Kai only managed to just catch himself as another dragon stormed out of the Eclipse Gate and more guards were flung about. Lucy, against all odds, pushed herself toward the gate, holding her ring of Zodiac Keys tight in her hand.
The winds settled in between dragons, and Yukino sprinted toward her.
"Cover them so they can close the gate!" Princess Hisui shouted from somewhere. Kai couldn't see anyone. He got to his feet, his sword already out and aglow with magic.
Yukino sprinted toward Lucy, who continued her push toward the gate.
"Girls, stop!" Ichigo's voice boomed from above. A great torrent of water soared toward the two but was stopped by a demonic woman nearby.
Mirajane.
"Stay away from them!" Mirajane exclaimed.
"Get out of the way, girl, before I show you what a real demon looks like!"
Ichigo appeared on a pillar of water and shot down toward Mirajane, who powered up even further and slammed into Ichigo, only just managing to glance him away.
Kai winced but couldn't move his feet. He was frozen to the ground, his entire body seized in some sort of paralysis.
Why couldn't he move?
Why could he only watch as Lucy and Yukino scrambled to summon enough magic power to close the Gate? Why could he only bear witness to Mirajane doing her best to hold off Ichigo as he tried to summon more dragons?
And, why was Ichigo summoning dragons? Was this is his plans? To summon the dragons necessary to destroy Acnologia?
It clicked in Kai just then: Ichigo didn't want to save humanity from Acnologia…he wanted to bask in the glory of defeating him, and letting the new world rise with him in charge. With him atop it.
He'd tricked Kai. He'd wanted Kai to stand with him as another Dragon Slayer, as just another sign that he could control the dragons.
Gone was the man who happily met with Kai and took walks with him beneath the moonlight. Gone was the man who fought alongside Fairy Tail.
That'd all been an act, a way to get everyone on his side so they could not stand in the way of what he wanted. Of course nobody would distrust him if Kai trusted him. Why would anyone disbelieve Kai's father?
Kai tightened his grip around his sword. Lucy and Yukino clasped hands but Mirajane was blasted out of the way by Ichigo, creating a clearing.
"Enough of this!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"Ice Dragon Blade!"
The slice ripped through the air and struck Ichigo in the side, blasting him away as Lucy and Yukino completed their spell. Ichigo snarled as he rolled away and twelve Zodiac Spirits shot out from the magic circle surrounding Lucy and Yukino, slamming into the Eclipse Gate and managing to just close it in front of another dragon, leaving seven to fly above the skies of Crocus.
The girls started to fall back as Ichigo got up and dashed at them.
Kai, though, moved faster, and kicked his father aside before he could dare lay a hand on Lucy, sending him crashing into another building. Kai slid to a halt, pointing his sword at Ichigo.
"What the hell have you done?'
Ichigo wiped some blood from his mouth. "You don't want to do this."
"We're past this, father. We're past anything reasonable anymore. Why have you summoned dragons tonight?"
"We were going to kill Acnologia, Kai. You simply don't understand. The Eclipse Plan was only ever a means to an end for this moment! Rogue has come back and with his magic, he can control the dragons, and with my strength?"
"What strength?" Kai asked. "You're weak to have been seduced by Rogue."
"I wasn't seduced. I've wanted to kill Acnologia ever since you…for a long time, Kai. And finally we stand on the precipice of this goal, and upon a world where dragons may return."
An explosion sounded from the city, followed by an uproar of screams. Dust from the explosion billowed around them but was blown away in the high breeze.
"What are you willing to lose to do this?" Kai asked.
"I, personally, won't lose anything," Ichigo said. "If some mages have to die because they can't see our vision, that's fine. They wouldn't be strong enough to live in this new world, anyway."
"What are you talking about? How can you say any of this?"
"How can you not, Kai? You were gone for seven years, and I saw it plain in your eyes from the moment you all returned that you wanted vengeance! The world forgot about you, they cast Fairy Tail aside. They embarrassed and tarnished your legacy, and all the while, the one who obliterated your chances in this world with a normal life roamed free! I've given you and Fairy Tail a means to take back your power, to join us atop the world. To crush your enemies!"
"No! You—we were angry, we really were, but that doesn't mean we're going to kill anyone. Killing others proves we're too weak to give them a chance to get stronger and challenge us again, for us to prove ourselves again! This? What you're doing with the dragons? Where does it end? Because it won't be with Acnologia."
Ichigo's face drew blank for a moment before he sighed, letting his head hang for a long moment while more explosions and draconic roars echoed throughout the city. Then, Ichigo raised his head.
"For you, Kai, it doesn't really matter where it ends. For you won't make it past the start. I'm sorry son, I truly am, but you're not the Dragon Slayer I hoped you'd be. When we spoke on Tenrou, and throughout these Games, I thought I understood you. As I watched you fight, I thought I saw the warrior. Instead, I saw only the shield hiding the same scared boy I gave to Kairi. What a waste of her time you've turned out to be."
The words struck Kai with the speed and impact of a lightning bolt. He almost dropped his sword. Ichigo stepped toward Kai.
His chest hollowed out. Words failed him. The world muted around him and he grew numb to his senses. He could only stare as Ichigo Nakamura, his father, strode toward him, then raised his hand, and a spike of water appeared in hand.
"Goodbye son," Ichigo said, raising the weapon.
Kai glanced at the ground. What a waste of time you've turned out to be.
Could Kai even disagree? What'd he done? Failed to kill Acnologia. Lost seven years of his life that could've been used getting stronger, destroying Acnologia's legacy, maybe stopping more of Zeref's demonic weapons.
Seven years he lost that he'd never get back with Erza. Seven years ago, maybe, he could've started a family and become a father of his own.
Seven years of letting his guid mates fall and get shoved down. Seven years of letting his father fester with his revenge.
Seven years where he couldn't live. Could he ever really catch up with them? Maybe he was just a waste; after all, he'd lost so much already. What else was there?
"Kai!"
The voice cut through cleanly, though he wasn't sure where it came from. At first he thought it was Erza, then Lucy, then Iggy, then even Gray and Natsu.
Then, Kairi.
He heard something slicing through the wind toward him, and flared his aura around him in response.
The sheer force of it blasted Ichigo back, who held not a spike of water but weapon made of ice.
"I'm no waste of time," Kai said through grit teeth, glowering up at his father. "I'm a Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail."
"You're weak."
"You haven't seen anything yet. Like you said, I held back against Bacchus, father."
Ichigo flicked his wrist and the spike dissipated. "Fine. Show me your power. If you can stop me, you can prevent all of this, Kai."
Kai lowered into his trained stance, sword raised, aimed at his father. "I won't apologize for what I have to do."
"That's the first noble thing you've said all night."
A mad laugh rippled across the city as the dragons took higher to the sky. In his peripheral, Kai saw a man standing atop a dragon amidst a small horde of them. That was probably Future Rogue.
He dabbled on about some Dragons Supremacy Magic being able to control the dragons. Kai took good note of that. When he was done here, he'd have to handle Future Rogue, too, if Natsu didn't get to him first.
Seven dragons floated in the skies. One for each Dragon Slayer, how fitting. If only Cobra were on the scene, then Kai could focus solely on his father.
He didn't change his expression despite the ache in his heart of having to fight his father. His immortal father.
No.
Don't think about that.
He's another foe. Another enemy, one that is threatening every single person in Fairy Tail, every powerful wizard in Fiore. He'd sooner see the world burn than allow them to live, out of of some misguided sense of righteousness.
Tonight, it didn't matter that Ichigo was immortal.
What mattered was that, at last, he was put down.
Ichigo swiveled his foot and a massive cycle of water bore down on Kai. Kai glowered at it, feeling the strangeness of the magic and yet, all the same: it was water.
He leapt back, falling off the top of the castle, and the cyclone still bore down at him. Kai kicked out and off the building, the water following him outward. He sliced at the water with his sword, freezing the entire stream of water in place.
Kai did two backflips before sliding atop a building and watching as Ichigo jumped off the castle as well and brought with him huge swathes of water from within the building. Kai readied his sword.
"Heavenly Cyclone!"
Ichigo swung his arms and the water formed into four cycles snaking around Kai. Kai sucked in a breath and summoned his magic.
"Ice Dragon Glacier!"
He pushed his arms down and the glacier appeared beneath him just before the cyclones could hit. It also propelled him into the air, where Ichigo flew toward him on a stream of water. Kai turned his sword and sliced out, the long strip of ice catching the water and momentarily freezing it.
Ichigo jumped away from the plummeting water and landed on the building adjacent to Kai.
"You're fast," Kai said.
"I've had centuries to master my magic," Ichigo said. "You don't even know half of what I can do, Kai."
"It won't matter." Kai raised his sword.
Ichigo scoffed. "I beg to differ."
He raised his hands and clenched his fists. The ground trembled around Kai, but behind him, something shattered. He had just enough time to dodge as a huge torrent of water almost took him out, but he was too slow to avoid the twisters that grew up from the ground and slammed him further into the sky.
How? All of that water had been frozen!
Kai managed to catch himself but Ichigo was already there. So fast! Kai braced himself and Ichigo kicked Kai away with a magic-infused kick before he landed.
"Water God Bellow!"
A stream of magic blasted Kai even further and he went through a building, a rather lavish apartment.
Thankfully, Hisui had the city evacuated hours ago, so no one was in there to get hurt. Kai slid to a halt before getting to one knee as the roof was blown off the building by Ichigo, who walked upon a bridge of water toward Kai.
Like a god.
"Water God's Furious Wave!"
The roar of the ocean called from behind Ichigo and black water manifested behind him before it chased Kai, who sprinted away and once more had to leap off the building.
"Ice Dragon Gallant Wing!"
He dropped his sword and his arms turned to wings. With a desperate flap he managed to resurface above Ichigo. Kai released the spell and held his hands over his head.
"Ice Dragon Storm!"
"Hell's Hurricane!"
The winds picked up around father and son and due to the drastic change in climate and weather, dark lightning crackled as the two spells collided and burst. Bits of rain, hail, and snow dropped all over the battlefield. Kai, still in the air, engaged his wings and sliced right through the chaos toward Ichigo, who, with a flick of his wrists, turned Kai's icy arms to water.
Ichigo punched Kai hard in the shoulder to knock him down. Kai landed hard and was kicked away again. Kai rolled on the ground before getting pursued by a giant wave.
"Ice Dragon Roar!"
He just managed to stop the wave by turning it to ice before Ichigo broke it apart by making it water once more.
Damn, they were at a complete stale—
Someone kicked Kai from behind, sending him flying. Kai almost spun around but he heard a familiar bubbling in front of him and ducked beneath the kick of a watery version of his father.
"Creation Magic: Deities of Water."
Ichigo stood alone atop another apartment in the distance, holding out two hands as if he were controlling a pair of marionettes.
Four hundred years really had been kind to him, hadn't it? Kai grimaced and held out his sword, summoning it with more force.
One of the water puppets lurched at Kai at an odd angle just before the sword reached him, then he vanished, the sword along with it.
Kai spun to dodge the attack of another water puppet before turning it to ice and blasting it to ruin with a swift kick. He prepared a spell but was too slow to avoid the sword ramming through his left shoulder, having been thrown across the way by his father.
Ichigo jumped down and punched the ground, summoning all the water already used to float like a bubble over Kai's head.
"Heavenly Orb: Destruction."
The orb burst apart into several streams that each sliced down at Kai. Kai ripped the sword free of his arm and dodged only two of the twelve, taking a massive beating from the others that pummeled him into the building below.
Dust settled and water dripped all around Kai. Several feet above, Ichigo stood, his arms crossed, and he glowered down at Kai.
The Ice Dragon Slayer could hardly move for a moment, his body unsure of what to do. Blood rushed from his shoulder and he could barely feel his fingers. His sword had clattered away somewhere; he could sense it, but at the moment, hardly had the strength to reach it.
"You were never going to defeat me, Kai," Ichigo said. "Anything you can do I can get rid of. No spell of yours could harm me, and I'm too smart for you. Even now, I have five spells prepared that could kill you. Stay here and let everything end."
"Nothing's going to end tonight."
"If you stay here, I'll spare her, too. I'll make sure she lives. After all, it'd be a shame to let a woman like that go to raise my future grandson."
Once more, Kai was struck by a lightning bolt, and his body locked up. All the water froze around him.
"Don't…talk about her like that."
Ichigo shrugged. "Not much you can do about it. Look at you. Broken after just a few moves. I knew God Slayer magic was always superior to Dragon Slayer magic, but...Well, after seeing you hold back against Bacchus, I figured you could put up a bit more of a fight. Get a bit more creative. It's why I never really believed in you, Kai. You Dragon Slayers were never going to be enough. So I had to step in, and with the help of some real dragons, we can make a difference."
Kai clenched a fist and shut his eyes.
"And since you've failed me, you'll get me a worthy heir with her powerful genes."
He opened his eyes, magic flaring around him, but Ichigo turned all the ice around Kai to water instantly.
Kai raised his arm, though he could barely feel it.
"Searing Ice Scales."
Dozens of tiny ice scales shot at Ichigo, who didn't even need to wave them off to have them turned to water. They rained up on him.
"What are you—"
Kai's sword glanced off his shoulder, Ichigo barely dodging it as Kai had magically flung it at his father. Ichigo sneered and was blasted back by a more powerful version of the same spell. Kai cut the magic off and rolled onto his side, getting back to his feet.
"You'll never mention Erza ever again," Kai said, his voice a low growl. "You'll never speak of her, or anyone in my family, ever again."
"I am your family!"
Kai sighed and his aura momentarily calmed before it exploded around him. He glowered up at Ichigo, who held Kai's sword in hand. Ichigo gripped the blade and handle and tried to bring it down over his knee to break it, but it resisted.
"I am stronger than steel."
"Maybe. But not our bonds! Frozen Sword Formation: Frozen First Seal!"
The sword flashed and a beam struck Ichigo straight in the chest, not piercing him but sending him back. Kai held his hand out and summoned the sword back to him.
"You're not powerful than a Dragon Slayer, and tonight, I'm going to prove it!" Kai exclaimed. He jumped out of the tiny hole he was in and Ichigo took to the skies once more as well.
"Tonight, we're going to change the future!" Kai roared. "You knocked me down once, I promise you, it won't happen again!"
Beneath, on the streets of Crocus, dozens of tiny draconic enemies had appeared and engaged the normal wizards, all the while, the dragons were clearly engaged with the Dragon Slayers. Kai just hoped they could hold off for now until he could come help.
Ichigo blasted at Kai, who swiveled around his father and kicked him away, but did not dodge the torrent coming down on him. Kai rode it momentarily before he turned it to ice and it shattered on impact with a building. Ichigo dropped into an alley way with Kai, the fool.
"Ice Dragon Glacier!"
The glacier took up the entire alleyway. Kai slid down it onto the streets below and Ichigo managed to turn it completely to water, crashing down and sending huge waves everywhere. Kai slammed his sword into the ground and stopped it, casting a huge sheet of ice over the tiny draconic monsters running around.
Ichigo burst out of the ice and swung a fist down at Kai, and a giant watery one appeared instead. Kai, rather than absorb it and turn it to ice, dodged it, reappearing near his father. He winced as he tried to use his arm and Ichigo took advantage of the momentary pain to grab Kai's face.
"Absorb!"
A rush of water and fluids fled from Kai's body. He was absorbing the water in Kai's body? Kai reacted fast, and on instinct, slamming his head into Ichigo's, giving him just a second to break out of the hold his father had. He crashed down into a battle, taking down a draconic monster on accident. Ichigo refused to let up.
"Come on," Kai muttered, already exhausted.
Ichigo brought both hands down and huge pillars of water burst from the ground beneath. Kai dashed around them all before he managed to dive through one, and with the water coating his body, turned it to a fist and punched Ichigo hard in the face with it.
"You may be able to turn ice to water!" Kai exclaimed, pursuing. "But if I punch you in the face it's gonna damn well hurt!"
A figure dropped down on Kai from above: a water puppet. Kai stopped and leapt back as the water puppet shot a torrent of water at Kai. He turned to ice and quickly shattered it.
Ichigo appeared both next to Kai and then behind him. Kai's instinctual training kicked in, and he could sense of the mass of the one behind him was far greater: that was the real Ichigo.
He ducked, forcing him to take the blow of the water puppet that he still turned to ice. Ichigo brought his leg down and Kai used that magic he'd just converted and shoved it at Ichigo, blasting him back.
Kai summoned his sword to him and stabbed it into the ground, charging it with magic before Ichigo and the chance to recover in the air.
"Heavenly Cyclone!"
The pillars of water reappeared and aimed back down at Kai, who sighed and clasped his hands together. He just needed some time to charge the sword!
"Ice Dragon Shield!"
The ice magic coated Kai and he pushed his aura out further; the more water that touched him, the greater a bubble that formed around Kai. Ichigo cut it off once he realized what was going on and Kai let him turn the entire thing to water.
That was fine: he couldn't dodge whatever was going to happen next.
The water flew away and formed into another massive orb over Ichigo's head. Kai remained standing where he was, sighing.
"Heavenly Orb: Monsoon!"
Winds swept up as some water from the orb vanished and then it all broke apart in a manic mess still concentrated around Kai. Kai sneered.
"Nice job," Kai said, as there was a clear path still to his father.
He snatched up the sword and dashed at Ichigo, who redirected the attack back toward Kai in pursuit.
"I won't be fooled by this!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"No?"
Kai swung the sword at Ichigo who broke the storm apart; but Kai's attack unleashed no ice. It was just a false swipe.
Ichigo flinched and the sword then glowed.
"Ice Dragon Blade!"
The slash blasted Ichigo back several blocks away. Kai touched down once and pursued. That wouldn't be nearly enough to—
A draconic creature shot up and knocked Kai off course, sending him spiraling away, only to be caught by another watery net.
Kai freaked out upon landing, but was supported by none other than Juvia.
"Kai!" She helped him to her feet. "Are you alright?"
The roar of rushing water once more consumed his hearing and he glanced up at the god-like man raising tons of water into the air.
"Not quite," he grumbled. "You guys should clear out of here."
"In a bit of a bind with that."
Gray slid back, clearly still wounded from the fighting earlier. "These stupid monsters are everywhere!"
Kai sensed Lyon nearby, too, and even Ultra. The draconic monsters were indeed quite overwhelming; without support soon, someone would get killed. Kai barely ducked away from one of their laser blasts.
"Alright," Kai said. "But my dad—"
"Yeah, evil now, got it, how do we beat him?"
Kai grimaced. "Got any big spells on hand? I could use some water and ice at the moment against him."
Juvia smiled at Gray. "I think we can supply something."
Kai nodded to them. "Good. We have to fight separately and together, got it?"
"Got it."
Kai glowered at the waiting God Slayer above and sighed, handing his sword to Gray, who could use its icy powers.
"I'll be fine," Kai said, then jumped back into the air as Ichigo launched the water at him. Kai curled up into a ball, then, as his aura hit the water, it turned to ice and he uncurled, sliding up the ice toward his father.
Their fists collided and the power of their blows shattered some of the windows around them. Kai kicked out at Ichigo, who blocked and chopped Kai with two moves hat momentarily stunned him and he blasted Kai back down.
Kai bounced off the ground and he shock got his body back in gear. He slid back and skid until he came to a halt.
Ichigo soared at him, but not before getting a splash from some massive attack Juvia and Gray had just cast that knocked several creatures into the air.
There was even some ice among it.
Kai quickly inhaled, taking in a great gulp of magic power, then dodged Ichigo's attack and kneed the man in the side.
On equal footing, at last, they launched into martial combat, but each attack that Ichigo tried, Kai was able to—mostly—dodge. Ichigo quickly caught onto the glaring weakness at Kai's side of his inability to raise his arm to either block or attack.
Still, though, Kai managed to hold his own until the two cast magic at one another and the sheer force of it knocked them both back.
"Ice Dragon Roar!"
"Water God Bellow!"
The two streams collided and then froze in place, both combatants using it as a bridge to rush one another. Kai dodged Ichigo's attack and kicked him away, almost slipping on the ice that Ichigo turned to water and used as a geyser against Kai, knocking him away.
Kai barely caught himself, and found himself barely able to stand. Still, he clenched both fists and watched as Gray deflected what could have been a lethal blow to the head with the power of the sword. He sighed.
At least his friends were doing okay.
Juvia launched into another attack as well, though Ichigo used some of her magic for his own purposes to absorb that as well.
Kai sighed.
"You call yourself a Dragon Slayer, boy?" Ichigo asked. "And yet, all this time, you've fought a human? What will you do when you have to fight a real dragon like the ones around you, hmm?"
Kai said nothing, but did have to agree with his father. He relaxed his stance, confusing Ichigo.
"You're right, father," Kai said. "I didn't have much of a plan when fighting a dragon, but I did have something I've been holding back on for a certain dragon."
The buildings around them started to crackle with icy power. Something ached in Kai's core and even he felt a chill overcome him.
"Because I didn't want to have to use this power until I knew I could control it, but I don't have much of a choice now!" Kai exclaimed. "Seven years ago, I sought to break past my limits and achieve the heights of whatever a Dragon Slayer could, and now, I know that there's a limit even beyond that, beyond you! So I need to stop holding back and show you the real power of a Dragon Slayer!"
Rather than continue his relaxed stance, Kai swung his arms out and his aura, once invisible, burst outward consuming everything around them in ice, almost freezing Ichigo in place as well had he not melted free of it.
A guttural roar came ripping from what felt like Kai's soul as more waves of ice washed off of him and tiny frozen scales rippled down his body. His heart, it felt, stopped beating and chills overcame him. His hair finally folded back and grew a tiny bit from the tendrils of ice.
His teeth, partly fanged, chattered together once before he swung his arms out and forced Ichigo to block the attack.
"You can't do this," Ichigo said. "You—you can't have attained this power!"
"I have," Kai said, resisting the urge to unleash more magic. "Now let's see if God Slayers really are stronger than Dragon Slayers in Dragon Force!"
Another roar came from Kai and Ichigo, at last, gained a gleam of fear in his eyes. Kai shot at Ichigo, who just barely comprehended it before Kai slammed him aside and followed it up with a massive beam of ice from his draconic mouth.
Ichigo stopped it with a free hand and with a second ushered pillars of water to blast out from beneath the city at Kai, who froze them all ahead of him and used them as beams to bounce off and then punch Ichigo hard across the face. Ichigo soared through a building, and reappeared out the other end in the form of a great water monster.
"Heavenly Take-Over: Poseidon!"
The behemoth sprouted a trident in its hands and stabbed into the ground, giving Kai a pillar to ride up as he froze it but Ichigo quickly took to returning to water.
Performing his own Takeover was far too much of a risk, especially with the cracking power Kai gobbled up now. He barely held control as it was. The strength, the magic—all of it came to him in such a rush that he didn't want to waste a second of it!
With the agility of reborn dragon, Kai danced through the massive airborne waves of magic the great Water God Poseidon lanced at him.
He created wings on his arms once more and took to higher in the skies, above the seas, toward the heavens. Ichigo aimed the trident back at him.
"Come on, father," Kai muttered, then turned back, eclipsing the moon itself. "Let's see it."
The behemoth roared and tossed the trident at Kai, who sucked in a great breath, then unleashed it with,
"Ice Dragon Roar!"
The blast, larger than normal, spiraled toward the trident and slammed into it, immediately turning it to ice and sending it plummeting toward Ichigo, who, just as Kai hoped, returned it to a liquid state.
"Gotcha!" Kai exclaimed, and dropped through the air toward his father, who only just managed to regain shape with the trident. "Ice Dragon Scattering Strike!"
With his power absolutely out of control, Kai let it all loose, shooting a powerful beam right at the trident that once more flew through the air at him as he descended. He roared and the beam broke apart.
"What?" Ichigo shouted.
The trident lanced through the beam and when it came near Kai's aura, it once more froze and Kai rode it down like a ramp.
The spell Kai cast scattered and struck at different points of the Takeover spell, impacting it at different times and places, not allowing Ichigo to recover it from the ice fast enough. Kai picked up the moment the further down. He held back his good arm, surging more power into it—turning it, entirely, to the very ice Kairi taught him to use.
"It's over, Ichigo Nakamura!" Kai's voice echoed through the city. "Ice Dragon Talon!"
He used the gravity and his momentum to blast off the end of the trident right into the heart of the giant, ripping through it with his talon that froze it and, given his force, shattered it, and also completely obliterated Ichigo's body upon impact.
Both blasted out the side of the behemoth like tiny darts, plowing through a building and landing but feet from one another.
Kai slid on his knees before his father's broken body, the latter unable to move.
"Y—you broke m—my neck," Ichigo said.
Kai picked himself up, the power of Dragon Force fading per his own command. Any more of it would break Kai's own body. He sighed.
"Yup," Kai said. "You're immortal, I can't kill you." Nor did he want to. Kai frowned as he stared down at the once-powerful God Slayer, famous throughout Fiore, even known by Mavis Vermillion.
One who would betray everything she stood for.
Dust and ice settled around them. Kai glanced to the side. Frozen bits of water, but not of his own. Maybe residue from Gray. He gobbled it up and some strength returned to him. Not enough to reengage Dragon Force, but…
A massive roar echoed from nearby, and a scent Kai did not expect had also appeared: Cobra. He sighed. Now he had to live up to his title of Dragon Slayer.
He turned toward the sight of battle but Ichigo weakly called out to him.
"You won't win," he said. "Y—you can't kill a dragon."
"Who knows," Kai said, and powered up again. One more fight. Then he could rest…one way or the other. "But I won't let you become like Acnologia."
And he burst away, leaping over the destruction of their battle, and sprinting toward the massive dragon looming large over the criminal and former prisoner of the Tower of Heaven, Cobra.