OPEN SIDE STORY VILLAIN The Evrensel Conflict -- Vandals in the Vatican

[Wade Von Doom]

VATICAN CITY, 1500
​

While the Renaissance was in fully swing, turmoil in the great city of Rome had never been higher. With the Borgia firmly in control of the Vatican, and their militia marching across Italy with successful military campaigns to unify the broken up country into a singular kingdom under their reign, power was firmly in their grasp. The civilian population was divided on the family. For the wealthy and upper class, Cesare displayed beauty, strength, and ambition in his character, putting himself as a boastful man who raveled in the delights of life. For the underclass, there was a constant barrage of propaganda against him.

Rumors of murder, deception, even incest among himself and his sister Lucrecia, all of which portrayed a man of sin masquerading as a benevolent leader of the church's power. Yet, no matter which side of the class, all were still subjects of an Authoritarian dictatorship that tried to quash any and all negative rumors and propaganda, and spread fear of what would happen if you enticed their wrath. The wealth and luxury of Rome belonged to them, and the scraps were to be fought for by everyone else.

This was the world our heroes found themselves in. But they were not alone.

Far from it. As within Vatican City itself, surrounding the newly made Sistine Chapel, a new group begins to form...

--------------------------------------

WITHIN THE CHAPEL:



"Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus. Amen,"

"Amen,"

Cardinals of the papacy were hushed in prayer. They were sat in their pews, hands folded together, joined in holy union for another day of spiritual awakening and philosophical discussions of god and religion in this new era of this world, and the now arrived 14th century of humanity. Along with gossip of current events, like the fighting outside the city's borders between Bartolomeo's Roman mercenaries and the French forces led by Baron Octavian de Valois, or the credibility of the rumors of the Borgia family that started within these halls of jealous and vindictive priests who were disgusted that they could have such power.

Yet, hiding in their ranks, dressed exactly like them, were a few men and women that had never set foot in this world until but a few days ago. They were looking for something within this building. Something that could help them find what they were looking for. Supposedly, at the top of the chapel itself.

------------------------------------------

OUTSIDE THE CHAPEL


​

You are in your home world, doing something of great importance to it. Or, you're minding your own business, keeping to yourself amid your surroundings. Or perhaps you're relaxing in a place you find comfort in, easing away the stress of the day. Then, before you could blink, something blinded you with a white flash, like a camera bulb suddenly went off in front of your eyes. Suddenly, you're in a free-fall. Gravity pulls you left, right and center, as you tumble through the air like a person falling from the clouds down to Earth.

With the speed of the fall pressing against your body, what little you can see is a barrage of bright lights passing you by. It looks like the passing of stars in the night sky at breakneck speed, with your body glowing white-hot like you have suddenly caught fire. Yet, you can also see a faint tint of blue around your body, protecting you from it. But the g-force is so much to take, you begin to pass out. The sound of everything begins to fade from your ears, and the white takes hold of your vision, until finally you black out.

That was the journey of most scattered. Whisked away from their worlds, then dropped off someplace else to fend for themselves. This was no different. They had been placed in the center of the Vatican City in the year of the lord, 1500. And they were nearby the Sistine Chapel itself, with no idea what was in store for them.

 

[Amber Franklin]

Mistress Bex- Character Sheet

In her world, her Rome, this building does not exist. If memory served, in her world this area was a complex of shrines to the various gods of the different people under Roman rule, Bex has never been there herself, having no appetite for the spirit, but she imagines it has to be better than sitting here in disguise among a congregation of feeble humans.

The visage of an elderly Cardinal with bushy black eyebrows and severe lines to his face conceals her identity. Her lips move in mechanical imitation of the prayers as internally, she smiles at how this deity they exalt had done nothing to stop her from reducing this Cardinal to ash in his own fireplace. The same could be done to this entire congregation. But that was unnecessary fun. Her lover needed Bex to retrieve another piece of Obsidium. It was here, somewhere. She only needs a chance to break from this gathering to investigate.

At least she could in the meantime look up, and admire the artwork that adorns this place. It gives Bex ideas for her own palace back in her own world, when she would have the power to bring it entirely into her rule.

 

[Otomos]

Aodh

The city was… decent. In comparison to the previous world. It had its fair share of secrets, but aside from that there was only one major power of note, and there were clear signs that was not only corruptible, but already had individuals that hungered for power in its highest ranks. It was admirable of them to reach so far…but control over the masses was but one part of selfish desire. With only one part, there was just the feeling of control. It provided a rush, but only for a moment, and nothing more.

Aodh was not here to judge how selfish the humans in charge were, though. Nay, this was all just to gain an impression of the world it was now on. Or at least the city in any case. The being was here because of an invitation that it had accepted, but it was not one to listen to sermons. At least, not in its current vessel. Thus when it heard the chanting of worship and praise, it knew to simply avoid it altogether, and wander about. The speaker alone was unconvincing in its delivery. Instead of Hallowed Praise, it was Hollowed Praise. It was dull, and boring, and routine. A clear sign that the speaker either knew nothing of what he was speaking, or did not care.

Before Aodh knew it, he found himself searching the building for anything of interest.

 

[Valkan]

Kasumi Uchiha

"Amen" Kasumi replied to the chant, much like the elderly sheep surrounding her, on her head simply gauging if there were any strong chakra signals nearby, finding none at the moment. Having incinerated a cardinal and taking his place with transformation jutsu, she wasn't all that worried about being caught. That said, she was bored out of her mind. So she pondered on ways to finally kill her son. Last time, he got away in a stroke of luck, but she was not allowing him to get away with his life next time they meet. That being said, she had to bear with this bunch of degenerates for now, for they had the key to both her son, and a world in which to live. For now, she just waited on any sort of signal from Ben or Bex to act.

~~~

Ozwald Ahlgrim

Oz took a moment to acclimate his somewhat overstimulated senses after that rather unpleasant trip he went through. Was it that hard to streamline multiversal travel? Or this "Ben" person just couldn't be bothered? Whatever the case, by now, he had extracted enough power from the grimoire to access his "workshop". A small pocket dimension where he worked on his personal projects, and where he kept his personal squad of robots. After ensuring he was unseen, he disappeared from sight. Popping in a vast, white, seemingly endless flatland, illuminated by what seemed like an eclipsing sun. He broke the unnatural silence of the place by calling out a name "Silcel" a figure clad in black and white manifested before him, kneeling down before Ozwald. "I will be taking some of your Base Units, five of them." "..." The figure nodded, and five more figures manifested behind her. "Thank you, you are dismissed" "..." The figure nodded one last time before vanishing as quickly as she manifested. "You five, activate stealth mode, you will scout the area outside with me." And with that, the robots turned invisible and headed to the real space-time with Ozwald.

Once outside, Ozwald discreetly commanded "Two of you will explore the building ahead with me, the other three, spread out. Do not engage under any circumstance. I'll be watching." The faintest of clanks were heard as all robots jumped away in various directions. Their invisibility and speed would easily fool any of the regular humans walking around, making them nothing but gusts of wind at the most. That said, it was simple magic that could be seen through with the right pair of eyes, or they could just flat out be detected by senses sharp enough. Ozwald himself didn't make use of any of that, and simply strolled to the chapel entrance, relaxed and with his hands held behind his back.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

~~GM~~

"Ite, missa est. Deo Gràtias." With that, the priest ended his sermon, and the cardinals began to stand from their pew to gather together and talk amongst themselves. The priest himself gathered his things, such as his bible and rosary, but noticed one of the cardinals approached him; his head pointed down to the ground while his hands were clenched together in prayer. "C'è qualcosa che non va, figlio mio?" The priest asked calmly.
"Benedicimi, Padre, perché ho peccato." The cardinal raised his head to meet with the priest's eyes.

BANG
A gunshot went off. The priest became baffled and confused. The cardinal was a young man, barely in his mid-20s, and had pulled a pistol out from one of his long sleeves; aiming for his heart. When his rosary and bible dropped from his hands, the young cardinal fired another shot through his head. The other cardinals panicked, quickly turning to where the gunshots came from, only to see the priest's body falls lifelessly to the floor with a loud thud. They began to run away, quickly making for the exit Oz and Aodh came in from, only to be stopped by even more gunfire.

More cardinals revealed weapons from under their attires, quickly moving into crowd control and stopping them from exiting. One in particular firing in the air to grab their attention. "Nessuno si muova!" The soldier shouted out. To say they clearly didn't belong in this time period would be an understatement.

They were a group of fifteen, rounding up all the cardinals into small groups of five and pushing them onto their knees. All the while, the young man threw his own attire off to reveal a shining white set of armor underneath, and began searching the dead priests clothing and items to find something.

He had no luck, however. Whatever he wanted was missing. Which means it was taken. But it couldn't have been that long ago. The thief still had to be here. But how to find them without massacring the whole lot of cardinals? That's where his lovely companions, and new arrivals, came into play.

Oz and Aodh would watch as all this unfolded before them, yet when two soldiers moved their way, they quickly holstered their weapons and saluted them. "Esteem guests," one spoke up in a robotic, gravely voice, "The Almighty awaits to greet you!" That was the name on the invite they got from the mysterious man in white back on the other world.

The Almighty was already approaching them, looking through the crowd. The pistol he wielded was a Mauser, while against his opposite hip was a sheathed thin, silver sword. A big smile popped up on his face one he quickly recognized the men. "Gentlemen!" He called out to them, raising his hands outwards. "I am so honored you accepted my invite! Do forgive the awkwardness of our meeting, however, I had hoped to meet in less stressful circumstances."

With that said, he moved his hand to his comms. "Someone took it. I suspect they're here hiding in sheep's clothing," he insinuated to the others. "Suggestions on sniffing them out?"

 

[The Lotus Archives]

The Shadow Broker


Sailing, it had always been a strange yet enjoyable experience for him. The rhythmic crashing of the waves against the steel plating of his ships armoured side. The steady rocking of the ship bobbed as the water lifted and fell around it. He had always enjoyed these parts of the trip, however there was something less appealing to him about the smells of two or three dozen men all trapped together even for a day trip, he found their colognes and natural musks all a bit too overwhelming at times, not to mention that the damp and moist air didn't help any with its stagnation. The humans smelt bad but he'd consider their natural scents a boon over the heavily artificial ones that many vampires used to cover the scent of the grave that lingered on most after they reached a certain age. Though the beast folk were by far his least favourite. Even now as he paced the floors of his Admirals Quarters with his book in hand, he could smell someone approaching his door, but this one made him smirk. ''Smart.'' The soft wrapping at his chambers door did little to break his stride as he turned the page with his free hand and then waved it to open the door.

His mind memorising the sentence he had just finished as his eyes lifted from his page to the delicate looking silver haired man at the door. ''Smart indeed.'' The Shadow Broker thought to himself as the man's scent swept into the room like a soft breeze when he entered. ''Ser Shade..I wanted to thank you for agreeing to escort me.'' The man began, the soft musical nature of the Fae were one of the few things The Shade liked about them, and the fact they always smelt like the aspect of nature that had birthed them. Taking a paced inhale The Shade smirked under his hood, both from the needless comment and the pleasant smell of the forest that had now filled his quarters. ''There is no need. You've already paid me.'' Came The Shade's slow and roguish response, while he spoke softly the bass of his voice carried his words and their husky resonance effortlessly to the Fae's pointed ears. '"Yes, but Rome is incredibly dangerous for both of our kinds and." Came the honeyed tones of the Fae. "That is true but you paid me to get you to Rome, not protect you through Rome.'" The Shade cut him off, his cold crimson eyes glistened like a darkened jewel as he pieced together the Fae's intention in coming to his quarters. "You wish to change that don't you? This would be wise.'' He offered as he gestured for the Fae to enter and be seated. Once the Fae had seated himself upon one of the large dark wood and plush leather armchairs in the Admiral's Quarters The Shade would close his book and door in one swift motion before he set the black book down on the large desk that sat before the stained glass bay window. ''Yes I would like to hire you to escort me to my contact in Rome and then to the Vatican. Once there I will be fine." The Fae replied after a moment of pause, his words felt weak to The Shade but whatever was bothering the Fae, it was not his problem. '"Very well, we will escort through Rome and to The Vatican. I trust you can pay for this added expenditure." came The Shade's musing retort as he settled himself down behind his desk in his blackened chair, it's large and prominent backing made it appear almost throne like, or perhaps it was the regal nature in which the Shade had sat down, leaned back with both his gauntleted hand forming an upward triangle before him. '"Yes, Ser Shade.'' The Fae replied as he revealed a brilliant pomelo sized sphere of swirling hues of deep purple, red and blue alexandrite from his green satchel, with a smirk on his lips he set it on the desk and rolled it to the Shade who reached out and allowed the sphere to roll into his left hand before he brought it up to be examined. With a soft chuckle the Shade bowed his head and looked at the Fae. ''Very well. We will get you there.''


In the coming day it took to finish sailing to Rome, The Shade would hold the gem out to the light and watch as the colours danced around him. Something about the stone fascinated him, and yet for as much as it drew him into it, it brought many questions to his mind. Why would the Fae give up such a gem? What did he expect to encounter on his way to Rome that would require such a heavy payment. Even now as they stood in St. Peter's Square the fact they had encountered nothing of note made the Shade uneasy, but that was trivial to the column of Templars that came to greet them. The white cloth and gold accented plate armour they wore glistened in midday sun and iterated one's eyes when they attempted to look upon the Templars. ''This is where we depart, Ser Shade, Thank you once again, you should leave this place before they get curious about you as well.'' The Fae offered with a half-hearted smile as he stepped forward and moved to meet with the Templars. It all felt too easy and that is when he noticed the shifting of several Templars behind them as they drew their pikes down in an defensive posture that sealed his exit. ''I think they're already interested.'' The Shade replied smoothly as he reached down for his sabre only to stop as he saw the Fae smile at him and shake his head. ''No, my friend. Return home."' The Fae said as he raised his hand. What happened next happened too fast for the Shade to register. One second the Fae's hand lit a bright green and the next he was engulfed in a brilliant almost blinding white light and then. The Fall.


While he had fallen from an airship before, he had never fallen from atmo before and while Vampires were generally immortal he was worried for a moment as he felt the heat surround him, but as quickly as his worries had risen they like him fell as the protective blue aura wrapped around him and protected his fall. Through the flashes of light and the darkness he lost himself for a moment only to find himself once more standing in The Vatican City. The prayers were the same but the air smelt better fresher, opening his eyes he chuckled as he looked around. All that and the Fae had sent him where exactly? Just a few feet away? Maybe there was more to it, but all his thoughts died when he heard the gunfire begin in the Basilica. While it wasn't his job to protect Cardinals and Priests, however, given the current attempt on his life by these same religious fanatics. He found himself drawn towards the Basilica's steps, his black robes billowed around him as he slowly pulled the straight Cavalry sabre out from its sheath. He was going to kill some priests using the sword of a Priest and find his Fae. He had been paid after all, and such an agreement was binding, and for The House of Spades, nothing was more sacred then their vow.





​

 

[Wade Von Doom]

~~GM~~

The cardinals were checked one by one by the soldiers, throwing off their big hats to reveal their faces. If one of them didn't belong here, Ben had a sneaking suspicion they would be wearing more than just 'puffy red robes.'

"Please, signore! This is a house of God!" One of the cardinals begged Ben, "Whatever it is you're seeking, surely we can come to some sort of reasoning without further bloodshed!"

"I would like that too, father," Ben told him, bending down to get face to face with the older gentleman. "In fact, if the person I'm looking for cared as much as you and I did, they would just reveal themselves now and avoid more desecration in God's house," he shouted it loudly so everyone heard him, "but... as you can see," he looked around to watch the scared faces of other cardinals, "they clearly don't care about your well being as I do." With that, ben pulled out his pistol once more, and put the barrel to the cardinals temple. "In fact, if they had a shred of decency and love for their fellow man as their creed says they should, then why let more innocents die?" He spoke aloud once again, grabbing the cardinal by his arm to force him up on his feet again.

The cardinal looked ready to piss himself from the fear. "You have something I want. And I have no shortage of bullets. Either you come forward, or we send God's children up to meet him."

Again, the church went quiet. The cardinals looked to themselves, wondering if ANYONE was going to step forward. It was then, a murmur took place.

"I'll distract them. You make a run for it."

"Can you handle them by yourself?"

"I must try. God be with you."

As Ben began pushing down the trigger of his gun, a holy light suddenly began to shine down from the rafters of the ceiling. It engulfed the body of a cardinal right in the center of the group, and their clothes began to suddenly disintegrate from the heat, until the primordial body of its wearer revealed herself. An angel.

An actual, genuine angel. Its wings flapped open, and the holy light irradiated from its body like it protected the creature. It looked right to Ben, its helmed face obscuring its stare, but Ben could tell immediately it was one of disgust. It made him smirk.

"Foul creature," the angel told Ben, "you will be smited from this world, and your spirit purified by God's embrace!" Its hands formed together, and an angelic glow formed between its palms. Which it then threw right towards Ben to blow him up.

At the same time, another of the cardinals made a run for one of the passages to the right side of the room. His robe was thrown off, revealing a striking white attire that was armored and covered with pouches. An assassin! And one that was carrying a golden cross with a black jewel encrusted right in its center.

 

[Valkan]

Ozwald Ahlgrim

Ozwald rose an eyebrow as he found himself at the entrance of the chapel. Where he caught a few seconds of a peaceful ceremony, and then, chaos. Quite the sight to behold. Armed soldiers gunning for mostly elderly priests of some sort. A few ran his way, but their steps didn't outpace the bullets chasing them. That's when he and Aodh were addressed, he had just realized they were brought together. Small multiverse it was. Oz remained stoic through it all, the situation was still too volatile to know what to make of it and act accordingly. A low profile was the move. "Peculiar weapon of choice for someone... 'Almighty'." The magic cyborg stated plainly, taking a quick glance at what seemed like an outdated firearm compared to what the soldiers were wearing. The same could be said about their armor too, now that he observed it. Then again, his own also had a somewhat reminiscing of an olden days armor look to it, so maybe there was more to it than met the eye. Ozwald wasted no time and scanned this leader figure from top to bottom, and see what his various sensors could tell him about the guy.

This leader asked around for suggestions on finding someone in specific, but lacking the reason to hunt down, or at least the knowledge of what they were looking for, he opted for silence. This 'Almighty' person decided to guilt trip the other priests rather aggressively to squeeze that knowledge out of them. And surprisingly, it worked. Quite spectacularly actually. With a literal angel coming to the aid of these priests. Oz didn't move, but he did summon his armor, while his grimoire floated in front of him. With the pages of the magic book flipping themselves as the dark scholar weaved prana internally. Though his exterior was still as a statue, fixated on the angel. Using his scanners on it now.

~~~​

Kasumi Uchiha

Seeing as Ben decided to take the aggressive way, Kasumi laid hidden amidst the cardinals. Feigning fear and confusion until there it showed a chance to exploit her disguise. Sure enough, her patience paid off. As the angel revealed itself, through a puff of smoke Kasumi undid her transformation and dashed at the white robed guy with the cross. Blocking his path now, she had her hand in her sword, when she came up with a better idea. Her stolen Mangekyo Sharingan blossomed and as she locked eyes with the stranger, and used one of her special abilities "Stop breathing, will you?" As soon as those words were uttered, the man in white would feel as if his lungs had been frozen solid. He lacked control over them. Kasumi would have taken her time seeing her victim struggle, but she was on the clock, so she went straight to nabbing that cross from him.

 

[Otomos]

Aodh​

Aodh found the spectacle of the events quite entertaining. The terror of the innocents, the arrival of other invitees, the desperate pleads, the unreasonable killings. Oh! How nostalgic it was to see such things. And the Angel! Appearing to actually defend theAh… the recreational activity may not have been planned, but it would be fun!

"Oh! How wonderful! How majestic! Not many could amaze one such as I, but you found a way! I congratulate you. No! I am grateful to you, oh dear host! To provide such entertainment is no small feat. And you, dear Angel! Your dedication is awe-inspiring! Such devotion! Such selflessness! Such radiance! One could write songs about it!… That you should grace us with your presence and the offer of recreation at the expense of yourself, is a rare offer indeed."

Aodh's smile gave a calm, menacing feeling to those who focused hard enough on him. It pulled out and tossed a card on the ground before the angel. On it was a picture of a robed stranger, holding a scythe.

"Let us begin."

Aodh put the flute to its mouth and played a series of rapid notes. A spell, copied from books of Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards: Spirit Of Death.



The card burst into a mist-like darkness, and quickly formed into a personification of Death, slightly enhanced to make things interesting. It was much simpler than the angel's design. Ragged black robes, skeletal hands, a hidden face, and a scythe sharp enough to sever a soul from a mortal's body. It would not do that, not yet. Its purpose right now would be to clash with the angel. And it would do just that, attempting to haunt the angel while also swinging its scythe at it.

 

[Amber Franklin]

Mistress Bex- Character Sheet

The visage of the cardinal allows Bex to play the part of just another terrified innocent bystander when the gunshot rings out, and the congregation becomes a mass of hostages. Behind the disguise, Bex smiles to witness her man at work on his part to flush out their quarry. The disguised Daemon plays her part, submitting to the soldiers when they come to search her. She huddles with the others, pretending to utter the same hushed prayers
to one of their God's champions named Archangel Michael.

Thus far this God seemed to care little for his flock. Would he actually send this Archangel Michael to save his flock now that the wolves had them trapped and felled one right in His house?

Bex doubts it, finds it laughable. A running cosmic joke. Those doubts are revised upon being a witness to the entrance of what appears to be an actual answer to the prayers. Perhaps those words, as in her own, do carry a magic with them that she cannot feel? Kasumi drops her disguise to stop another that had been hidden in the vestments of a holy man.

The Angels' attack on Ben would not stand. Bex drops her disguise, leaps into the path of the light meant to smite him, and it meets the broad side of her large enchanted weapon. It is a weapon made of metal, wood, and her malice, Either the blow would be deflected up, or shatter the weapon as it takes the brunt of the attack.

 

[Raffia Kiryuin]

It had been a pleasant, sunny day with a light high cloud cover over the Illias continent, a land named after the self-centered goddess who had caused no end of trouble for Aliphese the sixteenth, the current Monster Lord and last of the Fateburn lineage. Aliphese had been taking a polar route back to her home continent of Hellgondo which lead her flying mount straight through the heart of the goddess's realm. Clearly irritated by this intrusion into her domain, the goddess attempted to smite her with a magical lightning bolt.

However, as soon as the bolt touched Aliphese, it vanished along with the monster lord, leaving a bewildered Garuda behind. Aliphese found herself hurtling through the surreal starry landscape at unimaginable speeds, a force that would have overwhelmed the feeble mind of a human. Yet, Aliphese, being no mere human, resisted the realm's insistent pull towards unconsciousness.

Finally, she was violently expelled from the starry realm, landing squarely in the middle of Vatican City, with Illias's vengeful lightning bolt hot on her heels. The lightning struck her with explosive force, sending shockwaves that knocked everything within a fifty-meter radius off its feet. Statues crumbled, fountains shattered, stalls were blown away, and humans found themselves pressed against walls by the sheer pressure of the strike that had just hit the Monster Lord, Aliphese the sixteenth.

Remarkably, she appeared unfazed, looking up triumphantly and taunting, "Hah! Nice try, jackass. Next time, give it your A-game!" Only then did she lower her gaze to assess her surroundings and realize she didn't recognize the place at all. Moreover, she couldn't sense a single monster within a five-hundred-mile radius. An absence that would normally be filled by thousands.

 

[Wade Von Doom]

~~GM~~

The distraction seemed to fail for the angel and assassin. In the blink of an eye, the assassin's lungs suddenly felt like they collapsed. All his air was gone, and with panic in his eyes, he stared at Kasumi as she moved in to grab the cross. If this was how he would go out, then at least he could try taking her down with him. With quick thinking, as her hand reached for his, his other arm reached forward to her neck with a hidden blade extended out.

The angel, meanwhile, was rebutted by the ebony mistress herself; deflecting the magical beam with her weapon, and sending it fly off to the side of the chapel. With an incredible blast. the marble stone pillars broke off and slowly began to crumble down to the floor. And with Aodh's deathly scythe swing, the angel narrowly dodged it before it slashed across her arm.

She was not intimidated by them. Nor would she let them win. It was clear would need help in this fight, and summon help she would. "The Lord goes out to fight like a warrior; he is ready and eager for battle. He gives a war cry, a battle shout; he shows his power against his enemies," she prayed to herself, while the holy light she had summoned engulfed her body. Rays of heavenly sunlight then shined through the building, blinding all who stared into its majestic glow.

"I will destroy the hills and mountains and dry up the grass and trees. I will turn the river valleys into deserts and dry up the pools of water. "I will lead my blind people by roads they have never travelled. I will turn their darkness into light and make rough country smooth before them. These are my promises, and I will keep them without fail!" Her prayed seemed to keep her safe from all attacks, as the force of the holy light was so powerful, it felt like gusts of wind from a roaring tornado. The cardinals all watched in total disbelief, while the howling of the wind seemed almost deafening. When she had finished, beings appeared from the light. Men dressed in heavy templar armor, and... looking quite different.

​

"In God's name, we will prevail!" A commander of the unit, size of around twenty men already, cried out to the villains. Quickly, they began taking formation. Half took cover behind the construction equipment, rest took out their swords and charged at the enemy to distract them, to hopefully give the remaining cardinals space to escape.

The angel's faith continued to engulf the cathedral. The building was soon covered in an awe inspiring god ray, while more Knights formed out of the glow to occupy the surrounding area. Which meant they easily spotted both Alice and The Shade. "More heretics of the foreign realms!" One shouted aloud, before several took aim to fire.

 

[Raffia Kiryuin]

After her proclamation to the heavens, the monster lord Alice surveyed the aftermath of Illias's lightning with a disappointed sigh. "And she claims to be a benevolent goddess... A hypocritical liar," she muttered, mostly to herself, as anyone who could hear her was likely incapacitated, deceased, or had fled the area.

Slithering through the streets of Vatican City, she stumbled upon a small tea shop that remained open despite the chaos outside and whatever the colossal beam of light at the church signified. "Probably just Illias playing her usual games for the humans," Alice thought, dismissing the matter. She didn't concern herself with such trivialities. Instead, she focused her attention on the shopkeeper, who appeared genuinely terrified, seeing a seductive snake-like woman in his cafe. Ignoring his whimpering, she ordered tea and cake, which he promptly provided. The shopkeeper seemed relieved that a simple slice of cake and tea was enough to persuade the monster to depart, but to his horror, Alice coiled herself around one of the tables just outside and began indulging in her sugary treat.

Meanwhile, the chaos from the church spilled onto the streets as men in white armor poured out, attacking anything in sight. Eventually, they reached Alice's location. Paying them little attention, she leisurely sipped her tea. For now, she was more interested in finishing her snack than engaging in battle with crusaders wielding shotguns.

The crusaders, unwilling to tolerate Alice's presence, opened fire, but their bullets were futile against her. Not even holy light bullets could harm her, as she wasn't a demon. However, their actions did incur her wrath, particularly when they destroyed her beloved cake and shattered her teacup.

Enraged, Alice's tail coiled tighter around the table, reducing it to powder as she stood to her full height. Gripping the table's intact top, she hurled it like a frisbee at the nearest crusader before unleashing a powerful spell. "Frost Ozma!" she intoned in an otherworldly voice. Instantly, the area in front of her transformed into an icy wasteland as enormous spikes of ice enveloped an entire city block. The magic was so potent that it would take centuries for the ice to thaw, a testament to the formidable power at Alice's command.

 

[Amber Franklin]

Mistress Bex- Character Sheet

Her weapon smokes from the heat of the attack she deflected. The wood is scorched. Bex stands in front of Ben, looking over her shoulder back at him.

"Your plan is working, my love."

Bex sneers witnessing the angel being cut by the scythe. This being was not invincible. She stabs her weapon into the floor when the angel starts to pray, and a strong wind fills the cathedral. The weapon shields herself and Ben from its full force, achieving only to tussle her black hair and her purple skirt to billow.

When the wind dies down, Bex raises her weapon. She wears a jet black metal cuirass over her torso, and a dark purple skirt that covers her legs down to her shins. The soldiers summoned by the angel fire on her, and Bex swings her weapon again to swat most of them from the air. Two hit her, one in her upper arm and another grazed her cheek.

IThe dark mistress yells in raging pain, and swings her weapon again; it breaks off into segments to reach and cut down several crusaders. They are cut in half at the hips, lower, or beheaded before the tip strikes and sticks into a wall. A twist of the wrist, and the weapon reverts to its previous form; pulling Bex forward through the carnage she has created and into the path of more enemies. Every single one to come within her reach is felled by a punch or kick that crushes their armor into their chest and shredding their organs, or collapsing helmets and skulls into their brains.

Bex pulls her weapon from the wall, growling as the wounds she has incurred are slow to heal. The deep faith of their wielders had enhanced the power of the weapons. This was an unwelcome realization, but they heal and Bex does not allow fear to overcome her. She raises her right hand to the holy soldiers and unleashes a stream of fire gathered from days under a hot sun.