Growing Wings

Mazoku stared at the magnificently perfect katana dash towards him and, as it was about to pierce through his chest, Akio kicked him into the wall, dodging the katana and leaving it down wedged in the ground after losing momentum.

"Are you alright?" Akio asked leaping to Mazoku.

"I- I'm fine," he lied, "Keep fighting and I'll join you all..."

"Verily then," He responded as he jumped over to attack Alutzumal.

He began jabbing at his leg but he was thrown away to the ground. He was then slashed him pushing him away even more while Alutzumal began to break through past the opponents.

Alutzumal began to rise higher in the sky and with his wings, he made waves pushing them away and reversing their attacks back towards them. Elliot's flames balls begun to hit back towards them and started to bounce on the ground, breaking it down. They tried dodging it but Akari was hit in the shoulder by one. The impact of Alutzumal's takeoff caused the point of collision to splinter the floor throwing the rocks away and bombarding towards them like arrows.

An arrow was thrown by Daichi towards the grouped Akari, Aldrif and Elliot and shielded them with a looming aegis of bark. It began to take hits but stood firm from the rocks until a stinger hit down on the bark, shattering it quickly and madly.

"Akari..." He hissed, his eyes flickering red with fury. Steam came out of his mouth as he seethed on slamming what was left of the shield down and destroying any evidence of it.

"You did that to my people. I did that to your pitiful shield and I'll do that to all of your damned servants..."

"I'd rather not be called his servant. It's seriously condescending," Elliot squeaked and he then stared down believing those could be his last words.

As Alutzumal readied his claws and hovered them above them menacingly and as he was about to drop them, he stopped mid-air. Akio stood before them looking at him, squinting his eyes.

"It has been a while since I have seen you..." Alutzumal remarked watching him with a small sense of shock, "The demon man..."

"Call me Akio," He responded towards him, "Alutzumal the manticore king. I see that you still have a vendetta against Haruto."

"Why would I not?"

"I see. Well, speaking of Haruto, you remember that I've saved you from him. You owe me your life and so I suggest you leave. Your murder only exists because of me so under my rule I forbid you from any of this. I exile you. If you are a man of honour."

"It would be honourable as a merciful king for me to take that wouldn't it?" Alutzumal posed a question to him placing his claw in the air twisting it.

"I believe it is-"

Akio was cut off by Alutzumal slamming down onto him with his dangerous claws.

"I AM NOT A MERCIFUL KING! You threatened my subjects! You will fall!" Cried the manticore and he slashed his body, cutting away lots of flesh.

Akio held in his scream as he took on the hit and he then directed to the sky above him. Alutzumal looked at him confused and then looked up to see Daichi slam down a growing root on him to trap him.

Akari slashed as concentrated hit onto him a miniature, swivelling, lighting ball on to his eyes.

"We blind him and then we kill it," He commanded to them.

"Oh great! Another plan by the perfect samurai," Elliot said until he shut up from a katana to his face.

They began arguing with each other as Alutzumal to talk himself, "Akari... You will not me... AKARI! YOU WILL NOT CAGE ME! YOU WILL NOT KILL ME! YOU WILL" He roared breaking the roots away and throwing them off.

He then ascended higher, shoving them all away as he took his aims over to the tree platform. Daichi stared at her doom open its enormous jaws towards her.

Daichi dropped down before he could crush the platform as she held her bow tightly and she shot a bed of branches and leaves to stop the fall.

"Where's Mazoku!?" Akio cried looking around for the demoniac as he ran to help Daichi.

However, Alutzumal had followed them down flying over towards them as they watched the beast come over to the both of them and all they can do were being injured sitting ducks watching a destructive beast come down to them and crush them.

However, that wasn't going to happen because of a certain demoniac. While he was healing, Mazoku has been climbing up the cave and as Alutzumal dashed down to devour them. He dropped himself over the head of the beast and grabbed him by the eyes to avert his direction and caused him to crash into a wall.

"Now then I don't believe that should be something you do," joked Mazoku, "Someone could get hurt by that-"

Mazoku felt the same disturbance again. His mind disconnected into a dark void. He stared at swindling red winds travel in the dawn of the sky. He wandered across until he saw a looming beast above him as it approached him quicker with monstrous speeds and a flaming red figure. He stood still and stayed like that until the beast grew in size and it emerged above him menacingly. He stayed until he broke down in fear and ran off from the beast. The setting began dispersing as the atoms around him were being erased until he was.

Mazoku gained his mind again and dashed off as Aluztumal began to shake himself to get him off. He jumped over to a ledge of roots and grabbed it to hide away from the monster.

Akio's attention was caught on the physical effects of Mazoku's experience. Sparks were being generated at that point and he knew something was occurring.

Akio turned to Akari, "I need to go up there. Can you be able to transport me up there with your weapon?"

Akari thought to himself as he looked at the golden katana behind him, "He's going to come here, I see," He said to himself and then turned to Akio to answer him, "I can try using the elemental energy within that weapon and mine to kick you up there."

"Very well then," replied Akio as he got over towards him and the katana wedged in, "I see that Haruto is making his way here..."

Akari nodded to him as he readied his katana. He then thought to himself as he strengthened his stance and pushed Akio to a place where he could launch him on.

"Get ready," He called for him as he powered his katana with electrical energy, "It will be quick for it to launch but painless? Absolutely not. This will most certainly hurt a lot."

He then with a swift strike he banged the golden katana and shot a voltaic beam onto Akio hitting him upwards. Akio was thrown up and he then held his hand on the ledge of the cave and searched over to a sweating Mazoku.

"Boy... What is wrong with you?" Akio asked walking over to him while Alutzumal got out of the wall since he got wedged in there.

"I- I can't fight him. I can... cannot come in touch with the manticore..." He stuttered shaking.

Akio sighed to himself as he put them on the same eye-level. "Look at me." He ordered, "You don't need to feel bad that you're scared... You are facing a beast in a new world with a villainous spawn bonded to you."

"You aren't truly helping... It's the demon I have. It's different."

"That's why you need it! It can be our only hope of taking this beast down! Do you know why I have kept going on your back? Because I want you to be better than me. To be a good person... Something I yet cannot say..." He spoke to him boldly, "Please lives are at stake... Remember what he said to you, the Emissary. Save them."

Akio dashed off to attack the escaping manticore to slam him in with multiple jabs and attack him. He jumped back away as Alutzumal raged on battling against them.

Mazoku looked at his palm fearful. What if he loses himself? What if he becomes a full demon again? In the storm of anxiety that was racing in his mind, one truth, however, stayed alive and glowed: he needs revenge.

That truth blazed in his mind as he stood up with power and dived down to strike the manticore.

He remembered the speech given to him by the Emissary as he jumped down, plummeting towards him.

"Faith is important to us birds. It's how we grow. It takes faith for us to take our step growing and jump into flight. We must have faith to perform that action and fly. To adapt and become higher. It's the first step of getting their life to the fullest. So will you fly for yourself?"

He will fly for himself. His faith in his powers is how he grows. He grabbed Alutzumal by the wings and the disturbance continued again.

However, he stood his ground towards the beast approaching him as he transformed into a towering demon above the phantom beast.

"You believe you're a monster! I am a true monster! My vengeance! Nothing will stop it! I will be the one to burn Kamisugawa to the ground! I will burn it all!"

Mazoku kept his grip on the wings as sparks were being generated on his body. He shrieked with anger as he sunk his claws deep into it, "Nothing will stop me! For my revenge, nothing will! Not even you!"

Then a flash of red appeared expanding as they shut their eyes. Everyone shut their eyes except Akio who was far too curious for that too stop him and Akari who had experience with destructive light.

In the aftermath, Alutzumal dropped down from a kick by Mazoku but something was different from him. He has been unburdened from the gift of flight. Meanwhile, Mazoku stood high going up as he appeared with the wings of the manticore.

"I will fly for myself and for my vengeance! It's over, Alutzumal!"