Chapter 19: Confrontation

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: Refer to the first chapter to view it.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

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Antarctica

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'Something's coming...'

Sol thought to himself as he stood in front of the giant head sculpture, one leg propped closely against the other and arms crossed as his head was lowered in concentration, trying to figure out what was happening inside of the strange work. None of the files belonging on the Bureau's airship mentioned anything about this being the cocoon Leopaldon used to house itself, so Sol had no clue as to it's true purpose as of yet. No amount of fire seemed to be able to melt the snow effectively. When it was melted, the snow would reform instantly as if it had never been touched at all. Sol sighed. He was bored. Unfortunately for him, the winds around here were too strong for him to smoke a cigarette, as the little tobacco filled paper sticks would break in half with only a few short gusts of cold winds. Sol knew after trying to light his third one, so he just gave up.

'What's this feeling...? I felt this presence before. It feels like that Leopaldon but at the same time it doesn't. What gives...?'

Sol's thoughts were interrupted as his waiting came to an end. Jagged cracks began lining the surface of the sculpture. The sculpture exploded in a wave of flurry white as something massive emerged, arms outstretched. A odd sounding, mangled roar escaped the large mouth of the giant white beast. A ring of fire burst out from underneath Sol's feet, uplifting his shirt and hair briefly before they fell back into place. He looked up sightly.

"Leopaldon...you've gotten bigger since the last time."

Sol said to the towering monster. Sol was pissed now That Man fled and now knew the reason for it. He wanted Sol to fight Leopaldon here and now. It really didn't matter to Sol, but he needed something to vent his anger, so what better then the creature standing before him? Some physical appearances were altered. Leopaldon's head was now dragon shaped, and two glowing red eyes shown from under large ridged eye sockets at the side of it's head. It also sported two of the strange wind symbol tattoos on each massive arm. It's forearms were covered in long strips of cloth, and black half shoes covered Leopaldon's large feet, allowing the clawed toes to be shown freely. It still retained fur on the bottom part of it's body and paws. Leopaldon's mouth opened up to it's impossible angle, and Sol noticed that all of it's teeth save for the bottom two canines were blunted like ordinary human teeth. A strange looking round black object with brown sides and two red eyes were peering down at Sol. Sol also noticed the familiar form of the strange armored man and his bongo drum behind the strange object near the front of Leopaldon's mouth. The black object lifted, revealing itself to be an abnormally large brown dog in a black mask, the brown sides actually being it's long drooping ears. Sol quirked an eye brow up at the dog.

"What the fuck...?"

Sol muttered lowly under his breath as he kept his gaze leveled up with the dog's. The dog's red eyes blinked once before it began speaking in human tongue.

"We meet for the first time. I have been so looking forward to this moment when I gaze upon the one who toppled these two in combat before single handedly."

The dog spoke, moving it's head to the side to gesture at the seating armored man and the giant beast that held them in it's mouth. Sol was a bit confused. Usually the armored man did most of the talking and referred to himself and the giant beast as "We", but the dog talked, referring itself alone with "I".

"And who are you? If you're a part of Leopaldon, you don't make it seem like it with your different speech pattern."

Sol spoke out. A pre battle talk wasn't usually his strong point, and he tried to keep it simple at best, but this time, his curiosity got the better of him.

"I understand what you mean, but the truth of the matter is, I AM Leopaldon. The figure behind me and this giant white beast are simply components, or extensions of me and not the other way around as I hear some believe."

The dog, the true Leopaldon, explained. This was understandable for Sol to grasp easily.

"In other words your like Dizzy in a sense, and those two beings are systems of yours."

Sol stated. Leopaldon nodded. (Mini-note: From this point onward, when the name "Leopaldon" shows up, this refers to the dog. The white beast will no longer bare the name anymore during this and the last chapter.)

"Dizzy...you mean that female humanoid with the strange wings, correct? Yes you could say that, however..."

Leopaldon was interrupted by Sol.

"...your superior in the fact that unlike her, your two systems don't even have to be attached to your body to function properly or act independently. Your in complete control."

He said to the large dog. Leopaldon nodded.

"Your right. She was an impressive being...but somehow she has not caught my interest nearly as much as you have. Now tell me! I must know the name of the possible person who may have the power to defeat me. Mind you that I have only been taken down once before."

Leopaldon said. Sol's eyes widened in slight surprise.

"That so? I take it you got this person's name then, too?"

Sol asked him. Leopaldon nodded.

"Yes...I will never forget his name. He referred to himself as Slayer. A Vampire he called himself, looking so much like you disgusting humans yet not being one at all."

Leopaldon said. Sol did not miss the hateful tone in Leopaldon's voice when he said "humans". Though he was thinking more to the fact that it had been Slayer who defeated Leopaldon a long time ago.

'Figures the old man would be the one he's talking about. Why doesn't he take down Leopaldon again so I can just go and sleep somewhere for a bit?'

Sol thought, his lax nature coming to light. He briefly wondered if he should just point out Leopaldon towards the direction of Slayer's castle in Transylvania and spare himself of having to fight. He decided otherwise, because it was Leopaldon's appearance who most likely caused That Man to leave the battle unfinished prematurely in the first place. Payback was in order.

"Whatever...let's get this over with."

Sol said in a typical bored tone as he took one step forward, letting his body go into his usual aloof fighting stance. Leopaldon narrowed his eyes in anger.

"Did I not tell you to give me your name, stupid human? In ancient times when I was created from the very core of the Earth itself, I placed myself lower in rank of importance to your ancestors and allowed myself to become a subservient being and help them cultivate the world into a paradise, but their nature of deceit and corruption caused both me and my precious planet to slowly ebb away. Don't think that I'm in anyway like that now and will allow you to step over my words when I say something to you. I am the one who will steer the world off the course of destruction and back to the path of salvation by destroying the rest of your kind. Now give me your name!"

Leopaldon ordered. Sol growled deep within his throat. Both That Man and Leopaldon wanted to achieve the same goal, but by different means. That Man wanted to make the humans ascend in power, his and Frederick's wish, in order to save the world. Leopaldon wanted to destroy all humans to salvage the world. Thoughts about That Man got Sol riled up, and his deathly calm tirade was taken on the only one there to listen: Leopaldon.

"Badguy. Sol Badguy. And I'm no human, and I don't give a fuck about your origins either. You want to save the world by killing everyone, then be my guest. But there's someone I got to kill first. Since both our goals conflict with one another, I'm going to kick your ass here and now so you can't interfere with me."

Sol finished, his voice livid with barely suppressed fury now. Leopaldon growled in a similar fashion as Sol did earlier.

"What are you then, Sol Badguy...?"

The gruff question went ignored. Sol was no longer in the mood for talking. Leopaldon decided to drop his question.

"Very well then...let my true power be unleashed. Final Seal of mine, unlock!"

Leopaldon said before his original animal nature took over again. The armored man began performing a beat on his bongo, and the white beast's eyes flared crimson briefly before dulling again. With inhuman speed, the white beast moved forward, slashing into Sol's chest with it's extended claws. Every movement the armored man made, the white beast followed with an offensive attack. Sol grunted in slight pain as large jagged cuts lined his chest. This was the second time he would lose a shirt to the same creature. Sol got up quickly as Leopaldon sped towards him. Sol was batted aside by an arm, but retaliated with a powerful swing of his blade against the white beast's stomach. Sol's sword was bounced off the tough surface of the skin, not even leaving a single mark. Sol jumped to evade a low sweeping claw strike, bringing his sword down in a wide vertical slash aimed at Leopaldon's head. The dog, ducked under the safety of the white beast's chin.

"Super Shake!"

The armored man beat his drum and the white beast mimicked with the ground, uplifting magical metal sheets inlaid with four rubies. The sheets smashed into Sol upon his descent, keeping him aloft.

"Killer Note Level One!"

The white beast was commanded to send a large violet sphere of destruction at Sol, blasting through the sheets to plow right into Sol's body. After a while, Sol finally escaped the ball of energy, leaping off it to try and aim for the dog again, but the white beast clamped it's mouth shut to protect him. Sol bounced off the head as it's mouth opened again.

"Perfect Rainbow!"

The large blue beam was dead on accurate as it engulfed Sol. Sol hit the ground roughly after the beam dissipated. He was breathing heavily as he stared up at the towering monster in front of him.

'This is kind of fun. I wonder if he'll actually make me use it...been a while since it has been used, so...'

Sol thought to himself, rolling out of the way as a claw dug through the snow in an attempt to strike him back up in the air. He wasn't sure where all this exhilaration was coming from, but he needed it. Only hatred and frustration were his usual emotions against That Man, boredom the usual emotion against everyone else who stood in his path. He had though that way of Leopaldon even now, but it was slowly getting replaced with excitement. Leopaldon's made the white beast swing down with both of it's powerful arms, making a loud metallic clang against Sol's sword. The dog was impressed that Sol could defend such a powerful impacting blow hefting the Fire Seal single handedly and still remaining on his feet. Sol smirked as he jumped up, slamming Fire Seal's pommel into the armored man's head as he stood on the white beast's bottom lip. The white beast clenched it's jaws shut, but Sol brought his right arm up to hold the mouth opened before attempting to thrust down on Leopaldon's head. Leopaldon evaded by moving back against the bongo drum, before swatting the Fire Seal away with it's paw, before rushing forward to head butt Sol right in the stomach. The swordsman was sent off the mouth and back onto the ground.

"Gun Flame!"

Sol sent his sword into the ground, letting snow uplift as a trail of fire burst forth. Leopaldon's white beast system was unaffected by the fire projectile, and swung out in a mighty hook punch that connected with Sol's cheek. A gust of wind blew away from Sol's back from the force of the white beast's punch, and Sol's body shook slightly from the jarring force, but otherwise, he stood still. Leopaldon noticed a smirk adorning Sol's face as his cheek was scrunched up against the white beast's fist. The white beast removed it's fist quickly before retaliating with the other, making Sol fly backwards this time around. Before's Sol's head made contact with the snow, he brought his right hand down against the ground to perform a back flip to upright himself as he landed in a kneeling position. The white beast advanced a bit slowly this time around.

"There is something strangely off about you, Sol Badguy...with Slayer I could sense the hidden power he still held in check during our battle so long ago, but with you...I can't feel anything. Why? Everything I sense about you is all human, yet the limitations of your combat prowess...exceeds these typical human limits...is this what you meant when you said you weren't human?"

Leopaldon said with intrigue.

"Piss off and get back to the fighting already."

Sol growled out testily, bringing his hand up against his neck as he worked out the kinks out of it and letting it pop loudly in response with the dying winds. Before Leopaldon could say more, Sol ran up towards the dog and his two extensions of beings, kicking up snow in his movement. He swung against the white beast's chest, pushing it back slightly in the snow. It retaliated by trying to crush Sol in a bear hug, but Sol proved to nimble, rolling to the side to eventually get behind the giant monster. Sol then hopped up to grab hold of the upper mouth of the beast, aiming his sword for one giant red eye. Sol thrust forward, but the beast closed it's eye, not allowing Sol to penetrate the eye lid. The armored man tried a backhand to Sol's face, but Sol removed his hold of the beast's mouth to grasp around the armored man's wrist. Sol was about to strike, but Leopaldon hopped out of his place to kick Sol with all four legs, making Sol fall off. Leopaldon ricocheted back to his place, making the white beast turn around.

"Killer Note Level Two!"

The white beast used it's second variant of Killer Note technique, but Sol had already seen it and knew how to evade. He recovered in mid air, hopping back as the two energy sphere followed him. Sol air dashed right in between them, swinging his sword in a large arc against the two shots and making them explode to send him high up in the air, to Leopaldon's surprise.

"Bandit Revolver!"

Sol finally scored a true hit against Leopaldon, using his knee to push aside a rising claw from the white beast, before twirling and making the bottom of his foot connect with the top of Leopaldon's head. Sol hadn't expected it, but once Leopaldon was hit, both him and his extensions staggered back viciously from the one blow. Sol landed as Leopaldon recovered.

"Super Hi-Touch!"

The white beast came forth with a rising back fist uppercut that would have surely uplifted Sol from the ground had he not intercepted with his own attack.

"Volcanic Viper!"

Blade and fist met, and Leopaldon had the white beast try and go for a counter attack with the other arm but Sol once again reacted, holding Fire Seal in both hands as he thrust downward, between his legs. The odd maneuver proved quite effective because it allowed Sol to flip off the other paw and perform a head stomp to Leopaldon's cranium. The dog barked irritable as Sol hopped back behind the giant beast, dashing through the air to put some distance between themselves so Sol could formulate another attack opportunity.

"Your quite a nuisance, Sol Badguy...enough, now show me your true power before I really lose my temper. I dislike being kept in the dark about my opponents. You should be more open like Slayer before you."

Leopaldon stated. Sol scoffed.

"Newsflash, fucker, I ain't him. And I'll decide when to reveal more power. Why don't you give me a better reason to unleash it..."

Sol spoke calmly, his right hand going to his chest.

'...the beast within me...'

Sol finished mentally to himself. He could feel the immense power of Leopaldon, power that most likely exceeded anything else in the world, maybe even That Man's as well. This is what made this battle become more thrilling than most he had faced before. He could expend some of his Gear power when he felt the time was right, something he hadn't done since his battle with Justice, which felt like centuries ago even though it had actually been only more that a few years back.

'Hopefully just for tonight...I can be the animal...no, the monster I truly am inside and can let go of most of these human restrictions. Just for a little while...'

Sol wanted to be freed from his caged existence so badly, but only until That Man was killed could he truly set himself free. Tonight would possibly be only a small night of freedom if Leopaldon could back him up in a corner where he had only one choice of becoming partially back to what he truly was in mind if not in body. Sol's eyes retracted and became even more feral in appearance.

"Come on."

Sol gestured, a small eerie grin on his face. Leopaldon howled.

"Very well, if you really want me to force you, then I shall."

The dog said sternly. The white beast was upon Sol instantly, ripping into his side with it's claws. Sol didn't even register the pain as he swung out to knock the arm aside and leap up to Leopaldon. Leopaldon leaned over, smashing his head against Sol's, knocking the bounty hunter down where he was swooped in by another vicious claw swipe that sent him tumbling in the snow.

"Killer Note Level Three!"

Leopaldon made the white beast hurl an unbelievably huge destructive ball of energy at Sol. Sol tried to block it with his sword, but the force behind the attack was too much eventually, and Sol was swept up in the attack for a long time until the sphere finally shrank into nothingness, depositing the bounty hunter in the snow. Sol finally noticed how severely injured he was. Long jagged cuts ran almost all around his body, his left side was almost completely torn off, and he was practically naked out in the snow since even his pant legs had been ripped off by the white beast's claws without his own notice. Sol's body was immune to the pain so it was tough to register in his own head when he was terminally hurt. Whenever he was struck by anyone he fought, he had to usually act out when he was hit to give the impression that he really was human when he was really wasn't. Leopaldon stared down at Sol, as he tried getting up, panting heavily as he was supported by his sword.

'Been awhile since I've felt truly in danger. Not even That Bastard has been able to push me this far as of yet...'

Sol finally got to his feet shakily, annoyed with the broken belt that kept tapping him in the face as it dangled off his head piece. Sol wasn't even sure when it broke, but it was still secured very well, so Sol decided not to really worry.

"You've got some amazing stamina to hold out this long, Sol Badguy. Anyone lesser than yourself would have died from the biting cold and sharp winds of this place by now. Even all your bleeding injuries seem to not deter you from standing up it seems."

Leopaldon mentioned. Sol spat out some blood.

"You done yet? I've got a life to live here."

Sol retorted. Leopaldon growled in annoyance. He ordered the white beast to keep fighting. Sol held his sword tightly. His attacks were getting weaker with blood loss, but Sol didn't let it bother him, though the result were obvious after a little while. Sol's attacks were met and overpowered by the giant monster's own attack power. As the fighting continued, Sol was backed up again the mountains now. With one more slash, the Fire Seal was removed from Sol's grasp and hit the snow without a sound and the white beast pinned Sol against the ground, it's claws digging into Sol's chest.

"Is this not enough? Show me your power now."

Leopaldon demanded as he leaned over the large mouth of the white beast. He was becoming frazzled at the fact that Sol kept denying him from seeing it. So much that he was now questioning if Sol even had any more power or was just leading him on. It was obvious enough that Sol wasn't human because of his current skill and strength, but that of course was not enough for the large dog. Sol looked up to the crimson eyes unwavering, a red toothed grin appearing on his face from all the blood pouring down the sides of his mouth.

"Fuck you, prick."

Sol said, laughing shortly afterwards at the dog's shocked expression. Shock turned to rage, and Leopaldon bared his teeth menacingly.

"You...I'LL KILL YOU!"

Leopaldon roared. The white beast tossed the broken warrior up high into the air. It crossed it's arms over one another and began gathering tremendous energy that was seeping off of Leopaldon's body. The white beast raised it's arms slowly as Sol descended.

"Eight-O-Eight!"

Sol could almost feel his body being rend apart by the spiking black shockwave that was depressed off the white beast's form. Sol's roar of pain was drowned out by Leopaldon's roar of fury as he kept the attack going outwards. So great was the attack, a couple of the mountains themselves shattered like weak clay models, causing a mass of rock and snow to fall to the ground as if they had never existed. When the chaos subsided, Leopaldon and his two systems stood alone. Leopaldon sniffed the air around.

"Dig him out."

He demanded. The white beast walked over a little ways and began digging at the debris that collected. It was not long before Sol's mangled body was recovered. Sol had a massive gaping hole in his chest, and his legs and left arm were no longer attached to his body from the knees and elbow, and his right arm barely stayed on as it dangled on a small strip of muscle. He dangled in the beast's grasp like a broken lifeless doll. Leopaldon was sicken, not by the gory sight of Sol he created with his own power, but disgusted at Sol because he had sensed so much potential from the man, only to have him die and leave the dog hollow and disappointed.

"I had such high hopes for you, but you left me like this. You deserved to die in this pathetic and horrible way, Sol Badguy..."

Leopaldon said his name with such loathing. Sol's severed body was dropped on the ground unceremoniously. The white beast got up walking away as it cradled Leopaldon and the armored man in it's mouth.

"Well, since that's out of the way, global genocide awaits for the humans..."

Leopaldon muttered, but became silent when a small sound came to his ears. The sound became louder. At first it was a feint chuckle, but steadily escalated into full blown laughter. Leopaldon had the white beast turn around. Sol's body was still on the ground, but it was the one producing the sound. Sol's eruptions of laugher bordered on insanity. Leopaldon stared in amazement as blood, body tissue, and other organs began rising up from the snow, staining it red as it merged with Sol, reforming him back to normal. Heat covered his body, sanitizing it of debris and disease infections. His left arm was the last to fuse with the rest of his body, clutching Fire Seal. Sol got up dramatically, his wounds now nothing more than large scars on his body. He crossed his arms downward over one another before raising them outward as his left foot came up then slammed down on the ground as his arms outstretched.

"Dragon Install!"

Sol roared as a pillar of fire rose from underneath him. An eerie black flame shrouded his figure in darkness. His eyes were outlined in all white as they appeared like round empty sockets in his head, and his right arm looked as if a claw was growing from the blacked fingers of his hand. A mysterious symbol flickered across where Sol's forehead would be situated which Leopaldon could not identify. Soon the black flame dispersed, and heat rose off of Sol's body. Sol's feet sunk into the snow softly, the heat radiating off his body so intense that the snow melted around a small radius from where Sol was standing. Sol arrogantly smirked at Leopaldon's shocked expression. Two words left the powered up swordsman's mouth.

"Second round."

:ToBeContinued:

Note: First out of a two part fight between Sol and Leopaldon complete. Next chapter is the final one, so I hope readers enjoy it.