Rage of the Abyss

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|| CHAPTER 12 | Rage of the Abyss ||

"One's anger and rage that had been bottled inside of them are not easy things to calm down. The flames that burst bright within them, what do you think would happen when the lid's taken off?

"Once they go out of control, it's the end for them.

"And that's why one controls their emotions and play with them, little one. Ichijou Shizuka–– would it be a sin to say that she's a manipulator of those easily broken feelings?

"Emotions–– themselves–– are fragile.

"It isn't that hard to break them with one word of the world's truth."

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"Why are you running away?!?!"

"Woman, YOU'RE the one who chases me first!!" Shizuka yelled back, a bit annoyed by the odd logic the woman's spouting. Nonsense was all they were.

"FIGHT ME!! ARE YOU PLAYING AROUND WITH ME, YOU DAMNED FOX?!?!"

"Well... You did say to entertain you, so I did exactly that, you idiot." Shizuka scoffed and grinned. "Also, wasn't it you who called me a fox? You got exactly what you wanted, what are you complaining about?"

The woman was about to retort with bulging eyes until a small butterfly made out of light landed softly on her form.

She was running at high speed. No mere insects could keep up with their speed as they ran around the place, wreaking havoc.

–– and yet, a BUTTERFLY managed to land on the tip of her nose?

"Magic," Shizuka simply said and gestured at the butterfly who calmly fluttered its wings on the woman's nose. It soon disappeared into gold dust and became one with the winds.

"Aren't they the most breath-taking phenomenon you have ever seen~? Hmm?"

Shaking furiously at Shizuka's words, the woman took it badly–– resulting in her rampaging with a flailed scythe. 

"Humans really do love complaining, don't they~?"

Shizuka whistled nonchalantly, facing the auburn-haired woman with her annoyingly mesmerizing curl up her lips. Her smile from before became sly and enigmatic, with her gold orbs narrowing.

Her scripted actions seemed to anger the woman more. She began to shriek hysterically, louder and more high-pitched than before. It was ear-splitting, to say the least.

A black, old-looking book came out of her cloak, in an opened position. There was some sort of black aura surrounding the book.

Its pages flipped furiously, stopping at a certain page until the maniacal woman screamed out the chants.

"RUSSUS NOCTIS MALEDICTUM: NIGRUM SANGUIS!!!"

Blood starting to pour out of the book, turning pitch black. The blood separated itself into many, forming into sharp, arrows with split ends.

Shizuka's eyes turned wide and her smile became bigger into a grin of excitement as they came to the girl at high speed.

"Now, this is more like it~!! I do wish that you were this pumped when you first attacked me, though," she admitted.

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The female Ichijou strode to the nearest rock, launching herself at it then changed direction immediately. Twisting her body skilfully upwards and to the back, Shizuka successfully dodged them.

Five were down...

The blonde then ran on the walls sideways, with both hands in her sweater's pocket. She stepped from side to side, avoiding each one whilst they self-destructed themselves by hitting the ground where her form was 'supposed' to stand.

She grinned victoriously, showing her pearly teeth and chuckled. With her hands wrapped warmly in the pockets of her cardigan.

'Gotcha,' she thought confidently.

Eight were down...

Jumping skilfully on top of one of the broken statues, she stood straight and unwavering, sure that those arrows wouldn't get to her. The arrows were still aiming at her from behind.

One cloaked man launched at her in an attempt to assist his struggling comrade, taking this as a chance. Though the crazily stubborn woman wouldn't admit that she's struggling to land a SINGLE hit.

Shizuka smiled mischievously at him with her eyes narrowing, giving him shivers as she disappeared from his sight. His eyes widened at the unexpected move.

He didn't know that they're able to disappear like that.

'Wha––?! How?! I didn't sign up for this!!' he thought late and looked around frantically for any traces of the girl. 'You said I wouldn't have to die if I come with you!!' he telepathically told the auburn-headed woman through what seemed to be a communication devise.

With eyes filled with fear, the man sent a pleading look to the crazy woman. Even with the genuine pry in his gaze, the auburn-haired female paid no mind and continued to grit her teeth, eyes only burning onto Shizuka's running figure.

Time seemingly stopped when the man then got attacked by the arrows that were supposedly aiming at the girl. He fell from the statue, onto one of his comrades.

'... That must've hurt. Sorry about that, but I really didn't want to get hit by those possibly poisonous arrows,' she apologetically thought and sent the fallen man a quiet prayer.

'May you rest in peace and be at the Rulers' mercy for you to be reborn onto the next life.'

Fifteen were down...

The platinum-blonde-haired girl leapt from shoulder to shoulder, knocking the enemies out in the process while dodging the arrows. Her footwork did its work and swept the men back as she moved forward, kicking them back.

Their death wasn't because of the girl, but due to the black arrows. They stabbed him through the arms and legs, instantly releasing their poor souls.

Twenty-seven were down...

To say that she wasn't guilty, Shizuka would be lying. However, it's only natural for her to try and survive–– at least, that's what she thought.

Shizuka then swiftly got down to the floor, swaying left and right while humming familiar notes while all the arrows were dodged, leaving none left in an instant.

She cast several simple spells secretly and a huge amount of pressure was suddenly placed upon them. The tensioning event caused their eyes to widen in utter shock.

Their bodies were crushed with the stone-cold ground, cracking it. Their pools of blood were drained to the earth through the crevices of the cracks, thin as they were.

Her 'Final Act,' as she would like to call it.

999.945 down, zero was left...

Knees shaking and eyes quivering–– fear was written all over their faces from the fact that she managed to dodge all of it. This left most gaping at her, making it an opportunity for the three clans to strike them at once.

"Wrong move, my man!! You gotta keep your eyes on your opponent!!"

Ichisaki Kishi roared his warning and brought a random spear he got out of nowhere, up at his enemies in front of him. He then chanted a spell loudly while swinging his spear down, grinning like a madman.

"Void Magic: Stygian Spectrum!!!"

A wave of black wind charged at the cloak men, slashing their abdomen once. But that one slash was enough to make them all bleed badly.

They all dropped dead to the ground, dried without blood that made them looked as though they'd been sucked by a vampire. Paled faces and stiff limbs, the lavender-headed Ichisaki made sure that they're no longer living.

Kishi held his head high not long after and sent a knowing stare at who seemed to be one of his siblings.

Showing a smug face at him, Kishi smirked triumphantly. The younger Ichisaki grinned wider when his older brother raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think about that, Ryuu-aniki? Pretty great for a low-level spell, eh~?" Kishi boasted jokingly, wiggling his eyebrows at the older male. Bracing both hands on his hips with his spear hugged behind one arm, Kishi waited for a reply.

Not giving any response to the shorter male, Kiryuu closed his indigo-stained eyes while crossing his arms. Shaking his sky-blue-coloured head lightly, the older one walked away to where his family is.

"Wh––?! H-Hey!! That's so cold of you, Ryuu-aniki!! At least say I'm cool or something!!!"

Kiryuu voiced no response and continued to stride over to where the rest of his clan stood. The older male's brother trailed behind him, struggling a bit to chase after Kiryuu's long steps.

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Meanwhile, with the Ichijou Clan, they smoothly stroke down their enemy without using any magic.

However, the twins seemed to be quite exhausted, seeing that they're panting and sweating heavily. Kazuto also managed to beat his pursuer, along with several other men while he's at it.

The Ichimori Clan had also successfully pinned down their enemies. With their spears trapping the cloaked men, the clan that protects the forests and lands of the earth gathered in one place.

"YOSSHAAAAAAAA!!! Bring it on, you cloaked weirdos!!!" a tall male with cacao-brown hair and emerald-green eyes exclaimed with fire in those pair of eyes. He was wearing a dark-green hoodie along with some white pants and black sneakers.

"Hahaha, you seemed charged-up today, Kyou-niichan~" Mizuki stated to her older brother happily, skipping to where her siblings were after defeating her enemy.

She giggled in amusement at his enthusiasm. Mizuki was still wearing her school uniform, not bothering to change. If her aunt was here, she would probably scold her ears off about wrecking a precious school uniform by battling.

"Of course, I am! The name 'Ichimori Kyou' will spread among my classmates once I told them what I did~!" the brunet dramatically plotted while raising his fist high, already planning ahead.

"But, Kyou-niisan, aren't you forgetting that this place was supposed to be a secret?" another Ichimori with bright fuchsia hair and deep ocean-blue eyes chimed in on their conversation.

He was a lot shorter than both of them. He wore a long-sleeved, peach shirt and almond-coloured overalls, knee-high socks, and grey skater shoes. Ichimori Kumo was his name, Mizuki and Kyou's younger brother.

"Oh, Kumo! Are you done with your fight?" Kyou queried giddily, hopping on his spot with the energy he hadn't unleashed yet. Even after those long-lasted fights, he still got pent up steam he wanted to make use of.

The younger male he spoke to deadpanned and shrugged nonchalantly, shaking his head. "Of course, I am. Why would I be here talking casually to you, then? You idiot of a brother."

"'I-Idiot?!' That's mean of you!!!"

"What? It's true," Kumo replied curtly to his brother. "Mizuki-neesan, can you help me with something?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure~!"

"Hey, don't ignore me!!!"

"Okay, so––"

Their conversation was, of course, stopped by a shrilling scream of a woman.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME!!! YOU'RE JUST A MERE FOX, HOW––"

"Ahahah!! Bold–– very bold–– of you to assume that I'm just a mere fox~!!" Shizuka dramatically cut the auburn-haired woman's words, still keeping her mischievous smile.

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"I'm the Fox of Ichijou~"

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"ARGHHHH!! GRUAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The woman started ripping her hair out, causing Shizuka's eyes to widen a bit before narrowing quickly again. "Woah, calm down and chill out, Woman!!! What did your hair ever do to you??"

"DIE, YOU DAMNED SPIRIT WIELDER!!! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!"

"Oi, oi, you're the one who attacked me first..." Shizuka sighed inaudibly and braced her hands on her hips. "Why are YOU the one shooing ME?"

Ignoring Shizuka's little apparent tease, the auburn-headed woman's floating book once again flipped its pages wildly, stopping at a page where a certain spell was jotted down naturally.

"RUSSUS NOCTIS MALEDICTUM: TENOBROSAM ABYSSUM IRAM!!!"

The spell was shrieked out and crimson particles full of living mana floated around, filling the place with their presence. They didn't do anything much and were just... there.

–– or at least, that's what they thought.

A giant, translucent body of a blonde female appeared behind the auburn-haired woman. The giant's head almost reaching the ceiling. The sclera of her eyes was all stained in white, leaving no visible irises or pupils.

The spirit wore plain, white fabric tied into a dress over her dark ebony skin. A pair of huge, spiralling horns sat still on top of her crown, with gold rings attached to each one.

Gaping at the scene before them, both sides froze when the caster cackled crazily into the air. Shizuka stood in front of her, unbothered and composed.

"Now, TRY AND STOP ME THIS TIME...!!"

All members of the three present clans were suddenly brought together by a strong force, thrown behind a certain female Ichijou.

"Wh-?!"

"Huh?!"

"Ack!!"

"Gah––!!"

Most were surprised that they're thrown together so suddenly, with the grown-ups staring wide-eyed at the girl.

"Shizuka! What are you doing?!" Eito inquired loudly with the female's complete given name slipping out of his lips.

The concern in his voice was clear to the girl. However, Shizuka voiced nothing in return and kept her gold eyes on the crazy woman who seemed to only see the platinum-blonde as an opponent.

Her family's protests were drowned away by her. Shizuka's focus was still on the giant, her smile not faltering one bit. She didn't respond to their callings as the woman in front of her yelled loudly,

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! WELL, EXLERA, UNLEASH YOUR RAGE AND ANGER!!! LET MADNESS AND DESPAIR DOMINATE THEM!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Her shrilling scream was dominated by the giant's own scream, while she held her arm high. A silver hammer formed on top of Exlera's open palm. Grabbing it, the atmosphere became thicker, making it harder for them to breathe and also causing some to cough.

The spirit swung the hammer down with great power, making the area around crumble into bits and pieces. A dome made out of light formed around the three clans, protecting them from the attack.

A really familiar voice rang in their head, overcoming the loud sounds of the cave collapsing. It was soft, yet firm. It was commanding, and yet, it calmed their panicked state.

Ichijou Shizuka smiled at her opponent with narrowed vision, licking her bottom lip whilst rearranging the words she wanted to say.

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"If you thought you had already won, you thought wrong.

"Dear human, think again."

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|| CHAPTER 12 | Rage of the Abyss - To be continued... ||

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