Tides Of Protomis CII

Gusion

The large creature continued to emerge from the void, the rip created in the barrier only continued to grow as its long, spiny, scaled coveted body emerged. Though covered in spines, it notably lacked any sort of limbs. Taking on a much more serpentine form. Its full length dwarfed many of the buildings around them. The creature's appearance was met by surprise. From Yudei, and the other pilots around them, as well as Jirou Hashimoto himself. The latter landed on a nearby roof, and soon found himself flanked by slayers from the holy order. The wide-eyed expressions on their faces told him all he needed to know. This wasn't some run-of-the-mill demon. This much was confirmed by the one to his right's speech.

"We have a problem, That demon is a B-class at the least… I knew the higher ups created the ranking system cause they knew they existed… But actually seeing one is nothing I hoped to experience."

"Either way, this doesn't look like something we can handle."

Well, that certainly explained a lot for him, after all, Miyamoto never mentioned how the ranking system was established. Either way, he had more important things to worry about. Or rather, a more important thing.

" Is that so…?"Jirou began, trailing off.

In the midst of all this, Yudei could not just float there and let the thing begin what it was likely planning, given the trend set by the other demons. And if it was stronger than usual, even more so. Reckless it may have been, but who was to say his attack would fail?

" I’m going in!!!" Yudei declared with a shout.

"Sasaki, Hold on!!" one of the pilots shouted, attempting to deter him. But it seemed it was much too late for that. A Salvo of missiles flew from the machine's launch bays, with high energy beams of Sigma particles streaking from the barrels of the many cannons. Another piloted clicked his tongue as he gave out his orders.

"Tch… Typhoon formation, We’ll move behind it-"

The pilot was shortly cut off. The cockpit that was formerly protecting him, first became a mass of molten metal, before falling into nothingness. The very same happened to his body. He was not the only one to have this fate, his squadmates were soon gone as well. The Raijin was not undamaged, with a wing being torn off by the Ray of demonic energy.

"Damn… If I redirect power to the cannons, I may have a better chance."

Yudei began to move his hand across his display, navigating through the os until he discovered the program he required. Acting upon his plan of redirecting power, before putting his gaze forward. And the resulting ray that came from the cannons, was clearly stronger, and larger, exceeding the height of the Raijin's HAU mode. But, even so, when hit by the constant stream of Sigma particles, the demon floated there as if nothing had changed. Which had certainly put a cap on the Youth's confidence. It was only in response to this attempted attack, did the creature finally speaks

"Pathetic."

"What?!" Yudei shouted in his confusion.

But he didn't get the chance to analyze this statement, as before he knew it, pain was shooting through his arm, the skin nearly torn apart, and burned at the same time. As the pain continued to spread, he also took note of the fact that half of his cockpit was nowhere to be found… Or Rather, half of the Raijin.

"Dammit!!!" Yudei shouted, in a mixture of both pain, and frustration. The source of the attack was not seen , but it was by Jirou, a flash of Crimson light that came from the demon's maw. That much allowed for him to move quickly enough. As the creature opened up once more, Jirou was already there, yanking Yudei out of the Raijin's cockpit. Leaving the prototype to crash into the street below. Thankfully, the armor was strong enough to survive the fall, it could at least be recovered. The yakuza landed on a nearby roof, placing Yudei on his feet.

"I Didn’t expect you to be the one piloting that thing, Sasaki."

"I’ve been doing pilot training for a while now… But that’s not important, Point is, the Raijin’s totaled, and our weapons don’t do anything, so this has gotta be one of the stronger ones."

Jirou cracked his knuckles, beginning to step forward as he responded.

"Yeah... I’m not 100% on being able to take it out, but I'll do what I can."

Jirou shot toward the creature, who began to go forth as well. Slithering through the sky as red light flew toward his opponent. The yakuza began weaving around the attempted attacks, outright blocking the ones he wasn't able to elude. The attempted attacks continued as the two got closer and closer. As Jirou got within melee range, he took the opportunity to slam his fist into the creature's scales, breaking some pieces off and sending the force rippling through his body. But he didn't stop there, sending three more, before he was swatted away, by the demon whipping his body. It didn't take long for a charge to come once more. But Jirou was thankfully quick enough to dodge it, moving above the creature's head, and slamming a foot down onto it…

"You are impressive, human. For that reason, I shall give you my name

Gusion... It is only fair that you return the favor and give me yours."

"Sure, alright... My name is Jirou Hashimoto, Hashimoto-Kai…"

"Alright then, Jirou... Let us do battle!!!"

The excited Gusion swiftly began ,moving once more, taking a course of action that was a surprise to Jirou. The creature did not attack him directly, rather, it seemingly began orbiting around him, essentially forming a sphere. In Jirou's head, the question of why he would take this action was raised. The answer only came to him when the bemas began to close in on him from all directions. With not only their speed increased, but their power. Unlike the last attacks, Jirou felt their impact. The yakuza shifted into a defensive stance.

"Both of my abilities are useless here... If those attacks were physical, that would be a different story, and I doubt that demonic energy works as light does. My priority is to get out of the center of this attack, otherwise- this just gets worse…"

Jirou’s eyes darted around, as he searched for an opening. But it seemed that the creature's speed and fluid movement prevented this from taking place. If there was going to be one, he wouldn't have much time. Eventually, he took note of a slight lapse in fire in one moment, as the Gusion's head went past his shoulder. Quick to take advantage, the yakuza flew forth, out stretching his hand. A Gusion took note of this, he began increasing the density of the rays. But this quick action did not come soon enough, and the force of gravity began to press down upon the Wyrm, as Jirou proclaimed the technique's name.

"Gravity well- Formula 70!!!"

His technique worked, somewhat. There was a notable change in the demon’s speed, and the attacks had stopped falling, for a moment. That much was enough for him, He flew back, landing upon a different section of the demon’s body, at the other end of the circle around him. Before bounding back, and making use of the momentum to increase the power of the attack. A success, with his fist falling onto the Wyrm’s eye, with the head lurching in the opposite direction… For a moment, the battle had fallen into silence, with neither taking an action. The creatue gritted his teeth, as he quickly turned his head, looking directly at Jirou once more, before firing off yet another beam, significantly lager than those that came before.

As the Yakuza found himself flying away from his opponent, it became clear to him that it’d be a long time before this battle ended. He’d gone up to that level of gravity, and yet it seemed as if the creature was unaffected. The thoughts in his head only stopped when his back was slammed into the asphalt, destroying it in little time. There were a few more moments remaining until the attack dissipated, however. It was after this that the creature, Gusion, began speaking once more.

“Not bad… But not enough!!!” Gusion gloated.

Jirou put his unwavering gaze upward, staring down the creature. He did not come out of that undamaged, but what he received was not nearly enough to put him out of commission. Which was no surprise, proto-humans excelled in that regard. As for the creature himself, there was a certain feeling of excitement rippling through him. A good equal battle, with one who didn’t seem intent on running away, that was the kind of battle he loved most. And it seemed as if he would get it. Aside from that Maleggan, who he despised to no small degree, he hadn’t had this kind of challenge in some time. In his mind, the human deserved some congratulations in that regard.

“You are a good fighter… But you are fighting a warrior known throughout the demon realm for his power! I don’t plan on being defeated anytime soon.”

Jirou scoffed at this, throwing aside the compliment. Tilting his head to the left, and right alike, resulting in cracks emanating from his body.

“That’s a given, isn’t it... I don’t plan on being defeated either. Especially not before I get to beating down Corde.”

Gusion says nothing, only smirking, revealing a second line of teeth. Eventually, the red luminance typical to demons cloaked it once more, the violent release of energy demolishing the buildings, and destroying the streets he flew above.

“I like you, human… May the best fighter win!!!”

Just as he had before, the yakuza ignored Wyrm's words. Instead choosing to prepare himself for the battle to continue. Elevating himself to his opponent’s height. The stared at each other for some time, before they flew forth.

To Be Continued.