Chapter 26
Makoto grit her teeth, her body tense as she watched the monster approaching. Flocks of crows scattered before it as it moved, startled into flight by the force of its steps, tiny black pinpoints against the sheer size of their opponent.
She clutched the hilt of the broadsword in her clammy hands. She wasn't exactly an expert swordswoman, but she did know an awful lot about the conduction of electricity. She was hoping the blade would help her focus her power – less effort for more effect. She hoped.
She knew what Ryo had said. She knew what the Troopers wanted. But if things started to go South, and she had a terrible feeling they would, she would unleash everything she had to beat this monster. She eyed the zombies standing passively around them, and wondered if they'd be helping, or if they'd just be….watching.
"Supreme Thunder Dragon," one of her undead clones hissed, and a giant dragon head made from electricity slammed into the monster as it approached.
Well. That answered that question.
The thing let out an ear-splitting roar, staggering back a few steps, but then straightened and came right back at them, completely undamaged.
Yep. This mission was going south, and they hadn't even really engaged the enemy yet.
Makoto had an idea about why her zombie self's attack wasn't working, but she kept silent for the moment. She might not be Ami-level smart, but she'd been in enough battles to pick up on a subtlety or two. While she knew the Senshi would be on board with the backup plan she had in mind, they'd all get some serious resistance. The strategy would be risky, so she'd wait until it became apparent that there weren't going to be any other options.
"I'm not liking these odds," Touma snarled from beside her, his body tense as they watched several other Senshi zombies launch attacks with the same results. Several of them barely managed to deflect an onslaught the demon aimed at the living Senshi, and Makoto huffed out a breath as her hair ruffled with the breeze from the fallout.
Ok. Maybe she was done waiting. Forget waiting. Patience hadn't ever really been her strong suit. The longer she waited, the more chances someone would get hurt.
She reached inside, and pulled a small amount of her energy out. A test. By the time Touma noticed the lightning coalescing around her fingers, it danced down the blade of the sword. She threw the weapon straight and true, and it hit the monstrous skeleton hard. The monster staggered backward with an angry roar that nearly made her deaf, but when it rose up again, there was a gaping hole in several of the ribs on one side, exposing the glowing ember of its "heart".
"Thought so," she muttered, satisfied, and began looking around for more rusty old blades. She noticed Venus doing the same, and trued to stifle her grin.
Touma, on the other hand, shot her an angry, exasperated look.
"Fine," he growled, and to her astonishment, closed his eyes, furrowing his brow. Slowly, his golden bow and quiver of matching arrows appeared. He didn't waste a moment, instead aiming and unleashing as he yelled, "SHINNN KUUU HAAA!"
A golden beam of energy hit the monster directly in the chest, exploding, and this time, it fell back, hitting the ground with a monstrous thud that shook them all like a minor earthquake. Immediately after the attack cleared, Touma dropped to one knee, his weapons disappearing. Makoto dropped beside him, taking in his pale, sweaty face and tense features.
She had been flippant before, when he hadn't wanted her to use her powers. She had figured that any anger he felt was trumped by her need to do the right thing. But seeing what he'd done to himself by using his own powers, she was starting to get an idea about what he might be feeling when he watched her eat away at her own energy. It didn't change her mind. She would electrify this thing until she didn't have anything left in her.
But she could empathize with him. Instead of saying anything, she simply put a bracing hand on his shoulder as they turned to survey the damage of the attack. A shadow moved through the haze, and then the monster rose above them, its attention on Makoto and Touma.
She noticed that several of its ribs were charred now, missing pieces or cracked, widening the hole she'd started. But behind the rib cage, she could see the fierce, fiery glow of its "heart" still pulsing, strong and true. Her resolve firmed. She'd known this wouldn't be an easy fight, and it seemed now that was truer than ever. A burst of angry flame launched over her shoulder, striking the demon, which roared in retaliation, taking a heavy, vicious swipe at their assembled group. Makoto grabbed Touma and yanked him down, diving on top of him. She heard cries of surprise and dismay amid the sounds of the other Senshi and Troopers diving for cover.
When she dared to pop her head up again, a couple of the Senshi zombies were falling from the thing's claws, but the living seemed ok. Several zombies retaliated with strikes that drove the monster to a safer distance, and Makoto popped up as it shrieked at them as the zombies continued to keep it back.
"Great. It's a gigantic mostly indestructible skeleton with a heart made of demon fire. Anyone have a clue how we're going to wreck that glowing ball of demonic terror and what's gonna happen when we do?" Venus grumbled, standing and brushing debris from her already wrecked skirt and blouse ensemble.
"I don't like this. It shouldn't be this hard to get at the heart. Technically, piercing the heart would liberate the souls inside it. If this is something different, I'm a little worried that destroying the heart will release something demonic instead," Ami replied, trepidation in her voice. "But I do think it's important that our attacks seem to do more damage. It might have something to do with our status as the only living things here – maybe, somehow, our powers have more effect than those of our undead counterparts," she added.
"Damned if we do, damned if we don't," Touma grunted.
"Well, we can't do nothing. I'm voting for destroying the heart. If a bunch of demons come out, then we get rid of those too. It's not like we have a choice," Rei flicked her hair over her shoulder as she spoke, Shin standing tall and silent behind her, a determined look on his face.
"Alright," Minako began, putting her hands on her hips, " I think we should let our zombies work on keeping that thing distracted while we aim for the center. We might draw more attention, but at least we'll have some cover." Makoto eyed the zombies around them as they continued to launch an offensive at the monster. One of the Mars zombies that had been hit previously was standing on one leg, shaking the other in the general direction of the monster angrily.
Yeah. She was going to be having some weird dreams later.
Makoto nodded at Minako as the other Senshi and Troopers agreed.
"Got it. Let's go!" she growled.
She didn't wait, but pulled more lightning, and launched a volley directly at the monster's rib cage using another ancient blade she'd managed to scrounge up. She ignored the fatigue that ate at her as the attack hit, knocking the thing back again with an emerald green explosion. The satisfaction she felt at the sight of the damage eclipsed her exhaustion.
Well. At least their attacks seemed to be doing serious damage.
Which seemed….off. Almost anti-climactic considering some of the monsters they'd already faced.
Her strike was followed by an explosion of brilliant orange, then flames of scarlet red, and she smiled as the monster fell back again with a shriek that hurt her ears. Makoto clapped her hands on either side of her head in an effort to protect her eardrums.
Through the noise, she tried to get a good visual on the monster's new location.
Only to discover the thing had somehow gotten right on top of them. She yelped as Touma grabbed her and leapt out of the way, catching sight of Shin and Rei and Seiji and Minako making similar heroic jumps to get to safety.
There was a feminine yelp, and then Ami was flying through the air, crash landing into several Senshi zombies. Crap. Makoto jumped up and bolted for the last place she'd seen Mercury.
"That's it!" she heard Ryo growl as she skidded to a stop next to Ami, "You're going down!"
She'd just finished checking Mercury for injuries as Touma slid to a halt beside her, and together the two of them were still trying to rouse Ami when the entire world went nuclear.
Everything simply stopped for a moment, the only sign of life an indistinct yell in a decidedly inhuman voice. But this inhuman voice was familiar. When the spots cleared from her eyes and she could actually see again, the monster was on its back – not moving, smoke rising from its chest cavity.
"Did I get it?" Ryo was panting, leaning his hands on his knees, his skin pale. He had a katana in each hand which stuck out awkwardly from his grip because his hands were on his knees, but even as she watched, they faded. They all simply stared at him for a moment. Makoto blinked, and then looked back at the monster as it let out a low, subdued growl and began shifting. She frowned, and locked eyes with Rei and Minako. They all nodded at each other and then launched an attack as one before the monster could get up.
It screamed as a massive explosion, bigger than the one Ryo had launched, detonated directly over its rib cage. The ground rumbled as they all shielded their eyes and waited for the trembling to cease. The Senshi zombies were all standing lax, arms at their sides now, staring at where the gashadokuro had last been seen, faces expressionless.
It was creepy, but Makoto took it as a good sign. If her undead counterparts didn't feel enough of a threat to attack, then maybe they'd eradicated the thing.
The trembling stopped, and in the heavy silence that followed the blast, she could hear the sound of debris raining back down to earth. Hunching her shoulders, she clapped her hands over her head and scrunched up her face as bits of brittle, dry bone particles landed in her hair and what was left of her clothes.
"I'm gonna need like a hundred baths after this trip," she heard Venus mutter to her left, and chuckled. She was definitely looking forward to a bath. Mmm yeah, with some nice hot tea. The vision of being home and sliding back into her routine wrapped her in comfort, like an old sweater.
And almost immediately, the knowledge that she'd be alone, without Touma, sucked the warmth from her bones.
She might have clean skin and hot tea.
But she wouldn't have Touma. And her daily routine for time spent with the archer seemed like a terrible trade.
