The great beast was finally upon me. What had appeared was an avian of such immense size that even the dragons living in the Misty Mountain Range could not compare to it. Wings of orange and red fire flapped, causing heat waves to distort the air. Colorful designs ran along its body. It was a mixture of red, orange, yellow, and blue. Its plumage was a brilliant white that burned like an illuminating flame. Red and yellow tails trailed behind it as though simulating the ends of a shooting star. Intense crimson eyes glared at me with a hatred that I knew was mutual.
Gnashing my teeth together, I turned around, tucked my fist into my torso, and put all of my Spiritual Power into my next attack.
The beast drew near. I waited until the last second. Then I quickly spun around, dodging the beast by a hair’s breadth. It was so close that my body, currently composed entirely of water, was beginning to boil. However, I did not let myself get distracted. Thrusting out my fist, I channeled my Spiritual Power through it and created a massive spike of water that extended from my arm.
Even though the intense heat from the flames surrounding this creature was immense, I was no weakling myself. Water evaporated and created waves of billowing steam. Even so, the spear held firm, refusing to dissipate, and it soon penetrated the beast’s chest. Rather than spewing blood, what emerged from the creature was a bright white flame.
As the beast cried in pain, I immediately retracted myself and prepared to attack again.
That was when one of the other beasts swooped down. I saw the shadow and sensed the intent to kill me and quickly moved away. Once I had reached what I deemed a safe distance from the firebird, I released my control over water and transformed into lightning again. Everything around me immediately sped up, allowing me to safely jump several dozen meters in less time than it took to blink.
The bird that had swooped past me was just as massive as the firebird, but instead of being coated in flames, this one had green and white feathers. Its soft feathers gave it a very gentle appearance. However, I knew from the thousands of razor sharp cuts I’d received during my earlier engagement that I couldn’t underestimate its deceptively soft appearance. A long tail moved behind it like a tassel. If I looked closely, I could see the atmosphere around it being cut by thousands of wind blades.
A loud crash caused me to cast my gaze toward the ground. Flames spewed from the ground down below as the fire bird crashed into the forest. I felt a sense of grim satisfaction as the creature shrieked in agony. Brilliant white flames, the lifeblood of that great beast, were spewing from its chest like a fountain.
I did not have much time to admire my handiwork, for the green bird released a sharp cry before charging at me. Knowing that my element was weak against this creature that could control the wind, I used Flash Step Version 3: Lightning Step to move away as quickly as I could, but the beast remained stuck on my tail, creating a vacuum that cut through the atmosphere to increase its speed.
Frowning, I once more split my attention. I didn’t do much this time. Channeling the light element into my finger, I took careful aim and sent a condensed beam of light at the wind bird. What I got in return was a satisfied shriek as my attack sheared through one of its wings. Greenish white blood spewed from the area where the limb had been severed. Without both wings, it was unable to maintain flight and fell to the ground below.
However, just like before, I was given no time to celebrate my success. Five other birds had just descended. Each one was just as big as the previous two. Each one possessed the ability to control a different element.
A powerful beam of light slammed into me without mercy, burning my back as it sent me sailing toward the ground. My scream was lost to the wind. My body felt like it was being thrown into the Sun. Everything hurt. However, I did my best to shunt aside the pain, increased the flow of lightning through my body, and rolled out from underneath the powerful beam of light.
The beam continued on. It struck the side of a mountain several kilometers below. An explosion so massive that the wind buffeted me despite its distance went up, sending plumes of smoke and rubble into the sky. When the attack died down, the mountain was gone. In its place was a crater so large I was sure it would be visible even if I moved beyond this planet’s atmosphere.
“Damn…”
I looked at the result of that attack, and then turned back to glare at the beast who’d caused it. The massive bird flapped its wings as it glared back. This creature looked like it was made of pure light, a combination of white and yellow feathers that appeared both soft and translucent. Yellow eyes glowed with a power that seemed almost divine.
While the bird and I entered a glaring contest, an intense killing intent slammed into me, forcing me to swerve from the spot where I’d been floating.
Six spheres made of water flew past the spot where I’d been. They slammed into the ground far below. Each sphere created a crater that easily spanned ten or fifteen meters across.
I could not admire this attack, for the moment I dodged it, I was forced to move again. This time, seven blades of darkness cut through the air. They were nothing more than black ripples. I swerved over one of them, and then flew down to avoid another. Twisting my body, I managed to avoid two more, but the last one had been aimed at where I would be rather than where I was.
“HA!”
Channeling light into my palm, I slammed it into the blade of darkness, causing the air around me to crackle as arcs of light and dark Spiritual Power raced across the sky. Gritting my teeth as the dark blade pushed me back, I released a furious cry and poured even more Spiritual Power into my palm. The dark blade exploded as I finally tore through it.
The creature that had released this was a bird made from darkness so pure it was like a black hole. Sharp wings covered its body. The only part of it that wasn’t black was its eyes, which were pure white and contained no pupil. Alongside it was a bird with blue feathers, one with yellow feathers, another with brown feathers, and the light bird that had attacked me earlier.
I took a heavy breath as sweat poured from my brow. However, I knew I couldn’t stop. Without even trying to recover, I released the restraints on my Spiritual Power. My body became energized as though the last several hours had never happened. I could feel the Spiritual Power coursing through me like a tempest. Light mixed with water and lightning inside of me, some of which leaked out because my body simply couldn’t withstand the power output.
“Dammit… I had been hoping to save this for your boss,” I muttered in a bitter voice.
Whether or not the five elemental birds heard me, they certainly knew that my threat level had suddenly increased. All five of them screeched as they gathered their own Spiritual Power. It congealed around their mouths, forming spheres of condensed energy. Barely a second had passed before they launched their attacks. Five beams of water, lightning, light, darkness, and earth flew toward me.
I did not meet their attacks head on. I wasn’t stupid.
Using the power of light, I immediately vanished from the spot where I’d been standing. Their attack went through my after image. I didn’t give them a chance to be surprised. Reappearing several meters above the most troublesome of the five, I turned myself into a streak of light and descended before it realized what I was doing. I barely felt any resistance as my body blew a whole clean through the black bird.
Landing on the ground at almost the exact same instant I had moved from point A, I looked up to see that my attack had done what I intended. The black bird with powers over darkness now had a large hole in its chest. What’s more, the edges were frayed and refused to heal. While darkness was the antithesis of light, the same was equally true.
“Kari, I still have no real grasp over your affinity, but it is only thanks to you that this was possible,” I said to myself as I watched the massive bird slowly break into particles of darkness.
My attack enraged the four remaining birds, who quickly descended toward me. I didn’t even need to use Spiritual Perception to feel th
eir intent to kill me. Almost before I could even move, they had each launched their own attack. The four elements of water, light, lightning, and earth swirled around each other to create mixed beam of power so large it could engulf a small city.
But I was no longer there.
As their attacks slammed into the forest floor and caused even more damage to the environment, I was already in front of the water bird. I reached out with my hand and touched its head. The bird’s eyes were crossed as it stared at me, but I just smiled at it. I’m sure my smile was quite cold.
The water bird lit up as I shoved as much lightning into it as I could. With a shriek so loud it was nearly inaudible, the bird lit up like fireworks during the Summer Solstice. Smoke soon rose from its body. However, it was too slow. This attack would kill it, but the other birds would get to me first.
Clicking my tongue, I raised my hand, which had turned into a five meter blade of lightning, and then I brought it down. My attack created a seam of light within the bird, a small line that appeared from its beak to its tail feathers. The bird peeled apart at the seam, the two halves almost gently falling away from each other before the elemental beast turned into water that rained upon the ground.
Barely a second had past before something sharp pierced my back. I couldn’t even cry out in pain as the air was stolen from my lungs. The ground beneath and the sky above blurred past me in dull streaks. Gritting my teeth, I turned my head and found the enraged eyes of the light bird glaring at me. It had pierced my back with its beak.
“Don’t think…” I struggled to raise my hand. “Don’t think…” Light, lightning, and water swirled around my arm as I channeled all three elements. “Don’t think this will be enough to do me in!!!”
With a roar of defiance, I crashed my fist into the light bird’s beak. A loud cracking sound echoed from the beak as an incision line appeared. One incision became two, then two became three, four, eight, sixteen. It quickly multiplied before cracking underneath the power of my fist.
The bird immediately stopped flying as it thrashed and screeched in pain. However, the forward momentum it had generated was enough that I was not able to stop from flying until I generated enough force with my own Spiritual Power to stop myself.
Reaching behind my back after I had stopped moving, I pulled out what remained of the beak from my back and tossed it away. Warm blood spilled down my back. I ignored it as I eyed the three remaining elemental birds. The lightning bird, the wind bird, and the now injured light bird.
“Ha… ha… ha…”
My shoulders heaved as I glared at the birds. However, I didn’t think my glare was very effective just then. The Spiritual Power flowing through me was fluctuating. The aura covering my body flickered in and out. I didn’t reveal my thoughts, but I was swearing up a storm internally as my Spiritual Power started running dry.
This technique I was using wasn’t complete yet. If I’d had time to finish it, then maybe I could have already ended this battle, but luck had not been on my side.
It looked like the birds were just about to renew their attack, and I myself was prepared to re-initiate hostilities, but all of us suddenly froze in place as an intense Spiritual Pressure filled the air. My breathing quickly grew heavier as sweat formed on my brow. It was a cold sweat. I tried to take in a breath, but the pressure was causing my lungs to struggle with the simple act of taking in oxygen. It felt like something was crushing them.
A figure had suddenly appeared in front of me. He was a luminous being more beautiful than the Sun, a creature of such incomparable beauty that even in my hatred, I could not deny there was not a single flaw to be found. Pure white robes covered his body. Long and silver hair flowed freely like a waterfall down his head all the way to his bare feet. His long, pointed ears were the clearest signs that he wasn’t human.
He did not have a very muscular body. Indeed, I would have said his body was quite feminine. He was slender and willowy. However, I didn’t let that fool me, and even if he had been a woman, I wouldn’t have underestimated him like some people would have done.
Despite his beauty, there was something odd about this man. Every part of him seemed bright and divine—every part except his blood red eyes. They were a dark crimson that seemed tainted somehow. Furthermore, that dark aura surrounding him seemed to present a direct contradiction to his vibrant, almost divine appearance.
The man took a deep breath as he looked at the three birds. He surveyed them with a slight frown, and then quickly glanced at where I had killed the others. I wanted to move, to attack this man with everything I had, but some invisible force kept me in place.
Finally, he looked at me.
“To think a half-blood like you was able to defeat four of my seven slaves,” he murmured. “You know I had enslaved these monsters specifically to kill you? Your powers are indeed great. Given enough time, you might even pose a threat to me. It seems trying to send enslaved Demon Beasts after you was a mistake. I should have just come myself.”
“Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain…” My fists shook with barely restrained hatred as I stared at the being before me. “You took everything from me. My wife. My child. Everything. I have waited for this day, waited for the day I would finally face you again, for the day I would finally kill you.”
The being before me, the one I called the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain, chuckled as though I had said something amusing. It was a grating laugh, not at all like something I’d expect from such a feminine figure. His laugh caused the hair on my neck to prickle.
“Had your wife not shielded you from me, she would not have died. She only has herself to blame.” He paused, his head tilting as he stared impassively into my rage filled eyes. “As for your daughter… I could not allow a human who possesses such divine blood to live. Had I not killed her, she would have become a threat.”
“A threat?” I whispered. “We were just living peacefully when you attacked us unprovoked and without warning. We were no threat to you. You laid waste to our home, destroyed our civilization, and killed my family without even a hint of mercy or provocation.”
The Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain snorted. “You may not understand it now, but you are indeed a grave threat to me—no, you are perhaps the greatest threat to ever exist. What I did was necessary.”
I didn’t think the blood flowing through my veins could have run any colder than it already was, but I was wrong. It was like my blood had frozen over. Only a chilling coldness that seeped through my entire being remained.
“Necessary, you say?”
“Yes. Necessary.”
“Necessary… for what?”
“To keep you from being able to interfere with my plans.” The Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain spread his arms wide and chuckled again. “Just look at what you have done. A half-blood who hasn’t even learned to control even a tenth of his abilities has defeated four of my seven slaves, Divine-rank Demon Beasts capable of annihilating entire cities with a single attack, and you would have defeated all of them had I not intervened. I’d say this level of destruction warrants intervention.”
I had no idea what this monster was talking about, but I was done listening. He had attacked my family for a reason as dumb as protecting himself? From what? It was true that I had been the one who awakened him, but I had never harmed him nor had any intention to. Had he never appeared attacked my city, never attempted to kill me, never murdered my daughter, we would have left him alone.
My hatred surged, allowing me to overcome the intense pressure that had been pushing down on me. I compressed the last remaining Spiritual Power in my body. The aura that had been covering me vanished. To the average eye, it would have looked like my power had disappeared.
The Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain narrowed his eyes.
Then I vanished.
It happened in a flash. I appeared directly behind my foe, thrusting out my fist in a punch that caused the air to burst. However, without even l
ooking behind him, the Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain placed his hand in the direction of my punch, catching it. A shockwave erupted from the contact.
I was already moving.
Appearing on his left in a manner that was almost like teleportation, I launched a powerful kick. This was also blocked. I was undeterred. I appeared again and again, moving all around him at speeds so fast I left multiple afterimages in my wake. One. Two. Four. Sixteen. Yet no matter how many punches and kicks I threw, no matter how fast I pushed myself, this monster blocked each and every one of them as though it was easier than breathing.
Meanwhile, I was running on empty.
With the last of my strength, I released a vicious scream and channeled all my energy into my fist. A bright glow erupted from it. The air around it distorted. Ripples spread through the sky as though the fabrics of reality itself were being torn apart.
The Great Overlord’s eyes finally widened. With something resembling panic, he threw out his own punch, which glowed in the same manner as mine but with a dark energy that seemed vile. The air exploded between us as one fought to overpower the other. I gritted my teeth and pushed as hard as I could, wrecking my body. Blood exploded from my arms as my capillaries burst, my muscles tore apart like they were made of soggy parchment, and I could feel my very life being drained.
I didn’t care. It didn’t matter if I died so long as I killed this man.
Perhaps it was because I was so focused that I didn’t see the attack coming at me until it was too late. However, when a fist appeared out of nowhere, all I could do was swear. The attack hit me. Pain overrode my ability to see, causing a white film to cover my eyes.
I think I must have passed out. When I came to, I was lying on my back, in the middle of a massive crater so large I couldn’t even judge its size. The Great Overlord of the Seventh Plain was above me, a sword made of pure darkness grasped firmly within his right hand. He raised the sword and brought it down.
A Fox's Alliance (American Kitsune Book 10) Page 41
