Okay I'm getting better. This one didn't take too long. I think it's a pretty good chapter. Alot of action and new arrivals. anyway I hope you like it.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxChapter 8: Within the Demon Realm
Ryu and Sei made great haste in their journey to the Kaminari Shrine. They both knew that it was unlikely that Hikaru was still in that area, but it was the only place they had to go. Their main hope was that they would be able to find some kind of hint as to where he had gone. The rest of the journey remained rather uneventful, and the two reached the shrine the same day they left Cyrad.
This shrine had been created, along with the other three, several hundred years back. It was just after the first battle with the demons. However time flowed and people abandoned these shrines. Very few, if any, still knew their location. Even the Mahouski themselves did not know. Ryu and Sei began to walk through the shrine. The Kaminari Shrine had been the only one that people had really been drawn to. For whatever reason only this one was inhabited by monks. They had built several buildings around the shrine itself and they lived her. However they eventually died out and with them the shrine was forgotten.
Now the stone that had once formed houses and other buildings had fallen apart. Trees grew out of the ground ad split the stone walkway, and vines covered the few walls that had remained standing. However one of the buildings, although covered with vines on the outside, was still perfectly intact. That one building was of course the Kaminari Shrine. The Mahouski felt no sign of Hikaru's presence, but decided to venture into the shrine anyway.
They climbed the stone steps that lead into the shrine and entered it. Several torches burned with an unnatural yellow flame and gave just barely enough light to see by. Their footsteps echoed through the corridor, but along with their steps was another person's. These seemed to be coming from further within. Sei's eyes suddenly went wide and she held out her hand to get Ryu to stop. She drew her sword and held it at the ready. Ryu looked at her slightly puzzled and searched ahead of him to see feel who was coming. He realized what Sei had felt and immediately drew his own blade. From out of the shadow in from of them came someone they knew all too well.
Ryu called out to the on-comer. "How dare you defile this sacred shrine with your foul presence, Shikon." A slight chuckle came back and Shikon came out of the shadow and into full view.
"That was awfully rude, Kazeski." He replied in an emotionless tone. "Put your swords away I've not come to fight you. I was hoping to be able to kill Hikaru before his power grew too much, but it seems I was too late. By the time I got here there was no sign of him left. Now, I must be going. Until we meet again." Shikon surrounded himself with darkness as he had done before. The darkness shrunk into nothingness, taking the general with it.
Ryu and Sei both sheathed their swords and continued to walk into the shrine. Although they felt confident that Hikaru was gone, they were not about to trust the word of one of Onime's generals. They reached the large door that lead into the inner shrine. Ryu placed his hand on the door and sent a bit of his energy into it. It slowly swung open and the two Mahouski walked into the inner shrine. Torches light up with the same yellow flame they had seen before. Hikaru was of course nowhere to be found. Across from them on the opposite side of the inner shrine was another door. The one that lead into the sanctum, and the one that only Hikaru could enter. Even another Mahouski could not enter that room. Nothing was left for the two here, and they decided to leave the shrine.
Once back outside they paused for a moment in order to figure out what to do now. Their only lead on the location of another of the Mahouski was gone. Wherever Hikaru was they could not feel him.
"What's are next move?" Asked Sei. We've lost Hikaru, and Kenji either is still asleep or was awakened before we were. Either way we have no idea where he is. We don't even know where the Hono Shrine is."
"Then I guess we have to go hunting for clues. Wherever a Mahouski goes people are bound to talk. We just have to go from town to town searching for anything that sounds like the work of a Mahouski."
"I guess that's all we can do. But it's getting late already. Let's rest here tonight. We can set out again tomorrow." Ryu looked out at the sun, which had almost completely set by now.
"It is getting late, I hadn't even notice it. You're right; we should stay here for tonight. We should get a fire going. It will get cold tonight." Ryu and Sei quickly gathered a few sticks from around the temple. They threw them onto the stone floor and Ryu was forced to start it by sparking two stones on a few dry leaves. The flame took to the leaves and Ryu quickly worked to get some small twigs burning. The smoke began to get into his lungs and he turned his head far from the flame as he coughed. Sei took over getting the wood burning and eventually they had the fire going.
"This will get a lot easier when we find Kenji. Having to get a fire going like this is brutal." Ryu moaned
"We don't even need Kenji, Hikaru could spark the flame easily. We just happen to be the ones who can't do that easily." Sei added in the same tone
"Hey Ryu," Sei started. Ryu turned to face her and waited for her to finish the thought. "What were you like before you awakened? I mean the person whose body you have, what was he like." Ryu was somewhat surprised by the question, but had no problem answering it.
"He was kind, and friendly, a bit lazy at times, but good. His memories have begun to fade now. Far from the vividness they held when I first awakened. But he always liked being with the children. Those memories haven't aged a day. I remember them almost as if they were my own. He always loved playing with them, and they loved being with him. He always cared them like brothers and sisters. But then, they all died when the demons came. He was the only one who survived. He survived because the pain and suffering he felt and the immediate threat of Onime forced my strength to leak through. That loss was the reason he followed Subaru on his own. His name was." Ryu paused for a moment as he tried to recall the name of that man. "It was, uh, Souske. That was it, Souske." Ryu looked back at Sei. "It is truly a shame I had to be reborn in his body. He deserved to have the rest of his life to himself. Why did you ask about him?" Ryu inquired
"Oh no reason really, I was just curious."
"So what about you. What was your person like?"
"The memories I have of the past are very clear. Maybe it was because her feelings were so strong or simply that I chose to recognize them before, but I now about her past very well. Her name was Sakura, and she was somewhat of an outcast. Always shunned by the other kids. But she was strong willed and wouldn't change herself to suit them. She wouldn't let anyone know how much the other kids had hurt her. Always playing the tough one. She never liked to show off, and always shied away from social situations. Not that it was difficult for her, the other kids were more than happy to leave her out. As she grew up things changed little. She matured, but she still proved to be distrustful of others. She often liked to be alone, and spent most of her time off in the woods were she felt no one would ever bother her. So when Kyouske came he found Sakura in the woods one day she was more than happy to go with him. She never went back to the village that day. In fact no one except for us know what happened to her. I might go back to that village one day. I think the name was Yondai. They should at least know that she survived." She looked up at Ryu who had fixed his eyes on hers. "It seems somewhat odd. In the past we were almost exact opposites, but now, in this life, we couldn't be more alike." She added. Ryu suddenly started starring at the fire.
'He sure is shy isn't he. Or maybe he just doesn't want to get into anything. I guess I can't really be sure.' Ryu got up from the ground and looked down at Sei.
"I'm going to go hunt down some dinner, I'll be back before long." Ryu leapt into the air and easily landed back in the trees. Sei smiled before adding another stick to the fire. Ryu returned shortly after and brought back a few small animals with him. They cooked them on the fire and spent the night enjoying each other's company. It was a peaceful night that they enjoyed together; one moment of peace in a chaotic battle.
When morning came to two warriors reluctantly woke from their sleep. Their fire had died early in the night and was now cold. They strapped their weapons back to their sides and continued on their journey. It would be about three days travel to the next town if they kept a normal pace. However they both knew that the quicker they got on the move the better things would be for them. Hikaru didn't know that the two Mahouski were searching for them. Even though they had grown significantly more powerful since the beginning of their travels they still paled in comparison to their true power. With that in mind they knew they couldn't rely on Hikaru or Kenji to be able to feel their presence.
Ryu and Sei left the temple when it was still rather early. Their pace was quick, but not hurried. They hoped to be able to reach the town within two days tops, but that was not to be. As they walked down the dirt road they saw sudden burst of dark energy appear from the sky. The two looked up to see Onime falling slowly to the ground. He landed just in front of the two Mahouski. Both of them placed their hands on their sword ready to draw them at any time. Onime chuckled at this.
"You actually think your skills are enough to beat me. Hah, you make me laugh."
"Why don't we fight and find out if we can." Replied Ryu. With that he drew his sword and charged at Onime. Sei removed her grip from the blade deciding to leave the melee combat to Ryu. She instead fired several blasts of water and Onime, all of which he easily dodged. Ryu swung his sword and Onime easily hopped aside dodging the attack. Onime had yet to even draw his sword, or use any of his noryoku. Despite this Ryu and Sei could not touch him.
"This is really too easy," Onime declared, "I think I'll finish it off now." Onime jumped into the air and held his hand toward the Mahouski. "Mugen!" He yelled as darkness flew from his hand and erupted upon making contact with the ground. The blast threw Ryu and Sei aside and Onime easily fired two more blasts at them. At this point the Mahouski were hurt pretty badly. Although they had no cuts or broken bones, their bodies were in terrible pain. Onime landed slowly back on the ground.
"Killing you now would just take all the fun out of things. I've got a better idea of what to do with you." Onime held his hand up and above him opened a rift in the sky. It flowed with darkness and Onime picked up the weak bodies of the Mahouski and threw them into it. "The Demon Realm will be a fitting place for you to die." He said coldly once they had disappeared within the darkness. The rift slowly closed and then vanished.
Darkness filled Ryu's vision. His mind was whirling around him. His whole body ached and he was very tired. He felt a hard surface on his back, one that was rough and uneven. He moved his hand slightly and felt dirt on the ground. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up into the sky. Ryu starred at it trying to make sense of what he saw. Instead of the blue sky filled with several white clouds, and a bright sun he saw a deep rust colored sky and a black sun. Ryu slowly began to remember what had just happened. He had been fighting Onime, but he was far too strong. There was nothing Ryu could do. Then Onime opened a portal and. Ryu struggled to recall what had happened. Then it hit him. He had been thrown into it, and Onime had said something as they fell in. He had said, "The Demon Realm will be a fitting place for you to die." Ryu suddenly sat up. Al around him he saw demons. Ghouls and shades completely surrounded him. He immediately jumped to his feet and looked around for Sei. She was lying on the ground just next to him, and was still completely out. Ryu shook her until she finally woke up. She was just as disoriented as Ryu had been. Ryu helped her up to her feet until she regained her own strength. The two grasped their swords, their pain forgotten with the new threat to their lives.
"So this is the Demon Realm." Sei commented as she looked around her. Everything as far as the eye could see was a desolate wasteland. The ground was nothing but hard dirt. No trees or anything could be found. The ghouls surrounding them shifted and drew their swords. This was not going to be an easy fight. Ryu looked around him as he sized up their forces. The ghouls wouldn't be much problem. Although they could easily kill normal humans, against the powers of the Mahouski, and even the Sumeregi bloodline, their strength was minimal. However the shades could prove to be more difficult. Their speed allowed them to evade most of the enemy's attacks. Although in small numbers a Mahouski could easily read their movements and act accordingly. But with these large numbers in combination with the mindless ghouls it could get very difficult.
However just when Ryu thought he had this battle figured out something else happened. From above him Ryu heard a loud noise. He looked up and saw something he had not expected. Demon wyrm riders were circling above them. If they could the wyrm's wing then it would send the creature tumbling to the down and most likely kill the rider, but that was easier said than done. The wryms were just as fast as shades and because they could fly their maneuverability was much greater. That wasn't even taking into consideration the fact that the wyrms could breath out a powerful black flame that had wide attack area. The situation had gone from bad to worse.
"You ready for this Sei?" Ryu said quietly so that only she could hear him.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Came the reply.
"Alright then, let's go." With that the two Mahouski sprung forward and began the fight. Blades flashed as everyone moved at once. Several demons tried to surround Ryu, but he was too quick for them. With a quick stab he took out one of the ghouls and broke the trap. He flipped back and landed on the head of a demon behind him where he quickly sprung off of it and into the air. One of the wyrms was heading straight for him and it breathed out a stream of black fire. Ryu shot a burst of wind straight down to push himself higher. The flames flew under him and crashed into the ground taking out several demons with it. Ryu immediately turned to face the wyrm rider that was already getting away. He held his hand forward and fired a Hiryu Kourindan at its wing. The blast struck hard and easily punctured the wing. A loud cry came from the beast as it fell to the ground and crashed into several ghouls and shades. Ryu landed back on the ground and found a shade already charging at him at high speed. He watched it closely and readied his sword in front of him. It ran forward and just as it was about to reach him it darted to the right. Ryu noticed the movement and turned to the right swinging his sword upward and leaving a lethal wound in the shade's body. It fell back and Ryu immediately had to turn and defend from several ghouls that had tried to take advantage of the distraction the shade had made.
Sei's sword skills were more than enough to defeat the ghouls, but their numbers would often force her to resort to one of her more powerful moves. Sei quickly sidestepped a stab from one of the ghouls and stabbed him hard. She pulled her sword free from his body and quickly turned to block one of the shades. Their blades clashed and then Sei fell back to the ground. The shade fell forward over her where Sei quickly blasted him with Koori no Yaiba. She was luck enough to hit one of the wyrms above her with the same attack. A ghoul appeared above Sei and slammed his blade to the ground t her. She quickly rolled to the side and swung her blade across his chest. The enemy fell to the ground dead. Sei looked around her as Ryu finished up the last few shades. A wyrm rider tried to dive bomb her, but she was more then prepared as she leapt into the air sailing over it and was able to land an ice blade in its head. The abrupt stop threw the swordsman from the beast and sent him crashing across the ground. Sei landed gracefully on the ground, and looked back toward Ryu. He had now finished with remaining shades and was looking back at Sei. However their trial was far from over. A loud echoing voice spoke to them.
"Well done, well done indeed. Of course I would have expected nothing less from two of the Mahouski. To be honest I would have been terribly disappointed if you hadn't won that fight."
"That voice," Ryu said in a quiet but deep tone, "Shikon."
"Absolutely correct. Although not just me, I believe you will also know my companion and fellow general, Akamaru." As Shikon said that two figures formed in front of Ryu and Sei. They were of course none other than Shikon and Akamaru. Both of them appeared to be perfectly healed from their previous encounters.
"It seems we underestimated you last time, but not this time. This time you will die for sure." Akamaru said. Ryu and Sei faced the two generals and prepared for a rough fight. Shikon decided to start the contest with a large burst of darkness. It flew through the air straight at Ryu. He quickly jumped to the side and dodged it.
"Sei, you deal with Shikon, I'll handle Akamaru." Ryu said.
"Ryokai." Sei responded. As Ryu charged toward Akamaru, Sei unleashed Koori no Yaiba at Shikon. A wall of darkness appeared in front of him to deflect the attack. Shikon fired another burst of darkness at Sei, but she was able to deflect it with her Aoi Katsunaki. She wasted no time in counterattacking as she slammed her palm into the ground and used Koorima. The ice blades flew from the ground and crashed down on Shikon. However the same shield appeared around him to block the attacks.
"That is a very good defense you have," Sei commented, "but I've seen it before. And I know how to counter it. She slammed other palm into the ground and called for a second Koorima attack. This time the blades came from underneath Shikon and Sei also knew how high up they could go without hitting the shield. Shikon's shield faded. Broken ice blades lay all around him on the ground. But on his shoulder and leg were moderately deep wounds. He had used his staff to block most of the ice blades, but not all of them. Sei complimented herself silently while she prepared for the next attack.
All the while Sei and Shikon had been exchanging noryoku attacks Ryu and Akamaru were locked in a sword battle. Ryu swung his blade hard toward Akamaru. The general caught the blade between his claws and twisted it to the side. Ryu immediately pulled the blade from between the claws and tried to stab Akamaru. Instead of dodging, Akamaru jumped back and threw several of his kunai at Ryu. The Kazeski summoned his wind barrier and the kunai bounced off it and landed in the ground. Ryu swung his sword once creating an arc of wind and then quickly overlapped it with another. "Kaze Souga!" He yelled as the whirlwind flew toward Akamaru. However the demon general was again able to dodge the attack. The dust that had been kicked up by Ryu's attack blocked his vision. From out of the dust came two kunai. Ryu quickly blocked them with his sword and hurled a wind blast at where they had come from. The blast tore through the dust and hit nothing.
The fights were both at a stalemate. But then from the sky came a loud bang and a flash of light. Another person entered the Demon Realm. The figure fell down and landed gracefully on the ground. He rose to his feet and turned to face the two battling Mahouski. He had short dark brown hair that hung straight down in a neat fashion. His eyes were a deep coal black that showed no emotion at all. A black cloak surrounded his body. But on the cloak was the red symbol of Onime's generals. This was the fourth general, but he was very different from the other three. The evil aura that filled the other three seemed to be much less present in this one. Also his eyes did not glow red as they did with all other demons. His were pitch black. Akamaru and Shikon had both stopped fighting as they turned to face the new arrival. Ryu and Sei also focused their attention on him.
"The two of you have been fooling around haven't you? You should have been able to kill these two by now." The cloaked figure said in a cold, exacting tone.
"What we do is none of your business Jirai. They will die when we choose to kill them." Replied Akamaru
"Those were not the orders Onime gave you. He said to dispose of them quickly. Do you dare to defy him?"
"No, it's not like that." Replied Akamaru a hint of fear now present in his voice.
"Regardless, I will deal with the Kazeski myself. The two of you, I trust, can handle the Mizuski on your own. And this time make sure you finish the fight quickly. Onime has other tasks for you."
"Ryokai." The Akamaru and Shikon replied in unison. Akamaru left Ryu alone and the two began their assault on Sei. Ryu started to go after him, but Jirai moved in his path.
"Your fight is with me Kazeski. And I assure you it will take all of your attention to stay alive. The Jirai pushed his cloak to the sides revealing his body that was dressed in clothes very similar to the ones worn by Ryu and Onime. But he also had a katana at his side. Ryu starred at it. No normal man can use that type of weapon, at least not effectively. This guy must be good, very good. Jirai noticed Ryu's gaze and commented.
"You seem to have noticed my weapon. Yes it is a katana. And I wouldn't underestimate my skill with it. Not if you wish to survive." Jirai drew the blade from its sheath and held it at the ready. The two charged each other and their blades clashed head on. They forced each other back and landed on the ground just long enough to rebound off it and back into each other. Ryu used the blade as a base to launch himself further into the air. Ryu began to fall back down and he held his sword in front of him. Jirai hit the ground and immediately jumped back to avoid Ryu's attack. Ryu planted his sword into the ground and charged a Kazadama. Jirai began to charge him in an attempt to hit when he was vulnerable. But he wasn't fast enough and Ryu hurled it right at him. Jirai swung his sword at it and Ryu laughed to himself knowing that no sword could block that attack. However it did. Jirai's sword knocked the Kazadama off to the side and continued his charge. Ryu immediately leapt to the side wrenching his sword from the ground as he went. Jirai paused and answered the question Ryu was now pondering.
"My sword is a cursed blade. It was designed to be able to block your noryoku. And I am very good at blocking it. Your abilities are all but useless against me." Ryu readied his sword in front of me, now knowing that his sword skills alone would have to win this fight. Jirai rushed forward and Ryu sidestepped him, and prepared to attack. However before he did something caught his eye. It was hard to see because of the cloak he wore, but at that moment it was visible. Just below the back of Jirai's neck was an odd marking. It was three circular marks arranged in a circle. Ryu had never seen that kind of mark, but it was obviously some kind of seal, although Ryu had no idea what it did.
The slight hesitation at noticing that had cost Ryu his opening as Jirai had now turned and was ready for the attack. He easily blocked Ryu's attack and countered it with a hard swing that knocked Ryu back to the ground. Jirai rushed in to deliver a final blow. Ryu tired to block it but it was too close, he wouldn't be able to make it in time. However just before the blow struck Jirai was hit by something that knocked him away. Ryu was shocked by the sudden move, but he was not about to lose the chance. He quickly got back on his feet and readied his sword.
From the sky came another loud bang and a burst of light. Now another figure came into the Demon Realm. Ryu was puzzled because only four generals were supposed to exist, Hachigeki was already dead and the other three were here. A young small figure appeared in the sky and slowly fell down to the ground. He had messy black hair that stuck out in all directions. He had on a loose fitting black tunic and tan shorts. A small pouch was strapped to his right leg. On the back of his waist was the same style of sword that Subaru had used, a shorter version of a katana. He landed and faced Ryu, his black eyes starring straight at the Kazeski.
"I don't remember you being that slow, Ryu." The person said. That was when Ryu knew who it was. He had felt the presence many times before; the last time had been when he was pursuing it. This new arrival was most assuredly not a demon general. It was Kaminariski Hikaru.
"Hikaru!" Ryu exclaimed. "How did you now we were here?"
"You know very well that my ability to sense things is very acute. I could tell exactly what was happening in your battle with Onime. I would have helped, but I knew that there was nothing I could do. Onime was too powerful and I would have been beaten along with you. I figured it was best to just stay hidden and wait for a time when my appearance would do the most good."
"It's good to see you again Hikaru." Sei said.
"The same to you two. But now isn't the time for this. Let's take care of these guys." There are more demons coming this way. We need to finish the quickly." Saying that Hikaru drew his blade from its sheath on his back and prepared to fight. "Akamaru." Hikaru called, "Leave the lady alone. You'll fight me."
"I'd be delighted to." He replied. Hikaru quickly flipped open the pouch on his leg and pulled several shuriken and a kunai from it. He took the kunai and placed it in his mouth to hold it while he charged toward Akamaru and threw the shuriken. The general easily dodged the shuriken and quickly moved to counterattack. Hikaru blocked the claws with his knife and jumped into the air passed Akamaru. He turned in mid-air and dropped the kunai from his mouth into his hand. He threw it at Akamaru. The general noticed the attack too late. He tired to dodge and managed to avoid getting hit in a vital area, but the kunai still pierced his leg. The demon landed and ripped the kunai from his leg and threw it back at Hikaru. The Mahouski caught the kunai out of the air and placed it back in his pouch.
"Thank you, now I get to use it again." The general was enraged. He charged blindly which made him easier to predict. Hikaru easily jumped out of the way of the attack and slashed at his arm leaving a light scratch on it. Hikaru jumped away from Akamaru and watched as he regained his composure and began the fight again.
Unfortunately Ryu's fight was not fairing as well as Hikaru's. Jirai was clearly the strongest of the generals, and his sword skills were top-notch. Plus his cursed sword rendered Ryu's noryoku useless. Their blades clashed in rapid succession as they both wielded their swords at high speeds. Although Ryu was managing to keep himself from getting hurt, he wasn't getting any damage in on Jirai. Sei was quickly adapting to Shikon and the fight was beginning to turn in her favor. However the demons that Hikaru had felt were closing in.
Ryu could easily feel them now. Their numbers were great. Ryu didn't know exactly how big it was, but he knew it was bigger than what they had fought when they first arrived. If those demons got here and attacked the Mahouski, Ryu knew that they couldn't handle them along with the generals. He fought with all of his might trying to end the fight quickly. But despite his efforts Jirai was too good. Akamaru had calmed down and was fighting evenly with Hikaru. And despite the fact that Sei had the upper hand in her fight with Shikon, she still couldn't end the fight. The Mahouski may have been holding their own against the generals, but their time was up. The demon force was upon them. They flooded the battlefield and blindly attacked the Mahouski. Ryu knew he couldn't win this fight. Their numbers were too great and none of them could afford to take any focus off of the fight with the generals.
'This fight is not one we can win,' Ryu thought, 'their numbers are too great, and we don't have our full powers back yet. I have to use the ougi. The consequences may be great, but we're out of options.' All of the Mahouski have one ougi. The ougi is an ultimate technique. They require large amounts of noryoku to use, but their power is enormous. And Ryu was being forced to use his.
"Hikaru, Sei, keep them demons busy for me." Ryu called as he leapt away from the fight and began to build up his noryoku. Sei and Hikaru both noticed what he was doing.
"Ryu, don't do it. Using that move could kill you at your current level." Sei protested knowing just how risky it was. Despite the fact that their bodies were designed to prevent them from using so much noryoku as to kill them, what Ryu was doing bypassed his limitations. He didn't have enough power to execute his ougi, so he was converting his very life into noryoku. It bypassed all of the body's limiters and he used too much power, than it would kill him. However Ryu was not going to stop Sei.
"We have no choice. You know it, this is the only option left." Sei wanted to protest further but she knew that he was right. She leapt away from the fight with Shikon and focused on keeping everyone away from Ryu. Hikaru had already done the same thing. Now Sei and Hikaru stood before a massive force and did everything in their power to hold it off.
Meanwhile the wind around them began to roar. It moved with great force as it surrounded Ryu. The Kazeski struggled to control the power. Ryu's abilities were still weak and controlling the enormous amounts of wind he needed to use his ougi was very difficult for him. Ryu screamed as he struggled to place the power under his control. Hikaru and Sei were having a lot of trouble holding the demons back. Slowly the wind began to fall under Ryu's control. It all flowed in to him and circled around his arm. The wind whirled in a tight ring around the Mahouski's am and finally it was under Ryu's control.
"Get back!" Ryu yelled as he prepared to unleash the attack. The entire demon army raced toward him. Ryu crossed his arm over his chest and then flung it forward and unleashed the attack. "Ougi, Hayate!" He yelled as the wind surged from him. The weaker demons were torn apart. Their bodies were far too weak to withstand the stress. The three generals were flung into the air and thrown far away. The wind died and Ryu staggered slightly as he tried to stay standing.
"Hikaru, get us out of here." He commanded
"Ryokai." He replied. He quickly performed several hand seals and before them opened another gate similar to the one Onime had made when he sent them here. Hikaru gave Ryu his shoulder and the Kazeski gratefully took it as they leapt back through the portal. Just after they left it closed behind them. Another portal appeared on the trail where Ryu and Sei had encountered Onime. The three warriors fell out of it. Hikaru laid Ryu down on the ground. Sei rushed to his side and checked his breathing.
"He'll be fine Sei. He didn't use enough to kill himself, but he'll be unconscious for a long time. All we can do now is keep him safe until he wakes back up."
"You're right. Let's go, that portal must have attracted the demons. No doubt they're searching for us now."
"We need to get far away from here. If we hide there I can set up a barrier that will completely hide us from the demons. That mountain over there looks like a good place." Hikaru said as he gestured to a moderately sized mountain that was about 5 hours away for the Mahouski. It should definitely be far enough." Sei agreed and Hikaru hoisted Ryu onto his back. They took off at a very quick pace and headed straight toward the mountain. Hopefully there they could stay hidden long enough for Ryu to recover. And until he did they had to avoid coming in contact with any demons. Sei and Hikaru may be awake, but they were still weakened greatly by that fight. Their pace was very quick, and it had to be; because the demons were already chasing after them.
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And that's that for now. the next chapter is going to be one of my favorites, and It's shaping up to be a pretty long one. Anyway here's a little preview, written in classic corny preview language
Chapter Nine Kazeski's Hijutsu: The Hijutsu. The one aspect of the Mahouski that very few know about. What exaclty are they, and what kind of power will it hold for Ryu? Will it be enough to protect the ones who protected him? What will happen when the wings of an angel are reborn within this world? All this and more in the next chapter.
Okay that was terribly corny, but I just felt like writing something like that. Anyway please R&R.