*Roa*
[Earlier- Over the Kuroki mountains between Kuroriku and Kasai no Ki]
I dashed toward Naoru who quickly rose of the ten-foot deep crater that had formed from his crash-landing. Blood trickled down his right arm and leg.
He raised his left hand and shot a purple energy sphere at me, blowing away the lingering dust around us, but I shot a beam of my own out of my mouth from where I stood. The two energies collided between us, exploding in the form of a pillar of darkness with cyan sparks.
He moved his working hand toward his heart while keeping his palm facing me as I came for another hit. I gasped as I felt his hand clench onto one of my hooves.
"You're fast," I said, backing away quickly.
He smiled slightly as he took a step toward me. "Thanks."
I gasped. His wounds, they were healing at the same speed as an Abyssmal's! The only ones I knew of who could do so, who weren't abyssmals were Rosalba and Yuko.
"You, how is it that you can heal so fast?" I asked.
Naoru grinned as he pointed his sword at me. He appeared behind me, but I kicked him with my back legs. He jumped back, dodging my kicks. "Surprised? My abilities have grown since our fight outside the palace. This is the power given to me by the king himself! The power of destruction and restoration!"
The king? Wait, if Osamu has this kind of ability, why hadn't he given similar powers to the others?
"The knights will soon reach this level of power too. I am merely a guinea pig," he said as he moved around rapidly, forming multiple after-images.
I scoffed. "A guinea pig? So, you've allowed yourself to become a lab rat, is that it?"
"You could say that, but if it grants me the power to achieve my goals then so be it!" he yelled. He came at me from above, kicking my head with his right heel. The ground beneath me gave way as if I were a meteor falling from high in the air.
I unleashed a pulse of lightning into the heavens, causing him to swiftly fly up. The lightning covered the crater around me, attracting the cloud of dust around me inward. I formed a spinning wall of earth out of the dust. I had seen uncle Tekeshi utilize this same technique in the recording of the battle between him and Etsuo's father.
"Impressive, but your earth control pales compared to mine!" Naoru snarled, standing at the rim of the crater. He raised his hand toward me and sent my own spinning tablets of earth crashing inward.
I let out a grunt and reformed the dust into sharp stones, but this time with an electric aura around them. I took a step forward and slammed my hoof on the ground, sending waves of earth at him along with the electrically charged stones.
Naoru jumped, but the stones followed. He stretched both hands out to stop them, but while he managed to stop the stones, the electricity was flung toward him in the form of plasma bullets. He groaned as the bullets pierced through him.
He took a step back. His wounds closed even faster than last time. Swiping the air with his black knife, I turned to dodge the resulting air slash. However though, I winced as blood trickled down my left leg... and the wound, while small wouldn't heal.
"What?" I said, gasping.
Naoru flung himself at me. I ducked and flew into the air. I opened my mouth, gathering energy into it and fired a blue sphere at him. He swiped the air once move, slicing through my energy beam before it could even reach him. The two halves split and went opposite directions. Explosions shook the land as two, new seven-foot deep craters formed behind him.
"Wow, you are quite something," Naoru said as he held his knife in front of him. "I'll be sure to keep your core as a reminder of a great opponent." He pointed the knife at me and flew straight at me.
I reverted back to my usual form and grasped his knife-wielding hand with both hands, stopping it before he could stab me. I flinched as I felt blood trickle down my leg still. Damn it! Why, couldn't I heal?
There was a spark in Naoru's eyes. He twisted the knife, cutting my left forearm. I let out a scream and let go of him while moved away from him as fast as I could. This wound, it wasn't closing either.
"You're probably wondering what's going on, huh?" Naoru said as he appeared behind me. I spun around, slapping his knife aside before he could stab me. He smiled. "There's fear in your eyes, and rightly so. My weapon, Aterial is your kind's worst nightmare. A weapon which can disable and speed up regeneration be it cell or otherwise. If not for Aterial's regeneration, I would've died at the palace."
"So, that's why you could last so long," I sighed as I formed a sphere of electricity around myself and floated away from him.
He nodded. "Yes."
"But if you can stop regeneration then that means Etsuo..."
He snickered. "Yes, your cousin is likely on the door to death right about now, or past it already. Without his regeneration, he'll die of blood-loss since he isn't pure abyssmal."
I curled my hands into fists and gritted my teeth together. I shook my head in disbelief. It... that wasn't... Etsuo, he couldn't be...
"NO!" I cried out, causing the heavens to tremble.
He chuckled and swung his sword once more, slicing through my barrier. "No worries, you'll be joining him in the afterlife soon enough. As will the rest of your kind."
I reached my arm out and appeared in front of him. I grabbed his knife arm with one hand and punched him in the stomach with the other repeatedly. "Die! Die! Die!" I let go of him and sent him slamming into the peak of another nearby mountain. I cupped my hands, forming spheres of electricity. The mountain's top was gone within a few seconds. "Die!" I said as darkness danced around me. Thunder rumbled above me. "Etsuo, I need to go back to him."
"You won't do that!" a voice roared. That hateful guy emerged from the rubble of the mountain top. Behind him stood a shadowy figure in a tattered gray cloak. Its face was obscured by its long hood. "You will only be joining him in the afterlife! Your time in this world is over!"
"No, it's you who's dying!" I screamed, appearing in front of him. I gasped as the mysterious figure clasped my fist with a bony hand. "Is this your angel?"
"She's not an angel, she's a djinn. Her name is Esandal, the spirit which lives within my Aterial! Now, djinn of life and death, render this vile creature lifeless!"
I blasted the djinn's hand away with lightning, freeing my hand. I flew upward and formed another sphere of electricity. I sneered, "Why is it that I'm always fighting djinn whenever I'm here?"
Esandal gasped. "You've met another?" she asked as her hood was flung back. She was surreal. Her face was as white as bleached bone while her eyes were black with electric blue pupils. If Naoru hadn't told me that she was a djinn; I would've suspected that she was an angel of death, or a servants to the goddess of death, Nami.
I watched as her bony fingers reformed. I gasped as I felt something behind me. I flashed forward and spun around.
"You forgot about me?" Naoru asked, glaring. "I didn't expect you to sense that in time to dodge. You've got acute senses."
"Your flattery won't save you!" I said as I summoned my black katana. I flew at him. He raised his angel tool, but that wasn't going to change a thing. I turned aside and appeared behind him. Just before my sword hit his head, it was blocked and a shockwave erupted in turn, sending us both flying away from the other. I stared in bewilderment. He had managed to swing his hand behind his head and used the blade of his knife to block it.
I tilted toward my right, but I wasn't fast enough as five bony fingers stabbed my left arm. I pulled away and grunted in pain. Was this it? Was this where I would meet my demise?
I gravitated toward the ground as fast as I could. I needed to get away. I needed to get to Etsuo. Etsuo... I closed my eyes and tried to sense his life-force. It was... very faint. He had to be unconscious or barely conscious. He likely had only a few minutes of life left. If it weren't for him being three-fourths abyssmal, he probably would've died by now.
I spun my body around as I sensed Naoru and his djinn race after me. I needed more power. I closed my eyes tighter and landed on the ground. I had seen Satoru push himself beyond his usual form to a stronger one. Though, that was a Kyuu Hyakuian form, angels were also said to have stronger forms according to my father.
I dropped my sword as I spread out my wings and clenched my hands into fists. I drew all of my inner power outward and begun to spin it within my core.
"Huh?" Given up?" Naoru said as he landed several feet from me. He charged at me, but his angel stopped him. "What's wrong?"
She narrowed her eyes at me. "I sense a dangerous power building up within him."
"Then attacking him right now would be the best option," he snapped. "Now let go of me."
"No, this build up is different. If you attack him like that you'll be repealed by a discharge of electricity. Attack him from a distance." She raised rocks into the air and sent them flying at me. The rocks blew up before they even got within a foot of me. "That didn't quite work as I'd planned, but at least now you see my point. While you can heal, your mana is starting to dwindle so it's best to avoid getting hurt."
Naoru nodded. "True."
I closed my eyes and spread my hands up. I felt particles in the air gravitate toward me, being absorbed into my body. It felt good, as if I had been submerged into healing waters.
"Wait, he's drawing more mana in!" Naoru yelled. He stepped back and swung his sword at my direction. I let out a scream as the razor wind cut through my mana cloak and cut off my right arm. "There, now you feel the same agony that I've felt during our last battle. You should've given up outright instead of doing this. Whatever you're doing won't change a thing. You'll be joining that monkey whether you like it or not. You should at least be glad about that."
I fell to my knees. My last attempt... it was for nothing. Nothing! I slammed the ground with my remaining hand, shattering it. I let out a scream. "I hate this!" I yelled. "I won't... give up. I am a warrior of Abyssia and I shall die as one." I picked up my sword with my left hand and pushed myself up.
The djinn shook her head. "Kill him. Put the young man out of his misery."
Naoru nodded and raised his sword toward the heavens.
I looked up and did the same with mine and swung it at him, giving it all I had. BOOM! The energy from our swings collided between us where space itself started to distort. Suddenly, a pillar of darkness and cyan light like the one before flew up the distorted space and ripped through the clouds above.
I stepped back and swallowed back a cry. I collapsed to my knees once more.
Etsuo, I won't surrender. I'll escape out of this alive and save you! I won't allow the three of us to be separated again.
"You truly are one worthy of calling himself a warrior," Naoru said as the pillar started to fade. "Esandal, stand by. I'll finish this myself."
The djinn bowed her head and took a step back. "As you command, my Tsukumoten. Though, do be careful. You know well that this one is a tough opponent. I suggest killing him quickly, or else he might just pull off a miracle."
Naoru scoffed. "A miracle? I doubt that a miracle would save him at this point."
I took another deep breath. I had used all of my internal energy, plus what I had gathered from the natural environment in that attack... I could try to draw some more in, but I doubted that my body could take it in the state it was in. Also, Naoru would likely not allow it. Tch. I was all out of 'tricks'.
I glanced up at Naoru as he walked over to me. He slashed the three-foot-tall grass in front of him and pointed the knife at my neck. "State your last words if you have any."
I glared at him. "Go to Cianio!" I said, spitting at his face.
He wiped the saliva off of his face and swung his weapon.
**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the battle :3. Thoughts on it? Predictions, theories?**