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Chapter Thirty One

Kayura was bleeding profusely as Baroness placed her down, the silks she was wearing were being turned crimson fairly quick. She placed her hands over the wound and it healed up instantly, but they still were stained red. Kayura groaned, "this is more than we were prepared for."

"We can hold out," Baroness assured as the sky seemed to rip open with a force of energy. "Hey, it looks like the cavalry is here."

Ryo landed right next to the two as a Hecatones began to swarm the roof. "Armor of Wildfire," he summoned and in flash of light the black haired man wearing a bright red and white armor.

"Wildfire," Kayura smiled as Baroness helped her stand.

"Hey Kayura," he grinned as the a Hecatone lunged at him. He swiped and the beast fell back. "whose your friend?"

"I'm Baroness of the Deep," the warrior said with a smile. He couldn't see her face, because her lion shaped helmet had a ferocious mask but he saw for certain sharp teeth beneath. "It's nice to finally meet the bearer of Inferno armor."

She flung the ax, and it boomeranged taking out several Hecatones by severing their heads. He smiled, "hey, its nice to meet a lady who can has swinging arm like that!"

Kayura rolled her as she slammed her staff on a Hecatone's head, and he fell to ash. Ryo cut the ones pressing forward back, and he noticed his sword glimmering. At first he felt as if his cuts were not doing anything, but the Hecatones began to back off. He grinned as put the ends of his sword together, "Flare up now!"

A burst of fire obliterated those swarming them, and he noticed Bastet and Leea on White Blaze's back heading towards them. Bastet carrying a sword from a Hecatone and slashes one that lunges at them. He hears Leea yelp as Raleigh in her wolf form leaps from out of no where and tears out the throat of another.

Baroness is looking curiously at the nearby fight, "are they...human?"

"Yeah," Ryo groaned as he started to run over there. "I told them not come."

Kayura laughed as her an Baroness followed, "but you always have some uninvited guest, wildfire!"

Baroness smacked a Hecatone aside as they ran towards the two beasts and the girls on their backs. Leea had fallen off of Blaze, but Raleigh quickly grabbed her by the back of her shirt and threw her on her back.

Ryo looked at the girls, "where the others?"

Leea was shaking so Bastet answered after giving Baroness a seedy look, "I saw Star Boy and Angel Boy go to the Warlord of Darkness, Rock head went to Spider Butt, and Merman found Snaky right away."

Kayura curbed her chuckle, "are you Old Ones all the same?"

Raleigh replied quickly, she's a trickster, not an Old One.

"Same dif, Wolfy," said Bastet as she thumbed a finger at the new warrior. "Whose the Diamond?"

"My name is Baroness of the Deep," she paused to bow with her ax in hand. "It is a pleasure."

Leea said, "I saw Ruby disappear into the fighting. I don't know where she went!"

"Ruby, can take care of herself," Ryo asserted as Kayura gave him a curious glance.

"Who is this Ruby," she asked as Baroness smacked another Hecatone out of the way.

"Oh, you didn't know," he paused to think if it would be okay to tell her that they found Talpa's daughter alright. He decided it couldn't hurt, "we found Talpa's daughter!"

"What," she fumed as stuck a Hecatone that was sneaking up on her in the stomach with the ancient's staff and it fell to ashes. "You led the Princess here without any guards?"

"She said she could take of herself," he answered honestly. "I mean I figured she could..."

"That's not the point, Ryo," she said as Raleigh and White Blaze tore another creature in two. "What if she tries to take you armors from you, and replace her father?"

In the little time he had known her, she seemed like the last person to replace Talpa, but he understood Kayura's worry. "She said she had an armor of her own, that she left it here because she didn't want to fight. She's a proud coward."

Bastet interrupted before Kayura could scold him for being naive, "okay so she's off getting her guts up for a girl. Last time I checked, that's called heroism not trying to be a tyrant."

"Super Wave Smasher," they heard Cye yell, and a large wave smashed near them. He dragged Sekhmet up to the roof by the back of his armor. The man had four of his own blades impaling him, and he was twitching. Ryo could only assume that it was his own poison that was hurting him, but he remembered that he probably was just losing a lot of blood.

Baroness was the first to the injured warlord, and Ryo could see the contempt in Sekhmet's eyes. He grunted, "just get on with it, you blasted cur."

"You're so sweet to me," the Baroness chuckled as yanked out the blades. He bit his lip not to yell, "is the Hecatone's' poison too much for you?"

He cursed at her as Cye asked Ryo and Kayura, "whose the broad?"

Ryo shrugged, " she calls herself Baroness of the Deep."

"She was sent by the Old Ones to be our healer," Kayura said wearily striking another Hecatone who tried to venture close. "The warlords are not too fond of her, I suppose."

Sekhmet shoved Baroness away as soon he could. He glared at them, "Lady Kayura, there are far too many to defeat even with..." he paused to look at Ryo and Cye accordingly with a look also of contempt as well, "their force breaking us up. We must fall back."

Cye grinned, he kind of enjoyed being 'flattered' by the warlord, "I don't know about you guys, but I feel as if my armor is getting stronger as I fight them."

"I agree, Cye," Ryo replied as one of his blades bit a Hecatone clean in half and it fell to ash.

"You have armor made by Suzunagi that is why," Baroness explained as buried her ax deep into a Hecatones skull, it sputtered a poisonous roar. "She was sent to you for a reason...I suppose..."

"Just like you were," Bastet replied lowly.

"We all have our destiny, mortal," Baroness said as she flung the blade again. "Some of us, just have more control over it than others."

Raleigh attested to that, we all have our duty.

Sekhmet complained, "either way...we need to move back, they broke through the first set of gates."

Kayura nodded, "we should regroup, not retreat just yet. Wildfire, Torrent, can you bring the others to that stronghold over there." she pointed with her staff to a building a little ways off... "I will keep track of your friends."

"Ryo," paused Leea. "I'm worried about Ruby."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, "don't be, if anyone can get through this that girl can."

"I hope you're right Ryo," she said as he and Cye jumped back into the fight to find their comrades.

Kayura led the group that way, what remained of their troops followed them as best they could. Bastet stabbed a straggling Hecatone that tried to grab her, and Raleigh tore through with Leea clinging to her armored back.

"If they're armors are getting strong," Sekhmet said softly to Kayura. "Why haven't ours?"

Baroness pretended not to listen and threw her ax suddenly at Hecatone that jumped at them. It landed in front of the warlord, who then sliced it in half. She caught the ax as they jumped between roofs. She glanced at Bastet, who glanced at her back.

Leea saw their gazes at each and shivered, if looks could kill that would have been it. She glanced at the warrior in the snake like armor, and she shivered. He gave her the willies, what did she get herself into? She stopped herself. No she knew exactly what she was getting into, it wasn't going to be easy getting Hoshi back. Oh, but she couldn't worry about her now, when she felt like she had mini war going on around her. He noticed her glance, and he chuckled, "do I scare you?"

She choked and pursed her lips, she wouldn't let anyone get between her and her bestie. Not even some armored snake guy, "even if you do, I don't let my fear get in my way."

Kayura glared at the warlord, "this is not the time..."

They felt the building they were running on shaking. She saw the warriors glance back, but turn straight forward as they ran. What were they looking at? She turned and saw a huge creature smashing the building as they ran. It had one eye, and wore a terrifying looking armor. "Is that a cyclops," she gulped as its hand grasped at them. One of it's large large fingers swung towards her, and she was knocked off of Raleigh's back. She yelped as she tumbled across the tiled roof. She scrambled as she rolled to the edge and she saw the ground below filled with Hecatones. She didn't realized she had screamed when her hands released the weak grasp on the tiles.

She felt someone in armor catch her, and she looked up to see another scary warrior. He wore a dark brown armor with a long red cape and a dark mask. Under the mask she saw blue eyes, one was scarred badly. He landed next to Kayura, and she glanced back to see Sekhmet and Baroness amputate the giant creatures arms. Sekhmet aimed a sword for its eye, and the beast fell smashing the building behind them. They jumped to the next building with ease, and she noticed the other ronins joining in their direction. Kento was closest and he winked at her as he smashed another creature in front of them.

"Arrow Shock Wave," she heard Rowen shout. Why was she so dazed, she could see everything so slowly. The arrow passed through a creature flying overhead, and she saw a winged monster fall.

"Halo, your human is losing a fair amount of blood," roared the warrior carrying her. He winced as he used his long sword to stab a creature blocking his path. She saw Sage, in a green armor appear next to them. She felt being thrown into his arms.

Leea looked up at Sage, and she felt a tingle in her side then a sharp pain. He pulled out a large piece of debris out of her side, and she felt her wound began to close with a sting. She felt words on her tongue, "Sage?"

He looked down at her and nodded with assurance, "you'll be okay, Leea."

She felt the world grow fuzzy around the vision and she blacked out.