Challenge of the Ixian Captains - William vs. Cassandra

[Revenant]

When William issued his challenge to the rest of the Captains of the Ixian Knights, he had immediately crossed Cassandra Remi’s name off of his challenge notice. He was so certain of the ridiculousness of Cassandra accepting his challenge to one-on-one combat that the demonic warrior had nearly left her name off the list entirely. But when Jerrick, the monster hunter’s second-in-command, had suggested that he bill his challenge to the other Captain’s as a way to build a friendly rivalry between the squads, William had grudgingly put down Cassandra’s name. It wasn’t as if putting her name down would somehow convince her to fight the Revenant.

Apparently, William thought as he entered the Citadel of Radasanth, I was wrong. The only person who had been more surprised than William when the word spread that Cassandra had accepted his challenge was Jensen, and that was only because the Midnight Mistress had nearly died in her encounter with him. The only thing that had saved her that day had been Jensen’s love for his adopted daughter, a weakness that Cassandra could exploit. But it was a widely accepted fact around Sei’s Tomb that despite the reluctant companionship that William had formed with several Ixian members, there was no love in the Revenant’s burning heart for anyone.

“Good morning Lord Arcus,” the Ai’Bron monk Benerict greeted William as he crossed the plane of the Citadel’s soaring entryway. William was one of the Citadel’s most frequent attendee’s and Benerict had come to see himself as something of a steward to the demonic warrior.

“Benerict,” William returned the greeting with the slightest nod of the head. “Is the grindhouse ready?”

“Not only is the grindhouse ready,” Benerict said, falling in line next to William, “but your opponent is already in it.”

That stopped William in his tracks. “Remi’s here already?” he asked, the surprise evident in his voice.

Benerict shrugged and offered William a self-depreciating smile. “I’m pretty sure I said that your opponent is already in the grindhouse,” he sighed sarcastically, “but I do suppose that I’ve been known to lie from time to time.”

“Fine, whatever.” William waved Benerict on in annoyance. “This day is already too odd.”

*****

The grindhouse was a special arena that William had devised just for his battle with Cassandra. All of the Ixian Knights knew that Cassandra was one of Sei’s Captains, but few knew exactly what she was Captain of. In truth, Cassandra was the leader of the Ixian wetworks team, responsible for disposing of troublesome elements opposed to the Knights’ plans. As one of the Knights’ senior leadership William was privy to the information, but even without his status William would have known. William himself was an instrument of destruction formed by magic to be a living weapon, and he had known what cassandra was the first moment he laid eye on her.

Like called to like.

William’s face split into a savage grin as he surveyed the grindhouse. It was a nightmarescape made real, an abomination plucked from the darkest depravities of William’s mind and made flesh by the Citadel’s magic. Pillars of stone and steel stretched as far as the eye could see; an infinite variety of torturous devices and twisted machinery built upon and stretched between them. But the setup wasn’t the truest horror of the grindhouse, an honor reserved for what was chained to every pillar, and strapped or bolted into every freakish device.

Everywhere, their noise combining to to fill the chamber with a cacophonic choir the like of which had never before been heard on Althanas, was the writhing body of a screaming petitioner.

Rusted hooks, barbed wire, and chains spanned between the flayed, gore strewn bodies, pulling and tearing further into the thrashing victims with each pain filled moment of their existence. None of the creature’s, human, elf, or otherwise, should have feasibly been able to survive the horrors perpetuated upon their flesh in the grindhouse, and yet they remained alive and cognizant by the power of the chamber’s magic. The room itself had no walls or roof, the Citadel’s magic extending the bloody tableau into an eternity of torturous blasphemy.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it,” William called out to the solitary robed figure that remained unfastened to any device in the grindhouse. “I designed it specifically with you in mind.” William laughed low and harsh, his fingers already twitching with desire. "I'm going to make this a night to remember."

[Requiem of Insanity]

The robed figure stood, head bowed in supplication as screaming and wailing noise filtered through the room. Agony, torment, painful groans and pitiful grunts all attempted to assail the mind of the one who stood before them in dark silence. Like a small dingy at sea adrift the madness, it stood stoically apart from those that tried to hold it out. A solitary tear ran down from the darkness of the hood and descended to the floor meeting with a few other droplets as one tender hand touched the heart as if moved by such a wonderful sound. Fingers longed to stroke the faces of those screaming, but alas, the moment was ruined when the Revenant entered his personal hell.

The challenge had been decreed to fight the captains of the Ixian Knights, and when the rumors had reached the ears of Cassandra Remi, her smile grew wide in pleasure. William Arcus had wanted to play destroyer again, and this time he wanted to hide it behind the façade of camaraderie. Only a Neanderthal like the Revenant would come up with friendship and togetherness through bloodshed. Yet the beast was what he was, a terrible monster who was shackled by the neck to Sei Orlouge. Without even realizing it Cassandra touched one finger to her neck and ran a smooth finger along her throat. Just like me, She thought with a lustful sigh. Two monsters who want nothing more than to kill, but are tempered by the will of our Lord and his stone rock prophecy.

She felt the weight of her robes and adjusted them, looking around to see many of the Ixian Knights come once again to witness the death of Cassandra Remi. She was appalled that so many came to see her die when Jensen Ambrose and she had fought in these very halls, but as she proved victor then, she would prove to William. Jensen was at the head of the crowd, as she expected, but the loudmouth didn’t seem to be speaking as much as he normally did. Instead he moved right to the glass where he could watch, eyes intently looking into the room. His lover, Stephanie was seen next, but as quickly as she looked in she turned her head and frowned. Some other Ixian soldiers had meandered forwards, saw the grotesque nature of the chamber of horrors, and left muttering words of disgust.

Two more robed figures stepped up to the glass, matching the one worn by her. With a tentative nod Cassandra felt ready to begin the battle.

The robed figure turned slowly to look to William Arcus. Eyes flashed beneath the shrouded hood, and the Revenant titled his head in confusion. The robed figure studied the foe, before one hand latched to the top of the cowl and nimbly removed the fabric showing a set of short medium length black hair falling to the sides. Stern, gray eyes looked outwards to the coal like orbs of the monster as the robe fluttered open revealing a pristine conditioned studded leather armor, all black and crimson in color. A small chain wrapped around the left wrist slid out of the robes, meeting with the end of a deadly looking maul where slowly they tied the weapon to the haft so that they became one.

“I accept, on behalf of Lady Remi, your challenge,” Adolph Gretzel said. “May the Horsemen have mercy on our souls!” He saluted lifting the maul up and slamming it down upon the ground. Small lines fractured from the impact on the stone floor, and the warrior ran at William quickly, dragging his weapon to the side behind him ready for a brutal two handed blow.

~*~*~

“What the fuck is that asshole doing!” Jensen screamed in confusion as Stephanie’s fists pounded against the glass screaming for Adolph words the Ixian Chaplain would never hear. Cassandra lowered her hood and began to laugh, a vile sinister laugh as she watched her champion do battle against the Monster Hunter.

[Revenant]

“What in the Pyre is going on here,” William hissed through his teeth. He was on alert the instant that Adolph revealed himself, molten power coursing through his veins and transforming the Revenant into his demonic form. A low snarl slipped through William’s charred lips, lost on the winds of the screaming petitioners as Adolph’s maul swung ferociously at the Monster Hunter.

Adolph was fast and a skilled warrior, but even with all of his training the knight was only human. The head of the mace passed through the space where William had stood, catching nothing but echoed memories. William wafted away from the deadly hammer like a ghost, his demonically enhanced speed making him more than a match for Adolph’s magic weapon.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing Knight of the Apocalypse?” William spat. He leapt back to give himself some room, casually lashing out at a flayed body as he did so. The razor wire frame which held the convulsing body screeched as the steel hard bone of William’s blackened claws tore through it, sending the thrashing man in a pendulum arc into the lane in front of Adolph. William moved on without waiting to see the result, knowing that the makeshift trap would do little to stop his opponent, and that the magic of the arena would keep the petitioner alive no matter what Adolph did to it.

“Why would you agree to face me as Remi’s champion?” William ghosted around one of the grindhouse’s pillars as he spoke, using his enhanced speed to wend his way through the threaded chains and screeching machines faster than Adolph could follow.

“I know, it’s her tight little ass isn’t it?” he taunted, his voice a low, grating growl. “And those prime perky tits. She promised you a piece of that, didn’t she Knight?” William ducked beneath a grinding millstone, watching Adolph from cover like a predator stalking his prey.

“No that’s not why you’re doing this,” he whispered, just loud enough that Adolph could hear, though his words wouldn’t be able to be magically transmitted to the crowded onlookers outside. “You’re doing this because Jensen could never beat me and you want to prove to her that you can.” There was no use in hiding anymore as his voice had already alerted Adolph to his presence. Besides, just because it wasn’t Cassandra that he was fighting didn’t mean that William wasn’t out for blood.

“You’re a sad little man, Gretzel,” William snarled as he drove his fist into the support pylon of the millstone beside him. It didn’t seem possible that the rusted machine could make any more noise than it already was, but William’s assault somehow managed to make the screaming prisoner beneath the studded grindstone seem meek as a mouse. “You are doing this for a piece of ass, aren’t you?”

The support pylon snapped like the death roar of a Fallien Sandworm, sending the grindstone rolling free and clear. William heaved against the rolling grinder with all of the strength in his demonic frame, sending it crashing over a dozen petitioners and through a spider web of spiked chains as it hurtled towards Adolph.

“It’s just that the piece of ass you’re looking to score isn’t Remi, is it?”

[Requiem of Insanity]

Adolph knew his attack would miss, he counted on that. He was merely testing the speed and skill of the fabled Revenant and when the beast had retreated back the Chaplain’s eyes went wide with a warrior’s astonishment. For a creature so large to move so fast was impressive, but all his thoughts had to end when a screeching prisoner was tossed at him, hooked to the chains and flying at Adolph like the crack of a whip.

The maul in his hands, his gift from Stephanie he dubbed Crozius, pushed outwards with ease in a backhanded swing, slamming itself into the prisoner’s screaming mouth and the body snapped like a fish on a hook away from him. The weapon’s enchantment to make his blows three times the strength of the average human soldier was already paying off as the chains pulled on the flailing body and snapped it back to the ground as it swung back. Adolph had already moved on from his spot, robes billowing like they were trapped in a breeze from his quick pace. Running wasn’t the option here, it would do little good to exert that energy when the Revenant was clearly a faster foe. He wanted to be able to react on a moments notice.

The charred, crippled sounding voice of a tortured, burning corpse taunted him, grinding meaningless jargon into the Chaplain’s head. War was always waged on two fronts, the physical and the mental, and the beast had cunning to display he knew his craft well. Yet his jabs and words were useless to the knight’s iron will. Cassandra Remi meant nothing to Adolph, nothing at all. As he was about to retort William shouted one last line that paused the human in his tracks.

He had dug into his psyche enough with his ugly demonic talons and dragged out the truth in one go as to why he was standing before the Revanant. Stephanie, the woman he loved, was the only reason he was in this room now. Aerith, Cassandra’s devious daughter, had found the challenge and immediately reported it to Cassandra, who summoned the Chaplain and began to explain that he should accept the challenge in her honor. If Adolph could stop the Revenant, defeat him when Jensen Ambrose couldn’t, then Stephanie would see that Adolph could protect her far more efficiently than Jensen could hope to dream. It wasn’t meant as a full blown sign of affection, but just the start in a series of getting back what Adolph considered his fair due.

That haunting realization that his efforts were so easily readable gave pause to the knight and he nearly was crushed by the grindstone. With a snap of his head he noticed the coming calamity and rolled to the side, sliding his body up against a pillar. The grindstone slammed against the hanging chains of prisoners, knocking them aside like pins before it came to a stop on the ground with a loud crash and a tornado of dust.

“I’m in so much pain…” An elf wheezed at Adolph’s side. Angrily he slammed Crozius into the creatures mouth. It didn’t die, despite the strength of his blow, but it still screamed as if it was injured deeply. Slowly Adolph lifted himself up, eyes searching for the Revenant as he wiped one hand along his clothing, wiping debris off it.

His boots moved silently when compared to wails in the room, and when the Revenant was spotted he turned to find another soul trapped and chained from the roof like a piece of beef in a slaughter house. “Petty words from a beast like you are wasted breaths, Revenant!” Adolph spoke clearly, defiantly as one of his kind did. Chaplain’s were to be the spiritual leaders of the Ixian Knights; front line warriors who invigorated the army around them with fiery oratory and deeds of legendary impact.

So would he show Stephanie and those around him that even against William Arcus, he would uphold his station with no hesitation, nor fear.

“My gods watch this fight, William, and I will not let them go wanting!” Adolph took his weapon and did a two handed blow into the chest of the chained prisoner, swinging it’s mass directly at the Revenant at an alarming speed. “Like in the fires of the forge so do I burn with hatred! Let my enemies know of my strength and my resolve to see them cast broken before me!"

[Revenant]

“So much silly talk of gods and hate,” William snarled, casually backhanding the screaming petitioner out of his way only to find Adolph charging up fast behind it. The Crozius hammer came in fast and hard, the strength of Adolph’s two handed blow enhanced three-fold by the magic weapon. The attack wasn’t a very surprising or original one; William had fought alongside the dour Knight on several occasions and knew how by-the-book the man operated. Adolph was an intelligent man and a tactical fighter, but he was an utterly predictable opponent. Still, as predictable as the man was, his attack wasn’t one that William could easily dodge. The rolling grindstone had left the area littered with enough shattered machinery and twisted chain that the only option William had left was to go forward, through Adolph.

The hand that had swatted aside Adolph’s distraction flashed back to intercept the Crozius in the center of the hammer’s cross shaped head. Strength met strength as the hardened steel of the Crozius collided with blackened bone just as tough. The resulting clash threw both men’s weapons back with a clack. William remained rooted where he stood, shaking his claw vigorously back and forth, but the force of the blow drove Adolph back several steps, the strength enhancing quality of Crozius not extending to his entire body.

“Thaynes, damn it,” William swore through clenched teeth as he watched the Knight of the Apocalypse stumble. Though his bone gauntlets were as hard as the Crozius and had suffered, at worst, a minor crack or two, the rest of his arm had gone completely numb from the blow. William trusted his healing abilities to repair the cracks within a minute or two, but fighting with that hand until it was healed was a sure way to ensure that the minor wound became a major one. Of a less pressing concern was the numbness in his arm, as the stinging pain in the limb let him know that the nerves were slowly returning to life.

William saw that Adolph had regained balance quickly, bringing his weapon in front of him as a shield while he recovered from the same numbness that was no doubt running through his own sword arm. Opening blows traded, William leapt forward, crossing the small gap between the two of them quickly. “You love your gods so much, Chaplain?” William said, throwing a side kick at Adolph to throw the Knight of Apocalypse back on the defensive. “Then tell me something.” William threw a series of short kicks and jabs from his uninjured hand. Adolph expertly parried each one, but even though he maintained his guard each strike forced him back a step or two. It was readily apparent that William wasn’t attacking with his full speed or power but merely to maneuver the two of them to a fresh stretch of the grindhouse.

“I’m destruction incarnate,” William continued as they fought, his voice clashing with the ringing of their weapons, nearly drowned by the screams of the petitioners hounding them from all sides. “Isn’t that what you worship? Destruction?” William lashed out suddenly in a broad, sweeping kick aimed at Adolph’s ankles, this one stronger, quicker, and more savage than the last several.

“So worship me Adolph. I’m your God now.”

[Requiem of Insanity]

Adolph’s arms worked in a tandem of defense and parry, using the shaft of his weapon to counter the blows as they reigned down upon his mortal frame. Each strike was like blocking a warhammer sending tremors of pain down his muscles. The demons hand's and feet were rotating in harmony just as Ta’gaz had taught the engine of destruction. When William spoke of his gods Adolph merely grunted, no reply was needed, for he had to focus. One slip and the speed he had seen earlier from William could exploit a weakness.

They fought down an open path of the grind house, the shackled slaves of the room were oblivious to the fight around them. Some had turned to a vegetative gibbering while others tested their bonds for weakness and shouted profanity to be free from the hell that awaited them. Slack hooks swung lazily in circles, just waiting for something to catch hold and twice Adolph felt a rip in his robes as the fangs of the arena dug into him. It was difficult enough to fight William like this, but to be worried about a hook sinking into his flesh was another bothersome worry all its own.

At last William changed his tactics as Adolph was once again forced back. He rolled into a sweeping kick, low and graceful as it came. Adolph had scant seconds to act, but he was veteran of a hundred battles, a warrior born from thousands of fights. He would not be felled so easily by a mere sweep. The knight planted his feet and shoved his maul forwards like a lance. His right hand clasped over his left hand and pushed the weapon downwards to block the blow.

“My gods want my piety born from action, not mere words of worship! If indeed you are my god, then let me show you my most sincere devotion!” He preached like a zealot as he shouted to William, letting the burning anger in his heart give him courage. Adolph felt the leg sweep into the maul, knocking it aside as they collided. He was able to release his grip on the shaft, twirling with the blow and extending his left arm out. The chain attached to his arm went slack, then pulled taught as the momentum of his twirl gave weight to the maul attached to the other end of the chain.

Like a flail he lashed outwards at William, swinging the weapon in a backhanded fashion gripping his chains in both hands to add momentum. He aimed right at the meaty chest of his foe with all his might, snarling in defiance to the Revenant.

[Revenant]

Ridiculous, William thought as he watched Adolph begin his mid-air pirouette attack. He had criticized his opponent only a minute before for being too predictable, and here he was leaping through the air like a buffoon. William had apparently pushed the right buttons to set Adolph off.

He thought, for a moment, about letting the ludicrous attack strike him. But better judgment overshadowed his valor and he shuffled back several paces, leaning away from the attack enough that the Crozius’ head passed harmlessly in front of his chest. The hammer’s strength enhancing magical effect wasn’t likely to take effect unless Adolph was holding it, and his leathery demon skin would take a certain amount of the blunt damage from the swing, but getting smacked in the chest with a heavy ball of metal moving at high speed still was something the Revenant tended to avoid on principle.

Adolph’s failed strike, however, wasn’t the end of the attack. No sooner had the Crozius’ head cleared him than had Adolph dropped from his chain perch, pulled the weapon back to hand, and came back around for a follow-up strike. It was, William supposed, the way that a Knight of Apocalypse fought, striking hard and fast in rapid succession so that the opponent wouldn’t have a chance to recover. But the hard truth that Adolph didn’t seem to realize yet was that he was greatly outmatched in his fight with William and that his standard tactics weren’t going to work.

Seeing the backhand swing coming in at him again, William stepped into him opponent and executed a simple that Hotouri had taught him. He positioned his feet so that his shoulder was well inside Adolph’s guard as the attack came forward, and when it had, William grabbed the outstretched arm and alternately pulled down on it while pushing his hip back into his opponent. It took ridiculously little effort to accomplish, but the effectiveness of the maneuver couldn’t be denied as Adolph left his feet again, only this time under the Revenant’s power.

A meaty thud emanated from Adolph as William’s shoulder toss threw him to the ground with enough force to drive the air from the Knight of Apocalypse’s lungs. The steel-hard carapace of William’s foot followed close behind, slamming into the ground next to Adolph head with enough force to let the Knight know that he could have crushed his head had William been so inclined.

William squatted down, brining his shark-like teeth close to Adolph’s face as the man struggled to regain his breath. “Your God is disappointed,” he hissed, and then let the anger fall from his face, replaced only by a look of bored annoyance.

“In all seriousness Adolph,” he continued, letting go of his earlier brevity, “I’m beginning to get tired of this little game.” William rose and stepped swiftly of a rack-like machine whose many tubes burrowed deeply into the flesh of petitioner strapped to it, pumping caustic chemicals inside the tortured man’s body. “You know what happens when I get bored, don’t you Adolph?” William casually flicked out the fingers of his freshly healed claw, letting them slide across the petitioner’s abdomen like hot metal through pig-fat. Greasy foul smelling entrails flowed from the man like water, half-dissolved by the oily chemicals being pumped into him. The slop spilled in a wide area, coating half of the open lane which he and Adolph were. Ignoring the tortured man’s renewed bout of pleading, William watched the oil slick spread quickly and a spark of imagination flared to life behind his eyes.

“No more playtime Adolph,” he hissed, tearing numerous tubes out of the gutted petitioner’s flesh so that the entire area was soon soaked with the oily liquid. Smiling a savage grin, William drew a single finger lightly down the inside of his forearm, loosing a single stream of fiery liquid from his veins. Adolph’s brows came down in a glare as he realized William’s intent and only just managed to get himself to his feet and dive out of the affected area before William’s molten blood splattered over the soaked ground, igniting the oily liquid into a raging inferno.

“Let’s see what you’ve really got, priest,” William howled from the center of the flames.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Adolph finished rolling out of the flaming area, the heat licking his face and small embers feeding off his robes. With a deft hand he put out a few upstart fires, and looked to William from his kneeled position. This battle was vastly getting more and more one sided, and the knight had nothing up his sleeve he could think of. This in turn infuriated the once stoic knight, and with an angry snarl he slammed his maul into the ground, tiny spider web fractures webbing out in the wake of his temper tantrum. The game had swiftly turned to cat and mouse, both men fully aware one solid strike from either weapon would send them spiraling down the road to defeat.

“In the face of defeat I shall bare my teeth in defiance, for I would rather die a warrior, than live a coward,” Adolph whispered to himself as he stood up. Yet the words did nothing to effect his state of mind. William laughed in his maelstrom of fire, calling for Adolph to attack him and the Chaplain had thought to oblige, but that move was rather suicidal the more he thought about it.

“Damnation!” Adolph screamed in frustration, Crozius slamming into a column that had a woman balling in agony from a set of chains that had hooked into her flesh and bound her to the stone. The pillar shifted, dust flushing outwards from his manifested anger, and the knight breathed in deeply to try and regain his humors.

“I believe,” William’s charred voice called to him as the flames greedily licked his body like concubines to a sultan. “The purpose of that weapon is to strike me.” His grin spread wider as Adolph felt the intense wave of heat emanating from the area. Once again, William was showing he was toying with Adolph, making him a fool.

Just like Jensen would, Adolph thought grimly as he forced a smirk on his face. The bastard immortal had always made sport of Adolph, and it seemed that characteristic manifested within William now as well. The whole situation would have made him laugh once before, but now he let it fester within his mind and grow like a weed.

Adolph pondered to himself what to do, and looking next to himself he found that woman pleading with him to end her life. If only he could oblige just to shut her mouth from her shameful cries of woe. Though as he looked to her he started to cock his head to the side, and one sideways glance at William gave him the determination to set up his new idea.

With a roar of hate he slammed the maul into the pillar again, and more debris broke off it as he slammed his maul into the pillar again from the other side. He repeated this quickly two more times as he hammered away at the column, and at last the woman fell from her prison.

“Thank you merciful-” Adolph’s foot slammed into her face as he bent over her, his right arm reaching down and grabbing the hook that impaled her left shoulder.

“You are a shameful abomination, apparition, you don’t even deserve the Horsemen’s gaze!” Adolph spat as he slammed Crozius into her chest and pulled on the hook. With a wet thud the woman’s chest concaved, the hook released and shed blood over Adolph’s face and leather armor, and she bellowed in terror and torment as the bloody hook was in his hand. The Chaplain pulled the chain quickly until he had about four feet and slammed his maul into the steel with righteous fervor and with a snap of his hand the chain went slack and then snapped like a whip, loosely.

Satisfied he pointed the maul to William and let out a bellow of spite and hate, feet bounding the blood slicked floor. He rushed into the flames with reckless abandon and whipped the chain around his head in circles, the hook waiting to taste the demon’s blood.

“By my might I shall bring you to your knees, William Arcus, or I will die trying!” Adolph let his roar be his herald as the hook lashed outwards for William’s face. “If that thrice damned immortal can do it, so can I!”

[Revenant]

Roaring flames drowned out William’s bloodthirsty howl, unable to overwhelm the fiery excitement which throbbed through his veins in time with the rapid crash of his beating heart. This was the reason he fought; the rush of chaos, the song of fire, the pleasure of blood. He was the heart of the star, the center of the maelstrom, worshipped by the dancing flames and yet untouched by their ravenous hunger. He felt unstoppable, invincible. He felt like a God.

This, he exulted, is what makes life worth living.

Adolph’s hateful roar broke through his reverie, a discordant crescendo to the destructive requiem that he had created. It seemed that the Ixian Chaplain was not deterred by the chaos surrounding the Revenant, much to William’s delight. He would have been sorely disappointed if Adolph’s fervor had died out at the first sign of defeat. But even so, a sad disappointment filled William’s mind that his taunts had not produced any more viable tactic in the Knight of Apocalypse than to charge recklessly into the fray with hammer held high.

William snarled and slid his foot through the burning oil and out into a ready stance, bracing for Adolph’s strike. If the suicidal Knight wanted to take William down with him, he was going to have to work for the honor. Burning eyes keenly watched the whipping chain snap forward, hoping to catch his charred flesh and pull him off-guard. But as fast as the snaking hook was, William’s gauntleted hand was quicker, and William snatched it out of the air with practiced ease. Though the rusted metal grated against the steel-hard bone, William held firmly to the makeshift weapon. If Adolph wanted death so badly, then William would give it to him.

Intending to tear the flaming Knight of Apocalypse right off his feet, William twisted the chain and pulled with all of the strength his supernatural frame could muster. But all of his hubris ended as Adolph merely let go of the weapon. Without any weight to counterbalance his pull, William twisted, stumbling around, a prime target for the charging Knight.

Adolph hit William like a runaway horse cart, his not inconsiderable bulk propelling both men out of the oily field of fire. William twisted as the two of them landed on the hard-packed earth, but Adolph compensated, and the combatants rolled back and forth, scrabbling in the dust. When it was finished, Adolph’s superior bulk gave him the upper hand, locking William’s beneath the heavy Knight.

Towering over his foe, with cloak aflame and black studded armor smoking, Adolph looked more like a demon than the charred figure beneath him. But before the Knight could bring the Crozius down to vent his own demonic fury, William’s gauntlet once again met the cross-shaped head of Adolph’s weapon, immobilizing it. “Not good enough,” he spat. Adolph’s reply was to hammer his fist into William’s face, using the hammer’s heavy shaft in his hand to add extra force to the blow. If he couldn’t end the fight with one decisive blow then he would do it by beating the demon into the ground.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Over and over Adolph’s fist punched William. He struck his eye, his nose, his mouth, his cheek in a blind rage. He could feel his knuckles swelling beneath his gloves as he tightened his grip on Crozius and screamed his hatred in nothing more than a roar of challenge. William’s face began to bleed after a few initial strikes and his magical blood burned his flesh. Adolph ignored the heat as he continued his attack, gripping William’s throat and choking the life out of him as he slammed the pommel of his Maul into William’s nose. The attack shed more blood that sprayed out and over Adolph’s face, and it was this he could no longer tolerate by pure adrenaline alone.

Adolph turned his face away and started to remove the blood dripping down his upper cheek with his fingers, singeing them as if he had touched a baker’s oven with bare flesh. His mouth opened in a silent scream as the fires consumed the last of his robe and started going to work earnestly on his leather armor. The burnt smell made Adolph cough, his position atop Arcus weakening as he fumbled between his fits of breathing in ash and trying to remove the tattered robe.

Losing all his momentum Adolph felt William’s fist grab his collar and push him aside like he were a child, and the Chaplain rolled backwards lifting up his hands defensively as William moved swiftly to his feet. The demonkin snarled as he stood, wiping the blood out of his eyes as at last Adolph managed to douse the last of the flames out. All that remained of his robes was a few tattered rags lodged into leather armor. With all the smoke billowing from him Adolph looked to William’s coal like eyes and leveled his maul before him.

“Did you like the visage I showed you, William? If you are my god, than by fire and blood do I not appease you?” He looked to his left, saw a dwarf hanging by his feet, and slammed his weapon into the stunted man knocking his screaming body towards William. Adolph turned and found more hanging prisoners, all moaning and some begging him to spare them as they saw the malicious intent in his eyes, squirming upside down as if they could somehow escape his wrath. The Chaplain struck another body at William, and then another, and another as they all flew towards the Revenant’s body. Easily William swatted each aside, growling with hate as the bodies moved left and right away from him.

“What will it take, Revenant?” Adolph asked with firm conviction as he slammed another body at William. The knight’s eyes located a small lever at the base of a column, and shrugging he pulled on it downwards with a strain of effort. A loud lurching sound echoed in the arena, the shifting of rusted chains being used after years of sitting and collecting dust screeching as the wails of torment began to get louder and more confused.

The area turned into a small merry go round as Adolph noticed they were all spinning. Looking up to the screeching sound of the rusted chains he saw a large wooden wheel with the many various chains hanging from it, rotating as he slammed the bodies at William. “You are built to destroy, but yet I still stand. You are committed to chaos, but I still stand!” He roared at his opponent now, his defiance clear as he continued to spin the bodies at the demon. With his oratory the prisoners shouted with him, screaming in terror as they spun, were hit, and spun more. Some tangled with others, their bodies colliding and spinning free to slam into the wall and into other hanging bodies.

“What will it take, William Arcus, to bring me down and finish me!” Adolph slammed his maul over and over again, building up more speed as William fought to reach where Adolph was. The bodies continued to moan loudly as they slammed into the Revenant, glancing off him and striking him in the back and front as his claws moved to try and clear the path. “Though looking at your track record I will venture a guess that you don’t have it in you!” Adolph said in a cheeky fashion, smiling as William eyed him cruelly, but a hint of confusion lined his lips.

“To be more clear, I suppose I shall give you a hint! Oh engine of destruction, LAUGH WITH ME!” And Adolph began to laugh, a cruel, vile chuckle of a madman who had seen the unfairness of life and could no longer tolerate it. He laughed about how unfair life was that the prick Jensen Ambrose could love the woman he loved, and how Stephanie could be so blind. It was all maddeningly unfair, and Adolph laughed as he twirled Crozius in his hand.

If Adolph knew his history, and Jensen wasn’t just spouting out the ass, then the Revenant would know exactly what Adolph meant.

[Revenant]

William roared like an enraged beast, the red tide of his rage boiling up within his chest like a cauldron of oil left over the fire pit for too long. The pain of Adolph’s punches was already fading as William’s healing abilities swept them aside, but the bitter indignity of them burned hotter than the Revenant’s molten core. He had toyed not only with the Knight’s martial abilities but with his faith as well, so it should have come as no surprise to him that Adolph would have given his every effort in this encounter, but for some reason the Knight of Apocalypse’s continued resistance irked William greatly.

Adolph’s laughter was drowned out by the whirring of the corpse wheel, but William didn’t need to hear the mocking noise to understand their intended effect. Jensen was an annoying prick who could get under William’s skin despite the Revenant’s best efforts but Adolph was nothing compared to the immortal.

I hope you’re watching Jensen, William thought, knowing that the Knight was unlikely to be turned away by the gruesomeness of the Grindhouse. All thought of this being a duel for the benefit of increasing morale amongst the troops was gone, swept away by the red tide bubbling out of William’s snarling heart. He was done playing with Adolph and he wanted everyone to know it.

William advanced, letting the hurtling swing of screaming petitioners brush past him. His carapace covered arm reached out swiftly to swat aside any that might have made contact with him as he marched resolutely across the platform, a living incarnation of rage. Yet if Adolph knew any fear, he remained firm in the face of his gods, roared his defiance, and refused to let anything else show. But all of Adolph’s defiant words and his vengeful oaths slid over William like beaded water off of oiled fur. The time for talking was done.

A single claw gripped the corpse wheel’s rusted lever as William approached Adolph. A new sound, one of screeching, protesting metal, filled the arena as William’s inhuman strength wrenched the lever free from the machine. Adolph’s Crozius gave him strength enough to match William, but thus far it had only been in close quarters. A normal warrior would have struggled to even lift the three-foot hunk of rusted steel and yet William’s supernatural strength allowed him to brandish it with practiced ease.

William locked eyes with Adolph, his face a snarling mask of infernal rage. He hefted the torn metal offensively, letting the Knight know that there would be no more mercy in this fight, that no quarter would be given. The screaming bodies whirled around the two of them like some freakshow carnival exhibit, ensuring that there would be neither of them would be able to get away without the other one striking him down. This was to be the final scene of the contest between William and Cassandra’s champion.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Adolph watched the man rip the lever off, martial pride dictating that he wait until the Revenant was ready. With a few test swings the demon’s movements had slowed to a respectable speed, his intent to end the madness evident. Adolph’s lips parted in a dark smile.

“I do believe we are done playing around now,” Adolph whispered determinedly. He cast his head down as if in silent prayer, and when his eyes looked back to the charcoal burning eyes of the demon he met them with his most intense look. By no means was it anywhere close to Cassandra Remi’s dreadful stare, or William’s fiery gaze, but it still held its own intensity of a man who accepted that there was only one solution left to him. Death or victory.

Swinging bodies howled around them, no longer entangled as they spun creating a dueling circle. The Crozius felt heavy in his hands, its weight a wonderful ally as he shut all his thoughts down. All that mattered was battle now, and the degree of his win or loss would depend on the abilities of his own skills. No preaching, no oratory, no laughter or tricks. Now they did battle like warriors did.

Sensing the moment Adolph’s grip increased upon the maul, dragging to his side as the tattered and burned strips of his robe billowed in the breeze he created. The lever lifted and slammed into Crozius, the impact sparking the area as they pushed against each other. Adolph’s feet slid as William pushed him back, snarling and venting his anger like a volcano ready to explode. Adolph’s feet spread wide and he lifted his maul over the top of the lever’s mid point, pushing down with both hands.

The improvised weapon sank as the weight changed, and William did a backhanded blow aimed for Adolph’s face. The knight ducked under the swing, pushing forwards along the length of the lever with his maul riding up to his chest in a two handed riposte. William grunted loudly as blood flowed out from his lips, creating small blemishes upon the metal tip of his weapon. Adolph turned into his retreating form, swinging back and forth in wide violent arcs, and William was hard pressed as the lever lifted quickly to deflect each blow just in time. As Adolph swung his weapon he seethed hatred in deep breaths, feeling the prodding fingertips of madness grip his mind. He refused to succumb to the frenzy of battle, not letting his rage and bloodlust get the better of him. He had to win this fight and prove his worth to Stephanie.

Adolph watched the eyes of William, seeing them dart side to side as he anticipated the blow and where it was going to land. He observed the way his bloodied lips counted the seconds, watched the way he took a deep breath before swinging, and let it out when the weapons connected. When Crozius went in for another swing Adolph changed tactics, stepping in with a high knee that hit William’s midriff and doubled the demon over.

“Let me be the your vessel, War, let loose your hounds and bring me victory or a glorious death!” Adolph shouted as his maul came down upon William’s exposed side. The weapon slammed deep into his gut, and the Revenant’s feet managed to lift off the ground as he nearly stumbled. He twirled away from Adolph, but the knight kept upon him, kicking and slamming his weapon upon the hulking form of his foe. Feebly William used his steel bar to deflect blows, but the weapon bent awkwardly as it deflected blows. When he watched William’s feet buckle he swung right at the demon’s knee. The lever slammed into the earth, blocking the hit but the impact still sent shock-waves up his arm as he stumbled to one knee to keep balance.

Seeing him down, Adolph felt his moment come at last. The madness gripped his mind as he spat litanies of hatred towards the Revenant, defying his existence and cursing him with repeated blow after repeated blow of two handed death strikes. His breaths were short and ragged between demoralizing shouts, his chest heaving in protest as his heart pounded against his ribs as hard as he pounded his weapon against William. The steel lever rose up over William’s face and he placed both hands to support the beating, buckling with each strike.

Adolph’s mind went hazy as the adrenaline pumped through his veins, letting the bloodlust take over him. He was about to do it, he was about to defeat the Revenant! He would do what Jensen Ambrose couldn’t! Death was coming, he felt the tide of battle and rode its currents as Crozius slammed deeper and deeper into the Revenant. He could feel the end coming, his mind maddened with rage as he watched William suffer. He geared up for a mighty blow, lifting his weapon high behind his head and putting all his might into the final attack.

“DIE DEMON!” Adolph’s screamed as spit flew out his mouth, sweat joining it as the weapon made a whisper quiet whoosh sound in the air past his ear.

William at last managed to swing the lever back and with enough force to create another stalemate with Adolph as the weapons locked in an X pattern. Both men leaned into the attack, and Adolph’s boots began to slide against the floor again. Each step back he felt a burden on his soul. Each step was failure to uphold his promise, to prove he was a warrior who should be respected. To even stand before William Arcus had already proven that, but not in Adolph’s mind. He had to do better, for the sake of the woman he loved. If he couldn’t defeat the monsters Jensen Ambrose couldn’t, how could he be a good lover?

Hate sparked within him as he defiantly grunted back, pushing slowly against the Revenant. He managed to stop moving backwards, but he never was able to move forwards. At last his fingers slipped on his hold, the maul being shunted to the side as William stepped in raising the weapon like a samurai sword overhead. This was it, the final blow. As he fell back in his fall, looking to weapon coming down, the Chaplain gazed upwards to see a pair of concerned eyes looking to him. Those eyes spoke to him deeply, words of love and confidence. He was going to let those eyes down.

He was going to let Stephanie down.

“No!” Adolph whispered, hit fist lifting up in futility towards the eyes of the woman he loved. Crozius went slack in his arm, pulling taut on the chain attached to him. I’m sorry Stephanie, Adolph thought bleakly.

[Revenant]

William’s claws tightened around the handle of the makeshift club as he swung it down with all his might onto Adolph. The battered lever reverberated as it cracked down on the Knight of Apocalypse’s collarbone, snapping it like a dry twig under an iron-clad wagon wheel. William savored the feel of Adolph’s defeat, the way it ran into his hands and up his arms. He savored the sound of pain a hundred times more potent and real than the screams of the petitioners fashioned by the Citadel’s magic. The rational warrior within him, the remnants of humanity which mixed in his soul, valued the worth of Adolph, his martial prowess and tactical leadership. But the man held no value for the demon within him as anything more than a broken piece of meat.

Adolph crumpled under William’s blow, his hand twitching feebly for the discarded Crozius at his side. But even if his searching fingers had found the weapon’s hilt there was no longer enough strength in his arms to raise the weapon, and certainly no more strength to defend against the Revenant’s inhuman brutality. But even so he still clutched at the air, his warrior spirit refusing to give in until he no longer had the strength to even hold his breath in.

“Bah,” William grunted in disgust as Adolph’s display, tossing his metal club behind him and into the whirling press of bodies with a casual backhand toss. Adolph’s struggles meant little to the demon warrior, especially given his current status as stand-in for a ruthless, murdering wench. “You certainly do have an odd sense of honor, Knight.” He growled.

The Grindhouse sensed that the battle was at its end and began shutting itself down. The whirling circus of pierced, screaming bodies slowed to stillness, finally allowing the tormented souls to pass on. Within half a minute the entire arena was nothing more than an eerie graveyard, filled with the metallic scent of rust and old blood.

It was over, and what few observers who remained watching the match would soon carry the news of the defeat of Cassandra’s champion back to the Ixian Knights’ headquarters. The challenge was over, even the Citadel’s magic chamber knew it, and yet Adolph still struggled to get his weapon. It annoyed William, ruining the good mood that the fight had given him.

“I’m not Jensen,” he hissed at the broken figure lying in front of him, “so I want you to know that I’m not doing this just to spite you.”

And then William stomped on Adolph’s head with all the force his carapace covered foot could muster, ending the Knight’s feeble struggles. With nothing left to do in the Citadel that day, William turned and departed with a dissatisfied grunt.

[Requiem of Insanity]

There was an awkward silence in the citadel observatory. Cassandra looked to the body with a disinterested look, and Stephanie’s face slowly began to crumble into a mask of tears and rage. Jensen kept neutral and held Stephanie tightly, and when William ended the match his girlfriend literally lost it.

Stephanie screamed in frustration as she beat the window looking to her dead friend, watching William walk away. Adolph had fought valiantly and the Revenant showed him no mercy. His action was in effect the action that snapped her psyche as Cassandra muttered something about losing and turning.

When Stephanie’s eyes met the body of Cassandra she began to seethe, breathing through jaw clenched teeth as she fumed. All the pain she watched recently was orchestrated by Cassandra Remi, and it was time the bitch knew what it was like to feel pain and loss. She pushed Jensen aside and ran right at her, screaming a war cry like a Valkeryie of legend. The balls of her feet moved swiftly upon the carpeted room, creating a soft pitter patter as Cassandra turned a fraction towards her charging assailant. Her hazel eyes flashed with venom as she curled her lips into a cruel smile, lifting one hand up to shield her away from Stephanie like she were a filthy peasant.

As Stephanie was about to meet Cassandra a hand lashed out, slamming the full weight of a forearm into her chest. The female knight was moving so fast and was so focused that she didn’t even pay attention to the shadows. She collapsed on the ground like a fish out of water, and felt her neck and spine start to spike with pain.

Jensen immediately ran over, but a larger body stood before him and Cassandra, as the robot Laconic did his primary job of defending his Lord. One arm rose up, the fist receding into the arm replacing it with a small cannon. Jensen snarled as he knelt by Stephanie, the woman glaring daggers at the moonlit mistress.

“Just what do you think you are doing?” Cassandra asked. “Attacking your fellow general is not part of Sei’s plans.” Stephanie rose up to her hands as she glared to the Wetworks leader.

“You have no heart, you vile bitch! You used Adolph! You-”

“I wouldn’t assume that, Stephanie,” Cassandra cut her off with a neutral tone. She pushed the robot aside and looked to her daughter Aerith who held two weapons coated in poison. With a flick of her wrists the weapons disappeared into her robes. Cassandra stepped forwards and looked right at Stephanie, showing her she wasn’t hiding anything.

“Adolph approached me, I did not approach him. It was that man who saw the note and asked me to be his champion. I was confused at first, as I had no intention to participate, but he insisted that he fight William Arcus to prove something,” Cassandra said lowering her hands to Stephanie.

“What the hell do you mean?” Stephanie asked the assassin. Cassandra noticed she wasn’t going to take her hand, so she instead rested it on her knees as she bent down to look her in the eyes.

“Adolph wanted to prove something to you, something that not even Jensen could prove. If he could defeat the man that Jensen couldn’t, he could prove he is the better man. Stephanie, Adolph wanted to show you his devotion to you, because he still loves you.” Jensen gave her a crass look, but she could see the gears shifting in the woman’s head. Cassandra flashed a smile. “But see what his devotion got him, Stephanie? He died because of you. So don’t point your finger at me unless you are willing to admit your fair share of the blame.”

Cassandra stood and turned, motioning for her detachment to follow. She could hear the sniffling of Stephanie and the frustrated sighs of Jensen, and they were music to her ears. Soon, when things calmed down, Jensen would start a fight with Stephanie about Adolph, and the two would get so heated she will flee.

And as she promised Adolph, she would flee to right to the Chaplain’s awaiting arms.

“I do love a good fight,” Cassandra giggled as she passed down the stairs. As she finished the last few steps a gushing wave of heat permeated the air, and the Gisela Reaper smiled as she turned to find William looking right at her. Her daughter Aerith seemed very uncomfortable with the temperature change, and Laconic also looked a bit deterred by the glare in William’s eyes. The robot was assigned to protect Cassandra, but do no harm to another general. It was Sei’s safety backup in case Cassandra proved un-loyal.

“You love a good fight, but you won’t fight it yourself?” The gravelly, charcoal tone of William made Aerith shudder as Cassandra stood before him, feeling a few beads of sweat drip down her back. The heat became nearly unbearable as Aerith took a step back, Laconic doing likewise. The two generals eyed the other with sinister intent, and the Midnight Monster favored the demonkin with a smile.

“Are you upset with me?” Cassandra asked her fellow officer. “Did you find my champion unsatisfactory?”

“He was putrid garbage,” William replied. “A useless waste of my time.”

“Well, then feel free to tell all the monster hunters they are superior to the Wetworks team. I care not for our reputation.” Cassandra made way to leave, but William stood before her. “Anything else, Lord Arcus?” Cassandra asked crossly.

“Next time, I look forward to the two of us fighting, without your little pets following you around.” He motioned to Aerith and Laconic. “Just you and me, one on one. Cause I as well love a good fight, Lady Remi.” He smiled that demon’s smile, and Cassandra would have lied if she didn’t feel a bit put off by it. Still, she remained her composure, and when his heat became unbearable she gave him his full attention as a cold fresh wave of dread began to creep into the corridor.

“Oh I assure you, Lord Arcus.” Cassandra’s eyes flashed with a hunter’s intent. “If we fight, it will be under my terms…” She left William standing, hearing him shuffle to turn and watch her leave. “But for now, we are both monsters on the leash of Lord Orlouge. But I assure you, once those collars are off, you will have the full attentions of my dark desires…” Cassandra mused turning the corner, a small giggle leaving her lips as the shadows echoed her mirth around William, making his grin widen more.

[MetalDrago]

Condensed Rubric, as requested. Sorry for taking a little longer than usual, but as I stated before, for the last week or so I haven't had the chance to do more than a couple of piddly little posts.

Revenant will be in Red, Requiem in Blue

STORY ~

Continuity (7/7) ~

Setting (7/6) ~

Pacing (5/5) ~

CHARACTER ~

Dialogue (7/7) ~

Action (6/5) ~

Persona (7/7) ~

WRITING STYLE ~

Mechanics (8/8) ~

Technique (6/6) ~

Clarity (7/6) ~

Wild Card (6/6) ~

Overall Score - 66/63

Revenant WINS and receives 2750 EXP and 200 GP
Requiem of Insanity receives 750 EXP and 150 GP


EXP/GP Added