There was a pained grunt that left her as he pushed into her wound harder. Her nostrils flared as she tried to breathe evenly, though that was difficult to do. Closing her eyes at the pain, she bit down harder on his wrist. This would not ease the pain that she felt but it made her feel somewhat better. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she grew even more tired but the determination that pumped through her veins kept her going. It was hard to tell if she was winning or losing at this point, but she knew that she would have to win. There was no way that she would allow herself to lose. Maybe Zachariah already thought of her as dead, especially since it had been a while since she had last spoken with him.<br/><br/>When he pulled his wrist away, she grinned like a mad woman. Her eyes glinted with a strange light. It was a cross between an animalistic and insane look, but that didn't matter to her. It didn't matter how she looked or how much pain she went through. She would win no matter what. Even if he bit off her arm or another useless limb, she would be the victor in this battle. She knew that he was in pain that he was slowing down. She could hear his labored breathing pattern and the blood oozing out of him. It wasn't like she wasn't in the same boat, because she was. She panted heavily, trying to catch some kind of breath as her head spun. It didn't really feel like she was about to die, however she really wouldn't know what that felt like. This was the first time she had been so close to death.<br/><br/>Her head made everything spin and sway, much to her stomach's discomfort. She had lost too much blood and she let out a cry of pain, unable to hold it back. Being bitten a second time probably felt even worse that the first time. She had not been prepared to brace herself for impact; instead she blamed her foggy mind for this. Gritting her teeth tightly, she thought they would break as she roughly began to struggle. Since he had let go of her bad shoulder, well the one before the other one got hurt, she tried to move her hand. It twitched slightly and she tried to move it. She wanted to scream as she could barely feel it moving, but she was determined. Concentrating hard on moving her hand, she slowly moved it in between their bodies. Her fingers shook violently as she tried to move them more. Slowly, she hooked them into his chest wound, tearing at the bleeding hole.<br/><br/>Just a little longer, she had to hold on a little longer. The victor would be given his or her champion belt. She wondered if Zachariah would be proud to say that she had been a part of his team, there was no way in hell she would survive long enough to see him or the others again. She bit her lower lip as she continued to tear away at the chest wound, she would fight until her heart stopped beating.<br/>------<br/><br/>Ivan listened to the voice in his earpiece, he knew that he couldn't rely on this gun and the ammunition was limited. However, it was just too damn useful to not use it. He knew that he had to use his other gun. Sliding it into the holster on his back, he pulled out his Smith & Wesson M&P .40. He emptied a few rounds into the bio-weapons, using his military experience to guide him how to properly kill them. It was almost like second nature to him. When Zachariah spoke for a second time, he signaled for his men to move out more. It was becoming a bit more tedious to thin out these men and women that went against what God had originally intended for them to do. He let out a sigh as he picked off a few more though he was thankful to have the snipers at their backs. These bio-weapons seemed a little more unruly than they had dealt with while coming to Bethlehem. Something was not sitting well within him; as if this was ploy or something like that. His eyes narrowed as he glanced over towards the other groups.<br/><br/>It seemed like they were getting that feeling as well too.<br/><br/>This was almost too easy, even she knew it. Her body worked automatically as more and more of these bio-weapons came towards her, cutting them down easily. Somehow, being able to kill them so fast made her feel uneasy. She shifted her footing as she allowed a bullet to fly by her, hitting the bio-weapon in the skull. The good thing about being an Oni was that she could tell when things were coming her way. Her eyes glanced down at the corpse by her feet. She looked back up, noticing that these wilder bio-weapons were thinning out. A frown touched her lips as she stood there, calculating what she should do next. She knew that it was foolish to go head off on her own; perhaps she would have to talk to Maverick. He would know what the next plan of action should be. Before she became too lost in thought, she immediately hopped back as another bio-weapon attacked her.<br/><br/>She slammed the man into the ground, her claws ready to strike, however she paused. Her head tilted in curiosity as there was a blinking light attached to a collar around his neck. How odd. Was that a way of their strength? She noticed the grin on his lips and knew that something wasn't right. "You're too slow," he managed out, wheezing from the impact that they had made on the ground. His hand clicked down on a switch in his hand, Shizu immediately jumped off and away from him. She had missed the initial explosion, but that was only thanks to how fast she was. However, this didn't mean that she wasn't hit by the shockwave that followed after it. She could feel her arms burn from the heat and her body was sent flying away from the place she had been. She had been temporarily knocked unconscious by the force of the explosion.<br/><br/>Shizu! Ivan noticed her body flying towards his direction. Putting the gun in his holster, he moved with great fervor as he tried to make sure she didn't plunge head first into the rocky terrain. The impact that she made with him was painful, a grunt left him as the wind was knocked out of him. His arms wrapped around her and they fell back into the ground. He clenched his jaw as he felt the rocks dig into his back as they travelled across the battlefield. When they stopped, Ivan let out a heavy breath, gasping for air almost. He glanced down at the unconscious Oni in his arms; he could see blood dripping from her forehead. Oh, this was just fucking perfect. Weren't they supposed to be trying to capture her, not kill her? "It looks like they've got some suicide bombers, so be on your toes," he grunted into his earpiece.<br/><br/>He watched in horror as her body was engulfed in smoke, she flew out not to long afterwards. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing out there," Raziel nearly screeched into his earpiece. He would not tolerate such impudence from his men. His hands clutched the arm rest as he was more than willingly to leave his car now and shred all of his soldiers to pieces. He let out a slow and steady breath, trying to keep himself at bay. "Would someone please tell me why the Oni woman was nearly blown up, without my consent?"<br/><br/>'Forgive me sir; these soldiers out here are too unstable. It's hard to command them,' one of his captains said.<br/><br/>He let out a slow sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. He should have known that it was foolish to send out such unstable creatures. However, this would try out the other men faster, meaning he had a better chance of capturing Shizu. That was all that mattered at this point. If he couldn't get his hands on her, this would not turn out well for his people. He would not accept failure. This was not the time to have those who could not handle the injections ruin everything that he had so delicately worked on for five years. This was a time to show the world the Liberation that he had been preparing for them. It was a long and overdue gift that he was giving these people and soon they would learn to embrace and accept it.<br/><br/>"Keep them in check, however if they prove to be too difficult, then kill them. I will not have imperfections within this organization." Raziel was stewing in anger, hoping that his beloved was alright. If she was missing anything important then he would truly be full of rage. "Let the next wave of soldiers go, they will prove to be more difficult to kill."<br/><br/>There was a collective response from his captains and he grinned. It was good that they still wished to serve and obey him. They were exactly the kind of puppets he needed in this world. They were so loyal and oblivious...they were perfect. A grin returned to his lips once more, he wondered how well Zachariah would be able to hold off this time around. He would love to see his old friend to go down, pain etched into his face. Ah, yes...that would be most satisfying.<br/><br/>"Send out the others," Grant muttered, signaling for the next group to go. He had watched the battlefield carefully; trying to see of the enemy would attack. He and his men would pass on tactics and what not. The first wave of the Liberators had not gone as well as they had planned, but this new wave was better prepared. Soon the enemy would become fatigued and fall back. That would be the time that the last wave would strike. He muttered a few choice words to the others, watching as they maneuvered through the flying bullets; however that did not mean that they were harmed. He could see some of them struggle, but the bullets would not stop them completely. They were more stabilized, stronger than the grunts in the first wave.<br/><br/>Still a shot to the head would end any of them but they were smart enough to know that. They moved faster, picked up sounds better but even Grant knew they would hardly be a match for the Oni woman. He wanted to curse to the high heavens knowing that one of his men had seriously fucked up. How could he have not recognized the woman? She was the only one with claws and yet the man still tired to take her out as if it were nothing. They were lucky that she hadn't been killed or else who would have know what kind of chaos would have erupted. He winced slightly hearing the anger that shook in his leader's voice. It was better now that the imperfections were out of the way; this would leave even less room for error. He knew that they couldn't let down their leader; he had shown them a new life with unlimited options.<br/><br/>They could not lose.<br/><br/>Ivan slowly moved Shizu out of his arms, checking her pulse. He gave out a breath of relief that she wasn't anywhere close to being dead. His heart had almost stopped when he had seen the explosion. It was safe to say that he cared about her. He shook her gently, trying to get some kind of response out of her, a soft groan left her. Once again, he was relieved, relaying a message that she was alright. There was ringing noise in her ears as the world came back into focus. Soon, the sounds of battle hit her at full force and her eyes flew open. She stared up at Ivan before sitting up. She winced as she looked down at her arms. They were slightly burned from the heat, though it was healing. She touched her head, feeling her own blood. She must have been hit by debris when the explosion happened.<br/><br/>"Are you alright," Ivan asked, helping her stand up.<br/><br/>"I will be fine," she muttered out. She glanced back at the battlefield, her body working hard to recover. She stepped forward only to cringe in pain; the shockwave had done a number on her body. She coughed slightly, blood flecking across her lips. Although she was inhuman, that didn't mean an explosion couldn't do damage, especially at such a close range. A curse left Ivan as he pushed her back, shooting at the bio-weapon that came at them. When he shot that son of a bitch in the leg, he was satisfied that he went down but that feeling didn't last too long. The man got up, advancing at them as if he had never been hit. This was not what he wanted to deal with at this time. He needed to get Shizu further back, her injuries would hinder her.<br/><br/>Before he could have her fall back, he felt this malicious intent fill the air around them. It was suffocating, nauseating. He glanced back briefly, only to see that Shizu was different, extremely different. Her hair was the color of bone and her eyes glew brilliantly. Her skin was turning a slight blue hue and she had four horns protruding from her skull. Deep down, Ivan knew that this wasn't good. He let out a gasp as he felt teeth dig into his arm. He immediately tried to rip off the bio-weapon, however he was tossed back. This was the second time he had flown across the ground today and it certainly didn't feel any better than the first time. When he finally stopped, he looked to see Shizu easily dismembering the bio-weapon like a tree branching. It was a gruesome sight, one that made his stomach roll. "As much as I hate to say this, he might be losing her," Ivan grunted into his earpiece, a new worry settling into his chest.<br/><br/>She was livid, pissed, and everything else under the sun. A part of her mind told her to control herself while another said give in to the desire to kill. She was angry at the fact that she had been pulled into a trap, pissed that she had been so heavily injured, and livid at the fact that she had allowed Ivan to get hurt. She had made a promise in the beginning to see to that no one was injured, but she had seen it with her own eyes. The blood that seeped from his wound, the pain in his eyes and that had set something off inside of her. She ripped the head off of the bio-weapon that she had been torturing with great pleasure. She dropped it to the ground, slowly looking up at the enemy. There was hesitation in their eyes and she felt herself become excited. She could still feel the pain of the explosion wearing down her body but that wouldn't stop her. She was so high on bloodlust that she pained no mind to it. She took down an entire group of ten at once.<br/><br/>She was enjoying this.<br/><br/>He was enjoying this.<br/><br/>As much as it was a shame to see his men slowly being taken down by the woman, he was fascinated by her. She captivated him in such a way. He was nearly bouncing with glee as she seemed to have changed. So this is what an Oni looked like...She was beautiful, graceful, and lethal. She was everything that he had been hoping and dreaming for. Ever since he had discovered her and her stepfather five years ago, he knew that she would be the one to give him what he desired. "I want the last wave to go out now," Raziel spoke softly. "I will personally retrieve the Oni woman myself, you just hold off Zachariah and the others." When he received an answer from his men, he smiled. As much as he wanted there to be more bloodshed, he knew that time was running out. If he didn't convert her now, she would tear down all of his weapons. That he could not have. Opening the door, he took a step out of his car and inhaling the smell of blood in the air.<br/><br/>The real show was about to begin.