- Death and Izanagi -
Waterfalls shot off the side of the mountain as Izanagi created large amounts of water from his spear's head. The two were moving up the mountain path with every exchange. Izanagi hadn't thought that he would win easily against Death with his full power but was still surprised by Death's growing tenacity.
["Izanagi"] Death, in a distorted voice, said under his breath.
Flurries of wind blades and lightning bolts, showers of fireballs and stone spikes, massive waves of water, everything Izanagi had seemed to only delay Death's assault. Death's scythe struck away every non-water-based attack that Izanagi sent. Death managed to close the distance and swung the back of his scythe against Izanagi's spear.
Izanagi's hands burned as he felt his spear's handle sink into his palms. The weight behind Death's strikes seemed to be growing. Izanagi managed to knock Death back with a blast of wind.
"IS THAT ALL?!" Izanagi shouted to help ease his terror.
Izanagi gripped his spear so tight the veins in his hand looked as if they were about to pop out of the skin. Izanagi slammed the spear's handle down on the ground, creating a shockwave throughout the mountain. Death rushed in but was met halfway by Izanagi rushing in as well. The two clashed weapons as the path they stood on rumbled.
Izanagi used his wind to speed up his spear swings. For all the fear that Izanagi had been choking down, one thing in his exchange with Death gave him a tiny amount of hope. He noticed that despite Death's raw strength, the hunter's actual technique with the scythe was lacking. He was quickly able to find a pattern among Death's swings and gain the upper hand.
Death was being pushed back by Izanagi's deft use of the spear. His scythe swings were fast and powerful, but ultimately predictable. As he started to lose ground, he started to speak more.
["Careful,"]
Izanagi wasn't quite sure if he heard Death speak. The sound of the spear and scythe colliding, combined with the rumbling of the mountain, drowned out most other noise. As Izanagi continued his pursuit of Death, now more confident than ever that he might actually win, he was able to catch a few words.
["Don't. Kill. Izanagi."]
Death let go of his scythe and blinked behind Izanagi. Izanagi responded by swiping his spear backward and unleashing a massive torrent of fire. Death blinked again to avoid the attack, putting the two back in a stalemate. Izanagi exhaled and slammed his spear handle against the ground once more. The rumbling of the mountain grew. The path that Death and Izanagi were standing on started to crumble into a landslide.
A mass of rocks and mud fell off the side of the mountain with Death and Izanagi on top of it. The two were now falling hundreds of meters down the mountainside, into the forest below. Izanagi had expected to have the advantage in this situation but was immediately on the back foot as Death rushed him down, rapidly blinking and grabbing onto the spear's handle.
- Izanami, Lucifer, Yvere, Peter -
"I'll be right back," Izanami faked a smile as she walked past the three.
"Let's go," Lucifer motioned but didn't say.
Peter nodded and stood up. Yvere was slow to move.
"Come on," Lucifer said as he put his hand on Yvere's shoulder.
Yvere's breathing was ragged. The moment Lucifer's hand touched her shoulder her eyes opened wide. She grabbed his hand and stood up.
"What are you-"
Yvere conjured her fangs and bit into Lucifer's arm.
"Yvere!" Lucifer said through his teeth as he felt his body get colder.
Peter put three fingers on Yvere's neck and squeezed briefly. Yvere let go of Lucifer's arms and started hyperventilating.
"Sorr...y," Yvere mumbled as she healed Lucifer's bite.
Yvere's hair started to tint red. Her skin grew more vascular and her fangs didn't disappear.
"One problem at a time," Lucifer said as he grabbed the back of Yvere's cloak.
Lucifer grabbed Peter's arm and flew into the sky.
"LUCE!" Peter warned.
Massive orbs of electricity fell from high in the sky. Every orb pulsed powerful bolts of electricity, leaving no gaps for Lucifer to fly through. Lucifer landed.
"Both of you, one wing each!" Lucifer commanded.
Yvere and Peter grabbed onto Lucifer's wings.
"FULL CYCLE, YVERE!" Lucifer ordered.
"That's not a good idea," Yvere warned. "I can't control-"
"JUST DO IT!" Lucifer shouted. "I TRUST YOU!"
Yvere went to bite Lucifer's wings but wasn't able to break through the black feathers initially. She bit down a second time with more force and began to drain Lucifer's blood while also pumping Lucifer full of healing magic. Lucifer put both of his hands out in front of him and created a concentrated blast of flame that launched the three backward.
While not ideal, the three were now speeding across the ground as the sky surged with electricity. Lucifer's hands were in a cycle of burning and healing. Yvere's hair was now a full scarlet red and her veins appeared to be pulsing red energy. As the three rocketed through the open land, they all noticed one figure heading for them in a blur of speed.
Izanami, now wearing black gauntlets that didn't cover her hands, was rapidly approaching the three. Lucifer could tell that he wouldn't able to outspeed Izanami and that the electric orbs overhead were following his path. Lucifer knew he needed to get as much distance as he could. The village the three were heading toward was a small dot, one that would take too much time to reach safely.
"Get ready!" Lucifer warned.
Lucifer took a deep breath in and upped the force of his flames. The three shot backward even faster. Peter's fingers started to burn as he gripped tighter onto Lucifer's wings. Peter looked over at Yvere to make sure she was doing okay and was surprised to see Yvere barely struggling to hold on.
The entire front of Lucifer's body started to burn because of the intensity of the flames. Even with the increased speed, Izanami was still gaining ground. The three were able to make it to the village just before Izanami caught up with them. There were stone walls around the village that stood a little taller than Lucifer.
Lucifer ignored the questions from the guard on top of the village walls and blasted a hole through the village's metal gate. Peter hopped off Lucifer's wing and unsheathed his sword.
"YVERE!" Peter shouted.
Yvere released Lucifer's wing. Her scleras turned red as she ran to join Lucifer and Peter.
Izanami shouted up to the confused village guard, "Evacuate everyone you can!"
- Lina and Sig -
Lina and Sig were still among the battalion of yokai. Xiao, Sabu, and Lao were tailing the group from afar. The group of yokai arrived at the location where Shiri and Susano'o had fought. The crow-faced yokai ran out to check on Susano'o.
"Lord Susano'o!"
Susano'o was in a deep state of unconsciousness.
"ALL RIGHT EVERYONE!" The crow-faced yokai turned to face the group. "WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK UP LORD IZANAMI!"
Sig and Lina exchanged a glance. Sig pulled out a dagger.
Lina mimicked another yokai's voice. "Shouldn't we wait for Lord Susano'o to wake up first?"
Some of the yokai agreed. A small argument started to break out among the crowd but was interrupted by the crow-faced yokai.
"If they beat Lord Susano'o then they're too much of a threat to be left alone. If Lord Susano'o has a problem with my actions then I'll accept full responsibility when this is all over."
Lina mimicked a different yokai's voice, "What about the others?"
The crow-faced yokai grumbled. "The two humans can handle that. Lord Izanami is our priority."
Lina looked at Sig for confirmation. Sig held up one finger, indicating to Lina to use one more voice.
Lina mimicked a voice, "Shouldn't we be concerned about Death?"
Worried grumbles spread throughout the crowd of yokai. What Lina had asked had been on every yokai's mind since the start of their march.
"All of you!" the crow-faced yokai ordered. "Do you have no trust in Lord Izanagi? Besides, Death still trusts Lord Izanagi. Death is not our concern!"
Sig signaled to Lina to wait.
"Helping Lord Izanami quickly deal with the fallen will-"
Sig and Lina had everything they needed to do their next move.
Lina mimicked Susano'o's voice, "WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?"
All the yokai turned to Susano'o, thinking he had just awoken. Lina pierced her slender finger's through the back of a yokai that was in front of her, restricting the yokai's ability to scream. Sig did the same with her dagger. Lina and Sig proceeded to cut through the back ranks of the yokai force stealthily.
"A BODY!" One yokai voice yelled.
Most of the yokai turned to inspect.
"THERE'S ONE HERE AS WELL!" Another voice yelled.
Lina continued to mimic yokai voices calling for bodies as she and sig continued their assassination path.
Xiao, Sabu, and Lao had been stopped by Julius and Salim back in the main town.
- Xiao, Sabu, Lao, Julius and Salim -
Julius spoke first, "I'd rather not kill humans."
Xiao could hear the screams of yokai in the distance as he stared at Julius. "I agree," He glared. "So how about you leave before you make a mistake."
Julius grinned. "Strong words, Glutton."
Snow began to fall. The sound of rushing wind mixed with the screams of yokai. Salim motioned to Julius to switch places. Xiao's hands turned black. Salim and Xiao locked eyes. Julius smiled at Lao and Sabu.
"Earth and healing magic," Xiao informed Sabu and Lao. "The other one is just wind. No known contracts but strength suggests-"
Salim blasted toward Xiao with a powerful gust of wind. Sabu and Lao dashed toward Julius in response.
- Xiao and Salim -
Xiao blocked an axe kick from Salim with his gauntlets. Xiao and Salim were immediately locked into melee combat.
'You made a mistake,' Salim thought. 'Your contract will be your downfall.'
Xiao and Salim's fight was a blur of blocks and parries. Neither could land a clean hit. Salim was purposefully being defensive so he could stall out Xiao's contract. Salim didn't want Xiao to catch on so he decided to try and anger Xiao as well.
"Worried about your squad?" Salim taunted. "Or maybe you care about Lucifer?"
Xiao wasn't responding to the taunts. The back-and-forth fight continued. To Salim's irritated surprise, Xiao was gaining the advantage.
"A human of your strength shouldn't fight for Death," Salim continued to taunt. "You should be with-"
Xiao slammed Salim in the cheek with a right hook. Salim stumbled back. Xiao rushed and feinted a jab. Salim fell for the feint and spat as he felt Xiao's palm dig into his stomach. Xiao launched Salim backward with martial energy.
Salim crashed through a stone wall. He stood up inside the shop and coughed. He took a deep breath. Zephyrs started to form around his body as he launched out of the shop with a gust of wind so powerful it shook the building.