"I'm so tired."
"We'll get you to Asia. She's not far." Kiria explained as she took my right arm and wrapped it over her neck, supporting me as we fled the scene. Grandoma was strapped to her back as she held Ascalon in her hands.
"What about the others?"
"Akeno-san and Gasper-chan are unconscious, but they'll pull through."
Luckily, there were no remaining soldiers to deal with and I thanked my lucky star we didn't run into those two or anyone else. More than that, a huge weight deep in my chest was lightened hearing that they were alright.
In less than five minutes, we found ourselves in another room that was unlocked. I wasn't sure if it was just like that, or if Kiria had something to do with it.
When we walked in, I took in the scene and saw Asia kneeling between Akeno and Gasper, who were both asleep on their backs.
"Naruto," When she saw me, the first thing she did was hug me, tight. On any other given day, I would've smiled at such a blessing. However, my smile was replaced with wide eyes and gritted teeth. Who knew so much pain could erupt from a simple hug. It was then, I noticed her grip was getting tighter and tighter. "Don't ever scare me like that again you dummy!"
I now realized she was mad and took advantage of my injuries to teach me a lesson. "I get it! I get it! Jeez!"
She loosened her grip and positioned me so I was sitting down. "Hold you arms up."
I did as told and felt her taking my shirt off. I looked around and saw that we were in some kind of infirmary, without the beds, only medical equipment was nearby. There was a mirror on the closet door on my left. Curious, I looked and took in my current state.
If there was a single word to sum it all up, it would be pitiful. There was blood on the right side of my face, absorbed by my hair giving it a disturbing red tint. My torso was covered in bruises and small cuts, and there was a small pool of blood coming down my legs where it had been stabbed.
I didn't have time to think about myself. I was still alive. That was all that mattered. Right now, all I could think about was how the others were faring.
"Akeno-san's injuries were pretty bad. A few lacerations and severe bruising." Asia explained. "Gasper-kun on the other hand…" I looked and noticed there were tears in her eyes as she was choking up, as if the words were a hard pill to swallow.
"At one point, his heart had stopped. It took me five minutes to resuscitate him. He took the worst of it."
As much as it pained me to admit it, it wasn't surprising. I knew that close quarter combat wasn't Gasper's forte. Style's wasn't simply just insane, he was strong. Thinking of how much Gasper had to put through infuriated me and made me regret he didn't die more painfully.
I noticed Asia's eyes held concern when she looked at me. I probably had an unpleasant expression on my face. "Naruto, please calm down. You need rest." Asia had said.
"I can still fi-" It was in an instant that everything around me had faded to black.
xxx
Hit with a blast of light from Kiria's palm, Naruto fell back with his eyes closed. "Dummy." She whispered.
"Thank you, Kiria-san." She placed Naruto's head on her lap and proceeded to heal every last one of his injuries.
"He should be out for a good hour. He can eat darkness to replenish his energy once he's healed."
"You should rest too." Asia advised.
Kiria grinned and winked. "I'm fine. I have lots of magic in reserve. I'm the only one of us in any shape to fight at the moment. Besides," She looked at all four of them and smiled. "Your lives are my top priority."
"You really take your job as a bodyguard seriously. You almost sound like Naruto."
"Do not compare me to that moron." Kiria's face turned a beet red and turned away. The truth of the matter was she was right and she was too ashamed to admit it. She hated when he pushed himself to the point he was a step away from death and the worst of it was he didn't care whether he died. It infuriated her, but at the same time, it was one of the main reasons she loved him more than anything.
He was just like her. Michael and Gabriel were people she highly revered and respected, so she would gladly fight for them. She had a decent relationship with the Occult Research Club, and was glad to be their ally. However, those paled in comparison to the three most important people in her life.
"I wonder if Xenovia-san and everyone else is alright."
Kiria scratched her head sighing. "Trust me, that girl will not die so easily."
Even if it was four on one, neither of the Knights nor the Rook were able to leave one lasting injury on their colossal opponent.
Tsubasa was lying face down as Tomoe was lying on her back. Both were exhausted and unable to continue.
Xenovia used Durandal as a crutch as she was unable to stand and was reduced to her knees. Kiba was the only one able to stand, but he wanted to lie down. His face was bruised, but it wasn't as bad as the blue and purple spots under his shirt on account of the severe punches delivered by Saizo. The Sword of Betrayer in his hands, he panted and tried to keep himself standing, that in itself was a Herculean feat as it felt like the bones in his right leg was broken.
The only one standing with no visible injuries was Saizo, who returned to normal size at seven feet.
With a surge of adrenaline giving him the energy to move, Kiba lunged at Saizo with his blade. However, Saizo stopped the sword with his bare hands, the blade couldn't even slice through his palm. "No way!" A horrible cracking noise erupted from Kiba's insides as Saizo's fist found itself deep in his gut. Blood hacked out of his mouth as he was sent flying and crashing into the rocks.
"Kiba!" Xenovia watched as Saizo ran towards Kiba in an attempt to finish him off. Kiba was unmoving and barely breathing. One more hit, and there was a high likely chance that he would be killed.
Xenovia grit her teeth as she stood up and utilized her knight speed and swung Durandal aimed at Saizo's sides, with the the intention of cleaving him from the waist up. Saizo noticed and raised his arm up, blocking her hit. Xenovia tensed the honed muscles in her body and brought enough force to send Saizo in the air with that swing.
Xenovia held her blade to the side, ready to unleash a blast of holy power towards the airborne monster. At least that was what she had hoped. That attempt at getting rid of him cost her the tendons in her arms, and a horrible pain shot through her wrists and hands, causing her to drop her weapon. "Dammit!" She looked towards Saizo who was falling back towards the earth.
Without a weapon, her chances of victory critically fallen. Despite being proficient in close quarter combat, she knew she didn't stand a chance against strength that was possibly stronger than Koneko's. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"
It was one of those rare moments, that she was truly afraid of death, after finding good friends. For a split second, the image of Naruto and Asia flashed through her mind. "...someone help me."
A cracking sound pierced the sky, and a flying projectile shot through the crack and crashed into Saizo's blind side before he had any chance to react. Like a speeding bullet, both the goliath and projectile pierced the ground skidded several yards out.
"What the…"
Another being flew through the crack, Devil wings deployed, and a spear in her right hand.
Tomoe and Tsubasa, both awaken by the sound of the crack appearing in the sky, looked up and smiled in relief. "Vice President."
Tsubaki Shinra flew towards them and landed rather roughly. "I'm glad to see you two are alright."
"I'm sorry, he was stronger than we…" Tsubasa stopped mid-sentence taking a better look at Tsubaki's current state. Her clothes were shredded, all leaving a black tank top. Various gashes appeared on her body. The only thing that was missing, was her left arm. Her uniform shirt was made into a makeshift bandage that was barely containing all of the blood. Every few seconds, red drops would drip down at a time. "Your arm!"
Tsubaki sighed. "It was necessary to deal the final blow."
Kai's tactics of fighting was from a distance. His winds were strong enough to curb and counter her long range attacks. The only other option she was given was a kamikaze attack that would've taken them both with them. After he was defeated, the room they were in literally began to shatter. It must've been dimensional magic that wears off if the user is incapacitated or killed. Using every ounce of her strength caused Kai to fly through the wall and crash into an unsuspecting Saizo. The impact had rendered both commanders completely unconscious.
"You both have no need to apologize. I'm not in better shape myself."
Xenovia lifted Kiba with her shoulder, the young man was completely passed out and giving off little breaths. "If we can find Asia, she'll be able to heal you if you can find your arm."
"Right," Tsubaki was able to support both the knight and rook, with Tomoe riding on her back while Tsubasa used her arm as a crutch.
The mountainous area they were in reverted to gray square panel room that was as big as a soccer stadium. Just like Tsubaki had said, there was powerful Illusion or Dimensional magic at work. Saizo and Kai were sprawled on the floor several yards from them. Blood found its way out of Saizo's mouth as Kai suffered a deep gash that continued to pool blood.
"What do we do about them? It will be an issue if they wake up."
"Don't worry, I got them."
All of them turned and saw Kiria flying down towards them with Asia cradled in her arms. "Kiria-senpai, Asia." Xenovia said.
"I told you she would be fine, Asia-chan."
"I didn't doubt that for a moment. Thank goodness." Asia's smile vanished the moment she saw the rest of them. "Hold on, I'll make sure to take care of those."
As Kiria set her down and she began healing, she walked over to the two commanders and held out her right hand. A black sphere materialized in her hands and proceeded to suck the two of them in like a black hole. "That's three down."
From what they had gathered, three of the commanders were captured, two were incapacitated, and one was deceased, leaving two currently unknown.
Next to them, the only one left to deal with in this twisted game was the King.
At that moment, a rumble shook the vessel and almost everyone fell to the floor by the sudden quake.
Saji made his way down the corridor of the base when the vessel of the ship began to shake violently, sending him stumbling to the wall for support. "What the hell is going on?" He had followed the trail of incredible magic power and found himself at the lair of who he considered as the final boss.
A throne room that was as spacious as a master bedroom. Sitting on the throne was the king looking at Saji with a blank face. "I see you survived, Mr. Dragon King."
"Cut the crap you freak, what the hell was that rumbling a second ago?"
"Oh that? That would be this ship descending on a one way ticket to Tokyo. You're in school right, are you familiar the Kamikaze planes used in World War ll?"
Every ounce of blood drained from Saji's face realizing what he was planning. "You're going to total Tokyo?"
Draco simply sighed at his understatement. "Tokyo is just one. The mass of this ship alone, has enough destructive magic power to total all of Japan."
"I thought you were only after a Dragon, why are you doing this?" Saji tried to get him to see some form of reason.
"...Those seven, are absolutely everything to me. Nothing else matters."
"Seven?" Saji guessed he was talking about the commanders, the Draco Riders.
"All seven of them; abandoned, betrayed, lonely, scared, and helpless. Until I came along, no one would give them the time of day except only to kick them down when they were already weak. I wanted to give them the happiness that they deserved, like a father should. Japan is just one. I hate this whole world, for subjecting my children to a hell no child should ever go through."
Saji gritted his teeth feeling a sudden rush of bloodlust and hatred that practically spilled out of Draco's words like a waterfall.
"Once the Great Red was killed, I would use it's power to grant my kids powers similar to those of a God. They'd be free to live this life without fear. To have power to make the ones who wronged them cower and beg for their pitiful, meaningless existences."
Saji couldn't talk through to him and shook his head in disbelief. "You're insane."
"I wouldn't doubt that."
From his robe, he pulled off a touch screen terminal smaller than a smartphone. A timer on the terminal read 29 minutes.. "This is what's controlling the ship's altitude. In less than thirty minutes, Japan will look just like the world before God, except for all the bodies." He tossed it and it landed perfectly in the middle between them. "Genshirou Saji-kun, I wish to play a game. It's simple, the first to reach the remote when three is called is the winner. You win, and the ship doesn't crash. I win...you die. Absolutely no cheating. How does that sound?"
"You're trying to make this some stupid game?! Like hell I can trust you!"
[Saji, right now we don't have many options. Besides, I don't know why...but I think this guy is bad news]
'That power earlier was inhuman. Not to mention, as the boss, he could be a real problem.'
Saji clicked his tongue and faced him. "Fine, I'll play your stupid game."
"Wonderful...now then, at the count of three, we'll both run. You may even use promotion if you like." Without even standing, Draco began. "One…"
"He's not standing. No matter, I got this."
"Tw-"
"Promotion: Knight!"
As a pawn, he could only promote himself if he met either criteria, permission from his King, or if he found himself deep in the King's territory. His speed enhanced and he took one great lunge. The terminal that was fifteen feet away from him appeared in his line of sight in an instant.
Saji grabbed it, pressed the off switch, and stopped Japan from becoming Hiroshima...at least that was the plan.
A horrible force, that being Draco's knee found it's way deep in Saji's gut. On account of the blood coming out his mouth and a cracking feeling in his chest, he could guess that a few of his ribs were broken.
"You should know...I really hate cheaters."
With a mighty push, Draco sent Saji flying against the metal wall at a rapid speed. His back cushioned the impact and more blood seed from his throat. Saji fell in a heap.
The one downside to Knight Promotion was in exchange for speed, Saji's defense drastically lowered.
"That speed, what the hell was that?"
Saji looked up as Draco threw off his robes, revealing a toned physique that rivaled Naruto. What set him off however were the blood red scales on his back and neck. His tree trunk like arm were similar in appearance to a lizard.
Draco looked at Saji with a grin, revealing several shark like fangs. At that moment, a devastatingly strong aura poured out of his body, twenty times as powerful as moments ago.
Earlier, Vritra couldn't sense it as it was quite weak by his standards. This however was a different story.
[Impossible! This aura...it's just like the Great Red!]
"Great Red?" Saji had heard that name somewhere before but couldn't put his finger on it.
[Listen, you need to run! He's not an opponent you can take on!]
Before Saji could react in anyway, he was suddenly lifted by his neck. "Now then," Draco said going back to his earlier tone of calmness but with a hint of hatred in it. "I needed you alive to exact my plans. However, seeing as you murdered my little brother, I'll just rip all four of your Sacred Gears out with my hands, and you can scream all four times in full."