TOLD YALL I'D BE BACK! What the fuck is up? I'm back with chapter 51! Let's hope it's dope! Should be because crazy shit happens.
Now enough of me! Onto what yall have been waiting for!
The light of a large fire filled the main den of Koga's territory. Dozens had gathered round it to hear the tale of just what had transpired over the last few days. Despite how fascinating the story really was, several of the younger generation and the elderly wolf demons had nodded off as the night grew old. After all, the explanation of what exactly had happened to Sai during the time that she and Kaze had been away had taken hours to fully explain. In all truth, Sai didn't actually understand what had happened to her either, but that didn't take away from the intrigue of the story itself. Koga personally was more than a little apprehensive. He couldn't force himself to be comfortable with the fact that Naraku, purified or not, was helping them instead of trying to kill them. Accepting that his soul was now apart of his goddaughter's was completely out of the question. However, he had no other choice but to hold his tongue. It wasn't like he had any better options than the girl that currently held the attention of most of his pack.
Saiai's own traveling companions did not have the same concerns as the wolf demon chief. They'd never had to fight Naraku or live in a world under constant threat from him. Their concerns arose from Konton and thus they would take any advantage they could get, no matter where it came from, without question or complaint, especially when it came from Saiai's own soul. Not that any of them understood how that worked. How it worked was irrelevant, in the end. All that mattered was that it worked. From what Kaze said he'd seen, though, and what they all could clearly feel, it definitely worked. Sai held power beyond belief. However, with her story over, she and Kaze had a few questions of their own.
"So," Sai began, breaking the silence that had followed the end of her tale, "What's been happening here since we left? After all, you guys had a lot more time to kill than we planned." Umi chuckled. Sai was definitely right about.
"Not a whole lot, personally." The girl answered, "Nami and Akage were busy playing love birds. Meanwhile, Koga and Ayame still had an entire pack to look after. That left me alone to myself most of the time. Well, along with Kirara." Nami could only blush at her sister's words. The fact that it was true didn't mean she wanted it broadcasted to everyone. After all, there were still several members of Koga's pack within earshot. Sai saw her blush and could only laugh. She couldn't say that she wouldn't have done the exact same thing with Kaze, though, if she had been in Nami's position.
"In their defense," Ayame cut in, "Nami and Akage weren't completely caught up in themselves, while you were gone. I personally tutored Nami in the finer points of being a den mother. Not to mention that I taught her some of my favorite techniques back from my fighting days." Nami smiled brightly before sticking her tongue out at her sister. Umi only laughed and waved off the childish gesture.
"Akage didn't sit around idly either." Koga supplied, "He might as well have, though. I kicked the kid's ass when he asked to spar."
"Shut up old man!" Akage shot back immediately, allowing the flare of his youth override concern for authority, "You know as well as I do that I gave as good as I got. Your bruises will speak to that!" Koga growled threateningly back, but Ayame put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"He's right mate and you know it." She pointed out with a smirk, "I had to patch you up more than once after your sparring sessions. You're lucky I had so much salve lying around the one day you were foolish enough to let Akage use his fire." Koga shot an icy look at his mate. It irritated him to no end that she was right. The fact that his men were around only made it worse. Of course, they would never say anything to him about it, but they would surely joke amongst themselves. However, he knew that he wouldn't get away with such a glare for long, so he quickly turned his gaze back to Sai.
"So," He began, changing the subject, "what's your next move kid?" Sai was slightly taken aback by the question. She knew that she would eventually have to hash that out, but she didn't figure that she'd have to talk it out on the first night.
"Well…" She stalled, shifting uncomfortably, "I guess, we start with what we have, right?"
"What we have?" Nami questioned skeptically, "What do you mean by that? All we have is the embodiment and the way I understand it, purifying it won't accomplish much."
"I would object to that." Everyone gathered around the fire jumped at the sudden voice, ready to fight. The curious thing was, though, no one else in the den seemed to have heard it and the source of the voice wasn't immediately evident.
"Oh calm down, you know who I am." The voice reassured them. Sure enough, the masculine disembodied voice was right. It took a moment, but gradually Sai put the pieces together and recognized the familiar voice that she'd only heard a few times before.
"You're the embodiment." Sai breathed a sigh of relief, finally taking her hand away from the blade it had flown to upon first hearing the voice.
"Right you are Saiai." The voice affirmed as it's audience returned to their seats around the fire, "I assure you that I didn't mean to frighten you, but I simply had to interject before you continued any further."
"I see." Sai said, curious as to what exactly the embodiment had to say and why it was so urgent, "Well, what do you have to tell us?" The voice laughed at the question as though the answer should have been obvious, but Sai could tell that she wasn't the only one that thought the opposite. After a moment, though, the embodiment had calmed his laughter enough to begin speaking his piece.
"Well really it's quite simple." He began, "Purifying me won't be useless to you." Koga cocked an eyebrow at no one really in particular, since the one at the other end of the conversation was not in the den with them, but instead locked away in another, smaller cave.
"Explain that." The wolf demon chief demanded, "Because the way I see it, Konton has enough power and enough demonic relics to maintain an immense amount of power and still do all the things you do. From where I'm standing, purifying you would be a waste of time and effort."
"Then clearly, Chief Koga, you are standing behind a veil of ignorance." The embodiment chastised. It drew a threatening growl from Koga and an amused chuckle from everyone else, "You are missing many very important distinctions."
"Enlighten me." Koga bit out sarcastically. He wasn't the only one that needed enlightening, though. Despite their laughter, everyone else around the fire had no idea where the embodiment was going with this.
"Gladly." The embodiment said in voice a little too chipper for Koga's liking, "Really, it just has to do with the wording of your statement. You are correct that Konton is immensely powerful and is in possession of a vast array of demonic relics which serve to only increase his power and give him certain other advantages. Many of these relics are redundant, so you are correct in saying that his relics accomplish much of the power that I personally provide him. However, they do not cover all of the power I can grant, by any stretch of the imagination."
"What exactly do you mean by that, if I may ask?" Ayame questioned, taking a more diplomatic tone than her mate, trying to get a grasp of how important this could really be.
"The one that Konton makes most use of is my power to influence people." The embodiment explained, "His demonic aura is enough to sway most demons, but people are different. Humans are a little more difficult to control en masse and from a distance with simple sheer force of demonic aura. Instead, Konton needs to use me. No matter the distance or strength of any being, human or otherwise, if they are in love then I can control them. However, even if they aren't, it is not at all difficult to dig deep within them to find something to latch onto for control. Konton uses this power to neutralize any minimal threat from humanity and to create vast armies of humans to slaughter the priestesses of this land. He has also used them against you in the past due to your hesitance to kill humans."
"Can't you fight against that? Choose not to do his will?" Sai asked, mystified as to why the embodiment of love would do anything of this nature.
"The answer to that is simple." Now the voice held a more somber tone, "While I am able to manifest myself, I am still but a relic. A relic that, like any other, must obey its owner and master. At the moment, Konton holds that distinction. His demonic aura has defiled me to that point. Purify me and his hold loosens. That will allow me to guide you to where my physical relic is being held. Once you free me, I will reveal to you where Konton has hidden himself. This will not be the only benefit, however. Just because his other relics provide him with a tremendous amount of power does not mean that it is limitless. Without the benefit of my power, Konton's own would decrease by a significant amount. Enough to make this venture worthwhile in and of itself, at least." Sai took a moment to process what she had just heard. The benefits were great, but something seemed to be missing. Then it clicked.
"What about after we free you? You'll be without a master won't you?" Sai pointed out. Everyone turned to look at her, surprised by the sheer audacity of what she was implying. The embodiment clearly had been taken off guard as well, for it stayed silent for a moment before replying.
"Indeed, I will. I assume that you, a great warrior in her own right already, would wish to become my new master." Saiai nodded slowly, unsure how the voice would respond, "Ha! It would be an honor to serve one such as you. That is, if you survive long enough to take hold of my power." Those gathered around the fire noticeably flinched. The possibility that none of them would survive was a distinct possibility, one that they had not forgotten.
The information, while it made sense, still caught the group off guard. They sat in silence, each one mulling over what they had learned, trying desperately to put together the pieces in their mind and decide on a course of action, or at the very least, a next move. Clearly, purifying the embodiment would be a logical step to take. However, what would follow was still very much in the air. Without the experience she had gathered from her journey thus far, she might have been swayed to purify the embodiment and then immediately launch an all out assault upon Konton and his forces. In fact, she was convinced that her father would have done just that in her shoes. However, she knew now that patience could do wonders, especially against an enemy with a case of paranoia like Konton's. He would surely make a mistake at some point. By the same token, though, waiting for such a mistake could be costly in the extreme.
"Dammit!" Kaze cursed, slamming his fist into the floor of the den with such force that even his demonic skin gave way. Blood slowly seeped from Kaze's knuckles and coated the floor around his hand with a thin film of red. While Sai hated to see her mate frustrated to the point of injuring himself, she couldn't agree more with the sentiment expressed. He had just summed up her thoughts and frustrations perfectly.
"I'm guessing you can't tell us what exactly is in store for us, or even what we should do, after we purify you." Koga groaned at the open air, directing his complaint at the embodiment.
"Indeed, I cannot." The voice affirmed, "I should think that is very much up to you. Now then, I shall leave you to deliberate." Silence prevailed in the room for a moment.
"Ha." Akage said weakly, more to himself than anyone else, "Why does it feel like we're charging blindly over a cliff?"
"Hmph." Koga grunted, "Because we are."
Konton stood with his arms behind his back. An ornate hall extended out before him. Gold and marble made up his throne room, while the red walls and columns signified royalty, though he chose to associate them more with blood. The sight became more appealing that way. His actual throne sat behind. Meanwhile, kneeling before him were two of his five remaining lieutenants. Haruka had made six, but the impetuous young sorceress no longer factored into the equation. On the left was a handsome man with a blade twice his own size. Konton believed the man was compensating for something with a blade like that. Perhaps that was why he killed every woman he'd ever slept with. Konton didn't particularly care either way. The man knew how to use that blade and he used it well. Buredo's counterpart, however, was a different animal altogether. In fact, he was an animal. The twelve foot blue beast that resembled a lion knelt beside the tiny human. Even kneeling, Naginata towered over Konton. He had no reason to fear or even respect the beast, though. Strong as he may have been, Konton could destroy him with a thought.
In truth, Konton felt like destroying both of them right then and there. The sight of their blood might slow the boiling of his own. But instead, he restrained himself. Some of his other minions could easily accomplish the same job and if what the two had just reported was true, then he would need their skills. A recent shift in flow of power throughout the world seemed to corroborate what he had heard as well. It seemed the mutt bitch had really done it. She'd unified the powers of the three worlds within her. Konton had feared such an occurrence, but had never fully believed that it would come to fruition. He had been wrong. Of course, it was of no real consequence. The mutt would fail and he would rule this world. He would rule it and return it all to dust.
"Stand." Konton barked tersely. His subjects obeyed without a word. The fear he could smell radiating off of them raised his mood a little bit. After a moment of taking it in, he continued, "Your job will be to separate the mutt and her mate from the rest of them. Those two are by far the strongest." Konton began, "Once that is accomplished, kill the others. They shouldn't be a problem for warriors of your skill and strength. Understood?" Both Buredo and Naginata gave a sharp nod in response. Speaking would have been a mistake.
"Good. Now get out of my sight." Konton spat, his eyes glowing red with the rage he constantly felt. Buredo and Naginata immediately complied. They turned on their heels and walked as quickly as was respectful without even a thought of looking back. It took much longer than was comfortable to exit the door of the expansive hall, though an instant would have been too long. However, eventually the pair finally made it out, thankfully with their lives. The doors slammed shut, seemingly of their own accord, behind them.
"Wonderful. We've been sent on a suicide mission." Buredo lamented to his companion, "I'm still sore from our last run in with the mutts and we didn't even have to fight them."
"Quit complaining." Naginata said, his voice low, "We are warriors. We fight and we die. That is our fate. Only the cowardly survive to old age." Buredo rolled his eyes. He'd heard the spiel before, but he didn't buy it. His goal as a warrior was to do whatever he damn well pleased and eventually die when his heart gave out in a brothel somewhere. He certainly didn't agree with Naginata's "die young with honor" mentality.
"The cowardly and the strong, Naginata," he corrected, "and I have no qualms about being either." Buredo smirked at his companion before setting off on the long walk towards the courtyard of the expansive palace.
"You truly are a spineless man Buredo." Naginata sighed before following the human, who simply rolled his eyes at the comment.
In truth Buredo didn't care what the beast thought of him. Hell, he didn't give a damn whether Konton succeeded in his little plan of world domination. Who was in power never really mattered to him as long as he was well off. The only reason he had agreed to serve the demented demon in the first place was because it had been a choice between that and death. Buredo only fought for the emperor to save his own hide, unlike Naginata who had sought out Konton in order to become his vassal. Those kinds of actions utterly bewildered him. Why fight when you didn't have too? It was something he didn't think he would ever understand.
Suddenly, Buredo spotted something that dragged him out of his thoughts. A woman approached him from the opposite end of the hallway. Slender and well endowed, Buredo took in the sight with pleasure. Her long black hair waved behind her freely. The only thing that set her apart from any of the other hundreds of attractive palace attendants was the traditional samurai armor that she wore and the sword she carried at her side. It emanated power and held an aura on par with Buredo's own blade. This woman was no attendant. She was a warrior, one that Buredo knew very well.
"Well, if it isn't Noriko." Buredo called out, chuckling. The woman's previously neutral face screwed into a scowl, "You're looking cheerful as ever. You know, somehow, even with that scowl, you're still beautiful."
"Keep that mouth open any longer and you might find my blade in it." The woman threatened, her brown eyes glinting with malice. Buredo simply shrugged as he and Naginata stopped a few paces away from her.
"Fair enough." The man conceded, "So what brings you to the palace? Aren't you supposed to be leading the effort against Lord Sesshomaru's domain? Or has the Demon Lord of the West already been neutered?"
"I've been reassigned." Noriko responded with so little emotion that even the demon lord in question would have been impressed, "Unfortunately, my new mission is to help you two out. It doesn't surprise me that you would need help taking out the trash." Buredo cocked an eyebrow, brushing off her insult.
"You've been reassigned to help us? Why weren't we informed about this?" He demanded, finally becoming serious.
"How the hell should I know? Maybe the emperor didn't want to tell you how useless you really are to your faces." Noriko taunted, "All I know is that my job is to keep the two mutts busy while you two take care of the other three." Buredo nearly burst into laughter then and there. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that he didn't want to have to fight the woman in the middle of the palace.
"You think you're a match for one of them, let alone both of them together?" Buredo questioned, unable to mask his smirk, "There won't be anything left of you." Noriko cocked an eyebrow.
"They can't be but so strong." She insisted, "After all, you survived and you're nothing but a frail coward." Buredo shook his head with a laugh. If the woman wanted to die, then he would let her.
"Noriko." Naginata interjected, speaking for the first time, "The only reason that we are alive is because we didn't fight them. We befriended them after watching our entire army turn to dust from one strike from the woman. She didn't even break a sweat." Noriko visibly paled. After all, she was well aware of the strength of the contingent that the two had commanded.
"You're insane." Noriko said flatly, trying to regain her composure. Naginata simply shook his head.
"We witnessed it happen and were nearly killed simply from the wave of pressure produced on the outskirts of the attack." Naginata told her, remembering how he himself had nearly been crushed from the force of the pressure and then again by a flying boulder, "The man is also strong. He single handedly defeated Haruka and wiped out her forces." All of the color drained from the woman's face. The realization that she'd just been sent from one suicide mission to another finally hitting her. She couldn't disobey either. That led to an even quicker route to death. It seemed as though making it out of this alive would require quite a bit of planning and more than a little luck.
"You said that you befriended them, right?" Noriko demanded, desperately grasping for something, someway that they could survive.
"We're as close friends as you can be after talking for five minutes, yes." Buredo affirmed, sarcasm dripping heavily from his words, "They think we're on the same side. That's about the extent of our friendship." Noriko nodded.
"That's fine. We can work with that." She told them, turning around and beginning to walk back the way she had come, "Come with me. We start planning now." Buredo could only chuckle. He glanced up at Naginata before shaking his head and following commandeering woman. The giant demon was a step behind him. Neither looked forward to what was about to happen next.
The sun's rays illuminated the entrance to Koga's den altogether too early the next morning. Only Umi was awake to see it, however. Of course, she hadn't slept at all the night before. All of the others had someone to comfort them and ease them to sleep. Umi had no such luxury. Instead, her thoughts had raced the entire night, desperately searching for something to solve their current crisis. She hadn't figured anything out, though, and it weighed heavily upon her. That and her lack of sleep, that is. She sat at the mouth of the cave for a moment, allowing her eyes to take in the morning and adjust to the light. It truly was a beautiful morning, if a bit chilly. She couldn't dwell on that, however. With a sigh, she stood up and headed back into the den. The others would be waking up soon.
As if on cue, as she walked further into the cave, she saw Akage stretching out his muscles. Nami was still sleeping on a bed of furs that had been laid out on the den floor. Akage saw her and immediately his brow furrowed with concern.
"You alright Umi?" He whispered just loud enough for her to hear, so as not to wake anyone, "You look awful." Umi rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Thanks bird boy." She said jokingly, "Good morning to you too."
"That's not what I meant Umi." Akage told her, waving off the retort, "You look like you didn't get any sleep at all. Were you up all night?"
"No I'm fine!" She lied, her voice adopting a false cheeriness, "What about you? Why are you up so early?" Umi hoped that he wouldn't realize her effort to change the subject. Luckily for her, he didn't.
"Ha. It's not so early." Akage insisted, "I'm half demon, so I don't need as much sleep as humans do. Plus, I'm a phoenix, so I rise with the sun."
"Yeah, well some of us aren't, bird boy, so pipe down." Sai called out from her spot with Kaze only a few paces away. Umi could only laugh. Sometimes Sai acted so much like her father. Koga would have commented on it immediately, but Umi decided to let it slide, if only to let the girl sleep. Half-demon or not, Sai was going to need rest for the coming days.
An hour and a half later, everyone had awoken and gathered in the same place they had the night before. Without anyone actually saying it, they knew that now they had to decide on what to do next. More specifically, they had to make a decision about the embodiment. It seemed, though, that no one wanted to be the first to speak. After all, a wrong move here could easily be the death of them all. The implications of that marred everyone's face. All except for one. Koga had faced death more times than any of the kids gathered around him. He knew where he stood and, with years of experience as leader behind him, he spoke his mind.
"Stop wasting time!" He bit out, sounding every bit as feral as his animal counterpart, "There's only one logical next step and you know it. I'm well aware of the risk that's involved here, but the consequences of not acting are so much worse. The embodiment needs to be purified and that needs to happen now." The young people around him looked stunned. Whether it was because of his harsh tone or because he had actually been the first to make a concrete decision, he would never know.
"He's right." Sai agreed, her voice quiet, "There's no point in debating over what to do next is there? No matter how much we try to over complicate this, we've only got one move right now."
"It's not like we know where Konton is." Kaze pointed out, "We can't just march over there and kill him now."
"All we really have is the map that Sesshomaru gave us that tells us where the actually embodiment is." Nami added, recalling events that now seemed so long ago, "And it's not like we can even get in that without help from the embodiment, which we won't get unless we purify him."
"So essentially we've been backed into a corner? We've only got one move and Konton likely knows exactly what it is and will do everything he can to stop it." Akage pointed out, pessimism obvious.
"Not exactly." A haggard looking Umi interjected, "Whether Konton knows what we're going to do or not is irrelevant. He would be pursuing us anyway and it's not as though we're hard to find, so what he knows is fairly unimportant. However, the fact that we have one move doesn't mean we're backed into a corner. It's our only option because it's the only option that harms Konton and brings us closer to our goal. Trying anything else would be stupid. Once we take the embodiment, though, our options multiply. That's when we start dictating the playing field." Umi's words seemed to add steel to everyone's backbone. Everyone now stood a little straighter and with more confidence.
"She's right." Sai said firmly, "We do this and we get the upper hand. Our moves become less and less predictable and eventually we show up at Konton's door." Kaze smirked at his mate's words.
"Show up and knock it down before we put his head on pike." The animalistic pleasure Kaze took in simply imagining this made his claws itch for battle, something contrary to his nature. He could tell just by looking at his friends that they felt the same.
"Well said kid." Koga said, looking almost proud of him for his bloodlust, "Now then, I think we've done enough talking. It's time to act." Sai nodded. Koga was right. It was finally time to purify the embodiment. She looked to her friends and met each one of their gazes. No matter how powerful she may have been, she couldn't do this alone. She would need their help.
"Everybody ready?" Sai asked them. They all nodded. Truly, it was a comforting sight. Her friends were choosing to stand by her, now and forever, no matter how dangerous things got, "Let's get going then. We've got a job to do."
Noriko stood alone in her room inside Konton's palace. She stood before a mirror examining her naked body. Most people would have called her beautiful or enticing, but she dismissed these. In fact, she despised the distinctions. They made her feel weak. She relied not on her physical beauty like so many women did, but instead relied on her strength and her own power. That was true beauty in her eyes. Her pale skin was noticeably absent of the scars that normally covered the body of a warrior. It was beautiful not because it was pretty, but because she had kept it unscathed through countless battles. Innumerable men had fallen to her blade and yet she had not scratch to show for it. What she did have, however, was red tattoo in the shape of a sword with a heart impaled on it. It was the symbol of her contract, a blessing or a curse depending on how you looked at it. In exchange for strength and power in battle, Noriko had made a deal with the darkness that now spread across the land. Through black magic, she had obtained power. In exchange, she would now find death before she found love. Noriko laughed at the thought. What use did she have for love? Any use it may have had paled in comparison to that of power and the ability kill any and all that stood in her way.
She had no regrets about her decision to obtain power, nor did she regret anything else she had done in life. In fact, the only lament she had was the fact that, since she had gotten power through black magic, that essentially made her the same as Buredo. He had said as much on numerous occasions and it irritated her to no end. Of course, they had not made the same deal. Buredo hadn't sacrificed anything of himself. Instead, he simply seduced and murdered one hundred women in order to fulfill his contract, something he likely would have done regardless of any deal. He was a sick, pig of a man, but Noriko had to respect his power. After all, if there were another human that could defeat her in battle, it would be him. However, by some twist of fate, they ended up on the same side and thus would never figure out who was truly the superior warrior.
Noriko shrugged off these thoughts and went to retrieve her kimono. Once dressed, she headed for the door. Before leaving, however, she spared a glance to look out of her open window. Mountains covered with trees and capped with snow met her gaze. The palace was ringed with them after all. It was a true fortress. Without another glance, she exited her room, closing the door behind her. She had to meet with her partners and fellow lieutenants for her upcoming mission. A little more planning and they would be ready. When all was said and done, she would once again get to relish in the feeling of bathing her blade in blood. That she was sure of.
Sai, Nami, and Umi gathered before the embodiment's manifestation where he had been sitting restrained by demonic ropes and chains since they had first arrived in Koga's territory. The wolf demon chief himself, along with Ayame the rest of Sai's group, stood behind the three girls. For once, the embodiment was quiet. In fact, he seemed asleep. However, Sai could easily tell that was not the case. More than likely, he was preparing himself for what was about to happen. Purification was not a comfortable process and, though the embodiment was really just a relic, Sai didn't think it would be enjoyable.
"You ready girls?" Sai asked quietly, respecting the embodiment's silence.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Umi answered, mirroring Sai's soft voice and stretching out her muscles. Nami simply nodded. Sai took a deep breath, accepting their answers.
"I'm ready too." She told them, more to convince herself than anything, before returning her voice to normal volume, "It's time." The man's eyes immediately snapped open. He nodded his head once, indicating that they should proceed, but still did not make a sound. The girls formed a triangle with Nami on his left, Umi on his right, and Sai directly in front of him and knelt down to his level. Calmy, each girl placed both hands on the man. After a deep breath, they began. A soft light emanated around each hand that touched the man's body. This was the only hint that anything at all was happening. The room was deathly quiet.
It stayed that way for about a half an hour. Suddenly, Nami flinched. Her body began to shudder. An instant later, Umi followed suit. Sai even began to sweat profusely. Intense pain marred each of their faces, yet they still didn't make a sound.
"What the hell?" Koga demanded of no one in particular, voice fierce and filled with concern, "What the hell is happening to them? It was going so smoothly til now."
"We have to stop them!" Ayame cried, "Look at them, they're going to kill themselves if they keep this up!" Kaze, however, put a calm hand on both of their shoulders to stop them from acting. When they whirled around to face him, he simply shook his head.
"This is normal." He told them calmly, though Ayame could easily sense worry in his voice, "The evil within the embodiment is fighting back. It doesn't want to be destroyed and is thus trying to kill them by attacking their hearts and, possibly, their souls as well. Normally, this wouldn't even be cause for a reaction from the priestess. However, in this case, the evil is far stronger than it would be in a normal purification."
"So there isn't anything we can do for them? There has to be something!" Ayame pleaded, utterly disturbed and pained by what was happening to her friends. Kaze, however, slowly shook his head.
"No." He told her simply, "We can only stand and watch."
"They're gonna be fine, though. Right?" Akage asked, uncertainty and worry painfully evident in his wavering voice.
"I don't-" Before Kaze could even finish his sentence, black smoke exploded from the embodiment's body and assaulted the three girls. It slammed into a barrier of pure energy that had immediately surrounded each of them and sparked violently. The black demonic aura that now flooded the cave was sickening. Akage and Kaze could feel their inner demons raging to be let loose. They could only guess that Koga and Ayame were holding themselves together through decades of experience.
It went on like this for what felt like hours. As they watched, they could only imagine the pain the girls were experiencing by the looks on their faces. Pure agony fell short of a proper descriptor. Suddenly, Umi's barrier began to crack. Her shudder intensified, while her body was slowly forced down to the floor. Intense white light exploded from the cracks her barrier as the entire thing looked like it was about to fail. Kaze ran towards her without a second thought, but stopped in his tracks by what he saw next. Umi's eyes had turned blue. Black markings slowly weaved their way across her face and, though they couldn't see past her clothes, all over the rest of body as well. The cracks in her barrier disappeared and the light around her hands intensified ten fold. Nami underwent the same transformation an instant later. The sheer spiritual energy being released by the two girls was awe inspiring. It made everyone's demon blood boil and they weren't even the ones being purified. All of them were forced to take several steps back to avoid being roasted alive. To add to the chaos, the sparks at the point of contact between the black smoke and the barriers intensified to cracks of lightning that shot out and slammed into the walls of the cave, knocking off significant chunks each time.
"Dammit this is insane!" Akage shouted to be heard over the cacophony of the scene in front of them, "I've never seen anything like this!"
"And you probably won't ever again." Koga shouted back, "Not even Naraku was this defiled. This is unbelievable!"
The battle raged for another hour with intense violence. It shifted constantly, with one side or the other looking like it would prevail, but in the end, the black smoke began to dissipate and the lightning stopped. The pure light subsided from almost blinding to a soft glow. All three girls were drenched in sweat and panting heavily as they knelt amongst the rubble around the embodiment. At last, the last of the black demonic aura was purified. The battle was won and they had come out victorious. Job done, the girls let their hands fall away from the embodiment. Then their whole bodies gave way as they fell hard to the floor. Panicking, their observers ran to their sides to see what had happened. Fortunately, they had simply passed out and were now sleeping soundly. Kaze sighed with relief and hugged his mate tightly, just thankful that she was alive.
They finally purified the fucking thing. How long have been trying to do that? Since like fucking chapter 20? I don't fuckin know... And I wrote the shit... All I know is that it was a long ass time ago and I sincerely apologize... But hey! The story is getting close to an ending! So you guys don't have to put up with me for that much longer! Silver linings right? See ya next time yall! Hopefully sooner rather than later!