Infernal Academia

Chapter 65 - Trayer's Righteousness: Part 9 (The Damned Offence)

Cobalt's heart pounded in his mouth as the Devil stared him down, his twisted scythe of dark iron lying braced against his shoulder.  He could feel the fire in his stomach, and it was taking every ounce of willpower her had to keep it in check.  Trying his hardest to remain standing, the Incubus breathlessly summoned his Leather Whip and met Diate's gaze.  He just cocked his head and grinned.

He was waiting for him to make the first move.

Coiling the whip up in one hand, Cobalt glanced over at the captive demons chained up around the edges of the rooftop.  They gazed back at him with terrified eyes.  Karazelle in particualar.

He looked down at his hands.  Beneath the surface of the scarred skin, he could almost feel his blood running hot, heated by the furnace smouldering deep down.

His fingers tightened around the grip of his weapon.  

No.  No more hesitation.  No more second-guessing, no more walking on eggshells, no more grinning and bearing it.

No more fear.

So they knew.  His students finally knew that an Incubus was not just an accidental hiccup of Succubus genetics.  That they were monsters.  Slavering beasts with naught on their mind but the rush of the hunt and the prospect of a warm, beating meal.

They would be terrified of him now.  But even so, he would not leave them to the mercy of this monster...!

Steeling himself, Cobalt unfurled his whip and lashed it hard at the Devil.  He simply stepped out of the way, gave him a smirk, and swung his scythe in a lateral arc.  The blade sliced through the air with a terrifing keening sound, almost cutting right through the Incubus' neck had he not scrabbled out of the way in time.

"This is pathetic, Trayer; you're boring me!  Ditch the Lust-y facade and come at me already!" the Devil roared spinning on his heel.

Sparks flew from the scythe's blade as it was dragged across the ground, it's owner dashing full pelt towards his adversary.  The twisted weapon missed it's mark by a hair's length, however, when Cobalt quickly dashed to the right.  But the Devil didn't let this faze him, as he abruptly turned on his heel and slammed the blunt end of the weapon into the Incubus' face, knocking him flat.

"You're an Incubus, man!  Fucking act like one!" taunted the Devil, twirling the scythe around.

"Like what?!  A mindless animal?!" Cobalt snapped, struggling back to his feet.

He had seen them before, down in the Undercroft.  Just glimpses caught through the bars on cell doors as he was wheeled through those cold, dark corridors.  The Incubi he saw... shambling men dressed in bloodstained straitjackets, their hands wounded and ragged from clawing at their restraints.  He saw the scraps of skin stuck between their sharpened teeth from the hours they spent chewing their own arms, and he heard how they howled and screamed for blood.

Diate grinned.

"Precisely!"

A flash of anger inspired the fire in his gut.  Cobalt suddenly leaped to his feet and lashed out with his whip in an effort to surprise Diate.  But his opponent merely sidestepped his frail attack and retaliated with a glancing slash that tore a sizable hole in the Incubus' shirt.  He cried out and held a hand to the wound, feeling blood seep through his fingers as it stung.

"They were a sight to behold, in a terrible, horrifying way.  They stormed the streets of Dis; teeth shining in the light from their burning veins.  I saw contingents of fully-armoured Devils fall to them, torn into scraps of rent flesh and battered metal in seconds.  Their wives, husbands and children... well, there wasn't anything left of them once the Incubi tore through."