Chapter 27: Ascendance
Amihiha's View
"So, you're part of the Kou Empire?" I asked the weakened pinked hair boy.
"Watch your mouth, you dumb tribal pirate," the man spat back.
"Kouha!" the lady shouted to the man. She stared at me, "Whoever you are, you should stay away, or else that... thing will decimate you."
I glared at the lady with the spear.
"Are you doubting the strength of the Imuchakk?" I said to him.
I looked at the giant robot thingy. Franklin told me about giant robots, but in his world, it's only existing in fictional works. He always told me that the weakness of these robots were its mediocre speed and large power usage. That robot seems quite fast, but it seems that its smaller people are providing strong defense. If it were alone, us King Vessels could scrap it easily.
"Well then," I raised my Unicorn Horn up into the air.
"Spirit of Freedom and Youth, like the seas and the oceans, lend me your endless power and give me the energy of the oceans. Dwell in me, Goap!"
A huge geyser erupted under me. When the geyser stopped, I quickly charged toward the giant robot at full speed. Before those large barrels could fire, I quickly cut them off before that little robot could fire any shots at me.
"She's fast!" I heard one of them say.
I quickly rushed back to where Kouha and the White Kou Princess was and revealed to them my Djinn Equip.
My hair has now turned blueish-green and the back of my hair is now curly. My usual clothing have now shifted into a dark green tight suit that reveals most of my middle torso. My forearms and hands have now turned into blue gauntlets with a red fin protruding out on each forearm. The tight suit extends into two fish tails as long as my legs, with my legs now being scaly. My feet have now gained boots with webbed fins on the ankles of the boots. My Unicorn Horn has now transformed into a large sword with a fin motif.
"Belamiq Raqa!"
The twin tails by my thighs instantly merged with my legs, forming one large mermaid tail. My sword's handle extended and the blade converged more into the base, forming a spear.
"What the? How are you able to transform your legs?" Kouha questioned.
I coated myself in water, which took the form of a a shark and charged forward. In a few seconds, I already got close to the robot and sliced those large barrel guns with one charge.
"So fast!" I heard one of the enemies comment.
"GRRGGH!"
I felt an electric shock from around this robot and decided to flop away from it. When I got to a safe distance, I discovered an electrical barrier surrounding it. I put my hands on my spear and concentrated my energy. Water coated my lance and I commanded it to orbit around me. I took a few upward swims as if I was a flying fish and quickly dove into the robot. The water barrier would provide good defense against the electricity, conducting it instead of me. I formed the large water shark again, but I was repelled by the man with the glowing sword, as he threw a powerful kick at me. I was knocked back a certain distance, but a certain wind pressure helped me slow my knock back. The princess floated beside me, having a smile on her face.
"If you wish to fight against them, then I don't mind being allies for now," she said with a smile, "It's time I used my Extreme Magic now."
"Why didn't you use it earlier, sis?" Kouha asked.
"Well... why didn't you use yours?" Hakuei asked.
"Erm... because I thought these people would be a cakewalk. I would have did it before that small arrow hit me."
"It's called a bullet, you caveman!" shouted Ross.
Ignoring them completely, the lady continued to converse with Kouha.
"Well, I didn't want to kill those other men. Enemy or not, they still seemed human, but those three are just... beyond humanity,"
"We still have-"
"Shut up," I said simply.
"We can hear you guys talk!" Leo said normally.
"Why are we talking like this?" Kouha said with a raised brow.
"I don't know, but do you really think your Extreme Magic could stop this robot?" the girl with the large and thin barrel said.
"Well there's the-"
"Magical Shield generator?" I said as I floated behind the robot, looking at some sort of rucksack look alike.
"Ugh... see, this is why you shouldn't have brought a PROTOTYPE into combat," the girl said to Leo.
"Look, just shut up, let's just warp it back to base," Ross commented.
"Agreed."
With a click of a button, the whole robot disappeared before I could even swing at it. The three soldiers just stood at the field awkwardly.
"Sooo, now what?" the girl soldier said.
"Let's continue where we left off," Leo drew his purple blazing saber and charged at me, using that weird flaming backpack.
The lady was encountered by the two other soldiers, so I just had to leave her for now.
We both clashed blades. Thanks to my training with Armakan, I was able to better my swordplay as well as my pole arm handling after discovering my Djinn Weapon's special attribute. Even he never saw a weapon like that. His swings are faster than mine, but my strikes are more powerful. Eventually, speed overcame strength and I was about to be hit by his sword, only for his swing to be halted by ice.
"Ice?" the man said.
I smiled as I turned and slapped him with my tail. He was knocked down into the ground, but somehow got back up quickly as he jetted toward me at a surprising speed.
"Goap!" I shouted, "Khidamun!"
Suddenly, the area around me was engulfed with water. That flaming thingy on his bag suddenly wiped out. With a happy smile, I decided to swim around freely. It seems like he wasn't prepared for underwater combat. He kept on trying to swim at me, but I always swim away right when it looks like he reached me. After toying around, I decided to swim upward and pointed my lance at him.
"Thalg Hajar!"
"Ice Magic?!"
The whole area of floating water froze, leaving that guy inside.
"Water represents the freedom of the seas and oceans, and youth's symbol is ice, to preserve our youth."
I floated underneath the floating piece of ice and lifted it with one hand. Of course Imuchakk strength and my Djinn Equip's enhanced strength can lift this easily. With a grunt, I tossed it far away into the midnight horizon. I looked at both Kouha and that other girl, all with faces of surprise. I started to feel a bit tired; my Magoi is at a low level. I floated down slowly beside the Djinn Equipped girl and looked at both soldiers.
"We're going to have to retreat for now," said the girl.
"You're going to pay for what happened!" Ross screamed.
A black portal opened and they both leapt into it. All of that AZRAEL strike force has been defeated. With a relieved sigh, I transformed back into my normal form and took a seat on the grass. The lady approached me, now in her normal form: a black haired woman in royal Kou Empire clothing.
"Thank you, but why did you help us?" she asked me.
I sighed and dug my Unicorn Horn into the ground.
"Well, I wanted to visit my home again, but the an event in Parthevia prevented me from going there so I can get to Imuchakk faster. But then, the Rukh lead me to a boat taking me to Magnostadt. So, I decided to boat to Magnostadt and walk to the Northern coast of the Tenzan Plateau,"
"Well, we're glad that you made it when we were in peril," she did some sort of salute: a fist on a palm," I'm Ren Hakuei, and the man with me is Ren Kouha."
"'Sup," he said reluctantly.
"Kouha is a bit of a sourpuss, but he softens up later," Hakuei said with a gentle smile.
Mysterious Island. Someone's View.
It had been 6 months ever since I trained in this area. For some reason, no one has ever heard of this place, nor has anyone discovered it. These men, they look like they belong to the Kou Empire, but they claim no connection to them. They equip those katanas that Franklin talked about and they seem to teach a deadly sword art that Sharrkan has learned bits of, but not fully. They call themselves the Hinode Kingdom. They are a peaceful kingdom that mostly practiced deadly martial arts strongly focused on self-defense, mental and physical improvement, as well as recreational purposes.
I'm sitting down on the coast to the West, showing the rising sun. I look into the water and see myself in its reflection. A few weeks ago, I cut my hair short, and now it's slightly shorter, but still messy yet more spikier, mostly pointing downward. I have changed out of my Heliohaptan clothing and changed into the Hinode Kingdom's armor. I wore what they called a "gi" colored dark orange that is sleeveless. I wore a short sleeved black long coat that reaches up to my knees over my gi. The collar and the sleeves are all lined with fur. I now equip a pair of thin gauntlets with bandages wrapped around my forearms from severe training. Two white spaulders lay on each shoulder. Below my waist are a pair of white baggy pants with boots at the end.
I looked at my sword again. The sword was broken and I couldn't summon Andras. After that AZRAEL King Vessel tried to attack me, he broke my sword before the King of this area repelled him. His name was Kousei, and he was the one who helped me train in both Djinn usage and swordsmanship.
"Ramses..." a soft yet strong voice spoke.
I turned to the voice. A young maiden in a white yukata came to me. Her hair is tied in a bun with a few needles piercing through it.
"Our lord, Kousei wishes to meet you,"
I nod silently and follow her.
Many steps later, we reached his home. Though a King, he's humble enough to live among the public when there's no training at the moment. His medium length red hair is spiky and simple. He usually wore a white gi with a red scarf on his neck. He wears a black hakama with simple sandals on his feet. He equips an uchigatana, a slightly shorter version of a katana, which also doubles as his Metal Vessel. He also holds a naginata on his left hand, which is also a Metal Vessel. His sword uses fire, while his naginata uses lightning. He's also my mentor as well as friend throughout my stay. I remembered when I first met him, I had to fight him to stay in Hinode. Even when we had to use our Djinn Equips, he ultimately won, but he's enticed by my potential and took me in as his personal student.
"Hey Ramses," Kousei simply said.
"Yes, master?" I responded.
He stood up and gripped his uchigatana. He drew it and through that action, invited me to combat.
"This will be our last fight. No Djinns, just pure steel," he said, "If you don't fight, I have no choice but to strike you down."
"B..but I don't have my sword," I replied.
He tossed me a katana for me to fight him with. I unsheathed it slowly, reveling in its silver shine. It's my training katana, after I mastered the basics of their fighting style. This katana had no cross guard, but the generic handle of a katana was retained. An orange ribbon was placed at the end. When I fully drew it, I holstered the sheath on my belt and readied for combat. Before I begun the match, I wondered what he meant "last fight". Am I suppose to kill him or is he going to kill me? If I win, I don't wish to kill him.
In a flash, he was already above me and attempted to slash me down with a dropping slash. I quickly strode to the left and threw a diagonal swing at him, only to be parried by his blade. We started to exhange numerous swings, stabs, and bludgeons with our swords, with all of the exchanges colliding with our steel. Training with him increased my muscle memory with my swordplay as well as reaction time. His strikes started getting merciless, increasing my will to keep myself alive.
If I were to lose here, my friends would start to worry. Will I be remembered? For my foolishness, most likely. Is Kousei expecting me to win? I can't beat him, he could slice through extremely resistant armor with his technique and blade alone. He also mastered two Djinn, and he has told me I have yet to master Andras, even if I attained full Djinn Equip.
Ami, Frank, Em, Armakan, Sharrkan, I quickly opened my eyes, Leila!
I quickly threw a powerful swing that completely knocked away his blade. He still held on to it, but my swing recoiled him, forcefully spinning him away from me. I scanned closely at his stability. The direction he spun was to his left. I saw him quickly sheathing his blade as soon as he was about to stop spinning. A draw attack! I had no choice but to attack it with my sword. I didn't have time to dodge it, otherwise I'd be cut before I jump. I swung with all my might at his attack. When I saw him do that attack on the AZRAEL King Vessel, the opponent's weapon was immediately cut cleanly, and the armor, though able to resist normal strikes, was split open, managing to scar the man underneath the armor. It's all or nothing.
*Watang!*
Our steel clashed together, making a loud metallic clang. My sword remained unscathed, protected by a wind barrier. I was surprised from Andras's power returning.
"Andras?"
With a smile, Kousei sheathed his blade and bowed. In response, I bowed too.
"You have grown well from my training, Ramses," he commented, "Before, you attempted to use your Djinn to try and match my swordplay, but now that you've grown in both mind and body through good times and especially bad, you have gained the power of your Djinn back."
"Were you planning this all along, master?"
"Yes. If you were to fail, I'd have to kill you due to your weak will failing you. But your willpower was resolute."
He signaled me to follow him. We walked right up to the coast. My eyes widened as I saw my ship, back into its full glory.
"Ramses, when you accidentally found my nation, you were but a child. When you trained with me, you have grown into an adult. When I meant last fight, I really meant it. You can't stay here anymore, you have friends out there who need your help. Now that you're stronger and matured, it's time I stopped taking care of you."
"Master..."
Kousei acted like a big brother to me. Even if it was for a year, I felt like I spent longer. He trained me in mind and body, acted as an adoptive brother, father, and friend, brought me up when I was down. It's hard to say goodbye.
"I know you want to stay, but how did you manage to survive without your friends being here?" he said.
He pointed at my left chest. My heart. He's insightful too, able to read my mind as if it were a clean piece of papyrus full of notes.
"You still believed in your friends, and you fought for the sake of seeing them. Invisible bonds tied you and your friends together. No matter how far they are, they will always be with you," he put a hand on my shoulder.
"If you leave Hinode, I will still be with you through that invisible tie,"
I sniffled, but smiled from his words. He hugged me tenderly, and I returned it too.
"Thank you, master," I said with some sniffles.
"Your very welcome, I'm grateful to teach you what I can," he replied, "Go now, go back to your friends and reunite with them."
As I entered the ship, I sliced the rope keeping my boat at bay with my katana. I said goodbye to him as he waved.
When Hinode was only but a small image, I unsheathed my katana and pointed it to the sky. An adventurous grin crept up on my face, and I started to feel a bit more positive in what's going to happen next. I'm sure I'll meet up with them one day. With my positive future not feeling so bleak, Rukh started to gather around me and flew into the afternoon sky's horizon.
Secret Laboratory
Ross, Soiree, and Leo returned after the sniper and heavy weapons man found Leo's frozen body somewhere far. Appearing before them was their ringleader, Zalam herself.
"Forgive us, milady. We have failed in our defense on the Tenzan Plateau," Leo said weakly.
"That King Vessel from Imuchakk is quite extraordinary isn't she?" commented Zalam, "To use both Water and Ice Magic..."
"What will you do with us?" Soiree asked in a scared tone.
Zalam smiled warmly and pet her subjects lovingly, much to their confusion.
"Well, you have proven your capability to fight against two seasoned King Vessels. It would be a waste to execute you three," Zalam said.
She conjured a screen, showing Franklin and Amelia, training on a ship. With a smile on her face, she conjured red targeting reticles on them.
"Franklin Steinherz, an 18 year old King Vessel once had two, now only has one. Shen stole Belial from him," she snapped her fingers. Two soldiers appeared before her, holding a Medallion.
"Leo Yan, use this Medallion to steal his Djinn. Until you apprehend his Djinn, I shall tell you the truth behind your objective," Zalam said.
"I will, Master Zalam," A curt bow was his response.
"Good, now rest now, my friend. I shall summon you when the time comes,"
The three left the Portal Room and returned to their respective dorms. With a smile, Zalam casually strolled down her lab and into that same room she introduced Hakuryuu to. Inside, the raven haired man awaited her. The same Hakuryuu was but a distant memory. This Hakuryuu is hollow of his former self. He held his trademark guandao and a demonic-looking axe on his left hand.
"Your Wrath is quite exquisite; fitting for your emotions and desire for revenge. Belial was a good choice for your Sin Engine,"
"Quit the flattery, witch. When do we strike Gyokuen?!" he said impatiently as he tightened the grip on his axe.
"Hakuryuu, be patient. Save your wrath until you can control Belial through the Sin Engine," she said in a motherly voice.
Hakuryuu gritted his teeth in pain from his left hand suddenly swelling.
The Sin Engine. A nanomachine colony that allows anyone injected with it to control a Djinn, even if they were forcefully ripped out from the Metal Vessel, or if the Metal Vessel is in another person's grasp. To control the Djinn with a Sin Engine, it has to absorb Rukh from the surrounding area. The nanomachines are integrated with Magi blood, which deceive the Rukh into adoring the person with the Engine, allowing it to absorb Rukh. Of course, when there are nearby Magi, the Sin Engine will attract lesser Rukh due to being attracted to false bloods. Metal Vessels need Magoi from White Rukh to be powered, but Zalam's scientists found a way to absorb Black Rukh and convert them into White Rukh; Matal Mogamett's dream. Overall, the way to activate a Metal Vessel through the Sin Engine is through pure willpower, whether it's for malicious purposes, or even heroic. The only problem is that early symptoms of the Sin Engine is great pain due to having a Djinn forcefully adapt to you. The Djinn is enslaved, not serving; forced to grant the wearer power thanks to the power of the Sin Engine. A human being cannot handle the pure power of a Djinn quickly, which is the process of how people learn Djinn Equip. Even with the Magoi Manipulation technique to easily learn Djinn Equip, the Sin Engine is suppose to make the Djinn forcefully adapt to the person's body, but the process to allow one to achieve Djinn Equip is much faster, albeit more painful. Hakuryuu's Sin Engine is fueled by his Wrath.
"Well, what do you want me to do?" Hakuryuu said with gritting teeth.
"Just be patient, let the Sin Engine force Belial to adapt to your body. Djinns are immortal and can recover from pain quite easily."
He breathed heavily from the pain on his left hand. Even if it was a wooden hand, the Life Magic of Zagan also had to recover his nerves to make him retain his functionality. His wooden arm is in Belial's Djinn Equip: A black and red gauntlet with spikes. The rest of his arm seemed to have become human rather than prosthetic.
"Fine..." Hakuryuu said.
"Be warned, my honorable subject, you can't go back to the Kou Empire like that," Zalam said with a face of concern and grief, "I'm afraid it's safer to stay with me."
Hakuryuu nodded silently.
"I will have to accept, Lady Zalam, I can't train where my mother is."
Zalam, with a motherly smile patted his shoulder. Hakuryuu kept that cold look on his face; the same cold look he expressed when he returned to the Kou Empire with Zagan. Through those eyes, Hakuryuu has forgotten the warm feeling of companionship, love, and even modesty. The only thing he's bent on is revenge. Why did he blindly work for a Magi who has connections with the Organization he has hated for his whole life? Hakuryuu took a deep breath and went to the training room. Belial in hand, he faced against a summoned figure that charged at him. With a stern war face, he held Belial with both hands.
"Belial!"
A/N
This took a long time to think about. Also, early update, mostly because I can't wait. The usual Friday updates will happen for the next weeks to come.
Also for you Hakuryuujoshis, I made him a bit OOC. It had been a year in this story, and he's bound to change. As of this point, he has become a being similar to Renekton from League of Legends: completely consumed by the intense hatred of his mother that it destroyed all other emotions, leaving him "hollow". Even if the future chapters reveal Hakuryuu and Judar's plan together, I'm still keeping Hakuryuu this way in my story. I have a feeling that Judar is actually trying to slowly tempt Ryuu into joining Al-Thamen, but I'm also guessing that his alliance with the Black Sun might be a ruse. If this is true, and someone like Zalam offers him great power to kill Gyokuen, I'm pretty sure he'd already go for it, feeling like his fury has made him hollow; without any love, care, or emotion.
OC-Wise, there will be many, but only the big main characters like Team CNTMP, May, and Holly will have their pasts expanded on further than the others. Some of the soldiers such as Leo, Shen, and Soiree will have some past explained, or maybe not due to this story already being larger than the summary.
Since I really have nothing else to do aside from writing or reading other fics, I want to put up an AMA. I'm bored, alone, and eager to hear from some of my readers. Just PM me if you have an account, or otherwise put it in the reviews if you wish. Also, I'm thinking of putting up a poll. If I get a certain amount of requests for it, maybe I might put it up. The poll is a secret until I get enough approvals.
As always, thank you for reading my fiction. Review however you want and have a great day/evening, whatever timezone you're in.
