Horizon Demon Hunter Academy (IC)

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Hearing the stamping of hooves, Irrius forces himself to lift his face from the ground. Spitting out dust onto the ground in front of him, he cranes his neck back to look up. With a groan, he forces himself to rise to a seated position. Holding his badly burnt arm close to his body, he looks the horse over. Getting a sense of its impatience as it waits for him, he makes himself get completely to his feet. Pulling in his wings close around himself, he eyes the girl sitting atop it.

In a raspy voice, Irrius says "Damn, nice to see something besides goblins for a change. There room for another up there?" The wound on his arm is cruel and looks bad, burns evident that reached to the muscle. However, they formed an unmistakable shape, creating a massive and deep lightning flower that covered his entire arm and continued along his shoulder. He does his best to smile, but it comes out as a grimace as agony lances through him.
 
Kia made it away safely. For that, Saria was glad. The goblins were doing the same, fleeing from the terrible death that was upon them. A few split to the sides, and Saria grudgingly admitted that she couldn't catch all of those. However, the majority of the creatures tried to return to the mine. Those were the demons Saria pursued, cutting down each one as she overtook it. Three, five, eight, thirteen--her count continued to rise as she drew near to the mine.

The retreating goblins did not find the numerical advantage they had been hoping for; instead, they found the rest of the clan vacating the mine to escape the death that awaited them inside it. Kirigawa's demon and her army of arthropods tore into the scattered ranks, and Saria joined in mercilessly. When they saw that the mine was no longer a place of refuge, the goblins split in every direction. Saria focused on the center, on killing everything between her and the door before it could get away. Twenty, thirty, fifty.

Finally the stream stopped. Saria stepped into the mine, found only Kirigawa there, and fell onto her knees panting heavily. "Did you... kill the boss... then?" she asked between breaths.

-----

Isaac tried to ignore Frey's music, but the beautiful melody pierced him. The song spoke of longing, spoke of sacrifice, spoke of loss and of isolation--and Isaac's heart listened. One image in particular would not leave his mind: Saria standing there, the only life to be seen among the weapons planted in the ground.

"What is this place?" she asked, confusion and worry mixing in her voice. Isaac looked around as well, but there was only one answer he could find.

"It's a graveyard."

Though he was fond of it in a way, the memory was not a pleasant one. That vision of Saria standing alone among a hundred marked graves drove Isaac to fight harder. The music, sorrowful though it may have been, was building a quiet rage inside the human. It tried to say that one must sacrifice himself for the others--that for the ultimate goal he must deny himself life. Isaac was not one for anger--any who knew him would agree--but he now found himself hating these demons on a personal level. They wanted blood, and the music demanded sacrifice.

Isaac gritted his teeth. Not today; today there would be no loss. The next Rugaru to leap at him was sent three feet under, its entire body experiencing an attraction to the Earth comparable to a small moon. "Gale, throw!"

"Aye-aye, cap'n!" The small demon hefted both the rocks Isaac had given him. Each was larger than Gale, yet they weighed nothing in his hands. Sitting on his shoulders was Pelap, her arms lazily stretching out to each boulder. She touched the first one and returned a portion of gravity to it: an attraction exclusively for the Alpha. The second she pointed toward one Rugaru that was almost through extricating itself, the beast eying Sheridan hungrily. Both rocks shot off, gaining speed as they went as they 'fell' toward their respective targets.

That was all of them. Now or never, and clean up afterward. Gale and Pelap grabbed onto his shoulders and Isaac leaped for Coal, soaring weightlessly over the sand. The rock collided with the Alpha, cracking bones and pushing the beast back. Isaac reached for Coal, summoned Gale's ability to make him weightless, and hauled the demon off the sand. "FIRE!!" Isaac ordered as he and his passenger continued on. They'd be cutting it awfully warm, but his trajectory should have them clear of the blast. Hopefully.

He twisted their bodies midair to put Coal away from the coming flame anyway. Just in case.
 
Sarah and Sheridan yelled in unison as they sent the flames through and over the sand though since Sarah had more control over the fire than Sheridan she made sure none of the flames quite touched anyone on their side but they engulfed anyone else.

"Oh god I hate being in the air!" Coal yelled as he felt nauseous at being lifted. He really did ate not having anything under his feet, it made him sick.
 
Yosuke
​
"Not exactly. I promised him I wouldn't kill him if he gave me information, but he is pinned to a wall in the mine, so he should die of natural causes. All I know is that some guy by the name of Malice was tolled him he would obtain power, and a place to rule, if he minded this stone." Yosuke threw her the red chalky stone that the Goblin Leader gave him. "Any clue what the hell this stuff is? It give me an anxious feeling really..."

Just then, a flying body, came from nowhere, and rammed into Yuuto. It was Ambrosia, and she had him held tightly in a hug, rubbing her face against his own.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. You don't need to worry so much... C-Could you let me stand up now?..." Perhaps he should have been a bit clearer, as the demon let him stand up, but she still had her arms wrapped around his neck.

"In any case, We should report back to the Head of Houses."
 
Davin fended off another series of strikes the Alpha, fighting through the pain to stay light on his feet with his wings, until Coal knocked the Alpha off-balance. Davin took that opportunity to turn and behead the lackey that tried to hit him from behind. The crash of Isaac's two boulders made Davin jump and whirl around to see the Alpha sinking under the heavy boulder. A quick look around showed the other Rugarus being pinned down and Sarah and Sheridan's fire primed and ready to go. He leaped away, pumping his wings and grimacing as he leaped over the rush of fire turning the fine white sand of the lake into shining glass. The Rugarus howled in agony as smoke hissed up around them and their fur caught fire from the intense heat. The glass kept them from moving, however, so Davin and the others could move freely and lop off heads.

However, when Davin found the Alpha, still stuck under the boulder and thoroughly pinned in place, he knelt down beside it. It had many broken bones from the impact and it looked like it would die from its wounds before too long, so he couldn't waste much time. He tried to question the Rugarus Alpha, but when it answered with a bloody gargle, he realized one of its ribs must have punctured its lungs, so it couldn't have told him anything even if it wanted. He sighed and shoved the boulder so Davin could get a clean cut in to put the Alpha out of its misery. He wiped the dark blood from his blade as the adrenaline started to fade from his body. The pain from his injuries seemed to double in intensity and his vision blurred, dark splotches dancing in front of his eyes. He wanted so badly to just pass out and distance himself from the pain, but he fought to stay conscious and sat down, his sword disappearing into his pocket dimension along with his discarded shield.

First thing he did was to lift his shirt and inspect the wound in his side. He frowned at the blood still leaking out, his movements and fighting never letting the blood clot enough to staunch the bleeding and reopening the wound. He would need to clean the wound before bandaging it up. After all, there's no telling what kind of horrible diseases those Rugarus carried with them. "I think it's time we retreated. Call in reinforcements to clean up the lake." His voice came out thick and heavy with weariness, and he forgot to press his communicator so Ariel and Frey couldn't hear him. "We need to get Frey to a healer."

He made no comment on his own condition, since that seemed evident enough. That he took such a beating from the Rugarus at the end filled him with no small sense of outrage and humiliation. Then again, their enemies here proved to be far more capable than any of them thought. The Alphas in particular would have butchered any first-years they found, so he felt glad that Sheridan didn't have to fight them.
 
Saria's eyes hardened as soon as the first words were out of Kirigawa's mouth. She waited for him to finish speaking, but simply pocketed the rock without looking at it and walked past the human as he was tackled by his demon.

"Eh?... Saria?..." He never actually noticed that she had left until just then. "S-Saria, wait! We need head back, and report back!"

We will report back when the mission is finished, and only then, the angel told herself. Saria made her way down the tunnel, trying to find the goblin. She came to a fork, so she listened for any sounds it might be making. The echo of something came up the north shaft, so that was the one she chose. After a short distance, she found the lights had gone out. The tunnel was pitch black beyond their glow. Saria continued anyway, but she proceeded slowly, silently, and on high alert.

Her foot bumped into something on the ground. She gave it another kick to test, deciding it must be a goblin. A dead one. She bent down and held out her pendant, filling it with light so she could take a closer look. Simply by his appearance, she did not doubt that it was the chief. Also clear with a simple glance was the fact that something had crushed its head in from all sides.

Saria was satisfied that he was dead. She turned away and made her way back to the surface. Along the way she pulled out the stone that Kirigawa had tossed her, inspecting it under the artificial light. When she saw Yosuke again, she tossed the rock back to him. "I don't recognize it, but I'm not a miner. Either it's a mineral that humans used to use for something, or it was created after the demons came and is itself demonic." She said nothing of the goblin chief, nor did she see any reason to just yet. He was dead now, as a demon should be; that was enough.

-----

"That's a funny name for you to be calling, being a demon and all," Isaac joked with a smile at Coal. With the flames passed, he set them on the ground once again. Sheridan and Davin had weapons ideal for dealing with the trapped Rugarus, so he allowed them to set to it. Isaac moved to the water's edge and looked over at the point of deepest contamination. In many ways it reminded him of a garden--the largest difference being, of course, that it wasn't growing edible foods or pretty flowers.

Isaac paused for a moment at that thought. Perhaps they were pretty flowers, to the Rugarus. Perhaps this was even their way of growing food; it was a means to create their ideal habitat, so it wouldn't be all that surprising. Nevertheless, it was bad for the people of Fort Bismark and humanity at large, and that meant that it had to go. Spinning back, Isaac surveyed the squad. Davin's wounds were a painful sight, and indeed Isaac agreed with his words; but the mission's goal was right over there and Isaac was still on his feet.

Isaac reached up to his comm to switch channels. "This is Isaac Traverz of the Horizon Hunter Squad. We have two injured that could use a ride back. How close can you get your rigs?"

"These beauties can get anywhere. Just give us a location for pickup." Isaac liked the enthusiasm in the soldier's voice.

"Alright, stand by." Isaac flipped his comm back to the squad channel. "Ariel, Frey. Give our drivers your location and they'll get you out. Davin, you're going, too. Sheridan, you can either go with Davin now or join me for a stroll across the lake. Either way, I ask that you let me bring Sarah; we have some radical gardening to do."
 
"Coal can you go back with Davin? Sarah and I will go with Issac." Sheridan said to Coal as she faced him. Sheridan actually looked like she was about to pass out. It happened to her every time she used fire since it took so much of her energy, and her body heat for that matter since she was shivering where she stood.

"I think you're the one that needs to head back." Coal said frowning as he put a hand on her shoulder.

She shot him a look that explained why she couldn't go back yet, one, she had to watch Sarah. Two, she didn't want to be around Davin yet.

"Okay...just...be careful." he said frowning
 
Thunderbolt had Irrius and Kia back at the rendezvous waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. When Yosuke and Saria came back with their squad, the steed came by and gently nudged his shoulder.

"Good job, Thunderbolt."

The team took was transported one by one, the same way they came. When they arrived, Samuel and Luka were outside awaiting the report. Yosuke understood the randomness of demon hunting, and though he was angry that the Academy did not have as much info, understood that they did not currently know everything about the demons. Having there be more goblins than expected was just another example of the dangers of this school.

"Take the injured to the Medical Ward. They should get their wounds treated immediately." At Horizon, medical treatment was highly advanced, thanks to the divine powers of angels, however even with Divine Healing, an affliction would still require some time before the student is combat ready, and should one die before treatment, then it would take a miracle(Even for angels) to revive them.

"So, Kirigawa, Rubim. What did you discover about the goblin infestation?"

Yosuke tossed his Head of House the stone. "The leader of the goblin band was mining for this stone. Apparently he was doing so under the request of someone by the name of Malice."

"With a name like that, I wonder what his intentions are." Luka spoke sarcastically then turned to his partner, tossing him the stone. "Sam, what do you think it is?"

The angel looked over the stone. Though his face should no change in his calm demeanor, his eyes told a different story. They seemed to be gravely concerned. "I don't know for sure, Luka... But I have my suspicions... You there, take this sample to our research lab." He called over one of the staff members, and they ran off to another building.

"You all must be exhausted. Head back to your dorms and rest for now. You will be excused from classes tomorrow, but please do go if you are feeling alright." With that the angel turned to talk to the new group that arrived.

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The injured at the lake were picked up and taken to the rendezvous. There they too were brought up to Horizon one at a time, based on severity of injury. When Ariel arrived, she was ordered to take Frey to the Medical ward. The two Heads of House were informed that the rest of the team would be arriving shortly. They had eradicated the threat, and were inspecting the lake. Ariel took Frey to the medical ward like she was told to. She wished to stay, but they would not let her, saying he needed rest. Angry, and annoyed she stormed back to her dorm, and lied down face first in her pillow. She held it close, and turned to her side, eyes wide awake.
 
Irrius laughs to himself, having been to this part of the school very often. The burns on his arm are wrapped and have been cleansed, and holds it close to his stomach because movingit sends fresh spikes of pain through his nerves. The burns on his arm are deep, but will only leave minor damage to the muscle in said arm. However, nerves had been burnt out when the wound was taken, and he inwardly sighed as he realized his left arm was, once he recovered, going to be numb for the rest of his life. Of course, obvious things would register, but he wouldn't be able to register anything between his collar bone and his wrist. His hand had gotten through intact, miraculously, and still had fine motor skills.

Leaning his head back against the pillow, he sighed again as he looked up to the ceiling. Inwardly, he wondered who else he'd see in here. Well, since he was out of fighting condition, he could spend some time working in his abilities. Slowly, he began creating various objects in his right hand, the light of the objects glinting in his gray eyes.
 
Isaac could see that Sheridan wasn't doing well. Sarah was in marginally better condition, at least. Even so, the girl was resolute that she would go, and so Isaac would take her. "We'll be back quick, Coal. Don't worry. Hup, two!" Isaac grabbed each of the girls' hands--Sheridan's left and Sarah's right--raised them both off the ground, took a running start to build momentum, and jumped off the glass beach and out over the lake. They had some good momentum, sailing over the murky waters toward the opposite shore.

The closer the got, the harder it was to breathe. Whatever those plants were, they seriously reeked--worse than under Rob's bed. Isaac was happy to have Frey as a roommate this year, as the angel wasn't one who would forget about half a pizza and a bottle of ketchup until he dug it out of a pile of old laundry three weeks later. Isaac shook those thoughts away and focused again. At this point he couldn't stop without dropping all of them in the lake, so the only thing to do was to fly on.

"When we land, wait for me to pull a few of the stalks up. Then start burning it."

"Girl with fire, Sheridan of the Blaze! All the demon crop will she raze. But first, while we have this chance alone: may I have the kiss we did postpone?"

"Save it for the ride home, Gale. We're landing."

The small demon pouted a little, but he relented. Isaac touched down first, guiding his two passengers safely, and then stooped to pry up three of the plants--whatever they were. He stepped back with those and let Sheridan and Sarah set to work. "Don't push yourself, now. I can tear it out if we need to." It wasn't as sure-fire a way to end the corruption as burning--fire would clear everything, while pulling would just handle the main plants--but it wouldn't help to have Sheridan pass out.
 
"She's all out of juice, I can burn it all though." Sarah said as she spun a thread of fire around her fingers.

"Sadly Sarah is right, and I can't even burn anything since Coal isn't here. I'm basically just here to make sure Sarah doesn't act up." Sheridan said as she sighed and slouched.
 
"That's fine. As long as it's burned, that's enough." Isaac sat down next to her, examining the plants. The awful stench lingered on them, and probably would for a week or more. Their coloring, a demonic crimson, was unnatural to Earth; they weren't intended to feed on sunlight, so they needed a different source of energy. Isaac just sighed and set them in his lap. He didn't know enough to say what they were, nor did he understand what had come through the Gate and what was on the other side of it. In all truth, the world Isaac knew was Horizon.

Gale hopped down from Isaac's shoulder and ran to Sheridan. "Now, at last, we might exchange our kiss! While Sarah burns those, we will have a tryst." He floated up to meet her face-to-face and puckered up. Isaac didn't try to stop it this time, but he did find it funny that Gale liked kissing humans so much. He knew girls that could fit his whole head in their mouth; how the little charmer maneuvered a kiss was beyond Isaac.
 
Kia yawned, her shoulder still hurt. She felt bad for that one angel with all the burns. She had no idea that the goblins could inflict such pain. Even though kia's healing kept her alive, there was still some fractured bones, and torn muscles under the wound. So Kia decided to head to the medical ward, in case the damage was worse then she thought
 
Sheridan chuckled and kissed the little demon smiling before putting her hand under his feet so he could stand on her hand. "You're adorable you know that?" she asked laughing and using one finger to rub his head smiling.

Sarah rolled her eyes before sending threads of flamed from her hands to wrap around every plant. She made sure the fire only singed the plants at first before she broke her connection with the strings so the fire was free to roar over the plants.
 
It mortified Davin that he had to leave before the mission's actual completion, but he went without complaining. He hid his wings, putting his wing's injury into stasis so he didn't feel the pain anymore. From there, he moved back to the Academy, trying not to aggravate his wounds. His wounded side constantly bugged him all the way to the Medical Ward, and he gladly accepted the healing. Thankfully, he just felt sore after they finished mending the wounds. He had no broken bones to make it difficult for the healers, so he was able to walk out of the ward. In order for the soreness in his wing to fade, he had to keep them out so they wouldn't be in stasis. For that reason, he had them wrapped around his body like a feathery cloak.

Still, he and Isaac needed to report to the House Heads, so he headed to the command center where they monitored the various missions. He was surprised to find Isaac hadn't returned yet, so he gave a preliminary debrief, describing the events up to his departure. When he described the fighting, Davin did not embellish his own actions. He barely even mentioned them. Instead, he focused on Frey's timely rescue of Ariel, and Isaac's wise decision to put something to their back, as well as his quick thinking in creating quicksand and using Sarah and Sheridan's flames to glass-trap the enemy. "For her first mission, Sheridan performed well in combat. I have some concerns for her ability to think on her feet, but I believe she will improve with experience. She fought competently and worked with her demon, Sarah, well in executing Isaac's plan. Ariel and Frey also performed admirably and showed excellent awareness for their comrades' safety and limitations. Isaac as well remained calm and adapted to enemy movements and problems as they arose. All-in-all, they all performed excellently."
 
Isaac was late getting back because he'd waited for the flames to die down before starting back, just in case they spread and started a wildfire. When he finally did bring Sheridan and Sarah back to the Fort and then up to Horizon, he was surprised to find Davin already checked out and visiting with the Heads. He hurried to join his partner in the debriefing, shuffling into the room just as Davin was finishing his summary. "...as they arose. All-in-all, they all performed excellently."

"That they did," Isaac agreed, trying to enter the conversation smoothly. "I would suggest endurance training for Sheridan; her raw power is good, and her ability to sync will come with time. Frey hasn't been slacking at all in his training, physical or musical. And Davin did such a good job acting that it terrified me." Isaac reran what he could remember through his head once again, checking the numbers. "I think I owe you dinner, by the way. But first: these were at the center of the lake's corruption." Isaac presented the three plants he'd retrieved as he made the declaration. "It's possible that time will clean the lake, but it could take a while. My hope is that Fort Bismark can use these to find a cure, or better yet a preventative."
 
Liam was laying in a bed at the Medical Ward. For three days, he had been bedridden with the flu. Within this time, Liam had read three books, The Gathas, The Archiest of Archers, and Demons for Dummies, cover to cover. Now, he was staring at the ceiling, bored out of his mind. "When can I get out of this place?" Liam said.

As if responding to a cue, a stern-faced nurse came up to Liam's bed. She gave a quick glance to the clipboard at the end of the clipboard. "Well, it's looks like you've recovered from your flu nicely, Mr. Nylpus," She said, "You are free to go when you wish."

Wow, that was fast. Liam thought. He got out of the bed and stood up at light speed. "Thank you 'mamn. I'll be leaving right away." Liam said to the nurse. As he walked out of the Medical Ward, he saw the angels Frey and Irrius. They were both heavily wounded. It seemed that most of Irrius body was covered in bandages.

"What happened while I was out?" Liam said to himself.
 
Sheridan was slouching as she dragged her feet towards the dorms, feeling like she could sleep for a week after what happened earlier. Sarah however was still bouncing around with energy and overall giving Sheridan a migraine. She then felt Coal getting close so she could burn things again. As a result she reached over and left a hand shaped burn mark on Sarah's arm. When she recoiled with a squeak of pain Sheridan glared over at her. "Now shut up!" Sheridan snapped before going into her dorm room just as Coal caught up.
 
Frey​

Frey woke up lying in a bed inside the medical ward of Horizon Academy. He had no recollection of what took place after he finished playing his piece. The most likely scenario would be that he passed out after the piece ended. He was still fatigued, although his legs felt much better. Frey looked around to find Ariel, and although he was relieved she wasn't hurt made obvious by her absence in the medical ward, he was worried about how she might be feeling. Wait, why is he even asking this to himself? Ariel is insufferable, annoying, impish, irritating, meddlesome... alright, let's stop there. But Frey finds himself thinking about how she's feeling. He can't seem to forget that time when she was in tears because of his music. Being able to move people with music has proven to be a very difficult task by a lot of aspiring musicians, yet... Ariel wanted to hear more of Frey's music. Oh, how complicated it all was! Can he really continue living in Horizon Academy like this? If only she knew what he has been going through, she would understand...

No, she wouldn't understand. No one would. They are all the same. Every single one of them.

Frey took a moment to take a deep breath. He didn't realize he was clenching so hard on the bed sheets that he was almost tearing it off. He relaxed his body, all this straining and stiffening was bad for his current state.

But he tensed once more when he heard... familiar... very familiar voices that he so dreaded to hear.

"B-But we wanted to see how bad Frey-san's injuries are!"
"Pleeeaaase? It'll only take a second!"
"Nothing can stand between me and Frey-sama's love for each other, not even a nurse in a medical ward!"
"Please, I assure you, Frey is fine! But he still needs some rest... as do all the other patients here. All this noise is bad for the patients, please leave at once!"

Frey sighed. It was a bunch of girls from his 'fanclub'. They all had different kinds of flowers and notes in their hands.

Welp. Guess Frey's gonna chill here for another week.
 
"Your services are greatly appreciated. Now get some rest. You will not be penalized if you miss them, but if you can go, I expect you to do so."

The Human walked off to the building with the strange plant in hand. Samuel had already walked off to the research lab. Luka found it valuable to follow, and learn more about these strange objects taken from Fort Bismark. It was not uncommon for things such as these to be discovered.

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The at 6:00 in the morning, a the bell rang out six times, before it was interrupted by a school wide announcement.

"Classes begin in one hour. Those of you who partook in the first mission are given the day off, but this is your final day before you are expected to get back to class." It had been six days since the first mission. All students who had been sent to the Medical ward were now able to move around campus freely, but still had to check in from time to time. For those who had gone to class, they were in their Weapon specialty class, Skill enhancing class, or Demonology.
 
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