Chapter 107: Nothing Amiss? (II)
"You'll regret this. Your blood will bring back the attention of our holiest lords!"
"Demon sacrificing? Doesn't the Three God Autumnal Text condemn such an act? You've turned your back on them."
"DO! NOT! TALK!!!" The old man's decrepit body puffed up with dark red crimson radiance as his physique transformed into a burly frame. Balir's grin widened as a combination of dark green energy and amber threads of spiritual fluctuations emerged with him at the center.
"Let me show you why they call me the Bandaged Scourge, forsaken reverend." Balir sidestepped a steel shaded fist, spinning on his axis as the axe blade cut into suddenly empty air. Hopping onto a pew, Juther shot two shadows of fists towards the dashing Balir as he shuttled towards his new position.
Balir lowered his posture as he slid forward with striding steps. An amber glow suffused from his jacket as it collided with the shadows, the red dissipating as the demon hunter slashed down with his right hand brandishing the great axe.
Two hands clasped around the blade, and Juther pushed it up as he pivoted a leg surrounded by fluttering white robe. Balir didn't right his stance at all, letting the axe fall backwards as his arm wavered in the air.
BAM!
Two feet joined as Balir lifted up a lazy stamping kick. Like smashing open a door, his quads clenched against the heavy pressure of the struggling priest, and he spat out his cigar as the amber threads infused themself into the flickering miniature flame.
"Bastard! You sully these bestowed robes!" Half of the white set of robes burned away in the amber flame before being put out by crimson waves. Red steely flesh was exposed to the air, one sleeve completely missing as he pummeled towards Balir, who brought over his jacket and dispersed some of the energy directed towards him.
Cracks lines the paved tiles as he slid backwards, and he spat out a glob of greenish red blood. Axe head level to his feet, he shuffled around the place as his movements suddenly became much faster, air swooshing as his frame blurred.
Pews were blown away to the side as the demon hunter and the priest collided several times. The energy of the two intensified as waves of the light smashed up against the walls, and the wood began to burgeon with many cracks, yet somehow still holding firm.
Balir's form seemed to be becoming younger, the middle aged weathered look returning to the youthful face of a young man as he was pervaded by the amber threads. Bandages fell, failing to stick to his face as they fluttered in the air to reveal a stunning valiant face, and the eyepatch tightened even further as it released a smolder tinged with amber and bronze.
Meanwhile, Juther became younger as well as he pushed out all the accumulated faith he had gained over the years. As prejudiced as he was, he truly believed in the gods, as evidenced by the gracious vibe of his energy and rapidly stunning face.
"Dumbass." Balir's eye glinted as it released an intense green glare, Juther slipping and faltering as he baited him with a feint. His tied back hair drew a line as his ponytail glided, following a solid punch from the left hand that struck with the intensity of a charging goat.
"Fuck you! You grace stealing bastard!" Juther's comparatively meager physique flashed with withering red petals as his palms vertically faced each other, his arms rotating around as the charging blow was deflected. A swift turn smashed into the priest's rib cage, though the man gritted his teeth and beckoned for his cane as it flew into his grasp.
"Demon Shunning Bash!" Suddenly, the aura pervading his whitened locks of hair was added to with the addition of red rays from his white eyebrows. The energy then condensed into the head of the cane, and Juther clasped both hands on the shaft as he smashed it forward, and a deep shunk sounded as Balir's chest was temporarily pierced.
"Play that way if you want, idiot." Or rather, it would've been temporary. Balir advanced on the red spike that pierced his chest, carrying the cane deeper into his torso as he walked further. Squirming flesh danced alongside amber threads, and Juther felt slightly smothered by the intensifying green aura that inched even further despite his efforts.
So he stepped backwards, struggling to attempt to shake Balir off of the cane. Though the demon hunter let go of his jacket, amber threads holding it aloft as he clutched the cane, revealing a sly pearly white glint as his teeth flashed in the priest's line of sight.
"You would run away from a mongrel? A grace stealer? A half demon…no wonder your gods have forsaken you." Balir goaded the reverend as he calmly advanced, and veins bulged on Juther's face.
Anger plumed up within him, and before he knew it, he advanced forth with quick steps. An axe head slashed through the floor as Balir emptied his hands, and Juther's gaze was covered in black.
"Foolish kid." With the swiftness of a viper, deep crimson blood stained the tiles as Balir's hand closed. Bones were crushed underneath the steely grip, and Juther simmered in his rage as he bit at his tongue, reduced to waiting for his death.
'You…you…you demonic fuck. You dare use the Autumnal Neutralizing Qi mixed with that awful Gant stench. And the gods allow it…THEY ALLOW IT. MY FAITH, WHAT DID IT MEAN!!'
'…alright. You win. I leave it behind. All of it.' And with that, Balir's hand fully closed. He let go of the corpse and slashed at it with moves akin to a fly's fluttering wings. Mere scraps of flesh and a smashed sludge of muscle and bone were all that was left of Juther, and the demon hunter stepped back.
Though noticeably, his frame was tended up like a loaded spring. In fact, his energy intensified as the amber threads penetrated his frame, embracing his internal organs as a two bronze halos, one inside another, materialized above his head. His green eye hardened as the iris became bitten away, shining like a gleaming blade as the insignia of a horn replaced his pupil.
After he finished transforming as it were, the flesh scraps released an intense vibrant green radiance. They wriggled in the sky as all of the red remnant rays faded into nothingness as dark green imprints of mouths consumed them and spat out vibrant green energy towards the flesh scraps.
A skeleton was cast in jade, standing firm as it repaired itself. Organs were left behind as they hardened and condensed into one large horn reminiscent of a Kirin, that soon became a part of the skull.
Bright green flesh like a baby coconut formed muscle and sinew. Porcelain skin covered that as well, forming a lean, yet giant reminiscent physique, and before long Juther stared with a hateful gaze.
"Finally accepted that you're a traitor?"
"Fuck. You."
"That's enough for me~!" Balir hefted up his great axe, and his jacket dissolved into fabric that hung behind him. Dark green energy laced with heatless bronze flames contested against vibrant green energy with red petals of a gladiolus.
Two wide smiles emerged on their faces as they shared a stare of pure disgust. Balir laughed, and Juther scoffed.
"Bring it on, grace runt."
That was the signal for their conflict to imbrue themselves in their opponent's blood began once again.