Boota had to look at him for a long time, observing his demeanor in order to verify if he was the real deal. He might have been just another demon posing as their general and if that was the case, Boota wasn't sure if they would be able to live to see the sunrise.
"Is everyone alright?" Kou queried, surveying the scene. There was a large serpent wrapped around the replica of his mutated form. Kou cocked his head and tried to remember if there was any from the 333 viels who were made of the same components as him.
Boota stood, walking to stand beside Kou who didn't appear to be another pawn of the demon lord they were currently dealing with. "Basil is holding him down but I don't think he will last long. We need to hurry. Mammon only gave us until sunrise to beat his game."
Kou nodded. Sparks of pink electricity coruscated around him. He stared at the barrier and then directed his gaze at the approaching Salem, Karma, and Gaku.
"Can you find a way to destroy the barrier? Even if we beat this demon, if we don't do something about the barrier, we'd still end up killed."
Salem inclined his head. "I don't mind, but are you sure you want to entrust such a big responsibility to humans?"
Kou smiled. "Kou trusts you."
Salem smirked behind his mask. "Don't be gullible, viel."
Kou faced his doppelganger, instinctively placing his hand on top of Boota's head. "Kou will protect you and Basil. Do not worry."
The angel looked down, remembering the war they fought together before.
'Kou will protect all of you. We will win no matter what."
He never changed even after they betrayed him.
"I'm no longer a child, you know?" Boota pointed out, still letting Kou's hand remain on top of his head. It was a nostalgic feeling having his hand petting him once more after all this time.
The demon relinquished a wave of tenebrous energy that sent Basil flying away. The image of the gigantic serpent vanished into white sparkles. Basil stared at his sticks, smoke coming out of the tips. His fire had run out. The demon had been sending those waves but he managed to hold them off with the aid of Bashe's spirit, the snake that was made a part of him.
Before his back could hit several trees, he was caught by a flash of pink lightning that boomed followed by threatening rumbles.
"Oh, you shed your skin," was Kou's first comment.
Basil's entire face reddened as a cherry tomato. He looked away, embarrassed of being a child in Kou's arms.
"Put me down, who told you you could get up? You're still injured aren't you?"
Kou gently placed him on the ground. "You were making too much racket, Kou couldn't sleep at all."
Basil grinned; he was amused and at the same time exasperated. Trust this righteous idiot to force his body to heal. Those wounds must have healed superficially. There was no way he could be alright.
"Kou will be right back," he murmured, patting Basil on the head to which the serpent responded with aggravation.
"What are you doing? Gaaah!" he yelled, slapping his hand away.
Kou, being satisfied that everyone was safe, turned to face the demon who was already up on his four feet. He was made aware of Kou's presence and was far from happy about it.
"What's so special about you? You are just a worn down knight with no master to serve. Why even live? I can live your life better than you. Hand over your identity and I promise you'd be amazed what I can do with your name and body," he offered.
Acidic drool dripped down from his mouth, causing fumes to extinguish from each splash of saliva on the ground. Kou raised his arm and lightning shot out from the skies and struck the spot in front of him. His spear materialized as the demon howled, summoning wolves from Sheol. Kou whistled, an illusion of the moon appeared behind him, calling on to five wolves with distinguishable characteristics. Each wolf had different colors of eyes which matched tufts of fur scattered across the expanse of white fur. They ran past their alpha, attacking the zombified wolves with their elemental specialty.
"It is very saddening that your master isn't generous enough to give you your own identity, wouldn't you agree with Kou?"
The imitation frowned and howled, giving his pawns the cue to shred them and leave no remains.
Raika, a wolf with tufts of yellow fur, moved at lightning speed much like their master, carrying the bolt of yellow with him and taking down most of the zombies. Doremi, a wolf with shades of blue, leaped and glided through the air like a swirl of water, knocking out and trapping the pawns in spheres of water. Hiko, the wolf of brown fur, caused holes into the ground while Yuki set their opponents in a blaze. Fujin, the wolf with green tufts of fur effortlessly beheaded the wolves using lacerating zephyrs. More wolves from the underworld came forth, Kou left his pack to take care of the pretentious alpha.
The demon shrank back into Kou's other form, vanishing and reappearing in a flash in front of the original. He was holding both an angelic and demonic spear that clashed against Kou's one weapon. Screeching noises from the weapons caused Karma and Gaku to cover their ears from the gritting noise. Kou single-handedly parried the cross of weapons, kicking the perfect imitation of him off. There was a stir of navy blue light in the demon's mouth which blasted him in an instant. Kou lifted his hand, welcoming the blast with his palm and absorbing all of the energy into his
body.
Kou tossed his spear to the demon, a tornado forming around it. The wolves took a second of their time to enforce their master's attack with their own energy, causing the tornado to swirl with varying colors. The demon couldn't evade and was consumed by the tempest before combusting. Heated winds and a bright blinding light made Basil and the rest raise their arms to cover their faces. Salem welcomed the strong zephyrs, unflinching. The wolves from Sheol, having the bonafide copies of their models, imitated their elements. Each of Kou's wolves were surrounded by the zombie wolves who possessed their elemental weakness.
Smoke cleared, the demon stood. Half of his face was missing and his right arm loosely hung from the joint. He quickly regenerated and lunged forward.
'Alpha Kou, the enemy is smart. What should we do?" Raika questioned. They were getting hit severely. They wouldn't last long at this rate.
'Regroup yourselves and have them surround you. Kou will be with you soon.'
Kou readied his weapon, prepared to meet the demon's attack. His eyes widened when the face he copied from him transfigured into a person who he knew so well.
"Your Majesty…" Kou whispered.
The sound of growls and the scent of smoke and decay disappeared in an instant. Kairon smiled at him, offering his hand for him to take. The dark skies became bright blue and clear and the field of sunflowers and grass swayed from the gentle breeze.
"That's enough, Kou. Let's go back together."
Kou's eyes beheld the illusion before him. It was too good to be true yet it was tempting. He could drop everything and grab his hand. It would all end if he did.
"Kou, wake up, that's not him!"
"Kou! Get out of the way!!!"
But it wasn't time to go home yet and he was not the person Kou wished to come back with.
The illusion cleared and was replaced by the image of darkness and disaster. He was staring right at the demon with a mouth stirring red and black demonic energy. Basil and Boota tackled Kou down before the blast was released. The demon transformed into the colossal giant again, clawing the spot where the trio was.
Kou managed to roll the three of them out of the attack. His wolves whined through the pack link. They were surrounded by the zombies and were getting attacked relentlessly. Kou picked himself up, offering his hand to Boota and Basil who breathed out a sigh.
"Are you going to pause like a lovestruck girl every time you see an image of Kairon? Get a hold of yourself, will you?!" Basil scolded, kicking Kou in the shin.
"Kou is sorry, you aren't hurt, are you?"
Boota sighed. "We aren't but…" He stared at the skies, the sun was rising.
'Kid, I'll turn you into a wrinkled pickle, hurry up!' Yuki demanded in the pack link.
'Oooh! Oooh I hate pickles. Get it away from me!' Doremi cried.
'We can handle this! These maggots won't stand a chance against me!' Hiko boasted before getting struck by lightning. The other wolves snickered at his predicament.
'...Huh? What? I didn't fall asleep, I swear. Wait, are we going to die?" Fujin questioned.
'Your orders, Alpha,' Raijin asked.
The demon's eyes fell on the group of wolves that supported Kou in the background. His wings flapped, releasing zephyrs that tipped them off balance. He released a red beam of light that struck the wolves, exterminating most of his pawns in the process and leaving a huge crater. Once the winds died down, Gaku peeked out of Salem's leg, glancing at the mess in awe.
"Such power…what is this?" He knew that his master was strong but this range of cataclysm was beyond imaginable. They have wrecked the entire forest.
"Master?" Karma asked. Shouldn't he do something about the barrier? His master hadn't moved a muscle ever since Kou delegated him the task.
"Kou's wolves…" Boota murmured in shock.
Basil hit the ground, gritting his teeth. "This bastard! Kou—"
Boota and Basil noticed Kou's absence. He was only with them seconds earlier. Their breaths hitched when they noticed Kou's burnt form in the middle of the unconscious wolves. There was another destructive blast coming. He wasn't going to let Kou regenerate.
"He can't absorb anymore. He'd explode at this rate!" Boota shouted.
Basil stood, running to fetch his suicidal best friend from his fate. "Get away, you idiot!!!"
'Alpha…we're sorry…' Raijin whimpered, his yellow eyes saddened. The five of them were down yet they were alive because of their Alpha.
Kou smiled, bending down to pet his head. 'You have helped Kou. You did more than enough.'
'You'll win, won't you, Alpha? You'll win for us.' Hiko said.
'Kou will win for everyone.'
Reassured, the wolves dispersed into glitters that represented their colors.
"Kou!" Basil screamed.
A circle of black light traced around him. A set of black and white wings burst out of his back. Kou sprung, swirling in the air before shooting against the beam that shot out of the demon's mouth. Two dark lights pushed against each other, trying to overpower one another to prove which one was the better version. Kou's strength shoved back the darkness that the demon sent. Little by little, the light was pushed inside the demon's mouth along with Kou himself.
The demon snapped his jaw shut, laughing from his unexpected success.
"Do you see now? I told you I was better than the ori–"
White streaks of light ruptured from his mouth before turning into a fully thickened blast that stretched over the end of the forest.
Karma didn't know about his master's timing but it would be good if he would move his ass right about now. "Mas—Master?"
"Where is he?" Gaku was equally perplexed.
A metal collar snapped around the demon's neck. Salem was on the demon's back hanging over the chains like this was a regular day to ride a cow.
He slid down the rattling chains, leaping back with the chains in hand to haul the head backwards. The demon was forced to face up, the beam clashing against the barrier. Cracks formed, sunlight was drawing near. The beam was threatening to weaken, much to their disadvantage. Salem should be clicking his tongue or pulling his hair in frustration by now. They were so close.
"You're still alive, aren't you, viel?" Salem murmured.
Kou burst through the demon's teeth, spiraling above and drilling the barrier into fragments using his spear. The sun finally reclaimed its place in the sky. Their time was up.
Kou landed with ease on the ground, causing dust to escape from his landfall. The demon collapsed on the ground, dissolving along with his lackeys. He shrank back into his original form– a face that was melted and scarred and a body that was so sickly and thin. He was about five feet tall with skin having dry skin lesions covered in scales.
"You're kidding me!" Basil blurted.
"No way…" Boota muttered.
"Tu Morrow?" Kou called out.
"Long time no see…"
"You know him, master?" Gaku asked.
"He's the royal librarian. He was Kou's biggest fan. He'd dress like him, speak like him, follow the King like him, and would see Kou off to the battlefield. The King was honestly annoyed and at the same time worried so he relieved him of his duties as the librarian. We have never heard of him ever since."
Tu coughed before chuckling. "You're still so amazing. I wish…I wish I could be just like you."
Kou bent on one knee. "You want to be a person who has almost nothing?"
Tu lightly frowned but maintained a submissive grin. "You ended up with almost nothing, General Kou, while I was born with nothing at all. I'm ugly. I'm weak. No one wants me around them."
Kou didn't bear any disgusted expression compared to Basil who was glaring at Tu like he was a piece of turd.
"That's not true. You were the highlight of the library. You know every single book and where it's placed. The library was a mess when you were relieved from your duties."
Boota sighed. "The King even ordered some viels to organize it just like you did but it was futile."
Tu smiled with his crooked teeth. "Really?"
"Really," Kou, Basil, and Boota agreed, remembering the grief they had to endure and the allergy Basil developed because of the task.
"Then…That damned King should have genuflected before me! He is nothing but a title! He is weak, incompetent and foolish. I would marvel the day he'd perish before—"
As soon as Salem joined their group, Salem immediately sprinkled wood around his body and commenced the purification circle, causing Tu to dissolve faster. Since he was a full-fledged demon, he would return to Sheol.
"May the Elysians be with you," Kou stated.
"See you Tu Morrow," Salem added.