Occult Betrothal: The Rising Phoenix
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the author created characters and concepts. Thanks to Ranger Red 2.3, Mistycharming and SA June for their OC's used in this fic.
Castle Phoenix, composed of volcanic rock refined into a grand structure at the foot of an infernal volcano that towered to the ashen skies over the heart of the Phoenix lands. Bright braziers burned along the road to the castle as countless underworlders made their way there to witness the union of Sakura Leviathan and Pasra Phoenix. Though the Phoenix Household believed they had won, their eagerness to take hold of their foes' lands now pitted them against a new enemy they had no knowledge of, one that wouldn't give up until the day had been won.
Soon enough, the guests had made their way into the deep red halls of the demon castle and the doors sealed to begin the ceremony. Stationed around the grand hall of the Phoenix castle were small glowing orbs recording the event along with commentators who appeared to act as reporters within the underworld. It appeared as if House Phoenix wished to broadcast the event across the realm, likely to gloat over the rest of House Leviathan.
Joe and Saya sat at the end of a bench near to the front of the aisle that setup for the ceremony, ready to stop the wedding before it could be successful. Glancing to the corner his eye, Joe saw Max leant against a wall near a corridor to the rest of the castle. Giving a slight nod to Joe, he signified he was in place.
"Alright, everyone's good to go." He said in a low tone to the blue ranger beside him. "When the ceremony starts, we'll follow your lead. As long as they accept our challenge they've already lost this." He explained as the Phoenix royal guard began lining the room.
"For my sister's sake, I'm trusting your instinct here. If earlier was anything to go by, that game of theirs is rigged in their favor." She replied, her eyes diverting to the corridor Max was beside, Saya clenched her fists as King Fiedar, Salch and Pasra Phoenix entered the room.
Each of them wore bright orange and yellow finery that glimmered in the light of the large braziers in the grand hall. A young demon girl with fair hair followed close behind them wearing equally fine attire, it was clear that she was the younger sibling of the Phoenix brothers because of both her attire and her similar features to the two.
"You can trust me with this, It's not gonna fail. I am immortal after all." He added with a slight smirk as if hinting at something as chatter began to erupt around the room, the ceremony about to begin.
A few more seconds passed before finally Sakura Leviathan emerged from one of the large corridors, wrapped in a vibrant blue gown as she was escorted to where a demon officiate and Pasra Phoenix awaited, the latter having a lordly stature to him as he looked upon what he perceived to be the prize he had won.
As the red and blue rangers followed Sakura with their eyes until she came to a halt by the officiate, the crowd silenced, ready to watch the arranged marriage finally take place.
The demon officiate took a step forward, motioning with his hands for the two young High demons to come closer. "Underworlders and friends of the realm. We are all gathered her this day to witness the union of two powerful families and put an end to the war between the Phoenix and Leviathan that has been waged for far too long. On this day, we thank our lord Lucifer for his eternal guidance and hope that today is a step on the road to appeasing him yet again. Through our laws set out by our great lord, these two demons shall be wed through a single kiss. If there is no objection to the ceremony, then we may continue." The officiate delivered his speech, waiting a few moments before he would continue.
Shooting up from her seat, Saya kept her face composed despite her anger toward her foes. "I object! this ceremony won't be continuing." She called out as she and Joe made their way toward the front of the grand hall.
From the throne he was sat upon, King Fiedar laughed hysterically at what he perceived to be a futile attempt by the High demon to save her sister. "You really expect me to hand her over like that after I already won the right from you and your people? I'm loving every moment of this. I'm very happy to tell you, that as a Leviathan yourself, you lost the right to fight for your sister, though it wouldn't help you."
Before Saya could get another word in, Joe stepped in front of her. "Listen here, I really don't care about your House or your goals. What I do care about is helping my friends when they need it. You said she doesn't have the authority. From what I've been told though, anyone possessing a sigil ring has the authority as a protector of the realms. Guess what, you've got a full group of Occult rangers in this very room."
Fiedar chuckled. "That's funny, everyone knows that the original sigil rings were lost a long time ago. There would've been reports of the others in use. Get out of my sight before I lose my nerve, you foolish children." He explained, not believing the red ranger.
"I guess you didn't hear the word around Nimun City yet. Occult Breakout!" Joe called, transforming into the red Occult ranger, met by surprised gasps from the audience as chatter from the commentators about this most recent development began to circulate.
The Phoenix King looked on with wide eyes. "Then what Lucifer told us is true, the original Occult rings found worthy hosts…" He mumbled before regaining his composure. "Despite your clear show of power, I'm going to have to remove you now because of your disruption." He added as the Phoenix guardsmen began to close in on the two.
"Surprised you didn't try that sooner, wouldn't want anyone messing up your chance at some more power now." Joe sarcastically remarked, signalling the others that had been hidden until now.
Quickly transforming into his Werewolf form, Max leapt past the Phoenix troops as Ellie descended from her small and shaded perch in her bat form. The two quickly returned to their human forms as Nyssa floated down from a large overhead support beam she had been sat on for the majority of her time in the castle.
While the others got ready to fight the guards if need be, Joe placed his hands behind his head and looked with a stern expression at the Phoenix King. "These are the rest of the Occult rangers. We can do this the hard way for you, which involves us making your guards look like idiots, or we can do this the easier way. You can choose either but at least you have a chance with the second option."
Fiedar stared at Joe with curiosity, placing his hand upon his chin and pondering the two choices. If the rings were as powerful as legend stated, then the only way to gain such power would be to take them through victory. "Explain this second option then, I doubt you'd be able to do as you say anyway." He replied, brushing off the mild threat of the red ranger.
"Alright. I'm challenging you to a Judgment Game, but I'll be making a few rule changes. First off, I hate waiting for a game to play out so we'll be fighting like real warriors. Second, we won't be holding back and we'll be using everything we've got at our disposal. And lastly, we'll only be with five combatants, you on the other hand can have a full boards worth. As for the stakes, if you win you can have everything we have to bargain with. Saya, the rings, anything. When we win, you'll be letting Sakura go, along with finally admitting defeat and stopping your war against House Leviathan." He explained without losing his confidence, speaking to the demon without any respect, a way no one had without consequences.
Fiedar was frustrated that what looked to be a commoner demanded this, but the spoils of victory were far too great to pass up such an offer. The King clenched his fist, putting aside his doubts and deciding to place his faith in the warriors of House Phoenix. "Fine. Let's play a Judgment game and decide things. Even with the sigil rings, I doubt children like you could best my warriors, especially when they're being commanded by my son. Pasra, assemble our best warriors, sixteen of them so that our side of the field is full. Don't worry though, let my men deal with them. As for you so called Occult rangers. We'll see you outside shortly, where we'll put an end to your meddling for good." He replied, trying to act unfazed by the challenge set by Joe as he departed along with his family and Sakura in tow to prepare for the game.
As guests and commentators began making their way to the field of this next battle, the chatter had shifted to the Occult rings and their re emergence into the world. As Joe turned around, happy that his plan was working, he soon came across the annoyed faces of his teammates.
"That's your plan? You've given them a huge advantage for one, and then you're risking all our lives too!" Saya shouted, angry that he had gone to such drastic lengths and put all their lives at risk just to save her sister. Joe could see her anger building as the other rangers also gave disapproving looks.
"I knew you'd react like this if I told you sooner. But remember, you've gotta trust me here. I wouldn't have challenged them like that if I didn't believe we could beat them. We've got the advantage of both skill and surprise over them. Besides, I'll be taking the serious hits, I am immortal after all." He added before turning and heading for the arena himself. He had mentioned those few words a few times before as his plan came nearer, only now did the words dawn upon the other four rangers. He never planned to put them in harm's way even with his irrational plan. The other rangers might forgive him for his earlier deception, once they had beaten House Phoenix at their own game that is.
[Occult Circle]
Ten minutes had passed now since the challenge had been issued. The audience and commentators waited restlessly to see the battle between House Phoenix's best warriors and the Occult rangers take place.
Moments ago, the Phoenix King had given the rangers a white pouch containing the pieces needed for them to play the game. They had gathered around to decide which pieces would go to who.
"I guess we should play our strengths then. Max, you're a werewolf so you've got a lot of power in your Lycan form. Since their Rooks lack in speed you've got a good advantage over them when you attack, so I guess you should be a Rook." Joe explained his choice to them, passing the piece to him.
"Sounds good to me, but even then there's only enough of us here for one powerhouse. Even if I do go up against the Rooks, they'll beat me at some point because there's two of them." Max replied, doubtful his role would be effective in the upcoming fight.
"You've got a point. I guess we could have two Knights to help wear them down and pick off all the Pawns they'll be playing. I'd put it down to either of you three given you've got wings for added speed and weapons to deal heavy damage too." Joe suggested as he turned his head to the remaining three rangers.
"From what I've seen and heard this weekend, Saya wants to get back at the important members of House Phoenix, so Ellie and I would be the best choice for Knights. That just leaves the King and Queen pieces, right?" Nyssa decided, taking the two Knight pieces and handing one to Ellie.
"The Queen's seen as the strongest piece in chess. In a game like this, I'm guessing there's still a lot of power when it comes to a Queen, so Saya should take it. I'll be getting their attention and taking the heavy blows till we've worn them down enough that they're not a problem." He finished, passing the Queen piece to Saya while taking the King for himself.
As the final piece was placed in the red ranger's hand, a surprising situation began to develop. Before their eyes, the five sigil rings began to glow brightly in their respective colours as the chess pieces within their hands appeared to be slowly absorbed into the ever mysterious rings they possessed.
Each of their eyes widened in surprise at the new development. Somehow, the five rings had absorbed the pieces one each ranger held one, perhaps this meant that the traits given by the Judgment Game were now permanent, only time would tell.
"Did everyone else see that, or are my eyes going funny?" Ellie asked in a mix of surprise and confusion.
"Finding out what happened just now, it's gonna have to wait. Looks Like House Phoenix gathered their soldiers." Joe interjected, leading the other rangers to look in the direction of the board where the warriors of House Phoenix were taking position. Warriors such as the powerful Rook Draigo and their best Swordsman, Malcaris, were among the faces of the Phoenix lines.
"Let's not keep them waiting." Saya told them as she walked toward the board, her pace quickened by the want to finish the game as soon as possible and end House Phoenix's brutal campaign.
Followed shortly by her comrades, they took their places and called upon their weapons from their rings. Now standing ready for battle they waited upon their foes to begin the game. King Fiedar strode up to the side of the large board with his two other children as Pasra took his position on the board, taking the role as King for a second time this day. Once the last of the Phoenix side had taken their place, the large barrier rose around the field and King Fiedar looked to the two sides before speaking up.
"Phoenix warriors, Occult rangers. You all understand the changes to the rules I assume? I have no doubt that you understand the price of defeat on either side, so let me put this simply for my soldiers, if you are defeated and survive, you'll wish your lives ended here. Don't fail me. Without further ado, your battle may begin." The King explained, emphasising the consequences of a Phoenix defeat.
"Alright everyone, here we go. I'll morph and charge in, get their attacks focused on me. Since I can't die, they'll not be able to get me. The rest of you start wearing them down and using your powers to thin their numbers. Ready?" He explained their first plan of action, each of them nodding in confirmation. "Occult Breakout!" The red ranger called, morphing in a bright flash of red before springing forth into the lines of Phoenix troops.
"I'll start chipping away the Pawns, Ellie and Nyssa, I'm counting on you to keep the heavy hitters off me till Joe's clear of Pawns." Max told the black and crimson rangers as he removed his glasses and transformed into his more powerful Lycanthrope form, charging into an unsuspecting group of Phoenix troops across the board within seconds of his transformation.
"Let's hammer them with everything we've got." Nyssa smirked as she and Ellie spread their wings and flew quickly at the stronger combatants of the demon house, keeping them occupied while Joe drew the attention of the Pawns, blocking what blows he could and brushing off the attacks that got through to him as Max cleared through them from behind in what looked to be a beastly rampage behind a raging inferno of dying Phoenix troops.
As the other rangers worked their way through the weaker foes, and distracted the stronger foes, Saya stood back as she saw the four fiery demon wings of Pasra Phoenix emerge from behind the dwindling line of demons. In but a moment, the High demon rose as high above the battlefield as he could before flying quickly across the board and coming to a halt just before Saya. Lowering himself down, he came face to face with the Leviathan High demon.
"Sayakriel Leviathan, long time no see. You know, these last few days have been pretty fun. To think you and your friends could actually do anything against my father and our House is pretty funny. Your sister is already part of the Phoenix House as far as I'm concerned, and soon enough you'll be too." He smirked cockily as he drew his blade.
Saya grasped her Leviafang cutlass tighter as she stared her foe down. "If that's the case, I guess I've got something to say to you." She responded as she spread her four demon wings and rose as high as she could before retracting her wings and plummeting down, her foot stretched out as if ready to kick. "Leviafang kick!" She called out as she retracted her foot and leant forward, jutting her sword out.
"Wait a minute… That's not a kick!" Pasra exclaimed in surprise as Saya's cutlass sliced down the left side of Pasra's face, causing to scream out loud in pain as the weapon cut through his flesh.
The Phoenix demon dropped to one knee and lowered his head in reaction to the strike, Saya looked at the injured Phoenix contently, believing that the damaged caused would teach him a lesson he wouldn't be quick to forget.
From the sidelines, Pasra's younger sister looked on in surprise that her brother had been taken down so quickly and easily. "He's gonna be alright, isn't he? He shouldn't be put down for good by a strike like that, otherwise he's just a wimp." She asked her older brother Salch who stood beside her with his arms folded.
"Lelina, I give Pasra a hard time because he can't take a hit to save his life. Even though he goes down in one hit, remember the marks we all have? There's a reason we have the marks, and you'll get it in a minute. I guess you've never seen a Phoenix High demon in a fight before if you haven't worked it out by now." Salch vaguely explained to his sister Lelina as he gestured to the back of his hand that was marked to resemble the shape of a phoenix surrounded by embers.
As the eldest Phoenix sibling had said, it wasn't long until Pasra rose, showing his face to Saya as he smirked. The wound from her blade was covered by orange embers which began to seal up his injury as he looked at Saya laughing at her futile attempt to defeat him.
"So that's what you meant. Every time we get hurt, our marks protect us from harm by healing our wounds." Lelina observed, Salch giving a nod in response, not taking his eyes away from the battle taking place.
"You're smart to say you're young, but you're grown up enough to get this stuff now. Only High demons of each House have marks like this. Our House has the Phoenix Rising, a mark that heals our wounds and makes us near immortal." He briefly explained, shifting his eyes to the other side of the battle where Joe and the other three rangers now faced up against the Knights, Rooks, Bishops and Queen of the Phoenix forces. 'But what good is near immortality if you're up against the real thing? That red ranger's taken fatal blow after fatal blow and he's acting like it's nothing. There's no other explanation for it.' Salch wondered, keeping the thought to himself as he turned away from the fight in progress. "I already know the winner, so I'm not gonna stick around. You should though, you might learn something." He finished, leaving for the battle to play out how he knew it would.
On the Phoenix lines, Joe now faced up against the two Rooks, Draigo and another that was extremely similar in size and features. As he dodged the blow of the second Rook, the red ranger gave a nod to his right side as the large werewolf form of Max slammed into the side of Draig, knocking him into the second Rook and knocking both to the ground in a heap. Transforming back into his human form, quickly bringing his ring up and transforming into the amber Occult ranger. Rearing his axe, he and Joe sprinted forward while the two Rooks struggled to rise. Drawing upon the supernatural energy of their weapons, the two drove their mystically charged weapons into the necks of the brutish Rooks, destroying them in a vortex of demonic fire.
Giving a sigh of relief, the two rangers looked over to see that Nyssa and Ella had disposed of the Bishops and removed House Phoenix's magical support from the field. Ellie swooped down beside them for a moment while Nyssa distracted the Phoenix's Queen piece.
"We've got three pieces left to take out. But Saya isn't looking too good either. Every time she knocks Pasra down though, he just gets back up, kinda like Joe does. What's the plan?" Ellie asked, as the two Knights that remained of House Phoenix's forces eyed the rangers.
Joe looked to Saya and then back to his Vampire teammate. "You and Nyssa focus on that Queen of theirs. Max is gonna go with me and finish those two Knights off. When that's over with, I want you to go help the girls, I'll keep Pasra busy till you've finished that Queen." He decided, directing his last order to Max. "Besides, I've come up with a new technique I want to try out." Joe finished as Ellie rose back overhead to help the black ranger in the aerial battle against House Phoenix's Queen piece.
In but a few moments, Malcaris and a second Knight covered in the gilded armour of House Phoenix approached them. Malcaris grinned in delight as he looked at Joe and the ranger suit he wore. "You wanna know how I got this here scar, ranger? Because the last time there was a Tithe the humans stopped it, power rangers like you stopped it. A red ranger just like you gave me this scar for the part I played in the Tithe, now I'm here to return the favor." He laughed in sadistic delight he now had the chance to destroy a red ranger on the field of battle, though he wasn't the one who had scarred him, Joe came close, and that was the only thing that mattered.
"Hate to break it to you, but I don't scar, at all. My body pretty much regenerates faster than any of you demons can cut it. So as long as you don't sever any limbs anyway, that takes a little longer to heal." The red ranger joked as he levelled his blade at Malcaris. "Besides, why should I let you try when I can just do this?" He asked rhetorically as he charged up his blade, the infinity saber becoming surrounded by a beam of red energy. "Infinite Slash!" The red ranger called out as he charged forward with all his speed, slicing horizontally through Malcaris' gut with his rapier before stopping just behind him.
"T-This can-n't b-b-be… I, I am Malc-Malcaris. The greatest, greatest swordsman of-of House Phoenix-x… I can't d-die!"He screamed as he burned up like the Phoenix warriors before him.
"Yeah, you and me both." Joe remarked as he lowered his infinity saber and turned around, turning his focus to the battle between Pasra and Saya.
Distracted by the loss of the strongest swordsman House Phoenix had at their disposal, the last Knight was frozen in fear, giving Max the opportunity he needed. Charging forward, Max swung his axe with all his might, bearing it down upon the defeated Knight and finishing him off with one blow.
"So that's your new move?" Max asked, Joe shaking his head in reply. "Either way, it looks like there's just the Queen left to beat now. You know, if you come help with their Queen too, the game's gonna be over a lot sooner. I'm sure Saya can handle him a little longer." Max suggested as he looked over to the crimson and black rangers who were beginning to be worn down themselves.
"I'm not taking any chances here Max, besides why not put on a show while we're at it?" He added, charging toward the Phoenix High demon as Max turned his attention to the Queen and sprinted over to help the others in their battle against the last foe.
Saya had been worn down by the relentless attacks of her High demon foe, her body exhausted, the Leviathan heiress was ready to collapse from exhaustion. Pasra laughed as he raised his sword to deal a knockout blow to his opponent.
"It's been fun, anything you want to say to me before you and your team lose?" Pasra asked with an air of confidence, believing his team was almost victorious.
"Yeah, you should be looking more closely at the battle instead of one opponent. Don't you know yet? When you fight against an immortal, you've already lost." She explained to him as she caught a glimpse of Joe dashing toward the barrier that kept them inside the arena.
"Immortal? What are you talking about, there aren't any here!" He asked, confused by Saya's words.
As he asked, Joe's feet made contact with the barrier. Running as fast as he could, the red ranger made his way up the barrier and making his way overhead, he took a deep breath. 'Alright, here we go.' The immortal thought to himself as he pushed himself off of the wall, from the position he had been in, the red ranger had managed to push himself off so that he was now directly above the Phoenix High demon. Directing his body downwards and pointing his saber in the same direction, Joe began to fall, gaining momentum as the energy of his sigil ring began to build up around him. Moments before Joe reached the demon beneath him, Saya smirked once more, pointing upwards for Pasra to see the incoming attack. Even if he did try to dodge or stop the attack, it was already too late.
Pasra looked above wide eyed as Joe came at him with all his might, the energy around him seemed to take the image of a legendary creature from Pasra's view. "It's… It's a Dragon!" He cried out in terror as he saw the image of a Dragon descending down upon him and swallowing him whole.
The reality of it was that Joe had struck with an intense amount of energy, knocking the young demon off of his feet and sending him into a fearful state, afraid that the Dragon he saw would come back to get him once more.
Moments passed until the barrier finally dropped, although Pasra's wounds slowly healed from the power of his Rising Phoenix mark, the Queen had been felled by the combined power of the three remaining Occult rangers. Despite the odds, Joe's plan had worked perfectly, House Phoenix was defeated and further humiliated and Saya's sister along with the rest of House Leviathan was now free of the strife their opponents had brought them.
As the rest of the rangers regrouped and demorphed, exhausted from their hard earned victory, King Fiedar rushed to his son's side. "Pasra, my boy. What did they do to you? Speak to me my son."
"Father, the Dragon's after me. Please don't let it eat me." He pleaded fearfully.
Fiedar turned his head toward Joe, knowing that the attack that had made his son so afraid had come from him. "You. You did this! Mark my words I'll find some way of getting back at you for hurting my son like this!" He declared, angry that his most favoured child had been reduced to a blubbering mess.
"While I'm grateful for your help there, what attack did you use there?" Saya asked curiously, neither her or the other rangers had seen it before.
"I haven't really thought about naming it before. Ever since we got the sigil rings and met everyone we have though, I guess I felt weaker and not as useful as the rest of you with my only real power being immortality. I've been working on a technique to try and be useful in a fight for the past few weeks, last night I finally pulled it off." He explained to them, they all grinned, understanding where he was coming from.
"You don't need any fancy powers, sure they do help, but you're a great in other ways when it comes to dealing with the bad guys anyway. Without you, I don't think we would've had a chance today." Saya replied with a genuine smile, appreciating everything he had done to help her out this past weekend.
"I can get behind what she said, but it doesn't hurt for you to use a flashy attack every so often and feel like the rest of us." Max commented.
"I'm guessing you're gonna be staying then, right?" Joe asked, hoping he knew the answer.
"With all the fun I've had this weekend, I wouldn't miss the rest of this wild ride for the world!" The young werewolf cheered.
"Saya!" Called the cheerful voice of Sakura as the younger sister sprinted up. "You did it, I know you could!" She laughed as she squeezed her older sister tightly.
"I think we should both be thanking them. Without their help, I don't think any of this could have worked out the way it did." She explained to her sister. "These are my friends…" She started, stopping as soon as she realised what she had said. After all she had been through, she never had time or the want to make friends. Through the events that had lead each of them here that had all changed and she couldn't be more thankful.
"Umm… Saya, are you alright, you're zoning out again." Ellie asked as they all looked at the frozen High demon.
"It's fine, she's usually like this when she gets new friends. I guess she just realised that's how much you mean to her." Sakura giggled, moving away from her sister to give her time to calm herself.
Joe stepped away for a moment, breathing out in a sigh of relief, things were settling down and the struggle was over once again. As he stood there, resting after the tough battle that had finished only a few minutes ago, numerous commentators began to surround him.
"Brakiel here from the UBC, is it true you're an immortal? If so why are you the only one to show up in centuries?" Asked one commentator. "Astaphar with the Reaping news, can I ask you about the Occult rings you and the other rangers have? What was that attack you used to humiliate Pasra Phoenix with? Can we get a private interview with you some time?" Another commentator asked. More and more of the reporters from both the Underworld and other realms began to surround him as the questions they asked became a jumbled mess of noise.
In his head, the red ranger gave out a groan. 'Maybe I shouldn't have used that move back there. At least I've finally thought up a name for it. The Draconic Crunch, it sound right in my head at least. Now I just need to find a way out of all these reporters, If only I could fly!' He complained in his head as the reporters didn't cease with their questions.
[Occult Circle]
Seraphim Twelve stood in the dim office of her superior. She hadn't any idea as to why she had been summoned and now stood in the centre of the room waiting for her superior to explain to her why she was there and what he intended for her now she was present.
"Seraphim. I'm glad you could make it. Unsurprising seeing as your target's been in the Underworld for this past week, funnily enough helping us out by weakening House Phoenix significantly. It served as a good test for looking into the extent of his abilities too. He appears to have more strength than any other being can ever achieve, but he can only use it in a single attack to our knowledge. He also removed their best swordsman from play. The immortal seems to be a great asset indeed, if only we could harness that power. That brings me to why I've called you here. I have a new assignment for you designed to bring you closer to your target. While you're taking this assignment, you'll be shut off from the rest of Seraphim with only your handler as your contact, he'll also help you if need be. While you're away I'll be choosing another agent to take over tactical operations." He explained, rising from his seat and walking over to the edge of the dark side of the room, in his hand he held a small note. "This is a note detailing your assignment and your first objective. Good luck, Twelve." He finished as the Seraphim agent walked over and took the note from her superior, his hand disappearing into the darkness of the room as she did so.
Reading over the brief of her latest assignment, her eyes widened as she saw what exactly her objective was, the principal behind it was logical, but with her doubts about Seraphim dwelling in her head, it was risky for her superiors to send her on such a task. If they had caught onto her strange behavior, then perhaps they were testing her loyalties or preparing to remove what they saw as a weak link. Only time would tell what their intention was and what path the young Seraphim would choose, and that time would come sooner than anyone expected.
|Occult Circle|
Demon Hierarchy - High Demon Mark - Aside from being born with four wings instead of the standard two, the only other defining trait of a High demon is a marking they are born with. A mark that will appear anywhere on the body at birth, it resembles the sacred beast bound to the House they are born to. The mark of each demon House hold different traits. The 'Phoenix Rising' mark offers its bearers a super healing ability while a mark such as the 'Raging Leviathan' offers its bearers the ability to use demon fire magic stronger than any other fire based magic in the Underworld, thus having a blue tone to it. Smaller demon Houses also have their own unique marks, yet they are rarely seen, being vassals to the four large demon Houses.
That's Chapter 9 finally finished. I struggled with getting it started since I started it on a pretty hectic day and I was pretty much burned out, but after taking a rest I was better the next day and it just came easier. We had Joe outplay House Phoenix, subtly explaining how they couldn't get beaten as long as things went to plan, and it all worked out. House Phoenix is humiliated and wounded along with Joe finishing of Malcaris which has so much irony to it, before displaying his new move and traumatising Pasra. I also introduced the last member of House Phoenix who while the youngest isn't much younger than her brothers, she's a character that'll be making appearances in the future, while I'm on the topic, Salch is also an interesting character who'll be making future appearances too.
Max finally decided to join up officially with the others after everything that happened. Saya finally considers the others as friends, after everything they did it'd be pretty stupid of her not to. With Sakura and the Leviathan holdings safe, I think they owe the rangers a lot, though I think Joe might wish for less attention with that ending there. I will also be explaining what happened with the chess pieces, but it's something you'll have to wait on. Lastly, it seems Seraphim is up to something, this is the prelude to the next arc which is gonna have an overlying plot while we delve some more into the rangers and their backgrounds. I think that covers everything, now that I've got this arc out of the way I can finally concentrate on other things too. So until next time everyone, thanks for reading.
Next Chapter: Occult Revelations: A Century of Sorrow
Synopsis: When Ellie begins acting strange, stalking other students during breaks at school, the others soon take notice. What will she reveal to the others involving her past before she became a Vampire? What other surprises lie in wait? Find out next time on Power Rangers: Occult Circle.
