Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or

concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:

The Annals of the Heroine Akane, and the Dreaded Demon King. A Tale of the Mirrorverse.

Chapter 23; Heretic

Ryouga stomped down on the chest of the goblin that Kasumi had swept off of it's feet with her staff before he turned and delivered another bone-breaking blow to the chest of the one that had attempted to circle behind Kasumi. He looked at the bloodied, pale face of the priestess, and felt an odd sense of calm wash over him. The same calm that had filled him when Kasumi had cast her spell.

Ryouga had felt a moment of trepidation when the wall of light had rolled over him. His past experiences with that particular spell had not been pleasant ones. Instead, what he had experienced was something completely different. A gentle warmth that felt like Kasumi had washed over him. Had wrapped him in security and comfort like her arms around him.

It had been a momentary reprieve that he would never forget, come what may.

The pair looked up at a roar of rage as a pair of orcs started to move through the faltering tide of goblins. They were dressed in chain and plate, and both carried a spear, a shield and a heavy curved Orcish blade. They glanced back and forth before they leveled their spears and started to advance towards Ryouga and Kasumi.

Ryouga instinctively stepped in front of Kasumi as he settled into a stance with his feet the width of his wide, heavy shoulders and his hands splayed out. He snorted loudly as his eyes flicked back and forth as he watched for their first move.

The pair of orcs exchanged a brief look before they started to move with the smooth grace and confidence of warriors that have fought for years side by side. Each covered the other as they advanced, never leaving an opening for the hulking demon to take advantage of. As the orcs moved closer, their spears flicked in and out like stinging insects as they probed Ryouga's reach and defenses.

Ryouga took one, then another step back as he made sure that his own mass lay between the orcs and Kasumi. As capable as she might be, she was not prepared for fighters like these.

And he would gladly lay down his life for her. It had always seemed like a contrary idea to him before. How could you protect someone by dying for them? Now he understood, and he would protect her no matter what. He would defeat them, no matter the cost.

Ryouga felt a soft, gentle hand on his shoulder and relaxed slightly. He was not alone. They would prevail, and both of them would live. Ryouga's massive maw slipped into his version of a smile as he shifted his stance once again. He no longer stood in a defensive stance as he fell back. He took a step forward as he flexed his massive hands.

It was time to get to work.

The pair of orcs hesitated as the massive boar-headed demon moved towards them. It had made sense that he would protect his master, but what of the human? Especially one so obviously touched by that false Goddess? In the end it didn't matter. They would either kill him, or detain him long enough for the High Priest to carry out Her will.

If it was Her will, then Her champions would gladly lay down their lives.

Ryouga could see the resolve in the orc's eyes, and knew that they would fight to the death. He could see Her emblem on the tabards they bore. They were Champions of the Order of the Night.

This would be interesting.

Kasumi peered around the massive form of Ryouga at the retreating goblins and the two orcs, she couldn't help but feel that if she hadn't been there that Ryouga would not be in such a situation. She hesitated, then reached out and laid a hand on Ryouga's massive back. She felt him stiffen for a moment, then relaxed and rolled his shoulders before he shifted his stance and moved to engage the pair.

Kasumi gave a hesitant smile as she gripped her staff tighter and decided that she would do what she could to help her friend. It was all she could do, after all. She had become all too aware of her feelings about him, and couldn't help but wonder if he had started to feel the same. She had enough mana left for one more major miracle, so she needed to save it for when it was needed most

Ryouga moved forward, always forward as he started to force the pair of champions to move backwards. Their unity was a strength, but it could also be a weakness. As beneficial as it would be to attempt to surround or flank him, it would eliminate their main asset against him. So, he would take the fight to them and force them to make a choice.

Ryouga does not rush at them, nor does he move to engage with the ferocity that he had become so well known for. He advanced like the tide rolling in, inevitable and unstoppable. A force of nature that no mortal being could stop.

Rough could tell when they decided to act in how their grips changed on their spears, how their shields shifted and the smell of them. People tended to think he had poor eyesight, just because boars did. He didn't try to correct that mistake, nor when they forgot how good a boar's sense of smell was.

Never correct a misunderstanding of a potential enemy, after all

Ryouga grinned, and his tusks flashed in the half light as he feinted at the one on his left while he tracked the one on his right side. As the left one fell back, he went with it and let him lead him into their trap. A quick thrust at his leading leg from the one he had engaged had been meant to open him up for the driving thrust from the one on his side.

Just as Ryouga had planned.

A massive fist lashed out as quick as a viper and grabbed the ambusher's spear just behind the spearhead as Ryouga pivoted on his trailing left foot. The Orcish champion that suddenly found himself face to face with the Demon King's Rampaging Boar had enough time to swallow before Ryouga's left palm smashed into the center of his breastplate with enough force to send the smaller orc flying into the wall.

Ryouga finished the step back, but not before he was left with a bloody line on his left leg for his troubles. He knew that the orc would get back up. The champions were almost as tough as he was, and they had spent time in the Flesh Pits where they had enjoyed the tender mercies of the finest torturers that the Church employed. They broke down initiates and rebuilt them as loyal fanatics to the Goddess of Night. Tough, practically fearless, fanatically devoted and obedient.

The perfect lap dogs to carry out the will of the Church. Undoubtedly they had a raped together every bit of lore and rumor about the Demon King and his two retainers that they could find.

They were about to find out how little they truly knew.

Every record and tale of Ryouga spoke of his resilience, and how direct he was. How his only real speed was forward with a running start. A ponderous behemoth only truly dangerous when he had built speed, or could trap you before his might.

What they were not aware of was that he sparred with Xian Pu and the Demon King Ranma. You had to learn and adapt if you trained with two radically different fighters.

He had learned how to deal with someone far faster and more agile than he was from Xian Pu. Ranma was the best all-around fighter in the world, save perhaps the Heroine herself. Reflexes, agility, tactics and awareness had been what he had gained from the other two.

Ryouga grinned again as he could hear Kasumi as she shifted around behind him. She had done a good job of making sure that Ryouga was between the two champions and herself. It helped him to remain focused on breaking these two in ways that they would not get back up from.

The champion who had remained on his feet made sure to harass Ryouga while making sure that the massive demon could not finish off the stunned champion before he could re-enter the fight.

While Ryouga and his opponent felt each other out, the fallen champion stirred, then pushed himself back to his feet. He looked at his spear where it lay next to him with the haft cracked where Ryouga had gripped it. The orc growled out something fowl in Orcish before he pulled his heavy sword from its sheath with an angry hiss of steel.

The tempo of the battle shifted as the second champion engaged Ryouga once again. Ryouga shifted back as he avoided the attacks from the pair of orcs as they fell into a rhythm of strike and advance once again.

They pressed Ryouga back, and back again. Kasumi stayed behind Ryouga as they fell back, and tried to see if there was anything she could do to tip the balance of the fight.

Kasumi watched as the pair worked in concert against Ryouga, and forced him to take lesser wounds as he avoided the worst of their attacks. Kasumi had watched the others spar enough to recognize that the pai worked as one, and she started to get a feeling for the pattern of their attacks. She nodded to herself as she thought of an idea. Hopefully, it wouldn't get them both killed.

Ryouga could fel Kasumi as she shifted around behind him, smell the tension and resolve coming off her, and could guess the exact moment that the priestess decided to act. He caught the heavy blade of the orc's sword between his palms, then grunted as the other one ran him through with his spear.

Kasumi gasped as she saw Ryouga take a spea to the gut, and forced herself to move. She darted out and tripped the orc that had his sword trapped, and watched as he fell. She glanced aside for a moment, and watched in awestruck horror as Ryouga forced his way up the spear to grab his opponent.

Ryouga grunted in pain as he felt the spear sliding deeper into him, and out the back. The triumphant look on the orcish champion's face turned into one of horror as he found himself wrapped in the arms of the massive demon. Ryouga mused through the pain that for all they thought of him as some beastial monster, they often neglected to think of one thing. That he had a mouth filled with sharp teeth and a set of tusks. A fact that he reminded the orc who he had trapped by ripping his throat out with a savage bite and twist before he dropped the body and closed on the other orc who had scrambled back, and reached for his dagger just before a heavy foot came down on him as Ryouga slammed his full weight down once, twice, and a third time.

Ryouga winced in pain as he felt the priestesses arms around him, then looked down as she looked up at him and said softly.

"This is going to hurt, but I won't let you die. Not today, or any other." Kasumi said with determination before she gripped the spear and after a moment's hesitation, she pushed it the rest of the way through instead of trying to pull it past the vicious barbs that extended backwards behind the head.

Ryouga grimaced as he panted and slowly slid down to the floor with a hand pressed to the wound in his gut. Kasumi did what she could to help him down, then knelt before him, and lifted her voice in prayer.

"Merciful Mother of Light, I to bless this gentle soul and do not let him venture into the beyond. I ask thee for the gift of healing." Kasumi spoke softly, her voice filled with kindness and compassion before she placed her hand over his.

The moment stretched on, and nothing happened. Kasumi cast a worried look at Ryouga and repeated her prayer, then again. And another before Ryouga laid a heavy hand that was beginning to grow cold over hers.

"Stop, Kasumi. Your mistress won't save one of her sworn enemies. Save your strength… For those worthy…" Ryouga said, his voice drifting before he closed his eyes and his heavy head slowly fell forward.

Kasumi gasped as tears started to streak down her cheeks, as she shook him, then placed both hands over the wound and prayed again before she let out a heartbroken, agonized scream.

"You can't die! Don't leave me! Please… Wake up. Wake up, Ryouga! Damn them! Damn them both!" Kasumi screamed as she felt a heat rising in her, building more and more. The pressure became more than her mortal shell could stem anymore, and a glorious, warm light exploded from her and washed over the dying form of the demon who laid before her

When the light faded, Kasumi laid slumped against Ryouga. A long moment passed, then another before the massive demon took one ragged breath, then another before his eyes snapped open. He looked at the woman asleep against him, and then down at where the wound had been.

A scar was there, the flesh fresh and new, tender to the touch but whole and unbroken.

A miracle in spite of the Goddesses.