We get up
We get knocked down
We get lost behind the crowd
Looking for a new way out
It's hard to stand but we won't bow tonight
We won't bow tonight
-Keep Me Breathing (Ashes Remain)
xxxxx
As if spurred by some unspoken command, Sora and everyone behind her leapt into battle. This seemed to momentarily surprise Belial, though he quickly recovered and swung his sword with expert skill at his oncoming opponents.
Rin and Sora split off, Rin going to the left and Sora to the right, making an attempt to box Belial in before he noticed what they were doing. Shima caught the first downswing of Belial's blade with his staff, the force of it knocking him back a few feet. Rin jumped in the air, meaning to bring Kurikara down on his back as Belial had done to his brother. Mid-jump, Sora cracked her whips, catching the back of Belial's legs.
Roaring at the pain, Belial vanished and Rin sword came down through empty air. "Shit." He cursed. "Where did he go?" His question was soon answered when Belial appeared behind him, sword blazing. Swearing again, Rin turned just in time to parry the blow, sliding back like Shima had.
Catching himself, Rin dashed forward with a speed he didn't know he had, and brought his own blade down on the demon. Moving rapidly, Belial dodged, the tip of the sword slashing through his clothes and nothing more.
"Your determination has improved your skill. But no matter, I will cut you down all the same." Belial growled and resumed his attack.
This time it was Shiemi, who had joined the battle, Izumo, Konekomaru, and Suguro with the counterattack. Shiemi had summoned her familiar as well, the little greenman, and it proceeded to spout an impenetrable wall from its small body. Belial found himself trapped inside what appeared to be the roots of a tree, which left just enough space for Izumo's familiars to slip through.
As the foxes began to attack Belial in his confined state, Konekomaru through binding spells through the branches in an attempt to limit the demon's power while Suguro chanted verses trying to find the right one to hurt Belial. Their efforts however, proved fruitless.
"Pests!" bellowed Belial. He once again swung his blade, causing the foxes to retreat. The power of the attack blew a hole through the wall, knocking Shiemi back into another tree, rendering her unconscious.
"You will not stand in my way." His voice had become deadly calm and Sora and Rin glanced at each other in apprehension before turning their attention back to their opponent. In the small amount of time they had taken their eyes off of him, his appearance had changed.
The dark aura that had surrounded him had thickened and seemed to permeate his body, Belial becoming one with the darkness around him, no longer holding a true shape. Where his ears had been, stark white, curled horns had grown. His eyes no longer held any trace of white, they were completely black and Rin felt as though he was looking into the pits of hell when he tried to meet Belial's gaze.
"Do you understand now? You cannot beat me. I am darkness itself and you will never escape me." His voice began to amplify as he spoke, becoming a yell by the end of his sentence.
The air thickened with is rage and Sora stared in horror for a moment before regaining her composure, preparing for his next attack…but it never came.
The next thing she knew, Sora found herself plunging into a void of nothingness. Black engulfed her. She could see nothing, hear nothing. She was alone. Right before she thought she was going to scream a deep voice echoed around her.
"I must say, you have done just as well as your mother. You have her spirit. But now you are in my world, and I will break you just as I did her." At the end of his words a dim light appeared a few feet to her left. In it, stood Belial. "I will give you one last chance. Join me or die."
"I will never join you." She snarled.
"Very well, doll. If that is your choice, then face me." The light disappeared and Sora whirled around to find him behind her. "Attack." He ordered, and she did.
Sora threw herself into battle once more, cracking her whips, hitting Belial in the chest, but not doing any serious damage. Every time he dodged, she fired another attack at him. It wasn't long before she became confused.
Why is he not fighting back?
She shook off her thoughts. Now was not the time to be distracted.
xxxxx
Rin had been surprised when Belial had transformed in front of him, but that was nothing compared to when his girlfriend began to whirl around frantically, as if looking for something, only to have her gaze focus on him as she launched an attack.
Her first one had caught him so off guard, he had barely been able to escape serious damage from the slashes across his chest. Yelling her name desperately, he dodged her barrage of attacks. He was not about to harm his girlfriend.
What the hell is going on?
Belial's evil laugh sounded again even though he was nowhere to be seen. "You must choose now, boy. Save yourself, or save her. She will continue to attack until she thinks I am dead. Run while you can."
It didn't take long for the pieces to click together in Rin's head. "You made her see me as you, which means that she is going to keep attacking me."
Unless I can find a way to snap her out of it. He didn't voice the last bit.
"Correct. And you cannot stop it because you cannot stop me. I am darkness, and I exist everywhere." Came the daunting reply.
"I will never back down. I will fight for her until I am dead." He said, receiving no reply other that another laugh.
But his words gave Rin an idea. Glancing over to where his friends stood, looking at a loss of what to do, he caught Suguro's attention. "Bon!" Rin yelled, Suguro's gaze snapping up to meet his own. Rin, knowing he couldn't give Belial any idea of his plan, threw everything he had into getting his thought to his friend "We need light."
Suguro only looked confused for a moment before catching on. Rin, grateful he had been successful, turned his attention back to Sora, who had replaced her whips in favor of long daggers manifested from her dark powers.
I'll have to keep her occupied while the others work out the rest of the plan.
xxxxx
Sora was becoming increasingly angrier as Belial continued to evade her attacks. "Why don't you attack me coward!" she yelled. No response. She paused for a moment and let her whips dissipate into the darkness, replacing them with daggers the length of her arm. She ran at him again, catching him in the arm, satisfied with the gush of blood that ran from the cut.
Belial seemed to stop at her smile, his eyes going a little wide, and not bothering to contemplate his odd expression, dealt another blow to his stomach, creating a long gash across his belly. Belial dodged back and her next slashed caught him on the shoulders. Belial dropped and Sora grinned triumphantly.
Sora raised her arms and prepared to deliver the final blow… what she found herself blinded. The illusion slowly disintegrated. When Sora managed to open her eyes, she dropped to the ground in devastation.
"No." she whispered. Before her sat the only person that loved her in this world, bloody and broken. She sank to the ground sobbing and muttering "I'm so sorry" over and over as Rin pulled her into his arms. He shushed her gently as she tried to come to terms with what she had done, having realized immediately that Belial had tricked her.
A loud scream cut off their moment. Rin and Sora jumped to their feet. Around them, the others stood in a circle. Shiemi stood by the door to the dorm, so Rin assumed that she had been the one to turn on the courtyard lights. Izumo, Bon, Konekomaru and Shima had summoned some form of demon light to illuminate the rest of the courtyard, bright balls floating around their heads.
In the middle stood Belial, or at least, what was left of him. The demon was slowly fading in the light. It was Rin who spoke first. "Don't you see? Darkness cannot exist where there is only light. There is nothing for you here."
With those last words, Belial disappeared into nothing, for good this time. Then, taking one last, proud look around the circle and at the place where Belial had been, Rin passed out.