"Guess that means you're alright, right?" The hands that were rubbing his back had gripped him tightly, butterflies dancing around her as Himari hugged Aoto back. She used her free hand to caress the back of his head as she comforted him, but she was almost too late. "It's not too late, is it?"
Aoto looked down aimlessly, tears pricking at the edges of his eyes as his head whipped around to try and find the person he saw not even a moment ago. Although he only saw the girl in front of him and the unwelcoming desert, the feeling of Himari plucking the tears from his eye had given him solace. Aoto took a deep breath, his hand going up to his hair to run his hand through as Himari backed away.
She gave a sigh of relief, her eyes zipping back warily at the body on the floor. She had slammed into the zombie with her wings and slid on the ground, so her butterflies were slightly dispersed. It was still there, though, from the looks of it? Although Himari was confused as to how Aoto was able to take this thing on in the first place, seeing as she slammed into it and hurt herself more than it.
Himari was breathing heavily, a pink tint bleeding over her eyes as she managed to blink it away, though, in doing that, she realized the zombie had been standing. Within the milliseconds her eyes had been closed, it had stood and set its sights on her.
Aoto held his breath as the two whipped their heads toward one another, reaching for each other's harm before Himari inevitably was blitzed and raised upward. It leaned in, attempting to sniff her. After all, Hamari didn't look like a zombie, nor did she sound like one. But she by no means acted human. Unfortunately, as someone who very clearly didn't have a nose due to half of its face being punched off, the zombie couldn't identify Himari at all.
The zombie didn't get a chance to conclude before Himari set her feet on its chest, its body staggering a bit before she kicked off, and performed an elbow smash on its shoulder, sending a shockwave through the zombie. While in the air, the butterflies kept Himari floating, guiding her limbs and legs so she'd know how to combat the creature. Sure, cool abilities and a change of appearance may seem cool, but technically, you'd have to learn to fight to use them effectively.
Himari was puppeteered into a jumping axe kick combined with a front flip, creating a huge wave of air that lifted the zombie skyward as soon as she hit the ground! Leaving it open for Aoto to initiate a follow-up! He'd fake a roundhouse kick, the zombie attempting a block as it's crystal pulsed in its eye. It was too predictable. In response, Aoto hooked its neck with his knee joint, using the momentum from a roundhouse kick to flip the zombie and slam it onto the ground.
Himari blinked, tilting her head at the idea of Aoro being able to keep up with this thing in terms of speed. Was he experimenting with the animals, too? Why had they not been attracted to him then? She narrowed her eyes, her eyes zipping back at the zombie as it stood up, gripping Aoto by the leg before pulling him down and delivering a guy punch, twisting its wrist and pulling him back to follow up with a sanguinary headbutt.
Aoto's head shot back, his nose gushing with blood as he held his nose. It hurt a hell of a lot more now that he was out of his crazed high. He went for the cross stroke but was countered, his hand being slapped out of the way before the zombie jumped up high, locking Aoto's neck with its leg the same way he was done. It started spinning at high speed, holding Aoto's head downward and aiming to slam him headfirst into the floor!
However, Himari wouldn't have let it happen as she flew upward and kicked the zombie diagonally, almost like Scissors closing as its grip on Aoto's neck had ceased. In response, Aoto gripped the zombie by the skull, narrowly missing the green crystal in its eye socket as his thumb jammed into the void around it.
Aoto then placed his knee on its chest and shot his glance up. He was going to finish his statement, a blessing he should've asked for as soon as he'd been set free. Aoto reached out to the sun, his eyes gleaming with a blaze that'd been long burning away at his body, infecting Himari as well, how couldn't it? Ego was flammable, and it incinerated and infected everything it came in contact with.
If One Man Awakens, So Will Every Other Man Adjacent To Him.
"Make Me New, Shithead! I want power, the ability to protect Carla and the others! I want…" Aoto clenched his fist at the sun, mimicking a grab as the inky blackness began to melt back into his sclera! "To Become New!"
Himari looked up, noticing the way Aoto's eyes bled a dull gold and his hand was outstretched to the gods, she watched as the clouds swirled and danced around the sun, guiding the sun to spread it's grace along onto the boy. The zombie reached it's hand outward, it's wrist vibrating as the sunrays stretched out like sunfingers. A blinding light split the sky, it's golden fingers spreading the crack it had bad to even enter as a small, unidentifiable finger slipped through.
It looked female, or maybe it looked male? It was hard to tell. But whatever sex it was…it didn't feel as such. Their hands were outstretched as they gracefully descended downward toward Aoto, the zombie's hand firing off point blank range toward Aoto's temple.
Himari and Aoto's eyes widened around the same time. Between the person approaching Aoto and the zombie attacking him, Himari had the chance to save him, and save him she did! Her knuckles cracked as a swarm of butterflies, the insects leaving a streak of pink as there'd seem to be a tsunami of them. Himari had the butterflies swirling around the two, a storm that would both block whatever had been approaching Aoto, and to knock the shot off course.
The hand that the zombie had shot was knocked toward the creature, purple blood exploding from the murdered butterflies as it pierced through the storm like a bullet lathered in oil. However, it had stopped immediately before it got to within a seven foot radius of the being.
The being tilted their head, watching as the hand convulsed and crackled with lavender electricity, bringing a hand toward wherever their mouths would've been. After all, the faces of these beings were obscured but an untraceable light.
"Himari Takahashi, you truly seek to impress me with your speed. The sin of GREED a creature of which chooses to act on desire above anything else. Your purpose is no more than to further others." The being blitzed over to Himari, causing the girl to flinch, calling a few butterflies to form a scythe. Behind them, the crack in the sky grew as two more of these creatures appeared. One floating toward Aoto, and the other fading into the distance.
"Next, is Aoto Yuichi, a man who seeks to protect the weak and bring justice, but in reality? He's but a GLUTTON who craves for more and more power, a man who'll be enveloped in a flame of his own despair all alone." The being slipped their hands through the butterflies, spreading and tearing through it as though it was no more than a metal door. their hands pulled it apart as an extra pair sprouted from their back, leaving a few strings of unknown substance to plague the arms.
Both beings reached out, and as Himari swung her scythe toward the being, it was instantly stopped. She struggled to get it back before the being touched her nose, giving it a slight poke as a pain shot through her face.
Aoto leaned into the touch as the being cupped his cheeks, a single eye forming on their forehead as a strange liquid dripped from it, eventually, the liquid had spilled into Aoto's mouth, the dribbles turning into a waterfall.
Their eyes bursted into a spiral, different from Aoto's or Himari's, or even Carla's near instance of insanity. The area was thick with the scent of rabid hysteria as the swirl in their eyes had been a bleeding red, their fingers digging into Aoto's eyelids as they forced them open to prevent him from looking away. Soon enough, his eyes followed suit, the hysteric swirl taking over as his mouth gaped further.
The being sprouted another arm to close his jaw, their hand caressing his chin as she lifted it shot. The eye melted off of its figure like a badly painted mural, dripping into the storm of butterflies as their face was vacant of expression once more. They tilted their head, all three of their newly sprouted limbs crumbling down as Aoto began to fall. They placed their hands behind their back, turning around and snapping their fingers to call the others back.
The one who went afar had come back quickly, while the one who was with Himari took their time. Reaching its hand out toward the sky as the fingers cracking it split the slit in the sky further apart. Allowing them to begin floating toward it. The being from afar looked back at Aoto, its head tilting curiously as it began to snicker. "See you in the end, Messenger~"
The colossal hands slipped away, allowing the sky to fold back into itself as though it were rubber. The shockwaves had been so strong, it instantly killed all the butterflies in the area. The dunes were painted purple as the sand absorbed the lavender colored blood.
Aoto's head hung low as the rain fell endlessly, with only the glare of his red eyes contrasting with the purple hue piercing through the bloody showers. His brown hair was tainted in a dul lavender, and the blood crackled against his skin.
Aoto's gaze pierced into the dazed zombie, his eyes racing around to find Himari. When he did, she was laying on the ground, she wasn't dead, knocked out, or sleeping, but rather the death of so many butterflies at once had hit her too hard. It was her first time experiencing a stabbing pain like this. Himari gasped as a small mark, it looked as though it was burned onto her cheek.
The mark resembled a heart caught in a web, a spider's eight legs stabbing into it as it sunk its fangs into it. She stirred, her eyes opening slightly as they temporarily acted as a flashlight, the sut setting as her magenta luminance only served to further fuel the nightmare of Aoto's current state. Aoto turned back around, his eyes barely grazing the zombie's form as it regenerated it's arm, His red eyes clashing with the green glare of the gem in its eye socket.
Aoto took a single step forward, the zombie's figure vanishing as it appeared just above him, slamming down with a question mark kick. Aoto leaned his head back, opening his mouth wide as he bit onto the zombie's leg, new, sharp canines tearing through the zombie's hardened body and grabbing it's leg! Aoto went for a slam but was quickly countered by the zombie, bouncing onto its hands as it sent out another hand missile
Unfortunately, much like last time it was ineffective! Aoto caught it with his mouth, biting into it as the blood of the zombie mingled with that of the butterflies. Their bodies seemed to have been acting as clouds, raining blood on the area as they also began to bring lightning.
Aoto stepped back, flinching at the sudden shocks his body was subject to as he turned back over to the zombie. He lifted his hand to punch it with the power of the sun like he did before, but it was to no avail. The zombie blitzed over to Aoto in the midst of his blunder, kicking him upward and shoving its palm into the gem in its eye, regenerating its hand at a faster pace than usual.
It grinned, the zombie seeming to gloat as it jammed its hand into Aoto's chest and twisted its arm to do internal damage. There was a pause in the rain as everything made way for the sickening sound of Aoto's body being torn apart. The zombie tried to snap its arm back before being swiftly interrupted by Aoto grabbing its arm, kneeing it upward toward his chest as the man unhinged his jaw like a snake.
He bit down harshly, his teeth sinking into the zombie's hardened skin like toasted marshmallows at a campfire. Aoto whipped his head away, tearing off a large portion of its flesh as he was thrown to the ground. Aoto choked on his blood for a moment, his hand coming up to wipe his mouth.
He had no idea why he did that, biting people? It was uncharacteristic for him, but god did it feel amazing. While wiping the blood away, he felt his skin become harder, like dragon scales were formed on his body. He would've cut his lip had it not been for the scales covering him like armor. It was a thin layer, but it had protected him like he was wearing a skyscraper.
Aoto raised his hand, smashing it into his chest with as much strength he could gather in his body at the moment. Sparks flying in the air as his fist collided with his body. And yet, there had been little to no damage at all.
Aoto let out a light gasp, shakily lifting his fist again as his eyes began to spiral with the same intense hysteria as before. He struck himself again, his armored fist smoking as he let out another breath, the sound of what seemed to be like metal pipes slamming against each other filling the dunes as what followed were the elated cackles of a madman.
The zombie stepped back for a moment, its gaze slipping away from the crazed creature in front of it for less than a second before feeling a sharp pain in its chest. Its hands quickly shot up to grip it as, just as expected, the zombie was attacked!
A butterfly had flown past its head, causing the zombie to slap and kill it, the area was silent? But it allowed the zombie to think and strategize. It closed its eye to try and listen for Aoto, the silence making it easier to hear…but the zombie didn't hear anything. It couldn't even hear the boy breathing. Slowly, the zombie opened its eyes, looking around as it seemed like Aoto escaped, it tilted its head, the green gem in its socket bouncing with the sudden action.
Before the zombie could think of another action, the blood from killing the butterfly beforehand began to crackle, sending a paralyzing shot through its entire body, purple crackling for a split second, as a burgundy scythe had jammed itself into the skull of the creature. A seemingly weightless step being taken upon it as what followed after was nothing short of the laughter of a wicked minx.
Himari stabbed the scythe into the ground, propelling herself upward as a swarm of butterflies formed into a boot around her leg, slamming down onto the zombie as she made it bounce off the ground, throwing the scythe as it whistled and cut through the wind to lodge itself into the zombie's arm as she stomped on it and tore the limb completely off.
Before the zombie could nab it back, it seemed as though the arm suddenly vanished into the air, leaving nothing but the sound of hurried footsteps in the wind. The more the zombie was being swarmed, the less the rain began to fall.
The floors were soaked, and it seemed like the blood wasn't drying up any time soon. Each step was damp and wet, the zombie could barely breathe given half of its face was gone, but it was too weak to generally get into a fighting spirit. A shining star beamed in the sky as the sound of tires screeching against the sand became louder.
Himari knew the smell of burning rubber better than anyone else in the world, she whipped her body around to see what was approaching, and wasn't nearly as surprised when she saw Carla stomping on the gas to approach them. The sun began to break through the blood clouds, Himari's gaze becoming gentler as the seconds passed, she reached her hand toward the vehicle, wanting only to let Higa and Carla know that she was completely fine.
However, Himari hadn't even the chance to blink before her arm had seemingly vanished from her vision, a leg cracking into her temple as she heard her skull shatter under the pressure of the kick. The zombie had dragged the kick through the air, flinging the girl through the air and going on all fours to chase her down. Now that it was no longer being shocked and paralyzed, the zombie had felt it could easily kill the two, even in this form.
It grabbed Himari by the hair, throwing her up toward the sky as the star from before gleamed even brighter, the sound of cutting wind was undeniable. Something was falling. Himari grabbed the zombie just as it jumped up to spike her down. Using an ocean of butterflies she'd generated, Himari grappled and trapped both of them in the ocean. Even as the zombie clawed and destroyed her body for freedom, Himari only kept her gaze skyward, watching the star get closer.
"Wiggle and wine all you want, creature!" Himari, looked down, a smug, cocky smirk playing on her lips as she glided her tongue across the upper one. She leaned closer, their faces a hair's breadth apart. "However~ it'll always be to no avail, for after all..you're just a monster."
The butterflies around them shot upward, Himari's hands sliding down the zombie's chest as she placed three of her fingers on it. Himari laid her ear onto the zombie's chest, hearing three heartbeats in total.."here, here, and here.." The crazed girl cooed, her free hand slowly lifting as she snapped. Suddenly, there was a hole blown into her eye, and the zombie was being dragged down by what looked like a staff!
The staff slammed hard into the ground, piercing directly through the undead as it bounced a bit further into the sky due to the recoil. It was a failed plan on Himari's part, as only two of its hearts were destroyed in the act of being impaled.
It had to move quickly, the zombie didn't have much time before it was swarmed again. Carla had caught the falling Himari on top of the car, the girl crashing through the roof like she'd swan dived off a building. By then, her eye had already been regenerated, and her clothes and back were actively regenerating. Himari gave a relieved sigh, though it hadn't lasted long.
The zombie jumped up onto the car, causing the car to swerve while Carla was driving. The girl was panicking, her foot hovering over the brakes as she debated whether she should stop. "Shit, Shit! Snakebag, take the shot!" Carla shot Higa a glance, motioning toward the weapons in the back seat as she shakily kept her eyes on the road. She hadn't even the time to fake a stutter, she hadn't felt pressure like in forever.
Higa wasted no time, glaring at Carla in frustration as he grabbed whatever gun he could find, getting his hands on coilgun. Higa held the loaded projectile weapon upward, the car moving uncontrolled and wild. He needed a decent shot, but the car had moved so much due to the Himari and the creature tussling on the roof. He couldn't see who was who.
"Don't miss." Carla grunted in an aggressive tone, drifting the car roughly and nearly throwing the zombie off the roof so it could be seen through the window. Higa scoffed, rolling his eyes as he methodically fiddled with the trigger of the coil gun until he was able to get a firm grasp on it.
"We don't have all the time in the world here, Snakebag! Shoot the damn thing!. " Carla exclaimed the tense amusphere feuling her nervousness. Her grip on the steering wheeling tightened, darting her eyes back at Higa. It could break through the car at any moment. She didn't want to waste anymore time.
"Get off my back!" Higa snapped back, his eyes widening as he locked onto the zombie. The zombie slowly looked at the window, the tint making it nearly impossible for anyone to see anything…anything but the gleam of the coilgun releasing an aluminum bullet at supersonic speeds piercing its neck as the silence seemed to deafen the group. Moments passed before a shockwave sent the zombie off the car, causing it to tumble against the ground, though it planted its feet on the ground to try and stand.
However, the time for retaliation was over. The thunder that had long subsided had rumbled deafeningly behind the creature, and for the first time in it's rebirth, was trembling. The zombie only panned it's eyes behind itself, purple lightning crackling and dancing on the floors and gripping in the fist of a scaled bogeyman.
A sickening drop was felt in it's stomach, the feeling of hands crawling all over its body was unnerving as the creature attempted to stand and run. It used all of the explosive running power it could possibly build, kicking itself far away from the monster that was aiming to kill it.
What was this feeling? Why was it gnawing and carving away at it's heart like some sort of airborne virus? The zombie's hands were shaking, it raised it's hand to wipe away whatever tears may have formed through this painful ache in its body, the temporary guard negligence causing the creature to shut its eyes for no more than a second. In that time, Aoto had been standing right above the fiend.
His eyes were an unsettling mix of vacant and fixed, like a cat staring into a dark void, the color of the previous red dying down into the blazing orange color of dying embers,the glow blinking in and out of focus as the fiend whipped around to stand and run once more.
It shot up, its body nearly instantly collapsing on the ground, its heart slamming against its chest like a drum. It was loud, and as a creature of the undead it hadn't practiced any form of real religion, but it had been praying to any god that would listen that the monster in front of it couldn't hear. It looked at its leg and back where it had first run away. A bundle of butterflies had severed it just as it blasted off.
"Would you look at that? The sun is going down…I suppose not even they want to see me finish the job." Aoto tightened his fist, the lighting screaming and whirling around his hand. He grabbed the fiend by the crystal in its eye, gripping the inside of its skull as his clenched fist raised. A sliver of lightning escaped his grip as it slammed against the sand grains, quickly crystalizing the rocks.
"I won't waste time, we both have things to do. I can't put my friends in danger anymore." Aoto's grip tightened, lifting the fiend off of its pathetic state as his knuckles whitened. Aoto cocked his hand back, his eyes piercing into the lingering glow of the crystal as the zombie finally realized exactly what it had been feeling.
It was afraid of the boy, of what he could do.
With the single release of his grip on the fiend, he charged up his final attack, his punch whipping forward with the weight of and texture of her nearly concrete body as his fist smashed against the skull of the fiend! The lavender lightning exploded, layers of condensed energy colliding and compressing into a singular devastating force.
The punch's momentum made him lose a bit of his balance, his body armor melting away as he nearly tore the fiend apart, its body slamming into the staff. For a brief moment, his eyes flared back into their gold colors, he dashed forward and swung again, the energy from her first punch folding back on itself and amplifying his second strike!
"Don't take this personal…I really care my friends is all"
Aoto looked down, the shadows clouding nearly his whole face except his eyes. He spun around, his foot planted in the ground as he walked over to the now parked and wrecked car. Higa and Carla had switched seats, her knees to her chest as she looked as though she'd been pondering something. Aoto helped Himari off the roof of the car, cradling her very gently so as to not wake her up. He placed her in the front seat, the whole fight must've nearly killed her stamina.
"Let's go.."