Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Under this setting sun, the darkening red horizon and scattered clouds highlighted the swarm of mutated spirits that came. Just as many flew as they sprinted their way to the Dragon of Moonlight's corpse, the source of their transformation and a well of power to gain from.

As Xiu Luo Yang's resounding roar shook the sea, it forced these spirits to stop in both fear and awe of this Dragon Emperor. But it was only a momentary pause before they returned it with countless of screeches and cries.

Within the barrier, the roar echoed within, notifying the ship of the impending horde. The ship circled around the white dragon corpse. The cannons were manned and the others had their weapons ready, Senior Bei with her three swords, Xin Kuo with her mace. The Long Siblings brought out scaled gauntlets, resembling that of dragon claws.

The outer formations blocked their sight but the sounds of battle could be heard, brutal and chaotic. There were explosions, screams, the sound of flesh being torn apart. They watched the barrier carefully for any that came through, prepared to kill.

As for the chaos outside, it was nothing short of incredible.

These mutated spirits had changed compared to before. Their appearance took a turn for the worse, an amalgamation of flesh and bone, parts bloated and ripped out. The chaotic energy had taken its toll on them, any resemblance to human or dragon was gone. In turn, they only grew in ferociousness and savagery which could only be dealt with in kind.

With Ming Yue on his neck, Xiu Luo Yang soared above the sea water. His mouth gaping wide as flames spewed from within, incinerating these monstrous things. His claws grabbed ahold of whatever unlucky spirit was there and crushed them into a paste. Red energy emerged from his body, forming even more claws that trampled on anything in their way. He roared thunderously, striking fear to all that heard it.

"Come you damned spirits! Come and face me!" he shouted out.

As for the one sitting on top, Ming Yue had no time to admire the way this great beast fought.

In order for Xiu Luo Yang to do as he pleased, Ming Yue had to protect his blind spots. With his big body, he was bound to have a few escape him. Those were her responsibility, anything that came close to the dragon would be shot down by wind needles. Those that managed to land on his body were dealt with swiftly by Ming Yue's sword. She moved around his body, almost dancing as she attacked constantly, fending off these wicked spirits.

There were many, thousands and thousands that came and surrounded them.

With the barrier and the formations in place, reaching the corpse of Yue Hua Yin was nigh impossible. They were forced into a maze of fog that left them lost before flames scorched their bodies and a powerful gale pushed them back out.

However, there was only this Dragon Emperor and Ming Yue that worked to thin the crowd. Two against countless others and worse than that, the formations that had been set up were unable to keep up with this mass of bodies. It wasn't long before a few began to slip in and approach the barrier. But they were quickly disposed of by a ray of lightning shot by the Roaring Thunder cannons.

It was endless, just horde after horde of these mutated spirits, whose only goal was to reach what was within that barrier. Their tenaciousness knew no bounds, so long as they could still move, they headed for the barrier.

Flames lit up the night sky as bodies fell and melted into black sludge. Lightning sparked the air and thunderous sounds filled the air.

"Damnit, this is neverending. Just how many are there?!" Xiu Luo Yang felt a tinge of tiredness as his mouth was sore from constantly spitting out flames.

Then distant roars thundered as shadows approached the pair.

"No, that can't be..."

The Dragon of the Sun looked towards these shadows. Under the moonlight, they were dragon corpses, tainted and corrupted by the mutated spirits.

There was a group of them, fifty or so which were all in varying degrees of deformation. Some resembled an actual dragon, others were nothing like a dragon.Their flesh gnarled and contorted, small heads sprouted all over their bodies, yelling and screaming in pain. These corpses were beyond warped, they had been overtaken by these spirits, combined and transformed into ugly things. They twitched every now and then, their expression without emotion and their eyes were black.

"How can they do this?"

Xiu Luo Yang could not believe what he was seeing. The bodies of his kin were taken and turned into nothing more than soulless beings filled with agony and rage. He was furious, angry, enraged even. Rage filled every fiber of his being as he glared at them.

"Ming Yue, do not move and cling to my body."

She did as he said, returning to his neck and sticking close to him.

"These cursed spirits, I will end your lives."

He rose his body upwards, looking down on all that there was. The light of the moon bathed his body as he brought his claws close together. Heat gathered and a ball of flame appeared, it grew in size until reaching it was as wide as his arms could go. He held it with one claw and raised this ball of flame. The heat and power was intense, it was bright, resembling that of a sun but much smaller.

"Sunlight Radiance", he spoke coldly.

This miniature sun began to emanate waves of energy down onto the sea. Each wave pushed the horde back, as for the corrupted dragons, they held on, moving forward without slowing down.

Their bodies began to burn as the many faces filled the night with sceams of agony. They came closer and closer and these corrupted dragons made their move, charging at Xiu Luo Yang. With their sharp fangs, they opened their mouths to try and bite the crimson dragon.

"One Sun, Ten Thousand Sparks."

Upon those words, the sun above him suddenly burst into countless little flames. Intense heat washed over everything as these little flames flew off.

Ming Yue watched, absorbed with the scene.

Ten thousand flames chased after these fifty-odd dragons, clinging to their bodies and burning their flesh. One by one, they exploded, destroying chunks of their bodies. They thrashed in the air, trying their best to disperse these small fires though such action was done in vain. Some took their chances and charged through only to be reduced to broken bones and burnt flesh as they could not avoid these fires.

In just two moves, Xiu Luo Yang had taken care of them but his face showed nothing but dissatisfaction and disgust. His own kin had their bodies robbed, desecrated and ruined. Fightning them brought nothing but a bitter taste in his mouth.

He turned around and surveyed the area. There weren't many of these mutated spirits anymore. Those still alive were near death, barely struggling to reach the barrier. The barrier itself was cracked in some parts, the formations were barely holding on. Inside it, the ship was still intact as everyone looked tired but all were alive.

"Let's finish these dregs and let this ordeal be done", he said, turning around and flying towards whatever still moved about.

Ming Yue, still sitting on him, looked around and back at the now destroyed dragon corpses. Like the others, they turned into sludge, melting into the sea but there was something odd. Something that she noticed.

The sludge gathered together, becoming one mass. It was not just the remains of these dragons but the remains of the other spirits as well that joined together.

"Wait, they aren't dead yet!"

She called out to the dragon, who looked behind and noticed the growing mass of black sludge.

"This is..."

From that black sludge, a massive claw emerged from it grabbing at Xiu Luo Yang.. Two beady eyes shined from within as a screeching roar pierced everyone's ears.