These Lonely Walls

[Flamebird]

[OOC: Closed to Hayate.]

~~~

Felicity felt dazzling energy and sparks fly around her. Her eyes were closed, but the weightless abyss of ethereal light and stars consumed her. Time and space bolted past at frighteningly booming, hasty speeds. She literally could feel magic, as her affinity for magic was growing. She felt the multiple colors, shapes, smoke and mirrors, around her in the most tangible of ways. The truly neutral monks heavily slammed into her with this overload of pure magic. Felicity felt hazy. Hopefully, the arena the monks were currently creating would not be this sickening.

She had not been to this place in a long while. She was in Radansanth visiting her older brother figure, so she thought why not about coming here. By paying the Citadel a visit, she could hone her skills. Right now, they were transporting her to the arena they had picked out. Eager anticipation was met the motion sickness and “magic overload” that was making her head spin.

Peridot eyes flashed open when her feet touched solid ground.

She lost her balance. The first thing she saw was an obsidian path as she lost her lunch.

After several moments of disgust, she arose. Steadily standing on her feet, the girl still eyed the floor. It was coated in dust and dirt, untouched in ages. There were a multitude of cracks, ranging from miniscule to massive, along the floor. She looked up. In front of her, tangled in a mess of vines and plants, was an expansive castle. Gothic in architecture, similar to the churches of Salvar, its glorious walls were buried beneath the temperate forest surrounding them. there was a humongous, twenty feet tall monster of a steel gate. Up above it, a massive, round gothic window was barely visible between the branches.

Felicity stood in stunned astonishment.

She took a moment to check her gear. She had no armor on. She hated metal armor, and anything made of cloth or leather would be destroyed by her own powers. Instead, she wore a black shirt and shorts. Both were immune to her own abilities. At her hip was her delyn arming sword. On her back, a quiver full of arrows and her talymer war bow were at the ready. She nodded stoutly to herself, her hair bobbing in its ponytail, and stepped forth.

She initially tried to get through the foliage by pushing them aside. Even with her tremendous strength she could not budge the tree trunk sized vines. Using her delyn sword did not cut it either. Unwilling to waste too much energy on forcing her way through, she took a step back.

There had to be a weak spot somewhere.

There! Through the window, various glass was shattered from the branches which forced their way through. From here, they seemed easy enough to duck through. Felicity cracked her knuckles and stretched, anticipating a thirty feet climb.

So she started her way up. The plants were so tangled, massive, and sturdy. She had no problem climbing up as the cool wind blew from the dark abyss behind her. Through the moss, she saw that the walls had a diversity of complex designs running through them. The terrifying gargoyles only gave her more to climb up. This was all so fascinating. The green and brown plants were her staircase as she scaled the plants. She had climbed mountains and fought through jungles in previous adventures; getting to the top was a walk through the park.

Careful not to get herself cut, she stepped through the demolished window. As tiny shards of glass crunched between the thick log and her boots, she looked down.

The abandoned throne room took her breath away. The black marble floor was, once again, in poor shape. Various trees shot straight through roof, leaving the dim sun to expose the dark palace. As sunlight invaded, attacking through the cracks in the dome ceiling, Felicity noticed how many perplexing flowers existed. Blue roses taller than her, a weird pink-orange bloomer she never encountered before… the trees themselves blossomed like cherry trees, except the leaves were shaded purple and the brown barked trees were way too huge. Grasses and ferns coated the center ground, the floor all but demolished. The various smells of different flowers and plants all were quite pleasant. Yet, the musty feel of the grandiose ruin was equally overpowering.

The girl decided to slide down the branch, landing on a balcony several feet below. The sound of boots pounding marble echoed across the whole, previously quiet room. She pulled her powerful bow off her back, grabbing two arrows. One was held with her bow while the other rested in her drawing hand. She stalked at the edge of the multidesigned, complex black railing. She surveyed the room below as she pondered, What does the Citadel bring me today?

[Hayate_Amatsukami]

Hayate Amatsukami held tightly to twisting tendrils as he attempted to scale the front of the Gothic castle. Sweet dripped from his brow as he pulled himself up inches at a time using what upper body strength the one-armed man could gather. It was a slow process trying to find as much footing a possible and trusting that his own strength would'nt give out as he reached up to grab the next clutch of vines. To say it was nauseating would be an understatement but the leader of the Immortals wouldn’t let this simple task get the better of him.

You do know that I could just-…

Don’t even start with me. Hayate quickly silenced his partner. Yamato was a smart spirit but didn’t quite understand that Hayate was doing this for himself. This would be his first time back in the Citadel since he lost his arm to Hiruzen and if nothing else other than just to spit in that bastard's face the young swordsman wouldn't let this that stop him.

If he did then Hiruzen won.

Just don’t get too far behind her. Yamato persisted to echo though the young swordsman’s thoughts. Luckily for Hayate he wasn’t the first person to teleport into the arena and caught a glimpse of a young ginger girl scaling her way into a broken window high above the castle’s front gate.

Can you just let me concentrate? Hayate thought back as he locked his foot into a tangle of vines pressing forward through adversity. He continued to climb at a snail’s pace until he reached the broke stained glass entryway. The one-armed man huffed and puffed as he pulled himself on top of the giant vine that draped though the window. It was shameful to admit but Hayate was already tired.

The interior was dimly lit but the shards of light that poked though the canopy of hanging vines above beautifully accented the diverse colors of the fauna within. Hayate breathed heavily as he leaned though to try and catch another glimpse of his opponent. Until now he had the element of surprise on his side and didn’t want to lose it too quickly so he did this with caution. As his eyes scanned what parts of the throne room he could see in the dim light the current dilapidated state of the masonry didn’t go unnoticed as Hayate tried to formulate some kind of plan.

Just then the noise of heavy footsteps began to echo though the open room. The young swordsman withdrew his head and hugged vine tightly to avoid being spotted as best he could. Quietly he listened and as the footsteps grew louder and louder he strained his neck trying to see it while remaining out of sight himself. From either side of the throne room extended two barely visible corridors hiding behind darkness and greenery. Hayate was familiar with the little tricks the monks who ran the Citadel like to play when they build their arena and knew that whatever dwelled within these abandoned halls wouldn’t play nicely.

Slowly the footsteps pounded against the broken cobblestone floor as a large metal clad figure came into view. Dressed in shadows the black figure ominously entered the throne room standing about ten feet high and heavily armored. From what Hayate could see without compromising his position the Black Night had a large broadsword in his right hand and an aegis in his left. On its shield was the insignia of a gargoyle like the ones Hayate noticed as he scaled the entryway of the castle.

That must be a sentinel or something, Yamato chimed in breaking Hayate’s silent concentration. But you’re ignoring the task at hand. You need to find the girl, don’t bother with this guy unless we have to.

You’re right. Hayate answered again as he shifted his attention from the Black Night who continued to drag its feet across the crumbling cobblestone floor. The little girl was much quicker than Hayate when it came to climbing and it wouldn’t be impossible for her to have already disappeared further into the castle by now. So with that in mind Hayate stood from his hiding spot before he disappeared into the shadows. He moved with the skills of an assassin clinging to the darkness as he slowly and quietly lowered himself one vine at a time.

Moments later as the one-armed man was trying to climb down in peace from out of nowhere the large black sword of the sentinel below whirled past Hayate’s head. It made a loud clinging sound as it firmly planted itself into the vine and stone next to the young swordsman. Hayate let out a startled cry as he lost his grip and plummeted down landing on top of the large gateway beneath him. It appeared that the black knight had Hayate pegged from the very beginning. As it let out a bone chilling screech the soldier catapulted itself a number of meter to where its sword was embedded.

Above black knight ripped the sword from the wall with a violent roar before it turned it face to look at one-armed man catching his breath below. Hayate hadn’t the time to relax as the monster let go of the wall and quickly plummeted with his sword ready to impale the swordsman. Without a second to think Hayate rolled off the large gate falling good three or four feet before using his good arm to grab a handing branch. He hung for the briefest of moments before letting go and landing safely on his feet.

Now would be a good time to run. Yamato suggested.

Right, Hayate answered as he pivoted and made a wild dash for one of the two corridors on the right side of the room. Maybe this will lure out that girl.

[Flamebird]

The sound of conflict cascaded in her ears.

The girl only had to look to an entryway across the room to see it. Next to the vine barred door, two opponents fought. One was a dark knight, coated in black. Its shield bared the symbols of this castle. It fought off its intruder, an Akashiman man with… only one arm?

She raised an eyebrow, but felt ambition grow in her chest. This is my fight!

Keeping her missile weapon at hand, she raced through to balcony’s corroders, which spanned across all sides of the room. Her pounding footsteps pattered across the room in an echo as blades clashed elsewhere. She hastily drew closer. She bolted through the crumbling stone balcony. The fight commenced, with the exhausted looking samurai desperately trying to run.

He won’t be much of a challenge by the time I finish the knight…

Finally, she skidded to a halt when she was close enough. She fully pulled the massive bow back. She had to be careful, aiming with caution as the knight kept on the man's toes. She growled, her arms quickly growing tired. She waited for the right time to strike.

Blades whirled and footsteps resounded as she aimed.

...

There!

*Thling!*

The heavy arrow pierced the knight, crushing armor. Within seconds, the knight's armor fell in a heap to the ground, nothing left to possess it. As the great sword hit the marble floor, it let out a ringing sound. From the balcony, Rhyolite lowered her bow.

She was still amazed by that thing’s power.

She gazed upon the warrior. He wore white robes, typical of his culture. His long black hair, pulled back in a ponytail, was lined with trickles of sweat. Beneath his mask, blue eyes were narrowed in a bitter seriousness, yet glazed with shock over the fight. His person was lined with traditional weaponry.

Sunlight burst through the crumbled roof and windows. As dust floated in the abandoned fortress, Felicity eyed a massive dandelion, the size of a bed, near the lining of the moss flustered wall. She smirked, putting her bow away. She leapt over the wall, landing neatly on the flower's pillowing. She stepped down, giving him a salute, “I suppose you need a moment’s rest before we resume?”

Unlike many who entered the Citadel, Felicity was not a cold blooded killer. She was willing to play fair, carrying a moral code. She carefully observed the scene. The young man was standing within the edge of the sea of tall grasses and weeds. The center of the room was bathed in sunlight, yet in the shadows darkness dwelled. Was there more than one knight? Hopefully not. It would annoy Felicity beyond belief.

The teen waited, crossing her arms as her trim muscles rippled, “Name’s Felicity Rhyolite, by the way.”

[Hayate_Amatsukami]

As the last Amatsukami kicked up dust and rubble trying to flee from the menacing dark knight a loud clang of metal on metal rang through the lofty throne room. The sentinel behind Hayate let out one final screech before the darkness that composed it dissipated. Hayate turned face and saw the young girl he had been fallowing standing a few steps behind him. She held a bow to her side as she gestured towards him to wait a moment.

It looks like we won’t have to worry about her like the last guy. Yamato telepathically said to it’s master. At least she isn’t teaming up with the creature.

Then the ginger lass surprised him as she politely introduced herself. Her name was Felicity Rhyolite and Hayate pegged her to be about of legal age but only barely. Was it adolescence that made her so foolish to waist the opportunity before? Or was it something else like a code of morals or what have you? Regardless Hayate appreciated that she didn’t immediately attack him and thus decided to give her as much respect as she did to him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” He said as he started to scratch the back of his head with his right arm and smile. “You don’t often come across anyone with good sportsmanship here, my name is Amatsukami Hayate, former noble of Yukon, leader of the Immortals and member of the Brotherhood.” He had to start getting used to his new titles. He hadn’t had them long but owned them like they had been his for years.

Strapped to his back was a large katana like weapon known as a Nodachi, which housed Hayate’s combat partner Yamato. And behind his hips dangled a Akashiman style dagger known as a Wakazashi that he had just picked up from Harrington just hours before he came to the citadel. Felicity seemed to have come prepared as well, minus the lack luster armor she chose, but that could be for a number of reasons. It didn’t really matter anyway, Hayate had a trick up his sleeve but didn’t know when would be the appropriate time to use it.

“I suppose it’s time we get started isn’t it?” the last Amatsukami said as he lowered his hand to rest upon the hilt of his wakazashi. Then with a quick flick of his wrist he drew his titanium weapon and spun it in his palm before taking a fighting stance in front of the girl. He would let her ready herself before he started his assault as she gave him the same curtesy just moments before.

Yamato I’m going to test myself for a moment before I let you handle this.

Understood, speak the words when you need my aid. his spirit partner said before he faded into silence to allow Hayate to concentrate.

“Whenever your ready.”

[Flamebird]

Wow, he’s super proper…

She had to humorously agree with how little sportsmanship there was in the Citadel. An amused smile crossed her face as he finished his lengthy introduction. Felicity had knowledge of how formal Akashimans were, yet she still was surprised by the courteous nature this man carried.

Tall grasses and broken stone stood between them, insects compared to the giant trees protruding through the roof. As burning rays of sunshine bathed the quiet, abandoned castle, Felicity developed a plan. The redhead pulled her large bow off her back, letting it thud against the aged marble below. All it would do in short distance combat would be to limit her mobility. She pulled her arming sword out with her dominant right hand. The two edged weapon was made of powerful delyn. The weapon glowed in the rays of golden light from above. Soon, it could also sparkle with crimson. The girl assumed a Fool’s Guard, relaxing her sword and pointing it towards the ground. This stance was both seen as foolish to experienced swordsmen for the lack of guard, and fooling to opponents, as the unpredictable stance could shift into any attack or block. This was a wildcard stance, a ruler of the random.

Felicity cautiously stepped closer. The sound of her footsteps changed from thudding against stone to crunching long grass and dirt. She remained as hard to read as possible. Felicity was quite neurotic and spontaneous, clever and intuitive. Yet, her hardheadedness and quickness to anger countered her strengths. While disciplined, she was more than likely to act on impulse with the fifty fifty toss of a coin.

As her eyes darted around him, she could sense magic extending from his general area. What kind of magic, she had no idea. It was no surprise to her however that he at least used some form of it.

Up until this point, her movements were slow and careful. Now, she completely stood still. Nothing but the muted sound of distant crumbling stone sounded in the room for a short moment. Then, she snapped into action.

She had more than one sharp edged weapon on her. She pulled an arrow from her quaver with her left hand. Using the four fingers she had on that hand, she hastily tossed it at the samurai. Immediately, she lunged with her sword in a stab. Hopefully, while he swatted away or dodged the arrow, she could get a solid lunge in.

This was the time when, after ages of loneliness, the long dead gothic castle sprung to life. The two duelists within revived it in the glory and gritty darkness of battle.

[Hayate_Amatsukami]

Things were about to get interesting. Hayate watched closely as the young lass assumed a fool’s guard, a stance he hadn’t seen before in practice, with the tip of her blade pointed towards the dirt. The last Akashiman took in a deep breath as they shared their a few more seconds of peace. Based on appearances Hayate assumed that Felicity was going to be quick on her feet so like any strategist he was ready to make some distance between them. With Felicity discarding her bow for now it wouldn’t be a bad plan.

Then suddenly she made the first move. Felicity quickly lobed and arrow from her quiver towards the samurai forcing him to move in a way he hadn’t planned on. Hayate clutched his wakasashi and was about to simply slash the arrow in two but before he could his opponent lunged at him. She was a rash fighter, or a smart one, time would tell but for now Hayate wasn’t impressed.

He took a solitary side step letting the arrow fly past the right side of his head. Then with a quick pivot Hayate ducked under Felicity’s sword with his blade position in such a way that it would tear through the tender muscles and flesh of her under arm. Everything happened in an instant and when Hayate raised standing behind Felicity he wasn’t even sure his blade cut the lass. Regardless upon standing he sheathed his Akashiman dagger and reached up for the hilt of his Nodachi.

She was quick and he was weak, too weak to rely on his strength alone. But he wasn’t about to give Yamato complete control over the fight. This was his chance to prove he wasn’t going to let other push him around, he needed to prove to himself he could stand on his own two feet. In this world of magic and might he needed to know that he could survive it and endure all the challenges that lie in wait for him.

“Rise Up.” he let his incantation slip through his lips. As he spoke the words a red glow emanated from his back and around him started to form the ribcage of a giant skeleton. The bones were ethereal in nature but as durable as dehlyn and were going to be his impenetrable shield.

“This match was over the second you gave up the element of surprise. I won’t allow myself to be beaten when my enemy has delivered themselves to me on a silver platter.” He was trying to sound tough, but he wasn’t sure if his big talk would intimidate the girl or not.

If she does anything ill protect you. Yamato telepathically said to Hayate attempting to ease his mind. Just don’t let her play you like the last guy did.

[Flamebird]

There was a price to pay for not wearing any armor.

For her shrewd plan, Felicity was equally reckless. The attack failed to overwhelm him. Instead, he stepped aside and made a neat, simple, disciplined move with his blade. For a brief moment, pain exploded in the girl's upper underarm.

A blind rage overtook for a millisecond, which caused her to blindly swing. She was temporarily immune to pain, just a little bit stronger than before. Yet, her nuclear strength boosts all came at the price of a calm mind. Unfortunately, a tall plant next to her had a series of vines. As Hayate recollected, the fifteen seconds were wasted on blindly lashing at the vines, somehow freeing herself.

As pale green plant remains fell around her, she stepped out with a twisted look of anger. Then, anguish.

Her arm stung. The girl squeezed her sword as she cried out in the sharp, pulsing pain. Crimson blood dripped down her bulky arm, coating her hand. She feared her grip on her weapon grew slippery thanks to her own body liquid. Her blood was dark, too tainted in shade to be considered normal. Her body, in fact, was a living nuclear bomb. Her dark powers, she had nuclear radiation running in her veins. Her blood could sting, nauseate, bring pain… It was unfortunate that, thus far, her blood only represented her own pain.

She would have to endure. The strongly pain resistant berserker bit her lip in frustration, determination. Then she gasped, feeling a surge of magical energy from in front of her. Looking up, she saw that the man had summoned an ethereal ribcage around him. Beautiful, powerful, it illuminated the simply clothed man in glowing color. It wrapped around him like a suit of armor, protecting him in glowing red-orange energy. Felicity could not help but take a moment to observe it in awe.

Yet, her childlike wonder quickly turned to anger. His words. His words poked at her, taunted her. They told her she was not good enough. An audible growl sounded, low and enraged. Her free fist tightened, face red. It was complicated, the fact that even with her low self esteem she needed to defend herself. Despite her insecurities, any word spoken against her struck the worst of chords. She had been put down too many times to count in life. For her young age, she experienced so much. No, this Hayate was wrong. He clearly underestimated her. Bitter determination shone in her darkened, slitted eyes as she put her sword away.

She had no idea how the summoned bones worked. She needed a new strategy.

As she winced in pain, holding her moderate cut, her mind raced. Her eyes darted towards her bow, cast on the filthy marble floor. Maybe… she needed to take a missile approach until she had a good grasp of this man's capacities. She would need to get past him, however, to reach her bow. Luckily, the red liquid painting her hand red gave her an idea. She took off, attempting to swerve past him as well as her skrawny neanderthal legs allowed. As she drew close, she squeezed her wound. A loud shout resounded, but she endured. She had a plan, so worth the extra pain. With a handful of blood, she threw her hand. Hopefully, some of her blood would splatter on him. Hopefully, the nuclear poisoning would distract him long enough to reach her ranged weapon.

She was not about to hand his victory out on a silver platter.

[Hayate_Amatsukami]

Hayate watched closely as he delivered his taunting message to the young girl who appeared to have flown into a fit of rage. She lashed outwards blindly even getting caught up in some derelict vines as she thrashed about for a bit. He wondered if it had anything to do with the cut he gave her on her arm as he dodged her first attack. She seemed like the type to fly off the handle like that after all. But Hayate would have to test it to be certain.

She’s up to something.

Strangely enough Hayate could see her eyes darting past him towards her bow she had carelessly dropped moments earlier. He saw the desperation in her eyes and knew she was about to make her move. Hayate raised his wakasashi once more, gripping it tightly and preparing to attack again. But then something unexpected happened, the girl made her move.

Felicity wasn’t tall, in fact her short arms and legs made her look kind of like a dwarf. But she still moved with great quickness in every step as she attempted to swerve past him. Hayate would let her do that so easily. As he shifted his weight and was about to take off to intercept Felicity he began to feel a strong burning sensation. Felicity flicked her wrist and lobed a handfull of blood at him. The majority of her infected blood landed on the ribs of the Corpse King but a few drops spattered right though landing on the young swordsman’s face.

“Ahhh.” He screamed out as whatever magic fueled this little girl began to eat away at his tender flesh. "What is this?!"

You should have ended it when you had the chance. Yamato began to scream at Hayate telepathically. Now it’s my turn.

It wasn’t often that Yamato insisted on taking center stage but when he did there wasn’t much Hayate could do about it. As the swordsman attempted to wipe away the acidic blood the rib cage around him started to ignite in a vibrant red aura. Even if he wanted to stop Yamato it was too late. Suddenly sinews of ethereal flesh and cartilage appeared and began to encase the Corpse King until a full twenty foot tall ethereal samurai stood in its place.

Though Hayate was safely nestled inside the chest cavity of his Avatar the effects of Felicity’s toxic blood had still taken effect, slowly melting the man’s right cheek away. Thanks to his unique connecting to the Corpse King, its face also started showing signs of the same injury. Both master and spirit worried that the young girl would catch on and exploit their weakness but for the time being they just hoped she wouldn’t turn tail and run.

Don’t go too over board now. Hayate pleaded with Yamato. Though his face stung he wasn’t out of the game yet and wouldn’t let his partner show him up.

I’d done letting you tell he what to do? Yamato screamed at his master. Every time you take the reins I always have to pick up your broken ass pieces. This time we are doing things my way.

It was true that Hayate didn’t much care for his partner’s aggressive attitude towards fighting but it was also true that Yamato has more or less gotten them out of all their sticky situations. For now Hayate resigned and allowed Yamato to control the Corpse King without him impeding the sword spirit’s actions.

Then the giant avatar sprang into action, lobbing fist after fist trying to strike the girl. If any of their attacks would land on a vital spot there would be enough force behind it to kill any man or demon. But something about this little rage child worried Hayate. He worried that if they were to strike her again would she just fly off the rails like before. Regardless he allowed his partner to continue try and squash Felicity.

[Flamebird]

In satisfaction, Felicity swiped her bow off the floor. A smile bloomed on her face as a bright laugh flowed from her mouth.

Then, she had to turn around.

What was previously a bare rib cage expanded. Marrow attached to the bone, skin sown overtop. Armor shone boldly as it clipped on. The vibrant display of orangish-red coloring gleamed in a magical hum. A fully armored samurai, towering above the short girl, stood ready to poise.

As if on cue, and draft of cold wind faintly flew in from above. As tree leaves started to whisper hushed warnings, Felicity nervously chuckled. “Heh, heh, heh… What did I do?”

The glowing warrior, with Hayate meditating within it, brought down a mighty fist. Adrenaline burst as she leapt out of the way and ran for it. The collision thundered across the throne room, the noise rumbling in a low explosion as the ground shook. She heard the sturdy ground fracture, the sound of crumbling stone behind. She did not look back. Not for a moment. Felicity barely maintained her balance, racing across the center floor where tall grasses sprouted. An anxious sweat broke out as her thoughts flew.

Think, think, think, kid! Think!

She ran past various plants as the samurai followed, punching another hole in the ground. This time, the collision caused Felicity to fall into a brush. Weeds as tall as trees were collected in the hundreds. Felicity felt her heart pounding as an idea crossed her mind.

She had no idea how this armor worked. She needed to test it from a safe distance, but she would need a good shot. That meant making distance between them. Hayate’s giant knew where she was, but a thicket of gigantic dandelions were just ahead of these weeds. A smirk formed as she hastily crawled into the dandelion patch, a solid kick thumping from behind. Her heart still raced, she pressed on.

Branches tugged at her clothes, leaves itched her skin. Twigs brushed against her still bleeding wound, causing more pain to echo through her body. She had to hold her breath to keep from crying out. Roots wrapped around a limb like chords; she had to untangle them every time. She was strong as iron, durable as stone. With eyes flooded in determination, she quietly pushed on. Still clutching her bow, she inched from one shrubbery to another on all fours, maintaining cover. The moment she had the opportunity, she ducked behind one of the soaring trees, holding onto her bow. She pulled a single arrow from her quiver. She had one shot at this. The girl gritted her teeth as his insulting words echoed in her head. Too many times had people doubted her abilities before. No, she would not take it again. She had something to prove now. Fighting for a personal cause, the girl ripped herself from the safety of her cover. Her bow was pulled back hastily as she aimed for the breastplate with a blind shot. She unleashed the arrow, meaning to test the armor’s limits before she got close and dirty.

[Hayate_Amatsukami]

It appeared that this girl would be more trouble than she is worth, slipping into a thicket of overgrown weeds and brush she vanished out of sight. But this didn’t even come close to stopping The Corpse King’s rampage. The beast arched its back and let out a deep growl, dust and debris began to rain down gently as the vibrations of the ghostly billowing shook the walls. She may have eluded them for a moment but this fight was far from over. Almost like an uncontrollable beast the red titan began to thrash about wildly, striking at the overhanging vines and masonry trying to find the girl. The Corpse King was strong, enough so that every punch it threw left a wake of rubble and torn greenery as it searched the large dandelions for Felicity.

Hayate remained suspended within the chest cavity of his avatar like a moth in its cocoon. Pain still radiated though his body and Yamato used this to concrete himself as the one calling the shots for now. This was both a blessing and a curse for the young swordsman. On one hand Yamato was strong and would be able to handle himself at the helm of their titan, but on the other Hayate feared that he might not be able to control his monster and couldn’t keep his partner from going too far. Regardless this was the citadel after all and any consequences wouldn’t be too severe.

“Come out,” a dark voice came from The Corpse King, for the first time the beast itself spoke. Yamato channeled his speech though the unearthly visage, a new ability neither of them were aware they possessed. “You didn’t come here to hide did you.”

You can speak? Hayate telepathically questioned his partner.

Apparently so…

Then the beast ceased its unarmed assault and instead raised its right arm high above its head. With the titan’s palm open another dark red energy began to form within it. The red energy spiraled for a moment before coming together to form a large katana like sword. As the blade formed itself the Corpse King swung it violently around cleanly slicing through a bunch of low hanging branches and vines. But then from out of nowhere The Corpse King was struck in the left shoulder by one of Felicity’s arrows. The shady girl took his advice to heart it would seem, using the element of surprise to her advantage.

Once again the titan let out a deep growl as the arrow head pierced through its impressive defenses and lodged itself about an inch into the avatar. Hayate felt the pain transfer into him and he visually convulsed inside the chest of the beast. If the young girl was paying attention she would most likely by now have identified their weakness, which was something that the pair of them just could not tolerate.

Where did that come from?Yamato growled questioning Hayate.

Straight ahead, Hayate responded, he hadn’t seen where it came from exactly but knew the general direction. Through the brush.

Then as if nothing could slow the beast down the Corpse King made a single horizontal swipe with its blade in an attempt to cleave everything in its path in two at about the height on a man’s knee. If nothing else it would force the girl to move and flush her out. Then they could really have some fun with her.