Kozuna
Dozens of icy pillars shot from the dirt sporadically. To my side was Mifune, running his fingers through the silky, loose sand. My vision traced the battlefield, and so did the demon's.
"Mifune?"
"I'll support you. Any direct attack I throw at that demon will probably just get absorbed. Same with your electricity. Use your other power!"
"Got it." I took a running stance, practically digging my fingernails into the dirt. "Don't fall behind, Mifune! I'm going at full speed!"
"Like I wouldn't be able to keep up!"
A blast of wind struck Mifune's face as I darted off toward our enemy, bouncing between the pillars and using them to boost my momentum. I was a flash of living lightning in the dark, moving so fast that I felt the demon couldn't easily follow me. Though, to my own surprise, Mifune readily kept up with creating more objects for me to boost myself between.
In no time at all, I found myself standing below Nikai. At the feet of the Shadow Behemoth. I had slowed only for a brief moment, just long enough to make sure the demon had caught sight of me before I sprung up and slammed my foot through his bone armor.
I soared straight up without any issues, carving my own path through the bones and quickly landing an uppercut to the Shadow Behemoth's chin. The skull flipped upward, with an annoyed grunt following not long after.
However, despite my successful strike, it didn't take long for a claw to snatch my body out of the air and begin squeezing my life away. He wound his arm back, turning toward the mountains. I already had an idea of what might come next.
I struggled and squirmed in place, though escaping the claws of the Shadow Behemoth was pretty much impossible. Nikai soon lifted his arm, but it was frozen over just as he was about to throw me. I flicked my head back as much as I could to see Mifune up close to the Behemoth, standing atop his pillar.
Cold breath frosted over the air before his lips as he glared at Nikai. "I think you need to chill out, big guy."
After his ridiculous one-liner, Mifune leaped onto Nikai's arm and sliced the fingers open with icy swords. All while Nikai stood there, somewhat in a stupor.
Freed, I ran across the ice behind Mifune as it rumbled. Nikai was clearly trying to break free.
"Thanks for the save there!"
"Don't mention it. When he flung me outta the city, I had to freeze the little bit of water molecules in the air to create some kinda object to stop myself from going any further. You probably would've been long gone."
I smirked as we hopped back into the sand. "No doubt."
Momentarily, Nikai managed to smash the ice with his other fist- the one still containing my electricity- and turned back to us. He balled his claw into a fist, engulfing it simultaneously in black flames and lightning.
"Okay. My turn."
Nikai disappeared from sight, despite being in the form of a giant shadow monster, and flashed above our heads. My stolen electricity, mixed with his fire, swirled around his fist.
I tackled Mifune far out of the way, narrowly avoiding us getting obliterated.
The blast left an explosion clouding our sight with dust, sand, and crackling embers. The wind beat against our faces and almost sent me flying off my feet, though Mifune supported us with an ice wall from behind.
But even though we hadn't gone flying, there was still movement within the smoke. And it was creeping closer. The dust circled, and Nikai appeared, swinging his arms at us.
Mifune and I sprung in opposite directions as Nikai's claws diced through the ice barrier. Without wasting a second, Nikai made a mad dash for Mifune, who chose to stand his ground.
"Without you, Kozuna doesn't stand a chance!"
"Come get me then, ya dumbass!"
I stood still for a few seconds as Nikai attempted to land a hit on Mifune, who expertly surfed around and created barriers. Mifune made eye contact with me for only a moment before turning his attention back to Nikai.
"What're you looking at Mifune?"
Those were the last words to come from that demon before I brought several kicks down directly onto his dome, one after the other. I managed Bolt and Flash simultaneously to maximize my damage output, but the veins in my legs felt like they were about to pop with every movement.
"Don't go writing me off just yet, demon! I stopped Nikai before and I'll do it again!"
"Well then it's a good thing you're fighting me this time, and not Nikai!"
The demon said that as he stumbled back and forth, though it's not like I was in a much better position. I plummeted to the ground in recoil, breathing hard and heavy.
My legs are on fire! The side effects are beginning to take a toll. And we still need to defeat this demon! Not good. I won't be able to hold out all night, even with the restoration Mifune's ice provided!
I didn't gain much time to rest as the Shadow Behemoth quickly regained its footing. Nikai struck the ground with his claws, infecting the earth with inky, black energy. The shadows changed the sand's color entirely, traveling outward in every direction while bubbling like hot magma.
Mifune lifted us up on an ice pillar just as the wave of shadows came crashing our way. I hadn't even to my feet in that timeframe.
The shadows crept up the ice like they meant to eat us alive. Mifune slammed his hands against the pillar and fought against the shadows by freezing over everything. It was a battle to see whether or not Mifune's ice could keep the shadows at bay. But he was only buying time. I needed to get back into the action, even with my legs straining and wobbling.
If I can't get close to land some blows, that leaves only my lightning.
"Mifune! We're gonna need to launch a combinatory assault! I'm not sure I can get my legs to keep moving so fast right now."
"What do you want me to do? I'm kinda busy!"
If I can halt Nikai for just a few seconds-
"Just be ready to attack! I'll create an opening!"
I forced myself to one knee, panting as I glared ahead. My hand was twitching and vibrating- practically invigorated with curse energy. Electricity escaped from my seal and circled my arm as I slowed my breathing. But it wasn't like the Shadow Behemoth was just hunched over, focusing solely on swallowing us whole in a sea of shadows. Nikai had raised one of his hands from the dirt, manifesting a floating sphere of energy in his palm so robust that the wind itself was again whipping violently.
The way Nikai concentrated his energy into the center of his palm was something I somewhat learned to copy from the many times I'd seen him do it. Before I knew it, every spark of electricity was focused near my hand, rather than wildly up my arm.
I whipped the lightning right at him, just as the energy ball came flying our way, but instead of a blinding white flash clouding my view- everything went black.
Nikai's giant-ass attack did indeed explode, but it left a splatter of what appeared to be ink in midair before falling. My thunderbolt pierced it and continued onward, striking Nikai face-first. He had no time to absorb it, and Mifune shot forward.
Wielding a massive blade of ice in both hands, Mifune went in for the kill. The Shadow Behemoth had once lost its footing, and Mifune advanced right for the neck.
"You're done!" Mifune shouted, slicing the Shadow Behemoth's head clean off, in one long movement.
The shadows everywhere disintegrated in a flash. Nikai's limp body plummeted through the sky. He dropped directly into the sand, unconscious and dressed in torn clothing.
Mifune and I looked at each other with satisfied smirks, and together, we approached Nikai. Though, I was a bit slower to move.
When we arrived at the body laid out before us, I took a deep breath. All of the remaining curse energy began to flow from the sand and sky back into Nikai's seal. There were no more signs of a fight- Nikai was finally down for the count.
Thankfully, the environment had reverted to its original state, but we still needed to figure out what to do since the battle was over. But under the nighttime sky, things weren't over just yet. A jagged black ring of a marking had formed upon Nikai's chest- dead center. Seemingly alive, the ring let off energy like dust in the wind, and the color moved around inside the mark as if it were fluid.
Mifune and I hadn't even been let our guard down long enough for our curses to deactivate before Nikai's body levitated off the ground like a corpse being raised from the dead.
The demon finally revealed himself. If Nikai was there before, even just a little, he was with us no longer.
***
Nikai's face and skin grew pale. The sclera of his eyes turned black. His irises were an even more murky red than before. Bright white fangs poked out the corners of his mouth. Large serrated wings sprouted. His hair even followed the same pattern, becoming shoulder-reaching, spiky, and accentuating the newly-formed horns.
The rest of his body simply followed suit as if it were the Shadow Behemoth, growing somewhat taller and exchanging human hands and feet for pitch-black, jagged claws instead.
I'd never seen a demon before. Hell, I never believed they existed. The mere sight of what was happening caused both Mifune and me to jump back.
I felt myself shuddering as chills crawled across my bones. If my legs could barely stand before, at that point, they were pretty much frozen in place. Even the tiny droplets of sweat didn't wanna travel any further down my face. And to my side, I could also hear Mifune's uneven breathing.
Deeeefinitely no chance of Nikai regaining control now. But this? This is one of what's supposed to be inside me?
A deep, eerie voice came from the demon's lips. "You two may outnumber me, but that does not make you formidable." The demon circled us, breathing down our necks. "A shame really. I mean, it's not like the two of you are 'normal' to begin with. You have potential, sure. But if neither of you can handle the face of where your abilities come from, then you could never hope to master them."
The demon wasn't doing anything in particular that should've gave off such dread. But my curse seal was reacting, and no doubt Mifune's was too. That undeniable presence- I had no words to describe it.
"You humans mock the power of the demons, yet you depend on that same power for sustenance. And your sustenance is war, just like in every era. Sealing demons away? Calling yourselves cursed for being born with such awesome power? Your society runs on power like mine. Why do you humans act as if you despise it so?"
"It ain't like Kozuna and me wrote the rules, ya idiot."
The demon leaned between Mifune and me. "Now that I've assumed my true form, I can remove you two, without the need of killing."
"Oh, yeah? Why not kill us, since you're sOoO powerful?"
"Spare me the sarcasm, Mifune. I can make use of you two. I'll be sending you elsewhere." The demon paused for a moment, before mumbling something I couldn't understand. "Ko'u'vrei t'rie ro'en ku."
What kind of chant?
As he finished speaking the language of the demons, my vision went black. I lost all touch with the world around me. Like I was floating in a vast plane of nothingness. Everything was blank.
"Seek out Emper in the Shadow Paths," were the last words I heard.
Emper? The Shadow Paths?
***
I blinked slowly after an unknown amount of time, my body lying flat against the ground. Right by my side was Mifune, in the exact same position. We were laid out on maroon sand, under a deep purple sky. One with ragged winged creatures sparsely flying around, screeching at random.
A crumbling, black archway stood a few feet ahead. We approached cautiously to see what lied beyond our spawn point.
We found the arch sitting atop a hill, looking down on a cragged granite path lined with a handful of small buildings. That little strip of society was populated with what appeared to be what I could only assume were spirits. Transparent people of a lavender shade. And in the far distance- tall and intimidating- was what looked like a palace of glistening, sharpened obsidian.
That demon said to seek out Emper, whatever that is.
"Mifune? You heard what he said, right?"
"Yeah, we're in the Shadow Paths, and something about Emper? Know what that is?"
"No idea. But I'm guessing we head to the castle? Thing?"
Mifune took a deep breath, clasping his hands behind his head as he proceeded down the hillside. "Let's get going, Kozuna. We're probably not getting out of here until we find Emper."
I nodded quietly, walking beside Mifune down to the "village."
***
Being living humans walking among what I could only assume were the dead earned Mifune and me odd and stares. Some came from the glowing spirits, others came from the obviously demonic.
I hadn't even noticed them initially, but there were indeed fleshy creatures. People with body parts of humans mixed with those of animals or extra appendages. Everything I saw creeped me the hell out.
They watched us equally as much as the dead humans. All their whispers faintly echoed in our eardrums like the endless void surrounding the houses was a tight, inescapable box.
"Living humans. In this world?"
"Look at their markings. They're of the demons."
"What living human would venture here?"
Chasing after Nikai wasn't such a good idea.
My eyes fluttered uncontrollably. "This place is unsettling. We need to hurry, Mifune."
"That big-ass castle is still pretty damn far. Try not to keel over until we get there, Kozuna."
Beyond the dreary town was a vast clearing and lake of boiling magma. There was a bridge, but it was snapped in half, to our luck. Mifune tried to bridge the gap, but his ice melted in seconds.
"If it wasn't so hot, I could at least fly across. Ugh. Ideas?"
"Hm. I could probably get us across. Stand in front of me."
As Mifune stepped ahead, I took a few steps back and bolted forward. Locking my arms around Mifune's stomach, we flashed over the chasm of molten death, landing safely on the other side. The moment we hit solid ground, I fell to one knee in silent pain. My curse seal felt like it was incinerating my entire hand.
"Kozuna?"
My breathing grew heavy as I watched my left hand take on the form of a shadowy claw- much like Nikai's.
What the hell's going on? Mifune didn't have any reaction to his curse? Why do I?
"I-I think it's best if we hurry, Mifune."
Not long after we crossed the lack of a bridge, Mifune and I arrived at the ruined palace entrance. Mifune encased his leg in ice and kicked the already-ruddy door wide open. Probably a terrible idea.
The moment the door swung open, a horde of demonic monsters turned their attention to us, staring into our souls. One by one, the demons began trudging toward us. However, they all stopped when a deep voice spoke.
"Let them pass."
Mifune and I froze in our tracks. The voice was calming, yet cold. The kind of tones that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
With no hesitation, the creatures parted, allowing Mifune and me a direct path forward. Past those demons was a staircase, leading high to a floating, black platform. We ascended the steps and remained on guard, only to find a colossal shadow, with two golden eyes peering at us beyond the cloud of darkness. It was further across the platform, sitting in some wide throne.
We couldn't see just what was looking at us, but the eyes were up at least twenty feet high. The demon probably obscured itself purposefully. That much became apparent when it shined its sharpened teeth at us.
"Kozuna, Mifune, I knew it wouldn't take you two long to find me. Welcome. I am Emper."
Is this supposed to be the devil himself?