3rd Pov:
The cavern fell deathly silent.
No one moved, no one spoke. For a moment, it was as if time itself had stopped but Yachiho was unconscious and Himari was drained of strength to lift a finger which meant that it was out of shock, fear and disregard for reality.
Sahara Wakasa's headless body remained where it had fallen, motionless and lifeless. Blood poured from the ragged stump of her neck, spreading slowly across the stone floor in a dark crimson pool.
Its metallic scent polluted the air as everyone stared and waited, waiting for someone to tell them it wasn't real.
That it was some trick.
An illusion.
A nightmare they would soon wake out of.
But the body remained as colour left its peach body, transforming it into a pale corpse and the obvious stench was too real for this to be a dream.
Tenka's trembling eyes never left her fallen comrade, "No..." The word barely escaped her lips.
Ignoring the agony screaming through her battered body, she dug her fingers into the stone and tried to drag herself forward.
She wanted to get closer but after several feet, her arm shook violently and pain shot through every nerve. Each move she made was desperate before her strength gave out.
Watching as the growing pool of blood spread further as it coated Tenka's palm, reality finally settled over the battlefield.
Sahara Wakasa is dead.
For once in Tenka Izumo's life she felt a multitude of emotions coursing through her.
Helpless that she couldn't do anything to reverse this.
Grief at the loss of her comrade and friend.
Anger towards the killer standing over the cold body with indifference in his eyes.
Xicor observed their grief-stricken and furious expression. Before smiling, as if he were watching some mundane show.
"What?" His voice echoed through the silence.
"You're not going to charge at me? Scream for revenge" He asked rhetorically as his crimson eyes swept across them.
Like he was mocking them, judging them but it changed to disappointment as he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Or has the reality of death finally awakened you from this fantasy You've been living in?"
No one answered.
High above on a bridge overlooking Xicor's position was a flash of purple light. A heartbeat later, a concentrated beam of purple energy tore through the air and descended on him.
Xicor's eyes flickered upward without a slight trace of panic on his features as his body sank into the shadow at his feet.
The beam struck down where he was standing. The cavern trembled from the attack as rock fell from the ceiling.
A shockwave exploded outward, pulverising nearby stone and sending dust and debris flying in every direction. The force blasted everyone nearby off their feet.
Tenka's injured body was thrown backwards before Yuuki lunged forward and caught her mid-air. He quickly carried her away from the blast zone and gently lowered her beside one of the tunnels where Himari leaned against the wall while Shushu supported the unconscious Yachiho.
Above them, on the stone bridge, Xicor emerged from the shadow on the opposite side of the attack. One hand rested casually on his hip as he stared down at the destruction below.
A faint whistle escaped him.
"Not bad" His crimson eyes shifted to the source of the attack, "You might actually be better than those bozos down there"
Standing across from him was Aoba Wakura, her gaze never wavered, it was cold and focused, filled with barely restrained fury.
"No one hurts my little brother" Her voice carried across the bridge, every word reached Xicor clearly as his eyebrows rose.
'Little brother?' His eyes flickered briefly toward Yuuki in the distance below, remembering his human form, 'They don't look related at all'
"Not my fault" Xicor replied, raising both hands in mock innocence, "He attacked me first, I was only defending myself"
Aoba didn't respond as her hair reached behind her before bringing back a Mato peach.
Xicor's amusement faded slightly and was replaced by intrigue.
Then Aoba took a massive bite out of it. The instant she swallowed it, violet energy surged through her body as a violent purple aura erupted around her like a storm.
The bridge groaned under the pressure but held strong.
Xicor's eyes widened slightly, 'She increased her strength by devouring a peach, normally that would be fatal but it seems this new body of hers compensates for it'
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Aoba vanished, and the stone beneath her feet shattered as a sonic boom echoed through the cavern.
Xicor instinctively raised his guard as Aoba's fist slammed into his crossed arms.
The impact sent him skidding across the bridge, his feet carving trenches into the stone.
Before he could recover, Aoba was already behind him, her leg whipped toward the back of his neck but Xicor dropped low as the kick sliced through empty air.
Using the momentum, he planted both hands on the ground and launched both feet upward.
His heels crashed into Aoba's stomach as the force sent her hurtling backwards. She smashed into the cavern wall hard enough to leave a crater in the stone.
Dust exploded outward but she emerged immediately.
Aoba gritted her teeth and blurred forward once more. The bridge shook beneath their exchanges of fists, elbows, knees and kicks.
With each exchange, Xicor's smile grew into a wide grin as he gazed deep into Aoba's eyes, "That's it! Cast aside everything and put all focus on the fight!"
She ignored his words as her attacks grew faster, sharper, more precise and dangerous with every passing second.
And yet Xicor remained unchanged, his mind calculating every movement and every opening she left as Aoba threw a straight punch.
Xicor shifted sideways as the attack missed by centimetres. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.
Before she could react, his knee drove into her stomach. Aoba's eyes widened and air left her lungs.
Still holding her arm, Xicor spun and hurled her across the bridge as her body bounced against the stone before sliding to a stop.
Xicor was about to charge at Aoba when his instincts screamed at him and he suddenly turned around to block a punch from Yuuki, his body coated in the golden light like last time he confronted the slave.
'That blessing is being activated and yet unlike before his eyes are clear' he thought with narrowed eyes.
For the briefest moment, his attention shifted entirely to Yuuki and that was all Aoba needed as she appeared behind and her leg carved through the air before the kick slammed into Xicor's side.
The impact launched him across the bridge like a cannonball. Stone exploded as his body smashed through the wall.
"Yuuki, we need to leave. Now" Aoba said, never taking her eyes away from the impact site.
Dust and shattered stone filled the air around it, obscuring their view. The cavern groaned from the force of the collision as several rocks hit the floor.
For several seconds, nothing happened. Then a low chuckle echoed from within the cloud.
Aoba's expression darkened and Yuuki immediately shifted back into a combat stance as his teeth tightened together.
The low chuckle transformed into loud laughter, "Leave?"
The dust exploded outward as a shockwave swept across the area and Xicor's figure blurred back on the bridge, several meters from the siblings.
Xicor brushed fragments of dust that clung to his clothes. Aoba carefully scanned his body, not a single drop of blood stained him and the only visible damage was a small tear in his shoulder of his martial garment.
He glanced at it for a moment before looking back at the duo, "We're only getting started and besides, you've got potential" He shifted into a combat stance.
Aoba settled into her stance, the tips of her hair sharpened and angled toward Xicor like dozens of waiting spears. Violet energy coursed through the strands as they swayed behind her.
Behind her, Yuuki stood ready, his body remained enveloped in the golden light. His muscles were tense and his instincts were prepared for battle.
If Aoba created an opening, he would exploit it without hesitation.
Xicor's eyes shifted to Yuuki for a moment as his smile grew, "Let's keep this a one-on-one kay?" He didn't wait for her reply as he brought his hands together.
The shadows beneath his feet rippled, then expanded. Darkness spread behind him like spilt ink.
"Merged Beast Agito" He chanted as the Shikigami emerged from Xicor's shadow behind him.
Agito stood tall, its eyes locked into Yuuki with familiarity.
Xicor pointed a lazy finger at Yuuki, "You wanted to help, right?" his smile grew wider as he pointed a thumb at the towering shikigami, "Then try to get past Agito"
A heartbeat later, Agito vanished and the bridge finally collapsed beneath their feet.
"Yuuki!" Aoba shouted but Yuuki barely had time to react as Agito appeared before him like a living missile. Its claw fist came crashing down on him as his body slammed into the stone floor.
Yuuki gritted his teeth as he quickly jumped out of the crater before Agito smashed its lightning-coated fist into the ground.
Agito pulsed the lightning into the ground as the stone floor erupted, throwing Yuuki off balance and was kicked in the stomach. His body was sent into the wall.
Before Agito could continue the pressure a sword came down on it and it stopped the attack with one of its forearms.
"Keep your hands off my slave" Kyouka said, her eyes boring into the Shikigami.
Meanwhile, Aoba's attention was shifted to Yuuki as Xicor moved in like a black blur. Aoba's instincts screamed as she crossed her arms but Xicor was expecting this.
Xicor stopped a few feet away and clapped his hands as both swapped positions, facing the opposite direction before Xicor turned and kicked Aoba in the head.
Her body slammed into the ground hard as Xicor landed safely with the debris crashing down and kicking up dust.
"Now, nobody will get between our fight" his crimson eyes gleamed.
Aoba wiped some blood from her lips before standing up straight.
They began to walk to one another but soon it turned into a jog before it transformed into running as their fists slammed into one another.
A shockwave swept outward from the impact. Aoba swung her leg as he blocked it with his arm. Xicor threw a punch at her but she redirected it, which gave her the opening to strike his side.
Xicor grunted from the impact as he grabbed her arm, "Cleave" Gridded lines appeared on her arm as pain shot through her body.
Aoba punched Xicor in the face before using her hair to grab his whole body and throw him into a wall. She gazed down at her wound, her arm was still intact but blood flowed out of her wound.
The next second, Aoba was hit by a cursed fist as she destroyed it by slashing it with her nails.
She didn't have a second to recover as Xicor appeared at her side and swiped his hand diagonally and a large cut appeared in Aoba's torso.
Aoba staggered back from the attack, Xicor closed in and slammed his fist into Aoba, striking her with Ratio as her body was shot away like a missile into the distant wall.
'I know what to do with you in the future' he thought, staring at the dust cloud in the distance.
"Now to get what we need and leave" he muttered but his eyes flickered towards Agito.
Agito was holding its own against the duo; its speed outclassed Kyouka's but Yuuki's blessed state was having a much better time though only by a thread.
Agito blurred behind Yuuki as he spun back and threw his fist at it. His fist was caught before Agito smashed its fist into his face and manoeuvred him into Kyouka's path as she stopped her blade inches from Yuuki's back
Agito let go of Yuuki's fist before thrusting its leg forward and slamming Yuuki's body into Kyouka.
Kyouka quickly got her bearings as she climbed over Yuuki slash down on Agito's leg, leaving a small cut that quickly healed before it was noticed.
Agito's snake shot out as Kyouka brought up her katana before it bit down on it. Yuuki appeared in a golden blur beside Agito before striking the Shikigami in the face.
Agito grabbed Yuuki's wrist and let out a pulse of electricity through his body but the paralysis did not affect him, surprising the Shikigami.
Yuuki used his other hand like a blade to cut off Agito's grill as purple blood sprayed out of the stump. Agito's snake pushed Kyouka back before letting go and backing away as the arm regrew.
They were about to charge in but the gravity around them dropped massively as their bodies slammed into the floor, creating small craters.
A low chuckle echoed behind them as Xicor walked between their fallen forms. Both struggled to lift their gaze but when they did, they spotted Yachiho slumped over his shoulders.
"Quite the show you put on" He said, his back facing them before he glanced back at them, "To think that blessing ignores Agito's paralysing effect"
Agito sank into his shadow before he fully faced them, "The next time you see me, it will be a more destructive setting" Xicor sank into his shadow taking Yachiho with him.
Xicor emerged from his shadow inside his home with the gods as he followed where he sensed them. He arrived in a tall room with a bulky table in the centre, which had Yuno and Koko lying unconscious on it.
Shikoku, Jouryuu and Rairen stood off to the side, they noticed him immediately as he walked in further.
"Welcome back~" Shikoku greeted before her eyes travelled to the unconscious woman on Xicor's shoulders, "I see you got the woman with the time ability"
"Of course" He replied as he placed her down next to the other two, "With her powers, Kuusetsu would get even stronger"
"Speaking of her, where is she?" Xicor asked before his eyes were covered.
"Guess who~" a soft, childish voice rang out behind him.
"Kuusetsu"
"Awww" Kuusetsu removed her hands and walked in front of him with a pout decorating her face, "You were supposed to get it wrong"
"I just know you too well" he shook his head in amusement.
Kuusetsu's gaze shifted to the three women, "Are these for me?" she asked.
"Indeed, you will get more beautiful and stronger with these" Shikoku said, guiding her forward, "Go on, before they wake up"
Kuusetsu skipped forward as she presented her stomach to the open air before it split open as tendrils came out reaching for Yuno first.
"Time to feed~"