Kozuna
"Nazun, Orion! What does the Hanakai gain from reviving Visutra?"
The Lightbound Colossus' golden eyes wholly fixated on me as the two enemies anchored inside faced me. Orion folded his arms silently while Nazun snickered and gripped his forehead.
"What are you talking about, Kozuna?"
I briefly glanced over at a very unconscious Nikai, narrowing my vision back at my pair of foes. "You know what I'm talking about."
"Our mission is to capture you and Nikai. Nothing more."
"Yeah? And why is that?"
"I-" Nazun paused, rubbing his face and blinking sporadically. "What? I- no. I can't-"
What's up with him?
Nazun earned strange looks from both Mifune and me, but Orion stood there, unfazed and reactionless. Subsequently, ice rushed up through the dirt and pierced the giant blob of energy housing Nazun and Orion, just barely missing their physical bodies. And that caught their attention.
Mifune sucked his teeth, clenching his fists. "One good hit, but not enough to kill these idiots."
Without uttering another word, Nazun shook his head and started wildly swinging the sword all over the place. He slashed the ground repeatedly, practically creating divides in the earth at random. And to make matters weirder, he didn't seem to be aiming at Mifune or me.
There was no time to come up with a strategy- dodging around was easy enough for me, but whenever I saw Mifune, it was mostly him constantly raising barriers of ice.
Mifune might outclass me and maybe Orion in many areas, but speed isn't one of them.
I fired numerous thunderbolts and leaped over the many fissures left in the ground, one after another.
"Mifune!"
Another wall of ice towered into the sky, only to break apart moments later. Shards rained and littered the sand like a field of icy roses. The unending whirlwind of blade strikes was already extremely annoying, but soon enough, Nazun was casting his famous energy tornadoes in every direction.
One of those whirlwinds was headed right for Mifune, and I knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it in time. Leaving a trail of energy in my wake, I slid in front of Mifune and fired a thunderbolt at the incoming whirlwind, splitting and dispelling it instantly.
Mifune covered his face as the wind blew fiercely, while I left my arm extended shortly after releasing my lightning. "Don't get caught up in these attacks, Mifune! I think Nazun can absorb you into his seal or something!"
"He can do that?"
"Yeah, but anyway, last time I fought Nazun, I had to use his own power against him." I focused on the Lightbound Colossus as visibility began to return. "I think physical attacks aren't all that effective- he can just replenish his energy in seconds. Energy-type attacks tend to have more long-lasting effects."
"Got it. Do you have a plan?"
I took to a running stance, touching the sand gently. "Nothing specific. Just support me as best you can. I'll hit them with all the lightning I can muster."
Mifune nodded as I raised the heel of my foot. By then, Nazun and Orion had regained sight of us. Electricity crackled around my left side, and I bolted off, watching as the Lightbound Colossus' shield planted in the sand before me.
Blocking my path, huh?
I shifted direction on the fly, flashing to my right as ice crept up and encased the shield, holding it in place and leaving the Soul Colossus vulnerable.
Smart move. Orion and Nazun either have to break the ice or, literally, single-handedly defend themselves!
Stopping in my tracks as sand kicked up in the wind, I raised my arm and fired every last bit of lightning I could summon up right at the base of the Lightbound Colossus. I smirked, watching as Nazun and Orion were pretty much blinded. Not to mention the loss of a smile on Nazun's face.
It was always a satisfying sight.
Smoke erupted from the blast, and I didn't hesitate to dart ahead. I'd caught a glimpse of an opening in the Colossus, and that was all I needed to end the ridiculous charade. The cloud of smoke swirled as I moved through it and the opening in the Lightbound Colossus. I made sure to meet eyes with an utterly perplexed Nazun as I slammed my foot into his chest and blasted him off the ground- and out of the Lightbound Colossus.
"That's the end of that."
The Lightbound Colossus dissipated almost immediately as Nazun rolled through the sand, bloody and coughing up a storm.
"Did you account for me as well?"
My eyes widened as I turned to my side- where Orion had been standing just a moment ago.
He vanished?
My hair blew right up as Orion seemingly blinked away, just for me to get the feeling I was about to be snuck from somewhere.
I quickly gazed in every direction, unable to locate Orion. However, I still had clear sights on a wounded Nazun. My leverage. After shooting a glance back at Mifune, I zoomed over and lifted Nazun off the ground, holding him like a human shield.
"Don't make a move, Nazun! Or you get electrocuted! And Orion! Wherever you are, if you want your partner to live, I suggest retreating for now!"
There was no answer. The only sounds I heard were Nazun groaning weakly, mumbling something indistinct to himself like a crazy person.
"Don't you care about Nazun? Or did you flee already?"
Mifune surfed over to me, only to suddenly stop moving as a wide-spanning pillar of shifting light erupted out of nowhere- on Nikai.
We promptly stared at the beam as it melted the ice encasing Nikai and abruptly vanished. A few seconds later, Orion appeared out of thin air, kneeling at Nikai's side. He pressed his palm onto Nikai's face, seemingly feeding his curse energy into Nikai's seal.
"I need a reliable partner. Nazun was never gonna cut it. He'll only continue holding me back."
It didn't take long for Nikai to wake, sweating buckets with a body lurching up and down like he was actively struggling to regurgitate.
"Of course. How could I forget? He'll be of no use to me right now. Speaking of which?" Orion took to his feet and dusted himself off, cocking his head to the side as he met eyes with Mifune and me. "How are you two not feeling the effects of your curses?"
Mifune and I simply looked at each other and then back at Orion.
"Are you two done acting stupid?" Mifune commented, folding his arms. "Emper removed our restrictions. We're in a different class than you guys now."
"Emper?"
Nazun, upon hearing Orion speak that name, started fidgeting and twitching almost uncontrollably. I had to hold him back with all my might.
Are they really clueless? And why the hell does Nazun keep acting strange!?
The mood changed. Orion gradually began to pace back and forth, his hands trembling.
"Finally losing your cool, Orion? I thought it was Nazun's job to be the crazy one!"
Orion's heavy breathing grew loud enough to hear from a distance. His eyes were becoming bloodshot with every passing second. And with the way his veins were beginning to pop everywhere, it seemed like he was about to burst a blood vessel.
Was I witnessing killing intent? Or was it something else?
Orion scratched his hair furiously, not even saying much of anything. Energy emitted from his outline and squiggled away, disappearing into the wind. The wind blew more in mine and Mifune's direction, and I got a sense of bloodlust in the air.
I could only chalk it up to another curse-to-curse reaction. It wasn't like it was the first time.
"Something's going on with him, Kozuna."
"Yeah. I can feel it."
And the same goes for Nazun. They're both acting off.
Nikai attempted to sit up, though he fell right back down, bleeding from his eyes. Seeing that, Orion almost started to lose more of his composure. But instead, he left Nikai's side and creepily began trudging toward Mifune, Nazun, and me.
"Take one step closer and I kill Nazun!"
Orion, staring at the ground, stopped moving. "Kill him and you'll never see Nikai again."
I gritted my teeth, my eyebrow twitching on its own.
Damn it! What do I do!?
After standing completely still for a while, Mifune twisted his ankle slightly. Ice erupted from the dirt around Orion and encased him in a shockingly perfect rectangle of ice. Still, it didn't last long. Orion obliterated the ice without moving a muscle. And upon emerging from the short-lived, frigid prison, a thin aura of energy clung to his skin like a blanket with static electricity.
Orion continued coming ever closer. And the more he did, the more it felt like his energy was an overpowering presence. One that weighed down on me, but also, instilled fear.
My legs had begun to shake, and all I could do was try to control my breathing.
Stay calm, Kozuna. It's you and Mifune versus Orion. But that look in his eyes?
"Finally losing your cool, Kozuna?"
Orion vanished from our line of sight, but that time, he'd left behind a trail of luminous energy. Mifune and I gazed above to see Orion levitating, seemingly suspended in midair by no visible means. He lifted his hand to the night sky, and moments later, countless airborne needles of light loomed far overhead. Barely any time passed before he let loose.
In response, Mifune materialized and maintained a square icy platform above us, with four columns at the corners. He fed more and more of his energy into it as the needles rained down everywhere and threatened to destroy our only protection.
"Those things are too thin to do heavy damage to my ice. But our bodies are a different story."
Our bodies.
Despite the increasing blindness from every single light-to-ground collision, I watched as Nikai remained utterly unharmed.
He's missing on purpose.
"Even when he's acting like a maniac, he's still in control," I muttered under my breath.
Eventually, the thousands of needles stopped coming, and everything went quiet. But even then, Mifune kept his defenses active. We still had no visual on Orion.
Seems like Orion can do whatever he wants with light. Powerful abilities, well-rounded, and even combat experience to boot. Why hasn't he made any direct move?
"FIRE!"
Was that?
Mifune and I turned to see two armored trucks roll up, equipped with anti-curse technology all over. The vehicles took opposite targets. One shooting at the airborne Orion, while the other aimed for Mifune.
Without a second thought, I tossed Nazun's already near-dead body in front of Mifune- just in time for him to take the hit. By then, he was basically drowning in blood and unable to move. And that was when Izanai perked his head out of the window.
"Kozuna! What the hell are you doing? Protecting the prisoner? You're lucky I don't kill you after everything you've done!"
Mifune showed his teeth as he growled in pure, shared annoyance. "You idiot. Can't you tell what side I'm fighting for? YOU'RE lucky I don't kill you right now! Weak-ass, pompous, fucking jackass! All you do is sit on your ass and order OTHER people to do all the damn work! Look at you! You're in the fucking passenger seat!"
I promptly pursed my lips and looked away from what could've become the funniest argument of all time, at the entirely wrong time.
"No point in trying to say anything to Izanai, Mifune. He won't listen."
"Oh, trust me, I KNOW! I don't care. I'm gonna say what the FUCK I wanna say!"
"No one talks to me like that and walks away," Izanai muttered, baring his teeth. "Everyone, Mifune's been bumped up to first on the kill list."
I stepped in front of Mifune and raised my palm to the trucks. Black energy vented from my curse seal like dust, and traveled up my arm, turning into vast amounts of deep blue electricity. Much more than I was usually able to wield.
"If you guys try to kill or capture Mifune, I'm not holding back."
My hair had begun to glow and even stand a little as I gradually lowered my brow.
"Wonderful." Orion's voice echoed from above. "I'll remove all the trash at once, and then-"
Orion stopped speaking as soon as Izanai met his gaze with a solemn look. By then, Mifune and I had stepped out from under the ice and had a clear view of the enemy above. But it wasn't like Orion was interrupted- he just stopped talking, with his mouth wide open.
I might really hate my clan leader, but how did he make Orion shut up? Looking at him funny?
Everything had escalated into a standoff between clans and friends; terrorists and enemies. I had begun to wonder what I was even fighting for. Izanai was just one guy. On his own, probably easy to overthrow. Orion was the greatest threat, but Izanai was the one holding the true power.
I went to prison without a fight. But Mifune never wronged the Ozukashi. Almost positive he was kidnapped. And yet, Izanai won't let him go. Originally I pursued Nikai to bring him back, but I can't allow Izanai to take Mifune's freedom away again, either. Am I gonna have to choose between them?
I'll just have to do what needs to be done!
"Mifune, keep your eyes on Orion. I'll handle Izanai."
"You sure? I kinda wanna blast him all the way to the moon, myself."
I shook my head with a frown. "No. The situation's delicate. You're not an Ozukashi. If you fight Izanai, everything's just gonna get worse. At least if I do, it's an in-house problem."
"Still wanna save everyone, huh?"
"Yeah, I-"
As Mifune and I hastily strategized, Izanai launched an anti-curse device into the sand- one that released invisible waveforms in a wide radius along the ground. It was the same kind as the anti-curse field generators in other places, like Sand Tower. And just like that?
We were defenseless.
But while Mifune's curse and mine quickly deactivated, up in the air, Orion was outright unaffected. All the electricity swirling around my arm fizzled away, and Mifune's remaining ice melted into spots in the sand.
It was quite the optimal time. And that was when Orion finally decided to make his move. Like he knew what was coming.
Similar to his previous barrage, Orion filled the sky with light- only that time, they took on the form of individual swords. They all pointed downward and basically had our names written on them in what would soon be blood.
Mifune and I glared back at Izanai, who apparently couldn't comprehend just how profound a buffoon he was. Everyone else in the trucks stared at the sky, frightened at the unavoidable power of Orion's curse. The number of sky-dwelling swords only grew. And neither Mifune nor I could reactivate our curses.
Mifune started cracking his knuckles as he approached Izanai and the trucks. "Your clan leader's just full of bright fucking ideas, huh Kozuna?"
Izanai responded by hopping out of the vehicle and marching over like he meant business, bearing pistols in both hands that could effortlessly kill a curse-less Mifune.
"Mifune! Izanai! Guys, we're ALL gonna die if we don't stop Orion!"
Izanai, at last, lifted his guns and aimed at Mifune and me. "Oh don't worry, we'll deal with Orion. But a quick tranquilizer will get you two back in your cells in no time. You children have abilities that can support the Ozukashi Clan as true pillars. It'd be a waste to kill you kids right now."
"Maaan, FUCK being an Ozukashi Pillar!" Mifune yelled, raising his middle fingers.
At that point, as I watched Izanai slowly begin to pull the triggers and heard Orion's psychotic laughter above, Kaiten climbed out of one of the trucks, pointing HIS gun at Izanai.
"That's it! End of insanity! I may not know Mifune personally, but if Kozuna vouches for him, then I do too! PUT THE GUNS DOWN!"
"What now? Mutiny? You're Commander Kaiten of the Ozukashi Armed Forces. You take your orders from ME! Stand down!"
Kaiten took a couple steps forward, gripping his gun with both hands. "No. I've had enough of this. You've steered the Ozukashi down the wrong path for too long, Izanai. It's my duty to put an end to your ways and cleanse this clan."
"You speak like I'm a demon and you're an angel, Kaiten."
Izanai chuckled to himself and placed his tranquilizer guns back in their holsters; Kaiten lowered his weapon in response. But that was only for Izanai to quickly grab a hidden pistol from beneath his shirt and shoot his own little brother in the chest.
When that bullet rang, Kaiten's one good eye opened wide, and his mouth was left agape. He flopped backward onto the truck, dropping his rifle and bleeding out all over the hood.
"Should've worn a bulletproof," Izanai crowed, turning his grin away from Kaiten. "Now it's time for your turn, Mifune, Kozuna."