Anomalous Devil

As the Devils swarmed in, Endyr focused on the one to her left and summoned a blade of swirling water. The Water Element lacked finesse capabilities, and needed large volumes to cause serious damage, but Endyr broke this rule through sheer quality of her Mana. As such, the Devils automatically relaxed their guards upon seeing Endyr was a Water Ascender, unaware just of how irregularly she was. They would learn soon enough however, when Endyr lunged to the left.

Her blade swung an upwards arc, cleaving through the air and hitting the Devil's own sword, which he barely had time to pull back to block. He would have been better to dodge however, as Endyr merely rotated her wrist to the left and struck around the Nether blade. Being made of water assisted her in this, as the blade warped and twisted, assuming a hooked shape like a khopesh as it pierced through the Devil's neck. He stumbled back in surprise, eyes wide as he began to choke on his blood. Endyr paid him no mind however and just yanked the blade free, sending a spray of tar-like blood flying through the air.

She ducked down the next second to avoid a sideswipe from a halberd, spinning around as her weapon reverted back to a longsword. The remaining three Devils didn't hesitate even as one of their comrades was dispatched with almost no struggle, balls of black fire appearing around them and being fired at Endyr. She was forced to dodge and weave, unable to fight back under the relentless assault. Yet she remained calm, a sly smile present on her face. When one of the Devils stepped forward a bit more than the others, Endyr suddenly struck like a viper, slashing five times in rapid succession. The Devil blocked two and deflected two more with his Nether, but the final swing slashed through his stomach. Endyr was forced back before she could finish him off, but her goal had been accomplished.

As the injured Devil glared at her with bubbling rage, he felt an extreme and sharp pain radiate from his abdomen. Looking down in confusion, he saw his blood boiling and writhing like it was alive. His eyes widened in realization and he desperately tried to circle Nether to the wound, but it was too late. Endyr smirked and clenched her fist, causing the entire torso of the Devil to swell and burst, strong enough the make the other Devils stumble and even blowing air past Endyr.

'The Blood Element seems quite nefarious, doesn't it?' she mused, observing her handywork. The Devils' limbs and head were scattered around where he had exploded, the noxious blood already dissolving the surfaces it touched. The violent death of the second Devil seemed to have spurred on the Epic, who had until now stood back. Sensing his intent to interfere, Endyr decided to finish things then and there. Sucking in a breath, she gathered as much Mana as she could with straining her body and released a dozen water streams at high pressure, each as thick as the body of an adult man. The three Devils faced four each, and responded with the massive attack by releasing all the Nether they could. Black fireballs were also spat out, as the shadow of one Devil stretched out towards Endyr. 

As the Epic Devil in the back began to act to destroy the water streams, his pupils constricted as a sudden presence reared its head. He jumped back just in time a massive black lump smashing down where he stood. Intuition ringing, he looked down to see the lump stretch from Endyr's shadow. Sensing his gaze, she turned and smiled at him, before the shadow lump exploded into a series of spikes that forced him back. Without aid from their superior, the three Devils facing Endyr were forced to tank the damage. The Shadow user managed to slip into the shadow of his neighbor, but the other two were struck with a scream, the sheer amount of Mana overwhelming the natural disadvantage Mana held against Nether. They struggled for a brief moment before Endyr dashed forward, another Water Spear floating above her head. With a mental command, the closest Devil was skewered to the ground and she drove her sword through the eye of the other Devil, whom was barely conscious from the damage.

Having killed four Grandmaster Devils in less than three minutes, Endyr let out gentle pants as she felt her muscles begin to protest. Her heart was also beating loudly, her Mana Pathways once again unable to handle the strain. She paid that no mind however, focusing on the Epic Devil instead. He watched her impassively, but wariness and confusion couldn't be concealed in his eyes. "What are you?" he spoke in a low but striking tone. "No normal Human could kill my subordinates so quickly, nor wield such outrageous Mana despite being only a low Grandmaster. Having Blood, Water and Shadow Affinities...no matter how I look, it doesn't add up!"

Endyr watched the Devil with a superior attitude, walking towards him and summoning a Shadow blade in one and a Water blade in the other. Altair was actually the one with the Shadow Affinity, but Endyr still found it easier to control than most of the other Elements, just slightly less than Blood and Water. Seeing her approach and uninterested in talking, the Devil also went quite, seemingly deciding something as his aura underwent a great change. Black mist appeared and covered his body, stripping away his Human disguise and revealing his true form. 

Similar to the Epic Devil out front, he was a giant figure with leather wings, horns and glowing orange eyes with slits for pupils. However, the infernal energy was even stronger, and the ground began to sizzle from the amount of heat he was emitting. 'A Fire Affinity? Hmm, I sense something else too though. Wait, could it be-?!'

Endyr was forced out of her thoughts, and to jump backwards to avoid a colossal axe composed from viscous magma that attempted to cleave her in two. She instinctively knew she couldn't block it, and felt assured when the ground split open like an eruption, magma spilling everywhere. She looked up to see the Devil lunging forward, black balls of Nether shooting towards her and streams of lava bursting out from his wings. Endyr engaged in a flurry of dodges and ducking, nearly being hit multiple times. In just thirty seconds, she began to feel out of breath.

Thankfully, the Devil couldn't keep the assault up either and stopped after a few more swings. He sized Endyr up with unconcealed frenzy, bloodlust completely clouding his mind. Seeing him, Endyr frowned and began to reevaluate her choice to leave this Devil last. 'Rather than Fire, he has the Magma Affinity? No, I sense something else still...two instances of the same combination?'

Unlike before, Endyr's body continued to move even as she was analyzing her opponent. She dashed forward and under his axe swing, driving her Shadow scimitar under his armpit. The blade bounced off however, and Endyr was forced to disengage and back off when a claw swipe nearly took her head off. Narrowing her eyes, Endyr mulled over the sound and feel she got when landing the hit. 'Wait a minute. Magma is made from an unequal mixture of Earth and Fire, and an equal mixture creates...'

She looked up to see the Devil leering at her, mockery present in his gaze. At the same time, a loud screeching sound rang out as grey scales began to cover the Devil's limbs, chest and neck, Seeing this, Endyr's expression darkened as she realized what Affinities the Devil possessed. He was some bizarre anomaly, holding not just Nether, but also three Elements: Shadow, Magma... and Metal.

 'Well, this just got a lot harder' she thought, gripping the handles of her weapons tighter. She wasn't completely despondent however, still confidant in victory. It was just a matter of time and effort, neither of which she really wanted to expend. Seeing his overconfident expression was starting to annoy her however, especially when his eyes began tracing her body. Whether he was thinking of playing with her body, consuming her corpse, or both, Endyr felt her own murderous intent rise. Fuck it, time to ramp things up.

Endyr abandoned her Water blade and pulled her shadow up, covering her body in a thin suit that completely blocked her figure. It looked light, but provided more protection than you would think. At the same time, she forged a different blade using the rest of her shadow: a giant heap of a thing, two heads bigger than her and gleaming with wicked sharpness. The Devil visibly paused upon seeing her weapon of choice, sanity briefly making its way back into his mind as he looked at her like she was a freak. Which, considering what she was currently wielding, wasn't too unfair a thing to say. 

A zweihander, remarkably similar to the one wielded by Nephelae, being clasped in both hands with the tip just slightly off the floor. Seeing his shock, Endyr glanced at the Devil's weapon and smirked, speaking for the first time in their fight. "I guess mine's bigger."