A wave of blue flames washed over the forest, engulfing the trees and swirling up to the sky, roaring like some terrible beast. The fire flickered at their skin but didn't burn them, although the leaves around them turned to ash and the trees turned black with scorch marks. In another second, the wall of flame died away, whirling away like a devilish wind, leaving behind swirling embers and smoke. The trees were bare, dead things now – leaving them completely exposed.
"What do we do?" Shima exclaimed, causing Yukio and Yukio to share a glance – they didn't have an answer. It looked like a good five kilometers of forest had been burned up. Not only did that leave them exposed to Iha-naga above, but to the demons prowling the forest around them - unless Rin's fire had wiped them out too.
"We have to keep moving!" Yukio shouted, brandishing her sword and sprinting forward.
"Wait!" Okumura yelled, just as Yukio dropped to her knees and rolled, narrowly avoiding being pounced on by a large, vaguely canine demon. Okumura leveled his pistols and blasted the beast, turning it to dust – but more demons were appearing from the shadows of the ashen forest.
It looked like Rin's fire hadn't affected them after all.
"I humbly call the Gods of Harvest! Follow-"
"No!" Konekomaru suddenly ripped the summoning papers from Izumo's hands, throwing them to the ground. He turned to Shiemi, "Rip up Nii's papers, too, Moriyama!"
"Hey! What are you doing?" Izumo cried, eyeing the demons drawing closer.
"No, Konekomaru-san is right. If Iha-naga can control demons, your familiars would just put us in more danger," Okumura stated, reloading his weapons.
"But Nii-chan was fine earlier!"
"Iha-naga didn't have her sights on us earlier. We can't hide from her now," he said through gritted teeth, firing off more rounds into the line of approaching demons, "Go! Follow Yukio – I'll try to hold them off here! You have to get away before Iha-naga…"
He looked up at the sky, wondering why the goddess hadn't attacked them yet. Surely she had spotted them by now. To his surprise, and trepidation, however, the ominous black cloud had vanished.
Suddenly the ground in the middle of the group began to crumble and shake, as if a tiny localized earthquake was happening in a one-meter square space. The ground opened up, and two figures rose from the earth.
"Rin!" Shiemi cried. Yukio stared in horror at his brother – it was him, but at the same time it was completely not Rin. His eyes were dull and glazed over, and he stood as still as a statue, shoulders slumped and arms limp. His lethal flames were as lively as ever, though, flickering along his body and sword as if eager to burn more than simply leaf and wood.
Beside him stood a veiled woman in a traditional flowing kimono, an evil aura emanating from her very bones.
"Hello, Yukio. So nice to finally meet you officially," the goddess sneered, causing Yukio to clench her sword a little tighter.
"What have you done with Logan?"
"The abomination is locked away inside the mountain. Don't worry, you'll see him again – you will have to be the one sacrificing him to me, after all."
With a shout, Yukio rushed forward, sword swinging. It was met with a metallic ring as Rin rushed to meet her at inhuman speeds, his movements a blur. Yukio jumped back and came again, but Rin was faster, this time swiping her across the chest and leaving a bloody gash behind.
"Yukio-san!" Shiemi cried. Okumura raised his pistols, hoping to get in a shot while the goddess was distracted by Yukio. He knew he couldn't kill her, but maybe he could injure her, or give them a chance to get away and regroup.
"Ah-ah-ah," the goddess shook her finger at him, and he turned to see they were completely surrounded by demons of all kind. They snarled and growled but didn't attack.
"Okumura-san…" Konekomaru started, his voice wavering a bit. Okumura gritted his teeth – he was completely helpless. They were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned.
"This has been fun, but I think we should get on with things," Iha-naga said drolly, flicking a finger towards Yukio. The earth beneath her feet twisted upwards like vines, ensnaring her legs.
They were running out of time! Yukio started to panick – he had to risk taking a shot, even if it were hopeless. He had to do something. He raised his gun, aiming for the goddess' head.
Bam! He squeezed the trigger, letting the bullet fly – straight into his brother's chest.
"Did you forget I control your brother, Yukio Okumura? He's just a tool to me – I'll use him however I see fit, even if it's as a shield."
Blood began to soak through his shirt, but Rin didn't even seem to notice he'd been shot.
"Rin!" Shiemi screamed again, rushing forward.
"You idiot! Get back here!" Izumo screamed.
"Moriyama – it's not safe!" Konekomaru added, but Shiemi ignored her friends' cries and continued to run for Rin.
"Oh, do you like this boy or something? How annoying," Iha-naga rolled her eyes, and suddenly Rin was moving again. He flicked a hand towards Shiemi, sending a blast of raging azure fire in her direction. She cried out as the flames engulfed her, her figure merely a shadow within the blaze of blue light.
"Shiemi!" Yukio shouted, his heart freezing in his chest. Rin turned his head to meet Yukio's eyes, completely cold and uncaring. He just incinerated Shiemi, and he looked as indifferent as someone who had just stepped on a bug.
When the flames died down, however, they weren't greeted with the sight of Shiemi's charred body, but of a small ball of dark wood, accented by sprigs of red berries. The plant suddenly vanished, revealing Nii, slumping onto Moriyama's shoulders with an exhausted squeak.
"Rowan – good thinking! Thanks, Nii," Shiemi said, rising to her feet and cradling the greenman in her hands.
"She didn't tear up her summoning paper!" Konekomaru cried.
"Your demon protected you? Well, we'll take care of that. Let me show you my little secret."
She reached into her kimono and pulled out darkness. She raised her hand up, holding the darkness above them all. It was like looking at the sun, except instead of being blinded by brightness it simply pulled you into the darkness, blinding you to any light. A thick miasma surrounded it, whatever it was. All the demons surrounding them became quiet, entranced by the mysterious object. Even Nii seemed enthralled by its power.
"No demon is immune to my power! This is a fragment of Okuninushi's heart – the god of the spirit realm, of magic and secrets, all things unseen. Now that I have this power, even the Son of Satan is my slave."
"The heart of a god? How did you get that?" Yukio asked, still struggling to break free of the earthen vines tightening around her legs.
"Nigini, husband to my sister, took Okuninushi's place of power, relegating him to god of the underworld. He was more than happy to help me, and get a little revenge on that fool. He gave me just enough to work his magic, but even this small fragment is enough."
"But…I thought Okuninushi…gave up his throne…" Konekomaru coughed, struggling for breath. Everyone was struggling to breath in the thick miasma, dropping to their knees.
"Mere legend, passed down through the faulty memory of humans. When I regain rule of this mountain, though, I will no longer be a forgotten myth. The humans will once again remember who should have been goddess of the mountain!"
She hid the heart fragment in her kimono, then waved her hand. The demons surrounding them began to growl and hiss again, slowly closing in.
"You can thank Okuninushi when you see him in the underworld," she said, then descended back into the earth, taking Rin and Yukio with her. The ground closed up around them, leaving Okumura and the exwires alone in the forest once again.
"We have to help them!" Shiemi cried.
"I think we have problems of our own, Moiyama," Shima observed, turning to see the small platoon of demons bearing down on them.