"Be aware there is a guardian." Makane spoke as the group went further into the temple's interior.
"Guardian?" Darius asked.
"Correct. He is from the time of Titans and immortals. His name is Sedori, and he is extremely strong. In his time he was given the title of Titan Slayer. He earned this name when he and his army came under attack by three Titans. The giants killed every last one of his men, but he managed to slay all three of the Titans without receiving a single wound." Makane explained.
"What? Three?" Inari exclaimed in shock. "Doesn't it usually take three gods to kill one Titan? He was really that strong?"
"Yes, lower gods at least. And after bathing in the blood of the many Titans, he gained immortality. After the war he was assigned to guard the grave of the first five Deities, namely this temple."
"Do you think he'd let us through? We are Deities after all." Darius asked.
"No. He won't care. Only those who can defeat him will be deemed worthy of the power of the Origin Deities."
"Then we'll kill him." Akuro stated.
"Easier said than done. If you ask me he sounds way stronger than Gallatine, and we barely won that fight." Darius pointed out.
"I don't care how strong he is. I'm going to win." Akuro responded simply.
Inari gave him a concerned look. "Don't be reckless."
"It's his nature." Darius said, receiving a glare from Akuro.
As the group continued to traverse the halls of the temple, they began to feel a choking pressure in the air. The inside of the temple was simplistic with thin halls that split off in many directions. It was almost like a labyrinth of black stone. Lamps of blue light dimly lit their way, casting ominous shadows across the halls. It was like walking through a vivid dream.
And then the hallway came to an end.
Akuro and the others shivered. An overwhelming pressure came down on them from every direction, and before them was an expansive room. The room had no light and was so large that Akuro could not see the end of it, nor the roof.
Makane returned herself into Inari's body as they moved forward cautiously. Akuro's foot then bumped into something metallic sticking up from the ground. He looked down, squinting his eyes trying to see. To his surprise he could faintly make out the shape of a sword, it's blade burrowed into the stone below.
"Ow." Darius said then to Akuro's left. "Why the hell is there a sword here?"
"There's some more over here." Inari said from Akuro's right. And then a hiss ran through the the room.
Lamps of baleful blue light sparked along the walls, illuminating the chasm. Akuro's body tensed when he could see the room. The chasm extended a couple dozen yards and everywhere that the eye could see there were swords jutting out of the ground as well as a plethora of other weapons sprawled across the room. At the far side of the spacious chamber was an exit... but it was blocked.
Sitting upon the stone stairs leading up to the exit was an armor clad figure, hunched over as if asleep. He had long, messy black hair that fell past shoulders and pale skin. His armor was smooth and seemed as though it were freshly crafted, devoid of scratches or dents. The armor itself was a dark shade of turquoise with gold trim and emerald gems and markings embedded into its surface. Beneath the armor he wore a black robe. Around his body lay six shields and a large golden sword spread out seemingly at random as if they'd been dropped.
And then the air turned cold. The man's head slowly raised and his eyelids lifted, revealing the eyes of an ancient warrior, threatening and devoid of life. Just by looking into his eyes one could see the pain he's endured and the blood he's spilt. His turquoise irises seemed to glow as he looked up at Akuro with dead eyes.
For a moment, Akuro wondered if that was what he looked like.
"It's been a long time since I've had visitors." The man said, his voice ragged and brusque. "What is your purpose in coming here?"
"We are Deities reincarnated by the gods. We've come to receive the blessing of the Origin Deities!" Inari spoke.
The man's eyes narrowed. "The gods are at their game again, are they?" He spoke. "I don't care who you are. I don't care if you're Deities."
"Please, we don't want to fight you, Sedori, we just need to get stronger! The demons have emerged from the depths of hell, threatening to destroy the world." Inari pleaded.
Sedori turned his eyes to Akuro. "I can see why. You, boy, you have the aura of the demon king." Sedori slowly rose to his feet. "If you want the power of my Lords, then you are going to have to prove your worth." A wave of aura pulsed through the room, whipping at Akuro's clothes. Light bluish-green aura began to swirl around Sedori as he stood.
"Come. Face me, and prove your worth!"
Akuro turned to Darius. "He's immortal, Darius you know what that means!" He called. Darius turned to him and nodded, then went invisible. Akuro then turned to Inari. "I hope you're strong." He said.
She smirked. "Don't doubt me." White aura then materialized around Inari's body, taking the form of brilliant cloth, a scarf wrapped around Inari's neck and her body was covered in a white cloak. The mask of a fox materialized covering her face and a short sword appeared in her hand. The ground cracked at her feet. "Let's go!"
Akuro grinned as his Aura Cloak took form as well, his eyes going white and black horns forming from his head. He materialized his scythe, then dashed at full speed towards Sedori, the ground shattering where he had been as he exploded forward. Sedori only stood, arms closed, but his eyes never left Akuro, and as he came into range swinging his scythe, a shield appeared, blocking the blade's path.
"Weak." Sedori spoke.
Akuro threw a burst of dark aura into the shield, spinning himself in the air, the scythe swinging a full three-sixty before striking towards Sedori's throat. But, to Akuro's disappointment, another shield appeared blocking his attack. A burst of pressure shot out from the two shields, sending Akuro skidding back. Sedori's eyes shifted to something behind him that nobody else could see.
"There is no point in being invisible if you don't conceal your aura." Sedori spoke, then spun on his heel, swinging his foot through the air. A shockwave emitted from something that the kick made contact with, and then Darius's invisibility faded as he was sent soaring into a wall.
Akuro leapt at Sedori then, his aura talons extending out to grab the two shields, holding them in place. Then Akuro realized he was absorbing aura from them. 'So that's the trick.'
Inari joined in at that moment, taking advantage of Sedori being open. She flew forward, her short blade thrusting towards the enemy, but her attack was also blocked. Another shield had appeared! Then Akuro realized they were the shields that had been laying in the ground before.
A pulse of energy emitted from where the shield and Inari's sword collided, sending out a shockwave of clashing aura.
"A kitsune, huh? Too bad you're too weak to use it to its full extent." Sedori spoke.
"Don't underestimate me!" Inari responded as her short sword began to glow a pale white. "Nine point strike!"
Eight wisps of white aura formed into identical copies of Inari's short sword hovering in the air around it, illuminating the room in a bright light before rushing down towards Sedori, who leapt back creating distance between him and the ethereal blades before raising two more shields into the air to block their trajectory. A golden sword flew from the ground into Sedori's hand and he waved it through the air sending a gust of pressure through the air that pushed both Akuro and Inari back, forcing Akuro to release the two shields he'd held before.
Sedori stood before them, his eyes dead and a bored expression on his face. The five shields now spun around his figure, a swirling barrier to block any oncoming attacks.
"It seems he can control those weapons using his aura, it I think it has a limited radius, he was only able to activate them a few at a time." Akuro observed.
"That doesn't help us now, he already has all five shields up." Inari said.
"No, I felt aura from the shields. I think I would be able to absorb it and shut his defense down."
'Damnit… if I could, I'd just evaporate his soul like I did with the golem… but I don't think it works on beings with equal to or higher aura levels than my own. Meaning I can't use that card… but at the very least, I can sap his aura bit by bit..' Akuro thought, gritting his teeth.
Sedori suddenly shifted to face Darius, raising his hand. Three feet away from his palm hovered Darius's dagger, stopped in its tracks.
"I see. How interesting, you have a power similar to my own." Sedori said, observing Darius as he used his own aura to push the dagger against Sedori's. Darius had gotten to his feet, one arm hanging limply at his side, the other raised. He wore an expression of pain and determination.
"It's too bad you are inexperienced." Sedori remarked as the dagger flew off to the side and clattering against the floor. The gold sword then left Sedori's hand and whistled through the air towards Darius, who was still recovering from his last blow and was not fast enough to dodge the attack.
"Darius!" Akuro cried out, but it did no good and the sword plunged through his shoulder, pinning him to the wall. He let out a cry of agony, trying to remove the blade from his shoulder.
"Damnit!" Akuro cursed.
"Akuro, he no longer has his sword, we need to attack now!" Inari called.
Akuro grit his teeth and flew forward, Inari tailing him as he collided with one of Sedori's shields, slamming the butt of his scythe into the shield then shifting it forward, pushing the metal plate downwards, vaulting himself into the air and bringing the blade down on Sedori, but he grabbed the handle, stopping it. His fist flew up and crashed into Akuro's chest with a resounding *CRACK* that shattered his ribs and sent him rolling onto the ground with a shout if pain. Inari then flashed into Sedori's range, she had managed to get through his shields and now her short sword plunged into his heart.
"Nine point strike!" She yelled as eight aura blades appeared and proceeded to pierce Sedori's body. But he was unmoving.
"Is that all that you can manage with your power?" Sedori asked. Then his turquoise eyes turned to Inari. "Because that's not nearly enough to best me."
Another shockwave of energy exploded forward from Sedori, sending Inari back to the ground by Akuro, who had now rose to his feet. Sedori gripped the hilt of the short sword in his chest and removed it from his frame, the aura blades fading as his wounds closed almost instantly.
Akuro held out his hand, dark aura amassing in large amounts at the center of his palm. "Inari, get back!" He yelled as the aura pooled into his hand, then he burst towards Sedori again, who attempted to raise his shields, but then realized they were no longer moving. Akuro had absorbed his aura! Sedori stepped back, now aware of what Akuro was doing, but he was too late as the orb of darkness collided into the ground at Sedori's feet before sucking everything in towards it and then exploding outwards in a burst of shadow.
Sedori waved his hands, his shields reanimated as they filled with aura and flew in front of his body. The explosion then was split around the shields, unable to break through them. When the explosion faded, Sedori stood, unscathed. Akuro cursed under his breath as Sedori motioned towards him, but just then bolts of silver aura pierced through Sedoi's frame and into the ground, leaving two gaping holes in his chest and his leg.
Akuro looked over to see Darius had managed to get free from the sword and had used his bow to shoot arrows of pure aura at Sedori while his shields were focused on Akuro's attack.
"Well done, I must commend your teamwork." Sedori spoke, "But it's not enough. I am immortal, or have you forgotten?" The holes in his body healed over in an instant and Sedori stood, arms crossed before his challengers. "Do you see the difference in our power now?" He asked, his eyes locked on Akuro. "You will never be able to defeat me."
"Screw off! I don't care who the hell you are, I won't be losing!" Akuro roared.
Sedori smirked. "I commend your spirit. Fine then, to pay you my respect as a warrior, I will show you my strength."
Sedori's eyes began to glow brighter and turquoise aura began to cover his body head to toe in a samurai styled armor as he raised his hands into the air. Then the shields and his golden sword were cloaked in the same aura, but that wasn't it... every single weapon in the room was engulfed by his spirit energy, and then they began to rattle and shake before rising out of the ground and into the air.
Sedori raised his chin towards Akuro and Inari, "Witness my strength! Witness the power of the Titan Slayer!" His eyes narrowed, "Welcome... to my endless dream!"