside Jayne grinned, and steered her body through the house in high speed. The Behemoth hit it, and the masonry and Iron beams keeping it together crashed down. The medium sized office building came crashing down, and enveloped the entire area in a shield of dust and smoke, making it impossible for anyone to see what was going on Behind it. Screams could be heard as Jayne executed more attacks on the creature's now exposed skin.
(Good thing I got a notice, sorry peep but I am gonna have to drop out, currently too occupied at the time to get responses in)
(( Right, okay, fair enough... but what do we say happened to Markovich? Oh, by the way, it's late over here so I'll be replying with a proper post tomorrow.))
((He could disappear in the chaos, nowhere to be found. Jerian can then take command of the soldiers for a bit))
(( Heck, kill him if you'd like, building collapse would probably be the easiest way. I don't mind.))
The young Paladin had finally made it into the half-ruined, gutted shell of a building of uncertain purpose in which the soldiers had hold up. He approached one of the soldiers, "You! Where's your CO?"
The soldier turned to look at the nineteen-year-old, a curt, offended response died in his throat when h noticed the three interlocked circles and the sword and three stars on the arm of Jerian's armour. He'd been about to ask who the damn kid thought he was, to act like some general... but out here, on the front lines facing God-knows-what, an Elite Knight was worth all the generals they had back at the command centre. "Gone...sir." He said with a shake of his head, "The Behemoth almost got a few of us with its tail, smashed a building up pretty good. Lieutenant Markovich was missing when the dust cleared, no one's seen him since."
Jerian's mouth was set in a grim line, "Dead?"
The soldier shrugged, "MIA, sir, Markovich is one tough SOB. I expect he'll turn up in a little while as if nothing ever happened."
Jerian grunted. He'd known a few men like that in his time; given eulogies at memorial services only to have the 'dead' man come back smiling from the jaws of death, a brace of demon heads on his belt. Still, in such situations it was best to assume the worst, "I'll assume he's dead until he comes sauntering back. Until then, I'm taking over as commander of this unit." He glanced about the barren building were the soldiers were crouched.
Jerian nodded, "Okay, here's what we do; I want all of our heavy ordinance gathered together, I want any snipers we've got in high vantage points, keep them out of sight. The rest of you need to spread out, get into cover and mass your fire on the creature. And for the love of The Nine keep away from it! That shadow-sword looks nasty."
The soldier nodded and went about carnying out his orders, meanwhile Jerian looked out a shattered window at where the behemoth was obscured by dust, roaring in pain and rage still, his expression was worried.
What was that thing? It was obviously bound to that girl... but it wasn't a full possession; it wasn't in full control of her all the time.... and yet the demon was obviously immensely powerful if it could so easily defeat a Lesser Behemoth. The Society rated threats and entities along a scale from Alpha to Sigma. Technically the scale went all the way to Omega, but since Sigma meant god-like power no one could contemplate meeting an entity that were beyond Sigma-level.
Lesser Behemoths were Eta-level threats, which meant that they were incredibly powerful, but not insurmountably so. The demon possessing the girl, therefore, would have to be at least an Iota-level entity, and Jerian suspected it was probably closer to Kappa-level. The teen shivered. Whilst Kappa-level creatures were far from the most powerful, they were certainly not to be trifled with; the men under his command would be easily slaughtered by that creature, even an Aetherian, one of the rare, blessed individuals who possessed great magical power, would be wary when facing a Kappa-level entity.
Not for the first time, Jerian sorely wished he had a tank with him. Preferably an entire division of tanks. In fact, he'd prefer to be able to call down a tactical nuclear strike just to be on the safe side... but there weren't many nukes left on the planet and things would have to be pretty desperate for anyone to sanction a nuclear strike on London, even if it was in a ruined, abandoned part of the city.
The soldier turned to look at the nineteen-year-old, a curt, offended response died in his throat when h noticed the three interlocked circles and the sword and three stars on the arm of Jerian's armour. He'd been about to ask who the damn kid thought he was, to act like some general... but out here, on the front lines facing God-knows-what, an Elite Knight was worth all the generals they had back at the command centre. "Gone...sir." He said with a shake of his head, "The Behemoth almost got a few of us with its tail, smashed a building up pretty good. Lieutenant Markovich was missing when the dust cleared, no one's seen him since."
Jerian's mouth was set in a grim line, "Dead?"
The soldier shrugged, "MIA, sir, Markovich is one tough SOB. I expect he'll turn up in a little while as if nothing ever happened."
Jerian grunted. He'd known a few men like that in his time; given eulogies at memorial services only to have the 'dead' man come back smiling from the jaws of death, a brace of demon heads on his belt. Still, in such situations it was best to assume the worst, "I'll assume he's dead until he comes sauntering back. Until then, I'm taking over as commander of this unit." He glanced about the barren building were the soldiers were crouched.
Jerian nodded, "Okay, here's what we do; I want all of our heavy ordinance gathered together, I want any snipers we've got in high vantage points, keep them out of sight. The rest of you need to spread out, get into cover and mass your fire on the creature. And for the love of The Nine keep away from it! That shadow-sword looks nasty."
The soldier nodded and went about carnying out his orders, meanwhile Jerian looked out a shattered window at where the behemoth was obscured by dust, roaring in pain and rage still, his expression was worried.
What was that thing? It was obviously bound to that girl... but it wasn't a full possession; it wasn't in full control of her all the time.... and yet the demon was obviously immensely powerful if it could so easily defeat a Lesser Behemoth. The Society rated threats and entities along a scale from Alpha to Sigma. Technically the scale went all the way to Omega, but since Sigma meant god-like power no one could contemplate meeting an entity that were beyond Sigma-level.
Lesser Behemoths were Eta-level threats, which meant that they were incredibly powerful, but not insurmountably so. The demon possessing the girl, therefore, would have to be at least an Iota-level entity, and Jerian suspected it was probably closer to Kappa-level. The teen shivered. Whilst Kappa-level creatures were far from the most powerful, they were certainly not to be trifled with; the men under his command would be easily slaughtered by that creature, even an Aetherian, one of the rare, blessed individuals who possessed great magical power, would be wary when facing a Kappa-level entity.
Not for the first time, Jerian sorely wished he had a tank with him. Preferably an entire division of tanks. In fact, he'd prefer to be able to call down a tactical nuclear strike just to be on the safe side... but there weren't many nukes left on the planet and things would have to be pretty desperate for anyone to sanction a nuclear strike on London, even if it was in a ruined, abandoned part of the city.
The monster inside Jayne has had enough now. He decided it was time to wrap up. The shadow sword split in two. One half seeped along her arm, acrosse her back and shoulders and back onto her other arm, both now forming claw-like shapes. He screamed inhumanly loud, making the Behemoth roar in response. He then made her body jump up high and landed on the creature's neck. She started smashing the claws through the Behemoth's thick skin and deep into its neck. A black fluid started flowing through the wounds and out of its mouth as it was slowly but surely forced to tis knees due to bloodloss. Finally the creature's heart stopped beating and it closed its eyes for good.
With a content grin, The monster steered Jayne's body out of the dustcloud and just stood there, looking at the commotion among the troops, making a careful note in his brain of where everyone was going. The two shadowclaws still enveloped her lower arms as he watched them with a wicked grin.
With a content grin, The monster steered Jayne's body out of the dustcloud and just stood there, looking at the commotion among the troops, making a careful note in his brain of where everyone was going. The two shadowclaws still enveloped her lower arms as he watched them with a wicked grin.
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