---- Chapter 30: Ice and Wind ----
=== Makai - Furosuti Snowfields ===
"He's coming."
Touya raised his head, and, indeed, a large Ki was heading directly for them. Sighing, Jin mused, "He already beat Hiei. What chance do we have?"
"We can fight together."
"Ah."
A few minutes later, Shinrai had arrived, panting heavily for having traveled so far. Rising to his feet, Touya greeted Shinrai. "Yo." Jin nodded, and also got to his feet.
"You guys know why I'm here."
".... That we do," began Touya. "What's it to you? You're much stronger than us--"
"--and that's why I'll lower my Ki to half your levels.... and fight you both at once."
".... !!! Cocky, ain't 'cha?" Jin mused.
"Just confident." Smirking, Shinrai lowered his Ki noticably, and beckoned for the two of them to attack. And they did just that, dashing forward with a barrage of kicks and punches, all of which were skillfully deflected by Shinrai.
Flipping backwards, Touya cried out, "Shards of Winter!!" And at that, he hurled several sharpened needles of ice at his enemy. Deflecting them effortlessly, Shinrai tossed an elbow strike behind him.... hitting Jin directly in the face, sending the wind demon flying.
Halting his advance in mid-air, Jin hurled a blast of wind at Shinrai. The attack succeeded in knocking Shinrai to the ground, as Touya dived forward to strike a critical blow. Shinrai managed to roll out of the way just in time, kicking Touya harshly in the side. As Touya collapsed to the ground, Shinrai flipped to his feet and hurled a blast of energy at Jin, who managed to dodge just in time.... as the blast warped the surrounding area and created a gigantic crater.
Rising to his feet and spitting out some blood to one side, Touya grinned.
".... You're good, I'll give you that. But it's time to end this.... with THAT move."
".... !!! A-Aye, Touya-san."
Calling out, both warriors more than quadrupled the size of their auras. Shinrai watched, wide-eyed, as their Ki increased in size.
".... 90,000.... 100,000.... 110,000.... Over 120,000 Ki waves of energy.... Not bad!"
Gripping their fists tightly to their sides, each of the fighters called out....
"Arctic Hurricane!!!"
At first, nothing happened, but quickly enough that changed. The ground started to crack, and slowly spread out to encompass the entire area, freezing the ground so cold that Shinrai had to expend energy not to freeze his feet. Without warning, a huge barrier of wind burst from the ground, surrounding the area and slowly closing in on Shinrai.
With no way out, Shinrai had little choice but to wait for the attack to come to him.... which it did, tearing through his body with vicious winds while freezing the wounds solid upon impact. Shinrai screamed in pain, and dropped to his knees, crying out loudly as the winds tore through him.
Jin grinned slightly, thinking it was over. "Hey!" he called out, "you ready to surrender?"
At those words, the wind halted dead in its tracks. An eerie silence hung over the area, as the ground burst open in a flash of light.
Touya recognized the aura coming from Shinrai.... and fell to his knees. Rushing to his partner, Jin frantically asked, "W-What's goin' on?! What's he doin'?!"
"........"
"Tell me, Touya-san!!!"
".... He's transforming. Into a form stronger than S-class."
".... !!!!"
From inside the impact zone, faint laughter could be heard, and both fighters turned to the source. Stepping out of the crater was Shinrai - but not Shinrai. Clad in solid armor, with a broadsword at his side and a cape flowing down his back, he had transformed once more.
Within moments, Shinrai was directly before the two demons, and Jin jumped back in shock. Before he had any time to react, Shinrai smashed him from behind. As Jin fell to the ground, Touya cowered.
"I.... I've never felt.... S-Such.... power.... !!!! But.... how.... ?"
For a moment, Shinrai remained silent. Then, he spoke....
"I am a descendant of one of the demons of the lower Makai. That's how I can transform, and why I have so much power. You see why I hold back my power?"
Everything snapped into place.
"Y-You.... hold back.... not for your opponents.... b-but for the very fabric of existence.... !!!"
Saying nothing, Shinrai de-transformed, and began to shine brightly. Jin had woken up by now, and looked on as the massive attack was being charged. With a mighty battle cry, he charged Shinrai.... but his punches and kicks had absolutely no effect. Resolving to try it a different way, he created a hurricane around both arms, and hurled them at Shinrai.... and they knocked him back slightly, but had otherwise no visible effect.
"Aura Sphere!!!!"
For miles around, a bright light - a dome of energy - could be seen in the distance. The attack burst from Shinrai's body, blasting through Jin and Touya. When the smoke from the attack cleared, both demons lay neatly in a pile, groaning slightly. Shinrai stood triumphantly over them, panting softly.
With a loud groan, Touya shuffled around in his clothes, and tossed a small icicle over to Shinrai. Jin did the same, tossing instead a small hurricane-shaped piece of silver. Shinrai helped both demons to their feet, thanked them, and went on his way to the next trial - Chuu.
=== Makai - Furosuti Snowfields ===
"He's coming."
Touya raised his head, and, indeed, a large Ki was heading directly for them. Sighing, Jin mused, "He already beat Hiei. What chance do we have?"
"We can fight together."
"Ah."
A few minutes later, Shinrai had arrived, panting heavily for having traveled so far. Rising to his feet, Touya greeted Shinrai. "Yo." Jin nodded, and also got to his feet.
"You guys know why I'm here."
".... That we do," began Touya. "What's it to you? You're much stronger than us--"
"--and that's why I'll lower my Ki to half your levels.... and fight you both at once."
".... !!! Cocky, ain't 'cha?" Jin mused.
"Just confident." Smirking, Shinrai lowered his Ki noticably, and beckoned for the two of them to attack. And they did just that, dashing forward with a barrage of kicks and punches, all of which were skillfully deflected by Shinrai.
Flipping backwards, Touya cried out, "Shards of Winter!!" And at that, he hurled several sharpened needles of ice at his enemy. Deflecting them effortlessly, Shinrai tossed an elbow strike behind him.... hitting Jin directly in the face, sending the wind demon flying.
Halting his advance in mid-air, Jin hurled a blast of wind at Shinrai. The attack succeeded in knocking Shinrai to the ground, as Touya dived forward to strike a critical blow. Shinrai managed to roll out of the way just in time, kicking Touya harshly in the side. As Touya collapsed to the ground, Shinrai flipped to his feet and hurled a blast of energy at Jin, who managed to dodge just in time.... as the blast warped the surrounding area and created a gigantic crater.
Rising to his feet and spitting out some blood to one side, Touya grinned.
".... You're good, I'll give you that. But it's time to end this.... with THAT move."
".... !!! A-Aye, Touya-san."
Calling out, both warriors more than quadrupled the size of their auras. Shinrai watched, wide-eyed, as their Ki increased in size.
".... 90,000.... 100,000.... 110,000.... Over 120,000 Ki waves of energy.... Not bad!"
Gripping their fists tightly to their sides, each of the fighters called out....
"Arctic Hurricane!!!"
At first, nothing happened, but quickly enough that changed. The ground started to crack, and slowly spread out to encompass the entire area, freezing the ground so cold that Shinrai had to expend energy not to freeze his feet. Without warning, a huge barrier of wind burst from the ground, surrounding the area and slowly closing in on Shinrai.
With no way out, Shinrai had little choice but to wait for the attack to come to him.... which it did, tearing through his body with vicious winds while freezing the wounds solid upon impact. Shinrai screamed in pain, and dropped to his knees, crying out loudly as the winds tore through him.
Jin grinned slightly, thinking it was over. "Hey!" he called out, "you ready to surrender?"
At those words, the wind halted dead in its tracks. An eerie silence hung over the area, as the ground burst open in a flash of light.
Touya recognized the aura coming from Shinrai.... and fell to his knees. Rushing to his partner, Jin frantically asked, "W-What's goin' on?! What's he doin'?!"
"........"
"Tell me, Touya-san!!!"
".... He's transforming. Into a form stronger than S-class."
".... !!!!"
From inside the impact zone, faint laughter could be heard, and both fighters turned to the source. Stepping out of the crater was Shinrai - but not Shinrai. Clad in solid armor, with a broadsword at his side and a cape flowing down his back, he had transformed once more.
Within moments, Shinrai was directly before the two demons, and Jin jumped back in shock. Before he had any time to react, Shinrai smashed him from behind. As Jin fell to the ground, Touya cowered.
"I.... I've never felt.... S-Such.... power.... !!!! But.... how.... ?"
For a moment, Shinrai remained silent. Then, he spoke....
"I am a descendant of one of the demons of the lower Makai. That's how I can transform, and why I have so much power. You see why I hold back my power?"
Everything snapped into place.
"Y-You.... hold back.... not for your opponents.... b-but for the very fabric of existence.... !!!"
Saying nothing, Shinrai de-transformed, and began to shine brightly. Jin had woken up by now, and looked on as the massive attack was being charged. With a mighty battle cry, he charged Shinrai.... but his punches and kicks had absolutely no effect. Resolving to try it a different way, he created a hurricane around both arms, and hurled them at Shinrai.... and they knocked him back slightly, but had otherwise no visible effect.
"Aura Sphere!!!!"
For miles around, a bright light - a dome of energy - could be seen in the distance. The attack burst from Shinrai's body, blasting through Jin and Touya. When the smoke from the attack cleared, both demons lay neatly in a pile, groaning slightly. Shinrai stood triumphantly over them, panting softly.
With a loud groan, Touya shuffled around in his clothes, and tossed a small icicle over to Shinrai. Jin did the same, tossing instead a small hurricane-shaped piece of silver. Shinrai helped both demons to their feet, thanked them, and went on his way to the next trial - Chuu.