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Tarot Chronicles: A Story of Behemel and Zerrex

By Behemel Fatereaver & Zerrex Narrius

Forth Reading: Nine of Swords--A sense of anxiety; Over reacting and fears lead to unease for our heroes as a new threat rises. Only communication with others shall resolve their doubts as darker secrets are soon revealed.

The sounds of lustful moans and sighs filled the evening air as fire flickered somewhere in the deep forest, causing forest critters to scatter at the disturbance. The sheer luck of solitude in the forest made it much better for the excursion but for some reason, she wouldn't of minded if someone somewhere had heard them.

"Gods... Yes! ooh yes... Don't stop! " Syeena , the green dragoness groaned as she rode upon the rising and falling hips of Zerrex , her breasts bouncing and her scales aglow by the fire nearby as her motions were a dance that lured the lizard towards her more. "Oh Zerrex... its so big !"

The Drakkaren grunted in pleasure as he continued to thrust up into her, grinning slightly and arching his back as he rested back slightly, rolling his hips with every strong movement to grind his huge shaft into her and against the walls of her sex, ramming upwards over and over: the female was not only adept, but lasting a wonderfully-long time... and the erotic movements were only making him feel all the hungrier, all the more lustful as he slammed into her and licked teasingly along the scales of her throat, tasting her as he replied hungrily: "And it's all for you right now, beautiful... gods, you're so tight, so good..."

They had set camp earlier that afternoon, and the moment they had finished, Syeena had immediately all but pounced on Zerrex and Behemel. At the present moment, Syeena had Zerrex to herself , her claws on his chest teasing his scars while she rode him like a animal. "Ahhh... I'm sure you say that to all the girls, but with a cock that large, very few would not be tight" she sighed to Zerrex, talking through gasps and groans as he fucked into her, and making her body alive with fire. In the midst of the passion, she turned to see her other companion. The black lion, sat a short distance next to them, enjoying the show after having him herself just a hour ago. She looked at him teasingly. "OH Behemel, do join us. There is always room for more, baby"

The black werelion, growled out of temptation, fighting desperately to not be drawn in mindlessly by her allure. He too was naked, sitting upon his sleeping mat as his tail swayed in amusement. "You been at this ever since we set up camp, " he chuckled, pleasantly astonished by her long thriving sex drive. " Maybe you should take a break before you pass out. Don't wear yourself out"

The reptile grinned as well, licking his lips slowly as he glanced over at Behemel with a wink. "Oh, I doubt she'll wear herself out... we'll have to do it for her." He growled in pleasure, turning back towards the dragoness as he began to thrust harder upwards into her in time with her movements, his hands sliding over her hips and squeezing lightly into her breasts as he leaned up and nibbled along her shoulder before kissing teasingly over her collarbone above her bosom, grunting in pleasure as he rolled his shaft in hard movements against the walls of her tight, burning-hot passage, closing his eyes as his lusts and passions built through his body, his pleasure growing by the moment.

Syeena laughed at the lion. "I don't know if I should be touched by your concern or offended by your underestimating me" she teased, her hips rocking with more force to get more of Zerrex into her passage. Despite being a dragon of greater size than her present form, she felt deliciously filled by her friend's massive cock. "I'm just getting started, hon. I can go on all night long. " She grabbed hold of Zerrex's head and held him closer, her claws scraping a bit upon his skin and scales.

The lizard grunted at this, nuzzling the side of her neck before he slid his hands down her hips, sliding them backwards to grasp her buttocks as he mouthed a breast hungrily, working his jaws against it slowly as he continued to firmly thrust upwards into her tightness, speeding up slightly as his testicles bounced a bit with the force of each and every thrust, his muscles flexing upwards against her as he ground into her, growling in pleasure around the swell he was hungrily working his jaws against.

She arched her head back in passion, feeling herself once again reaching higher and higher, coming for perhaps the sixth time that afternoon, but who was counting. Her juices echoed sweet, wet sex sounds across the camp, easily tempting Behemel as she from time to time, cast a gaze at the lion, who looked on with a patent but smoldering look. "Ooh yes.... Behemel, come here..." she beckoned with a finger to his direction, wanting more . "I'll make you good and ready for more fun."

Behemel laughed a bit as he slowly stood up from his mat, her insatiable attitude both sexy and amusing to watch. "Well, it would be unwise to deny a dragon her pleasure, now wouldn't it Zerrex?" he asked his friend, his mouth full of her breast. He slowly strode over two the two fucking, his cock large considering it was semi hard after his last turn.

As it came into her reach, she easily took a free hand and led the heavy cock towards her mussel. She licked her lips, seeing him still wet with precum as she licked around the head, causing a growl to come from the lion.

The reptile growled in agreement before he slowly drew his jaws back, half-lidding his eyes as he laid back on his back and squeezed his hands slowly into the dragoness's supple rear, continuing to firmly thrust up into her even as her sex clenched around him and his body flexed with the pleasure of it. "My thoughts exactly... we better give the lady what she wants." He closed his eyes, grunting in bliss as he pounded up into her, breathing hard as his shaft flexed inside the female and one of his hands slid backwards, teasingly stroking along the base of her tail and probing two fingers against her tender rosebud as his other hand massaged upwards and then gripped firmly into a breast.

Without hesitation, Syeena pulls Behemel's large cock into her mouth, her jaw opening wide to accept his full size as she licked and sucked making him harder in her mouth as she rode up and down on Zerrex's impressive size. Her groans muffled by the lion's flesh as she stroked her free hand on him, coaxing and making him growl in lust and control. She wished she could talk even then, to encourage them more

The reptile growls in pleasure as he thrusts firmly up into her leaning back a bit as his shaft pounded eagerly into her gripping sex, his fingers teasingly slipping into her rosebud and stimulating her further as he rams up into her in deep desire, breathing hungrily as he gazed up and watched with pleasure as she eagerly worked her jaws against the huge shaft of the well-built lion, gyrating his hips and grinding his thick member against the walls of her sex as he pistoned up into her again and again in delicious, growing desire, feeling his body flex as he breathed hard in and out in long, heavy pants. "Ooh, Syeena..."

Behemel's hind paws dug deep into the ground, her lips and tongue wreaking havoc on his senses as she slid his cock deeper into her mouth, deep-throating his impressive size that seemed almost unreal for her present size. All the while his cock grew harder , becoming steely as he slowly, controlling himself, rocked his hips into her eager mouth and she moaned around him with delight. She'd raise her eyes to him, her look purely erotic and teasing as she took him and rode Zerrex at the same time. "Gods... your good.." he rasped.

Zerrex growled in delight as he allowed one of his hands to rove over the female's body, his own shaft stiffening up inside of her as he continued to pound into the hot, wet tightness of her gripping sex, breathing hard as his girthy, solid shaft penetrated deep into her with each and every powerful movement, his musculature flexing beneath her as he gritted his teeth and leaned his head forwards slightly as his hips pistoned his length relentlessly upwards into her, making her hips rock with each and every movement. Hard breaths escaped his chest as he slammed his shaft into her again and again as his hands roved wonderingly over her beautiful form, before he finally arched his back and released a roar of pleasure, unable to hold back any further as he flooded her with his seed, his thick load exploding up into her hot, tight sex as thrills of pleasure rollicked their way through his strong frame and he hammered hungrily upwards into her again and again with each thick volley.

Syeena screamed in ecstasy around the massive cock in her mouth as Zerrex came and still fucked her, making her jump at each explosion deep inside her and causing her to cum as well. She arched her back as she too exploded, her juices along with Zerrex pouring eagerly out of her cunt , squirting between them and making a mess on the ground.

Catching her breath, she took Behemel out of her mouth, who was generously hard and nearly slapped her in the face with his staff. She sighed and grinned , feeling so good and hot to have cum dripping out of her body and leered at Zerrex below her. "My you must break some women you fuck like that, stud" she groans, shifting her hips in a tease to stimulate him more

The reptile growled in pleasure as he ground firmly up into her, sliding his hands down to her hips and squeezing into them as he ground his still-hard shaft into her passage, his seed dripping out of her slowly as he half-lidded his eyes in pleasure and pushed hungrily back against her movements. "Only when I'm not careful... not that I've ever had many complaints, either way."

"Remind me if we need to interrogate someone to make you the instigator," she teased, enjoying his still eager pumps , " though should we make a woman beg for more or to stop? " Not forgetting Behemel, she nuzzled the hard shaft, her tongue playing underneath his cock as she moved her hands along the massive length.

"How are you holding up Zerrex?" Behemel asked, finding enough control to wonder how his friend was holding out considering he just came so violently.

The Drakkaren grinned slightly as he thrusted easily upwards into her, arching his back slightly as he growled teasingly: "What, now that we're past the foreplay? Oh, I'm good, Behemel... but why don't you worry more about tending to Syeena? She seems eager for more, after all... and it's already been quite a long while since we started." He grunted in pleasure, sliding his hands along her sides as he easily thrust into her sopping sex, grinding his huge shaft against her walls before he arched his back with a growl and allowed his eyes to slide closed in erotic enjoyment.

Syeena leered up at Behemel in invitation, and mocking a pout. "Why Behemel, don't tell me your tired? A strong virile warrior like yourself, I'm sure can have more fun " she teased, reaching his balls to caress them.

Behemel let out a sigh of disbelief rather than exhaustion. "You are insatiable, my dear," he growled with a grin, watching as she eagerly licked his cock.

"Now stick that monster in my ass, Behemel. I want you two to fill me up good" she growled predatorily, Zerrex's constant thrusting sparking her arousal again and making her moan at the pleasure.

The lizard growled in agreement at this as he continued to thrust easily up into her, once more building back up to a hard, firm pace as he grinned up at the dragoness and then to the lion, winking at him as his hands stroked slowly along Syeena's beautiful form. "Unless you can't keep up with us, that is..."

Behemel took Zerrex's challenge and proceeded to circle towards Syeena's rear. "Just spread those cheeks for her, smartass." Behemel growled, wanting to wipe the smirk off Zerrex's face to outdo him.

The Drakkaren snorted, sliding his hands slowly down the female's sides as he half-lidded his eyes and gazed up at the dragoness with entertained arousal as he cupped her sumptuous rear slowly with his hands, teasing squeezing into either buttock before pulling them lightly apart, letting his fingers dig gently along her supple rear as he continued to thrust firmly up into her with growls of pleasure, before slowing his movements to almost a crawl, grinding slowly into her soaked sex as he licked his lips slowly and rested, hilted, inside of her with a wide grin. "Let's see what you can do then, Behemel..."

"You're challenging me then?" he said now more of a tease, eager for Syeena's arousal to be the battleground as he approached, having a paw trail her back teasingly

"I guess you could say that." He grins slightly, gyrating his hips slowly inside of her, grinding his huge shaft against the inside of her sex as he flexes his body, leaning back and hilting himself lightly into her again. "Syeena makes for a beautiful and perfect judge, doesn't she?"

Their talk was turning her on more and more, making her want it more. "Oh please... fuck me at the same time ! I want it ..." she gasp, leaning over Zerrex with her claws gripping his chest for support of her own sanity Her hips already bobbing. Not wanting to keep her waiting, Behemel gave a subtle growl as he lined himself up to thrust into her puckered ass. He carefully placed himself in position and slowly but surely entered. He was surprised a bit when Syeena thrusted back towards him, wanting it in her ass. "Eagar, aren't we? Sometime we should make you wait for it a bit "

He growls hungrily as he flexes against her claws, teasingly half-holding her hips in place as he nuzzles against the side of her neck, breathing hungrily before he grunts in pleasure as he feels the female rocking her hips back again as the lion begins to push his way into her tight rear passage, half-lidding his eyes as he licks his own muzzle slowly. "Ooh, considering how eager you are right now, Syeena, that might be a good idea... except as it is, it feels like you've already had to wait a long time for some good fun like this, haven't you?"

"You have no idea... years since i had such skilled lovers..." she panted, feeling Behemel slowly enter but wanted it hard and fast. "OH Behemel! Don't tease. Fuck me hard and fast. I can take it!" she growled, panting hard from Zerrex's near constant motion. The Drakkaren had more endurance than she suspected.

Behemel tried hard not to grin at her request, her eager demand for sexual stimulation amusing to him. Granting her wish, he then gave a grunt as he hilted himself hard into her rear, her muscles so tight he wondered if her natural dragon's muscles could easily rip them to pieces in her throes of passions. Needless all the same, the thought went out of the window as he proceeded to fuck her good and hard, lust shoving his gentle and otherwise careful concerns out the window as the only cries he heard were throes of ecstasy and lust.

The reptile growled in pleasure as he began to thrust in easy rhythm with the lion's movements, grinding his own huge shaft into her sex in the same pattern with the male, grinding deep into the dragoness's passage with each and every powerful thrust of his shaft as he arched his back and growled in delighted pleasure, his member flexing inside of her as he slammed easily upwards in matching time to draw out her pleasure all the more, letting his hands slowly squeezing along her supple buttocks as he spread his legs a bit and rocked his hips at the end of every thrust to grind his huge girth against the walls of her sex. "Ooh, no wonder you're so pent up, then..."

She would of fully arched as Behemel entered her but couldn't cause of Zerrex's hold on her as she grunted and groan as the two powerful males plowed and retracted in perfect rhythm, making her grunt and groan. "Teasing... and flirting... only goes so far... oohhh! " she grunted, her green eyes rolling to the back of her head in pleasure. Her body was on fire, they could actually feel the endless heat radiate from her, fueling their own lust as well as turn her on higher and higher. "Oh gods... don't stop... don't stop! Fuck! " she growled, her claws nearly breaking Zerrex's skin from the stimulation.

The reptile only grinned at this, his eyes half-lidding as he continued to pound firmly up into her, leaning up and hungrily mouthing one of her breasts as he allowed one hand to slide slowly down to her hip, digging his fingers lightly into her scales as he continued to firmly thrust up into her gripping, tight passage, grunting in quiet ecstasy as he drew his jaws slowly back and licked his lips hungrily, his movements firm and powerful up into her as he gyrated his hips slightly and clearly felt each and every one of Behemel's own long penetrated into her tight, gripping ass, their shafts almost grinding together inside of her as he arched his back and groaned in bliss and agreement, slowly allowing his thrusts to begin picking up in power and rhythm.

Behemel growled aloud, the pressure from her tight ass and Zerrex's thrust clearly felt by him as lust fueled his needs. His grip on Syeena's ass tightened as he fucked her ass harder, exciting more screams and groans from her, feeling his long prolonged release slowly rise from his balls, his control slowly wavering with her relentless desire.

"Fuck... she is tight," he growled, a smirk on his face and a glint in his eyes as he felt them all move together.

Her senses went wild as she felt them all thrust into her, feeling her body burn and her senses near their edge again, orgasm threatening to shatter her mind in bliss. "Oh yes! Yes! Make me cum! Oooh gods!!" Her motions became more faster as her cries became louder, clearly echoing into the woods.

The reptile thrust harder and faster, growling in bliss as he slammed upwards into her over and over, his hands sliding along beautiful form as he braced himself against the ground and thrust firmly up into her tight, boiling-hot body, ecstasy racing through the male's mind as he gyrated his shaft against the sensitive walls of her sex and he gritted his teeth in bliss, hungry grunts of pleasure escaping through his jaws as his obsidian shaft pumped firmly in and out between her clenching lips, fingers digging lightly along her scales as he groaned in delight. "Ooh, and she is good, too..."

The two continued their quickening fastening rhythm, the two on the edge as Syeena growled and roared. Behemel's thrust becoming stronger, making her bounce with each motion against Zerrex and his in return doing the same. The sounds of their fucking now an orchestra that fueled them all the more, while all of them near the edge.

The Drakkaren finally threw his head back with a roar of pleasure as he slammed upwards into her again and again, shaft stiffening up like metal inside of her sex before he began to release thick volleys of his seed, ropes of his hot load exploding up into her as he slammed into her sex over and over, his hands grasping tightly into her hips as he gritted his teeth in delight and leaned backwards, thrusting hard upwards with each and every movement, slamming to the hilt into her again and again as his load gushed into her tight passage, his eyes burning with pleasure as he felt her clenching around his huge shaft with the force he was pistoning into her, roaring again in deep bliss.

Behemel let loose a loud roar of his own, his pleasure too much to take as his shaft pulsed hard inside and let louse his own orgasm. A blast of hot cum filled her ass, easily seeping from the enclosed space and dripping down as he continued to pump inside her, her clenching ass driving him to keep going, riding his release for as long as it could last.

"AAUGH!!" she roared, her own orgasm literally rocking her body her wings expanding as the pleasure electrified her body, her cum creaming down both her cunt and her ass tightening around Behemel's cock. The two males inside her both fucking her drove her wild, nearly crying in joy as she bucked and shook with her orgasm, finally slowing down her erratic movements upon them. She sighed in appreciation and relief, feeling so good and full of their bountiful liquids.

The reptile grunted in delight, gradually slowing his firm thrusts as he gazed up at her hungrily, gazing up at the dragoness with a wide grin as he licked his own lips slowly and rolled his shoulders, body flexing beneath her as he ground his throbbing shaft slowly against the walls of her sex, his eyes roving hungrily along her body. "And how are you feeling now, Syeena?"

"Oh so good, Zerrex, I'm impressed... by the both of you," She sighed pleased looking to both Zerrex and Behemel behind her, both their cocks still inside her, tingling her . "I'm impressed. Not many mortals can keep up with my ... ahem, needs."

"I'm not surprised" Behemel growled, rubbing her ass in appreciation. " Normal people probably wouldn't last as long with a lover like you, Syeena. I am sure not used to it."

The Drakkaren grinned slightly as he rested back on the dirt, putting his hands behind his head and gazing up at her with entertainment as he licked at his muzzle slowly, his eyes almost glowing as he gazed at her lustfully. "Well, you may not have noticed, but neither me nor him are exactly normal people. I'm just glad there's someone around who I know I'll be getting along with so well in the future."

"Well... this is a fun way to break in a new friendship , wouldn't you say?" she purred, trailing a claw under Zerrex's chin teasingly.

"I have to agree with you there." He half-lidded his eyes, teasingly lowering his jaws to nibble at her finger as it reached his chin, and then he winked at her as he slid his hands slowly along her stomach.

"Mmmm" she purred enjoying Zerrex's hands on her body and Behemel's warm fur caressing her back side. "You boys up for some more fun?" she said to them both with a wink

This truly surprised Behemel, his more rational mind recovering from the escapade . "More? This has to be the fourth time?!" he exclaimed, wondering how long he or even Zerrex would last. "Don't push yourself on our account."

"The lady asked for more, I say we give her more." Zerrex said amusedly, grinning up at her as he slid a hand up to squeeze one of her breasts slowly, half-lidding his eyes as he gazed at her with entertainment. "This is why you're so much more fun than he is."

"Hey! " he said irritated at Zerrex. "You're saying you can last as long as she can? Even you don't have that endurance!"

The Drakkaren shrugged amiably at this, looking amusedly up at the lion as he tipped him a wink. "Oh really? Well, there's only one way to find that out for sure, now isn't there?"

Syeena laughed at this. "I'm sure you two will do your best," she said wiggling her hips teasingly stimulating both their cocks inside her. " but that is something we will work on in time. For now, give me all you got boys. I just love you two trying to outfuck me "

Behemel chuckled lightly, unable to believe her restlessness . " Oh I can last. but we aren't going to be well rested in the morning " he said, regardless slowly rocking his hips , stroking her insides with his semi-hard cock.

The reptile growled amusedly as he rolled his hips, teasingly grinding against her passage as he squeezed slowly into her waist and grinned up at her, licking his lips in anticipation of what was to come. "I like the sounds of that."

The Dragoness laughed at Behemel's rational thinking, liking the lion and wanting to tempt him all the more. "We can sleep in late. for now I want both you males to keep me awake for a long, long time" she growled lustfully, her hips once again lifting and falling, stimulating the two males with her body.

"Oooh yess.ssss..." her voice growled aloud, the woods soon filling with the sounds of sex, driving woodland creatures away further .

***

The morning air was crisp and the sounds of birds danced in the air as the sunlight shined through the trees. Syeena slept peacefully despite Zerrex's snoring in her ear. With a tired yawn, the dragoness slowly pushed herself up, her head having been rested upon Zerrex's burly chest. As she slowly came awake and stretched, she looked to notice the source of her warmth, the fur of Behemel which made her so warm during the night , was now gone. The lion was not next to them, and nowhere in sight around the camp. She looked puzzled as she slowly sat up,

Zerrex grumbled a bit to himself as his eyes flickered open at the movement, and then he stretched his arms out before rolling over onto his side, rubbing absently at his face. He fidgeted for a moment, then finally sat up himself, glancing over at Syeena before looking around the campsite with a yawn. "Mornin'... hey, is Behemel gone already? You see where he went?"

"I don't know" she said, seeing he had packed up his part of camp, but still they remained near her. "He probably went for a walk or something around. "

The Drakkaren grunted, nodding a bit to himself as he climbed carefully to his feet and stretched easily before hopping into his pants, glancing back and forth. "Not a bad idea, really. Morning seems nice, at least." The reptile paused meditatively, then he walked towards his backpack and easily grasped the handle of his sword where it lay across the straps, pulling it up and heading towards a nearby fallen log, sitting down on it and pulling a thin cloth from his pocket to begin lightly polishing the blade, awakening slowly to the easy work and smiling a bit at his blurred reflection in the sword's surface, bare feet resting quietly amidst the grasses.

Slowly, Syeena began to gather her own clothing, though an illusion of her more subtle form, she slipped on her skirt and top, more in a show for Zerrex than any other. Otherwise she could of been clothed instantly. The feel without Behemel was lonely as she observed the quiet camp. "I think I am going to look for our furry friend. Will you clean up the rest of camp so we can move out?" she asked Zerrex as he polished his sword.

The Drakkaren glanced up with quiet entertainment before he nodded, resting the sword on his shoulder and pausing only to glance down at the tall grasses, brushing his hand through them and smiling a little at the sight of a black rose before he looked up. "Certainly. Go on ahead, I'll pack the rest of the stuff here up. Should only take me a minute or two."

Syeena cast Zerrex a wink as she turned, her hips swaying leisurely as she entered the woods. As she entered she began feeling the forest with her six sense , sensing the energies of the living things around her in search for her friend. Soon she sensed the black lion somewhere up ahead in an open field not far away. She approached the field, and was greeted to the sight of Behemel, fully clothed sadly as he glared out intensely at the space before him.

Behemel stood before the large field, his mind focusing on a particular practice. Attached to his right paw was the Spirit Arm, Soul Prism. The fist size gem twinkled in the sunlight as he focused on the gem. The gem lit up for a bit, as he commanded magic to flow from his body and into the gemstone. It build and build for a bit, but the moment he forched his palm out, the gem's light died away.

"Damn it... " he growled, his tone betraying a bit of impatience.

"Rough morning, handsome?" Syeena spoke, drawing his attention. The dragoness slowly approached the taller male, her eyes lit with curiosity. She looked at Behemel clearly seeing the look of concentration on his face. " Maybe you need to focus a bit more?"

Behemel held up his fist, the gem attached to his paw as he sighed. "If i recall correctly," he said in mild sarcasm, " A certain female kept me and my partner up all night with her antics. Perhaps it cost me"

"Nothing I'm sure you and her didn't walk away from happy, I'm sure," she smirked. She walked up to him, looking at him in interest. "What brings you out here? Training?"

The reptile absently packed up the rest of the camp: it was a quick chore, easily done, and then he quietly returned to the log. He patted his sword, and blue arcs sparked quietly over the blade, earning a wry smile from the reptile as he said softly: "I know old friend. I know." He halted, then reached down and quietly picked one of the black roses even as another sprouted in its place, and he gazed at this phenomenon, unsurprised, before he sniffed the flower quietly, then kissed it... and the rose blossomed in his hand, the Drakkaren gazing down at this with strange longing as he said softly: "We just need to keep pushing forwards, like we always have. You and me... pretending, for old time's sake. Isn't this what I longed for anyway? Yeah... so then, why do I feel so..." The reptile broke off, then he shook his head slowly before he gazed silently down at the blossomed rose.

The lizard shook himself out of his reverie, quietly crushing the blossomed black rose in his hand before he glanced up towards the sky, glancing over at his sword as dark liquid trickled slowly through his fingers and over the blades of grass towards the earth... and where the droplets touched, new roses sprouted before the Drakkaren kissed his own hand, saying softly as he leaned over with a bit of a smile: "Anyway, it's not all bad, right? We've had fun, adventure... it's been like old times." He stopped, and then quietly drank a bit of the strange, sweet-tasting mix of nectar and flower petal, rolling it in his mouth slowly. "And there are... little marks of home here and there. Enough to keep going. That's what matters, right, old friend?"

The lion took a moment as he glanced between her and his new Spirit Arm. "This is a summoner's gem. A rare and powerful Spirit Arm," he explained, "I had not had the chance to test it or try it out since I got it with Zerrex. Its designed to focus magic into the gem to project the energy from a foreign spirit, deity or daresay, god. I'm trying to use it but.... let's say it's not working all the way"

"Lack of energy?" she suggested, puzzled.

"I doubt it," Behemel corrected, " I am applying it no different than how I command Chronos, my scythe. However... I feel the power i wish to call forth but it won't come out. "

"I see how that can be vexing..." she teased a bit, admiring the jewel on his paw. "I'm sure you will get it. I might be able to even give you some pointers later on." Syeena offered with a swish of her tail.

The offer from the dragoness was surprising. "I-- I'd be honored," he said, bowing lightly to Syeena.

Syeena chuckled, seeing him so chivalrous being adorable. " Please, no need for formalities on my account, hon. Now, let's get back to camp. I get the feeling Zerrex is getting restless" she said as she turned and headed back to the forest. With it Behemel followed.

The reptile had absently packed up the rest of the camp: it was a quick chore, easily done, and then he quietly returned to the log. He patted his sword, and blue arcs sparked quietly over the blade, earning a wry smile from the reptile as he said softly: "I know old friend. I know." He halted, then reached down and quietly picked one of the black roses even as another sprouted in its place, and he gazed at this phenomenon, unsurprised, before he sniffed the flower quietly, then kissed it... and the rose blossomed in his hand, the Drakkaren gazing down at this with strange longing as he said softly: "We just need to keep pushing forwards, like we always have. You and me... pretending, for old time's sake. Isn't this what I longed for anyway? Yeah... so then, why do I feel so..." The reptile broke off, then he shook his head slowly before he gazed silently down at the blossomed rose.

The Drakkaren rested on the log, his backpack and sword both resting forgotten across his back as he looked down at a plucked black rose, his boots neatly tied and the rest of their gear packed securely away. The reptile's eyes were distant as he thought quietly to himself before shaking himself out of his reverie as he heard footsteps approaching, and he quickly smiled as he glanced up, saying easily: "And here I was starting to think you two had gone off for another round of sex without me."

"Don't tempt me, handsome. Though the idea of maybe tying you up to watch is a fun idea" Syeena teased as they entered the now cleaned campsite.

"Please..." Behemel sighed, still feeling the aches from that night. " Any more of your foreplay and we will never get any work done."

The reptile grunted, glancing down at the black rose once more before tossing it quietly aside, and then he shook his head a bit before approaching the two, stretching absently as he looked skywards. "Well, there's always time for more sex, I say, but maybe Behemel's got a point for now. Let's hit the road for now and then we can spend tonight indulging in debauchery."

"For the love of gods," Behemel sighed, grabbing his pack as he shook his head. He wondered if these two would be the death of him.

***

Having left their camping sight behind them, they proceeded down the road, heading to the town of Bulvaria, a region now cloaked in many mysteries. Promising though was the jobs open there , now the spot had become a place for most adventures to congregate in that region. Before them was a long winding road through the forest,

"You two are so slow," Syeena pouted, her footsteps pounding as she walked ahead of them, her arms behind her head leisurely. "I'd be there in a day's time at most"

The lion cast Syeena a sarcastic look. "Not all of us can fly, my dear" he reminded her

Zerrex only grunted in response, glancing nervously over his shoulder. He felt like he was being watched by something: to him, the sounds around them seemed muted, indistinct, as he glanced back and forth and fidgeted a little bit. He couldn't help but shake his head before glancing forwards towards the dragoness, crossing his arms over his chest and not bothering to reply as his instincts whispered worries to him he hoped was just paranoia: sometimes the feeling came and went - perhaps because someone, somewhere, really was keeping an eye on him - but this felt different somehow. Like he was being judged; like he was a mouse, and a hawk high above had its sights trained on him...

"You okay hun?" Syeena noticed Zerrex's glances, his motions nervous. "You look antsy?"

"I'm... fine..." Zerrex muttered, shaking his head a bit as he glanced upwards, then he gave a bit more of a smile as he looked back and forth, rubbing slowly at his head. "Yeah. I guess it's just... a bad feeling, I'm hoping." He looked towards the sky again, then frowned a bit as the forest seemed to fall silent around them, the reptile muttering: "Please tell me that the feeling of doom and foreboding is just me."

"Isn't it always?" Behemel jabbed at Zerrex , "I mean the moment we started traveling you always are bitching about any single opposition that we run into . I mean come on, you can't live if you keep looking over your shoulder in fear."

The lizard grumbled a bit at this, crossing his arms and saying flatly: "I'm not saying I'm afraid of anything, I'm saying I have that awful feeling that usually comes up when something's about to leap out of the forest and eat me alive. Besides, as much as I loathe to point this out, how often have I been wrong?"

Behemel cast Zerrex a growl. "Fine, but the unexpected is the spice of life. Besides has anything so far been out of your capability?"

"Now now boys..." Syeena piped in, moving between the two as they walked and placing a hand on ether one's chests as it to keep them from fighting. " Do i need to give you two a time out" she teased. "No reason to not be cautious. Will you be alright Zerex honestly?"

Zerrex grimaced at this, not responding as he reached up and nervously squeezed the handle of his sword, and then he glanced over at her with an awkward smile. "Hey, you know me. Always keep going..." And yet in the back of the lizard's mind, he could almost place a finger on this sensation. This strangeness, this tingling, as his eyes roved slowly back and forth again. He was being hunted: there was no denying that, and that wasn't what bothered him. What bothered him was the fact he could almost tell what it was doing the hunting.

As they continued down the path, the Drakkaren felt tingles running down his spine and through his body, grimacing a little. The presence wasn't fading... if anything, it felt like hooks had settled in his mind, like a clawed hand was scraping delicately through his thoughts. Yet the others didn't seem to notice as they walked along, and it made the reptile all the more uneasy: what, after all, would bother to target him alone with these two here?

He thought on this subject, they continued through the forest... yet even as the trees began to grow sparser and the path to widen towards a larger road, the oppressive gloom didn't lift from the Drakkaren's thoughts. He only looked up when Behemel finally pointed towards a field, the lizard barely registering what the lion was saying but nodding mutely as he followed the two towards what would make for an excellent campsite, unaware of how many hours had passed... and his senses only sharpening when he halted and stared down at a small bed of black roses, a shiver passing through him as he reached down and plucked one of these, the thorns nipping his fingers as he stood silently by the road for a few long moments.

"That's unusual" Behemel pointed out, finding Zerrex with the black rose. "You don't see many black roses" His look to Zerrex was concern as they made their end to their trek through the woods.

"Hez'Rannis Rosa Raris." Zerrex muttered, and then he shook his head a bit, forcing himself to drop the rose and glancing absently down at the cuts in his scales, a drip of blood rolling down his fingers before he clenched his hand shut as the wounds healed, heading into the campsite and tossing down his backpack before he pulled Blackheart off his back as he dropped down to a cross-legged position in the grass, fumbling a rag out of his backpack and beginning to slowly polish the weapon, letting the repetitive, easy motions start to soothe his mind as he closed his eyes.

"You okay hon" Syeena cooed, kneeling down before Zerrex with a concerned look. "You don't look well. And it's been the first time I seen you so quiet and thoughtful. Like a wounded puppy." she tried to joke to perk him up, but couldn't help but sense his unease.

Zerrex only grunted a bit in response, and then he shook his head a bit and smiled awkwardly up at her. "Sorry, no, I'm... fine, really." The reptile glanced back down at the weapon, continuing to polish Blackheart slowly, making the movements long and easy... and yet he still felt both his instincts gnawing at him and like something was paging through his mind, like psychic fingers he could feel movements of and yet couldn't quite block out, or slowly-grinding hooks trying to lure him into madness or beyond. "Just... thinking too much perhaps, then. That's all. I'm sure it'll go away."

"Thoughts?.... As in plural ?" Behemel jabbed , laughing a bit at the lizard. "That's a new one I heard from you Zerrex"

The lizard forced a dry smile in return, but he couldn't think of a retort before he went back to easily continuing to polish the sword. Worries still assailed him and whispered their way through his mind all the same, and he wondered why this felt so important... and why it felt so dangerous, as he snuck a single glance over his shoulder back towards the black roses that seemed almost as if they had been left there to grow on purpose for him to find by the roadside.

The pause in the lizard's usually silver tongue was starting to make Behemel , too, worry about his comrade. Brushing it off a bit, he continued to make camp under the shade of a lone tree near the edge of the fields as the afternoon sun hung in the sky.

"Okay, why don't you two relax a bit. I wanted to get some time in training"

With a smirk, Syeena turned to Behemel . "Always the dedicated worker. Just don't work yourself too hard baby," she said with a wink, watching as the lion turned to the fields outside.

As Behemel left, she turned to Zerrex and sat beside him polishing his sword, and she sensually leaned against him, trying to non-verbally comfort his mind. "You don't have to tell me , but you do know I care if something is troubling you... Behemel too.." she said winding her tail around him and her wrapped an arm around his side. She gave him a light kiss on the cheek, "We are a team now, aren't we?"

The reptile glanced at her, nodding after a moment to her even as his hands continued to slowly work along the blade, glancing down at the reflective metal without speaking as his eyes roved over the blade, polished almost to a perfect reflection before he finally said softly: "Yeah. I suppose we are, aren't we? But hopefully... it'll pass. I'm sure it's nothing, just my nerves playing tricks on me. Thank you for caring, though, Syeena. I do appreciate it."

"Trust me, we all do. "She said, pulling Zerrex in for another kiss. "I never thought I'd say it, but I miss that talkative attitude of yours. " She laughed as she sat up. "I'm going to check on our dark and grim comrade. I fear if he works himself too much he might burn himself out. You'll be okay till I get back?"

He smiled at this, then nodded before returning his eyes to Blackheart and flipping the sword over to begin polishing the other side of the weapon, saying softly: "Of course. Go ahead, see how he's doing. Don't let him work himself too hard now with whatever he's got brewing, but take your time. I'll be fine until you two get back."

With a wink at him, Syeena trailed off into the fields seeing him nearby with the same relic in his paws.

***

Behemel growled as he once again raised his paw. He commanded the same holy power to flow into his body, his power as a Spiritualist within his being as he tried to send it out through the Soul Prism. However as the power built, it sparked , then went out quickly, like a flickering flame.

"Damn... why is this so hard!!"

"Careful there, " Syeena piped, joining him from behind. "You might hurt yourself if you think so much. We already got one person here with too much on his mind."

The were-lion turned to Syeena, seeing her smirking with her wings along her shoulders lightly and her hands on her hips appealingly. "I'm really not in the mood for mocking, Syeena."

"Who's mocking?" she said as she stood beside Behemel, looking at the gem on his paw. "I only want to help. I might not look like it but I'm very familiar with magic."

Behemel looked curious at Syeena, then at his gem. "Why do I have the sneaking suspicion, that you desire this gem more than helping me?" he asked.

Syeena huffed at the accusation, "Don't be ridiculous. As lovely as your trinket is as it is rare, I'm more interested in you than it. " she said, reaching a hand and caressing Behemel's long mane and chin. " After all, you are the great Beast of Pandemonium. One of the few Spiritualists left in this world"

The lion turned away from her caress at the title, shame on his features.

Realizing the sore subject, curious all the same, she drove her attention elsewhere. " I know about magic. It's how I use my cards... "

"Your card's a Spirit Arm?" he asked, curious

"No, sadly. " she hummed, pausing a bit innocently as she thought. She could feel the lion's gaze upon her and resisted the instinct to show her more appealing features as she thought. " I have yet to find a Spirit Arm I found worthy of my skills. But back to my point. .. your thinking about the object, not the magic involved."

She then turned to Behemel, holding one of her Tarot Cards in her claw. " You're a Spiritualist right? One able to channel the powers of the divine through your own body. Am I correct so far?"

Behemel nodded at the assumption.

Putting the gem aside and into his pocket, he raised his paw. In a flash of light, the white scythe Chronos, with its metal body and the extended blades of light appeared in his grip. "Chronos is a example. I channel a potion of a deity's power into a common object or weapon, like how most Spirit Arms are made. Trick is it only works with my focus and concentration. "

Syeena smirked, "And therein lies the problem" she explained touching his arm gently. "When you channel the powers of whichever god you chose, in this case I can only assume THE Chronos, you focus only a portion from your body to form the weapon you now hold."

At that moment, Syeena held up her own cards. "Now in my case, like my cards, I can regulate the amount of power each card can hold. Remember how I used the card, The Emperor, against Zerrex? The power I used when it hit him, was only half strength?"

Behemel kept quiet as he listened to her explain, seeing her wave the cards a bit in a show-offish fashion.

"The trick is with magic, especially channeling it through any medium like my cards or your gem there," she explained softly, " is that it requires you focusing the power through the medium, not into it."

Syeena then came up behind Behemel, and held his arm with the gem attached and lifted it up. While she did, she pressed herself against his back, her other arm around his chest. " Allow the power to collect, channel it and let it build, Much like Chronos is an extension of your body when you fight with it, let the gem become an extension of the building power you call upon. Allow it to build and build, till it has nowhere else to go but out, through the gemstone, to make it work. "

Behemel turned his head to see Syeena, who smirked at him knowingly. " Through the Soul Prism, instead of into it. ..."

Syeena smirked, "It's only natural. You focus on creating a Spirit Arm with your power. You never used your magic through an already constructed one before. "

He took a moment to admire the gem, realizing it was in fact the first Spirit Arm he had ever acquired that did not need his own magic to create. ".. Thank you, Syeena" he growled, putting the gem away.

"My pleasure, hon," she purred, wrapping her arms around him now, with a bit more sensual intent. "Anything to help the male who raided Pandemonium. I'm the one who should thank you for doing the world that favor."

A growl of mild irritation rose from Behemel's chest as his gaze stared away from Syeena in pain. "I was not a raider...." he said, his tone sad.." ... I was a prisoner."

***

The Drakkaren sat quietly against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest and head bowed, his eyes closed and fingers laced tightly in his lap. Blackheart rested quietly atop his backpack, and a single black rose was clutched in his hands before he glanced up as he heard the two making their way back to the campsite, glancing up at them as they approached, a small smile cresting his muzzle. "There you two are. How'd things go?"

"Not bad, actually made great progress" Behemel said, seeing the lizard with a smirk.

"And you, big boy?" Syeena teased, "You doing okay?"

"Aren't I always?" Zerrex smiled a bit again, nodding to her even as his emerald eyes remained dark, rubbing absently at his head before he glanced down at the rose in his hands before tossing it away, standing up and grimacing a bit as he put his hands in the center of his back and cracked it loudly. "So what now, fearless leader? We going to stay here or get back on the road?"

Behemel looked up at the sky, satisfied with the break as they still had a good amount of daylight left. "I think we can hit one more mile. Besides we should get to where we are going by tomorrow afternoon the latest"

"Aww," Syeena pouted, " And here I hoped I could seduce you two some more," she teased flicking her tongue at Behemel, but he resisted. She was amused that he was so hard to seduce. A challenge for her.

The reptile nodded after a moment, saying softly: "I'm sure there'll be time for that later, Syeena, all the time in the world." The lizard glanced towards the road again, and the forest they had just passed through... and then he shook his head after a moment before heading over to retrieve his weapon and pack, slipping them both onto his back and looking down at the ground thoughtfully for a few long moments. Dark thoughts crowded his mind... and he shook his head a little with a sigh before heading towards the road as he felt memories rising slowly out of the depths of the darkness of his soul, more and more feeling that strange urgency, that shadowy insistence that they were being watched by something the reptile had thought long gone.

As they returned to the road again, the passed through the wide fields that covered both sides of the road into the horizon. The sun now lit the sky with a light gleam of orange, the sun entering its decent into the sky. Behemel was in his own head thinking of dark times past, his own past never seeming to leave him. It had been a long time since anyone spoke proudly of his reputation for what he done in Pandemonium

The reptile kept his eyes mostly on the road, crossing his arms over his chest, thoughts rambling away in his head before he shook them and looked to the side, gazing longingly at the scenery. Fields and farmhouses, the beauty of twilight slowly coming on as the sun descended, dark clouds passing slowly through the sky above... and he closed his eyes, murmuring softly to himself: "In imitation, all for naught, beauty were but a lie and children ne'er to be born of the sallow, lying elm, the cuckoo kills the nestlings to hide his children in counterfeit glory..."

"Hmm?" Behemel's sharp ears picking up his words. "What is that?"

"Oh... nothing, just... old scraps of poetry by an idiot who never figured out his life until he died." Zerrex mumbled, and then he rubbed slowly at his head before he reached up and absently brushed his hair out of his eyes, trying to quell his anxious thoughts. "So do we have a job lined up or something?"

"Most likely, many people hire adventurers there, with luck we will find something worth doing?" Behemel stated, "Unless you yourself have an idea you wish to pursue?"

"I'm just the muscle, not the ideas." Zerrex smiled a bit at this, then he glanced towards the rolling fields again, arms crossed over his chest before his eyes gradually fell towards the path, watching his feet as they paced quietly along the road.

The lion laughed at the thought, "We need to help you on that regard then. I'm sure you got good ideas... though your ideas so far gotten me into trouble."

Syeena then walked along side Zerrex. "Oh and what ideas have you given Behemel, dear Zerrex?" she asked, rubbing against him.

"Yeah, so maybe we shouldn't." The reptile paused, then he snorted in amusement as he glanced over at Syeena before nodding to the lion, saying mildly: "What, you haven't told her about the brothel yet, where you obviously enjoyed yourself? Or any of the other times we've spent relaxing instead of working?"

"A brothel huh?" Syeena said with interest, leering at Behemel. The lion however blushed and pretended not to be bothered by it. She giggled at the thought, returning to Zerrex. "Oh tell me! What happened Zerrex?"

"Ask him, he's the one who brought the entire brothel into bed with him." The Drakkaren said mildly, glancing over at him with a quiet laugh and a small shake of his head, and then he glanced down the road, smiling a little.

" Gah!" Behemel shrieked, turning at Zerrex with frustration. "I Was drunk you idiot!" he roared, feeling humiliated.

Syeena laughed, hugging Zerrex around his neck teasingly as she looked at Behemel in new amusement. "Is that so huh? Oh I'd love to see the sight of you fucking female after female . What a sight that must be huh?" she said, actually excited about the idea . " OH Zerrex, maybe we should all go sometime!"

The lizard snorted in entertainment, shaking his head a bit before he looked over his shoulder, then shook his head and quickly returned his eyes to Syeena, wrapping an arm around her waist and squeezing her lightly. "Maybe, yeah. It would at least get him to relax a little, which is always nice."

"You two are impossible." Behemel sighed , turning and walking away embarrassed. He tugged his hood more to hide his face. "How did I meet up with nuts like you two?"

"Just lucky I guess," Syeena countered, making a face.

Zerrex grunted and nodded after a moment in agreement, glancing over at the two before his gaze was drawn out towards the fields again. He smiled a little, surveying a farmhouse in the distance, the rolling hills... and then he rubbed slowly at his face, trying to drown out the discord in his mind the harmony of the world around himself.

They continued down the path, the reptile still finding himself floating uneasily towards darker thoughts as he sighed a bit, rubbing slowly at his face and wondering what this all meant. Despite everything, he felt nervous... and he wasn't exactly anxious to discover what the future would bring with it, or worse yet, what this all seemed to mean, as the Drakkaren glanced quietly at another patch of black roses by the roadside, grimacing a little as he felt as if he was walking deeper and deeper into the steel jaws of a trap.

Syeena looked around, the smell of freshly bloomed flowers and noticed the black roses herself. "That's odd," she said musingly, seeing the flowers. "I myself can conjure roses but... i never seen an area so rich of this variety."

"Hmm?" Behemel asked as he stopped to look around. Patches of the roses littered the surrounding area, almost unnaturally abundant for such a rare species. Now he too began to feel unease, noticing the strange flowers coming to life nearby. "Zerrex, I'm not a botanist. You have any clue what these things are?"

"A funerary flower. A sacred flower." Zerrex murmured softly, walking over to kneel quietly at the side of the road, picking one as he stood up and stared down at it for a moment, and it bloomed slowly in his hand, smiling a bit before he tossed it aside, feeling the pulse growing sharper in his mind as he said quietly: "Only a few rare things have such a strong association with this, though... and generate the kind of negative influence I feel... but it's impossible..." He closed his eyes, looking down silently for a moment as he stood quietly, then gazed over the fields, watching the flowers spread, watching them sway despite the lack of wind, hearing them whispering, calling to him.

With the wind, a stench met Behemel's nose. He nearly coughed at it and growled in disgust. He could sense something now himself. A bloodlust and a thirst for revenge.

"What?" Syeena asked nervously at Behemel's changed demeanor, "What is it?"

"I know this stench," Behemel growled, and with it he conjured Chronos into his hand. "Its Miasma... the essence upon demons thrive on,"

Zerrex reached up and grasped the handle of his sword, looking slowly to the side as he gritted his teeth, his gaze icy as there was a slow, quiet clapping... and slowly, a figure strode out into the road, laughing quietly, her voice soft and yet immeasurably cruel. The figure stood at least sixteen feet tall, and yet it was terribly thin and emaciated, a long white dress swirling around her slowly as a wreath of black roses swayed around her neck, the scales that covered what was visible of her body purple, but her face hidden from view by a golden mask shaped like the skull of an awful bird of prey. Terrible green eyes shone out of the sockets of this, the only thing visible as she walked slowly into the center of the road, looking over at them with terrible contempt and bitter coldness in her poisonous green eyes. "Oh, little lost Zerrex... since last we met, your standards of company have fallen..."

Behemel glared at the strange figure as Syeena stood behind him. The lion's eyes glowed briefly in fury, the instinct to slay the creature almost overpowering him but halted, sensing the incredible amount of power this being possessed. "Zerrex,... please tell me this is a friend of yours... or worse, an ex-girlfriend?" he growled, trying to stay calm.

"Yes, do introduce me to your friends..." Her eyes roved slowly over them, patronizing, contemptible, ruthless, and her gaze alone was like claws raking through their minds, like hands grasping their hearts and making their blood run still and cold. "The broken toy who escaped Pandemonium... and a pathetic little dragoness so far from home..." Her eyes flashed, and Zerrex snarled before she said mockingly: "And yet they don't know who you are, do they, how you-"

"Shut up!" Zerrex snarled, and the Princess simply glared at him, her eyes glowing and knocking the Drakkaren skidding backwards before she made an absent gesture, and the reptile's sword was torn out of his hands, glowing purple even as bolts of blue energy tore over it before it spun violently around and then stabbed backwards through Zerrex's stomach, the lizard's eyes bulging as he coughed blood and clawed uselessly at the blade as he was slowly lifted into the air, blood dripping from his mouth and nose and spilling from the wound as the Princess only stood with her hand slightly raised.

"They don't even know how you died... disembowelment, just like this, isn't that right?" she said softly, and then she half-closed her eyes, the sly smile clearly visible in her glowing irises. "Yes, I see your confusion in your mind. You killed me, yet here I am... and I'm here to reclaim what you stole from me. Oh, the questions in your mind, little Beast..." Her eyes roved to Behemel, saying mockingly: "You raise your weapon to me, yet hesitate because of the worries that are forming in your sad little brain... yet what if I tell you your companion is not what he seems? Amazing how you sense my presence... and yet never realized that this smiling little being beside you is no mortal, however foolish he acts..."

"Zerrex!" Syeena cried, somewhat shocked by the appearance of this demon. "Behemel, she is no normal demon. She could be..."

"You... you're a seven sin aren't you," Behemel growled matter of factly, his gaze now furious for what she was doing to Zerrex. It took all his control from not charging at her ...just yet.

"Her name is Th-The-" Zerrex began, and then he gasped when she simply the tall demoness's eyes narrowed balefully before she flicked her wrist backwards, and the sword ripped free from Zerrex's stomach, the Drakkaren collapsing to his knees with a curse of pain before purple chains of energy wrapped tightly around his muzzle, sealing it shut.

"I am known simply as the Princess..." The female half-bowed towards them, looking over the two with entertainment burning in her terrible emerald eyes. "But you shall refer to me as the Goddess by the time we are done here. But I am not here for either of you, entertaining as I'm sure you would both be to play with... I am here for Zerrex."

The Drakkaren gritted his teeth as he slowly stood up, shaking his head with a grimace as he grabbed at the wound in his stomach and it healed, before clawing at the chains over his muzzle and shattering them. He began to raise his right arm... and then the Princess pointed at him, the scales covering the warped limb charring away before terrible chains of energy wrapped tightly around it, burning into it savagely as white runes glowed over the limb and she added softly: "Oh, I don't think so. I remember all your tricks from when you betrayed me and killed me..." Her eyes glowed as she looked more to Behemel than Zerrex, adding softly: "And after, of course, he stole my soul."

At that point, Behemel understood. "A bit envious, aren't we?" he spat, "Wanting what you can't have . The sin of Envy...." Behemel pointed out and the Princess behind the mask sneered at the identification. "I may not know how you and Zerrex are related, but I can't agree with how your treating him. Release him."

"So bold, are we? We'll see exactly if the rumors of you in Hell are true then, shan't we?" The Princess said softly, and then she held a hand out, making a slow rising gesture, and a silver staff formed at her side before she grasped this, and the staff rippled before becoming a bow as she said quietly: "As if you know anything. Zerrex kills friends and family, leaders and lessers, for less reason than I do."

"I only do what I have to do." the Drakkaren retorted, walking forwards and grasping the hilt of his sword, yanking it free from the ground as he glared at her. "I'm not your servant anymore, and nor am I a demon any longer... and I killed you at full power, full might. Whatever the hell you are, you aren't the real Princess."

"Yes, but your powers are restricted now too, aren't they?" The Princess replied coldly, her eyes locking onto the Drakkaren as the blazed with emerald hatred, before an arrow made of pure light appeared in her hand and she quickly nocked this in her bow. "Very well... then you shall all die!"

"Trust me, I'm gonna have a good long scolding at Zerrex for all this later," he said in mild jest in the face of the great demon. "However... You may know all of Zerrex's tricks..." he raised his scythe in ready.

"But you don't know mine," Syeena whispered from behind the demon. With a firm growl, she thrust four cards on the four directions around her. At that moment, lightning sparked around the demon, electrocuting the area in which the cards entrapped.

The dragoness, quickly jumped free, joining Zerrex by his side as he was till wounded. " Zerrex, are you alright?" she asked concerned, a hand on his chest to take care of the wound.

The cards stunning the demon, Behemel let lose his patience and charged. Scythe in hand, he rushed for her , his motions blurred as he sprinted fast , aiming for the kill to tear the demon apart.

"Do not toy with me, pathetic little creature!" The Princess snarled as the lightning arced around her before she simply vanished from the spot even as Behemel charged forwards, reappearing behind the dragoness with her bow raised and readied; immediately, Zerrex shoved Syeena out of the way with a curse and then he swung his heavy sword upwards, shattering the arrow of light with the blade before he leapt forwards and swung the blade towards the demoness with a snarl.

The Princess's eyes glowed with psychic wrath, however, knocking Zerrex flying backwards before she grasped her bow by the center of the weapon and tore it into two pieces, the weapon transforming into a pair of long, slender blades as her green eyes glowed out of her mask and she glared down at the dragoness, saying ruthlessly: "Your childish little magic tricks mean nothing to me."

With a growl , Behemel skid to a stop, his scythe now swung forward to hit nothing but air. However it was only for momentum. The moment he stopped, he swung around, drawing his scythe the other way. With the sweep, he roared as a blade of crescent wind, erupted from his weapon, shooting out to the princess overhead of Syeena.

The tall demoness grunted as the blade of wind smashed into her, knocked back a step as black rose petals floated down from the damaged wreath and dark smoke rose up off her body as her form seemed to flicker like static, and then she threw her head back and laughed, spinning the dual swords easily at either side of her as her eyes burned with malice. "Oh, is this the power of the legendary Beast of Pandemonium? I think you meant to do something more like this."

The Princess slashed one of her twin swords up, sending out a powerful column of wind towards both Syeena and Behemel before she glanced over her shoulder as Zerrex slowly picked himself off the ground with a grimace, and then she snarled and slammed the pommels of her swords together, the silver metal transforming back into a bow as she created another arrow of light and took aim at the Drakkaren. "I will not be robbed of my target after waiting an eternity for this chance!"

The two were cast backward, the demon's shockwave strong . As Behemel was propelled into the air, he raised his scythe and aimed. At his command, Chronos released its blade into its chain whip and sliced through the air. The blade connected to the demon's bow, tugging her aim off while propelling him back to the ground. Syeena grabbed hold of his paw, holding on as the blast felt like a hurricane before them.

"A slim chance, bitch" Syeena snarled, drawing her cards into her hands again in a flash.

The Princess cursed as the arrow went wild, firing into the air before she grasped the bow in both hands and it became a smooth pole, allowing her to yank it free from the looped chain before she snapped it out to the side and it became a massive, deadly maul before the Princess glanced to the side and snarled as Zerrex charged towards her from the other side. Her eyes glowed, and a moment later an immense spike of rock ripped out of the ground in front of the Drakkaren, but the lizard only slammed the flat of his blade into this with a grunt, sending chunks of sharp rock flying towards the demoness.

The Princess's eyes glowed with irritation, however, and immediately the rocks in the air halted, then snapped backwards in the space of a second, smashing into Zerrex and sending him

crashing backwards as they reformed into a spike: not merely a telekinetic attack, but control over reality itself as she looked coldly from Zerrex to the two on her other side, saying darkly: "You pathetic insects are beginning to get on my nerves..."

"Imagine that, you, irritated. I guess even dead you haven't learned much patience, huh?" Zerrex muttered as he picked himself slowly up, but his eyes were cold as he shouldered his sword, his warped arm still glowing as runes and chains of energy pulsed over it before the reptile called sharply, as the Princess turned her baleful gaze fully onto him. "Watch out for her reality control... although thankfully it seems limited for some reason!"

"Reality control?" Syeena asked Zerrex from afar, her voice of interest.

Zerrex opened his muzzle to respond, and then the Princess's eyes glowed as she shoved a hand towards him... but the Drakkaren lashed Blackheart forwards, and telekinetic blast met raw physical strength, before the Princess cursed as she was hit by psychic recoil and Zerrex staggered forwards as he smashed the blast aside. The demoness flinched and grabbed at her mask-covered face, and the lizard said coldly: "Control of the particles we see as the flow of time. She can reverse it... except if she had full control, we'd all probably be in a lot worse shape right now. Lack of power, that smog, that static... you're a simulacrum."

"Oh, your mind works as fast as ever, doesn't it?" The demoness asked disgustedly, and then she shoved a hand out behind herself, sending a powerful telekinetic surge towards both the dragoness and the lion as her eyes locked with Zerrex's. "But then again, you've created a few yourself over the years, haven't you? And once I have the energies back you ripped out of my body... I'll be more powerful than I ever was before."

At that moment, Syeena and Behemel scattered, their speed fast enough to just leave her psychic attack behind them, as the ground smashed with her impact. Circling around, he kept a careful eye on his enemy, seeing her both majestic and horrifying form. "Grim Zephyr!!" he roared, jumping high into the air, and brought Chronos back far, the blade itself humming with power. He then unleashed his blade. The slash caused a mighty howl that literally tore through the field and struck the Princess hard. The winds both shoving against her and slicing into her dress and form. Dust and smoke covered the battlefield, the impact creating a smokescreen for Zerrex and Syeena to buy time.

The Princess snarled a curse, her eyes blazing with fury as she staggered from the force of the blow, Zerrex grimacing a bit at the shockwave of wind... before a second blast of raw psychic force erupted in all directions, scattering the dust cloud and flattening the grasses of the field around them, the demoness's eyes blazing with rage before her gaze locked on Behemel and she pointed at him, saying darkly: "That's enough from you."

Magical bindings erupted from the ground, snapping around the lion before the Princess made a dismissive gesture, a blast of telekinetic force flinging him backwards before she turned her attention back towards Zerrex, beginning to walk forwards as her tattered dress fluttered around her body, her green eyes blazing from her skull as the Drakkaren snarled, then ran forwards... and immediately the female lashed hard down towards him with the maul, but the reptile back stepped, then leapt towards her and smoothly ran up the body of the weapon, lashing his sword hard down into her shoulder and making her shriek with frustration and pain as the reptile's blade bit against her and sent up a burst of dark smog, the Drakkaren half-twisting his legs over her head to land on the other side of her and spinning around to lash his blade through the back of her knee, knocking her down even as the maul broke into two thin swords in her hand, the Princess vanishing from the spot and attempting to bring both swords down on top of the Drakkaren, but the reptile swinging Blackheart above his head and blocking the double-lash with the flat of his sword, one hand gripping the hilt of his great sword and the other on the other side of the flat as he winced before she kicked him hard in the back, sending him crashing onto his stomach with a grunt.

Behemel grunted as the chains caught his body, the shock to the bindings coursing pain through his body that was agonizing, causing Chronos to barely remain in his grip. As he roared through the pain, his eyes suddenly became a glow of red. A sign of his dormant darker power beginning to brew.

At that point in time as Zerrex struggled to keep the Princess' swords from hitting him. a flash of metal caught her off guard. Landing square on her mask was one of Syeena's cards. The princess stared blankly at the symbol of the card, a dragon circled around the blazing sun.

The sun card immediately flashed off right in her face, followed by a searing heat that bathed her form like an inferno. From a distance, Syeena snarled as she held her hand forward, having just casted the card from the distance where she was thrown.

"Come on Bitch!" she snarled, her green eyes showing, as her fangs were visible. "Give me your best shot!"

The demoness staggered backwards, then she snarled and threw her hands out, releasing a shockwave of psychic force that blew the flames from body before she spun one of her double-swords around and slammed it against the pommel of her other weapon, the weapons forming once more into the silvery bow as she said darkly: "Arrogant little creature." She paused, then half-turned as Zerrex charged towards her, smashing him across the face with her bow before she simply vanished from the spot, reappearing some thirty feet away with a golden arrow already nocked, firing a single arrow of light towards Syeena before she vanished again and reappeared to the side of the dragoness, firing a second arrow off in the space of only a second as her eyes glowed with wrath and contempt.

At that very moment, Syeena just stood there with a grin on her muzzle. "Not this time..." As she did, she drew one single card from her side, her expression relaxed. "Time to show you why I called myself the Temperance."

From below them all, a wave of light stretched across the ground with Syeena in the center. "Restore the balance," she called out and raised the card high, a card with a dragon underneath a goddess with two cups pouring into the other in each of her hands. "Temperance!!"

A massive flash illuminated from her card, as a brilliant and beautiful goddess in a flowing gown levitated above Syeena. As the light eclipsed, the Princess felt her body and energy flicker. Her body became more staticky. "What did you do?!" she seethed

"The temperance represents the balance of power," Syeena explained as the goddess radiated its magic. And while the Temperance bathed the area, the Princess's power weakened. " You demons disrupt the balance of power in order to bend reality as you do. The Temperance has the power to restore that balance. Your reality control is now useless." Syeena cast the demon a toothed grin.

The Princess only snorted in distaste at this, raising her bow as she created another arrow of light and nocked it, saying coldly: "As if I require that to destroy any of you. I am the Goddess; I created the Drakkai, I am revered in the darkest jungles, I was to rule Hell!" And then she suddenly turned, shouting furiously: "Until your betrayal!"

Zerrex cursed under his breath as the golden arrow of light shot towards him, swinging his metallic fist up and then staggering backwards when it struck before the Princess fired another, then another arrow at him, focusing in on the Drakkaren as he swung Blackheart outwards, blocking two more strikes before the sword was knocked from his hands, and then the lizard grimaced as he held his left hand up with a wince as three arrows of light fired almost simultaneously... and a wall of sapphire energy appeared in front of the Drakkaren, the arrows smashing into it one after the other and sending cracks through it before the lizard punched the other side of the sapphire wall and it exploded into shards of energy that shot forwards and pelted the demoness, making her howl with fury as she staggered backwards, her body smoking.

Even with the demoness still enraged, the power of Temperance had done its work. The reality warping she had cast began to wear off as the chains that now bound Behemel became no more than mere chains. With a good flex of his arms, he easily tore through them, freeing himself from the earth. Taking grip of Chronos once more, he took advantage of the demon's staggered state.

Taking flight once more, he literally flew across the field and delivered a mighty slash upon the demoness. His silver scythe slashing a deep cut into her side.

The demoness staggered to the side with another scream of frustration before she lashed hard outwards with her bow, aiming for the lion's face before she seized it with both hands and tore it in half as it became a pair of double blades, immediately delivering a flurry of strikes as her eyes glowed with psychic wrath even as the black wound in her side smoked visibly, almost random blasts of telekinetic rage erupting down towards the lion as her swords whickered back and forth through the air. "Hypocrite! Weakling! Pathetic pest, you have no idea what you face! Take your whore and run away while you still have the chance, this battle does not concern you!"

With the grace of the wind moving with Behemel, the moment she attempted to strike Behemel away like a fly, his form vanished. In a instant he was behind her, his eyes now a seething with red anger. "Be that as it may, I tolerate you demons no more!" He brought his scythe once more, lopping off her arm in the process.

The female's form stuttered in and out of reality as she staggered forwards with a howl, the silver sword vanishing before it became a staff as she slammed the butt of the weapon down into the ground, the ground around her erupting into deadly, massive spikes, then tore out of the earth around her as her eyes glowed with psychic rage, beginning to spin in a violent cyclone of death and destruction as she snarled: "You dare? You dare intervene! Then die!"

Spikes of rock began to slam down towards the lion in a violent rain, hammering towards him in deadly repetition even as her form smoldered and static ripped over the simulacrum's body, her eyes glowing with fury as psychic static erupted through the air around her in almost tangible arcs.

The ground was literally torn asunder, turning the peaceful plains into a land of upturned earth and spikes, leaving no place untouched. Seeing the spikes come, Behemel swiftly leapt away from the rainfall of rocks. The three quickly avoided the downpour, the demoness' rage out of control. Even with them avoiding the stones, the psychic shockwave easily tore through the air, sending them all flying into the upturned fields.

Zerrex cursed under his breath, then he gritted his teeth as he skidded to a halt with his sword on his shoulder before charging forwards into the hailstorm, cleaving through one of the flying chunks of stone and leaping forwards to slam Blackheart into the female's stomach, the blade tearing across her and knocking her skidding backwards as she screamed in psychic wrath, and the reptile was sent flying before he half-flipped as a platform of blue energy appeared behind him in midair and he shoved quickly off this, propelling himself back towards her as he lashed his sword outwards and across her golden mask, sending up a hail of sparks as she snarled in agony, blood spurting from a thin wound ripped over her scalp as she slapped the Drakkaren backwards with the staff, the lizard hitting the ground and skidding backwards before they glared at each other, the reptile setting himself as their gazes locked and energy erupted between them, her eyes glowing and the Drakkaren's own blazing solid emerald as her mask slowly slid in half down either side of her face, revealing her scarred, hideous features, her lips missing and bare, yellowed teeth glinting lackluster in the light, burns and deep gouges over her bloodied face as smoke steamed up from her body and she howled in frustration: "Why won't you die?"

Behemel found himself slammed against one of the stalagmites, the blow shaking his bones despite the winds of Chronos upholding a mild defense.

Recovering from the shockwave, Syeena looked to see Behemel against the stones. "Behemel, " she cried out, running over to him. She placed a hand on his chest. "Are you okay?"

Despite his nod of an answer, she gritted her teeth as she saw Zerrex fight. "Zerrex! Hurry, into the fields! We need to find cover!"

The Drakkaren only snarled, however, in the eye of the cyclone as he and the Princess faced each other before the lizard charged towards her... and immediately the female swung hard out at him as her staff became a single sword, blades lashing together back and forth before the Drakkaren slashed viciously into the silvery weapon, knocking it from the demoness's hand and making her hiss in frustration before her hand lashed up, lightning fast, and seized Zerrex by the throat, yanking him into the air and then smashing him viciously into the ground, once, twice, thrice, the reptile's body going limp for a moment as he gargled weakly, then he snarled as she lifted him above her head and hissed as his sword hung limply from his hand: "Now I'll do what you did to me and-"

Zerrex swung Blackheart around in a wild haymaker, and it ripped across her features, making her scream in agony before she threw the lizard into the air and then smashed him with a blast of psychic force, the Drakkaren flying through the cyclone like a cannonball before he crashed to the ground some hundred feet away, Blackheart bouncing away as the sword sparked with energy and the reptile rolling backwards several times with a curse of pain, skidding to a halt and landing flat on his back with a grunt of pain as inside the cyclone, the demoness howled as her body began to turn black in places as smoke rose from her decaying form, snarling: "No, no, no! I'll kill you all, I won't let this happen!"

"Zerrex now! Get back and regroup!" Syeena shouted. She was now overhead of him and the demoness, holding another card from her arsenal. "Now! The Hanged Man!" With that, she pounced upon her, slapping the card upon the wicked female's head. The card immediately took effect, casting a array of electricity across her body as her form shuddered in static from the charm on her. The Hanged Man had paralyzed her, buying them some time. "Hurry!" she shouted at Zerrex , leading him to the stone spike where Behemel recovered .

Zerrex groaned from where he had been thrown backwards by the Princess, and then he shook his head slowly as the figure of the demoness fought against the static energy coursing over her body, her eyes glowing with rage before the Drakkaren cursed under his breath, staggering to pick up his sword and then grimacing a bit as he quickly followed the dragoness back to the small point of safety they had found, even as the Princess lashed her arm out and the energy field over her body was violently disrupted by a psychic release, the Goddess snarling as her eyes flicked back and forth before she rasped: "You know you can't hide from me, Zerrex..."

Behemel knelt behind a pillar of stone as he saw both Syeena and Zerrex join him. It was but a brief haven from her wrath, the paralysis only temporary till she broke through it. " Zerrex," Behemel growled , his tone more out of a sarcasm defense mechanism for the grim situation, "When this is over, we are gonna have a long talk."

"Really? Because I was thinking we could have a party." the reptile retorted, and then he grimaced a bit down at his corrupted limb as runes glowed over it, hammering at them with his other fist before he shook his arm with a frustrated curse. "Stupid goddamn bitch locked up my stupid goddamn arm, and knowing her, we don't have long before-"

The Drakkaren was cut off with a wince as a bolt of psychic static ripped through the lizard's mind, before, in the center of the field, the Princess snarled before she made a simple beckoning gesture, and a black altar rose out of the ground, layered with black roses. Immediately, the female snapped her fingers... and the black roses burst into blue flames, the same ghastly fire surrounding the Drakkaren's body as he cursed in pain and lurched forwards, the Princess saying coldly in a voice that carried into their very minds. "Then hide like the sniveling cowards you are. I don't need to see you to harm you at this range, Zerrex. I know your weaknesses. I know your vulnerabilities. I shaped you into the demon you became... it is only fitting that I unshape you, here and now!"

"Zerrex!" Syeena cried, but her voice was death to him under the psychic fire attack. She was burning him in body and mind, unable to counter with her own magic. After a second, she turned to Behemel. "Behemel, you have to stop her! You're the only one who can break her hold on him!"

"Easier said than done," He snarled, seeing her just standing there before her pedestal, her eyes burning from the distance. "She was completely unfazed by our attacks. "

The Dragoness narrowed her gaze at Behemel. "Not everything..."

It took Behemel a moment to realize what she meant. "Now? This is the worst time for a test run of the Soul Prism. " He protested,

"Listen to me!" she said, gripping Behemel's face by his main, emphasizing her seriousness. "It will work! Divine power can directly counter demonic power. But it has to be concrete and pure. It won't matter what you summon but if its drawn by divine power, it can stop her. At least break her hold on Zerrex long enough for us to counter attack."

"It's a big risk..." he stopped as he watched Zerrex burn in agony. "... though we don't have much choice. Just hope you know what to do after I draw that bitch at me." With his grumble, he conjured Chronos away from his paw. With it, he dug into his robes and drew out the Soul Prism. The framed jewel glowed as he attached it to the back of his paw, and took a deep breath.

"Give her hell... again," Syeena wished him luck. With a shrug from the lion, he stood and left the safety of the stone stalagmite.

As he bravely stepped out into the opening, he slowly strode his way towards the sparking demoness. At that moment, The Hanged Man talisman had shorted out, and burned to ashes by her over burst of power. "Enough of this , bitch. Time we finish this here and now!" With that, he rose his paw high into the air. The gem attached to it began to glow with light.

As Zerrex cursed under his breath and punched a fist into the ground, feeling his energies slowly being siphoned from his body, the Princess smiled coldly, her eyes glowing in her hideous features as she looked towards the lion, saying softly: "What's wrong? I'm getting what I want... and you get what you want..." Her eyes glowed brightly, digging into Behemel's mind, the world around them vanishing into fantasy and allure as psychic fingers stroked sensuously through his mind as the demoness loomed over the terrible, anvil-shaped altar, the black roses on it burning vibrantly as she tilted her head towards him with a smile upon her lipless maw. "He lied to you. And he will continue to lie to you. And he will betray you. But you can finally have a home... finally know safety. All you have to do is let me kill the lizard you foolishly trusted... the male who will take your life if you continue to trust him." She extended her hand towards him, whispering softly: "All you have to do... is let me take back what is mine... and nothing more."

Despite her words, Behemel still focused. His body began to course with divine power, his mind chanting the words to call upon the favor of the god he pledged loyalty to. "Typical. You demons never understand... " As the power built inside him, becoming stronger and stronger, the psychic hold she had on him began to taper off. With his focus, the gem glowed brighter and brighter. "No matter his crimes, I have faith in the good in others! What good lies in your heartless chest?!"

His righteous fury rose with the divine power, feeling it like a fire that warmed his body. Flames of the molten lord, god of the forge and earth, I beseech you, deliver your herald from the great beyond, he thought, the gem now becoming hot with heat.

His eyes snapped open as he glared at the princess before him. "Avatar of Vulcan! Valfreit!" He trusted the gem forth before him, all the pent up energy and magic released through his arm and out through the gem. The Soul Prism released a brilliant , blazing light, blinding the area with a powerful flash.

The blaze of light diminished to reveal a massive ball of fire levitating in the field between Behemel and the Princess of Envy. Deep within the flames, a massive figure was inside, curled within like a fetus. Through the flames, chains bound its arms and claws. Slowly it moved, the flames churned around the beast, straining to become free. With a massive roar, the beast broke its chains, causing the flames to explode, sending a shockwave outward, smashing into the Princess. Fire scattered across the ruined fields as a massive beast landed upon the ground. The creature looked like a wolf with horns upon its head. It had a powerful muscular body, its arms and legs sporting powerful claws. A blazing red-orange mane hung from his head,, tied into braids with talismans hanging from it. Upon its back, beautiful red flames glowed upon its back, It's red eyes locked upon the Princess and released a mighty roar, slamming a fist into the ground, cracking under its strength

Behemel snapped back to reality as he witnessed the beast before him. "... It worked... its an Avatar... a being embodying the power of a god," he breathed, feeling his own power linked to that of the beast, Valfreit

The Princess snarled in disgust at this, her poison-green eyes blazing as she hissed: "So, you truly don't know when to stop, do you? Pathetic! And you think that such creatures will save you now?" She held a hand up, the earth cracking around the demoness as psychic rage tore through the air around her body. "I am a Goddess! I bow to none! I will destroy you and all who stand against me, cur!"

The creature of fire, roared out at her challenge. Instantly seeing his foe, he threw a clawed fist outward. A ball of fire appeared out of nowhere, its blazing heat like a compressed inferno. The beast punched the ball forward and it shot out like a cannonball. The blast tore into the Princess, exploding upon contact with a agonizing blaze.

"Now that is something you don't see everyday..." Syeena breathed as she witnessed the creature now in their midst.

At that moment, Behemel fell upon his knee. His body felt heavy and drained. "Damn...." he growled, " summoning an Avatar takes more out of me than I thought." He was bound, unable to move from his spot as all his energy was directed to the Avatar of Vulcanos.

Wasting no time, the fire wolf beast sprinted on all fours towards the Princess, and lunged. He pounced on her through blue and red fires, slamming her off the pedestal, and breaking her psychic concentration.

The Princess snarled as she was slammed backwards, glaring and sending a telekinetic blast into the beast's body, cursing under her breath even as she skidded backwards and dark smoke wreathed upwards off her frame, hissing in frustration and pain. "Get off me! Pathetic toy to an even more pathetic, broken puppet!" She slammed her hand back into the ground, spikes of rock erupting upwards on all sides of her towards the divine avatar as her eyes glowed with psychotic rage. "None shall stand in my way, not when I am so close!"

The avatar of fire leapt high into the air, avoiding the spikes. As it was in midair, two huge balls of fire formed in its paws. The fireballs engulfed his claws as he plummeted towards the princess, diving towards her with blazing fists .

The Princess shrieked in fury, raising a hand and creating a wall of telekinetic force between herself and the terrifying beast, trying to deflect its strike... and as attack crashed into shield, the shockwave that released from the contesting powers sent out a wave of force and flames that washed over the unnatural remains of the altar, sending the black roses that still rested on it flying from its surface as the blue flames whiffed out of existence and they broke apart into rose petals. Immediately, in the distance, the Drakkaren shook his head quickly as he the flames blinked out around him, and he grimaced as he stood up, glancing over his shoulder with a wince at the blast of force that went up in a cloud of dust and fire and dark smoke.

"Zerrex!" Syeena cried out in relief, "Thank the gods... Are you hurt?" She reached out a card, prepared to use healing magic if needed. She held on to him, keeping him from going far as of yet.

"What?" the Drakkaren glanced over at her, then he patted his chest with a grunt, saying mildly: "Oh, no, this isn't nearly as bad as I'm used to..." He grimaced a bit, glancing down at his metallic arm as the runes and bindings over it began to flicker in and out of existence, saying quietly: "Besides, we should finish this while we have the chance. Even if it's just a Simulacrum, we can't let her escape or give her a chance to retaliate."

"I agree," Syeeena nodded, "but you never will get close enough without her noticing. Even with Behemel's beast occupying her. And not knowing for how long. Right now we need to fight smart!" Her grip was firm hoping he will hear her out.

The lizard grimaced a bit at the sounds in the distance, and then he looked over at her, grunting a bit as he picked Blackheart up in his left hand and rested it on his shoulder, asking quietly: "What did you have in mind then, Syeena? But we have to move fast."

Syeena only smirked as she held up one of her Tarot Cards, clear for Zerrex to see . "She wants you, so let's give her what she wants?" she said with a tone of mischief.

The fight between the beings of hell and heaven clashed on, the two locked into a brawl as the Princess's wicked swords attempted to slash at the beast, only to meet the creature's sharp claws that easily deflected her attack. It roared out in ferocity as flames engulfed his body as he tackled her, sending the flames roaring over her form.

All the while, Behemel knelt in the same spot, his energies all in maintaining the connection between him and his conjured creature. He could barely stand, the toll draining him.

The Princess snarled as she lashed her hand outwards, gesturing violently towards the ground, and the earth cracked and screamed as rips tore through the surface of the field, blasting steam upwards before dark, terrible black stuff vomited out of the wounds in the earth a moment later, half-liquid and half-smoke, rotting whatever it touched. She laughed cruelly, her green eyes blazing with fury before she snarled, suddenly distracted as Zerrex's voice shouted clearly: "Hey, over here!"

Her gaze immediately turned sharply towards Zerrex, snarling in fury as she locked onto him as the Drakkaren ran towards her... and then she lashed savagely outwards with both her mind and her hand at the same time, aiming to rip through the lizard's face as she ran to greet him as smog and steam vented up around her, reeking of death and sulfur, and her eyes widened in shock as her hand uselessly passed through the Drakkaren's skull before the image of the lizard shattered into motes.

Zerrex's image shattered into specks of light, confusing the Demoness. "Wha-- " She stammered , seeing only a card of a Dragon, surrounded by two obelisks with a full moon above it. "No!" she screamed, "Where are you!!? "

The Drakkaren answered by leaping up with a snarl, slamming both feet hard into the Princess's face and knocking her staggering with a howl as her eyes went wide, glowing with emerald rage before the lizard landed in a neat kneel, half-spinning around and chopping one of her legs out from beneath her, the female's arm flailing wildly before she collapsed forwards as the lizard reversed his sword and stabbed it hard backwards and upwards without looking, snarling as the blade glowed brilliant white as it tore the demoness's chest, the female vomiting black blood as the reptile's eyes turned solid green even as her single hand reached up and clawed into his back, rasping: "No... I won't die yet..."

"I feel sorry for you, Thegragon..." Zerrex murmured softly in the Goddess's language, and the Princess snarled in fury at the use of her true name, before he added coldly as he turned around, shoving his sword to the hilt through her body before he yanked backwards, black blood gushing from the wound as smoke streamed up from her form: "And I don't think anyone here is going to show you any mercy at this point."

"Behemel, now! " Syeena's voice rang seeing the Princess in the throes of destruction.

Realizing the moment had, come, Behemel mustered what strength he had and raised his arm to his chest. The gem upon his paw glowed with renew light as he focused on the final attack, his thoughts in connection to Valfreit's mind.

"End this!" Behemel roared, a rune of power forming in the Soul Prism. Power surged around Behemel, reflecting his fury. "Holocaust!!"

At Behemel's command, the fiery beast's eyes lit up red as the power from Behemel surged into the Avatar. The mighty beast then leapt high into the air, soaring into the sky with his great jump. As he then hung into the air, he let out a mighty roar that casted across the winds. Claws extended, it conjured a ball of fiery energy in between its paws. As it pulsed stronger, it brought it upward and its arms expanding wider. The sphere of fire grew larger and larger, swelling into tremendous size in the air above him

Zerrex grimaced a bit as he glanced over his shoulder at the entity, watching as it began to charge its attack as the Princess snarled at him, and then the lizard rose a hand to her and flicked a wave before he leapt quickly away, even as the female clawed uselessly after him with a frenzied shriek, her eyes burning with emerald rage as she half-staggered uselessly after the Drakkaren even as black smoke continued to course up from her body. "No!"

High above, the sphere of blazing energy became as like a small sun. The massive nova burning with fiery plasma, flames and light swirling inside the thin field that kept the sphere contained in the beast's claws. As it now dwarfed its master by ten times its size, it let loose a mighty howl and with a twist of its body, threw his arms forth, and the massive sphere along with it.

The sphere came falling down like a descending meteor, its sheer power pushing apart clouds and the air turned hot. It roared its tremendous power, closing into the ground with the demoness as its target.

The Princess snarled, her eyes blazing as she staggered weakly after the Drakkaren, and then her eyes looked up too little, too late, at the terrible ball of fiery destruction, screaming in horror as she rose her arm as if in denial, howling one last wordless defiance before it smashed into her, helpless to do anything against the attack, any and all of her abilities coming too little, too late, as black lightning shocked up from the Simulacrum's body as the sheer force of power made it fluctuate violently in and out of existence.

Zerrex winced as he covered his eyes at the enormous fiery attack, staggering backwards a bit from the sheer force of heat and grimacing to himself as the Princess was struck: but it was far beyond the power that such a shade of the demoness would have been able to survive.

The final screams of the demoness was eclipsed as the sphere made contact with the ground, easily crushing her. At that very moment, the massive sphere exploded. The contained nova erupted outward, a fiery explosion tore across both the earth and air, consuming everything like an atomic eruption. The sky darkened in the presence of the blazing lightshow, its shockwave forcing all things to be affected by its sheer power. Syeena, Zerrex and Behemel grimaced at the mighty flare, feeling as if the sun had erupted before them.

As the fiery light soon vanished, the sky returned to normal as they all behold the massive crater that now took up the field and the road. The crater bore into the earth deep, the ground still red hot from its impact.

Embers flickered through the air and smoke rose slowly from the crater... and Zerrex walked forwards, heedless of the heat still burning under his feet, as he strode onto the rocky ground. His eyes locked on a black shape standing silently in the center of the crater, most of it disassociated, charring slowly away into nothingness... and half the Princess's face grinned at him, insane and blackened, before she rasped: "You know that this will never end... even now that I am gone... the damage is done..." Her baleful green eye flickered, then faded from existence as she threw her head back and laughed even as the last of the Simulacrum crumbled away to nothingness and floated silently to join the embers in the air, and the Princess's voice whispered softly, seeming to come more from within than without: "We will never let you know peace... all those that you have failed... all those that you have betrayed... all these fragments of your broken spirit..."

"You're gone." Zerrex said forcefully... and there was silence except for the quiet crackle of flame as the Drakkaren lowered his head forwards, breathing hard as he slid his sword slowly on his back, then looked down at his metallic arm, the runes fading slowly from it before he grimaced and rolled his shoulder, the metal and rock shrinking slightly as scale slid smoothly back into place over it. "Stay dead this time, Thegragon. I've dealt with you enough for more than one lifetime."

As the crater still smoked of molten debris, Syeena observed the destruction speechless. At that moment, she turned to view Behemel, out of breath and kneeling against the ground. "Behemel..." she breathed as she ran towards him. She knelt before him, both impressed and concern for the lion. "You okay? That was... unbelievable..."

"Yes..."Behemel admitted, his body feeling numb and exhausted. "It took more out of me than I expected... but it did the trick..." he breathed, surprised himself from the destruction he helped create.

At that moment, from the sky, the beast Valfreit returned from his freefall. It landed with a grunt, observing the damage briefly and then turned to Behemel. It knuckled its way over to them both, causing even Syeena to clutch to Behemel in mild fear. The wolf-deity sniffed Behemel, the lion unmoving and unafraid . Apparently it was Valfreit's way of showing concern and compliance to Behemel.

"My thanks, noble beast of fire," Behemel answered the deity , "I am in your master's debt,"

As the creature gave a growl of triumph, the gem of Behemel's Soul Prism slowly died out, its job done. With it, the body of Valfreit became a mixture of color, its body dissolving into light. In a shower of flickering lights, Valfreit vanished to whence he came.

Zerrex shook his head slowly as he stood for a few more moments in the crater, and then he glanced up towards the sky. The sky, beautiful, wide, open... and he closed his eyes with a sigh as he rubbed his hands together, grimacing a little over his shoulder before turning and crossing his arms as he walked slowly out of the smoke to the edge of the field, kicking a bit at the lip of the deep wound in the earth before he knelt and picked a black rose from the ground, gazing at it silently for a few moments... and then he tossed it up into the sky, and it dissolved into black mist, the other roses that still dotted the charred fields following suit before the reptile smiled a little, murmuring: "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

***

The night had come fast and they soon reached their destination. Having arrived late, tattered and exhausted, they had come to reach a late night tavern and Inn, finding relative comfort to recover from that afternoon's attack. Syeena sat between them, as Behemel rested, his head held back as he rested, his muscles aching and his feet killing him.

"Another day for the wandering Behemel, huh?" Syeena tried to joke but even her enthusiasm was less considering their encounter.

Zerrex grunted a bit as he leaned back in his seat, swirling his coffee slowly and sipping at it absently before he glanced awkwardly to the side, but he knew by now that slipping away wasn't the best idea. So instead he only sighed a bit and then ventured: "So. You got that... thingy working, I'm guessing, from the large burning beast-thing?"

Behemel growled a bit, more out of exhaustion than aggravation for Zerrex's word choice. "It's a summoner's gem, and that burning beast-thing, is a servant to a god of fire..." he explained. As a waitress delivered a cold glass of ice water, Behemel immediately took it and held it up against his forehead to ease his headache.

The lizard nodded a little after a moment, and then he sipped lightly at his coffee before leaning back in his seat, clearing his throat in the awkward silence as he felt tension building in the air. Then he finally sighed a bit, putting his hands on the table and saying finally: "Go ahead. Ask your question. Let's get this over with."

Behemel willed himself to sit up , placing his paws on his knees to keep up. "Okay Zerrex, granted I don't judge a male, be human or like us, for his past. However it seems today's yours came to bite you in the ass. Along with the rest of us. For starters, is what she said true? Did you use to be a demon, or are you one? And how did a Seven Sin know you? It was obvious it appears you two used to be ... intimate"

"Well, you could have run away." Zerrex replied mildly, and then he winced and shrank back a bit, holding his hands up. "Uh. What I meant to say was... well. Okay. We'll start with the big questions."

He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and then he nodded a little, saying quietly: "Yeah. I was a demon. I died fighting them, and I spent so long looking into that abyss, I joined their ranks myself. I worked for the Princess, until I realized what she was doing, and then I killed her. I killed her with my old friend here..." He smiled a bit, reaching over to quietly pat his sword. "And since it wasn't a demon-killing blade, she would have revived herself had I not... flayed her soul apart, too." He glanced to the side at this, then cleared his throat. "Anyway, yeah. I was a demon once. I'm not anymore, you would have sensed that, but... I was once. I was a lot of things once." He looked down, quietly playing his fingers over the tabletop before he sighed and created a sphere of energy, hands deftly working against it and reforming it into a small figure of himself, and then he gently set it down and smiled a little as he made this walk back and forth across the table in front of him. "But most of all, I'm just what you see."

"That I can accept," Behemel said simply, his gaze on Zerrex unmoving. "Believe me I'm not unfamiliar with a dark past, but if you destroyed her body and soul, how is she around?"

"Oh, that wasn't really her, that was just a puppet." Zerrex waved a hand dismissively, then he poked the little figure of himself on his table, which retaliated by throwing a tiny sphere of energy at the Drakkaren's face, making him flinch a bit. "A lot like that. Concentrated energy, with the memories and emotions and the structure of another person poured into the mold... and they 'become' a shadow, an imitation, of the person. A puppet that can pull its own strings... that is guided by the memories of the person it's a mock-up of. Until, you know, you do this." With that, the Drakkaren slammed his hand down, crushing the little figure of energy and sending out several sapphire sparks. "It would have to be someone powerful who made it, and someone who had access to a few of the Princess's old things, but... I've encountered them before."

"Alright, so she is officially dead... the thought of going up against a Seven Sin is frightful enough," Behemel commented, rubbing his temples at the thought. "So who do you think made this creature?"

The Drakkaren grunted, sipping absently at his coffee. "Oh, there's a few people I can think of with that amount of knowledge and power... or a group of mages who know what they're doing, and a bevy of others. Angels, demons, gods, mortals, basically everyone would really like to see me splattered all over the pavement." He grinned cheerfully at this, even as his emerald eyes remained dark. "I have a bad habit of making enemies instead of friends wherever I go. Although some of my friends are scarier than my enemies."

"Oh that's terrific..." Behemel grumbled, slumping back into his chair with a sigh.

Syeena took the opportunity to jump in. "But the point is, we are all alive and safe for the time being" she encouraged, patting them both on the shoulders, "We should recover for a bit. You two deserve it."

"Well, I don't know about that, but I'll take it." Zerrex said mildly, raising his mug of coffee before he sipped slowly at it, and then he smiled a bit, putting this down and curling his fingers around the mug. "Anyway. I... thank you two for helping out. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get some air." The Drakkaren carefully slid out of his seat, nodding to them and then heading quietly towards the door of the inn, leaving Blackheart glimmering silently behind at the table as he carried the mug of coffee with him. He exited the building... and then glanced up towards the deep velvet of the night sky, asking softly as his eyes locked on the moon above: "What do you think, huh? Do I stay or do I go?"

Behemel watched him leave, noticing he left his sword behind. Very unlike Zerrex considering how close he was. "Syeena, I'm going to follow him." With that, Behemel followed, feeling unease at what was happening, leaving Syeena questionably ajar as she too followed suit behind him.

The Drakkaren paced quietly across the dusty street, following the path a little away from civilization as he felt a shiver through the air, a faint coldness compelling him onwards... and then he smiled a little as he sipped at his coffee, unsurprised to find that his feet had led him to Sabnock, who was quietly standing under the shade of a tree. The Devil glanced over him slowly, and then she said softly: "It's good to see you still in one piece, Lord Zerrex. I wished to discuss a few matters of importance that should be of some interest to you, considering what you ran into today... and I brought you a small care package."

She held up a small, cloth-covered bundle, and Zerrex smiled as he took this, gazing down at it and feeling it in his hands, looking at it quietly before he glanced at her awkwardly: "Thanks, Sabnock. I know that-"

"It's nothing. I have a responsibility towards you." Sabnock said softly, and her eyes glanced over him slowly, asking gently: "Will you reconsider coming with me?"

As Behemel followed Zerrex from the shadows, he came to hide behind a nearby building, Syeena followed nearby, concerned at what was going on. As Zerrex stopped before the shade of the tree, Behemel peeked behind the stone building spotting him with a hidden figure. He listened, his body still to hear every word.

"I dunno, Sabnock. Things here are... awkward." Zerrex glanced down, muttering under his breath: "I mean, come on. They just found out I was... hey, why the hell did you include this?"

The reptile held up a worn book almost accusingly, and Sabnock only looked back impassively. "Because you need a reminder sometimes that other people value your perspectives. Besides, no one will connect it to you if that's what you're worried about."

Zerrex grumbled under his breath, but then he nodded after a moment, shuffling through the bundle: wrapped delicacies from Hell, a few little knickknacks... and a set of prayer beads, the Drakkaren holding up the black stone mala with a warm smile as it radiated with his energies for a moment, the 108 beads glowing quietly. "Thank you, Sabnock. Again." He paused, then his eyes flicked over his shoulder and he added mildly: "You know, if anyone's spying on us... you can just come out, she doesn't bite."

Behemel felt stupid at that moment, hiding. Reluctantly, he stepped out from his cover and slowly approached. As he did , he could see and sense Zerrex's companion better. His mind suddenly went into shock as he could feel the miasma radiating off his friend. "You!!" Behemel growled!

Fury took his mind as Chronos appeared in his fist. Without warning, Behemel sprinted across the road towards the demon, his blade poised in alarm.

"Damn Demon!"

Zerrex winced a little as Sabnock looked unimpressed, the reptile raising his arms before, with a simple glance downwards, a massive wall of ice ripped out of the ground between them and the lion, the Devil putting her hands behind her back as she said calmly and quietly: "Please restrain yourself. I am here to speak with Lord Zerrex, not to engage in barbarianism. If you keep yourself under control you may join us and listen. Otherwise, I will be forced to take more extreme measures."

"She's an original, I'd listen to her if I were you. She's kind of really old!" Zerrex called awkwardly, and then he cleared his throat, glancing at the wolverine as she glanced at him mildly. "No offense and all."

Behemel stopped behind the ice wall, his voice containing his rage. "Zerrex!" he roared, "You work with the demons still?!"

"I am a devil, not a demon, the difference is small but crucial." Sabnock said mildly, as she reached into the pocket of her suit jacket and checked her silver watch. "I must speak with Zerrex concerning a matter of importance to him. To his family. To his friends... and perhaps to you as well, considering the encounter you had upon the road. I will ask you one last time to calm down."

With a growl of detest, Behemel composed himself and stood up fully. With a mental command, he made Chronos disappeared and kept his mouth shut. Admittedly he let his anger get the better of him at the encounter, but he chose to still his hand regardless of his feelings to the high level devil. "I'll listen. Please remove your wall then,"

Sabnock nodded after a moment, and she flicked her wrist, the wall of ice vanishing as Zerrex rubbed his head awkwardly as the wolverine looked impassively over the lion, saying quietly: "I am glad you have decided to listen to reason, in that case. Please control your outbursts." She paused, then returned her eyes to Zerrex, adding quietly: "And you did not answer my question, about whether or not you were going to return with me."

Zerrex grimaced a bit at this, rubbing at the back of his head and glancing awkwardly down towards the ground, before he looked over at the lion, and then past at Syeena, before he said quietly: "Sorry about the. You know. I... well. We all have responsibilities."

"You're leaving?" Behemel questioned, "Back to the underworld with her?"

"Maybe. I... Sabnock, I need a day to figure this out. You can give me a day, right?" Zerrex looked at the wolverine imploringly, and the Devil frowned up at him... but then she shook her head slowly as the Drakkaren began to slowly play with his prayer beads, making him grimace. "I guess... I'll have to leave for a little while, then. Hopefully not too long... I... hey, where's my sword?"

"You left it at the tavern," Behemel stated plainly, almost feeling he changed the subject on purpose.

"I should. Go and get it then." Zerrex backed up a few paces, clearing his throat, and then he turned and hurried away back towards the tavern as Sabnock shook her head distastefully with a sigh, checking her watch and then glancing measuringly over the lion that stood before her, calmly taking him in.

"What is your business with Zerrex, since you said this does concern us," Behemel asked, sounding as calm and professional as he could.

Sabnock looked measuringly over him, clicking the watch closed and saying quietly: "If Zerrex hasn't told you, then it's not my place to tell..." She paused meditatively, sizing him slowly up. "What I can inform you is that you should be on the lookout for aberrations and anomalies. Forms and figures like that of the Simulacrum you encountered earlier... but do not concern yourself with my business with Zerrex. That is of personal and private importance... and he is my friend, with all the weight that word entails. Do not look at me as if I was the one who caused your pain: I am only the person you see before you, and played no part in what happened to you."

"And how do you know of what befell me?" Behemel growled, wounded by her sharp tongue as Zerrex soon returned, his sword in hand.

"Your eyes tell the story." With that, Sabnock flicked her arm out to the side, a vortex ripping open in existence as the Drakkaren slowly approached, head bowed as he slid Blackheart across his back, looking awkwardly at the ground as his mala quietly jingled across his chest, the reptile quickly gathering up the care package. The poetry book fell from it, the lizard missing this as it tumbled into the tall grasses, his name written across the cover but the book ancient as the reptile sighed a bit, and Sabnock said quietly: "Come. To the Ravenlight Estate."

Zerrex nodded, and then he tossed an awkward smile over his shoulder at Behemel and Syeena, half-raising a hand... and then he simply shook his head and trudged after the Devil, into the spiraling black-and-whiteness of the vortex.

"Zerrex!" Behemel called out, reaching out but the vortex soon dissipated leaving Syeena and Behemel alone in the dark of cold night.

To be continued...