Chapter Sixty-one - More Than A Demon
As the world materialized around her again Mikomi glanced about and quickly spotted Pikkon and the dust cloud that concealed the Demon that Zenryou had mentioned. The Grand Kai and Kibito appeared behind her as she took in the sight of the souls being drawn into the cloud and sensed the creature's power increasing within the dust. Soul Eaters were a rare breed of creature, and somewhat dangerous to the general ranks of the afterlives, and the stability of the Realms, due to the power they could gain from the souls they took in.
"The process is already too far along to interrupt." Zenryou said with a frown.
Mikomi nodded. "Unfortunately yes." she said. "Though I doubt he will be much of a threat once the process completes. Soul Eaters can't handle more than twice their own power, he should still be far weaker than I."
Zenryou nodded as Pikkon floated down to join them, the unusual aura that was around him fading away as his feet touched the ground, and a chunk of his power going with it. The Grand Kai made note of that, he'd thought Pikkon's power had been higher than normal. /Some sort of power boosting technique, probably developed to try and keep up with Goku and Bardock./ he thought as the roaring in the dust cloud faded and souls quit surging into it.
It seemed Mikomi had been right, the Demon's power had stopped well short of her own, still considerably less than that of even Kibito's. Much too high for him to deal with, however, which meant he and Pikkon would be sitting this fight out. Not that there would be much of a fight, considering the power difference between the Demon and Mikomi. She would make short work of it, it was weaker even than the Demon, Malus, she'd already disposed of.
At last the dust cloud faded away enough Pikkon got a clear look at the Demon again. "It's power has increased but it hasn't transformed." he said. "What was that it did?"
"This one is a Soul Eater." said the Grand Kai. "It has the power to devour souls and fuse them with itself, thus adding their power to its own. Limited to within double of its own natural power, though, as anything more than that overwhelms the original soul with the personalities of the new ones."
"Their power potential is a problem, capable of upsetting the natural balance and order of a Realm." said Mikomi. "Still, that issue pales in comparison to the damage they cause just through the fusion of the souls they take."
"What do you mean?"
"Those souls eaten and merged with their own." began Zenryou with a frown. "They are lost forever after that. The merged soul is forevermore a singular being, inseparable back to its component parts. Those individuals simply cease to exist from then on, at least as individuals. Which of course also causes balance issues, but it is the destruction of the souls themselves that even the Mazoku find abhorrent."
"Indeed." said Mikomi. "I am surprised that even Quietus would work with one, or that Dabura would allow one to exist at all."
The Demon smirked. "Well, seeing as I'm brand new and all, no one has had much chance to complain about me. I didn't exist at all until just recently, when those Demons made me from one of the Mortals they'd found and managed to capture."
"Made you?" asked Kibito, frowning.
"Dark Ascension?" asked Mikomi. The other didn't respond, but the widening of its smirk told her she was right. This one being a Soul Eater made a lot more sense if it had been born through a Dark Ascension. It was already a fusion of souls to begin with, magically bound together and merged into one new being. Dark Ascension, like its Shinkai counterpart, Light Ascension, was a contingency magic.
Should something happen and all Mazoku, or all Kais, be destroyed, the Ascension magics could be used to forge new ones from chosen mortals. In essence, the spells were similar to the accident that had created Janemba, just more controlled and utilizing the souls of Oni or, as in this instance, Demons, instead of raw energy. It had been used twice before in Makai but was something that had never been done in Shinkai.
Mikomi had considered it several times as a means to replace her lost comrades more quickly, or to get a new Lord of Kais as she knew that no new one would ever come naturally. Muzai was lost, but not truly dead. She'd held off, though, as those created via the spells were not as powerful as those naturally created by the universe, though they were effective enough at helping to keep balance. All of that aside, though, the fact that this being had been created via Dark Ascension meant that it was not, in actuality, a Demon.
A Shinkai mortal had been used as the base but as it had been Demons that empowered the Ascension, and the Dark Ascension spell that had been used, so what had been created was, in fact, a Mazoku. The magic was somewhat unpredictable in nature, granting varied abilities and appearances that did not match with the normal positions, but the created being was a Mazoku all the same.
/All the more reason to dispatch this one quickly./ Mikomi mused. Having extra Mazoku around would disrupt the balance, not to mention she didn't want to give the other time to put any of its special abilities to use. She was also concerned about what possible repercussions there might be to the birth of a Mazoku within Shinkai. The spells were meant to be used in the planes the intended created Kai or Mazoku was to govern, thus granting them influence over that plane.
Which could mean... /Which could mean that this Mazoku has the same abilities as the Supreme Kai intended to administer the H.F.I.L. would have. Problematic in and of itself, even more distressing for its possible implications. First, though, I need some answers./
"How would regular Demons even know how to perform the Dark Ascension spell?" she asked. "I know Makai uses the same system as us." The Light Ascension spell was known only by the Kais and the Judges. There were documents describing it kept at each check-in station, in case all those with active knowledge were lost, but no Oni knew the spell.
Doom shrugged. "Lord Quietus taught it to a few hundred Demons as a means of increasing our power. The intent was to use Shinkai's strongest mortals, turn them into our own warriors, but those plans fell apart when none of Shinkai's best could be beaten, so they made due with what they could."
Mikomi frowned. /What is Quietus thinking?/ she wondered. /The fact that he even knows the spell is odd, he certainly wouldn't have been taught it by any of the Mazoku, not even those who have allied with him, and there's no way he could have read about it without Dabura knowing. But more than that, what could make him teach it to anyone? His intent is to seize the Realms for himself. When we fought him before he went out of his way to try and not kill Shin or I, he knew that balance was important, he only wished to capture and contain us.
/But now he goes and does this, actually intending to create more Mazoku than are supposed to exist? Perhaps he intended to replace the lower Mazoku who have remained neutral, but somehow I don't think that was his plan. He must know that having excess Mazoku would tip the balance, especially with things in Shinkai already off because of too few Kais./ She shook her head and cleared those thoughts out for now. It wasn't important in the current situation, and with any luck Goku and Bardock were about to put an end to whatever his plans were.
For now, all that mattered was dispatching of this problem before it had the chance to spiral out of control. She lifted into the air and charged toward the Mazoku quickly, pulling back her right fist and gathering energy into it. A quick blow and the battle would be over. As she neared, Doom merely smirked and the look in his eyes made her wary. He certainly lacked the power to hurt her, or to survive her attack, but his face seemed to be saying 'I know something you don't' and, she reminded herself, she had to be cautious of any magic he might employ.
With that thought in mind she increased her speed and covered the last fifty yards in an instant. Her arm snapped out, her fist slammed into his chest, and then the energy detonated in a thundering explosion of blue light. She knew at once, before the rumbling of the explosion had even begun to fade, that something was wrong. She could still feel his body against her fist, still sense his ki at the same level as before her attack, still tell that he was standing exactly where he had been a moment ago. Her blow, an attack almost four times stronger than him, had not even fazed him. He'd not so much as flinched.
She pulled back and looked him over in concern. No signs of injury from her attack. Not even a single crack in his scales, or a tear anywhere in his robes. She knew he didn't have the power to resist the blow, she could sense that quite clearly. And yet, somehow, he had. She lunged in again and slammed a kick into the side of his head. It had as little effect as the earlier punch.
"Terrific." Pikkon muttered. "Apparently he's become even more resistant than before."
"Resistant?" asked Zenryou, eyes still locked on the would-be-Mazoku.
The long dead alien nodded. "The blows I landed during our short battle seemed to have less effect than they should have." he replied. "And his seemed to have had greater effect. I thought at first that perhaps his scales were the reason for the resistance to the blows, but that didn't explain his greater than expected strength. It wouldn't explain this at all, either."
The Grand Kai nodded. Pikkon was right, if it were simply a matter of the scales adding extra reinforcement to his defenses it still would not be enough to repel Mikomi's attacks. What was interesting him at the moment was that Pikkon had managed to do damage at all and now Mikomi could not. Sure, the Demon turned Mazoku had since doubled in power, but the power differential between the fighters was greater now than it had been in the previous fight.
"Kibito, let's see if we can give her a hand." Zernyou said, lifting into the air.
The future Supreme Kai nodded and floated into the air to join him, and then both launched in at Doom. The Grand Kai knew his power would not really be enough to hurt him under normal conditions, but these were not normal conditions and so any damage would be welcome. Their opponent watched them charge with the same smug look on his face as when Mikomi had attacked, not that Zenryou had expected any different. He was resisting the assaults of the strongest being in Shinkai, of course he wouldn't worry about the weaker ones.
The two reached him a moment later and Zenryou's foot slammed into his abdomen with zero effect. An instant later Kibito's fist pounded into his face... and his head snapped back from the blow, he lost his balance, and stumbled back a few steps. As Doom recovered all four fighters paused a moment and considered what just happened. Doom was clearly shocked, the three Kais only curious.
Mikomi moved in to attack again, her foot slamming into Doom's back, but still it did nothing to him. This time, however, Doom didn't just stand there. With a growl he turned and backhanded Mikomi, but the blow didn't effect her, either. Zenryou and Kibito charged in again and, once more, the Grand Kai's attack did nothing while Kibito's, a kick to the gut, doubled the other over and elicited a gasp of pain.
Mikomi caught his eye and Zenryou nodded, the two then slipping back away from the battle. "Kibito." she began. "Do what you can against him, Zenryou and I will try and figure this out. Defeat him if you can, if not we'll come up with something."
Kibito glanced her way, nodded, and then charged in again. This time Doom was ready for him and blocked the incoming punch, then countered with a kick that knocked the future Supreme Kai back a few dozen feet. A moment later Kibito ducked under a kick, then came up and slammed an elbow into Doom's jaw lifting him and snapping his head back again. The Kai then quickly moved back as Doom's snake like tail lashed out, sharp fangs snapping closed inches from his face.
As the two of them continued to fight Zenryou caught movement from the corner of his eye and then saw Pikkon floating forward toward the battle once more. The alien had his eyes closed and was clearly focusing entirely on his breathing, keeping it even and the breaths equal in volume. He kept it up for several seconds more, then opened his eyes, clenched his fists, and hunched over. "Hyper Striker, Double Burst!" he called, the odd aura that had surrounded him when the Kais had arrived flaring to life around him once more, and his power quickly doubling.
Doom and Kibito paused and looked over, both sensing the spike in power, and then Pikkon was surging in to join the battle. The Mazoku swerved around a kick from Pikkon but was unable to block Kibito's punch and it smashed squarely into his face. While dazed from the that blow Pikkon spun about and pounded his heel into the other's left temple, spinning him around and knocking him down.
"This is very interesting." Zenryou said, watching the battle closely. It was clear from the few blows landed that Pikkon's attacks were, as he'd suggested had occurred before, doing less damage than his power would indicate they should. Kibito's blows, too, weren't as effective as they should be. In fact, the Kai's attacks were barely more effective than Pikkon's were, despite the fact that Kibito was strongest of the three by a fair amount. What's more, Doom had dodged Pikkon's first attack, clearly expecting it to be effective, when he had not expected Kibito's to be so.
"I'm not sure what is going on here." Mikomi said with a shake of the head. "Those created by the Ascension spells always have unusual and unique abilities, ones not normally present within the Kai or Mazoku ranks. That can be the only explanation for this. But... what that ability is, exactly, I'm not sure. Neither of us could faze him, yet Pikkon and Kibito are able to fight near evenly with him."
"Well, even without some special ability altering things I wouldn't be able to hurt this one anyway." said Zenryou with a frown. "He's got to be near Malchio's power, which is impressive indeed. I hadn't thought the Ascension spells gave this much power, even allowing for the souls he ate. Still, that you couldn't even faze him at almost four times his power, while Pikkon can despite being slightly weaker than him..."
"A seeming paradox." agreed Mikomi. "One that perhaps we must unravel if we wish to defeat him."
Pikkon darted around a kick and then surged in, slamming both open palms into Doom's back while Kibito came at him from the front and smashed his knee into his chest. Doom grunted in pain and anger as he quickly thrust his elbows back, smashing both of them into Pikkon's stomach. At the same time he rocketed his head forward, headbutting Kibito. He then shot up into the air before coming back down and ramming his elbows into the tops of their heads, driving them down toward the ground.
Kibito recovered before impacting the surface, but Pikkon slammed into the ground with tremendous force, blasting a massive impact crater. The future-Kai cast a glance at the rising dust cloud before charging back up at his opponent. Doom slipped around his kick, blocked his punch, and then countered with a punch of his own, but it too was blocked. He was readying another punch when a voice sounded from below.
"Hyper Flash Attack!"
Suddenly Doom was surging upward and Pikkon floated in front of Kibito, where the Demon had been an instant before. The long dead alien watched his opponent right himself, about thirty feet away, and frowned. Whatever caused this monster's resistance, it was absurdly annoying.
The difference in their powers was miniscule, the Demon's advantage in strength so small it shouldn't have made any difference. But it did, because of whatever strange magic he employed. Pikkon considered taking it up another notch, attempting a triple burst, but wasn't sure that was wise.
While it would put him on a level of power like that of Kibito the strain of each higher level of the Hyper Striker was exponentially greater than the one before it. The Double Burst doubled the strain of the standard level, a Triple Burst would quadruple the strain of the Double Burst. Meaning strain eight times greater than the standard form of the move. It wouldn't kill him, obviously, but it could make him lose power at excessive speed, or knock him out of the fight.
The Hyper Striker was still an imperfect creation, an unfinished technique. It probably wasn't wise to push it too far. /So we'll save it as a last resort./ he decided, just as Doom charged back down at him and Kibito.
The two dodged to either side, avoiding the Demon's flying kick, and then the three of them locked into a barrage of attacks as they each fought for supremacy in the battle.
"I think I'm starting to put this together." Zenryou mused.
"Then you are doing better than I." said Mikomi. "I still haven't figured out what could cause this. What's your theory?"
"Concentrations." replied the Grand Kai simply. "You and I have much higher purity concentrations than Pikkon or Kibito do. This manufactured Mazoku seems to have some sort of purity negation factor."
"Hmm, plausible." agreed Mikomi as Doom blasted both of his opponents away, then charged at Pikkon and slammed an elbow into his stomach, driving him back down into the ground, before turning to block a kick from Kibito. "And perhaps an added edge over those of purity as well, explaining why he's doing so well against these two."
"Indeed. And why he assumed he could attack and harm you."
"Now the question is, what do we do to compensate? How do we counter and overcome such a power?"