Chapter 18: COMP Online
Kaze reacted first, throwing the twin weapons he had drawn towards the creature. Unfortunately, two kunai were child's play for a demon and Ose contemptuously knocked them aside, continuing to stalk forward.
Lilith tried to stand, but she had yet to fully recover from the binding and her legs crumpled like a sapling beneath a downpour. As she fell, she managed to get off a single blast of astral energy. But like with her legs, her blast was a pitiful display and Ose didn't even bother to knock it aside, merely letting it dissipate on his chest.
"Hmm, perhaps I was mistaken. The group I remember provided much more of a fight than you." Felicia moved to flank it while Kaze lunged directly at the demon, a new knife already in his grasp. "I do hope you are trying. I mean…" The sword in Ose's right hand twirled one hundred eighty degrees and was thrust into the ground. Dodging Kaze's strike with a feline grace, Ose grabbed his wrist, lifted him off the ground, and threw him against the wall of the shack. "You do understand what will happen if you continue to disappoint me, correct? After all," The demon's foot shot out and kicked Felicia back, causing her to fly towards Mozu. "I only need to take one of you back alive."
No. Kaze thought, forcing himself to his feet. Not again. Never again. The demon took another step towards Lilith prompting Kaze to try and- Oh gods my legs!
The whirling grid of radiance continued to swirl, its pattern changing and warping as it moved. The mosaic-like structure stood in vibrant contrast to the dark void that existed in between the myriad dimensions that existed in the Amala multiverse. And there, trying very, very hard to keep her cool, was an extremely agitated Pixie.
"You know, when I was told I'd be working with you, I expected you to be a bit more… uhh put together?"
Pixie pit her lip as she tried to concentrate. Her companion, bored out of her mind, continued to berate her. "It's just kind of disappointing, you know? I guess that's why they tell you to never meet your heroes, huh?"
Her eye began to twitch as the urge to blast the younger demon became almost unbearable.
"Are you going to answer? Ah, come ooooonnnnnn. I'm booooored." The demon ran a scaled, clawed hand through her golden hair. "Plllleeeeeaaaaaasssssseeeee!"
"Vouivre…," Pixie said through gritted teeth. "Do you know what I'm trying to do right now."
"Hmm?" Vouivre trailed off, scratching her head as she thought. "Aren't you trying to break into the Demifiend's world?"
"That's right! Now tell me, do you know why we're still here and not fighting the evil Shijima leopard demon right now?"
"Because of Metatron's barrier-"
"YES, because of Metatron's stupid, pathetic, infuriating, piece of crap barrier. A barrier I might add, that is incredibly hard to break." Pixie spared a moment to glare at Vouivre. "So… you gonna keep distracting me? Huh?"
Vouivre seemed to pick up on the venom in Pixie's voice and rapidly developed a pressing interest in her nails. "Would've thought you'd be pretty good at breaking it by now…," she mumbled softly.
"Vouivre, I swear to me, I will blast you, so help me!" But behind the bravado, Pixie did grimace a little. Her ally was right about one thing; this was taking far too long. Hopefully, one of them had managed to open the box she had sent…
Yet another burst of Astral energy fizzled out as Ose closed the distance between Lilith and itself. The stable girl made a fumbling attempt to open the green gift but Ose was having none of it. In an instant Ose's left sword, flashed through the air, moving skyward. The blade hit the corner of the box, taking a chunk out of it and launching it through the air while simultaneously forcing Lilith back, sending her sprawling.
Ose looked down at the prone Lilith and spoke. "I didn't notice it before, but you're Valite are you not? Fascinating, has Garon moved to betray us so soon?" Its foot moved onto her throat. "No matter. We've more than prepared for the silent dragon's treachery. We can eliminate him at our leisure. Your presence here is nothing more than an annoyance. Though, if it's any consolation, I think you make for the perfect target."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Lilith hissed through pursed lips.
Ose lifted her up by the ankle. "What I'm saying is that I've found the one I'm going to take in for interrogation. So rejoice mortal. You'll have a slightly longer life than your friends, if a more painful one."
Lilith fired another blast at Ose's eyes. As the demon screamed in pain it dropped her suddenly, Lilith's head colliding with the ground. For a moment she saw stars and felt the world spin around her as the pain in her head took her breath away. As it was, she found herself too short of breath to scream when Ose's second sword pierced her leg and continued on to bite into the ground, locking her in place.
"Know your place insect," Ose spat, though Lilith could see that his eyes were bloodshot from the blast. "Just because I'm going to take you alive doesn't mean you're going to enjoy it." The demon twisted the sword eliciting a bloodcurdling scream from her. "Now, let's finish off your friends, shall we?"
The demon turned away from her, surveying the desolate scene before it. Its eyes falling on the green ninja, a soft chuckle leaked out from its lips. "The box? Even at the end, curiosity continues to drive you. But do you really think… it will… help you…"
All Lilith saw an opened box, a flash of silver, and a panicked Ose bolting towards him.
What the hell is this? Some kind of glove? Kaze thought looking down at the item he had liberated from the box. Silver and pristine with a red ring around the wrist and a black, smooth rectangular surface on the top, he had never seen anything quite like it. It was beautiful.
"The box? Even at the end, curiosity continues to drive you." Ose's voice drew Kaze's attention away from the gauntlet and towards the demon. Its attitude was completely confident and Kaze's eyes widened as he noticed Lilith pinned to the ground via Ose's second sword. "But do you really think… it will… help you…" The demon's eyes widened as it saw the gauntlet in Kaze's hands. For the first time since Corrin had unleashed his power against the demon, Kaze saw Ose show fear.
There was no more talk, Ose pounced at him, crossing the distance almost instantaneously, grabbing his first sword as he did. But there are limits even to how fast a demon can move, and instinct drove Kaze to put on the gauntlet, shoving the item onto his left hand.
[Worthy user located. COMP power-on procedure complete. Diagnostic check complete. Spiritual Wavelength successfully modified. Situational analysis: imminent danger. Beginning Demon Summoning Program.]
As Ose's sword rained down, there was a new flash of light followed by the clang of steel as Ose's sword was deflected by another. Kaze's eyes widened even as Ose's drew narrow in dread. Another two quick exchanges, a blast of force that shook the foundation of the shack, and Ose was flying backwards.
Regaining its footing, the demon stared down the green and gold titan standing before it. "Koga Saburo." As it spoke, the demon shifted its footing and took a new stance designed to maximize the use of a single blade as opposed to its usual two.
"Ose," the new demon replied. Unlike his counterpart, he seemed relaxed. His twin swords were both held upside down, their golden hilts matching the golden armor he wore on his arms, legs, and torso. The gold was paired with an emerald streak that went down the center of his body, from his head to his boots. Completing the ornate visage was a selection of purple jewels adorning his torso. He might have been a human in armor if not for his arms, which were not actually connected to the rest of his body and simply hovered in place, as though the shoulders of the demon were invisible.
"Tell me, what business does the Dragon tribe have here, interfering in my hunt?" Ose demanded, its eyes flicking back and forth between Koga and its other sword, still embedded in Lilith's leg.
But the question was doomed to go unanswered, as the motion did not go unnoticed and Koga Saburo dashed towards Ose. The leopard demon responded by swinging his blade and summoning a transparent shield of purple light between the two. But this only prompted Koga to throw himself to the side, translating the motion into a summersault. Finishing the motion on his knees Koga punched forward with his right hand, unleashing an intense blast of force that collided with shield, ricocheting back at him.
Ose smiled, raised his blade, and began charging a burst of orange light to launch while his opponent was hit by his own attack. Kaze could only watch as the emerald energy blast hit the golden demon, only to be knocked away as soon as it touched his skin. Taking advantage of the feint, Koga launched himself through the remnants of the blast, rushing a startled Ose, his sword's starlight-colored blade lashing out like a viper at Ose's charging weapon, knocking it out of the way before it could finish. Shifting on his heels, Koga transformed the motion from his lunge into a flip, jumping upwards and kicking Ose in the face as he did, sending the leopard sprawling. Landing three meters in front of the stunned demon, Koga finished the combo by unleashing a massive bolt of lightning from his left hand, hurling Ose through the wall of the shack and into the surrounding forest.
Not even taking a moment to check on the scattered and injured humans, Koga rushed through the newly made hole in the wall after his prey, leaving the broken home silent once more.
Taking advantage of the relative peace, Kaze began to crawl towards where Lilith lay. He made it faster than he expected, what with the injuries he had suffered prior, and soon he was forcing himself to his feet and taking hold of the sword still pinning Lilith's leg. Bracing himself for the exertion, he was shocked to find the sword slipped out like hot knife from butter. It was fluid and easy, almost incredibly so. However, a cry from Lilith drew him back to reality and he tossed the sword aside. Crouching over his fellow retainer he slowly proper her up. "Steady, steady, just focus on breathing."
"Where… Ose?" she asked between breaths. Kaze wasn't a doctor but even he could tell the woman was in sorry shape. Her cheeks were flushed, her leg was still bleeding profusely, and her eyes were glazed and unfocused. He'd have to do something quickly.
"He's gone. Another demon appeared and attacked him," the ninja said softly, ripping a portion of his clothing and twisting it into a makeshift bandage. "Now please, prepare yourself, I'm going to bandage your wound."
"Hmm?" Lilith's head bobbed forward like a marionette who had had one of its strings cut. Upon seeing her leg, her eyes grew slightly more focused. Slowly, she extended a trembling arm towards the wound, only for it to droop weakly. "D-damn it. Kaze… p-please…"
Silently the ninja helped her move her hand over the wound, only to nearly jump out of his own skin as she proceeded to let loose a blast of energy at the wound, searing it shut. Lilith screamed.
Through the shock, Kaze struggled to hold her steady as she began to tremble from the pain. Through haggard breaths, Lilith spoke, her voice only slightly louder than a whisper. "O… Okay. Now, t… turn my leg-" Lilith winced and bit her lip as she desperately tried to remain focused. "so I can-"
"No. I'm going to bandage it. We are not doing that again."
Lilith growled softly. "Kaze… we don't… have time."
"I don't care. You look you'll tip over any second now. I'm not letting you-"
[Master, if I might interject. Would it not be more prudent to instead focus on defeating the enemy demon so that more effective medical treatment could be administered?]
To Kaze's credit he managed to avoid dropping Lilith in surprise. The stable girl was unfortunately a little less composed and accidently let loose a burst of Astral energy at Kaze's head. At such close range the blast was impossible to dodge. With a resounding crack the blast collided with his face. "K-Kaze!" Lilith yelped. "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean… to?"
Her eyes widened in surprise and Kaze couldn't really blame her, after all he was shocked as well. Somehow, the blast strong enough to cauterize the wound on her leg had done relatively little damage. Make no mistake, his skin felt like it was on fire, but no more so than when he'd accidently walked in on Kagero and his brother Saizo. Damn the female ninja had had quite the arm…
"How-"
[Sorry to interrupt again master, but I'm picking up a signal that might be Ose attempting to call for help.] This time Kaze was able to identify the cold, feminine voice as coming from the silver gauntlet he now wore. [I recommend immediately rushing to Koga Saburo's assistance and attempting to terminate the enemy demon before reinforcements can arrive. Shall I set this as a new mission?]
Kaze shook his head violently. "Wait, just wait."
[Is something wrong master?]
"Yes something is wrong! I'm speaking to a-" He stopped mid-sentence and take a deep breath. Sighing in resignation he shook his head. "Who am I kidding, this is hardly out of the ordinary anymore." In fact, this is probably on the less-weird side, everything considered.
[Is everything alright master?] The voice spoke with a hint of concern, and for the first time, Kaze realized that the black rectangle on the gauntlet had lit up, displaying text in what appeared to be Hoshidan Kanji.
"Yes," The ninja replied, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. "so Ose is calling for help. Am I understanding you right?"
[Correct master. Koga Saburo is faring well, but Ose is proving difficult to put down permanently. If we act quickly you may be able to tip the scale.]
"But I can barely even scratch him, let alone hurt him. At best I'd be a diversion, at worst a distraction for that gold demon," Kaze replied. It hurt to say, but if they were going to come up with a strategy he'd need to be as honest as possible.
[Master? You do know I've taken measures to modify your Spiritual Wavelength, correct? You should be more than capable of dealing noticeable damage to Ose. It should also simultaneously reduce damage done to you. It's the reason why your ally's blast of almighty energy only gave you a first degree burn and not a third degree one.]
"Kaze go," Lilith said softly.
"Lilith?"
"We'll be fine. Go." She tried to push him away but found herself too weak. Frowning to herself she continued. "Look, if Ose calls for help we'll all die. Go. Now."
After a moment of hesitation, he nodded and gently lowered Lilith back onto the ground. "I'll be right back. Please hold on."
Exiting the shack through the hole formed during the battle, he began to run towards the sounds of battle in the forest. "Any advice, uh, gauntlet?"
[From my understanding you seem to have substantial combat experience already. If you were able to survive a fight with Ose without a COMP, there is little I can tell you that you don't already know.]
"Hmm," Not a surprise, but he was still disappointed. It would have been nice to have some sort of an edge. "Thank you."
[I'm sorry I cannot be of more use. At the moment my Analysis feature is currently disabled for an unknown reason. Also, you may call me Burroughs.]
"Alright Burroughs, I hope you're ready." Kaze said as the tree next to him exploded into a shower of leaves and splinters. As another blast of orange light surged towards him, Kaze threw himself to the right, hurling a knife in the direction the blast had come from.
A howl came from the enemy demon as the knife found its mark, and Kaze found it hard to not smile in spite of the situation. Being able to hurt the monster after so long was vindication incarnate. All the nightmares, all the pain, he was going to make Ose pay for all of it.
"Finally decided to show up eh? About time." Koga barreled down from the canopy above and fired a blast of compressed force at the trees in front of Ose, shattering their roots and launching them like a hail of gigantic spears at the enemy demon. "I was starting to think my master was a coward."
"Master?"
Koga groaned and Kaze got the distinct feeling that if the demon had eyes, he would be rolling them. "We'll go over the finer details later. For now, let's erase this monster."
"Fine by me." There was a rustle of branches and bits of bark as the enemy demon pushed the debris off itself. "Do we have any plan of attack?"
"I will take the blunt of Ose's attacks. You concentrate on exploiting his mistakes. Since he only has one of his swords, I'd recommend attacking his left side. He has a blind spot there."
"He does?"
"He will momentarily."
The two ninja, one demon and one human advanced upon the 57th spirit of the Goetia. Ose cartwheeled to the side, dodging Koga's strike and making a dash towards Kaze, no doubt hoping to take out the human before he could provide too much aid.
But this time Kaze was ready, whether it was the gauntlet or just a lifetime of combat experience, Kaze could feel the path of the demon's blade. And in defiance of all self-preservation instincts, Kaze crossed his knifes over his chest, parrying the blade. As the three blades collided, Kaze felt himself getting pushed back, and for a moment he thought his defense wouldn't be enough. But then the blades locked and Ose's eyes grew wide in horror. Realizing that it had spent too much time on the human and forgotten the more dangerous threat, it turned just in time to see Koga fulfilling his earlier promise. With a shining flash of steel, the golden demon's swords licked deep into Ose's face, blinding his left eye.
Somehow Ose was able to get his sword up and parry the follow up attack from Koga, but in its haste he had forgotten Kaze, who, seeing an opening, lowered himself to the ground and with a single kick, attempted to sweep the demon's legs. This time he knew it was the COMP. It had to be. Where before his knives and bombs had done nothing to Ose, this time a simple kick was able to knock the demon off balance.
Sensing weakness, Koga swung with both his swords, the twin slivers of steel curving down towards Ose's heart like a viper. But at the last moment before they struck, Ose cast a Tetrakarn spell, creating a barrier that reflected the swords back at their master. As Koga growled through the pain, Ose followed up the shield with a kick to Kaze knocking him back and jumping back to buy itself space. And once more the two groups stared each other down.
The next few minutes that followed were a desperate haze of steel and lethal energy blasts. Even as he pushed his muscles to the limits of exhaustion, Kaze forced himself to continue to fight. Dodge, repost, strike, it was like a dance. Only here a mistake would mean instant death. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity the three combatants split once more. They were about to reengage when-
"If thou art done, please lay down thy weapons." A new voice from the direction of the cabin commanded their attention.
Turning back, Kaze was dismayed to see a golden coffin hovering above the ground. It was ornate, with an eye, a snake, and a man in prayer carved into the surface. But it wasn't the new demon that worried him, no, it was the captive that was laying on the ground next to it.
"Lilith!" His voice cracked in panic as he shouted. In desperation, he began to start towards the new demon but Koga stopped him, grabbing his shoulder.
"I appreciate the bravado, master. But that would be quite fatal." Koga shifted his stance so that he could see both of the demons. Addressing the newcomer, Koga continued, disgust lacing his voice, "Is the hostage really necessary Mot? Are you really so afraid to fight a human that you would stoop to such means?"
A dark scaled hand crept out of the coffin, lifting the lid and revealing a dark void. All that Kaze could see inside it were two glowing red eyes. "Thou art mistaken Koga Saburo. My associate and I have no intention of killing thee and thy ally. No. We wish merely to have our questions answered." Mot patted Lilith on the head, making Kaze's stomach boil in rage and panic. "My little friend here is simply to ensure thy cooperation."
Looking desperately at his ally, Kaze asked, practically begging, "Koga, please, we have to do something!"
Koga growled in frustration. "Master… would you bargain with them?"
"I'm growing impatient," Mot spat. Out of the corner of his eye Kaze could see Ose beginning to move into a combat posture once more.
Looking back at Mot, Kaze thought about Koga's question. Would it be best to deal with the demon? It might save Lilith but… he remembered the slaughter at Dragonfall. Could he bow to the monsters responsible for that hell-scape? Never. No this wasn't what Corrin or Lilith would want. And even more importantly, it wasn't what he wanted. He shook his head. "No. We can't give in to them. Even if it kills us, we can't."
A soft, deep laugh came from Koga at his answer. "Well said. Be it humans or demons, I have no mercy upon those who bargain away their pride and sorrow. I'm thankful to have a master who feels the same way."
"Thou art really determined to destroy thine selves then? No matter. We will interrogate the two humans back at the cabin." Purple energy began to crackle in the demon's scaled grasp. "Come Ose, let us make quick work of these heretics.
"Do we have a chance?" Kaze asked, knowing the answer but asking regardless.
"Not a good one. Mot has been worshipped as a god of death and well, we weren't able to put down Ose when he was alone. Hmm, we might be able to kill one of them, and Mot is weak to lightning. If we are extremely lucky we could kill Ose and force Mot to retreat. That said, Lilith would be dead, you would probably be dead, and if you weren't I certainly would be. Frankly, we would need a miracle to make it out of this without a casualty."
[Master, Emergency Alert: Metatron's barrier has been temporarily shattered. Dimensional incursion in T-minus 30 seconds.]
"Like that for instance. Hold on!" Koga didn't waste a moment, dashing towards Mot with his swords drawn. Instinct drove Kaze as he heard the faint crush of the forest underbrush. Turning on his heels, he saw an attacking Ose, who, seeing the motion from Koga, had charged towards them.
Ducking under the first strike, Kaze allowed his training to take over. The two danced once more underneath the trees, sparks flying like fireworks whenever the two blades clashed. Kicks, punches, and throwing stars were all launched in turn at the enemy, but none of them managed to do much of anything, and before Kaze knew it, there was a blade raining down towards him. Swinging a knife to parry the sword, there was a sharp crack as the knife splintered under the weight of the demon's attack. Desperately Kaze threw his arms in front of his face.
There was a metallic clang as the COMP blocked the attack. The sword ricocheted off but was quickly flying back, aimed underneath Kaze's guard. There was nothing he could do, and with a sickening screech it cut into his stomach.
His mouth opened and closed with no sound escaping. Pain like white-hot daggers crisscrossed through his stomach even as dark splotches appeared in his field of vision. From what sounded like a kilometer away, he heard Ose lecture him with disappointment.
"Such a pity. Given a few years of training you might have actually been worth a damn." Ose kicked him in contempt, knocking him into a tree five meters away. "May you find peace in the void."
"Why don't you help him?"
With Lilith slumped over his shoulder, Koga pushed off the side of tree three meters above the ground, rocketing down at Ose. It moved to defend, but Koga batted the blade aside before cutting through Ose's sword arm in single stroke. The now disarmed demon screamed in agony.
"Dost thou really think this accomplishes anything?" Mot asked. Through the injured haze, Kaze could make out scorch marks dotting the coffin, most likely from Koga's lightning. Raising its finger, Mot summoned a massive sphere of purple energy above its head. It must have been over 3 meters in diameter and rippled with almighty energy. Koga froze upon seeing the orb of power. Seemingly sensing Koga's fear, Mot chuckled softly. "Though art still going to die. Tis truly unfortunate, my lord would have preferred the one you hold to be intact. Fate can truly be cruel. Now, make thine peace."
Ose called out a warning but it came a second too late as a bolt of lightning popped the ball of energy like a balloon.
"Sorry Motty Python," Pixie said, electricity still crackling around her fingers as she descended from on high like an avenging angel, "but mine's bigger."
Everyone froze. Ose's eye widened, Mot's hand began to tremble, and Koga began to slowly reach down to grab Kaze's hand. Pixie, seemingly ignoring their reactions surveyed the battlefield. "Sorry I'm late. You would not BELIEVE what I've been through. Miss Vouivre here seems to think that bugging your boss incessantly when they're trying to work is a fine way to spend your time!" For the first time, Kaze noticed another demon hovering to Pixie's right. Currently glancing off to the side in shame. "Now, what did I miss?"
Pixie's smile turned to horror when she saw Kaze's bleeding form on the ground. Then she saw Lilith draped over Koga's shoulder and her face froze. Her eyes tracked the blood on the ground by Koga's feet to Lilith's leg and then…
All hell broke loose.
In an instant Pixie had thrown her hand skyward and summoned a swirling mass of white and purple wrath the size of castle Krakenburg. Under the shadow of imminent annihilation, Ose bolted towards Mot who had thrown open its coffin for the demon to escape into so they could teleport out before the blast could atomize them. Koga sprinted desperately away with Lilith even as Vouivre swooped down and grabbed Kaze, casting a healing spell on his stomach as she did so.
The distraught demoness, blind in her rage, brought the almighty spell down on the enemy in a fit of coly fury. There was a rush of air before everything went white. It was all he could do to stay conscious in Vouivre's arms as the death dealing tempest wiped out everything in an apocalyptic roar. And eventually, even that became impossible.
When he finally came to, Kaze found himself leaning against the side of the cabin with Felicia inspecting his stomach wound. From where he was sitting he could see Pixie and Vouivre tending to Lilith and Mozu as Koga stood guard by the edge of the destroyed wall. Beyond that, where there had used to be a forest was a massive, simmering crater. In fact, from his vantage point It looked like the cabin had been the only thing for kilometers to be spared from the explosion.
Felicia smiled down at him. "M-miss Pixie, he's awake!"
"Thanks dear!" Pixie chirped happily. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the valiant warrior. Congrats on surviving your first fight as a demon tamer you green haired ninja, you."
"D-demon tamer?" His head was still swimming in a pool of haze. "What are you- ugh, my stomach."
Pixie winced. "Yaaaaa, that's going to be a little poignant for a couple days. But look at the bright side, you don't have any nerve damage, you didn't lose any organs, and your first fight as a tamer ended with you surviving a fight with two demons that had COS levels of 89 and 40 respectively. Not bad at all for your first outing."
"Does it really count if you were the one who blew them up? Or at least tried to?" Vouivre whined from the corner. "Seriously, how do you blow up a forest and miss your target?"
"You see Vouivre," Pixie scolded her like a parent chastising a small child. "some demons are strong enough to open up their own portals through Amala. You know, instead of mooching off their boss."
"Hmph. I'd have thought my boss would've been experienced enough to prevent their escape!"
It was too surreal, watching the two inhuman forms bicker. "This- this is too much. I'm going to go make- wait, how long was I out?"
"A couple hours." Felicia answered.
"Dinner then." Kaze finished with a sigh, "I'll be in the kitchen."
"Kay. We'll call you in when Lily and Mozu are up." Pixie said, taking a break from arguing with Vouivre to call over. "After all we have quite a bit to talk about and not too much time to do so."
Author's Note-
Thank you very much for reading! If you have questions, critiques, or predictions, please leave a review and I'll do my best to get back to you!
Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.
guest- Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this one as well!
Next Time- Confessions of a Fairy (2/11/17).