Black Waves Pt. 1

We all made it back to Rivule Square and made our way to the palace to rest up. Walking inside, we were met with Sera and the others, who were surprised to see Ravea, Sati, and Serine. Sera and the others led Mega, Ravea, Sati, and Serine to the meeting room while Tsuna, Rene, and I went to the balcony.

"This is it...Once we stop the culprit behind the kingdom's strife, Rivule would be saved.." Tsuna said, quietly sighing as she sat down in her lounge chair.

Rene nodded, taking a seat opposite to Tsuna. "It will be a tough battle due to the fact that it's that Masked Man, that strange woman, Hilda and their Knights in Almeria City."

"Knights? Like in plural?" I asked, leaning my back against the railing of the balcony.

Rene nodded, looking up at me. "One Fire User and another Water User. They seem to be very close to the Masked Man, so I'm assuming he's been brewing up his own army for a while."

"Ahh...Novis and Rayne. Two adversaries of mine as well. They shouldn't be too much of an issue, especially since we have a good set of allies," I said, raising my head to look at the sky. "We won't be needing everyone on the battlefield and we don't want to leave this palace open for attack, so it's best we take the ones we need and leave the others here to protect."

"I was thinking the same, but who should we bring?" Tsuna asked, crossing her arms and closing her eyes.

"Of course it's gonna be us three for the masked man, Lythia, and Hilda, so for Rayne and Novis...I'm thinking we could bring Sati and Serine, but we could also run Sera and Lyna for the dual Technical Support. We have options," I suggested, shrugging my shoulders.

Tsuna nodded, taking my suggestion into consideration. "Serine is a good choice, and she could very well deal with both of them at the same time if she brought out 40% out of you so how about we bring Phoebe for Medical Support?"

"Yeah, that could work," Rene nodded, turning her glance at me.

I smiled and closed my eyes, nodding. "Sure, it would be nice to have some form of Medical Support on the field. So when are we heading out?"

"This evening. We strike when the last sun rises. We still have to go over the plans and battle strategies," Tsuna said, opening her eyes to look at me.

I nodded then got off the rails. "Got it, well I'm gonna go get Nebula ready for the trip."

Tsuna nodded, watching me walk off. She and Rene got up to go check up on the others. Everyone shared moments of rest and unwinding from the busy day, enjoying the moment of peace before we all had to go back out to save Almeria City.

As the suns began to fall one by one, the seventh sun began to slowly rise to the sky. All of us met up in the Meeting Room, Tsuna standing in front of the holographic screen to go over the final plans.

"Alright, Almeria City is a large city. It has several strongholds we need to take care of. The heart of the city is surrounded by defense systems I asked Sera to build for the kingdom and I'm sure that's where our target lies. We need to take down these systems so Ryoma can go in and deal with him," Tsuna began, a map of the city being displayed upon the holographic screen.

"I'm know each of these strongholds contains at least one member of their team. Using Sera's security footage, the west strong hold contains Hilda, the east stronghold contains Lythia, the north stronghold contains Rayne, and the south, Novis. At the heart lies the masked man who seems to be searching for the Sapphire Pearl, a Jewel that can be used to control Rivule. Any questions?" Tsuna asked, looking around the room.

"I have one. Why don't we just drop the Sapphire Pearl in the Seafoam Kingdom since the Royals know the location and ritual?" Phoebe asked, tilting her head.

"Well..." Tsuna began, thinking back on when she first found the Sapphire Pearl. "It's because I was trusted with it by Tethys herself. Plus, keeping the Pearl there wouldn't necessarily be safer since anyone can realistically enter Seafoam Kingdom if the gate between the two kingdoms were open again. Also, Serine is no longer there to guard the Kingdom."

"Why don't you have the Pearl on you?" Serine asked, raising an eyebrow.

I chuckled at the questions, looking at Tsuna. "These are some very valid questions, love."

"Look, I already have the Crest of Waves so there's no use for me to keep the Pearl on me when I can control her via Crest. Besides, I stored it in a secret location where no one should be able to find it. It would take the Masked Man forever to find it, so let's ask some relevant questions here," Tsuna said, an embarrassed blush settling on her face.

"You lost it didn't you?" Rene asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tsuna quietly whined, her cheeks flushing more with embarrassment. "Yeah...I dropped it somewhere when I was playing with the cute Dolphin Beasts there.."

"Yeah, I'm glad nothing about you changed. You're still the same klutz as you were five years ago," I teased, laughing softly.

Serine sighed, shaking her head. "How could you lose something so valuable..."

"Listen! As we are clearing the strongholds, we will find the Sapphire Pearl and stop these dark forces! Now are there any more questions?" Tsuna asked, her embarrassment now at its peak.

No one had any other questions. Tsuna sighed in relief and lowered her head.

"Alright, we can head out now that everyone knows the basics of the plan. We have only one shot to do this. If we wait any longer, they will be able to find the Sapphire Pearl and control Rivule and possibly destroy the kingdom. Let's all head out now!" Tsuna said.

Everyone began to rise to their feet and we all left the meeting room. We made our way outside and got on our respective Beasts to traverse to the city. Once we were ready, we rode off, crossing the bridge to the outskirts of Rivule. Once we crossed the bridge, Tsuna lowered the bridge to prevent anyone from entering or exiting the kingdom.

------------------------------------

Lythia noticed the destruction around Almeria City, destruction caused by her allies. She watched as the citizens cowered before them, trying to get each other to safety. She closed her eyes, unable to bear witness to the suffering of those around her anymore.

"Can we hurry this up? I don't want to be here anymore..." Lythia said, holding her arms and looked at Hilda.

Hilda scoffed, searching around for the Sapphire Pearl. "We can leave once I grab my hands upon the jewel! This kingdom will be mine once I have Rivule to control!"

Lythia watched Hilda then closed her eyes, letting out a soft sigh. She walked off then noticed a child clutching his fallen mother in his arms. She stared at him for a moment, feeling her heart growing tight.

"Mommy..." The little boy softly cried, desperately trying to awaken his mother but didn't know she had already passed.

Lythia visualized her son in the little boy's place and visualized herself in the dead mother's place, closing her eyes and continued to walk off. She walked toward the heart of the city, noticing the masked man sitting upon a roof of a ruined building.

"Hey! I wanna go home! This conquest is starting to become stupid! You said we wouldn't hurt the innocent anymore!" She called out to the masked man.

The man looked down at Lythia, adjusting his mask then he jumped down the building, landing in front of her. "You wish to go back to Yascea?"

"My son needs me...and I am not willing to lose my life when Ryoma shows up, let alone Tsuna. You promised you wouldn't take any innocent lives and you've hurt half of this population!" Lythia said, pressing her finger against the chest of the masked man.

Rayne and Novis heard their conversation, turning their heads to listen into it. They glanced at each other then looked back at the two.

"You can target Ryoma for as much as you like, we all know your end goal is to kill him! Well mine isn't, I just want to be with my son right now. So I'm leaving," Lythia said, beginning to walk off.

The masked man looked at Lythia, chuckling softly then shifted his foot, using his shadow to pin Lythia down then took off his mask. "My dear...I never said you could leave. I couldn't care less about your dear Isei. You work for me, my dear wife. Where's your ambition like Hilda? Your resolve?"

Lythia grunted as her body failed to move, her eyes looking back then she grit her teeth. "You lied to her...you know damn well you aren't giving her Rivule if she finds the Pearl. You're just using her like another puppet, Alastor.."

Suddenly, an explosion happened at one of the strongholds, the alarms going off and warning everyone about the sudden intrusion into the city. They all heard a loud roar and neigh, knowing I had appeared at the city with Tsuna and our team.

Alastor smirked as he let go of Tsuna, walking off to the main plaza. "Have fun with those goons. They already took down one defense system. I'll be waiting for Ryoma."

Lythia grunted softly as she stumbled forward, finally free from Alastor's hold. She scoffed and walked off to one of the other strongholds, planning to fend us off.

"Alright everyone! Let's get those last three strongholds! Rene, you take the west strongholds, Serine and Phoebe you take the east, I'll take the north! Ryoma, we'll let you know once we've captured the strongholds!" Tsuna said then hurried off.

I watched as everyone split apart to take care of their designated holds then walked forward with Nebula, holding her leash in my hand to guide her. As I walked forward, I noticed Lythia walking toward me. The Crest of Manami began to shine on my hand once again as she grew closer.

"Ryoma..." Lythia began, stopping in front of me. She narrowed her gaze, noticing Manami's spirit hovering behind me. "Sister..."

I stared at Lythia, gently patting Nebula's side to signal her to find safety away from the area. "Nebula, you and Tsuhori help the other beasts get any survivors out of the city.."

Nebula neighed and nodded her head. Tsuhori appeared on the other side of me then she hurried to mount Nebula's back and the two went off to help the surviving citizens.

"Are you ready to listen to reason instead of holding onto this needless grudge? I know you're smarter than this, Lythia. There's no possible way you actually believed I went out of my way to kill Manami for zero reason...but most of all there's zero way you believe the lies Alastor fed you," I said, crossing my arms as I looked at her.

Lythia looked down a bit, gently bitting her lip. She closed her eyes for a moment then took a step forward, opening her eyes to look at Manami once more. Her heart began to hurt even more, feeling her emotions build up inside.

"My dear big sister... It's okay. I may not be alive physically anymore, but I'm alive spiritually. I will assure you, both of us have been manipulated by Alastor. I know you wish to believe him as he's the Emperor of Yascea currently, but believe me when I say Ryoma is innocent.." Manami said, her tone soft and soothing.

Lythia glanced at me, gently gripping her arms tighter. "But what about his conquest..? His Tyrant..?"

"Without his bloodline, no one truly taught him how to rule peacefully but most of all, he and his family had lots of enemies including the Yascean Family. He only did that to establish Order and Peace. Now Eyica is very prosperous. Ryoma wouldn't do anything without reason. I know...I was there for his entire conquest in spirit.." Manami answered.

Lythia stared at me for a moment, her eyes finally opening for the first time, her blind hatred for me slowly disappearing. She looked down and took a step closer to me, gently taking my hand. "Who killed your bloodline?"

"Alastor did.." I answered, my tone soft and steady. "He was the entire mastermind behind the fall of my family...the fall of Manami, and my eventual descent into madness. Lythia, I tried to explain to you last time but you didn't listen.."

Lythia lowered her head, gently squeezing my hand. She closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh, softly palming her forehead. "How could I be so stupid..? I should've known...I truly should've known from how he talked about you behind your back. From how he treated me and Manami like pawns. I'm sorry, Ryoma.."

"You can still make it all right...Leave and go return to your son then escape to Yesha as fast as you can. My brother will take care of you.." I said, gently tucking her hair behind her ear.

Lythia looked at me with a soft gaze, a contrast from her usual intense one she always gave me. She nodded her head, smiling warmly at me. "Thank you, Ryoma.."

I smiled at her, watching her hurry off then looked ahead toward the gate leading to the heart of the city. I crossed my arms as I walked forward, happy to know Lythia was now on our side.

Rene groaned as she was knocked away by Hilda's powerful slash, sliding backwards along the ground and held her stomach, coughing lightly. Her Light Crest began to faintly shine, gradually healing her wounds. Hilda stood tall, smirking darkly at Rene as her Dark Crest shined upon her chest.

"Hilda...please just open your eyes! You shouldn't listen to Alastor! I know you're still in there! I know my sister is inside that darkness within!" Rene yelled, her voice thick with heavy emotion.

Hilda tilted her head up, her eyes shining with a ruthless aggression. "I gave you a chance to reconsider your alliance, but you made your choice...and I've made mine. I won't let anyone stop me! Not even you..."

Rene stared at Hilda, a flashback to when she stood off against Hilda during her childhood flashing in her head. She tossed aside her staff and her horns began to slowly protrude from her head. Hilda smirked at Rene, tossing aside her axe and her horns slowly protruded from her head.

"We don't need to do this, Hilda! Stop having a one track mind and just open your eyes! You're ruining your home!" Rene called out, her eyes flashing red.

"Silence! I will have that throne...even if it's the last thing I do. I am Tethys's Descendant! You should know how the hierarchy goes! Those with a connection with the Goddesses get the throne first!" Hilda said, her eyes flashing red as well.

"And you know how the tale of Uthea goes...since you don't want to back down...I will...I will have to kill you to save Rivule," Rene said, her heart hurting at the thought of losing the only family she has left.

Hilda laughed at Rene, her black ice energy surrounding her arms. "Kill me? HA! You wish, little sister. Now come! Our Royal Battle starts now! You remember the rules...neither one of us stops the battle until one of us DIES!"

Rene frowned at Hilda, her white ice energy surrounding her arms. "I know them, sister...and I wish it didn't have to come to this, but it looks like fate has a plan for the both of us.." Rene said, getting into her stance.

Hilda and Rene faced off once again, possibly for the last time. Rene's heart began hurting, her tears welling in her eyes as she stood against her sister in a Royal Battle, but she turned her tears into ice to remain strong. The two women stared at one another, waiting for the other to move.

Hilda stepped forward, launching a large last of black frost toward her but Rene countered with a blast of white frost, the two frosts colliding and causing an icy explosion. The two women locked eyes, black and white snowflakes falling to the ground.

"Remember girls...when I'm gone, always take care of each other.."

"Rene, I will always love you, big sister's got you!"

Her father's and Hilda's words from her childhood echoed in Rene's heart, causing a lump in her throat to form. She got into her stance, biting her quivering lips. She sniffled softly, trying to remain strong during this battle.

"H..ld...a! I....o...ve...out...."

"...ou...eir...hr...on...e..."

Hilda couldn't hear the words echoing in her mind, the words of her father and Rene being pushed out of her mind. She gave Rene a sadistic smirk, getting into her stance and planning to use her weakness against her.

Hilda rushed forward with a swift crescent kick, her foot trailing behind dark ice energy. Rene dodged her kick then countered with a spinning kick, but Hilda blocked the kick then grabbed her ankle and spun her around, slamming her back against the wall. Rene grunted in pain then groaned as Hilda slammed her back against the ground.

Rene began breathing heavily, slight draconic energy escaping her body but she kept it inside kicking Hilda away then got up onto her feet. She launched multiple bolts of ice toward Hilda, but she skillfully weaved her arms, causing the bolts of ice to orbit around her. She corrupted the ice into black ice then launched them back toward Rene.

"Rene, I know you don't want to fight your sister, let alone kill her. But think about the fate of Rivule. If you ever need help...just ask me~ I may not be your sister, but family isn't always about blood. We've got you...So don't be afraid to go all out."

Tsuna's words echoed in Rene's mind, causing Rene to regain her focus. Rene opened her eyes and they shined a beautiful silver color, her draconic energy bursting from her body and deflecting the bolts of black ice. Her aura uncovered her eye, revealing Tethys's Crest that rested inside her left eye.

Hilda looked a bit surprised to see Tethys's Crest, her eyes widening in disbelief. "You...have her Crest..?"

"You never were Tethys's Descendant. I was...I only let you steal my glory when we were kids because I didn't know any better back then. But now I know...now I know who you really are inside. Hilda...you will not take this throne for as long as I should live.." Rene said, her icy, steely resolve shining through.

Hilda yelled and dashed toward Rene, launching a swift punch but Rene blocked her punch, delivering a powerful blow to Hilda's stomach to knock her back. She ran forward, sweeping Hilda off her feet with a sweep kick then performed Flare Kicks, juggling Hilda in the air and showing off her agility, a large ring of ice forming around Rene's body.

Rene kicked Hilda into the air then sprang into the air above Hilda, launching the ring of ice toward her. The ring of ice tightly constricted Hilda, causing a large explosion in the sky. Hilda grunted loudly as she fell onto the ground, panting heavily and her horn broken off.

Rene landed gracefully along the ground, walking toward Hilda then got down beside her. "Hilda..."

Hilda coughed lightly and panted, opening her eyes to look at Rene. "You've grown strong...heh...who knew after one fight, you'd grow that strong. Must be the draconic genes within us.."

Rene held Hilda in her arms, looking down at her. "Why did you make it come down to this...I love you, Hilda...so why..?"

Hilda sighed softly, closing her eyes to rest. "That throne is the last thing that reminds me of father. This Kingdom is the last thing...I refuse to lose it entirely.."

"You don't have to if you just..." Rene began, her voice trailing off into the air.

Hilda chuckled softly then opened her eyes, looking at Rene. "Yeah...I know...but I've already chosen my route.."

Rene watched as Hilda stood up then stood up with Hilda. "You can always change fate! If Ryoma could...you can too.."

Hilda smiled at Rene, closing her eyes. "You know what I really like about you? You always see the good in everyone no matter how evil they may seem. I really like that about you.."

"Hilda..." Rene said softly, her tears falling down her cheeks.

Suddenly, a beam of dark energy was launched straight toward Rene's back. Hilda noticed and pushed her out of the way, taking the beam straight through her chest. Rene fell to the ground and her eyes widened as she noticed Hilda fall to the ground.

"HILDA!" Rene screamed, hurrying toward her and holding her tightly in her arms. "Hilda! Hilda!"

Hilda coughed a bit of blood, weakly turning her head toward Rene with a smile. "Are you okay..?"

Rene couldn't help but to break down, seeing her sister in a critical state. "Yes...Yes, I'm okay.."

Hilda gently placed her hand upon Rene's cheek. "Good...Rene, I'm sorry...for everything. I truly love you...and I let...my desire for power prevent me from seeing you were trying to save me..."

"Please, shut up..! We can save you! Phoebe! Phoebe!" Rene yelled out, trying to scream out to Phoebe, but Hilda stopped her.

"It's alright, sister...Like I said, I've made my choice but you still have your life to live...I love you...Rene..." Hilda said softly, her hand slowly sliding off her face then her arm fell against the ground.

Rene gently shook Hilda, desperately trying to wake her up. She noticed her body slowly turning into ice, the final stages of death. "Please...Please no...don't take away my sister! No!"

Rene cried upon her sister's cold body, holding her tightly and wishing in her head that she could've prevented her death. As she cried, she heard something hitting against the ground and looked up, noticing the Sapphire Pearl had fell out of Hilda's pocket.

Alastor stood a top of a building, lowering his sniper then smirked. "Hmph...there it is...Novis! Rayne! Retreat for now! Return to Yascea!"

Novis parried Tsuna's next attack then blew fire against the ground, using it to create a smokescreen then disappeared within the black smoke. Rayne swiftly deflected each of Serine's bullets then stabbed his sword into the ground, causing a pillar of water to erupt from the ground then he warped away.

Due to their retreat, the defense systems were downed and the gates leading to the heart of the city opened. Alastor jumped down the building and rushed toward Rene, snagging the Sapphire Pearl out of her hand and caught Rene off guard.

"Hey!" Rene yelled out, gasping when she noticed Alastor in front of her.

"Thank you for your contribution...Rene," Alastor laughed, rushing off to the heart of the city to use the power of the Pearl.

Tsuna landed in front of Rene, noticing Hilda in her arms. She looked at Rene, but Rene was unable to look Tsuna in the eyes. "Rene..."

"Tsuna...Alastor has the Pearl. If you don't hurry, you may never see the beauty of Rivule again. I would like to stay with my sister until she finishes crystalizing.." Rene said, staring at the ground.

Tsuna stared at Rene for a moment then nodded, hurrying off to the heart of the city. As she entered, she noticed me rushing into the city as well and followed behind me.

"Rivule! Hear my call! With this Sacred Treasure, I call upon the great flood that sunk the Seafoam Kingdom, I call upon the wrath within your soul, I call upon The Black Waves!" Alastor bellowed, the Sapphire Pearl shining brightly in his hands.

A powerful roar sounded off in th sky, Rivule's body began to change into a darker hue of blue, her eyes shining red as she began to summon the Black Waves to wash over not just Almeria City but also the entire Kingdom of Rivule.

I made it to the heart, noticing the waters turning black one again. "Alastor!"

Alastor smirked at me, noticing me and Tsuna arriving a moment too late. "You're late, old friend and village hag. You've failed! You've done everything you could and still failed! Now Rivule is mine!"

Tsuna grunted as she began to use her Crest of Waves to try to control Rivule's wrath, but couldn't as Rivule couldn't hear her over her own rage and destruction.

"It's over... You've lost, Ryoma!" Alastor chuckled maniacally, his smile wicked and chilling.

"Ryoma! All isn't lost yet!"

I looked down and noticed Arcane talking to me himself. 'Arcane..'

"Do not give in! You can calm Rivule down! Use my power! Use your unique Hero Form, your Divine Tyrant Form! It's the only way for you to match a Legendary Beast's Power!" Arcane said, his Crest glowing with urgency.

I nodded then began generating 100% of my power, the Four Seals within my body glowing. My Zodiac Seal shined on my left shoulder, my Spirit Seal shined on my right shoulder, my Angel Seal shined on my right pec, and my Demon Seal shined on my left peck. Iridescent Energy flowed around my body then Arcane's Crest shined brightly upon my back, white clouds forming around my body and manifesting into divine wings.

Alastor grunted at my intense power, sensing the strong divine energy of Ascea flowing through my body. Tsuna looked at me in awe, her breath catching into her throat. She couldn't fathom my form, unable to even sense my energy anymore.

"Due to how much energy you're releasing, you can only use this form for five minutes before I have to rest. Now go! Defeat Rivule and calm her down!"

I bellowed and propelled myself toward Rivule. I summoned my true sword, my Sword of the Conqueror. I met with the Legendary Leviathan face to face, planning to stop her with the time limit I had.