Tides Of Protomis CXLVII
Call Of The Void
The battle was not over, not by a long shot. What was once seven, had fallen to three, and yet, those remaining fought with vigor, ignoring the injuries they had as they shot across the landscape, attempting to land strikes upon the demonic emperor. Four blurs moved across the area, clashes between them resulting in a crater forming, or the ground below being cleaved. Or the heat upticking, as a section of earth melted into magma. Try as they might, the one they were fighting simply managed to elude their attempts to land a fatal strike, continuing to damage them time and time again with his counter-attacks.
“Solis Pulsar!” As Arctaius shouted out, a large ray of plasma shot forth, but it did not take long for the being to jump backward, getting out of the way of the strike. But this had its own consequences, as Liang slammed one of the Chuojiao’s famous kicks into his side, sending him toward Volker, flew past him, carving through his torso, though, a cut that was by no means deep.
He began to retreat once more, as he landed on the ground, and forged yet another circle under the demon Emperor’s feet.
“I’ll need some time, keep him-” The demonic emperor attempted to rise from his shadow, and strike him, but it seemed his allies were well aware of that tactic by now, as a first launched him into the distance the moment the Demon’s body became visible, courtesy of Arctaius. And, as such, Volker began working. He’d need to make sure the demon could get caught within, and, as such, the circle’s area grew, as his body began to let out threads of holy energy. He blocked out all distractions, focused only on his opponent, his movements, how his energy moved… And there, he saw it, an opportunity.
“Seal!” At that moment, the speed of a punch Maleggan sent forth slowed, just enough for Liang to move out of the way, but not nearly enough for him to avoid the second.
“Dammit, I need to get a hang on this. Sir Lyle passed these abilities onto you for a reason, don’t squander the opportunity!”
Again! He’d begun to weave the circle under the demon once more, but it seemed as if he’d stopped moving on his own? But for what reason? The answer to this question did not come, only the demon launching himself toward him, prepared to attack the slayer. His allies came to his defense, but they were only knocked away by fists fired from the demon. Though his seal had managed to form, he himself, shared the same fate, and the weaving of his seal stopped…
“If only I was at full power, this would have ended long ago… But regardless, I have enjoyed myself. But I think it's time for you to face the unbridled, and let this battle end.”
In an instant, the body of the demonic emperor had faded away.
“What’s he up to now?!” Arctaius questioned. Before anyone had the time to respond, a darkened vortex appeared where the Demon once was, and the space around them became unstable, as darkened voids began to saturate the sky, distortions visible in the area around them. Demonic energy saturated the area around them, a growth in power detected by Volker, and a change, seen by all. A suit of armor, dark purple and ebon, floated above the void. It seemed that this enemy of theirs was not one who’d be easy to kill. Before nary a thought could be had, a spinning ebon ring of demonic energy was already being launched toward them, a gigantic one that threatened to bisect all three of them, had their quick action not let them avoid the strike, but even this did not guarantee their escape, as the ring split within moments, one of each going to follow his targets, Artctaius turned what would have been a gash across his chest, into a glancing cut as he backed away swiftly, before he moved to intercept what was previously aimed at Volker, creating a wall of plasma once more. Glancing over his shoulder, and nodding at the slayer. Who nodded back, and began to form a seal once more. While Liang barreled through the space, weaving around the attacking ring as he attempted to close the distance with Maleggan, his body cloaked in a Qi barrier, that very shortly, turned into the Azure Dragon’s head, as he made his charge. Apparently, that mch was enough for Maleggan to take him seriously. As he slipped into a portal, that seemingly, led into an entirely different space. And before long, he’d emerged from behind Liang, slamming an elbow into the top of his head, and sending him into the space below.
As the martial artist did so, he grasped Shuriken between his fingers, and launched them outward, the metal blades implanting themselves into the surface of the emperor’s armor, but they were promptly removed, and launched back toward him. But the quick swinging of his trusty Jian knocked them away. Soon enough, the Emperor found himself dealing with a different opponent, as he had to duck under a left fist from Arctaius, but this only led to the youth aiming his opposite palm forward, and firing a point-blank ray of plasma. However, he found that his attack did little, and his armed grasped by his opponent, the fist that slammed into his stomach resulted in cracks emanating from within, and the arm being pulled the wrong way, an elbow jabbed into it, led to the bones shattering within, as it fell limply at its side.
As he was launched away by a kick from his opponent, Liang attempted to re-join the fray, aiming to slam a kick into the small of his opponents back, but he only weaved around it, letting the man fly past, and firing off his cutting ring of energy into his back, which cleaved through his skin, and resulted in blood spurting But before he could strike one more, he found his power being impeded once more, though by no means an amount high enough to make a difference. But he knew very well who the source was. He ignored the other two opponents as he launched himself toward Volker. Who was forced to stop forging his next sealing circle then and there, and contend with his opponent. His holy arm was placed in front of him, as his stance widened to guard against the oncoming strike. Yet, it broke through regardless, and was sent barrelling backward, through one of many portals. Observing this, Liang and Arctaius swiftly followed as they regained their composure.
The realm that Volker found himself in was strange… A pure white space, entirely featureless aside from the same portal they’d come in on. What was the nature of his opponents abilities? Some sort of Dimension based ability? Could that be how the demons had even gotten to their realm in the first place? No, that couldn’t be. From the intel Sir Gilga gave them, demons had long since crossed into their Realm, they’d even had a name for it. It was just the case of small enough numbers, and low enough powers to go unnoticed until then… The time for pondering these questions needed, as he found the demon charging through the portal, slamming a fist into him once more. But he did not stop there, firing a left, a right, and a left once more, A flurry of punches, hundreds in a second, that tore his body apart.
“You were an entertaining fight, but it's over!” Yet another ring of energy was forged, and he prepared to fling it, to cut him down the middle… But from Volker’s blurring vision, he took note of the rapidly Approaching objects. And the Voice that emanated, made it very clear just who they were.
“Volker, NOW!” The slayer wasted no time, as he shouted out.
“Switch!” With that word, the one who produced the word, Liang, appeared in front of the demon, His body cloaked with the Azure dragon, he managed to catch him somewhat off guard, sending him barrelling away with his strike, even for a short time. It was then that Volker let himself touch solid “Ground”. His body and stomach lined with bruises and cuts, he dragged his hand across his lip, wiping the liquid which dripped from it, and his allies landed beside him.
“We’re making progress, but not enough. And I get the feeling the seals I applied will stop lasting after a while…”
“So we’re racing against the clock…” Arctaius mumbled.
“Then there’s no time to waste! We need to weaken him enough, and end it all in one strike!” Liang responded. And with that, Two of the three launched themselves forth, constantly changing their angles of attack, in order to keep their opponent guessing just where they’d strike from, but he did not take the bait, sending rings of energy forth once more, forcing them to constantly change their own flight paths in response. They did not let this deter them, sending forth their own rays of Plasma, and shurikens respectively, which began to meet their enemy’s attacks. They gradually got closer, and closer to the emperor, until Artaius had grown close enough for a right hook launched at the helmet, that the being ducked under, and a second kick from Liang, that was eluded as well. Though his intent was to dodge the next, a snipping of the threads took place once more, and the strike From Arctaius slammed against the chestplate, denting it, and the same could be said for the high kick which slammed into the helmet. The demon began to weave through the strikes, but this continually became harder, as the two gave him less and less of a reprieve, striking whenever given the opportunity, essentially beginning what was now a three man dance.
And his expression under the helmet said it all… The wide smirk that had returned, he was being entertained once more. But regardless, he would not lose. The two were launched back by strikes of the fist as their strikes were avoided, as the revolving rings of energy cut into their bodies time and time again, leaving the surface of their skin covered in gashes. Yet, this did not stop them just yet, as soon as they hit the grown, they sprung up once more, while the demon prepared to leap forward, but as he took note of the circle under him, it was already too late, as he felt another thread be cut, his power quelled once more.
“So… You enjoy making use of those seals. But there are other ways to reach victory…”
If he could not rely on his own internal power… A black light flared around the emperor, and the space around them shattered into pieces, the sound of glass echoing in the occupants' ears. The question of what his opponent was up to came to Arctaius' mind, but he couldn’t focus on this question for log. As Maleggancharged into him with renewed speed, and strength, and his frame shook as a result. If he hadn’t known how to suppress his pain, he would most certainly have been yelling out. Arctaius’ working arm shot forward, as he attempted to grapple the Emperor, entwining the two together. In little tame, Liang came to join him. But the swipe of his blade was avoided with practiced ease. A snap echoing as an armored fist met his chin. Arctaius’ attempt at grappling ended as well, as an elbow hammered into his gut, forcing him to release his opponent.
“His power is increasing… It’s almost as if he’s using himself as a conduit for whatever energy is in this space… But If I can see that’s the case… Would I be able to cut off that ability?!”
With this in mind, Volker forged the circle once more. And his eyes began to scan the area, attempting to search for the thread which represented this ability. He still hadn’t quite figured out the mechanics exactly, but if he was able to do this, then perhaps he could learn to do so against lower-risk targets.This wasn’t exactly a battle where experimenting would be the best of choices… He needed to do this quickly, especially if the worsening state of his allies were anything to go by. Cracks, snaps, and squelches echoed throughout the void, no doubt a result of the injuries that were being dealt to them. He watched the flow of this space’s energy, how the threads danced across it, and a bit of a pattern was made clear to him…
“That’s the thread!”
“SEAL!” In little time, the thread was severed, and the previously renewed speed he had, was gone once more, as Arctaius, and Liang managed to just barely weave around his attempts to Maim them once more.
“His speed has decreased again…” Arctaius noted, as he slammed an elbow into the top of the demon’s helmet, appearing below the demon, and sundering him with a kick, was Liang.
“Then Volker did his job!” In short time, as the three returned to their melee, they began moving across the void, the sound of denting armor echoed throughout the space, but it did not take long for this to be replaced with the sounds of shattering bones once more, and the splashing of blood as the rings sliced through their skins once more… At the least, until Volker took note of the thread which produced these rings.
“SEAL!”
And in a short time, they’d disappeared. Already, he was setting up yet another circle, and aiming at one of the thickest threads of energy he could find… Could this be what he needed? He found himself forcing more, and more of his effort in to cut it apart, and it would take some time, before, it finally broke, and in that instant, The demon was striked from two directions, A kick landing upon the side of his head, and a fist slamming into his chestplate. Within, an outpour of green ichor began from his mouth. And his smirk had disappeared once more.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Tch, It looks like I’ll need to end this as soon as possible!” The emperor managed to elude a strike from Arctaius, just barely, before throwing him into Liang, sending the two away from him for a short time. If he was limited to just his own power, then so be it… A crimson-Ebon Helix formed around him, and his demonic energy began to climb, but it did not take long for him to find his armor cleaved through, and partly removed, as A yellow-white blur moved past him. Volker now lay behind Maleggan, grasping the hilt of his implement tightly, with both hands.
“Now! We end this war, this bloodshed!” Volker shouted.
In short time, the space around them began to shift once more, as a darkened sky, with what looked to be faraway stars, bringing light to the otherwise colorless void. Leaving the Emperor questioning just what he was planning, what about the other two? Regardless of what it was, he didn’t intend to-
That thought was cut off as he looked to his right, and saw a rapidly growing ball of plasma growing in Arctaius’ working arm. Eventually, growing larger than his body, to the point where it would have dwarfed buildings. Wild loose streaks of plasma ran across its surface, even sometimes escaping the ball’s pull. The heat from it is perceivable at the emperor's distance. As for the proto-human itself, the growing heat even made his skin begin to char…
“Solis Finis, it's not an attack I can replicate without the sun. And If I could, would I truly want to? This is about the closest I can get…” The ball of plasma continued to grow, until it largely outsized his body. While, to the being’s right, opposite to Arctaius, Liang Yu’s Qi, and Protomis, continued to build around his body, his eyes almost glowing from the light which reflected upon it. The head of the Azure Dragon grew detailed, its body larger.
“I hate to end a fight with this simple of a strategy, but it seems we have no choice… I have a sister and studies to return to!”
As the three continued to build their attacks, the emperor did not stop either, an outburst of the energies, a swirling typhoon began to barrel toward them, and they responded in turn, Shouting outward.
“CHUO JIAO SHU: QINGLONG HUIMIE(Chuojiao Art: Azure Dragon Destruction)
“SOLIS NOVA!!”
“HOLY DRIVE: DIVINE LUNAR SEVERANCE!!’
A crescent of golden energy, a draconic light, and the ball of plasma, rushed toward their target. The plasma’s contact with their opponent’s attack was met with a brilliant explosion, which swallowed the target of it within, leaving his armor covered in soot, and dented to no small extent. The Azure dragon was to come next, knocking him out of his current spot, with its charge, weaving around the space, and continually juggling the demonic emperor, shaking his body, and making cracks echoe with each impact, though the Emperor managed to divert what was left of his forged attack toward it, and disperse the construct. But, that was not to say that his fate was changed, as the final attack sent outward made its impact… And his armor was sliced through like butter, and the demon’s body was now in two halves…
As the emperor looked down upon his body, which had already begun to disperse, strangely enough, he felt not even an inkling of regret at this moment. He was dying sure, but he did so after a fun battle, one which his opponents were determined to win. If he lost, that meant only that he was not strong enough… He supposed there was only one act left to do, what little demonic energy remained in his body, folded, and subsequently, tore open space… With the avenue provided, his final moments spent in silence, he disappeared… The three that remained were clearly worse for the wear, injured in all regions, drained of stamina, they huffed in place as they looked toward each other.
“It’s over… That's a victory for Earth, and the rest of the Ixian continent…” Arctaius proclaimed.
“Indeed, Arctaius Corde…” Small smiles graced their expressions. Somehow, this managed to spread even to Liang. Who’s eyes moved across the space around them, until he took note of a rapidly closing portal.
“It looks like our escape route is closing, we’d best get out of here!”
Liang shot off toward it, and so did the other two. Though, at this point, they were all teetering at the edge of consciousness, they could not stop here, not at the finish line… Though their slowed pace was an issue, it seemed it wouldn't be that way for longer, as blurs that they could not perceived flooded in, and subsequently, dragged them out, and the light in the realm’s sky, was perceivable to them once more, though, by that point, they were already unconscious.
…
Hours later, the three who’d slayed Maleggan, awakened in an unfamiliar location. Though their lungs were ventilated by the mask which obscured their noses, and their eyes protected, it was very clear what they were in, given the green coloration of the liquid… Though, as soon as their eyes opened, an alarm tone echoed within their ears, as said liquid began to drain. And almost in tune with each other, the three stuck their heads up, met with a crowd of slayers observing them, as well as the rest of the Terran 7.
“So you managed to pull through, then.” Saka queried, from the left of the crowd. As Arctaius' eyes moved across the crowd, he immediately noted a thumbs up from Kazimir.
“That’s another Victory for the Kaz-Meister and the terran 8!” Which was met with blank expressions all around. Enough for him to shrink back. Before long, all three had already leaped from their respective pods. And Volker had begun to stroll out of his tent. As they passed through the camp’s bustling paths, aloud with cheers of victory and jubilance, Volker spoke in a somewhat quieter tone.
“I assume that we’re still in demon realm, and around Zylsis?” Volker questioned. Before long, he was followed by the commanders of the incursion force, as well as the seven.
“Yes. Why do you ask?” Bui questioned.
“Keep this among yourselves for the time being, we need to keep some Cohesiveness… I’m Afraid that the council died in battle against the enemy monarch… I… Request that one of us go retrieve them.” The wind seemed to shift at that declaration, as expressions of surprise covered their visages… That almost seemed to be an impossibility, just how strong was that demon to be able to kill 4 out of 7, and leave the remaining 3 in a state like this?
“It looks like he didn’t rise to emperor by political maneuvering…” Junko mumbled.
“But of course not, strength is the only authority among demons.” As they all looked to the source of the words, The armored demon, Hyperion, now stood before them, and with him, were Flauros, and his fellow Vshyr, Stolas. And the, as usual, sluggish demon known as Stolas.
“But the heads of your order being dead is certainly an issue, what will you do?” Stolas questioned, in his normal slow tone.
“We’ll have to determine that at a later date, for now, there are other things to consider… I have a novel idea to prevent this sort of inter-planal war from happening again… What once kept our realms apart was a natural barrier. Contact between our worlds should not have happened. But I have an idea on that front.”
“That being?” Ayaka questioned from behind him… He thought back to what sir Lyle did for him, even as he prevented his death by offering up his life, the ability that now existed. To seal, To disable, if that was what he could do, then, the solution was clear.
“I will apply a seal to the barrier that was shattered, and strengthen it to a level where such things are uncommon… But before all that.” Volker turned on his heel, looking at junko.
“Before that, I must apologize on behalf of the Holy Order… The idea that a more intelligent demon could have been clawing at the membrane from this side hadn’t made it to anyone’s head. Though it may have had somewhat of a connection with your use of the energy, there certainly wasn’t conclusive enough evidence, the same could be said for the news reports that were generated by our warnings.” With his own response to the situation laid out, Junko did not know what to say. She knew they acted in defense of earth, rather than any animosity toward her. For the most part, at least, to simply forget all that, to be called a demon again. Something that reminded her all too much of… Them… Wasn’t something she could do easily. As silence mounted, with her thinking of her response, her eyes would eventually close, as she spoke.
“I understand that you may have rushed into things a bit, especially with the nature of what was happening being unprecedented… I’ll forgive you, but I certainly won’t forget.” Junko answered, as she walked past. That was certainly as good an answer as they could have expected. Eventually, the man found that Arctaius had stepped forth as well, Extending a fist. Volker raised an eyebrow, but, as the youth nodded at him, he did the same, their fists bumping between them.
“Well then, Let’s get started on packing up. We return to earth!” Volker proclaimed loudly. Which was met with cheers all around. In that instant, they began to act upon his orders. While Saka and Mazurus flew off to the direction Volker pointed to, undoubtedly to retrieve their deceased leaders. Conversations between the re-united group had begun as well, while Junko faced Hyperion.
“I may as well ask, what will you and the army you raised do now?” she asked. As she did so, Hyperion began to float into the sky above, gesturing for her to follow. And she did so. The city of Zylsis was clearly in a worse state than it was when they arrived, the nature of battle, something that they expected.But what was more of note to her, were the movements of the demons themselves. To no surprise, many streamed out of the destroyed walls, having been there only for their glory, or to take care of the looming thread that was Maleggan. But there were some that were working to clean rubble, search for survivors…
“Me, Flauros, and Stolas have decided to stay here.. What we’ll do after that, who knows? Perhaps that Idea we had might take shape… Perhaps some change on this continent wouldn’t be so bad. Perhaps seeing about getting some Mhy’de back here to help with archiving all the details of these past events, the future as well.” To think that when they’d entered this realm, he’d wanted only to return things to the status quo, his statement about laws being one example. Before long, however, another thought came to her head. Entered this realm, the seal…
“So… This is it. If he means to strengthen the barrier between worlds, then that means even you won’t be able to be summoned by me.” Junko noted with a slight frown.
“That truly seems to be the case.But, if that battle of yours was anything to go by, You don’t need my help. You’ve grown a lot from the first time you summoned me, in that jungle. Matured in mind and power alike. Not to mention the group that now stands with you, the ones who I believe will be known for a very long time after you leave, even if we demons do not usually record our histories, vocal or otherwise.” Hyperion was never some sort of parental figure to Junko, not in the slightest, but his speech seemed to somehow be injected with a fatherly pride, one felt for his children’s success. Their meeting was interrupted, as she heard her name called from the ground, where a portal had seemingly been breached, contained within a metal gate of some kind. Her allies, the order, along with a train of slayers carrying body bags had begun to make their way in, undoubtedly crossing into the monochrome tunnel between their worlds.
“I’m… I’m going to miss you, Hyperion…”
With that, she flew off, into the gate as well, she did not cry, but what she said was true nonetheless. She could only hope that he would stay alive here, where she would no longer be able to observe. And the same could be said for Hyperion, who began to descend, and rejoined his two closest commanders with a nod, as they walked to rejoin the rest in the city…
…
The tunnel that was formerly quiet, aside from the strange noises it generated, was now filled with the sounds of slayers and proto-humans alike now moving through it, conversating as they flew by. Yet, one among them, stayed still, as the rest made their way back to earth. What formed in front of Volker, was not a single golden circle, but multiple, ornate ones interlocked by the same “Threads” every slayer and demon utilized, ones which only he could see… He knew of latin, the language of the Holy order’s chants, as such, what remained was to focus, hone his energy, keep the rate of his own pouring in stable, as he spoke.
“Deus Superius, tempus adest, duo plana significata se- blica simul. Iam non minatur, stella nostra erit. Membrana quae sit, restituo. Pro cadentibus, et qui sequentur, Da mihi hoc.” - God Above, the time has come, two planes meant separate melded together. Be at threat no longer, our star shall be. The membrane that should exist, I restore it. For those who have fallen, and those who shall follow, Grant me this..."
With every syllable, the light he produced grew brighter, the scrawl which lined the circles, more complex. All had lead up to this, to end this issue for good.. With it finally prepared, he thought back to the light expiring in his Mentor’s eyes…
“Sir Lyle, I will protect our world, in your stead.”
“SEAL!” He shouted. That which he wished to create, began to make shape, geometric shapes of gold, began to appear in the tunnel around him, obscuring the void which lead to the other world, and in no short time, Volker had begun to leave as well, streaking out into earth, and finding himself in front of the Holy Order’s Paris HQ. Before the gate which he’d come from shut itself off behind him. On the other side of the portal, where the demons lived, the very same thing had taken place. As he was joined by the invasion force’s other leaders, they found themselves faced with the Terran 7, who stood in a line. Yet, silents nods and smiles of varying size told only of a newfound respect, rather than remaining animosity.
“Well, I say it's time we get back home… I’m sure Asami is worried sick.” Arctaius began floating into the sky above.
“Indeed.” Alarick responded.
The group’s inner banter had begun once more, as they flew off, though Liang remained quiet, to no surprise. But their focus had gone to different subjects, as they noted the cheering crowds and the strangely quick news drones that had apparently arrived sometime after they did. The flashes of cameras became audible, especially as they closed in upon the obvious highest ranked… Volker took this in stride, as did the others. This was as much a part of being a high rank as anything else.
TO BE CONTINUED
つづく