Devil Sabnock V

''There is no one around us. Make me truly banished so I can finish this.'' Abram whispered, barely holding his breath. The demon behind him heard him clearly. The skeleton figure came closer to his face.

''You believe that frees us from our curse. You know that the memories of this moment will be ripped from you.''As rare as it was, the demon replied, his long claws stretching at his sides.

''Why would I even want to remember this...I'm just hurting a friend again.'' Rush walked between the mists. He was clearly out of breath as well. But the demonic shield encroaching on his arm was shining a bright red light from within its mouth. It looked like an infernal furnace and tainted the mist red in its rage. Even if he had started this fight, Abram wished to turn his sight away, but walked forward anyway.

''To not be loved, to not be hated, if that is what you wish as a human being, so it will be." .''The voice of the bride has never been clearer. The mist spread forward, with a clear sharpness in his eyes. Rush was covered in mist behind his shield, the mist crashing against it like a wave, but Rush remained as steel against the storm, unmoved at its center.

''Give it a rest, you will not make me retreat....''Rush suddenly lost his voice as he looked around, confused.

''You... where am I? Rush put his head against the back of his shield as his mind was turning void. His expression was one of absolute fear. He couldn't recall, why he was standing there and now anymore.

''Don't lose your temper human, don't let such a pathetic curse shake you! " The demon shield told his contractor and Rush Collins crashed his head with force against the back of his shield, regaining his senses due to the sudden pain.

''I will stop anything that threatens our city!" It mattered not who the enemy was, if he had raised his shield, an enemy was clearly in front of him, no matter the reason he had to fight.'' The scales of steel erupted from his left arm. Long iron spikes pierced out of his skin in a violent display. He bared the pain with a furious howl. Abram had cut the distance between them, with his dagger at hand, taking full advantage of the confusion of his enemy, but he could tell that Rush had snapped out of it terribly fast. He regained his footing and abandoned his attack to dodge to the side. The spikes of iron were launched from his arm, Rush recoiled out of the pain, but that spike of steel, pierced Abram at his shoulder, throwing him to the ground. The rest of them crashed into the walls around them, leaving a trail of holes all over the walls.

The bride took shape from within the fog behind Rush and swung down her claws, Rush turned on his heel, using all of his moment to move the shield towards the demon. The gaping mouth of Sabnock opened wide and it bit down on the claws of the demon. The creature howled, for the first time, but with its other hand, it grabbed hold of the shield. Abram stood up, ripping the spike out of his shoulder, his blood dropping to the floor again.

''Í's sorry, please just stop Rush, before is too late!'' He screamed, forgetting all pretense of secrecy, and threw the spike back at his old friend. It crashed against his back, piercing Rush. Just like back then, it was all just like back then. Dancing in that maddening rush once more, Abram ran forward, Rush barely managed to turn back at his attacker, ripping the arm of the bride with the force of the shield. The demon screamed in a ghoulish lament, fading back into the mist. Rush Collins knew instantly who his enemy was as he raised his shield one more time.

''Abram, you fool" He was about to strike, when suddenly his friend, Abram, disappeared from his eyes. Rush gritted his teeth and prepared to crash down his shield, but that small moment of confusion was all. Abram reappeared again with his dagger reaching for his heart. They were now face to face with no distance between them.

''Agh...Rush bared the pain.'' He had blocked the strike to his heart with his human arm. He was bleeding again. He stared down at Abram with his eyes clouding, He tried to raise his shield, but his arm had no strength. He had lost too much blood, so instead, he moved his right arm, throwing the dagger to the floor and throwing his right hook into Abram's face.

''I can't die, I won't give up on my hometown, on anyone!'He punched Abram again, making him back away helplessly before striking at his head again. Abram could barely see anymore. His consciousness was fading away. He tried to move forward, but the next strike knocked him down. He could only see the expression of anger and pain on his friend's face, a very familiar sight, as he fell down onto the floor, the mist dispelling into nothing as his back hit the ground.

''Ahh...It seems you won't survive this one human, but once more, remarkable." Haha, that said you were truly amazing. Few have ever wielded me for so long. Some of you humans are worth praising.'' Sabcknock smiled, the red light on his mouth fading away. Rush Collins fell to his knees, unable to bear the weight of his shield any longer. The demonic shield praised him with a humble tone, as the long string detached from his arm, leaving only the wounds on his skin. It was too much, as inhuman as he was, he couldn't regenerate such a loss of blood.

''I still have much more to do, I can't,''Rush kneeled over losing consciousness as well. There they remained, neither of them able to claim any victory, no matter how painful it could have been.

''Are you still with us''Abram opened his eyes. He felt a gentle warmth all over his body. He couldn't bring himself to speak yet. He could see the face of a stern man. Mr.Cao had his hand on his chest and a flaming bird was opening its wing above Cao's shoulder.

''Bringing you both back from the dead, will not be cheap for me. Do not forget, all power comes at a price, but no need to worry, I healed Mr.Collisn just enough to keep him among the living, so get up and give me a hand, I can't carry a man like that on my own.'' Abram wished to do anything but that effort, but he stood up. Collins was on his back. The steel on his skin had disappeared, leaving only a small iron face stuck on his left arm, but it didn't move, let alone speak. They both got him on their shoulders, to force the tall man to stand up.

''You know that whenever we leave him alive or not, it will be up to him and the boss now.''Cao reminded him. Abram sighed.

''I did the best I could... or at least I think so, I can barely remember what just happened.'' Cao looked at him with concern, but he just walked forward as the mist surrounded the three of them.

''Let us pray that your foolishness was the right call then. More often than not, that is all we can do, Mr.Abram.''