Chapter 24: The Oni’s Fury, the Angel’s Trial

Natsumi was surrounded on all sides by creeping abominations, but her eyes of rage never left the giant Legion looming in the distance, the same monster that had stolen Alex from her. The abominations charged, their grotesque bodies leaping toward her from every direction.

She clenched Muramasa and let fury ignite into unstoppable momentum. She swung in wide arcs, slicing through each oncoming abomination. Her movements were relentless, driven by focused rage. She pressed forward without hesitation, ignoring claws and teeth as they tore into her flesh. Each wound knit shut almost as fast as it opened, her regeneration keeping pace while she carved a blood-soaked path ahead.

From afar, the looming giant watched and laughed, its voice echoing through the ruined city. “Give up, Oni. Become one with us. You cannot win this. We are too many for you to handle.”

With every step Natsumi pushed forward, with every injury and every body she cut down, her hold over the Oni blood began to waver. The demonic energy within her pulsed violently, fighting to take control. Bit by bit it forced itself through her veins, driving her toward a feral frenzy she struggled to resist. She had to hold back. She needed to save Alex.

She roared like a beast, a scream of anguish and defiance that tore through the air as she forced herself to focus. Then she poured every ounce of strength into a burst of speed the abominations could not track and leapt toward the giant. Clawed hands reached for her midair, but she slipped past them. With both hands gripping Muramasa, she swung down with all her might. The cursed blade bit into Legion’s shoulder as she descended, carved through its arm, and sank deep into its side. She landed, spun, and slashed in a wide arc that tore into its leg. The severed limb hit the ground and rolled grotesquely before collapsing beside her. The massive body staggered and fell with a thunderous crash, armless and crippled, the impact shaking the entire district.

Natsumi started for the chest of the collapsed giant, but a horde of abominations hurled themselves onto her in a desperate pile. They clawed and bit, trying to drag her down. She roared and swung wildly, Muramasa flashing crimson with each strike as she hacked through flesh and bone. When her blade caught, she tore with her hands, ripping and throwing bodies aside one by one until none remained.

By the time the last corpse fell, she was drenched from head to toe in blood. Her chest heaved as her wounds closed over. Ahead, the mutilated giant twitched, its pulsing body writhing as it tried to reform severed arms and legs.

She glared into Legion’s single glaring eye and screamed, her voice raw with fury. “Give him back. Give him back. Give him back. Give him back.” She charged, raised Muramasa high, and brought it down with all her strength upon its neck. The blade cleaved through with a wet crack. The monstrous head thudded to the ground.

Without hesitation, Natsumi plunged Muramasa into its chest and carved downward again and again, trying to open it. Blood sheeted over her arms as she cried out, tearing into the corpse in a frantic attempt to pull Alex free.

Inside the gaping cavity she found no sign of him. Instead, buried within the pulsing remains, a familiar gleam of steel caught her eye. Onimaru was lodged deep in the flesh, as if it had been ripped from Alex’s hands. Natsumi reached in, seized the blade, and pulled it free, clutching it tight in her other hand.

The severed head twitched, a grotesque grin curling its lips. A rasping laugh escaped it. “We have already taken him away. While you were fighting us, we pulled him out. He is beyond your reach now. Ha ha ha… stupid Oni.”

Something inside her broke. Natsumi’s eyes widened, then burned crimson as her last thread of restraint snapped. She screamed, a deafening sound that shook the air. Her vision blurred red and black as Oni blood flooded her mind. All that remained was fury.

She swung Muramasa and Onimaru in every direction, cutting through the remains of Legion, the ground, the walls, and anything that dared exist around her. Her rage became a storm, and the city drowned in crimson chaos as she rampaged through street after street, destroying everything in her path.

Meanwhile, a demon carried Celeste through the sky. She struggled and twisted as the claws dug into her arms. The city below stretched like a shattered maze of ruin and flame. Desperation filled her as she reached for Excalibur. She focused, and the divine flame within the blade flared to life. The light burned hotter until it seared the demon’s flesh.

The demon roared, its wings faltering as smoke and ash streamed behind it. In a panic it dove toward the ground and released her just before impact. Celeste slammed into the earth and tumbled across the broken plain until she skidded to a stop. Pain rippled through her body. She forced herself onto one arm, blood running down her face.

She stabbed Excalibur into the ground and summoned a healing spell, letting warm light spread through her battered frame. Divine energy coursed across her skin, closing the worst of her wounds and steadying her breath. The demon writhed nearby, its scorched wings twitching. With a snarl it shoved itself upright and staggered toward her again.

Celeste raised her sword, ready to finish it, until a second winged demon landed heavily to her right. Its claws gouged the dirt. “So, you found the angel,” it rasped.

The burned demon chuckled, charred skin peeling as it turned toward her. “Yes, but if we want to enjoy her, we had better do it now. It seems this angel has lost her wings. If we do not hurry, she will become fallen before we can enjoy her screams. Then it will be no fun at all.”

Celeste got to her feet and channeled mana into Masamune and Excalibur. Both blades hummed with radiant and divine power. She held her ground and watched, waiting to see what they would do.

The first demon held out his hand. Darkness swirled, lengthened, and formed a massive spear that pulsed with corrupt energy. He leveled it at her and advanced, malice rolling off him. The second demon hung back as flames erupted from its right hand. With a shared roar they charged.

Celeste steadied herself. The fire-wielder hurled its blazing orb first. She leapt aside as it struck, the blast throwing her back several steps. As she regained her footing, the spear lunged. She caught it on Excalibur and deflected, but the cursed tip grazed her side. Flesh blackened on contact, decay spreading under her skin.

Her eyes widened. I cannot let that spear touch me. It is full of curses. I cannot heal this wound.

The spear bearer pressed the attack, thrusting and sweeping. Celeste stepped back, blocking and parrying with both swords as divine light clashed against dark corruption. The second demon conjured another fireball, one in each hand, its grin widening as twin spirals of flame coiled in its palms.

What do I do? How can I turn the tables? she thought as she met strike after strike, the relentless pressure giving her no room.

Both fireballs hurtled toward her while the spear darted again. Celeste dropped Excalibur, pivoted to avoid the thrust, seized the shaft with both hands, and shoved hard, driving the spear bearer into the path of the incoming flame. The fireball smashed into its back and exploded, knocking both demons sprawling.

The second fireball was already upon her. She tried to roll clear, but the blast went off too close and hammered her side, tumbling her across the dirt. Blood leaked from both wounds as she pushed to one knee and coughed. The far demon was already charging a larger fireball.

She hesitated. Should I use holy magic? For a heartbeat she considered it, then shook her head. No. I need to save it. I have to last as long as I can before I fall.

She steadied her breath and poured mana into Masamune. “Looks like we are relying on this blade’s gift,” she murmured. The katana’s edge began to hum as a cool blue glow climbed the steel, the energy building fast.

The giant fireball roared toward her. Celeste focused, raised Masamune, and cut a clean vertical line that split the sphere. Both halves screamed past, and she dashed through the gap toward the caster.

The spear bearer leapt between them and stabbed in a flurry. Celeste danced back, narrowly avoiding each lethal thrust. She gathered power into Masamune until it flared bright. When he lunged again, she fixed on the spear’s tip and struck. Steel met shadow, and the dark weapon split cleanly in two, both ends spinning past her head. Masamune followed through, cleaving the demon from shoulder to hip. The halves fell in a spray of ash and blood.

She did not slow. She charged the fire caster as its mouth glowed red and heat built in its chest like a bellows. It exhaled a torrent of flame.

Celeste cut through the inferno. Fire split and rolled to either side as she dashed the last few steps. She swung once, clean and rising, and the demon came apart at the waist, its top half sliding into cinders.

She flicked Masamune, spattering blood across the ground, then sheathed it. She crossed to Excalibur, lifted it, and slid it home. A healing spell bloomed in her palm. Warm light closed the worst of her injuries, but the cursed, decaying wound from the spear refused to mend and throbbed angrily under her ribs. It would not heal until the curse bled away.

When the glow faded, she drew a steady breath and sprinted for the distant city, praying that Alex and Natsumi were still alive.