"I'll kill you, fucker!"
Asmodeus slammed his fists together.
"Oi, Asmodeus, don't go too far!"
Ishtar warned him.
"Shut up! I know! I'll only go to the Second Stage at most!"
Suddenly, Asmodeus grew slightly bulkier as he removed his coat. His teeth became fangs and black scales formed beside his eyes. The white in his eyes also lost colour. A black horn grew from his right temple and curved slightly.
"First Stage!"
The man jumped at the Wyvern.
Asmodeus was one of three Tarots who did not possess a Singularity out of all the others.
Even so, he was strong without one. When he met his Master, he gave him a Yuna; Demonic Transfiguration.
With four stages in total, Asmodeus can increase his power by transforming into a demon, however, he can only control the first two stages. Once he goes into the third stage, he cannot control his powers anymore and turns into a true demon, attacking anything in sight.
The Wyvern swiped its talons at Asmodeus but he dodged and leapt onto the wing of the Wyvern.
"I'll bust up your fucking wings!"
Asmodeus raised his hand, and a sphere of black flames formed in his palm.
"Huh?"
Electricity raced along the rim of the wing, targeting Asmodeus.
"You impatient beast."
Ishtar said.
She shot a sphere of mana at the electricity; it was absorbed into the orb and disappeared, giving an opening for Asmodeus.
"I didn't need help."
The eyes of Asmodeus changed colour. They became yellow with a white pattern.
Demonic Transfiguration was only one part of his Yuna. The other part is Demon Eyes. With a selection of nine different Demon Eyes, he can switch and use them as he likes, though, only for ten minutes without risk. Asmodeus cannot use two different types of Demon Eyes at once.
The current Demon Eyes he's using are Demon Eyes of Anatomy which let him see the weakness of living creatures, excluding humans.
"The joint of the wing."
He said to himself, shooting the black flames at the bent bone in the wing.
Once it hit, the black flames spread across the wing. The Wyvern shrieked.
Titania's eyes became starry like the night sky. Floating beside her were multiple swords within a single sheath.
"Mikazuki Munechika."
She pulled a katana from the sheath. The blade glistened beautifully. Titania put both hands on the katana's hilt and assumed the Jodan-no-kamae.
The snowy-haired woman gently breathed in, fully concentrated on her target.
Titania's Yuna is Sword Composition. As long as she touches a surface, she can materialise any sword that she thinks of. A drawback of this Yuna is that each sword lasts a minute maximum.
The Wyvern noticed Titania's battle aura and roared at her fiercely.
It flapped its wing, shooting lightning at Titania. She raised the katana slightly higher.
"Dusk Blade--"
She sliced downwards, like a guillotine.
"--Crescent Moon."
With a single slice, the lightning dissipated and the Wyvern's right eye was cut. Even a sword art like that could not damage the Wyvern's scales.
Its eye was also an easy target but not a good one. Because the Wyvern would begin to attack erratically.
"GRRAAAHHHH!"
The Wyvern gave a bloodcurdling scream. Asmodeus and Titania stayed on guard, meanwhile...
Ishtar aimed her finger at the Wyvern.
A globe of mana formed with a halo of lightning circulating it.
"With all this mana saved up, this is bound to do something."
Ishtar's Yuna is Infinity Box. In concept, it works similarly to Kyoka Sakai's Durandal. It stores mana and expels it once full.
However, Ishtar's Yuna does not have a capacity limit. Its biggest weakest is the fact the box has to be rid of mana at least once a day, otherwise she begins to have a stroke.
Other than that, there's no limit to how much mana or what type of mana can be absorbed.
Unlike Durandal's Expel feature, Ishtar can choose what she wants to release from her Infinity Box.
"Asmodeus' black flames alongside the Wyvern's lightning. I'll call it... Infernal Thunder."
She shot the spell at the Wyvern; it was launched into the cave's walls. Its scales burned but there was not any visible damage. In fact, it was completely useless.
In turn, instead of injuring the Wyvern, the spell seemed to anger it.
It growled.
"Dodge!"
Ishtar shouted, warning the other two.
The Wyvern indiscriminately released lightning, striking the room and barely missing each Tarot.
Without an eye, its vision was limited. Its best chances were to take them out before its other eye is taken.
"What's that?"
Titania pointed out, looking at the entrance on the opposite side of the room.
A shadow dashed toward the Wyvern; it went behind its legs and sliced the back of its knees, causing it to fall onto its stomach.
"Oi, oi, oi! Who the fuck is that?! We've been working out asses off trying to kill this thing but someone comes in and does more damage than we do in a single strike?!"
Asmodeus exclaimed, furious.
"Well, I'm sorry for being smart."
The boy joked.
He paused with a large black scythe in his hand.
The boy was dressed in a dark trenchcoat and had black hair, though, his eyes were glowing blue. It was clear that blue was not his natural eye colour.
It was Shoya.
After following Kuro's directions, he went ahead of the group, making it to the Wyvern's nest first.
"Aim for the armpits, back of the knees, groin and nape! After shaving those parts down, we should be able to get through the scales!"
Originally, Shoya was going to attack the Wyvern's head but after speaking his thoughts aloud, Kuro corrected him in his thinking.
Wyvern scales were unbelievably hard. Even harder than armour. Though they were scales, their placement on the body grew naturally so that it would not hinder the Wyvern's movements.
Meaning, that it has the same exposed spots as a medieval set of armour.
Nape, armpits, groin and kneepits. The exposed part of armour so that movement is easier. There's also the arm joint.
"Why should we listen to you?!"
Ishtar shouted.
"Hey, this isn't the time to be picky about who you team up with! Sure, we don't know each other or our purposes, but, until we finish off the Wyvern, let's have a truce!"
Shoya shouted, carefully watching the Wyvern.
"Shut up! I'll do whatever I--"
"No, Asmodeus, you're the one who should shut up."
Titania said, walking toward him.
The Wyvern wagged its tail, attempting to hit Shoya but he jumped over to the Tarots.
"Okay, we'll team up with you."
"Oi!"
"Titania!"
Ishtar and Asmodeus voiced their disagreements.
"We can't beat this Wyvern until he gets back. Our best chance is to team up with this guy."
She said.
"Yeah, but..."
Ishtar looked at Shoya.
"Fine,"
She gave in.
Asmodeus flicked his head in irritation.
The Wyvern got up and roared at the four of them.
"I've got four more comrades on the way. Two of them should be getting in a minute or two but the other two will take their time."
(All because Emika coincidentally twisted her ankle yesterday...)
Shoya thought.
"Okay, so, what made you attack the kneepits?"
Titania asked, Mikazuki Munechika disappeared from her hands.
"The scales may be harder than armour but they are armour. Armour is made in a way that doesn't hinder the wearer's movements. With exposed parts like the nape, armpits, groin and kneepits."
He explained.
"Makes sense. As you said, we'll probably have to shave away at those parts before attempting to take it down."
Shoya nodded.
Ishtar chimed in.
"Not to state the obvious but... it won't be easy."