Chapter 37: Desperate Battle

One Lord on the ground, the other blown away. Giovanni stood in the center of such a scene with a smile on his face. It didn't take more than a second for Zagon to get to his feet. 

"Zagon, I must ask." 

Giovanni spoke to Zagon with a casual tone. 

"Is this the best you can do?" 

Zagon's pupils enlarged before starting to tremble. 

"….What?" 

"I just wonder if this was the best you could do. I mean, I have a lot of stuff I want to try out with the Essence in my body. I can't do that if I'm not seriously pushed to the limits. Right now, you guys barely qualify as a proper workout." 

All the emotions vanished from Zagon's face. He silently looked at Giovanni as a blue glow emitted from his body. The glow grew wild as veins bulged all over Zagon's body. 

"Alright, let's go again." 

He took a fighting stance. Giovanni silently did the same. The two moved at the same time. They cut the distance and threw punches. The punches missed when they moved their heads. Zagon tried to lift his leg but Giovanni forced it down with his foot. They stepped back and threw kicks. A deafening noise reverberated as legs clashed. Giovanni leg was forced back. Zagon stepped in and slammed his palm over his chest. 

*BOOM!* 

A shockwave hit Giovanni and opened up a crater underneath him. 

"Now that's better." 

He grabbed Zagon's arm, pulled him in, and headbutted him. Zagon slammed his fist on the side of his face. It felt like he was punching a mountain. Giovanni didn't budge. Even so, Zagon was able to pull his hand away. 

(What the hell is up with his defenses? Did he focus all his essence in his skin or something? Can we do that?) 

Zagon thought before attacking Giovanni. 

"Raphael." 

Kelz popped up beside Raphael. 

"You're planning to attack again, right?" 

"Yeah, we know his habits pretty well, so we can always get in a good strike. Are you planning on centering your attacks on us creating openings?" 

"That's one plan, but we need a more efficient one." 

She turned to Brix and Fayax. 

"Lead all of our troops to evacuate all the residents to the lower island. The scale of this battle is going to go up big time." 

"Yes Ma'am." 

"Xavier, you take the Holy Knights and Scorpions and do as she says. Also find Feng and bring him along with you." 

Xeroi ordered. All of the warriors left, leaving Xeroi, Zyna, and Hell's Militia. 

"Did you tell them to leave to ensure the Knights don't die?" 

Kelz asked Xeroi. 

"Xavier would be a great help, but I need him to stay alive in case I die. You sent away Fayax and Brix for the same reason, right?" 

Kelz nodded. She looked at the Zagon and Giovanni fighting. 

"Zagon is holding his own better." 

"That's because Gust…Giovanni is drawing out his strength." 

Roxanne said. 

"He angers you and then provokes you into a drawn-out battle where he fights on your level while slowly increasing the intensity. This causes you to subconsciously push yourself to match him by tapping into your potential. It's something he always did when he was training us." 

"He's training a Lord?" 

Xeroi couldn't believe his ears. 

"Honestly, both Lords are stronger than him. The reason he's able to beat you two so effortlessly is his techniques. He's a very skilled fighter who knows to beat stronger opponents by using their strength against them." 

Ryder said. 

"Well, there's also the fact Giovanni was always a freak of nature when it comes to fighting. His kinetic vision, reflexes, movements, footwork, and agility were monstrous from the beginning. When he adds techniques polished from countless battles, you get the monster in front of you." 

"You make it sound like we can't win." 

Zyna spoke with a frown. 

"We can, but it will require the Lords evolving beyond what he can handle with his techniques." 

Raphael looked at Kelz. 

"Basically, you and Zagon need to make up for your lack of combat experience with brute force. It's easier said than done, especially when he's your opponent; so the rest of us will help out until you two are able to reach that level." 

"Are you guys alright with fighting your father?" 

Kelz asked. 

"We're just following his orders." 

Chul answered. 

"I don't know if he expected to return to his old self eventually, but he said if he ever becomes our enemy, we should kill him without a second thought….We're just following orders." 

The others slowly nodded. Kelz looked at them at sighed. 

"Alright, let's do this." 

She rushed at Giovanni to back up Zagon. 

"Zyna, to have a shot of winning we will need to use our Blessings." 

Zyna nodded at Xeroi. The celestial stones in their bodies started glowing. Their muscles became more defined and a bit bulkier. They vanished from where they were. At the same time, Giovanni was fighting off Zagon and Kelz. A sword appeared coming at his neck. He ducked under a slash. He crossed his arms in front of his face and blocked a kick from below. He stomped the ground. An explosion erupted with him in the center. 

Giovanni flew out of the smoke clouds. Zyna and Xeroi chased after him. He stopped and faced them. Zyna's blade moved at blinding speed, releasing a storm of slashes. Giovanni danced through the slashes avoiding every one of them. Chul aimed his rifle and fired. Giovanni was shot in the ankle and started tumbling backward. Xeroi slid in behind him and punched the back of his head. Zyna swung down on his neck. 

*Clang!* 

A metallic noise resounded. Sparks flew from Zyna striking him. Zagon popped at the side and kicked him away. Giovanni flew through the air and crashed through a mountain of burning rubble. Kelz chased after him and leaped into the air. She thrust her palm down. A shockwave hit Giovanni and forced him into the earth. 

"He isn't fighting back? Or he can't fight back?" 

Raphael mumbled. 

"He went on the defensive the moment he was shot in the ankle." 

Gina watched as Zagon and Xeroi stumped Giovanni deeper into the earth. He grabbed Xeroi's foot and slammed him in the ground like a doll. He sprung to his feet. He ducked under a spinning kick from Kelz and grabbed her leg. Zyna popped up at his side and slashed at his neck. Zagon attacked his side simultaneously. There hits landed but didn't budge Giovanni. In that time, Kelz was able to pull free. She attacked with several kicks before retreating. 

"Again, he didn't move and took the hits unfazed…." 

Roxanne mumbled. 

"His leg wound is healed, which is expected, but did anybody else notice how easy Kelz was able to escape his grasp when he took the other attacks?" 

Chul asked. 

"He didn't move an inch when that happened either." 

The siblings slowly came to realize something. 

"He can switch from assault to defense mode by switching where he focuses his essence." 

Ryder said. 

"Yeah, he's physically weaker when focusing on defense or healing, something we tried to confirm before but it didn't work." 

Damini added. She shook her head. 

"It work,ed but he chose to discard his defenses to take out Kelz and Zagon in an instant. He can't do this anymore with the addition of Zyna and Xeroi using their Blessings." 

She grinned. 

"That means we're beginning to see a path to victory." 

"Aim for the gap between him switching from attack to defense. We do that and we'll be able to deal severe damages." 

Giovanni blocked Zyna's sword with his arm. He stepped in and blew her away with a palm strike. Zagon and Kelz sandwiched him with shockwaves. Xeroi rocked him with an uppercut. Giovanni grabbed his face and slammed him into the earth. Zagon punt Giovanni's head. It was as if he kicked a mountain. Giovanni stood up and swung his hand. A blue light flashed and a large cut appeared across Zagon's chest. Zyna flew at Giovanni's legs and slashed his hamstrings. She circled and rained down slashes on him. He froze and sparks started flying when the slashes connected. 

"Alright to ensure we get the most damage possible…" 

Raphael kicked off the ground. 

Meanwhile, Giovanni moved again. He caught Zyna's sword and stepped in her stomach. Zagon attacked his flank. He created some distance. Xeroi and Kelz rushed him. He stepped in with blue light gathering around his fists. In that moment, the world slowed. Raphael stood between Giovanni and his attackers. 

(If we know how to defeat him, he'll definitely know too. We'll only have one chance and we need that chance to be as big as possible! I'll risk it all to create that chance!) 

He locked eyes with Giovanni who was in mid-swing. 

(It's one of the rules he won't break no matter what! You won't harm those you acknowledge as family!) 

Giovanni's fists changed projectory towards the ground while Kelz, Zagon, Xeroi, and Zyna were closing in on him with various attacks. 

Time resumed. Giovanni's fists hit the ground and various attacks hit him simultaneously. An massive explosion erupted and blew Raphael out of the way. His body bounced off the ground. All the air was forced out of his body and he was on the verge of losing consciousness. He lay on the ground with his vision dyed in his own blood and his ears ringing. 

"What about Giovanni?" 

He looked over. Giovanni was lying in a crater. His body was charred and covered in cuts and impressions. A pool of blood formed under him. 

"Did we—" 

Raphael swallowed his words. He didn't know why but his instincts were screaming at him— 

RETREAT!!! 

An explosion of blue light erupted with Giovanni at the center. It blew everyone away and the earth shook as if trembling in fear. 

"Hahahahahaha!" 

A chilling laugh echoed through the area as a silhouette appeared in the center of the light. 

"Using my own code against me, a great plan. I really thought I died back there." 

His voice was coarse and low. 

"Also, I read about the thing called Blessing but I never thought it would be this hard to deal with. Those two have combat experience too, so they're a pain to deal with." 

The silhouette clapped as the light faded. Giovanni appeared clapping with a gentle smile on his face. 

"Bravo, you've brought me the fight I've always wanted. I'm so grateful. So allow me to repay you the only way I can." 

The smile on his face faded and a blue glow covered his body. 

"I'm gonna focus everything on fighting and nothing else, so I don't disappoint you." 

Giovanni took a step and the earth trembled. A heavy pressure fell on Kelz and Zagon. 

"?!" 

Before they could figure out what was going on, Giovanni vanished. They turned their heads and saw him standing behind them. They opened their mouths, but before they could speak they felt hot liquid fall on them. They turned their heads. Their eyes widened at the sight of Xeroi and Zyna with chunks of their bodies missing. Their blood sprayed in the air and fell on Kelz and Zagon. The two fell lifelessly before their masters' feet. 

They blinked. 

"I'm gonna focus everything on fighting and nothing else, so I don't disappoint you." 

Giovanni was once again at his original spot. They turned to their sides and saw Zyna and Xeroi standing beside them. A look of confusion covered their faces. That confusion disappeared when Giovanni took a step. They moved in front of Zyna and Xeroi. A loud noise resounded as they shielded them from Giovanni's lightning-fast attack. 

"Oh? You predict that?" 

Predict, that word echoed in their mind. Not only that, the two Lords were able to know what the other was thinking. 

(Zagon, did we see a vision?) 

(I think so….Are we using telepathy?) 

The two looked at each other in shock. They were sent flying by swift kicks from Giovanni. They twisted in the air and landed softly. 

"Ugh…Alright. Looks like the precognition thing doesn't automatically activate." 

(Well, at least we got telepathy down.) 

Kelz answered Zagon in her mind. 

"That's enough for now." 

Zagon grinned. 

"It's proof we're evolving." 

Kelz grinned as the two took the same fighting stance. They were so in-sync their breath was the same length. 

"Nobody else get involved." 

They spoke in unison and pointed at Giovanni. 

"We're gonna evolve into True Gods and defeat him together." 

Giovanni's eyes widened before a smile appeared on his face. 

"Really? Then let's start the final round."