Gatekeepers ch.6 (Patreon)

Chapter 6:

The treant ignored the gash upon its wooden face and went back on the offensive, taking great strides that shook the earth.

It swung its emaciated right arm, the thorny whip upon it extending in a wide sweep.

Ren ducked under it with a curse while Minato jumped above it.

The club-like arm followed suit, aimed at the airborne redhead. Minato’s eyes widened, but he still reacted. He pushed the top of the giant limb to vault above it. He got on his feet and dashed on the treant’s arm. Embers danced on Minato’s fingers as he launched a fireball at the Core Monster’s head.

The fireball hit the mushroom cap infesting the treant’s face. When the flames dissipated, not a scratch was left.

Minato cursed. The fungus was tougher than the bark of the tree. The treant’s thinner arm rose to swat him, and he had to jump off the living tree.

Shiraori then decided to get back into the fray with a sneak attack. Coming from behind, the Oni came at full speed, one arm encased in overlapping rings of whistling wind. She jumped and swung her arm at the back of what would be a knee for a human body.

Lacerating Lariat.

The sound of a woodchipper at full power suddenly erupted among the clearing. The treant roared in pain as one of its root-legs got shredded into splinters.

The monster started to fall before its beefier arm slammed into the ground, stabilizing it.

Wood Art: Binding Embrace.

Minato took the chance to ironically bind the treant with roots erupting from the ground. He put more Mana in the spell this time, growing larger roots to wrap around the plant-based monster.

“Kazama! Give me some wind!” Minato yelled at Shiraori, while he extended his arms toward the treant, both hands flexing into claws, one above and palm turned to the ground, the other below and palm turned toward the sky, giving his hands the form of a maw. Flames gathered between them.

For her part, Shiraori quickly got where Minato was going with this and rooted herself in place, before she bent backwards while taking a deep breath.

She then blew, her breath turning into hurricane force wind.

Fuujin’s Breath.

At the same time, the flames cupped between Minato’s hands erupted outwards into a cone of fire.

Fire Art: Dragonflame Eruption.

Wind and fire met upon the wooden figure of the treant. The flamethrower-like blast turned into a searing pillar of fire that covered the treant.

“Wheew. Talk about a barbeque!” Shiraori cheered after blowing the last of her breath attack. “Too bad we didn’t bring something to cook!”

“It’s not dead yet.” Minato cut her fun, still feeling the Mana of the monster going strong amongst the flames.

True to his words, the treant  leaped off the bonfire, the absence of a leg seemingly not hindering its jumping ability. Its bark was seared in parts, but it was still whole. The mushroom roots were even shining brighter.

It brought down its bulging arm, cratering the ground where Minato was a moment before.

The redheaded Gatekeeper retreated, flinging spells while the two other Gatekeepers went close.

He watched as Shiraori landed a mean punch on the treant’s face, and Ren actually parried the thorn whip before he managed to land a cut on the thinner arm. Another Kamaitachi launched by Minato landed, scoring a wound on the bark of its torso.

The treant was struggling, getting more enraged, and more desperate. Desperation was making it stronger, yet Minato wasn’t seeing anything new.

With the swamp theme and the treant’s appearance, he had expected poisonous spores of some kind, yet the Core Monster only relied on pure strength and its inborne whip.

He smirked and rushed in.

The treant saw him approach and whirled on him. The overgrown arm swung down.

Kamikiri Aiki-jutsu: Flowing Current.

The arm was redirected with a gentle movement of Minato’s hands, the treant’s own power being used against it.

The one-legged treant lost its balance, yet even as it fell, it lashed  out with its whip.

Magic Sword Art: Long Sword of Beheading.

Ren once more used his special move, but this time, he aimed at the whip that was weaker than the bulging, infested arm. Instead of rebounding, his blade actually cut through.

Minato then caught the arm attached to the whip. He threw his full body and Mana into a spin, like an alligator doing a death roll.

Kamikiri Aiki-jutsu: Endless cycle.

Ultimately, the spin became too much, the arm was twisted beyond its limits and it snapped clean off.

On its back, down one leg and an arm, it could do nothing but watch as Shiraori came down from a lunging jump, lightning crackling around her.

Thunder Drum.

Her powerful punch landed on the Treant’s face, more specifically, on the mushroom cap that was covering half of the treant’s head. There was a sickening, mulching sound, followed by a cracking noise before Shiraori jumped back and landed next to Minato and Ren.

The three Gatekeepers watched as the Core Monster rose, its one remaining leg bent and using its overgrown, infested arm as a crutch. There were cuts from where Ren and Minato landed hits, including the gash on its face, but now, accompanying it, the part hidden by the mushroom had been blown open, letting everyone to see the pulsating veins inside of the treant, most pulsing with its sap, while other had been parasitized by the purple mycelium roots.

A final Kamaitachi made the treant’s head roll on the ground. The wooden giant fell over.

“Yeaah!” Ren cheered, followed by Shiraori. Minato exhaled, letting the tension escape his body now that the fight was over.

“Let’s go back.” He said. the Core Monster was dead, and the Gate would close soon enough

Then, the earth shook.

“What’s happening?!” Ren yelped, wondering if all Gates closed as violently as that.

Minato and Shiraori were too shocked by the sudden development to answer. This wasn’t normal!

Then, the ground around them fissured open. The Gatekeepers stumbled.

From the cracks in the ground, multiple glows could be seen. Minato jerked his head aside before he could have his brain aired out by a shape suddenly bursting out of the ground. He still winced at the deep cut left on his cheek.

Shiraori bent backward, dodging the attack completely.

Both could see Ren wasn’t so lucky. A glowing purple root, the same kind that was growing on the treant, was going through Ren’s chest. The boy coughed blood, shaking as life left him.

Then, the ground collapsed under them.