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| A New World, Book 3 - Complete - |
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| Iced Fairy:
Ichirin did her best to ignore the stares of the humans as she scribbled sutras all along the walls. Most of them were outsiders after all, and they were unused to such obvious displays of magic. Unzan was getting a fair number of stares as well. Kyoko's ears received some looks, but people had gotten used to those far more quickly. Still the fact that so many of these outsiders had willingly placed their lives in the care of the temple's occupants was a sign of how much the outside world had changed. She finished up the final verse, and nodded as the words blended into the wood that made up the palanquin ship. ?What ward should I put up next Unzan?? Unzan's soft reply was interrupted by a violent shock. The wards all flared brilliant blue as something shattered on them. Then they slowly died down. Except the one that guarded against fire. The people below started to shout amongst each other. Ichirin could feel panic starting to build. She quickly moved over the entrance, and opened her arms to get everyone's attention. ?There's no need to worry everyone! Unzan and I will keep you all safe.? The nyuudo moved to hold up the roof to add credibility to her words. ?Yep! So long as you stay in here the wards will keep you safe from the crossfire,? Kyouko echoed cheerily. ?Don't worry about a thing.? The panic quickly subsided, though families started bunching together. ?Now we just have to hope Murasa can take care of the fire,? Ichirin whispered softly. Kyouko nodded in reply. She flew back up to the walls. She needed to start strengthening the wards again. ------------ The four members of the temple leaped from their positions into the sky as a bolt of energy flew over the temple, then exploded, raining down liquid fire. ?Fuck!? shouted Murasa as the magical blast set the roof aflame. Byakuren quietly sympathized with the statement. The attack was some kind of magical napalm. Even if there was no other fuel it would burn on its own. It would have to be extinguished somehow. Shou immediately took charge. ?Murasa, keep it from spreading! Your water powers can do that no matter what spell it is. Nazrin, form a conventional bucket brigade. Keep it away from any fuel!? With that the new goddess leaped down from the heavens, Byakuren quickly following. She raised her spear, and lighting crashed from the clear sky at her command. There standing in the shattered clearing created by the electrical blast was a woman. Byakuren could immediately see the near transparent walls of magic warding the woman from harm. ?Shou, be careful. She's well protected.? Shou held out her hands and a spray of her twisting lasers fired out. ?That doesn't matter. She will pay for daring to attack a shrine filled with innocents!? ?Hmph! You declared war on us, youkai,? the woman replied. Byakuren watched as the deadly rain of lasers struck the woman, then vanished into nothingness as the woman's wards absorbed the killing power. ?Now reap the rewards of your defiance.? The woman again raised her hands and threw a ball of magical flame into the air. This was what Byakuren was waiting for. Time seemed to slow as she entered her casting trance. She reached out towards the spell with her own power, trying to rip it apart and unmake it. Counterspelling wasn't in favor in Gensoukyo, but among magicians it was an common and effective tactic. It was almost too easy to get a grip on the outer lines of energy. Byakuren ignored them and moved on. Those must be the shrapnel part. If she removed them, the spell would just regenerate them. Her target was the core of the arcane attack. She prodded and poked against the core of the energy, trying to work her way inside it. This magic seemed to have a strange feel however. It shifted wrong to her mind. At first she attributed it to the oddities of Lunarian magic, but then she caught a glimpse of the inner workings. This was magitech! She didn't know how to cancel magic that was being run by a soulless device. Time began advancing normally once again as her eyes snapped open. ?Shou, I can't dispel it!? She dodged to the side quickly as the shot exploded above the two and rained down fire again. The scattered trees below turned into torches. ?Ahahaha! Couldn't you dodge it all, 'goddess'?? Byakuren quickly turned to where Shou had been. Her friend had dodged to the side as well, but there was a patch of the napalm burning on her left hand. Shou blinked then looked down at her hand. ?Oh. That's why it's warm. I thought you'd gotten a near miss.? Shou contemptuously flicked her hand to get the magical flames off. ?I know you worry about me Byakuren, but you don't need to tell me to dodge if the flames don't burn.? Byakuren stared at Shou in awe. She'd known Shou was strong. That's why she'd chosen the woman to be an avatar of Vaiśravana. But to ignore flames that could make evergreens instantly combust was far far beyond her previous power. As the halo around Shou began to expand, Byakuren realized her shock and the Lunarian's fear must be feeding Shou faith. ?I would explain to you all the sins you are committing with your vile acts, but I'd be wasting my time.? Shou gestured past the woman. ?Your strength isn't enough even to defeat my old youkai self. Much less Byakuren and I together. You're a sacrificial pawn, sent here to delay my attack on more dangerous fighters.? ?S-shut up!? the woman yelled. ?Do you think I led off with my strongest spell?? Shou shook her head. ?Do you think it matters?? Byakuren narrowed her eyes at that. Shou was obviously provoking the woman. Which meant Shou wasn't as quite as confident as she seemed. The tiger youkai was trying to draw attention away from Byakuren, so she could use her more potent spells. Byakuren's biggest weakness was her devotion to ritual. Her strongest long ranged attack spells all took time to fire off. And she'd need a strong spell to break the Lunarian's barrier. To understand was to act for the Buddhist nun. She began chanting one of her focused attack spells, doing her best to hide the lotus pattern that formed from the energy. She'd have to hope Shou could hold out. The Lunarian raised her hands. ?Let's try a real attack spell then!? Byakuren blinked as a wave of electricity crackled upwards. Then shattered against an invisible globe as Shou raised her spear. ?You think to test Bishamonten with lightning?? Byakuren opened her eyes fully as she completed her own spell. The energy lotus bloomed around her, and she focused that power into seven lasers. The Lunarian dodged to the side, but some of the beams still washed over her. To no effect. The woman's attention snapped back to Byakuren. ?That won't work!? Byakuren sidesteped as the Lunarian tossed another napalm sphere directly at her then took to the air. Now it would be even harder to get a focused attack off. Byakuren sighed. She'd hoped to have a strong position to negotiate from, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen. ?This fight is meaningless,? Byakuren said to the Lunarian. ?There's no one on the Earth who can threaten the moon. Why do you seek conflict here?? ?You assassinated our representatives. That's good enough reason to get rid of you. Besides you and the humans are just- ouph!? The Lunarian's words were cut off as Shou's spear knocked her back a few paces. The weapon turned to light, then reformed in Shou's outstretched hand. ?We killed no one. Your people are responsible for their deaths, as any fool could see. You seek excuses for your deeds, not justice.? ?Why should I listen to the words of a youkai?? Byakuren nodded. ?Shou. You can go ahead now.? ?Eh?? Both the other fighters looked at her in confusion. ?I've figured out how to defeat this woman. You don't need to worry about me anymore.? Byakuren smiled at her former student. ?Go on ahead. After all, she's only here to slow you down. We shouldn't let that happen.? ?But Byakuren...? Shou had such a conflicted look on her face. Byakuren couldn't help but chuckle. She regretted the impulse when their opponent took it personally. ?You insolent bitch!? Byakuren dashed quickly to the side as her opponent raised her hands. The summoned lightning crackled off harmlessly into the sky. Fortunately her quick dodge seemed to placate Shou's worries. ?Alright. Be safe Byakuren.? The new goddess hovered a bit higher, then dove below the tree line while running towards where Maribel, Ran and Renko were. Byakuren turned back towards the Lunarian. ?My apologies for appearing to ignore you, but I wanted to speak to you one on one.? The woman looked at her in confusion. Byakuren had to admit it was strange when someone went from fighting to talking politely. Even she had difficulty switching out of fight mode. ?I wanted you to think on what your leaders have done. If this was about your emissaries, why are you not attacking Eientei? You know that they hold themselves apart from the rest of the world. Why do they seek war with humanity? Think on this.? The woman paused and frowned. ?That's somewhat odd.? ?But why should I care what happens to impure beings, much less listen to their conspiracy theories?? The Lunarian formed another fireball. ?You're good at dodging my attacks, but your friends seem to be having trouble with my flames. I wonder how long it'll take before it eats through your wards?? With a casual toss she threw it over the temple again. Murasa and Nazrin immediately scrambled away from their firefighting attempts as liquid fire once again rained down on the temple roof. As soon as the attack finished they scrambled back, though Murasa paused to shout, ?Dammit! We were almost done! Go light yourself on fire you crazy murderous bint!? Byakuren took a deep breath. It wasn't a problem yet. She was sure Ichrin could hold for another half hour with that much flame. But if the woman kept targeting the temple instead of her, or if the lunarian changed spells.... ?I warn you. I've seen the weakness of your shield. I don't want to hurt you, but if you continue to threaten innocents... 'The Buddha only forgives three times.'? Byakuren saw a new spell begin to form around her foe. ?And I've seen the weakness in your shield as well. Let's see who ends up begging for forgiveness,? the Lunarian replied. ?Very well. Grit your teeth.? Byakuren said simply. Then she called on her true power and attacked. She felt the temperature around her decrease for a brief moment as her opponent's spell went off. But by then she was already flying in front of her target. She felt her hand break with her uppercut as it slammed into a shield stronger then a wall of iron. But just like iron the shield bent and shifted to absorb her blow, driving it's unyielding power into her opponent's gut. Her enemy had designed a shield that was perfect for dispelling magic, but poor at deflecting kinetic energy. The Lunarian folded around the blow, and vomited up blood. Then the impact sent the woman flying into the sky. Byakuren waited until the sonic boom from her first burst of speed reached her before flying behind the Lunarian. This time she clasped her hands together and brought them down in a overhead spike. Her broken hand twinged with pain, but she didn't think she had suffered any more injuries. This time she started moving as soon as the hit was over. She reached the ground just in time to catch the Lunarian with a flip kick that sent her foe into a parabolic arc. She wasn't certain if she broke a toe with that attack, but she was certain she felt one of the Lunarian's bones break. The Lunarian landed with a crash in the clearing Shou had created with her first attack. Byakuren was pleased to see she'd missed the rocks and stumps still around. She whispered a quick prayer to start her own wounds healing, then floated over to the fallen woman. Byakuren nodded in approval as she reached her opponent. The final impact had knocked the woman unconscious. The Buddhist nun quickly checked her foe's injuries. Five broken ribs, dislocated shoulders, minor internal bleeding, and the broken pelvic bone that had finished the fight. Byakuren looked back towards the temple roof. ?Are you okay Nazrin? Murasa?? ?Some of my poor mice got burned!? Nazrin called back. Murasa poured water on another patch of flame before adding. ?The fires are dying though! I think knocking the bitch out stopped their fuel or something.? ?Good! I'll be up there in a moment.? Byakuren then turned back to her prisoner and started sealing the woman's magical powers. The one nice thing about fighting humans was that you could properly hold them prisoner without locking them away in horrible places. As she began her work she prayed, ?Good luck Shou.? Hopefully her old friend wouldn't need it. ============= ?Dammit!? Mokou swore as an explosion rang out from the south of the city. She immediately began running towards the blast. Something had gone wrong. Very very wrong. And Keine was in the middle of it. All around her villagers were popping out of their huts and starting to flee as well, though most were going in the opposite direction. One group turned to her. ?Ms Mokou! What's going on?? She spared them a quick glance. ?Someone's attacking the village. They're just here to cause a fuss, so take everyone to the farmlands outside! Me and Keine will handle the rest!? ?I fear you will not, Fujiwara no Mokou.? Mokou stopped dead in her tracks and turned towards the voice. There, standing in the light of the full moon, was a young man in robes that might have been fashionable in the days of her childhood. His shoulder length hair was as white as her own, and he carried a sword and some other devices. Mokou could sense power flowing around him as well. The young man briefly took his eyes off her to address the villagers. ?I'm here only to deal with the one poisoned with the Hourai Elixir. You should take her advice and run. I have no desire for any other living beings to be harmed by our battle.? Mokou jerked her head to get the family moving again. As they ran off she responded, ?How nice of you. Your friend down south doesn't seem to be quite as polite. I thought you 'pure' beings didn't need to care about us ordinary humans.? The young man nodded. ?True. But just because we do not have to hold ourselves to such high standards doesn't mean it is not a good thing to do so.? He pulled out a strange device. ?Besides, as I said, I am here to deal with you. I have no interest in war. My mission is solely to prevent those who have taken the Hourai Elixir from becoming a long term danger to the natural cycles of the world.? ?Hm... Then why are you bothing me instead of the princess? This is all her fault anyway,? Mokou muttered. The man frowned. ?Princess Kaguya was made exempt, for some reason.? His tone indicated he didn't like it, which earned him a few points in Mokou's mind. ?I wish to appeal this ruling, but that can wait for later. Besides she has more guardians. And you're far more dangerous.? Mokou looked behind her to make sure the villagers were clear before turning back to the man. ?Dangerous? Yeah, you're right about that.? ?Kaguya? I don't know what keeps her going. Bitch never gives me a straight answer. But me? For almost 1500 years I woke up every morning with one goal. To utterly destroy Kaguya Houraisan. Why? Because she insulted a man who abandoned me when I was a child. For 1500 years, that was my only reason for existence.? ?Now things are different. I have a friend. Someone who understands me. I even have someone who kinda counts as family.? She cracked her knuckles. ?And I don't intend to lose them.? The man raised an eyebrow at that. ?Are you trying to threaten me?? Mokou took a step forward and flames erupted around her body. ?I'm saying that if Keine gets hurt because of this stupid delay I will hunt you and your people to the ends of existence. I am Fujiwara no Mokou. I can't be stopped. I can't die. And the only place you can escape my wrath is in the embrace of death!? The young man shook his head. ?I think not. For I, Jeo Hanli, will be sealing you away.? Mokou rushed forward as the man leveled the device at her. She was expecting to be frozen, burnt or otherwise shot by it, but instead it just released a strange gas. She coughed violently as the sweet smell entered her lungs. The young man nodded. ?The gas will paralyze you, allowing me to finish the seal.? Mokou coughed once more, then rushed out of the cloud swinging. ?Sorry. Eirin already used that on me. I've developed an immunity.? Jeo seemed shocked, but he quickly flipped over Mokou's headlong charge. ?Eirin wouldn't have been stupid enough to use all the anti-Hourai weapons on you. I'll just have to keep trying!? ?Like I'll let you!? Mokou reversed her direction and lunged at the man again. She wished she could use her ranged magic, but throwing fire inside a wooden city was stupid. The Lunarian hopped back again, firing out two more gas canisters. The first one made Mokou gag, even though she held her breath, but the second one was ineffectual. She forced herself to keep moving through the gas by trying to remember when Eirin had used them on her last. She idly guessed the first one was the gas that made her vomit out her stomach. Literally. She took a deep breath when she passed through the clouds, then cried out as she hit a magical binding face first. Cords of raw energy wrapped around her then pulled taunt, digging into her flesh as they held her still. She swore. This was going to inconvenience her greatly. She struggled against the magical bindings briefly to make sure they were strong enough to actually hold her. As she started her opponent started up a chant. Mokou couldn't recognize any of the words, but she felt lethargy start creeping over her. ?Fuck!? She took another deep breath and closed her eyes. This was going to hurt. With a thought, she detonated the explosive charms sewn into her pants. The first two blasts hurt the worst, considering they were right over her femoral arteries. The wounds there were fatal of course, her blood would pour out within the minute, but the secondary explosions made sure she didn't regenerate too fast and sent her into a pleasant state of shock. Then she died. Well she should have died. As her body scattered itself into a bunch of small chunks all over the village, the laws of reality noticed that her body and soul were no longer in concordance, and reset her body to its correct 'alive' state to fix the paradox. The Hourai Elixer was perfect in design. It didn't just prevent death. It made her existence one of the rules that allowed the universe to function. But for one brief nanosecond she was dead. Torn to pieces. And the binding spell noticed there was nothing left to bind and faded out. Mokou forced herself to keep standing, even though every nerve in her body decided to finish telling her brain that it had just been ripped apart and exposed to the burning air. All at the same time. The pain was excruciating, but Mokou was almost used to it. She didn't have time to whimper. She had to move forward. Mokou was swinging as she approached the stunned Lunarian. Her fist hurt as it slammed into his defenses, but they collapsed quickly. He obviously hadn't expected to be hit. They did give him enough time to fall on his ass though, which meant the blow only clipped his head and drew blood instead of slamming right through it. Mokou raised her hand to fix that mistake as Jeo fumbled for another device. He fired it into her stomach, but the impacts were miniscule. She swung down. Then jerked backwards and screamed as electricity ripped through her body. It hurt. It didn't hurt as much as blowing up did. But it hurt. And more importantly she couldn't control her body at all. Her nerves sputtered and jerked to the current pouring through the prongs in her flesh. She couldn't act at all. Jeo stood. His face was solemn, but he was breathing heavily. ?You are far too strong. Eirin was a fool to leave you unsealed.? He shook his head. ?I wish I didn't have to use this method, but you can't build up a tolerance to electrical shock.? ?I don't know if you can even hear me, but if you can I hope it gives you some solace that I won't be fighting this Keine person. And that Kaguya will soon be sealed next to you.? --------------- Mokou's mind was a black haze of pain and impotence. The pain she was used to. She'd been in so much pain before that her body had simply refused to stand. This was close to that, but not quite there. Her weakness however infuriated her. She was an unwanted child. She'd been granted her father's name, but only as a stopgap measure until someone more worthy came along. He ignored her in every other way. She'd had no control over her life until the day she'd decided to run away. To kill the woman who had spurned the only thing she and her mother had ever wanted. She hated being powerless. *Keine* The name rolled into Mokou's mind. She could see Keine, standing and looking around while worried. ?Mokou, where are you?? Mokou wanted to reply, but her mouth wouldn't obey. *Kaguya* That name too created a figure in her mind. Kaguya was lazing about, ?I wonder where that girl went to?? Mokou tried to scream her name at the woman so the damned Princess would never forget it, but her tongue wouldn't move. Keine continued looking around, ?Mokou... did you abandon me? Did I do something wrong?? Why do you keep following me? Why don't you let me be? ?Well whatever. I was getting bored with her antics anyway,? Kaguya turned away. How could you forget me? You're everything to me? ?Mokou! I didn't mean to upset you! Please, help me! I need you!? I love you. But you'll leave me. ?Eirin! Find me a new playmate. One that won't just wander off and abandon me.? I hate you. I want to be with you for eternity. Mokou tried to reach out. To scream at them. Her soul burned with need. She didn't know which one she should reach for. She didn't know if she felt insane love or mad hatred. But she needed to move and the world was pain and fire and it hurt and she wished she could die and the world was pain and fire and Keine needed her and the world was pain and fire and Kaguya was still alive and the world was pain and fire and she needed to help and the world was pain and fire and pain and fire pain and fire. ... And if the world was fire, then she would burn ----------------- Jeo sighed, then started his sealing chant once again. He needed to do this quickly. He took a deep breath, then froze. The woman... Mokou, was smoldering. At first he wondered if the modified taser was malfunctioning. Then there was a rush of heat and he fell down once again as flames erupted all along Mokou's back. He stared in shock as the immortal's hand slowly began to twitch towards the prongs. ?How.... How?!? With a fierce scream the flames turned bright blue melting the prongs and conducting wire into useless slag, then lighting the metal itself. The useless device shorted out, and Mokou stood up to her full height, as the electrical shock faded away. Jeo could only stare. It wasn't possible for a human. Even a human empowered with the Hourai Elixir. It just wasn't possible. ?Who are you? What are you?!? Mokou turned towards him with burning eyes. ?Keeeeeeyyyyyyaaaaaaaa!? The flames around the woman warped into the form of a Phoenix crying it's rage. It wasn't human. It couldn't have ever been human. Jeo didn't utter a single word. He just clawed himself to his feet and ran into the darkness. The flames around Mokou died a second later and she collapsed to her knees. She was in massive pain, and her body was refusing to continue. Mokou forced a grin and ignored it. Electrical pain faded fast. She'd be moving normally soon enough. Wisps of the madness that had consumed her tried to force themselves into her mind, but she was good at repression too. She just focused all her existence on her goal. If that obsession was also madness, well she was used to it. She pushed herself up to her feet again and staggered another three steps before collapsing. Then she rose and continued her halting march South. She had to help Keine after all. |
| Sefam:
I think you really caught the essences of Mokou's and Byakuren's personalities, their parts were incredibly well written. Thanks for the awesome 2AM read! <3 |
| Alfred F. Jones:
oh my god Byakuren :* :* :* Updates to this fic are the best thing to wake up to. :D |
| Kips McKipzerson:
That... Was just amazing. You manage to just make the scene oh-so vivid. I really cant even describe how amazing that was. |
| Iced Fairy:
--- Quote from: 巴 マミ on April 25, 2011, 11:40:04 PM ---i feel a vague sense of accomplishment having maybe an perhapsfluence on it --- End quote --- Ah yes. A thanks are due to Rou for proofreading as always, and a thanks to Anathe here for giving me hints on how to show someone losing their mind. |
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