As Taga falls to the group, his sphere does as well, and Abbán says, "Scáil Uisce," and his water, instead of forming a shield, veils around his entire body, protecting him as the sphere crashes into the ground.
"Diúltú Uisce!" Abbán says as the force he has absorbed from the crash is rejected in the form of water all around him, blowing the chunks of the sphere that rest around his body away, and soon he walks out of its carcass with burns across his body, in particular his back.
Stepping forward, he walks over to the body of Taga lying on the floor. His sphere is fully cracked in two as a small amount of flames form into his arms and head. A surge of disgust and regret flows through Abbán as he sees this, causing Taga to say, "You feel bad?"
"I am a doctor, there is nothing more I hate than the pointless wasting of lives, and in half a year this is the 2nd time I have had to do it."
"Don't cry over your enemies. It's kill or be killed in the world, and I was simply too weak."
"No, you weren't. I only put the fragment of my shield in your core as assurance; I fully wanted to beat you without it. But you were simply too strong, and I was about to die. Don't think for a second you're too weak."
Staring up at the sky, Taga says, "I can't see anything in this form in the same way everyone else does. I only perceive things through their heat, sounds, touch, taste, and even smell. I can only grasp through heat. Usually, this just feels like one overwhelming sensation; I have to focus to separate them into different sensations. To do something as simple as look at the face of my parents is something I can't do unless I focus. I hate being like this, and I feel like I have to lie to myself every day to enjoy being cursed. And when those humans laugh at me, look down on me, for being different, I feel even more like a monster. I just wanted to be human."
Getting on one knee and placing his hand over Taga's golden sphere, Abbán says, "Humans can function without their lives, without some organs, with giant gashes in their bodies, even with low food, low sleep, and no others. But the most torturous existence for a human is to no longer know themselves, to be in an eternal battle with someone who refuses to let you die. I had lost that battle for myself, and I had people who stabilised and even saved me. I am sorry for my weakness, but I wish I could've done this for you as well."
With his flames decreasing more and more, he says, "Keep that attitude up and one day a demon will get you."
As he fades away, Abbán says, "I will be fine with that as long as I can be true to myself," Before falling to the ground as he goes unconscious.
-Break-
Location: Streets of Căderea-Dracului
Φ Holding down large swats of rampaging Nightmares, the soldiers of Blestemate hold their ground, keeping them down, with one of the higher seats shouting, "HOLD THEM STEADY, FOR THE CURE IS ON THE WAY!"
Appearing from the sky, Suzuka descends with Iancu above her. Using his legacy, he increases the spirit energy amount in her body before she slams it into the Nightmare below and says, "Gozen battle arts; Spiritual Tether!" forcing all of them to revert back to normal.
As she lands, she looks at her work and says, "That's all of the ones over here. We're making good progress."
Iancu, landing beside her, says, "Yeah, but there is only so much I can increase your spirit energy. I doubt we will get everyone cursed today."
"Does that mean we should stop trying. Saving as many as we can makes it easier to restrain the rest for me to regain my strength for another time."
"You're right, but let's hope your heart doesn't give out first."
"Give ou-." From her back, she is grabbed by all of the soldiers who throw her up in the air again and again.
"Our little fox saviour."
"The miracle workers of Blestemate."
"The soldier of the Messiah himself."
As the praise floods her, Suzuka's face turns red like a tomato, and she quickly jumps off of them and runs behind Iancu, hiding her entire body as she cowers.
Turning his face, Iancu says, "You don't want to try and make new friends. Looks like you're going to be forever alone at this rate."
"SHUT UP! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM A FOREVER ALONE LIKE YOU!"
Annoyed, Iancu forces her in front of himself, and says, "SHE SAID SHE WILL GIVE AUTOGRAPHS!"
"YOU BITCH!"
The soldiers flood her, and soon one of them walks in front who looks like a corpse of a woman with grey hair, extremely long and thin limbs, a gorgeous face, along with hair full of needles. "Stop harassing our saviour, you fools!"
They all stand to attention and say, "Yes, 5th seat, Mórna Due."
Facing Suzuka, she says, "I will get one for everyone. Now, please would you sigh my sleeves!"
"HEY!" They shout.
"DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU ALL FOR INSUBORDINATION!"
As the soldiers start to fight amongst themselves, a creepy laugh falls out of Suzuka's mouth, causing Iancu to look at her in disgust and say, "I guess foxes aren't far from wolves."
"Did you just call me Orb!? I WILL KILL YOU!"
Suzuka moves to attack, Iancu, but instead she pushes him out of the way and steps backwards and down where their feet once were, a series of hands made of earth try to protrude.
Then, turning her head, she says, "Even this mess, your thoughts are overwhelmingly loud that I can still hear them."
The Nightmare Skrie walks out, with a sick laugh across his face. Unlike before, he has three tails that have arms, his elongated ears radiate a dark energy, and the triangles all across his body now connect to each other as lines move across his flesh, binding them.
With one foot after the other, Skrie walks forward, clapping his hands, and says, "My thoughts? You dirty little girl, to think you want to know what's inside me so much, but I feel the same way with you."
Suzuka's expression drains of her kindness, and in an instant, she lunges forward to strike him in the face with her fist, but before she can, all three of his tail hands smack against the ground, and a large 6-meter puppet rises from the ground, slamming its fist into Suzuka from below, sending her upwards.
Laughing, Skrie says, "My kinetic vision is crazy now. I can keep up with things I couldn't possibly have hoped for before. Now let's see how far I can push it."
He constantly slams his hand against the ground, and then the large puppet cuts off its arm and throws it towards Suzuka before little puppets the size of her break out and start fighting her mid-air.
Φ Looking at the puppet coming towards me, I cover my body with my tail, and prepare myself as they crash into me, sending both myself and them higher into the sky.
Each of the puppet have strong, thick arms, along with a strong chest and triangular head; their waists are thinner, yet their legs are just as thick as their arms.
In the middle of the air, they swing their arms and legs to strike me rapidly, and I course spirit energy through my body to defend myself, before striking them in their waist.
My hand shakes in pain as my fist only leaves a crater in its waist. And using that moment of weakness, I am struck in my back and then with an overhead hammer fist, sending me flying into the ground.
With my back against the wall, I take a moment to breathe in and out as the pain surges through every inch of my flesh. I thought its waist would be weaker, but it seems that's a trick the earth that makes up that area is extra thick, it's even more condense than the rest.
Soon they all land from the sky, and I stand back up, then say, "Fox art; Arm Breaker," wrapping my singular tail around my arm.
Fighting them is tough. I can't read their thoughts or sense their spirit energy, so I got to use my kinetic vision solely to overcome them, but if I keep surging large amounts of spirit energy through my body to enhance my vision and deal massive amounts of damage, I will burn out before they do. Right now I don't think I should do this by myself, I need to go and ask for he-.
"HELP ME!" A voice shouts through my mind from underneath the rubble behind me. "Please, I don't want to die here all alone."
I turn my head around and take a deep breath. Don't be a cowards and remember the principles of spirit energy, what daddy taught you. Spirit energy is defined by increasing one's quality via great amounts of willpower, learning to course those tiny amounts of spirit energy precisely to make sure you match the needed amount instead of just abusing it, and finally not putting any in places that don't need it, just focus on what boosts your vision and offence, nothing else is needed. Now Suzuka win!
The puppets rush at me, yet I stand still, and as one of their fists comes towards me, I dodge at the last moment and smash my fist right into the core of its chest, blowing its top half away, collapsing its body.
Feeling the pleasure of the full release of my muscles, I say, "Now were back!" With a smile on my face, I dodge the other strikes coming towards me.
Φ As Suzuka fights in the distance, Skrie, looking through his puppets' slits of eyes, says, "See is a dangerous one, but I like them feisty. It will make breaking her all the better, because the lot of you are no fun."
Turning his head, he sees hundreds of his puppets assaulting Mórna and her soldiers, breaking and pushing them back, yet as they face the full force of his blows, he moves her hair and pokes the spikes in it onto the soldiers, and in a moment they all burst forward with energy.
"A curse that allows you to reduce fatigue and boost your maximum operating time. I had heard of Mórna's eternal army back when I was enlisted. It was very interesting. Though without your specialised soldiers, I don't have to worry about this."
Skrie slams his hands on the ground and then says, "From pawn to knight."
And soon the puppets combine into the form a four legged centaurs holding different bladed weapons, that slash and pierce the soldiers in front of his puppets till they all fall down in pain, then with a series of spears, he pierces and holds down Mórna.
Seeing her body pinned to the floor with blood flowing down, Skrie, like a jolly little child hops and steps forward till he reaches her, and sitting on top of her body, he says, "Oh, looks like I caught my shelf are rather strange beauty. Your curse has given you rather grotesquely long three jointed limes, and spiky hair, negative a hundred points for a woman, but that face would make any man melt into pieces, so you're still worthy enough for m-."
She spits in his face, then says, "Go to hell your pest."
He wipes the spit off and then smashes her in the face with his fist, before saying, "You'd think a strategist would be smarter than you are. But just because of that, I can go make you a corpse before I enjoy myself. Don't worry, I will let your men watch before I end off of their lives."
With a smile, she says, "You really lack foresight, you lustful incubus. Why don't you take a head count?"
Skrie's eyes move around, and he says, "Where did the Blestadrac go?"
Soon, a shadow covers him, and looking up, a giant cloud of blood lies above, with Iancu looking down at him from on top of it.