-Lost Izalith-
"Hold still!" yelled Seiko.
Jinta shoved his hands up between the thing and his helmet and started trying to pry it off.
"Fine, don't!"
As soon as there was any space, she got her hands between his head and the giant bug, put a boot to his chest, and ripped it free. Jinta was bowled over, and started coughing. What looked like little roots were all over the front of his helmet. Seiko threw the bug down with such force that it practically exploded when it hit the ground. Jinta tore off his helmet, still coughing, and started yanking thin roots or veins off of his face. They had started trying to worm into his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
"There are more… Stay back…" said Seiko, looking down the tunnel.
"Actually, stay here."
She walked forward, inhaling to use Acid Mist again. As she ran down the chamber, she exhaled the mist, filling most of the area. The many small bugs were killed as their shells melted open, but Seiko had to stop when she heard panicked yelling.
When the mist cleared and she could see out of the cloud, Seiko found herself standing before Knight Solaire.
"What manner of beast are you, to rise from the Dark clad as a Silver Knight?"
Seiko took off her hood, piercing blue eyes revealed in full along with her pale face.
Solaire's stance softened a bit, but only slightly.
"You…?"
"Solaire!" yelled Jinta, running down the hallway, waving.
Solaire stiffened up again.
"Stay back!" he yelled to Jinta.
Jinta stopped suddenly, his swords sheathed.
"What have you done to my junior? No Warrior of Sunlight would willingly collude with The Abyss. Has your Pyromancy evolved so much that you are indeed a Witch like the others before you?"
"What? I haven't done anything to him!"
"The air about you is thick with the Dark; how could I believe anything else but that you've clouded his mind?"
"Solaire, she already told me what happened. She's not a threat. If you want, we can dispel any magic affecting me. Further, she's even died in front of me, which would have removed any of her magic from me as well. My mind isn't clouded. She's not a Witch… Err, well, she technically is now, but…"
Solaire relaxed as Jinta spoke, but nevertheless didn't suddenly become very friendly.
"Why is she with you and not Tetsuro?"
"I died during a fight with Quelaag, but Tetsuro managed to kill her," said Seiko. "When I woke, Tetsuro was gone. I guess it was then that I found myself in Jinta's world instead. Why are you here?"
"His world and mine," said Solaire, "Seem to be very deeply interconnected. I have separated us several times, so that we may both attempt to fulfill our task, but somehow we always end up back together."
Solaire pulled a Separation Crystal out of a pouch on his belt.
"Speaking of which, I must do so again. We near a Lord Soul. It would be best to each continue on our own path."
"Solai-! Damn it…" said Jinta. Solaire had used the crystal without giving them a moment to respond.
"Sorry…" said Seiko, putting her hood back on.
"It's not your fault. And… Not that I doubt you, but please don't prove him right."
Seiko wouldn't look at him, she just started walking again.
A few more stone demons and the pair came before a massive ramp, overgrown with thick roots.
"Think that's it?" asked Jinta.
"Only one way to find out," said Seiko.
The sound of flaring Pyromancy from behind them caused Seiko to turn and use Great Combustion. The explosion of black and blue flame shielded Jinta and Seiko from a much larger explosion of Chaos Pyromancy. The force was such that the wall several feet behind them was scorched by the fire that wasn't stopped by Seiko's desperate shield.
When the air cleared, a Daughter of Chaos stood before them, holding swirling flames. She drew a hand back to throw another.
"Move!" yelled Seiko, calling up her own Pyromancy.
A/N: U.N Owen Was Her? (Metal Remix by FalKKonE)
Jinta ran back the way they had come, down some stairs. Behind him, there was another explosion of flame and a wave of heat. When he got to the bottom of the stairs and turned, he saw Seiko jump over the side of the landing they had been on down into a courtyard. She spun and threw a Fireball offhand back up. An explosion like a crack of nearby thunder erased the Fireball completely, as the Chaos Witch above used her Combustion.
The Witch stood on the railing and used Fire Surge, one far beyond anything Seiko had done before. A jet of flame like dragon's fire ushered forth from her hand. Seiko jumped high into the air and threw another Fireball to try and catch the Witch off guard. With her free hand, the Witch used another Fire Surge. The flames swallowed Seiko's attack, and then Seiko herself disappeared in behind the swathe of flame.
Seiko hit the ground on her back, arms crossed in front of her face. She was sent rolling a short distance, ending on her stomach. Jinta ran over, reciting Magic Barrier. He finished the Miracle as he stood over her, casting it on her as well. He then recited Bountiful Sunlight for her as well.
"Two out of three, Seiko! Make 'em count! Get her down from there and I'll be able to help!"
Seiko clenched her fists where she lay, using Power Within and amping it up right away. The pain was muted by Bountiful Sunlight and Seiko took off in a silver and black streak a second later, from laying down to sprinting in no time at all. She got close to the landing, dodged another Fire Surge, and leapt for the landing. With Power Within, she jumped clear over the railing, landed on her feet, turned on a dime, and shot a Fire Arrow at the Witch.
The Witch spun and dodged aside, only to be tackled by Seiko. The two hit the ground in a tangled mess until Seiko used Immolation and got a grip on the Witch's arm and leg. Getting into a kneeling position, Seiko flung the Witch away, then dropped Immolation. The Witch recovered quickly, but seemed shocked completely by Seiko's techniques.
She's not as knowledgeable as Quelaana, then. Outlandish Pyromancies will work best. And with those robes… So will my own…
Seiko lobbed a Fireball with one hand, then shot a Fire Arrow with the other. The two Pyromancies moved at different speeds to force the Witch to react differently, and Seiko herself was already rushing forward again. In her mind's eye, Seiko had the Witch cornered. The Witch was ordinary, only able to use simple, yet powerful, Pyromancy. No outrageous strength or speed. If Seiko pressed her physical advantage, the fight was already over.
Until the Chaos Witch jumped and used her own Fire Surge to rocket to the side before any of Seiko's attacks could connect. The motion put Seiko between the Chaos Witch and a covered path under the landing. Before the Witch could make another move, however, Jinta bolted from behind a nearby root and slashed at her. His attack tore into her ribs and created a gash in her arm that made the arm useless.
With her remaining hand, the Chaos Witch flailed her flame about to drive Jinta away. His barrier flared white and protected him, but the stifling heat caused him to flinch away from the attack anyway. The Witch ran straight at Seiko and used Fire Surge again. Seiko was forced to dodge aside, but the Fire Surge followed her. Seiko continued leaping to the side or jumping over the Surge, trying to get in closer to the Witch.
As their enemy ran, Seiko and Jinta pursued, right into the covered chamber under the landing. With the three of them there, the ground gave way, old bricks falling from beneath them. Seiko and Jinta hit the ground on a floor below, crashing into someone else as well. The Chaos Witch fell further, into a dark pit.
"Good Lords, are you two alright?" said a familiar voice. It was Siegmeyer, tangled up with them where they had fallen on him. After a bit of struggling about, they all managed to separate. Seiko immediately jumped down into the pit.
"Wait! Where are you-" started Siegmeyer.
"There's a Daughter of Chaos down there, we have to help her!"
"One of the paragons of Pyromancy? What a foe! And here I'd been pondering over the Chaos Eaters below us."
"Chaos Eaters?!"
"There's no time, we must go! Don't be slow!"
With a hearty yell, Siegmeyer jumped down after Seiko. Jinta was close behind.
As soon as Jinta hit, it was mayhem. Siegmeyer was chopping the legs off of a huge monster with many eyes and a ring of teeth inside its head, Seiko was deflecting another massive blast of Chaos Pyromancy, and there was another Chaos Eater behind him trying to grab him and pick him up. Jinta cut through the arms grabbing him and turned on the beast.
"Great! Siegmeyer, help me kill these things! We can't take them and the Witch at the same time!"
As Jinta faced down a Chaos Eater, Siegmeyer's huge blade passed over him and cut through the side of his foe's head.
"Agreed!" said Siegmeyer.
Across the room, Seiko had stopped using Power Within because she knew Jinta's healing miracle would be ending soon. She was stuck deflecting attacks with Great Combustion and dodging anything she couldn't block. In between, she was trying to sneak in her own attacks, but only got a few near misses. Even with just one arm, the Chaos Witch, a true Daughter of Izalith, was completely overpowering her.
The Witch prepared another Fire Surge and Seiko had an idea on the spot. She cast Immolation and held her ground, hoping. As expected, the jet of flame collided with Seiko's Immolation and split around it. Immolation thinned, but held.
Suddenly, the jet stopped. For a split second, Seiko was going to prepare an attack to counter, but then she heard Siegmeyer's war cry. He was only a few meters from the Witch, sword raised to strike, but of course the Witch had noticed him.
Seiko sucked a breath and did the first thing that felt natural - she launched the entire spiralling Immolation around her between Siegmeyer and the Witch. The attack became a huge blue and black fireball, and hit the Chaos Witch's counterattack as she launched it. The resulting explosion of flame stopped Siegmeyer, who had so much momentum that stopping caused him to fall back onto his butt in the muck on the ground. The Witch recoiled from the explosion as well.
In that instant, Jinta hurdled over Siegmeyer and cut the Daughter of Chaos down with his estoc. A slash of his falchion finished her.
"Well," began Siegmeyer, winded, "Once again, I'm in your debt… Both of you have assisted me to no end… After all that excitement, though, I'm going to need a nap. Excuse m-"
The tall knight passed out, falling backward. Seiko caught him before he fell in the muck at their feet.
"I don't think he's doing very well," said Jinta. "Ever since you came to my world and he's been here persistently, he seems to be sleeping more and more. Not to say you're to blame… In any case, we need to get out of here. And we can't leave him."
"No problem. Stay put."
Seiko adjusted Siegmeyer so he was slumped over her back. She used a single chain of Abyss to strap his upper-body to her shoulders, then jumped from root to root until she could set him down in the courtyard above. She checked him over to make sure she'd taken all the Abyss back in, then went back for his weapons and Jinta.
Jinta watched her descend, still not used to her unusual strength.
"Your turn," said Seiko, picking up Siegmeyer's sword and shield carefully. She presented her back and knelt slightly.
"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with-"
"You can either trudge around down here and look for a way out, or you can grab on, hold tight, and leave in seconds. If you're not coming, I'm not waiting."
Jinta slogged forward as quick as he could in the muck underfoot and wrapped his arms around her neck.
"Are you sure you can-!"
Jinta was interrupted by Seiko leaping up onto a root. She took the same path as before, up and out of the pit they'd fallen into. Jinta let go, still shocked. Seiko set Siegmeyer's gear down next to where he lay.
"What were you so worried about?" asked Seiko.
"I can't gauge your strength for one thing, and for another I just thought it was… Odd, socially speaking, to be hanging on to you like that."
"So it was embarrassing?"
"I guess if you want it bluntly-"
"I'd prefer bluntly, yes."
Jinta didn't say anything. Seiko looked at him, smiled with a face like one of someone older watching him do something silly, shook her head, and started walking.
"Let's go. We're right near The Witch of Izalith," she said.
Jinta jogged to catch up with her and they both went up the stairs, back to the ramp they had seen, toward where they assumed their fight would truly begin.
"You sure you'll be ok for this?" asked Jinta. "That was quite a lot of excursion back there."
Seiko paused at the top of the ramp. She called up a flame with one hand and flexed the other. Thanks to Jinta's miracles, she hardly felt tired at all.
"I'm not at 100%, obviously," said Seiko, "But I still feel fine. Your miracles helped a lot."
"Glad to hear it. But keep in mind that I've only got enough stamina for one more powerful cast. If things go south in here, it'll be up to you."
"I think I can meet that expectation. Shall we?"
"I'll go first."
They stepped forward and slid down the stone ramp toward their fight.
A/N: We are now well over the previous word count for Twin Humanities. In Chaos, and this rewrite is already longer than the original. Things are going to pick up speed a bit now through Gwyn. Chapters should be longer, but we'll be skipping over a few things that haven't changed from the original. The main reason is that because of how Seiko and Jinta have changed, both in personality and power, a few upcoming conflicts will pose no real threat. However, with the addition of Tetsuro to the story, we have another perspective to explore. And explore it we will, at least for the next chapter or so. The series will find more focus on Tetsuro at certain points, but I'll keep that under wraps for now. Thanks for reading.