[~ 1100 Words]
<<--⚡ ⚓ 💄 ⚓🍑⚓🍷⚓⚡ —>>
"Cindry! Cindry !" Hogbag screamed in panic, but escape seemed impossible; he could only cower on the operating table, desperately trying to avoid the impending attack.
When Cindry caught wind of the ruckus, she came out from the room next door, with a plate in her hands.
Seeing what was happening in front of her, she instinctively threw the plate at the oncoming winged divine soldiers.
However, she was not designed for combat; her actions were futile against the formidable warriors.
The fragile plate made no impact and Hogbak met his demise with a final, desperate scream.
Under the influence of the salt water, Cindry also lost the shadowy support that sustained her form.
Suddenly, a surge of sword energy streaked towards them with tremendous force.
"Yohohoho~" Brook materialized before everyone, effortlessly intercepting the incoming attack. Facing Shimotsuki Ryoma, a resurrected zombie of Moria, Brook adopted a serious stance.
"My shadow is tethered to him. I clashed with him numerous times before, and on each occasion, he emerged victorious..."
Shura and Gedatsu stepped forward, on both sides of Brook, their expressions a mixture of cynicism and contempt as they looked down upon Shimotsuki Ryoma. "Count us in," Shura declared, while Gedatsu added, his voice laced with amusement, "Let's make this interesting."
"Don't waste time," James instructed, his voice calm yet commanding. "Find an opportunity to apply the salt water on the enemies." After offering a brief tactical assessment, he continued his ascent towards the summit of the ghost castle.
James's demeanor suggested a level of detachment from the immediate conflict.
He had delegated responsibilities to his subordinates and was content to observe their actions while pursuing his own objective.
He believed that true power lay in leveraging the strengths of those under his command, rather than shouldering every burden himself.
As they progressed, the density of zombies decreased, leading some of the soldiers to believe they had taken a wrong turn.
They encountered a room that had a unique atmosphere - it was infused with a girlish charm.
The floor was covered in lush green grass, and the walls and ceiling were adorned with shades of purple and pink.
Scattered around were numerous colorful, five-pointed star-shaped soft balls, seemingly inviting anyone to play.
"Who are you? Are you the ones invading my castle?" a delicate voice inquired. They turned to find its source - a charming young girl in a princess dress, her hair styled in twin pink ponytails and adorned with a crown. It was Perona, the object of James's pursuit.
Despite her seemingly innocent appearance, she was actually 23 years old, a fact that contradicted her petite and youthful features.
"My dear girl," James addressed her with a hint of amusement in his voice, "Your captain has detained my people."
"Ah? Looks like those weird winged folks have shown up!" Perona exclaimed, surprised at the sight of so many winged persons. She had never encountered anything like them before.
"Indeed! How did Lord Moria get mixed up with your crew?" she questioned, her tone laced with curiosity and a touch of dissatisfaction.
"God-sama," Shura began tentatively, but James's piercing gaze immediately silenced him. Understanding dawned on Shura´s face, and he declared, "Brothers, press onward!"
He took the lead, charging towards the gate ahead with his divine soldiers in tow.
"Hold on! How dare you ignore me?!" Perona cried out indignantly. "I won't allow you to disrupt Lord Moria so easily!"
With a wave of her hand, Perona unleashed dozens of ghosts from her crystal white fingers. These shadowy figures, known as Negative Ghosts, surged forward, passing through several divine soldiers before pouncing on the others.
"Am I worthy of being a divine soldier of the Lord God?" one of the affected soldiers mumbled, his voice tinged with despair and confusion.
He slumped to the ground, uttering strange ramblings:
"Actually, I am just a crawling insect...- I crawl~ I crawl~ I crawl crawl~"
"I'm so sorry, I survived another day and wasted a lot of food~"
"I..."
Perona watched with glee as her Negative Ghosts wreaked havoc among the divine soldiers. She chuckled mischievously, "Submit to me!"
James, however, remained calm. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned several bolts of lightning.
⚡Vari (Electrical Discharge)- 20,000,000 Volt ⚡
The lightning struck the Negative Ghosts with pinpoint accuracy, obliterating them instantly. They vanished without a trace, unable to withstand the raw power of James's attack.
"What!?" Perona exclaimed in disbelief, her eyes widening as she stared at the scene before her.
She turned and fled, her heart pounding with fear. `It's actually thunder and lightning!´
James effortlessly pursued her, his speed leaving no room for escape. He knew that she was most vulnerable to energy attacks, and he had no intention of harming her directly.
"I'll deal with her, you guys get the others," James instructed casually as he transformed into a flash of lightning, following closely behind Perona.
With a burst of power, the door activated, allowing him to effortlessly traverse any obstacle in his path.
"Why are you running? I won't shock you," James said calmly.
Perona, terrified and desperate, stammered, "Stop chasing me! I was wrong! Please don't do anything strange!"
[I can't fly towards my main body anymore! If he finds it, I'll be in even worse trouble!]
She tried to regain her composure, quickly deciding to escape in a different direction.
`Ha ha ha ha ha ~ This princess is far more familiar with the terrain of the ghost castle than you can imagine!´ she thought triumphantly, confident that she could outmaneuver him.
However, her triumph was short-lived. She suddenly felt someone gently pat her shoulder.
"Umm~" Perona gasped, a chill running down her spine as she sensed something strange happening to her body. Fear gripped her, and she whispered, "What's going on!?"
"Could it be... No way!!!" Her face drained of color as she realized the horrifying truth. Rushing towards her original body with a panicked expression, she cried out in despair, "Please don't do that!! I was wrong, this handsome brother, please don't do anything weird to my real body!"
She reached her room and saw her true self lying peacefully on the princess bed.
But next to her lay a man, gently holding Perona's form in his arms.
"Wow~ You're back pretty quickly~" James calmly kneaded Perona's small face with amusement.
Perona let out a banshee scream that echoed throughout the entire ghost castle. The sound was so intense that it caused the glass windows to vibrate slightly.
[That´s all for now]
<<--⚡ ⚓ 💄 ⚓🍑⚓🍷⚓⚡ —>>