“Okay, so tell me how close is that freaking fiery three-headed monstrosity to becoming a wee bit like an elf?” Loki complained disappointedly as he stood with Nataku and Goku atop the highest watchtower in town.
“It’s that damning beast that attacked me!” Goku was frantically saying now, tugging the end of Nataku’s sleeve, “Isn’t he supposed to be NOT an elf?”
“He isn’t. Really.” Loki pouted, “He’s Cerberus, the monster from Hel.”
Nataku was looking intently at the warfare waging just below them, her eyes sweeping from one side to the other as if looking for something, looking for someone. The Dark Elves were far more plentiful than the humans were and if Odin had not convinced himself that Esmeralda had prayed to him, the Valkyries would gather most of the human souls. There were battle cries everywhere, some of anger, some of pain and somehow, the silence of death seemed to shout for vengeance. And as her eyes veered on the bloodshed, she set her sight on her target. That woman in black sitting in mid-air and hovering just above the battlefield…
Persephone!
Nataku grunted and swooped down swiftly towards the Queen of Hel. Her footsteps were light but undoubtedly swift. Loki and Goku shouted at her, their voices coming faint to her ears as they trailed after her. But Nataku had a soaring skill far superior and it seemed very hard for the two males to catch up. And indeed, they did not. They were blocked by a mob of Dark Elves. Loki had to do multiple enemy damage spells to even out the odds; Goku’s staff extending here and there efficiently was of much help especially when paired with his unusual strength. And now the battle goddess had set her eyes on her target and there was no way will she be letting go.
The rings of light came, hacking all the Dark Elves she happened to pass by or come in her way. Her feet continued on full-tilt until she came to a skidding stop and leapt atop one of Cerberus’ heads. The rings clasped together to form one. Nataku uttered an incantation and a bright light shot from the rings like a pillar towards Persephone. The goddess of Hel gasped in surprise but efficiently blocked in time yet even before she could clear out what happened, Nataku was above her, threatening to plunge an attack.
Persephone pointed towards Nataku and shadowy wisps came from her arms and assaulted the battle Aesir. Inscriptions from the light rings surrounded Nataku and shielded her but the shadow shreds delayed her movement somehow so she remained hovering pointlessly.
“Clumsy, clumsy!” Persephone laughed with wide-open mocking eyes; “Déjà vu!”
Nataku grunted and the inscriptions gleamed stronger, slowly overpowering Persephone’s shadows. The battle goddess closed her eyes, took out an ofuda and said an incantation as the small parchment scroll burned. Nataku’s eyes snapped open and her iris gleamed with an inscription swirling within.
There was no way she was going to be hit by Silent Melody at this point!
“Beithanial Snare!” Nataku shouted a tone of command and anger and instantly, behind Persephone was a grand circle of light bearing a five-pointed symbol that attached itself to the Queen of Hel’s limbs, severing her movement. The shadowy wisps ceased and seeped away. Wings with feathers of calm and grand white light spread out from Nataku’s back, the inscriptions still revolving around her.
“Let me persecute you.” Nataku said in an icy stare with her emblem-embedded eyes at Persephone.
“It will take more than your puny means to kill an Aesir like myself.”
A large shadow cast itself upon Nataku and a low, angry growl rumbled amidst the sound of the waging war. And with no moment spared, it lifted its large paw and poised to strike Nataku senseless. But she was not called the Battle Aesir to be hit by a giant paw and she sped off right out of danger.
There was an angry roar of retaliation from the beast of Hel and its three heads began to give off fire. Time was minimal for Nataku to evade so the only option left was to endure. The inscriptions glistened even stronger and the feathers of light wrapped around her as she set a strong guard stance. The fire soon came and ate her but somehow, she did not feel its heat at all.
“Nataku, are you all right?”
She looked up and found herself face to face with Loki who had enclosed them in a ball of shadow. Nataku blinked. He could only levitate for short moments. How could he have cast such a barrier spell at such short time? The small enclosure was only lit by Nataku’s wings but Loki’s ash gray eyes stood out for some reason. Nataku closed her eyes and clasped her hands together and the inscriptions around her began glowing and surrounded Loki.
Loki had now the temporary ability to fly for as long as Nataku’s glyphs could hold him. But all Loki could think about was Wow. She looks like an angel.
The shadow barrier disappeared and they landed atop one of the watchtowers, letting Nataku gain the sight of the battlefield. It was only then that she noticed the streaks of light across the sky.
“That was rude of you to leave me hanging on the glyphs just now.” Persephone said as she came floating towards them. The image of Cerberus working havoc was behind her as well as the landing ridges of light. By and by, Nataku felt the battle intensifying within her perhaps as instinct from the battle goddess she was.
“BITCH!” a voice boomed and a staff extended from nowhere and hit Persephone from behind, sending her crashing down. Nataku grabbed Loki and they fled down towards where the Queen of Hel crashed. Cerberus probably sensed and lunged at the Aesirs only for its blind eye to be hit by the same extending staff that had hit its mistress earlier. The beast growled and backed. As astoundingly as it had stretched way up, the staff began shrinking down to normal size.
Was that Goku’s Nyoi-bo?
Nataku looked below them and found Goku hurriedly leaping from spot to spot towards Persephone who was scurrying for her way out of the mess she had fallen into. “So how does it feel being taken by surprise!” Son Goku growled.
“Insolent…!” Persephone drew out her flute and waved it violently towards Goku who effortlessly blocked with his staff the dusky energy that came at him. And it only took Persephone’s moment of surprise to gasp for Goku to dash towards her hit her with the staff and choke her with it.
“I need answers and I want them now.” Goku pressed on the staff towards her neck, “Why do you want to kill me?” Persephone coughed.
“Talk, bitch.” Goku said again, more anger this time.
How’s she going to? He’s choking her. Loki thought as he looked down. There was a low growl and Nataku and Loki hovered in defensive stance. Cerberus was recovering. None of them were sure if Goku alone could handle Persephone but there was this literally bigger matter to worry about and its name was Cerberus.
Cerberus stood eyeing the two small entities that were hanging motionless in mid-air. It was as if the bestial savage was contemplating on how to effectively crush them. But whatever it is it was thinking of, its eyes showed it was very morbid and that he would enjoy putting it into action.
Then Nataku regretted that she had taken on the defensive side of the bout for a moment because all of a sudden, Cerberus’s eyes shone and the three-headed monstrosity split into three humunguous tiger-dogs. They lunged in different directions, surrounding the two puny Aesirs. Loki gulped and he felt Nataku’s back slowly come in contact with him.
“I’m sorry to ask you this, Master Loki, but…” Nataku whispered lowly at Loki but looking at Cerberus, “…Would it be too much if I asked you to use your swords as efficiently and effectively as you could…?”
“Like you needed to tell me.” Loki replied then thought that swords would not definitely be half of what they needed to put Cerberus to rest.
“Besides,” Loki said again with a mischievous grin as he changed to offensive stance, “We’re so good it had to split to three to get us.” Nataku laughed.
Yes, it was nice hearing Nataku laugh… even at this kind of situation.
One beast bound towards Loki with its teeth but the Aesir of Darkness shifted away and out of reach. Loki hovered higher but as he looked down, he saw three dogs’ teeth tailing after him and he gasped, a little panic taking him on.
“Bestial Andarethian Snare!” Nataku shouted and at the wave of her hand, the three tiger-dogs pulled back as if being dragged down. The moment they came at level with the Battle Aesir, they lunged and pawed at her to which she responded by evasion, blocking and counterattacking. Loki watched in moments of stupefaction as Nataku took on three Cerberus splits by herself and he whispered, “You’re still this good… and getting better.”
Nataku, do you remember this?
“Loki beseeches the might of darkness underlying strength!” Loki made a cross with his twin swords, “Prayer be heard! Bestow darkness!”
Nataku’s eyes snapped with the symbol of darkness. She made a seal with her fingers and three giant rings of light appeared around her like walls, each facing a tiger-dog. And no sooner than she had done this than she raised her hands, her wings spreading as she said, “I beseech in the name of Loki! Come upon me and diminish my weakness! Imbue darkness upon my adversaries and make them succumb to your efficacy!”
Loki’s swords were surrounded with dark glyphs. He made a symbol with his hands and a dark pillar shot from him towards Nataku. Nataku’s eyes changed to white and her wings changed to black. From her the dark energy split into three, going through the large rings of light and targeted the three Cerberus splits. There was a loud uproar of pain that echoed and rumbled the ground.
And in chorus, the two Aesir spoke in a voice that didn’t seem to be theirs, “Round of chaos, consume in your eternal strength! Kaiphaliea, kaiphaliea! Desthraiqa!” Lightning struck sharply across the sky and descended upon the tiger fiends and with one final command, there was a large explosion…
“DESTHRAIQA!”
… And the sound of a three-headed monster making a violent crash way below.
There was a strong gush of wind from the violent fall and there the roar of the three-headed monstrosity echoed and died out. There was a cloud of thick dust and smoke and an unsual hush from the battlefield. Goku and Persephone were looking up, checking what happened next. Loki was descending to level with Nataku whose wings were changing back to white and eyes to blue. Both of them were seriously looking down as if not yet resolved with the superior level combination spell they had just pulled off.
It just holds true that if you can’t kill a three-headed dog…
The thick cloud of dust and smoke cleared and there way below, on the ground where the battlefield went on was the large body of an unconscious three-headed dog whose mane flames had died out.
… Render it unconscious effectively.
There was a rise of murmurs and a sudden shout from Persephone, “CERBERUS!” She pushed Goku away with violent dark energy and flew towards her pet. To be able to render the three-headed hell dog unconscious, that superior combination spell definitely was something! Loki looked at Nataku thoughtfully.
There are some things that your heart still remembers after all.
“I wonder how Odin is doing.” Loki muttered and looked towards Odin’s direction.