The Demonic Clan of Yiling (MDZS Fanfic)

Hanging Tree Night Hunt (Pt.5)

A loud clang bounced off the walls of the cave, as the blade of a sword connected with something solid. The corpses on the edge of the blood pool all started to move freely again as the song came to an abrupt stop.

A-Yuan felt panic take over him when he heard Hanguang-jun's scream and no more sound from his father, but what scared him even more was the roar that sent vibrations through his skull.

However A-Yuan didn't have time to dwell on what was happening on the other side. He couldn't think about the danger his father and the others were in because he was in danger too. The corpses had started to come after him again and his state was weakened due to the amount of power he had channelled when he sang.

Thankfully Zizhen was back on his feet and able to cover him, when he ran into trouble, but even as the two of them fought. More and more enemies attacked them. It went from several fierce corpses and low level demons. To the most terrifying creature A-Yuan had ever seen and that included the stuff he saw at Gusu and the demon he fought at the beginning of last year.

He had no time to catch is breath as he dodged and attacked. His chest felt tight and his head burned with pain, but he kept fighting. He couldn't stop, or he would be killed.

A demon jumped at him. It's teeth dripping with venom and it's eyes filled with a thirst for blood. A-Yuan called his sword to defend himself quickly. The dark blade and red sheen was a blur as it flew past. A thick green liquid splattered from the demon as the sharp edge of the sword cut into it's flesh and the creature let out a scream of rage. The demon charged at A-Yuan angrily and all A-Yuan could do was run and hope that the corpses didn't trip him up. 

His legs burned with every step. It was like he could barely hold himself up. 

"Sizhui, duck!" Zizhen suddenly yelled and A-Yuan reacted immediately.  

He threw himself on the ground just as the horrible, scaly monster went to take a bite at him and the pale shine of Zizhen's sword split through the air. It pierced through the demon's skull easily, the knockback sending the other corpses and demons to the floor for a few seconds. The thick green liquid oozed from the wound as the demon fell to the floor at A-Yuan's feet.

The boy sucked in deep breaths, taking advantage of this chance at a pause. The corpses were knocked down. He could catch his breath. Just then Zizhen came running over and placed a hand on A-Yuan's shoulder. He had a worried expression on his face.

"Are you okay!?" He asked and A-Yuan nodded while rubbing his eyes a little. He was tired, that was all. However when he pulled his hand away from his face he realised the real reason Zizhen was so worried.

His scars had flared up again, but they were a lot worse than they had been before. The black lines were bulging off of his skin and seemed to be spreading to more of his veins even as he stared at them. Not to mention that they were painful. He hadn't noticed because of all the fighting, but they hurt and it wasn't a small amount either.

"Your hands are shaking! Are you hurt!?" Zizhen asked frantically.

"I'm fine! It's nothing." A-Yuan answered. Just then there was a low growl from the other side and several of the corpses and demons around the two boys rose to their feet. 

A-Yuan grabbed his sword and quickly stood up to help Zizhen pull his out of the demon's corpse. The corpses around them closed in tauntingly. A-Yuan had no idea what to do. They just kept getting back up or more of them would appear! No matter how many they took out! If it kept on like this then there was no way they were getting out! And what the hell was happening on the other side!? Was his father okay!?

A corpse charged at him. A-Yuan took a step to the side and kicked out with his leg. The corpse fell and just before it his the ground, Zizhen cut off it head and slapped a talisman onto it's back. It turned into ash seconds after. A-Yuan frowned at the older boy who shrugged a little before turning back to the fight.

"I found a few in my pocket just now. I thought there was no point in saving them for something else." He explained. As he spoke a demon ran at him and reared onto his back legs. Zizhen struck out with his sword however at that exact moment the demon came down and the two of them got caught in a battle of strength. Claws and blade fighting to make a connection with the others' flesh.

A-Yuan tried to run in and help his friend, but he couldn't. The moment he moved, something grabbed his foot and he fell to the floor, his sword flying out of his hand. Something sharp stuck into his leg, as he tried to turn around and he let out a scream of pain.

There was a low laugh...

"Join us!" Said an echoy voice and A-Yuan looked down to see a red corpse with it's claws sunk into his leg, almost all the way down to the bone. He wanted scream when he saw the horrible grin on the things face. "Join us!" It repeated.

"Fuck off!" A-Yuan yelled back using his other leg to kick at it.

The corpse's claws tightened as it hung onto A-Yuan's leg and the boy gritted his teeth in pain. With one final, resentment infused kick, he knocked the corpse off.

"Join us!" It screamed as it fell into the blood pool.

A-Yuan sucking in shaky breaths, struggling his way back onto his feet. His leg hurt, his chest hurt and he felt like he was going to pass out. Too much was going on. He couldn't process much anymore.

He stumbled his way over to his sword and picked it up. He noticed the tips of his fingers were turning black as the wrapped around the hilt. That wasn't good... He was using too much power...

He hadn't come this close to breaking point before. He didn't know how much longer he could go on. He needed time to regain his energy, but it didn't look like that was going to happen any time soon.

A yelp caught A-Yuan's attention and he looked up just in time to see Zizhen's knees buckle under him. The demon he was keeping at bay pinned him to the floor. Time seemed to stop in that moment. As the monster's teeth bared at Zizhen's neck. The older boy couldn't even move. He was exhausted to the point were his arms couldn't move. All he could do was lay there and wait. Wait for this demon to kill him.

Zizhen closed his eyes, feeling the melting breath of the monster getting closer and closer to his wind pipe. He knew this was it. He knew it was over. And yet for some reason... he wasn't scared or sad. He actually felt a little relieved that he didn't have to go back... back to the family that pretended to be happy. In that moment Zizhen was happy his life was over.

Red and black dashed through the air and suddenly Zizhen felt the weight pressing him to the ground disappear. He gasped, quickly sitting up to look around. However just as he did so, there was a loud, horrendous shattering sound that sent out a shock wave so powerful, all the creatures on their side were sent flying. Zizhen himself was pushed back a few feet and he was on the floor.

The green clad boy looked around hurriedly at the sudden sound. Worried that it was another, vicious creature, but then his eyes landed on A-Yuan and he knew something was wrong.

A-Yuan stared down at his had that he had just had over his mouth. A thick black liquid was dripping from it and his mouth. His body was shaking and everything felt numb. He remembered this feeling. It was like a dream coming back in fuzzy pieces. 

He remembered standing near a blood pool, barely able to breath for the longest few seconds of his life. His heart was barely beating, but he could hear it in his ears. His hands had no feeling, yet he could see them shaking as his vision began to go dark. He remembered it all and had always known it would happen again. It was just too soon... He wasn't ready yet... He was supposed to have more time...

Qing-niang's going to be pissed...

A-Yuan blinked a few times, not sure if the green blur coming towards him was friend or foe, or if the shouts he could hear in the distance were of hippieness or terror. He was waiting for it. Waiting for the moment he would know it was all over.

The thought had only just left his mind when a wave of immense pain shot from his chest and through his whole body. His knees gave out. His hand clutched where the pain was as he fell. But before he even touched the floor... it was gone. Everything was gone. There was noting, but still, dead blackness...

---------

I feel like I'm not getting the details right because there's so much going on, but I got the main part I wanted across. I think? Meh, I'll be glad when this arc is over and I can go back to the relationships ;)