Sakura and Li dashed towards the newly unleashed devil, that had somehow broke free of Nadeshiko's curse. The monster managed to spot them, and attacked with a strong breath of fire. The two quickly split apart to dodge, and Li quickly whipped out one of his talismans.
"Element Lighting!" When the blast connected with its target, the devil didn't even flinch. "Damn, I should have known," Li growled. The young man quickly jumped to the side the minute he saw the devil's massive foot stomp towards him. He swiftly scaled up a tree like a squirrel and leaped towards the devil with his sword over his head ready to strike. The creature of darkness easily blocked Li's sword with his thick wrist, and swatted the young man to the ground like a fly.
Sakura, seconds later leaped out from the trees, and tried to attack the monster from behind, but she was slapped down by the devil's tail with ease. Branches snapped against her body and the wind blew past her as she fell. The young girl squeezed her eyes shut and readied herself for a fall that would easily break every bone in her body.
"Element Wind!" A soft bed of wind suddenly formed below her and gently floated her to the ground.
"Thanks Li," she said. Li just grunted and went for another attack on the monster with Sakura not too far behind. The devil swung its massive tail towards the two attackers, destroying countless trees in the process. Li grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her to the ground as the tail passed over them. Seconds later, fire blasted towards them at a rapid speed. The chestnut haired boy quickly put up a shield around them. Li smirked when he felt the powerful fire attack collide with his shield.
"Now try this! Wind Reflection!" The wind blew the fire attack back at its sender, who simply dodged. The devil slammed down its immense hand towards the two, who managed to dodge. Li quickly jumped on the dark hand, and started to run up it. The devil spotted him and slammed his other hand towards him, but Li jumped back, and leaped on the other arm. The devil fired a breath of fire, but Li jumped again, and stabbed the devil in the middle of its eye.
"Nice one!" Sakura cheered when she heard the monster howl in pain. The creature of darkness thrashed its head from side to side trying to get the amber-eyed swordsman off. Li started to push his sword even deeper, as his reward, he heard the devil's howls grow louder. The monster suddenly grabbed Li, and started to squeeze him like a doll.
"That…was a cheep shot," the devil growled.
"So, you can talk. And here I thought you were all brawn and no brain." This only made the monster squeeze him harder.
"You know your bones are like twigs to me. I could snap your arms in two with just my index finger and thumb. In fact, I think I will. To pay you back for my eye!" The devil gripped Li's right arm with his two fingers, and started to laugh as he started to squeeze. Li cried out in pain as he felt his bones slowly break, he had never felt so weak and vulnerable in his life. But before the monster could completely snap his arm, a windblast to his face made him drop the young man.
"Element Wind!" Li quickly chanted, and a bed of wind saved him from breaking more bones.
"Are you alright?" Sakura asked.
"I'll live," Li replied simply. "He didn't completely snap it, but he still broke it. Sakura nodded, and turned to the monster.
"Hey! I have a few questions for you!" she shouted.
"Moron! Now isn't the time," Li scolded.
"Li there are some things that I have to know, and he's the only person who knows the answers," Sakura replied calmly and turned back to the monster. "Who are you? And how were you able to escape my mother's curse?" The devil laughed as he listened to her.
"And just why should I answer these stupid questions? But if will put your minds to rest before you die then fine. Humans call me Lucious, and I once walked this Earth nearly four hundred years ago."
"I thought it was you," Li said.
"You know him?" Sakura asked.
"I've just heard stories. He was one of most powerful devils four hundred years ago. Probably still is. They say his power was so great he was able to destroy two whole kingdoms with just one blast. And some people say he's the reason why this land is so broken up, because of the earthquakes he causes every time he walks. But one day a man named Clow Reed challenged him and after three full days he managed to seal him, away into hell."
"Wow, Clow Reed must have been powerful then." Li nodded.
'But there's still one thing I just don't understand. If he was powerful enough to defeat a devil of this power then how could he be killed by one demon? It just doesn't make any sense. It couldn't have been old age. Someone of his power, would still be strong enough to defeat one demon even in old age. So who, or what killed such a powerful person?'
"How were you able to escape my mother's curse on you and Risuba? It was supposed to last forever!" Lucious just laughed again.
"Your mother messed up big time the minute she started to cast that curse!"
"What do you mean?" Sakura wondered.
"When she started to conjure up that curse she was already too weak and tired to even think straight. The minute she summoned the demon plain, she just picked the first demon she sensed, which was a big mistake on her part."
"She sounds just as clumsy as you," Li scoffed.
"Hey!" Lucious suddenly laughed, which caused the two to focus their attention back to him.
"I remember thinking that I was to be forever bound to a foolish weak human woman. But the minute I entered her body I could feel power flowing into me. This woman had willingly given her body and soul to the darkness! I've never felt so much dark aura inside of one person in my entire life! So I stayed, slowly devouring the darkness in her heart, and every year I grew stronger. This continued until I finally had the strength to break free of Nadeshiko's curse."
"But there's something I still don't understand. Why was Risuba's body like clay?" Sakura asked.
"Foolish girl! Risuba is dead!"
"What do you mean by dead? She was alive just a couple minutes ago!"
"It's hard to believe that you are Nadeshiko's daughter. So naïve."
"Answer me you monster!"
"When I started to devour the darkness in her heart I ate a part of her soul!" Lucious said simply. Sakura's eyes widened. "With every passing year I devoured both her dark aura and her soul, until she was nothing but an empty shell."
"So why not make your escape then? If your holder was dead, and you had more than enough power to escape why didn't you right then and there?" Li wondered.
"There was no need to revel my true power. I used Risuba's body as both a human form and a vessel for my true power and form. I destroyed so many villages in that form that my devil form wasn't even necessary. But now I have enough power to make a human form on my own. In fact I won't even waste my devil form on you two," Lucious said, and started to shrink.
"Be on your guard," Li advised Sakura. "He maybe going to a human form, but he's still just as dangerous and powerful. Got it?"
"Yeah I got it," Sakura nodded, and they waited for Lucious to make his grand entrance in his human form. The trees rustled, and the two immediately got ready for whatever was coming. The bushes gave way and reveled a man that looked to be in his twenties with short jet-black hair, and red eyes. He wore a dark black gi, which made it harder for Li and Sakura to spot him in the darkness. Light black armor, similar to a samurai's was draped over the dark gi with a sword on his side. In his hands was a long staff with a long and thick blade attached.
"Are you ready?" he asked with a smirk as he went in a ready position with his weapon. Li and Sakura replied by dashing towards Lucious with their weapons ready to strike. The devil smirked, and raised his weapon. As the two came closer, Lucious swung his weapon unleashing a powerful wave of dark aura that tore apart the ground as it blasted towards its two targets. In seconds Li, and Sakura were blasted back by the powerful attack. Lucious chuckled as he watched them fly through the air, and crash into a group of trees.
Li groaned as he slowly got to his feet, he had never been on the receiving end of such a powerful attack in his life. He looked at the chuckling Lucious, and his eyes widened at the damage it caused the forest. Nothing was left of the trees that were in the attack's path not even so much as a branch. The powerful attack left a long a deep crater as well. Smoke still rose from it, and Li could still feel the dark aura coming from it. It shocked him that he and Sakura were still alive when everything else in the attack's path was destroyed. He turned to Sakura who was only now waking up.
"Man, what an attack," she said as she held her head. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"What are we supposed to do? If we try a frontal attack he'll just use that attack on us again."
"You know," a cold voice from behind them began. "It's bad form to leave your opponent waiting." Li and Sakura spun with their weapons ready only to see that their opponent was gone.
"Where'd he go?" Sakura exclaimed.
"Up here!" When the two looked up they saw Lucious in the air with his weapon over his head as he came down. Li and Sakura quickly leaped to the sides, but when the devil slammed his weapon on the ground two waves shot out, and collided with the two fighters. Li quickly got to his feet, and whipped out two talismans.
"Elements Water, and Lighting combine into one!" A blast of water with lighting circling around fired towards Lucious who just slapped it away with his weapon.
"Pathetic," he chuckled, and countered with a wave of darkness that sent Li flying back. Sakura got to her feet and attacked the devil from behind with a strong downward strike. But just as her attack was about to connect, Lucious spun around and blew her away with a wave of darkness as well.
"Force, know my plight, release the light! Lighting!" Li chanted, and in seconds a powerful bolt of lighting struck the devil, but Lucious just chuckled.
"That tickled!" he laughed and swung his blade, unleashing the powerful attack. The chestnut haired boy quickly jumped to the side, barely dodging the attack, but in seconds Lucious was behind him. The second he turned around, the devil threw a powerful round kick that broke even more of Li's ribs. Lucious chuckled as he stood over the young man, who was now on his hands and knees clutching his ribs.
"Damn it," he growled.
"Time to finish off one," the devil smirked as he raised his weapon.
"Watery attack!" Sakura shouted, and blast of powerful water knocked the devil into a group of dense trees. But before Sakura could say a word, the trees were blown away, and Lucious jumped out with a smirk on his face.
"I must admit, you did catch me off guard, but that won't happen again."
"Li, just what can we do to beat this guy?" Sakura wondered.
"Nothing. I told you he's too powerful for us to handle. It took Clow Reed three whole days just to seal this guy away. We don't stand a chance."
"But…"
"No buts! What's important now is that we escape and come up with some plan to reseal him. You got it?"
"No Li! There has to be something we can do! If we leave him he'll just go on to kill more people just like he did four hundred years ago! We have to stop him now!"
"Don't be stupid! We don't stand a chance! We tried it your way and got our asses kicked. Now we're doing it my way! And my way is, we run!" Sakura shook her head and walked passed him with her weapon ready.
"Sorry Li, but I can't stand seeing people suffer or die. It's just no in me to leave things like this. Even if it costs me my life I will protect other people." Li's eyes widened at her words and remember something from two years ago.
"Syaoran even if it costs me my life I will protect my clan, and my people from this kingdom. People don't deserve the fate they're giving them. So matter what happens, I want them to be happy."
"Shu Ling," Li whispered, and sighed. "Fine do what you want."
"Do you really mean it?"
"Yeah whatever," he grumbled.
"Are you quite done arguing amongst yourselves? Because if you are, I'd like to finish this battle," Lucious said as he went into a stance. Suddenly an arrow shot out from nowhere, and was imbedded in the devil's chest, making him stumble back. Sakura and Li turned around and saw Tsukido standing behind them with her arrow ready.
"Need some help?" she asked.
"Of course we do!" Sakura exclaimed happily.
"All right, lets get this over with!" Li order, and the three dashed towards the devil.
AN: I am sooooo sorry for this short chapter! It's just that my family is going on vacation really soon, and wanted to get this chapter out before I left because we won't be back until August. But since I really don't have any time left I decided to make this one short and finish this arc when I get back. So anyway can Li, Sakura, and Tsukido stop Lucious? What kind of demon killed Clow Reed? You'll just have to read the next chapter of Seven Deadly Jewels to find out. See ya in three weeks!
