I Refuse To Be Fate’s Puppet - Chapter 80

Hyosuke turned to Arata in panic and tried to move in front of him, when Damien appeared beside him, slamming his palm into Hyosuke and pushing him back. Hyosuke managed to get his hands up to defend himself, but was still pushed away from Arata. Ryouma ran forward, summoning flames to propel him towards Damien. Damien had Spirits surge around his arms as he thrust them in Ryouma’s direction. The flames from Ryouma clashed with Damien’s Spirits in a powerful explosion, sending Ryouma flying backwards.

“Ryouma!”

As Arata called out to Ryouma, Damien slammed him with his elbow from the side. His speed was on another level and Arata was unable to see it coming as he was flung into the wall. Hyosuke rushed forward to try and restrain Damien. Shadows burst forward to trap Damien as Hyosuke charged Energy around him. He began to turn into a blur as he moved forward. Damien roared demonically as he fought against the shadows.

Hyosuke appeared behind Damien with a metal rod in his hand. He pierced Damien in the shoulder with the rod. Damien roared angrily in pain as he slashed behind him. Hyosuke vanished again, reappearing beside Damien with another metal rod, this time stabbing him in his right thigh. Damien roared as Hyosuke vanished again. Damien felt another metal rod pierce his other thigh and looked up to see Hyosuke with a serious look on his face before he disappeared yet again. Energy began to swirl around Damien as he raised his left leg and did a spinning kick, causing Hyosuke to appear as he slammed into him, sending Hyosuke flying backwards, smashing into the wall hard. Hyosuke remained standing but seemed to be in pain. He wiped the blood coming from his lips as he chuckled.

“This is an interesting way to treat your teacher.”

Hyosuke opened his palm and seemed to pull another metal rod out from it. He held the rod, pointing it at Damien.

“Let’s get the skittish little Damien we all know and love back.”

Hyosuke blurred once more, disappearing from sight. Damien had a hungry look in his eyes as the Spirit’s around him gathered on him, creating a Demonic figure around him. He had a dark Energy floating around him, the energy forming claws on his hands and spikes on his shoulders and 5 spikes going down his back, with a spiked tail forming behind him. Two horns began to protrude from the top of his head as he roared loudly before slashing in front of him. His claws clashed with a blur of metal that disappeared immediately after. Damien slashed around him, clashing with the quick moving Hyosuke. They traded blows again and again.

Although Hyosuke couldn’t be seen by the naked eye, Arata could see that Damien was blocking all of Hyosuke’s advances. It was clear that Hyosuke’s target was the remaining shoulder, but Damien prevented him from getting near. Damien’s power was also steadily increasing while Hyosuke’s Energy was slowly being drained. An extended battle was not in their favor. Arata looked at the Rune’s around them.

“Come on, Lady Eva. We need you here.”

Eva sat outside the building in the forest. She had her eyes closed as she concentrated on the many formations surrounding the building she had set up. At that moment, she felt a pulse within her chest. She opened her eyes in confusion. What was that?

“He seeks your aid.”

Eva’s body went stiff at the sound of the gentle voice. A look of worry appeared briefly on her face, before it vanished as she sensed someone approaching. She looked up and saw a figure coming from within the building. As she looked closer, she could see it was Teacher Takuma. According to the plan, she should be assisting Arata. Seeing how panicked she looked, Eva stood up with a serious look. Teacher Takuma sensed her and ran towards her.

“Arata and the others are trapped within some type of Rune Formation. They told me to come and find you, Lady Eva.”

Eva nodded her head as she gestured for Teacher Takuma to lead the way as the woman and the young lady ran into the building. Inside the Empyreal Formation, Damien and Hyosuke were still fighting. Hyosuke was no longer a blur, as he was doing his best to conserve his Energy, but he still was doing all he could to apply pressure on Damien. Damien continued to move faster and each of his attacks grew in strength. The mist covering him grew darker and solidified more and more as time went on. He was beginning to take on the appearance of a true Demon.

Damien roared as he slashed at Hyosuke. As he dodged out of the way, he instantly realized that something was amiss. His eyes widened as Damien’s claws seemed to rip through the space of the dimension, causing dark slashes of Demonic Energy to fly through the air, directly towards Arata and Ryouma. Ryouma burst in front of Arata as he erupted in a surge of powerful blue flames. He collided with the Demonic Energy and was thrown backwards violently. Arata moved to catch him.

“Ryouma!”

Ryouma slammed into Arata, a gash on his right fore arm and shoulder. Arata could see that Ryouma’s Energy was seeping out through the gash, being absorbed by the Demonic Spirit’s in the room. Arata channelled his Dark Cells into Ryouma to help him recover, but the effects of the Demonic Realm weakened it’s effect. They needed to get out of here urgently.

Hyosuke was wielding two metal rods, one in each hand, and was simultaneously deflecting Damien’s attacks while drawing his attention towards him and away from Arata. Damien had a look of hunger in his eyes as he charged at Hyosuke.

Damien charged a large amount of Demonic Energy in his claws, an intense dark glow radiating from his claws, vibrating slightly. He roared viciously as he began slashing barbarically all around him, sending powerful slashes of Demonic Energy in every direction. Hyosuke leaped to the side to stop the Energy from getting to Arata and Ryouma, pulling shadows around himself and forming a wall of Dark Energy. The Demonic Energy slammed into the wall, surging with power, as it exploded with a Demonic cry.

The wall dissipated as Hyosuke reappeared, falling to the side with blood pouring out of his mouth. He crashed into the ground hard, coughing out more blood. Arata yelled in his direction.

“Hyosuke!”

Damien turned to Arata and roared viciously. But as he roared, Arata saw a flash of something within the Demonic form. He could see Damien crying. Arata helped Ryouma sit up before standing up. Ryouma, in pain, reached towards Arata.

“Captain…”

Arata knew his intentions and shook his head, before facing Damien.

“You are to be my Shadowguard. I chose you. You are in this because of me. So it is my duty to get you out of this.”

“Shadow Trial.”

As Arata was about to rush forward, he paused as he heard King’s voice in his head.

“You can conduct a Shadow Trial, have him succeed and use your connection to calm him down.”

Arata was stunned and confused. Although that sounded fine in theory, where would they get a Black Crystal to use for the ritual? King chuckled in Arata’s head.

“A Black Crystal would work in the Shadow Realm, but something different is needed for the Demonic Realm. If you are willing, with the help of your Father’s Shadowguard, I can guide you to create a Demonic Ebony Crystal.”

Arata looked to the roaring Demonic figure and the small boy within it. Arata had a resolute look on his face.

“What do I do?”

King began instructing Arata. Arata felt a piercing pain in his head as knowledge was forcefully crammed into his head by King. As Arata was able to stabilize himself, he saw Damien charging towards him. Arata used Shadow Awareness and Vitality Bestowal to redirect Damien’s attack, maneuvering himself around and past him.

Arata ran towards Hyosuke, who was slowly getting up from the ground, clearly in pain. Arata stopped before him.

“I have a plan.”

Arata quickly skimmed through what he needed from Hyosuke, who figured the rest of the plan out by himself.

“You really are as crazy as your dad.”

The two jumped to different sides as they dodged another claw attack from the Demonic Damien. As Hyosuke landed, wiping away a bit of blood from his lips, he nodded

“We got nothing else to do, let’s go with your crazy plan.”

Hyosuke charged forward to clash with Damien, deflecting the claw attacks with his two metal rods. Arata began making symbols with his hands.

“When Lady Eva gets here, make sure she doesn’t dispel the formation until we are done.”

Hyosuke nodded. He ducked under Damien’s claw as he rushed forward, into Damien’s inner range. Damien roared, as he used his other claw to grab at Hyosuke. A metal rod pierced through the hand, as Hyosuke rose, keeping close to Damien’s body, and piercing his shoulder with another metal rod. Damien screeched loudly as he brought his arms together, catching Hyosuke in a vice like bear hug. Hyosuke yelled from the pain.

“Any time now!”

Arata appeared before Damien, his palms placed together.

“I, Arata Sato, Heir to the Sato Clan, call forth the Demonic Realm to bestow to me this Shadowguard. By the power of my bloodline, I invoke a Demonic Trial and call forth an Ebony Crystal. Come forth!”

Arata slammed his palms towards Damien. Damien roared as his right arm let go of Hyosuke and slashed towards Arata. Arata began to glow with a faint black tinge as the Demonic Spirits began to gather in his hand. An ebony black stone began to form in his hand. Arata manoeuvred himself so Damien’s slashing claw came into contact with the crystal. A Demonic screech was heard as a dark light flashed over Arata, consuming him completely. Damien roared in pain, dropping Hyosuke.

As the roaring Demon Damien clutched it’s hand in pain, Hyosuke landed and retreated instantly. He began channelling his Energy and made a hand seal.

“Four Point Restraint!”

The four metal rods in Damien began to glow, causing Damien to scream. They all extended in a flash, piercing into the ceiling and the floor, holding Damien in place. No matter how much he struggled, he was unable to move. Hyosuke stood still, a concentrated look on his face and his hands still making the seal. Ryouma struggled his way over to Hyosuke.

“W-Where is Captain?”

Hyosuke seemed to be struggling.

“He is within the Demonic Realm with Damien, going through the Shadow Trials. Right now, Damien’s body is an empty vessel that is controlled by the Demonic Spirits. I can hold him down for now, but not long.”

Damien roared viciously, trying to get out of it’s restraints. Ryouma looked at Damien with a grim look.

“So Damien needs to pass the trial before the Demonic Spirits break free and kill us, correct?”

Hyosuke sighed.

“That would be the best outcome. Worst case scenario, the Demonic Realm absorbs them both, kills us and then goes on a rampage through the school. The Demon’s plan on summoning a powerful Demon, and we may have accidentally done it for them.”

Ryouma glanced at the struggling Demon with a worried expression. In that instant, Damien seemed to go limp. He held a blank expression within the Demonic form. Although the Demonic figure that was covering him continued to roar viciously and struggle with all its might, Damien wore a calm and unnerving look on his face as if he was sleeping with his eyes open, disconnected from what was happening around him.

Outside, Eva and Teacher Takuma reached the basement and came into view of the Formation. Eva frowned as she looked at the Formation. From a simple glance, she could tell that this Formation was not ordinary. As she moved closer, she felt a familiar sensation occur. That was the sensation of a Shadow Trial. Being a part of the King in the Dark’s lineage, she naturally knew about the Trials. Were they attempting the Trial utilising the Demonic Formation for Damien? Why would they do this now of all times.

Something must have went wrong for this to occur. If that’s the case, then they will need to have the Formation to continue operating until they were finished. There was a pulse of Energy that passed through them. Teacher Takuma was feeling anxious after the pulse passed through her.

“We need to break them out immediately. That didn’t seem like anything good.”

Eva stepped forward to stop her. That was a Formation Trigger. Some Formations had a second Formation within it that would activate when the Formation Energy reached a certain point. This couldn’t be anything good. She then placed her hand on the barrier and closed her eyes, scanning the Formation with her Energy. After a moment, her eyes opened with a look of fear. She placed her other hand on it as well and begin channelling her Energy into the Formation. Teacher Takuma then noticed that the Formation Barrier was growing denser as it was being fed a large amount of Energy. Teacher Takuma was confused and she yelled at Eva.

“Ev…Lady Eva. Why are you strengthening the Formation? We need to get them out!”

Eva ignored Teacher Takuma as she sent a piece of Mental Energy into the Formation. Inside, Ryouma and Hyosuke were doing their best to recover while they anxiously looked at the angered Demon with the peaceful child within. They both looked up as they saw the Demonic Energy become denser, solidifying slightly. Ryouma stood up panicked, thinking something went wrong. Hyosuke, however, smiled with a look of relief on his face.

“Lady Eva is here.”

A glowing fragment of light floated through the barrier, making it’s way over to them. It stopped in front of them and disappeared with a small puff. A gentle voice echoed out.

“The Formation has a Teleportation Array laid underneath that will absorb you all into the Demonic Realm permanently once the Formation runs out of Energy. I can buy you 20 minutes before the Formation collapses and the Array activates. Arata needs to finish before then, or else the Demonic Realm will consume you all.”