Slay the Hierarchy

Dark Descent

'Vega.'

'Yes, Your Highness.'

'Show me all records of the human-like demon we faced on that planet. Taras Nabad, was it?'

'Affirmative. I will load it on the HUD.'

Though he'd been absorbed in piecing the suit back together, as always, the Slayer retained a frightening awareness of his surroundings. An instinct honed by countless battles. He didn't have to be looking at her to know Daisy was unimpressed by Vega's intelligence findings. Instead, he gleaned that by her low, discontent humming as he continued his work.

''Unknown'? This will not do, Your Grace,' she reprimanded, almost. 'If we are to re-encounter this creature, we'd best assign it a name - at the very least - like the others.'

'Allow me to generate suggestions: Demon Warrior, The Undertaker, The Hunter...'

'Those are quite dull...,' Daisy ruminated. 'The Raider? Razer? Rioter? Fork Tongue? Venomous Scunner?'

OK, he had to admit, it was hard to judge if Daisy was passionate in her resentment of the creature or if she was simply just passionate about the Slayer's codex. She did, after all, have an unnatural interest in it.

He liked where this was going. So much so, he couldn't help himself from participating.

'Cactus.'

Daisy's silence spoke volumes, followed by her clearing her throat; an obvious habit he wondered she was aware of herself. He just had to do it one more time.

'... Or Stalagmite.'

'Affirmative.'

'Emperor's nightgown! No!' she cried at the new codex entry title on the screen, slamming her hands on the table in panic. He felt her glare burning into the side of his head, which he couldn't resist meeting with an almost indiscernible smile.

The more she pondered the name, however, her features softened.

'... Marauder.'

Damn. Even he had to admit that was a good name.

'You must look the same way to the demons as he does to me. An unmatched threat, driven and wild. A marauder.'

She gulped. Hard.

The sound and sensation of it felt amplified. It was so overwhelming that she held her breath altogether in the next instant, and the silence it allowed mitigated her thoughts... but her heart danced. Wildly. Fiercely. With emotions that drew her back to Taras Nabad.

She could not forget its grim face no matter how hard she tried. It plagued her dreams, it appeared in every possible outcome of this mission. And as promised, the Marauder returned; its glare ravenous, seeking to devour her.

Her finger twitched against the trigger; the softest click prompting the demon straight for her. It swung hard with the brutal intent to cleave her head clean from her shoulders. Without the suit, he undoubtedly would have. But Daisy leapt back powerfully, following him from the air as he closed the distance with equally frightening speed, swinging again before she touched ground.

A beam of hot energy hurtled straight for her and she couldn't escape, not while in the air.

'There is a 90% chance of evading the attack using the Ballista's recoil.'

Vega was certainly doing well on his word, and had Daisy the time, she would have commended him for it. But her focus was solely on the small window his recommendation was afforded as she squeezed the handle of the weapon in question, swinging it from behind her and firing without abandon. A single shot was enough to beam her out of the attack's trajectory, but at the expense of smacking her into what little concrete remained of the Hellified Barrier's belly.