[Apple juice is not the hire he expects in a DMC heart but whatever.
He tries to pick himself up and hopes the burning in his ribs is mere bruising.
What's left, one more apple gem or was that all of them? I lost track but he'll try to shoot the statue again just to keep it from moving, red and blue.]
There's only one apple left, and it's the one in the center of its chest. The force field that blocked his bullet before is gone now, but perhaps strangely, when his shot grazes the edge of the fruit, no illusion of a pious, alternate Nero shines out from inside it.
Almost as if it's trying to stay inconspicuous on purpose.
The other arm starts crumbling now, exposing the withering tree from inside. The whole statue is in danger of collapsing - with slabs of marble falling all around Cosmo, some of it pelting him as he tries to right himself.
[This is mage cruelty! He will try to scramble back and shoot the final apple from a safe distance. Red and blue and we're growing dangerously low on tokens here.]
His desperate shots manage to pepper the apple, punching holes into its skin until its structure can no longer hold. As the fruit falls away in chunks, you spot in the core of the apple-- falling, unconscious and limp - a younger Nero. His hair's still feathered and his right arm, a demonic claw.
Having lost its source of power, the Saviour begins to fall too. The rest of the statue breaks apart, raining down stone and bark on Cosmo and Nero alike.
For all that Cosmo tries to sprint, he only manages to grab Nero before the rubble buries them both.
Something crushingly heavy is pinning him down by the legs, though some kind of pocket seems to have formed around his upper body. In his arms, still wet from apple juice, the younger Nero stirs.
[Fine he can at least try to protect Nero. Somehow having his legs pinned, possibly crushed by rubble while they're both covered in apple gore is kind of hilarious though.
So he tries really hard not to laugh at the absurdity as he keeps Nero close.]
"It must be the apple I took... To be honest, I didn't think you could fight your way through the tower."
The claws on his right arm flex, and start to glow.
"But I can do the rest now."
Demonic power pours from his arm in waves, and with a single gesture, the spectre of a massive devil's claw blows away the debris - punching upwards in replica of Nero's own movements with the force of a giant.
Indeed. Judgement is for those with a narrow view.
[He will test his legs are they broken or can he like stand? Not that he will either way. Maybe he will just sit here and wheeze. He's used to being the boss fight not fighting bosses. And he's not a great boss fight without magic anyway.]
Funny that - if he can will himself to stand, then he can stand. Everything here functions on belief and imagination turning the impossible, real. It won't even hurt anymore, if he believes he can overcome it.
All the same, Nero offers his hand (the human one, it's less pointy and bony) to help Cosmo stand.
[He can in fact. And he already firmly believes pain doesn't affect him so, he will take the hand readily to get to his feet. Even take off the mask since it's just Nero.]
Well, more or less. The is why people clash but also why it is important to try to understand them.
Are you all right? Being captive of a giant statue that is also a tree is not entirely usual in one's own mind, generally.
He looks over to the fruit salad littered everywhere across the stage.
"The apple was something I picked up from Heaven, but-- the statue was a memory. His Holiness had it built in Sparda's image... but it needed a blood descendant to power it."
A resentful frown crosses his face.
"I was just easier to nab than Dante. It absorbed me into its core, and I... dissolved. From my body, to my soul."
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Re: LEVEL ?
He tries to pick himself up and hopes the burning in his ribs is mere bruising.
What's left, one more apple gem or was that all of them? I lost track but he'll try to shoot the statue again just to keep it from moving, red and blue.]
Re: LEVEL ?
Almost as if it's trying to stay inconspicuous on purpose.
The other arm starts crumbling now, exposing the withering tree from inside. The whole statue is in danger of collapsing - with slabs of marble falling all around Cosmo, some of it pelting him as he tries to right himself.
Re: LEVEL ?
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Having lost its source of power, the Saviour begins to fall too. The rest of the statue breaks apart, raining down stone and bark on Cosmo and Nero alike.
Re: LEVEL ?
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Something crushingly heavy is pinning him down by the legs, though some kind of pocket seems to have formed around his upper body. In his arms, still wet from apple juice, the younger Nero stirs.
"B...rea?"
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So he tries really hard not to laugh at the absurdity as he keeps Nero close.]
Hello Nero. How do you feel?
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"...Sticky? Brea, you-- came all this way?"
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[He'll try to shift to give Nero some space at least, without moving rubble to fall on them.]
And why would I not?
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The claws on his right arm flex, and start to glow.
"But I can do the rest now."
Demonic power pours from his arm in waves, and with a single gesture, the spectre of a massive devil's claw blows away the debris - punching upwards in replica of Nero's own movements with the force of a giant.
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I'll confess this story of activity is not my forte.
Most impressive.
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"I called it the Devil Bringer. At first, I thought I'd been cursed by God... why else would my body change this way?"
"Still. It gave me the power I needed. To hell with anyone's judgment."
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[He will test his legs are they broken or can he like stand? Not that he will either way. Maybe he will just sit here and wheeze. He's used to being the boss fight not fighting bosses. And he's not a great boss fight without magic anyway.]
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All the same, Nero offers his hand (the human one, it's less pointy and bony) to help Cosmo stand.
"We're all just doing what we can, right?"
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Well, more or less. The is why people clash but also why it is important to try to understand them.
Are you all right? Being captive of a giant statue that is also a tree is not entirely usual in one's own mind, generally.
Re: LEVEL ?
"The apple was something I picked up from Heaven, but-- the statue was a memory. His Holiness had it built in Sparda's image... but it needed a blood descendant to power it."
A resentful frown crosses his face.
"I was just easier to nab than Dante. It absorbed me into its core, and I... dissolved. From my body, to my soul."
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How do you feel?
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He looks back to Cosmo.
"It's time for you to keep going, though. You're almost there."
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[Sarcasm aside!]
Anything I should look out for, Nero?
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"There's only one thing left to do. Finish the dream."
With that, his body dissolves into light - which all rushes into Cosmo's gun, absorbed like all the statues before it.
Something shifts from under the rubble, before a new pillar of light shoots up, spilling out from a portal to the next level.
Fin