A Stray Dog Meets the Devil

[mermalaide]

"Okay, seeing as how we are in a bad situation, I will give you the cliff notes as we track this thing." She bent down and sniffed (Garou Rank C Passive was still active from tracking Naoyoshi). Her line of sight pinpointed how the body was being dragged. She wanted to zone out and hunt but found herself trying to explain. "Something has been stealing yokai parts to feed, and sometimes the yokai are still alive." She took a deep breath and stood up. "We believe that whatever this thing, or things are, that is using the parts to either make itself stronger or evolve somehow. People across the city are getting abducted as well. Both the Shinesengumi and the Shrine Network have been working really hard to analyze what we have found off of the only survivor. He's in a coma fighting for his life right now. Whatever got him was partially digesting him."

She stood back up and you could see the sharp glint in her teeth. Her eyes were so red that you could see them standing out against her pale skin. She got up and started walking towards the next fresh mark. She sniffed the air. "It's still around, I can smell it." She broke into a run, her hand unclicking the katana free from it's lacquered scabbard. "There." Her sword was ready and she gestured to a thick clump of trees just ahead to them. The blood was fresh. She felt her blood boil. The Inugami within swelled and it's unseen jaws wanted to slobber and bite. 

Her first movements seemed slow and deliberate, to avoid sound, but a twig snapped and it sent her into a quick dash. 


‘Run rabbit! Run!’ 
Rank C Ability

The black dog of the Shinesengumi was a blur. Her half cloak was easier to see than the rest of her, due to the blue and white. The rest of her clothing was shrouded in black. Whatever this was, she had caught a whiff of it and wanted a fight, and she knew those with her were likely ready for more of the same.

[Sengoku]

When Ryo offered to patch up Naoyoshi, Akamaru couldn't help but burst into laughter at the sight of his master giving Ryo a cynical, raised eyebrow.

"I will decline," he replied. "We're not that close yet. Besides..." He turns to look at the Ashikaga samurai clearing a way to allow paramedics to arrive for both men, though the Ashikaga were only glaring at Naoyoshi. "...Laws restrict people like me more than freelancers like you. Shinsengumi are the ones with special privileges, not samurai." He could only watch Momiji race off into the trees with a look of longing, desiring to join the woman on her hunt. "You can blame her Shinsengumi for putting a leash on those of us who don't join them."

Naoyoshi sat down on a log as paramedics helped him carefully remove his jacket and then his shirt, both stained with blood in the back. Yet not once did he flinch throughout the process, even as they applied rubbing alcohol to the wounds and began covering his back with bandages. Though his back was obscured by the field medics, his chest and abdomen revealed a multitude of scars, proof of his warrior lifestyle. Throughout the treatment, Naoyoshi sat in silence with his eyes closed, as if meditating. Akamaru had vanished, once again residing within Naoyoshi as a vessel. As the bleeding slowed and the cuts were covered up, the samurai stated, "Your offer was noted, I give you that much."

At that moment, Akamaru poofed back into existence only to shout, "HE LIKES YOU NOW!" Instinctively, Naoyoshi quick-drew his uchigatana and swung at the oni, though the red ogre disappeared a second before the blade could touch him, leaving behind his echoing laughter in response to Naoyoshi's intense scowling at the empty space that was Akamaru. The paramedics jumped back at the sudden movement, one of them falling over a stump. Both tried to ease the Ii samurai back into a relaxed state as he sat back down.

"If you want to chase after her, then get going."

[Umbraflamma]

"Suit yourself." Ryo replied as he watched Naoyoshi sit down. "Just figured that i fix some of the damage i caused." he said as he looked at her dash off. With a sigh he shrugged, "I guess i'll go after her, stay here i guess if you want to, but im pretty sure she dismissed the Ashikaga because shed rather have a couple of real fighters at her side."

Ryo turned around in the direction she ran off in, resting the sign across his shoulder. "Let me know when you're done sulking, there's a battle to be had." he said almost taunting as he ran off. His movement was slower than her's significantly slow, although as was recently demonstrated, stopping him was a task in and off itself once he got some momentum. It would take him some time to get there, clearly Momiji would get there first. He was hoping whatever it was wouldn't too much for her to deal with.

------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile in the forest, in a dark clearing.

"feed... must feed...."

Pain overwhelming at all times. Pain took everything. How long have i been like this? Raising it's hands it saw black masses that were not hands. "Wrong! wrongwrongwrongwrong!" it's voice was strange high pitched almost screeching and reverberating, seeming to come from it's whole body. The pain felt like a shape. a shape that was not the black masses before it's vision. Even it's eyes hurt. Wait eyes... "EYES WHERE ARE MY EYES NONONONONO." The mass appeared almost like a amoeba roughly the size of a person. It clawed at the eyeholes of the mask it wore finding something that was not there. "Pain... must eat must replace!" it reached down to the dead oni, pulling it's eyes from it's socket as it severed the optical nerves, causing the body to jerk from neural reflex as it ripped them out and placed them in the eyeholes of the mask. "Wrong still wrong but better... more better... be better." it tore off the oni's arms and placed them on it's body. after a second they jerked before moving, holding the hands out and staring at them as they flexed and moved in an unnatural way. "wrongwrongwrongwrong!" it shouted and raged as it engulfed the oni's body with it's goo like black mass. that was when it smelled something and turned to see someone approaching, One eye looking around while the other fixing on her. Her hair, her hands they looked right, felt right. Something deep inside it resonated, and felt jealousy.  The pain receeded a bit as it began to digest the oni's body, "YOU... HAIR... HANDS.... RIGHT.... GIVETHEMBACKGIVETHEMBACKGIVETHEMBACK!"  As it lifted itself the body of the oni was gone as it lifted itself on six arms, all belonging to various Yokai. Two crab like claws sprouted as it's body took on an insect like shape. "GIVE ME BACK! MAKE RIGHT AGAIN! PAIN STOP, FEEDING! GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEE MMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKK!" It shouted a it began to scuttle towards Momiji, moving unnaturally as it scuttled towards her with frightening speed on it's many unmatched hands.

[mermalaide]

Momiji was moving so swiftly. She heard it mumble to itself as she approached and as it turned she slashed at an outstretched hand, causing it to roll to the ground, but there were so many hands. She would have to give it wide berth and was using her speed to do so. It kept her at arms length away at least, but she had to use trees as a buffer, and was moving it towards the open area, trying to get it to chase. She had lost sight of the men that were with her, and could have used the back up, but could not blame them if they had seen that and ran.

This is not the thing to fight at close range. It's not the kind of thing you want to be stuck in an enclosure with either. Momiji steeled her nerves, smelling a little blood in her nose. The black fluid was reeking of it, as well as chemicals of a sort, possibly the digestive fluid. As it screeched for her hair, she sucked in air from clenched teeth. It was like seeing a dog bare it's fangs.

"HANDS TO YOURSELF DEMON!"

It was a savage roar to hear her shout like that. It wouldn't likely listen, so she kept up with her footwork. She cut another arc when it reached out again. Whatever this thing was, truly it was insane and looking for parts. It was far worse than any Gaki or Shibito that Momiji could think of. Instead of fear, she felt rage.

Abomination
Feel the wrath of my sword
My heart, it angers.

She huffed a little moving back the way she came. "HEADS UP!" As well as, "Don't let it touch you," came in the form of a shout. Momiji would draw it out into the very open to fight it. If the others were still there, that would be an advantage, but if not, she would fight alone. The fast dog got the rabbit in the end, wasn't it always that way? It felt good to feel the burning blood and oxygen rush her limbs, pumping them as she moved.

Honor compels blood
may my blade slice and tear foes
wheat from shaft.

[Sengoku]

It stung. He felt as though someone poured acid down his back, though the pain simply meant that the rubbing alcohol was doing its job, killing any potential bacteria that would try to infest itself inside his wounds. Luckily, the pain dulled as he steadied his breathing and felt the bandages hug his torso in a tight grip. This was no surprise coming from professional paramedics - their craft was to mend wounds just as Naoyoshi's talent was to inflict them. No more than one minute passed and Naoyoshi stood up without warning while reaching for his tattered shirt and jacket.

"Sir!" one of the paramedics cried out. "Please refrain from moving! You'll open up those wounds if you move too vigorously!"

"Hmm," Naoyoshi grunted in acknowledgement. Upon closer inspection, the jacket was still in one piece, though tear marks ran all across the back. The shirt, however, was little more than a rag, barely holding together. The Ii samurai handed the paramedics the ruined shirt and then draped his jacket over his shoulders rather than wearing it properly like before. Without a further response, he began jogging towards the direction where Momiji and Ryo ran off to, ignoring the protests of the medics.

"I see we're the ones late to the fun this time," Akamaru sneered, his disembodied voice echoing around Naoyoshi. "If those runts die, that's their blood on your hands."

"They won't," Naoyoshi snapped back as he donned his menpō and broke out into a moderate running speed. "Otherwise I wouldn't have taken my sweet time to make sure we didn't bleed out." The oni snickered, his deep voice making it sound more like a growl than laughter.

"They'd best leave us with at least some of the scraps..." Akamaru's voice fades back into Naoyoshi's mind as the sound of crunching leaves and rustling grass fills the forest. Even with the speed of the paramedics patching him up, Naoyoshi would still be far behind Ryo, much less Momiji. He will arrive eventually. The question is how long can Momiji hold out alone?

[Umbraflamma]

The sun dimmed as cloud cover began to overtake the sky.

As she cut away at one of the hands, it continued it's momentum as it brought it's right claw down, the attack inadvertently causing her second slash to deflect. It screeched in pain, in agony. "GIVE IT BACK!!!!!!!" the screech itself could cause unprotected ears to bleed as two more arms emerged from the depths. One a massive Oni arm wielding a Kanobo it's red muscles rippling, another was a more delicate arm with the tell tale sign of feathers as it wielded a tachi. The claws were massive and yet they were slow and clumsy,  as it narrowly missed her with a follow up attack. The massive claw closing around a tree she had been in front seconds ago. There was a loud splintering noise as the tree started to fall towards her retreat angle.

After cutting of her retreat and forcing it to face her, A head with fox ears emerged from it's waist positioned where it should be from the two new arms positions, even though none of them matched. It looked like a young female kitsune woman with a blank dead expression. before it's eyes rolled unnaturally from the back of it's sockets, and the expression changed to one of fear. Was it still independently conscious?

The face then screamed in pain, black tears running down it's face as a circle of foxfire began to rotate vertically in front of it. "H-Hands... H-Hair.... GiVe iT BaCk To MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"  The abomination screeched, but not from the new head, as it started firing the balls of flame in an erratic pattern. "MAKE THE PAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN SSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!"

The abomination scuttled forward as soon as the blasts stopped firing, claws raised to attack but the kanobo and tachi held in a defensive posture. Above all the mask glared down at her, the unnatural Oni eyes jerking in random directions.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryo was moving as fast as he could maintain, and though he was blessedly free of pain, he had to show extra care not to blow out his knees without realizing it. His speed was not as fast as he wanted as he heard the unnatural scream, "What the fuck is that?" he asked nobody in particular as he continued to jog along. Momiji ran off at top speed like that leaving him well in the dust. He picked up the pace a little bit, but the movement of his knees was still somewhat restricted in a long distance run like this.

[mermalaide]

She heard Ryo vaguely but had not seen him. As the tree fell, she knew it did it to cut off any escape. Momiji didn't panic, no, she filled with rage. It reminded her a little of the poem about the Bandersnatch. It was hard to tell who was the Bandersnatch. She was just as hungry and viscous as it was. But who was more so?

'Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!'

Run Rabbit RUN! 
(Another set of Run Rabbit Run!)

The tree fell hard and in the way, cutting off a potential route. She had a bit of time with the reset of her skill to dodge the fallen tree, she thought of vaulting up and over but, that would get a foot caught. No, she would have to move about it. The arms moved all over the map, trying to grab at her, so, she kept just out of reach to bait and poke at the arms. She laughed like a madwoman. Seeing the face of the kitsune woman was awful, she knew it was absorbing people now. It would be imperative to try to neutralize it, but if she could not, getting out of here alive was definitely a priority. People had to know what this was, whatever this thing was. 

Evasive maneuvers time! She tried to trip up it's legs, keeping her hair and limbs out of it's grasping hands. Everything was a blur and she was close enough to smell it's overwhelming stench again. She felt a burning sensation from her maneuvers in her arms and legs. She ducked savagely when it swiped. 

Now!

Momiji darted forward again, rushing past, using her blade to parry and slice, rebuffing the advances of this thing. Another hand flew off and into the trees. It's screaming was just awful. She kept up her focus and her attack. "Scream all you like! For I fear not!" Her nostrils flared and she gritted her teeth more. As it lashed out, it hit more trees. Her hair flew about her face, not obscuring her vision, but as she bared her sharp teeth, the red of her eyes also glowed, giving her the appearance of a hound from hell. It was close enough that it broke the glasses off of her face. The ruby tinted, circle lenses fell to the ground and were crushed, though, thankfully she was not. 

As she moved, a vision flickered in her mind. A younger man she had met earlier, smiling through his pain. He smiled through every bruise. 'Well I can only succeed eventually, I'll die before I give up.' He smiled at her and she slashed hard. Momiji slices hard at the arm bearing the Kanobo. She let out a warrior's cry, piercing the air and it's screams.

[Sengoku]

The bloodcurdling screech echoed throughout the forest, loud enough to feel as though the volume shook the leaves rather than the breeze. Where most would hesitate at the horrific noise, Naoyoshi instead moved faster towards it. His prey made a mistake and showed him the right direction.

Your heartbeat picked up, boy, sneered Akamaru within Naoyoshi's mind. You mean to tell me that even the Akaoni of the Ii Clan feels fear?

Everyone feels fear, Naoyoshi snapped back mentally. The difference is how you go about handling it.

There was truth to this. The only people who genuinely feel no fear are either completely insane or outright suicidal. Like any sane person, Naoyoshi did feel fear creeping up in the deep recesses of his mind. What he heard sounded far from ordinary among yōkai or anything else he has faced down in his four years of combat experience. Yet a life devoted to the path of the warrior taught him discipline. It taught him focus. To take that fear and replace it with motivation.

Aha... The oni's voice continued to echo in Naoyoshi's thoughts. I knew we were cut from the same cloth. Don't deny it, boy. You're enjoying this the same way I did. The same way we relished our fight earlier with that Ryosuke and his gashadokuro. Naoyoshi said nothing, but his grin hidden behind his menpō said it all for the oni.

Naoyoshi could hear the distant footsteps of another person as he ran, though with lower frequency and volume. He spotted Ryosuke's shape in the distance, noting that the man's running speed barely that of a jog. As Naoyoshi closed the distance, he would find himself running right past Ryo as Akamaru manifested for a few seconds only to bellow out, "KEEP UP, STRAY! OTHERWISE YOU'LL MISS THE FEAST, GAHAHAHA!"

And like that, Naoyoshi darted far past Ryo, disappearing into the trees. Soon enough, he slowed his pace to catch his breath and steady his heartbeat. Arriving at a fight exhausted was tantamount to suicide. It was here at a clearing that he saw the Shinsengumi girl from before. Moreover, he saw the abomination she was fighting. A horrific mass that made up a black, amorphous body that sported multiple arms and legs as well as a collection of different yōkai faces. And upon what he guessed was its original head was a white mask with empty holes for the eyes and mouth, black ooze spilling forth from the orifices. Once again, there was a moment of fear, but it Naoyoshi would not fight it. He embraced it. He knew it existed. And he immediately replaced it with wrath. Rage towards the monstrosity's crimes against its victims. And bloodlust. The very same he shared with Akamaru when fighting Ryo. Naoyoshi's hand reached for his uchigatana.

Rank B Ability: Onigari「鬼狩り, "Devil Hunt"」

With Momiji distracting the creature, Naoyoshi sent forth Akamaru, projecting the crimson oni like a sentient missile. Hurling himself straight at their target, Akamaru performed iaijutsu mid-flight, unleashing his massive uchigatana upon the cursed flesh of the monster, roaring with laughter the whole time. Combining the inhuman strength of an oni warrior and the force at which he was propelled forth, the cut would have been more than enough to cut straight through reinforced steel much less organic matter. Even with that, Akamaru was not done yet. After soaring past the creature with a vicious cut, Akamaru turned face and propelled himself right back at Naoyoshi with the same force as before, deliver a second cut that ran as deep as the first.

"SPLENDID!" howled Akamaru with violent glee. "ABSOLUTELY SPLENDID!" As he ripped his way past the monster a second time, Akamaru boomeranged right back to Naoyoshi, fading into red mist upon colliding with Naoyoshi. The samurai let out a breath, his chest rising and falling with each inhale and exhale. A powerful technique like that performed after sprinting through the forest and with injuries that have not fully healed. A reckless maneuver. But fortune favors the bold. The battlefield was no place for cowards.

[Umbraflamma]

Ryo's heart pounded as he heard the sound, giving him more reason to move faster, he picked up his pace as the sounds of battle got closer. whatever the fuck this thing was was big and nasty. Naoyoshi sprinted past him causing him to curse and run even faster hoping his knees wouldn't blow out on the way.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The monster was slow and cumbersome, allowing momiji to get most of her cuts in, but the final slash found itself deflected as the tengu arm moved on it's own in an impossible angle and motion. The blade cutting into the massive amounts of black ooze as it caught there. Countless hands reached out from its body, grabbing her and pulling her closer as the black sludge rippled an opening as if to admit her. She could almost see a gap almost like a hole in it shaped perfectly for her. "join us... be.... us we would feel so much... better... no pain!" Before it could pull her in or she could put up any final acts of resistance, a red clad samurai cam in crying his warcry, or was that the oni doing the screaming. It was hard to tell as akamaru's first cut cut the arms free, still grappling and writing as she was cut away from the monster. The second pass was not so lucky as the surviving arms reached out, one muscular one catching akamaru by the throat as the others both caressed and beckoned the normally intangible oni. Black tendrils began wrapping around him, and nayoshi saw as they even began to penetrate the oni's skin, visibly writing beneath it as it started to draw the oni in, the face of the kitsune showed ecstacy as it believed it would get some reprieve from the pain, and a new friend to join them. Before it could pull Akamaru in, a light post flew in like a spear, striking the mask dead on and cracking it. From behind the bushes a massive figure appeared, "What in the hell is this ugly son of a bitch!?"

The creature screamed as it reeled back dropping Akamaru to the ground as it gathered the pieces of the mask, desperate to get it to fit back together, distracting it long enough to give them either a chance to strategize, or begin a retreat.

[mermalaide]

She had struggled being in it's grip. It was horrifying. While she tried not to feel some fear, she would have been a liar to have not felt any at all. Her eyes were wide and Momiji's nostrils flared. It was the very image of the samurai in Kabuki. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her arms and legs burned as she sliced the arms that had their grip on her off. When she was released, they clung to her, independently tearing at her. Momiji saw the mask become pierced by the light post, and it's reaction.

"I don't know, but I am pretty sure we have found our Corpse Eater!" She said to the massive figure known to her as Ryo Takuma. He had caught up and made an entrance. "Looks like that mask is it's weak point!" She had no idea what to call it for now, surely the eggheads at HQ would have some idea. But they had to beat this thing first. It's oily viscous visage was in agony clutching it's mask. She had an idea.

"If one of you could toss me up, I can pierce the rest of that mask." She looked almost vampiric. Her glasses had been cracked a bit and bent. Those went into the pocket. Her eyes were a deep garnet colored crimson. Her teeth and nails had become most pointed. The Inugami that dwelt within was furious at the abomination before her and so had she. The kitsune, the one who seemed to be so tortured in all of this, she wanted to lay it to rest and scatter the other things that dwelt within it. "I just need a lift and my sword and I will take care of the rest."

Momiji had no real idea what she was going to tell the higher ups. But, these men deserved much for their bravery. They could do this! They had to!

Fight well comrades!
Let us slip the dogs of war!
Spare no evil!

[Sengoku]

"Akamaru!" Naoyoshi shouted, shocked that the oni was grabbed by this creature. Yet the oni was uncharacteristically silent as he was steadily being assimilated into the black blob. Unimaginable. Due to their contract, Akamaru is intangible whenever he is used as an attack by Naoyoshi, only ever being physically present if performing menial tasks that require little effort. Moreover, the way the oni was behaving was cause for distress. He should be spouting vile words that would make sailors blush while violently hacking away at his attacker. Yet he seemed to embrace the state of capture, showing no resistance at all.

"AKAMARU!" Naoyoshi roared again, demanding a response from his oni. His hand gripped his uchigatana's handle, ready to draw and dive into the fight with reckless abandon until a flying light post slammed into the monster, releasing the red brute. Akamaru came back to his senses and faded into red mist, returning back to Naoyoshi. Even inside Naoyoshi's head, the oni was laughing in the face of what was certain death to him. Or worse.

BWAHAHAHAHA! he cackled. That one almost did me in, boy!

You're a buffoon, Naoyoshi mentally snapped back at him. But now was not the time for banter with his contracted oni. There was still the matter of the corpse eater before them, the very same that nearly devoured Akamaru. Even now, Naoyoshi could still feel the pact between him and Akamaru weaken, no doubt a side effect of the monster's near-successful attempt at assimilation. Still, the creature now had a weakness, courtesy of Ryo's timely intervention: breaking the mask would be the winning strategy. Momiji's call-outs indicated that she came the conclusion first. All that was left was to act.

With the creature distracted, Naoyoshi sprinted over to the abomination while drawing his blade from the scabbard. Ryo without a weapon meant he had no means to defend himself while Momiji was still struggling to free herself of a stray, monstrous arm. Naoyoshi took it upon himself buy them more time, even if it cost him his life.

So he drew his sword and swung, gambling with life upon a blade's edge.

[Umbraflamma]

As Naoyoshi stepped forward, the rest of the team prepared, a newfound union united by a single goal. To fuck up the monster they saw before them.

The creature recovered it's bearing, positioning itself to resume it's attack as it saw the samurai step up, rearing up it released a massive wave of magic, with wind blowing at tearing branches off of trees, there was lightning blasts and fox fire that exploded all over the place as if a localized storm of magic appeared around the target. Ryo sensing an incoming blast stepped in front of Momiji, activating his ability as ghostflame appeared in his eyes, and the shadows on his face took on a skull like pattern for a moment. A bone back-plate appeared to deflect a foxfire blast, causing his rictus grin to grow. Without a word he gave her a wolfish look and nodded. Running out ahead of her and towards naoyoshi's steady advance through the storm.

The creature raised it's kanobo to strike at Naoyoshi only to find it's oni-strength to be met with Naoyoshi's own empowered attack, causing the weapon to fly back and it to lose it's balance and fall forward, shrieking as it did so, it's upper half now lowered by the imbalance. Ryo then turned around his back to Naoyoshi with his hands out to act as a boost. When she stepped onto his hands he would lift up with all his might to sling her into the air, it would be up to her to do the rest.

[mermalaide]

She nods back to him, her own wolf-like grin. She discarded the cracked red glasses that she had wore to cover eyes, which were a deep red color. The color of blood. The glasses dropped to the ground. Her sword was at her side and she flew, Momiji's feet flying. Still somewhat affected by the last burst of Run Rabbit Run.  Her weight was light as a feather when she jumped into his hands, picking up momentum to fly.

Momiji would cut a clear path through this thing's mask if she could. When she activates Straight for the throat, the shadow of a large black dog with red eyes can seen as a spirit overlapping her. It boils out of her like darkness as she flies across to bear down on the mask with her sword. Her black hair streams with this shadow, and the shine of highly polished steel and red eyes glint through that.


The fallout from the blast

It overwhelms you

She didn't tell you

The ink of God on the page

And her rage coming out!


Her sword was raised in a way to punch through the mask, her teeth bared like a snarling dog. If Hijikata was a wolf of Mibu, Momiji was the Shinsengumi's Black Dog of Death. Her muscles tensed and she steeled herself for impact. Her heart beating in her chest like a taiko drum. Her lungs always burned when she moved that fast, and she felt the addiction of it. Momiji pushed her blade deep and preyed. She felt the strength of the inugami overlap her own. It was like hands putting a grip over her own. There were no words. It was a feeling.

Rip!
Tear!

There was the smell and taste of a foul blood on the wind, and in her ear she thought she could hear and feel the sound of a pack of hounds bearing down.

[Sengoku]

When the monster unleashed a discharge of energy upon them, Naoyoshi could do little else but brace for impact as he carried out his parrying of the corpse-eater's kanabō. Lightning whipped at him, causing his hair to stand on its ends for a moment. Flames licked at his clothes, singing the edges and charring parts of the red kimono into an ashy black. New cuts marked his cheeks and exposed arms. Yet carry through he did as the uchigatana's blade shook upon collision with the studded club.

During all of this, Naoyoshi could only vaguely make out the fact that Ryo and Momiji were moving around behind him, though he could not afford to risk looking back and taking eyes off the enemy. However, he was able to see Momiji go airborne, vaulting over him and dropped down onto the corpse-eater's mask with her own katana, taking advantage of the monster's staggered form. Fate was now in her hands. In his mind, Naoyoshi could hear Akamaru snickering.

So the she-wolf has some bite to her as well...

[Umbraflamma]

The monster was attacking wildly, it was in too far to retreat and had to try to attack, unable to be able to coherently think pain panic and desire all fused into one. it was focused on the criimson warrior before it, it didn't even see the black wolf coming.

A slash like a master stroke strikes the mask almost too fast to see, within a fraction of a second the mask splintered into shards as she cleaved through it. Ryo had over balanced from the amount of force he put into his throw and watched from the ground. His legs felt like they may have been damaged as a cracking noise had echoed in the air as he had thrown momiji into the air and now there was a red stain over his right knee.

The monster collapsed, the sludge turning into vapor as it withered, random assorted bits of different yokai falling free as what looked like a human brain and spinal cord remained, the yeres looking around for a few seconds before falling still.

"The fuck is that?" he asked as he tried to prop himself up, his right knee unable to bear any weight. "what's going on?"

There were a bunch of body parts in the mass, but what might catch one's eye was a flashing red led on a microchip.