Chapter 25- The Emperor Opponent
Gabriel practically shook Riku awake. Riku grumbled, pushing the cat away as he turned onto his side. His bed was harder than usual and it smelled a bit like bamboo. Riku blinked the sleep from his eyes to glance around. He was not in his room, but rather a wooden room with huge windows overlooking the koi pond. A small sand garden to his right. He groaned pushing himself up. He'd fallen asleep while meditating again.
"It's not a nap room," Gabriel snickered.
"I know that," Riku replied, shooting Gabriel an annoyed look to silence his giggles (it only made Gabriel laugh harder). "It's not my fault meditation is boring."
"The guest is here and Master Rikyu wants us to join them for tea," Gabriel said. "What were you dreaming about, anyway. You had a goofy look on your face."
Riku narrowed his eyes at the cat again, but said nothing. He couldn't remember his dream, but he didn't like the idea that his facial expressions were giving people clues about whatever he was imagining, especially if he couldn't recall it. Riku was saved any further teasing as they reached the tea house, removing their slippers before entering and greeting the men in the room. Master Rikyu nodded, motioning to the cushions nearby and taking their arrival as a signal to begin the water boiling.
The guest appeared to be a young man who wore high-collared black and tan robes with gold trim, along with a large, flowing white toga draped around his torso. He had short black hair, dark eyes, and a pendant around his neck. He was silent, eyes moving first to Gabriel and then to Riku, where they seemed to bore into Riku with an intensity he could not explain. Finally, the guest's lips parted into a soft smile, revealing canines that were sharper than normal.
"This is our guest, Emperor Spriggan," Master Rikyu said returning with the boiling kettle. He delicately filled each cup before holding his hand up to indicated they all should wait for the water and tea to blend. "Emperor, this is Gabriel and Riku."
"Emperor of what," Gabriel asked disinterestedly. Riku nudged him with his elbow. If Riku had learned anything from working on jobs for wealthy people, it was that they could be sensitive about manners. Gabriel was going to come off rude and insult this guy without even meaning to.
"Emperor of Alvarez," Emperor Spriggan replied, not bothered in the least. "I heard from Master Rikyu that you have visited? Did you find our country to your liking?"
"Yes, it was very nice," Riku replied.
"Did you find what you were searching for?"
Master Rikyu motioned for them to drink and Riku hurriedly took his sip, covering his annoyed look. It wasn't Emperor Spriggan's fault that his search for Acnologia had been a failure. Every time he'd gotten close Riku would either lose the trail or reach a dead end and have to start all over again. After seven years he still ended up empty-handed. Riku's eyes widened at the tea's taste.
"This isn't the usual tea," Riku observed, putting his cup down and looking at Master Rikyu. "This tastes like..." He took another sip to be sure. "...like a cup of dark energy."
Master Rikyu neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead he nodded to Emperor Spriggan and told Riku, "Answer our guests question, Riku."
"Oh, right," Riku said. He turned back to Emperor Spriggan. "No, I didn't find what I was looking for."
"I'm not surprised," Emperor Spriggan said sipping his own tea. He made a slight grimace, but continued sipping it anyway. "Acnologia isn't one that is found unless he wishes to be. It is more reliable to find chaos and destruction, then wait for him. He always arrives soon after. Unless you planned to cause some chaos to bait him, of course."
"I don't think I'd want to do that just to lure him out," Riku replied, thinking of what Erza had told him about their encounter on Tenrou Island.
"How do you plan to overthrow the King of Dragons and become the new Black Dragon of the Apocalypse if you can't stomach destruction?"
Riku nearly choked on his tea, coughing to clear his air way as Gabriel patted his back. When he'd regained himself he looked fiercely at Emperor Spriggan. "That's not what I wanted to find him for. I don't want any of those ridiculous titles."
"No?" Emperor Spriggan raised an eyebrow, surveying Riku. "Then why would you go looking for Acnologia?"
"Originally, I wanted help with my powers since he trained me," Riku said.
"But..."
"But, then I realized that wouldn't work and that Acnologia just wants to exterminate humans and dragons alike."
"So now you plan to kill him?"
Riku took another sip, finishing his tea. He had figured that with powerful beings like Acnologia there was no other way- you either destroyed them or they destroyed you. Still, every time he thought of it, it made him a tiny bit queasy. Would he be able to kill his father? Yes, he realized. If his father was to destroy all of mankind, especially Fairy Tail, he'd do what any Fairy Tail mage would: he'd protect his guild- his family. Riku hadn't spoken, but Emperor Spriggan seemed to know what he had thought because he made an impressed sound before putting down his cup. Master Rikyu refilled his cup, then Riku's.
"I would like to see what you plan to bring against Acnologia," Emperor Spriggan said.
"You want to spar," Riku clarified. What was this guy looking for? Had he come all this way just to see Riku, a mage he didn't even know? Why?
Emperor Spriggan shook his head. "I want to fight you at your full potential with nothing held back. I want to see what the Dark Dragon Slayer has to offer the cause for this world's salvation. You've had your tea to enhance your magic and I've had some to moderate mine. Let's see how you match up."
"Enhance?" Riku shot a glance at Master Rikyu. That was why he had new tea today? This was the tea that most matched his power which was why it tasted as it did.
"As a Dark Energy eater, you can drink many teas for your power, but this one is the purest." Master Rikyu said, nodding.
Riku looked back at Emperor Spriggan again. "But how can you fight with only part of your powers?"
Emperor Spriggan beamed now. "It will be more than enough I think."
...
After lunch they made their way through a tunnel that Riku had never used. It led to a small alcove between two mountain peaks. Not a village in sight. The air was oddly quiet and Riku felt a tension in the air that made him feel almost jittery. He glanced at Master Rikyu who looked sternly back.
"Before I leave-" Master Rikyu began, but Riku cut him off in surprise.
"You're leaving?"
"It would be too dangerous for Gabriel or myself to stay in such an enclosed space when you use your full power," Master Rikyu answered. "Before I leave, you need to know that Emperor Spriggan is a powerful wizard of many magics. When he says he wishes to see you at your full strength, he means it. He will be fighting accordingly."
"What if I lose control and kill him," Riku hissed. Master Rikyu put his arm around Riku's shoulder comfortingly. It was a gesture he's never seen Master Rikyu give anyone and so he was surprised and a bit flattered. Flattered until he felt a weight leaving his back as Master Rikyu confiscated Riku's sword. Riku moved to grab it back, but Master Rikyu leaped out of the way with an agility Riku had not expected. Instead of recovering his sword, Riku found himself on the floor.
"This magic is not about control," Master Rikyu reminded him. "It's about accepting that this power is part of you and finding balance. If you do not accept this, it is you who will be killed, not the emperor."
Then, Master Rikyu was gone leaving Riku alone with Emperor Spriggan. Riku glanced across the small area as he pushed himself up, spotting Emperor Spriggan across the way. He was observing a tree dutifully, as if he knew Master Rikyu was going to do and say all of that and did not want to be seen as eavesdropping. He didn't look so tough, just some young man barely above Riku's own age, maybe younger. This man is potentially going to kill me, he mused.
As if in response to Riku's unasked question, Emperor Spriggan turned to face him with a small smile on his face, though it didn't seem to reach his intense eyes.
"Let's begin," he said and without any further warning he brought his hands together before opening them at Riku. Flames rushed towards Riku, who leaped out of the way, feeling the heat barely miss him.
Those flames are almost as hot as Natsu's, he thought. But he didn't have time to think further as more flames leaped his way, this time molded into balls of fire. Riku dodged twice, but the third and forth hit him and tossed him back onto the ground with a force so great that he felt his body bounce from the ground before slamming down again. Riku felt the wind pushed out of his chest, but before he could react further he felt Emperor Spriggan's fist make contact with his chest with a force that made Riku wonder if perhaps his heart would burst from the pressure. He reached up and grabbed Emperor Spriggan's wrist with both hands, then launched him away towards the mountain wall behind them. He didn't hear contact, which meant Emperor Spriggan had regained his balance and landed on his own two feet.
"Come on, how do you expect to defeat Acnologia if you can't even put a scratch on me," Emperor Spriggan called rushing towards Riku again. As he moved closer to Riku, who was pushing himself up, he began shooting ballistics of magical energy out of his finger. They hit Riku over and over, gaining power as the emperor grew closer. But Riku had another concern. Underneath the pain of impact from each ballistic, he could sense a familiar bubbling of rage, starting in his stomach and moving towards his chest. This same rage from the Tower of Heaven and from the night he'd almost become a dragon. He felt his face slammed into the ground again. This time the force was enough to create a crater beneath Riku's head where Emperor Spriggan's hand pushed.
I have to stay in control, Riku thought as he pushed the rage away as he pushed himself up. He narrowed his eyes at Emperor Spriggan, who looked almost bored. Riku let out a string of strong language as dark dragon scales covered his body. Then he lunged towards the emperor hitting him with a dark dragon roar, then a dark dragon claw, and finally a darkness blast, all in such quick succession that Emperor Spriggan had no chance to dodge. They hit him straight on.
Riku dropped to one knee feeling as if the three blasts had taken more out of him than he intended. His eyes darted towards the smoking spot the emperor had been.
Did I over do it? Is he okay?
"Don't waste your time worrying about me," Emperor Spriggan called, shooting towards him. Riku felt rapid punches landing across his body. He could feel every punch, every impact, every bone's crunch. He felt blood rushing to his face and torso. He was definitely bleeding somewhere, maybe everywhere. But, beneath this, the bubbling was growing, moving into a ball tightly against his heart. His ears were pounding with fury, it felt like his chest might combust from the rage within it, but still something seemed to hold the rage at bay. I have to keep control, he urged himself. I have to...
Something occurred to him. This opponent was strong enough to take all of his hits. He'd just seen him take three hits head on without a scratch. This opponent was likely the only person who could withstand Riku at his worst, no matter how out of control he became. And if he didn't provide some competition to Emperor Spriggan then Riku was going to die. Beaten to death right here in this tiny gap between two mountains in a kingdom that hated mages, far from his home in Magnolia. He couldn't die like this- he wouldn't die like this! Not when he had to go back to Magnolia, to see Fairy Tail, to see Erza, to defeat Acnologia. Emperor Spriggan's hits felt more distant, as if they were only taps against a distant window of Riku's consciousness. All Riku could really feel or hear was the rushing of his own power around him as the ball of rage seemed to explode within him, amplified a hundred times now that the restrain was gone. A blast of dark energy shot from him, knocking Emperor Spriggan some distant away.
Emperor Spriggan's face was half surprised as he flew in the air, but he regained his focus and landed on his feet. There was a new dark energy around Riku that Emperor Spriggan could feel even from across the gap. The energy was radiating beneath Riku, encasing him and shooting outward like tentacles of dark flames. The air was filled with magical static. The force of the energy was difficult to see through, but Emperor Spriggan could see the outline of Riku changing, his magic reaching dragon force and then... moving into something Emperor Spriggan had never really seen before. Was he turning into a dragon, as most Dragon Slayers would?
No, realized Emperor Spriggan. No this power was distinct to Dark Energy users and it reeks of Acnologia.
"Good, you've finally started taking this seriously," Emperor Spriggan said, his irises becoming red with a black ring around the pupil, "Now we can truly begin."
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