The Overlord of Gluttony I

The Overlord of Gluttony sat like a child, playing with a few twisted pieces of metal. He picked them up, forming unusual sculptures out of them. He chuckled to himself, his eyeless face plastered with a wide grin. 

A shadow loomed over him. He turned. The eye watched him, its tentacles stretching out all around him. The darkness hummed a silent tune. The Overlord bellowed, rising up from the ground, and he began moving, marching towards the sound of the fighting. 

The Reaper watched the Overlord march, turning towards the darkness. It wasn't there, not really. And yet, at the same time, it was everywhere. The song of death and decay, wherever it was, the darkness was there too. Ever watching, ever singing. 

Elena fell to her knees in relief as Luna leapt in front of her. Several more wolves charged towards them. Rin and Rena stood side by side, rifles in handing, raining down a storm of fire and ice, stopping the charging Shadows in their tracks. 

The other squads set up positions in the building behind them, raining down gunfire as Delta and Foxtrot squad's charged forward, intercepting and engaging other Shadows in close combat. 

"Here." Mira said, coming alongside Elena and healing her with water Nin. Rena walked over and began doing the same for Astra. 

"You guys..." Elena smiled. 

"Jeez, why do you always get so messed up whenever you go off by yourself?" Mira scolded. 

"Elena!" Rell came along side her, checking up on her. 

"Rell..." She smiled, a little wider. 

"You all right?" He asked. 

"The rest of the Sisters with me are dead." She shook her head. 

"We lost a bunch too." Jina said, approaching her Captain, Astra. 

"Captain, you look like you're going to die." Yana said, tucking her hands behind her head, entirely too casual for the battle raging around them.

"Yana..." Astra grit her teeth. "I'm a lot tougher than that." 

"Oh I know. Running Foxtrot permanently would also be a pain, so don't die on us, kay?" Yana shrugged. 

Astra and Elena's wounds healed within a few moments, closing the wounds up but leaving behind noticeable scars. It would take a bit more Water healing later to get rid of those. Hina approached, letting out a quiet sigh of relief upon seeing the two of them safe. 

"Did you find the Overlord?" She asked. 

"No." Astra shook her head. "That Reaper bastard jumped us though." 

"The Reaper?" Rell asked. "That thing Elena has been dreaming about?" 

"Probably. Didn't think he was real till I saw him." Astra said, getting up and checking her wounds over. 

"You're welcome." Rena let out. 

"So he is interfering..." Hina clicked her tongue. "He's kept out of our business for so long..." Hina shook her head. "No matter, let's finish off these Shadows and continue. The mission is still in hand!" 

"There you go." Mira said. "That's most of the major stuff healed."

Three elephant Shadows charged at them. Luna looked back sleepily. Elena nodded, readying her weapons. 

"All right!" Rin cried. "Let's show em what Alpha Squad is made of!"  

Rin grinned, dropping down on one knee and charging her Fire Nin. 

"Fire Bird!" She pulled the trigger. 

Three swallows made of fire erupted from her weapon, soaring right at the elephants with explosive speed. They hit their marks, sending a surge of flames. 

Luna charged forward, Mira following behind. 

"Whack." Luna muttered, using the edge of her shield to smack an elephant backwards. 

Mira flipped over her, piercing the elephant's barrier through. Another elephant charged forward.

Rena fired, an bullet of ice slamming into it and freezing its legs in place. Hina Flicker Stepped, slicing straight through the elephant and killing it. 

Rell charged forward, dancing around the last elephant, dodging utilizing After Images and Shadow Sprinting. He readied his sword, channeling Shadow Nin into it and igniting it with a dark flame. With a swing, the elephant's barrier shattered like glass, leaving an opening for Elena to follow up, twisting through the air and cutting it down.

Elena stumbled upon hitting the ground, nearly following over before Rell caught her. 

"You allright?" He asked. 

"I'm more worn out than I thought..." She managed, forcing herself to stand. 

The other Sisters cleared out the attacking Shadows. The bullets became silent as the air stood still. 

"That looks like that was of them..." Hina said, flicking dust of her white uniform. 

"Allright, let's..." Rell fell to his knees. 

"Rell!" Elena cried out, now her turn to pick him up. 

The sound rang his ears, overwhelming his thoughts. It was so clear now, the voice. A deep, sad song. Its rhythm was clear to him, more than ever. 

"Looks like we're good." Astra grinned, turning towards her squad. 

"Yeah..." Yana nodded, relaxing her grip on her battleaxe. 

A faint footstep echoed, shaking the ground beneath them. 

"Something is coming..." Rena said, scanning the cityscape with the scope of her rifle. 

"You see something?" Rin asked, turning towards her. 

"It's here." Hina muttered. 

"Rell! Rell!" Elena shook him, but he didn't seem to notice her.

The song rang in Rell's ears. He was in the darkness again, but this time, he had his body. He looked up and saw a presence. It had the faint silhouette of a man. It was featureless, save for the one, glowing red eye. The song was coming from it. It was humming.  It lifted its finger at Rell, pointing. Rell turned. 

He saw light. The girl next to him, shaking him, glowed brightly. A figment of light. He turned, seeing the other Sisters. Dozens of lights in the shape of humans dotted the landscape. And then he saw it. In the distance, a great tree streched far into the sky, an overwhelming light, like the sun. He squinted, overwhelmed by its brightness. He thought he saw someone standing there. Looking at the shadow...

"Rell!" Elena shook him awake. 

Rell turned, seeing the Overlord in the distance, leaning between two skyscrapers. 

"Fall back!" Hina cried out. "Follow the plan! We'll lure it back to the downtown area and pepper it with sniper fire! Once we get an opening, Rell will destroy the barrier!" 

The Shadow grinned, before opening its mouth. Gigantic glyphs formed on the ground all around them. 

"Earth Nin?" Luna's eyes widened. 

"Oh shi..." Yana's eyes widened. 

The Overlord laughed as the earth split.