Angel vs. Demon
Chapter 37 – The Sixth Level
"I hope our next opponent won't take too much effort to defeat," Kurumu grumbled as they trudged along the through the tunnels. "I mean, that part-lion part-goat part-snake thing had me damn worn out!"
"Well, to be fair, you are injured," Yukari reasoned, sighing. She stole a glance at Kurumu, who was still holding her side. Kurumu's wound was no longer bleeding now, though; it just felt like a cramp. That was all.
"But damn, you sure are healing fast compared to typical monsters," Kiseki commented, glancing at Kurumu as well. "How do succubi do it?"
"Well…" Kurumu tossed her ponytail over her shoulder, looking pleased with herself. "We do heal fast, you know. Especially incubi… Those are male, um, 'succubi'."
"I know why you heal fast!" Yukari said, smiling evilly. She had found her chance to poke fun at Kurumu once again. "It's not because of survival reasons… If it were that, then you would heal like a regular old human. You heal only because the wounds make you look bad… and you wouldn't be able to attract male monsters anymore! Succubi are such conceited monsters…!"
"Oh, shut up!" Kurumu cried in indignation, blushing slightly. She elbowed Yukari in her side jokingly, and the two began bickering again.
"Shh, be quiet!" Kiseki hissed. "Someone might hear you! Sound travels in this tunnel, you know that?"
Kurumu pouted in displeasure. "Well then, Kiseki… Why so serious? You don't have to be so grumpy all the time, you know? You're such an old man!"
Yukari laughed out loud, looking back at Kiseki's offended expression from under the wide rim of her witch hat.
Poking fun at Kiseki was almost as fun as making fun of Kurumu… However, you would just need to be careful not to cross the line with Kiseki. You never know when you'd piss him off far enough… and no one knew what would happen if you did. Of course, many people had theories, but no one would dare to test them. There was no reason to, really… Kiseki was loyal, brave, and a very good fighter, even if he was anti-social and slightly intimidating.
"Kiseki's right, actually," Moka confirmed, speaking firmly to Kurumu and Yukari. "We could be attacked any moment now…"
Kurumu rolled her eyes. "Oh, c'mon now, Moka…"
Kurumu was going to add to what she said, but she stopped abruptly. No, this wasn't another attack about to be launched on them; she didn't sense any threats coming their way. Kurumu stopped because she smelled something… a very alluring aroma.
"Do you smell that?" Yukari asked, sniffing the air.
Kenta coughed, his face scrunched up. "Oh yeah, I certainly smell it!"
Moka sniffed the air as well, feeling very suspicious. "It smells like roses… no, like perfume."
"It smells… good," Mizore commented, surprising herself. Just what could smell so good down here in the deep dark tunnels?
Tsukune disagreed. "It doesn't smell too good, actually."
Before the friends could get into a possible argument (about whether the scent smelled good or not), a glittering, shining, practically glowing figure revealed itself up ahead.
Yukari, Moka, Kurumu, and Mizore gasped. The handsomest creature they'd ever seen was straight ahead, leaning against the rocky dirt walls of the tunnels. He had high, arched eyebrows, a handsome fair face, dark eyes framed with long lashes, blond hair, and a defined nose and chin. This male monster (of course they knew it was a monster) lit up the dark underground (figuratively, of course; he didn't actually "glow" or "glitter" or anything like that)… he looked like he did not belong here. He was simply too gorgeous to be underground in the dungeon tunnels like this, facing a team of grimy, weary travelers.
"Wh-Who's he…?" Yukari whispered, unable to take her eyes off of him. It wasn't that she wanted to admire him like this (she wasn't that unfaithful); it was that she physically could not look away from him. His entire body radiated attractiveness and demanded attention. Yukari could sense the other girls staring at him too… just boring holes into his body with their eyes.
"U-Uh…" Mizore couldn't answer coherently. Her fair, ice-cold cheeks were tinged with pink, and she nervously sucked on her lollipop.
Moka wasn't that much better. She was frowning in confusion, her full lips open slightly, as if trying to figure out why he was so good-looking.
Surprisingly, the usually flirty, physical Kurumu was the only one who didn't seem impressed by him. Instead, she had her eyes narrowed (instead of wide open like the other girls), and was staring at him with suspicion.
Kenta, Kiseki, and Tsukune stood in the sidelines watching awkwardly. They didn't know how to react to this sudden situation. The man leaning against the wall wasn't attacking them at all, and was posing no threat as of yet, so they couldn't be overprotective and attack him right away… but he wasn't exactly pleading for help, either, so they couldn't approach him. The mysterious creature wasn't saying anything just then, so they had no idea what to think of him. He might be attractive, sure, but as males themselves, Kiseki Kenta and Tsukune could not judge effectively. They simply did no know what to think of this new character.
The striking figure held a single rose in between his teeth, and had his eyebrows risen seductively. He finally made a move; he took the rose out from his mouth and smiled crookedly, hardly showing any teeth. He then walked casually towards the girls.
Kiseki, Tsukune, and Kenta tensed visibly, waiting for any hint of attack. They would not hesitate to strike back this time. The strange monster did not attack, though… he walked towards them, unguarded and vulnerable. He approached the girls, and held out the single rose to them.
Mizore, Kurumu, Moka, and Yukari did not know how to react to this. Were they supposed to accept the rose? And if they were, which one of them would take it?
The man solved this problem for them. With a swish of his hand, the single rose had magically transformed into four red roses. He then proceeded to give each girl a red rose, and then stepped back and bowed dramatically.
Yukari was blushing, as was Mizore. Moka looked flattered, and Kurumu just looked confused. She studied the rose, as if trying to figure out where it came from and how it magically materialized out of thin air.
"The name's Zane," the handsome man said, smiling.
"Zane…" Mizore savoured the sound of his name on her lips.
"Zane…" Yukari repeated, her eyes shining. She already looked like she was ready to follow him home.
"Zane…" Moka sighed dreamily, clutching the rose to her chest.
"Zane." Kurumu spat, scrunching her nose at him.
Tsukune looked so helpless and confused it was almost comical. He opened his mouth and closed it, and opened and closed it again. He was struggling to find the right words to intervene with.
Finally, it was Kiseki who spoke for the male group. "What do you want, Zane?"
"Me?" Zane asked innocently. "Why, I just followed my heart; it led me to these beautiful, attractive ladies over here."
The girls swooned dramatically. Zane smiled.
Kiseki shook his head in disgust. "Well, if you don't mind, we'll be leaving. We have another 'beautiful, attractive' girl to find, for your information…"
"Oh, really?" Zane's eyebrow rose; he was interested. "If it's not asking too much, I'd like to come along."
"You are not invited!" Kenta almost shouted, his fists tightly clenched at his sides. For some reason, he did not like this Zane guy very much… and his doggy instincts were rarely wrong. "We're going to find our friend, and you're not coming with us."
Zane looked heartbroken. "That's a shame… Hmm. Well, if I can't come along, at least let your beautiful women here accompany me for a while, won't you?"
Tsukune almost choked. On what, he did not know. "You want to let us what?" He looked at Yukari, Kurumu, Mizore, and Moka, his eyes wide in disbelief. "You guys wouldn't want to go with him, would you?"
Yukari, Mizore, Moka, and Kurumu looked indecisive. They frowned and looked down, unable to decide.
It might have been a trick of the mind, but Kiseki swore he felt something radiate through the tunnel. It was invisible, and he knew he could not touch it, but he knew that something definitely passed from Zane to the girls.
"Why, of course we'd go!" Yukari suddenly exclaimed, her eyes hazy.
"We'd love to," Mizore added, her lollipop almost dropping out of her mouth.
Moka's mouth twitched, but eventually she complied too. "Yes, we'll come with you…"
Kurumu didn't say anything, but Zane didn't seem to notice. He nodded in satisfaction, clearly pleased with the results.
"Did you hear them, gentlemen?" Zane asked, not expecting an answer. "I guess I'll be taking them with me."
"Oh no you won't!"
To everyone's surprise, it wasn't one of the guys who said this. It was Kurumu, and she announced this loud and clear, without any hint of uncertainty.
Zane narrowed his eyes at her, his lips pursed. "Why not?"
Kurumu flew into the air, fully shifted. Her succubus wings sprouted out from her back, and her perfect, deadly nails shone visibly in the dim tunnel. She charged at Zane, her lips twisting in distaste.
"Why not?" she echoed as she flew at him. "Because you're a shady, untrustworthy incubus, that's why!"
She tried to slash at him with her claws, but he dodged them neatly. He didn't try to transform, though… he simply evaded her in his human form.
Kurumu and Zane wrestled for a few long minutes, but neither of them could land a punch or kick. In the end, though, Kurumu had him tackled to the ground. She perched on top of him, preventing him from getting up. Zane hardly looked worried, though; his cool, composed, self-confident face did not change.
"How did you know?" he asked calmly, looking up at Kurumu.
Kurumu rolled her eyes. "I knew something was weird with you from the beginning… especially when the other girls started swooning over you like there was no tomorrow."
"Yeah," Zane realized, frowning in distaste. "You weren't affected…"
"I'm a succubus, that's why!" Kurumu answered simply, her tail flicking. "A succubus…"
"A powerful, gorgeous, stunning succubus," Zane added, smiling shamelessly at her. Kurumu briefly made a face at him before promptly slapping him across the cheek. The red mark stung, but Zane refused to show any weakness.
"Why so serious?" Zane demanded; his eyebrows rose at Kurumu. With a jolt, Kurumu realized that she had just said earlier to Kiseki.
"You know, it's wonderful that you're a succubus," Zane continued, "We'll be a perfect match for each other, don't you think?"
Kurumu's jaw dropped open. "No!" she objected, "Where'd you get that idea?! I don't even know you!"
"Okay, listen," Zane began, closing his eyes. "I'm not going to hurt any one of you. Especially the ladies. I'm a gentleman, you know? Gentlemen don't do that. So you don't have to be afraid of me at all! I know those other monsters were placed here to assassinate you and all, but I'm not going to… I actually want to protect you. You're all accomplished, beautiful, gorgeous women, you know that…? Why would I want any of you to be hurt? I wish for you all to be happy! So if you come with me, I won't have to kill you… I'll just tell my superiors that I already dealt with you all, and you can all come back with me. No one would be the wiser."
Kurumu trembled. She didn't know how to answer. She was so furious, she couldn't think of anything to say. "You…"
Zane smiled. "What?"
In answer, Kurumu raised her clawed hand. She pointed her nails at Zane's chest, and was going to plunge it into his heart and kill him. Before she could, however, Moka, Mizore, and Yukari ran up to her. They tried to put themselves in between Kurumu and Zane, and attempted to stop her.
"Don't hurt him!" Yukari cried, her eyes still glassy.
Mizore's cool, blue eyes were especially cold just then as well. "Why are you trying to kill my future husband? If you hurt him, I swear I will kill you…"
Moka hesitated, but she protested all the same. "Don't do this, Kurumu. He said he wants to protect us!"
Kurumu's jaw dropped open in disbelief. She couldn't take any more of this.
"Tsukune!" she yelled, closing her eyes warily. "Kiseki, Kenta… Please, come here and take them away from me. I can't deal with Zane with them interfering."
"Why don't I just deal with Zane for you?" Kiseki offered, cracking his knuckles.
Kurumu shook her head. "No thanks… this is a battle I have to fight myself. I can't let him give our kind a bad name, after all."
Without a word, Kiseki, Kenta, and Tsukune came up to drag the girls off of Zane. Moka shook her head and protested, and Yukari flailed her arms and kicked, but the guys' grips were stronger than that. Mizore, looking like she was being forced into a corner, turned her hands into her large ice claws. She waved them at Kiseki's face (who was holding her).
"If you don't let me go right this second, I will hurt you," Mizore threatened, her blank eyes glaring at him. Kiseki looked extremely pissed off, but refrained from snapping back at her. Instead, he kept a tighter grip on her. Mizore struggled and fought, determined to get back to her beloved Zane.
Yukari started to do the same. She bucked and twisted this way and that in Kenta's embrace, wacking him in the head with her wand. Kenta whimpered as her hard wand came into contact with his delicate little doggy ears, but did not complain.
Moka did not seem to want to hurt Tsukune, but even she began to step on Tsukune's feet. She cried out insistently, and with each passing minute, the pained expression on Tsukune's face grew worse. Not from being physically hurt, though… Tsukune felt a different kind of pain.
"Please, Kurumu," Tsukune begged. "Get it over with already…"
"It won't matter," Zane grinned, turning his head to look into Tsukune's eyes. "It'll still be too late. Do you see what happened? With just my simple spell, I have the girls willing to give their lives to save me. Your so-called 'friendship' or 'bond' or whatever doesn't mean anything now! It's so weak it was broken with a single try."
"That's not true!" Kurumu cried indignantly, a furious look on her face. "You-"
It was at that moment that Zane sprang up from underneath Kurumu and up into the air. He transformed too, and soon there were two winged, tailed, long-nailed creatures inside the tunnel. Zane's wings were a different shade than Kurumu's (and a little bit bigger), and his tail was longer, but his nails weren't as sharp. He was strong and quick, but Kurumu was agile and flexible. The two faced off in the tunnel; an intense atmosphere developed around them.
Kurumu came at Zane with her razor-sharp nails, but he dodged under her and grabbed for her unprotected tail. He pulled at it, dragged it upwards, and used it to fling Kurumu up into the ceiling of the tunnel. Kurumu smacked into the rocky surface, then gravity took over and she collapsed into a heap onto the ground.
"You know," Zane said, studying his nails, "it's not too late to change your mind and become my wife. The other fine ladies can wait in line to be my concubines…!"
Kurumu coughed up a little bit of blood, but she growled and stood up shakily nonetheless. She wiped her sleeve across her mouth.
"Marry you?" she laughed, coughing. "I'd never even consider it, even if you were the last monster – the last thing – on Earth."
Zane clenched his teeth in annoyance, then charged at Kurumu. She had gotten him angry, and one can never fight efficiently when angry. He clumsily tried to punch her across the face, but Kurumu ducked and kicked him in the stomach. He uttered a grunt and winced, but was not too badly hurt. Still, Kurumu would not give him a rest. She gave it everything she got; she came at him, jabbed at him with her nails, and fought him until there wasn't an ounce of energy left in her anymore.
Zane, beaten up pretty badly, collapsed on the ground on his back, bruised, battered, and panting. He wasn't dead yet, but he was extremely weak. Because of this fact, his power/"hold" over Moka and the others were reduced. They got their normal, bright looks back into their eyes, and seemed confused as to why they were being held captive in the arms of their friends.
Kurumu dusted her hands off. "My work here is done," she announced in a wary voice. In response, Kenta bounded up to her and wrapped his hands around her waist.
"You were amazing!" he declared, grinning happily. "You sure showed that conceited incubus!"
Kurumu smiled in return, gently patting Kenta's head. Of course, she'd never admit to any of her friends' faces, but she would never let anything hurt them; no one could lay a single finger on them, as far as she was concerned. The protectiveness she felt over her best friends only increased with the defeat of the sketchy incubus, and their friendship deepened with this experience. Kurumu had proven to Zane that their bond could not be severed, and she felt extremely proud of herself.
Meanwhile, Moka, Mizore, and Yukari were pestering Tsukune.
"What happened, Tsukune?" Moka asked, shaking his arm.
"Yeah, how come I don't remember anything?" Yukari demanded, worried. "What if I forgot something important?"
"Tell us," Mizore implored.
Tsukune looked very awkward, and couldn't seem to explain to them how they were all over Zane. He couldn't find the right words to phrase it.
"You, uh, the guy called Zane, um…"
Kurumu smiled, and shook her head. She sighed. What are we going to do with you, Tsukune? You never change. But I'm glad of that fact…
Satisfied, she joined her group of friends. They were together again, and they were ready to continue on their journey once again.
Author's Note:
Hiii~!
I hope this chapter was entertaining for you all, hahaha. Zane sure was something, wasn't he? xD
I was wondering what would happen if Kurumu met another succubus (or in this case, an incubus), and yeah… I doubt she'd appreciate him hitting on her at all. Or any of her friends, LOL.
Well, 3 more chapters to go for the "underground tunnel" scenes! Who else is counting here...? ;)
- ACookieZ