Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Lutetia City: Valentine Park

Crista refused to listen and continued to carry Savien as quickly as she could through the battle field.

"With all due respect sir, you are in no shape to escort him should you be attacked along the way and he is losing blood too quickly. We need to get him to Madison now. Besides neither of you know where she is."

She pressed on, hoping to get them both there safely so they could be treated. She looked at Savien with worry and moved faster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Madison looked to Inarin with a smile, glad to have someone to lend her a hand and divide the work with.

"Help me to stabilize any badly injured patients. Once you do that help me to disinfect wounds."

She handed him a hand full of bandages along with a wash cloth and a pitcher with water in it.
 
The blade slipped out of Zanzi's hand, slicing the flesh with ease. Black blood dripped down her arm and onto the ground around beside her. Yes, she felt the powers of the blades, but they were no more than irritants. A thorn in her side. But the anger, and the chaos... Oh sweet, delicious chaos..

The fog had thickened quite a bit in the short time to the point the paladins would not be able to see their comrades a mere foot away from them clearly. As Noah swung, he would find he met his mark-- Only to have the demon burst into a cloud of thick smoke. The blood stains on the ground bubbled..
 
Noah grit his teeth as the demon burst into nothingness, eyes darting around to scan for where she had gone. The thick smoke blinded his vision of the world around him in most ways, but it posed little hindrance to his soulsight, and its more insidious effects were kept at bay by his aura. The flickering lights of the souls of his allies shimmered in the haze, distinct despite the demonic power blanketing the area with its aura. Within it, Noah searched for a point where the demonic energies were focused into something more recognisably alive - he searched for Zanzi's soul.

In the meantime, the smoke proved far more effective at blinding Perrin, leaving him cursing as it swirled up in a bank ahead of him. Not trusting the demonic magic, he stepped away, trying to get clear of the billowing plumes before it could surround him. As he turned, though, he saw a looming dark shape in its midst - horns protruding from the top of its silhouette, and a ghastly warped-looking weapon in its grip. Cursing an oath, he lunged for it, driving his sword forwards.

Thankfully for the shape, the blade struck steel, grating along the side of Aurelion's plate and prompting a startled shout from the other paladin. Having been further back when Zanzi produced her smoke, he'd avoided being enshrouded in it only to be met with Perrin stumbling out from the cloud and attacking him. Quickly registering the glazed look in his friend's eyes, Aurelion stepped forwards, grabbing Perrin's sword arm and jerking him away from the danger. "Snap out of it, Perrin!" he hissed, as the other paladin gave a slightly panicked yelp, Aurelion's movements not matching with the lumbering his hallucinations showed him and catching him off guard.

Tightening his grip on his friend's arm, Aurelion dragged a struggling Peregrine away from the cloud to keep him safe until his head was cleared.
 
Evidently, Robert's attack had missed its mark. The paladin backstepped from the shadows, giving cover to Aurelion and Perrin as they retreated from the mist.

"How, by the Void, are we supposed to fight this thing?" he growled. Why hadn't the demon disappeared with its master? That one monster would give them all so much trouble made Robert wonder how they collectively held off half a dozen Caer not five minutes ago.
 
Kurtrin shouted from across the haze, his voice echoing from inside his brass-steel helm. "We don't! This is beyond our skills, Brother! The Caer who fled from us did not rely on the arcane, and this is not our area of expertise!" Still, the ancient paladin stood at the ready as he backed away from the billowing infernal smoke. Fighting creatures such as this was the Order's task, there was no question about it, but this was a job better suited for the Inquisition, or the Wardens. Holy magic to fight against corrupting magic, where brute strength and skill at arms would fail. Besides, the main threat had been driven away, retreating into a void and leaving its pet demon to fight in its stead...or to distract.

Something told the war hero, something deep in his gut, that this was all a ploy. This day of chaos was not yet finished, and he'd bet Judicator that he was right. Still. It was not in his blood to flee while his brother's fought, and potentially died. It never had been, nor would it ever be. Hefting his blade into a two-handed grip, the Golden let out a war cry fierce enough to sound out across the decimated park, a warrior's shout that teemed with rage and righteous fire. "FOR THE WICK!" was his war prayer as the age old soldier charged into the mist, towards the demon bitch's last known location.
 
The she-devil did not reappear among the paladins. Instead, she watched from above as the confusion lingered around them, smirking as she watched the old paladin charge into the haze. He would not find her there, and for a time he and the other paladins who had been swarmed by the haze could be susceptible to hallucinations, such as Perrin himself who had attacked a fellow comrade.

Yes, there was still blood to be had and chaos to be sewn here, but Zanzi would not be able to watch it herself. Her blood would fuel the curse for a time after her leaving. It truly was a shame that her master had other plans for her this day. Turning her back to the scene that played out below her, she disappeared into the void rift to let those poor men and women tear themselves apart.
 
Amidst the haze, Noah turned his eyes skywards, picking out the source of the demonic energies just moments before they vanished. The creature's soul was like a beacon of wrongness to his animancy, even obscured as it was by this cloud of similar energies. There was nothing he could do to dissipate this magic, but with the demon's departure, hopefully they would eventually dissipate. And so the animancer made for the edge of the cloud, bursting out into the clear air a few moments later. The glow of his anima continued to wreathe his body, and he quickly cast his eyes around to assess the situation.

The park was decimated. Bodies littered the ground, and the grass was more red than green. Fires blazed and smoke billowed into the air seemingly everywhere he turned. But the Caer was gone. Escaped, to bring carnage another day.

Damn it. It wasn't enough.

The light of Noah's aura flickered and faded, as adrenaline and focus started to leave him. His face was still bleeding from the claw-marks down its side, and his pristine white uniform was coated with black ichor, mixed in with his own blood from the slash along his side that his own blade had delivered thanks to the demon's portal. Where the stitches had torn, pain flared through his body in protest. He hadn't been ready to fight again, not like that. And so as the magic that had been keeping him on his feet faded away, and the exertion caught up with him, Noah collapsed, unconscious before he hit the ground.

A short distance away, Aurelion held a still struggling Perrin, keeping the younger paladin's hallucinations from causing him to lash out at anyone. Upon seeing Noah fall, though, he cursed. "Light, Noah! Robert, is he alright? I can't-" he grunted, cutting off as he avoided an elbow directed into his face and shoved Perrin more firmly down, pinning him. "This smoke is dangerous, stay clear of it, it affects the mind!"
 
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