Perpetual Samsara (Part 7)

Location - The Kappa Territory, Northern Front of Cocytus

Far to the North away from Reina's castle dwelled the verdant plateaus covered by green marsh, subtle vegetation and widespread canyons policed by small streams which served as the home of the Kappa. The people of Yokai descent took on forms that appeared to be protected by hardshell armor which gave them the connotation of being turtle-like beings. They were much more reclusive and exercised restraint, the polar opposite of their reptilian sisterrace, the Ryu-jin. Although history recorded them as relative races, this was born mostly because of the fact that both were reptilian in nature; however, the Kappa had no connection to the great Lifeblood that their draconian cousins were devoted to.

The Kappa's connection was tied to the greater world around them. In fact, a common saying in their history went along the lines of: "Can you hear the Planet's Cry?". This was because their connection was spiritually intertwined with the life of nature as a concept and the essence of the land in itself. They were a tribe that considered themselves One With the Earth.

The Kappa were a calm race, a tribe whose presence was never truly known but could always be felt if one were to take the time to slow down and understand their views. They were not a warring people, but one of peace; however, their beliefs did not prevent them from fighting to protect what they cherished most. Even when ostracized by the advancement of humanity, they never lost sight of themselves; and even when enslaved by Tartarus, their willpower never broke. They were the pillars of stalwart defense which was why they were entrusted with the North when Reina ascended to the throne as Sovereign; and now…that very same race was under siege by the Abyss Order.

The Northern mountains and valleys ran red with rivers of blood and bodies strewn about all over the surface. The once lush and green valley was thickened by flames of destruction tainted by death and despair. In one particular region, three warriors were in a brutal fight that shook the confines of their immediate area as steel clashed against steel singing a harmonious ballad of struggle. Two of the warriors were none other than the White Princess of the Moon - Arcueid, and the Traveling Sword Master - Musashi Miyamoto. The battle maidens were pitted against a fearsome foe in the shape of Bellona; a foe they fought against in the past.

"Tch…Blut Die Schwester!" gritted the True Ancestor as she brought down a replica of the moon down upon the head of her opponent, but the mass merely fizzled away into a dust cloud the moment her foe's aura made contact with it.

"Thanks for the distraction, now let's see you take this!" Musashi cried out whilst bringing her swords together into an X-shape before unleashing a wave of crimson and aqua energy towards Bellona.

"Useless," their opponent spat out as she effortlessly chopped the energy wave in half with her bare hand.

The warrior marched towards the pair with a slight smirk upon her features. As she did, the pair of women elected to unleash a variety of attacks her way. Arcueid decided that it was time to stop playing conservative before leaping in the air with her arms spread wide. At a moment's breath, another one of the false moons appeared behind her, but this was different from before.

The True Ancestor snapped her fingers which led to various hairline fractures to spread across the surface of the celestial body. With an audible shattering effect, the moon was divided into countless chunks that were transforming into much smaller replicas of the original object. Infusing the objects with her aura, she rained down the storm of countless moons at Bellona's position. The area quaked underneath the torrent of the moon-like meteor shower.

Not allowing the dust to clear, Musashi invoked the Nioh spirit of her Noble Phantasm. In perfect harmony, she used the falling moons as perfect cover to close the distance between herself and the rampant warrior. Tracing the source of her power to pinpoint the perfect moment, she allotted the four-armed spirit to press forward by swinging its mighty blades down upon her.

"Ishana…Dai–guh?!"

Just as Musashi was about to release the full might of her Noble Phantasm, she saw that the Kurikara projection's attacks were reflected back upon it which caused the spirit to disappear entirely. Then as she stood there charging her blade to cleave through zero, Bellona was standing over her whilst stopping the charge of her energy with one finger.

"Clever, absolutely clever but not nearly enough," the war maiden mocked. Musashi found herself at the mercy of the mighty warrior as her gut was churned by the force of Bellona's knee. Just as the samurai leaned over by that devastating blow, Musashi was abruptly gripped by the face before being tossed like a ragdoll into Arcueid who lingered above the area. Both women went crashing back against a small rock formation.

"Tch…dammit all…" Arcueid grunted as she tried to sit up, but was impeded by Musashi's body.

"Well that was…strangely invigoratin'," the samurai maiden chuckled before removing herself from atop her tag team partner.

"Sorry about that landin'."

"Not like you had much of a choice, but this one is becoming a serious problem."

"Yeah you said it; it's like she got even stronger since she fought Raizo," Musashi uttered whilst wiping dirt from her cheek.

"Wait a minute, look closely," Arcueid pointed out, "Wasn't she wearing an eyepatch the first time we fought her?"

"Now that I think about it…yeah, she did have an eyepatch. Hold on, you see that glow? It's like there's a burning source of energy oozing from behind that eye alone; almost like she could fire a beam of her aura at us with ease."

"It all makes sense now," the True Ancestor clapped her hands together, "She was wearing a limiter the whole time. I've witnessed it throughout all of history, even with other heroes in the Throne. Some people restrict the full efficacy of their power behind an accessory of some sort. In her case, it must have been that eyepatch."

"In our brief little spat, she hasn't taken much damage, but check it. She's so damn strong that even simple movement makes her muscles strain beyond their limits. It's probably why she's keeping her movements minimal. That makes her an easy target so let's see…"

Musashi took in a small breath and closed her eyes for a slight second before opening them showcasing the glint of her heavenly eye activating. Through that perceptive lens, she gazed upon all the possibilities open to them to fight this woman; however, every path led to her own demise. She tried to recreate a new possibility entirely by factoring in The Moon Princess, but it still ended in tragedy for herself and her partner–one of which Arcueid being cut up into 17 pieces.

"Well damn, for the first time in forever, I'm actually stumped," Musashi smirked as she gripped her katanas tightly.

"To hell with this, I'll find a way through this pious child," Arcueid declared whilst flexing her hands imbuing her claws with the weight of her mana as she rushed directly towards Bellona.

"You really don't learn, do you?" Bellona chuckled insidiously as she effortlessly batted away the combos unleashed by the True Ancestor at her position. Even with the power to rip through the fabrics of reality just by those claws, not a single blow managed to land. In fact, after a few chain-linked attacks, Bellona just took one swift sidestep and used her palm to disrupt Arcueid's rhythm.

"You're wide open," the mad warrior pointed out as the blonde beauty stumbled backward by a few steps from her foe's palm striking her chin. Arcueid regained her footing just in time as she narrowly evaded a devastating blow by Bellona's colossal blade.

In the distance, the black armored giant known to his comrades as Zion was witnessing the battle from afar. He knew that there was little he could do in the way of assistance. He was a fearsome warrior in his own right; after all, as one of the Cardinal Four, he had his position to uphold. The great Kappa could go toe-to-toe with Yaten-douji at his full potential for days on end but such endurance or tenacity would not be shown on this day.

"Come on everyone, we must move while the enemy has their attention occupied. Take only the essentials you can carry and move," he uttered towards the scores of people that were evacuating the kingdom and down through the valley to the river banks.

"Now, now, where are all my precious mutant turtles running off to? Surely you do not wish to miss out on the lovely festivities we planned for you, no?" uttered the ominous tone of a playful yet indifferent woman of immense strength.

Zion turned his head to see the cruel witch known as Vainglory looming next to his stellar frame. All he saw was her emotionless demeanor shift into an empty smirk as her body flared with the might of her authority. Without a second's notice, the force of every attack dealt to the domain from previous skirmishes multiplied as it was rendered upon the Kappa territory. An omnidirectional blast of Outer Darkness blanketed the region as everything swallowed by its abyssal grip was thoroughly eradicated from the narrative including the noble Kappa race as well as their great leader. In less than a second, the North was obliterated; the resulting phenomena sent a shockwave that permeated throughout Cocytus as each and every tribe that called this place home recognized a metaphysical imbalance by the erasure of their brothers and sisters of the Great North.

Fortunately in the nick of time, Arcueid engulfed herself and Musashi in a protective orb thanks to her own authority that would survive the onslaught. Their foe, Bellona, merely stood there undisturbed by it as the Outer Darkness washed over her like a cool wind on a pleasant spring day. Even with the protection erected around them, the weight was enough to exhaust the women whilst damaging their sanity and awareness. After the assault dissipated, Arcueid and Musashi were left folded over on the ground gasping for air as sweat poured from their bodies.

Vainglory joined Bellona's side as the pair of women loomed over the two heroines. Regardless of the hopeless endeavor, the True Ancestor and Wandering Samurai stood up as the final glint of determination filled their eyes. Even with the odds stacked against them by enemies that greatly outclassed their strength, the combination of their wills forged an intensity of defiant fury unlike any other. That fury began to burn up the air around them, but in all actuality, the temperature was suddenly spiking in the area.

A heat wave of crushing pressure assailed the decimated region brushing aside the eternal snow of Cocytus that blistered over the North. In tandem, a new source of great strength crossed the radar of the four women. Bellona reacted to this whilst gritting her teeth.

"Show yourself already, you coward!" she called out before taking her mighty blade and swinging it around in a back-handed slash that engulfed the ruins of the Kappa kingdom in her wake thereby reducing everything to less than spectral waste at that point.

A second source manifested as a streak of nearly-imperceptible light whisked past the eyepatch-less warrior. Before she could turn on her heel to face it, the phantom ghost of speed channeled its force into a powerful strike into Vainglory's body. The resulting force bounced the Proud Witch across the barren wasteland rolling over piles of rubble by her tumbling body.

"Raizo? No, this blur feels different…whoever you are, you're way faster than him," Bellona reckoned with a dangerous smirk undeterred by the threat. The desire for battle mixed with the hunger for vengeance within her caused her excitement to escalate. It was then that two silhouettes materialized before Musashi and Arcueid in a spiraling burst of flames and lightning.