Chapter 41: Familicide
The first Neogene made her move right after Raven's provocation. Only to see her target sidestep her lunge like she was a child. Raven grabbed her by the ankle and swung her around, slamming the Neogene into another like she was a baseball bat. Her fist clenched and Raven smashed the two colliding Neogenes through the reinforced facility walls with a punch. Feeling attacks coming behind her, Raven backflipped, seeing two Cloneblade blades on a path to her neck like a guillotine. She landed behind them with an unchanging expression and severed one of their arms at the elbow with a kick. The Witchblade's bladed heel easily severing through the flesh and armor of the now armless woman.
Raven caught the severed appendage while ignoring the painful wails of the now powerless girl. "Hm.. Definitely not as strong as the Witchblade. I'd even say it only has a quarter of its power. Oh well"
Meamwhile, Yang took out her own blade, Burning Edge, and was currently fighting off three Neogenes. Their attacks grazed her aura bit by bit and every time she attacked one, the other two hit her back. Her anger started rising as she was put on the backpedal. Until one of them narrowly missed hitting her neck. Yang saw blonde locks falling to the floor slowly and immediately saw red.
The next Neogene to attack her was set ablaze thanks to her flaming aura. "AAAAAAHH!! HELP ME!! HEL-" The Neogene screamed in pain before taking a monstrously strong fist to the face and being launched thirty feet down the hall.
"YOU CUT MY GODDAMNED HAIR!!" Yang growled angrily before blocking the next Neogene and cutting her arm off, letting the Cloneblade she possessed fall to the floor.
Luckily for the girl, she passed out from the pain immediately. While Yang glanced at her last opponent angrily.
"Wait.. I'm not the one who cut it..! I swear!" The Neogene backed up, sweating from the intense gaze Yang was looking at her with.
Raven chuckled, seeing her daughter doing so well. She caught two more Neogenes by their necks and clotheslined them through the reinforced walls. Until she reached the outside. The Neogenes in her clutches wheezed as they were dropped, only to be kicked violently into the statue in the courtyard outside. She looked back, only to see the remaining combatants shaking with pale complexions.
"What? We haven't even started yet. I'm collecting your Cloneblades. So come over and hit me already" Raven said, impatiently walking over towards them.
A red haired girl gathered her courage and charged at Raven, only to take a knee to the gut before Raven wrapped her arm around her head, jump up and drive the girl's head into the hard floor. Seeing she was immediately rendered unconscious, Raven severed her arm at the wrist as a sign of respect before she took the weapon attached to her hand.
"W-We surrender okay!?" One of the more cowardly girls shouted, disabling her transformation.
"Really..? I suppose you might as well. You're only a step above an average human" Raven shook her head ruefully and dragged the red head back.
"But I'm taking this girl. She has guts. I like her. Maybe my sister can put her to use" Raven looked at the unconscious red head with a small smirk.
"Reina. Get those two girls I nearly killed outside and bring them in. I'm taking at least four more Cloneblades today. Yang, you have your share?" Raven called out to her daughter after addressing the shocked Reina.
"I got two! I can have one, right!?" Yang ran over with two Cloneblades and asked excitedly.
"Wh.. When you get older.. At least eighteen.." Raven acquiesced when she saw her daughter's pleading face.
"Aww.. man! Why eighteen?" Yang asked.
"Because it shows too much skin and I might just kill everyone who leers at you in that outfit if you wore it before eighteen. When you're eighteen, you become an adult and you're responsible for the way you present yourself. Until then, nothing showy. Sounds fair?" Raven responded a bit firmer.
"Well.. all right. I'm gonna wear it on my eighteenth birthday!" Yang started hyping herself up.
Reina shook her head and ordered the two girls outside to be retrieved. "You're taking four Cloneblades, yes? If so, please take mine. These girls are.. indoctrinated. They've been following that man since they were created"
"Indoctrinated.." Raven muttered and looked at the scared girls all around her.
"I see. Back to your request before we were rudely interrupted. I suppose I can help all of you. I'll even restore the arms of those I took them from. In return, I want you all as employees in my Pantheon's domain. Choose now. Stay here or come with me and live a longer life" Raven offered, seeing the four girls brought to her.
The girls were skeptical. The wielder of the Witchblade so casually killed their leader, crippled their sisters and was now asking if they would follow her. But Reina did mention she could cure them of their inevitable madness and decay. It wasn't an easy choice and most were thinking to say no.
~"MOTHER...! Anger... rage... Destroy.. Eviscerate.. Slaughter..!"~ The Witchblade suddenly spoke up in Raven's mind, prompting her to furrow her brows.
"Where-" Raven was cut off by the presence of a woman who descended through the building, going through multiple floors until she reached their current floor.
She was dressed in armor similar to the Witchblade and Cloneblade except for the fact that it was in gold and silver. Light itself seemed to blanket her being, reminding Raven of the God of Light. Golden horns arced up gracefully from her head and she leaned in close to Raven.
"You smell of sin.. Such powerful sin.. I see too much of your Father in this host of yours. Such a disappointment.. I have to kill you now" The woman said, unleashing her power of light.
The facility was overcome with a blinding and burning light briefly before a violently loud 'CRASH' was heard immediately after. Raven had taken Yang and covered her using her body before she unleashed Pride and promptly attacked the Angelus back. Raven had burns across her exposed flesh that was beginning to heal. She looked down at Yang and sighed a sigh of relief when she saw her unharmed. Her attack had forced the Angelus back outside with a wave of sentient darkness utilized by Pride.
"Reina. If you want to earn some early points with me, make sure Yang stays here while I discover what the Angelus' insides look like" Raven stood up and looked at Reina as she demanded.
"Very well.." Reina sighed, she was tired and this was more than enough excitement for an entire week.
"But I wanna help too! I'm strong" Yang declared, looking ready to fight again.
"I know you are. But this thing is basically a Goddess or something close to it. You'll get your time, Little Dragon" Raven said with a smile before launching herself out of the opening she made when she hit the Angelus.
As soon as she arrived outside, she was nearly hit with a spear made from light. It hit the ground and detonated, sending concrete and melted steel flying. Not only was it made from light, it was as hot as the surface of the sun itself. Raven's body steamed, even though she avoided it. Though instead of looking annoyed, she slowly licked her lips at the power the Angelus displayed.
"Disgusting as you are.. My daughter truly did pick a powerful host. But this is as powerful as you're going to get" The Angelus declared, brandishing a golden curved sword that shone bright.
"Interesting. Well come on then. Unless you're all talk?" Raven replied before parrying a powerful strike from the Angelus that shattered the ground beneath them as the surrounding area heated up to an unbearable degree.
Raven pushed her off and kicked her into the shattered ground before using the Witchblade's blades along her hair to skewer the Angelus. Luckily for her, she moved away and blocked a crescent blade made from the Witchblade that Raven created on her heel. She could feel the Witchblade's pain every time she touched the Angelus' blade. Though she felt the Witchblade's determination to kill her Mother through her powers alone.
Smirking, Raven jumped back from a flying axe kick and held her hand down at her target. The Witchblade glowed and unleashed an energy blast akin to a low yield bomb and hit the Angelus. The Angelus threw a shield of hardened light up, yet she was still launched back at least half a mile.
Raven had to get the fight away from the facility before they started throwing far more destructive attacks at one another. It wasn't far enough though, so Raven ducked a decapitating swing and summoned hardened whips made from the Witchblade and started swinging the woman around before throwing her up in the air, away from the NSWF. The Angelus quickly deployed her white angelic wings, only to see a rather large crescent energy blast coming at her, courtesy of Raven.
"This is quickly becoming annoying!" The Angelus shouted, canceling out the blast with a beam of blistering hot light energy.
Her senses warned her of danger and the Angelus quickly ascended with a strong flap of her wings, narrowly avoiding a stab through the heart from Raven, who was now using the Witchblade to fly using red and grey wings.
"Won't you just give up and die already!?" The Angelus screamed, creating a bow of light and shooting hundreds of burning arrows at the now flying Raven.
Raven laughed as she rolled mid-air and started batting away the arrows. Some started to explode and Raven quickly had to veer off course to avoid the cluster of arrows coming for her. Her skin burned and her armor felt unbearably hot but her grin only became wider as she continued the fight. She opted not to use her aura in the fight and relied only on the powers the Witchblade gave her, plus her physical might. She was having fun.
"Where's the fun in that!?" Raven laughed at her scowling face as she accelerated at her, slashing her armblade across the Angelus' exposed chest and drawing its golden blood.
"Augh!! You ungrateful- ..No... that's not supposed to be possible!!" The Angelus screamed in anger and slight apprehension.
Raven's armor glowed as it took in its mother's blood. The Witchblade seemed to evolve, feeling the burning feeling lessen and its armor cooling as it subsumed the essence of Light.
~"..Part.. of me.. Separated by them both... Light and Darkness.. I am the in between.. They tore me.. asunder..!"~ The Witchblade spat out angrily, releasing a small amount of the Light Essence it took in.
"Relax. You'll be whole again when we kill her right? Her attacks won't be as effective any more" Raven replied confidently, extending her arm blades and letting the bladed tips of her hair flow.
"I will not be slain by some.. inferior byproduct!" The Angelus charged, creating a ball of light in her hands and throwing it at Raven.
Raven channeled the Light essence in her hands and deflected the ball upward. It expanded into an ultra-bright explosion that sent a violent shockwave throughout the country. Raven and the Angelus withstood it with their supernatural durability, though it definitely rattled their bones.
Raven narrowed her eyes and flew faster as she saw the Angelus angrily create a new one. She smacked the unfinished light bomb to the side before stabbing the Angelus through the chest. The Angelus grunted in pain as she tried to stab Raven back, only to find her arms restrained by her bladed hair. The Witchblade then began greedily drinking in her blood, seeping into its armor.
"No.." The Angelus panicked, drawing a massive amount of light energy to her that began burning Raven at a rapid pace.
Raven grit her teeth and tried to pull out, to no avail. The Angelus was using all her might to ensure she stayed there to burn. Getting a sudden idea, Raven grunted and headbutted the Angelus before channeling the increasing light essence into her wings and diving straight into the submerged Tokyo. They blazed like a comet as the Angelus continued to burn Raven until they crashed into the waters. The waters instantly began to evaporate due to the intense heat and energy being unleashed. It went quiet until a massive vapor explosion was unleashed near Tokyo Tower.
Raven crawled out of the shrinking shore and laughed. The burns slowly healing as she pulled herself out of the water.
~"I'm surprised. I suppose she's only at a Demigod's level. You could have ended that quicker if you had used your authorities. But that was fun.. Her expression as we started draining her power was exquisite"~ Pride mocked, feeling elation from the Witchblade as she reveled in the Angelus' pain.
"So you're the one fucking with my girlfriend huh..? Not what I expected" Raven heard a man speak in English with an Italian New York accent.
As she looked up, she saw the barrel of a .45 pistol. Holding it, was a man in a black suit with long black hair. She blinked before several rounds hit her in the head. The man scoffed and left her body there, running towards the Angelus, who was just now struggling to get out of the small pond that used to be the submerged city center of Tokyo.
"Jenny! Jenny!? Are you okay!? Shit.. you're banged up. It'll be okay.. I'll get you outta here-" Jackie picked up the struggling Angelus, only to hear a chuckle behind him.
Raven stood up, now fully healed as the bullets dropped out of her body. She raised her brow at the host of the Darkness.
"Are you retarded?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone