Chapter 75 - Fated Day

A week had passed since Aegis' spirit broke.

The week was filled with preparatory actions. On the side of good, Misao and Takumi grew more in sync in terms of their battle capabilities, they were now able fight side by side as if they shared the same mind. It took a bit more effort than expected, but they eventually got there.

On the side of evil, however, there were a lot less hectic preparations taking place. With Urusla already succeeding in breaking Aegis' spirit, she sat back and waited while her underlings prepared. Such preparations like finding a map back to the ruined settlement, and keeping her troops in check in case the Safe Village got too big for their birches.

Urusla basically thought they were all sitting ducks anyway.

***

"So why did you take them again?"

Takumi and Gyotan along with Misao and the rest of the team were gathered in the main hall. The blacksmith was returning the dragon armor gemstones to them both, looking a bit different.

The drakonite gems inside the casings looked more vibrant than before. Aside from the bright colours of orange and purple, some swirls of energy respective to their elements could be seen moving around inside.

"Haaaaa… I realized that there was a mistake with these tools which I couldn't see before." Gyotan explained, slightly annoyed by Takumi's stupidity.

"Since you're the first to have this 'break through' I couldn't see that these gems actually drain a lot of Dragon Force. Since people in the first growth get their energy from the world, the gems didn't have a lot of energy to rely on."

Misao testified to this fact. She had experienced a massive drain whenever she trained her flight skills with the armor.

"Exactly. From what you've told me, you guys formed a core when you reached Phased Dragon growth. The gem would start to eat away at the energy inside, decreasing it's efficiency. This upgrade should fix that, try it out."

After giving Takumi some extra time to make sense of the new information, both heroes nodded at each other. Placing the accessories in their respective areas, they did as usual to activate it.

After a bright flash of light, the armor proved Gyotan's words to be true. The suits didn't constantly gobble up Dragon Force like before, but now Takumi and Misao had complete control over how much energy the armor would use.

But that wasn't the only upgrade, the suits were now lighter. Instead of the heavy armor plating used in the Tenshu Kingdom, light sheets of metal coated the suit, allowing swifter movements while retaining the defensive aspect.

"Excellent job as usual, Gyotan" Misao praised while swinging her arm around, truly pleased with having more mobility.

While Misao was fawning over her new armaments, Meril sat cross-legged in the centre of the room. Looking away from her rounded belly, the rays of green light that seeped from her body and the ground showed that she was using her earth sensing ability.

"Urusla is heading out now!" She shouted, gaining everyone's attention.

Lancelot got up from his seat and quickly ran to the group, "Alright this is it, the fated day. I don't think I need to explain what is expected of you all, Reiki will accompany you to add some extra eyes."

Calmly raising his palm as if everything was under control, Takumi reassured Lancelot that there was nothing to worry about.

Giving a determined nod in agreement, Misao along with Takumi made their way out into the courtyard, where an energized Reiki was waiting equipped in her fairy-friendly battle armaments.

Three bright streaks of light were left in their trail as they flew off at astonishing speeds.

***

In only a matter of minutes, they reached the Demon Castle. The trio perched on a sturdy tree before retracting their wings, they had arrived just in time to see Urusla leaving on top of her demon-griffin.

"Okay game plan," Reiki began after Urusla's mount got out of their sights, "I'll be scouting ahead with my clairvoyance, you two be ready to bolt in front just in case she attacks. Got it?"

Misao and Takumi took a glance at each other before nodding at the fairy. With that said, Reiki jumped from her position after activating her ability before flying off at her highest speed. The two heroes then followed suit, their dazzling speed breaking the branch they were perched on.

Reiki's clairvoyance allowed her to see the demonic energy signature the griffin left in the air as it flew, making it easy for the trio to follow behind Urusla without being seen.

Unbeknownst to them, Urusla could feel the Dragon Force radiating from her pursuers.

"Ufufufu. I've never had a chase before, let's test." She giggled before clicking her heels on the side of the griffin.

*Pew!~*

An explosion of Jade Energy came from the griffin's hind legs as it increased it's speed, much to the surprise of Reiki.

"What the heck?!" the fairy exclaimed, "Guys! We need to speed up so we can catch her!"

"Nice! I was starting to get bored with this slow flying! Let's rock!" Misao's energy levels went up as she flew off in hot pursuit.

More energy explosions occurred as the trio upped the ante in terms of flight speed. They zipped over the trees of the Hallow Forest as their bodies glowed with energy.

Urusla came into their sights just a few seconds later, the large wing span of the griffin slicing through the wind as they flapped.

"You're going down, bitch!" Misao flew off course a bit before settling herself in a good area.

「Kakyū Danmaku!」(Fireball Barrage)

Activating [Fire Dragon | Eighth Scale: Holocaust Discharge] which strengthened all projectile attacks, Misao summoned countless football-sized fireballs before sending them all at Urusla with a flick of her hand.

With her senses detecting danger, Urusla got into battle mode. She piloted the griffin into a nosedive, causing all the fireballs to simply arc above her, creating charred craters on the ground where they landed.

"You've activated my secret move!" Takumi wasn't left out as he pointed his palm to the ground.

[Earth Dragon | Seventh Scale: Planetary Command] was activated as Takumi took control of the ground. Sharply pulling his arm upwards, large hands made of earth erupted from the earth, threatening to crush Urusla.

"Amazing…" Reiki muttered in awe, staying out of the fight.

It hardly looked like a fight however, Urusla being alive for ten thousand years gave her some sort of sixth sense. She and the griffin's mind were one as the beast took many actions at her whim.

Pulling in it's wings, rotating in midair, even running on top of the opened earth-hands. She dodged through every single attack without even a scratch.

The chase went on. Elemental attacks rained down from the sky but only hit either the ground or empty air, Urusla was unbelievably powerful.

"How the hell is she so strong?!" Misao lost control of her rage as she almost hit Takumi with a flaming slice.

Pretty soon, Urusla's destination came into sights. The entrance to the ruined settlement blocked by an old stone gate welcomed the soon to be Demon Empress.

"Go get what your empress wants." She whispered into the griffin's ear, right before doing a backflip off the bird.

Misao saw this as an opportunity to strike and flew towards the airborne Urusla, punching her in the stomach and sending her crashing to the ground.

*Blam!~*

Her and the other two landed soon after, just to see Urusla getting up out of the crater she created as her pulverized stomach healed.

"Takumi… let me have this one okay? I have a bone to pick with this bitch!"

Takumi just nodded uncaringly before leaning on a tree, he closed his eyes as if trying to fall asleep.

Reiki, who was sceptical about this course of action, nudged the narcissist. "Shouldn't you go help her?"

Takumi just sighed.

"Look at her. Does she look like she needs help?"