A bright light hung in the Castle, The Zao Clan had sent up a signal for all the Elders and security divisions to assemble.
The Patriarch had been giving orders.
The Stealth Corp was to split into several groups. Guzhe and LuSha had spent a lot of time honing their combat skills, they were no longer undisciplined and caused many of the Elders present to feel a sense of pride as they arrived.
"I have a job for you all." The Patriarch gave his orders to the Stealth Corp.
Prince Wu Hai was busy giving Mike some information about the City of Yunnan. When Mike learned that the Signet was the cause of everything that was currently going on, he more than insisted on returning with the assault teams.
"You could have told us ahead of time, the Communication device works." Harris was a bit bothered by having to come out of the research lab but he was summoned like everyone else.
"The Communication device is far beyond adequate, you're right.. we could have called." Kuzunoha stuck her tongue out.
"Enough." The Matriarch arrived with several other elders.
".." Everyone straightened up.
Wu Hai stood next to his mother and father. The Elder Council had started its meet.
"We're going to Yunnan. Its been overrun by a Mad Emperor. To make things more complicated, its likely that the Emperor is a Devil in possession of the Slaver that we bought Ibuwere from. That same Slaver took the Emperor Signet and assumed the throne. He calls himself Ammuru." The Prince of the Zao Clan was lit with intensity. He spelled out his plan in detail and they broke to get ready.
"We meet at Qu's Tower. Gather as many skilled fighters as the City can spare, it won't be easy so don't bring anyone that's a liability. We leave in one Hour." Kuzunoha held onto Wu Hai's arm as he finished.
Turning to leave, Wu Hai greeted his parents formally. It was strange for Ooran not to have spoken, but his Son was commanding the Sect Elders and doing a good job of it. They paid attention and their conviction was pure hearted, the Patriarch felt like they had all come a long way.
"You should see Khan Ni before you leave, your new nephew awaits his Uncle." Calistown grabbed her husbands attention and they both went to settle matters of the Sect.
"I will do that right now." The walk down the hallway was interesting this time around, lots of new sculptures adorned the walls and passageways.
Outside of the Doorway, a faint whimper could be heard. Zao Lei had arrived, Fei Fei had released her from her duties to be with family.
The Black Firewolf had been waiting on the mountainside for Lei Lei for nearly 8 months, he was bigger and stronger than expected. The Patriarch of the Zao Clan had always been partial to Black Flames, they were a symbol of the Family. Now, The Black Firewolf roamed the mountain as a protector while Lei Lei was off training.
Guarding the Door, he perked up as the Prince arrived.
"Hey, Good boy.. Good boy.. how big you got!" Wu Hai praised the Firewolf, his tail wagged.
"Knock Knock." Wu Hai spoke as he knocked, the door was open. "Ah. You're looking better. How is my Nephew?"
"He is doing fine. Rachael is happy to have a boy in the house, but he cries a lot. I've been here for the last week. You look like you're about to leave, I know that look." Khan Ni motioned like she was about to leave along with him, but Kuzunoha stopped her.
"He's a beautiful baby, we have a mission but family has a strange way of drawing others closer. Stay safe Sister." Wu Hai kissed Khan Ni on the forehead and scanned the child with his spiritual sense, he had to be gentle as to not harm the child's fragile mind.
"He is strong." Wu Hai channeled his teleportation ability.
Kuzunoha and the Prince arrived in the Tower Lobby.
Half an Hour later, they had all gathered and assembled.
It was time to go.
Minutes later they were feeling the return to normal spacial dimensions and the door opened, a dry wind blew in from the East. Outside of the Tower's entrance they could see nothing but burn scars, the City looked deserted and its exterior painted with blood. The mangled corpses that were strung about gave off an evil feeling.
"Too surreal" Mike thought about those who he had met in the City that weren't all bad.
He didn't expect to find many survivors, their memories were likely all that remained.
"This place is cursed." The Onmyoji second in command broke the silence and spit in the dirt.
His words were not taken lightly, everyone brought out light element materials for combat weapons.
Mike pulled out a set of hammers and placed them on the ground, Abi, William, Jiao Jiao, LuSha, Chang Yu, Cheng Mu, Arlington, Wreck and Crash were aware of their objectives.
"Take these. I don't have extra." Mike handed the Cheng Twins each a new toy.
They tried to flex the handle but it didn't bow. "Hmm.. Good Hammer." Mu appreciated the works, then wrapped his own handle a little thicker.
It was no surprise to see the brothers doing the same action, their mannerisms were nearly identical.
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It was morning. An Alarm was going off.
Soldiers scrambled but there was little they could do to resist. At the break of the first sheers of light crossing the sea, the assault had begun.
-"Good evening, I'm Jan Trensta and this is Esper Watch. Tonight we have exclusive footage of the on going efforts to crush the remnants of the Chinese government, all broadcasts have been cleared and this production is made possible thanks to Brazil, Save the Rainforest."
Jan smiled on Camera and then a box appeared next to her head on the screen.
It showed live footage of Zao Ho.
-"The World Governments have asked Ho not to kill civilians, and so he has decided to remove all of China's military assets. As you can see, he has been collecting aircraft, tanks and ships all morning. In one base, he removed 439 tactical warheads."
The footage went full screen with a crawler that gave a more detailed tally of the military bases and assets that had either been leveled, cleared out or collected. - [2500 tanks, 1500 trucks, 400 busses, 14.3 million rifles, 900 million rounds of ammunition, 6000 aircraft, 5,000+ Armored vehicles, 200 ships, 500 artillery, 600 missiles... ...]
The Crawler never stopped during the broadcast, Zao Ho cleared building after building. The Citizens in the Areas did their best to disrupt anyone trying to flee locations, the local populations themselves had been the victims of the Chinese military for decades. When they saw the opportunity to liberate themselves, there was little to stop their advancement.
-"The major arteries of the Chinese Military have begun to crumble. First the Navy and then the Air forces.. some of their facilities were even abandoned. From the looks of things, by nightfall the World will have to re-imagine its political structures and status. We will have further updates later in the day, until then please enjoy a highlight reel composed by the popular webcast group 'A Dungeon of Media, ADOM.'"
The Broadcast switched from the full screen live feed to the highlight reel during travel from one base to another, Ho could teleport and had a GPS with him to help coordinate the broadcast.
There had to be a slight delay, otherwise the government could take the time to evacuate or hide its arsenal.
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A group of refugees seeking passage to the other world had started a fire in an nearby alley. It was intentionally lit but they had intended to use it for warmth. The night was somewhat forgiving, but the cool winds from the ocean sometimes brought sickness when unprotected from the elements.
There was a serious oversight by Ho and the Priesthood, they did not fully understand the chaos that they had started. Millions flowed into the borders of Brazil uncontrolled, the worlds currency was losing its value because there was such a high demand for things like food, soap and water in the region.
With the Chinese government collapsing, businesses in the Nation of China were taking the initiative to fill the void. Some tried to monopolize on the situation but the locals were almost too quick to shut them down. Factories could only stay open if infrastructure survived, however the shipping industry came to a halt when lots of their workers abandoned their posts to join those seeking departure from the world.
The Worlds food supply, not just China, had taken a huge hit. Many people worldwide simply gave up everything for a chance at a new world.
"I would plant some food, but they won't mature fast enough. The Wandering Vines are an Ultra-Macrospecies, They grow much faster than food. Ho entrusted me with this job but its a bit ridiculous to think I can solve problems world hunger in the matter of hours." Xui Luitian pushed the papers around on his desk.
He seemed very poised even thought his entire distribution operation was teetering on disaster. Qingchi noticed it immediately and tried to comfort him by letting him know about how the arrivals felt.
"Most of those who've come are happy, almost all of them are anxious. Uncle will come, we must have faith." Qingchi stood by the doorway, she had been tasked to letting people into the City or turning them away.
It was a hard job and for a teenage girl to be the deciding factor on someone's salvation, it brought a lot of unwanted troubles along with it. Some of the arriving people were violent when they were denied entry, it was a common thing after the first few hours. Over 100 Million people were projected to arrive over the next week, more than 5 million had already come through the Jungle City Gates.
"I know. We will survive. I just hope this happens sooner than later, my calculations say we only have a few more weeks until he arrives. Ho helped me pin down a general time frame, but we could be waiting months. We don't have months, we only have days worth of food." Luitian was getting a headache trying to feed everyone, thankfully many of those traveling were self sufficient or smart enough to bring at least 'some' food along.
Qingchi looked her brother in the eyes and then hugged him. "We will find a way, we've come this far. Have faith."
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It was once a busy city, torn between oppression and oppressor it now looked like a hallow graveyard. Blood adorned the walls of nearly exterior wall of the City and people were hiding, no where to be seen.
"Split up and remember your objectives. Take out the Guards, then meet at the Palace Courtyard." Guzhe and LuSha each led separate wings of the stealth corp into the City, their part in the campaign was different than the others.
Everyone else stuck together, marching directly up the main corridor of the City to the Palace gates.
"Knock it down." Yu and Mu swung their hammers.
A resounding rejection could be heard as their hammers vibrated uncontrollably. It was as if they had just been rung like a bell.
"Can't go through? then lets go over it." Mu and Yu both struck the ground in the same places, their thoughts seemed like a singular entity.
A ramp appeared. It was sturdy, metal and it led directly over the palace gates, rendering them useless.
"If it attacks, destroy it. Remember that Devils cannot truly be harmed by pure physical attacks, imbue your strikes or you'll regret it." Abi took half of the Dragonkin forces and went left.
"What she said!" Genba and William led the other half to the Right.
Wu Hai, Kuzunoha, Mike, Master Jiang, Arlington, Harris, and Jiao Jiao walked through the center and into the main foyer.
The Cheng Twins stood guard by the doors with the few Qilinkin that had come.
The Storm clouds above that had been churning since their arrival suddenly stopped dead in the air. A large electrical discharge came down, it wasn't a bolt of lightning but a ball.
Then, a figure emerged from the ball of lightning and spread its tattered wings. Sparks flew between the gaps in its flesh and its jaw hung lower than expected. Its body cracked while it moved, a signature trait of the Undead.
"WRAITH! Don't let it touch you!" Harris was familiar with the Undead, it was one of his favorite subjects from Earth.
Even before he had been rescued from the Lab, as a child he was enamored with horror stories and zombie books.
Chung Yu struck the wraith in the chest with the hammer, sending it back and into a wall.
"We've got this one, go do what you came for" Cheng Mu broke the skull of the Wraith with the next blow.
The other Qilinkin that were with them felt a bit of awe momentarily but only until both of the Cheng Twins began headbutting each other for a victory dance.
The celebration was premature, the Wraith that had been crushed did not dissipate like expected. Slowly, its metaphysical body began to reconstruct itself. A second Wraith unearthed itself from the Garden nearby.
Inside the Main Foyer, the Zao Sect Elders saw the deviousness up close.
Lining the walls were thousands of bodies, chained, shackled and beaten into a bloody mess. Their bile covered the walls, floor and passageways with muck. It wreaked.
Holding his nose briefly, Harris called out to the group "This ritual is disgusting, what sort of Evil is this?"
His words left his mouth with regret on his lips, a rumbling sensation brewed underfoot.
A Red Crystal that blinked with black and mottled purple came crashing through the stonework floors.
Wu Hai drew his shadows down and switched to the White Lightning Elemental Body. Charging directly at the Crystal to destroy it, the crystal kept rising into the air. Beneath the crystal, a metallic body cradled it like a head.
"Golem?" Kuzunoha didn't know how to handle the massive creature in front of her, she could only step back quickly while LuSha pounded its footing with Shadowflame.
"AMMURU!" A Voice came from behind the group, Ibuwere had shown his face.
Wu Hai was confused, kicking off the body of the Golem he noticed a familiar pattern etched into its skin. It almost looked like a formation, but it bared a closer resemblance to the patterns on the outside of the walls.
"Vile thing. The Golem is made of metal." Mike threw the lightstone hammer down and swapped to his forging hammer. "Lets see just how tough you are!"
With a passionate charge, Mike knocked at one of the legs with the Devilskin Master Hammer. It tripped the Golem, landing its body in a strange orientation.
"Get some heat on this thing!" Arlington threw flame bolts but it did little good.
The heat was resisted.
The Roar of the Golem hummed loud enough to give everyone the feeling of dread. A face was developing in the metal.
"Nothing?" Kuzunoha sent out her scroll to wrap around the crystalline head of the Golem, it didn't have eyes but it had to see somehow.
"PURIFY!" The Onmyoji surrounded the Golem and worked collectively to slow it down.
Formations took shape and constricted its movements.
The face bore a likeness to the slaver who had traded Ibuwere for the Ring.
"You" Ibuwere grew in size, his Echinomon Hybrid body grew ten times.
Although slowed due to his massive stature, Ibuwere didn't seem much slower than before. A whirling formed on his fists as he struck out to the freshly formed face of his former captor.
"Stupid. Irridorns are so STUPID!" Ibuwere powered up and threw the Signet Golem through a wall into the courtyard of the Palace.
The tumble of the two giants caught the Qilinkin standing guard by surprise.
The Golem shrieked, pushing the Zao forces into the Air with distorted waves.
Wings grew from Ibuwere's back, with a flapping motion he drug the Golem into the air. The fall would do almost nothing to the mutated being, but it couldn't fly. The opening was all that Ibuwere needed. Releasing his grip on the golems' leg, Ibuwere shrank and concentrated his power into a beam of light that cut the Signet Golem into pieces.
The still hot and severed chunks began to reforge and recombine. Slowly, the Signet Golem started to change its shape. Evolving in front of their eyes, the Golem's face re-emerged and howled in discontent.
"AMMURU! AMMURU! AMMURU!" the crazed and desperate outcry showed the derangement of the spirit.
The Slaver's soul had been shattered, its baser instincts and higher reasoning severed. It was an automaton free of choice. The legs shrank, and the crystal which once looked comically small for the metallic body was now proportionate. Still, it towered over then group by six times.
The Wraiths were being held back by the Cheng Twins and Qilinkin. Despite their unwillingness to accept death, the Wraiths were somewhat easy to trick into pursuit. Kiting them throughout the City was the easiest solution but it had to wait.
An aerial explosion in the distance signaled that the Stealth Corp had achieved their objective, it would only be a few more minutes until everyone else arrived to the battleground. Reinforcements for the Devil were also likely to arrive.
Wu Hai thought about the figure that almost had him by the throat at the coastline and wondered where it was.
The moment came too suddenly, like a starfall, the city shook when it passed.
A crash hit the wall nearby and another figure emerged. Its eyes flickered with emerald light. The walls of the Palace stained with a splatter that quickly regained its form.
Facing a battle on all fronts, the Zao Clan started picking targets. Everything was in chaos, the two Wraiths had become nine, the Signet Golem, and the New arrival all gave off terrifying roars.
They charged.
The Wraiths were not a match for the speeds of the Qilinkin but the Lightstone hammers did very little to stop them, it was clear that the Onmyoji were necessary to stop the spectres from destroying their chances at success.
Kuzunoha could read the movements of everything that was going on around her, the demonic auras were clear as day. She was forced to dodge an incoming attack from the newest arrival, the slightest splatter of the goo was enough to burn holes in her robes.
Everywhere the creature went, it corroded the surface, broke down its components and deconstructed it down to the base materials.
"The Spot?" There was a fluctuation in the Rainbow Spot that was surrounding Wu Hai's Core.
Grabbing his chest, there was a strange sensation. The Prince had the desire.. the desire to subdue it rather than take its life.
"What are you doing? Mike bashed the Golem into the air and back toward Ibuwere, the Devilskin Hammer was doing a good job at knocking the opponents back.
Yu and Mu were taking turns evading each other in an attempt to kite the Wraiths around Kuzunoha while she was chanting.
In a flash, she had cocooned a Wraith. The scroll shone a blinding light and brought itself closer together. Cinching itself tighter and tighter, the purification was well underway.
There was a light breeze that approached Harris' back, he was not mindful of his surroundings. A strike to the spine from the Signet Golem sent him tumbling like a wet rag in the spin cycle.
'Harris is probably dead' Arlington caught sight of the green mess, it was going to Harris' position.
'Che' Wu Hai clicked his tongue and flashed beside Harris. "Tonight is not your day to die." Wu Hai finished channeling his ability a second before the strange green opponent was able to get near.
"I don't know what they want, but I can't stay here." Zao Wu Hai immediately channeled his ability again and returned to the scene, Qu was left to care for Harris in the tower.
The Others wondered where the Prince had gone, but it was only for a moment. His reappearance was just on time, the green spot had turned its attention to the only real threat on the board, the Onmyoji.
There was precious time slipping by, things grew slow, the Prince noticed the drag on reality. The feeling was immensely profound, It was like his reactions were heightened. The Rainbow Spot in his chest went into a great frenzy, it attempted to seize control of the body. It was angry, resentful, and its aura of pride was spilling out into the room.
"Suppress it!" Ibuwere was getting kicked around by the Signet Golem, Ammuru's energy levels were rising.
'I don't have time for this' Prince Wu Hai's eyes were trained on the green spot that slurked across and around the room, it moved like an Ooze.
'Cold, cold, cold, cold. The fuck do I have that makes cold!' Then he called for Mike.
"SWITCH!" trading places, Mike's frozen claws were like hot knives that tore through the green spot.
The ever increasing barrier of ice on his fists and body were protecting him from the Green Spots corrosive nature. "Now what?" Mike asked a somewhat rhetorical question, but the Prince was still moving to intercept the creature.
Ibuwere was furious, Mike's assistance with the Golem was keeping it off balance. Without him, he was taking hits. Forced back into a giant transformation, Ibuwere pulled out a mysterious needle.
"You little shit, I knew it was missing." Mike felt violated, he had kept the needle pack on his lower back to conceal the weapon but Ibuwere had stolen it.
"Don't worry, If we survive I'll give it back." Ibuwere pinned the Devil Signet to the ground and forced the mysterious needles into the gemstone at its core.
"HIT THE NEEDLES WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!" Ibuwere was hoping to destroy the crystal, it was the focal point of the ring, the item that Ammuru had possessed.
William fired, Abi increased the heat, Kuzunoha bound its right ankle and tripped it.
Zao Wu Hai came down from above Crashing through the remaining Wraith, his entire body glowed. At the Core of his elemental body, the two forces collided. The Green spot tried desperately to consume the Rainbow Spot. The submission of the host was impossible, gaining control of the body was beyond their abilities but the taste of his aura drove both entities into a frenzy. At times, the Green spot looked like it could corrode the Rainbow Spot but almost as quickly as its light covered the other, the Rainbow Spot would regain its equilibrium and attempt to devour its neighbor. The struggle within his body was intense, it broke some of the confidence the group had.
Master Jiang did his best to construct a cage for the devil signet as the multitude of strikes came down upon it. Everyone present ignored their previous targets and focused on the Signet. With its destruction they would be freed.
The Wraiths were taken care of. Their lingering spirits were all cleansed by the scroll.
Kuzunoha's energy levels were plummeting, she could barely keep herself upright. The Onmyoji forces were already laid out on the paved courtyard. The hole in the Palace had left a portion of the interior exposed, the energy levels were still rising.
"What are you doing!? Go. Go now." Kuzunoha shouted, it woke the Prince's senses enough to bring his thoughts back to the battle.
Expressions couldn't cover the myriad of things that passed through the prince's mind, but he didn't have time to think about the waking dreams. The Prince illuminated himself and rose into the air. Brighter and hotter, he slowly approached the Signet Golem. Tearing the gemstone from its fitting, the coffin sized red crystal lost some of its luster. The metallic body fell lifeless and still, positioned in a striking pose.
There was no thinking the matter over, Wu Hai stored the crystal into a storage ring. Cutting its connection to the world and its surroundings off, or so he thought. The ring exploded and cracks began to run the length of the crystal. The energy that was converging at the alter had gained momentum, its hum was louder than ever.
".." Crisis erupted! It was no sooner that the ring broke that the Rainbow spot reached out from the core in Wu Hai's chest.
It had consumed a lot of energy lately, its hunger became an unhinged compulsion. The crystal was swallowed and disappeared into nothingness. Like a blackhole, the Spot devoured it, crushing it into the subatomic.
There was a burst of energy, the Prince rebounded and his strength felt like it had doubled. The energy levels had not decreased in the Palace, they hadn't even slowed down. Ibuwere was astounded, he never imagined that he would witness a Devil being consumed by someone that was once human. Even if it was the spot that did the work, the sight was entirely unique.
Ibuwere felt an ominous presence in the palace.
Pointing to the energy that was converging on a pedestal in the middle of the room, Kuzunoha yelled.
"Hurry, He's resurrecting!" Master Jiang was the first to arrive at the altar. Its pedestal was made of a laminate bonded flesh, built from the layered skins of the townsfolk.
William came in and tried to cleanse the area with fire, it wasn't working. Mike tried to freeze everything in the area with a breath attack. There was no change in the Altar or its charging rate, any moment Ammuru would be returned to the flesh.
Yu and Mu had other ideas.
The Qilinkin Forces started driving spikes into the palace walls, destroying them entirely. blocks came tumbling down, the palace was going to collapse. In a corner, a metallic doorway and wall held its place. There was a door.
"The Vault?" It didn't matter, The Prince channeled his spacial abilities and cut a corner from the vault as it was in freefall.
It didn't matter the contents, Wu Hai took all that was inside. He had attempted to rescue the safe whole, but for one reason or another it refused to go into his storage ring.
Everyone made it out of the Palace, there were swarms of Undead coming from all directions. Like it was a lie, they disappeared into dust. The Energy that was building up on the building's formation vanished.
"This can't be it? Can it?" Mike felt like there was something that had happened.
They couldn't have gone through everything just for it to end without some sort of conclusion. Though they all felt stronger, there was no telling what would have happened if there were two devils. The Prince's luck with the Spots continued to confuse the Sect Elders, no matter how hard they tried all the information on the spots was missing from history. It was like they appeared from no where.
Wu Hai dusted himself off and pulled out the object that was in the vault, it shined as it came to rest on the ground. There were glittering flakes from its frosted exterior and it stood like a monolith. "Maybe"
Another object fell to the floor, it rolled and came to a stop. It was the Devil Core from Ammuru.
"Keep it." Ibuwere threw it to Arlington.
"Why me?" It was an honest question, Arlington was somewhat forgettable during the fight.
He had fought alongside the ground forces to keep the Wraiths at bay, but none of his attacks connected.
Ibuwere didn't care about kindness, he took the core back and placed it into a bag. "I'll prepare something for you later with this, you can pay me back in the future."
The fight was over, but the City was still burning. Undead that were approaching had vanished into nothingness, their master and source of power had been extinguished.
Ibuwere looked the Prince over, convinced that it was a mere lucky and happy coincidence that Ammuru had been slain. "Exactly how did you tame the Green Spot?" they were the words that couldn't help but escape his mouth.
"I didn't. The Rainbow Spot did... and then it ate the Crystal. I can feel the difference in power." The Prince gripped his hands tightly and jumped without any other aid.
His feet took him many meters into the air. Rebounding onto a pad of light, he maintained his position in the sky. From the Air he could see the hundreds of fires. Like a falling pencil, he dove to the street below.
"Stealth Corp, quench the fires and eliminate any looters. Everything in the City belongs to the Emperor." Mike shouted a sentence that changed the attitudes of everyone present.
"?Emperor?" Wu Hai shook his head.
"The owner of the signet, verifies the title of emperor. The Vault can only be opened by the Emperor, You opened it, You ate it.. sort of. You're the Emperor." Mike smiled.
Kneeling on the ground, Mike inspired the others to follow his lead. "Come on. What do you think? Esper Emperor Zao Wu Hai, You said it yourself, everything here belongs to the Emperor. What else can you do?"
Laughing, Mike stood up and walked up to his friend, "You took me from another world, I would settle for nothing less. You and me, we're going to change this world."
"I finally figured out a name for this planet." Wu Hai's voice boomed. "Shiyan, for the promises we've made."
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