Blessed by Night

The only sign that they had by even been in battle was the blood staining their boots and the occasional splotches on their face.

The pair suddenly looked at each other as they wiped their weapons off.

"Damn… barely got any blood on you."

Aisha shrugged. "Aubrey's not a real big fan of the smell. I try to keep myself as clean as possible so that there'll be less of it in our shower at home."

MVLeMpYr-com-story

No one would ever believe that this was the same girl who played in the mud religiously when she and Mal were kids.

Malachi shook his head at the absurdity of their development before something drew their combined attention.

Out of the window, the two of them saw a wave of blue flame strike one of the airships.

Aisha showed visible surprise at the attack and nearly dropped her lance out of shock.

"What the hell was that..? I've barely seen Aubrey use that much firepower..!"

She glanced at Malachi hoping that he may have had an answer, but she found a surprising reaction on his face instead.

Almost like he was sad to see this power being used for reasons that he couldn't explain.

"Hey…you know what this is?" She asked.

A complicated light shone in Malachi's eyes as he smiled uncomfortably.

"Not… specifically. But I know just what it took."

He didn't elaborate further, and Aisha didn't look to interrogate him either.

Normally she would have pressed him for more answers, but part of the reason the two had remained friends for so long is that they both knew when they could launch a successful interrogation and when they couldn't.

So she would holster her questions for now, and see if she had better luck later.

"Alright then... Shall we hit the next ship and-"

*Metallic Voice* "I'm afraid that won't be necessary."

Malachi and Aisha immediately tensed up as they drew their weapons.

Right in front of them, a holographic projection showed up with a man's smiling face situated in the center.

He was the neat type, with sliced back hair, glasses, and and even a lab coat to boot.

He had no I.D on him for Aisha and Mal to identify him, but by the way he was looking he seemed to know the both of them quite well already.

"I believe that there has already been enough death and destruction for one day... You and your little brigade are like the paraponera clavata from South America. Small but mighty!" The doctor raised his fist proudly in a show of mockery.

Aisha glared and tightened her grip on her weapon enough for the metal to groan under her strength.

Immediately, the doctor held up his hands in surrender. "Easy, easy, young lady! Is there a reason for you to be so hostile to me if I've done nothing to you?"

"Cut the shit. You can't fool me."

Aisha's eyes began to glow with a sinister bloody red light.

Her blessing from the greek god of war allowed her to see the amount of blood a person had spilled, either directly or indirectly.

This Doctor's aura was actually comparable to Malachi's, which was truly saying something.

And it was more than enough reason for Aisha to distrust him.

The doctor seemed to realize at some point that he wasn't going to get anywhere by just pretending at playing nice.

Just as well, since he didn't have much of a stomach for it anyway.

Aisha and Malachi watched the man's whole demeanor change in an instant.

He let out a sigh containing a year's worth of exhaustion and slicked his hir back even further.

"Alright you arrogant little shits. You god-loving sycophants think you might be outside our focus from the war, but let me be the first one to tell you that it's the furthest thing from the truth.

We are painfully aware of the continued existence of every single one of you. We were foolish to believe that you were some sort of saviors before, but no more.

You all sat idly by while our world was destroyed by those creatures, and you, Malachi Saint, are the man who was responsible for bringing them here!"

Mal contemplated telling this doctor the truth, but he figured that it would make no difference to him either way.

Whether the gods or their apostles were responsible for the end of the world, they would all look equally as guilty to those who were on the outside.

"How are you liking my newest countermeasures against you? I know they are no nuclear warheads, but they have a high potential for growth, mind you?" The Doctor asked.

Almost immediately, Malachi and Aisha felt their jaws clench up as tight as vice grips.

The air surrounding them began to cry from the pressure they were exuding unconsciously, while the snakes on Malachi's back became bigger and darker.

"Are you trying to tell us that you created the abominations in a fucking lab..?" Malachi asked dangerously.

"No." The doctor said flatly.

"Then why the fuck-"

"I created the serum that turned them into abominations. I feel like there is a difference to be pointed out." the doctor said with an eerie smile.

Malachi felt his gums beginning to bleed from how tightly he had clenched his jaw.

"I can promise you... you will not die peacefully."

At this point, the good doctor leaned forward with an uncanny smile on his face that would be enough to make the average person's skin crawl.

"That's fine, because Miss Bianca won't either."

Suddenly, the doctor's image vanished and what showed up on the holoscreen was an image of a flaming woman being held up by a giant green monster.

Both of her arms were restrained and she was being held up by her head as she struggled in vain.

Not a second later, the sky outside became ominously dark, and the skin on Malachi's body began to burn away.

For the first time ever, Aisha became slightly afraid of how far her friend might go for revenge.

-

Outside, Vlar was still holding the squirming Bianca when the entire state became devoid of light.

As he looked up into the sky in confusion, he saw a living star barreling towards him at the speed of sound.

Before he knew what was happening, a strong knee borreled right into his nose and temporarily knocked him right onto his back.

He dropped Bianca immediately and she was caught within the arms of what resembled her most cherished person.

However, instead of being relieved, she was concerned.

Bianca was uniquely in tune with all of Malachi's emotions and thoughts no matter how obscure they might have been.

So when she could feel nothing but emptiness running around in his mind, she knew for certain that he was more than a little upset.

And for the life of her, she didn't know if he would ever go back to being himself after this.