Captain Baro flew up in smoke and fire. Lee Seng and Keng continued swinging, listening to Baro scream in agony. Baro's energy dissipated and the twins held their stances.
'Did we do it?' Manny wondered as Kineticism wore off on Evan and Manny. Evan landed on the ice with a loud thud in front of Manny, who slid to a stop, almost crashing into Evan.
Baro's energy swirled, shooting a pure black energy outwards. It crashed into the ceiling above, crumbling it to pieces. Lee Seng cursed as he blinked for Evan and Manny. Lee Seng and Keng appeared at the same spot, grabbing a different person and blinking straight for Olivia.
"What the hell is that?!?" Evan shouted. The black energy grew larger, tearing everything apart.
"His energy is fluctuating hard." Keng observed. "It's like… the real threat begins." Baro's eneryg destroyed everything in its path before pulling back into the Demon. Purple energy seeped out and that's when they all knew what was happening.
"The Deimon blood…" Lee Seng whispered. "It triggered."
"RAH!" Baro growled. The gray Demon was now covered in purple discoloration spots. His left arm was enlarged with a large puss filled with black energy. A large bat wing sprouted from his back with a black-feathered wing. A large spiky tail grew out of his tail bone and both of Baro's legs were almost dinosaur-like.
Baro rushed forward, flexing his left arm. The large puss fired at Team Zephyr. Olivia weaved as she pushed past the group, throwing her hands up. The black liquid froze as Baro sped up. Evan moved in front of Olivia and conjured his shield. Baro slammed his enlarged left arm into Evan's shield, instantly bringing it to a clear white. Baro pushed Evan into Olivia and the others.
Baro screeched as his feathery wing exploded. It rained down onto the group, piercing them. Keng blasted Baro with ice and watched as the puss expunged it. The Demon Captain was quickly becoming a Corrupted.
'The Cup!' Lee Seng shouted. He threw himself onto Baro, holding onto the large monster as black puss oozed onto him. Baro slammed his large dinosaur knee into Lee Seng, trying to force him off. Lee Seng grunted as Manny scrambled for the Cup, only to watch it get blown away by the bat wing.
"Shit!" Manny shouted. He rushed for the Cup and was met with a feather blocking his way. The feather swiped at Manny, forcing him backwards. Manny gritted his teeth and grabbed the feather, feeling it pierce him more. "Go!"
Olivia launched herself onto her feet and bobbed and weaved from the feathers. The Cup bounced into the deep waters and began to float downwards. Olivia waded through the water while a blast of puss flew out for her.
"Liv!" Evan shouted. Evan began to throw his shield when Baro's tail grabbed Evan and snapped his arm like a twig. "Argh!"
"Liv!" Manny shouted. Olivia started to look up, pure fear growing on her face as the black puss was feet away. Keng blinked and screamed as the puss splattered onto his back. Olivia's eyes widened.
"GO!" Keng shouted. "GET IT!" Olivia stammered, wading deeper into the water. She plunged into the water and reached for the Cup. The Cup resonated as she grabbed it and pulled it out of the water. She turned and threw the Cup's water onto Keng. The pain instantly subsided.
"Take it!" Olivia pushed the Cup into Keng's hands. "We can see if it will cure Corruption!" Manny, Evan, and Lee Seng screamed in pain. Keng grabbed it and turned.
"B-but…" Keng stammered.
"Just do it!" Lee Seng screamed. He slid backwards, digging his feet into the ground and pushing Baro back. "DO IT!"
"Do it!" Evan screamed.
"Do it!" Manny shouted. Keng sighed and nodded.
"Hydrosphere." Keng called upon his blade. The God Weapon appeared in his hand. He hovered it above the blade and then grabbed the sheath. He pulled it off him and tapped it against the Cup. The Cup and the sheath sang. The waters shook as they resonated with the Cup.
"W-what's happening?" Olivia looked around. The waters grew light and Hydrosphere spun around. Hydrosphere began to pull the water around it, soaking the blade in the Cup's water. The waters flew out for Evan and Manny, healing them instantly. The waters took the feathers and fizzled them to nothingness.
Lee Seng pushed Baro towards the water. His muscles expanded as he screamed. Baro flew backwards, plunging his tail into Lee Seng's side. Lee Seng grunted as he was yanked into the water with Baro.
Keng grabbed Hydrosphere and felt its intense power. The Cup had somehow charged it! Keng blinked and reappeared, rushing towards Baro and Lee Seng.
"The Cup!" Keng shouted. "It's saying to find the Merfolk! Where's Calis?!?" Keng turned to Evan, who was standing.
"Over there." Evan pointed.
"He must've killed the two Demon ladies." Manny commented.
"Find him! He'll know what to do with the Cup!" Keng shouted.
"W-what are you doing?" Evan asked as Keng continued running towards Baro and Lee Seng. A large screech echoed. The waters shook as a large tail flew out with Lee Seng on the end. Its pointed end was pierced onto Lee Seng, who was struggling to keep up.
"Killing a monster!" Keng shouted. "Find the fish brain now!" Keng leapt into the air and slashed at the tail. The tail severed as another scream was heard. The connected tail to Baro pulled back into the water as a large deformed Baro flew out of the waters.
"DIE!" Baro shouted.
"Resonance Art: Disintegration Ray!" Keng pointed Hydrosphere at Baro. A pure white light exploded out of the blade, washing the entire cave in light. Baro's scream echoed throughout the cave. The tail disappeared from Lee Seng's body, disappearing.
As the light died, the group slowly opened their eyes. Lee Seng and Keng were hovering in the air. Keng stared at the calm waters.
[Corrupted Demon Captain Baro has been slain! 250,000 souls have been added! Max capped at 500K. Fox Fire Wisps and Cosmic Sun Suit have been maxed! Giving Team Zephyr excess souls… Evolution begins now!]
'Ah shit.' Lee Seng groaned. Keng and Lee Seng flashed onto the ground, falling. Their bodies began to glow as their tails wrapped them.
"Again?" Manny asked, poking his head over Lee Seng and Keng.
"Again…" Keng nodded.
"Those demons… had a lot of… souls… We gave the rest… to you guys… find the oth—" Lee Seng slowly came to a stop as the familiar cocoon grew over him and Keng.
"Welp." Evan sighed. "They're cocooned, again…"
"They just evolved, no? Why are they evolving again?" Olivia asked. She stood near the Cup, watching it. Secretly scared it might move away.
"This'll be their eighth tail, though. That means they have one more tail left." Manny shrugged.
"How many souls do you think that'll take?" Evan asked.
"Dunno… Lee was good about these stories…" Manny shrugged.
"Guys! Our friends?!?" Olivia shouted. The two boys snapped out of it. The Cup and sheath sang as they floated around each other. "Let's go find Calis first. We'll bring the Cup to him since Evan knows where he is."
"One of us should stay here just in case they show back up before… we come back." Manny motioned. "I think I should stay."
"I'll stay." Olivia volunteered. "Calis might be hurt, so you'll need to heal him if that's the case. Evan knows where to go, so you'll follow him." Manny's eyes lingered onto Lee Seng before nodding.
"Come on." Evan motioned. He walked over to the Cup and grabbed it. The Cup and sheath followed. Evan followed the path back to the wall. He looked up at it and gulped. "It doesn't look like water's in there anymore… Just to be safe." Evan moved a small portion of the wall. Water spilled down the cavern path.
"What happened here?" Manny asked.
"Calis flooded it to fight them. I managed to grab the Cup and flee. Walled them off too." Evan answered.
"I can see that." Manny nodded. A dead body floated out and Evan held his hand up, creating a little wall of shields to block it from going further. The two of them stepped over and looked at the dead remains of one of the demons. "Did quite a number on this one."
"The water is done. Let's go." Evan tapped Manny. He pushed the large kinetic wall over, forcing it to disappear. The light of the Cup helped them find Calis, who was lying unconscious. "H-hey, Calis!" Evan and Manny rushed over and knelt down.
"He's alive." Manny sighed. He lifted his hand up and began to heal him. "He's extremely burnt…"
"What if we use the Cup?" Evan suggested.
"If I can heal him with my powers, we should just do that. The Cup seems too good to be true with its 'ever flowing waters' thing." Manny answered. Evan nodded and watched as Manny slowly healed the burning from Calis. Calis muttered as his head thrashed side to side.
"Father…" Calis muttered. "Father."