The bullets ripped through the Cannibal and he grunted softly, continuing to glare at the both the woman who had robbed him of his victory and the woman holding the gun. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes again which causes his gaze to waver but he refused to show the extent of his pain. Breathing heavily from the new wounds in his body he could feel his knees tremble as his body became weaker. If only he could get free enough to bite into one of the arms holding him back he might be able to recover. That was impossible. There was just no way he was able to build up strength no matter what he did at this point, he was pretty much relying on the people restraining him for support. If they let him go he knew that he would just collapse to the ground, and it seemed like they were reading his mind. He felt himself being released and then he hit the ground with a hard thud.<br/><br/>Blood began to pool under him, the wound in his chest must have been opened again because it was difficult to breathe, while everyone just gawked at him, he could feel himself fading. No, he was not going to die right away, he wasnâ€™t sure how long it would take before death caught up to him. Raziel would never accept such weaklings; it amused him how he still thought of the man. Being humiliated like this enraged him and admittedly for the first time in a long time he wished that the pain would just stop and his suffering would end. That would be too simple, he knew they would make him suffer, people always made him suffer. No effort was made in getting to his feet. He was just too weak to do so, he was fading in and out of consciousness, everything was starting to become blurry and darkness clouded his vision soon after. It was difficult to describe, this feeling. He closed his eyes and let out a quiet breath.<br/><br/>Something about it reminded him of going to sleep after a long and exhausting dayâ€¦ Yeah, thatâ€™s what it wasâ€¦<br/><br/>â€œSister,â€ the woman said, continuing to support her comrade, â€œYou have done well today, you deserve a rest. If anything this proves that we can stand up to these monsters and survive.â€ There was a lot of reassurance in her voice and she offered a small smile, and then turned back to the people standing over the Cannibalâ€™s lifeless body, â€œWe canâ€™t leave him here. Knowledge of these weapons must not reach the public otherwise another disaster will be inevitable. Weâ€™ll need to take the body somewhere and burn itâ€¦ That was how the file had said to get rid of itâ€¦â€ It was best that they quickly cleaned everything up and left the scene as soon as possible. Hopefully the blood would just seem like aâ€¦ whatâ€¦ a normal fight broke out? As long as this bio-weapon technology was not discovered by anyone outside of who already knew about it she really didnâ€™t care.<br/><br/>------------<br/><br/>Maverick was truly grateful that Zachariah was willing to risk his life to save the Holy Land. He truly was a saint and he knew that God would stand by him to make sure that they won this battle. It brought tears to his eyes knowing how bold their leader was, knowing that it was Godâ€™s will that Zachariah won this battle, but also feeling unworthy that he had lived. So many people had lost their lives today, why had God choose to keep him alive? He should be dead with how badly he was wounded but he was still very much alive. He could almost feel Godâ€™s hand on his shoulder while he nodded his head to show it was no mistake He was giving him a second chance, and that he did not need to feel guilty for surviving. God still needed him otherwise He probably would have left him on the battlefield at the mercy of those bio-weapons.<br/><br/>He was about to say something when the sound of gasps caught his attention. A familiar voice was calling out for Ivan and he immediately looked to see Shizu carrying Azrai. When he looked at the manâ€™s condition, as well as SHizuâ€™s, he felt his heart sink and anger swell in his chest. Raziel was going to pay for thisâ€¦<br/><br/>As much as he wanted to rush over and see the extent of the damage done to Azrai and Shizu his body refused to obey him. He was unable to move. He knew they were wounded pretty badly and hearing that not only Azrai but Shizu had been poisoned as well was not sitting well with him. Poison. Why would it not surprise him that the enemy would do something so dastardly? â€œDastardly motherfuckerâ€¦â€ He hissed through gritted teeth as the pain in his body stopped his anger from escalating more than it already had. A thought ran through his mind as he wondered if he had somehow been poisoned as well but knew he would have been aware if that had been the case. With so many people wounded, Maverick was well aware that Ivan was under a lot of pressure now that everyone was pretty much out of commission and dying, he so wished he could do something, anything, to help his friend. Silently, he prayed that God would guide them and that more miracles would be performed. He had given him a second chance, had he not, who why would He not give Shizu and Azrai a second chance as well?<br/><br/>They were moving again. â€œCome on, we need to get going,â€ the woman told him as she and another man lifted him to his feet.<br/><br/>His eyes flickered towards Azrai but before Ivan and another had taken him. When his mouth opened ot say something he could not find the words. It was like anger had put its hands around his throat and began to strangle him to where he could barely breathe. Part of it was from his wounds, it hurt to stand even when he was being supported. All he could do was utter small prayers under his breath hoping that they would survive this. He had a feeling Azrai would but Shizuâ€¦ oh Lord, I she did not pull through he knew the man would be devastated. He had seen the way those two had interacted though briefly; since he had come in so late he did not know everything of what went on but he had a pretty good idea. They had made a promise, had they not? Despite what Shizu was would God still allow her to live so Azrai could fulfill his promise to her? Surely God would see she was not a monster, she cared about Azrai, and if Shizu did die would that be His was of punishing Azrai for taking that mission on?<br/><br/>No. That was not the case, surely it wasnâ€™t. God wanted Shizu to be saved. God had sent Azrai to save her, rescue her from that village. There was no way He would allow her to die after how far they have all come.<br/><br/>Zachariah was having enough trouble with trying to get this weapon off of him. Ivan was right that he really didnâ€™t need to hear that just about everyone he had counted on to pull them through was in bad shape. The fact that Shizu was dying caused his heart to nearly shatter and he felt a tear forming in the corner of his eye. He had stopped struggling against the weapon for a moment, which had nearly succeeded in getting the gun out of his grasp at this point, and just listened to what Ivan was telling him to ensure he heard right. He knew Azrai might survive, as Ivan had said the man was a stubborn mule, but Shizu, no, he would not allow his sacrifice to go in vain after promising that she would have her freedom. God was on his side, he knew that those two were going to get through this. Zachariah was always a man of his word and he wanted to make sure that it stayed that way. Suddenly a newfound resolved began to burn bright within him, fueled by both anger and sorrow.<br/><br/>He would not allow Raziel to win.<br/><br/>He knew he would never be on the same level with Raziel and he did not care, why would he want to be a monster, he was doing this for the Holy Land and for Shizuâ€™s freedom. The acid was already working its way through Razielâ€™s system; the man could speak all he wanted, he was no match for that acid in the end. He had spent the past five years working hard on that gun and while it would most likely always be a work in progress he was very pleased at how it was coming along. Worry tugged at him briefly. What if it was not enough to take Raziel out? He had thought about that while he was coming to challenge him. What if he really was going to lose thisâ€¦ no, he would not allow such thoughts to ruin the resolve that he was feeling. He needed to pull through. Once he took Raziel out everything would be fine. The Holy Land would be peaceful and he would lock the gun away hoping to never use it again and Shizu would be given a new life free of oppression.<br/><br/>Was he really dying? That was what it felt like to him, anyway, or at least close to it, his life hanging by a trhead. Azrai had never been this close to death before in his life. Barely conscious, h ecould hear everything around him but could do nothing to respond to any of it, whatever was in his system was slowly killing him. While he might not have been the ideal target for the poison that did not mean it was not affecting him at all. Oh yes, he felt it. He was burning up, and he was weak, he was barely even aware of what was going on. It felt like he had been dragged to his feet and thrown in the air and now he was flying. Unconsciously he was clinging desperately to whoever was carrying him as he began to cough up more blood. In the back of his mind prayers echoed over and over as he hoped that God would allow him to pull through this.<br/><br/>He had to pull through thisâ€¦ for Shizuâ€¦ Shizu! He stirred again when she uttered his name, something was happening to her! â€œShizu!â€ He called out, right when the group had pulled away into an alley. A few people seemed startled how he had woken up so suddenly, it was more proof of how attached to Shizu he had become. He might not be able to do much in his condition but he wanted to know if she was safe. â€œWhereâ€¦â€ he tried to speak again but he suddenly began to cough up blood again, mouth salivating heavily as a horrible feeling sank to his stomach. It was a sharp pain. He coughed up blood again his and like some rabid dog his mouth started to foam a bit from the poison. He wanted to push Ivan, as he was aware of who was carrying him now, away from him and lean against the wall but he did not have the energy to do so.<br/><br/>â€œIvanâ€¦â€ Maverick called out hoarsely. â€œI think Iâ€™m holding out alright. I canâ€™t feel my bodyâ€¦ but at least Iâ€™m aliveâ€¦â€ He knew things were bad. Shizu was dying and Azrai was waking up again, neither of which were good. When they got to an area where they had to stop, he placed reached out and place a shaky hand on Azraiâ€™s shoulder just to reassure him that everything was alright. The man was still far too out of it to notice but he hoped the small gesture would be enough.<br/><br/>Zachariah coughed when the weapon was thrown off of him, catching his breath. â€œâ€Be on the same level as you? Donâ€™t make me laugh. Power alone does not make one strong, Raziel,â€ he said after a long moment of silence. He did not get to his feet right away. The reason he stayed lying there like he did was because he was trying to think up a plan. He could still feel the liquid in his body healing his wounds and he could see Razielâ€™s wounds slowly getting worse and worse as time passed. Perhaps part of this was stalling. If he could stall enough time then he would be able to win this; let Razielâ€™s wounds whittle him down until his strength failed him and he was left paralyzed completely. He also wanted to have those words sink in a bit even though he doubted that his old friend would even listen. The man was beyond reasoning, he knew that, and as far as he knew what he was saying only fell on deaf ears.<br/><br/>It was such a sad reality that he did not want to accept but he had given the man a second chance.<br/><br/>This was going to end now. At least he would not finish him while he was down, he gave a silent nod to that, and he had to give credit where it was due. Perhaps somewhere in that corrupt way of thinking Raziel still had some respect for him. If that was the case he was surprised, he would have expected the man to do anything to get what he desired, to think that he had some respect for him, he couldnâ€™t find words. He had seen that he was willing to kill Shizu. Part of him was aware that he might have succeeded and that she was dead by now but he refused to believe it. God was not going to allow him to fail, he had to defeat Raziel.<br/><br/>â€œAs you said before, let us see just who it is God favors.â€ He said calmly, eyes flashing with that newfound resolve. Slowly he rose to his feet, clutching his shoulder. That weapon had done a number on him getting the gun away, which was a few feet away, his legs felt a bit weak while he stood facing his brother. He took in a deep breath noticing the scent of war still lingered. When this was over they were going to have to find some way to get rid of all of these bodies and finish off the remainder of the bio-weapons that were loyal to Raziel. Nobody needed to know that this happened. It was a miracle that they were able to keep hidden for this long he couldnâ€™t help but be somewhat paranoid about being found out. He knew Elias was watching them to make sure that they would be as hidden as possible but he knew he was only one person. Just the thyought of him helping out made him glad that God has blessed Azrai with such a friend.<br/><br/>This day he had been given so many blessings. If it had not been for them he probably would have been dead by now. Hopefully he would have enough strength by now to stand up to Raziel in hand-to-hand combat otherwise he was screwed. Clenching his fists he decided to take a chance. He threw a punch, hitting Raziel square in the jaw, and then made a dash for the gun. There were still three shots left and he had to make sure that they counted. When he got far enough away he took aim and fired off another round then holstered the gun. He hoped he would not need to resort to the last two bullets, really the amount he had fired was already a little overkill but he had to make sure he won. Raziel would not be easily stopped even with the acid slowly eating at him.<br/><br/>Zachariah was not confident in taking him on head on but he had to. That would be the only way they would see just who God favored.