Chapter 19: Change My Life
"Get back!" Moka warned everyone as they looked onto the fused monster before them.
"It goes for you as well, Tsukune. Don't interfere!" she told Tsukune.
"No, no, no, Moka- you are not going into this fight on your own…" Tsukune responded as he rubbed his arms.
"Heh, are you seriously intent on jumping into the lion's den? Seems rather arrogant…" Lady Oyakata remarked with a smile.
"Hmpf… I prefer bloodshed to long speeches, so don't come back complaining if you die…" Moka said in a challenging tone.
"Shut it- I will crush you to bits!" Oyakata declared as large tentacle-like structures protruded from the limbs of the fused monster. They took everyone by surprise as Moka was swept away by the force from these tentacles as Tsukune could only helplessly watch. As the smoke cleared, they saw her form amongst the remains of many trees.
"Fascinating, you're still alive after the damage I've dealt you…" Oyakata commented with a slight smirk, and then she gazed at Moka for a bit longer.
"Now I get it… those scarlet irises… you are a vampire: a monster of legendary strength, with so much energy within them… they are feared by everyone…" she continued with glinting eyes.
"How tempting… I will absorb you and seize that cradle of power," she declared.
But Moka was unfazed, as she charged and jumped up, preparing for one of her signature kicks.
"It doesn't matter how big or repulsive you get, your end will be the same," Moka said frostily.
Unfortunately, her attack was unsuccessful as vines caught her in mid-air, rendering her immobile. It seemed like the kick had done little, as the monster remained standing.
"Haha, now I've caught you… you got too cocky. I didn't only change my size, but I also increased my strength, let me show you," Oyakata stated with a grim smile.
The tentacles that bounded her now turned into stabbing appendages as they pierced Moka's skin, digging into the flesh. One could see the writhing tentacles under her skin.
"What's with these tentacles?! They're getting inside my body…" Moka could only struggle in pain.
"This is what I meant by seizing your power- under this appearance, I can fuse with an unlimited number of creatures and rob them of their strength. It is the ultimate fusion technique," she chuckled, the sound rebounding into the night.
Suddenly, two shots rang out as three of the tentacles holding Moka exploded from impact; it was Tsukune, and he was taking shots from his sniper.
"Dammit, she moved at the last moment, I was hoping to get all the tentacles…" he said with annoyance.
"Stay here, Tsukune, if we get too close, we'll all get absorbed," Kurumu warned as Tsukune tried to line up another shot. It didn't seem like Oyakata was paying them any attention though.
"Oooh… I can feel your power… I will become the most powerful creature in the Universe… we will become one entity, vampire!" Lady Oyakata shouted as more tentacles approached Moka.
"Stop it, master!" a familiar voice called as a figure got in between Moka and the tentacles, getting impaled in the process, but also managing to cut the last of the remaining tentacles off Moka. It was Ruby, and now she was seriously bleeding out, and her sceptre was also broken.
"Oh no… I can't use any more magic... not without my sceptre… just like any witch," she whispered as she fell through the sky, everyone staring in surprise.
"Why…" Lady Oyakata started, her face looking conflicted; the tentacles caught Ruby, and now, she was facing her master.
"Why do you keep going against my will? We had always walked together until this day… you were so obedient, so why now…"
"Master, please stop this slaughter…" she could barely speak as blood filled her mouth, her hands loosened as she dropped her sceptre.
"Tsukune, Moka, I beg of you… please stop master… please stop master from…" her whispers faded into noting as silence filled the air.
Tsukune could not understand what had just happened, it shook him up. After Ruby had become quiet and unmoving, her body was eaten up by Lady Oyakata's gargantuan form.
"Enough… now you belong to me, and will never defy me. I can feel all your energy in my cells… Ruby…" Lady Oyakata stated, almost maniacally as tears flowed down her eyes.
"Moka, staff! You know what to do…" Tsukune shouted as he threw the now-fallen Ruby's staff to Moka. A witch can't use magic without their magical instrument, e.g. a staff, sceptre, or even a book, Tsukune thought in his mind as he closed his eyes in prayer.
"How sad, Ruby sacrificed her life to stop you… in her memory, I will fulfil her final wish, and I won't be caught," Moka declared as she pointed to Oyakata with Ruby's sceptre.
"Silence! I will absorb you one way or another- you will not avoid fate!" Oyakata cried out as many tentacles came to where Moka was.
Alright, it's go-time, Tsukune thought as he sped ahead in lightning speed with an AK-47 in both hands.
"Moka! I've got the tentacles, you just follow behind, okay?" Tsukune shouted out amongst all the firing as the bullets shredded through many tentacles.
"The path's all carved out! End this madness now, Moka…" Tsukune said with a sombre look in his eyes as he switched to his katana to slice some tentacles.
Jumping through all the cut tentacles and empty bullet casings, Moka went right into Oyakata's body right at the top of the fused monster.
"Poor madwoman, I told you that I would fulfil Ruby's wish!" Moka stated as she stabbed the sceptre into the spell book close to Oyakata's body.
"What Ruby said before dying gave away your weak point," Moka explained with a sad look in her eyes as Oyakata whispered Ruby's name through tears.
"Everyone, get back! When power to hold all those fused monsters is lost, then you want to run away… because it's gonna blow!" Tsukune yelled as bright light emanated from Oyakata's deteriorating form.
"Ruby!" Lady Oyakata cried for a final time as a massive explosion tore through the quiet countryside.
"Dammit!" Tsukune shouted as he punched a nearby tree, sending it to the ground.
"We did all this, and it was all for naught… we couldn't save Ruby in the end…" Tsukune said angrily as he clenched his fists. From behind them, they saw a small car and a familiar school bus arrive.
"Sorry for the slight delay- oh dear! It didn't go without trouble it seems…" Nekonome-sensei observed as she got out of the car.
"In the end, we couldn't do anything…" Tsukune confessed, his face looking down.
"Are you daft or something? You guys did the opposite, real slick guys, well done!" a voice said as a man with long black hair got out of the bus, carrying the body of Ruby. It was Gin.
"Speechless right? That girl got out of the explosion unscathed and she was lying unconscious near by. It seems like Oyakata used the last of her strength to protect this child…" the bus driver said from the door of the bus, as they all gathered around Ruby's unconscious form.
"You said you couldn't do anything? But truthfully, what you did was heroic…"
In the end, I guess we could make a difference to someone's life, Tsukune thought with a smile, as he wondered what else his years at this school would bring.
Yeah, so that was the end of the Witch Ranch arc- reading this manga again gives me a feeling of nostalgia. I still remember the first time I read this manga- truly amazing. Anyways, because school starts again this coming week, next chapter will be coming Friday or Saturday. Please review if you can, and thank you for reading!