《Sailor Moon Silver Legacy》Act VII: Cleansing Fire (Part 4)
Advertisement
On Rei’s forehead, glowing scarlet, the symbol for Mars had appeared. Following this, a faint red aura began to envelop her body, and the restraints that bound her wrists to the bed began to give off smoke. A path of scorch marks was spreading across each of the thick leather straps, as if being seared by a lit cigarette.
Rei watched the computer Youma getting to its feet beyond the now empty window frame, her teeth bared and a look of hunger in her wild eyes.
“Does not compute. Does not compute,” Datadump repeated, confused by the human girl’s inexplicable burst of power. “Must eliminate!”
Rei strained with all her might against the weakening ties, and finally, the right one tore away. With her freed hand she pulled at the other and severed the second strap. As the monster made its way back into the room with its screen glowing dangerously, Rei leaned forward and released her ankle ties. Finally free of her shackles, she leapt off the bed just as Datadump fired its attack.
Rei’s blasted pillows released a hail of feathers into the air as she launched herself at her target like a madwoman. She pushed the mass of computer parts into the corridor and against the opposite wall, where she began clawing and pulling at wires. Datadump hit the girl several times with its flailing keyboard arms, but like a rabid dog, she wouldn’t relent, and wrestled the monster to the floor.
“Elimiate! Elminate!” cried Datadump, firing more energy rays from its screen.
However, straddling the machine monster’s chest with her knees on its shoulders, Rei grabbed the monitor that was its head, and angled it away from her, so its shots were fired down the long corridor, instead. With the beast all but disabled, she began muttering under her breath.
“Release me, human!” Datadump demanded.
Rei ignored the monster’s cries, and continued muttering, “Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen. Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen.”
“Your words do not compute!” said Datadump, but there was worry in its robotic voice.
“Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen. Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen,” the girl continued, her eyes closed tightly as the strange red aura that surrounded her grew stronger.
“Does not compute! Does not compute!” said Datadump helplessly. “Shearoff, I require assistance! Shearoff!”
“Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen. Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!”
Advertisement
Suddenly, the cloak of red energy around Rei enveloped the Youma. Then, her eyes flashed open with menace, and she bellowed, “Akuryo Taisan!”
Datadump began to shake uncontrollably and give off smoke, and sparks flew from its body as if it were short circuiting. Its screen flashed intermittently, briefly displayed a pixelated image of a bomb with a fuse, then went black.
Panting, the girl in the hospital gown watched as a clump of black mist escaped the monster’s screen, and the mass of equipment below her fell apart.
***
In lieu of taking the stairs, which were now full of evacuating staff and patients, Mercury leaped out of the window the furnace Youma had entered by, and skywalked up to Rei’s floor. In just a few bounds, she arrived at a second shattered pane. Apparently, this floor had also been penetrated by the enemy that way.
Hopping inside, Mercury flattened herself to the wall, checking around corners before she proceeded to Rei’s room, careful to step over the many victims that lined the floor. Oddly enough, her visor was still detecting the signal that was so similar to Minako’s. She didn’t understand it, but at least that meant Rei had not been taken yet.
Up ahead, Ami heard a scuffle of sorts, and took a deep breath in preparation for battle.
“Does not compute! Does not compute!” a voice cried out. “Shearoff, I require assistance! Shearoff!”
“Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen. Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen! Akuryo Taisan!” a second voice shouted, but Ami knew that voice. She knew those words, too, though, it had been years since she had last heard them. It was Rei’s voice, and those were the words of Rei’s meditation chant and command to exorcise spirits.
On reaching Rei’s ward, Ami was met with an unbelievable sight. Rei was sat atop a writhing Youma, shrouded in a red aura, vaguely reminiscent of the one Sailor Venus exuded. Rei wasn’t only awake; she had exorcised a Youma without even transforming. How could this be?
“Rei?” Ami called out, running toward her old friend, a smile spreading across her face in spite of herself. So caught up in the moment, she didn’t register the warning blinkering across her visor.
All at once Rei turned her head in Mercury’s direction, then leaped to her feet and lunged at the soldier in a rage.
Mercury’s smile faded as she stopped in her tracks and braced herself. However, it was an attack from the rear that she should have been worried about. Rei was not reacting to her. Rei was reacting to the scissor-handed Youma that had appeared behind Mercury with its sickle-like arm raised.
Advertisement
Caught unaware, Sailor Mercury yelped in surprise as her back was slashed. She fell feebly to the ground just as Rei threw herself at the Youma. Unable to assess the depth of her wound, but overcome with pain and fearing the worst, she shuffled towards Rei’s patient room, where she planned to take cover. However, she couldn’t let Rei fight such a lethal Youma. One false move and the girl could end up like Sailor Moon.
She had to give her idea a try. It was the reason she had stopped by her secret lab on the way to Rei’s room, after all. Mercury pulled the drawstring bag she had collected from her desk draw and opened it up. From inside, she pulled out another Crystal Change Rod, this one with a red crystalline orb on top.
Shakily raising the rod in the direction of the grappling pair, Mercury commanded, “Mars Crystal Power!”
To her delight, the Mars Crystal responded, transmitting power to its long-lost master. Rei was bathed in swirling red light, causing the bladed Youma to back away in alarm. However, to Ami’s horror, the emergence of Sailor Mars in her red and white uniform, came with an incredible shockwave.
Windows panes smashed, ceiling tiles blew away, papers from the Nurses’ station danced like leaves caught in a storm, and both Mercury and the Youma slid away along the hospital corridor’s smooth floor.
Ami grabbed hold of Rei’s door frame for support until the force subsided. Her visor’s computer readings were going haywire. Mars’ readings were now exactly like Sailor Venus’, and just like Venus, Mars was now shrouded in a large, flickering cloak of energy. However, unlike Venus, Mars was also giving off steam. It seemed the girl’s transformation was just as dangerous, if not more so, owing to the nature of the element she commanded.
“What are you?” the scissor Youma questioned as it struggled to its feet.
In response, Rei began chanting loudly, while making hand signals. “Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai—” she began.
“Don’t ignore me, you filthy human!”
Thinking about how much stronger Sailor Venus’ powers had become after they went out of control, Mercury realized she was in danger. She pulled herself to her knees and crawled into Rei’s room for cover. Just as she closed the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief, she spotted Makoto lying in the corner.
“—Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!” Rei finished.
In the same moment, Mercury threw herself across the room and on top of Makoto, grimacing from the pain in her back, put her palms together, and called out, “Bubble Spray!”
As Mercury erected one giant bubble around herself and Makoto, Sailor Mars roared, “Akuryo Taisan!”
In an instant, the top half of Rei’s room was flooded with scarlet energy that entered through the pane-less viewing window and licked at the air like flames. Despite being protected by her watery veil, Ami could feel the incredible heat radiating from it. She marveled at the power of Rei’s chant, which in the past had required an ofuda, and was usually employed to simply immobilize or exorcise an evil presence.
The scissor Youma would surely have been exorcised, if not burned to a crisp, but the chant’s enhanced output would probably have caused major damage. Once the energy dissipated, Ami forced herself to her feet, trying to ignore the pain from her wound, which she knew now must not be as deep as she feared. She moved into the corridor, summoned an orb of blue energy in each hand and commanded, “Aqua Mist!”
She kept her ability going for longer than usual, ensuring that the entire floor was swamped with moisture, and that any fires started by Rei’s attack were extinguished. She could see using her visor that the top half of the corridor was charred black. On the floor, stirring, was Rei in her hospital gown again. Beside her, was the red and pink Crystal Change Rod, and further away, a blackened pair of scissors.
Ami knelt next to her old friend and placed the Mars Crystal, which now had some definite cracks, back in the drawstring bag before removing another object from it.
“Ami?” Rei spoke softly, her bottom lip quivering, and her violet eyes watery and full of recognition.
Ami smiled sweetly and brushed Rei’s unkempt bangs from her face with one hand. Then, with one swift movement, she plunged the syringe she now held in the other into Rei’s neck, and rendered the girl unconscious.
Advertisement
- In Serial153 Chapters
The Last Human
ALL HUMANKIND died thousands of years ago... …but the xenos still worship them as GODS. Today, hundreds of alien civilizations thrive in the gods’ lost cities and fallen megastructures. One Empire has learned to harness the remains of humanity's forgotten technology to reconnect the distant worlds... and dominate them. Eolh is an old, jaded, avian thief who lives in the dark underbelly of a conquered city. When the Empire first opened the gate between worlds, they stormed his home, killed his gang, and burned everything he held dear. But that was a long time ago. Now, the resistance is dead. No one dreams of fighting back—for the Empire wields the weapons of the gods: warships that fly, robotic constructs that hunt, and rare mysteries scavenged from the tombs of the gods. Eolh lives a half-life, thieving, running jobs, and selling his services as a freelance listener for the last gangs of Lowtown. He trusts no one, and only looks out for himself. When an unusual heist takes a deadly turn, Eolh must bargain with an overzealous android who carries an impossible secret—one that will shake the foundations of the universe. There is one last hope for salvation. For his people, or maybe just for himself… Read this series if you love Dune, Star Wars, or stories about prophecies and long-forgotten technology. Take a journey across far-flung worlds filled with alien cultures and impossible technology. This epic Space Opera mixes elements of science fiction and fantasy, and features a cast of underdog characters who find untold strength as they awaken the ancient wonders buried by time. All this was foretold... One day, a human god will return. Now a Published Novel! Buy a Copy Here or keep reading on RoyalRoad :)
8 148 - In Serial7 Chapters
Heal Die Cry
This… is Helion Online. I am Cruel. And I work here. Author Announcement 08/29/19: I update bi-monthly. If you cant handle waiting that long, then you can sod off. You are not my boss. I refuse to be pressured by deadlines. This is not my job. But dont think for a second that I am not passionate about my hobby. K. Bye.
8 113 - In Serial8 Chapters
The Ultimate Classroom
Naibu Henko, 15 years old Is a happy go lucky guy with a good heart and average grades, but nonetheless still wanted to get into the most elite school because his brother graduated from there and desired to see what the school is like. If only the protagonist knew the mess he was about to get into, as Danshaku High School is no place for a normal school life. Story is heavily inspired by Classroom Of The Elite, so thanks for giving us that godly premise!
8 160 - In Serial41 Chapters
Orion || RWRB fanfic || Henry's POV
RWRB from Henry's POV.Henry is drowning in the pressures of his family, the media, and his 'prince charming' reputation. The last thing he wants is an international disaster. But with Alex, it's not really a choice...All rights go to Casey McQuiston for writing such an amazing book! If you haven't read it yet, please go check it out it is honestly so good.
8 884 - In Serial16 Chapters
The Angry Birds Movie: Silver Lining
Five years after the Battle of Piggy Island, life on Bird Island has been wonderful. Red's been accepted as a member of the community, Chuck's found true love (hard to believe, I know) and is about to start a family, and Matilda and Terence's romance is growing stronger every day.But when all seemed perfect, the pigs return and steal the eggs once again. With the help of a young falcon named Silver, Red, Chuck, Bomb, Matilda, Terence, and the baby Blues have to go on an incredible journey to get them back.I don't own The Angry Birds Movie. If I did, I would've made Terence Red's long lost brother.
8 151 - In Serial10 Chapters
8 Steps to Help You Stop Overthinking Everything
8 Steps to Help You Stop Overthinking Everything
8 164