Well before you all start yelling at me, I know this update is like a month late
I had a problem with school and I wasn't free until this week. However as compensation this chapter is 50 longer and usual and I promise there will be another update this week
Thanks to Hikari no Okami for being the Beta of this chapter. You know we love you.
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Extinguished Flame
Shana walked through the streets of the big and noisy city. Misaki city, along with Yuuji, were now far behind. The night was dark, the lights flashy, and the cars roared whenever they passed near. An uncomfortable rain was falling in the city and the streets were empty except for the occasional peasant running in order to find shelter from the rain; however, Shana kept walking, paying no mind to the rain, even if she was drenching now that she had left her coat in Yuuji's house
"We finally reached the city" Alastor said, "We must now find Spiral Organ"
Shana only nodded. She was still humming the song, the one she had imposed as their song. At this very moment she was starting to feel she had been a little bit bossy around Yuuji since they met; how badly she wished she could go back in time and be nicer to him, enjoy their time together a little more, but all that was far behind her now, there was no turning back.
A white bird snapped Shana out of her thoughts; it flew in front of her face getting her attention
"This is Lammies'!" the girl almost yelled in surprise
The bird flew in its place for few seconds before flying away through the busy street
"It seems like it wants us to follow it" said Alastor
"Then we will do so" said Shana pursuing the bird
They navigated the streets, flying through different avenues and alleys the bird leaded them to the other side of the city; they continued until they came to a big museum of natural history
"Lammies most likely is in here" said Shana stopping
"Most likely" accepted Alastor "come on, let's hurry, we have no time to loose"
The museum was closed because of the hour, after all, it was already late night; however, Shana and the bird entered using an open window in the second story of the building. The place was dark and cold, but it was better that the wet rain that was falling outside.
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"Keisaku, Eita" gathering all her strengths Margery managed to activate the communication scroll, contacting her henchmen
"Ane-san? Is that you?" Eita's voice answered
"Both you come to the rooftop of the Fujibayashi building, immediately" she ordered trying to maintain her voice stable, even if she was bleeding badly
"Eh? Why should we?" it was Keisaku this time
"Do as you are told dumbass!" almost yelled Margery
"Jeez, moody woman, we're on our way" replied Keisaku cutting communication
"Those brats" Margery sighed falling unconscious
"Hang in there! My gor-gorgeous and sturdy sh-shield, Margery do-" Marcosius also lost consciousness
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"I'm glad you made it, Shana" greeted Lammies getting closer to the light that was entering through the open window "you are really wet. Here, let me help you" said the old man while passing two fingers in front of her clothes as he activated a minor spell; the clothes dried in a second "that's much better"
"Thanks" said Shana
"Now that we are reunited, we most plan our next move" said Alastor
"Is this a private party or anyone can join in?" asked the voice of a young man
In a second a Fuzetzu covered the museum and the nearby streets and the ceiling of the museum got destroyed, revealing the cloudy and rainy sky. Among the drops of rain frozen in time by the Fuzetzu was the massive figure of a dragon, its shinning scales and sharp teeth greeted the Flame Haze.
Tezuka, Haruhi, and the other three people jumped into the museum, the ones traveling with them were a matured woman in military uniform, a cat girl, and a Tomogara in a bright silver armor
"Sorry to interrupt, but we have some unfinished business with this girl" said Tezuka, his eyes closed. Meanwhile Haruhi waved a hand in Shana's direction with a light blush in her cheecks
"You! You are the ones that destroyed Bale Masque!" accused Lammies
"My, have the news spread so far already?" asked the mature woman "I'm delighted by the praise"
"Where's Yuuji?" Tezuka asked
"You know about Sakai Yuuji?" asked Alastor
"Of course I know, where is he?" asked Tezuka again, but seeing the face Shana did was enough answer for him (even if his eyes were still shut) "You didn't tell him, did you? You just fled, with the tail hidden between your legs, leaving that poor kid alone, are you heartless?" Tezuka's expression hardened, but his eyes remained closed
"What?" Shana didn't expect her enemies to know about her personal life
"You heard me! Do you have no heart?! He loves you deeply, I know that just by talking to him a few minutes, and yet you threw away his feelings like trash!" almost yelled Tezuka
What? He has no idea how hard this is for me! I know Yuuji will suffer but it's for the best, it's for the best, it has to be for the best…"Urusai, urusai, urusai! You are no one to be lecturing me about how to handle my relationships!" Shana yelled back
Tezuka closed his fists, shaking
"Oh uh, Tezuka-chan is angry, nya!" said the cat girl scared
"Kasugano-dono, calm yourself" recommended the matured woman
"Michaella, Haruhi, Silver, Momo allow me to fight this girl alone, please" said Tezuka with a deep voice
"O-ok" accepted Haruhi this isn't good! If Tezuka sempai gets too carried away this can get very nasty! I'm scared!
"Prepare yourself Hunter of the Red Hot Eyes and Flaming Hair, I won't hold back this time. I can't go easy against someone that makes suffer one of my friends even if that someone is his beloved!" he raised his hand summoning the dragon orb "I don't want you to fight against her either Thalass" he said and the dragon disappeared into an insignia of unrestricted method, unsummoning the dragon orb after that "I'm going to teach you a lesson or two"
Lammies got ready to enter in action and support Shana in combat, but before he could even prepare a spell he was surrounded by the remaining enemies
"We are not intttttteressssted in youuuu ollld man" trailed Silver
"We just came for the girl" explained Michaella
"If you try anything funny we'll just rip you in pieces" menaced Haruhi calling her light sword into her hands
"Please be nice and stay quiet, ok nya?" asked Momo with a childish smile
I can't do anything; my hands are tied like this. You are alone on this one old friend Lammies cursed silently
"Are you ready… Shana?" asked Tezuka creating two swords made of green light energy in his hands
He also uses those weird light swords? Shana asked herself as fire engulfed her, even hands and feet. She adopted a fighting stance, showing she was ready for anything.
"Fine" Tezuka opened his eyes, revealing that demonic gaze of his
Shana didn't even blink, but she had lost sight of her opponent, one second he was in front of her and the next Tezuka had disappeared
"Where are you looking, uh?" Tezuka voice came from behind her, closely followed by a blade stabbing her back all the way to her chest, she could see the blade coming out of her body in a bloody mess, it was painful, very painful; she almost lost consciousness
She moved her hand in order to try to stop the bleeding, and suddenly found her chest intact, no blood, and her clothes without mark of the attack
What was that?! Shana asked herself
"An illusion created by his killing intent" explained Alastor
Is he really that powerful? Shana was afraid that maybe this time she was in for more that she could chew; this organization was formed by monsters, stupidly strong monsters. If that was an illusion, why did it feel so real?
"Prepare yourself Flame Haze, you are in for a hell of pain" Tezuka's eyes were the scariest thing Shana had ever seen
What's happening to me?! Why am I this scared of facing a manipulator? I don't have time to be scared. If I'm defeated they will reach their objective and the world will be destroyed and along with the world…Yuuji. I won't let him suffer more that he is already suffering because of me!
Shana charged against Tezuka, trying to hit him with her right fist, but he stopped the attack with one of his blades, the clashing of the two concentrations of power of existence released a strong wind, along with some parts of the draw energy. Shana tried then a punch to the belly with her other hand, but Tezuka dodged the blow easily; continuing her offensive Shana tried a low kick using her left leg, but once again Tezuka used his blade to stop the attack. But Shana didn't surrender, she twisted and attacked the head with her other leg, but Tezuka just ducked
"Is this the power of the Flame Haze of Alastor the Conflagration upon Earth and Heaven?" teased Tezuka
Their weapons, are made of semi solid Power of Existence, its simply adding shape to the energy, that's not really hard analyzed Shana putting her hands together, concentrating on the energy in her hands, the energy slowly took the shape of a katana
"So, you are trying to copy my sword creation technique?" asked Tezuka
"It's not really a complicated technique!" said Shana swinging her new weapon against Tezuka, who dodged by back sliding
"Is that so? Don't talk big if you can't back up the words with actions and skill" said Tezuka
"You want actions? I'll show you actions!" Shana kept attacking Tezuka, and he blocked with his own swords, slowly giving up some territory. Shana's speed grew amazingly with a sword in her hands. That's it, I'm pushing him backwards, I can win this!
Tezuka eyes flashed and he swiftly moved one of his swords attacking; he started below and going all the way up to Shana's face, the girl stopped the movement with her own sword.
However as blades made contact, the one Shana had disappeared and the terrible edge of Tezuka's sword cut Shana's skin, missing her face by an inch but delivering a terrible wound in her chest, even more, the blow sent her flying through a wall outside the museum into the street, crashing with the frozen drops of water from the rain, ending in the wall of a building on the other side of the street the museum was on.
"It's only putting form to Power of Existence, it's a simple technique. Isn't that what you thought?" asked Tezuka walking to the place where Shana had slammed against the wall, a lot of dust was raised by the hit "If that was the case Flame Hazes would have started using them long time ago. On the contrary, it's a very complicated technique I developed. It consist on not only giving form to your own Power of Existence. To create a weapon you must give that power of existence to create the very 'existence' of the sword and that's not even half of it. Before creating the blade you most meditate and imagine the perfect sword for you, a sword that flows from your very being. After that you most give it a part of your own soul to bring the sword to life. Once you are able to do that you can wield what I call the 'Soul Blade', but you are nothing but a conceited child" said Tezuka with a depictive tone
"You are too noisy" sounded Shana's voice "you said you weren't going to hold back didn't you?" the dust cleared to reveal Shana standing on her feet, bleeding and with the cracked wall behind her "if that's all the power you can muster, then I will be more than enough to defeat you" she said with a serious face
"Ha, ha, ha, you sure talk big Shana!" laughed Tezuka "I now see where Yuuji got that attitude when fighting"
Damn! I said those words, but I can barely stand on my feet! Shana cursed focusing all her energy on staying standing, but the ground was shaking under her feet
"It's not good to say such big words when you have problems just standing" said Tezuka "and yes, I said I wouldn't hold back, but that doesn't mean I would be using all my power from the beginning"
This bastard is only playing with me! Shana was furious. Ok, I can't create a sword, but maybe if I think of another weapon, one that doesn't relies on a solid shape, something easier to manipulate! I got it! I really hope this works out!
Shana started focusing her energy again, but this time the fiery energy of the Flame Haze formed a whip
"Amazing" praised Tezuka "by creating a more flexible weapon you can reduce its requirements, allowing you to summon a more or less stable form for you to fight, or at least try to defend yourself" his gaze was still on Shana, like a hound on its prey
I'm starting to hate those eyes Thought Shana, and without mercy she swung the whip against him, but Tezuka just stopped the whip with his blade, the whip enveloped the blade, releasing another shock wave from the tremendous energy clashing
"You know?" asked Tezuka "that the power of Alastor is nearly infinite? However, you don't tap into such a power"
"You have no idea what you're ta…" started Shana
"Talking about?" Tezuka finished for her "I'm not talking about your so called 'ultimate resource', that's just the release of all that raw energy in one second, becoming a super bomb" said Tezuka surprising Shana "I'm talking about controlling that energy, and using it in combat" letting the grip of his blade loose the sword disappeared, the whip, having nothing to hold on to, fell to the ground "You have depended on your sword far too much for far too long, to the point, that now your control on other techniques besides swordplay are at a minimum level!"
"Why do you care?!" asked Shana swinging her whip again, but she failed again. Tezuka had moved with amazing speed, too fast for Shana to follow the movement
"Because now, your level is nothing but a joke" Tezuka had positioned himself behind Shana. Pointing with his free hand's index and middle fingers at Shana he released a terrible blow of energy that created a five feet diameter ray which caught Shana, sending her flying back to the wall of the museum
Shana was a bloody mess, she had been able to create a thin layer of power of existence around her and that had saved her life
How is it possible that he can create such a strong attack based merely on Power of Existence? It wasn't an attack based on fire like the ones that woman, Margery, or I use, neither it was based on a weapon, like those of Willhelmina, it was closer to the unrestricted methods used by Shiro or other Tomogara, but far more concentrated, and far more controlled! Shana's mind raced trying to find a weak point in Tezuka
"Flame Haze use basically four types of techniques to battle Tomogara, most Flame Haze focuses only in the use of one or two, and few are those who use three effectively" said Tezuka like he was lecturing some pupil, walking closer to Shana "Some kind of weapon attack, call it swordplay, archery, martial arts or whatever, that depends on the Flame Haze. Fire manipulation, commonly used to cover weapons in fire to add extra damage to the attack or to create bolts of energy, your friend Margery uses some of this and so do you. Energy Manipulation, used to create copies of the user, regenerate damage, control objects at distance: like creating creatures of rock to attack the enemy or using ribbon like appendices in combat; or alter ones body: like growing wings or changing into an ugly furry creature. Almost every Flame Haze use at least a little of this, for example when repairing the damaged real world or in order to create torches. And last but not least, Especial movement, it could be like super speed, teleportation, flying without wings, or more commonly used to jump long distances"
Shana heard all the explanation surprised. He had mention all the techniques of the strongest Flame Haze she had encountered, meaning that the organization Tezuka was member of had already analyzed all of their techniques and powers!
"You, my dear, excel on swordplay and have a minor control of Fire and Energy manipulation, and suck as far Especial Movements concern" said Tezuka looking at the blood that was coming from the multiple wounds Shana had received by his last attack "Thanks to this lack of skills, you had no choice but to train Yuuji in the only thing you could teach him, weapon combat. Even if the kid's been improving steadily I assure you it's not 'cause you are a good teacher, it's due to his own dedication and talent" said Tezuka
Shana was annoyed by this guy! He was so full of himself, thinking he knew everything about everything. She was going to show him her abilities. Oh! He would beg for mercy now that he had made her angry. Focusing on her feet, and trying to ignore the fatigue and pain she was enduring, she moved extremely fast and swung the whip with fury. She was going to render Tezuka into pieces. Yet, once more Tezuka disappeared instants before the whip could touch him
"You can't defeat me with that level of speed, Shana" Tezuka was, again, behind Shana. Shana reacted swiftly and put some distance between them
"Without your sword" continued Tezuka "you have lost not only your main attack method, but also, your speed and reactions have worsened. It would appear that your body grew too accustomed to having a sword, and is now out of balance. You are also left only with the mid-level martial arts skills you got to attack and defend. In short…" said Tezuka summoning again his second sword "you are on a level on which you can't defeat me"
Tezuka charged against Shana with his swords. Shana defended with her arms and legs, which engulfed in flames giving her enough resistance to stop the swords, but just barely, each time they clashed a new shockwave was released, damaging the ground and buildings around them.
"What is it, Shana-chan? You know what would happen if I were to defeat you here, don't you?" Shana didn't answer; even if she did know "Well, then if you do know" said Tezuka as if he was reading Shana's mind "do something about it!"
With a kick to the gut Tezuka tossed Shana against the wall of nearby building, following closely behind to attack with a vertical slash with both blades
If I'm hit by that I'm done! Overstressing her body Shana managed to dodge the attack in the last second by just millimeters. When both blades touched the ground a terrible wind raised from the point they touched it. The building behind Shana was cut all the way through
"Impressive, young Flame Haze, very impressive indeed!" praised Tezuka "it's a shame you are so wounded. Forcing yourself to dodge my attack surely made your wounds worsen"
Indeed, Shana's wounds had opened more than they were a few minutes before, forcing her to her knees
"You want to know what's restraining you from being even able to touch me?" asked Tezuka. Shana was paralyzed by the pain and the blood loss. She only glared angrily at Tezuka "ok, I'll tell you. The answer is Alastor!" Shana's eyes widened in surprise "that's right; the very crimson lord that gives you your powers is the one that's limiting your own strength right now. Apparently, he's afraid of lending you the totality of his strength, because so much power could torn your body apart; a justified fear indeed, as no other Hunter of Red Hot Eyes and Flaming Hair has ever survived after receiving the full power of the Conflagration upon Earth and Heaven, or at least that's what the history says"
"Alastor, is that…t-true?" asked Shana standing with complications, drops of blood falling to the ground
"Yes, it is" accepted the crimson lord
"W-why? You understand wh-what's going to ha-happen, if we are defeated here?" asked the Flame Haze
"Yes, b-" Answered Alastor
"And I'm not the one who survived to you being summoned into this world?" asked Shana interrupting Alastor
"True, ho-" Alastor tried to speed again
"Then why don't you trust in me, and my power?! If we are defeated here something terrible will happen!" almost yelled Shana
"but, I…fine, as this is a special situation" acceded Alastor I just hope it won't bring us some complications later on
Shana was suddenly completely engulfed by flames. A strong wind blew from her and her wounds healed visibly. Regaining her standing Shana stretched her right hand and lines of flames gathered in her palm, forming an orb of fire
"Sorry to keep you waiting, let's fight the second round now" said Shana with her strength recovered
Shana shot the orb at Tezuka, releasing a super hot beam of fire and energy. The beam was too fast for Tezuka to dodge it, so he tried to stop it with both blades. The beam clashed with the blades and after a few seconds struggling, the beam exploded.
The beam had left a trail on the ground and a large cracked section where it had exploded
Tezuka stood in the center of that section, his hands where covered in bruises, the sleeves of his shirt where burned and his swords had been destroyed by the explosion
"It seems" he said calmly "that I wasn't able to stop it completely" It's amazing the power this child can control once Alastor releases the seal
What was that just now? Such a terrible attack…sure, it didn't damage him too much, but if I can get him without him stopping the attack with his blades I can defeat him! Thought Shana "Get ready Manipulator, Kasugano Tezuka, 'cause I'll defeat you!" she warned
"I like such enthusiasm, but you are still two hundred years away from defeating me!" said Tezuka recreating his swords of energy
Shana focused more energy and created a long katana of energy, and charged against Tezuka at such speed that she even disappeared from sight for a moment. However, Tezuka was fast enough to stop the attack. Shana continued attacking, each blow was nothing but a blur, yet Tezuka kept up with the speed
"And here I was, thinking you couldn't muster any other trick!" admitted Tezuka amused "yet you are now able to attain an acceptable speed, and with such incredible power you can make stable the form of a sword, and with such limitless energy you can repair the bits of power your weapon losses in each attack"
Shana smirked and disappeared, reappearing again behind Tezuka "as a matter of fact I can go still faster!" Receiving all of Alastor power is very tiring! I have to try to finish this in the next blow! Shana used another beam of energy at point blank, catching Tezuka in the swift attack
The attack created a cloud of dust, and Shana fell to her knees once more. She was exhausted, but still, she was relaxed because, in the end, she had defeated Tezuka…or so she thought
"Ouch!" Tezuka's voice came from inside the cloud of dust "That was a terrible attack, very tricky to attack from behind, if I had reacted a second later it would have gone bad for me" Tezuka's figure appeared walking out of the cloud of smoke, he was wearing an armor made of green energy and a cape, his swords had grown to three times it's former size and had become wider "now it's my turn, right?" at the tips of his swords a lot of energy started accumulating, creating two massive balls of energy that shined brightly, almost blinding anyone who were to see them "this is the end Shana" Tezuka aimed one sword at Shana and the sphere of energy became a terrible cone of energy, destroying buildings, streets and rain drops in its path.
Shana had managed to dodge it, tapping again into Alastor power, but the use of such power was starting to push her to the limit
"You are still able to hold Alastor's power? That's truly remarkable, however it's a shame you can't endure it for more than a few seconds, you're already at your limit" said Tezuka disappearing and reappearing again millimeters in front of Shana, floating in the air, the other energy ball directly in her chest. Before releasing the Coup de Grace at Shana he whispered "Yuuji is my friend…and even if this is business I wish him no harm. Listen carefully, don't you dare forget what you learned in this fight, or you will kill him next time you two see each other. Bye bye, Shana-chan" Tezuka released the attack and everything disappeared in the white light of the blinding and fearsome attack
I can't believe the difference on our levels is this big! No matter what I did I wasn't able to give him a solid hit…sorry Yuuji… Shana focused all her remaining energy on protecting from the attack
Michaella, Silver, Haruhi, and Momo walked to where Tezuka was standing, the part of the city that had been covered by the Fuzetzu was a disaster, everything in ruins
"You sure took your time" said Michaella
"Carrrrrried awayyyyyyy" trailed Silver
"Where's the Hunter of Red Hot Eyes and Flaming Hair, nya?" asked Momo looking around
"Over there" said Tezuka indicating a direction with his head, his eyes were again closed and his swords and armor had disappeared "she is just unconscious"
"Even if you said you were not going to hold back you didn't use all your power when you summoned your armor Tezuka-sempai!" said Haruhi
"She was at her limit; there was no point on wasting more of my energy in that battle" said Tezuka reaching his glasses from the pocket of his shirt, the place where he had left them after removing them for his battle with Margery. He found them all cracked "What? She destroyed my glasses with her attacks! This is so sad! The glasses were new, and I really liked them…they were quite expensive too" Tezuka released a sigh "I suppose there's nothing I can do"
"Don't complain about the glasses and look at the riot you caused here sempai!" scolded Haruhi
"The Flame Hazzzzze wasssss trasssssshhhhh, you had no reassssssssson to usssssssse sssssso much power againsssssst her" said Silver
"You got carried away Kasugano-dono" said Michaella
"Merihim-chan will be pissed, nya" laughed Momo
"I'll deal with Shiro after we return to the Tendo-kyu, for now let's leave, we already have what we came from" said Tezuka
"I'll kick Hono's sorry ass for letting her escape!" almost yelled Haruhi
"Lass?" asked Tezuka opening an eye at Haruhi
"Y-yes, se-sempai?" asked Haruhi scared
"Haven't I told you that those aren't words to be said by young lass?" scolded Tezuka
"Sorry" apologized the dark haired looking at the ground
"Let's go home, I'm tired" said Tezuka
"Will you summon Thalass to take us there?" asked Michaella
"Nah, all I really want to do take a bath and sleep, and I'm still fresh, enough, so I'll teleport us there, just get closer" ordered Tezuka, and everyone walked closer to Tezuka. In the ground the insignia of an unrestricted method appeared and in a second they had disappeared
The Fuzetsu unlocked, delivering all the damage to the real world. The quiet city suddenly became a place of terror and sorrow, the people cried in desperation
Lammies was standing in the top of a nearby building, his face showed only sadness
"The enemy has them" he said depressed "all hope is lost; the end of the world is now just a matter of time"
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That's all for this one
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