Canon is Matt Wagner's Grendel

[beholdthedevil]

You seek to pit this Tiamat against a legion of Marduks. To give countless 'heroes' a villain to conquer. And in doing so, perhaps illustrate the 'inevitable' triumph of Good over Evil.

Juvenile rubbish. I live for The Game. When the ashes settle, there will be neither Good nor Evil.

There will only be Grendel.

[A ripple of refined yet fiendish laughter.]

Off with you then, whelp. Give the Devil His due.

Comments

GRENDEL! This was a fantastic series!

[sable_cloak]

[A sibilant, quiet tone issues from nearby to meet that fiendish laughter in challenge. It's a muted sound, a warning to a mighty foe that he persists, and will stand against him with all his might.]

So long as evil persists, so shall the forces that fight against it.

[His figure is half-shrouded in shadows. He desires to be seen, to be a reminder that while Grendel is powerful, yes, there are others on the flip side of this coin who can match that prowess.]

You are an element of chaos but hardly deserving of the title you give yourself.

TWO Shadows. I am blessed. *_* And it was! Wish we'd gotten a true Hunter Rose on-going...

[beholdthedevil]

[He knows this well; the sable avenger proved it firsthand in their little tussle. It's enough to elicit the lightest shift in his stance. But not enough to dent that diabolically jocular demeanor.]

Au contraire, L'Ombre. What I do not destroy, I corrupt. Bend to my will.

How does it feel to know I've done just that to your kingdom, decades beyond your time?

:D Normally I play an agent of The Shadow, but could NOT miss this opportunity!

[sable_cloak]

What your future holds, is not yet set in stone for mine. By your coming to my own time, you had the advantage. By leaving it you have given the advantage to me.

[He has always been driven, but Grendel's meddling has only cemented his resolve to provide a future where such evil isn't allowed a strong hold on the world. He knows he can no sooner snuff out the night than put a stop to all evil, but he intends to make it much harder, and to leave a stronger-lasting legacy than whatever he had previously planned for.]

M'glad you did then. Ooh, which agent? Harry? Moe? The real Lamont? 8D

[beholdthedevil]

And so you will use it to avert the inevitable. To fight the future where I reign supreme.

['The', not 'a'. He doesn't believe in fate or destiny; he hates the very notion in fact. But when it comes to his supremacy, he'll make an exception.]

A candle in a hurricane. But, oh, what sport your doomed crusade will furnish.

Myra. Lesser-known agent from the old novels. ^^; /book nerd/

[sable_cloak]

[The Shadow laughs at Grendel's words. The sound is challenging, and mocking. To fight against a hurricane is futility at its finest. But its winds could drive a mighty blaze if set properly.]

There is nothing 'inevitable' about the future. You would never have taken part in the past if you truly held such a belief. [Men like them could never believe in the inevitable. They both work too hard to change the world around them to believe that their efforts are in vain. The Shadow Knows, they are both agents of change, guiding humanity along their respective courses.]

MYRA RELDON. I thought no one else had ever read the pulps! \o/

[beholdthedevil]

[True on all counts. That's made their struggle so thrilling. Especially for the Devil. Unstoppable force, immovable object, and all that.]

Words to live by. Unless I am part of the equation. Only then does all become certainty.

[He lifts an elegant gloved hand, as if to forestall the sable avenger's mentioning what was most certainly his defeat back when they clashed.]

Revel in your 'victory', if you must. Just remember that I never make the same mistakes twice. And in time... the Devil always wins.

*excited flailing!* YOU KNOW. \o/

[sable_cloak]

[Few foes have generated the level of struggle like Grendel. There have been many fiends who stood against The Shadow, but only a handful which lasted beyond the first encounter due to their own intelligence. Always they have returned. The Shadow does not consider their struggle a 'victory', but an interlude until the time Grendel appears again, no matter how far in the future that may be. He is content, however, to let him assume that The Shadow is considering this a successful campaign.

When Grendel says that 'the Devil always wins', The Shadow laughs. This time it's loud and darkly amused.]

One man's defender is another man's Devil. We shall see which one wins out in the end!

Ya better believe it! \m/ Not all 300+ of them, but many of the key ones at least.

[beholdthedevil]

[No fear striking this heart, unlike the rabble The Shadow has gunned down by the dozens. Rather... the sibilant mockery makes his pulse race with anticipation. The thrill of a new hunt. He'll make sure that laugh dies in its own throat.]

Have a care, Kage-san. "He who laughs last laughs best."

[And then he toasts him, like so. Let their Game begin anew.]