Water Trial PT 2
Stepping across the ground towards their opponents, both boys narrowed their eyes, one behind a helmet and the other exposing his gaze for all to see.
Now that they had gotten their little argument out of their chests and calmed their nerves down, both of them gauged their opponents. It became clear to them that, thanks to their evaluations, that these would definitely be unlike their prior opponents. Even more so than those sub bosses that they had slain, since their auras spoke f much greater strength, experience and knowledge. Something which, thanks to their own individual experiences, taught them to be absolutely on-guard. Their opponents also leered at them, radiating a killing intent which didn't seem anything like the 'small fry' which was keeping a fair distance between them and the two boys at this point. the fact that they couldn't defeat the two humans had been driven home by their recent slaughter, which resulted in unadulterated terror being driven like a wedge deep into their hearts.
On one side, Castiel scowled as he held his Clarent in a defensive stance, his wings curled but ready to spring open at a moment's notice. Just by looking at them with his left eye, the Heir could tell that these guys had sinned. Sinned a LOT, likely killed a whole load of innocents in their lifetime, something he did not condone even with his leader-like stance on life. They honestly felt similar to Kokabiel in terms of personality and demeanour, and with the memory of how he had almost gotten mauled by that guy still fresh in his mind, Castiel did NOT like the reminder. Not. One. Bit. 'Now that I look at them... one of them feels like those things we have been fighting throughout the trials, those large beasts which keep running away at the last moment before either me or Nico deals the final blow. Odds are that somehow, some way, that one of them will pull that same pattern. Fucking hell, that shit's seriously starting to get old...' Castiel thought to himself as he readied Clarent, the holy blade shining with matching energy. Looked like it would like to have a shot at these things too. He didn't have a proper grasp of his golden eye just yet, and like he had told Nico earlier this eye seemed more like it would shine best on huge battlefields with lots of opponents. So, he'll rely on his other skills for the time being.
As for Nico, the redhead teen had similar thoughts to the Heir himself as his eyes, mismatched thanks to his Kakugan having been activated and his dual Kagune Types swaying peacefully behind him. Whilst he walked however, the Tentacles and Tails quickly shifted into a more alert posture, flipping forwards and looking like they would be ready to leap towards their opponent at the very microsecond of which the enemy made a move. He felt Soul Edge's eagerness for a good fight, too, though that to him was only common sense. Especially with its power boosted by PREDATOR like it was, but even so he would be a fool to think this would be as easy as it had been earlier. That thing called Daruma had surprised him, so he wouldn't let himself make any careless calls like that regarding these Fishmen. 'Looking at these creatures, seems like one of them will perform that little 'strategic withdraw' strategy. Annoying... Ugh, that's it, if I get the chance, I'm going to look those things up somehow, those things just HAVE to be part of something bigger. Maybe I'll do it if I can't correct the mistake I made with the Golden Crow Flames.' Nico thought to himself whilst keeping an eye out for any suspicious attacks.
"Hmmm..." just then, one of the three hummed while looking between the two. It caused both boys to pause in their strides whilst regarding him with medium to high caution. "Ugh... so much noise. And here I was hoping to spend the day napping..." the one which spoke had been the one with the size of a giant, wearing only a raggy brown cloth over his neither regions. Now that the two had a better look at him, this Fishman looked like one of those people who'd be classed as incompetent. The kind of idiot who would flatten an entire town on accident and, when getting scolded for his carelessness, he'd act like one big annoying baby. Not the kind of person Nico and Castiel would particularly like to associate with, the former due to having other people who had those qualities but were much more likable, and the latter cause it reminded him of the father of one of the girls he cared for.
At the moment that the Giant's eyes landed upon Nico, his eyes narrowed and shudders ran down Nico's spine whilst Castiel's suspicions arose. "Hey, I know you! You're that meanieface who hurt so many of my friends and made fun of us! Don't deny it, I know it was you who was calling us names!" he snarled, anger prevalent on his features while he raised his fists. He let out some furious howls while banging on his chest like a gorilla. "Uggggghhhhhhhhhhh…! I'm so mad now! i'll crush you under foot for my friends!" The Giant yelled, before proceeding to stomp on Nico until he would be nothing but a mangled mass on the ground.
Castiel made to jump in front of Nico just as he made to counter, wanting to get in on the action first. "Oh no you don't! You're fighting me-!" he made to say...
POW!
However, the Giant swiftly smacked him aside with one of his feet when he had been close enough and continued on his journey unimpeded. The Heir had blocked with one of his super tough wings, but the impact caused him to go flying off to the side. "Buzz off, cockroach! You're not my target, the mean guy is!" the Fishman spat, before he charged at Nico with bloodlust shining in his eyes.
'Shit!' Nico thought as he raised Soul Edge, the ensuing collision sending both of them flying away from the scene.
Castiel's P.O.V.
Fuck, Nico took the giant Fishmen away. And worse, that damn vermin dared to call me cockroach!
As I was about to go at him for the insult the other two giants encircled me. One looks like the monster King Octopus Kong, famous for its reach, physical power, and regenerative abilities while the other looks like a much, MUCH smaller version of the Kraken in Poseidon-sama's Atlantis. It is obvious that both are quite strong, but I am not in the mood for facing them fairly. If anything I only want to go and kill that annoying giant that disrespected me such.
The king octopus kong (K.O.K. for short) moved first, punching in my direction which I quickly evaded, only for a tentacle to shot out of his arm and almost piere me. Almost since I used my Hruting to slice it up.
Its curse started taking effect since this guy is actualy made of flesh and blood instead of a fake body like those Fishmen from before, thus I shot directly towards the K.O.K. and started slicing him in a direct path towards his heart. He tried to stop me by using his hand to swat me away using his hand, only for me to swat his hand away using my own. The power entering my body from Hruting being drenched in blood makes my already ridiculously powerful body that much stronger. I now feel like I could go until 90 or even 100% of the curse of my blade!
However, before I could go and reach the heights I always wanted to the kraken moved. He did not shot one of his tentacles since he saw how that turned out to the K.O.K., instead, he took a deep gulp of air before launching a heavy amount of ink in my direction as if a bullet of 1 ton. I could only release a 'tch' sound as I flew away to evade that one. Even if I defended against it that would make me locked in place and an easy target to all to gang up on.
As I was out of the hole I created in K.O.K. I was about to aim at the Kraken when I felt like my body was being impacted by something. Turning to see there were about ten Fishmen using their special karate movements to wound my body from the distance secretly. I wanted to go and eliminate them but the K.O.K. released another few dozens of tentacles at my direction while the kraken started releasing more ink bullets at me.
This is annoying. This is far too annoying! Everywhere there are enemies ganging up on me, so much so that I can't focus on anywhere without being attacked by others.
But if they want to play this way I WILL give them the experience of being overwhelmed instead!
Pulling from the power of the Divine Blood of the Vermilion Bird a flame appeared over my right hand. I used my wings to cover my body as I started putting more and more energy inside that tiny flame over my right hand.
There were dozens of attacks all trying to wound me, but I did not care as I simply continued drawing the energy from my magic core and putting it in that tiny flame, compressing all that energy and flames into a tiny ball of flame. It was turning more and more blood red with time, the shine of the flame was even compressed and only a vermilion collor could be seen as even a hint of pure golden light appeared in it. When the Divine Blood reached its limit I started drawing the light and fire energy of the stars that was now residing in Argetlan, and it too was fusing into that sphere of pure fire. It was a dreadfully slow process, one that would normally be impossible to do against most enemies but that was possible for me due to my current understanding of flames and light as well as the fact that my defenses were absurdly strong enough for me to defend against almost anything if I focus on defending myself.
The name 'shield of God' isn't meant as a joke. It is the power that can defend even someone who has gone beyond Leader-class from all harm, even if I am currently not at that level my defenses are still crazy tough.
When I no longer could pull any more of the energy I decided that enough was enough. With this I simply let the small ball of fire to drop bellow myself as I covered my body even tighter with my wings as I waited for it to end.
'Heaven Punishment'
As these words echoed in my mind the ball of fire exploded. Hundreds upon hundreds of fire spikes went everywhere, they were, however, not stopped after piercing one enemy. They cleaved the entire place as if someone pierced the entire battlefield with a giant rapier hundreds of times. Even the Kraken was pierced more than two dozen times with it being possible to look at the other side from any of the holes in his body. K.O.K. was equaly wounded but he still managed to make a hole in the floor and escaping somewhere else.
Well, not that it matters much. Looking at the Kraken I saw that it looked at me with hatred and indignation, it probably feel wronged since he did not had time to show off his actual powers and instead was killed just like that, well I don't give a damn.
Aiming my right hand at him I focused some light energy in it.
"Ark." With that a giant cube appeared in front of my hand and covering his body. It was a trick I devised in my mind after thinking about the power of my right eye and it is actualy not that complex.
I use light energy from my body to designate a location, lock it in with a similar power like my perfect cube in that the space inside and outside become separated entirely, remove all energy from inside using my Devour skill and use the energy I took as combustive to create light energy that I put inside there, manipulate that light energy into using the basic principle from Newton of the transformation of mass and energy by combining the light energy into alchemy's basic process, and voila!
Everything inside the cube becomes pure energy that I devour back to replenish myself. The giant and powerful Kraken is now nothing more than a supplement for my power, I am only sad that using Ark still takes a few seconds since I am not that experienced with it. Maybe in the future I will be able to use it instantly.
That would be nice.
Falling towards the ground, Nico cursed himself at the surprising speed displayed by the giant. It looked like even with his guard up, that guy had enough power to send them both flying. 'Fishman must have good physical ability, I see... if they were in my world, their abilities would let them be quite remarkable amongst the many Abnormals infesting Gamindustri...' Nico thought as his descent neared its conclusion. The male took the time to notice that his Kagune had receded into him from the moment that they had been sent flying, too, something which he figured be best. After all, launching it as a surprise attack could be quite the strategy.
Unwilling to crash though, Nico set about to save himself from that fate and quickly threw an Armoured hand out to slam it into the ground, pushing himself back into the air, flipping backwards several times before landing on a crouch. Because of the motions he had been in though, Nico had to slide to a halt for more than 8 meters. 'Okay, that was one fat strike. Looks like this guy has the speed department down pat...' the male couldn't help but think to himself as he finally halted. Although, it wasn't ANYTHING compared to the speed Okada Izou held the last time they fought back at Halo Mountain, that guy felt like he could slaughter all these 100,000 Fishmen in a single night without taking that much damage. Probably even while drunk, too, knowing what little he did about him.
The very instant that he stopped his movement, a curse escaped his lips as the male had to quickly apply his Star Gods Broken Shadow technique to avoid another leg stomp. An attack which had been launched without the owner ceasing his movement. Seeing how his 'target' had evaded his preemptive strike, the Giant growled whilst aiming down at his opponent. "Argh! Stop moving and lemme crush you!"
"How about nope?!" The redhead male replied as he held Soul Edge, raising it up to the air and bringing it down to launch a vertical wave of Hellfire towards his opponent.
In response to his attack, Nico saw how the Giant tried to waddle out of the way, but his massive size pretty much made that impossible. The guy had been way to big to move quick enough to avoid it, so when he did move, he still ended up getting hit. Thus, the wound itself erupted into a rising pillar of Hellfire. As a result, a loud howl of pure AGONY erupted from the giant's mouth, causing him to stumble backwards and try to pat out the flames. "OOOOWWWWWWWWIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE! OWIE-OWIE-OWIE-OWIE-OWIE-OWIE-OWIE-OWIE-OWIE-OWIE-OWIE-OWIE! iT HURTS, IT HUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRTTTTSSSSSSSSSSSS!" He wailed, tears filling up behind his eye sockets at the searing pains.
Nico meanwhile, scowled in annoyance behind his Helmet. 'Ugh, this fucker's going to die now... I don't want to waste a second more with this guy than necessary...' he thought to himself, making to move forward and continue his assault. However, just before he could...
'NICO! DODGE TO THE LEFT RIGHT NOW!'
Nico's eyes widened when he heard a shout come from deeep within his mind, andinstinctively he followed it. His whole form vanished into a Warping gesture, the male reappearing several feet away from his previous position. 'Huh? What the hell Biko, I was going to...' he began to say... before his mouth stopped moving and fell open, any control over his jaw vanishing into the breeze. The reason? oh nothing much, jus the sight of Castiel freaking TAKING HIS KILL by showering the battlefield with fiery Spikes! Fortunately, Nico had been spared thanks to how he had been standing before the Giant, which allowed him to be covered from the spikes. In essence, it had acted as an unwitting barrier between him and those spikes.
What the freaking hell?!
"Oi, Emiya! What's with stealing my ki-?!"
Just as Nico made to say something to the culprit, his words got caught in his mouth when he saw how Castiel literally converted the entirety of the Kraken into a mass of energy for himself... all the while looking like one of those Abnormals who had just sated its bloodlust and hunger with an entire town. The look of extreme bliss on his face... 'Okay, I get the feeling that, if that technique or any of these light abilities Castiel hits me, I'll be toast. Hell, Demon Princes at least will try to stay clear of it, even if it proves impossible.' The teen thought to himself, looking absolutely dumbfounded. Not to mention that the guy had taken pretty much all three kills for himself.
'From what I can tell, Emiya seems to be using the power of that Cube as if it were a prison, then whatever is inside is being converted into pure light energy via basic newton processes. Its like bringing lambs to the slaughter, or in reverse. The only way to avoid it would likely be something like Warping the exact SECOND before the Cube traps you, otherwise you would not escape. Either that, or you could have Erebus devour the light with darkness, release so much of it that the Archdevil Arm devours all the light around it and thus, the cube would go with it. At least, that's what I think. Still, even if we find a way around it, it would be wise not to rush into a situation where we would have this happen to us. It would be most disadvantageous.'
Nico mentally nodded his head in agreement with his Demon Persona there. This ability DEFINITELY surpassed the more common Skills he had seen throughout Gamindustri. Manipulating light energy like this wasn't very common amongst the warriors in his world, in fact Nico didn't think it was even possible to manipulate light like Castiel just did right now, and so easily too. Even so though, the male had to wonder, if he had something like this in his arsenal, why could he not perform it sooner? Like, throughout ANY of their previous battles? He could think of multiple instances where it could have been used to save their asses from too much trouble...
Maybe it was like he couldn't? It wasn't uncommon in his world where people couldn't use their abilities as effectively as thhey should have, though those people had their own reasons for it. Doubt, lack of confidence, issues which would have gotten them killed on the battlefield. Some of them even went through that fate, but honestly he didn't see Castiel as that type of pushover. Instead, Nico remembered what Castiel had told him about his past before coming to these trials, about how he had been unable to access his full power for a very long time (something which still made him shudder). Could that have had something to do with it? Or maybe he just didn't understand? Nico wasn't exactly sure, but manipulationof Light and fire like this definitely required a good dose of intelligence, of the ability to comprehend what was happening. Perhaps he had always been capable of this, but thanks to his lack of understanding the laws of light and his lack of actual ability with it due to the seal, it resulted in him being unable to use it as effectively as he was now.
But, despite his mental issues with this sudden unveiling of this ability, Nico also had to admit that the ability itself felt quite impressive. To take things and turn them into pure energy like that... it could have so many benefits, yet also just as many cons. One such benefit would be huge supplies of energy for one to use to power their more destructive abilities. Should someone have this ability like a Demon, then they would be able to spam continent destroying attacks with ease, something which made Nico shudder. However, a con for this would be that it could be dangerous for those whose bodies can't take in that much energy From what he could tell, Castiel's body didn't have that problem, however if someone with a weak physique and their bodies couldn't take all that energy at once... they'd likely explode like a balloon no longer being able to contain air. Seeing something like this, made Nico wonder if he could do something similar with his Hellfire, since he HAD previously formed solid objects with it. Maybe he could make a sort-of prison which burned out the oxygen and hydrogen in a certain space, which would be replaced with carbon dioxide which is basically like poison to the normal person. Or at least suffocate them into unconsciousness before his Hellfire would incinerate them.
'In any case, we should probably regroup with the guy once he has finished... whatever he's doing. At least then, we can plan our next move.'
'Right...'
With that in mind, Nico proceeded to step forwards, walking towards the direction his companion was in. Just as he made the first step however...
'DING!'
'Huh?' Nico stopped the moment his second step was in the air, pausing mid stride in essence as he looked around, his lone eye wider than normal. Surprise could be seen flickering within as he looked about, confusion dominant. Just now, did he just hear a bell chiming in his head? It definitely seemed to be echoing throughout his mind, but he never recalled something like that in his hallucinations in the past. 'What, am I hearing more voices now? Come on, one would think I'd be used to something like this happening at this point...' the male mentally mused while his lips curved downwards into a frown behind his mask.
'Congratulations, you have finally become qualified to complete the bonus challenge.'
Once again, the teen heard the voice, but this time he was able to identify it as... somewhat feminine, and delicate like a fragile piece of crystal. If he were to compare it to anything, then it would be Compa's voice, she always did have an angel's voice... even before she literally gained Angels as weapons. A small fond smile spread across his lips beneath his Mask when memories of the Nurse-In-Training popped into his head, taking away his earlier conflicting emotions. It honestly felt nice to hear, instead of the usual insanity-filled voices he heard from his nightmares and hallucinations. He couldn't stop the relief that spread through his chest when he heard it, but even so Nico remained on guard. 'Whose there? and what do you mean by bonus challenge?'
'Who I am is of little importance. All you should focus on, is that you have the option of temporarily leaving the bubble to engage in a duel with a specified creature. It does not impact the trial in any way, nor will it affect the number of rewards given out. However, should you choose to attempt it and succeed, you will gain something extremely special, potent and powerful.'
Any doubts he had practically went up in smoke when those words got processed by his brain. Hearing those words piqued Nico's interest, especially at the end there. Until that point, he had thought about simply declining it, but hearing that there was an optional reward which didn't impact the trial definitely got his attention. Didn't Castiel get something like that once, or was he not remembering it correctly? If he thought about it, Nico recalled how he got his Vermilion Bird flames from taking an optional quest... so, if he were to do the same...
'Lets converse with Emiya first. The way it was worded stated we would deal with this without help from him, which means we'll be leaving him to deal with whatever is coming next. I doubt he would appreciate us galivanting off for whatever reason.'
As he heard that, the teen paused moving for a moment, blinking to himself. He had been so excited for the possibility of discovering what this 'something new' was, that he had almost forgotten about that. Nevertheless Biko's words rang true, it would be a bit of an asshole thing to do and leave Castiel here without any explanation. As much as he disliked the guy on a rival-like manner, Nico wouldn't be as stupid as to leave him without explaining why, he wasn't THAT much of an asshole. As such, the redhead nodded and proceeded to head back to his companion.
Castiel's P.O.V.
As I ended the Ark I was replenished of the energy I spent during the use of Heavenly Punishment, I am so lucky to have this right arm spirit bone as otherwise, it would be a whole lot harder for me to deal with these many enemies. Not so much in pure magic energy but more in my vitality and spirit that would be spent during such combat. The ability to devour any form of energy and use the energy for myself is so much of a cheat that it isn't even funny.
I wonder if the next time I should try to get a new spirit bone, these ones I have are fully focused in increasing my survivability and none have any attack property, which makes me wonder if I should try to find a new spirit bone later on.
As I was thinking that the enemies started floding in on my direction just like the water that was entering the place. However the damage made on the whole battlefield was not small so the amount of Fishmen is now not nearly as great as before.
With a smirk, I decided that I wanted to change things up a bit. Pulling away both Hruting and Clarent I took out Gandiva, the beautiful beyond compare bow was full of so much light energy that it is outstanding for me now that I know how to feel for it.
With a smile I pull its string to the limit, the fishmen approaching are yelling while brandishing their's swords and spears as I keep the string pulled. It was then that the arrow of light energy appeared and I focus in my next attack.
"Licht Reigen (rain of light)" I haven't used this attack in a while. Before I really just used such a crude form of its power that I feel embarrassed when compared to what I can do now. If before each arrow I launched with this attack could pierce the ground for about 20 centimeters deep now it had enough piercing power to enter about 5 meters. This may not seem like much, but considering that I am right now launching about 300 such arrows per-second, each killing between five and six of the fishmen in front of me.
Honestly, this trial being like this just makes it way too suited for me. If there were just a few small but powerful enemies, or someone like Madara, I would lose and run away 10 out of 10, but this way here? I could go on easy.
It was at this point that Nico approached me, seeing the damage and pain I was spreading around he gave a weird smile as he embarrassedly addressed me.
"So, I know we are dealing with this whole thing and all that, but would you mind if I go and do something else for now? It is just that a sub-mission showed up and I want to go and face it now."
"Hmmm, sure, you can go there and I will hold up here. But the price for my help is still 70-30, you want me to deal with this whole thing and possible sub bosses alone so I ought to get something in return or there will be no deal." I said. It is a bit abusive to demand 30% of all the points he obtained during the trial, but in the end this is just about fair since I would have to do both of our works for who knows how long.
He nodded his head after probably talking to the voices in his head (I still think he might be closer to insane than he likes to admit, but then again considering his work, life, and situation I will not put this against him so much). With that he left to do whatever mission he could while I stood here to fave a few tens of thousands of enemies.
But honestly, my skillset is just way too suited to deal with one strong enemy or a group of weaker ones, this barelly counts as a challenge anymore.
Let's just wait and see how it will be going forward since I doubt things will be so easy in the future.
Now that he had his companion's permission (Biko having told him to just agree to Castiel's demands), Nico had decided to go at this all out. He did this just as he got teleported out of the bubble itself.
By the time that he had reappeared, the male was in DPU form, his Soul Edge in its true form and radiating the bloodlust of over 1000 Demons on violent blood rages. Crimson Soul opened his eyes slowly as he took a look at his surroundings, finding himself to be floating just above what looked like a massive ocean floor. He could tell because of the sand which lay beneath him, with random insects and the like scattered throughout, and as for the surface of this ocean, Crimson Soul couldn't see it. Though, the waters looked clear a s crystal to him, something the DPU didn't mind one bit.
'As for oxygen, I can feel my Demonic Power replicating my oxygen levels, keeping them at standard levels so its like I'm breathing without actually breathing. Not only that...' while he thought, Crimson noted how his Hellfire had formed fins on his elbows and knees, whilst his Wings had become massive blazing fish Tails. They swayed gently within the water's embrace, yet unlike any normal fame the Hellfire refused to be quelled by water, burning just as bright as it normally did. 'but my mobility problem has been solved automatically, impressive. Though the physics side of things is still up for debate...' the adult version of Nico remarked.
With these thoughts in mind, the DPU began to look around, his crimson eyes glowing as they searched through the waters for any signs of his opponent. whatever it may be. The only reason why he had taken on this form, the form of which he only used when absolutely needed, was because he hadn't been too sure of how strong this unknown creature was. Though, considering the list of enemies he had faced throughout these trials, Nico could only assume it to be quite powerful. This WAS Zelretch's doing, after all.
As he expanded his senses to see if he could detect anything, the black haired DPU's eyes shot open wide when his senses picked it up: a HUGE amount of bloodlust not that weaker to Soul Edge's right now. The amount of raw bloodlust aimed at him right now, it would have made any of the people in his world, probably those World Eater soldiers or those Demons piss themselves with fright. Though part of him argued that Khornate Demons knew no fear, instead they'd likely orgasm at the feeling. 'Whoa... now THIS is a lot of bloodlust I'm sensing here...' the male thought to himself. If he were in human form, then likely the hairs on the back of his neck would be standing upwards.
'This feeling... it reminds me of that time when you were surrounded by all those Tigrexes who got angry at you interrupting their... business.'
'AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHHHH, NOW THAT WAS A FUN TIME WHEN HE FINALLY WENT 'FUCK IT!' AND LT ME HAVEA CRACK AT EM!'
Both his alternate selves made their own comments about it, but Crimson Soul paid them no mind as he looked for the source, occasionally turning around to see where this being who released such bloodlust would be attacking from. Pretty soon however, Crimson Soul noticed a silhouette in the distance, a silhouette which gradually got bigger and bigger the more seconds passed. 'Hmmm... judging from this Bloodlust...' Crimson Soul thought as he narrowed his eyes towards it... all the while raising Soul Edge for a slash. The infernal blade, at the moment of it being raised to its maximum, already began activating PREDATOR whilst Black and red Hellfire erupted from its form like a volcano coming to life.
Once again, water physics were ignored at this.
Before the beast could strike or even reveal itself for that matter, Crimson Soul struck first, getting in close with the Star God's Broken Shadow to cross the distance of over 8 miles, then appear behind it, before finally bringing Soul Edge down onto the creature...
SLASH!
Only to feel his left arm get severed from his body.
'What?!' The DPU exclaimed in his mind, Warping away from the creature whilst his limb reformed itself. That allowed him to look down at the limb in absolute surprise, enough for him to show it even in this form. 'Wow... to bite through my Armour and flesh like that makes this creature... all the more dangerous. Going into my DPU Form definitely was the right choice.' the transformed teen thought to himself. Shifting his gaze over to what had taken his arm, Crimson Soul narrowed his eyes as it just stayed there, chewing on his former limb like it hadn't ever tasted him before.
That allowed him to gaze upon it for the first time... and boy what a sight it had been.
The creature before him, it looked to be twice as large as what had been recorded as a Great White Shark back in his world. Their bodies looked to be quite robust, bulky and the complete opposite of the word 'sleek'. Its body looked to be coloured a mx of grey and black, with a freaking ENORMOUS head filled to the brim with teeth which looked more like blades than actual teeth. Its eyes shone crimson with wild, bloodthirsty and tyrannical power, its maximum length EASILY being over 15 meters long. Its Fins looked more like elongated blades, with its fins looking equally as sharp and deadly.
'N-Nico... I think I know what this is...'
'Hm? What is it, what are we facing?'
'... It is called an Evil Spirit Orca.'
'Evil Spirit Orca?' Crimson Soul questioned, his face remaining neutral whilst he stared at the furious-looking beast down. 'Sounds dangerous just by its name alone. Doesn't look like its anything to scoff at either, anything which can get through my Armour is a sure-sign of how dangerous it is.' Crimson Soul thought, narrowing his eyes slightly at his opponent. From what he could sense, this being held power which could rival a Bloodthirster, according to what Biko had show him one time after the Gala when he had learned what had happened. The amount of chaotic intent, desire for murder and mind-numbing insanity felt something similar to those kinds of creatures. If he were in human form, then perhaps Crimson Soul would have broken into a cold sweat.
But he didn't, thanks to his DPU Form's mentality suppressing most of his emotions.
Instead, his current mentality focused more on what to do next, and because of that, Crimson Soul quickly began analysing his opponent. 'Alright, first thing I have to do, is to ascertain this creature's abilities. First off, I know that it will likely be able to shred through my body, Armour or not, with just its fins and fangs. I'm not too sure about what had torn off my arm just now, but it would be safe to assume it was one of those two things so I'll stay clear of both. I should also look into its ability to deliver ranged attacks, judging from its body structure I believe that its built more like a Heavy Tank than a Jeep, meaning its got more strength than speed. Even so, its fins combined with what happened just before tells me that this thing isn't slow by any means. Furthermore, I have to assume that this thing could be with others, simply due to a gut instinct I'm getting. This beast feels like some kind of pack animal, I remember a few times I encountered such Abnormals and nearly lost my life assuming they were lone hunters. Soul Edge's Akuma No Me will help me keep an eye on my surroundings by predicting the attacks coming at me, and I can use its debuffing powers to lower the enemy's physical prowess all the while enhancing my own. I'll have to go with the dodge and counter strategy, don't let this thing hit me in the slightest.'
All this information flowed through Crimson Soul's brain in a manner of seconds, and all that time the Evil Spirit Orca didn't make a single move to attack him. That alone showed the DPU that this creature had at least human level intelligence, as that was what he had seen when looking into its bloodthirsty crimson eyes which lit up the depths of the ocean. All the while, Crimson Soul held the massive form of Soul Edge in both hands, angling the blade diagonally forwards towards his enemy, a defensive stance which got reinforced by the blade's PREDATOR ability. All over the blade, it emitted a crimson aura which filled the area with its malice and eternal thirst for destruction, something which would not lose out to the Killing Intent emitted by the enemy. He could feel the unending bloodlust, undying hunger and animalistic frenzied nature of the chaotic blade coursing through him via their link, way more than Crimson Soul could ever feel when using this blade in human form.
'Nico, whatever you do, do NOT underestimate this creature for even a SECOND. I got some information about this creature from the Lexicanum, it was a creature which existed during the DPU Era, one of the many beasts which filled that era and as such, it would have an extreme hatred towards DPUs. An Evil Spirit Orca does indeed have power in spades, as well as ranged capabilities. It has the ability to launch ginormous crimson energy waves from its body, and by ginormous I mean over 50 meters long. Add to how they can fire pure water from their blowholes, and you get one dangerous creature. You are right to assume they are a pack based species, however... as proof will soon present itself to you,'
Biko's words soon got proven when, much to Crimson Soul's surprise though it didn't show on his face, over 30 pairs of bright crimson eyes suddenly opened up throughout the depths before him. Each of them soon showed themselves to be more Evil Spirit Orcas, up to 31 of them... but if that were the only thing then Crimson Soul wouldn't be so unnerved. No, the moment their eyes opened, another, much larger pair opened up as well. Pretty soon, Crimson Soul found himself facing off against over 300 Evil Spirit Orcas, with one of them dwarfing the others in size being over 40 meters long. Odds were, that one had to be the flock's ruler, and even then, the amount of malice in the air made him remember the first time he ever assaulted a Demon Prince to protect his comrades. Blind rage and pure bloodlust had contaminated the atmosphere, even worse when he and his comrades had been brought over to its own domain shortly into the fight. He honestly believed that if he hadn't caught that Demon Prince by surprise with his invisible Rinkaku, then they would have bitten the dust.
Still though...
'This is bad... it seems I am outnumbered here... ' The DPU thought to himself while gauging the different Evil Spirit Orcas. Each of them formed as between 15 to 20 meters long, with an appropriate size and mass to match. 'Hmmm... there's a lot of energy within these creatures, and according to my senses... it would appear that the king has over 100,000 years worth of experience.' Sort of like the Crimson Fatalis, something he took out fairly easily but only because it had been on its own. Plus he had prior knowledge of how to take it out, THIS time though that was not the case.
As he witnessed the flock slowly start advancing forwards, Crimson Soul quickly unleashed an ATOMIC INFERNO, unleashing a couple hundred fiery rays made from his Hellfire towards them. Each ray thus, burned at over 5000 degrees Celsius as they flew towards the enemy like a hundred or so bullets shooting towards their opponents. Though, the moment that they hit, the Evil Spirit Orcas that got hit only emerged from the attacks into a wild charge, their massive heads charred by the flames. 'So, they can resist flames which burn at over 5000 degrees, then...' the male mused to himself, his eyes glimmering as the whole flock instantly burst into action by shooting towards him like a couple hundred angry ravens flocking towards their prey.
At once, Crimson Soul found himself to be exposed to dozens upon dozens of large, grey water blasts fired by their blowholes, each of them aimed towards Crimson Soul's vitals. Upon noticing them, the DPU quickly figured out that, if these creatures could get through his armour, their ability to launch water at him would likely pose similar results. 'However, I can use these attacks to my advantage...' the male thought as he held his defensive stance. His heart rate calm, his breathing steady and his pulse even, Crimson Soul held himself as the attacks came close to him... and just when the attacks were about to make contact, Crimson Soul used the Star Gods Broken Shadow to get out of the way, as well as their sight.
Once he reappeared behind the flock, Crimson Soul raised his infernal blade with the intent on launching a blast of Hellfire at them... unfortunately, before he could do anything about it, Crimson Soul noticed the Evil Spirit Orca King suddenly twisty itself around and launch one of those 50+ Meter long crimson energy waves at him. 'Huh?' The male thought in mild surprise, Warping out of the wave's way and appearing beside it. 'I see... so that was the energy wave which Biko warned me about... looks like they all have their own energy reserves too. The fact that the King located me after my evasion means they are using some form of echolocation with their energies.' Crimson Soul thought as the flock all curved around to try and attack him before he could counter.
'You'd be right, they do indeed use something like that through their energy. Although it takes some energy out of them to do so.'
Biko's words got recorded inside the DPU's mind, making him hum while thoughts circulated through his mind. The moment he emerged from the wave, Crimson Soul had already positioned himself for a horizontal swing, launching it right after. The moment that he did, a wave of Hellfire the same size as the crimson energy wave the Evil Spirit Orca King had launched got released from the blade. The Wave, the moment he saw it, made Crimson Soul think back to the time he launched a similar wave back at Skies End, as it sailed towards his opponents... only getting about 50 Orcas and reducing their numbers to 250. Their Souls instantly got sucked into Soul Edge fuelling its power and making the blade visibly SHUDDER in Crimson Soul's grasp. This result however, only made Crimson Soul frown as he began avoiding blasts of water and smaller energy waves left and right, flying all over the depths like a madman trying to avoid a bullet hell.
'A wave that took out an army back in my world took down only 50 of those creatures... Looks like there really is a difference between the beasts of the DPU Era and the beasts in modern current day society. The power difference I mean. If any of these attacks hit me, then I may as well be toast...' he thought, and while he thought that, a couple blasts actually hit their mark, blasting no small sized holes through his Fin-like wings as well as his right and left shoulders. The DPU Winced at the force applied, but refused to slow down even the tiniest fraction. If he did, then he'd be in for a world of trouble. 'In any case, that King of theirs is going to be a nuisance, I COULD just fight them all myself and ignore the king, but that wouldn't be very productive in the long run. In addition, I must take the least amount of time possible and return to my comrade's side. I'd rather not leave him alone too long, or he'll bank up way more points than myself.' Even in this state, Crimson Soul did not want to lose out to the guy in terms of points. One could say the two were developing one HELL of a DIVINE rivalry.
But no, Crimson Soul refused to waste any time, and he had a good idea as to how to get the King away from his Flock...
For now however, Crimson Soul had to focus, if he didn't then he would likely get shredded to pieces thanks to these water attacks. Their concentration seemed high enough so that one blast could tear a hole through a full grown man's torso, probably more too. Not like he was willing to find out, though, as Crimson Soul swiftly shifted Soul Edge into it's bow form. Whilst the sword and most bladed weapons were Nico's specialty, the sword most of all, he wasn't much of a slouch in ranged combat either. To be frank, he preferred guns but it wasn't like he couldn't see the appeal of a Bow either, especially since this one had arrows which got stronger the more distance they travelled, making it perfect for destroying large armies to entire cities. Though, his personal opinion on destruction had already been stated.
With Soul Edge in Bow form, Crimson Soul swiftly and rapidly began launching arrows with rapid speeds, his hands moving insanely fast like they were blurs, all the while they moved as if they were on autopilot. Whilst they did that, Nico circled, figure eighted, flipped, spun, zoomed, he did all sorts of aerial manoeuvres so that eh could avoid the blasts of water raining down on his ass. It didn't help that the Orcas kept splitting into different numbered groups to flank him from multiple sides, forcing him to keep an eye on all of them in case they tried to sneak any pot shots at him. Occasionally, one or two of them would pause their ranged attacking in order to zoom forwards and try to take a bite out of Crimson Soul's body, the first time actually succeeding since he got so caught off guard by it. Though, after that he never got hit again, thanks to his use of the Star God's Broken Shadow and Warping.
If it hadn't been for his opening coming right at the perfect moment, Crimson Soul felt like he would have been shredded to bits.
Now, this Prey would prove itself to be much more annoying than most.
None of them had been aware of that fact more than the King of the Evil Spirit Orcas.
As a being which had spent over 100,000 years learning and developing its power to what it was now, the creature could tell that this opponent they had faced would not fall as easily as any common prey. No, not when one strike from that blade took out 50 of its clansmen. In addition to that, it proved to be just as evasive as some of their more difficult targets, proof being when it had avoided their combined attacks the first time, then its own attack which was faster than a flash of lightning, and now was currently evading their blasts like a pro. Even its own pride would not let itself get in the way of its judgement, that would be how it would have fallen before reaching its current point. It would recognize the skill of an enemy whenever it saw it, as a result, and whatever this prey was, it certainly had that kind of skill in spades.
Still though, it couldn't help but look forward to the moment where it could pay this prey back for killing its clansmen like it had done. This puny bug compared to itself may not fill its belly would like its meals usually did, but at least it would leave it satisfied with the knowledge that it had avenged its fallen brethren. The massive creature's eyes narrowed sharply towards the small finned being which constantly evaded their blasts, not giving an inch as it seemed to do something with that small toothpick of a blade, switching it to what looked like a Bow of sorts before pulling back the string, Arrows made from the same organic mass as the bow itself forming from the bow itself, before it would launch them back at its hunters. Of course, the arrows got destroyed by their own attacks, but with how he constantly pulled the string each second, this bug got some more breathing room due to the lessening number of close calls from their attacks.
Seeing such a sight, the Evil Spirit Orca released a cold snort from its blowhole. Especially when it noticed how some of its' Clansmens' attacks had broken through and put some holes through those wings and shoulders of their prey. Though, l soon after those areas repaired themselves rather quickly, letting it know that this prey would take some time to kill. Though, to it, that would hardly be considered a problem, more of a tedious time really.
As a result, the beast became convinced that it would take a while, but before long this prey would become vulnerable. Pretty soon, their prey would tire, what with the numbers still favouring their side and all. Not to mention that it could sense the desire for vengeance building within its brethren towards this prey, for its killing of 50 of their brothers. At that point, he himself would strike their Prey down and they'd be dining on its flesh, bones, everything.
At least... that was what supposed to happen.
Instead, the Evil Orca Spirit King's eyes shot open wide when it saw the prey they were chasing vanish into thin air through a crimson flash. The King quickly realized that it was a technique similar to the movement technique it had used before, only used once when it had evaded his own energy wave. But where? Where did it go that they couldn't see it? Just as quick as realization had dawned on it, the Evil Spirit Orca King probed the waters with its energy, hoping to find some trace of their prey before anymore damage to its flock could be dealt. The memory of those 50 smaller Orcas being burned to cinders, their bodies not large enough to resist those flames that their prey possessed, filled its mind and fuelled its desire to prevent something like that from happening again.
Searching through the waters, the Evil Spirit Orca King did not find a single trace of their elusive prey, not a single vibration within the waters. It was as if the being had practically vanished in all of its entirety. Something which completely baffled the mighty creature, as it used any method it could think of to try and locate their elusive prey before anything more could befall its many subordinates. It was a KING, it would NOT yield to something like this! Those were the thoughts which coursed through the beast's mind as it searched endlessly for their opponent.
Just then, something inconceivable happened to it.
One second the mighty beast had been looking around from within the protection of its flock... and then, the next thing it knew, its entire vision briefly turned red before it returned to normal...
And it found itself far, far from its flock, about 40 meters or so.
'WHAT?!'
That word shot through the Evil Spirit Orca King's mind like a loud alarm suddenly ringing at 5 am in the morning, sending all of its senses into overdrive as it quickly tried to figure out what had just happened. One moment it was with its flock, and then the next thing it knew it was a considerable distance away! How the heck was that a thing?! Even in all its 100,000 years of experience, the mighty creature couldn't figure out what the heck had happened... until a moment or two later when realization dawned on it.
Only then though, it had been far too late.
'This is most fortunate for me. If I was inhuman from, I'd be exhaling in relief right about now.'
'Yes, yes indeed...'
Crimson Soul mentally nodded towards his Demon Persona as he beheld the results of his efforts. The transformed male floated above the Evil Spirit Orca King, which had been bound with more than a could dozen purple chains of plasma with Soul Edge in its true form impaling one of the links. This allowed the blade to augment the chains with its power, allowing him to have his retainment sill be active for much longer. It helped that each of the chains had layers upon layers of heavily condensed Hellfire infused into them, increasing their effectiveness by leaps and bounds with the secondary effect of causing burns to whatever may be restrained by the chains. The sounds of clinking chains filled the oceans around them as Crimson Soul felt the beast struggle to break free of its bonds to no avail.
By no means was what he had done just now not as risky as fuck, but it had just as many rewards. The risks involved the Orcas suddenly figuring out his ploy whilst he distracted them by negating their attacks with Soul Edge's bow form. While the arrows got stronger the longer the distance they travelled, the calculated distance would have resulted in them shattering against their tough hides. It had been proven when one stray arrow hit one of the smaller Orcas and it shattered into pieces upon contact. Showed just how tough these hides were, though Crimson Soul never intended to strike them down with the Bow form of Soul Edge anyways. Instead, all he wanted to do was to take out those water blasts and even then there were risks. One such thing was the distance, if the distance between the arrow and the water blast was too small, the arrows wouldn't be able to negate those water blasts.
That wasn't the only problem with this strategy though, another was the King. There was a difference between them in terms of intelligence, something Crimson Soul noted when he saw how the creature co-ordinated the attacks on him, forming complex attacks which made it a 'bit' more difficult too dodge them (almost lost an arm and a leg like that older of the two el brothers a few times, there). Therefore, he didn't want it to figure out that his real target was actually it all along, shooting arrows at the incoming attacks had merely been something secondary. If he could separate the King from his clock, then their lack of co-ordination and leadership should set some unease and hesitation throughout their ranks. It was like taking away the general of an entire army filled to the brim with convicts on death row, take the general away and they would all either try to split away or turn against one another.
Fortunately, the King also held a strong arrogance to him, something Crimson Soul felt thanks to sensing its dark emotions. A strong, powerful arrogance which could only have come from time itself, which was something Crimson Soul decided to use in order to execute his plan so flawlessly. Though, right now it had only been halfway complete, 50% one could say. Right now, he had to deal with the Orcas whilst their King had been restrained with his CHAINS OF HEPHAESTUS and his Soul Edge which was enhancing its effectiveness with its power. This idea came from how Soul Edge used most of its power to restore his soul after the Halo Mountain incident, he just manipulated it so that instead Soul Edge was reinforcing different Skills, buffing them whilst debffing his captured prey.
It helped that Crimson Soul had summoned and activated his Boar Spirit Bone to drain some of the energy the Orca King possessed, all the while manifesting some Arms from Hellfire which were restraining it further by grabbing onto specific bodyparts.
Precautions, mostly.
'Now that this part's complete, time to deal with the Orcas...' the male thought as he looked to the gathered flock. All of them looked like they were scurrying about like rats, trying to locate either him or their leader since both of them had just vanished. However, Crimson Soul wouldn't let that happen, as he had pretty much ABUSED the Star Gods Broken Shadow to whack them al upside their noses, which would scramble a lot of their senses to the point where they wouldn't think to use echolocation to find them. He already had a way of dealing them in mind, and it was an idea that came from several places: A, Castiel's 'Cage' like actions as well as his own ability to generate arms and limbs made from his Hellfire.
With that in mind, the DPU held out his arms as if he were making to catch something falling from above him. In the space above him, a ball of Hellfire gradually came into existence. At first, it had been the size of a golf ball… but then, the moment that it completely formed, the ball itself swelled in size, becoming as large as a meteorite. Its brilliant crimson glow, combined with the abyssal black core and surface, shone brightly through the oceans, and thus if it had been a regular ocean where physics were adhered to, then this ball would have pretty much evaporated the entire ocean within minutes, burning away all life within. This kind of attack... of course the Orcas would have noticed it, and when they did each of them almost got blinded by the heat emitting from the damn thing, heck some even looked like they were about to turn away and flee from the immense heat belonging to it.
Not something Crimson Soul would allow however, as in response to this his fin-like wings quickly deformed their prior shapes, becoming a series of arms numbering at the 250 mark. Each one were as thin as a rope, with tri pronged claws on their ends which, upon them launching forwards, grasped onto the Orcas just seconds into their movement, grabbing onto their tails. The moment that they did, pained howls and screeches could be heard from the Orcas as they felt their hides being melted away from the infernal flames that threatened to immolate them just from their very presence. Though, that wasn't what the DPU wanted, oh no... he had something MUCH more fitting in mind...
'Since my Hellfire is my strongest flame aside from the Golden Crow's, I'll use this to make a pseudo FIRE SCORCHER and incinerate them to nothingness. They won't be able to run now that I have them in my grasp as well...' he thought, his eyes gleaming with untapped bloodlust while rearing the ball backwards. The next second however, the teen pumped his arms with energy and flung them forwards, throwing the large Hellfire attack towards the enemy. The moment that it left his control, though...
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
The entire ball erupted, becoming this raging, swirling torrent of fire and heat the size of a meteorite. The torrent surged with chaotic hellfire which roared with all the bloodlust and madness which could be expected of a demonic entity, like a thousand hungry Demons willing to sink their fangs into the souls of their victims. He of course, knew that feeling from experience, memories of the Bloodletters and that Demon Prince coming to mind. Crimson Soul shook his head, clearing his mind of them before looking to where the Torrent had travelled...
Straight towards the restrained Orcas.
GWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!
Pained howls and shrieks of agony ripped free from each and every Orca that got caught in the Torrent, all 250 of them. The very SECOND they came into contact with those flames, each of the Evil Spirit Orcas got absolutely destroyed, burned right into nothingness thanks to how much heat had been condensed into them. Their souls, they wouldn't get ay respite either, as they were absorbed into the ravenous Soul Edge to be used as fuel for its power for all of eternity. None of them had been able to get away, thanks to their Tails being restrained by Crimson Soul's many fiery arms. By the time that the Hellfire had vanished, Crimson Soul's attack had wiped out ALL of the 250 Evil Spirit Orcas.
'It is done... the majority of my enemies have been defeated, therefore I shall now focus on the one I am currently restraining.' the DPU thought to himself, glancing down at the Evil Spirit Orca King which looked to be visibly trembling with untapped anger. 'At my current power level, repeating that attack on a scale like what just happened will be impossible. I will have to make do with what I have left, though if I know tyrants like I do, then it should be fairly straight forward to exploit his anger, now that I am not dealing with his followers...' Crimson Soul thought, before his instincts told him to hurry the fuck up and dodge. His eyes sharpened till they were like blades as he Warped out of the way, furthering the distance he had moved by using the Star Gods Broken Shadow once he reappeared.
GUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Good thing too, because the second after he moved, Crimson Soul witnessed the sight of the Evil Orca Spirit King letting loose one of the LOUDEST roars he had ever heard, it nearly made him cover his ears had it not been for his Armoured helmet. Even so, the roar itself pretty much shook the entire landscape, ripples becoming visible in the water whilst everything looked to be cracking and breaking at the seems. Such had been the furious FURY which had been infused into that roar, as it pretty much shattered the restraints binding it to nothing, like they had never been there in the first place. If the beast had been furious before, the amount of raw hatred coursing through it right now would match that of the Chaos God Khorne himself. Its fury knew no limits, and it kept rising by the second as memories of its clansmen being completely wrecked filled its mind.
Its killing intent washed over him, but the DPU just shrugged it off, no literally, he just shrugged his shoulders and calmly gazed at the beast as it readied itself to take him down once and for all.
'Looks like we pissed it off...'
'YEAH, NO SHIT SHERLOCK!'
Crimson Soul meanwhile, narrowed his eyes as his fiery fin-like wings reformed, all the while his infernal Soul Edge returned to his waiting right hand. The transformed male raised the blade and held it in front of him holding it with one hand whilst the other formed a small ball of Hellfire. Looked like the final showdown was here...
Though in hindsight, Crimson Soul wouldn't have any other way.
The first move soon got made, and by the furious King Orca as well. The creature howled as it opened its mouth, and from there dozens of long, sharp spears mad entirely out of water shot forth. No normal water had been launched at Crimson Soul though, that much had been for certain, the DPU thought as the projectiles came at him with the fury of an earthquake condensed within them. He could sense a powerful concentration of energy within them, almost like they had become the heavy cores of their own planets. Their speed had been nothing to scoff at, and Crimson Soul found himself thankful that he knew the Quicksword technique. The moment that it was activated, his arm became nothing but a blur, deflecting each and every projectile with ease...
Although, that soon proved to be a mistake, as the Orca King had closed the distance between them and, with flexibility that would have astounded him if he were in human form, Crimson Soul found himself barely raising Soul Edge in its true form up in time to block a tail smash, one which sent him spiralling down towards the seabed. It didn't stop there, the DPU sensed, as it simply repeated the motion and launched one of those energy waves at him with the intent to slice him in two. Almost like what had nearly happened when those fuckers had been bombarding him back there.
Fortunately, he had the right frame of mind to Warp out of the way in time. Now, if one asks why he didn't use the Star God's Broken Shadow, it was simple. Warping was like a teleportation technique, instantaneous and uninterruptable. However, Star Gods Broken Shadow was a technique which required movement to work. It may not have been visible, but motion DID play a part in it. The way that energy wave had been launched, combined with distance and time, had made it so that he couldn't have used it to escape without injury, so Warping had been his only option aside from defending, but Crimson Soul didn't have Castiel's level of defence. Thus, he didn't even entertain the thought of that kind of option.
Once he reappeared about 10 meters to its right, Crimson Soul threw his free hand forwards, launching the Hellfire ball at his opponent. The instant that it left his hand, much like his ATOMIC INFERNO, it erupted into over 60 long rays of Hellfire. Those rays flew through the air and, like dozens of black and red snakes, slammed into the Orca King from multiple different angles. Of course, despite all of them hitting, the creature's hide remained largely undamaged aside from a few light degree bruises, nothing more.
'Hmmmm… whatever energy it uses, it has imbued its hide with it for so long that it has been strengthened permanently, increasing its denseness so that attacks will find it more difficult to penetrate it.' Crimson Soul thought, before he quickly strafed to the side to avoid the Orca King when it lunged at him, attempting to bite his head off. He had to make a couple flipping manoeuvres though, since that was the only way he could avoid its metallic fins. He even tried striking them with the Tail that he rarely used, but no such luck came from such a strike much to what he had expected. Twisting and turning, Crimson Soul manoeuvred himself so that he had once again regained his balance, before twisting around to face his opponent and unleashed a barrage of waves made from his Hellfire. Waves which came at the creature with the speed only those who knew the Quicksword could pull off.
Instead of just taking them like the beast had before, instead it managed to avoid them by strafing to the right, circling around them and ending up charging at Crimson Soul's left rear flank. Its speed, the DPU noticed, had ben something which surpassed the other Orcas by far, and not only that but... he could see some sort of crimson energy trailing behind its Tail, meaning that its energy was likely being used to boost its speeds to levels where it felt Soul Edge's Akuma No Me wouldn't be able to keep track of it. Though, sadly for it, there were no such limitations on this eye when Soul Edge was like this, so when it made to slice right through him by the waist, Crimson Soul had one of his wings morph into a duck-like hand, of which it curved downwards then swung back upwards, deflecting the fin away from his form before morphing back into a fin.
Once again however, Crimson Soul frowned when he noticed how the creature expertly moved its Tail so that it could whack him sup the back of his head, making the all Warp out the way and end up behind its head. The DPU then raised his sword, engulfing thee PREDATOR clad blade in a furious tornado of Hellfire. Although, when compared to what he had unleashed in the beginning of the battle, the Hellfire circling the infernal blade felt... weaker, less destructive yet still chaotic in nature. Obviously due to his reserves not being as large as they once were... perhaps he should practice such attacks more in the future, so he wouldn't be wasting any power but the required amount.
Still, it would get the job done, as Crimson Soul dashed forwards while pumping his body with Demonic Energy. His form became a blur as he zoomed through the air, slamming into the back of the creature's head whilst performing his next attack. Since combining his techniques lead to a better result Crimson Soul decided to do so again: this time combining the Quicksword with the ever so dangerous Skill INFERNITY EDGE. The flame coated Soul Edge got driven into the creature's back via a horizontal slash. Flames then spiralled down his arm from his wings, converging onto Soul Edge and making it enlarge to twice its original size. THIS would be where the Quicksword technique came in though, as the male made several dozen high speed slashes across the Orca King's back... resulting in many large fiery explosions that dotted the creature's form as if it were trying on a new fur coat.
'Still seems that I cannot break through its hide... this creature is tough...' Crimson Soul thought as he saw the creature turn around and swat at him with its right fin, however the male refused to let that happen and he dodged it with the grace of an expert. It helped that so far, the Akuma No Me had been foretelling these attacks by reading the enemy's Soul. Sliding to a halt, the DPU looked up and saw the beast already on the offensive, lunging at him with the intent to bite into him once more. As a response to this, Crimson Soul Warped out of the way once again, then once more when he reappeared only to see a crimson energy wave racing towards him. 'That was close... looks like its beginning to understand my Warping patterns... then again, with how many times I've used it even a blind man could figure it out.'
Nevertheless, the DPU could tell that he needed a plan on how to beat this creature. He didn't want to waste time hammering away at that freaking TOUGH hide it sported, that would just be tideous and counterproductive. Despite his prior failures, Crimson Soul felt that he had some confidence in being able to break through that hide it had... if he were at full power, but unfortunately he had used quite a bit of his strength to take out those Orcas. As a result, he wanted to take this beast out as soon as he could so he could conserve and recover his Demonic Energy. He had yet to use his Red Rage Ring or his Green Hatred Ring this entire battle, so perhaps...
Yeah, maybe THAT could work.
Soon, a plan started forming in Crimson Soul's mind, a plan which revolved around a two step process... exactly like his plan to take out all the Orcas in one fell swoop. All he'd need was a little bit of prep work...and some luck.
As such, Crimson Soul immediately set to work, his Soul Edge buffing itself with PREDATOR, while its various debuffing abilities got to work in lowering the fighting prowess of the Evil Spirit Orca King. SCORCHING AURA and BLOOD RAGE were applied to it, decreasing its attacking power, mobility and shutting down its higher brain functions. At least that, whilst it would be more like a berserker, which could be problematic on its own, at least Crimson Sul didn't have to worry about those energy and water attacks anymore.
Because of his actions, the DPU saw how the creature let loose another loud roar which shook the entire ocean. Its eyes, clouded over by its now chaotic bloodlust to the point where reason and logic had gone out of the window, glared at him with utmost animosity. The loss of its clansmen, the humiliation at having its people wiped out by a single small bug, the sheer indignity that its pride had suffered... all its prior experiences with him collimating into the sole desire to end Crimson Soul's life...
Perfect.
Instantly, the beast raced towards him once more, intent on finishing this fight now and enjoying his body between its teeth. Just as it had gotten within striking distance... within a couple seconds (its speed had been enhanced by its own bloodlust, who knew?), Crimson Soul acted, unleashing the Star God's Broken Shadow to dodge the attack just in the nick of time. Any later, and he would have been a monster's chew toy, the fate many Spec Ops Agents fell to. Reappearing beside the creature at over 23 meters away, the DPU held Soul Edge as if he were to make a slash.
Obviously, the maddened King saw this, but dismissed it. Its rage dictated that the only thing that mattered was its prey to be within its gullet, digesting in despair at having been killed by it. The beast roared once more, intending on slicing him in two so that he couldn't escape. It once again circled through the water, though with a much more savage movement pattern than it usually would, before once again charging at Crimson Soul.
However... instead of just launching another attack with Soul Edge...
Crimson Soul activated one of it's Skills: DEVIL'S BLESSING, and had it supply him with just enough rage to leave I with 1/4 of its power left. That power went to refuel his Demonic Energy Reserves, which got boosted by his Red Rage Ring... which also boosted his Hellfire's potency, power output, pretty uch everything thanks to that gathered rage. As a result, Crimson Soul Clenched a fist and reared it back instead of attacking with the weakened Soul Edge. He then threw the fist forwards just as the creature got within striking distance, and as his fist flew, a huge, as in HUGE, arm made of black and red Hellfire roared into existence beside him, smashing itself directly into the side of the beast's cranium. The moment it connected, the furious blazing inferno that was the Hellfire attack practically burned a hole on the creature's head, incinerating and charring the beast's hide whilst it struck with enough force to flatten a mountain range.
A loud, prolonged howl of pure rage, pain and agony erupted from the mighty creature's maw thanks to the attack, as it began flipping backwards repeatedly with its balance disrupted. Fortunately for it, this only lasted a couple seconds before it righted itself once again. With its mind restored from all effects under it, including the BLOOD RAGE and SCORCHING AURA, the Evil Spirit Orca King refocused its attention onto its opponent with enough fury to melt an entire continent and evaporate it into a gas. Only, when it did so, the creature saw something which caught it off guard.
Crimson Soul stood with his legs in a crouching position, his right leg in front of his left while his sword arm was reared backwards... with his arm looking like a coiled-up spring.
'Alright... looks like I've managed to increase the number of rotations... to 60...' the black haired DPU thought with a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. His arm had been twisted, twisted and twisted backwards by his own Demonic Energy, sounds of rackling being emitted by the arm to showcase the manipulation of his flesh. Not to mention all the veins which popped onto the arm's surface, his blood vessels only remaining stable and not exploding from the pressure thanks to his energy.
This only happened whenever he used one specific Technique, one which he had learned alongside the Windcutter, Quicksword and others... the Drillsword. 'Heh, it may be interesting to note that this is the first time that I've used this in battle... mostly due to the time it takes to fully preop this technique... being in DPU Form helps though.' Crimson Soul thought... before he had his wings morph into large jet engine thrusters which exploded two streams of flame from them, propelling him forwards with speeds far surpassing said plane model. All the while, his sword arm unwinding rapidly and spinning his sword around like a drill.
For a split second, the Evil Spirit Orca King widened its eyes in absolute ALARM when it saw this attack coming. It had been fairly confident in its ability to resist attacks, something which came from infusing its flesh with its own energies for over 100,000 years. As a result of that, it had one tough as hell hide which was only enforced by its natural toughness. However, the moment it saw that thrusting attack coming its way with the speed behind it, the Orca King almost felt like it coul pierce right through it. Therefore, when it moved to try and stop him...
It had been too late, and Crimson Soul's attack shot right through the creature's mouth, through its innards and out of its Tail.
The moment that the DPU had done this, he disengaged the technique before looking down at his right arm. The male would have winced at the sight the moment he'd seen it if he were in human form, as the arm itself looked like a worn out sex toy in comparison. Veins could be seen everywhere as the arm hung at his side. He could barely feel anything inside of the arm, even as his Demonic Power began to repair it alongside his RC Cells. 'Note to self... this technique should not be used in repetition like the Star God's Broken Shadow.' the DPU thought.
With that in mind, Crimson Soul then turned around to face the results of his efforts, and witnessed how the Orca King now floated lifelessly on its back, looking well and truly defeated. As more proof, its soul which manifested as this colourless light in the shape of a Skull, floated out of its body before Soul Edge greedily sucked it inside itself. Seeing that, the DPU heaved a heavy sigh, knowing for himself that the creature had been felled by the attack. He had originally been aiming for the Fin, then he could have flown into the hole made by the Drillsword then caused an implosion with his Hellfire, destroying the beast from within. He didn't expect it to try and bite him like that. Was it mad? Or...
Well, whatever... the main thing was that Crimson Soul had emerged victorious. That was the main thing here, the DPU thought as he saw the corpse begin to disintegrate into nothingness. His eyes narrowed however, when he noticed something... green, something green and glowing as well as heading towards him at a leisurely pace. 'What the...? Wait... is that...?'
'It does appear to be so, Crimson Soul. Interestingly enough, this one appears to be quite powerful, much more than your boar one. Likely as a result of this creature's age.'
Biko spoke from within his mind as Crimson Soul felt the need to raise his right arm. The moment he did. the green light, something which he then discovered was a sea green, latched onto said arm. The light gradually grew dimmer, until finally Crimson Soul could see the actual shape behind it... revealing it to be a bone. A bone shaped like a hand which attached to his right forearm. Judging from its shape, the DPU figured it came from the Orca King, likely one of its fins if he remembered ths shape of an Orca's skeleton correctly.
Even so, he knew what this was: A Spirit Bone, and a strong one at that.
'Wonder what it does...'
'I'll look into it, perhaps you should focus on returning back to Emiya. Though he'll likely have encountered little difficulty considering his combat prowess, we should remain punctual at times like this.'
Nodding at his Demon Persona's words, the DPU flared his Fin-like wings and made to move, when he fund himself covered in a bright flash.
