Mt.Black rose

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Gustav stayed firm. The more Shiloh protested telling him, the worse of a feeling he got. Just how bad was this? "You said you take any orders, right? Take mine, then, and tell me what happened."

~~~

"Oh goodness me, don't tell me you ambushed me into some drug prevention commercial." sighed Nikolai as he rubbed his temple. He looked around himself, seeing all the still Council members. "None of you will help? Absolutely none of you?"

 

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Shiloh Dupree

"An order is an order..."


He stayed quiet, only shaking his head. He didn't want to tell, he wasn't permitted to, he was told not to. "I can't, I'm not allowed," he said over and over again, the pounding in his head getting worse and worse. Nikolai was here, and he was angry. It wouldn't be long, now. "Please. We have to go. If Nikolai finds me, he's going to know it was me."

No one moved, and Maggie seemed extremely smug. "Looks like Leon and you are on your own," she said, leaning back and going back to filing her nails.


"... and I am nothing if not obedient."

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"You were ordered not to tell, yet I'm ordering you to tell me." Gustav noted then narrowed his eyes. "Then tell me who ordered you not to tell."

~~~

Nikolai couldn't keep the surprise away from his face. Then again, he shouldn't have been surprised to begin with. The Council always held a grudge against him. Looks like that spread to Leon, too.
His eyes finally landing on Maggie, he frowned. "Fine. I'll go. But if I find out that this was anyone in this room's fault... Just remember that I warned you." The purple smoke never left when he entered, it swirled around him and vanished with him.

 

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Shiloh Dupree

"An order is an order..."


"I can't! She said she'd have you thrown into the deepest depths of Hell if I did!" he tried to say, attempting to tell Gustav that he was just trying to protect him. He wasn't stupid, he knew Maggie was the mastermind behind everything. If she knew he told, Gustav would be lost to him forever.


"... and I am nothing if not obedient."

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Gustav hesitated. So that's why Shiloh was more obedient than usual, because whomever was ordering him around was also threatening him. He allowed his grip to loosen on the sin eater. Did he care that much about him? All this time Gustav thought he must've been some whiny boss to Shiloh, but this man called him his friend, quit his job for his sake, and even went through great lengths to protect him. The question, though, is who would do this?

 

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Shiloh Dupree

"An order is an order..."


Unlike Gustav, who was putting his brain to work in an attempt to solve the mystery of who was ordering Shiloh around, Shiloh was searching for a way out. They had to get out before Leon died and Nikolai came back, filled with a killer rage. That was their plan. He knew it. There's no other way that Nikolai would react to this death. After so long fighting for them to be together, to lose Leon again, and like this, he was going to be unstoppable in his grief and rage.
"We have to go," he urged again, pulling his wrist away and grabbing Gustav's arm instead. "Nikolai will know I did this, he'll know I am the reason. I have to get you far away from here, away from him. When he comes back, he's going to rampage. I have to get you somewhere safe."


"... and I am nothing if not obedient."

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His train of thought forced to an abrupt halt, Gustav looked back at Shiloh, giving him a confused look. "Nikolai? Sloth? What does he have to do with anything? And what do you mean by rampage?" he asked as he moved his arm out of Shiloh's grasp. He wasn't going to move until he knew what was wrong.

 

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Shiloh Dupree

"An order is an order..."


He sighed. Surely this wouldn't be that much a breach in contract. "Mr. Court is dying, Gustav. Because his illness is technically a mortal one, the Council cannot intervene and heal him, so when he dies, Nikolai's anger will be too great and he will descend upon the Council and kill everyone who crosses his path. I will not watch you die, Gustav. Not for my mistake. Now we must go, or I will carry you myself."


"... and I am nothing if not obedient."

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Gustav stayed silent, listening to each and every word. Mr. Court was dying... Shiloh didn't want him to be killed because of... "Your mistake..." Gustav mumbled quietly, the only reply he gave after Shiloh's half-threat. He looked around, as if an alternative answer was somewhere else, then looked back up at Shiloh. "You... You killed Leon." he said quietly, not asked.

 

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Shiloh Dupree

"An order is an order..."


Shiloh looked at the ground, the weight of all his commands finally striking him. Leon wasn't the first man he'd killed. He wasn't even the last. It was a heavy burden, knowing what he'd done, but he couldn't dwell. It was the mark of a Sineater. He expected to be incredibly delicious when he finally died.
"I had to," he said, sounding so remarkably tortured. "I had to protect you, and... I had to do as I was told." His head throbbed, the burden of his sins becoming heavier. He knew now that Leon was dead. They didn't have much time.


"... and I am nothing if not obedient."

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"No, you didn't!" yelled Gustav. "There's a difference between following orders and being someone's whipping boy! You have to-" He paused as the entire ground rumbled as though there had been an earthquake. But... that was impossible. Hearing noises, Gustav pushed past Shiloh and looked down the hallway.

Far from the Council's building was Nikolai. He was in his Full-Sin form, his hair straightened with darkened tips; his sclera completely black save the white irises with a black ring around the thin pupil; black lines ran down his cheeks like tear stains, the only big difference being the small horizontal lines that made them inverted crosses; his black ram horns matching his tail, and now two large, leathery black wings to complete the set. A wicked grin spread across his face as he gingerly made his way to the building, his eyes wide and searching for his target.
Standing at the front of the building was a set of angels, one of them being the one from the Council meeting that almost struck at Nikolai when he learned about the ripped wings. Another was Grigori.
"We need to start evacuating people." Grigori tried to reason with the angel. "A Sin like that ripped off someone's wings with ease. Now he's angrier and we can't fight him!"
The angel scoffed. "Please. I've known Byko for ages." He turned his back to the advancing Sin, confident that he was no threat, and continued talking to Grigori. "All he is is all bark and no bite! This is just one of his obnoxious cosmetic changes. There's no way he'd-"
In a flash of purple Nikolai was right in front of the man. The angel turned around in shock, only for Nikolai to press his hand against his face and force it through. It didn't crush any bones or muscles. Instead his hand went through the angel's physical form, and as it passed through the back of the head he showed everyone the man's soul: still a surprised face that was being grabbed. Nikolai stared back and smiled at his first victim before crushing the soul. The angel's body fell to its knees before disintegrating, and Nikolai's body began to glow the same as the soul he destroyed.
Grigori could only stare in horror. When a soul died they were sent somewhere in purgatory to regenerate, the process ranging from a few days to a century. When they fully regenerate, though, they wouldn't be the same. When a soul dies part of them is taken and absorbed by whatever killed them. They lose a piece of themselves, whether it was the way they smiled or a precious memory that shaped their personality. As for Nikolai, he'd get stronger with each soul fragment he absorbed, and by the looks of it he wasn't even started.

 

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Shiloh Dupree

"An order is an order..."


Shiloh was very still, closing his eyes and listening. "He's here," whispered the man, raising his hand to his face. He thought he'd had more time! Now that Nikolai was here, there would be no stopping him, and no escaping. If they were going to hide, they had to do it now. Not willing to let his actions harm Gustav, Shiloh grabbed him and yanked him into Councilman Lanette's former office, shutting the door. He ignored the blood that still stained the floor, locking the door before wandering over to a large painting on the wall. "Come on, we've got to get you out of here while we still can!" He tore at the painting, pulling it down from the wall and exposing a small door with a keyhole. The door would lead to one of the emergency escape routes back down to Earth, where Gustav could safely hide. However, the door was locked. He didn't have the key, but he could probably pick the lock.
It was much harder than it looked. His hands were shaking too much, and the blonde looked as though he were about to collapse. Letting out a frustrated grunt, he punched the door then fell to his knees. He didn't care that he was probably going to die, but he didn't want Gustav in the middle of this. He was supposed to be safe. There had to be a way to save him. "I should've exposed that wh-re from the start," he whispered to himself. He deserved to die for what he did.


"... and I am nothing if not obedient."

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Gustav tried to make sense of what was happening. Nikolai just killed someone, he absorbed someone's soul. He was obviously here to do that a lot more, and it was because he must've figured out that Shiloh had killed Leon. Gustav looked down at the ground, spotting the blood. Lanette. They had a knife that belonged to the Horseman of Pestilence. That couldn't be a coincidence.
Hearing yells, Gustav pressed his ear to the door to see if he could figure something out.

It was chaos.
Right after he killed the first angel Nikolai lunged for the next one. They were too shocked to react and he took their soul with ease, just like the next angel, then the next demon, then the next and the next and the next.
Finally they were reacting. One angel summoned her weapon to fight. It was a dagger that she swung so wildly at him, he dodged with perfect ease, allowing her to play her game. He grabbed her arm and broke her soul with the other, enjoying the feeling of her soul being absorbed. He glanced over his shoulder as he noticed someone try to attack, smiling at the cute attempt. His wings stretched out and pressed against the demon, freezing them in place. With them stuck, his tail swayed playfully before shooting upward to stab the demon once, twice, thrice. It became a blur how many times the tail shot in to stab the demon, but by the time his wings moved away, there was no body left.
Nikolai laughed lightly before noticing someone else step up to stop him.
"Nikolai," Grigori said in a firm tone, a lance in his hand. "I don't want to do this, I-" He inhaled sharply as Nikolai appeared right in front of him. He pulled his lance up just in time to block the swing of the Sin's arm.
"Now now, dearie, don't get in my way." Nikolai purred as he continued his onslaught of attacks.

Seeing that Nikolai seemed to be busy fighting someone, Gustav turned and grabbed Shiloh's arm, trying to pull him up to his feet. "Come on. We can't stay here and hope he misses us. We've got to get out of here and find somewhere else to escape." he said.

 

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Shiloh Dupree

"An order is an order..."


Shiloh shook his head, looking to the door. "This was Lanette's private escape hatch. He had me help him get it secretly installed during the Last Great Angel War. I had a couple keys made, but he took them all." He looked around the room, then lunged for the desk. Opening all of the drawers, he finally located a hidden key just underneath the bottom drawer. Running back to the door, he unlocked it and took a deep breath. "Walk inside and keep going until you see a hallway. Then go down to the door marked "42" and go through. It'll bring you back to Earth, where you can hide from him." Hearing the screams of the various members of the Council getting closer and closer, he knew he was going to run out of time soon.
Of course, there was still time for them both to escape. However, Shiloh didn't want to. "I will stay here, buy others time to escape. But you need to go. Now!" He tried to push Gustav towards the door.


"... and I am nothing if not obedient."

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Grigori winced at Nikolai's bursts of attacks. He could barely keep up, even now he had a cut here and there. Was Nikolai really this powerful? Grigori had recently heard of Leon's death, but he didn't think it would affect Nikolai so much! Despite the threat of death hanging over him, the angel couldn't help but frown sympathetically at the Sin. He was in so much pain. Even as Nikolai grinned during his many attempts to steal his soul, Grigori could see in those white eyes just how hurt he was. Every time he felt safe with someone he loved they ended up being taken from him. It was no wonder he was trying to destroy the entire afterlife.
Grigori blinked as he realized Nikolai wasn't in front of him any longer. He disappeared? he thought to himself. Before he could even form another, he sensed Nikolai right behind him.
"You're so determined to stop me. It's almost flattering~" he purred in the angel's ear, one hand keeping a firm grip on his shoulder while the other playfully stroking his chest. His eyes were as mischievous as ever, though something about them told Grigori that the demon was blood drunk instead of back to normal. There was purple at the edge of his vision, but Grigori didn't need to see that to know that he had been numbed. His lance fell to his side, he couldn't feel his fingers anymore. "I should reward you, hmm? Very well, I suppose I could let you live. After all, I'd miss that face. Especially the way you try to reassure yourself that I won't kill you~ My, My, it's so endearing!" Nikolai laughed. He grinned as a large, purple snake slithered out of the fog and climbed up Grigori's body. The angel winced as the snake hissed at him. Would it hurt if he was still numb, he wondered. Would Nikolai take away the numbness long enough for him to feel pain?
He closed his eyes to avoid seeing the snake bite him, but after a while he realized that the darkness in front of him wasn't because his eyes were still closed but because his sight had vanished. He looked around, or at least tried to. He couldn't feel his body moving. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't even hear Nikolai's giggles or feel his hands anymore. No sight, no hearing, no tough. He tried to lick his lips but couldn't taste anything. Or was it that he couldn't move his tongue? The same problem for when he tried to smell. His sense were gone.
"I presume you've noticed your lack of senses, hmm?" giggled Nikolai's voice. It was like when Nikolai introduced him to the Dream world, how he was able to talk in an echoed, omnipresent voice. "A magnificent skill, isn't it? I've taken away each and every one of your senses. But I'm not heartless - oh no. Between me and Heaven one of us has to be the kind one, wouldn't you agree? No, I'll return your senses... long enough to see if you can defend yourself from my attack~"
Right when he said that the veil of darkness lifted. Grigori hesitated, completely overwhelmed by his senses. He didn't even get time to see Nikolai slice at his chest. Grigori winced until the pain vanished along with his other senses. He looked around despite how useless it was. This power was incredible! Just how strong was Nikolai?!

The poor angel was helpless against the new attack. Every time he got his senses back he would be facing the wrong way from Nikolai's next attack. It happened time and time again, and all everyone else saw was the blur of a Sin attacking Grigori from every angle. It started to look like a tornado how fast Nikolai's attacks were hitting, but soon enough it came to an end. His wobbling legs forced the heavily wounded Grigori to his knees, then he fell like a giant tree.
Nikolai appeared on top of Grigori, sitting on him leisurely, one long leg crossed over the other and one hand on his knee as he gazed at his claws.
"Such a shame. Poor dear didn't last as long as I thought he would~" he purred.

Gustav peered inside the hatch until he was forced through. He quickly turned around, a nervous look on his face as he listened to Shiloh's instructions. "W-Wait," he insisted and took a step forward, grabbing onto the sineater's wrist when he was pushed. "Wh-What do you mean? You can't go out there! He's taking souls! What if he-" He stopped, not wanting to finish that sentence. "You have to come with me!" he pleaded and tried to tug Shiloh through the door.