Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! It's Pinkshuchan! Don't really have anything to say so here's the next chapter of Prince of Damonen. Enjoy!
Chapter 18
Battling the Slifer
"Do you sense anything Suzuki?" Akihiko asked his small bear demon.
A bit of time had passed since Akihiko, Hiroki, and Kaoruko left Misaki in Miyagi's care to find the Slifer to reawaken him. With help of Suzuki, they tried looking for the location where the Slifer would be at. However, much to their dismay, there was no luck. Suzuki couldn't seem to sense it. Either the Slifer was not here or it was good at hiding. Either way, they weren't getting anywhere like this. Even so, Akihiko refused to give up.
Suzuki looked back at his master at the question and shook his head. Akihiko sighed. "Let's keep looking then."
"And how do we do that when we don't even know what the Slifer looks like?" Hiroki asked a little tensely, "Unless our Damonen Knight here can tell us."
Kaoruko shook her head slowly. "Unfortunately the only people who have seen what the Slifer looks like were killed from it and it's too dangerous to try summoning one to find out. A Slifer can't be contained. Its very teeth can break metal in half. We only know it's immune to a lot of attacks because of something that we learned through a researcher who was determined to learn about it. He's dead now, of course."
"Then what's the point of continuing?" Hiroki sat down on the nearest rock, "Unlike you, I'm not willing to risk my life against an unknown enemy just to save one princess. And hey, it's not he's in complete danger; he's only asleep. It's not like sleeping is dangerous."
Akihiko walked over at Hiroki and stared at him. "Misaki may not seem like he's in danger, but I can tell that he's afraid; he's afraid of never waking up, to never see the faces of the people he loves, to not be able to run through fields of flowers again, to not be able to move and only see darkness for the rest of his life. How can I brush it off because he's 'not in complete danger'?"
Hiroki growled as he glared at the silver haired man. "How do you know that's how he's thinking? You've only known him for five days. It's not like you've been together for a month or a year."
"Maybe I haven't known him for very long but I can tell just by learning about his personality."
"You might not know everything!"
"I know him well enough to know that he is the person I want to be with. You know, as my friend, I thought you would be happy that I found the person I would consider 'the one' for me, and yet all you do is give me a hard time about it. Yeah, I'm fighting a tough enemy, but at least I know to fight for someone that I love."
That was it. The cinnamon haired man stood up; his eyes glowing in complete rage and his hands consumed by flames. "You know what? If you're that determined to save him, then fine! Get yourself killed by an invincible enemy! Try to save that pretty little princess! I don't fucking care! Just don't come crying to me when you die and never get that freedom you always wanted because of this!"
Before Akihiko could say another word, Hiroki stormed off. The silver haired man didn't expect this to happen. He didn't expect to see Hiroki storming off out of his life. He didn't know what to do if his friend was not there beside him. Suzuki flew over to him, trying to comfort him. Instead, Akihiko tried pulling off a brave face and decided to keep moving with the bear and Kaoruko with him. He took the first couple of steps before he couldn't move any further. His heart felt heavy. He couldn't leave Hiroki alone. Receiving a reluctant nod from Kaoruko, they went to follow Hiroki, hoping to get him back.
Meanwhile, Hiroki was still walking off in anger. He just didn't understand what Akihiko saw in Princess Misaki. Sure, the princess was beautiful and kind, but what other good qualities did he have? Hiroki figured he would be a better match for Akihiko than the princess. Hiroki was stronger and smarter than the princess as well as more experienced with battle. So why couldn't it be him? He roared in frustration as he threw a fireball against the wall. The flames disappeared the moment they and the wall had impact.
He fell to the ground. He could be angry as much as he wanted but it wouldn't change a thing. Akihiko desired Princess Misaki. There was nothing he could do to change that; even if the princess were to object to the declaration of love. Warm tears rolled down his cheeks. His emotions always got the better of him.
Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from the direction he was heading. It sounded like it was coming this way. Wasting no time, he found a bunch of tall rocks and hid behind them. What could be causing that noise? Akihiko? No, it was too loud to be made by him.
And then he saw it.
A giant green cobra with spikes all over the top half of its body and a spear head at the end of its tail was slithering through the cave. Hiroki stared at this beast in wonder. Never had he seen anything like it. He could tell it wasn't any ordinary cobra, so it had to be a demon. His eyes widened. Could this be-?!
"Hiroki! Where are you?"
That voice! It was Akihiko. The giant cobra picked up on it and began slithering in the direction where the silver haired man was supposed to be. Hiroki's facial expression changed to horror. Akihiko was going to get killed by that thing. He was about to follow after when he remembered what he said before storming. He told Akihiko that he wouldn't care if the latter got himself killed. So why should he change his mind now? However, wasn't Akihiko calling out to him just now? How come? Why would he look for him when he was determined to defeat the Slifer?
Back with Akihiko and Kaoruko, they tried looking for Hiroki when they heard something coming their way. At first, they thought it may have been Hiroki. But that sound couldn't be made by him; it sounded nothing like him at all. Not to mention Suzuki had already gone into hiding. They held their guard and braced themselves for what was coming their way.
There before them was the giant cobra. It exposed the inside of its mouth, with a jaw similar to that of a wolf. A demon? Could this be-?
"I believe that may be the Slifer," Kaoruko spoke up.
Akihiko stood there, holding his staff in an offensive position. If this was the Slifer, either way, he knew he had to defeat it. He charged at it and gave a strong blow. The cobra managed to dodge the attack by moving its body to the side and tried counter attacking with snapping at the silver haired man. The latter also dodged. With every counter attack each made, it seemed that the other would only dodge. Kaoruko went to find a place to hide. If this demon really was the Slifer, then she knew that it would be foolish to try to fight it, especially with it rumoured to be practically invincible.
Finally, Akihiko managed to trick the cobra by pretending to attack but not actually attacking until the cobra tries its counter attack. When the cobra leaned forward to attack, Akihiko dodged enough to hold the staff over his neck and make a blow on the neck. However, it didn't seem to do anything. The cobra didn't even flinch. Akihiko took another chance with using his lightning bolts. Not even that worked.
The cobra glared at him before trying another attack. Akihiko managed to dodge the head, but he was knocked down by the tail and flown into a wall. He slid down the wall in pain. Attacking it with his staff wasn't going to do any good. He had to think of another way to take it down.
He then noticed Kaoruko. Judging by the look on her face, it seemed like she wasn't going to be very useful with this battle. But there was one thing that was useful.
"Kaoruko! I need your katana!" he called out.
The young woman stared at him in shock. "Are you out of your mind? It didn't feel anything from your staff. It is most likely that this monster is the Slifer. My katana isn't going to do anything."
"Maybe or maybe not. I have to try. I'm not going to let Misaki down."
Kaoruko only sighed before passing her katana to the silver haired man. "You really are being a fool, Akihiko."
Akihiko held the katana carefully and looked back. "You shouldn't have followed if you thought this was too dangerous."
"Does it look like I don't know that?" he snapped, "I'm here as Brother Haruhiko's eyes. I am to see whether or not you see this whole thing through. He would be glad to see you defeated by a Slifer though."
The sliver haired man didn't listen. With the katana in hand, he charged at the giant cobra again. The cobra went for the strike first but Akihiko dodged it and did a sideway slash at its neck. The blade went through the nape and across until the head was completely cut off from its body.
Akihiko smirked. He defeated the monster. If this was really the Slifer, this meant that Misaki might be okay again. He looked over at Kaoruko, who stared in shock. She didn't understand what had happened.
"This couldn't happen," she spoke up, "Surely it would've taken a lot more than cutting off its head to defeat it. After all, if this was all that had to be done to defeat it, many would've succeeded."
"Well, maybe they weren't as strong as you thought they were," Akihiko replied, "Come on! We need to get back to Miyagi and Misaki."
As they started walking away, the silver haired man noticed something odd. The Slifer was defeated so why was he starting to get this weird urge that this was far from over? Not only that, Suzuki hadn't popped out from out of his hiding place. He heard something behind him, causing him and Kaoruko to look behind them.
The cobra's body was returning to life. It moved back and forth like it was dancing. Not only that, but something appeared to be forming from where the head used to be. It bubbled and grew larger. Both Akihiko and Kaoruko stared in awe and fear of the sight before them.
Where Akihiko had cut off its head was replaced with three heads.
"I told you it wasn't going to be easy to defeat!" Kaoruko told Akihiko.
The silver haired man gulped. "Can't you do anything to stop it?"
The young woman glared at him. "And just what do you want me to do? The best I can do is temporarily blind it and I doubt that's going to make the situation any better!"
They were in trouble. Blows using his staff and lightning bolts had no effect on it and slicing off its head only brought it back with more heads. Akihiko tried his best to find someway to defeat it but it was no use. The Slifer would not fall. It was truly invincible. As Akihiko kept trying to hold his guard, hoping to find some sort of weakness from it, the Slifer managed to knock the staff out of Akihiko's hands and smacked him into the wall again. After sliding back down to the ground and falling to his knees, the giant cobra was ready to strike with its fangs. This was surely the end.
Or was it?
All three heads were sliced off of its body and a familiar figure pounced so he stood in front of Akihiko. The latter was glad to see who it was while at the same time worrying.
"Hiroki, what are you doing here?" the silver haired man shouted, "The Slifer will kill you too!"
The cinnamon haired man didn't seem to listen. He was too focused on the Slifer, which was returning with more heads. "You may be considered an invincible enemy, but I will tear you limb to limb until I find your weakness. BECAUSE NO ONE HURTS MY FRIEND!"
A loud roar escaped his lips after that outburst. As he roared, the nails on his hands grew longer and turned black and his face began appearing more monstrous. He was transforming back into his Fire Lion form. He must've forgotten to drink his daily source of water from the gourd. It didn't seem like he cared though. He was too obsessed with taking the Slifer down.
And so the battle between the Fire Lion and the Slifer began. Both kept their guard as he and the Slifer circled around. Finally, the cobra made its first move and striked, but the half demon was faster. It appeared Hiroki had the advantage as far as speed went. However, the Slifer, having a bigger body, had the advantage in strength. Not only that, but any attack used against it wouldn't affect it. Hiroki tried every slash possible, but all it did was give the Slifer more heads. How it was still able to keep its balance with all those heads was a mystery.
The Fire Lion roared in frustration as he began pulling his ultimate weapon; the one thing only he can do. Flames consumed his hands as he began throwing fireballs. The Slifer tried dodging the fireballs. That was when Akihiko noticed something. The Slifer appeared immune to any attack used on it. Even if it did dodge, it didn't let go of its confident air. However, the moment Hiroki used his fireball attack, not only did the Slifer keep dodging, it gave a nervous air.
"Fire!" he cried out, "Hiroki! Its weakness is fire!"
Hiroki's eyes smirked at the realization. He let more flames consume right up to his elbows. Knowing the Slifer's weakness, he was even more to defeat it now. Not only did he keep throwing fireballs, he even tried getting the Slifer at close range with the flames consuming his hands and the claws along with them. With one strike, Hiroki managed to get his flames to have impact on the Slifer's body; the cobra feeling the flames burn through its scaly skin. It reached the point where it did something completely unexpected.
It shed its skin off. Most likely to escape the flames. However, the spikes on its back was also shed off along with its previous skin. Could it be…? Akihiko cast a lightning bolt on the Slifer to make sure his theory was correct. Sure enough, the moment the lightning made contact with the Slifer, it gave a screech before turning into dark mist and disappeared. They had won.
Hiroki looked over at Akihiko was about to say something when all that came out was a soft roar. He remembered to drink the water in the gourd and turned back into his mostly human form before trying to speak again. "Akihiko, are you okay?"
Akihiko just stared at his friend. He was sure that the latter was angry at him for what happened despite not knowing why. He even said not that long ago that he didn't care if the silver haired man got himself killed for this. So then why did he come back?
As for Hiroki, he could see the questions in Akihiko's eyes. He sighed. "If you're wondering why I came back despite what I said, I'm wondering that myself." But that was not true. He knew the reason well enough. He thought Akihiko himself hated Hiroki, but finding out that his first priority was to see that Hiroki was safe put a warm, fuzzy feeling in the cinnamon haired man. And then seeing the Slifer coming his direction, it scared him that Akihiko would get himself hurt.
His heart jumped when he felt Akihiko's arms wrap around him. That warm strong body paired with big freezing hands holding Hiroki captive, afraid of letting him go. Hiroki felt like he wanted to cry with Akihiko's acknowledgement of him but wouldn't dare risking his pride for that. The next thing Akihiko said brought Hiroki's heart to the edge of happiness.
"I'm glad that you're alright. You are the first friend I met outside of Damonen. If anything were to happen to you, I wouldn't know what to do."
Hiroki wanted to fling his arms around him and embrace him with a kiss but, once again, his pride wouldn't let him. Besides, how would Akihiko feel to have a 'friend' kiss him out of the blue?
Akihiko pulled away in realization of something. "Misaki!" he cried out, "We defeated the Slifer! Misaki should have woken up by now! Let's go!"
He began walking away, leaving a broken hearted Hiroki. The cinnamon haired man lowered his head in pain. There was a reason he started by debating before charging up to defeat the Slifer. He could've chose to ignore the Slifer so then he wouldn't have to deal with someone else stealing the one he loved.
However, Akihiko's own life was on the line because he wanted to save Princess Misaki; because of his love for him. Would Hiroki live with the guilt of letting the very person he loved get killed by such a terrifying creature? In the end, he was glad to choose to save Akihiko, even if that meant saving the very person stealing him away from him.
But was Akihiko his to begin with?
Hiroki noticed Kaoruko who was still standing there, but the young woman followed after Akihiko with a look on her face that said 'I'm not going to get involved'. The cinnamon haired man sighed before slowly following after them. Little did any of them know that hiding like a chameleon on the wall, something was watching them.
"You may have defeated the Slifer," he hissed, "But Damonen will still fall."
Pinkshuchan: It's a good thing they defeated the Slifer. But who was it that was watching them? And has Misaki truly woken up? Read and Review!