The creature, without wasting a moment, opened its immense jaws and unleashed a breath of bright blue fire. A torrent of flames surged forth with immeasurable power, sweeping away everything in its path. The air became hot, and the ground of the dimension trembled under the intensity of the attack.
As the torrent of blue flames drew dangerously close, Suka made a quick gesture with his hand, summoning one of his youkai. A spectral figure with elegant features and piercing eyes appeared behind him.
"Yurei, activate Immediate Withdrawal!" Suka ordered in a determined voice.
The youkai nodded gently, raising his hand. A translucent energy field surrounded the creature's devastating attack, as if the fiery breath was suddenly drawn in by an invisible force. In an instant, the immense burst of energy was diverted from its original trajectory, heading straight for a nearby floating island.
The collision was instantaneous and cataclysmic. The entire island was consumed by the infernal breath, disappearing in an explosion of light and ash. When the chaos dissipated, only a gaping void remained where the island had previously floated.
Suka, feeling the pressure of the fight, closed his eyes for a moment to concentrate. A dark and imposing aura surrounded him as he murmured an ancient chant. In a flash, his main youkai, Rokugan, merged with him. His eyes turned completely black, emitting a faint silver glow. His muscles strengthened, rock spikes emerged from his elbows and the top of his skull, and a terrifying energy emanated from them.
"Get ready, Yamero, we won't give him any respite."
Without wasting any time, the two friends rushed at full speed towards the amphibian creature.
Suka, with perfect control of his newly amplified power, struck the ground with his right fist. A gigantic crack instantly appeared, letting out a huge rock structure in the shape of a fist. The attack landed with titanic force on the creature, which was thrown back, collapsing heavily to the ground.
"Well done, Suka!" exclaimed Yamero, who didn't waste a second in following up.
Focusing his energy, he created a luminous sphere in his hands, then violently slammed it towards the ground. A massive shockwave spread out in all directions, hitting the creature before it could right itself. The force of the impact lifted the creature into the air before propelling it far away, crossing several meters of ground in the dimension.
The amphibian creature growled, visibly injured but still full of rage. It slowly straightened up, its three eyes glowing with a menacing light, ready to strike back.
"We're not letting up!" shouted Suka, preparing for the next attack.
As the smoke cleared, Suka and Yamero stared at the spot where the creature had been moments before. It was gone. Yet, an oppressive feeling still filled the air, making a palpable dread rise within them.
"This isn't normal... it's still here, somewhere," Suka muttered, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.
Yamero frowned, his muscles tense, ready to react. "Stay alert, Suka. This isn't over."
Without warning, an overwhelming pressure filled the space, and a humanoid figure emerged in their midst. A sinister-looking creature, with ebony wings and glittering red eyes embedded on either side of its head, stood there, imposing and menacing.
"What the—" Yamero began, but before he could finish his sentence, the creature disappeared and instantly reappeared in front of him.
"Yamero, back off!" Suka yelled, but it was already too late.
The creature delivered a lightning kick to his abdomen, so fast and powerful that he had no chance of blocking it. The impact shook the entire dimension, sending Yamero flying at breakneck speed. He flew across several floating islands before crashing violently into a massive rock structure, leaving a gaping crater behind.
Meanwhile, Daru stood before the other gigantic creature, an entity as strange as it was intimidating. Its humanoid body stretched in length, its proportions defying all logic, while a cubic head of abysmal black sat atop its disproportionately long neck. The creature levitated, motionless, as if waiting for something.
Daru, despite the imposing presence of the enemy, remained calm. His spatial aura pulsed around him, creating ripples in the air. He narrowed his eyes, analyzing every movement - or lack thereof - of his opponent.
It was then that Miya and Maki arrived on the battlefield, their weapons still dripping from the previous clashes.
"Looks like you still have some work to do, Daru," Miya said, sheathing his saber for now.
"You really have a way of picking the worst opponents," Maki added with a mocking smile, as she adjusted her gloves.
Daru nodded without taking her attention away from the creature. "He's more dangerous than he looks. His presence alone warps the space around him. If we're not careful, he could annihilate us in an instant."
Miya drew her saber again, her gaze turning serious. "Then we act quickly. What's the strategy?"
Daru clenched her fists, a determined smile spreading across her face. "I'll try to seal him in a space bubble to limit his movements. You attack him relentlessly while I hold him."
Maki cracked her knuckles, lightning flashing around her. "A lightning attack suits me perfectly."
The creature, still floating, tilted its cubic head slightly, as if understanding their intentions. Then, suddenly, bright cracks appeared on its surface, emitting overwhelming energy.
Suddenly, the cubic creature raised one of its fingers, emitting a dull light. In an instant, a crushing force fell on Daru, Miya, and Maki, violently pinning them to the ground.
Their bodies refused to move, as if an invisible mountain were weighing down on them. Even their breathing became labored, each breath a colossal effort.
"It's... unbearable!" Miya breathed, her teeth clenched as she tried to lift her saber.
Maki, lying on her stomach, struggled against the crushing pressure, scattered lightning crackling faintly around her. "What... is this force? It's as if the air itself wants to crush us!"
Daru, despite the pain, frowned as she observed the creature. "It's a gravitational manipulation. It changes the gravity around us to pin us to the ground... It's smarter than it looks."
The creature was still floating calmly, its expressionless gaze seeming to judge them, as if their resistance was futile.
Daru clenched his fists, concentrating his energy despite the pressure. A blue glow began to pulse around him. "I'm going to... divert this force... But it's going to take me a few seconds..."
Maki, sweating, tried to raise a trembling hand. "Hurry up... I won't last long..."
Miya, despite her immobility, murmured with determination: "I refuse to stay like this... I'll get through this!"
Miya, despite the overwhelming pressure, concentrated all her strength to activate her ability. A dense, luminous aura spread around her, covering several hundred meters in an instant. The area glowed with terrifying intensity, like a palpable storm of energy.
"Enough playing!" she declared in a firm voice, her piercing gaze fixed on the creature. Thanks to her power, she materialized a blade of pure energy, sharp as lightning. With a dazzling movement, she threw the blade towards the creature.
The creature, although floating silently, did not have time to react. The energy blade cut her finger in a flash, sending her falling heavily to the ground. A discharge of dark energy erupted from the cut, but Miya remained relentless, stabilizing the perimeter with her ability.
"I'm not the type to let myself be crushed so easily!" she said with determination.
Daru, freed from the pressure on him, took advantage of this opening to activate his own ability. He created a confined space around each of them, a sphere of spatial energy that canceled the effects of gravity by reversing them.
"You are in a field of reverse gravity now, move freely!" Daru announced as he straightened up, looking resolute.
Maki, feeling the pressure vanish, jumped to his feet. "Excellent work, you two! Now it is time to counterattack."
The creature, although deprived of a finger, still seemed unwavering. It stared at the group with icy intensity, as if analyzing their strategy. But Miya, Daru, and Maki were now ready to fight back, their perfect coordination giving them a new advantage in this titanic fight.
Maki, in a burst of confidence, summoned thousands of lightning spears that tore through the sky. A rain of lightning rained down on the creature with devastating power, lighting up the dimension in blinding light. Simultaneously, Miya launched a series of slashing blows with her sword, each slash forming a wave of cutting energy that seemed to tear apart the air itself.
The impact of the attacks caused a titanic explosion, shaking even the floating islands around them. However, as the smoke and debris slowly settled, a chilling scene was revealed: the creature was still floating, intact, surrounded by a translucent force field that had absorbed all the attacks.
But that wasn't all. With terrifying nonchalance, the creature held one of Maki's lightning spears between its fingers.
"This... is impossible…" Maki muttered, her eyes wide with shock.
Without a word, the creature threw the spear directly at her with blinding speed. Instinctively, Maki leapt to the side, disappearing almost instantly thanks to her mastery of lightning.
"Missed." she breathed, straightening up with a nervous smile.
But it was only an illusion of safety. A dark portal suddenly opened behind her, and the lightning spear shot out with relentless precision, planting itself in her left foot.
"Argh!" Maki screamed as she collapsed, a searing pain coursing through her body. The creature seemed to have used its own weapon against her with frightening mastery.
Miya and Daru, horrified by the scene, rushed towards Maki.
Maki, though injured, stood up with determination, a slight smile on her lips despite the pain.
"Don't worry," she said in a firm voice. "I am capable of healing this kind of injury."
She focused her energy, and a bright glow surrounded her as she quickly healed the wound left by the spear. In a few seconds, the wound closed completely, and Maki stood ready, without any trace of the injury.
Daru, for his part, activated his aura. The space around him distorted as he manipulated the environment with his mastery of spatial compression. With a quick gesture of his hand, he closed the distance between himself and the creature, launching a lightning punch towards the enemy's torso.
However, the creature, although stunned by the speed of the attack, managed to block the blow with one hand, displaying astonishing resistance.
But Daru hadn't bet everything on this attack. It was a diversion.
Maki, anticipating the move, rushed to the creature's side, brandishing her sword charged with lightning energy. She executed a clean blow, slicing the creature's hand with devastating precision. The creature's arm fell to the ground in an explosion of energy.
In an instant, Daru reacted, using his special ability, "Simultaneous Strike." He struck the creature from multiple angles at once. Several blows of phenomenal power fell on it simultaneously, creating shockwaves that warped the space all around it.
Each impact made the creature stagger, which let out a piercing scream under the force of the attack. It stumbled back, but its body managed to withstand the assault with palpable rage.
"We're starting to get it under control!" Miya exclaimed, ready to follow up, her saber glowing with new energy, while Maki and Daru prepared for the next attack.
The creature, with a merciless gesture, regenerated its severed arm with disconcerting ease, before suspending Maki and Miya in the air. The two fighters found themselves immobilized, as if frozen in an invisible space, unable to move under the influence of the creature's energy. The atmosphere became charged with tension, each second seemed to last an eternity as the creature slowly moved towards Daru.
She stopped in front of him, her gaze piercing, almost as if she was trying to probe his mind. A heavy silence settled, only disturbed by the breathing of the members of the group, unable to react.
Then, in a flash of energy, the creature suddenly disappeared, as if it had never been there. The invisible chains that held Maki and Miya in the air immediately dissipated, allowing them to regain their freedom.
Maki, still in shock from this strange disappearance, turned her gaze to Daru, her voice filled with confusion. "What happened?" she asked, her breathing still slightly accelerated.
Daru, visibly also disconcerted, looked around before answering in a calm but uncertain voice. "I'm just as surprised as you are," he said, his piercing gaze scanning every corner of the space around them.
Daru, Miya, and Maki watched from afar as Suka and Yamero engaged in a fierce battle against the creature, their attacks exchanging at lightning speed. Their movements were synchronized, each blow, each dodge, and each spell cast seemed like a perfectly orchestrated dance, but the creature still resisted, each attempted attack blocked or deflected with worrying ease.
Daru and Maki, seeing their friends in trouble, were ready to rush to support them, but Miya stopped them in their tracks with an authoritarian gesture. She placed a hand on Daru's arm and looked at the two fighters with a serious expression. "No," she said firmly, "don't interfere. Let them finish the fight they started."
Daru looked at her, surprised by her determination, but he quickly understood Miya's reasoning. It wasn't just a matter of helping, but also of respecting the battle that Suka and Yamero had started. They had made a commitment to overcome this ordeal alone, and intervening now would not only compromise their strategy, but also weaken their will.
Maki, though hesitant, nodded gently. "You're right," she said, "they have to prove that they can overcome this ordeal on their own."
The fight continued to rage. Suka and Yamero, united by their strength and coordination, launched lightning attacks towards the creature. Each of their blows was a deluge of energy, flames and projectiles of pure energy. But despite the power of their assaults, the creature dodged with an almost supernatural ease, moving with frightening speed, seeming to melt into the air.
Each attack from Suka and Yamero passed within millimeters of their target, but the creature always shifted at the last moment, as if anticipating each of their actions. Despite their desperate efforts, the creature continued to avoid them, making the fight even more desperate with each second.
Then, as they attempted a new joint offensive, the creature suddenly moved so quickly that it seemed to dematerialize, reappearing right behind them. In a flash, she launched a lightning counterattack, sweeping the space around her with a devastating beam of dark energy. Suka and Yamero were thrown into the air by the force of the impact, crushed to the ground with a force that made the floating islands they were fighting on tremble.
The shock was so violent that a thick dust filled the air, darkening the terrain. Yamero rolled on the ground, his muscles aching, his body still shaken by the violence of the attack. Suka stood up more slowly, shaking his head to dispel the pain and concentrate. Their suffering was only temporary, for a single glance between them was enough to understand that they would not give up.
They stood up with determination, their eyes filled with a silent but intense rage. The fight was not over. The creature stood there, watching, waiting for another chance to attack. But Suka and Yamero
Yamero and Suka, united in their will, placed their fists against each other, exchanging a look full of determination.
"It's time to show this creature who's boss," Yamero declared with iron conviction.
But before they could even take the initiative, the creature lunged at them with blinding speed. In one movement, it grabbed Suka and Yamero by the neck, lifting them off the ground with terrifying force. They didn't have time to react to this lightning attack, and the creature violently crushed them against one of the floating islands. The impact resonated through the dimension, a dull thud that made the stones and air around them shake.
Suka and Yamero were crushed without mercy, the creature showing no mercy, continuing on its way, dragging them behind it like broken puppets. The ground cracked under the impact of their bodies, but the creature did not stop. It moved forward relentlessly, leaving behind nothing but debris and shards of dust.
Their minds were on fire, the pain hitting like an unbroken wave. But in their eyes, a flame lingered. They knew it was not over yet.
As the creature held Suka and Yamero tightly, a strange silence settled in the air. The creature, implacable, had no idea that Yamero was merely an illusion created by Suka to deceive its senses.
In an instant, Yamero, truly present, suddenly appeared next to the creature, without it being able to react. With an overpowering punch, Yamero struck with devastating force. The impact was such that the creature was crushed against the ground, a shockwave spreading through the dimension, projecting shards of stone and energy in all directions.
The creature, still under the effect of the blow, staggered. Its body violently hit the ground, causing a jolt that made the entire floating island tremble. Its eyes widened in surprise and pain. Yamero, with a determined look, stood ready, his aura bubbling around him, ready to continue the assault.
Suka, despite the creature's pressure on his body, smiled inwardly. They still had cards to play.
The creature, perplexed and disoriented, could not understand what was happening. It had just been thrown several hundred meters from the two fighters, but before it could react, it instantly found itself next to them, as if the laws of distance no longer had any meaning. It tried to step back, but each movement seemed to bring it back inevitably to its starting point, unable to escape their assault.
Suka and Yamero, acting in perfect synchronization, chained it with rapid and precise blows. Their attacks seemed to merge into each other, like a deadly ballet, striking with overwhelming force. Each blow they landed was a fatal blow, their powers combining to create devastating waves of energy. Suka, with his power and Yamero, with his agility and mastery of physical attacks, made any attempt to defend the creature useless.
The creature, in a final act of desperation, tried to teleport away. But each time it activated its power, it instantly found itself in the same place, stuck between the two attackers. It launched bursts of energy towards Suka and Yamero, trying to push them back, but each time, one of them changed position with lightning speed, dodging and continuing the attack without giving the slightest respite.
The creature, exhausted, found itself totally dominated by the two men. There was no escape, no chance of getting out of it. Suka and Yamero's strikes became more and more relentless, until the creature, unable to react, finally collapsed under the combined power of their assaults.
The creature, after a last futile resistance, dissipated into the air, its body reduced to a dust of ethereal energy that slowly dissolved into the atmosphere. Calm returned to the battlefield, the tension gradually dissipating. Suka and Yamero, although tired, exchanged a look of satisfaction, breathing heavily after the intensity of the fight.
Suka, sketching a smile, turned his gaze towards Yamero, before speaking in a clear and confident voice: "The mark of Oros works damn well, I must say."
Yamero nodded, a look of relief crossing his face. "You're not wrong, it served us well. We did it."
The mark of Oros, one of Suka's unique abilities, was a real feat. Once the mark was placed on someone, Suka could, with a simple thought, move that person or even swap positions with someone else. Just touching the skin was enough to activate the mark, and once in place, he could use it with deadly precision. The ability to teleport an opponent or swap places in an instant had been decisive in the fight, allowing Suka and Yamero to gain the upper hand.
"This thing is really a major asset," Yamero added, a smile playing on his lips.
"When you know how to use it, it's a real war machine," Suka replied with a slight laugh.
Yamero and Suka, tired but victorious, raised their fists in the air, a symbolic gesture of their triumph. A shared smile spread across their faces, reflecting the satisfaction of a difficult battle successfully completed. The atmosphere around them gradually calmed down, the echo of their victory resonating in the air like a sweet melody.
They walked side by side, their footsteps echoing on the still ground, advancing towards the rest of the group. Maki, Miya and Daru were waiting for them, watching their companions with expressions that mixed admiration and relief.