Fallen Angel: Caim's Revival

The three guards gulp as they finally approach the clearing. Having not been prepared for this kind of situation, the only option that they have is to accept their fates and prepare for the inevitable.

They know that they are heading to the place where the hydra was rumored to have been resting, but what they wished for was the creature that looms dangerously close to them to go it alone.

And now, it would seem that they are going to pay the ultimate price for their failed lie.

"W-we're almost there..." Light finally said, breaking the uneasy silence.

The creature didn't respond to him. He just continued following the three guards, almost as if he were concentrating on something.

Caim's patience grows thin. These three guards are obviously stalling for time, yet he doesn't wish to kill them... not yet, anyways.

After all, they're guards. This means that they could be his only tickets out of this Makers-forsaken forest.

"W-we're almost there..." the leader of the three guards comments.

Caim almost tries to comment, but pauses when his eyes quickly glance to the side.

Something is nearby... something feral. No... a pack of these feral things.

Deciding to avoid startling these guards, he merely remains silent, but keeps his ears open.

The big one turns to the others and asks, "D-does anypony else h-hear something growling?"

The skinny one pauses before one of his ears twitches. Had his face not be covered in white fur, he would've more than likely gone pale.

"S-sir! W-we need to go!"

Caim raises his hand out and says, "No. Keep moving."

They gulp again before nodding their heads and walking forward.

They only manage to take two steps when a pair of glowing green eyes stares at them from the shadows ahead. They instinctively stop and yelp before taking a few steps back.

"T-T-TIMBERWOLVES!"

They turn around and attempt to flee, only to find more of the glowing green eyes behind them.

They are surrounded.

Caim sighs and rolls his eyes before looking down at the guards. "Pathetic."

And with that, he continues walking forward. The guards remain frozen in place as the timberwolves slowly prowl towards the tallest figure in the area.

Caim crosses his arms over his chest and glares at the timberwolf in front of him and unfurls his wings.

"Mangy beasts. Begone at once, or die swiftly."

As the pack finally snarls and lunges towards him at once, he lightly grins before stretching his wings out completely. Then, in one burst of strength, his wings propel him several meters into the air, causing the timberwolves that leaped up to stare wide-eyed at their companions, as the distance between them dramatically shrinks. Finally, there comes a loud crack and several whines as the timberwolves crash into each other, forming a large pile of wooden chunks on the ground.

Caim lands on top of the pile elegantly before eyeing the rest of the timberwolves, bemused.

They all glare at the figure on top of the pile before howling. The green auras within them floats inside the pile, while their wooden bodies disassemble into the air and float alongside the auras.

Caim raises an eyebrow before noticing the pile below his feet starting to alter in shape.

He glares before leaping into the air again as two large chunks of wood collide in the area where he once stood. Then a pair of massive green orbs emit from one side of the huge wooden snout. The wolf-like head bends back into a regular shape before the wood forms it into a much larger timberwolf... an alpha.

As Caim lands on the ground, he looks up at the newly formed creature before him. Now, it stands ten times his height, as opposed to the height of his chest.

It starts with a small growl. Then it opens its mouth and lets out a loud roar, blowing the three guards into a nearby tree.

Caim, however, just stares inside the creature's mouth, deadpanned. He snaps his fingers, drawing his sword again.

"Hmm... interesting."

The alpha reaches one of its claws up and plunges it onto the ground, surrounding Caim with its razor-sharp claws.

He grins before folding his wings back and closing his eyes.

The timberwolf contracts its claws in an attempt to crush its target into pieces.

However, when Caim opens his eyes, they glow pure white. Then, with a single flare of the wings, the timberwolf's entire arm bursts into pieces, as the massive creature flies back, landing on its remaining three.

It growls again, before howling. The pieces that flew off quickly fly back into place, and its arm returns to normal.

"Regenerative... of course." Caim comments, smiling smugly. "So I can kill you repeatedly, over and over again."

The timberwolf roars again before dashing towards him at an alarming speed.

Caim rolls his eyes before gripping his sword with both hands. Then, while the giant timberwolf is still moving towards him, he rushes towards it, sword overhead, and dashes beneath it at a blurring speed.

The timberwolf yelps before falling and sliding towards the guards, who all three yell in alarm.

Then both halves of the timberwolf slides right past them, and collides onto the trees behind them.

They sigh in relief.

Caim turns and looks at the timberwolf alpha's two bodies. The glowing green orbs fades into darkness before floating into the air.

Using this to his advantage, Caim quickly reaches his left hand out. A red and black aura emits from around both, his hand, and the orb of light.

He then pulls backwards, forcing the green orb towards him. As he does, he lightly chuckles as it attempts to fly away.

Then, with it in his reach, he lifts his sword up above it and pierces the blade into the green orb.

Red and black beams start to drag small pieces of the green orb inside his sword, until nothing remains but the two piles of wood.

The creature has been slain.

However, Caim keeps his sword drawn, due to another force he senses... though this one is very familiar to him.

He hears a pair of hands clapping together on top of a nearby tree. He turns towards the source and looks up, only to glare at the figure above him.

The figure appears to look similar to him. Its body is like a human's, but with black wings behind his back. His hair is long and pure white, and instead of armor, he appears to be wearing a light blue robe with golden trimmings on the sides. His hands are covered in white cloth gloves, and his eyes are pure white.

Despite being robed, and sounding like a nobleman, his figure is quite well-toned. If standing on level surface, he would stand about a head higher than Caim.

"Well, well! Fancy meeting you here, Caim!" the figure states in an amused tone.

Caim puts his sword away before placing his hands on his hips. "Amon... of course it would be you who seeks to end me." He smiles lightly, before tilting his head mockingly. "And I take it you're still upset about me killing off your forty legions, correct?"

Amon's smirk slightly diminishes. "Despite my legions being like brothers to me, I have looked past that. After all, you were just another one of the Makers' puppets back then."

Caim's glare only intensifies. "I was not, nor will I ever be, one of their puppets."

Amon's smile slowly rises back up again. "Yes, yes. We've all heard it before."

Caim raises a confused eyebrow up. "We?"

Amon nods his head and shrugs his shoulders. "What, you didn't honestly think that the two of us were the only Fallen Angels to be brought down into this pitiful planet, did you? After all, it was you who drove most of us away... myself included."

Caim spits on the ground. "And I'd finish what I started, unless you get to the point. Why are even here, besides trying to kill me?"

Amon raises an eyebrow. "Kill you? Why ever would I want to do that?"

"Don't play games with me, fool."

"Then don't play games with me, stupid!"

Caim's grip on his sword intensifies. "I do not play games, Amon."

Amon shrugs his shoulders again before stretching his wings out and floating even higher on top of the tree. "Well, then, answer me this. Why do you think you are unable to fly anymore?"

Caim's glare softens slightly as the thought occurs to him. Ever since he woke up in this forest, he was unable to use his wings to fly more than just a few meters off the ground. At first he dismissed it as him just being fatigued after his somewhat painful landing.

But then, the fatigue should've ended by now.

Amon nods his head and folds his arms over his chest. "It looks like it's now dawning down on you, old friend. You see, ever since you have arrived on this planet, its magic has been sapping your energy away! Why, it's only a matter of time before you turn completely mortal!" He points at Caim and winks. "In fact, the only things that keep your powers active would be your wings... and your Soul Blade!"

Caim folds his wings defensively as Amon snaps his fingers. Suddenly, a group of purple portals open around Caim. Ripples emit from the centers of the portals, before large, lion-like creatures emerge from said portals.

These creatures bear the bodies of lions, but with the wings of a dragon, and the tail of a scorpion.

"Manticores." Caim mumbles in disgust, having faced only a few of them in his lifetime.

"The kings of the jungles in the Aether, itself! And just imagine my surprise when I saw some of them roaming around in this world, too!" Amon chuckles before sitting on the highest branch on the tree. "Just think of it this way; I won't have to kill you... but that doesn't mean my new little pets won't, though!"

As Caim braces himself for real combat, the three manticores charge at him. What he notices off the bat, however, is that their bodies have purple smoke emitting from around them. This, to him, is the confirmation that these manticores are enchanted, somehow.

With that, he quickly rolls out of the way as the manticores skid to a halt. However, instead of bump heads, they merely maneuver their bodies until they face Caim again, and charge as a pack.

He growls as he realizes that one of those enchantments includes a boost in intellect and maneuverability. With that, he draws his sword again and prepares to change his approach from agile to defensive.

And then, they leap up, propel themselves with their wings, and plunge towards him at an alarming speed.

Time slows for the fallen angel for a brief moment.

He's faced demons before. He's wiped out legions of the living and the dead. He's even defeated several of his own kin. Every single time, he would have his powers backing him up, without the need of assistance.

But now, for the first time ever, Caim feels threatened, as he recalls one particular feature about Amon that he noticed right off the bat.

Caim's wings can't fly... yet Amon's allowed him to reach the top of that tree. Additionally, Amon was able to use a portal spell, which naturally requires a lot of power.

With those details as plain as day, it quickly occurs to him... Amon has the upper hand. He's using these manticores to weaken Caim even more, before fighting him at full force.

And with that, time returns to normal, as Caim's sword takes the force of the manticores' strikes.