Otherworld 2 - 20 - Fight to the Death



Chapter 20 - Fight to the Death

What Raizen didn't realize was that the number of Demons in the Cat clan was nearly four times the Demons attacking him. The bulk of the Cat Demon clan were mounting an attack on Xuho, the Wind Demon who was protecting the Western Lands of Sesshomaru. Mukuro had promised them the Western Lands if they could take it. The Cat Demons and the Dog Demons had long been enemies and Sesshomaru's father had killed their clan leader in the last battle between the two clans. The time was ripe for the conquest of the Western Lands. And Xuho did not have the power to repel so many Demons. Both she and her son, Jin, were hovering high above the Western Lands. Everywhere they looked, there seemed to be Cat Demons. While they were in the air, they were safe from their attacks, but they were also not stopping the land from being overrun. They had both sent tornados racing through their ranks, tossing Demons right and left as the twisters cut a swath through them, but there were just so many of them! And there were so few Wind Demons. Xuho only had about a dozen Demons with her. And there were very few left in her own lands. Hers was one of the smaller clans, only the Battle Demons was smaller -- there were only two Battle Demons living. When she had been sent to protect the Western Lands, she expected one-on-one confrontations, as they usually were, and certainly did not expect nor was she prepared for a full out war. Jin flew down, going over the heads of the Cats at nearly super-sonic speed. His backwash alone knocked dozens off their feet, killing many by the sheer force of his winds. But it was only a small break in the flood. There was no way that she would be able to hold the Western Lands.

	Meanwhile Raizen and Yusuke were tearing apart the Bear Clan. Even though the Bears were enormous, standing over 30 feet tall, they were no match for the red-hot fury of the Battle Demons. Father and son were literally dismembering the clan, piece by piece. This was the first time that Yusuke had been able to go all out, using his violent nature to its fullest. His hair had turned from brown to pure white, like his father's, and a terrible gleam of joy was in his eyes as he killed Demon after Demon. Keiko would be terrified of her mate if she ever saw him in his pure Battle Demon form!

On the other side of Raizen's keep, Toya and Toyna fought together against the Moth Clan. Their acid silk had proved too much for the Fox clan's plants. The plants were now smoking ruins. It was a hard battle and all had numerous acid burns on their body. The Moths flew high in the air on wings with a span of nearly fifty feet across and rained acid silk down on them. The entire area around them was frozen solid, as both of the Ice Demons sought to bring down the Moths. The Foxes had switched to their furry fox form to withstand the terrible cold. Several Moths had already fallen, their wings covered with ice and no longer able to keep themselves aloft. Once on the ground, the Foxes dispatched them easily. The remaining Moths were high in the air, keeping out of range of both the ice and the plants, and spread their acid silk over the icy land. In the Western Lands, the Cats had attached ropes to arrows and had brought down Xuho. Jin had rushed to her side, but he was only one Demon against hundreds. But he vowed not leave his mother's side. He would die protecting his mother.

In Otherworld, on the hills above the Castle, Kurama's sentry plants called out the alarm and from their towers, Suzuki and Kaiba could see the hoard approaching. It was so large that it darkened the sky. Hiei stood at the Castle gate along with the guards. His sword was drawn and ready. His most powerful weapon, the Dragon of Darkness Flame, would be used only as a last resort since it weakened him so much. Kenru suddenly joined him, her sword drawn also. Kiri was not allowed to join them since his presence had to be kept a secret, especially from the Demons. So he went to the North Tower and tried to help Suzuki strengthen the barriers. Unicorn magic would not help with battles; it was a gentle, loving power and completely useless in battle. He could transform and use his horn, but then his secret would be out, and the number of Demons would still overpower him. As the Demon hoard reached the hills, all the sentry plants cried out their alarm, their shrill sound echoing through the valley. Huge carnivorous plants snatched Demons out of the sky, swallowing them whole or piercing them with hollow thorns that sucked them dry. But the plants barely made a dent in the number of Demons. There were well over a thousand Demons.
	When they reached the gates, Hulfa transformed in to his bear shape and waded into them, huge claws tearing the Demons apart. Hiei and Kenru went to the work with their swords. Dozens of Demons tried to break Bakura's barrier that surrounded the Castle and died in streams of blue crackling energy. Bodies began to pile up around the Castle walls and Kurama created plants to devour the bodies, keeping the courtyard between the gate wall and the Castle clear.
Kaleffe created a wall of fire along the gate wall and engulfed hundreds of Demons in the searing flames. In a short time, over half of the Demons were dead. This was going to be easier that they expected. Suddenly Hulfa screamed in pain and terrible gashes appeared on his huge body, spraying blood everywhere. Unable to hold his form, he shrank down to human size, surrounded by Demons and very vulnerable. Both Hiei and Kaleffe ran to help him, both receiving deep wounds from unseen claws. They managed to get Hulfa into the Castle but they could not see what had caused the wounds. Hulfa was badly hurt and needed attention now. They threw him bodily in the door, letting him slide across the stone floor, and slammed the door closed. Everyone was now surrounding the main door. Hiei was bleeding from three or four deep slashes and Kaleffe was almost as bad. Half of the guards were dead. The smoke from the fire obscured their view and they heard the gate screech as it was torn off its hinges. Two hazy figures stepped out from the smoke and then the haze cleared. Before them stood Ralf and Tyrrl, the Blood Demons. Hiei sighed, he was too hurt and too tired to safely summon his Dragon of the Darkness Flame, and even if he could have, he could probably only take out one of the Blood Demons. None of them had the power to stop two Blood Demons.

In the distance the wolves were howling, warning of the approaching Demons. Soon the hills were alive with their howls. Kouga, Kome, Miroku and Sango were on the nearest hill, watching them coming closer and closer. The sentry wolves left their watch posts and ran to the Village to stand in front of it with Ginta, Hakkaku and the rest of the wolf Demons. This was their home also and they were prepared to defend it to the death. Ayala joined them. Miroku searched the Demons, trying to see if the poisonous insects had joined up with them. He couldn't see any, but that might mean that they were hiding in the back. He didn't have a choice -- there were just too many Demons. He took the prayer beads off his right hand, the beads that kept his void sealed and held out his hand.

	Instantly the Demons were sucked into the black hole in his hand. Hundreds went into oblivion with ease -- and then he saw them. Hundreds of insects hiding behind the Demons! Before he could shut the void, they poured into his hand, stinging him as they entered. Miroku fell to his knees, the poison already fast at work.

Their most powerful fighter was now incapacitated. Kouga threw him over Kirara's back and Sango flew him to safety through the Demons, her huge boomerang cutting a path through them. She took him to Kaede and Mirago and then returned to the battle, with Kagome joining her. Kouga and his son were going through the Demons like whirlwinds, tearing them apart. They were going too fast for the poisonous insects to sting them. The insects grouped together, giving up on the wolves, and went straight for the dojo. A wall of blue swirling mist engulfed over half of them, killing them instantly. The rest fled back to join the Demons. Shippo's foxfire had indeed improved! Ginta, Ayala, and the other Wolf Demons and true wolves were fighting against the main body of Demons. It was hard to tell which side was winning since both sides were bleeding badly. Kenshin and Sanosuke were outside the dojo walls fighting a splinter group of about two hundred Demons. Shippo again used his foxfire, but this time to surround the building where Kaede and the others were located. Kirara soon joined them. There were just too many Demons in the sky for her to be able to remain aloft. Slowly they were being pushed back. Ginta and the wolves retreated, joining them in front of the dojo. Kouga and Kome suddenly noticed the peril that their wolves and their friends were in and rushed to help, but they were stopped by razor-sharp blades of wind. Standing about fifty feet from them was Kagura. Kouga growled when he saw the Demon who had almost killed him. The poison insects reappeared, and hovered around her. Before Kouga could stop him, Kome raced to the wind Demon and collided painfully with a solid wall of wind, knocking the breath from him. Instantly the insects started for him, but Kouga plucked his son up mere seconds before they reached him. Kagura sent dozens of wind shears after him, then added small tornadoes to the mix. Kouga did not return to the Village -- he went to the south instead, leading her away from the Village. He heard Kome's voice in his ear telling him to put him down, that he was okay. Kouga set the wolf on his feet and together they raced, barely keeping ahead of Kagura and her wind.