Chapter 40: The Battle of Volken: Part 4
Orphzus, Yami, Zack, Thomas
The drop of blood falls down Yami’s cheek as the two combatants reach the Zenith of the bridge preceding Volken.
“DEVIL IGNITION!” Both fighters enter their demonic forms once again. Yami throws his hand out to enter the Devil Ignition of Mirage Blade, throwing off the blood running down his cheek and sealing up the slashes on his skin left by Orphzus. The aforementioned man enters the Devil Ignition of Nevan, drawing the blade from its crystal scabbard and using it defensively, with the crystal breaking apart to take on one mass and floating next to the man like a loyal familiar.
Yami’s four swords attempt to slash and pierce Orphzus but are promptly thwarted by Nevans crystal shield, zipping from one sword to another and protecting Orphzus from all attacks, with shards of small crystals breaking off from the large mass. With the Mirage Blades and Nevan's Crystal occupied in a never-ending stalemate, it allows both Yami and Orphzus to engage one another without any protection, with the first one to deliver a solid blow, being the victor of the Devil Ignition clash.
Both armored men dash towards each other with blinding speed, with Yami summoning two regular Mirage Blades to each of his hands to dual-wield and apply more pressure to Orphzus. Yami sends a barrage of slashes to Orphzus as he pirouettes gracefully around his opponent, though the blades lack enough demonic energy to properly pierce the King’s armour. In an attempt to surprise the king, Yami ditches his blades, releasing them from his grip and lets them shatter in the air, then dashes around to Orphzus's blind spot in an instant, delivering a powerful punch that shatters the king’s armor and sends a chunk of the man’s abdomen flying against the entrance of Volken’s stone gates, breaking Orphzus concentration to hold Devil Ignition.
The king shifts his head to the side to eye Yami and right before he is knocked out of Devil Ignition, he crosses his wrists and then pulls back his arms swiftly, with his still-armored fist flying into Yami’s helmet and delivering a devastating impact. Both fighters are promptly knocked out of Devil Ignition, with their weapons and armor dissolving rapidly, however, both fighters remain determined with smirks across their face while Yami skids across the stone, away from the king.
“DEVIL IGNITION!” As quickly as they left Devil Ignition, both fighters face one another and immediately enter it once again, despite the strain they feel in their bodies having just been knocked out of their previous attempt.
“Again!?” yelled Thomas in utter shock “He has to be pushing himself too far!”
“The same could go for the King,” states Zack
This time, Yami enters the Devil Ignition of Timekeeper, with the Jade bubble quickly expanding from his body.
“Wait, I think Yami was able to enter Devil Ignition before Orphzus could,” Maya points out “It’s only a marginal difference from the point of time both yelled the words out, even so, a small difference will add up to a larger one inside of Timekeepers bubble,” She explained. Thomas perked up from her analysis.
“Then this could be his chance! Nice one Yami!” Thomas said as he kept his eye glued against his spyglass
Due to Orphzus suffering more significant damage to his body, his nerves were more volatile, thus his reactions were slower. As Maya predicted, it was only a fraction of a second, but Yami was able to trap Orphzus within Timekeeper before the king could activate his own Devil Ignition’s immediate effects.
This is my chance, Thought Yami as he made a mad dash for the king within the space of Timekeeper, determined to act before Orphzus’s Devil Ignition triggered, as the king appeared to stand motionless with the hand signs of his unknown Devil Relic held together. Any damage to his body is good, but I can end this by cutting his head off. It will be a quick death, no blood will be able to reach the brain and he won’t be able to heal properly or use his Devil Relics. Yami then summons a Mirage Blade to his hand, ready to slice off the king’s head.
However, Yami was too late. As he reaches the king, the black-robed man immediately erupts with demonic energy which pools in between the two fighters to create a form. In an instant, it forms the most terrifying thing Yami had seen created with Demonic Energy, as it towers above him at about three times his own height and resembles a vaguely humanoid form but with large muscular limbs and a large torso to compensate.
This was all accompanied by a face that Yami could only describe as a true demon. Garish exposed teeth and predator's eyes, along with horns sporting from all parts of his face that curled and twisted like an uncared-for ram. Chains ran across the body, arms, and legs of the creature, looking like the demon had just escaped the most vile prison available on Elden. The entire form of the beast was composed of immense demonic energy but resembled a mix of steady blue fire and grey smoke that animated gently and made the creature look far more imposing and dynamic.
Yami looked up at the creature blocking his way with a mix of fear and uncertainty. Shit, this is it, the Relic he’s been holding back. Before Yami could act, the creature soon disappeared in a flash, then plummeted through the top of Timekeeper's bubble with a punch to the ground, shattering the jade sphere and sending Yami reeling from being knocked out of Devil Ignition. H…how? Hoo was it able tae act so fast in Timekeeper?! thought Yami as he and the beast made eye contact, with its soulless, predator eyes boring into his.
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“There it is,” said Thomas. Both were speechless and frustrated that he and Yami were right about the second Relic. Jane cowered behind Maya as best as she could as the beast let out an otherworldly roar, howling into the night and rumbling the stone they stood on. Zack stood anxiously with his fist clenched as the urge to jump in and help got stronger and stronger.
Yami stood across from Orphzus as the king rose confidently, fully healed next to the demonic entity while its large form hovered low off the ground slightly behind the robed man. The horned creature turned to thin smoke which quickly faded away into nothing as Orphzus smirked smugly with his castle behind him.
“I don't like an unfair fight Yami, so I’ll let you in on what happened.” Yami only stood there silently, but cautiously as he let the king monologue. “That there was the Devil Ignition of my other relic…Hakki…it’s called,” He finished with a smug grin. “Hakki is a source of Demonic Energy, just like a regular Devil Relic, but this one takes on a humanoid form,” the king explained as he motioned with his hands.
“Regularly, Hakki can only aid me with his hands. He can move out ten meters from me but can’t actually hurt anything, nor deal any sort of damage…not very useful.” He said with a smirk
“However, Hakki’s Devil Ignition lets me bring out the full might of the beast temporarily, and allows me to enact one command he must fulfill, per Devil Ignition.”
That explains why he left Devil Ignition so quickly Thought Yami as he took in what the king said.
“The exchange for such a short use comes from the fact Hakki has limitless strength. No wall is too strong for him, You can enhance your body with as much Demonic Energy as you want… and he will pierce right through, just like he did with your Timekeeper.” finished the King with a sinister grin.
“And since he is made oot of Demonic Energy, ma relics win’nae dae anything against him, right?”
“Right you are Yami, There is no physical object that produces Hakki like our other relics…He is the relic” said the king mockingly.
“But there's mare…isn't there?” Orphzus lowered his head and chuckled menacingly at Yami’s question.
“Right again, Yami!” He exclaimed with his arms spread out. “So you’ve been picking up on it, the demonic energy welling inside me. Hakki’s Devil Ignition isn't just limited to single command summoning like you just saw. While it takes a lot more time, I can build up Demonic Energy and use it to enhance the Devil Ignition. This Devil Ignition allows Hakki to stay out and fight alongside me for a short time, no longer bound by the single command rule like before. Though each time I bring him out for a single command, it lengthens the time it takes to complete this enhanced Devil Ignition, but once completed, it’s certain to say you will lose,”
“And you've been storing Demonic Energy to bring oot your wee pal, since the start, haven't you, that's why you've been trying no tae bring him oot,” Yami only smirks at his opponent’s foreboding threat.
“Non’nae that matters if you've no got your head, and it win’nae take much for me to damage it enough so you can’nae fight any mare,” Yami readies himself to enter Timekeeper’s Devil Ignition once more, prepared to ensnare the king and damage his brain, with Orphzus unphased and smirking to himself. As Yami makes the active decision to enter Devil Ignition, he finds he is unable to use Timekeeper's bubble and feels a deep damage within his brain, blood gushes from his eyes, nose, and mouth as he falls to his knees and tries to catch his breath.
“No!” yells Zack as he peers over the battlement, appalled by the sight of Yami falling to his knees.
“What happened!” asked Maya as helped Jane calm down
“Damnit, he’s reached his limit,” admits Thomas with his teeth grit.
“I have to admit, I’m impressed by how well you were able to match my prowess in regeneration,” states Orphzus as he chuckles to himself.
“Devil Ignition is extremely taxing on the brain, it uses the same nerves when you feel pain but to a far greater extent and overuse will slowly destroy your brain and the nerves that make it work.
"You've been repairing your brain each time you've entered Devil Ignition just like I have, so you can keep fighting at your best even after using Devil Ignition, you're only supposed to use it safely once a day, there's no possible way you could enter Devil Ignition multiple times in a short period without doing that. Looks like you've reached your limit though, if you try and enter Devil Ignition again, your nerves will be too fried and you will lose the precision to take me on, or you will simply die from your brain ceasing to function,” explains the king as he unfolds his arms.
Yami glares up at the king with blood covering his face and exhausted breaths escaping his mouth, as he struggles to clamber back to his feet. It felt like he just got knocked out of Devil Ignition five times at once with how severe his exhaustion is.
“I'll end this with one last Devil Ignition, Hakki won't even be necessary, I’ll simply shred you to pieces with Nevan,” The king raises his hand in front of him, ready to grab Nevan when he enters Devil Ignition as he looks down upon his opponent.
“Let me say this though…this was an embarrassing effort against me Yami. You were only ever feared in the Elden because you were the only other person to wield two Devil Relics, but if everyone had that same opportunity, you simply be the median of power.” Nevan slowly began to form in Orphzus’s hand, crystal by crystal, and soon formed the shape of the sword.
“Devil Igni-” the king’s words were cut short as Nevan completely shattered in his hand, the crystals melting like glass as they disappeared. Blood gushed from the king's eyes and mouth.
“What?! Damnit…what's going on down there," yelled Thomas, peering through his spyglass as he became slowly confused by the ever-changing tides of battle.
The king fell to his knees and coughed up blood violently onto the stone he stood on. Despite using Devil Ignition fewer times than Yami and his brain being in a more advantageous condition, the king's brain received additional damage from being exposed to Timekeeper’s time warping. Regularly, one person could stand within the bubble for a short period without lasting after-effects. However, Orphzus had withstood the effects of Timekeeper for up to four minutes, leading to the disorientation of his nerves.
Orphzus attempts to get to his feet - with blood still pooling from anywhere his head would let it - but is met with the approach of Yami, who has recovered from the strain he put on himself.
“Quit talking shit and gee us a challenge!” Yami uttered menacingly as his fist smashed into the bottom of Orphzus’s jaw, straightening the man’s body and positioning him perfectly for Yami to follow up, delivering a spinning kick that met the flat of his foot with the king’s chest, sending him flying several meters into the walls of Volken with a loud crash, impacting the stone and falling down to the next story of the winding castle.
“I want Ash and Atlus to fear me, and that's no happening with a shitty fight like this,” taunted Yami as he looked up at the king with a menacing grin, blood still in his nose and mouth, as the king pulled himself up and looked down upon the sleeveless man with a matching grin, standing on the first level of his castle.