Ice and Snow, Mind and Heart

Chapter 53: Forever with Lord Sesshomaru

"Sesshomaru!" Yuki called worriedly as she saw him tense.

Sesshomaru's eyes had widened slightly as he felt the power of the spell, but at Yuki's call he grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes, focusing his concentration while his hand moved to grasp Tokijin's hilt in an attempt at keeping levelheaded. He needed to maintain control, not give into his inner beast...

Unfortunately, Ungai saw the interaction and thought he was starting to gain the advantage. With his fingers lifted before him, he released even more of his energy into the spell, sending powerful waves that made Yuki shield her face as she watched with growing alarm as the air around Sesshomaru grew ever more electric.

Ungai frowned as Sesshomaru's eyes went red and his fangs bared while the demonic energy around him started to grow stronger. Ungai grit his teeth, willing himself not to lose and give in, as Sesshomaru began to growl.

"He's exposing his true self." Ungai murmured as the very air around Sesshomaru began to glow red while his hair flew around him and his blood-red eyes narrowed furiously as he snarled viciously at Ungai.

"Oh, no." Yuki gasped, eyes going wide as she saw Sesshomaru's raise his hand off Tokijin, cracking his knuckles as his claws started to grow longer.

"Hm?" Ungai murmured as he saw the same thing, and Yuki called sharply: "Stop the spell! Stop it, before you're all killed!"

Ungai scoffed at her words, disbelieving at first, but then his eyes widened as suddenly, the energy from around Sesshomaru suddenly swirled and combined to form an immense demonic energy that whirled like a hurricane around the dog demon, enveloping him.

Ungai's eyes went wide and he gasped as he realized what was about just before it did.

"Sesshomaru, be careful not to-!" Yuki shouted in alarm, just as Ungai's staff exploded, while all the monks' sacred beads broke from their chains as their spell was turned back on them.

Yuki drew her swords swiftly, using them to shield herself at the last minute just as a blast of energy was released from around Sesshomaru as the demon completely shattered the monks' spell.

The blast caused a miniature explosion that raised up the rocks around Sesshomaru while a powerful blast of wind threw all the monks who had been too close away, all of them landing with heavy thuds that knocked them out cold.

Yuki meanwhile lifted her head, surprised by the relative weakness of the blast compared to what she'd feared, before she had to smile wryly at the sight before her.

Her reaction was the exact opposite reaction from Ungai, who had fallen back onto his backside in sheer shock and horror as he stared at Sesshomaru with wide, terrified eyes.

"I've never seen such terrible power." He gasped as he stared at where Sesshomaru remained unscathed and back to normal, and at the start of a wide and long line of scorched earth that extended at least a mile or two behind the dog demon.

The blast that Sesshomaru released had even ploughed through all the trees that were in the way, thus creating a perfect path from the cliff clearing right through the forest. However, the line had missed Yuki, going to her right by about five feet, a clear sign that Sesshomaru had controlled the outburst of his demonic energy so that no-one (well, almost) was injured.

And for his efforts not to harm anyone, Yuki was quite surprised and a little grateful.

"Thank you, Sesshomaru." Yuki said as she came up behind the dog demon, and he simply answered without looking down at her: "Hn."

She almost chuckled, but refrained as Rin came running up towards them, the girl smiling widely as she cried happily: "Yuki!"

"Rin." Yuki greeted back softly as the child stopped before her and Sesshomaru.