InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Time Soul Exodus ❯ Chapter 23: =The Path of Asura - part 1= ( Chapter 23 )

Written by: Zelix

 

A/N: This is NOT the beta-read version, when it's been beta-read; I'll re-post it so until then please ignore any and all grammar/spelling errors, okay?

 

 

A/N: Sadly, the required 5 reviews for a cliffhanger free chapter were not acquired, which sadly means that this chapter will have a cliffhanger in it. Sorry, but I warned you all, now pay the penalty :)

 

 

Anyway, now, the fully demonic Arcerdo has broken loose, warm up is over and now, the real carnage begins… but, when you look at the situation, who is the monster in this story: The insects, or Arcerdo himself?

 

 

 

 

 

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 23: =The Path of Asura- part 1=

 

 

 

*Where Heitaro is*

 

 

Heitaro was looking at the battle field with absolute focus; this development had been something he could not have guessed even in his wildest dreams, so now he was going to observe every last little thing that happened.

 

 

Yet, the more he saw, the more he became unable to decide how to feel: Scared or excited? He was excited because this new development made the fight all the more interesting, yet, he felt slightly scared because of that very development.

 

 

The way Arcerdo moved, the way his aura flared up, the soul pulse he felt, the sheer power he radiated… it was identical, identical to that person, from one year ago…

 

 

*Flashback, one year ago*

(Audio only)

 

 

Heitaro (Coughs out blood, on his knee): `How did this… happen…? I… I was no match for him, I couldn't even touch him! What is he?!'

 

 

Unknown (Walks in front of Heitaro): “You fought well, almost like a warrior… however, it is like I told you: there is nothing on this earth that can kill me.”

 

 

Heitaro: “*Cough* No, there is something that can… defeat you… I am just not it, but there is someone who can… there always is.”

 

 

Unknown: “…”

 

 

Heitaro: “… finish me, I am defeated… kill me.”

 

 

Unknown (Begins to walk away without saying anything): “… No.”

 

 

Heitaro (Tries to get up, but falls down): “Kill me!! Don't you dare turn your back to me…!! Kill me!”

 

 

Unknown (Stops, doesn't turn around): “… I have no interest in killing you, seek your death elsewhere.”

 

 

Heitaro: “You… bastard!!”

 

 

Unknown (Turns around, eyes glowing): “… Pathetic, are you so eager to die that you would resort to begging for me to kill you? You are no warrior; you are an insect which wings have been cut off, laying there helpless on the ground. Seek your death elsewhere and then face it like a warrior would, not like a little insect.”

 

 

*End flashback*

 

 

Heitaro shook his head to clear it, then resumed thinking: `I was so eager to die, I was literally begging him to kill me… no wonder he lost interest in killing me, I could see it in his eyes: There was nothing but disgust in them when he looked at me, like a god looking down on an annoying little insect, and after I saw them, I could not talk at all nor move at all, all I could do was watch as he walked away without a care in the world. Ever since then, I wanted to fight him again, this time to the end, to show him that I was not just an insect to be ignored… but ever since that day, he disappeared from the face of the earth, nobody knew where he went or what happened to him.'

 

 

He looked at Arcerdo, as he had finished impaling the first insect, and after that loud battle cry, he charged once again to the two remaining ones, he thought yet again: `The way Arcerdo moves, it is so similar to the one I met… the way he goes for a kill, the way he uses his aura, the way he fights, they are so similar. But, why is his soul pulse identical to his? They are not the same person, they look a bit similar, but they are two completely different people, so how is it possible? It makes no sense.'

 

 

But, even as he thought all that, his mouth opened into a grin and he said to himself: “Regardless, I will have plenty of time to find the answer, for now, I'll just enjoy this show…” Though, the grin he had slowly turned into a serious expression as he said to himself again: “Be careful, Arcerdo, you are walking on very dangerous waters right now, and I'm not talking about the insects either, I wonder if you will realise in time what you are doing, before it is too late.”

 

 

*Back on the battlefield*

 

 

= For Back round music: =

 

Anime: Mai-hime

 

Track title: Mezame (Waking/Awakening)

 

Artist: Kajiura Yuki

 

 

 

 

Arcerdo's body was on fire, the rush of battle was now nothing short of intoxicating, his body was so hot, so full of fire that even if he tried to stop himself, he wouldn't be able to do it… not that he wanted to either. Everything was like a blur to him, yet, he still maintained that cold, cool state of mind, which allowed him to see and receive everything, no matter how slow or fast it was.

 

 

Yet, the immense feeling of hatred that was flowing through his mind, that was something he could not explain, not that he was able to even focus on it, but if he was in his normal state of mind, he would be terrified about it. But now, that very hate was driving him, that cold, bottomless hate that made his body move with the fury of hell itself… and he loved it.

 

 

As he ran towards the insects, this time not as fast as before, but still very fast, he saw them taking off from the ground with their wings and prepared for his incoming onslaught, he himself flexed his claws and muscles, his eyes narrowing like a beasts would when it locks onto its prey.

 

 

Then, when he was close enough, the insects attacked him at the same time, both coming from different angles in front of him, yet, just before they got close enough, Arc's eyes shifted to something behind them, his swords, and after baring his fangs, he jumped towards the insects with a leap so powerful it caused the earth under his feet to cave in slightly from the force of the leap.

 

 

As his body soared through the air towards the two insects, his eyes were completely focused onto the movements of their arms, waiting for the timing to be right…

 

 

The insect that was closer drew its left sabre like arm up, preparing to slash at him from up to down, in his eyes, it all moved so slowly, his transcended instincts as a full Youkai registering and processing all movements around him with a super computer like speed, calculating the moves with inhuman precision and accuracy, all this in one split of a second, it was an amazing feeling: His body on fire with power, hate and battle while his mind was cold, calculative and precise, like that of a Tai-Youkai, perhaps even greater.

 

 

And just at that moment, the opening he had been waiting for appeared: The insects sabre like arm began to descend towards him, and the instant it did, his eyes narrowed and he twisted his body in mid-air, so the bottom of his feet came into contact with the blunt side of the sabres, and the instant they did, he tensed his leg muscles, crouched his knees and looked at the other insect that was fast approaching… and just as he saw its sabre arm coming down towards him as well, he released the tension from his legs and used the first insects sabre like a springboard to make another leap towards the ground, just in time to see the second insects sabre coming down and slashing off the first insects arm, the one he had just used as a boost for his leap.

 

 

As the two insects were momentarily confused about what where he disappeared to, Arcerdo landed onto the ground, right next to the spot where his swords were still embedded onto the ground, after successfully landing, leaving behind some small skid marks yet again, he picked the two swords from the ground and got into a battle stance again, this one different from the first one, due to him carrying two swords now.

 

 

The instant he pulled the swords from the ground, something no one expected to see happened: They were immediately filled with holy power! It was such an unnatural sight for everyone who saw it at that moment: A lethal Youkai standing there on a battle field with You-ki that made him seem like a demon from hell, holding two swords infused with holy power… it was as if, the words like “good” and “evil” meant nothing to him, that the laws of “Light” and “Darkness” were bent, broken and ignored by him. To put it bluntly, it was as if he was neither that of light, nor that of darkness, good nor evil, but something else…

 

 

Arcerdos eyes locked onto the insects above him, as one of them was flying slightly off balance due to its arm being cut off, he growled again, eyes narrowing down yet again. He crouched down lightly, placed his swords sideways to his left and right, and then, after tensing his legs for a few seconds, bared his fangs before taking off with a high speed sprint towards the two insects, leaving after-images of himself behind.

 

 

*At the shrine*

 

 

Jei was looking at the battle with disbelief behind his stoic face and was thinking: `None of this makes sense at all… and now, what has happened to him? His fighting style and skill have completely changed from before, before, it was obvious he was a novice when it came to combat, but had potential to become great with experience, yet now, it is the exact reverse from before: Now, he fights like a cold blooded warrior, all of his attacks go straight for vital points, all his movements are carefully executed and the precision of his movements is… in-human. Just now, he used the insects arm as a step in mid-air to reach his swords, while at the same time caused it to get severed by the other insects attack, that is not something that a novice can possibly do, even a master level warrior would have hard time executing a move like that, yet, he did it with such ease!'

 

 

As he saw Arc picking up his swords, he noticed the grip he had on them and how he moved them to a battle stance, which made him think again: `… And, the way he handles those swords, just a few moments ago, I could see that he was a novice by the way he held his swords and how he handled them, yet now… it is just like the rest of him: completely different from before, it is almost like he is a completely different person, or… if he is indeed a Youkai, is this his true self, and is Arcerdo nothing more but a front for this? We have never encountered something like this before, we have met with plenty of half-Youkai in the past, but this… oh well, it doesn't really matter, he is a Youkai, and that is all there is to it.'

 

 

After those thoughts, the disbelief behind his stoic face was replaced by disgust, and hate, for he was a Moon priest and their holy mission was to eradicate all Youkai, this one was no exception.

 

 

Flint on the other hand, well, he was pretty much stuck between hate and fear: he already hated Arc, and now that he learned he was in fact a Youkai, his hate was even more intense than before. Yet, at the same time, he was also afraid of him, he had met many Youkai together with Arbel and Jei in the past battles, and had seen them slip into bloodlust many times too, and yes, he had been scared the first few times he had seen it happen… but now, despite all his experience in combat, just looking at Arcerdo's form, feeling his You-ki and seeing his cold decisive way of killing…

 

 

… It made him feel the cold ripples of fear all the way to his spine. The reason for this fear was not only this immense aura he emitted, but also because he seemed to bend and break every last piece of logic and reason they had on Youkai: Holy powers were one thing, but one more thing was that right now, even though infused with bloodlust, he hadn't become a raving monster like every other Youkai had, instead, it was more like he had transformed into a cold blooded warrior… or, to put it bluntly: If there is a definition for the word `true demon', the Arcerdo right now, was that definition.

 

 

And right now, Flint did not think about killing him, instead, he was more focused on trying to figure out how to survive should he attack them, because with his current level of skill… he hated to admit it, but he wouldn't last 3 seconds against him.

 

 

Arbel, he was simply detached from reason and reality at the moment, he wasn't as experienced as Flint or Jei in combat, yet even he knew what was unnatural when it came to Youkai… and right now Arcerdo was unnatural in every possible way there was for a Youkai, or a partially Youkai, being to be. However, unlike Jei or Flint, who saw him as a Youkai, Arbel felt another feeling as well.

 

 

Though Arbel too was a loyal follower of the Moon priest doctrines, he just couldn't bring himself to believe that Arcerdo was the enemy! `He saved my life, he protected the villager without asking anything in return… he was so noble, so brave… yet, how is this happening?! When I look at him now, instead of respect, I feel hate and fear! How can he be a Youkai? It just doesn't make any sense… how can someone so kind like him become so cold, so merciless, and so lethal like that? God, please, tell me, what is this, what am I supposed to believe in…?' Were Arbels thoughts, as he watched the display of carnage and horror unfold in front of him, his doubt and uncertainty mixing with the feelings of hate and fear within him, making him doubt himself and everything he had been taught to believe in… right now, he wished that he hadn't come to this village in the first place.

 

 

Chizu on the other hand, she was still hiding herself against her mother, ever since she saw the insect slammed against the barrier she had been too afraid to look what was happening out there, and the moment she had tried to look, she had heard Arcerdo's howl and after that she had not stopped shaking from fear even once. However, she did manage to say in a low, terrified voice to her mother: “Mama, what… what has happened to… to Arc-sama…? He… sounds so angry, so scary… I'm scared…” After that, she began to sniffle, tears of fear beginning to form into her eyes.

 

 

Renko, hearing this, tried to comfort her terrified daughter, while scared herself too, because just by looking at Arcerdo now, she could feel more fear than she did when the insects began attacking or when the Moon priests had tried to take her daughter away.

 

 

Sumira, hearing Chizu's words, began to think to herself: `Chizu, that question is a really tough one, what has happened to him indeed? This, this is no normal Youkai bloodlust, it looks like it, but it isn't. I cannot explain it, but for some reason instead of just killing intent, I can feel `hate' emanating from Arcerdo, this hate though, is not normal `hate'… what is it?'

 

 

As Sumira kept looking at Arcerdo's movements, and the way his You-ki kept flaring up, becoming more intense with each passing moment and also… she kept seeing how this feeling of `hate' began to spread into it, it was almost like it was `infecting' or `taking over' the You-ki, like it was an separate entity all together.

 

 

And that is when she began to realise, what was happening to him, and with wide eyes she thought: `No, he has to stop…! That hate, there is no doubt about it; it is the `path of [Asura]!' Arcerdo, he has lost control of his Youkai self and for some reason, it is starting to succumb to the path of Asura! I don't know why it is doing it, but if he doesn't stop, he'll lose himself for good!'

 

 

Sumira knew she had to make Arcerdo stop and make him come back to his senses, but… she didn't dare to do it, she couldn't bring herself to go out there and tell him. Also, if Arcerdo woke up now, he would be like a sitting duck to those insects, yet, if she didn't wake him up soon, the path of Asura would swallow up his soul for good, and then he would truly become a monster… what could she do?

 

 

*Back on the battlefield*

 

 

The world was moving so fast in Arcerdo's eyes, many things he saw were nothing but blurs to him, yet, his mind and body were still fully capable of registering and feeling everything around him, it was as if his mind and body were working in perfect link with one another: Even if his mind was working much faster than his body, the body kept up with all the commands that were issued and vice-versa, no matter how fast his body was moving, his mind was still able to register everything.

 

 

Within his mind, he could feel that hate, that burning hate which was consuming him, driving him, feeding his need to kill… in fact, even though he could barely realise it, there was something deep within him, saying in a whisper like tone: {§ Hate, I hate him… I hate them… they hurt me, I will hurt them, and Iwill kill them… hate, kill, destroy… destroy all, kill all, hate all…!! §} The tone was so full of hate, so spiteful, so… enticing, so alluring, like a forbidden fruit that one must never touch, a sin one must never commit, it was like a siren, luring him away from himself into something else.

 

 

And the worst part was, he wanted it, he wanted this feeling, this hate that was burning everything away from his mind, leaving nothing in its wake… except a burning desire for combat, to the death.

 

 

Was he a Youkai, human or a monster? In his state of mind, he couldn't care less…

 

 

As this hate was burning inside him, he readied his legs for another leap into the air towards the insects and when he got into the right position, he tensed his legs and took off into the air from the ground, leaving onto the ground two small sized craters right onto the spot where he had taken off into the air.

 

 

His eyes locked onto the two insects, his swords readying to deliver the killing blows to them, as the insect which was still in one piece, swooped towards him with its sabres ready to attack.

 

 

The battle would continue… but when it ends, who will be left standing, and who will be left dead?

 

 

=Or… will the dark hate within him, consume him first? Once someone steps onto the path of Asura, they have no hope of ever coming back…=

 

 

 

To Be Continued...

 

 

“Am I human, or am I a Youkai…?

 

I thought I knew the answer, yet now, I no longer know the answer…

 

My hate, this hate… where does it come from, why is it in me…?

 

It consumes my mind, I'm losing myself… and the worst part is…

 

… I like it.”

 

- Arcerdo Higurashi

 

 

Next chapter: =The Path of Asura - part 2 =

 

 

A/N: Okay, the promised cliffhanger is now here, I decided to split this into two parts because it has taken me far too long since my last update. However, the same rule is still in effect: 5 reviews, and no cliffhanger in the next chapter, guaranteed.

 

 

Oh yes, I'm sorry for taking this long, the next chapter should be out more faster than this, I just had some major writers blocks and real life to deal with… but now, things are more calmer, so I should be able to write more faster. Your reviews are going to be of great help too, but, like I said, 5 reviews and I'll make sure the next chapter is cliffhanger free!

 

 

[Asura]: A sub-human demon that revels in hate and war, read the bottom of the previous chapter if you do not remember.