Wrath vs Death

Azrael walked forth, entering Chamber X to meet the one he'd send to their inevitable end. Reed watched as the being approached his way.

"Reed Regardius," Azrael spoke up. "Your end arrives today."

Reed glared at the Overseer. He looked down at his blood-stained hands. He bore the deaths of hundreds under his blazing intent. Some new incomer wasn't going to stop him from his ultimate goal.

"Did Raphael send you?" Reed said.

Azrael slowed his walking, stopping a distance from the subject. "Yes."

"Here to kill me? Just like all the other Angels?"

"Yes."

Reed sighed, which transitioned into a growing growl.

"Why… WHY CAN'T RAPHAEL JUST COME OUT HERE TO FIGHT ME HIMSELF!"

Azrael watched the boy exhibit his wrath.

"RAPHAEL!!!" Reed turned towards the mirrored window through which Raphael observed.

"COME OUT HERE AND TRY HURTING ME YOURSELF YOU COWARD! STOP SENDING IN YOUR GOONS TO FIGHT FOR YOU! COME IN HERE AND LET ME KILL YOU MYSELF! I SWEAR I'LL RETURN EVERY SINGLE INCH OF PAIN YOU'VE MADE ME FEEL A HUNDRED TIMES WORSE!!!"

The anger was met with silence. No response came from the microphone.

Reed was panting, drenched in bloodied sweat. He looked back at Azrael who still watched from a distance.

Azrael broke the silence. "The time to kill Raphael has passed. You will be given no further chance to do so. There is no future with your existence, but rather a present with your death."

Reed returned an expression of displeasure.

"Death?" Reed scoffed. "Death?"

"Yes-"

"I WILL NOT DIE UNTIL RAPHAEL DIES BY MY HANDS," Reed stated.

"Raphael will not die to your hands. Instead, you will die to mine," Azrael corrected him.

Reed felt himself shake in a satisfying rage. "Who're you to say I'll die to your hands, let alone die AT ALL?"

"Who am I to say?" Azrael's suit aggressively erupted large darkened wings from its back, stretching in an immense wingspan.

"You stand before Death himself. I am to say about your death, involving your death, and bringing about your death. You cannot deny the embrace of Death's hands. To die by my hands is inexorable."

To this, Reed found himself giggling. The giggling became laughter, a loud excessive laughter. Then the laughter became crying. An indescribable sob filled with anguish and giddiness.

Reed's mind was on the verge of breaking; through the gruesome sights, through the neverending pain, through the excessive torment, and now, Death had come knocking at his door.

"I'll put you out of your misery." Azrael suddenly lunged forward, approaching Reed at an incredibly high speed that seemed regulated by his immense wings.

At first, Reed liked the sound of having his purgatory end. But the bright and bloody goal he's been striving for, and waiting for so long to do, overshadowed the thought of being embraced by Death himself.

Azrael's strike that rapidly approached was met with a strike against his. Fist agin fist. One filled with the strength of an undying fury, the other filled with the strength of judgement.

The impact between the two was so brutal, it sent both flying backwards across opposite sides of the chamber. Reed crashed into the wall, sending debris flying everywhere. Azrael quickly recovered himself through balance in his wings before smashing into any obstacles.

"You choose to resist an already predetermined death?" Azrael said.

"I told you, I'm never going down unless Raphael comes down with me," Reed replied.

Azrael began flapping his wings, lifting himself off the floor. "Very well then, you've chosen an excruciatingly painful death."

Now in the air, Azrael spread his wings, leaning his body forward. The form brought about a glide, which suddenly surged forth with incredible speed. Propellers found beneath Azrael's soles gave him the unexpecting boost.

Quickly approaching Reed who was just recovering from the impact, Azrael swung his leg forth forcing a kick against Reed's chest back against the dent already made in the wall. The smash brought about even more debris to scatter everywhere. With the impact to his chest, Reed coughed up a glob of blood, feeling that his lung had been punctured. But the feeling of his lung regenerating its tissues followed soon after, disregarding anymore oral blood.

In the spur of the moment, Reed leaped forward from his mark in the wall. He lunged forth throwing a built-up punch, connecting right with Azrael's own chest. The intent was to drive this punch into the floor, where Reed could create himself an upper hand. But Azrael grabbed Reed's arm as it connected with his chest, flipping backwards and throwing Reed against the floor.

Reed's body flailed as it violently tumbled across the floor through the forward and downward momentum sent by Azrael. His limbs were bruising and his skin was scathing, but this all healed within a matter of seconds even as it occurred.

As Reed recovered himself, standing back on his feet, he looked up to meet the eyes of debris that soared in his direction. He weaved aside, dodging one. But a second one followed behind in the direction Reed had dodged. His face was smashed in by the debris, breaking his nose and gouging in his eyes. But again, this all healed within a matter of seconds.

Reed wanted to scream, he wanted to shout, he wanted to weep from all the of pain he'd been bestowed. But the fact that his wounds had all been undone, he felt he'd do the same with his emotions. The agony and anguish he'd felt for so long had built up under the facade he'd formed through his sheer will to brutally murder Raphael, either to stay hidden, or to fuel his drive.

Reed then screamed loudly, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. Was it out of anger? Was it out of sadness? Was it out of pain? He didn't know. It could've been one of those, or all of those. He just needed to scream.

"Let me end you so you can stop suffering," Azrael offered.

With this, Reed felt his anger swell up the most out of any other emotion. Now more than ever, he wanted to rid of the hindrance that stood in his way, the Angel that offered him his end.

"I TOLD YOU I WILL NOT DIE!!!" Reed sprinted forward, building up his speed as he ran.

Azrael remained in his spot, watching as the desperate, hopeless, overly-powered lost-cause came rushing towards him. He reached his hand out, pressing a pad on the same arm. This initiated a tiny part of his gauntlet to expand into a long beam, followed by a lengthy blade that stretched out from one side, curving over and down. He grabbed the beam as its handle, and swung the scythe aside.

"You're running into your own demise."

Reed leaped forward from where he ran, preparing to attack from above. But Azrael was clearly ready, and swung his scythe towards him. Nearly missing Reed as he dodged aerially, he tried to grab the scythe for himself and inflict death on Death himself. But grabbing its handle, he felt himself fall with it. The weight the scythe bore was so heavy, Reed felt like a mere thread hanging from a falling star. He smashed into the ground with the scythe, ending in a position in which the scythe laid over him. Reed couldn't move, he wasn't anywhere close to strong enough to lift the scythe off him. Then Azrael walked over and simply picked up the scythe with one hand, carrying it over his back.

"Only Death himself can bear the weight of those he's killed. You're nowhere near enough."

Azrael looked down on Reed. Reed immediately jumped back and created distance between him and Azrael.

Reed's anger was breaking past its peak. The tipping point was when Azrael did what everyone in Reed's life had always done to him; they looked down on him.

Reed had already killed his way up the food chain to topple those who looked down on him, but now was a new alpha. Someone new he had to overcome to remain on top. Reed would not let anyone else dominate his existence as long as he lived. His wrath had finally been unleashed.

Reed once again screamed, which transitioned into a large roar that echoed against Azrael's ear drums. Reed began sprinting again in Azrael's direction, which Azrael did in return this time.

The two were heading towards each other at top speeds, ready to clash face-to-face.

Once closing the distance, Azrael immediately swung his scythe in attempt to behead Reed, who dodged by dropping down and sliding past him. Reed swiftly turned around and attempted a sweep at Azrael's legs, from which Azrael jumped over, backflipping over Reed in a twirl in which Azrael swung his scythe. Reed looked up and saw the airborne attack. In reaction, he swung his hand over his face to shield himself. The scythe's blade slashed right across Reed's palm, splitting a wound so wide it opened up like a book.

The pain that cut him open was so excruciating, Reed felt every muscle in his body tense up.

As Azrael landed, Reed still stood stiff. He turned around in attempt to swing at Azrael, but Azrael swiftly moved aside doding the punch. Reed blinked at the quick move. Upon opening his eyes, his arm suddenly vanished from his sight. Instead was a waterfall of blood. Looking down the falls, was his arm bathing in his own viscous blood. Reed's eyes widened in a shock that numbed the initial pain. But the feeling came soon after, something unexpecting for Reed.

He kept watching his arm on the ground, and the small part of the limb that remained attached.

"Regenerate regenerate regenerate REGENERATE," Reed desperately repeated.

"WHY WON'T IT REGENERATE?"

Interrupting his worry, Reed's other arm was abruptly slashed off. Now surrounding him, were two puddles of blood with an arm each within.

"Huh?" Reed's expression blanked for a moment, followed quickly by a pain so refined even those who watched would feel a glimpse.

"REGENERATE!!! WHY WON'T IT REGENERATE?" Reed screamed through the pain. All he could think was that his arms would eventually regrow and he could hinder his pain once again.

Suddenly, Reed's view dropped closer to the floor. Azrael had now slashed Reed's legs off from the knees down. Reed dropped onto his back, laying in the great lake of blood he'd produced by now. He was limbless, and could do nothing but watch Azrael as he walked up to him to look down on him.

"My Scythe of Absolution is definite. Once it cuts, it will stay cut. There is no hope for your limbs to regenerate as you wish. I have purged the hope your body holds onto. So let your wrath repose as you join the heavy count of my scythe, and die as you are destined to by the hands of Death."

Azrael swung his scythe down, slicing right through Reed's neck. Now with the subtraction of his head, Reed laid a torso alone. His remains plunged in the diminishing depths of Wrath's dark red.