Zaofan rockets through the sky at top speed, covered in his white aura and blasting away and carrying Toh Magoh. Behind them is the night time sky, and ahead is the rising sun peeking over the horizon. The old master of the counterfeit Neo Crane holds on for dear life, both to Zaofan and to his own arms: "C-C-Couldn't you... D-d-d-rop to a warm-er alt-ti-tude?"
The chef responds, "No. The higher the atmosphere we are, the less wind resistance. The Lookout is high on up. Better to fly straight there."
"Wh-what's the Lookout? And wh-why are we fl-flying th-there?"
Zaofan answers with grim determination, not missing a beat. "The Lookout is where Lady Evangeline, the Guardian of the Earth, lives. It's where I've been training. But we also have two visitors: Wilheim and the Princess. When my friends and I were whisked away to the Blood universe, we landed in an alternate Earth called Terra. Wilheim and the Princess are native to that world. And Shingen is after them because of my big mouth!"
Toh Magoh reasons his way through the events. "S-so... that blood energy that s-su-surrounds you ..."
"... is residue from that world. I haven't killed legions of fighters for their blood energy. I'm not like that! Shingen is mistaken! But he's aiming for Wilheim and the Princess so that he can find a way to Terra! If my friends and I spent a short time and amassed that much energy just by ourselves, there's no telling how much blood energy is within two natives of that world! And if Shingen and Manto cross over to the other world, there's no telling how powerful they'll become!"
Toh Magoh's teeth continue to chatter. "Bu-but wh-why bring muh-me...?!"
"You know the most about Shingen. You've spent the most time with him. You may be of some use yet, you killer miser!"
Zaofan's mind begins to think. Two former teachers. Two liars and murderers, back in his life. And now he's hot on the tail of one while carrying the other. One teacher -- Toh Magoh -- he's defeated already. The other, Shingen, is one who has repeatedly scared him to the point of trauma and escape. But for once, rather than run away from his problem, he now chases it at full speed.
Zaofan pours on the power, and locks onto two ki signatures over the horizon -- the same ones he sensed, but did not encounter, in his first battle with the Demon Shogun and the Crimson Cloak. "Shingen's sent two agents to the Lookout. Thankfully they're not as fast as me, but they'll still get there before I can overtake them at this speed. But we have to stop them from capturing Wilheim and the Princess at any cost! Toh Magoh, hold on!"
The flying chef fires an
Optic Blast and both restrains it while boosting his speed to merge with it, turning himself into a red comet: The
Crimson Dynamite Comet, more specifically. By riding the beam, his travel speed increases by a factor of 5. But in the midst of the beam, Zaofan then activates the
Wolf's Prowl. Normally this move would increase his speed by a factor of 3, but as time is of the essence, his base speed is increased by a factor of 15 total. Moving at speeds far beyond what he is used to, Zaofan's face begins to distort, but his aim and dedication are true. The same can't be said of Toh Magoh; if it wasn't for the protective field of the Crimson Dynamite Comet, he would be so much ripped confetti.
But even with his vast speed and his inevitable arrival to the Lookout, he's still not fast enough to see the source of a brilliant flash of light in the horizon. He feels a powerful energy signature in the distance, one that tastes like Ryu Shingen, the Demon Lord. But how did he get that far? Did his agents cast a spell or a portal? Nonetheless, he does not let that distract him as he maintains course and speed.
(ooc: the Wolf's Prowl normally lasts 5 posts, but 2 have been used for travel time)
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Heavy footsteps land on the pristine floors of the sun-lit Lookout as armored boots make contact. A majestic cape flapping in the wind marks the arrival of Ryu Shingen, the Demon Lord Shogun.
He draws out the Oni Sword, a curved blade forged from the fang of a giant Oni, and he drags the blade across the ground, causing sparks to fly out. He looks around the plaza and crystal blue skies, attempting to lock on to the signatures of the Terra natives.
"!!!"
A momentary glance behind him isn't fast enough to save him from the devastating attack of the
Pressure Kicker, hitting at 15 times the speed of a certain flying chef. The Demon Lord Shogun is knocked to the other side of the plaza, but he flips forward and lands on his feet. He sees his opponent Zaofan, dissipating the field but breathing heavily, and also dropping Toh Magoh, dizzy and disoriented from the speeds. Shingen readies his sword into fighting position.
Zaofan takes in large gulps of air, and he steadies his shaky legs. Extending his fist forward, he calls out:
"BOOOOOJACK!" His trusty katchin bo staff materializes out of its capsule, and the chef swings and twirls it left, right, above, and then pointed forward. "SHINGEN! You know, normally I like it when my old friends meet my new friends, but I'm afraid I can't let that happen."
The Demon Lord Shogun's echo voice resonates even in the open area of the Lookout. "Your friends are from another place. They're foreigners. They're already more interesting than you, dear boy. And I intend to meet them, thank you very much." He swings his sword expertly, no move wasted, into his fighting stance. And with that, both fighters explode in white auras, and charge each other, the Oni Sword and the Katchin Bo Staff clanging and sparking off each other. Zaofan swings in wide circles and combines swings with leaps, with Shingen blocking and parrying from all angles, on the defense thanks to the Wolf's Prowl. Thus, the battle is joined in earnest.
However, while Zaofan now has the speed to compete with Shingen, he does not have the matching strength. Shingen begins applying more pressure to his blows, and even if Zaofan blocks them, his muscles are strained that much more. Shingen thrusts the blade forward, to which Zaofan tips his torso to the side to dodge it cleanly and slams one end of Bojack into Shingen's armored chest, pushing him back and dragging his feet against the floor. With his left hand, Shingen then swings his blade so that he holds the handle upside down, blade to left forearm. He crosses that forearm and fist up to his chest and parallel to the ground, while his right forearm presses perpendicular to the left, creating a cross, and two of his fingers on his right hand point up.
"Chou Ninpo!" His sword blade glows red. He raises the sword overhead, and slashes downward.
"SHIPUZAN!"
A red and white energy wave crashes against Bojack. Zaofan swings down to meet it, and though the wave splinters apart from the katchin, an energy shard slices his upper right arm, creating a bloody wound. Shingen extends his left hand and reddish-purplish energy begins to seep from Zaofan's wound -- Blood energy drain at work -- until his hand is shot aside by Zaofan's
Optic Blast.
Zaofan holds onto his wound. "You homicidal maniac! That's why I left you in the first place! This world has no place for your style of martial arts and bloodletting!"
Shingen brings his left hand to his face, smelling the residual blood energy through his face plate. "What would I care if this world has a place for it or not? It's served me just fine all this time. There is purity to the blood. To the Hokuto Shinken. It is direct. It is effective. It is most certainly glorious. Deadly? Of course. But efficient nonetheless. That is the path to power. Your path, like your cooking, is destined to burn away, dear chef." He makes a cross with his forearms and his two right fingers extended up again. "
CHOU NINPO: DAI HINATAMA!" recoiling his cupped hands backwards and jetting them forward, palms forward and fingers stretched out, a large fireball flies to Zaofan.
"SCARLET SHIELDO!" For a split second, the ruby field flashes in front of his chest, reflecting the fireball back at the Shogun. Unfortunately, the Shogun yells back,
"HAKKEI NO HO!" A blood-red field likewise emerges around him, reflecting the fireball once more at Zaofan, detonating on the ground in front of him and sending him flying back and into a wall, covered in smoke.
Toh Magoh peeks out from the Lookout's bushes.
I don't know what this place is, or what Zaofan's gotten me mixed up into, but he's still no match for Shingen! What if I find his two friends and deliver them to Shingen?