After changing, the gang headed to the park where they sensed enormous energy signatures- one that they hadn't felt before. That was when they figured out that the battle would most likely happen there. Using Haruna's hypnotic power, she let the people of the city sleep and they would only wake up when the battle was over. With the exclusion of the Miyuzaki family members and Kurama's family who attended the celebration, all were put into a deep sleep.
When they arrived there, the sky turned pitch black and the whole park was covered in ice and snow as waves of dark energy started to hover the city. The blue moon, which was the only thing that didn't turn black, was glowing in a calm and yet foreboding sense. They were not sure what would happen there but they have to do what they could to settle this matter as quickly as possible with minimal damage. They had no idea where Riya went but they knew she could help them. How? They didn't know but they trusted her.
Upon looking at the dark sky, they spotted several groups of demon shinobi approaching, each group composed of 13 demon shinobis in which they knew would be hard to fight since they were too many for the gang to take down. But still, they have to fight them.
Using each of their weapons and powers, they took down the demon shinobis approaching even though they had a hard time defeating some of them because of their ranks and powers that rivaled their own. Sometimes, they got caught up in a five to one battle and they managed to destroy them. They were unmindful of their own injuries they acquired from the enemies' attacks. All they cared about was to finish that battle as soon as possible.
But it seemed that someone wouldn't want to let them finish the battle in any way because while they were fighting, Erithea appeared to them to the sky as bolts of lightning flashed and roars of thunder resounded.
"You think I would let you win this? Don't even think about it. The blue moon will soon turn red as your blood will taint the whole world before the sun rises," Erithea said before she laughed evilly. And before anyone could react, the woman materialized a staff and tossed it around, thus throwing an incredibly powerful dark powers to the team.
"Shielding Winds!" Keiko shouted as rushes of golden wind surrounded the team acting as a barrier before the blast could hit them. But since the blast was too powerful, Keiko was having a hard time maintaining it.
Looking at the Wind Wielder trying her best to defend them, the rest of the group prepared themselves for another incoming attack. Keiko still managed to maintain the barrier for a minute or so before the effort to keep it up had made her drop to her knees. She was already breathing hard that made Yusuke approach her.
"Keiko, you can let it go now," Kurama suddenly said.
"But Kurama- "
"He's right, Keiko-chan," Yumi said, stopping Keiko from continuing. "We'll do what we can to counter the blast and attack Erithea. Though with the status of our powers right now, I'm having doubts if we can make a clean hit on her."
Yukari sighed after hearing that. "Still, we have to try."
With that determination, Keiko was left with no choice but to release the wind barrier. But not until Ayako and Yukari prepared a mid-range attack just to dissipate Erithea's attack. As soon as Keiko released the barrier, the two wielders screamed their attacks.
"Light Sonic Crasher!"
The two beams from the two weapons intertwined and created a double helix to form a new beam that hit the dark blast and neutralized it. The beam also reached Erithea before she could even cast a barrier to defend herself, hitting the woman right to the chest. But it wasn't enough to take her down, much to their surprise. With Erithea now enraged because of that, she cast an even more powerful blast of dark powers to the team. Luckily, they evaded it just in time.
The group had to deal with another batch of demon shinobi. While Kurama was fighting one group of the enemy, one demon shinobi was aiming to fire an arrow to him. Once the enemy found the spot, he fired the arrow.
The demon shinobis left alive and still fighting Kurama began retreating that confused and alerted the fox at the same time. But before hd could say anything else, he looked up and saw an arrow coming towards him. But much to his surprise, it didn't hit him.
Instead, it hit the ground just a few feet near him. When he looked up and around, the archer who fired that arrow was nowhere to be seen. He found it weird but a few seconds later, the ground began opening where the arrow was fired. And it was too late for him to jump away because the large opening on the ground swallowed him and made him plunge to the vast darkness of that hole. He never had a chance to find anything where he could tie his whip to prevent him from falling.
All that Kurama heard was his own scream and someone calling his name from afar as he fell to the depths of the ground.
xxxxxx
The rest of the gang witnessed how the ground swallowed Kurama and they were surprised to see that.
"KURAMA!" Yusuke yelled before he fired his spirit shotgun to the group of demon shinobis out of frustration, immediately destroying them. After that, he rushed to the edge of the pit created on the ground where Kurama fell.
The others soon did the same. But before any of them could say anything, Erithea laughed evilly that angered them.
"You witch! You'll pay for this!" Yusuke said angrily and fired an enormously powerful spirit gun but Erithea defended herself from it.
Much to their surprise, the spirit gun slowly started to dissipate.
"This is bad! She's absorbing the attack!" Yukari stated.
"You guessed it right, Sound Wielder," Erithea said while smirking before she completely absorbed the last of the attack and fired an extremely powerful blast of dark powers to the gang that struck them hard and injuring them at the same time.
xxxxxx
Kurama found himself in a dark place as he opened his eyes. It wasn't totally a pitch black-like darkness since he could still see himself and in a way, he could still see the area a few feet away from him. But he was sure about thing. The place where he was at the moment was surrounded with a mixture of tremendously powerful demon energy and spirit energy.
He tried standing up so that he could get out of that place and help his friends who were surely fighting Erithea at the moment. When he looked up, he saw nothing but darkness.
There must be a way for me to get out of here, Kurama thought before sighing inwardly. From his position, he spotted a white light approximately 50 to 60 meters away from him. He decided to approach it. But before he could even take one step, the light suddenly sent an increasingly strong gust of wind towards him, thus sending him flying because of the inability to hold himself firmly to the ground.
The gust of wind injured him, in return. Upon recovering, Kurama tried to stand up once more. When he did, the white light began emanating a yellow glow and surrounded the whole area almost at once. It wasn't a blinding one, but Kurama still covered his closed eyes with his arm for a minute or so before it faded. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find himself in a forest.
"What is this place?" Kurama asked, most likely to himself as he walked and looked around.
There wasn't anything weird about the place. In fact, it was pretty much normal. Kurama wasn't sensing any ominous presence, even spirit energy and demon energy. But he knew that something still wasn't right with all that he kept on seeing. There must be a reason for him to be at this place.
Kurama continued to walk to the forest but he halted to a stop when an arrow passed in front of him in a flash and struck a tree trunk a few feet away from him. When he looked around, two more arrows came and almost hit him to the chest. He managed to evade it. But another arrow came to him so fast that he barely noticed it, thus hitting him to his shoulder causing him to drop his guard and to the ground at the same time.
The pain from the shot was there, but Kurama managed to bear it. He pulled out the arrow that hit him quickly but carefully. He bit his lip while doing so as to not scream in pain. Breathing heavily, he stood up and scanned the surroundings to find the archer.
When he saw a shadow crouched down to one knee on one of the tree branches just a few meters away, his eyes narrowed as he pulled out his Rose Whip. Further examining the shadow, a glint of what appeared to be the arrowhead was seen. And from what he could tell, that shadow was about to fire another arrow to him.
Kurama ran towards the tree where the shadow stood and lept before striking his Rose Whip to it. The shadow evaded the attack just before it struck the branch. He safely landed to the ground after that and so did the shadow. Much to his surprise, the shadow turned out to be a girl just about his age (his human age, that is) with long black hair tied in a ponytail.
"Who are you and why are you attacking me?"
But Kurama didn't get any answer from the girl and she wasn't facing him. A few seconds later, the girl turned around and faced him with eyes devoid of any emotions. But he was astounded to see who it was.
"R... Riya...? What are you doing here?" Kurama asked after recovering from shock. But still, he got no answer. She was just looking at him nonchalantly.
"Riya?" he called out.
But instead of words, the answer he got from Riya was her pulling an arrow behind her and placed it to her bow before pulling the string and fired the arrow at him. Since the arrow came to him in a flash, Kurama didn't have a chance to evade it or shield himself from it. He was hit to his shoulder that caused him to fall down and yelp in pain. The arrow disappeared as soon as it came in contact with his shoulder and creating the injury.
Kurama tried to standing up once more despite his injury. He was breathing hard as he looked at Riya who was looking at him with emotionless eyes.
"Riya, why are you doing this? Don't you know who I am?" Kurama asked in slight desperation but tried to remain calm.
But Riya aimed another arrow at him and spoke in a cold tone. "All those who entered this forbidden forest must be eliminated. No one is an exception." After that, the arrow emanated a bright yellow glow and crackles of lightning surrounded it. Her eyes narrowed as she pulled the string of the bow even more. "Lightning... Shoot!"
She released the arrow.
Because of the deep injury and blood loss, it was making Kurama weak. He wanted to fight and counter the attack that Riya aimed at him but his body wouldn't move on its own accord. He couldn't fight her. There was no way he could fight the woman he loved.
Now that he thought about it, something similar happened to him before. That's right... His first trial. The time he was forced to fight Riya on Genkai's land because she had to. She wanted him to hate her so he would get away from her.
But the Riya in front of him now was different. She was fighting him for the reason that he entered that unknown forest. She was somewhat described as a ruthless warrior who was willing to do what it takes to fulfill her duty. From what Kurama could see, this Riya could have been the real Riya's personality in both inside and outside of the battlefield if he hadn't done anything to change it. Her father and brother's death changed everything about her, almost turning her into a selfish and vengeful person who would do anything to ensure a mission or victory successful, even making sacrifices.
His love for her changed all that. He changed that five and a half years ago. He changed it the day he gave her the Snow Rose. The Snow Rose was the only thing that prevented her from completely losing her sanity and her self. So now, how would he change the Riya who was willing to kill him ruthlessly? How would he be able to survive this without losing?
Before Kurama could think of a way, the glowing arrow was about to shoot him and it was too late for him to evade. He just waited for it to hit him since he couldn't move that well due to his injury. Upon closing his eyes, he heard an explosive sound though it was weird enough for him not to feel something that lodged his body. With that, he opened his eyes to see what was going on.
White smoke slightly covered Kurama's range of sight but he could still see Riya's silhouette from it. What surprised him, though, was the fact that he was protected by a translucent dome made out of spirit energy. He was not the only one surprised. Riya, as well, was surprised that the barrier deflected her attack.
"How did that happen?" Riya asked in disbelief, most likely to herself. But then she decided to summon several yellow energy throwing knives in the air and launched it to him without a word. As expected, the barrier protected him from the attack.
"I'm sure I didn't cast this barrier... So where did this come from?" Kurama mumbled to himself as he watched Riya. Just at the same time, he heard an unfamiliar whisper something in his head.
"You have to fight her so you could return to your world and be with the real Riya who finally remembered you."
Kurama frowned when he heard that. Return to my world? Does this mean... I'm in a different dimension?
"That's right. A dimension created for the sole purpose of conducting your third and final trial. You have to survive this and return, Kurama. Or else, Riya will be completely devastated if you fail."
But how will I do that? I can't hurt her and there's no way I could.
"So you wanted to die here?"
No! Of course not. But the woman in front of me is Riya, even though she's ruthless right now and willing to kill me. She's still the woman I love.
Kurama heard the voice made an audible sigh.
"I think I know why the illusion in front of you looked like Riya."
What do you mean? Kurama couldn't help but to ask.
"The Riya in front of you right now... is without a doubt the concealed personality of the real Riya. My sister's personality that you've sealed with the use of your Snow Rose."
Sister? Wait a minute! Does that mean you're...?
"That's right. I was Riya's older brother and the supposed leader of the clan, Miyuzaki Hiroto. I figured that my sister wouldn't be able to support you in this, so I came to help."
How?
"That depends on you. You have to think carefully. Even though Riya's the woman you love, would she really hurt you in any way? I know that she did that once or twice, and she did it for your sake. But would she really wish to see you get hurt or feel pain again? Now that she finally remembers you?"
Kurama went quiet after hearing that from Hiroto. He never thought about it. He only cared about protecting Riya, even if he would risk his life doing so. And when he died, the pain it inflicted to her was too much that led her to sacrifice her most cherished feelings in favor of bringing him back to life. Though he was undeniably hurt upon learning that, he understood. It was for his sake, after all.
He heaved a heavy sigh before saying anything.
If I defeat this forest guardian, would it affect the real Riya in the outside world?
It took a while before Hiroto answered.
"That's for you to find out. But if you want, I'll help you defeat her and this illusion."
You can do that?
"Yes. I can lend you my powers. Use it to defeat that girl and get out of here alive. If you survive this, you'll be able to join with your friends and finish the war. What do you say?"
Kurama thought about it for a minute or so. But before he could say anything, Riya fired three arrows surrounded with spirit energy at the same time. It would appear that her aim was to destroy the barrier protecting him. He tightened his grip on the whip that his uninjured hand held before responding to Hiroto's offer.
I'll accept!
"That's good to know." After that, the voice was gone. At the same time, his Rose Whip emanated a white glow as if creating a shield to it.
Soon after, the dome disappeared and the arrows were coming at him in a fast speed. Kurama then took a fighting stance and swung his whip. It came into contact with the arrows and he managed to destroy it, which surprised the maiden. He ran towards her and lept before lashing out his weapon to the defenseless maiden who was indeed caught surprised with his sudden approach. The whip wrapped around Riya's body as the thorns of it dug into her flesh.
Kurama looked at the maiden sadly for the final time before pulling the whip as hard as he could, causing it to wrap tighter and the thorns to dig deeper. With one final pull, the maiden gave Kurama a horrified look with glints of sadness and hurt in it before she dropped to her knees because of the pain. Soon after, the thorns caused the maiden to shatter which surprised Kurama.
"Mirror, huh?" Kurama muttered.
"I guess that girl was a reflection of Riya. Her shadow. Probably a part of her that my sister isn't aware of," Hiroto said in Kurama's mind.
A cold, ruthless part of her that she had already forsaken.
"A part of her that you've finally destroyed. Use your whip to get out of here. If you won't be able to get out and finish the war before the sunrise, you'll be bound to stay in this illusion world forever."
With that said, Kurama focused his energy onto his whip. But never did he realize that doing so would cause the pain in his wounds to intensify. He almost lost it but he fought down the pain and kept the energy under control. He couldn't afford to lose now.
"White Rose..."
His eyes snapped open.
"...Whip Slash!"
The Rose Whip's white glow intensified which Kurama knew was due to the combined energy from him and Hiroto. It was a variation of his own Rose Whip Slash attack but there were little differences. Instead of lashing out the weapon several times to his target, twice was all that it took to destroy the designated target in a varying degree of damage.
Kurama used that to destroy that illusory prison world, causing it to shatter along with the remnants of that reflection. All that was left to that place was a completely dark one, similar to what he saw when he woke up from the fall. The only thing that provided light around him was the glow from his whip. Then suddenly, his surroundings changed.
He was surprised to see him standing in a pit from the arrow fired by the demon shinobi earlier. The glow on his whip disappeared and when he looked up, he saw the night sky covered in blankets of dark energy. It was when he knew that he was back to the real world. With that, he jumped his way up to get out of that pit in order to help his friends.
But when Kurama reached the top, he was surprised and shocked to see five familiar people were each suspended on an intricate ice tree, lifeless and covered in bruisings, wounds, and blood.
"What in the world happened here?" he mumbled in horror as he continued to look around. On one side, he saw Hiei, Yusuke, Botan, Kuwabara, Ren, and Sei staring at each of the ice tree in disbelief and horror. All six of them were wounded but it was nothing compared to the wielders' injuries and position.
"Yumi..." Kurama whispered upon seeing the Fire Wielder's body on top of a destroyed ice mountain. "Ayako... Keiko... Soujiro... Yukari..." he continued as he looked at them.
Ayako was suspended upside-down on an intricate ice tree. Keiko was suspended above an ice crater with steel-hard tentacles that apparently stabbed her through and through and thrusted her up into the air. The same goes to Soujiro but instead of steel-hard tentacles that stabbed him, it was several spikes of ice in which his blood tainted and turned it red. Yukari was tightly clutching the Harquebus of Sound while suspended on a pillar of ice in which a single spike stabbed the back of her neck.
How did all of these end up this way?
What happened?
But the answer that resounded throughout the city was Yusuke's horrified scream before firing an immensely powerful Spirit Gun along with Hiei's Dragon of the Darkness Flame towards Erithea and the remaining demon shinobis surrounding her.
How did this happen? Kurama asked to himself as he gritted his teeth and clutched his whip tighter.
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