“I ha-ha-HACHOO!” Rex sneezed, shivering against the freezing Irish winds that he found himself in. “I freaking hate the cold…” he grumbled with a sniffle. The Weapon shivered against an oncoming breeze and he huddled closely to himself by wrapping his arms around his torso. He made sure to rub his arms, to generate some modicum of heat.
Ireland and Nevada were worlds apart, both in distance and in environment. As Rex made his way through the countryside, with only the light from the moon that fell from the floating rock like the blood from its mouth, the Weapon noted how quiet how quiet everything was. Not like back home, where even night was filled with the hustle and bustle of sinners and saints alike, all trying to prove themselves deserving of the space they filled. Rex was no different from them, he supposed. His own greed drove him forward, the same way that it drove everyone forward. Rex was more than aware of that fact, and he didn’t try to hide it. Why should he? It wouldn’t benefit him at all if he did. Rex was certain that more people felt the same way; that was how many lived in Death City, Nevada.
But here in Ireland, things seemed much slower. Rex wasn’t able to sense Souls, or even magic, but even he could tell the difference of the atmosphere here. Death City was like a short burst of energy, repeated through the actions of the Souls that lived there. But Ireland? Ireland had a history of magic, of demons. A history rich with culture. And even someone like the Scythe Weapon could feel it, the power thrumming just below his feet. That history was rich in power, but it was also rich in blood. It was the perfect place for a Kisshin breeding ground, one of many. The type of corruption in the states produced mass amounts of Kisshins quickly, for sure. But here? While they were slower to pop up, the power they had would be immense. It was a thought that elated Rex’s spirits and got his blood boiling.
[Mission: Hunting a Dullahan 1 Complete]
Rex kept his thoughts occupied in a hope that brain activity would warm him up just a little bit. But by doing so, he wasn’t prepared for the attack waiting for him. Forms moved quickly through the shadows of the forest, too fast for Rex to keep up with. By the time he noticed the movement, the little demons were already upon him. The Weapon could only cross his arms in front of him to block an incoming series of flashing strikes, as the demons would jump around him to attack in a flurry. The blows were weak on their own, but the constant barrage made Rex keep his guard up. With his vision slightly obscured by his arms, he couldn’t make out much about the creatures that attacked him. They were small, no more than three to four feet tall each. Pale, leathery skin that would hang from them like flaps indicated a lack of nutrients being consumed. But most notably about them were their mouths. The heads of the creatures seemed to open almost entirely, split by a large gaping mouth with rows of sharp teeth, dripping with crimson blood. Seemingly they would bounce upon contact with the ground, using the momentum to ricochet back to hit Rex.
“Another fool enters these woods…”
“You’d think humans would learn their lesson-”
“Oh well! More food for us!” The creatures spoke in scratchy, high pitched noises as they finished each other’s sentences.
[Mission: Hunting a Dullahan 2 Complete]
One of them hit the ground behind Rex and bounced into the air. It flew at him at a high speed, snarling and slobbering as it closed the gap. Rex, who hadn’t moved much this whole time, finally was used to the rhythm of the creature’s attacks. He took a half step to the side, lashing out behind him with his foot, slamming his shoe into the large mouth of the demon. “If you don’t shut your ******** mouth,” he said with a slight growl to his voice. His foot traveled all the way to the back of the thing’s mouth, creating a visual imprint of the outline of his shoe on the thing’s rubbery flesh. “Then I’m going to cut it off.”
Rex turned as the gremlin flailed and squirmed, pushing his heel against the inside of the thing’s mouth. He spun quickly, slamming his captive monster into the bodies of the two others that were stunned into immobility. Rex’s foot crashed into the ground, creating a shock wave of force and a rising cloud of dirt from the impact. It sent the monster flying before it bounced several feet away. “It can’t do that!” Another monster cried out, throwing a tantrum in protest with it’s tiny arms and fists.
Rex moved quickly, closing the distance to the stomping monster in the blink of an eye. “What did I just say?” He asked as he reappeared, low enough to the ground that he was eye level with the thing. He stared at it coldly before taking a swipe at it with his right arm, swinging his forearm at it with a deadly combination of speed and power. There was a purple flash of light and the little ball of teeth was sliced in half, spilling blood into the dirt of the road. Rex rose to his full height and turned to face the other two, the curved blade of a scythe reaching out from his forearm. The remaining two demons cowered in fear and shock from seeing their friend get sliced so cleanly.
“I think it’s my turn to eat.” Rex said, his mouth twisting up into a smirk. He took an amount of joy from watching the creatures tremble from his display. As he spoke, a dark red orb floated from the monster he killed: a pleasantly plump Kisshin egg. Rex reached down and grabbed it in his hand as he walked towards the others, taking bites from it like an apple while he watched them cower. It took a bit of time, but the two monsters finally regathered themselves and then bravely… ran away screaming. Rex hummed to himself, reveling in the act of cowardice. Then he bent down, readying his scythe arm, before taking a wide swing with an accompanying yell. The blade on his arm created a crescent purple shockwave that shot through the air. It hit the running monsters at once, slicing them in half easily, much like their friend.
[Hunting a Dullahan 3 Complete]
Rex let out a sigh and leaned his back against a tree. He’d already eaten two of the Kisshin souls that were dropped, and now he held the last one in his palm. He brought the red soul egg to his mouth and took a bite from it. It broke easily with a crisp crunch, and blood red liquid dripped down to the dirt. The Weapon wondered idly to himself if that was all that his target had to offer him. At least in terms of combat potential. If that was the case, then it wouldn’t even be worth the trip to Ireland.
“H-hello?”
A voice spoke a way down the road, forcing Rex to snap his attention back to Earth. He whipped his head to the voice, instinctively forming a scythe blade along the length of his forearm. Rex would soon see that his paranoia was unwarranted. A man, probably one of the locals from a nearby village. Stood in the road. He looked to Rex, writing his hat in his hands anxiously. “I-I saw you kill those Dullahan Heads. Are y-you perhaps from the DWMA?”
[Hunting a Dullahan 4 Complete]
“And who’s asking?” Rex’s voice was sturdy. It made it seem much harsher in comparison to the villager’s own stammering sentences. He rolled his eyes back to the remains of his Kisshin egg, taking the last few bites of the construct.
“Ah, my apologies. M’name’s Sean McPatrick, mayor of th’ little village on the side of the hill. I’m pleased as punch ta see tha’ Lord Death Sir is helping us with our Dullahan problem. But, er.” Sean looked confused and peered around Rex. “Where’s yer partner? Forgive me for askin’, but ain’tcha supposed to work in pairs?”
“I’m a special case.” Rex said flatly, not looking up from his egg. He finished his meal and wiped his hands on the tree behind him. Then he crossed his arms and finally turned his attention to the man. “A Dullahan, a mortal that tries to become like Lord Death by eating the souls of humans. It leaves a calling card by splashing blood over its next victim.” The Weapon recited the information from the file he’d been given. He turned his head to look at the man from the corner of his eye. “Sound about right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then you miiight wanna look behind you.” Rex added, pointing a finger behind Sean. The mayor froze and turned to look over his shoulder, and was immediately met with the creature of his nightmares. A Dullahan, standing nearly eight feet tall, was glistening in the moonlight. It wore loose, flowing robes that glowed gold in the light of the smiling moon. In one hand it held something in its hand that was draped with a hood, presumably its head. In the other was an ornate looking scythe, already dripping with blood.
Sean had enough time to scream just once before the creature swiped its scythe. The blade cut the man’s head off like warm butter, letting it fall to the ground with a wet thunk.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Rex pushed off from his tree and started walking towards the monster. “To be honest, that guy was starting to get on my nerves. You’re doing me a favor shutting him up and coming to me.” As he spoke, the Weapon’s eyes shifted up and down. He awkwardly stopped walking and his smirk fell from his face. “I’m sorry, where do I look when I’m talking to you? There or there?” He asked, pointing from the stump of the demon’s neck to the head it held in its hands.
In response the Dullahan let out a screech and spun at Rex, flying parallel to the ground as it brought its scythe crashing down upon him. A manic look formed on Rex’s face, split by a tooth baring smirk. The Weapon slid into a stance as the Dullahan came crashing down, striking the side of the crescent blade with his dominant hand. It knocked the Dullahan off balance, embedding the scythe blade deep into the ground.
The Dullahan struggled to free its weapon. It was to no avail, as Rex came over and placed his foot on the weapon to lock it in place. “Oof, that’s embarrassing. You new to this type of thing? Guess you’ve just been picking off small fry, huh?” Rex leaned down and put his hands on his hips. “Well, nice to know there’s still only one tried and true harvester of souls.” Rex lifted his scythe arm up, casting a shadow over his face. All except for a slight purple shine from his eyes. “And it’s me.” He deftly swiped his scythe blade down the middle of the Dullahan’s back, slicing it in half at the waist. The dismembered head let out a blood curdling scream of pain and agony, before Rex decided to shut it up by slicing it to ribbons. The screams faded in nearly an instant as the body and head faded away, leaving behind two more Kissin souls that were ripe for the picking. “At least I got a good meal from my trip.” Rex clapped his hands together in a quick prayer before he went to town on the two demon souls.
↯ Enter The Dragon ↯ [ The martial artist is able to channel a spell or technique through their body. For instance, a Witch can cast a spell through a punch and a Weapon or Meister could use a technique through the legs. ] ⇩ ↯ Crouching Tiger ↯ [ The energy cloaks from all the five animal style techniques will protect against techniques or spells one level above the level of the technique to a maximum of level five. This ability has a five post cooldown. ] ⇩ ↯ Kung Fu Panda ↯ [ The martial artist gains a custom technique based on this skill tree. ] ↯ Mace of Molag Bal ↯ [ The user can combine a blunt weapon technique with another weapon skill tree technique for one activation. This perk has a five post cooldown. ] ⇩ ↯ Predicting ↯ [ The user is able to detect soul wavelength attacks just before they strike the user, allowing the user to defend against these attacks for one level lower in resource. The reduction doesn't stack with any other reductions, and this benefit is only applicable once every five posts. ] ⇩ ↯ All Hallows Eve 2 ↯ [ The range of all scythe techniques is doubled. ] ⇩ ↯ Scyther ↯ [ The Sickle Slash technique will slice through equal level and lower defensive techniques or spells once per five posts. ] ⇩
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