"Yeah, maybe. I don't care if its creepy, he's saved my ass more than a few times." 'Isn't that right?' Wu Hai spoke to the White Spot and ran his finger across its marking on his skin. He had grown attached to it, despite it being a pain in the ass when he was younger, it had grown up, just like the Emperor.
"What are we going to do about the Corpse Swarm?" Kuzunoha asked and then put the book in her hand away. "I don't think we should leave it roaming this area. Its a Devil, I can exorcise it."
"No need.." Wu Hai chose to point his finger again. This time, it was a large Bat that was mixed among the Qilin, the bat was several times larger than all the Qilin if they were to combine their weight. "I think it pissed off a predator."
Kuzunoha stowed the scroll that was floating in her hands and gave up such ideas. "Darkwing's position is still the same?"
"Yes, Empress." Wahchung's attitude toward Kuzunoha was downright formal, there was so much going on around him that it terrified him. As a Spirit trapped in an object, he was somewhat at a loss for mobility, tethered to it like a Core. "The signal hasn't increased in strength either, he is likely completely still."
"You mean he's taking a nap... GREAT!" Mike threw his hands up then leaned against a rock and closed his eyes. "Say something when that changes." He was ready for action but he was losing his momentum while they were idling.
"{I think I will also reserve my strength and recover.}" Vira pulled out a chair made from a single tooth. It was carved with a wave pattern on its backrest many small formations covered its hard shell. She poured herself something to drink, it smelled like medicine instead of alcohol and the pungent smell of Biotics wafted throughout the shield. "{Don't be offended, I wasn't the one to kill this Dragon.}"
Mike opened one eye and looked at the tooth. "Dragons shed teeth regularly, especially when they grow stronger."
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Night turned to day, the first sun was out and the second was one the rise. Even the bugs had vanished from the sounds of the background, only the deep merciless cries that extended from the Hellmouth could be heard in the vicinity.
A tremble in the needle of the Compass made Wahchung's metaphorical heart explode, he woke up the group. "He's coming, its fast. Put me away already."
Wu Hai shook his head, "No, we need you to tell us when he's close."
"He's already close! What part of he's FAST was hard to understand, put me away!" Wahchung flew into the compass and it fell inert into the Emperor's hands.
"Coward." Emperor Zao stored the Compass away.
"Its now or never." Wu Hai channeled a spell circle in his hands, the black ring expanded over his palm and grew in intensity. "Hold him, distract him, kill him... but don't die and don't lose him." With a flick of his finger he disappeared.
"Vira!" Kuzunoha looked over to Vira and shouted.
"Oh. Is it starting?" Vira seemed unimpressed. "Doesn't seem strong.." Then, a wave of distortion like a pressure from the air, flattened the trees in a line toward them on its approach. "{I take that back, he's rather sturdy.}"
Her face changed.
She had agreed to a lot of things along the way but all of those were thrown onto her by the Emperor. "Looks like I might have fun." Vira laughed afterward and dove out of the formation, darting directly toward Darkwing.
"Did she just volunteer to fight?" Kuzunoha seemed surprised but Mike wasn't.
"She's been ready to blow off some steam for a while, lets not give her have all the fun. She's going to tank, I'll back her up and you go in for the restraint." Mike gave off a simple tactic and flew to join Vira.
Darkwing was speeding in their direction and in a moment they could see a small dot on the horizon.
The dot grew bigger and almost blew past them. Vira cackled and a web of darkness spread out forming a wall like the formation that surrounded her Kingdom. "{You're not going anywhere}"
"{Out of my way Vira!}" Darkwing spoke in the Language of the Damned and it startled Vira, she recognized the voice.
"{Toukei?}" Vira questioned and immediately she turned to Mike and Kuzunoha. "RUN!"
A spike impaled her and she flew toward the shield wall she had just erected, she bounced off it and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Mike didn't see Darkwing move or hear him speak but Vira's change of direction and sudden slam into the wall behind them gave him pause for concern. "$#!^"
A Large hammer came out, Mike swung it around and a great ice storm spread out, darting in a cone toward Darkwing, giving Vira some cover and time enough to pull the spike from her chest.
She was seething.. furious beyond words.
Kuzunoha still hadn't been discovered but she had no room for attack.
Mike flew toward the ground and forced Darkwing to follow his movements, it was exactly what he wanted.
Vira spent the moment healing the wound over and yelled out again. "{..not Darkwing. Its Toukei.}" She flashed, then reappeared next to Kuzunoha with some heavy breathing. "There isn't much time. Toukei emits a poison, purify the area. We'll never defeat him like this, he's one of the Ten Devils."
Another Spike came barreling toward Vira, she put up another large shield and deflected it. "{He's knows your here.. do it!}" She left the shield up and flew around toward Toukei. "{Why are you here?!}"
"{What is that suppose to mean, Why are you here?"} Toukei spit a brown liquid, it scattered in the wind. "{Since you're here.. you can stay forever. Traitor!}"
Mike could smell something vaguely familiar. He threw out a layer of Ice around Kuzunoha then himself. A great conflagration of fire spread in the air, burned the brown liquid and turned it into a gas.
"{Don't breath it in.}" Vira gave warnings and slammed her hand into Toukei's head, it exploded while she searched for his core.
The head began to reform almost instantly and Toukei bit down after revolving his body a few times during the recovery. Vira yanked her arm out in time to save her hand.
Toukei cut off her wings in one stroke and kicked her to the forest floor below, then aimed himself at the Dragon King and woman hiding in the Ice Shields.
Red lines, energy beams coming from Vira's fingertips shot toward Toukei as she fell, they traced his movements while he zigzagged. Regenerating the wings would take longer than the fall, she was forced to endure the attack. Unable to correct her trajectory, she slammed into a large tree.
Mike pulled out one of Munju's Spellrifles and covered his face with a rag. The Ice would break the instant that it was struck by Toukei.
He brought the weapon up to his shoulder and steadied his aim. When the shield was shattering, he had already been charging the trigger. It fired and a white light shot from the tip. If flew through Toukei's body, leaving a hole.
Toukei stopped and looked down.
Mike shot again, and again. More holes appeared, he refused to stop shooting if it was making a difference in the battle. The Spellrifle fired continuously until it shattered, Toukei smiled, looked down at his abdomen and the wounds that left him looking like a tractored piece of dough healed over rapidly.
"$#!^." Mike spoke and instinctively took a breath to replenish himself, there was a second of pause and then he began to vomit blood and fell from the sky. He struggled on the ground and clenched his body.
Toukei smiled and looked at Kuzunoha.
Another red beam cut through his body, cutting Toukei in half. It was Vira attacking from below, she was flying toward Toukei's position and her claws were fully extended. Toukei couldn't escape Vira's pursuit, she was considerably faster than he was. The problem was that Toukei was much stronger and could out heal her attack speed. She was nothing but a distraction and she knew it.
The two halves of Toukei rejoined just in time to block Vira's claws from reentering his body, he was on the defensive for moment but tore her arms out and kicked her away. "{Traitor!}" Toukei tossed Vira's arms away and flew toward Kuzunoha again.
Vira was enraged, twice she'd been dismembered and kicked away. She was infuriated.
A red aura burst out and the missing arms regrew from her shoulders. "{^!*&!%#*!%^!$%!}" Vira threw out a summoning formation. A red hand flew out of the portal and stood on her shoulder.
Vira told it what to do, then it vanished.
Kuzunoha was still trapped in the Ice shield, she pulled out one of the Poison Purification Pills she had in storage and swallowed it, then, she crushed the other and spread it around her.
A Red hand appeared on her shoulder then disappeared, along with Kuzunoha.
The both reappeared next to Vira.
If Toukei wanted to get past the shield, he would have kill Vira or force her to take it down. Killing her was as hard as her killing Toukei, the battle could take a very long time. To work around this he had already been working to take out her subordinates, the woman in white being the weakest.
Toukei was forced to face away from the Hellmouth, Vira smiled and grabbed Kuzunoha's hand. She started to flee.
Mike was still writhing on the ground and didn't look very good.
A Black Dot started to form near the concealment formation, it grew.
Energy undulations came down like a great deluge. The black dot didn't stop growing, it grew to the size of several dozen meters wide and a flood of Serpents spilled into the landscape.
Dazzling Beams of Black, bronze, green and blue fired in almost every direction, unwilling to chance a place for their opponent to hide.
A Roar that trembled the region came out and the black dot that sparked with bolts of lightning disappeared. Three figures stood at the back, two hundred world Tree Foil Vipers appeared. "For your Elder Sisters, kill Darkwing." Khan Ni flew at the head of the charge and Zhan flew overhead.
-'{Zhan.}' Ferser tried to get his attention.
"Shut up or i'll have you purified too." Zhan was unwilling to hear anything more, it was due to Ferser that he had arrived too late. Even if he had failed in the end, Ferser had robbed him of the chance just to ensure his survival. It was something Zhan would never forgive or forget.
Zhan flew overhead, he beamed to Darkwing's position and cut into the landscape. His children swarmed around Darkwing's body and bit down in a great frenzy.
"Scatter" Zhan gave the word, and like they had been trained their entire lives for that moment.. they leapt off of Darkwing's body and a beam shrouded the black figure entirely.
It covered him and seemed to cut into the very depth of the body. A moment later, Darkwing's head tilted forward and his eyes cut toward Zhan's gaping jaw. A huge spike flew and tore through Zhan's cheek, ending the beam and the damage it was causing to Toukei's body.
"{Its not Darkwing, Its Toukei, The Poisoner.....}" Vira flew beside Zhan and tried to say something but he backhanded her into the dirt. 'Pak'
"Filthy Demon. Its beings like you that brought this pain to my family. Stay out of my way or your next." Zhan spun in a circle and released a bunch of spikes. Khan Ni did the same, they came from both sides and turned Toukei into a pincushion.
Toukei smiled and his power boiled over in excess. The aura from the Devil increased after absorbing their attacks. "That was some good poison.." He licked his lips and stared at Khan Ni with carnal delight. "So tasty.. I bet your heart tastes wonderful..." Toukei made a perverted gesture, running his tongue between two fingers.