Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Blood God Lamagra ( Chapter 100 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

By: MellyN

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Sacrifice

Chapter 100: Blood God, Lamagra

By: Melissa Norvell

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Inside of the temple, everyone follow Mizuho through the long corridors, weaving through the giant Greek pillars that stood tall and strong. Footsteps and directions could be heard as they picked up their pace and soon they broke out into a run. They darted around the corner, swinging by one of the daunting pillars and taking a right, then the group was direct by Mizuho directed them with a strong-pitched 'this way' and gestured with her hand. They turned right, darting through more of the giant pillars and through a wooden door into an open room that looked like it was filled with a giant pool of blood.

The pool was large and took up nearly the entirety of the room. However, there was something about this pool of blood that felt strange. It gave off its own aura, and it moved in a way that made it seem alive. What was going on?

"Blood god, Lamagra," Eve spoke up, standing on the edge of the pool with a serious look, "so we meet again."

"You've met Lamagra before?" Fife didn't know that the two had a history together.

Eve glanced over her shoulder at the blue-haired vampire. "I have, it was to carry out an errand for for my father."

"Your father must be a very important person," the vampire noted.

Eve turned her eyes back to the god, "you could say that."

As the angel was having her little talk with Fife, Ko looked over to the dark ninja who stood at her side. The feelings within her conflicting. She was nervous, but at the same time, she wanted to know exactly how he felt about her.

"Zangetsu, can we talk?" She asked, catching his attention.

"Don't you think this is an inappropriate time?" After all, they were about to face off against a god. It was better to find a time when the two could talk, when they were in a more relaxed environment.

"I just want to ask one question," just one, and she wouldn't bug him again.

"Go ahead," surely one question wouldn't hurt anyone.

"How do you feel about me?" However, he didn't expect her question to be quite like that.

"What?" He turned and looked at her with widened eyes. Of all of the things for Ko to ask, why did it have to be that specific thing? Why did she want to know how he felt about her?

"Chichiri...he said that he loved me, but how do you feel about me?" Ko was unsure of what to do. Zangetsu's answer would help her make a faster decision, especially if he didn't have any romantic feelings for her. It was her way of deciding.

Turning his head away, the ninja frowned and spoke to her in a serious tone. "If Chichiri loves you, then go after him," he knew that Ko loved the blonde for a while. Why did she need his permission if the feelings were returned? Why did she hesitate? Ko shouldn't have to think about it.

"What does that mean? That doesn't tell me how you feel at all."

Why was she so insistent on knowing his feelings? It was only going to cause trouble for the both of them, and she knew it.

"Chichiri needs you, and you love him back so why hesitate?" Zangetsu didn't see the problem with it.

"I'm not that selfish," Ko looked down. The conflict was clearly shown in her eyes.

Zangetsu turned towards her, his look never wavering. "What difference would it make, even if I told you how I felt? If you love one person, then you go to them. You don't make someone else pour their heart out, knowing that they don't have that chance. It's cruel to the other person." That was the true reason that he wasn't going to just tell her how he felt. What was she trying to prove? Was she honestly going to judge them and compare their feelings and stories to see who she was more compatible with? That was right, and Zangetsu wasn't going to do it.

Just then, the blonde angel poked his head in between the two of them, leveling both of them with a placid smile. "Not to butt in, but I think Zangetsu is right, Miss Ko. If you love Chichiri back, then be with him."

Ko looked down, pain written on her face as her feelings raged war. "It isn't easy."

"You certainly hesitate," the angel replied. "Do you love two men at the same time?"

Hiroshima crossed his arms, irritated with the moment. "For the love of-" He whirled around to face the two, expressing the fact that he didn't care about their problems front and center. "Look, no one cares about Ko's love problems. We're here to find Undine, remember?" They could do this kind of thing in private and not when they are supposed to be fighting with their enemy.

"Of course," Tsurugi agreed and slipped back into the group as they all turned away and walked to the bottom of a staircase located on the other side of the of the pool of blood. It was dark and had no railing, just a series of ominous-looking black stairs that spirals up into the darkness.

"Lamagra is up there, in the sacrifice chamber," Mizuho pointed to the top of the stairs.

"Is there anything we need to know regarding this room? Are there any keys or anything that we have to use to get in?" Zangetsu was a little curious as to what they would need in order to obtain access to the room. Usually, that was how things worked with any mission.

Mizuho shook her head. "No, it's easy to get in and see Lamagra. Anyone has access to this temple; it's a public place of worship." After she spoke that phrase, the group rushed past her and began to ascend the stairs, on their way to see the blood god.

Tsurugi stopped in front of the blue-haired girl and leveled her with a smile. "Thank you for helping us, Miss Mizuho."

Mizuho smiled, "I hope that you can get your friend back. Please, hurry!" She could only hope that Lamagra would bless with any help in finding their friend. The blue-haired girl wished them the best of luck.

Tsurugi then flew down the hall after the group, ready to face off against the blood god if need there be.

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Outside of the temple, Chichiri sat with the orange-haired girl, who tried to comfort his waning condition. Keiji stood a few feet away, watching to make sure that no one else walked up on them that could potentially be an enemy. His steely, green eyes scanned the horizon before his attention was turned to the blonde.

"Keiji...What would you say if I left?" Chichiri's voice was one of defeat and sorrow.

Keiji whirled around and looked to his friend in disbelief. "What? What do you mean if you left?" Was Chichiri really going to just go away, just like that? hat about his goals? Weren't they all in this together?

"When we first started out on all of these adventures, I thought I could hand it but I can't. I'm the weakest person on the team." They would all do better off without someone like him bogging them down.

"You don't think I've ever felt that way? You're physically strong, Chichiri. The only thing I've got going for me is being a street fighter." If anyone should have their doubts about being useful or contributing to the group, then it should have been him.

"I always screw up things. I'm just a burden to everyone. I can't help Hiroshima. I can't even help Undine." Because of what happened to him in Domina, he couldn't go and help everyone defeat Lamagra and bring her back. Chichiri was useless, and as long as he was part of their team, Soel was going to harass him further.

Keiji's eyes narrowed. It was time for a real man to man talk with him. Crouching down, he stared the blonde in the eyes. "You don't know that. Besides, how can you just leave after everything we've been through? You said that you loved Ko. So, what? Are you just going to tell her and leave? That's pretty low." More than anything, he didn't need to treat his friend like that. Ko deserved a lot better than to just have someone admit their feelings to her and disappear without a word more.

"I'm even holding you back. Without you, Fife will be in trouble." That wasn't contributing to the group at all.

"If Lamagra is a blood god, then Fife can drink whatever blood he's attacked with. He knows how to survive," Keiji had faith in his master. He knew Fife held more power than even he realized and he didn't need him around to help.

"That's true," Sadoma agreed, "since Lamagra can control all of the blood in any living thing, Fife has just as much of a chance of survival drinking from Lamagra himself."

"I just hope that there's a way to defeat Lamagra," Keiji stood and glanced at Sadoma in question. "How do you fight something that can drain all of your blood?"

Chichiri's eyes widened. His irises shook in his eyes as his anxiety flared up again just thinking about what happened. Shakily, his hand reached his forehead and he gripped his blonde locks. "Soel...I saw her. If you guys can't beat Lamagra then you can't beat Soel."

"What did Soel want? Why is she after Hiroshima?" Surely, Chichiri asked her something when he met her. Keiji wanted to know what exactly he knew.

Gripping his hair tighter, Chichiri's voice became detached. "I don't know, but I do know that anything we do doesn't make a difference."

"What?" What did he mean by that?

"All of these side quests for Vespa, they don't make a difference. I don't even think that she's really after any of the magical items. I think that she's just doing that to mindfuck us into thinking that's what she's after," Chichiri seriously thought that the sorceress was simply screwing with them. She was probably laughing at them as they ventured off to save Undine.

"What? Then what's her goal?" If Chichiri knew what was going on, then he needed to tell him so he didn't waste so much time trying to get something that wasn't even being targeted. It was wasting everyone's time.

"I don't know. I just know that she's after Hiroshima, and no matter what we do to trump her, it's insignificant. Her plans are so wide that whatever factors we get rid of won't make a difference. It's better to give up," Chichiri wanted his friends to stop this madness. If they didn't, then they would all end up like him. There was no way that they were powerful enough to defeat Soel.

Keiji jerked his head to the side and scowled. "I can't believe you'd say that." After all they had gone through, he was just going to down them and tell them how weak he thought they all were? Was he out of his mind?

"Every plan has a set direction at one point in time. I don't think that there's absolutely no way to foil it. Maybe it's just hard to find a solution because you don't seem like you know anything about it," Sadoma didn't want to be rude, but she wanted to help the weary travelers with their situations. Maybe she could provide a sense of positivity to their bleak circumstances.

"I'm not just going to ditch everyone like a coward," Keiji spat, ashamed that Chichiri was even considering running away just because things got tough. "I owe a lot to the people here, and there's something that I want to know."

"What's that? What could possibly be that important?" Chichiri couldn't understand why the green-haired warrior insisted on sticking with the group.

"I'm from Saesugawa, just like Hiroshima. We've met before. I think he knows what happened to my parents." If he did, then Keiji would find out everything by the end of their mission.

"What do you mean?" Chichiri looked to him.

"I think he might have killed them," Keiji narrowed his eyes with his back turned to the blonde and the orange-haired girl. "I've always wondered if he'd remembered. He's a different than what he was back then. Since I was so young, I don't remember much. I just want it all to make sense." That was why he was there. Keiji wanted answers to a past. He wanted closure for a horrific event that happened, and he wasn't going to back down until he got that solace.

"What will you do if he did kill them?" The blonde wanted to know what would become of the both of them.

"I..." Keiji's words started out confidently, and ended in uncertainty, "I don't know."

"I can't do this anymore," Chichiri's voice was full of despair. He didn't want to be here anymore, and he didn't want to keep dragging everyone down.

Keiji grabbed both of the straps of his tee, pulling the buff blonde to his face, their noses nearly touching. "Pull yourself together."

"It's not that easy!" Chichiri looked at his team mate with wild eyes, full of uncertainty and fear. "I'm not like you-" He was cut off by the sharp pain in his head. "Ah!" The blonde screamed as he stumbled down the stairs and landed on his knees, thrashing around in anguish as the sorceress' assaults to his mind became worse. Keiji and Sadoma ran over to him, worry written on their faces.

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Everyone stood at the doors of the sacrificial room, staring at the massive, wooden structures. Slowly they creaked and groaned as they opened, revealing the darkened room. As the group walked in, all that could be heard was their own footsteps as they peered through the darkness. In the center of the room was a tall, blue crystal that glowed a soft sky blue color. Inside of the confine was Undine.

The girl stood up with her eyes closed and one leg over another. Her arms were folded over her small chest and her slate blue hair flowed around her. It was as if she was frozen there, just waiting to be found. Instantly, the group ran over to the crystalline coffin.

"Undine!" Zangetsu called out her name as shock lit up his features.

"Don't worry, Undine! I'll get you out of there!" Ko made a promise that she would free her trapped ally. She tried to get close to the crystal, but just as she was about to touch it, blood shot up from the floor. Ko skidded to a stop and her feet went out from under her. She landed on her butt on the ground.

"What the-?" Blue eyes widened as she stared at the strange flow of crimson before her.

The blood twisted up into a rope-like figure, then widened out into a snake-like creature with two horns and a pointed beak. Two eyes glowed in a yellow illumination within the ever-flowing substance; much like the blood was continually flowing.

Slowly, Undine cracked her eyes open, half-lidded, slate-blue eyes looked at the people she had once traveled with her before fluttering open entirely. The haze cleared and she could see their forms, taking on clarity after her haze of sleep wore off. 'So, they made it. I wonder if they can defeat Lamagra.'

"Lamagra," Eve's eyes narrowed on the serpent before her.

"It's nice to see you again, Eve. It's been a while since we've last met. " A masculine, booming voice nearly shook the walls of the temple with its projection.

"What do you want with Undine?" The small angel took on a tone of grave emotion as she confronted the blood-composed god.

"This girl as given to me as an exchange for a pendant in this temple." Why did the humans care about the gift that he had received? Why was she so precious to them?

"A pendant?" Hiroshima questioned. Something was definitely up with that story. Was this Soel's doing?

"The pendant Soel took has a very special power," Tsurugi noted, 'for her to want that type of pendant must mean-' His thoughts were cut off by a small gasp. Shock ran across his face as the revelation hit him square on, like blunt force trauma. "No...She doesn't...Is that what she's wanted all along? This is bad."

"I agree," Eve was concerned as well, "Soel's goals are very clear to me. I've been keeping an eye on her and things are very close to happening. If nothing is done, she will get what she wants. Then, it would be all over for us."

Those words were like a lead weight being dropped on everyone's shoulders.

"We have no choice but to defeat Lamagra," Tsurugi frowned.

"Indeed," Eve nodded.

"Lamagra, what is it that you seek from this girl?" Fife knew that there was something that the god wanted. Otherwise, he wouldn't have exchanged her for the gem if she had no real worth to him.

"She is important to the gods. Someone with her magical powers is considered a blessing to us. Her powers will be used to help protect this temple from those who seek me." With her prowess, the water sorceress could outshine Sadoma and Mizuho as the temple's protector. She would keep thieves and god slayers away with her barrier of protection.

"She deserved to be free. She's been a slave all of this time to that woman who gave her to you. She's an important part of this group," Zangetsu tried to explain to the god Undine's situation.

"I heard a very different story. She is far better suited for this type of work. Why do you desire this being?" Lamagra didn't see a point to the girl traveling with them, not when her magic held a grand purpose with him.

"You act like she's not even human! You even refer to her as an object!" Ko got up with an angry look on her face. For a god, he was rude and treated people as objects!

"She isn't what you believe her to be. This is her function," Lamagra knew better than the group of misfits. More than most anyone, he knew of what Undine truly was.

"Who are you to know what anyone's function is?" Ko pointed to the blood god. She was going to defend her friend, no matter what.

"I am Blood God Lamagra," the god threw his head back as blood began to pour into the room. it seeped through the crevices and poured in from the fountain to their right. Streams of blood swirled up around the god and flowed into his being. Long, rope-like streams flowed up around everyone, dancing in the air. "I control the very functions of your minds and hearts. Without my essence running through you, your organs cannot thrive. Blood gives life but can also take it away."

"I suppose that means that we'll have to take Undine from you by force," Fife knew it would come to this. The god was stubborn and wasn't going to give her up without a fight.

"If you can defeat me, then I'll give her to you. If not, then she'll be my servant in this temple, just like Sadoma and Mizuho." That was Lamagra's promise.

"Sadoma and Mizuho?" Zangetsu questioned as his mind traveled back to their entrance into the cave. Memories of the blue-haired girl and the orange-haired girl dawning Greek robes ran through his mind and his eyes widened. 'Those girls that helped us.'

"Yes, Mizuho and Sadoma were born with unnatural powers. They were given to me as gifts and I raised them myself. They are happy here, and they are only given the best." It wasn't as if the blood god was some sort of cruel master who longed to enslave them; he was in fact, very kind to those given to him as gifts.

"Why is Undine kept in a cage, then?" Zangetsu didn't think the god was as kind as he made himself out to be.

"She is part of your team and you know nothing about her," Lamagra shot. It was really quite shocking that they wouldn't know how to treat something like her.

"I'm tired of this," Ko leapt into the air. "Let's stop these games and get down to business! Dark Strike!" Bringing her hands down, she created the familiar dark aura that was normally conjured for her attack. It hit the serpent, but only managed to splatter him around the room. Blood coated the walls and pillars before sliding back into a pool and resprouting his original form, undamaged.

The girl landed, not expecting that to happen. "Oh shit..."

This wasn't going to be as easy as she thought. Unlike Flora, this god was made of unstable substances.

"Your ninja skills won't be able to defeat me. You'll have to do better than that," Lamagra wouldn't be defeated so simply.

"Alright, let's try it this way. Fire Emblem!" Tsurugi flew into the sky and conjured up his fire seal, shoving it into the god's form. The flames crawled up his body, setting him on fire. The crackling and burning of his blood could be heard throughout the room.

As the group watched the god burn for a few moments, he then exploded, covering the room in blood again as a boom sounded that shook the foundation of the temple. Everyone braced themselves as they were splattered with blood, and soon the fire was extinguished. The blood then ran off of their bodies and rejoined in the same pool, as if it was a safe haven.

"Where did he go?" Ko asked, shaking the last bit of blood from her arm.

"Look out!" Zangetsu warned as needles of blood rained down on them. Quickly, he darted over to the girl, tackling her to the ground as needles dug fiercely into the ground. The two of them landed in a pool of blood that splashed up around them, but it was better than being injured.

Ko thanked him as she cringed at the thought of being bathed in that much blood. Her clothes were soaked and her white hair turned a disgusting shade of crimson. It was even creepier that the blood could extract itself from her clothes and go back to its origin. That was just unnatural.

"Don't let him slice you in any way. If we bleed then he can probably draw it out through our bodies." When Zangetsu thought about it, if the god could control blood. He kept it in the back of his mind that the god had the ability to take blood away that meant he could essentially kill them very easily if he wanted.

Hiroshima held his arms out in front of himself as he spoke. "Yeah, because that's easy to do." To not get injured in a battle was unrealistic. Someone was bound to end up bleeding. "Crimson Slash!" Taking his sword out, he attempted to fire his whip. It shot through Lamagra, slicing him in half and splattering blood across the room before it reformed again. "Well, I thought I'd try it anyway." Somehow, he knew a move like that wasn't going to be so simple.

"Physical attacks won't faze him," Zangetsu knew that was a fact. They were fighting a being comprised of liquid. They would have to weaken or destroy him in some other way.

"What if we rearrange him a little?" Tsurugi wanted to try a new type of attack. Winds formed around him, picking up in force as they formed a cyclone, then he called forth the name of his attack and released it.

The massive cyclone traveled towards the god, sucking up all of his blood in the spiraling wind. This caused the attack to take on a red color as the blood spun around and around. His team mates tried to stand their ground so they didn't get sucked up into the high velocity. As the storm subsided, the blood was placed into the fountain, and again, it respawned as Lamagra.

"Somehow, I didn't think that would work," Tsurugi sighed at the futility of the situation.

"How do you beat something that's made of blood?" Ko was at a loss.

"Too bad I can't drink it all up, but I'd get sick just trying." There was far too much blood for the vampire to lap up. In fact, he wasn't even sure the population of Sumeria could really do it, either.

"Even if you did, you would just explode. Lamagra would just burst out of your body," Hiroshima knew it wasn't that easy to get rid of a god.

"That's morbid," Fife noted.

"Go stick your head in there and I'll watch your body parts fly everywhere," the legend smirked sadistically. Hiroshima almost dared the vampire to try. The thought of Fife exploding was pretty amusing to him regardless.

Fife made a faux face of overdramatic sorrow. "Nooo!" He said fakely before blood shot between the two of them, causing them to each jump back in shock.

"Light Crusher!" Ko called out as a white beam of light ripped through the blood and splattered it everywhere.

"Pierce!" Zangetsu held out his wing as an invisible wave of magic chopped the streams of blood apart.

"Everlasting Nightmare!" Eve summoned up one of her darkness attacks and flew into the air, spinning around as a dark purple wave came out and dissolved some of the blood that was in her vicinity.

"Fire seems to be the most effective against him so far," or rather, it was the most effective of Zangetsu's attacks.

"Even liquids can burn," Hiroshima noted.

"I wonder if supernatural attacks work on him. He is a god after all," Tsurugi stuck a finger up into the air, trying to come up with a possibility for another attack that might cause some damage.

"Yeah, but he's made of frickin' blood," Hiroshima posed an argument. Phantom-like attacks only did mental damage to the living or other ghosts. This entity was made of pure fluid. Lamagra had no real brain or organs. There was nothing solid that could be damaged at all.

"He's got to have a weak spot, something that keeps him alive and allows him to keep his shape," Tsurugi just knew there was something about him that had to be a weak point. He wanted to believe that there was a method in which one could defeat Lamagra, they just hadn't found it. Nothing was unbeatable, not even a god.

"What would that be? Even if we disassemble him, he reforms himself." Haven't they thought of every way possible? Fife didn't know of any other ways to try and destroy him. Right now, he seemed pretty undefeatable.

"I say we set him on fire," Hiroshima went with the most direct approach.

"I agree," Fife nodded. "It seems to work."

"Wait a minute," Ko butted in, "does anyone here know how to use vortexes?"

"I do," Hiroshima looked to the girl. "Why?"

"What if we suck him into a vortex?" It wasn't a way to truly defeat him, but it was a way to get him out of the temple. Maybe if they sent him away it could count as a defeat? It was a long shot, but Ko couldn't think of anything else that would take him out with one hit.

"Good theory," Tsurugi complimented before he gave the girl grave news, "but gods can transcend dimensions."

"Damn it!" Ko cursed, balling her fists to her sides as she gritted her teeth. "What do we do then? Glancing around, she checked to see if there was any glimmer of hope in the expressions of her fellow warriors' faces.

Just then, Fife's face lit up as a wide devious smile crossed his soft features. "I have an idea that might work."

"Anything is better than nothing," Zangetsu was willing to try his plan. He hoped that the vampire would find a way to beat Lamagra.

Fife instructed them to follow his lead. Taking his sword out, the blue-haired man plunged the blade into the ground and summoned a fissure. The entire temple began to shake violently. Scarring the ground below it, the blade sunk in deeper and deeper, causing the shaking to become more violent. The earthquake was so large that pieces of the building had fallen off and came crashing to the ground, splintering off into several small fragments. In the middle of the quake, Mizuho fell down and lost her footing.

"What's going on?" The frightened girl asked as her eyes darted around the temple.

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Outside of the building, the violent shaking continued. Chichiri nearly fell off of the stares as pieces of them hit stairs on lower levels. All eyes were to Lamagra's mighty shrine as pieces smashed into the ground with loud crashes and rocks as well as pieces of the structure dispersed everywhere. Sadoma, Keiji and Chichiri glanced around in all directions. They each wondered where the earthquake came from and if their friends were alright inside of the temple.

"Was that an earthquake?" It could have possibly been a magic attack hitting one of the walls of the temple. Keiji just hoped that it was a result of the battle and not someone dying.

"The temple's foundation has been cracked!" Sadoma ran up the stairs and attempted to go into the temple. She could hear Keiji shouting for her to wait, but she had already gone inside.

Frantically, the girl looked around to see what happened. Her eyes darted every which way, trying to see some kind of remnants of the battle, or even of Lamagra himself. 'I must find Mizuho! We have to protect Lord Lamagra!'

XxXxXxXxXx

Blood began to ooze through the hole in the ceiling. The red essence leaked through every available crack in the surface. Fife pointed his sword to the hole, commanding everyone to fix it. Zangetsu granted his wish with a Flame Strike, followed by Tsurugi's Flame Arrow and Hiroshima's Spiral Winds. All of the attacks combined to make a fiery tornado that creeped into the cracks.

Fife then ran to Undine as quickly as he could his feet could carry him. Blue eyes stared beyond the prison walls into the half-lidded ones of the girl trapped inside. He let her name slip between his lips with affection and his eyes softened.

"Fife, it's good to see you again," Undine greeted him in the same mechanical tone that she always had.

The vampire put his hand on the surface of the giant crystal. It felt cold to the touch. "Don't worry, Undine. I'll save you from your prison. Soon, you'll be able to join us again."

"Look out!" Undine shouted as she put her hands on the surface of the crystal, but it was no use. Before she knew it, there was an explosion of rock and blood so expansive that it blasted everyone back, knocking them off of their feet and sending their bodies sailing through the air.

"What the-!?" Hiroshima was belted backwards.

"Fife!" Ko shouted as she saw a wad of debris cover the vampire and the girl trapped in the crystal.

However, Fife wasn't about to die yet. He jumped through the blood and wreckage with his sword drawn. Streams of blood, combined with the fallen rocks were nipping at his heels, waiting to drown him in a pool of blood.

...To Be Continued