"Ugh you B*****d!"

The other demon seemed to be draining him somehow, making him appear to be more powerful than he did before. Leo now felt more drained, and the loss of his weapon made matters worse.

This was a bad day for Leo, first he finds out that in his desperation he actually dreamed his fiancee was alive and well, his overuse of the devil finder had caused him to transform, and not once or twice, but three times he has been knocked to the ground. And to make matters far worse it seemed that the other demon was getting buzz off his arm.

The only thing left now was for the demon to lose his temper which already happened, now he just about had enough of these two beings who continue to mock him by knocking him down or not taking his threats seriously.

The other demon made the worst mistake by turning his back on him. Getting back up, hopefully for the last time, the demonic gunner took off his trade mark trench coat and tossed it to the ground, revealing his black shirt. What he did next would probably count to most as insanity.

Taking his infected arm and cursed arm, he used what power he had left and forced a flame from the tip of the devil hammer, engulfing his infected arm in a blue flame. The flames appeared to be consuming his whole arm from shoulder to hand, but that was not the case. After a minute of burning the gunner pointed his devil hammer at the arm again and like a vacuum recalled the blue flame back into the cursed arm.

"How do you like that friend? The purity of flame consumes all infection." he chuckled mockingly at the other demon.

Of course there was still the fact that he needed to recharge a bit before he could use magic again. The other demon made that more difficult than Leo's human counterpart did already. Bending down to reach into the trench coat pocket, demon Leo took out a full moon clip.

Tilting his head back, mouth wide open, he shoved the clip into his mouth and swallowed the rounds. Making a wide grin the demon pointed his hammer at the other demon who was attempting to attack the woman.

"Aren't you so happy now that we're giving you our full attention?" he said to the woman.

"As for you behemoth, I'm afraid that I can't allow you the pleasure of taking her life. SHE IS MINE."

The devil finder scanned the other demon, marking different locations for the bullets to hit: Head, left shoulder, right chest, pelvis, left knee cap, and heart. However, seeing as the monster gained more power, he didn't know whether they would all be hits. The bone barrels let loose 6 of Leo's standard revolver rounds, but coming out of the hammer, you'd think that it was cannon fire.

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I don't know why I decided to make this note but here goes. For those of you who don't know what the devil finder, or Leo's cursed eye, looks like (I've described it as a red cross hair shaped iris. Those of you not into guns probably wouldn't know what a cross hair is) Look up at the top of the page where it says Realms of Mythiule. The letter 'O' in the word 'Of' is a perfect example of a cross hair. But if you all already knew that then forgive me for insulting your intelligence and please continue to enjoy the thread XD

The Raphael met the shield hard, the force of it's repulsion almost knocking him off his feet. The woman was a crafty one, and powerful. He doubted he could take down the shield on his own, not when he lacked full power. He'd have to coordinate it so his attack was timed with the other demon. Getting the other demon to agree would have to be the only way.

Of course, they were not quite the best of friends. He would have to hope he could attack at the same time as the other, or at least make it so that his attack hit the woman's shield. He didn't see how he could work. Were he an angel, he might have thought of praying, as it would indeed be a miracle.

Raphael spun, hissing with displeasure. The demon removed his handiwork as the sea washes away markings in the sand. He hesitated for a moment, and considered testing the strength of the woman's shield but no; she could wait.

He turned to face the other demon as he consumed the ammunition, he was sure that couldn't be good. He stood gauging the distance between them, trying to find a way to re-infect the other demon. Surely he couldn't keep up his trick with the flame forever.

Raphael lounged as the demon fired, the sounds of the shells exploding from his 'weapon' filling his ears. Most went wide, but a few found their mark. one buried itself deep in his chest and he fell back, roaring in pain. The other missed his head by inches; passing through his neck and severing what was left of his spinal cord.

S**t! Raphael screamed in his mind as his crashed to the sand. His body twitched spasmodically as he tried to use magic to animate himself, but he failed. He needed the input from his brain.

Damn it!

He hurried to weave the spells to repair himself, but even then the lost time could be devastating. His body trembled as he again tried to get up, but it failed. There was nothing he could do but close his eyes. He withdrew all his magic, and his head lolled. His body was essentially dead as he drew all his strength inside himself, leaving himself vulnerable, but it was necessary.

Once he was sure he had stripped himself of all his magic, he methodically began reworking them, starting first with repairing his spinal cord. it was slow going as the fibres wound themselves back together. Once he was sure it would continue, he began recasting an improving his defences. This was draining his magic quickly, he sorely needed to hit one of his opponents once he was back on his feet. This definitely was not what he would call his ideal evening.

Hmm... It would come sooner than she thought; the two of them working together. At the most, Meirion wasn't really hurt. Apart from her arm, which was healing slowly, she didn't have a scratch.

Was it time to think of a strategy now or later? Oh hell, Meirion thought as Raphael fell from the shots and started having spasms. The Professor stood there motionless, looking at everything with a grim face.

Now to wait for the man to try and attack her past the protection that surrounded her. It morphed into a sphere, rather than a dome, taking less of her energy. Would be better if Raphael also attacked, Meirion contemplated, but he was too busy healing himself...

Still feeling no magic juice in his veins, the demon pondered on his next move. He took hand full of round from the coat pocket, this was the last bundle Leo must have kept.

Human has been inattentive of his craft

Feeling them in his hand like a bunch painkillers, he shoved all 10 rounds down his throat. His devil hammer shot up smoke from all the barrels and then made a serious mechanical sounds; they were loaded.

Now the demonic gunner would love nothing more than to get to blank range with the monster and let loose his metal hell, but that would also put him at risk with physical contact allowing a surprise attack. Of course looking at his current condition a shot from where he stood wouldn't be a problem.

The real problem was the gun in the woman's possession. She didn't look like the kind of person that would spend her afternoons at the shooting gallery. If he were to get closer that would make it easier for her to shoot him where it hurt the most. The devil finder locked on to the woman and scanned her from head to toe. Her aura was still blinding like as always, but her heart was a mystery. It was the only dark spot on her entire being.

Focusing a little more power in that area, the cursed eye brought her heart closer to Leo's view. What he found was unexpected and shocking. Now he wasn't sure what to make of her, was she truly human? This revelation changed everything. Would that explain her power? Nevertheless she had to be dealt with quickly so he could reclaim his weapon.

The shield around her looked sturdy enough, but she was still human he hoped, she couldn't possibly keep it up forever. The gunner stood roughly between 30 - 35 ft. away from the two, which was a safe distance he assumed. If he were to shoot the same spot on her shield over and over it might break, but ten rounds was all he had left and couldn't afford shooting to chance.

The other demon seemed to be rushing to pull himself back together, probably afraid of Leo's next attack... that's when inspiration took over.

A joint attack

It was simple, they would both attack her at the same time and break her shield. Once that was done Leo would use his remaining rounds to disable the behemoth once more and kill the woman, at which point then take back the gun and make an exit. The gunner assumed the other demon would accept to this alliance since he was in no shape to not accept an offer at gunpoint.

Leo stepped about 5 feet closer and pointed the hammer at the other demon.

"I'll tell you what" he began saying to the downed demon. "I feel generous today... I will not only forgive you for damaging my arm, but allow you to live if... you help me break her defense. I'll even let you have your way with her as a bonus."

A wide devilish grin flashed across his face.

"So will you live?" the devil hammer was cocked. "Or will you die?"

Raphael had managed to repair the critical damage to his body, the minor injuries could wait. As an added precaution, he wove spells around his skull and neck, he did not want a repeat. He was nearly ready, but he could not see nor hear what went on outside his body, not while he had retreated into his own mind.

Once he had checked that he had missed nothing, he decided to test his body, and his hand curled into his fist. All at once the sounds came flooding back, in time to catch the tail-end of the other demon's threat.

He turned his head, the newly repaired bones and tendons strained and clacked, and he sucked air noisily into his lungs. He opened his eyes and found himself looking down the mutated barrels of the demon's arm.

"Die?" he echoed, "Can't you see?" he asked, his voice rasping. "I'm already dead!" He lay there, laughing at the other demon for a moment, then took in the woman, considering working with this demon. True, he could take his chances and try for a direct hit again, but he did not know if the demon had anymore fire attacks in him. Besides, there was something tugging at his mind about the woman, but at first he couldn't place it.

He studied her for another second, then it clicked into place. Surely she too was tainted as the human he wanted was, perhaps to a lesser degree, or that demon hid itself well. Finally, he again turned to the other demon, attempting to rise. "Fine. I shall help you, but she is mine" He hissed his head turned towards her.

Meirion smiled, now this was more like it. An eerie calmness settled over her as it was apparent who was going to die first. Always ladies first, she thought dryly.

The Professor felt inside her cloak for the gun and ran her finger down it absentmindedly. Voicing her thoughts aloud, she asked, "What would happen if I accidentally break this?"

She shrugged. If only she could take the gun down with her. Ruane could somehow transport it to within herself. Would the man be so desperate to slice her stomach open and gauge for the gun then...

Shaking her head from the goriness of the situation, Meirion's well-being emanated her electricity as she waited for the first attack. Or double, whichever way you looked at it.

(Ruane I can't seem to send either you or Draco a private message in order to update Leo's profile. Can make a new thread about it or something?)

Demon Leo was shocked. The human actually made a threat to destroy the gun. Oh Happy day!

"I dare you to try." the demon said trying to act as if he was in peril.

The demon would of gladly done it himself if his human counterpart didn't make it impossible for him. The gun was designed to absorb his magic so even a blast from the hammer wouldn't work. Leo's revolver was made with all sorts of magics and and special seals. Leo, with the help of Amadeus, made it so that if transformed the gun could be used to reseal the demon. The only problem would be whoever was entrusted with possession of the weapon might have been a good marksman.

The bullet would have to hit the devil finder in order for it to work. That or just knock him out again. However the latter became more difficult when Leo was in demon mode.

Putting his hope aside the demonic gunner took aim at the shield dome.

"Follow up with something good." he said to the other demon

Leo fired three rounds from the hammer, all of which were targeted at the same point on her shield.

(( Click here and see if you can edit it through that way. =/ ))

What were they doing? Meirion asked herself incredulously. Was the man so naive to think that a few bullets would pierce her shield? Launched by another attack from Raphael? Ha, she had to laugh at that one.

The bullets came after each other, hitting the same spot. Meirion felt the impact on herself, her heart specifically. She gritted her teeth but managed to withstand her ground. Her barrier folded in on itself from the hits but as Meirion pushed with her mind, the bullets did a 180 and started heading the other way, back at the source.

Sweat lined her forehead as she breathed deeply, "You still don't get it," she said. "My protection isn't the problem."

Meirion wondered if they just wanted to get rid of her protection to get her. If that was the case, then she would make it easier for them. Her barrier sucked itself and dissolved into nothing.

The disappearance of her shield took Raphael by surprise. This seemed much too easy, and from his experience, things that seemed too easy were often incredibly difficult to deal with. He was tired of playing games with the woman, all he really wanted was the man, and look where it had gotten him. There was something odd about this situation, not that the appearance of a demon and two humans possessed or at least tainted by demons on a beach was particularly run of the mill, but it seemed too easy for the woman to succumb like this.
He shrugged mentally, and glanced sidelong at the other demon. It was a while since he used any fire attacks, and if the woman succumbed now, she’d more than likely give up later too. Reaching some sort of a decision with himself, he stepped backwards, as though preparing for a run up.

He charged forward, but rather than heading for the woman, he used his momentum to send himself hurtling towards the other demon, his face grim. The sand slowed him down, and he seemed to take forever, but he was determined to settle the score with this other demon. He would have his power, and he would have it soon. He wondered if he had guessed correctly, perhaps he had done more damage than the other demon would admit, but perhaps not. Soon, it would not matter either way.

Meirion was taken aback. Wait. Wait a moment. What the hell was happening now? If her eyes weren't deceiving her, it seemed as if Raphael was trying to... double cross the man?

Some kind of respect and intrigue mixed into Ruane. Perhaps it was something she did to make Raphael have second thoughts. It certainly looked as if both of them were going to get her... What changed his mind? she pondered.

Hang on. Maybe this was a trick... Something deeper than the obvious. It certainly felt and looked odd. Who knew what was going in the demon's mind?

Huh. Oh well. Whatever the case, she would help him. At least bring the man to sense and return him to his former state.

Ruane launched a swirling mass of electricity at the man, wondering if it was going to hit or not.