Chapter 109 : Aftermath

Kaizo and his friends barge through the throne room's door. The sound of Axion's sword falling to the floor echoed. He was thunderstruck upon witnessing Valerius' holy sword go through her heart. He's too late. 

Axion's body turned to ash and the wind blew it away, leaving only her obsidian crown.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!" Kaizo yelled. He pulled his energy sword and rushed towards Valerius. 

Rage took over his mind. 

Zivon jumped into his path, ready to stop Kaizo. Kaizo's sword turned crimson. He swung his sword ruthlessly. Zivon got thrown and hit the wall.

Kaizo lunged at Valerius. Valerius blocks his attack.

"Why… WHYYY??!!!" Kaizo groaned in pain.

The rest of the team jumped into the fight. 

Ramenman and Rum fight Zivon while Lahap fights Verchiel to settle the score they had at Astraeus' hangar. 

The monsters outside roared and howled. Confusing the angels and the alliance. 

"Lord Adnachiel, the monster's behavior is strange," said an angel.

They looked around and tried to figure out the monster's movement. 

"They're… scattering," said another angel.

Instead of surrounding the castle, the monsters begin to scatter, attacking anyone.

"Their pattern begins to change…." Adnachiel mumbled.

 Some winged monsters begin to fly high. They hit the magic barrier that Axion made. The winged monsters shrieked. They begin to attack the barrier. 

Everyone watched in horror as the winged monsters hit the barrier and killed themselves in the process. 

"This is insane," said one martian. "They're willing to kill themselves just to break the barrier and get out." 

Eventually, the barrier breaks and monsters begin to fly away. 

Tarung and Zanarith looked at each other in silence. The fact that the barrier break must mean that Axion is defeated. 

Tarung turned to his men. "FIGHT! Don't let those monsters escape this planet!"

With the fight between Terra and Astro Alliance, it's hard to stop the monsters. 

In the throne room, Kaizo and his team are still fighting. Kaizo ruthlessly swings his sword and continues to attack Valerius. He doesn't think straight. He keeps on attacking aimlessly.

Lahap, on the other hand, struggled. His opponent is a high-ranking Angel. The leader of the order of angels himself, Verchiel. 

Verchiel has the upper hand. Lahap is getting pushed back. Verchiel swings his sword from above. Maskmana jumps in and blocks his attack. 

"Cease this battle. Look around you. The monsters are going loose," said Maksmana. 

Verchiel jumps back. He looked out the window and saw monsters flying away. 

"At this rate, these monsters are going to raid other planets," said Maskmana. "We need to do something."

Verchiel turned to Maksmana. He nodded. He then flies outside. 

"The Queen of darkness is defeated," Verchiel yelled as he raised his sword. "We must band together to defeat these monsters." 

Although it's not an easy task, The Terrans and Astro alliance eventually stopped fighting each other. They're too busy dealing with the monsters. 

Maskmana stopped Ramenman, Rum, and Zivon from fighting. He turned to Kaizo. He's drowning in rage and still fighting Valerius. 

Maskmana jumped in between Valerius and Kaizo. He blocked Kaizo's attack. 

"Kaizo, listen to me. We need to go. We have to go!" said Maskmana. 

But Kaizo didn't listen. He grunts. 

"I'll kill you… I will kill you!" Kaizo mutters in between his breaths. His eyes glared and never left Valerius. 

Valerius was dumbfounded. 

"Why are you stopping me? WHY ARE YOU STOPPING ME?!" Kaizo yelled as he tried to push Maskmana away. 

"Kaizo, Kaizo! Hey! Hey, listen to me," Maskmana tried to call him as he held him. "We have to go. Remember your duty. We need to go out there."

Ramenman, Rum, and Lahap watched the scene in bitterness. 

Axion's death hit Kaizo harder than anyone. Especially since he's the captain of this team. 

Eventually, Maskmana forcefully dragged Kaizo outside the throne room. Valerius stood silently as he watched Kaizo yell in anguish as he was dragged outside. 

Seeing the endless wave of monsters, both the Terrans and Astro alliance decide to pull back and reinforce each of their own planets. The intergalactic alliance calls on an emergency situation. All available rangers are on high alert. Planets raise their defense.

Weeks passed. Monsters keep coming out from TrES-2b. Reaping anything they can. And rangers are needed more than ever. Everyone called it 'the dark age'.

A large-scale intergalactic meeting was held. Kaizo was called into the meeting to testify what happened on TrES-2B.

The first testimony didn't go well. Kaizo can't stop himself from attacking Valerius the moment he catches sight of him. He yelled and went berserk every time he saw Valerius. So they need to postpone the meeting and remove Valerius from the court. 

Many planets' representatives blame The Terrans for the monsters going loose and accuse Valerius and the order of Verchiel as murderers. 

"The monsters are attacking our kingdom. This has never happened before until those Terrans killed the guardian of the dark planet," said the prime minister of Ocrillon. 

"The kingdom of Sveratis also experienced the same thing," said Queen Sveratis. 

"Many of our knights are fatally injured after fighting those monsters. All because Terrans have let loose the monsters!" said Zanarith. 

"People, please calm down."

"Mars is at high risk because of this! We demand compensation from The Terrans," said Zanarith. 

Soon, the room filled with people shouting. The meeting went awry. Being new into intergalactic affairs, the Terrans have no experience or advantage in the meeting. The Terrans who are unable to take responsibility could only take the rain of blames pointed at them. 

In the end, even though the intergalactic meeting was held many times, no clear solution has been found. Whatever decision the alliance makes, it won't bring Axion back. 

Kaizo takes a walk to the lobby during the meeting's recess. He stood by the window, staring blankly at his pale reflection. Black circle growing under his eyes. His gaze was empty and lifeless. 

Every night, Axion's death haunts him like an endless nightmare. 

"Kaizo!" a man yelled. 

Kaizo glanced at the source of the voice. It's Albi. 

Albi can't hide his anger from his expression. He stomps his feet in anger as he approaches Kaizo. 

Albi suddenly pulled Kaizo and roughly lifted his collar. He pinned Kaizo on the wall. He breathes heavily. He doesn't know where to start. He glared at Kaizo's expressionless face.

"You… you failed to protect her. You're supposed to keep her safe!" Albi yelled. "How could you let her die?!!" 

Kaizo didn't answer. 

"Ah, right. Had it been Albi or Prince Stravenkov who went after her, maybe she would still be alive," Kaizo thought to himself. 

Rum and Ramenman who just came from around the corner rushed when they saw Albi holding Kaizo by the collar. 

"STOP!" Rum yelled.

Ramenman and Rum tried to get Albi's hand away from Kaizo. But his grip was too strong.

"You're not the only one who's at loss. We're all grieving for her!" said Rum as she clung to one of Albi's arms. "You of all people should have understood how painful it is for Kaizo, more than anyone."

Albi grunts and tries to shake Rum's hands away. He never let go of Kaizo. 

"Albi, enough," said Ramenman. "It's not Kaizo's fault. You know it's not." 

Albi was silent for a moment. He roughly let Kaizo go. Kaizo falls to the floor. Rum kneeled beside him. Albi goes on his way without another word.