Chapter 169

The demon emerged from the smoke. His glowing red eyes stared at Jeremiah who flapped his wings threateningly in the sky.

"Kamisori no mure!" The large sword in Ryukushu's hand started rotating sending dark shockwaves at the large bird flying in his direction.

Jeremiah fired a green energy ball at Ryukushu. It collided with the dark waves summoned by the demon's rotating sword, resulting in another massive explosion that shook the mountain to its core and it continued trembling as the attacks from both sides darted back and forth.

"Scattering Lotuses!" When the dark shockwaves drew closer to Douma, he fired his ice sickles at them which dispersed the static and energy waves concentrated in one area.

Gritting his teeth furiously, Ryukushu drew several cuts in the air and thrashed them at Jeremiah who was preparing to launch another green energy ball at the demon.

A few patches appeared in areas where Jeremiah's feathers and skin was torn off by the invisible cuts from Ryukushu's attack.

Jeremiah winced. "It bypassed my barrier. This guy is not some dead man in samurai armor if his attacks are that lethal." The celestial swan healed his wounds and barreled into the air to dodge another one of Ryukushu's cuts.

The demon never expected the large bird to jump into this battle. He wasn't at a disadvantage, but this interference happened at the worst time imaginable; He was about to execute his plan. Where did this other celestial being come from? Ryukushu had to get rid of him as well.

Flickering his eyes to the blonde who was running up the slope towards the samurai, Ryukushu growled and slammed his fist into the ground. The blonde must be feeling extremely confident now that his friend was here to back him up.

"Don't even think you can just nab these weapons from me, founder of Paradise Shrine!"

Douma slowed down when he saw the purple monstrous entities swirl up from the ground and make a beeline towards him. The angel held his golden fans tightly.

With a flick of his fan, the entities dispersed. While Jeremiah was stalling Ryukushu with his attacks, Douma sprang up into the air using the remaining dark shockwaves as a cover and made a landing towards the demon, his golden fan locked in on Ryukushu's back.

All it takes is a glance to the back for Ryukushu to see the fan that was flying towards his direction but the demon was occupied with the explosions and beams circling him.

Ryukushu let out a loud yell when he felt a sharp metallic object slice the back of his arm. It felt like a papercut. He heard something heavy drop to the ground beside him as well as the rustling of the grass under a pair of footsteps that just descended from the sky.

The three weapons fell to the ground and tumbled down the slope. Ryukushu's heart dropped when he saw the dagger, sword, and trident laid out in front of Douma and the oncoming Jeremiah soaring above.

Jeremiah hovered beside Douma and kept watch on Ryukushu who appeared to be going through a dilemma after witnessing the loss of his possession of the three gladiators' weapons.

"It seems our dear friend here has had enough." The large swan commented.

Upon hearing that, Ryukushu summoned dark walls adjacent to where he was standing. They merged with him resulting in a huge beam that shot out of his armor upwards.

The two angels sensed an overwhelming presence coming from Ryukushu but it was way more haunting and benevolent this time. Ryukushu's desire to slaughter his opponents was very much there, they could see it in the way he glared at them. After all, they managed to snag the three weapons away from him. The demon was this close to executing his plan he never expected his enemies to make a comeback through diversions and unsuspecting attacks.

"Genkakuna Jiritsu-sei Style Two: Tamashī no naka ni aru kyōfu!" Ryukushu's sword diced through the air unleashing abundance of static and dark matter at Douma and Jeremiah.

The large swan barely got by the large-scale attack, flying away from the demon with the trident and dagger in his talons however, the sword was still on the ground and he didn't manage to swoop in and grab it in time.

Douma lost his balance and rolled down the slope. He saw the sword lying on the grass a few meters away but the minute his gaze met the sharp blade, Ryukushu fired another dark beam at him, sending the angel farther back.

The blonde got up and shot the demon a glare. "This can't be good." He added, covering the bottom of his face with the golden fan held tightly in his grip. The atmosphere grew stuffy and dense.

Ryukushu's eyes grew eerily wide. "So you're trying to test my patience... I will get those three weapons back but I might have to do it the merciless way. Behold the next stage of my power!"

The temperature fell to its lowest point. The dark shockwaves producing cold chills concentrated in the atmosphere surrounding the mountain.

"Arggghhhh!" The loud yells of Ryukushu shook the mountain as rocks, debris, and nearby caverns collapsed to the bottom. Crushing infrastructure and vehicles parked along the roads and walkways.

Jeremiah's suspicions seemed to have surfaced. He flapped his wings effortlessly, ridding away the dark energy trailing towards them.

"Is he... evolving again?" The swan squinted his eyes at the samurai whose barrier appeared to be touching the sky, causing the cracks in the ring to extend further.

"You just had to bring it up. I hate to say it but yeah that seems to be the case. Which means we have to stop him before this mountain and that ring up there collapses. Transformation or not, the more power he gets, the more problems we get." Douma held onto his twin fans and kept his eyes on the sword lying in the grass.

This isn't his first transformation. Ryukushu isn't just gonna stop here if he's got more tricks and surprises on the way. In other words, he's reaching another form. The aura Ryukushu was giving off seemed familiar. Jeremiah knew what it was and he didn't look forward to seeing what it could do. This form alone was causing so much destruction in one setting.

Ryukushu raised his voice. "Metamorphosis!"

The dark master enclosing his barrier rose to the sky, Ryukushu's height increasing along with it. Jagged appendages extended from the samurai's armor and his neck stretched higher making way for a long thorn that sprouted beneath it.

Static flickered on the surface of Ryukushu's armor and they began trailing up his body rapidly when his legs and arms extended with the large sword of the demon's exceeding the entire length of each limb. It looked heavy in Ryukushu's grasp now and threatening at such a massive scale.

Soon the demon's face morphed into a longer skeletal structure with a sharper jawline. His teeth resembled needles hanging from a thread in a close line.

Both Douma and Jeremiah watched Ryukushu's formation in horror. The demon's body elongated starting from his torso with crippled skeletal limbs and a giant sword that could split the mountain into two in a single blow.

When Ryukushu let out a bone-chilling roar, the portion of the sky concentrated within the ring and cracks shattered revealing the other dimension from within. A wave of purple pooled down the sky lightning flashing frequently while dark smoke descended to the ground, igniting generators, circuits, and other sources of electricity.

"He's undergone a Metamorphosis. If there's anyone left on this mountain they need to evacuate immediately." Jeremiah soared closer to the ghostly entity standing as tall as the lower half of Taipei 101.

"Just how many transformations does this guy have? It's just one after another." Douma looked up at the large opening in the sky. The dark beams from Ryukushu's body flowed up to the dimension sinking into the rest of the sky. A lightning bolt struck two of the trees at once. Both trees fell from the hill and crushed the road at the bottom.

The large swan battered the dark shockwaves away from him. "We haven't got much time. Ryukushu's dimension is drawing closer. We have to stop him before it's too late."

Ryukushu slammed his sword into the ground unleashing dark energy beams that shot up to the sky like pillars, "There's no point in trying to avoid the inevitable. The universe has chosen its leader and I will honor this opportunity with a trophy collection. Your skulls will be on my throne's arm rest. The bones of your loved ones will be fed to the hounds."

The sword on the floor rose to the air and darted at Douma who narrowly dodged it. 

"Freezing Clouds!" Douma fired a glacial storm in the giant entity's direction. When it got closer, Ryukushu held his massive sword closer to his chin.

Raising his sword, the demon blocked the frost clouds with the giant weapon and dispersed them at once with a flick.

"I'll show you what true leadership looks like, Founder of Paradise Shrine. The world needs this power to protect them from any threat that comes their way. They can't thrive in world where empathy is in the center of everything. It's a shame there are still those who don't realize this." The soulless look in Ryukushu's gaze made Douma feel uneasy. There was something about his tone of voice that seemed eager to watch people's humanity slip away. As though such events were a form of entertainment.

And he yearned to leave this battle, this particular mountain to claim this "throne" he anticipated and watch it happen the moment people's willpower and determination break down.

"It doesn't matter how terrifying you're going to turn out after this. I've seen worse things than this. That's not going to stop me from preserving the very thing that frightens you, empathy." Douma leaped up and unleashed two ice sickles at the demon.

"Your determination to stop me is commendable but the fate of this world has already been decided." Grabbing the two ice sickles and crushing them, Ryukushu growled and glanced up when he saw Jeremiah diving towards him.

"Stormcutter Blade!" Jeremiah flew thought the dark clouds, sweeping past Ryukushu and igniting an explosion around his chest from the slash he inflicted with his wings.

Ryukushu flailed his arms around like the monster that he is, reaching out to try and grab the large swan circling around him.

"Genkakuna Jiritsu-sei Style Three: Tekii no nagare!" The samurai slammed his sword into the ground calling dark aftershocks and clouds to trail along the surface with it towards Douma and Jeremiah.

The blonde deflected the dark energy with his frost clouds while Jeremiah dodged Ryukushu's sword, however the blade managed to land a blow on one of his wings causing the large swan to make an unsteady landing on the mountain.

Despite backing off as soon as possible, Ryukushu's blade could still slice through the large swan's wings. Jeremiah flapped his injured wing to rid the stiff scar beneath his feathers.

The ground started shaking violently again, the mountain's peak thrashed from side-to-side struggling to maintain its stability which resulted in a landslide beside one of the blocks of houses nearby.

That opening in the sky was getting bigger too.

Ryukushu yelled again, provoking the opening to expand again. The thorn-like structure on his back extended towards the opening in the sky.

Once it traveled deeper into Ryukushu's dimension, dark pulses started flowing down the vessel like red blood cells in the circulatory system.

The demon grew in size, towering over the dark purple mist that covered his knee all the way down to his feet. His increase in height drawing the attention of onlookers who were both puzzled and terrified by the appearance of such a monstrous-looking creature who looked eerily human at the same time.

Hovering above the ground, Jeremiah glanced at Douma whose fingers were twitching on the surface of his golden fan.

"Whatever you do, don't let the fear get to you." The large swan told him.

Douma tightened his grip on his fan, gritting his teeth from the pressure he was putting himself in just to control the fear surging through him. He reminded himself, that he already overcame this before, this doesn't mean anything anymore nor will it stop him from putting an end to Ryukushu's terror. If he forfeits, humanity will be subjected to grief and abuse for a lifetime. He can't let that happen.

As someone who led a group of people to the righteous path, giving up isn't a principle of mine... I have to continue fighting.

The blonde took a step closer. He narrowed his eyes at Ryukushu and raised his fan.

Nodding in approval, Jeremiah flew into the sky and prepared another green energy ball in between his wings.

"Wintry Icicles!"

At the same time, Jeremiah fired the glowing sphere at Ryukushu. Both the rain of icicles and green energy ball exploding into him led Ryukushu to shield himself with his sword from another dual attack.

Both Douma and Jeremiah continued spiting the demon with their attacks. Ryukushu was growing furious whenever he felt the needle-like cuts from Jeremiah's wings and the sphere he threw every once in a while.

Though the one who got on his nerves was Douma because of the angel's stealth that gave him the opportunity to vanish when Ryukushu was about to crush him with his massive blade.

This eventually led to Ryukushu pulling out another sword of the same appearance from the one in his hand. Douma and Jeremiah were taken aback by this sudden invention by Ryukushu. He peeled off another two swords from the original version and placed them in the hands that grew from his back.

"Now he has six arms. Each holding that vicious sword. Ryukushu is going from a man to an insect and then maybe an arachnid at this point." Jeremiah remarked.

"If he grows another two. I'm not surprised if that's on his bucket list of plans but it's not automatically bringing him the three weapons. He only needs three arms but whatever floats his boat I guess." Douma continued to ambush Ryukushu with slashes and winds of ice as Jeremiah flew higher and called upon a flock of birds by turning the remaining purple specks in the sky into feathered creatures.

The flock of birds circled around Ryukushu, identifying the demon's weaknesses to be showcased.

Ryukushu looked up at the birds and grunted. He pointed the closest sword at them getting ready to annihilate them with a blow.

Douma hopped up on each sword, dodging the opposite blades swinging at him repetitively. "Freezing Clouds!" The angel unleashed his glacial storm directly at Ryukushu, freezing his entire body.

The birds continued flying around the frozen demon before he thawed out of the ice and ignited the entire flock with his sword.

Ryukushu sensed the large swan was trying to dig up something rather confidential. Perhaps a few weak points that he was eager to find.

Landing swiftly on the ground, Douma flitted his eyes to the thorn below Ryukushu's neck. Not a scratch was seen on the thorn despite the impact of his glacial storm. Ryukushu was gathering more power from his own dimension. The monsters that traveled down to the opening fell from the sky and merged with the barrier surrounding Ryukushu, giving him the power he craved. 

He glanced up at the opening in the sky and then back at the thorn with the dark energy pulses flowing through it.

I've got an idea. Douma stood upright and held his twin fans. He observed both the thorn and opening that was generating more power for Ryukushu.

The four copies of Ryukushu's original sword flew out of his grasp and merged together in the air. They formed large specks of dark matter that appeared in the sky every few seconds like splatters of diluted ink on a thin canvas.

In alarm, Jeremiah soared higher in the sky and summoned two iridescent wormholes on both sides of Ryukushu.

Douma widened his eyes when he saw the iridescent wormholes in the sky. Mr Oshiro's words rang through his head, specifically the quotes from the book about this exact phenomenon that the writer encountered that night.

So all this while it was Jeremiah whom Mr Oshiro was rambling about. The blonde was glad that Mr Oshiro finally got the answer he was looking for after many years.

Now he just needs to defeat Ryukushu before he can share the news to Mr Oshiro.

Copies of Jeremiah emerged from the wormholes and extended a long green hands from their torsos that grabbed his wrists holding the massive blades and brought them closer to his upper body while he relentlessly tried to fight back.

The translucent green arms created a turning point for both swords; A glow appeared on the surface of the swords wearing off the dark static engulfing them.

Jeremiah hovered in front of the demon, he prepared another green energy ball. Standing from afar, Douma knew what the large swan was planning given that Ryukushu had summoned patches of dark matter in the sky.

When Ryukushu's hands were held tightly in the other large swan's talons, Jeremiah let out a cry and fired the energy ball at the patches of dark matters right before they ignited.

The collision between the green energy ball and dark patches resulted in a massive explosion, giving Douma ample time to run up to Ryukushu and target the opening to his dimension.

It appears that despite using his power to prevent Ryukushu's attack from becoming a large-scale threat, the lethality of the dark patches lingered for the explosion didn't just occur in one place. Several other dark patches appeared in other directions and ignited consecutively starting from the ones on the left.

Douma sprang up and got his fan ready.

"Scattering Lotuses!" He shouted firing the ice sickle directly into the opening which left Ryukushu pulling his arms away from the other two celestial swans.

When he managed to force himself out the birds' grip Ryukushu swung his sword at them.

Jeremiah merged with the other two swans and flapped his wings. "Stormcutter Blade!" The large swan swooped down swiftly.

Ryukushu was planning on stopping Jeremiah with another sword attack when he felt something freezing in his dimension. The demon glanced to the side and saw the ice sickle traveling further into his dimension and then vanishing from sight.

Widening his eyes, Ryukushu heard the sound of someone sprinting away from him. Ryukushu looked down at the ground and saw Douma standing a few feet away from him with a smirk on his face.

Cold mist spiraled out of the opening as Ryukushu grunted from the sheer cold. He flailed his arms around trying to get ahold of the thorn on his back when a wave of chills seeped through his body and pierced his nerves like icicles.

Frost was now traveling down the tube, fusing with the dark pulses from the demon's now-frozen dimension and causing the thorn to combust from the pressure. Ryukushu screamed and watched helplessly as the thorn blew up followed by the opening to his dimension.

Both Douma and Jeremiah looked up when they saw the dark purple mist in the sky disappearing. Soon the sky returned to its normal blue, leaving Ryukushu in a state of shock.

"You're really testing my patience this time, Founder of Paradise Shrine. Of all the opponents I've faced throughout the years, you've got to be the most insufferable." Ryukushu bit his sword's blade in anger.

Ryukushu dragged his hidden feet closer. "Even if you ruin my plans now, they'll only be one winner. Fate will pick the one suitable to lead this world. However, I'm not going to let my enemies roam freely." The demon swung his swords to the back threateningly.

Bracing himself, Douma narrowed his iridescent orbs at Ryukushu and his remaining two weapons.

"Any last words?" Ryukushu sneered.

He doesn't have his powerplants anymore. Which means we need to figure out a way to reduce his stamina. It's contributing to the rate of his regeneration which is why he's still standing. Perhaps a mix between my frost clouds and Jeremiah's stormcutter attack should do the trick. Douma looked up at the sky that was clear of any cracks and dents.

A wide grin stretched across Ryukushu's long face. His swords pulled back leaving him open to their anticipated attacks. They had to be cautious, from the looks of it, Ryukushu had a plan.

The blonde and the large swan exchanged glances with each other and from there they started racing towards Ryukushu, keeping their eyes on the two swords and Ryukushu's expressions that'll give them an indication of what's coming.

Ryukushu's mutated body tensed. He opened his mouth wide letting a dark mist fly out of it.

"Midnight Blade!" The dark mist darted out of Ryukushu's mouth like an arrow.

Jeremiah flew right in front of the mist. "Rejoice!" A bright light emerged in front of the large swan and engulfed the attack. The combination of light and dark flickered on the mountain's peak for a few seconds before an explosion went off.

Douma used Ryukushu's temporary distractions as an opportunity to close in. The arms that were once stretched back instinctively slammed the ground nearly shoving Douma away with the swords in their grip.

Another one of the demon's swords came crashing through as Douma withhold it with his golden fan and pushed it back to Ryukushu causing him to stagger backwards.

"Stormcutter blade!" Jeremiah flew into Ryukushu, worsening his stability on the ground on purpose.

Ryukushu clutched his neck in pain. His fingers brushed through the cut on his rough skin. The demon watched the large swan fly around him.

Suddenly, Douma jumped up and landed on one of his blades. "Freezing Clouds!" Another glacial storm headed his way.

"Arrghhh!" The demon groaned leaning backwards from the glacial storm engulfing him. The static on his body shock the ice to pieces but the effects of the chilling attack left him tweaking the cut on his neck in desperation.

"I'm sure our friend here is ready for the next one. It's gonna be incinerating because of the combination but he's fond of that kind of stuff so he'll enjoy it." Jeremiah said, both he and the blonde had the same idea that came to mind after the results of the first round of dual attacks post clashing of the swan and Ryukushu's powers.

"He better be ready. I wanna see him on the ground for what he's done. Helpless and disoriented from his own actions and beliefs. Monsters like that don't deserve anyone's pity." Douma responded coldly.

Clenching his fists, Douma watched the demon adjust himself and slam a palm down on the grass. Ryukushu growled and clutched the strands of grass poking out in between his fingers. "This humiliation... I will not tolerate it..."

The cut on the side of Ryukushu's neck was still present. Douma and Jeremiah's plan worked and they were going to repeat that collaborated attack again. Ryukushu's stamina was slowing down, so was his regeneration which depended on the strength left in him.

"This world won't be left in the hands of weaklings! I'll come out of this battle victorious, my people need me!" Ryukushu yelled, shaking the ground once more.

Douma and Jeremiah started racing towards Ryukushu again. His people? Nobody was on his side entirely. Some of them weren't even given a choice. The blonde got his golden fans ready.

Once he's gone, nobody will be forced to live by laws that go against the morals of a human being. This fear that he's stirred in society will perish.

The twin fans started radiating a bright golden glow. Jeremiah soared higher in the sky coming to a stop when he was a few meters away from Ryukushu.

Douma sprang up and raised the golden fan on his right.

"This is it." The angel said quietly.

Jeremiah got the green energy ball in between his wings ready. The large swan made sure to prepare one that will prompt a more devastating effect on its target.

Ryukushu swung his swords forward, eager to land a hit on both of them at once with his two swords held tightly in his hands.

A shimmering radiant light flickered at the edge of Douma's golden fan as he neared the demon standing in front of him, baring those massive teeth threateningly.

Jeremiah fired his green energy ball at Ryukushu and watched the scene unfold.

"Radiance!" Douma unleashed a large golden air slash that darted towards Ryukushu, clashing with the green energy ball as planned.

Both attacks closed in on Ryukushu who could only watch as the piercing flashes of light engulfed the demon. His eyes widened in horror as the overwhelming attacks struck him and ignited his body. Not even the demon's own impenetrable defenses could protect him from the brutality of this power.

Silence dawned on the mountain's peak. The ground continued shaking violently while the smoke clouds floated about in the air, covering the area where Ryukushu got hit by the merged attack that he never expected.

Douma and Jeremiah watched the clouds of smoke slowly move away. They squinted their eyes to see if Ryukushu was still standing or if he was gone for good.

The large swan hovered lower to the ground. He looked around to see if there was any indication that Ryukushu had been defeated or if he fled quietly though if running away was something he decided to do, they would've been spotted regardless.

Glancing at the sword on the floor, Douma walked over to it and picked it up. He stared at it for a while, thinking about the similarities this particular sword shared with Ryukushu's sword. A dark past had bestowed upon it just like Ryukushu's sword. The surface imprinted with the blood of its opponents.

There's a reason the three gladiators' weapons were sealed away from the public. The history that revolved around them was too much to bear; A tournament that escalated to bloodshed because of the weapons' power-hungry users.

At least now, the world doesn't have to witness such things anymore. After this the three gladiators' weapons will be kept away from the public again. Nobody will lay a finger on them ever again.

"I think he's-" Jeremiah was cut off when he and Douma heard rustling in the grass alarmingly a few feet away from them on the mountain's peak.

The smoke clouds moved out of the way, revealing the massive slumped figure crouched on the ground. Half of his body had been vaporized by the attack that should've turned him into a corpse from the impact.

Douma and Jeremiah widened their eyes when they saw Ryukushu getting up from the ground and standing upright. His body twitching slightly from the burns and scars. Ryukushu's one eye peered down at them, shooting them a glare.

"I've made it clear... the world has chosen me as its rightful leader. You can't defeat me... this is only the beginning. My legacy won't be left in ruins. Even if the both of you flee from this battle, I WILL still hunt you down. You're not getting away I won't allow it!"

Ryukushu gripped the handle of his sword tightly. He strained his muscles and let out an animalistic growl.

Another portion of the mountain tumbled down crushing the infrastructure at the bottom. Static flickered in Ryukushu's chest as the demon activated his powers again.

"He still has a bit of strength left." Jeremiah noticed the static emitting from Ryukushu's chest spreading to his arms and the rest of his torso. Ryukushu took a few deep breaths to maintain his disheveled composure whilst unleashing his powers to be able to keep up with the fight.

"Even after all that he's still standing..." Douma held onto the sword and watched Ryukushu engulfing himself in dark energy and static.

Ryukushu clenched his jaw. "I will get rid of the both of you... Meddling with my plans as if this is a game, when it isn't... Sometimes things have to change-"

Suddenly a portal opened behind Ryukushu, revealing another dimension with a red atmosphere and lightning flashing from all corners.

Raising his eyebrow, the demon was about to glance behind him when several sharp tentacles reached out of the portal. One of them plunged through Ryukushu's chest causing him to scream and choke on his own breath in panic.

Both Douma and Jeremiah watched in horror as the sharp tentacle slid out of Ryukushu's wound, bundling up with the rest of the tentacles in the sky. They slowly moved back into the portal which disappeared afterwards leaving Ryukushu in a state of immense pain on the mountain's peak.

What was that. It just appeared out of nowhere... The blonde stared at the sky, particularly at the spot where the portal emerged. Something about this strange appearance didn't sit right with him.

Ryukushu clutched the wound in his chest and let out an agonizing cry. The static surrounding his body made it worse for him, it was practically scorching the demon at the same time.

Who or what was behind that portal? Clenching his fist, Douma flickered his eyes to the helpless Ryukushu clawing at his own skin like an animal. There's only one possibility, the Chaos was behind this. But why would he kill his own comrade? Douma recalled that the paradoxical entity and Ryukushu had a deal and the power the demon got came from Chaos. It's not surprising if Chaos would put an end to his comrade if they meant nothing to him anymore given how he treats them. The mark on Ryukushu's neck came to mind, but this explanation wasn't that convincing to Douma because...

The entity behind the portal appeared to be a completely different creature. While Chaos most likely took on a different form, if it was Chaos, the blonde would've sensed the familiarity of his presence. But this creature seemed to be untraceable, as though it just appears without warning.

At the end of the day, it would be too drastic to come to a conclusion. An investigation is needed to figure out who or what was sitting in that dimension. However, it was still a threat alarming enough to leave someone like Ryukushu a shriveled mess.

Jeremiah seemed to be just as uneasy, questioning the presence of the other entity that left a gaping wound in the tyrant Ryukushu and left without a trace.

"NO! I WON'T BE DEFEATED!" Ryukushu reached out in desperation but the moment he felt a sharp pain in his chest, the demon's hand returned to his wound that was restricting his movements, clutching the surface of his skin in agony.

Both Douma and Jeremiah watched the demon having a battle with his own body and mental state. A bead of sweat rolled down their foreheads upon witnessing the agonizing sight right in front of them.

The static in Ryukushu's wound started circulating throughout his body. Clawing at his wound again, Ryukushu shook his head and stretched his arms around to fight off the pain that was starting to burn. "I FIGHT WITH LOYALTY TO MY RULE AND HONOR!"

As the static began accumulating in the gaping wound, Ryukushu let out a haunting scream and exploded into particles.

Both Douma and Jeremiah looked up at the sky, observing the movement of the particles soaring higher together. Soon the particles faded away, vanishing in the sky. The world was finally free from Ryukushu's tyranny.

"He's gone." Douma said taking a few deep breaths while walking towards the other two weapons placed together on the grass with the sword in his possession.

"Right. But we've got another problem." Jeremiah replied, looking up at the sky with a speculative look.

The three weapons were now gathered together in one spot as they should. Douma looked at them making sure there wasn't any damages inflicted. "Yeah but first we gotta return these weapons back." 

At that moment, the trembles in the ground worsened. People started screaming for their lives which alerted Jeremiah. The large swan left the mountain's peak in a hurry, watching people running to safety below the mountain and on it.

Douma and Jeremiah saw various portions of the mountain crumbling down, starting with the mountain's peak. A sign that something terrible was about to happen, putting the lives of many innocent people at risk.

"We need to do something about this fast!" Picking up the three gladiators' weapons, Douma hurried down the slope, stepping over the cracks in the ground that split the mountain into quarters.

The large swan flapped his wings and focused on the mountain. His eyes started glowing once he concentrated the flow of his powers on his target.

"Prevail!" He shouted, summoning a shimmer of light that engulfed the mountain along with the city of Trastevere. Covering every affected area in a bright flashing dome.

The civilians stared at the oncoming shimmer of light, finding it fascinating yet terrifying at the same time. How did that large swan elicit such a compelling phenomenon that left the ongoing disaster looking inferior. They stood there taking in the light until it was too late to react.

In a few seconds, the light repaired the wounds of Trastevere and the mountain. It then vanished, revealing a rejuvenated city and thriving mountain.

The quivering in the ground came to a stop. Douma looked around his surroundings, the city and mountain were back to their normal state. No rubble, landslides, or cracks in the ground, Jeremiah's power cleared the mess.

"It's time to meet up with the others." The large swan said.

Douma nodded and continued running down the mountain with the three weapons, Jeremiah followed him looking at the civilians who were scratching their heads in confusion from the unprecedented dome of light.

~~~

Walking towards the quieter part of the city, Atashi glanced at his spear and spun it around until he saw a shed with a butchered rooftop beside him.

Raising his eyebrow at the shed, the teen knew something must have happened here. Which means there's a possibility this area had civilians hiding about. Atashi came here to bring them to safety so he had to start searching for them now.

When he continued down the walkway he froze when he saw a large monstrous creature slumped against the tree in front of him, facing the ground lifelessly. Atashi couldn't tell if it was dead or alive but he wasn't going to get near it.

Atashi continued walking quietly, feeling unsettled by the presence of the monster under the tree. What is that thing? Is it one of Ryukushu's comrades? He wondered, keeping his eyes on it in case it moved. He hoped it wouldn't. That squid-like mouth with those bug eyes was creeping him out.

Given the aftermath of this particular location, Atashi concluded that this monster most likely had ties with Ryukushu. It wouldn't come out of nowhere and start throwing everything around unless someone had sent it here to do just that.

Atashi was about to pass this tree when he heard someone call out to him. The teen froze, processing the voice, he was certain someone was trying to start a conversation with him but there was nobody else here except that monster.

His body stiffened at the realization.

"I hear everything."

The monster slowly looked up and stared at Atashi with its bug eyes that were moving about to focus on the person standing a few feet away from him.

"How's the totem I gave you, Atashi." Lowering his voice, the monster waited for Atashi's reaction, taking in the teen's horrified expression.

What? No it can't be... Atashi's fingers twitched uneasily at the thought of who this monster is. Despite the added monstrous fervor in his voice, Atashi recognized it. He knew something wasn't right from the moment he heard the creature talk.

"You've changed... a lot. That thick-headed imbecile is no longer prevalent in your identity anymore."

"Tanashi, I knew it. Why are you siding with Ryukushu? Weren't you locked up?" This wasn't making any sense, Tanashi was locked up for his crimes. Why was he roaming about freely with Ryukushu's group of all people? There's no way he could get away that easily and to make matters even more bizarre and disturbing at the same time, he wasn't human anymore. Atashi had several questions about Tanashi's escape and his decision to lose his humanity for power.

"Let's just say I've formed an alliance. It's made me stronger and I'm grateful for that." Tanashi slowly got up and curled his claws into a ball of fists. "You're part of Atlas now aren't you? Why else would you be here if it weren't for a mission? They're the only ones fighting us."

Atashi shot the large laughing creature a glare, "You're embarrassing." He spat. To betray humanity just to join the Sagi-chi was a pathetic and miserable decision to make. Atashi felt nothing but resentment towards Tanashi for everything he's done. He's destroyed countless lives just for his own benefit, one that was a mere dream.

The monster let out another chuckle. "That anger is coming through isn't it? Just let it out. Since that's what you want... don't you? To become one with who you've always been."

Clenching his fists, Atashi stared at the ground. He couldn't help but feel a seething rage flowing through his system. The very same person who lured him away from his loved ones while planning to separate them for a longtime had returned with a similar intention. Atashi didn't want to have anything to do with him, he wanted to keep his family safe but he didn't know how to enforce that vision of his for Tanashi was standing right here, taunting him.

Tanashi watched the teen in the fiery blazer having an internal battle with himself. He grinned and relished the struggles that Atashi still faced despite being accepted into an organization like Atlas that was fighting against his side months earlier. How the tides have changed.

Looking up Atashi relaxed, letting his shoulders loosely fall back.

Taken aback by this calm and collected version of Atashi, the monster growled and pointed a finger at him. "Don't be in denial Atashi. I'll tell you what, you can crawl back to your comrades as and when you like but how about I bring them to you? Take it as a favor. Your comrades, friends, and loved ones, they mean so much to you so I'll bring them here... in a puddle of mush."

Tanashi was considering having a brawl with the unsettled Atashi to finish the job when he heard a loud splash from behind him.

A giant claw emerged from the waters and grabbed the monster. Atashi gasped when he saw how huge this pincer was. This crustacean has got to be the biggest out there.

Slowly, the upper body of horseshoe-like creature towered over them, tightening its grip on Tanashi who screamed and struggled to break free from the pincer. "I'll take care of this." The crustacean said, sinking back into the waters with Tanashi in its grasp.

Atashi watched in awe and terror as Tanashi disappeared in the water along with the kaiju. He could just imagine how much of a nightmare it must be for Tanashi, caught in a giant crustacean's claw in the sea.

Gazing upon the sea in front of him, Atashi smiled slightly and continued walking down the path, leaving the shadow of his past behind.