Chapter 142 - Double Dragons Perfected
|Siege Engine Collision - 01:23:08|
The rumbling continued to remind the team how little time they had to waste facing every Devil Splicer that got in their way, conserving their energy was paramount but with how big the Siege Engine was it made navigation harder. Or until half the complex became mapped at an alarming rate. A result only one such hero could master as they rounded the final corner at a large T-junction leading to the bridge across to the Incubator's chamber, or at the very least, close to it.
"Woah!" "Hold you fire!" Two voices rang sharply before Katsuki could blast the figures away. He lowered his glowing palms to see his upperclassman Mirio, smiling like always, and the wings of Valstrax pointed forward to stop the ash-blonde. The others with their group were Miruko, Jura, Reiko, Tetsutetsu, and Amajiki.
"Tch, don't run suddenly around corners then!" He snapped before Yuki slapped the back of his head.
"Says the Dumb-Dumb blasting through every corridor ahead of the group," She deadpanned, seeing him open his mouth to speak but her flat stare told him to 'try it and see where it goes', so he closed his mouth, huffing once.
"Haha, you guys are always in such high spirits, even during a crisis!" Mirio chuckled.
Yuki looked to her Mom with relief. "Hey, Mom."
"Seems we're on time then," She added with a nod, hugging her daughter briefly before turning to Endeavor. "While our groups are a little mixed up, we found Miruko along the way," She jabbed her wing back at the woman with cybernetic legs and a large hammer in place of her left arm, she was standing over the corpses of more Splicers, buried under her hammer. Valstrax then leaned forward, hand covering her mouth. "She really likes that hammer..."
"Damn right I do! Best prosthetic I could ask for!" She beamed, giving them a wave. "Sorry for getting lost, Endeavor, but now we're all together again! Nothing but a short walk from that big bastard who's been watching us like hawks since we got here."
"I heard Kovik's been listening in..." Endeavor huffed, looking toward a wide, rectangular airlock to the outside world. "Let's keep moving."
"Hey, Amajiki!" Yuki greeted, seeing him flinch a little from her reply.
"H-hello, Azuru, you look okay?" He gauged the dirt on her armour while she did the same.
"Nothing we can't handle, but I have to ask... why's everyone just standing around before we arrived?" Yuki noticed it on her HUD. Their icons hadn't budged this whole time, but why?
"That might have something to do with the big guy through the door I bet," Mirio stated, making Valstrax flinch. "He didn't seem to mind me passing by, but I was moving pretty fast," The blonde smiled while scratching the back of his head.
"Who?" Izuku blinked, looking toward the door.
"...Doryu, the Red Dragon," Jura murmured, shivering at the idea of facing that indomitable villain again. "We took a quick look before, he seems to be waiting for us."
"Which is why I want Lemillion to take you guys through that secondary route," Valstrax announced suddenly, waving her hand down. "We can handle Red Dragon, the rest of you need your strength and getting injured now will only make things easier for Kovik and Shigaraki,"
"Aw, come on, I want a real fight for crying out loud!" Miruko huffed, clearing unimpressed by this plan.
"We stand a better chance combining our efforts, y'know?" Hawks hummed but Valstrax didn't budge on the matter, making him frown in thought. "Unless... you don't want us to get involved."
"Mom..." Yuki trailed of, finally stomaching what to say. "You can't expect us to stand and let you fight him alone, even Classes A and B combined with Pros couldn't beat him!"
"Much as I hate to admit it, she's right," Tetsutetsu grunted, not at all happy about that fight but what else could they do?
"Look, I understand your concerns, fighting with more than five people is smarter..." Valstrax bit her lip, looking back at the door, behind it, she felt the bioenergy emanating beyond it. "...but I have to confront this, I won't live with myself if I didn't, just like you have to fight Kovik and Shigaraki," She gazed at Yuki and Izuku saying this, smiling slightly. "We'll be okay, this is our fight as much as your fight is to you,"
"Are you certain about this?" Endeavor stared at her sharply. "Once we leave, we cannot waste time doubling back,"
"Always knew you were a softy..." She chuckled, then waved a wing down a corridor to her right. "Down that hallway is a door to another bridge, Lemillion's mapped it out so he can lead you there, leave the main bridge and any Splicers that follow to us,"
"We'll keep her safe, Yuyu, promise," Jura patted his friend's shoulder, watching her deflate with a nod, accepting there was no time to argue.
"I'm counting on you guys..." She murmured, passing her Mom a saddened expression. "Please be careful."
"Ditto," She winked, ruffling her daughter's hair as they followed Mirio, Endeavor and Hawks nodding in passing as Miruko rolled her eyes and chased after them, itching to move again. "Now that their team's complete... let's move on to our mission," Valstrax flexed her wings, finding the teens standing with her. "You sure you guys are up for this?"
"We're to be heroes, comes with the territory, right?" Jura shrugged.
"It will not be an easy battle, but that won't stop us," Reiko nodded, rubbing the place where her scars from Halimaka lay hidden, she was no stranger to life-threatening situations now, in fact, her fear was far more controlled this time. "We will stand with you,"
"I-I'll do my best too, that's what Mirio would do," Amajiki was shaking but even with a nervous face he didn't look away.
"Let's crack this guy's armour wide open this time!" Tetsu was straight to the point that it made the Sky Comet hero laugh.
"Alright then, be ready," She moved to trigger the doors to open, and a harsh wind quickly entered the hallway as they pushed through to the outside.
The wind settled around them but still whipped at their hair as various bridges connected to the rest of the Siege Engine, large black walls segmented at the edges of the titanic ship while the rest was left wide open, leading straight down to the country sailing beneath their feet. Across the largest bridge they stood on, standing at the opposite end was Doryu himself. His shield resting its bottom half on the ground as he watched them silently for a time.
"Doryu..." Valstrax spoke up, feeling many emotions overwhelm her heart in that moment. She could smell it in the air, he was dying, rather, he was coming closer to that inevitable end.
"Akame, I see you, advanced alone," He noted that the scent of her daughter wafted through the air, along with the stench of ash and brimstone of another hero. "You sent them, away from here, why would you, do this?"
"This isn't there fight, you know why," She shook her head, lowering her hands. "Doryu, it doesn't have to be like this, I know why you feel this is the right course but... but this isn't worth murdering thousands for!"
"You are wrong, I am here, for they will, fall without me, I will stand, for I cannot, stray my course," Doryu announced, raising his head a little. "Choices I've made, resulted in this, I cannot sway, it will insult, those fallen,"
"That's not fair to you," Jura spoke up, "Why should you feel guilty for the mistakes Kovik's made? All those people, even if they were working with villains, they didn't deserve to die like this, because of him!"
"Quiet," Doryu's voice was raspy and deep, but it rose slightly, frightening Jura into zipping his mouth shut.
Swallowing a lump in her throat, Valstrax watched Doryu with solemn eyes, "I know what happened... before you met me," She let the silence drag out a little over the wind. "What happened to them, it wasn't your fault,"
"No. I was hesitant, I hid myself, my wife, my children, all died, I lived, and people die," He stated hollowly, "I cannot stop, if I do, their lives, would have been, wasted, disgraced."
"So was I just to make you feel better?" Valstrax knew that wasn't true, but she wanted to hear it from him, why did Doryu struggle for a cause he knew would be the end of the very country he wanted to protect? Why was he so stubborn!? "Was that all you saw in some stupid little girl back then!?"
Doryu kept his silence longer as Valstrax took off her helmet, displaying the silver scales across her neck to her cheeks, her eyes sharp like a predator with her fangs born. Her deep blue eyes were flooded with anger, grief, love, compassion. "...you are, more than that, I was mournful, at first, then resistant, then I accepted, you are important, you will, always be important," His words seemed to shake her, casting her eyes down as she sat the helmet to the side.
"If that's the case, why is he still here?" Amajiki pipped up. "Why isn't he pursuing Endeavor's team?"
"Why hell won't you fight against him!?" Tetsu barked.
"Enough, speak no more," Again, Doryu's sheer tone silenced them.
"The puppetmaster, has many tools. Puppetmasters, think alike. But I cannot, let you through. Paranormal Liberation Front, cannot destroy, itself," He affirmed. "I won't, betray again. Or they, those who suffer, the struggle, are for nothing. They die. Even if, Kovik, has gone mad..." He eyed the Siege Engine as he continued. "How do I tell, those left, their leader, is mad? A traitor? How do I say, he is wrong now, but once right? How do I say, he, who you follow, must now die?" He pressed his halberd down once, sending a ripple through the air. "I won't let, Liberation, become 'Villains, civil war, then nothing.' I will not."
"Darkness consumed him," Doryu revealed. "I sensed it, within that relic, I was late, far too late, it whispered, a ghost, the past haunted, and Kovik fell, he spreads it, Splicer and villain, all under influence, beyond our world," He shook his head slowly. "Cannot prevent it, so I stand, warding those away, Toga knows, she fled too, Spinner fell, Infernal to Dabi, now, Kovik to Shigaraki,"
"All of them are infected with NARA, and NARA came from the Incubator," Valstrax put it together slowly, then horror etched to her features. "Yuki... she's..."
"If she listens, it will claim, children are foolish, they fall victim, I cannot prevent," Doryu sounded remorseful then to Valstrax, he had expected them to fight as one, but now, even his last action had resulted in death. "Fate is irreversible, I will not bend, but others will, I must not, stop moving," He then motioned with his halberd to those present. "To stop them, to destroy us, you must fight, if you fall, I will kill, every last person, in the name, of heroes,"
"Guess we're out of options..." Jura grimaced. "Valstrax?"
"Stubborn idiot..." She bit her cheek before exhaling, "I really don't want this, I hate this," She hissed, splaying her wings, taking in a long, fresh breath of air through her mouth and breastplate before releasing a small puff of red air from her wings, their vents roaring to life briefly. "But for my home, my family's sake, don't hold back, Old Man." The others hastily got themselves ready to fight.
But Valstrax paused, "...Is this really what you choose? Doryu... You don't have to die." For the last time, her voice dripped with sympathy that reached death's ears.
"Choose? I have only, one choice. To kill you,"
"Red Dragon, we don't need to throw more lives away! No matter who wins, this battle is playing right into the enemy's hands!" Jura tried to counter but a slow shake of the head was given.
"Wrong. Tekton, this, is war. You want me, to stop. Why, should I stop? I fought far, too many wars. In this world, there are fates, worse than death. Why should I stop? Who dares, test me? My virtue? They called me, righteous. Should I, accept? Fate thinks me weak. Do I suffer it? They called me strong. Should I bear it? Hero, Vigilante, Villain, Guardian..." He trailed off. "Heroes... you detain, slaughter comrades, I'll kill you. It is not, revenge. I have no heart, for vengeance,"
He stepped forward, his foot shaking the bridge. "I, will not, give up. I only know, what I see. I only know, what I hold. I don't fight you, for my comrades...But I loathe fate. I will crush it, grind it to dust. If fate, lets you, make me turn. I would rather, never turn, back."
"Be ready, even with his quirk killing him he's still as powerful as the day I met him!" Valstrax warned with a yell, getting them to space out further along the only bridge they had for ground. "Red Dragon an ancient vigilante who's considered the most powerful dragon-quirk user in history!" There was no lies or deceit in her tone, Valstrax knew what kind of monster her mentor was.
"I fight, for the living, for all oppressed, to the end. Liberation Army, cannot fall. You have only, a few minutes left. I say, no more. I seek no, understanding. I only, fight wars," Red Dragon craned his arms to lift his shield and halberd, stomping once as cracks fed their way into the ground, the bridge's underside covered in rock and dirt, vines were stretching under them too, connecting to lower bridges. All were sucked dry of life, breaking apart Doryu's armour to move more fluidly. "Heroes, I advance."
From Doryu's back sprouted his ethereal wings, threshing them once to nearly blow the teens back as Valstrax stood her ground, gathering as much air as she could muster, causing the pigment in her vents to turned neon blue. With a roaring red glow, Valstrax's body underwent a staggering transformation of her own, eyes flashing ice-blue before becoming coating in a bleeding red smog of dragon element. The same effect coated her wing-tips, a constant red pigment covering them and her forearms before she leapt forward, tearing up the ground behind her as she swung her body wide, slashing both crimson wings across the striking halberd, launching Doryu into the sky as she gave chase.
"Valorgod - Crimson Glow!" She snarled, charging with her claws brandished. She slammed the full weight of her right arm against the shield, flinging herself over as she avoided the glaring wings, blasting a hellish barrage of dragon element into his back, but through the black smoke his glowing halberd swung wide, clipping Valstrax's chin as she flew backward and swiped her tail upward across his right arm, throwing the halberd back long enough to twirl and bring a heel down on the tower shield that suddenly moved, the blast knocking one another away, some of the bridges behind them groaning from the shockwave.
"Chimera!" From below, several large tenticles wrapped around Red Dragon's legs, attempting to pull him down, but one flap of his wings threw Amajiki back, so he used his left as it took on a form the vigilante didn't expect, a silver dragon claw. The boy swung wide, backhanding Doryu's shield as his claws caught the edge, pulling it aside slightly for Valstrax to bring a straight kick against, causing the shiled to slam back into Doryu's body, his legs catching the wall of the Siege Engine as he drew what little bioenergy could be found in the metal, oxidizing it while swinging his halberd around twice.
"Here it comes, now!" Valstrax yelled, and as a wide stream of bioenergy rippled through the air, several steel pillars tanked the blast, reducing the columns to smouldering metal and blue flames. Suneater and Valstrax pushed through the flames, a bombardment of red energy battering Red Dragon's shield, followed by a sharp sweeping kick to his back legs, seeing Amajiki flying below Akame's attack to strike Doryu's blindspot.
The dark skies above lit up an ethereal blue as another storm of bioenergy was swept in a rising spiral around Doryu. The whirlwind threw Amajiki into the side of the metal ravine as he cried out in pain from the shield slammed into his body, dragging and tossing him across the sky into the edge of another bridge, but his right arm retained its tentacles, dragging Red Dragon's shield back for Valstrax to lunge forward and bury her fists against the vigilante's chest, pinning him to another bridge as the tentacles fell away.
"Crimson-!" Valstrax drew both wings forward, jabbing them against Doryu. "-Raze!"
Two torrents of dragon element blasted the bridge apart, sending twisted metal and rock plummeting. Unfortunately, glowing white lines snaked from the debris, turning everything black and grey as rocks crumbled into dust. The lingering bioenergy absorbed into Red Dragon as his halberd swung through the dust, carving a deep gash across Valstrax's right wing that fended off the attack, a small gash split from her right side and across her left thigh in the same motion, throwing her flight completely off.
Doryu threshed forward, intending to plunge his halberd through Valstrax's stomach. The twin edges nicked at her abdomen before the wind pulled the panting silverette back, she blinked, oddly impressed as Doryu grunted, trying to move his halberd only to find a thick outline of magenta containing both the weapon and his forearm. Below, on the main bridge, Reiko was sweating bullets, holding her taut hands forward to maintain control over the weapon but she felt her head nearly explode with pain from the sheer force struggling against her.
"Come on, Emily, ya got this!" Tetsutetsu encouraged, helping to keep her steady at the edge as she forced herself to stand tall.
The wills of Red Dragon and Emily were swaying control over the halberd as its aura flickered between purple and blue, struggling forward as the two contended with one another for a mere few seconds before a burning bright light emanated from the polearm, and Tetsutetsu shoved the girl aside into Jura's arms as she cried out, losing her connection as the halberd came crashing down into Tetsu's palms, himself barely keeping the spearhead from digging into his throat as he was thrown onto his back, the sheer force of Doryu's weight pressing down.
"Iron Everwyrm!" The pillars coiled and converged from underneath the bridge, crashing against Doryu's shield while he obliterated the others with his halberd, swinging in wide, devastating strokes that sent bursting geysers of bioenergy through the ground. Tetsu scrambled off the ground, charging forward to bring his fists against Red Dragon's massive shield, striking in tandem with Jura's ever-shifting pillars, forcing the great warrior back a few inches until one solid slash to the gut tore through the boy's steel hide, flinging him across the bridge into Jura.
"Tekton, Steel!" Reiko gasped, quickly raising her hands to the retracting pillars, controlling three of them to collide with the top of Red Dragon. But with a single swipe of his staff, their torn remains fell from the Siege Engine. Forcing back the throbbing sensation in her head, Reiko kept her hands raised, seeing Doryu pause to ward off the sharp fragments of shrapnel flying around him. "I will not be a hinderance, not now!"
"Poisoned to death? Bled to death? Or gutted for your friends to see, what do you think, huh?" Halimaka smirked, his fingers digging into her neck, drawing blood. She struck his chest with another needle in her hands, but he cackled darkly, shrugging it off. "Already useless, too bad, I think I'll let you writhe in pain as you bleed out!"
"I will not be useless when others are relying on me!" She was more determined than she had ever been. It was a desperate, terrifying situation, but she used all that fear to make the pain lessen and concentrate on holding Red Dragon back. "Hopefully... our plan works."
High above the slow-moving Siege Engine, hidden in a cloud layer, Amajiki held onto Valstrax as he shivered a bit from being inside the rain cloud. "You ready?" Valstrax asked after giving him a loose scale of hers to eat, seeing his legs transform into silver dragon legs, unlike what Valstrax could do, much to chagrin.
"Ready," He nodded without complaint, flexing his eagle wings wide as the crimson overflow on Valstrax wings started to fade. They had one shot at this and it had to be now.
Grabbing his arm to keep him steady, Valstrax pumped a huge abundance of air into her wing vents, and in a flash, the cloud was dissipated in seconds, a sonic boom catching the eyes and ears of many aboard the dreadnaught at the woman's re-entry. Amajiki held firm, twisting his body while flexing his wings back to reduce the drag as his right foot and Valstrax's left pressed together, forming a bright scarlet cone at their soles. "Unity Move-!" Valstrax hollered.
Red Dragon swept the last of the metal storm from his sights, raising his head slightly to come face-to-face with the twin heroes, their feet inches from his body. "-DUEL RUBY STAR!"
Together, their combined velocity struck Doryu at such a force they threatened the bring the whole bridge down with them, the opposite wall to the rest of the Siege Engine buckled and dug inward, leaving several impacts at various depths in the wall. Red Dragon had been submerged in the dust and the lingering scarlet blast that rocked the sky, forcing the others to cover their ears and close their eyes to endure the shockwave.
"Holy crap... did they win!?" Tetsu gawked, smirking at the destruction.
"The dust's settling," Jura whispered, helping Reiko to her feet while the forms of Amajiki and Valstrax became clear. "Look, they're-" His words died in his throat.
Valstrax's armour was smashed in certain places, her breastplate's vents shredded, meaning her attacks no longer would have that kick to them, blood dribbled down her chin. Amajiki was much the same, his white cloak torn to shreds, his boots peppered with holes as blood stained some of the cuts. Both looked utterly exhausted, but neither tore their eyes away from the bridge's end.
Through the smoke, a blinding light filled the area, burying the darkness in a blue sheen. Doryu flapped his wings, drawing his halberd toward the sky as he siphoned every ounce of bioenergy into the polearm, the seconds went by, and the blue light sucked away all other sources, the world growing darker. Valstrax grabbed Amajiki in that moment, running back with a scream. "EVERYONE RUUUUN!"
The maroon tint of Red Dragon's armour appeared almost pitch black with the white cracks in his armour shining like stars as all anyone could hear was a booming heartbeat, all centered toward the bright sapphire star held at the tip of the halberd. Jura, with all his strength, slammed his hammer arm, Forger, into the bridge, unleashing several thick columns with Tetsutetsu bracing against them alongside Reiko using her poltergeist quirk to sustain them longer with Jura if they broke.
With a bright white flash, a great tsunami of blue flames shot past the wall and over the top, but they were safe as for the crushing weight against the wall that started to heat up considerably from the blast. Tetsu let out a cry of defiance, holding strong with his heels dug into the ground, the edges of the outermost columns curling as they melted away. Everyone tucked themselves closer, waiting for the fire wall to subsided before the walls crumbled away, leaving them on a bridge rapidly repairing itself, spewing red nanites into the air alongside the azure flames. Other bridges far and wide collapsed and folded in on themselves.
Standing tall through the smoke, Doryu stomped forward, waving his halberd once to brush off the lingering flames, but his armour had lost its bioenergy, he had used up everything. Valstrax inverted her wings, grunting from the clear pain in her right wing. "This is our chance, lay everything you have into him!" For a moment, her heart stopped beating, and she stared back into those glowing red eyes marching against fate. Valstrax felt her eyes tremble before a fire roared to life in her blue eyes. "DEFEAT HIM!"
Using her wings, she fired long beams of dragon element to batter his shield, he kept pushing forward, even as the waves of crimson rolled by his body. Piece by piece, every collision made him struggle but Doryu wouldn't stumble. Jura whisked his fingers across the ground, summoning more steel pillars to batter the shield, the ringing metal was followed by pieces of the massive shield beginning to chip away, flying off the bridge combined with the burns from Valstrax's dragon element keeping his approach slow but no less harrowing.
Another large blast left Valstrax as the red faded, revealing the now shieldless Red Dragon that pursued them slowly, his upper body slouched slightly in an imposing manner as radiant bioenergy erupted across his halberd. Reiko gasped seeing this, watching the weapon draw back even as Akame continued to tear into his red hide, breaking it apart and burning its rugged edges. Doryu swung his arm only to feel his shoulder buckle, seeing that purple aura surround the staff again, holding him in place.
Reiko coughed, bleeding from her nose as she tried to sustain a field around it only for Red Dragon to swing his arm once, breaking her hold as she was knocked back into Tetsutetsu's and Amajiki's arms. He raised his weapon, intending to impale the Sky Comet hero who held her wings up by force as they buckled. In a last ditch effort, Jura threw himself onto the ground, tossing one last pillar at an angle that couldn't be blocked, snapping the radiant blade off the polearm at the last second.
What would've been the end only made their eyes stiffen with fear as Doryu discarded the broken weapon, stepping closer to Valstrax. Then, he raised his clawed hand, shadows cast over his terrifying visage as he intended to crush her skull as his hand shadowed her steely face, eyes unwavering toward the man as the wind whipped her hair to one side. Jura gasped, trying to lift himself, Amajiki pushed forward, dragon talons brandished to assist.
Reiko and Tetsutetsu were frozen solid in fear.
Jura and Amajiki shared a desperate look to intervene.
Doryu's eyes glowed a vibrant red.
Akame's face was unwavering.
Doryu stood motionless, looking around at a void with curiosity. He had suspected it would come to this, the darkness beyond held a sinister glow. He took one step, then stopped. His large form slowly turned toward a different light, softer, giving off warmth even through his armour. "You can rest now," A woman stood there with her arms crossed, she didn't look angry despite her furrowed brow. Her eyes a gentle lilac, hair a darker tint and tied into a short ponytail. "Fate won't find you here,"
"You say that, you know, it is false," Doryu argued but the woman was having none of it, stepping away from the light to stand before him, significantly smaller than he was but she still managed to jab her finger against his breastplate.
"Oh? So you're a prophet now, hm?" She gave an accusing look. "Look at me," She watched his head crane down to her fierce glare. "Do I look like I care what fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it, has in store for me? I'm dead, kinda think we're past that margin, don't you?"
"I cannot stop, even now, I have, killed many people, I still, have no excuse," He tried to argue but she once more shot a fiery stare up at him.
"You think I'd still be here if I didn't know that?" Her gaze didn't relent, but her tone was gentle. "Doryu, no one is guilty free, and what you did, not many will understand, hell, it took me time myself," Shaking her head, she offered her hand instead to him. "Whatever choice you make now, I'll follow it like always, I don't regret the choices I made because I made them, not some otherworldly force. I chose this path, I've accepted the consequences like you have."
He stared at her for the longest time, he would turn around and leave but what the woman said next held his stature. "Just like your daughters, you found another and inspired her to do what you couldn't anymore, to stomach the world he had to live with," Then her angry stare melted away to a loving gaze. "And she in turn found her own daughter who will do more than she can, it won't be a perfect solution, nothing ever is, but it'll be the start,"
"She will, be tested, Kovik is strong, the relic, will consume her, ...how can, you be sure?" He asked, noticing her hand tugging his right toward the light.
"I'm not, guess we'll... leave it up to chance?" She teased. "I think that's far better than fate, no?"
She was a small, delicate person compared to Doryu's stature, and yet, her tugging lulled his feet to move. His armour crumbled into dust with each heavy step, his face visible in the light with a bewildered face, mouth ajar slightly without words. His skin covered in white scars. "I see..." He gulped, closing his hand around hers. "...I hope you're right."
In that moment, Doryu, the Red Dragon's quirk had consumed his body at the last second. He had succumbed to his illness.
The air was silent as everyone lowered their guards. Akame stood around Doryu's hand, frozen stiff, the red in his helmet having closed over. He was gone. She furrowed her brow, placing one hand on the man's torso, brushing her cheek to his side. "...goodbye, Dad," Letting her hand fall away, she stepped toward the other end of the bridge, the others slowly stepping past Doryu toward her.
"Valstrax?" Jura murmured, seeing her stop with her wings folded tightly.
"Everyone, come here," Her voice was slow but no less authoritative. Quickly, they came close enough to see her darkened expression, despite grief wracking around in her brain, she turned around with her back to the door. "Thank you for this,"
"Are you okay?" Amajiki asked, he didn't know the extent of Valstrax's relationship to Red Dragon, but that last moment more than made it clear. He was worried she might need time to be alone despite their situation, and yet, her eyes looked no less livid as her tail flicked her helmet into her hands again.
Carefully, she hid her face again, her eyes a vibrant blue as she slowly expanded her wings, a dark ceiling of clouds above, bolts of blood red lightning striking the sky and parts of the Siege Engine. "No... now I'm pissed," She snarled as from the door they came from, several Splicers approached, manifesting from the very walls themselves.
"What the!? Where'd all the reinforcements come from!?" Tetsu coated himself in steel again.
"For now, we hold the line for the others, that's our job," Valstrax confirmed as her eyes narrowed. To the students' horror, the statue-like state of Doryu began to shift, red like veins seeping into the holes and fissures in his armour. There was no heartbeat, only a hollow grunt as the corpse was moved on invisible strings, turning in a feral-like hunch toward them eyes bleeding red miasma.
"What has Kovik done to them...!?" Jura was breathless but raised his hammer attachment while Reiko stayed behind him until she had the strength to use her quirk again.
Despite their victory, the worse of the Devil Splicers had only just begun to unravel itself.
To Be Continued...
Boy, this was a chapter! Dragon fight, gotta love it. Oh, and yeah, Valstrax gave some of her fallen scales to Amajiki to beef him up. Doryu was an indomitable force of nature, but of course, even in death, his body was never going to be left to waste under Kovik's watch. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Heroes!
Next Chapter Intermission: Blood Binding Perfection
Toga is in an unlikely partnership with Tsu and Ochaco against a dangerous Fallen. A choice is to be made...