Chapter 509: Arc 6, - 125: You Now Face Lightning

Chapter 509: Arc 6, Chapter 125: You Now Face Lightning

A weight hung in the air—unease, uncertainty, mistrust. What seemed to be Jotou, in a new attire that shimmered in enchantments and wielding an unfamiliar blade, stood tall with her chin raised, as if she were superior to them.

While Tiffany stared with her brows furrowed, Asobi’s bubbled up eyes started to glitter as she beamed brightly. Fumeko narrowed her gaze and crouched ever so slightly.

"Jotou? Jotou!" Hotaru’s tail wagged as her eyes flickered with a sprinkling of blue rainwater. She immediately took steps forward.

"Dude! You got a sick upgrade!? Where’s the cult? D’you manage to get away?" Ben started to approach with open arms.

"She must’ve found a way to get us here," Hotaru’s fangs glistened.

"Both of you, stop!" Fumeko said through gritted teeth.

The two that walked came to a halt and looked back at the brunette.

"Need thou be retold of the tale of the fake drake that was once man, yet wearing the skin of another?" Tiffany warned.

"It’s the shapeshifter, it’s just trying to get to us," Fumeko added.

Both Ben and Hotaru came to their senses, looked at each other, then at the supposed shapeshifter that took her first step down the stairs.

"Oh... Well that’s mean," Asobi pouted.

Hotaru shook her head, cursing herself for falling for it before she formed claws and bared her fangs at the imposter. "Get, out of her form," she commanded.

’Jotou’ continued down the stairs without a single break in her grace; every step clinked and reverberated throughout the vault.

Flames formed into fists right before Ben’s gauntlets, Asobi readied her wand and Tiffany took a step back.

The rapier the golden blonde carried shifted and grew. Each crystal reformed with electricity connecting it like stretching glue. The blade was no longer a rapier, but a longsword she held now in both hands as she placed her final step down.

Fumeko stood in a straight line opposing her; she pulled out her pistol from her side and checked the lever. She aimed it right for the head and glared.

’...All of you killed dad. It’s time for you to go.’

Her entire form sparked in yellow arcs of lightning, and the sparking gem glowed bright; each part of her armour covered in crystal had arcs flowing within them.

Asobi blinked, "Uhm... I don’t think the shapeshifter can spark Meko..."

Hotaru’s claws shortened in length, once again disarmed. She eyed the approaching blonde, "Jotou? What’s happening!? What are you doing? If it’s actually you, let’s get out of here!"

"Where’s Kineko?" Asobi added.

Fumeko squinted and locked eyes with Jotou... "Everyone, run."

"What?" Hotaru’s claws disappeared completely.

Jotou leaned forward and lightning surrounded her shoulder. "Fizz, BZZZ!" And just light that, she charged right in front of the redhead and swung her blade.

Their eye contact was brief—widened eyes on the wolf-girl, and an emotionless gaze from the Thundering Blade.

"CLANG! BFF-PLSH!"

White light blinded them both as a butterfly-wall formed in front of the wolf-woman, and a red armoured figure caught the blade mid-arc.

Ben threw himself between Jotou and the wall. The flames coating his wrists buffeted back the sparks of lighting, knocking back Jotou with a minor explosion.

Jotou slid back and twisted her legs around to be perfectly balanced as she swiped her blade around and locked eyes up to the helmet of her opponent.

"Dude, I don’t wanna do this. I thought our minds couldn’t be fucked with," Ben tried to reason.

"Unless she wanted to," Asobi’s voice disappeared alongside her form.

"Hotaru!" Fumeko grabbed the stunned redhead by the wrist, and dragged her back with all her strength. "Move it!"

Hotaru’s feet had no choice but to dart back, lest she fall. However, her eyes and ears could not rest, as she kept looking at the blonde past Ben’s outline as the wall of light diminished.

The Scorching Inferno pulled his hands back and thrusted them forward, sending a torrent of scarlet flames at Jotou.

Jotou kicked up with a lightning-charged foot and flipped into the air a few times; she shoulder-charged downward from the air and rammed into Ben.

"BF-Pf-FP-BLASTT!"

"Gh!" Ben was buffeted back.

Jotou landed and swung the sword up, clanging into Ben’s helmet. "SHLING!" She twisted the sparking blade between both hands and stabbed straight through the red armour and into flesh.

Ben’s arms lurched with a loss of control for a second, as he felt his gut be pierced. "ZPPP!!!" He could not even utter a sound as volts of electricity were zapped into him, before Jotou pulled the sword out.

Ben gasped and grunted repeatedly; his hand went to block the pierced part of his armour.

Before he could even reach it to do so, Jotou got low and swept with a lighting-charged kick and knocked Ben onto his ass.

The clang of the red armoured figure hitting the ground rang across the entire vault, as Jotou stood in front of it, unbothered; she glanced at her next targets.

Tiffany gulped, while Fumeko was in the process of dragging Hotaru away by the heels. "I wouldn’t put it past the cult to have figured out a way around the protection on her mind," the brunette tried to make sense.

Hotaru had tears streaming down her face as she mumbled and was taken away to the back of the vault, behind chests of gold and gems.

"Slap!" "Hotaru!"

The redhead’s ears bristled as she noticed Fumeko who just slapped her. "I-I c-can’t siphon her, it w-won’t work on her."

"Doesn’t matter, just don’t pull an Asobi on me and freeze up," Fumeko snarled.

"S-she was going to..." Hotaru ended the sentence there, and faced down, before she decided to simply slump and sit on a hill of armite pieces.

"I need you here," Fumeko observed from behind the pile, and switched the lever on her pistol. "If you wanna save her, get it together, now!"

"Give me- Give me a second," Hotaru placed a hand on the side of her head, and casted something she muttered under her breath.

Jotou walked past the fallen figure. Ben reached a hand to his belt and pulled out a bright red potion, before his entire form vanished from sight.

"Stella, now!" an invisible voice commanded, as a bright white butterfly wall blocked Jotou’s back.

Jotou’s sword shrunk into the size of an arming blade.

Tiffany posed with a few fingers over her eyepatch and faced Jotou, "KNEEL BEFORE THY JUDGEMENT TRAITOARRRRR!"

As a wave of echoes blasted forth, the golden blonde swiped with both hands from the floor into the air, an armite coin. "Thundering Strike," she batted the coin in Tiffany’s direction.

Lightning surged forward before the sound hit-

"TSHSSHSH!!" A large butterfly wall separated midway in between the poised Jotou and the wincing Tiffany. All the electricity charged into the light and lingered, intertwining yellow and white magic.

"BLaST!"

The silvery-white echoes brushed a few blonde strands on Jotou’s head, before they were buffeted back and made silent by a wave of thunder that followed.

"TSH-CRSH!"

Thunder roared past Asobi’s light construct and shattered the butterfly. It threatened to continued towards the pale blonde who leapt back and threw her arms into a cross, "Severing Serenade!"

Motes of transparent white energy reverberated in a low hum past her lips. The silvery white echoes rippled out in an X from her arms "WovoVophew."

She muted the incoming thunder and saved herself, with a strong gust of wind that blew past her hair.

Jotou walked forward-

"Blast!"

"Ngh," Jotou finally made an expression; her brows knitted as a purple bullet hit right in between her collarbones. All her sparks instantly disappeared. She glanced down and touched the bullet that dissipated into her skin.

Tiffany vanished from sight, and Fumeko was revealed from behind, with a pistol that finished recharging the next shot. Loud clangs darted across the room, unseen.

Jotou’s eyes narrowed, and she stared daggers at the detective before she regained her uncaring expression. Her entire form lit up in sparks and she gripped the sword in both hands.

’What are you doing Jotou. I refuse to believe that your mind can be fucked with.’ Fumeko furrowed her brows, still having a clear shot at her target. ’Since when does Jotou shut up in a fight?’

"Blast!" Her finger pulled the trigger. "What?" Fumeko said under her breath and looked to her right.

"Sorry," an invisible finger was over hers, that made her shoot.

"Ftwing!" Jotou batted the bullet with the crystal blade, leaving a faint scratch mark on it.

"It’s fine," Fumeko dismissed and darted out of the way. ’Am I just imagining it? Am I trying to find reason not to shoot her!? UGH!’ She gripped the pistol tighter.

"Go upstairs, make sure you have a shot," Asobi’s voice whispered as the brunette left.

Flames roiled into existence—red armour reappeared with a single hole in the middle. Ben beat his fist into his open palm while he looked his best friend down. His helmet was off, with traces of a potion still on his lips.

"I think that’s enough dude," he blasted flames forward in a straight line.

Jotou swivelled to the right and ducked underneath the flames as the hose of fire was redirected.

"Sprout of Flame!"

Beneath the blonde’s feet came sparks of fire that she manoeuvred out of the way of.

Ben’s hands swiped in several motions to wherever Jotou landed to mess up her footing, shouting the incantations as fountains of scarlet fire blew up with the shattering sound of firecrackers.

Weaving her way through the fireworks, she made each step forward and back like an intricate dance between the sparks—sparks of herself and the flames at the sides of her face.

"Heat Wave!" flanking Jotou with flames on all sides, Ben had her right in the middle where a wave of red heat seared through the air towards her.

All the gold, platinum and armite between them on the piles and on the floor began to melt. The image of Ben from her perspective was a blur.

Jotou threw her foot up and kicked into the air; once, then twice, and then a third-

"AHHHHHH!!!!!"

Disoriented by her position, she could do little to defend against Tiffany’s scream from the side. Her arm protected her face, and she sparked as bright as she could before she was buffeted by silvery-white ripples. She went hurdling through the air-

"Tunk! Tsh!"

Jotou’s form crashed into a construct of white light in the air that she managed to shoulder into. Sparks surrounded her and she flipped to break her fall-

"Blast!"

A bullet fired into the side of her temple, and she winced as all her magic dissipated abruptly. "Thud! Thd-Screech!"

She slammed into the ground, but kicked her leg out and rolled herself back with the momentum. Her sword scratched the floor of the vault to stop her, and be used as a crutch to lift herself back up.

Jotou brushed the strands of hair to press against the second bullet that disappeared as her gaze trailed up. Fumeko stood halfway up the stairs with the next shot reloaded, Tiffany was on a pile of treasure, and Ben’s flames dispelled; Asobi was out of sight.

Her eyes darted in every direction and calculated something quickly. She caught a glimpse of red hair and wolf-like ears in the corner of her eye.

The Thundering Blade huffed out a single breath and got fully onto her feet. She pivoted the blade into both of her hands and held it high up to her chin.

All four of them readied their next volley of attacks, and Fumeko stepped backwards up the stairs. However, as her eyes looked back, nothing was behind her—no room, no space, but just a vault door and a solid wall

’...?’

Jotou pulled the sword back; the crystals reformed and enlarged into a lance twice her size that charged up with lightning. Encasing the tip with electrical sparks, she charged forward!

"Fizz, BZZZ!"

In an instant, she slid across the room and rushed into Ben’s armour and buffeted him back.

Ben stood his ground with a grunt and raised his fists full of flame-

"DUFF!"

Jotou let one hand go off of the lance and uppercutted Ben by the chin. "TTFFZZZ!" "CLUNK!" She spun around as her lance formed back into an arming blade, and kicked into the side of his armour.

Jotou swivelled the blade around and Ben felt his hairs raise as all the sound and air muted around them.

"Th-BLA-"

"Severing Serenade!"

Lightning shot into the armour and skimmed across Ben’s face; he grimaced and leaned back while lightning singed over his hair. Fortunately, a wave of muting echoes silenced the incoming blast of thunder, leaving it to be a simple aftershock.

Jotou’s attention was caught by the pale blonde to her left.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

"Shwing-Blast!!!!" Jotou scraped a coin off the ground and shot lightning with a softer blast of thunder.

Tiffany’s scream against the sound cancelled each other out, as the lightning’s energy was disrupted by silvery-white echoes. The eccentric blonde flinched as lightning scraped against her form.

Warbling balls of flame fired off at her as Jotou twisted her blade and struck the fireballs- "BoOm! BLSH!

Fireworks of explosions shot her back in hues of golds and red, but she stood her ground. She saw Ben charging in with a loud yell and flames encasing his arms up to his shoulders.

"Blinding Mask!"

And then she did not.

The Scorching Inferno’s fist landed against her sword, sparking up small explosions which he used to rocket his next strike into her.

"Ding!" Blinded by a white butterfly over her eyes, the crystal sword turned into a star-shaped shield that she raised and deflected his strike.

Jotou, taking Ben’s momentary stun from the explosion, grabbed her own face and zapped electricity that flew past her hair; her mask remained, unaffected.

Ben punched into the side of her head, and Jotou grunted as her head pinged. The sparking gem on her circlet flared up, and projected electricity over the side of her face, shielding her from the brunt of the damage. Ben then stepped back.

"AHHHHHH!!!!"

Jotou’s shield turned into an arming blade, which she thrusted into the ground. Lightning fizzled into the floor, and earth rumbled, quaking the foundations of the entire building as piles of treasure came sliding down.

Tiffany lost her footing and took a tumble, while her echoes were buffeted back by a blast of thunder, causing the Thundering Blade to take minimal damage.

Ben felt his entire being shake; in his armour that continued to vibrate. Fumeko who aimed her next shot from the thin walkway from above, could barely hold her pistol steady.

Jotou raised the sword and plunged it into the ground again, this time with a sneer. Ripples of thunder blasted out, splitting the floor outwards and sending shockwaves in every direction.

"AHHH!" Tiffany shouted from on her back and saved herself, while Ben was thrown back onto the ground; Fumeko held onto the railing above.

A small squeak of a yelp was heard, and the light mask on the golden blonde broke apart, giving her sight once more.

"Blast! -Twing!" Fumeko missed her shot by an inch as Jotou made a move. ’Whatever your plan is Sobi, you better come up with a new one!’

Jotou glanced up and charged up the crystal sword with lighting before shooting up at the brunette.

Fumeko’s eyes shot wide open as she fell onto the floor, and narrowly dodge the bolt of a sword that pierced into the side of the wall.

Jotou sprinted to her left, aiming for the other blonde that was being a thorn in her side.

"AH-ack!"

Jotou grabbed her by the throat and lifted her slightly off the ground, before sending jolts of electricity directly into her neck while she twitched in paralysis.

With her scream turned into a dry cough, and her vision quickly fading, Tiffany was thrown onto the pile of treasure, where her head thudded into coins.

Fumeko eyed the blade struck into the wall, and noticed a shimmer on the metal chamber. Flickering in and out of existence, the no-longer sparking sword seemed to have been wedged into a seam?

In the same moment, the crystals of the sword shrunk down to the base of the blade. The handle compressed into a sparkling decorative hair comb that flew past her and back down, over the railing.

Jotou below deflected Ben’s fist with her arm and punched his lightning-scarred face. She spun her foot around and thudded into his armour, denting into it finally and charged with her sparking shoulder into him, making him stumble back.

The hair comb was on route into the back of her hair and settled in as an ornament at the back of her head. She swept Ben off of his feet; the metal crashed into the ground, but a hose of fire shot up.

Jotou took a step back and took out the hair comb which she turned into an arming blade and swung down in both hands-

"STSHING! SH..."

Her sword was blocked by another; a blade similar to the Skyslayer she would usually wield, except made of white light and attached to a magician’s wand at the base.

Asobi’s lips wriggled as she held back the crystal blade and eyed the golden blonde in concern...