Ch.66: Revenge of the Grim Ash Trio! Death of a Haunted Soul Pt.2!
"HA!" Griffin's sword blazed with Exosus Release, and he struck the back of Voss' head.
The metallic oni shrugged off his attack and caught Griffin out of the air before he could retreat. He roared in the Grovyle's face and smashed him into the ground. Griffin gasped as dark energy shined from the oni's hand. He strengthened his defensive aura as an explosive shockwave released into him, ripping open the ground in a fiery blast.
Wind blades and shadow knives pinged off Voss' armor. He turned as Holly and Edwin separated, throwing out attacks from a distance. Voss tossed Griffin aside and charged at Edwin on all fours. His thunderous stride made the ground tremble with every step.
Edwin stumbled to keep his balance, then formed a shield in front of himself. Voss threw his body weight into it. There was a brief clashed between both forces, but Voss overcame the barrier and smashed through. Edwin tried to put up another, but Voss seized him by the face and bashed his skull into the ground. He lifted the Simisage and repeatedly struck him down, each impact digging his head further and further into the ground.
"Dolorem Rewrite!"
The Simisage disappeared in a burst of blue petals, and something smashed down on the back of Voss' head. He shrugged off the blow and whipped his tails, covering the ground in a wave of shadow fire. Holly, who had Edwin in her arms, jumped over the wave. She winced as some flames licked the bottom of her foot, but she landed to safety to set Edwin down.
Voss roared and charged at them again. Holly opened her fan wide and summoned a hurricane in front of herself. The sudden gust froze Voss in his tracks and nearly toppled him over, but he ironed out his stance and sank his feet into the ground to anchor himself. He stomped his feet through the earth and advanced through the wind.
Holly closed the fan and summoned illusionary clones of herself around the area. They ran around Voss while the real Holly ran off to find cover.
Voss roared and stomped his feet. The ground split open with flames shooting out through the growing cracks. The ground ruptured, spewing dark flame into the clones and destroying them. The blast reached Holly and knocked her off her feet. Spotting the real Lurantis in flight, Voss charged at her.
Holly tried to glide along the air with her fan, but Voss came in too fast and tagged her out of the air. Her fan slipped from her claws. Voss grabbed her by the leg and swung her down into the ground face first. He lifted her over his shoulder and smashed her down again.
"Burn!" The metallic oni opened his mouth, generating hot sparking magic from the void.
Just as he fired, Griffin dropkicked Voss' head and redirected his aim across the land. A burning streak of purple marked the land before erupting with a violent blast. The shockwave knocked both Griffin and Holly away from Voss.
Edwin ran toward the stunned oni and chucked shadow knives at him. They pinged off the armor like before. Voss roared and whipped his tails at the Simisage. Edwin immediately ducked under them and slid under Voss' legs. He flipped to his feet, turned, and fired a rectangular barrier from his palm.
It extended and pushed Voss away with tremendous force. The ground tore open under his heels as he tried and failed to resist the barrier's push. Instead, he grinded his body against the barrier until he slipped out of its path. The armor sparked against the extending barrier.
Edwin cancelled the barrier and touched the ground. Shadow and Revulsion Anima coursed through his arms. "Improvised Spell! Fastidium Shadow Prison!"
Shadow burst from the ground around Voss, taking on the shape of walls. They converged on each other, coiling into a tight ball. The shadows solidified into a spherical prison.
Edwin clapped his hands and focused on the barrier. "Execution Cell!"
Giant shadow knives appeared around the twisted prison and impaled through the exterior, one after the other. After getting a dozen in, the last three struck something on the inside, presumably Voss. However, the knives didn't go all the way through like the first dozen. They struggled to push in deeper, stopped by a greater force.
Edwin's eyes widened. "Oh shit—"
The shadow prison was ripped to pieces by a burst of wild shadow fire. Edwin held his arms up against the rushing winds. When he peeked through his arms, the unstoppable oni charged straight for him with flame spilling from his gaping mouth.
"Damage Transfero!"
Voss' eyes flashed. "That won't work this time." He jumped to his feet, sliding the rest of the way, and slammed an uppercut into Edwin's stomach, lifting him off the ground. Edwin spat blood, his spell's aura fading away. "That spell uses the arms and legs to transfer the shock towards. As long as I hit you faster than the pain can register, you won't be transferring any more damage away from yourself."
He pulled his fist back and used the other to spike Edwin through the ground. He leaped forward and stomped both feet down on him. Edwin cried out with a bloody gasp.
Voss raised both fists, but a shower of red needles hitting his armor caught his attention. He turned and saw Griffin armed with five of the six Exiled Soul daggers. Two in hand, two clutched in his feet, and one held in his teeth. Griffin spun on his back and off another shower of needles.
Voss faced them without fear and charged at Griffin. "Worthless effort!" He jettisoned flame from his feet and rocketed off the ground.
He swung his claws into Griffin, but they passed through with a streak of blue petals following him. He looked away for a second, allowing the real Griffin to appear out of thin air and stomp Voss out of the air.
"Cekvar's Might!" He jumped high into the air and summoned the giant sword. He swung and hammered it straight down onto Voss, splitting the earth open.
To Griffin's horror, Voss caught the sword in his hands. The ground merely caved in under his feet. He dug his claws into the giant blade, spun it around, and tossed it and Griffin into the sky.
Griffin sent the sword away and pulled out Justice Flyer. He twirled the rapier, then thrusted it down, propelling himself back to the earth. "No Peace!" He summoned the kanabo to his hand, sent Justice Flyer away, and came down spinning on top of Voss.
Voss shielded his head as the war club smashed down. The vibrational shock ripped everything around them to shreds. Griffin switched to Echo Chamber and rapidly slashed the armor, building up vibrations between the two blades. "Holly!"
Holly appeared out of the air. "Dolorem Demise!"
"That won't work!" Voss spun around as his body started to disintegrate in the illusion world.
Holly prematurely cancelled the spell and dodged a flaming claw swipe. "Alright, then try this! Sensitive Cultro: Audiunt!" Her shout amplified through Voss' ears, blanking out all surrounding sound with her distorted cry, joined by the addition of Griffin's sword strikes.
Though his mind was splitting from the overwhelming audio stimulation, Voss swung his limbs recklessly and knocked away everything around him. Holly quickly jumped back while Griffin performed acrobatics over the vengeful beast.
"Now release!" Griffin released the stored vibrations and blasted Voss with a blank point shockwave.
Voss, still under the effects of Holly's audio spell, roared out with agonizing fury. "Give me MORE!" He thrusted through the shockwave and socked Griffin in the face.
"AGH!" Griffin flew back with Echo Chamber slipping out of his hands. He grabbed the ground, but the looming shadow of Voss descended on him. He braced himself as Voss slammed both fists down on Griffin, burying his head through the earth.
"Griffin!" Holly cried.
Voss put all his weight down on Griffin's back. With the Grovyle pinned, he unleashed a barrage of flaming punches down. Each one caused the earth to shake and depress, sinking them deeper down. Griffin intensified his defensive aura, the only thing he could do. The weight of the armor wasn't anything new to him, but the exhaustive heat from the shadow fire wore him down with each strike. He could feel it penetrating his armor and searing his flesh.
"Is this the extent of your power, Griffin?!" Voss yelled. "Is this what life means to you?! Is this how much you care about your life?! TELL ME!"
"Leave him alone!" Holly descended from the air and kicked the back of his head with an empowered kick.
It lurched Voss forward, but he spun around faster than she could escape and seized her left leg. Her eyes widened in horror as he raised his hand high. "Suffer."
SLASH!
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Griffin and Edwin's eyes widened. Holly's bloodcurdling scream made their own blood run cold. Though Griffin couldn't see anything with his head buried, Edwin could.
Holly collapsed to the ground with her left foot severed. Shadow flames emerged from the bloody wound and engulfed it. Holly clutched her leg and screamed with tears running down her face, twisting and turning as the flames crawled up.
"Holl—" Griffin tried to get up, but Voss stomped and buried his face again. He gasped as Voss grabbed both of his arms and pulled them back.
"You're a disappointment," Voss said in a low tone. "I expected better from you. I gave you everything to unleash that power. That sinister power of the Grim Ash Clan. And yet, you still mock me by not giving me your best." He pressed his foot down harder. "You don't deserve these arms."
Griffin tensed up as Voss slowly pulled on his arms. He clenched his teeth as his aura crackled, trying to keep them from stretching. Cracks formed across the thing defensive armor, spreading from his arms to his shoulders.
Edwin stood up. "Stop it! Stop—" He tried to run, but tripped over himself. His head was spinning from the thrashing he took. He couldn't see straight.
A fluttering of paper sounded nearby. Hugo, now with some of his magic recharged, appeared with Fernando. They were shocked by the state of Griffin and Holly.
"Voss!" Hugo fired a golden beam from his staff.
It blasted across the armor, but he shrugged it off. "Flee." He whipped his tails and knocked the two away with flames.
Fernando caught himself, wincing from the burns, then looked up in horror at the telltale signs of Griffin's cracking aura. "No…he's too strong."
Griffin tried his hardest not to scream, but Holly's cries and the pain in his arms was breaking his resolve. He had tears falling down his cheeks. He couldn't move or fight back. Whatever became of Voss had set him on a completely different level than the rest of them. It was a monster unlike anything he faced from the shadows.
"This is how it always ends, Griffin," Voss said. "Take pride that you fell to a worthy warrior like me. You will not be burdened by my pain, my suffering, my obsession. You showed so much promise when we first met. Now? You're hardly worth anything. I crave only the strongest, and you've been nothing but a disappointment. That is why I grant you this final gift: a taste of the suffering I've endured for the last five centuries. A worthy death!"
CRACK! CRACK! BREAK!
Griffin screamed as his defensive aura shattered. Tears opened up along his arms, spraying blood. He felt his shoulders stressing and muscles groaning. He could feel the tears opening up in his shoulder, mere seconds away from being ripped away.
The metallic oni laughed as he prepared for the final pull, ready to bathe in the Grovyle's blood. "Goodbye, Griffin Everfall. Though our history was bloody, I shall miss our time together—"
BANG!
A hard fist struck the oni's face and sent him flying away from Griffin. He soared over a stunned Hugo and Fernando and crashed several meters away from everyone.
Griffin's arms drooped to the ground. He panted heavily with tears streaming down his face. "Wha…Wha…" His eyes widened as a familiar foot stepped into view. "M…Mack?"
The Sudowoodo stood in front of his fallen clansmen with his persona by his side and his body wrapped in his limiter markings. He glared at Voss as he picked himself off the ground.
"Get the hell away from my best friends."
Voss massaged his chin with sparks grinding off his hand. "You finally woke up from your nightmare…"
Mack glared at Hugo and Fernando. "Get the others out of here. Treat Holly's leg first."
Hugo waved his staff and used Flutter to bring Griffin, Holly, and Edwin over them. He struck the ground and casted a forcefield around everyone but Mack. He knelt down and held his hand over Holly's leg, extinguishing the flames as he became to heal her.
Fernando ran to the barrier and pressed his hands against it. "Mack, what about you?"
He waved the hitman off. "I've got a score to settle with this jerk."
Edwin pushed himself up, though struggled to keep still. "M-Mack, don't…h-he's too strong."
Mack smirked. "I know." He tucked his chain staff away and approached Voss.
Voss flexed his fingers. A low growl hummed from his gaping, metallic maw. "You were nothing but a quivering mess a moment ago, boy. Have you overcome your fear already?"
Mack's crazy grin stretched wider. "Oh, hell no. I'm freakin' terrified." He stopped and let his arms hang in front of himself. His body quivered, his legs trembled, and a cold sweat dripped down his face, yet his smile only grew. "I'm staring at the god of my nightmares, after all. Hehehehehehe…"
Voss glared. "You have no hope of overcoming my power, boy. Even now, I've left your friends crippled beyond battle. They won't be able to save you. Once I'm done slaughtering you, I'll shatter that insignificant barrier and kill every last one of you. Nothing will deny me my battle with Buster Ravenfield or my perfect death—"
"Shaddup!"
"…Excuse me?"
Mack straightened up and snickered openly. "Perfect death this, and suffering this. Boohoo, you didn't get what you want! Oh, how you must feel so tortured being better than everyone else, not getting to live out your suicide fantasy so you can skip all the way to the Hall of Origins or some other Valhalla. You think you've suffered?"
A dark haze surrounded Mack as his limiter marks started widening. They weren't just stretching over his body anymore, but actually covering his rocky skin with only a few bare spots. His maniacal smile and purple-glowing eyes could be felt by Voss, like they were penetrating his soul.
"You're the one who dragged me to Hell for fifteen years." Mack threw his head back and cackled. "You suffered?! I don't know about your old life, but it was probably a hell lot better than mine. Guess that's first world problems for you, where a minor inconvenience is your equivalent of getting cancer!" He grabbed his head, laughing even harder. "Meanwhile, some delusional maniac stayed at our village and slaughtered everyone out of the blue, and I had to live with that trauma WITH my Fear Anima! But no, you're the one who suffered!"
Voss glared. This kid's insane…
Mack's eye twitched as he continued cackling toward the sky. "Do you know what you've put us through, you asshole?! We lost everything, and you have the nerve to say you're suffering! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He dropped to his knees, punching the ground repeatedly as his markings overtook his body. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're actually delusional, and that's coming from the biggest clown right in front of you! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Voss ignited his claws. "You wouldn't understand my pain—"
"Oh, shove it with that crap!" Mack stomped his foot down, shattering the earth around him. He stood up and, for once, stared at Voss with a hideous scowl. Pure vitriol dripped through clenched teeth as he snarled at the oni. "I don't give a shit about your problems. I wouldn't care if you were some poor orphan or a terminally sick child. Any actual care you feel is irrelevant. You're pure evil in my eyes. Sick, twisted evil.
"I've been living with nightmares and night terrors for fifteen long years. I've been living in my own head, replaying my parents' deaths over and over and over again. Your pain means nothing to me. I'm sick and tired of the excuses!" Mack took a deep breath and sighed. "And I'm done letting you haunt me."
He spread his legs and crossed his arms over his shoulders. He hunched over and concentrated as his aura radiated a bright purple. The markings completely engulfed his body and radiated with a similar glow.
"I've been feasting on the fear of others for fifteen years, but I've been using my own fear to fuel my hate for you. You wanted to face a true Grim Ash Clansman? I'll show you…just how much I truly hate you."
Cracks formed over his body. Dark beams of purple light shined out from his body as his aura intensified in a wild mist. The ground shook around him, groaning under the stress of the pressure his body was exuding.
Hugo, Fernando, and Edwin watched as the area around Mack twisted and warped under the intense pressure. Griffin and Holly, though horribly wounded, watched their friend in utter disbelief.
"Is that…?" Holly mumbled.
"When did Mack learn that?" Griffin asked. When a member of the Grim Ash Clan reaches a certain threshold with their limiters, they break and evolve the user to its second stage. And with that comes incredible magic and physical power…and access to that Anima's greatest spell.
Mack lifted his head and grinned wildly at Voss, who raised his arms cautiously as the pressure started affecting him, too.
Mack…do you have any idea what will happen if you don't kill him with that?
"Animi Motus Zenith: Timor!"
The shell shattered, and an explosion of light expanded over the battlefield. Everyone, friend or foe, shielded their eyes as the light blanketed the area in a blinding purple. A pressure exuded itself onto the battlefield, rupturing the land and turning it to dust around them.
Mad cackling echoed out all around them, emanating from the epicenter of the light. A dark gray cloak of smoke billowed from within the light, wrapping around the body inside. A haunting grin, even over the intense light, pierced through and stared at the disturbed Voss.
So, this is the Grim Ash Clan's secret weapon: a limit break.
The light faded, as did the intense pressure. Rubble that was picked up by the pressure fell back to the ground, raining on the group's barrier and Voss' head. They stared apprehensively at the epicenter of the explosion, entranced by the form standing where Mack once was.
"Hehehehe…I'm going to enjoy hearing you squeal~!"
Mack's skin had turned a pale white with the purple markings infused into the skin like actual tattoos. A smoky gray aura billowed above his head, wrapped around his shoulders and chest like a cloak caught in an updraft. Purple spikes jutted out all over his body like he had been impaled several times over, even one sticking out from his left eye. His clothes hung from his body in tattered strips.
Mack lifted his head and snickered. His lips and face twisted into a devilish scowl as he grinned at the armored oni. "Sorry, Voss, but I won't be able to control myself anymore. Fifteen years of fear is being unleashed at once~!"
Voss narrowed his eyes. "Hmph. Is this a joke? Your aura doesn't look like it got any stronger. I dare say it got weaker."
"You poor, poor fool…" Mack took a step forward, his arms swaying side to side. "I think you fail to understand the complexity of the Emotion Anima. Just look at my friends."
Voss looked past the Sudowoodo and glared at the downed Grovyle. To his surprise, Griffin looked absolutely horrified by the sight of Mack. It was a rare sight to see the stoic, headstrong Grovyle actually look upon someone with true terror. He scanned the faces of the others, but only found Edwin and an injured Holly reacting to the sight with similar reactions.
"Wha—" Something flickered beneath him. He looked down and came face-to-face with the smiling Sudowoodo.
"My magic has been converted into raw fear~."
Mack clenched his fist and reared it back.
"If you had Emotion Anima, you'd realize my aura has extended beyond the horizon~."
Voss' eyes widened. Wha—
"Bye-bye~!"
Mack rammed his fist into Voss' face and sent the metallic oni flying into the air. He bent his knees, snickering excitedly, and leaped after him. He near-instantly caught up with Voss and grabbed him by the face.
"Our limiters increase speed, strength, and stamina the more we released it. You want to see what happens when the whole pot is dumped out?!"
He cackled as he spun Voss around before chucking him straight toward the ground. The land depressed under Voss before rupturing under the stress. Mack dove down and slammed both feet down on Voss' chest, sinking him further through the crust.
"Isn't this fun, Voss~? Murder is fun for the whole family~!" He grabbed the oni by the jaw this time. "And you love murdering families, don't you?!" He picked Voss up and smashed him through the walls of the crater. He ran circles through the crater, dragging the Electivire through heaps of hard stone. "Murder, murder, murder! HAHAHAHAHA!"
"Die."
Voss extended his hand and blasted Mack with a close-range torrent of shadow fire. Mack let go of him to dodge the stream, but the oni's twin tails grappled around his waist and pulled him back in.
Voss pulled his fist back and ignited it. "I grant you…oblivion—"
"You bought me a present?!" Mack threw both fists into Voss' face and staggered him. "So sweet of you~!"
Voss growled and threw his fiery punch. "Stupid brat!"
Mack's smoky cloak suddenly jumped forward and collided with Voss' punch. The smoke transformed into a hand that engulfed his whole fist, trapping it inside its grip. In the confusion, Mack slipped out of Voss' hold and jumped back a couple meters.
"Fear Anima is classified as trickster/support magic. Its main specialty is using a medium designed of our own twisted dark sides to lend support." Mack smirked. "But Limit Break…gives me something else to work with. Let me show you just how twisted I can get.
"Animi Motus Exsolvo: Phobophobia!"
The markings on Mack's body lit up, as did his eyes. He pulled his arm back as if ready to throw a punch. However, his arm looked it was beginning to melt. Its shape and form twisted and extended out behind him. Voss, still trapped in the fog's grip, watched in disbelief as Mack transformed his hand into an oversized hammer.
"For the next five minutes, I have the unlimited potential to transform into anything my twisted mind can conceive!"
Mack swung his hammer fist and punched Voss straight through the crater walls. His fist pushed through the rock, dragging Voss' metal body through everything in its path, before shooting him straight out of the surface.
Mack's allies watched from within the safety of the forcefield as rubble rained down on them. Edwin clenched his teeth. "What the hell is that?!"
Holly's eyes shook in disbelief. "Mack…"
Griffin clenched his teeth. "Buddy…why didn't you tell us you were handling this much pressure?"
Though everyone else was blind to it, those with Emotion Auras saw that the entire world as far as the eye could see was blanketed in a purple hue. It was Mack's aura, and the fear he built up over some many years. It was so much more fear than he could've syphoned off from anyone else. It was likely fifteen years of trauma finally being released, and they were the only ones who could feel its presence.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Mack launched out of the crater, transforming his arms into bat wings. "You must feel really stupid right now, Voss! Then again, your brain's probably been decomposing for the last five hundred years!" He flew towards Voss as he reached the peak of his ascent.
Voss reoriented himself and spotted Mack soaring in his direction. He growled and pulled his claws back. "Fallen Hell Blaze!" He slashed and released a wave of shadow fire toward the rampaging Sudowoodo.
"Whaaaaaat? So scaaaaaary~!" Mack enlarged his wings and gave a strong flap. The flames dispersed in the hurricane-like gust. "That's a fire hazard there, Vossy!"
"Burn!" Voss ignited his tails, extended them several times their length, and whipped the space around him. A flaming barrier of flailing tails encircled him.
"Oooooh! We're playing jump rope!" Mack dove through the flailing barrier.
The tails struck on point, but Voss was shock to see they were passing right through Mack. His body broke apart into and reformed from dust each time a tail slashed through him, none of which impacted his flying. Mack brought his wings together, lifted them high, and changed them into a towering executioner blade.
"I always cheat at jump rope!" Mack swung down and battered Voss out of the sky.
Voss aimed his feet and crashed with a hard landing. The ground burned away around him with flames spewing from the cracks. He roared, raised his fists, and fired a geyser of shadow fire into the air. Mack flew around the geyser and dove straight down.
"So much useless~!" Mack changed his arms into two giants hammers. "Time to pound out the imperfections!" He threw a barrage of hammer punches, their speed unimpacted by their lofty size.
Voss fired flames from his feet and dodged Mack's onslaught. The hammer fists tracked his movements and bombarded the ground behind him. He dug his claws down and made a sharp turn around them before leaping into the air.
"Crowgaze!" Voss yelled. He grabbed Mack by the neck and carried him higher into the air. A flaming blade extended out from the armor plating in his arm. "You will burn!"
"Get some new material!" Mack detached his arms and formed new ones. "Here, let me give you a hand!" Two dozen arms spawned from his shoulders, and his smoky cloak transformed into another dozen. "Get it?! HAND?! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Mack pummeled Voss' face with thirty-six speedy fists. The metallic armor rang from the thunderous blows. They weren't making any dents, but it irritated Voss greatly.
"Knock it off!" Voss swung his arm blade and drove it across Mack's neck, instantly decapitating him.
His eyes widened as Mack's cackling head flew over him. "Oooooh~! What part of unlimited transformations did you miss, you dumbass?!" The head faded into dust.
The stump of Mack's neck twitched in Voss' face, and dozens of tentacles shot out. They coiled and pinned down his arms and legs while the rest of Mack's body transformed into a giant, headless bird with the tentacles spawning out of a gaping, toothy mouth on the stomach.
The headless bird cackled. "Are you afraid of me yet, VOSS?!"
Voss produced another blade from his other arm and cross-slashed the tentacles. He fell back toward the ground while firing off a Fallen Hell Blaze, incinerating the monster bird to ash. He said five minutes. I can wait that out—
He mistakenly looked down and saw the ground opening up beneath him. It wasn't a random fissure caused by the fighting, however. It was a mouth opening up from the earth itself with two purple eyes glaring at his falling body. Rows of actual teeth showed inside the chasms.
"Snack time~!" Mack's distorted voice bellowed from the chasm.
Voss tried to change his descent with his flames, but a serpent-like tongue shot out of the chasm and snared his ankle. It pulled him out of the air and into the chasm as it started to close.
"Damn you, Crowgaze!" Voss slashed the tongue off and fired himself into the wall before climbing up.
"No, no, no~!"
Voss stopped as clones of the Sudowoodo appeared from the walls, cackling at him. They crawled across the walls, licking their lips with long, thorny tongues. Voss slashed the walls and ignited them in shadow fire. The clones screamed and laughed as they burned away, but more and more spawned from the walls.
One clone shaped like a snake coiled around Voss and bit down on his armored neck. "Having fun?" More snake heads formed out of the body and bit down on various parts of Voss' body. "Having fun? Having fun? Having fun? Having fun?" they chanted over and over again.
"Get. OFF!" Voss released a full body blast of shadow fire and incinerated everything off of him. He roared and fired a dark purple beam from his mouth, causing the toothy walls to explode. "You will never crack my armor with these foolish transformations—"
A fist fired from the walls and punched through Voss' open mouth. His eyes widened as another Mack appeared above him, snickering. "Who said anything about cracking the armor? That's not as fun as ripping your organs out by hand!"
The fissure finally closed around them, crushing Voss between the hard walls and their fangs. Voss squirmed in his imprisoned state, unable to move his limbs. Mack's arm continued wiggling down his throat, feeling around and prodding everything inside.
"Haaaaa? You're barely flesh and blood anymore! What's the deal?" Mack snickered. "Oh well~! I'll be taking those keys instead—"
Voss snapped his teeth and bit through Mack's arm. "Get. Away. From ME!" His body lit up with shadow fire.
The surface heated up from the intense flames, then burst open with a large explosion. Flaming rock rained down around the battlefield and struck the group's forcefield. Voss jettisoned himself out of the smoke and high into the air.
"You aren't worthy of being called a warrior!" Voss roared.
"Funny, you're usually calmer than this." He looked over his shoulder and found the ascended Sudowoodo riding on his back. "You used to be so cold and robotic, Voss, what gives?" Mack smirked and changed his hand into a hammer. "Oh right, I don't give a shit!"
He punched Voss out of the sky once again, then dove after him. He morphed his whole body into a spiked ball and crashed on top of Voss right as they both landed. Voss tried to claw through the spiked ball, but it transformed once more, this time as dozens of Macks with bell hands.
"Ring-ring-ring! It's for you!" The clones landed and rang their hands simultaneously.
"AAAAHHHH!" Voss covered his helmet. The ringing penetrated his armor and bounced around inside.
"Like you know suffering! You don't know jack-hammer!" The clones raised and extended their arms, coiling and transforming them into a giant jackhammer. They smirked and slammed the device down, hammering Voss through the ground. "You wouldn't have lasted a second against our violent ancestors! This was the power you wanted, right! My Fear, her Sorrow, his Hatred! Everything!"
The Macks changed their arms into giant fists and pummeled into the crater. The ground trembled with each consecutive blow, causing Mack's friends to stagger within the forcefield. More and more of the earth split open. Nothing for miles of the Fire Zone was solid earth anymore, but toasted and brutalized rubble.
"Isn't this what you wanted?!" Mack yelled.
Flames fired out of the crater and destroyed all but one Mack. Voss' hand shot out of the ground and grabbed Mack's face before he could get back. Voss popped out and sliced across Mack's stomach, but it passed through mist instead.
"I've never hated someone more than you!" Mack slammed both hands down on the head and buried Voss' face. "Even after today, I'll still have these nightmares!" He raised his foot, extending it high into the air and transforming it into a giant boot. "But at least I'll have the satisfaction of this!"
He stomped down, further digging himself and Voss into the ground. Voss tore through Mack's foot and howled raging flames into his face. To counter, he transformed into an imposing tidal wave that reached as high as the surface before crashing down on Voss.
Voss flailed through the water as it spun him inside a whirlpool. Invisible fists bombarded him all over. He opened his metallic mouth and fired his dark beam across the crater, causing the walls to explode all over. It was a pointless attack, however, as Mack appeared behind and kicked him into the collapsing wall.
"This is true pain at its finest!" Mack dove down and crashed atop of Voss.
Voss tried to fire from his mouth again, but Mack grew an extra pair of arms and grabbed his mouth, forcing it wide open. Tendrils spawned from his sides and surged inside the armor. Bubbles flowed out of Voss' mouth as he squirmed and convulsed from the disturbing feel of tendrils wiggling inside the armor.
"I hate you. I hate you. I hate you!" Mack smirked. "You had this coming for a long time, you ugly bastard!"
One of the tendrils seized something, causing all of them to retreat from the armored oni. The last tendril ripped out the knapsack of keys, safely depositing them into Mack's hand.
"You made one big mistake giving yourself this monstrous makeover, Vossy~!" Mack's body split in two, the real one disconnecting and floating away while the clone leaned down. "There's a giant porthole to stick a bomb into!"
Voss gagged as the clone liquified itself and forced itself down his throat. He tried to stand, but Mack punched the walls and caused them to cave in on top of him. The crater collapsed on itself as Mack swam back up to the top, cackling joyously.
"Death to you! HAHAHAHAHA!" Mack's smirk stretched to full length. "Enjoy oblivion, you son of a bitch! DIE, DIE, DIE!"
BOOM!
The Grim Ash Duo and friends covered their heads as a violent explosion ripped through the ground and caused the deep hole in front of them to bury itself. The surrounding land sank in with the collapse and buried it while water rushed out to the surface.
Holly struggled to lift herself. "M-Mack…"
Hugo took his hands away from her leg, having sealed off where the severing was made. "Did he…?"
Griffin clenched his teeth. "Buddy?"
There was a long silence as they stared at the smoking area. Hugo hesitated to lower the barrier in fear something worse will crawl out. Edwin and Fernando stood in front of the group with their weapons ready, though were both clearly apprehensive to engage in a battle.
The ground burst open, and everyone immediately tensed up. However, their worries faded as a Sudowoodo's hand popped out of the ground. Mack pushed both arms out onto the surface and lifted himself out, coughing and wheezing.
"Yeesh, that was…ugh…" Mack picked himself up and rubbed his head. His body had returned to normal.
Griffin stood up, ignoring the pain flaring in his arms. "M-Mack?" He smiled anxiously. "You're…okay?"
Mack lifted his head and smirked at them. "Yeesh, did you not have any faith in me or something? So rude."
Hugo sighed and lowered the barrier. "Thank goodness."
Fernando pocketed his knife. "You had us worried that for a moment. You went ballistic there. I was almost convinced you were going to kill us, too."
Mack snickered. "As if."
Holly used Griffin's shoulders to lift herself up, hobbling on her only foot. "I can't believe you had that much power tucked away this whole time. You actually managed to use the limit break."
Mack lowered his head and chuckled. "I'm so exhausted."
Griffin glared. "No kidding. Your magic's been completely depleted."
"Heh. Like I said, have a little faith in me." He straightened up and held up the knapsack. "Besides, it's not like I wasn't thinking straight."
Griffin's eyes widened. "The keys…!"
"I told you I had this covered." Mack closed his eyes and grinned. "I couldn't let that jerk take away my two favorite people, right?"
Griffin blinked twice, then smiled. "You're truly something, Mack."
Holly narrowed her eyes. "Still, are you sure that killed Voss? He—"
"Relax. That blast atomized his insides, and his armor practically trapped the explosion within. No living creature could survive an explosion like that, especially him." Mack snickered. "We won't be seeing good ol' Voss any time—"
SHIIIINK!
Mack's eyes widened as blood sprayed out before his eyes. He blinked and shakily looked down to see a sword sticking out through his chest, dripping in his blood. He looked ahead and saw his friends staring in horror at him.
"You know, this reminds me of how I killed your father." Mack looked over his shoulder slowly. Having dragged himself out of the ground, covered head to toe in black shadowy goop with only half his armor on the left side, Voss glared up at the startled Sudowoodo. He twisted his grip, digging the blade through Mack's back. "You remember, too, of course."
Mack's eyes shook as blood dripped from his mouth. "That…That should've…"
"If I can survive being stabbed through the head, what made you think that was going to kill me?" His glare deepened. "I'll grant you this. If I hadn't ascended before today, that would've killed me. But I made it clear that my shadow and I are one in the same. I can survive more than a typical shadow…" He coughed black blood onto the ground.
"N…No…"
Voss wiped his mouth. "Five minutes, you said. By using that spell, you completely burned out your time with the limit break. You probably could've used it longer, but that spell sped up your time. You have no magic to call upon now."
Mack gritted his teeth. "You…!"
"M…Mack?" He turned back to his friends as they stared and trembled at him. He frowned at the tears coming down their faces.
"Hand me those keys, Mack," Voss ordered as he pried himself out of the ground. "And maybe, just maybe, I'll reconsider killing your friends."
"…"
Mack looked down at the knapsack, the sword in his chest, and then Voss. Even without immediate access to his magic, it was quite clear what his best friends were thinking at this moment. Probably the same thing he was, too. There was only one recourse left.
"…I'm sick and tired of these nightmares."
Voss glared. "Eh?"
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and chucked the knapsack, shocking Voss. It landed at Griffin's feet, who instantly kicked it into his personal arsenal, officially out of Voss' reach.
Voss' shadowy fur bristled. "You…!"
Mack looked over his shoulder and flashed a shit-eating grin. "Fuck. You."
Voss roared and fired flames through his sword, setting Mack ablaze. The Sudowoodo threw his head back and cackled as the flames swirled into a tight, raging inferno that engulfed his being entirely.
"MAAAAAACCK!" Griffin and Holly screamed.
Hugo aimed his staff and fired a focused beam of light at Voss. It hit him dead center in the chest and blasted him away from Mack, sending globs of shadow flying all over. He then fired a ray of light into Mack that instantly doused the flames from his body.
Griffin and Holly hobbled urgently towards their friend, but froze as the smoke cleared. They stared at Mack's blackened body with cracks of purple heat peeking through the skin. His clothes were completely burned away, but his body was almost completely unrecognizable. His hands were burned away, the top of his head crumbled to ash, and one half of his face was falling apart.
"M…Mack?" Griffin mumbled.
"N-No…" Holly whispered.
Mack lifted his head as more ash flaked from his body. He smiled wistfully and took a step forward. Each step caused another chuck of ash to peel from his body, yet he kept moving. He chuckled to himself as the remainder of his eyes' tears fell down his cheeks.
"I never…wanted to be a burden to you two," he whispered. "I was scared and didn't know how to live anymore. I was trapped with the demons in my mind. It was nothing but that Hell for fifteen years. I…I didn't know what kept me going for so long. I couldn't stand living with these nightmares. I hated it. I hated everything and wanted the rest of the world to feel the torture I felt every day in this Hell."
He stopped mere inches in front of his friends, his body trembling as more ash flaked off. He lifted his head and smiled sadly at his friends as tears fell down their faces. He carefully lifted his destroyed arms and used them to wipe the tears off their cheeks.
"But…even though I felt nothing but that pain for so long, I…I'm still happy. It was never just revenge that kept me sane. I was happy because I had something to keep me anchored."
He leaned forward. His feet collapsed under his weight and sent him toppling into his friends. Their eyes widened as he fell between them.
"I was happy, because even through this Hell, I still had my two best friends in the whole world. Losing you two…was my greatest fear."
He fell against the duo…and crumbled away into ash.
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air. No one moved. No one made a sound. All they could do was stare. Edwin, Hugo, and Fernando stared at the remaining Grim Ash Duo, eyes filled with disbelief. Edwin couldn't help himself but to shed tears for the man who gave him a second chance.
Griffin and Holly, barely able to stand, stared vacantly at the ground and themselves as they were covered in Mack's ashes. Griffin collapsed to his knees, bringing Holly down with him. She slipped off his shoulders and faceplanted into the ashes with tears running down her face.
"No…no, no, no, no, no," she whispered. She scooped the ashes toward her with her claws as tears rushed down her face. "M-Mack…"
Griffin couldn't muster an expression or tears. His eyes lost focus as he stared at nothing but the remains of his friend. The only true remnant of Mack's body was the discarded Eclipse sitting atop the blackened dust, now forever without its true wielder. The numb pain in his arms was a distance memory. A tightness formed inside his throat, and his chest ached from the deep, harsh breaths he drew.
This…This isn't real. It can't be real.
A sound pulled his attention off the ashes. A metallic foot coupled with a regular foot stomped on the ground. He looked up to see Voss pulling himself off the ground and brushing off the holy blast he took.
He dusted his shoulder and glared at the stunned duo. "I'll give him this. He came closer than the two of you. What a waste."
Holly lifted her head and snarled at him with hot tears running down her face. "You monster!" She tried to stand, but accidentally stepped on her freshly healed stump. She winced and collapsed onto her claws and knees. "Y-You…!"
Voss pulled out his sword and marched toward them. "I'm ending this now—"
"—im back…"
He stopped and glared at the trembling Grovyle. He noticed a steady flow of aura rising around him, much more controlled and steadier than previous showings of his wild, hate-filled magic. "What?"
"—ing him back…" Griffin, with his arms still limp, pushed himself back onto his feet.
Holly looked up at Griffin, and her eyes widened with newfound terror. "Oh no…" She fell back onto her rear and backed away from him.
Griffin stomped one foot forward. The pressure exuding out of him caused the ground beneath to crack open. He clenched his teeth as hot steam radiating off his skin, flowing alongside his magic. His limiter markings started stretching over his body.
"—ing him back…" Griffin muttered. He took another step forward, exuding even more pressure that ruptured the earth. The magic surrounding him became more tangible and vibrant the more his limiter spread across his body. He flowed off the surface of his skin like he was catching fire.
Voss cautiously clutched his sword in both hands. "Speak up, boy."
"…Bring him back." Griffin stopped and hunched over. His breathing grew heavier and more erratic as the markings engulfed his skin. The hot aura generated off his skin spread down his limbs. More and more streams of aura hissed off his body, and the pressure he was exuding extended beyond him, to where Voss could feel it even from a fair distance back.
Voss glared. "What?"
"Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring…" Griffin clenched his teeth, grinding them together. "Bring. Him. BACK!"
His violent shout was followed by a powerful explosion of aura. The resulting pressure sent out a shockwave that slammed into Voss and threw Holly backwards. Fernando braved the shockwave and dove in time to catch Holy. He turned his back and shielded Holly as a maelstrom of aura poured out against them.
"AAAHHH!" Fernando screamed as the aura burned his back and legs, eroding away his suit and tearing his fedora to shreds.
Griffin launched forward with a visceral roar. "You BASTARD!"
Voss, retaining his compose, pulled back his fist and stopped Griffin in his tracks with a hard punch to the face. "Know your place, Everfall—" His eyes widened as Griffin, with his feet anchored into the ground, pushed back against his knuckles. "Wha—"
Vibrant magic jettisoned from Griffin's eyes. He pushed past with pure force and rammed his forehead into Voss'. Black blood oozed out from the point of impact and knocked the titan backward.
"GIVE HIM BACK!" Griffin followed it up with a hard knee that delivered such raw force that it caved Voss' half-reformed face in. Burning hot magic radiated out from the impact, frying the black goop. "GIVE HIM BACK!" He slammed his foot down and buried Voss' head into the ground.
Voss pried himself up, roaring, and nailed Griffin with a flaming punch. It pushed him back some, but Griffin dug his claws down and jumped back into the fight. Unable to use his arms, he threw himself into a full body tackle that sent them both skidding across the earth. He flipped to his feet and stomped down repeatedly on Voss' face, each with brutal efficiency.
"GIVE HIM—"
Voss grabbed Griffin's leg and flung him off. "Fallen Hell Blaze!" He flipped to his feet and fired off a wave of shadow fire.
Griffin caught the ground and charged straight through the flames. They parted against the pressure he was exuding. He roared, flaring up his aura's intensity, and flew at him with a burning dropkick. Voss roared in return and threw his fist.
Their attacks collided, splitting in the air and coiling into a tight cyclone of magic. The shadows and hatred spread out through the area, prompting Hugo and Edwin to throw up a forcefield. They winced as the combined energies slammed into their barriers, nearly knocking them out of their concentration.
"If they keep this up, they're going to incinerate everything until we're at the planet's core!" Hugo yelled.
Edwin clenched his teeth. "I don't think there's going to be a Fire Zone left if Griffin doesn't calm down. His magic output is increasing by the second."
"It's his hatred…" Everyone looked down at Holly, who lay beside a wounded Fernando. Tears ran down her face. "He's doing exactly what Mack did. He's not just using the hatred he syphoned. He's combusting his own fury. Mack had all that trauma stored up because of Voss. I don't think I know anyone who hates Voss more than Griffin…"
Edwin frowned, then turned back to the barrier as cracks started to form on his and Hugo's. "This is bad…"
Inside the raging twister, Griffin and Voss duked it out with each other, throwing their hardest hits one after the other. Voss punched him into the ground, so Griffin returned in kind with a hammering kick that shattered Voss' leg. They traded blows that added more fuel to their out-of-control magic, and Griffin's grew more unstable as time passed.
"EVERYTHING!"
Griffin bashed his knee into Voss' stomach.
"THAT HAPPENED TO US!"
He headbutted him and ruptured the ground with the shockwave.
"IS ALL YOUR!"
He bit down on Voss' arm, causing black blood to spray out.
"FAULT!"
"EVERFALL!" Voss clotheslined the wild Grovyle and knocked him away. "And who's the one who dragged them down this path?! He's dead because of your obsession with me!"
"Don't turn this on ME!" Griffin rocketed back and headbutted Voss, but the Electivire stood his ground.
"Face it, Everfall! You're no better than me! How many more will you drag down this crusade of justice until you're satisfied?!"
"Shut up, you WORTHLESS HYPOCRITE!" Griffin kicked with both legs and knocked Voss out of the cyclone, causing it to dispel. He landed and flew at Voss again. "You're nothing but worthless trash!"
Voss punched the ground and blasted Griffin back with a wall of shadow fire, finally knocking him down on his back. "Enough!" He drew his sword and charged at Griffin. "If you miss him so much, I'll send you after him—"
"Enough!"
A pillar of shadow rose up from the ground behind him and coiled around his limbs. Voss stumbled back as shadow tendrils secured his body. "What?!" He glared over his shoulder and met a pair of blood red eyes. "Nightmare?!"
Nightmare bared his teeth. "You're coming with me, Voss!"
"No! Not until that clown gives me my—"
"Buster Ravenfield's grave has been compromised! We have the other fragments for the project! We can't afford to waste time!"
"NO! I need this! I need to face Buster and—"
"You're not getting out of this that easy, you son of a bitch!" Nightmare pulled Voss down and, to the Electivire's surprise, overpowered him. "I've been pushed around enough by you heralds since you've been marked, but I'm not letting you escape this time! The king has awakened, and you are to serve him until the end!" He dove into his portal and dragged Voss along.
"NO! Let me go!" Voss flailed and struggled as he sank into the darkness. "Damn you, Nightmare! LET ME GO!"
Griffin picked himself up and scowled at the disappearing into the ground. "No you DON'T!" He rushed after them.
"Nightmare!" Voss yelled.
"Shut up and do as you're told!" Nightmare snapped. He increased the number of tendrils and submerged Voss under the portal.
"No…NNNNNOOOO—"
Griffin came down like a meteor and blistered the ground in a violent explosion. He seethed harsh breaths as he stared at the bare ground under his feet, where no portal remained. He was a second too late to stop them from escaping.
"…" Griffin clenched his teeth. "You…YOOOOOOOUUUUU!" He threw his head up and roared as his aura exploded outward. The ground tore open and burned away under the insane magic he was outputting.
His friends recoiled as the shockwave slammed into them and shattered the barrier. Hugo quickly threw up another, but buckled under the weight. "So…strong! He's going to kill himself if he doesn't calm down!"
"Griff—" Holly tried to rise, but her leg was still badly injured. "Ugh…I can't—"
"Edwin, stop!"
Holly raised her head to Fernando's shout as Edwin breached the portal and ran through the hateful maelstrom.
"VOOOOOOOOOSSSS!" Griffin screamed, shooting blasts of wild magic through his shouts. He convulsed and screamed at everything in sight, destroying anything that vaguely resembled the titan, even if it was just rubble. "VOOOOOO—"
"Everfall!" Edwin lunged at him and wrapped his arms around him. He casted Damage Transfero over himself and winced as the ground crumbled away at his feet. "Everfall, stop it!"
"VOSS! VOOOOOOSSSS!" Griffin screamed, squirming in Edwin's embrace.
Edwin frowned at the monstrous Grovyle. "Griffin…I know it hurts. I know what you're going through. I've had to live with the guilt for years after what I did to my friends. My pal, my boss. His name was Havoc. He may have been scum of the criminal underworld, but he was a good man that took me in. I had to live with their screams in my nightmares for years after I joined the Anguis Organization. I had to suppress those emotions to stay in line and work my way up to survive.
"I had to live with the guilt of my gang's death for so long. I was the one who disobeyed orders. I was the one who led Zaros and his goons to the base. I hid like a coward and listened to them die for the longest time." Edwin clenched his eyes and let the tears fall. "When's the last time I've allowed myself to cry for them?"
Griffin's shout diminished, as did the volatility of his aura.
"Griffin, no matter what that bastard told you, Mack's trauma…and his death are not your fault. He loved you and Holly more than anything in this world. He put up with all that suffering because you two were the only things he treasured more than life. He gave a bastard like me a chance…so I'm not going to let you kill yourself with your anger! Just please, please! There's time to hate later! Just please, grieve and mourn! Don't let that monster manipulate your feelings!
"You, Holly, and Mack…will always be better warriors than that maniac!"
Edwin hadn't realized it at first, but the air became noticeably still. He cautiously opened one eye and saw his vision was no longer filled with a raging red. The pressure died down, and the land stopped rumbling.
He carefully let go of Griffin, who stood limply in place. The cuts on his arms were burned shut, leaving nasty, black-striped scars up to his shoulders. His leaves were scorched, as were his feet.
Edwin frowned. "Griffin?"
The Grovyle faced him. No longer scowling, and no longer glaring. For once, the facade fell, and standing in front of the Simisage was not the infamous Blood Moon Rogue, nor a member of the Grim Ash Clan.
It was a miserable, crying ten-year-old who watched everything he loved die.
"M…M-Mack…" Griffin pressed his face into Edwin's shoulder and sobbed. "Mack…"
Edwin smiled softly and hugged the Grovyle. Though they were bitter enemies not too long ago, and a hug between them was hardly warranted, he happened to be the closest body. Griffin didn't care. He just couldn't hold back his sorrows any more.
As Edwin patted his back, he turned back and frowned at the others. Holly broke down into tears, where Fernando embraced her despite the pain he was in. Hugo stuck his staff into the ground and performed a somber prayer for the deceased Sudowoodo.
Edwin sighed and turned back to the crying Grovyle. "I'm…sorry, Griffin. I'm just…" He closed his eyes and wiped his tears. "I'm so sorry."
"May his spirit find its resting place through the aether," Hugo's voice projected outward over the sobbing Grim Ash Duo. "May his heroics and deeds, his good will and virtues, his brilliance and memory exist beyond the horizon of the mortal coil. May this beloved soul, who suffered so much yet persevered to the end, finally be awakened from his nightmares and ascend to true happiness.
"May we remember the name of Mack Crowgaze."