Hakurei Honor Chapter.14
Author's Notes: Slow slow slow… what the heck here's the chapter!
Chapter 14: The Nightmare Begins: Witch Battle
Vita swung Graf Eisen with impuny as she crushed several more familiars that surrounded them. Haruka on the other hand drew a tarot card from her pack and held it upward using her right hand then with her left she slammed it to the back of the card with it pointing sideways. The card emitted a dim light before a dark mist spewed forth and began to immediately vaporize all it touches. Currently, there were only two of them as they parted ways when they were accosted with this wave of familiars, in with the two: Vita and Haruka volunteered to stay behind and fight. And it was good decision too as the familiars was keen on stopping them as promptly demonstrated when they tried to rush the ones who went forward. However, if one looked closely this would looked bad as the two is outnumbered considerably. Fortunately both were powerful and skilled in their own right. And against simple enemies... one needed no worries.
"Ano... normally I would be worried since I'm no frontline fighter but..." Haruka paused as she got another card and with it made a large wave of heat that immolated everything in range. "...surprisingly weak."
"I know!" Vita exclaimed as she waved her left arm to summon several midsized black spiked balls in which she then used her hammer-like device to propel them into enemy lines wherein them promptly blew up in mad incendiary fury. "Not even their numbers are helping them!"
"And to think they brought... weapons..." A large hurricane shredded another group of familiars.
"Weapons?! They`re frickin gardening tools." The hammer enlarging into giant size and flattening several more familiars.
"Uhm! They`re still using it as weapons." A Giant earthquake kills several more.
"Still... I wonder where they get them." More squashed familiars.
"I dunno? Maybe just here in this... umm... witch labyrinth?" Thousands of blades rain down. "I mean it`s kinda a mystery dungeon."
"Oh! Oh! ~ do you think we can find treasure?" More exploding spike balls.
"You do know we have to follow Reimu and Mirai, right?"
"Drat!"
#0#
Stab, shoot, dodge, stab, make way, rest, jump, rush, shoot, shoot, slash... Mami dictated in her head as she continued the deadly dance she and underclassman Homura had initiated with the witch. The fight was not going too well. The witch, whom a copy (she thought) had effortless destroyed is fast. It dodged the majority of the attacks they made. And that included whatever Homura made that cause to shout "It can outrun explosions!" and "Sticking C4 is not working either!" (a statement that made Mami`s brow rise [and the two other girls in the area to stare]. Then again it made sense since the girl used a large Gatling gun, grenades and as of present dual wielded two sub machine guns). Though it made her wonder when did the other mahou shoujo have the time to plant said bomb. Still, what mattered was that they damage the agile witch. Easier said than done.
Sayaka and Madoka stood helplessly as their senior and classmate struggle against the fast witch. A witch that looked similar to the one that led to an ambush... An ambush that almost took their sempai`s life and... Probably their own. This frightens Sayaka to no end. But...
"T-t-they t-they`ll be... okay... right... Sayaka?!" Madoka asked, as she trembled as she watched the golden haired mahou shoujo jump forward to slash with one of her bayonets. Only to dodge to the side as a long whip of thorns came her way. She wasn`t successful as it grazed her side and would`ve slice her into pieces if not for Homura`s timely intervention. This however made her the target of the witch`s ire as dozens of thorns tried to wrap her in their deadly embrace. She, of course, evaded as she did by disappearing and reappearing someplace else, as if teleporting. Appearing beside her target and angrily threw grenades at it. The witch, much to the black haired mahou shoujo`s chagrin had deftly dodged again, this however thankfully leads to it taking a glancing hit from one of Mami`s ribbons, followed by the girl herself. Bayonets glowing with energy, Mami intending to finish the fight in one blow swung her rifles horizontally, her beam blades cutting through the walls as it made its way to slice the witch in twain...
""""WHAT!""""
Only to her and everybody else shock when the witch dodged the deathblow by seemingly `jumping` and floating out of harm's way. And as if telling them that `playtime is over` it emitted an angry cry. In response to this, their environs shook violently and after a minute or so the familiars came.
"Oh! That`s just cheating!" Mami muttered angrily.
#0#
They were many and their numbers never did falter. These hordes of familiars could overwhelm anyone, as their numerical could vastly outclass even the mighty. Too bad they were up against "The shrine maiden of paradise" Hakurei, Reimu. To the miko, the familiars were nothing but dirt. They were just there to be stepped on.
"Pathetic insects. You truly want to be crushed?" The familiars' response to was to send more of their number at her.
"Fine." the miko said in finality. Drawing an ofuda from her sleeve and charged it with divine energy. "Dream Sign: Evil Sealing Circle!" There were two versions of this spell. One was Reimu spreading her ofuda's in true spell card fashion in a wheel like pattern (Kai: it looks like a wheel to me, Reimu: Shush you.) and the other was a non-focused area attack. This was the latter. As the ofuda exploded outward with great intensity washing the surrounding area with bright light (actually divine energy) that continued onwards from there. It surged brightly as it slowly bathed the entire labyrinth with its glow. It was no surprise after all. Reimu has always been powerful and only grew stronger (and lovelier/prettier/cuter/sexier etc... as per her clan`s standards) as the years went by. And now, without the restriction of the spell card rules, it is felt to great effect...
"Showoff..." the red head muttered accusingly at her companion. Her mount, a strange pink beast (presumably a griffon) snickered.
#0#
"Oi... that Reimu." Vita said while shaking her head. Just a while ago, both she and Haruka were still fighting fiercely against a new batch of familiars when a wave of light enveloped them and their foes. They were fine as the light did nothing to them, the familiars however...
"That... was excessive..."
"Sheez... Reimu that was overkill."
#0#
"Wha?" Sayaka gasped as the light passed them.
"What was that!" Madoka shouted in surprise.
"I don't know but... whoa!"
"But?... huh?" All the summoned familiars were gone.
#0#
Mami groaned in pain. The fight was definitely not going for them. Not only was the witch ridiculously fast, but she was now backed up by several dozen familiars. And it was taking its toll on both her and Homura. Said girl had enough. Readying her time stop ability, she was about to bomb every familiar in the room when a strange thing happened. A bright light engulfed them for a moment and in that instant every familiar in the room was vaporized and the witch was thrown back solidly into wall as it wailed in pain.
"Good job Homura!" her blonde sempai congratulated as she jumped to her side. "Whatever you do did the trick!"
"Ah... I..."
"Homura?"
"That... that wasn`t me."
"Eh?"
#0#
Kyubey threaded the labyrinth slowly. He/she was amazed as he/she traveled the labyrinth. He did not know what happened to the first body that came to this very same labyrinth but he/she knew that the witch of this labyrinth was already defeated and such; the labyrinth he/she is in should not exist any longer. All in all, it fascinated him. Turning at the next corner...
"This is al- wait?! What is- Uuouuouggghhhhhhhh!"
#0#
At the nearby town of Kasamino, Kyubey blinked wondering what had happened to one of his/her bodies when his/her red head companion picked him/her up by the scruff of his/her neck. The girl shook him/her violently out of frustration.
#0#
At the epicenter of all of this the miko landed softly and paused for a moment.
"Ahh... I think I overdid it." she finally said.
"Ya think?!" Mirai shook her head. It did not matter anyways. Reimu`s `Evil Sealing Circle` was like that always, the fact that Reimu`s repertoire of spells/techniques was like that. Thanks to most of the trouble in Gensokyo involve massive amount of mooks, elite mooks and various red shirts the miko made use of crowd clearing moves and powerful knockout (in Gensokyo at least) attacks. This is because Reimu`s strategy in dealing with them is go for the hearth. Thanks to the simplicity of the problems there, it always works. And that made all other resident `problem solvers` of Gensokyo follow suit. Of course this led to the saying that "If you make trouble in Gensokyo, the red and white will come and whack you upside the head (with her fists/gohei/yin-yang orb... or in the hell raven`s case: a bus stop sign (conjured by the `Youkai of Boundaries` of course))." Still it showed how blunt the miko was (and still is) and how different she treats the problems of the `outside world` since she knows how complicated they can be. Still it was not the time.
"Hey Reimu." Mirai asked her compatriot that slowly floated up. "Do you think that was enough?"
"For what? Of disposing the `witch`?" her friend nodded. "Then the answer is no."
"Then how? I mean..." the miko halted her friend and continued.
"Yes, the power of my attack was powerful. Yes, without the spell card rule restriction and the abundance of raw mana the power my spell had increase a hundredfold. But the fact that it`s a selective area of effect crowd clearing move that targets lesser beings. True it can damage the `witch` and the like (i.e. my targets) but it won`t take them down, in fact it only infuriates them."
"Does that mean..."
"Yes Mirai. If anyone is fighting the witch right now, I just made it worse for them."
#0#
And it did. With a murderous and angry wail the witch resumed its assault, ending the brief respite the two mahou shoujo got from Reimu`s sudden attack (not that they knew that). Sprouting more thorny vines from its body speared them in multiple directions not caring if it hit either girl. Not that it mattered as the vines which quickly regenerated hindered the movements of the two and gave them little area to maneuver. Then from its head shot forth what looked like paper roses (complete with stems) at high speeds that threatened to tear either girl into shreds as noted how deep they embedded themselves when they hit the floor of the place. And if that was bad enough, like the unrelenting they is, the familiars came. And this time the two active combatants were the only targets.
"Tch. They`re targeting Madoka and Sayaka as well!" Homura shouted as dodged a blast of flame a flame thrower toting familiar generated. Pulling three more grenades from her left shield (she has two now), she threw them overhead and on top of a group of familiars incinerating them along with a few vines. To her annoyance, the vines regenerated so fast that it looked like they weren`t affected. Adding insult to injury was the number of familiars which replaced the fallen was twice as many, increasing their number instead of decreasing them!
"This is seriously bad. I can protect them with my ribbons but..." The blonde winced as her cheek bled from a glancing blow. The girl then executed several back flips and a backward spinning jump (to avoid one of the vines in her way) as the familiars fell back and the witch concentrated on her. The barrage was lengthy and with both familiars and vines hindering her, it became difficult to dodge. She was thankful that she still could, but these feats were taxing and she knew that exhaustion would soon take its toll. "We need finish this now! Least we both fall!"
"I know but…" Homura dodged as she was now the one the witch was targeting. To the stoic girl (well she's stoic now) this was horrifying. Witches we're nothing but animalistic abominations that had little shred of intelligence. This witch however was highly intelligent, can plan and seemed to know how to use its abilities to the fullest. Worse was that she saw that Mami's protective ribbons surround Madoka and Sayaka will not last long. In fact, the blonde had replaced it thrice over the course of the battle and the way she stares warily at her hat (her soul gem was dimming fast) was not very assuring. "I will go on the defensive. Please take care of the two."
"Are you-" Mami began to ask before seeing the determined look the girl had. And it's not like she could argue either. She knew that she will not last any longer and will be forced to stay in that position soon. However, it did not sate the fact that what the other mahou shoujo would be put through. The witch was tough with both of them fighting, how harder would it get if there's only one of them fighting? "Alright. Remember to be careful. For I'll rush the witch if you ever fall." The other girl nodded and both separated ways. She (Mami) heading to Madoka and Sayaka's position and Homura straight for the witch. This was a bad maneuver.
With only one combatant fighting it, the witch focused all of its attacks on Homura, preventing her from using her time stop abilities. The vines actively hunted her as well, constantly getting in the way, trying/grabbing her and viciously lashing out to wound her. Within minutes Homura's body was bleeding badly, with various cuts of all sizes. Mami seeing this, tried to help but the familiars rushed her. The blonde by then had no choice but to fight back, hoping Homura is okay and if the familiars won't attack her charges. She was wrong. These fellas were too savvy, attacking the protective barrier Mami made. This elicited screams from the two non-combatants distracting the two mahout shoujos even further. Until…
""Homura/Mami!""
Both girls scream as they were suddenly grabbed by the vines and were beginning to be crushed as they were constricted by it. From behind the enclosure of ribbons, Madoka and Sayaka watched in horror as both of their friends/protectors were being crushed while they watched. As insulting them further' the familiars began something akin to a dance while chanting and ominous tune as they roamed around the area. Madoka cried for them, Sayaka prayed for a miracle… apparently some god heard her.
"Honestly… you are the most annoying pest I have ever encountered."
And in a few moments a wave of light red motes of lights and gleaming ofudas soared through the air and began to wreck havoc. The vines dissolved, the familiars destroyed and the witch slammed once more into wall in obvious pain. And as the light show finished a familiar figure steeped out of the entryway where the four girls came from.
"Insolent creature! I! The shrine maiden protector of Mitakahara Hakurei Reimu will be your next opponent!"
#0#
Kai: And there you have it!
Mami: We got beat!
Homura: Rather easily…
Mami: Not that easily. Though from what I recall this witch wasn't much of a threat!
Kai: Well I upgraded her into one. What? We're you hoping another easy win like episode 2.
Mami: This is your entire fault Homura!
Homura: *sulks away*
Reimu: Well I'm here now, so let the beating begin!
Kai: I know… well next chapter is a curb stomp battle!
Madoka & Sayaka: See ya then!