Chapter 8: The Crimson Courtyard

As they traveled through the corrupted temple courtyard, each step causing a splash of blood, Celeste was chatting with Alex as they looked around cautiously for any more surprises. As she spoke, "I am really surprised that you are picking up this magic far quicker than I expected. You're doing a great job."

Alex blushed a little and spoke, "No, it is nothing. I can hardly call what I'm doing magic of my own creation. All I'm doing is copying things from my world that I've learned about or used in the past and just replicating them as magic. Until I can create something new and original, I wouldn't call what I do anything special."

Celeste said, "No, what you do is actually amazing. Even if you were just copying something, you're easily producing the spell with that image. Just because you're taking an idea from something else doesn't mean it's not... not amazing. So have more confidence."

As they continued to move forward, the sound of pouring water grew louder and louder. When they made it to the back of the temple, they saw a giant Buddhist statue. On its left and right sides were statues that had already broken and crumbled to the ground. But the most disturbing thing they noticed was that the Buddha's head was tilted upward, mouth wide open, as the blood from that spinning pagoda poured straight into the Buddha's mouth. As its mouth overflowed, the blood spilled from the sides, splashing everywhere, leaking down the statue to the ground.

Alex spoke, "So this is where all the blood is coming from. No wonder this whole place is full of it. It's just endlessly pouring down from the pagoda."

But then, the giant Buddha statue started to move. Its head tilted forward, and the mouth full of blood ran down the sides as it gave a big, evil smile, its piercing eyes staring down at both of them.

Celeste said, "Be careful, this one is stronger than the others."

As they pulled out their weapons and waited, nothing happened. The Buddha did not move from its spot. It didn't stand up. It just sat there.

Alex looked at Celeste, confused, and asked, "So what should we do?"

Celeste said, "Try shooting it with that magic you used earlier on that chanting monk."

Alex looked down at his hand, formed it into the shape of a gun, and focused as a glowing brown light formed at his fingertip. He then pointed it forward and spoke the spell, "Earth shot!"

A magical earth projectile shot forth toward the statue, but it had no effect. The Buddha casually smacked the magic bullet away with the back of its hand, causing it to fizzle into nothing.

Celeste observed what happened and spoke, "This thing may have a high resistance to magic, so we may have to get in close and deal some physical damage, or at least be able to crack through its stone body. The Masamune should be able to do that easily, I just got to get in close to get a good strike in."

Alex readied Muramasa and said, "Alright, let's do this." As he lowered his body and charged forward, Celeste followed right next to him. He then jumped high and swung down the Muramasa at the Buddha statue, but it easily swiped the flat of the blade with its hand, deflecting the blade and changing its trajectory. But Celeste was on its right side. It tried to do the same with her swords, but the Masamune penetrated through the arm and severed it off completely as its right arm fell to the ground, as mounds of flesh and blood flowed from the severed limb onto the ground.

Then the Buddha statue looked down at its severed arm on the ground, and its face twisted as horns protruded out of the top of its head, piercing through the stone. Its eyes glowed red as tears of blood flowed down its face, and blood poured from its now fanged mouth as it roared. But the roars were not normal. This place was not normal at all, and the sound resembled hundreds of thousands of cursed mantras all being sung and spoken at once.

It looked down at Alex and Celeste and waved its right hand at them, but nothing happened at first. They looked around cautiously. Then Celeste noticed it before Alex did. One of the fallen stone statues on the ground suddenly came to life like a puppet and swung as hard as it could toward Alex’s back.

Her eyes widened. "Watch out!" she screamed, dashing forward with all her strength. She slammed into Alex, shoving him down to the ground just as the massive stone hand struck. The impact hit her full on, sending her flying across the bloody ground, bouncing violently as the sound of snapping echoed through the air. Her once white wings were now drenched in blood, hanging lifelessly like a cloak. The crushing blow had shattered both wings, and likely more.

Alex quickly pushed himself up, eyes wide, and yelled out her name. "Celeste!" He realized she had saved him from the attack, taking the full force of the strike herself.

Alex then jumped back as another stone fist came flying at him, crashing into the ground right where he once stood. He continued to step back, heart pounding, watching as a second statue, crumpled on its left side, slowly rose to its feet as well. Now the corrupted Buddha had two towering guards on either side.

Alex gritted his teeth and readied Muramasa, preparing to face them alone. His eyes glanced toward Celeste, lying motionless on the blood soaked ground. She was covered head to toe in blood, her body barely moving. A tremor of rage and fear coursed through him as he tightened his grip on the katana, ready to cut down every last one of them.

But then things got worse. The Buddha in the back began to convulse as its stomach and chest split open, tearing wide to reveal a gaping maw in the center of its torso. From within, dozens of slick, black tentacles slithered out, writhing and dripping with blood as they crept slowly toward Celeste’s motionless body.

Alex’s eyes widened. He cursed under his breath. "Damn it... it just keeps getting worse. If I don’t do something, it’s going to eat her."

But he had no time to think further. Both twisted stone guards suddenly charged at him, swinging wildly. Alex dodged left, then right, the impact of each massive blow shaking the ground as he leapt back, barely avoiding their strikes.

He could not concentrate on the fight as he watched the tentacles slithering closer and closer to Celeste. A spark of desperation lit inside him. If he didn’t act now, she would be gone.

Clenching his teeth, Alex decided to go all out. He focused a lot of his magic energy into Muramasa, the blade pulsing with black and red light as dark energy coiled around it. He waited for one of the stone golems to approach. The moment it swung its massive fist down at him, Alex didn’t dodge or retreat. He charged forward.

He slipped past the first corrupted statue, dashing along the blood soaked ground until he was right in front of the second. With a sharp exhale, he unleashed his power, swinging Muramasa in a full arc.

Dozens of dark energy blades erupted outward, slicing through the air and into the stone statue’s body. The attacks tore through it again and again, shredding stone, flesh, and whatever corrupted matter bound it together. Blood and gore spurted from the cracks until the second statue collapsed, falling to the ground like a heap of shattered stone and mangled flesh.

But he did not stop his charge after that swing. He continued past the second golem as it was falling apart, sprinting straight toward Celeste. As he reached her, he quickly opened his bag and pulled out Onimaru, feeding it his magical energy as he plunged it into the ground beside her body. A magical pulse spread outward, forming a shimmering barrier of divine energy around her, protecting her from the approaching tentacles.

Alex turned back toward the remaining corrupted statue, gripping Muramasa tightly. The barrier behind him flickered, holding firm as he steadied his breathing. Then he broke into another charge, rushing head on toward the remaining statue.

The statue roared and brought both of its massive arms down to crush him, but Alex didn’t stop. He pushed harder, boots sliding across the slick, bloody ground as he dashed straight between its descending fists. With one powerful motion, he swung Muramasa upward, unleashing a dark surge of energy.

A massive black arc sliced through the air, cleaving the corrupted statue clean in half. The split halves toppled to the sides, crashing to the ground as blood oozed out, adding more blood to the already massive pool of blood in the temple grounds.

Alex stumbled to a stop, planting his hands on his knees as he hunched over, gasping for breath. Every muscle burned. The energy he had poured into the Muramasa had drained him almost completely.

But then, Alex stepped back, startled, as the shattered stone guards began to shake. Cracks shifted, grinding noises filled the air, and the pieces started to move.

The corrupted Buddha in the back raised its remaining hand, its fingers curling upward. The broken guards responded, their bodies slowly reforming from the rubble as blood seeped through the cracks of their stone shells.

Alex’s expression hardened. He took several steps back, sweat and blood mixing on his face as he whispered under his breath, "You’ve got to be kidding me..."

He exhaled sharply and muttered, "Dang... looks like I’m going to have to take out the Buddha, or this is just going to go on forever."

Then something caught his eye. The tentacles had reached the glowing barrier. They pressed against it, writhing and pulsing, their tips beginning to pierce through Onimaru’s barrier.

Alex’s stomach twisted. "Damn... it looks like this one’s a lot stronger than I thought. That barrier won’t hold much longer."

His eyes darted from the Buddha to Celeste, whose motionless body lay only inches from the advancing tendrils. "I’ve got to end this now," he growled, tightening his grip on Muramasa.

He straightened his posture, blood dripping from his chin, and readied Muramasa for another round.

Alex then looked around, knowing he had to defeat the Buddha to end this nightmare. His eyes darted across the blood soaked ground until he spotted it, Masamune, the one weapon that could destroy the corrupted Buddha once and for all.

Without hesitation, he dashed toward it, his boots splashing through pools of blood as he slid to a stop and gripped the sword’s hilt with his left hand. The blade dripped with blood.

He turned back toward the battlefield, glaring at the reforming statues. "Alright," he muttered under his breath, "now to push straight through to the Buddha."

But things didn’t go his way. The two massive stone statues moved to block his path, swinging their heavy arms like indestructible shields. Every time he cut one down, its body regenerated faster, each fragment reassembling as though mocking him.

He growled in frustration and glanced toward Celeste. His heart nearly stopped. The tentacles had pierced through Onimaru’s barrier and were wrapping around her legs, dragging her toward the Buddha’s open maw.

Panic and rage collided inside him. He charged forward at the first statue, swinging down with both Muramasa and Masamune, severing its arms completely. Shards of stone and blood sprayed outward as it collapsed. But before he could move, the second statue swung from the side.

Alex tried to dodge, but exhaustion had slowed him. The massive arm slammed into him before he could move fully aside. He managed to bring both blades up to block, the force of the impact sending vibrations through his arms. The power behind the strike tore the weapons from his grip, sending Muramasa and Masamune skidding across the blood soaked ground as Alex was thrown backward, crashing hard onto his back.

Alex quickly got back to his knees, his entire body drenched in blood. He looked toward Celeste. She was still limp and unresponsive, being dragged even closer to the Buddha’s gaping maw.

Gritting his teeth, Alex’s expression hardened. "Enough screw celeste's warning," he muttered, his voice trembling with fury. He reached into his backpack and pulled out Bunyan’s Axe, pouring his magic into it until its edges began to glow.

"Let’s see if you can handle this," he yelled, hatred burning in his eyes as he stared up at the grinning Buddha statue.

He pulled his arm back and hurled the axe forward with all his might. It spun violently through the air, whistling with magical energy as it flew straight toward the Buddha.

The corrupted statue’s grin disappeared as it sensed the immense power behind the weapon. It immediately commanded both stone guards to move in front of it, using them as shields.

The tentacles released Celeste’s body and retracted into the Buddha’s chest as the monstrous idol crossed its arms defensively, bracing for the impact.

The spinning Bunyan’s Axe flew forward with unstoppable force. The moment it came into contact with the first stone statue, the statue instantly disintegrated, vanishing into nothing but dust that rained to the ground.

The axe continued forward, colliding with the second guardian. The same thing happened again. The statue burst apart, reduced to a swirling cloud of ash that scattered through the air.

Then the weapon struck the Buddha’s crossed arms.

The instant it made contact, a blinding flash erupted from the impact point, followed by a massive shockwave that exploded outward behind the Buddha statue. The corrupted Buddha statue vanished in an instant, consumed by the immense power. Everything behind it, stone pillars, walls, the crumbling pagoda, was swept away in the force, collapsing to the ground as if a colossal earthquake had torn through the temple.

The very earth trembled as dust and debris filled the air, and waves of crimson blood splattered across the courtyard and beyond as the remains of the corrupted temple fell silent.

Then Bunyan’s Axe clattered to the ground.

Alex looked over to Celeste and pushed his tired body as quickly as he could to get to her side. Dropping to his knees, he placed a trembling hand against her chest.

"Thank God," he whispered, feeling the faint rhythm of her heartbeat. "She’s still alive."

He gently wiped the blood from her face as best he could, his hands shaking with exhaustion and relief. But then, from three of the four directions, the sound of that cursed mantra began again, growing louder, closer, echoing across the ruined temple.

Alex’s eyes widened. "We’ve got to get out of here. I’m too tired to deal with any more of this."

He forced himself to his feet, staggering as he gathered up the scattered weapons. Returning to Celeste, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her waist, securing her broken wings close to her body.

Then he lifted her into his arms, resting her head gently against his shoulder. Without looking back, he began to carry her away from the cursed temple, toward the wasteland of rubble and blood he had created, leaving behind the cursed mantras of the temple behind as they faded into the wasteland.