AfterDuo: Children's tale

Chapter 9: Meeting The Original God Of War

"Blame Togaru for me doing something stupid that I don't want to do. Mokali did so much for me, so I am going to face the demon." Tomala said and this surprised the group. She looked unpleased and turned her head away. "Even if she was unstable, she had Spencer to calm her, and what if he isn't really there?" The Goddess of War and Underworld asked as she looked at the group and the twins looked at each other and knew what could happen.

"I-I trust Retla." Mia said, surprising everyone. She stood, clutching her left arm with her right, but her eyes were determined. "He said he was here, so I'd say he's here." Furorem nodded, and Fortitudo agreed.

"We sense him, he's here. It's faint, but we can feel his presence." Gaudium said, then the twins frowned, "Strange, his aura is odd. Flickering like a flame instead of how it usually is." His eyes widened, "He's in serious pain, he's fighting something." Without further ado, the pair flew off ahead of the boat, disappearing from view.

Tomala herself took flight as well and sped off, following the spirits that had disappeared from view. Kami looked out from the Crow's nest and then shouted down to the others.

"I see the demon and boy. I am glad the Goddess of War is fighting it right now!" Sarah then was shivering more and Katherine pulled out her Bo-staff. Mia looked confused as Ryu pulled out a dagger, Togaru stood ready to fight as Amelia had her helmet on and whip out in a cat o nine tails form. Kami, even if unseen by the others had these forms of plants that formed around his wrists with thorns and at the ends there were flowers the shaped themselves like kunai. Everyone was ready for a fight.

The group waited as the ship sailed through the gloom. They were all tense, and Arachne shifted her grip on her hammer, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Sarah was similarly nervous, her bow strung and an arrow nocked with another in her mouth. The rest of the ship was silent and still.

The ship kept sailing through the black mists, the tomblike quiet oppressive and heavy. Then Kami's ears twitched as he heard something.

"I hear them." He said simply, settling into a more ready position. A few moments later, the rest of the ship could hear that which the cat demon could. Shouting, roaring, and explosions. Ahead, they saw flashes of white and orange through the gloom, like lightning in the clouds.

"He is here." Amelia said, feeling the hero's presence. The ship ground to a halt as it reached a shoreline of black sands. Togaru shouted a battle cry and leapt from the boat to the shore below. Kami followed behind him, quietly. Amelia and Ryu did the same, then the twins and Arachne. The entire group charged the darkness, and saw the demon for the first time.

The demon was huge, matching the size Tomala was and held her by the throat with its clawed gray hand. This demon looked like what most people would think the devil would look like but gray with black stripes.

"Okay, now that is impressive." Kami said and then out of nowhere he was gone and the demon released Tomala with a scream of pain. It turned and revealed the cat demon on its back stabbing it with his plant kunai, but with its size this had to be like a bug biting it.

"And now I see why we have him..." Katherine muttered and bolted to the opening that the demon had stepped away from.

A giant grey foot smashed down right in front of Katherine, blocking her path and shaking the earth. The demon made to kick the child, but the girl saw the blow coming and disappeared. She reappeared in front of her sister, clearly shaken. Sarah was shaking as well, paralyzed in fear. The other twins, blurs of glowing blue and red, struck at the Demon's arms, legs, face and anywhere else. They were like wasps, stinging the creature but having little effect other than angering the beast.