Blight be Purged - SPLIT!

Now well away from the main battle at large, Lottus had released the ever growing Papri as water seemed to fill her form like a balloon, making her impossible to continue holding. Rhapsody had brandished her blade against the man, but it was as though she was striking against a steel wall; he was impossible to cut and even went so far as to use his power to render her blade no better than a twig upon the ground. With her free hand, she would claw at the grip Lottus held around her neck; only to find a sudden shock of pain shoot throughout her body as the man used his own free hand to slice vertically across her chest with an infusion of deadly ki.

"GYYAAHHHHHHHHH!" Rhapsody would cry out, having never experienced such an intense pain in her life; blood bursting forth from the wound in a lethal display as Lottus released his hold of the girl.

Rhapsody's body felt cold, and her wings failed to find the strength to keep her aloft. While the massive Oozaru that gave chase rushed upon Papri, Lottus would take to altering the field of battle; in the process of the growing conflict, Rhapsody would fall to the ground below motionless as labored breaths escaped her.

The light from her eyes faded as she felt herself on the precipice of loosing consciousness; what was once an incredibly sharp and burning pain along her chest had become cold as she lost all feeling. While she felt the painful, pulsating throb of her own heart struggling to keep pace with the steadily forming pool of blood around her; the coolness of the ground and her own decreasing body temperature were calming. It was a coolness that begged for her to sleep, to rest; however the muffled sounds of roars and destruction tethered her to consciousness by the slightest of strings.

Reality sunk in, while she was the guardian of her home, her power paled in comparison to the aliens that roamed the universe. Between the giant monkeys, the massive Papri, and the villain that brought Rhapsody down to the state she currently found herself; her power was like that of a mere child's. Her mind fell back into memories of her past, of her struggle to grow and fit in with her people. Even they had the unique ability to increase their physical strengths and attributes; it was a common power amongst her people, and yet one she seemed to lack. Through training she had made up for this difference on her home world, but now, none of that mattered. All she could do now was remain motionless as her strength failed her and her breathing slowed; the last bits of her consciousness reached its end, and darkness began to take her vision in place of everything else.

    Lottus had, it seemed, flown up at the most opportune time. The Oozaru that had followed them raged past, targeting the other warrior that, Lottus could sense, was strong in her own right. Still, after admiring his own handiwork with the scenery, floats back down and lands next to the winged woman.

    His counter attack had left her severely wounded, and bleeding out. She had been bombastic, and confident. And she had been felled so easily. Too easily. Lottus looms over the woman, brows furrowing in a mixture of disappointment and anger.

    "That cannot possibly be all you had!?" Lottus growls. But her eyes are glazed, and he couldn't feel her energy signature. Why was that? She was breathing - very shallow breaths, but still clearly alive. Why couldn't he feel her energy?

    He had seen the other creature attempt to do... something. But the Oozaru put an end to whatever they had in mind. He watches the woman for a few moments, expecting her to get up, brashly call him a monster again, and restart their little game. Irritated, Lottus reaches down and presses his palm to Rhapsody's wound, letting the blood flow onto his hand and between his fingers.

    This was his way to acknowledge those he killed. He let their blood stain him. He straightens, and turns his back on Rhapsody, and suddenly stumbles a step as a pain shoots through his head. The pain, like it was right behind his eyes, thrums harshly, making Lottus slam his eyes shut and grit his teeth. After a moment, he opens his eyes again, and the bloodlust seems to have just... disappeared. His eyes, changed from a vicious deadly gaze, to one of being lost was sudden.

    His eyes meet Rhapsody's glazed eyes, and then travel to her bloody wound. Another pang of pain tears through Lottus' head, and the murderous look returns to his eyes. Grinning broadly, Lottus rises off the ground and flies towards the other two still fighting. A laugh tears from his throat, and Lottus rockets towards Papri! Flying past the Oozaru as if it weren't there, Lottus' left arm becomes wreathed in crimson Ki.

    "The other one broke too fast, so it looks like you will have to suffice!!" Lottus yells in a harsh rasp, his manic smile broad from ear to ear. He swings his Ki enhanced fist at Papri, aiming for her head!

---

Darkness and cold had overtaken her senses, even her own breathing had fallen still; nothing but the steadily fading memories of her home world graced what little consciousness Rhapsody had left. Suddenly, a warmth came to her chest; touching upon her wound for the briefest of moments before fading away just as quickly. How did she arrive at this point? How did this ever encompassing darkness come to pass? Her ears twitched as she heard Papri's muffled cries; the girl had been pulled into a battle she had no intention to take part in, endangered by the villains that attacked them now, the monsters known as, Saiyans.

Hearing Papri's muffled voice, the memory of Rhapsody's friend, Kitsu, played back in her mind. The bullying and oppression Rhapsody endured growing up flashed vividly as though it had happened only yesterday; with Kitsu being the one to protect her from such experiences. Where was Kitsu now? Was she safe?

A pulse would shock through Rhapsody's body as she coughed up blood; pain wrecking her back into a semi-wakened state.

Hazy, the battlefield began to come back to her sight; fading in and out as she struggled to differentiate her memories from reality. Rhapsody's eyes fell upon Papri in the distance; time felt as though it slowed as she took notice of Lottus charging in for the attack. To her eyes however, Papri was replaced with Kitsu; while Lottus was replaced with Aiden. The scene of Aiden pushing Kitsu over the cliffs edge played back with the utmost clarity; Kitsu was in danger again, and Rhapsody was powerless to stop it...

'No...' Rhapsody would think to herself as she struggled to her feet.

She felt powerless, but she hadn't been powerless that day; that was the day she took her first flight to save her friend, there was power... more power than she ever she had... but was it enough?

'No.' Rhapsody would think once more as she used her ice magic upon the wound on her chest; sealing it shut to momentarily prevent further blood loss.

She winced as an agonizing pain shot through her once more, threatening to drop her to her knees; her memories of her past faded, and reality began to take precedence once more. Lottus's attack played through her mind, she lacked power; she NEEDED power... The power to fight... The power to protect! Her wings felt empty, yet heavy; they held no strength, but would span wide as Rhapsody force her energy to increase. Just as she had done the day she saved Kitsu, she would do it again; she would push beyond the limits she had and find the power to help Papri, the power to protect!

"NO!!" Rhapsody would shout as a strange red energy began to flare up around her.

She was different from her kin; forced to become stronger to compensate, but this couldn't be the end. She was as much a Vulkus as the rest of them, she had the power in her, she KNEW she did! She needed that power now, more than anything else; even if it cost her, her life, she couldn't allow an innocent like Papri to be further harmed due to her own lacking ability! She would find it, the strength within her she sought so desperately, and she would find it NOW!

The red aura that steadily flared up around Rhapsody would intensify; along with the aura, so too would her eyes change, turning red and pupil-less. Her wings would beat rapidly as more and more power surged within her; then, as with that day with Kitsu, Rhapsody would take flight! In a rush of speed beyond anything she'd ever reached before, Rhapsody would pierce through the air and hone in on Lottus's location; but it wasn't enough, she needed more, to protect Papri, she needed to call upon every last ounce of strength she had within her. The wind against her face as she closed the distance felt sharp; and the pain that surged through her from the wound inflicted by Lottus was becoming unbearable, but she would endure.

With one final burst of energy, Rhapsody would sheath her sword and instantly find herself in between Papri, and Lottus's oncoming slash.

"I was wrong, you're no monster..." Rhapsody would say lowly as Lottus's attack fell down upon her; the world moving at what felt like a crawl, "You're a devil."




Rhapsody's red aura would finally reach it's peak, flaring up in an intense display as her outfit changed from it's hues of blue to arrays of red. For the sake of protecting the innocent, of protecting Papri, Rhapsody had found the selfsame strength as the rest of her people; albeit in a different form. With this change, Rhapsody had entered a form of Valor; and with the power it granted her, Rhapsody would hold her sheathed blade until the very moment Lottus's attack would land, before parrying with a single strike, filled with the entirety of her power. With this attempt to Reflect Lottus's attack, the wind would crack as a shock wave pulsed through the area her blade cut; whether she hit or missed, this was Rhapsody's last ditch effort; at the very least, Papri would remain safe.

After her strike, she would have nothing left; the ice that closed her wound would begin to crack and melt, and Rhapsody would drop to a knee, void of power. Her blade would still be held firmly in hand, but the light would fade from her eyes as she completely lost consciousness; in spite of this, the red aura of her Valor Form continued to burn, and her determined expression remained.

    Pain did not even begin to describe what Lottus' body was about to endure. Even as Rhapsody's blade intercepted his Ki infused fist, the Oozaru raging behind Lottus attacks - not their enemies, but Lottus. He felt the beasts hammering blows, crushing Lottus against the ground, smashing away his armor and splitting the skin across Lottus' back. He felt the warmth of his blood spill from his new wounds, but he had no time to even consider it.

    The angelic being he had thought he had left dying in a pool of her own blood had found the strength to not just rise, but to out maneuver Lottus, placing herself in the perfect position to protect the blue creature. Even as Lottus tried to rise, he saw the flash of steel, and the glow of her red eyes. The front of Lottus' armor is obliterated by her blade and the subsequent blast of slashing winds.

    Lottus could do nothing in that moment but hang in the air as gravity began to pull him down, slashes pouring blood from both his back and now his already marred chest. The X-shaped scar he'd received from Dark now had an angled new addition cutting across Lottus' torso, and soon after, Lottus felt a searing heat; bubbles hammering in small concussive detonations burn his skin, leaving nearly all of the Saiyan's exposed body with at least second degree burns.

    At last, Lottus was allowed to hit the ground with a resounding THUD as he hits with his back down. At first, Lottus' eyes are just wide open, his mouth slightly agape, as if the most impossible thing had just happened. After a few moments, his mouth slams shut, making his teeth clack together so hard he thought they might have cracked.

    Slowly, Lottus rolls onto his right side, and finally pushes himself back to his feet. The Saiyan stumbles back a step, but catches himself. All of the anguish hits Lottus at once, and the Saiyan's rasping scream of pain and fury is accompanied by an explosion of power as his dark aura once more rages around his ruined form. The ground beneath his feet tears away in deep fissures, like a spider's web, as his rage fueled power causes the ground to quake.

    Lottus ends his blood curdling scream, and looks directly at Rhapsody. She had shown her might. He was simply unprepared for what had happened; struck from three separate foes nearly at once. The angelic woman had shown her might, yes, but she had also shown Lottus something he knew full well how to exploit - the desire to save others. Lottus closes his eyes, and begins to laugh. It is a terrible laugh that would send chills up the spines of any of faint heart.

    Lottus whips his right hand, and jagged crimson Ki envelopes his knife straight palm. With his free hand, Lottus tears off what little is left of his battle jacket, and leers at Rhapsody.

    "...Call me... whatever you wish... Devil it is..." Lottus growls, a demonic grin spreading across his face, made all the more terrible by the scarlet burns and blood pouring down his face. He felt it - other than the slashes, Lottus could feel that one or more of his ribs are cracked, making breathing difficult as wave after wave of pain jolts through him with every ragged attempt to suck in breath. "...But... I wasn't finished..."

    Lottus' crimson black aura flares, and the Saiyan rockets forth towards Rhapsody. He draws his hand out to his side, preparing to once more rush at Rhapsody.

    Only he doesn't. Instead, Lottus shoots past the woman with the bright wings and reddened eyes, flying fast at Papri once again! His face, the expression of desire to kill, to split apart this target he had just been denied, lit across his hyper focused eyes. Lottus' form would take up the entirety of Papri's vision, in an instant... and his Ki infused fist, like a hammer easily as destructive as Rhapsody's sword, comes crushing down to hammer Papri in her vulnerable abdomen , Ki rushing forth, and finally blasting upon the impact.

    In his mind, Lottus dared the others to interfere again. Gone was his reason. Gone was his glee for combat. What remained now was only an all encompassing rage, and the desire to kill.

---

With Lottus's agonizing scream, Rhapsody would snap back to consciousness; only to be dropped by the sharp, unrelenting pain that pulsed from her chest. Stabbing her sword into the ground for balance, she would look up in an attempt to locate the devil she'd struck; eyes widening as the blur of him and his villainous aura rushed past her, towards the one she had just attempted to protect.

"NO!!" Rhapsody would exclaim as she turned about; her lack of energy and current injuries causing her to stumble and fall once again.

Her brow furrowed upon the scene as Lottus rushed in with his energy infused hand, the selfsame technique that had brought Rhapsody down at the start of this fight. In spite of her best efforts, in spite of the power she had gained, it still wasn't enough; the devil before them still stood, and the innocent she had wished to protect was in an even worse danger than previously.

"Leave her alone, damn you!!!"

Why did the devil take to attacking one uninterested in the fight!? Why had he not come after Rhapsody herself, the one who had likely caused him the most damage with her attack!? The answer was in the term she referred to him as; he was a devil, evil incarnate, the epitome of hate and rage. He held no true rhyme or reason to his actions, he sought only to cause harm and torment; Rhapsody was a warrior, she was a guardian, she was prepared to face consequences inflicted against her for her actions. What she was not prepared to risk, was the well being of those she wished to protect...

    Lottus' blow, unlike the last attempt, struck home. He felt his Ki infused punch press into Papri's body, and felt the wash of water spew from her lips to drench him. If that was what passed for blood with this creature, it was just as well. The rush of water cleansed much of his face of the blood that had begun to harden and stick to his skin, and Lottus' vicious sneer returns. He began to reach for Papri, as the latter started to scramble back and away, but stopped.

    A flash of anguish rips through Lottus' skull, making the Saiyan jerk back, howling in fury, clutching both hands against the sides of his head. Lottus stumbles back several steps, whipping his hands across his face like a madman throwing a tantrum, but it was all to try and push away this sudden pain. Papri manages to escape his notice at this point, as Lottus falls to his knees, slamming his head against the ground as the agony continued to tear away at his skull.

    Eventually, Lottus curls into a kneeling crouch, and his yellowed eyes peer manically through the spaces between his fingers. And his gaze falls squarely on Renkon. This Saiyan, who had lost control of his beastly form, had been party to stopping Lottus' attack. He had interfered. And now, Lottus could see, the Saiyan was taking aim at him. Lottus grinds his teeth as the pain in his head fired again, and his mind goes blank. His vision goes red with an uncontrolled rage - the side effect of using his Wrathful State for too long.

    Lottus rises back to his feet with a snarl so animalistic it may as well have been an Oozaru roaring. Once again, Lottus' crimson and black aura explodes around him, appearing as a geyser akin to a dark flame. The Saiyan had interfered. They were his enemy. Enemy... ENEMY!

    The words KILL KILL KILL KILL repeated in Lottus' mind endlessly, tormentingly. The infectious rage of the Wrathful State seizes ahold of Lottus' mind as his aura flares furiously, and Lottus focuses entirely on Renkon. He'd forgotten about Papri. He'd forgotten about Rhapsody. He'd forgotten that he'd been enjoying the battle. All he could see, all he could feel, all he could think - was to destroy this Saiyan interloper. Rhapsody would come next.

    With a baleful roar, Lottus launches towards Renkon, bringing his right knee up to ram into Renkon's stomach. And, his right hand spread wide, Lottus gathers his Ki into his palm. A vortex of crimson and black culminate in a crackling ball of Ki, and Lottus thrusts his hand forward.

    The ball becomes a wide beam, terrible in the evil it represented. The blast wave threatens to fully envelope Renkon, and devour the Saiyan in a mighty explosion!

---