Chapter 24
"Any idea how we're going to tackle this one?"
Jin pulled his right hand away from his bleeding shoulder to regard the Korean. "Teamwork. Box it in and keep the pressure on it by attacking at different angles. The odds are four to one and we need to fight that way and keep it that way. Let it know it's not just dealing with any one of us, but all of us."
"And what makes you think I'm going to fight with you?"
"Because if you don't fight with me now, there can be no fight between us later."
Hwoarang grinned. "I think I might almost like you if I didn't have to kick your ass someday."
"Come on, enough talk." Jin straightened to his full height and strode towards True Ogre as it was lifting one of the Tekken Force soldiers by his neck. He let out a breath of relief as he saw Julia and Xiaoyu approach from the other side of True Ogre. Despite his speech to Hwoarang, he hadn't been sure if Julia and Xiaoyu would fight with them. He nodded his thanks to each of them - he had been fully willing to fight the beast alone, but their help bolstered his confidence that the monster would be defeated and his mother's spirit might at last rest.
True Ogre, sensing them somehow, threw the body of the soldier at Jin and Hwoarang. As Jin sidestepped he saw sparks light up True Ogre's eyes. Ducking, he threw himself into a roll as the flames roared to life above him. The heat lapped at his skin with its sharp tongue before pulling back unexpectedly, accompanied by a cry from True Ogre.
Xiaoyu had leapt upon True Ogre's back and yanked on its horns to send the gout of fire to shoot towards the ceiling. Taking advantage of the opening, Hwoarang leapt forward and struck the beast in the throat with a spinning kick followed by another two to the side of its head and its chest before being forced back by True Ogre's snaking arm snapping out at him. So far, Xiaoyu had managed to retain her grip on the two horns despite True Ogre's violent twisting to dislodge her, but its body was too large for Xiaoyu to hook her legs around. The snake arm whipped back towards Xiaoyu.
Julia came in from the side and locked the snake's head between her arm and body as she ran forward taking True Ogre with her. Besides giving Xiaoyu a chance to leap off, Julia kept True Ogre off balance as she brought it right into the path of Jin's fist. The force jarred Jin's body and sent True Ogre's head back so hard that at first Jin thought perhaps it had been taken clean off and they had already won. Julia rotated her body and pushed True Ogre towards Xiaoyu who slammed the ridge of her right hand into its head and brought her left hand up redirect True Ogre's momentum up and back, throwing it to the ground.
"Look out," Julia cried.
Jin saw it too. True Ogre's snake arm clamped its mouth around Xiaoyu's narrow waist causing her to cry out and double over. All fantasies of an easy victory fell away as the massive frame raised itself from the cracked tiled floor and craned its thick neck to stare at Jin and Julia. Its oversized mouth twisted into a grin.
Julia rushed in to free her friend, but was backhanded away. Jin saw Hwoarang, who stood a few paces behind True Ogre, switch his lead foot. He was planning a big move and Jin realized that he would have to keep True Ogre's attention to buy Hwoarang some time. He shifted his foot forward and threw out a feint jab to draw True Ogre into a mid-range battle where Jin's karate was most effective. Leaning forward, True Ogre bared his fangs and roared his challenge at Jin.
Finally in place, Hwoarang turned his body and pulled his left leg up until it was nearly vertical. The silver spur flashed in the firelight. As Hwoarang's foot began its descend, True Ogre shifted its position and held Xiaoyu in front.
With a sound of frustration and panic, Hwoarang threw his body out of balance and the axe kick went wide - just missing Xiaoyu's cringing face. A clawed fist slammed into Hwoarang's back, knocking him face first to the floor. Jin launched a straight right into True Ogre's kidney but to little effect. Something much larger than a fist crashed into Jin, bowling him over. He found Xiaoyu's soft body on top of his. At some other time, it might have been a welcomed feeling, but not now. He saw a shadow loom above, and he pushed Xiaoyu off him and to the side as a taloned foot pinned him to the ground.
Jin groaned beneath the weight as it pressed down, pushing the air from his lungs. He could hardly move his arms, and even if he could he had no leverage to lift True Ogre's mass up. A claw swept across his vision.
"I am your superior in every way," True Ogre voice rumbled from its throat. "I am stronger than all of you combined." It used a wing to bat away Xiaoyu as one might swat a persistent gnat. "For centuries men have worshipped my power and sacrificed to courier my favor."
"And what did that get them but dead?" Jin said as he struggled beneath True Ogre's foot. Julia and Xiaoyu mounted another offense which was rebuffed, but gave Hwoarang an opening. A solid kick connected to True Ogre, jarring him off of Jin.
Hwoarang didn't stop to help Jin up, but pressed his advantage. Jin had trouble following the movement of Hwoarang's kicks. They went in fast and at ever changing angles as Hwoarang hopped and pivoted around his opponent. True Ogre shrank back beneath the onslaught until Hwoarang swung his left leg around in a big roundhouse. The snake arm coiled around the extended leg and yanked him off-balance as the other arm circled around to come down on his knee and break it.
Jin caught the fist before it reached Hwoarang's knee, but had to use both hands to hold onto True Ogre. From behind, Julia brought her hand down like a hammer on the back of its head, stunning the beast long enough to grab the wings so it couldn't use them to beat away their attacks. Xiaoyu slipped in and attacked the snake head in earnest. Tied up as it was, True Ogre had no choice but to unwind the snake arm from Hwoarang's leg to deal with them.
As the snake head lashed out at Xiaoyu, Hwoarang recovered his stance. Xiaoyu dropped into the Art of Phoenix position causing the snake head to sail right above her and into Hwoarang's back kick. Its eye popped as the spur pierced its lens, and the snake hissed in agony as blood spurted from the gaping hole. In its pain fueled fury, True Ogre was able to dislodge the four fighters, but they shared a small grin. They had hurt it.
Jin took point and faced True Ogre head-on as Hwoarang and Julia stood to either side and Xiaoyu attacked from the back. The trick was to fight as one so they wouldn't get in each other's way, but also in a manner that didn't allow True Ogre time to breathe or to take them down one at a time. As they alternated their attack patterns in teams of two based on where the openings were, Jin felt hope beating in his chest. True Ogre was not invincible and, together, they could beat it.
True Ogre spun around in an attempt to bat away Hwoarang's kicks. It was Jin's turn to attack now. With Xiaoyu going low, Jin pulled his fist back and focused his power. There was nothing now but True Ogre's back and his fist. All the pain, the fear, the anger shrunk down to a point held within the palm of his hand and it was time to transfer it and be rid of it forever. Everything he had cared for until this point had been taken by this monster. Now it would know the anguish it had caused. He threw his fist out.
Pain splintered through his hand. True Ogre held Jin's fist and bent it back towards the wrist. Jin crumbled to his knees, barely aware of the snake head closing over his windpipe. The sound of drums pounded in his ears, cries from Xiaoyu and Julia chased after him. His head lolled back to find the light from the torches were nowhere to be found. He was alone in the darkness.
* * *
Julia dove at True Ogre, but its wings had already beat down, launching it into the air. Impotently, Julia drove her fist into the ground. It could escape if it wanted to, and without the eagle bowl she wouldn't be able to able to gain enough control over its spirit to stop it. Xiaoyu screamed up at True Ogre as it held Jin by his throat, but there was nothing anyone could do.
"We had it," Hwoarang said, shaking his head.
Above, Jin arched his body and cried out.
"No, we didn't." Julia looked up. True Ogre was the god of fighting, the taker of men. Within its chest was the souls of countless warriors who had either been defeated or sacrificed to this grotesque god. What could four teenagers do against such a being?
Something fluttered down from the two figures above. Julia wiped the tickling object from her face and watched as a black feather tumble to the ground. She looked back up and suddenly saw two winged figures with horns. What had happened?
The deep rumbling voice of True Ogre echoed from above. "Yes, Kazama. Come out of your shell and reveal your true self. Show me the madness and the fury locked within you."
"Dear spirits." Julia took a step back. She watched as Jin broke free of True Ogre's grip. The black wings fluttered as Jin's body fell. Flames leapt from True Ogre's mouth and wrapped around Jin. His body crashed into the ground with enough force to fracture the bricks.
Julia blinked as the dust attacked her eyes. Through the haze she could see an orange light. A piercing scream rose up and light exploded from the center of the dust. Flames twirled around Jin's body, seemingly without harming him. The wings snapped down and sent him up towards True Ogre. Julia was dimly aware of Hwoarang and Xiaoyu beside her.
"What the ..." Hwoarang managed.
Julia hid her face in her hands. She felt her body go cold. It was loose now. Even if they managed to defeat True Ogre, there was no going back. The devil within Jin Kazama had been awakened, and she had seen the anger that chained it to this world, the violence it was capable of when it had overwhelmed Jin back in the garden. It was everything his mother was not. It was the hatred to her love, the unrestrained fury to her controlled movement, the yang to her yin. It was his father.
The torches winked out, flooding the temple in shadow. In the darkness Julia could hear Xiaoyu and Hwoarang moving to get their bearings. A soft buzzing filled her mind overlaid with voices. A single feminine voice rose above the others. It spoke calmly but firmly; it was the voice of a mother. Somehow Julia felt she knew the speaker - that she had met her before.
"Jun," Julia whispered. Apparently the pendant gave her the power to speak to all spirits, not just certain ones. Had she called to Jun unconsciously or had Jun sought her out in the moment of her son's need.
'Time is short,' Jun said. 'I fought the devil for possession of his soul, but I could not fight his father's blood. Call to him. I will do the rest.'
"Jin!" Julia shouted up into the darkness. She could hear the beating of wings upon the air and fists upon bodies. Bricks exploded off to the side as something heavy smashed into them. "Jin!"
* * *
The world was nothing but heat and fury. Red tinged, bloody, and glorious. Devil Jin looked down where he had sent True Ogre into the bricks and mortar. A god it had called itself. Devil Jin laughed. It was no god, but now it would learn to fear the true wrath of god. Light flared from Devil Jin's eyes, cutting through the stone he had sent True Ogre through. Half the body of a snake fell to the ground, writhing for a few moments before morphing into the arm it had originally been.
Devil Jin folded his wings and fell towards his screeching opponent. True Ogre shot another ball of flame at Devil Jin, but it did nothing to slow him down. The impact buried True Ogre back into the ground. Like a god hammering an anvil with the peal of thunder, Jin brought his fist down again and again on the prone body of True Ogre. He reached down and tightened his grip and when he yanked his fist back he held one of True Ogre's horns. He threw it aside and plunged his fingers into True Ogre's eyes reveling in the howl of the pain as it clawed feebly at his arm.
He flexed the muscles in his forearm and lifted True Ogre by its face. The body hung from his fingers like a doll that had its stuffing ripped from its body. Laughing, Jin focused his eyesight. The chest right above beast's heart came into view. The blood behind his eyes pulsed and his vision turned white. When it cleared, True Ogre had two holes through its chest. Red froth bubbled at the corner of Ogre's mouth as it collapsed. Jin leapt away as flames burst from the body.
The smell of burning skin and hair assaulted his nose. He watched the skin split and flake away. Internal organs and fat caught fire and sizzled in their own juices. He smiled as he watched its body blacken and crumble into ash. Thousands of souls released for judgment, screaming as they burned and faded, becoming nothing but breaths of air. They were but the first of many souls. The world was now opened to him in a way he could never have anticipated.
True Ogre had done it all wrong. It had absorbed the defeated souls to gain their strengths, but it had also absorbed their weaknesses. It was not absorption it should have been after, but purification. Those that were weak enough to be beaten should be eliminated.
"Jin!"
He turned downward. Three warriors stared up. One of them was calling up to him - a woman with a bleeding arm. He smiled and descended.