"Enough stalling, let's get this over with!" Fujin shouts, pumping his fist into the air. "I'm going first! And I challenge Loki to a fight to the death!" He roars, thrusting a finger at Marcus. Marcus quickly regathers his composure, shifting his attention back to the large man before him.
"How boring," he says, his eyes flicking back to Erlang as he turns, walking back towards the barn.
"Boring!?" Fujin snaps, reaching over his shoulder. He pulls some sort of bag off of his back. It looks like a waterskin, and he aims the spout at Marcus threateningly. "I'll show you boring!"
"Itsuki!" Hinata snaps, making Fujin flinch. She steps forward, glaring at him darkly. "Koji and Melody are still in the way, not to mention everyone in the area. Wait until we're clear before attacking."
"...Fine," Fujin snorts, lowering the bag. "Well, hurry up and get out of the way!"
"Hold it," Marcus says, forcing his brain to return to the issue at hand. "Hey, big red! Let me guess - you're going to challenge Susanoo to a fight too, right?"
"Big red!?" Raijin snarls, raising his club threateningly. Another glare from Hinata makes him pause, and he lowers the club again. "Yeah, that's right! Not that it's going to matter for you - you'll be dead by then!" He and Fujin laugh together, stomping their feet. "Now let's get on with it!"
"If you're in such a hurry, why not make it a team match?" He says, stepping forward. He feels Melody grab the back of his shirt, but he presses on despite her silent protest. "Koji and I will take the two of you on together." Fujin and Raijin pause, glancing at each other curiously.
"He's trying to trick us."
"He's got to be. But how?"
"Maybe he's just stupid?"
"We can't kill Koji, he's part of our Pantheon. Maybe that's his plan."
"Then we just say it's not to the death! We get to kill him either way!" The two turn back to Marcus wearing a pair of wicked grins.
"You're on! But not to the death - we'll fight until one side is completely knocked out!" Fujin declares proudly. "Everyone else, clear off!"
"If I could interject," Erlang says, stepping forward again. Marcus's heart sinks, his shoulders tensing. "There's obviously something else to this ploy. You can't accept."
"Shut it, Earling! You don't know anything about us!" Raijin snaps, baring his teeth. "We're ten times stronger when we work together!" Marcus lets out a small sigh of relief, his heart racing. Everything was almost ruined.
"If you're sure, then be my guests," Erlang replies smoothly, retreating back to the crowd. Marcus spins to face Melody, seeing the terror in her eyes. Of course, he gets his vision back just in time to see her so afraid. He grabs her shoulders, gently spinning her around.
"Go with Hinata. We'll be fine." He assures. Melody tries to say something, but nothing comes out when she opens her mouth. Tears build in her eyes again, and Marcus turns away, squeezing his eyes shut. Even the lingering pain in his eyelids is gone. He makes a mental note to thank her a thousand more times as he turns back to the two Oni.
"Y-you sure you're okay with this?" Koji whispers, stepping up to his side. He has a wooden sword gripped tightly in his fist, shaking uncontrollably. Marcus nods, flexing his fingers.
"It's too late to back out now. Just keep their powers at bay and I'll deal with the rest." He says, flicking his wrists to make his daggers appear. He twirls them around, familiarizing himself with the feel of the weapons. Raijin laughs at him, heaving his club into the air threateningly.
"When are we starting?" Fujin says, aiming his bag at them.
"Someone call it!" Marcus yells, not daring to take his eyes off his opponents. At least he can see them now - before they would have just been blurred smears.
"On go!" Hinata calls from the sidelines. Marcus notices that the crowd has moved back, giving them a wide berth. Hinata raises her arm, and Marcus's heart threatens to explode as she begins counting. "Three! Two! One!" She throws her arm down. "Go!"
Immediately a blast of wind throws Marcus and Koji off their feet. Koji flops onto his back painfully, his sword flying out of his hand. Marcus bounces once, pitching himself back and rolling to his feet.
"What happened to holding that back!?" He growls. Koji sits up, throwing his arms out as another gust pushes them back.
"They're both gods - and Oni, too! I'm still just an apprentice, remember!" He protests. His eyes flash blue, and the wind slows to a manageable breeze. Marcus rushes forward, keeping low to move quickly. As he does, he splits into a dozen clones, sending some to circle around Fujin and Raijin's backs. Fujin laughs, whirling around with his bag raised. Every copy that he aims it at is suddenly thrown into the air by a mini tornado. Raijin springs into action, batting the clones one by one when they start to fall. Marcus turns them into various types of birds to avoid getting smashed.
"This is too easy!" Fujin cackles, launching into the air. He flies on a swirl of wind, his eyes pulsing green. He snatches one of the bird clones out of the air, slamming a fist into its face before throwing it to the ground. Raijin thrusts his free hand into the air, twisting his wrist slowly. A black cloud forms over the pair of them, sparking dangerously.
"Koji!" Marcus calls, rolling to the side to avoid Raijin's massive club. He shapeshifts into a bear, trying to wrestle it from Raijin's grasp. The man just laughs, pulling it back and slamming his fist into Marcus's jaw. Despite the layers of muscle his form provides, Marcus is sent reeling back. A blast of wind throws his feet out from under him, and he crashes to the ground.
"I-I'm trying!" Koji yells, snatching his sword from the ground. He slashes at the cloud spreading over the field and it rips in half, dissipating in a matter of seconds. Raijin frowns, turning his attention to Koji.
"Why don't you come to fight, little Koji!?" He barks, electricity sparking between his fingers. Marcus grits his teeth, throwing another clone out to shield his partner. A bolt of lightning fires from Raijin's fingers, blasting a hole in the clone's chest. Marcus twitches as a sharp pain shoots through his skull, and Koji has to dive to avoid being smitten.
"You're fighting me!" Marcus roars, launching himself at Raijin again. He turns back into human form mid-jump, twisting to avoid Raijins club as it bears down on him. He slams his heel into Raijin's cheek as hard as he can, but the giant doesn't even budge. Instead, he grabs Marcus's heel, hauling him into the air.
"Hey, I found the real one!" He cheers. Marcus shifts into a snake, slithering out of his grip as electricity sparks through Raijn's fingers again. To be safe, he releases another four clones, sending them to attack Raijin. He effortlessly bats away a tiger, panther, gorilla, and hawk with one swing.
"Where is he?" Fujin calls, aiming his bag at the ground. He fires off a blast of wind that slams into Marcus, sending him rolling through the grass. Koji roars with effort, forcing it back before it can do much damage. Marcus raises his head, taking a second to look over the scene.
Half a dozen of his clones claw and bite at Fujin in the air. He doesn't seem to notice their attacks, batting them aside with his fists while unleashing powerful gusts of wind. Another five clones rush to attack Raijin all at once but can't seem to get close enough to do any damage. Seeing no other choice, Marcus has his copies take to the sky, converging on Fujin.
"That won't work!" Raijin calls, stirring the sky with his club. Koji grunts with effort, trying to disperse the clouds, but they keep growing into a deadly storm. Marcus keeps low to the ground, stalking through the grass. When he gets close to Raijin, he pounces, taking on his winged lion form. He rakes his claws across Raijin's back, rearing back to bite down on his arm. If he can disarm him, his clones will be able to do some damage.
Suddenly a violent gust of wind slams into Marcus's stomach, sucking the air from his lungs. He's thrown back, and Raijin whirls around, flashing a victorious grin. He slams his club into the side of Marcus's head, throwing him back. His teeth rattle from the impact, and his mind goes dark. Before he hits the ground, another gust of wind picks him up, dragging him back into the air. He feels his fur prickle with static as he nears the cloud and hears a clap of thunder.
"Marcus!" Koji calls, suddenly streaking into the air. He flies past Marcus, disappearing into the black cloud. The sky lights up as lightning flashes, followed by a deafening scream. The clouds shatter, ripping themselves apart until the sky is clear again. Marcus crashes to the ground, his vision swimming. He hears something land next to him and pries his eyes open just enough to make out Koji lying next to him, his clothes charred. He turns back to human form, crawling over to Koji's side. He's still breathing, but his eyes are closed, and when Marcus shakes him, he doesn't respond.
"Idiot," Marcus mutters through his teeth. "You didn't have to protect me."
"That's one down!" Fujin laughs, crossing his arms. "Looks like he was all talk after all!"
"Barely even worth our time!" Raijin adds with a chuckle. "Want to give up now, Loki? Or do you want to suffer a bit longer? We'll make your death as painful as possible either way!" Both of them burst out laughing as Marcus forces himself to stand. He wobbles on his feet, and he feels himself slipping away. Blood rolls down his face from a cut on his head, and his whole body aches.
"I-I won't give up," He spits, trying to sound brave despite the fear flooding his mind. He slowly looks to the side, picking Melody out of the crowd. Her face is stained with tears, and Kaito is standing next to her, holding her back from charging into the battle. He can't lose, not after everything she's done to get here. Steeling himself, Marcus glares at the Oni again, feeling power surge through him. "I'm never going to give up! Not until this messed up system is fixed, you got that!?" He creates another clone, sending it charging at Raijin. It makes it three steps before it's thrown into the air by a gust of wind and struck by lightning. Pain rips through Marcus's skull again, and he stumbles back, grabbing his forehead.
"Fine by us - now that little Koji's not here to mess with us, you're dead!" Fujin cackles, raising his bag again. Raijin thrusts his club at the sky, stirring another storm cloud. Marcus closes his eyes, searching for something he can do.
There's no way I can beat them alone, he thinks. They're too strong. I guess Oni are on a whole other level. But there's got to be something. For some reason, an image forms in his mind. A small airstrip in the middle of a swamp. The moon hanging at its peak. And a boy with golden skin, standing strong despite his trembling hands. Oliver didn't give up back then, and he was against Fenrir. If we beat him, then I can beat these two.
"Any last words?" Raijin laughs, puffing out his chest proudly. "You put up a good fight, but no god can beat us!" Marcus grits his teeth, racking his mind for an answer. But all he can think of is the battle with Fenrir. How he and Oliver teamed up to beat the world-ending wolf.
Wait. Marcus's eyes snap open as a plan takes form. That's not right. We didn't stand a chance against Fenrir. He would have destroyed us. He glares at Fujin and Raijin, squinting to make out their faces as clearly as possible. We tricked him.
Using all of his strength, he forms a ball of mist in his hands. The few remaining clones he has fades as he forces every last drop of his divine energy into the mist, compressing it between his fingers. I've only got one shot at this. I've got to make it count.
"Time to die, Loki!" Fujin cheers, firing a gust of wind from his bag. At the same time, Raijin swings his club, sending a lightning bolt down at Marcus. Marcus roars and pushes the mist ball forward. It explodes outward, clouding the entire field. Melody screams from the sidelines as the lightning disappears into it.
The mist clears a second later, blown away by Fujin's wind. He laughs evilly, puffing out his chest. "That will teach you for messing with me! So much for all that talk!" He gloats proudly. Mist dances around his face like a mask.
"Wha- how did you dodge that!?" Raijin snarls, whirling around on Fujin. Like his partner, his face is partially lost to the mist. "You coward! This better be the real you!" Fujin stops laughing, looking down at his partner with eyes full of rage.
"What did you say!?" He snaps, groping for his bag. "I'll blow you away, just you watch!"
"I'd like to see you try!" Raijin shouts back, stirring the sky once again. He aims his bat at Fujin and a bolt of lightning streaks through the sky. Fujin narrowly avoids it, his eyes going wide.
"You're kidding me - how are you still so strong!?" He unleashes a blast of wind at Raijin, who raises his club to defend. As the wind slams into him, he's thrown off his feet, landing on his back painfully. "Just stay down, you little brat!"
"You won't beat me!" Raijin jeers, thrusting his fist at Fujin. Lightning arcs between the two of them, and Fujin gasps as the bolt hits him. His body shakes and twitches, but Fujin roars with anger, firing another tempest. Raijin grunts with pain under his assault, slamming into the ground over and over.
Marcus watches the two fight, his head swimming. He lost feeling in his hands and feet when he was struck by Raijin's lightning. There's a dull buzzing in the back of his head, and his chest feels hot. He knows he should be unconscious - or dead - but something deep inside of him refuses to let him sink into the darkness. His vision blurs more than ever, but his mind is focused on his illusions, making sure they don't break. His fingers twitch and dance, feeding the mist swirling around the Oni's heads. Each of them is seeing the other as Marcus, taunting them for being so weak. He can't see them fighting, and for all he knows, they've already started attacking him again. But he keeps feeding his power into the illusions, hoping that it's working.
"I won't...be beaten!" Fujin calls, his body shaking. His thin hair stands on end, and his green suit is charred almost completely black from Raijin's lightning. Raijin is covered in bruises and cuts, his suit stained brown from being thrown around in the dirt. Both climb to their feet, swaying as they square off.
"I'll kill you!" Raijin roars, launching himself at Fujin. Fujin raises his bag, which swells like a balloon. When the wind comes out, Fujin skids back, struggling to keep his balance. At the same time, Raijin thrusts his club forward, unleashing a blast of lightning. The attacks pass each other, each finding its mark. The two gods are blasted back, crashing into the dirt without another word.
Marcus drops to his knees, unable to hold the illusions any longer. His arms fall to his sides, and he pries his eyes open. It takes him a moment to see through the black splotches dotting his already damaged vision, but he can just make out his two opponents lying motionless before him. The fight is over.
Marcus sways, but he locks his legs, refusing to let go. With the last of his strength, he raises his fist, declaring his victory. He tries to lift his head, but that proves too much. Despite his best efforts, he falls forward, preparing for a painful landing. But it doesn't come. Instead, a pair of arms wrap around his head, and his head lands on something soft.
"You did it, Marcus, you won," Melody whispers in his ear. "You beat them. Now please, just stop. Rest." She begs. Marcus nods slowly, letting his thoughts slip away from him.