58
All throughout Yu Wu's battle with Xiao Li, Onari had been cycling Qi into NTR's inner disciples with Senjutsu like a madman. He was doing everything he could to give these women a chance at life. Even as their life was literally sucked out of their body and fed into an egomaniac, Onari never stopped trying.
When energy began to flow back into the woman he was healing, Onari couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. A quick check of the other women around him showed the same phenomenon happening to them as well. He gave each of them another pulse of Senjutsu just to make sure then stood up to check on his fiancee.
He saw Yu Wu striding toward him. He was familiar enough with her mood to feel that she was drained, but satisfied. A glance behind her showed him Xiao Li's corpse, lying on the stone of the plaza with a gaping hole through her torso.
"Did anyone die?" Yu Wu asked, hurrying the rest of the way to her beloved.
Onari shook his head, "Nope… At least not here. And these women were the ones most at risk."
The tension in Yu Wu's shoulders abruptly dropped at the good news, "Thank goodness… Heavens, that bitch was so far gone. Even when she was sucking her peers dry, she only thought she was protecting them."
"Pride is often a cultivator's downfall," Onari said, allowing Yu Wu to bury her head in his shoulder.
"There's pride and then there's the level of arrogance that Xiao Li was showcasing…" Yu Wu sighed.
"Yes, love… There is," Onari simply said.
They stayed like that until the drained women started to stir. A steady stream of NTR disciples had begun pouring into the plaza at some point. They stared, switching between Xiao Li's corpse and the couple who had freed their sect. Some of the inner disciples recognized Yu Wu when they regained consciousness.
Taking the lead, Scarlet approached Onari and Yu Wu. She bowed deeply once she had their attention. A couple inner disciples followed her, which made the rest of the sect members present begin to follow her lead as well.
Onari and Yu Wu watched the crowd of almost two dozen sect members bow as Scarlet spoke their collective thanks, "Young master, young mistress, this one thanks you for your assistance in our time of need. Surely there must be something we can do to reward your benevolence?"
Yu Wu barely held back a groan, "Scarlet, we've already talked about this. I don't need a reward. Everything I did here was for myself. If you absolutely must do something, look after my mother while she's in her coma and take care of the sect so she doesn't come back to an ash-filled legacy. Other than that, you don't owe me anything. And I'd really like to move on with my life at this point."
Onari took the opportunity to take out the seal containing Yu Long and unseal her in front of them all. There were gasps from various sect members as they saw their mistress in such a desperate situation for the first time. Tears were shed and multiple women had to hold themselves back from joining Yu Long's side.
"Just so it's clear," Onari said. "We aren't responsible for Yu Long's current state. This coma is because of a Heart Demon that has been years in the making. Please do not threaten us with any misplaced anger you may have. We have done everything we can to ensure Yu Long's survival and return her to her proper place."
"Of course, young master. You have been more than noble in your efforts to return the mistress to her sect. Surely if you meant us any harm, you would not have gone to such lengths," Scarlet's support helped dissuade any of the more rash sect members from acting out of sudden anger.
"Great!" Yu Wu said, clapping her hands together. "Now that that's settled, we really should be going. We've had a long trip and honestly, there's nothing more we could do here."
"Ano, young mistress?" one of the women spoke up nervously. "What about the issue of succession? Will you not stand in your mother's place until she recovers?"
Yu Wu took a deep breath before speaking so she wasn't glaring at the innocent woman, "Absolutely not. I have already told Scarlet that I am passing my responsibility onto her. I am an outsider after all. Even with my heritage, it would not be right for me to try and rule this sect."
Scarlet quickly nodded to reassure her fellow sect members, "Young mistress Yu Wu has made her position on taking over the sect, even temporarily, very clear to me. We must support her decision and strive to help ourselves. Mistress Yu Long wouldn't have wanted it any other way."
"Thank fuck that's settled," Yu Wu mumbled to Onari before clearing her throat and speaking up, obviously eager to leave. "Well! We really should be going! I wish you all the best of luck. May the heavens shine down upon you."
Not even waiting for a response, Yu Wu grabbed her beloved's hand and pulled him away from the plaza. She was all but sprinting as they made their way out of the sect. It may have seemed rude, but Yu Wu was so done with NTR at this point. It was such a trash fetish…
Onari chuckled as Yu Wu pulled him bodily out of the sect. Stretching once they were clear of the barrier, Yu Wu let out a relieved sigh.
"Thank the heavens we didn't get sucked into that responsibility…" Yu Wu muttered.
"I'm sure it wouldn't have been as bad as you think, but I definitely agree. C'mon, let's get out of here," Onari said, wrapping his arm around Yu Wu's shoulder.
It was second nature for Onari to weave a teleportation circle at this point. He set the coordinates for Kyoto and prepared to activate it. Before he could finalize the spell however, a sudden ray of light pierced the clouds above them.
The god ray that shined directly on the couple made Onari pause briefly. Just this simple beam of light was packed full of higher concepts. Faith and Holy Light revitalized Onari and Yu Wu's weary souls. Their cores even drank from the Holy Light slightly, sampling the phenomenon like they were tasting it.
The pious singing of a ghostly choir began to echo from somewhere above and all around them. A figure slowly descended from the clouds, silhouetted against the Holy Light. Twelve large, feathered wings stretched from the figure's back and, despite the beam of light, a radiant halo revealed itself above the figure's head.
AN: Merry Christmas everybody!