Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Never Ending Nightmare ( Chapter 87 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

By: MellyN

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Sacrifice

By: Melissa Norvell

Chapter 87: Never Ending Nightmare

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"Ninja Art - Shadow Saber!" Ko called out as a black, sword-like piece of energy pierced the dragon's attack and ripped its way through the air with incredible speed, piercing the fog-like flesh of the dragon as well. It affected the large entity, causing it to throw its head back and release a roar of agony.

"What?" Zangetsu was dumbfounded that the attack managed to work. Until now, nothing had proven too effective against it and yet, Ko's attack managed to wound it significantly. Perhaps there was some hope for them after all.

The white-haired ninja stood there, panting. Performing the attack had taken a large amount of her energy, and it left her feeling a little weak.

"Die!" The dragon was fierce, and it didn't give any of them time enough to recover at all as it sent a large, whip-like piece of energy at the group. Fife, however, was right on top of the magic spell and got in front of Ko quickly, as he summoned up his Pierce attack, but to no avail. Kuroi Ryuu's attack was far stronger than his and it sent the vampire backwards.

He landed on his side and winced in pain as he wore a slight look of disappointment. "Damn, it didn't work."

Zangetsu called out the king's name in concern as he rushed to his aid, flinging his wing-like appendage out. "Soul Disperse!" He cried as a cloud of fog-like matter gathered and smashed into the dragon's form. Kuroi Ryuu simply absorbed them into its body and sent the winged man back with a burst of clear energy.

Zangetsu flew back into a large rock with great force. It was so much force that he cracked the giant structure and not even holding his arms out softened the blow. The black-haired man groaned in pain as he gritted his teeth.

"Idiots, attacking me with ghost magic only makes me stronger." It noted, tired of the childish games the mortals had been playing with it. All they were doing was making it stronger, so that it could unleash even more hell upon them. The fight was futile.

The legend was as good as dead.

Fife slowly pulled himself up as he wrote out a spell. Pulling out his sword, he stabbed the cryptic writing and called out the word 'disable', but he was hit with an explosion and knocked backwards again before his attack could even be launched.

"Your weak magic means nothing to me," Kuroi Ryuu commented. It was sickening how weak they were. He would be more than happy to steal their souls.

"This is a lot harder than I previously thought," Fife pulled himself from the ground once more. At this point in time, he felt like a rag doll who fell victim to an abusive child.

"Fife…He's actually not smiling like he usually does. This fight must be serious," Zangetsu noted the severity of the situation. Fife might have been a self-proclaimed 'happy idiot' type, but it was because he knew when he was beaten. If he could easily destroy his opponent, then he was happy and chipper during the fight, but if the enemy was hard to beat, then Fife was serious and tactful.

Kuroi Ryuu called out for the mortals to die, as a set of spikes shot up from the ground at incredible speed. They sent everyone dodging and running for their lives to keep from getting skewered. Chichiri tried to move as best he could, but one of the spires caught his leg and sent him toppling down the side of it. The blonde's body slammed into the ground as he let out a scream.

Ko called for him in concern but she received no response.

"How in the world do we win this fight?" Zangetsu dodged in and out of the rising spikes.

"We have to find a way to hit it directly," Fife jumped out of the way of a large spike, which nearly took him out.

"I have an idea," the ninja ran towards the fog-like dragon with his sword drawn. No matter how many spires that were going to be sent at him, he would keep moving forward. The fate of not only Hiroshima, but the rest of his team members relied on Kuroi Ryuu's defeat. 'I'm going to finish it off. Everyone in this group has been so kind to take me in after I nearly killed them at Serenande's. That is kindness that I cannot simply push aside.'

The closer he got to the dragon, the less and less spires he had noticed. Soon, he was funning on flat land with no spires at all. While the thought made him uneasy, it also gave him a sense of relief.

'What is he doing?' Fife turned and glanced at him for a moment, trying to decipher his movement. It was incredibly foolish to do what he thought the ninja might be doing, but at the same time, it was interesting as well. To the vampire king, it was much like reading an exciting novel. He couldn't wait to find out what would happen next.

"Zangetsu!" Ko called out from her position, kneeling by the unconscious Chichiri.

The young ninja began to make hand signs as he neared the large form. "Ninja Art-Ah!" he yelled at a spire shot through the ground and pierced his side, leaving his entire rib cage covered in blood and in shambles as he fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. Both Fife and Ko called out for him, but he was unresponsive.

"Demon Sword, draw power from the paranormal! Silenced Scream!" Fife got in front of his injured team mate and cut through the air with his magical sword, sending out a wave of energy that swept across the ground and hit Kuroi Ryuu, ripping a hole through its massive form. Another roar of pain was produced. 'Alright, I think I'm beginning to get what works on this entity.'

Any hint was better than no hint. Since it was paranormal in itself, it was only logical that paranormal attacks would be the only thing to hit or injure it.

"Shadow Blade! Ha!" Ko waved her arm and a large, black, knife-like blade shot from the sky and pierced the dragon, affecting it further.

"It seems that you have discovered one of my weaknesses. How perceptive of you," Kuroi Ryuu noted as several pitch black, leaf-looking pieces of energy flew at the mortals, ripping through the small group and cutting their skin. They had tried to dodge them, but there were far too many to avoid. Fife was cut on the cheek, arm, side and leg. Zangetsu tried to block himself with his arms but the pieces of sharp energy cut his arm and wing, sending white feathers into the air.

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Iva's pale hand brushed across the angel's face as she felt his cold skin. It was like ice to the touch, which worried her. Taking her sights from Hiroshima, who rested on the futon below her, she looked to Keiji and questioned if the angel was always that cold.

The green-haired boy reached down to touch the angel's cheek, and he too became worried. "Not this cold…He's worse than before." He noted.

This was bad.

"He's barely showing any signs," the news Tsurugi had to offer didn't provide any comfort to them either.

"What does that mean?" Keiji asked.

"It means we might not win this." That news was even grimmer than the previous news regarding Hiroshima's condition. He knew that the fight would be hard, and he cowardly decided to stay back with Tsurugi because he didn't think he could handle it. Kuroi Ryuu freaked him out and now, his team mates were facing off against him and there was nothing he could do to aid them.

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A burst of invisible energy blasted Ko as she held out a hand and attempted to stop it, but it was too strong and the female ninja was thrown backwards a good foot. Zangetsu managed to get to one knee, holding his side and groaning in pain as the blood and debris ran over his hand. The pain was excruciating, but he would try his best to ignore it. He was in this to win, not let his injuries get the best of him.

A ninja, after all, was a tool, a slave to the fight and until the tool was broken, it still had use. "Ugh…I barely have enough strength…I wonder…However…" He performed a hand sign as he released an attack that he wasn't sure would work. He could only hope and pray that the creature was affected by time and space.

"Blur!" Zangetsu shouted as everything blurred except everyone who was involved in the fight, and Kuroi Ryuu itself.

"What is this?" The dragon glanced around at its surroundings.

"Time and reality have blurred and everything has merged together. It's an attack used to scatter magic and confuse paranormal entities," the ninja informed his foe of the full potential of his attack.

"You think that will work on me?" Kuroi Ryuu nearly laughed at the man.

"We'll have to see." Even though he didn't like the question, there was no sure fire way to tell unless Kuroi Ryuu attacked them or vice versa. "Even if it did, I doubt that you'll tell me."

"Blur…I never thought about using that one," Fife looked thoughtful and smiled at the subject. Zangetsu had out bested him on magic for once. It was amusing. "It scatters and dissipates the paranormal. Even now, I can see that it's wearing away at Kuroi Ryuu." As a magician, he knew the effects of the attack well, and it was working a lot better than Zangetsu gave it credit for. With a spell attached to it, much like a crippling disease, the only option now was to keep blasting away at the dragon or simply outlast it.

"Die!" Kuroi Ryuu's voice was even angrier than before as souls shot from his body and attacked the group. They attempted to dodge them, but to no avail. Ko screamed as she was hit with one, Zangetsu grunted as he tried to block them. Fife was hit and flew back a little. He rolled and landed on his feet with the Demon Sword in his hand.

Jolting forward, he cut the air once more and sent an attack at his opponent in the form of a ghostly looking path of energy. "Phantom Strike!"

As soon as the attack his the dragon, it threw its head back and the sky around them turned pitch black. Everything stood still with time, and the fact that Blur was still in play only enabled the dragon to use it against them. "You will rue the day that you dared to challenge me. Damn you. Nightmare!" He called out as a bright flash illuminated the once pitch black sky and everyone was blinded by the attack, even Fife, who seemed to be immune to most magic attacks that involved bright flashes.

The vampire let out a hiss of pain. "What is this? Why was I affected too? This is not ordinary magic."

"Foolish mortals, none of you could ever hope to comprehend the type of power that the paranormal can hold. We are far beyond you and live in an entirely different realm. You all barely have a grip on what few powers you all posses. How can you even begin to understand supernatural beings or angels?" Kuroi Ryuu asked as it sent a powerful blast of sound waves over the group.

Everyone held their ears and screamed at the deadly assault on their senses. The sound was so high pitched that it made them feel as they would go mad from either the pain or the noise. It squealed in their ears, worse than any banshee's scream.

Chichiri thrashed around in pain. "What is it? I feel like my head is going to explode!" He stumbled around, desperately trying to rid himself of the noise.

Fife held his head, trying to keep calm enough to think, despite how loud it was. It killed him and he was certain that his ear drums were going to burst. 'This noise…This noise is driving me insane…I feel as if my ear drums will pop.'

"Stop it! Stop it!" Ko yelled over and over again, begging the noise to subside.

"I wonder if this is what Hiroshima had to deal with?" Zangetsu pondered aloud. If Kuroi Ryuu was this strong, there was no telling what kind of hold he had on the angel. Hiroshima was stubborn by nature, and something like this would do more than make the rebellious angel fall to his knees. Not to mention the fact that he had superior hearing to all of them. An attack like that would cripple him in mere minutes.

"Well, I can answer that easily. Yes, I have done this to him when he refused to submit to me. Such weak creatures need to know their master's wishes. I also made him undergo 1,000 Swords of Hate," Kuroi Ryuu explained his thoughts and methods used on Hiroshima.

"Thousand Swords of Hate?" Fife closed one eye and winced.

"Yes, all of those wounds on him in Sumeria, those were from the 1,000 Swords encased in his body. If you defeat me, those swords will be unleashed."

"What?" Navy blue hues widened in horror. 'That means that Keiji is in danger. I have to tell him.' He thought as the sound stopped and a powerful burst of wind slammed into his body. He felt a warm substance on his hand and pulled it back from his ear. "My ear drum in my left ear busted. What do I do?" He questioned himself as he stood there, his clothes flapping violently in the wind. "We've taken on a task that's too difficult…This was not our place to fight. No matter how much I want to save him, I just don't think there's a way."

"What do we do? How do we stop it?" Ko tried to yell above the howling winds to her injured team mate, who clutched at his side. The wind brushing against his open wound caused him even more pain than before.

"Damn it. Why can't we help them?" Zangetsu questioned.

Chichiri clutched a rock to keep from blowing away as he watched his team mates. "I wished I could help them. Man, I really hate hiding. I wish I had something important to trade Vespa for a magical power. Man, I'd give anything to be stronger."

His laments were cut short as the rock he was clenching so tightly exploded, which caused him to release it. The pieces of debris from it hit against him and knocked him out. His body flew a good distance before it hit the ground. The blond landed on his back and remained motionless as Fife yelled in shock and Ko called out for him.

"Ko, look out!" Zangetsu called as the white-haired ninja turned. The air in front of her distorted and a wave of energy that had headed for her was deflected. The ground around her was ripped up as the winged male jumped in and grabbed her, saving her from being mutilated by the attack.

"Thanks, you saved me," Ko hung on to his neck.

"Keep on guard. Everyone's getting hurt because we can't see or sense the attacks. We're in a bad blind spot," he noted.

"They say that spirits can transcend dimensions, so maybe this stuff is coming from another dimension." It made sense to Ko. It could be a good reason as to why exactly she couldn't sense or even see the attacks coming.

"They are unlike Serenande-hime's attacks. The only way you can even see them is because they blur the air and ground. Other than that, we don't know where they are coming from or who will be hit next. Huh?" Zangetsu questioned as the ground lit up brilliantly in the center of he, Ko and Fife.

A large explosion erupted and everyone was flung in different directions. Ko screamed and Fife was slammed down on his side from the sheer force of the blast. Everyone lay there for a few minutes, motionless.

Ko struggled to get to her feet. She couldn't stay down. If she stayed down then it would be the end of everyone, and she'd be damned if it was she who let that happen. "I've got to…defeat him." She crouched down with a hand on the ground to stable herself. "Okay, come on Ko. This thing's got to have some kind of weak spot. I just hope it's something that someone who is living can do." The ninja stood as her hair and clothes fluttered rapidly against the violent wind. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself. "Okay, let's do this."

Ko spread her legs slightly as she moved her hands in circles for a few moments before shoving them forward. "Force Blast!" She shouted as the air produced an invisible blast that landed a hit on Kuroi Ryuu and sent it backwards.

"Fools…You're clearly losing and you continue to fight. I am tired of dealing with such irritating mortals," tfog-like entity was beginning to grow weary of the group of misfits. Not only that, but it knew that if it didn't do something quickly, then it would soon cease to exist.

"Dark Strike!" Ko launched another attack that actually sliced off a piece of the dragon. It roared in pain and irritation. "Damn you!"

'So far, Dark Strike has been my most effective attack. I think I'll stick with that one for a while until it figures it out. For now…That's all I can do.' Ko settled it with herself before she performed the attack once more but this time, it only hit an invisible barrier.

"Do you honestly think that I will be hit by that again? Fool! Shatter." Were they trying to mock it? Did they honestly think that they could just keep sending the same attack at it over and over again? What an insult! Kuroi Ryuu would show them what for, mocking him in such a way.

Zangetsu set his sights on the sky with a 'huh' in question. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Large cracks appeared in the skies above everyone and it seemed as if the very sky itself were cracking. He had never seen anything so incredible in his life!

"This nightmare will now come to an end," Kuroi Ryuu watched the panic light up in the souls of his opponents.

"What? What the hell is happening?" Ko asked in a panicked state.

"It looks like the sky is cracking, but how can that be?" Zangetsu replied.

"It's Illusionary Magic," Fife informed everyone of the nature of the attack as he held his forehead. All of the magic that had been flying around was nearly enough to make him faint. The spells that the dragon had cast were all in affect at once, and all of the magic in the air acted like intense barometric pressure that assaulted his senses.

"Are you alright?" Ko looked at him with concern.

"This magic is very powerful. The force is so great that I feel like I might pass out. My senses are being clouded and I can't think straight," Fife looked as if he were trying to concentrate.

"But I don't feel that way," Zangetsu noted. Aside from the immense pain and the fact that he was tired, he felt fine.

"Neither do I. Is it something that just affects vampires?" She wondered out loud.

"Maybe he's being targeted. We'd better keep an eye on him," the winged ninja replied as the pieces of the broken sky began to fall all around them. The pieces stabbed harshly into the ground, digging into the earth as they made large gashes.

Zangetsu dodged one of the large, broken-off pieces as it slammed into the ground with unforgiving pressure. Ko jumped to the side to evade a falling fragment. She took off running only to be cut off by another piece, which stabbed into the ground in front of her and caused her to skid to a stop. Rolling off of the surface, she made her way around it.

"That was close," she sighed in relief.

"I have a feeling that we shouldn't touch these things," Zangetsu commented. Who knew what they were capable of.

Fife dodged a falling piece by jumping to the side. The vampire landed on his feet and turned to tell the members of his group something important. His senses were still clouded and blood poured from his busted ear drum. "I don't know how to fend off this attack. It's too powerful, even for me."

"Then all we can do is dodge the-" Ko spoke, but she was cut off by a ghastly sight. Her large, blue eyes widened as blood was splattered an a shard of glass. Fife produced a look of pain as blood ran down his mouth. A piece of one of the fragments had fallen and pierced his body, slightly above his stomach.

Zangetsu and Ko called out in his name in shock and horror, and at that moment in time, they felt truly helpless.

"FIFE!!!"

…To Be Continued