Cori watched as the blue flames warped from her hand, dancing around Lee Seng as the fist collided. Lee Seng kicked away, flipping in the air and landing on his feet. The blue flames moved together, growing into a single blue flame.
"Conjuring a flame and manipulating it are two different things." Calis told Evan and Ritsuka. "Manipulating fire that isn't yours… that's harder." Ritsuka and Evan watched appalled by the display of their friend's power. He had lost almost all of his powers and was reduced to an evolved form of light magic.
Cori's disdain for Lee Seng only grew. Anger spewed across her face and body. Her tails moved outwards, shaking as flames grew across her body. There was no way a 'vessel' like Lee Seng could stop a pure-blood like herself. Unspoken, unmoving, Lee Seng watched Cori's fire grow. He narrowed his eyes and watched the flame energy concentrate into her tails, arms and legs.
Cori ran forward, lowering both her arms and extending her claws. She swung at Lee Seng, who perfectly dodged the attacks. She swung at him wildly, her feet slamming into the ground and perfectly moving the hot energy from burning the ground. Her tails flew out, mixing with her swipes, but Lee Seng continued to perfectly dodge her attacks.
'Why?' Cori asked herself. 'Why could someone reduced to nothing continue to dodge my attacks?!?' The flames grew hotter and her attacks grew faster. She would push Lee Seng to the limit. She would see just how far he was and crush him. The faster she went, the faster Lee Seng moved. The blue wisp of flame danced alongside him, barely getting hit by Cori's attacks.
Cori moved faster, blurring and actually landing a burning scratch across Lee Seng's chest. Scratches grew across Lee Seng as she overwhelmed him. A tail flew in, hitting Lee Seng square on the side and sending him flying. The blue wisp stood in place as Cori turned and rushed after him, accidentally triggering the wisp's energy.
The unstable energy was enough to draw Cori's eyes to it. She had accidentally triggered the wisp that was holding her energy. She turned and moved her hands in front of her, pointed towards the exploding flames. She would have to contain it. Her anger and her 'status' had blinded her to the dangers the vessel held! Cori gritted her teeth, sliding backwards as the blast grew. Heat whipped in every direction and quickly moved straight for the group watching them.
Lee Seng flipped onto his feet and put his hand out and spoke the command, "Bound." All of the fire and heat flew straight towards him. Cori watched as the blue flames moved past her attempts and behind her. The vessel had done something even more amazing. The flames pulled off of her like a leech sucking blood. His single command was pulling all of the flames and heat into a condensed space in his hand.
General Halys couldn't help but be both disappointed and amazed. Lee Seng's fire magic was much stronger than Cori's. The differences between the two were clear - Lee Seng's emotions didn't fuel his flames like Cori's. He stood up from his seat and started over to the two.
"That's quite enough." General Halys finally broke the battle. "I hope you've gotten your answer, Cori. You almost killed us all. If it weren't for Lee Seng—"
"Why do you and the Commander continue to praise this Vessel and his washed up Spirit! They're second-rates! That's all they'll ever be! I will never accept him as one of us! They're not twins - the Spirit couldn't get rid of the parasite that is the Vessel!" Cori shouted. A dark energy rose, turning both the General and Cori to the same point. Lee Seng appeared mid-air and moved the condensed energy straight for Cori. Anger had finally come onto his face.
"Enough." General Halys moved a hand over and repelled Lee Seng into the wall with a single motion. He took the condensed energy and made it vanish. "You would defy orders from your General?" He looked at Cori, waiting for her to say something. Her eyes shook with fear. The General rarely punished the upper-ranks, but it looked like that day had finally come for Cori.
"N-no, General." Cori gulped. "I was wrong."
"About what?"
"Th-the… vesse—"
"Say his name. Say both of their names correctly." General Halys orderedi. Cori gulped and nodded.
"Lee Seng and Keng a-aren't… second-rates. I-I was mistaken by this." Cori looked at Lee Seng with veins ready to burst from her face being so red. "I'm sorry." Halys nodded and waved her away. Cori let out a gasp of air and immediately disappeared.
"I wanted to see what you could do, so I had you fight Cori, knowing her prejudice." General Halys turned to Lee Seng. "For that, you'll have to forgive me." Lee Seng slowly pushed himself up and cracked his head. He winced at the pain, but let the Solar magic do its work in healing him.
"You'll have to forgive my… anger there, General." Lee Seng apologized with a small bow. "I, uh… didn't think I'd be so pissed at her. She was like that with Keng and… I guess nothing's really changed."
"All's forgiven. You've grown exponentially since I last saw you. You aren't the same Fox I watched over in the Flower Forest. You've grown into your own person and have good control over your emotions. I could feel them from where I sat." General Halys complimented Lee Seng. "With your second cultivation, you should take time to ascend. Your climb to nine tails was far faster than any Fox Spirit I've seen. By the God King's name, you might even rival that of the commander. Don't go so fast and fully take in that power you have been blessed with. The gods' power is nothing to flaunt."
"Thank you for your kind words, General." Lee Seng bowed, again. General Halys turned and motioned for Lee Seng to follow.
"Come, let's finish talking about what's going to happen, hm?"
Outskirts of Dead Town
A portal appears and Son steps out. He groaned and wiped his brow. He was painted with blood and the groan reminded him to turn back and grab the barely conscious man on the other side of the portal.
"Get in here." Son said, pulling the man through the portal. The portal closed, leaving them in darkness. He cleans his hands and looks at the bloodied man. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have to lift a damn finger. I oughta—"
Knock, knock.
Son's eyes move over to the door. He sighs and snaps his fingers, cleaning himself. He moves to the door and opens it.
"What?" Son asked the Deimon.
"S-sir, something just happened." The Deimon stuttered.
"What?" Son asked. When the Deimon didn't say anything, Son grew impatient. "Spit it out before I decide to spill your insides on the floor!" The Deimon jumps at the threat and turns slightly towards the entryway.
"I felt something on the other side of the town." The Deimon stutters. "I didn't know what to do so I—"
"When did you feel it?" Son interjected. The Deimon gulped and turned back to face its superior. Son was young, but he was powerful.
"About half an hour ago…"
"You didn't bother to call?!?" Son punched a hole into the door. The Deimon twitched and lifted its arm to protect its head in fear.
"I-I didn't know, sir! It was but a quick moment! T-those people haven't left and I-I—"
"There's people here?!? How long?"
"A-A couple weeks!"
"You didn't tell me!" Son's hand moved straight for the Deimon's throat. He raised the Deimon off the ground and pulled them close to his face. "You're all useless!" The Deimon's neck snapped and Son tossed the lifeless body to the side. "You're all useless. That's why I have to do everything myself!" Son fumed, ignoring the gurgles of the man, choking on his own blood.
"What am I going to do…?" Son whispered to himself. He stopped and balled his right fist and smacked his left hand with it. "They're probably here for me… Maybe I should get the jump on them…? No, Mother would surely kill me if she found out I abandoned my post… Argh! She should've put me on the front lines with the rest of those bastards! I want to fight, not hide and be a portal service!"
Son slammed his fist into the wall. He took a couple deep breaths and looked over at the dying bloodied man. He had almost forgotten about this one. He moved over and moved himself to kneel on top of the man. He pulled the man's collar and lowered his face onto the man's. Son's eyes lit up purple as a sinister smile grew on his face.
"You don't have to tell me anything. I always get what I want anyways." Son said before moving his mouth to the man's neck and biting it. The man's squeals mixed with his own blood. He thrashed as Son pushed some healing energy into the man. The man spat his own blood out and screamed. Son would enjoy refreshing himself while working. After all, he had to prepare himself for the fight to come.
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