InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Time Soul Exodus ❯ Chapter 20: =Guardians, Priests and Demons - Part 1= ( Chapter 20 )

Written by: Zelix

 

A/N: Here is the beta-read version, big thanks for my beta-reader, Osuwari00 for doing such an excellent job, even though school is pressing. Big thanks!

 

 

A/N: Okay ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls; it is now time for yet another amazing chapter of Time Soul Exodus! Last time we had a tad bit of a nasty cliffie at the end did we not? Our hero and his rather… unusual helpers are exhausted from the intense battle with the insect hordes only to come face to face with the guardians… now, what are these mysterious guardian insects capable of and why is even Kedaru scared of them, not to mention, why are they not emitting any kind of You-ki either? Let those questions be answered in this chapter, the chapter where Arcerdo's battle both against the insects and his own inner demon take yet another step forward… but is it for better or for the worse? Let's find out.

 

 

But before that, big apologies for not updating for so long, I've been having hard time focusing on this fic for a while now and… I might put it on hold soon, since it has been too long since I've update my other stories and I have a new, original story coming out soon too, it's titled “The Last Bloodline” and like I said, it will be an original story, when it comes out you can view it from my profile or go the original section and seek it out, either way, I hope that at least some people fill find interest in it when it comes out. I am also starting to write another Original fic besides the Last Bloodline, it will be called “Chronicles of the Tiger Country”.

 

 

Lastly: Big thanks for everyone who reviewed and told me to continue… you know who you are, and I thank you so very deeply for reviewing and showing me that there are people who want to read more… though, I do have something to say too, I don't know if I've said this before already but this fic is EPIC, and the ideas I have for it will guarantee for it to be at least 70-100 chapters long, so if you're thinking about reviewing after it is complete, I recommend you to revise that decision, LOL

 

 

 

WARNINGS: Death, blood and action, need I say more? Oh yeah, NOT FOR THOSE UNDER 18… though, that hasn't stopped anyone in the past so why should it work now? LOL… Just remember that you are reading at your own risk!

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that's related to Inuyasha, I do own Arc though and if someone intends to copy him without my permission I'll F*** you up!

 

 

“Talking”

`Thinking'

[Check the bottom for details]

*Flashback/Switch in Time or place*

=Used when mentioning a technique, attack or something important=

 

 

If this was a TV series:

 

Opening: Chihiro Yonekura - Butterfly kiss

 

Ending: Hikaru no go - Bokura no boken

 

 

 

 

Time Soul Exodus

 

 

 

Chapter 20: =Guardians, Priests and Demons - Part 1=

 

 

 

*Where Heitaro is at the moment*

 

 

From his vintage point, Heitaro had had a pretty nice and clean picture of what had happened so far and least to say, he was very interested about it as well. There were so many dead insect bodies that he had completely lost count on how many there were in total, normally he would be disgusted with the level of carnage that had been displayed but this time it was different: This wasn't some pointless killing, instead it was a fight for survival, people fought in order to keep living and were doing everything they could to make sure they did survive this bloodbath.

 

 

He had closely observed the Moon priests when they fought; particularly Jei had caught his interest out of all three of them: He was cold, calculative, his holy power was frighteningly high and his technique was VERY lethal… to which he thought: `Very interesting technique… that must be the famous `Phantom Blade' technique I've heard about, he is above an average human all right… no, he is above even that of a highly skilled human as well, yet he is no warrior: His eyes do not possess the glow of a warriors but instead they show nothing but cold hatred, still, facing him in battle would be an interesting experience.'

 

 

Then his eyes landed on Arcerdo, who was currently on the ground on his knees and was panting rather hard too. Out of all the four of them, it was Arcerdo who had completely caught his interest, Jei was lethal and strong but in the end, he was just a human, nothing more… while Arcerdo, he didn't seem like an ordinary human: Sure, he looked like one but the aura he emitted and the way he fought gave him the feeling that there was something beneath that outer appearance.

 

 

Especially now that he was close to collapsing, his aura had changed a bit as well… before it had been used to aid him in battle but now it seemed to be conflicting with itself over something, which made him think: `How very interesting, in the beginning of this battle he had been frightened and hesitant, yet during the battle it was like he had started to become a completely different person… and now that he is exhausted, it doesn't seem like he is scared of his opponents but instead it seems like he is desperately trying to prevent something from happening within him, how odd… yet interesting at the same time… hmmm, just who are you, Arcerdo? Are you just a skilled human or something more? Well, soon I'll see just what you are, because now you will face the guardians of the hive… and if this truly is the fullest extent of your power and skill, then I am afraid this is the end of the line for you.'

 

 

*With the Moon priests, Arcerdo and four extremely lethal looking insects*

 

 

Arcerdo could hear his own breathing as it passed his mouth when he inhaled and exhaled, his heartbeat was pounding in his ears and his entire body felt like it was on fire and not in the good way, instead it felt like every last blood vein in his body was rushing with acid instead of blood… not to mention, deep within himself, he could feel his inner demon as it tried to claw its way out and he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to hold it much longer.

 

 

When the insects had retreated, he had felt a rush of relief pass through his body but it was short lived because right after it had passed, an immense feeling of dread stabbed his entire being like a hot needle… and for a good reason, for after it had hit him, four new insects arrived.

 

 

Arc had never seen these types of insects before, yet, even if he had never seen them before and he didn't know what they could do, he could already tell: They were more dangerous than all the others insects they'd killed so far put together.

 

 

The way they looked alone was enough for Arcerdo to feel his natural survival instincts start screaming at him to run away and fast:

 

 

Each of them looked the same; they were about the same size as a warrior insect or maybe a little taller, most of their body was covered by black colour, yet there were faint traces of violet as well, they had four wings and their eyes were dark, crimson red and held no pupils at all.

 

 

Then, lastly was their arms… now those made Arcerdo swallow with nervousness because of the sheer lethalness they posed: The arms looked similar to the ones the warrior insects had except that instead of a sickle in the end, they had five, curvy sabre like blades growing out of their hands, the blades were at the size of a broadsword each and just as wide as well… they had no stench of poison in them but there was no doubt that those blades were extremely dangerous.

 

 

Yet, while those blades made Arcerdo feel a tightening in his stomach at the thought of them piercing the just mentioned part of his body, the thing that disturbed him the most about these four new insects was that… they emitted no You-ki at all, no evil energy… hell, they didn't let out any kind of energy at all! It was almost like they weren't even alive, yet they didn't hold the stench of death on the either… the only thing that did come out of them was the feeling of dread that his instincts were picking up, nothing else was coming out of them, it their presence alone that made him want to flee and fast… what the hell was going on?

 

 

But he realised something, since they weren't emitting any kind of You-ki or evil energy… the sacred ground around them was useless against them! They would not be dampened or weakened by it, so they would be able to fight with their full potential while he himself and the Moon priests were clearly running out of breath and fast, this was bad… very bad…

 

 

Then, Arc suddenly felt an immense and sudden stab of pain in his head… it was enough to make him almost fall flat onto his back from the sudden shock of pain that rushed throughout his entire being. If he had thought this situation was bad, well, it was now taking a VERY big turn for the worse.

 

 

He thought to himself while holding his head and gritted his teeth from the pain that was pulsing in his head: `Shit… this is bad… no, not just bad, it is quite rapidly starting to become the worst case-scenario! I've exhausted myself so badly that my inner demon is only an inch away from breaking through… not to mention, this wound in my head, even though I neutralised the poison in it and healed the wound, it seems like it's already caused some internal damage to my skull… luckily, it is nothing that my healing ability can't handle but it is still enough to cause paralyzing headache like this, damn it… if this keeps up, there is no telling when my inner demon breaks loose, this is bad… very bad…'

 

 

Now, while Arcerdo was busy just trying to stand up without feeling like this head would be splitting open at any second, Jei, Arbel and Flint were also trying to assess the situation and how to deal with it.

 

 

They were close to one another as they spoke, though they were out of breath and badly, it was Jei who initiated the conversation: “Brothers, it seems like the situation has taken another twist, yet I am not certain whether it is for the worse or the best… the good news are that the insects pulled back but the bad news are that we know nothing about these 4 new insects… what is your take on the situation, brother Arbel?”

 

 

Jei intentionally asked Arbel that question because even though this was a dangerous situation, he still wanted to see how Arbel would fare in it, since he was the less experienced one out of the three of them.

 

 

After hearing that question, Arbel looked at the four new insects, which had yet to do anything except look at them with their red eyes… red, cold, almost dead like eyes… and Arbel couldn't help but to feel a bang of cold fear run throughout his spine, those eyes, they were so completely void of life, the only thing that could be seen in them was cold and absolute nothingness, while Jei had cold eyes, they still held something in them that proved he was alive but these insects, their eyes were so empty it Arbel feel like if he stared at them long enough he would lose his mind within the void that stared at him through them.

 

 

Yet, while the eyes were disturbing, Arbel was even more disturbed by the complete lack of any kind of aura from them… it was like they weren't even there, that they were ghosts of some sort… except that even ghosts or un-dead creatures have some kind of aura or energy coming out of them, these insects, they emitted nothing except bloodlust and emptiness.

 

 

So, he replied after swallowing nervously once: “Lord Jei, I would say that the situation has taken a turn for the worse… we have been fighting without slowing down for several moments now and our Holy powers are starting to reach the point of exhaustion and… (Looks where Arcerdo is) and it seems like Arcerdo is in the same pinch as well, except that while we still have enough strength to fight with our swords at least, he does not have any kind of power left, not even enough to keep himself standing straight without falling down. If the barrier is not completed soon, these four insects, which we know nothing about, will without a doubt defeat us… and even if they do not, then when the insects start a new attack wave, we will surely be overrun.”

 

 

After hearing all this, Jei simply nodded and said: “Brothers, we must now change our battle tactics: There are four enemies and there are four of us, however, letting Arcerdo to continue fighting would prove to be foolish so it is now up to us to make sure these four insects do not take one step further through this point…”

 

 

After those words, Flint looked briefly back at Arcerdo and thought: `I cannot believe this… not only have I been humiliated by that weakling, I've also been saved by him and now, now I must protect him! As if being defeated alone wasn't humiliating enough… Arcerdo, I swear in the name of our god, I will kill you for this…' and then, just for the briefest of moments, his eyes flashed with that same malice as before… but no one noticed it at the time.

 

 

Jei did not notice this, instead he kept talking: “So we will divide the enemy between ourselves, Flint, you take the one of the right, Arbel, you take the one of the left. I will deal with the two in the centre, any questions?” They both shook their heads, then all three of them readied their swords and all three said at the same time: “May the god protect us.” and with that, all three of the charged at the four insects, splitting up in order to go for their selected targets.

 

 

=For Back round music: =

 

Anime: Tsubasa Chronicles

 

Track title: A song of storm and fire

 

Artists: Yuki Kajiura

 

 

 

 

 

The four guardians looked at the three enemies charging towards them, their antennas vibrating, as if analyzing them, then their eyes flashed with recognition, the orders they had were to kill the three Moon priests and beat the stranger, Arcerdo, within an inch of his life, these were the Moon priests, so the one at the back must be Arcerdo. Their antennas vibrated some more before they all opened their insects wings opened at the exact same moment and they charged at their targets, their sabre like claws ready to attack… yet, they did something that the Moon priests did not expect and neither did Arcerdo.

 

 

As Jei and the others charged at them, all three of them were caught almost completely off-guard as three of the insects suddenly opened their wings and lunged at them at the exact same timing with lot more speed than they had imagined, since the insects seemed quite bulky and heavy, they hadn't expected them to be so fast…

 

 

The three of them barely had enough time to ready themselves as the sabres came at them with immense force and speed; in fact, they had been so fast that their eyes had barely had enough time to register them moving…

 

 

For Flint, the sabres came down vertically and almost hit him too, he barely had time to side step and managed to limit the damage to his cloak alone, yet, as he saw the sabres sink into the earth where he had stood, two things registered in his mind: First off, the sabres had sunk very deep into the earth, making a small crater onto the ground and, the second thing that almost cost him his life was that he barely saw the sabres moving in time.

 

 

The insect had not pulled the sabres from the ground before attacking again like the warrior insects had, instead, it had moved the sabres THROUGH the ground where they had been imbedded and the thing that made him completely astonished was that they hadn't slowed down one bit! It had been like they weren't slicing through earth but instead were moving through thin air…!

 

 

Because of that, the sabres nearly cleaved him in half had he not raised his sword just in time to block them, yet, even though he blocked them, the sheer force behind them was enough to make him slide across the ground, his feet leaving behind small trenches as the sabres pushed him and as he was trying to block them, sparks flying across the air, when he finally stopped, he thought very briefly: `Dear god! These insects are on a whole different level than the ones before them…!' he didn't have time to think any further because the next thing he was able see was that the sabres that had been pushing against him suddenly pulled away, only to have the other pair of sabres from it's other hand coming at him horizontally, Flint could feel his head mind going numb as he out of pure instinct alone managed to duck just in time, making the sabres pass over him, though they did slightly slice some of his hair off.

 

 

He managed to think only briefly again: `Their speed, strength… it feels like I'm being pushed into a corner already and this fight just got started, unbelievable!' And from that moment on, he had no time to think at all, his entire mind became completely focused on just staying alive, dodging and parrying the opponents attacks as the guardian began to attack once again, not making any breaks, slowdowns or even giving Flint enough time to attack, counter attack or even consider attacking, the power and speed of it's blows were more than enough to make Flint fight like he had never fought before… he was now fighting to stay alive, not to defeat the opponent or winning this fight but simply just stay alive as the guardian kept attacking continuously, without any signs of slowing down…

 

 

Arbel was in a similar pinch as Flint was, except he might be even worse off because he couldn't focus enough, he was wasting his holy powers because of his panicked state of mind… the sabres that the insect kept slashing at him with made him feel like his stomach was about to drop out of his body, the sight of those gleaming, lethal sabre like blades made his mind run with all sorts of images where he got impaled or slashed by them. Each and every attack from the insect was taking its toll or Arbels body and even though panicked, he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer… and that scared him, he knew he was going to die soon if this went on like this!

 

 

Even Jei, who was the strongest of them all, was regretfully admitting to himself that this was a lot more harder than he had thought, the insect he was fighting was strong, fast and relentless in it's attacks… he had to admit, the way it was attacking was quite effective: Attack relentlessly and continuously, not giving it's opponent enough time to counter attack and instead forcing him onto the defensive… normally, this sort of attacking would wear the attacker out but… this insects seemed like it wasn't slowing down or losing strength at all! It felt like he wasn't fighting a being made of flesh and blood but instead it felt like he was trying to repel air or water… in other words, the only one getting exhausted from this fight was he himself, not the insect.

 

 

He barely noticed on time as it's sabres came from both upper sides, trying to cut him with a X like slash, he barely managed to jump back in time as the sabres hit the ground hard, creating a dust cloud from the impact… and then, through that dust cloud, not even one second after it was formed, the guardian attacked again, this it's sabres came dangerously close to hitting him but he managed to just in time dodge one of sabre like arms and block the other before parrying it aside, knowing full well that trying to match this monsters physical strength would be pointless, for it was physically a lot more stronger than he was, it was a Youkai after all.

 

 

Though, while Arbel and Flint barely could keep their focus against the guardians, Jei was able to think clearly while still engaging in this lethal battle: `Damn it! This new insect is just too powerful! I am too worn out to make a counter attack and the way this insect keeps attacking is not giving me any chances to find an opening to strike at! Yet… why do I feel like something is wrong? It is almost like I have forgotten something…'

 

 

Then, it clicked in Jei's head: He was fighting one insect; Flint and Arbel were also fighting one each as well… so where was the fourth one?

 

 

Jei suddenly looked upwards for a brief moment and he saw, the fourth insect had not charged at them when the others did, instead it had off into the air and while these three kept them all busy, the fourth one was heading straight towards Arcerdo!

 

 

Jei gritted his teeth and berated himself for not noticing it sooner… then, as he dodged and parried another one of the insects onslaughts, he managed to shout to Arcerdo, who was still on his knees, panting heavily: “Arcerdo! Look out above you!!” and that was all he managed to do before he was forced to defend himself against the insects continuous onslaught, Arcerdo was now on his own against that monster…

 

 

As Arcerdo had watched the three Moon priests start fighting against these new insects, he could only watch in fear and gulp from the intensity and relentlessness that the insects used to attack… they way their huge, sabre like claws dug through the earth, how they just kept attacking, not giving anytime to counterattack, and… he could literally feel the clash of Holy power against those sabres from the sheer intensity of it, this was no battle, this was fighting to stay alive… it was not about winning or losing, it was about simply staying alive through this, they had all forgotten about the barrier and the people inside the shrine, all they were focused on was staying alive… this was bad…

 

 

Then, he also noticed that the fourth one was missing… where was it…? Then, he heard Jei's voice over the battlefield: “Arcerdo! Look out above you!!” And the instant his eyes looked up and saw the insect coming down, fast furiously… his mind went completely blank… he knew that he was match against that insect in his condition, hell, he was barely able to stand up anymore and now he was supposed to fight against this… berserk insects that even the three Moon priests have hard time dealing with? The gods really hated him didn't they?

 

 

In his eyes, it all became slow again; everything moved in slow motion, he could hear everything around him from the sounds of battle to the sound of the insect's wings as they flapped furiously, yet in his eyes they looked to be moving very slowly, slowly enough so he could see them… his mind was registering all this, yet his body was in no condition to keep up anymore… he was going to die, right here and now…

 

 

Yet, as that thought crossed his mind, his eyes that had trembled with fear suddenly hardened as he remember his own vow never to hesitate again… there were people in that building who were counting on him… he could not let them down, not now, not ever, all he needed to do was to move, his body only needed to move… so… he shouted out “MOVE!!” as the insects sabres came crashing down on him, creating a cloud of dust, yet, Arcerdo was the one who came out of the dust cloud first.

 

 

He jumped backwards out of the dust cloud, his mind high on adrenalin as his eyes, now seeing everything in slow motion, saw the new insects emerging from the dust cloud and charge at him without a moment's hesitation or delay and started its continuous assault on him.

 

 

Arcerdo had both of his swords in his hands, yet he did not trust his strength to be enough to block those attacks, so was reduced to dodging alone until he would by some miracle find an opening to use in order to counterattack… in his eyes, the insects movements were all in slow motion, so he could see where his body should go in time, yet keeping his body moving at that required pace was taking a heavy toll on him… by now, he was moving on sheer adrenalin, guts and willpower alone, if he suffered even a single blow, no matter how minimal, it would be over for him…

 

 

But, it was getting harder and harder to dodge the attacks, as each and every attack came closer and closer to hitting him, his body was wearing down and he knew it… the sabres would come from above, sides, upper and lower corners, from down to up and even from two different directions at once, yet, Arcerdo was able to dodge them, he wished he would be able to claim he did it with ease but the truth is, his body felt like it on fire at the moment, each movement, no matter how minor, were simply excruciating… yet the adrenalin that was flowing through made him immune to that pain at the moment, not much longer though.

 

 

As the sabres came down in an X slash once again, Arcerdo tried to advance enough to get within slashing distance from the insect… only to have it completely backfire on him, the insects flew a few inches backwards, manking it's X slash hit him yet again, but luckily he was able to stop his advance and step back enough to avoid damage, yet he could see as the sabres ripped into the outer layer of his fire rat robe a nice, clean X slash mark, he could see his chest through it too… that was too close, just a few more inches and they would have cut through to his flesh and seeing as how sharp those sabres were, they would have cut VERY deep indeed…

 

 

In his battle heat infused mind, Arcerdo could only think as the insect began yet another relentless assault wave on him: `Goddamn it… this is getting me nowhere! Every time I think I see an opening to attack, this fucker closes it so fast I can't get close enough to use it! This doesn't make sense… it doesn't feel like I am fighting a living opponent at all, but instead I feel like I am fighting some kind of an inexhaustible combat machine!!' As that thought got over his mind, the insect made another attack with both of its sabres at the same time, coming from both left and right at the same time… he managed to summersault backwards to avoid them and he saw as the sabres retracted back to the sides before attacking again…

 

 

Yet… that's when he saw it, through his highly focused mind, he saw it… there, THAT was the opening he needed!!

 

 

But, the opening was only small, and the trick to using it was not only risky, but also required an immense sense of timing… but, he had no choice, he wouldn't be able to hold this guy off much longer… so he had to do it, the next time this attack came, it would be his only chance of defeating this insect…

 

 

*Where Heitaro is*

 

 

Heitaro stood there at his observation point and thought: `Hmmm… I think this is about it, all four of them are showing signs of exhaustion and it is only a matter of time now before those four insects kill them now… what a waste, that stranger, Arcerdo, had a lot of potential to become a great warrior, yet, if this is all he can muster… I guess the potential that potential is useless after all, what a disappointment… though I must admit, it was amusing enough to watch him struggle so hard, I like him on that level, he is very stubborn and refuses to give up, I like that… yet, it is not enough I'm afraid.'

 

 

*Back on the battlefield*

 

 

Arcerdo kept dodging the insect's attacks, his body starting to scream from the need to just collapse and not get up again for about a week… yet, he kept himself moving, his inner demon boiling within him, and he just needed that one small opening… if he could just have it…

 

 

Then, it came, the sabres came from both left and right at the same time, so now, Arcerdo forced both his mind and body to its limits for the last time, this was by far the most dangerous thing he had done to this whole point, now it was all or nothing…

 

 

As the sabres came towards him, he waited until the very last moment before he suddenly raised his swords up, pointed the blades downwards and showed the firmly into the earth to both his left and right at the same time, held them there and when the sabres hit them since they were in the way, sparks flew from them as well as holy power, the swords had stopped the sabres stone dead, yet, before the sabres had had the chance to retract back into attack position, Arcerdo shouted out: “NOW!!”

 

 

This was the opening he needed, the insect's attacks were continuous and relentless, yet there was one weak point in them: When they came at the same time from both sides, they would need at least 1, 5 seconds to retract back enough to resume attacking, that was where the opening was, it was small, but enough!!

 

 

So as he let go of his swords and charged at the insects, its sabre arms retracting enough to attack again, Arcerdo knew that without his swords he wouldn't be able to kill, yet… he had another means of attacking as well, he didn't want to use it, not here, not in front of the Moon priests, for it was an attack he had learned by pure accident by fighting his dad at the end of their training months…

 

 

*Flashback*

 

 

Arcerdo saw his fathers claws coming at him, yet he was able to block and parry it with ease, then he would counterattack, trying to use his demon skills in his claws, yet it was the same result… nothing, just claws, nothing else.

 

 

It had been like this during the whole training ever since he learned how to transform his fingers into claws… with those strange scales growing onto his hands as well, yet no matter how hard he had tried, he could not perform anything special with them like his father was able to use skills like “=Sankontesso=” or “=Hijinkesso=”… at first he had not understood how his father was able to use those in the first place… yet, after he remembered how his father had lived, he understood it, yet… at this rate, he would never learn anything!

 

 

Then, during one of their training sessions, he had said to his dad: “Dad! Stop holding back on me already! I know you are holding back, I can feel with each attack you make, so please, stop it already!” His tone was both serious and angry.

 

 

Inuyasha looked at his pup with a raised eyebrow, and then asked: “Really now? What makes you think I am holding back? Maybe you are just getting stronger?” He smirked at that, it wasn't the first time Arcerdo had complained like this, so he didn't take it seriously… until what his pup had told him next.

 

 

Arcerdo just growled angrily and said back at him: “Father! Stop taking this so goddamn lightly! The 4 months are almost up and so far, all I've learned is some level of control over my holy powers, how to use my instincts to a degree and change my hands into claws at will, yet I have learned nothing about how to fully use them… and I know why, Youkai are supposed to be a fighting race right? They fight using their survival instincts don't they? Well, so far, every time you've attacked, my survival instincts have not kicked in, not even ONCE… and that is why I cannot learn anything… father, you learned those claw techniques because you've had to fight for your life all the time right? So that means you've been using your survival instincts this whole time!”

 

 

“Listen, you must attack me with all you have, you must attack me like you are intending to kill me! If you don't, my survival instincts will never kick in and I will NEVER learn how to fight properly! Until you push me into a corner, leaving me no choice but break through you, all this is will be meaningless!!” He finished shouting, he was panting as he looked at his dad with a dead set look in them, he was not kidding nor was he complaining, he was serious and meant every word of it…

 

 

Unless his father would attack him like he was intending to kill him, he would never force his survival instincts to wake up and would never learn what it means to be driven into a corner… to have no choice but fight his way out no matter what…

 

 

Inuyasha looked at his son with a small awe in his eyes, his pup had indeed grown up a lot during these past 4 months, not enough to make him a true fighter or anything but he had grown up to the stage where he began to understand what combat instincts were to a Youkai… meaning he was not far off from becoming fully matured.

 

 

As he listened to his pup's words, he couldn't help but to agree that he was right… he had been holding back too much during this whole training, since he hadn't expected his pup to mature this much this fast… so, in a sense, he was a little afraid himself about this part of the training, since he wasn't sure if he could attack without killing his son by accident… since, well, holding back while using his claw techniques was not really an option… since those powers worked either at full blast or not at all.

 

 

 

=For Backround music: =

 

Anime: Jubei-chan

 

Track title: Main theme (I couldn't find the name)

 

Artist: I don't know, never found that out either

 

 

 

 

Yet, his pup was right, they were running out of time and if he didn't awaken his true combat and survival instincts soon, he wouldn't have enough time to let them settle in his mind before he would leave to the past… and that would be a serious problem.

 

 

So, with that, Inuyasha breathed out before saying: “Alright, son, you are right about that… I have been holding back, a lot. But now, since we don't have a lot of time left, I will begin attacking you in full strength, from this point on, I will not hold back… so prepare yourself, my son, for if you do not take me seriously with all you have, I might end up killing you by mistake… so you better be ready for this, understood?” His tone left no room for questioning, this was it now, once Arcerdo said yes, he would be risking his life.

 

 

And after a long moment, Arcerdo finally said with a determined look in his eyes: “I understand, father… let's begin!”

 

 

And with that, no more words were spoken.

 

 

Then, Inuyasha suddenly lunged at Arcerdo, with speed that was hard for him too keep up with… in fact, he could barely see his father until he was right in front of him and shouted “=Sankontesso!!=” while his claws left behind a golden trail as they came from the right…

 

 

Arcerdo was barely able to step back and avoid it, yet, that was a mistake, since the instant he stepped back, his father jumped behind him and before he could regain enough balance to move, he saw over his shoulder as his fathers claws came from bottom right to upper left… and made contact with his back.

 

 

He shouted from the pain as he felt his fathers claws tearing through the fire rat robe that his father had allowed him to use during combat training and were cutting skin deep enough to start a bleeding, the force of the blow forcing him to take a step forward, only to see his father moving back in front of him with immense speed and he saw the claws coming towards his face from below, if that hit, his head would be torn off without any kind of difficulty, and what's more, his empathy powers picked up the intent to kill in that attack as well!

 

 

As he saw them coming, something in his head clicked and his body began to move on its own, his foot planted itself on the ground and he quickly dodged the claws by lifting his head up and away from the attack, causing the claws to miss him by a hairs thread, then, right after the attack missed, one of his hands grabbed it and used the momentum of the attack to throw his father over his shoulder and into the ground below him while his other hand attacked using its claws, aiming for his fathers torso while he was on the ground in front of him.

 

 

Normally, this sort of an attack would finish of any basic adversary, yet, Inuyasha was no basic adversary, he was a battle hardened veteran so this sort of an attack was easy for him to dodge: He just simply rolled away from it and after his sons claws hit the ground, leaving behind nice, deep marks, Inuyasha got into position and lunged against Arc, catching him off-guard and using his Sankontesso to leave quite deep gashes onto his own sons left shoulder, then he landed on the ground behind him.

 

 

Inuyasha wasn't feeling very good from this, he was slicing up his own son for god's sake! Yet, this was inevitable for them… though, he was surprised about his sons counterattack just now, it seems like his combat and survival instincts are starting to wake up… yet, they are still far off from waking up completely.

 

 

As he turned to look back at Arc, he saw his son on the ground, on his knees and was clutching his wounded shoulder while gritting his teeth together… maybe… it was still too early, so far, he had scored two precise hits onto his son, while his son had yet to land a single successful hit on him…

 

 

So, he said to him: “Son, I think we should stop now, it is clearly still too early for you to go through this… if we keep this up, sooner or later I will kill you, those two attacks were still warming up runs, next time won't be as gentle, plus, you have yet to land a single successful hit on me… so…”

 

 

Then, to his surprise, his son slowly stood up, let go of his shoulder and said while grinning and turning around to face his dad: “Dad, are you going senile on me?” at his fathers loud “Eh?!” Arcerdo continued while pointing at his fathers left shoulder: “You said I didn't land a single hit on you, right? Then… what is that on your shoulder?”

 

 

Inuyasha looked at left shoulder confused before he spotted it, or more like, smelled it: Blood, his own blood! Without waiting, he removed the shirt he was wearing and saw that there, on his left shoulder, there were five, nice, clean and bleeding claw marks! Since his pain threshold was rather high from the continuous injuries and such, he didn't feel the pain of the wound, since it was quite a minor one…

 

 

Yet, at what point did his pup cause it?! At that though, he remembered the moment he had rolled away from underneath the counterattack… that's where it happened!

 

 

And, now that he closely looked at the wound on his sons shoulder, he noticed that it had already stopped bleeding while his own was still lightly bleeding… so, his son had gotten his first hit then and somehow, when he had attacked his shoulder, Arcerdo had instinctively lowered himself enough to avoid the main blow of the attack, it had only left shallow wounds on him instead… and, since this was about the second time his son was hurt enough to make him bleed, it wasn't surprising that his pain threshold wasn't that high yet…

 

 

After seeing this, Inuyasha smirked and said: “So, there is hope for you yet, ain't there, brat?” His voice was a mixture between humour and pride, his pup really WAS growing up…

 

 

To this, Arcerdo smirked and said: “Of course there is dad, but… are you sure you aren't getting too old for this?”

 

 

To this, they both laughed and after laughing a bit, Inuyasha said with a more serious expression: “But remember, son, that you just barely managed to cut me, so don't let that go into your head…” To which Arcerdo replied: “Of course not, since this is where it truly begins…”

 

 

And with that, they once again began another round of claw swipes and combat, after this had went on for several minutes, they were both covered in cuts, slashes, gashes, wounds, from which some were bleeding more heavily than the others were.

 

 

Right now, they both stood, glaring at one another as Arcerdo had to keep one of his eyes closed because blood was dripping into it from the cut just above his eye, they both were panting heavily, yet, it was still Arcerdo who seemed more out of breath than Inuyasha, which showed the difference in the experience they had.

 

 

As they kept glaring at one another, pissed at each other for the wounds since they really did hurt, Inuyasha said while panting: “Well, had enough yet, brat?” To this, Arc growled lowly and said while slowly getting up: “I should ask you the same thing, dad… you think you can handle me any more that this?” But, his bravado was not very convincing because as soon as he got onto his feet, he immediately fell onto his knees, gritting his teeth from the pain that surged through his body.

 

 

As Inuyasha saw this, he said while shaking his head: “Keh… it seems like you are at your limit, brat, we'll call it a day, since it seems like you can't even stand up anymore…” but, at the moment he finished that sentence, he saw just in the nick of time his sons claws coming straight at him and dodged, but not before those claws made shallow cuts into his cheek, as he looked at his son with confusion and anger in his eyes, he saw him on the ground again, in pain, to which he said: “Son? What the fuck do you think you're doing?!”

 

 

Arcerdo did not reply, he just sucked up the pain he was feeling and attacked his father again, except this time Inuyasha growled from annoyance, dodged his claws and brought his knee into Arc's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him onto his knees again, holding his stomach and groaning loudly from the pain.

 

 

Inuyasha looked at Arc while panting lightly and thought: `Eh? What the hell is wrong with him?! He should know already that he can't stand up, yet what the fuck does he think he is doing attacking me again?' and said to him: “Son, what the hell is the matter with you? You know you are at your limit, if we continue this any further…!”

 

 

Arc just looked at his father and shouted: “Shut up! Dad, this is exactly what I have been trying to tell you! You are STILL taking it easy on me… I can't use the excuse that I am exhausted when I am stuck in a real fight, because I doubt the enemy would give a shit about it!” As he was saying this, he forced himself to stand up, even though he hurt just about everywhere in his body, yet he ignored it and looked at his dad straight in the eyes and continued: “Dad… I am going to say this one more time: STOP thinking that I am your son already! If you keep thinking like that, you'll never fight me for real and until you fight me like you are intending to kill me, and if you won't do that, how am I supposed to awaken my survival instincts?! My Youkai side isn't stupid you know: it knows when its life is in danger… you hurt me just now, but that is all you did, you were just HURTING me instead of trying to KILL ME, my Youkai side knows this and therefore it won't respond!”

 

 

As he was saying this, he took another battle stance, even though his arms and legs were trembling from pain and continued: “So dad, I will ask you one more time… no, this time I'm telling you…” He looks at his father dead in the eyes and bares his teeth: “FIGHT ME LIKE I WAS YOUR ENEMY!!”

 

 

For the briefest moment there, when his son looked him dead in the eyes like that and said those words… Inuyasha couldn't help but feel a brief sense of dread behind those words… like this was a prelude of something, something terrible that would eventually happen and that is why, for the briefest of moments, he was afraid of his own son.

 

 

Yet, the determination, resolve and anger in his voice was enough to convince him that his son was indeed serious… and from a Youkai's point of view, if he walked away now, it would be like saying to his pup that he does not recognise his strength and would therefore crush his pups pride and confidence for good…

 

 

So, there was only thing for him to do, and it was to pray that his pup would live through this… for if his pup got killed because of this, he would never forgive himself for it, this was by far the hardest thing he had ever had to do and the worst part was that this was inevitable.

 

 

So, without saying a word, Inuyasha jumped back a bit, both of his claws into their palms and drew blood from them, then he swung both his arms and shouted: “=Hijinkesso!=” and as a result, dozens of crimson, blades of blood were launched towards his son… he had to use this attack because even though Sankontesso was strong, he would still need to move his hand itself with all his strength to attack and knowing he was attacking his own son would hinder it… so this was the only thing to do, the projectile blades could not be controlled once launched and therefore, all he had to do was throw them at his son and wish for the best: `Son, don't you fucking dare to get killed because of this, don't you fucking dare…!!'

 

 

As Arcerdo saw the crimson blades coming at him… this was it, if those crimson blades hit him it would all be over, since in his weakened state he would not be able to take them, even with the fire rat robe on.

 

 

In his eyes, it all slowed down, his mind and body burning with feelings he never knew existed before… fear, anxiousness, numbness and heat… his mind was like a combined mass of all those feelings after they would merge.

 

 

His thoughts stopped moving, he wasn't able to think at all, everything felt like he was turning into a beast fighting for survival, no logic, no reason… just instincts.

 

 

He knew those blades would kill him, he could see them like they were right in front of his face, he could smell the blood in them, he could hear and see as they cut through the air they passed… it felt like ages, they didn't seem to be moving at all…

 

 

Then suddenly they began to move again, faster, faster and faster… his mind began to panic, he knew he was going to die… he… he… he feared it, it scared him… yet strangely, he didn't know why it scared him, was it because of he would die, because his mate would die? He didn't know, it didn't make sense to him.

 

 

Yet, despite all those feelings and confusion… his instincts did supply his mind with a simple desire, one basic desire…

 

 

As that desire began to fill his mind, he could feel his hands, legs and body beginning to move, each move ached, yet he didn't register it, the one desire kept his body going despite the fact he was at his limit…

 

 

Then, as his clawed, slightly scaly fingers began to move, his hands moved so they were sideways, covering his face, palms facing away from his face.

 

 

The desire that his mind was being supplied with by his instincts began to pulse, his blood was boiling… something was coming, he could feel it, something powerful was boiling inside him, bursting out and into the surface at an alarming rate…

 

 

He grit his teeth, screwed his eyes shut for an instant before suddenly opening them, his silver coloured pupils turning into beast like slits and glowing with celestial like light, his aura flaring up…

 

 

His claws dug into his palms, covering the tips of his silver coloured claws with crimson blood that flowed through him… then, at last, that simple, single desire made his mouth move and shout out the power that was now unleashed, all this was happening because of one, simple, basic desire…

 

 

=The Desire to LIVE=

 

 

The =Hijinkesso= was now right in front of him, all this had felt like hours… yet it hadn't even been 2 whole seconds, but a mind running high on adrenalin can make things look like they are slowing down and that is what Arcerdo's mind was gushing with, pure adrenalin and from the heat he felt, it was on extreme flow apparently.

 

 

Then, just before the =Hijinkesso= hit, Arc swung his claws to his sides and shouted with a roar the name of his first, demonic attack:

 

 

=[Kenji Chi Tsume]!!=

 

 

And in a flash of light, in an instant… all the =Hjinkesso= that had been coming at him, shattered…

 

 

*End flashback*

 

 

Arc lunged towards the guardian, that memory burning his mind as he transformed his hands into claws with scales and as he was flying through the air, he spun himself so that he performed a sort of a V like cut, with his claws as he shouted: =Kenji Chi Tsume!!= and at that moment, his right claws dug into the insects right `shoulder' and upon contact with the blood on his claws, there was a small, yet bright flash of holy power and at that instant, his claws dug through the shoulder like it was nothing but air, then, as the right arm of the insect fell off, he twisted his body so his left claws cut clean through the insects left shoulder, severing the other arm as well.

 

 

As this happened, the guardian didn't even flinch, hell, it didn't even seem to notice or care that two of its limbs just been cut off, instead its body was still leaning forward as Arcerdo flew past it and landed behind it, his entire body burning with immense pain, protesting against every last one of his movements… yet, he knew, this was the one and only chance he had, just a little more…!!

 

 

As he heard the insects arms dropping onto the ground, his adrenalin pumped mind burned with one last ounce of strength as he landed onto his feet, crouched, gathered strength into his legs, turned around to face the insects, bent his knees and shouted: “… It's over for you!!” and lunged with in-human speed towards the guardian as it began to turn around to face him again, he moved so fast he left after-images of himself and roared out his battle cry as he cut with both his claws sideways onto the insects sides before it could get its act together, the holy power of in his blood that now tainted his claws letting out a more brilliant flash of power upon contact with the insects body, then, before anyone could blink, his claws tore the insect in half, it's upper body getting flung away because of the small, yet potent blast caused by the contact with his claws, he dove through the point the insect was cut in half, gritting his teeth, yet shouting in his mind: `YES!!!!'

 

 

… Just to feel his body giving out in mid-air, his legs and arms falling completely limb as his body suddenly felt like it was stabbed with thousands of burning blades… and did it hurt like hell…

 

 

He crashed onto the ground, his claws receded back into normal fingers and landed right next to his swords with a loud crash, skidding slightly due to the speed he had moved with, finally stopping and laying there on his sides, panting and wheezing, sweating and feeling his heart was going to explode at any second, his insides were on fire and his inner demon was now just one tiny inch away from breaking loose… yet, he felt strangely satisfied with himself… he had done it, he won… his sight was blurry and he could see the blackness around the edges as well, he was now spent, he couldn't move at all, all he could do was wheeze and pant for air and hope his lungs would still be in one piece and pray that his heart wouldn't suddenly just stop and burst from the pounding and pumping it was doing.

 

 

As he laid there on his side, his sensitive ears heard the sound of the insects torso falling down onto the ground, he couldn't smell blood because the claws had been imbued with holy power and because of that, the wounds they caused had burned shut… yet, he could hear the insect twitching for several seconds before it finally dropped completely dead… he grinned to himself, it hurt like hell, yet he had done it… he had won.

 

 

At the sudden feel and spike of energy, Jei had, while holding his own guardian back, had seen what Arcerdo had done… yet, because he was rather busy, he had not seen all of it, he had seen him planting his swords onto the ground, which he couldn't figure out at first, then using them to block the insects sabre like hands… at that point, he had to focus more onto his own insect because it almost managed to cause a large gash onto his hand, then he had seen by the side of his eye a flash of holy power, then he had seen Arcerdo somehow, without his swords, chopping off the hands of the insect… then he couldn't see what happened because of another near hit against him, then, the last thing he had seen with the side of his eye was an even bigger flash of light before he saw the insect getting cut in half, its upper and lower body flying off one another and Arcerdo crashing down onto the ground.

 

 

He couldn't believe it, how had Arcerdo done what he just did? How…? Not only had he defeated the insect but somehow, without using any kind of weapons, had completely dismembered it… but… Jei could swear that for some reason, just at the briefest of instants, he could have sworn he felt You-ki coming from whatever Arcerdo had used to kill that insect, that didn't make sense!

 

 

Yet, by seeing Arcerdo defeat one of these new insects, Jei also found the opening in them… and the next instant he saw those sabres coming from both sides at the same time, Jei swung his sword from an arch over his head from left to right and at that instant, the invisible blades that cut the opponent 100 times were focused onto the sabres coming at him and as a result, they stopped dead onto their tracks for the briefest of instants, allowing Jei to charge forward and bring his sword from his lower right to the upper left, cutting the insect almost in half and then, focusing his powers one more time, used his phantom blades and cut the guardian into ribbons in an instant.

 

 

The flesh tore from the bones, limbs becoming severed, cut into smaller as blood gushed out, green, gunk like blood… that stank like hell, the insect did not make a sound as it was cut into large chunks of flesh that splattered all over the ground.

 

 

He thought to himself as he panted: `That… was close… I didn't think that we'd face such immensely resilient Youkai while on this mission, who would have though… god, give us the strength to get through this…' As his eyes turned towards Arcerdo, who was panting and wheezing one the ground, most likely still finding it hard to believe he was still alive, he thought some more: `But… how did he do it? How did he kill that insect without his swords? And what was that strange sensation I felt when I saw those flashes of light…? Just, who are you, Arcerdo?'

 

 

As this happened, Arbel and Flint were pretty much down onto one leg, they were at the limit and they knew they wouldn't survive any longer… yet, seeing Jei and Arcerdo, even though Flint hated Arcerdo to the core, they were both very up lifted seeing them defeat those two new, strange insects…

 

 

*Where Heitaro is*

 

 

`Now, that was impressive indeed… out of nowhere, Arcerdo managed to pull out enough strength to win… but, what is it that he used? That technique… it seems so familiar somehow, I could swear I've seen it before… though, whatever it is, it is powerful, he seemed to use his own blood and the holy power in it as a direct medium to cut the enemies into pieces with his hands, the density of the holy power in them just now was beyond that of lethal, against a Youkai of any kind, that technique is deadly…And what's more, that is a technique that only a true master could possibly hope to use… hehehe, you intrigue me more and more, who are you really, Arcerdo?'

 

 

Were the thoughts of Heitaro, as he stood there on his vantage point and observed the events carefully, this stranger known as Arcerdo truly was something else… it seemed as if the further he is pushed into a corner, the more powerful he becomes… this intrigued Heitaro greatly.

 

 

`Arcerdo is full of surprises alright, Jei is not bad either… he used the phantom blades to stop the sabres and used that momentum to cut his opponent into pieces with precise accuracy, his concentration during combat is impeccable and his ability to focus his aura and power is also impressive… but, it is like I said, he is only human and besides that, with the way he fights… he can never become a warrior.'

 

 

As Heitaro kept looking at them, he smirked as he thought while rubbing his chin: `You've fought quite well so far, little fighters… but, it is not enough I'm afraid, for there is a reason why these guardians are feared and the reason why? Well, you'll find that out right about… now.'

 

 

*Back on the battle field*

 

 

The brief moment of relief for the two guardians deaths was short lived… for when Flint and Arbel thought it was over for them, suddenly, the two other guardians stopped, their antennas vibrating at the same time, then they ceased their relentless attacking and suddenly bolted up into the sky… making Flint and Arbel shout at Jei: “Lord Jei! Look, something strange is going on!”

 

 

As Jei looked at the sky where the guardians were and as Arcerdo rolled onto his back so he too could see what was going on, they all were confused about it… the insects, they were… just floating their, their antennas vibrating rapidly.

 

 

But, that is when Arcerdo heard it, since he was a quarter Youkai, his sense of hearing was different from a humans… he could recognise this sound anywhere, he had heard it several times… it was ultrasound, like the sound people use on dog whistles to train them, this sound was coming from the two insects and… it was directed towards the two dead insects, what was going on?

 

 

Then, before they could do anything else, they all felt it while Arcerdo also heard it: A pulse, there was a heavy, rapid pulse in the air and what Jei and the others could not hear, Arc did and… the ultrasound that was sent to the dead insects was being returned to the ones above them! What the hell?

 

 

… And it was then, that they all saw something happen that made their fighting spirit falter quite heavily…

 

 

The two dead insects, their… their pieces were… they were re-attaching themselves! The arms that Arcerdo had severed sort of crawled back to the torso and first attached themselves to their places before he saw the parts they were joined in to re-grow flesh, bone and skin that had been severed…

 

 

This same thing happened to the one that Jei had cut into pieces as well, the pieces of flesh re-attached and re-grew with speed that defied all laws of healing!

 

 

Before they could react enough though, they had already grown back into their original forms and stood up, their wings beginning to flap as they took of to the sky to join the other ones…

 

 

They had used all their power…

 

… They had nothing left to fight with…

 

… The insects they had killed had not only regenerated almost as soon as they had been killed, but they had resurrected as well…

 

The question now was not if they could win…

 

… But when would they fall? They were in deep trouble, with no way out…

 

 

 

To be Continued…

 

 

“We have our backs against the wall…

 

Our powers are at their limit…

 

The insects cannot die…

 

Yet they can kill us…

 

… And seeing this, it is only a matter of time before we fall.

 

What hope do we have left…?”

 

- Arcerdo Higurashi

 

 

Next Chapter: =Guardians, Priests and Demons - Part 2=

 

 

 

A/N: Okay, that has to suck… I know it does… but, this is the best I could come up with, be honest with me now though: did this suck?

 

 

Oh yeah, if someone is confused about the whole thing between Inuyasha and Arcerdo, let's just say that Youkai upbringing is not easy and well, this is just how I see it, hate it or not, that is the way I see it.

 

 

 

 

[Kenji Chi Tsume]: I am an amateur when it comes to naming attacks, so I had to get help from a friend… I am not sure how accurate this translation is but oh well, at least it sounds cool right? Anyway, this translates as: =Sacred Blood Claws=