FALTER

CHAPTER 57: You've been here from the beginning...

As Falter flew straight towards the monster, it smiled andlet the man approach. However, at the very last second, Falter flattened out his fist. He plunged his sharp claws straight through its body and out the other side.

Meanwhile, Ari had stepped back and taken a sniping position. It was awkward for her to aim with her own arm, but with her freshly-awakened focus, she took a deep breath and fired. The beam blazed through the air, but the monster twisted around with Falter still attached to avoid it. Somehow, it snapped its neck and turned to face Ari with a smile.

"You all think you can defeat me? I am Death, children. I am the one you worship, I am Azrael!"

Falter growled as he ripped his hand out. He prepared another attack but the monster grabbed onto his hand with an enlarged hand. It was disturbing to hear the crackling of bones and snapping of muscles as the creature mutated Ren's body beyond recognition, but it wasn't enough to stop Falter, who used his own head as a pivot to swing upwards, kicking right into the monster with the tip of his steel boots. This was followed by another shot from Ari.

The device on her waist sparked, and Ari's instincts immediately made her jump off her perch. Sure enough, black spikes erupted from where she had just been standing. She ran through the rubble, slapping her Drive, as the realization set in that even the smallest mistake in this fight would mean death.

Still, the rage was starting to cover her sensibilities. She rolled behind a rock for cover, before poking back out to survey the battle. The tall, lanky harbinger of death was facing down the young man with the power of witches.

A bead of sweat rolled down Ari's forehead, through her eyelashes and down her cheek but even her very skin stayed deathly still with bated breath. Her utmost concentration paid off; the being called Azrael simultaneously bubbled its arm into a scythe, and swung it at Falter faster than he could react. Ari knew her friend wouldn't have moved even if he had seen the move and so it was her quick shot that saved him a little bit of power.

As the blast pierced its body and shattered the crystal dress, 'Azrael' screamed. Its voice echoed terribly, causing Ari to wince, barely keeping her eyes open through the pain. Falter also buckled momentarily but he forcibly pushed his body back up. Still, he wasn't fast enough. In what seemed like an instant, the monster *reached across the room*, breaking through Ari's cover and snatching her. Simultaneously, it wrapped its gangly claws around Falter, stabbing its thumb into his exposed abs to latch onto his place. Both it and the young man screamed at this; a yellow glow from within his body was making the creature's finger sizzle and burn. It held on through the paim, looking at both of them through its sunken sockets with vile hatred.Ari's heart skipped a beat as she realized just how void of light its eytes were, and yet shje could feel its hate all throughout.

"You... all of you..." It gurgled as its body contorted, lumps of black bubbled and splattered on its black as two protrusions forced their way out of its spine. Ari flinched as drops of it fell on her face, but she couldn't look away from the transformation. "I... so many years, I've hated you..."

With one final scream, two skeletal, black, tangled wings burst out from its back. It heaved in pain, slamming both Falter and Ari into the floor. Her incomplete armour did not protect her from the impact and she gasped from the impact.