Chapter 18 - Night of the Monkey Pt.3
Soft green low-hanging leaves of willow trees swayed in the wind. Bright pink blossoms of the peach trees faced the morning sun rays. Forests of bamboo stalks stretched to the skies from their rooted spots, the tips of the hard grass rocked back and forth. A calm, clear stream surrounded a small, circular plot of land made of black and white marble stone. Carved with precision and perfection into the symbol of yin and yang.
Standing in the middle of the circle was Subhuti, wearing white and gold martial arts robes, a color combination unique to the grandmaster of his mountain, and academy.
He gazed out at the gentle blowing leaves that inhabited the surroundings, and off the open cliff where the lush mountain range below stretched beyond the horizon, each peak looked so similar yet different as if they were perfectly sculpted by hand. Soft clouds, big and small, floated above them, moving slowly like herds of grazing elephants. The wind would occasionally carry fallen leaves into the sky to their final resting place that only the wind could decide. Flocks of sparrows chirped songs and danced, carefree, flying peacefully with the gusts.
"This new age of Gods and Monsters. Will it blow over like the waves of a turbulent ocean? Or will it erode slowly like a mountain? The mortal suffering of the common folk has already been set in stone. Warm Heated blood will run freely even in Winter's Cold. On this chessboard, you have made your move, now so shall I. Whatever the result, the peach blossoms will continue to bloom."
Subhuti sighed before hearing a light thud behind him.
Wukong had landed, bowing and saluting his teacher, "Master, you summoned me?"
"Tell me, Wukong," said Subhuti, turning around to face his disciple, "Do you know how many years you've been my student?"
"I…I don't know. Training every single day has caused those days to all merge together in my memory. I'm not too clear on how long I have been here,"
"Two years," Subhuti revealed, "For two years, you have studied under my teachings,"
"And I will always be grateful to Master for taking me as a disciple," said the Monkey King as he bowed and saluted once again.
"Do you still remember why you wanted to join?"
"I want to be an immortal," Wukong answered immediately, "And to gain the power to protect my mountain,"
"Ambitious goal for a little monkey; Is what I first thought when you knelt on my front steps that day. But in the end, I gave you a chance. You may have disappointed me once but you are improving steadily these days,"
Subhuti placed a hand on Wukong's shoulder before he began to depart.
"The decision has been made. I will promote you to Second-Grade Disciple," the master said, sparking a large smile across Wukong's face, "Tomorrow before the sun rises, go to Tianheng Plateau with the other Second-Grades, you will join them in their training,"
"Yes, master!"
"Work hard Wukong, perhaps by next year, you'll be a First-Grade Disciple. Then you will finally be taught the Path of Immortality,"
With that, Subhuti floated up, ascending and disappearing into the clouds.
Five Minutes Before Academy Explosion
Glistening armor in the shape of a dragon, with the color of freshly fallen snow of ever-blizzarding mountain tops, and jewels of the clearest of sapphires embedded in its chest and joints. It sped through the night sky, great wings with glowing blue remiges outstretched. Its destination? The purple dome in the distance.
'So the Red One resides in the town over there,' the one within the armor thought.
[ Indeed. What a meek host he has this time. I barely even sensed the both of them ]
'Not worth my time then,'
[ For now. While weak, his current host did manage to awaken him, so who knows? He might become a challenge in the future…or maybe he'll die first ]
'Well, if we're fated to fight then I don't mind as long as he's much stronger by then, but if he dies then there's nothing I can do,'
[ Heh. Even if the host dies before fighting us, your blood will allow you to live for centuries and you can wait for the next one. Perhaps the next host will be better suited for combat ]
'We can worry about the Red Dragon Emperor later Albion. Kokabiel isn't going imprison himself,'
[ The old crow should've allowed us to finish him off, you have the power, Vali ]
'Azazel must have his own reasons, we'll play by them for now,'
The White Dragon Emperor was now well above Kuoh, when suddenly…
[ Vali wait! ] Albion yelled out a warning.
Vali stretched out his wings and flipped upright to come to a halt, hovering above the Kuoh skyline.
"What's wrong Albion?" Vali asked cautiously, already looking around for some possible incoming danger.
[ Someone is…huh? …It's gone ]
"What's gone? I didn't sense anything," said Vali.
[ You didn't? ]
"All I can sense is the battle going on at that school over there," the half-devil gestured towards Kuoh Academy with a nod of his head.
[ Weird ]
"You're not going senile are you?"
[ What senile?! Impossible, unless it's you who is getting sloppy for not being able to sense that aura spike ]
Just as Vali was about to retort, Albion continued.
[ Unless… ]
"Unless what?"
[ It was directed specifically to me ]
"That's possible?"
[ Ah, forget it. Perhaps it was just an instinctual reaction to being so close to Ddraig after hundreds of years ]
"Definitely seems like it, well whatever the case, let's get back to work, we're wasting time here,"
The White Dragon Emperor blasted off towards Kuoh Academy. But unbeknownst to them, a figure had been observing them from the shadows of the rooftop of Kuoh's tallest building, one of the town's few skyscrapers.
The figure stepped out from the cloak of darkness, revealing a tall man, with short navy-blue hair styled neatly. Wearing a gray business suit and trousers, black undershirt, and white tie, it was the same man who had killed Freed and taken the missing Excalibur.
His hands were in his pockets as he watched the White Dragon getting closer and closer to the dome. The young man, with an unreadable expression on his face, observed the battle with a calm stillness.
First, it sounded like the shattering of glass. The loudest glass shatter that anyone has ever heard. Thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of splinters of non-existent glass shooting out in every direction.
Then…
KKRAAAK - BBDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!
Everyone heard it.
Everyone felt it.
How could they not?
It was as if a bomb had just been detonated somewhere in the middle of Kuoh shaking the very foundation of their city, only no one knew where it was. Then came the tremors, waves of intense heat, and cracking shockwaves spreading fast over the city.
Citizens were in a panic.
Emergency services were already on the move.
The ones living closest to Kuoh Academy felt it the most. The side effects of combat. Their houses had cracks running through the walls, roofs, and floors. Their homes were shaking from nonstop quakes. Furniture falling, and windows exploding. Panicked families hid in bedrooms or under tables, taking cover from this horror that had ambushed them on what they had thought was going to be a peaceful night.
Blaring sirens echoed through the night air but the vehicles had to stop from the fissures in the ground.
On the other side of Kuoh, Ahri flipped up onto the rooftop of her apartment. She was dressed in a white tank top with a red hoodie over it, and black yoga pants along with white sneakers. The fox girl had felt the vibrations and weird energy in the air just as she was getting ready to turn in for the night. At first she shrugged it off as whatever the Devils were doing at the school, it wasn't her business anyway, even when the energy of the Fallen Angel Cadre appeared, Ahri dismissed it as something to not worry about. It wasn't her problem. As long as it didn't interfere with her life.
But then the explosion happened.
Along with that energy signature.
It wasn't normal.
Fused with the aura of the Cadre was something else.
"What the hell?" the fox girl muttered, looking out toward Kuoh Academy with her luminescent golden eyes.
"What's going on over there?" she focused and zoned in her senses, "Gremory, Sitri, Wukong, they're all there, but the former two are faint. Injured. Unconscious,"
Ahri raised her head to gaze up at the sky, "What's the Cadre doing up there? He's gone past the clouds and out of the atmosphere. Has he given up? Or did he think that his job was done and that they're all dead?"
As Ahri pondered on the situation, it hit her. An all too familiar chi. One she hasn't felt in more than two thousand years. Her eyes widened and snapped back to stare into the sky.
"I-It's there," she stuttered, her ears flicked, "Then…Then that could only mean that… No…But… Argh! What the hell is happening!?"
In the corner of her eyes, she spotted something white and blue, speeding towards the Academy.
"What?" Ahri watched as it flew past above her.
[ Are you going to make a move, Ahri? ]
A sudden deep but tranquil voice asked, materializing within her mind.
Shocked, Ahri took a second to reply, and she did so with caution.
'Why do my actions matter to you? Who are you?'
[ Always so serious fox, you don't remember an old ally? ]
'Old ally?'
[ Am I not? Tiamat told me you're in town. But I've known from the start ]
Shock crossed Ahri's face, her eyebrows raising and her mouth parting.
"Y-You…!" she sipped in her breath sharply.
[ You don't recognize me anymore? ]
'...It's been a while,'
[ Two thousand years isn't that long ]
'...Never mind that. After two thousand years of silence, you suddenly contact me via telepathy after knowing that I've been in town for a week. You want something don't you?'
[ A small favor ]
'What is it?'
[ Intercept the Vanishing Dragon, don't allow him to reach Kuoh Academy ]
'Vanishing Dragon? He just flew past me, with his speed he'll be there at any second now,'
[ I know, I saw, but you know you're fast enough to catch up ]
Ahri took a moment to think before answering, '...I'll do it, but first I want to know why,'
[ I see ]
'Don't worry, as you said, I can catch up,'
[ The Peach Blossoms are in full bloom. Sitting at the circular stone table on the mountain's peak. The pink leaves gently rain down. The cool caress of the breeze. A cup of Ember-Jade wine in hand. But where are those who share the memory? ]
'...,'
[ A crow caws upon the towers of stone, where the Fallen Gods rest ]
The familiar voice then severed the telepathic link. Leaving the fox girl to collect her another word, Ahri kicked off with incredible speed leaving behind a wave of dust and a cracked rooftop.
"Kokabiel's energy spiked," said Vali. His eyes narrowed behind the white draconic helmet.
Kuoh Academy, which was now just a giant crater in the ground, was getting closer and closer.
[ Best hurry up Vali ] Albion told him, [ It is not natural for someone like Kokabiel to grow in power that abruptly, something is wrong ]
"It'll be fine, besides I've been itching for a good fight. It's been a while since I could let loose," the White Dragon Emperor smirked, "Or do you doubt my abilities, Albion?"
[ Hmph, just don't make a mistake, I'd hate to lose a host with much potential as you. If it really comes down to it, we can still use the Juggernaut Drive ]
"On Kokabiel?" Vali scoffed, "No need, I'll end it quickly,"
[ Hah! I admire your confidence. Very well, we'll go straight to him. I can sense him in the clouds ]
"A retreat? No matter, he's not getting away,"
The blue crystalline wings of his shining white dragon armor glowed in the dark night sky like a second moon as Vali diverted his route, going up instead of forward to the crater.
Suddenly, something erupted from the thick layer of clouds.
All Vali saw was a slim red blur before a foot collided into the visor of his helmet. The White Dragon Emperor was sent tumbling down towards the ground before he shook off the state of shock from the ambush. Vali quickly spun in the air and stretched his wings to stabilize his position before glaring up towards his mysterious assailant.
The attacker donned a loosely zipped red hoodie with their face concealed partially by the cowl. Vali scanned the red-clad attacker for any hints on who they were. The results came up short, aside from deducing that the figure was a girl, he failed to gather any more details on who she is.
'Working with Kokabiel?' he wondered as the girl slowly floated down to his level, her hands in the pockets of her hoodie.
[ Careful Vali ] warned Albion, [ Unknown variables are always dangerous ]
The silver-haired fighter called out, "Who stands in my way?!"
The girl did not answer. Unbeknownst to the armored half-devil, the air around them gradually started to heat up.
A gust of wind blew by, ruffling the hood over the girl's head. For just a moment, Vali caught a glimpse of her golden, animalistic eyes. The shadows of her cowl gave her gaze an eerie glow.
"This moment," said the red-clad girl, "You do not know the importance of it. I will not allow you to interfere,"
"Is that so?" Vali's eyes narrowed behind the helmet's visor.
"Leave," she curtly replied.
"Unfortunately, that I can't do," replied the White Dragon Emperor, pivoting his body slightly to the side, ready for any type of immediate action, "I have a mission, and I intend to finish it,"
[ Vali, are you sure about this? ]
"Kokabiel can wait, this will serve as my warm-up," the half-devil smirked, "Don't worry Albion, I'll make this quick,"
In the blink of an eye, Vali disappeared and reappeared in front of the hooded girl with a closed fist winded back. Snapping it forward as soon as he got into striking distance.
To his surprise, the girl easily caught the punch.
"So this is your choice, Vanishing Dragon?"
Vali didn't respond with words, but a flurry of quick jabs, hooks, uppercuts, and kicks. His attacks met no target as the girl continuously dodged each one with an aura of grace and expertise.
A roundhouse kick was whipped forward, the girl parried the hit away before slamming her palm into Vali's chest, sending him back several paces.
The White Dragon Emperor dusted off the spot where he was just hit, and grinned, "Interesting, keep this up and I might just enjoy this,"
Underneath the hood, the silent girl's eyes observed her opponent, wary of every twitch of a muscle.
"Let's see how much power you have," said Vali, wearing an excited expression on his face.
The blue crystals of the white armor's wings suddenly gleamed, and a loud voice echoed in the night sky.
[ DIVI– ]
The girl quickly outstretched her hand and snapped her fingers, saying a single word.
"Combust,"
Vali's eyes widened when his attack was interrupted and as he felt the sudden shift of temperature swirling around him. From a comfortable warmth that erupted into an intense blaze of heat, an explosion of flames detonated where he hovered.
"Kuh," he shielded his head but couldn't stop his body from flying backward taking the full force of the point-blank explosion.
Before he could react, a hand interrupted his vision as the girl rushed forward and grabbed onto his helmet.
"Let's take this somewhere else, I'm starting to like this city and don't want to blow it up by accident," she said.
Vali didn't have time to reply before the red-clad girl tore open a portal of red-hot flames and threw him in, following shortly after.
[ ORIGINAL: KICK OF THE DOUBLE DRAGONS ]
The twin azure dragons of energy tore through the sky, reaching Kokabiel in only a couple of seconds. The Cadre looked unfazed, he held out a hand that glowed purple and the two dragons distorted into a ball of energy within his palm. Kokabiel's abdominal mouth opened as he placed that energy inside.
A look of shock spread across Mori's face when the mouth opened and spewed out a pair of purple, toxic-looking reptiles. Without access to his powered-up state, flight was an ability that he couldn't utilize, and he might as well have given Kokabiel a free punch to the face. Still, Mori jerked his body to the side and narrowly dodged the counter attack.
Kokabiel smirked, recognizing the martial artist's current weakness of being unable to stay in the air for long. As long as he had distance and stayed in the sky, all he had to do was pelt Mori with Corrupted Light and that was that. On the other hand, there was nothing better than sinking your hands into the opponent's blood and tearing them apart yourself. Truly, a dilemma for the Cadre.
Mori looked up at the monster as he descended, 'The only way for me to hit him is if he comes to me. If he's smart he'll stay up and use the range as his advantage, forcing me to be vulnerable in the air. I need a way to lure him to the ground,'
Kokabiel generated an eerie, swirling, purple light spear behind him and pointed it at Mori. The boy braced for impact. If that mixture of light and stolen destruction magic hit the ground, no doubt the crater would get even deeper.
'If I dodge and that thing hits the ground, who knows how much more of Kuoh will be destroyed. Damn it, he's forcing me into the air either way!' Mori thought with gritted teeth.
Then his brown eyes widened, as Kokabiel smirked down at him. With a turn of his finger, the spear changed direction and pointed directly at the center of Kuoh Town. At the same time, Kokabiel poured in even more energy, making the spear gradually grow in size.
"Fuck!" Mori cursed out loud.
He was trapped.
Stay on the ground, Kuoh gets blown up. Jump into the air, Kuoh gets blown up. Do nothing, Kuoh still gets blown up.
Kokabiel was playing with him, that was clear enough. He was enjoying this newfound power from that peach.
Five minutes.
That was the town's only lifeline.
Five minutes until Sirzechs and the Devil Leaders mass teleport the citizens of Kuoh to a safe place, and Mori had offered to stall those five minutes. It hadn't even been a minute but Mori felt as if he had already been fighting for five years.
His heart beated loudly in his ears, he had to act fast, he knew he had to do something but his mind went blank whenever he reached that point. He thought about calling out to Sirzechs to blast the spear out of the sky, but he couldn't risk delaying the teleportation spell, and he couldn't risk the chance that the spear could be faster than Sirzechs's attack. Whatever happens in the next five minutes is all on him.
His eyes darted around, spotting the piles upon piles of rubble around him.
"Shit…this better work," was all he could mutter, looking back up at Kokabiel.
Mori's heels crunched into the ground as he took off in a hyper sonic sprint, lapping around and around the Kuoh Academy crater. Kokabiel raised an eyebrow as he watched Mori launching hundreds of pieces of wreckage, rubble, and other pieces of solid material randomly into the air at random heights and distances away from each other.
"A desperate attempt?" questioned the Cadre. None of the pieces were high enough to hit him, it was almost as if Mori had begun cleaning the Academy's giant basin.
Mori didn't stop until the walls of the crater were smooth and the inside of the crater was spotless. Every single piece of rock no matter how small was currently flying into the sky. As for Mori, he never stopped sprinting and even started running across the walls, circling the crater as he got higher and higher. With every step, he made sure to release slips of energy every time his foot left the surface. Once in a while he would add in several roundhouse and spinning hook kicks while sticking to the wall. Anyone who was watching would've thought that he had gone crazy.
But the Monkey had other plans in mind.
And Kokabiel soon realized what it was.
He thought that Mori had been flailing around and hopelessly letting out some steam but now he realized how wrong he was. He realized that every step, every stone launched, every kick was predetermined, with a designated role to play. Every bit of energy used up, how much force was behind what had been planned in the amount of time lightning could strike.
Mori finally sped up. A cyclone had already begun to generate from within the crater, filling up the edges, rising up like a geyser and swirling the thousands of pieces of rubble around in the air, ensuring that not a single one escaped.
Kokabiel clicked his tongue as the cyclone and splintered shards blasted up faster than he expected. Bits of rock had already flown by his face and he shrunk the size of the spear, in case a stray rock made contact with it and it detonated in his face.
When Mori finally made his way to the top of the crater, he rocketed into the air and cloaked a leg in blue flames. He delayed it for a second before launching the Blue Dragon into the cyclone. The Dragon looked to be as if it was absorbed into the cyclone as it rode the winds up towards Kokabiel.
Mori didn't stop there as he landed on a chunk of rock that had been circling around.
Once again he sent a Blue Dragon into the cyclone.
'Another,'
The hollow roar of the serpentine beast echoed through the cyclone.
'Another,'
A fourth Blue Dragon entered the orbit of turbulent winds.
'Another,'
The inside of the cyclone flashed a circuit of vibrant, blazing, blue.
'Another! Another! One last one!'
- 3 MINUTES REMAINING -
Kokabiel cursed aloud when the cyclone gulped him down its wild spinning mouth. Just as he was about to fire off his destructive light spear, shards of splintered rock, sharpened by the enraged whirlwind, started to speed towards him from every angle.
But that wasn't the end, from within the cyclone the dragons erupted with a collective roar. Mori, who had been using the stones as platforms, bounded from one to the other, up and up like a crazed pinball, until he burst from within the circle of azure dragons.
[ ORIGINAL: Clan of Dragons ]
[ RE - HWECHOOK ]
Kokabiel snarled and roared, "Pathetic attempt!"
Mori didn't respond and lashed out his kick as the dragons followed. They opened their jaws to crunch on Kokabiel's limbs and body. The monster didn't let this bother him and sent the Spear of Corrupted Light and Destruction out towards the town just as Mori's kick closed in on his face.
But the martial artist never made contact. Instead Mori hooked his foot around Kokabiel's neck to swing around and used the monstrous former fallen angel's back as a launch pad, springing off in the direction of the spear. Kokabiel was just about to look back but another Blue Dragon had been shadowing Mori and replaced his spot, biting into his shoulder.
A howl of annoyance and pain was released from Kokabiel's mouth and the Cadre pried the dragon off his shoulder and was about to do the same to the other seven latching onto his body before they all started to detonate into azure flames.
Mori on the other hand had set up a ninth dragon that had burst out from the body of the cyclone and sped after the spear closing into Kuoh's center. It was a risk to predetermine and predict when and where Kokabiel's destructive spear would be launched. Everything came down to luck, but it looks like luck was on Mori's side this time and the hidden Azure Dragon had been released at just the right time to chase down the spear.
The martial artist, after kicking off Kokabiel, caught up to his energy dragon. One step, two steps, three steps, and he ran across the top of the azure dragon. When he got to the head, he had no doubts that the spear would destroy the town and the surrounding mountain and forests easily. The mystery, malevolent, energy within it was the main cause of concern. But Mori wasted no time, his priority now wasn't to study whatever it was, it was to eradicate it. He dug one foot into the head of the dragon and with a battle cry, Mori diverted the dragon. First going low and under, then with a kick, sent the dragon flying up towards the spear. The azure dragon chomped onto the spear, carrying it in its jaws as the both of them flew off into the atmosphere, exploding in a shining blue and purple high in the sky where no lives were in danger of it.
A large smile stretched across Mori's face. His plan had succeeded. He quickly redirected his fall so that he could land on top of a building. Now, all he had to do was wait for the initial plan to finish.
- 2 MINUTES REMAINING -
It was from that high view where Mori could see that the people of the town were already responding to the tremors and fighting on their own. Sirens blared and panicked screaming and shouting could be heard from every corner. Mori sighed, he just hoped that he was doing enough to save all of them, and that no innocent people had died yet…and no news reporters or journalists were making their way to Kuoh Academy. How the hell would they even explain this anyway. Surely if the Devils have a mass teleportation spell, they have a mass memory alteration one too, right?
A sudden explosion cut him off of his thoughts. Looking back at the school, he saw that Kokabiel had escaped from and blew up his blue whirlwind dragon combo attack. An expression of disappointment briefly flashed across his face.
"I worked hard on that," he pouted, "I gave it a name too,"
Even from the far distance between them, he could feel the former fallen angel turning his head in his direction, leering at him with the most hateful expression that the Cadre could create..
Mori exhaled sharply as he got ready to continue the fight, "Okay, all right," he said to himself, jumping up and down to warm himself up again, "Just a little more, and the people will be safe and Devil Leader backup will arrive,"
A sonic boom rang through the night sky, and in less than a second Kokabiel had reached him. His monstrous bulk tore through the air without any friction.
Mori crossed his arms across his chest to block a winded up uppercut boosted by the momentum gained from the speed. The martial artist was sent soaring back and across the Kuoh skyline.
'Yeaah that one hurt, shoulda just dodged,' thought Mori as he twisted his body to gain better balance while in the air, 'But damn, his fist is bigger than my head. What kind of peach did he eat?'
Kokabiel didn't end his assault there, the building below his feet crumbled as he shot off towards Mori. Screaming followed shortly after as the civilians watched the building fall to the ground in chunks of wrecked concrete.
"The people!" Mori exclaimed, watching the scene from above.
But he had no time to do anything about it as Kokabiel was upon him again.
Mori snapped out a kick, Kokabiel blocked with his massive forearm.
The martial artist tried hooking his foot around the Cadre's limbs but the monster reacted fast and grabbed onto his leg before he had a chance to continue his attacks. Mori grit his teeth and used the hold on his leg as anchorage for another kick, only for it to be snatched again.
Kokabiel's second mouth opened, a blue orb forming within.
'Ah…fuck,'
The orb shrieked to life as it transformed into a replica of Mori's own blue dragons. Kokabiel smirked and not half a second later, he blasted the dragon out of his stomach mouth, point-blank into Mori.
Sending the martial artist flying through a tall business building and landing inside a neighboring skyscraper.
Mori pushed aside a desk and a shelf that had fallen onto him as he stood up. He panted, trying to regain his balance before feeling something rising out from his throat. He quickly covered his mouth as he coughed up blood into his hand. Crimson seeped between his finger tips, he stared at his bloodied hand for a moment before flinging it off. Looking around he saw that at least the floor he had crashed into was empty and dark.
"...Have to…get back…to…the school," he said between heavy breaths. With a hand over his abdomen, he took equally heavy steps towards the giant hole he had made, "I can't…risk the city taking anymore…damage, I won't let…anyone die,"
Suddenly a sharp pain shot through his entire body. Every one of his muscles tensed as it felt like hundreds of molten snakes cloaked in thunder and serrated steel barbs, slithered around in his veins and nervous system. Traversing to every inch of his body, from his brain down to his toes. Mori couldn't even let out a scream as the unexpecting pain took over him far too quickly, it was as if an invincible force punched all the air out of him.
A sharp inhale, a whisper of a whimper was all the sound he could make before dropping to the ground, his knees hit the cold, hard, ground first before lurching over, slamming his forehead until it cracked the floor. He managed to drag one hand over his heart, sinking his fingertips into the skin through his battle-damaged shirt, and feeling the rib cage protecting it. It wasn't long before the second wave of blood spurted from his mouth.
'What? What? What? What? What? What?' his mind was sent into a state of panic.
He tried pushing himself off the ground but he could no longer feel his arms, or more accurately, the pain within his arm was so great that it had taken over every other sensation to the point where his mind no longer registered it.
- 50 SECONDS REMAINING -
He felt weaker, much, much weaker. His eyes stretched wide when he perceived the reason.
'The Boost Transfer! The duration has ended! I used up too much power earlier, how many Azure Dragons did I produce within this half hour alone? Ten? Twenty? And then there was the damage I took, but I didn't even get hit more than three times…dammit, so this is what it feels like to be on the receiving end of my own technique, fused with Sirzechs's Power of Destruction too,'
Mori managed to lift his torso back up as he sat on his legs, shoulder slumped over from exhaustion.
'Still, I don't remember anyone else going through this…this type of pain after being Boosted by Issei…shit, it really hurts. Can my body not handle any external power enhancers?'
Mori stared out at the chaotic city below, thankfully Kokabiel seemed to have deemed their fight over and left the area, giving Mori a little time to breathe and recollect his thoughts. No matter how much pain and agony his body was in, until Kokabiel was stopped, captured or killed, this fight wasn't over, and he couldn't stop here.
- 20 SECONDS REMAINING -
Thankfully, the pain from before seemed to begin its dissipation, allowing the martial artist to slowly push himself back onto his feet. He limped over closer to the hole, getting a clearer look at the situation.
- 10 SECONDS REMAINING -
It started as a soft shower but the clouds eventually released torrents of rain, until a heavy shower came down. Stray rain drops flew towards Mori, misting his face and blue hair wet, mixing in with his sweat as water dripped down his cheeks and chin.
From his vantage point, he spotted Kuoh Academy Crater. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the small city and in his current state, getting there in time would be impossible. He just hoped that Sirzechs was able to pull off the spell without any interruptions.
Then he heard it. Then he saw it.
The faint hum of a teleportation spell practically drowned out by the roaring pitter-patter, the same one he had heard many times before. And then… A pale red glow emanating from the ground, illuminating even through the curtains of crashing rain.
A small smile was able to spread across his lips.
The teleportation spell had been cast. His mission was complete.
One by one, two by two, tens and hundreds of the people of Kuoh were transported away from their small city which had been turned into a battleground for what they would consider as creatures only seen in myths and tales.
Mori didn't know where they were sent, but he trusted Sirzechs, Grayfia, and Ajuka's ability. The Research Club and Student Council members would've been among the first to be teleported so they were safe.
He sighed in relief as he waited for his turn for extraction.
…
…
…
But it never came.
Kuoh was now empty, void of all moving life from humans, to birds, to pets, and even insects. Mori walked a lap around the building floor he was on, looking out of each window to survey the area. What happened? Why wasn't he teleported with them?
Mori stopped back by the opening by the side of the building.
'Did something go wrong?... Or is something, someone, keeping me here,' he thought.
He raised his head and peered up at the darkened sky. Dark gray clouds covered the stars, constantly releasing its imprisoned water storage.
Kokabiel was no longer seen, but his aura, along with that strange presence that came with it, both were still in the area though only somewhat detectable.
Mori took a deep breath. Why he didn't teleport away with the others will be a problem saved for later. The current issue he had to worry about was still around. He just had no idea where. But one thing was for sure, it was that…
"This fights not over,"
ONE MINUTE BEFORE TELEPORTATION
[ Zechs, do you copy? ]
The Maou Lucifer placed two fingers to his ear, resting inside was a small glowing red sphere.
"Loud and clear Ajuka," he said, twisting his free hand to continue conjuring the crimson sigil on the ground.
Grayfia, who had arrived three minutes ago was assisting with the spell, holding out both arms to create runes across the circle while simultaneously holding a large red, pulsating orb above it.
Issei, while injured, was still doing his part, gathering all his unconscious companions and lining them up side by side. The Devil Leader had told him that they would be fine and among the first to be transported which was the only source of comfort he had. The sooner they were away from Kuoh, the sooner they could be healed. The Pawn slumped onto the ground, sitting with his legs spread apart and panting from exhaustion. He didn't know how he was the only one still awake out of all of his friends. Mori was a weird phenomenon so he knew that the monkey boy would be fine, but Rias, Sona, Akeno, and almost everyone else were still stronger than him but had been knocked out.
Was he just lucky? Or did Ddraig do some last second string pulling. Whatever it was, it didn't really matter at the moment. Issei looked around at the surrounding buildings of Kuoh, the tremors shook the walls of houses and uprooted trees. His eyebrows drooped, and he sighed. Kuoh was his home, the place he grew up in, where he had many experiences, many firsts, and many ups and downs. Now, there was a high chance that the place he calls home was going to crumble and burn into dust and ash. He grit his teeth, cursing his helpless position and his powerlessness but in the back of his mind, he knew that it wouldn't change anything.
Closeby, Grayfia heard a hollow chime emitting from the runeed sigil. She turned towards Sirzechs.
"It's done, Mass Teleportation is ready to be cast," she told him and received a nod from the Maou.
"Ajuka, we're ready," Sirzechs informed his friend.
[ Just in time, I've found a place by the seaside, it should be far enough for them to be safe and close enough that it wouldn't take more than day to get back ]
"Got it, coordinates,"
[ X,7713 , Y2213 ]
"What unit of measurement are you using?"
[ The one we always use ]
"Right," said Sirzechs, registering the location into the floating orb, "We're good to go, thank you old friend I owe you one,"
[ No problem, let's have a drink together when you get back ]
"Haha, I'd love too," then the Maou lowered his voice to a whisper, "If Grayfia allows it,"
[ Heh, we'll discuss your escape plan latter, you have a city to save ]
With that the glowing sphere in Sirzechs's ear dimmed, the Maou Lucifer took it out and dispelled before focusing back on the orb in front of him.
"Hyoudou-kun, are you ready?" he called out to the Pawn. Upon hearing his name, Issei hobbled over.
"I'm ready," he replied.
Sirzechs nodded at Grayfia and she began to chant, beside her, the crimson Maou performed several hand gestures, fingers pointing and curling.
The orb that the two older devils were controlling gave off one last pulse, spanning through the entire town of Kuoh. Then, Issei let out a startled yelp as the ground beneath his feet simmered a pale red before giant crimson runes were drawn all across the reddened ground.
"Look over your friends, Hyoudou-kun," said Sirzechs, "We'll be there shortly,"
"Wha?" Issei gasped as he saw that all the unconscious club and council members along with the blue-haired exorcist glowed red before disappearing in a flutter of neon scarlet particles. Issei looked down at his hands and feet and saw that he was giving off the same shine.
The familiar white void of teleportation travel overtook his vision.
When he adjusted his eyes he immediately began looking around, searching for where his friends ended up and surveying his surroundings to determine where they were.
Thankfully, the young devils and lone exorcist were still together in a group, albeit a little ways away.
Issei grinned and ran towards them as fast as he could, but his injuries held him back. It was then he heard the gentle splashing of waves, and the salty but fresh smell of the sea reached his nose. The pawn glanced over to the side and saw the vast plane of dark blue stretching beyond the night's horizon.
Away from the light pollution from civilization, he could clearly see the gleaming milky way shining down upon them, illuminating their surroundings with the moon. Issei was a bit reluctant to avert from such a sigh but making sure that his friends were okay was his priority. He raced with a wince across the empty plateau. As he ran, the chime of new arrivals via teleportation echoed all across the giant landform.
By the tens and even hundreds, the citizens of Kuoh appeared on the plateau. Their confused expressions and voices filled the air as people tried to find their loved ones or at least the ones they know.
Issei slowed down, as he stared at the growing crowd, 'Mom and Dad are in there…Is that?...I think I see them…,'
His suspicions were confirmed correct, his heightened senses gifted to him by his new devil DNA allowed him to hear his name being called out from within the sea of people.
"Issei?! Issei!?"
"Son! Are you here!?"
The pawn came to a stop. The brown hair of his parents bobbed around from within the crowd.
"They're right there, I can see them," he raised his hand and began to call out, "Mo-," but he stopped himself.
"No, not right now," he muttered, clenching his fist, "They're okay, that's all that matters, I need to see to the others. I'm the only conscious one, I have to watch over them, and protect them until this is all over. It's my responsibility, as Rias Gremory's Pawn, as a Devil, as the next Red Dragon Emperor,"
With that he tore his eyes away from his parents and sprinted towards the group of young devils, lying a fair bit away from the growing cluster of people.
[ Interesting choice, most would choose blood over water ]
'Ddraig, you're there and what do you mean?'
[ I'm always here. To answer you, I have had many hosts in the past, you know that. When they faced situations like this, family over friends, they chose family every time. You are the first to choose your friends ]
'Is that bad?'
[ Hard to say, like I said, you are the first ]
'Yeah well, I just…I don't know, I just have this weird feeling that it'll be better if they don't see me right now. Like it'll be safer? I don't know how to explain this, '
[ You don't want them to know that you're a Devil now. Is that it? ]
'Yeah, that and…I just think it'll be safer for them to not know, for now at least,'
At last Issei reached the group and put his hands on his knees as he caught his breath.
'And besides, we technically caused all of this didn't we?'
[ Did you? With or without your intervention, Kokabiel still would've launched an attack with the Excaliburs. If not Kuoh, then somewhere else perhaps another place not as populated by Devils or Angels ]
'Well, I don't know. I just think now that I have the power, whatever happens in this town will be our responsibility to deal with. And that means protecting Kuoh and everything that lives inside it, Devil and Human.'
[ Hah! Looks like your mind isn't always filled with breasts and sex ]
'Hey! Don't ruin the moment!'
[ All right, haha. You're an interesting one Hyoudou Issei, I look forward to seeing what kind of Red Dragon Emperor you will become ]
"Issei?"
The Pawn looked down at the group to see Yuuto pushing himself off the ground, supporting his weight with one arm.
"Kiba!" Issei rushed and skidded down to his side, "Don't move too much, you took a lot of damage,"
"Where are we?" the Knight asked, looking around.
"I don't know, but we're safe here," Issei told him as he gave an explanation of what had happened after Kuoh Academy was turned into the Kuoh Crater.
"I see," said Yuuto softly, looking at the ground, "At least the others are okay,"
"Yeah, Maou-sama and Grayfia said that they, and you, were just unconscious from exhausting all their strength,"
Yuuto clicked his tongue and rose to a seated position, "Damn it, how did it come to this? We couldn't even put a dent on Kokabiel before he transformed, if we were stronger, none of this would've happened,"
Issei looked solemnly at his blonde friend, "Yeah," a playful smile grew on his face as he nudged the swordsman on the shoulder, "Hey, don't look so gloomy. Don't think I didn't see, you're the only one out of us Devils to make him bleed,"
Yuuto raised an eyebrow, "It was just a scratch,"
"Still though, it was so cool," hollered Issei excitedly, "I couldn't stop my jaw from dropping, you used Akeno-san's lightning as a shield and feint attacks. Then you deflected one straight towards him to distracting before creating a sword in your mouth to slash his face!"
"It didn't work,"
"Are you serious? It looked like I was watching an anime in real life… Okay, I hate to admit it but I understand why all the girls chase after you now,"
Yuuto tilted his head to the side.
"You…you, ugh. For a moment, when you were rushing at Kokabiel…you looked…ha…hand…," Yuuto subtly smirked, knowing what Issei was trying to say but he didn't interrupt.
'Fuck, why am I getting flustered?! Why does it feel like I'm confessing to Kiba!? Argh screw it, let's tear the bandaid off in one go,'
"You-looked-good," Issei said so quickly, it almost sounded like he was slurring his words and shot him a thumbs up.
But the swordsman already understood what he was trying to say. A smile stretched across his lips before he let out a chuckle that quickly turned into laughter. A genuine one too, one that Issei probably hadn't seen in a long time, or ever for that matter. Soon the Pawn couldn't help it and joined in, their chorus lasted for a while over on the other side of the plateau.
Yuuto wiped the growing tears in his eyes from laughing too much, "Hahahehehe, you don't look half bad yourself sometimes you know,"
Issei, who was trying to control his breathing, replied, "Really? Coming from the "Prince of Kuoh" I feel like I'm being knighted,"
"...," Yuuto stared at him blankly.
",,,Ah, shit, yeah that sounded better in my head," admitted the Pawn.
Yuuto snorted, "Don't worry Issei, surely on your journey to be Harem King, at least one girl will like your lame puns,"
Normally, Issei would retort but after seeing the grin on his friend's face, he decided to let it go, and he simply replied, "Yeah, yeah, plenty of fish in the sea I know, I know,"
"Are you saying that because we're right next to the sea?"
"No! There was no pun in that!"
The two boys broke out into chuckles again, until the sight of Sirzechs and Grayfia appearing stopped them, reminding them that the conflict had yet to be over, but the break was well deserved.
"Maou-sama," the two younger devils greeted with a dip of their heads.
Sirzechs smiled at the duo, "Glad to see you're all here," he nodded towards his spouse, "Grayfia, please begin the check up on my sister and the others,"
The silver-haired maid bowed and walked over the unconscious Rias, crouching down and hovering a magic circle over her body.
As she did so, Sirzechs noticed Issei and Yuuto looking around as if they were searching for something.
"What's wrong?"
"Excuse me, Maou-sama, but have you seen Mori?" asked Yuuto.
"Yeah, I thought he was coming with you?" added Issei.
Their questions caused the red-haired leader to raise his eyebrow, "With me? But I clearly sent him over along with you guys,"
"Huh?" the two younger devils blinked.
"He's not here?" the Maou Lucifer questioned, receiving a shrug from Issei and a shake of the head from Yuuto, "Weird, he was among the first I transported,"
"Then that means…he's still back in Kuoh, he's still fighting Kokabiel!" realized Issei, his brown-eyed widened.
"Maou-sama, —" began Yuuto.
"I know," the Crimson-Haired Leader quickly replied and the ground around his feet glowed red, "I'll go get him now and provide assistance if he needs it,"
But after a minute of waiting, the Maou's teleportation never activated. Everytime it glowed, looking as if it was going to work, it would simmer back down to a pale red light. Sending a wave of shock and confusion through the devils.
"Something is blocking the teleportation," deduced Sirzechs.
"Tha-That's a thing?!" Issei sputtered with exasperation.
"Yes, certain barriers, seals, fields, dimensions, and the like have the ability to dispel teleports," The Crimson Leader explained and rubbed his chin, pondering on the cause of it, "It's definitely possible for Kokabiel to create such a barrier with his new power but…,"
"But, what Maou-sama?" urged Issei.
"My intuition says that this wasn't caused by Kokabiel," revealed Sirzechs.
"What do you mean?" Yuuto asked.
"I'm not sure myself, it's just a suspicion," said the red-haired devil, "With that in mind, I'm going to fly over to check,"
Issei stepped forward, "I'll come with,"
"No," Sirzechs quickly replied, "Stay here and help Grayfia, the rest of your friends should be waking up anytime now anyway, I'll just be taking a look and I'll bring Mori back if I find him,"
Yuuto nodded, "Good luck, Maou-sama,"
With that Sirzechs released his many, dark, leather, bat-like wings and took to the sky in the direction of Kuoh.
The trees and roads below were a blur as he sped through the night sky. The towers of the small city were still visible, although there were no humans in that town right now, the electricity was still on so the surroundings of Kuoh were still well lit, that from far away, there was a halo kind of glow over the giant town.
But the more he flew, the faster he flew, Kuoh never got any closer. Always on the same line on the horizon, unmoving but standing confidently tall. It didn't take long for Sirzechs to realize what was happening.
'I've triggered an illusory trap!' He immediately stopped mid flight, hovering in the air as he looked around for the perpetrator, 'I must've passed the barrier's borders at some point then. Damn, so seamlessly set too, whoever this is, they've done this sort of thing many times before, they're experienced that's for sure,'
Sirzechs kept his guard up as he slowly moved forward.
'Illusion magic is often considered to be a basic to intermediate type of magic, but to master it is extremely difficult and many leave it behind considering it a useless style. But I've seen people wield it well, from what I've seen, Reiz is extremely skilled with illusions, perhaps even the best of his generation. I hate to admit it but whoever did this is very good too,"
Suddenly, the space around him started to shift and swirl. Spiraling in a distorted circular flow.
"What the?!" Sirzechs tried to free himself from the bending space but before he could do anything, he was sucked in like dust to a vacuum. The distorting spirals vanished along with him.
On top of a mountain, at the peak where one could have a good look over the entirety of Kuoh, stood the young man in a gray suit. Around him, dressed in similar business attire were two beautiful girls looking to be in their late teens to early twenties. The taller one had long, light blue hair flowing down to her legs, a busty, hourglass figure, and had on a black suit, wearing a white blouse underneath with the first few buttons undone, showing off her cleavage. She had a smirk on her face, and was known as Tiamat, the Chaos Karma Dragon. The second had a gentle, delicate face, her wavy, pale purple hair fluttered in the soft wind and her vibrant amber eyes were locked onto the empty city in the distance. Like her companion, she also donned smart attire, a long-sleeved white blouse and skirt displayed her curves well but still kept an aura of profession.
The cover of a large tree with a thick canopy shaded them from the drizzle of rain.
"Where did you send him, My Lord?" Tiamat asked as she looked up at the navy-haired man who balanced on the very tip of the mountain.
"Tokyo," he simply replied.
"So close?" The dragon inquired.
The purple-haired girl answered her, "It's so that the Maou Lucifer doesn't get the wrong idea, we're not here for a fight so we won't be harming anyone, so we're just sending a message that we can't have anyone interfering in this, no matter what their rank or affiliation is," the timid-looking girl then glanced up nervously at the male, "...D-Did I answer it right, My Lord?"
He nodded and gave her a small smile, "Correct, Ingvild, I can see that you have been studying hard,"
"I-It's nothing, compared to the chance that you have given me," Ingvild stammered and politely bowed.
"Loosen up a bit Leviathan," Tiamat laughed, playfully elbowing the shorter girl in the shoulder, "I know it's your first mission out with the boss but you don't have to be so stiff and formal all the time,"
"Y-yes, Tiamat-senpai,"
"So, how much longer are we going to be here?" asked the blue dragon.
"Until an 'Eruption', many factors are in play for it to be a coincidence this time," the young man told them, "There's no doubt, A Sage will be appearing here very soon,"
"But, the city is empty now, how will one appear if there's no one there?" asked Ingvild.
"Patience, Ingvild, as of now it'll be more beneficial for your learning l if you just observe,"
"Hehe, you'll get used to it Leviathan, many of these missions are just long waiting games," said Tiamat. The woman moaned lightly as she stretched her back from standing still for too long, "Though I wish that someone would allow us to bring something to eat to these missions,"
"No," the young man curtly replied.
"Why not?"
"Because the last time we did that you brought a barrel of alcohol,"
"It was two,"
"My point exactly, I need everyone to have a clear head, especially on an Eruption mission,"
"I can hold my liquor," Tiamat shot back smugly, "Veeerrry well,"
"I don't care, and would you stop, I don't want Ingvild to be influenced by you and you habits,"
"Hmph, fine," the dragon crossed her arms with a huff and looked away.
Ingvild shyly scratched her cheek with a soft giggle.
The purple-haired girl then raised her head to ask her leader, "My Lord, from what I've heard, Eruptions can get rather catastrophic,"
"Yes, they are," he answered her, his eyes sweeping over Kuoh and its surroundings, "That's why we must contain it to a smaller field, the damage will be more concentrated however it won't spread as far,"
"I see," replied Ingvild, "But, aren't we still a bit close?"
"We're just the distance we need to be, I've already set up the protective fields around the perimeter. However if it fails to hold, I'll get all of us out of here,"
The purple-haired Leviathan simply nodded.
"Calm your heart and get ready, Ingvild. It's going to begin soon,"
Currently, Mori was munching on a fruit-flavored candy bar. It had been nearly ten minutes since Kokabiel halted his assault and seemingly disappeared, and during this brief moment of cease fire, the martial artist took it upon himself to go and refuel his body. After wandering the halls of the tall building he landed in, he found an indoor convenience shop and liberated some items contained upon their open prisons known as shelves.
As much as he would've liked to end this fight as quickly as possible, a little time to breathe was certainly welcome and his body thanked him for it especially after the unexplainable rebound that happened earlier.
"Ugh, I can still feel my back and legs stinging," he groaned with a mouthful of food.
He made his way back to the area he crashed in and pulled a chair over with him to sit by the window. The silent city greeted him with some flickers of light from the surrounding businesses. He sighed and finished off his snack. He even thought about taking a short nap but with the looming unseen threat still ever present in the area, it was one luxury he couldn't afford. Just then he looked down and saw the state of his clothes, the once baggy white t-shirt was now torn and singed, as if it had gone through some type of flaming shredder. It was now more black, brown, and gray with only small hints of white, clinging to him by only small threads of string.
The martial artist stood up and ripped it off, throwing it to the side.
"That's another one gone, I should probably buy more after all this," he said to himself, "That is…if Kuoh still exists after this…"
Mori then suddenly slapped his cheeks and opened his eyes with determination oozing out, "No! Don't think like that! I'm gonna win! I feel great! I can do this!"
"Right!" he exclaimed with newfound vigor and pumped his fist out in front of him, "Where is this bastard!?"
Not even the crows or the crickets answered him.
Just silence.
Another groan filled the air as Mori slumped back onto the seat, "Ugghh, honestly, where did he go?"
This time, an answer was given, not by Kokabiel but by a massive tremor that ran through the small city. The building rumbled as cracks ran through its concrete walls, bits of small rubble and dust fell from the ceiling and Mori fell off the seat, completely caught off guard by the sudden quake.
Recovering quickly, he rushed to the window side and looked out.
He narrowed his eyes and spotted a bulking figure hovering down from the thick layer of clouds. But his mouth parted slightly when he saw an indescribably bright light piercing through that same layer. It illuminated the night sky as if the sun had reappeared at midnight.
Mori needed a closer look, without waiting another second, he leaped out of the building and began scaling the side of the structure until he reached the top. On the roof he bounded and perched at the tip of the building's lightning rod akin to a monkey hanging onto the side of a tree branch.
"I know you're still here, worm!" Kokabiel boomed while continuing to slowly float down until he stopped just above the Kuoh skyline.
"Kokabiel!" roared Mori. Brown eyes sharpened on his deadly opponent.
The monster turned his head down to Mori's location with a sinister wide smile, "Interesting move, teleporting all the humans away. But no matter, they will die tonight all the same,"
"Not if I can do something about it!" Mori shot back, "This. Ends. Right. Now!"
"Agreed!"
Kokabiel smirked, "Which is why I'll be finishing this with one last attack!"
"Easier said than done you asshole! I'll stop whatever you throw at me!"
"Really? Puhahahahahahaha" the corrupted fallen angel laughed before he continued, "A very poor choice of words,"
In an instant the clouds burst apart, shattering the rainfall it had been dropping on the city. Mori's eyes widened as far as they could and his jaw dropped. The source of that intense light had been revealed.
Gathering high up in the atmosphere was an absolute titan of a magic construct. A giant lance of blinding light, spanning over kilometers in length and width. Purple streaks of that abnormal energy surged and swam, through and around the lance like massive serpents on the hunt. With the weapon out of its clouded shell, the white and purple glow of the lance spread quickly over, gleaming down the shining light, illuminating every corner, every shadow, and every inch of Kuoh and the surrounding areas.
"If that drops," Mori gasped, a chill ran through his body at the thought of the sheer destructive potential it had.
"That's right! When this impacts the ground, this whole country is going to go up into dust and the sea around it will vaporize!"
"You're crazy!"
Kokabiel cackled, "Hah, I expected better. How ordinary last words!"
With that, Kokabiel raised his arms and threw them forwards. The tremor only grew stronger as the giant lance slowly fell from the sky. Buildings cracked, and crumbled under its pressure, the streets and roads split apart with massive fissures coursing through, and the small city began to dip inward as a growing crater from the gravity of the lance, acting as a sinkhole, pulling the town of Kuoh inside.
Mori jumped off the lightning rod as it was ripped out of the roof, speeding towards the lance. Like a vacuum, it was absorbing in anything light and loose enough. Cars, buses and streetlights were the first to be consumed, but soon bits of construction were torn away, even whole trains were torn from their stations and were sent tumbling up into the bright destruction.
Still the martial artist held his ground, gripping onto whatever surface he could find. Even though he was beginning to pull away, his toes gripped into the surface below his feet as tightly as possible until they started to cramp.
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," he chanted, hopping from flying piece of rubble to flying piece of rubble.
'HOW DO I STOP THiS!?" he screamed mentally, his eyes flicking towards the giant lance and back onto his destroyed route.
He kicked off his current piece of debris and glided over to the next, but a looming shadow was cast over him. Mori looked up and over, and his face fell when he saw half a chunk of the town mall sailing right at him.
"Oh…come on," he muttered before the building collided with him
The next thing he felt was his body hitting the rough, rugged ground on his back. He bounced off before rolling down the slanted earth.
He gritted his teeth and mustered up his strength to shoot an arm out and grip into the ground, his fingers burying inside, hooking into the dirt. His lower body jerked as it came to an abrupt stop.
He released a short sigh of relief. Thought that relief was short-lived.
With the newly regained balance, Mori clung to the side of the ever expanding crater and stared up at the titan-sized light spear in the air, growing closer and closer as it descended, sending Kuoh into a quaking frenzy.
It was the only thing he could do, stare at the impending destruction of the country. His mind went blank as he could no longer think of any more ideas to stop the life-ending disaster. He could feel it within himself that although he could still fight, there was barely any energy left for another Azure Dragon Kick, if he had to, it was to be used as a last resort only. However, he hesitated to release it now, part of him told him that it was pointless and that by doing so he'd simply be delaying the inevitable while losing most of his stamina. The other part of him told him that he had to save it just in case something happened and an opening would present itself.
He closed his eyes.
The only choice left was to let instinct take over.
That asteroid-sized lance in the sky had been calling out to him for a while now. Although that could be his mind playing tricks on him and it was nothing but the gravitational pull of the massive, descending weapon of doom.
Even so, Mori leaped one last time..
Consumed by the swirling lance of lightning and purple sinister serpents of energy.
…
…
…
"Oomph!"
An old man grunted as he set down a large pile of firewood that he had chopped himself. A ragged gray gi clung to his body, comfortably tied together by a short black belt. He ran a hand through his graying hair tied in a low, spiky, ponytail.
"Whew~," he whistled, admiring his work of the pieces of a carved up tree, piled neatly like a pyramid.
"Dinner is just as important as training!" he declared loudly, not that there was anyone close by that was listening anyway, just the birds and the other small animals like squirrels and the occasional stray cat.
"Now, what should I eat tonight?" he pondered with a finger to his chin, "Perhaps…fish, fish has good nutrients and is good for the eyes," he smacked a fist into an open palm and decided, "I'll have fish tonight!"
*C…C-CRA-KA-CRACK!*
The sound of shattering immediately caught the attention of Jin Taejin and he rushed back into his small hut made of clay and wood.
Upon entering his house, something was crushed underneath his feet. He lifted up his foot and saw broken jade-green shards underneath. Looking around the interior of his home, he found the same colored, glassy shards everywhere, as if something had exploded them.
Then he heard some rustling coming from behind a table.
Although not too worried that it'd be a threat to him, he still cautiously approached the source of the noise.
When he saw it, his eyes widened, not with fear or the like, but with curiosity, surprise, and a small hint of amusement.
"Oh ho~?" he walked over to it, ignoring the shards crunching underneath his feet, "So you've decided to make your grand entrance now huh?"
"Ga," the source of the noise and the explosion replied.
It was a toddler, a boy, looking to be no older than a year old, with spiky dark hair and large brown eyes, sitting butt naked on the ground and stuffing a peach into his mouth. At least he tried to, the fruit was a bit too big.
"Gwaa~" the toddler squealed as he opened his mouth even wider, looking as if he was trying to inhale the peach. Saliva dripped down from his mouth and slobbered the peach as he turned it around and around in his tiny but surprisingly strong hands.
Taejin picked him up from under the armpits and spun him around to face him. The old man furrowed his brows as he carefully inspected the child, who simply looked at him curiously, the peach still in his hands…and mouth.
"What an interesting lookin' thing you are," he commented.
The toddler replied by spitting the slobbered peach into Taejin's face.
A wet trail ran down one side of the old martial artist's face as the peach rolled off, and the toddler giggled at the old man's recoiling reaction, waving his arms and swinging his legs
happily in the air.
Taejin quickly regained his composure and chuckled alongside the child.
"You got guts to do that boy!" he grinned that turned into a playful smirk, "Do you know who I am? I am Jin Taejin, the Strongest and Mightiest in the World!"
"...?" the toddler tilted his head to the side, "Gwa?"
"That gorilla gave you to me y'know," he told the child, "Guess that means you're in my care now,"
"Bwaa ba Bwaa~," the toddler opened his mouth and let out weird noises as Taejin spoke.
"That means you're my grandson now, y'know since you were given to me and with super power comes the responsibility of looking after a gorilla's egg and all that," Taejin laughed.
The toddler began gargling his saliva.
"But I can't exactly call you 'boy' for the rest of your life," the old martial artist said, "I gotta give you a name…hmm,"
"How about…," Taejin's eyes gleamed, "Son Goku!...Your hair looks like it but, eh, nah that's taken, and it's Japanese too, and I live in Korea so…"
"What about…," Taejin's eyes gleamed again, "Rock Lee!"
"Little Kong?"
"Jinwoo?"
And so, Taejin went through his list of names that were totally not thought of on the spot, eventually he ran out.
"Uhhh," he racked his brain for at least one more, just one, and that'll be it. He looked at the toddler he was still holding up, laughing at him.
"How 'bout…Mo…Ri?" he suggested, "Mori,"
The toddler seemed to laugh even harder upon hearing the name, causing Taejin to grin too.
"You like that huh? Okay then, from now on, you'll be named Mori! Jin Mori! Grandson of me! The Strongest in the World!"
…
…
…
A monkey trekked through the slopes of a mountain, dense with green and rock. He pulled on roots and branches and any other loose fitting appendage to ascend further. As a primate, he would've had no problem traversing through the trees as a bird would through the clouds, but eight years at sea on a makeshift boat made of nothing but bamboo logs tied together somewhat hindered his natural instincts. But he was getting back into it.
The climb took another hour, or two, or three, he didn't know, the canopy was blocking out the sky with light trickling through the gaps between the mediative leaves. Soon, the monkey spotted the construct on top of the mountain. Silver, smooth stone as walls. Snow white, quartz pillars. Scarlet roofs with curved tips, gold strips lined across the edges of the walls, and the soft pink of the plum-blossoms in their ever blooming state.
The monkey clambered up the stairs that led up to it, large steel gates blocked his way, and above them was a plaque that read [ Heart and Mind ]. But luckily for the monkey, it was left unlocked and he was able to slip through.
The courtyard was quiet but the primate heard the faint chime of music further inside the academy and ran over to it.
He stuck his head out from behind the door to an extensive hall, it waa sparsely decorated with incense candles on the side and a lamp hanging from the ceiling. But on the ground, from one end to the other was a long painting of royal dragons, phoenixes, tigers, and turtles with vicious snakes as tails. Wearing white and gray martial arts robes, two lines of meditating students sat opposite each other on the sides of the hall. The monkey noticed that not all of them were human. Some had skin as blue as the sea, others had feline or canine-like ears on top of their head, a couple of them even had antlers or horns. There was a student with scales and another with feathers, Several with their tails out or wings folded. Demons and Humans sitting together in tranquility, united as disciples under one master.
That master was seated at the very end of the mall, dressed in gold and white and radiating a calm but heavy aura. He was still and grounded, like a giant stone tree with roots that traversed to the vast tips of the universe, and with leaves that accompanied the roots to hold every secret they dug out that the universe had.
The monkey slowly approached, enthralled by the aura he could feel emanating from the master but at the same time, his primal instincts were screaming at him to turn and run. Suddenly, an invisible force grabbed him and dragged him through the hall and onto his knees, in front of the meditating master.
Fierce, experience-sharpened eyes peered down at him.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" the master asked. His voice was like water coursing through an extensive valley, it was firm and enforcing, projecting authority, but at the same time it was gentle and understanding.
At the sound of his voice, every disciple stopped meditating and turned their heads - perfectly synchronized - at the commotion.
The monkey immediately bowed in deep respect, before answering, "Grandmaster, I'm here to learn your ways, I want to become immortal,"
"Where are you from?"
"I'm from the Water Curtain Cave on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit," the monkey answered, dipping his head multiple times. His greeting was nothing more than an imitation of what he had seen from regular humans when he had passed by the towns and villages before his travels in search of this particular mountain.
"Nonsense," the master replied, "Leave now,"
"Wait wait wait!" the monkey panicked waving his hands profusely, "Master I'm telling the truth!"
"There is a sea as vast as an entire realm between here and Flower Fruit Mountain, how did you arrive?"
"I sailed across the sea on a bamboo raft, regardless of the thousands of hardships," the monkey slapped his palms together and raised them up to his head, and begged, "So please master, allow me to be your pupil,"
The grandmaster peered down at the monkey for several seconds before responding.
"What is your family name and given name?"
"I don't have any names,"
"Did you have no parents? Or were you grown on a tree?"
"Not a tree, master," the monkey replied, bashfully scratching the back of his head, "But a stone, on the very tip of the tallest peak of Flower Fruit Mountain. The year when that stone split open, I was born,"
"So you were born of Heaven and Earth," the grandmaster deduced. A hint of a smile was edging across his lips, "Walk around for a moment and let me have a look at you,"
The Monkey King leapt to his feet and under the leering eyes of everyone in that room, awkwardly shuffled around.
The smile on the grandmaster's face finally came to be, and said, "Though you have rather a base sort of body, you look like one of the Rhesus Monkeys that eat pine seeds, and I ought to give you a surname that fits your appearance, and call you [ Hu ] (*Macaque). The elements that make up the character [ Hu ] are 'animal', 'old' and 'moon'. What is old is Ancient, and the moon embodies the Negative principle, and what is Ancient and Negative cannot be transformed. But I think I would do much better to call you [ Sun ] (*Monkey). Apart from the 'animal' element, the character [ Sun ] has one part implying male and one part suggesting a baby, which fits in with my basic theories about children. Your surname will be [ Sun ]."
When the Monkey heard this he gratefully kowtowed with a newfound elation, "Thank you very much! Now I have a surname. I am eternally grateful to you for your mercy and compassion, master. I beg you to give me a personal name to go with my new surname, then it will be much easier to address me,"
"There are twelve words within my sect for each generation which I give as names," said the grandmaster, "You will belong to the tenth generation of my disciples,"
"What are these twelve words?"
"Broad. Great. Wisdom. Intelligence. True. Likeness. Nature. Sea. Bright. Awakened. Complete. And Enlightenment. If we work out the generations of disciples, then you should have a name with [ Wu ] (*Awakened) in it. So we can give you the Dharma-name [ Sun Wukong ], which means [ Monkey Awakened to Emptiness ]. Will that do?"
The Monkey King flipped onto his feet and smiled brightly, "Yes! This is Amazing! From now on my name will be Sun Wukong!"
When the Great Vagueness was separated there were no surnames;
To smash foolish emptiness he had to be awakened to emptiness.
孫
悟
空
The skies went silent.
Like a massive web, fissures rushed up the lance from tip to tip. Light and the unknown energy seeped through between the cracks, rising up like a wall of geysers.
Then like glass under pressure, it shattered, showering its fragments down on the razed ground that was formerly recognized as Kuoh. The shards, although still large enough to cause some serious damage, dissolved into sand that rode away on the wind. A myriad of white, purple, red, and blue hues descended upon the ruins of the small city.
Kokabiel couldn't be more shocked even if he tried. His eyes were about to pop and his jaw dropped to its maximum physical limit. His trump card, the last resort, his declaration of war had been shattered, destroyed beyond repair. So easily too, as if it was nothing more than a thin cookie crushed in the vice grip of a tiger's claws..
"B-But…But how?!" he stammered loudly.
He got his answer.
Something, someone flew out from the center of the shattering lance. Twisting, and tumbling through the air with an aura of grace and expertise, as if they had each movement memorized from ten thousand times of flawless repetition.
They landed on top of the ruins of a skyscraper.
"Y-You!" Kokabiel yelled in frustration, his sight directed towards the figure on top of the ruins.
The newcomer had dark-brown, near black hair spiking in all directions, and the eyes…flaming red with golden pupils. Most of his clothing had been ripped into shreds from the fighting before, and whatever was left was incinerated by the lance. All that survived were the ragged track pants still clinging around his hips. His bare feet gripped onto the rough stone surface of the ruined tower.
He looked down at his hand, a warm gold light speed through the gaps between his fingers. He unfurled his fingers revealing a small glowing shard in the middle of palm, flashing in and out of gold and gray.
As it gave a low pitch hum, he enclosed the shard in his fist once again before swinging his arm down to his side.
All of a sudden, something erupted from his grip.
A staff.
Gray in color, a mystical stone in material. A simple design that carried a legacy of many battles, clashes against humans, demons, and gods.
In the center of the staff a single gold character embedded itself into the stone. [ 如 ; Ru ]. It shined for a moment before disappearing into the weapon. The owner of the staff watched as it did so.
He took in a deep breath, positioning the staff so it was out horizontally in front of him, and glided his fingers over the staff, caressing it gently like one would do to a sleeping cat.
He inspected the staff for a little while longer, turning it around to see each inch of it from all spinning it around to hold it by his side.
"So that shard! That masked guy told me to extract!" exclaimed Kokabiel, and he looked down in fear and disbelief, "Who… Who are you?!"
He spoke for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Raising his head to look at the one who had asked him.
"Me?"
…
…
…
"I'm the Monkey King."
Part 4 Will Come Out Soon
Thank You For Reading