The Demon Hide, empowered by the fused Demon Towers, loomed over them—its form monstrous and twisted. A jagged mane of writhing shadow tendrils pulsed with dark energy, portals flickering open and shut at their tips. Its claws, cloaked in pure darkness, crackled with malevolence, and its tail—now jagged and metallic—lashed the ground, carving deep scars into the earth.
The beast howled, and the entire Dark Margin seemed to tremble.
Aqua's breath was heavy, her body battered from endless combat. "This thing… it's growing stronger by the minute!"
Skuld, her Keyblade shining but her body worn, called out, "Then we hit harder!"
The Demon Hide vanished—portals snapping shut—then reappeared above them, its tail descending in a brutal arc.
The attack from its tail forced them to split up. Then the Hide's tendrils erupted from every direction, bursting from miniature portals around them and Helios's voice snapped, "MOVE!"
Aqua was the first to react casting Reflect creating a shimmering dome of light enveloped her and Skuld as the tendrils struck—
BOOM!
The shield cracked—splintering under the assault but Aqua pushed Skuld in the safest direction as she vanished from the shattered shield.
She reappeared above the beast casting her Firaga Burst summoning a firestorm that exploded downward, enveloping the creature in a blaze of destruction.
However, the Demon Hide opened a shield-shaped portal surrounding itself similar to Aqua's Reflect that redirected the explosion into the sky, dissipating the attack.
Skuld flashed forward, her Keyblade humming with power. "Radiant Strike!"
A wave of pure light ripped through the air, but a portal open in front of her swallowed the attack and redirected it, the beam firing back from behind her.
"Wha—!"
She twisted mid-air—barely raising a Light Pillar to shield herself—BOOM! The impact was so severe that the back of her armor splintered. She was flung backward and she crashed into a jagged rock formation. Her helmet was half broken and showed her face with blood trickling from her lip as she struggled up. "It's… using our own attacks against us."
Helios appeared behind the Demon Hide as it moved to finish off Skuld. With inhuman speed, it turned its head to face Helios. Its jaws parted and a sphere of crushing darkness fired toward him.
Helios raised his Keyblade and fired as many Dark Firagas as he could manage to launch 10 before the blasts collided.
KA-THOOM!
The explosion ripped the earth apart, sending Helios skidding back, his armor fractured and bleeding beneath.
But the beast emerged unscathed having used its portals had absorb the blast and redistribute the damage back to Helios.
Aqua, voice sharp with a realization, "It's… adapting. It knows how we fight!"
The Demon Hide's mane twisted and from its tendril mane Shadow Beasts emerged, forming from the living mass of darkness—miniature versions of itself, all with the same portal abilities.
Helios spat blood. "You've gotta be kidding me…"
The shadow creatures swarmed, attacking from the portals they created.
Aqua swung her Keyblade and ice surged around her freezing several of these Mini Hides then bolts of lightning ripped through the frozen swarm.
But caught off guard a tendril pierced her side from a portal.
"Ahhh!" Aqua gasped, blood blooming on her side.
Skuld strained herself to move as she flashed forward, a beam of pure light. Sadly the Demon Hide's tail, now metallic and jagged, whipped from a portal—
CRACK!
It struck her armor on the right side shattering part of it as she was sent rolling across the ground.
The creature turned its crimson eye burning with hatred.
All its portals closed and then opened focused on Helios forming a dome around him.
"Tch." He coughed blood, barely standing.
The Demon Hide's tendrils at impossible speed jabbed through multiple portals around the Demon Hide. The tendrils then turned into spears of darkness hundreds of them that rained down on Helios.
Aqua, bleeding but still resolute jumped and slashed the dome forcing her way inside the dome. She then used her Lightbloom Shotlock. A storm of rainbow-hued magic collided with the incoming spears.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions flared but one spear broke through.
It was aimed at Helios who had been beaten to the ground. Aqua's eyes flashed teleported and reappeared in front of Helios activated her Reflect shield and took the hit.
The spear pierced through her shield cracking her ribs as she collapsed.
Skuld's vision blurred with rage as she saw Helios and Aqua collapse on the ground.
Her heart blazed and the power of light exploded from her. She disappeared and reappeared so fast that it seemed that there were hundreds of Skuld. Skuld then released flashes of light striking the beast from all sides.
The Demon Hide roared its tendrils opened portals and stuck Skuld's light attacks.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Demon Hide opened its jaws and fired its dark beam. It struck her dead center, destroying the rest of her armor, and sending her bloody body crashing down.
Aqua was collapsed, gasping. Skuld was barely conscious, bloodied. Helios was on one knee, coughing blood, his vision blurring.
The Demon Hide walked over its shadow claws disintegrating the very ground with each step.
The kill was imminent.
Kurai's voice rang in Helios' mind. "I'm done, you can now open a corridor. You should leave now."
Helios smiled a bloody smile as he cast a Cure spell on Skuld. "Skuld! Cast the Light spell! As bright as you can! Aqua close you eyes!"
Aqua, barely able to whisper, "What…?"
Skuld, dazed, "Helios…?"
Confused but still trusting her comrade Skuld cast her light spell and put all her magic into the spell creating a ball of light that flashed blinding the Demon Hide staggering the creature.
With his remaining power, Helios opened Three dark corridors. Two beneath Aqua and Skuld and one beneath himself as the three had no strength to stand. The dark portal swallowed up the injured keyblade warriors before closing.
No longer staggered the Demon Hide saw that its prey had escaped yet again. Enraged its tendrils lashed out with no target to take its rage out on.
The Demon Hide roared as its claws struck the ground and ripped it apart. Its mane of tendrils tore open the air opening countless portals as cracks formed in the skies.
Soon a roar resounded throughout the Realm of Darkness shaking it to its core causing the Demon Hide to freeze and stop its tantrum. It whimpered before opening a portal and vanishing, and all signs of aggression were replaced with fear.