Disclaimer: I don't own any IPs that might appear in the story
The Council of Thirteen
Book Fourteen: Invasion
Chapter 1: Beachhead
Beta:
Hours after Mother, Rose Iris and Dante had returned to Sanctuary from their trip to Britain to confront the cult devoted to the White Queen that had been festering in its wizarding community, Legion was sorting through the massive amounts of intelligence available to him. It was a feat that would have required a whole department's worth of humans to handle in a timely manner, but with his inhuman ability he was working through a steady pace.
To be honest, he would much rather have spent time checking over his fellow Lords. The mission to Britain had been gruelling. Rose Iris had returned emotionally drained and Dante had come back scarred, leaving Mother worried about both of them. Legion would have loved to offer them what support he could. However, he knew he best served them by simply doing his job. Even if it was incredibly boring!
Even the multiple instances of strange activity by various cults dedicated to the Sapphic Circle had become practically mundane. Oh, he knew full well the threat posed by the Outsiders and their crazed devotees but the sheer frequency of them causing trouble lately had made handling them routine.
That said there was something particularly strange going on in Japan. In contrast to the previous observation by the Japanese Lords about their increased activity, Yumi, Yuki, the Kinomoto-Daidoujis and their subordinates were now reporting that the Japanese cults had stopped the low-level harassing of Council operations lately and had instead turned towards gathering resources for something. The disparate and often mutually antagonistic cults were also working together in a uncharacteristic show of unity. Attempts to discover what exactly however had been stymied by a resurgence in harassment operations, not just within Japan but globally, forcing a shifting of priorities and resources. It was clear that whatever the Japanese cults were up to some kind of major operation.
Their operation in Britain must have been part of this distraction. It certainly seems like it. The Tenth Lord mused, weighing the probabilities through a series of immensely complex calculations. Even if it wasn't, it certainly has served that purpose.
Having successfully drawn Mother away and occupying the attention of both Rose Iris and Dante as well, it had pulled a good deal of the Council's attention away from Japan. In doing so, it had emboldened the Circle's cults in carrying out whatever plan they had concocted.
I will need to bring this to Mother's attention. The digital lifeform that was the Tenth Lord decided.
Nestled in the remote foothills Northern Alps in Japan's Nagano Prefecture, the village of Shinokawa barely had a population of a hundred residents and was hours away from anything that might charitably be called a town. It thus was an ideal place for the cults of the Sapphic Circle to set up their base.
At least Dom thought so as she sneaked her way through the village, hiding in the shadows and wrapping herself in the obscuring power of the void to avoid detection by the many sentries the cultists had set up.
Only somewhere as remote as this would such a significant buildup of forces not be immediately noticed. Dom thought as she snuck past a group of warlocks dedicated to Azathoth's Reaper who were standing outside what seemed like the local pub whilst having their summoned demons engage in gladiatorial matches whilst they placed bets.
The scene had Dom frowning in distaste, but she pushed the emotion aside. She had more important things to worry about than a bunch of idiots enjoying demonic bloodsport.
Thankfully for her waning patience, she only had to sneak another half dozen patrols before she found herself at the heart of the cultists' operations in the village, the local sports field. The local sporting venue was however unrecognizable as such and if it hadn't been labelled as such on the map Legion had provided her, Dom doubted she'd have made the connection. Instead of an open space adorned with the predrawn markings of some kind of sporting field, the place had become a disgusting temple dedicated to the married Outsiders Midori and Shiro Evileyes.
Twisted trees, clearly grown with magic, were strategically placed throughout the former sports field to form an unknown pattern. From the branches of these trees hung human sacrifices wrapped up in cocoons and silk, some places in finger thin strands and others in thick ropes, stretched from tree to tree in an intricate arrangement that must have added to the magic circle - For what else could it be? - in some way.
Under the branches of these accursed forests hundreds of druids in service to the Woodland Goddess stood as still as the trees they'd grown and chanted in a creepy voice. In the boughs, thousands of spider monsters of various types cavorted in a strange dance as they added to the ritual underway.
I have to stop them. Dom concluded as she felt the magic gathered by the ritual begin to build to a crescendo.
"Void Cannon." Dom cast, sending a beam of void energy screeching through the air towards the heart of the ritual, even as she dropped the obscuring shadows she'd used to keep hidden choosing to instead channel the power behind them into her armor wards instead.
"S̴̪̱̩̔̀͗p̶͉̥͖͆͗̂͘ĕ̵̮l̴̨͇̹̱̐̓̌l̶̛̗b̷͈̙͚̱̅u̶̫̘̒̿͜s̸̲̃ț̸̙̐͂͗e̷͙͙̓r̵̛̯͕͕̼̄ ̵̨̊C̷̨͇͔̳̀̔͒́a̴͈̙͑̅̎ṉ̵̛̼̟ṇ̴̢̨́̂͐̅͜o̶̡̗͂n̶̜̹̰͚̊͋!" A voice shouted from Dom's left even as a beam of white energy slammed into her own obsidian one from the side and deflected it away from its target.
Spinning to see her opponent, Dom couldn't resist quirking an eyebrow at the sight before her. Wielding a minigun for a Mystic Code was an animated yellow teddy bear with a white belly, mouth, and inner ears, scary red eyes with black pupils, a white "X"-shaped band-aid on its navel, and a zipper on its back. Both creature and its weapon reeked of the otherworldly magic that marked it as a servant of an Outsider.
"H̵̔ͅi̷̧̳̼̅ ̸̖̬̜̖̔̎͗t̵͚͖̖̱͐͝ḩ̶̢̠̫̽́̔̇è̷͚̦̚r̵͇̻͎͆ė̵̛̠̣̪̀!̵̄ͅ ̸̮̱̉͒T̴̪̲̿͗̕̕ḣ̸̹̦͛̎e̵̛̥ ̷̖̃ǹ̵͖͔̀̔̎͜a̶̛̬̍̕̕m̶̨̦̩̽̑͌ȩ̵͎̻͋̓̎̀'̵͙̈́͂̂́s̸̹͇͈̯̓̓̏ ̶̧͍̰͉̒͌̒F̶̯̃̈r̴̡͕͔̼͆́̚a̷̝̐n̵͚̬͘k̷̩̝͈̈́͑̿ ̶͇̲̀͝a̷̝̐̓̇n̷̘͖͎̿d̶̡̙̙̿͒̂͠ ̷̪̀̈t̴͇͆̀̿h̸̛͉̻͎͇́̅i̶̳̗̗̓̿̍̀s̶̨̱͓͕̈́̂̿ ̵̫̉̈́̕̚͜b̶̻͂a̶̦̎̓b̶͚̅y̸͈̻̽͒̓͜͜͠ ̵͈́h̸̨̙̃̿͐̉e̷̺̺̔͒́͋r̴͙̫̲̝͋e̷͙̗̙͛͊̐͠ͅ ̴̡̑͂i̶͚̲̇s̶̲̯͛̈ ̷̞͐E̴͖̺͗̄͋u̴̮͝ǧ̵̩ḛ̶̼̼̀n̶̠͝è̶̡̀͋̐.̵͍͉̦̳̄̏̀̏ ̶͕̿W̸̡̨͗̾e̸̖͕̖̲͝'̵͎͍͇͐͜l̶̰̹̱͐͊̀l̵͍̝̱̰̎̈́͝͠ ̷͙̠͕̖̋͂̐̔b̷̨͎̐e̵̹̠͖͐͂͠ ̸̦́̒y̵̘͐͋͝o̸̟͛̓̈u̵̳̰͖̼̽͠r̸̠̠̿̐̑ ̸͉͋̌͘ö̷̤͚̘́͒͋͘p̴̡͗͌̌̽p̵̺̊͝o̴̢͕̐͂ṅ̸͍͓̈́͒ͅe̵̢͚̺͓͊̏n̴̩̓̀̍t̴̺́̚s̴̬͇̺̀́̐ ̷̧̞̱̼͗͐t̷̮͔̏̎ö̷̧͈́n̷̢̻͌́̌ĭ̴̧̟̣͈̓g̸̫͎̟̅ȟ̵̬̱̬̤̀t̷̪̑̄,̴̲̓́ ̷̨̥̈́̚M̴̫̖͒́̋̚ḯ̸͖͒ş̵̪̪̻͆̿̕s̵̫̤̖͉͗͊.̸̛̛̜̍́" The monster said as it leveled its Mystic Code and opened fire with a barrage of white magical bolts. "V̴̯̟͌̈́í̷̥̥̗̋̓̕o̸̯͉̝̹̓̍l̵̡̼̣̞͛̍a̴̞͌̃̒͊ ̸̥͂̂͐å̷̜͕̳͔̃̎͝ņ̸̙͉̪̈́d̵̖͍͇̄̆͆̐ ̴̟̆̽̈t̴̻̫̠̋h̶͉̤̃̍̃͌e̵̞͕͉̋̐ͅ ̵͎̗͑̐̅̽͜M̸̙̽ͅị̷̥̥̃̓̇s̷̭͆s̷̡̔͑̆͘ṵ̶̪͛š̶̡ ̵̘̂̏o̶̰̓̃r̵͚̰͊̈́͋͘d̶̨̤̰̈́̍̓̚ͅe̵͇͖͚̣̎͒͠r̸͖̮̟̊̒̒̉ẻ̶͎͓̈́d̶̡̫̔̐ ̶͙̌̐̍͝ṃ̴̤̟̼̎ḛ̵̇ ̶̤̹̒t̵͚̞͈̂͠ọ̸̩̓̐ͅ ̶͓̤̦̀͋̿͠m̷͉̹͎͖͝á̴̦͜k̶̹͖̳̘̀e̶̠̳̚ ̶̝͔̗̂s̶̩̘̯͑͛͊ú̶͙͕̅̒͝r̷̡̠͒̏é̷̻̔͑ ̸͈̘͚͗ỹ̸̬̱̼̀͌͂ő̵̦͝͠ű̵̧͘ ̷̠̮͋͆͌͌ͅd̶̖̏͗o̵̱̓͑̊n̵̙̹͊'̶̩̃̏t̷̙̞̫̃ ̵̧̤̓̃ͅi̶͓͂̌n̴̦͓̆̆́t̶̡̧͚̆e̸̞̰̅ŗ̶̖̳͙̅̀r̵̨̺͛ȗ̵̺̳͋̓p̸̰̓̒̅t̷̯̠̙̠̃͛̕ ̷̼̣̪̰̾̽̈̾t̵͇̙̊̓͝h̵͙̗̑̐͑̽i̸̧̢͔̤̔̊̿š̵̤̥̲̕ ̸̞͕̩̳̃̅̎̋r̶̡̰̰̆͋̀̚į̵͈̗̑̎̅ṯ̵̀̅ừ̴̗̼̈́͘͜a̸̢̙͒̄l̶̢̘̏̆̋.̷̢̢̮͂̀͋ ̵̡̯̟̾͌͝A̶̮̜̮̽̄n̶͖̭̆͜d̴̨̘̱̞͒̀͘ ̵̦̞̰̉̀̋Ḭ̷͑̌͌ ̴͍̤͚̆́͂ạ̴̋ĩ̸̬ͅͅñ̸͉̀̉̅'̷̞͐̄͘t̶͙̺̦̅̏̐̃͜ ̴̹͙͇̤̀ả̶͚̥͎̕b̸̼͖̅ô̸͇̮͈͜u̶̡͎̖̖̅͋͝ṫ̵͚̻͈͔͛ ̷͙͠t̶̤̯̬̓ò̵͚̔̓̿ͅ ̶͙̬̟̹̓ď̴͇̝̥́̒́ͅì̵̬ś̶̬̚ͅa̸̭̚p̷͕̤̼̀p̸̛̙̮͎̏͗͝o̵̩͎͊͊̿͋ĭ̶̠͖̗̍ñ̷̩̹͉̈͜t̴̘͈̝͂̑̓͗ͅ ̶̤̯̻́̓͝m̴̜̫̓͋́ý̷̱̥̭͙̐̍͠ ̷͉̖̃́̚b̴̟̖̹̰̈́͐o̶͈͈͉̖̊s̴̯̬̪͖̓̈́̽̌s̸̝̍̏̕͜e̶̦̜͙̼͗́ṡ̷̭.̵͕̞͖̈́̆͘"
Even as Dom used Shadow Step to evade the withering fire, she noticed a large group of cultists move in the direction of the fight clearly intent on aiding the champion of one of their goddesses.
This is bad. Dom concluded even as she rematerialized and sent her own barrage of Void Missiles flying at her opponent before once more teleporting away to avoid his inevitable retaliation. I can't take on both an Outsider servant and an army of cultists!
Much to her surprise, the animated stuffed toy proceeded to alleviate that concern.
"S̶̡̝̯̞̽͝t̴̨̝̍͜a̶̺̿̐̔ỹ̷̻̳̿͗̔͜ ̷͇͕̭̥̋o̶̡͇͎̾̇u̸̯͎͆̇t̴͉̜̜̑̈́̆͘ ̵̩̬͐͋̚o̴̪̳͌̽̾f̵͕̺̺͍̈̏ ̴͔̥̦̖̏̿̽ț̴̓̐h̶̛͚̜̀̀ȋ̸͉̦̹͂̀́s̴̰͕̳͛̓̂͛!̷̙͆͆̎͝" It hissed at the cultists in its heavily distorted, barely intelligible voice but nonetheless from tone alone brooked no argument. "K̷͕͎͛̄͠͝e̸̪̹̯͇͘e̴̩̱͎̓͠ṗ̵̯͝i̸̦͚̭̊́̆͂n̴̪̹̻̿͐g̵̛̝̦̝͖͊ ̴̦͊́̌̔ȃ̵̤͙̖͊́ṉ̴̎y̸̜͙̻͆ ̴͔̬́̋͋ḯ̶̡͍̳̒ṋ̷͓͕͇̒̈̊̉t̷̡̛̼̩͌̇̕ė̵̘̟͇̬r̸͍̩̫̊l̵̢̦̼̎͒̂o̵̜̬̘̅p̶̬̿í̷͚͚́̿n̶͖̰͘͠͠g̴̤͎̝͒ ̵̙̻̺̀̋̑͑L̷̳͉̞̆͜ö̸̖͌r̸̼̃̽d̶̹̯̳̊͊̽͜s̸̨̬̿̏̅͠ ̵̯͗̐̾͑o̸̊͜f̴̦͍͓͔͛̄͊͠ ̶̰̋̑̿̏t̴̹̺͉̓̽̅̕h̶̳̮̊̔̕e̴̢̛͇̥̭͂̓ ̸͕̯̃̆̂͠T̵̛̟̃̒h̷̡̰̻̐͑́ỉ̷̢̦̤r̷̗̯͙͑͋͠t̶̡̖͍̤͆̽̑͊ẽ̴͚̹̈̆̀ȅ̷̛̟͉̟͈ṇ̵̾̐̈́ ̷̢̫͉͝b̴̺͓͗ǘ̸̻̩͒̀͒s̶̭̮̈́́͜y̴̨̢͒͂͋͗ ̷̻̉͘͝í̴̟͇̉̍s̵̛̛͚̖͊̀͜͜ ̵̧̝̤̀m̴͔̀͠y̵̭̦̜̅͠ ̷̻̉̈́j̷͔͓̔o̷̢̯̩̒͐̓b̴͍͓̍̐̿.̸̭̏͊̑̕"
All whilst, it weathered Dom's barrage with little more than a few scuff marks on its body.
My Void Missiles might not be one of my most powerful spells but it still packs enough firepower to take out a battalion's worth of men. To weather it mostly undamaged, this creature's durability must be insane.
Especially since it seemed to have done so without any armor wards.
"Don't you mean your job is to defeat me?" Dom asked with a raised eyebrow, hiding her unease and summoning a shield of void energy to protect her from a burst of destructive arcane energy the monster's gun was shooting at her.
"Ṋ̸̘͂ả̶̗͈͚͑̃ḩ̷͇̞̥͒́͋,̵̹̏̈́̽ ̷̞͑́͠Ĭ̸̛͕̔̕ͅ ̶̪̩̀̓͂͝k̷̩̪̺̦̽͗n̶̪͈̩̎ǒ̷͈̬ẇ̶͍͕̪̦͛̂̌ ̶̗̭̯̓̉̌m̵̥̰̉̀ê̷͙̟̔̈́ ̷̫̭̮̀̈͝a̷̪͌n̸̢̡̟͖̎̿̔͗d̸̥̮̻͌̀̓̕ ̸̲̝͗̃E̶͍̳̼͂̚ủ̶̜̩̖̔̃g̶͚̮̣̽̈́̕͘e̸͍͙̭͉̾̂ǹ̵̛̼͆e̶̝͐̕
"Great, I'm being looked down upon." Dom said as she teleported away from Frank attempting to headbutt her by swinging his head back up.
"Y̷̦̪͚̰̾̐̋̋o̷̢̼̱̥͗̑̚ù̶͖͖͓̒͘ ̷̥̚r̸͎͇͓̖͂e̶̟̹̹̯̊å̵̛̩̝͎̹̓̕ĺ̵̖͎l̸̡͈̏͐̈́ŷ̸͚̻̳̞̉͘ ̷̹̠̻̅ą̷̜͇̆͑̕̕r̶̺̺̥̗̓͆e̷͈͍͂n̶̗͔̝͍̑͒͐͠'̶̡̫͖̅̏͝t̶̪͔͍̂͘ͅ.̴̰̱̰̬̄̃" Her opponent told her, sounding genuine as he let loose with his minigun exactly where Dom rematerialized, forcing her to conjure another shield of void energy.
Dom just snorted and went back on the offensive with another brace of Void Missiles.
The rotating barrels of the abomination's Mystic Code spun at insane speeds as he fired a sustained burst of incredibly interception fire that managed to knock out every last one of the projectiles she'd sent his way. Unfortunately for him, the Void Missiles were just a feint and in the precious few seconds it bought her, she'd summoned her familiars.
"Hit him from the sides and keep him off balance boys!" She ordered her Void Hounds as the greyhound like void creatures that were her familiars manifested around her in a defensive formation.
Her loyal familiars barked their acknowledgement before transforming into bolts of black lightning and streaking towards the animated teddy bear.
"D̵̹̎̉o̵̮͎͊g̷̡̲̪̈́͋͜ş̷͍̖͗?̵̳͔̪̇͂͂ͅ ̸̦͂̓̕Ì̷̫̣̎̽ ̸̤̣̳̐̈́͒̏ͅh̶̘̖̱̙̏̅͑ą̸̻̀́t̵͈͊́̄͝ẽ̸̘̭̬͐ ̵̛̗̦̰͔d̸̨̾ǫ̴̎̊͑g̴̺̕͠s̷͍̊͂̔!̸̟̫͕̾͠" The monster shouted as it tried to fend Dom's Hounds off with quick bursts from his minigun. "N̸͙͖̊ǫ̴̤̈́͜ ̶̘͖͙͠o̸̢͗̌̽̄f̵̢̢̧̝̍f̷͎̰̩͕̓́̌e̵̪̅n̵̢̛̰̍͒̚ş̶̢͙͌͋̇̓e̷͉̅̉͒ ̴͚̯͂̈́̋ͅṠ̸̤͖̑̓a̷̖̲̿̇͝n̸͙̥̈́d̴͖͍̽̒o̵̜͎̺͕̓̈́͛r̸̝̙̍̔.̷̡͖͇̬̆̃"
It's efforts were futile though as the void creatures moved so fast that he struggled to draw a bead. And even when he did, Dom's Hounds just phased into intangibility and allowed his fire to phase through their bodies harmlessly.
In contrast, each time the Hounds closed with the hapless Outsider servant, they sank their fangs and claws into his body ripping chunks of fluff right out of it. This despite his desperate attempts, in between bursts of minigun fire, to swat any of them who got close with his oversized hands or the butt of his weapon.
Whilst her familiars kept the monster idle, Dom used the opportunity to ready a spell that would end this. Gathering her magic together, she cupped her hands and began concentrating it within them for one of her more powerful spells.
"From the edge Creation, from the maw of the all-consuming Void, O tyrant of the seas of nothingness, some forth and smite my foes. Descend, Void Dragon!"
As she completed her incantation, the world around her darkened well beyond natural. For an instant, everything lost all colour and became monochrome and as the effect passed, a massive dragon made of shadows and eldritch purple lightning leapt from her now outstretched cupped hands.
The newly summoned void creature let out an earth shaking roar as it shot skyward and surveyed the area. Bolts of the purple lightning that made up part of its body arced off it and slammed into the ground below with destructive effect.
"T̵̙͗͗̇͜ͅḣ̵̭̻̺̓̏a̷̧͕͕̎̏ͅt̶̼̫̜̾̃'̴̣̊͛š̵̨̠̐̕ͅ ̴̯̉̀ă̶͖̥̌̿ ̵̧̳̔̏b̶̦̯̩͇̑i̵͙̓̎̑̉g̵̺̮̳̩͋͛̏ ̶̹̙̀̒d̷̟̕r̸̯̔a̴͍̍͗͆g̷̢̠̳̈́̓̋o̵̧̜͑̃̃̂n̷̿̅͜͜.̵̡̢͈̳͗" The Outsider servant Dom was fighting noted with clear apprehension.
His distraction cost him and one of Dom's Hounds managed to tear a large chunk of his right shoulder off, causing enough damage that the stitching that attached the limb to the rest of the giant stuffed toy's body failed and it fell off, taking its Mystic Code with it.
"S̷̱̔̄̕h̵̗̙̜̒i̸̟̖̐̈ṫ̷̡͓̿̀!̴͎͚̑͋" It cursed even as the Hounds closed in for the kill.
Dom however ignored the monster's demise as her canine familiars proceeded to reduce the giant teddy bear into a chew toy and rip it apart.
"N-Noxius," Dom said to her newly summoned familiar in between pants as she struggled to regain her breath Summoning the Void Dragon having taken its toll on her. "Destroy that ritual."
"As you command," the dragon said as it took a deep breath and gathered his power.
Off to the side, the Void Hounds whined as their new toy finally gave up the ghost and its body disintegrated into mush. But fortunately for them, they soon had plenty of new playthings to entertain themselves with. Having seen their monstrous champion defeated, the cultists which had previously stood by watching his battle with Dom move in to engage her.
Redirecting their attention to this advancing mob, they transformed into black lightning and streaked through their ranks, killing anyone they touched. At the same time, Void Missiles rained into the ranks of the cultists from a distracted and recovering Thirteenth Lord.
All this happened even as Noxius unleashed his breath weapon upon the ritual site that the former village sports field had become, sending a beam of raw void energy from the edges of which purple lightning arced streaming from his maw.
Unfortunately, it seemed he was a second too late as just as his attack was about to make impact, twin massive pillars of magic, one pure white and the other a verdant green, shoot up into the sky from the centre of the ritual circle, twining together as they reached towards the heavens and intercepted his beam. Worse, the combined beam effortlessly pushed his attack back and before he could react, pierced his skull, sending him hurtling back to the void with an angry roar.
"Noxius!" Dom shouted in shock at seeing her strongest familiar so easily defeated. Though considering the sheer power emanating from these pillars, she shouldn't have been.
It was so intense that it had the cultists faltering and even she felt her knees shaking at their strength. A feeling that only grew stronger as two figures stepped out of the pillars and caused the cultists to promptly prostrate themselves in veneration. Though this time it was more due to fear than anything else.
To the left was a petite blonde woman with stunning green eyes set incongruously in a face otherwise defined by East Asian features dressed in a traditional kimono decorated with the designs of a tranquil forest and had a pair of dragonfly wings growing out of her back. Next to her stood a stunningly beautiful young girl with ghost-white skin and extraordinarily long, flowing, straight silver-white hair whose eyes were closed as if blind, dressed in an exquisite formal dress.
"Hail Lady Midori, the Green Queen, the Daiyoukai of the Mugen no Mori! Hail Shiro Evileyes, the White Spider, Mother of Nightmares." The cultists cried in ecstatic welcome and confirmed Dom's worst fears.
I've got to get out of here. Dom concluded as she immediately used Shadow Step to make as much distance between herself and the new arrivals as possible. There is no way I can fight two Outsiders!
Unfortunately, thanks to the insane amounts of ambient magic in the area thanks to their presence and how it interfered with the spell wasn't much at all.
"Oh! Running away already, Thirteenth Lord?" The winged Outsider said as materialized right next to Dom seconds after she herself exited her own teleport. "Why don't you stick around a little?"
Dom had absolutely no intention of doing that and sending a mental command to her Hounds to try and distract the kimono-clad extradimensional god, she once more teleported away with a Shadow Step.
"You have cute dogs!" The green eyed goddess said as vines shot out of the hemline of her kimono and completely ignoring their ability to turn intangible, skewered the Void Hounds and dispelled them back to the void.
Dom couldn't resist a growl at that as she exited from her latest teleport but she quickly dismissed the anger at her faithful familiars' defeat as she found herself facing a much more pressing problem. For she had found herself face to face with the silver haired Outsider.
"Just teleporting away won't be enough to escape." The other woman said as she swept her left arm in Dom's direction and sent a wave of white energy at her.
Instead of replying, Dom instead focused on evasion. Using yet another Shadow Step, she teleported out of the way of the attack. And as she rematerialized once more, she simultaneously unleashed a Void Explosion. As expected one of the Outsiders, the kimono clad blonde this time, had pursued her and was caught up in the shockwave of void energy that the spell released, sending her staggering back and allowing Dom to teleport away.
Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one who knew how to spot a pattern and as she rematerialized from her latest teleport, she found herself caught in a trap. She had cast another Void Explosion to cover her reappearance into the material plane but Shiro Evileyes had expected that and the webbing that shot at her from all sides as she did phased through the void energy like it didn't exist and wrapped around Dom unimpeded.
"Caught you," the White Spider said as she materialized.
"Matter Cutter!" "Ryūja no mai (竜蛇の舞, Dance of the Dragon and Serpent)!"
At the simultaneous incantations, a brace of deatomizing energy blades flew towards the cocoon of otherworldly silk that Dom had found herself trapped within and a massive tornado formed around the White Spider and picked her up, before quickly spinning away.
"Sensei!" "Dom-sama!" Yuki and Yumi said as they materialized on either side of the Thirteenth Lord as she staggered to her feet.
Thank goodness we had an extraction plan in place. Dom thought with relief at the sight of her fellow Lords of the Thirteen. But...
"We need to get out of here." Dom told them. "We can't beat them with just the three of us."
"You really can't." Midori said as she flickered into view, her wings beating furiously and her wife in her arms as she hovered in the air.
"Maybe one-on-one you might have a chance," Shiro Evileyes agreed as she pushed away from her wife and fell to the ground, her lower body transforming over the short distance and she took on the form of an arachne so that as she landed, she did so on eight spider legs. "But I doubt you'll manage against both of us."
"No, but we can certainly escape from you." Yumi said defiantly as she threw a stack of paper talisman into the air with her left hand and swung at the air with one of her tessens that she held in her right, conjuring a wind that scattered them. "Shikigamis, manifest!"
At her command, each of the paper talismans glowed a brilliant white for a moment before taking on the shape of each of the three present Lords of the Thirteen. As they did, said Lords promptly teleported away from the two Outsiders.
"You think that this will be enough to trick us?" Midori scoffed, as with a roll of her eyes her form flickered for a second. As she returned to normal, all the hundreds of versions of the three Lords of the Thirteen that she'd been facing were cut in half and in bursts of light were revealed to be little more than shikigamis.
"What!?" The Woodland God gasped. "How can all of them be decoys?"
"We underestimated them, that's how?" Shiro Evileyes said, opening her eyes as the many pupils within the orbs moved in seemingly random patterns as they surveyed the area. "That was a very well prepared escape plan."
Summoning one of the destroyed talisman that had previously animated one of the shikigami to her hands, she looked at it closely for a moment.
"Not only are these shikigami made so well that they are all but indistinguishable at a glance from the people they're supposed to be duplicating, even for me, but they are also designed to help mask movements through the upper and lower dimensions."
"So they jam sensing teleports?" Midori asked, blinking in surprise. "Sneaky."
Shiro Evileyes nodded. "Truly, these Lords of the Thirteen will be interesting opponents."
"Heard that, Thirteenth Lord?" Midori said, turning to a patch of shadow nearby. "Be honored that we consider you and your peers interesting."
With that she pointed a finger in the direction of the shadow and fired a beam of green energy from its tip that dispelled the divination spell that Dom had left embedded within.
"They're out," Legion informed them over the earpiece both of them were wearing and Sakura turned from looking at the fading entwined pillars of magic in the distance to exchange a nod with Tomoyo.
"We can do this," Sakura reassured her wife.
"I know." Tomoyo replied after taking a calming breath. "We have to."
"I will assist as well." The Twelfth Lord added as one of his Projections materialized next to them.
"Thank you," Sakura told the Twelfth Lord with a smile that she hoped he could see. "Hopefully our combined power will be enough."
"Enough psyching ourselves up, Sakura." Tomoyo said scoldingly. "Let's just do it."
Sakura nodded and pointed her staff in the direction of Shinokawa village, calling on Shield to help her shape her magic accordingly. Beside her both Tomoyo and the Twelfth likewise channeled their magic into the creation of a set of barriers that they hoped would contain the two invading Outsiders at least temporarily. The first to go up was her own, as it formed a pyramid of pink energy around the occupied village and its surrounding countryside that extended underground to form a diamond. This was followed by Tomoyo's contribution which took the form of a cube of energy that was almost invisible save for the slight optical distortion it created. Last, was the Tweflth's barrier, a single tube of prismatic energy.
"Pour all you can into them," Sakura urged the others. "These barriers will have to hold until we can come up with a way to beat back the Outsiders."
"I-I know." Tomoyo replied as her breath hitched and she fell to her knees.
Sakura turned towards her wife, a look of concern on her face but Tomoyo shook her head even as Yue-san stepped forward to help her to her feet and Kero-chan moved to stand behind her to help her keep standing.
"Don't overexert yourself!" The Twelfth warned. "We'll still need your strength in the fight ahead."
"Tomoyo, moderate the power you're powering in." Sakura advised. "You're a Lord of the Thirteen, you have the power for this. It's about channeling it properly."
"G-Gotcha," Tomoyo agreed as she swayed unsteadily on her feet despite Yue-san and Kero-chan supporting her though she had thankfully cut back on the magic she was channeling into her barrier to a more modest pace. "I can keep going."
"Yue-san, Kero-chan-"
"We'll make sure she's okay." Kero-chan reassured Sakura.
Normally Tomoyo would have something to say about that. Whilst she would be the first person to admit she wasn't the strongest or most skilled magician, much less Lord of the Thirteen, she had over the years developed some pride in her abilities and something that so blatantly questioned them prickled her. However, it seemed she was too focused on the task at hand today to have the wherewithal to spare to do so.
"Sakura, do not get distracted." The Twelfth warned. "Just because the Outsiders have not challenged us as we raise the barriers yet, does not mean that they will not."
"Right!" Sakura said, as she reluctantly turned away from her wife and Guardians to focus on strengthening the barrier she'd created.
Done!
So the invasion has begun! Hope it lives up to expectations. Both yours and mine. To be honest, I'm not too satisfied with this chapter. I wanted to have Midori and Shiro show off a little more but at the same time it's a little too early for it and against the wrong targets. So for now, they simply grandstand a bit. It's my hope that I can craft the opportunity for them to really showcase just how insanely powerful they are later in this 'book'.
Well, that's it for this chapter. Till next time mata ne!