The Demon Lord, Haruko- Chapter Sixteen
--------------------
The greatest soul... the soul of the planet, the soul of all life.
--------------------
The crimson glow of the sun filled the sky as it began to set. The four Drifters began to grow weary.
The moon had already risen by the time the group had reached Humphrey's Peak. "Isn't that nice," Gallows remarked as the group stood before a huge crevasse.
Todd walked up to it and stomped his foot into the ground. "Hey, it seems like the ground here has recently disturbed."
Gallows stood up. "Well yeah. This crevasse was never here before," he replied as Todd stared downward at the collage or rubble and dirt. "It also seems like a rockslide occurred, strange."
"Yes, isn't it." The four Drifters turned to see the massive dragon hovering above them. Haruko stood straight on its head.
"I don't believe this!" Gallows shouted as he gritted his teeth. Todd glanced at Clive's rifle. "I'm completely out of ammunition," he thought as he glanced up at the beast.
Haruko smiled. "Now, Saiin, finish this!"
Sain roared and unleashed a wave of fire.
The group jumped to the side, avoiding the attack.
Jet and Gallows began to fire at Saiin as it rushed down at them. Haruko swiftly jumped off as the dragon crashed into the ground.
Gallows pulled the trigger a few times, only to find out he was out of bullets. He was about to reload when Saiin slashed him with his talon, knocking him down the crevasse.
"Mr.Gallows!" Todd yelled as he jumped down to assist his comrade.
Jet glanced around. The wave of fire had created a ring of flames around him. He was trapped in the small area, with the dragon.
"It seems the entrance to the town has been barricaded," Morgan stated as he examined the amount of rock and boulders, which had collapsed at the village. Many homes had been severely damaged, a few people were injured.
Clive walked up behind him. "Do you remember that tremor that occurred earlier? It sounded far off, but this damage came unexpected. Could it be possible this is the result of the tremor?"
Morgan stood up and sighed. "It's possible, very possible. But, to cause this much damage, the quake had to have been huge. We probably didn't realize it."
Morgan gritted his teeth. "I gave them my gem shard..."
"Something the matter?" Clive asked as Morgan turned. "I have to go check my belongings, is that all right?" Clive nodded, allowing Morgan to jog to his home.
Jet quickly jumped right, avoiding Saiin's tail. The beast was amazingly fast, and Jet was growing tired. The dragon reacted to Jet's every movement. It seemed to be able to predict Jet's actions.
Virginia awoke slowly. The pain had eased somewhat, allowing her to stand with minimal effort.
"Jet..." Virginia murmured as she watched her comrade gradually being beaten.
Saiin's tail successfully made contact with Jet, knocking him to the floor. He slowly stood up, readying his weapon as the dragon rushed him. He quickly let loose the last of his ammunition, leaving multiple hits on Saiin's hide. However, the beast rammed him to the floor. The dragon roared and clamped his talon over Jet, trapping him.
Suddenly, two gunshots were heard as blood spurted from the dragon.
"Mr. Gallows, where are you?!" Todd shouted as he slowly made his way down the rocks.
"I'm over here!" Todd heard the faint voice of his comrade. He speedily made it down and walked over to his friend.
Gallows sat in the corner of the area clutching his leg. "Are you all right?" Todd asked, kneeling down beside him.
Gallows nodded. "Yeah. I was able to use my Arcana to leesen the impact, but I think my leg's broken."
Todd quickly looked over it. "It looks that way. Darn, how do we get out of here, now?"
Gallows slowly stood up. "I think I can manipulate the rock, but you're going to have to help," Gallows stated as Todd looked up. "I'll do whatever I can."
Virginia shot gain as Saiin roared and began to walk towards her. The beast roared once more and fired an energy burst. Virginia quickly ran to the side while shooting.
Jet slowly stood up. "I don't get it. That girl moans in pain and then just stands up. What the Hell is going on here?" Jet thought as he watched.
Morgan went through his travel bag. ""I wonder if I still have it? And to think I forgot about in this situation." Morgan suddenly reached into a side pocket and took out a small blue shard. "Yes!" he thought happily.
Morgan rushed out of Clive's house and ran to the gate. "What did you find?" Clive asked as he ran to his friend.
"This." Morgan held up the small shard. Clive donned a surprised expression. "It's another sjard. However, didn't you say you only had one?"
Morgan nodded. "Yes, but I had forgotten about this. Do you notice its faint blue color? It holds no enrgy, unlike the other shards. Like I said before, when the gem touches a demon, it will absorb its energy. However, the energy slowly leaks out. This shard never held any energy, and it is the key."
"How?" Clive asked. Morgan smiled. "If this were to touch a demon, it would destroy it on contact."
Virginia jumped to the side, avoiding a swipe from Saiin's talons.
Jet gritted his teeth. "Guess I'll have to invoke a medium."
Virginia shot Saiin a few more times, only to run out bullets.
Virginia watched on in horror as Saiin powered up to unleash another energy wave.
Suddenly, a huge pressure of air smashed against Saiin's backside, gradually lowering it into the ground.
Haruko smiled. "Manipulating the power of gravity, how very clever of you Mr. Enduro."
Jet flung his hand down, causing Saiin to smash into the ground.
Virginia walked over to the crater as Jet slowly walked over to it as well.
Suddenly, a huge beam of energy erupted from the ground, causing Jet and Virginia to jump back.
Saiin followed the beam, roaring in anger as he flew to the sky.
Haruko watched in amusement. "So, even a beast can feel fear and anger. So, what can you feel Mr. Enduro, what can you feel?"
The crevasse bursted open as Todd and Gallows stepped from the boulders. Clive and Morgan ran up to them.
"Is the demon nearby?" Morgan asked quickly. Todd nodded. "Jet and Virginia are fighting his pet."
Morgan nodded and ran off.
Morgan ran near the area. "Mr. Enduro, catch!" Jet turned his head to see a small gem shard fly towards him. He caught it with his free hand.
Morgan smiled. "Insert into one of the bullets and fire it at the demon!"
Jet nodded and glanced at Virginia. Virginia nodded, hearing Morgan's statement.
Morgan ran up to them. "Wait! Before you fire it, that gem has no energy. Once it's fired, it'll drain the shooter of his energy, namely, his soul."
"What do you mean? If you fire this, you lose your soul?" Morgan shook his head. "No, but it'll drain most of the life out of you. It can only be shot once. Twice, and whoever shoots it will die."
Jet glanced at Virginia. "I'll do it."
"Jet, you're tired. I can do it," Virginia stated as she took a few steps closer to him.
Jet shook his head. "No. I don't have much of a purpose here anyway. I guess it's enough of a risk to fire it with another ARMs, but it'll have to do."
"Fine then, just don't miss," Virginia said, handing over one of her pistols along with a bullet.
She smiled as she said this, causing Jet to feel slightly pressured. He quickly loaded the pistol with the bullet and looked up.
"Only get one chance at this. I can't mess up."
(Well, this chapter turned out better than I thought it would. I guess I slightly have Writer's Block.)
--------------------
The greatest soul... the soul of the planet, the soul of all life.
--------------------
The crimson glow of the sun filled the sky as it began to set. The four Drifters began to grow weary.
The moon had already risen by the time the group had reached Humphrey's Peak. "Isn't that nice," Gallows remarked as the group stood before a huge crevasse.
Todd walked up to it and stomped his foot into the ground. "Hey, it seems like the ground here has recently disturbed."
Gallows stood up. "Well yeah. This crevasse was never here before," he replied as Todd stared downward at the collage or rubble and dirt. "It also seems like a rockslide occurred, strange."
"Yes, isn't it." The four Drifters turned to see the massive dragon hovering above them. Haruko stood straight on its head.
"I don't believe this!" Gallows shouted as he gritted his teeth. Todd glanced at Clive's rifle. "I'm completely out of ammunition," he thought as he glanced up at the beast.
Haruko smiled. "Now, Saiin, finish this!"
Sain roared and unleashed a wave of fire.
The group jumped to the side, avoiding the attack.
Jet and Gallows began to fire at Saiin as it rushed down at them. Haruko swiftly jumped off as the dragon crashed into the ground.
Gallows pulled the trigger a few times, only to find out he was out of bullets. He was about to reload when Saiin slashed him with his talon, knocking him down the crevasse.
"Mr.Gallows!" Todd yelled as he jumped down to assist his comrade.
Jet glanced around. The wave of fire had created a ring of flames around him. He was trapped in the small area, with the dragon.
"It seems the entrance to the town has been barricaded," Morgan stated as he examined the amount of rock and boulders, which had collapsed at the village. Many homes had been severely damaged, a few people were injured.
Clive walked up behind him. "Do you remember that tremor that occurred earlier? It sounded far off, but this damage came unexpected. Could it be possible this is the result of the tremor?"
Morgan stood up and sighed. "It's possible, very possible. But, to cause this much damage, the quake had to have been huge. We probably didn't realize it."
Morgan gritted his teeth. "I gave them my gem shard..."
"Something the matter?" Clive asked as Morgan turned. "I have to go check my belongings, is that all right?" Clive nodded, allowing Morgan to jog to his home.
Jet quickly jumped right, avoiding Saiin's tail. The beast was amazingly fast, and Jet was growing tired. The dragon reacted to Jet's every movement. It seemed to be able to predict Jet's actions.
Virginia awoke slowly. The pain had eased somewhat, allowing her to stand with minimal effort.
"Jet..." Virginia murmured as she watched her comrade gradually being beaten.
Saiin's tail successfully made contact with Jet, knocking him to the floor. He slowly stood up, readying his weapon as the dragon rushed him. He quickly let loose the last of his ammunition, leaving multiple hits on Saiin's hide. However, the beast rammed him to the floor. The dragon roared and clamped his talon over Jet, trapping him.
Suddenly, two gunshots were heard as blood spurted from the dragon.
"Mr. Gallows, where are you?!" Todd shouted as he slowly made his way down the rocks.
"I'm over here!" Todd heard the faint voice of his comrade. He speedily made it down and walked over to his friend.
Gallows sat in the corner of the area clutching his leg. "Are you all right?" Todd asked, kneeling down beside him.
Gallows nodded. "Yeah. I was able to use my Arcana to leesen the impact, but I think my leg's broken."
Todd quickly looked over it. "It looks that way. Darn, how do we get out of here, now?"
Gallows slowly stood up. "I think I can manipulate the rock, but you're going to have to help," Gallows stated as Todd looked up. "I'll do whatever I can."
Virginia shot gain as Saiin roared and began to walk towards her. The beast roared once more and fired an energy burst. Virginia quickly ran to the side while shooting.
Jet slowly stood up. "I don't get it. That girl moans in pain and then just stands up. What the Hell is going on here?" Jet thought as he watched.
Morgan went through his travel bag. ""I wonder if I still have it? And to think I forgot about in this situation." Morgan suddenly reached into a side pocket and took out a small blue shard. "Yes!" he thought happily.
Morgan rushed out of Clive's house and ran to the gate. "What did you find?" Clive asked as he ran to his friend.
"This." Morgan held up the small shard. Clive donned a surprised expression. "It's another sjard. However, didn't you say you only had one?"
Morgan nodded. "Yes, but I had forgotten about this. Do you notice its faint blue color? It holds no enrgy, unlike the other shards. Like I said before, when the gem touches a demon, it will absorb its energy. However, the energy slowly leaks out. This shard never held any energy, and it is the key."
"How?" Clive asked. Morgan smiled. "If this were to touch a demon, it would destroy it on contact."
Virginia jumped to the side, avoiding a swipe from Saiin's talons.
Jet gritted his teeth. "Guess I'll have to invoke a medium."
Virginia shot Saiin a few more times, only to run out bullets.
Virginia watched on in horror as Saiin powered up to unleash another energy wave.
Suddenly, a huge pressure of air smashed against Saiin's backside, gradually lowering it into the ground.
Haruko smiled. "Manipulating the power of gravity, how very clever of you Mr. Enduro."
Jet flung his hand down, causing Saiin to smash into the ground.
Virginia walked over to the crater as Jet slowly walked over to it as well.
Suddenly, a huge beam of energy erupted from the ground, causing Jet and Virginia to jump back.
Saiin followed the beam, roaring in anger as he flew to the sky.
Haruko watched in amusement. "So, even a beast can feel fear and anger. So, what can you feel Mr. Enduro, what can you feel?"
The crevasse bursted open as Todd and Gallows stepped from the boulders. Clive and Morgan ran up to them.
"Is the demon nearby?" Morgan asked quickly. Todd nodded. "Jet and Virginia are fighting his pet."
Morgan nodded and ran off.
Morgan ran near the area. "Mr. Enduro, catch!" Jet turned his head to see a small gem shard fly towards him. He caught it with his free hand.
Morgan smiled. "Insert into one of the bullets and fire it at the demon!"
Jet nodded and glanced at Virginia. Virginia nodded, hearing Morgan's statement.
Morgan ran up to them. "Wait! Before you fire it, that gem has no energy. Once it's fired, it'll drain the shooter of his energy, namely, his soul."
"What do you mean? If you fire this, you lose your soul?" Morgan shook his head. "No, but it'll drain most of the life out of you. It can only be shot once. Twice, and whoever shoots it will die."
Jet glanced at Virginia. "I'll do it."
"Jet, you're tired. I can do it," Virginia stated as she took a few steps closer to him.
Jet shook his head. "No. I don't have much of a purpose here anyway. I guess it's enough of a risk to fire it with another ARMs, but it'll have to do."
"Fine then, just don't miss," Virginia said, handing over one of her pistols along with a bullet.
She smiled as she said this, causing Jet to feel slightly pressured. He quickly loaded the pistol with the bullet and looked up.
"Only get one chance at this. I can't mess up."
(Well, this chapter turned out better than I thought it would. I guess I slightly have Writer's Block.)