The screams didn't relent, not even when Gen burned all the Stain-bodies to a crisp. The wind whispered behind his ears, almost in a mocking tone due to how well they conveyed the helplessness and desolation of the original victims.
Covering his ears did not work, concentrating in the fight became impossible as the slime insistently pushed Gen to use his cursed flames. And rewarded him with agonizing screams and mutterings of curses and ill wishes.
His movements became sluggish, his reactions turned slow while the slime made him retreat. Focusing mostly on swarming him from the front while neglecting the back. Pushing him away from his teammates.
Gen struggled not to fall for that too. His mind reeled against the cries that the slime showered him with. So he didn't take optimal decisions while he fended up the messed up creatures that kept spawning from everywhere. At some point, he started screaming. But that too got drowned under the magic and screeches that the slime answered with.
"You're being toyed with, my Otherself." The reptilian voice of the dragon within Gen's soul admonished "It is plainly obvious. I am baffled that you've fallen for such cheap trickery."
"I know!" Gen gritted his teeth, struggling to speak while he took some of the damage head on to trade blows with a bigger Stain-body "I know! I really do! But it's too convincing! Some of the bodies did burn to a crisp! Some were real!"
"Even if that's the case, they were already dead. The creature had them. There was no other destiny in store for them."
"So what?!" A part of Gen's mind, probably the one touched by Lucius-san, accepted this as a fact. And yet, he refused to just shrug the loss of innocent lives off. He refused to simply let go of something so horrifying. Not when there were kids and old people mixed in, young couples and business men. They did not deserve to be absorbed, did not deserve to end up under Stain's power "They're still people! Still worthy of…!"
One of Stain's spells pierced through Gen's aura of suppression. Hitting way too hard for him to take it, forcing him to his knees as he countered with a curtain of black flames that bought him a couple of seconds to avoid being pummeled with Stain's sheer mass.
"Make no mistake. Such is the fate of the weak." The dragon spoke patiently, with little to no inflection in spite of the tight spot that Gen was in "Without protection, they will perish. And you cannot change that. So, my Otherself, stand up and fight without hesitation. Ignore the screams, turn a blind eye to the horror. Fight as dragons do: You alone matter in this battle. No loss is worse than one's own life, no sacrifices or regrets as heavy as being humiliated in this way."
Gen's tendrils were avoided, almost draining no power as Stain's numbers moved like a tide. Too aware of Gen's limitations for him to fight properly. Yuzu-san's teachings did very little when the monster in front of him knew exactly how to take advantage of his every move.
His senjutsu helped him recover faster, but he was still outmatched in every way. And the cold bit into his skin even though his body did not fall against the elements anymore. It put him out of comfort zone even more, and it reflected on his fighting.
Vritra turned some of the tendrils into snake heads, and pushed some power into nullifying and cursing the Stain-bodies that got far too close. Not attacking, but instead forming an organic wall that would've snared Gen if the dragon hadn't reacted.
The screams didn't cease, but they turned strange under Vritra's powers.
"Concentrate, my Otherself."
"I'm trying!"
"No, you are not. You are uselessly clinging to your human common sense. And that is giving this creature a way inside your mind."
"So what do you want me to do?! Forget everything and rampage?! There's no way I can…!" Gen stopped speaking, suddenly realizing what the dragon in his mind was trying to say.
"You know there's no way that more regular people survived the first strike. You know this creature would not pull off a trick that can cripple it." The dragon's voice remained calm. It hadn't judged Gen before, and it did not celebrate that he finally understood the meaning behind its words. It simply told him things as they were, now that Gen had come to the right conclusion "From this point on, it is unlikely that it'll pull off tricks that don't give it an edge in the battle so… You should cut loose now, my Otherself."
True. And in that context, keeping hostages made no sense.
"You… You're right." Gen screwed his eyes shut, releasing a burst of draconic flames that incinerated some of Stain's bodies. But it didn't give him enough space that the slime didn't immediately surround him.
He felt the acidic body start melting his body. Slowly, because of his touki and Rook enhancements, but as surely as the slime was hungry.
"Let us do battle like dragons are supposed to. Evil Dragon King Manifestation…"
Power surged forth.
"...Imagine Dragon!"
Stain's body boiled in a single second, becoming a mist of acid in the next one as Gen's black flames and aura expanded at an alarming rate. Shifting his senses so quickly that everything became a messy blur as things shrunk and his power became harder to contain. He struggled to breathe, and in his confusion he found a massive presence all around him that almost choked Gen's own lifeforce altogether.
He reeled from the sensation, and tendrils extended from his back to start sucking up Stain's surge of power.
The presence regarded Gen, not attacking or even being curious about him. But still holding back such evil intentions that it made Gen tremble slightly.
The Evil Dragon King Vritra held its dying will at bay. Just barely, but enough to let Gen get the gist of moving his new body. Of letting his abilities manifest in the most organic way possible.
He opened his maw, a mass made out of solid darkness and wrathful fire, and purple jets of magma-like power erupted from it. Forcing the slime to reel and turn into a mass of tendrils and arms that dispelled most of the fire with its own demonic power.
Stain swiftly left behind the resort, and became a plethora of flying creatures that nonetheless used magic to drain Gen off of his transformation.
He swatted them, not with the tendrils, but by moving his reptilian head so fast that the Stain-bodies were slammed out of the air by the wind currents that such an impossibly swift movement created. The other sections of him found the versions of Stain that had burrowed into the mountain and broke out of it, destroying the soil and forcing it down on Gen's dragon form as if the creature had tipped the thing with its sheer mass.
Gen roared. He didn't know why he did it, it just felt natural. And in doing so he extended his shadowy aura against the falling mountain. The weight of the rock, dirt, and snow pushed against the aura. And the aura against Gen's dragon form in turn. Helping him move out of the way while the slime shifted and created rings of flesh with hands within.
A magic circle appeared. Gen pushed his aura with another roar, and the circle vanished. Forcing Stain back into slime form.
The creature created more such rings. Big enough that the snake-like transformation could go through, if Gen slithered in their direction. But smaller than the first one. Gen pushed his aura further, using the energy he was fed from Stain's bodies. Even absorbing some of the magic in the circles. Destroying them as his absorption and nullifying aura collided with them.
Not enough. Other creatures surged and created them. Opening holes in space that spat out bodies that quickly gained mass and sprung bat-like wings and reptilian bodies. Activated against their will, commanded by the invisible and unheard calling coming from Stain's many bodies.
Evil dragons, or something along those lines. Gen felt Vritra's mind answer the challenge from the lesser wyrms, and felt compelled to swat them out of the air with his tendrils.
Those that dived for his body perished against the thickly packed aura and fire, while those that he took with his tendrils took some more time to be seeped out of their power and turn into dust.
The slime regrouped, creating massive chimeric creatures that spat magic as easily as Gen used his Sacred Gear.
He tried to nullify them, but the power behind them was more than his Sacred Gear could contain. It slowed them down, weakened their powers, but Gen needed more to use against them.
Not a problem: He directed his tendrils toward them, absorbing the energy needed. And then weakened the creatures until they too were overcome by the black flames.
Why did it think that size would matter? Why did it choose to fight in a realm where Vritra felt the most comfortable? Power, he took. Techniques, he unveiled. Even if the slime was as smart as every creature it absorbed, in the end, it would never compare to the power of a dragon! Even Gen scoffed at the choices it made, trying to recreate its massive bodies. Trying to get him to fight it head on.
The outcries were replaced by a more tranquil sound, one that didn't grate Gen's ears as much. The slime tried to amp it up; tried to get to him in the same way as before. But it didn't matter. Those were the death spasms of a creature desperate to run away, to gain an edge in any way possible. It almost sounded like a melody in Vritra's ears, one that encouraged him to keep going.
This slime was crafty, but it would not rival the might of a dragon. It knew things, but it could not outsmart the experience of a being so much more ancient and powerful than it could ever imagine.
Gen slithered farther into the forest. Leaving behind a scorched pathway that helped create clouds as more and more snow became vapor against his cursed body. It forced Stain to use more magic, and using his tendrils he absorbed the power behind every spell to keep his transformation fueled. It had tried to distract him from something, and that suited Vritra just fine. If the Oblex wanted to fight a battle of attrition, it was welcome to try.
The power absorbed, the curses left in its many bodies. Gen did not know why it thought that biding its time was a good idea. Even if it could cleanse itself, as long as its many bodies remained, the Prison Dragon would remain. And those same powers could be used against it once more.
The melody intensified, encouraging Vritra to unroot the Oblex from its many hiding spots and deliver devastating streams of flame that were almost liquid in consistency. Purging the earth from the life it coddled, and forcing the creature to start fleeing as most of its bodies were tainted by the cursed flames.
It fought back. Some of its magic managed to bypass the suppression and absorption coming out of the draconic projection, scratching at the construct and making it leak some power. The answer came in the form of more fire, directed at the smaller versions of the slime while another gargantuan mass of flesh climbed up to—.
The huge creature got cut, forcing its growth to stop as ooze flew in a single direction and its own weight pushed it back until it toppled and had to readjust from the loss of mass.
The dragon manifestation turned around, trying to find the source of the huge gap in its foe. And only found the small form of an individual standing in a thrusting motion. Sword moving back as the human-like being reeled from their own attack.
Robes, silver hair, and a perpetual scowl made the dragon turn its whole serpentine body. Lashing with its tendrils to the slime while it gathered its thoughts. It recognized the small being, Gen at least did, but it was hard to put a finger on it. Figure of speech or not, since the dragon manifestation lacked any limbs.
She taught Gen something, that was for sure. And it made him realize just how massive he had become by comparison. She'd fit right into his maw, and would be swallowed up without resistance. Although the fierceness in her attack made him hesitate to call that shot. No. It had attacked the Oblex, and not him. So adding that fact to Gen's fuzzy memories made him confident in letting her be.
Others fought too, but they were too indistinct to notice. Only this silver haired young woman had stayed put for enough time, and now even she became a blur as the slime clashed against them in several different places. In several different ways.
Gen pushed on, and the slime retreated in turn. Keeping a minimum distance at all times while Gen shrugged off the attacks coming from other places. Giving chase, knowing that he'd win out as long as it kept catching other Oblex-bodies and draining them of power.
And yet, it bothered him. That mop of silver hair felt like easy prey, and that idea clung to him insistently. Even though he understood that he should be focusing on the enemy in front of him. Something in Vritra's mind had just latched onto the idea, and the melody whispering behind his ears just made him doubt his own thought enough to wonder.
Should he? Surely not. Like, he had this in the bag. But he should still not get distracted. Even if it'd take just a—.
Something landed on Gen's head. Lightly, shallow. With neither strength nor magic behind it, but the malice the small thing emanated still made him react.
Something stabbed him right in the cranium, and the dragon manifestation wavered.
Gen blinked, and found himself still in Imagine Dragon form. He wanted to make noise, but the maw only let him grunt. Not even ask where he was, or what he was doing out of sheer shock.
Abigail-san's form greeted him atop of his ghastly head.
"There we go!" She cheered as she focused her attention elsewhere "And she's… Right there!"
Abigail-san launched herself off the Imagine Dragon manifestation, using her vampiric blood to shapeshift in mid air and gain momentum like a missile igniting. She turned into a vaguely bat-like shape. More wings and darkness than anything, and maneuvered around Stain's bodies with the agility of a jet. Avoiding the creatures and magic that the slime conjured once it realized it had been discovered.
Gen launched the counterattack, preventing Stain from getting to Abigail-san by any means. Conjuring his aura in such a way that had Stain melting away and returning to its original oozing form. Forcing it away from Abigail-san by the power of gravity and the lack of demonic power at its disposal.
Abigail-san slammed into one of Stain's bodies. One that was farther away from all of the fights, closer to the now-fallen down mountain. And pulled.
A girl with purple hair got dragged out of the Stain mass. Connected to several organic tendrils, deprived of her senses and only looking barely alive. Kept from dying by Stain's ministrations.
The song that came out of her lips was weak, barely audible. But it carried enough power that, when Bel Lucifer slammed into the mass as a giant mech-like dragon, Gen's only reaction was to cry out Abigail-san's name before his mind started eroding again.
"How do you win against a creature that can outhink you?" His sister asked, pushing the chair she sat on into tipping backward. Getting the two frontal legs off the floor while she balanced herself with her feet.
"You don't." He answered, keeping his magic running so the small room of secrecy he created would not be breached. He didn't trust that Stain wouldn't be around in some form, so these precautions had to happen "Not in the conventional sense."
"Explain your B.S." She told him in a deadpan tone.
"This world is a huge mess. Even if we cook up a thousand countermeasure plans, there will be a thousand more ways to overcome those plans. Demonic power is pretty bullshit by itself. But there's miracles, Sacred Gears, random mythical items and stuff." L****s shook his head, arms crossed as he pushed his own chair back, mimicking his sister "Just between the two of us we there's the Kankara Formula, my All is Mine, the Sephiroth Graal, and Annihilation Maker. Surely, we can come up with something."
"I see. So you're telling me the most effective way is to use our super specific combination of skills to win once and for all." A*****l moved her lips from side to side, thinking while she played with how much she tipped her chair.
He nodded, double checking that his spells ran properly.
"And you're sure about this?"
"I mean, if we're attacked then it'll be while we're at our most vulnerable. Probably while we regroup, thinking that we're safe." L****s argued while looking at the magic circles clustered around him, which represented the parts of the spell he kept going "The only thing I'm certain, is that Stain would've spent these two years cooking up something nasty. We can be certain it'll blow up sooner rather than later. Even if pulling back from the Khaos Brigade will create problems for it."
A*****l gave it some thought.
Kuroka was waiting for L****s, but being on the same page as his sister came first.
"Yeah, I have an idea." She admitted.
"Cool. What do I do?" L****s' question made his sister laugh.
"Why, think of another strategy of course! One just as likely to work, just as specific in the combination of powers required." His sister's words made him scowl.
"And if we get in each other's way?"
"C'mon, Cricket. Do you really think we'd make that mistake? You and I? Hmm?"
"But what if it just sheds its biomass when it's cornered and—never mind. I almost forgot the point of getting the Kankara Formula and Sephiroth Graal." L****s cradled his chin.
"We get to game the system." His sister sounded satisfied "My specialty."
"Yours and mine, Abby."
"Eww, don't call me that!"
Their names would be a problem too but… No. One step at a time. And Stain certainly came first.
L****s' mind went back to his brother.
Bel's Juggernaut Drive slammed against Gen's manifested dragon body, driving him into the dirt as blasts of demonic power tore away darkness and flame out of him.
He screeched, maw wide open in spite of not needing to. But driving his tendrils around the white semi-organic armor once he heard the damning 'divide!' announcement coming from his foe.
Losing power sucked, but Gen's instincts kicked in soon enough. Maybe because of Abigail-san's ability, or perhaps because Yuzu-san had ingrained it into his mind so thoroughly. Regardless, Gen suppressed the connection between the Divine Dividing and his power. Stopping the Sacred Gear from taking any more from him while his tendrils worked in overdrive to ensure that he got all that power back.
He kicked up more of his cursed flames and aura, and the Juggernaut Drive reeled and tried to divide the curses. All to little effect.
Gen coiled around Bel's armor. Ensnaring her and pressing her wings together on her back to rob her of the ability to take flight. While at the same time slithering around her neck, more to prevent her from biting him than anything else, and used his tendrils to keep her claws away from his body.
He became a living bondage to her trashing. Only hanging on because of continued suppression of the dividing connection. But Bel had too much power, and she did take a couple of divides out of him. Gen felt sluggish even as he kept her in place. Now not so sure of being able to win the battle of attrition.
The song barely reached his ears. It made him more sluggish, but something kept him from going back to full instinct mode. Perhaps Bel's constant trashings, or the noise of flames and wreckage combined with being slammed around as Bel tried to shake him off.
Perhaps his own nullifying aura was helping, and would do the same for Bel.
Gen slithered to give his head enough space to maneuver. Releasing Bel's arms and letting her claw at his projected body because his control over it wasn't as good as he'd have liked. He groaned, which came out as a roar, at feeling a body not quite his own damaged like that. But he toughened up and pressed on.
He spat streams of jet-black flames right on top of Bel's dragon head. More nullification power than cursed flames, letting go of his aura as he concentrated on the Vanishing Dragon. Feeling his mind quickly turn numb and almost stop to keep attacking senselessly.
Bel's trashings changed. And Gen quickly closed his mouth and released his nullification aura to its maximum output. Or at least as strongly as he could.
He uncoiled from Bel, letting her get her bearings as she checked herself. Still in Juggernaut Drive form, but very obviously confused.
Gen groaned, a pitiful sound coming from a being that had been wrongfully attacked, and motioned with his maw toward the battles that still raged on.
The slime twisted in various places. Obviously struggling to control its many bodies, which looked like a successful surprise attack to Gen. Perhaps Abigail-san faked Stain out, perhaps getting swallowed was part of the plan all along.
Vritra's words rang true: No one had time to pull off useless moves now. So Gen would have to grit his teeth and believe the Invader was alright.
Bel extended her wings and took to the air. Her movements looked more focused, filled with actual intelligence and intent behind them. Gen took on the new titans that Stain conjured. Not just with its biomass, but by taking them into the battlefield. Brainwashed, or programmed to follow its commands.
Yuzu-san's movements caught Gen's attention, and he moved to intercept. He threw some tentacles to stop some of the creatures that came out, and took some of their power before Yuzu-san stepped on the tendrils and used them to launch herself in a different direction.
Gen turned them to cinders, Yuzu-san stabbed her hand forward and her demonic power cleaved through more Khaos Brigade creations. Wings extended, but only helped cushion the fall.
She landed on Gen's head.
"You're doing great, big boy." Her injuries healed up as she took a moment to get her bearings. Gen made a guttural noise in reply, but moved on to keep dispatching the Stain-bodies while she grabbed onto his ghastly horns.
Cutting and smashing worked awfully against Stain. Most of the damage simply threw its biomass around, which picked itself back and regrouped. But against the monsters that it commanded, it worked out fine. Stupidly, Gen believed that Stain would be the only thing they'd have to fight. It'd be tough, and they'd be caught off guard at any opportunity, but he still believed that a single entity would be a challenge they'd overcome.
But this? Even as Bel used Half Dimension and reduced a big part of the battlefield into… Whatever compressed space becomes… Gen had the strange feeling that it had just become futile. Stain was more sluggish, the music had stopped, and the way the tables simply turned around didn't sit well with him.
Gen reached out into his mind and found Vritra on the other side.
The connection broke, and Yuzu-san had to take to the air once more as Gen undid his Imagine Dragon form.
"What are you doing?" She grabbed the hems of her bathrobe as she landed on the dirt below, barefoot and dirty all around, but still dignified enough to show that she didn't agree to Gen's decision.
"It's over." Gen murmured.
Yuzu-san looked at the battlefield.
"We didn't win." She pointed out "But I get what you're saying."
"I don't know why, but it feels like it retreated."
"It might've shed its biomass, leaving behind a newly spawned Oblex. Enough knowledge to fight, but a distraction at best." Vritra added once its consciousness fully re-emerged from the Sacred Gears.
"I don't like that idea." Yuzu-san glared at the remnants of the battlefield "It doesn't feel like we forced its hands."
"It has no such… Oh, it's a metaphor. Do forgive me."
Gen chuckled humorlessly, feeling so tired that he could crash at any moment. Only really kept on his feet thanks to Kuroka-shishou's teachings.
"Now what?" He finally asked after a bit of awkward silence.
"We take stock of our losses." Yuzu-san said the obvious "This place is obviously no longer safe, but I doubt we'd find any refuge capable of withstanding infiltration from Stain. We'll have to…"
She turned around, her senjutsu flaring up as she searched her surroundings. Gen perked up a bit, but waited for the Belial girl to finish her search.
"Where are they?"
"I haven't seen anyone since transforming." Gen answered, a little confused.
"I saw Abigail, Kuroka, and Miyuki." Yuzu elaborated "Where is Lucius? Where is Sin Devourer?"
Gen stopped breathing.
"We were separated purposely." His heart picked up, feeling sweat run down his forehead even as Bel landed beside them. Out of Juggernaut Drive "He might've been caught in another teleportation spell."
"No. He can affect spells, that can't be it." Yuzu-san looked at the sky above. Some clouds had gathered because of all the snow that melted.
That can't be it…?
"My Otherself is right." Vritra added before Bel could even speak up "Brace yourselves, this isn't over."
Above in the sky, a presence pushed everything else back. It was so massive that Gen couldn't not feel it. Drowning everything else as a small body slowly descended.
Black hair, petite body, purple eyes. Her expression was hollow, albeit a bit bothered. It made Gen sweat even more, for he felt like a prey animal being stalked by an apex predator.
The Infinite Dragon God, Ophis.
"We have to regroup." Gen whispered.
"Forget that." Yuzu-san's battle experience shone even now, choosing the obvious answer in spite of the crippling horror "Run."