Words couldn't accurately describe the almost out of body experience Teric underwent as the battle dragged itself forgivingly to its conclusion. One minute they were buried underground in the Sway's richly magical sanctum, and the next they were standing in a marble-paved crater under the grey, overcast winter sky amongst the skeletal ruins of the Cathedral. Whether by magic, exhaustion, or some other interfering force, the mercenary's sense of time seemed to skip by what seemed like hours - but could have been only seconds - until Caden's final declaration almost physically forced the timeline back into place.

"Kill this bitch."

The words echoed inside of Teric's head as he almost instinctively moved with Rayse to flank the struggling demi-god on all sides. As if viewing himself from afar, the veteran watched on as he and his nephew worked in tandem to dissect the magic-inhaling Denebriel with lightning-quick, surgical precision. In some strange sense, the swordsman fully expected it to be a futile gesture.

He'd watched Denebriel with his own eyes conjure forth magics not seen since time immemorial. He'd borne witness as she constantly seemed to rebuild herself and adapt to her injuries. The Saint had been beaten, fried, cut, blasted, and endured any number of other combat-adjectives with little complaint, and always come back for more. Even then - right near the end - Teric had watched the would be God pull herself clawing and screaming from a magical singularity.

Even with Caden's endorsement, Teric didn't truly believe that the demi-god would be felled by a few sword cuts. Luckily for everyone involved, probably, Teric's beliefs had a habit of proving false.

Denebriel - the only true power in Salvar for centuries - fell to the ground like the fine ash off of a cigarette butt. There was no rolling thunder or bright lightning overhead - no grand display as the magical essences keeping the Saint alive were stripped of their mortal shell. The demi-god simply disintegrated into the chill Salvic wind and was gone...

Teric blinked and they were on more familiar ground; namely, the dining room in Rayse's apartment. The jarring shift in location was offset by the numbness clouding the mercenary's mind, and almost absently Teric could see it affecting Caden as well. The truly profound impact of what they'd just done was lost on the veteran until Caden put it into words - and even then Teric couldn't quite wrap his mind around the concept.

"Not my God." Teric heard himself say, not really sure if he said it out loud or not. "Not a real God."

Teric instinctively reached for the glass Rayse poured for him, but the wine was flavorless in the mercenary's mouth. As a man so accustomed to boiling situations down into their lowest common denominators, the veteran was trying so hard to find a good analogy for the events of the last couple hours that he could even process the bittersweet bite of the alcohol - nor did he notice Caden move for the door. Numb, perplexed, and very tired, the mercenary didn't even register the presence of another God - Caden's mysterious helper - as the wizard was whisked to places unknown by a power unfathomable to the mortal mind.

It took a minute for Teric to finally move past the blockage in his head and finally say something.

"Well," he said, almost in disbelief, "that was... interesting."

Rayse gave him a look that might as well have said "Really? That's all you can say?" The Contractor was obviously proud of himself and their accomplishment, and in a strange way Teric envied the younger man his natural confidence. While certainly his brash and boisterous swagger could be grating on the stoic, reserved mercenary's nerves, Rayse's almost unshakable self-image as this hugely powerful figure in the world was admirable. To look at him, one could tell that the Contractor suffered no self-doubt. It was as if the younger man had known from the start that they would surely conquer Denebriel on her home turf, and the fact that they had succeeded only cemented their grandeur in the young man's mind.

There'll be no living with him after this. Teric realized wistfully. He could only imagine what effect their god-slaying would have on the Contractor's already brazen ego. At the same time, though, the mercenary couldn't really fault his nephew for that ego. He'd certainly proven himself capable of backing up his talk with action...

Spoils requested:
-The "Magicide Blade" Teric's been hefting around most of the thread. An enchanted, masterwork Dehlar longsword that can nullify magic. Due to the obvious powergaming/trouble inducing implications of a weapon that can completely cancel out magic, I'm going to propose the following restriction if granted:

Restriction: The Magicide blade can only be used in threads with other PC's with the express permission of all thread participants. Meaning that if I want to use the weapon in a battle or non-solo endeavor, I must ask my opponents/fellows for their consent before using it.