The Queen saw the fury in Zhan's eyes as he was going after Lord Eddingar, she reacted.
A bright red luster came out, it bent everyone to their knees. A subjugation spell, robbing them of their right to fight. Breathing in the bloodvapor had brought everyone, except Zhan, Prince Ho and the Emperor down to the ground. They cried out in agony, pinned down. The other vampires in the private plane had already been slain, the majority of the Zao forces were entering the throne room.
Everyone on the battlefield came to a stop, looking around, three figures were still standing.
Zhan's posture and resolute looks made the Queen freeze in contemplation, she couldn't figure out how they were still standing. She saw Wu Hai and Ho beside him, their power flared. The Emperor flickered to Lord Eddingar and Zhan went directly for the Queen.
Ho disappeared for a moment.
Lord Eddingar slapped Ho away, but Ho sent out lightning to paralyze the Vampire Lord temporarily. Wu Hai took the Crusher and smashed it against Lord Eddingar's face. He flew into the door frame, a crack sounded. Eddingar's figure twisted and stood up again, laughing. 'Hah Ha Hah Ha'
There was another spacial rift forming, it led to somewhere else. Eddingar pulled something from the space, it was a figure, much like the grey and black devils from outside. It had a red bar on its face, breathed fire and flickered out of view.
It reappeared next to the Zao Forces that were pinned to the ground, Ho didn't miss a beat and followed it along the way.
Lord Eddingar got what he wanted, it was now a one on one fight. "Why can't you mortals just mind your own business!"
It was a rhetorical statement, but Wu Hai responded, anything to buy time for Zhan and Ho. "This was always our business. You've stolen our princess' body.."
Zhan spun around the Queen, he froze the area around her. She broke free and backhanded him across the stage. It was a powerful strike, but she was a powerful psychic, otherwise the Zao forces wouldn't have been forced down like misbehaving dogs. "GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTER!" Zhan didn't see the Queen willingly giving up his daughter, he hadn't killed her because of the hope that she could be released but Zhan was losing ground.
The Pollen was intensifying.
-{"Might I offer some advise?"} Ferser had been quiet for a lot of the battle.
'What did you have in mind, and hurry up with it.' Zhan was squeezing her down again, it wouldn't last long. Communicating loudly with the voice in his head, Zhan and Ferser exchanged their plan.
-{"You're going to lose your daughter again, but at least her body and soul will be at rest."}
"SHUT UP" Zhan's eyes were streaming with tears, he looked over at Khan Ni then raised his upper lip and bit down on the Queen's body.
"Feeble attempts." She saw the puncture wounds, a slight blood trail and the look of contempt, sadness and resolution in Zhan's Eyes.
A Rotting sensation started in her arms and chest. She felt like she was on fire but ice was accumulating across her extending from the bite wound. Zhan bit down harder and sank more of his venom into the Queen.
"GET OFF OF ME." She shook and struggled to get Zhan off, he wasn't releasing himself. For Xue, for Xi, for Marcus, Rachael and Himself, Zhan held on and refused to release. She tried beating on his body, pounding on the scales. "GET HIM OFF OF ME! REDDEN, TO ME, NOW!" She cried out, her body was turning different colors, the flesh was rotting at a visible pace, increasing as time went by thanks to Zhan's ever flowing venom.
Wu Hai was still keeping Eddingar busy, the razor mist axe was still laying by the side.
While Ho was getting the attention of Redden's Red Bar Devil, Wu Hai had pushed Lord Eddingar to a further location, keeping the Queen out of earshot. The Red Devil kept targeting the downed Espers and Zao forces, Ho was having trouble stopping him. He wildly threw out new attacks and curses. Ibuwere was struggling to break free, he could feel the spellwork weakening. It was likely not to last much longer.
Wu Hai broke Eddingar's wrist guard and a dark gas swept out. The Hooks of Light at the ends of Wu Hai's hand turned to shields and spread the gas around him. When the blast had finished, The Red Devil had split. There were now two, and Lord Eddingar's body was changing shape.
Eddingar's legs extended, then his arms. His face foiled over with armor plating and a blood red ooze crept along his back and down over his shoulders, spreading into a frightening set of wings. A screech, pointed and directed at Wu Hai sent him into a disoriented state, then a slash came at his chest. Elemental Essence flew from the wound, spatters of liquefied light essence scattered into the dimensional space.
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Zhan's fangs were dug in, he had no intention to ever release his daughter. The Queen started to focus herself, ignoring the rot. She poured a lot more of her concentration into chanting, a Dark Heart Ribbon appeared, it plunged out of her back. It stabbed at Zhan, made of the same materials as the the spikes shot from the Bloodspawn and the Red Devils.
Bloodstone was an extreme sort of object, soaked in the blood of countless lives, they are tempered with the minerals that flow inside of the blood. Accumulated crystal dust, for instance, only served to enchant the bloodstone crafted items. The Dark Heart Ribbon stabbed again and again. Continuously it did its best to puncture Zao Zhan's scales. There was no success, each time he was struck, Zhan bit down harder on the wound.
The Queen was getting tired of it, she forced the ribbon through and around Zhan's mouth and started to pry it off and away. Her concentration was focused entirely in front of her.
Khan Ni and the others could feel their bodies releasing from the floor. The Zao forces got up and returned to the fight. She laid down a bed of the World Tree spikes near the Red Devils, the returning mixture of gas was just enough to turn them into trivial opponents.
The change in the fight gave Ho an opportunity. He appeared next to the Emperor. "Where is Darkwing?" Ho yelled out while he was striking at Lord Eddingar with the Darkflame blade and a spacial tear.
Wu Hai swept in alongside his afterimage and followed up with his own light attacks.
Lord Eddingar spun horizontally, narrowly dodging Ho's attack, but with the Ring of light, the lightning attacks from both sides and the surviving Onmyoji beginning a chant, there was little that the attacks could be dodged afterward. Ho might have missed, but the Emperor's Ring of Light tore Lord Eddingar's right leg from his body.
Hanging in the air, he waited for it to grow back. Panicking after it didn't grow back as he intended, Lord Eddingar realized that the light elemental essence was toxic to his wound. He wasn't regenerating. He looked down and saw the Queen, struggling. 'My beloved.' Lord Eddingar's wings expanded, his body contracted. He got thinner. Much thinner.
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The Dark Heart Ribbon was pulling Zhan off of Xue's body. The Queen saw a moment of escape, produced a sword with blood and sliced off the shoulder and arm. The Rot stopped, momentarily Zhan was restrained. The Queen had a blade, she stuck it into one of Zhan's eyes and he let out a breath of Ice. He kept going, but the blood red ribbon was making a move. It was headed into Zhan's throat.
"HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT MY RESURRECTION DAY!" With a vibrating voice, the Queen thrust the Dark Heart Ribbon at Zhan's Mouth.
A Golden Beam enveloped the entire throne stage. Different colored strikes were all flowing in one of two directions. Khan Ni watched Zhan being pulled off of the Queen's body, dozens of other blasts striking on the Queen. Her body was being batted, but she was not dying. Khan Ni flickered across the battlefield in an instant and arrived next to Zhan, she coiled around the Dark Heart Ribbon and deflected it and bit down on Xue's other shoulder.
'There.' "Husband. We cannot allow this monster to survive. Its regenerating even now. We have to find her core and take it out." Khan Ni was precise, she knew there was little she could do on her own.
Zhan dove back into the incoming friendly fire, it didn't matter. Arriving next to the Queen, she stabbed at him again, going for the other eye.
Fluctuations could be felt around Lord Eddingar as he was beginning to lose hope. His body was thinner and faster, lighter and more agile but it had sacrificed its toughness. When the Emperor slammed the Creators Crusher against his spine again, there was a folding action. Lord Eddingar's body folded over and the battle was changing once again.
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