Chapter 21
The Final Battle
Corey and Darkine's swords collided with an explosion of energy in the center of their arena. They held their positions, Corey glaring into Darkine's eyes.
"I hope you don't expect to beat me as easily as you did back in the tournament!" Corey shouted, pushing Darkine back a bit.
"I'd hope not, Corey. I expect an excellent challenge from you!" Darkine said, grinning. The two simultaneously jumped back from each other fifteen feet. Corey's blade swirled with spiritual energy,
"Spirit Slash!"
He swung his blade and a blast of energy flew from it, rushing towards Darkine, who merely held up his free hand and created a barrier.
"You'll have to do better then tha--" but he was cut off as he saw Corey flying in the air above him, his left index finger charged with energy,
"Spirit Gun!" The bullet shot out and nailed Darkine in the head. Corey landed behind him and swung the Ragnarok, only to have it clash with Darkine's black sword once again. The evil being was only slightly singed by the attack.
"Nice shot." Darkine commented.
"It gets better!" Corey yelled. He moved back a couple of inches and started swinging his sword at Darkine, who continuously blocked every hit. Corey continued this for a few moments until he jumped back, and started running towards the nearby wall, Darkine following in suit.
"What're you planning, Corey?" Darkine asked, an amused smile on his lips.
"You'll find out soon enough!" Corey grinned, but the smile was only for show. He didn't know what to do right now.
If I had fifteen free seconds, I could use my new move, but I doubt Darkine will give that to me. Wait…yeah, that might work!
Once they were ten feet away from the wall, Corey bolted forward with lightning like speed. He ran up the wall and flipped fifteen feet in the air.
"Shotgun!"
He unleashed the attack, except the blast wasn't meant for Darkine, but the wall itself. The barrage of bullets destroyed the wall, causing debris and large pieces of the wall to fly in all directions, causing the area to be covered by a thick wall of smoke. Corey quickly disappeared into the debris.
"You cannot hide from me, Corey Kartana!" Darkine laughed. He focused and found a source of spiritual energy and flew towards it, swinging his sword. He stopped abruptly to only find Corey's sword.
"What?!"
Suddenly, Darkine felt a new source of spiritual energy coming from the other side of the large room. He ran out of the debris to find Corey, his entire palm glowing with a strong spiritual energy.
"I knew once you had your senses set on my sword, you'd go straight for it. Now try out my new move: Spirit Blast!"
Corey sprinted towards Darkine in a flash, who was already running towards him. Holding the orb of spiritual energy, Corey ducked just in time as Darkine swung at him. Darkine quickly put up a barrier, but Corey didn't care. He slammed the spirit orb into the shield, which unleashed the Spirit Blast.
A monstrous blast of energy shocked the entire arena. The Spirit Blast cracked through Darkine's shield, and Corey pressed further on until he made contact with the black armor Darkine was wearing. Another surge of energy broke through, and the two were hurled back as a third explosion occurred.
Corey hit the far wall with a loud thud and slid down to the ground.
"Oww…" he grumbled, picking himself up and looking at his hand. It was singed a bit, but not bad.
That was only a ten second charge without the Ragnarok…but damn did it make a punch. Corey thought to himself and looked over to where Darkine should be.
The debris slowly settled and Corey gasped as he saw Darkine, standing only a few feet away from the impact point of the Spirit Blast. His armor was cracked and his left hand was burnt, but besides that he was fine…only angry.
"How dare you…" Darkine said, shaking with rage, "How dare you ruin my armor with that attack!"
Corey smirked and flicked the tip of his nose. "That was just the tip of the iceberg," His smile faded though, as the realization set in,
Only problem is…how am I going to pull off the actual attack? Using the Ragnarok as a distraction was the only way I could think of, and with a fifteen second charge time, there's no way I can pull off the move with just me. Where is Derek?
Corey didn't have the luxury of thinking about his friend at the moment, because Darkine was charging right at him.
"Shit!" Corey rolled out of the way just in time to avoid Darkine's sword, but as the blade was swung, a barrage of green energy bullets erupted out of the sword, and they were nailed Corey all around his body.
"Waaahh!!" Corey cried out. The blasts threw him in the air. Darkine quickly gave chase, and swung his sword once again. Mustering up all the spirit energy he could, Corey created a barrier around his arm and blocked the attack, but he wasn't any good at creating shields with his energy, and the shield quickly rebounded and exploded, sending Corey into the ground.
Darkine landed and smirked down at Corey, who forced himself to get up, coughing up blood as he did.
"How the…was that…?" Corey stuttered out.
"Yes…your Spirit Gunblade," Darkine said gleefully, "Modified, of course, and bettered. You see, when I swing my sword, the bullets hone in on their target, even if that person moved out of the way. It was no problem to copy your move with my time/space energy." He began to laugh. Corey growled and slowly picked himself up. He tested his arm. It was strained, but at least not broken.
"Dirty trick," Corey grumbled, wiping some blood off of his chin.
"All's fair in war, Corey. Didn't anyone teach you that?" Darkine asked. Corey felt his spine shiver; remembering Stephen had told him that.
The Ragnarok was still about fifteen yards away from Corey, and he knew without some kind of strategy he wasn't going to get it back.
"Ready for round two, Corey?" Darkine asked, swinging his sword in the air.
Corey raised his fists, "Bring it on,"
Darkine leapt forward and swung at Corey, who jumped backwards to avoid it. The second the swing missed, Darkine raised his free hand, shooting blasts of green energy at Corey, who could only jump back and forth to avoid them. Once in range of the sword again, Darkine swung and scathed Corey's left shoulder, causing him to wince in pain.
Darkine took advantage of this and held out two fingers with his free hand. He started making a design in the air, with a trail of green energy where his fingers were.
"Ribbon of Time…bind!" The trail of green energy suddenly sprang to life and shot towards Corey.
"Whoa!" Corey shouted, barely dodging the ribbon, but it instantly snapped back around and grabbed Corey's wrist. He yanked at it, but it wouldn't release itself. Slowly it expanded and grabbed his other wrist, then wrapped itself around his upper body, constricting him.
"Shit!" Corey shouted, struggling against the Ribbon of Time.
Darkine laughed, "There's no use fighting it. That ribbon will last as long as you live, or if I decide to let you go, and we both know that won't happen," He walked up to the struggling Corey and stroked his cheek, causing Corey to shiver,
"Don't worry, Corey. I won't kill you. You are far too valuable to just destroy," His smile grew larger, "I'll turn you into the perfect fighting machine. Your power will only be rivaled by my own. Won't that be just delightful?"
Corey glared, but didn't say a word. He couldn't free himself, no matter how much spiritual energy he tried to flex. He was beaten.
"Suck it, Darkine," Corey spat, shaking his head to get Darkine to stop touching his face, "I'd rather die here and now then let you anywhere near my body!"
Darkine laughed again, "You sound as though you have a choice. You're going to make such an amazing experiment, Corey!"
"I doubt that!"
Darkine's eyes widened as he felt the cold steel of a katana rip through his black armor and slash his back. Instantly, the Ribbon of Time disappeared and Corey jumped back. At first, he thought it was Derek, but his eyes widened when he saw who it really was.
"Dia!"
Dia grunted and also jumped away from Darkine, holding his katana at ready. His body was still badly injured, but he didn't show it.
Corey shook his head, "Dia. I thought you were down for the count!"
Dia chuckled lightly. "You think I'd let you, a human, defeat Darkine? I don't think so, but…" His smile faded, "…I, too, cannot defeat him alone. I'll…" He mumbled something that sounded a lot like "need your help."
Corey merely grinned, "Guess you're not such an asshole after all, Dia,"
"Just shut up, human and get your precious sword…you're useless without it."
"I revoke my previous statement…" Corey grumbled.
Darkine was now picking himself up. The flesh that Dia had severed had started to gather the green Time and Space Energy and was slowly healing, causing both Corey and Dia to gasp in surprise.
"You…bastards…" Darkine growled, his energy growing higher, "I'll…destroy you both for ripping my precious body…"
Dia adjusted his blade slightly, "Kartana! Go! Get your sword!" and suddenly, in Corey's mind, he heard, "And ready that move of yours!"
"Dia?" Corey asked, but Dia didn't answer. Instead, he slashed at Darkine with his katana, who blocked the attack with his own sword.
Corey knew he couldn't just sit and watch, and he ran towards the Ragnarok. He heard Darkine try and get to him, but Dia was holding up and not allowing it.
Corey picked up the sword and sheathed it and instantly felt stronger again. He held out his right hand and gripped his wrist, gathering the energy needed for the Spirit Blast.
It was hard to concentrate as he watched Dia getting pummeled by Darkine. Even with his own dimension cutting abilities, they were nothing compared to Darkine's own power.
"Come on…come on…" Corey growled, trying to rush the attack.
Ten seconds…
Dia went for another sword attack.
Nine seconds…
Darkine grabbed the blade with his gauntlet hand, wrapped in his green energy.
Eight seconds…
Dia unleashed a blaze of fire into Darkine's face, which was blocked by a green shield.
Six seconds…
Corey watched as Darkine's sword pierced through Dia's chest, causing the demon to cry out in pain and blood.
"Dia!!" Corey shouted. Three seconds left!
Darkine let go of Dia and flew towards Corey, "You're mine, Corey Kartana!"
One second!
Dia, who looked like a lifeless corpse, suddenly grappled onto Darkine from behind. Darkine roared and tried to throw off Dia, but he wasn't letting go.
"Use it now, human!!" Dia screamed.
Corey winced and rushed towards the two of them, the Spirit Blast attack ready in his right hand.
"Dia! Let go! Now!!" Corey yelled as he jumped into the air. Dia let go just as Corey was making contact with Darkine's chest, "Spirit Blast!!!"
The Spirit Blast made contact with Darkine's chest, causing an explosion of pure spiritual energy. Darkine screamed in pain, but Corey held on, pushing the blast of energy deeper into his body. Dia fell to the ground and was coughing up a storm of blood. Corey didn't even notice. The blast of energy was cutting his own hand, until finally it hurled Darkine across the room and through the wall at the far end.
Corey fell to the ground, clenching his hand in pain. It was burnt badly now, similar to what it was like when he was training with the ability.
"I don't…have enough energy…to do that again…" Corey said between breathes, "Please…be dead…" Corey then spotted Dia, who was still coughing up blood.
He ran over to the demon and helped him up, "Dia? Dia! Are you okay?!"
"Dia coughed again. "Stupid question…I have a hole through my chest…what do you think?" Dia replied, his body shaking violently, "Did you get him?"
Corey smiled lightly, "Yeah, I got him, thanks to you,"
Dia rolled his eyes, "Don't get sentimental, human…I was only repaying you for before…"
Corey couldn't help but chuckle, "Right…were even now. Come on, let's get you out of here,"
Corey carefully helped Dia up and they half walked-half limped towards the exit of the arena, when both of them felt a surge of energy coming from the opposite side. Both of them knew what it meant.
"He's…not dead? After that attack?" Dia asked. Even he had to admit how powerful the Spirit Blast was. He wouldn't have defended Corey to that extent if he didn't think it would finish off Darkine.
"Looks like it…" Corey said, but he kept moving forward.
Dia looked at him like he was crazy, "What are you doing, Kartana!? We have to continue the fight!"
Corey chuckled lightly, "And what? Have you be my meat shield? I don't think so, Dia…"
Corey reached then entrance and sat Dia down just outside the door. The energy was getting stronger now. It seemed like the attack did do some major damage onto Darkine. Corey figured he was recovering from the blast.
"I'll take him on alone again," Corey told Dia, "At least until Derek gets here. He has to be close by now,"
Dia glared, "Don't be…a bigger fool…then you already are, Kartana!" He coughed up some blood again, "You…you can't stand up to…him alone…"
Corey smiled, "Don't got a choice," He started to walk away.
"Don't die, Kartana,"
Corey blinked and turned around to see that Dia had passed out from blood loss. Corey gave a soft sigh and walked back into the arena.
Just as he reached the center, Darkine emerged from the new opening in the wall.
"Kartana…you surprise me. I didn't expect you to have that kind of power," Darkine said, wiping blood off his lip.
Corey unsheathed his blade and held it at ready, "I'm full of surprises, Darkine,"
Corey's blue spirit power started to fluctuate around him and erupted around him. Darkine did the same with his own green Time/Space energy. Just by the look of it, Darkine's strength was now five times that of Corey's.
Well…I'm fresh out of ideas… Corey thought to himself, licking his lips.
Darkine made the first move, rushing at Corey with incredible speed. Corey barely had time to block his sword. With his free hand, a blast of energy erupted from Darkine, nailing Corey in the chest and causing him to be thrown backwards and into the ground.
"D-damn…" Corey grumbled. The two Spirit Blasts had used too much energy. He'd need to focus his energy if he was going to use anymore attacks, but with Darkine back at what seemed like full strength…that would be tough.
"What's wrong, Corey?" Darkine asked, grinning and walking over to him, "Can't take the heat?"
Corey gave a weary grin and slowly stood up, "I can take anything you dish out, Darkine…" He held out his sword.
Darkine laughed. "You barely look like you can stand, let alone defeat me!"
Corey grit his teeth, "Sounds like a challenge to me!"
He ran towards Darkine and swung the Ragnarok horizontally, but Darkine jumped into the air and unleashed another blast of green energy Corey's way. Quickly holding up his sword, Corey blocked the attack, but as he went to slash at Darkine again, he found the dark lord was already behind him. Darkine delivered a powerful kick into Corey's lower back, causing him to fall to the ground.
"You've fought bravely, Corey Kartana, I'll give you that," Darkine said, walking up to Corey, who was struggling to get back up, "But it ends here,"
Darkine held up his black sword, ready to split Corey in two.
Corey had by now flipped over and was staring into Darkine's cold eyes. He glanced behind the dark man and then smirked, holding up his right index finger.
Darkine laughed, "Come now, Corey. You and I both know you don't have any spirit energy left,"
Corey continued to grin. Darkine sighed, "I suppose it is best if you go out with a smile,"
Corey watched as Darkine swung his sword down, only to stop in mid-swing. His eyes had widened, and blood was coming down from his mouth. A black claw was through his chest.
"Bang." said Corey wearily, his hand dropping to the ground.
The black claw retracted and there stood Derek, looking a little out of breath and slightly wounded, but there nonetheless.
"About time," Corey said with a half smile.
"Sorry. Was held up," Derek replied. With a quick motion, he grabbed Corey and seemingly teleported to the entrance of the arena. He sat Corey down and rested him against the wall near the door.
"You look wiped, pal," Derek said, glancing over at Darkine, who was now healing himself, "Why don't I tag in for a bit?"
"Be careful, Derek," Corey warned, "As you can see, he can heal himself. He took a full hit from my Spirit Blast and managed to recover from it. We're going to have to do this together,"
Derek nodded. "Right. How much time are you going to need?"
Corey had already started to meditate. Slowly, spiritual energy began gathering around him.
"About ten minutes, give or take. Then, we'll tag team this bastard and end this."
"Alright," Derek then withdrew his sword. Corey quickly noticed that it wasn't Derek's usual katana, but Dia's.
Before he got a chance to ask, Corey watched as Derek walked towards the now recovered Darkine.
"Good luck, bro…you're going to need it,"
