"Take My Hand, As We Dance Through The Flames
A Sudden Odd Question!!!
Hotoke(Grinning, Eyes Darkening): Tell Me Kaida… Do You Wish To Know How You Die?!
Kaida(Confused, Brow Raised): What're You Talking About???
Kaida's Eyes Then Widen, As The Curse Mark Placed Upon Her By Hotoke From Earlier Sprouts Across Her Arm And Face!!!
Kaida(Internally, Looking At Arm): A Curse Mark?!!
Hotoke(Calmly, Confident): Use Any Spiritual Energy, And The Curse Mark Will Continue To Eat Away At It, Until You Die…
Hotoke Break's Out In Laughter, A Maniacal Expression Etched On His Face!
Hotoke(Applauding): I'll Admit… You Had Me Worried For A Second, But You're Luck Has Just Run Out.
Hotoke Then Raises His Hands… Kaida Looks Down To See Thorny Spikes Rising From The Ground… Kaida Leaps Up Into The Sky, Hotoke Acts Faster Than She Can Perceive And Appears Above Her, Landing A Kick Onto Her Head, Knocking Her Back Down Into The Spikes!!!
Hotoke(Smirking): Hmph!
The Spikes Then Impale Kaida, Through Her Arms, Legs And Stomach… Blood Spilling Out Everywhere.
Then Suddenly, Kaida's Body Turns To Ash… And The Ashes Make Their Way Behind Hotoke, Kaida's Figure Emerges.
Kaida Then Grunts, Feeling A Throbbing Sensation In Her Neck And Chest… She Coughs Up Blood.
Kaida(Internally, Heavily Breathing): I Can Feel My Spirit Energy Draining Rapidly… I Need To Hurry Up And Finish This, His "Dead Soul Form" Is In It's Last Two Minutes… Once His Time Runs Out, I'll Use "That" Technique… Even If I Die Here, I'll Take Him With Me!
Kaida Then Summons Blue Flames At The Bottom Of Her Feet, In A Desperate Gamble To Finish Him Off Before The Curse Mark Placed Upon Her Consumes Her Spiritual Energy!
She Takes A Deep Breath, Opens Her Eyes… As The Fire Re-Ignites… She Slides On The Flames Beneath Her Feet, Toward Hotoke… At Incredible Speed, And Lands A Powerful Kick Onto Him, Knocking Him Back!
While The Women And Children Of The Southern Tribe Watch, Behind The Barrier Shielding Them From The Effects Of Hotoke's Sub-space.
Aria(Worried, Tense): I Can Feel Kaida's Spirit Energy Draining Drastically…
Aaliyah(Focused): Must Be Because Of That Curse Mark That Hotoke Placed On Her Neck… If She Exerts To Much Spirit Energy-
Selene(Serious): She'll Die…
Woman(Worried, Sweating): Surely She Has A Plan Right?! I Mean, Don't You All Think Now You Should Intervene?!
Selene(Eyes On Kaida And Hotoke, Voice Firm): You Still Don't Understand?! Kaida Asked Us Not To Aid Her… If We Jump In Now, We'll Just Be Getting In Her Way More Than Actually Helping.
Meanwhile, Kaida Continues To Land Blow After Blow Onto Hotoke… He Eventually Backs Away, And Raises His Hand Toward Kaida!
Hotoke(Urgent, Tense): Shi-No-Kyōran(Death Frenzy)!!!
Suddenly, Kaida Feel's Her Spirit Energy Being Drained Even Faster From The Curse Mark!!! She Drops To Her Knees As The Curse Mark On Her Neck And Face Begin Pulsating, And Glowing An Ominous Purple Color!
Kaida(Screaming, Eyes Widened): UWAAAGGGGHHH!!!
Spirit Energy Then Exits Kaida's Body, And Makes Its Way To Hotoke's Curse Marks On His Left And Right Arm…
**Left Arm**
永遠の苦しみ(Eternal Suffering)
**Right Arm**
無限の怒り(Limitless Rage)
The Eyes At The End Of The Curse Marks Which Resemble A Serpent Then Glow A Dark Red Color, His Back Turns Black, With Black Smoke And Four Spirits Flying Out!
He Then Levitates In The Sky, Two Spirits On His Lower Right And The Other Two Above Him On Both Sides.
Hotoke(Eyes Dark, Voice Cold): Evade This…
The Four Spirits Then Open Their Mouths, And Begin Charging Red Death Energy Into A Single Point.
Kaida(Grunting, Heavily Breathing): Tch! He Took Half Of My Spiritual Energy… And Since I'm In His Sub-space, He Has A Significant Advantage, However I Guess…
Hotoke(Confused) ?!
Kaida(Grinning, Internally): I Was Right To Attack When The Sun Is Up…
**Flashback To The Previous Day**
Kaida(Firm): We'll Attack At Noon, When The Sun Is Up… I'll Have The Advantage In Power, Even If I Run Out Of Spirit Energy, I Can Absorb The Suns Energy Into My Skin, And Destroy His Sub-space From The Outside.
Aria(Looking At Kaida): How Sure Are You Of This Working?
Kaida(Confident): A Sub-space Is Sealed Inside Of A Barrier That Cuts Out A Part Of Spacetime, And This Is Just A Guess… But If That Barrier Is Destroyed, Then His Sub-space Should Collapse… And With The Amount Of Energy The Sun Produces, I'll Be Able To Use "That Technique".
Selene(Curious): How'll You Be Able To Absorb The Sun's Energy, While You're On A Completely Different Time-Space? Not Ta Mention The Barrier Blocking Out Everything.
Kaida(Serious): I've Been Pulled Into His Sub-space Twice Before, And Each Time I've Noticed That When He Expends Too Much Spirit Energy, The Barrier Will Weaken And Cause A Ripple In The Space Around Us, That'll Create A Window Where The Sun's Energy Will Leak Into The Barrier.
Kaida(Confident): And When We Arrive At The Southern Tribe And Launch The Initial Attack, There'll Already Be Fire Burning The Tribe Down, And With That, The First Stage Of "The Technique" Will Already Be Active.
**Flashback End**
Kaida(Steadying Herself, Voice Firm): Time Ta Put My Gamble To The Test. If This Doesn't Work…
Hotoke(Arrogant, Grinning): Oh, What's That Glint In Your Eyes, Hope? It's Pointless To Cling Onto Something That Doesn't Exist… All You Can Do Now Is Die.
The Four Spirits Fire
The Spirits Surrounding Hotoke Release The Condensed Energy In An Enormous Blast… The Air Around Them Distorts, Tearing Through The Sub-space And Heading Directly Toward Kaida.
Kaida Then Plants Her Feet On The Ground, And Raises Her Hands… Blue Flames Swirling Around Her Legs And Moving Up And Around Her Torso And Arms.
The Flames Spiral Outward, Creating A Vortex That Clashes Against The Incoming Attack From The Spirits!
The Curse Mark's On Kaida's Body Pulsate More Violently, And She Grits Her Teeth In pain.
A Rippling Effect Begins To Form Around The Barrier Of The Sub-space, As Hotoke's Massive Attack And Kaida's Flames Cause Instability.
A Faint Ray Of Sunlight Filter's Through The Now Cracked Barrier, Striking Kaida's Outstretched Hand. She Closes Her Eyes For A Moment, Feeling The Solar Energy Seep Into Her Skin.
Meanwhile Outside Of The Barrier, The Fires Lit Around The Southern Tribe… Begin To Intensify, And Swirl Up Into A Vortex Destroying Even More Buildings As It Reaches Up To The Sky!
Kaida(Internally, Firm): Art Of The Five Flame Gods, Raging Mountain!
Hotoke(Grunting, Eyes Widened): Dammit!
The Sunlight Hitting Kaida, Raises The Temperature Of Her Body… Causing Her Upper-wear To Burn, Showing The Large Bandages Wrapped Around Her Chest!
Kaida(Internally, Grunting): Having The Sunlight Directly Touching My Skin Will Make The Output Of Power In This Technique Greater Than It's Normal Amount… It's Almost Time!
The Heat And Pressure Of Kaida's Technique Reaches Its Peak… As It Then Lets Off A Massive Explosion, Covering A Mountain Range, While Completely Shattering The Barrier Of The Sub-space… Aria Holds Up A Barrier Around Herself, Selene, Aaliyah And The Women And Children…
Hotoke And Kaida Both Take On The Damage Of The Attack, Head On!
The Everyone Within The Sub-space Then Is Brought Back To The Now Destroyed Southern Tribe… The Smoke Covering The Area.
Moments Later, The Smoke Clears… Kaida And Hotoke Both On Their Knees Panting And Letting Out Ragged Breaths, While Covered In Blood… One Of Kaida's Eyes Closed, With Blood Around It!
Woman In The Distance(Balled Fist, Firm Eyes): C'mon Kaida… Please, Even If You Can't Save All Of Us, I Know You're Still A Kid Yourself, And It's Cowardly Of An Adult To Ask This Of A Child… But Please, Save The Kids Atleast!
Kaida(Panting, Internally): My Body Hurts… My Time's Almost Up, I Need To Hurry Up And Kill Him Now.
Kaida Attempts To Stand Up, But Falls Back Down On One Knee… While Hotoke Stands Up And Laughs.
Hotoke(Laughing, Spiteful): Looks Like You Lost your bet, girl… I'll admit, you had me worried a little. but know you will never be able to save anyone, you're life has as much worth as the dirt beneath my feet, so-
Kaida(Grunting, Shaking Slightly While Coughing Up Blood): you know… you sound like a little bitch right now, and it's oddly satisfying, hearing you have hope that you'll beat me, not knowing of what's about to come.
Hotoke(Displeased): What The Hell Are You Talking About?!
Kaida Then Makes A Hand Seal, Her Eyes Gazing Right Into Hotoke's Soul!
Kaida(Struggling To Speak): K- Kyokai Ido: Moeru Saisei(Blazing Rebirth).
Hotoke(Eyes Widened): ?!
A Barrier Then Cuts Out A Separate Space, Bringing Everyone To Kaida's Sub-space!!!
The Atmosphere Shifts Violently. A Sudden Surge Of Heat Erupts, And The Battlefield Is Engulfed In A Blazing Inferno Of Blue And Red. The Ground Cracks Apart, Molten Rivers Carving Through The Earth As The Sky Darkens To An Overwhelming Red, Streaked With Bursts Of Blue Fire.
Everyone Watches In Awe, While A Flaming Ring Forms Around Kaida And Hotoke, With Ashe's Beneath Their Feet.
Hotoke(Dumbfounded): So This Is What You're Plan Was… Doesn't Matter, All You're Doing Is Just Delaying The Ine-
Suddenly, Kaida Gazes Into Hotoke's Eyes… Her Expression Shifting.
Kaida(Chuckling): Do You Want To Know How You'll Die?
To Be Continued, In Chapter 78…