Chapter 0234 - The Rotting
A Year had already passed on Shiyan, the Emperor's absence was known to all within a matter of days. Empress Vira's disappearance had led to questioning that revealed the truth. Through all the demon regions best diviners, they had discovered it earlier than anyone else. Demon King Ooran knew perfectly well, he was present at his departure.
Internal feuding was fueling the fires of a Civil War.
The Ying Demon Family had stood beside the Demon King, it was a matter of course though there was some reasoning behind the oppositions choices. The Demon King could rule the Demon Region, but with the absence of the Emperor, the Demon's could easily cast themselves out among the world of Shiyan.
Ying Ho raged in Black fire and Lightning, he was battling the entire family of the Xayua, at the time, he wondered whether it was compassion that led to their attacks but it mattered not. They had attacked the Demon King, Ying Ho's Father. Guided by Qingchi's Truthers and psychic's in the rear, he was doing his best to sever the core from Xayua, the Darkflame blade grew in size and slashed out. The blade drew fire in the sky and trailed toward Xayua.
Rot, a powerful tool, it kept weapons, people, armor and even the earth around it at bay, however, fire was ever burning a thing that could not rot. The black slash tore through Xayua's body, his core dangled as his regenerative power was trying to overcome the wound that stretched his body.
Spores scattered but were instantly fired.
The lit portions of his body kept burning, the fire wouldn't extinguish. It ravaged Xayua, his body kept regenerating but the fire kept burning. They were in the middle of the battlefield, Xayua's screams of horror could be called ear shattering.
The attentions of every Demon were drawn to the scene.
"KNEEL!" Ying Ho yelled and Lightning struck his sword.
He wasn't speaking to the Leader of their bloodline but his descendants.
The Blackfire drew backward, allowing more of the flesh to reconstitute. He healed slightly and cursed, the fire had spread again.
It was only then that the Descendants of Xayua knelt down. Though most of them shared his bloodline, not all that fell under the domain of Xayua were his children. The same could be said for each of the eight Demon Territories.
"KNEEL!" Ying Ho turned his blade at those who chose to stand. It curved upward in a cleave that spread for dozens of meters in front of him. It swung at the faces of those who chose to defy is order.
Several stood, willingly taking the blunt of the fire. They too turned to a rolling mess of flames, screams that could barely be defined filled the area as he rolled into others, spreading the fire into the masses.
The chaos was massive and somewhat intended. Ying Ho had control over the flames, he could have extinguished them at any time. Ying Qingchi had been listening deeply to the thoughts on the battlefield and he was right for doing so. Their mouths said one things while their hearts and minds said another. Thousands of the Demon's spawn were roasted and wrung dry, then roasted again. Some of the lesser, weaker spawn of Rot Territory burned like cinders in a fire. They were unable to even withstand the first of sparks.
Mushrooms and bacteria, the compounds that break things down into the earth for reconstitution had always been able to absorb the traces of what they grew upon. Their feeding fuels reactions and even many of those terrible mushrooms came to absorb souls. The Kingdom of Rot even had a place In Hell where Hanahaksu dared not venture without the support of others. This is what led Xayua to rebel, he had some clout in his ability to bring about change, though it would have only benefited his kind at the end.
Now, under the intense incinerating effect of the Blackfire, Xayua didn't even have the strength to cry for mercy. He crackled and broke apart, his core rolled across the ground, polished by the fire.
"Hmm.." Ying Ho had one of the Demon Priestesses of the Ying Family seal the core, they were ordered not to touch it or the container until it was fully sealed away.
As they chanted and the core gently rested in a crystal container, a small gust of wind closed its lid. Ying Ho sighed I relief but the battle wasn't finished. Several of those who had been strong enough to withstand the fire still burned before him.
"KNEEL!" Ying Ho yelled out again.
Those who had seen the suffering of their brethren were still on their knees, Ying Ho was speaking to those who were still burning. It was possible for them to make the gesture, it was agonizing but entirely possible.
Soon, more than a few dozen had managed to get to their kneels while aflame, their skin flaked, muscles ripped and bodies dried. Some areas were left to burn while the rest regenerated long enough to burn some more but they stayed on their knees.
"This Kingdom belongs to the strong. Reveal yourselves to me again in this manner and death would be too good for you." Ho extinguished most of the flames, the commanders who had chosen to instigate the betrayal were still kneeling. "Let this be a message to all that oppose me, not even your ashes will remain." The fire completely covered their bodies, consuming them in blackfire. They cracked and tumbled into dry piles, but the fire didn't stop. Their cores which had survived were quickly covered and liquefied under the heat, when it got to certain point they simply evaporated in the wind.
Prince Tero stood behind him with a set of black axes that sprout his hands, they burned in a blackfire but there was a hint of red that luminescence like a special effect. His eyes burned red with hate, their had been a battlefield in his own backyard and the Demon Region had been in upheaval. The Entire Empire was at risk, he felt grief, a sensation he had been lucky enough to avoid in his upbringing. "We should slaughter them all."
"No. If we slaughter them all, no one learns a lesson. Its better to leave some alive, spreading the tale." Ying Ho sheathed the Darkflame Blade and turned to the Prince. "I am merely an advisor but my years outweigh your own by a great many folds. Heed my words, this is the best course."
Ho tried to defend himself and lower the Prince's anger. Still dripping with energy, he had no where to vent, the battle had ended before he could expend it all.
Prince Tero nodded, "I know. That is why you are Regent. I do not wish to sully my Father's Legacy while he faces danger, please continue to advise me as such."
There were more than a thousand dead behind him, the Truthers had been on cleanup duty for the most part which allowed Ying Ho and Prince Tero to go on a rampage. The forces involved with Xayua's rebellion were not entirely comprised of the Rot territory residents, there were many that came from the other houses.
It was Mutiny, staying his hand was already a merciful action, Ying Ho spread his wings.
"LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!" He waited for a moment and repeated himself. "LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!" Chanting a few times, those who had been burned began to repeat his words, destroying what little selfish pride they had remaining.
Muddled words soon became an echo, those that lived began to chant with Ying Ho. Prince Tero followed his actions, he spread his wings, they flared with a bright red light that was not less than the power spread by his Uncle.
"LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!"
"LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!"
֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍
Vector and Vira were busy working outside, when they had found a town, they spent the time learning the customs and hid their actions from then on after. The act of consuming another was viewed as Cannibalism by the locals of the lower tiers in the Ultinian Heavens.
Inside the portable house, they had dug a tunnel into a larger facility underground. Kuzunoha was busy, it was her turn to absorb their hunt. Their hunger, after the first few days had driven them to try cultivation instead. Vector had chosen to absorb the rock for energy after it was recognized as the remains. At first he had even tried eating it but the texture was not suitable for any sort of tooth. Smashing it apart might destroy it entirely, he chose the other method rather than choosing to destroy his only food.
It wasn't for a lack of trying his normal foods, they simply didn't give him any energy. Even those prepared and created on Shiyan did nothing to satiate any of their hunger. Forced to bitter circumstances, he tried it.
Consuming the remains of the Goddrib didn't give him much strength but it was clearly more than he had before. There was a wild pulsation in his body, like he was going through changes. His wings took a darker tone under the light. He took a look at them but Kuzunoha had a much better look at the time. Mike's wings had become darker in color but they also hid his presence when directly behind him. Kuzunoha had lost sight of his image until she she walked to the side.
It was a defensive technique that the Goddrib had presented but it hadn't done any good for the beast. Mike's approach from above was beyond the scope of the innate ability but still, the changes to Vector's wings had an interesting effect.
The Girls were next to absorb animal spirit remains, Vira's horns grew more powerful and Kuzunoha had learned gotten the ability see into the depths of plants, determining their energy values. After the first meal, all of them had gained an understanding about the world of the Gods.
There was little sense of mercy within it.
When she had completely absorbed her meal, she went to her section of the underground and began to exercise, Kuzunoha was somewhat full after consuming stone remains. As she practiced her traditional Onmyoji routines, she noticed a characteristic that was dramatically different.
Dancing as she normally was, afterimages, more than a dozen of them followed her. There was nothing to exercise but her energy flared and a blinding light filled the passage. Vector and Vira shielded their eyes but Kuzunoha's figures had not disappeared. They continued to dance in place, following her moves moments after in a chain.
Circling around, she continued her dance, unwilling to stop what was happening, it was miraculous and unique. She had never done something like it in all of her training sessions before, the thousands upon thousands of hours of training had never resulted in anything that resembled what was unfolding. The Dance always ended with her in the center, she twisted and moved to the left, dipping over and flicking her hand.
The gesture was followed by a push of light. It slammed Vector and Vira against the walls and exploded the house above them, exposing the underground in a crater.
"Holy Shit!" Vector opened his eyes when the sunlight came through the dust. "Vira, are you alright?"
He looked over to see Vira in the same state as he was, pinned into the crumbling rock.
"I'm fine. Sister, What was that!" She jumped up, excited. Vira wanted to know what Kuzunoha had done, her body shined with a radiance that outstripped both of their powers before. Her aura was much brighter.
"I don't know, but that's the 100th spirit I've consumed this month. Its like I experienced a boost in power but I didn't see a Golden Light." Kuzunoha gave her understanding of things and Vira had a strange look on her face.
"I'm only a few from 100, let me give it a try." Vira's idea wasn't a bad one, Vector nodded even though it was his turn in rotation. "Okay, I'll get started then." She pulled ten small spirit stones from her storage, her haul from the night before and say down cross legged to absorb them fully.