Mitsuko continued her offensive onslaught on Lu Bu as she swiped with her weapons. Lu Bu could only block and deflect the attacks while dodging the wild swings of the scythe arm. Mitsuko swiped a couple of more times with her scythe snake arm before Lu Bu caught it as he blocked it with his sky piercer's polearm overhead. The scythe hangs over the polearm as a result. Mitsuko smiles widely showing off her new serrated teeth as she stabs Lu Bu in the face as the sword slithers its way to strike below the polearm. Lu Bu narrowly tilts his head in time however he suffers a cut on his right jaw. She attempted to slice off his head by attacking sideways however Lu Bu took a step back in time to dodge it. He pulls the polearm back forcing Mitsuko to extend her reach with the scythe arm. Lu Bu then let go of his weapon with his right arm and grabbed the snake underneath. Before Mitsuko could attack with her other snake arm Lu Bu managed to throw her over his hip. As he slammed her to the ground he let go of the snake and stabbed Mitsuko in the head. Though Mitsuko jumped up with ease before Lu Bu planted the sky piercer in her skull.
When Mitsuko landed on her feet, she immediately twisted her body with both her weapons striking Lu Bu from the left side. Lu Bu blocked the attack however due to the sheer strength and momentum Lu Bu was carried off his feet and lands on the ground quite a way away from Mitsuko. Though Mitsuko cackles sinisterly at this as she planted the crescent blade in the floor and propels herself forward and attempted to stab Lu Bu in his face though he rolled out of the way. He stood up as Mitsuko retracted both of her snakes to her side, they slither in the air as they both stare at each other, Lu Bu looked at Mitsuko cautiously, not knowing what else she has in store. He didn't know what happened to her, but he knows that she's as strong as ever. Though a simple woman will not stop the mightiest warrior in the land. Meanwhile she looks at him with a sinister smile on her face. She licked her top lip with her forked tongue and beckoned Lu Bu to attack with her crescent blade.
Lu Bu took the bait as he lunges forward trying to strike her down. Mitsuko retreated as she deflected the attacks. However unlike before she's not holding her own more confidently. She laughed at his attempts to strike her down. Lu Bu began to get annoyed at her confidence, how dare she act like that, just because she managed to keep up with him doesn't mean that she has a chance of claiming victory. He thrusted the sky piercer at Mitsuko's face after he deflected both of her weapons to either side. Due to his rising frustrations he puts more of his strength in the attack however he leaned in more. Mitsuko bends her back as she sees the sky piercer above him. She recoiled herself with such speed she headbutted Lu Bu making him stagger back as he holds his face. He shook it off and removed the hand only to see blood. Wait blood!? This woman dares to make him of all people bleed!? Even with her transformation he should still be able to make quick work of her!
'Ha-ha! I'm going to enjoy painting you red!' Mitsuko cackled maniacally as her two snake arms hiss in unison despite the blades coming out of their mouths. Lu Bu growled before lunging in for another attack.
Dodomeki sprinted in the castle faster than usual, traversing near the outskirts as to not be involved in the fighting. He wanted to get to Mitsuko before any potential Mystic involvement. As he sprinted in an abandoned part of the castle a mystic crashed to the ground in front of him. He looked around to see other mystic littered around this area of houses. He wondered why this was, was it another demon?
Dodomeki jumped up on one of the rooftops to them littered with mystic bodies while he saw other mystic battling it out. He saw some of the tunics of the fallen mystic warriors have the embraided sigil of the frog while others with the bear stitched on their tunics. He never thought he'd see the day when mystics would fight amongst themselves. He wondered what had happened since the last battle to shatter their unity. Not that he was complaining, far from it. He wanted to continue sprinting however the more mystics that live the riskier it will be for Mitsuko, so he decided to stay back and eliminate the survivors once they finish their little scrap. There is one mystic that caught his attention though.
He saw that one was wearing blunt, metal gauntlets. Though his wore more a bulkier version of his fist which only covered his hands while Dodomeki's gauntlet only had one thin layer of gold metal which covered his hand and half of his forearm with the fingertips as sharp as blades. This mystic was wearing an open vest jacket and was noticeably more muscular than his comrades. He also had a faint horizontal scar underneath his right eye which contained blue pupils. He had the symbol of the frog seemingly carved into his chest.
The mystic grabbed one of the swords going towards him and punches him in the gut, even Dodomeki could hear the ribs being shattered as he hunched over the floor, groaning in pain. The other mystic behind him attempted to stab him with the spear however the mystic grabbed the polearm of the spear and pulled it forward. As the mystic stumbled forward the gauntlet wielder smacked him on the side of his face. When he knocked him away, he turned around to his other victim and punches him once in his face. As the gauntlet made impact, he put so much strength in that he created a hole in the roof with his head seemingly decapitated. After that he walked to the enemy mystic and grabbed him by the skull and proceeds to squeeze. The scrawnier mystic shrieked as he held his hands on the gauntlet while flailing his legs wildly however as the pressure increased so too did the volume of the shrieks. Until suddenly the skull broke. Dodomeki could only see blood escaping in between the fingers of the gauntlet before he dropped it. Dodomeki knew he was no slouch and cracked his neck before making his presence known. The mystic then turned to Dodomeki and slammed his gauntlets together as he formed both into fists.
'Ahh the demon shows himself does he? Excellent saves me the trouble of finding you.' He smirked as he got into a battle-ready stance.
'Is that so? Is that why you killed your comrades? Because you wanted the glory for yourself?'
'Ha please! These are nothing but traitors and you'll suffer their fate. After you and that blasted serpent are dealt with Lady Chang'e will claim what's rightfully hers.' That was a name Dodomeki didn't expect to hear. Normally the moon goddess wouldn't get involved in these affairs so why now?
'Then humour me before you make your attempt at my head, what made Chang'e start to get involved in mystic affairs?' Dodomeki questioned, trying to coax some information out of him, no matter how little it may be.
'Ever since your serpent lord killed the yellow emperor of course! The other mystic leaders may be vying for power for their own gain but lady Chang'e sees an opportunity to reverse the curse that was inflicted on her! She'll exact vengeance on those that have wronged her, starting with that infernal archer! No general, no god or goddess will stop her. But first we'll eliminate you and then your demon lady!' The mystic charged forward while yelling, Dodomeki lunged in to meet him in the middle of the rooftop. Their fists clash as they punched each other.
'You will not harm even a strand of her hair!' Dodomeki promised as his punch from his other arm was cancelled out by the mystic's other arm as well. They both pushed on each other as hard as they can before they withdraw their fists seeing as they were getting no where and tried again. Though the same result happened. The clash of metal against each other echoes throughout their personal arena. Dodomeki gives him a hook punch though the mystic swatted the arm away and goes in for a reverse punch, Dodomeki barely had enough time to recoil his arm and placed it in front of his face though it didn't matter too much as the punch sends Dodomeki flying to the castle wall. He couldn't move out of the way before the mystic sprinted towards him and punches him in the gut. He groaned in pain before being picked up and planted behind the mystic dropping him through the roof. Dodomeki struggled to get up as he raises himself to go on all fours. He looked up to see the mystic jumping down with both fists in the air ready to be slammed down. The demon rolled away though he could feel the slight tremor of the strike as the gauntlets touched the ground.
Both quickly rose to their feet and got back into a battle-ready stance.
'This one's strong, I probably won't be able to meet his strength head on, I'll have to rely on my speed.' Dodomeki thought to himself before he sprinted in. He punched the mystic in the face, though it was blocked by the gauntlet, he quickly managed to duck down a counter attack and strike his stomach. Though the mystic laughs and punches below him. The demon sidesteps the attack and is surprised when he didn't even flinch, he was built like a wall. The mystic turned towards Dodomeki and pounded his chest
'Lady Chang'e granted me thick skin so your attacks are unable to affect me. While my strength will pound you into submission.' He lunged in for another attack though Dodomeki dodges it. The mystic unleashed a barrage of punches which Dodomeki dodged them all though every time he attempted to counter attack it didn't affect his opponent so all he could do was dodge. He leapt away while trying to come up with a plan. Despite this though the mystic was persistent and kept closing the gap a little too fasts for the demons liking. It didn't help that there was a small niggling feeling in the back of his head that started to grow larger. He didn't know what was going on or why that was happening, though it was starting to become a distraction. As Dodomeki leapt away the mystic managed to catch him by the ankle and slam him down to the ground behind him. The impact made Dodomeki bounce up giving the mystic another opportunity to punch Dodomeki in the face sending him flying into the abandoned house, knocking him through the walls. The mystic smirked as he walked to the wreckage.
As he reached the entrance of the abandoned house Dodomeki darted out from under his legs, the mystic turned around to face him and noticed his stretchy arms were still recoiling, a moment later the arms pushed past his legs and he fell backwards giving Dodomeki a chance to deal some damage. He pounces on the fallen mystic and tries to claw his face however they couldn't pierce his flesh no matter how hard he tried. The mystic then caught one of the arms with his hand and forcefully threw him to the side, allowing him to jump up.
'I told you, its pointless. You may as well give me your head now!' Dodomeki jumped back onto his feet and got back into his battle stance.
'You'll have to pry it from my body!' Dodomeki yelled however now the niggling sensation in the back of his head quickly became to be an overwhelming painful sensation as he clutched his helmet and crashed to his knees. He didn't know what was happening, he never experienced anything like this and during this delicate time? The mystic saw this and smiled as readied his fist.
'That can be arranged!' He first punched Dodomeki in the gut and then gave him an uppercut, sending him vertically up in the air. The mystic bent down and jumped up and went between Dodomeki's legs with his head and grabbed on to it. He then carried him down in a powerbomb position throwing him onto the ground while still holding his legs to make sure the demon took the brunt of the forceful landing. He let go and Dodomeki lies motionless on the ground, his body wasn't moving. The mystic couldn't help but chuckle as he picked up Dodomeki by the helmet with his right hand and started to squeeze it.
'Well this was a decent scuffle but now its time for you to die! Don't worry though, Lady Chang'e will put your life essence to good use and you'll be reunited with your snake lord soon enough!' The mystic didn't see the change in pupil of the demon's singular eye as it changes from circular pupil to a slit shaped one. Suddenly Dodomeki stretches his arm with speed that the mystic didn't respond and pierced his left eye. It took a couple of seconds for the mystic to process this, however once it did, he screamed in agony as he let go of Dodomeki and dropped to his knees with one of his hands covering his eye to stop the blood from flowing down his face, only to have no affect at all.
'What the? How!?' He could only hear the slow, sinister laugh of Dodomeki as he noticed the eye.
'To be honest I'm not entirely sure, however I believe lady Mitsuko has something to do with it.' The mystics eyes widened with shock.
'Wait…how!? You demons never had any strength boost like that before!'
'No we didn't…however lady Mitsuko is different to the other reincarnations. Although what I do know is that you're going to die here.' Dodomeki stated. The mystic powered through the pain as he heard that and stood up.
'You dare threaten me with death!? You have no idea who you're dealing with. So what if you had a power boost, I'm still going to squash you like the vermin you are!' The mystic lunged in for a punch though Dodomeki seemed to have vanished before feeling an immense pain coming from his gut, he looked down and see Dodomeki though the pain was too unbearable for him. He quickly dropped to his knees again wheezing this time.
'What was that? I didn't quite catch that.' Dodomeki replied before kicking him in the face which sent him flying to the wall head first. Though his skull wouldn't crack it still makes the mystic writhe in agony as he leaned on the wall to stand up. As he tries to slow his breathing Dodomeki seemingly teleported in front of him, leaving the mystic stunned. After a few seconds though, the mystic punched though Dodomeki managed to catch it with ease after sidestepping and threw him over his shoulder onto the ground. The mystic couldn't believe he was getting manhandled by a demon of all things. It was only moments ago when he was dominating this demon now he lost an eye and is on the receiving end of pain. Pain he wasn't accustomed to. Dodomeki kicked him again and this time he rolls in the middle of their personal arena and spotted Dodomeki walking towards him slowly. He growled as he stood up again.
'You will not mock me demon! You will not slay me! I'm going to be your demise!' The mystic yelled as he screams and posing. Dodomeki paused and wondered what he was doing. He suddenly charged Dodomeki who wasn't expecting that so soon and got punched right in the gut. He groaned though instead of being sent flying he grabbed onto the gauntlet with his left arm and reverse punched him with his right. Dodomeki lets go of the arm as the mystic staggered backwards. Dodomeki performed a roundhouse kick however the mystic deflected it and immediately punched with his other arm. Even though Dodomeki blocked he fell backwards due to only being on one leg. As the mystic went in for another attack Dodomeki uses his other leg to sweep him off his feet. Making him fall yet again. Dodomeki leapt backwards and stretches his right arm to grab the mystics left ankle and picked him up only to slam him once on the ground and then behind him. He lets go as the mystic bounces off the ground due to the brute strength of the demon and kicked him which sent him flying. Dodomeki then sprinted past the flying mystic and kicked them in the back knocking them over the place. Each time the mystic got attacked while flying he coughed out some blood before finally Dodomeki appeared instantly in front of him and kicked him in the face, sending him high up vertically. Dodomeki jumped forwards and grabbed a hold of the mystic before they tumbled down while spinning head first. Before they hit the ground Dodomeki pushes himself away and managed to land on his feet though the mystic to dropped and created a crater in the ground.
Dodomeki started to walk over to the crater however is surprised to see the mystic still moving and able to stand. Though he's bleeding from numerous wounds on his body and is unable to stand completely upright due to both of his legs beginning to give way.
'D-don't think I'm finished yet.' He wearingly stated. Dodomeki could only give a respectful grunt in response.
'I'm surprised you're still standing after all that, you're definitely made from studier stuff than the other mystics. Though that won't prevent your fate.'
'I…told you before…demon. I will be your slayer!' The mystic growled before throwing a punch. However, Dodomeki grabbed it with his right arm and held it close to his body while he had his left arm hover over his wrist, he glanced at the mystic who looked horrified at what Dodomeki was about to do, but he did it anyway. He penetrated his claws through the wrist, severing the hand from his arm. The mystic screams in agony as he clutched his severed wrist as blood squirted and poured out of the wound. His legs gave way as he continues to writhe in his own suffering, pleasing Dodomeki a lot. The mystic looked at the demon and pulled one last punched. Though it's so weak Dodomeki caught it with one hand. He squeezed it hard enough that the metal shatters. The mystic is petrified at the sight of his only weapon, destroyed in the blink of an eye. He fallen completely down on the ground while clutching the missing arm, still writhing in his own agony.
'Despite your endurance and your strength, without your gauntlets you'll soon be nothing but another victim to Lady Mitsuko, nothing more. You'll just be forgotten, not even your goddess will remember you.' Dodomeki declared as he picked him up by the hair. As he screamed the demon put his left hand in his bottom jaw and his right one in the upper jaw and pulled with both. The mystic flailed his arms around and tried to knock the arms away to no avail. Dodomeki kept pulling and pulling, the mystic couldn't delay the inevitable despite his best efforts to do so. He could feel his cheeks start to tear as blood starts trickling down the open wounds before in one quick motion Dodomeki pulled the top jaw off the mystic's skull. The bottom half squirted blood upwards while the rest of the blood ran down the body like a waterfall. The headless corpse stayed on its knees for a couple of seconds before gravity claimed it. Dodomeki took a quick glance at the skull he had in his hand before quickly discarding it and returned to sprinting to the throne room.