Megumi, who was still holding out to stay awake, stumbled towards the maze wall. she held tight to the cracks in the wall trying to stay awake. Both Devon and Kailey noticed. Devon noticed this, Glancing back to Megumi. He watched as Kailey quickly came to Megumi's side to check on her.
"Are you alright?" Kailey asked.
"I- I'm fine... I just..." Megumi felt a deepening sense of calmness. soon she collapses to the side of the wall in slumber.
Kailey exhaled, disappointed by the outcome. "So she couldn't make it after all…"
Devon took note at how Kailey was still wide awake. "All her energy should've already drained from her too."
Keeping his composure, Devon sported an more calm demeanor. "Maybe we should rest for a little and gather our energy. But if you don't want to wait..." He lent his hand out. "I could carry her the rest of the way."
Kailey scanned Devon almost scrutinizing him. After a while she finally spoke up. "No need. I can do it myself."
Devon chuckled nervously, "But I insist. A lady like you, shouldn't have to do a man's job."
Kailey ignored him, picking up and holding Megumi in her arms. "I can do this just fine myself. Alright… " Kailey turned away from Devon, leaving. "Goodbye."
Devon was left dumbfounded. "H... Hold on!" He rushed in front of Kailey blocking her path, he forced a friendly smile, trying to stop her from leaving. "Where are you going? W-we're so close, we shouldn't turn back now."
"We? Oh right, You thought I was following you, didn't you? Sorry to disappoint, but that's not the case. Since we have that cleared up I'm going to find an actual way out of this maze. The last thing I want is for a demon like you sapping my energy too." Kailey tried to push through but Devon made it apparent that he wasn't moving.
Devon's eyes darkened, making his position more known to her.
Kailey narrowed her eyes. "Deciding to show your true colors now. I guess that's par for course for demons. Things don't go your way and you get violent."
Devon growled. "How are you still standing?"
"Because I'm not some gullible idiot like this girly here. And I guess it helps that my barrier is protecting me."
Slowly Kailey's skin boated up revealing that she had protecting herself with her barrier this entire time. eventually the barrier enveloped Megumi too separating them and Devon.
"She wore her barrier like some skin suit!?" Devon, surprised, stepped back and clenched his jaw in frustration. "Are you a reaper too?"
Kailey refrained from answering. She interlocked eyes with him the best she could, combating against the several eyes to stare through her.
Devon smiled. "Heh. of course you aren't. otherwise you wouldn't have put that barrier up..." He raised his fist, with confidence and hurl it at her Barrier.
A barrier hand formed and caught his punch, dampening its impact.
"Such refined control. You must be a sloth user." Devon noted
"And you, a demon of greed. I heard your type could steal anything from a person's face to their very life force."
glanced a the barrier, noticing something peculiar. He smiled, finding its fatal flaw. "Oh, I can take more than that. Unfortunately for you, it looks like your' a bad match up for me." Devon mocked.
Using his other arm, he grabbed the barrier arm and tore it from her barrier to her shock.
Kailey quickly closed it up and was forced to watch as Devon wore the arm like a glove.
"It's not often you find a person using their own memories to shield themselves." He swung with the newly equipped arm, slamming the barrier hard. Slowly cracks began to appear on Kailey's barrier. "Now this'll be fun."
Kailey flashed a glare at Devon. The crack quickly repaired itself, but like before, Devon smashed his hands through the crack and ripped part of her barrier out.
To her shock, Devon wormed his way into her barrier, sprinting straight at her with his raised fist. "So much for that barrier or yours!"
Kailey conjured a new barrier just in time, out of sheer desperation. Devon once again swung his barrier cloaked fist, cracking the barrier in front of Kailey, but unlike before it recovered much quicker.
Seeing this, Devon began to punch at the barrier in an attempt to break it down again.
Kailey glanced back on to the find a wall erupt from right behind her. "What the hell!?" She looked back to Devon, finding herself between a rock and hard place. "Damn what do I do? If I stopped maintaining my barrier he could kill me. And even if I wanted to, I can't fight a demon like this head on without my barriers!"
Kailey glanced down at Megumi in arm arms briefly. "This is bad! Unless she wakes up we're both screwed."
Devon continued his relentless barrage of trying to break open Kailey's barrier. He could tell that the strain on her was piling up so she picked up the pace. "You can only hide in there for so long!"
By some miracle, Kailey felt a movement from Megumi. "Finally!"
In that moment of distraction, Devon finally broke open the barrier, exposing Kailey and Megumi to this vile demon. "Crap!"
Devon peaked a sinister and knowing smile with his many mouths as he looked at Kailey mockingly. "Eeh hee. She woke up a little earlier than I thought but that's alright." Devon drove his hand straight into her head!
Kailey tried pulling away, circling around him to distance herself and Megumi from him. She quickly glanced back to Megumi even more concerned.
By some miracle Megumi seemed fine. she slowly opened her eyes, grumbling. "what's going on?" Finding that she was being held by Kailey, she jumped. "W-what the- Who are you!!?"
Kailey's eyes widened and she glanced back at Megumi, shocked, "What?"
Megumi wiggled out of Kailey's grasp. Backing away from her quickly. Devon ceased from attacking any further as Megumi looked back and forth between him and Kailey.
"H-hey Devon, What's going on?" Megumi asked.
Kailey became alarmed.
"This woman here tried to kidnap you, Lucky for you I was able to stop her before she got away."
Hearing his words Megumi slowly backed away from Kailey, now cautious of her. "So she's with them too? W-what do we do?"
"We have to kill her. But I think this is a good opportunity for you to show what you can do."
"I-I'm not sure." Megumi stuttered. "I-I don't think I can do it."
Unsatisfied with her answer, Devon stuck his hand straight in her head again. "You want to fight her. In fact you want to show off you power."
"You bastard." Kailey hissed.
Devon took his hand from Megumi's head, shrugging "When at first you don't succeed, try, try again. As they always say." He turned back to Megumi. "So how about now?"
"S-stand back. I can take her." Megumi said.
"Tch! So his power can manipulate a person memories to!?" Kailey prepare herself for the inevitable fight as she thought back to what Chime had told her back before entering Gondola.
********
Kailey was experimenting with her powers in a dining room. she looked on at it, uninterested.
"Remember Kailey." Chime echoed. "Memories in purgatory are like the blood that runs through our veins. Not only does it keep us going. But its used power."
Chime conjured forth a hearty meal with the wave of her hands. "The stronger the emotions the stronger the memory."
Chime looked at Kailey more cheerfully.
********
Kailey clenched her teeth seeing at how amused Devon looked. "I have to kill that demon, Otherwise she'll continue being his slave." Kailey instantly sent barrier fist hurtling in Devon's direction.
Suddenly, Megumi appeared, slicing through her Barrier fist! "Leave my friend alone!"
Kailey could only growl seeing this, she kept her harsh expression as she now looked at Megumi with her newly conjured weapon..
She saw it had strangely shaped handle that stuck out from Megumi's left palm. On the back of Megumi's hand the blade completely arced around her elbow and the other end curving past her hand. Although it was hard to tell at first glance, Kailey could tell that the weapon must've been a scythe.
"I think I'm getting a little better Devon." Megumi looked at the blade briefly. "Is this a… Scythe?"
"She cut through my barrier!? It's like last time. She's more dangerous than I thought. If she hits me with that, I'm done for."
Megumi getting back to Kailey posed strangely with her newly conjured weapon. Ready to fight.
"Stay back Devon… I think I can deal with her myself."
Megumi's struck a nerve with Kailey.
Kailey forced a scoff. She prepared a sphere of her barrier just below her hands. "I don't like this but I'm gonna have to be rough with you girly."
"Don't call me girly, you demon women."
Another nerve was struck. "I change my mind. I'm gonna enjoy this a little bit."
Kailey wasted no time expanding her barrier around her and even beyond, Through it, several different shaped hands reach from it charging Megumi and Devon alike.
Megumi sliced and dodged the first two with Devon avoiding the attacks expertly and ripping off the other few with his clawed hands. Another barrier came straight from above him, that he missed.
Lucky for him, Megumi quickly came to his defense, slicing the arms. Suddenly another arm came from the side, grabbing and throwing her high into the sky.
"Waahhh!!"
As she fell from the sky, she tried to recompose herself. Seeing another hand coming her way, she braced herself for impact, only to be grabbed from behind. Looking behind her she saw the barrier arm clenching onto her jacket. "Huh?"
"Don't move," Kailey said. She focused purely on the demon pelting multiple barrier arms in his directions. Seeing that he was in danger, Megumi cut the arm that was holding her, forcing Kailey's hand.
She launched a few of her barrier arms at Megumi who cut the first and landed on the second, sliding down it. Seeing another coming straight at her, she fell, unable to control her balance.
She landed onto Kailey's round barrier seeing that Kailey's frustration was rising.
"Y-your fights. with Me!" Megumi declared.
Megumi dug her awkward scythe into the barrier cutting it open like roast turkey.
"Crap!" Kailey, forced to confront Megumi, tried closing her barrier to no avail. Megumi quickly dashed inside her barrier with more determination.
Thinking quickly, Kailey shrunk her barrier fast and expanded it just as quickly. With this simple move, she pushed back Megumi forcing her to the maze wall.
She darted her eyes back in search of Devon. "Damn it! Where'd he go!?"
Devon jump atop the barrier and used it as a platform to the other side. With a sly smirk he made his own makeshift barrier using the pieces he tore from her.
Taking it as a challenge she pelted him directly with a barrage of her barrier fists. She fists became fast and faster, slowly breaking away his own barrier.
Seeing an opening within the chaotic affair, Megumi charged back at Kailey, slicing the barrier open once again. Alarmed, Kailey attempted the same trick, but this time Megumi was prepared and slashed through the expanding barrier that tried to push her away
Finding that Megumi was mere inches from, Kailey clenched her teeth in frustration. "I didn't want to use this." Kailey posed her hands, creating a new blue barrier that surrounded her. "But I have no choice!"
As Megumi struck the barrier, it bounced off, with a crack appearing onto the barrier itself. Megumi became a little stunned. Unexpectedly, she saw a projection of Kailey's weeping face.
The barrier shattered at the point revealing an even more determined Kailey as she formed a barrier fist over her own arms. Without hesitation Kailey punched Megumi in the gut.
Megumi stumbled back writhing from the pain of her gut being punched.
Shortly after Kailey fell to her knees, gasping for breath as if it was stolen. "You dumbass!" She wheezed.
Devon reappeared aside Megumi to even her surprise. "Good work Megumi, Now all we have to do is kill her, and the path out will open up."
Megumi became more reluctant. "I-I... DO we have to-"
Devon stuck his hands with her head once again. "You want to kill her now."
Megumi's eyes became more hazed as he took his hands out. She hardened her heart and stepped up with the scythe now at Kailey's neck.
"[Poor misguided Megumi…]"
Just as she deepened the scythe at Kailey's neck, she stopped.
"[I shouldn't have been surprised that this happened. this is an entertaining scene but there's something I dislike…]"
Slowly Megumi's hair shifted from the brown to a scarlet and crimson red. Her demeanor changed to that of irritation.
"I dislike having our memories tampered with." Dark Megumi said. Devon back away slowly, shocked and bewildered by this sudden change in Megumi.
"What the-"
SSHHHIIINNKKK
The crimson scythe now stood tall in the air.
Curious by what was going on, Kailey glanced up, seeing Megumi now sporting her flowing red hair. Meanwhile, Devon himself backed away more, holding his hands out as if expecting something.
"What.. are you?" Shortly after Devon split into two halves that fell apart.
Kailey saw this event, shocked by the sudden turn of events. a cold misty metal was then felt under her chin, that drove her to look back at a now smug Megumi .
"Heh. Consider yourself lucky this time."
Slowly, Megumi reverted back to her old self with her brown hair returning. The scythe dissipated into nothing and she fell to the ground hard with a thud.
Kailey could only stare at Megumi in disbelief.
It didn't take long for Megumi to wake up, getting back to her feet and rubbing her eye. She gasped.
Megumi jumped to her feet, darting her head around. "Kailey!"
She quickly found Kailey in front of her and stood over her, unsure what to do. "K-Kailey I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened, I thought- I just thought-"
"Forget about it," Kailey interrupted. "AS long as your sane again, that's what matters." She helped herself up. she winced, feeling some sort of pain.
"A-are you alright?"
"Yeah I'm fine… I just need some time to rest."
"Megumi, are you there??"
Megumi jumped, hearing Dino's voice in her head. "Dino!? She whipped her head around searching for Dino.
Kailey raised a brow, seeing Megumi act all frantically. She then saw a glowing orb circling around Megumi. Kailey caught the little orb, examining it thoroughly. Megumi quickly noticed, becoming just as curious at what it was.
From the little orb, Dino's voice was emitted.
"What is that?' Megumi questioned.
"I think its a sprite. My master said it's used to communicate with people within a certain distance…"
"Sprite?"
Yeah, Apparently all you have to do to connect with it is to have it by you could hear talk to its owner. All you have to do is send your thoughts through it."
"Can I try?" Megumi asked.
Kailey passed the sprite to her. After a moment, she passed her thoughts through it.
"D-Dino?"
********
Dino stopped, hearing Megumi's voice. Cider stopped too, seeing Dion stopping.
"Megumi! Where are you now!?"
********
"Huh?' Uhhh…" Megumi turned to Kailey. "Umm.. I don't know, Me and Kailey were following a demon but… things happened."
"Don't follow that demon!" Dino warned. "He's trying to lead you to the center of the maze."
"W-well he can't do that anymore, he's dead… But what happened? Is there a problem?"
********
Both Dino and Cider could only watch on, as all the pathways were suddenly blocked off one after another until they were completely trapped.
"Megumi You have to escape from this maze now!"
********
"The Maze is the leader of these Demons!!
Just then Walls erupted from paths all around Megumi and Kailey, trapping them in the maze path. Another path then opened up in front of them.
"Ummm… Dino…. I don't think we can escape.