Chapter 34: Sun and Moon! The Unbeatable Demon?!

Their eyes widened with this sudden burst of power. It happened so fast, it was almost painful. New color swirled within their irises; Leona’s becoming the same golden as her jacket. A sun-like pattern surrounded her pupils. Her hair and fur had also become the dazzling golden-yellow, however, being mostly covered by her sleeves and pants. Her hair exploded in growth, turning into a shining golden mane draping over her shoulders.

Ferral remained mostly the same. His eyes changed as well, irises becoming dark blue while his pupils turned a ghostly white. Like a full moon in the night sky. The color of his fur remained its pitch black, but his hair turned as white as the snow beneath their feet.

They roared, “HAAAAAAGH!!!” Their bodies were overflowing with this newfound strength. “HAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!”

The clone looked over once he heard their war cries, holding Armin by the throat. He was barely able to turn his head to see Ferral and Leona back on their feet. He laughed, “It worked!” The clone growled, throwing Armin to the ground and flying in their direction.

“AH, FUCK YEEEAH!!!!!” Leona shouted to the sky, “I FEEL LIKE INCREDIBLE!!!” The power-ups healed all the wounds and injuries they had sustained before, so Leona’s right arm was fixed. Ferral looked at his hands; they were shaking with how much power flowed through his body. Or perhaps it was the excitement at the fact that his awakening pills had worked better than he could’ve hoped for. They examined each other, looking in awe at these new forms. “God, this feels awesome! Huh, Ferral?” “Yeah, I barely contain myself,” He took another glance at Leona, “You’re pretty hard to look at, I’m gonna be honest. So much yellow.” Leona scoffed, offended. “Part of the reason is that you gave me this ugly jacket!” “Then take it off.” “No, it’s cold.” She popped the jacket’s collar.

The clone landed in front of them with a loud thud. “Wha….What is this?!” He demanded. However, they ignored his question. “So, what dumbass name are you giving this one?” Leona asked. Ferral thought about it for a second, then shrugged. “Not really comes to mind, right now. But for now, let’s just call these Sun and Moon.” “Well, that’s boring, but at least it sounds miles better than the other one.” The clone roared furiously at them, this time drawing their attention.

He hissed, “I don’t know what you’ve done, but it won’t save you.” Ferral gave him a murderous glare, while Leona smirked confidently. “We’ll just see about that,” She said, “Let’s go, Ferral!” “Right!” The two burst forward, crushing the ground beneath them. The clone charged at them too, Leona blocking a punch while Ferral ducked his tail that came swiping at him. Ferral sprang forward, driving his fist into the clone’s stomach, pushing him back. Leona moved toward Ferral, leaping into the air. He formed an ‘X’ with his arms, and she placed her left foot on it before jumping toward the clone. She kicked him in the face, Ferral rushing over, ready to attack. The clone snarled, whipping his tail at Ferral. He stopped, dodging and ducking each swipe.

Leona dashed over, throwing a punch that the clone barely had time to block. Ferral also lunged with a punch. The clone blocked that as well, but was then assaulted by the two as they unleashed a flurry of attacks. He was forced to put his arms up, only able to block. Soon, he took to the sky, flying up and backward several feet away. The two chased after him. Once they were beneath him, Leona looked at Ferral. “I need you to throw me!” She shouted. He nodded, sliding to the side, cupping his hands together. She jumped on his hand and was thrown into the air. The clone looked down, Leona uppercutting his face. She knocked his head back, then spun and kicked him to the ground. As he fell, Ferral raced over, lunging forward with both arms out. He bore through the clone’s body, putting a massive hole through his stomach.

Leona fell back down to the ground, landing on her right fist and knee. She looked up, seeing the clone stumble back after the attack. Ferral turned around, smiling. The hole quickly began to fill, and the clone was livid. He roared to the sky, launching spines at the two. They dodged them and counterattacked. Jumping and sliding around him, delivering blow after blow. Leona’s were swift and rapid, while Ferral’s were heavy and destructive, tearing off pieces of the clone with each strike. To his eyes, they were nothing more than yellow and black blurs.

After becoming too overwhelmed, the clone cried out in frustration. From the ground, two large fungi emerged. Ferral and Leona jumped back. The hand-shaped fungi clamped down, shutting the clone inside. “Now what?” Ferral groaned. Leona went to strike at the structure, but as she approached, black spines sprouted all around the pod. She stopped, sliding her heels on the ground before jumping back. After a minute, the clone burst from the pod, ripping through it. He flew into the air, his wings larger than before and more bird-like with black feathers. They looked up at him, staying on their guard. The clone grinned, sticking his hands toward them, several tenrials wiggling out of his forearms. They shot downard, each one spiked at the end. They were fast; the duo barely got out of the way as they penetrated the ground.

The clone retracted them, flying down at a high speed toward Ferral. He moved his right arm back, like he was ready to slash him. More tendrils sprouted out and formed into a large red arm. He swung it, Ferrall blocking it with his arm, getting sent sliding to the side. Leona came charging in, but the clone stuck out his left hand, and the tendrils shot forward. She slid out of the way; however, one of them stabbed her right shoulder. A stronger poison was injected. She wailed as the searing hot pain flowed through her body, her right arm going completely limp.

Ferral cried out, “LEONA!” The clone used this chance to attack, opening his mouth and firing out more spike tendrils. Ferral only had a split second to block them with his arms, each one stabbing him. He cried out in agony, his arms falling, limp. The clone grinned joyfully, heading straight toward Ferral. He rammed in head into his face, sending him tumbling back. He retracted all of the tendrils back into his body. He turned his sights toward Leona, who was holding her shoulder in pain. The clone looked down at his claws, laughing before licking them and coating them in poison.

He flew toward her. Leona dodged most of his swipes, but got a few cuts on her left cheek and on her stomach. The poison instantly coursed through her veins, stopping her movement as she constricted in pain. The clone clotheslined her, then slammed his tail down on her body before batting her away with it. Ferral came rushing in, fighting only using his feet. The clone blocked and dodged some of the attacks, getting hit square in the stomach and sent flying back. Ferral ran after him, arms dangling at his sides.

Once he got his footing, the clone simply stood in place as Ferral got closer. He grinned joyfully, letting Ferral kick him across the face. He was confused why, but was completely shocked when tendrils shot up out of the ground. They wrapped around his body, pinning Ferral to the ground. He lifted his head to see they had come from the clone’s ankles. Then Ferral felt several impaled into his back. He arched his back, screaming at the top of his lungs as he suffered. The clone laughed loudly; the sound was like music to his ears. He leaned down over Ferral. “I told you! You’ll never win!” Ferral screamed out, breaking his left arm out of the bind and socked him across the face. The clone sneered, whipping his tail around and slicing off Ferral’s arm from the elbow. He winced, not feeling much pain because of his numbness. The clone picked him up and punched him away.

All the while, Armin watched helplessly. He hoped they would’ve been able to beat him with their newfound strength, but that wasn’t the case. “This monster is getting too strong too fast,” He cursed, “And if the cure can’t kill him, what will?” Amrin paced back and forth, biting his thumb. That’s when he heard a distant rumbling. He looked up to the east, and dark gray clouds were coming over. Thunder boomed in the distance while bolts of lightning trailed in the sky. “If only we could take that lightning and set this bastard on fire.” He muttered…and there was a sudden click. He quickly whipped around and ran back into the destroyed complex.

He maneuvered through rubble and bodies, stopping after he heard a small groan. He looked to his right, seeing Hannah under some of the debris. “Hannah!” He rushed over, throwing off the pieces. He hugged her tightly, “Thank goodness you’re okay! I’m so sorry for not checking sooner!” She lightly smacked the back of his head, “Took you long enough,” She weakly replied, smiling slightly. “What’s happening outside?” She asked. Armin shook his head, “It’s not looking good. But I have an idea. Can you stand?” They looked down at her legs, and the left one was badly bruised. Hannah looked at Armin, “I should be fine.” “I’ll help you.” He picked her up, draping her left arm over his shoulder, and the two moved carefully.

They made their way to the tower where Ferral and Leona’s room was. Once they got to the top, Armin sat Hannah on Leona’s bed, then turned around and grabbed Ferral’s bags. “Please have brought it…” He mumbled, rummaging through both. That’s when he felt it, his face lighting up. He pulled out the large steel gauntlet. “What is that?” Hannah asked. The distant boom of the thunder sounded behind them, and Armin pointed in that direction. “Our last hope.”