An Orchestra of Cicadas

Madison nodded introvertedly. The man had flicked away in an instant. Nevertheless, she still felt weakness in her hands, and sat back on the lounge's couch. "Thank you," she droned lifelessly.

"Hey, are you alright?" Nicola asked, a small frown on her face once she saw Madison. She still seemed scared, almost horrified to the point of no return, and perhaps a shade lighter than normal. Flopping onto the couch unceremoniously, her eyes glanced up at the ceiling blankly as glowing red streams of light wrapped its way around her arm, the tips of her finger looking almost bloodied beyond repair. Shit. She forgot to let go of the excess demonic energy she had received back on that fateful night in Alaska. At first, Nicola had thought about simply trying to hide it, but the way it snaked above fabric only seemed to make it more difficult.

Soon enough, her hand was completely stained with red. Clearing her throat, she gave a small smile to D'Angelo. "Looks like you'll be seeing that demon," Nicola started, her grin widening. "I sort of forgot about something kinda important. Haha..."

"Yeah, you don't look too well." D'angelo stared at Madison. She still seem shaken up about her illusion. He supposed he would too if he saw something like that. He then focused his attention to Nicola. "Really? Right here?" A confused look came upon his face. Was she crazy? Did she feel the need to display her gift since we already did? A red glow seemed to be emitting from the girl's hand. What the hell was that? "Hey.... What's up with your hand?" It was a bloody red glow. Was she going to shoot a demon out of her hand? A small smile slowly forming, even though this was probably not the right time for a demon, it still seemed pretty cool to him that he would see a demon. Wondering what it would look like.

"Yeah..." She looked up with a start. Dammit, she shouldn't look too sullen and down so much around new people. She needed to be happy and interesting, that's how you made friends! She did this by focusing on Nicola. "Whoa," was all she said, however, staring at her glowing hand. The fuck was going on?

No, she wasn't fucking crazy, but thanks for pointing out the possibility, D'Angelo. Holding onto extra demonic powers was not something she should have done. Well, that's one thing when you have to stab a friend to make them stop going insane and mad like Satan, and it was an entirely other thing when it was because some Goatman decided to try and chop some kids' heads off for dinner and forced a demon and angel to fight with one another from going out of control. "I sort of ran into a demon back in Alaska, and... kind of forgot to let go of the portions that I didn't need," Nicola admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head with her non-bloody hand. Stretching her arm well above her, one finger pointed out as the others clenched together, save for her thumb - as though she was going to shoot a bullet from the very tips of her nail.

A bolt of red flashed through from her fingers, straight into the ceiling, leaving cracks there as it began to expand wildly like a cell that couldn't control its own growth rate. There was a bright light, and she thought she could hear some students screaming as crimson emerged as a sword, forming from out of her skin. Dark gray clouds seemed to thunder above them as the room was filled with unknown glyphs, drifting around the area like the wind. In front of them stood the demon with its skeletal-like arms, horned face, and long coiling tail. No facial features could be seen, obscured by spines and long teeth, its blade-like legs floating above them, another mouth protruding from its chest. It was a living nightmare, and Nicola saw one or two people pass-out in the corner. "Whoopsie~ Forgot I had an audience today."

Once all of its features came to full detail, a small frown crossed her features as an exasperated sigh escaped from her lips. "Jeez, I thought it would've been a higher level demon. This is a pretty weak one." That was what that excess energy was for? What a waste. Still better than nothing. She'd just reabsorb it to strengthen her sword, as usual. Just as long as she wasn't the one holding onto it. Holding her weapon down, she leaned on it as though it were a walking stick lazily. What a bother.

A bright red light emitted from the ceiling where Nicola had shot it out of her hand. Watching In awe as the demon began to materialize, The autumn felt chills on the back of his neck. The lounge had turned into something from a demonic movie scene. Bloody red atmosphere, strange glyphs all around them, and of course, the demon. It was quite the site to see. Some students had passed out as soon as the demon was fully animated. "It's...really...A...demon..." D'angelo stood there looking up at it. Almost in disbelief of what had folded right in front of him.

"Weak? How can you tell? It don't look weak." He'd hate to see what a high level one was like. He managed to look away from the demon, his neck moving slowly to Nicola's direction. A sword? Where did that come from? It was pretty cool looking he thought to himself. "Well... Don't just stand there. Kick it's ass." This was going to be really interesting. He stared at Nicola and then back at the demon. Weak huh?

Madison stared wide-eyed, speechless as to what was happening. It was when the demon began to appear that she covered her eyes. No, she could not see a demon. Her regular hallucinations were bad enough, she didn't want something that terrifying staying with her, running through her mind and into the darkness. No, she couldn't see it. The girl managed to get to the door while shielding her eyes, and ran out of the Lounge. No, she couldn't take it. Screw new friends, she couldn't take it, this whole school was fucking crazy.

Again, thanks for pointing out the possibility that Nicola's fucking crazy. As soon as Madison bolted out of the room, Nicola let out an exasperated sigh, adjusting her cap with one hand. Glancing back at a few others, she could only see other students following, and honestly? That was probably the best choice. Things were going to get messy in the lounge and the number of people who would want to be splattered with demon blood were zero to none. She tossed her sword up to adjust her grip, and without looking back at D'Angelo, she gave a hasty warning, "You should probably vacate the area. And tell the office that I ruined their precious lounge because I wasn't being careful." One leg moved back and she allowed her bangs to obscure the features from her face, taking a deep breath. "Mind telling Madison I'm sorry, by the way?" Her grasp around the hilt tightened, and without another word, she bolted straight into the air as the bony tail tried to sweep her off her feet.

She didn't try to use it to her advantage, though, landing in the same spot back on her toes. How did this demon attack? What were its patterns? Goddamn, she didn't have that much time to figure this out. Taking too long would mean half the campus destroyed and she didn't have the money to pay for that. Nor did any of her families. As she kept thinking, Nicola casually dodged from side to side, ever so occasionally arching her back to dodge an overhead blow. It likes using its tail...

That certainly wasn't a smart idea. Her face twisted into a grimace as the demon let out a deafening screech, ringing its way into her head and glass around began to shatter, raining down a shower of dust and shards like a hailstorm, parts of the ceiling dropping from above. Some of the upper-stairway came crashing down as though it were an angel from heaven, and she could hear the entire room creaking, and behind her, there was a loud boom!, and the wall from behind exploded into a cloud of dust, heat, and debris.

When the dust settled, Nicola stood there, digging the tip of her sword into the ground as she lazily leaned on it. "Your aim is really off. I'm not that short, you know," she grumbled, half-expecting that this would be a decent fight of some sort. The red blade shrilled something, glowing with an intense light, and immediately, the hollow dead eyes turned and shot towards her. If she would expect anything, it was that it was really mad at her. Probably shouldn't have taunted it...

Immediately, it ripped its claws where she was at, and with scarcely any time to react, Nicola grabbed her sword, flipping backwards as the tips of its nails grazed her skin, blood beginning to spill from the cuts. The demon couldn't get its fingers out of the floor, stuck there in a pinch as it desperately tried to pull them out. Waving one finger back and forth with a 'tsk' sound, she stood there, smiling and stomped her foot onto the concrete. "Nice try, but you forgot about one minor detail." As if to emphasize her point, she directed its attention to the floor and once it turned its face, her knee shot up, kicking straight up and shooting down like an ax, knocking off one of the horns that bulged from the top of its head.

Another pain-splitting hiss echoed throughout the room, practically heard throughout the school grounds. It raised its tail up unsteadily, planning to whisk at its opponents face and wipe the grin that crossed her features straight off like an eraser, but Nicola saw that coming. As soon as it began to plummet down, letting gravity do the rest, she jumped up with the grace of a ballerina combined with a loose berserk. Once she landed, her entire body balanced on the ball of one foot, tipping and teetering around as though it were a seesaw, and slowly, she managed to get both feet on.

Dashing up the spine, she charged forward, holding her sword high as it flashed through, slicing each horn off with swift work as it become a whirling blur, her footsteps ringing throughout the demon's hollow body. It couldn't move, standing as still as concrete and stone. It was just stalling. Where the hell was this stupid thing's weak point? Normally, it'd be the horns... but seeing as it hasn't disintegrated to ashes, Nicola knew she was completely wrong.

The body began to move, trembling and quivering as the claws unearthed themselves from the ground. With a small gasp of surprise, she slipped off, barely managing to land on her own two feet as the demon stood up tall again, floating above with boiling anger. And it plowed forward, quickly speeding up with each strike as it tried to impale her with its bladed legs or catch her off balance with its tail.

Nicola constantly moved back and forth, avoiding each attack as best as she could. Her breaths were becoming shallower and her heart was racing, pounding from inside her chest and her head was throbbing in pain. Cheeks slightly flustered, she took a quick break in-between the movements, loosening the grip at her sword's hilt.

She shouldn't have done that.

Demonic eyes lay on the vulnerable state, and if it could smile, it would've been an evil one filled with malice and contempt. The ends of its tail lashed out, wrapping around her leg and she immediately lost her balance, dropping her sword in the process as she was flung up into the air, clouds of dust falling around her as she slammed straight into the wall. Her entire body felt completely broken as the barrier behind her splintered open, surprised students glancing at her as bruises began to well up on her arms and legs.

Once they had looked up, the students didn't even bother trying to help anyone else, stampeding back to the safety of their dorms. What was worse was that those stupid, goddamn cicadas could come in now. Their constant strumming pounded in a staccato rhythm, and the demon must've found them annoying enough to start swinging its tail back and forth to try and get them to leave. The drum-like vibrations filled the air, and for once, Nicola was very glad to see those hopping insects around.

That moment was very short-lived.

Using whatever walls left, the demon had begun to bounce around, gaining momentum with every leap and bound before closing in on her, knocking her back a few feet as more school property was damage. Her entire body was so fucking sore and it felt like she had been run over by a truck tenfold the amount of times the daily amount of times a car-crash took place. Grumbling as she clutched her sides, Nicola's hands tried to reach for the sword that was just around, but it was blown off to the side and she was left defenseless. A large cut ran down her front side, and she could care less about how tattered her clothes were.

"Damn, I must be out of it to lose to a Level 4 Demon."

The demon kept coming at her, not pausing in its movements as it slowly levitated closer and closer, dragging on a suspense that might as well mark a jump-scare in a horror film.

"Are you going to be cliche or are you going to get this over with?"

It didn't seem to heed her words, inching across at the same pace. And something caught her eye, and she focused on it as black spots began to fill her vision. There was a crack and a large circle disgustingly bulging out from around its left shoulder - and that area seemed to be bound tightly around the rest, with veins pulling in towards it. With the weak energy she had, Nicola twitched, her hand at her side beginning to clutch itself into a gun-like shape.

The demon was over her, its shadows darkening the area around her, and in triumph, it let out another powerful roar, holding its arms out in victory. Do all demons have to do this when they think they've beat me? Nicola would've let out another sigh if she weren't concentrating on one point. Just one point.

It only lasted a second.

A blast rippled throughout its body like a bullet flashing through flesh and breaking apart the innards. As soon as it stumbled back, she took the chance to roll onto her hands and knees and get up, picking up her sword before charging back in, deflecting the tail that came after her. The demon was on all fours, screeching and glaring dangerously at its prey as it skidded across the room. Nicola took the chance to get into close combat, switching to offensive once again as her sword whirled around, twirling and moving so quickly.

She matched the blades from its legs, the tail, deflecting each as best as she could. Her balance was fading. Taking a deep breath, Nicola inhaled... exhaled... inhaled.. exhaled. Not much time left. Asthma did its worse when it was needed the most, huh? The demon darted into the air, using gravity to pierce towards the ground, and she quickly rolled to the side as the floor began to break into two, splintering like an earthquake doing too much damage. Holding her sword up above her, she blocked whatever she missed.

As soon as it was on the ground, Nicola sprinted back onto her feet, springing back up and slicing its backside completely in half. sending the demon straight into the ground as another debris and cloud of dust scattered around it. Once it was laying helplessly on the floor, she wasted no time in driving her sword straight into its body, dragging it across and giving it the same nasty wound it had given to her on a more severe level.

And she hit the weak spot. It went flying back, suspended into the air as bright blue light emitted from the slash until the entire area was bathed in the light. Pulling her hat down to block it, she clenched her blue eyes shut until it passed over, particles dissolving into the air until they became absolutely nothing.

Panting as she stood up straight, Nicola allowed the glyphs to surround her and the particles slowly drew themselves into her sword, causing her hair to flare up in a wind that didn't exist. She muttered ancient words under her breath and soon enough, everything became red and wrapped themselves into her blade, strengthening the blood color and metal that came with it.

"So... not... worth it."

Nicola dropped like dead-weight, taking the toll of her exhaustion as her vision started to fade, and clinging onto her sword as she steadied herself on her knees, the blade slowly began to embed itself back into her skin before her hands fell onto the ground with a plop!, and she was left panting for breathing and coughing from using too much energy.

Goddammit. That was not a Level 4. Why was it registered as one?

"Yeah, sure thing. If I could find her that is." Madison had darted out the lounge followed by a few students right after. He looked at Nicola as she was prepared to take on the demon. "Well...Good luck!" Without hesitation he ran out of the lounge. Vacate the area first. He looked at all the students running from the lounge like mice. Okay, no need for that. Everyone was already fleeing the scene chaotically. Alert the office about the incident taking place or find Madison. Madison seemed like the first priority. She had left terrified as hell and D'angelo knew the longer he took, the harder it would be to find her. Besides, he figured someone else would alert the school staff about what was taking place in the lounge. He scanned through the rush of students quickly and didn't see the girl anywhere. Damn. His best bet was to see the area from higher ground. Loud noises had came from the lounge, the ground below seemed to shake as well. The intensity of the battle could be felt just outside of the lounge.

The only place he could teleport to for a better view was the top of the lounge. He knew very well he would have to spot Madison fast once he was up there. Didn't want to take the chance of the roof caving in. D'angelo teleported atop of the lounge. He could feel the trembles of the battle under his feet. "Damn it Madison where are you?" It took a few second until he was able to spot her. She was still running frantically. A few students right behind her. Without a moment to spare he teleported near where she was running.

As soon as he had appeared back on solid ground he darted off in the direction of where he had seen her running. Using his length to take long fast strides. Pushing students out of his way, he finally was able to see Madison. "Madison! Slow down! Everything going to be okay!" He shouted toward the girl. It proved to be no use. Whether she couldn't hear him or whether she chose not to stop, he needed to calm her down somehow. Tailing a few yards behind her, he decided his only option was to stop her by force. He teleported a few feet in front of her and stretched his long arms out so that she wasn't able to just run around him so easily. "Hey! Stop running will ya?"

She couldn't hear him. Maybe it was panic, maybe it was frustration. All she knew was that she hated that school, she hated it. Her head down, Madison did not notice him having teleported in front of her until it was too late, and she bumped into his chest and fell to the ground.
"When did you...?" It seemed like she remembered his power as she said that. "W-why did you...?" She sprang to her feet, and tried to move past him, cloudy-eyed and frail-voiced. "Let me by, I want to go back to my dorm..."

"Sorry about that. I should have teleported a few more feet back." D'angelo was about to help her up when she sprang up and demanded he let her through. He could hear the fear she had in her voice. He let out a sigh before speaking, "Fine, just calm down, okay? Take a deep breathe, Madison." He moved out of her way and walked right beside her. "Come on, I'll walk you over to your dorm." He looked at her with a smile. Hoping it would calm her down.

Her mind was racing. "No!" She practically yelled there, shutting her eyes and coming a foot-stamp away from a tantrum. She seemed to regret it, regret the harshness of her volume and tone, but she held steady to what she wanted in that empty hallway corridor. "I...u...no thanks, I...should get going." And she jogged off. She fucking ran. How pathetic, how pathetic, how pathetic, how pathetic, how pathetic, how pathetic. She didn't stop until she got to the dormitory building, until she slammed the door to her room and locked it. She wanted to go home. She wanted to die.