The Story of Yeling Mah Pt. IV

Hinokami vs. Suijin

KABOOM.

I watched as my target crashed through mountain after mountain after mountain.

I flew after him, my robes trailing with blue and purple flames, trailed with black.

"RARR!" The man retaliated with a barrage of water bullets, but my aura disintegrated them.

I closed the distance, shooting at him like a bullet as my foot landed on his chest, smashing him into the side of a mountain.

"We... we're both Akuma Grade Dogma holders... but why is there such a gap in strength!" The man gasped. I knelt down and picked him up by the throat.

Dogma holder of Suijin.

God of Water.

I had my fair share of dealing with these types of opponents. I had fought alongside one, after all. But not so much water, but rather...

Rain.

The Dogma holder, was a man named Prakash.

I was not informed of his surname.

Nor did I care.

I held out my hand, my devilish blue eyes shining through my upgraded mask, supplied by the Dogma.

Show him, Hinokami. The difference in your strengths. A God of Fire who has fully accepted his role, against a God of Water who rejects it. The difference in your strength.

My hand burst into violent flame, well defined and pronounced over my flaming body of Stage Three.

Prakash tried summoning a barrage of water blasts all around him, but nothing was getting through my aura.

I aimed my hand, inches from his face, as Prakash struggled, clearly in survival mode. However, he was trying to suppress his fear.

"You do not scare me, Tidalflame. You do not scare me at all. I would rather die than take lives alongside you."

He was not the one to die. That was not what the Dogma wanted. He wanted to set an example.

My hand hovered away from Prakash's face as he gave me a look of confusion.

"Wha... what are you doing? What are you doing?!"

My hand slowly repositioned itself, aimed at the village that Prakash was trying to defend. This entire time, as their defender, their saviour and their hero.

"Great Triton! Save us! SAVE US!" The villagers pleaded.

Prakash glared at me, his teeth gnashing from the effort of trying to escape my grip.

"If you do this, Tidalflame, I will never forgive you."

The Dogma's voice boomed across the land. Judging from Prakash's expression, he could hear full well.

Yes, Suijin. Use that hate. You hate how weak you are compared to Hinokami. Use that anger and evolve. Otherwise, all your loved ones. Your wife and child. Your family, relatives, and friends of the village who so look up to you, shall be engulfed with flames. Flames that YOU could have doused with the Devil's Tide.

"TIDALFLAME! TIDALFLAME! DON'T! DON'T DO IT! I BEG OF YOU!" Prakash pleading, his entire body trembling from fear and adrenaline.

But this was not my call to make.

You had your chance to evolve your power, and use your hate. But from the very beginning, you rejected your nature. Because you were never meant to be a holder of Suijin in the first place.

Level 1 Hinokami Stage Three...

"DON'T!" Prakash screamed, as the villagers all began to run, a futile attempt to protect themselves. From the distance, I could make out a young girl who tripped and fell, but her body was trampled over by the feet of her friends family of the village trying to escape my wrath.

You don't deserve utopia.

Grand Ultimate Inverse Tsunami Release

My hand exploded with a flood of blue, purple, and black flame, a massive inferno the size of a football stadium, approaching the village like a demonic sun.

"NOOOO!!!" Prakash's screaming overlapped the screaming of the villagers, as they were abruptly cut out, drowned from the sea of flame I had unleashed on them. Within seconds, the village Triton swore to use his powers to protect, a population of one hundred million, disappeared.

Converted to ash and spare blue embers.

Prakash screamed at me, his arm transforming into a massive blade, attempting to sever my arm, but his blade passed right through me. I had already become Intangible, predicting his movements and sliding back.

Prakash charged, as I regained form, bobbing and weaving, the movements of the Rain Style still engraved in my memory.

"DIE! DIE DIE DIE!!!!"

Kill him, Suijin. Make the Hinokami pay. Use that darkness! The Dogma urged.

Prakash charged me wildly, leaping into the air and slashing at me with superhuman speed.

"Why can't I land a blow?!"

I leapt back, going Intangible and flying into the air. Prakash roared, flying after me, but I turned to him, my hand held back.

Grand Ultimate Devil's Arc

I swiped with the palm of my hand, chopping the air and unleashed a massive arc of demonic flame. Triton was engulfed, slamming into the ground violently and shaking the mountains.

I slowly lowered to the ground, watching Prakash struggle to his feet, vomiting blood. I eyed him with no mercy.

"You... I will make you pay. You stupid... terrorist. That is all you are..."

Prakash's eyes glowed teal, energy swirling all around him as I stood before a massive water golem, its body forming. From a skeleton, to flesh, to armour.

The golem roared at me, Prakash in the center, his eyes full of bloodlust. The entire mountain rumbled from the force of the roar, my cloak fluttering in the wind so violently that he ripped off of me, revealing my black t-shirt and cargo pants.

No. The Dogma spoke to me.

This one is a failure. If that is the limit to his strength.

"Very well." I muttered, bringing my foot back and assuming my stance.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Prakash's voice doubled, bringing his fist back to slam into me.

"YOU AREN'T SPECIAL! YOU AREN'T SPECIAL AT ALL!"

I leapt into the air, leaving behind a molten crater, shooting to his location, my fist recoiled, my body turning intangible.

Stage Three Hinokami and Intangibility...

"SOMEONE WILL STOP YOU! SOMEDAY! YOU WILL DIE REGRETTING EVERYTHING!" Prakash shouted, swinging his fist as hard as he could.

Grand Ultimate Devil's Meteorite

I threw a punch, going right through Prakash's golem, incinerating it and vaporizing it upon contact. The force of the bubbles and vaporization erupting from the inside, destroying Prakash. I slammed out of the side of the golem, spinning around, to see Prakash still mid air, his eyes wide in disbelief. His golem decimated from my attack.

I landed on the ground, watching Prakash stumble to me. His entire body was bloody, and deformed. Burnt and destroyed.

"Ti- Tidalflame..." He muttered, trying to grab at my mask, but collapsing. His lifeless body hitting the ground, his skull conking on the ground as he disintegrated into ash.

Prakash Singh was a failure. I must seek another to be the Level 1 Suijin Holder. Good work. Yeling Mah. You will be my Champion, to reunite the other five Akuma Grade Dogma holders. The perfect ones.

The other Dogma holders.

For many months, I had served the Dogma, doing his bidding. I had mastered Stage Three, capable of calling upon the transforming at will, and reducing the stamina drain. I also had a trump card as well. Should it have to come down to that.

My mission? Was to test the other Akuma Grade Dogma Holders, and if the Dogma deemed them too weak...

I would eliminate them.

Prakash was an example of the Suijin Dogma Holder who failed the Dogma's expectations. Prakash would be my fourth Suijin Dogma Holder I had killed.

"Dogma." I said, as I climbed a mountain, overlooking the world.

What do you seek, Yeling.

"When I battled the Demon Lord Alciel, back when my Hinokami was constrained. He mentioned a Dogma Holder known as Aelienne, and that I didn't come close to her in power. Now that I've awakened Stage Three, have I closed the gap?"

The Dogma was silent for a few seconds.

Aelienne was the most powerful of your kind. Many Hinokami holders preceded you, Yeling. However, you are the champion that I chose.

"Answer my question, Dogma!"

No. Yeling. You have not closed the gap. Aelienne was always special, even among the Dogma Holders. After all, she was the only one of you who had unlocked Stage Four.

I clenched my teeth.

Stage Four.

"What stopped her from becoming your champion? Did she die of old age? In battle?"

No.

I glared at the horizon. If there was a way to figure out how Aelienne had become so strong, I had to use it. So I could become strong enough to destroy Transplant. My power already surpassed fellow Level 1 Akuma Grade Dogma holders, but there was one person that I needed to face. One person...

The image of a towering muscular man appeared in my mind. The one man who physically overpowered Squad Leader Matt that day. The only person who I had seen put Matt in such a one sided battle, who had beaten him up to a pulp so viciously.

Eventually, I had to face him. Four years was a lot of time for anyone to grow.

Aelienne was the strongest holder of Hinokami. But she had a flaw. She refused to carry out the Great Akuma. To sacrifice herself. And so, like you, she found a way to decouple me from her connection. Calling upon my power without following her destiny. No warrior I sent could stop her. And so, she lived in solitude with her lover and offspring.

My body surged with rage.

"So not only was she blessed. But she also found a man to love her. Where is she now."

The Dogma was hesitant.

Yeling, you do not have the-

"I will figure it out. Because unlike her, I deserve my power. Aelienne doesn't. Not anymore. Maybe one lifetime ago she deserved her power of Hinokami. But if she lives her life happy, then there is no reason she should still wield the power of Hinokami."

My body burst into flame.

"I will eliminate her. Tell me where she is."

I spent more weeks, wandering the world. My clothes had turned ragged and worn down. A ruffled grey ragged scarf concealed my neck, wrapped around and covering part of my mask at the bottom. My time with Shenlong, I had been calling his techniques so much, that it had become engrained in me through muscle memory. As a result, during my time hunting down Level 1 Akuma Grade Dogma Holders for the Dogma, I had collected several weapons.

Two combat knives strapped to my belt. A sword attached to my back, and chained blades that wrapped around my forearms.

The clothes that I once had during my time adventuring, which were picked out by Inoko, lined my body. Including my fur dragon hide boots and sleeveless coat.

Even if the clothes on my body and gear reminded me so painfully of my time with my adventuring party, they had utility too good to give up.

I spent a lot of time thinking about that day. The day I unlocked Stage Three.

Every Stage required a sacrifice. The Dogma did not give things out for free.

And it had finally occurred to me what that sacrifice was.

I sacrificed my life with Shen, Shia, and Inoko. To become stronger. It had to be done at some point. I would never win against Danny at the rate I was going. And my time spent with them was just delusion after delusion.

I gritted my teeth, walking across the desert ground, making out the outline of a city in the far distance.

My life was always destined to be walked alone. I could spend time with these people all I wanted, but no matter how close I was with them, I would always be the odd one out. The fifth wheel.

And now. I walk. As the Tidalflame once more.

Searching for Aelienne, and eliminating her off the face of the planet.

Yeling vs. Aelienne

"Welcome to Mar, the hometown of the heroine Firebird!"

I glared at the sign in disgust, taking off my hood and rustling through my bag, taking out a wig.

I had worn this so many times whenever I did infiltration.

Back then, seeing this filled me with a rush of nostalgia. Then sadness. And for a time, disgust when I rejected who I was.

But looking at it now, I felt nothing. Everything I was doing had to be done.

I put the wig on and stepped into the city.

Everywhere I looked, I was seeing some kind of advertisement using Aelienne's name.

"A defender, huh." I muttered.

"You bet!" A citizen walked by me, tossing me a piece of merch.

"On me! You'll get to know more about her. The Great Firebird who protects everybody. She looks out for all of us. It's the best we can do."

Aelienne resides in a house with her husband and child. But you are not ready to fight her. You must rest your body, because this fight will be incredibly disadvantageous for you. Take as many benefits as you can.

I did as the Dogma told, and rented a hostel.

"Room for one." I said.

The lady raised an eyebrow at me.

"Adventurer?"

"No." I put the coin on the desk.

"Drifter."

I went up the steps, and found a couple sucking face outside of my door.

"Move." I said.

The couple ignored me.

I moved forward and tried to squeeze through, but the man grabbed my shoulder.

"What's the deal pal?" He asked, but before he could do anything else, I ripped his hand away and grabbed his neck, slamming him against a wall.

"What are you- I'm calling the Firebird!"

I used my other hand and pushed the bangs out of my way, exposing the right side of my face as the man's voice trailed away.

Both the man and woman were staring at me in terror.

"I told you to move. You didn't move. I tried to squeeze through. And you decided to get violent. Call for your heroine all you want. But she won't come in time. And after I'm finished with this city, she won't come."

I tightened my grip, snapping the man's neck as the woman screamed, but I turned to her, pointing my finger, firing a super condensed beam of Hinokami which fried her skull.

Both corpses crumpled to the ground, crumbling to dust and ashes and blowing away.

"She won't come for any cries for help ever again." I said, opening the door and entering the room.

I sat on the bed, looking out at the city, reaching into my pocket and pulling something out.

It was a polaroid.

Yeling, your connections to them make you weak. You know this.

I didn't reply.

The decision I made wasn't an easy one. No part of me wanted to leave them without any hesitation. If there was a way to stay I would have done so.

My time with Inoko flashed in my mind.

All those happy memories I shared with her and Shia and Shen going through my mind.

But it wasn't her fault that I ended up developing these feelings, it wasn't her fault at all.

It was mine.

She didn't owe me anything. She was strong and tough, yet kind. She did nothing wrong. And it was because she was so kind to me did this all happen.

If she did nothing wrong, and I was the one who was causing all the darkness to well up, the only plausible choice was to stay away.

There is no going back to them, Yeling. You are mine.

"Yes, Dogma." I said, ignoring the pain in my chest.

I left my room and made my way to the bar.

"Dogma, I need you to conceal my power."

I could feel my energy signature going down, as I entered the restaurant and spoke to the woman at the front.

"Table for... one... please..." I muttered.

"Wow! How many times have you said that in your life?" A girl smirked at me.

"Kelsey! That is so rude!" Her parents scolded her as she gave me the stink eye.

I ignored the brat as I took my seat. The place was extremely busy. If Aelienne was working here, I could take her out instantly by using these people as hostages. But if the Dogma was right about her power, it was most likely complemented by her skill.

I had to be smart about this. Extract information and find a way to use it to my advantage.

What did I know? She was a hero in this town. The people adored her. That meant those feelings were reciprocal.

If I could use a similar strategy that I used on Prakash with Aelienne, I could distract her and make her fight me at a fraction of her power while she struggled to protect her people. But the problem was, how could I divide her attention all alone?

This was not going to be an easy fight. There was also the matter of the gap in our power. I didn't know just how far this gap was. Or if even dividing her power was enough.

A woman approached me.

"Hi! Welcome to Pub Firebird! Can I take your order, or are you still deciding?"

I glanced at the menu at my table, then at the server, and hesitated.

She looked familiar. Grey eyes. Her hair was dyed blonde. How could I tell?

Well actually, I couldn't. I don't know shit about hair perms. But I knew that wasn't her original hair colour.

And I could tell who she was, because she was giving me the same expression. Her bubbly and cheerful smile quickly turned into a snarl.

"Yeling...?!"

Marcela nearly dropped her notebook, but I caught it with my heightened reflexes.

Marcela stared at me.

"How did you..."

I cut her off with a dangerous glare.

"You're undercover, right? You wanna blow it?" I asked, my voice low.

Marcela gritted her teeth.

"You... it's been years since I last saw you. Let me finish my shift. We'll talk after it's over."