Chapter 21 – Raid
"A god?..." Suzuka's eyes widened, utterly confounded by the words he just uttered. "You can't be serious!"
Mordred's sinister eyes narrowed, fixated towards her armored form. "Unfortunately...I am." His mouth curled into a smile. "Aren't you scared?" he asked, as he puffed up the dirt off his blood stained clothes. Suddenly, the eastern demon felt a rather human-like chill down her demonic spine. Fear: it was an odd feeling for her. There was never a time for her to feel vulnerable aside from this very moment.
"Scared?" she asked, as a streak of cold sweat ran through her pale cheek. "No, I don't fear the gods. And I don't certainly fear someone in the likes of you." She taunted, chuckling a little. "That's great, demon princess. I didn't want to fight a coward in the first place." He flicked his forehead forcefully, confusing her.
"Shut your mouth, hell boy." She blurted out as an insult, leaving him completely silenced for a couple of seconds. "You're still a vile demon, no matter how much you try to make yourself divine." With the concrete ground trembling once again, Mordred knew something was a little bit off. No, he felt something...completely different than anything else he had encountered.
The fresh stench of heavy rain filled the area, as a heavenly aura engulfed the eastern demon's scorned armor. "Do you know... how continents are made?" she asked emotionlessly. "Don't stall me, woman." Mordred responded with a deathly quick strike of one of his pitch black appendages. With the tip of the tentacle grazing her left cheek, it quickly dissolved into thin air as soon as it passed through the heavenly substance.
I knew it, another Divina Break Spell. Anyhow, I could just wait till the interval ends, then I could just quickly drain her of her heavenly form. He smirked at the thought. "What's wrong?" Suzuka asked, "Can't you undo this?" Wait, is she testing my power? The white-haired demon thought, gritting his teeth out of his frustration. "I'm sure as hell can!" he yelled, as numerous, unholy appendages sprouted out of his stained back. "Let me show you...my divine power!" he bellowed, as the various limbs stretched out towards the eastern demon, engulfing the celestial light surrounding her.
"Divine." She blurted out, copying a fragment of his empty words. "How ironic."
Suddenly, shapeless beams of light emerged from the numerous, clawing hands and paws concealing her in all her glory. With every fiber of the demonic limbs dissolving, succumbing to the light, the sound of roaring thunder boomed throughout the decomposing paper town. It began to rain hardly within the cloudless sphere, which was something impossible to do within the artificial environment they're in.
Rain...could it be...? Mordred pondered a bit, as the heavy drops of water rained down upon his face. "So, you've figured it out. I'm saying something likewise to what you've said to me just a few moments ago." She smirked a little, as her body began to soak wet. "Amenonuhoko, the blade that created continents out of a drop of rain." The demon explained rather calmly, masking his repulsed emotions on the sight of such a powerful weapon. "Honestly, there are various types of legendary weapons that can conjure up storms such as this. But your question was the main factor that made me guess what's right." The demon added sternly. "Yeah. It's the blade that'll cleave through your repulsive heart." Suzuka replied as she clutched the gigantic claymore tightly with a single arm. "If you can. In a few more minutes, you'll be rendered weaponless." Mordred threatened, as he conjured up a dark, dull looking blade, which sprouted out of the cold, wet grounds.
Familiar to the foul-looking blade, the eastern demon's eyes widened, as she swung the gigantic blade frantically towards him in a flash. The two weapons clashed, causing the wet and windy atmosphere to be filled with the clangs of enchanted metal. Despite of the blade's powerful strikes, the rather frail-looking weapon which Mordred holds refused to bend or crack. Instead, it continued to withstand the colossal blows of its adversary.
Suzuka was fast. Her moves were graceful, her strikes were flawless, the determination written in her eyes was overwhelming, and the will to right the wrong couldn't be matched at this moment. Why isn't he using that ability? Judging by the effects, he could undo something critical at this moment. Anyhow, I'll just have to keep him busy. Those thoughts raced through her mind.
But, what in the world does he mean by "in a few minutes"?
After taking a quick glance at Mordred's forehead, a peculiar seal was etched on it, causing the latter to curl up a Mona Lisa-esque smile. "Undo..." The white-haired demon blurted out, as the ancient-looking mark glowed a luster shade of blue. "...Amenonuhoko!"
In a flash, the once gallant blade vanished into the rain, distracting the eastern demon to no avail. "Damn it!" she cursed, as the thin blade's tips grazed through her face. Clutching her fists, she plunged them down towards the dark prince's belly, sending him flying throughout the seemingly endless downpour. In a fit of rage, she charged towards him, with her fists engulfed with the same holy substance which danced around her body.
Like that of thunder, every inch of Mordred's bones cracked, as Suzuka's fists plunged towards him mercilessly. That's fine. The demon thought as he succumbed to the thrashing pain. I'll just undo it anyway. Fighting back, the dark prince quickly recovered in an abrupt rate, grabbing her fists tightly with his pitch black appendages, only to be burned off quickly. Refusing to surrender, a dark and foul aura emanated from his body.
Repulsed, Suzuka quickly threw him to the ground, causing the shattered grounds to cause slight tremors throughout the area. I can't summon Amenonuhoko now, so I'll have to rely on the strengths of my blades. Daitsuren, Shotsuren, Kenmyoren, I'll leave everything to you...plunge this pseudo-god into the depths of the Nightosphere! The eastern demon thought as the three sacred blades pointed towards his semi-buried form.
With the blades just inches closer from his back, for some reason, it didn't penetrate him. The eastern demon pushed harder as the blades refused to do their jobs. Something invisible was blocking it, and that confounds her, since invisibility would certainly could be penetrated by the sacred metal composing the weapon's lethal points. "You're too persistent." Mordred blurted out without a glint of emotion present within his voice. "And you're not yet ready...to face me." His voice changed into a more sinister form, shocking her a little. "Suzuka...Gozen, have you forgotten me from the past? Am I just a memory to you now?" the demon's eyes widened, fixating his gaze towards her. Suzuka now knew, that the person who was talking to her right now, isn't the opponent she fought a few minutes ago, but a rather powerful spiritual entity invading his struggling husk.
Flashes of burning cities and broken bodies rushed through her fading mind, remembering one highlight that actually brought up her cause: The death of Sakanoue, her dearly beloved. The vivid picture of his fit body being stabbed to death by an unknown evil god was something she couldn't bear to remember.
An evil...god!? Her eyes flared furiously. "Why...why do you have to play with my memories, Mordred!?" tears fell from her light pink eyes, as she continued her attempt to stab the now possessed dark prince. "I told you..." the voice grew deeper. "I'm not the masochistic lunatic you've just saw. And you can't stab me, no matter how hard you try." He continued to stare into her eyes.
"Who are you!?" she screamed as she interrogated. "One of the things you've killed...one of the things you've loathed...and one of those things you've failed to kill." The air around them grew thicker than ever, causing one of the blades to snap like a frail twig. Caught with surprise, the eastern demon flinched a little, as Mordred's possessed body quickly dispersed into the air like that of black dust.
I wouldn't want you to kill off my host so early, Suzuka. The voice echoed throughout the rainy area as the dust started to fade along with the broken buildings around the area. This isn't the last of him, though. He's merely a pupa on his growth into becoming an actual god, a god to start the Ragnarok and end the multiple realms of this universe for good. The voice added. Prepare yourself, the rain is just beginning.
As the smoke completely faded with the echoing voice, Suzuka was completely dumbfounded by what had just happened, dropping all her blades and kneeling amongst the blackened crater. Bitter tears fell through her cheeks, with the heavenly aura vanishing quickly, leaving her intricate, bamboo plated armour all cracked up and bruised. The monochrome ceiling cracked, shattered into pieces, exposing the clear, blue skies and the warm radiating rays of the sun mixing in with the Amenonuhoko's artificial rain.
The sight was too beautiful for her to bear. Will she be able to protect such a beautiful yet cruel world from her adversaries? "Why I wanted to protect this vast sphere of fading and decaying life? Simple...I made a promise to Sakanoue. A promise to protect the future for our children and our children's children. That's why I'm very much motivated to do things into such an extent...and you evil gods may take everything from me, but you'll never take away my passion for this world!" she yelled to the sky, as her furious cries echoed throughout the shattering sphere just above the real HQ, which was littering with the corpses Mordred killed before the trap taken place.
"Oh, it broke, Caleb." Shuten Douji pointed out in a childish tone, tugging the Clockwork gently with her chest. Lady Suzuka...please, be safe. Caleb thought as he closed his eyes for a second. "Yeah, looks like the enemy escaped, cancelling the Zero Hour." He spoke out loud, pretty much distracted by Douji's flirtatious moves. "Zero Hour? What the heck is that?" she asked cluelessly. "It's the destruction of a threat within the sphere, so if the threat stays inside the orb for a long period of time, the replica inside it will dissolve, so as the threat and the user." The ancient engineer explained.
"Oh, I see. By the way, Caleb. Could we go out on a date after this?" she asked frantically, all flushed up. "We have no time for outings. We'll have to make sure that everyone's safe." Caleb explained yet again. "And also, track the enemy." He added. "Man! Hey, did you already transport the boy already?" Douji asked again, being the inquisitive girl she is.
"Yeah, I hope his friends won't freak out once they found out he's missing." he said unemotionally. "And your words are so repetitive, it's annoying." He glared at her, causing her to puff up her cheeks like an angry toddler. "I-I can't help it! It's not like I'm trying to be cute or anything!" "Focus on the mission, Douji."
With the golden flames dancing on the tip of her palm, the hero was dazzled by its beauty. After a moment of awkward silence, Venti has decided to break the ice. "Why...aren't you running?" she asked softly, a tad bit embarrassed in fact.
"Why would I?" he continued to munch on the handful of meat he's holding. "It's beautiful." He added, causing her to blush a little. "T-thank you..." she tilted her head below, looking at the ground. Her crimson red hair trickled and shone through the bonfire's light, matching her fair skin which looked like it never bathed in the sun's unkind light.
"No one's ever said those things to me before, so it's overwhelming really. Pardon me for acting really stupid." She apologized politely, as she looked at his calm face once more. Well, I guess you're the only one around here, so I guess I'm the first. And what I really meant to say that I was complimenting the fire, but hey, I'll look like a douche if I'll go say it directly to her face. He thought as he nodded in response.
"It's fine. It's normal to act that way if you're all flattered and stuff. It's really cute." Man, what am I saying? "Really? Well, if you find me cute and all, I won't blame you. But flattery won't get you anywhere, and if those things are just excuses to get more of that meat I hunted, I'll just kick you hard in the buns until you poop rainbows." She threatened, trying to make a straight face. Scary! Finn thought as he took a munch on the meat once more.
"Anyhow, I couldn't read minds, and you seem like a nice guy, so you're in the safe zone right now." She crossed her arms and smirked. "Buuut, I don't know what to do with you yet. I saved you, and you're my latest companion who looks a bit human like me, so you'd probably make a good bodyguard." She added, setting her thumb below her chin.
"A bodyguard?" He felt his sweat drop. Well, she looks a bit frail as a princess, but most of the princesses I know are pretty much stronger than how they look, and plus she even hunted that thing that almost killed me. "Well, I guess all things would be repaid when I'll agree to be your personal maid- I mean, bodyguard." Finn smiled a little. "A maid..." she pondered a bit, causing Finn to kneel down. "Anything but that!" he pleaded. "Okay, okay, I'm cool if you're not interested." She yawned a bit as she slumped herself against the hollow log she's sitting on. Venti, you shouldn't waste this opportunity. A Labyrinth cannot be raided alone. The voice in her head advised her.
"Oh, cool. I'll just sleep then." The hero said as he quickly rolled to the side facing away from her. "Wait! I mean, just listen. Do you know why I was waiting for that student of mine?" she asked. "Yeah? You already told me that a while ago." He replied nervously. "Oh, other than that, there's one more reason." "What?" he asked groggily. "A Raid." She uttered. "Excuse me?" "A Raid. R.A.I.D. Raid." She pronounced specifically.
"So, you want me to join a raid with you?" he asked. "Yeah!" she responded rather eagerly. "See that huge pillar overlooking the eastern mountains of the isle?" she pointed out excitedly. "Yeah?" he responded rather cluelessly. "That's a Labyrinth. It's like a dungeon filled with monsters and treasures. And they say if you reach the top of a Labyrinth, you'll be able to control and defeat your fears and find out who you really are." She defined the place so emotionally.
"So, you wanna get rich?" Finn smirked a little, causing her cheeks to flush out. "Sorta. We could share half the price." She said it in the cheapest way, like that of a crab's. "I'm not in it for the money." He stated. "Really?" Venti cupped her ear to the side like a deaf, old man. "Really."
"So, you're not going?" She asked yet again, with a glint of sadness studded in her tone. "I'm going. It's the least I can do for you." The young lad gave out a large smile. Well, I wouldn't want to tell her that I'm her student yet. That would be so... "Awkward." Venti blurted out. "Huh?" the young lad asked her. "It's awkward for you to say it's the least you can do for me. It's actually the greatest you can do for me, really." She leaned closer to him, leaving her collar hanging, exposing her barely covered chest.
"Okay?" he blurted out nervously. "What are you staring at?" she asked. "N-nothing." He said as he looked into her eyes. "Great, if you don't wanna poop out rainbows, that is." She leaned back, returning to the log she rested on. "Get some sleep dude, you'll need it, since we'll be moving out tomorrow morning." The petite lass stretched.
There's something...strange in that girl. He thought as he began to rest on the pile of leaves he rested on while he's unconscious. Suddenly, fragments of unclaimed memories suddenly hit him. Chains wrapping a divine being, feathers resting amongst a pool of dead bodies, Finn didn't even remember those events, so perhaps those memories weren't his, but Venti's for some valid reason. No, there's something...really off.
I'll have to say, thank you for the wait. Since it's summer, I'll have plenty of time brainstorming about the next chapter. Anyhow, here's the preview for the next chapter.
Next on Castles of Glass Chapter 22 –
After knowing a fragment of truth about Mordred's existence, Suzuka has set off to heed an alliance between the divided kingdoms around Ooo to prepare for war against the thriving monster that is the evil gods of age old, set out to destroy and restart everything into their diabolical advantages. Meanwhile, Marceline and Jake has set off to find Finn after finding out about his sudden disappearance. "Finn, I don't know where the heck you are, but I'll definitely find you no matter what."