Hidden In Darkness: Kusanagi Part 1

Chapter 12: Hero vs Monster

Present time
Demons began to flood the gate. A white tiger spilling the blood of as many demons as it could. An injured friend being treated in the middle of the battlefield. A monster standing in front of us. Those were all my eyes saw at that moment. It was no longer a battle. It was a war.
"I will destroy all you mages, here and now!" Orochi roared as his tail began to expand.
The tail moved with a speed of a car towards us.
"Jump!" Shizuka yelled out to me.
With that we quickly jumped and evaded the tail swipe. The tail began to destroy the ground of the school's courtyard as it moved. It began turning itself and heading towards Yuzuki and Kikuri. Fortunately, Yuzuki's butterflies engulfed them and flew them to the top of the school building. That should keep them safe for a while.
"He's heading towards you!" Shizuka warned.
While I was distracted, Orochi had already closed the distance between us.
"Die!" Orochi screamed out as he begun to swing his blade at me.
"Sky Piercer!"
I quickly created a small blade made of wind and deflected the blow. As the Sky Piercer was dissipating in my hand, Orochi was recovering from the counter move and was about to swing again. Without hesitation, I swung my own blade to counter that.
"Sky Rip!" I shouted as a wind projectile was generating I from my blade
"Serpent's Venom Strike!" Orochi screamed out as a dark purple snake-shaped energy was emitting from his blade.
As our blades struck, the projectiles clashed. Wind and dark energy were thrown everywhere around us. The feedback from the collision thrown both of us away from each other. Orochi landed gracefully on his feet. I on the other hand, was less so...
"Ah! Grr... Damn..." I cursed as I was thrown back like a ragdoll.
Dust and dirt covered my face as I repeatedly hit against the floor until my body stopped bouncing off the floor. Fortunately, my experience in battle allowed me to get back up, with very little injury. However, Orochi took it as an opportunity and was about to strike again. Although, his assault was in vain as Shizuka came in time to save me. Arrows of electricity were shot at the ground in front of Orochi, forcing the demon to back off.
"Thanks..." I said to her as I pulled myself together and stood up.
As I got up from the ground, I noticed something odd. Even though my wind attack dissipated, the purple energy had yet to fade away.
"Be careful, the purple energy in the air, it looks like poisonous gas." Shizuka warned me.
Orochi then walked past the purple mist and grinned at us.
"This is my power. Hex: Serpent's Venom. I turn my mana into an airborne virus that kills anyone but me. But I don't need the virus to kill you humans!" Orochi revealed with confidence in his voice, thinking it would not matter.
Hex? It was the first time I had heard of such a term. However, I could make an intelligent guess. It would be something similar to Origin. Not that it matter at the moment.
"Die!" Orochi shouted as he began to hold his breath.
He inflated his cheeks as he inhaled and suddenly, he blew at us.
"Serpent's Venom Breath!"
A cloud of poisonous gas gushed out of the demon's mouth, coming to engulf us. Using my powers, I used Kusanagi to repel the cloud. However, as the cloud of poisonous gas began to dissipate, Orochi was gone. Only a hole in the ground was left from we he stood.
"Where did he..."
"Kurou! He's belo..."
Before Shizuka could finish, the ground below us exploded. Another purple cloud of poison threatened to engulf us. This time however, I could not repel it back, there was no time. As I braced myself, I felt myself being engulfed by something else entirely. Pink butterflies came from above us and quickly carried Shizuka and I away from the cloud, and up where Kikuri and Yuzuki were.
"Thanks for the help.." I said as I tried to catch my breath.
"No problem! Anyway, we need to find a way to beat this guy." Yuzuki said as she held the unconscious Kikuri.
Kikuri was still breathing and her injury seemed to have healed, most likely from Yuzuki's butterflies.It would definitely be a bad idea for her to be in the battlefield any longer.
"But first, we need to get her to somewhere safe..." I suggested.
"Well, you're not wrong. But there are enemies everywhere and I can't fly out of here fast enough, I'll probably be shot down." Yuzuki explained.
Suddenly, our conversation was cut short when Shizuka turned and blurted up to us.
"He's coming up the building! Shoot him down!"
Shizuka turned her daggers into her bow form and began bombarding the demon with arrows. I looked down the building and discovered that Orochi was coming up alright, though he was not really climbing it, but rather slithering up towards us. Orochi easily evaded the arrow storm. As he was reaching us, he ripped out a chunk of the building and threw it at Shizuka's weapon. The projectile hit the target directly, not only did it knock off Shizuka's weapon, but snapped the bow as well. The Ginkotsu was broken in half and reverted back to its dagger form, broken.
"Darn!" Shizuka cursed as she quickly back away from the building.
Orochi suddenly rose up and with blade at him, he begun to strike. I was going to raise my sword as well. Until...
"All right, Orochi-san. That's enough..."
Out of nowhere, a portal appeared on the ground behind Orochi, near the edge. The sudden appearance of the portal caused Orochi to cease his attack. Without wasting an opportunity, Yuzuki attempted to strike Orochi with her blade. Unfortunately, Orochi noticed it and quickly back away nearer to the portal. Out of it, a man in a lab coat came out. He had messy hair and large frame spectacles.
"Morshige-san. It seems you really are alive." Yuzuki stated as she took notice of the man.
Kozu Morshige, I think was his name. Details about him were vague to me. All I knew was that he betrayed everyone about five years ago.
"Well. If it isn't Yuzuki. And little Shizuka is here too. My my. You two certainly have grown since I was away. Last time I remembered you two were quite small. But look at you two now, all grown up and playing with the big boys. I even heard you are now the Hinata family leader. Congrats by the way..." Morshige congratulate Yuzuki in a seemingly friendly manner as he clapped his hands for her.
Orochi on the other hand, looked at the scientist questioningly.
"Why did you interrupt me, scientist? I was about to..."
Suddenly, Morshige ceased his congratulations to Yuzuki.
"Because Orochi, it is time. She has arrived." Morshige answered before the demon could finish.
Orochi stopped. He then sheathed his blade and grinned.
"Sorry. I was getting a little heated up." Orochi apologized as he stepped aside from the portal
Morshige stepped to the other side as well. It was like they positioned themselves to welcome someone. All of a sudden, someone else emerged from the portal. It was a woman wearing a white kimono and wore golden and red ornaments. However, the moment I saw her face, I froze. So did Yuzuki and Shizuka. Both of us recognized the braided hair and glasses.
"Nobunaga Kotori, what are you...." I muttered as I saw her on the side of the demons.
The girl just smirked.
"Heh... Do you really need to ask? I'm sure you've heard about how there was a 'traitor in our group'." Kotori stated.
"...Why are you doing this?" I changed the questioned.
"Humanity is nothing but a selfish and irredeemable race. They have no use and only serves to destroy everything around them, including themselves. They slowly drive themselves to the graves over pathetic conflicts that serve their own interests. So why am I doing this, im just aiding them in their suicide." Kotori stated.
"...you're insane..." I stated to her.
Again, She just smirked.
"Maybe I am, but I wonder whose fault was it..." Kotori said in a sarcastic tone.
From what she was seeing, it seemed that something had happened to her before.
"So all this time, you've been in league with..." Shizuka began.
"Just so you know, I never worked for the demons." Kotori confirmed.
"!? What do you..."
Before Yuzuki could finish, Orochi stood at the edge of the school building and shouted to the demons who were fighting Byakko.
"My brethren! Our Prophet has arrived! Victory will be in our hands!" Orochi shouted to all of his soldiers.
Suddenly, I heard the howls of demons. As though they were cheering. I could see the demons below regaining their morale. Byakko and Miya began being overwhelmed by the demons they were overpowering before. Just then, it hit me...
"Don't tell me you're..."
Suddenly, Kotori began to hover high up in the air so everyone in the area can see and hear her.
"Yes. I am Nobunaga Kotori. I am the messenger of God and humanity's destruction is his will. I am the leader and prophet of God's Will! I am the Izanami! I am Death!"
The demons below became more violent, they became stronger from hearing her voice and began to assault Byakko even more. It was as though they were being consumed by a sea of demons.
"Oh no! Byabya! We're in a pinch aren't we? A really big pinch!?" Miya shouted in a worrisome tone.
"Degenerate beasts! Get your hands off of us!" Byakko said as he began to struggle.
However, Byakko's struggling was only slightly slowing the demons down. He was not stopping them.
"Hahaha! I always hated babysitting that little girl." Kotori laughed as she sees her former master sinking into the swarm of demonic beasts.
"You're not getting away with this!" Shizuka and Yuzuki said as they began to take a fighting position, so did I.
"Do you really think you can take three of us on? Even though you three barely hold yourselves against Yamata no Orochi?" Kozu asked.
"Let's see the odds. We have an army of demons probably eating the maiden and her pet cat, your ally. Your ally over there is unconcious. One of you is weaponless. And best of all, unlike us you all are getting exhausted." Kozu pointed out.
Orochi then continued Kozu's statement as they both slowly approached us.
"Basically, what he's saying is, you all are going to die."
"Now now, don't be hasty Orochi. We still want Narukami alive." Kozu suddenly stated.
"Yeah. Heart beating and lungs pumping. Should be fine with losing a limb or two." Orochi said, grinning ominously.
It was getting bad. They were getting the upper hand and I was no longer sure we had a chance against them. All we could do was back away from them. Even if we could get away, I needed to somehow get to Kikuri and take her with us. All hope seem lost until all of us heard something.
"Wait... What's that sound?" Orochi asked as he took noticed of it.
It was a sound of an engine. It was the sound of a vehicle.
"A motorcycle?" I asked myself.
"Heh...right on schedule." Yuzuki whispered to herself.
Suddenly, demon cries can be heard from the gate. The demons that were engulfing Byakko and Miya began disappearing, fading away into darkness by a black flame. All of us gazed at the gate, only to discover that it was none other than Raidou, riding a strange motorbike of some sort.
"Hahaha! Good thing the old man kept more of these!" Raidou shouted out in delight as he began slicing the demons on the bike, as though he was some sort of horseman of death.
"What the devil took you so long?" Byakko asked as he began to overpower the demons once more as their numbers began dwindling.
"Now now, Byabya. He saved us. We should be thankful." Miya argued as she continued to cling onto the tiger.
"I thought I sent you away..." Kotori said to herself in frustration as she looked at the chaos below in anger.
"Hey, over here!" Yuzuki suddenly said to Orochi and Kozu.
The two turned their attention to her and saw Yuzuki about to unsheathe her sword.
"Kotetsu no Cho! Third Blade: Painted Monarch!"
Suddenly, an array of colors emerged from the blade as she took out her sword. The colors then turned into a flash, causing the two to become blinded and disoriented, yelling out in pain.
"Now! Get Kikuri and let's skidaddle!" Yuzuki ordered us.
"Right!" Shizuka and I said in unison as we went to retrieve Kikuri.
Shizuka took Kikuri's rapier while I held Kikuri myself. All the three of us ran jumped off the roof. Using our powers, we landed safely onto the ground. Byakko and Raidou quickly came in to pick us up.
"Get on, we must make haste!" Byakko ordered us.
I quickly placed Kikuri onto Byakko's back and jumped on myself, Shizuka rode on Raidou bike. Yuzuki flew off with us using the butterflies
"Let's go! Byabya!" Miya commanded as we rode off.
"I'll be back for all of you! Especially you, you traitorous bitch!" Raidou threatened Kotori before riding off with us.
"No matter where you go in this city, you all cannot escape the coming storm." Kotori warned to us from a far.
As we escape the school compound, we were met with demons that tried to stop us.
"Ha! Useless. Roar of White!" Byakko shouted as he unleashed a white wave of energy, killing any demons in the path.
"Get off or be road kill!" Raidou shouted and as he gleefully ripped through the demon horde in the way.
Soon enough, we got out off the crowd of demons and began riding on the empty roads of Imuroda. The demons stopped giving chase a few minutes ago so we halted on the road we were on, except Byakko and Miya, whom returned to the Toya Hill shrine for Miya's safety.
"Don't you fail humans, I will return to the shrine to protect Miyamaru-sama." Byakko stated as he let me and Kikuri off.
"Good luck everyone!" Miya cheered.
With that both of the, left the battlefield and back to the shrine. As I carried Kikuri, I took a look around. I noticed the road we were on. It was close to Shiro's apartment buildings. I began to wonder whether everyone was safe, Yuzuki said she sent them back to the real world, but were they really safe? I then shook my head. Yuzuki would obviously have made some sort of precaution. It was no time to worry about them for now. I placed Kikuri on the pavement of the road to check her injuries. Fortunately, it did not seem she had suffered any serious wounds. Yuzuki used her guardian butterflies to heal Kikuri's wound on her head. The bleeding stopped and I wiped her blood off with a handkerchief. Suddenly, Kikuri began to open her eyes again.
"...huh?..."
"Kikuri-chan! You're awake!" I said as I bend over to check on her.
Kikuri eyes began opening up more and more. She began to blink for about her second before she widened her eyes. I was relieved at first, until I saw her blushing. At first I did not understand why she was blushing, until I saw the position I was in, looking directly at each other faces. Before I could get up and apologize, Kikuri...
"AHHH!"
In a flash, her hand was sent straight to my right cheek. The slap was powerful enough to knock me off the pavement and left me lying on the floor. Everyone near me was shocked by what happened, except for Raidou, who was too busy trying to control his laughter.
"Huh!? What? What's going on? Was I asleep? Or maybe I'm still sleeping..." Kikuri began talking in confusion.
Shizuka began to give Kikuri a summary of what happened after she was knocked out while I was getting back up from the ground.
"I see. I never thought that Kotori-san would..."
"Yeah. For all these years, she pulled the wool over our eyes..." Yuzuki stated as she sighed.
"So what is the plan now?" I asked.
"Simple. We get back in there and destroy those demons all at once!" Raidou said as he prepared his bike once more.
"Sorry, but no. Going in there without an actual plan would be suicide." Yuzuki said, putting emphasis on the word, 'actual'.
Then, it hit me.
"Raidou-san. It's not that we aren't thankful, but how did you know we needed help?" I asked.
"Hmm? Well, Yugao-san... Oh shit! That's right! Quickly, we need together to the Tashiwagi floodplain!" Raidou suddenly said as the engine on his bike began to roar.
"Is my father in danger?" Shizuka asked worriedly.
"He said he could handle it himself, but I'm starting to get a bad feeling about it. No time to talk! Let's go!"
Shizuka jumped onto the bike and held onto Raidou as they set off. Yuzuki used her guardian butterflies as a flying platform. She asked me and Kikuri to get on and we quickly made our way to the floodplain. We took several turns in the roads until we reached the shopping district. Suddenly, a voice from the sky commanded us to stop. We halted and looked up. Fortunately, it was no enemy, it was Titania.
"Great, more robots to turn into scrap metal." Raidou said as he began to charge black energy in his hands.
"Calm down, fido. Titania is on our side..." Yuzuki explained.
"Really? The old man should really learn to label his things...." Raidou said as he ceased his attack in a disappointed manner.
"Subjects confirmed to be Narukami Kurou. Yugao Shizuka. Shimada Kikuri. Hinata Yuzuki and Disrespectful Brat..."
"What the hell did she call me!? That old man..." Raidou began as he tried to control his frustration.
"Kibishi-san has ordered me to send you to the Kibishi Group Headquarters. Please follow me." Titania began as she began to head her way.
"We don't have time for that, we have to get to Yugao-san." Raidou stated.
Titania looked back at us.
"No authorization to allow this. Please follow me." Titania said as she began to wander off again, ignoring what we have to say.
Without a choice, we followed her until we reached our destination. As we walked through the roads, Raidou gave us a summary what happened. Apparently, Yugao was fighting against an android similar to Titania, it called itself Oberon. Yugao instructed Raidou to help us in the middle of the fight and that was what happened.
"....you guys go ahead. I need to go by father's side quickly!" Shizuka suddenly said and burst out of the group.
However, Shizuka was stopped when a large rifle appeared in front of her, standing in her way. Titania summoned it as a barricade to block off Shizuka.
"No authorization to allow this. Please follow me." Titania repeated to Shizuka.
"I need to go." Shizuka reaffirmed to the android.
Shizuka stared at the android, with desperate eyes. She was getting worried. She needed to see that he was alright.
"Shizuka's father is in trouble! We have to get to him!" I supported her.
However, with an emotionless gaze, Titania answered once more.
"No authorization to allow this. Ple..."
"5!" I said to her,
Suddenly, Titania stopped, waiting for me to elaborate.
"Just give us 5 minutes! Then you can take us to where ever. That's all we ask!"
Everyone was taken aback when I suddenly blurted that out. I was surprised myself when I said it myself, but I just could not stand by and do nothing when Shizuka was being so desperate. I told myself I needed to step in and do anything in my power. After all, it was that attitude of helping others that got me into this in the first place. Just when I thought my pleas would not be answered, Titania's gun construct disappeared, letting Shizuka rush towards the Tashigawa floodplain. None of us knew why Titania had a change of heart, but it did not matter at the time.
"Thank you!" I thanked her on Shizuka's behalf before chasing after her along with the others.
Using her electrical powers, Shizuka dashed through the streets with ease. It was going to exhaust her powers, but she did not care anymore and was moving in a speed that none of us could catch up.
"Dang it! Why can't this thing go faster!" Raidou complained as he began to lose sight of her.
All of us, quickly rode through the streets to catch up with Shizuka. However, the more and more we get closer to our destination. The moment we made the final turn, I realized the gravity of the situation. All of us were shocked to see the area. It was practically in ruins, the buildings at the end of the road were on the verge of falling and the roads were partially destroyed. It was as though something or someone was thrown to here all the way from the floodplain at the across the from where we were. If I were to guess, Yugao seemed to have change the battlefield to the current area. However...
"No one's here."
No one was in the area. No clashing forces, no nothing. The battle must had already finish. The question was...who won? I was given the answer when I observed more carefully. Just across the road, I saw Shizuka, kneeling down over something. A chill went up my spine, I looked at everyone around me and I knew they were thinking the same thing. We rushed over to Shizuka's side and gotten off of our mounts. I futilely begged to myself. Don't let it be true. Tell me it isn't what I think it is. But, it was. We were too late. Keisuke Yugao was lying on the floor. A puddle of dry blood surrounded him and his eyes were that of a dead fish. I sensed no energy coming out of him either. He was dead.
"Damn it! You said you could handle it!" Raidou screamed out in anger as he stomped on the ground.
Yuzuki looked away from the corpse, and Kikuri held onto me, averting her gaze from the horrible site. It was only three months ago since I met him. He was a good man trying to protect the town and his daughter, but there he was, dead. I looked away and clutched my hand. There had to be a way to stop it.
"Please, give me some time." Shizuka said.
Without a word, all of us walked off to allow Shizuka to mourn. I stopped halfway and looked back at Shizuka. It reminded me of back then. When my parents died. It was not as bad as Shizuka experiencing, but I sort of get it. Would she really be fine by herself? I wondered. Suddenly, someone tapped onto my shoulder. It was Kikuri.
"Go on. It's alright. She needs you more than ever." Kikuri said with forced smile.
Without a word, I turned my back on the rest and headed back to Shizuka. I stood next to her as she looked over her father.
"Shouldn't you be with them right now? Don't worry about me." Shizuka said,
"Do you really think I would just leave like that." I asked.
"... I suppose not." Shizuka replied
"Listen..."
I kneeled next to Shizuka as I began.
"When my parents died. I was devastated. But Saki, Kikuri-chan and Shiro were there to help me out through those times. So what I'm saying is.... You're not alone, and I'm here for you, everyone are"
Shizuka gritted her teeth, and suddenly held onto me. Her head lying on my chest. I began to lose balance and we both fell. I sat up and saw Shizuka crying. Her tears were staining my uniform as she moaned in sadness. I simply did not say anything. There was no need to. I placed my hand over her head to comfort her as she cried. I had no idea how long it was, but after a while, Shizuka stopped crying and was beginning to calm down. She stood up and helped me get back up on my feet.
"Thank you. I feel a little better now. Come on. Let's go meet with the others."
Shizuka closed her father's eyelids and turned her back after she quietly bid her father farewell. Before we left, I looked back at Yugao.
"Yugao-san. I promise. We won't fail. No more sacrifices."
Titania appeared before us once more. She did not say a word as she knew we understood what she wanted.
"Alright. Lead the way."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perspective change: Kotori Nobunaga?
My children stood before me. Awaiting for my instructions. The stage had already been set and no matter what the others do, they could no longer prevent the coming storm.
"What is your next step? Great Izanami?" Kozu asked.
"We don't have enough souls to create the Smelter, and even with the Yata Mirror as the catalyst, it still not enough." Orochi pointed out.
The demon hunters were definitely efficient in saving those students. Not a single of them were killed for the smelter. Still, I had took my children incompetence into consideration.
"What is a soul? It it the fire that fuels all life. Even ours. The next step is obvious."
I lifted up my hand and began to use my powers. A dark energy surrounded my children below. They knew what would happen and simply bowed down and accepted their fate.
"All of you, shall become martyrs for the cause. You all should be overjoyed to be bestowed with such honor. Origin: Izanami: Hades."
Black hands emerged the ground and began tearing my children limb from limb. As they screamed in agony, the magic circle surrounding the school began glowing greater. It was working. I granted it Kozu. It was certainly ingenious of him to discover a way to create the Smelter using demon's souls. Orochi, however looked in shock.
"Great Izanami! What is happening? They are our men, my me..Guahh!"
Before the serpent could finish, a blade appeared, piercing through his abdomen. Appearing from behind was Kozu's creation, Oberon. Kozu then mocks the ungrateful serpent.
"I knew you had a bleeding heart, you ungrateful rat. But don't worry, you won't be missing them for long..."
Suddenly. The entire school sank into the magic circle. I created a platform made of dark energy to keep all of us afloat as we watched the Smelter emerging from the the magic circle. It was a large pool of magma, surrounding it were metallic like structures that made it appear as a cauldron. It was truly a behemoth of a structure.
"You can still help the cause you know. You shall be the reborn anew." Kozu finished.
He then dropped Orochi into the Smelter. Orochi screamed as he plummeted into the cauldron, as his body melted, his screams grew louder and louder before his mouth was filled with the magma-like substance.
"Let's see how they handle this. Kozu. If you will..."
With a snap of his fingers, a magic portal appeared before us and moved ourselves away from the Smelter. As we left, I caught a glimpse of something emerging. A beast.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perspective change: Kurou Narukami
"!?"
The ground was shaking violently and everyone present could feel the force. Whatever was happening, there was no chance that this was a normal earthquake.
"Damn! What the hell is going on here?" Raidou questioned as he tried to keep his balance.
"Don't know, but we better get to Tohru-san! Fast!" Yuzuki instructed to all of us.
"Please follow me." Titania requested.
Titania then turned and raised her hand at the opposite direction of us.
"Activating Firearm Summoning System: Pixie"
A strange pistol shaped device appeared in Titania's hands
"Teleportation Device Initiate. Transmitting signal to Kibishi Group Headquarters, Imuroda, Japan. Transmitting. Transmitting. Return signal received. Request has been accepted. Deploying transportational gateway. "
Titania then fired the gun and a portal appears out of nowhere. The gun disappeared from Titania's hand after it served its use. She beckoned us to follow and we did. After we went into the portal, we immediately appeared in some sort of office building. The room however looked like it was hit by a bomb. Parts of the building was destroyed and there a small holes in the ground and walls. There seem to be bodies of metallic bodies similar to that of a human structure littered in the room. It was filled with floating robots of some kind, clearing up the wreckage and debris strewn everywhere. There is a magic circle outside of the building, which I assumed was keeping the building from falling down. In front of me was the person we were meant to meet, Tohru Kibishi, sitting at his table. Along him was two other people by his side, Sasuke, his son, and a woman who looked like has reached her twenties, but I did not recognise her.
"Don't worry about all of this. The Enforcers already cleared the place. I have reactivated the magic barrier as well. We are safe here. This woman beside me is Tsubasa Noriko. She is..or was, the leader of EXALT before Kozu took over."
I heard that she was a captive in the situation. I greeted to her and bowed. Tsubasa simply nodded.
"Before we carry on. I need to know what happened on your end..."
All of us explained briefly to Kibishi on what happened, from the attack at our school, Nobunaga's true identity. And Yugao's demise.
"Yugao-san..." Sasuke melancholically muttered as he gritted his teeth.
"I see... It doesn't matter right now. We need to focus on the situation at hand..." Yugao stated.
When Yugao spoke those words, I saw Raidou and Shizuka gritted their teeth, trying to refrain themselves from speaking out of turn. Although, I could tell Raidou was on the verge of picking a fight with his father about it, but he probably knew it was no time to argue. Suddenly, Nobunaga began to speak.
"When I was the leader of EXALT, I wasn't aware of Kozu's true nature, or what he was planning. However, when I got suspicious of his activities, I discovered that he devised a new formula in creating a Smelter using demon souls instead of human souls. I tried to confront him directly, but it seemed he managed to smuggle in a few of his allies into EXALT and with those drones of his, he lead a coup d'état and took over, used me as a hostage so the World Magus Society won't interfere. But I'm afraid even if we get communications running again, we would be too late."
Nobunaga then pointed out of the window. All of us turned in shock. What we saw in the distance was an eight-headed snake, emerging from the ground and spraying purple venom in random directions. It was Yamata no Orochi! I thought to myself. However, he was behaving more like a beast than a rational individual. Plus, his new appearance fit the part.
"Isn't that... What happened!?" Kikuri asked in shock.
"When human souls are used to create the Smelter, they create regalias, like the Kusanagi. However, when demon souls are used, they turn into something more monstrous. In Kozu's theoretical report, it is said to create a God Beast."
"A God Beast? Are they not the demonic deities, like Bael and the Phoenix?"Shizuka asked.
"Yes. But it seemed that Kozu planned to make artic final God Beasts using this Smelter. Basically. It gives the person that is thrown inside the Smelter a huge amount of energy. However, weaker willed subjects are predicted to lose their rational minds and devolve into beasts. In theory, a stronger willed person could maintain his mentality. From what appears to have happened was that this Orochi demon fell into the Smelter and become the God Beast over there."
Nobunaga explained.
Yuzuki then intervened in the discussion.
"Hold up! God Beasts are like a force of nature! Only fully trained regalia users could even stand a chance, and even then, defeating God Beasts is like becoming a legend. We can't possibly do this on our own!" Yuzuki stated.
"Come on, Yuzu. Don't pussy out now, you got me on your side! And I'm tough enough to kill that so called God Beast!" Raidou boasted, excited for the coming battle.
"False bravado won't help the situation, but you are right about it being a false God Beast. As of now, it's like a newborn. If we take it on now when it is at its weakest, we have a chance."
"Then why are we waiting here!? Lets get out there and cut off all of its heads!" Raidou said excitedly, eager for some action.
"Again, you insist on hitting things without thinking like a caveman..." Kibishi insulted his son.
"Even now, you all have a very low chance of succeeding. But now that the Kibishi Group Headquarters is back up, I should be able to activate my secret weapon."
Sasuke and Raidou looked at their father in shock, leaving the rest of us in the dark.
"Wait... Seriously? You're using that? Hah... For once we are in agreement, old man." Raidou stated.
"Are you sure father? Isn't that for emergencies?" Sasuke asked.
"If this isn't an emergency, I don't know what is. It'll take 10 minutes to charge. I need all of you to stall it and keep it in place. Tsubasa Noriko can use her Origin to contact to you mentally, so she will be guiding all of you. Is that clear?"
With that everyone nodded. There was no time to spare. Titania opened another portal, leading to a safe area nearest to the God Beast. As we were leaving, Shizuka was called over before going.
"Shizuka. Take these daggers." Kozu said as he handed a pair of plain looking daggers to Shizuka, which she accepted.
They seem to be replacement weapons for Shizuka since her Ginkotsu was destroyed earlier.
"They are not as good as our previous weapon, and they can't revert to a bow form, but you should be able to hold on you own with these." Kozu said.
"I understand. We will be heading off now. Also. May I make a request?" Shizuka asked.
"What is it?"
"Can you have someone retrieve father's body? I don't think it should be left out there any longer." Shizuka requested.
Without a single emotion showing on his face, he answered.
"I'll see what I can do."
Shizuka bowed to him before moving to the portal.
"Let's go." Shizuka said to me.
"Yeah."
With that, we entered into the battlefield once more. Upon entering the portal, we appeared on a building. And about 2 kilometres away was the God Beast facing the other way. It appeared to have emerged from the strange cauldron-like structure in where the school grounds once were. It was more frightening up close. Kikuri was already on her knees from the fear of facing such a creature. I placed my hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"Don't worry. We will get through this."
Kikuri then wiped away that fearful face and stood back up.
"Thanks. I promise I won't be a liability!" Kikuri promised, with determination in her eyes.
"Me too!" Sasuke suddenly said as he emerged from the portal, equipped with a long spear and wore a long scarf at his neck.
"I'll be joining this battle too!" Sasuke said
"All right! Come on little bro! We'll teach these thing not to mess with the Kibishis!" Raidou cheered as he placed his arm over his brother's shoulder.
"Of course! Let's do this aniki." Sasuke indulged in Raidou's enthusiasm.
"Heheh. Almost forgot the last time you two fought together. And don't forget the rest of us boys! Let's do this, everyone!" Yuzuki rallied all of us.
"Right!" All of us said in unison as we charged at the beast.
"All of you can hear me. Correct?" Tsubasa's voice echoed in my head.
"I'm contacting you using my Origin. I need all of you to divide into separate teams. We can attack the demon at all sides and divide it's attacks. Kibishi Sasuke and Kibishi Raidou, attack the beast at the front."
"Ha! Thought you'd never ask! Come on, Sasuke!"
The two brothers then divided from the main group to attack the beast.
"Hinata Yuzuki and Shimada Kikuri, take the beast from the left." Tsubasa commanded.
"Good luck." I said to Kikuri.
"You too." Kikuri responded before separating with Yuzuki.
"Titania will attack it from the rear and Narukami Kurou and Yugao Shizuka will attack the right." Tsubasa gave the command.
"Command received. Beginning assault." Titania said as she flew away.
With that, Shizuka and I ran forward to face the beast. As we approached, the monster took noticed us and began its attack. It began to attack us first. All eight heads were coming towards us. All of a sudden, blue flames were fired from the right at the charging heads. It was from Sasuke, and beside him, Raidou began taunting.
"Hey! Your opponents are right here! Come get us you reatards!"
Half of the heads began to attack Raidou's team. However, from both its left and behind, it was attacked. Titania began shooting hails of bullets at the beast and Kikuri summoned Kresnik.
"Avalanche Advance!" Kikuri cried out as a wave of arctic wind launched from the lance of the summoned avatar.
The monster got even angrier and tried to attack them using its heads.
"You deaf or something!?" Raidou screamed out as he plunged his scythe into the beast.
"Sky Rip!" I swung my blade, unleashing the wind projectile
"Hyaah!" Shizuka cried out as she grew a bolt of lightning.
"Guardians! Fall down!" Yuzuki said as butterflies up in the sky rained down on the beast.
"Will O Wisp, Fire!" Sasuke said as spheres of blue flames surrounding him began firing blasts of blue fire.
The beast could not do anything to defend it self as our attacks kept diving its intention. The plan seemed to be working so far, the God Beast could do nothing against us. All of a sudden, it roared up in the sky.
"Grrrrraaaaaaahhh!" Orochi cried.
The roar was powerful enough to push us back a little except for Raidou who managed to hold on, but we managed to maintain our position. However, during the time we were pushed away, Orochi spewed out a wave of purple airborne virus.
"Darn it! What is this!?" Raidou questioned as he got engulfed in the cloud of poison.
"Aniki!" Sasuke cried out.
"Everyone! Back away" Tsubasa ordered.
The cloud however was too close to me for me to dodge, so instead, I swept it away using my wind ability. However, working the cloud, was a large tail that was going to attack me. I tried to block, but the tail attack swept me into the air and sent me flying like a rag doll.
"Kurou!" Shizuka shouted out to as I was flung into the air.
The pain was great, but I did not feel that the injury was too severe. I gritted my teeth and braced myself for the fall. I felt my body hitting against a wall and I fell onto the ground. I felt every fiber of my body was shaking from the pain. I used my sword to support me as I tried to get myself up. Miraculously, my injuries did not seem to be life threatening, although I definitely needed someone to heal me. If I could get to Yuzuki... I thought to myself. Suddenly, I noticed I could no longer hear Tsubasa's voice. It did not seem she purposely cut off her connection. It felt like a static in my head, as though the signal is being jammed.
"My my, it seems you are in a pinch, hero." A familiar voice spoke from behind me.
I turned around to see if it was who I thought it was. The woman dressed in a white gown and decorated with eccentric garments to appear more imposing. Izanami had returned. She was most likely blocking off Tsubasa's connection to me. I brandished my weapon towards Izanami while trying to maintain my balance.
"Do not be alarmed, young hero. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have killed you moments ago. I wish to have a chat. To offer a proposition." Izanami claimed.
From her tone of her voice and her expression, I knew she was not lying. However, I kept my guard up just in case my intuition was wrong.
"What is it that you want?" I asked her.
"I shall make it quick then... I will remove the beast from the battlefield and cease attacking the human world for one year for one favor. And that... Is for you to join me. To join God's Will" Izanami offered.
The offer was crazy. No matter what she offered, I could not join her. But then it hit me. Was this her intention? For me to join her and God's Will? I wondered to myself.
"Was this what you wanted? To recruit me?" I asked
"Yes. From the moment I saw you, I knew you will be a great addition to God's Will. So throughout your days as a Mage under the employment of Yugao Keisuke, I orchestrated the events so it will lead up to this moment." Izanami explained.
It was then, another thought hit me.
"Did that include...that time?" I asked.
Izanami looked at me in surprised, but she seemed delighted at the same time.
"I see. Your perception exceeded my expectations. You are correct. When Shizuka was tasked to collect the Kusanagi that was 'supposedly' appeared at your school out of nowhere. It was I who placed it. I knew you will intervene when I had my children to ambush her."
As I thought, I thought it was all too convenient back then. However, there was still one glaring question.
"Why me? Of everyone in Imuroda. Why did you choose me?" I asked.
Izanami gazed at the crimson sky as she answered my question.
"I see a lot of myself in you. Back when I was completely human. I wanted to help you, to help you see the ugliness of humanity, to help you see how they don't deserved to be helped or saved, so you wouldn't see what I saw. Hehe. I suppose you could say I am in love with you. I want you to join me. Serve a worthy cause alongside with me." Izanami stated.
At that time, I sort of understand what her goals were to an extent. I was not sure what kind of history she had that lead her to this path. I knew she was most likely a victim. I wished I could help her, but there was no time to spare and I needed to do so on another day.
"Sorry. But I have to refuse. The people in the world are worth fighting for. I hope you can understand one day." I answered.
Izanami gazed at me. Then she sighed.
"I suppose I can't blame you. I was thought the same way as you. But you will understand one day, when all those you care about turn their backs on you. And when that day comes, I will be there to welcome you to cause. But in the meantime, consider this a gift, from the one who loves you."
Izanami suddenly appeared directly in front of me and struck my chest. I felt a surging pain, as though something was coming out of me.
"Arrrrggghhh! What's happening to..."
Izanami then left, she turned to me one last time before she disappeared.
"Farewell. Young hero."
As Izanami disappeared from my sight. The pain began to subside. However, I heard a voice. The same voice that I heard when I first pulled out Kusanagi.
"He, who have invoked my power. He, who wish to be the shield to all close to him. He, who wish to uphold justice. You have been chosen to wield my true power. Use it to how you see fit. The Origin of the Storms: Susanooh."
Kusanagi began to glow and it began to fade away. As it faded away, I could feel changes in my body. My hair turned gray and it began to wave in the air. My eyes turned green. Wind was surrounding me and a miniature tornado engulfed my right arm. I felt powerful. Strong enough to take down the God Beast. I looked over at the distance. I knew what I had to do.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perspective change: Shizuka Yugao
"Hang in there!" Yuzuki cried out as she tried to heal Rai-nii's affliction.
He was poisoned from the burst of virus from Orochi earlier. It seemed he was recovering, but he was in no condition to move.
"Damn! I should have seen that coming!" Rai-nii complained.
Orochi had broken out of our formation and began to move around again. Kikuri, Titania, Sasuke and I are doing our best to slow down the beast.
"2 more minutes before the weapon is ready. Keep him busy just a little longer!" Tsubasa instructed.
However, all of us were getting exhausted. We were not sure we would be able to hang on much longer. Suddenly, the eight heads of the serpent began to unleash the virus again. All of us avoided the initial burst, however, using the cloud of purple gas as cover, the serpent heads attacked us. Two serpent heads attacked each of us. The first one was easy to block, however, the second head attacked our sides. Sasuke and Titania were knocked over. Kikuri used her avatar to block the attack while I managed to evade the second strike. All of us gathered together to revise our strategy.
"Huff...huff... I'm not sure how long I could..." Kikuri said as she was on the verge of collapsing.
She was not the only one, we were getting too tired. Orochi turned to us, all eight heads generated a purple orb into each mouths, prepared to fire at us.
"Everyone! Brace yourselves!" Yuzuki said.
All of us took a defensive position, but I doubt we would escape unscathed. As we braced ourselves for the worst. A miracle happened.
"Grrruuuaaaaahh!" The beast yelled as a Sky Rip projectile was thrown at the beast.
"Kurou-kun!" Kikuri said in a joyful voice.
All of our eyes took their attention to Kurou, to our shock, he was floating in the air. Not only that, his appearance had drastically changed, and his aura was similar to what the God Beast was emitting. But we knew it was Kurou, nonetheless. He floated back down to us.
"Get everyone injured out of here! The rest of us can take it!"
"Narukami! What happened? I lost contact with you and now your power has gone up drastically." Tsubasa said.
"I'll explain later. Let's take care of this once and for all!" Kurou said.
"Fine. Titania! Get the injured out of there!" Tsubasa ordered.
"Roger."
Titania turned around and activated a portal back to Kibishi Group Headquarters.
"Good luck guys!" Yuzuki said as she and Sasuke carried Rai-nii back.
"Don't you all die now! You hear me?" Rai-nii.
As the portal disappeared, only Kurou, Kikuri and me were left in the battlefield.
"So it's us three again?" Kikuri asked rhetorically as she smiled to us.
"Yeah. Let's do our best to win this." Kurou replied back.
"No... We will win this!"
All of us stood before the beast, ready for one last assault. The giant serpent growled angrily as it tried smash us with its heads. Kikuri and I dodged, but Kurou used both of his hands to grab onto to one of them.
"Sky Rip!"
Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew out of Kurou's palms, tearing the the snake's head off. The serpent growled in pain as it recoiled back. It was our chance, I signalled to Kikuri to aim for the head the in front of me.
"Karmic Ark: Aeon Rain!"
Kresnik appeared before Kikuri and it summoned a hail of energy spears, pinning down the head I was targeting. I stabbed my two daggers into its head and zapped it with all the electricity I could muster. After which, I pulled out the blades and let Kikuri finish it off. With a thrust from the top, another one of the snake's head was severed off from the body. Orochi reeled back in pain again and began slithering away from us.
"Not so fast!" Kurou said as two blades made of wind appeared in his hands.
"Susanoo: Heaven's Hurricane!" Kurou swung his blades, unleashing a projectile even stronger than his Sky Rip. The beast was thrown into the building at the end of the road and crashed into it. The beast growled again and began spewing out the cloud virus once more. Kurou charged at the beast and with a single swing from his right sword, the cloud was blown away, to reveal the snake heads trying to use the same attack strategy.
"Like that will work again!"
Kurou swung his blades again and deflected them back. It was insane. Just a second ago,
Kurou was not able to put much of a fight against it, but now Kurou had obtained an absurd amount of strength.
"Fierce Deity Art: Heaven's Damnation!" Kurou shouted as he joined the two blades together to form one large blade made of green light.
With a single slash, three more heads of the beast were cleaved right off. The beast screamed in pain and the remaining three heads dared not to attack blindly again. Kikuri and I watched in awe, speechless to Kurou's newfound strength. Did Kurou truly mastered the regalia?
"Now, time to..."
Suddenly, before Kurou could finish, his body turns back into normal. All of us were in shock when his power dissipated nearly instantly.
"What!?" Kurou said in confusion as he plummeted back into the ground.
"Kurou-kun!" Kikuri cried out as she sent Kresnik to catch Kurou.
However, it was not going to be fast enough to catch him. So instead...
"Kikuri! Give me a boost!" I instructed her.
With that, Kikuri had Kresnik use it's great shield as a springboard and launched me into the air, I used my lightning powers to boost my leg strength and allowed me to catch him in the nick of time. Both Kurou and I braced for impact as we crashed into the ground. It seemed Kurou had exhausted his power. He could barely move.
"Guys! Are you alright?" Kikuri asked worriedly.
"We're...fine..." Kurou answered to her.
However, we spoke too soon has the serpent saw this as an opportunity and was about to fire another virus cloud at us. When all of a sudden...
"Shimada! Guard everyone now!"
"Fortress!" Kikuri said as Kresnik formed a barrier around us.
In just a second later, a giant laser fell from
the sky fired onto the serpent. It barely had time to yell out in agony before it was incinerated. It was the work of the Kibishi Group's secret weapon, The Trumpet, a satellite that has the power to destroy nearly anything it is concentrated on. Using it however, makes it unusable for one year. Kikuri's barrier was holding up, but not for long. Suddenly, another layer of protection magic appeared in front of us. I recognised it as a protection magic only the maiden of the land could do. Miya was helping us from a far. When the laser fire subsided, Kikuri dropped the barrier and fell to her knees, exhausted.
"I can't believe...huff..we did it.." Kikuri said as she tried to catch her breath.
"Yeah..." I said.
Suddenly, from within the smoke. Something jumped up into the air.
"Kraaaaahhh!" It yelled in pain as it charged at us.
It was one last head of the snake, most of its flesh is burned off and parts of its skeleton can be seen, it was too sudden for any of us to react when all of a sudden, a street lamp came out of nowhere and smashed the snake head into the wall, destroying it for good.
"Who's there!?" I questioned to the mysterious individual.
At the distance, was a man wearing a black tattered cloak. His face is bandaged up and he wears a white mask which designs looked similar to that of a dragon. I then noticed something odd, I could not use any of my magic and it seem neither could Kikuri or Kurou. None of us could hear Tsubasa anymore either.
"Who are you? Are you an enemy?" I questioned the mysterious figure,
It was then I noticed something odd. My magic was not manifesting. I could still feel the mana inside of me, but I could no longer bring it out. It must had been the mysetrious figure's doing.
Instead, the mysterious stranger suddenly pointed up at the sky slowly.
"I am the one who's power stand among even dragons, soaring down from the sky to bring white to the dark world. That's all you need to know about me..." The man said in a strange nearly mechanical voice.
It was as though his voice was being disguised by a device, I could not even tell if the stranger was actually a man or a woman. Suddenly, he leapt up onto a building and jumped away from us, building to building. I wanted to give chase, but my magic was still not working. Only when he was long gone, I could generate electricity in my hands again. Suddenly, Tsubasa's voice could be heard once more.
"Is anyone there? The Trumpet must have caused an interference. Is everyone alright?"
"Huh? I mean..yes. Kurou-kun needs treatment though." Kikuri answers the call.
"Good. I'll send Titania too pick the three of you up." Tsubasa said before cutting off.
All three of us did not have the chance tell them about the mysterious stranger that helped us. However, we did not have enough energy to worry about it. I fell down and sat on the floor.
"So what happens now?" Kikuri asked.
"What else? We keep on protecting this town." Kurou answered,
"I'm not going to pretend I know everything. But I know what we have to do. We keep moving forward and persevere. I'm sure we'll get our answers soon enough. But for now..."
Kurou then lied on the ground completely and gazed at the red sky.
"I need some sleep! *yawn*" Kurou shouted out.
Both Kikuri and I laughed at the inappropriate comment at the time. Although, that was probably what Kurou intended. I looked up at the sky and thought to myself. It was only the beginning and things were only going to get more complicated. I thought about how much had changed for the past few months. Then I realised, of all the things that have changed, Kurou never really changed. He was the same as the person I knew, still the person who cares for others before himself, still self-righteous, still my friend. I never had such thoughts before. It was strange. Perhaps I had changed too, then again, I don't think I minded changing. Eventually, the entire situation was resolved and we all recovered. And so life goes on...
==================================================================================