Mortal Coil (CONQUEST)

Everyone had been going their separate ways, abandoning all semblance of formation or unison. First with the necromancer fighting off that Saiyan girl, then with Lottus, of all people, falling prey to the ploy he had conceived for Russ. Seeing everything unfold, Vale couldn’t help but remark for himself.

“That’s where everything falls apart, huh?” It was a shame, truly, the beginning had shown promise for a truly captivating conflict, one sure to be written down in the history of the universe. He had staked a lot on it too, namely his position as a somewhat neutral party, which would forever be lost after this. While it had been harder to keep the facade up with the nosey Namekian prying into his affairs and making wild guesses that happened to be true, he still had the option of calling him a lunatic. Now, that wouldn’t be possible.

Trying to spark some vengeful feelings inside the Saiyan had done nothing but to aggravate his situation, the man now losing all will to fight. Vale chose not to attempt any action towards him, feeling like it was becoming pointless by now. ‘He’s completely out of it, to think he still had this kind of feelings inside him… My fault for this lack of foresight.’

He had truly no one else to blame but himself for this, but it did not put a damper on his enthusiasm too much, all things considered. No, Russ had decided on the fate of his lover, former lover? On the fate of Marrow. Of course, picking the most reasonable choice, like a truly boring man, bound by morality.

“A catch? Oh no, nothing of the sort. But all choices come with consequences, right? You’ve chosen to work for the benefit of the greater good, and that’s truly admirable. No need to worry about her anymore. After all, her never forgiving you is such a good, convenient excuse.”

Russ appeared in front of Vale, arm glowing.The threat felt empty, far too silly and self-indulgent to hold any amount of weight to it.

“No need to hold back. Well then, let me leave you with this question. When does someone truly die? When their soul has been eradicated or when they lose their sense of self? Don’t worry, I have no further plans for her.”

But others might.

A punch so powerful the Shinjin felt his very core almost shattering from the impact. The moment he came back to his senses, several seconds, maybe minutes had passed. Lottus was still there, while the Heran woman was confronted by Jackie. The Majin and Chomei were also fighting the squad. Vale found himself able to move, but he couldn’t partake in anything. Fixated on the Majin, he remembered she had some nefarious plans for him. Telepathically, he reached out to her.

‘How you creatures managed to gain sentience is still beyond me. You were better off as magical creations, tasked with protecting your masters. That’s right, why not work for me? I might be able to give you what you want and much more.’

A solid proposition, though she might only stop at the insults without looking further.

Despite his condition, he provoked her into coming for him right when he was at his most vulnerable. He could not help it, it was beyond his control! A being of pure chaos, driven only by a bottomless desire for mayhem and with no regard for his own safety either. What more could he have done! Surely, they would understand, right?

It seems like he hit the nail right on the head. A Majin serving under a Shinjin was by no means something strange, but she spoke about it with a tint of anger and regret in her voice. The plans he had for her weren’t much better, but she did not have to know.

“Oh please! What’s a mere hundred and whatever years? You’ll live to see the grandchildrens of your friends’ grandchildrens live and die without you yourself looking a year older. Think of it as a nice century long retreat.You should see what a million years feel like. Enough to go insane and full circle back to sanity a thousand times, I tell you.”

But he did not get through to her, at all. Not that he expected her to. Understanding his upcoming fate, he felt a little bit stressed.

“Surely, we can strike up a deal, no? C…Come on! I’ve helped you! Right! Jackie told me to help or leave? Didn’t I do that? Didn’t I get Lottus to leave?? Surely that’s worth something! Chomei! Don’t look at me like that, I’ve been helpful! No? No reaction at all? Whatever, I tried.”

Yes, he had indeed been helpful! If no one here would recognize it, then he was done for…or so they thought! After all, Vale was nothing if not a resourceful person. He always had a contingency plan in his pocket, somewhere.

Feeling his energy being drained got him writhing in pain, trying to get away from her by kicking the ground. Helpless against her, he had no choice but to sacrifice it all. Grabbing hold on whatever little energy he could, the Shinjin’s body began to inflate, bloating up in a grotesque display. The skin stretched to its limits, eyes bulging out to the point of near rupture. Suddenly, souls began pouring out of Vale’s mouth, by the dozen as they began scattering around the place, flying upwards back to the heavens. In this desperate attempt, Vale ejected his own soul as well, mingling with the others as he made his escape. It did come at a cost, though, since he needed to pry his soul away from his body, fragments of his soul were left within that body which he wouldn’t be able to recover.

The souls poured out for several minutes, wondering how such a body could host that many souls. In reality, they were all of his captured souls he used for his twisted schemes, but losing his body also meant losing his precious collection, one he would need to rebuild.

A desperate gambit, which cost him a lot, and a victory for the forces of good.

Finally, as the souls stopped escaping from the wretched body, one look at the corpse on the ground would reveal a desiccated corpse. A strong wind would pick up, bringing a faint voice to the ears of Moire, Jackie, Russ and Chomei.

‘Revel in your victory, heroes, for you have triumphed over evil on this day. But keep in mind, there is no purpose in killing me…’

Another stronger gust of wind would fall over the city, with another message.

‘...For I am only the air that you breathe.’

Upon closer inspection, that corpse on the ground. Was it really a Shinjin? At the very least, the heroes would find out that Vale was quite the showman, no matter what he is. High in the air, his soul lingered on a little, watching as the foul majin absorbed his wretched body to quench her thirst for power.