Chapter -35: Beyond Power

Nazo immediately tried to run Sarajin down with his speed, but Sarajin dug his heels into the ground and grabbed onto his head, rapidly slowing him down until they stopped at the beginning of the tunnel, just a second later.

Sarajin then repelled him with a huge gust of wind to give himself time to arm his hands with fire to fling at the hedgehog

He dodged out of the way, shifting diagonally elsewhere with each step.

Sarajin quickly pulled his hands back and jumped forward, kneeing Nazo in the face.

The fireballs then curved around and hit him on the back, with Sarajin finishing by hammering him atop the head into the ground.

Nazo tore up a thick ditch holding back the impact, his bruises and burns recovering instantly.

Yet his body trembled, as he remarked in a moment of sheer exasperation, "That was just a warm up…!"

And indeed his speed picked up as he closed the gap and started pummeling away at Sarajin's crossed arms.

Sarajin laced his skin with frost and then slashed out, leaving a glittering snow cross over Nazo's chest.

Before it faded Sarajin flew in and punched the center with a trembling punch.

Nazo's body vibrated viciously and with a loud snap he was propelled into the large pyramid, ricocheting off into the air.

He halted his momentum and his brows began to slant. He held his palms together and started pelting the ground all over, hoping to bury Sarajin in the explosions.

Sarajin ran and wove around the edge of the blasts then jumped straight up to uppercut him in the gut.

He then wound back his other fist and took a swing for Nazo's face.

The hedgehog pulled out and flew away, not even realizing Sarajin was planning to summon a lightning bolt.

Sarajin's quick thinking caught the lightning into a sphere and he repositioned his aim to try hitting Nazo again.

Nazo pulled back and swatted the lightning towards the Echidna crowd below.

Sarajin stalled it inches from smiting and then threw it back at Nazo.

At which point Nazo hunched down and surrounded himself in a red barrier, wearing down the lightning to the tune of the sky trembling.

Once it was out of the way he gathered the barriers energy into his hands and started unleashing a torrent of winding spear heads.

Sarajin flew around them, normally and even upside-down, taking whatever chance he could to potshot the hedgehog with fireballs.

"He can withstand this much, guess it would be safe to use a little more power…!" At that moment Sarajin gave a crescendo to his volley with a much larger fireball.

Nazo was knocked back, staggering in place with his hands shaking.

Sarajin then sped forward like an arrow and clobbered him across the face. Nazo was launched following a pause for a Shockwave to erupt from the impact.

Nazo hit off the top of the pyramid and went spinning much higher into the sky.

He then rolled into a ball and spun against his momentum to stop in place, arms outstretched.

Sarajin kept a safe distance, using blades of wind to surround his foe.

Nazo insisted on tackling through every attack just to try and ram him down.

A big mistake, as Sarajin immediately broke on the spot with his hands cupped before his chest and fire burning bright.

"HYAH!" Sarajin hit him with a large cone of fire and managed to cover the hedgehog in sear marks.

It took longer for him to recover from this and during that time he froze there gritting his teeth and throwing a bit of a fit, "This is absurd…! You're supposed to fall!"

Sarajin held his defensive stance as he could feel this being's power surge again.

With a loud grunt he propelled himself forward in a ball and unfurled at the last moment to kick both his feet into Sarajin's arms.

Sarajin took a deep breath and exhaled to maintain his focus. He could still track the hedgehog's speed, and he had gotten him high enough away from civilization.

He bit his teeth and murmured, "How much longer Po'Clau?"

Nazo went on a rampage, using his speed to cover all angles of Sarajin's body with a flurry of punches and kicks, whatever could break through his guard.

Sarajin's eyes darted around and his palms swung out to meet every attack, culminating in him having an opening to grab Nazo by the fist.

Nazo immediately flashed his other palm at Sarajin's face and summoned energy, deepening his cocky smile.

"Die!" Sarajin was covered by a widespread blast that had no regard for how much destruction it could cause

Nazo then squeezed his hand and his smirk shifted, only to drop in exasperation when the smoke cleared and Sarajin was still standing

Nazo swung his hand behind his head and his frustration was becoming the sole power behind his voice, "This is becoming annoying…!"

He sliced energy out from his hand, but Sarajin cut it down with an electrified hand. He then held his focus tight over his enemy and flew at him.

Before Nazo could retaliate he found himself restrained by vines summoned from thin air.

He broke out by burning them down with his aura, but this left Sarajin free to pummel him with a few swift punches.

For the final punch Sarajin threw all his weight into it to send him hurtling away from the valley.

The slight change in scenery allowed Sarajin to pull materials from the volcano region to fling at Nazo from behind.

Nazo was hit twice with magma balls before he started striking them down with energy blasts.

Sarajin punching him from behind redirected his aim towards him, only to succumb to more magma piling up on his back and hardening.

With his equilibrium thrown off, Sarajin was free to grab him by the face and bring him straight to the ground.

And now that he had him pinned down, he attacked him with his greatest strength: His mercy.

"This doesn't have to keep up. If you stop this violence, I'll let you go."

Nazo started to be consumed in red energy that rapidly expanded outward. His growls of rage were enveloped by the eruption of energy and magma geysers around them.

Sarajin pulled out a far distance and watched as the energy annihilated a mile wide space, including the magma.

New magma splashed down into the crater while Nazo floated in the middle, his arms outstretched, his confidence vanished.

And all he could make out of his rage was to lash out in denial, "You're not stronger than me, these are all tricks…!"

"He's not going to stop." Sarajin felt like he probably should use a little more strength, but remembered what he was after here, "I need to wait. Just a little longer."

He grabbed onto the magma and dragged it over Nazo, then forced it to cool down into a dome.

Nazo burst free and charged straight at him, already swinging with all his might. Sarajin dodged and Nazo curved his flight to keep swinging.

Just wildly punching with no signs of thought or strategy. He had gone unchallenged all this time, so now that he faced a threat, it revealed how weak he was in both skill and strength.

Sarajin could sympathize with that to some degree, but it wasn't enough to make him hold back his punches.

After learning when to connect his punches, Sarajin quickly halted his advances and kept wailing on him.

Nazo's grunts grew louder until he shouted, "Chaos Control…!"

He then vanished from sight and Sarajin was momentarily left swinging at empty air. His vulnerability allowed Nazo to kick him in the back of the head.

He then took control of the battle by continually pummeling away at his head and using interspersed energy blasts.

When it looked like Sarajin would react, Nazo delighted in shouting "Chaos Control!" and resumed his assault behind Sarajin again.

He shouted "Chaos Control!" a third time but when he went to swing his fist…Sarajin caught it and looked him dead in the eyes.

Sarajin's gaze was focused, unbroken. In just a few seconds, he had broken down Nazo's technique.

"When his body flashes with light, his speed briefly increases exponentially."

He then went to throw a punch but let go first, allowing Nazo to use Chaos Control again.

He spun around at full momentum and smashed Nazo when he went behind him. With a loud crack, the hedgehog was hurtled against the nearest mountain.

As Nazo pulled himself out, and felt this day couldn't possibly get any worse.

"NAZO!" Po'Clau roared out from the ground.

In his arms were seven different colored jewels radiating the same type of power as Nazo.

Nazo was both intrigued and irritated, "You finally crawled out of your hole. And now you plan to distract me with…jewelry?!"

He could still muster a laugh.

Po'Clau held his head high and shouted with a hint of mourning, "I brought you into this world, Nazo."

He let go of the jewels and a fire grew in his eyes as they floated around him like a ring, "It is only right…that I take you out of it!"

The jewels glowed and made a mystical jingle. The Echidna's body let off a brief flash of light and he levitated off the ground.

With a lung-tearing scream the jewels infused their energies into his body with an explosive backlash of pure light erupting out of him.

This was pure energy washing over the lands, incapable of harming a speck of dirt so long as his will remained focused.

Sarajin felt a chill over his body from how…positive this energy felt. Yet at the same time it was…incomplete.

The light began to fade and Po'Clau floated without the jewels anywhere in sight. His body was now glowing pink and his dreads had grown slightly longer.

Nazo shivered and clenched his fist, swinging the other hand out and summoning energy to the palm, "Enough from you rats...!"

When he fired, the Echidna stood his ground and threw a punch. The energy wrapped around his fist and then rebound towards its owner, who slid aside, clearly shaken.

Po'Clau ran along the side of the mountain as quick as a blur and leaped out, clobbering Nazo across the face..

He dug those pointy knuckles in deep while shouting, "For my brothers…!"

A loud snap resounded as the fist flew past. Nazo was flung into the air and Po'Clau kept rising up, intercepting him across the body with multiple punches.

His speed and heat combined to form a hot tornado with Nazo floating in the center.

Po'Clau then hovered over him and started drilling down with his knuckles at the front. All the heat was twisted around his body until his body was burning red hot.

When he drove Nazo into the ground a deep crimson burst was unleashed. In the aftermath both fighters were suspended over the ground, with the Echidna preparing another punch.

"C-Chaos Control…!" Nazo used his Trump card in desperation to get behind Po'Clau with energy ready to crush him.

However, Sarajin flew in and whipped his foot into Nazo's gut, launching him away into the air.

Now this close to the energy infused Echidna, Sarajin could feel immense positivity radiating off him and felt as though hope had arrived to this world.

With a smile he floated closer to Po'Clau and told him, "I'll back you up, let's take him down."

The Echidna nodded.

Nazo swung his energy at them in an arc but they flew up past them and let them explode on the ground.

Sarajin hit quicker, Po'Clau hit harder. They alternated who hit their enemy to keep him on his toes and ensure two eyes are constantly looking at the bigger picture.

Nazo tried to fight back but all his bags of tricks just amounted to raw power being thrown around.

One punch, two punch, three punch.

The two warriors had eventually clued in on each other's movements and danced in perfect sync.

It stopped being a fight and became a beat down, one that Nazo's healing was doing a great job prolonging.

Every hit that connected brought hope back to tomorrow and elevated Sarajin's sense of joy.

A year spent reflecting on himself left him more focused and in control of his strength.

He saw with absolute certainty that this planet would soon be safe from this being's malice.

He kept his eyes open and saw that they were so close to finishing Nazo off.

So he wound up his fist with all his might while Po'Clau glided around the hedgehog's wild fury and pummeled him around.

Then Sarajin let loose like a spring loaded arrow and struck Nazo square in the chest, his power concentrated into an invisible spear that pierced him through and dragged him down into the mountainside.

Nazo continued to try and mount an offensive but his efforts to stand left him trembling at the knees and his bruises were taking longer to heal.

Sarajin was ready to fly in when Po'Clau held his arm out and spoke softly, "You've done plenty. I should be the one to finish this."

Sarajin pulled back out of respect but watched carefully.

The Echidna descended slowly upon Nazo's location, and once on the ground he grabbed him by the chest and pulled his fist back, glaring him down with icy daggers from his eyes.

And in that gaze shook grief, "I showed you kindness, made you one of our own…!"

Nazo shook and grabbed hold of Po'Clau's arm weakly, "I…I only tried to repay you…!"

"You killed men I considered brothers…!"

"T-They wanted your sacred jewel for themselves. They didn't care. I did."

Po'Clau shook and dragged his knuckles inches from Nazo's face.

Nazo muttered, "I was doing what I thought was right with this power. Don't kill me, I beg you…!"

Po'Clau pulled his fist back, and after he held it for longer than it felt…he let go of his strength.

Nazo then reached out with his other hand and pulled himself in for a hug.

"I am grateful for what you made me…"

Nazo's body then began to glow the opposite shade of the Echidna's, his smile twisting across his face as any shred of decency vanished from his eyes.

"And thank you…for making me even better."

By the time Sarajin felt the chill of his wicked thoughts surfacing it was too late.

He flew in after Nazo but the hedgehog pulled the seven jewels from Po'Clau's body and surrounded himself in their glow with arms outstretched.

Dark sparks spread between the jewels and repelled Sarajin while simultaneously infusing their energies into Nazo.

He glared up and cackled, "Hold still…you will witness the evolution of the Ultimate Life Form!"

Sarajin grabbed Po'Clau and retreated as pitch black energies exploded out of Nazo's body and clawed away at his surroundings, devouring them down to atom sized bits.

Sarajin immediately jumped to his full power and threw Po'Clau behind him, the Echidna only capable of watching on in horror as he gasped, "Wh-What have I done…?!"

Nazo's increased might was steadily pushing Sarajin back and threw the blackness, he could see his silhouette changing into something far more sinister.

The spines on his back doubled, the second pair pointing downward. More quills were added to his head and grew sharper and higher.

His arms and ankles were braced with yellow rings and his shoes turned black and yellow..

And finally his fur turned blood red, with the sclera looking yellow.

As the energy collapsed into his body the jewels fell to the ground looking lifeless like glass.

Nazo spent these first few moments staring at his hands and squeezing his fingers inward.

Such a simple act sent shivers across the planet's surface.

Sarajin held his arm out to keep Po'Clau from acting on impulse. But his own body was tensing up…

Nazo craned his head back and glared through Sarajin, then smirked.

"Where were we?" His voice was raspier, colder, more villainous.

Sarajin couldn't afford to look away but his blinking eyes betrayed him, and the hedgehog was gone.

His presence reappeared between him and Po'Clau but right as Sarajin turned, he started to feel dozens of punches collide across his body.

As the assault suspended him for a while, Nazo lifted his hand closer to his face and smiled, "I was so weak before…"

Po'Clau threw his fist into Nazo's skull with all his strength.

Nazo raised his eyes and slowly turned to look at him trembling in fear, which made him laugh.

"Ah, that's right…" He held his hand up and launched him through the air with a feeble blast of black energy.

It dragged him miles away into the icy mountains before detonating into a towering pillar that reduced everything around it to nothingness.

Nazo then immediately appeared where the Echidna's body lay, the glow knocked out of his battered form.

"I was so naive. Of course my power could grow stronger. With this might on my side, nothing will ever be able to stop me."

He then held his hand out and chuckled, "Farewell, rat. I will grant you a swift death as thanks for making me…!"

Nazo would have to temper his finishing blow, as Sarajin came flying at him at blistering speeds and threw a flame-empowered punch.

Nazo caught it without seeming to move, and was only budged an inch. The snow was shaken off the remains of the mountain.

Nazo crunched down on his hand and smiled at the pain he was drawing out of him, "I won't let you pull any more tricks on me."

"You'll have to do better than this if you want to stop me!" Sarajin declared.

"Oh by all means, make me try."

Sarajin smirked and the mountaintop trembled as he applied more force.

This was a distraction from his real attack, to take all the snow that was scattered and make it collapse around Nazo to trap him into an ice crystal sphere.

Sarajin then quickly went after Po'Clau and hauled him up onto his shoulders, the Echidna struck with panic, "Flee! Flee boy, you can't stop him!"

"Don't worry, I'm not done yet...!" Sarajin started to take off when Nazo shattered free from the ice with a flex of his hands.

Sarajin got whatever distance he could because the moment Nazo chose to move he was on him instantly, sweeping the air with a swing of the hand to try and incinerate the Echidna.

Sarajin ducked and Nazo plummeted out of the sky with a drop kick, forcing Sarajin to spin away, but the force of the descent made his tumbling last longer.

Nazo fell like a meteor against the ground, sending large chunks of debris upward and the remaining cracks filling with lava.

He wasn't even trying. He hardly cared.

And that turned him from a living being into a dangerous weapon.

Sarajin could sense him moving through the air but that only helped him so much as his speed was leaving a faint afterimage impacting against the debris in an attempt to bounce around and pummel him.

Sarajin knew he could weather a lot of attacks but as long as he focused on being a shield for Po'Clau he wouldn't be able to mount a full offensive.

If he could just force one opening, that's all he needed.

And if there was anything that could weaken Nazo's offensive, it was his arrogance.

He was drunk on this power and chose to take breaks in his assault to freeze in mid-air and flaunt his ultimate form, laughing and taunting like a child at play.

"What's wrong? Where's your air of superiority now, human?!" Nazo swung his hand out and fired an energy blast. Sarajin ducked and the energy exploded to wipe out any remaining debris.

Sarajin then tried to fly up and hit the hedgehog under the jaw, predicting correctly that he would reposition himself behind him using his speed.

Sarajin then faced Nazo and decided to taunt him back, "If you're so strong, then why are you having trouble killing me?"

Nazo flexed his fingers and smiled, "Oh don't be so impatient, I'll send you to your grave once I've had my fill of this new power."

Sarajin bit his teeth down and with a little shakiness he prodded him further, "You've been nothing but big talk this whole time, why should I believe you now just because you changed colors?"

Nazo immediately held his hand out and started charging energy, "You'll find my bite is far worse than my bark. You and that rat will feel it soon enough."

Sarajin then breathed a sigh of relief and rolled his shoulders, tempting fate with a smile that bewildered Nazo.

"What's so funny?"

"What rat? I don't see any rat? Do you?" While Sarajin had played Nazo for a fool, he was able to use a gust of wind to gently carry Po'Clau away to safety.

Nazo's eyes immediately flared open and he fired off his energy with a growl.

Now it was up to Sarajin to make something out of this mess. He dove towards the energy blast and shoved his palms against it, combining every element in his arsenal to give him a temporary boost of strength to pierce through it.

It took a lot out of him just to get that far and Nazo was ready to start wailing on him.

Sarajin had to take guesses to determine where Nazo would strike so he could shield his body with metal skin, and ultimately weathered less than half the attacks.

Once he braced down and started punching back, his strength buckled under the pressure and he felt cracks in his knuckles forming.

But he had to gauge just how deep the hedgehog's strength went, so that he could take the next step forward with absolute certainty.

"Come on Solomon, where are you?" He wondered out of the blue.

Deep breaths kept his eyes open and focused through sweat and pain. Nazo reveled in the destruction he was inflicting on his enemy, this was rapture for the meaning of his life.

Nazo had lived, but only now was he truly born.

It was the type of soul Sarajin had dealt with before in his world, but even with her relentless lust for violence there was something resembling a human behind those actions.

Here, there was nothing. This being of raw chaotic power chose only to serve himself.

Thinking this through helped Sarajin to let go of some of his hesitation, and realize what he had to do now...

"I'm still not out of tricks yet, Nazo." He had tested the waters enough, now it was time to fight with everything he had...beyond his limits.

Sarajin quickly made a break for his right pocket and grabbed the Gaia Temporis to stop time.

He then flew far, far away until Nazo was but a blip in the sky fighting empty air. His head hurt, his breathing quickened, but the moment he put the stone back in his pocket he swung his hand out and let time resume.

Then he started concentrating on the image of his sword in his head. His hand shook, remembering the feeling of cutting through flesh and bone, and blood splattering on his body.

Nazo was confused, but the moment he found him he flew in white hot with rage.

Sarajin took a deep breath and calmed his aching chest. He closed his eyes and thought only of solidifying the image of his sword.

He started to swing his hand, letting the motion of tranquility guide him.

Ripples of light echoed from the hilt of his blade, and the weapon vanished from his mind.

From millions of light years away, his sword appeared in his hand in an instant and his body had drawn upon the power of the Light Wellspring.

A slash of pearl white light cut through pitch black night and when Sarajin opened his eyes, Nazo had passed him by, only for a cut to form over his body a moment after and stagger him.

Sarajin spun around and pointed his blade at the bewildered Nazo, who took one heavy breath and then grit his teeth, clenching his fist against his chest.

Sarajin looked at him with steely eyes and a little glimpse of pity, telling him with a relaxed tone, "I won't let you have your way with people's lives, Nazo. This planet belongs to everyone who lives on it, they aren't toys for your amusement!"

Nazo stood up and brushed his chest off, remarking in a curt and dull sounding tone, "You're just full of boring speeches aren't you...?"

"...Fine." Nazo swung his fists down and erupted with black, diabolical energy the likes of which sent lightning bolts to tear up the surrounding landscape.

With a mad grin he declared, "If you're so desperate to die, I will grant your wish!"

Suddenly, Nazo found himself hammered from above by a mammoth sized mass of darkness that sent him hurtling into the ground.

Sarajin flinched and then was surprised to see Solomon floating up next to him, sighing like a disappointed parent.

"You were supposed to keep this under control, could you not even manage that much?"

Nazo immediately warped back to where he was looking a little scuffed but more annoyed than anything, "Another pest?!"

Solomon raised his brows and muttered, "This beast withstood my attack?"

Sarajin held his sword towards Nazo and nodded, taking the matter seriously, "I think we both underestimated what we're dealing with here."

Nazo crossed his arms and chuckled, "Send as many of your kind as you want, take whatever form you desire! I stand upon the throne of ultimate power, and you are nothing but peons to me!"

Solomon glared the hedgehog down with a cold fury, uttering with his hand held abreast his armor, and darkness exuding from all pores of his being, "Your throne is as empty as your braggart tongue, beast."

"Hmph, are insults all you have?" Nazo raised his hands and started laughing slowly, "You will learn to respect me in your final moments, for I have evolved beyond the ultimate power. Yes...from now on, you can refer to me as Perfect Nazo."

Solomon's glare burned through his helmet, and he bluntly addressed Sarajin as follows, "This creature irritates me."

Sarajin pointed his sword at Nazo and started to shake again, to which Solomon said, "Why are you hesitating? We were told to slay or seal him, your 'peace' has never been an option."

Sarajin tightened his grip in both hands and swung his blade aside, "You're right, I can't afford to hesitate. He threatens the safety of this whole world, maybe even beyond it!"

"I might not have had enough time in this form to beat him by myself, but with you at my side Solomon, I know we can win!"

Solomon let out a brief laugh and then aimed his sights on Nazo once more, "If this beast seeks power, then we will show him it...!"

Light and Darkness now stood side by side against pure Chaos, in a battle that would decide the future of this world...

Next Time: Negative Force