We had been walking up the tower for at least an hour now, and made zero progress. Twenty-two stories, and no Lieutenant.
Only more dead bodies.
To an extent, the dead bodies were reassuring, seeing as that meant that Siken and Shinimaru had gone through here, but the walking was not particularly fun. My legs throbbed and my hair was slick with sweat. At this point, even Oiran seemed tired. Another door came into view. Floor number twenty-three. I activate my twitch, sending electricity to my feet, and speed through the floor. To nobody's surprise, there was a blatant vacancy of any Lieutenant-ness. ( However I did find a sprite cranberry.) I reappear back at the doorway, and take a sip of sprite, sitting down on a stair. Oiran kicks me in the face. " HOW COULD YOU SIT DOWN RIGHT NOW?!?" I clear my throat. " Well you see, my lovely lady, I crouch down in a squat-like manor, in such a way that my posterior makes contact with the surface below, allowing my mass to fully level itself on the facet." Oiran stares at me coldly, before kicking me in the balls. " WHAT THE HELL WOMAN?!" Oiran turns away, and starts to walk upwards once more. " Your not that guy bro-"
~A beam of blue energy strikes down from the sky, completely eviscerating the left side of the tower. I grab the hood of Oirans hood, tugging her out of the way of the blue blast. As the beam dissipates, a figure comes into view- the figure of Siken. His body is bruised, battered, and charred. In his right hand, he held a blade coated in red flame. He head turns over to me midair, and yells, " YOUR PLAN F**KING SUCKS-
A fist concealed in blue energy slams into his body, sending him barreling down through the air. I ready for combat, summoning Tsukime, and activating Erotic Eminence, as what can only be described as a beast of a man came into view. His fist alone was twice the size of me, and his body was that of a giant. He was clad in obsidian armor- nah I'm just kidding, he wore a pink hoodie that said, " Waifu Fest 2022", as well as white sweatpants. Oiran burst into laughter, and reasonably so. I mean, don't get me wrong, this man definitely gave off the aura of a cold hearted serial killer who used to be in the WWE…But the hoodie.
It's a little funny.
C'mon.
The man squinted at me, as if I was too small for him to see. Eventually his eyes managed to locate me, and he KICKED OFF OF THE F**KING AIR, AND FLEW TOWARDS ME. Before I knew it, his looming fist towered above me- only for the fist of mannequin Oiran slammed into the head of the man. His massive form was sent barrelling through the air, before halting his acceleration by kicking backwards, sending himself fling back towards the mannequin, his fist outstretched. The mannequin shifted into a fighting stance, and swung its fist, its plastic knuckles colliding with the blue energized fist of the Waifu man. The recoil knocked them both backwards, Oiran stopping herself by gripping the side of the tower, and the man canceling out his descent by hopping from side to side midair, the force of each kick, keeping him airborne. At the sight of this cataclysm, I psyche myself up. I can do this! I think to myself. And if I can't….uh…BAGEL! I crouch down on one knee, sparks jumping and bursting from my back, until wings of red electricity sprout from my shoulder blades. I take off into the sky, summoning Tsukime , who sprouts angelic wings from her back, and a sword of electricity in her right hand as she ascends through the air.
The Waifu man stops for a moment and squints at Tsukime. " Wait…Haven't I seen you before…?" Tsukime starts shaking her head profusely, with a flustered expression plastered on her face. The Waifu man continues on. " Wait a minute- I saw you at Waifu Fest!" Tsukime beats her wings at blinding speeds, flying towards the man, and swings her sword. The man leans back, dodging the slash, only for me ( Hi. I'm- I'm me. If you couldn't tell.) To swoop in from the back, slicing his back open. The man coughs up blood, before spinning around and slamming his blue energized fist into my body.
At that point, I could feel everything break.
I could even feel my BLOOD break.
Somehow.
I was sent hurtling down, ripping through the air as my body barreled down through the winds. I could feel my consciousness slipping away, before a literal shock caused me to snap back to reality as Tsukime caught my body midair. She wrapped her electric arms around me as she flew through the skies. Wings of red electricity sprouted from my back once more, and fell backwards out of the cradle of Tsukimes arms. My wings beat rapidly as I ascended at mach speeds. The two giants who clashed before me fought without rest. The man unleashed a flurry of blows so blindingly fast, it looked as if he had a thousand hands. Oiran dodged each one precisely, her eyes shifting and moving to keep up with the rapid movement. Blue energy surrounded Waifu man's body, before he rammed his hulking form into the mannequin…that disintegrated.
The shards of the plastic mannequin flew everywhere, smoldering with blue flame. I squint my eyes, and see a figure bouncing from shard to shard. This figure was Oiran. Oiran jumped off of a shard, a mass of socks forming below her as she fell, creating a platform that she could control as if it were a hovercraft. The platform of socks accelerated upwards at the gargantuan man, as I accelerated upward, creating a shockwave of wind in my wake. I held out my hand, an orb of electricity forming in it. I throw the orb as it splits into hundreds of smaller bolts of lightning. The man doged and weaved, attempting to evade the barrage. Kicking off of the air, the man sprinted across the sky line, closely followed by hundreds of lighting bolts. Oiran was close behind as well, cruising n her platform of socks. The man looked behind him, only for his face to be met with a cluster of exploding socks, throwing off his balance, allowing the lightning to catch up with him. The sheer force of both attacks sent him crashing into the ground.
I shot Oiran a thumbs up-
A shape came barreling at me from below. Fists of energy slammed into me rapidly. There wasn't a second of rest between each one. Again, again, again, again, again. I was sent flying upwards, my limp body flailing with the wind. Tsukime flapped her wings, hoping to catch me, only to be grabbed, and slammed into the tower. Blue flames curled and immolated from the sides of the man's mouth.
" I am the Lieutenant Zenmetsu!! You will cower in my presence!!
" Secret Art: Mannequin!" Around Oiran, a plastic form expanded around her. Rings of socks formed around her fists, before latching onto them. Launching herself off of the tower, Oiran slammed her explosive fists into the hulking mass of Zenmetsu. As the smoke cleared around his body, his full mass came into view. He seemed to have more muscle than when they had first seen him. Bright blue veins pulsate around his body…and he had wings. They were green and red in color, and their full wingspan had to be double the size of himself. Instead of regular human canines, he had long saber like teeth that protruded out from under his lips. He had a large scaly tail, lined on the top with blue flames. He laughed and laughed as if nothing could possibly stop him. And if I'm being honest…that wouldn't be wrong.