Half-Bloods R • 1: Fallen World

C • 26 : Unveil the Wound, Wound the Unveiled

The Agent's veil marks rushed even further down, spreading down to her neck. The buildings tore themselves apart while a few simply extended and contorted, twisting around the two while the shattered buildings turned to a swarm of concrete and what appeared to be shards of ice and crystals. The swarm splashed through the sky, and the intact structures formed walls. She jumped up and shifted into a pile of ash.

Elizabeth spun around, her crystalline wing-blades slashing through the air and forcing back the woman when she reformed. Her wings unfurled, revealing to herself that her veil-marks were still part of her, various X's lying on the tip of each blade.

Time to eat!

The agent woman forced herself back forward while midair and slashed a pair of thin, short blades. Elizabeth countered, her wing blades connecting at the tips, forming long, bladed whips connected to her shoulders that she swung wildly, Elizabeth licked her lips as the thought of food entered her mind. The wing blades slashed through the agent's sides and tore back through, splashing blood onto her body. Elizabeth leaped away, her chains stabbing into the ground and propelling her from the ground as the stone and ice pieces slammed down and formed into a slanted mountain of ice, Elizabeth huffed as the air chilled.

Her wings returned to their natural state, and she flew toward the mountain. Her mouth cracked open and she bit down, taking a massive chunk out of the ice. Cold surged through her body, and the mountain busted apart, the pieces flew around Elizabeth's body, turning back stone, concrete, and steel before dispersing and rocketing down to reform the buildings that once stood. She flew down and smashed her foot down, the street beneath her shattered as the agent turned to ash, reappearing behind Elizabeth and swinging her blades at her violet neck. Elizabeth spun and bit through the blade. He began cackling as large steel blades stabbed out of her body. She grinned at the agent and puffed out her chest, a hundred thick steel blades shot out of her chest, yet only one stabbed the agent, barely breaking skin as the agent flashed away again.

The agent grabbed Elizabeth by the horn and heaved her into the air. She spun wildly through the air, barely able to catch herself with her wings. She screamed, sending a shockwave through the city as the agent rushed toward her. Elizabeth stabbed her chains at the agent, but they were easily pushed down by a sing hand as the agent began running along them. She pulled all of her chains, except for the one the agent stood on, back and stabbed them back forward from various angles. Elizabeth dropped the chains down, leaving the agent to fall, yet she didn't drop, she simply threw her hands back and launched herself forward. The agent placed a newly summoned dagger against Elizabeth's throat and laughed.

"Is that the best you've got, Elizabeth?" The agent grinned maniacally, her orange eyes sparkling.

Elizabeth contorted her body away from the dagger before reaching her head towards and biting down on the woman's wrist. She closed her wings and fell, dragging the agent with her. As the agent attempted to pull herself away, Elizabeth only hit down harder, blood seeping through the cracks of her shark-like teeth and along her taste buds. The crystalline skin that coated her body turned to petal-like scales and blood trickled out from the gaps, a sudden tinge hit the back of her head.

She's not teleporting? So it's an ability, not her magic!

She clamped her jaws shut and tore off the agent's hand, adjusting her position and kicking the now one-handed woman to the ground before landing, smashing her feet into the agent's chest. Elizabeth leaned down and grinned, swallowing and immediately digesting the hand. The Veil suddenly rushed through her body, sending orange cracks through her form covered in purple petals.

"More! Food!" Elizabeth croaked as she stomped repeatedly on the agent's chest.

The woman grabbed Elizabeth's left leg with her remaining hand and tore through both it and her right leg, bringing her to her knees as the agent rolled away and grabbed Elizabeth's face. Elizabeth's head was slammed into the ground and her body was struck violently as the agent snarled.

"How dare you! I'm supposed to be perfect! Now, look what you've reduced me to!" She gestured at her bruised, dirtied form before throwing another punch.

The blood covering Elizabeth's body glowed and left at the agent, wrapping around her and suffocating her as Elizabeth writhed in pain. The agent was tossed aside as Elizabeth continued to writhe, eventually coming to a halt, struggling to breathe as unadjusted power coursed through her flesh and veins.

Blood exploded off of the agent and she stood as Elizabeth's Chimera form cracked.

Pain struck Elizabeth with each breath, her maw hung open as she struggled to breathe. Her wings began to break apart, her horns disappeared, and her chains retracted into her hips. She forced magic to run through her but winced and nearly vomited when pain suddenly gripped her bones and muscles.

Her Chimera form fully dispersed, and Elizabeth was left on the road as the agent stood across from her. Elizabeth's eyes trailed away from the agent and quickly landed on an unconscious Animus laying on the ground, a pool of blood beneath his face.

Family.

She looked back at the agent who spoke with a growl to Elizabeth, whose ears were ringing and head was spinning.

"You really don't know when to give up, do you? You're disgusting! I'm supposed to be perfect, beautiful, graceful, but look what you made me do! You bitch!" She kicked Elizabeth's face, a loud and muffled pop echoing in her ears. She kicked again, this time striking Elizabeth's gut, screaming, "Do you know who I am? I'm Audrey Hill, Agent Fifty! I don't need to be perfect, I am perfect!"

She kicked again, but Elizabeth caught it with her left hand, struggling to hold the boot at bay. Her entire body was trembling at this point, each breath sent pain into her lungs, her eyes burned, and her muscles ached and twitched.

"Are you still struggling?" Audrey screamed, she pulled back and stomped on Elizabeth's hand, breaking and disfiguring it.

I need to fight.

Elizabeth summoned a blade and swung it at the agent who quickly jumped back. Elizabeth planted her crystalline hand and forced herself to her feet, every muscle and organ in her body screaming.

Audrey growled, "How? What the hell is wrong with you? Just stay down, bleed out, and die already!"

Elizabeth readied herself for a final fight, as the fiftieth agent's veil-marks began to glow as brightly as the sun. Suddenly, there was an eclipse in Audrey's power, a flash of shadow in Elizabeth's eyes. Audrey was thrown aside as a massive, black arrow punched through her shoulder. Audrey looked at Elizabeth with angry, tear-filled eyes. To Elizabeth, the woman looked like an overgrown child for a second, when she thought about it, she'd been acting like one too. The agent let loose her tears as she turned to a pile of ash.

So she had one more?

Elizabeth looked behind her and saw a tall black figure standing atop one of the now still buildings.

A bow and arrow, Villin? No, the aura is too angry, it's Vaelan.

Elizabeth stepped toward Animus and stumbled, almost falling, before taking another two shaky steps. She eventually reached him and picked him up as best she could before dragging him to a wall and setting him down. She sat next to him, wrapping her arms around her knees, and popping her lower jaw back into place before realizing that it was shifting up and down as she held it. More pain set in, as her energy finally left her completely.

She sat, assessing her bodily damage. A broken jaw, the entirety of her left hand crushed, her right hand replaced, several cracked and broken ribs, various bruises and cuts, and fully depleted magic. Vaelan flew off, leaving Elizabeth alone.

I'm sorry everyone, I wish I could've done more.

Darkness crept in, and Elizabeth fell unconscious.