Tides Of Protomis CIII

The being’s skin was thick, that much was clear, Jiou doubted that any attacks he made would penetrate through, in his mind, continually striking the weak points was the way to go… But there was also another facet to this strategy, one that bore a certain resemblance to another he’d used before. This much was acted upon as soon as the two had closed the distance with one another.

“Now then… Let’s see how well this works!!”

Jirou reeled his fist back. Letting the protomis within him flow backward, until a bubble of increased gravity had appeared behind his shoulder. It was in that instance that he outstretched his fist, continuing a quickened flight forward, until he smashed his fist into the side of the creature's head. With a crack, the armored scales that protected what was underneath broke off upon impact, even exposing some of the bone that lay beneath. Gusion’s eyes widened at this development.

“Oh… What a surprise. But don’t think that means you’ve won.”

Jirou continued barreling through the creature's body, doing as much damage as he could, repeatedly launching strikes across the many bones that lay within. The skeletal canal he found himself within was dark, but to him, that was no problem. At the moment, his attack looked to be proceeding uninterrupted, but that much was to change…. In the corner of his right eye, Jirou took note of some sort of red light building rapidly. At the moment, it was unclear what that light was. Just as he questioned this, did the answer approach him, swiftly. A ray of demonic energy rushing forth.

“What? But how!!”

A quick reaction led to him jumping out of the way, though narrowly- With some of his arm caught by the blast. The attacks did not stop there, a second, and a third came, hitting their target… This was not an advantageous position either, it seemed. Jirou drew back, and made his way out. How this happened was unknown to him, but of course, not to the demon himself. As, lying at the back of his maw, was what looked to be some sort of fleshy, double-sided tube. One surrounded by a quickly dissipating red luminance.

“That’ll discourage anything further in that regard… He didn’t get my generation unit- that’s what matters most… Now then, I think it's about time that I use that... You were a good opponent, human. But this is a battle, it’s me or you, and I choose me…”

It did not take long for a light to begin cloaking the Wym once more, as he shot further up into the sky, creating more distance between himself, and Jirou. The latter’s gaze shot upward as he went to follow. As he did, the sphere of energy appearing in the creature's mouth, which had been opened much wider than normal, was becoming increasingly visible. It was obvious to the man what would happen if he were allowed to take his course of action.

“Tch. I can’t let him fire that.”

As soon as Jirou prepared to change, he took note of something, five people approaching from different directions. Arctaius was the first to arrive at his side, clearly worse for the wear, the same could be said for Alarick and Zhao, who came next. Though, something had caught his eye, that being, the two children Alarick carried.The same could be said for Arctaius, the two glanced at each other, before looking at the two, and then, Alarick once more. Though, they decidedly said nothing for the moment, as Miyamoto had arrived as well.

“Ignoring Half-Pint’s two companions, there’s clearly a more pressing matter at hand.” Arctaius noted, placing his gaze upon the Wyrm.

“This one’s even larger than the one I fought. What’s the upper limit anyway?!”

“Do you really want the answer to that question?” Arctaius questioned.

“That’s beside the point. This one has more demon energy radiating from itself, than all of the untamed combined… Enough that the demons around him are dissipating by being in his presence.” As Miyamoto mentioned this, The tides looked around, taking note of the fact that the creatures formerly fighting on the streets, had begun to disintegrate into red particles, which seemed to be blown away in the wind. The forces of Yamato, whether they be HAU pilots, those occupying the ships, or the soldiers on the ground, were left confused by this development. But to those who knew significantly more about the affairs of demons, stood with their eyes widened like dinnerplates, as fear dripped from their expressions. This much was exemplified by a squad that stood around Yudei.

“That ain’t good.” One commented, making the youth glance over at him.

“Not good? What exactly is going on here?” Yudei questioned.

“If this demon is strong enough to make others disappear simply by releasing his power, it is very dangerous indeed, even more than we thought.” Another answered. This made Yudei sigh. Of course he was… How would they make it out of this, that was the question. One that he did not have the answer to. But it wasn’t as if they weren’t known for thinking quickly on their feet. In his mind, if anyone could get them out of this, it would be them.

This much would be tested soon. The members of the group shot forth, in an attempt to stop this technique. Alarick made a quick detour, however, placing both Emi and Yuji on the same roof as yudei. Before flying off with no more words, hopefully, they’d be smart enough to stay put, especially given how their last attempt at battling the creatures had gone, before he got there, at the very least. But, it seemed the creature was prepared for this, as a downright gigantic beam shot through the sky. Jirou himself was nearly dead center, making it clear who Gusion was targeting. A quick change in direction made the amount of damage smaller, but it certainly did not mean he was unscathed, with the force of the ray feeling as if it would take the half of the body it consumed off. More maneuvering got him out of the way, but that could not happen again… He would need to cut off the creature’s main form of attack. But how would he do that?

It was as they continued to draw closer, that it came to him. When he entered the creature's body, the beam came from his right. Whenever the creature fired its rays, it was always preceded by its mouth opening… This much could only mean

“Whatever it’s using to produce those beams has to be in its throat, If we take that out, we cut off any future attacks!” Jirou explained.

“While it’s good that you noticed that - We still have to stop this attack for that to happen!” Kazimir shouted, pointing at the Wyrm himself. Gusion had begun to turn his head, as if he were sweeping. His intent was clear, strike all of them, and rid himself of the opponents. Jirou tsked as he took note of this. But beside him, a lightbulb seemed to appear above Miyamoto’s head.

“That’s it!! I’ll need you all to distract him for a bit, but if I funnel that attack into demon realm, we’ll be able to stay undamaged for long enough to end him!”

While it was a simple plan, it seemed effective enough. She gained nods from the others, who promptly flew forward, while Miyamoto stopped behind them. The five men barreled through the sky, spreading themselves out in such a way that they wouldn’t all be caught at once when the creature inevitably moved its head, while covering Miyamoto as well. As they expected, Gusion continually moved himself, changing the angle at which the beam was projected. Unfortunately, though they got out of the way eventually, for some moments, they found themselves caught within the cascade of demonic energy before doing so, which certainly caused no small amount of damage to appear on their bodies when they got clear.

The question of how they would handle this opponent came into the minds of those observing, who were unaware of their plan… Said plan was indeed progressing. Miyamoto flew a bit slower than the others, hoping to remain undetected. She continued to push both forms of the energy within her forth, leading to the crimson sphere that appeared in her hands. To handle a beam of this magnitude, she’d need no small amount of time, and thankfully, her allies had brought that time. Miyamoto jumped in front of the beam, extending both arms, and seemingly ripping the sphere in half. Followed by a swipe of both hands, that made a crimson void open in front of her, the beam funneling inward. Apparently, their gamble was successful. As for the attack itself, it barrelled through some sort of strange space, a monochrome grid, of sorts. But most notable were the large number of demons that lay within. Who, to no surprise, disintegrated almost instantly. The ray of energy did not stop there, likely, careening into the very same realm, which they originated from…

Gusion though, he didn’t say it outloud, was somewhat happy with this result. After all, it wasn’t as if he joined the forces of this Maleggan willingly. Very likely, he would die, and yet… He may as well finish the job, to that end, a number of beams were fired into the portal, with the intent of destabilizing the tunnel between worlds, if only temporarily. By this point, they were unaware of his plan, and continued forth regardless. Jirou, having gauged his target’s location, was the first to rush forth, looking to the back of the creature’s throat… But, before he finished the job, Miyamoto noted something.

“The tunnel to the demon realm, It’s collapsing!”

Collapsing…? If that were the case, and the creature had suddenly ceased attacking them, could that mean-

“Did you do that on purpose?” Jirou questioned.

“Indeed I did… Sabotaging that Maleggan guy and his generals was more than enough for me…” So that was the case, in the minds of most of those there, Killing the Wyrm would be somewhat of a waste. They began to rethink their actions as they re-grouped.

“He could be useful if he was able to give us that much trouble. Add in the fact that he just showed us where his allegiance lies, and I think we should keep him alive.” Arctaius stated. Apparently, there was not much disagreement from the others. Jirou nodded as he floated toward the demon’s eye, and began speaking.

“Get into the demon realm before the tunnel collapses… If you truly want to fight against Maleggan, then we could use your support.” Support? The prospect surprised Gusion, to say the least, especially given their reputation, and the nature of most alliances in the demon realm. But time was running out fast, and he did not have much time to ponder this, so his response came quickly.

“That is acceptable… I will return and do whatever damage I can.” With no more words, the Wyrm swiftly flew into the rapidly closing void, and began to return to his own realm. Leaving the Tides, Jioru, and Miyamoto, floating above.

“It looks like the portal has closed, thanks to him for now… So we have some sort of solace.” As Arctaius spoke, he descended, landing near Yudei, with the rest following.

“We got lucky in that regard, had it been a different demon, they’d probably still be coming. With how we’re looking now, that wouldn’t be good.”

Zhao turned to Miyamoto.

“Mhm. The one I fought was especially ravenous, he fought without strategy...Despite that, he wasn’t one I could shrug off.”

“The very fact that they weren't the strongest demons, means we have some training in order.” Alarick stated.

“But at the same time, we can’t take liberties and sit for 2 months, and train like we did last time… We don’t know how many of these B-classes there are…” Arctaius responded. The group went silent in acknowledgement, it wasn’t as if they knew how long it would be until the tunnel between their worlds was restored, they couldn’t throw this aside, a solution would have to come up soon. Before they got to that, Alarick finally decided to explain the two children he was carrying earlier.

“Speaking of training, I think it’s about time to explain who these two are….” He gestured toward the two children, gaining everyone’s attention.

“These two are Morikawa Emi, and Kawai Yuji. While they’re proto-humans like us, and their abilities are activated, they’re new at this, and apparently wanted to come to us for training…” That certainly explained things. Arctaius scratched the back of his head, giving a simple response.

“I’m not really the teaching type, given how I learned how to fight…”

“Same here.” Kazimir stated. Miyamoto shook her head, giving a clear answer, as did Jirou. This left only Zhao, and Alarick himself… Zhao, being who he was, did not particularly want to turn the two down, teaching them some self-defense could very well help them live long lives, especially given how chaotic things could get. That much could also mean the arts of the Guo Monastery would live on after him. With him being the last disciple, there was no chance of that happening otherwise. Having already strayed from the teachings he learned from going on his revenge streak, it was the least he could do. The monk stepped toward the two, placing his hands on their head.

“If that is the case, I will teach them the Guo Arts…” Leading to excitement appearing on their faces.

“Woah, Really?! See, Emi, I told you they’d accept!” Yuji shouted with glee.

Eventually, Zhao removed his hand, turning away from the two and letting them talk amongst themselves. After all, there was still a looming threat to worry about. Given the expression on Arctaius’ face, he’d figured something out.

“Alright… I have a plan.”

“Then you can share it with us…” A familiar voice sounded out soon after Arctaius’, the members of the group all looked at the source, the slayer known as Volker. Though appearing slightly injured, he was well nonetheless.

“That demon you were fighting caught my attention. It’d be impossible not to notice, for a slayer that is.”

“I fail to see how that has anything to do with the point at hand”

“You see, someone in particular, our leader- Lyle D’Chauvethier, sensed, and even observed your battle... I’ve already told you about our truce, but he would like to cement the terms.”

The members of the group glanced at one another and, then, at Miyamoto.

“Alright, fine... But I suggest we stay on our toes.”

“Agreed…” Arctaius stated.

Zhao turned toward Yuji and Emi, kneeling to their height as he spoke.

“Most of your training will have to wait, unfortunately, but I'll train you when I can.” Zhao explained, gaining a nod from the two. While Arctiaus stepped toward his old friend.

“Yudei, you alright?”

“Yeah, I stole the Raijin from the military. I was doing pretty good, but then that demon showed up, and… Well, you can gauge what happened from there.” Yudei gestured toward the remaining half of the Raijin, which the military had finally begun removing from the road. Arctaius nodded.

“Alright. We can talk more later, but we have business to take care of.” Arctaus stated, before he leaped off the building, landing gracefully on the road below. The other members of the group did the very same, with Volker leading them to their destination.

To Be Continued