Ryu swore as his arm throbbed from where a large shard of glass had sliced it open. Using
his shirt to wrap it, he watched Murdoc from where he was hiding behind an overturned tree. Murdoc had that evil grin in place and was ordering Diablo to destroy the forest. All Ryu could do was watch from where he was kneeling as Diablo breathed a dark mist over all the trees and plants, causing them
to wilt and decay, then destroying what was left behind by letting loose several blasts of fire.
Realizing Murdoc's back was to him, Ryu started to concentrate on gathering energy in his hands. A white hot sensation ran through his arms, and it stung like mad, but he ignored the pain, and kept concentrating, forming the energy into what looked like a bow and arrow. Placing the sizzling arrow on the bow, he took careful aim.
Murdoc jumped as he sensed a power growing larger and turned around just in time to see a white energy arrow come flying at him and hit him in the side. The arrow tore through him and burst out the other side, sending blood flying eveywhere. He stared down at his side in shock, then looked over at Ryu, hissing through his teeth.
"Why you..." Ryu froze, then swore as he watched Murdoc pull out a vial of a silver liquid and pour it onto his battered side, instantly healing the wound. *White dragon's blood.* Ryu realized before forming another arrow and shooting it again.
Murdoc ducked, then realized it wasn't aimed at him, but instead at the hand holding the staff. The arrow struck his fingers, slicing them open and causing him to lose his grip on the staff, which clattered to the ground. Gripping his hand in shock and yelling at Ryu, Murdoc didn't notice that Diablo had stopped destroying the forest until the lizard knocked him off. Diablo was now uncontrolled, and very confused. Not knowing who to obey, he proceeded to destroy the entire forest and everything around him.
Ryu dove for the staff, but didn't make it as Murdoc tackled him and sent the two of them into a wrestling match. Ryu struggled to gain control of the fight, but Murdoc managed to push them closer towards the fan of fire that had been created. He started to gasp for breath as Ryu managed to dig his thumbs into his throat, cutting off his air supply. After a moment, Ryu pressed his feet against Murdoc's chest and pushed him off, sending the silver haired man rolling back several meters until he came to a stop, rubbing his throat and coughing.
Sasuri could sense a fight far away from her, and was able to recognize Diablo and the two men fighting over him. *I have to help them. But I can't....I can't fight Diablo.* She stood, looking around at her surroundings. All she could see was darkness. But the darkness was somewhat comforting. Letting out a sigh, she sat back down. *I'm not going out there. If I do, I'll have to fight Diablo, and I cannot, and will not, do that.* She then heard a far off roar and jumped.
Sasuri's body convulsed sharply, startling everone in the room. After a moment, she settled back down.
*That was Diablo.* She realized. *What if he's hurt? Ryu would have enough trouble with Murdoc. I....I need to....to go help them, to go help Diablo.* She sighed and got to her feet. *No more running.*
Sasuri's body convulsed again, then her eyes slowly opened and she sat up quickly as she heard a roar again and then an explosion.
"Diablo!!"
Sasuri stumbled out of the village, glancing around wildly, listening for any signs of Diablo. Hearing a roar and crashes to the east, she ran in that direction.
Murdoc sneered at Ryu evily as he pushed him closer to the edge of the cliff. He dug his feet in, preventing Ryu from pushing him any farther. Managing to change his grip, he shoved Ryu back. Ryu glanced behind him and saw the staff laying several meters away from him. Turning, he ran for it, but Murdoc tackled him from behind, sending the two rolling.
They came to a stop a few feet away from the staff, but Murdoc had Ryu pinned face down in the ashes, not allowing him to breathe. Ryu struggled for a few minutes, then stilled. Murdoc didn't move, then got up, panting. To his shock, Ryu leapt to his feet and swung a fist at him, connecting with his jaw. Murdoc stumbled back and fell to the ground, blood running from the corner of his mouth. Ryu stood over him, blood smeared on his fist.
Murdoc wiped his chin off, then looked up at Ryu, glaring.
"That was for Diablo." Ryu hissed, before kicking Murdoc in the stomach, causing the albino to gasp in pain. "That was for Rashika." Ryu reached down, grabbed Murdoc by the collar of the shirt, then pulled a dagger out of his jacket and held it to Murdoc's throat. "And this is for Sasuri." Murdoc smirked.
"Do it. If you think you're all that then prove it. I bet you don't have the courage to go through with it. You're too weak. You've always been too weak." Ryu growled and was about to rip the blade across Murdoc's throat when he froze. He pulled away and shoved Murdoc back.
"I'm not as cold blooded as you are." Ryu bent down and grabbed the staff, then turned to Diablo. The dragon stopped and turned to Ryu. But before Ryu could utter a word, he felt a power building behind him and turned in time to see Murdoc shoot a spell at him. Ryu dodged it, but it hit the staff instead, knocking it to the ground and shattering the bone to a thousand pieces. It wass then that the heard two screams. One was a cry of pain, and came from Diablo as he died again, without the staff to support him. The other was a cry of anger, and the two of them turned to see Sasuri standing at the edge of the field, staring at Diablo as he died. When there was nothing left of the dragon, she turned to the two men, anger flaring in her silver eyes.
"You killed him." She hissed, and a strong wind blew her black hair back as her eyes flashed to gold. "YOU KILLED HIM!!!" The moment she cried this, she brought her hands to her chest, pressing them against her heart, then threw her head back, screaming, and hundreds of jagged rocks burst out of the ground around her, causing Ryu and Murdoc to stumble as the ground shook. Ryu backed away, staring at the young woman in front of him.
Sasuri opened her eyes and she saw Murdoc. Her eyes widened and she ran at him, tackling him to the ground when she reached him. Straddling his chest, she began to punch him over and over again, yelling at him in between hits. "You...no...good...lousy...cruel...heartless...son of a-Hey!!!!" She stopped as Ryu grabbed hold of her from behind and hauled her off of him. "Ryu! LET! ME! GO!!!" She screamed again and Ryu was thrown back from the blast of power.
He sat up and watched her as she pushed Murdoc back and summoned some ropes, bonding him in place between two trees, his arms pinned to his sides. Murdoc struggled, swearing, then froze as Sasuri held a finger to her lips. "Hush now." She said in a tone that had Murdoc starting to tremble.
Sasuri stepped forward, placing two fingers on Murdoc's lips, a thoughtful look on her face. After a moment, she pulled her hand back slightly, then slapped Murdoc hard. Her eyes glittered a deep silver, radiating her anger. Murdoc spit blood out from where she'd cut the inside of his lip, and looked up at her, his amber eye shaking. "Now, Murdoc, relax." She said in a whisper, bringing her face within an inch of his. Murdoc held his breath, his eye widening. Placing a hand on his cheek, she smiled in a way that made Murdoc's knees go weak. "Murdoc, you know how easy it is to take a life, don't you?" At these words, Murdoc's face paled. she was still smiling as she turned and summoned a dargger to her hand. With a flick of her wrist, Murdoc's shirt was ripped from his chest and he watched as she placed the edge of the dagger against his chest, then let go. It floated there, hovering a millimeter from his chest. "So easy.." She whispered, and Murdoc flinched as the dagger started to press harder against him.
The dagger managed to break through the skin and buried itself a centimeter into his chest.
"Sasuri, please..." He whispered. Her eyes flicked up to his face, their gold shade cold compared to the smile on her face. "Look, I'm sorry, but, I-I could help you find a new dragon's breast bone, and we can bring Diablo back. You just need to-"
"Murdoc?" She interrupted, flexing her hand so the dagger pushed in another centimeter. "Who's Rashika?" Murdoc shuddered at the tone of her voice.
"R-Rashika? I-I don't know who-"
"Don't lie Murdoc, I can tell when you lie, and people lying to me makes me mad." He swallowed hard.
"Rashika is Ryu's sister." He whispered, flinching as the dagger went in further, now a full inch into his chest.
"That's right. And where is she, Murdoc?" Murdoc got nervous when he realized where she was going with this.
"I-I....."
"Come on, Murdoc. You know the answer to this."
"She's dead." Ryu froze where he was on the ground, not believing what he was hearing, then his heart leapt into his throat at Sasuri's next comment.
"No, she's not Murdoc. She's completely alive, and you know just where she is, don't you?" Murdoc gasped as she pushed the dagger further into his chest, and nodded swiftly. "I thought so. So. Where is she?"
"She's in the dungeon of Lady Kavila's castle!" He finally snapped. She smirked.
"Good boy." Then, in a flash, all the sweetness left her and she pulled her hand back, ripping the dagger out of Murdoc. "Now, I'm going to show you just how fun taking a life can be." Murdoc's one visible eye dialated with fear as she said this, and started to struggle again.
Ryu struggled to his feet.
"S-Sasuri. Stop this right now. Don't sink to his level. Don't-"
"Ryu. Shut up." She muttered, and a burst of energy had him flying back several feet, slamming into the ground hard. "If you know what's good for you, Ryu, you'll stay out of matters that don't concern you." She then raised a hand and placed a finger on Murdoc's forehead. The moment her finger came in contact with his skin, white-hot pain lanced through his head. She just sighed. "This has gotten boring." Flicking her wrist back, she laughed evily as the dagger plunged into Murdoc's chest, killing him instantly. Ryu flinched at this. *S-she just killed Murdoc.*
He felt fear wash through him as she turned her cold glare onto him, leaving the corpse to bleed out. She started to form something in between her hands, when she swayed slightly and leaned againist a tree, trying to catch her balance. *This must be draining her magic terribly.* Ryu realized.
"Sasuri, you've got to stop this. If you carry on-" She glared at him and flicked her wrist at him. To his shock, he'd lost all ability to speak. She was about to retort when she swayed again and started to collapse.
Ryu rushed forward and caught her just before she hit the ground. *Great, now what do I do?* He looked down at the unconscious form in his arm, then over at the dead body strung between the trees, and sighed.
his shirt to wrap it, he watched Murdoc from where he was hiding behind an overturned tree. Murdoc had that evil grin in place and was ordering Diablo to destroy the forest. All Ryu could do was watch from where he was kneeling as Diablo breathed a dark mist over all the trees and plants, causing them
to wilt and decay, then destroying what was left behind by letting loose several blasts of fire.
Realizing Murdoc's back was to him, Ryu started to concentrate on gathering energy in his hands. A white hot sensation ran through his arms, and it stung like mad, but he ignored the pain, and kept concentrating, forming the energy into what looked like a bow and arrow. Placing the sizzling arrow on the bow, he took careful aim.
Murdoc jumped as he sensed a power growing larger and turned around just in time to see a white energy arrow come flying at him and hit him in the side. The arrow tore through him and burst out the other side, sending blood flying eveywhere. He stared down at his side in shock, then looked over at Ryu, hissing through his teeth.
"Why you..." Ryu froze, then swore as he watched Murdoc pull out a vial of a silver liquid and pour it onto his battered side, instantly healing the wound. *White dragon's blood.* Ryu realized before forming another arrow and shooting it again.
Murdoc ducked, then realized it wasn't aimed at him, but instead at the hand holding the staff. The arrow struck his fingers, slicing them open and causing him to lose his grip on the staff, which clattered to the ground. Gripping his hand in shock and yelling at Ryu, Murdoc didn't notice that Diablo had stopped destroying the forest until the lizard knocked him off. Diablo was now uncontrolled, and very confused. Not knowing who to obey, he proceeded to destroy the entire forest and everything around him.
Ryu dove for the staff, but didn't make it as Murdoc tackled him and sent the two of them into a wrestling match. Ryu struggled to gain control of the fight, but Murdoc managed to push them closer towards the fan of fire that had been created. He started to gasp for breath as Ryu managed to dig his thumbs into his throat, cutting off his air supply. After a moment, Ryu pressed his feet against Murdoc's chest and pushed him off, sending the silver haired man rolling back several meters until he came to a stop, rubbing his throat and coughing.
Sasuri could sense a fight far away from her, and was able to recognize Diablo and the two men fighting over him. *I have to help them. But I can't....I can't fight Diablo.* She stood, looking around at her surroundings. All she could see was darkness. But the darkness was somewhat comforting. Letting out a sigh, she sat back down. *I'm not going out there. If I do, I'll have to fight Diablo, and I cannot, and will not, do that.* She then heard a far off roar and jumped.
Sasuri's body convulsed sharply, startling everone in the room. After a moment, she settled back down.
*That was Diablo.* She realized. *What if he's hurt? Ryu would have enough trouble with Murdoc. I....I need to....to go help them, to go help Diablo.* She sighed and got to her feet. *No more running.*
Sasuri's body convulsed again, then her eyes slowly opened and she sat up quickly as she heard a roar again and then an explosion.
"Diablo!!"
Sasuri stumbled out of the village, glancing around wildly, listening for any signs of Diablo. Hearing a roar and crashes to the east, she ran in that direction.
Murdoc sneered at Ryu evily as he pushed him closer to the edge of the cliff. He dug his feet in, preventing Ryu from pushing him any farther. Managing to change his grip, he shoved Ryu back. Ryu glanced behind him and saw the staff laying several meters away from him. Turning, he ran for it, but Murdoc tackled him from behind, sending the two rolling.
They came to a stop a few feet away from the staff, but Murdoc had Ryu pinned face down in the ashes, not allowing him to breathe. Ryu struggled for a few minutes, then stilled. Murdoc didn't move, then got up, panting. To his shock, Ryu leapt to his feet and swung a fist at him, connecting with his jaw. Murdoc stumbled back and fell to the ground, blood running from the corner of his mouth. Ryu stood over him, blood smeared on his fist.
Murdoc wiped his chin off, then looked up at Ryu, glaring.
"That was for Diablo." Ryu hissed, before kicking Murdoc in the stomach, causing the albino to gasp in pain. "That was for Rashika." Ryu reached down, grabbed Murdoc by the collar of the shirt, then pulled a dagger out of his jacket and held it to Murdoc's throat. "And this is for Sasuri." Murdoc smirked.
"Do it. If you think you're all that then prove it. I bet you don't have the courage to go through with it. You're too weak. You've always been too weak." Ryu growled and was about to rip the blade across Murdoc's throat when he froze. He pulled away and shoved Murdoc back.
"I'm not as cold blooded as you are." Ryu bent down and grabbed the staff, then turned to Diablo. The dragon stopped and turned to Ryu. But before Ryu could utter a word, he felt a power building behind him and turned in time to see Murdoc shoot a spell at him. Ryu dodged it, but it hit the staff instead, knocking it to the ground and shattering the bone to a thousand pieces. It wass then that the heard two screams. One was a cry of pain, and came from Diablo as he died again, without the staff to support him. The other was a cry of anger, and the two of them turned to see Sasuri standing at the edge of the field, staring at Diablo as he died. When there was nothing left of the dragon, she turned to the two men, anger flaring in her silver eyes.
"You killed him." She hissed, and a strong wind blew her black hair back as her eyes flashed to gold. "YOU KILLED HIM!!!" The moment she cried this, she brought her hands to her chest, pressing them against her heart, then threw her head back, screaming, and hundreds of jagged rocks burst out of the ground around her, causing Ryu and Murdoc to stumble as the ground shook. Ryu backed away, staring at the young woman in front of him.
Sasuri opened her eyes and she saw Murdoc. Her eyes widened and she ran at him, tackling him to the ground when she reached him. Straddling his chest, she began to punch him over and over again, yelling at him in between hits. "You...no...good...lousy...cruel...heartless...son of a-Hey!!!!" She stopped as Ryu grabbed hold of her from behind and hauled her off of him. "Ryu! LET! ME! GO!!!" She screamed again and Ryu was thrown back from the blast of power.
He sat up and watched her as she pushed Murdoc back and summoned some ropes, bonding him in place between two trees, his arms pinned to his sides. Murdoc struggled, swearing, then froze as Sasuri held a finger to her lips. "Hush now." She said in a tone that had Murdoc starting to tremble.
Sasuri stepped forward, placing two fingers on Murdoc's lips, a thoughtful look on her face. After a moment, she pulled her hand back slightly, then slapped Murdoc hard. Her eyes glittered a deep silver, radiating her anger. Murdoc spit blood out from where she'd cut the inside of his lip, and looked up at her, his amber eye shaking. "Now, Murdoc, relax." She said in a whisper, bringing her face within an inch of his. Murdoc held his breath, his eye widening. Placing a hand on his cheek, she smiled in a way that made Murdoc's knees go weak. "Murdoc, you know how easy it is to take a life, don't you?" At these words, Murdoc's face paled. she was still smiling as she turned and summoned a dargger to her hand. With a flick of her wrist, Murdoc's shirt was ripped from his chest and he watched as she placed the edge of the dagger against his chest, then let go. It floated there, hovering a millimeter from his chest. "So easy.." She whispered, and Murdoc flinched as the dagger started to press harder against him.
The dagger managed to break through the skin and buried itself a centimeter into his chest.
"Sasuri, please..." He whispered. Her eyes flicked up to his face, their gold shade cold compared to the smile on her face. "Look, I'm sorry, but, I-I could help you find a new dragon's breast bone, and we can bring Diablo back. You just need to-"
"Murdoc?" She interrupted, flexing her hand so the dagger pushed in another centimeter. "Who's Rashika?" Murdoc shuddered at the tone of her voice.
"R-Rashika? I-I don't know who-"
"Don't lie Murdoc, I can tell when you lie, and people lying to me makes me mad." He swallowed hard.
"Rashika is Ryu's sister." He whispered, flinching as the dagger went in further, now a full inch into his chest.
"That's right. And where is she, Murdoc?" Murdoc got nervous when he realized where she was going with this.
"I-I....."
"Come on, Murdoc. You know the answer to this."
"She's dead." Ryu froze where he was on the ground, not believing what he was hearing, then his heart leapt into his throat at Sasuri's next comment.
"No, she's not Murdoc. She's completely alive, and you know just where she is, don't you?" Murdoc gasped as she pushed the dagger further into his chest, and nodded swiftly. "I thought so. So. Where is she?"
"She's in the dungeon of Lady Kavila's castle!" He finally snapped. She smirked.
"Good boy." Then, in a flash, all the sweetness left her and she pulled her hand back, ripping the dagger out of Murdoc. "Now, I'm going to show you just how fun taking a life can be." Murdoc's one visible eye dialated with fear as she said this, and started to struggle again.
Ryu struggled to his feet.
"S-Sasuri. Stop this right now. Don't sink to his level. Don't-"
"Ryu. Shut up." She muttered, and a burst of energy had him flying back several feet, slamming into the ground hard. "If you know what's good for you, Ryu, you'll stay out of matters that don't concern you." She then raised a hand and placed a finger on Murdoc's forehead. The moment her finger came in contact with his skin, white-hot pain lanced through his head. She just sighed. "This has gotten boring." Flicking her wrist back, she laughed evily as the dagger plunged into Murdoc's chest, killing him instantly. Ryu flinched at this. *S-she just killed Murdoc.*
He felt fear wash through him as she turned her cold glare onto him, leaving the corpse to bleed out. She started to form something in between her hands, when she swayed slightly and leaned againist a tree, trying to catch her balance. *This must be draining her magic terribly.* Ryu realized.
"Sasuri, you've got to stop this. If you carry on-" She glared at him and flicked her wrist at him. To his shock, he'd lost all ability to speak. She was about to retort when she swayed again and started to collapse.
Ryu rushed forward and caught her just before she hit the ground. *Great, now what do I do?* He looked down at the unconscious form in his arm, then over at the dead body strung between the trees, and sighed.