Sorry this is so late getting out. Here is Chapter 7
"Manifest! Ball Lightning!" An orb of lightning sparked to life in Jio's palm.
"Still playing elementalist with those cursed seals I see. Why don't I show you what a real contacted spirit can do?" Kamito stated calmly, although one could still see the anger burning in his eyes. "Est, if you would."
"Yes, Kamito." Est stepped forward. With a swipe of her arm, a dozen wicked looking swords of various designs were called forth. The swords floated ominously in the air, their tips all pointed at Jio.
"Tch." The clamor of approaching feet could be heard in the distance. Jio launched the lightning spirit, not at Kamito, but at Ellis, who was looking confused at the exchange between the two males.
Without taking her eyes off Jio, Est sent several swords to intercept the lightning ball with the sweep of her hand, and directed the rest at Jio himself.
"Manifest! Shifting Sands!" Another chain tattoo glowed red as a wall of sand rose up and blocked the incoming swords. Est directed the swords to attack from several directions, but the sand barrier would continuously shift to block all the attacks.
Ellis was surprised to find herself surrounded by an assortment of floating swords after the lightning spirit had been defeated. She was still trying to comprehend everything that she had been hearing. The intruder accused Kamito of claiming to be the Demon King, but Kamito did not deny that allegation. Both males were using spirits, but Kamito said something about cursed seals. Just what in the hell was going on here?
"Tch. Damned interruptions. Well, my business is done here anyway. False Demon King, Kazehaya Kamito, I'll be waiting for you in Gado. Let's finish this there, where we don't have to hold back around these pampered bitches." Jio threw several kunai with paper tags attached onto the ground, allowing him to escape in the resulting blinding flash of light.
"If we hurry, we can still catch him before he escapes!" Ellis cried out, starting to give chase. Kamito caught her wrist before she could take two steps. "Kamito! Let go of me. Were need to capture the intruder before it's too late."
"Ellis, let him go." Kamito said in a firm tone. "We know where he is going, it's better this way."
"Y-you let him escape?" Ellis reeled in shock.
"Yes, fighting here would have resulted in casualties. He was obviously under orders to not harm any students here, but that would have been unavoidable if we battled on the campus." Ellis could see the reasoning, but her pride as a knight had taken a huge hit.
"Kamito,about what he said…" Ellis started to ask.
"I'm sorry Ellis, but that's not something I am willing to discuss with so many ears close by. I promise to explain later." Kamito interrupted as a large group of girls arrived.
Ellis shot him an angry glare "You'd better." "Knights, assemble! I want teams of no less than five on immediate patrols of the grounds. If you encounter any intruders, do not try and detain them yourselves, call for assistance. Rakka, Reisha, you take a team and check the dorms. Erika, Izumi, you lead a team through the main building. I want to know what the bastard was after."
"Yes Ma'am!" was chorused by all the knights as they grouped up and dispersed.
"Kamito!" Kamito turned to see Claire and Rinslet trotting up. "What's going on? We heard an explosion and the sounds of someone fighting."
"There was an intruder. He got away, but we know where he is going." Kamito explained.
"Kamito!" Fianna called out, running up and throwing her arms around the young man. Iseria followed shortly after.
"Was he after the seal instructions?" Iseria asked.
"I believe so. He is on his way to Gado to deliver them now. Fianna, we need to get there quickly to prevent them from breaking that seal."
"Where do you think you are going?" Ellis stepped in front of Kamito. "This is Syphlid Knight business. I appreciate the assistance before, but I cannot allow you to continue to interfere."
"Sorry Ellis, this is beyond your authority. Fianna and I were given a task in Gado, directly related to tonight's attack. This is a "S-Rank" mission." Kamito told the young captain. "Jio will not escape again." Kamito said with finality. Ellis and the other girls took notice of his clenched fist.
"Very well, but I'm going with you." Ellis glared at Kamito, daring him to argue.
"We're coming too." Rinslet stated, Claire nodding in agreement.
"Girls, we are going up against a force of unknown size, consisting of people far more powerful than you have ever faced before. Your lives will be in danger." Kamito warned.
"All the more reason not to let you go alone. You will need someone to watch your back." Claire insisted.
"You're all serious about this?" Kamito asked, receiving nods all around. "Fine. One last thing, you will learn some dangerous secrets on this mission. Secrets about myself and of the world around us. Just learning these secrets will place you in danger, do you understand?"
The girls looked at each other hesitantly for a few moments. "Why are we just standing around?" Claire broke the silence. "We should get going."
Two girls are sitting around a small fire spirit crystal in the Spirit Forest awaiting their final team member arrive. "Muu..Muir is so bored. Why couldn't Muir go see nii-sama?" A very young looking girl with ash blonde hair done up in short twin tails complained for the tenth time in as many minutes.
Her companion sighed. Her jade green hair swished past her sharply pointed ears as she shook her head in exasperation. "Muir, we have been over this. Jio is expendable, and she told us to wait here for the seal information and then go to Gado to retrieve the militarized spirit for the blade dance."
"Who did you say was expendable?" Jio sneered as he came out of the shadows.
"Did you get the document?" Lily asked unperturbed.
"Of course I did, who do you think you are talking to. If it weren't for that woman forbidding any harm to those rich bitches, I could have killed that bastard, Kamito." Jio stated.
"Jio, did you do something to Nii-sama?" Jio felt a chill creep up his spine.
"Muir, don't forget that Kamito is our enemy for the time being." Lily tried to remind the girl.
Muir's dark and foreboding face turned to the Elfim, who took an involuntary gulp. "Nii-sama will never be Muir's enemy. Nii-sama is just with another team."
"Y-yes, you're right. Kamito is not the enemy." Lily hastily agreed.
Muir's face brightened up and she skipped a short distance away singing "Nii-sama, Nii-sama."
"Jio," Lily whispered, trying to not alert Muir. "What are your observations of Kamito's abilities?"
"The son of a bitch has gone soft. Being around those pampered princesses has made him weak. I don't see what Cardinal sees in the guy, I'm the rightful successor of Demon King Solomon."
"So, the onee-sans are the problem?" Lily and Jio jumped when Muir appeared between them, hanging upside down from a tree branch. "Muir will go kill the onee-sans, and Nii-sama will be Nii-sama again."
"No Muir, you can't do that. Cardinal ordered that none of the students be harmed." Lily stopped Muir from leaving.
"Lily, are you telling Muir What she can and cannot do?" Muir asked with a straight face, her eyes going flat.
Lily started to sweat. "Not at all. I was just reminding you that we have a mission. Wh-what did Kamito always say about missions?"
Muir's eyes shifted as she thought hard. "Ummm...Oh yeah! Nii-sama said to put the mission first and worry about the other stuff later." Muir said with a finger to her cheek. Muir thought about it again, and with a pout "Fine. We'll finish the stupid mission, then I'll kill the onee-sans." Lily figured that was the best she was going to get so went with it.
"Okay Kamito, so out with it. Who was that guy?" Ellis asked once they were under way. There was a brief argument about the riding situation, with Fianna saying that she should ride with Kamito since her horsemanship was lacking, but Iseria refused to give up her spot. Fianna ended up riding with Ellis, Iseria with Kamito, and Claire and Rinslet on their own mounts.
Kamito sighed. "Look, what I am about to tell you goes no further, got it? You can't tell anyone. Not friends, family, servants, no one." Kamito waited until ask the girls acknowledged that they understood. "Have you ever heard of the Instructional School?"
"Wasn't it some orphanage that was performing illegal experiments on the children there?" Claire asked.
"The reports said it was a secret training facility that was destroyed about four years ago. I had seen the report on my grandfather's desk, but I was shooed away before I could read much of it." Ellis said.
"That's correct Ellis, it was a secret school for assassins. Children were brought in from all over the kingdom and forced to go through intense training. Many lost their lives." Kamito informed them.
"What does this have to do with the intruder?" Rinslet asked.
"He was one them, wasn't he?" Claire deduced.
"Yes. His name is Jio Inzagi. He was ranked eighth in the school. I'm only telling you this so you can understand who you are up against." Kamito stated.
"You were there too, weren't you? That's how you know him." Claire guessed.
"What? That's impossible. Kamito is nothing like that jerk." Rinslet exclaimed.
'That would actually explain a lot." Ellis thought to herself.
"Claire's right, Rinslet. Kamito is a former student there." Iseria said sadly, squeezing Kamito lightly.
"What rank were you?" Ellis asked hesitantly, almost afraid of the answer. Kamito didn't say anything, just raised his left hand and extended a single finger.
The girls were silent for a while after that revelation. Kamito couldn't understand it completely, but he was actually worried about what their reaction would be. Iseria accepted who he was, and that was the most important, but for the first time , he found people he could consider as friends. It was Rinslet that broke the silence.
"Well, that's good, right? I mean, he was the strongest after all." Rinslet offered.
"That's right, Kamito is still Kamito. Now you just know a little more about him." Fianna smiled. She was happy that the others were willing to overlook his unfortunate childhood and continue to accept him. She just hoped his other secrets would be as well received if they come light.
Jio, Muir, and Lily arrived in the abandoned mine town of Gado just as the sun was setting the following day. "We need to get to the shrine quickly, company will be arriving soon." Lily told the others.
"Yay! Nii-sama is coming!" Muir cheered. Giggling happily, Muir skipped away, her Jester's Vice mark glowing ominously. "Come on little spirits, let's play a game with Nii-sama." Every spirit that she passed started to go berserk.
Entering the old mine, Lily took a moment to look back at the old town. The frenzied spirits were destroying anything and everything in their wake. "Well, I guess that will slow them down a little." Lily marveled at her companion's antics.
Inside the mine, a second Jio was waiting, holding onto the stolen document. After handing it to the Jio that just arrived, the second Jio disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Here is the seal key, delivered as promised."
Lily took the papers and looked over them briefly before turning to look at the male assassin. "Very well, you are free to duel Kamito as was agreed upon." Lily disliked Jio, and it disgusted her that someone like him was given permission to try and kill Kamito.
Suddenly the three former instructional school students drew their weapons as they felt a presence emerging from the shadows. A young woman clad in mostly silk scarves appeared grinning mischievously. "My my, what a warm welcome."
"Sjora Kahn." Lily almost spat the name.
"I thought I sensed a snake. What are you doing here, Witch?" Jio growled. Muir just stared at the newcomer with flat eyes, fingering a bloodstone, trying to decide whether or not she should dispose of the new ruler of the Alphas Theocracy or not.
"Put that stone away brat. Who do you think supplies you with your little 'toys'?"
"What can we do for you, Lady Sjora?" Lily asked, gritting her teeth. To Muir, she whispered "Let's just get this mission over with." Muir huffed in annoyance and stomped away, brushing a torch on her way. The fire spirit trapped in the crystal flared out of control, scorching the ceiling before it burnt itself out.
If Sjora heard Lily's comment to Muir, she didn't show it. "I heard the Demon King had awakened, and wanted to see if it was true."
"Yeah, it's true and he is standing right here in front of you." Jio stated.
Sjora chuckled derisively as she looked Jio up and down. "That's cute. Oh, wait, you really believe that?" Sjora started to laugh, pissing off Jio.
He raised his hand and one of his seals started glowing. Sjora stopped laughing, but grinned maliciously. Suddenly several hundred magic circles appeared around the cavern. "I had prepared this to test the new Demon King, but if you would like to test it yourself, who am I to refuse."
"Tch." The glow from Jio's seal faded away and the magic circles vanished from view. Jio glared daggers at Sjora before turning on his heel and leaving the chamber.
"That's a good dog, now hurry along and do something useful." Sjora taunted. To Lily "Go and complete whatever task that woman gave you and your ragtag team of so called assassins. I'll handle welcoming our guests."
"As you wish, Lady Sjora." Lily bowed, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles were white. Lily understood that the Alphas were necessary to achieve Cardinal's, and by extension her own, goals. Still, Lily could not wait until the day she could try out some of her more exotic toxins on the witch.
"What the….what's going on here?" Claire asked, stunned at the sight of the rampaging spirits in the abandoned mining town. Most out the structures were heavily damaged and many of the spirits were starting to leave the confines of the town.
'This presence…" Kamito let a half smile form. 'I wonder if that means Lily is here as well?'
"We need to take care of these spirits before they attack anyone that might be nearby." Kamito stated, dismounting from his horse and assisting Iseria down. An earthquake shook the area, spooking the horses and causing Fianna to fall off. Kamito was able to catch her before she hit the ground, earning jealous glares from the other girls.
Summoning their elemental waffes, Claire and Rinslet began to engage the maddened spirits. "Kamito, we can take care of these spirits. Go, we'll catch up when we're done here." Claire said, a fireball in one hand and her flametongue in the other.
"Leave these small fry to us." Rinslet agreed, firing arrow after arrow.
"Right, you two be careful. Good hunting." Kamito nodded. He led the others to the mine entrance while Claire and Rinslet confronted the rampaging spirits in the old town.
Kamito stopped the group asset the mine entrance. "I want everyone to be very cautious in here. Those spirits out there were like that because of another instructional school assassin. That means Jio is not working alone. Standard procedure called for teams of three, so there is likely a third down here. Watch your backs and stay together."
"What about Claire and Rinslet? How do we know that one of them are not waiting to ambush anyone that status outside?" Ellis asked concerned.
"I know that two of them entered the mines, and if I'm right about who the third is, she would not be able to leave the other two alone. Someone has to babysit those two after all." Kamito chuckled and entered the mine, followed by Iseria, leaving the other two confused. They quickly snapped to and rushed to catch up.
In a large room just inside the mine sat an elaborate shrine that had been demolished. After carefully inspecting the rubble, all but Ellis proceeded further into the mine.
"Are we too late? Have they already made off with the militarized spirit?" Ellis asked.
"No, this was not the true shrine. It will be much closer to the heart of the mountain." Fianna explained. "The documents they stole not only contained the key to the seal, but also the location of the true shrine. There are many false shrines throughout the tunnel system."
"The destruction of the false shrines is probably the cause of the disturbances that alerted the Empire." Kamito added.
The group proceeded further into the shrine in silence so as to avoid alerting the group of assassins they knew were ahead of them. In the passage just outside a large grotto Kamito suddenly froze. He could tell that Iseria and Fianna felt it as well.
"Kamito, what is it?" Ellis asked in concern after seeing the looks shared by the others. That is when she noticed it as well. The area was too still. Even in a mine, wind spirits, even if just minor ones, should be present, but this area was completely devoid of them.
"We have company up ahead, but their energy is unfamiliar to me." Kamito whispered.
"There is also powerful magic as work here." Fianna said, placing her hand on a wall and closing her eyes. "It appears someone set a trap for us." She said stating the obvious. The ground rumbled again, slightly stronger than the last time.
"This is the only path to the true shrine." Iseria stated.
"Well then, how about we greet our host? It would be rude of its not to after they put so much effort into their welcoming." Kamito grinned, unsheathing Est. Ellis summoned Ray Hawk and Iseria placed her hands together, forming her waffe as she separated her hands and spread her arms wide. Unlike when Kamito used her waffe, this time it took the appearance of a double bladed naginata. The corridor they were currently in was too tight for Fianna to summon Georgios.
Cautiously entering the large room, everyone's guard was up, ready for whatever trap that was going spring on them. When they reached the center of the room, several hundred magic circles appeared, with demon spirits of every type emerging. The flow of spirits seemed unending.
Kamito slashed through a circle that appeared beneath their feet before it could disgorge any of its spirits. "Well isn't this a fun little jack in the box?"
The spirits in themselves were not very powerful, but due to their sheer numbers, the group was getting a workout. It seemed for every one spirit killed, three more would take its place. Suddenly the ground quaked again.
"Kamito." Iseria called out. "You and Fianna need to get to the true shrine quickly, there is not much time left. Ellis and I can handle things here."
Kamito was about to argue when an even larger tremor shook the room. "Very well, but you take care of yourself." Kamito said, kissing Iseria gently on the lips. Fianna and Ellis silently agreed to be jealous after this quest was done.
"Of course. Kamito." Iseria responded, returning the kiss. "You think I'd let myself be defeated by such weak spirits?" She smirked.
Kamito released his grip on Est's hilt and she returned to her human form. With a swipe of her arm, Est sent a dozen swords out, skewering many demon spirits.
"Thou, servant of the king of the child of man, knight and master swordsman! By the contract of the old blood, become the sword that protects me, come forth and do my bidding! " Fianna recited, the spirit brand between her bountiful breasts glowing brightly, as she summoned her contracted spirit, Georgios. The glowing giant armored knight swing its massive sword in a wide arc. Although relatively slow due to its size, more than a dozen demon spirits were cut down like wheat before a scythe.
Sjora scowled at the battle she was witnessing. So far her horde of spirits had only inflicted minor damage, but they were falling in incredible numbers. She was just about to enter the fray herself when she recognized one of Kamito's companions. "It can't be. Why would an Elemental Lord be here?" she decided the best course of action for now would to just observe. Slowly Sjora worked her way through the shadows to the entrance of the grotto in case she needed to make an escape.
"Alright Fianna, I'm going to clear a path. Be ready to move." Kamito said raising his right hand.
"I'm ready, Kamito." Fianna responded from behind Georgios' shield.
"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring." Kamito began an incantation, he placed his left hand under his right arm for added support as yellow tendrils of energy formed around his arm. "Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hado 63: Raikoho!" Kamito was pushed back a short distance as a giant blast of lightning shot from his outstretched hand, obliterating every spirit in a wide swath. With the exception of Iseria, every other person watched, frozen with awe, as yellow lightning continued to dance around Kamito's arm in the aftermath of the spell.
'A male elementalist that can use the Demon Arts...the rumors were true, Solomon's successor has emerged. Interesting, I must return to Scorpia immediately. There is much to consider.' Sjora was already plotting on the best way to exploit this new information as she silently slipped into the darkness.
"Fianna! Let's go!" Kamito called out, snapping the princess out of her stupor.
"Right!" She responded, running after Kamito toward the path to the true shrine. Reaching the tunnel, Fianna releases her summoning of Georgios, allowing the spirit to return once more to Astral Zero.
"Ellis! Behind you!" Iseria calls out the the captain of the knights.
"Huh? Oh, right!" Ellis came to, ducking under a demon spirit that flew at her.
Sjora hid behind the shattered shrine as Claire and Rinslet, who had finally eliminated the rampaging spirits on the surface, came rushing in trying to catch up with the rest of the group. Sjora slipped silently out there entrance once the coast was clear, not noticing the inky black tentacles following her through the shadows. With the caster gone, the magic circles began closing one by one, stemming the flow of incoming spirits.
Kamito and Fianna noticed the path was getting smoother the further they trekked into the mountain. Est was walking on Kamito's right side, ready to become his sword at a moment's notice. Fianna was to Kamito's left and a pace behind him. The tunnel was strangely bright ahead of them, too bright to be torch light. Kamito swore he heard giggling coming from the end of the tunnel. Near the end, the tunnel was covered in polished tiles that seemed to glow brighter just due to their presence.
"These tiles are made of high quality spirit crystal!" Fianna said excitedly.
"Fianna, be on your guard, we are facing three assassins from the Instructional School." Kamito cautioned Fianna as they entered the anteroom of the True Shrine. Standing in the center of the room with a smirk on his face was Jio Inzangi.
"It's about time you showed your face, I was beginning to think you weren't coming." Jio sneered.
"Huh? Did you say something? Sorry, I tend to ignore self important overconfident piss ants." Kamito said in a bored tone. In truth, Kamito was searching for the location of the other two he knew were nearby. Well, that and he loved pissing Jio off.
"Why you…" Jio started when Kamito tensed up and braced himself. Something was heading straight for him at a very high speed.
"Oof!" Fianna blinked several times in surprise when a blur slammed into Kamito and he disappeared with a loud crash followed shortly by a scream of "NII-SAMA!" Fianna was shocked to see Kamito standing twenty feet away with a young girl, astound fourteen if Fianna had to guess, with ash blonde hair clinging tightly to Kamito. Est had summoned several dozen swords the instant she felt Kamito brace himself and was about to eliminate the person foolish enough to attack her master, but held back when Kamito waved her off.
"NII-SAMA!NII-SAMA!IT'SREALLYYOU!MUIRHASMISSEDNII-SAMASOMUCH!WHY DIDN'TNII-SAMACOMELOOKINGFORMUIR?MUIRISSOHAPPYTOSEEHERNII-SAMA!" Muir cried out almost incoherently.
Kamito posted the girl's head as he looked down and smiled at his adopted little sister. "Now now, calm down Muir. It's okay, I'm here. I've missed you too."
Kamito looked up to see a young woman with jade green hair and pointed ears walk up next to a fuming Jio holding her face with her hand, shaking her head. Lowering her hand, She looked at Kamito with scarlet red eyes and a soft smile. "Master Kamito." she said with a small bow of her head.
"Lily, you are looking well." Kamito smiled at the Elfim.
Lily turned her attention to Muir, who was staring at Kamito with stars in her eyes. "Muir, don't forget, Kamito is our enemy now. We have a mission to complete."
Muir slowly turned to face Lily, the smile and stars in her eyes disappearing, her face becoming emotionless. "What did you just say, Lily?" The time of her voice like ice.
*crack!* "Owwie, owwie!" Muir turned teary eyes to Kamito, who had just karate chopped the young girl in the top of the head when he saw she was about to attack Lily.
With a heavy sigh. "Muir, I hate to admit it, but Lily is right. We are not allies right now. What have I told you about attacking your comrades?" Kamito admonished the girl.
"That's okay, see, you just said we're not comrades, so that makes it fine." Muir said with skewed reasoning. *crack!* "Owwie! But Kamito…." Muir pouted after reviving another chop to the head.
Jio was absolutely seething with anger watching this exchange. Everyone was ignoring him, the true Demon King! How dare they treat him as though he was insignificant! "Hey! Who do you think you all are?! Don't ignore me, I'M THE DEMON KING!"
Lily and Muir frowned as they looked at the boy throwing a tantrum. Fianna was still trying to figure out what was going on. Kamito just rolled his eyes. "You're still here? Do everyone a favor and just go away."
Jio couldn't believe he was just brushed off like that. Seeing red, Jio screamed "I'm going to kill you! Then I'm going to kill everyone you care about. I'll start with these stupid girls here, then all those bitches from that pompous school! That way you all can spend all eternity together!"
Kamito's eyes narrowed as he pushed Muir behind him. "Fianna, summon your spirit and stay behind his shield." Kamito said coldly. Fianna had never heard Kamito speak like that and quickly did as he said. Muir was about to release a spirit from a stone and Lily was reaching for a poisoned dart and her blow gun, but both stopped when they saw the look in Kamito's eyes. In all the years they knew him, they never saw him angry. Jio was oblivious in his rage at being ignored.
Est vanished in a cloud of spirit particles and reformed as a sword in Kamito's hand. "Jio, I'm about to show you what it means to be the Demon King." Closing his eyes and focusing inward, Kamito simply stated "I am the Demon King."
Claire and Rinslet made it to the grotto just the last of the magic circles closed. There were still several hundred spirits, but at least no more would be appearing. Iseria was only barely breathing hard, but looked as though she had just been through a minor workout. Ellis, on the other hand, looked as though she was about to give out. She was panting heavily and her uniform was in tatters.
Not wasting a moment, both girls jumped into the fray. Claire swung out with her flaming whip, burning through several spirits while Rinslet nocked an arrow. "Oh freezing ice fang, pierce your target! Freezing Arrow!" The single arrow turned into a multitude of ice shards, mowing down a large number of spirits, and taking the pressure off of Ellis.
"To think I had to accept assistance from those two." Ellis mumbled under her breath. It wasn't as though she considered either girl to be weak, in fact she believed both to be quite talented, it was just having to deal with their superior attitudes that she wasn't looking forward to.
Suddenly massive surge our divine power choked the air. The demon spirits stopped attacking and instinctively fled to the shadows to escape back to Astral Zero. "Wh-what is that?" Ellis asked the question on the minds of all the girls.
Iseria just looked down the corridor leading to the True Shrine. "Kamito."
"Th-that's Kamito?" Claire asked, stunned by the malice she could feel in the overwhelming power.
"Just what kind of monster is he?" Rinslet asked fearfully.
"Let's just put it this way, you don't want to piss him off. But you girls have nothing to worry about, he considers you as close friends." Iseria stated with a small smile.
"I am the Demon King." This was the power of the 'words of suggestion' he had used to deal away his powers. Suddenly an evil wind blew through the shrine. The amount of divine power flowing from Kamito was so great, it appeared as shadowy flames surrounding his body. Opening his eyes, Kamito smirked at the startled expression on Jio's face.
'What the hell is this overwhelming power?' Jio took an involuntary step back. 'No! I am the strongest! I am the Demon King! Not him! I can beat him. I HAVE TO BEAT HIM!' Jio psyched himself up and assumed a fighting stance.
"Even now you are still trying to fight me?" Kamito asked incredulously.
"I AM THE DEMON KING! NOT YOU, ME! ME!" Jio screamed. Placing his hands together, he performed several complicated hand signs. In a puff of smoke, there were now fifty copies of Jio in various fighting stances. More than a few of the copies were holding elemental waffes, while the others were either holding shuriken or kunai.
"Est, Weapon Works: Twin Fangs." Est, in her sword form, glowed blindingly bright. When the light faded, Kamito was holding two kodachi short swords. The Jios screamed and attacked as one, trying to overwhelm Kamito with numerical superiority. Kamito closed his eyes and focused on trying to locate the real Jio. 'Hmm, he's improved, these are true clones, not just illusions.'
"Absolute Blade Arts, Third Form: Shadowmoon Waltz!" Kamito waited until the clones were nearly on top of him and then unleashed a fury of spinning slashes, eliminating all but a half dozen Jios. Dodging the shuriken thrown by the survivors, Kamito moved on to dispatch the remaining clones when Fianna screamed out in warning.
"Kamito! Behind you!" Kamito suddenly heard a high pitched sound like a flock of small birds behind him as the real Jio appeared and lunged at him, his arm arcing with electricity.
"Die bastard!" Jio screamed, thrusting his electrified hands to impale Kamito through the heart. Just before his hand reached its target, a hexagonal shield appeared and stopped his attack instantly. The shield faded from view as Jio jumped back to create some distance.
"Did you honestly think I would leave my back unprotected, especially with your penchant for stabbing people in the back?" Kamito asked in a semi mocking voice.
"Damn you!" Jio cursed. "Why do you always have to get in my way? You have always blocked my path. What do I have to do to beat you?"
"This world does not need another tyrant to rule, but someone who can free it from the chains of oppression. You fight solely for your own gain, I fight for the sake of others. That's the difference between us, and the reason you will never defeat me." Kamito stated calmly. "Let's end this."
"Absolute Blade Arts, Destructive Form: Bursting Blossom Spiral Blade Dance!" Shifting his grip to have his right sword in a standard grip and the left in a reverse grip, Kamito launched himself at Jio, his slashes causing sprays of blood that almost resembled a flower. "8 hits, 16 hits," each strike coming faster than the previous one "32 hits, 64 hits." Kamito slid to a stop next to Fianna while Jio collapsed to his knees, gasping hard trying to remain conscious. "Jio, I made sure that the wounds are not life threatening, but if I ever see you again, I Will Kill You." Kamito promised, Est returning her single sword form.
"My my, not so full of yourself now, are we?" A young woman's voice taunted as a female form descended amid floating feathers.
"Restia." Kamito said with narrowed eyes.
"Perhaps you now understand your place, on your knees kneeling in front of the true Demon King." Restia continued to taunt Jio before turning her attention to Kamito. "Hello, Kamito. What's with that look? Aren't you happy to see me?" Restia asked innocently.
Iseria and the girls entered the shrine just after Kamito defeated Jio. "Kamito!" Ellis, Claire, and Rinslet called out as they rushed to check on the young man that had stolen their hearts. Iseria just calmly walked up and placed a hand on Kamito's shoulder. Not wanting to feel left out, Fianna joined the other girls standing with Kamito.
Muir clenched her fists in anger. 'Who do those Onee-sans think they are getting that close to Nii-sama? Muir needs to punish the Onee-sans.'
"Kamito, I'm hurt." Restia sighed dramatically. "To think that I have been replaced by your little harem there."
The human girls all started blushing and were about to voice their denials (or hopeful confirmation in Fianna's case), but we're cut off when Kamito raised his hand to silence them. "No one Couls ever replace you, Restia." Kamito placed his hand on Iseria's to make sure she knew he still loved her. "But I can't approve of your actions."
"That may be so, but you still aren't quite where you need to be to take your proper place in this world." Restia shrugged unapologetically.
While everyone was distracted, Jio was able to get back on his feet. Moving as fast as his injured body would allow him, Jio appeared behind Restia and threw a blood stone on the ground at her feet. "Capture and Corrupt: Manifest, Mad King Nebuchadnezzar!" Jio began laughing maniacally as a black smoke entwined around a struggling Restia.
Kamito quickly pushed everyone behind him reflexively. "Kamito…" Restia reached for Kamito as her eyes glazed over and she was fully engulfed in the smoke.
"Restia!" Kamito reached for Restia's outstretched hand, just to grasp air as she vanished. Restia's waffe, the Vorpal Sword, appeared in Jio's hands as he continued to laugh. "Behold! This is the power of the Mad King Nebuchadnezzar! He gives me control over other spirits! Come now, Demon King! Let's see you destroy your precious Darkness Spirit!" Jio screamed. Pointing the black sword Iseria and the others, Jio charged up the sword's signature attack. "Vorpal blast!" Black lightning shot from the tip, but to everyone's shock, Kamito caught the attack in his bare hand and absorbed the lightning into himself.
Kamito released his grip on Est, who was glowing brightly. "Senkei." All light in the shrine faded to darkness. Suddenly, light came back as countless glowing swords materialized, floating in four rows, each row rotating in opposite directions. The girls from the academy huddled together in fear from the display of power, they had not seen such a display since Rubia Elstein had betrayed the Fire Elemental Lord. Iseria looked on concerned as even she had never seen this form before. Muir looked on in awe, stars in her eyes.
Lily was torn, she hated Jio vehemently, but should someone as powerful Kamito be allowed to exist? She was slowly extracting a dart with her most deadly poison when several swords impaled the ground around the two assassins. Lily looked wry Kamito to see that he was staring at her, frowning. He slowly shook his head and she instantly got the message 'Don't interfere if you value your life.'
Jio was terrified. He didn't know that power such this existed outside the Elemental Lords. Feeling something warm running down his leg, he looked down to see the growing strain that signified that his bladder had just relieved itself. His only hope was that he was still holding onto Restia. Maybe there was some way he could bluff his way out.
Kamito held out a hand and a glowing sword appeared. "Absolute Blade Arts, First Form: Violet Lightning!" Kamito moved so fast that he seemed to teleport past Jio. Jio watched in wide eyed horror as the arm that held the black sword hostage separated from his body, and spun away from him, almost in slow motion.
Jio screamed as he grasped the stump that used to be his arm. He was on the verge of blacking out when he saw Kamito raise his left hand.
"Jio, this will be the last time we meet." Purple energy formed in Kamito's upraised palm.
"Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness! Hado 90: Kurohitsugi!" Black boxes started encase a struggling Jio, but he was frozen in place as the boxes climbed ever higher until he was no longer visible. When the column of darkness reached the ceiling of the shrine, innumerable cross shaped spears penetrated the box.
Releasing the spell, Jio's mutilated body was revealed laying in a pool of blood. The room returned to normal as Est, exhausted from exertion, resumed a human form in Kamito's arms. "Good job, Est. You can rest now." Kamito offered his sword spirit a kind smile and patted her head as she promptly fell asleep in his arms, slipping into her resting sword form.
There we tho, chapter 7 is finished. This chapter just didn't want to come together, i rewrote out several times trying to get it where i was at least satisfied with it. So Kamito showed his unreleased power and Jio is dead. Did he need to release? Not in the slightest, but he wanted Jio to truly understand how outclassed he was. Next chapter, Kamito deals with the fallout of his battle and we learn more about Lily and Muir's mission.