Titania looked at Rumia; and laughed.
"You really think you can kill me... how amusing." She cooned; before the crystals in her wings glowed. "The sixth of these gave you life; I can feel the energy of the sixth within you; and by tracing the energy within you back... I can find exactly what I desire and require to complete my goal! By tapping into the energies of Makai around here you have given me exactly what I want; Rumia! I can follow the energy you are absorbing!"
Titania fired a massive blast of wind; stronger than any hurricane that had ever been on the Earth; which sent Rumia flying out of her way; before she darted towards the passage which presumerably lead to Makai. The blast of wind kept swirling around; keeping everyone pinned.
Rika turned; and attempted to stop Titania with a barrage of missiles fired from her drones; but they did nothing; the goddess not even bothering to defend herself.
"I can do at least this much!" Tenma said defiantly; before using her control over air pressure to quell the winds Titania formed; with significant effort; as soon as she was freed; Rumia blasted towards Titania at full speed.
Then Titania was flung back; Byakuren floating in the passage to Makai; red and blue magical energy swirling around her. She looked ragged and exhausted; but had regained consciousness. Her fists were glowing with a golden light; a lotus-like aura.
"That was a good idea; Rumia... you're not the only one adapted to the magical energies of two worlds." Byakuren said. "I may not be in a state to go on the offensive; but I'll use the power I have to make sure she can't get to Makai."
Tenma flew up to Byakuren's side; Mokou; Kaguya and Eirin following him. Tenshi; tears on her face; joined them; before everyone still conscious helped out; forming a blockade.
"Heh; I may be exhausted; but creating barriers is my best job." Reimu said.
"I'm sure I can manage a few more sparks if I stay still." Marisa said.
"If we can focus all of our power together if she tries to make a beak for it; I'm sure we can throw her back." Remilia agreed.
"Make sure she dies painfully." Yuuka said.
Rumia did not let her eyes leave the Goddess; who looked angrily at Byakuren.
"Pathetic monk; your meddleing shall earn you a worse fate than those two Go..." she began; before a fist connected with her jaw; forcing her head upwards from a combination of the impact force and a fist-shaped blast of Dark Energy which shot from Rumia's fist on impact.
"I'm your opponent." Rumia said, pulling back a stump of an arm which swiftly re-grew; the majority of it ripped off by Titania.
"You may have enhanced power due to the magic of two worlds flowing through you; but how much can your body... your stamina; hold out?" Titania asked.
"You don't get it." Rumia said; forming a blade-like extension on her right arm; before swinging the dark energy; causing Titania to form a wall of diamond to block the blade; which exploded on impact.; the eruption of energy shattering the wall; sending shards everywhere.
Titania pointed to the air; before a torrent of magma; like a waterfall; fell upon where Rumia was; but she was too fast; flying in for close combat.
"Kage..." she said; gathering energy in her right hand; before she was completely ensnared in vines. Restraining her.
Titania floated in front of Rumia; and put a finger to her head.
"Regenerate this..." she said; as the tell-tale glow of a spark began, before a blast of flame destroyed the vines holding Rumia's right arm; even if it burnt the arm somewhat. Rumia did not even look who did it.
"no Kiba!" she finished; summoning the ornate dirk; and thrusting it into Titania's body in a desperate thrust to stop her head being blown off.
Titania cried in pain and recoiled; clutching her shoulder; golden blood streaming down it. This wound did not instantly heal like the others.
"A divine weapon?!" she rasped. "But now that I know..."
Rumia rushed back into close range; gathering a massive amount of dark energy around both of her hands; and her weapon; masking it; before she made a powerful swing with her right hand from below; and her left from above; the dark energy looking like wolf's fangs.
"Darkness: Murder in the Night" Rumia cried; the energy jaws slamming into each other due to the Goddess' evasion; releasing a massive blast of energy as they did; knocking her back more. Rumia seemed hurt herself; but recovered quickly; rushing forward again at the staggered goddess; brandishing her blade.
'If I don't give her a chance to use her powers; keep up with a relentless assault; I'll win!' Rumia thought.
Titania dodged the swing; and put her hand over Rumia's heart.
Rumia felt cold; as the Goddess slipped past her. Her chest felt tight. Breathing felt like a struggle.
"Natural Death: Heart Stopper." Titania said coldly and quietly; quietly enough that no-one else could hear.
Rumia moved her limbs; they felt like lead. Her head was feeling light.
"I stopped your heart. You have seconds to live. It is more of a pleasant death than I wanted to give you; but you are too dangerous with that blade and your nature." Titania said.
"Don't... underestimate... me." Rumia gasped. "I'll... kill... you..."
Rumia had done something similar before; but not on this level. But she knew she had no other choice.
She plunged her own hand into her chest; destroying her own heart.
"What the?!" was the general reaction of everyone; as Rumia fell over.
"Did Titania control her when she touched her?" Reimu asked.
"I don't think so... she looked defiant." Eirin said.
"... Her heart had already stopped." Rika said. "When she touched her chest; Titania stopped her heart."
"So.. why did she then destroy her own heart?" Tenma asked.
"A living being can survive cardiac arrest for a shirt period." Eirin said. "With Rumia's ability to regenerate in shadow; which this place is filled with; she may have made the greatest gamble possible."
"If the heart is still there; it cannot be regenerated." Reimilia said. "So she destroyed it since it had stopped anyway; hoping that it would regenerate before she died."
"Damnit... I can't kill her if she kills herself..." Rika said.
"Just keep focusing on her vital signals. You can do that with your technology; right?" Marisa said angrily.
Rika muttered; and Titania looked up towards the group; pointing her finger at them; gathering energy.
"You insects should just die." She said; launching a Spark. Everyone unleashed their strongest ranged attacks that they could to counteract the blast; but Titania's laser did not relent; until she suddenly vanished.
Maribel was standing behind where Titania was; having opened a gap to move her into her dimension. She seemed to be glowing with a faint light; indicating she was manipulating some sort of boundary within herself; possibly the conscious and the unconscious; seeing as her eyes were still closed.
"I've sealed her; if only for a few seconds!" Maribel gasped; before looking towards Rumia, and making her glow with a faint; purple light.
"A few seconds to buy Rumia time..." she said.
"That's the Boarder of Life and Death..." Eirin recalled; from seeing Yukari on her deathbed. "To think Maribel has come this far; to manipulate a border that complex; while holding something as powerful as Titania in her pocket dimension... she is truly great..."
Rumia stood up; looking somewhat confused; the hole in her chest slowly healing over as darkness swirled around it. Meanwhile; Maribel's face looked more and more strained; before she screamed in pain.
"Maribel! It's too much for you!" Rumia said; being kept alive by Maribel's intervention; giving her time to heal.
"If I don't do this; we're all doomed anyway!" Maribel said; veins bulging in her forehead with the strain. Her eyes opened; revealing her usually blue eyes being purple instead. She howled in agony again; before her eyes turned red.
The red eyes of a youkai. Rumia felt Maribel's aura change. She had even thrown away her humanity for this. She had allowed herself to cross the line; making her youkai side dominant instead of her human side.
But as soon as that happened; Maribel looked in less strain. The increased power of a youkai over a human assisting her. Humans had great potential; but what makes humans special isn't being human. It was what was within them.
And Maribel had not lost her human spirit; even if she had sacrificed her human nature.
Maribel grimaced again; as Rumia's wound fully healed; and the purple light left Rumia. The youkai looked at Maribel; shocked.
"Maribel... you..."
"It had to happen someday. Or else I'd have died of age or suffered like Buru did..." Maribel said; before she coughed. "I can't hold her much longer..."
"Let her out; at point-blank range." Rumia said.
Maribel nodded; and Rumia readied Kage No Kiba. The gap opened; and Titania flew out. Rumia thrusted her hand fowards.
The blade embedded into the goddess' chest; her hands outreached towards Rumia's throat and heart; only not reaching first due to her small size.
Titania coughed; golden liquid coming from her mouth as she did; before the five crystals fell out of her wings; changeing size to like the images of them before; before they vanished.
Rumia looked into the Goddess' eyes.
"If you were not so prideful as to keep letting your guard down; you would have won." Rumia said. "You would have never had to abandon Yuuka's body; revealing your venerable true self. You would have noticed Maribel behind you. You would have not rushed out of the gap in fury; confident nothing could stop you; into my readied blade."
Titania remained quiet; she just gave a death glare to Rumia.
"If you were not so twisted; it would not have had to end like this." Rumia said.
"If humans did not abuse nature so much..." Titania rasped. "Youkai are restricted to Gensokyo because of humans abusing nature... I only sought to restore the natural order..."
"You went too far. And humans are part of nature themselves. They are a force of nature. Like an earthquake or a tsunami. The devastation of humans is nothing compared to some other natural disasters. I would have thought Mother Nature herself would understand it."
Titania opened her mouth to argue; but Rumia spoke again.
"You've fallen too far; Titania. A good mother lets her child grow up... it's a shame you will have to see nature develop from the afterlife."
Titania lowered her head and her arms slumped. She remained still; and Rumia pulled her blade out of her chest.
She looked at her for a few more moments; and the goddess remained unmoving.
Rumia sighed; and turned around; releasing the Makai energy she had absorbed; before she felt agony. The mixing of the two energies in her body had been ripping it apart; and regenerating her heart had left her completely exhausted. The damage from her heart stopping to the rest of her body; the damage from over-exerting herself; she couldn't regenerate it.
Frankly; she could still die.
Then; a beam pierced her back and stomach; Rumia turned to see Titania feebly having lifted her arm; firing a thin spark through her. Her face showed pure rage and defiance.
"DIE!" Titania spluttered.
Rumia turned; and threw Kage no Kiba. Her aim was true; and the blade went into the fallen goddess' forehead; stopping her beam instantly on impact. This time; she fell to the bottom of the chamber; unmoving, in a pool of golden blood.
Rumia fell seconds afterwards; her vision fading.
"Damnit... this is twice I've died in five minutes..." she muttered. "This... has to be... a new... record..."
Author Notes:
The next chapter is the Epilogue; the final chapter. It will cover topics such as if Rumia survived [And if so; in what state]; and what happened to the central characters the Gensokyo. [Think Dragon-Age: Origins style] Thank you all for keeping with this story to the end.
Rumia did the deed; but it would have been impossible without help; such as Remilia and the others forcing her into her true form; thus making her vunerable. It was also a sort of 'coming of age' moment for Maribel. She's still a Youkai-Human hybrid; but she's more youkai than human now [Whereas before she was more human than youkai]. Like Hakutu Keine is the youkai side being dominant. Of course; for Maribel this is only a change in eye color.
Buru; not wanting to be a youkai; or wanting to die; kept her human half dominant; and eventually became a contradiction [A Celestial who was half youkai; when the bodies of the two are incompatible; the body of a Celestial being poison to youkai]. Rinnosuke is a Human-Dominant hybrid by the way.
Duel Origin is a highly dangerous thing to use. While the body is adapted to be able to use both types of magic; it dosen't mean it is adapted to withstand and use both at once. As such; the inflows of magic are extremely dangerous; and rip the user apart from the inside out. It grants the user more power; however. It's basically based on Seidou Goei from HSDK.