Kozuna
The world itself rumbled and quaked. Mifune pumped transparent, frigid vapor directly into the earth, his fingertips acting as the release points. In moments, icy pillars erupted from the sand, scattering rounded, physical structures all across the battlefield. My gaze traced our evolving battlegrounds, and so did the demon's.
"Mifune?"
"I'll support you. Any direct attack I throw at him will probably just get absorbed. Same goes for your electricity. Use your other power!"
"Got it." I assumed a running stance, practically digging my fingernails into the dirt. "Don't fall behind, Mifune! I'm going full speed!"
Mifune scoffed into an eye-roll. "Yeah- like I couldn't keep up!"
"You'd better!"
A blast of wind struck Mifune's face and blew his hair back as I bolted toward our enemy, bouncing between pillars to boost my momentum. I was a flash of livinglightning under the moon, moving so fast that the demon couldn't easily follow me. Even his darkened lightning strikes failed to connect.
In no time at all, I found myself between the clawed feet of the Shadow Behemoth. I had slowed only for a brief moment. Just long enough to make sure the demon had caught sight of me.
Electricity boomed beneath my feet. I sprang and soar-slammed a speed-boosted kick all the way through his bone armor until my foot collided with the Shadow Behemoth's chin. And the force flipped its face toward the night sky.
The demon grunted beneath the shadows. But despite my successful blow, I couldn't move in time. A thick, oversized claw snatched me out of the wind and quickly began squeezing my life away. I struggled for all of a few seconds- the Shadow Behemoth's arm started winding toward the highlands.
And I already knew what came next.
Gritting my teeth, I strained and squirmed to escape the grasp of the Shadow Behemoth. But just as its arm lifted, ice burst from the ground beneath and consumed almost the entire thing! I flicked my head back as much as I could to see Mifune surfing closer on a rising trail of ice.
Cold breath frosted across the wind and blew beyond his cheeks. He manifested a set of upside-down icy blades just as he closed the gap, leaping clear of the ice. And in one movement, Mifune tore those weapons down through the Shadow Behemoth's bulky fingers and cut me loose.
We both hit the dirt and darted out of harm's way. A shadowflame-cloaked fist came crashing down on our heads, leaving the world quaking to no end, and the ice melting expeditiously.
"Thanks for the save!"
"Don't mention it."
We collected ourselves a little further away, but by then, the demon had freed the Shadow Behemoth of its bonds. He curled the fist containing my stolen electricity, and then balled it into a mixture of black flames and lightning. The demon didn't speak a single word- he and the Shadow Behemoth just fucking vanished out of nowhere!
Mifune and I stopped in our tracks. We looked every which way until I noticed the world darkening around us. My glowing gaze turned toward the skies for the briefest of moments before I pivoted and tackled Mifune far out of the way.
Did he just shadow-step to a smoke shadow!?
A twisted amalgamation of blackened flames and volts ripped the earth asunder. Sand, dust, smoke, sparks, and crackling embers scattered through the wind, beating against our faces viciously. Almost blew us off our feet, but Mifune manifested another ice wall from behind.
We'd narrowly avoided vaporization. But we were far from out of the woods. The mass of smoke swirled for a second before it circled away. The Shadow Behemoth emerged, swinging its bone-armored, flame-engulfed claws at us!
Mifune and I bounded in opposite directions, leaving the Shadow Behemoth cleaving through the icy barrier left in our wake. But without skipping a beat, the Shadow Behemoth turned and made a mad dash after Mifune.
"Without you, Kozuna doesn't stand a chance!"
Mifune shot a cocky glance back. "Come get me then, ya dumbass!"
I had a second or two to breathe, and even less to strategize. The demon chased Mifune around with explosive, world-warping blasts that would've taken anyone else out in a second. But not Mifune- he met my gaze for just a second and gave me a slight nod up.
And it was all the signal I needed. The senten in my bloodstream surged toward my toes, rocketing my entire body off the ground.
"What're you looking at, Mifune-"
Those were the last words to come from that demon before I came crashing down from the skies with several consecutive kicks directly to his dome, one after the other. I managed Flash and Bolt simultaneously to maximize my damage output. My legs felt like they were gonna burst off the bonethe more power I put out!
"Don't go writing me off just yet, demon! I stopped Nikai before, and I'll do it again!"
"Well then, it's a good thing you're fighting me this time, and not Nikai!"
I left the Shadow Behemoth stunned and stumbling, giving Mifune the chance to distance himself and breathe for a second. However, the recoil of my own attacks launched me away; I hit the ground hard and heave-breathed heavy. It was a race against time to achieve victory. My jelly legs were pretty much on fire already. How much longer could I hold out?
My teeth clenched as I pressed a palm against the sand and pushed myself up.
If I let myself rest, the strain will feel twenty times worse!
And it wasn't like I was getting time to relax, anyway. The Shadow Behemoth struck its claws through the earth, blackening the world with shadows. The sand shifted toward black and bubbled up like hot magma, racing outward in every direction.
Ice swirled in circles beneath my feet until a rounded pillar carried Mifune and me off the ground. The shadows struck like the crashing waves of the Crimson Sea. They sizzled like they meant to eat us alive, and Mifune continuously force-froze down the platform and over everything. A battle to keep the flood of shadows at bay. But he was only buying time- the Shadow Behemoth had already begun charging another projectile of liquid shadows lit ablaze. I needed to get back into the action, even with my legs strained and wobbling.
Don't think I can just keep getting close! Gotta try something else!
I twisted toward Mifune in a heartbeat. "Mifune! We're gotta switch! I'm not sure my legs will keep up!"
"Already runnin' outta gas? Whaddya want me to do? I'm kinda busy, here!"
If I can halt Nikai for just a few seconds-
"Just be ready to fly! I'll create an opening!"
"To fly?"
Glistening in sweat, I panted for clean air as I glared onward. My hand twitched and vibrated- invigorated with the sensation of senten bulging my veins beyond my flesh. Electricity escaped my seal and circled my arm. I slowed my breathing to a near-halt, watching the Shadow Behemoth amass enough floating power to whip the winds into a frenzy for miles.
The Shadow Behemoth concentrated its powers toward the centers of its palms. And I'd somewhat learned to copy the technique through repeated combat. Senten abilities almost seemed to glide along the rush of a bloodstream. So, if I could consciously halt it from rushing across every vein in my body, I could control where it went.
With that, every fucking spark I could muster pulled toward the middle of my hand. I stabilized the immense outpour of power by clasping my other hand around my wrist, and I fuckin' aimed straight for the Shadow Behemoth. It'd just launched that wind-whipping ball of shadowflames.
I let out a wicked battle cry as I followed suit with the most massive thunderbolt in my arsenal. I watched closely.
There wasn't a blinding flash of an explosion; rather, everything went beyond black. The Shadow Behemoth's volatile ball of energy burst into what looked like ink splatters. My thunderbolt had pierced through and traveled onward until striking the Shadow Behemoth face-first. It had no time to absorb- no warning.
And Mifune shot across the battlefield immediately, flying off streams of short-lived ice. He'd already poured senten mist from his hands, wielding a fucking huuuuge blade of ice, and he went for the kill. The Shadow Behemoth had lost its footing, and Mifune closed the gap long before the effects of my electricity wore off.
"You're done!" Mifune shouted, cleaving clean through the Shadow Behemoth's unprotected neck in one precise, cold curve.
The shadows whirled and flicker-flashed before bursting into liquid darkness. Every last drop blew away within the blink of an eye, and Nikai's limp body was left plummeting back to the earth. He hit the sand unconscious, most of his clothes shredded, somehow.
On opposite sides of the battlefield, Mifune and I exchanged looks and satisfied smirks. We each hurried after a downed Nikai, though I was a bit slower. All of the remaining shadows began receding from the world and flowed back into Nikai's seal. There were no more signs of consciousness- hewas finally down for the count.
The environment had reverted to its shadow-free state. However, under the nighttime sky, things weren't over just yet. When Mifune and I arrived, we noticed a jagged, black ring of a marking searing itself to life on Nikai's chest, dead center. A second curse seal, somehow? It let off dust-like, senten particles in the wind, and the darkness within the borders moved and rushed like living liquid.
Mifune and I hadn't even let our guards down long enough for our curses to deactivate. Nikai's body fucking levitated off the ground like a corpse being raised from the dead. It was a scene reminiscent of my battle with Nazun, and the two of us bounced back immediately.
The demon finally revealed himself. If Nikai was there before, even just a little, he was with us no longer.
***
Nikai's skin paled out like a ghost in some areas, and darkened to night in others. Bodily markings of blacks and whites emerged in various spots, too. The whites of his eyes turned black. His irises were an even more murky red than before. Bright white fangs poked out the corners of his mouth. A set of large serrated wings sprouted. Even his hair followed the same pattern, turning spiky, dropping to his shoulders, and accentuating the newly-formed horns.
The rest of his body acted as if it were the Shadow Behemoth, growing quite a bit taller and exchanging human hands and feet for pitch-black, jagged claws instead.
I'd never seen a demon before. Hell, I'd never believed they existed. The mere sight of what was happening caused Mifune and me to jump back.
I felt myself shuddering. Chills crawled across my bones and clung tight. If my legs could barely stand before, at that point, they were pretty much frozen in place. Even the tiny droplets of sweat didn't wanna travel further down my face. And to my side, I could hear Mifune's uneven breathing. I wasn't the only one left uneasy.
This is… one of what's supposed to be inside me?
Accompanied by haunting laughter, a deep, unsettling tone emerged as the demon's lips parted. "You two may outnumber me, but that does not make you formidable." The demon circled us, chilling us with his breath. His sharpened nails dragged across our necks. "A shame really. I mean, it's not like the two of you are normal to begin with. You have potential, sure. But if neither of you can handle the face of where your abilities come from, then you could never hope to master them."
I felt a pressure I couldn't describe. My legs locked in place, and my knees struggled not to buckle. That demon wasn't doing anything special- just being creepy. Nothing that should've given off such dread. However, my curse seal was reacting. And there was no doubt Mifune's was too. He and I locked eyes for a second, before twisting around in an attempt to strike that demon with our powers. But the demon vanished.
He reappeared overhead, casting a deep shadow and an ominous sense of the unknown. Things we couldn't yet comprehend.
Is this the response? To an encounter with a demon?
"You humans mock the strength of the demons, yet you depend on it for sustenance. And your sustenance is war, in every era. Sealing demons away? Calling yourselves cursed for being born with such awesome power? Your society runs on power like mine. Why do you humans act as if you despise it so?" The demon appeared between Mifune and me. "I should thank you fools for weakening my vessel's body. You've allowed me the chance to emerge once more. And now, I can make use of you two without the need of killing."
"Make use of us? Piss off, fucker-"
"Save your breath, child." The demon paused for a moment before grabbing us tightly by our throats and mumbling something I couldn't understand. "Ko'u'vrei t'rie ro'en ku."
What the-
As he finished, my vision went black. I lost all touch with the world around me. Like I was floating in a vast plane of nothingness. Everything just went blank.
"Seek out Emper in the Shadow Paths if you wish to return home," were the last echoing words I managed to make out.
Emper? The Shadow Paths?
***
Nnngghh…
Our situation flipped on its head in a heartbeat. My eyes fluttered open slowly after an unknown amount of time. Mifune and I were flat against maroon sands, beneath a deep purple sky with a few black clouds. Ragged creatures flew around above, screeching horridly at random.
I barely lifted my head and twisted. A crumbling, black archway stood a few feet ahead.
Damn it. Where the hell are we now?
Groaning, I pushed myself to one knee and jostled Mifune until the light returned to his eyes. He shook his head violently and sprang up, ready to fight, and only to find that the demon was nowhere to be found.
"The fuck is going on now?" Mifune dropped his fighting stance and scratched his head. "What did I just get mixed into?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." I got to my feet and squeezed my seal-bearing arm. "You heard what he said, right?"
"Ugghhh, yeeahhh? Something about an ember? Shadows pans?"
I looked at Mifune weirdly. "You get debuffed or something?"
"Shush." Mifune rubbed his face. "Mind's all fuzzy right now."
"Fuckass demon said to seek out Emper in the Shadow Paths. I'm guessin' that's our way outta this place."
The Shadow Paths…
"Then let's get moving. Place is hot as shit."
"Even for the guy with ice in his veins?"
"Damn right."
Mifune and I finally dusted ourselves off. We approached the archway cautiously to see what was beyond the spawn point.
We'd found that the arch stood atop a hill, looking down on a cragged, granite path, sparsely lined with crumbled buildings. Whole world just looked desolate. Lifeless. And in the far distance- tall and intimidating- was what seemed to be the remains of a once extravagant palace, glistening of sharpened obsidian. We could see figures roaming the grounds.
"Guessing we head for the castle? Thing? Looks like the only piece of society around here."
And I imagine that demon fuck sent us to this exact location on purpose.
Mifune took a deep breath, clasping his hands behind his head as he proceeded down the hillside. "Yepp. Let's go. We're probably not getting outta this shithole until we find Emper."
Yeah... And chasing after Nikai really feels like it wasn't too good an idea, now.
***
Fuckin' place is so damn unsettling.
Mifune and I marched onward for what felt like miles until we crossed a black bridge stretching across a lake of lava. We were greeted with monsters of all different colors- red, purple, copper, green, and gray. Demons of different variations, but none that gave off the same presence as the one that ported us into the unknown. They stood between us and the ruined palace. A lot of them screeched like fucking hell, but one of the gray demons halted the others and approached us.
"Humans? In the Shadow Paths? Are you with the Hanakai?"
I couldn't tell if saying yes was the right choice. Mifune and I exchanged looks, but all he fucking did was shrug his shoulders.
"We're not," I responded, swallowing my saliva and speaking slowly. "We were sent here to 'seek out Emper.' Do you know who or what that is?"
"Ohhh, I understand. I know why you're here." The demon laughed to himself and turned away from us, shouting, "Everyone, make some room! Emper! You have visitors!"
Again, Mifune and I looked to the other for guidance neither of us could provide. We stayed at the edge of the bridge, keeping an eye on every angle. Each demon ahead of us stepped away from the footpath, though, and the oversized gates to the palace swung wiiiide open after a few moments. The hulking, deep blue claw of an enormous abomination was the first thing we saw before it took an emerging step with its goat-like legs. That, and a pair of timeworn, baggy black trousers.
Black steel armbraces were clasped around the demon's forearms. A claw wrapped around the edge of the doorway, showcasing sharpened, golden claw-tips that matched the glowing gaze soon presented. Black markings stretched across every visible portion of that demon's built body, almost like tribal tattoos. And, finally, shoulder-length, silky hair, and a set of twisty horns showed themselves when he fully stepped into view.
Mifune and I turned our gazes up and up. That fucking demon looked to be twenty feet tall! That was how much he towered over us, and Mifune and I froze in our tracks. The demon spoke in a calming, yet cold manner. The kind of tone that made the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
"I am Emper of the Shadow Paths. Who are you humans to have come and disturbed me?"
Is this supposed to be the devil himself?