Firelight began to simmer and dim along the street, light fleeing as the imps skittered away in the presence of beings far beyond their own paltry strength. In the low light, the driders cast menacing shadows, wounds becoming more difficult to see against the black sheen of their ichorous blood.
The twin gunshots buckled the remaining spear-drider's strength, and it clutched at them as its grip slackened on its weapon. The legs remained firm and steady, and with surprising speed it retreated a few steps as the drider dropped its spear and swung downwards. The gullet of human teeth and inky darkness closed swiftly, and the demon retreated into its protective exoskeleton.
Furry legs tensing and bending, the drider leapt high, pouncing down at Dominic with legs poised to skewer the laicar through. The shouted command echoed back at him over the sound of crackling fires, and if he strained his periphery, Dominic could see one of the buildings down the street begin to burn in earnest.
Kincaid's hasty reply was lost to even his own mind a moment later, as the world underwent several radical changes in short succession. The sword he'd grasped came up swiftly, meeting the spun-silk greataxe with ease and – in a surprising turn – cleaving through the makeshift weapon.
The axe-head tumbled uselessly over his shoulder, but his eyes had gone wide as an unearthly shrieking assaulted his ears. It couldn't be Dominic, or Corvus, they were too far away and these screams may as well have been- oh. Oh no.
In the moment of his realization, the whip-drider once again heaved backwards, intent on pulverizing the thief against the street. Kincaid's twitchy reflexes saved him yet again, as the sword in his hand lashed out swiftly, cutting cleanly through the tip of the weapon wrapped about his leg.
Stumbling back and clutching his head, the driders made similar motions, cowering away from the blade he now held. Forcing himself to focus through the droning, unceasing screams of his own agony, he could see now that he'd grasped some horrid imitation of his own cutlass. The blade was cut in ebony, and ridged with serrated edges near its base. Even clean, the blade looked as though it might've been recently stained in blood.
His guard lowered for an instant, and the shrieks became all the louder for it.
In Semper Mihi, Cassius watched as the devil bore him down, the cruel smile widening even further until the whole of the inhuman gesture seemed to evaporate into smoke, parting into a wide hole of empty black. Reaching into the 'mouth' with one of its four hands, the devil withdrew a large, but ultimately ordinary, knife. Turning it over, its eyes left Cassius for a moment.
Trying to shift over to grab at the door handle, the boy yelped as the knife impacted against the wood next to his head. Barely realizing he had similarly taken his eyes away from the devil, he turned back to find the abominable creature scant inches away from his face.
The devil's eyes were bloodshot and blank. The white expanses seemed unfocused, but no matter how he wished to, Cassius couldn't look away. His breathing became erratic, mere steps away from hyperventilating. A low cackle rose in the devil's throat, before turning into a full-belly laugh as the demon took a step or two back, one hand rising to its balding head of hair and running through it.
The voice that reached Cassius' ears was still smooth, but the low, husky tone had been replaced with a much more ordinary baritone, "Oh, the look on your face!"
Laughing all the harder as it peered down at Cassius, the mirth seemed too much for the devil for a moment, and the demon exploded into smoke. Filling, overflowing the building until what few gaps existed were spewing the choking substance, the fledgling summoner almost dropped the box trying to cover his mouth and nose.
A moment later, the devil was again next to him, facing back into Semper Mihi as it leant one arm against his shoulder. The smile on its – his – face seemed far more amused than menacing now, and he nodded lightly as he surveyed the shop with Cassius. "What a dump, right? I can't believe you mortals live in such sorry states. Oh, but where are your manners!
"When you meet new friends," The devil explained, standing straight and facing Cassius once more, wagging a finger in front of his face, "you introduce them to your other ones!"
Two of his arms came up, and from between them a blast of smoke slammed squarely into Cassius' gut, blasting him back into, and through, the front door.
Coughing and clutching his gut – thankfully the box was sturdy, it'd taken most of the impact from the blast – Cassius rolled off the now unhinged door, looking over his shoulder as the devil stepped leisurely out into the street.
Undistracted, Corvus placed his shot as best he could, ignoring the insistent burn in his shoulder. Catello's teeth had sunk deep, and the bow-drider cringed as it tried to shake the vorax's jaws loose to no avail. Blood frenzy danced in the beast's eyes, but the drider had no intention of succumbing as easily as the fiend before it. Withdrawing one of its spun-silk arrows, it poised the impromptu weapon to strike, lunging it towards Catello's eye.
Timing was in Corvus' favor, loosing his arrow scant moments before. The loud crack of his greatbow was no distraction to the drider, but the arrow that dug itself deep into its side was. Flinching forwards, the arrow raked hard down the side of Catello's muzzle, scraping against the thick skull as blood gushed forth. Through grit teeth, the drider tried not to lose its grip on the stonework of the building, its legs beginning to weaken from the blows.
The devil observed this all, eyes darting briefly to Kincaid, before another full-belly laugh billowed up from its gut.
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