Deimosu dived aside of Cu Cuchlain's spear, rolling underneath it. The warrior God reacted quickly, however, swinging the spear's butt around to smash the Ainur aside.
The young Satomi wasn't worried about the blunt end of the spear, but he'd heard stories about what would happen to someone stabbed by that particular point.
Rolling up to his feet and stepping back, Deimosu stepped aside of the slashing blade and called out with his own power to slam down into Cu Cuchlain from above.
As the Celtic warrior lifted his arm out to craft an aura of mana against the chi-filled lightning, Deimosu took advantage of the man's focus upward to push raw chi into a blast of pure, white energy. Chi was neither the most stable nor the most powerful of the life-forces, but it was the most adaptable and the quickest.
And Cu Cuchlain had a severe disadvantage.
He was locked out of many of the benefits of Yggdrasil.
However, Deimosu had Silmaril's support.
Cu Cuchlain was trying to extend his battle-aura as the chi blast rushed out at him, but he was slow to shift the mana from one direction to another. He flew backwards, still keeping tight hold of his spear.
Deimosu was charging forward as Cu Cuchlain pushed himself up to his feet with a semi-crazed smile.
He swung his spear about, forcing Deimosu to dodge upwards and then roll black flat as the butt of the spear came around, which left the Ainur in position for the God to kick upward into Deimosu's back throwing him into the sky with a grunt.
Swinging out with the point of his spear again, he was mildly surprised when Deimosu threw his weight aside and out of the way of the incoming blade.
"Kachu tenshin amaguriken!" Deimosu shouted, slamming his fist into Cu Cuchlain's side and drawing a clear wince from the spearman.
Stepping aside, the Celtic God clutched the battered side as he put his spear between him and Deimosu.
"Hmm," he said. "Right now you're stronger than me and faster than me. Things look desperate for me, don't they,"
"Then just give up and let's not deal with this anymore," Deimosu said sharply as he stepped in, moving cautiously this time.
"I already told you," Cu Cuchlain said. "I'm not going to be satisfied until someone can beat me into the ground."
He charged forward, stabbing out with the masterful skill of thousands of years of practice, which Deimosu was only barely able to duck around. As the butt came around again then, however, he caught the butt end and immediately let loose his power again.
The shaft of the spear crackled with the lightning pouring out of his hand, scoring black marks throughout the crafted spear until it finally shattered in his hand.
Cu Cuchulain glanced down at the splintered remains of his spear with something akin to shock before Deimosu stepped in and started beating him about the head and body until he was thrown back to land on his rear against a wall.
"We're done," Deimosu said.
"Of course," the disarmed spearwielder said. "Because you say so, right?"
Behind him, the Carapace was starting to reactivate and the rebel Gods were fleeing as the Demon with in the vehicle apparently recovered.
"That's right," Deimosu said. "Because I say so."
"So much like your father," the Celtic God said with a smirk.
Almost immediately, Deimosu's hand was about his throat and the God was being lifted up and pushed through one wall and into the next.
"What did you say?" the blonde Ainur demanded.
"You're just like your father," Cu Cuchlain said with a little smirk. "Everything is because you say so, there's no thought but the fact that you say something is true therefore it has to be true."
"I'm nothing like that," Deimosu said angrily. "I set limits on myself unlike that....thing."
"Right," Cu Cuchlain said, not disturbed in the slightest. "You set limits on yourself, nobody else. And as soon as you decide what must be done, you do it, without asking because you say so."
"Quiet!" Deimosu shouted. "I haven't done anything like that."
"Look around you Son of Zeus," Cu Cuchlain said with a smile. "Where would you say this whole mess came from? We're at war."
And behind Deimosu, the piecces Gae Bolg rose up and came together as it pointed towards Deimosu's back.
"Because. You. Said. So."
Deimosu stared ahead blankly as if in shock for just a moment, and in that moment, the spear behind him launched itself forward...
...and found itself stopped cold by thin pile of papers floating in air.
Cu Cuchlain stared in disbelief, wondering what was going on as two women came into view, one of whom picked up his spear and almost casually broke the link between him and the weapon.
"Thank, Yomiko," Ranma said casually.
"It is not a problem Ma'am," she said proudly as Ranma moved forward.
The red head leaned the spear against her shoulder casually, almost disrespectfully as she walked forward.
"Deimosu, are you all right?" she asked in concern.
Slowly, her son nodded and then quickly shook his head, trying to hide his shock too late.
"Okay, step aside a bit here," Ranma said casually, waiting for her son to slowly back away from Cu Cuchlain.
"So, you're the mother?" the Celtic God asked weakly as she came to stand in front of him,
"You're lucky some people want you alive," Ranma told the man coldly.
ôUnlike the rest of you here, IÆm seeking a true warriorÆs death in the midst of battle,ö the Celtic God said pulling himself to his feet.
ôI guess that makes not lucky then,ö Ranma said, examining the spear. ôSo, this thingÆs been broken, repaired and disrupted in the past minute, maybe two. Looks like itÆs going to take a while to recover completely.ö
ôGuess you wonÆt be able to get much use out of it,ö Cu Cuchlain noted smirking.
ôJust a little bit,ö Ranma said, stabbing the spear down into the warriorÆs foot.
Cu Cuchlain winced at the pain and twitched as he could feel the weak, unrecovered remnants of the Gae BolgÆs curse working through him already.
ôI imagine that hurts,ö Ranma said.
The God grimaced and shifted weight off the foot as he took Ranma in. The exorcist was already drawing a circle about the ground and focusing power, using the relic as an etching tool.
ôThatÆs just spite,ö the man said irritably, showing a loss of humor for the first time.
ôNo, thatÆs you being lucky this isnÆt my house,ö the red-head noted as she finished the circle and the chi snapped shut. ôYou get to come back.ö
And the Celtic God seemed to be pulled into the Gae Bolg, now serving as the link between Earth and the prison Ranma had crafted for him.
The red-head turned to look at her son.
ôYou let him unsettle you,ö she said seriously.
ôHe wasàheàö he stopped himself.
Deimosu had to admit that there wasnÆt anything particularly untrue said in any of what the lancer had said.
ôGo see if Eija needs any help,ö the red-head said in a casual tone that was not to be mistaken as anything but an order.
ôMomàö Deimosu started to say.
ôYouÆre distracted and over emotional,ö Ranma said. ôDo I have to say anything more direct?ö
ôIÆll go,ö the lightning user said reluctantly, leaping back towards the beach.
As her son left to head back to the medical tents, she shook her head and glanced aside toward where Herb was walking her way. Behind him, Basil regarded Ranma cautiously.
ôWell, we still have a few thousand walking WMDs and assorted mooks to put down or capture,ö Ranma said. ôSoàletÆs get to it.ö
________________________________________
Belldandy took a deep breath as the virus in her system was finally cleared and she sat up on the medical cot that she'd been helped to when the attack first came.
ôI donÆt get it,ö a wounded soldier said as he watched her sit up. "Aren't you people supposed to be powerful enough to destroy the world? Why are we bothering with this? Why does it even work?"
Belldandy looked over at him.
"I could," Belldandy said quietly. "If I took my time, weave a spell that could wipe Japan clean."
"Then why don..." he stopped mid sentence. "Everything?"
"Everything," Belldandy said sadly. "It would not be the best of spells, such...things are not what I enjoy. Kali could be more precise, but...they are Gods, they would sense the spell coming and interfere. People would die who we sought to protect and most of those who we wished to...stop...would be untouched."
"And how are we succeeding at all?" he asked.
"Because, the networks are divided," she said. "There is too much activity and it is directed inward. And we are dying. It used to be our subconscious was enough to protect ourselves from normal hazards, but the extra processing is...busy. And the individual minds can't focus everywhere at once. It's requiring more and more conscious effort to do things that were automatic."
"So, what you're saying is..." the soldier started to say cautiously.
"Lag kills," Hermes said, entering the room. "Belldandy, I assume you're recovered?"
She nodded.
"They'll be needing me healing, I know," she said.
"Actually, we have some news," the God of Messengers said.
"Skuld?" Belldandy asked hopefully.
"Sayoko Mishima," Hermes said as he shook his head. "Peorth had contact with her."
________________________________________
Akane felt the energy of the peach fading away just as a God and an Ainur joined up with them.
With a bit of relief, she stepped back from the front lines to catch her breath and take in the situation that she could see from where she was.
The soldiers she'd been supporting hadn't done too poorly, but in places where the human soldiers had been left with minimal or no psychic support, she could already see that the attrition was not quite pyrrhic.
She jumped a little as a hand clapped on her shoulder and whipped about to enter battle until she realized that it was her husband that had just gathered her attention.
"Damn it, Ryuu, don't do that," she said. "I don't want to have to explain to the kids how I killed their father."
"On accident of course," Ryuu said with a smile.
"Right," Akane said irritably before leaning into him and exchanging a quick hug on the battlefield as a jet passed over them. "Thank goodness you're alive."
"I was worried about you too," he said.
________________________________________
Hammond, Tessa and the other command leaders watched as reports came in and more of the southern island was cleared. Some of the rebel Gods were fleeing, others were hanging on to fight to the dire end. Others were doing something that seemed entirely random.
It all depended on what sort of quirks they had.
"We're winning," Hammond noted obviously. "Probably have the island under control within the next three hours."
"Now we just need to move on to the main island," Tessa said with a sigh.
________________________________________
Doctor Hasuke glanced over at the Goddess that had been helping throughout the whole attack. She was one of the first to recover from whatever attack had struck the Immortals, even amongst the Gods, who mostly seemed to recover quicker. However, what he saw at the moment was a bit concerning.
"Is someone in immediate danger?" the girl asked, turning to look at what seemed to be empty air. "Then I can't help you right now."
She turned away from the empty air a moment and went back to moving through the wounded looking for the injuries that required the most immediate attention.
"I'm trying to keep more people from dying right now," she said wearily over her shoulder. "I shall try to help the already dead after that. In the meantime, all of you might find ways to make yourselves useful and see if you can find ways to direct people to the wounded. There is plenty of energy in the air to make use of."
Satomi didn't slow down as she settled on a man who looked fine.
"Internal, bleeding here," she said quickly. "I'll stabilize him."
"Miss Satomi," the doctor said, moving over to the girl's side. "Perhaps you should lie down again."
Eija looked up, eyes red out to the visible edges of the sphere.
"No, I am fine," she said sighing. "I'm not that tired yet."
"You were just talking to thin air," the man noted for a moment.
"Hmmm, oh," Eija noted. "That was a ghost."
"A ghost?" the man said. "Of course. We have Gods and Demons, why not ghosts. How many ghosts are around?"
"Too many," Eija said quietly. "Way too many."
How are things going? Kaname asked.
I think things are slowing down, Eija said. We seem to be winning.
That is good, a faint but strengthening sound trickled to their minds.
Kaname and Eija both paused in thought though Eija didn't let the mild surprise distract her from her medical duties.
Sousuke? was asked simultaneously with Sousuke-kun?
Affirmative, the mercenary said. Apparently, I'm now a part of this link.
One moment please, Eija said, putting away her worry of this event as she regarded something going on around her.
Making sure to leave one hand on the patient, she stood up and looked around, putting herself protectively before the patients as a collection of men in the guise of civilians broke in to the tent brandishing firearms.
So...we're...all three connected now, Kaname said nervously.
"You are our captives and now you will cease to provide aid and comfort to the enemies of hea..." the man was interrupted as Eija turned to look calmly away from them.
Should that bother us? Sousuke asked. The conversion was supposed to prevent this.
"If you'd please, I seem to be busy," Eija told a many-braided brunette girl off to the side.
Bullets tore out of the guns directed at them as a blue field extended outward from Eija and blocked the shots. Really, Eija noted, basic bullets from twenty-year old weapons and without even trying a distraction first.
Mara, could you answer me a question, Kaname asked nervously, Eija and Sousuke hearing her thoughts as they were connected to the statement.
"That," Lusca said stepping forward with a frown, "is not funny."
Tentacles erupted out of the ground and nearly any other nearby surface as the girl walked forward. On tentacle darted in from outside the tent and pulled one of the terrorists out screaming as others lashed out to grab guns and bad guys, pulling them down to ground.
Okay, I'm clear again.
What occurred? Sousuke asked.
A handful of human cultists got into the medical area, Eija said. Lusca is handling them.
Some of the tentacles seemed to be trying to pull their targets into the ground, but finding it difficult to impossible.
A wall of the summoned things ripped up between the school girl and the cultists as she pushed them out of the area and away from the injured.
Okay, Uh, Mara said the part of us that's linked can be broken into...or we can let people into...which is what she thinks happened, Kaname said with clear relief. She suggests we get our marks checked for damage, but doesn't think it will be a problem.
Eija and Dr. Hasuke watched as two of the men, the lower half of their faces covered by a turn of the tendrils, tried to fight being pulled out of the tent as Lusca left. The men left huge furrows and traces of blood as fingers cracked in the attempt not to be pulled out into the outside.
"Why isn't she in the fight?" the doctor asked turning back to the patient as the crisis passed.
"All the category three Demons are performing support roles," Eija said, retuning all her focus on the man whose life they were trying to save. "And she's Demoness of Crushing. So..."
"Yes, I know, she's been 'applying pressure'," the doctor said. "And that display explains some of the 'bandages' I've been seeing recently."
Eija stopped and thought about that statement.
"She makes tentacle bandages?" she asked.
Is there anything that girl doesn't answer with tentacles?
Isn't Lusca category two at least? Sousuke asked.
Yes, but she's supposed to be limited right now, Eija said. A partial binding due to her current mental state. Enough to defend herself with.
Are you sure she's actually limited? Kaname asked.
________________________________________
"The battle line's been pushed ten miles from here," a soldier explained to his friend. "We're guarding a bunch of civies and back rank people. There's nothing going on back here, so don't sweat it."
"Did I hear you right soldier," an angry voice came from behind the two. "Are you going to slack off on guard duty."
The two soldiers straightened up immediately as the sergeant stepped forward into view, but not to the degree that they would around an officer.
"Ah, come on Sarge, everything's finished here," the laid back soldier said.
"Have you not heard the reports of enemy agents, cultists or crap like that, filtering into the civilian population?" the sergeant demanded.
"Oh please, what's the chance that any of those are going to be around here?"
A brown tentacle rippled out of the wall on one side behind the three and passed into the damaged wall across from it. All three turned to look at the reptilian, brown mass phasing through the two walls until it started pulling back rapidly.
With the sound of a high pitched scream, the damaged brick wall exploded into debris as a man in civilian clothes and dropping what looked like a second hand AK-47 as he slammed into the next, very solid wall.
The tentacle wrapped man continued clawing at his captor and screaming as the vaguely frustrated appendage had troubles getting the man to phase through the wall.
"Awww, why don't the people go through the walls too?" a girl's voice asked with an annoyed pout.
The soldiers looked over to see a teenager standing there surrounded by struggling and flailing men trying to scream out. Another tentacle grew out of the ground at her feet and whipped out to grab the man who wouldn't go through the wall, provoking a brief tug of war between the two tentacles.
"Wait, wait," Lusca said, forcibly making herself dismiss the other tentacle so that the last of the men hurtled his way towards her. "And now to save you guys for later."
All around her, save the patch immediately underneath her, it seemed as if the ground opened up to darkness and a writhing mass of tentacles ripped up out of the darkness to grab the girl's collected prisoners down into the hole.
At which point the hole vanished away, leaving behind a little plushie octopus which the girl picked up and skipped over to the three witnessing soldiers.
"Here you go! Prisoners!" she said cheerfully.
"Thanks, kid," the sergeant said, at least trying to seem non-pulsed.
"I'm going back to helping Naiki's sister! Bye!"
She waved happily before popping into smoke and vanishing from in front of them.
"Di...did a school girl just give me a plushie gate to tentacle hell?" the formerly laid back soldier asked.
"See that, soldier, the civilians are doing your job for you," the sergeant snapped at them. "Now get that plushie to a command staff."