Tides Of Protomis CLXII

The Convergence of Forces

The general continued to stare down the two humans, arms crossed over his chest. How they’d allowed the humans to get this far, he did not know. But what he did know was that this was a situation which needed to be fixed, and fixed now. The demon’s body went alight with crimson, as he pushed his influence outward. Zhao’s blade flew from its scabbard, and into his hand, while Gilga tightened his grip upon Enkidu. The staring contest between them continued for some time. While, to no surprise, many of those within the city watched this intently. Especially a group of demons who knew very well their reputation.

“They’re going to fight Zeta?!”’ One questioned

“Isn’t he the strongest out of the head honchos, sides’ the Emperor himself?!” Another Quiered

“Who knows… Better not let any of the others hear you say that, though.” A third answered, shutting down the discussion. Above them, the silence was finally broken by words coming from the General’s mouth.

“So you're the one responsible for Sigma’s death…. Make no mistake, You will be eliminated here regardless, and we will repair the wounds you’ve inflicted upon us thus far.”... There was no response from the two, as Zhao leaped forward, coming down upon his opponent with a downward swing, the demon shifted to the right, dodging the attempted attack. As Glga attempted to join in on this attack, he found that the demon launched him away with an outburst of gravitational force, and the same could be said for Zhao, who’d just began his attempt to resurge. While both were pushed out of the demon’s range, it by no means meant they were finished. Rather, they began to circle the general mid-air, changing their positions quicker than one could blink, like a pair of sharks. All the while, the demon’s observant eyes continued to take note of this…. Annoying flies, buzzing around as they did. Waves began to flow from within him once more, as he shouted out.

“Inferno Surge!”

Both of the fighters took note of the change immediately, as a scalding began to crawl across both of their bodies, blackened patches of skin, and burnt metal on Gilga’s armor began to become visible, as the heat around them continued to build… Given what they knew of his abilities, the idea of what his opponent was doing had already come to the man’s mind.

“Microwaves… It would explain how he made those people explode from the inside out earlier, and back in southern shima.. But that means we're not immune either!” Zhao quickly launched himself backward to avoid what was surely an inevitable death if he’d stayed there. But it seemed their opponent knew quite well this would be the result, As he found his enemy's four eyes staring him right in the face, an arm reeled back.

“Obliterating fist…” The moment the muscled palm slammed into his stomach, Zhao’s body bent like a crescent moon, as the waves which once were forged in his body, echoed through his own. It almost felt as if his organs were being pulverized at this very moment, despite his enemy having made no other moves. As the monk was finally launched away, a stream of blood flew from his mouth.

Before Zeta could pursue him, however, he found Enkidu's blade descending upon from above. As its wielder decided to capitalize on any distraction, but in response, Zeta said only two words.

“Riptide Assault!” In a short time, the slayer felt his body shake, as he was launched away from his target. Before he was able to make action to correct his path, the general had appeared above him, clasping hands above his head, and bringing them down upon him. Sending him into the ground below. Zao , however, had already made his way back into his range, swiping his blade, and cutting through the surface of the general’s arm. But not nearly enough to do lasting damage, as the demon rounded upon him, slamming a fist into the monk’s liver. Before he began to launch a devastating flurry of punches forth. As the monk found his body battered time, and time again, he took action to stop it.

Pushing his qi outward, and forming a barrier around him, the general found his punchers being slowed, dulled, until they were no longer even reaching his opponent’s torso. The demon’s four eyes squinted as he noted this change.

“Some kind of barrier?” No matter, if physical attacks would not work, he had other avenues. He would force the shield to go down, and stop both of them in their tracks… Zeta narrowly dodged a swipe from Enkidu, and began his ascent. While his two opponents began to weave their way through the sky once more, constantly changing their paths as they approached him. But the being looked nonplussed by this, as he said but two words.

“Sonic Nova!” In that moment, the world that the two perceived seemed to become something entirely different, as their visions blurred and warped, and a deafening screech made it to their ears. To Zhao, it almost felt as if his eardrums would explode. This was painful, no doubt, and it seemed his increased tolerance was doing no good for him. And Gillga, was very much in the same state… Something needed to be done, and quickly. He could hardly maintain his barrier, or direct his attacks, but if he launched his attacks enough, eventually, something would hit. Zhao tightened his grip on his blade, as he began projecting his power outward, cutting flashes of air flew toward Zeta. Who himself, was somewhat caught by surprise, as the cutting winds carved into him.

“An annoyance…” Zeta stated. Before long, however, he found himself avoiding a similar attack from behind, as a golden crescent of light approached him. But even so, it was not as if this mattered, there was very little chance that they would break his hold. As long as he maintained it, this would be a simple task- This thought was interrupted, as he noted a shadow approaching overhead, followed by a burst of golden light, and the area around him becoming significantly hotter. Attempting to figure out just what the source was, the General looked to the left, only to see a dark-skinned fist crash into his visage. Breaking the constant stream of sound waves closing upon his two opponents. As Zeta slammed into the ground below, creating a crater miles deep, his gaze took note of the barely visible shapes that were his opponents reconvening…

Arctaius floated between Zhao and Gilga, looking down upon the general, watching for any movements he would try, as he spoke.

“He seems to be an issue… I wasn’t exactly close enough to get hit with that sound technique he used, but I certainly Perceived it.” Arctaius noted. Zhao nodded in response.

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“Yes… We’ll need to pull out the stops on this one. Will you be joining us?” Zhao questioned.

“We’re better off trying to outnumber this one, and with the others being as injured as-” The youth’s speech came to a sudden stop, causing the two to glance toward him in confusion… And that was when a change in his demeanor was noted,a fist clenched tight enough to crush metal, and a burning rage simmering just below the surface. But what could have brought this on, was their question? Arctaius did not provide an answer however, only rotating his body to face the streets of the capital once more.

“YOU… I have no idea how you survived, but rest assured… I will fix that.” His new target set, he spoke out once more.

“I’m sure you two can handle this… There’s something I have to do.” And with that, he flew off… All the while, Zeta began to ascend from the crater he’d been placed into. He’d be sure to kill them.. Their attacks could do some damage, but his were more potent, by far. And he could very likely outlast them. Perhaps a battle of attrition was the way to go… The general flashed across the sky, the air around him began to heat up, as he pushed the waves within him outward, and shouted out.

“Blazing Torrent!” The microwaves flew from him in a cone, which, once more, devastated the two fighters in front of him. Yet, this time, the two were not completely unprepared, By the time the attack had reached them, cutting projections had already been launched from both of their blades, and reached the general in very little time. The damages were felt, but promptly ignored, as he leaped forward, reeling his left fist back, and slamming it into Gilga’s jaw, reverberating shockwaves within his body, and launching him further into the sky, before he shot forth to follow him, zipping across the sky, back and forth, taking the slayer with him, forcing his position to change constantly, almost like a volleyball, and the damages which resulted began to become more visible as time went on…

Below them, the skin on Zhao’s forehead parted, as he allowed the Qan Shi San Yan to take form, the third eye becoming visible there. In short time, he launched himself toward the demon, and made full use of his ability, the attack coming toward Gilga, another fist inlain with those same shockwaves, was coming, and the Monk sheathed his sword, and made his prowess clear, as he appeared in front of the demon, placing a palm on his upper arm, and gripping his fist, before moving the fist off course. Zeta’s eyes looked upon this surprise. Especially as the quick, flowing palm strikes, moved across his body. As the monk moved like water, rather than a human. The attacks the demon fired in return went wide, as he continually eluded the attacks, regardless of how he changed his attack patterns.

“Some sort of human Technique?” Either way, he did not intend to deal with this for long, he knocked the human away, with the outward launch of yet another shockwave taking place. It seemed that he would need to take this more seriously than expected. And to that end, as the humans finally stopped their backwards flight, he took action, concentrating waves of gravity just behind them. If they wished to stop him, they would need more power than THAT. The subject of these thoughts, now finally regrouped, and granted just a moment of respite, glanced at each other.

“We need to end this sooner than later, if this becomes a battle of attrition, he’ll certainly win… We need something powerful enough to end it in an instant. My Holy cleaver should work just fine.” Gilga stated.

“But there’s the issue of being able to strike him with that. I have my doubts ab-” Zhao paused, as a flash of the future came to him… And just what the demon was doing became clear.

“Not good. He plans to use his gravity manipulation to trap us in one place, and crush us with it. I need to get moving! I may be able to get there in time-”

“It's not good to work off of hypotheticals… I have an idea, "Place your feet upon the flat of Enkidu’s blade…” While Zhao raised an eyebrow at this, he did so. As his ally heaved the blade backward, over his shoulder, and swung forward, and in but a moment, the Monk was careening toward the General, at lightning speeds, and the intent behind the Slayer’s decision became clear. He was certainly good at thinking on his feet. A burst of air pressure was created to speed the monk up, and before long, he’d slammed a palm into the General’s torso, bending it, and making his eyes widen in surprise. Their goal was achieved, as the condensing gravity stopped there. His ally's choice was an unexpected one, but regardless, he was in his enemy’s range now, and he needed to keep him on his toes. Zhao sent a kick at the demon’s side, only for the demon to shift backward to avoid this attack. But in a split second, the Monk changed the kick’s direction, instead pushing it into the demon’s chest. Zeta intended to grab his leg, but the human backflippeed, unsheathing his blade as he did so, and leaving a gash upon the length of the general’s torso…

His eyes squinted once more as he took note of this, and quickly retreated, creating distance between them once more…

“It's time to pull the curtain down on this foolishness.” The demon began to push his influence outward once more, and the pull of gravity began to act upon the two before they knew it. It did not take long until they were together once more…

“Dammit, There goes our plan!” Gilga said. The formation of this technique continued as time went on. As the gravitational pull reached the maximum he could produce, he knew it was time. Shockwaves rippled outward, destabilizing the area in a wide radius, and devastating his opponent’s bodies. A force which they struggled to keep themselves defending against. But he did not stop there, shifting to a burst of microwaves, which once more, incinerated his opponents, causing searing pain to spread across their bodies. But this feeling quickly left them, and the piercing pain brought by the onslaught of high pitched noise reached them once more, as they felt their vision blur once more… It took some time for this to subside, but the damage was already done. The smell of burnt skin, and hair filled their noses, and a light ringing still continued. Their visions, just barely able to perceive the area around them…

“He… Is going to attack again If he’s gotten careless as I believe he will get, you’ll have a chance to strike… If you act as if you’ve succumbed to your injuries, you may have an opportunity to sneak up on him.” Zhao explained.

At the moment, that seemed to be their best bet. With no more words, Gilga fell limp, causing the general to look upon this, and release his hold, letting him plummet to the ground.

“Good it means I’ll be able to focus on this one… Prepare to meet your end here.”

Now… Came the final stage of this technique, a combination of all those which made him powerful, used at the same time, focused on the same target.. A technique which he himself dubbed-

“Ecliptic Annihilation.” In an instant, Zhao’s eyes were blinded by a shining light, and his ears heard only the waves of pressure, and sound which filled the space around him. As his body was torn apart, from the inside out, he could only wait for when his ally acted upon their plan. The source of the attack watched with satisfaction, as he’d apparently eliminated both of the enemies here. Now all that was left, was to clear this city of the pests which-

“HOLY CLEAVER!”

The general’s thoughts were interrupted, as the blade of a human holy arm bisected his body. His eyes caught a glimpse of it, and its apparent direction, from behind. He’d gotten careless… And he was suffering for it.

“Sigma… Is this where our dream ends? Of a realm not filled with constant strife and disorder?” He did not know what these humans planned… But if the other lords were allowed to get their footho-

“It doesn't… There is a group of demons planning to make sure that does not take place. Something to keep the ones who’d cause such chaos out. You have nothing to worry about.” So… That was it, then. In his final moments, he at least gained some kind of closure… But, it was not lost on him that there was a large obstacle to that goal, one named Maleggan. But If they could get past that, then as far as he was concerned, he was satisfied.

His body dispersed, into the wind.

…

As one battle ended, another was to begin. The ground shook in one of Zylsis easternmost districts, as Arctaius Corde’s feet touched the ground, a burning light cloaking him, and a fiery anger in his eyes. The same one he detected was very much the same, standing with a scowl on his visage. The two said nothing, only taking their respective stances, before streaks of red, and gold, could be seen charging toward each other, and clashing, as the two’s fists slammed against each other. This exchange punctuated the area around them being demolished.

To Be Continued

つづく

A/N- Thank you all for continuing to read TOP, with this chapter, we are 7 chapters away from the end of arc 2. It's been a good ride, and Arc 3 will be even better.