Following the bright rays of sunlight that led the angel closer to the colosseum, he froze when he heard footsteps approaching him from the corner of the dirt trail he was walking on.
Someone was watching him, but coming to the conclusion that only one person did was an understatement for he heard another pair of footsteps coming from the other side of the dirt trail. This time it was louder and more apparent.
Kelpy and Kamba emerged from the shadows of the forest and lunged at him. Douma flinched and backed away towards a corner.
This wasn't surprising to the blonde, the enemy wouldn't leave their target without a fight.
While Ryukushu dispatched his group to distract them, the demon was on his way to get to the three weapons. Douma had to get rid of these two fast before Ryukushu finds the place where the weapons were being kept.
They didn't have much time left.
"Ambiguous Scourge!" Kelpy drew his sword and threw Douma off the ground. The angel immediately got up, stumped by Kelpy's immense speed.
Similar to Nevirius' agility, Ryukushu's henchmen possessed tactical skills when it came to combat. This gave the entire group an advantage which is why they're always getting away with their atrocities. Because anyone who dares challenge them ends up dead within the first few seconds.
In addition to that, Ryukushu's group consists of the most feared entities in the perception of humans. Kelpy definitely looked like someone who deceived humans and targeted them frequently. That's why Ryukushu sees the potential in him. Nevirius was always welcome because of what he is; His actions could dismantle concepts and hierarchies, including conditions that every living organism adapts to for survival. Ryukushu wouldn't have second thoughts about recruiting such members into the Sagi-chi.
"There's nowhere to hide now! We've got you!" Landing in his direction, Kamba opened his mouth eagerly to get a bite out of the blonde.
Douma being this agile figure darted to the trees and walked up one of the trunks in front of him. When Kamba crashed into the ground and started cursing at himself for not concentrating on Douma's movements, the angel leaped off the tree trunk and shoved Kamba into the ground with his fan.
The same petite man who let his malevolent leader get away felt himself getting bulldozed into the ground. He found himself struggling to fight back the heavy fan that sank him further. "Help! Help someone!" Kamba cried out.
Those silent footsteps identical to the sound of rain droplets approached from behind the angel. Douma quickly turned around and fired an ice sickle directly at Kelpy who fell backwards from the sheering pain.
"Wintry Icicles!" Douma summoned a rain of icicles that came crashing down.
Kelpy opened his eyes and bolted towards Douma with his sword held firmly. "You're awfully bad at deciphering the state of your opponents. Are you that desperate to win this battle just because of a bunch of rusty weapons that have nothing to do with this fight? Think about your life here. Dimwit."
That's not true at all. Douma wasn't desperate to win this battle, there was a sense of urgency in his actions because he wanted to make sure that innocent people were safe from the hands of Ryukushu. At this rate, Kelpy is trying to get under his skin in a means to demoralize him mid battle. Nothing that comes out of Kelpy's mouth is to be taken literal, Douma narrowed his eyes at the man standing in front of him, holding his fan tightly.
Kamba rose from the ground and summoned a staff taller than him. He spun the staff around, a large stick with the top twirled in an unusual shape around a pearl in the center. Coiling all the icicles together in the rotation, the staff sliced them into pieces like a blender.
The petite man ran towards Douma. His staff collided with the angel's golden fan that caused him to trip on the floor when it nearly scrapped his arm.
"It's a pity you think that way. Let me just put this into perspective. You're not fighting on behalf of anyone. This is just another game to you." Douma replied to Kelpy who smiled cunningly after hearing the blonde's words.
"The Sagi-chi isn't complete if one of us is absent I'm afraid. We'll never let you off for what you did to Nevirius. I'm driven to put an end to your misery for that reason but you're eager to run away because of helpless individuals who can't differentiate between a human and a monster."
Helpless individuals? If he thinks so lowly of humans he might as well change that human appearance of his. It was a lovely purple-haired girl who gave him a broader perspective on the life that every creation is given. Humans were strong and formidable because of their meaningful influences. Douma grit his teeth and got into a fighting stance. Kelpy found his reaction amusing as he raised his sword and pointed it to the sky.
A swarm of urchins enveloped his sword. Morphing it into a rod of moving spikes that moved towards Douma. The angel moved back before this large weapon could hit him. It struck the ground creating a division between the ground and vegetation around it.
"Transforming into an angel is something I didn't expect on my bucket list!" Kamba widened his jaws and lunged at Douma like a piranha.
But to his surprise, the petite man flew through him and landed on the ground with a loud thump. "What? How did that happen..." Confused, Kamba got up and looked at Douma who backed away from another swing of Kelpy's spiked weapon.
Several urchins fell from the ground when Kelpy swung his weapon at Douma again.
Despite being inferior to Douma in terms of speed and capacity, Kamba wasn't afraid. In fact, he relished seeing Douma's struggles against Kelpy's attack. The smile plastered on his face made him look disoriented, a reflection of the excruciating battle taking place right in front of him.
The spiked rod struck Douma's side. The angel let out a scream while clutching his side where spikes and urchins latched onto his wound and then tumbled downwards to the forest floor.
Kelpy's spiked weapon disappeared. He stared at the wound on Douma's side that turned a dark purple. Even though the spikes and urchins weren't clinging onto the wound anymore, the effects still took a toll on him; The dark scabs that splattered the fabric of Douma's shirt with ink turned into scurrying spikes that multiplied by the second.
Douma desperately tried to reach out to his fan that was lying on the floor but the seething pain stopped him from moving any further. His regeneration was slowing down. The spikes were a whole colony now.
"Well that wasn't much of a challenge was it Kelpy?" The petite man approached Kelpy and looked down at Douma crouched on the floor.
Fighting an intense battle with these squirming spikes in his torso had a numbing effect on his wariness. The blonde held the spikes that poured out of his wound and threw them away when another wave of pain radiated from that area.
Another set of spikes seeped out of his wound leaving a few more clinging to his shirt for support. Douma lifted himself off the ground with the support of one hand, the other still holding onto his wound and removing the excess spikes that his fingers landed on.
But before he could grab his fan on the ground, Kelpy stomped on the ground like a bull and summoned two large tendrils from his back covered in spikes. These cactus-looking extensions swayed back and forth like serpents hunting for prey in the sand.
The flaps at the end of both tendrils appeared to be claws for grabbing and throwing his opponent around. Douma knew what Kelpy was about to do since he was standing right in front of him. The angel dodged one of the tendrils that lashed at him. His injury slowing him down but not by a margin.
Kelpy leaped to the sky and fired a reign of long spikes in Douma's direction. The angel knocked one of the spikes back at Kelpy with his golden fan, creating a diversion as Kelpy lost track of where Douma had run off to.
Kamba sniffed the air and darted to the bushes where Douma hid to regenerate. When Kamba was about to take out his staff, Douma grabbed his wiry hair and shoved the petite man to the ground. He layered the dugout spot with frost that left Kamba frozen temporarily.
Trotting out of the bushes, Douma looked around to see if Kelpy heard the commotion in the bushes. He most likely did, because the man who now towered him because of the cactus-looking things appeared in front of him.
Douma internally pestered his regeneration to quicken but it wouldn't comply given the state of his body and surroundings. The spikes were falling out one by one but their effects on his wound made it difficult for Douma to keep up with the battle.
The Sagi-chi were really tough. Douma was beginning to doubt Atlas' determination in handling these enemies. It was only a few minutes into the battle and the blonde's senses were already getting consumed by the pain of his injury.
"You're a coward. You've disappointed yourself. If you deny these two things you're even more senseless than I thought. Step aside and let Ryukushu take the three weapons." Kelpy spat with malice.
One of the tendrils lashed out at Douma again, reaching out to grab him. The angel leaned to the side and fired his multicolored ray at Kelpy.
Unfortunately, when the ray bolted between the two tendrils, Kelpy clasped the pair of larger hands together, disintegrating the attack like a bubble being popped.
"What exactly are you trying to do here? You're not going anywhere punk." Kelpy laughed at Douma whose expression darkened.
I've had enough of this. Douma defied the pain in his wound. He didn't care if it would cry out from him dashing across the clearing or soaring in the sky. Defeat wasn't going to solve this mess.
Douma leaped up into the sky and raised his golden fan. "Kaleido Ascension Style: Searing Skies!" He dove towards Kelpy and slashed both of his arms off like butter.
Kelpy let out a bloodcurdling scream and collapsed to the ground in agony.
Landing on the ground with caution in case Kamba rose up, Douma stood there thinking about the mission and how much of a challenge stopping Ryukushu will be.
But there was no other choice. He was going to put an end to Ryukushu's terror even if it meant getting more cuts and bruises that'll take ages to heal.
"Oh that was just terrible. You've undermined yourself because I can just do this." Two similar barbed tendrils popped out and replaced Kelpy's missing limbs. He stood up and leaned back to support the heavier weight on both sides of his torso.
"I can't wait to crush that empty head of yours. Maybe I shouldn't wait any longer." Kelpy extended his spiked arm towards Douma who was standing a few feet away from him.
"Availing Tarnisher!"
Douma spun around and saw a tall man in a white and green coat swiping Kelpy's arm away with his sword.
In shock, Kelpy regained his composure and pointed at his new opponent with a look of disgust. "Who are you? This isn't your battle." He shouted with an ounce of humiliation at the thought of Douma needing help during this battle. Maybe this man wouldn't stand a chance against him either.
The angel recognized this man. The last time he saw him was back at the Celestial Grounds. That was two years ago. Did he know about these ongoing problems? That seems to be the case why else would he be here of all places.
"Douma you've fought bravely. I'll take it from here." The man said, his back facing the angel who watched Kelpy take a few steps towards them.
"There's two of them Jeremiah and they're part of the same group. You're not going to stand a chance against these guys-
"Do you know who you're talking to Douma?" The blonde was cut off by Jeremiah's sudden reminder that struck him.
Before Douma could speak, Jeremiah smiled. "I understand you've been fighting to protect the vulnerable. Don't worry, I can take care of this." He said subtly. "There was a cluster of Ryukushu's pets back at the grassy plains beside the city. They're not a cause for concern anymore. Your next destination is The Roman Forum or The Palatine Hill. Go on now they're fifteen minutes away from here."
The angel hesitated for a while and then ran off down the dirt trail. Kelpy looked back at his former opponent and snarled.
"So I have to fight you now? Give me a break. You won't stand a chance." Kelpy interrogated. "Why are you fighting us all by yourself? Does the word 'backup' ever occur to you?"
Jeremiah spread his wings casting a glow above him. "Listen here demon. You don't know who you're dealing with. If I were you I'd save my breath, you need your stamina."
Kamba emerged from the ground behind Jeremiah and laughed hysterically. "Who do we have here? Oh don't bother I already heard everything!"
Both Kelpy and Kamba charged at Jeremiah from both sides. The taller angel leaped up and plunged his sword at Kelpy's shoulder, knocking him over the shrub at the corner. On the other hand, Kamba neared him but ended up getting flung away by the wind casted by the shining sword.
"What a tough opponent! This is more like it." Clenching his fists, Kelpy punched the ground causing it to shake violently. The taller angel moved away from the center of the battleground and watched Kelpy who looked up at him.
Jeremiah crossed his arms. "Are you still upset because you underestimated Douma's capabilities? Get over it. This is our battle now."
Kelpy sprang forward and reached out to claw at Jeremiah with his barbed arm. In less than a second, a blurry figure darted in front of Kelpy and stabbed his prickly arm all the way to the tissue of his shoulder.
"That sword of yours is too docile compared to mine. I don't think this'll be a fair fight if it goes on. I take back my words."
No response from Jeremiah's side. He spun around when he heard Kamba's scurrying footsteps and threw him off when he tried to bite his arm but was met with the same result as when he tried to chomp down on Douma.
Kamba rolled up and summoned his staff in his hand. "Take this!" When he rested his staff on the ground harshly, the trees morphed into weird zigzag shapes. Their trunks particularly.
Jeremiah dodged the strange formations, even the rocks had morphed into this stretched out shape that diverted away from the mastermind of this phenomenon and targeted the taller angel who sliced up a couple of them that got in his way.
"This is a sight to behold!" As Kamba watched Jeremiah caught between these shapes, he heard Kelpy slowly walking towards the area.
Unbeknownst to the petite man however, Jeremiah teleported right behind him and when he turned around from the presence raising his heartbeat, the angel kicked his staff, breaking it into pieces.
The effects of his staff wore off. The trees and rocks returned to normal. Kamba felt inferior without his staff. He couldn't rely on his claws! Not when Jeremiah was moving like a flash of light which made it difficult for him to keep track of his movements!
Kelpy set his foot down and waited for Jeremiah to acknowledge the presence of his opponent behind him.
These two are still going to keep fighting. But it's not because they're trying to detain their enemies while Ryukushu gets away with the weapons. This is an egoistic battle. Jeremiah's eyes turned to slits as Kelpy drew his sword and ran towards him.
Jeremiah blocked Kelpy's sword with his. The two of them continued sparring each other, one sword clashing with the other. Kelpy was continuously avoiding a hit or potential loss of balance, displaying the fighting style of a typical medieval fighter.
Kamba watched from a distance, pondering about his next move. The petite man slowly transformed into a porcupine and ran towards Jeremiah, firing his spikes at the taller angel.
Most of the spikes were thrown to the ground when Jeremiah fired a blast of thin beaming light at them.
The porcupine tried to fight back with its claws. He even tried biting Jeremiah. An extremely aggressive display of behavior coming from a supposed docile animal. Jeremiah hopped over the porcupine and scooped it up with his sword before flicking it away from him.
Kelpy was close to striking Jeremiah's neck with his sword when the tall man clashed with his weapon again creating a friction that separated the both of them.
"This is it." Jeremiah warned Kelpy as his sword gave off a bright static merging together to envelop the weapon in a glow.
Narrowing his eyes at Jeremiah, Kelpy too prepared his next attack which didn't involve his sword this time as he kept it.
Kamba watched the both of them charging their attack, focusing on Jeremiah's sword. That attack looks dangerous. The porcupine inched closer and hid beneath the tall grass.
Jeremiah drew his sword closer to Kelpy who moved away from it. If the opponent gets struck by this attack, they'll stay in their current state forever. The taller angel observed Kelpy's movements. deciding on the right time to swing his sword forward.
Once Kelpy executed his attack which came in the form of an intricate slash identical to an opaque band, Jeremiah dashed forward and swung his sword at Kelpy.
Suddenly, Kamba leaped in front of Jeremiah and shielded Kelpy from the incoming attack. At the same time, Kelpy's slash struck his comrade. A combination of two attacks had collided with the porcupine.
An explosion went off sending Jeremiah and Kelpy skidding backwards.
On the ground was the porcupine who was now missing a wide patch of fur on his back, the area where the slash struck him.
Jeremiah stared at the porcupine, several thoughts about its state ran in his mind. He wasn't sure how to feel about this, but it was Kamba's decision to jump in between the attacks.
As Kamba tried to transform back to his original form to check on his back, he was met with utter horror. He no longer felt any formality in his transformation. Normally he would feel his muscles morphing him back into his original form, but this time he felt despairingly different.
He no longer had the adaptability of walking on twos. That consensus in his mind became a figment of his imagination.
"Kamba... are you alright-"
"I can't turn back to my former self!" The porcupine got up and fled from the battlefield. Kelpy stared at the animal in grief. He protected him but at the cost of his own identity.
Kelpy slowly turned around to face Jeremiah in a confrontational stance. "You're going to regret it." The man threatened him.
Jeremiah watched as Kelpy transformed into a large ghostly horse mixed with aquatic features.
"Divine Transformation!" The large, elegant bird appeared in front of the horse.
Both beasts glared at each other. Waiting for the right time to launch their next attack. Except this time, it might cost a whole forest.