Everyone that was fighting against the Ghast started to reach the point of getting tired out, the numbers were barely slowing down and the more they killed the more they refilled their dwindling numbers. It was becoming more of a battle of attrition for everyone now, with the Ghasts having the unfair advantage due to them being dead and not needing sleep or being able to feel pain. The Ghasts were relentless, many of the students and staff who tried to help evacuate died horribly in their attempts to save lives. The ones fighting who didn't die right away would get bit and eventually turn to Ghasts themselves, only adding to the numbers, becoming a vicious cycle.
Ryuji's metal skin was cracking from the strain of attacks and bites from the Ghasts trying to eat him. The amount of iron he stored up in his body was depleting quickly trying to repair his metal armor, he tried to replace it with the sand and rock in the area to fill in the cracks. Anything that would leave no openings for teeth to penetrate. Hiro's fingers were bleeding from the overuse of his bow, healing magic would be used to fix them, the drawback it was draining more of his magic to use both that and his Creation Magic for his bows. Tatsuya tried to fight back as best as he could, his throat was taking a beating from using Osbourne without refinement, and without the use of an instrument he couldn't channel his sound attacks better. He tried clapping his hands together to make sound attacks, as weak as they were, his however were beginning to numb from the pain of the recoil effect.
One of the knights with two half-skulls and a spear attacked Megumi and Barnaby during the battle. His skill with his spear was unprecedented, he could spin effectively with just his fingers with ease. He blocked every bullet Barnaby fired at him without fail, Megumi would get a few hits in, but even she was exhausted without the flow of adrenaline and rage she once had.
"Damn, he's quick, for a big guy his movements are swift and balanced. That spear's range of motion is fluid as well, getting close to him is getting more and more difficult. Oy, tall dark, and gruesome tell me, what's your name, big boy?" Megumi asked shaking off the numbing in his hands.
"Zweiz, the Shadow Spear. I'll pierce the light from your soul, woman." He announced finally revealing his name.
"Oh ho, sounds exciting, but I don't like penetration without consent though, so pass on that big boy." Megumi retorted in defiance against Zweiz. She used the Iron Fang on his armor to make a weak spot followed by the Rhino Breaker to break his shoulder plating, it was tougher than her hand could imagine howe, even with her flames giving her a boost she was only doing a small amount damage just enough to annoy Zweiz.
"Fool! I'm the embodiment of death itself. Black flames against me are useless unless you can defy death with a stronger hate for dying. Amazing how you beat Master Daemon with such pathetic flames. I'm insulted to fight such a weakling like you." Megumi took offense to that, it wasn't like she didn't rely on flame alone to beat that Grand Lich, it took her using her brute strength and tenacity to wear it down. Unlike the Ghasts that day she didn't beat them and the Grand Lich all in one night she beat the Grand Lich the next day when it revealed itself. This was a challenge for her, her best bet being she level up during the fight hopefully to get a boost in stats to fight back better.
She concentrated hard to launch another strike, but Zweiz was faster than her, he vanished in an instant and then reappeared stabbing her leg almost through the bone. Megumi fell to the ground writhing in pain holding her injured leg, Barnaby saw what happened after he finished off a small group of Ghats, he dashed toward her trying to help defend her by making dual Thompson Submachine Gun to fire at Zweiz.
"Dodge this Pendejo!" Zweiz's spear span in a rapid spiral deflecting all the bullets from reaching him. Even with his body breaking down from overusing his magic making the bullets, Barnaby kept firing till at least one bullet pierced the throat or head. He cried as fired his gun in fury making him look crazed, but he didn't care, he was going to stop Zweiz and save Megumi even if it killed him. Zweiz grew bored of the display of weak chivalry, he aimed his spear perfectly at Barnaby's legs and arms and then struck him when he found his opening. It made it hard for him to properly fight back now with the pain overcoming his will to fight. He roared loud as he continued to fire his guns doing his best to fight off the pain, eventually the pain won, his guns disintegrated and he dropped to a knee, spitting out blood from the overflow of magic he used.
"Mierda, used too much. Man, I was looking forward to seeing how good you can be at night." He looked to Megumi putting on a brave face even though he knew he was going to get killed in the moment.
"Stuff it, you ain't dying tonight. Get up on your feet soldier, on your feet!" Megumi yelled trying to encourage him to get up.
Barnaby tried but he couldn't stand he was exhausted completely and his limbs were numbed from the cuts on them. Zweiz dragged his spear on the ground making a screeching warning he was going to kill Barnaby from the menacing walk. He stood over him with the blade of his spear pointing up, its position ready to cut off Barnaby's head.
"Fall into the abyss human."
Zweiz swung his spear downward to Barnaby's head, he closed his eyes expecting the end. The spear did not connect, it was blocked by a blade before the spearhead could connect.
"Who are you?" Zweiz demanded.
"Mitsurugi Ryu Shichi no Kata(Seventh Blade Form), Roshun Suiha(Spiral Water Wave)."
Ren had arrived after regaining consciousness from his earlier fight with Rina. He rotated the SuiRyu in a rapid circle creating a ring of water that knocked the spear back scratching the Knight's armor as well. Since the sword is a sacred blade it was highly effective against Zweiz, even a scratch would be painful to him. Ren made it in time to save Barnaby from death, he was breathing hard from the adrenaline he used to get to the location after being beaten up by Rina who was gone after he woke up.
"Oh, the SuiRyu. So you're the heir to Mitsurugi Sousuke, the one who defeated me before in my human life. That means I must kill you now before you pass on that wretched sword style to another orphaned child."
Ren was angered by Zweiz's comment, he pointed his blade at Zweiz without fear showing his resolve.
"Kuramori-Sensei get him out of here, I'll take care of this one."
"Huh! Who are you to tell me what to do?" Megumi asked irritated.
"Just go, you're both too injured and exhausted to fight in your current state. I'll send this one to the Sanzu River soon."
Zweiz's glowing eyes glared at Ren, he was enjoying the haughty bravado Ren displayed in thinking he could repeat what his master did before him.
Itsuki and Tsukikage were fending off the Ghasts near them, one scratched her arm angering Tsukikage his master was hurt. She was lucky it was a scratch, if it was a bite she would have turned and added more to their ranks. Hiro was fighting the knight Veirz, the one with the sickle chain, blocking the blade by shooting it with his arrows.
"Impressive boy. A Kyoduka of your skill is exceptional at such a young age. However, you're still human and you have limits." Veirz told him, reminding Hiro he had limits with his body that Veirz didn't have.
Hiro tried catching his breath when the opportunity was present, but his fingers were getting harder to use by the minute, It was difficult for him to switch up tactics to fight Veirz with his unpredictable chain. Veirz manipulated the directions of where the chain was being flung, Hiro tried to keep it in his line of sight to fire his arrows, but the sickle broke off the chain, it acted independently of the chain itself, and the chain wrapped around Hiro stopping him in place from doing any evasive tactics.
"Fall into the abyss." The sickle shot to Hiro's head, Tatsuya blasted it with his voice before it could connect, and his mouth spat out blood from overuse. Hiro used the moment to break free from the chain and help get Tatsuya to a safe distance.
"Are you ok?" He asked Tatsuya.
"Yea, *cough cough* but my throat's done for. I can barely speak now much less use it for sound attacks. If I just had an instrument I can use it to compensate for my guitar not being here."
Hiro listened carefully to the words, he wanted to help Tatsuya fight better without sacrificing his voice in the process. Hiro looked back at the stage to see if there was anything there that could measure up to Tatsuya's ability, he saw there were some taiko drums there intact. It gave Hiro an idea for Tatsuya to fight with.
"Ichinose run back to the stage as fast as you can."
"Excuse me!?" A confused Tatsuya asked.
"Next to the stage, there's some drums there. Can you use those for your Osbourne to help us? We'll take care of these Knights but Natsume and others need help with the Ghasts. Can you make it work?"
Tatsuya looked back, his eyes lit up at the sight of what kind of damage he could do to the Ghasts with those.
"Hmph, I'm a pro, I'll rock the hell out of those drums like I'm Van Halen." He responded brimming with confidence.
"Glad to see your enthusiasm isn't dead yet, I'll distract the Knight, you run and get to the drums as fast as you can. And try not to die along the way."
Tatsuya gave a thumbs in acknowledgment and ran in a mad dash to the drums, Veirz tried to stop him, but Hiro blocked the attack again with another volley of arrows.
The lead Knight, Einz, watched patiently, as Dreiz the third knight stood next to him wanting to fight.
"Einz let me take care of the coward. We must not leave witnesses as our Master decreed. I want to smash his bones." Dreiz asked his desire to fight to be hard to contain.
"Do as you please," Einz told him, still looking over the carnage with observant eyes.
Dreiz grabbed his axe in glee, he ran after Tatsuya to halt his attempts to reach the drums, but Ryuji stopped him in his place with a spear tackle before he could reach him. Dreiz shook his head to clear off the aftershock of the hit. He was ticked off at Ryuji's surprise attack.
"You little maggot. Move out the way."
"Screw you, bonehead. I'm not letting you leave this spot for a second." Ryuji slammed his feet on the ground, getting into his stance.
Dreiz was unimpressed, he swung his axe upward, and the shockwave of the swing cracked Ryuji's armor. The metal armor's saving grace was that it protected Ryuji's face from being split in half.
Ryuji filled the cracks again as fast as he could. He couldn't replace the metal for now with his body being pushed to the limits.
"I see. I applaud your approach to using the elements to make armor for yourself. Well then, let's see if nature's shield can beat death's blade."
Dreiz swung his axe faster, and Ryuji punched as hard as he could to stop the axe from hitting a fatal blow, the blade's sharpness tore through the armor however, Ryuji did his best to fill in every crack he could before his skin could be torn.
Tatsuya ran faster and faster, his legs felt like jelly from exhaustion, a few Ghasts would catch him, forcing him to use his remaining adrenaline to block them off when they reached him. Kaede couldn't stand and watch, she tried firing weak icicles at the Ghasts to help Tatsuya get to the drums.
"Thanks, Kaede, I'll repay you later when my voice is back."
Tatsuya's legs were able to carry him to the drums at last, he grabbed drumsticks to beat on the drums in strong hits that sent powerful shockwaves at the Ghasts, even the Knights were affected, if only by a small fraction.
The sound of Tatsuya beating the drums had a slow but concussive blast to them, it was helping to throw off the Knights' attack patterns to give a little edge for his friends to use. The Ghast's brains couldn't handle the sounds since their dead bodies had no resistance to use, their heads were exploding from the sound attacks.
Tatsuya kept playing, even with his arms breaking down from exhaustion, and his hands getting blisters, he would keep playing to help his friends.
Kaede tried to help more, she looked to see Koutetsu walking aimlessly on his way to the battlefield, still in his catatonic state.
"Kou Nii-Chan! Help, we need you to help save Nee-Chan."
Koutetsu didn't respond. Everyone fighting saw how useless he looked on his way over, acting like a Ghast himself walking as dead as he was.
"What the hell are you doing? Snap out of it Hayashi." Ryuji yelled out.
"Oy, Hayashi. We need you, regain yourself and help us." Ren tried to call out to him as well, but Zweiz was overwhelming him at the moment before he could say more.
A Ghast saw him and went after Koutetsu, Tsurara defended him before it could reach him. She, like Tsukikage, transformed into an adult-sized snow leopard, baring her fangs and frosty breath at the Ghasts.
"Level Up, Divine Animal Tsurara perfect synchronicity achieved. Guardian Mode level increased. Unique Skill, Crystal Hunter achieved."
The status screen notified Koutetsu that he increased in level again due to Tsurara's strong emotion to protect her master and her family. Even with the notice, he still didn't budge from his mental state.
"Master, please snap out of it. You can't die here. Don't let your sadness win." Tsurara, speaking to him, tried to call out. More Ghats came in their direction, and the smell of Koutetsu's flesh drew the majority over to him since he beat death twice. Their movements increased, the groaning of their hunger growing. Tsurara used her new skill to turn her out body into a crystal coating, she charged at the Ghasts destroying them with her strength, her crystal body instantly freezing them, reflecting attacks that touched her.
Tsurara pleaded again for Koutetsu to fight back, but he still wouldn't hear it, he was broken inside, and it was difficult to reach him in his current state.
Everyone continued calling out to him as well, but their cries were on deaf ears. Koutetsu dropped to his knees, his body couldn't walk anymore, it was done moving in motion.
The Ghasts were making it past the sound attacks, they were getting closer to Kaede and Rumi.
Natsume noticed it after helping the last of the evacuees get to safety. She ran to the kids next, hitting the Ghasts with the folded stuff she brought with her never forgetting to always be prepared to defend herself.
"Koutetsu please, do you want your sister to die? Didn't you beat Kuramori-Sensei after she tried to kill you? Don't give up now after everything you've been through, you'll lose everyone you care for if you do."
Koutetsu looked at Natsume, he shifted to a scared Rumi, crying in Kaede's arms.
'Die?'
Koutetsu's mind was trying to understand the words coming his way. He was flashing back to memories of Mana, the tender love he felt with her. The more the memories came the worse it made his state of mind from hearing about what happened to her.
'Mana, you're coming home, right? We're gonna be a family again. Where are you?'
He was in denial. He couldn't process the words or pleas anyone had for him.
Whether it was his subconscious or his soul trying to fight off the despair, the memories were shifting to Rumi now, her cherub face smiling at him, the hugs she gave when she slept in his arms. All the images were playing in his head, trying to fix his broken mind to normal. Fighting back against the negative emotional flow in his mind.
"Get up Koutetsu!" A voice echoed to him.
He recognized the voice, it was Rina's communicating to him from a distance, being transmitted from a source.
"Are you giving up now after everything? Get up and save her, save your family like you wanted to save me. Save a life like you promised. Will you lose your sister because you're afraid? Are you going to let her die like this? If so, how can you continue living if you just keep letting the fear of death rule over you? Get up and save her now, FIGHT KOUTETSU!!!" The voice boomed loud in his head, Rina was using her wires to channel her voice to talk to Koutetsu. She had the wires grab his leg to communicate the message to him, Rina was speaking from the shadows undetected by the Knights and Ghasts.
'Save? Family? Save family? Family, Rumi, Save Rumi?'
The words reverberated inside his body. His dead eyes looked at Rumi who was still crying and scared. He could faintly hear it, the small voice Rumi was giving trying to speak.
"Help me. Help me, Onii-Chan!"
Koutetsu's eyes popped hearing her call out to him. His mind played the memories of Rumi again. When she was in his arms during the fireworks, watching the movie together, even when she was asleep next to him on the futon at the house. They mixed with Mana's memories he had, dissipating the fog In his mind. The small flicker of fire in his soul started to ignite, trying to rise up and break him out of his darkness. He looked at Rumi as the fire grew more, his hands twitching, as the color in his eyes slowly rejuvenated.
A group of Ghasts made it past Natsume, she saw them but she couldn't react to them in time. Kaede saw them heading their way, she had no more magic to use, so she used her body to shield Rumi.
Koutetsu saw the sight, it looked like what happened to him when Akane used her body to shield him when Shiro attacked. His twitching hands stopped shaking, they started tightening into fury-filled fists.
Itsuki looked with terror from where she was, she was going to see Kaede get killed along with Rumi. Natsume wanted to run to the kids, trying to break free from the Ghasts surrounding her, even Tatsuya wanted to help but he was focusing on keeping up the sound attacks. He couldn't stop without risking everyone else.
"Kaede!!! Rumi!!!" Itsuki called out. Kaede held Rumi tight to shield her, as Rumi cried out again to Koutetsu.
The Ghasts were above them, their dead hands almost at Kaede's hair, ready to pull on it to rip her scalp off. The little kids tightly embraced believing they were going to die, the arms that were going to tear them apart were ripped off in a sudden succession. The heads were smashed in next. Kaede and Rumi looked up, and in front of them stood Koutetsu with his flames bursting from his hands. He was in the Jushin Kakusei mode, and his face filled with anger.
"Don't…you…dare…touch my….LITTLE SISTER!!!"