A Dishonored Demigod

Hueco Mundo

Bold- Power/Voice change
Italics- Thoughts
Bold+Italics- Sword Technique

Thráfsma pops out of his shadow in the middle of a barren space and looks up to see a crescent moon in the night sky,"No stars? Pity. I liked looking at those lights."
He extends his wings and takes to the air after a few moments of hesitation,"Something about this place feels....right, like I've been here before. I wonder if Gaea would have anything to do with that?"
His tail acts as a rudder as he lazily circles the desert for a few minutes before diving down to pluck a gillian off the land and bites their mask off without hesitation. He chews a few times before swallowing,"Why do those things taste so good?"
Nothing answers him so he continues flying until spotting a mountain formation,"That looks like a good place to camp out for the night."
He descends in a spiral and kicks up loose sand as his wings flap to slow his body down before he lands on the rocky surface. A nearby opening in the rocks tells him where he'll be sleeping and he drags his body through the opening. The inside winds downwards so he follows it until he reaches the bottom that opens up into a cavern. A half eaten adjucas sits in the middle of the place but Thráfsma ignores it in favor of digging a section of the wall out with his claws and crawling into it. He casts a quick illusion to make the wall appear untouched, along with a silencing spell in case he snores, before letting sleep overtake him. As he sleeps images of different masks flash through his mind before settling on one who's visage is like a roaring tiger. Screams and moans echo from the back of his mind before his eyes shoot open and he sits up, forgetting where he is. He rubs his head,"Oh f***."
The stone above him has his face imprinted in it and stone dust rains down on him. He can hear voices outside from where he is and casts a simple concealment spell before rolling out of his sleeping space. He creeps behind a stalag might formation and catches a part of the conversation,"- course we have to go after those bastards who took Mila!"
"Calm down Appaci and think. We can't possibly go up against all the hollows that Barragan-teme has. Lady Hallibel might be able to take out most of them, but that'd still leave Barragan himself."
Thráfsma peeks over his hiding spot and notices the only people in the cave are females. His eyes lock onto the one who's presence is the greatest and notices her bone covered body resembles a skeletal shark. She looks around before her eyes land on Thráfsma's hiding spot,"Come out."
The woman who looks like a snake speaks,"Who are you talking to, Lady Hallibel?"
Thráfsma keeps quiet for a few more seconds before walking out from behind the stalagmites and cancelling the concealment charm,"What gave it away?"
The other two females whip their heads around and Thráfsma grins evilly,"I want no trouble with you, not that it'd be hard to kill you two."
The deer like hollow's eyes narrow and bares her teeth,"Why you-!"
The shark hollow puts an arm out in front of her,"Wait Apacci. From what I can feel, his spiritual power is equal to if not greater than mine."
Thráfsma chuckles,"Listen to her young one. You're fortunate I've had my fill of menos or I might be tempted to eat you." and he faces the shark hollow,"Hallibel was it? I'm sorry for listening in but this place looked abandoned when I walked in a few hours ago to sleep. If you need help to rescue a friend or subordinate allow me to lend my strength as payment for intruding."
Her eyes narrow,"Why are you being so helpful?"
Thráfsma scratches the back of his head in embarrassment,"To be truthful, my girlfriend would kill me if she found out I left a woman in trouble if I could do something. That and I want to meet this Barragan was it? I need a decent fight after that nice little warm-up I had with an adjucas earlier."
Hallibel seems to consider the offer for a minute before sighing,"As much as I don't trust you, we need the extra power to have a chance against Barragan. However if you betray us I won't hesitate to wipe you out."
Thráfsma barks out a laugh,"Hah! I'd love to actually see you try! It might be a fun game of tag for me!"
Nothing more is said as the group ascends the tunnel and takes off across the desert with Thráfsma flying through the air,"So what is this Barragan like? What can I expect?"
He dips down next to Hallibel so he can he doesn't miss anything,"Barragan is essentially at the top of the food chain here in Hueco Mundo as a Vasto Lorde. I'm at the same stage in my development but he's still leaps and bounds ahead of me in terms of power and experience. If you aren't listening to anything else I'm saying remember what I'm about to say. Never. Never for any reason come into contact with him. He's rumored to possess a power that ages what he touches or cuts with his weapon."
Thráfsma nods with his face set in a serious look,"Got it. Avoid the strongest one there any means necessary."
"Oh, and wear a covering if you have one. It wouldn't do to involve you more than necessary in matters between us."
Thráfsma nods and places a hand over his face and pulls down like he's ripping his skin off. When he pulls his hand away his iron mask is in place in all its menacing glory,"Like this?"
His voice reflects his more primal side coming out in preparation for a fight. He grins when he sees he unnerved Hallibel a little but holds his tongue for the rest of the flight. After countless dunes they stop,"We're here."
Thráfsma drops down and crawls up the dune to see what appears to be the ruins of a building,"...that's it? That's what he calls a castle? I can see flaws all over it!"
The deer hollow snickers,"He thinks that because of his army nobody would be stupid enough to attack."
I glance at her,"And we're stupid enough?"
The snake hollow snickers and the deer hollow hisses,"Shut it!"
His shoulders shake in silent laughter before settling down with a smile under his mask,"Sorry. Just trying to make light of this."
He closes his eyes and the serpent hollow notices the red in the eyeholes dim before being replaced with black light,"What are you doing?"
Thráfsma's eyes scan the entire foundation of the building as he answers,"I'm using an ability of mine called Dark Vision. It essentially allows me to identify friend from foe, or target from obstacle."
Hallibel gives him a quick glance before looking back to the ruined castle,"What do you see?"
Thráfsma lets out a bestial growl before he answers,"See those pillars all along the foundation?"
Hallibel nods so Thráfsma continues,"Each one has a hollow chained to them. Most aren't in good shape and their masks are cracked. I can see the glow around them that represents their life is very weak."
Hallibel's eyes narrow in cold anger,"Do you see anyone wearing a lion mask?"
Thráfsma strains his eyes to take a closer look before closing them,"Sorry, but I can't see anyone like that. She could be there and might be too close to death for her light to be noticeable."
Hallibel's free hand tears into the sand dune but she keeps her composure,"Appaci, Sung-Sun, follow close behind me. Thráfsma, cover us and stick to the shadows but be ready to fight."
He nods and soundlessly slides down the dune and into the shadow of a pillar while Hallibel and her two followers take the direct approach. They walk straight into the destroyed entrance and are instantly confronted by a huge humanoid hollow,"State your names and your purpose for trespassing in Las Noches!"
Thráfsma can't see anything else but hears a deep echoing voice,"Let them pass Gagamel. What brings you to my castle Hallibel?"
As he speaks Thráfsma does a quick Blink behind a pillar next to him and activates Dark Vision to properly see. His eyes widen when he sees the talking skeleton and the massive double sided axe next to him before quickly snapping himself out of that state and sets to work on the chains binding the female hollow to the pillar. He soundlessly snaps his fingers and a white hot flame flickers to life above his pointer finger before he applies it directly to the chain. He finishes just as Hallibel makes her reply to the skeleton,"Your people took one of my followers. I want her returned to me."
Thráfsma binds the broken chains together with a simple spell before he Blinks to the next pillar repeating the process while also pulling the iron links apart. He's listening as he starts on the third pillar,"And what makes you think you're in any position to demand of me? Look around you. If you so much as move my men will slaughter your two remaining followers while I will deal with you. You know as well as anybody you aren't a match for my power, brat."
Thráfsma cuts and binds the chains on the third pillar and quickly Blinks behind the fourth and gets to work as a badger-like hollow moves past Hallibel and bows in front of his master,"Everything is ready for the sacrifice, Barragan-sama."
Thráfsma's insides turn cold at that sentence and he pours more magic into his fire to make it transition into a dicyanoacetylene flame that burns blue-white and turns the chains to slag in seconds. He quickly binds it and doesn't risk a Blink across the courtyard but instead melts into the pillar's shadow and emerges behind the pillar directly across from where he was, and almost close enough that he could reach out and touch Barragan. He sets to work on the chains as Barragan's skeletal mouth contorts into a gruesome smile,"Then get on with it."
The badger nods and draws a knife imbedded into the stone foundation before moving towards one of the hollows bound to a pillar before the massive bone blade attached to Hallibel's right hand stops him,"What is this "sacrifice" you mentioned?"
Her eyes are cold and deadly as the air hums with her power while she stares across Las Noches at Barragan. He merely chuckles as he expels his own power to cancel hers out,"I guess it would kill some time to explain this to you. Seeing as my power is the absolute, I came to the conclusion I must've been reborn as a god when I became a hollow. And what god is without sacrifices?"
By now Thráfsma is on the third pillar and melts the chains before binding them to release on his command. He quickly Blinks to the last one and notices this one is a male hollow whose mask covers his mouth before setting to work. His flame is dying down in intensity since he can feel Perseus awakening in the back of his mind and regaining control. He literally rips the chains apart just as he gives up control and is forced to watch from the sidelines once again.
****
I yawn from inside my mask and blink my eyes to clear the blurriness,"Oy, Perseus. Don't say anything, just listen while I fill you in on what's going down here."
Thráfsma fills me in on what happened ever since I gave him control yesterday and by the end I'm barely resisting trying to throttle the skeleton who is arrogant enough to call himself a god. I quickly bind the chains of the last pillar and step out into Hallibel's line of sight. She sees me and I nod my head before she faces Barragan,"I'm afraid I can't allow this blatant show of murder to occur," and cuts the raccoon hollow down without remorse,"without at least trying to stop you."
Barragan stands up in his rage and yanks his axe out of the ground beside him,"How dare you go against me! Crush these ants!"
He goes directly for Hallibel and metal clashes on bone to produce a horrific screaming sound that makes me wince because of my monster senses. Her two followers defend themselves from attacks while retaliating in the form of red orbs that glow from the tip of the deer's horn and the inside of the serpent's mouth. The force behind the energy blast is enough to wipe out a few of the weaker hollows while I look to the sky. Multiple bird hollows circle the place like vultures and eye Hallibel while charging up more of those red orbs in their talons,"Oh no you don't!"
I Blink next to one and my wings are out as I appear next to them. On instinct the tail leftover from Thráfsma's takeover swipes across the bird's body and cuts it in half to send it falling down and crushing more enemy hollows. I fly with every bit of speed I can muster and scream past the remaining bird hollows with no problem. They seem confused even as they're either cut in half or sliced into five strips of flesh while my tail and claws drip crimson. On instinct I lick my fingers clean and find hollow blood is very similar to a red wine I'd had within the past year,"Not bad. Better pay attention though."
My senses go nuts and I barely dodge a blast of red energy that still burns the left side of my chest,"Damn it!"
A dragon hollow roars across from me,"You will pay for destroying my kin!"
I take a good look and find it resembles a dragon found in fantasy stories before smiling,"You'll be fun to play with."
Before it can say anything I cover the distance between us and slash it across the face with both my hands to leave ten bloody lines. The dragon hisses before lashing out with its tail and slams it against my body and sends me flying into the sand. It hisses in victory while I stay lying down before getting up,"Why do you bother getting up? I'm second only to Barrgan-sama in power!"
I moan as I roll my shoulders,"Then I hope he's a hell of a lot stronger than you."
The dragon's eyes narrow,"Why you insolent-!" and its left wing is blown off, followed shortly by its right wing and its head.
I lower the smoking gun and drop it back into my shadow,"Well that was a waste of time."
I sigh and quickly fly back to Hallibel to see her glaring at Barragan with murder in her eyes. The reason? A small lion adjucas with Barragan's axe to her neck,"You've caused enough trouble for me Hallibel! Now bow down and accept the consequences for daring to go against me, or this ant dies."
Hallibel instantly stabs her sword into the stone and Barragan grins before blurring and smashing her into the stone floor before raising his axe above her,"Repent for your insolence, and die!"
He swings down and I jump shadows while pulling Excalibur from The Darkness. His axe crashes against the Sword of Promised Victory and bounces right off, causing him to stumble back. His grip on his axe tightens to show his anger while I casually twirl Excalibur in my hand like a deadly baton before stabbing it into the ground. I grin under my mask and address the skeleton."So you claim divinity? Pathetic tactic for someone who claims to be equal to my patron. Now then," and The Outsider's brand glows with ghostly fire to cover my right hand,"let's see how your power matches up to the ones my patron gave me."
In the next second Excalibur is yanked from the stone floor with ease and screams towards Barragan, eager to satisfy its need for victory.