ROCKS THAT BLEED

"How is it?" Iason asked as Leon entered their shared room.

"Everything is going as planned." Leon replied as he showed his brother the magnificent blade.

"Good. We�ll start tonight."

Then immediately, the two men vanished through the thin air.

****

"How are we gonna stop them?" Hisoka asked himself as he went through the books in the library.

"I dunno" Tsuzuki answered.

"Eh!!! I thought you weren�t allowed in here?!" Hisoka shrieked remembering the incident where Tsuzuki burnt the library down.

"I snuck in. Don�t tell them ok." Tsuzuki smirked like a boy who succeeded in a magic trick.

After flipping through a few dusty and unhelpful books, Hisoka gave up looking. Just as he did, a thick purplish book feel to the floor like it was pushed. Hisoka picked the book up and opened it. Immediately, it started flipping and then stopped at a page with Iason and Leon�s pictures on it. Tsuzuki and Hisoka were baffled as how similar they looked although they have been trapped for almost thousands of years.

"That�s them?" Tsuzuki asked, confirming his suspicions.

"Hey look" Hisoka pointed to the bottom of the page where there were some weird inscriptions. He couldn�t figure out what they were.

"Maon funsai Onteki koubuku

Namu tobatsu bishmonten, rairin

Namu tobatsu bishmonten akki seibatsu ware ni michikara wo ataetamae"

[Demonic grudge pulverization Sworn enemy submission.

Hail eight-bladed Bishmonten , come forth Hail eight-bladed Bishmonten ,

demon extermination grant me the power of god]

Hisoka only stared at Tsuzuki with disbelief. How the??? What the??? Only questions flooded his mind as he tried looking for answers.

"How?? How??"

"Oh, my grand dad taught me when I was a kid." Tsuzuki smiled as he read the incantation again.

"It must be the spell to exterminate them Ryudo!!" Tsuzuki exclaimed after studying the meanings of the spell.

"Great, at least now we know how to stop them, but its not gonna be easy." Hisoka said as he copied the spell onto a piece of paper that he had in his pocket.

****

In the city, two figures can be seen standing on top of one of the tallest buildings, watching everything, their kimonos shift with the strong, cold wind.

"Look at those people, just enjoying themselves. Doing their routines, hanging out with their pals..." One of the figures said boredly.

The other smiled sinisterly and chuckled, "They better enjoy it while they can."

One of them was about to start the chanting of a certain spell when two other figures appeared behind them.

"It's not nice sneaking behind people." Leon turned around to face the disturbances.

"I don't even know if you're really human." Hisoka answered with anger in his voice.

"Aw, you've hurt our feelings." Iason mockingly said and held his chest like he was really hurt.

"It's time to put you back to where you belong." Tsuzuku told them casually.

Leon looked at Tsuzuki carefully. His eyes sparked with familiarity, "Ah, I remember you.-" He took a few steps forward until he was a few inches ahead of his brother. "-You're the one investigating our release from the stones aren't you not?"

Tsuzuki's eyes narrowed, "What if I am?"

The young Ryudo showed a predatory grin and whispered, "Fire Lance..."

Suddenly two fire spears appeared behind Leon and went to the Shinogami's direction at high speed. Tsuzuki pulled out an ofuda and put up a barrier, as fast as he could. A second too late, they would have been scorched for sure.

The attacker clapped and laughed like a child who just saw a cool magic trick, "Very good! Very good, indeed!" He stopped clapping and his face turned sinister. "Can I play with him, aniki?" he asked not facing his brother.

"Hmm... Alright." the older sorcerer said boredly, waving his hand in a dismissing manner.

With a happy squeal, Leon started bombarding the two shinigamis with spells. Leon is really having fun, fun he haven't felt for a very long time. However, Tsuzuki and Hisoka are having a hard time dodging every spell the sorcerer casted. So far, the damage they receive were torn and burnt clothes and a few burns and scrapes. Blood has not yet spilled. Unbelievably, the building was able to withstand the spells, a good thing for Tsuzuki and he will not have to pay for damages again.

"You're alive? More then!"

However, before Leon could cast another spell, Tsuzuki started chanting,

"Bowing before you I present my wish, the twelve gods who protect me! Blade of air, steel of vacuum, bearing fang of silvery-white! Appear before me! Byakko!!"

Leon squealed again in delight, "I can't beleive it! He has a shikigami! Let's see if you're shikigami can put up with my guardian!"

Like what Tsuzuki did, he started chanting, calling for his spirit guardian. "Guardian of flames, I call upon your blazing power! Protect me with your fiery presence! Come forth, Ifrit!"

By the command of his master, a large, burly, flaming figure appeared before them. As soon as he saw Byakko, Ifrit attacked the white tiger with his powerful flames. The battle between the sorcerer and the shinigamis turned into a battle between the two summoned creatures.

'I can't believe it! It never occured to me that one of them can summon! Why didn't I look that up in the book?! How many are in his command?' Hisoka then looked at the uneasy Tsuzuki. 'Is it less... or more than Tsuzuki's?'

In every Ifrit movements, he would leave waves of flames that often stray to the spectators' direction. Tsuzuki has put up a barrier with his ofuda. Hisoka observed something when flames went to the Ryudo's way. It's like the waves are purposefully moving away from them.

"Tsuzuki, shikigamis can hurt their masters, right?" Hisoka asked in a hushed voice.

"Accidentally or not on purpose, yes." Tsuzuki also observing the Ryudos. "I don't know if it applies to his spirit guardians... I don't feel any magic barriers raised..."

The older Ryudo chuckled, "Leon, they were wondering why we weren't affected by the flames." he said as he read their thoughts.

Leon smirked as he heard this, "Let me show them why, then." He raised his hand, "Sylph, show yourself." A pale hand held the other's. The woman in white sorceress robe appeared hovering over her master and her master's brother, protecting them using her wind powers from Ifrit's extremely hot fire.

The two shinigami's were dumbfounded.

"Wh-When did he summon that?!" Hisoka able to say.

"He summoned her almost right after we were released, boy. Don't tell me you didn't notice her guarding us when you went here. Oh, I forgot. She can turn herself invisible... Just like the wind." Iason mockingly told them.

The battle between Ifrit and Byakko went on. Both not yielding to the other. However, Byakko's wind seems to fuel Ifrit's flames. Fire is almost all over the roof top of the building. Tsuzuki's barrier is still up and Leon is starting to get irritated.

"Hmph! If the flames can't break that barrier-" Leon summoned his bow and arrows. "-I'll have to do it myself!" He took aim and concentrated some of his powers to the arrow. "Layer Storm!"

When Leon released the arrow, Tsuzuki's barrier was overwhelmed with thousands of arrows.

"Kuso, I can't hold it much longer!"

Again, Leon performed a Layer Storm. Finally, the barrier broke with a satisfying crash. Tsuzuki and Hisoka weren't able to escape the other magical arrows and got hit. Byakko tried to help his master but was blocked by Ifrit. Both of the shinigamis are bleeding badly.

Something caught Leon's senses. Specifically, the smell. 'That scent...' He grinned menacingly at Tsuzuki's direction. The young Ryudo chuckled.

Iason looked at him confusedly, "Leon?..."

Leon's chuckles turned into a full-fledged evil, crazed laugh. "I am REALLY going to enjoy killing you!" Light surrounded him like he was glowing and he started citing a spell. The two shinigamis could only look in horror.

How would they able to escape this?

Chapter 8