Kozuna
Staring down Nikai in his shadow form, Mifune simply rolled up the sleeves of his old, ripped orange shirt. He flared his right arm to the side, letting out dark, smoke-like energy from his seal, and then gently placed his palm against the dirt.
"Take a step or two back, Kozuna. You're about to see why I was locked up."
Smirking, I followed his order, my eyes glued to his curse seal.
What's he about to do?
Resting his hand in the sand, Mifune's seal expanded, forming a geometric pattern that loosely resembled what appeared to be a snowflake. Something I'd only ever seen in history books. Mifune's hand then began noticeably vibrating, and an unmistakable, semi-transparent, crystalline structure formed beneath.
Undoubtedly cold from even a distance, Mifune finally displayed the power held within his seal.
"No way. Is that?"
That's why he was locked away.
Mifune grinned hard and let his energy flow in that instant. A wide, circular pillar of ice materialized beneath his hand and rose high off the ground, carrying him on top. Coming into view, his palms faced ahead and fired a blast of ice at Nikai. I bolted up to his pillar and knelt beside him just in time to see the ice send Nikai stumbling backward, even in his shadow form. Moreover, Mifune's single attack blew a hole in Nikai's shadows.
"Must've just awakened his power if I can break through THAT easily!"
Mifune got through Nikai's shadows with just one hit!?
With an explosion of shadows and smoke resulting from the blast, Nikai bellowed out for the whole clan to hear. He didn't hesitate to charge up his own ball of raw, curse energy. And while he was busy with that, the soldiers and citizens nearby were left in utter shock. Practically frozen in place at the awesome display of power.
Nikai's strength had already been displayed, though exclusively. Mifune's, however? That was a different story, and for good reason.
"Gotta catch your breath, Kozuna? Take your sweet-ass time! I'll take him on!"
"Yeah, I'll build up my power for when you mess up!"
Mifune chuckled, cracking both his knuckles and a smile Nikai's way. "Yeah? Keep running your mouth, I'll show you just how strong I am!"
A massive, jagged ice wall manifested in front of us as Nikai launched his attack. At first, I was gonna deflect the move, but Mifune blocked it with no trouble. His power seemed to react without any physical direction on his part.
This is what it means to be in control of your power, then?
Nikai's energy blasts appeared essentially useless against Mifune's barriers. Not only did they have trouble breaking through, but Mifune could keep raising them over and over, without lifting a finger.
With a cocky scoff, Mifune manifested a long, icy sword, and shot through the air. He propelled himself by streaming ice from his feet. Then, he tore through Nikai's shadows skull, let go, twisted his body around back, and manifested ANOTHER sword. He landed another direct hit with ease, and did all of that within the span of like ten seconds. I was just in the background with my jaw almost hitting the floor.
Nikai's head jerked backward, and his body whipped around furiously. But Mifune held on tight with ease, maintaining his smirk the entire time Nikai was being humiliated.
Mifune flipped all around Nikai's shadow head like a bug buzzing around, but he was landing his strikes every single time. And before I knew it, a large portion of the shadows- though scattered- had been cut open.
I didn't have to do anything other than watch. Mifune was fine on his own.
Using my curse effectively required help at my side, but Mifune clearly had that natural combat sense. He'd only been in battle for like a minute, and by then, Nikai had lost his cool.
I could learn a lot from Mifune.
"Don't underestimate me," growled Nikai.
Nikai's response surprised both of us, and then came his curse's power increase. He stopped moving and arched his back, allowing energy to vent wildly from his spine and trace around the shadow cloak.
That time, Nikai's energy wrapped over the shadows, hardening into a secondary layer of bone-like armor. Black flames vented from his spine, forcing Mifune to create some distance. And as Mifune landed on the initial pillar, we could only watch as Nikai not only gained in size, but as his body also found a way to protect itself from the ice.
Mifune sucked his teeth and shook his head. "Knew it wouldn't be that easy. But that makes it more fun!"
He couldn't do that when we were fighting for the first time.
"Something to note, Mifune. Making eye contact with Nikai induces paralysis. Be careful."
"That's it?"
Nikai's size soon became comparable to that of Nazun within the Armored Soul Colossus. And only then did I realize the sun had set completely. There were no more limitations holding Nikai back, meaning we'd have to put an end to that whole debacle, fast. Mifune's smirk morphed into a half frown as he squinted.
Seeming to be gaining consciousness, Nikai slammed his claws into the ground. Dark energy traveled from his fingertips and throughout the land, causing flames to erupt all over the place. With the moon on his side, Nikai turned the battlefield into a domain of his personal usage.
Mifune and I found ourselves surrounded by a giant ring of fire that towered high above building level. It was still a pretty wide area, but that didn't change the fact that Nikai had basically trapped us in an arena with him. Furthermore, the flames on Nikai's back flared up. They looked out of control.
"I'LL DESTROY THIS WHOLE DAMN CITY!"
My eyes fluttered rapidly as I felt the ground begin to shake. "Fuck man. This nighttime curse stuff is no joke."
What a pain.
Mifune wasted no time to propel himself into the air, staring down at me after the fact. "Don't just stand there you idiot! Read the room! Get moving! Ground's gonna blow!"
Using his hands as more points of ice release, Mifune directed himself away from Nikai while I was stuck trying to figure out how the hell I could stay in the sky.
I can't just casually fly like you, Mifune!
I shook my head vigorously. Pressing my boots down, I burst up into the sky just as the rumbling tore houses from their foundations. In a few short moments, everything on ground level within probably a mile radius of Nikai exploded in a cloud of flames, sand, and dust. Mifune and I covered our faces as debris flew all over the place.
Soldiers screaming in the distance whistled through the wind, along with the crackling of flames and crashing of destroyed buildings. Nikai's energy had practically obliterated everything it touched.
***
Transformation curses are something else.
When things cleared up, we were given clear view of the massive destruction left in the wake of Nikai's attack. A large portion of the central district had been completely annihilated. And shadow-form Nikai stood tall in the newly formed crater's center.
It was getting colder out as the moon inched ever closer to the center of the sky. I glared at the depression and the cursed man it held. Saving Nikai was starting to seem like an impossible task. I had no means of holding up against power like his.
"No…"
Mifune groaned as he watched me plummet to the ground; he probably thought I was angry. And even though I should have been, I was still conflicted with how I felt about my clan. But personal conflicts had nothing to do with thoughts of right and wrong. Plenty of people had probably been killed in that blast. And those that didn't surely lost everything dear to them.
When I landed, electricity discharged from my frame and into the sand. Nikai's gaze was fixed on me as if he were the predator and I were the prey, but my almost passive anger somewhat matched his ever-increasingly ominous presence.
Flashes of lightning arced around every square inch of my body rather than just my left arm, and my skin was then giving off a mixture of blackish-orange and blackish-blue.
Something's changing in my seal.
I had yet to make a move, and before I could take a step forward, Mifune appeared at my side. "Yo, Kozuna. Keep yourself under control."
I nodded, but my stance remained precisely the same; fists clenched, slightly hunched, and dark urges surfacing in my mind. There was even the temptation to look Nikai in the eyes, but I wasn't that stupid. I'd experienced that game before, and I didn't want to again.
Another powerful blast of energy came flying our way. And seemingly with just the slightest pivot of his foot, Mifune generated a giant, crashing wave of ice from the ground up. One that towered ahead and high, acting as the perfect shield to halt Nikai's uncontrollable outbursts.
Without a thought, I leaped to the skies once again and sent a huge thunderbolt at Nikai. But he still managed to catch me off guard. Somehow, Nikai had curled his claws wide open, catching not only the incoming ice but also my electricity. Each with separate hands.
I felt a shift in Nikai's energy and in my own. I could only look to Mifune for answers.
"What the hell did he just do?"
"You're asking me? Didn't you fight him before, Kozuna?"
Ah- fuck you.
I groaned as the remaining ice swirled away, right off the ground and into Nikai's grasp. I couldn't believe it at first, but it was clear what had happened when all the ice was gone.
He absorbed our powers!
Nikai's right arm took on a deep blue glow, while his left adopted a slight silver hue. Ice spikes began shot from the bone armor on the left side, and his claw even gained an additional layer of icy armor. His other side gained a veil of electricity, with black sparks surrounding his fingertips.
Zara wasn't joking when she said transformations were far more powerful than any other curse. But how can Nikai progress so fast?
"So much destruction and death. I need to put a stop to this." I rested my gaze just below Nikai's smokey red eyes. "Nikai! I know you're listening! Stop this madness already. I know you're conscious. No other way your curse is evolving this much on its own!"
Nikai stood there silent for a moment like he was sizing me up. But that soon came to an end. The jagged, crimson mouth of Nikai's shadow form began moving, and his voice echoed and resonated as a result. It was a sight I hadn't seen before.
"Congrats. You figured it out. I know exactly what the fuck I'm doing. And I'm not gonna stop. I said it before, and I'll say it again. I don't care for the rest of this god-forsaken clan, or the world!"
"You think blowing up the whole city where Tyuyo lives is gonna keep him safe? He could already be dead? Do you not see the magnitude of your actions!?"
"Tyuyo's fine, Kozuna! I can sense him, he's far from the danger! But you and your little buddy keep trying to get in my way. All I want is to leave this clan. Permanently. I may have only regained consciousness a few minutes ago, but this destruction is exactly what I would have done, regardless. This thing inside of me is? Whatever's been controlling me? It's doing what I would've done. I could sleep forever and let it take over. Happily."
Mifune cocked his head to the side just a little, leaving his eyes only half-open. "The thing inside of you? What are you talking about?"
"Who the hell are you anyway? You're no Ozukashi. You should be helping me destroy this city. That full-orange getup- you're wearing prison clothes. You shouldn't care about this clan either."
I shot a glance at Mifune, who completely shifted his gaze from Nikai at that point.
"Does it matter if he's an Ozukashi? He's my friend, and so are you! So stop this, Nikai!"
"Listen, guy. If you wanna live, you should help me escape this city. You can leave with me, and we can wreak havoc in the process. Sound like a good deal? We both get to leave, and take revenge. At the same damn time."
Mifune shook his head, taking a few hesitant steps forward.
Damn it, I can't afford to lose Mifune, not now. I need him by my side at least until Nikai's defeated.
I kept my gaze on Nikai, not looking back at Mifune. "Mifune, I know you probably want vengeance. Believe me, I get it. I'm not saying you'd be wrong for that, but do it. I didn't free you to just let you destroy the city, you know. As someone who's also cursed, I'm putting my trust in you!"
"Thanks for that. I appreciate the rescue and all, but, sorry, Kozuna. I've gotta follow my instincts here. What I'm about to do is for the best."
As I slowly turned toward him, dumbfounded as to what I just heard, ice crawled up my skin. My body practically froze in shock; I couldn't believe what was happening. I was first frozen mentally, and subsequently, physically.
I could only then watch what came next while encased in a block of ice.
Inside that ice, I couldn't summon up my power- I needed some sort of movement to make that happen. And beyond that was the pure emotional turmoil boiling up inside. I couldn't believe that after I saved Mifune- despite his hatred of the Ozukashi- he'd turn on me.
I'm not gonna believe it. There has to be a reason!
"Kozuna said your name was Mifune, right? Nice work. That should keep him down long enough. Let's tear this place apart."
Mifune took one more glance at me as he approached Nikai. He wasn't smiling. He simply closed his eyes and turned away, leaving me to watch his back. Helplessly.
"I hope that trust doesn't give out now," Mifune mumbled, as the distance between us grew.
It's already night in the desert, and with the ice, I'll probably freeze to death. Mifune doesn't plan on leaving me here to die, does he? No one else is coming to save me. If not him, then, that means it's up to you and the others now, Anari.