Riya's plea was soon heard as her staff began to emit a silver glow before her body was soon covered with the same glow.
"What's going on?" Yumi asked as she looked up to the sky upon sensing a tremendously powerful energy signature.
"Riya-chan couldn't possibly emit such power, could she? I mean, Celeste was only residing inside her. Is she really that powerful? Can someone like her hold such tremendous amount of power?" Botan uttered while staring wide-eyed to the sky where Riya was currently positioned.
"She's really going for it..." Keiko muttered. "With all she got, she's going to finish this once and for all."
"But will Riya-senpai be alright after this?" Yukari asked worriedly.
Yusuke sighed and positioned himself to a stance as the orb that concealed Erithea began to break. "We'll find that out later."
"Right now, we have a war to finish with Riya's help," Hiei added nonchalantly and drew out his katana.
With each of them heaving sighs of giving up, they materialized their weapons while Botan watched from a corner of that frozen park. To their surprise, though, a surge of powerful energy rushed through them. Their weapons ー in Yusuke's case, his fists ー began to emit silver glows similar to Riya's staff, which caught them surprised even more. The surge of energy inside of them was definitely amazing.
It didn't take long, though, before Erithea finally freed herself from the orb that intercepted her immediate regeneration and transformation as it was finally destroyed. Riya's eyes snapped open and raised her staff to the sky. At that, she remembered something from her conversation with her past self while she was at the Alyssum Castle a while ago...
"Barrier?" Riya asked the silver-haired, blue-eyed lady wearing a white flowing kimono in front of her ー which turned out to be the image preserved by none other than this woman named Celeste.
That's right. The woman in front of her was her past self. But Riya had to admit, Celeste was more beautiful than she thought, especially when she was projecting a gentle smile. Even when the deity was grave serious, she still looked beautiful. Riya couldn't believe she was that beautiful during her past life.
Celeste nodded as an answer. "You might have not remembered this since it happened eons ago. But when I first fought Erithea and she showed her ugly but powerful form for the first time, six layers of physical and magical protection guarded her. If you want to defeat her and let your attack pass through her, you have to destroy those 6 protective layers first before anything else."
"Why are you saying this to me?"
"You already managed to defy the laws of your own fate in order for you to create a new destiny with the one you love, as the prophecy had foretold. Because of that, I knew I made the right choice of shattering the Crystal Spear and turning those shards into the Dragon Gems. I may have been dead for many eons now but my will remained here until youーmy incarnationーreturned here and retrieved what is rightfully yours. I want you to have that power to release yourself from the chains of destiny that binds you and your heart."
Riya scratched the back of her head. "I'm not sure if I understand what you said to me but I'll remember them."
"Erithea is vulnerable without those protective layers. Destroy the layers one by one and your attacks will pass through. You can let them do that."
"I can?"
Celeste nodded as a response. "Your will power is tremendously strong so I know you can..."
"Will power, huh? I wonder if I can go far with just that..." Riya muttered upon remembering that conversation. She then looked at her raised staff and the blue moon which was just above the staff. "I guess fate is on my side now. If that's the case, then..." The staff glowed brighter before she uttered the required spell. "Power Surge, Release!"
With that, her friends' weapons and respective energy rose to an even more powerful level that each of the team and the wielders definitely felt.
"So she wasn't joking when she said she can amplify our powers using the Silver Staff," Kuwabara commented with an amazed expression on his face. "Now I know I can defeat that witch with just one strike from my sword."
"Hn. Surely that witch will do what you just said to you if you let your guard down. Well, what can I expect? I guess it's better that way so that I won't have to deal with idiots like you," Hiei bluntly said that infuriated Kuwabara and was about to hit the fire demon with his Spirit Sword when Riya opened a telepathic link to all of them.
"Sheesh! Will you guys stop being a kid and act serious for once? We're dealing with a war here, people!
"Well, it's Hiei's fault!" Kuwabara shouted in which Hiei ignored.
"Why did you open a telepathic path to all of us, Riya?" Yusuke asked innocently.
"Yumi, Ayako-chan, Keiko-chan, Soujiro-kun, Yukari-chan, and Yusukeーall of you are going to destroy the six layers of physical and magical protection that surrounded Erithea one by one the moment that the orb was destroyed. Kuwabara-kun and Ren-kun will deliver the first attack to weaken her. Hiei and Sei-chanーyou two will deliver the second attack but I want you to hit her weak spot. After that, I'll try to petrify her and Kurama will use his whip and demon plants to destroy her physical body," Riya explained as she laid out her battle plan to them.
"What about the final attack?" Kurama asked.
"That's when we'll deliver our final blow using our trump cards."
"Well, that's a concrete plan to defeat Erithea," Kuwabara commented again that made the others heave out a sigh.
"But are you sure we'll be able to defeat Erithea with this battle plan?" Yusuke asked.
"It depends on each of our powersーthat's all I have to say."
"This method sure is risky," Ren said.
"But still, we have to try our best. We've come this far for us to give up now," Yukari added, trying to encourage the others.
Yumi smiled at that. "You're right."
With that battle plan already set, Erithea finally managed to destroy the sphere surrounding her. It wasn't a surprise to them when they learned through Riya that Erithea's new form would be different. But what greeted their sight still surprised them. Erithea's new form was similarーor maybe exactly the sameーto that of a vicious monster. Their enemy was surely not using a human form anymore.
"W-what is that?" Keiko asked, a little bit disgusted and shocked.
"She definitely turned into something incredible," Ayako stated, disgust evident on her face.
"Everyone, get ready! Take your positions!" That was the ready signal from Riya. The team and the wielders did what she told. All that was needed was her go signal.
"GO!"
Yumi smirked as her Scarlet Blade of Flame glowed in blood red as she prepared her attack.
"You won't have to protect yourself, you witch! You're still going down no matter what you do." It was only a matter of seconds before her attack finally charged up and Yumi was ready to release it. "Dragon's Breath Blaze Cannon!"
With one swing of her nodachi, her attack was released. That attack formed a red flame-colored beam shot which immediately hit the target. But then Yumi didn't anticipate the barrier to be extremely strongーand it was just only the first layer. Even with that, she still had a plan. Upon uttering the command phrase "Shoot!" while the beam tried to penetrate the barrier, nine more similar beams were fired from the same firing point and hit the barrier. A few more seconds had passed and the first layer of Erithea's barrier was finally destroyed.
"I guess it's my turn now, huh?" Ayako said before placing her Rod of Light in front of her and charged it up for her attack. Just like Yumi, her attack only took seconds to charge up and then she could release it. "Amber Starlight Rage Blaster!"
The preparation needed for this attack was pretty much like the Solar Marble Force Burst attack; only this attack was several orders of magnitude more powerful than the aforementioned attackーeven without the power surge from Riya. That several orders were just doubled with the power surge. As soon as Ayako screamed the attack, five amber-colored were fired from the same firing pointーfrom the tip of the Rod of Light. Her beams immensely weakened Erithea's hold on the second layer of the barrier. With an even more powerful surge from Riya, the beams finally shattered the second layer despite the strength of the barrier.
While Ayako was trying her best to destroy the second barrier, Keiko was beginning to prepare for her attack. Using her Spear of the Sky, she summoned a huge ball of magical energy gathered from the forces of the weather (though the spell needed to do was recited inaudibly) and with the blade of her spear, she divided the ball into two.
As soon as she was done dividing it, her eyes snapped open and she shouted the spell. "Phantom Cyclone Break Cannon!" The two orbs from the original energy ball immediately sent down two massive beams to her targetーthe third layer of Erithea's barrier. And since the beams were tremendously strong to begin withーin addition to Riya's power surge, the beams managed to destroy the barrier.
"I guess the barriers get weaker in each layer. But still, I can't believe our enemy is this strong," Keiko commented after the attack was delivered.
"Riya-san told us that, right? But if we destroy the barrier, Erithea's weak form will be revealed," Soujiro said and then he faced Yukari. "It's your turn now, sis."
Yukari confidently smiled as she positioned herself to a distance to charge up her Harquebus of Sound. Several magical "target rings" materialized from the top of the weapon. With Riya's power surge, it only took seconds for the attack to charge up. Her attack was classified as a long-range sniper cannon attack.
"Orchestra Phantom Blaster!" Yukari shouted and at that moment, she fired the attack. An indigo-colored beam shot was fired, only several degrees more powerful, which was definitely enough to shatter the fourth layer of the barrier in a matter of seconds. Yukari mentally smirked triumphantly as soon as the barrier was destroyed. "Keiko-san's right. Erithea's barriers were getting weaker in each layer. The outer layer and the innermost layer was the strongest. The second and the fifth layer has the same strength, but not as strong as the first and the last layers. The third and the fourth were weak compared to the other four but still, they're a little hard to destroy with a normal range attack."
"I guess I'll be having a hard time destroying the fifth layer, huh?" Yusuke mumbled.
"With Lady Riya's power surge, you can surely destroy it," Sei said confidently. "You've already seen the others' attacks, right?"
"Well, I'm not exactly as strong as the wielders here, Sei. Do you really expect me to do the same degree of attack as them?"
"It's like you don't have confidence in your own abilities and that of Riya-sama's, Yusuke-san," Ren said that took the Spirit Detective aback.
"It's not that I'm doubting Riya's ability. It's just thatー"
"Sheesh! Yusuke, this is not you. Where's the Yusuke I know who gets cocky every time he fights because he was confident enough to defeat them?" Keiko suddenly blurted out that surprised Yusuke.
Soon after, he smiled and faced his girlfriend. "You're right." And then he looked upーto where Riya was. "Riya, can you still go with your power surge?" He asked her despite the hints of worries.
"Don't worry about me, Yusuke. I can still hold on with this. Just focus yourself on defeating Erithea so we can end this sooner," Riya answered.
He could see her confident smile in his mind. His cousin had a point, though.
With that, Yusuke prepared himself to fire an immensely powerful Spirit Gun from his index finger. He already charged up his attack when he felt another power surge that surely came from Riya's staff. Without wasting anymore time, he fired his Spirit Gun (which was, of course, more powerful than the regular deal). Just as Yukari stated a while back, the fifth layer was just as strong as the second barrier that Ayako destroyed. With his own spirit energy and a power surge from Riya, he destroyed the barrier after half a minute or so of struggling.
At that time, Soujiro began to prepare to deliver his attack that would destroy the 6th and final barrier which protected Erithea. Though everyone knew it was a beam attack, the force needed to create it was derived from the energy of the deep watersーto be exact, the heart of the ocean. He raised his sword, now emitting a sapphire blue glow on its blade, and concentrated for some seconds before releasing his final blow. He then swung the sword in front of him as he shouted the spell.
"Blue Sapphire Submarine Slash!"
From the blade, several blue shuriken-like energy blades were thrown thatーone by oneーhit the final barrier and tried to shatter it. Another swing of the sword released a much larger shuriken that didn't only hit the barrier and destroyed it, but also cut one of the monster's major arms. Of course, it had caused unbearable pain to the enemyーher pain-stricken shriek that resonated throughout the place was already a proof for that. All of them covered their ears because of that.
"I guess I overdid that attack, huh?" Soujiro commented in a loud voice.
"Well, that only proves you did a good job," Kuwabara said, still covering his ears.
At that time, though, Kurama bound Erithea and prevented her from moving using his plants. With Riya's power surge, the plants that bound the enemy were stronger than the regular deal. Even Kurama was completely amazed with what Riya could do with each of their powers using her power surge. But even still, he couldn't help feeling worried for Riya. He could feel itーthe moment she started flyingーthat something was wrong, though he couldn't figure it out even at the moment.
Kuwabara and Ren began delivering their close-range attacks as soon as Kurama was done binding Erithea. They cut most of Erithea's monster arms, causing her to shriek in pain again. Hiei and Sei went fast to stopping her to scream in pain by cutting her head right down to its neck. It was a successーor so they thought. What they didn't realize was that Erithea's headーonce cutーcould grow out three monster heads from the point of injury. Much like a hydraーonly the enemy that they were facing right at that moment was much uglier and vicious, for that matter. Something that all of them were completely disgusted about, especially Riya.
"She didn't really want to die, huh?" Riya murmured and then opened a telepathic link to Kurama. "You think you can still bind her and attack her at the same time?"
"Yeah, I can do that. But what are you going to do?"
Riya sighed and faced the shrieking enemy. "I'll petrify it using the spell I borrowed from the Lance of Snow. Then it's up to you to destroy Erithea's petrified body. I'll let you use a spell from the Rose Daggers. You think you can do that?"
"If it will end this war once and for all, then I'll give all that I've got for this," Kurama answered with determination. Riya smiled upon hearing that.
Kurama bound the struggling enemy further while Riya prepared her attack. Just as she had stated, she would borrow powers from the two remaining Legendary Weapons. What Kurama didn't know was that she would use the plants holding Erithea as a channel to deliver her petrifying attack. Of course, Kurama was surprised when he saw the plants began to freeze and the temperature around dropped rapidly. He then realized the plan that Riya had set. This was a part of her battle plan.
The wielders' mistress used Kurama's plants as a channel to conduct her freezing spell. In front of the raised Silver Staff was the white globe of energy. Riya then began to utter her spell. "O, white spirits of the winter, gather onto this staff. Obey your mistress as I command you to turn the earth into a vision of ice to encase this beast and create a seal." It was then followed by conjuring a silver-colored sigilーan eight-pointed star with a circle inscribed in itーas her spell charged up. It was only a matter of seconds before she swung her staff in front of herーits tip pointing north, like a compass. "Frozen Ground Coffin!"
The globe then hurled to the ground. The spell began taking effect just as the white globe traveled rapidly towards the bound monster. The plants that bound the enemy further froze along with the monster. In a matter of seconds, it was completely encased in ice.
Kurama summoned his demon plants from the depths of that tundra. As he did this, he could feel a completely different energy rushing inside of him. He knew it came from one of the Legendary Weapons that Riya mentioned a while backーthe Rose Daggers.
"I'll let you use a spell from the Rose Daggers." He remembered those words from her. But what kind of spell was she going to let him use?
Just as that question popped out in his mind, a voice from deep within himself started to echo in his mind. For some reason, he trusted that voice completely. As those words became clearer, he figured that the voice was uttering the spell he could use to perform the task. His demon plants began emitting green glow as it faced the ice-encased monster. From the mouths of these demon plants (assuming that they could swallow up enemies needed to be trapped) came some beam shots as soon as he shouted the spell derived from the Rose Daggers' powers.
"Earth Spirits Blast!"
Eight demon plants fired green-colored beams to the frozen monster and it was only a matter of seconds before he destroyed its physical body. What surprsed them after that, however, was the core of that destroyed monster seemed to reside inside that body. And now, the core was beginning to do some regeneration. It was only a matter of time before it could create another body to protect that dark core. With that, all of them positioned themselves and get ready for their final attacks.
"Alright, everyone! Let's do our thing now. This is where we'll end this once and for all!" Yumi said as she focused her powers on her weapon.
As for Kuwabara, Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama, Ren and Sei, they concentrated their powers to the Silver Staff since Yumi figured out that Riya would be completely exhausted by now because of the power surge she gave to the others. If Riya would cast a tremendously powerful spell in her exhausted state, then the past would surely repeat itself. Of course, they couldn't afford to let that happen to her. With all they've got, they focused their powers to the Silver Staff.
On Riya's signal, she and the wielders threw their final attacks to Erithea's core. With their combined powers, they've finally destroyed the enemy. Exhausted they might have all been, but it was worth it. The combined attacks came to the core like a surging wave that even its regenerative ability couldn't do anything. Riya couldn't help but to smile after sighing out of relief.
Finally, the war was over. Their mission was done. The Spirit Detectives' case was solved.
Using the Silver Staff, Riya restored the city to normal by undoing the damage done to it. When she looked up to the sky, she saw that the blue moon was slowly returning to normal. It would appear that she had nothing to worry about anymore. This was the result of everything she had done to fight for the future. Her efforts had finally paid off. But thenー
Before she could think anymore, her eyes suddenly closed and her body suddenly stopped moving.
The wielders suddenly felt something weird. When they all looked up, they were surprised to see Riya falling from her position. The Silver Staff she was holding disapeared. If Yumi didn't jump high, she wouldn't be able to catch the girl. The othersーincluding Botan who was hiding a while backーapproached Yumi as the Fire Wielder examined the young mistress' situation. They stared at the two with worried eyes. Kurama's heart was thumping wildly because of fearーsomething he couldn't accept.
She couldn't possibly beー
"Yumi, how is she?" Yusuke asked immediately as soon as the said woman was done with her examination.
When the Fire Wielder looked up to face the others, she had worry, fear, and disbelief written all over her face.
"I don't know what happened. I thought she'll be fine!" Yumi murmured, most likely to herself. But still, the others heard it.
"What do you mean? What's wrong?" a distraught and worried Kurama asked. His mind wasn't functioning right.
"She's not breathing."
xxxxxx
One other similarity that this fanfic had with an anime I've watched is the majority of the scenes of the final battle with that of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's.
Even with the long interval in my updates, thank you for still reading this story. I truly appreciate it.
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