Both Douma and Atashi reached a spacious area where they found Mr Moikawa scrambling to find something. It was odd because he wasn't going to find whatever he was looking for, the place was in shambles and fire was spreading at an alarming rate.
"Look who we've got here, a clown running away from his own accountabilities." Douma mocked.
"Expensive ones that is." Atashi added sneaking up to Mr Moikawa who panicked when he saw the large fiery beast suddenly approaching him.
The short and plump man staggered away. He couldn't believe that Atashi had turned against him. This was bad the man barely had any defenses against this creature.
"Stay back!" Mr Moikawa shrieked, he repeated the same phrase over and over again but it was no use, both Douma and Atashi weren't going to listen.
Atashi summoned a ring of flame and fired a large fireball at Mr Moikawa who jumped away from it in shock.
In desperation, Mr Moikawa ran towards a glass display on the wall with samurai armor that came with a large sword.
Without hesitation, the man broke the glass with all his strength and removed the chains wrapped around the yellow and purple armor, with markings that showed its significance during its time. Both Douma and Atashi could tell that Cryptic Sanctuary got themselves a prize possession from olden times of Japan, but not in a genuine fashion, that's for sure.
"Smoldering Fire!" Atashi fired two more fireballs at Mr Moikawa.
The man in the samurai armor swung his sword clumsily at each fireball but instead of directly landing a hit on them he tripped. It seems the weight of the armor was making it hard for him to maintain his balance.
Douma found this entertaining, while Atashi continued surprising Mr Moikawa with unexpected attacks from all angles, the shrine leader crossed his arms and stood there watching the fight.
Throughout the fight, Mr Moikawa was just screaming for his life and wielding the heavy sword around to seem intermediating to the fiery beast. Atashi fired another flame at Mr Moikawa who surprisingly managed to block the attack with the sword. It was impressive for a coward like him, but Mr Moikawa was still struggling to keep up with Atashi's powers.
The flame rushed towards the wall behind Mr Moikawa leaving him face-to-face with the gigantic flaming beast.
Eventually they clashed with a throw of flaming fists and heavy swords. Mr Moikawa still having a hard time controlling his own weapon while Atashi pushed him around.
Atashi decided to finish off this mundane battle that was taking too long. He fired bursts of flames at Mr Moikawa who scrambled away when they came into contact with his armor, the components were slowly falling off amidst the flames.
Mr Moikawa ran away leaving both Douma and Atashi to find the closest way to the exit of the collapsing building.
~~~
The air was getting thick with the smoke from the flames spreading across the entire level. It was hard to breath as both Shinobu and Yushiro were having trouble navigating through the flames and debris with the little stamina they had.
At some point Yushiro could feel his mind telling him to take a break by slowing down but he couldn't afford to do that just yet, the situation was worsening. He and Shinobu narrowly escaped the falling ceiling several times. While taking a break meant getting out of here at a quicker pace, it was too risky so even if his knees started giving out he had to put up with the pressure.
"We have to find the exit before the smoke gets thicker." Shinobu yelled, glancing at every corner to see if there was a door.
Yushiro stepped away from the side of the halls where the flames were spreading. "At this rate the we might have to search for the entrance instead. It's our only option, running through these flames is too dangerous we don't even know where the exit is."
The violette nodded and followed Yushiro who dodged a few falling planks and scraps from the walls. Fire surged out from the crevices and blocked the path behind them.
When Yushiro was about to turn right, a tall looming figure emerged from the flames and grabbed his shoulders forcefully. The boy screamed in pain as he was met with a man who looked very mad and distraught.
Shogo was panting he was still recovering from the fight with Douma. From the looks of it, Douma had brought some friends and he wasn't going to let the blonde get away with putting up this humiliation that Shogo had to deal with.
"Do you all think you can take everything away from me?"
Yushiro was confused he didn't know this man. What he just said wasn't making any sense.
The boy struggled to speak as Shogo was squeezing his shoulders tightly. He could only choke a few words but couldn't get them across.
Quietly, Shinobu picked up a crowbar from the ground and tip-toed to the man who was still confronting Yushiro with bizarre unsettling threats.
"Let go off me!" Yushiro cried, squirming in the man's hold.
"We're going to be stuck here if you refuse to cooperate." The man demanded.
"Why can't you just get a brain and evacuate this place like that annoying friend of yours!"
Shogo's expression relaxed when he realized who Yushiro was talking about. So Akira's safe... He felt better knowing that she was unharmed.
But that wasn't going to stop him from finishing the job that he swore to do even if it meant embracing the flames, as long as Douma doesn't continue making Cryptic Sanctuary seem like a fool's haven. That's not who they are and he wasn't going to allow it.
Yushiro was still struggling against Shogo's hold as he tightened his grip on Yushiro's shoulders causing him to scream in pain while the flames rose and began devouring everything in the area, leaving him terrified and shaking at the thought of the worst possible outcomes if this goes on. He hoped for someone to rescue he and Shinobu from this mad man but it seemed that wasn't going to happen anytime soon given the situation. They had to think of something fast.