"I would tell you to stop struggling, to abandon your frivolous thoughts of overpowering us and simply accept the inevitability of your demise. But struggling only helps our cause, so please... Struggle as much as you can. That demon leader of yours needs to see the anguish on your face, the terror in your eyes, as we snuff you out.

Once we are done with you, we will move onto his dark Mistress. She has disappeared, and our intel on her is sparse, but we will find her and she will suffer at our hands, just like you.

As for the demon himself, we already have someone on their way to make sure he stays put, and doesn't interrupt us. So all you need to do is give us some lovely screams."

The stranger in the hooded cloak gave Astra a sinister smile, as another metallic tendril erupted from the ground behind Astra, wrapping tight around her throat and lifting her from the ground.

More energy was rapidly siphoned from her body, draining into the ground to be dispersed, as the glow within her eyes dimmed to the point that it was barely visible.

"Mr. C, I believe it is time for your fun."

"Hehehe, Finally~"

One of the other cloaked members, one who had been silent up until this point, let out a cruel and wicked laugh as he slowly made his way into the crater, sauntering up to Astra. He held his hands by his side, turning his hands palm side up, as his fingers began to change colour and elongate.

His digits turned grey as stone, gaining small cracks and rough texturing on their surface, as they grew upwards. It was like watching the rapid formation of a stalagmite, as his stone fingers rapidly grew into stone claws.

Astra's eyes flared with power at the sight, glowing with renewed vigour as she immediately struggled against her bindings. Not out of fear, but out of anger. Just the sight of those claws reminded her of the first time her powers appeared, and made the scars across her neck pulsate with a deep, rhythmic pain as if they were freshly carved into her flesh.

They were not the same claws, the man who gave her these scars was dead by her own hand, and had bone claws instead of stone, but they were more than enough to remind her of that fateful day. Just their sight alone stirred her anger, her resentment, her pride deep inside.

But as quick as the surge of newfound power came, it was torn away from her just as quickly by a simple tightening of the metallic tendrils, as she was squeezed dry like ringing a wet rag.

The clawed man glanced towards the final member of their little band of assassins. The individual in question was holding a rectangular device, one that looked similar to a smart phone, the form a communication device could take, and was pointing the devices camera towards the scene.

Receiving the thumbs up from his companion, the clawed man let out another wicked cackle as he grasped forwards with his hand, his claws pointed towards Astra's eyes.

"Such pretty eyes~ I think I'll keep them, hehehehe"

He couldn't help but cackle again, licking his lips as he reached towards Astra's face, however his expression fell when a flash of silver passed his vision. His smile disappeared, as a frown deepened across his brow. He was wanting to move his hand forwards, but it was refusing to move.

No... it was moving now, but it wasn't going where he wanted. It was going.. down?

The clawed figure watched on in confusion and astonishment as his arm separated itself from his body, half way up his bicep, and fell to the ground limply. His fingers still curled, still primed to grope.

Everyone froze, the same look of horror and confusion across their faces as they looked at the severed arm oozing blood onto the ground. All except for Astra, as a small smile spread across her lips.

"What took you so long?"

She was looking at the arm while she spoke, a look of sadistic satisfaction in her eyes as she did so, but it was not the arm that responded to her. That would be ridiculous, instead it was a voice from above.

"I had to take care of somethings, as well as call for a special helper."

All of the cloaked figures immediately whipped their heads upwards to look at the figure floating in the sky. Standing atop a spear suspended in the air, was the skinny and useless 'boyfriend' that the hulking brute had guaranteed was dead.

He was supposed to be dead! Why is he not dead!

A silver blur moved through the air, slicing through the metallic tendrils that bound Astra, letting her drop the ground as her boots splashed in the pool of freshly forming blood, before it stopped next to Seth and floated in the air beside him. A falchion, with barnacles growing along the blunt side of its blade, bobbed in the air next to him.

It's blade glistening wickedly, a sheen that was only enhanced by the salt water that covered it's length, as well as mixed with the fresh blood that was lingering in the blade's edge.

"Don't just stand there you Idiot! Kill him! Do what you were supposed to do the first time!"

The metal controlling Assassin bellowed in rage to the lumbering oaf standing next to him, who immediately growled like a feral dog and leapt forwards. With a single step, those tree trunk legs cracked the ground beneath the man's feet, doing so without mana reinforcement and purely from physical strength, as he shot towards Seth like a cannon ball.

He cocked his meaty fist back, ready to doll out another blow that could rival a high speed train collision, but while he was flying through the air the lumbering oaf caught a blur out of the corner of his eye.

It was not a silver blur, instead a black one. One that was approaching rapidly, bouncing off trees and ruined buildings erratically. A blur that screamed with a childish voice, as it shot towards him like a homing missile.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH MY PAPAAAAA!"

The erratic blur, which turned out to be a small child that looked no older than eight years old, lashed out with a punch of their own. His tiny fist crashed into the cheek of the colossal, muscular giant.

It was like a pebble hitting against the side of a mountain. Yet against all that seemed rational...

KRAACOOOOOM!

A thunderous boom echoed out as mountain was thrown to the side, smashing through an entire forests worth of trees, as well as few ruined buildings, but the meteoric strike of the tiny, pathetic looking pebble.

The little boy dropped the ground, landing just outside Astra's crater as his momentum had been nullified by his own punch, letting the cloaked figures get a good look at his swishing, scaled tail and the wicked horns that curled from his forehead.

"D-demon! DEMON!"

"T-they really are colluding with demons!"

The uninjured assassins stumbled back, their bodies trembling with fear as they stared at the adorable little Omelette with complete and utter horror, the metal wielder even going so far as to grasp a medallion he wore around his neck as he muttered a prayer to himself.

Seth raised his eyebrow, as he could almost swear that Omelette's horns grew ever so slightly longer when they saw him, and a fearsome and unholy aura started to radiate from his body. How curious.

Floating down to the ground, the severed arm levitated off the ground to meet him. Seth tore free his prosthetic, which was shattered and broken from the horrific blow it had received from the muscular giant.

The rest of him had been protected by his black blood, mostly. But even with that protection, it was a horrible landing that left him wheezing and with at least two broken ribs.

"Hey! That's my arm you bastard! Give that back or I'll ki-"

Another flash of silver glided past the assassin, before his head fell from its pedestal atop his neck.

"Or you'll what? Speak up, I can't quite hear you."

Seth regarded the head with cold eyes as it rolled to a stop at his feet. He still felt nothing when taking that life, but there was no guilt over the lack of feelings this time. He wished he could attribute it entirely up to what Astra had said to him. But in all honesty, he felt no guilt because the bastard deserved it.

In fact, perhaps a swift death was even too good for him. Yes... for anyone who dared to lay their filthy hands on his gi- his second in command, they deserved death. How quickly it came... That was another story.

Plugging the severed arm into his arm's harness, Seth flexed the flesh and blood fingers of his new arm, before looking towards the two remaining members of the group of assassins.

"Who wants to try to kill me next?"