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Rosario + Vampire: Angel of Death
Chapter 13
Witch's Ranch. Nighttime.
Haru was blinded.
It had only been a second since Other Moka was released and defeated O-Yukata, Rubi's master, as a result of the elder witch's attempt on her life as well as Tsukune's. Thanks to Haru, her other side was able to get to Tsukune before the witch's man-eaters consumed him, and therefore was released to beat the enemy in front of her. But somehow, the witch stayed conscious despite taking a kick to the face by the vampire, and then cast a spell that, for some reason, caused her creations to swarm around her, engulfing everyone in a bright light.
Even though all he could see was white, Haru could still hear Rubi's pleas for her master to not go through with whatever she was doing. He then heard the witch's voice echo throughout the area.
"I am sorry, Rubi…" she said, "but I can no longer go back now. I hate the humans! I hate what they have done to our kind! And I will wipe out this heathen species and lay ruin to their city, if it means saving this place! The hour of my revenge has finally come!"
Suddenly, the light waned, and Haru could see everyone still standing where they were before, only now the land was covered in it's current form, as well as O-Yukata's thought of its future.
Kurumu gasped as she pointed in front of her. Haru turned to see a giant mass of green tower above them all, standing right where the elder witch was just a moment ago.
"What…" Yukari shouted, "what is this horrible thing!? Did she just merge with all of those monsters?! How is that possible?!"
The creature raised a giant arm of sorts in the air, and sent it crashing down onto the students. Haru and Other Moka barely saved them all before the thing landed close by.
As they let go of their comrades, they turned to see O-Yukata, appearing in the middle of the beast's chest, laugh. "Impressive, is it not? You don't look so tough anymore, against my century's worth of experience and power!"
Haru was horrified by what he saw: The witch had truly combined with her beasts, and formed a giant of a man-eater, with her as the core, inside one of the abomination's many mouths. The beast was pure green, with four giant arms, two jaws forming the shoulders, and a mass of roots forming its legs. She laughed even louder. "Bring it on, weaklings! Let us cleanse this world of the human plague!"
Above the others, in the sky, Rubi looked in horror at her master's change. She knew what it was, a spell that could not be reversed in any way. Because the witch had cast it, she could no longer recover her true appearance. Rubi felt tears going down her face. "No… I didn't want this… please…" She cried out to her master, hoping to reach her ears, "Stop it, Master! For Heaven's sake!"
She suddenly heard a voice call to her from below. She looked down to see Other Moka tell her to stay back, as she began to walk closely to the beast.
Tsukune called out to her, but the vampire would hear none of it. She told him to stay back, and not interfere.
The witch smiled. "Are you serious? Are you truly intent on jumping straight into the lion's den?"
Other Moka did not answer, only kept walking. She reached Haru's position, and turned to him. "Haru," she said, "let me handle this. I can take care of our guest."
Haru grunted. "Are you sure? This thing isn't like Kuyou or that Komiya bastard from long ago. This is a true beast. Nothing like what we face before…"
Other Moka smiled. "Why, Haru," she said, "it's as if you care for my well-being…"
Haru turned away. "No, I just don't want you to go running off without knowing what you're up against. Just be careful."
The vampire grinned as the angel walked off. "Thanks." she said.
Rubi looked on in tears as the vampire kept walking, talking to O-Yukata. "As I told you before, I prefer bloodshed over long speeches, so do not come back complaining if you die…"
The witch smiled. "Shut up, ayashi." she said, the beast raising an arm in the air. "I'll crush you to bits." She sent four giant vines from the arm, crushing the area where the vampire stood, forcing her to a nearby tree, and then through a series of trees.
Tsukune cried out to her, as the vampire tasted blood while being sent throughout the forest by the witch's creature, causing a great explosion of dust around the beast's outstretched arm.
Tsukune gritted his teeth, as the explosion caused Kurumu to take him and Yukari high in the air, making her strain from the extra weight. Oh no, he thought, not even a vampire cannot dodge this abomination? This is bad. If the humans see the fight from the city, and investigate, then things will turn even more bloodier…
But, as the dust settled, Tsukune was glad to see Other Moka was alright, albeit slowly moving, she seemed okay.
The witch, finally putting two and two together, laughed. "Now I understand. Those scarlet eyes, it all makes sense. You are a vampire, are you not? A monster of legendary strength that permanently infuses its own body with energy. If they are pure-blooded, their combat abilities stretch well beyond imagination. They live apart from other creatures, either human or monster, for they are feared by everyone." The witch began to lick her lips, an idea forming in her head. "Hmm, how tempting… I think I shall absorb you and seize your power…"
Other Moka stood there, think of a way to get to the witch, and then realized that the arm of the beast O-Yukata controlled was closer to the ground.
She ran up to it, jumped, started to climb up the arm, and when she got close to the center of the beast, delivered a roundhouse kick to the witch's face.
"You can get as enormous and repulsive as you wish, but it won't change anything for me!" the vampire said.
The blow made the monster stumble back a few steps, but it stopped. Other Moka then realized that Tsukune was shouting at her to look out, but before she could figure it out, a bunch of vine wrapped around her arms, legs, and body, immobilizing her.
From the center, the witch laughed, despite being hit. "I finally have you now…" she said.
Other Moka was shocked. No way, she thought, struggling to be free. This thing is so tough… She's so flaccid that I can't grab a hold of her… Are my attacks useless against this witch?
As she got a closer look, she could see that the mark she left on O-Yukata dented her face, but she seemed unaffected. "It was barely a mosquito mite on the back of my neck…" she said.
Other Moka gasped. "I don't believe it. Even at full strength, it did nothing?!"
The witch laughed, her face reconstructing back to normal. "I think you got far too cocky. Not only did I change my size, but my strength as well. Allow me to show you!"
Other Moka then screamed in pain as the ends of the vines dug through her skin, small amounts of blood oozing from the wounds. She watched in horror as the vines proceeded to go further in her body.
"What are these things?" the vampire shouted. "What are they doing to me?!"
She screamed louder as one of the vines managed to get underneath the skin of her neck, and into her face. Tsukune clenched his fists. "Noo! Moka-san!"
O-Yukata laughed. "You did not believe me when I said I would absorb you? Under this appearance, I can fuse with an unlimited number of creatures and steal their strength. That is the very purpose of this fusion technique! With this spell, I can absorb every human like a giant parasite…"
Tsukune tried to reach out to her, but Kurumu held him back. "Tsukune! If you get too close, she'll absorb you too!"
Tsukune looked back at her. "But if I do nothing, Moka will…"
Yukari looked at him. "If Moka can't do anything against this monster, then it's because the witch is too powerful for any of us to fight!"
Tsukune got mad. "Then what do you want me to do?!" he shouted.
Other Moka's screams got louder as she felt the vines draining her strength away. O-Yukata howled in laughter. "I can feel it… Your phenomenal power is invading my body. Soon, I will become the most powerful creature in this universe! More! Join with me and become a part of me, vampire!"
Suddenly, she heard Rubi shout at her to stop, as the young witch tried to cut Other Moka down with her wing blades. The elder witch looked at her, confused and surprised.
Rubi shuddered as she felt numerous vines pierce her body, even at the jewel on her wand was destroyed.
As Rubi looked back in pain, she could see that more vines connected to Other Moka, resuming the absorption. The witch tried to use her magic, but then realized that her wand was useless. Her wings began to fade, as she then knew that her magic would be of no use to her.
O-Yukata looked at the young witch, her only friend, asking why she would defy her. "Why do you insist of going against my will?! We had always walked together until today. You were so obedient, you never tried to rebel against me…"
Rubi weakly raised her free hand at her former master. "Please… stop this slaughter… I beg of you…"
As she began to lose consciousness, dropping her wand, her last thoughts were of Tsukune, pleading for him to stop O-Yukata.
And suddenly, without any remorse, the witch made the beast she controlled eat her whole. Tsukune struggled, trying in vain to stop the elder witch.
"There…" she said. "Now you can defy me all you want. Now that you are through, you will now realize that you belong to me!" Tears began to run down the witch's eyes. "Such vitality! I can feel your energy filling every part of my body, Rubi…" Her smile got bigger as she looked back at Other Moka, who felt close to death. "Now that she is no longer in the way, you're all mine! No one can stop me now!"
As she laughed, and the vampire struggled to be free, only to slowly do so every second. Tsukune grew frustrated. This can't be happening! This can't be! Someone has to stop her! If not Moka, or any of us, then who could-?
He then had a thought, and looked around. Haru was nowhere in sight.
"Haru-san?!" he called out. "Where are you?!"
Suddenly, everyone heard a loud voice from high in the sky shout. "Hey, bitch!"
O-Yukata looked up, just to see Haru, wings outstretched, with the moon shining behind him, a look of fierce hatred in his eyes. "Did you forget about me?" he asked.
During the battle, Haru brought out his wings, and observed the fight, He was curious to see what power his enemy had against the witch, and when Rubi was devoured, Haru's heart skipped a beat, his anger once again increasing.
The witch widened her eyes. That man?! Wings?! How can this be?!
Haru then dove down with tremendous speed, as he cut through all the vines holding Other Moka down, the speed of his blade even caused the chunks of vine to burn, never to be used. The witch howled in pain as her strength slowly gave way. "What?! How!?"
Other Moka began to fall, but was caught by Haru, holding her close with one arm, as the other held his blade. She looked up at the angel, smiling at her rescuer, but then winced in pain as the vines that were still connected to her started to move, causing her to bleed out even more.
Haru looked down at her. Damn, he thought. The vines are trying to kill her, even when they're not absorbing her power. If nothing is done about them, she'll die. Haru looked at his sword. I could leave her to her own devices, but… where is the honor in that?
He looked back at the vampire. "Moka-san," he said, "I'm going to try something that should help you. It may get painful, but it's for your own good."
He then energized his blade, turned it over, and while holding the sword with his hand, punctured one of the entry wounds that the vines got into.
Other Moka screamed in pain, and began to get louder as she felt powerful energy flow through her from the blade, the vines burning up with the tremendous energy they were given.
O-Yukata, seeing what he was doing, sent many vines at him, hoping to stop him.
But before they could reach him, they were swiped away by magical cards. She looked up to see Yukari, waving her wand in the air, as a swarm of cards surrounded the three students.
"Haru-san!" Tsukune called out. "We'll cover you! Just keep doing whatever it is you're doing!"
Haru nodded. "A little concentration would be nice…" he said.
Other Moka wriggled in pain. The energy was so powerful that she felt like a great fire was lit within her, and it grew and grew with each passing second. She began to sweat, feeling every vine be obliterated from her body.
The elder witch grew furious at the three that were blocking her from the angel and vampire. "Damn you! Stop getting in my way!"
Suddenly, the great power she felt from the two earlier began to fade, as she saw that she was too late, and Haru had restored Other Moka.
The vampire panted, tired from the ordeal, as Haru leaned towards her, whispering in her ear. "You should be fully regenerated after a short while, so I'll buy you some time. Now, I hope you can forgive me for this." With those words, he tossed the vampire away, sending her flying towards the earth beneath them.
"Now then, witch," he said, turning to the beast, "where were we?"
O-Yukata screamed. "How dare you! You, an agent of God, going against a powerful entity like myself?! Who do you think you are?!"
Haru raised his blade, wings flapping in the air. "Like I said before, Death incarnate."
He then flew towards the beast, hoping to attack with everything he had, but he never got close, as the beast the witch controlled leaned down, and swallowed him whole.
Tsukune could not believe what he saw, Kurumu and Yukari wereboth scared even more than before. They knew that both Haru and Moka were stronger than the three combined, yet they themselves could not stop the elder witch's onslaught.
O-Yukata laughed yet again. "Unbelievable! Not only have I absorbed Rubi, and some of the vampire's power, I also have an angel's strength to add on my own! I am invincible! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Tsukune gritted his teeth. "I can't believe it. How can Haru lose to her? How could this happen?"
Yukari then realized something. "Guys, when the elder witch absorbed Rubi and some of Moka-san, her aura increased, right?"
"Yeah," Kurumu said, "Why?"
"Well, how come her aura's not grown when she ate Haru-san? Nothing's changed at all."
Tsukune raised his eyebrows. "Really? Is that true?"
Kurumu focused, then looked surprised. "She's right. Nothing's changed."
As they discussed that, O-Yukata began to notice it as well. "I don't understand. I ate him, I absorbed him. Why am I not getting stronger? What's going on?"
She then waved it off, and smiled. "It doesn't matter. He's absorbed, nothing else matters. I have the power of the immortals now! Nothing can stop me now-."
She then felt a strange pain in her chest, and she began to twitch. She doubled in pain as she felt powerful energy rip through her insides, making her cough up blood. The beast howled in pain as it followed suit. Tsukune and the rest watched in awe, trying to make sense of what was going on.
The pain grew worse and worse as the witch continued to bleed, wounds opening up on her body as the beast she controlled twitched violently. She cried out, words masked in pain, "What is going on?! What's doing this to me?!"
Suddenly, the beast's gut, just below O-Yukata, sliced open sideways, as Haru, mostly covered in slime, broke out violently from within, seemingly unaffected.
The witch bent down in pain as the angel flew far from her, turning to face her. She shouted at him, still in pain. "What?! H-How? How did you survive? I ate you! You should be dead!"
Haru grunted. "Who do you take me for? Do you really think I would let a weed like you consume me?"
The witch was furious. "What do you mean?!" she yelled.
Haru kept hovering in the air. "Can't figure it out? I let you eat me, all so that I could look within and find Rubi, so that I could save her."
The witch grabbed at her wounds, as she felt weak.
"Alas," the angel continued. "I could not find her anywhere in there, and your out-of-control magic was eating away my power, so I decided to make my exit through your gut. After all, I still have a promise to keep."
The witch became curious. "What are you talking about? Your vampire could not wound me, what makes you think you can?"
Haru grunted, grasping his sword tightly. "Because you made four deadly mistakes. One, you pissed off the wrong people. Two, you took the life of Rubi, who only wanted to follow in Tsukune's footsteps, and make things better between witches and humans. In your greed and lust for blood, you killed the only friend that trusted in you." He floated closer so that the witch could see his face up close. "Believe me, I understand how you feel. You lost that which you cared for, and now you want those who took that away to pay for it. I truly understand. But!" His eyes flashed with unbelievable malice, as his aura grew more and more, "When you disregard innocent lives and kill them blindly, you yourself become that which you despise, and at that point, you become the monster. And THAT was your third mistake. But your last mistake was trying to kill Moka, something whose right does not belong to you. And because of that, now you will witness a wrath unlike no other; that of an angel. And even if all of that were not the case," he pointed his blade at her, "it is my duty as an angel to protect the humans at all costs. Elder witch! For your crimes against the human world and the monster world, I sentence you to death!"
He then disappeared, as O-Yukata looked around, trying to find him. She then felt something grab her throat, as she looked in front of her to see Haru squeezing her throat, causing her to choke. She sent numerous power-absorbing vines at him, as each punctured him. Despite feeling the attack, the angel did not even flinch. The witch felt no power going through the vines, only excruciating pain, more powerful than a giant inferno.
As the vines burned away, Haru looked into her eyes. "Now," he said, "witness the true strength of that which rivals Death itself!" His wings began to move faster, as he continued to hold the witch by the throat.
What Tsukune, Kurumu, and Yukari saw shocked them to their very cores. Haru, with all his strength, made the roots that formed the beasts legs rip apart as he carried it high in the air, several hundred feet from the ground, with one hand. As Haru yelled at the top of his lung, with all his might he threw the beast high above him, then ran his hand over his blade, energizing it.
As he did this, he whispered to himself. "O great and powerful light, grant me your strength. Rain down upon that which stands in your way," He then turned around, and swung his sword, "RAGNAROK!"
As he swung the masamune, dozens of beams shot out from the blade, each one shaped like crescents. They flew towards the beast, and exploded upon impact. As they hit O-Yukata repeatedly, Haru appeared above the beast, so fast it seemed like he teleported. He performed it again, sending the beast crashing down as countless beams hit it multiple times in the back.
The beast got up slowly, as its master felt pain like nothing she felt before. Haru then reappeared in front of her, enraging the witch to no end.
Haru pointed his blade at her. "Do you see now? I'm far too powerful than you could ever believe. That is why you cannot defeat me! Why you can not defeat Moka, Yukari, or even Rubi."
This was a bluff, however. The monstrosity was immensely heavy for Haru, even at full strength. He felt the muscles in his arm scream in pain as he kept his stance, trying to controll his breathing as to not give away anything to O-Yukata.
The witch screamed at the angel. "You worm! You truly believe you can destroy me?!"
Haru did not flinch, only to let out a small grunt. "Destroy you? I've always had the power to defeat you. I was just stalling."
The witch blinked. "WHAT?!"
Suddenly, a voice echoed from below, the witch looked down to see Other Moka, holding Rubi's destroyed wand at her.
"How sad…" The vampire said. "Rubi… sacrificed her life to try and thwart your folly. Now, the chance to trap me is forever gone. In her memory, I shall fulfill her final wish."
O-Yukata growled, shouting "SILENCE!" at her foe. "I will absorb you to make you stop saying such rubbish! One way or another, you will be MINE!" She sent thousands of magical vines at Other Moka, in which she dodged with ease. The witch tried to squash her with one of the beast's arms, but before she could, Haru flew to the giant limb, performing Ragnarok once again and aiming it at a part in between the monstrous shoulder and arm, knocking it back as it crashed to the ground below.
The witch howled in pain. "DAMN YOU!"
"Hmph." Haru said. "I'm the least of your problems, fool."
He nudged at Other Moka, who managed to climb, once again, up the monster's arm towards the elder witch. She tried to fire more vines at her enemy, but Haru swatted away like they were flies. He then proceeded to fly into the heart of the beast, and stab the witch in her heart with a charged masamune.
"Poor madwoman…" the vampire murmured. "Even if I do repeat myself… I won't be caught a second time!"
She jumped, dodged, and ran all the way to the core, and with Rubi's wand, pierced the jewel in the middle of the book the elder witch carried, which was placed right in front of her.
O-Yukata coughed up even more blood, as Other Moka looked into her eyes. "Rubi gave you out before her death. The jewel on your book was your only weak point. The only way to truly stop you…"
Haru grunted. "Seems I was right." he said. "Even Rubi could defeat you easily…"
O-Yukata looked down upon the broken wand, thinking back to Rubi.
And then, the beast she controlled began to crack. Surges of light shined through, a loud ring echoing throughout the air.
Kurumu was taken aback by the power. "What the-. What is this?!"
Yukari was terrified. "No way… Get back! We have to get further back now!"
Tsukune looked at her. "What do you mean, Yukari-chan?"
The young witch explained. "Her body is made out of a multitude of fused man-eaters. If the Master loses control over the magic that enables her to keep them together, then everything will end up in a massive explosion!"
Tsukune's eyes widened, as he called out to Haru and Other Moka to get out of there.
Haru pulled out his sword, then Rubi's wand, and held a hand towards the vampire. "Let's go, Moka." he said. "We have no more business here."
Other Moka nodded, took his hand, and flew off.
As they reached Tsukune and the others, they could hear O-Yukata's screams of terror get louder and louder, as she yelled out Rubi's name.
And then, she exploded.
A burst of bright light engulfed the area where they fought, causing Kurumu and Haru to lose control of their flight, and crash to the ground.
* * * * * *
Moments later, Tsukune, followed by the rest, came to, and observed the battlefield.
They found themselves in the midst of a wrecked area. The beautiful trees, the mainland, it was all destroyed. As the sun began to shine, signaling the dawn of a new day, Tsukune covered his eyes in regret.
Rubi, he thought. I did all that I could, but it was all for nothing. For nothing!
Haru, seeing the human's reaction, placed a hand on Tsukune's shoulder, catching his attention. "There was nothing you could do. She made her choice, and in the end it gave us hope. You should not grieve for her, rather pray that she transcends to the Hallowed Father with no troubles burdening her soul. Nothing more."
Tsukune looked at him. "So that's it? Accept her sacrifice? Accept her death?"
Haru did not blink. "Sometimes, for the greater good, one must first sacrifice something in order to defend that which matters. When you hold the best intentions in your heart and mind, nothing else matters."
Other Moka walked towards the boys. "I couldn't agree any more." she said. "Not bad from my hero."
Haru looked at her. "Hero? What do you mean?"
Other Moka looked at the angel. "Haru, you were willing to protect us all from the witch's threat. You were willing to protect my other half. And, more importantly, you saved me from death, brought me back from its doorstep, and helped me defeat the beast. At first, I was not sure to trust you, but now, I'm certain." She bowed, a sign of respect. "Haru Uematsu, I would be honored to fight alongside you once more when the need arises."
Haru stood there, shocked. "Y-You mean that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Other Moka looked up, and smiled. "So, the tough, mean, and cold angel can have an emotion. I'm impressed."
Haru lightly blushed, as he turned away, lost in thought. I don't believe it. She trusts me! Both her and her other side trusts me! I actually did it! I got close to her!
Suddenly, breaking the mood, Tsukune and the rest noticed a couple of vehicles driving towards them. As they got closer, they saw that it was the school bus and a normal car. As they stopped, the car door opened to reveal Nekonome-sensei, who looked curious. "Sorry for the slight delay." she said, "Oh dear, it didn't go without trouble then!"
Tsukune got confused. "Trouble?" he asked.
The bus doors opened, revealing the bus driver. "Heh heh heh." he said, lighting a cigar, "Yeah. I had a feeling that this whole witch problem would be easily handled by you five, so I thought about leaving you all here to take care of the problem at hand. After all, who better than the group who beat the Public Safety Commission?"
Tsukune and the rest walked up to the two, bringing them up to speed.
Tsukune sighed. "In the end, I couldn't change anything… The witch is dead, and so is Rubi-san…"
Suddenly, a voice with an Osaka accent came from the bus. "What are you daft or just acting like it on purpose? Quite the opposite, you guys did it real slick."
Kurumu was surprised. "Gin?! What are you doing here?!"
Yukari gasped, for in Gin's arm was an unconscious Rubi.
"No way." Haru said. "But how? We saw her get eaten by the witch!"
The bus driver smiled. "Really leaves you speechless, right? That girl got out of the explosion unscathed. We found her unconscious lying on the road. I guess O-Yukata used the last of her strength to protect this child…"
Everyone swarmed around Gin, amazed at Rubi's survival.
The bus driver walked close to Nekonome-sensei. "Not bad, eh?" he said. "Those kids are strong… their bravery and confidence in friendship succeeded in changing O-Yukata's heart. Not to mention that they saved every human in the city! And they say they couldn't do anything? They acted like heroes!"
Nekonome-sensei agreed. "Perhaps their bond is strong after all." she said.
The bus driver smiled. "All except one." he said, looking at Haru. "One of them still seems to be following their own agenda, despite today's experience. And, for some reason or another, I bet they feel that they're close to achieving their goal. Maybe it's a good idea to see where this takes them all, and how far that person will go to achieve what they want…"
To be continued…