The Demons screamed and snarled before they ran up the walls and along the ceiling.

“Retreat!” the gunner shouted, and the warrior charged to meet them halfway. He fought against the invisible tide and watched as the passage stretched ominously. 

The horned Demon approached steadily. His heavy feet shook the floor, and his breathing grew more laborious, with each step.

The minotaur wheezed uncontrollably, when he was only a few steps away. He reached out and the waves of Demons descended on the gunners and the engineers. They dropped from the ceiling, leapt from the walls and pounced from the ground. 

The Demons were centimetres away, when time stopped. The Candidates appeared in the passages, and the Demons had been cut to pieces. 

The pirates appeared next to the engineers and the warriors, before they vanished and appeared on their ships. The shock faded away and the crew members locked eyes with their colleagues.

“You did it! You saved us!” one of the engineers shouted, with relief and tears streamed down her cheeks. 

“It wasn’t us. It was them.” A gunner replied, and he gestured to the pirates with disdain. A cell door slammed shut, and the engineer turned around.

“Well, and here we were hoping to ransom you off back to your lords. I suppose we’d be kicking a dog while it’s down.” Feng said from behind her mask. 

“Release us this instant!” a gunner shouted angrily, and the beautiful pirate captain turned her head to the side.

“With pleasure, would you like to be dropped off in the jungle or on the beach?” she asked, and the survivors stepped back. 

“Take a look around you. You are all that is left of your crew, and this is my ship. So, sit down and shut up.” Feng said threateningly.

*

“How many more of them are there?” Regius asked curiously. He placed his hand on a Demon’s chest, wrote a simple Plasma Bolt Spell and converted the horned Yokai’s own flesh and bone into a projectile.

The Demon-bone arrow passed through the bright orange circle and a fiery bird burst out of the other side. The horned Demon burned, and the magical arrow darted from side to side. 

The fiery bird punched through every monstrous body in the passage and left behind charred remains.

“Too many, and they seem to grow stronger and more intelligent by the second.” Riekes replied and his Astral projection split into four copies. The four ghosts passed through their targets and their muscles convulsed.

The Yokai’ magical cells were disrupted, and their energy levels dropped. The monsters struggled against their own bodies, while error reports blocked their field of view. The fiery bird pierced their chests and incinerated them as well.

The Candidates raced through the tall and wide passages. They cast powerful spells, unleashed dangerous techniques and utilised highly difficult skills. 

The pirates appeared, whenever the masked men and women had cleared an area with survivors. They placed their hands on their passengers and ferried them to the bowels of their ships.

Kenpachi scowled at the carnage before him. He swung his sword, and the air around the blade ignited. The imposing one-horned man decapitated every head in the room.

Clyde dashed down the passage, and his daggers grew thinner and longer. The short swords glowed red hot and the air around the blades ignited. 

The slender one-horned man spun like a top and the molten blades became whips. He whipped, slashed and burned the Demons in his path.

Mdu swung his axe with incredible force. Clyde glanced at his brother. The stocky one-horned man spun like a top. However, he only completed one revolution before each swing. 

Mdu danced around the Demons. He cleaved them in two and the glittery flames burned the monstrous corpses to ash.

“Your footwork has improved!” the stocky one-horned man bellowed. 

Clyde scoffed, before he vanished, spun once and whipped his targets in half. He cleared the other half of the passage, while Kenpachi burst in and out of the rooms.

The one-horned brothers fought like a small army. They switched weapons often and maintained a simple formation. Mdu raised the triangular barrel and tightened his grip.

The omni-rifle wrote a Scatter Shot Spell in front of the strange muzzle, and the Dragon-bone firearm grew hotter and heavier. 

The flat surface glittered and sparkled, glittery marbles swelled, and a solar flare arced inside of the balls of inter-dimensional energy. 

The stocky one-horned man roared, and his Dragon fire mowed down the Demons in the passage, with a deafening boom.

The Candidates fought an endless uphill battle. They incinerated and obliterated the Yokai, only for another wave to crawl through the vents and cracks in the ships. 

The masked men and women stood before the control panels in their central nervous systems. They placed their hands on the dials, levers, wheels and nobs and increased their energy output.

*

“That’s everyone from your ships accounted for, but what about Jane and her brothers?” Mei asked. She turned to face her siblings and saw the sorrow and rage in their eyes. 

The pirate ships returned to the skies above them. They ducked, dove, skipped, banked, barrel rolled and looped out of the way of the bright white streaks criss-crossing in the pitch-black sky.

“We are running out of time. We need to worry about ourselves now.” Laurence rumbled sombrely and the three Golden Eyed Sisters hardened their hearts.

*

“I know you said that she is bloodthirsty, but is that it? Would someone obsessed with war sacrifice her own people? What is she fighting for?” Clyde wondered, and Kenpachi laughed.

“Was your time with her that memorable?” the imposing one-horned man asked and Mdu scoffed. “Do not concern yourself with what is on her mind. It is her blood that compels her.” He said and Kenpachi’s eyes flared. 

The stocky one-eyed man glared back, and the slender one-horned man noticed the exchange of looks.

“Now is not the time. We all agreed to fight together or not at all.” The eldest of the One-Horned Brothers said sternly. Mdu nodded and walked away. 

“We will have to, eventually. I will not allow her to have this hold over me anymore. And now she has her claws in our youngest brother as well.” The stocky one-horned man rumbled, and Clyde felt his shame.

“You owe her a debt as well.” The slender one-horned man deduced. “And her family-““-quiet!” Kenpachi snapped before his brother finished his sentence. 

“Why hide the truth from him? He deserves to know!” Mdu rumbled and his rage bubbled.

“Calm your spirit. You do not know what she truly desires.” The imposing one-horned man rumbled threateningly, and Clyde was plunged into a deep sea of rage. The intensity of the emotions in Kenpachi’s words filled his chest and weighed down his shoulders. 

The slender one-horned man exhaled, and his Mana poured out of his body.

*

“Forward!” “March!” Jane’s commanding officers bellowed, while the bannermen and the heavily armed warriors protected their flanks. 

“You need to drop your barriers so my people can save yours.” Kagiso instructed, and the two-horned woman laughed.

“And rob them of this learning experience? The flames of war will baptise the survivors. And like your pirates, they will be worth ten Candidates one day.” Jane rumbled boastfully and her legion roared proudly.

“And what about your crew? They were just civilians.” The two-horned man rumbled, with disgust and images of the carnage that took place in the downed ships flashed into the legions’ minds. 

Kagiso was surprised, when the news of the horrific deaths of their comrades did not shake the legionnaires’ spirits.

“Every war has its casualties. My people knew that better than any.” The two-horned woman rumbled stoically. 

“The offer still stands. I would take you over any of those fools. We could usher in a new age together. We could become the next Dragon King and Queen.” Jane rumbled affectionately and her boldness impressed the two-horned man. The legionnaires felt the emotions in her words and blushed.

“Our destination is the mountain to the north. There is an army of giants at the foot and hordes between us and them.” Kagiso reported. 

“Very well, but this is the last time we will fight alongside each other. I have enough samples to start my family…far away from this planet, The Boy King, His Council and this foolish war.” The two-horned woman replied hopefully.

“In another life, I join you. In this one, I am a fool that believes in the Boy King and his potential to grow into the perfect leader. Good luck on your journey. I do not know if this makes me a bad person, but most of the fathers of your children may not survive the night.” The two-horned man said, and the two-horned woman laughed.

“Thank you, but I fear the Council will use the rest to find me anyway. In return, I want you to know that I will take your secret with me to the grave. You have my word.” Jane replied sincerely. She turned to the south and watched as the same pulse that downed her ship struck Duke’s, Raymond’s, Gloria’s and Laurence’s vessels.

The pirates appeared for a brief moment, before they whisked the skeleton crews away. The hordes of Demons beneath them waited impatiently for their prize to drop from the sky. 

The empty Whale Ships sped up, before they crashed with a meteoric impact. The collisions kicked up waves of dust and debris that rolled over kilometres of jungle and buried the Yokai alive. 

The Candidates charged over the hills, with their weapons drawn.