Souls of the Damned

He sat motionless, the only signs that indicated that he was alive, was the light rise and fall of his chest. His shirt was perfectly fitted, black, contrasting against his skin which was slightly dark, as if he had been tanning. This however was his natural color, a foreign color, just like his deep brown eyes that were slightly darkened. Probably Middle Eastern. His dark hair was an inky black color, cut short enough to reveal dark lashes and thick eyebrows. His facial hair was neat, fitting almost delicately along his sharp jawline. The shirt he wore revealed an expanse of hardened muscle, but it did not hide the multiple tattoos that ran up and down his arms. On the left arm, from top to bottom there was a wolf howling to the moon in black ink, followed by a dragon in a beautiful layout of colors, ranging from blue to green to white, wrapping around a nine tailed beast with two heads and startling red eyes. On his lower arm there was a koi fish in orange and white on a background of white and blue waves and something in Arabic around his wrist. On his right arm there was a hooded reaper with skulls covered in barbed wire at his feet and a scythe in it's hand with the blade resting atop the skulls, dripping blood. The lower part of his arm consisted of multiple tribal designs. His shirt hid the black wings of an angel, but not the Arabic words that went up the side of his neck. His pants were white and loose fitting, stopping just past his knees, the ends enclosed by black boots, the laces tied neatly.

The entrance to the Village Hidden in the Storm was behind him. The guards were aware of his presence, for he'd been sitting against the tree for hours, unmoving, as though he were waiting. He was not. He simply had nowhere else to be. When they had come to question him, he had not replied. They could not identify him, for he had no headband, no way to signify his allegiance and he lacked traveling materials. They were instructed to keep an eye on him, in case he started trouble. To them he was no threat. He knew differently, but he was under no orders. He had no reason to kill. No reason not to kill. Conflicted. A wanderer with no purpose, no reason for existence. He was just there until someone gave him a command. Someone worthy of his time. Worthy enough to use his skills, to use him. How long had it been since he had last been instructed? A century? Maybe two? He could not remember. Time was endless. He no longer remembered his age, and often he forgot his name. It was permanently written on his wrist in ink on his left arm. Xen. He couldn't remember his point of origin or if he'd ever had a family or loved ones. They were lost in the sands of time, and dwelling on memories of the dead was pointless. All that mattered was the present.

For once in the past few months, Kana didn't look like she'd just rampaged through a village. Her long brown hair was down and neatly brushed, falling in light waves around her shoulders instead of the unkempt mess it normally was. Her clothes looked rather new, as did many of the weapons on her belt, in place of her normally blood stained clothes and chipped kunai. She had no headband on, even though it was clear as day that she was a ninja. The past few years had been...uneventful, to say the least. She'd been wandering around, listening for rumors of anything interesting. She hadn't destroyed a village in a long while. The Blue Demon had been rather...quiet, up until recently. He probably had had enough bloodshed to keep him well fed for a while. Or at least...content enough for her to keep him under control. The more Kana was with him, the easier it became to figure out the secrets of the unpredictable demon. He never shut up, but it became easier to suppress him if she killed a random traveler here or there. Now, though...now he was awake again. That encounter with Kyla's other immortals had woken him up and made him unbelievably agitated. More than that...the encounter had reminded her of Felix. And that in turn had reminded her of Kymin. And how they'd both abandoned her. And in turn that reminded her of her parents. And the Kage of the Crested. And everyone in the Crested. If she had been closer at the time, she would have gone straight to that god forsaken village and torn it brick from brick. But as it was, the Storm was closer.

For being so close to the Storm, the weather was surprisingly fair. Mostly blue skies with a thick cloud here or there to blot out the sun. To the east there were thick storm clouds, however, and even from there one could see a brief flash of lightning every now and then. And it was windy. Very windy. There were a couple times where Kana's hair blew into her face, but it didn't seem to bother her much. Nothing much bothered her anymore except the whisperings of the Demon. In fact...Kana was certain there was a different type of demon forming inside her. King hadn't been paid much attention to ever since her original encounters with Madness, and even though he was nothing more than a creation of her own design, the ruler of her genjutsu, he was very real to her. King was the best friend she'd ever had. And going ignored for so long didn't seem to sit well with him. Recently, Kana had been keeping herself occupied with figuring out how to actually create a beast for a summoning. How to give it a life of its own, instead of keeping it locked up in a scroll for use only when she needed it. King thought he was being ignored, but Kana was really just figuring out how to bring such a perfect beast to life.

Beside her walked Shadowshifter in the form of a black, shadowy wolf. As usual, his eyes were nothing but white light in the midst of the deep black abyss that constructed the rest of his body. He knew why they were headed towards the Storm, and to be honest he couldn't wait. It had been ages since he'd last eaten and he was missing the taste of souls. Since Kyla's death, Kana had grown more tame, even though the Madness within her raged on. As they walked towards the gates, white eyes left their gaze on a dark skinned human who actually didn't seem that human at all. At least, not in the eyes of the shadowy wolf. That human was lacking one very important humanistic trait: a soul with color.

A storm was coming, and most certainly not the one from the east. This was something different.Clairvoyance. It was a useful skill. One that he rarely needed. Fear didn't register inside of his mind like others. It was like some dull nagging voice in the back of his mind. He would not call it a weak emotion, for the need to fight or flight was useful in certain situations, but he didn't possess the need to run, ever. He could take a hit, many hits and keep going until he was a bloody mess. He had a high tolerance for pain. What was pain? Another dull feeling? Something that was meant to keep him from placing himself in a lifetime coma? It did not matter. He was bred to follow orders. He didn't stop until the job was done. Like with Gian, who has used him to destroy countless enemies who opposed him. Power hungry, selfish, controlling. He'd been happy to have someone bend to his every will. Someone that never complained or denied his requests to terminate the competition. Gian was dead now. Before him was Ava, a strong woman who had a thing for torture. Brutality didn't register in his mind either. He didn't have much of a conscious left. He was simply a tool to be used. To be bent to the will of his commander, but never broken. It had been so long. He listened for the sound of footsteps approaching. Waited for that spark of energy and power that he'd picked up. The closer she got, the more it engulfed him, filled him. This was real power. It washed across his bare arms, stirring a need within him. A need to be ordered, commanded, used. This was the storm.

He didn't seem the shadow creature, but he was aware of it's presence. Felt it's gaze on him, examining him. He didn't move, even when they were within distance. Even with power, he was not obligated to move. That was when he felt it. Felt her. It had been a long time. The Lady of Immortals. The woman who had once commanded him, but those days were over. She had fallen from worthiness and he'd broke free in more ways than one. "You're one of Kyla's." He'd met the others. The demon, the hybrid witch, the half dragon, the black soul, and now this one. The one that possessed the Blue Demon. He said nothing more to her. Didn't even look in her direction. He felt the guards curiosity. As if they were wondering if this was who he was waiting for. Not at all, but that could change. He didn't care if it changed. He was fine with or without being commanded. His skills would always remain well defined. He would walk this earth until the end of time, whether he was serving someone or not. That was just the way things were. That was the way they'd always been. He didn't expect change.

Kana's eyes glanced at the man when Azazeal mentioned him to her. He wasn't her target, so she kept moving, only to stop and look at him when he mentioned Kyla. She would have been curious as to how he knew, but instead she grew a bit wary. Would he try to attack her for ending that woman? He didn't seem very hostile, but then again, neither did she. Kana shook her head and kept walking. "No. I'm not." She was not. She was free of that witch's grasp. She took orders from no one. She belonged to no one. She would roam where she wished and destroy what she wished. She would take whatever she wanted, and who was there to stop her? These puny village ninja? Ridiculous. It was possible those winged beings from so long ago would find her again, though, and bring her back to Silence. The same Silence whose grasp she'd already escaped from once. Not without help, of course, as she'd found out later. She'd lost her memories of the incident for almost a year. But now she remembered that some massive hulking black mass of a creature had helped her to escape. It had burning red eyes and a black mist seeped off of it. It hadn't told her if it had a name. It hadn't told her why it was helping her escape. But it had told her that she was now a powerful vessel of Madness. Told her that she would be the one to cause the world to crumble to ashes and dust. He had seemed to find her amusing when she'd told him that she could have done the same thing before she'd come to the Unknown.

Whatever else that man said to her as she walked, she ignored. She had something she desperately needed to do, and as she approached the gates, blue chakra started swarming around her. The guards grew immediately wary, and even drew their weapons, but Kana was on them before they knew it. She had a pair of dual blades on her back that she'd drawn, and the moment she was in range, both of the guards stumbled to the ground, their throats slit and their heads nearly severed from their necks. She grinned. This was going to be a fun day.

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Into the late night screams could be heard coming from the village, which after a few hours had started glowing red with buildings set alight. Now, on the night of a new moon, it was probably the only thing that could be seen around for miles. The red glow would warn travelers that the forest was probably a safer place to spend the night. Well into twilight was when the screaming had finally died down. Once in a while there would be a new scream to fill the air, but it would've been hard to hear over the sound of crackling wood and collapsing buildings. By the time the Blue Demon had finally finished its hunt, there was barely a piece of rubble standing taller than Kana's shoulders. The creature was thorough when hungry and agitated. Once satisfied, Kana easily forced the demon's consciousness into the back of her mind and started back out of the village. The man from earlier had long since left her thoughts. Her thoughts now was that perhaps it would be good to find some new clothing. Her current clothing was burned in places and ripped or sliced open in others. She never escaped from a village unscathed, though she would have liked to brag that she had. She had several long cuts, some of them deep, but the worst of it was a burn that spanned most of her right arm from a fire style that had happened before the rain had started. Even now it was raining, and even with the rain, the village still burned brightly. Every now and then there was a loud clap of thunder accompanied by a bright flash of lightning. The brown haired woman headed for the nearest tree. The rain stung the burn on her arm something terrible, even if it did help to wash away the blood she was covered in.

She was wary of him. Did she believe he would bring harm to her? He could, but he had no reason to. Then again, he had no reason not to. He felt indecisive. His actions were always controlled, like a puppet. He'd never had an issue with being a puppet, never had an issue with being a tool. It gave him purpose and if he had no purpose then he was just a wanderer. He didn't care too much for just being a wanderer. The girl's denial that she was not one of Kyla's didn't change his thoughts about her. She was powerful, but she doubted herself and doubting oneself was a sign of weakness. Weakness he could not afford, but they all couldn't be like him. He had weaknesses, but knowing them were part of conquering them. He didn't say anything as she walked away and the distinct sounds of death filled the air. He longed for the moments were he could bring about those same screams of despair. Not because he took pleasure in such things, but because he knew he was capable and others would know as well. He stayed in the same spot as the hours drew out and when the rain began to fall, he blinked the droplets of water from his dark lashes.

He heard the footsteps of the immortal girl who traveled with the Shadow and the Beast. She was injured and drawing near to find shelter from the rain. His shirt was already soaked and his hair was matted against his head. The sound of the burning village was clear. She had destroyed it all, like the God of Chaos, but they were not to be mistaken. The girl was feeding a demon, and the God was feeding his soul. Colorless. Like his own. He didn't bother rising from his place. He could stay here for days on end. He no longer had to contemplate on what he should do about the passing villages, for this girl had taken care of it. She'd removed them all from existence. Tonight the dead would rest, and tomorrow the living would weep. Such things were foreign to him. Why did people cry? Why did they get angry? Feel sorrow? So many useless emotions and yet they held their own power.

The closer Kana came to the shelter of the trees, the more she started remembering about how she'd come to the Storm in the first place. And the more annoyed she became when she saw that man from earlier was still sitting there. Hadn't he heard the sound of screams from the village? Didn't he see the glow of the fire? Even with his back turned to the place, it should have been obvious that he didn't want to be around her. More importantly, how did this guy know about Kyla? Was he one of hers? The brown haired girl pushed some hair from her eyes and plopped down against a tree not too far from the guy, facing him so that she could keep her eye on him. But she was curious... "Who are you?" Azazeal stood beside her, now in his tall, slender humanoid form. His white eyes also watched the man, staring at him unblinkingly, as if searching him for answers. Kana didn't bother looking at Azazeal. She'd noticed a long time ago that when he was in his humanoid form, he generally stood or walked with all the grace of a well-trained butler. It made her wonder about him, but whenever she asked why, he always gave her vague, unassuming answers.

The light of the flames allowed him to see the shadowy figure of the Shadow Shifter. He knew it was a devious creature, but he said nothing of it. This was the being that had devoured Kyla's soul. He could practically smell the lingering essence of the deceased witch. When the woman asked him a question he slowly lifted his gaze, his brown eyes meeting hers. "I am Xen." There was nothing else to it. He had no legacy, no purpose, no reason to exist. There was nothing special about him and nothing ever would be. Why was she asking him such questions? Was she concerned that he knew she was one of Kyla's? Was she concerned that he would seek vengeance. No. He would not. If these were her fears, she was sadly mistaken. The rain soaked through his shirt, the cold reaching down to his bones. The thought of shelter crossed his mind. He knew not where to find any? Nor was he concerned about a warm place to sleep and a hot meal. Was she? Perhaps he should ask who she was, or what she wanted. Perhaps he should walk away. Or perhaps he should remain the same.

"Xen. How do you know about Kyla? Are you another of her immortals?" Kana asked, her brown eyes blinking the rain droplets out from her eyelashes. She didn't have to look at Azazeal to know that he was anxious. He stood still as a rock next to her, his white eyes still on the foreign looking human. Azazeal knew what might happen, and would have been ecstatic about it had he not just had a good many souls from that village. Still, the soul of an immortal was a treat, even if this one's was a bit bland. The Shadowshifter knew that Madness made Kana paranoid. If she thought this man was one of Kyla's immortals sent to try and kill her, she would give him the go-ahead to take his soul. Though he didn't have to look at her to see it, he knew that though her arms were crossed, she held a kunai in one of her hands, prepared to defend herself if the need arose.

Xen's gaze shifted slightly to the left. Someone was coming. No, many were coming to check the damage of the village, to search for survivors. They were a ways away, but they were coming nonetheless. "She made me what I am, but I am no longer hers to command. I do not remember how long it has been since we parted ways. I can only say that it has been centuries." Xen lowered his gaze, almost like a robot who had just completed an assignment and was returning to being dormant. When was the last time he'd slept? A day ago? Two? Time was slipping past him so quickly without being at someone's side. Minutes seemed to skip to days and days to years. Keeping track was too difficult.

"No shit you're not hers anymore. The old hag is dead," Kana said with a bit of an edge. She wondered if this guy hadn't known. That's what it was looking like. When Azazeal's gaze turned away from Xen and into the distance past the village, Kana followed his line of sight but saw nothing, looking immediately back to Xen. "Centuries, eh. Does that mean you didn't know she was dead or what?" A pause. She contemplated asking him why he was here, but figured one question at a time. As the rain trickled through the leaves above and onto her, she glanced at the lightning in the distance and wiped a stray piece of hair from her eye. She loved lightning. Something about its destructiveness and quickness enthralled her. More importantly, today, at this very moment, it reminded her. Of something she'd learned back when she'd been a kid. A story. Or rather, it could have been a legend. A legend of a powerful ninja who could wield lightning without harm to himself. He had used twin blades like the ones on her back, and could encase them in lightning or call a thunderstorm from nowhere. That same man had betrayed the villages at a critical moment during the Second Great War against the now extinct Akatsuki. That same man, that same ninja, had once been the Kage of the Storm Village. But where was their legendary Kage today? Certainly nowhere to be found, else his precious village might've still stood tonight. Might have had some survivors to tell the story. Kana blinked. Why hadn't she left any survivors to spread the story? To spread her story? A slow, Mad grin spread over the brown haired woman's face. Next time. Next time there would be survivors. But only a few. Just enough to ensure that they could help each other to the nearest civilization without all dying off on the way there.

He didn't seem bothered by her lack of insight. "I know she is dead physically, but her presence still lingers in the others and you." He placed his hand right below his ribs. "Here." Another had recently removed it, but death had followed soon after. It was strange that he'd return to waking world. A guardian angel. He did not need such a thing to continue his existence. Pain didn't register. Not anymore. Not like it should. "It lingers, she lives. You are hers." He had no grudge against the witch, not this girl. "You wish to be free?" He glanced in the direction the shadow creature was looking. Horses. They were halfway here. They wanted blood. They craved action. Hopefully something without madness. His gaze returned to the brown haired girl. The beast was fed. Would she kill for fun? He didn't care. The lightning flashed through the sky and he turned his gaze upwards. Thunder followed a split second afterwards. It shook the ground. Would she hear them coming? Did she need to? The Shadow Creature knew what was to come, would it warn her? These thoughts were endless, like time. When had his time started? When would it end? Would he eventually fall? Death. He didn't fear it, nor welcome it. It was just there, lingering, waiting. If he'd had pride, he'd think himself a prize.

Kana's eye twitched lightly when Xen mentioned that Kyla's essence still lived and she shot a glare at Azazeal. "You told me you devoured her soul," she growled, her hand clenched around the kunai in her hand.

Azazeal looked down to Kana and nodded. "I did, my lady. But her essence and soul are two separate entities. She placed her essence in you and her other immortals to ensure her continued existence even if her soul were destroyed," he explained to her, his head tilted lightly. He wished to tell her about the approaching threat, but decided against it. She would hear them soon enough. They were closing in.

Kana huffed and looked back to Xen, unconsciously putting her free hand under her ribs where the black haired male had put his. Her eyes went off to the side, but shot to Xen in a glare when he said that she was still Kyla's. "I am no one's," she snapped, her brown eyes narrowed. "I'm free to myself and nobody's plaything," she growled, stopping when she heard the thunder, and looked to Azazeal to see him looking off into the distance. "Az." He looked down at her. "What's out there?"

White eyes blinked slowly and a wide, blank white grin spread over his otherwise featureless face. He then bowed. "Horses, my lady. Bloodthirsty, the ones on them."

Kana's eyes seemed to light up and that clarity that so rarely came to her mind disappeared. Madness came and went from Kana's mind, leaving her to regret her decisions and fall into a depression whenever it left her. When she'd been talking to Xen, her mind had been fairly clear. However, for some reason, the mention of horses had changed that. "Horses?" she scrambled to her feet. "Let's catch one," she said, casting Xen a look. It was a blank look of consideration, an almost childlike look of curiosity about what she wanted to do with this man. Should she kill him? All at once Kana stopped and turned towards Xen with a frown, putting a finger to her lips in thought. "Why are you sitting out here?" she asked suddenly. "Are you bored?"

Xen didn't respond as Kana snapped at her shadow creature. He didn't even blink when she turned on him and snapped about not belonging to anyone. Had she not heard what he said? Had she not heard what her creature had said? "You are free only when her essence no longer binds you." Kyla had been a powerful witch. He'd seen her work, seen her desires, and she would stop at nothing. Everyone's life was a game, but bit by bit she was losing her pieces. Never would she destroy the immortal woman. He could not see into the future, but it was a thought when one put it all together. Kyla just could not win. She was losing her grasps and unless she chose to take over the hybrid, there would be no proper vessel for her taking. A thought came to him. Why did she just not take over the immortal woman.

Xen looked up at Kana as she stood. "I have no where to be. No purpose. I do not get bored. I simply follow the orders I am given, from those who are worthy." Another flash of lightning then the sound of arrows cutting through the air. They filled the air and cut through the trees before battle cries filled the air. Did they know they were here? Or where they just trying to get the upper hand. He didn't know, nor could he really tell. He looked up at the arrows. His deep brown eyes couldn't clearly make them out in the dark, but he knew that they were poisonous.

"How do I get rid of her?" Kana asked, looking at Xen. It was only in her maddened state that she could feel Kyla still with her. It wasn't like that when she was clear of mind. Eyes narrowing, the brown haired female walked over to Xen and bent down, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him towards her. "Show me how to get rid of her," she ordered. She didn't really care that he only took orders from those he found 'worthy'. It wasn't like she planned on using him for anything else but this. She wanted Kyla gone. And if she had the beat the shit out of this guy so that he'd show her how, she would.

Her grip on the guy's shirt tightened a moment when the arrows cut through the air and she turned her head towards the sounds only for an arrow to cut across her face. She let go of the guy and straightened up, looking at the arm she'd been holding him with. There was an arrow stuck in her forearm. "....ow." Taking a breath, Kana took hold of the arrow and snapped off as much as she could. "Az." She looked to the Shadowshifter who had already become the black shadow of a wolf. "I want a horse. One I can ride. I want at least one unmaimed horse by the end of this. One for you, if you'd like. You can have the souls, but I want to kill the archers," she told him lightly, as if explaining the rules of a game to him. She looked to Xen. "You don't get bored, but just sit there. Come play with me. Have a bit of fun," she said, a small grin spreading over her face before she turned away from him and cracked her knuckles. The demon was fed. Now it was the monster's turn.

She grabbed his shirt and he wondered if she wanted him to retaliate, just so she'd have a reason to try and do away with him. "I can't show you," he told her. "You're not capable." The words may have sounded blunt, but there was no other way in his mind to phrase it. That and he had no intentions of taking orders from her. She was just a vessel for madness and a tool for this shadow shifter. He was not to be used by a tool. When the arrows drew near, Xen was untouched. Whether Kana realized this or not, he was prepared for this attack. Poison was not something he enjoyed. It was one of the things his body registered and it was always very painful if left untreated. When arrow hit Kana's shirt, he looked at it, then watched her snap it in two. When she requested he come play with her, he questioned if madness brought her down to a childish state. Fun. He didn't think killing was fun, but to be given permission to do something other than sit brought some life into his eyes. Xen stood up, just as the first rider broke through the bushes. The inky haired man cracked a smile.

With no conscious and going off of what Kana had told the Shadowshifter, Xen moved forward, sliding under the rider's blade and coming up in time to snatch the man off the horse. The man yelped as he hit the ground and the blow that Xen dealt to his face broke his jaw. No conscious meant no restraint. More riders were flowing in, foot soldiers followed, and behind them the archers. A quick estimation and he was counting sixty people in total...well, fifty-nine. He stepped back as two foot soldiers came his way, both were heavily armed, while he carried no weapon. He flipped back, fluid as water, dodging their blades by mere centimeters. Lightning flashed in the sky once more and he drove his elbow into the closest man's chest, breaking the ribs. He took the blade from his hand and drove it into the man behind him. As if they were one with the shadows, two other shinobi rose from the ground and planted their blades in each of his sides. Xen had so far been decent in his actions. None too brutal, not spilling too much blood, not taking joy in their pain, but that changed awfully quick as the pain signals rushed to his brain, waking him up from what felt like a dormant slumber of careful treading. He looked left, then right. He dropped the blade in his hand, waited for the thunder, and shattered both blades the men had before he used sound waves to practically pop their heads, leaving them withering messes of bloody noses, eyes, mouth, and ears.

Kana had moved forward without bothering to wait for Xen to make his choice. He could stay where he was, or he could join in. She didn't quite care which he chose, to be honest. Her goal was a horse...and the death of the archers. She drew only one blade as she went, moving from person to person without much pause in between. Her first target was a rider. She jumped up onto the guy's horse just in front of him, her blade sinking into his chest at the same time. When she jumped off, taking her blade with her, the man fell limply off the horse. She came down on a foot soldier with a kick, the force of which broke the man's neck on contact while her blade met the side of another's face. After that she turned to the man with the slashed face and kicked him with a roundhouse to the back and the stuck her blade through him and into the dirt. "Hold that for me," she asked the guy, who struggled to push himself up while trying to pull the blade from his back.

Kana drew two kunai and started forward again, throwing one of them towards the archers. The flash tag attached to it exploded just before them and Kana, while half blinded herself, dodged through the ranks of foot soldiers and riders, using her remaining kunai to slash throats, stomachs, and spinal cords as she went. Neither the thunder nor lightning bothered her or distracted her, and while she would have wanted to see how Xen fought, she couldn't bring herself to be bothered with him either. Right now...right now she was just being the monster that her old sensei had once accused her of being. "You're just as much a monster as I am...you were already turning into one without the help of the Blue Demon...Maybe it was a good thing your parents died on that mission, it'd be a shame if they had to witness what you've become."

The rain was growing heavier and the sounds of heavy steps made the ground shake as much as the thunder that accompanied the lightning. Xen could use it to his advantage. Getting up close and personal would suffice, but a wide range attack would deal more damage across the ranks. He concluded this in only a few seconds. Reaching the top of a nearby tree he glanced over the ranks, pinpointing where he could do the most damage. He decided to go for the middle. That way, the front would be left without backup and the back wouldn't reach them in time. He could feel the vibrations of sound through the trees. To him it was almost visible. He could not bend it to his will or manipulate it to his absolute liking, but he could use it in his favor. Sound waves could be powerful, if only you knew how to use them. Xen did. The next unified step of the middle rank split the ground, just enough to catch their legs, and hinder them from moving. Confusion erupted along all ranks. Xen would leave the archers to Kana. They were preparing for a new wave of arrows to be released, hoping it would buy them time to recover. Xen would leave them nothing to save. The front line consisted of twenty or so men. He tore through their offensive maneuver with brutality. They picked an awful time to face their enemies. A thunder storm was a perfect place for him to unleash all of his pent up abilities. He didn't seem to be phased by his injuries. He couldn't feel it, which would probably not be a good thing later, but for now he was what everyone that had once commanded him, wanted him to be. He had no objections to this.

The sound and feeling of the heavy footsteps distracted Kana and for a moment she forgot all about the archers. A bigger opponent? She would rip it limb from limb. She looked around for the source of the noise, but only saw Xen take out a significant number of foot soldiers in one...well, two, fell swoops. First...he cracked open the ground and trapped them. And then he tore through them mercilessly. Kana's brown eyes watched through the rain in fascination. He was...strong. She wasn't sure why this came as a surprise to her, considering he was once one of Kyla's. Maybe it wasn't a surprise, but...but instead a threat. A serious threat. Not like these archers and swordsmen on horses. Speaking of, Kana's attention was brought back to said archers when an arrow hit her in the back of her knee. She fell to one knee almost immediately and turned her gaze to glare at the archers. Letting herself fall further yet into Madness, to block out the pain so she could continue to fight, Kana started a jutsu. She would send these fools into insanity. And then perhaps send a few infected back towards a neighboring village and watch as they destroy it for her. A slow grin crossed her face at the mere thought.

Mist spread through the area, sweeping through rank after rank of the warriors, archers, and ninja. If it affected Xen too, so be it. She would deal with him afterwards. He was far too strong for her to just let go on his way, after all. Helped along by the rain, the mist had spread within seconds. Said mist was also imbued with her chakra, which helped with the next portion of this two part genjutsu. "Fire. Mist. Jutsu," Kana said slowly, her brown eyes glowing lightly. The mist was set ablaze from the illusion of a spark that came from the two kunai she clashed together after finishing the jutsu. The fire in question was a very deep blue and would have the effect of practically melting the skin off of anyone caught in its grips. Any skin that didn't begin melting would blister and boil. The screams of the first few caught in the jutsu made her break into a small fit of laughter that she tried to stifle. Still...she had whatever had made those footsteps to deal with next.

Kill Kana. The single thought that crossed his mind would have been a pure objective, had he had the motivation to do so. That was the only problem. Whether she'd meant to catch him in her jutsu or not, it didn't quite matter. He could not change the past and he could not 'see' everything. Xen hadn't gotten out unscathed from the jutsu. It was only after he felt the sudden heat of the blazing fire and the flames like against his bare skin did he react, too engaged to battle to care for the mist that warned of something sinister. Xen used two soldiers as soldiers as human shields to protect himself. Their screams of pain went in one ear and out there other. Better them than him. He may have had a high pain tolerance, but fire was on the list of things to avoid. Even now the burns bothered him. It would take some time to feel comfortable again unless he found a decent healer. These were the thoughts that went through his mind as his human shields blistered and boiled. He dropped them only when he 'saw' what was approaching.

He moved right before the tree crashed down where he'd stood moment before. Another crashed near Kana and two more followed in their place, sending a mass of splintered wood and kunai and shuriken. With no bodies intact, Xen took to the air in time to see large creatures infected with madness being released from their chains. They were seven, maybe eight feel tall with large hands and feet. They're horns spiraled atop their heads an their armored bodies looked impenetrable from this distance. Xen didn't fancy turning sound waves into visible waves, but it was a necessary sacrifice despite the energy and concentration required. The results were satisfactory as well, cleanly slicing open the first creature as it gave a battle cry that echoed through the area. Xen touched back on the ground as the cry ended in a wail. The remaining creatures started down the hill, three of them. The mortals seemed to have grown smarter, fighting fire with fire. Xen reached for a blade, but something heavy smashed into him, sending him rolling across the ground like a limp ragdoll. The creatures, despite their bulky size, were impossibly fast. Xen laid still for a moment, mentally checking himself over and regaining the sense that had been knocked out of him. He pushed himself up, mud stained his clothes, but the rain washed most of it off. He sat back on his heels and breathed in a small breath. His brown eyes focusing on the thing that had attacked him. Another clear and conscious thought crossed his mind. Show. No. Mercy.

Kana was enjoying the sight of the warriors dropping like flies, screaming as if they were being boiled alive, and her stifled laughter slipped on several different occasions. Many of them were either unconscious by now or had gone into shock and were on the ground convulsing. The ninja that had seen through the genjutsu came at her and Kana charged straight at him and his kunai. Instead of cutting him down however, she dodged out of the way of the oncoming trees and left the ninja to get crushed beneath it. Several of the shuriken that come along with the tree cut across the brown haired girl, one even slicing across her right eyebrow, sending blood pouring into her eye. Kana quickly put a hand over the wound and looked towards the coming threat. As Xen rolled across the ground at the impact of one of the larger creatures, Kana debated on going to his aid. However, the more wounded he was at the end of this, the easier it would be for her to end him. Especially since she was starting to feel the effects of what she assumed to be poison. She slowly shook her head, only to have to stop short, dodging to the side in a dive to avoid one of the creatures that had decided to come at her. Armor. They wore armor. She doubted that genjutsu would work on creatures that were clearly Mad, but she didn't need genjutsu for these things. Moving back to a safe distance, Kana started a jutsu as she went, keeping her eye on the creature. It was more than likely to come after her, but she only had to be faster than it for a little while. Which she could do, considering her sensei had been the speed demon himself. "Snow Style: Blooming Flower." The mist around them gathered together into solid groups, which grew thanks to the rain, and froze into chunks of ice that then splintered outwards to make a flower before the shards shot at each of the creatures. Because there was plenty of water for the jutsu, multiple flowers had formed. One of them being awfully close to Xen and his little problem. Yes. Kana was consciously aiming for Xen too now.

Xen wanted to make this thing bleed. He wanted to remove it's existence from this world. Want was not something he was familiar with. It was a rare thing for him to want anything, but a surge of emotions consumed him. No, a simple emotion. Rage. He stood up and met the creature head on. They at a stand still, evenly matched. Kana's jutsu changed, but Xen did not care. Kana was not of his concern. Nor her shadow creature. Or any other thing that walked this earth. He had one target, one objective. The flowers that blossomed close to him were thoroughly ignored. He did not regret it, even when shards of ice pierced flesh and knocked him over. Pain. It registered briefly. He was too focused to pay attention to the damage. He arose again, leaving the ice as it was. Xen was blind to all things around him, whether it was physical or not. He slammed his fist into the thigh of the creature and watched it crumble. Blood seeped from Xen's wounds, but he took no note. This was not adrenaline, this was something much purer. This was simply Xen, the machine, the tool, the man who lived only to serve. The creature collapsed to eye level and Xen grabbed for it's throat, head butting it with force before he drug the it to the ground with little struggle. He tore the creature apart with his bare hands. First were an onslaught of punches before he went he broke bones and tore out vital organs to make the process as unpleasant as possible. Only when the heart stopped beating did he draw himself away from the bloodbath he'd made. He seemed to lose his desire to do any more and he sat back on his knees, his gaze towards the sky. He slowly pulled out the ice shards, not that it would do much good. Leaving them in would have at least kept the bleeding at bay, but he didn't seem to care. He blinked rain water from his eyes. He felt, refreshed.

Kana glanced at Xen every now and then to see if he was still alive, which resulted in her taking a good few hits from the creatures attacking her. But it was worth it for what she saw. She saw Xen literally tearing one of the creatures apart. Even over the sound of the rain, she could hear the thing's bones breaking. It was beautiful. There was a moment, although, a very brief moment, one that was gone as soon as it had came, where the Madness within the brown haired girl had her convinced that she had very suddenly fallen in love with that man and the brutality he was capable of. It was a strong, sweeping sensation, one that made her want to go immediately over to him. Even though the feeling disappeared in the same instant, Kana still remembered it being there, though it no longer affected her. Even so, she still found that brutality from this stranger to be a thing of beauty. Her attention was torn away from him though when one of the massive hands of the creature nearest her swung at her side and sent her rolling across the mud and into the first obstacle in her path, which just so happened to be a tree. The force that she hit it with created an audible crack, and she fell to the ground in front of it, her body having made a large indent in the side of it. Within seconds the sound of creaking and cracking filled the area along with the rain as the tree started leaning towards Kana.

The tree fell. For a moment, all Kana could hear was ringing. But luckily, she had fallen still against the tree, and there was a small gap between the ground and where the tree had broken off, which was exactly where Kana happened to be. Even so, Kana was sure one of those things had broken her ribs. Crawling forward to get out from under the tree, Kana pushed herself to a knee and started a jutsu, her eyes narrowed and her vision swaying in and out of focus. The poison again. Once more the tree cracked and splintered, but this time it was because the outer bark of the tree was warping into spikes and the trunk was becoming thinner and longer. It shed most of its leaves and the branches came together at the top to form what appeared to be a dragon's head. This happened all in a few seconds, and once it was done, the snake-like dragon tree slithered along the ground and wrapped around one of the creatures, tightening until every bone in its body had started cracking under the pressure. If Kana had counted right, there should have been one left...but unfortunately, she had lost sight of it when she'd gotten hit into the tree.

One left. Xen knew that for a fact. He'd taken down two and Kana had just dealt with the other. He looked to the left and then to the right. He saw nothing. If it was moving, it was moving too fast for him to see. Xen rose to his feet slowly. The rain we pouring harder and harder. He was drenched to the bone. He was cold. He closed his eyes and stretched out his senses, like invisible arms. He could not pick up the vibrations of footsteps. He opened his eyes and started towards Kana, moving through the rows and rows of bodies. Xen was listening, but the rain was too heavy and the thunder too loud. Too much was happening. He slowed in his steps and turned at the slightest vibrations. A fist connected with his jaw. The impact knocked him clean off his feet. He landed on his back and rolled out the way as a foot came down where his arm had been a moment ago. Rolling backwards he got back on his feet, lashing out a swift kick that smacked into the side of the creature. It retaliated with a roar of sorts. Xen felt that feeling rise again. He considered the roar a challenge, but didn't move. Instead he let the creature come at him again. He kept stepping back out of the way, leading it towards the trees. He would trap it and deal with it then if Kana didn't get greedy and hop in first.

One arm pressed lightly against her midsection, Kana instinctively looked towards the sound of the roar. So Xen was dealing with that one. She could handle that. After all, there were some who were trapped in her genjutsu earlier that weren't dead. Some of them had just fallen unconscious. Though most of them had died from shock. Walking around the fallen soldiers and archers, Kana searched for signs that they were alive. She had Azazeal help her with that, since he'd apparently tied down several horses off in the distance. When he'd pointed out the first who was still alive, Kana knelt down next to him and examined him, turning his head from one side to the other, as if she would find something interesting on his face. When she hadn't, she snapped his neck and moved on. The next ones she didn't even bother examining. She kicked the head of the next one full force, and his neck broke easily, twisting in an unnatural way as she did. No bother to her. She crushed the skull of the next one with her foot, and for the next one she did the same, but instead of the skull, she crushed the man's rib cage, making sure that his heart was pierced by one of the broken bones in the process. "How many more are alive, Az?" she asked casually, looking up to the tall black shadow. She'd almost sounded bored when she'd asked. "Just two m'lady," he replied, nodding towards Xen and the beast he was fighting. Kana looked towards them. "Hm." Walking over to the archers, she examined the arrows they carried. Definitely poisoned, for sure. She took one of their bows and a couple of the arrows and aimed towards Xen. Let's see if he's too focused to notice another threat, she thought, eyes narrowed. She drew the bowstring back with the poisoned arrow and let it fly straight towards the black haired male. Her mind was made up. Whether he had 'played' with her or not, she was going to kill him. But, she was going to make sure he told her how to get rid of Kyla first. She didn't want that witch still watching her every move.

Further and further into the trees they went. He kept dodging until the thing hit right about his head and smashed into the tree behind him. Xen grabbed onto the arm of the creature and hoisted himself up with pure upper body strength and balanced himself on one hand so that he could punch the thing in the face. The creature was caught off guard and shook it's head. Xen regained his balance in time to avoid being hit again. He'd trapped the thing in a cluster of tight knit trees, so it couldn't move much. As a fist smashed into the tree above him once more, Xen went to repeat the previous counter, but as he lifted himself back up, an arrow shot through his shoulder. He lost his grip and gravity won over, but not before his opponent could drive a fist into his midsection. The tree splintered and Xen slumped forward. His brown eyes looked up as the creature raised its free hand in order to bring it down on him. Xen couldn't escape since he was being held against the tree by a fist and arrow. So he did what he had to do and that was to tear his shoulder away from the arrow. It tore skin and soaked his shirt in blood, and for once he felt it. There had been poison on the arrow and he could feel it. He grabbed the side of the creature's neck and pulled out a chunk of flesh and muscle. Xen was dropped immediately. He fell to the ground, landed on his feet and used a splintered piece of the tree's bark to impale the thing in the heart before he leaned back on the remainder of the tree to keep from falling over. He waited a moment, before he turned away from the tree and started off to nowhere in particular. Xen was cold and injured and the fight was over, so he was going to move on. Kana had shot him with the arrow, so there was no point in waiting up for her in his mind.